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!

Yes to grobags. Mini mzzzf has been in one since she could be flat. We do vest and babygro underneath a 2.5tog for normal temps. I have a thermometer in the room and keep it between 18-21 and that works fine. You can get diff togs for different times of the year but 2.5 is the most general one for year round use. Just add/remove a layer of clothing to LO as needed.

And OH MY GOD YES I miss work soooo much! My last contract ended in January this year so I'm planning on looking again after Christmas for a little part time position and dd will go to nursery on those days. I do love my job though rather than me being desperate to leave her. I think that first nursery drop off will be awful!! Ooorrff let's not think about it now!

Right, off to try and get some sleep now. Night folks x

Argh just lost my reply due to in laws crappy wifi!!

Basically agree re gro bags. Think they are ace!

Have had great day at beach and Wagamama for dinner. Feel v relaxed and haven't argued with mil about parenting approaches yet!

Don't know how Fatty does it. Must be Superwoman!

Not missing work yet but think I would if wasn't going back. Know what you mean about not using brain but I have found motherhood more fulfilling than I thought I would and that has really surprised me as I was always a right career girl before.

Wishing everyone good nights. DD wouldn't go to bed tonight because DS was still up...grr!

I gotta say I do miss work as well, it's what you said Frolic about not using your brain. DS is gorgeous but he's a crap conversationalist and I feel like most of my social chat is about babies these days. That said I'm back to work in Feb which seems scarily soon! DP and I are doing shared parental leave so at least I won't have the nursery fear when I go back.

Have you tried going up a size in nappies Siani? Or a different brand? DS went through a phase of crying every time he wet his nappy but we changed up a size (even though the 1s still fit him fine) and now he'll tolerate being wet for a while again.

I'm always dropping crumbs on DS when I eat with him in the sling / on the boob. Little dude got covered in prawn cracker crumbs during this evening's Thai takeaway. Healthy eating starts tomorrow yeah right!

We use a 1.5 tog gro bag with a vest and babygrow. Im with you though Fanby - never quite sure how many layers to do. I'm always cold and DP is always warm so DS's outfits vary a lot depending on who's dressing him. Speaking of cute clothes we got some amazing little long johns from Jojo Maman earlier. Will post a pic tomorrow.

Good luck to us all for the night - wonder what the new week will bring...

Loving all the baby pics and the cute clothes. I remember being so excited to buy clothes but I've been given that much stuff that at the moment I haven't had to buy anything. I bought 2 dresses when I first found out I was having a girl and that's pretty much it. After 9 months though I think we've got hardly anything so I'll save my spending for then.

Fatty amazing that u do all that on your own. Can I be nosy and ask why u b live separately? Don't have to answer if u don't want to. I'm just a nosy bugger.

Love gro bags. So much easier. Although her hands do get cold in the night but the rest of her is warm. I have vest and baby grow and can't help lightly placing a blanket on top just for comfort. She's never felt too hot though so I'm sure it's fine.

Went for anther swim today. She reacted better to being dunked than she had last week so she's getting used to it. She'd barely slept today before we went swimming so I'm glad we went because it completely knackered her out. She even fell asleep in the pool bless her. I've told her I don't want to see 4am this time. 6am at a push but nothing earlier. Wish me luck hahaha.

I loved the scales this morning after my random bout of sickness yesterday. I was under 14 stone for the first time. So weightwatchers and a sickness bug go well together haha. I'm quite enjoin being in control of my diet at the moment after such a long time of just pigging out and being generally very greedy. Let's hope it continues. Once I start seeing a difference in my clothes etc then that'll motivate me more.

Well dd is now asleep in her crib so I should be sleeping. Night night all.

Thank you all for making me feel normal about the work thing. I was feeling really guilty about my feelings if that makes sense! I might see about doing some keeping in touch days after Christmas just to dip my toes in the water. I'm very lucky to live my job and get on so well with a lot of my colleagues.

We have a cupboard full of gro bags handed down from my sister. They are mostly pink as she has a girl, but I don't think ds will mind. I've not got round to washing them yet. Maybe a job for this week.

I NEVER feel like I know how many clothes and blankets to put on him. I was initially really cautious about not overheating. But then I went for lunch with my friend (who is also a health visitor) last week and her baby had a few more layers, so I'm putting a bit extra now. Ds also seems to always have cold hands but won't stand for having them under a blanket.

Here's hoping for good nights all round. Ds is just having a very sleepy feed. Fingers crossed it's a good sign and we'll get to sleep before 2am tonight.

You are all crazy I don't miss work AT ALL!!! But that will be because I hate hate hate my job and am only going back because the wage is decent enough that I can go part time! Only going to do that for about 18 months and then once I don't mind working full time as DS will be bigger then I'll be off to pastures new! I do know what you all mean though and I think if I liked my job I would miss it! I get random feelings of having forgotten something majorly important at the moment and I think it's down to not having the structure of going to work every week etc! It's quite bizarre! I have found motherhood much more fulfilling not to mention time consuming than I had predicted! To think the amount of times I said I thought I'd be bored! Oh how you learn!

Looks like we're having another crappy night here! DS is currently asleep but has only been so for 5 mins- he's been fighting it/ something has been waking him since 9pm!!! He will literally be fast asleep and the next second wide awake and thrashing around like a man possessed! I really don't understand what has changed and I've checked everything to work out what's bothering him I even just made him a bottle even though he never eats at this time but he only took 1.5oz and then fell asleep only to wake again as soon as I put him in the Moses! Wondering if he is disturbing himself knocking his arms and legs on the Moses and then finding it stimulating etc which wakes him further!? He doesn't fill the basket yet but knocks the sides with his arms a lot! I'm buggered if he needs moving out of it already as in not moving him to his own room yet and DH refuses to dismantle the Cotbed to move it into our room and it won't fit through the doorway!

Those of you using gro bags what are your DC sleeping in? Cot? Moses? Just wondering can I use them in Moses I haven't done as I don't know what I'd do with the excess bag at his feet? Tucks it under the mattress maybe?

Yes yes to not having masterd dressing DS for the weather! He spends a lot of time in summer clothes with a blanket on hand if I think he's cold as I'm terrified of overheating him! That said he has never felt cold once and generally seems to be a warm person!

I feel for those of you having to change DC for every www that must be exhausting! DS isn't bothered by wee at all and will happily wait until his nappy is literally bulging which means at least in only changing him once overnight usually.

Right going to try for some sleep as touch wood DS is still asleep....

I'm with Lily, not missing work ONE BIT. I am missing talking to adults, though, so my project for this week is to find some stuff I can do with Fergus where I can talk to other adults. I want to take him swimming or something.

I tried grobags back in the summer but then gave up on the cot and co slept... And I kind of forgot about them now that Fergus is in the cot again. I might try one again tomorrow.

I'm struggling with how much Fergus needs to wear, too. He seems to like being really warm, but then I start panicking about overheating. He's in a sleepsuit and short-sleeved bodysuit at night, with three fleece and one cotton blanket. I tried using the gro egg guidelines, but what the fuck do they even MEAN by "lightweight blankets"?! Cotton cellular ones? Fleece ones? Acrylic knitted baby blankets?? And our antenatal classes said "just dress the baby with one more layer than you" but I'm under a stack of four fleece blankets with a heating pad and my OH is half covered with just the sheet so which of us do they mean?!

Swaddle Up is a kind of grobag that keeps their arms up above their head so they can't thrash about. My friend swears by it. Might be an option, Lily.

I miss working too. I found my first mat leave very hard because I was quite bored and lonely. Easier this time because I know more mums and I go to lots of groups.

I'm so hungry I might eat the baby.

My talk to dd before bed didn't work lol. I didn't want to see 4am but never mind. Tried feeding her sat up bu she fell back asleep. As soon as I moved her she woke up wanting feeding again so now we're trying lying down feeding again. These babies are so contrary.

Re: the work thing. I have to confess to not missing it all. As much as I find my job rewarding, I'd still much rather not be at work. I don't think my brain could cope with it at the moment anyway. I keep seeing the odd facebook status from my colleagues complaining about busy shifts and getting off late or getting a crappy rota of working too many weekends and it makes me glad I'm not at work. I'm going to struggle when I go back and I have to work weekends again especially now I've got dd. I'll want to be doing stuff at the weekends with us as a family, not going to work.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who is clueless about the layers!!!

Random q for dozy - when you took piper swimming what did she wear? We have some of the huggles swim disposable nappies, do I buy one in those nappy things to go over the top and then just a normal swimming costume?
Sorry to hear the sleep chat didn't work!

X

Clstow we've tried Sainsbury's, Aldi and asda nappies and we're now up in a size three. I don't think he's big enough for 4 yet, although I haven't weighed him in a couple of weeks. I have a coupon for pampers, so might try some of those, but I don't think we can afford to use a brand name. I might try him in cloth - I find the lansinoh disposable breast pads feel hot and burny as soon as the filling turns to gel, maybe it's the same with his nappies... I've got a few cloth nappies I can try, but tbh I have selfishly not wanted to do without the wetness indicator on the disposable ones!

Yes I used a grobag on dd wen she was in the Moses. I let the extra material drape over the end of the basket, which by morning would invariably be all back in the basket.

Can't remember who said it but whacking the sides of the Moses was precisely the reason we moved her into her cot. Length wise she could have squeezed a bit longer out of it but she kept disturbing herself with her vouge-ing arms

Soooo dd did a great sleep until middle of the night feeding around 2.30/3am. Then she's been an annoying sod since then. Only settled for little bits then whinging and wanting comfort - arrgghh! Why is this second portion of sleep so disturbed and difficult?!

I was wondering if it was a food thing, I dream feed dd at 11pm but she rarely takes much, especially if she's had a good solid day of feeding. And even at 3am feeds she never finishes the entire bottle. Currently she's on 4 x 6oz bottles every 4 ish hours during the day and then these two bitty bottles overnight - shall I hold back the last daytime bottle for as long as possible in the hope she'll drain a bottle properly during the night and therefore go back to sleep??! Or shall I just suck it up buttercup and stop looking for sleep solutions as babies keeping parents awake is part of the job description?!

Btw I love that wetness indicator!!

I find Amazon the best place for cheaply buying nappies. If you're a prime member you can get 240 pampers for £23!!!

Morning.
The reason I live separate to DP, basically we were both young when we had DS1 (me 17, him 19) and I still lived with my mum. Then I got a house and for a while things were good. But then we started arguing. The pressure of being parents, plus the pressure we felt at being so young got to us so we split. A couple of years down the line and nine of us had moved on. We still loved each other. We ended up sleeping together (once) and then I discovered I was pregnant with DD. During my pregnancy with her we decided to give things another go. Which is how I ended up with DS2 (the pill failed) I told him though that things have to go slowly. No rushing to play house like we did last time. It just saves me the stress I get my own space, and sex on call. Win win.

Can I be a big braggy? We had a good night sleep! Molly feel asleep just before 7 (I got to watch X factor!!) we had a semi dream feed at 10:20pm then she only woke for food just after 2am and at 5:30am - this is very good for us! Feel so much happier

Siani - so glad it's not just me that the breast pads do that too! Must say though that brand is very good for keeping leaky tops at bay. God I look forward to not wearing a bra!

Fatty - you sound totally covered, so glad things are working out for you now x

Mzzzf - sorry to hear about the sleep, you could always give holding back a shot and see if it works?!

I was a total workaholic career woman before I had DCs. I worked really hard but did want a baby too - thought I could have it all. We were married 7 years before I had DC1 - I worked right up until the Friday and had her on the Monday - kept constantly in touch with work and went back when she was 3 months. However, I didn't realise how much I would miss her and I just wasn't the same person anymore - wanted to leave work at 5pm instead of staying until 9/10pm, longed for weekends. Kept going for a year then became pregnant with DC2 and left never to return!! That was 12 years ago. Can't quite believe it myself - now a SAHM with 6 DCs. I guess you don't know how you will feel about your career / work until you are in that position.

First day of school holidays here - off for pizza and soft play..........

Morning all!
We're heading off in a bit to take ds to see mil. She's hurt her back and is stuck at her mum's a 2 hour drive away. She's not seen ds since he was a few days old, bless her. I just hope he's ok for the journey. He usually has a couple of 2 hour naps in the day, so we are planning on timing the journey around them. I'm planning on napping in the car as well

Your description of ds fighting sleep lily is exactly the same as what ds does. 5 minutes shut eye and loads of thrashing about. He doesn't bang against anything but still keeps himself awake. A dummy in his mouth and my hand on his cheek or chest sometimes helps.

You are so right siani - the one more layer than you advice is so vague. I'm always freezing and he'd probably start cooking if I put him in more than me!

Did you manage not to eat the baby jockstar?!
I'll have a look at those swaddle up's. I tried a swaddle blanket on ds but he went crazy because he likes his hands up over his head.

Well done baby fanby on a great sleep.

Have a good day everyone. I definitely don't miss work on Monday mornings

Can't believe it's school holidays already! Soft play and pizza sound delish and a great way to spend a Monday!

Sorry to hear that for your MIL Frolic, hope she's ok, bet she's really looking forward to your visit.

I seriously need to think about getting dressed...

Has anyone got those baby nail clippers designed by that winner of the apprentice? Are they worth spending the extra money on? Yes...baby nail clippers that's the biggest quandary of my day....

DS1 still has two weeks left at school. Stupid Catholic school. But its the best school round here so oh well. (Yes I'm Catholic, I'm obviously not overly religious though!)

I have those clippers, didnt know they were via the apprentice though! I really like them, very easy to use and safe.

Feeling a bit smug Managed a 45min cross country dog walk with both hounds and mini mzzzf in a sling and driving solo to/from the braes! Now I'm recovering with biscuits!!

I just bite the nails at this stage. The horror of cutting a newborn is too much for me!

I had a dream that we all met up with our dogs (not babies though) and played with fuzzy felt. I'm telling you the hunger pangs are doing this.

I bite nails too.
joksar why the dogs?! I don't have a dog anymore. He died when I was pregnant this was Satan.

Wow there's a lot to catch up on! My dm has been staying with us this weekend which was a godsend as I was at the end of my tether and in tears yesterday. Mostly due to accumulated lack of sleep and just feeling like a crap mum and not knowing what I'm doing. But we had a good night's sleep (11 hours! With 3 feeds...) and we're on nap 3 of the day, 2nd in crib, so I'm a bit calmer now. I think the sleep project was also creating a lot of anxiety that wasn't helping anyone and my lovely mum helped calm us all down. She's also trained ds to take a dummy more consistently which is really helping settle him.

We use gro bags too. I just put a long sleeved vest underneath. There's a grid on the FAQ s on the gro bag website that tells you what they should wear depending on temp of room and tog of bag. He always has sweaty feet in the morning so he's definitely not too cold but his hands often do feel cold.

Who was it who said something about turbo boob? Ds has become really fussy on left boob but loves the right one. I think the flow is faster on the right, and it often feels fuller. Worried I'm going to end up with massively lopsided boobs at this rate!

We need to go and get a monitor now that I can occasionally sneak out while he's sleeping. We have some mothercare vouchers but there's so much choice and variation in price. What is worth paying for would you say?

I'm a Phd student and will go back to finish off when ds is 10 months but I have to say I can't imagine my brain coping at all! At the moment I struggle with basic addition!

Is anyone using cloth / reusable nappies? We've got a trial kit but it just leaked everywhere

EffinIneffable I'm doing a trial run of cloth nappies today! What type are your trial pack? I've got a few prefolds off a friend, and a bambino mio trial pack, plus a few different cheap pocket nappies. So far the prefolds can fuck right off, and the very cheapest pocket nappy leaked out the leg, but I'm actually really liking the other pocket nappies. I think when Fergus goes up to size 4 and we can't get any own brand nappies with a wetness indicator anymore I'll switch him into those.

I've been biting her nails too, but I read somewhere about passing bacteria or something so I started looking at clippers, I am worried about clipping off one of her fingers though

Oh go mzzzf!! You've reminded me I need to return our sling to the library next week!

Oh effin, God bless parents ey?! I was the same as you with tears due to lack of sleep so it's so nice to be home and have some help. I hope you're feeling more rested and happier xx

I'm off to visit my old childminder with molly in a bit. She looked after me twice a week from when I was 2yrs old, and was her first 'client' so I like to think her favourite. She knitted molly the most amazing cardigans, bonnets and mittens and am so excited to introduce them, hope molls behaves x