June 2013: Here come the terrible twos!

[HungryHorace]

New thread. :-)

I'm no good at waking up in the night. DS appears to like cluster feeding through the night. One side after the other over and over again. But it's part comfort feeding. I stay awake feeding him till just after 1am when I can't take any more and then DH takes him downstairs and cuddles him for a few hours while watching Netflix so I can sleep for a few hours. Then it starts again.

We need to swap night and day around as in the day he feeds every couple of hours for a short time and then sleeps in his basket for ages. He's an excellent day napper, unlike DD. Thank goodness, as he just slots in around us.

DH has always needed more sleep than me but for some reason he is ok with getting up in the night whereas I find it hell. I'm coping ok with lack of sleep, it's the being woken up part i hate. It doesn't last for long though (I keep telling myself!), hopefully only 6 weeks or so. It's just that their tummies are tiny at this point.

Here's hoping! I keep hearing horror stories of children who keep this up for six months. Or longer

I'm thinking positive, it's the only way to stay sane.

Though I think we might have a handful with this one. We put him to sleep on his back. He often rolls straight onto his side (and has done since day 3); he's clearly found his comfy position already. I didn't think that was even possible so early on, And he flings himself around to try and look at things. DD didn't attempt to move whatsoever until at least 6 months.

I was told off in hospital for letting Polly sleep on her side. I swear I did not put her there, she did it herself!

Feel for you though. I've had Polly in nursery extra days as I am simply not up for dealing with two at home at the moment!

We tried putting him back on his back when he started doing it but it is pointless as he normally goes straight onto his side!

DH is still here at the moment. Should be fun when he goes back to work! As DS sleeps a lot during the day, hopefully it won't be too bad. It's just while I'm feeding that it's hard to keep an eye on her. This morning, she climbed on her step, opened our (adult) toothpaste and put some on her brush ready to brush her teeth! I was quite impressed but she was upset when she showed me and wasn't allowed to put it in her mouth.

I just don't have patience for Polly at the moment which I feel bad about. I don't want to keep saying no but keep hearing myself saying it. Poor thing. It's worse when the weather is rubbish.

That's totally understandable. It'll get easier.

Just had a bunch of mums at our toddler group trying to persuade me to start up a business making kids clothes for them. I keep saying its not the right time because I'm planning another baby these conversations just prove it to me.

Cup of tea to you both in sympathy

Hello I constantly lose this thread and love when I see it pop up again in my active conversations... I can't remember what my name was 2 years ago but I have Sephy and am on the facebook group.

It's crazy how quickly the second birthdays have come around, and I'm very jealous of all the second babies!

What are you all doing for the birthdays? we're having a party in the garden at the end of the month and I'm praying for good weather!

I've seen your clothes on Facebook though sunny and would totally buy them!!

I think the thing with the second is that you have demonstrable proof of it getting easier running around your house! I look at Polly and think of the things we did at certain ages and that reminds me it gets easier. Though I doubt I will be hauling Juno up Lake District mountains like we did Polly!

Yes, that definitely helps, bean.

We had a family birthday party a few weeks ago for DD, as we didn't know what state I'd be in after having the baby. On the day, DH will take her to her tots group (as she loves it and we don't want her to miss out) and then we'll go out somewhere in the afternoon as a family. We haven't decided where yet, we might just go out for a walk to feed the ducks. Was thinking of going to a farm but I'm not sure if you're supposed to take newborns.

It's more that they aren't meant to come into contact with animals I think?!

We are on holiday for DD's birthday and will be taking her to Beatrix Potter's house to play in the garden and get her a Peter Rabbit toy.

As all the godparents bar 1 live a good trek away we aren't having a party as we will be having one for DS a month later and it's not fair to drag them to us two months running.

Next year we will have a joint party. Not like they will mind overly!

DD would want to be up close and touching all the animals (there's a petting area) so might leave it for a while.

The same people who came to the party also travelled quite a distance to visit baby last weekend so as it turned out we could have had the party then. But it was nice for DD to be the focus for the last time. Joint parties from next year with their birthdays being a week apart!

I didn't want DS to have a joint party for his first, as DD had her own party and he deserves a solo one too!

Two of the godparents work NHS / police shifts so it's also not fair to expect them to sort leave round 2 parties. At least next year I don't have to agonise over it!

I am surprised how competitive it's been already. In my postnatal group there have been parties with mobile soft play, entertainers hired in, monkey music sessions etc. We are thinking of offering a sausage roll and cancelling if the weather is bad! At two they don't know what day it is and are probably overwhelmed by dozens in their face. I dread the whole must invite the entire class thing that surely lies ahead!

Me too, Bean...hopefully it's a brief phase!

We were asked to have a joint party with a friend. Then after agreeing I was told we were hiring a hall, a bouncy castle, were buying £10 party bags for each kid etc etc. Funny how my work schedule suddenly changed so we had to back out of that arrangement

Now we're just saying if its sunny to meet us in the park with a teddy for a teddy bears picnic. I'll supply the shop bought cake

Party on sat for dd - more or less people she spends a lot of time with. And she is off to soft play with her dad and his family on Friday.

Think it will all be ok, hate the lead up to these things tho, but as long as dd enjoys, it's ok!

I think it's quite nice to have a family party under age 4... After that it's full of school friends and real life friends don't really get a look in.

We had a gathering with our NCT mates and it mostly involved morning prosecco and cake for us and the kids running wild through the house. Less a children's party and more a self-congratulatory session for the adults! Was v relaxed and fun. No serious parties for Joe until he's old enough to remember them!

Enjoy all your 2yr olds - I can report J is absolutely no different now than at 1yr 364 days!

Have to say those parties were great fun. This heart beeps woman on Saturday had them all thoroughly engaged for over an hour! I'm quite mean though, and really don't want to spend the money.

We tend to avoid inviting family as DH has five sisters, all married with kids. So if we have just family then it's thirty people through the door. Keeping it to friends keeps the numbers much more manageable.

And yes the cake is a sainsburys Peppa cake which will go down much better than anything I could make!!

It's too young for party bags and the such like surely?!

We have family coming. There will be a bit of cake but nothing fancy as ds doesn't yet like chocolate cake or iced cake, or many cakey things in fact. But he is partial to a spot of ginger cake so that's what we'll have. And pop a candle or two on top for our benefit
He won't have a scooby what day it is, but will delighted to have new things to play with no doubt (even if that is the wrapping paper and packaging rather than the actual gift...)

We have to have dairy free cake, so I'll just make some sponge or other. Nothing drastic!

And YY to family parties; that's all we do really. It is fine for me and easy to manage (and they don't have any expectations of me!).

I still do party bags for the kids as hardly any of them are 2 years old... They're mostly cousins and my best friends kids so I like them to go home with something