All those online for NZ timezone!

[buzzybee]

Hi all. Used to be a regular on MN when I lived in London but since moving back to NZ have found it harder to make the connections due to all the brits being asleep when us down under are online! So if anyone is keen to start a thread for those of us in this predicament please reply! My DD has just turned 5 and started school last week (scary). Have just found out I'm expecting number 2 - due roughly Xmas day...

many many congrsats ninedragons

hope you recovering well from c section

hsve to go - feeding

oh congratulations! I really love the name Iris, would have used it but doesn't go with our surname

honestly, travelling with a young baby is a doddle. get it all out of the way before they want to move all the time (that's when it starts getting hideous)

DS appears to be cutting 3 molars, unbelievably, and DD is being foul in the afternoons when she gets tired. I am a bit of a wreck.

wellie that would be lovely, is it easy for you to get into the centre because I think that's where I'll be most of the time - sister lives in Roseneath and I haven't been to Wellington since 1992 (and then only for a day) so I'll be seeing as much as I can I reckon.

Mrs JC - poor you. You sound tired. I have only been sleepless/wiped out for a couple of months and that has done me in completely (DSs have both been good sleepers for two years now). I don't know how you've coped for nearly a year. are you getting the weekend off? I really find that when I'm worn out with foul children that I need to get away from them - if only for an hour or so sometimes.

Congratualtions, ninedragons! The early days with baby sound idyllic!

I love the name Iris. I had an Auntie Iris (actually a great-aunt) and she was lovely, so the name has these really nice associations for me.

We're also stressing about visiting grandparents - must be done this year or next and a lottery win would be helpful....

MrsJC - getting into town is easy peasy. We'll just be doing our usual weekend thing of running the dds around the garden whilst trying to fix up the house/property, so I should be able to pop out for a coffee if you're free. Will email tomorrow with details - am comatose and on way to bed.

Good luck with the molars - at least you're getting them all over and done with at once... dd2's seemed to take years to arrive and I could have sworn she teethed about 16 of them.

She was very nearly Juno - I put it on my list as soon as I peed on the stick, spent nine months trying to talk my husband into it, and then about a fortnight before the birth that film about teen pregnancy came out. Poof went that idea - I didn't want everyone to be able to date her to January 2008 for the rest of her life.

Or she could have been Ursula, because of her fuzzy black hair. But it's only really a lovely name if people pronounce it Ur-soo-la, and as we all know Aussies are lazy and everyone would call her Ur-shula and drive me up the wall.

So Iris it was - I am sufficiently aware of the flaws of my compatriots to pick something that can't be abbreviated and can't be mispronounced.

Congrats ninedragons!! Enjoy the babymoon - long may it last for you! Actually I think if your baby is still doing good stuff at 2-3 weeks, you may be lucky. My DD slept loads early on and is still a pretty good sleeper at 5.5 weeks - its just that I'm getting impatient with getting up at 3am, but I know that I'm lucky to have only one night feed most nights.

Actually right now my main concern is the colour of her poo - green (and quite solid)!! Have read that this may be due to too much fore-milk, must be more diligent in my expressing...poss have been trying to do too quickly. Could also be a sign of some mild infection as she was posseting quite a bit yesterday which is not like her - seems well otherwise tho.

Poor you MrsJC, isn't it horrible when they've been sleeping well then start waking...hard to keep your eyes open. Have fun in Wellington! Weather forecast looks quite good (cold tonight but).

at abbreviated names, ninedragons. I spent a year in Australia and was always amused by their ability to cut any word in half and add an "o" on the end. I wouldn't put it past them to call her "Iro"

Anna and ninedragons - hence why all men in Oz seem to be called Gibbo, Jonesy etc! The one I always notice is arvo for afternoon...but I guess Australian men are famous for being few on words!

I know! My cousin asked me a week before she was born if we'd got to the stage of going through the credits when we were watching TV trying to glean names, but I told her the only thing we watch regularly is Bondi Rescue on ABC Asia-Pacific, so if we named her from that she'd be Hoppo or Reidy.

Bet you're right about Iro, Anna.

Just come back from a weekend away in Masterton - first time overnight away from home with Beatrix except from the night in hospital. Hired a 3 br house and went really really well - so well in fact that Beatrix slept thru from 9.30pm to 7am!!! DD1 had a great time too - horse riding etc at cousins' farms.

Very very hot and humid today in the Wairarapa so Bea has been more unsettled - fingers crossed for tonight.

Glad you had a good weekend Buzzy and Bea slept so well. When we rented a bach a couple of weeks ago Amelia slept much better there during the day than she does here - I think maybe because we were out of Auckland and it just wasn't so humid. It's very very sticky here too.

We had Amelia christened yesterday and about 30 people back at the house afterwards for food and drinks. It was a lovely day. Dh's dad, step-mum and half-brother are here so it was nice to have some family at the service.

Oh and I finally got together with some other mums and babies! Our antenatal group met up last week. We all got on during the classes before the births, but we didn't really click - but last week we all had so much to say to each other, swapping our birth stories etc. I get the feeling they've all been sitting in their houses wanting to meet other mums too! It was really nice to be able to babble on about babies for a couple of hours - as I've said before, none of our local friends have kids so their interest in takling about child-related things is limited.

We're meeting up again tomorrow and plan to do it every week or two - I felt much better after a morning with them.

oh good Anna! that sounds great. it's essential to have other people with new babies to see

glad you had a great weekend Buzzy but sorry to have missed you. i had a good weekend with DS in Wellington and met up with Welliemum yesterday for coffee which was great. The weather in Wellington was fairly mad, so were the 87 steps I had to hoick DS up and down from the road to my sister's house

Sorry to have missed you Mrs JC. Its completely wild in Wellie today. DS2 insisted on taking his power rangers umbrella into kindy and needless to say it was blowing him all over the playground, but he wouldn't let go of it. i just went with it, but noted several other (competent) mums giving me looks of 'what on earth is she letting him do that for???'. oh well.
great to see you buzzy and wellie.

It was great, will have to do again. That place is OK, don't know whether there are others better?

Had Plunket here today. Quite funny; she asked about my "partner" and when I said I didn't have one she got all excited and asked loads of questions along the lines of "did you leave him because he hit you?"!! Didn't even occur to me that anyone would think that - but I guess they are trained to look out for these sorts of things

It's been lovely seeing everyone over the past 2 days! We need to get Anna down to Wellie too!

I'm keen to go anywhere with cages for children - the only way I'll get to sit down.... but I don't think there are many places like that around. That Karori Park cafe (Buzzy has been) seems nice and I think would work on a sunny day where the children could run around on the grass in front.

I remember our midwife (same one both babies) asking me about domestic violence - very embarrassed, but saying she had to ask because so many people said "yes". So I suppose it's not suprising the Plunket nurse jumped to conclusions.

Just thought I'd get this back on my threads I'm on list...

How's everybody doing?

great thanks Anna. Just uploaded a couple more photos of Bea. Can't believe she's almost 2 months old now! How are you?

Have had a very bad few days, just crying at random times. Thinking of going to see a grief counsellor as I just seem to be feeling worse and worse.

Dh has generally been trying to be supportive but yesterday he said he thought I should be "moving on" by now, which pissed me off A LOT as I feel I am barely even starting to come to terms with it all. So we had a lovely row about that! CLeared the air a bit though and things much better now. I don't think he really gets quite how I feel as he's not very close to his mum.

Am feeling much better today though. Pictures of Bea are lovely! Amelia is all good and we are going to a couple of mum and baby things a week now so at least getting out and meeting people.

oh Anna at 'moving on'. I expect - hope - he's just saying that because he's worried about you but it's not helpful at all is it. Rows can be good though if they clear the air

it is awful losing your mother anyway, but I think that you also have added difficulties as she died on the other side of the world and you couldn't go to the funeral AND you'd just had your first baby. I mean, for goodness sake, look at it written down like that - it's devastating. And it's RECENT as well

If you feel a grief counsellor would help then do it - it's certainly worth a go anyway.

buzzy, Bea looks just like you! gorgeous

might put some more recent pics of mine on my profile too

Hmm yes, I think he was just trying to be positive and point out the good stuff e.g Amelia, but it just made me feel like I was doing somehting wrong for still feeling so sad. I explained that to him and I htink he understands a bit more now.

Think it showed a bit of a lack of sensitivity though. Still, that's hardly a shock headline is it "Male shows lack of sensitivity - previously unheard of phenomenon!"

Anna do you live anywhere near Howick? I have a friend there who lost her Dad last year. She has been a very good friend to me over the years, listening to me being sad about my separation/divorce when most other people assumed I had "moved on" and generally being very understanding and supportive. I'm not saying she would replace a grief counsellor but I think you would have some things in common if you felt like meeting her.

There is NO WAY you could possibly have "moved on" by now. People talk about the grief cycle - something like anger, blame, sadness etc but IMO its not a simple continuim. You swing backwards and forwards and even when you think you've moved forwards you will have days when it feels almost as raw as at the beginning.

I'm sure your DH is feeling helpless - like he's tried his hardest to be supportive and somehow he's failed because youo still feel sad. It may be that he needs to see a counsellor too - or I'm sure there are books out there (look on Amazon) to help the families and friends of bereaved people cope. If he likes reading maybe that would work for him?

I don't know whether you saw Trinny and Susannah last week - the programme about helping men to dress better? I found the psychology they were discussing quite interesting - that men LOVE information but need to have it set out in a format they can easily comprehend (like a horse racing book!)

If you think it might help to talk to my friend (Jane) send me a text. She's not working at the moment as she's living at home with her Mum helping her to cope. I know she'd leap at the chance too.

Thanks MrsJC - I can't see it myself but others have said the same! Yes do post some more photos - so sorry we didn't get to meet the other weekend. Are you getting more sleep? Fingers crossed Bea has been consistently sleeping thru the night for nearly 2 weeks now.

I stuck a load more photos on my profile
People always say my DD is the double of me and whilst I can see we look alike, I don't think we're as similar as everyone says...maybe it's hard to see yourself

yes DS is now sleeping through most nights, I moved out of the bedroom and he is now sleeping much better. Unfortunately this means I am on the sofa until we get around to getting the sunroom double glazed and ready for his occupation!

Inlaws arrive tomorrow for 7 weeks
thank goodness there's no room here, they'll be in a motel.