November 2014 - the one where we all get a good night's sleep

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Here's hoping, anyway...

Awww ladydolly I'm with you on feeling sad that the tiny newborn phase is ending, dd outgrew her first size stuff a few weeks ago & is just about to outgrow the 0-1 month stuff now too. It goes so quickly, but there are many more exciting phases to come!

Has anyone got ewan the dreamsheep? Is it worth the expense? Thinking ahead to when we put dd in her cot, we've got a vtech projector that we used with ds but it made a racket, drank batteries & went off randomly in the middle of the night. Not sure I want to reuse it so looking for alternatives.

We've got EWAN. I've started using it as something to try and get him to self settle. It's worked the last 2 nights when he's woken up during arms/ basket transfer. My friend who has an 11 month DD used one from day 1 and she still loves it so £30 well spent in her opinion.

dd never made it into newborn being such a porker. Its the 0-3 month thats being put away, so mostly babygros, now its real clothes! sob!!

I have ewan (gift from work) and I love him. I think dd associates the music with bedtime, she calms right down. I've used him everyday (for hours at a time) and just changed the batteries last week (8 weeks).

I have visions of a whole generation of mothers who could hear his tune in 20 years time and be cast right back to sleepless newborn nights! (goodness I'm a little soppy today!)

Ewan is a lifesaver in this house! Eats batteries too though.

God, DS must be such a monster - we put 0-3 month clothes up in the attic a couple of weeks ago.

1st evening with video monitor! I am watching it obsessively, lol. Not too healthy!

DH got us a battery charger thing and rechargeable batteries in anticipation of all the batteries-eating things coming over the next few years!

We have introduced Ewan couple of weeks ago. The first time we put it with womb sounds and DD started to talk to Ewan in her language. It was the very first she did it, left us with eyes in a dump place. She has been doing the talk since then to me and DH. We actually maintain some sort of dialogue with her usual sounds. So for me Ewan is something more than just sending to sleep. But she falls asleep with it as well.

I find the different reactions fascinating, I've put ewan in the bed and cot and babydolly doesn't even notice he's there!

Mine is oblivious too despite sharing a Moses basket every night. He seems indifferent to poor Ewan himself!

Sounds like Ewan and Close Caboo are our products of the moment.
My day has also been saved by the close caboo carrier: 8pm, house is a tip, in-laws coming tomorrow, been out all day (at their house, why are we having to see so much of them?), baby screaming for no apparent reason, so much cleaning up to do, failed at washing-up with one hand while holding screaming baby in then other. Put her in carrier, she stopped screaming gradually, I have 2 hands free to clean, difficult to crawl round on floor picking up toys but otherwise great.

Ok so must get my caboo out and try it brought a second hand one at bargain price when pregnant n it's Sat in baby cot

New 7.30 bedtime I love. New 5am wake up I'm not such a fan of.

0-3 still drowns my tiny dd! right think i'll be buying a ewan then! So the caboo sling is good too then? I borrowed a babasling from a friend to try out but so far dd not keen though the holding position i tried is across body. Might try front hold like caboo & see if she likes it any better. How much roughly second hand?

Touch wood things are going in a better direction with dd's sleep. She is awake more in the day, settling earlier in the evening & waking 11pm & 4am for feeds. daytime naps have gone to pot but hey ho. Long may it continue!

Osama, there's a group on fb called affordable baby slings for sale or swap, that will give you a good idea or you can post a wanted ad, I got my discounted ergo on there, nice honest people too.

So I have a feeding question....yesterday we fed DS at 5.30 and he was asleep by 6.30 downstairs with us, but kept waking up and was so cranky that I put him upstairs at 7 and he settled much better up there.

So then I got paranoid as he hadn't fed since 5.30 and now was in bed! Also paranoid about changing the nappy as I didn't know when he'd wake next. So then I fed him at 8.30 on schedule but tbh he possibly wouldn't have woken up for it had I left it. It was a bit of a dream feed until I started changing his nappy. Then he was WIDE awake and I was glad I had kept half the bottle to resettle him again.

After that he slept till 2am.

Would you guys have let him sleep? He'd prob have woken up around 12.30 I guess. Honestly not sure what was the best thing to do!

I had a similar situation anna. Asleep at 7.30 onwards and doesn't normally go down until 10.30 (during 10.30 feed). I didn't wake her and she woke at midnight then 3, then 5ish. Which other than midnight are her normal times. She just switched her 5 hour stint from night to evening which is fine with me. So no, I wouldn't have woken her but that doesn't mean that's right, we don't have a schedule after all.

Bloody mystery these babies hey?

omama try the caboo first if you can. I bought one after doing lots of research and they are very popular, but it absolutely kills my back and I've had to stop using it because of that.

Anna I would also leave him to naturally wake in that situation. We've had same thing happen here a few times & dd has always woken up herself between 8-9 to feed. We then get 2 night feeds at approx 2am & 5am, whereas if she gets her bedtime feed at 7pm she wakes at 11 then just one night feed at 4am. I like those days best!

Thisis thanks for the tip about trying before I buy. not sure I know anyone who's got one though . Wish a sling library existed in my area!

We have a material sling which I have used nipping to the shops and walking to get him to sleep. I will have a scour on ebay with all these recommendations. x

omama try that fb group, people often meet up to try each others out and there's also a 'babywearing' group who might help. If you're near cambridge you're welcome to try mine (which we got at a carboot for £4 so you could try those too!)

Thanks ladydolly sadly am up north! Will def check out the fb group today.

Should I be worried that dd ( 7 weeks) is still eating all evening? She will eat and nap continuously from 6 ish but then sleep from 11/11:30 till 7:30/8, have a feed then have another hours kip. I'm reluctant to change it cause I quite like the big sleep!

Ark I will trade you my go to bed at 7/8 and wake 9-11 depending on not alot but hate a 2hr gap!!#then hrly after that!!

Baby swimming today no mega nap after 40min feed then awake for 15min drive home n still awake now been awake since I woke him in changing room at 9.30am

We have a woven wrap too and it's been a lifesaver for both dc! I know a lot of people who love the caboo too, not sure what the weight limit is but great to start on.

We still have two night feeds - he's asleep by 9pm ISH and wakes 1.30 and 4.30. Last night ds1 was in bed mega early cause he's been ill though, and ds2 fell asleep 7pm-8pm then back at 9.30pm but woke at 5! Didn't resettle till 7am - just in time for ds1 to wake up feeling perky. Urgh.

Anyone else with two feeling sad for all the fun things dc2 is missing out on? No baby massage, no swimming. The thing is, ds1 is now missing out too as I took him swimming right up to the morning of the day I went into labour and can't manage two. I'm sure in the long run they won't care as my brother and I have a similar age gap and only remember being older and playing/swimming etc together, but I still feel a bit about it.

DD has 2 night feeds (3am and 6am) if she goes to bed at 11pm or 3 feeds (1am, 3am, 6am) if around 10pm. If she is peaceful I happily have a late bed time, but if she starts to get retless we take her to bedroom earlier. I don't mind her night feeds as they are shirt (10 mins) "down to business" ones with immediate falling back asleep again.

I don't think you can do much about it Utopian, that's how it works with 2nd child.... Don't know how mums feel about it, but we have 7 years difference with DS. She was tasked to play with me, but as a kid would tell me that when she was little mum would play with her (in particular, she has been drawing outfits for the paper dolls with DS). I was upset she would not play with me as we used to argue quite often with the sister. I even asked mum to play with me, but she did shy away from it with excuse that DS was better at playing. At the moment with 1 kid only I would love to think I would try my best to give all the same attention I gave to DD1, but reality would definitely be different... :(

Ark I wouldn't worry about the evening feeding if thats how long she sleeps overnight! Trade you that for screaming all evening with feeds at 11 & 4am or feeds at 8pm, 2&5am. (Last 2 nights no screaming & asleep 7pm ).

utopian - I also have a ds(4). He is at school so in some ways I am lucky as dd has my attention to herself during the day & I could take her out to classes etc if I want to. TBH though I'm not sure I'll bother - tried when ds was a baby & it was a nightmare - without fail he either cried or wanted feeding or needed to be asleep at the session time!

I do however feel like I am really neglecting DS. DD is a bit high maintenance at the moment & is very hard to settle to sleep, esp if noisy ds is at home. I'm forever asking him to be quiet & he just can't - result is that dd just cries & I have no time to play with him as I'mconstantly resettling her. Its very hard work in that hour til dh gets home from work!!