[Ickle Yoda1]

Well my little boy is 9 months old now and just thinking today how much life for me has changed. Weekends drinking (and recovering) staying up til 2am every night more or less, watching films uninterrupted lol.

My life really has changed, more careful with money and even my own health to a point now. Living pattern is totally different. Yeah I sometimes miss having more time to chill out and relax but wouldn't change it for anything.

How did having your kids change you?

[liamt]

same. ours is almost 1 year old now. what a year! man, how it flies by! the last year is like a blur.

late nights are now a thing of the past. 10:30 is our bedtime these days lol, often on a weekend. the amount of times i fell asleep watching match of the day last season!

love him to bits though and that smile and laugh can really make your day. i love being a dad. i just wish he would sleep a bit better than the 4 times he wakes every night. that is taking its toll!

[liamt]

BTW Yoda, are they crawling etc yet? life suddenly becomes very different when they do! do you have one of those walker/car things? Alex loves his but the added mobility was a shock!

[Geezer69]

Number 3 is now 4 months old. Life is speeding along. You're right, my life has changed since my boys came along but it has changed for the better.

[KyleS1]

My little girl just recently turned 10 months, and completely agree with how life has changed. I pretty much am in bed by 10pm every night, but this week it is 9 as the early mornings (5am usually) and getting up several times a night has really taken its toll.
She is crawling and walking with one of those trolley things they push (not the sit down cars) and she loves it. Only ever wants to be walking. It's a crazy change of life, but it's great. But like liam, I wish she would sleep all the way through the night, or even past 5am. Oh for a lie in until 7:30!

[liamt]

Originally Posted by KyleS1

My little girl just recently turned 10 months, and completely agree with how life has changed. I pretty much am in bed by 10pm every night, but this week it is 9 as the early mornings (5am usually) and getting up several times a night has really taken its toll.
She is crawling and walking with one of those trolley things they push (not the sit down cars) and she loves it. Only ever wants to be walking. It's a crazy change of life, but it's great. But like liam, I wish she would sleep all the way through the night, or even past 5am. Oh for a lie in until 7:30!

haha. my wife gets up in the night

i still get woken most times. i do seem to be better at cutting it out. once i wake up im awake for a while, while the mrs is asleep 10 seconds after putting her head down.

due to us having porcelain tiles and wood floors those hold at the back style walker things arent that great. they slide around and just arent safe

he wants to be walking everywhere so i just hold his hands and walk with him.

he is also obsessed with clapping (and recently waving!). he grabs people's hands and makes them clap. then looks at them like they were a bit stupid for not clapping. so funny. he is a real little character now. he also loves chasing the dog in his walker, luckily she is very patient!

[KyleS1]

Originally Posted by liamt

haha. my wife gets up in the night

i still get woken most times. i do seem to be better at cutting it out. once i wake up im awake for a while, while the mrs is asleep 10 seconds after putting her head down.

due to us having porcelain tiles and wood floors those hold at the back style walker things arent that great. they slide around and just arent safe

he wants to be walking everywhere so i just hold his hands and walk with him.

he is also obsessed with clapping (and recently waving!). he grabs people's hands and makes them clap. then looks at them like they were a bit stupid for not clapping. so funny. he is a real little character now. he also loves chasing the dog in his walker, luckily she is very patient!

Yeah we had that arrangement too, but I felt too mean sleeping through when she started back at work, so I take 10-2 and she takes 2-6, however, I always seem to be downstairs playing with Lola at 5:30, so not sure how that works! Haha!

Yeah that sounds a bit dangerous with slippy floors. Our whole downstairs is carpeted bar the kitchen which is tiled, so she is happy walking it around. In the kitchen though it is defo too slippery.

We've just started running with Lola. We stand behind her and hold her hands, then start her walking foward getting faster and faster until her legs wont go any quicker. She roars with laughter. You can really see on her face how pleased she is with her new independence. She;s been crawling for ages, but I think she now feels more grown up by walking. It's so lovely to see that look in her face.

It surprising how much they change on a weekly basis, and how much they develop and learn. Lola loves clapping too. She claps herself now when she has done something well. When she finishes her dinner, we used to say "well done" and give her a clap. Now we say "well done" and she claps herself.

I do still sometimes miss the times when I could do what I wanted, stay up as late as I wanted, play xbox, watch a film, go to the cinema, have a few beers etc, but as soon as you see that little face smile, you forget about all that stuff.

BTW did you get your car seat sorted in the end? Which one did you go for? We decided to wait until she is 1, but that is getting ever nearer now, I will have to start looking again.

[liamt]

Originally Posted by KyleS1

Yeah we had that arrangement too, but I felt too mean sleeping through when she started back at work, so I take 10-2 and she takes 2-6, however, I always seem to be downstairs playing with Lola at 5:30, so not sure how that works! Haha!

Yeah that sounds a bit dangerous with slippy floors. Our whole downstairs is carpeted bar the kitchen which is tiled, so she is happy walking it around. In the kitchen though it is defo too slippery.

We've just started running with Lola. We stand behind her and hold her hands, then start her walking foward getting faster and faster until her legs wont go any quicker. She roars with laughter. You can really see on her face how pleased she is with her new independence. She;s been crawling for ages, but I think she now feels more grown up by walking. It's so lovely to see that look in her face.

It surprising how much they change on a weekly basis, and how much they develop and learn. Lola loves clapping too. She claps herself now when she has done something well. When she finishes her dinner, we used to say "well done" and give her a clap. Now we say "well done" and she claps herself.

I do still sometimes miss the times when I could do what I wanted, stay up as late as I wanted, play xbox, watch a film, go to the cinema, have a few beers etc, but as soon as you see that little face smile, you forget about all that stuff.

BTW did you get your car seat sorted in the end? Which one did you go for? We decided to wait until she is 1, but that is getting ever nearer now, I will have to start looking again.

lol. yup. every week you see something different. due to the hard floors he took a while to get moving. oddly it was me putting safety covers on my speaker bases that drove him to crawl. for some reason he decided he didnt like them and wanted them, so suddenly crawled over to them! i was amazed.

we now have a big rug for him to play on but i think the hard floors held him back in terms of crawling as he spent a lot of time in his car. he loves running too. i just say 'get poppy' and he legs it after her (the dog) laughing like a mastermind criminal

does Lola clap at the TV? Alex does it when the audience etc claps. v funny.

[KyleS1]

Lola was up on her knees for a while and didnt look like she was going to crawl, then one day on the sofa, just legged it across from one end to the other. We were completely shocked as weren't expecting it at all.

Lola isn't really interested in the TV unless there are animals on it. She loves them. As soon as they appear she is laughing at them. Other than that, she pays no attention to it. Which is annoying as she won't sit still...ever!

She does clap a lot though, but as I said before, mostly at herself when she is pleased with something she has done. Nothing like self gratification is there!

I can't wait until she can walk unaided, that will be fun.

[Ickle Yoda1]

Nice to see I am not the only guy who is in bed hours earlier than before lol. Jayden is wanting to walk when we hold him up and he is trying. He hasn't been crawling though, think he is going straight to walking. We got him a walker and he likes that but can't get it moving just yet. He is a happy wee soul tho and loves eating! Practically anything we give him. Miss having some of my free time etc but it's nice knowing I ain't the only one

[hoyteamx]

I became sooo much more disciplined with time and money. I actually sleep less but feel better because of the better routine and wanting to make the most of the day time. As for money...Where on earth was all my money going before I had a child?

[liamt]

Originally Posted by Ickle Yoda1

Nice to see I am not the only guy who is in bed hours earlier than before lol. Jayden is wanting to walk when we hold him up and he is trying. He hasn't been crawling though, think he is going straight to walking. We got him a walker and he likes that but can't get it moving just yet. He is a happy wee soul tho and loves eating! Practically anything we give him. Miss having some of my free time etc but it's nice knowing I ain't the only one

i think they all look like arent going to crawl. Alex just lied on his belly and waggled his legs and got ****** off and went for another toy. all of a sudden he just did it. and once they realise they can do it there is no stopping them

He took to the walker really quickly. he saw his little friend in one and wanted a go. got it going straight away. it helps having hard floors as its much easier to get them moving. we got him a little F1 walker. really cool!

yeah. i miss my free time but im 37 so have had plenty over the years.

[Eltee]

My little girl is ten months now. I love being her Daddy. She's been sleeping through since she was 3 months old - 12 hours every night - we are truly blessed and very lucky and don't take it for granted. Now she's teething it could all change! She loves standing up and bouncing and really wants to crawl but does the whole thrash-on-her-belly thing then get's totally frustrated. Hopefully her body's ability will catch up with what her brain wants to do soon - for her's and our's sake

[liamt]

Originally Posted by Eltee

My little girl is ten months now. I love being her Daddy. She's been sleeping through since she was 3 months old - 12 hours every night - we are truly blessed and very lucky and don't take it for granted. Now she's teething it could all change! She loves standing up and bouncing and really wants to crawl but does the whole thrash-on-her-belly thing then get's totally frustrated. Hopefully her body's ability will catch up with what her brain wants to do soon - for her's and our's sake

get out!!!!! sleeps through?!?! lucky git!

3 months is very young for crawling. their arms need to be quite strong to crawl.

[KyleS1]

Originally Posted by liamt

get out!!!!! sleeps through?!?! lucky git!

3 months is very young for crawling. their arms need to be quite strong to crawl.

His baby is 10 months old.

Originally Posted by Eltee

My little girl is ten months now. I love being her Daddy. She's been sleeping through since she was 3 months old - 12 hours every night - we are truly blessed and very lucky and don't take it for granted. Now she's teething it could all change! She loves standing up and bouncing and really wants to crawl but does the whole thrash-on-her-belly thing then get's totally frustrated. Hopefully her body's ability will catch up with what her brain wants to do soon - for her's and our's sake

You are very very lucky to have a baby that sleeps 12 hours a night from 3 months. I was pleased last night when Lola slept from 7:30 until 5am without waking. 5am is still far too early to be waking though.
Maybe all the extra awake time she has had helped her development as she has been crawling for 2 months (she has just turned 10 months old), and is getting braver with the walking.
Still, I'd love 12 hours sleep!!!

[liamt]

Originally Posted by KyleS1

She's 10 months old.

You are very very lucky to have a baby that sleeps 12 hours a night from 3 months. I was pleased last night when Lola slept from 7:30 until 5am without waking. 5am is still far too early to be waking though.
Maybe all the extra awake time she has had helped her development as she has been crawling for 2 months (she has just turned 10 months old), and is getting braver with the walking.
Still, I'd love 12 hours sleep!!!

yup. definitely at the 'no fear' stage!

how does she cope with mirrors? Alex loves them and can sit and play for ages. vein little bugger

[KyleS1]

Originally Posted by liamt

yup. definitely at the 'no fear' stage!

how does she cope with mirrors? Alex loves them and can sit and play for ages. vein little bugger

That was primarily aimed at Eltee (post now edited for clarity), but was pointing out to you that his baby is 10 months not 3.

Yeah Lola loves them. I often find her kissing the mirror

[Wildkarrde]

8 months yesterday for me and how my life has changed! We have been pretty lucky that Brodie has slept right through since around 10 weeks, 12 hours. I feel really lucky when i read what some parents go through!!
He's bathed and fed and down for 7.30pm and usually that's him till 8am. Sometimes a little earlier and sometimes later . With that routine i have gotten my night life back ie going to the gym during the week.
Weekend drinking is pretty much gone. I allow myself 2 cans on a Friday and 4 on a Sat as he doesn't know its Sat or Sun morning, no lie ins anymore!!!
I'm pretty much a night hawk and bed around midnight, getting up at 6.45ish to go take the dog out and get ready for wee man waking up.
We do stay up a little later on a Sat night(cos it is still Sat night) generlly watch a movie and some tv while enjoying a beer.

The one thing that has suffered for me is my golf . I work Sat so i used to go out every Sunday. I think i've had around 4 rounds this year!!

In saying that off for our annual golf trip on Sat so going to enjoy that :b eer:

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by liamt

i think they all look like arent going to crawl. Alex just lied on his belly and waggled his legs and got ****** off and went for another toy. all of a sudden he just did it. and once they realise they can do it there is no stopping them

He took to the walker really quickly. he saw his little friend in one and wanted a go. got it going straight away. it helps having hard floors as its much easier to get them moving. we got him a little F1 walker. really cool!

yeah. i miss my free time but im 37 so have had plenty over the years.

We have the same Groove and Learn activity station that you have, our little one is just over 8 months. It doesn't matter how much sleep you have or haven't had, that little smile makes it all worth while. Only free time I get these days is early Sat / Sun morning when I do the early morning feed, Freya usually sleeps till 10.30 / 11.00 so I get a couple hours of xbox time while the OH gets some sleep.

[liamt]

yeah. alex hasnt used the activity station since he got his walker car thing. loves the mobility of it and chasing the dog it also started doing odd things. maybe some bits got broken but it would repeat itself all the time and make noises when you weren't near it. kind of spooky!

TylerDurden - nice

[KyleS1]

Lola had a jumperoo, and as soon as she could crawl she lost all interest in it. I thought it would be around for a lot longer than it was. Mind you, it was a life saver at times.

[TylerDurden]

What routine do your babies have ?
I'm up at 07.00 to get ready for work and give Freya her first bottle. I put her back to sleep in her cot and leave for work about 08.15. She'll usually sleep until 10.30 ish when mum will get up and give her the next bottle / brunch about 11.30. She'll have another bottle / lunch about 3.30. I'm home about 6.00 and we have dinner together around 7.30/8.00. Her last bottle is about 10.30/11.00 and on a good night will be asleep by midnight, we've had quite a few nights recently where she just hasn't settled and slept until 2.00/3.00 am. We've put this down to teething, also she moves around a lot more in the cot than ever before. Mum does the night feed during the week, I do it on the weekends

[liamt]

Alex is all over the place for a routine

up any time from 6 - 9am, im out for work at 7:30 and most mornings he is asleep when i go. wife does the night feeds since she isnt going back to work. he has breakfast about 30-60mins after getting up. then sometimes has a nap. lunch about 12-1pm maybe a nap. then dinner about 5-6pm. im home around 5:30 and play with him until around 8pm. he has a bath around 6:30-7pm. sometimes wakes up 2 times. others 5 times.

alex is never in the same place as we lie him down. he used to wheel around the bed, just rotating. he seems much happier on his side.

[KyleS1]

We have a fairly stable routine for Lola, although we are doing controlled crying at the moment to help with the night wakes, and early rises, so things are changing a bit at the moment.

Currently Lola wakes at around 4am, where she comes in our bed for a snooze until around 5-5:30. Usually Iwill get up with her then and take her downstairs for a play and her first bottle. She will breakfast at 8. Next bottle at 10:30/11, lunch at 1, dinner at 5/5:30, bath at 6:30, last bottle at 7/7:30, bed 7:30/8pm.
She usually naps from 9-10:30 ish, and again at a random time in the arvo depending on what she is doing, but usually not long after lunch.

She is great during the day, but she wakes a couple of times a night, and wont sleep past 5am currently. However at 4am this morning she woke, and we did the controlled crying. Lasted 40 minutes but she was back asleep until 6 which is bloody amazing! We've been doing it for 3 days now, and the first night took about 30 mins to get her to sleep, but the second two she was asleep within 5 mins. Usually she would fall asleep on the last bottle but we are trying to change that so she goes to bed awake and settles herself.
Just got to power through the next couple of nights with the controlled crying, and hopefully (fingers crossed) she will start settling herself better. Everyone we spoke to said 2-3 solid days of controlled crying changed their lives. However, those that have babies who sleep through won't know what we are talking about!

[liamt]

i need to look at this controlled crying. i take it you just let them cry and see if they go back to sleep?

[KyleS1]

Originally Posted by liamt

i need to look at this controlled crying. i take it you just let them cry and see if they go back to sleep?

It's more structured than that, but in essence yes.
There are many different ways of doing it, but we are doing timed. So we put her down to sleep, say night night, give her a kiss and walk out. If she cries we go back in after 2 mins, lay her back down, stroke her head and say night and walk out again. Wait 4 mins, then 8 mins, then 16 mins etc until she is asleep, repeating the going back in to lay her down after each time limit has elapsed.

Although at 4am this morning, based on the way she was acting, we left the times a little longer, so did 5 mins, then 8 mins, then 12 mins, then 15 mins. Was asleep within 40 mins. She gets up and walks around her cot and eventually just lays down and falls asleep.
We have a video baby monitor so can keep an eye on her without having to peek through the door with a chance of her seeing us.

[Wildkarrde]

Man i feel for you both, must be so hard functioning normally getting not a lot of sleep.

Our routine is pretty much the same everyday. Brodie wakes up around 8am(ish), his mum gets him up and nappy changed. I'm down the stairs as ive been up since quarter to 7 to get the dog out and get my breakfast.
I make up his breakfast and feed him and mum gives bottle as i go to work.
He pretty much cat naps 2-3 times a day. Goes for one after a couple of hours being up. That can last 30 mins to 1 1/2 hrs!
Goes for a nap during the afternoon around 2ish and sometimes has a quick nap around 4.30 ish.
I get home around quarter to 6, he's in his high chair after been given his dinner. I have mine then we have a wee play before i take him for his bath around 6.30-6.45.
The time i get him dried and ready it's time for his last bottle of the night around 7.30pm.
More often than not he's crashed out at the end and goes to bed and routine starts again in the morning

[liamt]

yeah, lack of sleep is killing me lol. doesnt help that the mrs was really ill for most of the pregnancy and had to leave work months early. she was up being ill all night and day. so its been much longer than 1 year of crap sleep. plus when alex was born (emergency c-section) he had to be fed every 3 hours, and took about an hour to feed him (from a cup). i think thats why he wakes so much as he always has done. well, the first few weeks we had to wake him up!

[neilios]

Originally Posted by liamt

i need to look at this controlled crying. i take it you just let them cry and see if they go back to sleep?

We attempted the controlled crying but it didn't work for us,she'd cry all night,get really ,really,angry.Luckily she seems to be growing out of the night wakings,were down to a couple a week.
She even goes into her bedroom when i aske her if she's going to bed,i change her ,pass her the bottle and she feeds herself,then lay her in the cot and she goes to sleep..

[KyleS1]

Originally Posted by liamt

yeah, lack of sleep is killing me lol. doesnt help that the mrs was really ill for most of the pregnancy and had to leave work months early. she was up being ill all night and day. so its been much longer than 1 year of crap sleep. plus when alex was born (emergency c-section) he had to be fed every 3 hours, and took about an hour to feed him (from a cup). i think thats why he wakes so much as he always has done. well, the first few weeks we had to wake him up!

I wouldn't worry about that, Lola was breastfeed until recently, and the first couple of months she was feeding every couple of hours for up to and over an hour each time. We never had to wake her up though, she appears to hate sleep!