September 2014 - Rocking and Rolling

[FATEdestiny]

Our babies are rocking and rolling, crawling and climbing into the second half of their first year.

Let the fun continue...

Ahh thanks Nazly. :)

Glad your DD was okay Fate.

Holls nice to hear from you. Glad to hear nursery / work going well. Not sure what to advise about the early wake-ups as we're in a similar boat as Jessica likes to get up at 5.30am each day at the moment. This wouldn't be so bad but she's still regularly waking at least a couple of times a night as well so me and DH are shattered. We spoke to a relative of DH the other day who has twins and she had success with controlled crying. Me and DH are talking about picking a quiet weekend (maybe the first August bank holiday) in the future and doing controlled crying with Jessica now as we are reaching our limit, and feel we have tried everything else. Not sure if I have the stomach for it though. But I just don't think in Sept when I'm back at work I can do a 14 hour shift on so little sleep.

Oh and yes to finding silence dangerous! Jessica currently is into finding electricity cables, and trying to climb into the toilet. Sigh!

Oh and I hate to be the bearer of bad news for both of us Holls, but I'm told early wakening is quite common in young children and may well go on for a few years yet! [Collapses into sobbing heap] Seriously though I could cope with the early starts if we could sleep at night, I'd just start going to bed early each night (well except on my double shifts where I won't even get home much before 10pm). Luckily for me I was never a party animal so it wouldn't bother me that much!

I need some advice. I'm so upset and really not sure what to do. DD seems, from my perspective, to have settled into nursery really well. I wouldn't claim the nursery is perfect, but I'm happy with it and DD seems happy to go there each day. DH, however, is not happy. He's picked her up three times, and what he describes just sounds like a different place to me. I'm pretty sure he is going to say he wants to pull her out from there. Obviously if she were unhappy or unsafe I'd not send her to the nursery, but I just feel so conflicted as my experience is so different to DHs. I think he is expecting high standards, possibly too high, but I just feel so confused and I want to cry.

Team what are DH's concerns? x

Team that sounds a bit worrying! Would what he's describing concern you if you saw it first-hand? It sounds like a chat with the nursery is in order.

We've had a big long chat and he doesn't want to take DD out of the nursery, but he does want us to clear up a couple of things with them that we are both a bit unhappy with.

We talked a lot about what is reasonable to expect from nursery care, and I think he really struggles with sending her to nursery knowing that they can't take as good care of her as we do. But I don't think we can expect nursery to replicate what we do with her. It is a different kind of care, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The question really is whether she is happy and safe there. I'm happy with the nursery, but I agree with DH it isn't perfect.

The thing we are both unhappy with us how messy she comes back. I know she can cover herself in food, can spread it through her hair and all over her clothes, but sometimes (not always) she is covered in food when I pick her up. It just is a case of wiping her face and cleaning her up a bit. I also wonder if they put a bib on her as her top is often really dirty, to the extent that a couple of tops are permanently stained. Again, I know food time can get messy, but she has a spare set of clothes with her, so why let her be so dirty?

I need to raise this with them, but I'm not sure how. I'm happy with the care and the couple of times she's been poorly I've been impressed how they've made the right call. But it just seems sloppy, and unnecessary. I have no idea how to bring this up though. With her key worker, who also runs the baby room, or with the nursery manager?

I can't remember who, but I seem to remember one of you wonderful ladies works in a nursery. Any ideas or advice?

This is all such a shame as it is all so close to working well, but this one issue is getting in the way

Team - that's unacceptable in terms of health and hygiene, which are basic expectations for a nursery. It is absolutely reasonable that you should bring up the fact she isn't being kept clean with the nursery manager. So don't worry or doubt yourself. If it was me I'd go in 20 minutes early one session and speak with the nursery manager.

Re sleep - DD's sleep has completely changed in the last week that she's been in her own room (which has double blackouts and is quieter than our room). Not only is she sleeping through, she's also having to be woken in the morning - which is unheard of in our household. She's having 12/13 hour nights which in turn means she's now dropping her morning nap and having a single, massive 11.00-2.30/3.00 nap.

team its me who works in the nursery. Personally I feel the same, I always make sure E is clean and I am the same for the children in my care, they get changed out if dirty clothes and if we run out there own spare we put nursery clothes on them!

I think you should speak to the room leader first, (although it may be easier for you to speak to the manager) this is who I would speak to first and then if you still aren't happy speak to the manager stating that you had already spoken to the room leader but there had been no change.

I would ask if they needed more spare clothes (maybe have some with you) and a bib as you had noticed your DD was coming home in dirty clothes, this way you aren't accusing them so they hopefully won't get defensive. Maybe mention (even if it is a lie) that your dd's face had been red and could they make sure they wash her face after meal times! Fx they get the hint! Of course you could go for the more direct route but this way seems much kinder to everyone involved :)

Another early waker here now, if we make it to 6am it's a good day! Seems to be about 5 or 5.30 most mornings. I've also read it's very normal, and I'm trying to look on the positive that when I go back to work it means I'll get to spend some time with him in the morning

I've just been filling in my nursery registration form, makes me so scared! I really need to work on his naps, I just don't think he's going to sleep there at all.

Team I think it's fine to mention that to the nursery. It really would only take them a minute or two to put a bib on your DD and give her a wipe over after meals, or a clean top if required. It's pretty poor that they aren't doing that already really.

Acorn I have the same concerns about nursery and naps.

wow, fate, I can't believe u r still getting up to 17hrs sleep a day from ur lo. just like a newborn! but in better chunks. v envious! ds' naps r really awkward at the moment. he isn't tired until he has been up for 4 hrs. so, he is up for 12 hrs plus naps, which I have to wake him from, which really isn't ideal, from nap length or overnight sleep point of view. I wish he was ready for 1 nap, but I think he would get v grouchy towards nap time and bedtime. he actually managed on 1 nap last Saturday, but had a horrendous night sat night where he was awake for 2 hrs which has scared me, but maybe it wasn't due to not napping twice and I should try again.

The storms woke DD up last night at 4am, then she didn't want to settle, so that's the sleeping thro and one nap gone to pot for the day.

We have vertical blinds in our bedroom, which are really rubbish in terms of darkness so for 9 months DD has been used to sleeping in subdued but not dark. Now that she's moved into very dark (blackout blinds plus blackout curtains to stop edge-bleeding) it has made a massive difference to her wake-up time in the morning.

It's all very new though, I'm sure her sleep will settle into something more reasonable. I would consider 15/16 hours in 24 to be a normal amount for her. I suspect she is sleeping more currently because of the heat. I'm quite happy to go with the flow with her and just follow her lead with regards when and how much she wants to sleep.

DS managed to sleep through the storms last night, including the burglar alarm going off right outside his window when we had a power cut!

Naps are a bit all over the place at the moment. He only had one yesterday & I thought he'd be a nightmare before bed time but he was fine & slept til 7.30 opposed to the normal 5.45 wake up so maybe he's ready to move to one nap, not sure I am tho. He sleeps so well at night I don't want to risk upsetting that.

I'd definitely mention something to the nursery. The childminder has apologised a couple of times when I've picked him up as she's just noticed he's got a bit of food still on his face from dinner & she always mentions if he's got something on his clothes.

E has been struggling with food for the last few days I am trying not to make a big thing about it but it is driving me nuts

We've been ok with food here, but it was only hot for about a day and back to cold now

Lots of biting still and the new thing is hair-pulling

hair pulling is driving me bonkers. he removed some hair from a girl's head at nursery last week. I am sure it's a sign of affection but it bloody hurts.

b has had a cold for 2 weeks now. worse at night. v snotty nose and a hacking cough. lovely.

Sorry about all the eating issues, hair pulling and colds.

I think Jessica said her first word this morning! Her all time favourite thing is standing, and has in about the past week learnt to stand for a few seconds on her own (I.E, without any furniture to support her). Pretty much every time she stands in any context me or DH say something along the lines of 'clever girl, you're up' and this morning she just kept saying 'up', and I'm fairly certain she's not just babbling. Especially as she seems to be able to use it in context (e.g, if I lie her down she'd say 'up, up' until I stood her up. But it seems really early still so I'm wondering if she's just making babbling noise and I'm calling it a word, if you see what I mean? These babies are very confusing!

kitkat What a coincedence ...J has also been saying "up up" in the right context - therefore I think it does count as a word !

Holls - my DD is a major hair puller too!

She says "mum mum mum!" Quite often. I like to pretend she is calling me and taking to me, but I don't think she is really!

E said his first proper word when playing in the curtains, which also co insided with playing peek a boo by himself for the first time! I was saying boo as he popped out from behind the curtains then he hid behind it and said Boo

Funnily enough I just came in to say that DD seems to be saying another few things but is obviously still babbling a lot. She's started obviously trying to copy things 'bye bye Grandad' that we say, and seems to consistently say 'ack' at snack time. I think these are first words as they only seem to be in context, so appear to be deliberate??

I couldn't let a day pass without a post, it's unheard of!! I'm going to bed with DS in with me tonight. Never happens. He's all over the place with naps and I had To carry him this evening in the ergobaby which meant he had a late nap. Cue two hours of screaming at bed time, cuddles and calpol later and he's crashed out in my bed. DH has volunteered for the sofa after a disturbed couple of nights. Hopefully this way we all get a bit more sleep. Don't know what's going on with him, maybe a cold (I have one), maybe a tooth or maybe because I've left him twice in two days (first was his first nursery settling session which didn't go well). He's one sad little man at the moment though!

I'm excited at the prospect of a first word, but I think we are a while off yet! As we still are with crawling lol.

Hope everyone has had an ok Tuesday.