November 2010: Welcome to life on the other side

[bunnygirl80]

Pull up a chair and help yourself to a LARGE glass of wine

Welcome to the dark side the wonderful world of motherhood

Lainey - Just spotted your "London get together thread"..

I would be keen!

Bunnygirl I think they call it witching hour or something? The few times I've managed to get Freya to have a late arvo nap she has been much happier. Like tonight we went out for dinner she slept in the pram till about 6.30pm.. And there was no tantrum at all and she happily went to bed at 7.30pm. Here's hoping she'll sleep bit later than the usual 6am tomorrow.

The problem is to settle her for a nap in the first place. I really have to monitor her all the time and put her down at the first cue or she'll get over tired and wont settle. She'll only sleep about 30 mins at the time so I wont really get any "me time" or naps during the day.

Re dream feed - makes sense. I've been bit hesitant trying it in the first place as feel bad waking a sleeping baby. But then after feedind at 2, 4, 6 etc I thought I'd give it a go.. But might just leave it!

I thought I was the only one whose LO only did 30min naps in the day! Phew....
How do you manage Jenni? 30min is hardly enough time to get laundry/do dishes/prepare dinner/other chores.

K's sleep has gotten worse n it's killing me! Used to go out like a light at 11pm n wake for a feed arnd 4-5am and again arnd 8am before fully waking up at 10am.
Now she only sleeps at midnight and wakes up 2, 5, 8 am and takes longer to feed and resettle back to sleep.

Doesn't help tt Ive got the beginnings of the flu n feel slightly under the weather.

Well sod the Dream Feed me thinks! F fed around 7.30-8pm before going to bed, and then slept until 5am! And then again till about 6.30.. So not the 8 am as I was hoping for.. But still, I got solid 6 hrs sleep for first time and DP had her for another hour in the morning so I had a nap! Wow I feel like a different woman, like somebody switched on the lights .

Vix - I don't really manage to do much in the house, just quickly put the washing on etc.. I envy those mothers whose babies sleep for hours during the day leaving them to read / watch telly / paint nails.. I was so naive before Freya was born.. I've been recording stuff on Sky+ thinking I have all this time during the day to watch it, and read books.. I was even thinking of doing a Masters since "now I'm not working I have all this spare time"... Hardly .
Hopefully you will feel better soon!

Day in the office is so much easier than a day alone with a baby! At least I used to have cups of tea and eat my lunch hot!

Hi all,

It's been ages since I posted here - although I can't really blame Astrid, I'm just useless at keeping up!

A is now 10 weeks old and has been sleeping for 8-10 hour stretches at night for a week or so. This is balanced out her lack of sleep in the evenings, as she's often happy to stay awake until midnight (thank god I'm on maternity leave atm). I would be grumpy, but she's usually cooing and mumbling away trying to get my attention if I should watch tv or come on here . She's also desperately trying to blow raspberries (thanks to her big sisters) and it's so funny watching her smiling and swishing her tongue around in an attempt to copy dd1/2.

A had her first set of jags last Weds and was pretty miserable for a couple of days and has now come down with a cold. But she seems pretty chirpy - for the moment at least!

On the exercise front, I've been to two Zumba classes but don't think they're really my thing and a bit too high impact for my dodgy knee . Had a gym induction on Friday so will be back on Tues and am aiming to go around 3 times a week - although I've no idea how long these good intentions will last.

Our wedding is now 17 weeks away (eeek), but I think we're almost there with everything. Got my dress a few weeks ago and I love it (didn't love the price much though), despite the fact that I am a strictly jeans and trainers girl.

Really need to get moving this afternoon, as I've not done much today and the school uniforms and lunch boxes are calling me!

jenni yay for the extra long sleep. In fact Will did exactly the same on Sat night, and I persuaded DH to take him after his 6:30am feed until he needed another feed at 10 so had a lovely lie in and an extra long shower.

Re the super short day time naps: I've become unhealthily obsessed done a bit of reading about sleep patterns since Will's little regression last week. He's always had one long nap of 1 and a half to 2 hours during the day, and then 3 30-45min naps, but was often quite grumpy on waking from the shorter naps. According to most of the resources I looked at, the reason lots of young babies wake after 30-45mins as this is the length of a sleep cycle for them. Supposedly, for the majority of babies a decent nap is 2 sleep cycles, so if they wake after one you should try and resettle them. Obviously, if they've woken because they are hungry then they won't resettle and you should feed them.

I've been trying this approach with Will for a whole 36 hours now and he does actually go back to sleep for an extra 45mins if I resettle him when he wakes. I've always managed to get him to take his longest sleeps when I'm walking with the pram, and he does actually wake after 1 sleep cycle then drift off again by himself, so my new morning routine is to pop him in the pram once he seems like he needs his nap and to walk for 1hr 15mins, to ensure I'm home 15 mins before he wakes for a feed. So today I'd walked 6km before 10am He's currently on nap number 2 - he woke after 45 mins, and he resettled pretty easily with some rocking and singing. Putting him back down was not so easy, took about 20 mins for him to be put down and stay asleep, but he's now fast asleep in his moses basket again. I'm impressed with how easily he went back to sleep - I'd already decided I wasn't going to fight him as I think he'll eventually get the idea by himself. I'm hoping that by helping him get better quality sleep in the day, he'll be less overtired and irritable in the early evenings.

I'll update with our progress in a couple of days

If it works I might just become a baby sleep guru myself. I could use all the new found nap time to write a book full of my expert advice and make millions

Sadly I think the reason poor Lottie doesn't nap well is she has to fit in with my older dcs ridiculously hectic schedule. Typical day; 8:30 school run, back home 9:15, fit in any shopping etc. before collecting Ds at 11:45, back home then out for little gym 1:30, from there to collect Dd at 3:00, back home then back out for football at 4:30. Finally all home again at 5:45. It's no wonder she never gets a good nap in! She sleeps longest in the morning when in the pushchair, otherwise it's 20 minutes here and there.

I would love to hear how others with older ones cope at bedtime? If Dh is home to help it's fine, otherwise it's hell. It coincides with Lotties 'I'll scream unless you're giving me your full attention and constantly feeding me' hour, so gets very stressful indeed!

Bunny thanks a mill for the advice. I've been wondering why Freya only manages that 30 mins at the time but will try to settle her back to sleep when she wakes up from her morning nap. She has now been sleeping in her (massive) cot bed for 20 mins for first time!

Until now she has slept in her carry cot, that was supposed to be only for the first few nights and then she was to move to her Amby hammock... Well she hated the hammock and cried every time I put her down there... And tbh it wasn't very back / C section friendly anyways.

I have just put up few pics of Freya to those who are interested

Wow Hmm I really admire people with more than one child and always wonder how they manage. I feel like life with one is a full on job!

When I got pregnant I thought it would be so cool to have twins so I'd only have to be preggers once.. God I'm SO naive!!

Freya is gorgeous Jenni, and very smiley .

On the subject of more than one, although hard to begin with, once they're a bit older I've actually found it easier to have 2 around as they play together allowing me to get on with stuff. It's throwing a baby into the mix that causes the problems!

I'm jealous of those reporting lots of sleep. We're in the same camp as vix and umf - sleeping has got worse not better. Aino isn't keen on napping during the day either. How does she do it? She seems fine, but I'm knackered. I keep offering to swap places with DH, at least that way I'd get adult coffee breaks and the chance to got to the loo without it being a military-style operation.

Started my post-natal workout class today. We get part of the classes paid by health insurance which is great. Unfortunately Aino decided she was hungry part way through, so I had to feed her and watch everyone else. At least she wasn't the only uncooperative baby there so I didn't feel so bad.
Our snow is back (hooray) so we also managed an hour of cross-country skiing yesterday; it's going to be hard work getting into shape for the race I want to do at the end of the season.

Bunnygirl should we be brushing teeth as soon as they come through? We're not at that point yet, but it would be good to be prepared.

Hello all - brief reminder of Nottingham meet-up tomorrow in case anyone missed it further up the thread, meet-up thread here Midday at the New Art Exchange cafe, Hyson Green. See you there!

See you tomorrow comtessa and the Nottingham ladies and babies.

I feel your pain hmm... :) thankfully I don't have school runs to do as dcs are home educated, but the couples times ive done bedtime on my own have been tricky. I've found having Skye in a sling helps hugely, but if she decides she is hungry NOW I just let the boys get on with their bedtime routine and dont worry too much if their teeth aren't squeaky clean that night. :). I find the most stressful time of day for me is usually when I am cooking dinner, especially if DH isn't home yet. Skye frequently wakes up starving while I am cooking meaning I have to feed her and cook at the same time, plus the DSs love to help cook and as they are 5 and under that means major supervision as they are more unhelpful than helpful! :). But I let them help for their benefit not mine...

I feel your pain hmm... :) thankfully I don't have school runs to do as dcs are home educated, but the couples times ive done bedtime on my own have been tricky. I've found having Skye in a sling helps hugely, but if she decides she is hungry NOW I just let the boys get on with their bedtime routine and dont worry too much if their teeth aren't squeaky clean that night. :). I find the most stressful time of day for me is usually when I am cooking dinner, especially if DH isn't home yet. Skye frequently wakes up starving while I am cooking meaning I have to feed her and cook at the same time, plus the DSs love to help cook and as they are 5 and under that means major supervision as they are more unhelpful than helpful! :). But I let them help for their benefit not mine...

jenni hope the resettling works. William was certainly less cranky yesterday evening after having decent naps, he also managed much longer periods of awake time during the day.

So day 1 of the new sleep regieme was a success.....not going to count my chickens just yet though

cardi the official line is that yes you should brush teeth as soon as they appear (the average age is around 6 months). Not sure how easy it actually is though, and what really matters is getting some fluoride somewhere near them but keeping it fun so you don't end up fighting a toddler. If you can't get a toothbrush near the teeth then you can put a tiny bit of baby toothpaste on your finger and rub it around, or give them the toothbrush to chew/suck on/generally play with.

hmm and sarah I have no idea how you guys cope with more than one child

Bunny I didn't manage to resettle Freya back to her naps.. Well in the morning she slept for about 40 mins but then we went to a playgroup and she slept another 30mins in the pram on our way there.

Then we did 1 1/2hr walk and she slept in the pram. Then around 3pm she had another 30 min nap, was then trying to resettle her for 40 mins but no luck!

So to avoid evening tantrum I took her for an hours walk at 4.30.

That certainly helped as there was no crankiness before bedtime, she went to bed at 7 .

But... I wonder if she slept TOO much during the day as we were up at midnight, 3am, 5am and again from 6.20... I'm so tired now..

So maybe little less sleep during the day = more sleep during the night! She normally never wakes up this many times.. zzz..

Oh no jenni, looks like my career as a sleep guru was brief

What I've been doing with William is very loosely based on a routine someone else I know has used very successfully. Basically I try and keep him awake for as close to 2 hours as possible then try and get him to sleep for 1 1/2 - 2 hours for his first two naps. The last nap is only 45 mins so he's tired when it comes to bedtime. I aim for him to have around 4 1/2 hours of sleep in the day, which is what he seemed happy having. I've just tried to consolidate it from 1 long and 3 short naps, to 2 long and 1 short.

I reckon all babies are different though, and what works for one might be completely wrong for another. I adapted the routine my friend gave me which was very strict about the exact times naps were taken to be more flexible and led by William's cues

Hope you have better luck today

Hi all,
Sleeping at night getting better here, just one proper night waking around 3 am (after going down 11ish) then awake arojnd 6.30/7 for feed then we doze til 9. Last night was impressive though, he had nap from 9-10 then we bathed and fed him, put to bed at 11.30. He didn't wake up at all. Typically i kept waking up anticpating him wanting a feed. Be stirred at 5.30 so pickec him up and tried to give him a dream feed but he only took 20z so put him back down.

I eventually had to wake him at 9.30 as had to go to docs for 8 week jabs.

Poor little thing is asleep on me now after crying inconsolably for last hour or so. He's not really a cryer so a bit to see him so upset. Hope he doesn't get a temperature but have the calpol on standby.

It is fascinating and deserves my respect that anyone is able to schedule a baby's sleep, it is not something I have ever been able or felt the desire to do. It seems to me you'd have to have quite a gap between children to be able to follow such a specific schedule for each of them. I'm grateful that mine have all been happy to do their own thing and currently we have a household of four children 5 yrs and under with no one waking in the night. My feeling has always been to let the child make up their mind about what sleep they need and when, with a little interference here and there where necessary. My routine is the baby sleeps wherever I am (in the sling, in the pushchair, in the hammock at night) and I've found my babies can sleep pretty much anywhere through pretty much anything. My three boys will be fast asleep and not at all bothered by Skye screaming for 5 minutes in the next room at 10pm while I'm changing her nappy and settling her for the night. (she sleeps during the evening before then but downstairs with me and DH)... Its hard to say how much of their sleep behaviour is to do with my lack of enforced routine as opposed to them just being good sleepers, but one bonus is they were never thrown into chaos by being out at naptime...

Hi everybody, hope everyone is well!

Aiden is just getting over his blocked tear ducts, his eyes are much less gunky now. Have had a couple of nights where he hasn't slept as well as he had been - due to being ill and snotty I think. He is still managing to do around 7/8 hours but in comparison to the 10 hours he was doing before it's not so good, I was just getting used to having nearly a whole nights sleep!

Was a bit worried last night. Went to change Aiden's nappy and thought his urine smelt really odd! DP asked me what I thought it smelt of and all I could think of was bacon flavoured crisps . Thought he must have a UTI so decided to book him back in at the doctors. Before I got there I changed Aiden again and the smell was the same, I then sniffed a clean nappy only to discover it was the nappy which smelt of bacon crisps NOT Aiden's urine. Was really embarrassed having to tell the doctor about the mix up. Pamper's nappies really do smell GROSS!

DP is off on eldest son's school trip tomorrow so will be spending the day just me and Aiden. Am looking forward to it as DP has been home a lot recently and it is nice to spend some time just me and LO. DP is currently looking for a new job as he left his last week! Hoping it doesn't turn into a nightmare and that he'll have a new job soon, otherwise we're going to be a bit skint on our holidays in March and April!

Speak soon,

x x x

Another one here who's little ones sleep has gone to pot.[bsad] Abbie had been going 6-8hrs between feeds but the last couple of nights she's taken ages to settle, ( last night was 1am! ) then woken every 3-4hrs. It's like having a newborn again. I'm so tired and getting quite bad tempered with it! [bblush] Hopefully it's just a temporary blip and she'll get back on track soon.

Apart from that she's cute and smiley and has the most adorable chubby little thighs. [bgrin]

Hey everyone, sleep still v bad here, woke every 2.5 hours last night, but Rocky such a poppet in every other way.

harmony pmsl at your nappies! We use Huggies, will have to give them a sniff.

Just about managing with 2 children with a 4 year gap between, and preschool 4 days a week, as long as I am on my feet being busy every minute of the day. (Except now, obviously, when ought to be getting ready for baby group.) Boggle at how those with more than 2 can be surviving.

Want to give a paper at a conference in Sept. Is 8 months long enough to prepare a powerpoint presentation, given that I can probably manage a max of two 15 minute work slots a week??

harmony lol at bacon nappies. I switched to huggies as couldn't bear ( bare?) the smell of pampers.

Hope your dp finds a job soon.

Speaking of jobs dp got offered one yesterday in Colchester so all systems go for the move.

Now just the teenie minor detail of finding somewhere to live! Just mkssed out on a gorgeous 3 bed detached rental in our preferred area. There is nothing else anywhere we want to live. Can see this getting quite stressful and ending up with me living in a dive last decorated when maggie thatcher was in power.

Finn has been a bit unwell since jabs yesterday and has had slight temperature bless him. Seems a bit brighter since he woke up from his nap so hopefully he will be his usual smiley self again.

Got 6 hours sleep again last night - well i would have done had i not kept waking up anticpating his need for a feed [ ridiculous first time mum emoticon]

Cardi where do you guys live? (to be able to ski!?). Your DH is Finnish, am I right? Is Aino learning Finnish? I speak to Freya in Finnish, and today she is officially a Finn as her social security number came through.

I really need to get back to exercise! I had a EMCS and got the green light from my GP today so no more excuses!

Harmony that is hilarious! We use pampers tho and I haven't smelled anything..

Bunny Best not to quit your day job just yet! Maybe Freya just doesn't need so much sleep during the day as she's quite happy and smiley after her 30 mins power nap. (Happy Australia Day btw!)

Poor Freya had her jabs today, she cried so much it broke my heart. She then slept over two hours in her pram and went to bed at 6. Poor munchkin.