Durham / North East Meet Ups - 2012

[juneybean]

Hello hello! Here I am with good intentions to behave and show up to some meet ups since I utterly failed in 2011!

So we need ideas for daytime meets and of course we must not forget our night time meets

[b]Daytime Ideas[/b]
Beamish
Saltwell Park, Gateshead
The Giants Den, Team Valley
Botanic Gardens
Beach (in the summer of course, unless we want airborne children!)

Okay so ideas for January daytime, I think cake is definitely in order so I propose the one that's next to Ebony, the huge place, down some steps, uhh... Slug & Lettuce is it? CAKE!

January night time? Is this something we want to plan? I know we're always poor after Christmas!

Glad you are doing ok. Meltdowns normal. I was in tears the other night!

Bath? You bath your child? Way too much effort. Just swoosh her with a flannel every few days til she is big enough to enjoy a bath.

Wind is like torture isn't it? Ds seems to get all his around 2am at the moment. He feeds, burps, falls asleep then 2 mins later wakes up and grizzles and grunts and twists and goes red inthe face for a couple of hours til he finally farts it all out and we can feed again and go back to sleep.

Very impressed that you have a) gone to the metro centre and b) fed in public!

Where did you get your nursing bra? Where do others get theirs? I'm wearing ones from last time which are a pretty ok fit but could do with some new ones. Wasn't impressed with sadie the bra lady in consett when I was pregnant. She first told me I could keep wearing my normal bras and didn't need nursing ones yet which I knew, I didn't ask for nursing ones, I asked for new bras because I was spilling out of my pre pregnancy ones. Then she kept giving me stuff that only just fitted and she kept insisting they had to be fitted on the loosest hook so you could tighten them when your bra stretched but the extremely excellent place I go to in Leeds always says tightest hook during pregnancy so you can loosen it as your rib cage expands. Then she only had a black on in stock and wanted to charge me £5 to send me a white one in the post! Place in Leeds (which I dearly love, I get soundly told off for having the wrong fit and leave with perfect scaffolding) posts stuff free of charge if they don't have it in stock. Needless to say I have not been back to Sadie, I dug out old ones and found a couple that fitted well enough and wore those.

I desperately need some clothes shopping. Keep looking online and ending up back at the Next website. At this rate everything I own will be from Next. And made of jersey for ease of feeding. Anyone fancy trying to spend a day in Newcastle pottering in a few weeks if large children can be offloaded onto their fathers? I'm told they have actual shops in Newcastle. We could have nice lunch cake. Or is there somewhere better to shop?

Metrocentre was because there are no decent nursing bras in Darlington - I checked before I had her. In the end, we found a big Mothercare which does moulded T-shirt bras up to G cup (currently in a 36G) which give loads of support - I can stand upright! The joy! Unfortunately the manager told me they are having problems with their suppliers, and the style is changing to a terrible one that gapes at the sides and the middle. If you want to try though, look for the code on the label. It should start with an N. Thrown away the packaging now so can't remember the whole thing. And you can't get them off the website - they substitute the new one.

Nursing in public - less embarrassing and heartbreaking than the wail of a hungry new baby! McDonalds was the worst. There was no seat in the whole place that was discreet. I had my coat over one shoulder, my mum's over the other, and the whole lot topped off with the pram blanket. It was dead obvious, but no-one could see any flesh! And found Metrocentre has feeding rooms in the loos, as does M&S. Very impressed.

Newcastle is still better for shopping, though. I'm planning a trip to Bravissimo when stitches allow.

I'm having issues with bras, I lost some weight last year when my life fell apart and now my bras don't fit properly so I too could stand a visit to Bravissimo to get properly fitted, plus I love Newcastle and snuggly newborns

at being bravissimo sized both of you!

at your public feeding methods Viking. Don't worry, you'll soon be a pro at not showing flesh until she gets bigger and starts lifting your top --while she feeds.

Indith if I could share them I would!!

I've gone off bravissimo. They don't lay out the shop properly so you can see what styles they have in your size and you have to wait to be seen by a member of staff which means you can't just pop in quickly. Plus last time I was in they denied they had ever sold an ultrabra style which was complete rubbish as I have bought several from them admittedly a few years ago.

I worry less about a random member of the public seeing a flash of boob as them getting hit in the eye by a squirt of milk when young master T decides that there is something more interesting to have a look at every few seconds.

I used to bath the older ones a lot. Admittedly I had to be in the bath as well but it was a guaranteed way of stopping them crying. I spent a lot of time in the bath

hope you enjoying your first mother's day Viking!

I got a (childless, university age) friend in the face once . A friend of mine scored a hit in the cup of coffee on the next table. Got to love a good forceful letdown.

I could have been world champion milk squirter with M. Easily went more than 6 foot. No wonder the poor boy struggled to latch. I've felt cheated this time- the milk doesn't go very far at all. Less messy though and I'm not going through a breastpad every couple of hours. It feels very strange to have a normal milk supply rather than oversupply.

I'll come shopping. I'm not a very good shopper but I do like cake . I can leave my littley with Daddy so will be free to hold babies while people try things on as well. I do need some trousers for work- all of mine are either scruffy or too big.

I get my bras from the NCT, our NCT bra fitter is fabulous. Range is a bit shit though. But I figure I'll get some fancy bras once I stop breast feeding in 2 3 God knows how many years time.

Newcastle is a bit far for me, but you guys go have fun, I'll wait to the next one.

My first mother's day card! Cried again...

No squirting issues yet, but the cat looked very surprised when I dripped on her head.

I'm fine with any date in a couple of weeks or so. Still not walking very far yet. Feel free to have a cake meet up in the meantime!

Still feeling sick and grim over here (14 weeks). Indith, how's the transition from 2 to 3 gone? Hard to believe my family may be going through a similar transition in September. DH deploys in October so I'm really praying that it's not too much of a shock (but please be honest if it is - forewarned is forearmed!)

I don't think it is as bad as the shock of 1 to 2, has its moments though! I could do with a cleaner, do you think I can find one for 2p an hour? Glad you are still feeling sick :) My main problem realli is ds2 is at him most fussy during the post school homework/reading book/shattered fighting dcs/trying to cook dinner witching hour but he is a very vomity boy so with dd I could throw her on my back with a rebozo and do the cooking safely but he hates being in cradle and I can't cook with him on my front in a cross carry.

It will all change so quickly though.

On the way home form school today we stopped at the park (30 seconds from my house, we often stop at teh park!) Ds 2 wants feeding so I sit on the bench and latch him on. He takes ages as he is sleepy and hot and I'm fannying around as I'm wearing a wrap dress so it is a full boob hoik out and artfully drape muslin affair. Get him latched on and settle down to feed. Ds1 scrapes his finger, there is blood. Dd does a wee in her pants and takes them off leaving them strewn on the grass. Then their friends who live next door to the house can be heard. Ds legs it into their garden. Dd follows. I have to interrupt ds and fly down the street hoping breast remains covered by muslin to drag dd out of friend's house whuch she has merrily let herself into and drag ds out of their garden as their mum is attempting to load her boys into the car to go out.

Fun fun.

Think I need a buggy board. Much as I love slings the school run today with ds in sling and pushing dd was sweaty! maybe a buggy board will wean her of pushchair completely?

I got in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

-dances- well done!!!

Definitely have to have cake meet up. What about next week? Can do any day but Wednesday.

I am so pleased for you, Indith you will be amazing!

Dunno about the pushchair thing, DS just decided at aged 2 and a bit he didn't want to go in the pushchair!

So, er, cocktails cake?

Easter hols next 2 weeks so maybe we need a picnic somewhere?

I think I'm going to Beamish on 3rd April (afternoon) if any one happens to be looking for days out.

But cocktails or cake would be lovely!

Picnic with cake sounds like fun!!
Let's wait for the weekend see what the weather is like first, the only thing I have planned is for Wednesday so I can get away with just a day's notice.

Indith well done! Brilliant. I think the competition has been quite bad this year, I know of a fair few people applying to the same sorts of places as you who have been rejected.

Hope the weather doesn't turn too bad for the holidays!

MIL coming to pick the big ones up on Monday so she can parade them around church playscheme for the week. Dh picking them up Friday, don't know if I'm going to go with ds2 or not. So that leaves Tues or Thurs. I'm guessing Tues best for Spiggy?

Wooo hoo Indith! Am so chuffed for you

I think I can do Tues (need to check diary to be sure). I could really do with a stress free day with lots of cocktails cake. Work has been manic, culminating in me bursting into tears at a training course today . I'm just totally exhausted and stressed out by having about 50 things competing for my attention and feeling like I'm not doing any of them right. The final straw was being told that I was expected to stay to 6pm tonight, after being asked to get there for 8:30 in the morning (which meant no breakfast as I had to get the kids to nursery for 7:30) and having just 30 mins lunch break (which effectively = no lunch break as I have to express at lunch). I walked out at 5 yesterday as well which the trainer pulled me up on. I don't mind working extra hours I just expect to be fucking told that in advance so I can make alternative childcare arrangements. But instead of losing my temper (like I should have) I pathetically burst into tears when asked to do something and looked like a right idiot in front of everyone else on the course who are all senior to me. Gah. Takeaway and wine for dinner tonight when DH gets home.

Indith that's fantastic well done you!

Spiff I was thinking of you when they were talking about your workplace on the news, not sure if it affects you personally, but anyway you're having a rough time so

Kara I feel your pain - C was like that. It's great in the long run that they're such good little walkers, but painful in the short term

Have lots of lovely cake! I'm off on me hols tomorrow, but will definitely be up for cake/cocktails/mud wrestling or whatever else is being arranged when I get back

Oo cake! Yes! I'm marking dissertations next week so cake sounds like the perfect break from all the head-banging I'll no doubt be doing...