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

Ha thanks Biscuits I impressed myself coming up with that one

Good luck tomorrow Jaggy, will be thinking of you.

Good luck for tomorrow Jaggy! Sounds like a huge adjustment, but you're a No Brooker you can handle anything! Fingers crossed for a smooth and simple first day!

DD finished her last nap around 5pm, started yawning/thumb sucking for bed around 7, but refused to sleep while we were out. Finally got her home and into pjs by 8.30. So from 8.30 until 10.45 she was fretting and crying and going round and round her cot. Over TWO HOURS just to get her down. As soon as I lie her down she flips onto her front, then up onto hands and knees (which is new and is the first time we've thought she might actually try crawling at some stage) then she reaches out to the side of the cot to pull herself to standing, finishing up with cruising round and round and round. Fretting and wailing the whole time. How does anyone get a mobile child to sleep?!?! I cannot do many more nights like this. I know she'll be up again within an hour. Again a couple of hours later. Each time she'll cry until I eventually let her sleep with me. It feels a bit hopeless right now, like we will never crack this sleeping game... Sorry. I'm just excessively hungover from last night (friend's 30th birthday party in Nottingham) and I have no right to be so self-pitying! I just wish I knew how to improve things.

A has been grumpy all day and so far tonight has been up every 90 mins screaming but refusing the boob totally. Have just given her some nurofen.

So lots of sympathy to you scream, I understand how you're feeling!

ah we had the screaming but not feeding before bed pomme. it took extremely vigorous and prolonged shhing and shoogling to calm him enough to eventually get to bed.

he was up after about 2 hours so i just took him straight in with me to sleep.

hopefully he'll sleep past my alarm so i can get ready!

Jaggy, good luck today! Thinking of you. DS2 will be fine (although he will miss you just enough to be satisfying, not enough to be upsetting).

Sorry for the radio silence - it's been a long weekend! My friend's baby was finally born by CS at 3am on Saturday morning. 9lb 8, for a first baby! A little girl, with heaps of hair. I'm going up on Friday to see them. The CS was for failure to progress - after waters breaking at lunchtime Thurs and induction late Friday, she only got to 4cm and everything was slowing down, so they went for CS. Both doing well now.

I spent Saturday helping my sister paint her new flat, was completely knackered, and then another friend was bitten by a Rottweiler (just in the street outside her own house!) and I had to take her to A&E. Didn't get home until 2.30am after 4 hours in A&E. The dog bit her thumb, with no provocation whatsoever.

M and I have colds, oh no! We have to be better by Friday so we can go and see the new baby.

Your poor friend with the bite Too . Hope she's ok . And yay for your friend and new baby. Sounds like a stressful labour but glad everyone is well now. Hope you and M are better in time for newborn snuggles on Friday

I'm not glamorous enough to have a desk biscuits, I'm a lab monkey me. we get to share some computers dotted about.

going ok so far. just eating lunch before more expressing. i think i look like this today ! everyone i meet looks at me all confused till i explain it's my first day back and that's why they've not seen me for a while...

right got to go, no mobile signal in expressing room - disaster!

Hey jaggy glad to hear things going good. I did have a goiigle at biscuits virtually chasing you around the office with tea...

Odd day her, A sooo grumpy post an awful night where she didnt feed until 7am. She was twisting away from me and screaming. But at 10am she had 5oz aptimil from a bottle!!!! No lunch though. She's currently having some sleep so am hoping she'll wake up happy and have some more milk and some food.

I think she's teething but she's been so distraught and scream and so AWAKE that Ive got an app with the duty doc at 5pm to see her. They were asking if it was an emergency. I dont know what to say really because I dont know why my 8 month old baby is so unhappy for sure...otherwise I wouldnt need a doctor! Argh.

Anyhow. With the night refusal and the bottle use I have decided to stop bfing. She cant be any more grumpy so might as well lump it all in.

Poor A Pomme hope she feels better after a sleep .

E has been grumpy too but I think he has a cold and might be teething too. We're thinking (well I am!) of stopping bf too - he hardly has any milk morning and evening from me now and just spends the whole time looking around. Probably feeds for 5 mins (unless he falls asleep) and then just looks round / gets distracted. And it's virtually impossible to get him to concentrate if ds1 is up. So I was thinking of stopping too, although I might wait and see if he has more when he's got rid of this cold

Hope the doc can shed some light for you pomme - I hate it when they ask if you think it is urgent, or if you need a doctor v a practice nurse. If I don't know what's wrong how can I possibly answer that? I suppose it's my own fault that I haven't taught ds2 to explain the problem properly yet

I was just about to come on and ask y'all if you think I should take ds2 to the doc - he's had a cold and cough for a few days but today seems wheezy with it. Should I get him checked? Or see if it sorts itself out?

Oh Pomme poor you and poor A. I hate it when the doctors' receptionists ask if it's an emergency. I always want to say "of course it's not I'd be at A&E if it was". If it's for one of the kids I say yes and if it's for me I generally say no and then they give me an appointment for 2 weeks later
I hope you get some answers. Btw, she looks soooo happy on all your pics!

I just went shopping for a pair of shoes for me and came back with 3 tops, 2 pairs of trousers, a lunchbox for DS and no shoes. Oh well.

Scream I can't believe you came all the way up to these parts and didn't let me know! You could've called in
Are you still staying at your mum's? Was just wondering if you went back home if you'd get more help in the night? How are things with DH? Ignore if you don't want to answer.

scream, sounds really tough... I know what the book would say. A friend had this problem plus I looked it all up at Sleep Hell time when I was pg with the dts. You have to be 100% consistent and every time she gets up/ cries you lay her back down with your sleep cues eg say 'its sleep time' or 'sleepy time' or whatever you choose, and comforter if she likes one. And repeat, ad infinitum... If they get very upset you comfort but as soon as they're calm you put straight back down. Then they cry and you repeat. So you need nerves of steel and the patience of a saint but apparently it'll work within 2 weeks. Trouble is, you have to do it til she's asleep, then at each wake up to do it properly. As you know, we did that plus gradual retreat for DD as I am never going to be a cc/ CIO mum, I just couldn't and it took waaay longer with her but her issue was sensing change I think as i was pg and total resolution within 2 days of being home with the boys. I am glad I didn't start co sleeping or anything with her as our consistency paid off in getting the normal routine back once the boys were born I think. Bloody hard though, I was working, pg, looking after DD and up for hours every night... I have banned co sleeping in our house now and finally s waking 3 times ish b twice but go back in their own cots, awake or asleep with comforter and cd (cd only if awake). But as i said its a long slog, there's been no variation in their routine or settling process for months now ( though they have been out in the buggy in Sept, but not since weather colder at night, twas the push I needed to do it in the night too), but from starting to get bedtime to it being regular and predictable was about a week or two. Ha! Watch it all go tits up tonight now :) . Much sympathy, its grim.

Or of course you can just co sleep, I hate it though but not saying its bad, she's 6 months now so way, way safer than with a newborn.

Sorry A so cranky pomme, I hope her sleep cheers her up. I've had days like that with DD and DT2 if it helps, wierd unexplained unhappiness over day and night :(

You must have nearly finished your first day back jaggy, well done!

Oh, I always refuse the practice nurse unless I know what I want biscuits Useless IME.

Jaggy hope today's gone well and you're enjoying DS cuddles soon.

Scream and Pomme I'm seriously impressed by your LOs mobility and dreading DS learning to crawl re the night misery. Did you see the doctor, Pomme ? If so, did you get any helpful advice? Scream could DD be teething? Have you tried calpol? Wish I had something better to suggest. Co-sleeping rather uncomfortably is my only solution when DS won't go in his cot at night, since at least I get some sleep that way. But then one worries about developing bad habits. Argh! Sleep is such a basic, natural function - why do babies find it so hard?!

Ninja any news on the mortgage?

Too hope you and DD are feeling better. Yay for the safe (if slightly traumatic) arrival of your friend's baby!

Scarlet you'll just have to go on another shopping trip for the shoes. :)

X-post Dream . I'm so glad your nights are improving. :)

just nipping in to say I haven't dropped off the face of the earth but it's inset day for ds so have had to entertain him etc. Be back on tomorrow as doubt I'll get a chance tonight.

F*ck, I've lost the dog. Bloody animal ran off into the woods and it's dark now and he's not come back. I am frozen to the bone and hoarse from shouting. DH will be home soon and he'll probably say it's all my fault for letting him off the lead. I think it's DH's fault. It was his idea to get a dog in the first place, 5 years ago.

Oh no Too!!! You poor thing

It's not your fault, of course it isn't .

Can DH go out and look for him when he gets home? I'm sure he'll turn up soon xxx

I'm sure he will come back Too. Did he have a collar on and is he microchipped?

oh no too, hope he comes back!

haha biscuits! the cuppa icon didn't show up on my phone so i read it as "takes jaggy to her desk". i was a bit puzzled.

i was home getting cuddles by 4.30 as i finish at 4 and don't work far away. DS1 seems to have behaved for his dad and DS2 did ok drinking milk and eating toast. he had a big feed and giggled a lot when i came in. :)

Any sign of the dog Too?

What did people think re the doc for a wheezy ds2?

sorry biscuits i missed that bit in my attempt at a quick catch up. if it sounds like he's getting worse I'd be tempted to take him, if you can get an appointment.

Still no dog. He does have a collar on, with DH's mobile number, and he is microchipped, but I have a feeling that the address the microchip people will have will be our last one. Still, no one would bother scanning him if he was still wearing his collar - they'd just phone the number. DH bought a torch and went out looking, and then drove around for a bit, but nothing. Because it's dark and we live in the middle of nowhere, he could well be nowhere near a house - or if he is, unless he actually barked/whined at the door, no one would see him. I am not thinking about what happens if he gets onto a road He might come back on his own, I suppose.

Biscuits, if you're worried, I say doctor.

Jaggy, yay for a good day!

Oh I am brooking no argument that he is home ASAP Too

Glad your day was ok jaggy

Will take ds2 to the docs tomorrow I think if no better by the morning....