Good afternoon girls DH at home with a cold but he's not too bad, or feeling sorry for himself this time. He spent the morning doing jig-saws with Wade whilst keeping an eye on Niall asleep in his pram which allowed me to catch up on some sleep myself. Last night wasn't too bad but co-slept after 3am again which meant I didn't sleep deeply. I don't worry about squashing him, I worry about the blankets smothering him... but I figure light sleep is better than none. My best strategy for helping him settle when he is irritable is popping him in the pram (inside the house) which has a bassinette attachment and pushing that back and forth a little... the motion is really soothing and 8 times out of ten he'll calm down and drift off to sleep (especially if he's just had a bath/shower which always settles him of an evening). We used this technique with our other two as well. Helps them learn to relax and fall asleep without being held. If he doesn't settle I don't let him cry too long either, pick him up, cuddle, carry him around the house (he loves going in the pantry! a change of scene works wonders). Then try the pram again. He's feeding every 3 hours usually ATM... perhaps more frequently in the evening (I cluster feed to help him get really satisfied). My MCHN reminded me that most babies have 4 hours out of 24 that are unsettled at this age. Niall isn't unsettled for that long so I consider myself lucky.... although next week could be a totally different story!

After this morning's sleep I feel almost "caught up" with my sleep deposits... am going to have a really restful day today in preparation for tomorrow's outing with Verity and her friend into the city for some shopping. I'll leave Niall at home with DH and Wade.... hope DH's cold doesn't get worse... have been looking forward to doing this all week!

Lovely dark, rainy day here... I find that Wade sleeps better during his nap time on days like this although he's due to wake up soon.

Fiona: I do that pat pat thing too LOL but that starts later (when my babies are older) and I let them sleep on their tummies... it works wonders hey... and yep, I play soft classical music at the same time... and i also agree with the sling suggestion for dealing with an unsettled baby... you've got some good advice to start with here tulip I agree that swaddleing can really help for most babies but mine just don't like it at all because they've all liked to sleep with their hands near their mouths (Niall was born that way!) but their startle reflex doesn't wake them so that's lucky.

Ok... time for a quick cuppa before Wade awakes (he's actually the most "challenging" family member ATM).