September 08 - Just ladies with babies

[pacita]

I thought I'd start a new thread before we run out of space...

Hi, i haven't had chance to catch up - due to our house closely resembling a bombsite, the dc and I have been moving from friend to friend for the last 5 weeks and I haven't had access to the internet.

Our bathroom and kitchen are finally almost at least useable, though the recption rooms are full of either all our belongings or rubble. It's all v stressful.

On top of that dd2 was admiited to hospital on Hallowe'en for a week with bronchiolitis, needing oxygen. 1 of the worst things was when dd1 visited and had yo go home, listening to her sobbing and wailing I want my mummy as she left - really heartbreaking.

dd2 is also keen on being up in the night - sometimes crying with wind, sometimes falling asleep on me but waking with wind everytime she's laid down. She has often been up for 2-3.5 hours at a time.

Currently in desperation I am sleeping propped upright and she's sleeping on my chest. Far from ideal but the only way I'm getting anything even vaguely approaching enough sleep.

Hope everyone else is doing ok - I'll try and catch up a bit, but think the whole 5 weeks worth might be beyond me!

carrieon - so sorry about your boiler. Those new condensing ones are SO expensive. We needed a new boiler at our old house before we moved, but when we saw the quote we just went OMG, patched up the old one, and sold the house as quickly as we could before it went again. I really sympathise and hope it gets sorted soon.

sassy - a drumset??! Are you completely mad?

star - I totally agree with your sentiments re the cruise gift. Nice idea but atm I would do anything to avoid unnecessary hassle, especially if this is supposed to be a holiday. We considered all sorts for a winter holiday, but even the thought of a short flight or ferry was making my head spin. So we have booked a cottage in Scotland instead. Easy drive, books, jigsaws, walks in the snow, cooking - ideal! Plus I got a hefty discount through mumsnet so DH can't complain that my time on here is wasted!

Just wanted to let you all know, apparently, if you order a Mama's and Papa's catalogue you get a £5 voucher, no minimum spend. I've ordered mine so will let you know!

Re Christmas presents, I've order a personalised Christmas book, where Santa takes your little one delivering presents (I know he cant read it yet, but is something he can keep and will be able to use it for lots of years to come) It was on offer for 1p + 1.99 postage.

I sound so cheap dont I?

happy friday, gals.
haven't posted in ages, seems im not the only one! but i do manage to read whats going on.
and still, cant make a proper post now...must tend to my continuously fussy toby & my 'left-out' 2 year old!

im looking forward to this phase being over with...

Hi splishsplosh thanks for dropping by and updating us. you've been missed.

have you considered co-sleeping a bit more? with lo spending so much time on your chest just to get some rest, you may as well go for it whole hog.

dd2 has managed to poo 3 times since 4 am already. she sensed that I have now put her in cloth. We have been waiting due to dodgy umbelicus. she had her 6 wk check yesterday and the doc has put silver nitrate on it to dry it up. another application by HV next week.

splish - sounds even more stressful than our builders! Hope dd2 is better now.

foxy - A has pooed 5 times since 5am! The feeling glad that he's functioning properly is beginning to wear off.

Off to GP for yet more anti-thrush meds, and then to change to A's GP surgery which should make my life easier.

Does anyone here have their babies sleeping in separate rooms from them? How is it going?

Shit. Worse news from my friends whose baby is in SCBU yet again. It's times like this I wish I believed in a god so I could try praying. I admire his parents' coping skills so much but they can't take this much more.

ha,ha NC, dd2 currently producing no. 4

not that we are competitive mums!

starlight! re slings for the summer next year.

My recommendation is a Girasol. It is thinner than a Didymos but with the same weave so will be just as supportive. They are also cheaper organic and fair trade.
i got mine from here

I already have 2 girasols.

christmas presents- we're in the same boat as a few of you in that ds2 doesn't need anything much because he has all ds1's old toys waiting for him to grow into them. We've asked for a snowsuit and suggested crockery and cutlery as we don't have enough for both of them and that'll be something he needs not too many months after christmas. That way we'll prob get some nice stuff rather than Asda's cheapest which is what he'd get if I bought it!
We're getting him a fisherprice table top play mat as it looks fun and ds1 didn't have anything like that. I'm hoping to get it off ebay though. Oh I got him a Lego man teddy at legoland just coz I thought it was cool.
We're getting the train up to Scotland for Christmas so don't want to take up or bring back bulky stuff. DS1 is getting a huge ELC garage from the grandparents but its getting delivered here an easel from us. We'll have a mini christmas here before we go up to open the bulky things.

Those of you who have cracked the sleeping in bed during the day thing with your babies, I have a question for you. I know some of you have used books for tips of how to do it so wondered if you had any advice.
DS2 will go to sleep himself in his crib usually after about 10 mins of on and off crying (not hysterical crying, just a tired cry) but always wakes up crying after half an hour. At the morning and later aft nap this isn't a big problem but he needs to have a big sleep at lunchtime (he is at the moment but is in the car seat). So when he wakes after 30 mins should I let him cry and hope he goes back to sleep or get him up? Or trying ssshhing him without getitng him up? If I get him up he usually just falls asleep in my arms but then wakes and cries if I try to put him down again.

We're not getting ds anything for Christmas, dd didn't get anything last year which was her first Christmas. Dd is getting a present this year but only coz I saw something I liked at the NCT sale for £3.60! Neither of the kids need any more toys, my mum's got dd a book and dad's got her some playfood from ELC. She'll love all the people and the hype and wrapping paper and I think will be oblivious that none of its really for her.

Think dd is coming down with something coz she's been really cuddly all morning which is completely out of character (not that I'm complaining ). I'm sure this afternoon's visit to starbucks will sort her out though! I've told my (childless) friend that I'll buy her drink if she runs after dd every time she makes a dash for the door

NC so for your friend, and for you that the thrush is ongoing. I'll be taking my last fluconazole (I still can't spell it!) tonight, but I've still been getting pain deep within my right breast. Its worst when its full first thing in the morning. Having fed at 7pm, ds has a bottle at 11pm, left breast in the night, and so right breast has gone 12 hours and is exploding by morning! It really really hurts. But I don't want to express coz of supply/demand, I want it to get used to not being needed overnight! I have no idea if the pain is related to the thrush or not.

debi it sounds like a sleep cycles thing to me, its really good that your ds falls asleep by himself coz the problem can be if they need food/dummy/rocking to get to sleep, then they depend on that to settle back down when they've come into a light sleep (we soooooo went down that route with dd and her dummy and I'm determined not to do that again!). So I would have thought leaving him for a bit would be the answer since he's proved he can self-settle. Bear in mind though that some days he will just be awake and that's that and he'll need a longer nap in the afternoon to make up for it, and other days a bit of ssshhing might work. And if sleeping in the carseat works to give him a longer nap, then you can at least tell yourself that you're training his body to get used to lots of sleep at that time in the day, so he'll be more likely to sleep in his bed next time! (carrieon applies her battle armour against the inevitable routine methods backlash).

pony believe me we'd do a patch-and-dash job on our boiler if we were moving soon, but we reckon it'll be at least 3 years (i.e. til I'm prepared to go through pregnancy and labour again!!). We're def gonna get a new shower but no one can predict how much we'll spend on boiler repairs (given we've already spent £500 this year) against the cost of buying and installing a new one. Oh to be renting again and have it be someone else's problem!

Ponymum, I've also questioned our sanity re the drumset. The thing is, she loves playing the drums that go with the rockband game. We stick it on practise mode and she just drums away to hear little hearts content. She's pretty good at knowing when not to do very noise things though, she knows not to play noisy instruments when the baby is asleep.

debi I second carrieon's suggestions - either sit in his room waiting for him to come round and help him settle again before he wakes fully, or have a few days of going out in the car/with the pram to 'force' him to have a longer nap then, and then try it in the cot again. T occasionally does this, and inevitably has a crap afternoon/evening until he finally manages another long sleep and catches up, iykwim.

NC your poor friend.ponymum scottish cottage sounds lovely. i love going to my dad's (on a scottish island) in the winter.

I like your logic carrieon about telling myself he's training himself to sleep longer when in carseat

sassy you are brave. DS1 was playing a friends electric drumkit with headphones on a couple of weeks ago and loved it but I'd never get him his own drums. My brother had a drumkit when we were kids,it was awful!

i like that idea hopefully of going up to him just before the 30mins are up and trying to ssshh him before he fully wakes. Thats the advantage of the carseat- can rock him a little bit when he thinks about stirring. Also getting to him before he screams should be less disturbing for ds1 who is normally asleep then too. Thanks.

Good luck debi - I've done it a few times with great success. My biggest problem is that I forget that time is passing and don't rush upstairs fast enough when that first 45 min gurgle comes, so I end up having to completely resettle him. I've done it a couple of times, and yesterday and the day before I didn't even have to do anything, just sat there while he made a couple of noises and he drifted back off again.

Jenpet Did you know what Ninja says about the green n.2?
Ninja It is probably that. I keep on stopping her feed when her brother needs me.
It is great to know that is the cause. I will make sure her brother is entertained when I feed her from now on. Yesterday I gave her longer feeds and it is back to yellow, but I had not made the conexion.
Sassa I could not resist it. The Iris gauze is mine. I don't feel guity, I have sold my swaddling grobags on ebay. I can use it when we go to Spain.

Lorea is already half Spanish, she has the double nationality, I registered her by post in the Consulate, but I can't go to London to do her passport (It scares me a bit going by train with her. I don't know anybody in London anymore. I used to live there, but everyone I knew has moved), so I will do her the British one, it is much more expensive.
It lasts only 2 years.

My ds had the Spanish for 2 years and now has the British one. It does not matter.

DP has just taken T for his bath (I was feeding him in just his nappy beforehand), and rushed back in with him. The exchange went something like:

DP: what's wrong with him? He's got this bright green stuff around the waistband of his nappy!
me: OMG, do you think he's got some kind of fungal infection?
DP: I don't know, it's really bright green (shows me offending green goo)
me: (on close inspection) Ah. I may have dropped some mint aero on him while feeding...

It had melted into an attractive green paste on his skin.

Potxola, after years of dealing with really useless civil servants in the Spanish consulate, I am very impressed at how quickly I've received Diego's passport. I registered him by post and got the family book the week after. Then I popped into the consulate with the pictures and a self addressed envelope and 4 days later the passport came! I'm off to Spain in a couple of weeks, as I really want him to meet his great grand parents, who cannot travel any more.

I am giving D the dreaded antibiotic. It is absolutely FOUL and bright pink. I do hope it helps his skin heal and does not upset his tummy.

Also, I have a lump in one breast, which I immediately thought was a blocked duct, but it's not painful. It is hard, perfectly round and seems to be quite deep into the breast tissue. Does that sound like it could be blocked milk? It has not reacted much to massaging while the baby sucked.

by the way potxola, is your DP British? I was told Diego is not entitled to British citizenship because both his parents are foreign (I'm Spanish, DP is Greek)...

I've plonked my grouchy LO in front of the telly for the first time ever and he is mesmerised... am I a bad mother?