June 10 babies have arrived. Now we are all sleep deprived!

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Welcome to 'the other side' ladies. Long may we all continue to post!

ARRIVALS
27/04 (due 23/06) - SunshineDay - Faye - 3lbs 2oz
16/05 (due 02/06) - Meggymegmegs - James (Jimmy) David, 7lb 1oz
19/05 (due 01/06) - whenwillisleepagain - Alice Emily, 8lb 7oz
21/05 (due 21/06) - Gizmo - Hester Rose - 6lbs
23/05 (due 9/06) - greensnail, Alice Elizabeth, 7lb 2oz
24/05 (due 8/06) - Saucepanman, Gabriel, 8lb 4oz
24/05 (due 31/05) - minimoonumber2, Sebastian Robin
26/05 (due 24/06) - GibberingGinger James Alexander, 5lb 13oz, & Douglas John, 5lb 15oz
28/05 (due 30/05) - GoodName, Fergus, 8lb
28/05 (due 31/05) - mampam, Tilly May, 9lb 11oz
28/05 (due 4/06) - jo807bump - Hannah May, 5lb 7.5oz
04/06 (due 07/06) - perkster - Sidney James Perkins Berner, 7lb 11oz
05/06 (due 31/05) - dinosaurinmybelly - Zoe Leila - 6lb 9oz
07/06 (due 02/06 ) - AlwaysHopeful - George, 7lb 13oz
07/06 (due 07/06) - MrsC09 - Rufus Jack
08/06 (due 01/06) - PogueMahone - Magnus Gabriel, 8lb 14.5oz
08/06 (due 11/06) - woofie - Laurence Elliot (Laurie) - 7lb 11oz
08/06 (due 21/06) - sunworshipper - Romola Ann Bettina, 5lb 15oz
09/06 (due 08/06) - LittleRobbo - Summer Dawn
09/06 (due 09/06) - Boobz - Constance Ella Reed,
11/06 (due 02/06) - Justbeme - 'Nobody' (boy) - 8lb 9oz
12/06 (due 02/06) - roundabout1 - Lauren - 8lb 14oz
13/06 (due 18/06) - Virgo1979 - nameless boy! 7lb 9oz
14/06 (due 30/06) - monthlymayhem - Hayden, 7lb
14/06 (due 08/06) - MrsAlwaysRight - Alice Rose, 9lb 7oz
14/06 (due 15/06) - Millymollymoo - boy
15/06 (due 31/05) - RnB - Artemis, 7lb 9oz
15/06 (due 29/06) - playftseforme - Rory 6lb 4oz, and Fergus 6lb 8oz
16/06 (due 17/06) - Chestnut100 - Daisy Belle 6lb 14oz
17/06 (due 01/06) - Madamfreckle - Emma 6lb 6oz
17/06 (due 30/06) - MonkeyMargot - Atticus Fox 7lb 8oz and Rafferty Bear 7lb 14oz
17/06 )due 04/06) - Suzy1975 - Samuel 7lb 14oz
18/06 (due 23/06) - earlyonemorning - Edgar William 7lb 8oz
18/06 (due 13/06) - sobloodystupid - Stella 8lb 8oz
19/06 (due 22/06) - Gaelicsheep - Robin 6lb 14oz
22/06 (due 14/06) - Fillybuster - Mia Rae 9lb 3oz
24/06 (due 16/06) - Nizzynoodles - Samuel James 10lb 10.5oz
24/06 (due 17/06) - summerhols - Lilly
25/06 (due 17/06) - Barbeasty - Ruth Damaris Rose, 9lb
26/06 (due 16/06) - JoKettle - James Lennox, 8lb 7oz
26/06 (due 29/06) - MrsDmamee - Elyssa, 8lb 5oz
28/06 (due 26/06) - imkeepingmum - girl, 7lb 11oz
28/06 (due 12/06) - Georgee - Anna Rose, 7lb 15.5oz
28/06 (due 12/06) - Elena67 - boy, 9lb 5oz
29/06 (due 17/06) - bluesnowfalcon - Corey, 8lb 11.75oz
29/06 (due 18/06) - theperfectbaguette - Clementine Jemima, 6lb
29/06 (due 26/06) - RubyReins - Luke Douglas, 7lb 14oz
29/06 (due 25/06) - Ilovemyterrier - Jeppe Sebastian Fagerlund, 7lb 6.5oz
01/07 (due 30/06)- LaTrucha - Daniel Timothy, 8lb 11oz
3/7 (due 29/06) - CantSleepWontSleep - Jeremy Francis, 9lb 4oz

It's prob worth posting in the feeding section filly. Although I can tell you what I think should/could happen, I've never actually stopped feeding since I started 5 years ago, so you'd prob be better with advice from someone who has.

Thanks CSWS, but I'm far too scared to post in the feeding section!!!! Seriously, I have never been in there and hope to avoid it for good...:)

Think I will self-medicate with some nice sauv blanc in a hot bath while waiting for dh to come home and finally eat the dinner I cooked for us 2 hours ago and is now spoiling keeping warm in the over :)

Hi everyone

It's nice to catch up with your news

Had my 1st period last week - not too monstrous

alwayshopeful how are you? I hope you get some useful and caring help from your GP.

La T I have also been thinking about moving Alice in with DS but have concluded it's a non-starter as DS is quite rough with her and can't entirely be trusted. Also his room is full of teeny weeny bits and pieces such as intricate lego and things which are potential baby hazards and which he is ridiculously territorial about.

goodname sorry weaning and potential allergies are proving so stressful. I had my own experience of this with my DS four years ago - we found out first that he was allergic to nuts, but then he reacted to egg exactly as you've described Alice doing, on the one occasion I gave it to him. After a bit of toing and froing he got referred to the paediatric allergy consultant and is now confirmed with nut, egg and fish allergies. I asked the consultant what I should do about weaning Alice in view of her brother's situation and he said not to avoid or delay introducing anything. I admit I have put off doing egg or fish - and today got all sorted boiling an egg when I realised that the only antihistamine in the house was for children over 2. I traipsed off to the pharmacy only to find I need it on prescription because of her age, and so I guess now I need to ask my GP for advice - I did think about chancing it but decided I should be prepared.

CSWS sorry to hear about your very wearing and wearisome time

Can I ask - do you think I can ditch the sterilising unit? Alice drinks formula sometimes out of a bottle but more usually water out of a cup (in amongst endless bf still, sigh) so I was going to move her entirely onto sippy cups for drinks. I remember thinking that I'd been far too cautious with sterilising things for DS and with space at a premium I'd love to get even a bit of my work surface back.

filly the feeding section isn't that scary - honest! I reckon the bath and wine plan is a good one though - maybe try and express a little in the bath to relieve some of the pressure. Although, like CSWS, I've never stopped feeding yet so don't really know.

wwisa I've never sterilised anything, and I'm sure by this age Alice is putting all sorts in her mouth, so I would think you'll be fine to get rid of the steriliser.

LaT have you tried them in together yet? I keep having wistful thoughts of all the things we could do with our spare room if I put the girls in together [bgrin]

WWISA i don't bother sterilising the doidy cups etc. I think once they start putting everything into their mouths, carkeys, socks etc etc, it seems rather pointless.
Your dilemmas over introducing new foods to Alice must be really stressful. Sounds wise to be prepared before offering the danger foods which triggered your DS's allergies.

We've just got over a major V+D bug which lasted 5 days (one twin started before the other). Absolute nightmare. Never seen so much washing. Hopefully on the mend now.

filly ouch for your painful bosoms. I never had this when I stopped BF with DD as she was taking very little by then (at 12 months). May be worth following the advice of csws and expressing some off?

Thanks for all the advice :) I prodded the lumpy bit (very carefully) and milk literally shot out....I am so unkeen on expressing, even manually, if this is what my left breast is doing in response to zero demand/input for 10 days but I may reconsider if this doesn't improve :)

Sorry I completely failed to respond to anyone elses posts before :(

I think the thing with sterilising bottles (specifically) is that breastmilk/formula provides a really perfect breeding ground for bacteria so if you are a slob like me you cant wash the bottles up as soon as you have used them, then its a good idea to sterilise later. Other things (keys, toys, random objects) and even cups for some reason, are less likely to be massively infested with scary bacteria. Having said that, we'll probably stop sterilising in the next month or so.

Hi all,
Fell off the end here again.

How's your boob Filly? I was wondering, if it's still sore, if hot and cold compresses might help (ie. put on a warm flannel or something and then a cold one). If you think hand expressing might help but hate doing it, you could try doing it in the shower. I've been told that the heat can help. Didn't Gingeme do this when she stopped feeding DS5?

CSWS - I'm sorry, I haven't got round to doing anything yet. I'll do it now! Is your sleep any better?

Greensnail and WWISA - We haven't yet, although I have taken the major step of giving Daniel a bed time (8pm) which he hasn't had before, which is perhaps the first step. DD goes at 7. I'm wondering how bedtimes will be, which one first or both together. Many people say the olde rone first.

It won't be for a while though, as Daniel is teething and waking very, very frequently at night.

We're off to the inlaws in Spain opn Monday. My MIL shcoked the life out of me by saying, 'DD will love it when you're all sleeping in the same room here.' We've JUST got her sleep sorted out pretty much. I'm hoping we can find a way not to sleep all together otherwise it's going to be bloody awful.

Oh no, LaT. Is there a large cupboard she could sleep in or something? We survived one night all in together over christmas (in hotel when stranded due to weather). Couldn't do it for any longer than that though.

Alice has been very strange and grumpy today, and completely off her milk. Think there may be another tooth on the way.

We have my brother visiting from Australia with his 11 week old baby, who is so gorgeous. Am trying very hard not to get broody again.

What have you not got round to doing anything about LaT ?
Oh just read back - is that re fb? I don't think I've pm'ed you yet. I'll do it now.

Things no better here sadly. Tried melatonin for a few days this week, but still waking every 1.5 hrs or so. I have taken to just leaving him during the night now, because he screams less than if I visit him and then leave again. Most of his nights are spent sleeping on his hard floor. Hopefully he will get bored of this at some point before he's a teenager .

greensnail - ds2 has also been off his milk today, which I've never experienced with any of mine before! I was wondering about teeth too - we don't have any yet. Ended up giving him an Ella's kitchen pouch at dinner time as he seemed cross but wouldn't take milk and didn't do as well as usual with his dinner. He sucked the contents of the pouch out quite happily (me holding it)!

and how's the boob filly?

and can't really help with steriliser question as haven't used one at all with either of the boys, and might as well have never bothered with dd (she always refused bottles, even of ebm).

WWISA - All I know is that in some countries, inc US, I think, they don't recommend sterilising at all. I think a hot wash, of the sort given by a diswasher is thought enough. For me, it would depend if milk was to be stored. Could you not have bowl with Milton for occasional use. We sterilise nothing here for ds although we don't use bottles. We did with dd though - everything - and I often wonder if that is why she has been ill so infrequently.

Have sent a request, CSWS

Boob issues and sleep traumas also reign here!
I noticed a bit of pain when feeding at bedtime on Wednesday night, and when I came downstairs noticed a massive lump in my right breast. Doc diagnosed a blocked duct and we are treating 'agressively' with antibiotics and rest. As I read these are frequently caused by fatigue and stress, I took Thursday and Friday off work which was rather nice, especially as J has stopped sleeping through and is waking every hour or two at the moment.
I have sewn up his sleeves so he can't scratch his face to pieces in the night, but the waking continues. DH wants to try CC...I have very mixed feelings. Has anyone else tried it?
Rarely sterilise anything now, even expressing at work and bringing home my milk bottles - J still hasn't been ill, so it can't be that vital - they do have to build up their immune systems!
Hope everyone's having a lovely weekend!

If you have a moment, could you let me know how much your LO is sleeping during the day, and perhaps what time they go to bed, too?

LaT - day sleeps anything from 1 hour to 3 hours split over 2 naps.
Bedtime is between 7.30pm and 8pm.

laT
Morning nap is 30 minutes
Afternoon nap is 2.5 hours, so 3 hours total daytime nap.
Bedtime 6:45pm (before my older DD - we tried it the other way round but DD got the hump - she appreciates her "special time" with mummy after the babies are in bed).
So i get the DTs in bed and then start DD's bath and bedtime. Hope that helps.

Thanks. More please!

Bravegirl - I think DS is much the same as your LO.

MM - is it just me, or do they sleep alot? That's great!

laT - 2 or 3 naps totalling between 1hour and 2 hours usually. Bedtime generally around 7-7:30 (occasionally closer to 6:30 if v short on naps).

laT I think 15 hours per each 24hour period is pretty normal - but every baby is different of course. My nephew is 17 months and sleeps 15 hours a day still....my lucky sis.

Boobs finally heading back towards something like normal, I think, after about 2 weeks of madness! My sister (conveniently, a GP!) suggested dosing up on nurofen and that seems to have done the trick...I've also finally stopped taking cerazette (minipill) which I have been absolutely hating for 7 months so am now feeling enormously pre-periody and achey but looking forward (sortof) to getting back to normal on the combined pill whilst I figure out my long term options.

LaT - I'm going to take the 5th on your daytime sleep question as you'll just hate me for it Bedtimes: Mia goes to bed around 7pm, at the same time(ish) as DS and DD1. I tend to flex it a bit, depending on who is the most tired: some nights she goes down first, then DD1, then I spend 20 mins with DS but on other nights she is the last to go down. DD1 is frequently the tiredest as her afternoon nap is mostly an afternoon 'rest' so she is shattered by 7pm.

Glad your boobs are heading back to normal, Filly. Can I ask what was the problem with the cerazette? I'm taking it too, but I'm not sure I'm that keen on it too and am thinking about what to do when I run out.

Alice's strangeness on friday turned out to be an ear infection, she started leaking huge amounts of gunk from her ear on saturday and is now on antibiotics. She such a chilled out baby, you wouldn't know anything is wrong most of the time, but she does remind us with the odd screaming session.

LaT Naps, generally about 2 hours in total over the day. I aim for 2 naps a day - a short one first thing in the morning before we go out and then a longer one after lunch. What usually happens in reality is she won't settle in the morning so has a short nap in the buggy on our way out in the morning and then another short nap on the way home and then a longer one mid afternoon.
At night, she goes to bed between about 6.30 and 6.45. DD1 goes after her at about 7pm.

LaT Tom does an hour mid morning then usually about 45 minutes just before tea but he's only just started this - he's always been a non-sleeper in the daytime. I think he might be getting tireder now he's more active so there's hope if your DS isn't doing it yet either. He goes to bed at about 7.30 (but still has his feed at 10.45) then gets up at anything between 6.30 and (blissfully) 8am.

LaT Fergus is a great one for day time sleep actually but has always made up for it at night. He generally has between 1 and 2 hours in morn and late afternoon so 3-4 hours a day. If he has less he gets really cranky. He does tho prefer to be fed to sleep still for naps which will need sorted soon before I go back to work next month. We have been persevering with improving his nighttime sleep as well over the last few weeks and now he is much better, he goes to bed about 7.30 and gets up about 2, then about 6 when I bring him in with me, and he sleeps another hour or so. He still cries a bit in the night sometimes but sometimes not. A huge improvement over a few weeks ago wheb he was up every hour or more. Stupid health visitor was here yesterday and did not seem impressed, said I should feed him supper so he slept thru. Told her I had no problem with 1 or 2 feeds a night as he seems to need it. She seems to think all babies should be exactly the same on some sort of perfect schedule, grrr!

Hi everyone - not been around much but keep checking in every now and then

LaT if we're at home then we have 1-2 hrs in the morning and 1-2hrs in the afternoon with bedtime between 6 and 6.30 depending on how much sleep we've had during the day - if we're out and about it's a lot less sleep in the day because he's too nose!

Hope you're all ok

Feeling very guilty right now....I was slightly frenetically cooking dinner for DD1 and DS at the same time as sorting out Mia's supper when she got quite frantic so I decided to feed her before the other DCs. She was so frantic, in fact, that even though I knew the food was still a bit hot (I had planned to wait a few more minutes) I blew and gave her some....and promptly burnt her mouth :( :( She was distraught - and of course that was the end of dinner for tonight.

She did drink most of her bedtime milk and was reasonably cheerful by then, so hopefully I haven't put her off eating for good....

But, oh!, the guilt, the guilt....

Greensnail - hard to put my finger on, but I felt more hormonal (not in a good way) and my libido pretty much disappeared (although having a new baby obv doesn't help) and overall, I don't know, but I just didn't feel quite right. Having a week or so 'off' then planning to start back on Dianette - will let you know if it makes a difference.

goodname - that's great news about Fergus' sleep and sounds totally heavenly to me. Ear infection making bad sleep worse here.

Filly - thanks for that. I can't really put my finger on what's wrong either so I'd be interested to hear whether you feel better on Dianette. I can't take the combined pill, so I guess I'll probably end up having another try to get a mirena coil in, or maybe an implant.

DD1 seems to have headlice, which is a complete nightmare. Anyone got any ideas how I'm going to treat her without sedating her?