March 2013 - by the time we finish this one we'll be shopping for elf outfits. Eek!

[ecofreckle]

Here we go again then ladies. Plenty more shiny new space to fill up with ramblings :-) Link to last thread

worse, yummy DP is better now, thank you. Well, I say better, what I mean is, he is no longer stuck outside unable to return inside and having to wait for paramedics to fill him full of gas and air before he can move. He's on 4 sets of tablets and can move around as long as he has something to hold onto. Which means, now that I'm at work, I'm bloody worrying about him. It also means that my weekend suuuuccckkkeeddd. Having to run around after DP and DS (which I don't begrudge either of them) but then the dog. Oh, the dog. After eating DS's bacon and egg sandwich, peeing all over the floor THREE times and running into a cut in half door, which is leaning against the book shelf to protect the books from his teeth, and knocking it onto my leg...I was prepared to throttle the damn thing. And my top lip has swollen to twice its size, for some unknown reason. Eurgh.

wotta childcare days are sometimes a pain for us re:naps, which is why 2 of the days, he goes in an hour earlier so that I can run around like a mad person get things done at home.

Sounds like there were a few bad nights last night. DS woke up crying too, but after a couple of minutes went silent so I stayed very still! Here's a question, do your toddles wake up then go back to sleep after a quick cuddle/milk/change/etc, or does one wake up mean multiple wake ups, or does one wake up last a good couple of hours? I ask because if DS wakes up in the night, it either means he'll be up again a couple hours later or he'll be wide awake for a long time, and I have no idea how to settle him after doing all the usual. It can often end in middle of the night mummy break down!

Something that sounds suck indeed. Poor you and dh. Drugs are the way forward. In terms of night wakes we have no middle ground. It's either sleep through with the odd very brief chunter (like three seconds long) or up for Fecking hours. Four hours Saturday night and two last night. I was larking around with her yesterday and got a good view of teeth and she threw her head backwards so it prompted me to have a feel around. One of the last four molars is just piercing through so I am assuming that's what it's all about. We have given calpol which I'd reckon works after half an hour or so but she then remains unsettled (like I do to be fair....my mind kicks in, I start doing other stuff.....I can't get comfy) and doesn't like us leaving. Thank heavens for dh and earplugs. A doctor we saw early on noticed my caution regarding calpol and he had young children himself and that you just don't know. If you've tried the food, nappy, warmth things and they're still grizzling he'd not hesitate to administer calpol because chances are it'll help and if unnecessary it won't have done any harm. I'm pretty square and like people in authority telling me what to do so I have adopted his stance. People (mumsnet!) have said that ibuprofen is better for teething pain so I might go and get that. But in the middle of night it'd be a faff because you need to have it with food right?

Anyway,that was to everyone, not just dear something.

Not long now worse (helpful).

Best skiddaddle.

Yep, ibuprofen needs food, as I discovered a couple of weeks back when DD was howling but not due more calpol for an hour. Went to get the calprofen (or whatever it's called) from my brother's and he said best not unless she was having food too.

I tend to take the view that calpol won't hurt and may help. I'm reassured by the chemist refusing to give it out on minor ailments more than once a month - if we're going through less than that then we're at safe levels and unlikely to be permanently buggering her innards.

Something what did DP do to his back? I must have missed it. My sympathies though - bad backs are a sod. My brother's had once ever since a waitress barged through the door he was about to walk through, necessitating an awkward twist out of the way. While carrying a 25kg sack of spuds on each shoulder. Not recommended.

Oh yeah, middle of the night wakes. eco we usually have no wakes at all, or else she wakes up, rolls over, and goes back to sleep. If she has a cold she sometimes wakes herself up coughing, and usually goes straight back to sleep. Can tell within a minute or so whether she's going to. If she's not, I'll nip in and administer cuddles and tucking back in, occasionally she'll ask for milk or calpol and I oblige, then I go back to bed and we both go back to sleep. I can count on one hand the number of times she's been awake more than half an hour in the night. But I have no tips on how to achieve this - it's part and parcel of my lazy-arse give her a while and see if she shuts up night time parenting method.

Your middle of the night wakes are amazing Stormy.
Ours are generally solved by cosleeping. If he wakes just after midnight that's IT, he won't tend to go back down on his own. If I go in, that is. Dh has an amazing ability to settle him.
Something so you've been wrangling a mischievous pup, a nearly two year old and a Dp with a bad back? You can come by after work and collect your medal. (Hint: it's wine).

plonk oh I would LOVE to come by and collect my medal but I'm on pick up the toddle duty and CM has given me strict instructions that it must be before 6pm so it'll be a mad dash from work to toddle to home to bath to bed to collapse.

stormy DP first did his back in about 8 months ago twisting while moving a wheelbarrow, a suspected slipped disc but they didn't offer him a scan so we never knew. He's suffered with it on and off since then, but after reaching for the dog (yes, the dog again) and overstretching because the dog is not ever still, it went again. And a lot worse than last time.

I shall give him all your sympathies, he'll love knowing that he's being discussed on the famous MN

Thanks eco for your nighttime waking tales, DD and DS sound quite similar in their all or nothing wake ups. I hope for our sanitys (sanities?) that it is molars and they'll make their blasted appearance soon!

Something the very idea of a bloke on gas and air has me cracking up although that's probably not something to pass on to your DP . Looking on the bright side at least he now has some idea of the amount of pain women go through!

Night wakes here are never of the whimper and turn over kind. They are always of the whimper, wail, WAIL.... rattle the door handle kind. How long it takes to get her back to sleep varies on why she has woken. Hungry or thirsty is an easy one, she'll settle pretty much immediately after a bottle. Anything else, well how long is a piece of string? Could be an hour, could be three. Four is pretty much as bad as it gets. Co-sleeping only happens when it's as good as morning anyway and we've basically given up, so from about 5am. She loves it, as do I at the moment because pregnancy insomnia has me awake from 3am every morning anyway, and I'd rather be awake cuddling a toddle, than awake listening to DH snore (!). DH however is in sleep training mode so does his level best to settle her in her own bed.

Stormy this is why you need to have another one, pronto! No one gets that lucky sleep wise twice in a row . MIL's first (DH) was like your dd. He slept through, every night, pretty much straight away. Her second took 2 years to sleep through even once. Her third was in between. I'm amazed she had a third to be honest. 2 years

Ibuprofen needs food? I didn't know that. Thank goodness I've been giving her calpol. What happens if you give it without food? I think that proves MN is a great source of useful info!!! Actually whilst I'm on the subject the best thing I ever learnt from MN is the hypothyroidism needs careful management in pregnancy. I had no clue. My GP had no clue. I was happily breezing through pregnancy 1 oblivious when I happened upon a thread on the subject in the pregnancy forum. Lucky I did really. I am sure my poor GP wishes I hadn't

Something dogs are a liability. Fact. Dog 1 caused me to break my wrist so badly it had to be pinned back together. Dog2 tore all the muscles up my back when I was pregnant with the toddle, and torn back muscles are particularly nasty when pregnant. The doctor in A&E told me they see a ridiculous number of dog related injuries, and he wasn't talking about bites. Although on that subject dog 2 has also bitten me, badly, when I tried to separate a dog fight never do this. Your DP has my sympathy.

Hotel exchange didn't go through... more paper work! It's unbelievable. We have the funds ready to go. We have a buyer and a seller in agreement on all terms. What we don't have are banks and lawyers crossing all their ts on time. Arghhhhhh.... and breathe. I am fully sympathetic to all house buyers/sellers on here because the whole process is a fecking nightmare PITA.

Sanities, Something. And tell DP he needs to be careful. Once buggered, backs have a tendency to stay buggered.

We've never managed co-sleeping. On those few occasions we've had lengthy screamy wakes, I've found myself wishing she would co-sleep because then at least I'd be horizontal. She certainly hasn't always slept right through though! We were having regular milk feeds in the night far later than some of you, if I recall aright. She just got the idea fairly early on that night-time is sleep-time, not play-time.

Wailing now though. Bloody colds! Better dash.

We're like toddlestorm. Hardly ever wakes for more than grumbles or lost sheepey and on the odd occasion when snot and coughs are so bad a brief cuddle is generally eventually rejected in favour of back to bed. And no, he's never been any good at co sleeping since about day 5 although we haven't encouraged it.

stormy snufflebabe vapour rub is a god send. No more wailing because of a blocked nose.

something on a good night ds will fall asleep after a bottle of milk usually between 2-3am or a dummy return any other time. If I don't give him milk he will cry for it. On a bad night he will wake up and scream if I put him back to his or our bed. He will go the living room pass me the tv remote saying beebies. I will show him beebbloodybies is asleep. We sit around for a couple of hours then I give him a bottle then bed.

worse its a shame about the hotel. I am sure it will happen soon. Save the champagne for when the baby comes then you can have a double celebration.

Dh is going abroad to see his family as of Friday for just over a week so I am doing solo parenting. I am so not looking forward to it but dbro and dm will be on hand to help out. Dbro has already agreed to do nursery pick ups whilst I am working.

We've had several more coughing fits, starting to sound a bit croupy. I fear we may be in for a long night. Had to give milk and three stories at the 9pm wake, and she was all quiet half an hour after the first cough. Due more calpol though. I may have a smoke then try to sneak up to my own bed, and the calpol and the syringe can come too, to save another trip downstairs. This is what I get for being unintentionally smug, isn't it?

Cough mixtures don't do much but can ease things a bit if really bad and propping the cot helps a little too. Hope you both had reasonable nights!

Last time I asked the chemist wasn't keen to give out cough mixture for someone so young. And she props herself up on the menagerie at the bottom of the cot anyway. But thank you for the suggestions. Think we'll just have to ride it out - two nights of evil cough done so should be a bit better soon.

Today she's wearing a pair of trousers that purports to be 6-9m. I held them up to a baggy pair of 18-24 for comparison. Same size. Bloody ridiculous!

The ones we have are purely glycerin to coat the throat and ease any soreness, no actual medicine as such for such littl'uns. I generally don't bother but we had a week or so of awful wracking coughs which we're waking him and making him cry so we were prepared to try anything. They offered a little soothing, sometimes enough to get back to sleep. A little spoon of honey would prob do the same thing. Hope she's on the mend soon.

Did he get stuck in the cough-cry-cough-cry cycle? I hate that part the most. Not sure what she'd think to a spoonful of honey, but I may try it anyway. I suppose calpol has a similar throat coating effect.

Any respite yet Stormy? If you haven't tried snufflebabes it really is worth a go.

Right, I've had enough. I feel how I did 3 years ago when I decided I wanted a baby. Have just done a test because of insane tiredness, light headed ness and feeling generally a bit icky. It's negative and I'm actually disappointed. I don't know if I'm going to need to persuade dh at all.

something I take it fat people/small babies are going to be allowed at your wedding?

plonk as fat as you like! But, don't you dare give birth during the ceremony. You know us theatre folk like our limelight! GO GET A BABYSAURUS!!

plonk!!!! Go for it.....
eco your week sounds busy.!! Even though I feel really busy I do have clear work/home time so I guess that makes it a bit easier? You need some more childminder time perhaps?? Are you getting any time to yourself?
Felt like a bad mum today, DS has been really poorly and I had to go to work . Bugs are hard work- we've had rubbish sleep for days on end!!!
something how is the wedding planning? Is DP ok?
in advance of wine Wednesday ladies !!!

Ah come on Something, at my wedding I had the good grace to invite two midwives, three nurses, a biology teacher and even 3 dentists. If I'm going to be upduffed at yours the least you can do is lay on an orderly for me ;)

Shattered good to see you. As I'm processing invoices at 8.41pm on a Tuesday, I will take that wine.

Plonky go for it! Now I've nearly reached the end of the road I have conveniently forgotten all the downsides of up-duffed-ness so can proclaim it to be the best thing ever.

Fun night last night. Yesterday we were out and about, so the toddle was very very busy in a way only toddles can be, and missed her afternoon nap. Result, she went to bed and fell asleep straight away at 7.30pm ! Cue DH being Mr smug of Smugness as he's of the view she would sleep better if she didn't nap. 2am, she woke up. For 3 sodding hours. Because she wasn't tired, having already had 6.5hrs sleep, which is pretty much what she gets on a normal night. So that theory went t*ts up then.

I can't bring myself to care though, because the cleaners are here today, and the mere knowledge that I don't have to clear up the devastation mess that is created by one husband and one toddle on a weekly basis is enough to buoy even the most tired of spirits. In fact, if I wasn't modelling the Mr Greedy look right now I could probably run a marathon. Possibly. Or ok, maybe not, but I could definitely jog round the block

We've gone and filled another thread, so I took the liberty of creating a new one.

New thread here.

Worse ahh that'll learn him. Does she really only go for such a short time? I remember you saying about a friend whose little person didn't sleep through until they were 2. I was one of those kids. Thankfully my older sister was a breeze by comparison, slept through from six weeks apparently cow.

Enjoy your cleaners!

I put the second baby question to Mr Saurus last night and he just stuffed more chilli in hiss gob, nodded a bit and said "yeah". I need to get my coil out, which means I need to find a new GP to do it. He won't go for it if there's a chance of having a Christmas baby though, so we need to discuss timing really. And I have a night out planned in early February. Priorities etc.