Fab Feb 2009: too sleep deprived to think of a new thread title

[dinkystinky]

'nuff said

throw away the books you and your dd know what's best for ye, some stranger you've never met who doesn't even have children of her own doesn't!

have ye tried co-sleeping? might help you get a bit more sleep at night. has she got a cold? that chokey noise and then screaming is what aaron does when he's bunged up with a cold and snot is going down the back of his throat, is she happier on her side or tummy?

and btw... welcome back [mwah]

thanks - logically i know the books are crap - I just wish i could erase them (and their little voice) from my mind!

No - she hasn't got a cold - she just lies there kicking away and clearing her throat and chewing and sucking until she cries - only on the night feeds though, not the day ones. Odd.

We did co-sleep a bit at the beginning but we have a pretty small bed and my dh is 6ft6 so didn't really work out.

God knows: keeping in mind the old thing of "this will pass" a lot - which helps.

thanks for the welcome back - i already feel better for a bit of unburdening xx

hi nadssss, welcome back, glad you found us again. I'm not posh like PT so won't do the air kisses.
PT is right, the books are crap. When DD was born 2 1/2 years ago we had all those problems and everyone kept ramming G sodding F down my throat all the time. Can't even say her name now. We ended up co-sleeping with her and only finally evicted her from our bedroom when DS was around a few weeks old so don't make the same mistakes as me

dinky, you are so kind with your lovely comments regarding the defective scales that I purchased. Not fit for purpose I will try to carry on with the diet so hopefully when we meet up in the summer I won't have to describe myself as the fat one
right, off to cook dinner as friends coming round

nadsss Good to see you back. Both mine have been quite hard to settle after the night feeds. With ds1, we were stroking his face for upto an hour each time until he was about 4 months!! Luke isn't quite so bad, but I find that I hold him until he goes to sleep anyway, which I had promised myself I wouldn't do this time round. Oh well.
Luke is a fist chewer too, he makes odd choky type noises too and is rubbish with a dummy, I find I have to hold it in his mouth until he has a good take on it.

Back from the docs. I have to go to the hospital at some point this week for the blood tests. I hate needles
He did the PND test on me and I scored 15 out of 30 which he said was mild to moderate. He is happy to keep me on AD's and told me to go back in 3 weeks when they've had time to kick in.
Crazy thing is, I've had a really good day today, so I went in there all sunshine and light and kind of forgot to mention the feelings of emptiness, uselessness, guilt, pity, frustration etc that I've been feeling. can't now, 1 hour on, remember what I said at all!! I told him, I was still functioning, I was still getting dressed, we were leaving the house, going to play groups, I am able to hold pleasant conversations and the like and he said I was doing quite well and seemed fine, I said thenk you. I should have probably told him how bad last week in particular was. Oh well.
Got birth control pills and got antihistamines, so hopefully this itching will be back under control in a few hours too!

Luke has his 2nd jabs tomorrow and I'm seeing the hv for a follow up on last week.
I was also supposed to be meeting a mum form our activity centre and her son, and a SAHD and his ds and dd in the park, but the dad called earlier and said he think's it'd be better to just go to his house with the weather and all, so that will be nice. Quite looking forward to a bit of adult company tomorrow too

Oh heck. Mr T has been asleep since 12pm (apart from a 10 min wake for a poo and nappy change) and is still going...

i love those days thom

thom Luke had one of those days last weekend. Was lovely and I don't remember it having any adverse affect on bedtime either.

I also want to ask, this may be TMI, or as it's babies, maybe not
Luke's poo's are still that mustardy colour and are still soft and runny. There are no lumps or anything and is not 'formed' iyswim. I remember ds1 having little rabbit like poo's from early on.
Are Luke's poo's normal?

dunno about ff babies but that's what bf babies poos are like

Welcome back to the thread Nadsss - glad you found us. What's your little lady called? Valentines day is a lovely day to have a birthday - guaranteed to always get cards on that day Re the baby nocturnal Beavis and Butthead impressions - Danny did that too but has settled down alot. I think he was doing it because of trapped wind (which according to the osteopath was because the cord was wrapped round his neck when he was born - osteo also said its why his belly button has popped out and should go back in after a few more treatments) - a really good winding at nights and cycling legs helped him, as did elevating his head (cushion under the head end of the stokke mini cot mattress did the trick - also helps when they have snotty noses). Danny no longer suffers from trapped wind - burps and farts away like a typical bloke with gay abandon nowadays And I'd say just take from the books the things that work for you and ignore the rest... We never did the dream feed for DS1 (think its much easier if you bottle feed as the baby sort of needs to be awake to breastfeed) as the one time DH tried it he didnt put the lid on the bottle right and drenched DS1 in expressed breastmilk - so I got woken up by furious hungry baby and somewhat sheepish DH... dreamfeeds were banned after that!

THOM - sounds like Mr T is going through a growth spurt. Enjoy!

Pink - pain about your car not being ready today. Hope Aaron is better today.

LBB - hate it when stuff like that happens at playgroups. Hope DS1 is ok now - and sounds like Luke is growing nicely. Stick to the ADs and ask about counselling - maybe you'll be able to organise counselling for a day when your DP is around to look after the boys or your dad or mum can help out. And re poo - Danny's poos (when they come) are mustardy but unbelievably stinky. Remember when DS1 moved to mixed formula and BM feeds and his poos became pretty stinky and abit darker I think but otherwise were pretty similar.

lbb - M's poos were like that on her old formula, but are solid now, HV said they shoulod be solid and darker by now...

thom - sounds heavenly!

dinky - yup, let's plan now, as I think summer will be harder to arrange due to holidays and good weather(!)

nadsss - M does the chewing and choking thing, plus a sort of grunting which the osteopath says is reflux, so rhat might be worth a thought?

We've had a tough day here as I did my back in again last night, so John had to rearrange his day off and stay home to look after us, but little madam is not happy, and appears to be teathing. I've been in agony, and am about to slope off for a very hot bath and bed. Thank God we got the boiler fixed yesterday - just in time!

Fingers crossed both my back and M's mood improve by Wednesday, as I'm venturing back up to London (by myself) for her final cardio scan at St Thomas'. I'm really praying it'll be an easier journey than the one to Corum's Field!!!! And obviously we're praying that we'll get the all clear... Keep us in mind Wednesday afternoon... Oh, and we've not told everyone, so please don't mention it on fb.

Oh no PSL - are you seeing anyone about your back? Sounds pretty bad if it keeps going. Hope the hot bath helps it feel better. Think Danny is starting with the teething - well its either that or rabies as he's frothing away at the mouth like nobody's business

Just a quick one - my Mum is staying this week so I will find it hard to post.... Hope all ok - just had a skim read tho. Calico big hugs to you. We went through this when Sam was 12 days old - it's scary but you'll get through it. Hope all ok.

Nadsss - this sounds like what's happening with Sam. It's very frustrating and I have no answers!

Gotta go now as Sam fussing....

Evenin' all
Calico - sorry to hear about Lilian - what a worry and hope she's better soon.

lbb - DD's poos are still mustardy and yellow and she's 14 weeks this Friday .

KT I also second/third the walking Poppy in the buggy if she won't sleep particularly as you like your exercise and summer is nearly with us. I would walk miles with DS to get him sleeping but haven't had the same luxury since DD has arrived as DS wouldn't happily be dragged along. Once they're weaned and start physically doing more then she'll probably get more into the habit of sleeping anyway.

Dinky I've just noticed the last couple of days that DD is dribbling clear stuff now rather than so much sick - I reckon she might be teething too....DS was an early teether so I wouldn't be surprised.

HOM we had a couple of days like that recently when DD just wasn't interested in waking. I reckon she was having a bit of a growth spurt.

We've started on the magic light with DS tonight. His frequent waking in the night has got worse in the last few nights and he woke at 3.30am and then didn't go back til about 4.30 and then was awake for the day from 5.40am ...I bought a bob the builder stamp kit as a present and some marbles so he gets a marble in the jar for every day he doesn't shout (and a marble taken out if he shouts) before the magic light comes on. When he gets 15 marbles he'll get his present (which I've put in full view by the marble jar). He used to be soooo good I'm at my wits end now- I keep telling him that DD is "still asleep, what a good girl" when he gets up but it's fallen on deaf ears- he's probably thinking "flippin' marvellous I get a cuddle without her being in the way ". Trouble is he was so tired at bed and a bit tearful I'm not convinced how much he understood. No doubt it'll take a while for him to get the hang of it.

Had a great weekend away on my sisters hen weekend. Arrived home to complete calm. DH did himself proud, DD was in bed asleep, DS was fed, the house was tidy, the lawn mowed, he'd put washing on the line and my lunch was being dished up my nagging helpful comments are clearly working...

I didn?t mean that I would try to make someone feel uncomfortable; it?s something I don?t like too and my idea of discretion. What I mean is I don?t ask, I tell them I?m going to so they have chance to move or whatever if they want to.

LBB, I replied to a few of your posts including that one. Glad you?ve got things sussed, it?s amazing how much better life gets when you suss them out, Fifi stopped crying so much when I stopped trying to force her to feed when she was just exercising her lungs and not hungry, I couldn?t believe that?s all it took! With the temperature it?s better that they?re too cold than too hot as they will tell you, if they?re too hot it makes them too sleepy. I don?t know what your weights mean! That?s about what Tink was at 18 months so I don?t know if it?s good or bad. I put Fifi in a NB outfit today; the bottoms kept falling off and the top was really baggy, she has long legs but she is still early baby size otherwise!

Thank you Dinky! We were going to get pictures taken with TBD?s sons but there was no way we could get to them in time. We have very few pictures with them and it?s such a shame. We tried to do it before but the mother made life difficult for us and we missed them too.

Calico, sounds like Tink at 5 weeks, I feel for you, it?s so scary. I had to leave the hospital when they did the lumbar, I couldn?t bear to hear her cry!

PT your kids are gorgeous!

MOS, I?m starting to think the same! I don?t understand it, I?ve hardly gone up in clothes size in the last ten years - I was skinny until I was 17 then by my 18th birthday I was a size 16, I?m now an 18 but my empty bump is pushing me up when I wear normal clothes - but I?ve gained several stones in that time, maybe my ever growing boobs have added some weight to the pot . My BMI is horrendous but my doctors have said it?s ok because of my mobility, I don?t think it?s ok

Nadssss are you cosleeping? If not you might find it helpful, if you are I don?t know what to suggest! Have you tried posting in the Breast and Bottle section? Ignore the books, mum keeps telling me I?m going to spoil Fifi, she?s not going to go down and I pointed out that Tink wasn?t sitting on my lap and I?ve been no different between the two of them! It hasn?t taken 2 ½ years to get Tink to go down, she was happy to go down quite soon.

I made some fudge today! Not sure it works yet, I want to try it again because I think I did some things wrong, it was nice, a little grainy and very sweet! I asked further down but I?m not sure if anyone saw, who was it who posted recipes before?

Anyone got any ideas for exorcising monsters? My nephew told Tink there are monsters in her room and she?s hardly slept since. Being a Christian family we tried to use what she has learned in Sunday School and told her Jesus will stay with her and won?t let the monsters get her. She now calls us because Jesus is fighting the monsters off! Both her parents are artists and it seems she has our imaginations! The first night after the monsters got her and we prayed with her, Mum put Stuart Little on for her, she now has to have it on every night when she goes to sleep because it scares them off!?

dinky @ rabies! lol
PSL Hope your back gets better, must be very frustrting (not to mention painful!). Will have my fingers crossed for wednesday. Hope all goes well.
herb Like PT's stone jar! and you big tease with the present on full display Hope it works though and ds settles down. I spent an hour in with mine. I'm sitting on a chair next to the door atm, he kept standing up so I had to keep telling him to lack down, it's bedtime, which was met by him laying down and kicking his feet out!
TBM Thanks. I know, I was shocked at how simple it was tbh, stop trying to force him to do things! I was 100% of the mind when ds1 was born, that he'd fit into my life, not the other way around, I would obviously look after him, love and care for him and ensure all his physical and emotional needs were met, but he was not going to control my life. I am still of the same thoughts, but didn't really realise it coukd all be done well without routine iyswim.
Not sure what to say re the whole monster thing, but if Stuart Little is keeping her calm........umless she's playing you so she gets to watch more tv?

Luke's been quite unsettled this evening. I put him to bed with no vest and under a folded blanet, he isn't sweating, but doesn't feel cold.

PSL I also thought poo's were supposed to be formed now.........but if everyone else's are still the same, and herb is also ff. I'm seeing hv today anywas so will run it by her.

Hiya,

Thanks for the advice on Poppy - I did take her out for a long long walk yesterday afternoon ( I got soaked) but she slept very well and we didnt have any crying episodes - So Im going to try persist getting in a long nap in the afternoon, even if it means a walk out in the buggy - Which in the summer is lovely anyway!

I also managed to sort all my Fitness insurance yesterday & update memberships etc....Its sooo expensive! I spent £400 yesterday on it all - So I hope I get some work out of it!

DP is considering taking a job in Afganistan for 3months
Its great money though & would mean he could come back and we could finally get married - but Im not sure I could cope on my own for 3 whole months.

Hope everyone else is well today, hoping that the sun might come out for a few hours today.

Morning all,

Last night was horendous, poor John had to do pretty much everything yesterday, and then got up at 5am for the morning feed, and has now gone off to work looking like a zombie... I feel awful for him, and I'm in agony as I've held off taking my uber-strong painkillers as I'll be on my own with madam until my MIL gets here at 10.

Crumbs KT, Afganistan?! What does your DP do? Sounds lovely that you'll be able to afford the wedding, but 3 months does sound like a long time. Can you arrange family and friends to come and stay a few days at a time, or go and stay with one of them? Even if not, I'm sure you'd manage great, and would really cement your routine. When is it that he would be going? Good news about the sleep yesterday, I've resorted to treading pavements all hours of the day in the past few weeks!

Gosh Calico - I couldn't even go in with M for her jabs! I really feel for you. Hope you get a proper diagnosis soon, and that is back to her best soon.

Sounds like a plan, Herby - will you have to get another treat after he gets the first one?

Hope you all have a nice day - it's looking lovely here ATM, so I'm hoping MIL will take M to the park and give me a chance for a rest at some point today...

PSL He is a comms technician, but ex army, so has all his security clearance & weapon training etc, so people pay a fortune if your willing to go and do the same job in Afganistan.

If he does go, it will be later on this year. I think I would definatly try and get my mum to come down a few days every other week or so. maybe even put P in a day creche for a day a week, as I would go insaine doing everything 7days a week on my own. I know people do it, but Im not sure I could cope!

It sounds like a great opportunity, but I would certainly have a plan of action. I think the creche idea sounds great, and it's fab for 6 months + when they start progressing with walking and talking... Plus with your baby groups you've got plenty going on dduring the day - it's probably just at night that you would notice the difference...

Morning all. PSL - poor you and poor John. Hope your back improves alot today! And good luck for tomorrow's scan too.

KT - glad Poppy had a kip in the end yesterday. I agree 3 months on your own with just you and the baby would be hard - but would be worth it in the long run if it sorted you guys out financially. And a creche/childminder arrangement from 6 months onwards sounds like a good idea - what lots of mums who return to work have to do anyway at that age.

TBM - cant remember who posted the fudge recipes, sorry. Hope your fudge worked out ok anyway.

Herb - glad you had a lovely time at the hen weekend. And that DH managed well on his own with the kids. Hope the treat and clock do the trick with DS - sounds like he's reacting to DD being there so hopefully is just a phase and will pass.

Is lovely and sunny here in London. Am currently being driven mad by a very nice builder who was supposed to be doing some jobs on our house and finishing them at the start of April - guess what, its the end of April and he's still not even half way through - and I'm the one who has to chase and wait in for him all day! Between that and the drilling outside its doing my head in. Oh well, will be all worth it in the end I hope.

Hi all...
well, we heard a Muuuuuummmmy at 4.51am...I told DS not to make a murmur. It then went all quiet until at 6am (the time I'd set the clock) - he yelled "Mummy, my light's on come and get me" . He was very pleased with himself and for once was not screaming/yelling and crying when I got him so it made for a slightly nicer start to the day. DH thinks I'm being mean making him wait for 15 marbles so I've reduced it to 10. He keeps saying "Mummy can I just hold the stamp kit?"....oooh I'm mean (but very determined!) I'll then go off to Toys R Us in the hope of finding some Peppa Pig treats once he's got his hands on Bob. Our (lovely) local toy shop only had a limited selection of stuff and more aimed at slightly older kids.

KT - 3 months sounds like a long time but you know I reckon it would go by quickly particularly if you're a bit more sorted by then in your daily routine and you can rope in some extra help, both family and otherwise. At least you know there's something to look forward to at the end and maybe you could spend some time planning a wedding to take your mind off the fact he's gone. It'd be hard for him to leave Poppy I suspect won't it? Glad she got some kip. You'll probably find that once she gets used to sleeping a bit in the day you may not have to pound the streets so much and can probably put her in her buggy in the garden for eg whilst you have a well earned sit down. DS slept loads in his buggy in the garden/house/out and about for his first 7/8 months. It was probably nice and cosy in there.

PSL your backs playing you up again and hope you survive your day.

Aren't builders etc annoying....We had a plumber/tiler do our miniscule bathroom last year in our old house. 8 days to tile a (honestly) tiny bathroom. What on earth was he doing????

Not doing much today - it's been a sunny start but I think the rain's on its way...DS at nursery, DD having a snooze (oh, just woken up and is about to eat her hand), washings on and I'm having a quick 5 mons with a coffee.

5 mons??

morning all..... dp's barely finished his course and already it's setting my teeth on edge having him lurking around constantly.

KT, it sounds like a great opportunity, it would honestly fly by and if it boosted you finances enough to be able to get married it would be well worth it. dp and i are in the opposite situation, we've had so many years of unemplyment and being in each others faces 24/7 we're almost hoping that he gets something further afield so he'd only be home at weekends!

herby, weather is dodgy looking here too, shame as i hate being cooped up in the house with them.

got a woman coming to visit with her 18 week old dd who i've only spoken to via text her mother works in the garden centre where we buy our coal and cat litter and we were chatting and it emerged her dd is bf-ing, cloth bumming and planning to blw and she's having a tough time not knowing anyone parenting in a similar way, plus her PHN keeps giving her really stupid bf advice and she could do with some help, so i gave her my number to pass on. could be weird or brilliant... i'll report back later

KT Do you have an enclosed garden? Because what my friend used to do was walk her dd in the pram to get her asleep, then go home, open the garden door, leave the pram just inside with an insect cover on and it meant she could grab a quick half hour on the sofa or get some bits done without disturbing the baby by taking coat off iyswim. I did something similar when getting ds1 into a nap routine.
about your dp. I'm sure you'd be fine. 3 months isn't an awfully long time and may be a small sacrifice for a big gain, like you say, it would mean you could get married and the money being great. Do you have family near that could help while he was away?
PSL Sorry your back is still bad. For future, if the pain was bad and you were on your own, could you not put M in the cot until someone arrived? Not ideal I know, but when I suffered servere breathing difficulties after ds1 was born, he was 8 weeks, I had to do this while I waited for dp to come home. I put him in cot and sat next to it talking to him and waving toys around. I did this because I thought I might not get the next breath and if I died or passed out, ds1 needed to be safe until someone came home, in the cot, I couldn't fall on him and the dog couldn't get to him.
KT Trust me, you will amaze yourself with what you are capable of dealing with if you haveto. Honest. And think, later in the year, P will be older (obviously), she'll be sitting on her own, she might be crawling, she'll have a bit of independance and remember once you start weaning, routines are so much easier! Nap times are easier to routine and will last longer and you'll have a better idea of what's happening. Things tend to get a bit more predictable (not fully, just a bit more) than when they're newborns. Plus, if things got really tough, it would be easier to come back than not know by not going at all iyswim.

Ds1 just having lunch and then we're meeting some people in the park as the weather brightened.
Went to playgroup this morning and ds1 escaped. Again One minute he was right there behind a child gate, I picked Luke off the floor and ds1 was gone! I rushed around the room, not there. I ran into the corridor screaming his name but couldn't see him. Faced with a tough choice, inside or outside? The doors are only opened when you press one of those disabled access buttons, and there's 2 to get through, but i decided to check outside first as that's where he'd be in the most danger, I ran outside and the postman was about to brig him back in. Oh the relief. I've never been so scared!!!!

Luke had his 12 week jabs. He didn't even cry he's asleep now, but has been awake all morning and has been perfectly fine! What a relief for that too, wasn't feeling too good earlier, he's been awake most of the night, so pleased he's happy for now.

Ooooh it's quiet on here today. Hellooooooooo....

I just persuaded DH to buy me a Maclaren buggy because my red pram clashes with my outfit for the wedding we're going to on Saturday, hehehehe. Oh and it fits in the car (unlike the pram) and we need it for holidays but mainly the wedding...

[vain]

Anyway apart from the we have had a lovely walk around the city and went for lunch. He starts nights tonight so it was nice to spend some time together.

F is trying to talk all the time now and babbling away, going to get the chunk weighed tomorrow.