To think that I must be the only mum in the country who's never had a night off?

[VondaRedbush]

DS is 2.4 and I've not had a night out/off since he was born. I recently had a milestone birthday and was only able to go out for lunch with DH. Everyone else I know of has, for their birthdays, been out for meals/drinking or gone on whole weekends away.

(The reason I've not had a night/evening off is that I'm the only one who can get DS to bed - he's still breastfed AND we co sleep. I'm becoming more and more fed up with it but can't see a way out. )

So, am I really the only mum to never ever get an evening off??? I'm starting to feel so isolated and socially inept .

As far as the eczema goes keep pestering the GP and ask for a referral. If he's got food allergies as well you should probably be seeing a paediatrician who specialises in atopic disease regularly. Whatever you use will probably become less effective over time so you do need to keep hassling them when his symptoms get bad and change what you are using. There are lots of different creams to try and getting the right combination of stuff to add to the bath/stuff to rub in the skin/steroid cream for when it gets bad takes a while.

In the meantime have you tried scratch sleeves? They come in all sizes from babies upwards and are an effective way to reduce scratching. We've used them both on DS when his eczema was bad and on DD2 when she started scratching as a nervous habit. They are a brilliant invention. Also, try changing your washing powder and/or using a bit less and see if that helps. And try and stick to natural fabrics. All fairly simple but can help and certainly won't do any harm. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here, there's lots of good advice in other parts of MN about this (and I agree that in areas other than AIBU you wouldn't get the same criticism of your natural term BFing and co-sleeping).

Forgotten about this one and came across it today.

OP - I think we're just different, I'm more of a pragmatist and I find it pointless and depressing to dwell on things that I have the power to change. I prefer to reflect on my decision making and either change things or accept I am where I am, but that's just me!!

Again I don't think you are wrong for moaning but don't ask if YABU becasue you are!!!! Go on to the parenting forum, or an attachment based parenting one where you will get support rather than suggestions to change (which you don't really want) or criticism.

Sorry MrsPlum, I disagree. AIBU is for all sorts of posts. I see plenty that may well get better responses on different pages (such as sleep, behaviour, relationships etc) but the posters are certainly not unreasonable for posting them on AIBU. And I never said I was averse to suggestions to change - I'm very interested in how others dealt with similar situations.

Also meant to say thanks giddy for the tips - I didn't know about the need to change creams after a while.

Op, I don't think you come across as someone who is willing to consider a different approach. I'm very much pro breast feeding; I breast fed my son and all the women in my family have breast fed too. But there must come a time when children should be encouraged to stop wanting milk from their mums. It's as important for their emotional development as it is for your well being to do so.

With my son, I reduced the length of the feeds and the frequency gradually and gave lots of love and cuddles all the time so that he knew I was still there to comfort him. I also preempted when he might want a feed and offered a tasty healthy snack/ drink. It's what worked for me but there is lots of good advice out there if you search for it.