I think T's either learned how to play me or is coming down with something.
He was unwell about 6 weeks ago...first signs? He just wanted to cuddle.
My son does not do cuddles, not when there are a million, billion, trillion more exciting things in the world.
He wanted to cuddle morning noon and night for about 3 days.
I had him down the doctors within about 5 hours of this. He wasn't hot, he wasn't crying, he was just quiet and cuddly. Turned out the poor boy had swollen tonsils and a bit of a chest infection, what a trooper.
This morning, he started doing the same, he just cuddled, cried if I put him down, then just snuggled right into me when I picked him up.
But then he perked back up after a few hours and was fine for the rest of the day.
When I'd initially taken him to the Drs I felt like a bit of a fraud, after all his symptoms were he's quiet and wants cuddles. Not the worse scenario in the world!
But as the Dr reassuringly said to me "only you know your baby, so regardless of his symptoms only you know if something's wrong, you did the right thing in bringing him here"
What wondeful advice!
So I'm hoping that he's back to normal tomorrow and just fancied a snuggly day today!
As for me, I've had a productive housewifey day, but not a good mentally stimulating day. I'm hoping to get some T free hours tomorrow to go and try and buy me some yummy mummy clothes with a friend tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Enter Sandman and Things That Shouldn't Be Talked About!!!
I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to use song titles as titles!
Well the OH said my blog was getting a bit stale so any suggestions as to how to spice it up would be more than welcome if I'm boring you!
The Enter Sandman title is brought about because T is doing nothing but sleep at the moment!
He's literally lasting no longer than an hour between naps, which I'm finding rather odd, the last 2 days have consisted of feed, play for half an hour, 15 minutes of whinging, 45 minutes of sleep, then repeat.
Apart from on an afternoon where he's trying to sleep for 3 hours +. I keep waking him up as I'm sure he's not supposed to be sleeping that long.
Bedtime routine has been established, bed now at 7pm, he's sleeping through to anywhere between half 2 and 5, then back to sleep till 6/6:30am.
So if anyone has any ideas on why he's sleeping so much they would be greatly appreciated!
Well I said in one of my previous blogs that I was considering sharing the physical effects after labour, and I've decided that I'm going to do that (anyone squeamish stop reading now!)
I think it's important to know what can happen, I didn't know the problems I would have.
I was extremely lucky in the fact that I didn't put any weight on throughout pregnancy, and lost 2 stone from the day I gave birth, and I didn't get one stretch mark. I don't know how I acheived that, I think regular badminton playing pre-pregnancy may have helped pull me back in shape very quickly, but I used no oils or anything to prevent stretch marks.
The one thing I've suffered with all my life are heavy periods. I mean stupidly heavy, but they were a breeze compared to what my first period, post labour, was like.
Nothing escaped the leaks, I leaked through 3 pads and onto my sofa, within an hour of changing them. I couldn't leave the house, I've never done so much washing in a week. The sofa thing was the worst though, I was so so so so SO embarrassed, I tried scrubbing it out before anyone found out and I was crying the whole time I was doing it.
I need not have feared the OH was so understanding and lovely, I had to sit on towels, sleep on towels, I felt like I was a baby myself!
Since then I've had 3 other periods and they are either ridiculously heavy still, or extremely painful, the only way I can describe it is that my womb feels swollen and tender, and the cramps are just contractions all over again, I literally have to breathe my way through them. I've spoken to the Dr, about testing me for Endometriosis, she's said it's too early to tell if it's just my body settling down since labour or if I've caused some damage through labour.
It's very hard for me to write all that because periods are another thing that shouldn't really be discussed, and because of the consequences of them I get upset very easily talking about them.
The other problem I had/have again is not something widely discussed, the wonders of piles.
Never had them before and mine randomly appeared 2 weeks after giving birth. A lot of people get them during pregnancy and they have my hugest sympathies.
The first time I had a, errrm bowel movement (let's stay professional, poo would just make me giggle, just like I randomly laughed at the word bum earlier, very childish!) with piles, I was in tears, I had it whilst everyone else was asleep (I'm a paranoid pooper, I try to go when everyone is asleep) the sheer pain of it left me in tears, unable to sleep, I was in agony for about 6 hours. I went to the Drs the next day who brutally shoved a finger up my bottom to check it was piles and made me cry, he gave me some cream with some aneasthetic in it.
This did not help, or if it did I dread to think how much it would have hurt!
The agonising pain (for those who've not had it, basically think about passing a knife through your bottom, a big big sharp one, and there's just as much blood!) lasted probably for about 3 months, but it's now eased a huge amount, still slightly sharp pain, but nothing I can't cope with. My GP said they should heal and go in their own time, and I'm hoping that's what's happening!
So that's that all out in the open, I'm going to run and hide in a corner under a blanket and rock with shame!
Drs appointment on Tuesday in regards to PND, so will be interesting to see what she says, seems as I've still not taken my anti-depressents, bet I get a slap on the wrist for that!
Well the OH said my blog was getting a bit stale so any suggestions as to how to spice it up would be more than welcome if I'm boring you!
The Enter Sandman title is brought about because T is doing nothing but sleep at the moment!
He's literally lasting no longer than an hour between naps, which I'm finding rather odd, the last 2 days have consisted of feed, play for half an hour, 15 minutes of whinging, 45 minutes of sleep, then repeat.
Apart from on an afternoon where he's trying to sleep for 3 hours +. I keep waking him up as I'm sure he's not supposed to be sleeping that long.
Bedtime routine has been established, bed now at 7pm, he's sleeping through to anywhere between half 2 and 5, then back to sleep till 6/6:30am.
So if anyone has any ideas on why he's sleeping so much they would be greatly appreciated!
Well I said in one of my previous blogs that I was considering sharing the physical effects after labour, and I've decided that I'm going to do that (anyone squeamish stop reading now!)
I think it's important to know what can happen, I didn't know the problems I would have.
I was extremely lucky in the fact that I didn't put any weight on throughout pregnancy, and lost 2 stone from the day I gave birth, and I didn't get one stretch mark. I don't know how I acheived that, I think regular badminton playing pre-pregnancy may have helped pull me back in shape very quickly, but I used no oils or anything to prevent stretch marks.
The one thing I've suffered with all my life are heavy periods. I mean stupidly heavy, but they were a breeze compared to what my first period, post labour, was like.
Nothing escaped the leaks, I leaked through 3 pads and onto my sofa, within an hour of changing them. I couldn't leave the house, I've never done so much washing in a week. The sofa thing was the worst though, I was so so so so SO embarrassed, I tried scrubbing it out before anyone found out and I was crying the whole time I was doing it.
I need not have feared the OH was so understanding and lovely, I had to sit on towels, sleep on towels, I felt like I was a baby myself!
Since then I've had 3 other periods and they are either ridiculously heavy still, or extremely painful, the only way I can describe it is that my womb feels swollen and tender, and the cramps are just contractions all over again, I literally have to breathe my way through them. I've spoken to the Dr, about testing me for Endometriosis, she's said it's too early to tell if it's just my body settling down since labour or if I've caused some damage through labour.
It's very hard for me to write all that because periods are another thing that shouldn't really be discussed, and because of the consequences of them I get upset very easily talking about them.
The other problem I had/have again is not something widely discussed, the wonders of piles.
Never had them before and mine randomly appeared 2 weeks after giving birth. A lot of people get them during pregnancy and they have my hugest sympathies.
The first time I had a, errrm bowel movement (let's stay professional, poo would just make me giggle, just like I randomly laughed at the word bum earlier, very childish!) with piles, I was in tears, I had it whilst everyone else was asleep (I'm a paranoid pooper, I try to go when everyone is asleep) the sheer pain of it left me in tears, unable to sleep, I was in agony for about 6 hours. I went to the Drs the next day who brutally shoved a finger up my bottom to check it was piles and made me cry, he gave me some cream with some aneasthetic in it.
This did not help, or if it did I dread to think how much it would have hurt!
The agonising pain (for those who've not had it, basically think about passing a knife through your bottom, a big big sharp one, and there's just as much blood!) lasted probably for about 3 months, but it's now eased a huge amount, still slightly sharp pain, but nothing I can't cope with. My GP said they should heal and go in their own time, and I'm hoping that's what's happening!
So that's that all out in the open, I'm going to run and hide in a corner under a blanket and rock with shame!
Drs appointment on Tuesday in regards to PND, so will be interesting to see what she says, seems as I've still not taken my anti-depressents, bet I get a slap on the wrist for that!
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
And the Next Milestone is....and Spongebob related issues!
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| Ta Daaaaa! |
Toby can sit unsupported!
Age for this milestone, 18 weeks and 3 days. Clever boy!
Well after the horrendous nights of last week, T astounded us by sleeping 8 - 6:30am on Sunday night!
Awesome.
He woke at half 4 this morning.
But his sleep's getting longer and less disturbed, so my next recommendation is a Gro-Bag!
Keeps them lovely and snug without having to worry about suffocation!
The only other development has been that T now has a new addiction, he cries when it's gone if only for a second, will stop eating for it, squeals with excitement for the whole time he can see it. The addiction?:
Nickelodean is showing it from 7am - 5pm. There's no excuse!
The OH has taken to recording them should we ever (shock horror) not be able to find it on the telly and T need his fix.
The Daughter (17) is also a fan, so I can quite happily leave them both to it to sit and watch and giggle and squeal together, whilst I go and get on with more pressing issues.
However whilst doing whatever I escape from the telly to do, I can feel the urge to hum getting stronger and stronger, then it randomly bursts out " whooooooooo, who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS" which gets worse as that's the only part I know and I just repeat the line over and over again.
On my viewing of Spongebob I've come up with the pros and cons of allowing him to watch it, should his life become influenced by it.
Pros:
Spongebob has a great work ethic, he loves his job and merrily skips off to work each day.
Spongebob is a very lovely person (sponge?), he's nice to everyone.
Cons:
Spongebobs a bit of an idiot, in one episode, the evil one (plancton) stole his squirrel friends skin and pretended to be her in order to get the secret receipe. Spongebob was completely oblivious to the fact that one of his supposed best friends had no eyes!
Spongebob is easily led. Another episode showed Spongebob and Patrick as they went to the 'carnival' which was in fact a collection of hooks from fisherman with pretty flies on them. Spongebob KNEW that he wasn't to go near them (Mr Krabb had told him how dangerous they were) and he went and played on them anyway cause Patrick said it was ok.
So I'm still wondering, will have to watch a few more before I make my decision!
Thursday, 17 February 2011
When to Stop Being Wonderwoman and Start Being Realistic!
My Facebook status says it all *Exhausted, approach with caution!*
I've had an horrendous night.
Put T down to sleep at about 8:30pm, he was awake again at 10:30pm. Brought him into the bedroom to give him cuddles, which he accepted and then started to doze off. I was concerned about him a bit so I decided to bring him back into our room for the night, so I had to wake both him and the OH half up whilst I transferred all the baby monitor and stuff back into our room.
Tried to cuddle T back to sleep again but he was having none of it, so had to give him a feed. Got him to sleep about midnight, then had to get up and make another bottle should he wake up for another feed.
Think I got to sleep about 1am. T woke up for a feed at 3:30am, fed him, both back to sleep for 4am. T woke up again at 6:30am, OH got up to get his feed and everything ready, but left T in his basket whilst he did that, so as he was shouting and bawling I had to get up to try and keep him calm whilst we waited for the OH to get sorted.
Then OH went to work at 7:30am and I had to get up.
I'm so tired I could just sob.
I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, and feel a lot worse today. Am all stressed out as The Daughter has just recovered from 4 days of the worst lurgy I've seen in a long time, and I'm panicing that I'm coming down with it.
I say panicing because if I'm poorly, it messes so many things up, OH would have to do night feeds, which means he would be exhausted for work, and The Daughter would have to look after T during the day, or OH would have to take an unpaid day off.
Not ideal.
So I'm sat here wondering what's best to do.
T has just gone down for a nap, and as much as research suggests that the mum sleeps whilst baby does, it just isn't that simple. If you're tired and grumpy and try and go to sleep when baby goes down you can guarantee that by the time you wind down enough to get to sleep, just as the feeling of sleep washes over you, baby will then wake up. Which makes you even more tired and a hell of a lot more grumpy!
So I decided a few weeks back that that wasn't the best idea.
But what do I do about today?
The problem I've got is I hate asking for help, I hate the idea of palming baby off on other people, as it was my choice to give birth and therefore he's my responsibilty! (I know that's not the best logic in the world but that's the way I'm programmed!) We've had so many offers from my family for T to stay over with them so I can get a nights sleep, but what's the point?! Why should they have to suffer getting up in the night, they don't have a baby at the moment for a reason! Plus if I have a full nights sleep, that only tides me over till the next time I have a double/triple night feed! Also I have this problem where I feel that if I ask for help it means I'm a bad mother and I can't cope. (I know this isn't the case but you can't help what you think/feel)
I could ask my mum to take him for the day until the OH gets home, but she's got a dicky back and if she needs to get out and about lugging T and his car seat in and out of the car won't do her any good.
So I think I've established I need someone to do something for today, I just wish I knew who and what!?
I need to get realistic, when I'm tired I can feel the PND creeping back and that's definitely not what I want, so I need to set some goals and get a grip. I've got enough things going on in my life to amuse me for the day, wedding planning; helping promote the parents business; housework etc. If I can get through till 6pm tonight then I can sleep when the OH gets home.
Not the cheeriest of blogs, I do apologise, but it is a blog about everything to do with being a first time mum and I'm sure plenty of others have days like this!
I've had an horrendous night.
Put T down to sleep at about 8:30pm, he was awake again at 10:30pm. Brought him into the bedroom to give him cuddles, which he accepted and then started to doze off. I was concerned about him a bit so I decided to bring him back into our room for the night, so I had to wake both him and the OH half up whilst I transferred all the baby monitor and stuff back into our room.
Tried to cuddle T back to sleep again but he was having none of it, so had to give him a feed. Got him to sleep about midnight, then had to get up and make another bottle should he wake up for another feed.
Think I got to sleep about 1am. T woke up for a feed at 3:30am, fed him, both back to sleep for 4am. T woke up again at 6:30am, OH got up to get his feed and everything ready, but left T in his basket whilst he did that, so as he was shouting and bawling I had to get up to try and keep him calm whilst we waited for the OH to get sorted.
Then OH went to work at 7:30am and I had to get up.
I'm so tired I could just sob.
I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, and feel a lot worse today. Am all stressed out as The Daughter has just recovered from 4 days of the worst lurgy I've seen in a long time, and I'm panicing that I'm coming down with it.
I say panicing because if I'm poorly, it messes so many things up, OH would have to do night feeds, which means he would be exhausted for work, and The Daughter would have to look after T during the day, or OH would have to take an unpaid day off.
Not ideal.
So I'm sat here wondering what's best to do.
T has just gone down for a nap, and as much as research suggests that the mum sleeps whilst baby does, it just isn't that simple. If you're tired and grumpy and try and go to sleep when baby goes down you can guarantee that by the time you wind down enough to get to sleep, just as the feeling of sleep washes over you, baby will then wake up. Which makes you even more tired and a hell of a lot more grumpy!
So I decided a few weeks back that that wasn't the best idea.
But what do I do about today?
The problem I've got is I hate asking for help, I hate the idea of palming baby off on other people, as it was my choice to give birth and therefore he's my responsibilty! (I know that's not the best logic in the world but that's the way I'm programmed!) We've had so many offers from my family for T to stay over with them so I can get a nights sleep, but what's the point?! Why should they have to suffer getting up in the night, they don't have a baby at the moment for a reason! Plus if I have a full nights sleep, that only tides me over till the next time I have a double/triple night feed! Also I have this problem where I feel that if I ask for help it means I'm a bad mother and I can't cope. (I know this isn't the case but you can't help what you think/feel)
I could ask my mum to take him for the day until the OH gets home, but she's got a dicky back and if she needs to get out and about lugging T and his car seat in and out of the car won't do her any good.
So I think I've established I need someone to do something for today, I just wish I knew who and what!?
I need to get realistic, when I'm tired I can feel the PND creeping back and that's definitely not what I want, so I need to set some goals and get a grip. I've got enough things going on in my life to amuse me for the day, wedding planning; helping promote the parents business; housework etc. If I can get through till 6pm tonight then I can sleep when the OH gets home.
Not the cheeriest of blogs, I do apologise, but it is a blog about everything to do with being a first time mum and I'm sure plenty of others have days like this!
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Backwards Crawling and Potential Teething?!
Well it's definitely been an eventful day with T!
He seemed a bit grumpier than normal this morning, I think i've said before that he's a generally chilled out baby, if he cries, it's nothing that a nappy change/feed/nap won't solve. But today none of that worked, I had to do the good ol' dump him in his cot and walk away a few times.
Although for the 15 minutes I did get him to play on his GIANT new playmat, he discovered crawling....backwards! Very clever of him. He gets himself up into the crawling position then does some weird shuffle that just results in a reverse movement.
Must start childproofing house, must, must, must!
I'm gonna leave him on that mat for 2 minutes one morning and come back and he'll be gone, wedged under the couch or something!
Anyways back to the grumpiness;
He had BRIGHT red cheeks when I got him up this morning, like someone had painted them on.
On closer inspection they weren't just red, they were very dry and almost scaly looking, he had a bit of a rash on his chin, but with the amount he's drooling I'm not overly surpised.
So the grumpiness carried on throughout the day, then about 3 hours ago, he went from grumpy, to 'oh god won't someone please shut him up'! So we gave him some calpol and some bonjella, followed by about 7 spoons of bolognese and half a bottle of milk.
I posted on facebook a request for information on his symptoms, a lot of friends commented saying it sounded like he was teething, it could be eczema, it could be eczema because he's teething!
So that soothed me a little bit, but as I was giving him a pre bedtime routine cuddle, I noticed he was rather hot, so we took his temperature (normal) so I stripped him off; smiley happy boy again! Ta daaa!
But as I was scruitinising him in a different light I noticed that he has a skin coloured rash all over his face, his normally smooth skin is now like braille?! But he was still happy and smiley so not too concerned.
Was going to bring him back into our room tonight but decided not to, if i'm concerned when I do his ridiculous o'clock feed then i'll bring him in.
So silence reigns over the house as he's been put down for the night.
Fingers crossed I get my smiley boy back tomorrow!
He seemed a bit grumpier than normal this morning, I think i've said before that he's a generally chilled out baby, if he cries, it's nothing that a nappy change/feed/nap won't solve. But today none of that worked, I had to do the good ol' dump him in his cot and walk away a few times.
Although for the 15 minutes I did get him to play on his GIANT new playmat, he discovered crawling....backwards! Very clever of him. He gets himself up into the crawling position then does some weird shuffle that just results in a reverse movement.
Must start childproofing house, must, must, must!
I'm gonna leave him on that mat for 2 minutes one morning and come back and he'll be gone, wedged under the couch or something!
Anyways back to the grumpiness;
He had BRIGHT red cheeks when I got him up this morning, like someone had painted them on.
On closer inspection they weren't just red, they were very dry and almost scaly looking, he had a bit of a rash on his chin, but with the amount he's drooling I'm not overly surpised.
So the grumpiness carried on throughout the day, then about 3 hours ago, he went from grumpy, to 'oh god won't someone please shut him up'! So we gave him some calpol and some bonjella, followed by about 7 spoons of bolognese and half a bottle of milk.
I posted on facebook a request for information on his symptoms, a lot of friends commented saying it sounded like he was teething, it could be eczema, it could be eczema because he's teething!
So that soothed me a little bit, but as I was giving him a pre bedtime routine cuddle, I noticed he was rather hot, so we took his temperature (normal) so I stripped him off; smiley happy boy again! Ta daaa!
But as I was scruitinising him in a different light I noticed that he has a skin coloured rash all over his face, his normally smooth skin is now like braille?! But he was still happy and smiley so not too concerned.
Was going to bring him back into our room tonight but decided not to, if i'm concerned when I do his ridiculous o'clock feed then i'll bring him in.
So silence reigns over the house as he's been put down for the night.
Fingers crossed I get my smiley boy back tomorrow!
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| Teething chomp?! |
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
I diiiiddd iiiiiiit!
Took the 'it's now or never attitude' towards it, nearly talked myself out of it a few times.
But essentially...
T spent the night in his own cot...in his own room...! Yay.
I did have a bit of a wobbly lip as I put him down in there.
It was so sad going to bed and having the empty moses basket still next to my bed, need that moving, almost makes me feel like he's died, very strange.
Equally as strange was having no lights on in the bedroom when we went to sleep. Had a night light on since the day he was born, it was all daaaark!
He went to bed about 9pm, slept through till half 2, when he did wake me up over the baby monitor (I was convinced that I wouldn't hear him!) Was very confused when I was getting up, but plonked down in the rocking chair and fed him, it was lovely.
Popped him back in his cot, and went back to bed, we both slept till 7am, hoorah.
So just a little update to let you all know that I didnt chicken out.
Also here's how weaning's going:
Then he got cocky...
Rather big mess followed this, was very amusing though!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Weaning and the Dreaded Cot Move
Ok so, so far, tonight is the night *dahn dahn daaaahn*
I am going to be a brave mammy and just get this over with!
The little terror has started doing double night feeds again, he gives me a few nights of sleeping through till 6:30am, then messes with me by doing half 1 and half 6.
 |
| Ok so he was only 2 months old in this pic, but he's so tiny in his huge cot :( |
But he seems a lot more at peace in his cot than in his basket, he'll happily lay there and look around for up to an hour when he wakes up from a nap!
So fingers crossed and toes crossed please!
My biggest fear is that the baby monitor doesn't wake me up for whatever reason...or it switches itself off.
But on the positive side it'll be kinda nice to get our bedroom back and it'll be good for T to have his own space.
Weaning's going well, had to stop feeding him food last night, he had about 7 tsps, according to the weaning guides he should only be on 1 :S but if he wants it and he's managing to eat and swallow well then I don't see too much of an issue?!
So just thought I would do a quick update, got to go and get ready now, as me and the OH are going out for a 3 course Valentines meal (ooh la la) Grandma and Granddad are looking after T, and also The Daughter as she's a bit poorly sick.
Hopefully we'll have a lovely time out, and I can report my success tomorrow with the cot move!
Happy Valentines Day everyone.
Saturday, 12 February 2011
Weaning and Weddings!
Well not a huge amount to report on the T front.
He's started on his baby food, and although it says to just give him a little tiny bit, T has other plans. As soon as the food's on the spoon his mouth opens soooo wide, then he just face dives into the spoon.
So essentially the weaning step by step guide has pretty much gone out of the window! So he's so far consumed, creamy chicken, roast dinner and porridge for breakfast this morning!
Cot countdown, is maximum of 3 days. :( I'll miss all the snuffling and him peeking over the top of his basket to see what we're doing though!
Have a marvellous new routine at the moment though. Putting him to bed at 7pm, waking him at 10pm for a feed, putting him back down again and he's sleeping through till half past 6, which is wonderful! Plus means the OH can do that feed as he gets up at 7am for work! Marvellous for mammy.
Measured and weighed him the other day (ourselves as clinic is rubbish, also he wasn't measured when he was born so I couldn't tell you how much he's grown since birth) So T is 66cms long and weighs 16lbs 4oz, I looked this up and he's the perfect weight for his height, however he is well big for his age, off the chart!
Had a busy few days in regards to the wedding though.
I thought I would explain how I've done everything, as I don't understand why everyone spends 6k + on their weddings, maybe they don't realise what you can get on the high street!
I'm attempting to do 2 weddings on a 3k budget, and I'm doing very well. The reason for the 2 weddings is we can only fit 34 people into the registry office, so we're doing a vow renewal the following week.
So we have the 3 suits we needed, the men were clearly over confident about their waist sizes (or Marks and Spencers a bit stingy) so need to take all the trousers back to swap for bigger sizes. So £140 for all 3 suits!
The flowers have been sorted, i'm using silk ones (much easier in my eyes) £80 for a bridal bouquet, 7 bridesmaids bouquets and 6 buttonholes. Thanks to a lovely helpful lady on ebay!
My 2 dresses:
Dress 1 was £120 for a beautiful classic simple ivory dress made to measure from a local bridal shop in Stockton.
Dress 2: Was just good fortune, I have 2 close friends who own a bridal shop, they needed their loft boarding out so I pimped out the OH (a joiner by trade) and they knocked what they would have paid him off the price of the dress, ergo free dress!
Bridesmaids dresses: £130 (for 7) found 5 lovely classy long ones from a designer outlet store for the older bridesmaids and 2 short ones for my neices (the younger bridesmaids)
Pageboy suits: £52 (for 2) online, each consists of waistcoat, cravat, shirt and trousers.
Photographer: Again good fortune, I have a good friend who's a photographer, so is doing both weddings for £100!
So on top of those main bits, using local pub and local hotel for both receptions, both with food and DJ for £1000.
We're getting there slowly but surely!
Alongside all of this my parents have invented the Habitent, essentially an awning for the back of yachts, so I'm dealing with all the advertising and marketing for that for those fancying a nose:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Habitent/124828727585361
Twitter: @Habitent
So full time mother, trying to plan 2 weddings, be a housewife and market a new product and business., oh the days do fly!
Who knew I was such a good juggler!?
Also I'm expanding my social networking skills so:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yummy-Mummy-My-Journey-So-Far/179685445402400
Twitter: @rainbowbryte
He's started on his baby food, and although it says to just give him a little tiny bit, T has other plans. As soon as the food's on the spoon his mouth opens soooo wide, then he just face dives into the spoon.
So essentially the weaning step by step guide has pretty much gone out of the window! So he's so far consumed, creamy chicken, roast dinner and porridge for breakfast this morning!
Cot countdown, is maximum of 3 days. :( I'll miss all the snuffling and him peeking over the top of his basket to see what we're doing though!
Have a marvellous new routine at the moment though. Putting him to bed at 7pm, waking him at 10pm for a feed, putting him back down again and he's sleeping through till half past 6, which is wonderful! Plus means the OH can do that feed as he gets up at 7am for work! Marvellous for mammy.
Measured and weighed him the other day (ourselves as clinic is rubbish, also he wasn't measured when he was born so I couldn't tell you how much he's grown since birth) So T is 66cms long and weighs 16lbs 4oz, I looked this up and he's the perfect weight for his height, however he is well big for his age, off the chart!
Had a busy few days in regards to the wedding though.
I thought I would explain how I've done everything, as I don't understand why everyone spends 6k + on their weddings, maybe they don't realise what you can get on the high street!
I'm attempting to do 2 weddings on a 3k budget, and I'm doing very well. The reason for the 2 weddings is we can only fit 34 people into the registry office, so we're doing a vow renewal the following week.
So we have the 3 suits we needed, the men were clearly over confident about their waist sizes (or Marks and Spencers a bit stingy) so need to take all the trousers back to swap for bigger sizes. So £140 for all 3 suits!
The flowers have been sorted, i'm using silk ones (much easier in my eyes) £80 for a bridal bouquet, 7 bridesmaids bouquets and 6 buttonholes. Thanks to a lovely helpful lady on ebay!
My 2 dresses:
Dress 1 was £120 for a beautiful classic simple ivory dress made to measure from a local bridal shop in Stockton.
Dress 2: Was just good fortune, I have 2 close friends who own a bridal shop, they needed their loft boarding out so I pimped out the OH (a joiner by trade) and they knocked what they would have paid him off the price of the dress, ergo free dress!
Bridesmaids dresses: £130 (for 7) found 5 lovely classy long ones from a designer outlet store for the older bridesmaids and 2 short ones for my neices (the younger bridesmaids)
Pageboy suits: £52 (for 2) online, each consists of waistcoat, cravat, shirt and trousers.
Photographer: Again good fortune, I have a good friend who's a photographer, so is doing both weddings for £100!
So on top of those main bits, using local pub and local hotel for both receptions, both with food and DJ for £1000.
We're getting there slowly but surely!
Alongside all of this my parents have invented the Habitent, essentially an awning for the back of yachts, so I'm dealing with all the advertising and marketing for that for those fancying a nose:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Habitent/124828727585361
Twitter: @Habitent
So full time mother, trying to plan 2 weddings, be a housewife and market a new product and business., oh the days do fly!
Who knew I was such a good juggler!?
Also I'm expanding my social networking skills so:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yummy-Mummy-My-Journey-So-Far/179685445402400
Twitter: @rainbowbryte
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Why's and When's!
Well first and foremost i'm exhausted so bear with me on this one!
T did a double feed again last night half 1 and half 6. Thankfully my OH did the half 6 one as I was pooped!
Why's and when's; why is my baby crying and when is the right time to...
Every question a new mother must ask herself 100 times a day!
My why's and when's of the day are why is T crying?
He's normally a very chilled out baby, and crying is nothing that, a feed/nappy change/nap won't fix, rarely he cries for a cuddle. But there are times when none of those things will stop him, then what do you do?!
So I'm trying to fathom out his why for the day, when he woke for his half 1 feed, he didn't do his usual increasing whimper, he just did; eyes open, SCREAM. Very unlike him. Woke the whole house up (which makes me feel useless as I faff about trying to get milk sorted whilst trying to soothe him!) once he had his bottle inside of him he settled. Then the half 6 feed followed the normal routine.
He seemed fine throughout the day, and I decided to call some assistance from my best friend in making a homemade lasagna and cake for my OH just to show I love him (bork I know but I do these things occasionally) so had everything timed to perfection, OH came home, ran him a bath and stuck tea on whilst he was in. Then about 10 minutes before everything was due to be ready and everything needed prepping and dishing up, T threw a hissy fit. I'd left him in the front room with The Daughter, and she came through and handed him to me as she didn't know what to do. I did my usual attempts at soothing (making a shooshing noise followed by 7 rounds of Twinkle Twinkle) this was not effective and then the oven timer went off 'serve me serve me!' so palmed T off onto OH whilst I dished up, then fed T even though he wasn't due a feed for another hour. He gobbled 3/4's of his bottle then pushed it away with his mouth pursed and his 'i'm full now mother you may put the bottle down' face on.
Then came the when. The OH and I had a discussion and decided that maybe now was the time to start weaning him onto his baby food. They tell you the baby should be at least 17 weeks old before you start trying him on baby food (T is 16 weeks and 5 days) but to look for other signs that he's ready such as chewing his hands: done that for about a month, showing an interest in our food: again about a month, he's so curious he almost face dives into our plates, licking his lips: been doing that for about a week and that's about it. Although T has been watching us eat and now sits and chews nothing whilst we're eating. So we made a judegement call and decided to have a bash at it.
So in the handy booklet that appeared through the door at the beginning of the week (complete with free spoons and porridge!) it suggests that they have a teeny tiny bit off the end of a spoon and they will mess about with it and most likely spit it out, but it gets them used to the texture. Not T, he scoffed the lot, so we tried a little bit more, scoffed all that, all the while he was giggling his little ass off, obviously delighted that we'd picked up on all the signals he's been sending us.
I wonder now if we should have tried this earlier?!
So back to the why, not long after this milestone, T decided he was tired and went to bed at 7 (hooray we achieved it!) but we can hear that he's having little cries and screams in his sleep. Is he in pain? Is he having nightmares? How do we knooooow!? Back to the when; when he was about 7 weeks old I had to take him to the 24 hour Drs as he screamed for a full day, I had spotted a white lump on his gum and he was showing a few signs of teething, told the Dr this and she laughed at me and said it was far to early. But kindly gave us permission to give him Calpol.
Calpol; is the medicine of miracles. On the most occasions that we have given him it, he has slept through almost a full night. I checked later with my GP who told me a) Calpol doesn't make babies drowsy (I genuinely got concerned that I was drugging my child) if it's pain that's disturbing T's slumber then Calpol obviously removes that therefore enabling him to sleep peacefully and b) that the nasty lady Dr shouldn't have laughed at me, although his teeth may not be cutting, his gums are hardening in preparation and the bones in their mouths move causing them similar pains to cutting teeth. So I was right, HA!
Mothers know best is the cliche to become a new mums mantra, YOU know what your baby is like, YOU know his cries, so YOU know when there is a problem, NEVER feel ashamed of asking for help or feeling like a paranoid mother. I've learned that now.
So we shall carry on with the weaning tomorrow and hopefully T will be a happier boy in the morning!
T did a double feed again last night half 1 and half 6. Thankfully my OH did the half 6 one as I was pooped!
Why's and when's; why is my baby crying and when is the right time to...
Every question a new mother must ask herself 100 times a day!
My why's and when's of the day are why is T crying?
He's normally a very chilled out baby, and crying is nothing that, a feed/nappy change/nap won't fix, rarely he cries for a cuddle. But there are times when none of those things will stop him, then what do you do?!
So I'm trying to fathom out his why for the day, when he woke for his half 1 feed, he didn't do his usual increasing whimper, he just did; eyes open, SCREAM. Very unlike him. Woke the whole house up (which makes me feel useless as I faff about trying to get milk sorted whilst trying to soothe him!) once he had his bottle inside of him he settled. Then the half 6 feed followed the normal routine.
He seemed fine throughout the day, and I decided to call some assistance from my best friend in making a homemade lasagna and cake for my OH just to show I love him (bork I know but I do these things occasionally) so had everything timed to perfection, OH came home, ran him a bath and stuck tea on whilst he was in. Then about 10 minutes before everything was due to be ready and everything needed prepping and dishing up, T threw a hissy fit. I'd left him in the front room with The Daughter, and she came through and handed him to me as she didn't know what to do. I did my usual attempts at soothing (making a shooshing noise followed by 7 rounds of Twinkle Twinkle) this was not effective and then the oven timer went off 'serve me serve me!' so palmed T off onto OH whilst I dished up, then fed T even though he wasn't due a feed for another hour. He gobbled 3/4's of his bottle then pushed it away with his mouth pursed and his 'i'm full now mother you may put the bottle down' face on.
Then came the when. The OH and I had a discussion and decided that maybe now was the time to start weaning him onto his baby food. They tell you the baby should be at least 17 weeks old before you start trying him on baby food (T is 16 weeks and 5 days) but to look for other signs that he's ready such as chewing his hands: done that for about a month, showing an interest in our food: again about a month, he's so curious he almost face dives into our plates, licking his lips: been doing that for about a week and that's about it. Although T has been watching us eat and now sits and chews nothing whilst we're eating. So we made a judegement call and decided to have a bash at it.
So in the handy booklet that appeared through the door at the beginning of the week (complete with free spoons and porridge!) it suggests that they have a teeny tiny bit off the end of a spoon and they will mess about with it and most likely spit it out, but it gets them used to the texture. Not T, he scoffed the lot, so we tried a little bit more, scoffed all that, all the while he was giggling his little ass off, obviously delighted that we'd picked up on all the signals he's been sending us.
I wonder now if we should have tried this earlier?!
So back to the why, not long after this milestone, T decided he was tired and went to bed at 7 (hooray we achieved it!) but we can hear that he's having little cries and screams in his sleep. Is he in pain? Is he having nightmares? How do we knooooow!? Back to the when; when he was about 7 weeks old I had to take him to the 24 hour Drs as he screamed for a full day, I had spotted a white lump on his gum and he was showing a few signs of teething, told the Dr this and she laughed at me and said it was far to early. But kindly gave us permission to give him Calpol.
Calpol; is the medicine of miracles. On the most occasions that we have given him it, he has slept through almost a full night. I checked later with my GP who told me a) Calpol doesn't make babies drowsy (I genuinely got concerned that I was drugging my child) if it's pain that's disturbing T's slumber then Calpol obviously removes that therefore enabling him to sleep peacefully and b) that the nasty lady Dr shouldn't have laughed at me, although his teeth may not be cutting, his gums are hardening in preparation and the bones in their mouths move causing them similar pains to cutting teeth. So I was right, HA!
Mothers know best is the cliche to become a new mums mantra, YOU know what your baby is like, YOU know his cries, so YOU know when there is a problem, NEVER feel ashamed of asking for help or feeling like a paranoid mother. I've learned that now.
So we shall carry on with the weaning tomorrow and hopefully T will be a happier boy in the morning!
 |
| Sad baby :( |
Monday, 7 February 2011
Keep on Rolling baby
I had a choice of two titles for this blog, I went with keep on rolling (Limp Bizkit) rather than Proud Mary (Tina Turner) as Proud Mary goes from Tina Turner to the cast of Glee and then I get the urge to sing, ergo getting side tracked!
Well T has discovered rolling, aged 16 weeks and 2 days.
Was rather amusing.
We'd bought an end of carpet roll which we cut into metre squares to put on the floor so T can have his 'tummy time' as we have laminate flooring, and it's nigh on impossible to find any kind of play mat that doesn't slip and slide everywhere.
So he was spinning round in circles on his front which he's been doing for a while, then my OH walked out the room, and T did a lovely roll off the mat onto the laminate flooring....and screamed.
It does warn you that they give themselves a nasty shock when they do it, so I cheered and clapped then picked him up and gave him a big cuddle.
Then we got him to bed for about half 8 (woo its getting earlier) and when he awoke at 3am, he was cheekily smiling up at me, which was lovely till I realised he'd obviously rolled over as I'd put him onto his front. So I clapped and cheered again (although he may have thought I was cheering at him waking me up, which would be bad, as I don't know at what point between 11 and 3 he'd rolled over)
After I'd fed him I put him back down in his basket and laid down in bed, and I could hear all this grunting and huffing and puffing, with the occasional pair of eyes peering over the top at me, followed by a bum sticking up in the air. After about 20 minutes of his exertions, I put him onto his back as clearly thats where he wanted to be. Then ensued a further 20 minutes of arms and legs failing about and shouting as T told the animals on the side of his basket all about his adventures.
Then thankfully fell asleep.
Don't think it'll be long before he starts crawling, he can push himself up into the right position, he just hasn't figured the rest of it out yet, thankfully, think operation childproof everything will need to be started fairly quickly!!
Well T has discovered rolling, aged 16 weeks and 2 days.
Was rather amusing.
We'd bought an end of carpet roll which we cut into metre squares to put on the floor so T can have his 'tummy time' as we have laminate flooring, and it's nigh on impossible to find any kind of play mat that doesn't slip and slide everywhere.
So he was spinning round in circles on his front which he's been doing for a while, then my OH walked out the room, and T did a lovely roll off the mat onto the laminate flooring....and screamed.
It does warn you that they give themselves a nasty shock when they do it, so I cheered and clapped then picked him up and gave him a big cuddle.
Then we got him to bed for about half 8 (woo its getting earlier) and when he awoke at 3am, he was cheekily smiling up at me, which was lovely till I realised he'd obviously rolled over as I'd put him onto his front. So I clapped and cheered again (although he may have thought I was cheering at him waking me up, which would be bad, as I don't know at what point between 11 and 3 he'd rolled over)
After I'd fed him I put him back down in his basket and laid down in bed, and I could hear all this grunting and huffing and puffing, with the occasional pair of eyes peering over the top at me, followed by a bum sticking up in the air. After about 20 minutes of his exertions, I put him onto his back as clearly thats where he wanted to be. Then ensued a further 20 minutes of arms and legs failing about and shouting as T told the animals on the side of his basket all about his adventures.
Then thankfully fell asleep.
Don't think it'll be long before he starts crawling, he can push himself up into the right position, he just hasn't figured the rest of it out yet, thankfully, think operation childproof everything will need to be started fairly quickly!!
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Oh what a night!
Uuuurrrggghhh
T obviously decided to get his revenge on me for thinking of putting him into his own room
*in a Stewie from Family Guy type voice*
" What the hell mother, I will make you pay, I shall never leave your side!!!"
(Family Guy makes you look at your own child a little differently, you do occasionally wonder the evil thoughts that go through their minds!)
So T went to bed at half 9, I couldn't sleep, so eventually drifted off at about 12:45 am
T woke up at 1:15am, so I draaaggged myself out of bed, gave him his feed, put him back down again, got up to redo his night bottle, got back to sleep about 2am.
T then awoke again at 5am, so dragged myself out of bed again, but T decided he would like to wind me up. He wouldn't let me put his bib on, he kept pushing against my leg and head diving out of my arms and then came the latest development...
He has now sussed hand eye co-ordination.
This may seem like an exciting development in my sons life, and whilst I am very proud, he displayed his newfound talent to me in the worst way possible at the worst time possible.
After his feed I was giving him a little cuddle, and he gazed transfixed at my glasses, out reached his tiny hand, then....SMACK, my glasses were walloped off my face. Cue much giggling from T. So putting it down to coincidence I put my glasses back on and went back to cuddling, again T got transfixed, out reached his tiny hand then...GRAB, he got hold of the front of my glasses and pulled.
So I took them off and spent the rest of the cuddle blind.
So does this now mean, that when I wake up on a night I should put my contact lenses in to prevent any breakages? Or should I do it blind?!
However, T went back to sleep about half 5, as did I, then about 6:30am he started stirring again. I physically couldn't lift my head from the pillow, I laid there for about 15 minutes as he had a bit of a whinge, started psyching myself up to get up and make yet another bottle, when my OH came to my rescue, and leapt out of bed to fix everything.
I slept in till half 9, mmmm lovely.
Nights like that are such a struggle, i've learned that I need at least 4 hours uninterrupted sleep in order to function, if that gets disturbed I'm a bit useless.
Thanks goodness it happened on a weekend, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again tonight!
One smile from them erases all the tiredness you'll be pleased to know!
T obviously decided to get his revenge on me for thinking of putting him into his own room
*in a Stewie from Family Guy type voice*
" What the hell mother, I will make you pay, I shall never leave your side!!!"
(Family Guy makes you look at your own child a little differently, you do occasionally wonder the evil thoughts that go through their minds!)
So T went to bed at half 9, I couldn't sleep, so eventually drifted off at about 12:45 am
T woke up at 1:15am, so I draaaggged myself out of bed, gave him his feed, put him back down again, got up to redo his night bottle, got back to sleep about 2am.
T then awoke again at 5am, so dragged myself out of bed again, but T decided he would like to wind me up. He wouldn't let me put his bib on, he kept pushing against my leg and head diving out of my arms and then came the latest development...
He has now sussed hand eye co-ordination.
This may seem like an exciting development in my sons life, and whilst I am very proud, he displayed his newfound talent to me in the worst way possible at the worst time possible.
After his feed I was giving him a little cuddle, and he gazed transfixed at my glasses, out reached his tiny hand, then....SMACK, my glasses were walloped off my face. Cue much giggling from T. So putting it down to coincidence I put my glasses back on and went back to cuddling, again T got transfixed, out reached his tiny hand then...GRAB, he got hold of the front of my glasses and pulled.
So I took them off and spent the rest of the cuddle blind.
So does this now mean, that when I wake up on a night I should put my contact lenses in to prevent any breakages? Or should I do it blind?!
However, T went back to sleep about half 5, as did I, then about 6:30am he started stirring again. I physically couldn't lift my head from the pillow, I laid there for about 15 minutes as he had a bit of a whinge, started psyching myself up to get up and make yet another bottle, when my OH came to my rescue, and leapt out of bed to fix everything.
I slept in till half 9, mmmm lovely.
Nights like that are such a struggle, i've learned that I need at least 4 hours uninterrupted sleep in order to function, if that gets disturbed I'm a bit useless.
Thanks goodness it happened on a weekend, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen again tonight!
One smile from them erases all the tiredness you'll be pleased to know!
Saturday, 5 February 2011
T's big move...
...isn't really happening, lol.
It's too haaaaaaard!
Have tried putting him down in his cot for naps so he gets used to it, but he's only sleeping for exactly half an hour at a time, which is no bliddy good!
So I have a new plan. As my OH is off both Saturday and Sunday next week, I will get T used to his cot with naps all through the week and then we can put him in on Friday night, then if I'm up with him all night the OH can take over Saturday morning so I can catch up on some kip.
There's two further issues with the big move;
Problem 1: T has suddenly decided to become mobile, so you leave him in his cot at the bottom in the middle, and once you go to him when he wakes up, he's at the top, face squished against the bars, arm hanging out the gap. This raises the issue of cot bumpers, they seem very sensible, would prevent him from hurting himself against the bars and preventing him from sticking various limbs through the gaps. However there is then the view opposing cot bumpers, which raises the issues of suffocation. T could pull them off, get tangled in them, squish his face against them too hard and suffocate...usual story of baby advice, loads of evidence for and against and you're left to make your own mind up. So for now we have decided against them!
Problem 2: The noise factor for me.
I had a little practice run this morning, when T woke for his 6am feed, I transferred everything to his cot and popped him in that, laid my head down to sleep with the baby monitor at the side of my bed. So when OH got up at 7am I realised my problem. The nursery is next to the kitchen, and the nursery window looks out onto the dog run. In the nursery wall is a serving hatch which obviously links through to the kitchen. So at 7am, I heard OH, making his cup of tea, next to my ear, washing up next to my ear, tidying up; next to my ear. Then the dogs were let into their run which started with their usual morning barks at the trees, leaves, sky, whatever they fancy....next to my ear.
Urgh.
So it looks like when the big move eventually happens, i'm going to have to get up at 7am, else the baby monitor may be smashed against the wall!
So I will keep you up to date with how that goes.
Other than that it's been another PND ass kicking day, T, myself and my dad went to visit my Grandma this morning, who is losing her memory at a very fast pace.
After asking 'who's is that?!' whilst pointing at T, then us explaining he was my son, and she's met him about 6 times so far, we then moved to wedding talk. This resulted in my Grandma asking my dad what his role in the wedding would be 'erm I'll be father of the bride' said my dad, 'but you're not her father, you've got no kids' pointed out my Grandma. Needless to say there was an awkward pause, whilst we all digested this information (he is my real dad just for clarification!).
We left shortly after, poor ol' Grandma :(
Then T myself and my mum went to town to do some wedding shopping, and I got my other wedding dress (hoorraaaaayyy!) sorted the mens suits out yesterday.
I'm pretty much organised apart from the faffy bits. Am over the moon, we're easily managing to do the 2 weddings on our 3k budget. Perhaps I should write another blog 'Yummy Mummys' Budget Wedding Planning' What do you think?!
It's too haaaaaaard!
Have tried putting him down in his cot for naps so he gets used to it, but he's only sleeping for exactly half an hour at a time, which is no bliddy good!
So I have a new plan. As my OH is off both Saturday and Sunday next week, I will get T used to his cot with naps all through the week and then we can put him in on Friday night, then if I'm up with him all night the OH can take over Saturday morning so I can catch up on some kip.
There's two further issues with the big move;
Problem 1: T has suddenly decided to become mobile, so you leave him in his cot at the bottom in the middle, and once you go to him when he wakes up, he's at the top, face squished against the bars, arm hanging out the gap. This raises the issue of cot bumpers, they seem very sensible, would prevent him from hurting himself against the bars and preventing him from sticking various limbs through the gaps. However there is then the view opposing cot bumpers, which raises the issues of suffocation. T could pull them off, get tangled in them, squish his face against them too hard and suffocate...usual story of baby advice, loads of evidence for and against and you're left to make your own mind up. So for now we have decided against them!
Problem 2: The noise factor for me.
I had a little practice run this morning, when T woke for his 6am feed, I transferred everything to his cot and popped him in that, laid my head down to sleep with the baby monitor at the side of my bed. So when OH got up at 7am I realised my problem. The nursery is next to the kitchen, and the nursery window looks out onto the dog run. In the nursery wall is a serving hatch which obviously links through to the kitchen. So at 7am, I heard OH, making his cup of tea, next to my ear, washing up next to my ear, tidying up; next to my ear. Then the dogs were let into their run which started with their usual morning barks at the trees, leaves, sky, whatever they fancy....next to my ear.
Urgh.
So it looks like when the big move eventually happens, i'm going to have to get up at 7am, else the baby monitor may be smashed against the wall!
So I will keep you up to date with how that goes.
Other than that it's been another PND ass kicking day, T, myself and my dad went to visit my Grandma this morning, who is losing her memory at a very fast pace.
After asking 'who's is that?!' whilst pointing at T, then us explaining he was my son, and she's met him about 6 times so far, we then moved to wedding talk. This resulted in my Grandma asking my dad what his role in the wedding would be 'erm I'll be father of the bride' said my dad, 'but you're not her father, you've got no kids' pointed out my Grandma. Needless to say there was an awkward pause, whilst we all digested this information (he is my real dad just for clarification!).
We left shortly after, poor ol' Grandma :(
Then T myself and my mum went to town to do some wedding shopping, and I got my other wedding dress (hoorraaaaayyy!) sorted the mens suits out yesterday.
I'm pretty much organised apart from the faffy bits. Am over the moon, we're easily managing to do the 2 weddings on our 3k budget. Perhaps I should write another blog 'Yummy Mummys' Budget Wedding Planning' What do you think?!
Friday, 4 February 2011
PND day 3 and what you actually use for the baby up to week 16!
Yesterday was uneventful hence why I didn't write. I think it was a draw in regards to me vs PND.
However I woke this morning feeling a bit blue :(
I think it's down to rubbish weather and an early feed, 3am, urrrgh.
I've set myself a goal to get T into his own room this weekend (just thinking of it makes me feel sad, but I can't keep him by my side till he's 19, his friends would think that was a bit uncool.)
So my task for today is to clean his room from top to bottom, hopefully get into town to pick up some finishing pieces and whilst I'm there look at wedding rings and dresses, that should snap me back into shape.
I've been chatting to a friend of mine who's due fairly soon, she was stressing about all the things that you need when you have a baby, so I thought I'd share what bits and pieces are actually required, well in the first 16 weeks anyways.
There's the obvious ones, clothes, nappies, baby wipes, creams, shampoos etc. Ask for your friends to get you these as gifts, we didn't ask but thats what people got us anyways and we didn't have to buy hardly anything for the first month!
Baby bath, fairly cheap if you look around, think ours was about 15 quid.
Moses basket, we paid 40 for ours, keep an eye out for the stands though as they all look really flimsy, my OH made ours. They trick you with the mattresses though (swines) they come with a bog standard plastic mattress, however after the first week we noticed every time we picked T up he was drenched in sweat, so we shelled out for an all singing all dancing mattress for 40 quid. Which is just a plastic mattress covered in a net with a bit of foam in it, surely you can buy them seperately for half the price!?
Travel system. Ours is a godsend, we got a car seat, moses baskety thing and a pushchair part, we've only used the car seat so far. The moses basket part seems a bit cruel, if your baby's awake he wants to see the world not just the sky! So we've not used that! These can be veeerrrrry expensive new, but there's loads of second hand pram shops around, we found ours and paid 200 quid for the lot, everything was almost immaculate, and it all comes off to be washed.
Then there is the most amazing piece of technology that I would insist every mother to be buys!
Angelcare movement baby monitor. It's amaaazing!
It comes with a movement mat which you stick under their mattress (it has to be on a hard surface or you're in for a few sleepless nights, so we just cut a piece of plywood to the size we needed and popped it in the basket) in a nutshell it sets an alarm off if the baby stops moving. So much easier than constatntly checking the baby to see if they're still alive by sticking your finger under its nose/putting a mirror under its nose/making loud noise/jiggling his hands to see if he wakes up!
If there's no movement for 15 seconds, it sets off a loud bleep, then if nothing is felt for a further 15 seconds it sets off an amazingly loud alarm!! It's awesome and the best thing we invested in, I can just go get on with my jobs whilst he's asleep without the overwhelming urge to dash in every couple of minutes and check on him.
They're between 60 - 80 quid but worth every penny!
Also their customer service is exeptional, I thought we had a dicky monitor that kept switching itself off, so I emailed the Angelcare company, they sent a new monitor out within 3 days, didn't ask for proof of purchase or ask to send the old one back, very rare you find a complaint so easily resolved! So well done them!!
The other thing I swear by is an Iphone App called infantdiary, I appreciate not everyone has Iphones but I was logging stuff in a notebook before i found it.
Basically when you're a new mum you obsess over EVERYTHING, the colour of poo, the consistency, the smell of their wee, how often they poo and wee, how much they eat, how often, how much they sleep and again how often. This app (or a notebook) is an easy way to keep track of everything, so I log what time he fed, how much he took (if you're breastfeeding its how long he fed for) everytime I change a nappy and what was in it, and everytime he sleeps, whether it was a nap or a night sleep you can track how long he slept for.
It may sound a bit obsessive but when you're having a day where your brains not functioning, when he starts crying you check on the app and it opens on a summary page and tells you how long since he fed, how long since his nappy was changed and how long he's been awake for. Perfect!
So I think that's where I finish sharing my worldly knowledge!
Hoepfully I'll be able to write a more eventful blog this evening or tomorrow evening. Gonna go blast my Ipod and do some housework now whilst baby is fast asleep (but still alive cause I have the Angelcare monitor, oh yeaaaah, lol)
However I woke this morning feeling a bit blue :(
I think it's down to rubbish weather and an early feed, 3am, urrrgh.
I've set myself a goal to get T into his own room this weekend (just thinking of it makes me feel sad, but I can't keep him by my side till he's 19, his friends would think that was a bit uncool.)
So my task for today is to clean his room from top to bottom, hopefully get into town to pick up some finishing pieces and whilst I'm there look at wedding rings and dresses, that should snap me back into shape.
I've been chatting to a friend of mine who's due fairly soon, she was stressing about all the things that you need when you have a baby, so I thought I'd share what bits and pieces are actually required, well in the first 16 weeks anyways.
There's the obvious ones, clothes, nappies, baby wipes, creams, shampoos etc. Ask for your friends to get you these as gifts, we didn't ask but thats what people got us anyways and we didn't have to buy hardly anything for the first month!
Baby bath, fairly cheap if you look around, think ours was about 15 quid.
Moses basket, we paid 40 for ours, keep an eye out for the stands though as they all look really flimsy, my OH made ours. They trick you with the mattresses though (swines) they come with a bog standard plastic mattress, however after the first week we noticed every time we picked T up he was drenched in sweat, so we shelled out for an all singing all dancing mattress for 40 quid. Which is just a plastic mattress covered in a net with a bit of foam in it, surely you can buy them seperately for half the price!?
Travel system. Ours is a godsend, we got a car seat, moses baskety thing and a pushchair part, we've only used the car seat so far. The moses basket part seems a bit cruel, if your baby's awake he wants to see the world not just the sky! So we've not used that! These can be veeerrrrry expensive new, but there's loads of second hand pram shops around, we found ours and paid 200 quid for the lot, everything was almost immaculate, and it all comes off to be washed.
Then there is the most amazing piece of technology that I would insist every mother to be buys!
Angelcare movement baby monitor. It's amaaazing!
It comes with a movement mat which you stick under their mattress (it has to be on a hard surface or you're in for a few sleepless nights, so we just cut a piece of plywood to the size we needed and popped it in the basket) in a nutshell it sets an alarm off if the baby stops moving. So much easier than constatntly checking the baby to see if they're still alive by sticking your finger under its nose/putting a mirror under its nose/making loud noise/jiggling his hands to see if he wakes up!
If there's no movement for 15 seconds, it sets off a loud bleep, then if nothing is felt for a further 15 seconds it sets off an amazingly loud alarm!! It's awesome and the best thing we invested in, I can just go get on with my jobs whilst he's asleep without the overwhelming urge to dash in every couple of minutes and check on him.
They're between 60 - 80 quid but worth every penny!
Also their customer service is exeptional, I thought we had a dicky monitor that kept switching itself off, so I emailed the Angelcare company, they sent a new monitor out within 3 days, didn't ask for proof of purchase or ask to send the old one back, very rare you find a complaint so easily resolved! So well done them!!
The other thing I swear by is an Iphone App called infantdiary, I appreciate not everyone has Iphones but I was logging stuff in a notebook before i found it.
Basically when you're a new mum you obsess over EVERYTHING, the colour of poo, the consistency, the smell of their wee, how often they poo and wee, how much they eat, how often, how much they sleep and again how often. This app (or a notebook) is an easy way to keep track of everything, so I log what time he fed, how much he took (if you're breastfeeding its how long he fed for) everytime I change a nappy and what was in it, and everytime he sleeps, whether it was a nap or a night sleep you can track how long he slept for.
It may sound a bit obsessive but when you're having a day where your brains not functioning, when he starts crying you check on the app and it opens on a summary page and tells you how long since he fed, how long since his nappy was changed and how long he's been awake for. Perfect!
So I think that's where I finish sharing my worldly knowledge!
Hoepfully I'll be able to write a more eventful blog this evening or tomorrow evening. Gonna go blast my Ipod and do some housework now whilst baby is fast asleep (but still alive cause I have the Angelcare monitor, oh yeaaaah, lol)
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Beating PND Day 1
Well I must say i'm pleased that I wrote about PND after the positive feedback and support i've received! People are saying that its good to raise awareness of how simple it can be, and that it doesn't mean that you hate your child!
Anyhoo...
I've had a really productive day today (you may be rather unimpressed by the things that follow!)
First off I got up when T woke up for his second feed, which was at half 8 this morning, normally I pop him straight back down after for another nap but I decided that I need to keep him up a bit more on a morning so I can get him to bed earlier on an evening.
So we were both up and dressed by half 9 (normally that doesnt occur till about half 3 :S) I was supposed to wait for my mum to come and pick us up but I decided to make my way over to her and surprise her, this may sound very simple, however I don't drive and i've developed a very irrational fear of buses since I had T.
I say irrational but it's not. I'm a very proud woman, I don't like not knowing what I'm doing and I do NOT like looking silly. So since the day T was born the idea of getting on the bus and maybe getting stuck in the aisle, not being able to manouvre the pram round the poles, not being able to fit it in the gap, the pram falling over because I forgot to put the brakes on etc etc has given me nightmares.
It makes it a trillion times worse because the OH's 17 year old daughter (referred to as The Daughter) has no qualms whatsoever doing it, and she's taken T all over the place on the bus without even a care. Makes me feel like a right banana. She kindly assisted me on a trip to the town a week or so ago, but I've not been back on since, and I had someone to hold my hand.
Anyways back to today.
I was a mammy on a mission.
So off I strode to the bus stop (the usual fleeting panic that I'd forgotten to get dressed and was actually walking around in my jamas, quick check confirmed I wasn't, phew!) The bus arrived and on I hopped, straight in to the gap, brakes on, bish, bash, bosh! I was sat with such a giant grin on my face at what I'd acheived, but I must have looked like a crazy lady to anyone observing me!
Hopped off at the end of my mums road and began the trek to her house.
Long story short, she was very surprised to see me and equally as proud.
So we popped to the shops to get me some new clothes.
As usual I came home empty handed.
However..
I'm currently planning my wedding which is in August and September (I'm greedy I'm having 2) and I've been tearing my hair out trying to find a black dress which will suit all 7 (yes greedy) of my bridesmaids and keep within my teeny tiny budget, and I found them!!! All 7!!! All the right sizes!!!! All HALF PRICE!!!!!
Woooo.
Purchased them, and returned home extremely delighted with myself.
So as I explained earlier, a very mundane day, but I acheived 2 huge things....Its 9pm and T's still up, but I can start the earlier bedtime thing tomorrow.
Day 1
Me = 1- PND = 0
Bring on tomorrow....oh and for those insomniacs Lavender Oil on your pillows, mmmmm followed by zzzzz!
Anyhoo...
I've had a really productive day today (you may be rather unimpressed by the things that follow!)
First off I got up when T woke up for his second feed, which was at half 8 this morning, normally I pop him straight back down after for another nap but I decided that I need to keep him up a bit more on a morning so I can get him to bed earlier on an evening.
So we were both up and dressed by half 9 (normally that doesnt occur till about half 3 :S) I was supposed to wait for my mum to come and pick us up but I decided to make my way over to her and surprise her, this may sound very simple, however I don't drive and i've developed a very irrational fear of buses since I had T.
I say irrational but it's not. I'm a very proud woman, I don't like not knowing what I'm doing and I do NOT like looking silly. So since the day T was born the idea of getting on the bus and maybe getting stuck in the aisle, not being able to manouvre the pram round the poles, not being able to fit it in the gap, the pram falling over because I forgot to put the brakes on etc etc has given me nightmares.
It makes it a trillion times worse because the OH's 17 year old daughter (referred to as The Daughter) has no qualms whatsoever doing it, and she's taken T all over the place on the bus without even a care. Makes me feel like a right banana. She kindly assisted me on a trip to the town a week or so ago, but I've not been back on since, and I had someone to hold my hand.
Anyways back to today.
I was a mammy on a mission.
So off I strode to the bus stop (the usual fleeting panic that I'd forgotten to get dressed and was actually walking around in my jamas, quick check confirmed I wasn't, phew!) The bus arrived and on I hopped, straight in to the gap, brakes on, bish, bash, bosh! I was sat with such a giant grin on my face at what I'd acheived, but I must have looked like a crazy lady to anyone observing me!
Hopped off at the end of my mums road and began the trek to her house.
Long story short, she was very surprised to see me and equally as proud.
So we popped to the shops to get me some new clothes.
As usual I came home empty handed.
However..
I'm currently planning my wedding which is in August and September (I'm greedy I'm having 2) and I've been tearing my hair out trying to find a black dress which will suit all 7 (yes greedy) of my bridesmaids and keep within my teeny tiny budget, and I found them!!! All 7!!! All the right sizes!!!! All HALF PRICE!!!!!
Woooo.
Purchased them, and returned home extremely delighted with myself.
So as I explained earlier, a very mundane day, but I acheived 2 huge things....Its 9pm and T's still up, but I can start the earlier bedtime thing tomorrow.
Day 1
Me = 1- PND = 0
Bring on tomorrow....oh and for those insomniacs Lavender Oil on your pillows, mmmmm followed by zzzzz!
PND :( Maybe it wasn't baby blues!
Soooo, after re reading last nights blog and having a chat to my OH I decided perhaps it was wise to call the Drs and have a chat to someone about the crazy brains.
Read up on Post Natal Depression before going to bed last night, I have a lot of the symptoms, but it was saying a lot of things that cause it like: bad pregnancy (nope), traumatic birth (no it was a doddle) and scary things like do you wish to harm your baby, had a peek in the cot, saw him sleeping peacefully and thought no I don't want to chuck him out of a window I'm quite pleased with my purchase thank you.
So decided it was probably just PMT, I've never really suffered from it before, went out for a few hours with my mum before pootling to the Drs at 5 to 5.
The Dr asked me random questions, then said it sounds like I have PND, to which I got upset. I like many other people am terrified that it means I couldn't do it, failed at being a mam after only 15 weeks. The Dr gave me a prescription for anti-depressants and I came out more upset than when I went in.
However...
Upon reading the handy booklet she gave me, possibly she knows what she's talking about.
Things like
'are you so tired that you assume you must be ill?'
Erm yep, was so tired once that I was convinced I was dying very slowly
'yet when you get to bed you can't sleep?'
Well bugger me that's exactly what's going on! Can barely drag myself to bed without falling asleep, yet the second my head hits the pillow, my brain says 'well hello ma'am would one care for me to throw as many random thoughts at you as possible?' 'Why thank you Mr Brain I would love nothing more than to lay here and stress about as many things as possible'
However my problem lies with the anti-depressants, if I take them then go back in 4 weeks for an assessment and i'm better, is that because of the tablets or because I sorted myself out? How can they tell?
So after some careful thought i've decided that i'm going to give myself a week to come off them (also proving whether its just PMT) then if i'm still not feeling great I can start the tablets.
So I start tomorrow with a fresh shiny positive attitude, i've got so many things to be happy about, but I think that there are so many things that it overwhelms me, so i'm going to focus on the important ones, and one at a time!
Lets see what tomorrow brings!
Read up on Post Natal Depression before going to bed last night, I have a lot of the symptoms, but it was saying a lot of things that cause it like: bad pregnancy (nope), traumatic birth (no it was a doddle) and scary things like do you wish to harm your baby, had a peek in the cot, saw him sleeping peacefully and thought no I don't want to chuck him out of a window I'm quite pleased with my purchase thank you.
So decided it was probably just PMT, I've never really suffered from it before, went out for a few hours with my mum before pootling to the Drs at 5 to 5.
The Dr asked me random questions, then said it sounds like I have PND, to which I got upset. I like many other people am terrified that it means I couldn't do it, failed at being a mam after only 15 weeks. The Dr gave me a prescription for anti-depressants and I came out more upset than when I went in.
However...
Upon reading the handy booklet she gave me, possibly she knows what she's talking about.
Things like
'are you so tired that you assume you must be ill?'
Erm yep, was so tired once that I was convinced I was dying very slowly
'yet when you get to bed you can't sleep?'
Well bugger me that's exactly what's going on! Can barely drag myself to bed without falling asleep, yet the second my head hits the pillow, my brain says 'well hello ma'am would one care for me to throw as many random thoughts at you as possible?' 'Why thank you Mr Brain I would love nothing more than to lay here and stress about as many things as possible'
However my problem lies with the anti-depressants, if I take them then go back in 4 weeks for an assessment and i'm better, is that because of the tablets or because I sorted myself out? How can they tell?
So after some careful thought i've decided that i'm going to give myself a week to come off them (also proving whether its just PMT) then if i'm still not feeling great I can start the tablets.
So I start tomorrow with a fresh shiny positive attitude, i've got so many things to be happy about, but I think that there are so many things that it overwhelms me, so i'm going to focus on the important ones, and one at a time!
Lets see what tomorrow brings!
Monday, 31 January 2011
Baby Blues and Paranoia
Thought i'd write this whilst it was fresh in my mind.
Baby blues, or the weepies. Make you feel like your world has ended after the silliest of events has occured, due to hormones flying around especially when aunt flo is in town can turn you into a giant snivelling mess, as I am now!
My baby blues has been triggered by the usual things, other half making a joke which normally would have me in stitches but due to it being the wrong thing at the wrong time I cried like the world was ending, crying when the baby won't settle within 5 seconds when I just want to sleep, crying cause the baby's crying.
Then the not so usual things, whilst the OH has been at work, i've cried because I couldn't get my cup of tea to taste right after 4 attempts, cried because I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch, cried cause i'd ran out of shampoo...you get the picture.
I'm pleased to say this is all totally normal.
Although it doesnt feel normal, the trick is to have an understanding partner. One who understands how truly upset you are when you stand in front of him, tears and snot streaming down your face and snap at him for letting you sleep for too long. In his head, he'd been the best boyfriend in all the land, letting you have 3 hours much needed sleep once he'd got in from work. In your head the following; he obviously didnt want to spend anytime with me, he forgot about me, he knows fine well if i sleep now i'll be awake all night and he wont care cause he'll be asleep and i'll be all alone with nothing to do but wait till the baby wakes up for a feed.
Another example is when he came home from work one night and i'd had T throwing up all the live long day alllll over me, I was waiting for him to come in and offer to watch the baby so I could have a much needed bath, the offer didn't come as he came in popped his head in the door to say hi and that he was jumping in the bath. In his head, all is well cause she looks happy and content with the baby, i've had a hard day at work, i'll have a lovely relaxing bath. He then surfaced from the bath and came in all happy and clean and lovely to face the screaming fury that was me, how DARE he not telepathically know that I needed a bath when i'd made no mention of being covered in sick, or even asked if he'd mind that I went in first, if our relationship carried on in this selfish way of his I was going to be a single mother and I would have to move back in with my parents and WHERE ON EARTH WOULD T SLEEP!?
Perfectly reasonable.
The paranoia side of things, again requires a very understanding partner *blows her other half a kiss across the room as she realises how patient and understanding he really is* I went through a phase (which is still in place) that I was to be kissed and told I was loved everytime he left the house, as if anything were to happen to him whilst he was out, I would always know that he loved me, and he would have no regrets that he didn't tell me enough (see i'm so thoughtful) I then became adament that I was going to die during childbirth, so insisted that we took out life insurance, as it made me cry to think of him mourning me with no extra income, as if the loss of me wasn't enough. (I'd died but T had lived if that wasnt clear!) the ultimate one when i knew a)how bananas I really was and b) that I was with the perfect man, was the day before my parents were due to leave on a cruise. There'd been some almighty cock ups and in my head it was all coming together that clearly it was final destination 4, all the signs were saying that they shouldn't go. I received a call from my dad saying that instead of travelling down in 2 stages with an overnight stay, something had cropped up and they were going to do it in one stage in the morning. This was the final warning in my Final Destination film mind. So even though it was late and my OH had had a long day, he knew what was going through my head and offered to take me round, so I could make my peace incase it was the last time I would ever see them.
Crazy how minds work.
But hopefully this eases the minds of anyone suffering the same, or amuses those who are reading it!
Baby blues, or the weepies. Make you feel like your world has ended after the silliest of events has occured, due to hormones flying around especially when aunt flo is in town can turn you into a giant snivelling mess, as I am now!
My baby blues has been triggered by the usual things, other half making a joke which normally would have me in stitches but due to it being the wrong thing at the wrong time I cried like the world was ending, crying when the baby won't settle within 5 seconds when I just want to sleep, crying cause the baby's crying.
Then the not so usual things, whilst the OH has been at work, i've cried because I couldn't get my cup of tea to taste right after 4 attempts, cried because I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch, cried cause i'd ran out of shampoo...you get the picture.
I'm pleased to say this is all totally normal.
Although it doesnt feel normal, the trick is to have an understanding partner. One who understands how truly upset you are when you stand in front of him, tears and snot streaming down your face and snap at him for letting you sleep for too long. In his head, he'd been the best boyfriend in all the land, letting you have 3 hours much needed sleep once he'd got in from work. In your head the following; he obviously didnt want to spend anytime with me, he forgot about me, he knows fine well if i sleep now i'll be awake all night and he wont care cause he'll be asleep and i'll be all alone with nothing to do but wait till the baby wakes up for a feed.
Another example is when he came home from work one night and i'd had T throwing up all the live long day alllll over me, I was waiting for him to come in and offer to watch the baby so I could have a much needed bath, the offer didn't come as he came in popped his head in the door to say hi and that he was jumping in the bath. In his head, all is well cause she looks happy and content with the baby, i've had a hard day at work, i'll have a lovely relaxing bath. He then surfaced from the bath and came in all happy and clean and lovely to face the screaming fury that was me, how DARE he not telepathically know that I needed a bath when i'd made no mention of being covered in sick, or even asked if he'd mind that I went in first, if our relationship carried on in this selfish way of his I was going to be a single mother and I would have to move back in with my parents and WHERE ON EARTH WOULD T SLEEP!?
Perfectly reasonable.
The paranoia side of things, again requires a very understanding partner *blows her other half a kiss across the room as she realises how patient and understanding he really is* I went through a phase (which is still in place) that I was to be kissed and told I was loved everytime he left the house, as if anything were to happen to him whilst he was out, I would always know that he loved me, and he would have no regrets that he didn't tell me enough (see i'm so thoughtful) I then became adament that I was going to die during childbirth, so insisted that we took out life insurance, as it made me cry to think of him mourning me with no extra income, as if the loss of me wasn't enough. (I'd died but T had lived if that wasnt clear!) the ultimate one when i knew a)how bananas I really was and b) that I was with the perfect man, was the day before my parents were due to leave on a cruise. There'd been some almighty cock ups and in my head it was all coming together that clearly it was final destination 4, all the signs were saying that they shouldn't go. I received a call from my dad saying that instead of travelling down in 2 stages with an overnight stay, something had cropped up and they were going to do it in one stage in the morning. This was the final warning in my Final Destination film mind. So even though it was late and my OH had had a long day, he knew what was going through my head and offered to take me round, so I could make my peace incase it was the last time I would ever see them.
Crazy how minds work.
But hopefully this eases the minds of anyone suffering the same, or amuses those who are reading it!
Invaluable Advice
Due to the lack of support I received once T was born I decided to follow my instincts and it's not let me down yet, here's some advice that got me through from pregnancy to now!
If in doubt google it: The amount of questions a paranoid pregnant woman/first time mother comes up with is insane, every pain, tingle, cough sneeze is cause for worry. I would have gone crazy with stress if i didnt have google. I googled EVERYTHING, and you know what, everything I googled came back with thousands of posts from similiar people querying the 'silly' things. Reading them make you realise you're not alone, not crazy and there's people who are in the same boat. How mothers 10 years ago coped is beyond me, I would have been at the drop in clinic every day if I with a list of questions as long as my arm!
Do what's best for you: The amount of conflicting advice you receive is RIDICULOUS! You've already got baby brain, the last thing you need is it baffling! Breast v Bottle, Front v Back, Co-Sleeping...so on and so forth. Take on board all the advice you receive, try what you want and stick with it from there. Below is my experiences with those 3 things!
Breast v Bottle: You get bombarded with 'breast is best' from the day you find out you're pregnant, but what about those that can't?! Where's the support for them? It riles me! I breast-fed for 6 weeks, and I'm proud. But only one Dr out of all the people I saw congratulated me for sticking with it for that long, everyone else tutted and said you should have carried on for 3 months. I got no support, no one showed me how to do it, or deal with any problems that arose, so I managed to breastfeed him for 6 weeks then get him onto bottles with just the help of my other half.
Front v Back: This is in regards to how the baby sleeps. Midwives and health visitors HAVE to tell you to get the baby to sleep on his back because of the results of all the cot death studies, and thats fine. BUT, only 20 or so years ago, it was advised that babies slept on their fronts, as it reduced the risk of choking if the baby was sick in their sleep. That, to me, is a much more logical arguement, there has been no actual proof of what causes cot death, just factors that may increase it. I don't understand how you fix something when you dont know what the cause is. I put T down to sleep on his front after about 3 weeks, mainly because he suffers from reflux and I was more worried about him choking, also reflux is like adult heartburn so when you laid him on his back it caused him pain, which at the beginning led to the next problem....
Co-Sleeping: There are logical arguements for and against this, logic says dont do it because you heighten the risk of smothering the baby when you fall asleep. But if you're baby screams in pain when in his cot on his back, he's not allowed to sleep on his front, what's a sleep deprived mother to do when her boy happily sleeps soundly on her chest? So I tried it after lots and lots of researching on the internet, and I had a few wonderful nights of sleep, before his reflux was diagnosed and I made my decision to sleep him in on his front. The research brought up lots of arguements for co-sleeping; Britains one of only a very few countries that is strongly against co-sleeping, I think the rest of Europe it's very commonplace. What sold me on it's benefits was a report I found that showed the biological benefits of co-sleeping; If the baby gets confused with his breathing, he listens to your breathing and makes his the same, If baby gets too hot, mums body cools itself and vice versa. This amazed me, Scientists arguing with nature!
However...!
I did do co-sleeping for a few nights, but after the first two nights I got too comfortable with it, and I would roll over in my sleep, your instincts kick in and he was always placed in a safe position where he could breathe, but I got a bit unnerved that my brain was the reliable whilst I was asleep, admittedly it hadn't let me down but still. Also baby then gets used to falling asleep on mummy which makes getting them in their own cot even harder. So I stopped.
There ends my advice for today, I'm not saying what I have done was right, but it was right for me and my baby, and that's how it should be. Take on board other peoples advice, then make your own decisions. At the end of the day the saying 'mummy knows best' had to come from somewhere!
If you want to sound off using other mums, go to http://www.netmums.com/, great web-site for advice!
Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly you think they are!!! If it helps you destress then it's good for the baby.
That's all for now.
Some places i found my info:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/cosleeping.html
http://www.netmums.com/
If in doubt google it: The amount of questions a paranoid pregnant woman/first time mother comes up with is insane, every pain, tingle, cough sneeze is cause for worry. I would have gone crazy with stress if i didnt have google. I googled EVERYTHING, and you know what, everything I googled came back with thousands of posts from similiar people querying the 'silly' things. Reading them make you realise you're not alone, not crazy and there's people who are in the same boat. How mothers 10 years ago coped is beyond me, I would have been at the drop in clinic every day if I with a list of questions as long as my arm!
Do what's best for you: The amount of conflicting advice you receive is RIDICULOUS! You've already got baby brain, the last thing you need is it baffling! Breast v Bottle, Front v Back, Co-Sleeping...so on and so forth. Take on board all the advice you receive, try what you want and stick with it from there. Below is my experiences with those 3 things!
Breast v Bottle: You get bombarded with 'breast is best' from the day you find out you're pregnant, but what about those that can't?! Where's the support for them? It riles me! I breast-fed for 6 weeks, and I'm proud. But only one Dr out of all the people I saw congratulated me for sticking with it for that long, everyone else tutted and said you should have carried on for 3 months. I got no support, no one showed me how to do it, or deal with any problems that arose, so I managed to breastfeed him for 6 weeks then get him onto bottles with just the help of my other half.
Front v Back: This is in regards to how the baby sleeps. Midwives and health visitors HAVE to tell you to get the baby to sleep on his back because of the results of all the cot death studies, and thats fine. BUT, only 20 or so years ago, it was advised that babies slept on their fronts, as it reduced the risk of choking if the baby was sick in their sleep. That, to me, is a much more logical arguement, there has been no actual proof of what causes cot death, just factors that may increase it. I don't understand how you fix something when you dont know what the cause is. I put T down to sleep on his front after about 3 weeks, mainly because he suffers from reflux and I was more worried about him choking, also reflux is like adult heartburn so when you laid him on his back it caused him pain, which at the beginning led to the next problem....
Co-Sleeping: There are logical arguements for and against this, logic says dont do it because you heighten the risk of smothering the baby when you fall asleep. But if you're baby screams in pain when in his cot on his back, he's not allowed to sleep on his front, what's a sleep deprived mother to do when her boy happily sleeps soundly on her chest? So I tried it after lots and lots of researching on the internet, and I had a few wonderful nights of sleep, before his reflux was diagnosed and I made my decision to sleep him in on his front. The research brought up lots of arguements for co-sleeping; Britains one of only a very few countries that is strongly against co-sleeping, I think the rest of Europe it's very commonplace. What sold me on it's benefits was a report I found that showed the biological benefits of co-sleeping; If the baby gets confused with his breathing, he listens to your breathing and makes his the same, If baby gets too hot, mums body cools itself and vice versa. This amazed me, Scientists arguing with nature!
However...!
I did do co-sleeping for a few nights, but after the first two nights I got too comfortable with it, and I would roll over in my sleep, your instincts kick in and he was always placed in a safe position where he could breathe, but I got a bit unnerved that my brain was the reliable whilst I was asleep, admittedly it hadn't let me down but still. Also baby then gets used to falling asleep on mummy which makes getting them in their own cot even harder. So I stopped.
There ends my advice for today, I'm not saying what I have done was right, but it was right for me and my baby, and that's how it should be. Take on board other peoples advice, then make your own decisions. At the end of the day the saying 'mummy knows best' had to come from somewhere!
If you want to sound off using other mums, go to http://www.netmums.com/, great web-site for advice!
Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly you think they are!!! If it helps you destress then it's good for the baby.
That's all for now.
Some places i found my info:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/cosleeping.html
http://www.netmums.com/
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Well....I'll catch you up
Well, I havent written since that first/last post, as bump (from here referred to as T) turned up bang on time!
Later that day I went out for a meal and a pub quiz with my OH, to distract me from the potential 2 week wait and to possibly celebrate our last night of freedom.
After a cup of cocoa I collapsed into bed, snuggled up with OH and with a quick rub of my tummy laid my head on the pillow to sleep.
I then heard an odd popping noise.
So I shifted position, and water gushed out of me.
"errrm, sweetie, my waters have broken"
"Are you sure?"
"I may drown"
However my contractions had not started, so with shaking hands I rang the hospital, they advised to come in within the next couple of hours and they would check me out.
So I waddled off for a cup of tea, with a self made nappy round me.
Went to hospital at 1am, 1cm, sent home.
3am, contractions started, 2 minutes apart within 10 minutes, kindly amused myself for a little while so OH could sleep, then went in the bath.
7am, ouchie, back to hospital, 1cm, sent home.
9am, big ouchie, made noise like dying giraffe, needed to push, back to hospital. Hospital tried to send me home again, but after i stood in front of the reception and had a contraction and push they put me in an observation room, gave me 2 paracetamols and said they'd be back at half 1 to exam me again.
About 11am they let me have a luverly lavender bath, I nodded off for a minute between every 2 minute contraction, OH was on lifeguard duty as he feared I would drown.
12 noon, back in room, midwife heard me trying to push and came in and told me off as I wasnt yet ready and I was putting myself and bump at risk.
1:30pm midwife came in, examined me, announced I was not far off, almost dilated, should be ready to go in about 4 - 6 hours she would go book me in to delivery suite so I could get some pain relief and get my water birth set up. But I was still not to push. She pulled my trousers back up and headed out. Immediately as she left I had a mega contraction and needed to push (I'd only had 2 paracetamols, pushing eased the pain) I then felt something in my pants....
My instant thought was 'sh*t she told me not to push and now my insides have fallen out' but instead i calmly said to my OH
'There's something in my pants'
He whipped down my trousers, shrieked, ran after the midwife screaming 'she's crowning!', midwife belted back in told me to push, i did, out bump came and was flung onto my chest.
I laughed my head off, for ages. I'd mentally geared myself up only 20 minutes before for at least another 4 hours of pain, and I was done, he was here! 2 Paracetamols baby! How hardcore am I!?
7 Hours later T and I were home (For any first time mums reading this, please please PLEASE try and stay in hospital, I HATE them and fought tooth and nail to get home, however I'd had no proper sleep for over 36 hours and still havent yet! Wish I'd stayed in, but my faith in the hospital was very knocked considering i'd practically done it all myself as they clearly thought I was a nightmare first time mother.)
The last 15 weeks in a nutshell:
Night 1: Had one of those Angelcare movement monitors, went off about 6 times the first night, ended up with him falling asleep on me and I went another night with no sleep.
 |
| A few hours old |
Week 4: Baby diagnosed with reflux, exorcist sick after every feed and screams loudly when put down on back, use phrase, 'only quiet when sleeping and eating' thats what the Drs look for!
 |
| Little sick! |
Today: I have a beautiful, chilled out, happy, giggly, extremely strong baby boy. I'm loving mummyhood, apart from the further lack of support i received once i'd left the hospital, I've pretty much figured it all out myself with help from google!
My advice for the first 3 months, follow your instincts, there are pros and cons for everything that has ever been discussed for a baby, do what makes you feel happy!
Thursday, 14 October 2010
The end and the beginning
So my due date is tomorrow and bump seems to be climbing further and further up my ribs to avoid leaving his warm safe home.
I've been asking the question 'How will I know when it starts?' and I am utterly pig sick of the answer 'oooh you'll know'. No-seems to be able to describe anything to do with labour or contractions and just smile patronisinlgy at you when you ask the question.
I may have an insanely high pain threshold, I may be having contractions RIGHT NOW and just be brushing them off as ligament pain!
People should not assume!
That's partly why i've decided to start blogging, from day one of my pregnancy, i hit brick wall after brick wall with getting simple questions answered, maybe i can shed some light to people who are feeling the same.
I've been on maternity leave now for 3 weeks, I am soooo bored it's ridiculous, I have no nesting instinct, just an overwhelming sense of guilt when I see all the housework that should be getting done. I spend my days watching pointless TV and wondering every second, of every minute, of every waking hour if my life changing moment is about to begin.
When it doesn't I get upset and frustrated and then start the whole process again.
No wonder i'm mentally exhausted.
Bump best turn up tomorrow as my brain will melt if i have to go through this for another 2 weeks!
My peice of advice for today would be in the last month of pregnancy get a t-shirt made that says 'it's due on the 15th, it's a boy, i'm terrified, and I will punch you square in the face if you comically ask if he's still not here yet' obviously fill in to your own circumstance but you get the gist.
That's been the hardest part about this last week, knowing each morning that you could be a mum by the end of the day, and waiting all day for that moment to arrive, but also how everyone starts to treat you.
Everyone starts to address your bump directly 'come on little one when are you coming out' their first questions are 'Is he still in there (yes clearly he is, else i'm still a whale and i've left my baby somewhere)'
Partners will start to get too excited and forget about you in favour of speaking to the bump also.
My OH (other half) comes through the door each night at 5pm and yells 'Where's my baby?' he thinks it's funny, I get upset (only 9 months ago I was his baby, in a different context) and then the OH spends all evening making jokes about the bump turning up and how woman should feel pain in labour else they wouldn't feel as though they'd acheived anything. (Again in a joking way, which soon ends when he gets a slap across the face)
So I believe I will end my blog here, go and stare at some washing up and then assume my position on the couch before OH arrives home with his same bad jokes and takes me out for a meal when I make him feel guilty!
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