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

[jaggythistle]

eh. attempt at new thread. yo.

Oh nuts, M just coughed herself awake again for the third time in 10 minutes. Go away, cough!

Yay, she resettled before I had to do anything! I foresee a bad night ahead, though.

I was about to wish all ye olde Englishe Brookerse a Happy St George's Day, with an additional or two just because I like the dragons.

Olives, yay for self-settling! Long may it continue.

Gen, how is it going now? Hope E is sleeping for longer than 5 mins now.

Munx! Welcome back!

Dream, how is S now? You poor thing, it seems to be one illness after another with him. There's one comfort - he's going to have the most cast-iron immune system EVER after all this. How are you getting on back at work? Isn't it bliss to be able to have a cup of tea in peace and actually finish it without it going cold? or is that just me?

Pomme, Brooking for you and DH. I know only too well the feeling that each of us thinks it's the other's fault. Moving your whole family to a different country must be incredibly stressful, and with such young children as well.

Scream, hope little A is settling a bit better tonight. I think you get today's Excellent Mummy prize for spending all night on the floor! By the way, I take M into bed with me now that she's bigger and it's not against the wall either - although it is quite big and low, and she's usually attached to my boob so can't go very far. She sort of knows to climb out feet first, but she can only manage it sometimes - sometimes she sticks with her feet waving in the air and can't get any further. And sometimes she just gets overexcited and goes headfirst.

Happy belated birthday to Jaggy's DS2!

As for my news, M has a really bad cough and keeps waking up coughing in the night. If she's up a lot tonight DH is going to see if he can take her to the doctor tomorrow.

Her walking has come on in leaps and bounds now and she can walk the length of the hall. I had her in John Lewis on Saturday walking along beside me holding my hand, which was very cute! So in your face, FIL!

I had a miserable night last night - up repeatedly, partly with M and partly because I once more have diarrhoea. Had to take the day off work today and I think they're getting pissed off with me. I can't help it! I'm not really sure at what point you go to the doctor and ask about diagnosis of something like IBS or Crohn's. Or how they diagnose it, come to that.

Morning. Still not much sleep here. I've stopped tracking the times T is waking up, it's just a bit depressing and not very helpful really. I think he's getting a little better but no overnight miracles yet.
He's adorable though, and worth it all. I'm really enjoying watching him grow and develop. He's 4 months now, it seems like such a long time, but also so so quick :) He can be hard work and so much more time consuming than I ever thought.

He's just woke up and us frantically chewing my hands. I'll try and get back soon to catch up with everyone else's news.

Too how is little M? I hope her cough is better, or that you got to see a helpful doc. The walking sounds very cute, well done M! I'd head to the doctor now if I were you, they may ask you to give a sample but I'm not sure. I think it's stool sample, then maybe a colonoscopy or barium follow-through. Might be something totally different though. Have you tried keeping a food diary?

Dream I hope things are better for you and yours. Poor little S.

We had quite a good night last night. I fell asleep feeding T on the bed (plan was to try him in his crib) at 7:30, and we both woke up at 11:15! Quick feed then he woke me up again at 1:30!! Much less settled after that, and was up for the day at about 6, but I got sleep!! Feel lots better for it today. However T has been quite trying the last couple of days. Crying and being miserable for most of the day. Refusing to feed properly, waking up from naps crying. I don't think he's in pain, as he can be distracted by taking him to a new room/window to look out. I'm finding it quite hard work though, and really trying my patience :(

He's waking again now. Waves to all.

Pomme have you planned to come back at all for a visit this year? Perhaps both of you could do with catching up and spending some time with friends. I imagine it's been horrendously stressful, coupled with the fact that you're a long way from people who care about you.

Scream I hope A had a lovely birthday yesterday. I cannot believe our little ones are turning one already. Did you do anything to celebrate?

We have a little family tea party planned for DD over the weekend, but I suspect I will feel a little sad with the realisation that our new baby days are long gone.

DD is struggling ith teething currently. . I've been up with her since 4.30

Hope the rest of you are all well? The thread is very quiet these days.

Just popping in briefly in an attempt to stay up-to-date! Autumn's birthday was lovely, I'll have to post pics of my efforts at a teddy bear cake! She's been "walking" (ish) for over a week now, but it's still very reluctant and requires edible bribes! I'm back at work today, (eek!), plus it's a super crucial week of negotiations on my potential new flat. So it's all a bit insane at my end!

How is everyone else doing? There have been some very cute pics on FB! I'll name check properly this eve, after STBXH collects LO.

Hi everyone. Hope we're all out enjoying some sunshine? It's been sunny here but so changeable! We had a massive hail storm the other day, with lovely warm sunshine 5 minutes either side . It's been horribly windy though, DS does not like wind. I've had to have the rain cover on the pushchair every time we go out to try and keep him warmer/dry in the wet spells/out of the wind.

DS has started with some challenging behaviour. Just shouting at me all the time, and seeming totally bored of my company. We've had a couple of bad car trips with lots of screaming too, which has kind of traumatised me and made me scared of taking him out much. Especially on my own. So I'm now isolated, with a bored baby who seems to hate my company, plus no sleep. Been feeling quite tearful with it all, hoping its not PND and just stressed/tired. So making an effort to look into local groups we can walk to, and just out walking in general.

Enough about me.

Scream good luck with work and flat this week. Brooking for you. It's good to hear things are looking up for you, and little A sounds so cute with her 'edible bribes' :)

Scarlet hope the teething is getting better? Or at least you're getting some more sleep.

Waves to everyone else.

Hi all, sorry for being such a rubbish brooker. We had a bad few weeks with Jude, but he is a changed baby now he's been diagnosed with silent reflux and is on gaviscon. It's amazing how many of them it seems to affect.
He is now a calm and content boy, despite his aversion to naps on the house!

Now the thread is back in my 'threads I'm on' I will catch up and name check next time.

scream and scarlet So both little A's are 1 now! Where on earth did that year go!! I hope more sleep is being had scarlet, teething sucks! How's work been today scream? What do you do? Sounds like a busy time indeed for you but your post sounds upbeat so I guess you're taking it all in your stride!
stacks Sorry you're finding it tough at the mo iirc then the age that little T is at is a classic time for frustration - they are more aware of everything but still really limited physically with what they can do so they get really frustrated. Its certainly not you that he's bored with but it sounds like a good plan to get out and about more and join some groups - DS1 always loved watching other babies when he was small. Im brooking no argument that you will be feeling brighter really soon
little Im so glad the gaviscon is working for J, it really is amazing stuff! How are you getting on actually giving it - T actually seems to quite like it now! Hopefully he'll start napping in the house very soon. T has stayed asleep in his buggy on a few occasions now after we've come in from the school run - today he napped for an hour while I pottered in the kitchen which is a real breakthrough!
We had our paeds gastro appt on Fri. They doubled his ranitidine dose and started him on domperidine but despite being an anti-sickness med it made him projectile vomit so we gave up on that after a few doses! He is much better on the meds but we still have this awful snorting/choking/coughing in the early hours of every morning after he feeds - its really horrible and distressing and is getting worse rather than better. He is absolutely full of mucous which then clears throughout the day only to build up again at night Im starting a 2 week trial of dairy free today to see if it makes a difference - the consultant we saw thought it was worth a try - im already craving cheese! We are also going to a cranial osteopath despite my skepticism im willing to try anything to help the poor little mite He's being brilliant in the evenings though - has self settled in his cot by 7.30 every night bar one over the last week which is fab!

Big waves and love to all.

And I have to say I was really impressed with the first session.with the cranial osteopath - there was a noticeable difference on the before and after photos and T seemed to love it - he was all calm and trance-like throughout!

Just a quick hello from me and to say Stacks that sounds really hard. I hope you find some nice activities which entertain T and which you enjoy too. Also, I'm sure whatever phase this is will pass - you're being a great mum and are doing a good job, whatever T says!

Little and Olives I'm glad the meds are helping. Hope things keep getting better.

Scream good luck with the flat negotiations! Well done to little A with the walking.

Scarlet hope those teeth come through pronto! How are you feeling atm (apart from tired!)? Hope DS has been well since the chicken pox. Has DD's skin recovered now?

Too how are you and M? I hope good health has returned to your household!

My big news is that I went to a job interview last week and got the post, so I'll be teaching (part-time still) at a new school in September. It's nearer, has a great reputation and I can escape my rubbish head of department and seems well-managed. Unfortunately it's only temporary for 1 year but I'm hoping that a staffing gap will open up and they'll keep me on. The one other issue is if I have DC2 I'll be out of work and have no maternity pay, but as I have yet to persuade DH to try for DC2, that seemed like a gamble worth taking. :)

Well Boo should be along here any minute so that should help Pet :)

Morning. I've got DS sleeping on me just now. We've had a couple of terrible nights - our worst ever. They're also the two nights I've tried giving him Gaviscon. Coincidence? I got sleep from 9-11pm and 4-6am, DS slept more than me but had an awful time of it, including two bouts of large volume projectile vomiting :( He's never screamed so much as he did last night.
I've been watching him today and am starting to wonder if he has his first cold. We've had more coughing and snot than usual, and a couple of sneezes producing green snot. Maybe it is a coincidence the last couple of nights have been so bad. Could a cold make reflux worse?

I need to read back again.

Little and Olives glad to hear gaviscon is working for you. It must have been Facebook I commented on about T. Doc, and now I, are convinced he's got silent reflux. Though the last couple of nights it's not been so 'silent'. Once I looked it up I realised it all fit - I just thought he couldn't have it really if he wasn't crying all the time. He never cries much, but has loads of other symptoms of it. I started dairy free on Monday too, though was naughty and had a slice of banoffee pie with cream last night. My goodbye to dairy...

Pet congratulations on the new teaching post. I think you've made a good decision getting away from your head of dept. fingers crossed a permanent position comes up for you.

Hope to see Boo here soon.

Waves to everyone else.

Could do with some nipple pad recommendations, just to get through the initial nip pain/shock of feeding. K is doing so well at it now, feeding from both sides (initially wouldn't latch on the left) but the first few sucks are really sore, her latch is good and Dr Google says this can be quite a normal thing but between milky leaks and lanisoh, peeling off a nipple pad can be quite daunting

Looking forward to catching up with past grads and getting to know new brookers (though I probably do 'know' you from FB I'm useless at keeping up with names) :):)

Yay! Boo is here! I'm using washable breast pads, but wouldn't recommend them for the early days as I keep sticking to them! Keep up the lansinoh.
Will be back for a proper catch up later.

Boo I bought breast shells (I think, lost track of all the terms) basically a soft silicone bit to sit on the breast with a hole for the nipple to poke through, then a hard plastic shell to go over the top protecting the nipple from anything touching it - oh and you can catch milk leaks in them. Link here. I actually used a different brand, just something I found in Boots. Great for around the house if not out and about (they're obvious unless under a bulky jumper).

Ooh, I will have a look at the shells, I was also thinking of maybe the lanisoh pads for out and about. The breast feeding support lady is coming out tomorrow so I will get her to double check her latch too.

Lovely to see you here boo
I just use Tesco disposable breast pads but my nipples have been fine this time thankfully so I haven't had to deal with them sticking to anything! So glad to hear little K is feeding well
stacks What dose of gaviscon is DS having? T is on one sachet 4 times a day (as if I give him the maximum 6 doses he ends up constipated) I only mix each sachet with 5 mls of water rather than the 15mls that the packet says. In fact I make up 4 sachets in 20mls in the morning so its all ready for when he feeds. The consultant I saw said its important to give it at the middle/end of a feed and not before a feed. I hope he settles down soon, reflux is horrible for them and us!

Oh and I give all the gaviscon in the daytime because im to lazy to faff with syringes of medicine at night!

too lazy not to

Bloody fucking vomiting doing my head in. s has it again, 5 days in again now. Puking into our bed at night, 3x this week, already done one full change tonight. Rargh! Had stool sample for culture and one for reducing substances now though. He's walking too, yay. B still not crawling or moving.

pet, sounds good! I hope you get made permanent or are pg again and just stay at home a bit longer . How's your ds?

stacks mine are both challenging, s more so. Our nanny, an ex nursery nurse, says he's one of the stroppiest babies she's ever looked after, and hard work. Such a relief to hear it not just me, and he's definitely worse for me anyway. It's not you. I am out a LOT or I find mine get bored and whingey/ shouty too. I think walkable baby groups sounds a good plan. My DD was miles better in her group 1 rf carseat too. If I'm out with boys and not her I put S in it now and he really likes it too! Hope the car thing settles, that's such a pain...

T has a bad cough/cold since yesterday (and probably the 2 nights before, hence them being so bad for sleep, but hidden by his usual reflux cough/snot). Luckily he doesn't seem too unhappy with it during the day, with plenty of smiles. However he's lost his voice which is kind of nice as he can't scream at me he can only make little squeaks now! I have to keep a close eye on his though, as its hard for him to catch my attention with crying.

We've actually not managed to get out to any new groups yet. Things have been busy and so tired. Though with T being ill he's sleeping a lot so yesterday was actually an easy day, even without sleep.

Olives I'll make an effort to give gaviscon during or after his feeds. It's so much harder though as he fights it much more that way, which obviously waking him from his post feed sleepy. T is just got the standard prescription - 2 sachets up to 6 times a day. I've not used it much yet, just one dose at bedtime (before feed) for the last 3 days. Just gave him one mid feed now, which he was not happy about.

Dream I've been thinking of getting a new carseat. He's in his travel system one still but his feet dangle off the end slightly now. I also want a new pushchair for him - expensive month coming up. Sorry to hear about more sickness, you've had such bad luck. You totally deserve a real break, do you play the lottery? You're owed a roll over jackpot win!

Boo hope the breastfeeding lady is helpful. It took a little while for the latch/early feed to stop hurting. It got slowly better, but I think week 3 was the hardest, week 2 the easiest. Enjoy snuggles I'm already jealous of newborn snuggles :)