Misery loves company: riding the mo fo out into Part II

[ElphabaTheGreen]

In our last exciting instalments:

Needles was at breaking point with a screaming 10 mo DD

Hear had experienced the magic of ONE unbroken night!

Dreaming was continuing to confound all with her ability to manage three children on four or five minutes a night, thanks to DT the Terrible.

Stitch was still having her sleep eaten by...erm...Stitch.

Poppy was pondering how the actual fark she was going to manage a newborn on top of BabyAmex's night time shenanigans.

And the desperate Elphaba had turned night duties entirely over to DH with mastitic results.

Join us with your stories of misery and woe in this, the most sleep-deprived corner of MN!

Congratulations Stitch and Roar! Lovely news. But sorry to hear that our collective sleep has gone positively feral, with the exception of the not so angelic twin sleeing through! Woo hoo!

All very wrong here. Both awake before 5 this morning. DS1 had a bad dream that he broke the front gate and DP shouted at him (in the dream i mean), waking up DS2 who then cooed VERY LOUDLY for long enough that it was impossible for anyone to go back to sleep. So now DS2 has gone back to sleep, poor DS1 is watching cbeebies with very bleary eyes and I'm looking for recipes for left over sprouts. Urgh.

elphaba I'm really interested in how your DS deals with your night away. Bet he'll be absolutely fine!

For fucks sake. Rule 1: never assume you can sleep train a baby, rule 2: never say its worked.

Clearly up half the night freezing my arse off on Dt the not so Angelic's floor. And guess what? Dd slept through, and Dt the Terrible, in his single bed, slept all bloody night til 6am. A first, and huge fluke bearing in mind he never sleeps past 10pm normally. I am royally pissed off I missed out on enjoying the bliss of no Dt the T.

br44, commiserations. That is not the morning. Can we blame Christmas and hope it'll improve soon?

oh my God Dreaming that's cruel. Just cruel. I will cross everything that DT the T does the same tonight so you stand at least a weeny chance of enjoying it.

My 'mornings' are indeed a farce. A shit French one from the turn of the century with shit jokes that nobody wants to go and see. DS1 has been an absolute trooper today despite his early start. The weather was vile and we probably should have stayed in but I find 12 hours in the house with them both pushes my dwindling supply of patience and sanity to the limit so we went out and a soggy, yawning but very happy DS1 did The grand old duke of York up and down the steps of St Pauls for a good half hour, bless him. Both kids exhausted now and likely to be fast asleep by 6. I always think maybe i should try and push them later but it honestly never makes a difference to their wake up times - it just means that they get less hours sleep. woe.

Currently sat in an Executive Suite at The Hilton having just had a meal with DH where I didn't have to stop a toddler sticking a fork in his eye. Off to have a 90 minute massage tomorrow after a night of sleep which will not be interrupted by DS!

br44, commiserations. That is not the morning. Can we blame Christmas and hope it'll improve soon?

Enjoy Elph, you deserve it :)

Dreaming have you considered making the floor a more comfortable arrangement, go with the flow so to speak?

BR44 that sucks, why can't they sync themselves to dawn eh, 5am is far too early.

Waking every two hours for feeding here. Luckily stitch is getting better and dd1 has stopped getting into bed with me at 5am.

Wow elph that sound amazing! Enjoy! :o

Spoke too soon, stitch had a nightmare and major meltdown at 5am and ended up in my bed.

Unfortunately, insomnia robbed me of a decent sleep in my posh, baby-free hotel room. DS put on a stellar show with 'let him scream for a night and he'll be fine' grandma and much more sympathetic grandad, and they ended up co-sleeping. Just had a chat on the phone with them -grandad (DH's dad) confessed he was a truly awful sleeper as a child, thinks DS hates being left alone (oh, really?) and that it took him until he was 11 to be happy sleeping by himself. Oh dear.

Haha, sorry elph your post really made me laugh. Not the insomnia bit obviously, but your pils. I knew they would end up cosleeping.

It always makes me a bit when people say if it was them they would leave dd to cry. There is a major difference between a bit of sniveling or grumbling and hearing a child you love so much you would do anything to make them happy scream in pain and anguish for hours and hours, particularly when you know all you have to do to stop their hurt is to keep them near you.

I think when faced with the reality of a night with a truely sleep resistant dc most people would just cosleep.

elph & hear hear hear. I don't actually want to co sleep, I do it because its the last resort best way for us all to get some sleep.

Two hour feeding you say stitch, all sounds a bit too familiar. Hope the winding after each isn't too prolonged- that used to nearly finish me off!! And well done dd1. I'm sure stitch will settle down now you're all home (we can but hope, hey?)

br44 12 hours in the house turns me near crazy. As i struggle to supervise my two 1 year olds and a 3 year old I end up doing lots of tge dreaded soft play... At least I know they're in the building . Struggling to get mine out the car without boys running off. Obviously i get dd out first, she's half sensible, then whichever twin I get out legs it, plus one of my ERF seats is in the middle, so more of a fiddle getting him out. maybe i need to go back to backpacks- yet another item to put on to slow down my exit time and remember, but maybe they'll actually walk wearing them now they're a bit bigger...

elph, your break sounded lush, especially the massage, but shame about the insomnia. Very, very pleasing the pil now see your point of view, surely worth it for that alone?!

Of course, normal service has resumed here. Dt tge Terrible up by 10, 11 latest, won't resettle, sleeping with one of us. Dt the Definitely Not Angelic also joining in- funny you should say that stitch, just bought another duvet to keep me warm or preferably Dh, though no chance on a work day

I entirely agree too hear. I'm not poo pooing the impact sleep deprivation has and I respect the fact that other people feel differently on this, but to me the idea that you just don't respond to your child's distress, whatever the maddening reason, after 'bedtime' is flawed and sad. Thankfully DS1 is past the screaming stage now, it's just his godforsaken early rising that's the problem but there's no way i could have just left him to it.

elphaba did you have a bath in a toyless bath? If I ever stay in z hotel ever again that's the bit I'n most excited about!

Last two days much better hear. DS1 has slept in his own bed all night until, wait for it, 6.10!!! And DS2 has gone until 11 and then come in with me, and then fleet with just one or two feeds until 5.30 which I know some people would class as bad but I class as rather civilised in relative terms...

Dreaming if i could find space in the duplo carpet I would give you a standing ovation for getting out and about with 3. Seriously. The combination of car seats and winter clothing has almost reduced me to tears on several occasions so adding in two 1 year olds who can't keep still actually brings me out in a cold sweat. I HATE soft play too but sometimes it's the lesser of many evils. Which is not ideally how I'd like to think of my children's playtime, but hey ho...

BR44, you've hit the nail on the head. Battle for nappies changed, cardys on, shoes not wellies (steadier in shoes- Dt2 sporting HUGE bruise/graze on his forehead from my solo expedition to the butterfly house in a local park last Friday), into car, try to deflect seat arguments (due to DT1's puking, he's currently in front seat to keep him calmer, now a cause of arguments- who's rf with me in front seat- almost 100% time its Dt1 as he's the stroppiest and the only one who'll puke- hardly fair or admirable parenting), check nappy bag, purse, coats, sling, buggy, arrive, coats on- it puts me off a lot tbh, and carparks are my nemesis. If I lived somewhere busier I'd be truly stuffed.

Horrendous night last night. Plus DT the Terrible vommed on my new slippers from Christmas.

Into battle tonight we go!!!

Oh yes, I am so over winter. It makes me weep to think we still have months to go. Still I am holding out for march when we will move to our new place and have a garden! Yay! The novelty of standing in the rain in the park at 9am on a sunday morning has rather worn thin now. Can't wait to be able to just chuck her out the back door in the morning :o

Can today just be over now please? Dh working til 10pm. It's the little things that get to me. Brushing 6 lots of teeth (counting am and pm, obvs), changing every nappy, you get the gist. Plus, its 8:15 and I only have one of 3 asleep (Dt the terrible actually). This is good, as I'm sitting between Dt the No Longer Angelic and dd, hissing "shush" at both, so i can go and clear up the bathroom, kitchen, hall (coats/shoes explosion), swimming things. Yes, like a crazy fool, as my dad was up today, we took them swimming this afternoon. So I changed 3 dc into and out of swimming things. Why?! What made me think this was a good plan, knowing the bedtime/ evening I'd have?! It's not even easy in the water, as I've dd, in armbands but not independent by any stretch of the imagination, plus 1 x one year old, while my dad had the other. Or worst, when he took dd to 'swim' and i had to try not to drown either boy. Need more armbands I think. Anyway. I'm tired.

Please can tonight be the night my dc sleep?! Dts really. Even if dd wakes with a nightmare again, that'd do nicely. However, as I cocked up the slow cooker meal I wanted to feed the boys (mild Thai curry, normally a fave) royally- way, way too hot, and Dt the Terrible ate a bit of mine at the end of his meal and vomited his replacement baked beans everywhere, all over us both, empty stomach again, I don't think tonight's the night . I'm an idiot.

hear, a garden will make your life so much easier. Fact. Magic!! You will be able to knock yourself out painting with water, chalking, hiding, looking for things, running away from dragons. Please, please, bring back summer. Or at least stop sodding raining. Are you in Scotland, or have I gone mad? (Latter likely)

Hear's dahn sahff in't she? It's Bald who's in Scotland.

We've got a large back garden which DS likes to run around in manic circles, but mainly only if he's holding both of my hands Probably not an entirely bad thing as there's too many piles of dog shit steps for it to be entirely safe.

Got my scan on 24 January. The straining noise you hear is me keeping absolutely everything crossed it's not twins. I would never have wanted them before, but you're not really bigging the experience up there, Dreaming.

Back to the land of co-sleeping here and wondering how the Jeff I'm going to co-sleep with a toddler while managing a newborn. Toying with the idea of getting one of .

Ah elph , you made me laugh. The boys are ace occasionally honest. Just a bit of a logistical nightmare

Your Dh co sleep with ds, you get the pleasure of the newborn...? Yikes.

Think you're right about Hear too

Link fail. Try again.

Problem is, and this sounds odd, DS likes to sleep with his fists in a headful of hair. He did the same with the PILs as well apparently. DH shaves all of his hair off and DS gets mightily pissed off if he wakes up next to him for that reason. Awkward bloody child.

You are right elph I am well down south in Hampshire.

I wouldn't stress about it too much, surely one thing we have all learnt is that just when you think things are settled they all change. By the time your new one appears it will be some whole new thing that is essential for sleep :o

Buy your Dh a wig elph!! Sorted. Dt1 is gradually accepting co sleeping with my Dh, sometimes, though sometimes only I will do. I think work on it gradually, just in case. with the wig, obvs

Still sat with Dt2. Please go back to being angelic child, mummy is going to break otherwise

Reading,reading and honestly I'm not laughing just pissed myself but surely it's stress incontinence?

wig,wig,wig

imagine the look on DT's face being woken up beside hairy daddy

DS fully boob weaned here but still remembers,he tried to latch onto DH the other day

A wig! Bloody genius :o

Suppose it should be a long, curly, dark red wig like my hair so DS doesn't get discombobulated in the wee hours