April 2011 - cake-offing, gin-guzzling, wine-sipping, dreams of sleeping

[fraktious]

Thread 3!!!

Morning,

Aussie, big hugs for you.

cycle, sorry to hear about your lack of sleep. The Sensational Baby Sleep book does say that some babies sleep better on their fronts. It goes on to say that it might be worth letting them sleep that way, especially if you've got a movement sensor monitor. It's up to you to weigh up the pros & cons, but it's one of those "didn't do me any harm" situations too!

F's got the lurgey. All full of snot and a very slightly raised temp. We're supposed to go to a christening today, but I'm not sure we should risk infecting the other babies. Any thoughts?

Buck I think I would probably go seeing as it's a cold rather than anything vomity. If there are going to be any school age kids there then they will all have bugs galore to share around anyway!

Cycle that sounds grim. Is DP taking over today so that you can get some sleep? Can he not have H sleep on him weekend nights so that you get some better rest?

Grimy? Oops, meant grumpy.

Thanks ladies, I know I'm not the only one suffering. DP just took me for greasy spoon breakfast and a walk in the sunshine so I feel miles better.

I'd go Buck, if I didn't leave the house every time H is snotty I'd go stir crazy!

we went, and he was the best behaved he's ever been!

thanks for the mn kick up the backside!

RANT ALERT

Meh, meh, meh! I think I've had as much of a grizzly day as S today! His due to teething mine due to tiredness and spending half the day wanting to hit DH over the head with a teething ring!

DH was away at a conference all last week (Sun - Fri). It's work so no complaining from me, I braved the week on my own and felt very proud of myself for it! Since he's got back (later than planned because he just had to stop by the pub for drink with friends on the way through town) he's moaned and complained about how tired he is, how run down he feels (because he was out till the wee hours each night with lots of old uni friends), and my personal favorite not wanting us to have dessert as he had too many at the conference!!!

And he's going to Cambridge tomorrow to see some mutual friends who are emigrating. He's wittered for weeks about me and S going too but there is no way we can. It's a 4ish hour bus journey with no way of fitting a car seat or a train, which would be over £70 for the two of us, plus a hotel for the night. I really would love to go but can't due to factors out of my control yet I feel guilty?!

I know that really I'm blowing things out of proportion and stewing on them but S still won't take a bottle regularly so I've not had a proper break for months while he's had a whole week away and still gets to moan.

And to top it all off I can't afford another wrap sling and need to buy a travel cot light enough to take on trains but keep getting out bid on ebay.

I'll stop ranting now. Hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoyed some sun!

Hello Ladies, was wondering if I can please join your thread? My wee girl was born 9th April - managed to crash my birthday, the monkey - and is my first so would be great to share the moans about whinging, teething, the dreaded sleep regressions etc...

Welcome Ginger newcomers always welcome. We talk about everything on here and it's particularly good for ranting!

Dairy hope you've had a better evening. My dh is always going on about how tired he is and how many hours he's working to which I reply try 24/7!

Dairy a friend has one of these. Not sure what you are bidding on or what you budget is, but they look really light.

And don't feel guilty about not going to visit, there are things we would have done in a heart beat before that are now logistical nightmares!! And if you post on the slings topic, some clever person will tell you the type of material you can buy to make a wrap sling yourself for a fraction of the price. I only found that out after I bought my moby wrap. And quite frankly I would tell you DH to keep it zipped about being tired if he ever wants another DC or to be able to continue to pee standing up :o. Have some .

Hi Ginger welcome to rant club, first rule of rant club is that we don't speak about rant club :)

Hugs dairy and ditto what Lis said.

Welcome ginger

Thanks for the welcomes

Having a good night here so far. A had lulled me into a false sense of security a couple of weeks ago (against my better judgement) with a run of 9 and 10 hour stretches at night then about a week ago it all went to pot and she was waking every 2-3 hours seeming to want fed. Feels so much worse when you've got used to getting sleep! But tonight she's gone 8pm-11pm, quick feed then, when I went to bed, and only just woken for another feed. 5.5 hours in a row feels like bliss!
On the subject of DHs, I can sympathise with the frustration. Mine works shifts, plus is studying for work exams just now (exams in oct) which if he fails could in theory mean losing his job. So he's tired and stressed. He tries to tell me the importance of him being able to get a lie in on his days off (even though his shifts mean he often isn't up til late morning and he almost always gets at least a full 8 hours sleep). Doesn't quite seem to get that being a mummy involves back to back 24 hour shifts and I never have a day off or a lie in. Grrrrr. But then I feel I can't complain at all as I just get 'don't you think I'd love to be the one off spending all day with our daughter'. He is fabulous really...
Huge admiration though at coping with your DH being away at that course. I'm sure I'd go crazy doing it alone for that long!

I've noticed on reading back a bit the Sensational Baby Sleep Plan being mentioned. Has anyone tried using this? Any feedback?

Ugh, worst part of night feeds for me is trying to keep A upright for 15 minutes after because of reflux. I am very very lucky that she usually goes straight back to sleep but the temptation to just plonk her down...

Also, whilst I think of it, can't remember who was talking about putting LO on their front (on phone and can't work out how to look back through while posting). I've put A on her front to sleep since about 6 weeks as (again due to reflux) she just wouldn't sleep on her back for any length of time. We do have one of the sensor pad monitors - had it anyway after my cousin said how much she loved hers. At first I felt really uneasy about it as it's so against guidance (practically felt I was putting her to bed with a plastic bag over her head it's so 'bad') but have got used to it now and don't worry so much. I follow all the other SIDS advice and figure you can't follow all the advice all the time...

Wow mammoth post. Sorry! You'll all regret allowing me to join if I don't shut up soon...

The front sleeping was me Ginger, we did it last night and although DP and I woke up a few times panicking it was bliss!

He went 9.30-4 4.30-6.45 and went back in his cot after waking for the first time in two weeks. He crashed out on his back and started shuffling unhappily at 11 so I turned him over and he conked out. He's in a fab mood because he's had enough sleep and I feel much better. Hooray!

We don't have a sensor pad but H has very good head control and can half flip himself over so I'm not too worried. I heard as soon as he started to squeak a bit last night and he was still half asleep when I dealt with him so there was no screaming.

Thanks for the kind words everyone, and the though I'll stick with the this time of day! I'm in a better mood today, and shouldn't complain too much as DH did give me the conference mug which is a very good tea drinking mug (that has pretty, heat activated, pictures of galaxies on), I'm very picky about my tea mugs!

Lis making my own sling is a great idea, I have a sewing machine sitting gathering dust, feeling very neglected! And yes I've been after something similar to the Samsonite travel cot, or the Little Life ones which look like a tent for a baby.

Cycle brilliant about the sleep. I can't imagine S sleeping on his front unless he's in the sling, I actually miss all those hours spent with him sleeping on us to begin with. We still co-sleep form 4amish each night, though he isn't on us at all he's laid in the middle of the bed doing a very good impression of a star fish usually!

Welcome Ginger!

I'll admit that despite the exhaustion its been nice to have prolonged baby squidges Dairy.

Glad to hear you got a groovy mug too.

And now to change the bedding, spilt coffee yesterday and this morning darling H peed right through his disposable nappy and his pyjamas all over my side of the bed as we were having morning cuddles. Sigh.

Ooooooooo, I want a mug like that beetle. I'm a mugaholic. Glad you're feeling better, you can't beat a good rant. Re the travel cot, have your tried the classifieds in your local paper, or even free cycle?

Welcome Ginger. I have one who sleeps on his tummy too.

We've got a new tenant in our house today and she has called already as she can't lock the door. I know the key and locks work as we used them yesterday, but she's adamant she can't lock it so dh is going to have to do a 60 mile round trip to show her how to lock the bloody door. A frustrating situation for everyone I know, but bloody hell you really need to wipe some people's arses for them. Right rant over.

On a less ranty note, the boys and I went plum picking this morning (there is a tree on the village green with beautiful sweet plums). It's now been made into a crumble and it will be devoured with lots of cream tonight.

Grrrh...I posted last week about having a blocked duct and milk blister. After following all your advice and checking out Kellymom, I managed to clear the duct and I thought I'd got rid of the milk blister...obviously not.

I've still got a white spot on my nipple and can't seem to shift it. I've tried using hot compresses before feeding and then gently scraping the top off, hand expressing, and piercing the top of it. Nothing will shift it and nothing seems to be coming out of it when I express (sorry if TMI).

Is there anything else that it could be other than a milk blister? It's not really causing any pain but am worried that it'll cause a big blockage if it doesn't shift.

On the bright side, it looks like P's cold is finally shifting. Hopefully we'll have some better nights as a result!

X post with ILTMIMI - she needs you to show her how to lock the door?! Oh dear, the mind boggles !

Plum crumble sounds delish though, at least you've got something to look forward to when you get home!

Bugger I had a big long post and I lost it!

Gist:

Aussie sending hugs too. I know how hard it can be when all you want is your baby to feed and grow, it's heartbreaking sometimes. C has silent reflux so feeding him is a nightmare. I never know whether he's going to take a feed and often he is on off screaming throughout. Sometimes I feel like a failure even though I know there's nothing I can do about it other than keep trying meds and hopefully finding something that works.

On pumps, I used a hospital one all the time C was in Neonatal and I really think the Medela Swing (which I bought when he came home) was just as good, if not better. Also sympathise on your expressing. It is SUCH a chore. Agree on all advice and I think the more I did it the more I got. Seemed to kick in after a couple of days.

Can I have a rant please? I am SO EFFING BORED OF REFLUX. For five months now I have tried to shovel milk into my poor unwilling baby. He's doing so well and is so cute and I hate, hate, hate that it causes him pain when he eats. Have just ordered Annabel Karmel weaning book, spoons, bowls and those Beaba tray thingies from Amazon. I really hope that starting to wean makes a difference.

Thank you.

Welcome Ginger. I do Sensational Sleep. Will feedback soon but C just woken up. The irony.

JoEW I have decided to start the weaning as soon as I'm back off my holiday so not long now. I found with DS1 that the reflux improved when solids were introduced, not a cure all by any means but it became more manageable. T is only just 4 months but seeing as DS1 started solids at 3 months and never had any problems, I am happy to start sooner rather than later.

T's first tooth has just broken the gum surface :) can't really see anything yet but I'm stupidly excited at seeing a toothy grin soon

Hi everyone

Jo so with you on the weaning front. J has reflux and it's a nightmare. Sometimes it feels like I'm poisoning her when I try to feed her. Going out is a chore and only possible between feeds. Can't wait until she grows out of it. I know there's a reflux thread and can't remember what your LO is on but it's taken a combination of losec, domperidone and nutramigen to get Js reflux almost under control.

Grrrrr the weather forecast was for a sunny day and it's horrible grey looking clouds here

To top it off I now have got L's cold and feeling rubbish. L still suffering with it too. On the positive though she left from 10pm to 8am!!! On the negative dh woke me up so many times through the night fidgeting before announcing he was going to sleep in spare room as our room was too warm for him! Then bloody commercial bin collections woke me up at 3.45am-wtf, do they not think people might be sleeping at that time!!

Rant over. Back to the settee to flop while I can. L upstairs asleep along with dh!

Can I ask some advice please? J has decided she no longer wants to nap for more than 30 mins in the day. I'm not complaining as her nighttime sleep has been ok. The issue is that she seems so bloody tired - yawning away and getting grizzly. I feel like I've spent the whole day trying to get her to nap. After 2 hours of shsssing, patting, leaving her in cot, giving dummy, rocking etc I gave up and got her out. This is a new development as she used to have, without fail, a 2 hour nap over lunchtime. Is this a phase they go thru at 13 weeks?! I'm currently typing this from my car whilst listening to her cry in her carseat while I wait for my mum to come out the shop.

Sorry I'm so tired I forgot to say my actual question which is for those of you with bad nappers how do you actually manage to get them to sleep in the day?!

Thanks

I have a really bad daytime napper Daisy - unless we're in out and about in the car or shopping, P rarely sleeps for more than 45 minute stretches in the daytime.

Over the last few weeks, I've become better at spotting signs of tiredness though (fixed stare, crankiness, eye rubbing etc) and have started rocking her to sleep as soon as she reaches this point. She's now having three short daytime naps of about 45 minutes each, usually in her cot, which is a real improvement on what we've had before.

Rocking to sleep is the only thing that seems to work for us during the daytime at the moment, so I've decided to just go with it. With P, I really have to catch her tiredness signals at exactly the right moment - if I let her get overtired, it's so much harder to get her to sleep.

If J has always been a good napper, could it be related to heat? It's really stuffy here today and I know P never sleeps as well when the weather is close.

Frak - re the milk blister/white spot on nipple, could it be thrush if that's the only symptom I've got? I can't see any white spots in P's mouth either. I hope it isn't thrush again - we've already had it twice. Argh...

Hi Daisy, yeah I get on the reflux thread now and again. C is just on Losec and we're still mucking about trying to get the dose right. I have at least now got the ear of one of the top docs at the hospital. I expect that he will probably grow out of it before we manage to find medication to sort it!

I am sure that reflux makes daytime naps more difficult and C is same. I try to always put him down for a nap in his cot mid morning and even if we just spend an hour trying to get him to sleep I keep the routine up in the hope that he will get so used to it that he sleeps most of the time. If I'm worried that he hasn't slept enough I tend to go out for a long walk with the buggy or sling as that will always get him to sleep. Or I sit with him in my arms on the sofa and watch tv quietly, which also ensures he has a nap - though it's bloody boring. Sorry, not that helpful but I think try to keep up the naptime even if J doesn't always do it.

And, Ginger, I find the Sensational Sleep Plan pretty good but I use it more as a guide than hard and fast rules - I'm not strict on the daytime naps element as I'm often out and about. C always has a bath and bedtime around 7pm and this means he's pretty good at going to bed and falling asleep. We always have a baby-free evening, which I like. He rarely sleeps through the night and there's no real pattern to his waking at night, sometimes twice, often just once. However, he isn't getting as much milk as he 'should' because of the reflux so I always feed him at night if he's hungry, I'd rather he was gaining weight than trying to get him to sleep through. I think for others that have done it the feedback was similar. Saying that, my SIL did it from early on and was pretty by the book. Her DD sleeps like a dream and has done from about 12 weeks. If you are the type of person who likes routine then I think it's a good one to follow without being too strict but you have to adapt it to your baby IMO. It doesn't transform them into 12 hour a night sleepers!

Star, I think I've got a non-painful milk blister too. It's been there for weeks, I can feel it occasionally (I think if she licks it) and keep meaning to ask about it at the breastfeeding group but generally I've ignored it as it's not causing a problem.

Daisy naps during the day here are either feeding to sleep or luck. The vibrate on the bouncy chair used to work but doesn't seem to do the trick anymore.