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

goodname echo what CSWS advises. We use infacol before every feed too - this has really helped them bring up a big burp - but if that fails the gripe water works a treat.

Re sleeping - I read [whispers] the Gina book before James arrived and decided it was definitely for me as I'm quite a routiney type of person but it just didn't work for us and I was getting very stressed when he didn't sleep or feed as she suggested. One or two days it did work and I loved it then but the stress of the rest of the time wasn't worth it. Instead we've settled into a sort of modified Gina routine, a bit more flexible but basically aiming for 3-4 hours from start of one daytime feed to next, max 5 hours daytime sleep (7-7) including a good 2 hours approx 12-2. Then a good bedtime routine starting with split feed 5pm, bath 5.45, rest of feed 6.15pm and in his crib asleep by 7pm. Then feed at 10.30-11pm and see what happens overnight - usually up at 2/3 and 5/6 but once or twice just up at 4. AT night he feeds quickly and goes straight back to sleep. Of course this went to sh*t yesterday when he decided to have a growth spurt (4 weeks) and fed constantly all day and didn't sleep at all!!! Back on track today though. Sorry, mammoth post.

Just being nosy but is anyone else using washable nappies and how are you getting on with them? We've been using BumGenius V3 since day 1 and are really impressed. Only 1 poo leak and easy to wash etc. No nappy rash either yet.

Hope everyone's happy and managing to enjoy their LOs despite the ups and downs x

Wow, its been quiet on here for ages, and now suddenly busy again. Its good to read everyone's experiences, I'm afraid my brain is a bit too fried this evening to respond to much though.

I've been for my postnatal appointment with my consultant today which was good. My liver function is back to normal which is great news. I've now been referred to a liver specialist to get their opinion on things as they're still not convinced that it is just obstetric cholestasis which caused my problems, so will wait and see what they say.

JoKettle Glad to hear you're getting on well with the bumgenius. Both my girls are in cloth nappies and we love them. Have only ever had nappy rash when DD1 has been run down or teething anyway. Am still getting used to the amount of washing with the 2 of them in cloth though. I was washing nappies once a week before Alice's arrival, and now its more like every other day.

Re periods of wakefulness during the day. Alice is starting to be awake for much longer periods now, and I'm finding that I need to make an effort to allow her those wakeful periods otherwise we pay for it at night. When we're busy she spends a lot of time in the sling where she is happy to sleep and not feed much which is convenient at the time but not later when she makes up for it so I've been taking her out of the sling a bit more and letting her have a good look about.

I can't remember what age DD1 started facing outwards in the sling, but I feel like Alice is still a bit young for that position. Life will be a bit easier when she can sit in the sling and face the world for a bit though.

I am using a mixture of cloth and disposables on both of mine JoK. Ds2 has some bamboozles and some fluffles which he has inherited from dd, and a few lollipops and now a wee notions minki (a gift) too.

hi ALL.

csws unfortunately I was home alone with baby for 4 days this week and during one day she slept for maybe 2-3(not at same time) hours from 12 noon until 9pm and then was awake 9pm until 4am.

other days i struggle to settle her for naps during days and nightimes are very unpredictable, even after she is fed and changed she might only sleep for half an hour stretches and i spend that half an hour wondering if she will wake in 10 mins/30 mins or 2 hours so im a ball of anxiety at the moment.
if im home alone for those 2 days next week it will be a grand total of 5 days and nights alone as DH works 12 hour nightshifts
not my idea of bliss.

I'm finding it quite tough at the moment and feel useless as a 3rd time mum, its like ive forgotten how to do it even though its only been 4 years since my last baby.

madameF Emma is a lovely name and soon babies become their name and you wont think of anyone else with same name only your own LO.

We have a nickname(bump name) for our LO and i still havent called her by her name Elyssa yet.
Did the same with ds2. He was his nickname/bump name for nearly a year, eventually we started calling him his name.
I have loads of little names for him and he responds to them all. I'll call him poodles/noodles or poochie in Tesco and he comes running.
But his real name i love too and cant imagine him with a different name he just is DS2*name

MrsDmamee - it's because they're all different! Daniel is the opposite of DD in lots of ways and it really makes you wuestion if you know what you're doing. For example, Daniel was really unsettled in his first few days. I think it's because he was so big and hungry. DD slept her first few days and wouldn't feed. In hosptial, I actually called a midwife and asked if there wass omething I'd forgotten to do, as Daniel was so different to DD.

Well, we did have a much better night last night. Daniel went down at 11 and slept till 3.30, which I think is good at a month old. He's unsettled this morning due to a windy tummy. If it carries on, I might try the gripe water.

What's the difference between gripe water and infacol, by the way? Another thing I have never used.

The dummy was a total fiasco. Daniel made a face like we were putting the most awful thing in the world in his mouth and then started gagging. This repeated several times. MIL told me to hold it in but I'm sure he would just have vomited. Looks like my babies only like natural dummies! Thank God we did have a better night, though.

JoK - I totally cannot do routines with tiny babies. Just can't. DD has been in her routine now for well over a year, but it's one we developde together - as you did. She adores routine now. She won't even let me skip washing her teeth at night if she's knackered. As a baby, as soon as I spotted her falling into a pattern, she changed it so I am sceptical of the effort it takes to 'put' them in a routine. Or I'm just seriously lazy and liek to go with the flow.

I'm using mostly disposables with Daniel. The reusables I have for him all seem a bit too big as yet ad we have had lots of leaks. I have Motherease sandy's, Popolini AIOs and Little Lambs for him. Little lambs probably the best right now.

DD has in Motherease BTP for ages now. They're fab. We can't do pockets with her as she's too slim for all the wadding they need. I could put in less, but with her now being a toddler her weeing is too unpredictable. She can be dry a whole night five nights in a row and then have masses the next few days so it's too difficult to tell (until wet patches appear on her clothes and I can't be doing with that!)

I think I missed that advice from Filly about keeping them up 1.5 hours? It's a Baby Whisperer thing, isn't it? But then, as I said, me, small babies and routine don't gel well so I'd probably not do it anyway.

Oh, and childhood nicknames - I have to have about a dozen for DD to break through her toddler selective deafness. I have to keep up thinking of silly ones so I can get her attention.

LaT I don't really know what the difference is between infacol and gripe water but I prefer to use infacol. We were given some gripe water before DD1 was born but could never manage to get her to swallow it so tried infacol and it worked a treat as it was a much smaller volume to swallow. I think she just couldn't get her head around swallowing anything that didn't come out of a breast as she'd never take calpol either until she'd been on solids for a while.

I'm sure someone else will be along with better info on them though.

monkeymargot I was awake in the night thinking I hadn't responded to your questions about tummy sleeping when I had meant to. Alice was only settling on her tummy for a while, and we had a couple of nights when I left her like that as it was the only way to get any sleep. However, I couldn't carry on like that as I was too worried about cot death. I know plenty of people do put their babies down on their tummy with no problems but we have had a cot death in our extended family so for me the risk just wasn't worth taking in the long run. I considered getting one of those breathing monitors that you put under the baby and sets off an alarm if there is no movement, but in the end decided to try swaddling again and it has been a real success. It seems to give her the same feeling of security that lying on her tummy does. We've been using the miracle blanket from mothercare and its been working really well. Not sure if this is something you've tried.

The risk of cot death is very low anyway, and if you've eliminated all the other risk factors then putting the DT's to sleep on their tummies may be a small risk that you're willing to take to get some sleep. Only you can balance up the risks and make that decision though.

MrsD Sounds like you're having a really hard time Are you managing to get out and about with Elyssa at all? Do you have anyone who can help you out at all to watch her for you while you get a bit of sleep?

We've been using terry squares since we came back from hospital, and they have been great. No leaks (except when I must have done a strange fold and got wet whilst feeding). We use disposables if we go away, and for the baby clinic days when I have to undress her for weighing.

We have to go back to see a doctor this afternoon though, as Ruth still hasn't quite reached her birth weight at 5 weeks. She's only a couple of ounces under, and has been putting on plenty each week (4+ ounces a week for the last fortnight) so they're happy with the weight gain. I think she just got off to a slow start. Anyway, they want to get her checked to make sure there isn't anything wrong, so it's 2 trips to the surgery in one day.

I did manage to get 24 strawberry fairy cakes made this morning, as it's Ruth's baptism on Sunday so we need to get organised. Now I've managed to dig out my SIL's sling that we were given, sadly there's no excuse for not tidying too.

greensnail im doing my best to get out every other day as im still not great at walking (recovering from SPD) and after 2nd em-cs im feeling shattered really and needed anti-bs too for infection in wound.

I dont have anyone at all to take baby.
FIL who's been great taking ds1& ds2 overnight.
my own parents live a good bit away so i rarely see them 2-3 times a year.
SIL has offered to help out but she has a 6 month baby of her own so i just cant bring myself to accept her offer.

im sure i'll start perking up and cope better in next few weeks or when Elyssa discovers sleep.

CSWS thanks I hjasve bought some gripe water and will try it tonight. Tried infacol but think it was too strong as it made him violently sick. They have completly different ingredients by the way, infacol is just one chemical (smithocone or somesuch thing) and gripe water is a bit more herbal (made of dill seeds) but also has something chemical in it I believe. Am hoping it will be a bit milder on the stomach than infacol. Have been trying to make sure and feed him more at each feed so he is eating less often during the day. maybe that will help too. He was up very often to feed last night
Had his first jabs today which seem to have gone fine, heartbreaking crying at the time but no ill efects so far.
We too tried cloth nappies but they were leaking a lot, Fergus is a heavy wetter. Will try again with the bigger sizes (had tots bots and dream dri mostly) I was very disapointed as was determined to use them but disposables work so much better.
With regards to the dummy La T Fergus did not like his at first either but tried him at a later date and he loved it. Am using tommee tippee closer to nature ones which seems a quite different shape than normal ones (have tried mam ones and he spits them out) Apparently you should take them away at 3 months by which point they should be able to self soothe and suck on their fingers better and it should be no problem to take them away before they are too attached.
Nice to see everyone on here posting again.
Off to bed to see how tonight goes

Hi all - I tried gripe water last night for the first time (well DS did, not me LOL!)- it seems to have helped - he was being sick after each feed yesterday & the day before, very windy, restless & crying but slept really well after two lots of gripe water
He's slept loads today too so I think I'm in for a bit of night of it tonight!

MrsDmamee - sorry you're having such a rough time. I think you should take your SIL up on her offer - she may well have a much easier baby & I'm sure you'd do the same if it was the other way round - even if you just get to have a little sleep for a couple of hours. You've had major surgery complicated by infection, SPD, long days & nights on your own & a new baby as well as 2 other kids to worry about - go easy on yourself! You are a fab Mummy I'm sure.

MadamF - my best friend is called Emma & she is SO lovely

Well, we had more success withthe Infacol than the dummy. I gave it to him last night and he bought up loads of air all by himself. Excellent.

IT didn't mean we got a good night's sleep though. Dani reufsed to go in his moses basket - partly he wanted to snack constantly, partly I thikn it is now too small to be a nice place to sleep: every time he wiggles his arms he hits the sides. SO, instead of buying the cot at months - which is when DD went into hers, I'm going to buy it today

greensnail thanks for your comments on sleeping on front. I have made the decision to continue with it (I started a seperate thread on MN and got lots of useful advice) as they are sleeping so well like that, whereas it's a constant battle to get them to sleep on their backs. I've ordered 2 monitors which attach to their nappies and beep if they were to stop breathing, mainly to put mine (and more importantly, DH's) minds at rest.

LaT glad infacol helped. To be really effective it needs to be used before every single feed, and you must shake the bottle vigorously beforehand as otherwise it seperates in the bottle. we have found it has worked brilliantly though.
Good luck with cot-buying! Is he a very big boy? Amazing how quickly they grow.

The boys are doing well and now just have one feed between 7pm-7am. They have stopped waking for a feed at 10pm so I am now trialing the greensnail method of letting them sleep til they wake (last night 1:30am) which is what we did with DD. This suits me better as I can either go to bed early and get some sleep before they need a feed. Or if DH and I are going out (clearly I am living in a fantasy world here) it means I don't have to rush back to feed at 10pm (I can't be bothered to express etc so am just going to BF).

How is CSWS doing? Is your DH still away? i don't know how you do it.

DH has announced he is going to some football games in a week or so (down at Southampton so he is out for 7 hours in total). Am dreading this - not sure if I can cope all day with the twins and DD. Particularly between 5-7pm. I guess something will have to give e.g bathing the DTs. sure I'll fathom something out.

MrsD sounds like you're doing well in dificult circumstances. I'd second the suggestion to take SIL up on her offer. She wouldn't have offered if she felt it was too much and at 6 months her baby is likely to be a bit more predictable in her habits so you can time it at a time to suit her.

monkeymargot Glad you've made a decision you're happy with. I'm sure the boys will be just fine on their fronts. My mum was telling me about how she used to spend hours trying to get my brother to sleep on his tummy when he just wanted to sleep on his back but they were told not to let him do that in those days!

LaT Daniel sounds very much like my DD1 and its been a bit of surprise with Alice to have a baby who sleeps happily in the moses basket and still fits in it comfortably at 9 weeks old.

goodname that's disapointing about your nappies? Were you using 2-parters (i.e. nappy plus wrap) or all in ones? If two-part nappies you might find them better with a different wrap. You'll get great advice on the nappy section on here when you feel ready to try them again - lots of experts on there.

madamefreckle there's a thread on baby names about the name Emma at the moment. Don't know if this would help you or not but its here if you want to look.

MonkeyMargot - am very much encouraged that your boys are sleeping so well. It's hard not to panic that life is just going to continue indefinitely with rubbish sleep!

MAdameF - any decision about Emma?

Daniel is just above the 50th centile, but seems to be really long. Also, I think DD stayed in the basket so long because she liked to be swaddled. Dani with his windmill arms keeps bashing the sides. Cot bought now !

If anyone of you is looking to buy reusable nappies, I found a very good offer on Totsbots in Boots. Have put it in the money off/ promotional codes topic on here. They are half price!

Now see what you've done LaT. I already can't fit everything in the nappy draw but I couldn't resist the totsbots wraps. Aargh - time for a clearout I think!

Thanks for asking monkeymargot - dh came home late last night, and was working from home today whilst I took the dc out. Was somewhat at him for not bothering to unload the dishwasher or do anything else useful when he was up with the older 2 this morning though (he played on his computer instead). It remains to be seen whether he loads it up properly as he's promised to tonight once he's back from Ikea .

I meant to reply the other night mm about tummy sleeping. It sounds like it doesn't matter now as you've sorted your plan, but just wanted to let you know that ds1 slept on his tummy from 13 weeks (only slept on us until then) and ds2 does sometimes already, though only next to me in my bed (not that that really makes any diff as I wouldn't automatically know if he stopped breathing in the night). I've not come across the sort of monitor that you mention before - you must let us know if they are any good or not.

Am glad to hear that the gripe water is helping a few of you now. I really do swear by the stuff. Boots do an apple gripe water which is my preferred brand for smell and taste, although at this age the babies tend to take it whatever flavour it is. I don't know how first timers are administering it btw, but if you buy a bottle of infant nurofen, which you'll want at some point anyway, then you get a little syringe in the box which can measure up to 5ml.

MrsD - you sound very down. Do watch yourself for signs of PND and get to your GP if you need to. And definitely don't be too proud to accept offers of help, whoever makes them.

JoKettle - Glad to hear that the BumGenius are doing a good job. I have a lovely shiny pile of them but so far have been a bit of a wimp...partly because Emma soils her nappy so ridiculously frequently. I WILL start soon [brownie-guides honour].
Re. routines, I did much as you're doing with DS but this time round I've got no routine except for thinking: if she's crying and it's been three hours since her last feed, then she probably needs feeding. If it's been much less than that then she probably has a painful tummy or is tired. Also, if she's been awake for 2 hours then she should probably be encouraged to go to sleep. Needless to say this doesn't always work and she often goes 4 hours without sleeping and sometimes only an hour between feeds but hey.

Thank you all so much for your comments about Emma, you've really helped. - And thank you for the link greensnail. I'm feeling pretty positive about it and generally less insane. I think I've just about exorcised Jemima from my system now! - I'll just have to name a pet Jemima...or a soft toy. Also, the h/v said that she was visiting a Jemima of the same age nearby but didn't know of any Emmas at the moment which helped my decision making. Also, Emma goes better with her middle name, which I really can't change. I've posted a picture of her if you fancy a peek.

MrsD - Do take up your SIL's offer...even just for an hour. A 6 month old is a far cry from a tiny baby and I'm sure she wouldn't offer if she really didn't want to. Hope Elyssa starts sleeping better and you feel better about everything soon. There is nothing like sleep deprivation to make you feel like you're doing a rubbish job.

MonkeyMargot - Your DT's are doing really well just having one feed between 7 and 7! How much do they weigh now? Emma much prefers to sleep on her tummy too and I often let her during the day (she quite often just conks out on her playmat on her tummy). I can't let her sleep on her tummy at night as her coir mattress is not particularly firm and I don't think it would be a good idea, however, I do usually position her on her side. On her back she does that moro reflex thing a lot and seems a bit exposed but I think she'd be too hot if I swaddled her. It sounds a good idea to use those monitors.

Just checking in as I can't keep up!!

Madamefreckle your pic of Emma is cute - and it's a lovely name too.

Mrsd just wanted to echo what everyone else has said about taking up your SIL's offer

Hope everyone gets some sleep tonight

Lovely pic madamef.
If you are worried about swaddling making her too hot then may I recommend one of these? A friend bought one for me and it has been great! You can get them on ebay as well as other uk stores.

gorgeous photo of Emma madameF. She's staring right into the camera lens!

The boys weighed approx 9.5lb and 10.5lb a few days ago. I seem to recall last time around things settled down a lot at the 6-week mark, which is where we are right now. They are (touch wood) being really good boys.

DH still ensconsed in spare room which is fine by me. He does however, have a strong urge to "get it on" - anyone else got back in the saddle yet? Can't say it's top of my list of priorities right now, but seeing as I had zero interest in doing the deed whilst PG I feel I ought to make some sort of effort.
I had my 6 week check yesterday and am getting fitted with a Mirena Coil in a weeks time. What is everyone else planning on doing for contraception? Anyone's DH's getting the snip?

MonkeyMargot When I had my 6 week check my GP told me that a lot of African women use BF as their contraception and with that I came on my period 2 days later so good job I didn't take her advice!! Not that DH and I have resumed sexual relations!!
With regards to my contraception I think I'm going to have the implant in my arm, anyone else got any experience of this?
I really cannot afford to get pregnant accidentally. I've realised that if there is any hope of DH and I having another baby sometime in the future then I need to lose a lot of weight and get really fit as I've been warned that next time my pelvis will probably be much worse!
DH has point blank refused to ever even consider getting the snip!!

I've put on a new photo of a smiling Tilly if anyone's interested.

THANKS everyone for your kind comments.

I think with DH finishing paternity leave to go straight back to work nightshifts really knocked my confidence.(he doesnt always work nights)
And he is usually gone from 6pm until 8:30am
so the day/nights are quite tough with a newborn and 2 other kids to feed and entertain.
Im doing my best to watch out for signs of PND as ive suffered depression in the past.

PIL's are visiting today and i might just have to drop hints that they are welcome to visit when DH is working too.
MIL never wants to visit when he is on nights incase she wakes him, but nothing wakes DH....ive a screaming newborn and 2 noisy boys .