January 2014 - hoping for more sleep

[beccajoh]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1952352-Jan-2014-And-lo-there-appeared-a-star-Our-babies-start-arriving

What's the deal with threads being closed? Is there a post limit?

I am soooooo tired today. Archie has been really unsettled the last few nights from about 4am onwards. Sometimes he's hungry, sometimes he wants to play, sometimes he wants his dummy. The last two nights he's ended up in with us as it's easier to replug the dummy, pat etc.
YAWN.

felix I'm sure pouches won't be a problem. We did the same with dd as we were camping in France just after we started weaning. I'd avoid the Ella's kitchen ones though because they are all really sweet tasting (even the "savoury" ones are actually mostly fruit) and personally I'd prefer to introduce savoury tastes firsts. Babies love them though.

fly I'm going back to work full time in September when h will be 7 months (although hoping to do compressed week of 7.45-4.30 with half hour lunch and Wednesdays off to save on nursery costs £950 full time £800 4 days) due to money. I had a kit day and didn't miss h even though he blanked me for 5 minutes when I got home :( I am happy to do it after finding a nursery I love. After viewing the first one I really wasn't happy but the 2nd one is lovely. I'd keep looking if I was you. Could you speak to work about changing your start date if you wanted longer?

Bloody hell I'm knackered. Another night with a baby that wants nipple/doesn't want nipple/wants to be on my chest/wants to be beside me. Up at 7 and the first nap has only been 45 mins long - couldn't get the sleep pixies back at all. Poor wee thing has scratched his face and ears to ribbons too. Going to have to try the antihistamines the GP prescribed tonight. He has never slept through but things used to be so much better. Stupid sleep regression/eczema /growth spurt/teething

So turns out O has been booked for her next jabs, but a week late! I really don't get how it's so hard to count 4 weeks from the last appointment! Oh well at least it means it will be after her christening and dh can come with me.

Oh puggle sounds tough. Sending you some caffeine and sleep pixies

puggle I feel your pain! H is waking every 2 hours at the moment, sometimes for a feed sometimes just to be whingey. Tried him in his cot last night for first time as has been in bed with me since outgrowing his Moses basket and it didn't make any difference, although on the plus side he seems happy in his cot (after I cleared all the dumped stuff out!)

I totally symapthise with the should I shouldn't I work debate. It is hard leaving a baby, but personally I will do it asap. When I don't work, I just sit around trying to pretend I am not responsible for the baby and drinking coffee, I feel knackered all the time and watch the house slide into being a pit of filth. . I get much more done in a weekend when working than all week when not. I can not be trusted to be a SAHM, which is why it is such a bugger that I did a languages degree and have no specific training for any job!

Even when the childcare is less than perfect IMHO it is good for the DCs to have a change, unless you are actually organised and take them out/ do arty stuff/feed and bathe them regularly without prompting.

High maintenance DD was always v happy at nursery and hers were all way more babies than 3:1. I think it really depends on the set up, but def don't send your baby somewhere you aren't happy with. What I mean to say is, the 3:1 ratio may not be in and of itself a problem. The UK is really hot on high adult:child ratios but most countries (France, I am looking at you here!) aren't and still have safe childcare.

puggle that is really hard. I hope you can make your DH do his share on the days he is home. If it helps, we have people viewing the flat all day, so of course N is contributing by vomming up all his feeds. He was projectile sick on me this morning just before taking DD to school so I was extra fragrant and all the other mummies and teacher were a bit [hmmm]. Probably muttering about dirty foreigners as we speak.

Puggle & getting, hope things improve for you soon!

What do you guys do with your babies through the day? I feel guilty that I don't really do enough with her, but surely there's not that much you can actually do with a small baby? When we wake up, I put music on and lay her on the bed whilst I get dressed etc. then get her dressed. Then we go downstairs and I sometimes lay her on the floor and she tries to roll over for a good half an hour or so, or chews her toys. I'll put her in her rocking chair thing where she will chew more toys, and I'll sing and talk to her. Sometimes she lies in her play gym thing. What else can I do? I find I'm sat a lot of the time watching telly or doing housework and she's just sat in her chair doing nothing and I feel bad! I'm struggling to get out of the house at the moment because of this stupid anxiety thing but I'm getting my implant removed tomorrow so hopefully I should be ok soon. For those that go out for walks etc. - how often do you go out? Is it every day? I can't think of anywhere to go!

Felix I always worry the same thing. We take the dog out for between 30mins to an hour everyday. She plays on her mat with toys, sits in her bumbo chair and plays with toys/watches nursery rhymes on the tv. She sleeps for about 3 hours as well. Plus we go to groups (bounce and rhyme, an early educational group, swimming and a breastfeeding support group) so that fills time. We also see inlaws one day a week for a few hours, and I've got a few friends on mat leave or work part time so we see them too. But I also watch a lot of tv (currently sat watching house with the dog asleep on my lap ) unfortunately I do a lot of housework as well!

nature that is amazing! The groups sound great, O is a very lucky baby.

Felix, I worry I'm not doing enough too, though unlike nature probably with some foundation. N does a lot of sitting in his chair as I do housework, MN and help his sister out of tantrums. I sing a lot to him, and he loves his playmat. I'm afraid that is about it for us! We go to the baby group when I remember (very rarely) and sometimes go to the park, but he just sits there and then gets hungry really quickly and we go home. I used to do loads with DD but I just don't seem to have the time or motivation now I have two to look after.

I get anxious about going out too felix. I wouldn't worry too much about where you are going walking but even half an hour a day will help you and her a lot, especially if she is seeing new faces. I like early morning best because you don't have time to talk yourself out of it and it also puts me in a great mood for the rest of the day. Good luck with having the implant taken out, and don't stress too much!

We are on our third day of cloth nappies and the washing machine has been on the blink since day one. It can only cope with three to four nappies at a time! Should I go back to disposables for a couple of weeks til we leave, or keep at it?

We use disposables here, luckily as my washing machine is broke for the second time in the 3 months since we bought it pile of shite Been handwashing all week bar one bag my mum did, because they cannot come out until tomorrow! Just hoping they actually fix it and have all the parts ready grrr

Baby pumpkins conjunctivitis has all gone and her eczema is a lot lot better since the doc gave me cream for it. She is getting to a right chunk now, and I think teething may be starting eeeek

Work- Blimey £800 for nursery fees, that isn't a lot less than the typical wage in my area. Just as well im a sahm lol!

Would love to go back to work when pumpkin starts school but think college first to get skills for a decent job x

Oh no pumpkin - fingers crossed it'll be fixed tomorrow.

felix I think they get so much from just watching you. I try to make sure Alex gets lots of floor time but that's it really. Babies used to be left in a pram at the bottom of the garden and most turned out okL

puggle I think Alex might be going through the sleep regression too. During the day he can self-settle through thumb sucking but from evening onwards he's a terror. Took me til midnight to get him asleep (started bedtime at 7!), then up at 1,3,5 and 7. He slept on me for most of that as every time I put him down he'd be fine for 30secs then wake up screaming. At least I had a few weeks of good sleep first I suppose!

Shit shit night, down at 7, woke at 10, 11.45, 2, 230, 3.40, 5, and 6.45. I had to give her to DH for the day, I can't think straight.
She didn't want to feed, just wanted to bloody play every time. I tried dummy, ignoring, cuddling, singing, feeding, walking around then down, but i won't give in to 'I want to play' at 2.30 in the morning, I don't want to associate middle of the night wake ups with fun. Each time it took forever to get her down. I am broken.

V jealous of those of you who get tv time in the day. If A is awake, and not being entertained, or at least having me smile and chat to her while she gnaws on her toys, she goes berserk. In her naps, I catch up on housework, have my shower, get dressed, exciting things like that. That's why nights like last night kill me; I'm 'on' all day.
We do a music group, mum and baby Pilates, swimming lessons, rhyme time and three or four outings with NCT chums a week.
My DM says she needs 'quiet time', but whenever I try it (and I don't give up at the first squeak), she goes mental. Boredom makes her really upset!

pumpkin I would have gone mad. Seriously. Even before cloth nappies I was averaging two loads a day. Hope they sort it once and for all tomorrow. Glad baby pumpkin is feeling better!

humpty and anyone else using LL OSFA: how do you clean your nappies? Washing instructions say max 30 degree wash and no nappy sanitiser, including mio fresh. That seems quite frankly mad given the poo everywhere so will either wash at sixty or use miofresh on the pooey ones. Do you know which method is less damaging?

I also tried using LL fleece liners on top of the built in liner, but the top liner got soaked while the boosters were bone dry. Any ideas why that might be?

Sorry for all the nappy related hijackinbg, but as N is continuing his vomiting spree I want to make sure the nappies are well cleaned.

humpty. That sounds really hard. at quiet time! Tbh it doesn't sound like overstimulation to me, just sounds like A wants her mummy all to herself all the time.

humpty do you know anyone that has a jumperoo you could try her in? Everyone I know that has one swears by it for getting a few moments peace.

humpty i agree with the jumperoo,

Humpty that sounds very hard I agree with trying to find something that stimulates her without you having to do anything. It's important to get time to yourself. I guess it's just trial and error to see what she enjoys.

Humpty totally agree with the jumparoo h lasts a solid 30min in it before she starts to freak out. Only problem is it's not very mobile so have to put her in then constantly check on her of I'm in another room. She fell asleep in it yesterday which was pretty funny. Another thing I do is if h is sleeping I do stuff for myself, make lunch have a shower maybe watch some TV then if she's still sleeping I will do some housework but it takes a back seat till DH comes in and takes over. It means the house is a state but I feel much better having some quiet time on my own.

Felix I pretty much do the things you do. Although I take H to my mums once a week, also do a bookbug class where I met some other mums so I'm getting out at least twice a week....it's totally made a difference to my sanity! Do you have any classes or things nearby?

Band I'm struggling with the group thing. I live in a shitty area which has nothing suitable for babies (even the HV commented on it when she last visited ). There's a childrens centre but they do things like 'messy play' which are aimed at toddlers rather than babies. There's some awesome groups in other areas but I'd have to get at least two buses to get there there's one I'd love to go to which is run by Japanese ladies and you learn to sing Japanese nursery rhymes and do origami and it sounds ace but it's so far away! I suppose it will be fine once I learn to drive but it will be months yet.

Cheers for all the good wishes- managed 2 more naps in the sling so hopefully sleep pixies haven't deserted us completely. I'll send them on round to humpty getting tarka andanyone I've missed

I find nappy off time buys 5 mins for hanging washing/ stacking dishwasher. Due to a lifetime of exposure Luckily little puggle really likes the graphics on Pointless (quiz show on bbc1 at 5pm) so that's helpful. I hate wet days as we usually potter in sling around garden and do at least a 20min walk most days. Last teeming day I had my own baby loves disco afternoon - iTunes on random dancing around to see what he likes. Get lucky was a favourite (we're up all night to get boobie being the corrected words)

Yeah, nappy off time is great in our house. Until this morning...
My friend was coming round at 9.30 so we could go to visit an elderly lady we know. At 9.15 I left Meredith with her nappy off while I got our shit together. She was on a towel on the floor.
At 9.20 I came down from having a wee to find that she'd not only weed, but also pooed. Everywhere! I didn't know what to do first! I tried to clean her with wipes, but she was covered from chest to toes. So I wrapped her in another towel, left the door on the latch for my friend, and it was emergency bath time :o

Puggle completely agree with the ass out working, H lives it. Without fail she will pee tho.

Toby hee hee. Gross but really funny!

Felix the Japanese class sounds awesome. It's strange because here I found there is actually more to do in the dodgy areas. The councils put way more things on. I also had baby massage classes that were run by my health visitor as well. I'm surprised how little there is for baby's in the city centre they would make a killing. I randomly made a friend on the train just started talking to her, her baby is 2weeks younger than H, we meet up once a week now,I think you find everyone's kinda in the same boat.

There is baby massage here but when I saw the HV before Sylvie arrived, she told me the waiting list was so long (a few months ) that there wasn't much point in putting my name down. I have the ladies from my NCT class who have decided to meet up every Monday but they all live further north than I do so it's another 2 bus situation just to get to any of the meet ups. It's so frustrating sorry I'm being a bit pathetic but it's doing my head in!

felix I would definitely put your name down for baby massage as that's where i met my local baby friends as there was only 4 of us even though I only went to 1 after everything that's been going on here. Also a baby massage friend took her baby to messy play today and her baby is 18w ish. Even if it's just to make friends. Do they have a bumps and babies class? There are a few children centres within 30 minutes walk of here and one is much better than the others. Maybe google it? Or netmums has details of groups. Also check out local library as we go to rhyme time which Henry now loves