Feb 2010 - we're stroppy, sassy and splendid (and that's just the mums!)

[BigBadBear]

New thread!

I have had two nights unbroken sleep!!!!!!!!!

CC has worked properly this time. Fallen more in love with DD, she is much happier too.

Back later to catch up with y'all! :)

Whoopeedoo, LBH - great news!!
Yes, the Toddler Taming book says CC gets more effective as a child gets older. Well, I should think that'll make a huge difference to everything - your own mood and self-confidence, your relationships with your DD and your DP....etc.
Good for you. How long did it take, out of interest?

Hey, Mous - it sounds like your family has been disparaging to your DD2...? If they were, they deserve a spanking.

Aw, PA, how exhausting, I hope you get the family bodyclocks sorted out soon. How is your DD taking the change thus far? With any luck, she won't catch the H,F&M - not helpful of your bro, though.

Good luck with the travelling, BG! Mmm, Kaffee und Kuchen....

Well, DD slept through last night too. She woke at 06.10, but that's not too bad, so I'm not complaining. I'm hoping we're through the 17 month sleep regression now (in fact, we're only a few days past Week 75, but DD usually gets her sleep sorted out as the week hits and improves thereafter. FX.) We shall see.

I got DD another pair of shoes today as her sandals from Spain are clearly now too small. This time I've written her name inside so hopefully we won't have another disaster with someone mistaking them for their LO's shoes. Hurumph.

oh man I had forgotten there is a regression coming up for her

She's a bit under the weather but was perking up before her nap so She was brilliant on the plane, no crying only a slight grumble once we had landed. managaed another 3 hours sleep. She didn't get up until 11am, but was a bit feverish and was sick.

LBH much :)'s for you

I have found an open connection and coffee and cake of course. 29 degrees here and has just started raining/thundering.

Most things IC said.... saves me typing . Waving to everyone...

DS has woken up after 7am every day (there have only been three though) since we got back from Camp Bestival. It's quite amazing. I had enought energy to make spicy carrot and potato soup this morning and then we went to the local woods for a Teddy Bears Picnic organised by the London Wildlife Trust.

LBH So glad your DD has started sleeping well. You must be so relieved, you were really at the end of your tether.

Welcome back, PA. Hope you enjoy living in Oxford - I love it there. Was really thoughtless of your brother to bring round infectious DD.... but maybe more understandable under the circs.

IC Good news for you too re sleep.

LBH so pleased for you. It's life changing to have sleep.

PA welcome back

mous how was Normandie? Your family is a bit regarding their comments about your DD2

bc I don't visit MIL without DH

BG great news on the unlocked network. Enjoy the coffee and cakes

Well we went to the GP yesterday and DS has a cold/virus, funnily enough he perked up while at the surgery and has been fine since (the little devil )

PA forgot to say, HF&M is around nursery at the moment and (FX) DS did not catch it yet, so maybe your DD will escape it too.

Hand, foot and mouth sounds worse than it is, I think: www.nhs.uk/conditions/Hand-foot-and-mouth-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx Having said that, hope your DD doesn't get it PA. Well done on making it back in one piece!

LBH great news on the sleeping. Are you feeling better?

mous how are you? What on earth have your family said about your DD2?

IC and BC very impressed at your intrepid festival going with LOs in tow.

stone glad your LO is better.

My DD1 seems to be much better behaved after her weekend away with the ILs. But we're going to see my parents for a few days (my mum has been back in hospital this week, though she's fine) and she usually is a fiend there, so time will tell! DD2 had a random night the other night, and was up for a record four hours! Fortunately it was 9pm to 1am, rather than 1-5am, but it was still hard going, especially as we had no idea what was wrong (tried teething stuff, Calpol, water as it was so hot, cuddles, soothing, rebooting... eventually I stuck her in bed next to me and she eventually nodded off so I could transfer her back to her cot). Touch wood, she was fine last night, so we are hoping it was a one off.

I'm not visiting MIL, btw - she's announced she is dropping in here on her way to Oxford. (I can't really see that it's such a long journey that you need a night's stop off between Norwich and Oxford but whatever).

LBH yoohoo! good going with the sleep.
BG I hope your DD2 is better.

IC love those festival pictures!
BC good luck with your mil.

I think my family has no idea how an 18 months old baby is supposed to act. "too clingy" "too noisy" "manipulative" "screaming" "crying for nothing".... She is in fact a very lovely 18 mo and completely normal in development according to the MN letter I received yesterday about 18 mo .
I did carry her a lot more than at home to stop her screaming and get her out of the way. She was in company of strangers in a weird environment IMO. At that age DD1 was much more "mature" (think 2 yo), well travelled and had a wide vocabulary (which I notice, now, is unusual not the other way around).

My mum said "I am not going to let 2 little girls dictate how or what we do" . Surely not, but it is obvious you have to adapt to naps/food time, and mine have to go out (they can't be stuck inside all day and behave), may be that is where I am wrong . Or may be I am just defensive and obey my children every whim.
It is like I do my best not to disturb and accommodate my parent' needs but it is never good enough.
Anyway, we had a lovely time at the beach, both DDs are crazy for the water and the waves (hard work for me stopping 2 of them to drown).
We waved in your general direction SB.
I also went to the eiffel tower (up the stairs) and ND with DD1 which loved it. Apparently there is a disney something in paris (she knows thanks to spoilt romanian children) that I managed to convinced her to wait for.

PA IC how is the adaptation back home? Not too tough? It is usually not as easy as it seems, so don't panic if there is a few itches and some "home sickness". Good luck.

mous ah yes, staying with parents.... Have already had to remind myself that I need to be doubly vigilant in a strange house when i found dd2 had taken apart a necklace and was happily eating small wooden beads as if they were smarties.... . I expect some interesting nappies...

Still hot here and I took dd1 to an outdoor swimming pool complex and she was in heaven with water slides and fountains etc. dd2 also obliged by having a decent length of nap so she never knew we were gone. I will take her along next week but at the moment still have to keep her forehead dry and out of the sun.

Oh, now she has added a green crayon to the coloured wooden beads. Interesting diet....

mous it's also generational. Think of the threads about people's opinions regarding whether a child has more or less right to a seat on the bus than any adult.
thanks to DD's growth spurt on the road trip she is a UK size 3.5 in clarks so we got her some shoes but apparently there is quite a discrepancy between her feet in length and width. Of course we got boys shoes, although I did agree (to DH's demands ) that if they had the pink, glittery, with starts and flashing lights in her size then she could have them as his last executive decision (they didn't have my first choice and luckily didn't have those either).

right I'm off to phone the local MWs and see what they say

She's the same size as DD, PA! At least there are some shoes available, in that case. Although until they hit a size 4, the choice remains very limited.

at your DD2 BG!! Okay, I've changed my mind - I think you will have to wrap her up in cotton wool. No, scratch that, she would probably eat it. Maybe keep her tied up?

Yep, Mous, generational, definitely. People get more intolerant as they get older, too. Nowadays the thinking is that it's better to go along with our LOs rather than force them into behaving like tiny adults, which they are developmentally unable to do. You sound like you're doing fine and your DD2 is a normal, happy, lucky little girl. It IS infuriating, though. I'm not surprised you feel peeved about it.

So much for good sleeping - DD was awake on and off for 2.5 hours last night. A bit too hot, I think. She would go back into her cot each time, but after a while, would start calling out again. Eventually, I changed her into a 0.5 tog sleeping bag and she slept until gone 08.00. I swear I lose more sleep when wrongly second-guessing DD's bedtime temperature needs than for any other reason at the moment.

Speaking of which, I can hear over the monitor that she's woken from her nap. The last couple of days, I've left her for 5mins or so before getting her up and it's had the happy result of stopping the usual post-nap crankiness. I guess I was grabbing her up before she was properly awake before and she needed more time to adjust to being conscious (or indeed a chance to decide if she wanted to nod back off again).

Mind you, hair-washing has now become a major issue and is translating into a general reluctance to have a bath. Yesterday I invested in some brightly coloured balls, some bubble-blowing mixture and some bubble bath in an effort to entice DD back into her bath by making it fun in a novel way. She did eventually relax and sit down in it, then seemed to enjoy herself. We didn't attempt the hair, though.

Stan was it your DD who howled/howls at bath-time? How's she doing now? And how's your new DS?

I'm glad to hear your DS hasn't got anything too serious, SB. How typical that he brightened up in time to see the doctor!

BBB FOUR HOURS! Ugh. As you say, the right end of the night, but something you could definitely do without.

Hm, it's gone very quiet upstairs, hence why I'm still typing away. I'm off to investigate...

She's gone back to sleep! What a result!

IC well done with the extended nap, hopefully she wasn't too grumpy after. Good news on the improved bath time. FX that it'll last

BG your DD2 diet has always impressed me

DS is back at nursery after a week off spent with my mum. This morning drop off was fine but FX that it'll last tomorrow. DS now understands and responses to command - both in English and French. DS new game is to take his shoes and socks off while in the pushchair or car seat. Therefore a 10mn trip in the car gets increase as I need to put the shoes back every time we get out.

mous it is hard not to tell them what you actually think about their comments.

Oh man, DS is overtired and screaming away in his cot - I am just exhausted. I will check on him after 10 mins but he had me up for 2 and a half to three hours last night between 2 and 5. It was horrible. So unused to it. He just wanted boob nonstop so I am sore and my period started today.

MiL was fine actually apart from not leaving until gone 7 and he refused to eat at the table with us so I had to put Charlie and Lola on and sneak breadsticks into him.

I couldn't nap when he napped because I was preparing food.

I thought at least he'd be tired enough to go straight off. I even spent 25 mins giving him milk and reading books with him before I put him down.

Aw, Bc - shame you and I don't have a telepathic link, we could at least have had a chat while we were tending to our nocturnal annoyances darling children.
Crap that he's playing up now. Sending you buckets of sleepy dust to tip all over him.

Who else is still breast-feeding, incidentally? I keep thinking I'll cut it out soon, then there always seem to be more excuses reasons not to.

bear feel your pain. I'm still trying to settle a desperately tired dd2 and have done so since 6.30! No idea what the problem is but I gave her calpol about twenty minutes ago and have just tried putting her in her cot again. She does have a few spots on her face which could be either heat rash or possibly the beginnings of chickenpox... As for heat, her 'melting point' appears to be about 24 degrees in her bedroom which is bad news for staying in an attic room at my parents' where I can't get the temperature lower than 27 degrees right now.
Sleepy vibes to everyone

He went off at about quarter to nine (!).

Yeah, IC I know - funny that they were both awake at the same time last night. I believe that one's milk supply goes down when you're on your period so maybe that was something to do with why my DS was so wakeful and hungry. I'm planning to start cutting down around his 2nd birthday with a view to having stopped before he is 2 and a half. He seems to want it more than ever at the moment and I have a friend with a 3 month old and a 2 and a bit year old and is tandem nursing - trying to keep it to just morning and bedtime with the older one but she seems as keen if not keener than ever to have it. It would be nice if he self weaned but I can see it being a struggle. Even though I get pissed off with him at times like last night I do love it - and he is very cuddly and sweet usually. I know I will miss it.

BG Hope your DD2 is sound asleep now. Probably the change of scene doesn't help either but the heat must definitely be an issue. Can you put a fan in her room? I know it doesn't make it any cooler but it might be a bit more comfortable. Hoping it is just heat rash and not chickenpox.

Wishing everyone a sleep-through tonight.

Poor you. Sending you more sleeping dust.

bc the problem is the overtiredness. Try putting him down to bed a bit earlier to see if it makes a difference. DS goes been fine to a grumpy overtired toddler in 10mn. But with your MIL around I bet it wasn't easy.

BG DS melting point is around 19C, which is a normal to high temperature for over here not the 20C+ of the recent weeks.

I need to put the ipod touch down and sleep.

Night all. Good luck

Sorry bc I just read my last comment and it sounds patronising I hope he sleeps better tonight

arghh night from hell, I think it was traumatic for all of us. Personally I think DD just knows we shouldn't be at the ILs. I'll pop back later to moan. I have to take DH clothes shopping .

1.5 hours last night. DD didn't feel hot to start with, if anything a bit on the cool side, so I wondered if she was actually cold this time. The second time she called out after I thought she'd finally nodded off and it was safe for me to creep out of her room, she did feel hot, so I put her in the thin sleeping bag again and she slept until 07.00.
I guess we'll start off in the thin bag tonight, although I can't make up my mind whether she'll need a sleepy suit or a long-sleeved body....

Yes, Bc, I love the cuddly aspect of BF and I think that's part of the reason why I'm in no hurry to totally wean. Plus the convenience of being able to latch DD on and lay in bed with her when she wakes up too early or won't settle in her cot (she won't lie quietly unless she's latched on.)
I'll probably do proper weaning at two OR when pregnant, whichever happens first (no news on the second, btw).

What happened, PA?!

I have to laugh, got back and ILs have given DD a fruitshoot, can you imagine the AIBU They complained that they had to rush back for her nap - we said to put her down at 2:30 the latest (coz you know a 30min walk to the park, an hour at the park, taking her to wetherspoons and then the walk back is hardly any time at all), but I am impressed that they did it. Also we apparently told them the buggy straps don't work so they didn't even try

To be fair I exaggerated last night, I think we've combined jetlag with development spurt coz how she is when awake is awfully like that. She didn't sleep in the car like we expected and we left after she had gone to sleep (she does excellent on the road trip but fails at the drive between the two parents), was hysterical in the car because I made the mistake of sitting in the front, refused to be put in her travel cot when we arrived and cried like she hasn't ever if I tried to put her down. Once ILs let us go to bed at 12:00 and stopped trying to take her because somehow that would calm her, we popped her into bed, I sang to her for about 30mins and she went off until 7am.

Once again I feel guilty that they've brought clothes that don't fit her (she has never been in her aged clothes and is still is 6-9months with a cross over due soon).

Good news, HnM seem fab for her. They're cut for cloth nappies and have a much slimmer fit so we might be able to put her in tops and trousers (we've struggled for tops that fit). Went to the lovely veggie cafe for lunch and DH convinced me I needed a new dress and top

here endeth the rant