November 2012 - The thread where it all starts to get easier. Pretty please?

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1703340-November-2012-Four-months-Oh-no-the-dreaded-sleep-regression

pr yeah just fished it out "baby must be awake nappy changed and feeding no later than 7am" you then feed at 11 2.15 6pm and 10.30 ... gf tells you when to open and close the curtains!
this strictness may work for some believe hooks oliver does it.
I will have a read through later some of the advice and see if there is anything worth posting... as fairi said there is usually something worth taking from each book though gf does say you have to follow her strictly think that's one of the reasons gf is like a dirty word on mn..and will put some pics on fbook maybe could have a library page ... the amount of money I could end up spending on books hoping each one is the answer is recockulus!
my dad will be here soon dd has gone back to sleep and I'm going to have a nap (try to anyway)... I will probably get a row as I am in my pj still and there are some dishes in the sink ... you would never guess I'm 32 and moved out 12 years ago!

It definitely won't work then for us - we don't have curtains :o

I'll just make something up. They are quite easy children just need to sort the evening sleepy time for DD1.

PR I used the GF routine as a basis for what, approximately, the day should look like, but didnt follow to the letter. Good if you can take what you want and leave what you dont, IMVHO.

DD thrived on a GF routine. DS not there yet, am much more go with the flow with him, but there's no way he could wait 4 hours between feeds. He is a big hungry boy, can manage 3.5 hours at best, and that's only since I switched to the hungry milk and upped the offering to 8oz a time. Have been doing EASY routine ish, but last few days he has shown an inclinatin to have a big nap after midday bottle, and only a 5-10 min doze in the afternoon.

My own belief is that routine should be a balance between the baby's natural cycles and what you yourself prefer. I like structure, order, and cant cope with chaos! GF was all about what I needed. Now I have DS, I realise that it suited DD but doesnt work precisely the same way for DS. But some of the principles are good, e.g. offering them all the milk they need between 7-7, and maximum sleep during day etc. I also dont beat myself up if it doesnt work, just pull it all back for bedtime.

Oh, and some advice needed please stupid question alert! If DS keeps leaking poo, and I am happy with the nappy brand, does that mean I need the next size up? He is 19wo, got to be well on the way to 17lbs not weighed him for weeks and size 3s dont seem to be doing it anymore. We use Aldi nappies. Could he really be needing size 4s?

madame smaller size nappies are better able to absorb liquid poo as they are made to do so. Bigger sizes are also more expensive. I think with disposables there will be leaks. I prefer washables as less leaks, but have given up at the moment as I have had an unhappy baby to deal with and they would be left fermenting if I had used them again.

thanks VQ, good to know. Has just been a marked difference in leaking incidents in last few days. Guess its just one of those things!

Morning everyone,

Haven't had a chance to read since last night, so will try to catch up during next nap time. If he actually bloody sleeps. Or feeds.

Nothing to add from me today, except to say I am struggling and I really hope things do get easier soon.

I was up actually VQ. DP in work early. D'oh! School run for me. Except DS1 decided just before we left to start feeling unwell, and burned up a fever. Excellent. Just what I needed!

So no baby swimming for us today. Stuck on sofa with 2 demanding children. Grrrr.

On the plus side, its raining, so I'm quite happy not leaving the house!

Not the worst night, up at 1, and 6 feeding 6oz each time! Then up for the day at 7.30. He's on his second nap now. He was unsettled from 6-7.30 though, and was in with me.

He is also on his 5th change of clothes I've given up on babygrows, he's in a vest only! bibs do nothing. He'd have to wear a full body one. I think we need gaviscon, or something to thicken the bloody feed and keep some of it in!

I think you do. Get onto HV and ask for a px to be left for your DP to collect?

Detective you're having a shitty time.

Right now all I can hear is the clock ticking. Both girls are napping. It's lovely.

Have you given meds again detective would that help it stay down?

detective IG is good but can thicken the poo. Carobel doesn't but is slightly more faff. IG you just add and shake. Carobel needs to be shaken for a minute then left standing for 3 minutes.

stunt have to say I preferred GF as it is all set out very clearly and also gives tips on what to o if a day goes wrong,which in real life it does. And it has worked or me. Four times!

detective I think you do need to get some Gaviscon.

Two boys asleep here off to potter and cook.

Waaaah! So what should I do? Gaviscon or carobel?

VQ He's having ranitidine. I was advised not to give the others due to the lactose in them. But then I DON'T BLOODY KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE WAAAAAAAAH!!!!

I really really want him seen by a specialist asap, and paying privately seems the only way to achieve that right now. I'm lost in a fog of trying to do what is right!

He seems much happier anyway. Which is a massive start! Seem to be having less acid attacks!

John Lewis and Asda sell bibs that cover pretty much everything Detective, like those kids' aprons for painting. It might be worth trying them as they won't wet through to O's skin and they'll come in handy later in for weaning.

PR I found a bedtime routine was absolutely crucial with my older two. Once you have it in place they're programmed conditioned to go to sleep at lights out time and actually can't help themselves until they get to 8 or 9. We do it through the weekends and holidays too but sometimes let them stay up half an hour later in the holidays as they don't have to get up so early in the morning. One point I find was vital is to be doing something really boring when they get up after lights out time. If they find you sitting on the sofa reading a book they don't feel that they're missing out in bed. If they're getting up a lot sometimes a few days lying in wait outside their door to take them back to bed. We also have no TV, computer etc. for the hour before bedtime.

detective - our consultant prescribed domperidone and omeprazole along side the lactose free milk, said the amount of lactose in them wasn't enough to have an effect as is a tolerance level rather than an alergy... you an buy infant gaviscon from the pharmacy if that helps, but i would be inclined to give the meds/milk and stick with the combination for a good couple of weeks to see if any effect xx

Do they cover legs? That is what seems to take most of the hit lmao!

That is interesting fairmum. See this is why I want him seen ASAP, to get that kind of plan.

Ok, caught up.

Stunt lovely post about developmental leaps. Our babies' worlds change so much every day and it is helpful to be reminded of that sometimes.

Luis Whoever does the night shift sleeps in the bedroom with O in his cot. He usually ends up in bed after the 5/6am feed until waking at 7. The other person sleeps on the sofa. We only have a one bed flat and both of us being sleep deprived is a recipe for big rows.

VQ I am so happy that J seems to be sleeping better for you. It also selfishly gives me hope that things will get better & O will be able to sleep longer than 3 hours.

Detective and . sorry I cannot offer any helpful advice.

Thanks stunt . Before I can get a proper routine set up I need to undo the routine that we have now. Which is she goes to bed in our bed with one of us with her, messes around for ages until she finally drops off. I have to get her to sleep on her own, in her bed.

I really need to get DH on side too. One of his regular threats, however many times I tell him I really don't agree, is that if she doesn't stop messing arond and go to sleep she will have to go and sleep in her own bed. Which to my mind is reinforcing some idea that her own bed is a punishment. When it isn't. I am sure she would sleep so much better in her own bed. His argument is that it works, she does calm down and go to sleep. Which is true. But how are we going to persuade her that sleeping in her own room is A Good Thing.

My plan is:

1. Change all the furniture around her own room so it looks different.
2. Put new bedding on her bed (bought)
3. Give her her own bedside lamp (bought and with the other birthday presents)
4. Get her to sleep in her own fucking room with one of us if we have to
5. Set up routine to get her gradually used to doing it on her own.

I'm not seeing any leaps in O.:(

detective, i would be seriously tempted to rock up at a&e and explain how worried you are, sunken eyes, dehydrated etc etc and demand to see the peads consultant on call, dont get fobbed off with registrars etc xxx

The reasoning behind moving the furniture round is to make it new, fun and exciting, and to disassociate it from the place she is happy to play but not sleep iyswim

sophia that's interesting re GF maybe I will have another look the mw who did anti natal course was very anti GF and a mum in work was too ... When dd was a very weeks old it didn't even seem possible ... We were just trying to get through each day ... Is much the same!
Our days are a mess I wouldn't want a strict routine but need something particularly to try to get her to sleep earlier than 11pm ... Think we may have got her into a habit we can't reverse!