Nov 2008 - sleepless nights and exploding poo, dear oh dear now what do we do??

[Dozymare]

Sorry that is soooo crap but we needed a new thread!!!!!

Hi All, Longtime no post!! Just to say i hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a very happy new year!

We are spending Christmas one mile down the road at my mums and I am looking forward to not having to cook!! My sister and her DP are coming up with Polly so that should be lovely.

Crazy news: We're going Skiing on 28th (Yep with Esme) so will post in the new year on our return.

I look forward to the northern meet up and my news resolution is to post on here more!!!! xxxxxx

RI lovely to hear from you Am sure it is just a growth spurt and you will be back to normal (whatever that is!) soon!

I eventually got round to writing my Xmas cards last Friday!! Am also cooking Xmas lunch/tea/Boxing Day lunch this year - even though I told DH that I wanted do as little as possible - but there is only 3 adults for Xmas Day lunch so it should be ok.

Choc am of you meeting the others - I really wish I lived a bit further north and I could join in!!

Am wondering what you said about M being unhappy during the day before - Sam is really unsettled during the days at the moment - if he is not feeding or asleep, he is crying whatever we do and wherever we put him and I have no idea why! Unfortunately it means I am using the dummy much more than I want to as, with having DS1, I haven't got time to constantly hold him and try and figure out what is wrong . He used to lie in his basket awake and very calm but not anymore - any ideas??

Meant to say that he sleeps fantastically well at night with no whinging/crying at all - if he wants a feed at night, he just gets really restless and mutters (so I know I shouldn't complain) but it makes his unsettledness during the day even more baffling.

Pinkali x-posts - Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too Have a fab time skiing (you brave thing! )

Oh just one final thing to make you all cringe for me.

Went to the HV last thursday (Esme weighs 8lb 11oz YIPPEE), anyway, my mum had been out with me all day so asked if she could come in. I thought it would all be about Esme ALAS NO.. she asked if i had had "intercourse" yet. I must have blushed (only cos in front of my mum) and said NO. She didn't leave it there she continued to talk about contraception (even though i was persistent that we would sort it out and then as i joked and said "stitches" she continued talking about KY jelly and foreplay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN FRONT OF MY MUM, i have never been so RED in my life. I honestly thought she was doing it to embarass me because it was quite obviosu i didn't feel very happy. The more i think about it the more i wish i had stopped her in her tracks and just said "i don't wish to talk about this in front of my mother".

p.p.s. We have done it now and it was fine.... actually quite good

Oh she also was quite bullying in telling me to let mum babysit for the whole night so DH and i coudl do it. Now i am going to be totally red if i ever ask mum to look after Esme for me.

Heart2mum, sorry, I did not say than you to you, for all your reflux advice. Thank you

daisy that sounds exactly like E's spots. i took him to dr last thurs about it (paranoid 1st timer!!) and he gave me 1% hydrocortisone cream to put on twice a day. he called it a viral rash. it is so much better already. heres hoping F's gets better too.

phew, pinkali well done you on going on hol, i am very
margot hope your DH gets better soon, and that your sleep pattern continues to go well

enjoy your country break merry sounds lovely

hi to everyone else

oh pinkali
i would be mortified if my HV did that!!
i would be telling her 40mins of stitching = enough contraception for quite a while!!!!!

well done you tho!!!

enjoy your hols

pinkali...but too. If my mum had been at that sort of chat from my HV she would have been telling us both about her own experiences....just the sort of thing you don;t need to hear about from your parents!!

thanks choc. I'm off out to the PO in a bit so I'll pop into the chemist and ask the pharmacist to have a look at them. I have lots of different preparations in the house I can throw at it, including hydrocortisone. I thought it wasn't good to use that on the face though?

Hi all!
First of all my apologies in case this is a private chat...not sure about it, as I'm new at MN.
Our son was born November and is now almost 5 weeks.I'm still a bit insecure as he's our first plus we didnt have any help around (I'm from Germany,entire family over there.DH's family not far but MIL also working).
I guess we are quite lucky as DS is a quiet baby and hardly ever cries, apart from his dislike for nappy changes .
I am breastfeeding and enjoy it but sometimes he continues to feed for hours, brings up lots of milk then.I know babies are having loads of growth spurts until they are six weeks or so, will they feed less when they are about 2 months?
He never sleeps more than two hours at a stretch at night (and that most times only if co-sleeping), at least three feedings between 10pm and 6am and than takes ages to settle again, almost impossible to get him to sleep in the cot unless I hold him for about an hour (which at three in the night, tired, after an hour of changing, feeding and winding is tricky without dozing off). any advise? He sleeps a lot during the day, would it make sense to get him to be awake more so he would be more tired at night (against the advise I read in the book though)?

thanks for taking the time to read...

Hi Luise

You're not intruding at all; everyone is welcome so Hi and welcome to our thread and congratulations on the birth of your DS.

My DS is seven weeks now and has settled into a rough pattern, but still feeds a couple of times in the night and doesn't want to be put in his cot either. I have stopped fighting it and now co-sleep with him. It's made life a lot easier as I get some sleep while he is feeding.

oops he's crying (woken late for his 3 o clockish feed). I'll catch you later, but someone else will be along with some advice shortly I'm sure. I personally wouldn't try and keep him awake in the day though, but that's just me

hi Luise85 and congrats on your new son. My daughter is 5 weeks today.
You will get lots of good advice here on routine, there are several "routine queens". I am not following a strict routine myself, but adopting some of the Gina Ford principles, including not letting baby sleep for too long between feeds in the day. It does seem to help with the night-time shift. Personally, I try and get up at 7am each day and feed as much as possible between 7am-7pm. We then tend to get at least one 3.5 - 4.5 hour stretch of sleep at night, sometimes more. Like you, I struggle with getting LO back off to sleep though, as I end up nodding off whilst feeding in bed, then by the time I put her down, she's hungry again.....

Am afraid I am feeling very sad and sorry for myself. DH still bed-ridden and not getting better. I now am bracing myself for the fact he might not be well enough to travel up to the Midlands on xmas eve to my parents house. This is making me unbelievably sad. I was so, so looking forward to our big family xmas with my folks, sister and brother, and Plumski's 2 nieces. Also, my sis just told me yesterday she too is pregnant.

Am now envisaging xmas here, no food in house, DH in bed and me struggling to look after baby and dog. Hideous. DH can barely speak or move so we haven't even discussed it. I just hope I can force him into the car so he can be ill at my parents house instead.

Hope everyone has a lovely xmas - everyone sounds very cheery and in the spirit of things. Sorry to be misery guts.

Thank you for your welcoming and kind replies!
It's great to get some reassurance from you ladies (and also good to know that I am not the only one falling asleep while feeding ds at night only to wake up to see its time for the next feed, lol). the only problem with that is the winding after the feed though. most times we wake up in a small puddle of milk, either leaked from me or brought up by LO

I also try to get up fairly early every day, most days that would be around 6am. It gives us a chance to get out for a walk before noon after all that feeding in the early hours. DS loves to sleep in his comfy pram, the second I put him down into the carry cot he is gone! (maybe should try that at night just joking.
Will def have a look at the Gina Ford principles- Thank you for the suggestion!

AwayInaMargot - I'm sorry to hear that your husband is bed-ridden so badly! Bad enough as it is, even worse that it has to happen around xmas time! Wishing you all the best and your dh a soon recovery!

welcome luise you will get lots of help and advice here, i am a 1st timer too and found this site a godsend!

monkey so sorry your DH is still poorly and your feeling down. fingers crossed he will be well enough for the car journey and you can tuck him in bed at your parents and you can still enjoy xmas.
what lovely news about your sister

daisy i asked my gp about using the steroid cream on face due to thinning skin etc etc but he said in such a low dose and only twice a day it would be fine (as long as i wasnt having to use it for more than a week or so)

Just a quick one before M's bath

Welcome Luise ceebee M was like this for the best part of a week and on Friday he just changed back to his normal happy self when being held / playing in his bouncer. I think this coincided with us coming away to DH's dad's for christmas and I reckon he was getting bored of being with just me and in our house all the time - or do babies not have such feelings?? I guess we will see when we go home next week. The downside is he's been much harder to settle in the evenings and lots of night wakings - when is he going to do everything right?!?!

hi all!
Just popping on while dh is changing Will - he is constantly attached to my boob
bah! cat just threw up, Will now wants attending to so will have to be super quick!

daisy Will has a spotty face that spread from one side to the pther. Am thinking possibly newborn acne now? Hoping not eczema. Hope your feeling better after your fall.

Margot Congrats on anniversary!! Was ours yesterday too - first one for us - we celebrated with fishfingerc sandwiches - classy Hope your dh is better soon

Merry Thank you for your lovely messages - have made me feel much better xx

Hi Luise

Still no sleep here, well not lying down anyway Will not settling in cot for very long (half hour- ish) have I spoilt him already?? Bah - don't care!!

Great boob news (touch wood) Enjoying feeding Will from left one - no pain - is breakthrough?? Right one is still needles at letdown but think can see light at end of tunnel!

Still green poo and gammy eye. Think am going to take will to docs tomorrow to get checked out.

Have lovely evenings ladies x

oh margot, that's miserable about dh. I really, really hope he feels better. I did feel a lot better after one day in bed. Are you stuffing him with echinacea and vit c? Also, maybe you could drive up early xmas morning as the traffic will be a lot less and it wouldn't take as long as xmas eve which can be a bit hideous to travel. Still, it's a while away. I'm sure he will be better enough, even if you have to drive, it will be worth it to see everyone and not have to cook/ shop for xmas dinner!

daisy, sorry about bad nights. Don't worry, you are not alone. Mine are usually up 12,3,6. With fedding, winding etc. 2 babies, there's not a lot of sleep going on in between [sob, sob].

barbs, great news about BOOBS. hip hip hurray! don't take Will to same doctor as one that said he is not getting enough food. sounds ridiculous. Can you take him to a baby clinic instead? Are there any going on? You can actually go to any clinic anywhere in the country with your red book. I think HV's are usually better when it comes to baby illnesses. When I am staying with parents I usually take babies to clinic here as the HV's have a bit more time.

Also, my babies won't settle in cot at all, not even in day. They will sleep in their carrycots in the day, but we didn't bring them here in an effort to get them used to cot. ooops. They both have bad colds, and had such an unsettled day yesterday that I haven't managed to get strict and make them sleep in the cot in the day, so lots of carrying or sleeping in my bed. There's loads of time to get them used to cot, ds1 was 7 months before he slept in it at night.

p.s margot i can't speak (no voice) or sing carols, but i can certainly still EAT . I knew I was ill when I had no appetite for 2 whole days and was eating minimal amounts just because of bfing. After expressing my boobs I felt so faint I had to lie on the floor for a good 30mins before I could get up...it was not nice. That was Thursday night. It feels awful and dramatic at the time but he will bounce back quickly enough.

Monkey - Am so sorry DH is poorly. There is one special point however and that is that no matter what you eat or where you are, you will be together as a family for the first time and that is what Christmas is all about. You have the best gift anyone could ever give you.

Lacks I'm really sorry that you are not getting much sleep. It is such hard work anyway so with the lack of sleep and other children just think of what a good job you're doing!!

Merry you must just be SO busy or a miracle worker!

Wow have a fab holiday, pINKALI~ SOUNDS LOVELY. oops sorry bout caps.

monkey what a shame for you and your poor DH, I hope he improves so you can salvage your Christmas a bit.x

Daisy/choc thanks for comments re the teeth yes- it's one on each side..I hope they go away again!

sorry to hear of spotty and gammy eye babies. Dinyk has had gammy eyes for weeks, but improving steadily now.
barbs great news on the boob front hopefully thigns will get better for you now.

merry and daisy hope your babaies are sleeping soundly.

Dinky's belated 8 week check tomorrow I have a feeling she's going to weigh rather a lot- bit of a porker at the mo!

Hi Luise and congratulations on your little boy! I'm not really into the GF's of this world, I just make things dark at bedtime and light in the mornings - seems to do the trick to a large extent.

Hope everyine is having a good Christmas so far!! Can't wait to sort out the children's pressies (you have to play with them a bit to make sure they work .

Luise welcome to the thread - tis really fab so stick around My DS2 is nearly 5 weeks old aswell although it feels like he has always been with us!! No advice on bf as ff but I would just go with the co-sleeping - you are NOT making a rod for your own back

Margot so sorry about your DH - no wonder you are so down about it. But Xmas day is still 3 days away so I am sure he will have recovered by then to at least go to your parents, even if you drive! And great news about your sis - is it her first?

Choc thanks for the info about M, am really hoping it is just a phase with Sam. I am wondering if a lot of it is because he spends so much time in his Moses basket during the days DS1 is not at nursery as it is the only safe place in the lounge!! The minute we put Sam in his rocker or gym, DS1 pounces on him

Merry I hope you are making the most of all the help you have on hand now and enjoying your time in the country!

Hi to everyone else - fingers crossed we all get a good nights sleep tonight

Evening all, sorry not had chance to post but have been keeping up.
Welcome Luise and congratulations on the birth of your son I'm another first-timer and have found the advice from everyone here very helpful. I'm also loosely following GF although E has had other ideas today - she's 7 weeks tomorrow and has been feeding almost constantly since 4pm - yet another growth spurt? I also have problems getting her to sleep anywhere on her own so we co-sleep at night (I always put her in her hammock next to our bed after a feed but she usually starts to cry after 5-10 mins) and during the day she sleeps in the sling.
Pinkali I'm very of your skiing holiday! This is meant to be the best season in a very long time and I'm missing it! Have a fab time
MonkeyMargot Really sorry to hear about your DH being ill and can imagine how disappointed you feel about possibly missing out on Christmas with your family. Hopefully it won't come to that and he'll be well enough to travel at least by Christmas Eve or Christmas Day at a push. Fingers crossed. Keep dosing him up with everything under the sun! There are some nasty bugs around at the moment
Obs Don't think I posted to say sorry about DS2's reflux but as others said, at least you know what you're dealing with now and great news that he slept for so long last night.
Barabareeba Glad the bf is getting better - hope you get the sleep thing sorted soon. Do you have a sling? Worth a try perhaps.
Thought I'd got E off to sleep in the sling but she's just woken up again and wants more food (ouch!) Will take this opportunity to change her and get ready for bed before more feeding... Hope everybody else is OK.

just passing quickly...barbs, the needles you are feeling at letdown might be due to thrush. Have you any other symptoms? shiny pink nipples is one.

chocO....in answer to your Q.....when he learns to read the book

gotta go....DS needs me!!

hope everyone's having a chance to catch some sleep
we are having a good night, ds slept in crib for good two hours after i was being told off by dh for co-sleeping again. appareantly dh seems quite scared of the whole co-sleeping thing as 'quoting' it looked like ds whole face was covered by breast hence risk of suffocating .i have really small breast so i disagree but i do agree with the fact that it was much more comfortable to have ds sleep in crib for a while and therefor being able to sleep in a normal position.

will try to get ds to sleep in the crib again for the rest of the night. had a hot bath and a nap before his bedtime last evening which left me with more patience.