June 2013; Toddling into our second year!

[BeanCalledPickle]

New thread ladies:-) I think we filled about ten threads when pregnant and this is only our fourth post natally!

It's hard isn't it Sunbeam.

DS has a blanket that he has taken a shine to. Sometimes if we get to him quickly enough then giving him the blanket and stroking his head is enough to get him to settle down again. He also has a wind up music box that helps sometimes. If he gets picked up then the chances are he will make a stupendous fuss at going back to his cot.

Lying on the floor next to cot basically ignoring him and mn-ing waiting for him to drop off again works if he has stopped crying and is just about to nod off again.

If all else fails then he goes into his pram. That is weirdly comforting to him. It lies flat, has a fleecy sleeping bag liner and he will go for hrs in it!

Anyway he is asleep again now so night night

I have to admit when I stopped bf dd a couple of months back I do offer milk when she wakes at night. She settles within minutes. If she doesn't want it she says no and cuddles will suffice then. She still wakes 2 times a night. there are some nights it still feels like every two hours tho
I'm trying to be good now and once she has settled put her back in her cot, rather than in with me. However, if I'm tired this doesn't always happen

It sounds like we were really lucky with DD then. Although I bf her till 17 months she slept straight through the night from a couple of months old.

Thanks Mrs and pinkbear! Yes , it's tricky and hard to explain to those who haven't experienced it how much the lack of sleep is a killer (and why taking them into bed to try to at least get some sleep often happens). We 'll get there!!

I've got a good sleeper here but a bad eater. Like others, she'll eat bloody anything nursery try feeding her but if I try it she'll scream bloody murder. Tried to give her bolognaise with rice last night. Last time she devoured it. Last night though she howled for flamming ages until i caved and gave her a yoghurt. I've been evil today and given her the same bolognaise for her lunch at nursery. Bet the little ratbag eats it with a smile for them as well.

My only advice for the sleeping thing was to forget to switch the monitor on, shut the door and go to sleep. We did that at 9 months and magically she slept through - or at least if she did wake up we didn't hear her. Oops [bad parent emoticon]

Good advice, Sunny!! Our ratbag eats anything but won't bloody sleep.

As DD eats and sleeps this baby is destined to be an utter nightmare, isn't he?! Thank goodness it'll be our last!

DD seems back to normal now. At last.

Bad parent here as well. She was sleeping through before I stopped breastfeeding so I never really used it to settle. But now general night wakings are largely ignored unless the screams ramp up. I do get that isn't for everyone though. I am definitely more harsh than my friends!

As I suspected. The ratbag ate all her lunch at nursery today. That being the exact same meal I gave her for dinner last night which she declared was poison and I was trying to kill her!

Flaming toddlers.

Anyway must dash - we've lost a chicken somewhere and I need to find it before the fox does.

sunny. Your post earlier made me laugh.

I think the sleeping advice is good. They don't actually need feeding during the night from quite a young age. So as long as they're well etc I don't see anything wrong with leaving them to self-settle. I'm quite harsh myself.

I second Sunny's approach. We went for 2 closed doors between us and DD and video monitor turned to silent. I knew if she really cried/screamed I'd wake up but it meant she got herself back to sleep withouth me going in straight away. Good luck!

Thanks, guys. That's useful to know. Think we need to do this!

We, in effect, do something similar. Monitor is on but we only go through if he is properly upset. Also the shape and layout of his room means that we can pop our heads round the door without him being aware so can see if he is sorting himself out.

I discovered yet another parenting secret yesterday. There's yet another hormone slump when you stop bf-ing altogether Sunday and yesterday morning, I felt utterly miserable, teary in that non-specific way, and today heaps better again if a bit knackered by the experience

Mrs, I'd read that when you stop bf you realise you've been in a kind of haze the whole time. So I was looking forward to becoming extra refreshed and alert. Didn't happen so I blamed it on being pregnant. Must be a myth then. Glad you're feeling better.

I so have to get tougher at night! This is my next challenge with her.
She slept from 7.30-8 last night.... at my parents house! Not a peep apparently. Tonight doors are being pulled across and this Mumma is giving herself a tough kick to not get up unless it really sounds like I need to.... altho do actually have a busy day tomorrow and have to be out the house by 8.30, watch that fall apart now I've decided to be tough!

Good luck, pink! I need to get tough too so let me know how it goes!

Sunbeam I will keep you posted!
Also now thinking I might need to juggle her room around and move her cot, have a sneaky suspicion she can see the landing and my door where she is. Maybe that needs changing too. That might be my weekend task.

Cuphat - a friend said to me that I would feel more energetic once stopped bf. Still waiting for that to happen too to be honest.

I blame the haze on 2yrs without a solid night sleep (crap sleep in pregnancy).

Our delightful gp asked me yesterday if I was enjoying having my body back "for a while". For a while??! That suggests having another baby This, coming from the gp who we have seen monthly for over a year with our really quite refluxy baby, seems extraordinary to my ears. Especially as she had just finished saying 'he clearly still has reflux, don't worry about weaning him off medication'

at what your GP said! Your poor DS (and you) though, I thought reflux disappeared after a few months or so.

That's what we'd hoped would happen (and usually does I think). To be honest if it is well managed with medication then it isn't a big problem day to day. But it will lovely when he is free of it!

One of DS's keyworkers at nursery has a son who, aged c7yrs, still suffers from reflux. Gulp.

Can I ask you all what time your little ones go to sleep? lily has been happy to go to bed at half 7 but plays in her cot bed loudly for up to an hour before falling asleep. The past couple of nights though she's been really unhappy about going to bed and was insistent that she should stay up.

Can't work out if her routine is a bit out of sync after the holidays or if I should shift her bedtime back a bit. She generally sleeps til 7-7.30.

Advice please

DS goes to bed c6.30 and is invariably asleep by 7. He always seems very ready for bed by then. He usually wakes up between 6 and 7 which is a bit early but we need to get him (and us) out the door at 7.15am three days a week so it suits us really...

Asleep about 815pm here, gets up between 8 and 830am. Occasionally get him to sleep around 730pm but unusual. He naps once, from about 1230pm and for 60-90 mins.

DD is asleep by 7 - she's asleep within a few minutes of going in her cotbed. Normally wakes between 7-7.30am. She has one nap after lunch (1-2hrs).

Polly is in bed by 730. Sometimes awake for ages, sometimes asleep in seconds. Sleeps till 730 ish, sometimes earlier or later. She has two entirely different schedules depending on whether at nursery or not. They give her lunch at eleven and then expect her to sleep with tea at four. I think that's crazy and give her meals at meal time when at home so we can eat together. Why do nurseries think they should have lunch at 11?!? Anyway, the duel system seems to work out ok and she's fine at night. I ignore her chatting to her animals in her bed if she's not ready for sleep. I figure it's the same as me reading in bed:-)