Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. Come and join the 40+ mums plus babies, toddlers etc in the snug where tea, cake and sympathy are being served.

[somewherebecomingrain]

We are 40+ mummies sharing all the highs and lows of our autumn crocus babies. Also sharing tips and information (most crying is tiredness!) and jokes. Please join us!

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely
It's sad to grow old, but nice to ripen.

PS this thread title was created by eagleray, and she also found the quotes.

[blueblackdye]

Eagle poor you, thrush on top of the rest. Big hugs. Re work, don't worry, you will find THE job when it is the right time.
Somewhere, do you remember when i had to choose whether to go for an amnio or not at 26week because A appeared to have short long bones ? The consultant did reassure me saying that given my height and my husband's it is probably normal for her to 'appear' small. On your side your DH is tall, isn't he ? And the Russian blood as well. Baby somewhere looks prefectly fine, it is the genes. But for your peace of mind, see GP or HV. But don't worry too much.
Rosie, I have fed to sleep A for a long time, and still now, from time to time. But most of the time, she would let go the boob, looks at me, talks/smiles or not and turns her back and snores....
Knotty, I do feel my age too when I go uphill twice a day for DS school.

We are lucky to have a bright sunny day in Paris, the funerals went ok.

[somewherebecomingrain]

Thanks bbd. It's just to be so far our Of the centiles is odd. I was thinking she could have a subtle pituitary disorder but it is in the genes to be big. She has gold bones.

eagle you have what mrs Wooster called tit-thrush. I've had it too. Definitely consistent with being run down. Is eaglet ok has she got a white tongue?

I've been to the sling library - all the manducas were gone so I've got a connecta. Absolute revelation. Made dinner with her asleep on my back - all two stone

[rosiedays]

Thinking of everyone to knackered to post. Xxx

[scarecrow22]

Am generally in the too knackered to post club, but have to send hugs to Somewhere, and get well vibes to Goat, Eagle & Eaglet, knotty, BBD and A (and anyone else I've missed), plus sleep dreams to Rosie and Rosebud.

Love new thread idea.

Still thinking of Avalon and hope you are coping okay.

Somewhere I saw Somelet recently and not for a second did I think she was not normal: bonny but not a scrap too big. Do go for medical advice though as A they will weigh her properly and B if there was a problem at least you would get early advice - but much more likely they will put your mind at rest. DD was 98 centime for weight at 2 yr check but also 98 centime for height so they were not a jot worried. I was a bit concerned but noticed she shot up soon after: they often get a bit chunkier ( and feet grow) before a growth spurt up. These little people's minds and bodies are v clever! Hugs about worries about DS. Hearing might well transform his social experience, and maybe a lot more. But mums are often, too, the most critical. If he is mostly well behaved out of the home that is one (of many) way (s) you know he knows right from wrong!

[scarecrow22]

Centiles, not centimes.

[knottyhair]

I definitely agree with Scarecrow about them getting chunkier before a growth spurt. Honestly, DS was a massive baby, and now at nearly 10, he is all ribs & legs, my long streak of the proverbial . Somelet is gorgeous, a chunky substantial baby just like Rosa.
We're all off to London today to look round St Pauls (DS has wanted to go to the Whispering Gallery for ages), then to Covent Garden & Trafalgar Square to see the lights and Christmas trees, Lego snow globe and stuff our faces at Shake Shack! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend xx

[blueblackdye]

Knotty, enjoy the day out in London.
We have a chilled out week end, swimming today and tomorrow family photo shoot (I won the main prize!!!!)
Then packing for our hols in Morocco next week.
A recovers slowly from her cold, still coughing but woke up only twice 2 nights ago and once last night. Hopefully she will go back to 11/12h of solid sleep soon !

[scarecrow22]

I am often bemused by dh but to tell our not yet 3yo dd about Dracula just as he was turning.the light out????????? She is now lying in bed saying "he sucks the blood out shhhhhluuurrrp..... Mummy, I don't want Dracula to come".

[scarecrow22]

bbd hope photo shoot went well. Post some on FB pleeeease
.
Goat and others hope you finally on the mend. By the time I meet you you will be half the person I thought I knew at this rate
Lovely day with friends today. Some lovely times this week, apart from.dd having one of her periodic high temp bouts on only day of year I had both children.booked with cm so once meet dm and dsis for Xmas.shop.and lunch. Took.dd yonder singing.bears at local shopping centre. They are odd and cringey to.adults: she is still transported by the magical.delight of it all.three days later and the world.is a better place for being peopled by little.people who still feel such innocent delight in.such things.

Mix of teething, colds, temperatures, cycle.of.over tiredness etc mean some nights this.week only 4-5 h broken sleep. Literally delerious with exhaustion, though happy with love for my dc

[rosiedays]

Scarecrow. ... I'm sharing your world bone deep exhausted
The magical moments make up for it though x
I have a poo story worthy of telling. ...
I should be sleeping but can't

We went into town this morning and i just took the grab bag (1 nappy small bag of wipes and a muslin) thankfully i chucked in a spare vest jumper and tights in my bag.
Dh decided to go to the out of town shopping and on the way dd started screaming. .. really screaming. . People in other cars were looking pulled into car park and i started getting ready to feed in the car while he went to get whatever.
So bra undone, top untcuked on the back seat i lift dd from her chair. .. and the smell attacked, I got her coat off just in time for the yellow flood reach the arm of her vest, it was already out the neck. I just held her there for ages. ... couldn't put her down, poo seeping from every where. No space. .. she is ballistic by this point :(.
I got to my phone and called dh, then dropped the fucking phone, all i could manage to say above dd screams was' I need help. Come back'. He set the rain cover on the back seat and the poo was now dripping off her. I'm also covered!
Dirty clothing removed (Omg that's the first time I've had to change a completely shitty vest) oh and the poo kept exploding and dd kept screaming. Eventually i got her clean enough (although a complete different colour) to get a nappy and a very on and get her under my jumper to feed (she was so cold and sad and hungry :( )
Dh was thankfully practical and helpful throughout, although he did ask right after if we should stay out for food? ?? we have laughed so much about it (dd
is fine)
That's my poo story

[knottyhair]

Wow, Rosie, what a poo story! Glad your DH was helpful.
BBD, hope A continues to get better, and your photo shoot goes well. Very of Morocco holiday .
Scarecrow, hope you get some decent sleep soon.
Had a lovely day yesterday in London - both DCs loved the Whispering Gallery (DS liked the whispering part, DD liked standing and holding onto the gallery bit and looking down on everyone). Popped into St Paul's church in Covent Garden for a nose, and Prunella Scales was doing a reading! DP is a big Fawlty Towers fan so he was a bit gob-smacked. Lego snow globe was a big hit with DS and DD really loved all the Christmas lights (we saw a lot as we walked from St Pancras and back). Put DD to bed when we got home, DS on xBox with DP, me on sofa watching Strictly with a tin of Roses - don't mind if I do!

[somewherebecomingrain]

Lost a f post. Hugs to all.
roaie amazing

[somewherebecomingrain]

Really sick of losing posts.

scarecrow you sound tired but happy. You have a way of summing up the innocence of childhood. That naked emotion is so enchanting (when it's positive which it so often is with kids). No screens.

bbd your day sounds lovely. I hope you had a good funeral and a good farewell. Where in morocco? Riad or hotel?

goat hope you are improving. Don't like the sound of you disappearing!

eagle sorry about job. It was a shock for me getting back to work after ds but the struggle was v character forming and sharpened me up professionally with positive consequences. Got to do it all again now!

rosie amazing poo story. Love a good poo story. How is sleep training going? Interested as I have same boob practice as you. Some progress happens in its own thankfully eg she started sleeping solidly from when she goes down for the 2-3 hours required to have a night in (aka watch telly) or indeed book a non-pro babysitter.

Thanks for all your advice folks. Ds is having his hearing tested next thurs which will help us know how to respond to some of his wildness.

I don't want to paint too bleak a picture. He's got some pals - he generally gets on well with other kids though i do see his lack of response to their questions undermining potential rapport. He's applying himself to his reading and writing. I think he would be doing fine in most schools but I wonder about the peer group here -one girl in his class hand wrote 29 Xmas cards for her classmates! FFS.

knotty your massive babies are v reassuring. Somelet is way out in the white space of the growth chart weight wise - she is in the most distant low edge of the curve if it even exists (it does now!). Length wise she's just ordinary old 98th percentile. She doesn't look overweight just a normal chubby 8 mo scaled up. So it's density.

I know my mil was overweight all her life (till she started 5:2) and hated activity. I wonder if she is v densely heavy too - she has small feet and together those factors can make you move less from the word go.

I suspect this will be the issue with somelet - managing her density. She won't be an Olympic swimmer but I want her to move and enjoy physical activity.

[somewherebecomingrain]

Ps knotty I'm taking notes on your day out in London even though I live there!

scare when do you go back to work?

[somewherebecomingrain]

New thread. Posted before I could flesh out opening post so bit short and not the wording I intended - sounds like we're trying to seduce people -

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1934161-Gardening-in-the-winter-sun-40-something-mums-Christmas-thread

[somewherebecomingrain]

Ps it's a rosiedays phrase. Couldn't find her thread suggestion!

[somewherebecomingrain]

Ps just want to say I feel so sad about avalon and all the mums who's pregnancies haven't made it. Nothing compared to their pain but I feel terribly sad for them. As we all do I'm sure. Not sure how to put it. But have a lot of feelings about it. I bet we all do.

[blueblackdye]

Somewhere, that is lovely, you are so thoughtful. Hope Avalon will come back soon. Each baby is a miracle, a gift and every time there is sad news, it reminds me I should be grateful.

[EagleRay]

Quick hello - supposed to be in bed by now, but DD awake and crying with a fever. And spots appearing on her body! Taking her to docs in the morning (call to NHS direct did not result in being sent straight to hospital this time, as happened 7 days ago with the tonsilitis).

Feel like it's some sort of fucking groundhog day. Another monday morning where DP disappears for the week and I'm left to cancel nursery and everything else organised for the week and poor DD is ill.

I feel v sad about Avalon too - and it made me reflect on my own experiences these last 2 years. Feel I made it into the land of motherhood by the skin of my teeth and it haunts me a fair bit.

Thanks for the new thread Somewhere - will go and mark my place then off to bed.

Sleep well everyone

[EagleRay]

Let me fill up this thread by telling you about our night...

DD finally fell asleep again around 1.30am, then was awake screaming again at 2am. Did boob, Calpol etc etc and screaming gets worse and lots of tugging of ear so ring NHS Direct again and they say to go to hospital for out of hours doc. So off I go (DP stayed in bed as had to be up at 6) and when the doctor appears, DD smiles and waves at him

Her rash, fever and pain have all mysteriously disappeared and apart from red ears and throat, nothing found to be wrong with her. She fell asleep on the drive home (at 4am) and has been asleep ever since (I keep checking on her)

So no nursery today and I feel like the living dead. Ah well, at least I don't have a job to complicate matters!

[blueblackdye]

Eagle, the bright side is that baby Eaglet is fine :) can you have a short nap too ? Do you think it could have been an allergic rash ?

Scarecrow, how are you feeling ? Less tired, I hope. Think St Nicolas mistakenly dropped something in my flat for Tintin...

The photo shoot was horrible. DS was perfect but A would not do anything, to my requests or the photographer's, her answers were consistently shaking head. And DH after 15 min wanted to leave

[EagleRay]

I feel like I've gone beyond napping now! Am relieved DD is fine, but still have a feeling that some illness will emerge from this (chickenpox is rife at nursery at the moment). She was fed salmon for dinner last night for the first time - no idea if that had anything to do with it?

Sorry your photoshoot was so awful. Sounds like typical behaviour for a baby at a photoshoot though! I did a shoot for a friend this time last year - her DD was around 2yo and she turned up with a pile of costumes and a wishlist of poses. Her DD immediately turned apoplectic with rage and refused to co-operate and I had to come up with some alternative ideas v quickly. I did the shoot at another friend's house (it's a big period property so perfect backdrop and room for studio lights) and moved all the equipment into the spare bedroom and let the DD jump up and down on the bed. Her mood improved considerably and I got some v nice shots. Not quite what they wanted, but salvaged what was going to be a disaster. I was 7 months pg at the time and the shoot ended up taking 6 hours - I could hardly move/speak by the end!

[blueblackdye]

I remember you doing this shoot. But 6 hours and 7month pg, OMG, hope your friend is grateful ! Will try during hols again. I really wanted a nice pic of the 4 of us but DH is not interested, oh well, his loss, I will have some with my 2 sweet big loves.
I think it is best to try new food at lunch time rather than dinner, just in case of allergy, at least you can spot immediately if something goes wrong. Tbh though, food allergy usually shows almost straight away.
Hope you two have a nice quiet day. And wishing the same for all of us.

[blueblackdye]

I wrote message 888 and now 999 and looks like 1000 as well, fx luck will be with me throughout the new year ! See you all on the new one, thank you Somewhere !!!