So when the UK sleeps, we know you other MNers are out there part II

[tadjennyp]

I was looking for thumbwitch's recipe for that cake and found the old thread has disappeared so Linzer and I thought we'd resurrect it!

Hmm, does sounds slightly suspicious jenny - I can't remember exactly when I had to start going every two weeks, but I don't think it was till around 34/35 weeks. Good to hear that things are going well, though.

I'm now trying to work out how much 26 degrees Fahrenheit is; all I can remember is that 60 degrees is pleasant and 90 degrees is hot. Obviously cold if you have snow!

DH comes back tonight, so I will have to kick the DDs out of my bed after sharing with them for the best part of two nights. They were fine last night and I didn't have to decamp, although I did go into DD2's bed while I was waiting for her to go to sleep. DH was complaining about how cold it is in Berlin; it's not too bad here but is forecast to get colder by the day, culminating in 1 degree and snow on Friday.

26F is a whole -3.3C but warmer than we expected! Glad your dh is back tonight. Ds keeps creeping in to my bed around 4 and I can't be bothered to carry him back as he is a little hot water bottle! I suppose it's a habit I'll need to break before little one comes along.

Well, DH has just texted me to say he's not sure he'll be back tonight after all; he read in the paper yesterday that Air Berlin pilots will be on strike today, but hopefully it's just a one-day thing.

I've actually quite enjoyed having the girls in my bed - as long as they don't start kicking me like DD2 did the first night! Does your DS normally come into your bed at night or is it just while your DH is away? DS went through a phase where he would come into our bed in the middle of the night, but luckily he seems to have grown out of it now.

That's a shame about your dh. I hope he makes it back.

It's a habit with ds, definitely. When I went back to the UK with them in February, the first night at my Mum and Dad's I heard this little voice saying, 'excuse me, excuse me', because he couldn't find my bedroom. So sweet!

I know you're supposed to take them back to their own bed immediately, but we couldn't be bothered - it was easier for me to go into DS's bed and to leave DS with DH! I can see why you'd want to break the habit before the new baby arrives, though.

Ha ha - we have one or the other in our bed almost every night (although it's been three nights without now, which is good going for them! Unfortunately dd1 still getting up at 5.30am...). Usually I think it's bad dreams, although I think it's just generally being unsettled with dd1. I don't mind having one of them but it can get crowded plus dd1 hates sleeping on her own so invariably one of us end up curled up in one of the dd's little toddler beds.....Not great!

How old are your DC, stranded? The DDs never came into our bed at night (I tried co-sleeping with DD1 and it was hopeless as she was so restless that I didn't get any sleep), but they often used to wake up and need reassuring. In some ways, that was more tiring than DS coming into our bed as one of us (usually me) would actually need to get up. It's got better since they started sharing a room as they keep each other company; on the downside, they also keep each other awake sometimes.

Dd1 is 5 and dd2 will be 3 in just over two weeks time. Dd1 is the worst sleeper of the two, she was the one who decided a year ago that she wanted to share a room with her sister. However this morning it was dd2 who apparently shook her sister awake. For some reason they always seem to wake up as soon as the first bird starts singing, about half an hour before dawn. I am holding on to this vain hope that it will be better at home when dawn comes so much later....Getting up at 5.30am isn't so bad here where at least it's warm and getting light.

Dd2 is actually more likely to go back to sleep in her own bed when she wakes, like your ds.

Remind me how old yours are again?

DD1 will be 9 at Christmas, DD2 is 6 and DS is 4. DD1 was also the worst sleeper out of the three of them as a baby - I spent months in a zombie-like state - but now she actually sleeps better, or at least goes to sleep earlier, than DD2. They (the DDs, at least) are now getting to the age where it's a struggle to get them out of bed in the mornings; I'm just hoping that DD1 doesn't go to a secondary school that starts at 7.30 am! (Some start at 7.30, some at 8.)

We have outside blinds, which are great for getting them to go to sleep in the summer but not so good for letting them wake up naturally (unless I remember to go in and open the blinds before they have to get up). It's a nightmare trying to get them to go to sleep in the summer at my parents, who only have very thin curtains, as they're just not used to going to sleep in a very light room.

Ah you need baa baa blinds We take ours everywhere as also struggle to get them to sleep when it's still bright sunshine outside. This is especially hard after living here where it is always pitch black by 7pm at the very latest.

That is probably the only good thing about going home at this time of the year as opposed to the far more sensible and warmer summer. Oh that and Christmas in the UK is a lot more exciting than Christmas here!

Ooh, those look great - well, apart from the fact that they're no longer available, but I'm assuming the gro anywhere blinds are just as good. We used to use cut up dustbin bags attached to a pole as makeshift blinds - more effective than they sound, but a bit of a hassle to put up and we haven't got the hooks to attach them any more since my parents moved house last year. Will definitely look into getting some of those.

Just a little bit peed off. The smoke alarms all went off in the middle of the night as the house got too cold. Climbing on furniture to turn them off is not my idea of fun, nor was searching for a fire. Then the inside pane of one of my windows has just cracked into lots of little shards. Then dh informs me he may have to stay on in Bulgaria for a while to fix the tool. Hopefully that's my pile of bad luck for the day. Hope everyone else's day is going better.(By the way it's around -15C here at the moment, but beautifully sunny!)

Jenny - I hate it when lots of things keep going wrong, it's like bad karma or something. It always happens like this. Luckily lots of good things sometimes happen at once too so hopefully that will be your day tomorrow!

I went to a Body Combat class at the gym this morning and it nearly killed me! I usually only do gentle things like pilates but need to lose some of the weight I seem to have been carrying since our trip to the States. After that the man came to assess how much stuff we have to pack for our container, then I spent a while trying to flog our car (it's complicated because we got it duty free but we have to pay back some of that duty) and then wrote almost a whole chapter of my novel so feel chuffed.

Going to get the girls in about an hour and we have a playdate this afternoon.

Oh no jenny, I hope your day is going better now. They do say that bad things come in threes, so hopefully you've had your fair share for a while. Do you know how much longer your DH might be staying in Bulgaria?

I read on the Internet earlier that the Air Berlin strike has been called off, so DH should be home in an hour or two - I'm sure he would have let me know if he hadn't been able to fly. Hope to fit in a bit more MNing before he gets back (he tends to sulk if I spend too much time on the computer in the evening), but I need to tidy up first - how can the house still look like a bomb has hit it when we've been out for most of the afternoon?

It sounds like you've had a very productive day (morning?) so far stranded; well done on the body combat class! My muscles have only just stopped aching after going ice skating last Friday - as it was my arm muscles, however, I think it was more from holding up DD2 than the small amount of skating I actually managed to do!

I'm glad your dh is back tonight. Mine is coming back on Saturday after all, thank goodness. The sun has disappeared though and it just looks cold outside. I feel terrible about the DVDs we are watching, but just another couple of days and we can get back into our stride again. We had a playdate this morning though. I want to read my novel stranded but have to tidy the kitchen...

Linzer, I'm glad your DH is coming back

frakkin: is the only reason you've been told to stop is that you're now 20weeks? I ran to 3 months, played badminton up to 6 months and climbed up to 9.

I saw someone on average every 2 weeks in the last trimester (maybe more). Ended up having two growth scans. Also kinda fell half way down a mountain in the New Year, so had to be checked for that. Then bloods for that showed I had to have another anti-D jab so went back in again.

tad hope you DH is with you soon and things get better. Is this weather uncharacteristically cold even for your location

Awww glad to hear your DH is coming back soon, jenny. Full houses all round

climber I reckon it must be the 20 weeks thing. Not sure what magically changes....

stranded BodyCombat is fab! I must go talk to the instructor and see if he'll take me in my current fragile condition. It seems I'm down to BodyBalance and Aquagym at the moment and I need more than that!

I'm feeling very guilty reading about all the exercise everyone is doing. At least in the summer I managed to go out cycling and walking, but I'm getting absolutely no exercise at the moment. I did go ice skating last Friday but I'm not sure that counts - I only did two or three circuits of the rink, and at a snail's pace as I was holding/helping DD2 up half the time. My arms were aching for a few days afterwards (from holding her up), so I suppose I did at least use a few muscles!

It's been a full house here today as the DDs have both had friends over, but they've all played really well together; it's been great. DS is at a friend's, which has definitely helped - he always feels very left out when the girls have friends over and they don't let him play with them (as is usually the case).

Great news about your DH coming back on Saturday, jenny - you must have really missed him, especially as you've had to cope with the snow, heating problems, etc. on your own.

Dcs out playing in the snow! Had to convince ds that he needs gloves on. Oh spoke too soon. Ds is back in, not sure he's a big fan of snow. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is on TV which is apparently a massive tradition. There were no smoke alarms last night, but the heating didn't last through the night. Not too bad, considering! Hope everyone is having a lovely day.

HUrrah for returning DHs!

And hope the snow is not too troublesome, although jenny sounds as though she's having a rough time of it!

Swimming again tomorrow morning, if the weather's ok for it - am almost looking forward to it!

Am officially over-tired now - didn't get anything like enough sleep last night, partly because of having a 3h nap yesterday (as a result of night at hospital with DS - he is ok tho) - and when I did finally get to sleep, DS had a nightmare and woke up thrashing around; then I had one that woke me as well! no thrashing on my part, luckily.
Lazy day today I think. :)

Frakkin - a friend of mine continued doing body combat right up until she was about 34 weeks (I think? She left to go home to Israel to have the baby so it would have been right up until she had to leave before they wouldn't let her on a plane!). She did of course adapt it but I'm guessing if you take it easy.....I love body balance though, apart from now I'm doing more pilates instead.

Climberchick - I loved your casual comment about falling half way down a mountain when you were 9 months....whaaaaaat?!

I hope you're having a nice lazy day THumbwitch; Happy Thanksgiving Jenny and Linzer - you're getting enough exercise keeping warm aren't you

Right need to get to bed - we're woken on the DOT of 5.25am by dd1 every bloody morning at the moment. I think it's when the first bird starts singing!

And I'm feeling proud of myself for going on the treadmill twice a week! What is body combat? It sounds like boxing to me! Just watching Charlie Brown and remembering how good it is! Now if only ds will go to sleep...

no I was 7 months at the time but still quite pregnant. Turned out lake district, covered in snow, wind swept/sun compacted snow on a scree slope wasn't a good idea

we missed the thanksgiving parade here, but I had a relaxing day nonetheless. DH gave me some beer without me thinking, so I couldn't go for my run today

I heard of people running quite late and even doing races 6 week post partum. I think it's a hangover from when people thought exercise was bad for pregnant people. If you feel comfortable do it, just mild slow ones. Or cycling, I was able to do that quite late, when even I was slower than the bus . Think I was 8 months before it was physically impossible.

Jenny when is your DH back, this weekend? Can't imagine it being that cold.

I see no reason why I shouldn't as I feel fine....but the gym might be funny about it. Apparently my mother cycled til 39 weeks with me!

climber I love your nonchalance about falling down a mountain. Must have been terrifying at the time though.

Boo for the boiler jenny but at least you didn't have the smoke alarms or anything else.

What was wrong with your DS thumb? Poor thing having nightmars as well, and poor you :( Glad he's okay at any rate.

And ouch for stranded's early waking. It's these sort of aspects of parenting I'm not looking forward to too much. I like my sleep, me!

you can't cycle/run outside a gym?

DH does the early waking for me She's mine to 3am and DH's after.

I was OK (but have winter skills training as I used to Scotland a fair bit to bag munros, which normally was in winter and also did up to 6 months), DH still has nightmares about it though (one of the few times I walked with him). God I was fit when I was pregnant, I never thought it would be afterwards it all fell apart.

thumb has DH started helping out a bit? Hope he has a good long run of being well (DS not DH), lordy he's due it.