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.

thanks both and mrsth for the return of multiple wakings. good luck with the new routine. i'm considering trying something again, if only to make me feel i'm doing something proactive

amber, poor lo and you, i know its worrying when theyre so little. it must be such a huge adjustment for their little digestive systems after drinking something that is specifically designed for their individual requirements and contains enzymes to help them digest it, to then move onto such an array of foods...... have you tried banana? pretty innocuous and can cause constipation so may have a firming up effect, ugh! just a suggestion, feel free to ignore

Hi all,

Tibs ! It sounds so stressful. Hope DP's Dad and friend make full and speedy recoveries. You're right, it is hard to get men of that generation to take their health seriously (my FIL was in this boat a few years ago).

Mrs. TH - good to hear that teething traumas are over - not before time !

Amber for multiple filled nappies already! Hopefully the extra wakings are just a blip, esp. if LO's a little off-colour.

EP - good to hear of sleep improvements, and a great to hear that DS hasn't pick up the measles.

Ginger for your longer stretch, and staying in the cot. I'm a real stresshead at bedtime too. I need to follow your and EP's example. I really don't want my DD becoming anxious because mummy is a bit too Type A!

Thanks all for kind words. Unsurprisingly, DD's good mood wore off quickly, and lots of grumpy crying ensued. She went down for her lunchtime nap at 11.15 (normally 12-12.30 ish). Hope she manages a decent stretch, as I think I need an hour to myself to achieve my dream of not stressing!

it's tough, i thought about going to see the health visitor today, but i know i'll just listen to what she says and do exactly the opposite, so i don't know why i should waste my time.

LO is a bit crazy today ... teeth?

Meg - missed your post as there were loads!

Pleased to hear the naps are gradually getting better. It's a shame it's not affecting the night time sleep, but at least you get a decent chunk of time to yourself (I do hope you're not wasting it on housework ).

Amber: could well be teeth. Try giving him a bit of Calpol to see if it helps (my usual response to anything: drug them!).

Tibs: sorry you;ve had a run of bad news. Hope your friend recovers quickly and that you FIL responds well to his wake-up call. The good thing is that now he's in the system they'll be keeping a very close eye on him .

Meg: hope the new sleepsuits work. It has been very humid which doesn't help with DS's sleep (or ours!) and DH's eczema is also playing up

LOL at Amber and h/v - I do that, and I often have to wait 2 hours to get seen at the first-come-perhaps-eventually-served clinic! Why do we bother?

How about the GP? I was worried that I'd get chased out of the surgery for bring DD when she had the trots, as she was otherwise very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. GP was very sympathetic though, and gave me forms for getting tests even though she wasn't worried (naturally the problem stopped that same day!)

bags,i've done 2 hour stints waiting for useless advice too. i told my dp to remind me never to go again, even if it seems like a good idea at the time.

my goodness where did you lot come from

tibs sorry you've had such an emotionally draining weekend. Hope dp and fil are ok x

Hi to all. too many posts to respond to considering i could do with getting dressed!

don't be embarrassed tam, i'm just about to jump in the shower, LO has been in a right state this morning. hope things improve after this nap (they didn't after the last)

Except for an odd blip still LO sleeping through the night for the last 3 weeks. She didn't sleep between 3 and nearly 8 months - just to give you a bit of hope. We did do GW but I do think it was just that she was ready.

Tibs, sorry about your weekend. Hope your friend and FIL are ok. Sending get well vibes.

Amber, I'd go to the gp if you're worried. HV's ime aren't all that helpful and it's better to get him checked over if you're concerned. Is he unsettled with it too?

Meg, I sympathise with your eczema plight. Just when it looks like it's under control you get another outbreak. DD's covered in a rash again and has some really sore looking bits. I am trying to only bath her twice a week tops at the moment and cream her up three times a day. Dr. can prescribe anti itch creams and piriton. Even if you just use it a couple of nights so that you can all get some rest. I've noticed that if my lo gets too distressed it seems to get worse and after a bad nights sleep it's really noticable because she gets it around her eyes. That was one of the reasons why I've never wanted to try a stronger approach to getting her to sleep. My heart just breaks for her.

Well, we went swimming this morning and lo did quite a lot of underwater stuff so has swallowed half the pool and hopefully worn herself out. She's asleep now.

Well done Tapster, thanks for coming back and letting us know. Hope it continues

Taps, that's brilliant! good to hear.

ginger, sadly it's impossibly hard to get a GP appointment at my clinic unless you book a week or two in advance. i figure by the time we acxtually get there, it will probably be better.

i don't think he's that unsettled about it. he's just doing his normal tricks.

Amber: I think with babies they have to see you that day - anyway, no GP should be making you wait more than 3 days for an urgent appointment. Might be worth phoning to see? I took DS in cos he had a nasty cough with his cold and I got an appointment that afternoon.

oh yeah, i just tried calling them, but of course no one answered because its 2.59, and they are on lunch until 3!

Hope you got somewhere Amber.

DS has gone to sleep by himslef in his cot! This is the thing I'm trying to tackle this week. And tonight is the night I will pay close attention to the amount of times we wakes up so he had better impress me .

Hope everyone else has a good night. Have been reading the blog and there's some great stuff there. We're getting comments and links from other posters as well so the word is spreading...

yay, for ds putting himself to sleep

the blog is great. i just can't believe someone searched "sleep sitting up like monkeys" to get to our site. what on earth were they looking for?

Well DS sits up like a monkey

does he sleep like that too?

Miraculously got him to sleep with no trouble at all, considering he'd missed a nap this avvo. BF'd him till sleepy then lay him in his bed; he fussed for all of 1.5 seconds then went out like a light. (unswaddled! re-sult!). Think I'll move his bedtime back to 8pm and see whether that's what made the difference.

Taps - and for your splendid run of long nights. Long may it continue (i.e till the little love leaves home and beyond!).

Off to cook my dins now so I bid you all g'night.

x

night all!! thanks for your messages. friend is on road to recovery, fil has had a heart attack but is doing well, just waiting to be tranferred to have a shunt fitted. all quiet atm tho, so thats good.

tap for your success

EP, i feel guilty, i havent had time to look at the blog lately let alone post on it, and that was before everything hit the fan, so no excuse its great to hear that people are checking it out

oh well, better go, dd asleep since 7pm dp and ds taking nephews back (theyve been visiting today) just opened a bottle of well earned vino. good night all, heres to a peaceful one xx

morning all.

Major crapolla night here. Don't know wht was going on for ds last night but he couldn't settle.
went to bed at 7.30
up at 10.45, 1.15, 3.45, 6, 6.50 for the day
had 3 bottles last night!
it's totally ridiculous. I'm a bit (more cross than angry) at him today. know it's nto his fault but fgs he's 18m old tomorrow!!
Dh is so chilled about the whole thing he thinks it'll fix itself but i'm having a SDD day and feel like getting 'CC' on his ass!
Thing is I couldn't listen to him cry so It's not an option. Also when we move will be another disruption, new bedroom, new bed etc so dh thinks would should go with it until we're settled in the new house

Morning all,

Hi Tam for your night, and to hear the sleep deprivation monsters are getting to you. I too get occasional guilty thoughts of CC most weeks, but am too wet to try it (rather enjoying dd being too young, as that's a cast-iron reason not too).

It's a tricky one about the house though. I suppose on one hand it'd be good to address things asap, but on the other you don't want to be doing things twice .

Tibs - glad to hear friend and FIL are more stable. If it helps, my FIL had a stent fitted after his heart attack via keyhole surgery. It was a really low-key op, and he was back on his feet in no time. He's fine now, and anf the only thing that still affects him is having to stay away from the fags .

Crap night here. DH had her until midnight. Woke, 10, 11, 12. Fed at 12. Longest strectch 12.45-3am. Woke off and on 3-7.30. I am convinced that much of this is about the dummy, and I think we need to ditch it. Problem is this will involve A LOT of crying. Obviously we wouldn't leave and return a la CC, but I am still concerned about subjecting her to hours od crying, even if I'm holding her, as she's only 4 and a bit months. So I guess we'll just keep going for now .

Come on then, let's here about some ok nights!

amber thanks for links. made me feel better already

bags can't and won't do CC as couldn't cope with having to re-introduce it after illness, holidays and everything else that disrupts the routine.
I'm too soft.
Amber's articles on blog have reassured me I'm doing what is right for our family so am a bit cheerier now. still tired though!