November 2012 - What are your New Year's resolutions for your baby?

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1937565-November-2012-The-run-up-to-our-babies-first-proper-Christmas

Zamboni I am in a similar position with the sleep, and it is so hard with going to work as well. I really don't know that sleep training will work at the moment as they are going through such a mammoth developmental stage. I remember both my girls being similar, but with boy we have the added complication of always being a crap sleeper and the cough that goes on for ever. Does S produce copious amounts of snot also? Ours has eased off slightly, but was back this morning as back at nursery so new germs I guess. J first woke at 11pm and would not go back in his cot.

Operation Big boy bed on Monday hopefully. I will let you know how it goes. I plan to clear the room of all but the bed, a couple of quiet toys, and a wardrobe that secures to the wall, locks, and has no climbing points. Oh, and a gate on the door. We will dismantle the monitor as we will hear him no doubt, and to remove the risk of strangulation.

Yes. Between 1830 and 1900 on average. Usually falls asleep after feed or while having quick cuddle, then transferred to cot. He stays in cot for some or all of the night. If he wakes and can't be instantly settled then he comes into bed with me, rolls over and then sleeps until the start of the day. That can be any time from 2100 - 0300. As soon a as it is close to 0400 there is no getting him back to sleep when he wakes.

He has max 2.5 hrs sleep per day. Usually an early nap as he's knackered by 8am. Then sometimes one after lunch. Not permitted to sleep after 1430.

He can apparently self settle for nursery and DH. Doesn't for me. I don't try hard though.

He always demands milk immediately but eats and drinks so much during the day I can't believe its genuine hunger waking him. Doesn't poo overnight, not excessively wet napoy waking him either.

All of which makes me wonder if it is habit and needs sleep training for that reason.

Yes VQ, snot and cough. Usually the cough that wakes him I suppose. Because even though it's better, it's still there. My benchmark for the cough being ok is it being still there but not every minute.

Forgot about developmental stage too. Hmmm.

Just a quick post to say my DSis is in labour, she was due on Christmas Eve and has been looking grumpier every day since not least with her annoying ILs who keep texting and posting on fb to ask why she hasn't had it yet and was due to go in for induction this morning but it's all kicked off overnight and she is at the hospital.

Strange mix of excitement, nostalgia and protectiveness from big sis here.

Oooohhhhhh good luck VQ am very intrigued as think we will have a cot escapee soon and I will have to try it

JJ big hugs to sis! Very exciting!

Zamboni see yes I agree with VQ but I did do some sleep training with L over the Xmas break. We went back to self settling, I did minute and a half chunks going back in and the first night 8 minutes next night 4 and now two weeks in he's asleep within 2/3 minutes with no crying at all. He was always a cry upper and I was shocked it worked but was at my wits end.

Anyhows doing this has meant he has suddenly started sleeping though and a bit later, I don't know if it's because he can now get himself back to sleep. He too was a wake and demand milk boy.

We are now working on naps. One long nap for 2 hours after lunch and that is all.

At the moment it seems to be working most importantly for him but I am also getting sleep which is making me feel so much better.

Interesting pikz. Especially the crying up part, which S does. Might be worth a shot.

I was at my absolute wits after nights on end of hourly wake ups and every 2/3 hours up crying for milk.

I always said I would never do any crying of any sort so I have a max 10 minute limit and I do go in every 1.30/2 mins as I can't leave him. Also if he doesn't quieten quickly I know it's milk/ more cuddles etc but for us it seems to be calmer and more self settling going to sleep has equalled better sleep.

Oh and we use thula muma CDs that we play every sleep time.

zamboni just wanted to quickly nip on and say, F used to cry up, then going in every few mins worked until illness fucked it up. Mpre recently we've had success with just sitting next to her cot, not talking, touching, humming, whatever. I would just go cold turkey, and take turns with dh. 3 nights to break bad habits. Apparently.

J settles ok at around 7.30 after his bottle. It is usually a burp that wakes him, or his cough. Last night it was a burp he had held onto for 3 hours. I might try giving the Omeprazole in one shot in the morning, but must admit I am scared to. He also has teeth coming through. He also comes into our bed which I will crack when he is in a single as I can get in with him then retreat hopefully. I dunno.

VQ I have decided I dunno either. I reckon the wrong cot bar touches them and they wake, the wrong wrinkle in the sheet et mc

My MIL is a v prim Hyacinth Bucket type. She had a horrible abusive childhood witnessing domestic violence and awful arguments. Her Dad was at times charming and at others drank and gambled his wages away leaving the family destitute - eventually DHs Gran did a runner but only managed to leave with 2 of the 3 DC. To this day MIL is very emotionally cold and closed in. She's also a great one for passive aggression and martyrdom. Despite this baggage she does really try as a parent and grandparent. Today she has nearly had me in tears (in a nice way) as she said the nicest thing she's ever said about our parenting. Frowning (as she always does) she watched J play he was babbling and smiling at the dog 'reading' to her, when she said "He's such a smiley boy, he might be a pickle (her polite way of saying he has the manners of a Visigoth) but you're doing something right. Children copy what they see. He must see a lot of smiles" turning at me with her usual sad frown she said "I saw mostly frowns" it made me really .

Bad night here too.

yw what a sad story.

I thought of another anecdote:

Your hair is much better long but you need to keep it tied back. Leaving it loose ages you. But still, much better than it used to be. Like when you got married. It looked awful then.

Miaow.

yay jj. I too felt a weird set of emotions when my younger sis went into labour. Being an auntie is fab.

QQ: I'm going to try and reduce E's ranitidine dose. Do you think I should drop the morning or night time one? I can't decide. I'm going to half it at first rather than reduce completely but just not sure which one to try.

YW that is a sad, but a lovely thing she said to you.

YW that's so sad.

Sorry for not catching up and posting, again!

Those of you that have had the Spanish potatoes? What if anything did you have with them? Any suggestions on what meat we could do with it? DH needs meat

Fatima I reckon they'd go well with pork or chicken.

Since I've been bed or sofa bound for the last few days with this fecking lurgy DH has done everything. Really well. Without needing instructions or being told. He is amazing! Ever abreast of which side his bread is buttered (or vitalited!) J has become a total Daddy's boy. If DH leaves the room we get dramatic declarations of "Dada nononono!" I'm feeling chuffed at how close they are, well rested but also slightly redundant . I can see it makes DH melt to be J's favourite.

YW Errrr. I might have a little tear in my eye now .

PR Once a cunt, always a cunt. She isn't going to change is she?! She seems to actively enjoy being a bitch.

Re: Sleep training. O was a cry upper too - I didn't for one minute think sleep training would work. It has, and it is still working. He still wakes up, and might cry, but is able to self settle pretty much always. Last night was the first night in a while he didn't - but we have another tooth. And it was just one wake up he couldn't settle for. Massive progress for when teeth break through!

It was much easier than I thought.

O is being super cute this morning. No beatings so far . He's currently practicing his best grins, while being cheeky .

My mum is coming here to watch the boys after last saturday when she had them at hers . At least she conceded quickly on that one. If she doesn't want to baby proof, then it would be much easier for her to have him here for now until he's a little older. I've scrubbed the house top to bottom this morning, I know she will fecking judge. I don't know why she will never come here - she came once when O was 9 months for 45 minutes (after I nagged her to come and spend some time with him in his own environment). It's not like I live in a hovel or anything.

My dad arrives up here today for his 'christmas' visit.

I haven't told my mum my dad is visiting. I figured my dad won't come here. He knows I'm at work. He's at a hotel down the road. Just praying he doesn't call round. It would end very badly .

Happy saturday people! Wish I wasn't working!

Ooo det this could be interesting

I don't know about sleep. I have probably mentioned before I am a strict(ish) routines from about 4 weeks as much as I can and they have all been ready to go to bed from about 6:30 and I up them down around 7, give or take. O moans for about 30 mins but I have relised that is him, he is really tired and ready to sleep, fed, milked, cuddled, so I just leave him. We have had ups and downs when a tooth is coming through but I just go with the flow, bring him down, give a cuddle and out back to bed if he starts messing around. None of them have really woken in the night once they are settled from about 10 (give or take ) weeks

Anyway, I have just been for an exhilarating walk around the coastal path. The waves are smashing right up against it the sun is shining, just brilliant. Part of it had been eroded yesterday so a bit of a clamber but I just feel brilliant.

YW what a sad story, but a lovely thing for her to say to you.
zamboni as for what my MIL said it was something along the lines of I shouldn't go up to settle him when he is crying - he would self settle if he was given half the chance. (She very rarely see's my son so how she could possibly know this I don't know.) She also thinks I shouldn't give a bottle before bed. I should let him sleep when he wants in the day and leave him to fall asleep on his own (he has never managed that ever!),and from earlier days we shouldn't have co-slept, shouldn't have even had him in the room as it would make a rod for our own backs and I was over feeding him (breast feeding).
SHe is a lovely person really, but was a teacher and is very 'teachery' with me in a know it all type of way. I try to shrug it all off with a 'mum know best and i'm the mum' type of attitude.

Interesting talk about the sleep training. I've never done any crying type of any sort - but F's early waking seem to be becoming a habit and I think we might end up having to try something in the future. But when he wakes he stands up in his cot and never lies back down. If I lie him back down he gets hysterical and bounces straight back up. Would sleep training even work whilst he does that?!

sophia I am a GF fan and have followed the basic premise of her routines, since v small too. The routine works, but S wakes up too early and won't go back to sleep. Like ditsy I have a LO who is fully awake. It's most definitely not a night-time whinge or wake up at 0400. It's The Start Of The Day. He is happy and chatty and bouncy, ready to eat, sing, play.

I have in the past tried later bedtimes but it hasn't made sufficient difference to warrant a routine change. I guess I could try again.

This morning I just pissed S off by making him lie down and holding him still. He was not interested. So trying to insist won't work for S. And his indignation if I left him in the cot (on those rare occasions he is still there at 0400) would wake everyone else up. DD has just dropped her daytime nap and needs to sleep until 6am. So I don't want a noise-inducing tactic really, although would suck it up in the short term I guess.

Hmmm. Lots to think about and everyone's comments are really useful to consider .

det - "once a cunt, always a cunt" may be my new favourite phrase. Truth.

Meant to say, ditsy that sounds annoying but is presumably well-intentioned? I think your tactic for dealing with it is spot on - breezy and with an air of "how very interesting, now, I'll just get on with doing what I think is best!"