FEB 2010 Teeth, nosh and smelly bums - it's all go, six months on!!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Where did the last half a year go??!

Brrrrrrrrr, it sounds horrible out there tonight. And I am cold, even with my new slippers on.

I don't know where the time goes... I only seem to be able to access my laptop once a week or so.

We have started a new, earlier 6.30 bedtime on the advice of my sleep book. Day one yesterday, and she woke up at 6.30 instead of 7 or even 7.30 if I'm lucky [hhmm]. I will try for a week and if she persists in waking at 6.30 maybe I'll reconsider; as DH can't do her bath at the new time, he's not home in time; it's nice for him to be involved, and I love having half an hour to myself.

BUT she is definitely 'overtired' by 6.30 according to the book's definition so maybe I shouldn't be so selfish.

bc my goodness that room is so neat!!! DD's never looked like that, not even when it was newly painted and virtually empty.

stoof best of luck with the interview. Fingers crossed for you.

bethy fab news re the monitor!

DD has started to crawl backwards... oh my baby is growing up... I'm excited for her, but [hsad] that she's not my baby any more... And being a Lazy Mummy, I'm also rather aghast at the amount of babyproofing we'll have to do.

Other than removing real dangers - dangling cords, the corners of low tables - how much babyproofing have you all done?

We bought DS 1st pair of proper shoes It's the 2nd shop of the island and god it was busy (45mn wait).

mama I'll be so stuck if my computer was to die.

scones DS is asleep by 6.30pm daily. He also gets overtired if he doesn't have a nap by 4p. Have you tried an extra nap?

The only childproofing we have done it stairgates, cords shorteners and cupboards lockers.

Yes it's gone quiet. What happened to mamaloco... does anyone know?
I'm away from home with dodgy internet connection which is why I am quiet. Latest highlights from dd2 include emptying every bookshelf she comes across, heading straight for cables and sockets, and chewing on small unsuitable items such as hairbands and small dice . She really knows how to keep me busy...

Er, cross posts... that's what happens if I go away and bathe two children and not read the latest threads...

hello all

I've heard a rumour, for any of you in England, that the Sainsburys half price toy sale is tomorrow.

Hi CC.

beth just as well I am in Germany because I really have no money to spare...

Meant to say, good luck stoof with the interview. I have run out of things to apply for and wonder if I should give myself a break. I am good at getting interviews but seem to be rubbish at actually securing the job!! Ah well....

Just popping in to say hello. It's half term holiday this week so I have even less time to myself than usual. Mum and dad arrive tomorrow and am really hoping they are feeling energetic and helpful.

Will hopefully be back to do a longer post soon

BG I'm the same when looking for jobs - can write a good application but rubbish in interview. I sympathise.

Maybe we should share some money saving tips now lots of us are on unpaid leave and approaching Christmas? I've been making the most of the pre-Christmas toy sales and going with a list pre-preapared so as not to overspend. Have also banished use of the tumble drier, stopped spending money on going out (hence some lovely walks in the woods) etc..

Chinook Hope your parents are helpful. I've had no child minding (only 1 day a week but makes a difference!) this week or last and I really know about it!

Scones my problem with babyproofing this time round is that DS1 leaves his tiny toys around for DS2 to put in his mouth and I have less time to supervise! Plug socket thingies, stairgates, wires protected, blind cords up and cupboard locks on. Don't leave bleach etc.. in a low cupboard even with a lock on the door - my friend has worked with the children who have burnt out their throats from doing it. Close the bathroom door when running the bath so that DCs can't fall into the water when you're running round grabbing stuff. Also, I know it sounds silly, but don't leave children unattended when eating - choking is a silent process, not one that involves coughing and spluttering, as people seem to think. Being a health and safety type at work, we actually went round each room with a pad of paper and looked for risks. Sad I know. Oh yes, and have you all got working smoke alarms? Found my mum had no batteries in hers the other night! We also have a proper carbon monoxide alarm(and take it on holiday too). Sorry if teaching Grandma to suck eggs .

Stoof Am I too late to wish you good luck for the interview? My brain couldn't get past the title let alone suggest anything sensible to help you!!

Mamaloco nice to hear about the shoes - it's a big milestone isn't it? We bought shoes on Monday (size 3.5g!) because DS2 was getting cold feet on our long walks. The only pre-walker shoes I found easily that fitted were nearly as expensive as the proper Clarks cruisers so we got those, as he's just starting to try and do that.

oops - for 'doing it' read getting hold of the bleach and swallowing it. It's late.. I also passed a copy of our babyproofing ideas to the grandparents as it was there that we discovered blind cords dangling, poisonous plants etc...

Morning all, DS decided that the day would start at 4.45 this morning, I left him to cry to see if he'll resettle but no, not today ( probably because of 5 nights spent with my mum). I've now got until 18 december to sleep train him (date of my mum next visit).

How will you deal with your LO sleep and the clock change on Sunday? I'm dreading it I don't want to start the day at 4 because he thinks it's 5!!!

Hi all,

Yes, I think Nov is the last month I get my bursary. Luckliy DH has had quite a lot of freelance work lately and a new one-day-a-week job that is ongoing.

Good safety advice, Bethylou - I must get a lock for the under-sink cupboard. But plug-in socket covers aren't as safe as just leaving the sockets:

www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/html/faq.html

Sam is very, very sweet.

Sleep was terrible for a few days after we moved DS into his own room but luckily last night he just woke briefly from 3.30 - 4 (I did feed him) and then slept til 7.

Today I'm taking him up to town to have lunch with a friend.

Rash seems to be clearing up with Aveeno cream that the GP prescribed so I think it was eczema rather than a fungal thing.

Hey, Everyone!

Good luck stoof

Wotcher CC!

Ooh, good tips bethylou!

I've bought babyproofing stuff, but haven't put any in place yet. DD still isn't crawling, but increasingly mobile. So much so, that she fell off the mattress the other day when I'd nipped out for 20 seconds [hblush] Luckily, I'd put her playmat by the mattress just in case, so it cushioned her (short) fall onto the wooden floor. She bumped her head and cried a bit, but wasn't hurt really, I think it just gave her a bit of a shock. And me. I'm more careful about leaving her unattended now.

Sleep's settled down a bit the last few days. Last night, only one wake-up between bedtime and 05.40, so that was pretty good. It took more than an hour to encourage a tad more sleep, but in the end she got up just before 07.30.

GF, there's good advice in the sleep forum about the clock change. Apparently, it's worth shifting the whole "routine" you have by ten mins a day until you're up with GMT. LO may take a few days longer to slot into the new time, but that's the general idea. I'm doing it with DD and have got her bedtime up to almost 20.00 and her wake-up-for-the-day has now moved from 06.45 to around 07.30, so we're getting there.

Is anyone cleaning their LO's teeth yet, btw? DD has water after every meal, so gets a rinse out. She has a teething toothbrush, but tends to chew it the wrong way round [hgrin]

PILs are coming for a couple of days, this evening. They dote on DD and are generally lovely, so we're looking forward to it. DH and I are back in DD's room for the duration, although DH will probably end up on the sofa because he has a cough at the moment. Poor old DH!

Meant to say, glad the rash has cleared up bc!

Must say I am a bit too laid back about babyproofing but learning fast. dd1 crawled late and then showed no interest in , cables etc and listened to 'no'. dd2 is somewhat different and we've had a few firsts (eg. I had to retrieve her from the fireplace and she was very cross with me for stopping her taste the lovely black stuff on her hands...). Once back home I will have to use a playpen/playhouse to briefly lock her in when I need to go to the bathroom or similar.

IC yes I do brush dd2's teeth with a baby toothbrush and a very small amount of baby toothpaste - but only once in the evening for now because I found with dd1 that she got white stains on her teeth with twice daily brushing.

Re clock change, I am very cruel to my children and rather than do it gradually I tend to just change it in one go . It is only an hour after all.... Mind you, I have tried to keep dd2 roughly on British time here on holiday (one hour ahead here) so that I don't have two or three hours difference once home.

Still here but no time to post!

Hi Sunny

IC I also have the toothbrush and paste but I haven't started brushing his teeth.

Thanks for the advices / pages for the change of clock, I'm trying the 10mn delay. Today it was more 20mn as we are already midweek . Let's hope it'll help my early riser to sleep later (I'm not that convinced...)

BC glad that the rash/eczema is getting sorted.

taking a break from thinking about my presentation for next week? thanks for all the good wishes!!

we've had to do a lot more babyproofing this time cos DS seems to be 'into things' a lot more than DD ever was, and seems to have no fear - heading off the edge of the bed etc?

we've been trying to move bedtime gradually this last 10 days or so in readiness for sunday, cos like GF I really don't want to be starting the day at 4am!! hasn't worked so far though - still waking up at 5am, despite now going to bed 40 minutes later than he was last week :(

we've been cleaning DS teeth since the first one appeared (now onto no 9)? he's very sweet and opens his mouth as soon as he's wrapped in his towel after his bath! we use a stage one brush and a tiny smear of aquafresh - as advised by our lovely dentist when DD got her first tooth through?

hmm?rather a lot there - sorry! off to bed now! (We too are usually in bed at 9, though it was 8.15 a few nights ago!!!)

oh - i'm due my 3rd period since DS arrived, and have been expecting it for about 5 days now? am getting to the stage of thinking i better get a test which terrifies me?. absolutely no plans to have another!

Ulp, fingers crossed stoof...!

Apparently, there is a bit of a lag between the new bedtime and corresponding later get-up time, so I guess it's a question of patience (and caffeine...)

Good night last night - only 2 resettles for DD, the 05.30 one was half an hour and two attempts, then she slept until 07.30, so an improvement. Long may the improvements continue!

Thanks for the teeth brushing thoughts...

[hsmile]

Hello there. Just thought I would pop in and say hi. I have been on MN cold turkey for 10 weeks or so but broke it to come back on and post about ds1 who self weaned on his 5th birthday last week. [hooray] But I am having trouble moderating my time spent on here, so will probably disappear off again after the weekend....

DS2 is doing great. He is 8 months on 1st nov. He weighs 17lbs 7oz and still breastfed with whatever solids he gets down from BLW. He has 2 teeth, so he seems to be able to eat a bit more now. I am delaying the introduction of various foods because of the family history of allergy so we are really only offering him fruit/veg and meat just now.

He is very like ds1 in character I think. Very, very chilled, rarely cries and is happy sitting with a couple of toys while I get on with stuff. Showing no signs of wanting to crawl which is fine by me. (ds1 didn't til 11months).

He is still in bed with me and dh and will remain there until he is big enough to go in with ds1. Still being slung everywhere which he loves.

I hope everyone is doing ok. Sorry for not being specific, there's waaaay to much for me to read on here.

I am going in for surgery next week to get the metalwork removed from my ankle. The screws are sticking out and giving me a bit of bother so best they come out sooner rather than later. Dh will come in to look after ds2 while I am in theatre to keep the seperation to a minimum because ds2 has never spent more than about an hour away from me, and he's only ever had 1oz expressed milk, so no idea if he will take a bottle or not.

Nothing much else doing really, just loving seeing the two of them together. ds1 can be so kind to ds2 sometimes. The first three months were rough in terms of jealousy (not surprised, ds1 had a heck of a time when my ankle was broken) but we seem to have settled down now. I can't believe we are at 8 months already! Where has the time gone?

Waving at mawbroon and sunny - lovely to hear from you!!

Hi mawbroon! Great to hear from you. I know what you mean about moderating time on MN. I tend to binge and then abstain.

Where has the time gone, indeed?! [hshock]

We are just going to take the clock change on the nose, wake at usual time, and then turn our clocks back, so we'll get a extra hour in the day. Then will put DD to bed at her (new) usual bedtime, at the new clock time, and take it from there.

By the way, my sleep book (still scaring me rigid) says that a later bedtime does not mean a later wake-up time. He's quite adamant about that! Have any of you found that the 10-minute increments are working?

We had a bad night last night. I was expecting it, because she hardly napped yesterday. I am convinced that the key to good night time sleep is good daytime naps. But it's not always achievable - or at least, unless I stay in all day as everywhere from here is a half hour walk at least each way and then time to do whatever out and about. My scary book says I should stay in for the sake of daytime naps [hsad]. I feel I need to get out for my sanity.

Scones - which scary sleep book are you reading? It sounds a bit like No Cry Sleep Solution to me, which I have read and largely ignored because ds2 seems happy with whatever we do.

I am just going to deal with the time change as it happens. We are all going to a Hallowe'en party on Saturday starting late afternoon, so both will be up past their normal bedtime anyway and a bit out of kilter, so I reckon total confusion for a couple of days, followed by settling back into our normal routine on Monday. Makes it sound like we have a strict routine, but we don't really other than it's based around taking and collecting ds1 at school, then tea when dh gets home and then bed for both. If ds2 is flagging, I sometimes put him in bed at say 5pm for 40mins and then he stays up a bit later. Ds1 loves getting bedtime all to himself.

Oh and forgot to say. We did the 15mins thing over 4 nights with ds1. Twas a complete waste of time and effort.

But I appreciate that they are all different.