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

jaggy, I'd say its only really in the last 2-3 weeks my boys have 'got' bedtime and i can say they'll be in bed for 7-7:30, definitely watch it all go wrong tonight now I've said that so keep the faith, and maybe you could try putting him down 15 min earlier each night til you get to 'ideal' bedtime? Isn't that what some book I once read advised...? But argh to 4:35 poos, and I would majorly struggle to engage my brain now

Not the best start to the day here, ds had a full on breakdown when I took him to school, one minute he was fine then masses of tears and wouldn't let me go, had to be prised off me after about 10 minutes and no signs of stopping. And then got home and gave M some milk and she promptly sat up and threw the entire lot up all over me. And dp just texted me with no sympathy, just said 'when you've hosed yourself off can you start phoning round people about the house'. Bah humbug. I think I may actually finish watching phil spencer secret agent then have a long hot shower and do the online shopping. Phoning people can wait. Revised mortgage has been applied for, just need to organise builders etc for quotes.
jaggy massive boo to middle of the night poos. When I went back to work after having ds, co sleeping became the norm so we all managed to get some sleep. I'm sure your brain will engage once you start back.
scream awesome cake and dd looks v cute in your pics.

hmm dd just been sick again whilst lying down, got it everywhere, ears, eyes the lot. I wonder if I should rearrange her injections? She's supposed to have her 4 month jabs tomorrow. I guess I'll give it till this afternoon and she if she does it again. She seems absolutely fine in herself, didn't even cry when covered in sick.

Right. Am sitting with DS on my lap asleep as he will not be put in his cot. Bit frustrated, but at least I have time to MN. So I'll do a quick post now, then try to read back and post properly.

Jaggy defo boo to night poos, especially leaky ones! Disaster! Well done to your DH for getting up to assist though. Really hope you get better timed poos next week with work. Also boo to work. :(

Scream that is one beautiful daughter you have there. What a gorgeous smile. And WOW to your cake! Glad everything went well. How was DH on the day? And DOUBLE wow to the cruising! That is seriously impressive!

Dream you are one strong lady to be carrying both boys around. I'm ok with DS in the Baby Bjorn on the flat, but struggle going uphill. Ooh, btw, what did you do to help your boys to fall asleep by themselves at bedtime? Now DS won't have the dummy I'm stuffed. DS's routine was breastfeed, play, bottle, play, shower, and into bed with dummy at about 7.30pm. I've added in lullabies and a bedtime story after the shower, as extra sleep cues, and I'm experimenting with playing a 'rainforest lullabies' CD (that someone gave us) for naps and bedtime. So far no joy - feeding to sleep is now required. :(

Ninja sorry to hear about the continued house difficulties. What a nightmare. Defo have a long shower and a break from it! FX DD is ok and no more puke is forthcoming.

Cakes hope DD is better soon. It's so sad listening to them struggling with a cold, isn't it?

I don't think I gave a holiday report. We stayed in a slightly dilapidated farmhouse with a nice mountain and industrial estate view and lovely woodburning stove. We did things like visiting castles, going on stream trains and walking the dog on the beach. And co-sleeping with DS because he wouldn't stay asleep in the travel cot. So a good time was had by all.

Too have you got that no-cry book report ready yet? I tried putting DS in the cot and leaving him when he immediately woke up, but he just cried so sadly I had to cuddle him. It wasn't a fussing cry, or a cross cry, or a 'where are you?' cry, it just sounded like 'I was asleep and comfortable and you woke me up and now I'm all alone and I need you to hold me'. :(

Hawthers I appreciate your concern about DS1's growth, but if it helps at all my dad and brother are both small men (under 5'4) and are both married with children, and both have really good jobs. So even if he stays small, he will be ok, I'm sure.

Scarlet yay for the iPad! DH has one and I do like to borrow it. We're still using stage 1 milk for DS's top-up bottle because I thought stage 2 was only invented to get round the advertising ban on infant formula? But DS is on lactulose cos he got badly constipated (crying and passing solid poos) when he started on solids.

Dream so pleased things are gradually improving for you. My wedding dress was made of beautiful lace but I got it in a sample sale for about £350 a few years ago. Wedding dress shops seem to do the sales in the summer though and I presume your DSis can't wait that long?

this is S's

this is B's

Not much time pet but mine hold comforters and suck them, are always holding them. Took a while for them to take to them but just lucky they like them I guess!

Oh and pet the baby bjorn is so uncomfortable imo, my boba is miles better, I will hopefully learn to wrap one and wear one in the boba...

Having a nightmare day with DD. she still hasn't done a proper poo. 10 days now. She's spent today straining and screaming in pain and done about 5 hard tiny lumps. Her little bum is so sore it's bleeding . I've swi toyed back to 1st stage milk and also managed to get a small amount of apple and prune swallowed. I don't know what else I can do for her? Any ideas?

How much lactulose do you give your DS pet? How do you get him to have it? Did you get the ok from your GP first?

Will catch up properly later, hope your DD's ok now Ninja?

Oh no scarlet, my friend made a pureed compote thing of dried apricots and prunes when her DD got a bit bunged up. Have you got the annabel karmel book? In case you haven't, and you do have the prunes/ dried apricots she says (don't use dried apricots treated with sulphur dioxide or E220) cover 100g fruit with fresh cold water, bring to the boil, simmer til soft (about 5 min) drain, remove stones, press through a mouli. I'd blend it as I don't have a mouli. Pear is also good insoluble fibre so gets things moving. Poor DD. I don't know about lactulose for babies...

Oh, and I'm sure you know how to do fruit purees, but I'm incompetant and couldn't think of anything else helpful

Will she drink any water scarlet? Or baby massage, circular clockwise movements on her tummy, and there might have been another massage technique but i can't think of it now... Sorry!

Thanks for responding Dream and for the tips. I've just been reading up about baby massage and DD is now naked on her mat ready for me to begin. I vaguely remembered it was important to go in one direction only but couldn't remember clockwise/anti-clockwise.

No prunes in the house but we do have some over-ripe pears so I'm going to give that a go. Thanks for that. I do have the AK book somewhere but need to dig it out.

Water! Of course. I'd not thought of that. Will try also. Really, really don't want to be pestering my GP again just yet!

Thanks again

Hope dd works it out soon! I do happen to have some of the organic sulphur free dried apricots if you'd like them - I bought them for making the Christmas cake last week and have about half a pack left.

Good luck with the massage....

Thanks Biscuits, very kind of you.

I was a bit scared to massage, wasn't sure how much pressure to apply so I gave up after a couple of minutes. DD has just wolfed down a whole pear which I puréed up for her. That's the most she's eaten in one go since we began weaning. She completely refused water. She's now on her dream feed so fingers crossed for some movement before bed time. I think the night before last was our last BF as she's screamed and turned her head away from the boob ever since yet is still guzzling down her FF. I feel a little sad that we couldn't carry on until the first tooth but I'm really happy with the efforts compared to how it went with DS.

Ninja life sounds very stressful at the moment. Brooking that things resolve ASAP for you.

Scream AA's naming day photos are wonderful. I can't get over your cake! Super jealous of those skills. She looked so cute in her dress and you looked great too.

Holiday sounds very relaxing pet.

Jaggy can your DS2 have a word with my DD about pooing do you think? I'd welcome an explosion at the moment!

Scarlet poor DD and poor you :( . I got the lactulose on prescription - 25ml am and pm. DS likes it and drinks it from the medicine spoon. It's very sweet - like sugar water. I'd go to the GP if I were you - they're there to be pestered, right?

Dream DS has a jellycat gorilla in his cot which he's cuddled from when he was about 6 weeks old, but he bats it away now along with the dummy. He had a little bunny that he used to suck and bite in the car but we lost it in Wales. What white noise do you use? Do you have it playing all night?

DS has woken up 3 times since he went to bed. :( another night of co-sleeping beckons...

Poor little DD, Scarlet! Hope things improve soon. Porridge tends to get me M going. Unsweetened orange juice?

Pet, haven't finished the No Cry Sleep Solution yet - it was making me realise how exhausted I was, so I had to stop reading it for a bit! Will have another go and make a plan of action. M has been dreadful the last few nights, up every 40 mins at the beginning of the night, and then up every 2 after 1am. Might try to get M to use a comforter - it tells you how to introduce them in the book. Basically, you pick something (soft toy or one of the things Dream linked to) and put it between you and the baby during every feed. They gradually start to associate it with comfort.

Will try to catch up properly tomorrow - too tired now! Night night Brookers.

Scarlet that should be 2.5ml - sorry.

Thanks, Too - I guess I'll start trying to introduce the comforter then and hope we don't lose it as well

And :( for your exhaustion and M's poor sleeping, Too . It has to get better soon, surely?

scarletwhen DS2 stopped pooing I just stopped giving him food till he pooed again! was over 24 hours and his wind was pretty bad.! Not sure if that will work so well with formula? Does she bf at all now as that might help a bit - can you sneak in a sleepy one? DS2 hasn't drunk much water at all.

He had a poo earlier so hoping for no nocturnal ones...

wait for it though, I'm away to jinx this - he's been in bed since 9pm

I've been rocking out in my kitchen and washing all my bottles and spare expressing gear for next week. I'm getting a hair cut after over a year tomorrow but am hoping to get away with just feeding before I go in and the boys meet me afterwards.

I selected the 'Alternative' genre on Windows media player and just left it on shuffle - it has been mostly awesome. DH has ripped our whole cd collection onto a hard drive which is nice to have. I think I will do this every night when I am washing my expressing dishes after work - i fecking hate that task!

Hmm that's interesting about the comforter too I think I gave DS1 his favourite comfort items as something to keep his hands busy while feeding so he stayed a bit still and poked my face less.

Did I tell you that DS2 went back to sleep without a feed the other night? he was in bed beside me, but he just cuddled a taggie blanket that he quite likes and went back to sleep.

uh oh someone coughing on the monitor - it's strangely hard to hear which one it is!

will catch up more on night shift, better get awa' to bed.

oh i wrote that so badly. he didn't poo much for 3 or 4 days, but it took over 24hrs of just milk before he did. it was quite solid by then.

Jaggy I hope there are no nocturnal poos in your household tonight! I'm No Brooking for Jaggy's DS and Scarlet's DD to swap pooping schedules for a night! Your poor DD Scarlet, constipation is definitely no fun!

Cakes how is your LO tonight? I hope she's feeling better?

Ninja well done for applying for the revised mortgage. Fingers crossed everything goes to plan this time! Sending big hugs and lots of in your direction after your stressful day! How is DD doing now? Are you going ahead with the jabs?

Pet your holiday sounds wonderful! So relaxing and fun! Glad you had a great time! Hope your DS makes a smooth transition back to cot-sleeping though!

Dream and Ninja, you're right my DD is 6 months now (I have no idea about weeks anymore!) Will be trying to post a clip of the cruising tomorrow, if I can catch her at it!

Many thanks for the kind comments about the cake. I really enjoyed making it, and I'm already hatching schemes for Christmas cakes and DD's 1st birthday! I remember lots of No Brookers were talking about exciting cake ideas a while ago! Clearly I need to scroll back...

We've had a lovely day today. At the naming ceremony one of DH's aunts invited my great-aunt (who's visiting from New York) and my Nan round to her house. DH's aunt & uncle live in a gorgeous old house in deepest darkest essex. The centre of the house is 700 years old! Even the extensions date back to the 17th century. So my Nan and her sister really enjoyed being shown round. They're all about the same age (DH's family is a lot older than my family) so they all got on famously. It was good fun, and my American aunt just loved the house!

ok i am up and heading for the shower in official 'pretending to get up for work' mode.

Hope it's going well Jaggy on your trial run.

I am also trying to drag my arse out of bed to get everything sorted or else I have no hope of getting ds1 to preschool on time. Ds2 slept through last night though (yay!) but this means I still have to fit in his morning bf which takes about 40+ mins of my morning (yawn). So i try to get up at 6, get showered and dressed, sort out the steriliser, empty the dishwasher, tidy downstairs etc, then I can wake ds2 at 7 to get going with him, then DS1 at 7:30-6:45 ish. Thank goodness we only have to leave the house at about 8:55!

Suppose I'd better actually get up and donor though rather than talking about it

Oh and I have to fit in opening some birthday presents this morning too