October 2012... PELVIC FLOORS!

[Londonmrss]

Ready...
Steady...
And squeeze!

for smorgs and huffle. That feeling of 'why won't you FUCKING SLEEP?' is so hard to cope with and it's often the moment you need to step away for a minute to breathe. As cherry mentioned below, they're probably going through some amazing developmental stage and you'll hopefully feel it was worth it once it's over. This too shall pass. Can you demand some help / a break / a nap from your other halves?

Morning all. On the sleep regression/week 17 wonder week. Ours lasted about 10 days to 2 weeks. I remember it being horrendous at the time, but now it's just a distant memory and all is good again. We're on 21 weeks today, but DS was 2 weeks late so wonder week 17 is actually wk 19 for us. (It's all very confusing!)

For those of you not on the FB group, I got a BFP last week!! I think I'm actually mental. All I can hope is that everything goes a smoothly as it did with DS.

Sympathies Smorgs and Huffle. I really hope this stage is over for you very soon.
The med thing sounds like such a pain in the arse Smorgs, I don't know what I'd do, sorry.
Tea all round

I think I may have been misrepresenting Jess as a good sleeper...

Last night she went down at 7 as usual, stirred (without waking) at 9, 10, 12, 2, was unable to re-settle at 3.30 so fed her, fed again at 5 and 7 and then got up (she's still in bed thrashing around)

Is that a good sleeper? She doesn't wake and she doesn't cry and sometimes I think it's just me being too sensitive and attending to her unnecessarily... I don't do a lot, just put a hand on her chest and put the dummy back in if it's out, but obviously it wakes me up.

So last night was worse than usual, and she does sometimes do the 7-4 stretch without flailing around whimpering, but she has been pretty restless of late, and her first feed has crept back from 5am to 3.30am over the last few weeks. I am tired. yawn.

I don't know, I also think I had VERY LOW expectations of how a baby would sleep (my nephew was awful until he was 2) and so any amount of sleep seems great, also I slept terribly pre-baby and have actually been sleeping better since so I always seem so bloody chipper and you probably want to punch me.

Repeat: Everything is a phase...

Had a fantastic weekend with my mates though, going to spa and then cooked a meal for us all saturday night, lunch out sunday, games with jess, my mate is doing a massage course so had a practise hour or two on me, and we actually got to go do some girly shopping in H&M and river island and so on while the boys watched sport with the baby, and I am back in size 10s pretty much, so now the shopping conundrum is finding cute things that I can breastfeed in... LOVELY weekend

So don't mean to complain, just saying the sleep is not so brilliant around here either...

Jason Bourne, heh heh. DH works for a well-known management consultancy. Between us we're in contention for the Most Hated Professions top spot. Or were, until tweetgate last week.

I love you all so much. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't come on here to sound off. Must get up.

Squid, I am going to drag them both to H&M and Zara this week if it kills me! I need new trousers.... I can get away with lots of old tops but trouser shapes have narrowed so much since I had DD that everything looks frumpy.

Don't get up Elpis, hang out with us and join in the whinging!
I'm not sure if I actually got round to saying to you how sorry I am about your job. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the guardian and somehow your story doesn't surprise me. I am so sorry though, and with DH away it must seem like the most stressful time...
(I laughed at Jason Bourne)

A mate of mine has had a prem baby who I am going to see tonight... his wife went into labour at 33 weeks and baby M is doing really well considering, he is 4lb which is a great weight for that gestation. They are still in hospital so going up this evening - boyfriend went last week, obviously we can't take Jess whilst they are still in hospital, so we are having to take turns. 4lb!! Can you imagine how tiny.

I am going to take them in nice food to replace the hospital food, some of Jess's smallest newborn clothes (I did buy a few "tiny baby" 7lb outfits for her in the first couple of weeks), my cartoon breastfeeding book for if she's breastfeeding (not sure)... I sent card & presents with the boyfriend the other day. Any other ideas? She had a section. Not sure what would be helpful. I don't really know her, it's the husband who's my friend (more my boyfriend's mate). They don't have family nearby so when they're home I'll see if I can pop over and help out practically, hard to know what would be helpful in hospital.

She has requested I put my doctor hat on and discharge them, hah! They sound a bit fed up. (Which is better than scared shitless about your prem baby's health, but still.)

squid I think food is definitely the way forward. My mum made us cottage pie and fish pie and other healthy, warming food when we got home and it was much appreciated.

We're still resting in bed after not so good a nights sleep as well. Have no plans today so going to be lazy. Love maternity leave.

I've just signed up for my first nobby mum and baby group- baby sensory. Start in a couple of weeks.

But you see I don't think this is a phase. I think this is his sleep pattern. Yes, we had a horrific 10 days of hourly, but this 2-3 hour shite has been going on for at least 5 weeks. I am so fecking tired. Work is looming. DH offers but tbh he is trying to get our house finished. Hard physical stuff like laying patio and fitting kitchen now, can't afford for him to be exhausted too. And the wakings are getting longer. Before he would wake and feed and be asleep all within half hour. Last night I was up for nearly 2 hours in one session.

Sigh.

Sorry.

Self pity.

Sniff sniff.

And actually I am currently taking inspiration from Yomping and trying to let him grizzle in cot for morning nap. But grizzling is becoming crying. And shouting. Ahhh, I'm too old for this.

congrats mik!! welcome cat! on phone, plz forgive name abbreviations, can't check spelling.
huffle*, thinking of u, sleep situation sounds shite, especially with work looming.
squid, 330 wakening sounds nasty! have u tried dream feed? i was against as didn't want to mess with good sleeping, but b/f advisor suggested it when i contacted her following hv's concern with drop in weight gain. prevoius 830-9 get up time had also edged back to 530/6. was delighted to find drream feed caused no probs with sleep, dd was only half awake, no probs with re-settling & wake up time moved back to 7/730 . false alarm ( i hope) on 4 month sleep regression. dd has a cold. normal sleep returned last nite. someone asked about feeding... we were doing about 7 a day. b/f advisor reckons at 3 & a half months they should still be doing 8-10 inc at least one overnite feed. i refuse to wake her so we compromised on adding dream feed so we r on 8, occasionally 9 now.

huffle, that does sound exhausting. Have you got any family near who can take him for a bit? You'll feel so much better if you manage to catch up on a bit of sleep.

Even if this is his sleep pattern, it will change. We went from 2 hourly waking to 6 hours literally overnight at 7 weeks. Then back to 2 for a bit, then back to 6. You will sleep again, I promise. You just have to survive this bit. If there isn't anyone who can hell right not, you have to say fuck everything else (work, housework, baby groups, whatever) and just close your eyes whenever he does. I assume DH will be doing mist of the nightshift when you go back to work?

Is the formula making any difference sleepwise? Don't forget that everything changes so quickly- for better and for worse. Soon we'll be weaning and that might make a difference to sleep too.

smorgs, how are you feeling now love?

Hi everyone

Elpis that is shit about your job I hope you are OK, esp with your DH AKA Jason Bourne away just now. Had to sympathise re the theatre poonami. Erin was christened yesterday and I stuffed loads of cotton wool down the back of her nappy to try to avoid the poo explosion (luckily was not needed although fun to see the ministers face if she had [evil grin] )

Huffle Smorgs sorry to hear about your sleepless nights, it is so hard when they just won't go down.

CWest I hope all is well with your DD, I always try to say to myself when waiting for results to 'try not to worry until you know there is something to worry about' - as all may be well and they could just be being cautious. Not easy to do though.

Squid I am jealous of your spa day. I don't think I'm brave enough to take Erin to a spa, so I'm a bit pissed off that I'm such a nervous ninny. I also would need serious de-fuzzing before attempting swimwear You must be a light sleeper to hear Jess stirring in the night - I can sympathise with the insomnia though - I have been lying awake the last few nights for some reason - most frustrating when Erin is asleep (although she is noisy rumbling around in her cot but I must normally sleep though it)

Beccus that's good your DP wrote to the pub. I would have been mortified if someone had told me not to BF too - although would have replayed it over and over afterwards, coming up with an appropriate response that I should have thought of at the time (but in reality may have burst into tears and scurried away) I have once sat on a nappy bin in the baby change to feed Erin as she was screaming and milk was spraying everywhere and my father in law was sitting opposite looking most unsettled and everyone in the restaurant was looking and I was just getting hotter and hotter so just escaped.

Smiley hope you are feeling a bit better today and your poor DD too

Posted halfway in case website goes down and I lose an epic post...

Cavatina and Horsey hello

Zara I had to laugh at DH rolling DS on the floor to encourage him!

Huffle good that your combination feeding is going well. I'm aiming to do that when I go back to work and just keep the morning/eve BF. I've enjoyed BF and it has been convenient (apart from doing in public but that's my stupid embarrassment issues). I am looking forward to a bit more freedom once weaning starts (not looking forward to pooey smelly nappies - for every positive there is a negative eh?) I also agree with London above that the sleep thing will change and it is just trying to cope with it just now.

Mikya congrats on your BFP

Erin is being particularly cute and lovely just now - babbling, smiling, starting to chuckle and being good at afternoon napping if I put her in the pram. She is sleeping mostly through the night - going down about 8pm, sometimes waking at 3am, sometimes not, and up for the day between 7am and 8am. I am totally sympathetic to anyone that is still having frequent night wakings and it is total luck as I'm not doing anything at all really to achieve this - no sleep 'training'. I have done dream feeds but find that that just means she wakes at 4 or 5am and then won't go back down again and I can't get back to sleep either so 3am works better with no dream feed. I am feeding her for about 45 mins at night - she drains both boobs and is really really sleepy when I put her down. But I can put her down awake and on a good day she will settle in her cot with me 'shooshing' at her from a distance if it's dark (lazing reading MN on our bed) and if not then DH rocks her to sleep in his arms.

Best go now, Erin's patience in the baby gym is waning and she's moany crying....

Hugs to those with sleep issues.

That's about all I have!!! Had more lambs overnight one sheep left to go!!! Three orphans this year and one who didn't make it. To date. FC lanky sheep has hers ok?!

thank you all for welcoming me inyour friendly group.
Cherry massive respect for bringing DS in Tokyo is a tough city to live in with a baby! My other two DC are in their early twenties
Re: sleep, I just give up in trying to figure out what I am doing wrong so babyCava cannot sleep through, seems like she is very similar to babyElpis in her sleeping so we are coping (only just..). There is hope as my friend's boy changed dramatically since he started eating proper food at 6 months (the carbs found him:). But Huffle it is exhausting I just dont know how it could be fixed..
Elpis drink, IME is hormonal I would get terrible headaches etc while bf + tiredness does not help, and actually I had the same problem with the horrible Mirena too, enjoyment will come back I am sure! I am very sorry to hear about your job, I also love/hate the Guardian but still the only paper we buy..
BabyCava and I also signed up for baby sensorym it would be interesting to compare notes.
Not sure whether any of you listened to Desert Island Disks this Sunday, The guest was an interesting woman, Uta Frith, a developmental phychologist done a lot of work on autism, she said we mothers feel guilty all the time about whether we are doing enough/the right thing for our children and we think that if we do everything right(whatever it may be) we will have the perfect child, but evidently it is not how it works. My two other children turned out ok (so far..) they did very well at school/uni, are a lot of fun and the best company, but frankly I have no idea what I did/ what I was doing when bringing them up (and I did their most formative years on my own.. ). I tried to get to know them and it was quite a journey (+ most important advise I was given by a very wise old woman is never to compare children!) I am not sure how helpful this is, but I hopenit gives us, exhausted and sleep deprived as we are, some perspective.
BabyCava and I are off to baby yoga- she is currently sleeping in her pram outside Scandinavian style, while I am having a cuppa inside (bad mama)
wishing everyone a pieceful week

I know Uta - I did my PhD in the same institution. She's a phenomenal scientist, and possibly one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.

is there a 5 month sleep regression? [knackered emoticon]

yomping you ok?

crazy as far as I can tell they can growth spurt and regress at anytime they feel like it!!

I downloaded the wonder weeks and while interesting in terms of what they can ish do at any given point it's very general and I'm convinced the leaps arent as huge has they make them out to be. Ds yesterday decided to pass an object between his hands. Then drop it. He's def more interested in 'toys' but shows the same amount of increased interest in my food and the dogs.

I do like the stormy and sunny terminology though!!

Right final jab time. I've been ok before about them, today I feel sick :(

People in the shop just now kept saying how small Jess was. Whatever. Nobbers. "She's small, isn't she...?" - looking at me as if I would explain the reason why my baby is not massive. I just beam and say "she's BRILLIANT!"

She was getting fretty so I bf her just past the tills. Doing my bit for normalising public breastfeeding... that hair-raising moment when you realise you forgot to pop a muslin in your bag and pray for baby not to vomit. It was ok. An old lady sat beside me and told me she looked more like 2 or3 months and then got me to help her add up all the items on the reciept. THEY DO THAT AUTOMATICALLY, OLD LADY - that's what the number at the end is.

(Love old people really.)

Wearing my favourite pair of shorts today. (With tights, obviously.) That has cheered me up. Also got dates for my favourite music festival this summer, woo! Can't imagine sunshine right now....

Hope everyone's day is going ok. I think mondays are the day when I most appreciate not being at work.

I struck little one in front of cbeebies just now because she's being really hard work today. I've never done that before- we never really switch on our tv (I work in tv so I don't watch it). After about 2 minutes I felt like I was high on acid and I think most of the presenters might be serial killers.

Beating your children now eh Londonmrss... shame on you ...

I have watched my fair share of cbeebies with the nephews and niece. It is really nuts, and, also, really tedious - planning to avoid that as long as possible!!