March 2013 - still too sleep deprived to think of a funky title

[StormyBrid]

Old thread here.

We seemed to be running out of space (again) so I made us a new thread.

Sitting in the clinic waiting for my 7:30 appt. I forgot the darn sanitary towel!

Rainbow your DD has posh tastes

Wing hope it went well. I used to get myself in all kinds of knots over anything involving a speculum, but now, post childbirth, d&c etc I'm so not bothered. Amazing the things one can get used too

Rainbow good god woman, you've got yourself a mini-gourmet there. I offered the worslet some wholesome sweet potato and apple purée today. She told me (in baby speak) to get stuffed. I can only imagine the reaction to goat's cheese. As for a doidy cup, I expect she'd just clonk herself on the head with it. Not one for the advanced weaning class obviously.

SoYo and Any Go wild!!! You guys have more than earned a night off.

Eco crossing my fingers eco-baby is back to her old self and feeling better.

As for us, well I've had a ridiculously good day. A friend dropped by with her 9 month old, which so exhausted the tiddler she slumped exhausted into a 2 hour nap after lunch... so that was good. Interestingly my friend said that 5 months was the point at which she felt she was in control. Anyone else feeling that? I think I am. There is a certain predictability to our days, and dd is more amenable to some level of flexibility to fit in with daily life. Not having to feed her the very second she wakes up is really quite nice!

Speaking of waking up she just has, and I am not going to feed her this very second, just to prove a point. Go me, supermum not

Eco how're the preparations for the MIL's descent going? I've bleached all the cups in preparation for mine. No really, I am that sad. We have white cups, DH drinks black tea, they were embarrassing. Not embarrassing enough for me to normally do anything about it, but today thanks to the two hour nap I had time to waste. An odd concept that, but one I am able to adapt to relatively easily.

Hope you all have good nights. Me included

I think Nigel Slater would be proud of your baby's appetite, rainbow! I for one am wearing the rosiest tinted specs on earth. We have our bucket list of things to achieve before expanding our family further, but definitely preparing to have a second in about two years. I can completely appreciate your pov though, poor sleep is a hard thing to bear. Especially so when it seems to be interminable. Perhaps it's time to whisk yourself off for a few hours and get thee to a masseur. A little pampering goes a long way.

Wing hope you're not feeling too grumpy post-coil.

Any and SoYo, enjoy your nights off!

Worse things have most definitely clicked into place here. Ds is an utter joy at the moment, and all our persistence with bedtime etc is now really paying off. It's as though we're in a bit of a honeymoon phase (which I've now almost definitely jinxed by talking about it). Doidy cup is still a bit advanced for us however, as I discovered today when I dared to put water in it. He immediately raised it to his mouth, tasted some water and then proceeded to pour it all over his high chair tray. Little bugger. His personality seems to grow day by day, and entertaining him is now as joyful as it is tiring.

Hope you gave your cups a thorough rinse after the bleaching! I seem to remember you saying you got on well with your mil though, so I'm not too concerned .

Something are you back from the frozen north yet?

Dinner was a nice bit of respite & DD survived with her daddy for 90mins then had a meltdown when I got home! The man did well.

Rainbow I feel just the same as you. I put a smiley face on & slap my make up on but just feel like I'm surviving on the bare minimum of sleep possible & could tip over the edge anytime. DD is awesome but it's definitely putting a dint in my enjoyment of parenting & I too think she'll be an only one now.

Wing, hope went well. I stayed silent as while it didn't really hurt it was a bit uncomfortable and generally just a bit of a fiasco. Once they had found my cervix was quite quick (5 mins) and no worse than a smear. However she did spend about 25 mins and use 4 speculums in 5 ways (including with the finger from a rubber glove with the end cut off wrapped round one!) before she found a metal one and it was all fine. Phrases it turns out you really don't want to hear:
1 - pass me an extra long speculum
2 - pass me an extra wide speculum
3 - don't worry it's just the vaginal wall collapsing so I can't see!
However I am assured that's normal at this stage post partum.

On a more positive note I had my measurements taken after 3.5wks of personal training, and have lost 3cm from my thigh, 3cm from my chest and 7cm from my tummy so am well chuffed. Plenty of work still to do but nice to see it having the desired effect.

The plan was always that the boy would be an only and I'm not sold on another yet. He's really not a nightmare but I hated being pregnant (wasn't an especially bad pregnancy) and just can't imagine putting myself through all this again with another child to look after too. Nuff respect to those that do!

Sending sleepy vibes to mums and babies alike.

Yes, thanks for not sharing that with me beforehand pud Well done on the training!

It was fine actually, once I had reminded myself to unclench those pelvic floor muscles The 'measuring my uterus' bit was more uncomfortable and I didn't even feel the coil insertion. Hopefully after the check up in 8 weeks that'll be it for ten years!

Are we going to have a mini March 13 drunk thread tonight?
I've had a large glass of and feel rather merry but after a day at the waterpark with two DCs and my DPs (and I drove) plus a coil fitting that was 40mins drive each way I deserved it. Hic!

Huge rose-tinted specs here. I honestly really struggle to remember those early days of sobbing on the sofa at every worry (I've suddenly remembered crying when dd was 3 weeks old and had soaked through a nappy that I had forgotten to change for HOURS- I mean seriously, crying over a nappy?!?) but I really have to work at finding those memories! I am also feeling in control, having (hopefully) solved the blip in sleeping- I had convinced myself she was ready to drop the 11pm feed, so had been reducing it by an oz a week. Then suddenly she started waking multiple times a night, and taking ages to settle. Suddenly realised after 3 weeks that it coincided with dropping it to 3 flozzes. I hadn't thought she was hungry as she was eventually settling but as soon as we put it back up to a full bottle she started sleeping through again. Bad mummy starving the baby overnight

It's nice having some semblance of routine. It's loose, but it's there. 5 bottles, 3 naps, fairly predictable timings. It's a relief to stop having to pretend to be all laid back and go-with-the-flow, that's the kind of mum I wanted to be, but I'm a routine girl by heart (something to do with teaching perhaps?!?)

Plonky, I love the way you put it- entertaining them really is as joyful as it is tiring, when one increases, so does the other! But there is absolutely nothing on the planet as good as a giggle to give you a burst of energy to carry on. Beats any coffee I've ever had.

Soyo, rainbow, any, I TRULY admire your patience. I am also utterly convinced that my beautifully well-behaved daughter is going to hit teenager-dom at 2yo, and run me ragged until she's 18. That's what I was like. And I'm convinced you are all going to have little angels.

Sleepy vibes to you all, I'm off to feed the tiddler

You are so right VJ, I'm another who tends to gloss over the early days hell, but when I really think about it I can remember all sorts of less than perfectly serene moments. Lying on the bed in a snotty wailing mess whilst she screamed, and rocking her for 5 hours straight at night in a fruitless bid to get her to settle are two that spring to mind. There are others, but obviously I am ignoring them.

Hope you all had good nights. The worselet had an excellent one. I didn't! After lying awake fretting all night DH decided to get up at 3am to work for a while before getting the stupid o'clock train into London. Our lifestyle may benefit hugely from his committed perfectionist work-o-holic tendencies, but sometimes just sometimes I wish he was just, well, normal. He has taken his foot of the gas massively since the tiddler was born, for which I am very grateful, but old habits die hard.

Glad the fitting went well Wing. Pud that story has put me off for life! Well done on the PT, you're storming ahead. I've given up on mine as my stomach muscle separation is really bad and getting worse. I'm not sure Mr nice personal trainer man really knows what he is doing in this respect so I'm sticking with walking until I can find someone who does. Gap is 4 fingers plus

Right, time to feed dogs, then baby, then me. Enjoy your days, hope the sun shines.

Wors I think physios are supposed to be good with separation of the abs, maybe get some advice from one about the right exercises etc?

Glad the coil fitting went well Wing, it's nice to not have to worry about that side of things again for a while!

Pud that doesn't sound the best fun! It is normal this soon postpartum but you'd think she'd have predicted it rather than figuring out what to do with speculum number 5!! I can see why you didn't tell that story before!

We're back to co sleeping again as madams waking up every 90mins. I've kicked DH out into the spare room and I think he's delighted with getting some proper sleep. I just don't want her in the habit of co sleeping then have a battle getting her out again but it's necessary for my sanity at the moment. I think I'll try again with the cot on Sunday night.

It's an exciting day of chores here today! Lovely.

Ah, the early hell days! I haven't forgotten them enough yet, as I'm okay with the idea of only having one. And oddly, having a really placid baby can also put one off having more. After all, what are the chances we'd be so lucky again?

We have progress towards crawling! She's been experimenting with pulling her legs up for a while now, but so far it's been bend one, straighten it, bend the other, which is ad you can imagine a pretty rubbish method of locomotion. This morning she pulled one leg up under herself, launched herself forward, and looked marvellously shocked that she'd moved.

Ah Stormy she's so advanced!!! The placid baby you're used to is going to be a whirlwind of movement & emptying the kitchen cupboards in no time.

On your theory I should definitely have another as surely I can't get two this difficult can I?

VJ thanks for the moral support! I'm pretty sure madam's going to be a madam of a teenager like me, thinking her mum is stupid & knows nothing. Something to look forward to!

Madam has been napping for nearly 2hrs, I'm guessing its a hangover from a horrible night. I can't decide whether I should be waking her up but the peace is so lovely! If only there was a way of knowing what the right thing is!

I think it's probably a bit scary having any baby, whether it's your first or fifth, whether you've only had Velcro babies or so-laid-back-they're-horizontal babies. Another one's always got the potential to put us through hell.

As for whether to wake her, SoYo, I'd say it depends how much day sleep she normally has. If she'd normally sleep for six daytime hours, don't let her have an extra two, sort of thing. I find it's all a bit dependent on where we are with the nap schedule too - if a long nap means sleeping past five pm, for example, we don't let her have a long one. She's definitely improved nap-wise though. Manages one longer nap most days.

As for when she really starts crawling, we're planning to buy a cage!

Hi all. I am new to this diiscussion but very much a member of the March 2013 club. My DD was born 29/03/13 at 8lb6.5oz. Still EBF because she refuses the bottle point blank. Only one more month until BLW though. Hooray! My life has pretty much been on hold as I can't be away from the little one for more than a few hours, hence I am looking to branch out and make new friends this way. Am I the only one whose dreams of a maternity leave spent frequening posh cafes with girlfriends, sipping coffee whilst she slept in her pram like an angel turned out to be just that ... A DREAM!

Welcome!

Can't say I ever dreamt about coffee vile muck that it is but I must admit I'm a little apprehensive about MIL's next visit. We always go out for lunch, and I have a horrible feeling DD is now too big to just snooze throughout...

Rachel that's the same date as my DD's birthday :) Welcome! (Is that your real name BTW as you may want to anonymise yourself and choose another nickname?)

SoYo, DD has been asleep for 2.5hrs! I don't really want to wake her but I may go into her room and double check she's okay (I'm sure she is) and if she wakes up I won't be annoyed with myself...

eco I think putting a rolled-up towel under the cotbed sheet worked I may put one on the side she normally rolls to and she only woke once in the night at 3am (well, before a feed at 4:50) and all I did was stuck her thumb back in before she went back to sleep immediately so she can't have really woken up.

Hi Rachel

Anyone that was apprehensive about BLW because of the mess, avoid spaghetti bolognese! DD and I have just had a bath, the dog's next!

Half my post was deleted. Boo! I'll try again later!

Hi Rachel. Welcome. You may call me worse, everyone else does . I'm mum to the worselet, born 4/3, girl, just in case the name doesn't make it obvious. Coffee in cafes you say. Hmmmm, well actually yes, I have done that!!! About twice..... I might try it again one day, when I'm feeling brave.

SoYo Thanks for the physio tip, I'll give it a go. I'll give anything a go tbh as these abs are wrecked which makes lifting the not so tiddly tiddler increasingly tough. As advised I'll avoid spag bol. Shouldn't be hard, given dd's reaction to anything non-milk related to date.

What's with all the long naps? Weather? Wonder week? Tot of rum?

Re coffee - I'm a bit of a Starbucks-a-holic when I can get to one (I'm in the sticks) and DD always seems very happy in one, awake or asleep

It's our big village show tomorrow and I've STUPIDLY actually entered into some of the classes! My Boiled Fruit Cake has sunk in the middle (well, I'd never made one before and the lack of instructions in the recipe they give out for it is like a GBBO technical challenge) and tonight I have to make my Four Fruit Scones. Again, something I've only made a few times.

I obviously doing it for the fun of it but I'm actually really gutted about my sunk fruit cake and hope the flavour warrants a mention from the judges at the very least

Aaaargh, i've had the opposite problem today i.e. ridiculously short naps despite lots of yawning and getting thoroughly peed off with everything after 10 seconds. At one point, I smiled at her and she screwed her little face up and cried. Harsh. I know I had a rough night (sore boob, touch of mastitis only remedied by DD at 8am) but don't cry at me - do I look that bad?

Welcome rachel . We're a month ahead of you so try not to be alarmed by the ghost of what is yet to come.

soyo regards the BLW - is anything actually going in? I've offered toast, brocolli, cucumber and banana. DD is reluctant to pick them up and when she eventually does get somethong near her mouth, she has a little taste and then throws it on the floor. And gets fed up after 10 mins. Any tips? I do it about 45 mins after 11am feed.

Any very small amounts are going in and coming out again the next day but she picks up everything & shoves it in her mouth. Sometimes she'll be grazing for 30-45mins but she pretty much always wants a feed quite soon after. If there's not much picking up of food and aiming at mouth maybe wait a couple of weeks and try again? They're not getting any nutrition from it so there's no rush!

Rachel as for coffee I am one of those mummy's that frequents coffee shops. Usually around 3 times a week mini-Yo and I have a trip to one. She's definitely not quiet and shy when out though and I spend most of the time trying to separate her and caffeinated liquids, yesterday she was called a noisy little madam (in a nice way). I'm of the bite the bullet, take them along and hope for the best school of parenting, although I don't have much choice as she's also a bottle refuser and so with me at all times!

The bedtime hour is here, DH has gone to pick up the takeaway, let battle and crushing disapointment commence!

Right ladies I have a DH related dilemma. Not a dodgy dilemma so you can breathe easy on that front, I just need a bit of perspective on something on the basis I might just be being a wee tad prwecious about this. The thing is DH has a stupid car. A really stupid car. Not only is this car stupid to look at it is stupidly fast and even more stupidly noisy. He has in the past made glancing mention to the fact the worslet might be up for a spin in it some time, what with her being so fond of napping in vehicles of all descriptions, and I have previously responded to this with a laugh. Because he had to be joking. Right? Only he's not. We are now the proud owners of a pair of baby ear protectors and I am wondering whether my instant reaction of 'hell NO' is perfectly reasonable or an over reaction.

So AIBU? I could post this in AIBU, but obviously I won't as the vipers on there will a) shoot me down for having anything to do with anyone who owns a stupid car, b) stealth boasting about it and c) being pfb. After they have done that they will fail to answer... so that wouldn't help me at all.

SoYo, Any the blw thing is starting to scare me. I need a tarpaulin don't I. Or maybe just two hungry dogs.

worse - my reaction would be the same. Some DH's would have sold on a silly toy (e.g. motorbike) once they knew their fun times were over but some, like mine, have visions of taking the LO with them. Put your foot down (not on the accelerator) and simply say DD wouldn't enjoy it right now, being too small to appreciate the vehicle, and it'll be much better when she's older and potentially in a forward facing seat, then she can see what's going on. Guilt trip him with an 'it's alright for you to risk driving around at speed but how would you feel if anything bad happened?'

any we have had exactly the same fussy day today! Clearly a developmental thing. LO has napped for maybe an hour in total in short ten minute bursts and has been unusually screaming. I am exhausted and am now working as normal in the evening but just dreaming of sleep! Re the blw - same as soyo here, DD happily munching on anything put in front of her and more and more is being swallowed. Only thing she has rejected really is the broccoli and her daddy is very proud of her for that! Maybe just see this time as your little one playing with the food and exploring texture etc and not worry about her actually munching on it.

Our solution to going out for coffee or lunch is to let DD join in the eating! She grabs stuff of plates and shovels it in so we just go with the flow and let her. She will happily sit and eat with us for up to an hour if she has a variety of thing to taste. I just always request extra napkins! Although think I will avoid spag bol in public!

worse if you are not keen about your LO going in the stupid car maybe suggest it gets saved as a daddy/daughter treat for when she is older and can appreciate it? Personally no way would I let DD go in a "stupid" car atm - if their ears need protecting then it clearly is not suitable for a little one!

Hi Rachel - another baby with the same birth date here! Welcome.

I'm suffering from lack of sleep and generally being too hot to function. DS decided he wanted four full feeds in the night, but obviously he wanted to fall asleep during each one, but howl if I dared take the bottle away.

A neighbour came round to introduce herself with her four month old - said she'd heard the boy crying! Not surprising as he has his mother's lungs clearly. Her LO was also half the size of DS, who at 17lbs and 27 inches long, is a little on the large side now.

I'm keen to try out some solids now we've hit 21 weeks but OH doesn't want to. Not sure how we'll resolve it really. Considering we had an actual row over Simon Cowell recently, anything could happen