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

[jaggythistle]

eh. attempt at new thread. yo.

T still not really sleeping, every 2 hours on a good night, every hour on a bad one. He's mostly over his cold but is refusing my efforts to get him sleeping in his pram overnight. I'm going to see about setting up a cheap cot strapped to our bed so I can start scooting him onto that after a feed. Maybe co sleeping is disturbing him.
We got out today, and yesterday, but I've been so tired I can't say it was enjoyable really. T didn't really behave all that well either, still shouty and bored. I can't wait for him to get a bit more mobile so he can drag himself round the house! He better turn out to be the next Einstein, the number of people that say "oh that just means he'll be intelligent".

Right. Am here. Sort of. My body is anyway. My brain gave up the ghost a good while ago!

DH has been in America this week with my dad for work so I have been in sole charge of the office in Italy, the office in the UK and two small children. One small child had MMR on Monday and the other one had a school sports day show thing on weds am and both only have childcare in the am.

Slightly challenging but dh due home in two hours. With jetlag and a tummy bug apparently. Boo.

We are coming home for July and August, we can work from the UK office and I can see my house and my friends. I am excited although the nanny I found pulled out so now am slightly panicking about childcare. Dh and I are slightly better but things are now shit with the in laws who were out here for a week before he went to the US. Grrr.

A is also going through a really clingy patch and Im finding it soooo hard!

Anyway enough of me, sorry to hear about the sleep stacks. It's shit isn't it? Just reading your post takes me back. it does get better, promise.

Yay for scarlet feeling better.

Boo for your tummy issues Too. Dh has IBS and it's bad. He did lots of tests 15 years ago which showed up nothing and he know refuses to go anywhere near a docs about it but I've read about lots of things they can do nowadays - like very low level anti ds etc. Hope it gets better/you get help.

Sorry for the essay and the me me me.

Ill try and post more regularly at some point!

I'm still around, just getting into a rhythm with K, still smarting a bit from the weight gain thing but starting to relax and enjoy her a lot more. I'm sure I will be posting more when I'm awake and coherent soon

K had to have blood tests done today because of the drugs I took in pg for my thyroid but they couldn't get enough blood from her, poor little thing was really really distressed that they kept trying :( we are going back on Sunday for them to have another go :( I think I will try feeding her to distract her from the goings on this time.

Oh god, Boo, blood tests are hideous. M had a few blood tests for jaundice and kidney function in her first few weeks and they were awful. My favourite was the nurse who, after trying and failing to get blood from both hands and a foot when M was a week old, said 'she'll be one of those babies who screams so hard she chokes'. I'll never know how I managed not to slap her and then run away with tiny screaming M.

I'll try to make more of an effort to come on here

Thanks Too, hideous is the word for them!! Poor babies, they tried both her heels and then needle in the back of her hand and her wrist :( I very nearly picked her up and ran away too.

Hopefully it goes better tomorrow and that her results are fine otherwise she will have to have a re test.

On the plus side, she is still a dream :):)

Stacks I wish there was an answer that would resolve T's sleep habits, but I will just send you brooking hugs instead. J has had a bad week sleep-wise too, but not as tough as every 1 or 2 hourly wakings, so I won't complain.

Boo, good to see you here, hope feeding and weight gain have sorted themselves out?

Pomme your life sounds so hectic! Great that you get to come home in the summer though.

Too the amount of fluid I am meant to give J with the gaviscon is 15ml 6 times a day, which I think is a huge amount. Certainly enough to fill a tiny stomach with no calories. Anyway, he's on ranitidine now, which is so much easier to give him. I think it's working, not entirely sure though.

Dream are you lurking? Any news on Sebs tests?

The lack of sleep isn't as bad as his being grumpy. At play group this week there was a baby the same age. He was happy laying on the mat playing for a good 15-20mins while his mum chatted. Then she picked him up and just held him over her shoulder while she talked more - her son didn't scream or tantrum once. Meanwhile I was walking Thomas round in circles, trying to find things to distract him from shouting and screaming in boredom/frustration. Oh for 10 minutes when I get to sit still without listening to him being grumpy at the same time! All his nap times are spent desperately doing things I can't while he's awake, like peeing/eating or housework and mumsnet.

Little, I think gaviscon thickens the milk in their stomach, making them feel full for longer? I've heard tales of mums making up a formula feed with gaviscon to give later - only to find its completely solidified the formula making it impossible to drink.

Look up wonder weeks on the net stacks and see if he's in a 'leap'. Who knows if its true or not but sometimes it does coincide and it makes you feel better that it will pass.

stacks It might be worth trying the gaviscon again. T sounds very much like my T was before had it - constantly crying and generally discontented. Within 48 hours of starting it (4 single sachet doses a day) he was a different baby. He now only really cries when he's tired or if I've missed earlier hunger cues and he's starving. He also sleeps much better in the day (not sure if that's meds or the fact he's a bit older though!) Is T feeding with all his night wakings? I know some babies comfort feed with silent reflux as it soothes the pain so this may also be linked. Or none of it might be linked!! It might just be worth a try to see if it helps? On the cot front DH just adapted our ikea cot so it fits onto the side of our bed. He just took the side off and drilled new holes for the cot base to sit at the same level as our bed then we just push the bedside table against the other side of it so it stays in position (he did put clips on to attach it but we've not needed to use them)

Sorry not to name check everyone else but im on phone and can't remember who said what!!

Im suffering a bit with the baby blues - feeling quite overwhelmed by having to be with T 24/7 because of feeding but then feeling massively guilty about even thinking about stopping breast feeding DS1 also has a mild dose of chicken pox (thought he had a handful of bites on Wednesday but in actual fact he now has around 15 classic pox marks) so he's probably infected most of his class as well as DS2!! And we are off on holiday in 9 days so T may well come down with it whilst we're in Turkey which is less than ideal Any ideas whether he'll still have some placental immunity or some from being ebf?

Green, sorry to here about the baby blues :( I think it's natural to be a bit up and down - I am with one, let alone with two little 'uns to balance. Poor poor DS1 :( Brooking hard that DS2 won't come down with it, and especially not when you're on holiday. Are the blues a constant thing? Is it worth mentioning to your GP..? Alternatively, can you do something small every day that's blues-busting? I find myself slumping every now and again, but take some time out to do something lovely to pick myself up again. Can you not let your other half look after them while you go out for an hour or two to have some time for yourself?

Stacks, sorry to hear about T's grumpiness. The gaviscon again might be an idea, as others have said? Brooking that it's just a very short phase - that and the sleeping!

Pomme, hurrah for a couple of months back in the UK! You sound so busy though. Rubbish about the in laws - but glad things are slightly better between you and DH.

Boo, hope things went ok with K at the doctors today :( :(

All's good here. Iz's birthday is on Friday - eeeek! DH is up north for the rest of the week though, so a little bit lonely here - will fill the week with baby groups to keep her entertained! Need to have a bit of a think about sleep I think - she's being very good now and only waking up once a night normally, very occasionally sleeping through. She seems to need feeding when she wakes up, which is fine - not got a problem with that. However, she then takes ages to go back down - sometimes falls asleep while BFing, then wakes up when I try to put her down etc etc. She can self settle when she wakes up (if not hungry!), but seems to not want to in the middle of the night after feeding, and the wake ups are often an hour long when they only need to be 20 mins max. Maybe I'll have to try something like gradual retreat..?

Also.. seem to be hemorrhaging money at the moment. Why's life so expensive?!

Just popping my head in to apologise for being an appalling No Brooker and shirking my posting obligations. I'm just sooooooooooo busy right now (new flat completing on Friday - yay, STBXH's flat has fallen through though - boo: official childcare nightmare).

I'm thinking of you all though, I hope all ill mini-Brookers get better asap, all non-sleeping mini-Brookers start sleeping through immediately, and all other stressful issues affecting No Brookers can just bugger off thank you very much.

Poor little A has been suffering some viciously high temperatures for the last 4 days, she's 12 days post-MMR now. On the good news front, she's been walking properly for a couple of weeks now, although she still prefers to hold onto stuff whilst walking. I'm a wreck after being back at work for two weeks, still no nursery place for little A, a nightmare of stress last week in the run up to exchanging on the flat, and since Friday I've been super ill with 40C temps and puking. Next week I have a big project at work, I complete on the flat and immediately kick off the redecoration project, oh and STBXH will become officially homeless so won't be able to have little A overnight at all for the next few weeks. Bring it on!

p.s. So I might be a fairly sporadic No Brooker for a while. I hope to be back properly around the same time I hope to move into my flat - mid June ish.

Thanks musical I may well mention it to my gp if it continues. DH is great and took both the boys over to his dad's yesterday but I always end up doing practical things like ironing when I get the odd hour to myself - think I need to spend that time doing something nicer!! Can't believe Iz will be 1 soon! Hope she has a fabulous birthday Completely sympathize with the haemorrhaging money thing - maternity pay is already biting here!

scream Oh my goodness that is a busy busy time you have ahead!! Really hope you and A are fighting fit asap - illness needs to bugger off quick smart!

Love and waves to all

Good grief I've missed so much! Holiday for a week, no signal therefore no mn... 'Holiday'. Exhausted.

Anyway, really sorry I've no time for more but S's poo results are back, no virus/bacteria/parasite so d&v is ?? intolerance related, he's dairy free again, as am I, he's started domperidone as well as his ranitidine and so far hasn't been sick once on it. Not even his favourite 4am into-our-bed one. Referred onto dietetics and paediatrics now though. He's a titch compared to his brother. Genetics or puking related, who knows?!

scream, eeek, horrendously over busy for you. Just keep going for a few more weeks my lovely!

Oh, crap, s up again. Seriously. stacks as a mum of seriously hard work babies with a non sleeper I feel your pain. Grim, grim grim. If its any consolation s is now a proper won't hold your hand toddler, can say 'baa' 'moo, rargh, oink and do a clip clop type noise with his tongue for a horse appropriately, can point out loads of things in books, mimics everything you do and has about 6 baby signs. It is improving except the sleep but NO WAY would he ever have lain while I chatted for 20 minutes. He's a faster developer than my others, definitely, though dh told me his colleague had looked into some studies of early walkers/talkers/ developers and there's no correlation with academic success. This cheers me up a lot as b still can't move. At all. He can animal noise and is starting a sign or two, maybe, though. Certainly not an early developer . He's the most sensitive and 'tuned in' of my three though.

And olives, I hope you're ok.

It is overwhelming in so many ways having a boob dependent baby. I loved it with DD but found it a worry/tie/ chore with the boys which is sad but true. He's so little. Walking is the answer, I'm telling you, my life is so much better with one walking!!!

B does kamikaze walking though...just let's go and launches himself. He's hopeless, can only do 6 steps at best and if you don't catch him he's falling head first with momentum, or flat back (sound familar anyone?!) Argh!! He took a couple of big falls today. Traumatic.

pomme, bloody hell, you are amazing. That is all

Oh my, that was waffly, and self centred and rubbish...

I'll try harder next time brookers, sorry.

Leaves

Great news about the domperidone working Dream. Dd had her preschool boosters last week and ds his 3 month jabs on Monday, and both have had the vomiting side effect. I can't imagine how exhausting it must be when it's a daily occurrence.

Taking ds to be weighed shortly to make sure he's not still dropping down the centiles, will update later.

Home luck with the weight Little I know how worrying that is, though K seems to be putting it on now, hopefully getting discharged from the mw tomorrow if she is still increasing.

I have a quick feeding question. K has started leaking milk out of her nose during a feed, it is worse when she is on the left breast. Could it be my supply, too much, too fast? Has anyone else come across this? It doesn't seem to bother her at all, it makes her sneeze a bit after the feed though (she also sneezes milk out her nose too)

boo Not sure about that, haven't noticed it happening with T, probably is just a sign of good supply/fast letdown after all your hardwork increasing supply! Glad she's gaining weight now.
Little Hope weigh in went ok. T has dropped further, he's between 50th and 75th now after starting life on 99th but health visitor's not worried as he's otherwise ok and she just thinks he's finding his natural size now. He's 13lbs 13oz now at 11 weeks - DS1 weighed that at 7 weeks I need to stop comparing them as its not helpful!
Dream So glad the domperidone is working wonders with S. At least with no vomiting that's one less thing to take up your time, particularly during the night. Bizarrely domperidone actually made T throw up!! It turned his silent reflux into full on vomiting so we knocked that on the head sharpish!
We're hoping we've reached the peak of chicken pox here. M is very itchy and very tired but he's eaten some tea and been interested in playing over the last hour (although that may be the magic of his Auntie who has popped in to see him - he adores her! ) Either way im hoping for a better night for all our sakes

Argh! I am still being a bad brooker and not posting enough! Rubbish excuse, but I hate typing on my phone and rarely get to wrestle the ipad from DH or DD to use it myself!

I will try to catch up a bit...

Olives, so sorry to hear of DS1's chicken pox. It looks v nasty, so I'm brooking he will be over the worst soon and get more sleep tonight. You need to look after yourself more. That sounds like a diamond DH that you have, so next time he takes the boys, you must use the time to have a bath, sleep, read a book, eat some chocolate or whatever appeals to you! I hope DS2 is showing improvement now with the new drugs.

Boo, I don't have any advice re the milk coming from DD's nose, but it probably is just your awesome supply. I don't know if its true, but a couple of us have noticed that we seem to have more milk for subsequent babies than we did previously. I seem to anyway, and my let down seems quicker as I still have leaks every day. Well done you for the weight gain. It does sound like your midwives have been quite over zealous in their monitoring of you both. I guess some just like to do it by the book. Like I said on your other thread, my DD lost over 10% but I stuck to my guns with the BFing and I'm glad I did. Sounds like you are doing a great job too. But then again, there's nothing wrong with a bit of formula supplementation or indeed switching to FF.

Little, how was DS's weigh in today? Is he getting better with the meds? Hope you are doing ok.

Dream, did you go away for your holiday? Things still sound so tough for you! It's exciting to hear of the DTs walking and other developments. It all goes so quickly! Any more thoughts re night weaning or sleep training now you have some more insight into S's vomiting? Or is it just too overwhelming? So sorry you have to properly give up dairy, but I seem to recall you had some alternatives to chocolate didn't you? How is work going too?

Scream, sorry you have so much to contend with at the moment. You know from FB that we are all brooking like billyo.

Musical, how exciting re DD's first birthday! What have you got planned? Re the night wakings when she's not hungry, have you tried just a quick visit to her, lie her back down, whisper night night and leave again without offering milk? I did that with DD when I was fairly sure it was habit waking her rather than hunger and it worked in that she stopped waking up!

Stacks, sounds like you DS is a very nosy/interested baby, which is no bad thing! How is his sleep these days? Brooking it has improved from the frequent wakings he was doing a while ago.

How's everyone else, rubber, too, pomme, scarlet, jaggy, ninja, argh... Names escape me!

Will post this, then do a me me me.

So, DS is now 4.5 months, I can't believe how quickly it's going. He's still a very happy soul. He had a phase of waking at night more frequently and fussing when I put him to bed, but fingers crossed, this has passed and he is back to going to bed 730 ish, I wake him up to feed before I go to bed, the he usually just wakes once in the night for a feed. I feel very lucky. He's not sitting or rolling or anything yet, but his head control is good. I really need to do more tummy time with him, but life just seems so busy.

DH's dad still really ill and DH is still away a lot visiting his parents, but we're actually on hols this week as I was determined we needed some family time and it is doing us the world of good. I found a cottage in South Wales only last Thursday and on Saturday we travelled down. Very spontaneous and unlike me! It's lovely here, but the weather has been a bit changeable!

Oh and my other news is that there will definitely not be any more Generic babies as DH had the snip a couple of weeks ago. I felt it was a bit soon if I'm honest, although I am certain I don't want any more children, it just seemed really quick after DS came along. A bit strange and hard to describe why I felt like that. I'm still on the mini pill for now until DH gets the all clear, but this takes 14 weeks or so.

PS, Dream did you know that Sweetie is now pregnant with twins? She may value your input on the ante natal thread. Yes I still lurk and occasionally post there and in conception. I just love it when a brooker gets some good news!

No time for more, but ooooh, more Brooking twins!! god help her . I have very difficult babies, my input may be useless...

How is Ds1 now Green? Hope you all had a better night. Did you speak with the gp about chances of ds2 getting it?

I love the sound of the spontaneous holiday Gen, though the packing must have been a bit manic!

Boo, I don't have any advice about the milk issue, but Purple, who doesn't post on here any more, is a breastfeeding advisor (is that the right term?) and she's in the fb group. I won't put her rl name on here, but she always gives lots of advice to bf problems posted on the fb group

J now weighs 13lb 11oz, and is 13 weeks today, which puts him still just under the 50th centile, which is fine as he's not dropped anymore

We've had a couple of good nights with him as he has settled so much quicker after feeds. He generally feeds twice a night, but I usually have to sit with him for ages after, because if I put him straight down he fidgets and ends up waking. I thought it was from the reflux, so we've always had the end of the Moses basket raised. But the past few night we haven't bothered raising it, and he's settled brilliantly!? I think he was uncomfortable, as he was sliding down and getting a bit squashed bless him! He's nearly outgrown it anyway, so I think we'll be getting the cot out of the loft at the weekend.

DS1 is a bit brighter today thanks little, very scabie and spotty though and still struggling with the itching. He still seems to have new spots appearing too although they are crusting more quickly now. Glad to hear that J is following his centile nicely now, love the smiley photo on FB
Gen Your holiday pics on FB look great too, glad you're getting some nice family time. How is DH coping with his dad's illness? It must be so hard.
On the vasectomy front I was wondering how much it costs if you don't mind me asking? It's the likely option in this house too but I know what you mean about it feeling quite quick post DC2, I'm certain I don't want more children but the finality of a vasectomy is a bit scary.

Well DH stayed at home with the boys this morning whilst I had my hair cut using a groupon. For the bargain price of £16 I had a deep conditioning treatment, scalp massage and cut/blow dry. So lovely to be pampered, it's really lifted my mood

Little, that's great re DS's weight and sleeping. V cute photo on FB too.

Olives, still brooking the pox leaves your house soon. And that it leaves T alone. The vasectomy was done on the NHS so we didn't pay a penny.

DH coping ok but he is a bottler upper so I have to keep checking if he's ok.