The Newborn & Toddlers Off-Topic Chat Thread

Hannibal Smith

Ah jees...you're all getting me panicked now....do I need to try others? I presume I don't have to put his name in the local school as a back up as it's a sure fire thing that he'll get in there?

liliq

red fraggle wrote: »

phn said to start getting out meeting friends etc. hard when ur so tired but im gona try get out a little every week or get ppl to visit.

That's very early to be trying to get out! I seriously barely left the house for about 4 weeks, and when I did it was because at that stage we moved house to somewhere where I can walk to Dundrum TC, the Luas into town. My little man is 4 months now and some days I still find myself in my pjs, unshowered, and trying to get some lunch at 4pm!
Defnitely get people to visit you if you can, and leave the tea, coffee, milk and sugar beside the kettle so they can make it themselves!

red fraggle wrote: »

1. baby sleeping on your chest. my little one loves this but i would be afraid to leave her there while i fall asleep. what if she fell off or moved etc or does ur body know??? its so hard

2 also do ye sleep when ur baby sleeps? do ye sleep all day or maybe just for one of babies naps?i know we are all different but just wondering what others do. duno what i would do if i had another child!!!

1. I adored my baby sleeping on my chest I was very nervous of it at the start, but relaxed after a while and still co sleep quite a lot. You'll feel if she moves, and I found myself keeping my arms kind of wrapped around him to hold him on me even while i was asleep.
2. Sometimes! At the start it was hard to sleep when baby slept. I took me so long to get anything done for him- even to put on a wash or anything, that I didn't really have time to sleep! After a couple of weeks I just started getting up a lot later in the day and ignored everything except what really needed to be done! It's a lot easier now though thankfully.

JenniG

nearly 7pm pm here, and much to catch up on this thread. I promised myself to stop taking over this thread and stop writing insanely long notes.

Nicowa, it's great to meet someone else who has a partner with the same age difference.:o Like you it doesn't really bother us. We just ignored any commentary and it stopped. But when we got pregnant, it started again. I guess that with the hormones I found I don't have the patience and become a little snippy. Hopefully I will forgiven for my impatience.:rolleyes:

Dinners have been a disaster with Sarah going to sleep around 9pm. I am trying to put on my chest so thanks for the suggestion wmpdd3 :P She seems calmer there for sure, still not falling asleep but calmer. She mostly just stares into space, or looks up at me. (I must confess I love that).

Anyway during my nesting period I went nuts with cooking, until the freezer was so packed that Mr had to stop me. So we are currently happily eating through that. I'm so smug, cos he's grateful of this now.:cool:

As for teething, that terrifies me. I will definitely watching how things go for you Winnie for when things start happening in that department.

Well it's official, we have a date. We have been delayed a little and it turns out that we will be arriving in August, 10th to be exact. Tickets booked and we have been looking for places to rent like mad. We found a few places but it's hard to tell when you can't see it in person. Leopardstown, Churchtown, Dundrum areas seem to be okay. Their not far from things but again I'm judging for maps & Google here. Would love assistance here from those who actually know. Help please.

Something simple, livable and a little bit of space. But nothing bigger 3 bedroom. We saw a number but don't know much about these areas, are they nice areas, near facilities? Etc. Oh and schools, I wouldn't even where to begin. Can we email them to get the child on their lists, if so how. I don't want Sarah to miss out because we're in the process of moving across the Atlantic... And which schools???

(I feel so disorganised):eek:

liliq

I live in Dundrum!
They're all lovely areas- Leopardstown and Dundrum are both on the Luas- the tram system from subarbs into Dublin city centre.
For looking for somewhere to rent- have you discovered daft.ie? It's great.
I'm going to PM you

nicowa

New Baby in the House
New Dad Survival Tips

Once home for good you have no excuse not to perform duties you may previously have bodyswerved: nappy changing, night feeds, bottle washing. Do everything as if each task makes you a better and happier man. Soon, the fact that you aren’t crumbling under the weight of kiddie chores will cause resentment and you may have your duties relieved.

Sorry, had to post this ridiculous notion. How many mums and dads here are annoyed by this?

--

ok, sorry... didn't realise the source:

Content courtesy of:
The Bad Dad's Survival Guide
by Adam Brophy

The_Conductor

JenniG wrote: »

As for teething, that terrifies me. I will definitely watching how things go for you Winnie for when things start happening in that department.

Don't worry about teething- our 7 month old is having an interesting time at the moment- her favourite thing to chew appears to be her 22 month old brother- which doesn't go down the best....... We have many things in our arsenals here for teething that might not be available stateside- my little wifey and our two popped up to Belfast with me last weekend specifically to pick up Calgel- topical lidocaine for teething- it might sound severe, but it works....... Our two hate most of the alternates- this causes instant numbness- which is brilliant- you have a 10 minute window to get them to sleep- and you can use it more liberally than some of the alternates. Aside from that- our two love chewing laptop power cables :eek: and books

JenniG wrote: »

Well it's official, we have a date. We have been delayed a little and it turns out that we will be arriving in August, 10th to be exact. Tickets booked and we have been looking for places to rent like mad. We found a few places but it's hard to tell when you can't see it in person. Leopardstown, Churchtown, Dundrum areas seem to be okay. Their not far from things but again I'm judging for maps & Google here. Would love assistance here from those who actually know. Help please.

Leopardstown/Dundrum/Churchtown/Goatstown/Stillorgan etc- nice areas, but what criteria are you basing your house search on? Do you drive? Does your hubby drive? Where will he be working? Interns have quite stupid hours over here- how easy is it to access out of hours public transport if hes just had a ridiculous shift? What criteria other than- 'a nice area' are you using to decide where to live? Personally I think the smallest possible commute time to work should be top of the list- but thats just me.......

JenniG wrote: »

Something simple, livable and a little bit of space. But nothing bigger 3 bedroom. We saw a number but don't know much about these areas, are they nice areas, near facilities? Etc. Oh and schools, I wouldn't even where to begin. Can we email them to get the child on their lists, if so how. I don't want Sarah to miss out because we're in the process of moving across the Atlantic... And which schools???

If you pick out a few of the places that you're looking at- or post a new thread over in the Accommodation and Property forum- we'll do our best to help. Its probably not the appropriate place to discuss property here.

JenniG wrote: »

(I feel so disorganised):eek:

Disorganised? You've a freezer full of home cooked food and seem to be coping very well with a brand new baby- you're far from disorganised. If you could see the chaos in our house- you'd see just how well you're doing! You're also incredibly brave- I don't know whether I'd be up to moving home to another continent with a young child- getting out the door at all is almost a military operation!

How Strange

JenniG, I swear by amber teething necklaces. You put it around your baby's neck and the amber has healing properties which ease teething pains. I'm a very sceptical person so I'd normally laugh at these things but we have a very cranky, upset baby who was taking a lot of calpol until I got the necklace. His personality changed pretty much overnight and we've rarely used calpol in the last 6 months and he's cut two teeth in that time. The necklace isn't a choking or strangling hazard as he's never even touched it and I put it around his ankle in his baby gro at night.

We found the calgel good too especially on the rare night that he wakes up screaming but thankfully that doesn't happen too often anymore.

newmammy2011

Just wanted to second the amber necklaces.
I have twins who started teething at about 10 weeks and dribbled so much I had to keep a plastic back bib and a cloth bib on them at all times.
Have been using the amber necklaces on both of them and they are definitely working.
The boys now each have 4 teeth and got them quite easily. Also a massive reduction in the amount of dribble!

liliq

Where is a handy place (in shops or online) to buy an amber necklace? My little man is starting to suffer at the moment. All I've been doing so far is keeping sterilised soothers in the fridge and giving him Calpol when he gets paticularly cranky to give him a bit of relief.

newmammy2011

I bought mine in Bella baby in Dundrum, you can by them from them instore or online.
Teethingsos is another website or if you google it you'll get a few options

How Strange

I never really thought of it but my son doesn't dribble anymore except perhaps when a tooth is actually cutting through.

I got mine from teethingsos.com. It arrived by post the day after I ordered it.

Tigeress

Eek I'm dreading the teething phase!

I didn't realise the lists for schools were so packed! We live in a small ish town & there are a few schools but as Nathan won't be Catholic I wonder I it'll pose a prob.. Must look into registering him soon!

We got the little man weighed today and last week he was 9lb 10oz at 2 weeks old (his birth weight was 9lb 11oz) this week he is 10lb 6oz! He's doing so well if only he'd sleep all night now we'd be sorted lol! Although last night we got 5 hours outta him! That's a first

Jenni best of luck with the move! I can't imagine starting a fresh in a new country let alone with a baby! You should def go to mother & baby groups to meet people! I plan on joining one myself as soon as I'm able to drive again after the section.. We moved here 5 years ago and still know no one about time we met people lol!

Hannibal Smith

Wow, nice one Nathan! 5 hours is pretty good at this stage!

How Strange

My little man is one next week and I was wondering at what stage you introduced your little ones chocolate and sweets. I'm absolutely in no rush but lately people are asking me if he's had chocolate yet and telling me I'm too strict. I'd prefer to get to at least 18 months before he tastes it.

Hannibal Smith

How Strange wrote: »

My little man is one next week and I was wondering at what stage you introduced your little ones chocolate and sweets. I'm absolutely in no rush but lately people are asking me if he's had chocolate yet and telling me I'm too strict. I'd prefer to get to at least 18 months before he tastes it.

Stick to your guns. I was told I was too strict too, and on his 1st birthday I caved and my parents have been shoving sweets into him ever since. It's been a huge battle with them to get them to stop. Once he started tasting the 'nice' stuff he became very picky about what he ate. If you want to wait longer, do it, you know you're doing it for his own good.

Orion

smccarrick wrote: »

Out of an abundance of caution- I put Baby Helen on the waiting list for the Gaelscoil in Maynooth- 3 months before she was born (I had to get a provisional PPSN for her to do this- which was only officially issued once the birth was registered in the GRO).

Shane Jnr was registered @ 3 months of age- and was already 96th out of 90- thanks to the school's siblings first policy. C'est la vie.

I've only enrolled our two in the one school- perhaps I need to revisit this?

You should pre-enrol in all schools in Maynooth. The ET school is just across the road from the Gaelscoil. Pre-enrolling commits you to nothing. It's just an expression of interest. If/when you are offered a place you can turn it down.

Tigeress

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Wow, nice one Nathan! 5 hours is pretty good at this stage!

Thanks Hannible
How long is it usually for them to go
All night? I know every baby is different but just wondering if there's an average?

How Strange

My son started at 7 months but it was quite a rare occurance. He just let us know he could if he wanted to. Since Christmas when he was 11 months he's been pretty much sleeping through from 7pm - 6.30/7.30am. Most nights he wakes up once or twice but he chats to himself for a few minutes and then goes back to sleep.

caprilicious

smccarrick wrote: »

....... We have many things in our arsenals here for teething that might not be available stateside- my little wifey and our two popped up to Belfast with me last weekend specifically to pick up Calgel- topical lidocaine for teething- it might sound severe, but it works....... Our two hate most of the alternates- this causes instant numbness- which is brilliant- you have a 10 minute window to get them to sleep- and you can use it more liberally than some of the alternates.

+1 on the Calgel, I find it absolutely brill. My daughter hated bonjella and teetha did nothing for her, but the rare time she is bad with her teeth it is a God send.
I had a wisdom tooth cutting myself a few months back and used it on my own gums, its great stuff! numbs the area immediately and stays numb for quite a while after.

I agree with Hannibal on sticking to your guns with the sweet treats, as soon as my girl was allowed to have treats it was like a green light for some (well intentioned!) people to arrive with inordinate amounts of sugary treats for her.
I wouldn't mind, but the same child is equally as happy with a handful of blueberries or an orange. Some people don't seem to see fruit as 'real' treats though :rolleyes:

Jenni that must be kind of exciting having a date in mind for when you're moving over! Happy house hunting

Tigeress that's brilliant that Nathan is doing so well with his weight!

JenniG

liliq, smccarrick: Thanx so much for the advice. Liliq we did have a play with daft.ie, and saw a world of options I will have go onto the property forum/thread, I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. Does preggy brain still apply after baby is born?

smcarrik "Disorganised? You've a freezer full of home cooked food and seem to be coping very well with a brand new baby- you're far from disorganised. If you could see the chaos in our house- you'd see just how well you're doing! You're also incredibly brave- I don't know whether I'd be up to moving home to another continent with a young child- getting out the door at all is almost a military operation!" (I still can't get the quote function to work for me, sorry )

Thanxs again smcarrick. for complementing me I'm in fact covering for the weepy chicken within, but excited too. As for being well organized... hmmm see our place & maybe you'll reconsider. Thank god someone else has described their place as being in chaos. I was beginning to think I was alone :rolleyes:.

Bubs will be only 3 weeks old soon & yet our small apartment has erupted. Yes I have a controlling streak. But other parents places that I have been to previously don't look anything like this... I find myself asking what are they doing that we're not? With a constant flow of washing, dishes, ironing etc. I'm so ashamed. I feel like the worst mother, wife etc. I realize that I'm possibly being to hard on myself here. As per above notes, she just seems to sense it when I'm about to move (thank god it's not just me). Great googily, moogily! :eek: Definitely considering in investing in a baby bjorn.

I heard about amber for teething, with mixed reactions. Some swearing by it, some not. Some swearing by certain ointments etc, some loathing them due to rashes and even more drool... Then some swearing by cold chew toys... As with anything, there is at least more than 1 way to skin a cat. I guess all we can do is try each one, though I think though we will try the amber first & see how we go...

How Strange

My son said mama TWICE this morning so there was no mistaking it!! . He's being saying mmm for ages but today he said mama.

Winnie

How Strange wrote: »

My son said mama TWICE this morning so there was no mistaking it!! . He's being saying mmm for ages but today he said mama.

How old is your Son? Mine is 7 months and just saying Da da all the time

How Strange

He's 1 tomorrow!! He's started saying dada around 8 months.

Winnie

oh big milestone, you must be excited!

wmpdd3

How Strange wrote: »

He's 1 tomorrow!! He's started saying dada around 8 months.

My daughter is 17 months and only said mama / mameee for the first time last week.

Even when I took her up i the morning from her cot she would say 'Dadee, Dadee, when I went in and all the way down the stairs. She would say the same for her father.

I thought she'd never say it.

But since she could creep, if you said 'go to mama, she'd go to me!

galah

hehe, congrats on the first 'mama', HowStrange & wmpdd3.

the sounds the little ones make are sooo cute, I could listen to them all day (I swear our 8-week old said 'owl', 'new' and 'Bruttosozialprodukt' the other day ;-P (only the first two may be true though

things are grand here, E. sleeps 5 hours in one go now, most nights - not always the 'right' side of midnight, but one can't be too picky at the moment...It seems that he's now able to last longer between feeds as well, only bfeeding every 3 to 4 hours now, and nowhere near as long as I used to (from 40 mins down to 20 mins max). Hope that's normal...:D

have a nice day everyone, it's lovely out here, might go for a quick dash around the block ;-)

wmpdd3

the sounds the little ones make are sooo cute, I could listen to them all day (I swear our 8-week old said 'owl', 'new' and 'Bruttosozialprodukt' the other day ;-P (only the first two may be true though

Get it all on video, it changes so much month by month and you forget all the little words they make

I'd be delighted if my one would get 3-4 hours between boob feeds at that age. Sounds great.

Tigeress

SO exciting with the new words :-) enjoy it ladies!

Nathan is 4 weeks old tomorrow & has gone into 3-6 month clothes already!! He's a little monster hehe! He's so long its crazy!
I've finally gotten into my old clothes I'm so happy with myself!

galah

ah fair play tigeress, well done! I'm still in maternity jeans, and it's killing me...

JenniG

:mad:Oooh first words, so exciting. Can't wait to hear what they say next...:P