Feb 2011 - The one where they all start sleeping through the night! (We hope)

[WanderingSheep]

Was hoping a positive title might bring us some good luck

[WanderingSheep]

Ponyo, well done on getting your DD to sleep without swaddling! Hope she stays asleep all night

Byronic glad your DH got home safely! That is some scary shit going on

Jane enjoy your long weekend!

Aargh, I was going to say something else but it's gone never mind!

[reastie]

thanks wandering, marking my place and hoping someone reads my message at the end of the last thread

[ILovePonyo]

Well done wandering! Like the positive thinking with the thread title too, good plan :)

reastie I read your message and only have more sympathy, is your whole evening being taken up putting A to bed? I really hope it passes soon - no advice sorry but if anything springs to mind I'll let you know :)

Am off to bed now, will report back in the morning on little miss gro bag (who is still asleep :))

[WanderingSheep]

Reastie could she be teething? Or do you think she's just being relucant to go to sleep? I don't have much advice but I'm pretty sure that it will just be a phase

What is your routine in terms of putting her down to sleep? Sorry if you've gone through it before - tell me to sod off and read the other thread if you like Do you sing to her or shush and pat etc?

[WanderingSheep]

I'm just off to go and get ready for bed but I'll probably be back in a bit

[americanexpat]

reastie - if you're worried about your supply, can you pump? Use it as a top-up when needed. No advice on the sleeping really - you know the problems we've had.

byronic - I've just had a look at the news. Glad your partner is home safely!

Ponyo - agree with too much focus on weight charts. If she's otherwise normal and healthy, maybe that's where she's meant to be.

Wandering - I was just commenting to DH yesterday that I should be able to ram the pram into people too busy staring at their phone to pay attention to where they're going. The pavements are covered in zombies with a mobile glued to their nose.

[Deliaskis]

reastie really feel for you with the evening sleep situation. One of the things I think is so hard about this parenting thing is the absolute absence of clarity in a lot of cases about what the underlying problem is. I meanm it would be easy if you knew that i.e. she was for whatever reason still hungry, or she was 'over-tired' and therefore too fractious to settle, or whatever, but when they're still so little, we can't rule anything in or out, and therefore trying to resolve it seems nigh on impossible.

I know you have kept topping up during the evening, but how efficient do you think she is being during these feeds? You see, my only experience is with C that by that time of the day she is tired, and her last bottle more or less sends her off to sleep (we still put her down awake, but she's vvvvv settled and drowsy by then). It might not be relevant to you as you're BFing, but is there any way you can spend an hour or longer just trying to ram as much milk in her as possible (I mean in a humane way of course!)? That sounds stupid now I've written it as I can't imagine you've not tried it.

On a completely different tack, I would say that we have had C in her cot in her own room from quite early on [bad mummy icon], but if it wasn't working for whatever reason, I wouldn't hesitate to change it. I think we can get tied up with what we want to happen (e.g. I want a routine, I want adult time in the evening, I want to breastfeed on demand, I want to do x, y or z), but actually, if it's not working for you and Alice, then maybe you might need to change tack a little bit. Does she sleep if she's with you in the evening downstairs? Does she sleep in your room if you're there? At this point, if I were you, I would take a week (or at least a few days) out of "trying" to get her to do x y or z, and do whatever makes your lives easier.

They're still really tiny and according to much wiser more experienced parents than me, these things are usually phases, and usually pass.

Sorry that's really completely unhelpful, but have just been mulling over your situ and am kind of stumped, but still mulling!

D

[tadjennyp]

Hello all, it's taken me so long to read the messages that you've all probably got up again now! Reastie I second what delia says about having a break from trying to get a routine for a couple of days and just getting her to sleep, for your sanity. I quite miss having Sammy downstairs now [last baby emoticon] but he's being a pain at night with all the extra feeds. I told him to stop shouting at me so I could get some sleep yesterday morning so dh got up and took him and the other two to preschool without me even noticing! I hope she's slept all the way through for you. I second the pumping if you think you are having supply issues. You can freeze any extra.

Hope you all have lovely mornings and the shredding goes well. at all the lack of holidays. Fingers x'd Jane.

[byronicheroine]

Just marking place, and to let you know we've made it through the night! I might sound calm, that's because we are quite used to it :)
There are strikes and protests here all the time. The trouble is also very localised so if you don't want to be involved you don't have to be. I'd never know anything was going on but for the news! Basically, without getting all political on you, something has to change.
Hope you all had good nights

[reastie]

morning all and thanks for your sympathies and thoughts re: alices bedtime. Having started the bedtime routine at 6:30 she was FINALLY asleep in her cot at 10:30 . d it's interesting what you say about C not being that hungry in the evenings, maybe I'm trying to tank alice up too much, but she genuinely seems hungry and I think some of the screams could be hunger related. don't think it's teething wandering. we tried to get her to sleep earlier again and gave her a nap late afternoon and it still didn't work. she sleeps with dh in the spare room (I can't cope having her with me all night ) and when I left her in her cot (dh already in bed) dh had to hold her hand to help her to sleep [bless]. Really hope this phase stops soon . I feel a bit better re: my supply issues having read something on kellymom - i used to be all engorged every morning and it stopped a couple of weeks ago and thought it was something wrong but turns out this is normal [phew]

come on ponyo - how was the little grobag baby last night?

[janedoe25]

Morning ladies just marking my place, will catch up later.

[suzym1984]

weareborg haha love the smelling of milk comment...I am usually roaming around with crazy looking hair and smelling of sick. I live near Gosforth, is that near you?

ponyo I cant beliiiiieeeeeeve you are leaving me behind re: swaddling . Let me know how you get on tho, maybe I will try H with his grow bags.

reatsie Oh no, I felt sure you would have a better night with Alice. Does she settle if you give her a bottle of formula? I dont know about milk supply, but try not to worry, it is prob just a phase and she will hopefully grow out of it soon!

Miserable day here today, going to do housework all day, booooo

[chocoroo]

Marking my place and off to catch up...

[ILovePonyo]

Hello all, well gro bag baby went... ok depending on your definition! I was up probably every hour or two just going in and putting the dummy in and sometimes moving her away from the bars of the cot. However I didn't have to spend time settling her, she was pretty much back to sleep each time.
I don't know if I'm being stupid stopping swaddling as she would do a big long stretch of sleep before, but I just don't like the idea of her rolling around the cot without her arms free. She slept on her side for pretty much the whole night last night.

Oh, and when I went to bed about 10pm I got into bed with video monitor on, just got settled and she started crying haha! The comedy timing was so spot on I had to laugh.

Does it make sense that babies that are teething are generally more fussy in the day too? She's a lot more 'needy' at the mo, is fine if I sit with her but as soon as I start mn-ing/anything else she starts grizzling (like she is now )

reastie that 4 hour long bedtime routine sounds knackering, although its very cute that dh held A's hand to get her to sleep Don't know if this will help you but I just keep thinking re: cot and gro bag etc "its got to end soon, give it 2 weeks" and I'll give it another 2 weeks if it doesn't end then. And so on...

Got to go b'cos her whingy moaning is doing my head in Oh and I was going to go to baby massage today, just rang and they said they're doing it in 6 weeks blocks now and it started last week :( Boo!

[suzym1984]

ponyo I have just put H down for him mroning nap in a gro bag (copycat emoticon!) and so far so good! he is lying there stroking his teddy, so maybe he might be able to settle himself better? Going to practise at naps today, but think I am too much of a wimp to stop swaddling at night yet! I am so scared of changing my routine! haha

[reastie]

ponyo a half for last night (and a big to the comedy timing) . Alice has been far needier in the day too and I put it down to growing up as opposed to teething - only as a friend of mine has a 9mo dd and she is very demanding in that you have to keep her entertained so much - can't just dump her leave her so easily. i fee sometimes like every day is moving from one thing to another with alice as she keeps getting bored and then whines/moans (although I have to be careful the whine isn't tiredness but boredom - gosh these babies are hard to figure out ). I could teach you if you were here what I learnt from my hour long baby massage class in 2 mins, which is what I did with DH. I can't believe this 4 session course costs £12 per session

suzy gl with housework. This afternoon I'm hoping to continue my decorating mission (pending alices sleeping)

[janedoe25]

reastie much sympathy with the bed time thing I hope A grows out of it asap.

ponyo and Suzy yay for the gro bags

Babysitting going well so far! Juts gave her a bottle and she is now snoring away in her pram

ps. No sign of AF yet.....................

[americanexpat]

Another crap night here, up at least every 2 hours. He woke crying inconsolably at 6, I moved to the other bedroom to let DH deal with it. DH didn't put L to bed until after 9.30, even though I repeatedly told him that he's tired and needs to sleep. The night he slept better, he fell asleep at 7 so maybe an earlier bedtime is the key. I told DH we need to aim to have him in bed by 8 now.

jane - ooooo, keep us updated. How exciting!

MIL is being so persistent that we give him baby rice (love when she starts emails "I know you don't want unsolicited advice BUT..." ) because she thinks he's starving. It's so easy for her to evaluate that from 6000 miles away, isn't it? No explanation of why we aren't doing it will change her mind because her doctor told her something 30 years ago. Not that my family is much better but at least I can tell them to STFU.

[Deliaskis]

reastie clutching at straws here, but assuming this process with Alice's sleep is going to take a few weeks maybe to figure out, how about, if she will go to sleep holding DH's finger, do that for a couple of nights, then maybe try and change finger for a finger-shaped toy/rattle etc. just when she is dropping off, then change for rattle earlier, then eventually maybe she'll just go to sleep clutching a toy which you can remove later when she is asleep.

Probably won't work, but might be worth a try. I just think if she can sleep holding just a finger, that's good, because it's not a complete dolby surround sound cuddle that she needs to get to sleep, so maybe work with that for now?

Sorry if you're now getting sick of probably silly suggestions!

Dx

[Deliaskis]

Ponyo and suzy glad you're making progress with gro-bags, tiny steps, and eventually we'll all have well-adjusted 6 yr olds who go to bed happily, eat a wide range of healthy foods, play the piano and speak confidently on a number of issues LOL!

jane daren't even say anything but thinking of you!

Dx

[WanderingSheep]

Reastie have you tried the lullaby night light thingy at night? I know you said that she gets too excited to use it for bed time but I was just thinking that, in my experience, the excitement (the kicking and laughing etc) wears them out after a while and they'll just stay still and gaze at it and then eventually drift off.

With DD2, if she's wide awake I use that or the light up tummy teddy (see profile pics) and she'll gaze at them till she falls asleep. I leave her and shut the door with them on and go back to check on her in a little while. If she's asleep I turn them off, if she's awake I leave her again.

With DD1, I would sing to her for a while (something really soft but boring where the verses can repeat over and over) and pat her tummy through the bars of the cot (apparently reminds them of your heart beat in the womb). I second what Delia said about perhaps letting her sleep holding DH's finger. When Dd1 was tiny and she was still in our room I used to hold her hand just so she knew I was there. It can take a while but you'll get though it! Have you read "the No Cry Sleep Solution?" Perhaps give it a read.

Delia I was grinning to myself about holding a "finger shaped toy" I was imagining one of those pretend dismembered fingers that you can get at Halloween . Sorry, I know I'm stupid!

Ponyo bless your DD with her comedy timing! I feel your pain with the having to get up to put dummy in! Lottie has been a bit more settled these past couple of nights but the other night, my God! I was up every half hour from about 2.30, putting her dummy back in and she kept kicking the covers off, so I kept tucking her in! On the bright side, when they learn to find their dummies themselves, we won't have to do that anymore!

Jane when are you testing?

Byronic glad you're ok!

Aren't well meaning GParents annoying re weaning. The "tips" they give you! Put rusks in a bottle...erm, no!

I used to have coffee in my bottles when I was a baby! I was probably not a baby baby, maybe about 1 but even so!

[WanderingSheep]

American sorry you had a crap night. Sounds like you were right when you kept saying he was tired. So frustrating when people don't listen!

[debka]

Nice shiny new thread

reastie sorry i was of no help whatsoever! Still thinking of you though. Your crumble sounds yum, all that lovely fruit. I made bruschetta with proper sourdough bread and chopped tomatoes and mozzarella for lunch today, I STINK of garlic!

Took S to hospital today for her blood test. it was soooo traumatic. had to wait ages cos they'd lost her notes and fax from Guys and St T, even though it was them that called us with the appt! so she tired before they even got started. then a rubbish dr tried to get her blood but couln't- she was screaming before he even touched her with the needle because he was holding her arm so hard. 1/2 hr later it was still red. then he gave up (thankfully) and called a senior dr who was much nicer, tried her hand but nothing, eventuallygot the blood from her foot. s was screaming, i wascrying, it was awful. even harder because at g&st t's the woman got it out first time round, hardly any crying, just her and me and s, v calm. this was god awful and v poorly managed. i have 1/2 a mind to complain. what do you think?

jane EVERYTHING is crossed for you!

excuse rubbish typing, doing it left handed.

[WanderingSheep]

Oh poor S sounds horrendous! Definitely complain Debka. They shouldn't have made you wait around either!

[janedoe25]

debka poor little S, that sounds very traumatising! Hope she is ok, for what it's worth i would conplain.

I think i will hold off testing until Sunday, will be a fab fathers day for DF if i get a bfp.

I had a lovely wee day with my friends baby, she was so happy and smiley and snuggly My nice day will no doubt be ruined later, we are going to fil's for diner.