Emmy's weebles are taking over mermaid's greenhouse!

[barbie1]

....therefore she cant throw us out!

Long may the support continue x

oh well worth a try!

mermaid ???

nope!

I feel quite brave today, I'm finally starting to 'do' something about Cjays asd. Please excuse my ramblings . We got Cjays diagnosis 2 years ago and there have been courses we can go on and I've always turned them down due to childcare issues, plus deep down I've not been ready for them, but today I rang them up and put my name down on the waiting list to attend, plus I've rang Cjays social worker to try and get him on some play schemes in the hols (she's not in til Monday). I've always thought he wasn't autistic enough, but I've got the courage now to ask if he can join in, they can only say 'no'. I've really got to toughen up and ask questions rather than guessing all the time.

There I feel better getting that out

TFI Friday . How do I do the Children in Need emoticon?!!

Vjay - hope you're feeling all empowered after your phone calls for Cjay. I look forward to hearing about your courses and how Cjay gets on at his play schemes. I know ASD is such a wide spectrum and Cjay at the mild end of it, but any help you can get can only be good for you all .

The Mothercare tike looks fab and what a great discount - kerching!

Louey - did you speak to your sister last night? How did she get on? I felt I looked pg from @ 10 weeks this time around and it was empire tops a go-go from then on in.

Barbie - Dolly update please! How is bottlegate going? The day 12 hours in when B eventually took the bottle I sat motionless not daring to breath in case it caused him to change his mind. He drained 7oz and never looked back. I didn't breath easier until I was a good week in though as every feed I feared him rejecting it again but no. Hope you're having fun with your Mum and sneaking off for some barbie time .

Its DH's bday on Sunday so I'm taking him out for dinner tomorrow night, followed by long lie as boys staying at his Mum's. I'm almost looking forward to the long lie/breakfast and papers in bed more than night out but not quite .

Have a good weekend everyone, five weeks til Christmas .

quick hello from me - manic today (Fridays generally are...)

blue try bear in [ ]

I'm not sure it is for children in need though - there are some threads about it being a pombear - all due to a recent thread which is now in MN classics. Have a fab night out and an even fabbier lie-in th next morning.

vjay well done you - that was a big step to take. Hope you get some help for cjay. I think the help they need over time changes but even if they are mildly affected, it still means they have problems.

mermaid

Waves to mls and bottlegatebarbie

Spoke to little sis - they are all systems go. As soon as she gets any sign of AF they will get her CD3 bloods and then depending on what they show will determine which protocol they do. She sounded quite positive. I told her about my pg and she was very pleased so that was a relief.

Right got to go, need to get some food and then off to one of my antenatal friends for a gossip and playdate.

having a hard time awfully angry baby, weepy mummy and a stressed daddy. not sure which way to turn, she takes the bottle but not enough...only 2 oz the whole day yesterday, went to bed without anything cos she refused. im worried she isnt getting enough and am tempted to have my gorgeous baby back, i feel so detatched, like im looking in from the outside.
Sorry for me post, im sat expressing, typing with one hand.

vjay very proud of you fro being brave and taking that first step

out of time back soon

tempted to give in, that should of said

Barbie - what's D's day like solid food wise? She may just be a baby who doesn't like milk as BF is more about the comfort and snuggles than calories after they are on three meals a day...

How was her sleep after refusing her bedtime bottle?

I know friend's lo's who gave up their milk completely after they were weaned and HV advised then that was OK as long as they were getting enough dairy via yoghurts, cheese etc.

Just a thought...

Louey - just sneaked on MN classics, some snort out louds on there . Godd news about your sis, all guns blazing now and she took your news well.

I gave in... i gave her a fed at bed time It was lovely.
And yes im weak!

Have decided to just feed before bed time, she cant afford to lose weight, and her diet isnt fantastic at the moment (we are working on that!)

blue you do make so much sense, she eats well but has her favourite things and we are a little stuck in a rut food wise. She is a baby who will eat purees without lumps or it has to be solid finger food, no in between. The problem being most of the finger food ends up else where, while she has her favourite puree's.
Im just offering lots of fingers foods, chicken, potato etc etc
She has been waking at 9pm (bed at 6pm) but going back quickly with a little snuggle, waking about 1.30 and taking perhaps an oz and then back until the mosque wakes her. Last night she went 6 until 1.30 with no feed before bed

She has just woken now and its 9pm, tends to be her natural pattern. Dh has gone in and put her back

My plan is to only bf before bed, taking her off before she falls asleep as to not associate feeding to sleep. The rest of the day will be milk in her sippy cup/bottle and the night will be whatever we can get into her at the 1.30 wake up. So i think we are almost night weaning....

Her day naps are ok, we have a pattern which means i can get her to sleep without feeding, so if thats the only good thing to come out of all of this then im happy

Did i say im glad to be bf again?

Sorry ive been crap here lately, the last few days have been hell, i hate seeing dolly so sad and out of sorts. Hopefully this new plan will work x

PS watched Harry potter last night, a rare night out....anyone else going to see it?

barbie you are doing so well Dolly is getting a good diet and it doesn't matter if it's the same old thing all the time as long as it's balanced. I went through 12 months of Cjay just eating the same thing, but he has a lovely varied diet now, there is plenty of time to introduce new foods, school dinners helped a lot for Cjay. A nice snuggly feed at night sounds good for both of you, so if she has water and food throughout the day plus as blue says dairy in her diet, she'll be fine. It's so crap you don't have a health visitor you can just pick up the phone and chat to. Books are good only so far, but that's what I suppose we are all here for Oh and you've not been crap lately

blue I'm with you on almost looking forward to the lie in more , have a fabby night out and following lie in , and a big happy birthday to mrblue for Sunday.

louey so pleased that your telling your sister went well, and it sounds like she has a good plan to focus on too, let there be two bundles of joy in the loueyfamily soon

Thanks for you well wishes re me making forward steps with Cjay, it's more about me personally having the 'balls' to get out there and ask!!!

Have just booked a night in Edinburgh in December, we are meeting the in-laws there so they can give the boys their Christmas presents, plus it will MIL's birthday on the Sunday, so give us something else to look forward to

Hello. Hoping I'll manage a longer post this time

Barbie What a few days you've had! The relief you feel about feeding again is palpable. That's exactly how I felt. This won't be forever. Dolly's changing every day and one day the time will be right to completely give up. We now only offer the bottle once a day and as long as H willingly takes an ounce or so I'm happy. I know when I go back to work she'll take it if she's hungry enough. We have also started using this cup which she likes much better. (although I see there's a smaller version which would be better.)As soon as she can drink plenty from it, I think I'll ditch the bottles altogether, which is what my HV told me to do in the
first place

Vjay Well done again on your weight loss this week. I'm pleased with my progress too. I have started on the No Diet Diet so we'll see what difference that makes. I'm glad you have a car again as I did worry bout you on the bikes if we got snow again like last year. Oh and huge gold star for plucking up the courage over Cjay. i think you're a fab mum.

Louey so pleased that the symptoms are staying strong. Bet you have to actively prevent yourself from nipping to the loo to knicker check! The diet is going fine. I've now lost 5lbs and I'm starting to see a difference. I lost 7lbs during the August attempt so combined it's quite a lot. Hope the DTs are giving you some time to rest.

Mermaid Lol at the emoticon. I could almost hear your disappointment! We need that for the greenhouse! Hope everything is good with you and you have something nice planned for Christmas.

Blue Hello. Feel like I've not been in touch with you for ages. Hope your boys are well. I'm impressed by your Ebaying. My brother likes Gumtree and I'm going to try to sell some baby stuff on it including my close carrier as I can't see me using it anymore.
Hope your festive preparations are in full swing. I have all my cards written and most of my presents bought and wrapped. Have told DH that anything that's not done by next weekend is his job so i can totally immerse myself in my girls until I go back to work.

Speaking of work, I went in on Thurs for a meeting about the jobshare. Did not go well and I'm looking forward to my return even less now (if that were possible.)

Cupcake any more news on DH's job? Hope it's not getting you down too much. How's your diet going?

Monkey hello busy lady Hope everything is good with you.

LBM are you into the swing of things back at work now? Hope baby J is fully recovered from her illness.

MLS Know you're right in the thick of it at the moment. It's horrendous at the time,but it DOES get better, I promise (and i speak as the mum of H!) You're doing a fab job and your girls adore you.

I'm afraid the girls want breakfast. How inconsiderate! Hope everyone else is doing well and Moon give yourself an early Christmas present of a doc's appt. I'm sure the reality is a lot less scary than what you're imagining.

Hey there lovelies

I'm watching the xfactor results and monitoring my pram which I'm selling on ebay :) It's taking up so much space in the living room now that we've got an umbrella stroller so I'll be happy when it goes.

It's very quiet this weekend so I may just be able to catch up after all

Still catching up... one bid on pram

Evening curly What did you think of the results? I've not had chance to catch up either

Off to bed now as feeling sick and no getting excited anyone, dh is feeling sick too...

Hope you're all okay xxx

ps hope you get a good price for the pram curly x

Hi guys, someone reminded me tonight (mentioning no names Neeko!) that I've neglected to write my birth story . So, I thought I'd do it now whist the girls are in bed hopefully until 7am .

Woke up at 6am on Sunday 10th with contractions 8 mins apart. Yippee I thought, a baby on 10/10/10! I alerted my neighbour to come over & look after dd1 & made some sandwiches to take with us to the hospital. Meanwhile contractions slowed right down & started coming every half an hour so put next-door-neighbour back on amber alert & went for a walk.

The rest of the day was pretty much full of contractions every half an hour so did lots of bouncing on my ball & pacing round the house. Put dd to bed & read her a story & when I got to the last page, had a really strong contraction & dh had to take over.

Phoned neighbour again & left for hospital, arrived about 9pm. I was examined & told I was only 1cm dilated but my bp was high so had to stay in. They took me right to a delivery room & told me to settle down for the night. The contractions were about every 4 mins but as I wasn't in 'established labour' I was refused gas & air. They did give me a shot of pethadine though which was fabulous! Got to 6am listening to my music & some woman in the room next door sounding like she was being stabbed & tortured! I was then 4cm dilated so could have gas & air & another shot of pethedine - cue lots of trippy texts to Neeko! The next 7 hours were spent in lots of pain & at one point near the end I had an hour of non-stop contractions so I was puffing on the gas & air, stamping on the floor & repeating over & over "no no no no no no no no no.....", you get the picture!

My midwife kept trying to move me onto the bed "NO", she wanted to break my waters "NO" & wanted to give me an internal examination "NOOOOOO"! Dh was getting cross with me because I wasn't doing as I was told & in the end a shouty doctor was called to boss me around! I was examined & the midwife said "Are you sure you don't want to push yet?", "NO"! My waters then broke all over the floor but I still didn't get the urge to push. Anyway I was told to push as I was fully dilated so I was hauled onto the bed on all fours but the pushing wasn't working. They then flipped me over & I had to push on my back which was something I hadn't wanted to do. It took about 20 mins of hard pushing until dd2 finally made her entrance & the reason it had been so painful, the contractions had come without a break in-between, I hadn't had the urge to push & it had been so difficult getting her out at the end was because she was back-to-back. The bony part of her face was facing the bony part of my pelvis instead of the back of her head, & she was looking up instead of having her head tucked in. My midwife said that it's rare to not have to have an episiotomy or an epidural when the baby is in this position so I was very smug happy about that!

So dh cut the cord & dd2 shat all over my chest! Was so so relieved that it all went well & dc2 was a beautiful, bonnie, healthy GIRL!

Curly when does the bidding on your pram run out? We sold our old Quinny on Ebay earlier this year & I managed to get £100 for it.

Monkey the results smell very fishy to me!

Ooh mls ouch ouch ouch. brave lady I would be screaming epidural. Great birth story :) I'm really happy with what I got for the pram. I'm dying to meet up again so that I can grill you on your ebay technique. I stalked some prof pram sellers on ebay to figure out how they got more... and it's worked!

Big waves to Monkey :) The results are definitely not predictable are they? I really like Cher, though she's a strange little thing! How did the big trip go? I hope things calm down for you soon lovely and that your dog is okay. So cute of your clever ds to be speaking french :) I promise not to get too excited about you feeling sick (I am such a liar )

lbm my heart nearly fell out my mouth reading about babybelle's pneumonia. You must have been so worried :( I'm so glad she's doing well now and is such a happy little thing. Amazing weight loss - is that your target? You didn't seem to have much weight on when I saw you despite how new Jo was :)

moon my lovely, there will be no life without babies for you. Hang on in there, I agree with psychic barbie. It's not surprising you would feel empty. You are still grieving and I know it feels like forever (and is) but we will be celebrating your bfp very soon. You are so lovely being there for everyone else in the meantime. Have a massive hug from me xxx

4ever How is gorgeous Summer? I can't believe that your miracle bean will be 6 months old on Friday :) I loved the image of you wandering around mermaids garden scratching your head at all this new-fangled MN technology

neeko How is baby H? The thought of going back to work is rubbish - not till Feb for me thankfully. I am so in awe (but not surprised ) at how organised you are for christmas. I have not bought one present yet!

barbie you are doing so well... don't think of it as giving in. You are adapting the plan to make it bearable for your spirited little monkey. Have you tried giving her yogurt to up her dairy intake? Goodness knows how I would cope in the same situation. I cheated recently by giving curlygirl diluted fruit juice (just a tiny bit in her water, honest!) to persuade her of the merits of a sippy cup :) And it worked, so do whatever you feel is best. And keep note of it because things are definitely improving, thanks to your persistance I haven't seen any of the harry potter movies ever, but I'd do it just for a night out!

iggy How are you and mini-igg doing? I hope you are getting more sleep x

mermaid I'm liking the they definitely need a one . I'm also loving how cosy the greenhouse is this winter. Have you seen the john lewis advert that has caused so much contraversy because of the poor deerhound all cold in his kennel. That's how I picture where you live - all pretty and by the sea. But the kennel is replaced by a greenhouse

louey I can't tell you how happy I am at your news :) though sad for your little sister :( I'm glad she took the news well. Nice to hear you are getting a tummy already. It makes it seem much more real :) As for life without wipes, I refuse to believe it

So excited for baking too. Finally you get some good news. When are you planning your next scan?

blue How did DH's birthday dinner and the lie-in go? I am loving your new room. I went to check out your photos and one of the threads you are on caught my eye ... girls names to go with Ben!!!! Is there something you haven't told us Don't mention the slankets to DH... his worst fear is coming home to find me on the couch in a slanket. Could be a lot worse I say

VJ You are a brave lady, but we always knew that :) CJ sounds like such a wonderful little boy and I love hearing about him. Btw I love the pennywalking you talked about. I'm going to go on a penny walk tomorrow :) Well done on weight loss too you skinny minnie How is AJ doing with his cold?

cupcake you all look so lovely at the Christening. I'm glad you had a good day. Any news on DH's job?

sabs another great weight loss. Can't wait to meet up again and see the new you! A belated happy Eid to you :)

jools It sounds like you need a holiday hon. Hope you are doing okay?

qa thinking of you lovely xxx

A massive happy birthday to buddha's and Annie's big boys Ewan and Ellis on Thursday and big waves to MM, lion, hoping, gracie, mrskate, pfj and chocciechip

Phew, that's me sorta caught up I think. Hope I haven't missed anyone xxx

This is the bit where I catch-up with one & two line posts!

Curly love your huuuge posts. Lol at your dh's worst nightmare being seeing you in a slanket when he gets home from work! My dh would hate it too but I'd do it just to piss him off!

Blue girls names to go with Ben hey??? Go on spill!

Louey I was in maternity clothes this time abound by 8 weeks.

Morning ,
What a weekend!!!!!, at one point we had Cjay pooing and Ajay being sick at the same time, I was so glad dh was off to help, AND he cleaned it ALL up , amazing, I know!!!

I didn't get to watch any x-factor or strictly, so if someone would kindly post who went out for me I would be most grateful.

Both boys are a lot better now, I think Cjays was down to him over eating crap, and Ajay is just him coughing up rubbish from his cold and then being sick.

This is turning into a lovely post isn't it

Thankyou for all your kind words to me, you are all so lovely

mls thankyou for posting your birth story, loved the bit when they sent in the bossy doctor, I take it you did as you were told then

Hi curly lovely long post,why don't you buy you and dh matching slankets? then he'll have to wear it so as not to hurt your feelings

Right I'm off to shop now, laters xxx

im back!!!! missed you girls lots....

Dh has gone to europe for two weeks so im all alone yikes!

Will catch up this eve when monkey is in bed. She took her first steps unaided yesterday, on her 9 month birthday

Lunchtime at blueworktowers (tomato soup and crusty bread - yuuum).

Firstly LOL at curly and MLS. Not on your nelly