October '04 babies

[Toots]

Wow. Can't believe it's me starting this thread. Eyelash, where are you? Get any sleep last night?

Beansprout welcome to the thread, so lovely that you're here at last, hope everything went ok (don't know if you've done a birth announcement haven't had time to look yet, but will do soon)? Glad you're blissed out.

Toots - Phantom wailing syndrome, absolutely and I remember getting it last time too

Harman you poor old thing, things couldn't get much harder could they - do hope your health improves quickly. You sound like you're coping amazingly well.

Cazzybabs - do agree with Toots, you really are superwoman, I'm impressed with that

I'm certainly not back in pre-pregnancy clothes and won't be surprised if I'm not back in my work clothes when I go back in 6 month's time. Last pregnancy I put on 2 stone and just managed to get back into my clothes 6 months later. This time I put on 3 stone (also read somewhere that if it took 6 months first time, would probably take a year second time round)

Ds is a little better today anyway - cough is less hacking and I'm feeling better than I was too, so things looking up I hope.

OK ladies I need help and guidence - how the dickens fo I get dd2 to sleep/be by herself? Do I go cold turkey and leave her to scream?

Welcome to Beansprout and little Eran!

Just had stressful afternoon going to doctors - DS ran riot, DD screamed non-stop and then refused to go to sleep when we got home, so getting DS to bed a total nightmare. I just can't seem to manage the two of them by myself - DD just screams unless plugged into dummy or breast, and I resort to yelling at DS . I don't have phantom wailing baby syndrome as my baby seems to be permanently wailing...

BTW there is no way any of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit! And my "loose" clothes are all summery, so I am still wearing my maternity clothes. I seem to remember this lasting for a good 3-4 mths last time...

Argh, first night home and the hospital forgot to give me the instruction sheet so having to suss this out ourselves. Blimey. Can't believe I am a parent although I understand that not being able to think straight at this stage of things is a good indicator.

Milk now in, Bean's poo is changing colour - I WILL tell anyone who will listen! Probably best that I stay indoors for a bit then!!

Hope you are all ok.

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Cazzybabs - not much help I´m afraid, but have you tried swaddling dd. I´ve not yet had to use it this time round, but found it really helped with dd. What about a dummy? I know they´re a love or hate thing. I personally hate them, but still ended up using one with dd until she found her thumb.Does she just fall asleep on you and then sleep in her own bed or does she only sleep when she´s lying on you?

Florence - hope you had a better day today. Yesterday sounded like a nightmare.

Beansprout - how´s the breast feeding going? I think we´re pretty much experts here on sore, cracked nipples, so just ask away.Take things easy - you need all the rest you can get.

She will only sleep on someone - little monkey! So I reackon its cold turkey or dp will definatly not agree to more children. DD2 didn't not have a good nights sleep last night as her blocked up nose kept her (and us) awake - she was really trying to sleep but kept snorting and waking herself up.

Am dreading house move tomorrow - still have lots of packing to do and then cleaning this house and the new house!

Cazzybabs - afraid I don't really have any advice on problem with dd on sleeping on you, just sympathy with your lack of sleep . Why don't you start a new thread on this, I'm sure other mumsnetters will have advice as I know other people will have had this problem. In fact I just got in contact with someone I know locally yesterday who had a baby end of September and told me she was having same problem - her dd would only sleep upright on her chest (and was also still feeding every 2 hours so she was getting almost no sleep). Perhaps I can pass on any advice you get onto her too!

Didn't realise you hadn't yet moved house yet - thought it was last Monday. Hope all goes well.

Florence can sympathise with your stressful afternoon on Wednesday. I had my first day with both children yesterday and it was pretty awful. I know when you have 2 people tell you you just have to leave the baby to cry a lot so that you deal with toddler, but it's soooo stressful listening to them screaming. I ended up shovelling food into dd's mouth at a rate of knots at lunchtime (fortunately she quite likes being fed by me at the moment), to try to get her lunch over with so could feed baby and must have snapped and shouted at her so many times yesterday. Poor old thing doesn't deserve it

Had first incident of dd manhandling baby yesterday. Thought I could have 10 minutes to myself as baby was asleep in car seat (having been out earlier) and dd was sitting on sofa watching a video so left them alone together to come onto mumsnet.

Think ds must have woken up and I did hear dd talking to him, something like 'Is that your babygrow Sam?' and just thought 'ah how sweet'. Next thing he's crying and when I ran into the room he was face down on the floor with his coat half off about 10 feet away from the car seat. I hate to think how she actually got him out of the car seat . Presumably she didn't hurt him too much as he had only just cried and she wasn't in the process of moving him, just trying to pull off his coat (hence him rolling onto his front I assume) - presumably that was what made him cry. Yet I can't imagine her getting him out of the car seat in any other way than dragging him

BAD MUMMY - will remember to try never to leave them alone in future - it would have been easy enough to bring his car seat to the computer with me (Did tell dd that she must never pick him up on her own, that she must always ask mummy to help, that he's a person like her and she could easily hurt him etc., but not sure how well she was listening (for once I managed not to snap or shout at her though))

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Harman barked instructions make me furious.

Yikes Distracted, that certainly was an incident! It's so hard to get the balance right though isn't it? Have found myself stashing dd2 round the odd corner if I want to go up to the loo.

Have done exactly the same feeding dd2 to hurry her up. Shenow wants me to hold her milk beaker for her which i find rather tedious. She turns into an imp if i get cross and starts pshing all my buttons, so I've developed this horrible saccarine sweet sarky voice which she thinks is lovely and can't hear the psychotic edge in it at all. Try it!

Hope everyone is ok. Am now living in the twilight world of the sleep deprived. Ds is (so far) a text book baby, crying only when he wants a feed or a change and then settling again. It's his mum and dad who are a bit all over the place. Of course am up most of the night and at the moment, we are still firmly in visiting season. Have a friend here today who has driven down from Leeds so I can hardly just ask her to stay for a quick cuppa but am just shattered (knackered emoticon).

We have been trying the ask-the-visitors=to-make-their-own-tea thing but so far they tend to be a bit put out. Bean is just lovely and amazing, it's the grown ups that are tricky!

The very best visitor ever is my neighbour Yung-Joo who just left two large portions of tarragon chicken on our doorstep, then rang to say they were there! I have recommended her for a knighthood. Beansprout - Have you got many people booked in for the next week? It might be an idea to put them off and just spend this time with dp (who can just look after you) and Bean. Visitors are always a drain on energy, no matter how gorgeous the geegaws they bring for the baby. They can come in dribbles after Dp's gone back to work, maybe.

Bean, darling, Toots is right. Cancel them. When DP has gone back to work, permit a few mates to visit if and only if they come bearing foodstuffs and understand that you require lunch to be made. They can bring a carton of Covent Garden soup and some bread, FFS (plus of course chocolate). Honestly, friends did this when I'd just had dd2 and I think they saved my life.

Toots, I will pootle down to your neck of the woods with food and inane conversation whenever you can face it one of these Fridays, and we can take DD1 out to the park if you like.

Thanks - have decided to keep my diary clear and only allow people I really want to see over!

So, um, how do we get poo stains out of things....?

Sounds like the twilight period is over for most then! DS2 and I spent last night in hospital just to add to general doom and gloom on here! Found a lump on his arm yestaday which DH (he's a doc) thought could be an absess, spent the night on IV antibiotics and the blood results this morning showed there was no infection so we were allowed home, still don't know what it was though. Bit of a mare when you can't drive and are breast feeding, had to get people to come and sit with the other 2 while DH took me to hospital.
Bean for pooh stains I recomend vanish, either the spray on stuff or tablets in with the wash, it gets DS2's nappies clean and he can pooh for england!
DH is back to work on Monday so I suspect the shit will hit the fan here too, although at least 1/2 term is finished so DS1 will be out some of the time.
Keep eating the choclate ladies

Oh geogteach, you poor, poor love. So glad DS2 is OK.
Yes, I second Vanish spray. Must get some myself as it goes.

MI - Hmm, I love inane conversation, how could I refuse an offer like that. Might have something on this Friday coming but if not shall I get in touch?

Now get a load of this. DP had to break into the house yesterday. He'd been out for the evening and was home by 10.30 as agreed, I of course, had gone to bed by half nine. When he got back he realised I'd borrowed his keys the day before.... cut to 11.20 when I was woken by the sound of someone breaking in through the back door. The poor love had been knocking and phoning, and trying to raise a neighbour to let him through the back and I'd slept through the lot (earplugs ) and my first thought in my sleep deprived shock as I stepped over the broken glass to let him in???? 'Dammit, I'll be really tired tomorrow, because I've been woken up and now I won't be able to get back to sleep'. It truly does take over your life doesn't it

Hi everyone - sounds like people are having eventful lives! Meanwhile, my ambitions remain at getting out of the house once a day - today to the park, but DS just kind of moped around???! Went home and he crashed at 4.30pm and is now still wide awake...

Also DD proving to be champion non-sleeper in the pm - does anybody else's baby stay awake from 5pm onwards until well after my preferred bedtime??? She is now sucking her dummy with eyes wide open and no sign of sleep!!!

Cazzybabs, my HV told me I could try to get DD used to sleeping in her cot by putting her in it, and then leaving her to cry for 10min max - she reckons eventually it will work and meanwhile I am creating a bad sleep association by having DD sleep on me. Haven't had the heart to do this - so DD is carefully slipped off my chest into her cot when in deep sleep if I am awake, or else we wake up together...

BTW Amazon have special offers on Disney DVDs - I have a delivery arriving ASAP!!!

Toots, like the sound of your sweet sarky voice, will have to try that, see if I can stop myself snapping at dd .

Geogteach - you poor thing, glad your ds was ok after all, but must have been a very stressful night

Harman sorry you had such a bad day Friday, hope the weekend has been better? I've also been finding it hard to deal with either barked out orders or whinging from dd, and I've only had one day on my own with both children so far (and certainly don't have to deal with 4, so I think you're doing pretty well)!

Florence at the time you posted last night ds was yelling his head off and had been for about the previous hour, and I was sitting with him trying not to cry while dh busied himself doing bits of DIY elsewhere in the house! Although mostly I have to say evenings haven't been too bad, but last night he had too much sleep in the afternoon, so really had to be awake in the evening before going down for the night - think it's the worst time of day, as at that time if he's awake then just nothing will calm him. Late afternoon/early evening is another bad time - from 5 pm onwards.

Sooo good to log on and read these posts. Bean seems pretty content, bar the odd screaming fit, it's his mum who is not quite sure. Have watched far too many episodes of "Little Angels" and am way too concerned with setting up bad habits. This is my particular form of new parenting anxiety.....
The oher thing is that dp is SO besotted I am beginning to feel pushed out . Bah.

Glad everything is ok Geogteach and thanks for the Vanish tip!
Lol at your sleep obsession Toots (well, I would if I had the energy....)

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Huzzah! and 'pippin hooray' as dd1 would say - dd2 is finally expanding! she has put on 9oz in 10 days and is now 2oz over her birth weight at 4 weeks : 7lb 6 and hauling her tiny frame along the 2nd centile. She is feeding like a nutter, every hour and a half - I've been wearing a baby cummerbund most of the day, although had some time off for good behaviour last night.

Harman, the computer crashed before the picture of DS finished downloading, so I can only comment on his hands, which are lovely.

beansprout, think you are most admirable not to be starting any bad habits. I have fallen into one myself: today I have mostly eaten a flapjack, a Barbie chocolate lolly (given, well, not given, to dd1), a chocolate cookie (bought for the guests who bought the flapjacks) some jelly babies and milk bottle sweeties (trick or treat)and I seriously doubt I've finished yet

Harman - he´s absolutely gorgeous. I´m so pleased that you are sounding so positive at the moment - I hope things continue to go well.

Toots - Well done your dd.
I´m also pigging out a bit at the moment. This is mainly due to friends and neighbours baking us cakes because they know how much I love them. This unfortunately is true and I just don´t have the will power to refuse and consequently will probably need quite some time before I fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Last time I lost weight quite quickly through breast feeding, so I just hope it works again this time.

Everything here going o.k. DS still sleeping loads,although has a really annoying habit of pooing just after he´s fallen asleep, so I have to wake him up to change him and then get him back to sleep again.

Hope everyone else is o.k.

so nice to have a little time to post here and catch up with your posts. this week has been the first without my mum or dp around and today i hit the milestone i was dreading... getting ds to pre-school for 8am (ish) and we did. ok, it involved getting up at 630, but i even managed to shower and gulp 1/2 a mug of tea. ok so it was a team effort, with ds and dd doing exactly the right thing at the right time - but truly amazing scenes. feeling quite smug.

yesterday was quite a different story! but I'm getting there, I think. like you toots, i'm feeling so much more relaxed about dd than with ds and really loving having two!

bean, my tip for poo stains is to rinse and soak early, and then should come out without too much trouble in normal wash.

anyone else over-purchase for trick or treaters? currently maing my steady way though our hoard of chocolate. even the breastfeeding excuse can't justify it, surely?

I completely forgot about halloween, so our trick or treatsters had to have the healthy option of oranges (bet they loved us)! Am finishing off chocolate cake bought for weekend guests though (who brought along their own chocolate cake)

Harman - what a sweet picture, he's lovely.

Ds seems to be going through a growth spurt and so far from working towards getting onto four hourly feeding (a la GF, which thought we might be able to do with bottles), he's feeding at less than 3 hourly now. Poor old thing is constipated too and seems to need to poo particularly during night feeds - poor dh is being kept awake by him grunting and squealing for ages while he's feeding .

Huppa - have to say that I don't both to wake ds up if he's fallen asleep after doing a poo, just hate waking him up . Don't think they get nappy rash this young do they?