FEBRUARY HEARTS Due in February 2015 , open group all welcome!

[savvysaver]

Congrats to everyone who found out genders today! I can't believe how close boys vs. girls are.

Anyone having a hard time sleeping at night? I go to bed and sleep well for the first few hours, despite multiple bathroom trips. Then around 2 am I get up and I am wide awake for at least 2 hours. I usually fall back asleep for about 2 hours before the hubby's alarm goes off. This has been happening for the last two or three weeks, just wondering if this is normal!

 

[savvysaver]

Yay for all the gender reveals!!!! Two girls and a boy, we're so blessed in this thread.

Okay, I will do some potty-shot research before my scan on Monday so I can look for myself if they can't 'tell' me.

I am glad I did some potty-shot research before my scan, that way I knew what the tech was showing me when she told me girls. Though of course I am nervous that they would tell me the wrong genders, so I asked her about 50 times and posted my pics on here. I wanted to make sure nothing was "hiding" that day since a friend was told girl and it ended up being a boy and our BIL/SIL's tech wasn't positive it was a girl at her scan. Just gotta make sure they are both right before we start painting pink and purple!

 

[ttc126]

Congratulations all you wonderful ladies!!!!! So excited to see everyone's team pink/blue announcements!

Seems like Friday is the next big scan day Looking forward to finding out!

Savvy, i seem to have similar sleep issues. I wake up super early and can't sleep! Then by 10am I want to die! But ds naps at noon so too bad for me!

So have you all thought about how you'll schedule (or not) baby? With my ds for the first 8-10 weeks we mainly just worked around whatever he was wanting to do regarding sleep. The exception was eating. The pediatrician wanted him fed every 2 hours around the clock since he lost weight in the nicu. After 8 weeks he was gaining well and we were just told no morethan 4-5 hour stretch between feeds at night but still every 2-3 hours during the day. Then at 10 weeks we did start a schedule. I went with the "Happiest Baby on the Block Guide to Great Sleep" book for getting my son gently on a schedule. It had great suggestions for how to schedule the whole day on a flexible schedule so baby wouldn't be so rigidly stuck on naptime etc. I really liked the gentle approach and he was sleeping 11pm to 4am by 12 weeks. Then at 6 months he started sleeping through from 10pm to 6am. Now at almost 13 months he sleeps 7-7. I really hope to be able to use the techniques for this little one. I'm not personally a fan of cry it out or "sleep training" at all so this book was great and talked about structuring their whole day to help with better night sleep. If anyone is looking for a gentle approach i highly recommend the book

 

[RaspberryK]

Hi everyone! I decided to cancel my doula. It was a really tough decision since I like her and she comes with a birth pool, but my daughter is soooo shy and standoffish that I just don't think it will work out. My midwife recommend that we get someone who she knows and trusts to be dedicated to her, and thankfully a good friend who recently had a home water birth offered to be at my birth! Yay!

I also asked another friend who lives nearby (who doesn't have kids) if she would be my backup, and thankfully she agreed. She's doing a PhD and will only be working on her dissertation come February, so it's good timing. She also offered to make me a bunch of frozen meals. I'm so happy that I have my own little birth team!

I'm also thinking of buying this birth tub: https://passagesmidwifery.com/pools/ It's $80 locally, but I'm thinking it will be better than the kiddie pool I used last time. I liked the kiddie pool and all (and I call it my daughter's spawning pool, hehe), but I think trying a legitimate birth tub might be nice.

This is really positive... and cheaper!

The pool looks similar to the one I had but more compact. I loved how high up the water came it was bliss and utter helll when I was made to get out!
Really hoping to use a pool again as it helped me so much I couldn't really even feel my contractions in terms of pain.
Xx

 

[SurpriseBub]

Congrats on all the scans and gender reveals! Funny that we each have a 50/50 shot at boy/girl, and as a group it seems to be so even!! I guess that basically reflects the general population

Thanks for the book tip, ttc. I have seen that book and wondered about it. I nannied a 2 yo who was a terrible sleeper (ie. 2 hours at a time). I stayed over if I was working early the next day, and I felt so, so bad for the mum who essentially didn't sleep more than 2 hours at a time for 2+ years! I also have a professional nanny friend who is a sleep trainer- she gets the results, but I don't think I could be so strict with a little bub... I was told newborns should eat every 2 hours, so will shoot for that at the start and then work from there. As a first time Mum, I expect there will be a decent amount of flexibility and trial and error! I will definitely give the book a read!

 

[ttc126]

Sorry for the double post! Annoying phone!

 

[RaspberryK]

Congratulations on the gender reveals Laura, mrspoodle & emyjc!

I think I have all the front page updated, if I've missed anyone please let me know.
Xx

 

[jmandrews]

Yay a congrats to the ladies who just found out team pink or blue! So exciting how even boys vs girls are.
Sleep has been uncomfortable for me lately. I am usually and tummy sleeper and no longer can. it is torture. I'm sleeping with a bunch of pillows too. Lol which DH isn't too thrilled about. Luckily I haven't had to get up to pee in a few weeks.
So far I am really enjoying the 2nd tri. My bump has gotten pretty big and my little guy is constantly wiggling around. I love it!

 

[MiniBump]

I was told newborns should eat every 2 hours, so will shoot for that at the start and then work from there. As a first time Mum, I expect there will be a decent amount of flexibility and trial and error!

This may be true of formula feeding but if you're planning to breastfeed then you should respond to baby's cues (there are many, crying being the last!) whether that be every 30 mins or 1 hour then 3 then 45 mins, etc. The only exception is that baby shouldn't really go more than 4 hours in the early weeks so should be woken to feed, even (in fact, to build a good supply, ESPECIALLY) through the night.

I didn't do a routine as such with DD but eventually (within a few weeks) they do learn day from night and cues such as bath time, dim lights, no TV, etc. do help to signal night time. There's no need to go mad over naps or feeding routines if you don't have other children or other time commitments, just go with the flow and enjoy your newborn! There's plenty of time for stressing about routines later!

Congrats on all the gender reveals ladies!

ETA: Looking at the front page I can't see any day yet where babies of a different sex are due! How strange!

 

[ttc126]

Oh yeah mini bump! I meant the pediatrician said to wake every 2 hours! But if he wanted to eat sooner then I fed him sooner

I agree no need to stress over schedule. It went just fine waiting to try any routine at all until he was 8-10 weeks

 

[laura109]

Thank you everyone and congratulations to everyone else on there genders.

so exciting we are half way there! Xxx

 

[Feronia]

I totally agree with MiniBump. Young babies, especially newborns, shouldn't be on a routine. They have tiny stomachs and should be fed whenever they start exhibiting hunger cues (as MiniBump says, crying being the last hunger cue). On-demand feeding is the best way to go, and it's true that they usually figure out day/night within a few weeks. It's also true that babies younger than 4-6 weeks should be woken up every 4 hours or so if they are trying to sleep through the night.

Sleep is tough, there's no doubt about that, but sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone that usually happens some time between 12-24 months. With some babies it's sooner, and others later. Routines are great for building habit before bedtime, (e.g. bath, story, music, and then bed), but establishing a feeding routine is a bad idea!

My daughter was an awful sleeper! She would wake up 10+ times a night to nurse until she was about 15 months. Then she gradually reduced it, and by 19 months she was sleeping from 7:30pm to around 6:30am without waking up. Some nights are better than others, and some night she still wakes up once, but it's a world of difference and it happened all on its own. We just waited until she was ready!

 

[RaspberryK]

I was never told to wake my baby to feed, I never did, he only lost 2oz after he was born despite my milk taking 5 days to come in.
He slept fairly well but getting him to sleep was a nightmare.
Once he had a regular time he got tired by we moved bed time earlier because he was sleeping late in the morning.
The number of hours slept in one go correlated to the number of weeks old he was up to 12 weeks except for the odd occasion abs regressions.
Xx

 

[MiniBump]

I was never told to wake my baby to feed, I never did, he only lost 2oz after he was born despite my milk taking 5 days to come in.
He slept fairly well but getting him to sleep was a nightmare.
Once he had a regular time he got tired by we moved bed time earlier because he was sleeping late in the morning.
The number of hours slept in one go correlated to the number of weeks old he was up to 12 weeks except for the odd occasion abs regressions.
Xx

Newborn babies have tiny stomachs (start out marble-sized and are about ping-pong ball sized at 10 days) so need to feed frequently in the early weeks. Also, breastmilk is extremely digestible (no waste products and only contains exactly what your baby needs at that time) and passes through quickly so baby will be hungry often. Night-feeding is important to establish a good supply as the longer the breasts go without receiving the cue to produce milk, i.e. baby suckling, the less milk they will produce. Breastfeeding mums shouldn't be tempted to feed formula in the evening either to 'make baby sleep longer' at night as night-wakings are a protective factor against SIDS x

 

[RaspberryK]

I was never told to wake my baby to feed, I never did, he only lost 2oz after he was born despite my milk taking 5 days to come in.
He slept fairly well but getting him to sleep was a nightmare.
Once he had a regular time he got tired by we moved bed time earlier because he was sleeping late in the morning.
The number of hours slept in one go correlated to the number of weeks old he was up to 12 weeks except for the odd occasion abs regressions.
Xx

Newborn babies have tiny stomachs (start out marble-sized and are about ping-pong ball sized at 10 days) so need to feed frequently in the early weeks. Also, breastmilk is extremely digestible (no waste products and only contains exactly what your baby needs at that time) and passes through quickly so baby will be hungry often. Night-feeding is important to establish a good supply as the longer the breasts go without receiving the cue to produce milk, i.e. baby suckling, the less milk they will produce. Breastfeeding mums shouldn't be tempted to feed formula in the evening either to 'make baby sleep longer' at night as night-wakings are a protective factor against SIDS x

I always had great supply after my milk finally came in, oversupply in fact. We ebf for 6 month, he had formula once at about 5 months as I left him with my friend and my expressed milk was sour, weaned after 12 months.
Never had any problems and he was never sleep trained that's just how he was, I fed on demand completely.
Xx

 

[ttc126]

Feronia you are a champion in my book. No way i could have nursed 10+ times a night! Wow!

Maybe i just got lucky with an easy sleeper? Now I'm worried for #2!

I never really did a feeding routine just woke him if he went past a certain time frame as he was a little lazy about waking for feeds. But the type of routine I was meaning was more like wake up around a certain time, take a morning walk, play time, bath story etc before bed With feeds whenever he was hungry

 

[Feronia]

Oh my gosh I was a walking zombie...!

I have friends telling me that if you have a difficult first child than the second will be way easier, and I really hope they're right, lol.

Oh sure, those type of routines are fine. Sometimes when I hear "baby" and "routine" in the same sentence I picture a tiny baby being forced to wait for a specific time to eat when he's really hungry!

 

[MiniBump]

I always had great supply after my milk finally came in, oversupply in fact. We ebf for 6 month, he had formula once at about 5 months as I left him with my friend and my expressed milk was sour, weaned after 12 months.
Never had any problems and he was never sleep trained that's just how he was, I fed on demand completely.
Xx

Sorry, Raspberry, I wasn't quoting you meaning that you were wrong but the advice is 4 hours max. between feeds for the first few weeks. Obviously every baby is different and if your baby was happy and gaining weight then so be it! (The formula bit wasn't directed at you either)

My daughter slept long stretches quite quickly too but she made up for it when she turned 1 and started waking again. Now she's 2 and still wakes up twice a night or more and gets up at 5:30am, zzzzz! x

 

[RaspberryK]

We unfortunately went through waking at 1 when I'd just gone back to work ... I don't cope well on no sleep and I didn't have my nursing tool to get him back to sleep.
Was clearly very lucky with ds, hope my luck hasn't run out with this one! Xx

 

[MiniBump]

I'm not good on no sleep or broken sleep either, that's one reason I'm still breastfeeding! Sometimes I'm so grateful for it, lol!!

Thought I'd better add, she doesn't ask for it when she wakes but it's always nice to know I can offer if all else fails or if she's waking with illness/teething pain x