Baby Files #8

The Love to dream giveaway has now closed and the winner chosen (Sarah Gooley) with this comment: “Oh that Maggie. She is beautiful. And like I say under breath to my girls every single day. Thank the Lord that you are cute, because otherwise… OTHERWISE!

My eldest is three in July and the baby is 6 and a half months old. My children seem determined to ensure that I don’t sleep for longer than 1hr and 15 minutes at a time. I am now used to it. I have forgotten what rested feels like. In stead I have learnt how to use concealer and highlighter like a ninja to cover up sleep deprivation. 

I was silly enough to have sex with my husband a couple of months ago and recently found out I’m pregnant again. Apparently I hate sleep. Or sleep hates me and it’s a cruel joke. 

I am very excited about our new addition. It will be crazy and hectic and we will be a bit poorer, with a three and half year old, 14 month old and newborn. A lovely sleeping bag that the girls and the new baby can use would be great and perhaps it might help whoever is in it sleep a bit better.”

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Are these going to have to be called Toddler files soon enough? Well if they are, I refuse to partake in it because it’s entirely not ok as it is, to have a 1 year old. How can it be? Maggie. 1.

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She’s thrilled at the prospect. Me? I have to say, I’ve aged a little lately.

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I know. It’s quite frightening really. And if you don’t believe me, this is actually me, on Snapchat (user name is BabyMacBeth) this very morning. Don’t panic, I’m not talking about the baby here, just my old trusty friend the 6 year old.

Last night was particularly bad, obviously from the way I look and sound. And it has been 2,410 days that she has never slept through, so give me this. GIVE ME THIS.

But enough about almost 7 year olds that don’t know how to sleep in the night! Kate & Wills’ garden is looking particularly good this time of year don’t you think?

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They’ve been busy getting between their place in the city and the country, but thankfully can get around quicker than the rest of us. I wonder if the kids still drop shit in the back of the chopper that you have to reach back and pick up 568 times?

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Char is now 1 too and ADORABLE. With superior hair, just like her Mother.

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Kate has been snapping away, much like me.

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I have been making much more of an effort to get Maggie out of Pj’s and into clothes. I promise Mum.

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Shoes have even started to get a run! Although what is it about baby feet? As Rob said to me last week when he was trying to get them on her little trotters, “it’s like her feet are broken?!” And confirmed with me in the shoe shop just yesterday that babies do not have heels. It’s quite astounding really. Lucky for us I was able to squeeze these slippers on last week. HAVE YOU EVER?!

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Archie has moved in just 5 minutes down the road which is VERY exciting.

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Ok, so on this day I forgot to dress her, but mostly I am making an effort. I’m also getting her into training like our Queen.

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She is on the MOVE, heaven help us. Give the girl something to hold onto and she’s walking!

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Or just generally exploring and putting herself into danger.

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And thank goodness for me, I have 2 babysitters ready to step in when I need to get dinner cleaned up, or when she’s just a bit feral before bed.

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She’s now on one sleep a day (which makes the mornings long and boring because as soon as we get in that car to go anywhere she falls asleep). You should have seen my efforts yesterday getting home from the supermarket before she crashed. Playschool soundtrack up FULL ball, I had snacks being thrown back at her every 45 seconds, toys, singing! Pinching! But we made it. The one sleep has helped a little at night, with her sleeping longer than before and not needing feeding in the night. Except for last night when she woke pretty much every 20 minutes for the entire night so I gave her a bottle at about 2am to see if that would work, it didn’t. She still has a dummy (do not care if she has it when she is 34) and is still being rocked to sleep (yes you told me it was a rod for my own back and no I did not listen) but we’re getting there. And she’s happy.

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Now I have something for YOU to be happy about! A giveaway! From my friends at Love to Dream. A gorgeous sleeping bag for the winter ahead worth $69.95! We can ALL live in hope that our babies sleep!

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All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment below telling me the last time you had a good nights sleep. Was it in 2006 like me? Did you dream? Did you wake up and conquer the world? Tell me every sweet detail. Giveaway is open until Sunday night 5th June 2016 9pm open to Australian residents only. You can read the rest of the T&C’s here.

One more thing to share with you guys, friends of mine have recently developed a free APP called SNUG. It’s a babysitting network that you can share with friends and family to share babysitters, or if you are a babysitter, you can find more work.

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I’m so proud of what they have done…you can download the app for free here on iTunes. And you can read a little more about it on Facebook here. Well done guys!

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to lay down on the couch while Maggie sleeps and eat some complex carbohydrates to see me through the rest of there afternoon/evening/next 2410 days…

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How is your little one going? Walking? Sleeping? Talking? Tantruming?
Want a great sleeping bag for free? Tell me about your last good night’s sleep.
Do you find finding good babysitters hard too?

Comments

  1. My wee one is 14 months today, and has been walking since 10 months. No really. Nightmare. She’s a climber, a runner, hell I’m pretty sure she takes the car for a spin when I’m not looking. We gave in early (7 months) and took her to sleep school (call me weak but getting up 20 times a night – I shit you not – broke me) so her sleeps are actually good, but still, Mama-Panic-Merchant over here cant sleep through the night because WHAT IF. What if she stops breathing, what if she’s too cold/hot/happy/sad/wet/dry COS WHATEVER IT IS MY TINY SLEEP DEPRIVED MIND WILL FIND A RIDICULOUS SCENARIO AND PLAY IT OUT. Over. And over. And over. It never stops does it? Like ever? But you know, don’t tell anyone but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My muppet is my everything.Oh and her dad’s ok too. x

  2. I had the best nights sleep last night Beth!! Georgia has had a cold and I’ve been suffering with thyroid issues, so for both of us to sleep through the night last night was AMAZING!! My husband woke me this morning to give me my medication and to tell me that Georgia was breathing through her nose again – the joy of being told that and knowing I could go back to sleep haha 🙂
    I swear fresh sheets yesterday for all of us must have helped – Maintenance Tuesday for me cause I work Mondays – should I call it Upkeep Tuesday!! 🙂
    Hope you have a wonderful day and maybe fit in a nap while Maggie sleeps 🙂
    Kylie x

  3. The month of July in 2014 I slept well. I just weaned the first child, then August 2014 I got pregnant with number two. Haven’t slept well since. Pregnancy was cruel second time around and second child likes to remind me he’s still here every 45 minutes. All night long.

  4. mrshanksy says

    Oh my goodness – Archie and Maggie together at the dolls house is the cutest freakin pic EVA!!

  5. Lesley Baker says

    Ahhh about 8yrs ago- go out and drink 3 red bull and vodkas(that’s all it took??) go home, spew, sleep till lunch the following day!! That was life before miss 7, mr 5 and miss almost 2!

  6. A good nights sleep, the number one thing on my wish list. It’s probably been a good few months since I had a good night’s sleep. I have a 13 months old who has been teething and has been pre-diagnosed with asthma so if it’s not coughing at night it’s teeth! On the up side having just gone back to work I literally fall into bed at night after going non-stop all day till late in the evening. Maybe some day soon a good night sleep were I bound out of bed in the morning will come my way and the way of other mums out there 🙂

  7. Ohmygosh – no sleeping. It’s like Chinese torture – only worse. I have no answers for you – it is rare that ALL four of mine sleep ALL night, so someone is always up stomping about, coming in to us for something incredibly important.

    That Maggie of yours is very ACE – I love her grin – and bloody Wills and Kate’s garden – that’s just so wrong. – where’s all the dog poo?!

    hope you get some rest soon!x

  8. 20 months in and still waking up constantly…. Sometimes just once or twice, others lots more! Bed sharing when we need to and when I can’t cope anymore daddy sleeps with her on a queen mattress on her floor! (What would we do without dads!!!)

    So my last best night sleep would of been the night before I went into labour for 32 hours…. About 20 months ago ? Hubby wants number 2 so I’m guessing it’s going to be a long long times before i have a good nights sleep again – if ever!

  9. Taryn Morrison says

    I’m hearing you! We breed children who don’t sleep. We have three, our youngest is 19 months and our oldest is 10 next week and we are DONE! Broken sleep is a killer ?

  10. She looks well and truly chuffed with pushing dolly in the stroller..

    Your vege soup looks good. Decidedly healthier and almost as satisfying as the lunch I just had – a Cherry Ripe!

  11. Morgan North says

    Yes in fact my almost 8 year old barely gets through a night without coming into our room at least once! And she is an early riser morning person!! ? The baby who is 8 months thinks that our bed is the best place to be on cold nights at 2am…. Not the best for the back and neck (he is a massive bed hog…) Thankfully we have two good sleepers. 2 out of 4 ain’t bad!

  12. peta venus says

    7665 nights of no sleep here. Intellectually disabled son does not believe in night time sleeps. Or days for that matter. 1 to 3 hours max each night. In half hour blocks!!! Fuck me.

  13. Oh that Maggie. She is beautiful. And like I say under breath to my girls every single day. Thank the Lord that you are cute, because otherwise… OTHERWISE!

    My eldest is three in July and the baby is 6 and a half months old. My children seem determined to ensure that I don’t sleep for longer than 1hr and 15 minutes at a time. I am now used to it. I have forgotten what rested feels like. In stead I have learnt how to use concealer and highlighter like a ninja to cover up sleep deprivation.

    I was silly enough to have sex with my husband a couple of months ago and recently found out I’m pregnant again. Apparently I hate sleep. Or sleep hates me and it’s a cruel joke.

    I am very excited about our new addition. It will be crazy and hectic and we will be a bit poorer, with a three and half year old, 14 month old and newborn. A lovely sleeping bag that the girls and the new baby can use would be great and perhaps it might help whoever is in it sleep a bit better.

    • Congrats Sarah! You are the winner of the giveaway. Can you shoot me an email with your full contact details (name and address and size/colour of the sleeping bag) and I will arrange to have it sent out to you!

  14. A month ago my sleeping stars aligned and I slept. The baby slept, the 4-year-old climbed over me and into my bed without me waking and in the morning the Mr got them both up with me just giving a quick roll over. Ok, quite possibly I was in a coma but I woke up so refreshed!

  15. I have an 18mth old – surprisingly, he’s not the reason I haven’t slept through on 3 years; it’s the bloody cats!!! At 1:30, they decide its playtime and run around the house, over my head, chasing each other until I get up and feed them. Yes, get up and feed them!!!! My husband is going away on a boys weekend this weekend, I’m just jealous he will have two whole nights of uninterrupted sleep!!!!!

  16. My youngest loved those sleeping bags. He had to have them as he moved around his cot ALL night long. Now at 10 he has gone back to sleeping in a sleeping bag as his doonas don’t stay on during the night. Hilarious, but hey, if it works, go for it. Both my boys did the nightime wander into our room too. Used to KILL me. Permanent mattress on the floor. It does eventually stop, hang in there. Now I wake up during the night because of my stupid thyroid condition ? Not fair ??

  17. Sleep, the only thing in the world you cannot buy, or can you??? 8 month old sleep tyrant was tamed a few months ago after I did a Skype consult with The baby sleep company. Best money ever spent!! I was on my game, hair washed, kinder kid actually at kinder and 35k in my work in progress written. Deflating balloon sound… Croup = sleep regression = return of mumbie mum/zombie…..

  18. Michelle Cains says

    With a three year old who deems sleeping on her own as being a truly abhorrent concept, and a nine month old who usually gets lonely and a touch peckish around 3am, it’s gotta be heading for 1300 (long, long) nights since I last slept from head-down to sun-up – I was probably 5 months pregnant and needing to pee twice a night… Wouldn’t swap being a Mumma for quids but gee I could do with some sustained sleep… ?

  19. I agree with the permanent mattress on the floor comment Beth. Our son used to wander up the hallway, dragging his doona with him, to our room but instead of climbing in would settle himself on the mattress. You had to remember to step over him in the middle of the night to go to the loo ? but he got to have the feeling of being close to us without waking us up. I need my sleep!

  20. Yes don’t get of that dummy, I did that because first child I was concerned about what people thought and everyone told me it was bad (fist palm) – but she had severe medicated reflux and just popped her fingers in her mouth where they remain today. She is 8, her teeth and her jaw is suffering and I might have to sell an organ to pay for dentistry work. Love that first pic of Mags, that face!

  21. mags is so funny and cute beth!
    can say he looks like she might be good with hockey!
    btw you’ve aged hun!;))X
    catch up on sleep when you can!
    i’m sure kate would support that!
    what a charmed life they lead!
    take care! love m:)X

  22. Beth, I’m sorry can’t help you much with non-sleeping 6 nearly 7 year old – I bribed my 8 year old with cash and that worked, but I think you I have already tried that.
    I rocked my daughter, now 15, to sleep for approx 18 months and I loved it ! I never had any more children, due to circumstance and I’m so glad we had that special time together each day.

  23. Oh Beth I don’t know how you’ve done so long with shit sleep. I sometimes feel like I might lose my mind and it’s only been ONE year ?

  24. I only have two words regarding sleep here and I KNOW you will understand Beth: WHOOPING COUGH. Or as you so eloquently put it, F***ING PERTUSSIS.

    I’d love to gift a cosy sleeping bag to my brand new, very first, very adorable nephew… And no we won’t be visiting due to those two horrible words…

    May the sleepy vibes find their way to your house!

  25. I can’t really remember what a good nights sleep is like, but funnily enough I think it’s one that you don’t remember – where you go to sleep, you sleep like a log and you wake in the morning and you go ‘oh, I’m ready for the day’. These days I remember EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. It could be my 5yr old having a nightmare or ‘hearing airplanes in the window’, my 16month old losing his dummy (BIG fan here – especially after miss 5 swapped dummy for thumb and now has overbite!), or husband rolling over, or me waking up from a big snore! But, what is good is that I do dream. And I dream well. The best night is when I dream of eating cake – I taste it and devour it and eat more and more, and its delicious, and then I wake and realise that I had an amazing cake/sugar hit without actually eating anything! Perfect!!! No calories!!! I’ve dreamt it three times. Yum.

  26. Oh… all the little mousey things! The shoes and jumper! Gahhh says the woman who is a mother to three digger loving boys.

    Can I say, I don’t remember the last time I slept well. I’m in the shocking files alongside you. I think it’s been at least three years since I got a full nights sleep – the was two babies ago and even then I’m sure I had a crummy toddler who would have been pulling me up out of my slumber and beds warmth. I’ve put aside the decade.

  27. Oh man…like you, I fantasise about sleep. Haven’t had a full night since 2013 when my first son was born. He’s three now and still wakes for critical reasons, like asking for bananas at 2:17am. The baby – almost 1 – wakes anywhere from 3-8 times a night. We have created those rods too, Beth. Feeding, rocking, patting blah blah. I’m too tired to change bad habits! I’m currently contemplating a work trip to western Queensland which involves a flight from Brisbane to Roma, then 2 hour drive to a project site, full day of work, then two hour drive back to Roma where I’d GET TO STAY IN A 2.5 STAR MOTEL BY MYSELF! Does that sound like heaven or what?! Gotta do what you gotta do. Sweet dreams. X

  28. I downloaded that App excitedly but alas caught out again as I don’t have Facebook. Can’t register ?

  29. We are still in sleeplessness hell. My 3 year old is in this cycle where he doesn’t go to be until around 1030pm & then I get my first wake up call from the 2 year old around 1130pm. It’s so fucked up right now that I actually asked my doctor what could I give them to make them sleep?! Of course there’s nothing, OF COURSE, & I knew that but deep down I’m sad. I’m sad because I just want some sleep, more than 3 hours in a row sleep.
    And timely give away because just last night I was thinking about sleeping bags for the lady because she will not keep a blanket on. Literally every night she throws her blanket out of her cot & if you try & give it back or put it in her once she’s asleep she just kicks it off. So weird!
    And let’s not talk about when my last good sleep was because I can’t bloody remember & that just makes me sad…

  30. Oh man, my daughter is 20 months old. She has NEVER woken less than 4 times a night, for FEEDS! Rod, back, definitely.
    But it hasn’t just been 20 months, it’s been since the second I found out I was preggo I couldn’t sleep.
    All the EYEBAGS!
    But I see the light, two more ‘sleeps’ and I’m off for 4 nights in Melbourne with my Mum.
    Pretty please pick us to win, we have just moved from the icy cold central west to the sunny Central coast and I really thought it wouldn’t be that cold at night.

  31. My husband surprised me by sending me to Bali recently as he travels and I am largely alone with two daughters and a baby boy Charlie who is only 1.5. He took annual leave to take over as I was close to bursting.
    I went alone and on the first night slept from 6 pm till 9.30 am! Straight through.
    It is still having an effect on me weeks later. It was truly the best medicine. Apart from the amazing sleeps it was so lovely not to speak and hear my own voice repeating the same things day in day out.

  32. Last night I had our 3 year old, our 20 month old and the baby in my belly, kicking me whilst I ‘tried’ to sleep. It appears that once everyone is in bed with me, they are happy to lay down, close their eyes and sleep {so my husband, jumps out, goes into our other queen bed and has a good night sleep. Some times I want to kick him!

  33. The last decent sleep I had was sometime in 2011, my son (now 7) stopped waking me during the night with one thing or another, and before my second arrived (now nearly 4). But if it’s not the kids, it’s a snoring husband that wakes me up, or something else on my mind!! Gone are the days of going to bed and not waking until the alarm goes off! I’m having my first ever weekend away with my girlfriends this weekend, no kids, no husbands, I can sleep for as long as I want! But I reckon I’ll be awake at the crack of dawn like every other morning!!
    Finding a babysitter was hard, we never went out by ourselves for the first two years of being parents! No family here in Australia, or friends who I felt comfortable asking really. We now had a wonderful babysitter who also works at the kids daycare centre, They really look forward to her coming, so I’m happy to leave them in her more than capable hands.

  34. Sending so much sympathy about the sleep. We joke about it, but it really is the pits. My son will be 8 this month . . . and comes into our bed every. single. night. Over active imagination means bad dreams, imaginary noises in the night and a need to be snuggled. I relocate to his bed every night. He promised me a full night’s sleep for Mother’s Day and delivered. I honestly felt like I had slept for 5 days when I woke up – fabulous! Tried to bribe him for another night but no luck.

    I just want to sleep through the night and wake up with my husband!!!

  35. Early 2012? I think. Seems like a distant dream. Kid, cats and husband … There is always someone awake. An aunt once told me that after 4 kids she realised very few others would comprehend just how many times she was up at night …

  36. My last good night’s sleep? Hmmmm…. I actually don’t remember it. Or my brain is (ironically) too sleep deprived to retrieve it from the very far back, cobwebbed archives of my memory. I did however feel awfully sorry for my husband last night when I mentioned over the phone that I couldn’t recall my last good night’s sleep and his reply was “me neither” (he works away 21 days of each month which I know is so difficult for him as we have a 5 month old daughter that he misses like mad however to the best of my knowledge it doesn’t involve any babies requiring his boobs every few hours overnight). Stunned silence…. During which I’m sure he imagined me nodding in sympathy (I don’t know how to find that eye rolling emoji on my laptop but if I could it would go here). Bless him.

    Thank goodness for cups of tea. And cute babies. And my mum who replied “you’re not grumpy darling” when I apologised for being so grumpy today (when she really would have been well within her rights to tell me to stop being such a mole). And thank goodness for Baby Mac’s ‘baby files’ that remind me that I’m not alone and buck me up every single time. Thank you for your blog Beth… and for creating such a beautiful online mama community x

    P.S we would absolutely love a new sleeping bag because you might as well be warm, cosy and stylish while you’re not sleeping when you should be right?! 🙂

  37. My last best night sleep was 2 months ago. For the first 3 months my lo barely slept due to silent reflux. So every sleep he had would be in my arms. And then finally his medication started working and i bought him a swaddle. And just like that he started sleeping in his cot and sleeping through the night. But unfortunately i only had a few good night sleeps because my thyroid starting playing up severely. Anxiety, insomnia and dry eyes make it hard to sleep. And my medication still hasn’t made a difference. I seriously day dream about those few nights of blissful sleep all the time. I honestly believe that i was laying in clouds and it was pure heaven.
    At the end of the day even with lack of sleep i still feel blessed coz my baby is happy and loves to sleep now. So theres no more screaming just lots of smiles and giggles. My partner works away 4:1 and im so glad my baby has adjusted to everything so well otherwise i probably would have ended up in the mental ward ?

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