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.

Hi ladies,

I lost count on all the times i tried o post here and PC would crash!!!! Stressed out mom of 3 under 3 and the pc crashes!!! I was like a crazed women talking to herself... Bloody thing.

Anyway

mcchesers
RE: layers of clothing good question. I was using a body suit, then a light jacket. I think the weather is all over the place. I use a hat all the time and a light jacket, with blanket over legs. On a really cool day i use the body suit. Its hard to know with the weather..

minipinkscottish
Please call round to mine after you have done.. Your a women on a mission is right.

JODIEhadababy
Ohh hate the dentist.

Disney

Well i think you are truely fantastic.

Babies should generally wear one layer more than you do. I usually put Poppy in vest, dress, tights, then a cardi to go out. If she's in buggy i give her a blnket, but if she's in the sling I assume she'll be warm enough next to me.

Which reminds me of a tights question for all you experienced mummies of girls. Do baby tights go over or under the bodysuit??

I am also a member of the disneystar fan club - I feel exhausted just thinking about your day!

m2l / mcchesers - engorgement will go quicker if you avoid expressing, although you could use the opportunity to build up a stash of ebm. Boobs are very clever and adjust to suit demand.

Ladies, hello.

Feeling better now - my best friend sent me a lovely note to say how depressing UK is at the mo with all the banks up the swannie and recommended that i go buy some shoes. Think I might!

Logan is doing really well off the boob now - still expressing about 15oz a day though cos the engorgement is just too painful - got 8oz is 20 mins this morning! His reflux not too bad - certainly better than DS1 but he deffo suffers from more wind, bless him. He's sleeping from 6-6 with two feeds in between now, hoping he'll drop the middle of the night feed in a couple of weeks, like his brothers did.

Disney, I too am in awe. How do you do it? You should be soo proud of yourself but I know it's hard to be sometimes.

Anyway, looks like we're all doing well considering. Mama2leah, I'm sorry if you've already said, but have you tried using infacol or colief in her bottles?

I used to put tights over the vest. and usually buy a size bigger than usual. dressing boys is sooooo much easier!

Evening lovely ladies I've had a rough day here today, not Bethany but the other two.

isaidno - tights over bodysuits, just now if I go out in the morning B wears bodysuit/vest, little dungarees, socks and a snow suit because it's quite cold but I agree later on in the day it can get quite warm too its a nightmare, sometimes I just put a cardigan on her

donutmum - sorry you are feeling homesick, yes it is quite depressing over here right now, sometimes I honestly wish DP could get a year or 2's secondment somewhere different and warm, don't know about down South but it's so wet here rains most days it's so depressing. Glad Logan's wind is better too

minnie - hope your PC is behaving iteself now

M2L - I know the sleep deprivation is so hard, over the years I've just gone with the flow and done whatever it takes to get the most sleep I can, for us it's cosleeping and feeding them on demand. I think theres plenty of time for sleep training later on. As she's your first try and sleep during the day if you can. Oh I never knew babies farted so much either and it's quite noisy.

mcchesers - Edinburgh Zoo have you been before? Very hilly. If your just going with the sling your body heat will make him and you warm I always have a sweaty body with B in the sling, Normal clothes and a cardigan would be fine. M&T groups can be a bit funny at first. I agree there are a lot of cliques but also new people, go to a few see which ones you like. I always make a point of talking to newbies as I know how daunting it can be going in there by yourself.

Jodie - I have to have another 2 fillings as well I think they are refillings though, I keep saying I should get some calcium supplements too. oh and at Sams sleeping.

mcchesers- Sorry to hear about the baby group.

I went to my first baby group today. When I first went in no one spoke to me and I sat there thinking I wouldnt be coming back and feeling quite crap. Typically then Abigail fell asleep leaving me sitting there like a lemon on my own. Thankfully another 2 ladies came in with thier LO's and it was thier first time there too. The three of us got chatting and Things improved. I will go again and hopefully get chatting to the other mummies. If not then ill look for a new group.

I too did the Smile sweetly thing as one of the mums commented on Abigails "terrible bedtime routine".

Jodie- Thanks for asking about DH. Word is slowly getting around now and shocking people. Hes been there about 8yrs and works his arse off for them. They really will struggle without him as there are some things that only he knows how to do.

Minipink- Yah for the new kitchen but boo for all the hassle of getting there!

Isaidno- I just bought some tights for Abigail and was wondering the same.
Id prob say over the vest as it looks nicer,but then the vest would stop the tights falling down.. mmmm Have to experiment with that.

Donutmum- Glad your are feeling better now and not so homesick.
Your friend is right..With banks and airlines ect going bust its not great right now.

M2L- Abigail is a right old trumper! When she feeds all you can feel is her popping away on my lap! Very lady like!

SK- Sorry you had a bad day.. can symapthise as Abiagil has been in a right old grump this afternoon.. Not feeding great and only having short naps which means shes still tired and grumpy again. Nothing seems to be pleasing her this afternoon.

TBH I don't really like skirts or dresses on little baby girls that cannot walk, will tell you why - they always ride up when you are holding them so all you see is their bum in tights, also they spin round their waist and never sit right. Once you have a crawler tights get holes in them far quicker than trousers and it's so difficult getting dirt out of cream and light pink tights if they have been on a dirty floor. I much prefer dungarees or trousers they look comfier too for day to day wear.

Oooh that sounds very helpful advice SK. I must confess to finding the general idea of little babies and tights a bit weird, not to mention baby knickers. A foreign concept after a boy! (I love dungarees on littlies full stop.)

Pigley what's wrong with Abigail's bedtime routine??! My mum the other day called after DS was asleep (about 7.30pm) and asked if Poppy was down too and then seemed surprised when I said no! But then she did feed us formula and leave us crying and all that kind of enforced routine stuff (it was the 70s...)

I am embarrassed to admit that I had never even heard of a roomba before!

I met with a pregnant friend on tuesday and she will be unable to breastfeed as she will be on drugs that are immuno-suppressants. So as I was going to donate to the milkbank anyway I offered to express for her instead, do you think that is weird?? She has said yes btw!

SK - after 2 boys I am not dressing my little girl in trousers! Pretty frocks all the way here. Poppy owns hardly any boring trousers!!

She will probably grow up to be a tomboy...

minniemummy - I think that is a lovely thing to do for your friend.

Evening all,

I am just back from bellydancing class - was so nice to be back again and I was not quite as rusty as I thought I would be - although I am terribly unfit! I have ordered a pair of red tap shoes too as I have decided to take up adult tap classes again - starting Monday - I love dancing

Yep C is really windy too - especially form about 4 - 6am He shrieks in his sleep and wakens up with the pain in his tum/intestine. Took him for a c/s treatment yesterday - he cried really hard all the way though it and tired himself out! We nipped into town aftrewards and I put him in his sling and he loved looking around at everything! He is such a needy baby compared to how DD was - he would like me to carry him close 24-7! Such a sensitive wee soul.

DONUTMUM- new shoes always make you feel better - especially red ones Your kids will settle in and thre lifestyle is so much better for them - great experience and they will benefit in the long run.

ISAIDNO - I put tights over vest but put frilly knickers on top - so cute and stops tights falling down and looks nice when their skirts get hoisted up

JODIE - I think Kaz was trying to move ASAP so possibly in the midst of it.

Cannot remember who asked but GELSEMIUM 30C is the homeopathic remedy for the onset of colds/flu.

SK - did your bf get the house?

Must pop off to bed now and try to unwind a bit.

Nite allxx

Evening all,

I am just back from bellydancing class - was so nice to be back again and I was not quite as rusty as I thought I would be - although I am terribly unfit! I have ordered a pair of red tap shoes too as I have decided to take up adult tap classes again - starting Monday - I love dancing

Yep C is really windy too - especially form about 4 - 6am He shrieks in his sleep and wakens up with the pain in his tum/intestine. Took him for a c/s treatment yesterday - he cried really hard all the way though it and tired himself out! We nipped into town aftrewards and I put him in his sling and he loved looking around at everything! He is such a needy baby compared to how DD was - he would like me to carry him close 24-7! Such a sensitive wee soul.

DONUTMUM- new shoes always make you feel better - especially red ones Your kids will settle in and thre lifestyle is so much better for them - great experience and they will benefit in the long run.

ISAIDNO - I put tights over vest but put frilly knickers on top - so cute and stops tights falling down and looks nice when their skirts get hoisted up

JODIE - I think Kaz was trying to move ASAP so possibly in the midst of it.

Cannot remember who asked but GELSEMIUM 30C is the homeopathic remedy for the onset of colds/flu.

SK - did your bf get the house?

Must pop off to bed now and try to unwind a bit.

Nite allxx

LIBRA - reflux maybe? If he is really vomiting it could be - or it could just be a bug. Hope he is better soon though.x

Minnie-
The lady asked if she was good at night and if she was sleeping through.
Told her she has done a couple of times and depends on when she goes to sleep as to how many times we fed during the night.

If she goes to sleep in the moses basket about 11 or 12 then she will go till about 5.30/6 or even 7 ish but when she goes down at 10 then its more 3/4 ish. When we put her to bed in her basket depends when she has her last bottle. ie 9 or 10 pm.

She tends to have a longish sleep of 5/6 hours but after that feed its back to the normal 3/4 hours.. so for example 10 till 3 then 6 then 9.

Weve been debating putting her down earlier at 7/8 but then she will have her long sleep while we are awake downstairs and then we will be up every 3 hours with her during the night. At least if she goes at 10/11 we get the benefit from her long sleep period. Is that being selfish?

Anyway... This lady was saying she should be in bed by 7 and should be going 12 hours by now! Shes only 8 weeks old and I dont know of any baby going that long. In fact id be worried if she went that long without a feed!
She was saying I needed to put her down earlier and thats she will never go to bed before 11 if I dont start now. She seemed very shocked.

Part of me felt like arguing back with her im too shy/nervous for that, just did the little smile thing but its been plaing on my mind all day thinking am I doing something wrong.

EEC- the nights are better in that he goes back into his basket easier but is still waking every 2- 2.5 hrs for a feed so not that much better! (Last night was 11.30, 1.30, 3.30 5.30 and 7.30. He must watch the clock) But what is getting him settled easier is letting him finish comfort sucking- I'd been putting him back in his basket when he'd finished feeding whereas now I'm letting him carry on just sucking (no swallowing going on) until he's alseep. I might be setting myself up for a hard time with sleep being associated with boob but I need to get some zzzz's now!

Libra- thanks for links, will have a good read.

Pigley, I think you have to do what suits you and your dh, personally I don't mind getting up once in the night if it means I get a quiet evening to myself once the older dds are in bed. But if unbroken sleep is more important to you then carry on as you are. Whichever way you do it, at some stage Abigail will sleep through the night. I was very hung up on routine with dd1 and always tried to have her in bed by 7, but it made for a very stressful couple of months while I was 'training' her. I aim for 7 with Bryony, but it's usually between 8 and 9 by the time she finally settles, then I tidy up and have a look on Mumsnet, and enjoy having 2 hands free to type.

Sweetkitty, I like dungarees for crawlers, as dresses get caught under knees, but prefer dresses and tights for little ones, as I find otherwise I can't keep their toes warm - socks just come off immediately. My sister in law resorted to putting my nephew in his sister's tights to solve the problem!

pigley - it's fine for you to have the benefit of Abby's long sleep. I am like Ponto and prefer the other way round; also I have other dc so don't get ant sleep after 6 am anyway.

As she sleeps longer you will be able to bring her bedtime forward and have evenings to yourself again. It is better to do this rather than have a baby who sleeps 11pm to 11am. I had a friend who let her baby do long morning lie ins (for her benefit!) but she had a nightmare when she went back to work and he had to be up by 7am.

Pigely - as others have said I think you need to do what suits you, I prefer having my evenings baby-free so A is put to bed at 7pm and stays in his room even if we need to go up and settle him, DH admits he actually misses A falling alseep on him downstairs and I know other people (especially if it's their first or last!) prefer to keep their LOs with them for the evening. There is no wrong or correct way just the right way for you and your baby. You should let the part of you that wants to argue back burst forth, you'll feel much better about it and then you can post in AIBU about it

Minkus - are you sure he is waking up for food and it's not just a habit now? Could you try him with a dummy instead of a feed?

WW - I don't know what it is. I have mentioned it to the HV and they have just stated it's wind and normal possetting. So I just think i am being PFB about it but as you know with your LO it's distressing seeing them in pain and not being able to do anything about it, especially as they don't understand what is going on. What's c/s?

minniemummy - what a lovely thing to do for your friend!

minniemummy Thats such a nice thing for you to do, not weird at all, at least you know the baby who'll get the benefit from your EBM.

Pigley I too like Sam to be in bed by 7.30 so we can have the evening to ourselves, but I do have DS1 so up at 6 anyway. When I had DS1 he came to bed with us, what ever time that was, but started his 'routine' when he went into his own room at about 12 weeks. I found that Sam was having a feed at about 9 until we started putting him upstairs to bed, once that happened he didn't wake for it. We give him a feed at 11 and he goes until anytime between 4-6 depending on how much sleep he's had in the day.

Hi all, didn't have computer yesterday, but got bit of time today - dd1 at her g/parents lots this week as my back still playing up! She love it!
Pigley SK and EE thanks for advice - Florence still seems fine in herself, couldn't get hold of HV and couldn't justify emergency drs appt as she was so obv fine!! She has just as I type filled her nappy for first time since Wed sometime so must go in a mo...
My sister commented that F was chomping rather than sucking on her finger yesterday and she's been doing same this am so wondering if her teeth are moving down..
She was definitely sleeping something off yesterday, but in between is very lively and vocal. She just did this big squeal which sounded like 'hooray' (she's in her chair next to me chomping fists and talking and smiling) and she says 'ning' a lot !!
I have some gorgeous dresses and tights for F, but agree it's tricky - tend to save them for 'going out / best' as trousers are more comfy - but yes, in cold weather tights are better than socks! I look for long tunic - type tops / dresses in jersey, look cute with tights and much comfier. I put tights over bodysuit normally. Don't know why.
She is complaining now so got to go clear up poo lake.

Hi Ladies, just thought I would have a quick pop-in and see how you are all doing.
Reflux is getting better, had previously been prescribed Ranitidine and Domperidone, but the Domperidone was giving squidge a tummy ache, and explosive poos (right up her back). So saw the consultant this week, stopped the Domperidone and started on Enfamil AR formula, bit thicker but seems to be working. Ranitidine still doing its job and squidge is much, much happier.
Sleeping is similar to most of you, DW coping like a star since I started back at work, though have been getting short with each other quite a bit, I really do try my best to do as much as I can around the house and work but sometimes not good enough.
Really am filled with so much admiration for all of you, having some insight through this thread.
(raises a virtual glass to you all).

Take care

Busy busy busy just unpacked Tesco order about to give B her pre dinner feed then it will be dinnertime, boobs seem to know what is what though, can't remember when they calm down but a let down is still quite painful and happens at very odd times, like when I'm emptying the dishwasher odd.

B got given these lovely socks as a present they actually stay on her feet, she also got a few of those dress tunic type things with leggings underneath, have you seen them? In pink and brown which seem to be the in colours for some reason.

hubarb - glad you and the family are doing well and the reflux seems to be getting sorted

purplejenny - hope the poo situation has sorted itself out we get the odd greeny looking nappy too

ponto - I have seen boys with navy blue tights on before when t's very cold, baby socks are a law unto themselves aren't they?

pigley - I think that woman was talking through a hole in her bum you just have to spend some time on MN to know a lot of babies do not sleep through, I have had one who was sleeping through from 6 weeks and one that took a year and some intervention, I'm hoping to start shifting B's sleep forward a bit so we can get a bit of an evening back I think after 3 months things settle down a bit

weeble - bellydancing sounds such fun. My friend is having some problems with her survey, she's only got 10 weeks until due date so I hope she is in her new house by then.

Apologies to anyone I have missed off must go B is starting to grumble time for Deal or No Deal feed, is anyone else started watching more TV because of feeding? I am watching loads of house programmes right now must cut down I dreamt we were building an extension the other night and when I woke up I was trying to remember what it looked like !

Just don't know how you all find the time to chat!!! I feel like I don't have a single moment to myself at all! Phoebe is very alert most of the time during the day so am constently on the go! On the plus side 90% of the time she sleeps from 11ish til 7 so can't complain on that front! Just finding the whole feeding thing a bit of a nightmare! P lost weight and so have had to breast feed and then offer a bottle at EVERY feed as HV was 'concerned'!!! Patronising cow!!!!! But P has now put on a whopping 13oz over the past week and has finally made it into newborn size clothes! No more 'tiny' or 'early' baby stuff for her!! Which is silly coz she wasn't that tiny and was 9 days late!! Have had a brief look over posts but am still baby brained and can't remember a thing! Am so house bound a the moment and feel pretty low about it especially since I don't get any time to do 'me' things. What with the 3 hourly feeding regime and the washing and the sterilising and the constant entertaing and baby babbling! Wouldn't change a thing though...how weird is that?!?!?! Whilse I remember, does anyone else have napy issues with poo?! P can't seem to do a poo without it going everywhere (sorry if TMI) and I mean absolutely EVERYWHERE, the other day she was covered up to the armpits!! And sometimes it is more than once in a day! If you catch her at 'first fart' then you can usually stop it going on her clothes etc, but she will keep going and going and going for ages, then wee everywhere, which caught me very off guard the first couple of times! Just don't know if this is normal?!?! Hope you are all ok anyway and I will make more of an effort to post more regularly!!!

Libra I think he's hungry, he takes a full feed (greedy little piggsy that he is!) but maybe tonight I will see if I can settle him back without the boob. Sadly he will not take a dummy. I used to think parents who said that just weren't trying hard enough with the dum but now I know that some babies really really don't want one louis is so sucky I might have to resort to a dummy secured with elastic bands round his ears

Minnie what a lovely lovely thing to offer your friend, hope that it works well for you all when her lo comes along.

Where are you putting your babies to sleep in the day now? Thinking that maybe I should be putting Louis upstairs in his basket now but tbh sometimes I just can't be arsed and he has a nap on his play rug.

bebejones L is a bit explosive poo wise too. Not quite armpits but definitely had a few belly button level ones

Chin up, you sound a bit down from your post. x