Still brooking no argument whatsoever that these babies are happy, healthy and awesome for 2013 too.

[jaggythistle]

eh. attempt at new thread. yo.

I need to start some mild sleep training with T. He's 12w today, so very early for it and I'm not sure it'll work, however the past couple of weeks I've got into the habit of taking him up to my bed during the day when he's tired (signalled by him complaining about everything) we then lay on the bed and feed to sleep, after which he sleeps while suckling and we'll be there around 4-6 hours before we get a happy wake up then downstairs for an hour or two before he's tired again.

Thing is, I can now no longer feed him to sleep I my arms then put him down. He will feed to sleep, but protests if the nipple is taken away. If I do manage to get the nipple back, he then wakes when I put him down. Won't accept a dummy or finger, and it's proper 'sad' crying as opposed to his complaining voice.

I can't be any help stacks I'm afraid as I never managed to bf long enough with either of mine to have that problem, I'm sure someone will be along shortly though who can help
olives that sounds very stressful about your dad, I hope making the decision has felt like taking a weight off.
So after backwards crawling for weeks on end (since beginning of feb) M is now going forwards and has been pulling up on everything she can get her sticky little hands on. She's a snot monster at the moment and its really affecting her sleep. She learnt to wave a couple of weeks ago and now cheerily waves at everything, including most inanimate objects. We're working on clapping, although she just looks very excited when I do it and then waits for me to do it again instead of trying herself
All the ttc talk is making me broody. Sadly unless I come into some serious money in the next 2 or 3 years I doubt it'll happen. I'm ancient by conception standards, 2 of the kids would have to share a room forever as a loft extension is out of our budget and childcare round here is prohibitive. Plus we've lost child benefit already (a subject that makes me very angry indeed). I'm not quite ready to admit this to myself though so I cannot bring myself to seel any of our baby gear just in case. Now if only my work would have an onsite creche or dp and I could both add an extra 0 to our salaries.......
Happy anniversary too hope your boiler problems get sorted ok?

Hurrah for M's crawling Ninja! Iz also waves cheerily at inanimate objects she likes, and says 'Hello!' (her only clear word)- she also says hello to random people in the street/on the train which is very sweet!

Also... if you find an extra 0 for either of your salaries, can you tell me where? I'd quite like one too .

Stacks, had a similar problem with Iz in that I couldn't feed her and then put her down for a long time - she was a very very fussy napper. I often managed to get her to nap/sleep and not be attached if I fed her then put her in the sling and then walked about for a bit (hoovering, tidying, walking, doing circuits round the dining table...!). Also, sometimes just had to let her nap with a nipple in her mouth, or slowly ease it out when she was really deeply asleep. That may not be an option for you... but I took the lazy route (I also had to work in her naps from very early on, so having her napping, even if I was stuck, was more important to me than fighting to get her down somewhere).

Jaggy sorry they're all pretty bad nights at yours. Can't imagine having to work and having bad nights - the most work I do solidly on any one day is 3 hours so I have it really easy.

Happy anniversary too :)

I have a poorly Iz at the moment. Threw up three times this morning (though I think two and three were the same 'event' if you see what I mean, but just that I'd managed to change both her and me in between before she continued being sick), and a tiny amount this evening, plus two episodes of bad diarrhea. I did give her a little bit of banana porridge for breakfast (as she seemed cheerful enough!) but have only been giving her milk and water since the second bout of vomiting. I'm guessing it's some sort of stomach bug, and that if she's still ill tomorrow I should probably call the GP and see what they advise... does that sound sensible? She's never been this poorly before, so I'm a bit clueless! On the plus side, she had moments of being her chatty self (even if she didn't want to move!) earlier, and actually sat and watched the TV which she never does and chatted at all the people on there, which was very sweet!

Ahh poor Iz. I'm sure she'll feel much better tomorrow. I think current advice is to offer food and drinks as usual but not to worry if she's not interested in food. Just keep offering water to keep hydrated. Personally I usually avoid offering food for 24 hours after vomiting (which is old advice) about "starving the bug". And when I do re-introduce food I keep it plain, bananas, rice, apples and toast for a day. I spoke to our practice nurse who is old school about this when DD was ill and she said she'd do the same and that DD would be fine on fluids alone and to try food the following day. But she highlighted that wasn't official advice anymore. If she seems ok and is eager for food then try her in the morning but I would suggest keeping it plain. I'd probably only call the GP if she refuses fluids, or if she was refusing food or still being sick after a couple of days or had any our symptoms such as fever. As much as vomit freaks me out I have managed to not involve our GP for it
I'm brooking that Iz is much better tomorrow and that you and your DH do not get ill too.

Well done to Ninja's M and Dream's S re the crawling. Excellent work!

Thanks for the advice scarlet. :) I wasn't avoiding food because of starving the bug per say - haven't heard that phrase for ages! - but just because I thought if she had an icky tummy then breast milk (as she's still BF) would probably be easier to digest and more likely to produce a happy tummy than food wood be. That said, she did refuse most of her breakfast after vomiting escapade no.1. I had a banana and toast ready to offer her later in the afternoon, but she was then ill again :(

She is very hot, but I'm not sure if it's a fever - just put it down to the bug. I have given her a bit of Calpol tonight in an effort to help her sleep as she's now not been ill for a good few hours, and had lots of milk. I'll see what she's like in the morning. Thank you for your wonderful wisdom :)

DH is feeling ill - but then he often gets sympathetically ill when anyone else he knows is ill, so not sure if he's actually ill or not!

On a purely practical level, she has to feel better - after four entire outfit changes for both of us today (mine involving multiple layers) we're both running out of clothes! .

I could do with a bit of team brooking if anyone can spare it..

I've started on anti-anxiety/anti-depressant meds yesterday . I feel really crappy about it and I still don't know if it's the right thing. I've had them since early last week but it took me until yesterday to pluck up the courage to actually start taking them. I've never had medication for anything like this before in my life and I'm terrified about what it means.

I'm so disappointed that the CBT is obviously not helping. I'm so disappointed I've not been able to get myself over this without this kind of help. I'm worried that this is the start of a slippery slope mental health wise and medication wise.

I'm fine in the day but I turn into a wreck in the evenings. I'm sitting here now freaking out because DS has coughed in his sleep FFS. I just want to feel like me again.

oh scarlet! you poor love feeling like that. don't feel bad about the meds, hopefully they will calm the anxiety down so you can feel like you again. I wish I was nearer, I'd happily offer a shoulder to both lean or cry on depending on how you felt. would you be able to do more cbt? on phone so can't post much but am thinking of you. will try to post again in the morning.

Apologies for quick post - on phone before school run! Just wanted to say please please don't worry about taking medication scarlett Anxiety or depression is just an illness of the brain - you'd take paracetamol for a headache or antibiotics for an infection - its the same thing but to redress a chemical imbalance in your brain. I am certain that after a couple of weeks you'll really be feeling the benefits - and its not forever, hopefully 6 months of meds will do the trick
Will try and pop back later when I have more time.

delurking to hopefully provide some support to scarlet

I had some depression about 10 years ago and took anti depressants to break the cycle of depressive thoughts. i felt the same as you that it would be a life long struggle and that i must be totally mental to need medication but actually it was what i needed to lift me out of the fog and the cirle of feelings. once the mediation started to work i could just cope with life better and then i was weaned off them under the drs instrcution. in total i sepnt about six months on them (gave me horrible night sweats but that was the only side effect).

i've had no reoccurence of the depression although i was hypersensitive to it coming back after having children but all was fine.

i think they just give you an opportunity to look at your life rationally and as olives says if you had a headache you'd take painkillers. i know it ifeels scary but i have been there and done it so please msg me if you want to talk or email. much love my dear - we are all right behind you x

Hugs Scarlet. No advice, just remember you're in control of these drugs, if you feel they're not helping at any point, or if you ever want to come off them, that's your decision to make. It's 1000x different, but I take a daily omeprazole for indigestion. Every 6 months I try a week or two without medication to see if I still need them. Ofc antidepressants are different, but you should be able to take breaks from it if you want to.

I was wondering if any of you would be interested in an offer that's proving really popular on a Facebook group I'm on. It's a play kitchen (mobile link, hope it works on pcs) reduced in price, which can be reduced further using this new customer offer to buy for £15. There's also a similar cupboard style kitchenette or garage.

I've come down with awful diorrhea from 5am. Hoping I avoid vomiting and it clears up very quickly. T is fine so far, so I'm religiously hand washing and disinfecting everything to try and stop him and DH getting it.

That should be buy for £27 after the offer.

Sorry, not been around much lately. RL v busy as DH away a lot seeing his parents.

Stacks, hope you feel better soon and can sort out T's napping.

Scarlet, you absolutely must think of your anxiety as an illness and not feel a failure at all. The medication will break the cycle and you will be back to your old self. (Hug) and brooking.

Hello to everyone else. hurrah for the walkers and crawlers!

Did anyone see Bedtime Live last night? Quite interesting programme about sorting out children's sleep problems.

scarlet Also wanted to say that I took anti-depressants for a while a few years ago - it was a little while after my first marriage broke up and I remember feeling really annoyed that I needed medication (as Id instigated the break up!) Anyway, they worked brilliantly and I've never needed to have them again although I would happily take them if depression/anxiety reared its ugly head again. Of my close circle of friends 2 are currently on meds for anxiety as is one of my other friends husbands - its a lot more common than you think! Im sure the reason myself and my friends are so open about it is because we're all nurses and see every day how medication can make a massive difference to people's lives. Big hugs to you.
Get better soon stacks!
So for no more name checking, T is napping and I need to do the same!

Thanks so much all the reassurance, you guys are great . And thank you raab and Olives for sharing your experience, that really has helped. My only experience of anti-depressants is from being at school when my best friend's mum took a deliberate overdose with them . I think that's why I've tried to resist taking them, the fear of them making me worse or making me have thoughts that I wouldn't otherwise have. It's good to hear positive stories where you've taken them and then stopped and not had to use them again. That is what I hope for. I've been prescribed Sertraline, but the GP said the anxiety might be worse for a couple of weeks before I see an improvement. He's given me 2 weeks worth of Diazepam for this reason but I haven't taken any of those. I don't want to be zombiefied looking after the DC.

Speaking of whom, I'm back off up to the Doctors in a minute. Poor DS has a massive fat neck with swollen glands, a temp of 39 and his face is bright red with lumps coming up on it. Aaaagggghhhh!

Gen I've been thinking of you and your family. I hope you're all coping as well as you can be

Poor DS . The one time I managed to not go straight to the GP at the first hint of him bring ill and he's proper poorly! His neck swelled up massively on Monday, both sides but one side worse. I don't know how many times he's had swollen glands in the past but GP has always just said viral, so I hadn't bothered this time. This afternoon he starts breaking out in huge horrible welts and has high temp. Had no choice but see female GP who told me off for not taking him sooner. FFS, the one time I didn't purely because I'm trying my hardest to be less neurotic! She said I needed to get him to A&E because of this humongous gland.

So there I am with DS and DD thinking "how the bloody hell can he be ill again already?". He was seen by 3 doctors at the hospital who decided that he has strep throat and Erythema Multiforme again! 2nd time in less than 6 months. Anti-biotics for the gland, Piriton for the rash, Calpol and Nurofen for the temp.
He's so brave, he doesn't complain at all about any of it.

AF arrived in the midst of all this so I'm trying out my new period reduction pills, along with anti-anxiety ones. I think I might have to take one of the tranquilliser ones too to calm down after all this!

Sorry for yet another selfish all about me post

blimey how scary. your poor little ds, how is he now? I hope the swelling calms down soon. you sound like you did bloody well to get through all of that. I have to sleep now as am knackered but wanted to say well done x

Ah thanks Ninja. DH was impressed I didn't get him out of work or call on anyone else to have DD. Weird how when it comes down to it I do cope ok, sort of auto pilot. It's the anticipation of something bad being about to happen, that feeling of dread which I find intolerable.

DS is tucked up in bed asleep, Piriton seems to have kicked in already. Ironically he loves going to the doctors or the hospital and is always happy to be examined! I thought he was going to explode with excitement when paramedics brought some poor boy in on a stretcher . Dr Ranj is one of his favourite tv programmes.

Scarlet, your poor DS! Hope he's a lot better this morning. Well done to you too - it sounds like you coped with it all amazingly.

Thinking of you and your family Generic.

Also going to do a mememe. After being sick lots on Tuesday, Iz perked up lots yesterday... but since bedtime has been sick lots and not kept anything down :( Off to the doctors later.

Really sorry up hear about all the poorly dc's. get well soon all of them

I'm currently pacing the living room with the nap-refusing wind-monster in the sling. A good way of shifting baby weight, surely

Oh no Scarlet, that sounds so scary! Well done you for coping so well. As far as the ADs go, as you know DH is on them, and Mum is too. The one thing I would say is that you aren't supposed to go cold turkey when you stop - you're supposed to reduce the dose gradually. DH stopped very suddenly a few months after starting because he read that they could cause erectile dysfunction . He says they do help make him feel calmer and more on an even keel. I hope they help you. How are the period-reducing pills doing - are they working?

Musical, poor little Iz! Hope the doc can help. for you too for being a star mummy.

at nap-refusing wind-monster, Little!

Stacks, hope you feel better soon!

M had her MMR today, plus 2 other booster jabs. She was very brave and only cried a little. She bled all down her legs and onto my coat, though, due to the HV saying not to worry about holding the cotton wool to the needle wounds because 'it stops bleeding really quickly'. Not that quickly, it doesn't! I had to ask for plasters in the end because they were still bleeding, one on each leg, M was wriggling and crying and I was trying to simultaneously cuddle her, stop her from falling off my lap and hold cotton wool onto both her thighs at once. She wasn't bleeding excessively, but it does just take a little while to stop, and the HV just sat there like a lemon watching me struggle until I asked if she had any plasters.

I may be being over-sensitive, but the HV asked if M was saying any words yet, and the truth is that she isn't, not really. I said she says 'ma ma ma', 'da da da' and 'ta', which she does, but not consistently. I didn't think they were expected to be talking at this age, so was a bit ruffled by the insinuation that M was being slow. She's such a happy, friendly little beast!

Too, you're hv is not in the right job if she implies a baby who has no words at 1 is slow!! Lots still have only very few words when they turn 2!

Maybe I'm reading more into it than she actually meant, but I was just taken by surprise that she asked at all. It felt more like a checklist question than casual conversation, iykwim. She also asked if she was starting to walk (which she is), and if she was registered with a dentist (which she is) and, slightly weirdly, if she was drinking cow's milk now. Not really sure why she wanted to know that. I said I was still bf her at home but she got cow's milk or formula at nursery.

Too, was it a general checkup as well as the jabs? I had an 8-12 month checkup with Iz, and we got given a form to complete - which asked about cow's milk, she asked about walking, about talking etc. I know it's standard around here - could it just be that they were checking up on the same things? (in our case, the only words Iz says are "Hallo!", Mamama and Dadadada...).

Little, I put sling-walking with Iz to get out of the house/get her to sleep as the main reason I lost all my baby weight quite quickly ;)

Iz still ill :( Thrown up twice more since the last post- including lots of yellow sick. Yick :( Doctor was particularly useles, said they don't tend to worry until it's been seven days. I'm not worried about her being sick, if you know what I mean - I'm worried about the frequency and the amount, and thus the potential for dehydration! Grr. Anyway, will see how she is for the next 24 hours or so...

In the meantime, I need a laundry fairy. Very few clothes for me and Iz left. I'll start on DH's soon! Maybe I'll send him to the laundrette later - I've run out of places to dry things indoors...

I'm feeling much better. Turns out poorly prepared dried kidney beans are poisonous. Who knew apart from everyone I've told since? However T had his jabs on Tuesday and is sleeping poorly since, last night I was up 7 times between 11pm and 7am. Just a little bit tired today! T has had two naps so far, and is sleeping on me now with nipple attached. I've not managed to nap yet though, been getting stuff done instead - like hanging new curtains in our bedroom after the curtain pole snapped!

Sorry to hear about poorly babies, I hope they get better fast. I think I'll handle T's first illness badly. I get anxious and lots of nightmares just from the potential he'll react to the jabs. :(

Little, I spend my whole day pacing back and forth with T. Except he doesn't like the sling so I have to carry the heffalump in my arms. Still, I'll soon have muscles like Arnie. ;)

DH has brought me breakfast in bed and taken DD downstairs while he and DS eat breakfast so have a couple of minutes of having both hands free to say hello!

DD is a bit of a "nap-refusing wind-monster" too, Little, but thankfully she is great at sleeping at night. I tend to feed her about 9.30pm then we both go to sleep about 10pm, then she'll wake me for a couple of quick feeds overnight, before we get up for another feed at 6.30am. It is just the days that are a bit of a challenge at the moment, but she loves the sling and walking in the pushchair.

stacks, you must be tired. Hope T's sleep gets better soon. Keep eating lots of spinach - you'll look like Popeye in no time!

musical, hope a laundry fairy appears. The last time, DS had a vomiting bug we just spent the whole time in pyjamas (both of us) as it was just easier to change each time he was sick over me. Is she keeping much down?

too, we had a nursery nurse visit for a 1 year check to check that things were okay so it will be a list they go through. Do you have your red book? The list is in there somewhere. I am dreading DS's 2.5 year check that is coming up. He chats all the time with us and people he likes, but sometimes just doesn't speak at all. One of my closest friends has barely heard him speak, yet he chats away about all sorts with her teenage daughters, so it is not even as if he is shy and it is just that he doesn't chat with people he doesn't know. Anyway, I think children only need to have 50 words at the age of 2 and to be beginning to do 2 word sentences, so she has plenty of time.

scarlet, I saw Dr Ranj for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Gosh, if I had to work with him, I'd find him SOOOO annoying! I wonder if he makes balloon animals at work (or can even do balloon animals - perhaps it is all a trick for TV?!) DS, sadly, thinks after watching only a couple that he is great and has been singing the 'Get Well Soon' song since... How is DS now? And how are you doing?

Is raaboonah a name changer that I've missed or a newbie? Hello, whoever you are!

green, hope you are doing okay. Will we get FB photos of DS smiling? Please!

Hello, jaggy, ninja, and anyone else I've missed.

Having funny dreams in between each of my feeds. Night before last, I was 7 weeks pregnant already. I couldn't quite work out how I had managed that. (Perhaps it is a sign that I really need to decide what I am going to do about contraception. Not very keen on going back on to Cerazette as I worry that it contributed to low mood last time (although that might have been because feeding DS was so much difficult last time, so that made everything much more difficult) but don't think I am brave enough just to rely on BFing despite what the stats on LAM say.