TTC #2 Cycle Day 1 7/16/13

[Sarah lo]

Lol yeah I was a bit scared to answer your Facebook message in case people wondered who I was too, kyles

Wesley does feed pretty much every time he wakes up but possibly just because its the easiest way to settle him. I reckon I probably could settle him without a feed but it would take twice as long to do it,and I just don't have it in me to try. I've seen a slight improvement in the last 2 nights, last night he was only up 5 times (3 of which were before midnight but one of those 3 times he just needed resettling because I'd put him down too soon and he'd woken straight back up!), and tonight, he's only just woken up for his first feed of the night and it's 11:10. He's normally already been up twice by now. so I have a glimmer of hope that we might just be coming out the other side of this sleep regression (or at least over the hump now, having hit rock bottom two nights ago with his "night of six times")

Thats lovely you got some time off, saz. I don't know about you but just recently I've finally started to feel normal again, like I've finally got the desire to get up and do things again. Even though wes isn't sleeping I still feel as though I could go out and enjoy myself at last. I've actually got plans to go out with the girls for Halloween, clubbing and everything! Wesley was fine on his formula last week so I'm going to leave DH a few bottles and let him fend for himself for a night, its about time he did a night shift anyway!

Aww, its hard giving up breastfeeding I think I will have trouble letting go too when the time comes.

That's brilliant Leo is sitting up now, bless him! Wesley is nowhere near sitting yet, he still doesn't even roll. I know he can because he's done it before but he chooses not too. I think he's just lazy if I sit him up he just slowly falls forward until he face plants the floor that's fantastic that Lucas is well on his way to sitting and rolling too, kyles

Weaning is going great, although I'm lacking in ideas for what to give him. What sort of things to you give Leo?

Oh kyles, don't feel bad about breastfeeding you did your best and I think with everything thats been going on with little Lucas it would have caused you so much added stress. At least you know he's feeding well and gaining weight etc. There's nothing worse than worrying about how much they're drinking and actually having no clue how much they've had.

So sorry you're all I'll I hope you're feeling better soon

 

[SazzleR]

Just don't seem have a minute to check the forums these days. I always seem to be rushing to get things done or to be somewhere. Life is hectic since Rex started school. I'm not complaining though. I'd much rather be busy & not struggling for ideas of how to fill our days. The weeks are flying by!

In terms of weaning, Sarah, we're still just on mixes of different fruits & veggies & baby rice. Planning to start with some porridge for brekky once he hits 6 months. Going to make some protein meals like chicken casserole next week while DH is off work. I'm also planning to start him with some finger food next week. He's certainly wanting it! I noticed a pick of Wesley with toast & banana on FB. Have you switched to BLW now?

Did Wesley's sleep continue to get better last week? Hope so! How's he doing now? Leo STTN on Friday night But it was a one off The past 2 nights have been pretty bad again cos he's all snotty due to teething Just when you think you've cracked it, something else pops up

I had a stay & play session at Rex's school yesterday with a teacher meeting. I'm so proud of him He's polite, confident, does everything that's asked of him, sociable & has settled really well. Proud mummy

 

[Sarah lo]

Tell me about it. I've been so busy lately too!

Nah we haven't switched to BLW, he still gets his purees for brekkie and dinner but the HV suggested starting him on some lunch too to see if it helped with his sleep. I honestly don't think his bad sleep is a hunger thing though so instead of forcing more food into him, I've decided to introduce lunch as purely finger food for him to play about with and then anything that goes in is a bonus he's actually really good at feeding himself, yesterday he ate that whole slice of toast except for a bit of the crust, he liked the banana but kept gagging on it and in the end i crapped myself and took it off him another reason why I couldn't manage to do BLW! He had some sliced chicken the other day too! I know he shouldn't really because he's not quite 6 months but I'm struggling to think of things to give him. So I thought sod it he can have a bit of bread and meat, it won't kill him to have it a week early! Haven't dared try any dairy yet like!

Sleep did improve last week, he was down to only 2 wake ups per night but we put him in his own room at the weekend and last night it was cold and he woke up loads again DH forgot to mention that the radiator doesn't work in his bedroom and now he's stuck in there

Aww bless Rex, I bet you're so proud!

Well as you saw, Olivia's broken her arm. Gutted. We've had to cancel her swimming lessons and she won't be able to go to her friend's birthday party on Saturday. She's been really milking it too, getting us to feed her and pull her pants down for the toilet, yet she can still climb up and get a biscuit out of the tin on the kitchen worktop when she wants to. Little monkey!

 

[kylesmom]

Oh Sarah so sorry about Olivia that is so heartbreaking.. She sure is milking it it seems
Don't worry she will be using it in no time! It takes a bit to get used to but they learn to use it

Saz I agree the forum is very hard to keep up with. That is why i am thankful i have you as my FB friends Can keep up easier on there.

I have been extremely busy with both jobs and kids! And now i have to throw an 85th bday party for my hubbys grandmother. Plus planning Kyle's birthday party and Lucas' christening OYE i am BEAT!

However a positive note Lucas sleeps through the night.

I had a feeling the night time feedings shouldn't keep going on at this stage.
So i started to give him a pacifier to sooth himself. IT WORKED!

Yesterday he didn't eat from 8pm-8am and then last night he didn't eat from 7:45 till 7am!

WINNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This child is doing great It's like riding a bike to figure all this baby stuff out again LOL

When we eat Lucas stares at my food haha it is so funny. I think he is still to young for solids..

When did you start your babies on solids? I figure when he can 100% support himself sitting thats when we will start them.

 

[Sarah lo]

wow, kyles you never cease to amaze me how hard you work! what are your plans for Kyle's birthday and Lucas' christening?

that's fantastic Lucas is doing so well. i really wouldn't worry about him going all night without milk. he's big enough now and if he's happy to sleep i'd let him sleep!

i've started a little bit of gentle sleep training with Wesley tonight as i've just come to the end of my rope with him i'm absolutely certain he's not waking due to hunger and i don't think it's a problem with the room temperature as i've played about with the amount of layers he wears enough now. i'm now convinced he is waking at the end of each sleep cycle and not able to go back to sleep without my help. i'm thinking that if i can get him self-settling he might be able to put himself back to sleep when he wakes in the night. i know he's capable of self-settling because he's done it by accident many times. so i've invented my own sleep training method - no crying, i feed him, take him upstairs, rock him till sleepy then put him down in his cot and sush him while i rub his tummy till he falls asleep. it worked tonight! i'm going to keep doing it every night but eventually i won't do the tummy rubs, i'll just sush him and then gradually retreat to the door so that in the end i'm (hopefully!) putting him down awake and leaving him to it! i really hope it works, i'm not willing to do anything involving crying when he has his heart problem

wesley started weaning the week before he turned 5 months. i took him to get weighed and his weight was starting to drop below his percentile line on the graph and i was telling the health visitor about how he was waking 5 times a night so she advised me to start him off on solids. i'm so glad we did because he was so ready for it! he's now polishing off 2 meals a day plus finger food at lunch time and he's still not quite 6 months. there's no way we could have waited till 6 months to start, it would have been cruel to make him wait!

we had to take olivia to the fracture clinic so the doctor could check her arm today. he said its just a "greenstick?" fracture and he said she only has to keep the pot on her arm for 3 weeks which is really great news, i thought 4-6 weeks. you won't believe this but just 2 days after olivia breaks her arm, and i think i've broken my toe! what a pair we are! i put Wesley down for his nap in his pram this morning, and parked him up in the hallway. Then the bloody phone started ringing right beside him so i ran to get it, caught my foot on wesley's feeding pillow and bent my big toe right under me. it hurts like absolute holy hell i'm such an idiot. worst thing was he woke up like 5 minutes later anyway

 

[SazzleR]

Oh gosh, Sarah, yes I saw poor Olivia's arm Great news that the pot won't be on all that long. So funny that she's milkinh it They are sneaky, these toddlers! Ouch to your toe! They don't do much for broken toes either Hope it feels better tomorrow.

Kyles, you are no longer welcome here with your 3 month old that STTN!! very jealous! Leo is hit & miss with his night feeds now. Some nights he has one, some nights he doesn't. He'll only have about 5oz when he does have one so I don't think he really needs it tbh. But sometimes he just won't settle without.

Sarah, your sleep training sounds great. I have to go back to Leo every night after he's been down 30 mins to help him into the next cycle. I think its is he's over tired cos he usually doesn't nap after about 2.30/3 these days. The odd days he has a late nap have been the only days he doesn't wake. It's very frustrating cos he can settle himself at all other times in the night Let us know how the training goes won't you.

Leo was just coming up to 20 weeks when we started weaning. We've done it really slowly though. He's only had 3 'meals' a day for the past couple of weeks.

I had Leo weighed today. Formula is clearly helping him to beef up!! He's 18lb 6oz now! Although he had just downed a 7oz bottle before weigh in so that would put him at just under 18lb really. He's gone up to the 75th centile, which is where he was at birth, but then he settled on the 50th after all his weight loss. She asked how much formula he was having etc. & couldn't see any issues so now I can't help thinking I just didn't have the supply when BF & was starving him

 

[kylesmom]

Ouch to the big to Sarah that sounds so painful!! Saz is right they won't do a thing about it :/
Hooray for a very good eater!!! At 5months and eating solids. That's awesome!
Great news that Olivia will only need the (pot) we call that a (cast) here. For 3 weeks. That is awesome news!!!
Keep up on the sleep training! It will work (eventually) i hope sooner than later

Saz don't feel bad about the breast feeding. He is healthy. You did all you could with breast feeding and you were not starving him. Formula is sooooooo fattening. Lucas is easily 16lbs now and ONLY 3 months. That's all due to formula. It beefs them up really quick!!!

I am still amazed Lucas sleeps through the night. We do go in about once or twice throughout the night to give him the pacifier to settle him down again.

Can you believe it! I have a thumb sucker! GRRRRRRRR This child REFUSES to take the pacifier and sucks his thumb instead!!!! It's soooooooooo cute but soooooooo frustrating lol

We are having Kyle's birthday party at Chucke Cheese. It's a place where there are tons of games to play for kids.

Lucas' christening will be very small and probably just do a luncheon at a nice restaurant.

 

[Sarah lo]

Aww saz, your BM wasn't starving him, it's like kyles says, formula is good for feeding them up I'm a tiny bit jealous that you're able to switch to formula and have a bit of freedom to be honest. Wesley's tummy reacted to the formula again this week, it seems he's okay to have the odd bottle but if he gets one every day it will give him diarrhoea. So I guess I'm stuck BF for a while longer. Sigh...

well the sleep training went really well the first night, he was only up twice all night! last night, not so great though. He went down fine at 7pm but was up again at 9 and every time I got him back off to sleep by shushing and tummy rubbing he woke up 5 minutes later. I eventually gave up and fed him to sleep but he was still in my bed by midnight. It was really cold in his room last night though. I need his bedroom radiator fixing ASAP!

I can't believe how much your boys weigh, Wesley was 14lb 14oz when he got weighed this week! He's teeny tiny he's in proportion though so I'm not worried. He'sactually just starting to creep back up above his 9th percentile line now since starting weaning. I'm actually finding that he's preferring his finger foods to me feeding him. He sits happily for ages if I give him something to chomp on but gets grumpy when I try to spoon feed him this morning he had strawberries and rice cakes and at lunch time he had a whole rusk!

Kyles don't worry about the thumb sucking, at least he'll never drop his thumb and lose it a million times a night and need it replacing I saw your FB pic of him sucking his thumb, adorable!

The party and christening sound lovely

 

[SazzleR]

The thumb sucking pic was adorable, Kyles, I agree with Sarah

I have to say, Sarah, I'm loving the freedom of not BF This week I've been to the gym twice once both boys were in bed & went to the cinema with my friend! That's more than I've done in the last 6 months out together I think! But the downside of not BF.... AF reared her ugly head again this morning. Although I knew she was due (had EWCM the weekend before last), it was still a shock to wipe & see bright red blood!! Now I'm done with having babies, I feel like my periods should just go away now I don't need them anymore!!

I'm planning to start Leo with some finger foods next week. Just some slightly cooked veg & ripe fruit first cos I scared to try anything else tbh I'm sure he'll be fine but I'll start slow.

Leo is 6 months old today. How is he half a year old already?! How has that happened?! I still think of him as a tiny baby then I see him sat there playing & I'm like 'woah, slow down' Cos he's my last, I want him to stay a baby forever.

Rex has an INSET day today & it's so lovely to not have a school run to do! We're having a day at home which is seriously rare. Currently I'm sat on the sofa with Leo asleep on me while I catch up on some tele & Rex snuggled up next to me watching Netflix on his iPad

 

[Sarah lo]

Oh no Saz, as if AF came back already! That was quick. I know what you mean a out not seeing the point to having them now that you're done with having kids. I spent probably the last 5 or 6 years refusing to use any form of birth control that could possibly result in delayed fertility but now that I actually don't want to have any more in a bit lost. I'm still not on anything (just using condoms on the very rare occasion that DH and I actually have the time or the energy to do anything ) when I do getaround to it, I think I will go for the coil as everything else either gives me migraines or makes me fat! (Fatter)

That's great you've finally had some time to yourself I'm meant to be going out with the girls next weekend and DH is taking over the night shift!

I'm sure Leo will surprise you with his finger foods, Wesley certainly did with me. I only gave him some bread to keep him amused one day and he ate the lot, so we were away after that. He ate 2 cheese spread sandwiches yesterday apart from the crusts

I absolutely cannot believe the boys are half a year old this week! It has flown by hasn't it! I still think of Wesley as a newborn too. I have 2 really close friends who are both due to have their babies in the next few weeks and it's going to come as a shock to me seeing these tiny babies compared to my big boy!

I hope you enjoyed your day off with Rex on Friday is he off preschool all next week too? Olivia is. Not that i have to think of things to do with her, my schedule is jam packed next week! We're going to a sing along thing at the kids centre tomorrow, getting the train to York to meet some colleagues on Tuesday, seeing grandma on wed, Thursday is a free day and then we've got Halloween on Friday! I'm throwing a Halloween party for Olivia and 3 of her little friends this year, it's going to be pirate themed, with a treasure hunt!

 

[Sarah lo]

Oh I forgot to mention, the sleep training is going fantastically I can now put him down awake and he's asleep in seconds, still by rubbing his tummy but don't mind that. Last night he went down at 7:00, woke up about 20 minutes later but just needed a quick tummy rub to get him back to sleep but then he slept til 1:30! Then slept again till 4:00 and was up for the day at 7:00. I can so live with that

 

[SazzleR]

Yay for better sleep, Sarah! Wesley is doing fantastic with his finger food Will let you know how Leo gets on. Eeeeeek!

I've been considering the coil too. Hormonal contraception always increases my appetite & that's not what I need when doing Weight Watchers I had the implant before TTC Rex but didn't bother with anything like the pill inbetween the boys as didn't want to delay fertility, like you say. The coil seems nice & long term! Just what I need! I have been looking into having my tubes tied as well. DH is really stubborn having the snip. He's a wimp!!

Yes, Rex is off this week as his pre-school is part of the infant school. But then I've got DH at home as well, obviously, so he can help to occupy him! We've got something planned everyday apart from today

Rex has his pre-school booster on Wednesday morning I'm dreading it At least with their baby ones & the 13 month one, they have no clue what's coming, cry for a bit but then are fine. I've had to tell him we're going & he got all upset saying he didn't want to go cos it'll hurt. I couldn't lie, I just said it will hurt but only for a very short time. I tried to compare it to when I had blood taken & the flu jab when pregnant as he always came to MW appointments with me & I reminded him how I didn't get upset. Making DH come too so it'll be a family outing! Poor Rex

 

[Sarah lo]

Getting tubes tied sounds scary! What's involved with that? My DH would never get the snip either

Oh poor Rex! you know, when Olivia has hers I'm tempted not to tell her. Like, I might just tell her she's getting a booster but maybe be a bit vague about what it is. She's a bit too much of a whimp to know the truth and still walk in there!

Wesley had a bit of a bad start to the night tonight, he was up 3 times before midnight and I thought we were going to have a bad night for sure, but then he's just slept 12:00 till 4:30 which ain't bad at all really. He had a huge nap late yesterday afternoon so maybe he wasn't tired at bedtime.

My best friend had her baby tonight! I'm very excited to meet him. Our older kids are already best friends although there's nearly a year between them, but there will be only 6 months between Wesley and her new baby so I have a feeling they're going to be really close friends

 

[SazzleR]

Can't believe I haven't posted in over a week! Half term was manic. Trips out everywhere & a lovely Halloween weekend at my mum & dad's. Rex it got really into Halloween this year which hasn't happened before. We're getting back to our usual little routine now. Today is the first time we've had a nice relaxed morning at home in forever it feels like.

Rex was great with his boosters, bless him. He screamed & cried after the first one that it hurt but he let the nurse do his second one & even had the flu nasal spray. He's been made up with cold for over a week now, poor little man I think he caught a cold from school then the vaccines have made it linger. It would probably help if he was getting a decent amount of sleep but he's not He's been getting up ridiculously early since the clock change. Like 4.30-5.30am early. Stupid early!! He's never been this badly affected by it before. God knows why this time has hit him hard. Leo adjusted in a day! Today was the first day he slept past 6.30 so I'm hoping he might be through it now. I hope so cos the early starts were really making me so tired

Leo is getting so much easier to keep happy in the day now he can sit & play He's also not been finishing all of his milk feeds so I think he might be ready to drop a bottle in the day. Will probably lose his mid morning one & offer a snack if he seems hungry. Starting some stage 2 stuff later in the week with some protein. Had a huge batch cooking session last week so have a few different things in the freezer to offer him. He's also been having some porridge too.

How's Wesley's sleep training going? Is he still sleeping well? Leo is up once in the night but the time still varies. Last night it was 3am, the night before, 5am. I don't think he's actually waking for a feed though. He only has 4oz or so but won't settle without that little bit, annoyingly.

 

[Sarah lo]

Oh last week was crazy busy for us too. We took Olivia bowling for the first time on Tuesday. The verdict: it was boring apparently. Great way to waste £30, thanks Olivia! Olivia really enjoyed Halloween this year too, I threw her a pirate theme party for her and a few friends with a treasure hunt and everything

Poor Rex, I hope he's feeling a bit better soon. Both of mine have coughs that they just can't shake too :

That's great Leo is being so happy in the day time. Wesley can just about sit up now but not for very long and i have to sit beside him the whole time. He gets really frustrated with it he's dropping feeds left right and centre too. Today he fed at 9: 0am and ddidn't feed again till 2:30pm! He gets porridge for brekkie, then a rusk mid-morning, finger food for lunch then a bowl of puree for dinner. He's been having meat for a few weeks now. I'm also tentatively introducing dairy now.

OMG the sleep training has made such a difference! 3 weeks ago he was waking 5-6 times a night. Last night he woke for a little feed at 9:30 and slept through till 5:30am! I actually got up at 3am and went to check he was on because he's never slept so long! He now doesn't like me to stand and rub his tummy to get him to sleep, I just put his white noise on and leave the room. He fusses for a few minutes then falls asleep!

 

[SazzleR]

I am officially the worst mummy in the world!!! Sent Rex off to school this aft as usual even though he said he wasn't feeling well, but like I said, he's had cold for over a week so just thought he was trying it on. Warned his teacher he wasn't 100%. I got a phone all at 2.40 (they finish at 3.15 so nearly the end of the day) to say he was asleep on the carpet!! Ooooops! Only ended up being there about 10 mins early cos Leo was just about to have his bottle when I got the call & then he poo'd I feel so guilty!!! We've been at the evening emergency doctor tonight & he has a throat infection & has 10 days worth of antibiotics. He could've had this for ages The weird thing is he's never once told me his throat hurts. Just his ears but that soon went off. Worst mummy ever!

Just hope Leo doesn't get it now

If Leo drops his mid morning bottle, he won't feed again til 2.30ish so I reckon they must be ok with such long gaps now they have breakfast & lunch in between.

Great to hear the sleep training has worked so well! Go Wesley!!

 

[Sarah lo]

oh no poor Rex you had no way of knowing though, saz if he didn't tell you, you're not a bad mummy at all I hope he feels better soon, bless him.

yeah i figured the babies are probably fine going so long between feeds now that they're on solids. its actually really nice getting such a long gap between feeds now, I feel like i can get about a lot more. yesterday we were out at the shops for 4 hours and when we went to the cafe instead of having to get a boob out in public i just gave him a rusk to keep him busy.

I actually give him rusks to eat a lot - that's something I was really anal about with Olivia because of the sugar content, rusks were the devil and i never allowed her to have them but really there's nothing wrong with the low sugar ones and they're fortified with vitamins that he's probably not getting from breast milk as my diet isn't really the best. its funny how much more relaxed you are the second time round

we had another great night last night, he went down wide awake and fell alelep all by himself, then slept until midnight, had a quick feed and then went back down till 6am! Oh and guess what, we have a tooth at last! it popped through a couple of days ago

 

[SazzleR]

I think his worst day illness wise was Tuesday. In all honesty, he probably could have gone to school yesterday but I thought is was best to keep him off. He's off back this afternoon but I've given play group a miss this morning. Don't want him spreding his germs even wider! It's school photos today so I want him there for that. Plus, we have a party on Sunday afternoon & I need to go buy a present which is much easier to do with just Leo!

I think you're right about being more relaxed with no. 2! I certainly am. With everything! Food, routine, hygiene. Poor Leo!

Yay for a tooth! Leo's first one is still not all the way up. It's just a mm or so up. Slowest teething ever! I don't know if things might be happening again with his teeth. The past 2 days we've had 4 or 5 poos a day & a sore bottom

Did you do anything for bonfire night? We just had fireworks (& a fire pit in lieu of a bonfire!) at the IL's. Leo was amazed by the fire & lights, bless him. Rex was in quite good spirits too considering he's ill. He's never been keen on fireworks though. He says the noise hurts his ears

 

[Sarah lo]

Sorry I haven't been on in ages, I've started to write a reply a couple of times over the last few days and then got called away or side-tracked

how is Rex doing? I hope he's all better now.

I think we have another tooth coming already, he's all pink in the face and he's gone back to waking loads in the night I've had to give him calpol a couple of times this week.

ah bonfire night! We had a right carry on that day. We're struggling to get Olivia ti go to bed at night again. Every night we get her into bed, she has her story and a drink and just as I'm about to leave her she starts kicking off wanting to go back downstairs. So the night before bonfire night DH told Olivia she couldn't go to the fireworks if She didn't go to bed. But she continued to tantrum until we brought her downstairs. So there was a huge hoo ha the next day as to whether she was going to be allowed to go. So after a whole day of being on her best behaviour we agreed to take her. We got all dressed up warm, set off walking, 2 minutes down the road she starts whining "mummy I don't want to go see fireworks" "I tired, i want to go to bed" so we turned around and went back home. We tried to watch them from olivia's bedroom window but she fell asleep waiting for them!

 

[SazzleR]

It's my turn to say sorry for not getting on now! I honestly don't know where my days go to. I'm always rushing from here to there or trying to get a meal down the boys

Rex is completely back to normal now, thanks for asking. So good to have my happy healthy boy back The antibiotics were a nightmare though

We got the proofs of his first school photos today. I love them! He looks so grown up & handsome. I'm seriously impressed that the photographer managed to get him to pose & smile. He certainly wouldn't do that for us! We're getting a CD of the ones we like so we can just get prints. Both sets of grandparents want some & I want to frame one (along with a piccy of Leo) for each of the boys' great grans for their Christmas pressies too. I tell you, this school lark is expensive! I always seem to be sending money in for something

Had Leo at the docs today. He's still been pooing like a gazillion times a day & his bum was just getting worse despite trying different creams. They told me the usual story 'just a virus' blah blah. But they sent a stool sample just to be sure. Got some nappy rash cream on prescription so hope that clears it up. He's got his 6-9 month assessment in a couple of weeks so I really hope he's not lost loads of weight with all the poos cos I don't want all the stress of weight loss again

Leo is changing so much at the minute. He's certainly not a little baby anymore. He's solidly sitting, so much so that we didn't bother with his bath seat tonight & he loved being able to play with Rex. I swear he was trying to pull himself up on the bath handles though I'm deffo not ready for that! He's also mastered going from sitting to being on his tummy in order to reach for things. I've really noticed him starting to pass things from one hand to the other and use his two hands together. And I've heard a few babbling sounds! It's madness how quickly he's growing up I daren't say it but in no time, I'll be back to work I seriously don't know how I'll find time to do my marking & planning and deal with both boys. Worried about that already!