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!

Fergus just slept from 7pm until 1am!!

God my eyes are stinging! DD is sleeping well, she fell asleep just before 9 in the new old swing chair and I still did a dream feed at 10 as it worked the night before. She woke up for a feed at 2:30 so I'm hAppy with that! The last few days I've kept a note of feeding times, it's a lot during the day but she doesn't cluster feed in the evening so it's about 11 times in a 24 hour period, She's pretty snuffly and I swear got some sort of cold incoming yay...

Frolic - sorry to hear about the bleeding. Weirdly, hope it is your period rather than infection related!

Dozy - I think it's great news on the weight loss. I know it's not what you hoped but it really is better than putting it on! I seriously commend your efforts, there is no way I'm ready to diet and I still have a massive jelly belly!
I also agree about being able to reply like fb would be so much easier lol! I figure we're all in the same boat with the tiredness/not enough hands so I like to think any response on the thread is a bonus

Hope everyone is having good nights! Lots of lovely dreamy thoughts to all, especially our gorgeous sprogs xx

GO FERGUS! Hope you managed to sleep too siani!

Great sleep siani!!

So DH did indeed get get to sleep send lay her firm but then tells me he didn't burp get as she fell straight to sleep - WTF?! He knows DD needs burping!! So surprise surprise a few mins later when choking/struggling to breathe sounds come from the cot... Now does he wake to attend to her?! Nooooo of course he bloody doesn't!!! Argh!! It's always me who has to deal with her over night!!
She's not been settled since about 30mins after he put her down at 11.30pm, so how I've just tried to load her up on mill again in the hope it'll help!
He better get up early tomorrow as I've been nice enough to let him sleep for the last two mornings!!

Lots of sleepy wishes for the rest of you tonight xx

Oh and I just thought to say, let's not worry about individual replies when posting eh?! It can be a bit much trying to do it to everyone as I know myself!! I mean, obviously if you've got a specific point then fine but don't stress if not - we've got enough to do! Just carry on chatting like you want to.
Just a thought! X

Mzzzf - totally agree with the individual responses and not feeling guilt, I think it's safe to say we've all got our hands full and since we're such a chatty bunch it can be murder trying to catch up if you've missed a few hours we know that we're all here for each other.
I ruddy hope you get your lie in. Tbh my DH has been pretty good at wanting to 'help' last few nights but I've declined as I'm saving my expressed milk as we're off to an engagement party tonight and I want a more than a couple of drinks.

On a random side note, Molly's poo is slightly green tinged. Now I've had this before once when my boob was so engorged and we had to work at it all night to get rid of a blocked duct. Apart from not getting enough hind milk is there any other reasons of why this could be the case? It's more or less back to its usual colour now but I noticed it over the last couple of days...

Fanby we seem to get random green poop pretty often here, doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. Health visitor said that breastfed babies get much more variable poop than formula fed ones and as long as he's not seeming unwell or distressed I shouldn't worry. He's turned into an absolute giant monster baby, and apart from reflux seems fine, so I just ignore the green poo tbh.

No advice on green poo, but...Nathan slept from around half 9, had a dream feed at half 11 and carried on sleeping until quarter to 7!

Piper sometimes gets green poo. In fact most of hers vary from green to greeny yellow. Perhaps it's normal . Who knows.

When I'm reading though I think of things I want to say, then get to the end and forget. But yeah good idea to not stress about it.

Go Fergus on the long sleep. Hope mummy manager some sleep too. We got 5.5 hous last night which is good.

Oh hell yes DS is being fussy. Mostly with feeding. On the boob, off the boob, crying for boob, crying with boob in his mouth. Endlessly stressful.

And yes we get green poo sometimes too. Apparently it can also mean the milk goes through the cut fast. My HV also said not to worry about it.

Also think the not replying is good. My baby brain really struggles. If you can indudgle my hormones for a moment can I just say how lovely and supportive and brilliant and funny I've found this thread. It really has kept me sane at times when I've felt like "I'm the only mum who can't get baby to do X Y or Z".

Dozy- well done on the weight loss a loss is a loss but I know it can be so frustrating when you have tried so hard and it seems to insignificant! It will be worth it in the long run! Yes to not worrying about replying to everyone it can be hard work remembering!

Yay for Fergus!!

Green poo here pretty much all the time but that is normal with the comfort milk DS is on so maybe there is some truth in it going through the guy quicker making it that way as comfort is easier to digest. He is also a trump monster and some smell so bad in convinced he's pooed but usually hasn't! He has got into the rhythm of pooing only once a day or every other day but my god it's horrific when he does! So smelly and massive as he isn't going as often as he used to!

Kbro- I wouldn't say it was your hormones at all I agree this thread is like a sanity saving life line! I was struggling with feeling a little alone going through it all before I found you guys here!

Can't remember who had used the sensory videos on YouTube but I gave them a go yesterday when playing with DS and omg he was mesmerised!!! Had it on my phone and I kept moving it round and he tracked it all over the place with his eyes it was so cute!

Had a pretty good night here he only woke at 3am for feed which was DH's shift (although took forever to go back to sleep which I got the running commentary for and had to keep giving tips on what to try!) and then he was doing his grunts and waking from 6am but I kept popping dummy back or watching him for a few minutes and he kept falling back asleep till 0830! Very impressed with him but I'm still goosed as it was such broken sleep! I long for the day he drops that 3am feed!

Those of you doing dream feeds can you explain how it works? I've read up on it and spoke to a friend who swore by it but I just can't imagine DS staying asleep and I'm worried I'd then be waking him and he's not go back to sleep undoing the decent pattern he's forming himself! At the moment I give him 6oz (he has 5 the rest of the time) at about 8pm/8.30pm and he has started going through till 3am so a dream feed probably could really help but like I say I'm too worried about waking him up! Plus the last few nights he gone back to not dropping off until 10pm!

Off to the in laws today for lunch- there's some plane flying over- the Vulcan? DH wants to see it and ILs want their 'fix' of DS as they call it! SIL has got them to make gourmet burgers for lunch with loads of toppings so glad I chucked the diet till Monday! She is hilarious she is due in February and is using pregnancy to get her mum to cook whatever she fancies and invite us all round all the time- making the oat of pregnancy! Wish I'd thought of that once I could eat! Lol!
Have a good weekend everyone!

Oh I totally second that! Reading this thread always cheers me up - you guys are ace and just knowing that I'm not the only one sometimes makes the difference between a good day and a bad one.

Yeah no worries about individual replies, although I do have a specific question for Effin... I'm so impressed by the success of project nap. With the shushing to sleep did you just sit next to his bed? And were you making physical contact? And did you stay there the whole time? I'm desperate to get DS sleeping in his Moses Basket so project nap will commence here on Monday as well.

Insanely jealous of those who had good nights. I was up what felt like hundreds of times re-settling DS by cuddling him on me, then putting him back in his Moses then him waking up again, etc etc etc. Only did one sodding night feed but had so little sleep. It just feels so unfair... But he can't sleep on me. It's too dangerous. I feel at a total loss, don't know what to do. Can only pray that it's a phase. DP is gonna take him out for an hour so I can get a whole 60 mins unbroken sleep.

DS has done some green poos this week... The nurse said the drops they gave during the jabs can affect their poo so I'm assuming it's that. He's certainly his usual greedy self so don't think it's a milk issue.

Ooh one final little message for Joskar, that sucks having to go so far for the hearing test, especially if it is because she's been unwell, but last time DP was in Aberdeen he sent me pics of a gorgeous Tracey Emin neon artwork so check it out while you're there (if you haven't already!)

Hope everyone has a good Saturday. I am sooo grumpy from being overtired. Hopefully that'll change after this nap...

Lily my dd trumps stink too. My dad thought she had pooed hen he was holding her the other day but it was just a trump. She isn't a regular pooper thoug . Sometimes it's a week before she poos. So they really do get stinky. I love it when she trumps thoug . It's so funny. Sometimes she pulls her legs in and then pushes them out quickly to get it out. Makes me laugh.

Lots of strong for those who have had crap nights.

Dream feed. Basically feeding baby while baby is asleep. If you can pick them up and get them to latch/take bottle without waking them completely it usually works a treat. But obviously some babies won't take to this (DS1 I'm looking at you!) DS is on 8 oz bottles of hungry baby milk every 3 and a half to 4 hours. (If I'm lucky) hes usually awake from his evening bottle (between 6 and 8 usually) then he will nap around an hour or two after he's finished his bottle. I dream feed at around 11:30/12:00 and he sleeps until 6/7 on a good day.
Sometimes he's just a fussy bugger. I was putting him down in his cot at night after his evening bottle but he's waking after that one now, but I prefer it this way.

Oh, and I'm constantly convinced he's pood when he hasn't! Stinky bugger.

It would be easier re individual replies but want to agree that all you ladies on here are fab and are such a support! DS was incredibly fussy yesterday and the day before and went back to having to be constantly held. He keeps getting overtired too but I'm glad this seems to he quite a common thing. I guess babies don't know that they're tired and have to learn how to fall asleep. He finally dropped off around 10 last night ( after napping for hours in the afternoon when I was out with my parents) and had a fairly good night waking at 1,4, and 7. This I know purely secondhand though as lovely DH did the shift last night and I slept for 9 hours pretty much straight!! Feel amazing although think I've got another bug. But still! Woo!

Woke up to DH giving DS a 2 hour feed and DS going mental for some reason and DH desperate for sleep. I think sometimes you just need someone else to break the overtired cycle. DS is happy gurgling away on my lap and DH is asleep. Hopefully this will make him realise how hard it is doing the night feeds day after day often with no chance to nap afterwards!

So we got bedtime to 8pm instead of 9pm last night and I snuck out of the bedroom and went downstairs for a cheeky vino and a cuddle with DH on the sofa. I felt weirdly euphoric to make it out of the bedroom without ds and like I might one day have an evening back. Only lasted half an hour before I went back up though as I wanted my sleep too!and we need to find and set up the monitor. Ds still woke to feed every 3 hours though and the earlier bedtime meant an extra feed in that time. I'm hoping eventually to get bedtime to 7 or earlier so we can have tea on our own together. Eating one handed while breastfeeding and trying not to drop too much food on ds is not for the long term.

clstow project nap yesterday involved continual shushing, with my hand resting on his tummy. Tbh I had a sore jaw from shushing so much, so today I'm just using a white noise app which seems to work better. Ds has always hated the moses basket we tried to use for naps downstairs. So I try to get him to sleep in his sidecar crib in our bedroom, with blackout blind. I think judging the right moment is at least half the battle. I put him down today just over an hour after waking up, had 10 mins of wind down, but he was crying and I thought I'd tried to force it to early so picked him up , took next door -white noise app still going in my pocket - cuddled him and he started to drift off. So back into his crib where he's now sleeping! He does often cry a bit as he fights sleep - I never just leave him to cry but it doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't want to sleep so I persevere with settling him and it often works. Watching him sleep last night I also realised just how active and noisy he is in his sleep and sometimes I think he's waking up but actually that's just how he sleeps.

Ds only poos about once or twice a week since 6 weeks and since then his farts absolutely reek! Someone said breastfed babies' poo doesn't smell, but when they've held on to it for five days I can confirm it is gross!

Ds answered my question about wind last night, screaming at the boob and shaking his head about. I danced around the room with him over my shoulder til we got a burp when he settled down to feed again. I hope this isn't a new phase...

High fives for babies sleeping longer, and steaming mugs of for knackered mums.

Yay for those of you getting sleep ! The chance of my DD self-settling herself during the day is now nil - despite doing it the last couple of days - the school October holidays have started so in addition to toddler DD I now have the other 4 at home for 2 weeks. Love them all to bits but quiet they are not and they treat DD like a real life baby doll - constantly picking her up, waving toys in her face etc - joy

We get green poos too - no pattern to it, just random green poos!

DD still in newborn baby clothes - getting small but 0-3 still a bit big - hate the thought of packing away the tiny clothes - makes me sad

My DH has been in the spare room - he came creeping through this morning to try his luck - his face was a picture when he was confronted with baby, toddler and another 2 DCs snuggled in with me watching CBeeebies (6.30am)

Hahaha loveandsmiles, would have loved to have seen your DH's face this morning!

Glad most of us are in the green poo club! Weirdly reassuring, thanks for sharing gals!!

So we're off to Essex (my home town)! Molly and I were ready to at 9am, took DH another 2 hrs!!! Why he chose this morning to start cleaning rather than packing I have no idea men!!

Can't believe the dudette is 8 weeks today! Crazy!!

Wishing you all lovely weekends where your DH/DP do all the stinky nappy changes...

Fatty thanks for the dream feed advice I may give it a go but I am convinced he will wake so maybe only on a night wherein prepared to risk it the first time! Can I ask you to remind me how old your DS is and how much he weighed? He's taking a lot more milk than mine and I know babies are all different and my DS never seems to want more- occasionally he won't even finish 5oz although heading more towards upping him to 6 but seems like a big difference.

MaGrat- I am so jealous of you DH doing a whole night shift!! As I've mentioned before mine doesn't hear DS at all and I have to wake him for him to do a feed so I don't think I'd be able to sleep letting him do the whole night for fear of DS starving!! Tha said when I'm back at work I work nights ocasionally so he will have to step up at some point!

Love your post made me giggle- can just imagine your DHs face! And yes to being sad at packing up tiny baby clothes! We pulled out more 0-3 stuff that we think might fit DS now last night and have a pile of stuff we think is probably too small to try on him and then pack away. DH tried his little Liverpool kit on him this morning and it fits he looks like a proper big boy wearing it and very cute but makes me sad to realise he is my tiny little boy anymore!

Isnt*

lily Nathan is ten weeks today that's gone fast! I think he was the biggest on here weighing 10lb 10oz at birth.
My DD was 11 weeks before she reached his birth weight
Believe it or not, he doesn't feed as much as my DS1 did. By the time he was 8 weeks he was having 9 oz every hour, day and night! He would drink an entire bottle in 10 minutes then want another an hour later. I was exhausted.

fanby she's adorable. She looks as if she's fed up of having her picture taken

Well, ds woke up after my post last night. BUT then he slept from 1am till 6am, then 6:30 -8:30 and 8:45 until we woke him up at 11! He seriously likes a lie in! But I had to wake him as we're off to my sisters which is a 45 min drive away. I'm just feeding him
Now and then he can go back to sleep in the car.

Here is a picture of the lazy sod.

I'm feeling better today. The bleeding had stopped and my womb is less sore. I'm feeling pleased with myself because I remembered to ask the dr for canesten so I'm prepared for the inevitable antibiotics related thrush. The glamour of motherhood

I agree that it makes more sense not to reply individually.

Yay for a few of us having better nights. Solidarity to those having shit ones. and all round.

Re: green poo's - ds had them loads at the beginning. The hv suggested he wasn't getting enough hind milk, so I started to use each breast in 2 hour blocks to 'drain' them. It worked a treat. I still just use the one breast per feed most of the time now, unless he is especially hungry.

It was me who suggested the baby sensory vids. I'm glad they are a hit with others.

Well done on the weight loss dozy. Slow and steady is frustrating but the best way. I'm planning on starting a diet Monday. I feel like I'm out of excuses now ds is 6 weeks. So I'm going to eat all the cake I can this weekend.

Love, love the picture fanby. She is a total cutie. I'm very envious of her hair. Ds has rubbed most of his off!

Have a good weekend everyone

Ahh Fatty that explains it then! DS only made 10lb 4oz at 9 weeks! Wow at your hungry little monkeys!

Wow frolic your LO likes his sleep I wish mine would lie in! Lol! Thankyou for the sensory tip then he really did love it! I'm joining you in pigging out this weekend and then maybe we can spur each other on from Monday too- and anyone else who's up for it!