Summer holidays are over, the PESH are bringing their bumps and baybees back to school

[TheOriginalWinkly]

Pack your giant pants in your satchel and maternity pads in your pencil case, it's the antenatal thread for BESH graduates

CRESH

Faith - pinky faithlet arrived 14th April 2013
Pinkr - suitably pinky one arrived 25th August 2013
Jethro - blue one arrived 23rd September 2013
Noks - pink one arrived 12th January 2014
Frankel - large pink one arrived 10th March 2014
Merks - pink one landed safe and sound 21st March 2014
Sinky - Stubborn blue one arrived 26th March 2014
Driz - blue one arrived 12th June 2014
Kat - pink one arrived 21st June 2014
draf - pink calf on 1st July 2014
winks - a pink one dragged out kicking and screaming on 4th July 2014
euro - a pink one in a hurry to see the world, born on 17th July 2014
dor - a pink one born at speed on 28th July 2014
ginge - completing the ESH Summer of Pink on 23rd August 2014

PESH
Buggerlugs - Buglet due 20th October
Fankle - ESHlet expected 4th January
Cunty - Minichops expected 7th February

How is she currently napping? How many naps and how long?

Usually the worst is over by 12 weeks however i have a back to front baby that was fine at first and since 15 weeks is very unsettled.

Does she sleep in the buggy?

For me I found that I was missing L's earliest sleep cues. Now I know that she needs to nap around an hour after she first wakes, then in general she can't go more than about 2 hours before she needs a nap (except when we're out shopping. Too exciting for her to feel sleepy.)

Early sleep signs can include face rubbing, red tinge to the eyebrows, a glassy stare. By the time she's yawning and grizzling we're almost too late. I took a few days at home not doing activities to help her into a pattern. She will fall asleep with a feed, or in the sling. Less reliably in the buggy, and only very recently in the car. A white noise app helped to block out distractions that would jolt her awake.

I have a sleep dodger bugs. Looking out for early sleep signs is a good idea, but doesn't work most of the time for me.

Our witching hour screaming was 4pm till 7/8pm. Nothing to be done, but seemed less horrific if I went for a walk (this never made him sleep mind). Lasted till 9/10 weeks I think (though could easily be more). Not fun as you've found but it does end.

Overtiredness does make everything worse, but it's not always easy to convince baby to nap. Make the most of every nap. Ignore anyone who tells you to wake P. And endure. This too will pass.

Yes all of what I said might make sod all difference. L isn't the best sleeper, but all the above helped us - but we're not you.

Hiya sinks, was just thinking of you and wondering how you were :)

My stupid oven delivery got cancelled at 6.30pm, grr, and to add to the annoyance, I got home yesterday to a letter confirming my change of return to work date which shows the old January date, not the new March one. Bloody organisation I work for. Piss ups and breweries spring to mind.

No butter dish wishes then, bugs! Re: sleeping, we did whatever it took to get him to nap, often in the sling, which meant better sleep at night. And we started a bedtime routine at about 8ish weeks to put him down at 7pm. That only works for some, but it did for us. On that front, we had a glorious 23:30-7:00 last night :) first time at well past 5 months

Sorry stuff is tough, fanks! I am not one to talk to, tho. I loved the last bit of pregnancy and hated the newborn weeks, but like bugs I was infection riddled and hospitalised at 5 months and at work 4 days per week, I feel tired but very happy most of the time

I'm impressed Bugs, I had a CS and still didn't need any kind of contraception for several months!

It's so tough Bugs. The one thing I can promise is that it definitely won't be the rest of your life. I know things are difficult with GP's shifts and band but somehow he is going to have to find a way to support you more. The non-sleeping baby part is so debilitating and it is just as important that you are able to cope as it is for him to do his job/s. Your needs are as immoveable as his.

The question is how to maximise the time available to benefit you as much as possible, even if it means changing usual habits. TBI used to go to bed at 9pm so that he was able to get up in the early hours but still have a good night's sleep, as I usually bf solidly 9pm-1am, so that worked for us but everyone has a different situation.

Tiredness and emotions are normal parts of early motherhood but it does seem that things are pretty extreme for you right now. Hope you did get some more sleep after your last post.

I'm impressed bugs. We've still not dtd. I'm up for it in theory, but I'm not sure I'd be able to relax into it with C in the next room. And KFZK is a boob man and I think watching me milk myself like a dairy cow for the past 4 months might have put him off a bit... He certainly doesn't seem bothered. I'm sure we'll get back in the saddle at some point.

GP's shifts must make things really hard. I am always so relieved when KFZK walks through the door. The sleep deprivation is brutal, but it does get better. C is 4 months old now and most nights just wakes once, which isn't too bad. I would love an unbroken night though!

We've not dtd either. I have now got a coil fitted, just in time for The Mister to pull some late nights marking his OU work!

The only way we survived the early stages was co-sleeping, at least for part of the night. It made such a different to us surviving!

That's good bugs. Do you have a bouncer? Ours is one of the few things that will settle C when she is cranky. It will also make her forget about hunger for long enough to neck our dinner when she decides she is hungry just as we dish up!

I just met up with the London laydeez from the August AN fred on here (which has long since migrated to FB). It was really nice but I did have a cranky overtired baby afterwards!

Big excitement here - MiniWink had refused a feed from yet another teated bottle this one so, not expecting any luck, I took off the teat and offered the cup - well she only drank the lot!! :) :) The rim got in the way a bit, so I've ordered a doidy cup and am going to express like a bastard, then go for a lovely solo haircut and colour and drink a glass of wine when I'm there :) :)

Excellent Winks

I currently have a milk refusing, snot-filled, teething misery guts . I'm hoping this tooth (or possibly even teeth) breaks through soon as I'm concerned about how much milk she's getting, yesterday she drank only 13oz all day and today is not looking much better

Howdie gals, how is everyone? Sorry things are tough going bugs, hope P settles into a routine of some sort. Same for others trying to get LO sorted! We have our last day training tomorrow and provided we don't do something completely stupid during it then it's off to approval panel in January, then the search for our LO begins. This has gone very, very quickly. It's exciting but terrifying in equal measures. We are going to have a spectacularly quiet Christmas this year because next year could be extremely different.....hopefully :)
Gin and fish slaps all. I shall update after panel xx

Woohoo, rasp! Exciting stuff. Fingers crossed for smooth panelling and then next year a small person :)

Sorry about the milk refusers. Hope E feels better soon, frank. Yay for drinking from a cup, winks! Enjoy your wine :) Hope poppy leaps thru and settles again.

Here we have a not sleeping lembie at childcare :( it does mean he's slept 23:30-7 twice this week which was bliss but I picked up a very grumpy baby yesterday. He's also suffering full of cold and conjunctivitis... It sounds like piglet has invaded his cot when he's finally gone to sleep...

Oh dear, I seem to have developed...how shall I put this delicately...A Heamorroid (sp?). Or something. I'm not too sure, but I think it might be. I've never had this before. It's rather depressing. Not massively sore or uncomfortable, only when I wipe after going to the toilet (sorry for the tmi). What can I do about this Hags? I'm dismayed and embarrassed tbh. Will it go away? I would really like it to go away.

Rasp v exciting times for you! Brilliant that it's happening so quickly. Hope all goes smoothly.

Driz & Frank sorry about the grumpy, snotty babies. Poor wee souls.

Bugs I guess the fanjo healed nicely then? Good for you (well not about the morning after pill...bleurgh). We haven't dtd since before I pulled my intercostal muscle a few weeks ago. I would like to but MG is now a bit apprehensive, I guess due to my bump being mahoosive and the baby's presence being so much more obvious. I can understand...I am not at my sexiest The effing haemorroids don't help!

I had a mini wobble yesterday about my life changing and being a sahm. It's all getting a bit real now. I've made my decision and I'm happy with it. It's just a big change and a bit scary.

Cunty how are you doing? And MissH? Any calmer now?

Anusol. I recommend the suppositories and the ointment.