NOV 09 - once the lights are out and the last baby has arrived safe and fine, see you here on cloud nine!

[Broodzilla]

I've just realized we're now under the "being a parent" header. I've got stage freight!

Finally going to try and pot a message whilst i have 5 minutes peace and quiet.

Laugs my grobags don't have the weight/age on them so basically i make sure they fit around the arms so dan can't wriggle down I've been using one pratically since birth

Had a bit of a tough week, my dp works shifts so this week i've been by myself all afternoon + evening. Still haven't worked out how to feed, bath and put to bed ds1, ds2 and me? Coupled with a feeding frenzy yesterday and dan refused to sleep all day long (of course it had to be the day ds1 is at home as ther is no school!) Is there a growth spurt at 6 weeks?

Dans waking up so much for peace and quiet!!

helips hang on in there. You've done so well so far. If you give up now you'll send the message that if your ds doesn't like something then he just needs to complain enough and you'll change your mind. I know it's tough but you're doing the right thing. You're teaching him ways of coping with the world as we don't always get what we want. He's just testing his boundaries so think of it as a way of making him feel more secure as he'll know what's expected of him.
What was better about last night than the night before? Did he goo to sleep after less crying? Focus on the small improvement to get you through tonight.

Grobags are weight dependent, but for little ones try using the ones with an added popper under the arms as it will stop them wriggling down large armholes.

maman hv told me yesterday there's a growth spurt at 6 wks and then again at 12 wks.

tamlin is the baby whisperer the easy routine (eat, activity, sleep, you)? I did have the book but gave it away after ds1

Did you notice the post from AMBY?

I can't keep up withthis thread, where do you ladies get the time??!!

Can I ask if any of you have given dcs a dummy and how old they were when you gave it. I gave in yesterday and gave Anya one as she just wouldn't settle and had just fed and got wind up. I feel bad about giving it to her and was hoping we could avoid using one this time round. What are your thoughts on them?

We go home to Ireland for 2 weeks on Sunday, I can't wait to fob the dcs off on let the dcs spend some quality time with their grandparents I've even made an appointment to have my hair done!

Argh, I really must start trying to keep up with this thread!

I think poor little DD1 is unsettled by the baby. Last few nights she has had nightmares, and last night ended up in our bed. Baby sleeps on my "non-dp" side as he is scared of crushing her, and he brought DD1 up and stuck her next to the baby, saying he needs his sleep (because i spend all day doing nothing, obviously...) so I spent all night rearranging children so they didn't squash/wake up each other. My mum says me and my sister shared a bed when she was a baby, but I'm not sure dd1 could manage that.

Then, in the morning just after dp had left, I was feeding the baby when dd1 went into the en-suite. I assumed she was playing with my makeup bottles and brushes, but then she came back into my line of sight, gave me a funny look, and vomited a white, minty smelling foam everywhere. Eventually I worked out she had eaten some toothpaste. Nightmare. She is ok now though.

TOK- both mine were tried with a dummy at a couple of weeks old. DD1 loved hers and tbh it has been a godsend. This one just spits it out, although she loves sucking on my little finger. her favourite thing is just having my boob in her mouth, not sucking, just holding it there...not very practical.

TOK, we are not using any dummy (but just bought one for our flight back home in case she doesn't want to feed twice) but my HV had actually told me to use one as Paula sometimes only want to have a nipple in her mouth without actually being hungry. I'm not quite sure though and want to wait until it's really necessary.

TOK We are using a dummy here. I had the same problem as Ursi where baby needed to suckle. He wanted his thumb but couldn't find it either. He was reluctant to take it at first. All babies need to suckle, some need to more than others. It's been a godsend as he settles much better during the day and in the pram. My nipples aren't so sore either! DS1 had a dummy and we took it from him (with bribery!) when he was 2.5yrs old. I will be working on DS2 a bit earlier this time around.

I did see the Amby posting. I wonder how they knew about the discussion. My Amby has arrived today. I can't wait to get it out of the box and have a look.

Thanks Butterpie and ursi. Well, Anya would sometimes look like she has still hungry after a feed, we would give her extra, then she'd be sick. But I can't help feeling like I've given the dummy to her more for my benefit than hers. I suppose there's no turning back now, she'll probably want it all the time.

Will she spit it out when she's hungry? I knew she was due a feed at 2.15 and she has never gone over the 3 hours before. I tried to take the dummy out to feed her but she wasn't going to give it up without a fight

TOK I can't see any harm in a dummy. If baby is happy then everyone else is happy. I'm sure many people have the opposite opinion. Nothing wrong with DS1 and he gave it up very easily. I'd rather the dummy than a thumb!

Fruitpastels it's nice to hear other people are giving a dummy. What age is ds2? My ds1 has just turned 2 and we are trying to figure out how we're going to get him off the dummy. He only really has it at night or when he is tired/grumpy

Ds2 is the baby (I don't like to mention names) He is 7 weeks old and started taking the dummy when he was 5 weeks old. I felt it was best for him as I also noticed that he would cry when he was latched on, and all he wanted to do was suckle after a feed but the milk kept flowing. It was heartbreaking as he really needed the comfort.

TOK Depending on your DS's understanding (he might be a bit young atm). Maybe try what we did. We spoke about the dummy with DS1 and said that we would take him to the toy store and buy him a toy 'if' he would give us the dummy and not have it anymore. We made the visit to the toy store a big outing with a pizza thrown in and lots of praise! He asked for it a couple of times after that but we had thrown it out and didn't give in!

Yes, it's the "not giving in" bit that I'm worried about. We're not going to try it at the moment as he's had enough of an upheaval with the arrival of baby sister but I will certainly bear it in mind for when we do!

ds had a dummy and Annabelle has a dummy now. shes had it since the second day as sometimes she wont settle without it, but other times can be perfectly content not having it. ds wouldnt sleep without his and would howl without it, but suprisingly was easy when came to weaning him off it.

Another dummy user here, have done for all 3 dc's. Ioan had his at about 2 weeks old I think! Had to try different ones to see what he liked - mam ones seem to be favourite and they also stay in as they're not so slippery. He would be the same as fruit's ds2, suckling at the end of a feed but getting irate at the milk coming out. When he's a bit older we'll do the same as before, only at nap/sleep time and then when it's time to get rid of them santa takes them for the babies and leaves a toy for bedtime.
I don't see the harm if they want the sucking comfort - and it beats trying to stop thumb sucking in future.

Ninja I wondered where that Amby post had come from! Maybe they've trawled the net for any mention of them!!

Bit of a rant coming up ... sorry ...

DH has been ill on and off for the last 3 weeks. The infamous D&V bug was first, then at the end of that he went on a piss up with work. Cue getting a cold which I'm convinced only got as bad as it did because he was boozing before he was well again. Cold recently turned into sinusitis and he's been really ill and on antibiotics. He's gone back to work today after being off sick and in bed all day yesterday ... and is now going on the ruddy xmas do tonight [run out of emoticons] He says he won't drink, but who goes on these things and then stays sober.
It's a meal and a comedy show, so he'll be out until at least 11:30. So another late night and out with a lowered immune system in the cold, no doubt coming into contact with bugs from others in the comedy club.
I've been dealing with the DC's by myself now for the past 3 weekends and I'm tired. I know it's not deliberate but surely he should be thinking of the bigger picture and not burning the candle at both ends.
I had the D&V bug and I've now got a cold, but nobody comes and takes the dc's away from me so I can sleep it all off.

Moan, winge, grump [pouting emoticon]

DS2 claims he is poorly. I'm not in the right frame of mind to cope with poorly children and a baby at the same time. I feel the pull of two people needing me. Feel anxiety in the pit of my stomach. He can't describe what is up but doesn't want any tea so is watching TV on the sofa. He's just had some calpol and says he feels better already. Oh crumbs. Toby asleep.

Scarlotti you are allowed to winge about that. Your DH is being a total man!!! They get ill, they lie in bed, we get ill, we get on with it.

Oh Scarlotti, I feel your frustration! Moan away, we don't mind!
Despite the fact that he's not well enough to go out, I wouldn't have the nerve to go on a Christmas do if I'd been off sick the day before.
You need to keep a record of all these nights out so you can cash yours in when Ioan's a bit older/when you feel up to nights out again!

mark {no time, sorry!!}

Toby has a dummy when he's cranky too - and in the evening when he's in the sling as it helps him drop off. I haven't used it for daytime naps though but thinking he might like it then too. I've never been sure about dummies - I would hate to get into the 'up every hour in the night to put dummy in' scenario. How do you avoid that then if you use a dummy? Or do you use them just in the day time / for naps? DS1 didn't like dummies and DS2 just slept like a dream so didn't need one.

Oh my DP does that thinking he's the only one under the weather thing...the other day he came in from work and went straight up to bed as he had woken up a couple of times in the night! I just watched in amazement as he left me to feed, bathe and get ready for bed the dcs, without being allowed to lift dd1 (because of the section and spd).

Speaking of which, I do keep lifting dd1. I try not to, but, for example, she was vomiting today and I needed to get her to the loo. Then later on I caight her as she fell off a chair. Don't see how I could avoid that. Now my pelvis is hurting and my scar is tender though. Bet I'm in for another night of pain every time I roll over in bed. Thank God for co-sleeping though. Last thing I need is staggering about the bedroom all night.

I want my DD to take a dummy as DD1 never did and I always thought it must make life easier but she gags if I put it in - any tips to get them to take it??

Oh my, everything is covered in snow!! It's looks magical outside

DD1's school is not closed (yet) and probably won't be so it will be Leah's firt proper outing in the snow! We were out in a bit of a blizzard yesterday but it wasn't very much unlike this! Will have to take a photo of my two girlies in front the tree in the garden and send it my dad as it's certainly not snowing in his part of the world!

Talking of dummies, Leah has one too. Started it very early - about a week! She was very 'sucky' from the offset and the midwife in the hospital tried making her a makeshift one when she wouldn't settle there! Didn't work so she sucked on my finger all night - Leah that is, not the midwife She can be a bit fussy with taking it but have found that stroking her face while holding the dummy in place helps. It helps with her wind too which is good. I wanted her to take one as dd1 is a thumb sucker and it's a nightmare trying to stop it. She is 5.5 and the dentist has said we need to try and get her to stop it for when her milk teeth fall out but at the moment it's not working at all. She only sucks it when she is tired or poorly, but it's still pushing her teeth out of shape.