April 2011 - Hello Grindstone. Nose here, reporting for duty.

[DairyBeetle]

Plumps comfy pillows, shakes warm fluffy blankets, passes them round, sleeps

Oooh we need a new thread name soon. Ideas?

Am having a after getting H to sleep in his cot, only rubbing his back, no boob or rocking. Am feeling rather smugilicious...

Can I do a completely unstealth boast? P slept through last night - I mean properly slept through, 7pm - 7am
I have no idea how or why it happened, but I'm not complaining!

I'm dreading tonight though. She's been having a whingefest all day, has refused any naps (after a week or so of good daytime napping) and has barely eaten anything. She's asleep at the moment but I'm sceptical about how long it will last...

How is R doing now Mrs W? Hope she's ok.

Frak No idea on the thread title I'm afraid - I'm pretty uninventive. Sleep (or lack of) is still my major preoccupation but I know it's not so much of an issue for others. Won't it be during this thread that some of our babies turn 1? Maybe something about that?

Fingers crossed you can sort the jury service dilemma out Fizz. Talking of jury service. I've been called to do it next month. I've asked to defer on grounds that I'm still off work and BF. I bloody hope they let me. I'm only 30 and it'll be the second time I've done it. Some people never get called. Why me?

just a quick hello while I quickly scoff my tea. S just will not settle on an evening at the moment. We did usual bedtime routine just before 7pm and have been attempting to settle him since then. This is pretty much a constant battle now, my brain is just fried.

But, SLINGS!! Frak I have a Babyhawk that I loved through the summer. It's what I moved to post stretchy but before I got the knack of wrapping. It's def cooler than a woven as you get a bit more circulation around the sides, I also found I mastered front, back and hip carries quite quickly. I did find I had to be careful about where I got the straps as it didn't take much for the pressure to really mount up. I really like my BH, it was lovely to wear, S would sleep for hours in it and it was quite easy to was and dry, where as with wraps you need room to hang them all over!

ILike I have a Rose and Rebellion and I adore it even more than my BH. I got it primarily for the nursery run as it's quick on and off, much easier to use under coats/over layers as the straps adjust so easily, and it folds up small enough to shove in my back pack or Sam's cubby hole at nursery. I also like that you can sinch the straps right the way down, this means that I can comfortably wear S on my back in the R&R without feeling too loose or the straps rubbing my under arms. Also the straps cross comfortably if needed for a front carry (I'm a short arse so this was important for me but maybe less of an issue for others!). Mines second hand and I've been using it for nearly four months and am struggling to thing of anything bad to say!

There is def photos of me using the MT on Facebook Frak I'm not sure about the R&R ILike but if you want some real life 'action shots' I'm sure I've got some I can put up

(having said all that I am a wrapper at heart though >loving strokes Girasol Northern Lights).

Right, food is eaten, I've wittered on about slings so I best go rescue DH. I'm sure S spent the first six months of his life purposely lulling us into a false sense of security when it comes to sleep!

Tried to post earlier but M woke up from her nap.

Glad the result was what you wanted Fizz and hope yours is what you want too kitty :)

Sleep was pretty good last night - we had a 12.45-5.55 stretch so I felt much better today. Fingers crossed tonight is similar.

I'd never thought about babies and jury service before... Star I'd think BF is a good reason not to do it. I did it a few years ago. My greatest fear was getting something gruesome, thankfully it wasn't.

Cycle I'm very envious of your getting H to sleep with a back rub. I've once or twice resettled M like that but it'd never work to go to sleep. It's very rare we can resettle without taking her out of the cot as she's usually started crawling around it.

Fizz at your sleep - I've been feeling on the edge of absolute exhaustion this week.

Kitty - v excited for your POASing!

Frak we've got a Britax First Class Plus seat currently rear facing. I love it! And F seems happy in it.

Aussie glad your DH is better!

School is just so mental at the mo. I've got ~60 kids taking exams this week and next, organising my first trip, reports, parents evening coming up, yr 9 options, and apparently I am quite approachable and so have had a few kids asking me for help with heartwrenching situations. All doable normally, if I'd had more than 5hrs sleep a night for the last however many months.

Operation Night Bottle tonight. No boob after bed time till morning. And moving to water in a few days. Maybe.

Buck - I don't know how you're managing (ex-teacher but not since I've had dc). Maybe worth a few even worse nights to try and get things sorted.

If it was just DD I'd be ok, she sleeps well, just sometimes wakes for her dummy, being a bit of a dummy novice does anyone have a system? I've got some of those clippy things but the only night I used it she was banging it against the cot bars
Ds2 on the other hand..4.18 yesterday, 4.59 today & yawn.

I am in awe of those of you working and getting nocturnal wakings, I'm pretty certain I wouldn't cope well!

Better night, and the alarm didn't go off so we all slept until 8am Bit rushed for preschool now....

Crikey JKS thats harsh, poor you :(

S slept better last night after a moany half hour at bedtime. He woke at 6 at the top end of his cot sideways on so i had a little cuddle and put him back until we left for work half hour later. Deffo had another tooth break thru the night before as he was awake every 2 hours. I only had to go in once tho.

S is 8 months today :)

POAS - neg :(? It could still be too soon, one min i feel like AF is coming then next the pains are wrong!

Meant to say - JKS we never had a system with DS1 and his dummy really, although once he was about a year we would put more than one in the cot for him so that he could fine one in the night. Sometimes it worked
He used to wake up and throw it at the wall that was the wall to our room. We would hear the bang and then scraaaaape as it slid down the wall, then came the yell.

Hmmm strange going on in our house last night, R went to bed at 7.30 and got up at 9.10 this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel fantastic after not having a midnight til 1am wake up and getting to have a very long lie!

Oh yeah and also meant to say R was fine after yesterdays acrobatics!! She came down stairs and proceeded to pull all of the dvds out of the tv unit, pulled one curtain down (!!) and just generally caused havoc!!

Dammit! Knew I shouldn't have been smug. Three long wake ups last night as H kept farting and trapped winding himself awake. Bugger!

Smugness gets us nowhere Cycle - after my boasting yesterday, we had a crap night too.

P was awake up between 1.15 - 2.45am. Yawn. I ended up just feeding her and leaving her to gurgle away in her cot until she fell asleep. Unfortunately I still didn't fall asleep until she did...

I'm not really coping, in all honesty.

I'm not keeping up with work, but having to ruthlessly prioritise and just accept not everything will get done. And I'be been close to going off with stress!

Exam tomorrow!

Buck I could've written your post, well, except the exam part! It feels like I'm stuck taking a step forward and two back, day in day out. Except I'm so tired I keep loosing count and going four steps back instead!

up at 1:30 and then leaky nappy at 4:30. How long can a person survive on 4:30 hrs sleep in 2 blocks? I'm going to struggle to remember my name today aren't I.

Oh dear Buck :( one foot in front of the other, one day at a time...

DS2 waited until 5.30 today, yey.

Poas update - neg. Pretty sure af is on tge way.

Aw Kitty, next month then!

Buck & Dairy (and anyone else back at work, I forget who) major kudos to you all. There is no way on gods green earth I could work FT and have B to deal with. PT is filling me with dread already!

Today I have been very housewifie already! B was up at 7 so he was breakfasted and back down for his nap by 8.30. I made pancakes, hoovered (with my new Dyson, I may have mentioned I got one!) mopped the floors, sorted washing, done a load, hung it up, another on. I am on a roll!!! This very rarely happens to me! It's like a delayed nesting instinct!!

Soft play this afternoon, with coffee and cake for me! Yum!

aww Kitty, always next month (though I clearly remember giving up and deciding AF was coming only to test positive a few days later...)

Got M's eyes checked this morning, she has a slightly lazy left eye - but luckily nothing too serious, go back in 6 months to check but mostly a formality. Phew.
Next week is her hips/uneven creases check then I think we're done, for a while.

Sorry kitty - fingers crossed for next month then!

Hats off to Buck and Dairy. I'm going back full time too and am starting to absolutely dread it. I've got no idea how we're going to get out the front door every morning or how we'll ever get anything done round the house. Any tips?

I'm also absolutely dreading DD going to nursery. I know I'm being a bit ridiculous but it's breaking my heart to think about her spending the majority of her waking life there :( It doesn't help that virtually everybody I know has gone or is going back part time. I feel like an awful mum. I feel teary just thinking about it now. Obviously I want her to like the nursery staff and vice versa but the thought of her being attached to them makes me so sad... Am I destined to feel guilty about working for the next however many years?

Unfortunately there's no way in the world that we can afford for me not to work full time at the moment. We need a lottery win and quick!

We had the worst night last night. Started fine with 2 hours straight. Then she woke. Fed and fed which somehow turned into crying which continued for 2 and a half hours. She would occasionally drop to sleep but woke and screamed each time we put her in the cot. She would settle on our bed and we ended up with her on top of the duvet and us either side. We don't want to co sleep - the bed isn't big enough. Found she had a temperature at 3am, gave calpol, then ibruprofen at 6am. DH and i must have had 3 hours sleep max. He still went to work, M woke about 9 and has cried or wimpered since then other than throwing up once and feeding lots. I'm knackered.

Oh chilli that sounds shit hopefully things will be better tonight. It sounds like she might have a bit of a bug. Has calpol helped today at all?

I've just realised how insensitive my previous post is. Sorry for all those struggling with sickly babies and sleepless nights. I hope everyone has a better time of it tonight.