Dec 08- Must keep chocolate & cheerfulness near, teething time is nearly here!

[pmk1]

Right.... back to post the link now!

Trying to be braver so thought I'd post instead of usual lurking. It's been good to read how people are getting on and to realise I'm not alone in the sleepless nights/ feeding issues/ hair falling out etc. I last posted after having trouble feeding and was told to try nipple shields by bf counsellor- well did manage success with those after a few weeks and now bf exclusively. Not getting much sleep - DS feeding 2-3 hourly (I know that's better than some people have) at night and refuses to be put down in cot or self settle so tends to end up in bed with me - which I don't mind too much but worry he'll be there forever (and DH now on inflatable bed in spare room on work nights so he can get some sleep!).
Kayzr - I think that's a terrible thing for your GP to say and they probably should have sent you for blood test for anaemia.

OMG Lady T what is the name the book. That swallow migration is amazing, the tiny little things never touch the ground once!! I watched a documentary once it is really amazing how extraordinary the humble swallow migrates such amazing distances.

I'm at weight watchers tonight. I am not really looking forward to it but I am going to do it. Hopefully I won't have to stay for the whole meeting as it's meant to be my turn to cook dinner.

hello modernlove! kayz that sounds completely unsupportive of your gp. what harm is it to her to order a blood test?
oooh I've booked us yorkshire ladies a table for our meet-up. I'm getting all excited now

kayz your GP sounds like an idiot - any chance you could see another in the same practice and ask them for a blood test?

Well managed 3 hours on the park with DC's this afternoon in glorious sunshine, despite having no sleep last night. I am now on my last legs. Hopefully they will both go to bed nice and early and leave me to have a nice bath (maybe a thimble of cheerfulness) and then an early night!

veggie I'm now searching the house for some chocolate biscuits - I thank you

Thanks traceface, I'm really looking forward to it!

Kayz, how crap of your GP, is there another one you can see who might be a bit more sympathetic?

Veggie, trainspotting guide? You do indeed live fast, I don't know how anyone can keep up with you

LadyT, your friend's trip sounds amazing! I also have itchy feet! I never did the travelling thing as I met dh at uni & I moved to London instead. Now we're making plans on where to move to next & I just really want to move to another country!

Hi modernlove, nice to see you again!

I had both dss' asleep at the same time today for about 2 hrs, bonus

Kayz that GP is as useful as tits on a bull. I had no problems with my blood work at all during pregnancy but at my 6 week check they were insistent I have bloods done to check all ok. I actually haven't had them done yet I have the forms but keep forgetting to make an appointment with the vampires. I have noticed you often have headaches, just a thought but what is your posture like? It might be an idea to mention the headaches to the physio on the 14th it could be that the knee thing has messed up your stance a bit and therefore you may be stooping or putting your neck forward a bit which can pull on the muscles on your skull. This can cause headaches on the top or towards the front of your head. Next time you get a headache stand as straight as possible and try to pretend there is a string in the middle of the top of your head that someone is pulling upwards. Then try to pull your shoulders back and down away from your ears. See if that helps.

Sorry daisy. >waves an e-choccie biscuit in front of Daisys nose<

DH is actually in Swindon next week so I'm not coming down anymore so can't come to RFH meet up but I am going to come up to Yorkshire meet up instead hooray I get to go the model railway museum. If only my old Raver friends could see me now.

Kayz I love that photonof freddie maybe I could put DS1 in his Arsenal shirt for the meet up. Will email the group to confirm.

PMK this might be not what you want to hear but it is not unusual for babies of this age to nit sleep through I think it's good to aspire to sleeping through but it may happen next week or it may not happen for ages. As lady says it really depends on the baby, not on whether they are BF or FF I've known BF babies to sleep through from 6 weeks and FF from day one babies still needing a bottle overnight at a year it really is up to the baby. By all means try the top up but just keep an eye on your own supply.

Hi Modern well done on getting back to exclusive are you still using nipple shields. A lot of people are a bit funny about nipple shields but you are the 2nd person I have heard of who has managed to get back to exculsive with them. Well done you.

Veggie am sorry we won't see you. But glad you're getting train fix...PD would love to know what you (and probably more importantly your DS) thinks of Thomas land.

Have updated London meet up thread - not sure what time would best suit.

Am feeling sorry for myself as cut my thumb quite badly earlier in the week and is really difficult coping without it IYSWIM. Poppers are an absolute bugger. And I can't text. Eek Have to dash DS is trying to make a break for it.

Oh sorry about your thumb Lal, and yes sorry I can't meet you in London but still up for thomasland when you come up. Have a great time PD hope your DS gets spoiled by your mum.

Have a great time in Thomasland PD, DS1 would be in ecstacies. He has been watching Fireman Sam most of the day and recounting the plots to anyone who will listen (Norman fall down! Fire! Call Fireman Sam!). DH regretting slim chance of him growing up to drink absinthe and read French poetry but has hopes of DS2 (not sure about that, think he is contemplating world domination rather than ineffability).

DH and I are sitting down to a Tesco Finest Ready Meal Extravaganza thanks to the Tesco delivery man (there was a special offer on 3 course meal plus wine). Will let you know if it's at all palatable.

Ros: DH and I also met at uni then moved to London, so no exciting travelling for me either. Maybe I'll be one of those irritating retirees who jaunt around the world spending their pensions and their kids' inheritance.

Your cow reminded my kmp: I've bought one of these for DS2 and it has coincided with longer stretches of sleep at night: itemlistings.ebay.com/sdcsrp?fl=360142634898&product=%7Bquery%7D&sconstraints=IncludeSelector%3DDeta ils%2CSellerInfo%26ItemType%3DAllFixedPriceItemTypes%26ItemSort%3DBestMatch&xm&siteid=3

(that seller is being most cheeky cos it was a fiver in our expensive local toy shop. Also confused as it says BABY towel but also 'not suitable for under 3 years due to small parts. I can see no small parts . And they sell it in the baby section - go figure)

Effie - we were watching Fireman Sam earlier and Lucy said "there's always a fire in every episode of this"!!!!

Lal - how did the thumb injury occur? How painful and inconvenient - you don't realise until something is out of action just how much you need it. Hope it's better soon

Veggie - my dad is a complete train freak - he has worked for the railways since he was a young lad and still does - due to retire this summer - and has always had model railways in whatever house we've lived in. In one house we had a railway on a pulley system in the garage so when the car was out of it we (mum, dad, sister and I)would stand at the four corners with our pulleys and lower the track down from the ceiling, then have to put it all back again to put the car back int he garage overnight! Thankfully they have a cellar at their house now so it can stay put! He has an old LP which is recordings of various steam trains - they go from one speaker to the other so it sounds like a train is going past in your lounge!!! He listens to it and says "ah, that's the Queen Mary on the East Coast main line". I was saturated in train stuff from a very young age...

a mahooooosive spider just scurried across my lounge and has gone under the settee I'm on . will have to stay on the sofa all night now for safety!

DH is out and the dds are sleeping . No chocolate in the house though. grr.

Thanks Veggie. After a few weeks with the shields managed to do the feeds without so don't use them at all anymore - tried to go back to them when my nipples became v v sore at one point - but DS wasn't having any of it (which I was quite glad about as it took such work to get him off them - and pain settled now).

Am so glad it's Thursday. As I think someone else said - the weekends are better as DH can help a bit more.

Trace - would you like a choc-ice - I've just eaten three in a row!

Hello ladies,

Thanks for booking the Yorkshire meet up trace. I'm very excited!

veggie Don't crush the cornflakes just melt the choccy and pour them in from the packet. My mouth is watering at the thought of easter nests now.

Your DS will love York veggie, there is the National Rail Museum and a small model rail museum. My dad and younger brother are the sort of people you see hanging around with cameras at Crewe station awaiting a 'special'. I have been educated well by them and can point out engines of interest to DH, "look a 60!" .

lal Hope your thumb heals soon. You don't appreciate all the tasks you need a thumb for until it is out of action.

Hope the weight in goes well kayz.

DD woke up at 3.30 this morning kicking her legs with excitement and giggling. She didn't seem hungry but I fed her anyway to get her to go to sleep. I cannot imagine what had tickled her so much. pmk If DD is hungry and I give her a dummy she sends it flying across the room in disgust and starts crying with gusto. As he settles with a dummy perhaps he has just got used to waking up at that time.

Time for chocolate I think, night all.

trace Our dads would get along like a house on fire!!! My dad has always had a layout and has built one in my brothers room that basically goes in a circle all round the room so the bed and furniture are in the middle. There is a lift up bit in front of the door. Sounds odd and looks pretty odd too unless you love trains! Your dad's system sounds very clever. Did you used to visit heritage railways when you went on holiday too?!

I think I need to push DS2's bedtime back and sneak in an extra afternoon nap. For the past three nights he has been grumpy at 4.45pm after waking from his last nap at 3pm so I bath him feed and put him to bed, he is generally asleep by 5.45pm, he used to be asleep by 6 and then sleep through til his feed at around 10.30-11pm. Now he is asleep slightly earlier but wakes about 45mins later and is wide awake I then spend another 45mins to an hour feeding and trying to be him to sleep. Those whose LO's go to bed around 6-7 what time is their last nap. It would be great if he did have a nap in between then I could get ds1's dinner with a lot less stress and not have to leave him to eat it alone while I go bath ds2.

Trace that system in the garage is hilarious. And JB one of the (many) Trainspotters DVDs we have is a north midlands one and has Crewe in it your Dad would love it. DS1 one was watching today saying oh look mummy a diesel, that's as technical asvhe gets at the moment, diesels, tank engines or tender engines. If I forget to put his seat belt on he says 'mummy I'm still uncoupled'.

Veg, T has a nap between 4 and 5pm, then goes to bed around 7 (or 6.30 if he's not had a great midday nap). Always lasts through to 10.30 and would sleep for more if we didn't wake him to feed.

Effie we travelled heaps before the Boys arrived but still fully intend to get our little campervan and spending the boys inheritance. Better still get the boys to fund our travels.

Hi veggie - Our DS's sound like they're on the same programme. Mine always starts to grizzle around 4:45 but I go for the nap rather than bedtime. I only have the one DS so usually plan to go out with the buggy at that time (prob not an option for you with two boys to manage!) to make sure he has a little sleep...he usually sleeps 30-40 minutes. Then he is awake for a very short time before I proceed to bath, feed, bed. I always think that he won't go down to sleep at 6:45 after having such a late nap but he always does!

Hi modern! I am new to the thread. I had the same experience with nipple shields as you. I was so scared to start using them with all of the scary stories about shields interfering with supply, but I simply wouldn't have been able to continue BFing without them. My nips were in tatters! Used them for a couple of weeks before DS started rejecting the shields, so I had to wean (myself!) off of them. Haven't looked back since.

Still feeling very of all of the magical night sleeping babies on this thread but trying not to overanalyse too much! It's so hard to know whether to do anything actively to reduce night feeds -- at this point my strategy is very simple....he wakes, I stick him on the boob, he eats and goes back to sleep. He seems hungry each time but hope I'm not reinforcing nightwaking habits that will be hard to break later.

Turnip - Very frightened of your 5 am sleep theory. I can't cope with a toddler waking at 5 am! My DS often wakes at this time but is usually fobbed off until 7:00 with a dummy (he will have just finished feeding at 4:00 or 4:30 am so NO reason at all for him to be stirring at 5!).

Verso - Dream feed does not work for us either. He either wakes at the same times or even more often (eek!). I have read that you need to perservere with it for a few weeks before they get the hang of it, but I can't be bothered. And I am too scared to wake him up properly to make sure he gets a full feed. Waking him up at any time really frightens me.

Happy nights everyone! Why can't the Apprentice be on every night?!

well DS2 has only just gone to sleep . DS1 zonked so hopefully a quieter night there.

Trace: we were watching The Original FS where they are v v welsh and the backgrounds are done in felt tip. Not many fires but lots of things getting stuck (down wells, up trees and in railings). Love the description of the railway on pulleys!

report on Tesco Finest Ready Meal: avoid the dauphinoise potatoes, the steak is nice as are the choc tarts

Effie - have you seen the new new FS? Kind of all computery like Underground Ernie. It's weird!

Jolly - my dad is the kind of the boss of 'special' trains - good to know they're popular! Yes I've seen railways of all shapes and sizes in various places...we always went on our hols by train (even France and Italy) and I lost count of the number of times we went to the Model Railway Exhibition!

I've just bid on 2 breast feeding vest tops on ebay - it finishes in about half an hour but I doubt I'll win them - I never do!

P just woke very upset so I fed her...
Am feeling more relaxed again about it all . I'm loving the book "what mothers do" - just read the chapter on responsibility, all about 2 styles of mothering - trusting your baby and training your baby - both valid styles - she's not at all judgmental or prescriptive, but it made me feel much better about responding to P as I do. I shouldn't be expecting her to be sleeping through yet or comparing her to any one else. She's just learning that when she cries I will be there for her - and I'm trusting that by following her lead I will raise a happy, healthy child. Having said that I did feel an inner panic of incompetence when I met my friend today and she told me her 9 week old is now sleeping right through from 7 till 7 .

MOM - thanks for the advice about spacing out day feeds to try to get her to take more. Am trying but she seems to be fairly adamant that she will neither feed, nor sleep, nor play for any longer than she does!

off to check on ebay...

Computery FS? I'll stick with the felt tips and everyone saying 'Daro'

Veggie - it's called ' A Single Swallow' by Horatio Clare but it's just out so in hardback only as yet.

Hello Modern Love!

Right, off to watch The Apprentice...

Thanks Mom will do that I think. I tend to just go with what he tells me, but it just takes me a few days to register changes.

My ds1 was difficult to get to sleep, was waking every 2 hours from 4 months to 10 months, didn't sleep through until 18 months but now goes off by sleep himself and (generally as long as he isn't unwell) sleeps in his own bed right through until 7.30-8am depending on how active he was the day before. So dont stress about what you do now causing them to create bad sleeping habits, anything that comes along can be addressed eventually.

Also don't compare babies the girls on here who are lucky enough to have babies that sleep through know how lucky they are and it is good to find out tips for sleeping through but it may not work for all babies, they will do what they want in the end. I think it prepares us for the teen years.

Oh will wait I'm not comfortable with hardback, hard to read in bed.