SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK PART 5....... God have mercy!

[Tamdin]

Can't believe we're onto another new thread already!

i'd expect the house to be tidy when i got home too, or else i might sack the housekeeper!

dh and ds are thick as thieves and it's so lovely.
Oral sex part wasn't in the article i read it somewhere else ages ago but it was hinted at again when olly said neither of their husbands were present at the birth blah blah blah.
gordon can butcher a pig but he can't watch his own children being born. very odd imo!

x posted amber i'd sack the housekeeper too if house wasn't perfect when i got home

Would love to come to Tate but it is a bit far for me & bubs... I used to work v near there and it was an hour door-to-door, so just not sure it's practical. But perhaps we can do a N London meet-up soon...

Meg, what station is it easiest for you to get to in north london, eg. angel, highbury islington etc? maybe we can arrange something in a few weeks if it suits.

N London good for me

I find the whole competitive perfect woman thing a bit strange. Luckily DH doesn;t care about such things! I'd be v irritated if he were a hands-off dad, but he spends more time with DS than me atm.

I can get to H&I pretty easily, it's on the train line from Enfield.

I can walk to H&I in about 40 mins, so great for me. Not sure what is near there, apart from the ubiquitous Starbucks.

Amber - I've just nearly fainted over your description of lunch. Sounds spectacular.
and for your lovely night.

Tam - for your night. A housekeeper - now there's something I could get used to.

EP - for your night. The weather is a real funny one. Oddly, DD seems to sleep better when it's warmer. I sometimes think about adding extra layers in her bed, but worry about overheating.

Meg - glad your night wasn't a shocker. If you guys arrange something a bit further north I wouldn't mind tagging along as well. I'm only one bus from shoreditch/clerkenwell, so I guess it wouldn't take too long to press on towards highbury/stokie.

EP, Mummymagic,Amber - could well join you at the Tate, depending on what time you plan to meet. Keep me posted of the details.

Is this the wrong time to confess to a major crush on Ramsey? (Gordon, not Tana)

Yeah, Tate was just an idea but H&I very easy for me - just a bus away (walking an option if the bus doesn't come!). Effie your rl name isn't Tamara is it?

Not sure where is good in H&I though. All I can think of is the big Wetherspoons . There is the Green if it's nice weather. How old are all the babies?

Or yes, we could do Stokie (even easier for me and Effie!). And on the line from the other Enfield station I think... Clissold Park if the weather is nice?

Stokey ideal for me

Crush on GR? I am eating here, you know

DS is nearly 1 btw so somewhere he can zoom around would be good. And no, I'm not called Tamara

i'm happy to do highbury/islington or stokey, whatever is easiest for everyone. if highbury/islington, there is highbury fields for a picnic if a nice day, or there are a few decent cafes on upper street which is only a 5 min or so walk down.

Yep, I can get train to Stoke Newington too, basically anywhere that's not too far from a station that goes to Enfield Town or Enfield Chase is OK with me! Was also thinking about Highbury Fields.

LO is 6 months and very wriggly, so picnic might be good 'cause I can put him down on a rug and let him wriggle away!

would def be nice to picnic if the weather holds out.

hi girlies
thanks so much for all kind words. you lot are inspirations to me you know

ginger, i had a gooey moment about your dds piccie, aahhhhh. hope the stomach knots were smaller today love. am sure she'll settle into a good nap routine when she familiarises herself with it all. its just the transition period.

anyway, ibs, tam and amber for your fabbo nights. you all bloody well deserve it. long may they continue.

amber, i'm not a huge lover of seafood, but honestly, i was salivating at your menu. delish!!

tam, i am also of the meet up. one day....

ep and meg poor lo's. hope that tooth hurries up meg.

MM- sorry for your teething littley too. its just the pits for them, and judging how red dd's cheeks get, it must be SO painful too

.....our night a vast improvement on the night before, thank goodness! bed just before 8, she fell asleep as i was watching jimmys farm we had an hour long waking from 12ish. then nothing til 6.30am .......alleluliah feel much more like my 'normal' self today

hope you've all had lovely days, best get on and order my shopping whilst dd napping x

Glad you had a better night Tibs . BTW, didn't you try GR/GW at some point? Could you talk me through it? I think that's what I'm trying to do with DS, but am getting mysefl a bit confused.

glad you're having a 'normal' day tibs. may the sleep fairies continue to visit us all tonight.

Those of you whose LOs take two naps, what time do they take them? DS had 1.5hrs this morning and was still fast asleep after an hour and a quarter at lunchtime but we had to wake him to go for our pub lunch! I'm sure he doesn't need more than 3 hours' sleep in the daytime but still goes to sleep easily after 2ish hours awake, so still fitting 3 naps in the day. Wondering if i should try to make the change yet...

Meg, DD's naps are a bit weird.
In the morning (around 9 or 9.30) she only has 20-30mins.
In the afternoon (around 1 or 1.30), normally 2-2.5 hours.
(although she's not been getting this due to operation unswaddle)

DD does seem to sleep better when she's had less sleep. But she's a horror! TBH I think the broken nights are worth it not to have to deal with a very grumpy baby. I think she needs less sleep than lots of babies, but is still too young to stay awake for long periods. Hence the broken nights!

hey meg, hope you're having a lovely anniversary

EP - Yep, we did gradual retreat and had some good success with it. 1st coupla nights i sat beside the cot (a couple of times i was virtually in there with her!) i'd keep my arms around her, then if she was ok with that, i'd move to just touching her tummy or leg, whatever.
we then moved to me sitting beside the cot, no contact, just ssshhhhing or talking quietly, whatever.
then gradually moved further and further away from the cot. i stayed until she fell asleep, so she knew i was there. a couple of times i left the room briefly and she fell asleep alone.
i think the theory is that there's no crying as you move from stage to stage, but to be honest, if there wasnt any crying at all, i'd have never got past the first bit. when i say crying, i mean a bit of protesting, and as i was touching her the whole time, she settled very quickly and i didnt feel like a complete cow.
hth, anything specific you want to know and i havent mentioned, just ask

meg our 2 naps are around 9.30 and 2. when LO was having a third nap, i used to try to keep it very short. sometimes just half an hour, 45 mins at most so it didn't interfere with bedtime and nighttime sleep. you're prob getting close to the 2 naps by the sound of it, the transition can be a little tricky. but i found at some point LO just did his naps later and the third one dropped all on its own.

Oh, and Meg - congratulations on your anniversary. Did you have a lovely lunch?

Thanks Amber, I think we will get there soon, but might need to wait til LO can stay awake a bit longer at a stretch (2.5hrs is about as long as he can last, apart from the stretch before bed). His third nap is never more than 30 mins anyway.

We have had a lovely anniversary, DH presented me with some homemade flapjacks which he had somehow made yesterday without me noticing! Had pub lunch quite late in the afternoon, so for our anniversary tea we are having that old romantic favourite... beans on toast

We do have some champagne to go with it though!

yay for champagne and beans on toast! perfect combo