January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[slammerkin]

Vrogers - I hope moving L to her crib works out, whenever you decide to do it! Our crib is still disassembled in the attic! It saw very little use with DD and I have no intention of using it with Jack. I'll just have him sleep on a mattress on the floor whenever I do try to move him to his room.

No plans for this weekend. DH is back at work for a full schedule - four nights closing at the bar, so it will be early mornings for me while he sleeps in!

Literati - lol! I might make a killing with my ‘How to Get a BF Baby On a Bottle’ book!

Ally - yes it really does suck that Jack hates the car seat and stroller! Ughhhh. You're lucky that Isa likes it. Stroller rides used to put DD to sleep nicely!

Good luck trying to get a better routine with Isa this weekend. We are still all over the place. Hoping things will get a bit more routine after I go back to work.

Angel - Jack is going to have to start getting up a bit earlier too. Now he gets up between 7-8:30, but I'm sure he won't sleep that long once I start leaving for work around 6!

He’s still in bed with me. No plans for using a crib at all, but will eventually have him on a floor mattress in his room.

Yes, usually when I take him on walks I just use my Beco carrier, but that’s going to become uncomfortable when we start hitting 95 degree days in the summer! I don't think we'll make it like that, and DH would rather have him off his body I'm sure, lol. DH runs hot anyway, so the two of them would just be a sweaty mess. I hope Jack and Melody get better with their car seats soon!

AFM - successfully gave Jack another bottle today, woo! He took 2 oz pretty easily...still distracted him a bit by going outside. Hopefully DH can try it tomorrow.

 

[AliJo]

Things are going okay. I am a bit emotionally ill, but nothing I haven't dealt with before. Really sucks feeling down most of the time, though. If I'm distracted I'm already, but give me ONE minute of time to think and I start to plummet. I'll be alright, though. Just have to get out of this funk.

T is asleep at the moment. He went to bed an hour later than normal because I'm trying to get him to sleep in his crib better. So I laid him down and he woke up and it took another hour to get him to settle fast to sleep again. He's currently in the crib sleeping well. I just hope I actually try all night instead of giving in.

He's doing pretty well, though. DH had a couple of better days when I last worked. Still not his best, but better. Hopefully it means he's getting use to being without me. He's starting to be okay with being out of our arms for awhile now. Mainly just on the floor, which means we have to be right there, but sometimes will do the pack n play or rock n play. He's trying REALLY hard to roll back to belly. I don't think it will be long.

O is still dealing with his break out. What his pediatrician called it was Dyshidrotic eczema. I've actually dealt with it before as well, but never lasted this long. Except on my feet and somewhat on my hands when I was pregnant with him. It's not curable, but it's not something that is generally always active. Read it could be associated to seasonal allergies so I wonder since it's Spring that it might be from that. Who knows.

Everyone who talks about not seeing their baby's feet much because they're in sleepers and here I am.. with T generally in just a diaper or a onesie at most! I don't even do sleepers at night. He gets too hot generally. I do a long sleeve onesie generally with a light blanket just over his legs in a way he can't move it up over his head or a thin sleep sack if I think I can keep it chill enough.

Slammer - Glad Jack is taking a bottle! It's a huge deal. I was really worried T would do what O did and refuse the bottle and not eat. Partly why I tried very early on and kept giving him one now and then. It was still rocky at first when I went back to work, but he is eating better. Not as much as if I was home, but an acceptable amount.

Angel - Your routine sounds pretty good. I think before I tried anything like that I need to get T to start to fall asleep off the breast. I've been working with him some and need to get more consistent with it. I started trying because I want to make it easier for DH to get him to sleep. Currently he usually has to bounce him the entire time he's asleep. Which this could make it harder for me in the long run so I'm trying to nip it in the butt. He does sometimes fall asleep while he's holding and rocking him, though. He won't let us lay him down and pat him to sleep. His eyes shoot open like we betrayed him ha.. maybe down the road a ways.

T won't be going to his own room till he's 1. I'm not walking into another room to feed him. If he's anything like his older brother he won't sleep all the way through the night until he's past 1. I know I'll run into problems with not being able to go back to sleep if I move too much. The crib will stay in our room, but I do plan to move it away from our bed sometime soonish. If I can get him to start sleeping decent in his crib with in the next couple of weeks when we move I'll put the front back on the crib.

Ally - T is very alert and has been for awhile. It does help me to get him to settle if I can remove stimuli. Good luck on starting a routine! It is hard for me. I seem to always give somewhere. I'm not that strong willed I guess!

Vrogers - Good luck on moving her out of your room! I couldn't do it..I did try with O, but I don't think I will with T. I just want to get him into the crib.

No real plans for Easter. Just giving the boys their baskets.

Newbie - Same as with Slammer.. I always had better luck than someone else getting my babies to latch to a bottle. I think smelling and feeling mom helps.

With O I used a nipple shield and switched out half way through feeding. Worked.

Lite - I hope Violet is feeling much better today! Poor girl.. I can't imagine her pain or how you feel. I felt sick to my stomach and still do from the time I accidentally held O up too high and didn't realize the fan was right above me.. ugh.. he wasn't very old either. DH brought it up on me a few times as a way to "get at me" and if looks could kill.. he only does it as a joke, but I get pissed every time he tries to use that on me.

I need to stop here. T is asleep in the crib and O just went to sleep so I laid him down. So I need to go play Wall. Not that O is anywhere near him and I can see them on the monitor, but O moves fast when he's trying to find my body in his sleep.

Oh, and real quick. O isn't getting therapy. It'll be too hard to get him started since we're moving and they don't work in that area. She also wasn't too concerned. He is a little behind, but since he's talking, forming sentences, and constantly learning new words he's alright. Suggested getting his hearing tested just in case and since it's free, but other than that it's all good. Just need to work with him more, which is hard with a baby in the mix.

 

[AliJo]

So, this morning I have the same stuff popping up on my hands that O has. Yay. Not. They really do itch like crazy. I've had them before so I'm sure he got it from me, but I hardly ever get a flare up from it.

 

[slammerkin]

AliJo - sorry you're not feeling well mentally. You have a lot going on, and I'm sure it's hard!

Very glad T is getting better with your husband while you work. My DH is dreading my return to work!

I had to Google that form of eczema, but now that I've seen it, I recognize it. I had that really bad on my feet for a time when I was in middle school. Never knew what it was back then!

So did everything work out with the home inspection and getting agreement on what fixes were needed?

AFM - had a good day today. DH was home most of the day - heading off to work shortly. We walked to a playground and DD had a great time. DH successfully gave Jack a bottle! I ran out alone to buy some little presents for the kids’ easter baskets. DD should be early to bed since she was up early. Only bad thing is Jack was snotty and congested last night and is runny today. Kind of already preparing myself to spend the night in the glider to keep him more comfortable.

 

[AliJo]

Slammer - Sorry Jack is all congested! It's the worst when they're babies since there is hardly anything you can do for them. I really hope he is getting better for DH and that it wasn't just luck.

Home inspection went okay. We're definitely going to want to do some things, but they can be down the road. I'm okay with that. They did do pretty much everything we asked except replace the fans that were not working. No biggy as long as the appraiser doesn't demand they work. I feel that will be super dumb! The lights work, just not the fan itself. Something we can replace but if it hands to be done before we'll probably have to pay someone.

I think the worst thing we'll have to do is update the electrical which can be expensive. We do know people who know all the codes and can do it, but I feel if we do that it will take longer. Not sure how we'll go about it yet, but again down the road. Renting can be so much less stressful! I've been lucky and had an awesome landlord, though. I'll prefer my freedom, though.

About the eczema.. yeah I didn't know what it was called till they said it at his appointment. I've had it several times throughout my life. It already cleared up on my hands.

 

[AliJo]

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter! Going out to my Stepmom and Dad's place for dinner. DH works so won't be able to be there long. Suppose to be sunny all day, though. Which means O will get to play a lot outside and I think they're doing an egg hunt.

O enjoyed his basket! Didn't get much, but enough. I got him a Little People's barn and he's enjoying that a lot. He loves putting toys through doors and windows. His breakfast might have consisted of mostly candy.. . Ah well, he hardly ever gets candy. I'm proud of myself for that!

T stared at his toy and reached for it a couple of tmies. O danced to T's toy. They're these toys that kind of looks like rattles, but they play music. If you hit one the music fades out and goes to the other one. It's cute and the music isn't obnoxious. Hoping when T starts to move it'll encourage him to try and get to the other one. That's mostly the point of it. I love the Fisher Price beats toy line. We have 3 toys out of it so far. Probably will get more as T grows.

T is just waking up from a nap. Surprised he decided to go down for one a couple of hours after waking up. He was up for 3 before he did yesterday and only took 30 minutes. Then was up again forever with only another 30 minute nap. He was up from like 7 am to 4 pm with only a hour of sleep in that time. I was starting to lose my mind. He wasn't bad, but O started getting bad and I couldn't get T to sleep because of it.


Also got some real crap news yesterday. DH's dad might have liver cancer. He has nodules on his liver and has had hep c forever which can increase your risk of liver cancer. We'll know for sure in the next couple of weeks. DH is really torn up about it.

Then found out that a friend of ours that lives near his parents just lost everything to a fire. I was waiting for bad news #3. It can stay away.

Anyways, better go tend to my children before one or the other starts to get angry. Right now.. well that ended quickly. While I now have T with me. O was entertaining him and all was good. Then O takes off.. he had put his sucker into T's mouth........ T spit it out before I even could pull it out. Well Happy Easter from O to T I suppose..... Can't take your eyes off them for even a second I swear.

 

[slammerkin]

AliJo - that's good they fixed most of the things with the house. Fingers crossed everything is good with the appraiser and it all proceeds well.

This was the first time we did anything for Easter for DD. We're not religious, so it didn't really occur to me to do anything before, but she was doing crafts at daycare and I figure all her friends will get baskets once she starts school, so I can at least do a basket. Got her and Jack a couple little toys and jellybeans. We got chocolate in the mail from DH's family. I hid a few plastic eggs for her to find too. Done!

So sorry yo hear about DH's dad and your friend! What terrible news all around!

AFM - I went ahead and slept in the glider with Jack last night...and slept six hours without waking! Went to bed around 10 and he woke around 4! Then he woke at 6:45 to eat and poop. DD had already come in at 6:30, eesh. So we all got up for Easter baskets and then DH went back to bed for a while.

Back to work tomorrow! Working from home though. We're going to try the day mostly as if I'm not there for DH, but I can help if he needs it at some point. I plan on going into the office on Tues.

 

[newbie2013]

We aren't doing anything we planned this weekend, but I'm getting quite used to that. My SIL and MIL are having a stupid fight which means MIL is reliant on us for pretty much everything, which is fine, except we both feel that SIL is being incredibly childish and selfish. She's not married and had zero responsibilities. Dh has me and now ds but he still has to deal with my MIL. We went and got her on Friday and we took her home today. It is bad enough that dh and I are dealing with ds without his elderly mother as well. At least dh and I talked a bit and he understands more about house I'm feeling. I had another anxiety attack on Friday, but it allowed us to talk and he now understands more if how I feel. What he doesn't get is that there is no quick fix. Him stepping up this weekend is only the start of what I need. One step at a time, I guess.

Thanks for the tips on getting baby to take a bottle. I'll pass them on. I'm just so thankful I got ds to take on early on and he's fine with it now. Pumping at work is going reasonably well.

Lit, oh my goodness! I hope she's doing ok.

Alijo, that's kind of like how I feel. I wonder if it is just because of three month of sleep deprivation? I hope you're doing better.

Slammer - great news about dh and the bottle

 

[newbie2013]

Forgot to add, I use the Love To Dream Swaddle Up bag. He loves them. Sleeps soundly. They're just getting too short and will eventually get dangerous as he rolls more. My usual problem USD lack of alternatives where I live so my only option is to wean him off it. He slept for a few hours last night without it, but wouldn't settle tonight without it. I'll try him again after his first night feed. I've also started putting him to bed earlier because I calculated that he wasn't getting nearly enough sleep - barely 8-9 hours at night. Now he's getting 11-12, but waking twice instead of once. Pain for me, but better for him. Hopefully he'll soon be sleeping flirt liner stretches and going back to just waking once with an earlier bedtime.

 

[newbie2013]

Keep thinking of other things!

I've noticed in the last couple of days, his suck has become much stronger. He now takes much less time to feed than he used to. Thankfully, it doesn't hurt!

 

[Angel5000]

For those of you who have done this before, is it really common for babies to suddenly start nursing for much shorter times? Melody is nursing about 8-15 minutes every 3-3.5 hours, averaging about 10 minutes p/ feeding. Sometimes she'll eat as little as 5 minutes. She seems to be still gaining weight (using our non-scientific method of weighing her where I weigh myself and then weigh myself with her in arms and calculate difference) and she has regular wet diapers, but I worry that she isn't getting enough during the day. At night, from about 10pm on, she wakes about every 2.5 hours to feed and eats for about 10 minutes at a time (I'm full blown zombie mode most of the time). If she does take a bottle she will eat anywhere from 2 - 4.5 oz, depending on time of day and last feeding.


Hope everyone has a lovely Easter! We don't usually do much but this year my sister and I decided to start doing an Easter Dinner tradition together. So we're making dinner and that's about it. We did make up a little Easter basket for Melody, which is just a few baby toys and manipulative things for her to play with. My family never did Easter baskets growing up but I thought it would be fun to do for M, even though she's not remotely old enough to enjoy it.


Hoping I can get M to get some decent sleep today. We did game night at my sisters yesterday and even though we brought the pack n play, Melody did not sleep so we left a little earlier than planned and then because she was overtired she didn't sleep well last night. She gets easily distracted right now, I think because she's just starting to notice all the things around her, and so when there were new people and sounds and things oging on she fought sleeping (even though bedtime at home is so simple), and then she kept waking every 10-15 minutes. At home the dogs can bark like crazy and the neighbors can be mowing grass and kids screaming and she sleeps through it, but at my sister's house a group of people talking even in normal voices from the other room and she wakes up! We decided from now on that game night has to be at our house since she won't sleep at my sister's. At least until she can sleep a little easier outside of the structure I've created.




Ali - I'm so sorry that you're not doing well emotionally. Take care of yourself, and seek out help if you need it. That's great that he's trying to roll back to belly! I think Melody is too. She keeps pushing with her legs so hard, but she doesn't have the skill so she ends up scooting herself in circles instead of actually getting herself turned over.

It's so hard to move them from sleeping on the breast! Melody just sort of moved herself to that once she started to get a little more active and I started to try to feed her after naps so that she was more awake. Even if you can keep him awake for 2-3 minutes after feeding it will help him start to disassociate breast with sleep, but it is so hard to break! For the longest time I didn't even want to break it because it was such an easy way to put her down!

I think I've decided that while I'll keep M napping in her own room, at night I will probably keep her in our room but in her pack n play until she drops her way early morning feed (somewhere in the 2-4am frame). I tried to keep her in her own room a few nights and she starts waking up every 30 minutes after the 10-11pm feed, I think it's because she expects us to be at least nearby and suddenly we aren't. In our room she at least gives me 2.5 hours of sleep between feeds usually.




Okay I was going to respond more but M is having a really rough time staying asleep for this napa nd I need to go settle her (again). overtired baby didn't sleep well last night, and as a result is not napping well. vicious cycle.

 

[AliJo]

Slammer - We're not religious either. I have someone call their baskets "Spring Baskets" I just see it as another reason to buy gifts, which I enjoy doing! If we had a house it would be for buying new outdoor toys for the most part.

That's awesome that Jack slept so long! I bet he was exhausted from whatever bug he had. It's great that he was able to get some good sleep. Maybe it will help him get over it.

Good luck with going back to work! I wish I had the option to work from home. Even with me just being in another room I'm sure DH would feel much more relaxed about the days he has to watch him.

Newbie - Sorry about your plans falling through. Don't worry.. I do it a lot myself. Now I just don't want to make plans because then I'm less likely to do something! Spur of the moment things seem to work better.. ha..

Glad your DH is starting to understand. Make sure you talk to him about things! I can be bad about just assuming that DH should know. Men can be so clueless sometimes!

Yeah, I don't know what my deal is honestly. I get "enough" sleep. I think it's just everything going on. It's starting to take a toll on me and I'm so mentally exhausted. I need to take some mental time for myself. Not sure how, but I need to.



Tried to get some pictures of my boys. O didn't cooperate so none of him yet, but I got this little chub in a basket!

I think the picture is working now.

 

[AliJo]

Angel - Babies do get more efficient at nursing. Most likely she's just draining your breast faster. As long as she's having bowel movements and has plenty of wet diapers, she's good!

He's really bad about waking himself up if I don't let him fall asleep on it. He'll be somewhat asleep and I'll take it and he'll start searching for it and turn into a cranky bottoms. I do need to work on it, though.

 

[Literati_Love]

Angel - yes, as Ali said, babies become more efficient eaters so they can just drain the breast a lot faster. I am sure that is the case for M now. I am looking forward to when V Is a little faster, although she isn't that slow either so I can't complain!

Newbie - I am so happy you talked with your DH and he understood a bit. I hope he continues helping. That makes sense if you don't have much access to more sleep sacks where you live that you would have to wean him off them. Sorry there is family drama and that you are now having to take care of your MIL as well.

Slammer - yay for a good long sleep for Jack! Woohoo. Good luck being back at work this week. That's excellent tomorrow can just be from home. Will you always be at the office after that, or are you able to work from home once or twice a week?

Ali - so sorry you were/are feeling down. Lots of hugs for you. I find there are times when it all becomes too much and it is hard to not feel down. I hope things calm down soon and that you start feeling more upbeat. That is both hilarious and scary that O put a sucker in T's mouth! Toddlers are such dangers. The other day, I caught Dd1 giving Violet a drink of water! Ugh!!! You really can't leave them alone for a second!

That's such a scary moment with you forgetting how close the ceiling fan was to O. I can see why that would haunt you even now! Thankfully all is well.

AFM - Easter with DH's family was tiring and overwhelming. I didn't really get to join in on any of the visiting because I was pretty much constantly feeding Violet, changing her, or putting her to sleep. I didn't even get to see dd1 do the Easter egg hunt with her cousins. Oh well. I didn't really feel like talking to people anyway.

Today is my family's house and hopefully will be slightly more relaxing? But my parents always overstimulate poor V and she ends up overtired and stressed. We shall see...

I did lose 1.5 lb last week! It wasn't water weight because I lost an inch around my hips in that time! Of course, now with all these indulgent Easter dinners, I'll be lucky if I don't gain it back.

Violet is doing great, and her toes look much better. She will get checked by my doctor tomorrow as well.

 

[vrogers]

Literati- since I'm still anxious about getting out with L (although it is getting better as she's getting older and I feel a little more confident) we just ate a nice lunch at home!
I hope gas drops help if y'all decide to use them!
I'm sorry Easter was a bust for you, how disappointing. Too bad nobody could help you out so you could enjoy a bit more and see dd1 egg hunt. I hope it went better at your parents house!
Congrats about losing weight, it isn't easy and every bit is an accomplishment. Good job! I need to chill out with the Easter candy!
Good news about violet, I'm glad her toes are healing!

Ally- we will need a monitor first and I'm not looking forward to it! It may be harder on me than her. Naps are so hit or miss it seems, some days like today she refuses to take longer than 30 min naps and only a couple times, and other days she'll get a 2+ hour nap and some 30-45 min ones. Seems like the days I decide I'll try to nap too she refuses!
I'm also struggling with getting her to nap somewhere other than my chest. She sleeps great at night though.
Good luck with the routine! I've read the main problem people have is inconsistency, which I'm sure I'll struggle with. Also ugh about the period. I just got done with my second.

Angel- I hope the earlier wake ups are successful! I'm sure you'll definitely want to nap during the summer and holidays lol
No that's a good suggestion with the nap routines! You may be on to something because we do have a pretty solid routine in the evenings so maybe she needs one during the day as well. I have read babies like routine. Thank you for the advice!
As for the crib, I keep saying I want to try L in her crib for naps to start and get her more comfortable in her room, like you're doing.
The new Easter tradition with your sister sounds lovely, I hope you enjoyed! It's fun to start new traditions. Sounds smart to move game night to your house, new surroundings definitely distract from sleep at least in my short experience!

Slammer- thank you! I've read about the mattress on the floor thing, I think it's a Montessori style parenting? I'm sure not exclusively though.
Early mornings + dh sleeping in would be tough for me! I hope it isn't too stressful or exhausting.
Glad jack took another bottle!
You are super mom for sleeping in the recliner for 6 hours! But 6 hours of sleep is great! I hope work goes well for you and everyone adjusts well.

Ali- I'm sorry about the emotional funk, that happens to me a lot in the evenings.
I hope O's eczema doesn't bother him much, poor thing.
I usually have L in a footed sleeper at night and just a onesie or even just diaper during the day because she spits up so much, it's tiring to keep changing her.
Thank you! I'm not sure how I'm going to take it, dh is ready to have her in there asap but I'm in no hurry especially since we don't have a baby monitor yet!
I hope you guys had a nice Easter dinner!
I'm really sorry about your dh's dad, I can't imagine, that's terrifying. And your friend, how horrible. You've definitely had more than enough bad news lately.
Oh my he's so cute, that little baby chunk is adorable!! Is his hair red?

Newbie- I'm sorry about the panic attack but glad you were able to have a talk with dh. I hope he understands and steps up and continues to help you, whatever that looks like for you guys.
Glad Z is feeding and sleeping well!

Afm- I'm sure I have talked about this a million times, but still going strong with the pumping and now actually pulling milk with the pump every time I pump even if just a few drops. I have almost 1 oz in the fridge I started Friday (hand expressing, I can get much more milk that way),which sounds pathetic but it's a lot for me! Once I get an oz I will replace an oz of formula with my milk and keep doing that.
L sleeps really well at night, the past couple weeks she's started going down around 9:30-10 (although tonight was later because she barely napped today and was grumpy and over tired) and waking around 7:15-7:30. She seems to nap better on weekdays when there's not as much going on and I rock her, and she'll sleep for 2+ hours for at least one nap. I want to try her crib or pack n play for naps so I can actually get things done around the house and not be trapped under a baby.
I think that's really all that's going on here lately, nothing too exciting!
Thought I would include a little Easter picture of L! it's not one of the better ones because I was talking to her and not looking at the camera but it's the only one she somewhat smiled in. She's starting to be MUCH more vocal, she does this loud and long shriek thing where she opens her mouth wide and gets this serious look and just "ahhhhhhh" with different tones and such. Very cute and very loud!

 

[Apple111]

Hi all sorry not been in for a while it's been non stop since we came back from our little break. I have also been having difficukties with my teenager who informed me he is being bullied and name called .. Been really upsetting.. Happened b4 but I bought it had stopped..
I have tried to catch up but it's been difficult this week. I'll read through properly soon as I get chance. Annoyingly I tried to post in night and it some how lost it and didn't work and I was just too tired to start again.

Lit- oh my goodness sorry u went through that with v must have been really scary. Glad she is doing ok now..

Ali- sorry u have been down hon. I hope u get some me time soon. It's so difficult juggling everything, especially with working and having more than one little one. U r doing amazing hon, im dreading going back to work.. Hope u feel better soon.. Pic is adorable !! I want to put ollie in a basket now lol.. My ds is same with pics never sit when u want then to ! Ha x

Slammer- glad u got jack on bottle ok, n sorry u are going back to work glad u can do your first day at home. I really hope jack settles for your DH..hope he settles for u both soon in car seat and stroller ! X


Vrogers what a little beauty ! X i do love the girly clothes x well done with the pumping, you sure have stuck at it really well ollie is getting a lot more vocal lately .. It's really cute

Ally- hope u r doing ok, good luck with the routine. X

Angel..the easter tradition sounds great. Hope u had a nice time x

Newbie.. I have read back as far as I can , sorry u were having a difficult time but glad u have managed to talk with DH. As others have said I really don't think they get it at times and do need things spelling out. My oh is the same at times but I really don't think he means it its just he doesn't think like me. Particularly when settling ollie( not saying im always right haha)

Sorry if I have missed anyone , I can hear the kids getting louder down stairs so beeter go see what's going on.

In brief.. We r doing ok, farm stay was loverly . My ds got to to play with a little lamb all to himself for ages he loved it. Ollie is doing ok, getting very clingy with mummy which is difficult for oh as he really tries with him to settle him but ollie is having none of it then settled straight away as soon as I hold him ! Had a nice easter just us at home and did nice meal, ate lots of choc easter hunt and painted eggs.

Again sorry if I missed anyone I will get back on when I can x

 

[Ally2015]

angel- thanks for advice, will start implementing things one at a time and be consistent with it once he wakes about 1, he then wakes roughly every 2 hours. I think it's partly habit, i used to feed him each time but now i try to skip a feed.

slammer-thats great Jack is taking the bottle. That is an amazing stretch of sleep you got. Hope work goes well.

ali- sorry you are feeling emotionally ill, sending you a hug. Crib sleeping is hard, honestly. I do really well first half of night second half, he just ends up in bed and i wake up with him there.We will get there! sorry about your FIL, but glad you had a nice easter.The picture is adorable!!!! he is soo cute and a lttle chubby boy!

newbie- glad you and dh had a chat and he is stepping up. sounds like baby z is getting a good stretch of sleep at night waking once is really good too. i still have 3/4 awakenings.

lit- sorry easter wasn't so great, but glad V is doing well.

vrogers - at least you get some days with long naps, Isa's are all 30 mins just now. thats it. no more. but i know its not enough as he wakes in a bad mood and is tired and wants to go back to sleep. The pic is sooo adorable! she is so cute.
that is great about your milk.

apple- glad the farm trip was lovely!

AFM- well we made a few changes this weekend, i intended to start a routine but we used to weekend to start some changes and now im hoping from tomorrow i can start something more structured and consistent. So basically, ive stopped BF'ing during the day, and im giving Isa formula every 3 hours, he takes bottle really well now and has about 6 oz at a time. As a result i have broken the nursing to sleep habit. but his naps are rubbish, 30 mins in the crib, but hopefully once i can start being more regular with feeding times, his naps will also improve. His reflux is so much better, and sleeps on his back sometimes. So i shouldn't complain too much and he went through a few chages this weekend. fingers crossed this week wll be good. last week was tough with his short naps and the lack of routine was getting to me.

im taking him out soon, going to meet some friends for coffee which will be nice. Easte was quiet here, didn't do much. Had a long weekend with dh which has been nice.

 

[Apple111]

Managed to get back in and read through a little more.. Forgot to say earlier thanks all for the comments about ollies pic.. He is a little monkey ! X so smiley now.. Ds is a cheeky monkey at the min also.. Oh has this little discipline thing he tries to do with ds.. He did with his older children and it worked well, oh never shouts or raises his voice and the counting thing normally works ,but ds has his own ideas yesterday. I think he was bit hype on Easter eggs! lol..oh is really soft with ds but he has been pushing it a bit lately so basically oh will slowly count to 5 then ds will have to have time out or something if he doesn't stop being naughty ect .. So yesterday oh started to count to 5 when ds was ignoring us and ds started counting with him and then continued counting and when oh turned round ds just playing around through a ball of socks and it hit oh on back of head .. Honestly I nealy cried laughing but obviously trying not to let ds see. Oh was the same .. I think we were just both at the point where we had minimal mental energy left and was tired with being up in night.. Oh keeps saying ds is too cute to tell off n he doesn't want to upset him ! I said u will regret it in a few months .. Think we were just at that point were we thought whatever... there are worse things going ion in the world..

Slammer hope Ur day is going ok..

Ally hope your coffee with friend goes well. Glad you are getting out. I'm meeting a colleague this week and looking forward to it we always have a good laugh when we get together and it's nice to get an update of work lol x

Pomp- just read back sorry missed u b4, hope Jamie's sleep has settled for u.. Ollie sometimes sleeps for really long periods and it freaks me out. I have to go n check him. Hope he is settled for u now.. I'm with u on the warmer days it's nice to be able to get out and about. X

Just having 5 with ollie asleep on my knee.. Sure won't last long, Lost another 1lb this am at slimming world then came home and are chocolate .. Better try and walk it off later !

 

[Literati_Love]

VRogers - thank you re: the weight loss. Oddly enough, I didn't even really have any Easter candy! We never bought any for our house (otherwise I am sure I would have devoured it) and there was only candy around for the kids, so I didn't really get any. It's actually a shame because I LOVE Easter candy! I am sure I can steal some from dd1's Easter basket yet.

What an adorable picture of L! Thanks for sharing. That's great she is getting really vocal. Violet is constantly 'talking' to us and it is so cute.
That's amazing she sleeps so well at night. I wouldn't personally obsess over the crib naps for naps, but if that would make your life easier, I hope you are able to get her to do better in the cribs for naps soon. My guess since she sleeps so well at night is that she will eventually handle napping without you no problem, but it might take longer. Nap sleep is different than nighttime sleep, and it is common to be able to do different things for nighttime sleep than day sleep since day sleep is lighter I think. TBH I doubt Violet will ever nap in her crib or bassinet until she's over 1 and then I will put her on a mattress on the floor as well.

Apple - I am sorry your teenager is being bullied. That's horrible! Sorry Ollie is getting quite clingy as well. That's tough. Well done losing another pound.

Ally - I am glad things are going well with formula during the day. You did a stellar job BFing through all those difficulties with mastitis. Hopefully naps will improve soon. I hope you enjoyed your coffee with friends.


Ali - I think I forgot to comment on your picture, but that picture of T is adorable! Thanks for posting.

AFM - not much going on today. Feeling large and flabby after Easter weekend. Took V to the dr today and she is healing well and we don't have to keep bandaging up her foot. I am now at my parents' house because my mom gets Easter Monday off work as well so she invited us for lunch, and currently I am sitting with sleeping Violet while dd1 hangs out with my mom.

 

[pompeyvix]

LL - sounds like the Easter day visiting in laws was quite full on and not particularly relaxing for you. I hope today at your mum's was better? And I hope your parents didn't over stimulate V too much?
Well done on the weight and inch loss!
Glad V's toes are getting better!

Apple - so sorry to hear your teenager is being bullied. That is one of worst nightmares for Anabella or Jamie How is the school? Are they or will they do much to stop it? well done on losing at sw

vrogers - Wow, Lillian is such a great night time sleeper, you are very lucky! I am so pleased for you that the pumping you are doing seems to be working and you are getting a small stash together. If you keep it up, I am sure you will continue to get more .
Jamie is the same in the sense he settles quickly and easily in his cot at night time for sleep, I don't have to do anything. But during the day if we are home, I struggle to get him to sleep unless he is on me. We are out a lot though and in that case he sleeps very well in the sling or carry cot. I think it is pretty normal for them to be like that.

Ally - I hope the new routine goes well from tomorrow. I am glad his reflux is so much better, that must be such a relief! Sounds like he likes the formula. So are you still breastfeeding at night?

Ali - sorry you have a lot going on at the moment and you're struggling mentally I know how tough it is to have so much on your mind. I have big issues with my mum which I don't really post about on here, but it's always on my mind and very draining and worrying.
The pic of T is absolutely gorgeous!

AFM - Had a lovely Easter weekend. It's mainly been filled full of fun things for Anabella, but Jamie seems to have been pretty content tagging along! Friday we went to a local country club for Easter Egg hunts, music and dancing. We then went for a meal and had a walk along the beach. Saturday was a nothing day really, yesterday we visited my family and today I met a friend at a National Trust place called Kingston Lacy and we all done their Easter trail. It's been pretty nice