August 2015 - Let the Sleepless Nights Commence

[nolongerwaitingfornumber2]

My DC2 was born on 5th August and I'm up in the wee hours feeding away. Anyone else with their August babies care to join me?

I still can't believe he's here and in my arms!

Well thank goodness for you lovely ladies... Went for our 6 week check today and after reading your (brilliantly supportive) advice I asked about the tops ups and the GP says I do NOT need to do them, that it's better to monitor DS by nappies and alertness, that the HVs have been plotting his weight incorrectly anyway(!) and to not worry about getting him weighed for another month. So hurrah! Can't thank you lot enough for giving me the confidence to raise it as an issue. I'm back to BF on demand and not stressing anymore (about this anyway!)

Sympathy for you Nolonger - MIL sounds a little tricky to deal with. Both mine and OH's mums keep being surprised by how much things have changed since they had us, but at least my mum doesn't tell us where she thinks we're going wrong all the time. His does, but only to me - she waits till he's out the room Anyway, hope you had fun at the beach - sounds like an ace day out.

We had our first baby massage class today MzzzF and after feeding for the first 20 mins DS loved the rest. Definitely going back next week.

Oh, and yes yes yes to chocolate oranges... Possibly the best thing about Christmas!

Brilliant news clstow! You know your baby better than any health visitor so am glad your GP supported you.

We had a lovely hour at the beach and the sunset was beautiful. DD is at that fun, inquisitive and carefree age. I just love her more every day and can't believe she is mine. DS has just started giggling too and loves having his face ticked. Melts my heart. Not sure what I did right in my life to deserve such amazing children!

Ok so I might have had tonight and given DS an expressed bottle...thankfully has more left for the night feeds as not sure about feeding after 3 glasses of red!

With you on the chocolate oranges too. Yum yum yum!

*Tickled not ticked!

Clstow - that's great news! I had a terrible hv with dd1 and she used to put the fear of god into me about weighing and feeding. It's so scary. I wept buckets over her "help". In the end I got a different one and I have her again this time and she's more sensible. I'm not having dd2 weighed. If I'm curious I'll weigh her myself on the bathroom scales. This was the hv's suggestion because she knows what happened last time. Nappies and general health are the important thing.

No longer - that's some Mil! Glad your dh is supportive. My MILs are both ok as far as advice goes but smil doesn't "do" nappies which slightly wrecks my head. If you're looking after a bairn "doing" nappies is pretty important!

Agree totally about 2 being an ace age. Aside from the tantrums that is. Dd1 cracks me up. Such a wee joker. I was hoping she'd be ready to go without nappies by two but she's not there yet. We're going very easy with it all. No rush.

Is anyone else really hot all the time? I was through pregnancy but I thought it would improve when I had the baby. Every night my pillow is soaked and I'm so uncomfortable in spite of being half naked from breastfeeding all the time. Dh is here breathing and heating up the bedroom- the bastard!- but surely it can't be all his fault. We live in the north of Scotland so the temp outside is pretty fresh.

Also carpal tunnel. I had it when pregnant with dd1 but not this time except since I had dd2 it seems to be back. Is this possible?

Fantastic clstow that will be a huge relief to you and give you confidence that you are doing things right

nolonger I have a 2 year old that needs toilet trained but it's just such a thought with having a baby too. When I first brought baby home she went through a stage of saying she needed the toilet every time I sat down to breast feed - just attention seeking - but she has stopped that now. With my others I waited until they were almost 3 and they basically just did it themselves - no accidents nothing - sometimes when you try too early they don't 'get it'.

Have a great day all

Yay clstow! What a lovely supportive GP. Glad you've got it all sorted now. Speaking as a healthcare professional they HVs I've met, whilst lovely people and the most 'box ticking' group I've ever met!

Joskar - we've fogged in, in Glasgow this morning! But here the view from my dog walk yesterday. Are you over those hills?
Re the carpal tunnel and heating issues - both are hormones related. Are you starting your period?

I've been thinking I'll start mine everyday over the last two weeks as I swear I ovulated a fortnight ago. But nothing as yet...

Mini mzzzf did some great sleep stretches last night. I got 5hrs over the course of the night - unheard of! But I think she's super sleepy at the mo due to a growth spurt so I don't know if she's nailed the Moses sleeping or is just conked out anyway. Either way though we're going with it if it means more sleep for all of us!

Big woohoo to the rugby last night! Anyone else a fan?

Have an awesome saturday folks!

Joskar yes!!! I have terrible night sweats and not sure if it's carpal tunnel but really sore hands and wrists - they get so stiff! Mzzzf interesting that is hormones too. Will it settled down? Or will it stay until stop Breast feeding?

Clstow that's great about the feeding. It makes such a difference seeing someone supportive (and in your case accurate. How annoying all that stress for no reason)

Nolonger have to bite my tongue around my PILs too. I wouldn't mind so much if they actually helped a bit but they don't however are happy to comment from the sofa. But deep breathes.

Joskar my sisters MIL doesn't do nappies either but then gets put out she isn't asked to babysit more. But as my sis says, how can she leave her baby with someone who won't change him?? Tis very odd.

So should I divorce DH over this? I asked him to bring Jaffa cakes home and he bought home Jaffa cake cake bars. Not the biscuits. I mean that is just not the same right????

joskar and kbro I have had terrible night sweats - started lying on a towel as sick of changing a super king bed every morning. Can't even blame the heat on DH being in the bed - he has been in spare room - says he is frightened he squashes the baby but really he doesn't want to be disturbed!! Not hot here either (Fife) - don't know what causes it - half-naked due to breast feeding, no DH and window open - hope it stops soon.......

kbro definate divorce over wrong 'Jaffa cakes' lol. My DH went to Costco yesterday and I asked him to get me a tray of caramel shortcake - looked forward to it all day - he came home last night and he had forgotten - aaarrrgggggg - how could he

Haha jaffa cake cake bars, while nice, are just not the same when you're expecting jaffa cakes.

And frolic......no chocolate orange at Christmas? ! Pure sacrilege! ! They are the best thing ever invented! Even better than jaffa cakes!

I'm having a good time on our mini break with the in laws. They've let me get on with breastfeeding when I need to and not interfered yey. Mil did ask if I was bringing a bottle out with us for the day but was happy enough when I said no, my milk will suffice. I'm getting quite confident in doing it anywhere anyplace now. Dd can get a but frustrated sometimes and wriggle a lot which makes it harder to be discreet but otherwise it goes ok.
I just need her to be quicker at feeding now because i did feel bad when everyone had to wait for her to feed which can take an hour or longer.

As much as I'm loving eating all the nice things, seeing pictures of myself has made me realise I do desperately want to lose weight as I look humongous on the photos and I'm so unfit. It doesn't help that I'm also in need of a haircut so that always makese feel a bit worse. Hairdresser couldn't fit me in for the full works of highlights so just having a dry cut to start with but it's the colour that I need more. It makes me feel washed out and dreary when it needs doing. I wanted some nice pictures of me and piper and with dp as well but I don't like the pictures of me. Dd and dp look nice though.

Another shit night last night. Ds really couldn't settle anywhere and did lots of crying. So did I. I'm exhausted today.

Sorry I've not read back properly, but have come on quickly to see if any of you have used a sleepyhead or similar?
We're getting desperate and fancy trying one, but they are so expensive.
I have read lots of great reviews. Please someone come along and tell me this is exactly what we need?

I hope you're all ok. Sorry for the me, me, me post.

Omg! I bought a cat! Why? I don't flaming know. But I now have a 7 week old baby and a 9 week old kitten.

Frolic we have a poddle pod as I was so tempted by the sleepyhead but I just couldn't justify it. BUT saying that a friend has had much success with it and another who has done a DIY version by making a nest with rolled up towels covered with a fitted cot sheet.
What exactly is the problem with DS that makes you think you want one?
I'm only asking I was considering and googling everything when dd couldn't lay down and settle.

Yay! To getting pets Bet the kitten is easier to look after!!

When can we start making jokes about you having a fresh new pussy?!

mzzzf I actually lolled.

this is George

Waaaah! George is very cute!!

You have a ginger pussy snigger

Congratulations on your fresh pussy fatty! He is beautiful

Thanks mzzf. The problem we're having is that ds just can't seem to get comfy anywhere. He isn't to bad on me - but I obviously need to sleep sometimes. I'm happy to co-sleep, but have had difficulty settling him next to me. He hates the Moses basket and the crib we have.
This morning I transferred him Into the Moses basket (it's a really big one) on his feeding pillow and he slept soundly for almost 3 hours. ( I was supervising the whole time to ensure he didn't slip under or anything). I'd been looking at the sleepyhead already during my desperate night time googling and I think that would give a similar set up. I'm thinking I could use it on our bed or in his Moses basket or crib.

I can't believe how much has changed in a week. He slept beautifully wherever we put him for the first two weeks. Now he's a 3 week old sleep deprivation torture master!

Why is he waking up?! Is he a sickie monster?
For us the poddle pod and feeding pillow worked well as it elevated her head and alleviated her reflux. But ultimately once we dealt with the reflux it was miles better.
The sleepyhead is a flat mattress with a neat like surround so more snugly then offering a different position to a normal mattress. So if the feeding pillow worked due to a change of position then maybe the sleepyhead wouldn't work...

Or just ignore what I think, get one, see if it worked and if it doesn't then flog it in eBay!!

Mini mzzzf LOVES napping on the poddle pod. It's miles cheaper than the sleepyhead and I imagine it you bought the bigger size then it could work like a sleepyhead... Just a thought!!

Sorry just to add, even with the reflux she loved napping on it on her front when I was supervising. Or on her back with her head elevated.

I have no idea why he's waking. Or not really sleeping in the first place! It gets to about 10pm and he becomes really unsettled. Fights sleep, cries, cluster feeds but fusses and looks like he has wind / is in pain. The hv doesn't think it's reflux as he's fine all day - very chilled and happy. So at the moment we're saying colic, but I'm definitely keeping reflux at the back of my mind.

It's so hard to know what to do! We've just looked at sleepyheads on e-bay and they sell for almost as much second hand as new. So dh just said we should bite the bullet and order one and sell it on if it's not useful.
Having said that, I think I've just envoked Sod's law because as soon as I ordered it ds fell asleep and is now snoring in his pram! Good job it has an overnight mattress and I'm comfy on the sofa!

Thanks for helping mzzf

That's EXACTLY what mini mzzzf was like when her reflux started. Totally 100% happy and chilled during the day then come the witching hour was like a different child.
Does your DS make any gurgling or swallowing noises when he's on his back? Does he cry like he's in pain and go stiff as a board in his body? She's also cluster fed/sucked at bottles, in an effort to dampen the acid, for a while I just thought she was super hungry . And towards the end it was her giant sick ups and high volume possets that became a big issue.

The more I looked into colic the more I was annoyed by it because colic literally means prolong crying but overtime folk have attributed wind, constipated, overstimulation, digestive issues to colic so it's all got confused to what it is, what causes it and what helps.

The only place dd slept on her back was the pram but probably because it wasn't totally flat.

Frolic I really want to know how you get on with it as I so wanted to get one anyway. And still might for transfer into the cot at a later date.

Btw can you and the carry the pram upstairs!

Oooorrff finally dd has drifted off to sleep, she's been a bit restless today due to us being out and about so I'm hoping against hope that she's ok tonight...we'll see!!

Happy and uneventful nighttime folks

I have to confess I have never heard of either a sleepy head or a poddle pod but will have to Google now!

We've always just gone with raising the end of the crib and having a milky muslin tied to it to leave my smell for baby.

Have you tried Colief Frolic? If it isn't reflux then it's very good or even Gripe Water might help if it is wind?

Fatty your new kitten is super cute! How lovely to have a new baby and a kitten to cuddle!

Dozy, enjoy your mini break and nice work with the bfing confidence!

We've also had lads of photos this week and I'm feeling really fat and horrible. After DD I managed to lose a stone and a half so I have a picture of me like that to inspire me. It is so hard though on broken sleep and being at home with so much temptation or going out for coffee and having a piece of cake. The diet starts Monday!

Thank you all for your in law stories too. Makes me feel better knowing most families have some irritating characters!! DH has annoyed me tonight though. I really feel he just wants the fun part of being a parent and not the drudgery. Just because I am on mat leave does not mean all the crap is my responsibility. I've had a splitting headache tonight and just wanted an early night but he hasn't stepped up to the plate and I feel so disappointed that he needs everything spelling out rather than seeing what he could be doing to help.

Fingers crossed DS at least sleeps for a few hours now I am finally in bed. Night all x

Oh poor you nolonger! I so know what that feels like!!!! Men are just so different us lovely women-folk aren't that! Really hope you get some sleep.

I'm in that limbo land of guessing when the right time is to lay DD down....

Lovely view, Mzzf. You'd get eye strain trying to spot us though. We're up in Speyside. V, v far away.

Glad it's not just me sweating at night. So hideous. The numb hand thing from the carpal tunnel might not go until I wean apparently (according to Dr Google) which is not good. Two years! Argh!

I know folk who swear by those sleepyheads. Never tried it myself but if the resale is good then maybe worth a go. I'm kind of of the opinion that baby sleeps when baby sleeps regardless of the system or gadget but whatever works for you.

Gorgeous George!

LTB regarding cake bars and caramel shortbread fails. Unacceptable.