Post-grad Brookers, over here! We will Brook No Argument that all Mini-Brookers sleep 12 hours a night and behave angelically during the day

[TooImmatureTurtleDoves]

Over here!

thanks, yes he's got a step. daddy was flapping about not doing anything, so i had to help this time...DS1 was a bit puzzled at how to stand so we'll see how he gets on!

Interesting this talk of weeing standing up - ds1 has tried it but struggles to actually do anything standing up . If he then sits down then there can be quite a big wee so it's not that he doesn't want to go. DH hasn't tried helping at all but I'm not really sure what he could do when it's as though DS can't 'let the wee go'

I didn't want him to get the idea that he couldn't do it standing up (ie didnt want to make A Problem) so I don't mention it at all and I thought we'd try it another time.

Any ideas though? I think it still happens because the other morning he kept saying he'd tried having a wee and didn't need one, but he always needs one first thing in the morning and eventually it emerged that he had tried but only standing up. I suggested he sat down and of course there was a huge wee. I'm not really sure what to do?

I think you're doing the right thing not making A Problem of it :) maybe just let him try now and again?

Maybe he can't relax and DH could help - has DS1 followed him to the toilet to see what he does? our DS1 follows you everywhere .

for what its worth ds often used to prefer sitting down to wee, although now he stands. It'll come in time i'm sure. Maybe he needs to learn relaxing different muscles to go sanding up?

Aloha!

Scream, brooking your strangely located mastisis goes soon. Is it only in a week or so you're off on holiday then? How exciting!

Loopy, congratulations, and welcome to you and baby Alexander! What a lovely name :) Hope you're healing up ok, and he's still being adoreable and angel-like?

Rubber, is it a tooth? :) Iz has been teething for about a month now (I was in denial, but everyone kept telling me she was so I finally accepted it!) - still no teeth though. But she keeps doing weird mouth movements, so I think things might be shifting lots and her mouth feels peculiar? We've had white lines on the gums for ageeess :(

Not sure if it's the four month regression or teething, but Iz's sleep has also gone a bit to pot Wants. Waking up several times in the night shouting (with eyes closed, desperately trying to get back to sleep but failing :(

On the topic of sitting, does anyone have a DC who doesn't like sitting? Iz grumbles whenever I make her sit - and tries to either lie down, or pull up to standing! She ADORES standing. Thank goodness for the baby bouncer..! In fact, standing, chewing on her fist (or my fingers) and being sung to are her favourite things in the whole world.

Last lot of jabs tomorrow :(

Reads and runs- busy here!

But yes musical, i really struggle to get either of mine into a sitting position, they just love standing!

DS s 2 & 3 have got their jabs on weds.
Ds3 slept all night again so it seems that the temporary glitch is over (for now)

Ninja lovely to hear from you. How's DS been getting on at school? Very cute pics of them both

Biscuits/Jaggy DS will stand up to wee if he's using the toilet rather than the potty. But he won't let me in the bathroom with him while he's doing it. I just have to go in straight after and wipe up the mess! DH helps him if he's home and he's trying to show him how to aim properly. I don't know much about these things as I've pretty much left that side of toilet training to DH. I remember a friend buying her DS those ping pong type balls. Wee balls I think they're called? But I don't fancy having to keep taking them out of the toilet, surely they shouldn't be left in there all of the time because of poos? Biscuits if your DS1 is happy to wee sitting down I'd just let him get on with it. I remember one of DS's pre-school workers saying her son didn't wee standing until he started reception year and that it was pretty normal. Not worth giving him a complex over IMHO.

Really really tired here and it's not because of DD. It's DS, he keeps waking at 5 and not going back to sleep. DH and I are terrible for staying up too late so we've averaged 5 hours sleep the last few nights (which I know some of you would be grateful for) but it's not enough for me! I'm sooo narky and lazy when I'm knackered.

Lovely pics Ninja.

I think you're right Scarlet - absolutely no point in making it an issue for him. To be honest, I'd forgotten all about it again until today. Might task DH with trying to pursue it a little while we're away but I think I do enough parenting - he can teach that bit!

Hope your DS stops this 5 o clock malarky! That sounds very bleurgh indeed. Have you tried one of those gro clock things?

Oooh, 5 hours sleep! Last night my best sleep was 1.5 hours. Come on, M, learn to sleep properly! Even 3 unbroken hours would be brilliant at this point. She also decided to re-awaken every 10 minutes between 12 and 1. Part of it was the dog following me into the nursery and proceeding to have a good scratch while I was feeding M, and then fix his eyes on me and whine for me to fill up his water bowl. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it other than glare at him, because if I said anything M would jump awake, and I couldn't push him with my foot to make him go away either in case I disturbed her.

Oh, she's awake. Back anon!

To add to my Sunday quiz questions- wonders if Kiddicare code instead of virtual chocs will entice people
3) how do you stop baby from face planting in a sling? I cannot get D to turn his head to the side.

Just got back from a dog walk using the ergo, narrowly missing the rain!

scarlet we used a clock radio for ds1 when he was an early riser. We set it to come on really quietly and told DS he had to wait for the clock music. You can gradually set it to a more acceptable time. Once DS could recognise his numbers we told him to wait until he could see a 7 and a dot. He was about 3 when we used this technique.

Obviously I have no toilet training experience but wondered if this would be of any use? It would be something to aim for and you don't have to handle it once in the bowl

Loving seeing people's photos - thank you, Biscuits , for explaining how to do it. What attractive children the Brookers have, to be sure. :) I'd like to put on one of DS but my phone won't do it.

Am waaay behind on everything so fear I won't namecheck everyone, but Scream I hope the meds kick in quickly and you're all better before the Big Holiday.

Dream I'm glad DD had a good birthday. But I have to say I think your DH is being a bit unreasonable to cancel a week's holiday in 8 months' time because his children are hard work! Is he having any more holiday before then? It's just that by next May you'll be getting so much more sleep (and we're brooking no argument with that) and the DCs might all be entertaining each other and it'll all be so much better. Fact. And he'll be missing out on that extra week of it! Atm you're so sleep-deprived, you're not yourselves. (And I swear at DH when I'm not even tired so don't beat yourself up about that!) I hope you get some quality time together soon so you can just enjoy each other's company again, like you used to (and will again soon).

Jaggy can I ask you some EuroDisney related questions? I've just been browsing the website and I'm a little by it all. Did you stay in one of the Disney hotels or somewhere else and travel in? And are they all on the same site as the park? Is everything all in the one place or are the different parks on different sites? If you book through the website I can see it includes park tickets when you choose the hotel, are the tickets for everything? Sorry if too many questions, I'm just trying to get my head round it a little before sounding out DH who will probably say we have to wait until DD is older. I want to understand as much as possible so I can sell it to him as I think DS will love it next year.

I'm interested to know what you did and how it all works, completely understand if you don't want to put it all on here, but if you wouldn't mind PMing me about it I'd be really grateful

Funny that you mention euro Disney actually - DH mentioned it the other day as a poss holiday location so I would also be interested in any hints or tips about it. I didn't know whether ds1 would get much out of it (he's not keen on people dressed up or fast rides) and wasn't sure how easy it would be with ds2?

I went to Eurodisney about 10 years ago! I think it's all one site, but don't know about hotels or DC.

Good news: DS is gradually easing back up the centiles. Phew.

My friend goes to Euro Disney at least once a year. They always stay at Disney and she's been taking her DS for 7 years now I think. He's 11 in November.

Gah! DS1 is just being such hard work at the moment. I know (think?) it is just because he's three, but I am so tired of having to listen to myself nag him to do every little thing. And when he does the same thing for DH / grandparents I feel a bit that they must think I'm not doing a very good job .

Also it makes me to think that no doubt ds2 will be subject to just the same amount of nagging give him 3 years, yet he is so innocent now!

M is being somewhat demanding. We are trying to teach her to self-settle by leaving her in her cot awake, and just going through to kiss her nose and sing a little if she howls. Little squawks are issuing from the baby monitor - oh, big howl!

That's where we were a week ago too! Not saying naps and bedtimes are quiet as such now but they are better and I haven't fed to sleep for over a week. Day 2 of no 13.30 feed went better. She was cross, cross, cross but for a lot less time and had a biscotti, some banana and 2oz formula which seemed to satisfy her. Hopefully the formula amount will increase somewhat though!

Loving the pics jaggy - gorgeous baby boys :)

DD1 loved her pre school this am! Came out all full of herself and so, so happy! Yay :) Shame she'll have to do another 'start' in january poor thing..

dream - I was going to say the same as pet - May is an age away! Hope you all managed some sleep last night. I got a 4.5hour block! That was about it between the two monkeys but I feel quite epic on it!

Going on holiday on Thursday. First holiday since May 2011 (honeymoon and dd2 conceiving moment :) ) - cannot wait!

Maybe next time I post I'll try and use MORE exclamation marks...

Thinking that exact same thing here today. DS1's tea took an hour. I was just so bored by the end of it. Anyone got any tips on that?

No tips for speeding up meals Hawthers but would love to hear anyone else's.

My only idea would be to just stick our ds1's in a room together and we'll bugger off somewhere to feed the babies, drink tea, have a massage, go shopping and all the other things we could do in the time ds1 spends on a sandwich?

I caved and fed her to sleep. I just haven't got the patience for drawing out bedtime any longer than it already had been, at the moment. Maybe if I ever get some sleep and stop feeling murderous. It's M causing it, but I can't take it out on her because she's just a baby who can't help it, so DH gets it instead. If Mum comes down on Wed maybe I can get her to play with M while I go to bed for a bit. I haven't asked her to do that before because I feel it would be so inhospitable.

Hawthers, snap with getting bored feeding them! Might go back to more BLW/finger foods rather than puree, because at least that way I can MN or read supervise from a distance, rather than being right there trying to spoon bright orange sweet potato puree into a baby who just wants to grab the spoon. She kept grabbing the spoon by the business end, splattering puree everywhere, or if I did get it in her mouth without her assistance, she put her fingers in her mouth immediately afterwards, so they came out with half the spoonful on them. Then rubbing her ears and her eyes and grabbing my arm or the edge of the sofa or the coffee table or the dog...Orange gunk everywhere, and bloody DH just lay on the sofa on the laptop going on about how tired he was.

Yay for DD1, Pomme!

And for DS, Pet - excellent work!

Wants, for question no 3, is D still in the baby insert? I wiggle or snap my fingers at M to get her to turn, but sometimes she goes stubborn and continues to stare at whatever she was looking at first.

too - my top tip is to give them a separate spoon - has worked with both mine to stop the arm banging puree slinging move that makes you want to cry...

I let dd1 run around during all meals except breakfast and sunday lunch. She comes for a spoonful, runs off, comes back etc. if she's slowing down i chase her down with the spoon. I know its terrible but she eats that way.