MAY 07 Post natal - This time a year ago it was all just beginning, look at us now...........................

[Mrsjaffabiffa]

Morning........

V funny Nairobi

Again, hot wax on face, subsequent ripping out of hairs? Dearie me no. You're a braver woman than me.

Part of the problem is M has lost the ability to fall asleep on her own. If I just put her down and leave her when tired she will scream for me to come back. I tried to leave her for a couple of minutes this morning but she screamed so hard she made herself sick. She will sometimes nap in her pushchair but when you stop moving she just wakes up again. I'm reluctant to rely on it as it's getting colder and I don't want her to develop a habit I have to break. Currently she will only feed to sleep when at home and I've no idea how to achieve anything else. I cannot and will not leave her to cry at this age.

I wonder if teething isn't helping? She's grizzly anyway and constantly rubbing the same bit of her gum on anything she can. Gets a red cheek on and off too and is drooling all the time. Still can't see any dratted teeth though. Have given her Medised this evening as she just wouldn't settle and was clawing at her mouth and crying and now feel super guilty as have read numerous threads on here saying it's naughty to give Medised unless they have a steaming cold or you're just sedating for no good reason. Am Bad Mummy Extraordinaire then. It does say 'for teething' on the bottle though. Gawd I'm confused. And guilty. She fell asleep straight away and hasn't woken since.

She seems to know when I'm about to try and get her to nap and just gets angry. She does this thing where she stiffens her body and pushes her feet against the floor while grunting. It means she wants to get up and unless you let her she just gets more and more worked up. Help her up to a standing position and she calms down but then starts eye-rubbing and yawning, so you lie her down and she goes stiff and cries again and on and on and on ad nauseum.

HDWP the daytime sleep is a pain if they don't go down easily. I have had loads of hassle with my monster.

Basically the morning nap is an extension of the nighttime sleep. So I tend to put A down around about an 1 - 1 1/2 after waking - into his sleeping bag curtains shut lights out and I sing hush a bye baby (poor child )He then will sleep anywhere from 20 mins to 1 1/2 if he wakes before 30 mins I go in as soon as I hear him and shush him - sometimes it works and he goes back down sometimes it does'nt. I then try put him back down around 1pm the same routine. Of course if we are out it all goes to pot. But I keep thinking the more I persevere with it he will eventually figure it out and go to sleep every day for 1 1/2 in the morning and afternoon. I also try get him to have a 30 min nap around 4pm. We then begin his bedtime at 6.15pm and he is down at 7pm. Dream feed at 10.30 then sleeps till 7am.

This routine doesnt always work and quite often will refuse to sleep for longer than 30 mins and will then scream the house down until nfext feed or sleep and that cycle continues all day. I personally think it makes no difference if they are on solids or not A still on the boob no solids.

sorry bit of an epistle there.

HDWP sounds exactly like A very strong little character very strong in mind and body he too stiffens up does it when I try put him in the car seat too. Lord knows what will happen when they reach the terrible twos.

Evening all,

Having a bit of a nightmare time sleep-wise myself, Aidan just isn't settling for long at night. I think it is mainly down to teething (he has a bump in his lower jaw and nappy rash for the first time, which was always a sure sign with DS1) but also just increased alertness - it's just more difficult for him to switch off. Last night I gave him medised and he slept for all of 2.5 hrs straight!

Getting him to go to sleep is reasonably easy. I use the Baby Whisperer's pick up/put down technique where you get the room ready, turn of lights, close blinds (I put Aidan in a light sleeping bag), give them a cuddle and put them in the cot. You then pick them up and talk soothingly if they cry and put them down again as soon as they stop. Aidan usually calms right down and goes off to sleep by himself very quickly. As Abby says, catching the moment is crucial though.

Don't think food honestly makes much difference to sleeping BTW.

Aidan had spinach for tea and afterwards was rolling along like a smiley sausage.

I'm off to wax my legs and watch some telly.What an exciting life I lead...

HDWP - I tried to leave Aidan to go to sleep on his own this morning. He didn't like it. He got me back by puking in my hair.

I need to ask you wonderful people for a bit of advice about weight - Ruby's, not mine! At birth she weighed 7lb 90z and was bang on the 50th centile where she stayed for about 13 weeks. Gradually she has been dropping and at 18 weeks she was on the 25th centile. This week I went (22 weeks) and she has plummeted down to the 9th. She is putting on an average of about 10oz a fortnight. Do you think that is enough? I know it's a really stupid thing to get hung up about, especially as she is gaining some weight but I can't help but think she should be maintaining her weight better. I wanted to speak to the hv about it at the clinic today but there was a massive queue to speak to her and I had to leave to collect Charlie. I'm sure I'm worrying over nothing. I know the charts only show an average baby but that's what she was when she was born and I'm just conerned that she is dropping down the centiles so quickly.

Abby is R ff or bf? The charts were put together in the 1990's(i think) and were based on ff babies. Therefore they are no use to any bf babies. Ella is putting on about 10-12oz per fortnight and she is bf and on solids. Ella's curve did drop for about 2 visits and then once i started to wean it picked back up again. I would only start worrying if she didnt gain.

Terrible two's are a complete myth, a bit like morning sickness - should be day sicknes. In our house the TT's started at about 18mths and are still on going at 2.5yrs.

Last night my two monsters were up at 12.30 (E had woken 4 times before that) and ds managed to stay awake until 1.30. Dh was not amused and brought him up into bed with us where he slept soundly until 7.30.

AM she is formula fed and weaned. She seems to have gained less weight since she was weaned which is my concern. She's still having the recommended amount of milk though. Sounds like you had a bit of a tough night! Nights are good here, it's the days which are harder!

Abby, worry not. The weight gain does drop off, especially once you start solids and they are moving around more. It takes quite a few months for a baby to find their natural curve so just because a baby is born on th 50th doesn't mean that they are meant to be an average build. Ruby is probably meant to be slight. If she is putting on or maintaining weight and not losing I would not be guided by those flippin' charts. Is she alert, happy and responsive? Does she have wet and dirty nappies? Are you happy with her otherwise? If you can answer yes to all of this then don't worry. Those charts cause more worry than anything and interfere with your natural instincts. M was born on the 50th centile. Currently on the 98th. Birthweight is not an indication of the size they will eventually be. Please don't worry about the centile she is on, just be led by how she seems in herself.

Okay, so operation TankWillNap:

6.40am: awake and shouting
6.45am: 15 minute feed, clean nappy and then play with daddy
8.40am: back into grobag and into bed
(15 minute interlude for farting, rolling, chewing of grobag, shouting and lots of aieeaiieea noises)
8.55am: neh neh neh noises (rough translation: feed me now...5 minute feed)
9.02am: asleep
9.32am: awake and shouting
She has been awake and playing since. Have just changed her nappy and she is rolling round the room playing with the cat.

So is it 2hrs awake and then back to bed for her now?

Abby you can always increase her milk feeds too, just by a little. Or add in another milk feed somewhere. Milk is the bulk of the diet until 1yr and provides most of what she needs and I think they say food is just for fun. I tried to explain weaning to dh yesterday and I think he misinterpreted the 'food is just for fun' bit, stopped listening and started making mental shopping lists for whipped cream and strawberries.

I share too much.

With ref to sleeping - S wakes at about 6.15 ish for a feed and I feed him lying down in bed and he dozes off again and will often then sleep to 8 or 8.30. The rest of the day is a bit hit and miss sleepwise - will generally go to sleep in pram when i am out. He likes a sleep at 10 ish and then in the afternoon a couple of times. If he is getting ratty then I will put him down and he grumbles and shoves his thumb in his mouth and goes off. Whilst I am with you on the not leaving crying SOH are you sure that sometimes she is not grumbling herself to sleep - mine can be quite noisy doing this but, when I look, eyes are closed and it is almost being done in his sleep (though being sick would suggest more than grumbling!) I did find with DS1 and then, again, with S that I would think they were crying at night and pick them up only to find that I had woken them up and they had actually been asleep.
Hope that makes sense - bit garbled!
MUST go and do things - off to Belfast after lunch with Mum and children to visit my Granny. HAve not started packing and am not dressed either - fortunately both children are in nursery this am! DS1 left out the things he wants to take - his pirate hook and trousers and his teddy. I told him he was not allowed his pirate sword on the plane...
BTW - AM I teach 11-18 but i am now worrying that I have forgotten everything I should know!!!
See you all on my return from Ireland

Have a fab time in Belfast anneme!

She's definitely not crying or grumbling to sleep when she gets like that. It's full on, red face, open mouth, screaming. She does grumble in her sleep and even cry sometimes but if her eyes are closed I just leave her or put my hand on her tummy and shush her until she settles again.

Going to join her in her rolling round the floor...

HDWP I know well the scream you mean! So far today I have stuck rigidly to the no more than 2 hour rule and it has worked brilliantly. Her day has been something like this. 7am wake up. 7.15 milk and a baby yoghurt. 7.50 Took ds to cm - did not sleep in car. Home at 8.30 and straight to bed - a little moan but slept until 9.20. Played under gym until 10.15, then bottle. PLayed again until 11 and now she is back in bed and fast asleep!!

Well, it's working here too so far. Was planning on putting her down at 11.30, 2hrs after she last woke but at 11.10 she was starting to look a bit fed up, wouldn't smile readily and wasn't interested in her toys anymore. So, into grobag, into bed, 15 minute feed, bit whingy and some thrashing for 5 minutes but she's fast asleep now! 2nd nap of the day. This past week she's managed one half hour cat nap each day and a lot of screaming.

God I hope this continues.

Hello all, I don't know how you find the time to post and keep up!
DS is 4 months 3 weeks old, full of snuffles and snot, and still breastfeeding like a pro.
We have a 'sort of' routine, but I cannot get him to sleep during the day without either feeding him to sleep or putting him in the carseat. He is sleeping for 1 hour in the mornings and same in the afternoon - how can I make him sleep longer? Perhaps it is the bunged up nose that is the problem.

Hope everyone is good and babies growing nicely.

HDWP - waahey! Well done you and well done M! Let's hope it is the beginning of things to come. R is still asleep too so has had 45 mins earlier and is up to 1 hour 10 now. She stirred after 45 mnutes and had a little whinge but I left her and she's gone back off!

Well done SOH and Abby! Personally I find if you get that first nap of the day in time the rest will follow, but 2 hours between naps is the max and since the Tank is so much like J, a good feed just before putting him in his bed should help to send her off, even if you have only just fed her half an hour before. Also J sleeps much better in his bed than anywhere else and for longer. I think he associates it with his night time sleeping and he goes to sleep in it by himself without any external stimulation of car/pushchair rocking.

Today he tried to nap in the car on the way to aerobics, 2 hrs after waking, then got woken to go to the creche then slept there for 10 mins an hour later, then got woken to come home where I changed his nappy gave him a good old chomp of both boobies and put him in his bed - straight off with barely a peep.

Again weaning won't necessarily help a baby to sleep through, they wake for a number of reasons, and from about 6 months old they are unlikely to be waking from hunger and more likely to be waking from habit/pain/being uncomfortable. They also need to learn to go to sleep themselves so that when they wake they can drop back off again like we do. It helps if they are awake and not crying when they go into their beds. If you are unhappy about letting them cry at all, the picking up after 2 mins and comforting them and putting them down again straight away can often work.

well done on the sleeps it makes such a difference when they nap in the daytime. I find that suicide hour (5pm- 6pm) is not so suicide like when A has napped well.

Just been to my last NCT postnatal course - bit gutted its like saying goodbye to an old friend. It was the same teacher who did the ante natal course and who stepped in at the last min and was my doula. Wont be seeing her again until I pop No. 2 out.

Abbylou chuck the red book away agree wholeheartedly with everyone about weeing and pooing reaching developmental milestones etc. R is fine.

sorry should be her in her bed How did you and M get on, SOH? J is still asleep 2 hours on..

Abby, I'm with Julie, I'm sure R is fine, if it is any consolation I am getting a little sick of the comments regarding the enormity of J, especially the locals, what does 'he's a buster, he is' mean anyway??

Gah! Just looked at my watch, school run in 5 mins and i have only just sat down. I did wivesclub this morning, 10 babies and countless other children there!! Got home at 12 and have been sorting out the kids clothes ever since!

Summer shorts all packed away and winter stuff out. I bloomin hate the winter Have been feeding grumpy B in between and seeing what H the terrible has been up to.

Am so tired, not exactly a nights sleep again. B is waking, so was another child at 5 this morning. B needs both boobs and a nappy change now in the night, it takes an hour to settle him after all that. Im shattered. I feel like i could go to bed now and sleep for 3 days. I just cant seem to catch up, the night before last both Hugs and B slept through but it was not enough to re charge.

Hope the sleeping in the day has been cracked for you both A and HDWP. Fingers crossed.

CAM, i sound like you with the routine. A bit hit or miss really.

Right off to school > Just one dqay i would like someone else to do it... all of it

finally got round to putting up some more photos of my monster

Hi all, glad things going well for sleepy bubbas,

it is grotsville here, poor G was up nearly every half hour last night with bunged up nose and screamed the house down when we got the snot sucker out. I think he is on a mission to go through all his wardrobe in 24 hours, poor mite, at least he seems to be coughing up the nasties (sorry tmi!) - i am worse than useless if i don't get my kip, but at least g is still smiling and shouting in between!

Hope you get some 'you' time lgt

At least when dh comes home he will take over and i can get some kip let's hope tonite is a better night

Great pictures JW, your little man looks lvely, was that brighton beach?