Sleep is for the weak part four, we're officially hardcore.

[gingerninja]

Yes ladies we've got a shiny new thread to share our woes of chronic sleep deprivation, to hail all that is gloreous when something works and throw our arms in the air when it all goes wrong again.

One bad night doesn't impress us, we're awake more than we sleep cos we is 'ard I tell ya.

Ahhh I can't wait for the birthday parties to start.

Well, tonight DH has gone to the pub and is under strict instructions not to come stumbling in and wake me and DS... so he is spending the night on the sofa and I will have DS in with me as soon as he wakes after I've gone to bed. Given that I've already been in to him twice in an hour, it's probably just as well that we will have the bed to ourselves!

Make that 3 times! gotta go...

going to bed is losing appeal
teenagers are gossiping
and toddler will start sleep walking soon
dh has been called into work and will be staying there

ah cupcake, hope you get some sleep.

my dh is at work too and not sure when he's coming home.

ta, amber sorry you are at home alone too
maybe it is more peaceful with you

Those of you who have lo's with eczema, have you had any flare ups recently? We've got the worst flare up since Christmas here. DOn't know what's triggering it but nothing is calming it down. Poor lo looks like she's covered in little scalds and she's itching like mad. Poor little mite.

Anyway, let's hope tonight is an improvement on the last couple of nights as she's been really unsettled for the second half of the night.

Sleep tight everyone

hi ginger. Poor dd is it a food allergy do you think? Have you ever had her tested?

hi ginger, i've got a theory that LO's eczema is related to the pollen/hayfever count thingey. whenever i seem to be sneezing, he is going red and patchy. just a theory though. we are getting it under control in a few ways (sure you've tried everything but here it is)

-massaging with avocado oil before bathtime
-dead sea salts dissolved in the bath
-moisturising with combo of neals yard baseline moisturiser mixed with jojoba oil as many times a day as i can remember
-using chickweed and calendula cream on red patches
-sometimes using an emollient over the top if i'm desperate

anyway, it's a fight but managing to win it most days.

my ds skin is not too bad, he seems worst in hot weather.
the tearing at the skin is heart wrenching and i seem to feel like im fighting with him to stop
my dh believes in homopathic remedies i do not good luck

cupcake have seem homeopathic remedy 'cure' my friend's dd's eczema so i am convinced now. Ds has never had any skin complaints at all so can't imgaine how hard it must be but sympathise

i think because it is flare ups there are lots of trigger points.
i do like homoepathic treatments and really love a cream called tramile cream sorry i have spelt it wrong it works on bites and bruises, we have at least two tubes of it

Ginger, we have bad days and not-so-bad days with DS, though rarely any good ones. At the moment it is worse on his hands and face, he scratches til it's weeping and raw if you let him, so at the moment he's in scratch mitts all day and night (though he is getting accomplished at taking them off). I know what you mean, it is so horrid to see him suffering, and I'm sure it is behind a lot of his sleeping problems.

We have tried all the emollients known to mankind, at the moment we are using hydrocortisone on the worst bits (with antibiotics for when it's weeping) and then everything else is covered in Doublebase cream several times a day. We bathe him in Oilatum which seems to help calm it down. Also we have stopped using fabric conditioner and he just has 100% cotton clothing. Still nothing shifts it, but we now have a hospital appointment for the end of August so hopefully then we might get some improvement, I'm sure the hot weather doesn't help either.

If it's any help, I have been told by umpteen HVs and doctors that he will grow out of it, I'm sure your DD will too.

Eczema - half the dose of washing powder - it still cleans, honest. Also, lots of people like aveeno, can get on prescription.

Breast pads, yes, I think we should all do the earth mother bit and complain about excess packaging, it annoys the hell out of me too!

Poor lo, sent home from nursery in their old clothes as no-one thought to look in his bag for spares. They denied him breakfast and he only had one nap. Consequently fell asleep in car on way home. Left him there until got to 1815, nearly baathtime, thought I'd better fetch him in. Clearly he thought it was night time already as he was not in the mood for waking. What a waste of sleepiness! Anyway, he's bathed, fed and in bed now so we'll see how long it lasts. The evenings are the best bits. Should go to bed earlier myself but too tempting to do the mn thing etc

can i say sorry, as i just can not spell
and am awfully weary.
i also use as little wash powder as poss
soz have to go sad teenager on my bed

The blog is great, I'll surely be back for more

Hi All, I've missed you over the past few days as my dh has been working from home in the eves and ds and I tend to be busy (and who isn't?!) in the daytime.

Wish I could catch up on all your messages but there just isn't time, so I'm sending a general for all your successes and for your continuing woes. I actually had my first run of 4 CONTINUOUS HOURS OF SLEEP last night as despite teething, my ds managed to stay asleep btw 12.30 and 4.30!!! Yippee! That was after he woke three times between 8 and 10 so I feel like I deserved it.

Just noticed Ginger's message re eczema - I'm sure you've already looked into this but just in case...I've had eczema all my life and am also dairy intolerant. Dairy is a notorious aggravator of eczema. I noticed my ds reacted to dairy in my diet through BFing (he got v stuffy nose) and then when he tried cow's milk for the first time he reacted strongly; one of his reactions was a rash. If your LO has dairy you might want to try cutting it out for a week or so and see whether the symptoms change.

Okay, that's me for the night. Catch you soon!

teenagers in bed
ds ended up wandering again
ended up in my bed how do little feet kick so hard
oh dear ds crashing in on teenagers
better go before a riot breaks out
hope their has been some peace out there
bye

morning all,
ginger for poor dd. i count ourselves lucky that dd had it only for such a short time and rather mildly by comparison, but that was hard enough cant imagine what it must be like for them. hope something works soon x

wolfmama - poor little one. hope he had a good night.

cupcakemummy - btw, i love your posts, always make me smile hope you had a good night

mrsTH - yey for your 4 hour stretch. a few more of those please jnr!!

amber, hope you had a lie in this morning

meg, hope dh behaved himself and stayed on
the settee so as not to disturb you

Ep hope you're feeling better and ds and dh too

Bags and Tam, hope you had good nights
hope i remembered everyone?

we had a good night, bed at 7ish, woke at 2ish for a feed (had to take her off boob after a while tho and offer her the bottle ) she was ok with that tho and sang for a looonnngg time until she fell asleep about 3.30am up for day at 6am, so not too bad at all

going in to work so will try to catch up later today xxxx

Hi all, thanks for your messages re eczema. I can't pinpoint anything specific that causes it. I went dairy free when bf and we didn't wean onto dairy for ages but it really didn't seem to make much difference. (It's soooo hard doing dairy free as well especialy because DD Lurves philly sandwiches and fromage frais.) Still perhaps I'll cut back again and see.

We are actually seeing a homeopath for it and are half way through the treatment. They did say it could get worse before it gets better but I'm a bit sceptical about it to be honest. I don't know how you can treat something without understanding the cause. Still, I'll wait with baited breath.

Right, on the sleep front we had another pants night. DD has got into too uch of a habit of waking at about 9.30 - 10 wanting to go to bed with me. She screams the house down until I take her into my bed. Which annoyed me last night because I was half way through watching the educational Peter and Katie the baby diaries . So she was mega hyped up after her hissy fit and I took her to bed and she didn't then settle for another hour and spent the rest of the night literally wrggling underneath me and me being jammed between her and DH so getting no sleep. Consequently I feel like a bag of shit today and have already had a fall out with DH. I had a few cross words with DD and he didn't like it. I know it's no good to shout at a 10 month old but for an instant I felt better.

ginger for your crap night and fall out with dh. They dont understand that we cant be sweetness and light all the time. the dark side has to surface to get the balance
i shouted at dd this a.m because she was shouting at me! it must have looked ridiculous, so thank god no one was watching. she was sat in her highchair yelling at me and there was me shouting 'stop shouting at me' dont beat yourself up over it, you're a fabulous mamma x

Mts TM: yay for your good night!

Looks like our two good nights were a blip - waking 1.5 to 2 hrs last night, but DS still a bit snotty from his cold so am trying not to worry too much. He was well enough to go to the cm's yesterday which meant I got a day in bed . Most sleep I've had for ages - thank God for childcare! Also DS is on baby nurofen for his cold and poss ear infection and that tends to make him

Good to see the blog so active - I;m sitting on your profiles so will try and get them up at the weekend (if I can wrest the computer from DH).

for all those dealing with eczema - DH has it so I am on the lookout for symptoms with DS (pretty clear so far)

DH shouts back at DS sometimes - can be quite funny as they wail in tandem and then DS giggles

Hello everyone,

Ginger for the unsettled night. It must be so tricky having to manage dd's eczema as well - I can't imagine.

Tibs for your ok night. What is it with the little ones wanting to sing at 3am. Very cure, but questionable timing!

EP for your night but for your well-deserved rest. Hoping this is a blip, rather than the two good nights.

How's the riot control, cupcake?

Average night here. LO unsettled til 9.30, then asleep til 1.45. Up again at 5, then grizzling 'til 6.45 when we got up for the day.

No more sleep than usual but feel less grotty as have shaved legs for the first time in months!!

I wonder what the night of Friday 13th will bring us all? (although most nights are like are horror film here at the moment ) Wishing you all luck for the day.

Morning everyone. Ginger sorry you fell out with DH. I have an agreement with mine that any cross words said in the haze of sleep deprivation don't count

Tibs for your good night, EP for yours

Ours was not too awful, bed at 7.30, went in a few times in the evening then fed at 10.30, then he slept in cot til woke at 1 with a leaky nappy [angry blardy nappies], then in with me, slept peacefully til about 4.30 but was pretty scratchy and kicky after then til 6.30ish, then dozed off again til 8.

DH was v good and stayed on sofa, he is a bit sore-headed this morning though!

x-posted Bags it's nice to have smooth legs on occasion, isn't it? I keep thinking I must try to get to the hairdressers one of these days, too...

morning everyone - a lot of activity!

for shouting LO's, but for tibs and TH's decent nights.

ours was pretty average, wakings at 9.30, 11.30, 3.30 (awake for an hour), and then a bunch of grizzles and resettling until 7am. he never cried, i never got out of bed, but was a bit annoying, meant i didn't sleep very deeply.

the blog is surely gaining momentum. if you don't get time to do the histories ep, just mail them to me, i can try putting them up.

xx