July 2008 - Living in the Twilight Zone of never quite enough sleep to be compus mentus

[libralady]

Just thought I'd better set up another thread as the old one is just about to run out.

Morning xx love the title for the new thread liberlady disney - thinking of you honey...wish I could say something to make it all better...keeping my fingers crossed and sending you loads of hugs xxx you are a strong lady with all you've had to contend with and I know you'll find the strength to cope with this xxxx

Good morning! Hurrah - no rush this morning - 2 days of school and I'm knackered!!
It's p*ssing with rain and ds2 wants the paddling pool out. Trying to get Poppy to sleep so I can have a shower. Feel like being glam mum today so might find a skirt
instead of boring jeans.
Housework in high heels for me today!

Had a good night last night! Now we just need this rain to clear up!

Morning all - back after a week of being too busy/stressed/tired to post. Have finally caught up but can't remember much. It is a real help to read it all though, as all the little problems I have here have been experienced by one of you and the bits of advice/support/just knoiwing you're not alone are invaluable.

Disney - I am really thinking of you and your whole family.

Life here is not easy with very frustrated DH who is hobbling about on crutches and getting very frustrated as he can't even help with the baby - Rory will only settle with me as he likes to be walked around.

Rory is up every night on and off from 3am and it is exhausting. I completely get the lonely place with a crying baby in the night thing. I think those of us who never have a good old cry ourselves are few and far between. Woth DS1 it was several times a day for months (colic!), with DD only 3 or 4 times ever (dream baby) - with R it is every couple of days. It really does pass. Just may take time.

first night putting leah in the crib!!!

OH MY WORD!!!!

it was hard work, i think we only splet 3 hours max, thats me and leah...dh had a good sleep!

she would either cry, stay awake makin noises, which i would ignore, or i had to out her to sleep then move her....

she only crie donce for a feed, which i suppose is good...

i must keep puttin her in the crib, but i feel so bad....

i love co-sleepin..but my back cant take it anymore!!

and i dnt have space for a bedside cot...

sad...

please tell me it will get easier..and she will settle in crib...

morning ladies thank you all so much for the words of support i guess i was having a i feel sorry for myself day and trust me they are rare
just last 2 days ive been at the school and you know what some mums are like they peer in the pram and see sam different they talk to him he doesnt respond or even look they autmatically know theres different here
i feel like gettin a poster on the pram hood saying ok my baby is disabled and deaf so say hello but dont make a comment hes still my son who i love
got up this morning and samuel was staring at me he knows who i am and daddy he just lives in a quiet world where he cant move
he can move his legs a bit and 1 arm but not his neck or head
you guys are different you are so lovely we are all mums together regardless we went throught the same emotions and pain and got babies at the end and even though i got a different deal i still got my son and TBH yesterday i was a bit envious or jelous of you lot but im gonna stop moaning today ok

doing samuels nursery this weekend so going to get boys involved to help and choose
as for going back to work its a no go for me my dh is going to work away more to compensate but only for 6 months then im going home for a while so i have something good to look forward to.............
hope all the rains settles for you guys and all is ok and all the babies are happy and restfull ...........maybe we will be then

before we go and buy the cot and furniture does anyone know of a good deal anywhere as i usually go to ikea but thats like a day trip with all the dc..........plus i get carried away.....soft furnishings my house if full of rugs and cushions

need bold colours in there and found a great sensory site online i love having projects to do love designing rooms

as for you barclays people before becoming a lecturer i was a litigation manager for barclaycard...lovely job repossesion i was as hated as the IR

DS - never stop telling us how you really feel, you don't need to bottle it up and this is a place you can come to get support.

It seems as if you have to be either a teacher or work at Barclays to be allowed on this thread luckily I did a 7 year stint with Barclays the investment bank bit before getting made redundant (which was the best thing ever for me as I was too lazy to find a better job up to then)

Disney - glad to hear you feel better today.
Gorgeous bedding from vertbaudet

Mothercare might be worth a look, but pricier than Ikea!

Hi guys,
Spanking new thread lovely

UP the walls with DC.. Tired and sick with a sore chest. Think i pulled a muscle..
Leah is doing great and think routine is coming on nicely.. She is just kinda doing it herself..

Disney
We all shared our moans and growns for 9 months, were all still here for the blue days. I had one myself 2 days ago, felt like shit and had a posh lady feel sorry for me with 3 under 3!!! She even said you poor thing 3 under 3.. F OFF was nearly about to fall out of my mouth [angy] But no i just replied ya its great, at least i can have chrildren....

Right have to cover the bags under the eyes and get out of the house for a while..

Just a very quick post as want to go get lunch while little madam is sleeping!! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for advice!! Is getting slightly better, HV checked latch and it's fine...she said that because I am very fair and have sensitive skin that could be why things are so bad. Have been BF 3 times a day and giving formula a couple of times at night and expressing then and it seems to be working (touch wood) so will persevere, have given myself til 6 weeks and if it is no better I will call it a day! Bleeding nipples and rock hard boobs is not good!!!!

Quick one from me too happy new thread thanks libralady

disney - you sound a wee bit more positive today

bebesjones - never heard the fair skin thing, BFing is bloody hard to begin with end of so you are doing really well. If you want to keep going keep formula to an absolute minimum the more formula you use the less milk you will produce it's a vicious circle, it will get better soon.

Right better be off will return later - maybe

bebejones - R is 6 weeks now and I have started to use formula every now and then. I agree that it probably means my milk supply will start to diminish, but 6 weeks isn't bad, and I should be able to carry on giving mostly bm for a good while yet. It seems that I need to feed every 2 hours unless I give formula, when he will last 3 to 4, so it's the only way I have been able to get any sleep at all. I do think that the well being and sanity of the mother is important for the baby too, and certaily for the other DCs. I did the same thing with both my other DC's and mamnaged to bf for about 4 months. Not as long as I had hoped but they are both fit and healthy.

Disney - glad you are feeling a bit cheerier today. You're bound to have ups and downs - it's amazing how positive you are most of the time.

Rory's spots seem to be starting to clear up, but the cradle cap and dry flaky skin over eyebrows are getting much worse. He is such a gorgeous baby, but he does look a fright at the moment!

Oh my goodness - I think we are having a monsoon! My poor DS is playing Rugby - I dread to think what a state he will be in!

Hi all. Nice new thread.

Disney - barclaycard! tough one. And BarCap prob a bundle of laughs for you too libra1975.
just popping on to say - started exercise this afternoon - managed 13 mins on the treadmill plus some handweights and sit ups. Cracking open the Wii Fit this evening. Must get this blubber off! Loads of aussies here and they are fit fit fit. Found someone to do boxing training with - that'll get it off.

Also, DS1 just walked into a chest of drawers and cut his head open just above his eye. Poor wee boy is being a very brave soldier.

Oh, and I had two bras on.

Just a quickie

CRADLE CAP - olive oil or calendual cream from WELEDA.

COLIC - I have some spare homeopathic remedy if you want CILC and others suffering - will post the name of it tomorrow but I bought 4 cylinders - granules you place under their tongue - you can buy form chemist but I will post out the 2 I have going spare if you want.

xxxx must go crying DCs

Hi all, nice new thread, can't believe we got through the old one so fast esp with new DC's!!

Disney You are doing so well, and you have every right to be envious of us all, I mean I get sometimes for silly things like, (and you will laugh) Not having a girl to dress up, not being patient enough or enjoying Breast Feeding, DS1 being so demanding I can't relax and enjoy Sam like the others with their first babies, (or like I did with DS1) I know shocking sending you and Sam BIG HUGS..

I had such a shit day yesterday, no sleep, DS1 being a complete nightmare, tantrumed ALL DAY, If DS1 wasn't shouting and screaming, then Sam was, I just wanted to give it all up. Felt like such a shite mum as I just kept giving in to DS1, chocolate ice cream for breakfast, CBeebies on all day, etc etc, but it was the only way I could cope.... Thankfully today is much better, but only because I left DH with them this afternoon and did a bit of shopping (how fast can you get around without a
buggy!!!!!) and went to see my friend who gave me a manicure and pedicure, I hate this weather, soggy and wet, DS1 just wanted to go outside all the time, even kept getting his wellies and putting them on.... ANyway, he starts Football Club tomorrow morning, he should enjoy that!!!! (rumpel how did your DD get on with dance class?)

Sorry for long me post I know you all have problems too, and some ALOT bigger than mine, but it's nice to get things of my chest IYNWIM....

Can't quite believe it but P slept 8 hours last night... would have been quite refreshing if a) she weren't such a bed hog (she always seems to end up on a diagonal) and b) she didn't make noises like a little pig rooting for truffles all night long! However she is asleep now so I doubt we'll get the same tonight.

Agree with Jodie about envying others for silly things - I have been envious of you first-timers getting to sleep in with your babies. However I managed it this morning - a subtle message of 'I need more sleep' using the fridge magnets lead DH to offer me a lie-in - gratefully taken!! Also I have seen other threads with lines like 'I am addicted to breastfeeding' - really?? Never experienced that physical 'high' from it myself... So Disney I don't think you are feeling sorry for yourself or moaning, you're just being human! Would love to see pics when you have done Sam's room.

Going back to an earlier topic, I'm not a teacher but I do try and help the nation's youth in my own way.. I'm a youth counsellor (if I have a job to go back to, Conservative council, cuts, etc. etc.) and I see mostly school age children. Sometimes in schools!

min - I am def of first time mummies with lie ins. After 2 days of getting up at 6:30 am for school I thought everyone might be tired enough to sleep in this morning, but no, 6 am everyone except me is desperate to get up.

Disney, just wanted to say I am thinking of you and Sam, your post yesterday made me cry. You obviously love him so much, he is very lucky to have a lovely mum like you who can see him for the gorgeous little boy he is. Hope things improve for him with the tube feeding, please do continue to tell us how he and you are doing whether good or bad.

I have been out for dinner without children tonight, hooray! It was my friend's birthday, I was going to take Bryony with me but I fed her just before leaving and she seemed in a good mood so I left dh with the 3 of them. It was lovely to eat in a restaurant without having to worry about entertaining small children. I was very pleased to return home 2 hours later to a peaceful house and the emergency bottle of formula unused

morning all

well...dd1 had her first sleep over at a friend's last night and i expected to have to go for her in middle of night but no

ds4 slept all night in his own bed and abbie slept from 9.30pm till 6am.....i have to mark all this on the calendar as it surely wont happen again

typing with 1 hand as dd feeds..

hi all
mini what a great night you had how often i stay awake with sam asleep not daring to chance me sleeping and he goes for ages typical !!!!

got his bedroom things we chose a engraved winnie poohcotbed, changing unit,got all his animal bedding from next,that was the hard part as i wanted bright bright colours,not cappucino colours neutral must be in

gota lovely fisher price monitor with lights and sounds and when he makes any sound as he doesnt cry it projects animals over his ceiling we tried it last night just to show him and he was staring at it for ages amazed by it even though he doesnt have much facial expressions we can tell by his eyes and his 1 leg moves up and down,so it was a very good buy
i went on yesterdays world online and got him an old fashioned jack in a box a spinning top again loads of colours
a beautifull carousel with music.....

ponto thank you for the kind words and all of you ,i just love you guys on MN i think we have a great communication link on here and i hope so for a long time to come.

hi everyone

not been managing to post much recently, sorry I;ve not been able to catch up with every single post so not sure of everyone's news. but did see your message disney about sams feeding problems etc. so sorry your little (well not so little with 7 of you!)family is facing this. thinking of you and sam lots.

Louis is doing well, not so windy and sicky now at 9 weeks. think he's learning how to help me wind him, if that makes sense. He's 13lbs now, following his centile line perfectly. First time I've had him weighed since the MW signed us off at 2 weeks, not worried at all about which line he;s on as just looking at him you can tell he's healthy and thriving.

Still feeding every two ish hours during the day, although he's more reliably doing 7 hours from when he goes to bed now, which is about 7pm. (Although last night he went 7-3 so 8 hours) He has set this bed time himself- gets really really fussy and grumpy in the half hour before he wants to go to bed so I know when he wants to go up. Then it's swaddle him up, feed, cuddle and then into his moses basket. (only do bath a couple of times a week and normally during the day) Have to go into him 3 or 4 times before he goes off mind you!

We're organising a party for our boys too, instead of a christening as we're not religious really and didn't get round to doing anything for ds1. Sort of a naming thing but not called that, getting a small marquee, a pig roast and a bouncy castle in the garden in a few weeks for a big family celebration for all our friends & family. If you lot were close by you'd be getting invites too! SO doing all the organising for that at the mo, balloons, tablecloths, invites, games, food, grown up drinks etc etc I love it! It's so much fun! But we can't think what to call the "god" parents- because it's not religious we can't call them that I guess and not sure what name to use instead. Any ideas?

Hope you're all doing well, notice that a few of us now are still getting woken lots in the night and really feel for those with colic to contend with too. Must be very draining. Here's hoping we all get some kip soon!

hmmm minkus best get my thinking cap on..............ideas ? il let you know
fantastic idea though

Jodie - love it, don't know why I say sometimes I've had a bad day - shit day really does some it up!

Rumpel - will set up CAT thingo and very happy to purchase your colic homeopathic granules!

DS - you are sounding a lot bit better today. The monitor sounds lovely - my best friend in Oz sister is deaf and she say you can hear/feel the vibes of music.

Minkus - how about Guardian Parents?

Min - 8 hours - congratulations! Saw Poppy's pics on facebook - she looks lovely!

Bebe - I hope the bf gets better - SK is right though, the less you use the less you have. What a trooper for hanging in there though!

I was a teacher nearly 10 years ago and then went into HR and Training for an investment bank! Wow there is a common thread here - teachers, banks and HR! Have been thinking of going back to uni to do Psychology...though I would also like to finish a novel I have been working on for ages...... been a bit distracted lately .