Getting baby into a routine

There’s one in every group of mums that proudly states how their little one has slept through the night for months now and has good long  naps during the day. Meanwhile you’re stood there smiling and remarking how wonderful that is, yet inside cursing the sleep Gods’ cruelty. I’m the latter mum. Now to be fair to the Mini Grumpy Egyptian she did go through a bit of an upheaval when we moved countries – she was just three months old – and I’m sure some of my stress rubbed off on her, but I had rather hoped she would have settled by now. The fact that I’m writing this post on my phone in the middle of the night because she has woke up again would suggest she hasn’t.

For illustrative purposes, this is what I'm told a sleeping baby looks like

At first I wondered if it was the new cot, the different noises and smells, teething or if I was doing something wrong. Some told me the only way to deal with it was to let her cry it out… a method that even in my most sleep deprived state I haven’t been willing to do. Others suggested stuffing her with formula (she’s breastfed) before bed so she wouldn’t want to feed during the night. Basically most of what was suggested I wasn’t willing to embrace.

So I sat down and thought about her bedtime routine, The MGE has had a routine of sorts since birth as it helped me stay sane during her colic and cluster-feed strewn first months. We would put some relaxing music on, give her a bath with bubbles, attempt a massage (I never mastered this) and then after pjs I would read or sing (anyone who has heard me sing would claim this was the reason for her distress) to her before she would feed to sleep.

That would happen whatever time she looked tired, but now she is older we worked out it needs to start around 7pm otherwise the tears come. I still follow the same routine – Mozart for Babies  is currently our favourite  – and she drops off quickly, but isn’t so keen on being put down. A sleeping bag helped as she kept getting cold when her blankets fell off, but what next?

How do you get your little ones to sleep at night? I know some mums that don’t follow any routine and it seems to work for them at the moment, but I can’t help seeing trouble in the future. Don’t get me started on daytime naps! If I hold her or push the pram around the MGE will sleep for hours, put her in her cot and she glares at me like she wants to know what I’m playing at!

Any tips from my fellow mums? Please tell me there is hope or should I just take out shares in Yves Saint Laurent concealer?

Mummy friends

Picture the scene. Girl walks into room with other girls she doesn’t know – they all seem to already know each other – and inside she is screaming, “Please like me! Look I also have a Cath Kidston changing bag!” No I’m not talking about the first day at school, but my first visit to the baby weighing clinic after the birth of the Mini Grumpy Egyptian (MGE).

Yes we are all grownups, but there is still that little girl inside that doesn’t want to sit on her own and get picked last at sports. I had been away from my hometown for 3 years when I went to university and then abroad for 4.5 years so had grown apart from many of my old friends, while the remaining chums were spread out around the world. On my return to the UK, I got on great with my health visitor so when she suggested I visit the open clinic to weigh the MGE and make new friends I thought how hard can it be….

Oh. My. God. It was like being back at school, but mummy-style. There were the Yummy Mummys  on one side with buggies so fancy they looked like NASA made them, perfectly highlighted hair  and non-vomit covered clothes who sat there talking about organic baby food and how quickly they got back into their pre-baby jeans. And then there were the Other Mummys of which I am firmly a member of with hair all over the place, eyebrows that wouldn’t look out of place on Robert Pattinson, smears of who knows what on their shoulders, tummies that resemble jelly and eye-bags so big there isn’t enough make-up in the world to cover them.

I’d always hoped that after birth I would suddenly morph into one of these yummy mummys, but my genes and indeed my jeans seem to be fighting that transformation. So for now I will stick with my two normal mummy friends for now – you know the ones who consider cake a food group, carry sweets in their bags to bribe the kids and think dressing up involves changing their top to something not covered in sick - and leave those calorie counting ubermums to carry on together.

Were you one of the first in your group of friends to have kids? How did you find making new mummy friends? Any funny stories?

The Egyptian Mummy