SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK PART 8 -- Pack the bags under your eyes and join us!

[RoRoMommy]

Well...I had to think of something! DH's suggestion "Eyes wide shut--the art of sleepwalking"

Ginger: is you DH OK to be left for a day or so? If so, I'd say head off one weekend and stay with family or friends (with DD) just to give yourself a bit of a break. It must be really hard: I find it difficult enough to fit in working and looking after DS and doing all the stuff that you need to do round the house without looking after someone else... don't blame you for getting annoyed with, would a little space help? Apols for burbling

DS asleep but a bit restless atm (teeth, bleurgh) - he woke up at 5am this morning and as it was too dark to see the clock I got him up , He fed on and off for an hour or so then slept till 9. Nice, but it meant that he skipped his nap and has been v fractious.

CM: glad the sleep plan is working for you - you def needed that improvement! You sound so much happier

btw I finally got an Ergo sling today and have been experimenting

ginger, don't blame you for getting frustrated. i was going bonkers after looking after ds and dh for 3 days when he had bad migraines and couldn't get out of bed. in the end i just felt like a machine operating. feed ds, feed dh, clean kitchen, put ds to bed, cup of tea and painkillers for dh, etc etc.
sickness is so bloody dull and boring, but you'll get through this my dear, and both of you will be stronger for it. xx

DS woke up again at 5 this morning, but we hid under the duvet until he went back to sleep (he has perfected a steam-engine screech that is more than a bit jarring at 5am). Then he slept till 7:15 and only woke up when I hung over him muttering becuase I needed to feed him before going to work. If he thinks the new wake up time is 5am he is WRONG.

blerrgh for 5am wakeups. but i'm glad you hid and it did the trick. we are off to the snow tomorrow. i am a tad excited and a little bit scared of ds sleeping in a strange place. ah well.

I'm sure you'll have a fab time . Ejoy the snow

Thanks for the words guys, I think the anticipation of seeing the consultant on Sat is getting to us both. This illness just just feels like such a blow. I felt like we were starting to relax, getting more sleep because we were evenly sharing the night shift and looking forward to getting a bit of 'life' back into our lives. (We had planned that day off and a night out if you remember). I'm a bit PMT'y too which doesn't help because I feel sorry for myself, feel totally bereft of friends and felt a bit upset when someone at work was so visably unbeliving when I told her I hadn't been into a pub since before the smoking ban! Basically implying that my life was no kind of way to live. At least, that's what it felt like.

I know I shouldn't be so selfish but I can't help feeling really sorry for myself. I never see any of my friends and family are all so far away. I could go and stay with them but I worry that without me and DD around DH would sink lower (although perhaps not arguing for a day or two might help )

Good luck with the consultant . Waiting for these things is stressful - I hope you get some answers. I'm always better with a Plan, even if the plan is to wait and see.

IKWYM about going out - I think I may have been in apub twice since the smoking ban came in? DH and I don;t really like taking DS into a pub just cos it isn't smoky, feel like it isn't fair on the regulars (unless an obv child-friendly place). I went to a nice and I think newish place in Ch last weekend: Fresco? near Tescos/Mothercare. Was full of buggies but not too crowded and they do nice food (and they have baby changing etc.). Would def be up for a return visit one w/end if you're interested .

Thanks EP, that'd be nice

Just a quickie to say I'm thinking of you ginger. Can't offer much in terms of practical assistance but just wanted you to know you're not being selfish and it's perfectly OK to feel down in the dumps once in a while. Nobody could blame you for being a bit low in light of what's going on in your life. I am hoping that you will get some answers when your DH sees the consultant and that you can get respite from worrying (in itself really tiring).

Will be thinking of you & DH tomorrow, Ginger.

Thanks everyone

Wasn't able to get online for last 2 days. I hope things go well today Ginger and that you get some answers. You are in my thoughts.

Morning all. I hope you are all enjoying a lovely lie in . Or at least a relaxing and restful weekend.

DS2 is doing so well. I am really proud of him. Last night he settled with only a 30 sec winge at about 7. He slept until 4.40am. DH went in to him and he was back asleep by 5am. He woke at 6 so I fed him and put him back in his cot. He woke again at 6.30 so I fed him again and put him back in his cot. He slept until 8am. Do you think I am doing the right thing feeding him and putting him back down? I've not had an early waker before. I am trying not to feed him before 6am now.

Anyway things are definitely alot happier around here. Mind you he's still a PITA during the day, especially re. naps. But things rae much easier to handle with a bit of sleep.

Glad things are going so well for you CM

Not sure about the early waking, DS has gone through patches of it and I have a 'no feeding before 6am' rule, anything before that is still the middle of the night as far as I'm concerned! Generally now he wakes around 6.45 but will coo to himself for ten minutes and sometimes fall back to sleep for another half hour.

We are still in nap turmoil at the moment, he has two some days and one others, today he woke at 6.45 but still refused a morning nap. I'm trying not to stress about it too much, one nap is doable, just that I miss my morning break!

Ginger how did it go yesterday?

Thanks for asking Meg, Consultant has refered him for an MRI scan. First thoughts are that they are just after affects of migraines which he says may get worse as he gets older. So time and rest are about the only healers It's been two months tho of being really dizzy and terrible visual disturbances. Must be really terrible. He has another appoint in 3 wks after the scan so will know a little more then.

(I got a full night sleep last night) DH took over. DD has had a couple of good nights though. Wonder if it's the 13.5 tog quilt I put her under

Naps are a problem here as well, I thought improved nights were supposed to mean better naps? He sleeps OK in teh buggy as long as you time it right, but getting him to sleep in his cot is impossible and he'll onyl sleep in bed if I feed him down. Sigh. The nights are still getting better tho - slept 7pm to about 6am last night, got him up at 6:30. The problem I find is that I have no idea what time it is if he wakes up before the alarm goes off (it's a light as well as a buzzer) being without glasses and in the dark. Hmmm.

Glad you got somewhere with the consultant Ginger, and that they're doing an MRI scan. If it's aftereffects of the migraine (and presumably stress), might alternative therapies help? Could also be a way of passing the time until the next appointment as well (am a great believer in keeping people occupied ). Tibsy might be able to advise if she is around...

Oh and DS def sleeps better in his grobag, though he gets more unsettled if he's too hot. Freezing fog for us this morning (brrrrrr).

Have you done CC with his naps, EP?

Hiya folks. Glad to hear you're getting somewhere with your DH ginger - I agree with Effie that alternative therapies would be well worth investigating. How do you both feel about acupuncture?

Well done CM's DS2 for giving his mum a break! Hope you're feeling much better now

Nowt new to report here - daytime sleep better, nighttime sleep seriously disrupted by perpetual sore tummy

Still no word from beal? And speaking of tibsy, where is she?

Ting is, if we leave him in his cot duringf the day he gets hysterical (don't think he;s tired enough) and it takes ages for him to get to sleep, so it doesn't seem worth it for one nap. I've a feeling he might drop the nap soon anyway, he seems fine on the days he's only had 1/2 hour.

UARCFB: sorry your nights are still unsettled. Did you get any suggestions re the wind?

EP: sounds similar, one reason I haven't done CC in the day is I suspect he would just cry and cry and refuse to flake out.

No suggestions re the wind. Took him to the doc about the tongue tie on the HV's suggestion - first he asked me where it was (!) and then he asked me what I noticed with it ... after explaing what tongue tie was and that he couldn't move his tongue normally he said he didn't see that it could be linked and sent us on our way. I normally trust that particular doc too.

Try swallowing without moving the tip of your tongue from behind your lower incisors!

NCT BFing line lady suggested turning him 360 degrees to dislodge bubbles. TBH it helps as little as anything else, it's like spasms of pain. Think it will just have to be tolerated, sadly.

IARC that sound rough. Have you found any link with diet? Dairy or any of the other main culprits?

Well, after a couple of good nights, DD was a horror last night. Less said the better.

DH has been having a few sessions of accupunture but neither the a'urist or Dr think it is worth it in this case. He sees a chiropractor regularly because he gets very painful neck following migraines but quite limited results. What else could he do? I've got a friend that does reflexology perhpas I'll see if they've got any time to help. I'm pretty certain that stress isn't helping but he's pretty negative, it's hard to motivate him.

EP interesting about the naps as DD is still having a very long day time nap. She's going from anything between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 hours at the moment. I'd hate the thought of loosing it anytime soon and she is so grizzly when tired I don't think she'd cope but I wonder if it would help with night time. On the other hand, the day she had a three hour nap at nursery she slept through so maybe I need to insist of a bit longer during the day!!

I found Alexander Technique lessons really helpful with back problems and stress:

www.statsearch.co.uk/teachersearchuk.cfm

or general destressing stuff like Reiki or aromatherapy?