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!

too, most photos of me are less than flattering. normally highlighting my spare tyre and big brown eye circles. the one i used has my tummy cropped out and is a bit too far away to see how sleepy i look.

my bed is currently covered in about 3 washes of clothes. DS2 still a bit sicky and DS1 having a few days of going through several pants and trousers. i really think we need to get rid of some clothes, but it's way down on the list of things to do!

i wrestled them both to a library today for bookbug, it went quite well. mostly because i had 2 friends with kids there and one held DS2 while i took his brother to the toilet. I'd meant to take the sling for that eventuality but forgot. how crap would i be on my own?

i can't remember when DS2 lifted his head properly.

Ninja I'm sorry but I can't remember about the head-lifting!

Musical we've had DS in our bed on and off over the last week. I'm sure when Iz is ready to sleep through (or for longer) she'll do it regardless of what's gone before. Hope so, anyway!

Ninja, M's red book says that she was lifting her head and freeing her chin by the GP check at about 10 weeks. From memory I think she'd been doing it for quite a while before then - I remember people kept remarking on her head control from an early age. I didn't remember when she did it first, but I remembered her showing the GP and the GP writing it down!

Also drowning in clothes - spare bed is covered in clean laundry, hall is covered in dirty clothes where I was sorting them earlier, and there's half-dried washing on every radiator and hanging on doors, as well as on the clothes horses and the line. By the by, I hung a load of washing outside an hour ago and have just realised that it must have rained at some point because the paths are all wet. When did it rain and how did I miss it? I was in the living room, with three windows, the entire time and I was checking for rain!

Jaggy, I gave up on the photo thing after M threw up half-digested omelette in my hair.

Pet, Brooking for DS to get well soon! Poor little mite.

i don't know if i feel better or worse that we're all drowning in clothes!

we don't have a major dirty washing backlog now, instead every space is just filled with clean clothes. i think we need to charity shop or recycle some stuff and I'm not even including baby stuff as DS1's are getting recycled on DS2. then put back in the loft because i can't bear to part with them yet

brooking for DS pet :(

eew at the omelette sick! I'm so not looking forward to the food sick and real poo in a few weeks. also the huge high chair returning to the kitchen.

I'm sort of worrying about how all my boys will get on when i go back to work. DH has only ever looked after both boys when I'm in the shower or have popped to the shop for 10 minutes. I'd really like him to prioritise playing and keeping them happy over super tidy house at least at first. he gets a bit carried away on cleaning missions... also DS2 seems to feed so much, I'm wondering how he'll do on a couple of bottles of ebm a day. hope he likes food...

Hi all,

I've been back to the doctor's today with DT2, nothing on their stool samples but both still have the diarrhoea. Very deep green and mucousy now. Thought you'd all like to know :) . Went for DT2's chest though. He's coughing and sobbing and wheezing and roasting. Not a chest infection though the GP was a bit concerned about how wheezy he is. I'm to keep a close eye and take him for another listen if any concerns. can I also complain about how much of a pita the GP with twins is?! I have to struggle upstairs (no lift so can't take buggy) holding both my babies and bringing my change bag as it has keys/ phone/ wallet in. FFS. Then make sure I don't drop one til called, struggle in, deposit one or both on couch/ floor. Hmph.

Both now been asleep nearly 3 hours. Unheard of. Is this good or bad?! The nights are killing me... And I'm worried about my little wheezer...

Lots of filling purees jaggy! Banana, sweet potato and the calorie- laden stuff?! When I did feed mine (they're on bm only til runs settled) they were happier for longer between feeds. I also find if they're fretting and I'd normally feed, but too busy or about to leave or something they'll often actually pipe down a good while and be really cheerful so I know I'd have fed, but maybe I'm using it as a quick fix?! I'm just the same as you though, don't care about the house, so long as the children are happy and have as much attention as possible. Ask him nicely :) (hint to self- take own advice and don't be a cow to Dh.) And not that i think you're mean to your Dh jaggy...argh, stop typing woman, you're making it worse!!!!!

Oh, and on the clothes front, I really hate the between sizes stage, where for me at least, there's a bag/s of outgrown stuff hanging round waiting to be filled up/ the more generously sized bits of that age clothing to be outgrown before being handed on/ stored. Argh!!!

I do at least 2 loads a day. With current poo-gate it was 4 yesterday...

My little flat within my parents' house is an absolute tip. Suitcases, dirty clothes, toys, blankets and general random crap strewn EVERYWHERE! I'm finally getting a chance to try and sort it all out while my family look after DD (who's having dinner with them - turns out she likes broccoli!)

So naturally I'm using this brief window of time to upload photos to FB and MN Have put a couple of pics up if anyone's interested. They're slightly random photos, you'll probably look at them and go 'er.. why put those up?!' but they're just my fav images of DD from the hol. Rather than being scenery pics. I have one other fav pic which I haven't posted in case you all start to worry that I'm an alcoholic who's corrupting my DD!

Can I just say that the pics of Jaggy's boys are soooooooooo cute! Your DS1 looks like a little charmer!

Sending lots of No Brooking for all those who are poorly in No Brooker Ville at the moment!

Will be back on later if I ever a) clear any of this mess b) manage to get DD to go to sleep at anything like a normal UK time.

scream, those are just gorgeous photos, Autumn is so beautiful!! Amazing eyes too.

And your boys are adorable jaggy, pictures to warm the heart :)

Oh, she is so cute, Scream! Such a little sweetheart! And Hearst Castle looks amazing too. What is it?

Dream, that GP arrangement sucks! What do disabled people do? Brooking that the green slime stops soon, poor little beasties. Three hour naps may prove to be a turning point, perhaps? People do say that sorting out the day sleep sorts out the night sleep although in my admittedly limited experience that's crap.

M is still awake and reasonably perky at 8.20pm, despite getting up at 7.15. Come on child, get sleepy!

DS2 is still not sleeping either. he appears to be laughing at my lamp

i tried putting him in his sleeping bag and feeding him after DS1 went to bed at about 7.30, but this just produced laughing at me and a big poo. changed him and took him through to play till he seemed more tired and here we still are. he's usually asleep by 9.30ish.

he's now feeding again after the lamp based hilarity.

glad you liked the photos, love my wee guys. DS1 is a right wee charmer indeed, getting a funny personally. his 3 year old style 'jokes' are pretty good.

asked DH if he was cool with my friend and her baby coming round tomorrow. first thing he says "that means I'll have to dust" Enough with the dusting.

i know a lot of people who would be overjoyed if their DH was awesome at DIY and v houseproud, but sometimes I'd like him to sit still and/or just play with a DS or 2.

DS1 had a great time with him earlier while i failed to get baby to nap.

ooh, he might be asleep here!i

Well it took HOURS but I'm now properly moved in and tidied up. The kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are all shipshape and I'm feeling pretty chuffed with the transformation.

DD went to sleep for her Auntie, which was a huge help, but woke the second I finished tidying, which was a little exhausting. She's just now gone back to sleep, but I can hear restless noises from her cot so it may have been a Transfer FAIL.

I have actually transferred her onto her stomach, for which I have HUGE guilt. I have only put her down on her stomach twice before, both since we got back a couple of days ago, and both for supervised naps. It's just that she usually rolls over to her front in her sleep now anyway, and she seems to settle so much better in that position. She's 23 weeks old, she can roll both ways although she still doesn't roll front to back very often and her sitting is fantastic so she must have reasonable core strength. She sat up independently, playing with instruments, for the entire length of her 40min music class today. She also managed to stay sitting up while I was pulling vests and her dress over her head this eve. Surely at this point putting her to sleep on her front shouldn't significantly increase her SIDS risk? Argh, I think I might be too scared to go to sleep!

I hope Jaggy and Too's LOs are fast asleep, and all the other mini No Brookers for that matter! Looking forward catching up properly with all your posts tomorrow, during my first proper leisurely day at my parents' house.

Can I just send a quick (((hug))) to Dream for the craziness that is poo-gate. You are a miracle-worker, don't ever forget that!

p.s. Too Hearst Castle was originally the ridiculously lavish home of a media magnate (the Rupert Murdoch of his day) who had it built primarily to house part of his incredible renaissance art collection. He entertained people like Winston Churchill, JFK, and Charlie Chaplin there. It is the most opulently extravagant place I have ever seen, well worth a nosy! It's location is also just gorgeous!

Do I have to get up? It's so warm in bed and, well, not warm outside

But I know I have to get up now or else ds1 won't get to pre school on time.

How dd slept well for you after your mammoth tidying effort Scream - sounds v impressive. Hope everything is going well. Have you started the counselling sessions with DH yet? I can't remember. Hope everything can love forward nicely now xx

Hope all the other mini brookers let their mummies get some sleep. Especially those dreamy twins, who I am really hoping has a considerable reduction in the number of poo-splosions overnight.

Right, this isn't going to get a packed lunch made is it

Poo, poo, drowning in fucking poo....

Still, DT2 less wheezy.

If she rolls onto her front herself I think that's fine scream, she sounds so strong and she's nearly 6 months. Cot death is so, so rare after 6 months anyway. And good tidying effort!!

You can ask the GP to come downstairs to you too, but that means them using another doctor's room, so having to log off the system upstairs, come down, turn computer on, log on, don't have all their stuff where they know where it is etc and i know how frantically busy they are anyway and how that'd get them running late so if babies awake I go up...

My DT1 can roll front to back- so i can't make him do tummy time anymore. DT2 still isn't rolling. They're 26 weeks. Sigh. Oh, and neither sitting. DT1 won't, he goes rigid. DT2 may be improving, slightly.... But neither ahead of the game :) and neither get enough floor/tummy time

Oh no, double explosion!!!

Plus think I've got blocked duct/mastitis, hot, flu like, sore boob as DT2 biting me and feeding badly due to his cough/wheezy chest.

Too, that must be so frustrating that M won't settle in bed with you either :( I'm very lucky in that respect. Iz won't always settle with us, but if she's not happy in the cot it'll normally work.

Pet, I'm glad the few trips into your bed with DS haven't seemed to affect his sleeping much :)

Her sleep is getting worse and worse. Last night, a couple of wake ups after half an hour of sleep! Not fair.. however, she is just shouting and unhappy, but with her eyes closed. She can still self settle (I often hear her doing so earlier in the evening, and sometimes at night) so I think she must be in teething pain.. poor thing :( Really hoping these teeth get a move on - it's been over two months now. So glad they don't remember these bits...

Hope all the poorly mini brookers are feeling better. Dream, as ever I'm in awe of how amazingly you're coping.

Impressed by your mammoth tidying Scream! My house is pretty messy. As I have a student on Sunday (my first private student in our new town, hurrah!), I need to make sure the living room/dining room (where I'll be doing my teaching) is tidy, so I'll do that today. The spare room is full of clean clothes, ready for an evening of sorting and ironing tonight - sigh. I have the same thing with clothes grown out of Dream - Iz's 0-3 stuff in a bag in her room, but a few sleepsuits still remain. Why is it that one shop will sell 0-3 up to say, 11.5lbs, but another shop will sell them up to 15lbs?! Her shelves in her room are also completely filled with random bits and bobs - really need to tidy those too...

Anyway.. back to houses, what doesn't help is the poor decorating done by the previous owners. For example, the skirting boards in the hall are all lumpy and horrible and have clearly been painted over that way, so not only gather dust more effectively (urgh), but also look dirty all the time! Desperately need to paint them. In fact, hall and living room/dining room desperately need painting. One day...

Good work on all the sitting and rolling! Dream, Iz also goes rigid and will not sit for love nor money! I can occasionally distract her for a few minutes with a toy, but she'll soon realise and shift her hips up until she's rigid again- so odd! She has just learnt to roll from her back to her front though, meaning she can now roll both ways, hurrah! Amusingly DH keeps missing her do it, to his utmost anoyance!

i am so there with the in between sizes thing. however, DS2 is growing so fast that he's going to be out of his 6-9 month stuff by the time I've collected all the 3-6. i need to send DH into the loft for the 9-12 stuff, some more baby toys and the padded insert for the high chair while he's up there.

my clothes mountain on the bed is actually higher today.

M has only yesterday learnt to roll from her back to her front, at nearly 7 months. She had previously been rolling onto her side and playing with her feet, though, so I was not that fussed. However, she's sitting well and she's really trying to crawl, so hey ho.

Last night was better sleep-wise - up twice during the evening, but only twice during the night, hurray!

Oh no, Dream, Brooking extra hard that it's not mastitis or a blocked duct and it goes away again super-fast! When is the universe going to give you a break?

I left my washing out by accident yesterday, Jaggy, so there is currently a load in the machine waiting to be hung out and the overnight load is re-drying on the line. I have not put anything away - this seems to be the flaw! I spent quite a lot of time yesterday reading the Fly Lady stuff and am shocked at the amount of work she thinks is necessary to keep your house clean and tidy. [lazy slattern emoticon] Do you all think it's necessary to clean your bathroom daily?

Too, eek, crawling! How exciting, and scary! Are any others (not those with older children I suppose!) slightly concerned about how they'll cope when their little brookers start crawling? I'm really excited about it happening, but worried about how I'll ever get anything done ever again not that I get much done now mind

Extra brooking for you Dream, forgot to mention it in my first post :( Hope it goes away sharpish.

Too, I DEFINITELY do not clean my bathroom daily. Earlier today I was in there and shuddered at the layer of dust on the skirting board. To be fair, I rarely clean the bathroom - it's mainly DH's job (the only bit of housework he regularly does!). On the cleaning front, I do a lot less than I should - I clean the kitchen roughly every day, sweep hard floors downstairs every other day (crunchy floors REALLY annoy me) and wash them rarely. I should hoover the carpets (upstairs) every week due to our ultra fluffy cats shedding hair everywhere, but if I'm busy with other things that also gets neglected..

I have a load of washing on the line, not quite dry, and big grey clouds up above.. eep.

yeah i got nothing put away and two more washes worth have now been added, one because of a DS2 super wee right through the sleeping bag again this morning. I'm tempted to put one of DS1's size 5's on to see if it fits at night time.

feeling a bit exhausted after baby and toddlers this morning. i can't keep up with all the names of the new mums, dads and wee ones with my sleepy brain. the hugeness of DS2 was mentioned as he's not been for a few weeks. DS1 had a successful wee in the toilet and kept dry pants, yay. taking him for a wee with DS2 in the sling is a bit of a challenge...

oh DS2 rolled front to back for the first time earlier. i put him in his cot on his tummy because he had yet another leaky poo nappy and he'd flipped over by the time i was ready to change him! he looked rather surprised.

he can do back to front if down a slight incline. he can wobbly sit up for a few seconds, but falls over when he tries to look around. this amuses his big brother a lot. i do catch him btw!

A can crawl backwards. DD1 was an early mover (crawling at 6 months) and I HATED it. I think second time round will be better but then they can move in opposite directions!!!

Too - Uh, no.

Scream - Think tummy is fine once they can roll??

Dream - still poo?? Yuck, poor you. Brooking for speedy recovery. A much better (and good night last night - although I kept waking up waiting for her to wake up!).

I have another poo issue now though - dd1 has stopped pooing in her potty or the toilet!! Why would this happen four months in??? Anyone with older one had this happen before?? Poos in pants is seriously grim.

Brookers we have a problem. Ds' fell asleep in the car an hour and a half ago on the way to halfords. I ditched that trip and came home. Have been sat in the car parked outside my house since then thinking one of them will surely wake up and then we'll go in. Nope. And now it is pissing with rain so I can't even attempt a transfer indoors.

F hasn't had his 4 pm milk. W and f are usually having tea right now. Gah what do I do?

Get over to Ante Natal quick!

hawthers, start panicking about bedtime, that's what!!!! The to wake or not to wake decision is fraught... I'd wake at this time, I think unless I had my kindle in the car

Don't know, Hawthers, but M slept from 3.10 to 5.20, most unusually, so am not even attempting to have dinner at her normal time. Bedtime will be about 9pm at this rate - maybe correspondingly late rising tomorrow morning?

Exciting news, Rubber, thanks for the heads-up!

Pomme, sounds gross! No advice to give, sadly, but hope someone else will.

They both woke shortly after I posted. Tea being cooked now so think we should still be ok for 8pm bedtime. Unfort late to bed does not equal late to rise.

pomme sympathies my dear on the poo front. Ds1 didn't get the hang of poos for far too long a couple of weeks. We did heavy bribery with YouTube on my phone (peppa pig), marshmallows, cola bottles, ANYTHING that might be an incentive. Get it sorted then gradually phase the treat out. And buy some cheap pants to just chuck if there is poo in them. And drink wine, lots of wine.