January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[AliJo]

Pomp - Ha, yeah I grew up with it. Once they left me sleeping in a van when I was younger (7-9 yrs maybe?). Saw a storm coming so decided they should probably bring me in. As soon as they stepped through the door the wind and rain hit like a wall, mother yells "Get to the basement!" and the sirens went off. Talk about a dramatic wake up.

Self settling is probably never going to happen over here! Glad he's doing well. Hopefully the 4 month sleep regression doesn't occur or is mild. He sounds like a thinker. I think he'll be like your daughter.

Lite - Yeah, people just tend to think it's all on the parents.

That's great you got some time with just Violet. Even if you couldn't do anything. O never works off energy either. He goes until he crashes.

AFM - I'm typing this as I'm fighting with T. He needs to go to bed and is fighting it. I kept him in his crib from 930 to 6! I brought him to bed at 6 thinking he would fully wake in an hour like usual but he slept till 930.. sleepy pants he was. He woke up 2 times before 6. I wish he'd take it down to 1. I guess I shouldn't complain since he's using his crib.

DH has a friend that just lost her baby to what sounds like preterm labor. Second one lost to it.. I feel so bad for her. She has one living child. She even waited forever to mention the pregnancy since she was so worried about something happening. She was having problems went to the ER. Everything was fine. Started cramping again later and didn't think much of it since she was just at the hospital and it got worse. She went in and they tried to get her off to stitch her cervix shut, but she didn't make it in time. Makes me mad that they didn't observe her since she had a history of it.

Anyways other than that not much going on. T just fell asleep so I'm going to get him to bed. He's been getting cold hands and face at night so I don't want to use the fan but I'm afraid he won't sleep as well. The room is small enough it doesn't seem to matter where I point the fan. Going to try just putting it to the wall and see if it helps.

 

[Ally2015]

oh gosh, feel lik ei havent been online in ages. Had a tough few days with a very fussy baby.

slammer- adorable picture! Hope your dd is feeling better!

midnight- so nice to hear from you! i live in Scotland and yes it is beautiful here! i am so glad your trip went so well and V was a good baby. So pleased! She sounds like a delight.

newbie- glad mastitis is better! phew! ah yes 6 days till ramadan... its going to be tough haha.

vrogers- i am glad L is ok now! These things happen. Oh poor L and her shots. Yes i think isa has hit some weird 4 month regression rubbish- even though he is nearly 5 months- later starter! i haven't been online either as he has been super fussy at nap times and sleeping rubbish at night. Isa is smaller weight wise too, he was 14 ibs 2 i think at his 4 month, he is 25th percentile.

lit- sorry you feel that way about co-sleeping, i thought that most people end up doing it anyway. Its quite hard to put a baby into a crib haha. I don't really care what people think of my baby sleeping habits. Thats nice you got a bit of a break while dd went on her playdate.

ali- thats cute you had T in bed with you cause you missed him Sorry about his fussy nap times, Isa has been extra fussy, he gets upset easier but will sleep quickly. But then will sometimes wake multiple times. Thats amazing about the breast milk- its great you can give to co-worker! scary about the tornado siren. Really sad about your dh's friend! what a shame.


pomp- glad imms went ok and he is self settling for naps. what a good baby i am sure he will start grasping for stuff soon, Isa just started to do it overnight.

AFM- had a rough few days and nights- maybe isa had his 4 month regression later? or perhaps it just his cold, but he;s not been eating well, not finishing bottles, being fussy and throwing up more. Ive resorted to feeding him a little bit every 2 hours rather than a big bottle every 3 hours. Nighttime, hes not been in the crib as he keeps waking every time i put him down. Last night was better and he slept longer and in the crib mostly so hopefully he is starting to feel better.
I was going to go to some shopping today but DH is sick, and throwing up and so i guess i am looking after son and husband today! will try to go out for a run later i think and cook some food too.

 

[AliJo]

Ally - Hopefully he gets back to normal sleeping habits soon! It always gets me worked up if their sleeping habits change for the worst. I'm always afraid it will stick. Sorry you're DH is sick. Hopefully he is over it soon.

AFM - Last night T didn't sleep in his crib at all. Every time I laid him down he woke up instantly or shortly (5-15 minutes) after. So he ended up in bed with me. I tried like 5 or so times. I want to say it was because it was cold in there, but hard to say. It was upper 60s, but it's been low 70s in there. Hoping that was the reason and that he goes back to sleeping well in there. I'm not feeling like all hope is lost, but I will if it continues. It was cold enough that O had on long sleeve pjs AND used a blanket all night. He NEVER uses a blanket. Heck sometimes I touch him and his skin is cold and I try to cover him up and he instantly kicks it off. I turned the heat back on finally since it's only suppose to be in the upper 60s today and lower 60s tomorrow.

T is down for a nap. On his belly.. face directly down. He put himself there. Bothers me that he has his face buried in the blanket I have laid out in the pack n play. May try to adjust it a little, but with my luck it'll wake him up.

 

[slammerkin]

Literati - oh, yes, I get what you mean about knowing when V is tired but not being able to predict it. I spose Jack’s like that a bit too. Could be 1-2.5 hours before he's ready.

I hate talking about sleep with other moms too. Most just do not understand what it's like to have a truly horrible sleeper and can't get where I'm usually coming from. I hope you can make friends with that one woman though. I need new friends!

Midnight - so sorry to hear about troubles with your ex. I hope the kids handle it OK.

Sounds like a wonderful trip to Scotland! You're so lucky V is an easy baby. I hope she stays like that for you.

Newbie - that's awesome you can just go feed Z! That will make life a lot easier. And funny about him being so active. My SIL had a baby a couple weeks after my DD and my MIL came.to visit when DD was 6 months old and she commented on how DD’s legs were CONSTANTLY moving whereas her cousin pretty much just sat there, lol. But DD was not particularly fast with her milestones. She just couldn't keep her legs still!

Vrogers - sorry to hear about L’s spill off the couch! My DD rolled out of bed once while asleep and then another time time took a head dive off a bed when she was playing. All fine! Though I nearly lost it myself!

Sorry her naps are so bad. That sounds rough! I'm sure it's a phase and she'll get better soon.

Alijo - that's awesome that you can share some BM with your coworker!

So jealous of your long stretches from T in the crib. I would love if Jack would sleep for even an hour on his own at the start of the night.

I didnt know tornados came through IA. we have actually had a couple around DC/MD/VA. When I was in high school in MD there was one in my town and I saw it while driving to an aerobics class! I just keep driving while it was off to the right, lol! Damaged the high school a bit and some houses. We’ve had a few earthquakes in recent years too. The Washington Monument was damaged from one.

So sorry to hear about DH’s friend losing her baby! That is just terrible!

Pompey- glad Jamie didn't have any bad reactions from his shots. Wow, amazing he can self settle for naps. I can't even imagine that happening.

Ally - sorry Isa has been off...hope he feels better soon. And hubby too! It is hard taking care of a baby and a husband.

AFM - tired and sick here. DD is still sick. Runny nose during the day and bad cough at night. DH took care of her the last few nights and hardly got any sleep himself because she was up coughing so much and wanting to sleep with him and making him uncomfortable. I am sick since Thurs too. Not a bad cough yet, but congestion and runny nose. And now Jack is coughing today. I'm on my own tonight and hoping it’s not a disaster. I made DD go to sleep in my room instead of hers so I don't have to deal with going into her if she's coughing or crying in the night. Have the AC pumping, humidifier running, Vicks on her Chest, propped her up on two pillows. She's been asleep an hour with no coughing so far. Jack and I are in the glider right now and he's fitfully sleeping. Should try to rest now myself. Wish me luck!

 

[Angel5000]

I've been counting down the days, only 5 weeks of work before I'm free for summer break! The school has been great, the students have been fairly easy to deal with but even good teenagers are hard to deal with when continuously sleep deprived! I'm living on coffee, I might as well get an IV drip! I thought going back would be harder than this. When I'm at home for several days I really don't want to go back to work but once I'm at work it's not bad and I enjoy the break and the ability to have an intellectual conversation!

My mom has been truly wonderful with Melody. She's trying so very hard to stick to the routine that I've got for Melody, she honestly goes above and beyond what I would have expected her to do. Plus she cleans the house. It's really really nice to have her helping!

Melody's sleep patterns have been incredibly unpredictable the last couple weeks since I went back to work though! She still does about 2 hour wake time during the day and naps for about 45-60 minutes at a time in her crib, but night time is never the same any two nights. She goes down to bed between 6-7pm, depending on when her last nap was. Then we do a "dream feed" around 9pm (bottle feed her while she's still mostly asleep to "top her off"). The rest of the night is random. For several days she was waking up every hour or two (usually starting around 11pm). Then I had several days where she only woke once at night. Then back to waking every 3 hours. Now the last 2 nights were back to one wake up. Yesterday/last night was WEIRD. She did a 3 hour nap for my sister (unheard of for my kid) and then her evening nap (usually 30-40 minutes) was 2 hours!! I actually had to wake her up myself because I was afraid she would just stay asleep for the night, and then would be up at 3am wide awake. Once down for bed she slept until midnight, ate and then was asleep for the rest of the night but woke up WIDE AWAKE at 5am and nothing would put her back to sleep, even nursing. So it's been a long day.

I am really hoping that the "only wake once" thing keeps up. It's amazing how good 4 hours of sleep feels when I'm normally only getting 2.5 hours at a time. Plus, teenagers are really hard to deal with when you're sleep deprived.

OOoh and really exciting news: one of the construction guys who sometimes works with my husband (DH is an electrician, this guy is one of the contractors or something) bought a new hot tub for the new house he's building so he offered us his old one for only $500. There's nothing wrong with it and it's in really good shape except for needing a good cleaning because it's been stored for 4 months and not running. DH just built a platform for it and wired in all the stuff we need (all that cost just as much as the hot tub itself! ) and now we have a hot tub! I'm SO EXCITED! We can't use it yet. Need to replace a fuse on one of the motors and then clean it and run the filters for a day or two, but by next weekend I can have a lovely soak! I have wanted a soaker tub for a long time but our bathrooms just aren't big enough for one and this was DH's solution. Plus, he reasons that the $1000 we spent on getting this together was still cheaper than remodeling our bathroom and getting a soaker tub.

Anyway, that's where we are. Sorry that was kind of long.


newbie - that sounds awful! I hope it isn't mastitis, but if it is I hope it clears up soon!

Slammer - sounds like your mothers day was pretty good, but the car ride sounds awful! I hate long car rides with Melody. When we drove down to visit MIL before she passed, Melody screamed and cried for the ENTIRE 3 HOURS.

Love the pic of Jack in the swing! I was just thinking I need to take Melody to the park and let her swing!

I'm so sorry that your house is so sick. I hope you all feel better soon! When Melody was coughing and stuffed up someone told me to try baby Vicks on the feet with socks and it actually did help Melody. I don't know what it is but it worked. Hopefully Jack doesn't get too bad though. Get some rest!


Lite - Yes, once I figured out Melody's sleep/awake time, it's made life so much easier. I totally assumed that woudl be possible with all babies! I'm so sorry that V is so unpredictable! M doesn't have hardly any sleep cues either, so I constantly watch the clock, but at least I have clock predictability. I don't know how you handle the uncertainty!


Midnight - so glad you popped in! I'm really glad the anxiety tablets are helping! Sounds like you had a great birthday! I've always wanted to go to Scotland!

Vrogers - I'm so sorry to hear about the fall from the couch! How terrifying!! Hope L is ok!


Ali - That's so nice of you to give your coworker extra BM. That sucks for her that she can't BF on the antidepressants she is on. I think there are only 1 or 2 that are safe to BF on (I'm on one of them, I had asked my doctor to double check it was safe because I was paranoid, but I guess many aren't). I think it's awesome that you produce enough to have such a good stash too. Hopefully it can help her LO.

The tornado sirens sound terrifying! When I lived in North Texas we had tornado sirens go off all the time, but I never had one come through the town I was in, usually just towns nearby.

As for sleeping on belly- when Melody gets herself onto her stomach she buries her face straight down into the blanket too. Scares me, I don't like her face directly in the mattress, but for some reason she seems to like to sleep that way.

It might be the cold that kept him from sleeping. M doesn't sleep as well when it's cold. We bought a little space heater to put in her room and I run it on "fan" when it's warm out (provides white noise) but during some of the colder nights I've set it on heat to keep her room warmer.


Pompey - that's so amazing that he can settle himself down for naps! I keep telling myself I wnat to work on that with Melody but can't seem to get there.

 

[AliJo]

Slammer - Yeah, Iowa gets tornadoes yearly. Last I looked we already had 21 as of March 30th. They haven't updated the government site since then. So I'm sure the recent storms increased that quite a bit.

I hope your night goes alright. Hopefully it goes much better than imagined. Colds just seem to linger on forever.

Angel - Ooh! Enjoy the hot tub. That's awesome! I'd love to remodel the bathroom here, but I think it'll be one we don't touch since we don't expect to last in this house forever. I'm going to update it, but not do what I really want to do.

Her sleep does sound like it's all over the place. T definitely has somewhat of a schedule that he usually follows. That's great that your mom is sticking to your routine and helping out around the house. I could only wish! I'd never let my mother watch my child for a second and my stepmom while I love her dearly I also wouldn't want her watching my children. She's not very good at truly watching kids. She'll sit on the laptop and only kind of pay attention to her grandchildren. She's also not a kid person.

AFM - T and O are in bed so you'd think I should be as well, but this is the only quiet time I get! I'm actually watching T moving on the monitor. He's not awake, but he's not sleeping very soundly. He went down at 9:30 and woke up at 10:30.. he's back in his crib asleep (10:50 now). I'm hoping he'll sleep better tonight. I need a good nights rest.

T slept for 3 hours during that nap he had on his belly. He slept like that during two naps. He does move enough, though. He lifts and adjusts his head in his sleep, but still bothers me!

DH is taking the night off tomorrow.. annnd ditching me soon after he gets home in the morning! I'm always a little bitter when he goes and hangs out with friends or goes places with them. I just feel really left out since he runs off and I get left with the kids. I'm glad he's getting out and doing things because he really needs to for his mental health, but doesn't do mine much good. Even though he knows it bothers me I don't think he really gets it. Ah well, pity party over here!

I better head off to bed.. blah. My best and worst friend. Great because I'm so tired and it's amazing. Crappy because the only time I can sleep is also the only time I get to myself.

 

[slammerkin]

Angel - sorry M’s sleep has been up and down. Consistency is not a strong suit of babies!

That's awesome you got a hot tub! I'd like a nicer bathtub too. The one we have is not comfortable for a real soak.

Omg three hours of crying in the car! That sounds horrendous.

AliJo - I hope you have an easy day while DH goes out with friends.

AFM - Thank goodness, the night went fine! DD actually didn't cough at all! First time in probably over a week! I think the humidifier really helped. Can't believe I forgot all about that thing before last night, ugh. Jack and I were coughing a bit, but nothing too bad. And Jack decided to poop at 1:30 and 5:30, ugh. I think he didn't poop most of the day yesterday actually...the 1:30 poop was the most horrible smelling poo he's ever done! I was gagging it was so bad!

Forgot to mention Jack was 16 lbs 2 oz when I weighed him on that scale I got! DD is only 32 lbs so he's half her weight already, lol.

 

[newbie2013]

AliJo, totally get your feeling when dh leaves it all to you and does what he wants. I'm sick of coming out of the room having struggled to get ds to sleep and finding dh passed out asleep on the couch with the dinner stuff still out, or at the very least put beside the sink in the kitchen. I have tried so many times to get him to understand that I work as well as him and I'm even more exhausted because I'm getting up at least once or twice in the night with the baby, but the message isn't getting through. Don't get me wrong, he's better than he was... Just. It frustrates me more when he comes home from work and sleeps immediately when that is the only time he can spend with ds and I am in the middle of getting dinner ready, washing clothes, sterilising the pump and bottles, and doing 100 other things including feeding and taking care of the baby. I'd give anything to pass out asleep oh the couch right now!

 

[Angel5000]

Last night was rough. Not sure what triggered it but Melody just wouldn't go down. She'd go to sleep and wake up crying, but crying in her sleep almost. Eyes closed, crying, and would calm down for a few seconds when we picked her up and then start again, whether she was in our arms or not. Couldn't figure out why. After almost an hour, DH put her down and left the room for a mental break. He figured he'd wait 3-5 minutes and then go back in. Well we didn't have hte monitor on and so we could hear her crying but not see her. When he went in at 4 minutes she had flipped herself onto her stomach, face down into the mat, screaming. Guess she got herself "stuck" (forgot how to roll back over or something?!). She was then hysterical and almost impossible to calm down for another hour

I told DH that next time we have to make sure the monitor is on. I'm not opposed to leaving her for a few minutes if we need to collect ourselves (no more than a few) but we both felt really awful that she had been stuck on her belly. Since she was so inconsolable we ended up having her sleep with us last night. Not a bad night, she just wiggles and turns a LOT in her sleep. Most mornings in her crib I find her turned at least 90 or 180 degrees from where we put her down, and on the other end of the crib. At 2 am she had turned herself in our bed to be sideways (I had put her between us because I know how much she moves and didn't want her to fall). Crazy kid.

Hoping tonight is a better night.

First nap of the day was a fail. Both of Melody's "zippys" (zippity-zip) are in the wash today (she spit up all over one last night and then this morning her diaper had leaked all the way through the second) and she won't nap in anything else.


Ali - Yeah we don't plan on staying in this house forever either, but we will probably be here for awhile. We decided to do a couple things like change out the floors (the carpet was pretty gross) and we want to close in the carport to give us a small 1-car garage (we have no storage space!) but otherwise the bigger remodel stuff that we would like to do we are just going to save that money and use it to help us buy a bigger/nicer house down the road.

Melody had a fairly consistent sleep schedule before I went back to work. I suspect me being gone all day is affecting her. I'm hoping this week is easier! It's great that T has somewhat of a schedule, that at least makes it easier for you to know what to expect! I was really nervous about letting my mom watch my daughter at first. I had to make sure and explain a few things (like why we don't let her sleep on her tummy!) and I was sure she would do whatever she wanted but she has been great about sticking to our routine. I'm so sorry that your mom and stepmom aren't helpful in the watching children department. I wouldn't let my dad anywhere near my daughter. In fact, he will probably never meet her if I have my way.

I totally get wanting to not go to bed when the kids are asleep. It's your online alone time! I feel that way too. DH and I will be like "well, we shoudl sleep while we can" but also this is the only time we get together with some quiet.

Okay so I have to ask about the belly naps. Do you put T down on his belly or on his back and if he turns himself over leave him? My sister has told me that on a couple times she watches Melody she'll fuss every 5-10 minutes during one of the naps, constnatly waking up, so she puts her on her stomach and Melody passes out immediately. And then instead of a 45 minute nap she sleeps 2-3 hours! She knows I'm paranoid so she actually stayed in the room with her the first time, watching her really carefully. The second time (a different day not the same day), she just went in to check on her every 20 minutes or so. Melody CAN put herself on her stomach, but has only done it once or twice and only in her sleep (I've never seen her do it awake). I am so tempted to put her down on belly for naps (not at night since I would be too paranoid), but am really scared to do it. Doctor did say that once she puts herself there it's perfectly safe to leave her there. I'm just looking for other input.

And at your DH. I know that he's gotta have his time out, but it's not fair to you to be stuck at home alone.



Slammer - Yeah I know consistency isn't a strong suit. I have got to stop getting my hopes up every time we have a good night because they get dashed the next night. My old apartment had a really nice garden tub that was wonderful for soaks. One of my biggest "wants" was a good 5-piece Master bath when we were buying a house, but I gave up that to get this house because I liked the much bigger yard. I'm SO EXCITED to get this hot tub running. My back could do with a nice relaxing soak and a glass of wine!

Yes, the 3 hours was AWFUL. Seriously screaming and crying THE WHOLE WAY. Everyone says "she'll cry herself to sleep". Umm no. My kid doesn't cry herself to sleep. She works herself up into a frenzy. Every time DH has suggested we try CIO (he's a proponent, I'm against it) I bring up her crying in the car. If CIO was going to work, she would cry herself ots leep in the car. Now I bring up this specific ride and he finally agreed that it won't work for her, and hasn't suggested it since! So, at least I got one thing out of it. And, since that trip (she did it the whole way home too), she will atl east go 30 minutes w/out crying because now I can drive her around town without the screaming.

Sounds like the humidifier was a success! That's great! I am blown away by how much Jack poops!! I think we get one poop out of Melody every 1-2 days. Sometimes daily (if we give the iron/vitamins then I usually get one by the next morning) but usually every other day.


Newbie - OMG I'm so with you and Ali! I get so frustrated when I spend forever getting M to sleep and come out and DH is on the computer playing a game or watching youtube and dinner's still out and nothing is cleaned up! I actually started to say to him at baby bed time "okay do you want to clean the kitchen or put M to sleep?" That way it feels like I'm letting him have the choice but I'm not really giving him a chance to do nothing. It works most of the time for me.

 

[AliJo]

Angel - I don't put him there, he puts himself to his belly. I do lay him on his side, but he does that himself as well. He's less likely to jolt awake if I lay him on his side. He rolls a lot in his sleep so instead of just flipping to his back then back to his side he's started to roll to his belly as well. It still bothers me some, but they do say it's fine if they do it. Until it becomes more common place I'll probably keep a closer eye on him when he flips to his belly during naps. Also I have a softer fluffier blanket down in the pack n play where he did it so I'm going to switch it out or get a sheet for it so he can't bury his face like he could in that one. You could try her side during naps and see how she does. If she's flipping to her belly from time to time she'll probably start doing it more often when she masters rolling to belly.

I'm not really mad at him for going. Just bummed. I feel left out of a big part of his social life. Not that either of us have much of one, but he's definitely got more friends and gets out once in a while with them where as I can't even name the last time I went out with a friend. Such is life.

Poor Melody having a rough night. Sometimes T freaks out when he gets on his belly. He doesn't even try to roll back over although he does it constantly. I think it's more of him just being done with being on the floor. T ended up in bed with me all night the night before last and the majority of it last night because he just wouldn't sleep.

Newbie - He'll at least help out with the boys and what not. I just get bummed about having no social life while he has one. I know I can't really tag along when we don't have anyone to watch boys, but still.

Slammer - I'm glad your night went much better than expected. Hopefully she's about over the cold, but I'm sure everything you did helped.

AFM - Just got T down for a second nap. He didn't sleep very well last night either. I was able to get a couple of hours in the crib, but it was at least better than the night before. Hopefully he'll be even better tonight. It makes a huge difference when putting him in the crib if he's doing well with it. When he's not I can't convince myself to put him back after several attempts.

Just "chilling" at home. More like cleaning and trying to organize when I get the chance. Which is right now, but figured I'd type this up real quick and get some "adult" interaction.. ha!

 

[Literati_Love]

Angel - that sounds like an awful night the other night. It sounds very much like how my dd1 acted when she went through the 4 month sleep regression and also when she learned to roll over back to front for the first time. After she rolled from front to back, for WEEKS every single time I put her down to bed at night, she would roll over and it would startle her awake and she would start crying and I would have to put her back to sleep all over again. I almost went crazy! I started giving her "rolling time" before bed where I would put her on her back and let her roll over and over again, and then once it was out of her system I put her to bed and I think it helped. It doesn't sound like M is rolling that much outside of her crib but your story just reminded me of my frustrations with my dd1!

Ali - it is so hard to be happy for husbands when they go off and do things with friends. How easy it is for them to carry on with their normal life when there is a baby in the house, whereas the poor mom often tends to be the one who can never get out of the house. That's also too bad you feel left out of his friend group and can't remember the last time you hung out with a friend. That would be really lonely. I hope he doesn't go out for long so you can get a bit of family time in. You're a trooper!

Newbie - that is so hard with your husband not helping with clean-up and just falling asleep when you're working hard putting Z to bed! I would have a hard time with that. That is similar to how it was with my dd1. She took over two hours to put to bed at night, and only I could do it (she nursed to sleep), so I had a really hard time with the fact that DH just got constant free time every night while I was stuck in a dark room with dd1! This time around is much different as we have two horrible sleepers, so he is forced (but very willing!) to be involved. He puts my dd1 to bed for long periods while I sit upstairs holding sleeping Violet and reading or watching TV since she can never be put down. So maybe someday you will be the one relaxing in the evenings. You never know.

Slammer - sorry you're all sick there! Sounds like you've had some rough nights lately. I am
happy to hear dd didn't cough last night. Hopefully you're all on the mend.
I agree - I hate talking about sleep in general and find people can't understand truly horrible sleepers like we have. It's basically unimaginable to them...
Thanks - I am needing new friends too which is why I am putting myself out there but it's rather difficult and awkward making friends at this stage of life! I hope you can meet some new mom friends soon.

Ally - I am sorry Isa is hitting the regression late. That might make sense though because wasn't he born early? It is probably closer to 4 months since his due date?
I am sorry he seems to be going through it as i know how awful it is. I hope it passes quickly!!!

 

[slammerkin]

Newbie - Oh, poor you! I'd be so pissed at doing all that work and caring for Z while DH sleeps! That's just not fair! I hope your DH wakes up to your need for more help asap.

Angel - Jack was difficult to get to sleep on Friday and last night. Clearly tired and wanting to sleep, but couldn't settle into a real sleep and kept fidgeting about and fussing, even in arms. So freaking frustrating!

Yeah, CIO might work for some babies, but it is not a solution for all. I did some CIO (with one of us beside the crib shush/patting) when I was so desperate about DD's sleep around 7 months, and while she did start falling asleep in there without a fuss, she still slept like SHIT. Didn't change the number of wakings at all. So....wasted effort.

My god, jealous of Melody's infrequent poops! This baby will not stop and it's so annoying!

AliJo - LOL at coming on here being "adult interaction". I feel you, hehe.

Literati - yes it is so hard to make friends at this stage of life! At least for me anyway. Maybe I just suck, lol.

AFM - I am tapped out. You guys, these night poops NEED TO STOP. So freaking sick of it. Up at 3 for poop last night. DH wasn't even asleep yet after work, so he came in and held Jack while I peed, and Jack did a massive spew on him. At least it wasn't on me. DD slept well again last night, but Jack was hard to get to sleep and very fitful so I couldn't relax for ages. Still slept in the chair. I haven't slept lying down in three days. Maybe tonight. So tired. I even napped for nearly 2.5 hours with Jack yesterday (in the chair) but still so damn tired. Up at 6:30 today for no apparent reason. Jack woke to feed and then was fussing so I couldn't stay in the room with DD still sleeping. Was breaking down in her room instead trying to get Jack to chill and DH came in and offered to take him, but what's the point? He'd only been in bed three hours himself, so I just got up. Then I was watching the monitor to see when DD woke up, since the last time she woke in my room without me there she was pissed and crying that I had left her. So I see when she's up and I go in, and this time she's pissed because she wanted to come find me. I storm out, and then she starts crying. Can't win at this effing mothering thing!! I just want to go to bed for the day and SLEEP and BE ALONE.

 

[Literati_Love]

Slammer - oh my goodness! I can't believe what an awful night you had and that Jack is still pooping in the night! I meant to me mention the pooping in my last post but it was late and I was in a brain fog so didn't do a good job of remembering what people said.
Are you still taking your supplements? Do you think it's still that? Could he have a tummy bug? It's just unimaginable that he would be popping at night so much! I would cry. So many for you! I also can only imagine how tired you must be not being able to lie down for the last 3 nights! I don't blame you at all for feeling so fed up and just NEEDING a good night's sleep... and ALONE for once! I felt like that so many times in dd1's first year and a half... such a desperate feeling. I hope you at least have a way better night soon. So sorry!
And it definitely isn't just you on the friends thing. Or at the very least we both suck.

Angel - also yeah I agree some babies CIO won't even work on! I am actually against CIO (no judgment if you ever did it though), but I firmly believe it wouldn't have worked on dd1 even if I had wanted it to because she would cry and cry for HOURS as well...and she would just make herself more and more hysterical. She also cried non stop for like 4 hours in a vehicle once, so that definitely helps my case. Some babies just won't ever stop! Ugh.

AFM - having an ok weekend but I honestly have to fight feeling mildly depressed basically all the time now. Also, DH and I stayed up way too late watching a Sherlock episode last night and I got WAY too tired and that absolutely never helps my glum mood. Blah. Should have just gone to bed early and not had any 'fun.'

Oh, and Violet is definitely still up every single sleep cycle at night and NEEDING to nurse back to sleep even though I never even nurse her to sleep during the day at all and I don't nurse her to sleep to go to bed either, but my babies just hate me. That is all.

 

[Ally2015]

Angel- glad your mum has been good with Melody! Sorry about Melodies unpredictable nights. Isa has been unpredictable the last week or so, whereas before he was having a 5-6 hour stretch of solid sleep every night. Babies are just so random! I actually put isa on his belly sometimes, he likes it and sleeps well and he can move himself into whatever position suits him. Other days he seems to want to be on his back or side. again so random!

slammer- Jack is such a little chub!

ali- i totally get you feeling left out, i would be the same.

lit- yes maybe! he was born 2.5 weeks early so maybe thats why he is only hitting the regression now. Urgh! aw Lit, sorry you are feeling low. It sucks, when you feel like you suffer later for doing something fun like staying up late. Perhaps a trip to dr would be wise if you continue to feel this way? on another note, i absolutely love Sherlock!
sending you a hug- i really don't miss the constant nursing side of breastfeeding, i am quite liking bottle feeding. Only thing i hate is getting up at night to make a bottle.

afm- I think Isa has a bad belly- he is throwing up a lot. And drinking smaller amounts. i have a dr appt on thurs for him - i dont really think they can do much except tell me to give it time, but worth him getting checked i think. Sp rather than feeding him every three hours i am feeding him smaller amount every 2 hours. And hes not been interested in the solids so he hasn't had much. but besides that he is a happy boy, playful and curious.
i went on my walk with mums group today, i feel like i am the only mum whose baby doesn;t sleep through the night and whose baby doesn't sleep in crib all night, and that my baby is the only one who can't self settle and put himself to sleep. so i was feeling a bit bummed as i wish my baby would do these things! oh well.
sorry this post feels a bit gloomy, but i am just feeling that today.
Hope everyone has a good night with well behaved babies!

 

[slammerkin]

Woops...somehow managed to paste my last reply over again...trying again....

Literati - I can't believe the pooping either! I stopped taking the magnesium entirely, and have only been taking my other supplements sporadically (prenatal, vitamin D, and probiotic). Maybe the probiotic is bad too? Maybe it's all still working its way out? He did stop pooping at night for a few days, but has been back at it the last few. I just don't know. He doesn't seem more fussy or uncomfortable at all, so he doesn't seem sick (aside from the cough).

Putting DD back in her room tonight and DH is off early from work, so at least I will be free of her for the night.

Oh that sucks when you are tired and nearly regret having quality time with DH! I know the feeling.

Ugh, soooo sorry V is waking so much and needing to nurse each time. It's the worst!! I hope she stops doing that!

Ally - best to take him to the doctor to be checked anyway, but I hope all is fine. Also, you are NOT the only one who’s baby doesn't do all those things. Neither of mine do!

AFM - hoping DH will be home before bedtime, but not sure he will. Jack is having a nap on me now, so he prob won't be ready for bed until 9ish and DD took a nap today, so same for her.

Also, I managed to bathe both children at the same time for the first time tonight! DD was all washed and playing and I decided to try putting Jack in. Sat on the edge with my feet in and propped him up with my feet. It worked well! Felt very accomplished, lol.

 

[Angel5000]

My mom had a weird day with M today. Apparently she really fought her morning nap, which is odd for her (it's usually the easy one), but once she was down she slept for 2.5 solid hours! my kid NEVER sleeps that long. And she was on her back/side the whole time. Very weird. Really hoping it becomes more regular!

Baht time has become a lot of fun lately. We moved her out of the little plastic tub because she was getting too long and now use a little bath sling in the regular tub. Half of the time, after the bath, I lay her in the water and hold her head and let her float and she will kick around and push off the sides. It's so cute, and hilarious to watch. She also loves to flip onto her stomach (and I support her chest) and splash and "paddle" around. I can't wait to get her into a mommy and me swim class!


Ali - I lay Melody down on her side too. If I put her on her back she'll roll onto her side herself, immediately, so I figure it's safe to do. I have the same problem, she's less likely to jolt awake if she's on her side. M doesn't often roll to her belly but will roll to back and then to other side and back and forth (along with spinning herself in circles, lol). It kind of makes me laugh because she's perfectly capable of tummy to back rolling, but if she manages to get herself onto her stomach she wont' roll back and will cry and work herself into a frenzy until one of us rolls her over. At least she isn't the only one!


Lite - Oh my, that does NOT sound fun, and it sounds like something M would totally do. Once she starts rolling back to front when she's awake I may have to give her some "rolling time" before bed!

I'm also against CIO, generally speaking. It depends on what people define as CIO. Leaving baby to cry, alone, in his/her crib or bed is too much for me. But I do let her fuss for several minutes at night (and now about 70% of the time she'll settle herself back to sleep if she's not hungry). And I'm considering modifying the "pick up/put down" method for helping her start to fall asleep since she's gotten really bad about being bounced all the way to sleep and then waking every time we put her down. At least with PU/PD, baby is never left alone to cry and you'er supposed to pick up and comfort while crying. Some kids though, seriously, cannot be left ot cry and mine is one of them. Most people think I'm crazy when I say that she absolutely won't cry herself to sleep, so I'm glad that you understand!

I'm so sorry about Violet. Is this the sleep regression thing? Sounds like none of us are getting any good sleep recently.

Also, have you considered anything for the depression? I don't know if we've talked about this before, sorry if we have and I forgot. Even if you don't want an antidepressant, maybe try some vitamin D? It's supposed to help a lot. I honestly couldn't function without my antidepressant right now. While I was at home before I went back to work I was struggling even with it. Going back to work is probably saving my sanity right now.


Slammer - Jack's sleep the last couple nights sounds frustrating! I'm so sorry. I will probably do a form of "less tears" CIO to help her settle herself to sleep on her own but not the full "leave her to cry" method my DH was considering.

Have you figured out why he's pooping so much?? Or is that just his body?

It sounds like you REALLY need some sleep! I'm so sorry you're having a rough time. I hoep you can get some sleep soon!


Ally - I'm so sorry about Isa! Throwing up does not sound good, especially at this age! I Hope the doctor can do something for him. I think the biggest concern would be dehydration or weight loss at this point. Poor baby.

 

[Apple111]

Hi ladies just wanted a quick check in. So sorry I have not been on in a while. I had a crazy few weeks with my teenager and ended up going in for a meeting with the head and two other senior teachers.. I think we hopefully have it sorted now, he seems lot more settled and seems to have pulled his socks up. Hopefully the boys at school will stay away he is managing to stay away from them most of the time.
Just lying in bed and really tired so im not going to try and read through everything at the moment but plan to try and make an effort to keep conming on from today.

Very brief/ but will post more later:

Lit/ sorry u have been having some up and down days. Ive def been feeling like that myself in recent weeks. Trying to pull myself out best I can but finding it hard at the min.

Ali/ hope move went all well, will read through properly to catch up soon, x

Slammer / love the pic of jack in the swing. Def get the alone time thing ! Hope the night time pooping settles soon and u get some rest , yay for bathing both together lol, I did it once and it was a nightmare lol x might try again now ollie bit bigger

Vrogers sorry about L coming off the couch. Ive done it with all mine at some point or something similar. !! X

Ally/ sorry about Isa throwing up bless him , hope u get somethin sorted with gp for him x

Midnight/ nice to hear from u hon, glad you had a nice time in Scotland. Great that your anxiety sorted itself and V sounds a little doll x

Angel/ glad work going ok. your mum sound like a really good support for u x

Newbie/ hope u r feeling better now hon x

Pomp/ hope you r well hon, ollie just started to try and grab things last few days and mostly misses and gets stressed with himself, everything is going to the mouth when he manages lol x

Well ollie is doing great , such a smiler really trying to make the most of my time off with him, he is really trying to chat away and babbling loads.. Really cute. Def getting wise tho, he will only dit fit a few minutes then wNts mummy cuddles !.. I have been starting him on small bits of baby porridge. He has been fine I gave him a tiny bit of sweet potatoe mixed with rice and I don't think it agreed with him so ive decided to slow it down again for another couple of weeks.

Ds (4yr old) bit his tongue on a cracker last week and has had a huge ulcer ever since, he has been in so much pain with it and didn't eat for 3 days. It's been horrible for him but really hard for me with baby as he just kept screaming when it hurt him and he would then wake ollie and he would scream due to being tired .. Been very tiring 😣..

We went to York for a couple of days, loverly place. would love to say it was relaxing but that would be fat lie.. It was really stressful and rained most of time 😣😣. Ds was quite demanding and kept shouting and being so loud!! One morning he was wanting to leg it round dining room at breakfast but I couldnt let him as people had coffee .. Had to take him Out shouting his head off !!

Anyway im sure everyone aware now we had a horrible attack at manchester arena last night, lots of people and children lost their lives So sad over here at the minute. Scary as only 45 min drive from us. My son was there a couple of weeks ago watching Ed Sheran ..doesn't bare thinking about 😢 x thoughts are with families ️xx

Sorry if I missed anyone and I will try and keep popping on x

 

[Ally2015]

slammer-well done for bathing them both at the same time, success!

Angel- its amazing how she has started napping longer! i am jealous, i hope isa changes soon too. I am not really a fan of cio either, but sometimes let him fuss at night time and sometimes he just goes back to sleep. other times hes put himself into an awkward position and needs a hand. bless him.

apple- yeah thinking of manchester, so sad. i'm in scotland but still, i have family there. so scary! Glad ollie is doing well and enjoying his solids. sorry about your ds and his ulcer. Glad teenager is doing better and things are looking up.

afm- isa is doing much better, phew! Must just have had an upset stomach. I'm going to slow it down a little with the solids, maybe something didn't sit right in his belly. I gave him some pureed banana this morning, and he loved it.
Isa is waking up a few times at night, simply because he has moved too much and got himself into an awkward position in his crib! i think it might be time to get a cot soon??

 

[Apple111]

Ally/ funny how they are so different I have ollie a tiny bit of banana in his porridge and anyone would think I have him a spoon of salt , the face he pulled was comical ha x

 

[Angel5000]

I will properly reply later. I just had such an awful scary night last nbight I want to share. Melody was sitting on my lap holding my hands, and she started to do her thing where she stands and looks around. Well she started to lean toward DH and before I could stop her, her feet slipped and she fell. I couldn't grab her in time she was gripping my hands so hard, and the fall jerked her arm. I felt and heard a pop and she screamed inconsolably! After 15-20 minutes I realized this was not just a small pop and we went to the urgent care.

They close at 730, and we pulled up at 7:28. They were already locking the doors when we got there but they were amazing and let us in! I cannot thank them enough. Turns out she had "nursemaids elbow" - dislocated the elbow! The doctor on duty was uncomfortable fixing not because she's never had to do it on a kid this young. But the PA decided to try and was able to do it. Instant relief for M! They did c rays to make sure she was fully ok and sent us home. She's good now but it was terrifying. 1.5 hours of her inconsolable screaming, clearly in pain, and I spent most of it crying with her. I feel horrible. I know it was completely an accident, she's stood on my lap a thousand times like that just fine but I will be more careful now.

I'm so so glad urgent care saw us. An ER visit would have been next and could have been hours of baby in pain before we would get seen. :/

Anyway I'll read and reply later. Just had to share with someone.