FEB 2010 Coming on in leaps and bounds and little steps

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Where did our babies go?!
Anywhere and everywhere, the moments our backs are turned!!

Thanks for the tips, Big and Little Bears! Really useful.

Thankfully, DD slept through last night, after a small coughing fit before she passed out. I've just put her in her cot for her nap - for the first time in ages - in the hope she will sleep on her front as she kept coughing herself awake in her buggy - even with the back raised up. FX

No cough tips IC but I'll lap them up too, DD's suffering with a cough/cold too atm. She seems fine in the daytimes apart from a runny nose, but coughs a lot of the night, poor thing, and wakes us up hourly too with crying... poor us.

I am shattered, I have not recovered from my bout of insomnia last week and we've had disturbed nights pretty much since.

Cake helps

Stan how was the michelin-starred lunch? I'm in absolute awe that you are out and about already. Five days after having DD I nearly fainted in the shopping centre trying to buy a nappy bucket. No way I could have gone out for a civilised (let alone posh!) lunch. Good for you. I hope you really enjoyed it.

LBH hope the counselling went well.

bethy very at your CM giving away your place without consulting you! I hope you're enjoying your holiday, and that the weather is a lot better than it is here

PA hope you're having fun too!

It is hot here! Expecting 37C soon.
Mind you, I am joining the fun as I am going to france in 2 days and it is freezing there.

IC I use olbas baby or vicks baby, but nothing is more effective than cough medicine but GPs usually refused to give them to you (the effective one) if I remember correctly.

stan I had the same after DD1's emCS. You seem to be doing extremely well (I was still in hospital) don't overdo it, take care, eat well and REST! Good that your DS has been diagnosed for tongue tie so early.

SB I went to the "ball" as DH came back on time. It was a circus party they gave us red noses, it was fun. The baccardis were strooonng though, Ohhh the headache! OOOHHH.

mous glad to hear your DH came back on time and that you went - well done on the hungover too I'll wave to Normandy.

IC DS's mattress is slightly elevated by a rolled towel. It has been since last year when he was having numerous bronchiolitis Are you fine re-aclimating yourselves to UK?

DS also loves to play with the desktop or ipod touch. It's a fight if he sees it. The only time he doesn't try to go for the keyboard on the laptop is when we're on skype with my mum! I think he more fascinated by the pictures on the screen.

We did a mini sleep retraining last night as DS was once again winging at 1am as he wanted the dummy. Hopefully, he'll be fine tonight...

Waves to everybody. Hopefully the summer will be back and the 40 days of rain won't happen.

Is it o'clock yet?

It's always o'clock!!!!

Meekly waving at everyone.... Not sure I'll ever get the chance to comment on posts while both girls are demanding my attention. Today we had the big sneeze competition with all of us contributing . My computer screen looks quite revolting actually due to a few high velocity sneezes hitting it (we only use our TV for dvds which means even dd1 knows there is something called iplayer which will provide what she is looking for...).
My two are turning into real comics at the moment, and while I like them getting on very well most of the time, it makes meal times difficult for me. I may have to change the seating order? they sit opposite each other across the table and try very hard to make the other laugh. At lunchtime dd1 started by blowing bubbles into her water glass. dd2 thought that was hilarious, so thought of something herself: putting a spoonful of noodle soup on her head. dd1 thought that was very funny (I didn?t) and started pulling faces at dd2? etc. It is lovely to see them giggle but I?d rather not have to steam clean the kitchen after every meal
Few comments with apologies for anyone I miss out...
PA I am addicted to your blog and full of admiration. How do you manage to keep your dd entertained on the long stretches of driving??? Our last two trips to the Midlands (2 ish hours depending on traffic) have been awful even if we tried to time it for dd2's nap or bed time!
stone hope your night is better!
mous well done on making the 'ball'. Sounds fantastic (except the hangover)
bbb kept meaning to ask how your dd2 is doing but you answered my question already. so pleased she likes her new shoes . How is your dd1? Is she looking forward to school? Mine seems to suffer from amnesia at the moment. Every morning she comes out with: can I wear my pink shoes/ can we take the car because it's raining... followed by howls when I tell her that there is no nursery because it's the summer holidays. I don't remind her that there is no nursery again, ever, for her....
Scones Also hoping you?ll have better nights and less insomnia. I?m having bouts of insomnia at the moment triggered by asthma problems (which may be triggered by an unusual hay fever season or otherwise just general stress) and it really is no fun?
IC You seem to be quite busy getting back into life in the UK. Just out of curiosity, how do you find your home town with baby as opposed to your home town without sprog? I remember adjusting a lot when I first went back to see my parents post dd1. I am now an expert on where lifts/changing rooms/child friendly restaurants etc. are located? Also sounds like your new health visitor has the right ideas about a vegetarian child. It is quite easy in the UK anyway I find because there is a real market here for alternatives to meat. My mum, bless her, always wants to buy special things for us when we visit, but things like ?pretend-meat ? sausages are completely inedible over on the continent.
beth just to update, I did report the ?incident? to the police and they were very keen to hear about it. We also had a community officer drop in yesterday to look at the alleyway etc. He did says, from my description of the young lad, he may be one of their regulars? But he also said he had no idea our road existed (small cul de sac), so it is not exactly a crime hotspot. Having said that, I am now more than cautious about leaving the kitchen window or door open, and I am even more careful when the girls are out in the garden playing [seen too many episode of Law & Order with children being snatched]. Complete over-reaction but someone looking shifty and letting himself into the back gardens really spooked me?
LBH hope your counselling session went well
Abs How awful for you! Hope things work out alright with neighbours etc. Let us know how it goes!
Stan I am sure things get better. It is quite a change for Winter and once she accepts her brother has come to stay she should be fine. And she is young enough not to remember being without him! Can you involve her in fetching nappies, muslin cloths etc? Maybe allow her to put lotion on his feet to ?help? you?

Oops, sorry for the essay. Been meaning to post for ages...

Hello everone.

Massive congrats to Stan - so glad Atticus is here and safe but very sorry about the problems afterwards.

Afraid I don't have much time to post as Alex is grabbing at me. We went to Oxford this weekend - foul weather, went to museums. No sign of pox, fingers crossed we swerved it. Made mild Thai chicken curry from scratch last night and the little CENSORED just picked out the noodles and left the meat and veg.

Is there a 18 month growth spurt? or sleep regression?

I'm soo tired, DS has not been sleeping through for the last 4 nights. I want too sleep!!!

Sorry for the rant!

I think I have collected the wrong child from my CM tonight....this "one" is naughty,stroppy and whingy.....

LBH take her back and see if the CM will give you another one!

Two hours ago I gave DD her bedtime bottle. She has finally gone to sleep. Screaming every time I left the room. I have been sat in there for 45 mins.

I am sick of getting out of bed every night
I am sick of picking up food off the floor
I am sick of feeling anxious before each meal time
I am sick of feeling anxious before each nappy change/car seat in case she has a tantrum
I am sick of working out what to feed her at next meal time to make up for the prior one
I am sick of getting up at 5am to go to work
I am sick of going to bed at 9pm
I am sick of the fact I have no life because I am too tired and cant face it

I could go on..............

Listening to DD coughing through the monitor, I suspect we're in for another tough night. After a few blissful sleep-throughs, DD was awake for 2.5hours last night. The temperature had dropped and she was cold, but then I think she couldn't get back to sleep (after I'd put her in a warmer sleeping bag) because she was too bunged up. I put a few drops of lavender and chamomile essential oil on the edge of her cot mattress, took her in with me, eventually gave her a shot of ibuprofen (she wasn't feverish, but I was running out of ideas and thought it was worth a try) and at last she gave in to her exhaustion, latched on to me while I lay on the little camp bed mattress on the floor of her room. DH had retired to the futon downstairs. I put her back in her cot at 3.00 and she was awake again shortly after 06.00. Luckily, she snoozed on once she was back with me in our bed for another hour or so.

DD point blank refused to settle in her cot at lunchtime (after a very successful cot nap yesterday), so I eventually gave up and put her in the buggy - her eyes were closing even as I did up the harness. But she coughed loads and eventually I lay down with her for an hour on our bed - which was quite nice actually, as I also snoozed for a while.

One of the mums in our local park told me she got a humidifier to help with her baby/toddler's colds and said it was great. I'm seriously thinking about it.

Sorry, too much droning on about it...... I'll shut up now.
Scones, you have my sympathy re: the disturbed nights. I've just realised all that going on about it above and it's so little compared with what you're coping with.

Soc, SB, it's fine actually. Especially because so many of my friends also have small children now. And I'm enjoying seeing the city from the angle of being a parent - I've suddenly realised just how much there is available for LOs here and how friendly so many of the other parents are. Although I will inevitably see a lot less of child-less friends, I'm making new friends as well. And I'm really enjoying being able to communicate with people without the stress of trying to speak and understand Spanish all the time.... (mind you, a huge proportion of the people living in our area are Eastern European....)

I hope she lets up and gives you a break, LBH.

Good for you for going, Mous!

Nice to hear from you Bc

LBH I X-posted with you.
Ah, Lover, you sound very low and I'm not surprised. It feels so thankless sometimes, eh?
You really sound like you need a break. Can anyone help with that?
I suspect the sleep is the main thing that would help you feel brighter about things and more able to deal with the tantrums.
Can you do anything about your 05.00 starts? Is it worth trying to find another job with less punishing hours? I used to do earlies and eventually I developed IBS as a result. Hideous, the human body is not meant to be active at that time.

DP is at work tonight. IC I cant get another job that pays nearly as much as this one. I pay half mortgage and bills. There is no way we could survive on a lower income. (dont qualify for any tax credits and only got on the property ladder a few years back, so high mortage)

I feel like we must be doing something wrong and I have tried so hard not to do bad habits...I find EVERYTHING hard. I dont know why.
I feel so guilty as other people have it harder and I am not the only person in the world to go through it. It is just that everyone I know in RL has not had the issues that I have nor they cant beleive I am still getting up in the night..and have to go to work as well.

Sleepy waves to all,
Once again DS woke up between 11.00and 1.30am. I would be able to cope if I knew WHY??? He's not in pain, sick, cold, hungry so what else is there in life?
Off to wake him up to go to work/nursery

Right there with you SB

I kept away from a friend whose 3 year old had chicken pox 10 days ago... Her 8 mths old seemed totally fine and we went to see them yesterday. well, you can probably guess where this is going - the baby has come out in spots overnight. I'm feeling pretty philosophical about it... not that there is anything I can do. Just hope that if dd2 gets it is is quickly or very late, so it does not affect our flight to my parents.

Thanks for all the congratulations on the new baby. He's lovely.

My health has returned to pretty much normal after all the high drama and I've already lost 1st 2lbs - only 1st 11lbs to go to get back to the lowest pre-pg weight (sigh).

Lunch at Chez Bruce was great - amazing food and baby in car seat under table slept for most of it with a little feed at the end over the cheese course. I managed to get quite drunk on 3 glasses of wine and had to sleep it off in the early evening.

DD seems to be adjusting slowly and we took her to the science museum yesterday for the first time - which she seemed to enjoy. She now wears a "Big Sister" top.

Oh, LBH, you have my deepest sympathy. It really is the sleep deprivation making everything else (tantrums and mealtimes) seem so bad. If it helps, you're not alone. DD won't let me change her nappy unless I'm literally holding her down while she screams and twists away I asked DH this morning if she lets him and he said a bewildered "yes, why?" I too get very stressed about mealtimes but I have to remind myself that I am not starving her, if she is really hungry, she will eat the perfectly palatable food that I put in front of her. I make sure that there is at least one thing she 'likes' (or liked last time ) at each meal and now if she doesn't eat it, I take it away (without offering alternatives) and just wait until the next mealtime.

Have you had any more news on your WFH re the new boss? The early starts must just be killing you. If you got a less-well-paid job you may qualify for tax credits... They probably wouldn't make up for the drop in salary though (clueless as unemployed)?

SB I have been wondering the same, is there a sleep regression around this time?! DD's sleep has been pretty consistently awful for a while now, mind you we have had teething and two bouts of illness, but last night was another humdinger with poor DH bearing the brunt of it, I am just so shattered and had insomnia last night too. Have switched from feeling fairly positive about the new arrival to dreading it again. How will I cope with the round-the-clock feeds? (Stan?!)

Great to hear from you Stan you sound so positive and happy Really pleased to hear that Winter is adapting to being an older sister.

I was hoping for a cheeky morning nap but it seems that DD is dropping the morning nap so no chance. Do any of your LOs still take two naps or are you all on one lunchtime nap?

LBH you sound very low. You know, it is hard and it's OK to feel like that. Remember you are doing a good job, but our LOs know how to push our buttons and do so on a daily basis. And with your difficult nights and early starts, you must be so tired. Would you mind if I asked if you are on antidepressants, or have considered that maybe you are depressed? How did the counselling go? You mustn't compare yourself to others, only you know how you are and you are feeling, so please don't be hard on yourself.

scones it is no wonder you are tired with bad nights and pg. We have been on just one nap a day for ages now, so I can't offer any wise words on that one.

soc both my DDs had chicken pox last year. It was hideous at the time (mainly because DD2 cried all day but slept all night, and DD1 was OK during the day but cried all night) but was over in a few days.

bc DD2 does that to my meals too. ANd then the next time she has it, she picks out a different bit. Grr.

IC you sound as though you are well back into Bristol life (did you call someone "lover" earlier on?). Glad it is working out for you.

stan great to hear from you and you sound as though you are taking it all in your stride. Good to hear that your DD is enjoying the big sister role!

mous glad you enjoyed the party!

Not much news from me. DD1 is being a right stroppy madam at the moment, so I'm really looking forward to the summer holidays (not). DD2 is lovely and smiley at the moment though, and is letting go when standing and cruising around furniture, which is very exciting!

I had a weekend away last weekend, which was fab, and DH and I are going to a wedding this weekend without the girls, so that should be nice too. Things there are much better, it does actually seem to be a sustained improvement this time, so I'm feeling much more :)

Yes - it is wonder week 10 (75 weeks or 17months) www.thewonderweeks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:mental-leap-10&catid=36

BBB I'd welcome chickenpox for dd2 so that she gets it over with. I'm just a little concerned about what the airline's policy might be (we are flying to see my parents in two weeks) on letting her on board if she comes down with it just then...

Ah, rubbish Soc - I do hope your travel plans and stay at your parents' doesn't get nixed by illness again. FX.

Great news on your DD2's walking progression, BBB! And haha, yes, I did indeed call LBH "Lover", well-spotted. Also good news you and your DH are getting along better.

LBH sending you loads of support and sympathy. I'm not surprised you're feeling so down. I wish I could suggest something else to help. But it's a good point about not comparing - all children are different and some are more of a handful than others. No matter how good or experienced the parent is, they still have their child's personality to contend with.
Your DD will probably chill out as she gets older. My sisters DD2 was a ruddy nightmare as a toddler, but is sweetness and light now (aged 9) - and has been for several years now.
Is there anything your DP can do to share the overnight burden so you can get a bit more sleep?

Stan, you're astounding! It's great to hear from you again. How cool is your little DS, snoozing obediently through your meal?!

Ah, Scones, that sounds really tough.
We're now down to 1 nap, usually from about 12.45ish. It can be anything from 40mins to 2.5hours, although 1hr20mins seems to be the preferred duration.
Nappy changes have their ups and downs with DD. She doesn't usually fight too much, especially if I give her a toy to play with, a book to look at or the nappy cream to hold, something like that. And singing sometimes helps, too.

Well, dreading after last night and DD waking up coughing after about half an hour, she slept the rest of the night through. Today her cough seems much better, which is great news.
We went to Spanish playgroup this morning, which was okay until DD fell over and clunked her mouth, resulting in bleeding from somewhere in there, I'm not sure where. She did eat her lunch, but was pretty whingey about it and was likewise whingey about going down for her nap, although she did conk out after protesting for a little while. Hopefully she'll recover her cheeriness this afternoon (although we usually have half an hour of post-nap crankiness to deal with before we get there - does anyone else have that?)

Ah, I figured we must be in the vicinity of WW75, Bc, cheers for clarifying.

I hope you have a better night tonight, SB.

No post-nap crankiness here. DD2 having an older sibling means she has always had interrupted naps (due to having to get her out of the car if we are going somewhere, or DD1 poking her) so she's always fine with it. Bless her.

Mind you, maybe children are just like that. DD1 was always fine after naps too. I sometimes used to put her down on my bed for a nap, and when she woke up, she'd just get up and come and find me!

Ah, the good old days when DD1 didn't shout at me for the smallest thing...

Glad your night was OK IC. I always blame teething for bad nights, even if it's not true. It makes me feel better if there is a reason. I'm such a scientist!