Due in June thread 6

[charleypops]

All I can say right now is AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

I gave up doing laundry a long time ago. My moments at home during waking hours are limited, and reserved for my darling DD. Stuff the laundry. Nanny does much if it during the week. And DH does some on the weekend. Although, it's going to be a long time before he agrees that white, black, and red don't go into the wash on hot at the same time. Dingy pinky grey is rampant in the wardrobe. I do pitch a fit when he ruins something I really like... then I tell him it's his fault when I have to go buy a new one. I love telling him that my shopping is actually his fault.

The 'nagging' thing drives me mad actually. The only reason I 'nag' is because HE DOESN'T DO IT THE FIRST TIME!!!!!

Arrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggh.

I should be full of the joys of love and marriage as it's our wedding anniversary on Friday but today I feel like I want to kick him!

Hijack MrsW are you and yours coming for dinner on the 27th? its just if so then i need to change the booking can you let me know ASAP?*Hijack over

Mrs W, if kicking him will make you feel better, than you should.... well... kick him. (This is not a motion that I would take on with my poor achy back, butt if you are able than you should enjoy it)

Oh yes, "nag nag nag" (spoken like it would be from an unruly 7 year old school boy) is guaranteed to infuriate me for at least a week. That reaction is of course counterproductive for me because that is exactly why he says it.

Absolutely agree that what they term as nagging is actually a result of their unwillingness to do their fair share. Let me see, now why is it that I even have to manage this situation. Do you think it's aprivledge for me to have to tell you what to do. Next time your in the loo, shall I remind you to wipe your arse? (don't answer that)

An unwillingness on your part to accept responsibility does not make me a nag.

Jeez, he hasn't even said it in ages and I'm all worked up about it.

Oh, great Katz. We have no plans on that day. What time are you serving the meal?

just kidding

Hi everyone! Happy birthday Lipstick !

I think . I'm managing to have a look on here twice a week or so. I'm completely losing track of you all.

But my ears pricked up on the washable nappy front. Even with all the washing involved, the energy usage in having washable nappies is loads less than disposables.

The energy used by the manufacture of disposable nappies is "hidden" cos it all takes place in the factories, but it's pretty huge.

Thw Women's Environmental Network (WEN) has a great site with info comparing the environmental impact of washables and disposables. Have a look at the study of environmental "footprints" here

Personally, it's a cost issue first and foremost - I've saved at least £800 by using washables with ds and they'll all be used again with this baby. That's at least £1500 savd which is money I would rather spend elsewhere.

Then it's health - I don't feel happy putting my baby's bottom in bleached cotton-"like" fabric with added lotions and odour neutralising chemicals, not to mention the moisture absorber gel crystals (mmm love that sodium polyacrylate!).

Current advice is now not to use any baby products (lke baby shampoo and bubble bath etc) for the first few weeks of life, so why bung their sensitive little bums in chemical packed Pampers?

Apart from anything, any time I've used disposables they've leaked or the gel crystals have escaped onto ds' bottom making him look like he sat in sugar - cue hideous rash.

Washable nappies perform better, are safer, cheaper, cuter, more ethical and less smelly than disposables but they're crap at marketing themselves because they're up against the propaganda machines of huge multi-nationals like Procter and Gamble.

Anyway - I use Totsbots and they're fab. I only need to wash them every 3 days or so. I'm pondering using Bimbles for the first few months with a newborn cos they're fleece lined and slim fitting. I'm going to have a nose on the Nappy Lady's site atm.

i'm not cooking the lovely pub in the peaks is but your very welcome to join us!!

Fab this subject could keep me going for ages

It's because they have an inability to think about things that don't directly concern themselves (well at least that goes for my dh!!)
...here I go...someone stop me now...

it's like when you go out with ds/dd...I get myself ready, I get ds ready, I get a bag ready for ds (when younger this included nappies, wipes, drink, food, toys, spare clothes)...dh just get's his coat on and goes to the car...arrrhhh!

mcmudda - i'm a totsbots mum too

...ooh others were quick to post before I got mine in...my rambling follows the nag nag nag topic...

Teabelly, I sooooooooo sympathyze with you!!!!
Absolutely the same in my house!!!!
Dh thinks I am mean rude, when I remind that I work the same amount of time, do the same kind of work and make the same ampount of money! and if he wants to get to work on time he better bother to get DD ready too!

Katz, McMudda: I see totbots are very popular here in the UK. I never actually try them, pictures of it makes it look "high cut"... Not sure Ds will come out with the same body shape as DD... but DD is long and skinny, would totbos work in this kind of body shape

Teabelly, that is so true! If he's anything like my DH he'll be sighing because it's taking you so long to get ready.

I laughed to myself the other day - DH was doing the washing up (after much nagging by me of course) and someone phoned up for him, so he took the phone and went into the lounge to sit down and talk. If it had been me, I'd have carried on washing up, talking on the phone, and probably put a load of washing on afterwards. Their brains just aren't wired the same way.

Oh Lua, all I can say is... AMEN!

I never really did understand how getting DD ready was a ctually a subset of me getting ready. Every now and then I just leave her in her pyjamas and say I'm ready, and he puts on his coat, looks at DD and sighs with great distress as he suddly realise what point I'm making. On of these days I'll go get the digital camera so I can share the moment with you guys.

Re the nappy debate. I think that todays plastics are actually biodegradeable. Actually I'm not sure. The technology esists, but whether or not they use it on nappies I know not. And, there is one benefit to disposables, and that is that they actually draw the acidic urine away from baby's skin, hence reducing nappy rash. But, I will admit that I use disposables because it is convenient and not because I think they do no harm to the environment. I'm also not going to bicycle to work or turn down the heat in my house. So, I'm not exactly an example of an environmentally friendly resident of the United Kingdom.

Uwila - there are some disposables which are making the effort - Moltex are 70% biodegradable and aren't bleached. I use them now for weekends away etc. They're a bit pricier than standard disposables but recommended for children with sensitive skin or excema - some special care baby units use them for that reason.

Unfortunately although the disposables do take wetness away from the skin, they can't remove the bacteria in the urine and that's what causes the rash. Obviously that's on baby's skin in cloth too. The only thing that can prevent rash is frequent changing. Cloth and disposables come out the same with rash prevention. (Although a lot of cloth using mums will say that cloth reduces nappy rash).

As for dh's - the current excuse I get from mine is: if we're out at the weekend - I still have to change nappies etc and be organised because -wait for it- he's doing the driving !?!?!?

He used an iron once at university to dry his pants when the campus driers were broken. Other than that laundry is a mystery to him.

Wow, would anyone like to rent out my dh? Admittedly he is not a demon houseworker (due to being chronically ill, or so he claims) but he will happily put on the wash (can even sort white from colours), load and indeed unload the dishwasher (although correct placement of items in dishwasher is a bit of a male talent anyway), do the hoovering, and if we ever did any ironing I'm sure he'd do some of that too. He's not so keen on hanging the washing up to dry, I think he'd rather bung the drier on, but it is rather a hassle getting all the wet washing out, bad for his back. So I buy that as an excuse.

Which is not to say I don't do most things at the mo, but then bear in mind we are both home all day so it's not really that big a deal. He knows this is a temporary situation and when I was out at work he did more stuff in the house to keep himself amused.

AND he has never accused me of nagging.

Mind you, this could be because we've only been married for 2 months of course, honeymoon period and all that. Plus the advantages of a time-rich lifestyle (albeit one rather short on the readies).

Oh, and one tip is to make house tasks as gadgety as possible. We have a v posh steam cleaner (good for the environment too) but its industrial and technical nature makes dh feel that he is doing a manly task and not, in fact, cleaning the bath.

Cots - fortunately we are being given on so just have to buy a new mattress. Having stuff to match - sod that for a lark.

Jane - I saw two of these in action at the weekend, quite impressive, I like the lie-flat car seat but would prefer an Isofix seat for when the bean is older, so not sure what to do about that. Maybe just live with the car seat we're being given and buy a buggy with lie-flat capabilities, hmmmm.

trib...manly tasks, he he he

In DH's defense, he does use the hoover. However, by not emptying it as required, he has manager to ruin it and now we need a new hoover. GRRR...

Mechanically inclined, my DH is not! The trouble with being a mechanically incline woman is that I get to do all the woman's work and all the man's work. Well, okay, that's an exaggeration. But I have to do most of it.

Hi All,

Uwila, no I don?t mind at all. I?m afraid I?m nothing as clever as a ME or Inf Mgt. I?m in the sales & commercial team. I manage key and national accounts across the UK. This is all business to business stuff, not personal users. I?m actually not in the oil side of the business. Our company is a small group under the main umbrella who sells car care products. This must sound mindlessly dull to the rest of you but I do really enjoy it.

Your stories about your DP?s/DH?s make me laugh so much. Charley, it has taken years, YEARS to train my DH. We?ve been together on and off for nearly 13 years and we have had many clothing shrinkages/colour runs over that period. The reason he checks labels is that way I can?t be annoyed if he shrinks anything again. To his absolute credit, he is v. domesticated. He does pretty much all of my sewing and ironing and can cook as well, although only one of his repotoire of 5 dishes.
However, I can beat you all for weird. He has been known to microwave his boxers if they are wet and he needs them in a hurry. G-d knows how this occurred to him. This I could live with (just) but he puts the setting on 10 mins, forgets about them, and you?ll have to trust me on this one, the smell of burning M&S cotton/lycra mix shorts is a smell that doesn?t go away easily.
Come on guys, give us your weird stories???..

Well, I don't know about weird stories...
But he does have many reddeming qualities (not that they stop me yelling at him all the time... poor guy!).
He does most of the cooking ( I have to fight him for doing it once in a while) and he is a good cooker.
He does put DD to sleep every night and he is writing a collection of the bed stories he has come up with her... They are great!

Hi McMudda
How's life in the wilds today?
Is washable nappy fabric different to normal terry towelling? Don't think I've seen one since I was a kid myself

OMG Sewing! ironing! I must have the wron handbook

As for drying clothes in the microwave, I used to do that when I was a student and had to handwash everything in the sink. I've melted quite a bit of lycra-mix textiles myself and can still remember the smell

Uwila, not only is dp domestically challenged, he's rubbish at diy too, so like you, I end up doing all that stuff too. I could now confidently rewire a house and build an extension I reckon

Last time I asked (made/forced/nagged/guilt tripped) him to do aforementioned "manly tasks", including replacing the garden gate, I found him all hot and sweaty trying to chip away at the concrete beneath the gate with a large screwdriver and hammer. When I asked him what he was doing he told me the bottom of the gate he'd just (nailed through the hinges!) to the post was sticking to the ground. I ended up removing the gate, planing the bottom a bit which took about 5 mins and screwing it in place myself! It's a good job he's the one earning the money!!

oo lua - maybe he'll get published!

evening all,
havent been around for the last couple of days and its taken me just as long to read through the thread!
uki-welcome back.im also having the diabetes test in a couple of weeks so im hoping its not too bad.
Mrs w-glad your scan went well yesterday and im glad your ok jonah after the crash!
"happy birthday" lipstick-hope you had a nice day with lots of goodies to open
have been really busy trying to organise the nursery.ive finally mangaged to find a home for one of our single beds(sorry tessie!),so now we can start on the decorating
only problem is now the beds gone we've noticed half the carpet has been bleached by the sun-at least its a good excuse to get a new floor!!
we're also going for the m&p amelia cot but thats mainly because its white and goes quite well with their gina dresser that we're also getting.cant believe we're already in february-doesnt seem that far away now especially as im starting my maternity leave in april.is anyone else packing up work fairly early?
still not getting that much movement at the mo-just that butterfly feeling and only 1 proper kick
uwila-you do get up very early BUT one of these days im going to beat you to it as i get up at 4.30am most mornings-LOL!!!!!

Evening all - my, but we can chat.
Couldn't possibly comment sensibly on the huge range of subjects you've got to today but HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIPPY and Jonahb I hope you're ok after your crash.
My DH veers between being adorable and annoying on the domestic front - basically I forgive him alot because he can mend boilers when they blow up, fix gas leaks etc he's a demon diyer.....as for the washing, and actualy spotting that little (everyday, tedious)things might need doing....
Not around much tomorrow, going to hospital for check up etc - will chat Friday .xxxx