December 06: For my first birthday mummy I would like.......

[Indith]

Here you go Eli!

I almost put 'your clothespegs' on the end there. Ds loves clothespegs. Came home from Rainbows the other day and dp had made a deal with ds. He could play with the clothespegs as long as he did it in his playpen and let dp make dinner.

I started to offer potential solutions to WB's problem. And then I remembered that I have a 5 year old that has never slept through the night and a 10.5mo that is still a bit of a timebomb where sleep is concerned. So I shall simply read the advice to WB and try to incoporate it into my life

Problem is not so much that she doesnt drop off, she gets so tired she has fallen asleep upright on my lap a few times, but that the moment I put her down she wakes up and will start screaming, putting her in her cot awake results in the same screaming and always has pretty much, its just that until this last week once you have her asleep you can transfer her.

She has never liked to sleep, has always fought it, she would never sleep after DD1 got home from school once she was aware of her. It has just gotten worse and worse as she has gotten older.

I really dont know why she hates sleeping/her cot so much

The problem I suppose has been previously that we havnt left her to cry in her cot when she needed a nap because she would throw up within 5min of crying. Now she is a bit better on that front but will keep it up for hours.

Aw WB, ds2 still has phases where his daytime sleep goes to pot and he gets worse and worse as he becomes increasingly tired then he hits a point of absolute exhaustion and collapses into sleep. Once he's done that then he seems go back to normal for a while. Sorry I haven't got any more useful advice than ride with it but it does pass, I promise, like so many of these awful habits they develop.

Lol @ Bp trying to offer advice then realising .

Indith, let us know when your friend's baby arrives....so exciting. I hope things get better for him at uni.

AQ, I looked for Jennifer Crusie in Borders the otherday but didn't know what section to look in and was too to ask!

Eli, how are you all today? Dd2 still defying the bugs?

Ohh and despite all this...

Anyway else broody for another

Was almost disappointed when my period finally started today (it had gone missing after the PMT of last week, and I had almost been wondering whether to do a test or not)

Lol AQ, that would be the yellow bit in the big pocket! Dp worked it out for me

Broody WB? God yes. There is another baby due in my college (I'm just a trend setter me) and I am getting so of her with her beautiful little bump and the kicking....Of course she is just at the right time where she has a pretty little bump and the kicking is still adorable. When she starts to complain of being the size of a whale and the baby starts doing chin ups on her ribs I may re-think my

No news yet on the baby, am taking this to be a good thing.

I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday. Do you think that it would be because it is about 2 weeks since I stopped breastfeeding? Or is it just me being unable to cope

WB - your DD has got used to being held to sleep and you need to try and break that cycle. You need to be as disciplined as you can about a routine which means she knows it is sleep time. That could mean a song, stroke face, whatever. Do the same thing every time and then let her be for a few minutes. Then repeat. I found that DD actually needs to cry for about 1 minute before she settles and by picking her up all of the time I'd been disrupting that and therefore prolonging the whole thing.

WB - have you got anything that plays music and has a light show for her to relax and watch while in her cot? We have got a Tomy one, hang on I'll find a link...

Here

The music will drive you nuts but so far so good, it keeps my DS amused and he normally drops off before the 10 minutes are up. The light show goes round and round with soothing little bunnies and teddies etc and he seems to like it.

Anyway you might have already tried it, but that's what works for us - oh and unless he's done a poo (or is totally inconsolable which happened only once) I NEVER get him out - just reassure him, tuck him back in again, give him some water then say goodnight/sleep tight etc again. I must be a hard cow but now I don't think he expects to come out again. It's hard tho!

x

FGS, hope you're feeling better today. Hormones are like tiny terrorists in our bodies. They always take us by surprise and they can be totally destructive, Look after yourself {{{{hug}}}}

Sorry FGS, I didn't read your comment - on a personal note have you had a regular period during breastfeeding all this time? I wonder if that might be on the horizon if not, and so I'd agree with babypowder and say it was the hormones kicking in. Do something for yourself today, even if it's just have a favourite chocolate bar or a soak in the bath or something if possible? You know it will pass, and you know you CAN cope x

Thanks Guys. Tiny terrorists is the best description I've heard.

I've had a period with 2 gaps of about a week for the last 2.5 months. LOL. That is part of the problem.

Devongirl. My DD1 had that Tomy dreamshow and she has just rediscovered it. She is 3.5! I hear the music go on just after I shut the door at night time.

Hope it gets better today, WB sooo frustrating when they wake up just when you think you've managed it. But Oli is right, all the babies on here have gone through phases of one thing or another sleep, feeding etc. They change like the wine and we all seem to magically forget how awful some of it was thus the broodiness and I am very much so. We have taken a risk AGAIN this month - my god, I need some proper contraception. And I just can't bring myself to rush in for morning after pill. I really don't have any need for another baby, I love the ones I've got, my life is just the right balance actually.
FGS, god, yes, my hormones were all over the place and ds gave up about 3 or so weeks ago, I was still crying about it until the weekend. Pulsatilla (30c) really helped a lot with teariness and anger. I am now able to give him a bottle without getting misty-eyed.
Indith but I can use my ergo!!

change like the wind, even !

WB, I had a difficult phase with DD2 during the day recently. I just left her wailing - CC I guess but much easier in daylight - and she was falling asleep in bed again within a day or so. Having said that, she mostly sleeps in the buggy as I'm out most of the time.

FGS, hope the 'mones have improved. And hope lurgies have gone and everyone else is better

DS read a book about a boy who fell asleep in a tent (in a shop) and it inspired him to build one in his room and DD1 & him have been sleeping in it since. 9 days now. It is so sweet!

I need to get a sleeping bag for DD2 with arms as her room is so cold and I'm starting to wonder (in desperation) if this is why she wakes at 4.30/5.00am every day. Any ideas where I can get one?

Sorry, really can't remember what's been going on...can i get away with hugs for everyone?

General update of my lo is....she's crawling at lightspeed, pulling herself up on everything...but usually the backs of my legs...and refusing to sleep in the daytime - which fortunately means she sleeps well at night, but unfortunately means she is a grumpy cow from 2 til 7pm!

Grrr I didn't ring the Dr this morning as the yellow goo had diminished but now ds is oozing again and has huge redish bags and bloodshot eyes and there are no appointments until tomorrow. Been wiping his eyes with breastmilk, any other ideas?

Thankfully he is perfectly happy in himself, it is just at night when his eyes get sealed shut by goo that he complains and I've had a very easy day so far today as ds has spent his time merrily exploring the coffee table. No afternoon nap yet though so I predict grumpiness will set in soon.

2 words. Calpol Night. Bl*dy fantastic! I know its kidology, but DD1 hated Medised and would refuse to take it. Calpol, though, that's a different story.

Check me, revelling in drugging my children

Seriously, though, when I collected DD1 from school, her teacher said she'd been weepy at lunchtime. Got her home and her temperature was over 39C. A quick dose of the aforementioned Calpol and she's sleeping like a baby. Poor wee soul must have felt rotten.

Indith, BM is probably the best thing for your DS's eyes until you get to a doctor. You could always ask a pharmacist for advice? I know our pharmacist is great, especially for children's ailments, and can prescribe some medication.

Godzilla, I love the standing-up thing. They just look so proud and grown up when they pull themselves onto their feet!

Hmm, well, ds2's new trick for today?

Climbing the stairs.

He's gone from standing and bouncing holding onto the bottom step to climbing all the way up. And it's not a slow climb. It's one leg, then the other, all the way to the top. He crawled out into the hall when I wasn't looking earlier. In the 30 secs it took me to realise he'd gone he was at the top, standing holding onto the stairgate, bouncing up and down .

I wouldn't mind but our stairs are the original victorian ones and are pretty much vertical. Time for Dh to put the bottom gate up, methinks.

Indith, bm for now will do the trick, if you can actually drip a few drops into his eyes, as well as wiping it works as well as the AB drops I was given for ds1 when he had conjunctivitis, but how you'll get ds to lie still enough for that I don't know!

Good luck with the gooey eyes, Indith. Sounds icky.

BP...yes, we know when the older ones are ill cos they actually go to bed voluntarily

We can't fit stairgates to our stairs. There is absolutely no way to fit one, there is a bannister fixed all the way down one side, and also at the bottom, there is a door right at the place where you would need to put one. Slightly scary.

GB, have you looked at one of these? They have a special attachment to fasten them to bannisters. We have a really awkward set up of doors, skirting boards and bannisters at the top of our stairs and have managed to get one of them fitted.

Thanks Olihan. Just had a look...our bannister is curved on the edges and flat on top and underneath...d'you reckon would it fit?

What happened?!? I am going to have to employ a babysitter so I can catch up

I did read that INdith's friend is giving birth - so exciting, good luck to her! - and that small LOs are pulling themselves up, clever things, and that WB's dd isn't sleeping too well (dd2 insisted on holding onto my hair today, to go to sleep, so am not much use for advice) and then I thought I'd better stop and catch up tomorrow or I'll never get to bed....

..and I need to, 'cos dh now ill, and dd2 coldy and bubbly chested and very likely to wake up lots. RSV is going round the pre-school again, and one poor wee lad (brother of dd1's pal) just spent a week in hospital. It brought back memories, and I don't like dd2's cough. I confess to occasional cold fear in pit of stomach, and crossing fingers.

For now though, all well - if you do'nt count dd1 wishing dd2 didnt' exist (she's going through a wave of grief about not being the only child anymore). Eek, hear coughing, will catch up later! xx

Olihan, welcome to the nail-chewing club of mums of stair climbing babies Ds2 now staggering around most of the time. He's gone from the Frankenstein walk to the kind-of-tipsy swagger. Not bonking nearly as much as ds1 did - yet anyway.

Indith, another vote for bm and keep it really clean with a warm washcloth and some saline rinses as best you can.

eli - so sorry to hear about the cold. Do they give the RSV injections to children her age? Might be worth asking about.

Thanks Jabber, no, they don't, unless premature babies with serious lung problems - they consider the RSV vaccine experimental and unproven

Frankenstein sounds adorable

Indith, hope the eye is better today..my BF's dd gets this every single time she has a cold, and it seems to clear up on its own. My dd1, on the other hand, had it once as a wee baby and in the end we had to get some drops - worth trying the BM, though, for sure. How's your friend?

dd2 coughed until 1am, then slept peacefully...so I worried that I'd overdosed her on Medised for a bit, then got some sleep too.

dh has man-flu

And I'm trying not to compare and contrast his man-flu with my cold

And failing miserably