October 2014 // thread 5 // baby's first Christmas

[JeannePoole]

Welcome back!

(Dear greetings cards manufacturers: 'Baby's First Christmas' does NOT necessarily have to include Baby being liberally sprinkled with glitter from your shoddily-made merchandise.

Except that, as I'm rapidly discovering, it does.

Happy Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a lovely day despite the difficult inlaws and sleepless nights! We are off to SIL's for lunch...we've decided on a code word for if our niece or the inlaws become a bit too much and we want to leave early! That's Christmas spirit for you!

We had a much better night here thanks. Boyfriend had set up another bed downstairs so that I could put pip in bed with me without her touching either of us and resulting in bad sleep for all, but I rigged up a bed barrier and we all slept together. She behaved impeccably - up twice but fed fast and went straight back to sleep - then we didn't wake up until 9.30, so 10 hours sleep in total. Not bad.

We've had a massive Christmas poo explosion though - right through to duvet! We were opening stockings earlier talking about what is different since last year (we've had a big year), but mainly last year there was no shit in the bed. Ha.

splendide im starting think our little ones are twins lol
He had a few nights if sleeping through and i didnt wake him so probably not helped his weight situation
Mil took him for a walk so me and dh could have an hour sleep but whereas dh can drop into a deep sleep at a seconds notice i was lead here listening to his brother moan that his kid had to be quiet and that it wasnt fair that grandma had to go out so now i just have no desire to go back out there at all
I know babymoose wont remember this xmas but i still wanted to have nice memories
We have also had 2 poo explosions! Soaked through all clothes! Not sure if its due to changin up to aldi's size 3 nappies, they seem more gappy. We definately didnt have poo explosions last xmas lol :)

Mine is definitely not sleeping through - nowhere near. Had a 7 hour once, normally 3 - 4 hours. Most of the time I don't mind that though. I'll have a go at doing something about that in the new year while we're living at mum's. Until then I'm just going to suck it up.

At in laws so the cacophony of clicking and mouse noises and dressing up of child in tinsel is slowly doing my head in! At least we have the option to escape for feeding - although if we're gone more than half an hour boyfriend is dispatched to get her back.

I'm drinking champagne in the kitchen. She's screaming in the living room now while wrapped in tinsel holding presents from people I've never met - photos of each present apparently required for each relative. She's refusing to smile at such nonsense.. that's my girl!

Haha good on her goats
I had my chair and place setting removed from the table for xmas so everyone could have more room because "well you'll just be with the baby" cheers guys lets not even do the illusion that im included! I ate cold christmas lunch sat on the floor jiggling baby in bouncy chair with one foot :s

Oh moose how utterly tactless! What a bunch of assholes! My brother took Dylan while we ate (he is a speed eater!) Which was nice.

moose knobbers (love that word)

I know weve had all sorts today, dh actually made a decision in my favour and said we'll stay tonight but head home tomorrow instead of staying all weekend... mil then proceeded to act all offended...dh explained that we got no sleep and she replied "well we didnt hear him cry so its fine for us" theyre just in a different world to normal people im sure!
Ive also had the hyperactive 7 yr old jumping on my chair whilst ive been trying to feed, fun times!
Hope everyone else is having more successful times with their in laws!

My ILs just sit around not helping and just sit there expecting to be waited on. One even waited for their desert to go cold as couldnt be bothered to get himself a spoon. And not helped with the clearing up either. And then got annoyed we weren't opening presents with everyone else!!
Upstairs feeding now so hiding for a bit and then hoping they will go home and I can veg on sofa with a glass of wine.
The brandy sauce with our pudding was so strong - it cleared my nose!!!

Well fat heifer that I am, I think my highlight was my dairy free trifle, the kids existed today on pigs in blankets, haribo, a Frozen spongecake and adrenaline. I'm so glad of the hours spent in the kitchen for all the Christmas dinner they ate . It was a lovely day with a frenzied 5, 3, 2 and 0 year old utterly hyper but thank god they're in bed! We're all doing a happy dance at the lack of squabbling, high pitched shrieking, and general mania and the fact we can see the floor again. Lil slept thru til 5.50 am and by 6.30 everyone was up - so I'm shattered. The littlest has been good as gold. Looking at the brawling toddlers we realised there's a reason old dears get misty eyed at the shame of them growing up from being babies!

I decided to dig out the reclining high chair from the garage and wedged in with towels, DD was able to join in the chaos at Christmas dinner. A taste of things to come.

Fantastic day. Merry Christmas everyone.

Lovely day here. Christmas Eve is always a little fraught. My family have had the same meal on Christmas Eve for the last 250 years (at least) and while in theory this is a beautiful thing, in reality it means trying to make edible food out of very questionable recipes while we all pretend that we can remember which ritual goes with which course. This year, DH hid upstairs "changing the baby's nappy" for the first (and worst) course! But having discharged the family duty on Christmas Eve, we've spent today on our own with Baby Badger doing exactly what we please - and it's been just gorgeous. We even got BB's first laugh today! Hope you're all having a great day too. Merry Christmas, everyone.

In retrospect we should have stayed home and seen no one - but our house is a shit tip building site, so we wanted to be away. Maybe we should have been on holiday or hired a cottage or something. It's been quite hard work for me, and is now about to be hard work for my boyfriend... with baby screaming thrown in for added fun. Poor thing is knackered and overwhelmed. Mostly by the infernal clicking noises.

Oooh badger that sounds like my perfect Xmas!

Mines been ok kids have enjoyed it went out for dinner then everyone back to ours. Was lay on the bed with r at seven settling him down and I really truly felt like staying up there and dozing off with him could hear all the craziness downstairs and really couldn't be bothered going down and being nice. Dp came up and dragged me down!

Hope everyone is managing to stay sane and not kill any inlaws

Did anyone else dress up the baby to embarrass them when they are older ?

So we've had the "you're nursing him and holding him" too much comments today from my mum which had shocked me a little. I thought she was on my side more to do honest. Dh is now questioning how we do things which I've told him is ridiculous. If we were struggling or had problems then I would probably listen more but I think under the circumstances, ie different house, no normal routine and older cousins around, I think Dylan has done the well. He got a bit overwhelmed with it all early this evening and took a while to settle but other than that he's been really happy. Why do the older generation feel the need to stick their beak in?! I bet they found it just as irritating with their parents!

Stigz: too right -

Argh babymoose is so unsettled tonight, not going to sleep is one thing but he's really screaming when hes not on the boob. Oh well, in laws said they couldnt hear him last night lol

Very cute pics stigz and kirsti

We all had a lovely day and got some great smiley photos to remember it by. Family were all quite sensible and didn't go too mad with baby tat - I think future Xmas's won't be so sensible.

This morning - "he cries a lot doesn't he?" No - just when everyone is faffing round him poking and trying to pick him up and you are all strangers to him. He doesn't cry like that when it's just us!!
I think he's a reallj chilled baby it just shows what lots of people and inlaws do!!

Merry Christmas all.
Sorry to those of you struggling with in laws. We were at my parents yesterday which was pretty stress free. A good lunch and a joy not to have to prepare and wash up! We are off to the in laws today but they are pretty good really thank god!

So I've had 3 nights of awful awful sleep. We've gone from Ned waking twice a night and going back into his crib after a pretty swift feed to waking loads and only sleeping on me. Christmas Eve he woke at 12, 2, 3.30, 4.30, 5,30 and then didn't settle until half 7.... I was broken yesterday. Last night was similar...do you think he's following the 12 wonder week moment?

I've also introduced dairy and we've had more sick, a dry rashy forehead and yesterday for the first time ever he projectile vomited... Do you think it's that?

fedup We had the opposite! MIL always bangs on about what a lovely happy quiet baby he is (he is, generally) - the minute everyone left yesterday evening we had a 45-minute screamfest. Poor little mite was exhausted... But it got us a 6-hour sleep without any of the usual 3am thrashing about .

And the Santa outfit? Oh yes, but not yesterday; he had a top secret photo shoot with daddy about a month ago and everyone got a little surprise in their Xmas card . We went for the Christmas jumper look yesterday instead!