Happy Monday!

[amaranth]

Does anyone have off work or school today? M is off school so excuse me if I start a bunch of ridiculous threads, I may need distractions

I'm excited. We needed another bed for M and were fine with a cheap one, but I insisted it match the room. I was not willing to compromise on color. I found options for between $90- $150 new but since our budget did not plan for this expense that still felt like a lot. I have been scrolling buy sell trade boards for a week and yesterday found a listing 15 minutes after it posted. It's adorable, in good shape, and they said we can have it for $35! Score!

[wanderingenough]

That's awesome, amaranth! I love scoring deals like that. Perfect luck!

No day off for me. However, I'm contemplating a few hours off one afternmoon midweek if I can manage it work-wise. I'm feeling a little burnt out and I need some me time. Plus my house and other activities need some love!

H is traveling part of the week, so I'm already dreading figuring out how to give little man ear drops twice a day when it's currently a 2 person job.

[grover]

I'm off. I have to drive 40ish minutes to return a bunch of dresses I bought online, but I'm happy that one fit and will work for what I wanted it for.

[wanderingenough]

grover - I first read your post as needing to return 40ish dresses!

[grover]

wanderingenough, thankfully no! I ordered 6 dresses, I really liked 3 of them, but one was going to be too snug because the event isn't for another two weeks. Another one that I liked was super form fitting, which is nixed because it's a family event and we don't have anywhere I can wear it in the next two months. So I'm keeping one dress, returning five.

[amaranth]

Jan 16, 2017 10:21:19 GMT -5 grover said:

wanderingenough, thankfully no! I ordered 6 dresses, I really liked 3 of them, but one was going to be too snug because the event isn't for another two weeks. Another one that I liked was super form fitting, which is nixed because it's a family event and we don't have anywhere I can wear it in the next two months. So I'm keeping one dress, returning five.

Post a pic or link?

[MrsMB]

New Hire Monday

[katespade]

H and I are both off work today. He's out running errands, so I'm just snuggled up on the couch with the pups.

Gus is still waking us up at 4am because he needs to go outside. Then, once he's been outside he seems to think that should mean it's breakfast time so he refuses to go back to sleep. I made it through an hour of whining before I got up and let him out of his crate. I think we're going to try adjusting his dinner time to see if that helps him sleep through the night without needing a trip outside.

I don't handle a lack of sleep well.

[amaranth]

katespade liked for puppy cuddles, not lack of sleep.

[ewall]

Off work today! Just tying up loose ends around the house. A few errands, maybe a workout, read a book.

[grover]

katespade, one thing my mom did with her cat (so not sure it would work with Gus), is put the bowl of food in a tupperware container in her nightstand. She'd roll over when the cat was annoying, get it out, and then roll over back to bed. Maybe you can modify slightly- let him potty, fill up his bowl and bring it upstairs? Then you can maybe go back to sleep and he can maybe eat then cuddle with you? Might buy you more time.

Like today, H had work, so he got up with the dogs and fed them, then he sent them back up to me at 6:30. I couldn't fall back asleep today (I usually can), but they cuddled and slept themselves til 8:30

[grover]

suzv, our first house was a two bedroom townhome. Loved it, and probably would have stayed longer had it been a 3 bedroom/2 full bath (we had 2 bed, 1.5 bath and full finished basement) and a bigger yard. We moved after getting the second dog- just didn't feel big enough for two large dogs, two adults and a future kid with one full bathroom.

Noise was not an issue. We had neighbors on both sides, and loved the neighbor to the left. She was a retired woman, and she'd look out after us, would walk the dogs as puppies (and if she heard they were sick would do extra checks/potty breaks for them), and grab our mail if we were OOT. The other side wasn't that bad, we just got annoyed because they said they'd move when their son graduated high school, and instead, they divorced, the woman and son stayed in the house and also had 2-4 renters at any one time living there. The only issue (the people were friendly enough) was that they were the ones we shared the driveway with (we each had one car garage, but shared the two car wide/long driveway)- wasn't a huge problem, since we knew we only had one side of the driveway as "ours" but they were constantly parking in the street on both sides so our guests had to park and walk further (an issue when my mom came to visit if others were visiting as well after her knee replacement.)

Just look into HOA rules, regs and fees!

[katespade]

grover - That's a good idea. What I'm hoping is that if we feed him dinner earlier he'll be able to go potty before bed so that it's out of his system before he goes to sleep and he'll start sleeping through the night again. I don't think he's actually hungry, I think he's just used to the pattern - Wake up, go out, eat breakfast. Now that he's suddenly waking up in the middle of the night, he's confused about why he isn't getting the food part of that routine when he wakes up.

If an earlier dinner, an extra trip outside before bed, and a treat at bedtime don't work, I think we'll try your idea next.

[wanderingenough]

katespade - Gus just knows you guys have been discussing the potential of TTC. He is prepping you for sleepless nights.

suzv - Enjoy the cuddles. Enjoy the swing naps. Enjoy it all. Let daycare handle getting him in a nap routine. They are pros. Promise! ETA: R never even napped in his crib until WEEKS after he started daycare (maybe even a couple months), because then I savored the cuddles on the weekend. I finally started putting him in for naps at like 5 months old maybe and he naps just fine. Don't stress about it!

[katespade]

wanderingenough - Right??? I keep telling H that this is reason #4927 that I'm probably going to be a terrible mother, and we should maybe we consider this whole TTC thing. I'm far too selfish about my need for sleep. lol.

[estrellita]

I'm off today and woke up with a migraine, so I'm glad I'm off! I might just work on my Yoda today instead of being as productive as I wanted. I've actually gotten a fair amount done in the last few days, so I don't feel too bad but I should probably do little laundry or something at least.

One of my cats is currently sleeping in the sun next to the heat vent. I wish I could be a cat sometimes, lol.

[MrsMB]

Jan 16, 2017 13:24:11 GMT -5 katespade said:

wanderingenough - Right??? I keep telling H that this is reason #4927 that I'm probably going to be a terrible mother, and we should maybe we consider this whole TTC thing. I'm far too selfish about my need for sleep. lol.

I'm TERRIBLE at the lack of sleep thing....terrible. DH started helping with MOTN wakeups when DD was about 5 months. That changed my life. So...all that to say, "If I can do it...."

[katespade]

Jan 16, 2017 13:38:47 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

Jan 16, 2017 13:24:11 GMT -5 katespade said:

wanderingenough - Right??? I keep telling H that this is reason #4927 that I'm probably going to be a terrible mother, and we should maybe we consider this whole TTC thing. I'm far too selfish about my need for sleep. lol.

I'm TERRIBLE at the lack of sleep thing....terrible. DH started helping with MOTN wakeups when DD was about 5 months. That changed my life. So...all that to say, "If I can do it...."

Hearing that actually makes me feel a lot better! H just keeps saying that dealing with no sleep will be different when it's because of a baby... yeah, okay H, keep telling yourself that. LOL.

[MrsMB]

Jan 16, 2017 13:45:44 GMT -5 katespade said:

Jan 16, 2017 13:38:47 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

I'm TERRIBLE at the lack of sleep thing....terrible. DH started helping with MOTN wakeups when DD was about 5 months. That changed my life. So...all that to say, "If I can do it...."

Hearing that actually makes me feel a lot better! H just keeps saying that dealing with no sleep will be different when it's because of a baby... yeah, okay H, keep telling yourself that. LOL.

You need to respond back with, "So you're telling me that you're going to be a GIANT help with MOTN wakeups? Cause, that's what I'm hearing." Then make him sign it in blood  

[pooh8402]

E's daycare is closed today, so I scheduled myself to be off. It's been a while since he and I have had a day just the two of us, so I'm glad to spend time with him.

We're signing the contract on our new house tonight, then close at the end of Feb! We found quite a few things needing fixing during inspection, including some foundation issues, so we got the seller to come down on the price more to cover the cost of repairs. Our current home goes on the market today, so now I have to keep the place clean until we get offers. FX someone tours the place and offers soon!

Hoping the job I interviewed for calls today, with an offer. She told me she would let me know at the end of last week, so if I haven't heard anything by 3p today, I'm calling.

[wanderingenough]

katespade - H and I both have a tough time on lack of sleep (ETA: honestly, who doesn't? haha) and we are surviving. It can happen!

[amaranth]

Jan 16, 2017 13:24:11 GMT -5 katespade said:

wanderingenough - Right??? I keep telling H that this is reason #4927 that I'm probably going to be a terrible mother, and we should maybe we consider this whole TTC thing. I'm far too selfish about my need for sleep. lol.

I've never met anyone who relied upon dramatic amounts of sleep more than I did. I cried during oregnancy, terrified of the sleeplessness I was about to endure. Oddly, I got used to it pretty quickly and it isn't nearly as sucky as I expected! I still love my sleep, and my husband knows my weekend naps are sacred, but if I can do it you definitely can.

[ewall]

suzv Let daycare handle the nap routine I've never lived in a townhouse, but I would definitely love not having to maintain a large yard so that's a plus of a townhouse.

katespade I don't know how to explain it, but you just do what you have to do in the moment re: sleep and wake ups. And like amaranth, weekend naps are key!

I caved. I'm replacing the light bulb over the kitchen sink. Stand off is over. I lose, once again.

On the bright side, I lined up a new volunteer gig for next week so that's exciting.

[katespade]

Jan 16, 2017 13:52:54 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

Jan 16, 2017 13:45:44 GMT -5 katespade said:

Hearing that actually makes me feel a lot better! H just keeps saying that dealing with no sleep will be different when it's because of a baby... yeah, okay H, keep telling yourself that. LOL.

You need to respond back with, "So you're telling me that you're going to be a GIANT help with MOTN wakeups? Cause, that's what I'm hearing." Then make him sign it in blood  

I actually have a feeling that he'll be a huge help with MOTN wake ups. When we got Gus, he slept on the floor next to the crate and took him out every time he woke up for two weeks while we crate trained him. When I offered to take a turn doing it, he said that he would rather keep doing it than deal with me after a night of no sleep. Hahaha.

[amaranth]

Jan 16, 2017 14:20:54 GMT -5 katespade said:

Jan 16, 2017 13:52:54 GMT -5 MrsMB said:

You need to respond back with, "So you're telling me that you're going to be a GIANT help with MOTN wakeups? Cause, that's what I'm hearing." Then make him sign it in blood  

I actually have a feeling that he'll be a huge help with MOTN wake ups. When we got Gus, he slept on the floor next to the crate and took him out every time he woke up for two weeks while we crate trained him. When I offered to take a turn doing it, he said that he would rather keep doing it than deal with me after a night of no sleep.v Hahaha.

Best answer. You'll be fine!

[estrellita]

I'm glad I'm not alone in not handling sleep deprivation well. H had to go back to work after a week so I did all MOTN wakeups plus had him all day, then wanted to stay up and spend time with H when he got home. I was exhausted and with PPD/troubles with BFing I was miserable. But we made it through, with minimal snapping at each other, lol. I got lucky though and E was a fairly good sleeper for the most part (of course H ended up staying up late with him some nights trying to get him to sleep but he deals with lack of sleep 100000x better than I do).

[luv2rn4fun]

suzv- enjoy this last week! Let daycare handle all napping issues...as much as I love DAY I wish I had daycare to handle these things LOL

katespade- sleep deprivation sucks but you adapt. Hopefully you will be blessed with an awesome sleeper! I hear some babies are...definitely not ones my DH and I procreate though and we have somehow survived (although I am a huge fan of early sleep training...its a hard few days but so much easier in the long run).

Bagels coffee and groceries with C this morning! DH took some cabinets off in our kitchen overlooking the playroom and it looks so much better now! Made some pouches, DH's lunch, and dinner is in the crockpot! We might try to get out for a walk later on as well!

[awick14]

pooh8402- FX for a quick sale for you!

katespade- if he's that helpful with the pup you will do fine with a baby.

DH and I have gotten a late start in going to our house to paint today. O well. I also want to go to the store and buy a few things we need, bagels and such. Hopefully we can get it all done by dinner. (It's only 2:30 here.)

[luv2rn4fun]

We ended up walking to the park! C got to play, I held L and we had some fun on the swings, and I also met a mom with 2 girls ages 3yo and 5 months old. It was nice to comisserate on sleep issues and just needing to get out with our older kids (she left the baby at home with her husband to spend quality time with her older daughter). L napped in the carrier on the way home and we got to see a beautiful sunset. Perfect ending to the day! Now if only L will bless me with a decent night of sleep and minimal crying tonight...

[amaranth]

luv2rn4fun I think the rest of need a moratorium on park talk until like May. The rest of us are buried in snow or mud or gloom but I am glad that you can get out so much. That is key with a new baby!