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PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

Hi ladies. Quick check in from me, work is crazy busy today.

Fiery- Dust, dust, dust to you, so hoping you get the new position!

Sleep regression: Seems like every few weeks O does this and "after" the fact, I can see that it''s related to him doing something new developmentally. "During" the regression, I feel like I''m going crazy without sleep and I am terrified that it''s his new normal. Then he goes right back to sleeping peacefully, and I think, well, that wasn''t so bad.
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If I only knew ahead of time that he would only get up for 2 or 3 nights, I think I could handle it a lot better. He''s just started rolling over like a maniac, so that was his excuse last week.

What is this shred you all keep talking about??? So out of the loop. I get that it''s an exercise DVD, but where does it come from and why haven''t I heard of it?

Mrs- Hi! So happy to know that someone else has a skinny mini baby. O is very low percentiles in everything as well, but he''s chubby and growing so not worrying about it.

O LOVES to be upside down. He also giggles like a maniac whenever we put him on our shoulders. He either grabs onto my hair and starts cackling, or he grabs DH''s ears, as if he''s "steering" him.
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So freaking cute. There is NOTHING cuter than a baby laughing. Still screeching and screaming all the time.

So O is so apathetic about eating first thing in the morning. No matter how long it''s been since he''s eaten, he never wants to nurse and never finishes his first bottle. Rest of the feedings he eats a ton, but you''d think the first feeding he''d be starving.

And I just had to share.... MY BOSS WALKED IN ON ME PUMPING THIS MORNING.
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Yes he''s a male. And yes I had my door shut with the sign that says "Do Not Enter". BUT luckily I had put a chair against the door AND was covered up with a throw/blanket thing so he didn''t see anything. He was so embarrassed! I was like, eh, whatever. Knew it would happen eventually.
 
Date: 1/15/2010 4:08:12 PM
Author: ChinaCat

And I just had to share.... MY BOSS WALKED IN ON ME PUMPING THIS MORNING.
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Yes he's a male. And yes I had my door shut with the sign that says 'Do Not Enter'. BUT luckily I had put a chair against the door AND was covered up with a throw/blanket thing so he didn't see anything. He was so embarrassed! I was like, eh, whatever. Knew it would happen eventually.
my. biggest. current. fear.

so sorry. can't help but laugh either. got to store away the blanket tip!
 
Lulu- I know! And I can''t get a lock on the door. So just be prepared for any and all contingencies.
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Don''t worry, I''m laughing about it too. It''s not surprising given the day I''m having.
 
China - Clicky for the Shred. And yikes about your boss!! I wasn''t too worried as our pump room was key card access only, but accidentally walked in on the one other pump room user once. OOPS.
 
my office has some frosted glass with small portions that are non-frosted, so I''m anticipating needing to fashion some sort of ridiculous curtain/cover. I''m willing to be that your boss will be knocking from now on
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China-i usually just lurk on this thread, but I just laughed outloud. I am TTC right now but whenever we do have a child, my current work situation has me in an office that''s a semi-private cube. I have no idea where in this place is the pumping spot that they''d be legally required to provide, but I am sure someone will walk in at somepoint.
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Glad you were so chill about it. Bet your boss feels REALLY awkward
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Lulu- I have a friend that had the glass issue. She had to tape up paper all over.

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Bella- You know, not sure what "legally" means in this context, I should check into it. I am a lawyer at a law firm, so pretty sure they are up on what they have to do legally. I thought they had to give me a lock on my door, but nope! There is a room they offered to me, but it''s a large lounging room in the library and no lock on that door either. Um, no thanks! Luckily I do have my own office. Work spaces just aren''t as mom friendly as they should be, IMO. It''s too bad, and I think one of the reasons so many moms drop out of the workforce. As for being chill, I''m pretty modest, but after you''ve been BF/pumping for awhile, you just get over it. Good luck on TTC!!!!


Blen- Ahh, so that''s who she is! Thanks.

Yep, I''m sure my boss is mortified.
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OMG China that is nuts! LOL We have a pumping room in a women''s restroom so no sneaking in haha


Blen that pic is great, haha. Ditto on the anchoring.


MG I can''t believe your dog did that!

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. I hope Kyle feels better soon.


Re Discipline: I tell Sophia "NO" sometimes and she cracks up

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. I''m thinking I shouldn''t use it anymore lol.


Hi Mrs

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Long time no see!


I wanted to share a pic of Sophia and the huge smile she gives FIL every time she sees him. She adores him!




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And her pigtails LOL!!

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Oh Fiery - Sophia is just the farking CUTEST. I just love her!

So, here's a weird thing to say...I think Romeo looks like a lot of people, for example, to Sopia Fiery and to the Olsen Twins. Yes, I see a resemblance to 3 girls. lol. Not that I think he's feminine. The contrary. I just see a "resemblance". Especially to the olsen twins.
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Blen - um....hilarious picture. Your Dh.....oy!

China - AWK-WARD! lol. You have a great attitude about it
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Hiya lulu!! Cant wait to see your LO around here!
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hahahahah Mela you're too funny!

Fiery, seriously, she's gotta be one of the cutest girls I've ever seen! Her smile just makes me smile!. Too adorable!

China...buaaaahahahahahaahha, sorry! That must have been horrible, but it had me laughing! hehehe


**

My boys refused to nap today again. Well, mainly Alex!. SO I decided to tank them up before bed and feed them twice in a one hour period (just to see what happens). Lucas (the lil' pig) ate 4 oz each time...Alex ate 4 oz and then 2oz. I'm curious to see how long they last tonight!.

Today I went and met up with some moms from a mommy group I found on the meetup website. Bleh....nothing special. I hate to sound like a B!thc, but these girls were just so BORING!!!!!. Granted there were only 3 of them there and there are more moms in the group...but I couldn't wait to get out of there!. I really want to meet some moms since I don't really know anyone up here (where we live since getting married)...but maybe a group is not the way to go
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. The twins group is actually good, but this one not so much!. Maybe it's only for girls like me who have managed to not make any friends in other ways! hahaha
 
shopping was just okay....I found some stuff at the mall...a few tops. But I''m up a size in most brands, and nearly two sizes in others...
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So overall it was sooooo depressing. Starting monday I''m doing 30 Day Shred and going more low carb. I''m just so uncomfortable in this body....


My boss and his wife had their baby boy, Christian, the other day. My husband is best friends with the boss--so we are heading over to their place to introduce the boys who they plan on making bestfriends and having them do little league together and all of that stuff. It''s so cute. When my husband came home from work he grabbed Evan and was like, "Your best friend was born today!"


Not sure how many people saw Mandarine''s post on 7 p.m. bedtime on fb but she suggested that I start pushing bedtime back a bit, since I would love to have an earlier bedtime for Evan but to not compromise the fact that he sleeps until 4 or 5 sometimes. He used to go to bed at 10:00...then we had gotten it to 9:30. Well he is now at 9:00 and he''s done pretty well so far. The first night---he was fine and slept til about 5....last night he woke up at 2 but he didn''t get back up until 7...so I can take that (In the past if he woke at 2 he would get up again at 4 or 5)...


Also, I think Evan will be able to take over for Simon Cowell when he leaves American Idol...he might not be able to make such cutting remarks but he definitely knows bad singing when he hears it...I was singing to him today and he would get this really confused look on his face...and then he would smile and then go back to the confused look.....yup I suck at singing thanks baby--at least he didn''t cry, right?


Fiery: Sophia is the prettiest baby ever! Does she go for younger guys? I know a certain single nearly 3 month old. And from what I can tell he''s totally cute and charming.
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China: OMG! I love that the boss was more embarrassed then you were. Like others have said---he''ll probably always knock now. I would have died from embarrassment---you are a better person then I am!

Mandarine: Too funny about the ladies being boring...maybe some of us on PS have spoiled you into thinking all strangers are awesome!
 
fiery i love S''s pigtails! how fun!

MG oh my gosh, your dog! Im so sorry he did that. It boils my blood wen my dog does stuff like that. My dog eats pacifiers too
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But the first time he got a taste for pacifiers was soo cute! He came around the corner with it his mouth... all by himself...
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I realized I havent posted a pic of Wes in a long time! I know I havent contributed much lately, but Im still lurking at least when I have the time
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It still helps to hear what everyone is dealing with. So here''s my little one at 2 months this week!

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hahahaha Sunkist that''s way too funny!!!!!!!!

Wes i s a cutie!!!!
 
Love the photos of Sophia and Wes! Gorgeous - and Fiery, I am so jealous of Sophia''s lovely hair!

Blen - I think your DH and mine must be distant cousins or something. I showed DH your post and he did look rather sheepish!


Today we went to BIL''s 30th birthday celebration near Birmingham - a city about 3 hours drive from London - and I have a bit of a vent. Can you girls tell me if I am right to be £$^&(R* furious!

FIL is married to this woman that drives all of us nuts, her eldest daughter has a baby who is 5 weeks younger than Daisy and they all insist on trying to play happy families all the time so make a point of coming to DH''s family celebrations. (DH had already left home when his father married this woman and so doesn''t consider her kids to be ''step-siblings'' as they barely know each other, ditto for his brothers).

Anyway, the daughter and her baby came to BIL''s birthday despite her boyfriend having just been confirmed with H1N1 - which I have only just found out via FaceBook. My BIL had his 12 week old baby there plus 3 year-old and 5 year-old, I had Daisy AND my severely immuno-compromised husband.
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I just think that it is not something you do if you are due to see people with young babies or who are in an at-risk group.

Daisy is due to be vaccinated on Thursday...
 
Blen--
LOL....that picture of DH's quality time w/ George is too funny.
Though I have to say that is not the first time I've seen things like that ;)
DD knows football before she knows the characters to the toddler's show.

Sunkist--
Haha....so cute your dog is ^.^
Can't believe how big your little boy is getting.
He's a little chunky monkey huh?

Fiery--
Awww....love that almost toothless laugh and those pigtails.

ETA:
Mandy--
Your boys are too cute for words.
 
Fiery, as always Sophia is such a cutie! What a pretty little girl!

Just wanted to share my little guy as today was his first birthday! What a fun and emotional day! All I can say is I look back over this past year and say WOW! we got throught it! Can''t imagine life without him and of course I balled like a baby through "Happy Birthday" what a SAP I''ve turned into!
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Update on the TV - I was asking DH which of a couple different baby-proofing methods he thought was best, and my MIL overheard and said that they''re pretty seriously considering getting a new TV stand, preferably one where the TV anchors onto the back, and was wondering what kind of features would be good from a baby-proofing perspective. So we''re holding off on doing anything with the TV for the moment and are just going to continue to supervise.

George''s little development spurt is continuing. Today it was clapping, and yesterday he got waving down as well as going down stairs butt first (he crawls up to them and then turns around to go down). We have a bunch of rooms in the house that are separated by one stair, and so we''ve really been emphasizing how to go down them.

Fiery - OMG, Sophia.
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Love her hair, and her smile!

Mandarine - I tried meeting up with some moms off of meetup and it was... interesting. I think I''m going to give it another shot though, as I only met a couple girls in the group plus I''m a bit shy when meeting people for the first time, so it''s possible that other people are too.

Tao - I was up from a size 8 or so to a size 16 when I went clothes shopping for the first time. It is really depressing seeing the higher numbers in those tags for a while and it was seriously demoralizing when some stores didn''t even carry sizes big enough for me. But it takes time, and you''ll get there. I hope you like the 30 Day Shred!

Sunkist - Your dog is HILARIOUS. Heehee. And what a cutie Wes is!

Pandora - DH was sheepish when he realized I took a photo and saw it. He said that he looked like a terrible dad, and then defended himself as NOT being a terrible dad because he was having George press the "attack" button. Oy. BTW - you definitely have a right to be furious; that''s just so irresponsible.

Lili - Ha, I have a feeling that will be George.

L2L - Aw! I can''t believe he''s already one either. Happy birthday!
 
Love all the new pictures!

Pandora - that would make me mad too, the guy shouldn''t even be leaving the house with H1N1!

L2L - sooo cute! Kyle''s first b-day is in a few weeks, it goes by way too fast.

**

So Kyle very nicely shared his cold with mommy. I can''t breath
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But, he did walk a few steps on Saturday! Of course he did it whe I was the only one around with no camera, and won''t do it again!
 
I usually lurk here but I had to pop in to say, Sunkist, that''s the BEST picture! So funny!
 
Mommy Tuck -- I don''t wear makeup, I''m not a "girly girl" (save for my obsession with diamonds), but I think I would seriously consider this if my stomach never stops sagging.

I''m going back to work in two weeks, and I''m seriously considering resigning at the end of the year. Maybe it''s just the nerves of going back to work, but I really don''t want to leave Claire. I don''t want to be exhausted, never having time to be a good mother and wife and sane person who can exercise and have "me time" too. I really am NOT implying that any working moms can''t strike a good balance; I''m just really scared that I will feel I am failing in every department. I''m a high school teacher, which for me is one of those jobs where you put in tons of extra time and effort even though nobody''s paying you any extra to do so, and I''m not sure that teaching is the job for me if I can''t give it my all. So if I find these next few months stressful, I may give my notice at the end of the semester. And then if we can''t make it work financially, I can consider my options at that time.

Claire giggled for the first time this weekend! We went and visited her new cousin about 7 hours away (who is 5 weeks old and weighs the same as Claire who is 12 weeks!), and the trip went really well. For some reason we thought it was silly to have a parent sit in the backseat at first, but we''ve learned that it''s much better to have someone back there to entertain and soothe Claire. That can be the difference between her being a little fussy and her having a total meltdown. Plus it''s boring to be back there with nothing to do, so when she''s awake we can show her toys (which is just on the verge of being able to grab with any kind of real purpose).

My poor SIL isn''t able to BF her baby on her breast because the baby chewed a piece of her skin off. I''m not sure if she tried nipple shields, but she''s been pumping. She pumps for 40 minutes 7 or 8 times a day. Ugh, how exhausting! But she is producing something like 35 ounces a day, which must be why the baby is so big already. I tried to share with her the math I use to figure out how much to pump for Claire, and she said, yeah, her doctor said the baby only needs 20-24 ounces a day at this point, so I''m not sure why they''re doing so much more. I think maybe she''s afraid her milk will dry up if she doesn''t pump that much.

Claire''s really getting bigger and more aware. She''s right now taking her first nap without the Miracle Blanket. She is pretty long, and it seemed like her legs were being constricted in the blanket (which says you can use it up to 14 weeks). My sister said she put my niece in the blanket until she was 6 months old, and now she gets these leg pains at night . . . don''t know if they''re related, of course. So I just put her in a sleep sack that goes up to 9 months, which makes her happy because then she can "hold" her pacifier in her mouth with her arm.

She''s waking up . . . gotta go!
 
China, that''s my fear too! My classroom has windows to the hall, so I''m going to have to be creative to sit somewhere where I can''t be seen from the window or if somebody lets him/herself in with a key. I''m planning to put a sign that says "Do Not Disturb" with a picture of a cow on it to suggest why, but I know that won''t be foolproof. Plus I''m going to have to pump in the work room sometimes, and my cubicle is open on the back, so I''m not sure how we''re supposed to fashion some kind of curtain. Oh, and I share my planning period with a man, a loud, obnoxious man . . . Hopefully when he hears the pump he''ll stay away and stop having really loud personal cell phone conversations during our measly, tiny little planning period. I hope I won''t get "stage fright" hearing people around me in the work room. I may have to make some kind of stink about not being provided with an adequate place to pump.

My SIL didn''t put a sign on the supply closet door because she figured people could hear the pump, but she forgot about the deaf janitor who got quite a shock when he went into the closet one day!
 
It''s really a revelation that Claire doesn''t need her Miracle Blanket. As much as her limbs flailing about wake her up, so does her pacifier falling out, and she can control the latter a little better now, so I guess it evens out. I really thought she needed it to settle down. Actually, I think she fell asleep faster today without it. I imagine she''s more comfortable sprawled out than she is bound up in her strait jacket. Tonight will be the test to see if she needed to be swaddled to stay asleep during the night.

I gave her a bath by myself for the first time tonight. DH is out and because we went away for the weekend (and always go too long between baths anyway), Claire was really due for one. I just didn''t want to wait until tomorrow. Of course, I''m not sure it was a very thorough bath because I was mostly concerned with keeping her head above water. We have the inflatable bath that folds in half -- not really the best for giving a bath by yourself. If I were a single parent I''d definitely get one of the infant baths with the hard, shaped seat.

We''ve also moved up to size 2 diapers. I don''t think Claire is 12 pounds yet (the "minimum" weight), but we just kept having blowouts. She seems to be in that phase where one is too small and the other is too big, kind of like Mommy and her size 8 and 10 jeans!

A few times recently Claire has gone 8 or 9 hours between feeds over night (and usually by 9 hours we''re both awake wondering what''s up with her and get her up ourselves); on a "bad" night she goes only 6. I''ll take it!

OK, off to pump . . .
 
I usually just lurk here as I don''t have a newborn myself but I wanted to comment on these pictures. Girls, your babies are gorgeous! Pricescopers sure do make some pretty babies!

Fiery, Sophia is an absolute BEAUTY. She''s gonna be a head-turner. She looks like a little ray of sunshine!

L2L, what a great pic! It''s as if he''s saying "What''s the big deal? It''s just my first birthday!"

Sunkist, love love love the pic of your pup! I already feel a little guilty as far as our dog goes and our baby isn''t due to arrive until August. Your pic made me smile. Wes is a gorgeous little guy too...and what a great name!
 
PG I still use the miracle blanket, but leave their legs out of it
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. I tried the Swaddle me wraps and they broke out of those in less than two hours and kept waking up. I''m definitely not ready to give uo the swaddle!

***

Total me centric post coming...but I need HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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My boys had been doing so well. They were going down at 7:30 or so and waking up once at around 3ish to eat, then back don until 7am. Sometimes they would make it longer. One time Lucas went to 6am! They have both made it plenty of times to 4am and 5am occasionally.

Well...now we''re going backwards! Alex woke up yesterday at 1am, the day before yesterday at 2am. Lucas around 2ish. Then Alex woke up AGAIN at 5am....I was tired of trying to soothe him that I tried feeding him and all he ate was one ounce. Finally I just put him down is his crib and he slept on/off until 6:30m (crying in between...like 3 mins crying, 15 mins sleeping, etc). Luckily, he didn''t seem to bother Lucas (no idea how because he was loud at times!).

Now that I don''t wake up the sleeping baby when the other one wakes up to eat (to encourage them to stay sleep)...I get ZERO sleep. Like last night:

- Me in bed at 10pm, sleep by 10:30pm.
- Alex awake at 1am, I soothe him and try to get him back to sleep for like 30 minutes....back to bed.
- Alex awake at 2am, I give up and feed him.
- Lucas awake at 3am to eat.
- Alex awake at 5am, go downstairs, make a bottle and he eats like 1oz....then cries off and on until 6:30am.
- Out of bed at 6:30am, Lucas wakes up at 7:30am

The previous night was similar and Friday night it was the same but Lucas was the bad sleeper and Alex the good one.

To say I am exhausted is an understatement. I haven''t slept well since WELL before they were even born. The ast 2 months of my pregnancy I had to get up to pee every 1-2 hours.

Last night I was so mad/frustrated/tired that I really wanted to just yell at Alex....I felt so mad at him. No, I didn''t think I would hurt him...but I wasn''t very nice either. I feel ashamed to even say that, but it''s the truth
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That''s when I put him in his crib and walked away....
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What am I doing wrong?? How can they be getting worse rather than better!!!???

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I''m not ready to let them cry it out because I think they''re still too little....but I need to do something. The other problem is, the obvious problem, that there are TWO babies. I can''t let a baby cry/fuss forever because then chances are he will wake up the other baby and now I won''t have one problem...but I''ll have TWO problems.

I do all night feedings by myself...and I wake up with them EVERY morning...weekends and Holidays included. I''m alone with them all day long...and they''re not great nappers either. They take turns to nap most times....so the notion of "sleep when baby sleeps" does NOT work when you have twins that decide to stagger naps. I told DH next weekend I wanted one day to sleep in.

I wish they would take the d@mn pacifier too...I think that may help...but they won''t, they spit it out unless I hold it there. As soon as my finger comes off, they spit it right out. I''ve tried different kinds and nothing.

I''m tired, I''m sad, I''m frustrated, I''m mad.

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Mandarine: Why doesn't your husband help out? My husband has to work early and he still helps out at night and will take the first wake up. And on his days off we switch and I take the first wake up so that I can sleep in. I can't offer much more than that or advice though because we are having a sleep regression also...Asleep at 9:00 awake at 2 a.m.(used to not get up until 4 or 5)...up again at 530 (his second shift was normally between 7 and 730) then up again at 730. Obviously not as much of a problem as you are having though.

Also, don't feel bad about getting mad...It happens and if you don't get frustrated at times you aren't normal! I do the same thing when he frustrates me...put him in his crib and walk away.
 
Oh and Mandarine: My mom told me a funny story about how I was as a sleeper...

I refused to sleep one night and my mom said she got so mad she put me in the crib (not gently but not enough to hurt me) and she yelled at me, "Go to bed!!!!" I wound up laughing at her for the first time when she did that to me and my mom kept me awake the rest of the night trying to get me to laugh again....

I love that story because it reminds me that no matter what we love our little ones so much....even when we get frustrated with them.
 
Date: 1/19/2010 9:01:47 AM
Author: taovandel
Mandarine: Why doesn''t your husband help out? My husband has to work early and he still helps out at night and will take the first wake up. And on his days off we switch and I take the first wake up so that I can sleep in. I can''t offer much more than that or advice though because we are having a sleep regression also...Asleep at 9:00 awake at 2 a.m.(used to not get up until 4 or 5)...up again at 530 (his second shift was normally between 7 and 730) then up again at 730. Obviously not as much of a problem as you are having though.


Also, don''t feel bad about getting mad...It happens and if you don''t get frustrated at times you aren''t normal! I do the same thing when he frustrates me...put him in his crib and walk away.

DH helping out is a whole other story...he does on the weekends (the late night feedings) but not during the week. I understand....I''m not working now and he is...but week days is a different story. On the weekends though I don''t think it''s fair I''m still the one up early and I already told him that''s going to have to change...
 
mandarine: I do still do all early morning wake ups and LO is 15 mo's! And I work/commute just like DH. Weekends are kind of annoying since I'd like to catch up on sleep (since I wake up several times at night since unfortunately C is a restless sleeper--she was great until 10 mo's!!). But it's how it is, and I guess I'm ok with it. DH says C gets upset when she doesn't see me so figures better if I'm the one going in there. He does help out during the day on wkends..if you're able to whip DH into shape though, that'd be great! With 2 I think the DHs needs to be alot more hands on. It sounds like you really need at least one night's solid sleep (8hrs!!)--I would just tell DH, "this Saturday night and morning is your shift" and let him handle it!!

Your boys are getting so big btw!
 
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