Hi ladies
Thanks for the nap-related tips for DS1 everyone, I've decided to just shorten his nap for the time being, and hopefully as the weather improves (hah!) I'll be able to tire him out in the garden a bit more in the afternoon.
I think half the problem has been that he's in desperate need of some fresh air and running around. We went up to the beach at Southwold yesterday to give us all some fresh air and a bit of exercise (in the howling wind and p*ing rain) and he did actually go down to sleep quite well last night (although he got up about 5 times in the night) so that's a start. Who knows eh?
Actually that reminds me of a great bit of advice for the first timers. It's going to sound pessimistic but I mean it to be helpful!
When DS1 was tiny he cried a LOT and didn't sleep well at all. I kept a meticulous diary of his feeds, poos, wees, sleeps, you name it, in the hope of finding a pattern that would explain what was wrong and enable me to put it right so he'd sleep better.
DON'T BOTHER!!
I never found a pattern, it never helped, and I realised that my Mother's advice was right. Some babies sleep well, some feed well, some do neither well, but you'll probably never find out why so don't worry aobout it, just do whatever you can / need to at the time to survive and eventually they'll grow out of it (and into a different, equally challenging phase!). Generally speaking there is neither rhyme nor reason to it. Babies cry. End of.
Like I say, not meant to be pessimistic. Just philosophical perhaps.
And yes, you can all remind me of those words in a couple of months' time when I'm on here going "Why won't DS2 stop crying / sleep properly?"
Hope you're all enjoying your weekends. Can't believe it's March tomorrow!