FEB 2010 Longer out than in and first Christmases around the corner...we're 9 months on.

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Shiny new thread, as promised fellow FEBers!

Figured we would start another new one to mark first birthdays, bethlou, so I've held fire on referencing that landmark in this thread title - hope that's okay with y'all!

Anyway, welcome everybody, pull up a comfy chair, someone get the wine out and I'll open a huge box of chocolates for us all to share.

LB good luck for tonight

BC blimey I thought our night was bad. Hope your getting throught today OK. LO was fed every two hours from 6pm-8am, but she at least went straight back to sleep afterwards. (except at 6 when she got up). She also woke up a lot when she had the cold as she got blocked up after a while and then couldn't breathe so hopefully afterwards she'll go back to mangeable sleep. Good that DH is helping you out though.

It was trying to talk to him that I lost it. I said that he spoke to me with disrespect and he laughed. I will keep a log thanks, more to remind myself that I'm not getting upset over nothing.

Put her down at 6.55pm.
Got to 5 mins and she puked up milk and dinner had to change bed linen and now we are starting over again. She is still going strong....................

Crakey you've been chatty today

LB good luck and I'm impressed that you're dumping the dummy and doing CC. As much as I want to get ride of the dummy, \i just can't see how unless having sleepless nights.

CC I agree with everybody else, if it continues, don't keep it to yourself go and speak to union/manager... I was bullied in my previous job and it got me sick.

bc I can't remember if you say your LO was teething? If yes a few things which work for us. At bath time (in the evening) when I brush DS teeth (2 in total) I use the brush to massage his gums and you can see that he really enjoys it, he is calmer after that.

Apologises to everybody else, I forgot what else was posted.

LB when you say going strong, do you mean crying or just awake? Are you lying her on her front or back?

IC just wrote a long post which I lost... but thank you! I have a gallery that represents me in Newmarket so I sell some of my equestrian stuff through him. TBH, my style doesn't appeal much to the horsey crowd so it's been quite difficult. Now that I've given up my job in the City, I am hopefully going to be able to do it more seriously!!!

CC what a wanker! Hang in there and don't put up with any shit.

I'm feeling guilty this evening as my DD was literally bouncing off the walls during her 6 o'clock feed. She was shouting at the dogs and trying to jump from the chair, she is usually really chilled after her bath. Anyway, as I was singing her to sleep I suddenly realised that I have had a large bar of Green & Black's dark chocolate and two mega cups of black tea this afternoon. No wonder! Poor little rabbit is high on caffeine!!!!

LB Good luck tonight and please don't beat yourself if it doesn't work. Just think this too shall pass....

Abs She is on her front up on her elbows screaming. We are going in every 10 mins.

Oh she has finally fallen asleep!!!!

Lets hope she stays asleep for a few hours at least as that was hell! (she normally wakes every 2 hours after 11.30pm)

Sorry for posting every update. Just helps me really.

CC what an arse he sounds. He clearly feels threatened by you to feel the need to speak to you like that. Does he do it in front of others? If so I might draw attention to it in a loud voice if he does it again. I find these sort of situations horrible and only think of appropriate responses afterwards.

Abs wow. Amazing pictures. How lovely to have a talent like that.

Although I am so sorry so many of us are having sleep issues it does make me feel better to know I am not alone. Have done a bit of research and it seems a 9 month sleep regression/growth spurt/developmental spurt all combine to make this a somewhat testing time. On a positive note sleep training is apparently successful for most people after this.

Watercress if you have a moment sometime. You said the other day you may have a few suggestions to make regarding my sleep issues with ds? You are our resident expert after all!

LB hope you are coping.

Have a good weekend everyone.

LB Yepee. Finger crossed it will go well during the night. Don't apologise for the up date, we are here to support each others

Thank you Chinook!

Hooray Littlebear... fingers crossed she sleeps until the morning! Well done! And keep posting. I want to know if it works!!!

Having trouble to keep up with you lot but then I am chasing after two LOs. dd1 seems to think she's a human rubber ball for some reason and we have a few bouncing related injuries... (she's not as bouncy as she thinks!)
dd2 is just lovely. Quick update, she has four teeth at the top and two at the bottom, with number 7 and 8 now coming through at the bottom. She can crawl fast if she wants to but mainly potters around exploring things at leisure. She does very cute waving, shaking her head to say No (to amuse us rather than actually say no), has just started pulling herself up to stand which freaks me out (dd1 was much older and more aware of hurting herself when she did this), has started helping with dressing by pushing her arms through sleeves herself, and sometimes holds her own bottle. She prefers eating from a normal rather than a weaning spoon, wants very lumpy food to chew on, d drinks water from a normal glass(quite thick glass ; my nephew bit through a few glasses when he was little and I still shudder at the thought). She?s just come through a very clingy phase where she cried huge tears as soon as I was out of sight. It made staying at my parents?s house tricky because I could not even go to the loo without her getting upset. She relaxed after a few days though and has now got over the worst. I did frequently remind myself that I should be flattered she wants to be with me!!!! As for sleep, I am afraid she is close to watercresss dd? Sorry?.. [wandering off to help dh put Christmas wrapping paper on the living room bay window? don?t ask something to do with still having no curtains?]? my girls have a rota going so that if one wakes up in the night (for teething gel or help with retrieving cuddly toy (dd2) or general answering of random questions (dd1 is in the ?why?? phase!), they tend to space it so that I have just finally drifted off before the other calls for Mama. I am currently trying to train them to call for Papa, but somehow in the depth of the night only Mama will do?. . This is getting a rather long post, so I will keep more individual comments to later. Just to say stoof so so sorry about that job you did not get,cc don?t let him upset you (easier said than done, I know from bitter experience); ic love your blog and keep checking occasionally ? your LO is incredibly cute, ditto cc, and where is mamaloco these days? Don?t desert us please?! And good luck LB it may work quicker than you think! Fingers crossed for you

DS crab walk but still don't have any balance when he let go. He can also pull himself up either with the coffee table, his walker or in the bath.
BG DS also do the head shakinh with a big grin on his face.

He wants to hold the spoon when I feed him but he keeps the spoon to chew it and gets very cross when I take it to fill it again. I now feed him with 2 spoons so when one gets hijacked I got a 2nd one. How do you deal with that issue if your LO does it to?

Good Morning!!! Up at 5.30 in our household... although shouldn't complain as DD went to bed promptly at 6.45 and woke at 2.30 for her feed, so not too bad... but I am TIRED!

Morning! Ooh, bad luck with the early alarm call, Abs....

I do the same as you re: spoons, GF!

LB how did it go? The fact she gave up first time after about 45 mins bodes quite well...
Sleepless nights with CC, yes GF - that's why you have to set a few days aside for it and accept that everyone's going to be sleep deprived for a few days (and then hopefully, it will work).
It's a tough time to do sleep training (with the 9month sleep regression underway) - BUT that doesn't mean it won't work, just might take a little longer.
Having said that, if it hasn't worked within 5 days, that's the time to give up.
Fingers crossed for you LB - and yes, please keep us updated!
Glad the new meds are taking effect!

Great to hear from you, BG! Glad you're enjoying the blog - DH is being much more conscientious about updating it than me at the mo. Sounds like our DDs are teeth-racing...

That guy is a total arse, CC. Try and find some support, if you can.

Morning all!

What a night....here is what happened....

Went down at 6.55pm threw up,changed bed cried until she fell asleep at 7.33pm

Woke at 11.20pm,pood her nappy big time, cried until falling asleep at 1.05am

Woke at 1.55am cried until falling asleep at 2.40am

Woke at 4.40am cried until falling asleep at 4.50am

Woke at 5.20am cried until I got her in bed with me at 6.50am and slept til 7.34am

It was hell and we are all shattered.
She seems to have a slight chesty cough, may be from all the crying??

BG know what you mean about the clingyness!!

We had our first falling-off-parents-bed incident yesterday. I was so scared but he hardly cried. In a way I'm glad we have got it out of the way but obviously I'm going to endeavor to prevent it happening again. I thought I had my eye on him and as I opened a drawer - "thud". It was sickening.

LBH Sorry the first night of CC was so hard but well done all of you.

DS has a cold too - we are just doing what we have to do to get through the night at the moment. Started in his own room - woke regularly, so ended up in pram in our bedroom. Up at 7.10.

BC Have had the same incident. It was awful. Made worse as we were co sleeping after a rough night. DP came in and said "you didnt hit her did you?" I cried myself to sleep that night.

LBH blimey, that sounds hardcore. I've never done it but all the books seem to say that by the third night it gets much easier so hang in there.

BC we've had several falling off bed incidents. Once when I had her blocked into the corner of the sofa with my legs in front of her. I still don't know what happened...

CC your colleague sounds like an arsehead. Can you talk to your line manager about it? In my experience, people only behave like that when they are intimidated by someone who they perceive to be better at their job.

GF no advice on spoons from me. I don't even bother and just put pickupable food on the high chair tray so she can use her fingers.

chinook sorry you are having a hard time on the sleeping front. I don't have any words of wisdom, other than what works for me. Both my DDs have been awkward daytime sleepers, and would freak out if put in their cots during the day, so if they are acting tired I tend to put the radio on, then lie next to them on my bed (with the baby in the middle) with one arm over the legs to stop them kicking and holding one hand. I don't draw the curtains or anything like that. They always fall asleep within five minutes, and as they are drifting off I get up and put a blanket over them and leave the room. The reason I put the radio on is so they aren't disturbed by the noise when I go, or any other noises that might occur (door bell, telephone).

At night, if they wake, I tend to do shushing (often just from the doorway). I try not to put a hand on them, but occasionally do. And I try not to get them out of the cot, though sometimes I do and just sit with them in the sleeping bag against my front (cuddling them). Again, when they are calm and a bit drowsy, they go back in the cot, and I stay for a couple of minutes, usually giving the occasional shush. One thing that made a difference for DD1 was swapping cotton sheets for flannel ones - I think the cotton felt cold on her skin when I put her back in her cot if she had woken and she'd start crying again, whereas flannel felt warmer. I do all of this without putting a light on (we leave the hall light on so it is pretty dark in their rooms) or talking.

Sorry, this probably all sounds very patronising as I know you already have an older one, but it has worked for me with both my girls. Maybe there is something in there worth trying?

LB good luck for tonight. I hope you managed to get some rest today.

DS fell this morning and he now has a bump on his forehead. He was holding on the table when he decided to let go, I managed to catch him before the head touched the floor but too late for his forehead.

Teething was very bothering him today but he has been very tired and was asleep at 6.30pm. Hopefully the night will go smoothly.

watercress thanks for the sleeping advice.

I received my new raincover I only ordered it on Thursday night so I'm well impressed. We'll able to go for a walk tomorrow

LB - calm and consistent, calm and consistent....
Hope tonight isn't too bad for you

Interesting to hear what you do, watercress!

GF thanks. Got a couple of hours with DD. Tonight is awful. It is taking longer. She is still going strong as I type. She also threw up again.

Poor DS it is horrid when they fall. DD had a bump on her head and it swelled up. I rang the doctor and they put my mind at rest. I panicked as because I am on anti deps that they think I am a crap parent. But they were fine.

I feel like a crap parent now though. Poor DD. has been an hour now. :(

Cool about your new raincover. I need to order a footmuff. Forty odd quid for my Maclaren. They see us new parents coming I think. Get sucked in to buying the best!

Hope all you others are ok.

Big hugs!

LB i hear that the second night is often worse. You're doing great

we were every 3 hrs last night plus one quick resettle, not as bad.

Hi CC thanks that makes me feel better. She finally has gone off. She has coughed in her sleep (panic) my mum thinks it could be the crying that has caused it. Hope it passes!

Know what you mean about every three hrs. When I tell my friends, oh yeah good night last night..only midnight,2am and 4.30am they look at me like

Morning!!

Ok night two went like this:

Went down at 6.50pm cried threw up,changed bed,cried until she fell asleep at 8.05pm

Woke at only 10.15pm cried until falling asleep at 11.04pm

Woke at 5.35am but cried until we got her up for her milk at 6.50am

So a bit better in some ways but dont know if she is learning or just bloody knackered!!

LB it seems that she is waking up less (even if she's crying for longer).

My favourite alarm o'clock woke up at 6.30 this morning so it's okay but DS was a bit unsettle during the night but I link this to teething.

Have a good Sunday

DD2 has also done the flinging backwards and bumping head thing. She hadn't done it for ages, but then last week a friend brought her baby round and DD2 got so excited she fell over! So funny. She hasn't sustained any bumps or bruises, though DD1 more than makes up for it with her typical bruise-riddled toddler legs!

LBH glad last night was better. Both my girls will cry themselves sick, so I feel your anguish over that side of things. It does sound as though it was a bit better, so hang in there.

GF good news on the raincover - very quick indeed.

Today I am going to a joint birthday party. All my antenatal group's children have just turned four, so we are having a big joint party in a local hall with soft play etc. I'm on lunchbox duty for the children, so I'd better go and start buttering bread!