June 08 - 118 (and counting) sleeps till Chistmas, but don't tell Deb!

[EddieIzzardismyhero]

Welcome to our new, cosy thread. Log fires, big jumpers and Christmas shopping .

What do you mean it's still August?!

Sorry to hear about C's suffering System - poor wee mite. We're all tonsillitis sufferers in my family. My brother suffers quite badly. I find that some chocolate buttons melting on my tongue has wonderful medicinal properties .

I am absolutely knackered all the time just now. I've developed a very annoying twitch in my eye which I've had for weeks too. I just feel really unfit, worn out, unhealthy etc. I need to give myself a real shake but don't have the energy! Had a lovely day yesterday at my nephew's first bday party though. S played away and needed very little attention from either me or DH all day - it was like a glimpse about how life might be like in the future when he's older and more independent!

Has Dewin disappeared? Come back Dewin!

Ah well, if C's going all the way up north to do some cleaning for Abdn, she might as well pop into Edin on her way .

Knitting - did you ever re-arrange your trip to Scotland btw? I'm meeting Bugger this Saturday to go to Room on a Broom - am really looking forward to it!

Oh, while I remember - quick q for Biscuits and Bugger. Any suggestions for a nice restaurant that a pair of 30 year old young things would probably enjoy visiting in Glasgow for lunch/dinner? Somewhere nice but not posh/v expensive? I was going to get my sister and bf some vouchers for Jamie's new place in Glasgow, but she went at the weekend and thought it was nice but nothing special.

We're hoping to make it up in the Easter holidays - we'll keep you posted!

Goddess I get that eye twitch when I'm knackered too! annoying isn't it? hope you get some rest soon ...

Hi everyone, hope you're all well. Quiet on here at the mo, where is everyone?

Just had a weekend with the parents up which was nice as able to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Sleep continues to be an obessesion in our house - not really getting much better as M has now taken to waking at 5am and reducing his daytime naps hasn't made any difference . We have reduced A's daytime naps to an hour which means he is now sleeping til 7am which is wonderful, but with M getting up at 5 makes no difference really.

I'm on my own for two nights this week which I'm dreading (it's rare that both boys sleep through so even if they sleep til 6.30 it's not an unbroken night). I know many of you cope on your own a lot so are probably thinking I'm being a bit of a wimp, but I'm so exhausted anyway it's going to be a slog .

On that note, I have just had an assessment with a therapy service I was referred to by my GP and have been diagnosed with moderate to severe depression . I have been referred on for 'talking therapy' (group therapy which is interesting cos I've never tried that) and if that doesn't help then I will be referred to an eating disorders clinic. I feel wiped out even thinking about it, but I know it's something I need to address now before it gets any worse.

On top of all this, I've just found out my mum needs to go into hospital for an op on a prolapse too - she was supposed to go in in June but postponed because she wanted to help us move . So she's likely to be going in before Christmas. She's really worried about how she's going to cope post-op because my dad is elderly and getting very forgetful and getting very unsteady on his feet. We can't be much help cos we're so far away and have the children, so am hoping my brothers will be able to step up.

Sorry for the me, me, me post. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by life right now. Given my nn, maybe I should get my knitting out .

Knitting that's an awful lot to be coping with at once sorry to hear you're having to deal with all of this. Hope the group therapy helps. I know for me the sleep deprivation was an absolute killer, vicious circle of exhaustion > depression > tiredness from the depression on top. Is there any way you can get more sleep in during the day, do they both still nap? could you reduce your workload to a minimum for a few weeks - I don't know, get cleaner in, send ironing out, (my answer was just live in squalor and sleep whenever I could, but that wouldn't suit everyone!), and get a bit more rest that way? It is an absolute killer, hope things improve soon.

Knitting - sorry to hear that things are so tough for you just now. Not much in the way of advice, but sending some un-mnetty hugs your way.

Nothing noteworthy to report here. Still knackered. Have a very achy back. Have traipsed around Edinburgh's finest independent shoe shops and managed not to find a pair of wellies that fit S!

Biscuits before I forget congratulations on the exam results. Awesome!

Knitting so sorry to hear of all your woes. I am sure one or both of your brothers should be able to help out your Mum and Dad. One of them is a nurse... As one of 4 children it shouldn't all fall to you.

On the subject of DH's having nights away, DH has asked if it is ok if he is away for two nights for work when I am 37 weeks. I've said it's fine as I really don't think I am going to have a baby in a fortnight. Hope I'm not tempting fate...

DH is back at work after 10 days at home. A bit of a shock to the system really. We didn't get all of the "to do" list done, but did manage to spend a lot of money: new car, washing machine, shed.... DH excelled himself last night. I was getting insurance quotes for the new car and Sheila's Wheels came out cheapest on a comparison website. I mentioned that this is the first time a "women's insurer" has come out cheap for me, and DH kindly pointed out that this is because these companies target older women

Spider, sorry, but I spat my tea out when I read the end of your post! DH and I always find ways to spend lots of money if we spend some time at home. It's not so long back that a broken dvd player (that cost about £30 I think) was replaced with a blu-ray player, new HDTV and a new HD Sky + box .

Knitting, so sorry to hear what a lot you have to cope with at the moment. I really hope that the boys sleep well for you this week when dh is away.Be upfront with your brothers too and then they know how you feel.Group therapy, isn't that what we do in this lovely group?

Spider - the cheek of him!How many days late were you with P? I was 3 days late with ds1, on time with ds2 and 10 days late with ds3.So fingers crossed that you won't be going into labour at 37 weeks

Forgot to say, how's C today Systems?

Bit better today thanks Deb, she's been asleep ALL afternoon - 4 hours and counting - so I think that's a good sign. I should really wake her to make sure she gets her anti-b's on schedule but am feeling sleep is probably what she needs most right now!

Deb I was induced at 42 weeks last time. I probably didn't go into labour naturally because P was malpositioned and so not putting the right pressure on the cervix. Therefore if this baby is in the right position who knows...

Spider, I almost made 42 weeks with dc1. Each subsequent child has been 7 days quicker than the last, so J was actually a few days early. 37 Weeks is much quicker though so I think you should be safe.

Knitting good luck with looking after them on your own. I find sticking to the routine rigidly whilst dh is away makes things easier. They know what to do and I know roughly how long it is going to be before they are safely in bed and I can chill out a bit.

Thanks Sybil. Only time will tell I guess.

Well done Biscuits you clever sausage!

Deb v sorry about all the house moving anxiety. Moving house locally is bad enough but an international move must be horribly stressful.

Knitting you sound exhausted and overwhelmed, you poor thing. I hope the therapy suggestions are some use to you, and well done for seeking help.

Spider with DS1 I was on tenterhooks from 37 weeks so by the time he arrived (induced at 40+10) I had lost the plot. With DS2 I made a concerted effort not to do that, and we even went to a wedding around my due date, and I had a show on the day. He was 1 day late. With DD1 I was induced at 38 weeks, and T was 8 days late. In your situation I'd let DH go away (I think my DH was in Spain when I was 37 or 38 weeks with DS2, actually).

Hello to everyone else. I've not been posting as it's sceaming row VAT season so I'm trying to be a more organised wife and deal with the papers.

Oh, one for all the devout atheists: I was in a prayer group when I got a text from a single friend telling me that she'd just got laid

Spider I think you will be OK at 37wks - how far away is he going?

Biscuits, well done on the exams, what a relief it must be. I always hated exams so good to know no more for a couple of years.

Knitting, sounds like you are having a really rough time. Sleep deprivation is the worst so don't think you sounds like a wimp cos you don't. I take it M doesn't like coming into bed with you in the mornings so you can get a bit more kip? Hope therapy helps, sure it will.

The twins went into beds on Saturday and it has gone quite well. They screamed for about 25mins on the first night but I just kept going up saying 'time for bed now, you sleep in your big beds now' and eventually they just started playing. After a couple of hours they went to sleep. T fell out 3 times last night - in the end I just left him asleep on the floor. I have got bed guards and will put them on if he hasn't got the hang of it in a few weeks.

Daniel is sleeping in his own room now . He settles at about 11-12pm then wakes at 4am then 8am ish so pretty good. He is good at getting himself off to sleep too - I don't ever need to rock him to sleep, just put him in the cot awake. He'll have a cry for 10mins but then goes off on his own.

My SIL with the twins (9wo now) fell asleep feeding one last night and dropped her on the floor . She is ok but SIL is shaken up. She needs to accept more help, she has done every night feed since they came home and can't sleep in the day cos her DS doesn't nap now. She must be exhausted, but she is the typs to soldier on regardless. Her mum (MIL) is retired and only lives round the corner, she would be happy to do more I'm sure. I remember the exhaustion well and it is horrible and relentless. She is only getting 1-2hr stretches and sometimes only two of them a night. 3hrs together and 5hrs altogether in one night is rare.

PP, it was the Premaxx Baby Bag but he only liked it for a couple of weeks. Once he got to 9lbs-ish he hated it. Now he goes in the BabyBjorn and he likes that.

Neenz, glad that the move to a bed is going well. Presumably the twins share a room? S fell out a few times to start with, but I can't remember the last time he did. They'll soon get the hang of it. My SIL gave me a bed guard that she had but we've never used it. We still put a couple of pillows on the floor just in case though!

Sounds like your SIL is having a rough time. I hope she learns to accept a bit of help.

We've had a bit of a mealtime breakthrough this week. I don't know if anyone will remember, but S refused to sit in a highchair from a fairly early age and has been a bit of a nightmare on and off at mealtimes ever since. However, this week we reintroduced his booster chair and he's sat at it quite happily all week. Still a very lazy eater, but poor DH hasn't had a meal without him on his lap at some point for about a year, so it's progress!!!

Right, must go revise for exams.

Hi everyone - I haven't kept up really as there was little connectivity in Spain but I'm glad to finally be home!

Luke was an angel the whole time and I've just fallen in love with him all over again. His speech has improved no end being around 4 adults for 10 days which is lovely.

I am exhausted however as Luke still only wants mummy and I was on duty 24/7 with only the occasiona respite but it was still great to be away and have some sunshine.

I am now a huge great ball and the babies are kicking the bejesus out of me - I can see my tummy undulating which is weird even though I have been through it all before. Having a lot of trouble sleeping.

Anyway enough of me - being the lazy cow that I am is there a potted history of the last two weeks that I can have?

PS Luke did a teaspoon full of pee in the potty toay for the first time which was very exciting!!

Welcome back Amber, I can't remember what day of the week it is let alone what's been happening on the thread so I'll leave an update to someone else .

Thank you for everyone's kind words. We tried cutting down M's nap yesterday and keeping them both up later to no avail - M was still awake at 5am and A not much later (this was after both of them being awake in the night too). They are both exhausted so I don't know what's waking them . poppy has kindly sent me details of a sleep consultant so will chase that up today as can't go on like this.

sybil, I do try and sleep in the day (their naps sometimes overlap by about an hour but not always) and as for not doing any housework, if my house was any dirtier social services would be taking an interest! The problem is we're experimenting with cutting down naps to extend nighttime sleep, but that means I don't get the nap time to rest! Ho hum . . .

Neenz, we've tried co-sleeping with M so many times and it just doesn't work. He will not settle with us and never has really (not since he was a very tiny baby) which is so frustrating as he wakes desperately tired but just doesn't seem to know how to get back to sleep at that time in the morning .

As for mum, I know my brothers will help out when they can but I suppose I know I will feel frustrated not being able to do anything myself. We'll have to be careful about visiting cos A won't understand that mum can't do v much and she is his No 1 playmate when they're around.

DG, that's great news about the booster chair .

spider, I don't think you need to worry about the 37 week thing either - but then I was induced with both mine at 38! But if you're induced you get a fair amount of notice so would give your dh time to get home? And lol at the older woman comment - we insure through Sheila's Wheels, so maybe hes right !

Neenz, great news about the twins, and D being in his own room.

Biscuits, I did congratulate you on FB, but will add my MN congrats! Must be such a relief, now you can concentrate on the baby.

And Rolf, had you being praying for your friend by any chance? That would have been impressive .

Knitting it is so hard when you have 2 close together and neither are sleeping well. The sleep consultant sounds like a really good plan. I read up loads on sleep when struggling with both of mine, and one theory which certainly applied to my two is that 'sleep begets sleep', it's a bit counterintuitive but the idea is that shortening their naps can make them wired and overtired and then they sleep even worse at night. I am sure this varies depending on the child but certainly for my ds he slept better at night when he napped longer in the day and was put down earlier. (It's not such a clear correlation with Caitlin.) Might be worth a try, if the waking them and keeping them up later isn't working?

I agree with system - shortening Luke's nap did nothing for his night sleep (and Luke has always been a bad sleeper). We got a sleep consultant but her advice was to leave them to cry and they will go to sleep on their own. I paid £250 for that. Hope it sorts itself out.

Amber and Knitting if I was to summarise months of reading sleep research in absolute desperation, that would be the key thing - leave them to cry and learn to get to sleep on their own, in the place you want them to sleep all night, 'cos they wake up slightly every sleep cycle (45 minutes) and need to have the same conditions they were in when they fell asleep to get back to sleep. So if they were rocked to sleep, they need to be rocked again, if Mum was there she needs to be there again, etc. However putting this into practice does mean doing a lot of leaving-to-cry for a few days which is a lot easier said than done!