October 08 - Chit chat

[CantSleepWontSleep]

That's us with the chit chat, not the babies!

10th Sept (Due 1st Oct) - loulou33 - Boy - Joe Louis David - 6lbs 12oz - Induction due to rhesus sensitivity, G&A.
16th Sept (Due 8th Oct) - Ksal - Girl - Emma Rae - 6lbs - Just beat induction for PE!
21st Sept (Due 5th Oct) - myjobismum - Girl - Naomi Caitlin - 5lbs 10oz - Fast and furious hospital birth.
22nd Sept (Due 10th Oct) - Lozza70 - Boy - Sander Gene - 7lbs 5oz - Em C-Sec due to raised BP and high ALTs from liver.
2nd Oct (Due 12th Oct) - star6 - Boy - Quinlan - 5lbs 15oz - 36hr labour, ventouse and stitches.
3rd Oct (Due 26th Sept) - purpleflower - Girl - Rebecca Jill Erzsebet - 8lbs 10.5oz - Homebirth with paramedics due to meconium.
4th Oct (Due 30th Sept) - Aubergenie - Boy - Stanley - 7lbs 12oz -
5th Oct (Due 4th Oct) - hedgepig - Boy - Oliver - 6lbs 3oz -
5th Oct (Due 29th Sept Oct) - CherryChoc - Boy - Ryan - 6lbs 11oz - 3 day labour with natural birth in hospital
8th Oct (Due 6th Oct) - ronshar - Boy - William Dexter - 7lbs 11oz -
8th Oct (Due Oct) - RedElsie - Boy - Daniel - -
9th Oct (Due 17th) - Marthasmama - Girl - Martha - 7lbs 10oz - Elective c-sec
10th Oct (Due 1st Oct) - CantSleepWontSleep - Boy - Duncan Elliot - 8lbs 4oz - 4 day induction with 1 hour established labour!
12th Oct (Due 4th Oct) - pistachio - Boy - Thomas Fraser - 10lbs 2oz - Homebirth.
13th Oct (Due 15th Oct) - mum2jakeyroo/jrsqueak - Boy - Joshua - 7lbs 2oz - Delivered in car by dh!
16th Oct (Due 17th Oct) - rowanmac - Girl - Anna Ruth - 7lbs 2oz - 2 hours ARM to placenta delivery.
16th Oct (Due 11th Oct) - heather1980 - Boy - Alexander James - 9lbs 5oz - Homebirth
17th Oct (Due 10th Oct) - pepperrabbit - Girl - Jessica Rose - 7lbs 15.5oz -
17th Oct (Due 27th Oct) - Rhian82 - Boy - - - Episiotomy and ventouse.
24th Oct (Due 29th Oct) - Ekka - Boy - Matthew - 7lbs 15oz - Home water birth with gas and air.
26th Oct (Due 20th Oct) - jenwa - Girl - Phoebe Jasmine - 9lbs 2.5oz -
28th Oct (Due 23rd Oct) - RachieW - Boy - Jack - 7lbs 4oz - hospital birth, epidural, stitches, 24hrs start to finish
28th Oct (Due 31st Oct) - Jojay - Boy - Edward Alexander - 7lbs 7oz - hospital birth - gas and air, 2nd degree tear. 7 hrs start to finish.
1st Nov (Due 22nd Oct) - SmudgeyDoodle - Girl - - 8lbs 2oz - Hospital water birth.
5th Nov (Due 29th Oct) - Honeymoonmummy - Girl - Poppy Grace - 6lbs 15oz -
5th Nov (Due 30th Oct) - MamaG - Boy - Harry James - 10lbs 9oz - Em C-Sec. Back to back and knotted cord around neck. 24 hours of labour first though, and don't you forget it!

I'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time CSWS. Poppy is definitely naturally a better sleeper but I have to say that keeping her awake during feeds during the day is proving to be brilliant. She slept for nearly 12 hours last night, her longest yet! She did stir slightly but didnt wake up at one point.

Could you try to keep him awake during feeds in the day? i.e don't let him close his eyes? I find with Poppy that if I just can't keep her eyes open anymore (I call her name in funny voices, move her arms and legs, play all my ringtones on my moby, squeak a loud toy in her ear) I remove the boob and she's out of it, and I immediately then put her in the cot. Up until today she'd re-awake and cry a few times so I'd pick her up and rock her back but then keep putting her back down so she knows the only way she's sleeping is when she's not feeding and in the cot. She woke but then went back to sleep when I put her in the cot and slept for 2 hours this afternoon which is the most time I think I've had in the day since she was born! (hence the cake-baking )

I only let her feed to sleep after bathtime and if she wakes before 7am now. In the last 8-9 days she's only had one night of unbroken sleep (apart from stirring last night). Previously if I didn't do the dream feed I'd usually be up once in the night and then up for the day at 6. She's going until 7 or even 8 now. Tonight after the last feed she was still awake (prob cos of 2 hour sleep this afternoon!) so DH just rocked her to sleep.

I had no idea about the bridge of the nose thing MyJob, thanks! And i can't believe that Naomi is 8 months old, Poppy's only just passed her 6 month birthday! God, that'll seem like nothing in a few years won't it?! I hope Naomi feels better tomorrow x

Ronshar that's so sweet re craning neck to see you leaving the room!

I made my first cake in about 5 years today... a dairy and soya free choc sponge cake (it's your fault Ronshar for mentioning the toffee crisps!). It wasn't the success I was hoping for... DH's reaction was "I really like the crunchy bit, it tastes like nice chocolate biscuits" Hell, I don't care, it's chocolate and I'm eating it!!

I was gonna ask you about lighting in the night before you mentioned it. We're leaving the hall light on, have done since she was born but I've got towels around the cot sides fastened on with safety pins to stop the light permeating too much. I thought it would be good for her to get used to that from the outset so we can easily check on her in the night. Am I storing up problems for later, eg scared of the dark??

MyJob, are tepid baths recommended for children as young as ours? I used to have sudden high temps as a child and had febrile convulsions so my parents used to dunk me in a tepid bath to keep the temp down.

MM, sorry, for "CSWS" above also read "MM". I meant to go back and change it.

hmm - he doesn't fall asleep during feeds in the daytime! I can hardly get him to feed in the daytime at all as he's too busy craning around and trying to sit up to see what's going on around him. He only did the once today because we were on a playdate and as he was massively overtired he absolutely had to sleep or he would have screamed the place down - not good when I'd never met the host before!

Dh up with him now, but not sure what's going on, as lots of screaming.

But it does seem like I'm not going to get to see ER or American Idol tonight.

Ha ha MyJob

CSWS - ah. Ignore my mammoth post then.

He really can't be getting much sleep then can he? How much does he sleep in 24 hours?

I haven't got a DS MyJob...I don't think I have anyway... Obviously we had cross posts there, I wasn't laughing at your son's scary episodes

Right, I'm going downstairs to spend some quality time with DH...won't be long

We are letting him cry for a few mins at a time. It is horrible, and I just want to give him a big fat cuddle. We left him for 1 min, then picked him up and calmed him down, then left him for 2 mins, then picked up and calmed down, then 3 mins etc. We're sticking at 5 mins now. He starts to sob before he's even been lowered right onto the bed. It goes against my every instinct, but I just can't get him to sleep at all at the moment otherwise.

Normally I'd say about 12 hrs in 24 hmm, but only 10 tops in the last 24.

Aaargh... Just typed a large post and lost it

CSWS I feel for you, but don't really have any practical solutions. Dd was a nightmare at first till she got into a daytime nap routine at around 4-5 months, whereas ds is much more laid back and isn't bothered. But dd was a pfb so I was able to stay in at naptimes and take time to settle her without another little person around. Really for you about having to let him cry, but long-term it will hopefully benefit all of you.

Can't be bothered to re-type the rest, need to go and get on with stuff for dd's b-day....

He's gone quiet, 30 seconds before his next cuddle was due. Don't know whether to be or . A little of both I think.
I just don't want to have to do it all again in a couple of hours.

Just passing through on my way to bed. Had a rubbish day and a thrilling evening at Tesco and now off to bed as I am absolutely shattered. I am tempted to drink a bottle of pear cider to help M sleep!

The problem I have with the crying down is that M doesn't do that. She doesn't cry down, she becomes hysterical. We tried last night at 1am, I fed her, both sides, she was fast asleep so I popped her back. She woke up, I offered her the boob, but she didn't want more milk, so I popped her back in her cot. She started off moaning, but it just escalates! In the three minutes we left her for she had worked herself up into such a state that she was hyperventilating. I couldn't calm her down with cuddles, she was just frantic until I let her have more milk. Then she went off to sleep and we repeated it again, only this time she woke up and stayed awake until 4am. I have not got a clue what to do about it!
DH has left her for longer when I've gone down stairs to pass out with exhaustion sleep, only 5/7 mins and she just threw up. ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!

It is really hard CSWS but you are going to have to stick with it. Remember how great you were with us all when we struggling with BF. Now it is our turn to help you through this hard time.
You have to help D to learn to sleep. It isnt a skill that comes naturally. Do you feed on your own in a quiet room? I find that when W gets a bit fidgety I have to go into his room with the door closed. Especailly at bed time. As DH is at home get him to deal with DD while you concentrate on getting D into bed.
It will take at least a week. Minimum.
It will be ok.

HMM sorry about the chocolate. I will have some cake. I love cake.

Myjob good news about N. Febrile convulsions are terrifying.

MM do you leave the room or sit down with your hand in the cot? Does M still get worse if you are still in the room? She has got you exactly where she wants you

M is still in with us at the moment due to DIY nightmares and bathroom hell. It is a very looooooooong story! we wondered if the problem was us disturbing her so last night we slept downstairs with the monitor on. Did no good she woke up at 1am, like usual even though she went to bed two hours later than usual. When she's crying, it is normally dh who has his hand on her tummy and shushes as I can't handle it. [wuss emoticon] She pushes him away every time, it makes no difference. When he was away I did try it myself and even when it was me she didn't settle. I have also tried leaving the room to make myself a drink or something, but I come back and she's usually spun herself round in the cot and is red and snotty from crying. I have no idea why she is so insecure. I can't even go to the toilet during the day without her screaming like someone's stabbed her! Only now it's when DH (who works from home) leaves the room

Ahh well now I think that is a completely different issue altogether. You may just have to wait this one out until she is a bit older. Sorry.

Thanks ronshar, and everyone else for your suggestions today.
I always feed him in his room with the lights off at bedtime and during the night.
During the day we feed wherever we happen to be, or if at home then usually in my chair in the living room (next to my laptop ).

MM - dd wouldn't let me leave the room when she was little either. I didn't even get to go to the toilet by myself for the first year or so. But cc did work on her (was much easier to make the decision to do because she screamed all the bloody time anyway).

I wonder why she's so insecure. That makes me feel great!

I think that this about the right age for separation anxiety isn't it though MM? Or not far off it anyway.