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Goodnight Sun – Gro Clock Review

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We have been using a Gro Clock from The Gro Company for about 3 weeks now and it’s probably a little early for a comprehensive review but I’ve been so impressed with it that I wanted to share our experience with you.

We are Gro Company fans here in our house, we have used the swaddles and the sleeping bags with great success and I’d been hearing good things about the clock for a while.

The Gro-clock is like an alarm clock for children which uses fun images of the stars and sun to communicate when to go back to sleep and when it’s time to get up. It’s mains powered and comes with a really cute book called The Sleepy Farm which tells the story of Percy Pig who is very tired and grumpy because he doesn’t sleep for long enough. The book and clock have easily become an important part of our bedtime routine.

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If Izzy is a little grouchy and doesn’t seem keen to go to bed we ask her shall we go and say Goodnight to the Sun and she will eagerly say YES. We set the clock in front of her every night and she waves excitedly at the sun as it winks and fades away, she then says hello stars and settles down in bed. If she wakes up too early we go into her room and say is the sun up yet? She says no and then goes back to sleep. Most days she wakes up within about 5 minutes of the sun rising (On her clock).

It’s made a big difference to our evenings and morning. Although Izzy has been a good sleeper since about 1yr old she had started to wake earlier in the mornings and with a young baby we were all getting pretty worn out. Plus she was tired and grumpy most of the day.

Since using the clock I have noticed a happier, more rested toddler and I have definitely felt the benefits myself.

Spending the time reading the book together is really nice and she already knows most of the words and finishes off the sentences.

I would definitely recommend this for any child aged 2+ especially if they aren’t the best sleepers. It’s a fab product.

*we received this clock for free for the purpose of this review.

Sleep… Where did you go…my lovely?

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So I did it. I committed the ultimate parenting sin of saying (rather smugly) that my newborn daughter sleeps quite well at night. I have been quite amazed at how well she does as the first 6 months of nighttimes with Izzy were pretty horrendous. Chloe will most nights have one five hour stretch of sleep without waking for a feed. I think for a 7 week old baby that this is fabulous and I wouldn’t expect anything more.. One night we had 7hours but that was definitely a fluke.

The problem is when you think sleep is going to be ok that you sort of begin to depend on it but to do this with a new baby is silly. It’s better to think that sleep will be awful and be amazed when it isn’t rather than the other way around.

You know when you wake in a mild state of panic feel your incredibly engorged breasts and frantically check the baby is fine. You then try to wake baby who is in a deep sleep and is having none of it before sneaking to the bathroom to hand express in the sink.. Or is that just me?

Lack of sleep does crazy things to you. Last night my daughter didn’t sleep. From the time we went to bed until 6.30am. She also fed from 7.30am yesterday morning until 6.30am today every 45 minutes ..or less. So I was pretty drained without the lack of sleep to accompany it. It made me feel like I was going insane. If she did that every night I would go crazy I’m sure.

I’m pretty sure I know why it happened. Firstly she was (I’m assuming) having a growth spurt hence the manic feeding and secondly before bed I drank a soft drink which contained caffeine (Dr Pepper) I’ve cut out caffeine completely since Chloe arrived and I’ve drunk Dr Pepper on 3 occasions not knowing it contained caffeine – oops. On each occasion we have had a real problem with sleep. Last night being the worst. So perhaps Chloe is sensitive to caffeine. I’m cutting it out completely now.

Anyway today has been a bit of a blur. I chose a bubble bath instead of a nap – impossible to have both when you have a toddler and a newborn and I regretted that decision all afternoon. Never mind.

I’ve realised since C arrived how lucky I am that Izzy still has a good 1.5hr nap each day. Without that I wouldn’t get anything done. I’m hoping we can keep it going until she turns 3. That is a big ask but she does love her sleep so fingers crossed.

What helps your baby/toddler sleep? For us with the baby it’s swaddling, white noise (via Ewan the sheep) and lots of milk before bed. For Izzy it’s keeping her busy in the day, her snugly toy for bed at night. A cosy bed with blankets and her pillow and protein in the afternoon/evening.

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Another week..another worry

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The last few days have again been difficult. My little monkey of a baby has decided to give me severe back pain, contractions and various other issues meaning I had to be admitted to hospital and have been given a steroid injection with one more to follow tomorrow to prepare her lungs in case she makes an early exit. Please don’t little girl, you are so small and just a few more weeks will make things so much easier for you when you arrive.

After a positive growth scan last week I did feel that maybe things were improving and that she would settle down a bit but it looks like the last trimester will be just as difficult as the first two. Hey ho I guess now it really is the final run and I just have to concentrate on staying relaxed, positive and heathy for my girl. I also really need to finish up on preparations for her arrival.

Spending nights in hospital when you have a toddler is so hard, I missed her, my OH and ..my pregnancy pillow more than I could tell you. Hopefully that will be the last stay until baby 2 arrives.

I still have no mattress for the Moses basket,no car seat and did I mention that we still don’t have ANY ideas for names ..as in any at all. Oops.

It will figure itself out.

I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all of your support both on here and on twitter – it means so much to me and really cheers me up so thanks very very much.

And as I know you all love a foodie pic.. Here is what I dined on last night:

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Return of the nap

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According to my dating scan I am 29 weeks today, according to my dates I’m more like 30 but either way I am into my third trimester and don’t I know it.

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The daytime nap that I haven’t really had since the first trimester has had to return. I’m pretty useless at napping, I find it hard to sleep during the day but the last few days I have had to have some 10 minute snoozes here and there or I can’t function. Typically nighttime sleep is getting a lot more difficult with the cramps, discomfort and running for a wee in the early hours. I am so thankful for my maternity pillow from Theraline which I’ve been reviewing for a few months – I actually don’t know how I managed without it last time.

Ankle swelling, heartburn, pelvic pressure and general aches are in abundance but manageable.
Earlier in the week we had a growth scan which showed that the baby is doing well at the moment so yay for some good news.

I seem to have a lot on my mind at all times right now, not surprisingly I guess.

I worry that we aren’t fully prepared for the baby arriving, we haven’t bought a tandem buggy or a car seat yet but all her clothes are washed and ironed ( priorities right?)

I want to cook a lot of meals ready to freeze but I’m just too tired.

I think I’m going to really miss the one on one time with Izzy when the baby comes but then I feel guilty for feeling that way after all we want this baby so much obviously. It’s just that we are so close at the moment and I worry she will resent the time away from her that the baby will demand – any tips on dealing with this gratefully accepted.

Nesting has kicked in and I really HATE my house being untidy. With a toddler this is hard but as long as it clean and tidy when I go to bed I feel a bit better about things. There are at least 3 big jobs that need to be done before the baby comes: the kitchen needs to be repainted, the bathroom needs a complete overhaul 🙁 and the chimney needs to be removed and our bedroom repainted due to a leak. If these things get done I will be more relaxed.

The countdown is on, the final 10 weeks ( or 7ish if we go by the fact that Izzy was early).

One thing I really don’t worry about is actually giving birth, although I distinctly remember just how painful it was last time this time it marks the end of pregnancy for me so I can’t wait for it. I do however worry about getting to the hospital in time for my Strep B antibiotics to kick in – they need 4 hours in my system to prevent it being passed onto the baby so I imagine my local labour ward may hear from me a lot in the last few weeks with every twinge being a possible labour warning!

All the worries aside we really can’t wait to meet our girl. I will be much happier when she is here so I can check on her and know all is really ok.

Me and my girls:

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Coming up soon ..preparing the hospital bag! What did you put in yours?

You make me smile

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You are just 19 months old but sometimes you seem so wise. Like when you put your hand on your chin and say “Hmmmmm”

Every morning when you see my bare belly you point and say “Baby..hiyaaaaaaa” this is normally followed by an air kiss and a big mwah sound. You will be a fabulous big sister.

I can’t believe how much you have changed in the past month. You shock me daily with your new words and your fumbling sentences.

My favourite today: “Maaaaaaam…what you doing?”

You say gone or goned a million times a day. When I pull my top down over my stomach you say “Baby gone” when one of us leaves the room you say “Mammy/daddy goned me” tonight I asked you where daddy was and you said “gone work” – you are so clever.

If you drop a toy or some food you say “Oh no no no” in the saddest voice.

You are so good when we go out and you will eat nearly every piece of food we put in front of you but you are mischievous and stubborn in the cutest of ways. You know when you are doing something naughty and you look at me and say No even before I do – unfortunately this doesn’t mean you stop doing it. I can see your determination already and I can only imagine some of the tantrums that could be in store for us but I love your spirit.

Sleep is still pretty good for us. You still nap for around 90mins – 2 hours at midday and you sleep most nights from 7pm-8am. Most nights you ask to go to bed just before 7.. You don’t stop during the day so you must get awfully tired – just before bed we have baby cuddles where you lie in our arms like a baby. You are a big fan of this. You love your morning play in your cot with your special upstairs toys and it means occasionally we have a nice lie in. Thanks for that 😉

On days when I feel pregnant walking through lead tired and sick of feeling sick you seem to sense it and come over for cuddles and kisses much more than normal – my special girl.

You are so happy when you see us each morning and I hope that never changes.

You love your grandparents and your aunts/uncles and cousins. You are surrounded by love and you revel in it. You know when we get closer to Grandma or Nanas house and you tell us – this is new and amazed us.

You are a big dog lover and I can see us having to indulge this and buy you one when you are older. It also makes me a little wary as you always want to cuddle them.

You have nearly all your teeth and they look so darn cute.

You still love In the Night Garden and Mr Tumble who I imagine you will be so excited to see at Camp Bestival ..you love music and dancing..especially when we say freeze and you hold your pose just like they do on Show me Show me. You like the TV but we limit it and you love to play much more.

Daddy takes you out on his bike and he’s teaching you to skate..most days you are a real Daddy’s girl but I can live with that.. I know you love your mammy.

If Dad leaves to go to work within 5 minutes you will come to me and cuddle for the longest time as if you don’t want me to leave too.

You can now say Clock more or less correctly. It occasionally sounds a bit different. This is amusing.

I can’t wait for the baby to arrive and complete our family but I am loving this time too. With just you being you. I’m glad we have had this time.

I only wrote an update about you a month or so ago and this may never interest anyone else but me and you but this is for YOU. One day I will let you read this so you will know that every day you make me smile, make my heart burst with love and make us both so very proud to be your parents.

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Zzzzzzzzzzzz

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Sleep on the brain. Every day, will she sleep tonight? Will I sleep tonight?

When I was in my late teens/early 20’s I slept well. I loved my lie ins and I slept like a log every night. I got to around age 22 and suddenly I was a light sleeper, every noise woke me up and lie ins were an occasional indulgence. My sleeping patterns became worse while pregnant, even before I got to the big (elephant like) uncomfortable stage I struggled to sleep more than 3-4 hours per night, this meant when I eventually gave birth I was already pretty damn knackered. Add to this having a baby who took a long time to sleep through the night and I can say quite honestly the past 2 years I have spent a lot of time in a zombie like state. I think sleep deprivation isn’t really appreciated by anyone who hasn’t suffered from it. You spend your days knowing you have a lot to do but finding it hard to actually do anything at all. You have a baby who needs/demands your absolute attention and you try your hardest to give it but I slowly starting to feel like I was losing my mind!

A few months ago we started to turn a corner with Izzy and she started to occasionally sleep thought the night or almost anyway which was amazing and it really made a difference. We would wake up feeling refreshed and every morning was a pleasant surprise when we realised she hadn’t woken us up. Yay.

Then about 10 weeks I had a traumatic nighttime experience. This will sound silly now but even thinking about it still makes me upset. At about 1am Andrew shook me awake, I had been screaming and was still screaming while awake, absolutely petrified. I was clinging to him and couldn’t calm myself. I wasn’t sure if I’d had a bad dream or if I’d thought there was someone there but I felt as if something terrible had happened – in fact I still do. Isn’t that so weird? Thinking about it in a sensible way I know nothing happened or if it did it was a dream. I spent the rest of the night sobbing with the tv and light on in our room and I was frightened all of the next day..and we’ll for quite some time afterwards. I had a few similar episodes after this in the following weeks, twice I was awake (kind of) and imagining there were obscenely large spiders falling onto me. I woke Andrew up so many times and needed him to reassure me. It was hard and he was amazing. I saw my doctor as I found this so scary, my heart rate was too fast and it was put down (mostly) to anxiety/stress. My nightmarish episode was called a night terror.Now 10 weeks on I’m finally starting to feel more relaxed about going to bed and best of all I’m getting some sleep. This has coincided quite nicely with Izzys new routine of putting herself to sleep each night in her own bed ( isn’t she a good girl? ) and I feel like I’m catching up on 2 years of sleep. I’m having lie ins ( thanks again to my oh) and naps when needed.

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Sleep is so important, I often feel we don’t rate it highly enough.

I know this isn’t my typical blog post but I was thinking about it in bed last night and felt it important to write about it and share with others as apparently night terrors are very common. Feel free to ask me any questions or tell me if you have had similar experiences x