Just Mumming 9- We're suffering the curse of Mel B, ST syndrome and the rise of the sleep snatchers. We've all had enough and would just like a good JS.

[PixieChops]

Morning Viroids

Welcome to the 9th Just Mumming Fred.

Pop your credentials down or not:

Name: Pixie
Age:29
Pests: 2- P (girl) 17 months old, R (boy) 4 months old
Things I can't do anymore- have a crap in peace, drink a hot drink, do any housework, shag ST, sleep, take naps.

Things I can do- carry a toddler, baby, dirty bottles and nappies down the stairs all at once, put a double pram up in 20 seconds, have a shower inc washing and shaving in under 5 mins. Be coco the clown on 26 mins sleep.

H thinks being dressed is assault too!
Also, crawling baby! After I'd given up hoped and whined on facebook hehe. And she's teething again...why don't they all just come at once, have a bad week and they're through?

DD 9 months

Give it 24 hours zyla you'll rue the day you wished for crawling

We've got another viewing today so will see how that goes. Also waiting on another potential offer from the council who are buying houses in the area apparently. The silly offer would give us just enough for a deposit on the place we want... Which is why I'm tempted to accept it now (assuming they haven't found somewhere else)... It'd be nice to make a profit but I'm no property magnate. God I'm so impatient!!

Did you get any sleep Pis?

Minipopz screams blue murder at any sort of cleaning or dressing intervention....

Can see why you're tempted Popz. Once I've decided to do something (like move) I just want to get on and do it! I still think it's worth pushing for a bit more. People usually make a silly offer expecting to be negotiated up a little.

Go H!

Glad we're not the only ones! We've started calling nappy changes Judo practice as we spend the whole time putting her on her back and pinning her down

She fed at midnight and then slept until about 5am then snacked her way to 9.20 when we finally got up. I went to sleep at 4.30am. Could not get to sleep. How fucked up is that! She's had a decent nap this afternoon. I'm persisting in resettling her when she wakes up 20-30 mins after going down and it's working so far. Had to resettle her twice but she did nearly two hours in the end. She's in a cracking mood now she's well rested.

How do you resettle her pis it doesn't seem to work on H during the day.

I had kfc today and feel guilty :( did have a good SW week and lost 3 and a half pounds but I've probably heated all that in one meal!

If she's lying down she'll go back to sleep if I lay my hand on her. I apply a little pressure and she strokes my fingers until she drops off. Then I have to extricate my hand without waking her up! If she's on her knees or sitting up then I give her a quick cuddle then lay her down and hold her shoulder lightly to stop her flipping over. She might complain initially but usually settles down quickly and goes back to sleep. Not working so well this evening! She's been awake every half hour since 8! DS is having a go at settling her which is sweet. He's a little impatient and tries to sneak out before she drops off again though. I'll have to go rescue him now.

That KFC would have to have 12,250 calories to undo 3.5lbs! Just get back on it and you'll be fine

Hi

2 wake ups. TWO! I feel like a new woman. Used stealth tactics - video monitor to see if he is actually awake before sitting up to look in crib. He was making loads of noise at 11 but when I looked he was asleep. So I just popped his dummy in and he went quiet and next think I knew it was 1am! 6 hour straight from 7! He woke fit feed at 1 and went straight back down until 6am. Hooray MiniLa!

Feel like worst mum ever though - at some point I heard him do a poo and thought 'must get up and see to that' but I must've fallen asleep again. So I've just changed a cold wet baby whose nappy was full of poo :(. Oops. To be fair though he didn't seem to care and had slept in it all night!

Love the judo wrestling nappy changing. We have moved B from cot top changer to a low shelf to change him, but his pals are starting to roll (he's the youngest) so im expecting we will need to change him on the floor soon. He doesn't seem even slightly interested in lifting his head whilst on his tummy, or in rolling. I think he's very laid back. I try to get him to go on tummy but he just face plants and chews his hand

Any joy with the house Popz?

Any better sleep last night pis?

Won't matter as a one off La. He must have needed a big sleep!

Zyla I had kfc yesterday too! I don't feel guilty though because it was the only meal I had all day..... Apparently those new rice box things are actually pretty low cal? You can have one everyday on SW, a lady at playgroup was telling me.

Dressing and nappy changes are like a fucking episode of WWE here.... Only with more shit and swearing

I couldn't sleep last night either pis. Am all antsy about house buying. Saw an amazing place yesterday....

Going to look round minipopz's nursery for next year this morning!

Have you got all your questions sorted popz? It will be weird to think of him being there but he will probably love it so hopefully you won't be too sad. Ask the house people for more money! (You've successfully upped my visits to right move. I hate my house now!)

J isn't really that bothered about rolling la, don't worry! He's done it a handful of times but would rather moan until I pick him up! Yay for a good night though.

Every half hour pis? That's hardcore! Hope last night was better for you.

Don't feel bad about the KFC zyla! A one off treat every now and again is fine. You know enough to work your intake back down or exercise it off. You're doing fab!

I'm struggling to drop off this week too. Just laying there awake then getting angry at myself thinking I've only got 90mins until he wakes up, blah blah. Vicious circle.

My nipples feel so sore as well - he's feeding often anyway but also stopped taking the dummy again so the only way I know to get him to sleep is with boobs. It's all getting pretty stressful!

Hi all, Melba has her vaccinations today! Eek :(

Nice sleep La! We had 1, 3 and 5am wake-ups and I've been awake since then. She's very regular with her timings overnight! Not so much during the day when other things happen but when she's left to it I could pretty much set my watch by her. 2 hours, ding ding!

I just don't know when to stay trying to do more of a routine thing. I quite value the flexibility in my day and I think she gets enough sleep and doesn't need specific nap times etc, she sleeps on the go if we're out and about, so maybe there is no need yet? I suppose if we try to have a specific nap time in her crib/carrycot we have to stick to it don't we! Not sure why it keeps popping up in my head though that I should get her into more of a routine!

When did you all get your LOs started on more of a daily routine? Or if you haven't done anything specifically, how does it work out for you now?

toast I didn't try to get her into a day routine, she sort of did it by herself. She needs a nap about 9.30/10ish and will moan and cry if she's left out to play! She then sleeps if we go out in the car and needs encouraging to sleep about 2ish, I usually walk somewhere :). She then naps at about 5 before her bath, but only sometimes..depends how the afternoon had gone.

I didn't try to enforce any of this, she just did it herself over time.

Good work miniLa! We had a pretty good night last night. When I went to bed I read a book instead of browsing Which reviews of small kitchen appliances which seemed to help get me off to sleep. I don't remember how many wake ups we had but she came into bed with me at some point as I woke up with her curled up to me snoring. Checked my phone and it was 10.20!! We must have needed it

We have a very loose routine Toast. She usually has a morning nap and an afternoon nap. But on a Monday we do booby group 10-12 and she rarely sleeps there now as there's too much to see and do. We go shopping afterwards and she'll usually sleep in the sling and then have a later afternoon nap. At home she'll usually be ready for a sleep at about 10.30. However as we'd only been up for ten minutes at that time this morning she hasn't had a nap yet! She's the master of cat napping and so will (if allowed) have short power naps throughout the day. Usually on me after a feed. A twenty minute sleep is really not enough for me to get much done! And Dulcet mentioned something recently about these short naps not being real sleep which makes sense. So I've started trying to encourage longer daytime naps. If she's well rested during the day, she sleeps better at night.

She's bouncing away like a mad thing in the jumperoo at the moment so not showing any signs of sleepiness. I put her in there as I was getting fed up of shepherding her away from cables and the fake stones on the fire

I think I heard a rumble from da jungle so I'd better slip into my unitard and open a can of whupass on her....

Hope the vaccinations weren't too traumatic toast xx

We've never been massively routine led. He gradually settled into his own kind of routine over time. From about 4 months I think he set his own bedtime of 7.30. He used to have a morning and afternoon nap. Usually in the sling while I walk the dog, in the pram if we were out or on my boob at home. Now he's dropped to one.... Never really had any sort of routine around feeding though.

Nursery was nice enough. Forgot my list of questions.... But its so convenient for work I'm 99% certain he will go there anyway. And the staff were pleasant and it seemed to be reasonably baby led rather than rigid practises. I left him in the baby room while someone took me to look round the other rooms, and when I got back he was hysterical... Like proper choking sobs

Awwww popz was that the first time you have left him with "strangers"? What age will he be when he attends? So not nice when they cry!!

toast we didn't have a proper routine until E was eating three meals a day it was much easier then. When he was little we winged it

la yay for sleep, E has a cot changer and we change all the children at nursery at waist height. There is no reason to not to change B at height if it is more comfortable for you. Just make sure you don't leave him!

E is such a pickle but completely adorable, he fell over in the mud today and oh dear god it was terrible, the mud had the salt they use for frozen ground mixed into it and it was a big lumpy mess and all over my trousers and his carseat and the back of the seat but on the flip side I helped him walk down the stairs of our flat and he found it hilarious and laughed the whole way down :)

Aww Popz that must have been hard to see. I don't know what's harder for mums sometimes - the idea they are sad without you or when they don't give a shit!

I've found another benefit of spoon led weaning. If it's not recognisable as food going in then it won't be recognisable coming out either. I changed a nappy earlier with whole baby carrots in it. Whole?! FFS

Thanks for telling me about your routines/lack of. I'll carry on going with the flow.

Vaccinations today, wtf?! Aftermath is horrible. I cried at the time as she screamed so much, I've never heard her scream like it. And now she's so sad and either crying or asleep and won't feed at the moment either so we're both crying again now. Help! She's also spat out half her calpol. Poor little sausage. I just feel like I can't help her enough!

Is anyone watching Secret Life of 4 year olds? It's hilarious! A little boy just walked in - teacher asks how he is today, boy says 'I'm a swordfish!'

Brilliant.

Another girl says 'No we're not rock stars, we're just children'.

Went to baby group this morning and everyone laughed at my poor child face-planting! I am trying to teach him to tuck his arms under to lean on - otherwise he just flops like a seal and cries on his tummy. Bless him. I'm currently watching him on the monitor trying to get his thumb in his mouth in his sleep. I'm willing him to succeed, to help him to self-settle.

Me and my baby pals go for a burger (veggie for me!) after our baby group on a tuesday - we take over the corner of the pub and everyone's too scared to sit by us in case our babies scream. That's power, that is.

We've just bought the cutest wee outfit for a wedding reception next week for B - trousers, braces and bow tie with shirt. Can't wait! I have no idea what I'm going to wear myself though! Got to be something I don't mind getting dribbled on - he's like a bloody tap!

dulcet I'm totally finding my boobs hurt just now too! Combination of cluster feeding a hungry baby and his tendency to chomp on my nipples!

toast if you're bf on demand just keep on doing what you're doing and let baby lead - you might find she puts herself into her own routine. B feeds generally 6:30/7am, 10am, 1pm, then 3-4 times between 3-5pm, followed by 7pm big feed before the night. He naps in morning (9 ish) and same as zyla's wee one he cries/whinges if this doesn't happen, early afternoon he has about 45 mins and late afternoon he has a bigger nap of an hour or so. He cat naps when we are out and about in buggy or sling (or when I'm at my groups!). I started introducing a basic routine at about 4-6 weeks, just making it clear difference between day and night so keeping it noisy during day with blinds open and then keeping everything dark and quiet from 7pm for night time. I don't talk to him from 7pm feed until the morning and I only change him if he poos. He gets a bath at 6:30pm. At bath time he has bath then gets put into his grobag, fed, burped, rocked and put down. I find he is really tired by 5:30/6 so stretching him to 6:30 bath can be a challenge sometimes. I used to put him down for the night later but found he was so desperately tired - he definitely is a happier baby with a 7pm bed time.

Everything I do with him is based on his cues, so he is leading me in the routine, I don't set any of it apart from bedtime. I watch for his feed and sleep cues and follow the E.A.S.Y. idea which I find works really well. Once he's been fed he does an activity of some sort and I watch for him to show sleep cues. As soon as I see them I put him into position and rock him to sleepy then put him down. If I miss the cues I soon know about it!!! If he wakes but still has the red eyes etc. I put him down again.

Vaccinations are hard - just keep pumping her full of the calpol and monitoring her temperature. B wanted cuddles for three days after the jabs and he just wanted to be cuddled.

pis that sounded like a good sleep!! You obviously needed it!

popz did you get a good feeling about the place? I saw two nurseries for miniLa and the first I really didn't get a good feeling about. The second was lovely - they get to be babies in that there's no structure and they can choose what they want to do and whether they want to be inside or outside. The children all looked confident and happy. Sorry that he was upset though :(

cookie that sounds very cute! But messy!!! How do you find being back at work? Does E go to your nursery?

Oh yeah - meant to tell you lot. I found the Snuzpod mattress had mould on it. They advertise it as 'fully breathable' but obviously something went wrong! I'm also totally pissed off because the bassinet has come away at the stitches at the straps. I've only been using it 15 weeks and got another 3 months to go, plus at £200 I wanted to use it for the next baby too.

Wrote to the company and they are sending replacement bassinet and mattress - hooray! But yeah, really not happy with the lasting quality of such an expensive product. I think B is perhaps too heavy for it which is why it's strained the stitching, but still!

Thought you all might appreciate an AIBU thread that's running just now - called something like 'ways having children has NOT destroyed your life'. It's a fantastic thread that hopefully will get you all excited about your wee ones arriving and cancel out any doom and gloom anyone is heaping on you about how different your lives will be. Go and have a look if you've got time. I've just read it and got all excited again about being a mum.

Copied that across from grads thread as I thought you guys might want to read the thread too - it's lovely

Aah that Thread is lovely! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks la for sharing your routine too. I think we'll start to make a few gentle changes but let her lead the way for the most part.

Ugh post-immunisation fall-out was not pretty. I think we're over the worst of it now though. The screaming had stopped anyway and she's not flushed and hot any more so fingers crossed!

la I do three days at work, Monday, Thursday and Friday 8-6. E attends my nursery 1 full day and 1 half day and my mum has him the other 1 and half day. It's nice as he such a social bean so he hang out with his peers and he also gets to spend time with his grandparents who adore him. Dh's parents are rather absent from his life!

That thread made me smile and appreciate her :)

toast snuggles and boob for post vaccination, it'll pass :)

I keep thinking I've replied but then mn seems to have eaten it!!

It was the first time he's been left with strangers cookie ... He was really unsettled all last night. Think he's all suspicious of me now!!

The nursery itself was nice enough. The staff seemed lovely and from what they were saying it seems to be quite baby led rather than forcing them to adhere to nursery routines. He'll get a settling in session before he starts properly so hopefully he'll be a bit happier with it by February! I feel so guilty, I'll be working 8-6 so it'll be such a long day for him.... Needs must.

That's a shitter about the snuzpod La. I remember another friend telling me they got one and had to send it back because none of the pieces fit together properly! They got another one sent. Not great for something so expensive though like you say. They're a great idea though, no idea why they need to be so expensive! Next time I think we will get a cheap Ikea cot and do a DIY sidecar cot.

Hope Melba is ok toast!

Right off to find this AIBU....

Hello all! Sorry for the radio silence, have just read through to catch up over the last few days.

popz I feel your house buying pain. We have buyers in place but can't find anywhere to move to, there's pretty much nothing coming on the market here. Have you made a decision about the offer?

Fleur I'm sorry you're struggling with mastitis again, that's really hard. Like others have said don't be down in yourself if you're ready to switch to bottles, you've done a FANTASTIC job to bf this long. We take a thermos of freshly boiled water and ready measured formula in a dispenser when we go out which works quite well but the ready made stuff is very handy too. I always take a spare bottle in case I drop one! I also have a couple of Milton tablets in the changing bag on case I'm at a friend's and run out of bottles.

La sorry to hear about little B's hips, hopefully the splint will do the job and he won't need surgery.

Will have to post again later as R has woken up!

waves sorry I've been awol again, I've been keeping up to date with most of you on Facebook, la I had no idea little Ben was having splints! Poor little man, hope he's alright.

I solemnly swear I will keep up to date from now on. Just many many things have been pissing me off and giving me full blown rage so didn't want to come on here and whinge (bore) you all to death! It's mostly the MIL being a complete fanny and I just can't stand "wet" people. I'm one of those that tells people to fucking grow a pair unless they really need sympathy and not just being whiny twats.

Last Wednesday I threatened to leave ST because he wouldn't buy a new mattress and I think that's why my pelvis was so bad. I jut told him unless he sorted a mattress out and the bed I'd be staying in a hotel for the foreseeable future which would cost more than to sort the bed out. I got a new mattress- it's very nice.

In a nutshell Rivers still a chunk and needs to go on some sort of slimming world diet. He weighs 21lb at just short of 5 months old- poppy didn't weigh that until she was 14 months old. He's really pushing the weight limit on his clothes. I can't buy them quick enough. He just fucking eats all day every day. You seen those cabbage patch kids? That's his face- squashed together by the fattest cheeks you ever did see. Kids got bigger tits than me. Ridiculous.
Poppy didn't shit herself last night but I've changed her diet to contain less starchy foods such as pasta, bread and rice because I think that's what's making her constipated.