D'ya ever wonder how many pine needles you can hand pick from a carpet?

[devondoris]

Look, look! Not only am I here, but I've started a new thread!

Welcome back Pazza. Wow what news!

Accordiongirl... email me. Then we can talk finances and work out what suits you best. Do you know any local teens? They can be a godsend for the arsenic hour and don't cost much. Postnatal doulas are good. Trainees (and I know a few in the area) are also good. Plus I'm sure between us we can think of ways to find a nanny/mothers help.

Had the first of my new antenatal classes today. What I mean is the first of this new session. Lovely group. Just 4 couples but lovely actually. I always dread the first one because it can be quite awkward as people get to know each other. But this group seem game for a laugh. My ldc didn't work well (I accidentally put bicarbonate soda in instead of baking powder....d'oh!) but they seemed to like it.

Am now enjoying a rather lovely shiraz/cabernet. Well I'm not on call until the beginning of Feb.

Dreaming of St Lucia in May but next year will go back to March because May is too far away and I have a feeling that the crowds that come for the jazz festival will pee me off no end!

Kisses and love to you all.

Hello all

Tripley, picturing your girls all snuggled up together is lovely. Mine are very affectionate with each other, but quite happy in their own beds!

Congratulations on your news Pazza - like IAMF, I have all girls and the pink does get a little overwhelming sometimes. And after a barbie-fest for DD1's last birthday, the barbie quota in our house reached toy-shop proportions (15 at the last count, plus a couple of borrowed ones) - something to look forward to. I noticed from your reply on another thread you're a Hackney girl - until we emigrated to North London a couple of years ago, I was in London Fields near Broadway Market. Still miss it - is that anywhere near you?

Mars, I would love you to be my chief bridesmaid, but I think DD1 would be a bit . After the squillionth time of watching Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses ([yawn emoticon!]), DTs have decided they are bringing flowers to my wedding but DD1 insists she's bring the jam tarts . Not quite sure what that's all about - suppose I'll have to endure Barbie again to see what she means . 23rd Feb is the big day - I'm quite excited now .

Well done Egg - great birth story. And welcome to Rebecca and Jacob - lovely names.

Triplets, I hope you've had a better evening/night tonight. How did the play go?

Must go to bed now. Have been to slimming world then out for all-you-can-eat chinese buffet with my best friend . Back onto the diet with a vengeance this week to get down as many more pounds as poss before 23rd .

How do you do it Momma! I really admire your dedication, there is no way I could stick to that!

Egg, I hadn't seen the pics, they are beautiful! Hope you are all getting on well.

Congrats pazza. I've discovered clothes is jsut one of those battles not worth fighting. My ex mil used to give me tons of frilly monstrosities. I used to put dd in them, take a photo to give her, then they went in a bag in the back of the wardrobe!
For the dts IMO it is even worse - they keep buying flipping camouflage! I hate it, small boys dressed like that. The latest was two jogger suits from gap. Lovely soft material, but camoflage from head to toe, and they said they could wear them on the flights - can you imagine security - especially considering they are asian!

I've never been a bridesmaid... I've only ever been to one wedding actually, apart from my own!

Hellllooo to everyone!! I have had no internet connection for 5 weeks now so I feel like newbie all over again!

I have absolutley no chance of ever catching up properly so just wanted to say HUGE congratulations to Egg and T&T your new additions are truly beautiful! Makes me broody beyond belief!

And to everyone else, I hope you all had a wonderful christmas and new year

welcome back double, happy new year, have a coffee, and tell me how was your xmas?

Guys,be honest.
Do you think I've got a little....er....'porky' since I've given up smoking?

Momma,why is it everytime I'm eating you put me off with bottom area talk?

Morning all............well a lovley lovely evening last night. Dropped my two performers off at the stage door, then Harry, me and Thomas (nearly typed Matthew) went across the road and had a very nice meal, back in for the big show. As soon as they came on stage I got a huge lump in my throat and sat there soooooo proud of them, there were 800 people watching! It was fantastic, your hearts would have melted watching the little ballet dancers, aged 3-5, in the middle of them was one little boy, he was sooooooo adorable. So thewre is hope here after all!

Hectic... But lovely! Adam was more interested in playing with packaging but Liv seemed to get the hang of opening her presents quite well!! They were spoilt rotten from all the family, and they're only 16 months so I dread to think what it might be like in the years to come!!

The only complaint I could possibly have is that we spent so much time travelling round to different members of the family that we were exhausted by the end of it! Think they'll all have to come to us next year!

And how was yours??

Hi my lovelies.

How goes it today? Could've done with an extra hour in bed today but ah well.........

Hi all, work day again today so my employer will have to pay me to spend some time on here !
Its taken me an hour to skim read and now I can't remember a thing I've read (or who wrote it)

Kat (I think) - one of my twins turned within the last 3 days before they were born (at 36+6 weks) so it may still happen. Hang in there for as long as possible to give it the chance.

Triplets - well done for breaking the pattern with your dh. Now keep talking. Take him with you on your own for the clifftop walk and keep talking! Maybe your age makes it tougher, but its more the attitude I think. If you have his support and not his blame for everything that goes wrong and work together as a team everything will be much easier. Can you find friend/mentor type people for each of your dts so they each have someone other than you and your dh they can talk to, spend individual time with, make them feel special.

Egg, loved reading your birth story. Brought a tear to my eye!

Chopster - sending you some strength! When I read about your dts I often think that ds1 is quite similar, I break out in a cold sweat thinking of having 2 of him! Recently though he has become an absolute angel, almost-perfect model child ! No advice, just sympathies.

Wow, Pixi 7 months pregnant already!!!!

Had a really great 2 days off work with the dcs! dt2 isreally clingy at the moment. Dt1 tries to follow ds1 around, tis so cute to see him watching him, big wide eyes, open mouthed smile in amazement at every move he makes. The dts are both climbing babies, can't leave them for a second without finding them climbing dangerously on something.

Right, must start some work!

meant to say well done Tigger for giving up smoking! don't worry, when you are truly no more addicted you will cut down on the eating and lose weight again.

Tripley, keep on keeping on ! I was lucky - I gave up smoking the day I found out I was pregnant with DD1 and never went back. Although there have been plenty of days in the last 3 years or so that I've been sorely tempted . But I'm sure that was part of the reason why I put on so much weight after the DTs were born. As Leo says, you can deal with any weight gain once you've got the smoking conquered - your craving for something else to do with your hands will soon stop. I read yesterday that to help them diet, Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman knit and someone else cleans their teeth all the time . Since I stopped smoking though, I never sit down for a long chat on the phone - even if I'm talking to someone in the evening when the children are in bed, I pace the room. There's something about having a chat whilst having a fag (so to speak!) .

Triplets, glad you had such a lovely evening last night and your DTs did you proud.

Momma, I bow down in awe at your abstinence . What do you eat, apart from fruit and veg?!

Morning Multiple Mums,

D'ya ever wonder if being stuck indoors with twins all day (most days) will eventually drive you insane? Feeling a bit hemmed in, it's lashing down outside, I'm on a blardy diet so can't even munch for amusement, the girls are grouchy and I have my period and a terrible headache.

On the plus side, I am now a mooncup wearing lentil-weaver (well, almost!) I have been converted!

Bibi, how old are your dts (sorry, bad memory). I think its really important to get out as much as possible. I had a period staying at home a lot but feel much better now I am making the effort to get out more (not including being back at work in that).

Mine are almost 11months and I went for the first time to a mum/baby playgroup yesterday, not really my thing but they enjoyed it and lots of the mums with one child (I had all 3) helped out with the twins and it was just a different 4 walls to be inside!
Have also taken them swimming (more fun with someone else).
If you can't do any of those things today stick them in a pushchair, put a waterproof jacket on and go for a walk! Even if its raining you'll feel better for getting out of the house.

I have also just started using a mooncup, I'm not 100% convinced yetthough....!

Momma, for lots of reasons I have wanted to try dairy free etc but I have always dreaded the effort. Has it been hard? What are you eating? Have you noticed personal health benefits too? Glad its working for your DT. My DT2 had hideous colic and it was one of the reasons I stopped BF earlier than I wanted to - I just couldn't get to the bottom of his problem. Now I wish I'd tried diet, I had no idea it might have been the problem. Eleven out of ten for Momma's love!!

Triplets, wow! Sounds fantastic! How many shows will there be? And how many will you go to?

Meant to say LG&T, chickens FAB! Will you eat them too or just the eggs?

Kelly, me too. Never been the bridesmaid, never been the bride. Just as I like it I like feeling free. (Because as you know a home filled with children means you are constantly as free as a bird )

Triplets, been thinking about you all morning. I second the book Momma is talking about "How to Talk so your Kids Will Listen". I got it last Autumn time and read the whole thing. I tried bits from it (without success) and then I've dipped back into it from time to time and I've used some of the suggestions. I'm glad to say it has really helped me help them and its just beginning to pay off. The other book by the same authors called "Sibling Rivalry" is good too.

One of the suggestions in Sibling Rivalry is not to set your children against each other. As we get ready for school in the morning I could often find myself saying "right guys, who can get dressed first, you guys go for it and I'll count (from the shower)". Cue, one happy child proud and ready, one crying child who refused to do anything and one screaming child frustrated with its attempts. Cue me shouting "Oh FGS we're going to be late, can you all get back to your rooms and please GET READY!"

At the beginning of this week I said "right guys, lets see if you three can get ready together before me". They all disappeared off and when they came back I was drying my hair. They were all dressed, dancing about behind me, huge smiles, and DD1 was saying "DT2 did my zip, I helped him with his trousers" etc etc. IT FELT SO GOOD!!!! Happy me, happy children, everybody smiling. Made the morning rush seem so much calmer. And so subtle a change of parenting.

IT DOESN'T WORK EVERY DAY but it is better seeing that chink of light.

If you like I'll pop mine in the post to you. (I know what its like when you buy a recommended book and then think how it doesn't work for you.) Email me your address if you like [email protected] and I'll send them.

And Harry. Harry needs to relearn that his contribution in life and to your family is important. If he can start to feel like he is looked up to and respected and needed then he will want to deliver.

Unfortunately for him, he has to earn all of that and (as I know for I am doing it) it is hard work to hold your tongue and push on through with the calm control of someone who is soft as a teddy and as hard as a rock at the same time. And not easy at all when faced with three ebullient children of the same age.

Don't give up on him even though it feels like he has given up on you sometimes. Keep fighting. Doesn't sound like he even knows how to face up to his feelings about Matthew. He may never. But he can re-engage in your darling trio and see that any work put in now will be the glue every family needs later. Keep talking to us. You are never, ever, ever, EVER a pain. If you were I would say

And Em, now that you've stopped you'll have to stay stopped. Sorry, you can't some back in here and snog us with fagbreath. You are now a non-smoker. TICK THAT BOX!

Bibi, hi I have to pee and hoover but do tell me about mooncups........I can only ever picture those grey rubber things old people use for opening jars (my granny gave me hers and its fab btw!!!)

D'y ever wonder how to weave a lentil?

Mooncups hmmmmmnnnn. My periods are hideously heavy, how do they work? I may google as i hear them raved about so much on here.

FG dh wants to eat the chickens and the eggs i just want to eat the eggs. I would like to give them names and love and cherish them, not eat them for Sunaday roast We will see...

I have been to toddlers, hoovered top to bottom and made lunch for Hugo. Am off out for a coffe at a new friends house later, she has a dd age 20months and a baby due in Feb. I have bought > a Bakewell tart to take as i have no time to bake now. Will she forgive me?

www.mooncup.co.uk

They are right, you get all evangelical about them once you use one. I want to tell the world about them. I am only on day 1 but truly converted already. I also have v heavy periods and it's working fine at the mo.

I've had one at home for over 3 years and only just got over my icikiness about them.

MN made up my mind for me, search old threads, there's tonnes of info.

I am hoping lentil weaving will become a natural skill that I will magically acquire now I'm wearing a mooncup

Hello everyone, I need help with a twin boy question..........my DTs are now 3.2 and are soooo challenging.

DT1 doesnt want to leave the house. If I suggest a walk, or a trip to the duck pond, or the park or to go to soft play, he says "I cant mummy" and lies on the sofa and covers himself in cushions. "I cant" is all he says, its the reason why he is not potty trained (I cant mummy). Today taking him to nursery "I cant get in the car", "I cant go to nursery" - just really lethargic all the time...........do you think it is just attention seeking? He also does not listen and appears to be in his own world constantly - for example, I might ask him what he has done at nursery and he will say "Sharks have not got teeth Mummy!" (that is a real example by the way). He also gets this rather violent look on his face quite often and will come and grab me by the face and grit his teeth at me, which is frankly quite scary on a 3 year old.......I am at my wits end with him, I dont know if its a phase or if its how he is going to be!

It could be that I am comparing him to DT2 who is a very helpful child, always wants to do stuff, wants to help and wants to go out and have fun (dont get me wrong, he also has MONUMENTAL paddys if he doesnt get his own way), but he is quite dominant so I worry that DT1 is looking for attention because of this.

I try really hard to be calm and to cope with all this, but often I cant and I am feeling like a crappy mother becuase of this, whilst also worrying that I am making DT1 act the way he does.........

Any words of advice????

double, ours was great thanks. We have the spoiling thing too, even tho we bought them sod all they managed to get lots! Then we went away with family and had to buy an extra case to fit in all the stuff they got bought. I really need to remind them that we don't live in a mansion and have limited space!

fg, I read that as an offer to put your dkids in the post and mail them!

Leo the strength vibes must have helped thanks - I took them round town today, without a pushchair and they behaved!!!

HM it does sound a lot like a mixture of personality and a phase. I reckon it will pass. I started to feel really guilty for mentally labeling dt2 as the naughty one and felt like maybe I was reinforcing it. All of a sudden though dt1 has become a moody little so and so, and dt2 is being super helpful and nice!

HM, it could be a self esteem thing, especially if dt2 is more dominant. Time alone with dt1? extra praise and attention for the positives? all the new things he is learning and responsibilities he is having may be too much for him, maybe he needs to be babied a bit? Aggression because he doesn't know how to handle his emotions in another way?

All put together probably a phase that he needs help to come through on the right side.

But if he is really physically lethargic is he not well?

HM, remember they can make you feel like a shit mother but you are not a shit mother. You are amongst all of the same.

My DTs have never been two peas in a pod. Any question I ask will always be met with one answer from DT1 and the opposite from DT2. Sometimes I think its a desire to be different. A desire to stand alone. My advice would be to make sure he gets time with you, just you and him. Make sure you look him in the eye when he chooses to talk and let him feel like he has all of your attention.

I have one DT who needs regular chill outs on the couch and one who doesn't. One who would run everywhere and one who likes a carry (which is perfect because I love carrying my children and I could never do both when they were wee).

As far as gritting teeth and squeezing faces goes......my DT2 is my only boy. He does it all the time. I think its called testosterone. He sometimes says things like "I'm going to grab your face and I'm going to kill you" whilst grabbing my face and gritting his teeth and looking scary. I usually reply "laugh if you want tickled" and kiss him to bits until he surrenders.

It is hard to balance the needs and differences in children but even harder when they are the same age.

Stay strong. Keep laughing with him. I used to think my DT1 was at risk of me not loving her. She was so difficult for a time and didn't seem to want me much. She is still hard work but has turned into a loveable lump who asks if she can sit on my knee to eat dinner. I take that as a huge compliment and duly sit with her on my knee and watch Tom and Jerry.

p.s. where the hell have you been? I'll make a fresh pot xxx.

I lvoe the sound of the olive and lentil pies - how do you make them?

Dp was brought up on pulses and lentil really, that is the staple diet of where his family originates from, so we eat them a lot.