And the wagon just keeps on going, 5 babies left to arrive- who will go first????

[glaskham]

new thread....

Thanks Ses.... hope you're tucked up and getting some good rest.

Baby has hiccups and I have heartburn - on the plus side () DS has taken ages to go to sleep so hopefully will have a bit of a lie-in tomorrow....maybe?

Poor you STT , sounds like you are having a rotten time so don't worry about complaining. I'm finding these last few weeks hard enough without a DC to look after. DP has also been decorating - down at our house in Cambridge - so I sympathise with feeling alone and wanting to be looked after. Luckily I'm not really hungry these days so I'm just eating cereal, yogurt, fruit and raw veg most of the time so no need to cook. He has finally finished and is home so this week should be better. I haven't bothered with RLT BTW, may regret it but I've been too busy to think about it.

I'm actually feeling quite well overall but I am just stupidly busy at work trying to get finished (Saturday I worked 8am - 11.30pm, Sunday we spent unpacking and cleaning the house then today I worked 9am-6pm) so I am really glad I just have 4 days left! I have piles of DVDs and books ready and have Sky+ set to record the rugby and trashy shows to watch while I'm on leave so this baby had better stay put for a couple of weeks so I can just relax .

Glask - how creepy! Thanks for the sling, I'll post payment tomorrow.

Hi Ses, glad you enjoyed the BBQ but for colds.

Morning! Sorry to hear you're feeling so rubbish STT - wish I lived nearer and I'd pop in for a cuppie and bring some yummy brownies. As IDOB says, we're here to listen, so rant away . You really will feel so much better when LO is here, though not much consolation I know!
IDOB, your days sound exhausting! I feel excited on your behalf for the much awaited maternity leave dvd-ing - I really hope you don;t go early and get the chance to veg out a little!
DD'ds first day at new nursery today, although I have to pick her up at midday to take to appointment at constipation clinic. MIL coming over to look after older dds (yes, I'm that desperate) as really can;t face taking all 4 on 2 buses, then waiting for what will no doubt be a very long wait to be seen!
Hope everyone is well and enjoying these final few weeks of 'summer'!

morning

sorry stt that you are feeling down

idob - you have been working hard!!

very quiet here can here a pin drop!! dd1 stayed @ nanas last night and is there tonite back tom @ 5pm.
it is great to have a rest she is very full on all the time.
having a quiet day with bracken today then having eyebrows done @ 6pm then going food shopping
bracken is asleep getting her soon

diege - good luck for first nursery day

is anyones children in cotbeds or if they were when did they come out of cotbed?

dd1 has just turned 4 years old and is still in a cotbed looking @ getting her a small divan bed @ christmas

Morning!

Diege - hope DD gets on ok at the new nursery.

IDOB - I'm glad your ML is just about here. Think you're amazing to be doing so much still.

I had a really bad night's sleep. I went to bed about 9.30pm and fell asleep within half an hour. I woke up having had a dream about O being missing from nursery after having been accused of bullying my friend's DD. What is that all about??!! He's only 16wks old!Nevermind the fact that my friend's DD is 2.5yo! Anyway, we found him in the end as the childminder had picked him up!!???!
I then woke up and after all that it was only 10.30pm!! I was then awake between 3.10am and 5.30am and just couldn't get back to sleep. DS was fine and didn't wake up until 6.30am!
We then went back to sleep for another hour when DS woke up and projectile vomited all over my side of the bed. I got him washed and dressed and within an hour, he needed a complete change of clothes after an exploding poo!

Surely the day can only get better??!

Sounds a pretty typical day to me SES . Agree, dream is very odd, I suppose related to you thinking about going back to work; v.normal!
BODEN, we went straighyt from cot to nromal singlke bed with one of those portable bed guards, so no advice on cotbed transition I'm afraid. I would think it should be a relatively simple adjustment though; bet she won;t even notice . Oh and we moved J to cot at weekend from moses basket. He's been fine, although does move down to bottom of it by morning (in sleeping bag so ok!). Think the reflux thingies we have to lift the coat are a little steep, so have changed to books under legs instead! He's certainly making the most of the space - holds onto rails on each side with each arm when asleep, quite sweet to look at!
Right, better get J fed!

Diege - You're right. (Although I know you only meant it tongue in cheek!) That's not really a bad day. Think I'm just fed up with our colds and my lack of sleep. Will go and try and make the most of a good day!
Great that J is now in his cot

Oh SES it was very much tongue in cheek !! (ie. bad days are pretty par for the course); didn't mean to downplay it. Hope you get through ok - agree, colds and generally feeling under the weather (esp for so long) really make things hard work!
Off to get bus now (well, as soon as MIL arrives). Feel strangely nervous for some odd reason - think it's because I've not gone there before, combined with an unpredicatble baby!)

Hi guys, thanks for reading and understanding. Today has been much better so far, all though the bags under my eyes from yet another terrible nights sleep tell a different story. I actually have had some energy this morning, DH is at work and DS has been very good which I think helps. I've tidied the kitchen, done some washing and vacuuming and general tidying.

Re DS, I've abandoned the pants and gone back to pull ups, we'll just have to see how it goes and try again.

I've even made some soup with some veggies that have been lurking, didn't follow a recipe so am quite pleased at how tasty it is - although DS disagrees!!! Two carrots, one (fat) courgette and one red pepper, boiled to death in a vege stock cube with red lentils and a teaspoon of chilli sauce. Was surprisingly tasty and I know the pound of butter I have on the bread I dip in it doesn't actually cancel out the vitamins so I'm going to class it as a healthy meal .

One of my friends is popping round this afternoon which will be nice, I haven't seen her for ages as we've both been very busy in consecutive weeks, IYSWIM, but hopefully we'll get some regular contact back in place. Will help keep me sane and also keep her in DS' mind as it will be her looking after DS when I go into labour (provided everything goes to plan and she's not working!).

At nights, DS started off in a bedside crib, then went to a cot at 6 months. It wasn't strictly a cot bed, but we were able to take one side off and use it as a sort of bed for a few months, which he got on with just fine - until he outgrew it (length and width). He's graduated straight to a double bed now and loves it! He sleeps right in the middle, stretched out like a starfish and sleeps better than he ever has.

I've washed some more baby clothes, but can't work out how many of what to put in the hospital bag - can someone help me out please? Just give me an instruction and I'll follow it, don't give me any options as decision making seems to have disappeared along with full night sleeping!!

Hope your appt goes OK Diege and DS behaves nicely.

Ses, sorry about your start to the day, sounds manic! Hope you get lots of nice cuddles to make up for it.

Boden, sounds like a nice quiet for day with you! Know what you mean about full on behaviour!

Right, off to negotiate with my little man about nap time

Diege- can DS honestly reach one hand to either side of his cot already? he must have long arms... DD2 doesn't even attempt to grab the bars or anything- she just sleeps!!

Ses- sorry for a bad mornign- maybe try and get some fresh air this afternoon and it might make things feel better... and it should help get DS off to sleep giving you a bit of peace!!

STT- sorry to hear of such a bad day yesterday... can you put some pillows/cushions on the floor and play with your DS? may make him happier and you less 'stressed' because of his behaviour.... what i did a few times was get a duvet and pillows on the living room floor and have a 'movie day' with the DC's while PG with DD2, they loved it, and most of the time they'd fall asleep giving me time to nap too!!

STT- nice to hear you have a full busy productive day!! as for baby clothes i'd say:

5 vests
5 babygrows
3 mittens
2 cardigains
socks/booties if any sleepsuits are footless.
Coat (for leaving hospital)
2 hats
1 pack of wipes
and a pack of nappies.

I'm gathering your BFing baby so you wont need to think about milk or bottles... If baby is very sicky/leaky nappies etc then your DH can always bring you more sleepsuits and vests etc... but you should only be in for 1-2 days tops, all being well!!

Just also thoguht you may also want to pack some muslins/bibs/burping cloths- whichever you use.

i agree with above list

mum has just phoned and now realises why i get nothing done!! now she had had dd1 for a whole day and overnight

Hello! Back from appointment only it wasn;t today it's tomorrow!! . In my defense, the appointment had been made for Tuesday 1st (so I wasnlt going mad) but they mioved all Tues appointments to tomorrow due to Bank Holiday. Only the letter dodnlt arrive to tell me so . So after all the arranging, MIL over etc to babysit older dds, I have to take them all on the bus there tomorrow anyway!! Arghh!!! So that's why I had a sense of forboding before I left!!!
Glad things seem better STT, and that you had a productive day . GLASK's list is great too; I may have an 'overflow' bag ready at home just in case though, in case you do have a sicky baby that vomits everywhere and need lots of changes, so that dh can just pick up and bring in if necessary. Hopefully a nice short stay for you if that's what you want (me, I would have booked in for 10 days if I'd have had a choice, just to get some relative peace )
GLASK, yes J has chimp arms That's why he's in 6 month tops at 11 weeks. Not a massive baby as such, just has long arms!

Diege - how frustrating to say the least!! You'd have thought with the bank holiday, they'd have rung you to let you know as well.
LOL at J with "chimp arms"!! O just rolls and twists round in his cot. Would be fine except where we have one side off his cot, he often rolls onto the join between our mattress and his. It's tempting to put the side back on but he normally only lasts til about 1.30am in his cot and then comes into bed anyway.

I've made a pan full of stewed apple and frozen some today. We have 4 well established apple trees in the garden and I want to try and waste as few as possible. There must be literally hundreds of apples out there! If anyone's passing and wants some...

I think O's gums are giving him a bit more discomfort than normal as he had his soft toy caterpillar earlier and decided to chew on the hard clip-it ring instead of the face like he normally does. Also lots of dribbling!

It's the middle of the night!!!

Think things may be happening......! Had a bloody show about half an hour ago, and period-like ache all evening. Oh, and just had a contraction. Will be highly amused if DS is born on his actual due date! Have sent DH back to bed, having made him blow up the bottom rings of the pool. Have alerted Mum and given her the baby-monitor to listen out for DD.

Off to find "contraction master" online. Will keep you posted.... Will be gutted if it's a false alarm.

Kooky!!! Just saw your post on facebook!! Hope it's the real thing!!!

Boys are at MIL's today. I can't be arsed to walk there at all.

If anyone gets a minute could you please sign the card for TrinityRhino. She sadly lost her husband last week and there is a card to sign that is being sent to her Friday morning. Thank you.

Card here

Thanks for the link Kay, very sad for TR. Mad and so terribly unfair how these things can just come out of no-where.

Kooky! That's exciting news! Hope you're either making good progress or sleeping if it was a false alarm! Can't wait to hear from you

DS has gone to nursery, DH has gone to work, I should probably curl up and go to sleep but at the same time, want to DO something productive, but don't really know what. My nesting instincts are well and truly scuppered at the moment as the house is full (everywhere) of stuff due to the re-decorating. DH has now said that he thinks he'll be finished by next Weds and therefore ready for carpet by the following week. I'll be nearly 37 weeks by then.... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Kooky- hope all is well at your end!! Fingers crossed for some real labouring and not just a 'dry run'!!

Need some advise- DD2.... she passed out last night. DH had her while i was putting the food shopping away. She was crying but i just left her with him as had fed her and changed her bum before starting... DH didn't realise she was tired and was trying to 'play' with her to amuse her... anyway, she held her breath and passed out, DH was so scared he couldn't even shout me. then once she'd come to he shouted me, i was on the phone to my mum at the time, just threw the phone and was in tears that i'd been so pre-occupied to notice.

Now this is the first time she's passed out from her breath-holding... but she's done it on a number of occasions now. Always when crying. I'm considering asking for an apnea (sp?) alarm for her for when she's in her cot, pram or in a different room to me... so that if she cries and breath holds it'll alarm and i can rush to her.... Is this too drastic? or is it being 'safe'?... i mean it'll be such a farce, but i really dont wanna risk her doing it when i'm not in the room.

We have her regular check-up woth the cons pead on friday and was considering asking for an apnea alarm then, and maybe just phoning my Hv today to make sure she agree's it's not too drastic action...

What would you all do?

kooky - good luck

glas - that must have been scary!!

last quiet day today dd1 back @ 5pm

Kooky - v. exciting. Hope things are progressing well. Shall check in as regularly as poss for news.

STT - I vote for curling up and watching a film or something - I meant to watch Love Story while on mat leave before DD arrived, was too busy to do so... still waiting to get time to watch it, the cleaning has however been done... therein lies the moral of the tale

Sooo tired today - DD is now 24+3 and still no sign of decent sleep - is this the price for bfing - will it ever change? Last night, thought we had progress - she went down to sleep in the evening - both she and DS down by 7.40pm (normal time for DS - usually a bit earlier for him to be honest - there is no normal time for DD ). She first woke at 11.25pm (I should have gone to bed earlier than 10.10pm I know!), but was wet through to her sleeping bag - she really didn't want to wake. Had to feed her - no issue really, she'd been over 4 hours since last feed. Then she woke at 12.55am and just didn't want to go back to sleep - she just wanted to lie there. I put her in her cot and dozed in the bed next to it - she just rolled around and played - even picked her dummy up at some point. Then she was crying and needing comfort by 3am, so I picked her up and lay down to feed her (I don't normally, but was sooo tired), I put her back in her cot at 3.35am and then she woke at 4am leaked out her nappy again!! Then I took her into bed again, finally rolled away from her at 5.55am and then woke at 7am with DS - she woke 10 mins later...

Every time I think we're making progress, it all goes backwards. At least she doesn't have to be fast asleep from a feed when she goes down now, but it's soooo exhausting. Couple that with both of us suffering with the cold DS had last week - think it was a virus, as he had raging temperature and bad cough, DD has passed temperature phase, but still coughing. She's not really taking to weaning, which suggests it's too early for her, so haven't been pushing it (especially as she has a cold). Sorry to ramble me, me, me, but I'm sooo tired and sooo fed up. Don't want to give formula (particularly as she's nearly 6 months, we've come this far and I think she's dairy intolerant and she is no big fan of a bottle anyway), but just needed to rant. Sorry! Maybe it was my comeuppance for not letting her feed to sleep for either of her naps yesterday - just cuddled her through crying to sleep - obviously she was none too impressed!

GYo - definitely up for a meet up in Reading, think you said October - is fine for me. DS starts nursery a week tomorrow, so I'll be free from him in the mornings too! Feel a bit fraudulent if we meet in Reading, as that is where I am - happy to travel further afield. Also happy to host people at my house, if you like, if you don't think that too weird, or we can meet in town.

Right, must go - DD had enough of playing on mat. DS is watching CBeebies

Diege - [grr] at hospital incompetence re. appointment, hope it goes well today.

Oh Glask, that must have been a worry! I have no clue about it, didn't want to leave your post unanswered though, so have done a quick look around and found the following, you might want to have a quick read...

raisingchildren.net

parenting.org

Sorry its not much...

Starshine - well, I curled up.... and promptly fell asleep! I slept from just after my last post till midday! So how come I still feel shattered? I've achieved nothing and have to go get DS in 20 minutes or so...oh well... maybe tomorrow

PS - Is there a prize for winning the syndicate? Are wagon brownies posted out??

KOOKY'S SYNDICATE (due date 02/09/09)
DD stats: born at 43+3 weighing 7lb,11oz

Sparkly: 03/09/09 11.45pm, 8lb 2oz
spotty: 06/09/09 12pm noon, 9lbs
Kayz: 07/09/09, 03:24am, 7lb 4oz
Glaskham: 08/09/09, 09.04am, 8lb 0.5oz
Kooky: 09/09/09, 04:30am, 7lb 2oz
Ses: 10/09/09, 7.25am, 7lb 14oz
Star: 11/09/09, 6.35pm, 7lb 11oz
IDOB: 12/09/09, 17.30pm, 8lb 3oz
Diege: 13/09/09, 19.20pm 81b 1oz