MSE Parent Club

[Deleted User]

Morning everyone, hope you all had a fairly decent night?

Mandy, I personally would recommend the following for formula, if money isn't an issue I'd go for Aptimil no question, but if money is, then Cow and Gate. That's what i'm going to do this time around if I can't feed, but money will be a factor, we'll have two of them in nappies and wipes plus realistically I think i'll be heading towards bottles at some point. I want to breast feed but I'm already getting myself in a tizzy about it.

DH is annoying me at the moment, Jack is still waking earlier, somewhere between 5 and 6am, he is still tired but won't go back to sleep, he's basically had 10 hours but won't let himself relax, he just starts whinging and playing in his cot until it turns to tears. So I either get up and bring him downstairs to milk him and change his bot and put the telly on low until DH emerges at 7.30am or I drag him in with us for half hour which he doesn't really like. He won't keep still, fidgets about and won't settle. You can tell he's still tired as he rubs his eyes and flops on you for a few seconds before sitting back up and wriggling about. I've done every morning this week and i'm getting tired. For some reason DH has stopped offering to get up with him and I don't know why? Tuesday I got Jack around to 6.50am in our bed and could tell he'd really had enough, so commented that we'd go downstairs and DH piped up "oh i'll take him". But I felt resentful that I'd done the really early bit and now he's ready to take over. Its my turn for a lie in tomorrow and if he just lies there and lets me get on with it for another morning, words are going to be said.

I just don't know how to get Jack to go around for another half hour-1 hour. Even 6.30-7am would be better, you guys mostly say your babies sleep through the night till 7-8am and I don't know how you've done it. Sleep has always been an issue with Jack so we must have done something wrong from the start. I don't want to make the same mistake with this one.

Jack still isn't himself, not eating properly, clingy, tearful, i don't know if its his teeth or the cold that he's had for nearly 2 weeks, probably both. I've had to give him medised every night this week before bed to settle him. I tried giving it a miss last night, but after half hour of being in bed he was still awake and crying (unlike him). When I went up he was tugging at his ear and had real tears. So I gave him some medised and a cuddle and then put him back down and he did go off.

I'm so tired at the moment, things are starting to get on top of me. There is still so much to do before this baby arrives and the weekends are dissappearing fast.

We are going to try to get Jack into his new room on Saturday, I'm going to take Jack around to my parents for his morning nap, so DH can get on and finish the room. Its just cosmetics stuff now, but I said that Jack would be more likely to settle in there if he can see familiar stuff on the walls and hear the same CD that we play for sleep.

DH announced on Wednesday that he may have to go to Cedar Rapids for a week either in a fortnight or early January. I am not amused, I'll either be 30 weeks pregnant or 34-35 weeks and not impressed either way. Its hard looking after a baby on your own for a week, i've done it before but not in late pregnancy. If its January then we've got it hanging over us for all of xmas and new year and if anything happens early, he can't get back for it. We are waiting to hear now what date they've chosen. To top it off he said work also want him to travel on a sunday and he won't be reimbursed for it. I said they are taking the p*ss. That's family time and not fair. If I worked a sunday I would expect double time or time and half at least. He said well he doesn't work for local gov like I do and that's why they are always in debt. Valid point but still annoying.

I'm just have a moan and a whinge myself (as usual).

CG, that is really good news about little Danny finally discovering his appetite. Hurrah!

purplepatch

Bailey - don't beat yourself up about the sleeping, it's nothing you've done. I'm testament to that. Olivia slept through the night from 6 weeks, 7pm to 8.30am all the time, even when teething! We've done nothing differently with Isabel and she is a terrible sleeper. Goes down easy enough at 7pm but always wakes during the evening before we go to bed, usually 10pm ish, has a bottle which most of the time takes her through to about 6am, but far too often she will wake again in the early hours. It's driving me mad, but short of doing controlled crying which I don't want to do, I don't have any other option than to get up and give her milk which sends her back off again. If I don't give her anything she will cry and cry and cry until either she's sick or I give up and feed her... I've gone up to 2 hours of crying before now, she didn't sound close to giving it up (hence why I don't want to tackle controlled crying!). And then it wakes everyone else up too, which is hardly ideal when you've got a DH who has to get up for work at 6am and a 4yo at school.

As for DHs that don't pitch in, I've got one of those too!! In the 13 months we've had Iz, I must have got up hundreds of times, I reckon you could count the times he has on one hand, perhaps two if I'm generous!! He says it is because he works and I don't, if I ever bring it up which I rarely do, which is a fair point, but I get so tired and miserable, I could really do with him helping, even if only at weekends. But he says that weekends are his only chance to get a decent sleep :rolleyes: If I try to push the discussion further we end up having an argument as he would probably claim that he's helped a lot more than I would say he has :rolleyes:, it's just not worth the agg, but it certainly makes me feel more than a little resentful. Especiall when I get up with her at 6 on a weekend and he surfaces at 8am saying he's given up on me bringing him up a cuppa. It may be meant tongue in cheek, but :mad::mad::mad:

Anyway, I've gone off on one haven't I?! Came on here to reassure you, then started having a whinge myself. Sometimes it helps to vent

As for your DH's trip to the rapids, bloody hell, what a compassionate employer. Don't they know you're about to give birth?!?! Surely there's a possibility for rescheduling that if they have the situation explained to them. Mind you, there's never going to be a good time for that sort of thing, especially when there's both of them to look after. Why do they do these ridiculous things, let me guess, team building? My a*se!

God, I'm in a bad mood this morning!!

Becles

Bailey - I've had a set routine with all my babies for their sleeps.

During the day, they're downstairs. It's light and noisy all the time. I don't tip toe round them, and they have to learn to sleep through the washing machine, hoover, TV/radio, conversations, dogs barking - all the usual household noise! Nappy changes are fun and lively, with singing, blowing raspberries on tummies - that kind of thing!

For their last feed of the day, I'll take them upstairs and give them a warm bath. They have a gentle massage while they are getting dried and I keep the lights low. I take them into my bed for the feed, then put them in the cot in the dark. I've never nursed them to sleep and let them settle on their own (unless they were unwell and wanted cuddles!). Night changes and feeds were done in the lowest possible lighting, with no eye contact and no words spoken.

It's a bit of a bind bathing a newborn at 11pm but it's only for a few weeks and it does work. Doing this has resulted in all mine sleeping well, and most importantly if they do wake in the night, the can settle themselves back to sleep and I only get woken if they are poorly or they need me for something.

Hope that's helpful and gives you some ideas to try.

I had a horrid night last night! I've been sleeping bad all week as I've got sinusitis and have a stonking headache with it. Then my eldest threw up all last night so I was up with him, and cleaning matresses and stuff. I'm worn out now! Charlotte is making roaring noises and she's driving me mad, but I can't really tell her to shut up!

Hopeless_Cook!

Hey everyone,

Thought it was high time I joined this thread as Ellie was born on 19th November...

Lovely to see so many familiar names here. Glad Danny has found his appetite CG!

Hope everyone else is well, will post more soon as Ellie about to wake for her feed.

Caz xx

purplepatch

On a separate note.

Anyone know if anyone has invented anything to stop babies turning electrical equipment on and off. Izzy's latest trick is to stand at the TV, switching it off and on over and over again. Apart from driving me mad, it's likely to break the TV, which wouldn't be too much of a disaster as we need an excuse to get a new LCD one.... but if we do get a new one I'm worried she's wreck it. Same applies to the DVD players.

Perhaps I can make something out of an old cereal packet and some sticky backed plastic lol.

Edit: Hello, welcome and congrats Hopeless Cook!

Js_Other_Half

DS had a temp in excess of 102 this week - saw the GP who said it was a reaction to a cold, but then came and saw him again at home 4 hours later after he'd finished his surgery!
So we've kept him dosed with ibuprofen and paracetamol, and the poor lad hasn't had more than one layer on him in days! He was so sorry for himself, especially when I misted him with lukewarm water and let it evaporate whilst reading a book with him.

Fingers crossed that he seems a bit better today.

purplepatch

Becles wrote: »

I had a horrid night last night! I've been sleeping bad all week as I've got sinusitis and have a stonking headache with it.

Another one with it! That makes 3 of us from the parent club. You have my sympathy, I've only just started to get over mine - after having it 10 days I got fed up and got some antibiotics which have done the trick.

Curious_George_2

Becles - that sounds just like what happens here! (and how i got my DD into a great bedtime routine and ive never had sleep problems with her)

Hi HC, nice to see you over here, my due date buddy!

bailey - sorry if i misunderstood but are you saying that your baby has 10 hours sleep and you want him to have more so you dont have to get up so early? have you thought about moving his bed time back a bit so its a more reasonable time to wake up? 10 hours is a lot (especially all in one go) id be cranky and wanting to eat/play/and poooooo too if i was him!

thanks for all the support girls (do love this place!)
Danny slept from about 1am til 7.30am.... I only woke up because the alarm went off to get DD up and ready for school, i looked at the time and sat bolt upright in bed wondering what had happened to my son that he hadnt screamed his nappy off for his usual 5am feed....
and he was sound asleep!

purplepatch

Curious_George wrote: »

bailey - sorry if i misunderstood but are you saying that your baby has 10 hours sleep and you want him to have more so you dont have to get up so early? have you thought about moving his bed time back a bit so its a more reasonable time to wake up? 10 hours is a lot (especially all in one go) id be cranky and wanting to eat/play/and poooooo too if i was him!

Now that our LOs are around a year old, they *should* (haha!) be getting 11 hours sleep at night, plus naps during day. There is some quite good info about sleep on the babycentre website here, just been having a read.

Also, Bay, there is someone with the same problem as you here, might be worth a look at some of the responses they got. And another article about early risers here.

HTH.

cha97michelle

Are we all having some sleeping problems at the minute then?

Charlie has not been his usual self since the clocks changed. We haven't changed anything else. HE has been teething as well, which has meant some waking in the early hours of the night, but some medicine and a cuddle and he settles back down.

I have to say Dh has been a super star, and he knows that i am extra tired from being pregnant, and he is usually a lot quicker than me to jump up and go to him. We do try and have one lie in each to be fair to each other. I am really hoping we can work it all out without too much bother when the 2nd one arrives, so i am really not looking forward to that first few months of sleep deprivation. :eek:

I am thinking we may resort to separate rooms for a short while, with me in with the new baby and doing the night feeds, and DH getting the rest through the night but then getting up with charlie. Not that i will get that much more rest as he is so gobby that when he is playing and shouting you can hear him upstairs anyway, :rolleyes: