'Sleep is for the Weak' for anyone with August/Sep 06 DC's

[justJAM]

GM, Cruise and anyone else with LO's born around August/September 06' - this is a support thread for when you have no clue as to why your LO is doing the exact opposite to what they were doing last week and when you are thinking WTF????
Post on here and we shall all compare notes and comfort each other!!

I am in Plymouth...which is surprisingly sunny. However I am from SE London. Abbey Wood. My mum lived there (well Thamesmead, heard of that?) and I always referred to it as home...until recently.

One more thing...then I will really shup (for a bit).
DD is asleep. Has been for 2 HOURS. AND she slept for 20 mins at 9:30am. I was going to take her to lunch club for the first time, but she did not wake. She opened her eyes and glanced at me, I smiled and she smiled and slowly closed her eyes again. Asleep I tell you.

yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
ditto here. 1hr 40 ths morning and now on nap no.2. mind you, he hardly lept last night o that will be why.

yeah for the nap. shame it was not during the night as well.

I was tempted to get my head down too, but my LO usually wakes up if I do that...

Where in SE London are you Cruise?

afternoon all, pavlov-last night not as good-down at 8.00,til 2.30,then in bed for b.feed and up for the day at 7.00.I think I'm lucky that lo goes straight back to sleep on boob.But she's not teething yet,that's when the s**t will hit the fan.that teething gel (forgotten name) sounds fab,can you order it on-line?
Tibsy, don't be too hard on yourself you are doing the right thing,consistancy is the key to success.Aloe aggravated me,but it may work,won't do any harm,so worth a try.
Kiera,hope you are feeling better?have you thought about giving lo another bottle,or are you not into it?It's hard at first to fit bottles into your b.feeding routine,maybe try him with 4oz ,and it might just settle him a bit?
My dd just fed constantly for 6 weeks,then i introduced a bottle,and felt so bad that I'd failed as a breast feeder,but she was so much more happier(apart from the wind).Now she has 3 bottles a day ,3 breast feeds,dinner and tea,and is only just settling more at night.She's not a big baby either,just hungry.
Don't get too down,you're probably feeling really drained.If you do give another bottle,you will still have a good supply,as it all balances out..lo just woken up after 10 mins in cot ..aaaaarrrrhhhh!!!!!

pavlov - shirley which is a suberb of croydon.

I heard of shirley, used to bunk off school to go to croydon on the bus! Oh dear lets not tell our children about that eh?

Teething jel - Baby Orajel. I will try to find out how to get it. If all else fails, I will get my BIL to send me a box of it and I can send you all one or two!!! lol

pavlov - we used to bunk off to mitcham common armed with 10 benson and hedges and a box of swan vesta's! something else not to tell the lo's!

LOL Cruise

kiera big, big, big hugs coming your way. you are doing a FAB job. don't worry about the retreating part (being conditional), , sometimes we just have to do it to preserve our sanity. as for the bf'ing, i echoe what the wise cruise and pavlov had to offer re. offering boob more and drinking gallons of water. also try and eat a bit more to sustain you, its a bloody good excuse for that extra bar of choccie if you ask me!
have you been to any groups in your area? i know some of them are a bit grim and i swore i'd never go, but to be honest theyve helped keep me sane, as well as you guys of course! i suppose it might be difficult with having another lo(s)? i know you have a 3 year old, is it you with a 6 year old too?

redbeki big thumbs up for your good night, you go girl!!! will consider the aloe, altho, its flared up today and have used some hydrodoodah. my lo seems to have been teething forEVER...no bloody teeth tho

pavlov, tried a search for orajel in de uk, any luck?? sounds bloody fab, not much happening with the old bonjela.

cruise 1 1/2 hrs this a.m!!! ditto lack of sleep last night!!
just woken from another nap. gotta go.....

thanx tibsy,I do feel slightly more human today.My lo only had 20 mins sleep all day,hopefully 2nite will be good.fingers crossed eh!

redbeki - those days when naps evade them are soooo hard. Almost as hard as the sleep deprivation at night I find. When you have a few days of both you feel like death on legs! here's hoping we all have improved nights (better not get too ambitious now

Hi all, I never seem to get the time to post at the mo because DD is being such a grizzly arse during the day at the mo that if I'm not constantly entertaining her or holding her she whines and whines. A noise that is driving me barking mad TBH. I think it's teeth but frankly it could be anything.

Tibsy, the dermotologist I saw with DD said to bath AT LEAST once a day with oils in the bath to hydrate the skin! DD's eczema is up and down every day. No obvious pattern to it. Im pretty certain dairy agrevates it tho so I've cut it out of my diet.

Cruise, we've had a couple of dodgy nights again. Last night was horrid and I can't remember how many times we got up. We've also had the 2 hour middle of the night extravaganza where she squeals thinking it's morning. Luckily she take a dummy so will lay there sucking it to get herself back to sleep although she will also spit it out (and I mean a proper thrruuuu sometimes shooting it out of the cot altogether) so I have to get up to shove it back in.

Pav, very sorry to hear about your mum, must be very hard. You've got our support here for what it's worth. BTW, loving the Oragel idea. Will search for some on the interweb.

Kiera, I'm so sorry you're feeling like that. I felt really miserable a couple of months ago too but feel so much better now. I also don't have any family around and only one friend who I don't like to keep burdening as she has two very demanding LO's. It will get better. I know that doesn't help but you're only human, don't punish yourself you are doing a remarkable job bringing up two children. I really hope you're feeling a bit more positive now. How old is your DS1? Could you take him to a playgroup for half a day or something?

Wishing you all a sleep filled night.

PS I tried some baby rice today (DD is 23 weeks) she hated it!! That rocked my confidence a little because I'd got this vision of her gobbling it, feeling totally stuffed and sleeping all night. She spat most of it out with a look of disgust on her face. I can't see this sleep thing being resolved soon!

Hello,
Sorry to all those who had a bad night again...
My DS was up at 11pm then 3:30 then up for the day at 6:30am. He was absolutely full of beans, arms waving, legs kicking and lots of squealing.

Was wondering if maybe he is cold at 3:30ish and that is why he wakes because he is never very interested in a feed at that time.
Just been speaking to my SIL who has a 9 month old and he slept through for the first time last night so that doesn't bode well for my DS if it is in the genes!
Kiera - how are you feeling now?

Myrtle. My DD wears, long sleeved vest, baby grow, 2.5 tog sleeping bag and two blankets in an 18 degree room I know it's not advised to wrap them up like that but she does sleep better.

Oh no, I spent ages typing a message and its all gone!

thanks everyone so much for your advice and words of encouragement. I took both boys to playgroup in the afternoon and was able to chat to some of the women there who were very sympathetic.

lo HAS NOT SLEPT ALL DAY since he got up at 7.30am!!!!! apart from the odd minute or two in the car seat or after a feed but would not stay asleep .

My gut feeling is that this is about hunger as he was sleeping in the cot ok until recently, now he won't even stay asleep in the buggy or car seat let alone the cot, apart from at night (?!?). I expressed 4oz milk at bed-time yesterday and gave him this in a bottle at 5.30pm, after giving him BOTH boobs and he drained the lot, then was still fussing so took a 6oz bottle of formula from dh at 7pm!!! dh is wondering if we should begin weaning him even though he is only 22 weeks. might be a better alternative than supplementing with even more formula as I want to bfeed for as long as poss...

ok, I shall send another one...briefer, much to your joy I am sure!

Update on Baby Orajel - cant get it in UK, its not licenced. Can get it from Medshopexpress.com who will ship it to UK, for a wopping $4.99 plus $14.00 shipping, I am getting 4 x 0.18oz tubes for $32.18! It is worth it tho...bloody marvelous stuff. My DD seems to be feeling sooooo much better now I found it again. Trouble is, its soo small, I keep losing it again!

Ginger - you should def try it if your LO is teething, it will work a treat. Baby rice - urgh! Have you tried it? No wonder babies turn their noses up! My LO ate it, but without much enthusiasm. Mix it with a little Sweet Potato, now, she loves that (used to, now wont eat much puree as she wants to feed herself!)

thanks all for support re: my mum, I feel lost, cut off from my support network, feels physical loss, like something gone from beside me, you know when you lose your keys to the house and you cant do without them? Insomnia a bit of a prob right now, even when DD is sleeping, find my mind wandering...anyway, time is a good healer so they say, although it feels like I am coping worse each day not better. Due to go back to work on Monday, but GP is getting a visit from me tomorrow...

DD is ASLEEP. Fell asleep at bottle given by fair hands of DP, for a change. I topped her up with bf, she might wake again as did not have much BF, although had an uber meal of 'baked beans and bacon' 'cooked' by DP, coutesy of Heinz and Baby milk! Followed with roasted banana and cinnamon finger food.

OK, that was not much shorter, sorry not very good at writing short ones, you might have gathered!

Here is hoping for a great, restful, peaceful night for all...

ginger, your dd sounds like mine sometimes, she LOVES being held and whilst other babies seem content to lie on the floor gazing in wonder at the ceiling light, mine always wants to be doing something different. signs of genius minds maybe?!!! bloody exhausting tho aint it?
glad to hear about the baths, its part of her routine now, she seems to really enjoy them and knows that bedtime isnt far off, always perks up when i start getting her ready for 5 little ducks time thye must think i'm bloody mad next door

myrtle, is your lo kicking his covers of at 3.30? if so, have you tried a grobag or whatever theyre called?

anyway, am going to go, think i'm going to pack ds off to bed early and head off myself. bloody knackered tonight and who knows what lies ahead
night night all and restful nights to you all

ps. cruise, you seem a lot happier these last few days, nice to hear it, hope you have a good night

kiera, just posted after you, i was advised to start weaning earlier rather than introduce formula if want to keep bfing. ask your hv maybe? hope that helps.

Kiera, I dont think weaning would be bad thing to start. Its not like you will be giving him three full feeds per day instead of BF or FF, and it is done slowly anyway so wont go off BF. Its really how you feel. We started weaning at 4.5 months as worried about weight gain of our LO, however we took our time, 3 weeks, perhaps more, with one meal a day, gradually building from one teaspoon to a few, as she wanted, then on to two meals per day, the same, although did this for longer due to travel, illness which put her off food, and personal stuff, by 6.5 months, she was where she would have been if we started at 6 months. Just made sure food was kept simple, no wheat, gluten, cows milk etc...
Now she eats toast and philly, sticks of cooked vegetables, chunks of banana (scrapes her two teeth against it), cheese, apple and pear cooked (all in chip chunks).. (although I should say I am partially following the BLW theory, works for LO, but think not for all babies...).

I am a little ahead with weaning than some on this thread so if you want advice/support, ask, although I wont have the answers I can share my experiences. I found it has not helped her sleeping one little bit...

pavlov, we ARE all here for you, consider us your net chums!! and that orajel looks like it rocks, will have to get some. big hugs, am REALLY REALLY off to bed. speak soon x

Indeed Pav, Big cyber Hugs.

Kiera. My LO is far more interested in the world than the inside of her eyelids and the only way I can get her to sleep during the day at the mo is cuddling me on the sofa. Great for me, probably wouldn't work for you with another but maybe you can all cuddle up and watch a DVD or something?

Ginger - [sad} my LO does not really do cuddles anymore unless she is eating/sleeping. I cant cuddle her to sleep, she thinks if she is awake she should be doing something, and as she wants to be doing something, she should be awake...!