March 2005 part 3 - Support for the sleep obsessed!

[bonym]

Which of course, we all are

[busywizzy]

Bonym - Love the title, very apt Sorry about your bad night but I think it's only right that we share these amongst ourselves rather than one or two of us getting them all

Better night for me with Harrison but ......... DD woke at 12.00am crying that she had pains in her tummy/back and it was 1.30am before I got her back to sleep and to bed myself Harrison then woke at 5.30am (no wonder I look so rough at the moment) had a feed and went back to sleep until 7.00am.

Have just been to our weekly baby group get-together where everyone was saying what a happy and contented baby Harrison is and all of a sudden, it didn't seem to matter that I hadn't slept for two nights Proud mummy moment

Harrison has gone down for his customary marathon lunchtime nap so I'm off to russle up some culinary masterpieces for him now the freezer has been defrosted and I can open and close the door.

[Pidge]

boneym - well done on the new thread. I never understood being sleep obsessed with my dd1 - and now I find myself well and truly part of that gang with Iris the nightowl! Actually, I feel we're in a pretty good pattern the last few nights - just 2.30 and 5.30 wakings. I am still in paradise that she's not waking at 10 or 11 and 1 as well.

busywizzy - that is just typical isn't it - one sleeps well and the other one is up and about! I think that's another reason why sleep was such a doddle for me first time round, and such a challenge this time. I finally got Iris back to sleep this morning at 6.20am, having been up since 5.30 and then dd1 came charging in cheerily bellowing "Good morning baby Iris"!

Have Iris snoozing at the moment, and dd1 watching Tikkabilla whilst I sneak a couple of homemade choccie biccies to boost my flagging energies!

Did my 5th run last night since resuming my jogging career and feel really good about it, must somehow keep it up, which is getting harder as I go out after the kids go to bed and it's now dark.

[Cristina7]

Pidge - well done with the jogging!

Busiwizzy - those two teeth of Harrison's, they'll get so sharp! Dominic had those two first and then his fangs, he looked like a little vampire for a while. Sylvia has the first two through so I'm curious if they'll follow in the same order.

The other night I put Sylvia in her cot for the first time over-night. Guess who couldn't sleep, awake and checking on her. In the end I brought her in our bed towards morning and got some sleep myself. She's got a cold at the moment...

I'll be off in a few minutes to see Pride & Prejudice at the local Odeon's mother & baby screening. I won't find the time to see it with DH so Sylvia can be my cinema companion.

Bonym - we also have the older sibling waking up the baby too. He's just so excited and thinks she must be too at seeing him. She is, but I wish she could get some more uninterrupted sleep during the day.

[busywizzy]

Good morning everyone, hope you are all well rested

Had a much better night, with Harrison taking himself off to sleep at about 6.50pm and not a peep out of him again until just after 12.00am. This hasn't happened for a few weeks as he's been waking and crying several times between him going to bed and me going to bed and I've needed to stroke his face to help him get back to sleep.

He settled at midnight really quickly, just 5 minutes of face stroking and then slept through until 5.00am and so did DD so absolute blissful unbroken sleep for 5 hours

Fed him at 5.00am but didn't go back to sleep until 6.30am, so not so good there I think this early morning waking is down to hunger so I spent yesterday afternoon cooking scrummy Annabel Karmel foods with protein (chicken, meat, cheese etc) He'd better like them as the freezer's now full and although they smelt good, I don't think anyone else in the house will eat pureed mush

Pidge - am seriously impressed with your running. I haven't been for weeks and weeks and to be honest, once the children are both asleep, I'm crashing out on the sofa at the moment with a large glass of red wine. DH says it's good for the heart but I'm not convinced it's a suitable replacement for exercise

Bonym - how's it going with the nappies?

JoPG - how was DS's first day at school?

[busywizzy]

Cristina, DD's teeth came in that order too. Bottom middle ones, then top fangs then top middle ones. Isn't that funny as I've never known anyone else have them in this order.

Have fun at the piccies. Can't wait to see P&P but need a few more nights of Harrison not waking before I trust myself to leave him

[Pidge]

Gosh ...cinema ... those were the days! Unfortunately our local baby cinema is on a day when I have dd1 too. The last movie I went to was "Supersize me" - the most unsuitable thing to watch when suffering from chronic morning sickness, which in my case should have been called 'evening sickness' as that's when I did all my vomiting!!

Still no teeth here - just lots of gummy grins!

Don't be that impressed at the running - I've only actually been out 5 times. But tonight is run number 6 if I can persuade myself. And on my 5 non-running nights per week I am definitely with you busywizzy with the large glass of wine.

[jambot]

Have just received 2 Annabel Karmel books in the post. 'First Meals' and 'Top 100 Baby Purees'. Just had a quick look and there's some scrummy sounding stuff in there. Bored with giving Lauren the same old same old, so am off to the shops to buy the ingredients for some gastronomic delights. Lauren better bloody eat them, or else - though they sound so nice DH and I will probably finish them off on toast. Although my husband is the world's fussiest eater - he drives me crazy. Am determined that Lauren is not going to take after him. Showed him some pureed broccoli, spinach, beans and courgettes the other night. All mixed together into a green mush. He thinks I'm being very cruel feeding her such 'horrid' stuff. If he had his way she would be on Coke and a packet of crisps Have told him he has to keep all of his junk in our office kitchen. Although must admit I did give her a tiny tast of chocolate the other day - she wasn't very impressed which isn't a bad thing.

[jambot]

Also looking forward to seeing P & P. Although don't think much of the new Mr Darcy. Colin Firth's Mr Darcy is going to take a lot of beating. Remember that scene when he comes across Elizabeth after taking a dip in the dam in his clothes? Swoon inducing stuff!

[Norash]

Hi all,

Thank you for reassuaring a paranoid woman , I have been away to Manchester to my niece's 1st birthday. We were there for 5 days and had a fab time. Kieran is now nearly crawling, and is all over the living room [thank goodness he is not going anywhere else]. I hope you are all well.

to those who need them.

[Pidge]

Welcome back Norash - so exciting about Kieran's crawling efforts. Iris is still at the stage where she gets up on all fours and then collapses on her nose and looks all indignant.

Jambot - that cooking sounds delicious. I still haven't got any further than single root vegetables and some pear. Am quite looking forward to more interesting stuff. And even more looking forward to being able to feed Iris the same food as my 3 year old. I'm about to whip up some of Annabel Karmel's tasty beefburgers for her, but I guess Iris will have to wait a good while before she gets one of those!

[Norash]

Thank you Pidge, won't be long now before Iris can crawl around

[jambot]

What's with the crawling? Lauren can't even sit yet!! Maybe I should be thankful - at least she's still more or less in the same place that I left her.
Nice to have you back Norash.
Any of you following Motherpeculiar's Sleep thread about her non-sleeping 6 month old? Busywizzy and I have been trying to give her a hand but she's really got a problem that I certainly can't think of a solution to. Maybe one of the other March mums could be of help.

[busywizzy]

Welcome back Norash, thought you might have given up on us thinking you'd offended someone

Harrison isn't sitting or crawling yet and I'm delighted. Took him to baby group yesterday and he just lay there smiling at everyone whilst all the other babies were commando crawling with their mums frantically chasing after them or crying in frustration as they couldn't move forward from their hands and knees. Harrison can sit up for about 1 second before he slides quite happily to one side (he thinks that's very funny) or falls head forward and bumps his nose (not so funny)

Going to have to find out about baby cinema in our area, I've never heard of that before.

Jambot, Colin Firth can never be surpassed as Mr Darcy IMO and he was equally gorgeous in Bridget Jones. I was heavily pregnant when I saw BJ - Edge of Reason but even in that state he managed to stir certain feelings

[JoPG]

Pidge - How's the running going?? I am also trying to get back into running now that Freya is a bit older and my boobs aren't so sore! (They still need some serious strapping down though - oh the joys of breastfeeding!) Before I fell pregnant I was up to half marathon sort of distance, I'm lucky now if I can manage half a mile without the need for oxygen.

Busywizzy - Thanks for asking about DS1's 1st day at school. It actually went really well and he seems to be really enjoying it. Luckily Monday was very bright and sunny so I had an excuse to wear big sunglasses that hid my tears! DS1 seemes so happy I didn't want him to wonder why I was upset and start thinking that there might be something to be worried about (hope that made sense!)

Still no teeth here yet either, just a gummy grin. DS1 was quite late with teeth (about 9 months) so maybe Freya will take after him.

Freya has not a chance of crawling yet. Why bother trying when your big brother just delivers an assortment of toys to you all day long? Not sure that Power Ranger figures are the best toy for a six month old though, so I do have to keep an eye on things!

[Norash]

Thanks Busywizzy,

OK I am going to see a childminder tomorrow and I hope we (Kieran and I) like her coz I need to sort out child care by Monday. I start classes on Monday, I am going to miss my little man.

[Leogaela]

Hi everyone... and welcome back Norash!

Have been having a hectic busy time with the moving, taking Niklas to the nursery etc...
Niklas is really enjoying the nursery, yesterday was his first full day there, the longest we have been away from each other, I burst into tears before I had even left him, in front of the childcarers and another mum, how embarrassing !

The house is really, great! Its in a small village which will be really strange for me, when I moved ot Zurich I thought it was a village after living in London, but this place has 1500 people. OK, now I am going to make you all jealous, our house has a sauna!!!! Wow!!! I'm really excited about trying it out!

Jambot - great idea to have the unfinished purees on toast.

Oh Norash, you've left it late to find a childminder, I really hope this one is a good one and you are both happy with her. Good luck with starting your courses on Monday.

Buzzywizzy - hadn't thought about the need for protein being a reason maybe that Niklas has started waking up again in the night.

OK, I have a little boy crawling round my feet, and trying to eat them...! Time to go!

Keep up the running Pidge - I did a mammoth run the other day and was very proud of myself!

OK, now Niklas has discovered the computer cables.... aaaargh!!!!!

[Norash]

Hi everyone,

Thanks Leogaela at the sauna (Although I prefer steam rooms .

I was counting on a new nursery that was supposed to open mid september, but they will not open now till the end of october . The child minder sounds really nice and she runs a play group in our area will check that out.

Kieran too is in love with feet at the moment, and don't get me started about the wires. I think it's time I got my house child safe, they grow up so fast . It seems like just the other day when we were sending each other ? Oh well this is life.

[busywizzy]

Morning everyone

LG - Glad the move went OK and that Niklaus is settling so well into nursery. Gives me hope for when I have to return to work. about the sauna!!
Norash - good luck at the childminders
JoPG - Glad DS has settled well to school, it does get easier for you. I cried the whole first week went DD started and now she is 7, I drop her at the gate and don't give it a second thought

We had another night of waking and not going back to sleep Unfortunately for the second time this week, Harrison woke at 2.30am and I just couldn't get him back to sleep - not full scale crying just whinging but loud enough to keep me awake. So after an hour, I gave up and fed him, he took a 4oz bottle in about 5 minutes flat and went straight back to sleep until 6.30am. He then had another 8oz bottle which he wolfed down and porridge half an hour later so I'm now utterly convinced he's started waking again in the night due to hunger.

Yesterday he had meat for the first time and although he wasn't overly impressed (to say the least) I'm going to persevere with this. In a book I was reading (one of many I now own and spend my life devouring) it said 'All babies are born with a natural store of iron but by the time they are six months most of it will have been used up so it is important to include iron-rich foods in their diet' LG, once you get Niklaus established on protein you might find that helps you too and maybe Bonym, it's what's causing Grace to wake up when she didn't before?

I'm with you Pidge on being so much more sleep obsessed this time round. DD slept 8-8 when she was 12 weeks old and never woke at night from then on unless she was unwell ...... and I thought THAT WAS NORMAL (ha ha ha ha ha) It was a big, big shock when 12 weeks came and went with Harrison and he was still feeding twice a night and now here we are at six months and I'm back to getting up again having only just got him sleeping through

It's funny though how you seem to get used to managing on so little sleep. If someone had told me before Harrison was born that I could survive on 3-4 hours sleep a night without murdering someone as a result, I'd have thought they were mad. Although come to think of it, I've been quite close

[Norash]

Thank you Busywizzy.

OMG when you speek about the sleep deprivation, it's like you have read my mind. Although I must admit that Kieran is not too bad.

After fooling me for a week that he was sleeping through, he went back to waking at 2ish then chatting away to himself then again at 4ish then at 6. I am becoming very good at sleeping through his conversations and getting up when he cries to feed.

at 8-8 being normal, if only ey!

[jambot]

Hope you are enjoying your new house Leogaela. We have been renovating ours for a year now. My parents reckon we should just have pulled the house down and built from scratch. Unfortunately my husband is incapable of doing anything in half measures!! I am still without a kitchen, so am using the microwave to steam up all Lauren's food. These microwave steamers are great. 6 minutes to steam chicken breasts. My washing machine and dryer are my work surfaces at present. Am having wet dreams about this beautiful kitchen that my DH is promising is only weeks away!
Busywizzy - In the beginning I liquidised Lauren's chicken with quite a bit of water so that it was almost liquid chicken. If you mix this in well with the veggies, they can't really tell it's even there.
Hey, it's my birthday today! 36!!!! AAGH DH is taking me out this evening. First we are going to replace the diamond earings that the *** cleaners stole from my room when I was in hospital having Lauren. Have told DH that now I am mother to his precious daughter, I deserve far bigger diamonds than before After that we are going to the lovely Cape Town Waterfront for sushi and a movie. That's my favourite food so I'm having a huge plate of it - stuff the cost! Lauren is being shipped off to my parents for the night. Hooray!!!!

[bonym]

Happy birthday jambot! Hope you have a lovely time tonight.

We are going out for a meal tonight - first time we have been out together since Grace was born - my parents are going to babysit.

Busywizzy - I had wondered that about the protein - I did try Grace with some pureed chicken and veg lat week but she was not terribly impressed. Had a couple of mouthfuls but refused the rest. I have plenty in the freezer though so maybe I should persevere.

Nice to see you haven't left us Norash . Hope you manage to get the child care sorted out.

Leogaela - the new house sounds great - what luxury having a sauna!

With regards to the sleep - seems to be a bit of theme running here - 2nd babies not sleeping as well as first! My dd1 slept through from 5 months (7-7) and has been a good sleeper ever since. However - we did controlled crying after a few horrendous, non-sleeping nights. Thing is I am very reluctant to do this with Grace. Even though I was a huge advocate of it after the great success with dd1, having read other stuff recently I don't think I could bring myself to do it again. So will just have t oride things out a bit longer I guess!

She is grouchy now so will have to go - hope everyone gets some rest tonight!

[Pidge]

jambot - happy birthday! The sitting and crawling will all come in time, and then you'll be looking back fondly on your days of leisure. My dd1 didn't sit until at least a month later than Iris, and as for crawling, she showed no signs for ages. All this physical keeness is coming as a bit of a shock!

jopg, I know what you mean about running and the need for serious strapping. I've got this sports bra from years ago that's actually a bit small, but it's perfect for keeping me in one place!! Very impressed at your previous exploits. My current standard is just half an hour twice a week. Managed to persuade myself to go out yesterday despite the dark and a slight sore throat, and really enjoyed it. Am contemplating setting myself a challenge like a 10k or something. But feel a bit scared as I've never run in a 'race' or with a group.

Norash - hope it goes great with the new minder, and with your classes. I think my brain has shrivelled to nothing on this second maternity leave.

Leogaela - that sounds like my dream house. We visited some Finns with their own sauna once and it struck me as extremely civilised!

Busywizzy - totally with you on the sleep front. First time round I was such a smug mum - sure it was my super calm parenting, and general genius that got dd1 doing her 12 hours. Ha ha ha - hollow laugh! Boneym - we've thought about cc too - but I can't bear to do it either. We didn't have to with dd1, she just sorted out her sleep of her own accord, and I'm still hoping Iris will get there too - our babies are still pretty tiny really. Latest strategy - putting her to sleep on her front, and cutting back the nighttime feeds every night by thirty seconds. Now down to one minute on the boob and putting her back down awake, and so far she seems to be going back to sleep. Might try going down to a 30 second feed tonight, and then try to settle her without feeding at all.


On the iron front - I've heard about the iron stores being depleted at around 6 months too. But I also heard a nutrionist say it's not like you immediately have to really panic about it - they don't need very much. By the way dried apricots are supposed to be good for iron - you can cook them up, puree them, freeze them and then add tiny bits to breakfast cereal, or to a bit of milk and baby rice, or to other non-dried fruit. Yum.

[Pidge]

By the way jambot - thanks for posting about motherpeculiar's sleep troubles - I met her once and she's absolutely lovely, so am just off to check out her thread and send her some supportive vibes.

[Norash]

Jambot : Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jambot, happy birthday to you, yeeeeeeeeeeeey!

We found a child minder today, she is lovely! Thanks for the well wishes pidge.

[jambot]

Oh good, Norash. Sure that is a weight off your mind.
So much for my lie-in without Lauren. A bloody wrong number at 6:40!!! We had a lovely evening out. The weather was lovely, so we ate outside at a lovely restaurant overlooking the harbour. But we were home by 9:45, both yawning our heads off!! Think we must be getting old.