New frugal thread for autumn savings

[SnugglySnerd]

Just filled up the last one. Hope you all find the new one!

Ffs the stupid bold writing on the app isn’t working properly.

Both dc are up but have gone downstairs to watch tv leaving dh and me in bed 🙌🏼

It's very nice when the DCs get old enough to do that wreck :o all still silent and dark here.

Need to send DH shopping today, hadn't planned to be going into hospital before the next Tesco delivery :o will need a few bits for hospital (including for DH - I have no idea if they feed partners at all, I seem to remember him being offered toast with me last time but he's coeliac so will get gluten free stuff in case it's a long haul) and a packed lunch for the Caglets for Monday as DSD is taking them to work with her (playworker at council adventure playground) ❤️

I'm also awake listening to the storm outside, why can't I sleep when I'm tired

Seacow will your ds sleep on in the morning? Dishwasher looks fab. Sorry to hear PT meeting upset you, but they're using standardised standards & he's not a standard little boy.

I got an email that annoyed me yesterday. When I switched electricity providers I got free boiler & home heating insurance which I forgot about. We spent about €500 when our boiler broke down a couple of months ago buying a second hand one & using it to replace parts in our one. If I didn't get the email I wouldn't have realised we could've had a shiny new boiler without the worries of our premium going up

Cag enjoy your last day at home as a family of 4

Trying to think of my top five tips
write a shopping list & stick to it
shop only once a week & if something runs out mid week substitute or do without. I freeze milk & bread for the week to avoid top up shops
sign up for shop & scan (€130 per year in vouchers bought a new microwave & camping gear out of this years), survey sites & cashback sites
use mse's money mantra - attached below
YNAB all the way I've a referral link but need to get from pc so that won't be until Monday maybe laska could give you one if you'd like it earlier
Since I started using ynab my bank account hasn't gone overdrawn nor have I missed a direct debit payment

Cute photo.
Please you are past the panic stage now cag.
Sorry about parents evening sea.
Hmm to 5 I'm not sure. I know my frugal intentions fail without adequate planning. Last minute birthdays, not meal planning etc.
Always take drinks, snacks and a pic nic on days out.

Isn't that dishwasher height adjustable? I'm sorry parents evening wasn't what you hoped Sea.

Free Maryland biscuits on checkoutsmart.

Em he is amazing

Thanks guys.

Dh got a bit stroppy at 4am. He slept in with us last night. Ds wasn’t settling and dh woke up and said “ffs can’t you do something about the noise?” (For some reason ds gets really snuffly at night time. Only at night and only in our room. Wierd). So I did. I took myself off to the spare room. Have just woken up. So I slept from around 9 through until 230. Then from 4 to just now. Haven’t been to see what dh ds and catface are up to yet.

Nails today. Yay. Part of making me feel more normal.

His one night in with ye and he gets stroppy hopefully he'll be repentant this morning

Lebkuchen recipe is here fluff

Em you are doing fine ( even if you dont think so right now) .babies are hard work .. Hes a cutie!!
Cag so exciting hope ot all goes well today . How long after injections does it usually happen?

Interesting about your room being the place he snuffles. Bedding washed with something different? Feather pillows on your bed? Worth a think although the main point is DH will indeed have to be repentant today. Babies make noise, deal with it! :o

Enjoy getting your nails done! I wish sometimes that I enjoyed that sort of self care thing but I hate it myself (sensory issues really). I will have to think of other ways to get back to 'being me' instead :) (I may have included two new card games in my amazon splurge last night although I'm not expecting to be able to play them for a good while)

Never did get back to sleep. Need to phone the hospital as my fasting levels were a bit high overnight.

Thank you Laska

Wreck there is a special school quite near which I went to visit but DS wouldn't get in as not 'severe' enough (basically most of the children are non-verbal with very significant care and sensory needs). I don't think it would be right for DS even if they would take him as he wouldn't get as much social input there. I think a unit within a mainstream school would be best but there are very few places in the borough and they are hugely oversubscribed. Basically, I think most kids go into mainstream and only if things are really failing do they consider anything else. So much wasted time

I think I need to keep an open mind for the first half of the year and see how they step up. DS has outreach support from the special school so that might help.

All up a bit later today, about 8am.

I'm having a haircut later, which will cheer me up (assuming I like it!). I'm having to see a new person as mine has stopped doing Saturdays. But the new person is quite senior and also has curly hair herself so I'm hoping she can figure out what to do with my mop!

Ocado coming later, c £110. Lots of formula (especially as we are using the ready prepared stuff for night feeds for speed and because I can't walk downstairs with my foot problem). It's costing us about £25 per week alone. DD shouldn't even be needing so many night feeds but she wakes every 3ish hours and won't self-settle. I think drastic sleep training measures are called for... I need to do some research.

It's chucking but down here this morning.

Where is need?

Aw thanks Laska it's just my second lot of steroids today (because she is so small and a little early they want to make sure her lungs are strong enough) and the induction is tomorrow so that's when I'll be going in to stay. I have to phone at 7.30am to get a time (hopefully there will be beds?!)

No idea how long it'll take really. DD induction took 3 days but first birth so quite expected. DS was same day. This time... well I would hope it'll be quick too, but also I am aware that she is not right down in my pelvis yet (DS was) and I'm not sure if that's going to change anything as she's not so 'ready'. Gulp.

I got a bit emotional earlier. Long chat with DD, she was saying how she loves her baby sister already and I was telling her of course but when you actually meet them it's just so much more incredible. That I will never forget when I first actually saw DD. It just multiplies and there is nothing on earth like that feeling. Completely mind blowing.

Never quite got that moment with DS - before I actually got to see him the midwife had exclaimed "oh my god he's MASSIVE" 😂 and funny as it is, that somewhat marred my first moment with him!

I pm'd need but she hasn't replied. She'll be back.

I burnt my French toast because I was cross with ds for twirling his nappy around until it split and scattered its wet crystals all over the kitchen floor, they scatter far & wide in full orbit & don't sweep up

Of course dcs pancakes didn't get burnt at all

Dh's hr tracker came thurs, its nicer than my Fitbit & he burned 1000 more
calories than me yesterday, however its step count is wildly inaccurate as app is on my phone & I saw the steps racking up while he was turning dds jumper right side out last night

Seacow i had that plantar fasciitis when ds was a baby took 3 sessions of physio to put it right

Hope need is ok.

Dh made tea and breakfast burritos. He is forgiven. We’ve had a chat. I pointed out I need more help. I’m not eating much during the days when I’m on my own. And need help so I can at least have a decent breakfast.

He said that he fed ds and he settled really easily. He thinks the snuffly noises are his “milk hunting” noises. He does grunt a bit when he’s after milk. Im not sure. But am willing to go with it. I’ve got the grow egg things out and will set that up in our room. It could be it’s too dark. Or too cold. I only hear the noises at night. But then its quieter at night.

Dr google tells me that ds is still getting used to breathing properly and it could be a mucus thing. Which will pass.

We have our 6 week check in about 10 days so will raise it then. He hasn’t got a temperature. Is feeding well. Nappies are fine. He’s sleeping. And doesn’t have a runny nose so not a cold. So I don’t feel it’s worth a gp trip.

No feather pillows - the feather cushions are in the living room on the couch- bedding is washed in the same stuff as everything else. Catface is everywhere so it’s not her (I don’t know what I’d do if he was allergic to her....). Maybe he just doesn’t like being in our room. It’ll work out.

That's a good point about maybe being milk searching noises. Damn, babies are cute maybe slightly less so at 2am ❤️

Ooooh I can't wait to have French toast again! With cinnamon sugar, banana and strawberries. Le yum.

I'm in bed, DS is downstairs watching transformers. DH and DD are at ballroom then Tesco shopping for last minute hospital bag stuff and things for DSD and the Caglets. Also a cool bag so I can take cheese/meat etc, hospital food is likely to be too carby and during the lead up to labour it's even more vital to keep my sugars stable (if they go high it'll mean the baby struggles to regulate her own sugars when she's born).

Seacow it’s horrible to think your ds is missing out on a good education because he ‘isn’t severe enough’ he’s still little though I’m sure he will go far

Is the fact that it's bucketing down outside adequate enough excuse to do absolutely nothing?
I've fed the hens & cats. Put on a wash & another in dryer & made breakfast that's enough for today isn't it?
Although if I want a fire I'll have to clean out the ashes

Seacow I know I'm not a mam (yet??) and your DS's autism sounds different/more severe than mine but I think it might help to bear in mind that it is really early days still. He is still so little and sometimes children autistic or not have random periods where they start to 'get' things quickly or develop an insane amount in a short period and then things plateau again for awhile etc. I guess his development will not really be the same as the NT kids in his class which makes assessing him by standards for NT kids a bit useless really. But hopefully the school will learn how best to get the best out of him and I know you are great with him. He is still so little and tiny so try not to worry and you know he has his own little strengths already so I guess try and focus on them?

Mammy I usually do nowt when the weather is shit tbh. I feel really grim and horrible when the weather is awful outside. Today it is a bit overcast but ok so far. It's meant to rain later though.

Em Glad you had The Chat with DH and he was helpful. You seem to be doing excellently and your DS is a gorgeous little thing.

Today we will be going to the vintage fair, then back home, then out volunteering in the evening, then possibly to friend's house for his birthday but I have warned him I may well be too exhausted to go what with my fatigue so we will see. Busy day but hopefully fun. Although probably spendy.

I miss Need

Thanks Mammy, I think I am going to try to find a physio.

Sun's out here now and it's a beautiful autumn day!

I've just mopped kitchen floor because of nappy explosion 💥

Meadow sounds like a lovely day out

And thanks Meadow (cross posted). I don't really care about his 'academic' progress at all at the moment. In fact I am sure he will be good at logical stuff like maths in the end. I more worry about his rigidity, which is limiting his exposure to new things, making his behaviour quite challenging at times and causing him anxiety too. I am sure that will ease as he gets older but it is quite painful! And the other worry is the social side... I feel sad when I see his classmates say hello in the mornings and he ignores them. I just hope they keep talking to him and don't give up on him.

Anyway, it's the weekend and DH is here. It's all much easier and nicer when we're together.

Em if everything else seems okay I wouldn't worry about the noisy breathing. It's quite normal - babies actually can't breathe through their mouths at first and have to breath through their noses. So they sound snuffly at the slightest thing.

Have a good weekend everyone!

We’ve started referring to ds as “milk shark” he makes the grunting noises and dh last night handed him to me for a feed and he was opening and closing his mouth rather like a great white....I’m just glad he doesn’t have teeth!!!

According to our scales ds now weighs 4.8 kg. So 10lb5. If they’re correct. I weighed the both of us then weighed just me. He has bulked up!!!!

Babies are so cute. And funny. And wierd. And amazing. and noisy. And time consuming