January 2014 -- the birthdays are coming!

[TobyLerone]

Just wrote a long message on the old thread only to have it not post because we'd filled it.

We really ought to do less chatting and more sleeping

Morning everyone!

MrsG that all sounds really tough. I was alone with a non sleeping baby at that age and I really don't know how I got through it. I remember falling asleep at work a lot though. Have you spoken to your tutor to explain your situation and ask for flexibility with deadlines etc? Even if you don't think it's a good enough reason, they will probably be more sympathetic than you think. They also have a vested interest in all students completing the course so IME will pull out all the stops to get you through. Still doesn't really help with the sleep though, unfortunately.

I am not trying to be smug but DD didn't fight going to bed last night. This is still a very rare occurrence.

Merry I have the same trouble with our en suite bathroom. They took loads of space from the main bathroom to make it and now I have two tiny bathrooms, one of which I can't use anyway! First world problems, eh?

DH back from abu dhabi and I didn't kill PIL. As far as I am concerned, that is a result.

Thanks, Merry and altered. I eventually got a few hours sleep, feeling a bit better today. She's so happy during the daytime now (Especially compared to the first few months of colic and reflux!) it's easy to forget how hard the nights are. DH is back next Sunday, so only a week to go. He's taking her most evenings next week as I have two essays due in then!

Hi all, thanks for the welcomes and sorry to de-lurk then bugger off again! Just had no time to post or even read MN in the last couple of weeks. Things are pretty full-on here as I'm back at work (PT) and also trying to write up some academic work which I had to put on hold while I was pg/on mat leave - I can totally sympathise MrsGSR, it's a bloody nightmare trying to focus on brainwork when you've had next to no sleep.

No pooing in the bath here thank god, but sleep is still difficult. It takes DS ages to drop off even though he's totally knackered, and I'm wondering if I should try an earlier bedtime even though that would mean DH would never see him during the week :( He currently goes to bed around 7pm but isn't dropping off until more like 8pm. I'm up for trying a bit of sleep training, but I don't think DH's nerves can take it.

On the upside, I've been having fun planning DS's first birthday and am more excited about it than Christmas :) Like other posters, we're having a little party with family (miles away from where we actually live, but hey ho). He loves Furchester Hotel on CBeebies, and my Mum has been asking a local baker about making him an Elmo cake . If I wasn't run so ragged with life and no sleep, I'd have a go at doing it myself.

Great to hear how everyone else is getting on, and hope the poorly babies perk up soon :)

Oh dear, we've joined the cold club. Up every 30 mins through the night . He was happy as anything waving me off to work this morning, that's ok son, you get a nap soon, I get month end reports to do! TB. Although I did feel for him last night. Hope everyone had an ok night.

Ugh, merry. Even the words 'month end reports' still make me feel faintly sick, and I haven't worked for 2 1/2 years. You have my every sympathy

Nice to hear from you again, Earth :) Sounds like you have your hands full at the moment!

I am totally knackered today. Had to get up early yesterday to drive an hour away so that DS could play in a rugby match. It was cold but actually quite nice once the fog lifted, and DS played brilliantly. Then, when we got home, I made a casserole for dinner and left M with DH while I ran around shops like a crazy person, trying to get a bit more Christmas shopping done. We were desperate for an early night, but decided to just quickly make a photo calendar online for MIL before we went up. TWO FUCKING HOURS LATER it was finally ordered.
Then M helped out by waking up every hour. So that was nice.

Today I am going to Canterbury with my sister. Definitely taking the sling, rather than the pram! It's the way forward (literally) when the shops are busy.

Earth we love the furchester hotel here too

Hope all the ill babies are better soon! What a nightmare.

I've given up on gradual retreat now. After a full week there was no improvement (apart from a fluke night) and she's started screaming every time I put her in her cot, which she didn't do before. So it's just made things worse. I think I just have to accept the fact that I'll never sleep again.

What's the best thing to use for bad nappy rash? S hasn't really had it much before but she's got it at the moment and it's really red and sore I've got metanium but it's not doing much!

The metanium in the yellow tube (not the white one) is all that worked for us, sorry felix. When it was really bad I stopped using wipes and went back to cotton wool and water, and I dried her bottom with a flannel before putting her nappy on. I tried bare bum time as well, but she just pooed everywhere and tried to eat it

I'm sorry the gradual retreat hasn't worked, that must be disappointing. We were meant to start it at the weekend but P is ill again so we've had to leave it until she's better and back in her routine. Are you going to try anything else?

We have the yellow tube. I'll keep with it and see if it clears up eventually. I think she is teething so that's probably why it's so bad. Will give up wipes for a while too, thank you. We had some nappy off time earlier today but she did a massive wee on my new rug

I am leaning towards CC as I really don't know what else to try. The idea of her going to sleep upset makes me feel sad though.

Don't forget you're only meant to use a tiny amount, felix. Metanium didn't work for us. We found Bepanthen worked by trial and error.

I can't imagine that CC would work where GR has failed, sadly. If, like me, you find yourself leaning towards a bit of hippy attachment parenting, try Dr Sears' Baby Sleep Book. It resonated quite a lot with us, and it has quite a few ideas for helping babies to go to sleep in various ways. I say this without having tried any yet!

We have bepanthen too and sudocrem so I'll try one of those if the metanium doesn't work.

Thanks I'll have a look! I was all for cc until recently when I read a thread on here saying about them going to sleep alone and upset and it put me off. I didn't care until I read that such a heartless cow! I can get her to sleep on her own, so I'm no longer feeding her to sleep at night or for naps but she's still screaming for milk when she wakes through the night (around 4 times a night recently). I can't seem to be able to fully wean her off it I'm thinking that leaving her to cry might do the trick but it's just so mean, and I worry about her waking the neighbours.

Felix, maybe try some Canesten as the rash might be thrush, especially if some moisture gets trapped under a barrier cream. It cleared up Henry's horrible nappy rash a few months ago where other creams didn't touch it. I also second cotton wool and water, and then drying off their bottoms.

Sorry to hear GR didn't work for you. I was following your progress with hope that we might crack it too. Sounds like you made good progress though - getting S to sleep without feeding to sleep sounds amazing. That is our goal. We hope to start GR tomorrow night, provided H naps during the day, and then probably give up by Thursday due to his screaming rage so I predict some long nights ahead. Would offering water instead of milk help S wake up less? [Random unhelpful suggestion face]

Thanks fizzy I've never thought of using canesten! Looking back, we did make some progress but it never went any further and it felt like we were just stuck at a certain point and not getting anywhere. I probably need to try for longer than a week, but I am knackered so keep reverting back to doing anything for more than an hours sleep. I could do with DP having a month off work to help I hope you can start tomorrow. It seems like it's really worth it if you can stick to it rigidly.

Sorry forgot to say I gave her water in a sippy cup and she looked at me like I was mental. Then I tried water from a bottle and she just kept drinking as much water as she would milk, so it wasn't reducing the amount of fluid at all and she was waking up more frequently as it wasn't filling her up like the formula would. It was worth a try though!

Ahh, sorry to hear the sippy cup was no use felix. N doesn't like them either, he will only drink out of a normal cup and is increasingly insisting on holding it himself.

Sounds like canesten would be a good idea. Bepanthen has also worked best for us for straightforward nappy rash.

Re: GR vs CC I found me touching him or talking to him made N more frantic. I ended up sticking him in his cot and going to sit on the bed. If he got especially frantic I would half heartedly sing to him. Usually he settled best just knowing I was in the room but not talking. He shouts and whines for 5 minutes before lying down and going to sleep. He goes quiet before sleeping so I don't feel that he is especially upset. I guess I am a bit lucky. DD wouldn't have any of it and still needs to be stroked to sleep at 4.

crap crap crap. OH MY GOD!! Been feeling crappy all day, off tea and feeling nauseous if I didn't eat. Thought it must be this cold, but thought I better POAS just in case. Oh my god it's positive Dh won't be home for a while so I can't tell him yet. Hadn't planned another one so soon, but happy about it. Especially as I have a fertility issue but we have literally dtd twice since O was born!! The fact I'm still breastfeeding won't we screwing with the result will it?!? Seriously don't know what to think at the minute but it does explain why my clothes are getting tighter!

Congratulations nature! That must be a shock, but a nice one. I was just thinking the other day who would be first to fall pregnant again.

Never heard of bfing giving a false positive for pregnancy. Hope telling DH goes well!

I just think I'm in shock. Panicking now.

Nature!!! Congrats! Eek how exciting. I'm sure you can't get a false positive.

Thanks altered. I don't have any issues getting her to sleep in the first place its when she wakes up through the night for milk. Although last night she woke up at 10ish, and then only woke up once more at 3am. She wouldn't go back to sleep until 4, but it's still an improvement on previous nights. Luckily I have a comfy chair to sit in next to the cot

That is horrid felix, I totally sympathise. I still tiptoe around DD when she is sleeping because she is such a nightmare to get back into bed. The tiptoeing around and feeling of dread can be worse than them actually waking.

Don't panic nature, it will be fine. I do want to know what colour your DH turns when you tell him though.

Oooooh, nature, congrats! V happy for you and just a huge tiny bit

Dh couldn't be happier, slightly shocked but made up. It's me that's stressing about the practicalities!

Congratulations nature! So exciting