April 2013 - Trying to keep our (babies) cool in the summer!

[Trishstar]

Thought I'd start a new thread as AmberLav noticed we were appoaching 1000!

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Ooh I've just joined the Facebook group, how exciting! I see it's easier to respond to specific questions or people that way.

I've been mostly enjoying the hot weather with the chance to put dd in mega cute summer outfits, though it's more difficult to get her enough day-sleep as I rely on taking ds1 to parks so she can nap in the buggy, and it's been too hot for him to stay outside for long.

Yesterday poor dd got really overtired because she kept waking from her naps (mainly when we arrived somewhere and stopped moving). Then my friend came round with her 3yo son who is a bit of a tearaway and there's no way she'll sleep with him around. So I sent him and my dd to play in the garden, they had a right lark but I do worry he's not a great influence on ds as he becomes much more cheeky and disobedient when they're together. E.g. normally ds sits still to eat but yesterday he was up and down, and also threw his toys around. (I gave him a telling off mind you!)
I actually said to my friend that we needed some time to ourselves then so dd could get some (relative) peace, I felt really rude but they'd been here for 3 hrs by then and I was frazzled!

Sorry this is a really waffly post, just getting it off my chest a bit and wondering what other mums do with friends whose kids are hard work? i'm probably making it sound worse than it is...Her son is lovely, just a bit wild! If I didn't have a new baby I wouldn't mind but I find myself avoiding seeing them too often even though she's kind and helpful.

Lou - sorry can't give any useful advice, I'm in the strange position where pretty much everyone I know with a child of 2 has just had their second one in March/April, so we are all coping with newborns and toddlers, which changes the dynamic! All I will say is your little one will soon start napping better in the day, so maybe just accept that any limitation in contact is only temporary...

I have had massive respect for single parents ever since I had DS! You don't really think about it much before you have children, as you dont know how hard it will be!

Thanks for the new thread trish
I just can't keep up with this Anymore. Will try to update when I get a moment just wanted to mark my place.

LO is 10 weeks tomorrow. Anyone else feel like they are going backwards sometimes? She suddenly went from 7 feeds a day to 6 bigger ones but now only goes 4 hours between them at night and seems to be waking more. Im exhausted!

Also advice please on a friend who I met when she was pregnant, been there for her and her son the last 5 years. I have my baby and she hasn't even sent me a decent email or popped round despite knowing i have had a bit of a tough time. Bit cheesed off.

Also loving the grins and Im sure we are not far off giggles. Must get her on the floor more to move around but she loves her chair and sometimes its just easy to stick her in it .

I no what u mean about the friend so e of mine hav been no where to b seen, and that's not the one who admitted while I was pregnant (in good humour) that she wasn't a fan of abides so wud hav minimal co tact till he's a toddler!
I would recommend maybe hav a go at being honest, tell her u cud do with her support at the mo. it could b that she is going through something. If she doesn't respond maybe put it to the side and focus on when has been round at the mo and le her get in touch with u. Fingers crossed shell step up when u ask her to, could it be she was wanting to leave u to it and not want to disrupt u?

And the feeds could maybe b a growth spurt?

Hubby has had to work away

He went at 5am Thursday, and not back til Friday afternoon. Me and H missing him. Really don't know how people do it all the time, big respect!!

Photo- I hate to say it, but you may find that there are backward steps for the first 6 months, as they are still so little, yet growing so fast... Is there anyway daddy can help with one of the night feeds - DH used to be in charge of the dream feed, so that I could go to bed at 9, am could get 4 hours in that first chunk... My mini research group seems to prove that you can cope with most things as long as you can get a 4 hour stretch of sleep at the start if the night, with shorter stretches later in the night...

Tried to bring settling time forward by an hour last night, so E was in bed at 8pm, and has gone till now for the first feed, which is exactly the same time as she went to the previous night, so think I'll stick with an 8 pm bedtime - just need to work out the routine with DS and dinner too!

Here you all are! Marking place

photo I'd second what catherine said about your friend. If you explain that you could really do with her support and friendship at this time hopefully she'll step up. It may be that her intentions are just misplaced and she was giving you some space to settle in with the LO.

Re one step forward and one (or two) back I know what you mean. T is 11 weeks and this past week has been feeding a lot more and waking more in the night. Just as thought we'd dropped the 2am feed she reintroduced it and moved it to 1am. I'm putting it down to the hot weather and a possible growth spurt. The mumsnet motto 'this too shall pass' keeps me going. And it does seem to have passed last night she went 9pm-4.30am and then 5.30am-9.30am. I just need to bring bedtime forward.

I'd put my money on a growth spurt too photo! I'd make light with your friend - Hey, you coming over or what?! type thing. It may be she has her own issues and doesn't want to burden you?

Still unpredictable here - Faithlet slept through for a week, even when she settled at 8pm! Then last night settled at 9 but woke at 4.30 this morning for nearly an hour! She was then sick on me and as I mopped it up she looked up and smiled and suddenly it all seems worthwhile

Evan is having a tough 24 hours (fingers crossed it is just 24 hours!) Was fine and happy yesterday then fell asleep with DP about 7pm after less than half his bottle. Seemed fine so we just figured he would wake in the night for a bottle to catch up.

Woke about 11pm so DP fed him. All fine, took quite a lot of bottle but not finished. Put him back in basket; was pulling legs up so DP thought there was more wind. Got him out of basket - set off screeching like we've never had before! Tears everywhere.

I brought him downstairs - lots of jiggling and singing to help cope with the screeching. Finally settled about 12.30 am - put him back in basket.

1.30am screeching again. ~This woke DD1. DP brought E downstairs whilst I went upstairs to settle DD1. She is easy to settle, done in 5 minutes.

2.15am got E back into basket - but he woke up straight away and screeching. This carried on, on and off, until 4am when I got him in basket after giving him Calpol at 3.30am. He then slept til 6.30 by which time DP had decided to stay home from work.

6.30am had bottle - seemed okay. I changed nappy - poo everywhere! Bed, me and E covered in it!

All day he has been hot and screechy. Poo in almost every nappy and very frequent. Drinking some milk, falling asleep, waking to screech. Have put him in disposable nappy so I can smother his bum in sudacrem as all the poo is making him sore (is not sitting in poo-y nappies, but the poo coming out seems to hurt!)

Have given him nurofen - he is 17 weeks so okay - he is now asleep on me but generally not a happy boy.

DP has kept DD2 busy today, took her out for lunch, now taken her to a party and will then collect DD1 from school. I dozed whilst holding E whilst he got girls ready this morning. He had a nap during the morning after I got E to sleep by walking him round the block so I could sort present for party with DD2.

It did cross my mind this morning when e was checking his diary to see if it was an easy day to work from home/take off that, if I was a single parent, I would have no option other than to just get on with looking after poorly boy and 'doesn't-sit-still' DD2 and felt very lucky to have DP and for him to be able to stay home.

Sorry for me-me-me post; am just sounding off. I am sure we have coped with worse than this... but it always just seems so hard at the time (and feeling awful if the screeching is going to carry on tonight as we are in a terraced house and I imagine the neighbours dread it too!)

Quick question - does anyone know how empress and sam are doing?

Sorry Evan had a bad night, hope he's back to himself tonight.

h had a really restless night of arms and legs flailing constantly and waking himself up. Since hubby is away I was the living dead by this morning.

Emma I did private message her on fb but she hasn't replied so far.hope they are all ok xx

Oh dysgu that sounds pants! I no it sounds odd but is the poo normal? Any bits, blood change in colour or consistency? At least he's drinking so he doesn't get dehydrated?
Good luck!

Poo is normal catherine just a lot more of it than usual. He has spent most of the day sleeping and is now managing a smile so I have taken him upstiars to chill with DP and I am having 1-1 time with DD1 doing homework

Hopefully tonight will be better.

hope Evan is feeling better soon x its horrible when they cry and seem unhappy .

chuffed as LO is 12lbs today at 10 weeks - she has put on 4lbs .

Thanks for the feedback -daddy offered to do the early morning feed to give me a break and LO only went and dropped that feed! Still got more sleep though!

I was also wondering about Giddy but can't work out how to message from my phone?

Dysgu and Trish - poor both of you! Hope tonight is better!

Trish little ones seem to know when daddy is away - the worse ever night of DS's life was a night when J was away! Thankfully the next day was mil's birthday, and I was already booked to go see them, so I turned up and went for a nap!

Ooooo new thread just marking place

catherine thank you, yes we have found a house so just waiting now, we are in a one-bed flat with no garden, so can't wait to decorate a bedroom for Isobel, and have a garden.

photochick friends are funny aren't they, I have found that some you'd expect lots from give nothing, and others have been really great. I have a friend who should in theory be one of my best supports, who hasn't even met my 3 month old DD. and not because I haven't offered to met her at a place of her choosing . I have realised that I was making all the effort, so decided not to for a while and I'm still waiting for her to notice...

DH is working away again, My pram is broken and in for repair so I can't even go for a walk, and my friends are all 100 miles away. Stuck inside and alone on the hottest day of the year, will be grim and boring I expect. Baby is grumpy already as she woke herself up 10 minutes into her nap :-/

Enjoy the weather folks, and those with paddling pools please dip a toe in for me!!

Ow Hun go sit on the front door step or stand outside holding lo for a bit, mite make u feel better x

We went for a walk in the shady woods, using the sling. Very hot still, but it got us both some fresh air. And she got some sleep!

Am still dreaming of that paddling pool though...

(Hello, it's HadA/Faith).

Scorching here too! We'd get a paddling pool but I can't seem to get one. Argos are totally out of stock! My sister is away so we borrowed my nephew's. I bought a little swim suit for Faithlet. It said 3-6 months but fits already (she is 3 months tomorrow) so I think I better buy a bigger one for our holiday in Septembet!

Glad the walk cooled you down Angrl. Just think how much you'll appreciate your new home (we used to live in a flat!).

living in a baking hot flat here too... about to put it up for sale so see how that goes. hope it doesn't take too long. luckily have a balcony but its south facing so zero shade. going to try find a pool tomo and out it on there x

I managed to reserve what seemed to be the last paddling pool in all the local Argos's on Thursday morning - used it over at my sister's today - DS had a great time in it with his two big cousins. However I did have the downside of cleaning poo out of a reusable swim nappy, and it was a big one!

Sorry to everyone who didn't manage to find a pool...!