any other over 35 first time mums?

[clio]

Muaaa-haaa-haaa! No one can resist the power of the Cashmerino Blanket!

It's my new secret weapon. Puts J out like a light.

When I was pregnant, I decided to knit this blanket that was intended for his car seat. It required really expensive wool, and a lot of it. But the wool is meant for babies, and is so, so soft. It's called Cashmerino yarn. Thing is, the first time I used it for the car seat, I narrowly missed saving it from a fountain of spit-up, so I decided that this was the stupidest knitting pattern ever. Why would you use expensive wool around a baby, no matter how cute the pattern? So, it's sat crumpled in my knitting basket for a while. Here is a pic of it:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7900941408_c25fb06071_n.jpg

Then, the other day, I realized that J was showing he was tired by putting his head down on pillows and blankets on the floor (I think he was copying his mummy ). And I thought: Cashmerino Blanket! If I rock him to sleep with the Cashmerino Blanket under his head, he will not be able to resist sleep. And I was right. Not that he's slept long with this trick, but at least he fell asleep. And really fast, too.

If it weren't so expensive and time consuming to make, I'd sell the thing and make a lot of money (though the mark up would be huge to make it worth my while. Do you think people would spend over a hundred dollars/pounds for a blanket that would put their baby to sleep? What if I added a warrantee? People like warrantees... And I'd actually use nice colours this time.)

Oh, and I wanted to show you the results of our baby gate installation, which I think is dangerous for the whole family. At first glance, it looks quite good:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/7900942048_91d6f36864_n.jpg

But then you look a little closer:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/ekater/IMG_1401.jpg

and even worse:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/ekater/IMG_1402.jpg

We just couldn't get a gate wide enough to fit our stairway. THAT's the extra wide one! And we couldn't put it at the bottom of the stairs; we had to put it two stairs up, which means that J can climb up those unprotected stairs, and has. Often. So, I've decided it's time he learns to crawl DOWN the stairs. We've been working on it daily. So far, it's hit and miss.

Oh man, J is up again! Don't tell anyone; I don't want this to affect the sales of the Cashmerino Blanket (patent pending).

 

[clio]

Oh, and I should add, we're adding hardware that will secure the gate to the wall, as soon as we figure out how to use our drill. We're rather afraid of it.

 

[Rowan75]

if martha starts waking around 4am shes usually cold so i pop a blanket over here (even tho she has her sleeping bag on) if i dont shes up every 30 mins!

lol re the stair gate

 

[clio]

if martha starts waking around 4am shes usually cold so i pop a blanket over here (even tho she has her sleeping bag on) if i dont shes up every 30 mins!

lol re the stair gate

He's always standing up in his crib when I come in, so putting a blanket over him won't really work (unless, maybe, if it's the Cashmerino Blanket [patent pending]).

And he does actually drink from the bottle. I think it's the stupid Baby Whisperer book that has this in my head; she said that if a baby is waking the same time each night, it's out of habit, which you must break. Bah, what does she know? To her, the Cashmerino Blanket (patent pending) would be a criminal example of accidental parenting, and it obviously is not. It's excellent parenting, I believe. It almost makes up for my should-be-condemed baby gate...

 

[Borboleta]

i

shes now changing her crawl to be on hands and feet?! looks like soemthign from darwins theory of evolution lol

I think that's called the "bear crawl." I did it exclusively. Never even tried my knees. My mother said I looked like a camel.

Morning everyone (for me, that is...)!

I don't have much time for an update because J is all over me, but last night was good...

Okay, I put him down. He had a true temper tantrum. That was new.

You know, I think "last night" is so important to all of us, it should be capitalized: Last Night.

Anyway, Last Night, which was my night, was just great. He woke at 3:30, took his bottle and went straight back to sleep. The nights of PAR-TAYing seem to be over. However, I'm wondering if this is becoming a habitual thing; it's always 3:30. Is he just waking because he's really hungry, or because he likes to be held at 3:30 every night? How about with you guys? Do your LOs wake at a certain point every night, or does it vary?

Aw, sh...oot. He's up again. That must be the shortest nap in the history of naps. More later!

Thiago wake up time range from 3:30am to 6:30am. Most of the time is between 5:30am to 6:30am. Sp it varies.
Love the blanket and the gate. We will need to start thinking about our stairs too!!! Not looking forward to it. But I think we have a couple of months before it is really necessary.
Today has been the " I want to be held all day" day!!!!! He just will play by himself for about 3 min and them is lots of complaining until I go and pick him up!!! My arms are starting to hurt. Just had lunch and prepared lunch standing and holding him in the kitchen. Including cutting tomatoes with a sharp knife while holding him because he does not want to be put down!!! This teething is killing me today! But I cannot figure it out which tooth is coming in. I just want my good little baby back! If you see him please send him my way. Tell him that I miss him.

 

[Indigo77]

Ok, I will try filing. Thanks Ladies! If that doesn't work, I will take him in for manicures.

Clio....Yay for Jonah!

Borboleta....You're so sweet to offer to cut his nails.

Oh no! Not the shots! Good luck! Pour yourself a shot of tequila afterward.

BMom....I threw the baby scissors out the front door after I did it.

Emory boards it is....

My mother is coming back. I am kicking myself for asking her. She is making me crazy with stories of autism from vaccinations, the West Nile virus from mosquitos & whooping cough from my hubby. She suggested that I make him shower & change clothes when he gets home from work even though I already make him wash his hands & mouth before handling N. He ALREADY thinks I'm crazy.

 

[AngelUK]

Clio, I love the gate and the blanket and yes I would pay $100 for a guaranteed sleep help for Dom. Mind you, just putting him to sleep wouldn't do cause that isn't too hard. Keeping him asleep is the hard part. If your patented blanket could ensure that, I'd spend that and more! I must admit that Dom waking so often through the night casts a bit of a shadow over my enjoyment of mummyhood I dread evenings and nights. If we could afford it, I would love to have a lil girl but in a way my experience with Dom has put me off the idea too cause what if she too were a bad sleeper?

Borboleta poor little Thiago! I am sure it is exhausting but it is also sweet that when he is unwell that he wants to be held and comforted by his mummy I hope for his sake and yours though that his tooth comes through soon and won't hurt him much longer

Indigo I once clipped my poor Dom's finger tip with the baby nail clippers! He cried only a lil but I cried buckets when I saw the blood! I hate myself for it still! I threw the clippers in the bin. Since then I kinda tear them off with my own when I can. Otherwise they are both taloned

 

[SabrinaKat]

TEETH, but not the teeth we are currently teething, but I think LO looks cute!

(clio - I like the colours in the blanket!)

 

[AngelUK]

Sabrina he is adorable! And the teeth at very cute!

 

[kosh]

just to say hi ladies
been a bit down recently,will update tomorrow

 

[AngelUK]

kosh

 

[Indigo77]

Kosh

 

[Indigo77]

Clio.....Is that....

cardboard?

 

[clio]

Kosh--

Angel, you too.

Quite seriously, you two are my heroes.

 

[Bravemom]

just to say hi ladies
been a bit down recently,will update tomorrow

Big hugs sweetheart

 

[Bravemom]

Sabrina ,your son is beautiful,Clio i would like that blanket for myself Indigo ,I think i will be the worse granny in the world with my grandchildren and very protective Hope the visit goes smoothly with your mom ,

 

[Indigo77]

BMom... You would be an excellent grandmother..

 

[Borboleta]

Brave mom I see you have a ovulation chart. Are you trying for one more baby?
After 2 doses of Tylenol thiago is off to sleep. Hopefully until 6:30am. The medicine does it for him. Feel bad to give him 2 doses but if I was teething I would want my meds too. Another good entertaining tool for him is shopping. This boy loves when I go shopping anywhere! Hope he will be just like that as he gets older so I will not feel bad and lonely because I don't have a little girl to shop with me.
His aunt wants to give thiago his first popsicle tomorrow for his 6 months birthday. We will see how that goes.

Indigo: hope your mom can be of a help and not the other way around ! My mother in law sometimes can make me nervous too with some of her concerns but I try to shake it off the negative comments after she goes home. And now my dad is coming to visit me in a week so I am sure he will have "wonderful" advices as well!!!
Clio: I remember you this morning after the poop penis story thiago decides to poop and touch his jewels too!!! Just lovely!!

Of to bed nowl hope all our LOs will sleep till 8 am tomorrow.

Kosh: not sure what happen to my little icons but sending you big hugs too. You are a wonderful mommy and your son loves you very much.

 

[clio]

Clio.....Is that....

cardboard?

Yup. Good ol' cardboard. Folded FOUR times. My husband and I are nothing if not creative.

Thiago, enjoy your first popsicle! I can tell from his pictures that he will love it.

Indigo, my mom is coming too, next Thursday. Sometimes she's a wonderful grandmother, and sometimes she is...frustrating. Maybe we'll have to support each other during this period...

 

[AngelUK]

Good morning ladies. Hope you all had good nights
Congrats gorgeous lil Thiago on your 6 months
As for Tylenol, do you think it actually sent him off to sleep or just the absence of pain? I must admit, we bought a cough medicine for Dom cause sometimes he has this dry lil cough. It might just be cause he puts his hand so deeply in his mouth but we thought a bit of tyxilix might help. We chose that one cause it didn't say non drowsy. I am a horrible mum! Serves me right that he hated the taste and spat it all out lol. I would like to say here though that I would never give them anything like sleeping drafts or such nonsense and I would never endanger my boys with anything they shouldn't have (like Romanians who add Țuica Schnaps to the bottles ) but well, if the cough medicine had made him sleep just a lil better I would not have complained. How horrid of me! lol