Post-grad Brookers, over here! We will Brook No Argument that all Mini-Brookers sleep 12 hours a night and behave angelically during the day

[TooImmatureTurtleDoves]

Over here!

Marking place

Just on my way out but catch y'all later dudes xx

Marking place. Think we have another annoying bug - dd2 streaming with cold, dd1 was sick in the car this am and I feel soooooo tired. More than normal!

Feel like we're never going to get back on an even keel.

Marking my place with whining apparently!

Top tip for birthday cake decoration probably best not to do it after sharing a bottle of wine. It sort of looked like a fire engine but had buckets of icing on it ... Pics to follow

I trust you mean the bottle of wine was last night and not this morning, Hawthers! Can't wait to see pics.

It was on Sunday night late that the icing took place. Birthday was yesterday and we were all too tired to speak last night. But the first of my big boy's birthdays that I've managed to get through without crying so that is definite progress!

just marking place for later.

Hi all! Marking place..

Had a mad weekend full of lots of extended family (again). Also visited some friends and found out they're pregnant! Already working out what we can offer to lend them, and what to make them for presents...

Envious of your sleeping Rubber, and long may it last! I fear Iz has hit the four month regression (a couple of weeks early!), perhaps fuelled by teething, growth spurt, or just age! She used sleep from about 8pm-6/7am, with the odd one wakeup around 4. Now it's back to three, four wake ups a night :(

Growth spurt - she's been eating tonnes recently. However, I had a few days recently where I didn't eat as much as I usually one - due to timing/various things. Could that be affecting my supply, meaning she doesn't get as much food in each sitting and thus has to eat more often?

Teething - after a few days that were more relaxed (other than fist chewing), it's gotten a lot worse again :( Finding that the strange Tommee Tippee teethers that look like dummies, plus a layer of Bonjela, seem to help temporarily at least...

Stil umming and ahhing about work. Mainly because we found out my SIL may be available to look after Iz while I work (two days a week!). Hmm! If that could work, I could go back in Jan and quickly work the minimum amount of time I have to before I leave . Feeling more relaxed about the whole thing now - and realising where my priorities lie, thanks to you lovely brookers (and my DH!).

Loving all the weaning tales (hurrah for M and her banana!). I can't wait to wean Iz. She's paying so much attention to everything I eat/drink..

Brooking your family's bug will clear up soon Pomme :( And hoping you've had a good day Dream...

Pomme I hope your DDs get better soon! Poor them, poor you! My A had a high temperature last night as well :( No other signs of illness though, so we're wondering if a tooth is on its way?

Yay for Hawthers' DS1 having a great birthday! Can't wait to see the cake!

Can I ask a quick q? Do any of you ladies have a foam playmat? I've wanted one for ages because we have laminate floors downstairs, but I keep hearing that they have carcinogenic materials in them. They meet all the current UK toy safety standards, but they've been banned in France and Belgium as unsafe. My Mum thinks it's another example of modern paranoia, and that kids stick so many random objects in their mouths anyway that the foam playmat would be the least of A's problems. It would certainly give her somewhere to learn to sit up / crawl / walk. Am I being PFB about this? Or should I avoid it? It's not like I check all the toys that have been given to A to make sure they're up to safety standards?!

Thanks for the new thread Too.

We've had a trip to the GP with DS today. We could feel lumps and spots in his head and neck and being completely clueless medically DH and I were both a bit freaked. GP says the big lumps are swollen lymph glands and the spots indicate he is fighting some sort of infection. Great. But he's also been referred for blood tests as he is showing no signs of being ill. She said it's to rule out Glandular Fever but stupid stupid me has been on Dr Google and I'm now torturing myself with things much much worse. He's also on anti-biotics, but I guess if it is viral they're not going to work. There's always something to worry about.

Brooking for a speedy recovery for you and your family Pomme. Plus Biscuits and Jaggy with the colds.

How do you feel about SIL looking after DD Musical if you get on well and are happy that she would care your DD as you would wish it sounds like the perfect solution. Did you see the Essex lion?

Looking forward to seeing the pics Hawthers.

Not sure about that one Scream. Never heard of such things Now I feel terrible that I've never researched any of DS's toys. DS does have some foam type big numbers that clip together to make a floor mat, is that the type of thing? He's only had them since Christmas though. I suppose your Mum is right in that it is a bit of a modern paranoia problem, but then if you're aware of something of course you're going to worry. There wasn't as much information about stuff like that when we were kids.

Brooking hard for Scarlet's DS! That does sound worrying, but you've done exactly the right thing and he's clearly fighting off the infection well so I'm sure with the boost from the anti-b's he'll be fine very soon!

The foam numbers you described sound exactly like the mats I'm referring to. This type of thing. Here's an article about the dangers of these mats. Obviously the article sounds really bad, but the flip side is that I'm pretty sure all vaguely plasticky materials must have chemicals in them that would be dangerous in high quantities. The fact that there's a recent awareness of this particular chemical doesn't mean that in 5 years' time they won't be banning a chemical in Sophie the Giraffe or one of DD's other toys. There are so many kids out there with these mats, and obviously the vast majority (if not all) of them are fine. There's nothing to suggest that there are any known cases of a child actually getting ill from these mats. What are you going to do now Scarlet? Stick with your mat? Or get rid of it? I don't want to be paranoid, but I don't want to be blase either!!?!!

Scream that is like DS's mat. Hmmm not sure what to do now . It's not out all the time. He probably gets it out for about 30 minutes a week in total? Then it gets chucked behing a chair tidied away the rest of the time. More worryingly there is a huge version of it on the floor at his playgroup all the time. The kids all sit on it to listen to stories, sing nursery rhymes etc. Would you mention it to them?

Decision made. Just read that article and mentioned it to DH who said chuck it. It was a present from my Nan who buys all her presents from Poundland, Matalan and Asda, which I'm not at all snobby about, but I know it wouldn't be even a high quality one so it can go.

See! That's exactly the kind of thing I mean. I'm sure DD will encounter these mats all over the place, apparently they're really popular with nurseries etc. She's already been on one for a while - my NCT friend who hosted the baby massage classes for us had one which we all used. They meet all the UK safety standards, so I'm not sure if I would mention it to the nursery myself, simply because I imagine they would shrug it off unless lots of parents complained.

If I got one for DD I'd want to be able to use it for at least half an hour every day, for tummy time mainly. When she learns to crawl we might even have it out all day. The self-contained flat at my parents' house also has laminate floors, so it's the exact same situation. I'm really not sure what to do.

x-posts Scarlet. Makes sense, I totally understand your decision. I've been making the same choice on a daily basis for about the last 3 months! It's just that I haven't found any other solutions to our hard floors, so I keep coming back to this issue. It sucks because these mats are PERFECT for our floors, if only they didn't have this chemical in them!

Sorry to keep posting, but Scarlet what are you planning to do (if anything?) about the playmat your DS spends hours on at the nursery?

Not sure yet Scream. I could e-mail that article to the manager, but like you say if it meets British safety standards there's no reason for her to do anything about it. I definitely have a rep up there for being PFB so she might be inclined to think "oh that's just *'s Mum whittling about something else" rather than take it on board.

Our lounge is carpeted so I don't have to worry about the hard floor, it was more of a giant puzzle/hopscotch mat for DS to play with. What about buying a giant short pile rug which you can tape to the floor using double sided rug tape?

Oooh blimey re the mats!!! We have a set of the number mats that DS sometimes gets out in the garden (but really infrequently so I'm not overly bothered about that) but we had this sort of theming for exactly the reasons you say Scream - laminate floors and they're nice for learning to sit / stand etc. I was umming and ahhing whether to put them down again but decided against it as I just thought DS1 would trip over them / move them etc.

Incidentally we started off with the number ones for the floors but it got on my nerves that they kept falling apart hence getting the big square ones.

But I had NO idea they might be dangerous!! Eeeeek

Scarlet brooking for DS to make a full and fast recovery

You're right Scarlet we should just get a rug. It's just that neither of us wants a rug for the front room, and we won't be able to just use small bits for other rooms or pack it away as easily in the evenings. Also the safety standards for adult rugs (which are just for walking on) aren't nearly as strict as toy safety standards (which are expected to be chewed by small people with not fully developed immune systems). So a rug could potentially be more dangerous than the mats without us knowing. Of course this could apply to any carpet, and I don't stress when she's on carpets at friends' houses, which again makes me wonder if I'm being PFB about the mats?! Argh I just keep obsessing about them!

I wrote a post to Mark my place on this shiny new thread and MN went offline and ate it!
Well, the plasterers left at 5.30. There was a thin layer of dust everywhere despite the coverings they put down! They will be back on Thursday to finish off.
scream For the hard floor, could you lay down a quilt/duvet using the grippy mesh stuff underneath to stop it slipping?it could be rolled up when not in use and is easily moved around the house.

Sheepskin scream?? A loves hers - it's now in her cot!

Scarlet, Brooking for your DS to get well soon! Scary stuff. Step away from Dr Google!

Scream, this may be a bit OTT, but would you object to carpeting your front room if you don't want a rug? I ask merely because we went for carpets in this house (last one was laminate flooring in the living room) and I hated laminate and love carpets because they absorb the dust instead of creating dust-bunnies in corners. It's partially because carpets are warmer, but they are also nicer for small children learning to crawl/walk, and they're better for sitting on the floor. I'm also currently admiring my carpet after my Rug Doctor efforts at the weekend! I realise that carpets aren't cheap or to everyone's taste, so feel free to ignore my ramblings.

I don't think babies would chew rugs, exactly. Not in the same way as foam, which can be picked at with fingernails, or a section detached and chewed.

Musical, if your SIL can look after Iz 2 days a week, go for it! Assuming she's a nice trustworthy and responsible person, of course. Sounds like a great answer to your working dilemma.

M is a water baby who loves swimming! Today she was squealing with joy in the pool - bless her little cotton socks. It seems to be a good age for starting swimming - a 19-month-old had just started and was scared and crying, but the 3 babies of around 6 months were fine. I love it because swimming is a big thing in my family and I want M to enjoy it and be able to join in with her uncle and aunties (her 10, 8 and 5 year-old uncle and aunts!), but also because it wears her out and I get a lovely peaceful afternoon while she sleeps. Also, today we got out of the pool without a meltdown. Last week she howled like a banshee when we were getting dressed - so upset she wouldn't even feed, just screamed at me really loudly. That wasn't mortifying or anything...

Hope ds ok scarlet

hi all.

hope DS is ok scarlet and DDs better pomme.

DS2 has a bit of a temp tonight, so just been getting out the baby nurofen. he seemed awful hot in his sleeping bag so have taken him out to cool down. all this choking on snot is causing more poo so just had to change nappy too.

I'm just a bit blocked up and scratchy throated.

DS1 has the number mats too biscuits, he loved them at his wee gym class.

bugger, DS2 not going back to sleep. just wriggling in the cot looking around and coughing and snuffling.

finally got him to sleep at 4.30 and now I'm all awake.

think I'll read stuff on here till i pass out and lose my phone down the side of the bed as usual...