Further freakingly fantabulous adventures of the 40+ Mummies Part 2

[blueblackdye]

Our 2nd thread is full but it won't prevent us from laughing, moaning, keeping on supporting each other, sharing and chatting over our new life with 1 or 2, even 5 children !
Here you go, fantastic 40+ Mums, a brand new thread for all of us, old friends from the pregnancy thread or new joiners

ff honestly, I've forgotten most things from first time round, with weaning rapidly approaching have been furiously scanning the web for how to approach it! Couldn't tell you when my DD startrd to crawl, roll over or first talk. It's all a blur! wet towels in cupboard? Grr, that would have made me a bit grumpy too.
scarecrow so sorry to hear about your dad. You must be worried. He is in the best place but as our parents get older, it all becomes more worrying. Wishing him a very speedy recovery. Hope you managed to get an early night, sounds as if you've got a plate full at the moment.

No news chez KK, but baby KK made it to 7am this morning when he's been up every day since being born between 4.30 and 6am. Of course had 3 wake ups in the night but psychologically seeing 7am on the clock this morning was a real lift. Hoping this is the start of normal waking time but know it probably is a one off!

scarecrow you asked re PU/PD method. Essentially it's every time baby tries to sit or stand up in the cot when putting them to bed you gently lay them back down with a shush. You stay in the room with your back turned. Repeat as necessary. Seem to recall the first might, repeated it loads, then by night 3 she went straight down. I waited till DD was 8 or 9 months before trying it.

just to be clear DD painted T's head that colour rather than me giving birth to an alien

thanks Knicky, always wondered. T now straining to crawl out of crib on tummy. When nephew has left next week will have to move him out of our room and into cot

hello old mums! I've been away for months (not as in away on hols, just away from having typing time ...) and have just had half an hour to skim though the many many pages I've missed. I briefly had a RL meet with Eagle and lovely baby eagle yesterday which reminded me how much I miss our thread. New ladies - I should prob reintroduce myself given long absence - 41, DD 11mo (how? really, where dud my mat leave go???) Hope I've not skimmed too fast and missed anything major - just pm me if you've had major goings on in your life and want me to know!
It's been a bit tricky here - lots of extra work and not much sitting about anymore as DP still long-term ill with no light at end of tunnel yet, except as he's off work he and baby seaside now have fabulous bond, and he gets to do lots of stories, feeding and silliness. I feel a bit cooped up, have had to cancel holiday, numerous weekends away etc, but I guess that's life at the mo.
Baby seaside is brilliant company though, very sociable, loves playing and has even started to top and tail most nights with a bit of independent sleep in our bed!!! It's been a long time coming, and we still cosleep for much of the night with a fair bit of dream-feeding, but I call that progress. Thanks for the kellymom link on comfort nursing - made me feel much better about it. She's quite mobile and wants to stand all the time, but miraculously not crawling yet, am praying for at least a few weeks more so that our un-baby-safe house can be addressed. Is that wrong?
I will endeavour to keep up better
(ps special hi to FF - sorry you've been having a shit time)

seaside sorry to hear dp is still unwell. I really hope you find light at the end of the tunnel soon. How lovely about his bone with babySea meanwhile.

Knicky hope babyKK remembered how lovely his lie in was. I often find once they do something within a few weeks it has become the norm... fingers crossed.

Knotty I've PMd you. Thank you.

FF your father sounds v sound. I would enjoy swapping notes with him on how to arrange the cutlery rack (At least I'm going to pretend I'm ing)

Dad is due to be released from hospital tomorrow without the operation. He has had a brace fitted for now so hope that will help. As ever the incident has highlighted the complexities of my parents' mge, though frankly they can be equally eccentric at times!
DH now away til Monday. God I love my children.

Night all x

seaside "bond with BabyS" obviously

Seaside, glad to hear from you, sorry DP is ill, hope he can spend some quality time with baby S.
scarecrow, hope your dad is on the road of recovery too. My Mum is getting old too and I often worry as we don't live very close.
Wave to every one, I m in the middle of packing to return home tomorrow.

Wow BBD - returning already! Have a good journey tomorrow and looking foward to welcoming you back to the UK snug

Hope your dad recovers ok Scarecrow. Love the pic of T - what a sweetheart, despite the painted head!

Lovely to see you back here Seaside and fab to see you and Baby S in RL!

Knicky oh I dream of 7am wakeups... It's 5am here at the moment. Have you had any repeat performances yet?

FF I know what you mean re remembering little of the early months as I'm noticing that myself already. I look at the photos of DD when she was a newborn and try to remember what we did with her, but I've actually got no idea! I can't remember how much she slept or how we occupied our time with her.

Big step forward her this eve regarding sleeping. Up until a few weeks ago, she was in a BabyBay bedside cot, although in reality she was mostly in the bed. Then I got a Stokke Sleepi and made up the mini-cot and wheeled it into the bedroom as well, and she's spent some time in that, but has now outgrown both the little cots and rolls around in the bed too much. So today we made up the big Stokke cot (you get a kit from which you can make small/big cots and a bed) with the idea that we would wheel it next to the bed in place of the bedside cot. However, it's too wide to fit through the door so is stuck in DD's room where we assembled it and that's where she is now. Lots of rolling around and crying but eventually settled. Placing money on 1am and 5am wakeups..

Another practice run with the trailer today in stroller mode and tomorrow hoping to do a proper cycle ride, weather permitting. Have a great bank hol y'all

Knicky, great news about 7am wake up!
Seaside lovely to hear about the amazing bond your DP has with baby Seaside, but so sorry he's still unwell.
Scarecrow, have PM'd you x
BBD, really hope the move goes smoothly today.
Eagle, hope baby Eagle had a good night in her new cot!
AFM, DD still not looking like moving any time soon! She occasionally gets up on to her knees but I don't think she likes doing it on our wooden floors - might try to get a soft mat today. Her favourite thing is sitting on the kitchen worktop (we have a big island type thing and I stay right next to her!) whilst I'm chopping veg. Although she did manage to open the compost caddy the other day and tried to munch on a mouldy onion. Going to give her her 1st taste of kaiserschmarrn today (Austrian pancake thing) which DP & DS love too stodgy and sweet for me. Have put another photo on my profile if anyone fancies a nose! Hope you all have a good Sunday xx

eagle it didn't last! Back to 5am today and 5.20am yesterday. Our DD was always an early waker but turned a corner when she reached about a year old (6am instead of 5am but a luxury given how early she had been getting up). Now at the age of nearly 4, will regularly not get up till at least 7am. I'm hoping that DS doesn't take quite as long to figure out life feels better after 6am!
How did your DD get on last night in her new bed? Crossing fingers you had minimal wake ups.....
Ooh and enjoy the cycle ride - weather here in Surrey is rainy, but hope it's dry wherever you are so you can take the trailer out.
bbd hope you have an uneventful journey home today.
scarecrow thank goodness your dad is ok and on the mend. With your DH away, it must be difficult to help if your dad needs support. My DH is away most of this weekend too. Carnival time so lots of 12 hour shifts. Thankfully have a few things planned and seeing some old friends that always make me laugh, so that'll be a real tonic.
bytheseaside sorry to hear DP is still unwell. It can't be easy for you at all. Lovely though to hear that DP has got such a wonderful bond with baby s.

welcome home bbd

hope New mums doing okay, Rosie, Remembering and BadMiss

Knicky, laughed that there is another house where 6:07 is a lie in Though T is much better than DD was or is and sometimes has to be woken at half 7. in fact am abandoning plan to put them in a bedroom together as she might spoil him so for now going to put his cot in our attic room ( study, spate room and general dump) while I work out what to do.

weekend was hard as df kept in hospital til last night because might have needed blood transfusion and had an infection. I went to visit and found ward in isolation measures bec another patient had a gastro bug - not great with a toddler and small baby. Anyway all survived. DH got hone at 6.30 and suggested going to bed for morning. I made my view on that quite clear I think (he was away at Belgian GP, not working). Men??%$#%%$!

Ladies, just a quickie to say hello, I have not has a chance yet to read the last 2 or 3 days' posts. I m sure I have missed the action again.
Scarecrow, really really hope your Dad gets better with no need of transfusion, +*^?$¥ with men and their carelessness :)
Knicky, early waking here too, 6.30/7, when we are in luck if not 5 am !
Eagle, hope baby E gets used quickly to her Stokke cot in her own room.
Seaside, thinking of you as well as newest mums, Badmiss, Chairman, MrsW, Somewhere, Cycle and waves too to LRM, Midget, FF, VQ, Goat...

Arrived yesterday safely in London, nothing to report, glad to be home although scared a bit being on my own from tomorrow dealing with settle in sessions at nursery for A, DS all day at home and next week school run...
Grocery shopping yesterday afternoon, uniform shopping this morning for DS, Golders Green park this afternoon where we listened to a brilliant rock band and watched people dancing, that was very relaxing and pleasant.

Scarecrow, Knotty, love the pics, poor T with blue paint, Rosa looks so happy with the bubbles. XXXX

deep breath

after that difficult weekend, dh at work, Dd at CM, T asleep and u have a quiet house and my first coffee. Gazing at my little boy and I believe he is perfection.

morning everyone,
Welcome back bbd
scarecrow sorry to hear about your DF. hope things are getting better.
Hi bytheseaside thanks for the introduction, and lovely description on baby Seaside.
I'm 43 and have 3 DD, DD1+2 are grown up (23 and 25) DD3 joined us 6 weeks ago and is an amazing gift. :) ( I also have a DMIL + DSIL who supplies plenty of laughs with there parenting advice.... Dsil is apparently getting more and more upset with me as I refuse to pierce rose petal's ears. Stating to DH ' how will people know she's a girl if she doesn't have her ears pierced?????

I hope everyone had a lovely W/E and look forward to hearing your tails..... there's always something happening on here.

we've had a lovely weekend, DH was off on Friday so have had him at home for 4 days :) We mulled over the idea of getting the tent out and going away for a few days but decided we'd camp at home instead. I found a load of places quite locally that we'd not been too and we spent Friday, Saturday, and sunday wondering round National Trust houses and grounds. bbqing each evening and sitting outside till late. (got that lovely camping feeling but with the luxury of hot running water and my own bed)
Yesterday we went to see some friends in Dorset and popped in to show Rose Petal to some my old work colleagues from a few years ago. I was a HOD in a big seaside holiday park, very career focused and competitive. Oh how life changes!! It was an 'interesting' visit.... I was the one LEAST likely to have a baby so they were all quite shocked. It was a busy arrivals day so thankfully chats were kept short. a couple of things surprised me, 1) how much I REALLY didn't miss it, I had a moment of realization that I wouldn't swap back to that life at the moment for all the money in the world. Baby days Rock!! 2) why does everyone want to know your 'birth story'!!! and think that an answer of 'lovely thanks' is an invitation to ask lots of quite personal questions.... I'm sure you've all been there. lol.

Morning lovely ladies

Rosie can?t believe you?ve not had her ears pierced yet!! DS has one, obviously, with diamante, so everyone knows he?s a boy!

Scarecrow enjoy that lovely feeling a bit longer!! What a nice post!!
Welcome back BBD. Good luck with the nursery. I am envious and sympathetic in equal measures!!

Knotty don?t you worry about DD not moving? you?ll know all about it when she is!!

Seaside Good to see you again, but so sorry to hear about DP. How lovely to hear that baby Seaside is proving to be a bit of a star amongst it all, and that DP is doing lots with DD. No, not at all wrong that you are praying she is not crawling yet and it will take a while longer!! Don?t panic about baby-safeing house. You can do it gradually as she starts to get mobile, and their focus changes over the weeks anyway ? eg DSs obsession with plugs and wires has abated, but he?s moved on to other things. We found having a travel cot in the lounge was helpful, if not to put him in, then to block him from areas he shouldn?t go in to. Have set up the playpen as a fence in lounge now so he can?t escape, and is relative safe in there!! . I don?t know how you do it, though, seaside. Am full of admiration, and it?s making me feel a bit about complaining about my situation.

We had a nice time yesterday. I put my foot down as I thought two days of doing nothing special over a bank holiday was a crime. So we spent yesterday on the Watercress team train . DS was beside himself with excitement, and fell asleep last night making various ?choo choo? and ?chuff chuff? noises, clearly v content. DH had a good time too, and I think forgot some of his worries, so is in a better mood today. So I am too.

Hi Knicky, Eagle, Scarecrow and everyone else. Have a good week all. Am going to try and get on with some housework now. FF x

Hi all

Rosie your weekend sounds lovely - there's a lot to be said for keeping it local and holidaying at home sometimes. at the ear piercing - funnily enough Baby E got mistaken for a boy twice yesterday (despite wearing a smock thingy with leggings) and so maybe I should do the same...

Scarecrow so glad you are having peace and quiet now with Baby T. How is DF today?

BBD hope all is going well with you back in London - did A go off to nursery ok?

Knicky have you had any sleep improvements? We've turned a corner here (more on that later)

Knotty the pic of DD is hilarious! She is really gorgeous. I will PM you re the naming ceremony as have decided to go ahead and have one, but will need to get my arse into gear (and also will need to tell DP what I'm doing at some point, ha-hem...)

We had a super-long weekend with DP at home for 5 days. Found it a bit frustrating having him around as he slept/lazed around most of the time. It seems he's still fatigued after being ill, but I get so frustrated trying to get him to do anything, yet on work days he does manage to go to work and stay awake all day He sees a consultant next week so hoping they will give him some answers. It can be very hard identifying where the laziness ends and the illness starts!

We did manage a lovely cycle trip at the weekend though - the maiden voyage of Baby E's 'caravan'! It was a 10 mile route through forest on a cycle trail - she really enjoyed it although has a tendency to go 'uuuuuurrrrrrggghhhhhh' continuously on bumpy ground as she likes hearing her voice vibrate. She did look hilarious when I cycled alongside - sat there peering out of the side window with a very pleased look on her face, then lighting up like a picture when she saw me waving from my bike.

And there is much to celebrate on the sleeping front - on Saturday, Sunday and Monday night she has slept in the big cot in her own room from 8-ish til 5.30am! Each time I've then taken her back into my bed and fed her and she's pretty much stayed awake from then on, but this morning she fell asleep again til 8.30am so I feel like I've had a massive amount of sleep (and actually, I have!) Next step is to get her to bed a little earlier in the evening - I think she would be quite happy to go down at 7, but we always seem to be doing something (last night was picnic in the park - oops!)

I'm going to start planning a date for a London visit soon - possibly next week? Who is up for meeting up?

Quick one before getting on plane today. Looking forward to coming home and I think BG is too.

Any meet ups on Wednesdays and I would live to come!!... (Hopeful)

Hi tp all. Just a quick wave and sloping off yawning. Sleep terrible. 9 times last he woke fed him four times to settle. Woke up with a blocked nose bless him. Dp just giving him a bath which they both like then lovely to hear him sings and read to him. Off for early night before the night of! ?!????? How many times will he wake. Average is 3.

lovely to hear news of adventures this weekend Rosie and Eagle.

Sorry sleep so bad LRM. Has it regressed or always been thus?

Welcome home Goat. Six weeks already? Has flowen.

Weds a great day for me to meet. Next few weeks good for me until 18th, when DD has first day at nursery, so want to be around to do pick up etc.

BBD let us know how A gets on at nursery.

Waves

Scarecrow. He has been better before 8 months then moving about. Teething and wanting mummy cuddles/ feeding at random times. Tried CIO it sucks. Can't do it. To painful. Will power through. If I can lose 5 stone twice in three years and give up a 40 tags a day habit I can work my way through this. Plus I love nursing him.

Fags not tags

Eagle here?s a technique for dealing with lazy DPs. You say, ?I?m doing blah di blah, would you like to do job X or job Y??. Think I might have posted that before, but does work quite well. But sometimes it?s just easier to do it yourself, sadly. The cycle sounds great. Like the sound of her caravan. Tempted to get one.

Baby Monkey you are feeling veeeerrrrrry sleepy, veeeerrrrrrry sleepy. Your eyelids are feeling heavy and you feel like you could sleep for hours?. Every night. [fingers crossed icon] Wow LRM. V impressed with all your achievements. You forgot to mention having a baby at 40+ in your list.

Ahem, we had nice adventures this weekend too?.!! Took DS for his first ride on the Watercress line ? a steam train in Hampshire. Lovely day out.DS fell asleep making ?choo-choo? noises. DH enjoyed too. = happy Fireflies family.

Turned out hot here this avo. I trekked home with the pram loaded down with 6 bags hanging off handle, another tied above (v small) basket, and carried another big bag. [proud] [saddo]. Oh, and all you with non-movers ? be happy that you haven?t just shelled out another £30 on a pair of baby shoes that will probably last only another six weeks. Think I know now why a friend insisted her DD wear wellies two sizes too big for a whole winter. Not sure if I could be that tight, but there must be cheaper and as good quality as Clarks?

DH trying to get baby FF off to sleep and not sure how successfully it is going so had better intervene.

Waves to all.

That's funny FF - sounds similar to advice I've read about for handling toddlers! Will try this next time... I really recommend the caravan thing - we've got a double one and hoping we can do an overnight trip somewhere with it. Can also be used as a double stroller for days out with friends (although DP has hinted that we could fill the spare seat with another little Eagleray...)

LRM you are just awesome. I really hope things come together soon re the sleeping. I feel bad because I think I just got lucky (and things could regress at any time)

Goat have a safe journey home

Right - I have been bold and tentatively, no definitely, put next Wed 4th in diary for London visit. Journey is quite complicated so bear with me! Scarecrow, Goat - hoping this day suits. And also hope that the rest of you (if you are in the area) can come. I'm going to bring a marquee with me and erect it in a park in central London then fill it with throws, cushions and cakes. Then there shall be an open house for the day, with manservants seeing to our needs.

And if for some reason I can't fit a marquee and cushions into the basket under the Baby Jogger, I guess we can find a cafe instead?

Eagleray, I can probably do any Wed except 4th Sept, if I may suggest Regents Park near the boathouse and Mosque, there is a big playground, food and space if you want to erect the marquee and errr.... bathroom !!!

Need to run now, will report later on nursery, have builders coming in

morning!!
hope you all enjoyed 7 hours unbroken sleep last night!
Rose petal slept for 6 hours (longest yet) unfortunately it was from 5pm till 11pm! DH very upset as he wanted to play and I wouldn't let him wake her. I gave her to him at 5am to play with! she slept ok last night too.... she's grown overnight. I have had to take the last of her 'new born' clothes out of the draw this morning and pack them away they grow so fast. we had our 6 week check yesterday. rose petal no longer looks like a new born she is however getting a personality and pulling some great faces, the best yet was seconds before her first and very spectacular projectile vomit on Saturday. DH and I are still laughing about it. she has also found her hand and taken to sucking it loudly, I don't think she has worked out its on the end of her arm yet though, she keeps punching herself in the face!!

meet up sounds fun, i'll have to decline this time but will send a lovey hamper of goodies for you all.

does anyone know of a nice nursery rhyme / baby songs DVD? and where I can get one?? I've been singing lots to rose petal but I'm struggling past the first line of the few that I can remember.

FF LOL at the loaded buggy.... think of the calories burnt!
Welcome home goat

DMIL has got Skype back! over the weekend she, SIL x2 + BIL, 'joined' us several times, I had to bath, change, feed baby all on live video feed to Egypt and Russia! she also got DH to show her round the flat (again) including inside the fridge, kitchen cupboards, and our bedroom (bed was of course unmade, changing table a mess and pile of washing needing put away.

remembering hope your enjoying your baby days.

missing my phone lots! I managed to get my pic's