These babies are going to be calm, easy and sleepy at all the right times, and we're brooking no argument about it!

[Biscuitsandtea]

In here ladies - the other thread was getting full up so I thought I'd better start a new one.....

Will do some links to / from this thread but in the meantime please make yourselves at home

Hi Scarlet been meaning to message about laptop, I had the peculiar your laptop needs a new battery message then laptop died as it can be prone to do anyway so plugged in and charged switched laptop on it still said need new battery but once charged message went and aside from a different peculiarity yesterday so far so good.

Hope family issues sort themselves

Hope today has gone well biscuits

Thinking of you scarlet

Well dd rolled over for the first time today and I bought a tripp trapp so a momentous day here.

Hope it went well biscuits!
Sorry to hear that scarlet, hope it all gets better soon.
dream - I did soya milk on cereal first, then dairy for me then a yogurt for her. I got what I consider a fail on yoghurt then two weeks later tried cows milk on cereal she was ok then tried yoghurt again, less of a fail and then went from there. I am still too nervous to eat 'proper' (ie big bar) amounts of real choc though as that always made her terrible for hours and would be nervous about her first bit of choc.

Hello all!

Biscuits, hope the christening went really well! If you're knackered, put that sister of yours to work - I know she's got tomorrow off!

Wow, Jen, well done to little N!

Scarlet, have you had your referral for CBT yet? They might be able to help you with the anxiety. It's horrible - at one point I was so anxious I would accidentally hurt M that I was afraid to sit on the sofa in case I smacked her head on the corner of the coffee table. It was ridiculous - I was afraid of that even when I was sitting still, in the back corner of the sofa, miles away from the coffee table. Huge hugs to you, sweetheart.

Scream, yay for A! Pulling to standing is great! M hasn't done that yet either.

M said 'Da-da!' today! She was watching Downton Abbey at the time, so we're not sure if she a) thought Lord Grantham was DH, b) was trying to say 'Downton' or c) was actually saying Daddy or d) it was a total coincidence.

Yesterday in the hotel I was bathing M in the sink because the bath was in an awkward corner. She splashed, giggled, grabbed at the tap and then pooed in the sink. The water all went yellow before I could lift her out and I had to remove bits of poo from the plughole. It was funny, though - she looked so delighted with herself and rolled around getting a towel all pooey while I cleaned out the sink and refilled it.

We're home now, hurray! M slept for most of the journey. She's in bed now, but I expect she'll be up early after all that sleep.

Thanks for all your thoughts and kind words. Anxiety is a fairly new thing for me and I'm still trying to find ways to deal with it. My CBT was supposed to start last week Too but they cancelled the appointment the day before and now I have to wait another 2 months which is disappointing. Do you have CBT? My friend says it's changed her life so I'm expecting big things.

Cakes thanks for getting back to me re the laptop. Sadly mine's had it. My phone is playing up now too.

Too I did laugh about the poo in the sink.

Will try and type more tomorrow. Might treat myself to a new netbook. Not told DH yet though. He sits hogging his new macbook all evening and I don't get a look in with it so I don't think he can say anything...

Ugh. Have now caught little A's cold. All I really need is a good night's sleep to nip it in the bud, so therefore I should get better in approximately three years' time.

Sending more hugs to Scarlet. Hope Biscuits' day went well!

Thank you all for thinking of us yesterday. The day did indeed go well . Quite tiring (although that could have been my early start ) but a really lovely day so all good. Both boys were good even though I think ds2 has a bit of a cold. And DS1 just played really nicely all day and was generally charming.

How frustrating that they have put your CBT back by 2 months! That is really bad . I am really really hoping that the family issues resolve themselves soon and you're feeling a bit better about things. Is it possible to get on a cancellation list or anything in case they have a CBT appt come up sooner?

And for Scream catching little A's cold . I know what you mean about needing a good night's sleep and it just never happening (and I'm not even having to deal with being ill as well!) Is there any way you could catch a nap in the day today when A does? I know it's not exactly a whole night but I suppose every little counts when it comes to sleep?

I went to bed at about 11 after all the christening excitement yesterday and ds2 chose then to wake up, but just repeatedly doing his 'I'm sort of asleep, and sort of just whimpering and sounding unhappy' thing so I had got up 4 times by midnight without actually needing to pick him up but every time I thought he'd dropped off calmly again of go back to bed and he'd start it again. In the end I got him off to sleep and he slept until 4:30 and then started it again. So I've just fed him and am going to hopefully scoot back to bed for a couple of hours now.

Hope everyone else is well xxx

don't you hate when you think you've posted and come back to find it's not here? or is that just my phone?

Anyway, glad all went well biscuits, hope you got a wee rest.

hope family stress is resolved soon scarlet. :(

DS2 spent most of last night snuggled in beside me again. Might as well get lots of cuddles before work starts.

we had a nice walk yesterday. DS1 was shattered by the end of it but was extremely excited by me picking 'grambles' for him to eat. apparently i could get him to eat anything if i get it from a hedge while out...DH did try to explain they were brambles but he was quite convinced it was a g

today - Ikea expedition. what should be on the list apart from meatballs? :)

Their new wing chair, Jaggy? I want it! Baby sleeping bags - which reminds me, I must wash M's. Plastic cutlery for teaching babies to eat?

Love the 'grambles'!

Biscuits, glad yesterday went well. Hope you got a bit more sleep in the end.

How annoying, Scarlet! I haven't had CBT but my mum swears by it - she has been suffering from depression/anxiety for a long time and she says that CBT was the only thing that helped. Regular therapy identified the problems, but didn't help her deal with them. DH was referred for CBT but there's a year's waiting list in this area, annoyingly. He was meant to have a follow-up appointment in September, actually, and they never contacted him.

Brooking hard for a miraculous recovery, Scream! Can't DH look after A for a night so you can get some rest?

Yay for Biscuits' successful christening! Glad both DSs enjoyed the day. I hope E feels better soon.

Boo to the delay in counselling/CBT for Scarlet and Too's DH. I hope both appointments are scheduled sooner than expected.

I feel like poo after zero sleep last night, and I'm currently on a train into London for my crazy busy day. Meeting with a partner at my firm, then carrying out a consultation for the charity I volunteer for, finishing up with an interview and photoshoot (argh!!!) for the same charity. They've asked me to contribute to a campaign for professional volunteers they have coming up. Very scary! I hate having my pic taken at the best of times, let alone when I look and feel like crap!! Just want this day to be quick and easy...

DH has DD, but he's soooooo tired after only sleeping from 12.30 to 8.30 last night that at the point I left home he'd been dressing DD for over an hour and still wasn't finished . He's been referred for CBT as well, and we should hear back from the docs "within the next few weeks". I'm desperately hoping DH's ineptitude is a symptom of his depression, and not something I bizarrely overlooked while we were engaged?!?! There's no point in leaving DD with him tonight, I can't put her through it while she's ill! Plus he HAS to have her on tues night, following my dental sedation

Ever wish you could just sleep through the next couple of days?!?!

Ooooo ikea suggestions! Dime bars fine bars!!!

Wretched autocorrect...

Well its day 3 of DH back at work and as far as I can tell the only way to achieve anything is either to let DD scream which seems to be only way to get a shower or have her on my lap half awake. She just will not go to sleep for any longer than 10 min in her basket if at all. She is yawning so is tired.

Also her constant feeding and fidgeting whilst feeding is not doing my nips any good. Latch is good majority of times at least to begin with and now she just decided to throw up most her feed half hour after finishing feeding. ARGHHHHHHHH

Please suggest or something ,,,

Added to everything else DH's nan had a fall sat and had to have her hip plated so that hasn't helped DH be calm over weekend, so despite not getting up in night for DD hes tired and grumpy

Don't worry about letting her scream Cakes. Sometimes you do have to ignore them and sort yourself out. DD still thinks IABU when I have a shower and she is 21 weeks tomorrow. It doesn't matter if she is asleep when I get in, she seems to have a sixth sense and will wake up just as I get in.

Will she sleep on the floor? I didn't have a moses basket, DD was sometimes quite happy to sleep in her baby gym or in her vibrating bouncer right from the start. She never liked being too restricted and certainly the gym allowed her to stretch out and have her arms free which meant she slept better. Swaddling was never an option for us

I found going for a walk with the pushchair great for getting them to sleep and getting a bit of fresh air and perspective for me. But yes sometimes they do just have to shout. Give it some time and it will get better

Sorry you're not having a good time Cake. I found two techniques worked well for showers (and still do) - either finding them a way of sitting somewhere saefly in the bathroom with you (bouncy chair? basket? mat on the floor?), or to use a mobile in their basket/cot elsewhere. I manage to have my shower every day with a mobile in Iz's cot entertaining her - have had it since she was about 2wks old and it's been a godsend. It's brightly coloured and plays music. She sometimes gets bored of it, but at least then I've tried to entertain her! DH went back to work after one week, including jetting off to Italy, so I had to find ways to keep her entertained fast. Hope your DH's nan is doing alright :(

Sorry to hear about the CBT waiting problems Scarlet and Too's DH. I've got friends waiting for CBT who are having to wait forever - but I have heard brilliant things about it.

Glad it all went well Biscuits!

Scream, the volunteering pictures etc sounds fun! :) How lovely!

So, we're officially into weaning. It's a tad early I know (just over 5 months), but she seemed to want to join in at meal times! So far, she loves banana and melon the best I think. To all the BLWers out there - do you have any cunning ways of cutting things like melon and mango to make them easier to grip? We had a few amusing moments at the weekend when she grabbed bits too hard and they flew straight from her hands onto the floor! She's really enjoying it... don't think much is going in at the moment, but she's trying lots which is all I'm worried about.

Also back to worrying about going back to work here! Think DH is worried about leaving Iz with anyone, including his sister. But then he worries about the idea of money if I don't go back! Will have to sit down and do budgets with him next wk- he's such a worrier, but I think it's because he wants the best for Iz, which is very sweet really!

Jen, well done to N!

Yy to babies loving hair! DS thinks it's hilarious when I shake mine at him. He also loves grabbing it - ouch. How long does that go on for?

Also loving Jaggy description of the little arm reaching out during feeding to claw and yank at mum's face (or hair if he can get it). Think I'll have to work on the concept of 'gentle' too.

Dream how's the dairy challenge going for B? DS didn't nap well this morning and was grumpy until he'd had lunch so I guess I'll try adding in breakfast again.

Scarlet hope you're feeling better.

Sorry, posted the above before reading the last page.

Biscuits glad the Christening went well. Could you leave DS2 whimpering at night or would it escalate into crying? Sounds difficult either way. Maybe tonight will be better...

Cakes like Musical said, try a vibrating bouncy chair by the shower. It worked better than anything else for me. And I sang to him while showered in case that helped!

Scream hope you enjoyed today and didn't just feel exhausted all day. :( for DH's depression - I'm sure it is that which is making him seem so inept. I hope you can both get through this difficult time.

Well done to N, Jen and to Iz with the eating, Musical .

DS will only nap on me today. I am officially Fed Up.

Musical, I have no answer to the fruit-grasping dilemma. In fact, after a dog-free few days I have realised just how much food actually goes on the floor during BLW. Not sure I'd have stuck with it without the dog! Luckily he's coming back from his holidays tomorrow and can go back on floor-cleaning duty.

Cakes, the shower thing is hard - I swear they're programmed to howl the instant you get wet! If I was already in the shower I would just harden my heart and wash as fast as possible. Otherwise sometimes I would wait for DH to come home so I could have a bath instead. Lansinoh for the nips - it really does help, even if it's only on for 20 mins before the next feed.

Sympathy to Cakes and Pet with their mini No Brookers being a bit trying. Cakes I'm another one who has a bouncy chair in the bathroom for shower/loo breaks. I've found that always picking up little A as soon as I've finished has helped her to understand that she only ever has to spend a v short time in the chair. So she doesn't scream in the chair, whereas she would scream if I put her in the cot to wait for me, because she thinks I'm going to try and make her stay in the cot. Pet I feel your pain on the Fed Up front! I'm not even allowed to get frustrated because poor little A is just feeling ill.

Lunch with the partner was fun, and I feel all virtuous and wholesome after doing the consultation. I love those consultations, I always wonder if the guy I'm talking to will one day be the person who CURES CANCER and I helped to make his move to the UK easier!

On my way to the photoshoot... Dreading it even more now. Tanking up on coffee in the hope a manic smile will offset my snotty nose and exhausted demeanour.

Grr, have just discovered that M knows to look for DH when I say 'where's Daddy?', but when he says 'where's Mummy?', she just looks confused! She also knows 'where's Dog?'. I know where I stand in the pecking order.

Good luck, Scream - I bet you'll look gorgeous!

Loving 'where's dog' - I will have to try this with DS soon.

Scream I'm sure you looked stunning!

Cakes I should add that I has the most successful showers (ie least crying from DS) when I waited for him to be 'calm alert' - ie when he'd had a feed and sleep and was therefore unlikely to need anything except constant cuddles for a little while.