Fuschia

ryedalema Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ah - good ideas, thank you. I've been to Battersea > Zoo many a time so will keep that one in mind. > I'll have to look up the Hop Farm - are we allowed > to take newbies near livestock now, or is this not > that kind of farm? It hasd millions of activities there inc painting pottery and some sort of magic trail and softplay and a carousel...

PS Can we help you at all SB... do you ever get to nap in the day? Could someone have baby SB for an hour or two? xx

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Fuschia Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > so I > > don't think there's any role for martyrdom!! > :-) > > No, absolutely - wasn't implying you were a martyr > - rather the opposite, you've obviously made > co-sleeping work really well for you and your > babies, and your sleep rhythms have tuned in > together. Yes, that's what i was trying to say.. what i meant was, I don't feel like (usually) I am sleep deprived... poor SB obviously is, and just because some of us muddle through with waking babies doesn't mean SB should feel inadequate somehow if she is desperate for something to change!

The transit train at the airport is fun...

I fancy the Hop Farm in Kent... or public transport to sciemce museum? (or drive if early sunday)

godstone farm!

But Moos, I don't really wake up, that's the thing! I just mutter and give them a hug and zonk back out again. Perish the thought I might have to get out of bed!! I am as mardy as the next mum if I really do get disreupted sleep.. and it sounds like SB's life is really beginning to suffer, so I don't think there's any role for martyrdom!! :-)

bumpy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > now on to another question - i'm looking to > express so that i can get away for a massage or > two and have a pump from a friend - is this okay > if i sterilise it by boiling for 10 minutes or > should i get my own? What sort of pump is it? If you use one of the bigger ones (lent one in hospital for eg) you get a sterile collection set including the various tiny tubes (though I am not sure why as no milk goes through them, only air) Anyway, I would have thought boiing for 10 mins or a soak in milton will do the trick, you're thinking of the bottle and the cup thingy?

I think if you're itching to leap up and "do something else" they can tell...

Gawd, don't languish in an upstairs room fretting at how long it takes! Grab your evening R&R when and how you can, I say. 7 weeks is tiny. Look after yourself, and things will flow for the baby. Plenty of time after 3m or so to start with a bit of a bedtime routine. Have a glass of wine (it is allowed!) and eat some snacks and watch TV and socialise with DH and then go to bed when the baby settles. This stage won't last long. x

Was this a one off ot do you have a regular morning booking? If the child is under 5 and taking up a full space in effect (for eg if s/he is at nursery in the pm) then yes, it's not unusual IME. But you could maybe negotiate it...

I think it varies hugely between children. Something to do with a hormone that stops the bladder emptying itself while they're asleep. If he's not waking at all, I think it's too early in his case. Save yourself the washing and use pullups a bit longer!? http://www.eric.org.uk/whyme/downloads/WhyMe-ContinenceTheFacts.pdf http://www.eric.org.uk/Portals/0/Bedwetting.Guide%207.08%20red%20pdf.pdf

Good site: http://www.entitledto.co.uk/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

You might be able to get child tax credit

SB: a lot of good advice there from Smiler. Even if you don't want to stop bf fullstop, you could nightwean now (using the Nightweaning article as the basis of your approach) with Mr SB having the baby from midnight-6am for eg and dealing with any wakings. Or stick it out a while longer, maybe with you going to bed at 8-9pm a couple of nights a week and scheduling a lie in at the weekend and an afternoon nap as well. Mr SB does have to step up to the plate and sacrifice some sleep (if he hasn't already) so you can recharge your batteries. Also call in help from anyone else you can.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

Probably all three! What are you trying to do from 6-9pm? When are you having your dinner? Is there someone with you? Do you have other chikdren to sort? If you can manage it, I'd suggest having a snack at about 5, then chilling out on the sofa with the baby feeding and watching dvds while someone else sorts out dinner and does all domestic tasks. Then go to bed when the baby does. Are you breastfeeding? Try to avoid too much "snacking" switching breasts because you feel less "full" in the evening as the sugary foremilk can make a baby windy. Just stick to one side as far as you can... make sure you eat and drink, try to relax. I used to have a bath and glass of wine the second MrF came in the door then into my pjs.

They sleep with me, as a rule I hardly stir when they wake. I most certainly DO feel it when they're ill... actually the last two weeks there has been a lot of properly disturbed sleep and I am in hibernation mode! I think I'm just philosophical. I don't feel that I am judged as a mother on whether they "sleep through" so I just accept it as a mothering inconvenience, like the early explosive nappies were, and never being able to go to the toilet in peace. Having an older child, I have it in perspective, at the time it lasts forever, when you look back it went in a flash... I would rather wake than do CC or anything like that. We are at the point now where with son no 1 we said "no more milk at night" and Mr F dealt with the resulting night time complaints for a few weeks... just not quite sure when or how tackle it as we have two. In the meantime I am appreciating it, in a way.... nighttime when they are warm and sleepy and they mutter "mummy!" half asleep then give a happy little sigh and snuggle so happily... so fleeting.... But in short, I manage because we cosleep, I think, and our sleep patterns are meshed.

SB: as the mother of 3 breastfed, snacking at night cosleeping children... I am afraid that in my experience, although night time feeding is instinctive, snuggly, rich milk and an easy way to settle the baby down... I think there is a link between the waking and the milk. I don't think it's as easy as saying the bf is the cause of thew waking, I think it's a developmental stage of the brain/normal infant sleep patterns and a mother who sleeps with, offers bf at night to her baby is just doing what women have done for many thousands of years... but I do think many babies need to learn (when they're ready) to settle themselves at night (just as they need to learn to eat solids/self feed/use the toilet, when they're ready) New born babies actually sleep better for the first 4m than many older children...it's to do with brain development. Our twins still wake at night, at almost 2. IIRC, son no 1 stopped waking at about 2 1/2. Why then? I believe a toddler's sleep patterns gradually mature, reaching an adult pattern (longer sleep cycles and less frequent waking) by about aged 4... from aged 2 you can explain that milk isn't going to be on offer at night, and it can be understood (even if little SB objects) Personally, I think aged 2+ is as early as I would want to go down the route of night-time milk refusal, but there are many sugegstions in the No Cry Sleep Solution, which no doubt you have read. Have a look also at Margot Sunderland Science of Parenting (library has it) and read this: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp even if you don't cosleep, this article has a lot of kind, gentle advice about night weaning for 1yo+ THis is interesting too: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/a-helping-hand-my-baby-wont/ Don't despair. THis won't last forever. You WILL sleep again. Our continuously waking child no 1 now sleeps like a log and didn't wake up even when we accidentally set off the burglar alarm! As the second link says The days are long (or in your case, the nights) but the years are short

This is exactly what a childminder would usually do if you can find space for both children with one!

Take a bungee to wrap round it...

Paps, I'd suggest doing your own little ad on here for a few other new mums at the same stage and get together for a coffee...

Well, still no response from DMC, apparently they have no practice manager atm.

anna after 5 says of fever, take her to a and e could be a uti lewisham paed a and e is great

I called the GPs and exlained what had happened and they said the manager would call me but noone called. I will call again today. The drs we saw were quite plesanat. Just ineffectual and missed that T should have gone to the hospital for further tests. I am guessing that when you say it's day 8 ofa fever, they assume you're exaggerating!!!