Sisterhood of Motherhood
The Baby Sense blog

Daniel (10 Months) woke at 5am this morning.  I put him in bed next to Grant, staggerd around to get his milk and popped to the loo.  By the time I got back to our room Tom (3) was also in bed with Grant.  Usually no problem, but this morning there seemed to be no room for me to get back in.  So I stumbled off to the spare room and enjoyed another 2 hours of peaceful sleep.  We have a king size bed so really there should have been enough room for me, but these days all the bedtime buddies have to come along.  Daniel has 3 bed time buddies - a Baby Sense Taglet, the Baby Sense Tati bear, and another bear called Mac.  Tom has 7 bed time buddies - Bernie Bear, Cuddlebugs bear, Mr Willow the cow, a Nemo fish pillow, his own pillow, a blankie and the latest addition, a toy tractor.  I love the fact that both boys have their comfort toys.  If Tom is upset or tired he always says “I want someone to love” and will go and get most, if not all his cuddley bits.    I too have my own comfort item.  A pillow case that is extra specially soft and cold.  A bit embarrasing, but I bet there are other moms out there with their secret comforter still. 

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ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

I am so excited. Daniel (10 months) is repeating a few words that he hears.  So far he has said “bye”, “Hello” (more like heyyo) and the sweetest sound to any mom “mama”.  I could not believe my ears when he said it.  I had put him in his cot while I tidied Toms room and when I walked back into Dan’s room I heard “Mama” as I walked in.  It was so appropriate and meaningful that it just had to be true.  He wasn’t just babbling.  I picked him up and said “you just called me mama” and he said it again, clear as day “MAMMA.  He even did it again the next morning when he woke up … I am sure he called me before he started to cry.  Yippee.  It is not consistent yet, and he seemed to have moved on from the moment … but I will remember it forever.

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ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

I am having some issues with Thomas (3).  He is such a devine little guy but is giving us a bit of a hard time at the moment.  He seems to be stuck between wanting to be a “Big Boy” and wanting to stay my baby.  He is so proud of all the things he can do because he is big, but he still wants me to do things for him, things I know he should be doing on his own.

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ANTOINETTE:

 Hi Meg.

I get so many letters each week from mums (and often dads) with questions on issues concerning their babies.  One mum emailed me yesterday for the second time.  The first time she had emailed a question her baby was only a few weeks old.  Her email yesterday said “I have previously written to Meg and received such good advice. I re- read the email today and couldn’t help by laugh at myself - the frustration, the depression and all the mixed feelings of being a new mom!”  This comment made me think.  What is it about becoming a parent and being so responsible for this little being that makes us so unsure of ourselves?  Imagine if we were this unsure about making decisions in our jobs, or in other aspects of our lives.  With a baby we need to read all the books, trawl the internet, ask our own parents or clinic sisters for advice and ask our peers what they think before we feel we can make a decision.  Imagine if we did the same when grocery shopping for example, and choosing between plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. 

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ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

Thank you for your advice on helping Tom (3) to settle after our move.  He has now settled in.  His room has all his books and toys and there is so much more space for him.  Tom is also making new friends in our road and I have marvelled at how easy it is for children to become friends. 

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Hi Meg

We moved home last week and we are battling a little with Tom (3). He is so unsettled and doesn’t want to sleep in his new room most days. He has had some almighty melt downs. We have only been here 3 days and he has asked to go back to his old house. We gave him a few small gifts when we arrived in the new house to make it welcoming and he is really enjoying the extra space. We still have boxes everywhere and most of his toys are still packed away. There is a play room in our new house, so once everything is unpacked I am sure he will love this space. I am so worried for him though. It has taken over an hour to get him to sleep each night as he cries so much and becomes quite stressed.

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Daniel (9 months) has just started crawling in the last few days.  I am so proud of him.  Each day his skill improves with better co-ordination and each day he can get that much futher.  Each day he has also managed to get himself into a hazardous situation.  Now that he is able to get places he is pulling on wires, putting anything he comes accross into his mouth (including chocking sized pegs from Toms peg board, lego and fogotten pennies under the couch).  He has pulled the washing airers on top of himself, got his fingers jammed under the door and today I saw him eyeing out the stairs.  Eeek, I need to baby proof our house again.  I lay on the carpet today trying to see things from his level.  Yip, the world has just got more interesting. 

Hi Nette

One of my friends had a baby 10 weeks ago and wrote this to me today - “It is funny how little sleep can influence your entire being. John helped me out and went shopping. He returned with frozen broccoli and chocolate cookies both things that I can’t eat while breast feeding. I burst out in tears and we had a huge fight about him not listening or concentrating while I tell him things. The poor guy was also just as tired as I was, and thought he would get us something else for a change.”

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ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

I have just come back from seeing a very close friend of mine who’s little baby girl is only 5 weeks old. My friend and her husband are now at that stage of total sleep deprivation and total bliss. That stage where you start to do something and it never gets finished, you cant concentrate on anything let alone a conversation, you have so many questions and worries about whether or not you are doing it right - holding her right, burping her properly, why is she crying…? The stage of being totally in love with this tiny little person when each noise from her is a joy, and a little smile from her can make it all worth while. This is the stage in your life when you run on autopilot. You dont know where the energy comes from to wake up every 2-3 hours to feed your baby, you get nothing done, but are exhausted, life is a blur of feeding, pacing the floor and trying to get some rest.

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ANTOINETTE: 

Daniel is teething.  At 8 months he still has no teeth and now it seems 2 are going to arrive at the same time.  He has not had any nappy rash, excess dribbling or red hot cheeks, but he has been a bit clingy and grumpy.  This morning during an epic yelling episode I spotted the 2 little bottom teeth just under the gums. 

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