July 2013 - Part 1. Remember your pelvic floor exercises!

[TotallyEggFlipped]

Time to start the post-natal thread.

And start those PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES!

Hope last night with J in his cot in his own room went ok Abzs - and you managed to get some sleep yourself between missing him in your room. My J is going to be in the annexe off our room for a while as we need t orejig the downstairs bedrooms (and persuade DS1 that sharing with DS2 wont be THAT bad) first before moving him out.

Great that K is sleeping so well at night Wifey - isnt he grizzly during the day with so little sleep?

J's sleep has been truly awful for the past couple of weeks - turns out he's outgrown his reflux meds dosage (and teething and cold havent helped matters). Dr doubled his ranitidine dose and ta-da, the boy slept 7 hour stretch again last night (which he hasnt done in over a fortnight). Was really hoping he was outgrowing his reflux himself but he clearly isn't. Ho hum.

He's actually quite good dinky..he has the odd fussy few minutes but is easily entertained - especially since he discovered he can play with his hands & grasp toys!
He's started getting a bit frustrated as he wants to be sitting up & moving more than he's able - but now he's over the reflux he's more chilled.

That's great J's medicines have been sorted & he managed a good night.

Dinky I have to admit that he went back in his moses basket after his 2230 feed. Though he was grunting and groaning again after feeding at 4am and I was half wishing I'd left him in his room.

He slept a lot yesterday/last night. Nap in the afternoon, then down in his cot at 1730 for over an hour, then feed and back down again. He was wide awake from feeding at 2030 to his 2230 feed. He's gone back to sleep this morning after a short feed at 0800. Probably better get him up soon to face the day, but I like having a shower and breakfast and getting the running club blog done.

Thanks for sharing your babies' patterns. B is fairly similar, cat naps about 1.5/2 hours after last nap. However she wakes at a different time every day so we can end up with a bedtime anywhere between 6.30 and 9 - though the 6.30 one she treated as a nap and was thoroughly awake & cheerful 4 mins later tbh it suits me for her bedtime to be a bit after DS's (7pm) as DH works most evenings so I do bedtime solo, and coping with both of them going in to overtired meltdown simultaneously is rather wearing! It would just be useful to have some kind of consistency/predictability as her needing a feed/nap when I'm trying to cook tea/wrangle the toddler into bath/pyjamas etc is a bit of a PITA.

Maybe I'll have to start waking her at the same time every day.... Though it goes against one of my favourite parenting mantras of "never wake a sleeping baby"!

45 minutes, should say! 4 minutes really would be a short nap!

Vinegar, I also am left to dinner/bath/bedtime solo; I'm finding it really difficult, particularly as L cluster feeds from 5pm which is when I need to start dinner. It always ends up rather fraught with both kids in tears, not sure what I can do to improve things really. I'm repeating Dinky's mantra over and over - this too will pass!

Sunday - do you have a slow cooker? I find mine brilliant - chuck everything in while j is having a morning sleep and its ready for 5 (and warm). Otherwise batch cooking so its just a quick zap in the microwave needed is good for this stage. How old is your older one? Could you do bath earlier in the day till this stage is over? I often do bedtime solo - j gets the option of wailing while being cuddled or stuck on the boob while I get his big brothers sorted.

Oh vinegar just received the mn email thing. you are famous, exciting!

Third night in his cot. Last night was okay, we had friends over but he still went to bed at 2230 and woke at 0430. Entertained our friends like a star all evening.

The first full night before was quite fraught for me. I hardly slept a wink, kept listening for him and getting up at every little squeak. He slept like a log. So soundly in fact that after going to bed early at 2030 it was 0430 before I decided he HAD to be woken and fed for my comfort if nothing else and discovered he was laying in a puddle. Pjs, sleeping bag, mattress all wet. He went back to sleep in his basket and woke at 0800 having done it again in there.

He seems happy in the cot, sleeping with his arms spread out. I think we'll need some sort of sleeping bag bolero and gloves for the winter though.

So, we're in the middle of moving house. N seems to be coping very well with the change of scenery so far. DD1 on the other hand has been a bit of a disaster sleep-wise lately. She's decided she doesn't need a daytime nap any more, which is fine, but she's been having very disturbed nights and I think she's got a bit of a sleep deficit, which I think is just creating a vicious circle.

We still don't have much of a routine. N wakes at a different time every day. She usually has a 40-ish minute nap, 1 1/2-2 hours after waking, either in her crib or in the sling if we're out. She has another nap at around 12-ish, depending on where we are, what time she woke, etc. she often has a little nap around 4 too, generally in the sling. Feeding is roughly every 3 hours in the daytime, but a bit variable. I BF her at 5-ish, bath around 6, then more BF 6:30 and settling for bed 7-7:30.
Juggling DD1 and N at bath/bedtime is a nightmare, but I very rarely have to do it alone, because DH is often home by 6/6:30 and takes over DD1. When he's late he's usually back by 7:30 and my rents helped me in the early days when he was away or going to be very late etc. I've got a completely solo couple of days with both of them coming up and I'm dreading it, especially if DD1 still isn't sleeping.

Thanks Dinky, yes a slow cooker sounds like a fab idea, haven't got one but it will probably be on my Christmas list if I make it til Christmas! DD is 4, so should be old enough to be a bit independent but she's regressed a bit since L has been on the scene. has J settled a bit now you've uped his meds?

Snfed glad move is generally going well, hope DD1 settles soon.

After a great night on Friday in which L only woke once, last night he woke 7 times !! I practically spent the whole night sitting upright.

Oooh I made the round up, exciting times! Thanks for letting me know cheek

We're looking into replacing our buggy & wondered if you guys have any thoughts/suggestions. (I posted in Pushchairs with only a couple of replies). Needs to be RF, small/light enough for London buses, take a buggy board and steerable one handed. The Bee is the obvious choice but at £150+ for a second hand one (not even a Bee+!) I am wondering if there is anything cheaper. Considering the Oyster, M&P Urbo, Petite Star Bubble .... Any other suggestions?

Hope DD1's sleep settles soon SNFED, and urgh to 7 wake ups Sunday - they like to keep us on our toes, don't they?!

7 wake ups, Sunday! I hope you get some rest today and a better night tonight.

Yes, Vinegar, you're a celeb now
No ideas on the pushchair, I'm afraid.

I can think of better things to be famous for!

I have a baby jogger city versa I love but don't think the handle would work well with a buggy board. Tiggywunkles on the pushchairs board is brilliant with suggestions - you could do a shout out for her. Otherwise best buggy.co.uk is a great buggy review site which does comparisons between buggies - I used it to decide on my versa instead of a bee. Congrats on making round up too.

Ugh, 7 wake ups is painful Sunday - hope you get a rest today. J has been super unsettled - teething and cold have made reflux worse - he's better since we upped his meds but still waking 4 plus times last night which was rather painful (DH took the 4-5 stint for me).

Wish j could sleep through writings Abzs - he wails loudly. Made the mistake of buying Eco friendly nappies which are rubbish - they always leak - which I think is contributing to js unsettled bout. So back to aldi I go... Glad he's settling in well to his cot in his own room though

Snfed - good luck with the move and dd1. Hopefully she'll feel more settled soon. Could you get her involved/ excited about the move by talking about how to decorate her new room etc?

Ps Sunday - you can often pick up slow cookers pretty cheaply from supermarkets. My mil got one from asda for a tenner which works just fine!

Hi Ladies! Long time no chat (aside from facebook). We have been well just so busy can you believe this is my first time logging on to mumsnet as a mum.... so silly.

Just checking in as lost you all before! Trying to keep up on Fbook but don't seem to get round to coming on here so much

Vinegar, we have the iCandy Cherry. It's really light (much lighter than other iCandy ones), very manoeuvrable, rear faces and can take a buggy board although it does void the warranty (you're not officially supposed to use one). We wanted a proper sturdy pushchair but one that didn't feel too hefty. We looked at most on your list but found this the easiest to push, lift and manoeuvre apart from the Bee, which we eventually decided was just too lightweight for Yorkshire living!!

Evening all - its been quiet on here! Hope everyone is OK and their little ones are letting them get some sleep!

J is most definitely teething - he's a drool monster - and sadly its put his reflux up a notch again so sleep is in short supply in casa dinky. Other than that he's adorable - lots of smiling, chatting and rolling going on.

I confirmed my return to work date in January today which makes me feel sad my last mat leave ever is half way through, but sadly life is a bit too expensive to remain on mat leave any longer. Has anyone else confirmed return dates or a started back at work?

BB just saw your post - thanks, will check out eBay.

dinky I'm back Dec 30th, same here we need my income to pay the bills! I am using my accrued annual leave gradually week by week though so most weeks I am only working 3/4 days. Unfortunately I start back hitting the ground running with 3 night shifts - I'll be fine, just feel a bit sorry for DH handling both at bedtime/overnight/getting to nursery etc. Ah well. I keep reminding myself that 6months is so much bigger than 3.5 months & I'm sure the babies will have changed loads again by then.

B seems finally to be coming out of whatever it is that's cocked up her sleep for the past 3 weeks, back to 2 overnight takings which would've been bliss except DS has decided to go through another early (pre 6am) waking stage. Which is also making him seriously ratty and tantrummy. Ho hum.

B is gorgeous though & still a total joy. She loves just sitting watching the world go by & beaming at everyone

So glad B is back to her lovely happy self Vinegar. Ds2 is going through a phase of night wakings and calling for me - always when I'm catching a snatch of sleep between j's wakings - so I sympathise whole heartedly! As you say, babies at 6 months are a lot different to how they are now. I'm rather hoping j will be sleeping better by the time I return to work...

I'm not going back to work out of home. Am hoping to restart some work at home in Jan but we'll see how J and I are doing and if my clients have any work to give me...

J is having a rotten evening of either crying or feeding. I've had 30mins calm (other than two nappy changes) with him in the bouncy chair to prep the dinner since 5pm, and now it's finally on I'm hoping he'll go sleep. He went into to his cot kind of settled at last at twenty to ten. DH is out at a Scout meeting which is going on a bit late better not have gone to the pub after or he's a dead man

Oh and some other good news today, my baby sister has finished her training contract and is officially a fully fledged solicitor.

Yy to better sleep by New Year - fingers crossed! DS was still waking multiple times overnight despite co-sleeping, when I went back to work after having him (also at 6m) - he didn't sleep through til 15 months. I have no idea how I functioned!

Hope J is settled for the night now Abzs & you get some food & sleep!