20 week scan

[benvictors]

Just got back from our 20 weeks scan and we are having a girl, excited, scared, nervous, excited etc etc
It's out first and I think we both secretly wanted a girl first so all's good.
We have made the decision to put a bed in the nursery and try to take it in turns to do the 'night shift' we came to the conclusion that you can function ok with just one nights lack of sleep in comparison to 2, 3, 4?!?! Nights lack of sleep so are gonna do a night on, night off lol
Any one with any experience of trying this method, I know even the best laid plans can go sideward a pretty rapidly ha ha
Cheers

[Rhyso]

Our girl sleeps in our bedroom; Linzi looks after her through the night but I do get up when she's feeding so she's not on her own.  I look after Laylah when I come home from work to give Linzi a break

I sleep in the spare bedroom lol

Come the weekend then I'm on hand to help out but we are also lucky in that the mother-in-law looks after Laylah on a Sunday night so we both get a decent nights sleep 

The first month is the toughest without a doubt as they wake every couple of hours for a feed.  Lately, Laylah has settled down and is sleeping from between 5-9 hours!! 

Linzi has found that getting her into a routine during the day is key; after she has fed Laylah, to play with her, change her then put her down for a nap.  Since doing this, Laylah has started going longer through the night and is generally much happier during the day 

Hope all goes smoothly for you   Best feeling in the world becoming a parent 

Also get used to everyone giving you advice etc etc; whilst people are trying to be helpful, every baby is different.  You have to find what works for YOU 

[DubFan]

Congrats.
We had 2 girls. They're great.

We went the other way and put the cot in our bedroom for the first 6 months.
1) because we still wanted to sleep together 
2) because we could wake up and deal with anything without leaving the room

With our first girl, she was breast fed, so my wife had to do that in the night, so there would be no point me being in the room with child if my wife still had to get up.
However my second was bottle fed (she just wouldn't fed properly until we switched to the bottle). But we still kept the baby in our room for 5-6 months because we could now share duties. Plus by this time we wouldn't have had space for a bed in the kids room.

When both our girls were first born they fed at about 11pm, 3am and 7am. By 6months they were both only having feeds at 11pm and 7am, so you got a pretty normal nights sleep.

It will also depend heavily on how well the baby feeds, how often during the night, how well they sleep, if they get collick and so on. So you can't really say definitively one way or the other till they arrive.

[boneybradley]

just do what your misses says and you'll be fine (for some reason they seem to be proper grumpy for the first year!!) 



and as already said.... each baby is different, my eldest at 13 takes more time to settle than the 2 year old ever has!!

[mk2man1]

Congratulations,i have two boys 10 and 5,my wife did the week and i did the weekend.I work on roofs all day so didnt want to fall off  good excuse.
You have to do what works for you, its all trial and error on the bright side my brother has triplets he was making 28 bottles a day at one point and he was pampers number 1 customer.
Just go with it and enjoy being a dad.
 

[Seanl]

Congrats mate! I've a girl - now five, and we are expecting a little boy in April!

As already mentioned, routine is key!
We were lucky in that Chloe slept through from six weeks old, so we didn't have too many sleepless nights. 
But during the night feeds, don't interact with them. When feeding, just put on a low wattage lamp, and when they've been fed/burped/changed, put them straight back down again and turn off the light. They will quickly learn that this is quiet time, and will get into the routine accordingly. Don't leave it too long before moving them from the moses basket (if your using one) in your bedroom, to their own cot (even if you put the moses basket inside the cot). This gets them used to their surroundings too, and minimizes the break in routine etc.
A bottle warmer in the babies room is great too. You can grab a bottle from the fridge, then soothe the baby whilst its warming.

[JC]

congrats - and dont believe this crap that its gets easier as they grow up - it doesnt 

[tshirt2k]

Co-sleeping is where it's at. 

[benvictors]

Cheers fella's, really can't wait til she's here but I reckon that may change once she actually is and I've had no sleep lol
Some sound advice there, so thanks, got me one of them bottle warmers, heard they were a godsend. think we are gonna have her in her own room from the get go and take it in turns to stay in there with her, probably both of us in there on a weekend lol, and yes ive heard routine is key, although my mate has tried everything and his daughter is only just sleeping on a night after a year!!!!!

28 bottles a day!!!!!!! Sh!t!! That sounds like fun lol

Been doing what the misses says for the last ten years so got that covered, and Chuff, it's the growing up part that I'm most worried about, if she comes home with a lad that even slightly resembles what I was like when I was younger, he will be getting launched ha ha

Think you are on the money there Russ, your young in about a year now??

[SI74]

congratulations dude,

I've got a 20 week scan coming up very soon. Lot of good info in here for me