May 2010 - Drooling, smiling, cooing and nearly sleeping through (and that's just the mummies!)

[rachelfruitloop]

Hi Ladies,

I hope you don't mind, I started a new thread as our first one was quite full! I can't believe we're a quarter-way through the first year already!

Hi everyone

Just trying to catch up with the thread though I feel completely out of the loop since going back to work, it was hard enough on maternity leave but now seems impossible. :( I've only been back two days (mon and wed) and already I've lost my voice and fell asleep at 9pm last night. To add insult to injury my periods returned on Sunday too so I've been dealing with that this week too. Sorry if tmi, but it's been really heavy, heavier than after dd1, does it get worse after each child? I've been soaking through a tampon and pad within a few hours and it's still going strong after 5 days.

On a positive note both girls have been fine this week with family. My mil and aunt both commented on how much harder Grace is to look after than dd1 ever was but they both settled and seemed to have fun. Grace as also slept through each night apart from Tuesday since the weekend. :) That's a huge relief as I had tears in my eyes on Monday morning after I'd left them.

SK - hope the medication is helping with the anxiety, I've had it really bad on and off for years but it's ok atm.

Rachel - very of you flying to LA, sounds fantastic, I bet your family can't wait to meet Eric.

Pamelat - sounds like your still having a tough time. Do you have any family nearby who could do a night-shift for you so you could get a full nights sleep? Not sure how your coping

Heffa - well done dd on the potty training, it makes such a change when they're trained fully, one less thing to buy and change :)

Pigley - Lucy sounds like she's doing great with her underwater swimming. Grace hasn't been in a pool yet, but I'm not a confident swimmer and would worry to much. I also hate the faff of getting them changed [badmammyemoticon]

Cupcake - glad the christening went well, we're in the process of organising Grace's.

Angel - it's lovely to hear from you again, just that things aren't much better for you and dh. Not sure if Willow's hips have any part to play in her not moving much but Grace hasn't rolled over without help yet, can't sit up by herself and is making no attempt to move. She might just be a slow mover. :)

Hi all. I'll attempt a few personals here but I'm on my iPhone so it's a bit tricky. I did open another window once to look back and lost the big long post I'd already written! I do read this thread most days and follow you on FB and think about you all.

angel sorry you're struggling. A different counsellor might help. Hope things get better. Some babies move later than others. I wouldn't be concerned about Willow yet.

hollyoaks my first week back I was nearly dead with exhaustion but I've now survived week 3 and it's getting easier.

pamelat hope the sleep is improving

wltk well done on the essay

Rachel hope the packing is going well. How nice to get away for some sun in November.

heffa yeh to potty training. Such a hassle.

cupcake glad you had a good day at the christening.

pigley the swimming sounds great. Molls had her first lesson yesterday. I bought her the cutest wetsuit on eBay. Dh takes her as he did with the other two. I hate the hassle of swimming. Definitely a bad mummy emoticon needed.

We're doing ok. Molly and dh are getting more used to each other and a routine is evolving. He likes taking her out so we're trying to get a timetable of an activity a day. My ebm stash is barely touched (4 bags out if approx 60 have been used) as I'm managing to express nearly enough for molls at work and home. Pumping is such a faff though. Molls has reached the magical 180 days today so we'll be starting blw later on. Must look up the FB thread to join in. She is hungrier over the past fortnight - waking for milk every 2 hours at night. Unless that's reverse cycling because she wants more boob now I'm at work. But she drinks stacks of ebm too. Hard to know.

She rolled over from front to back twice yesterday. So many changes all at once. Will have to get a playpen as she'll be seriously on the move very soon.

How are we all feeling about Xmas? I've got everything molly needs but ds and dd1 are so much more expensive. Blooming laptops, iPod touches, kinect for xbox etc etc. Aarrgghhh. It just gets worse every year.

Heffa- Hope your felling abit better now.
:) at Corin swipping DD's food. We have the opposite in DD1 trying to give the bits she doesnt want to eat to Lucy!

Those shoes look lovely. Thinking of ordering some for Lucy and a pair for my baby Nephew due in Jan. :)

Angel- So glad you popped on to say Hi. We have all been thinking of you.
Sorry to hear things are so difficult for you :(
re weaning. If Willow prefers to feed herself have you looked into Baby Led weaning at all. She maybe prefer that route of weaning. Theres a discussion group going on the FB page.

Dont worry about the rolling. DD1 only ever rolled a few times. She just wasnt interested.

Hollyoaks- How does it feel being back? I hope going back wasnt too painful as I know you were worried about the state of your class.

Mollycuddles- Lovely to hear DH and Molly are bonding nicely.:)
Xmas- Most presents are bought and wrapped. Cant wait for the tree to go up now. DD1 (2.3) is really understanding it more this year and Im using the Father Christmas threat to my advantage!

Lucy is now rolling back to her front which is great but not when its during the night and then screams out as she hasnt worked out how to get her arm out from under her.
She likes to stand up on my knees when possible and is very good at supporting her own weight. DD1 was the same.

Just heard about the possibility of Snow late next week! Arrghh.. Love it but not enjoying the thought of DH being stuck in London if the trains dont work!

Hello all, sleep has finally improved we still get at least one waking, 2am ish for a feed and often a second one about 5am but he is going back to sleep inbetween which is brilliant

I am still tired

Sorry for no personals. DD has stomach upset and now Alex, he did 2 explosive poo's today. One was so violent/wet that it went through his nappy, through his clothes and in to the high chair, unforunately we were in m&s cafe!!! Ooooopss.

Re jars I feel terrible but hes had 2 weeks of them now at lunch time, then we attempt BLW at tea time. I was too tired and I find I dont really have the time to make purees. Oh well, in a month or so he will be on "Normal" food anyway.

hi all
need a rant

i am soooooooooooo crossed with my mum and sister in law i could bite someone. they are giving me advise on weanning, to do it the traditional spanish way.... well, the theory is, apparently, just apple and banana until he is at least 7 and a half months old, and putting 3 or 4 spoons of cereal in his bottle, the only cereal i could find is beakfast cereal that says specifically not to put in the bottle, so mum send me a packet, it is breakfast cereal and the instructions to prepare, just like breakfast cereal, nowhere says to put in the bottle, told my mum, apparently every pediatrician in spain recommend this, and every baby she knows takes it, including the neighbour's, well, i am not doing it, and we are going to start veg our own way, by the way the amount ogf sugar in that thing is 30g per 100 g, imagine 4 spoons of that in 4 or 5 bottles a day, it is an adult allowance, so my mum let me know milk is not enought, and if you were still breastfeeding, well you would have to stop, how you put the cereal on it?. so i lost my weanning advicers.

i'll do personnals when i feel less violent.

Hi everyone.. haven't posted for ages but good to catch up on everyone's news. The last 6 months have gone by so quickly, I can't believe it's nearly the end of the year already.

wouldliketoknow my mother is often telling me I'm doing things "wrong", it's very irritating and I totally understand you feeling violent!

George seems to have got into a pattern of sleeping from 7.30ish til 12, then wakes for a feed (still BFing) and back to sleep til 4, another feed then awake a couple hours later. I know it's not that bad but I'm still tired. He will NOT sleep in the day unless he's in his pram, the car or a sling and he's too heavy for me to carry for more than 20 minutes now.

I am in total awe of those of you with 2 or more children. I'm pretty sure I won't be having anymore (and I'm 40 next year so will be "geriatric" in childbearing terms)! 3 babies (all boys) born to friends recently and 2 more due before the end of the year. I've seen them all and although they are very cute, I didn't feel broody

Just started weaning today, (George is 6 months mext week) and am going to start swimming soon too, have been a bit slack on that front as have felt too lumpy to get my kit off but am now almost back to pre pregnancy weight. Have done a baby massage course which was fun and it was at one of these classes that George first rolled over, crashing into a little 4 week old girl next to him. A sign of things to come?! Me and G went on our first train journey a couple of weeks ago. A 3 hour trip turned into a 7 hour journey due to late trains and missed connections but what struck me was just how helpful people were.

I kicked up merry bloody hell with my Dr (regarding George's hypothyroidism) following a blood test by the new "consultant" we were referred to a few weeks ago. He ended up with blood all over him, George screaming his head off, the nurse saying she'd "never done a blood test on a baby before" and me breaking out into a sweat before telling them to "STOP". It was awful, they couldn't find a vein to get a decent sample from G (he's been having blood tests every 2-3 weeks in another hospital). Anyway, we got referred to the head honcho in Cardiff (3 hours away) who is brilliant and had tests done there which show that the medication we give G every day is working and his TSH and T4 levels are normal now so we just keep giving him the medicine and he will be tested every 3 months now until he's 2. If we don't give it to him he is at risk of "dwarfism, mental retardation and cretinism". DH said there's only room for one cretin in our family and that's him...

I was not prepared for how much my relationship with DH would change since we've had George. It's been quite shouty at times, am sure largely due to lack of sleep on my part. Is anyone else finding this? It seems to be calming down a bit but have at times wanted to scream my head off due to having to think of, and do EVERYTHING! AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

Anyway, have to go and do my accounts (yawn) but wish you all well

Hollyoaks - hope being back at work has gone OK. How are the girls? Hope your period has calmed down for you, I found mine was alarmingly heavy this time :(

Molly - hope you're OK. I'm looking very forward to Christmas! Most things done now really, I always save the wrapping for later because it makes me feel Christmassy. Need to do cards soon and sort out the advent calendar.

Pigley - DD gives over all her unwanted food to him as well He scoffs loads, far more than she does now.

Pamelat - hope Alex isn't too explosive today! Glad you're finally getting more sleep :) Don't worry about jars, they're pretty good these days I reckon. I used them loads for DD (or those sachets of stuff).

WLTK - I wouldn't have thought it'd be a good idea to put cereal in formula since it will mess with the make-up of the formula which I think is meant to be pretty risky (might cause constipation or something? ). Hope you calm down soon. Do things how you feel comfortable with. My mother's pretty good but likes to offer lots of advice and I just ignore it tbh, she's convinced Corin needs to be in his own room now and that he'd be happier with purees rather than BLW. But we're happy with him in with us, and he loves his food and eats loads so not worried about that either.

Racquel - nice to see you again, glad George is doing well. Hope weaning goes well, it can be lots of fun! That blood test sounds awful, I'd be distraught Relationships do get difficult after DCs, lack of sleep is wearing on everyone. I used to find that I was constantly shouting at DH in my head while he was at work about everything he was annoying me with! It's all fine though and he actually does a lot but if I'm tired I get worked up very easily

Nothing to report here, everything ticking over fine. DD's potty training still going very well, she had a day of quite a few accidents but nothing else since so think she was just testing the boundaries briefly. I keep expecting it to go horribly wrong though!

DH bought a new car so if I ever pass my test I can have the family car which is cool :) Our oven's just packed up though which is very annoying and has made me very angry so I'm busy wrangling with Boots to get it fixed since we only bought it a couple of years ago from them.

hi all

feel much better today, we have decided to get ourselves some information about foods to avoid in the first year, and do our own plan, no mums or sisters to give opinions, so everybody, sod off!, we're not listening, just found out another sister in law did the same and doing her own thing... it's not gonna be a happy grandma, she'll have to get used to it.
not sure where to start now, i think i know an hv i can ask...

not done any xmas yet, need to sort out pressies, and luggage, and... everything else

no back to work yet either, alledgelly back at the end of january, but they are dragging their feet

pam, have to say, glad explosive poo was in m&s, and you don't have to clean up...

pigley, you certainly sound as little house goddess, and with two too, must take notes...

relationships, they get hard, we have a trick, when one feels shouted at unfairly, asks the other how well he/she slept. we have to keep reminding ourselves, we are not growing apart, we are just dead. plan a little fun activity to do together, even if it is watching the footie while you read your book.
heffa, good luck with that test, i wish i could drive, not like that stops me having the bigger say in the chosing of the new car.

bye bye, must finish dinner, yes i know what time it is, and don't get exited, i am boiling pasta, and pouring some tomate souce on it, maybe add some cheese....and jam,...

ham, not jam, strawberry, please, see what i mean...

WLTK - not taking the test for a while probably, I'm a v.slow learner with cars. I enjoy driving but I think I'm far too uncoordinated cautious for my own good. Glad you're feeling better now, doing your own thing sounds like a great idea. All DCs are different anyway and you know Oscar better than anyone so you're best to make the decisions :)

Just poured boiling water all over my finger which really hurts! Hoping it won't blister too badly.

heffa, i am perfectly capable of driving safely, just not next to an examiner. i took the test a couple of times and not planning in doing it again soon. driving in the other side of the road, with an estranger not ver pleasantly sit ext to you, the instructor doesn't come and translate the instructions too, 3 times he told me to go to the 'other' left.i gave up

my dil disagree with you, he settles him a lot better than me, gets him to sleep better too, and knows when he is hungry or moaning better too, who do i think i am, his mother?, i am going to have to put my foot very firmly down this christmas...

hope your finger is ok, put it in cold running water and some savlon cream on it, hope doesn't blister.
where's every body else? just a hadful of posts this week.

Hi,
Haven't posted in a while but have been reading all the posts...
Had a lovely few days at Centerparcs last week - we're now completely sold on the place as it was ideal with small kids and we actually felt quite relaxed. Unfortunately DD1 has had a bad cough since and has been quite ratty - I'm hoping it's just because she's not feeling quite right as opposed to the terrible twos starting early.

DD2 managed to sit up on her own for a bit yesterday which felt like quite an achievement. Still no signs of rolling, but DD1 never did either and I think it might be partly due to the massive reusable nappies that they're in as they can't get up enough momentum to get over . We've also started BLW and DD2 has already enjoyed a fair few different things (and we've seen the evidence at the other end).

They both seem to be awake so I guess I should go and get lunch sorted...hope everyone else is well...

hi everyone

not having a good week. I'm exhausted and feeling a bit low. The house is such a state - really dirty and although DH is looking after Molls really well he is doing nothing else. His sugars are up but mainly because he's eating crap and not exercising. I literally can't do more than I'm doing as work is so intense and Molly pounces on me when I get home. I'm managing ok with keeping up the supply of ebm but that takes time too - home and at work. She's doing great with blw but I'm still feeding her every 3 hours at night. I need a holiday but having another week at work before I sensibly booked some time off. The kids weren't fed last night until nearly 8pm - dh just didn't get round to it. I do the dinner 3/4 days a week and I manage to get them fed - work or no work. dd1 needs to get to bed on time on a school night or she gets migraines. Bleurgh

molly, hope that holiday comes soon around. best advice i've been given do not worry about the house, it doesn't matter is dirty, as far as kids are feed, some clothes to wear, and minimal basics... you're good. great that dh is helping, remind him to take care of himself too, at least the diet part.

Hi All!! Have not been on for a while but think about you all - have had a quick look over the last few pages of threads.

Angel - your situation sounds horrible, hopefully things improve soon. I couldn't do what you're doing i don't think.

Racquel - that blood test sounds awful, glad you have been seen by an expert now though.

SK - hope medication is helping, do you have people around that you could get out with, sometimes helps to have someone with you. Try to get out as it will only get worse as you probably know already. Hope you're ok.

WLTK - glad you are weaning the way you want to, there is so mauch advice out there it is so confusing.

hope all poorly children feel better soon

All going ok here...

Weaning - like others, we have good days and bad. Rians favourite is porridge and eats most root veg, has tried chicken and stew & pasta this week too.

Sleep - sorry to those who are feeling exhausted. Thought we were turning a corner last week, started missing out 11pm dream feed and rian going through until 4-5am which is excellent but gone backwards this weekend and waking for feed at 11 & 3 again.

Work - due back in feb, found out i have 8 days holidays in one job and 12 in the other still to take! so been working it out today, this will take me up to 28th feb with a couple of weeks half days to help wean us both in - if managers agree. still haven't made a decision re which job to return too

Rian's Op - been completely mucked around by glasgow who now say they can't fit us in until later this year and the procedure they do is best done before 6 months aargh!!!! consultant suggested he would refer us to Alderhey Hosp, liverpool as its a specialist centre for cranio surgery. DP phoned there to speak to a specialist - who was very helpful and informative. will definately see us once referrals in. they're procedure is newer but more invasive so much worse at the time but very low risk of requiring further surgery. liverpool may be a blessing in disguise. watch this space.

Hope everyone's well and sorry if i've missed anyone. hope everyone enjoying the snow :)

Hello all,

Been reading but my time on the Laptop at the mo is generally internet shopping for xmas gifts.

Pamlet-Glad the sleep has improved. Lucy is still up once a night, usually about 4ish and goes back off ok which doesnt make it too bad.

Hope the explosives has stopped now! Lucy has some pretty impressive ones now since weaning!

Racquel- Good to hear from you :)
Glad to hear George is doing well and Great news about the test results.
Re relationships, A new baby is a huge change, especially your first and with lack of sleep it can be a strain on relationships. It will get better I promise :)

Heffa- Glad the potty trainings going well. Such a relief hey!:)
Yay on the new car too!

WLTK- Def no Goddess, Far from it!!
Pasta and Jam?! Sounds interesting!

Carikube- Glad you had a good time at Centreparcs. We have been thinking of it for next year.
Yay on the sitting up. They suddenly look much more grown up sitting dont they :)
DD1 never rolled either. Lucy is abit more but overly.

Molly- Sorry your having a bad week :(
You sound very busy. Dont worry about the housework too much. People are more important.

Den- Great to hear from you.
How annoying about Rian's operation
Glad the new hospital have been so helpful and helped to reasure you.
Hope the little guy is doing well.

Well, No snow here just bitterly cold! I wouldnt mind a little bit of snow though as ive bought a sledge for the girls this year and would love a play! Bought Lucy a snowsuit thats all fluffy and white. She looks soo cute and people keep commenting that she looks like a little Polar bear as it has ears on the hood :)

Lucy constantly wants to stand up now and is getting very good at holding her weight for quite some time.
Shes such a smiler and is such a delight to be around! Soo much easier than DD1 was as a baby. Lucy is a pleasure to take out too. When shes tired she nodds off, when shes awake shes happy people watching. You hardly hear a peep out of her. (apart from the cute cooing noises and raspberry blowing!)

Currently planning to redecorate Lucy's room. We decorated it neuturally as we didnt know her sex but now fancy something abit more girly for her. Going to stick with the pastel shades theme as in DD1's room. I love decorating and ive been busy buying cute bits and peices for her room too.

Also been on abit of a spending spree for me! Trendy new clothes, 3 pairs of new boots... Thought it was about time I treated myself! :)

Carikube - hope your DD1 is feeling better, good that the BLW is going well :) My DD never really rolled either.

Molly - sorry you're struggling, hope that holiday comes round soon. You sound like superwoman to be juggling everything you are :)

Den26 - for you about Rian's op, that's so annoying!

Pigley - I was thinking of redecorating Corin's room as well, mostly because we had put a frieze around it when DD was in there but she ripped most of it off Might stick with the same autumnal green though.

Not much going on here, DD went to a birthday party yesterday which was fab. It's extremely cold but not much snow except a dusting on the ground that's mostly ice. More due this week though. We went up on to Dartmoor at the weekend for sledging which was fab :) There's often loads up there but if it's too heavy it's inaccessible (esp. with LOs). DD loved it, and now insists on sitting in her sledge all the time at home.

Hope everyone's well :)

Morning all, I've been reading but just no time to catch up. Busy enough with work and dds but dd2 and I have been sick in the last week. Thankfully starting to feel better now.

RE snow, can't believe some of you haven't got it! We're completely snowed in, got about 8-10 inches and it's still coming plus thunder and lightening this morning

On the plus side school's been closed since Friday :)

hello all,
i have so missed this thread! i do most of my internet stuff on my phone but mn is not good on it at all. i just feel like its a little luxury i dont ave time for often.

most days i feel like i am just about treading water, oh there are lots of very happy moments, virginia is totally wonderful, sometimes the only thing to smile about.
things wit DH are not brilliant, we seem to be losing the joy in our relationship that we used to have and i really want the old him (or is it me) back. i dont know if he actually is showing little love and respect or if its just me losing confidence in myself now that the reality of being SAHm hits and at 5 and half months ave still not had more than 3 hours at night. bedtime routine now great but she she is still waking 3 times plus per night

ladies, please drag me out of this mood!

hope all is ok, i will try to keep up

ego I know exactly what you mean about losing the joy in your relationship. I know that DH and I can be happy together but it just seems to happen so rarely these days that I sometimes wonder why I bother. He accepted that it's external things that are making him unhappy (his job, being overweight and unfit etc) whereas he knows that I'm unhappy with our relationship. I just feel that we can't get things right with us until he's sorted himself out . Sorry, I'm not doing a very good job of dragging you out of this mood!

I'm having a rubbish Monday though; we have no hot water again - the boiler was only repaired 10 days ago - and the engineer can't fix it so they're now going to get the manufacturer in to have a look at it. I'm now sitting waiting for the call to tell me when they're coming. In the meantime the engineer managed to flood our bathroom by leaving the tap running and then rivers of water came through in to the kitchen so I've been spending my day trying to clear all that up. Great stuff...

No snow round here, fortunately, so at least we don't have that to contend with!

Hope everyone is well....

Hi all, had awful few days with DH, as some of you may know. Thought it was all going to be over a few days back but now think we can work through it. I hope.

Its given us both a real wake up call. Havent forgiven him yet but hopefully ge there.

Alex had upset tum for a week, each poo has exploded through nappy and gone everywhere. I am hoping its teeth??? not sure when to worry, drinking milk and water but not getting better.

He still wakes at least once for a feed, or maybe twice for a dummy/cuddle/put down.

As DH has upset me hes on night duty!!

Hey all, sorry to hear of problems re DH's, maybe we should have a brainstorm of how to lighten the mood a bit at home? Might be fun hearing others ideas??

Carikube - i really hope you have a better tuesday! and boiler fixed soon

Hollyoaks - we had the crazy snow, thunder and lightening on fri night, sat with the lights off and watched it, pretty cool!
still snowing here so pretty much house bound which is driving me a bit mad as Rian much better if he can get out of the house for a while. Made banana loaf though so not all bad!

Rian been pretty clingy and unsettled last few days think he might be getting more teeth through too. although saying that we had the best night ever last night - he went down form 8-7.30 had to replace his dummy a few times but couldn't believe it when i looked at the clock when he finally woke. Long may it continue :)

Found out today that referral was sent toLiverpool on the 22nd so hopefully we hear something soon [fingers crossed emotion]

Hi All

Sorry not been around much but I have been reading. Just been doing loads of internet Xmas shopping - I am determined not to go into York at all during the snow to get presents - snow + shopping + two small children = stress IMO!

I have no hope of catching up so I will just shamelessly reply to the bits that I can remember, but if I miss anything important I apologise in advance...

Pamelat/Carikube/Ego - hope you get things sorted out with your DHs soon. Remember some countries use sleep deprivation as a form of torture, so don't be too hard on yourselves and give yourselves some slack.

We had a meltdown last Thursday - after DS and DD birth DH didn't get me any present at all, not even a bunch of flowers. When I was pg with DD, I actually told him that I wanted a Sweetie charm bracelet from Links with DS and DD's initials on it. Still got nothing. DSis gives birth and within 5 weeks gets the exact Sweetie charm bracelet that I wanted from her DH. Sooo jealous and cross with DH, just felt totally unappreciated and like he thought pushing out two whoppers and giving up hard-earned career was all in a day's work, so told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to buck his ideas up. He came home the next day with the biggest bunch of flowers ever, and since then has been very attentive. Still no bracelet though . However, I did realise that actually, he is a lovely DH and a brilliant Dad and I couldn't do any of it without him, I was just sooo tired and lacking in adult company through the day. I realise that not all issues are as trivial as not getting a bracelet, but my point (if I ever get around to making it) is that things always look so desperate when you are too tired to think straight. I hope everything sorts itself out for everyone.

Angel - good to hear from you, but so sorry things are not working for you. I hope you get some peace soon, and you can enjoy Christmas with your children.

SK - hope you are feeling better too, and you are getting some help. I take my hat off to anyone dealing with four young children!

Den - hope the hospital referral comes through soon, and you can make some progress.

WLTK - a mother's instincts are always the best for her own child - follow your own plan for weaning. Advice changes so often, and you have to feel comfortable with what you are doing.

Hollyoaks - hope you and DD2 are feeling better. Do you feel more positive about returning to work? We are with you in the snow!

Molly - you are amazing, I stand in awe of you.

Heffa - well done on the potty training!

Pigley - would so love to be able to decorate in our house, but we need to do every room, and it's just a question of knowing where to start. At the moment I can't seem to decide on anything, and it is too expensive to re-do if I make a mistake so I would have to live with it for years to come which makes me a bit nervous! I have decided to leave it til the Spring and then do the children's bedrooms, our room and the living room next year, finances permitting.

Things here are all going well. We have 6 inches of snow outside, so took DS to playgroup this morning on his sledge with DD in the pushchair - one handed steering in the snow was interesting to say the least! DD can sit by herself for long periods of time and loves to stand up and take her own weight. We have put her in her walker and she can push herself forwards and backwards but without any intention - she looks surprised when she realises she has moved! She has learned to clap this weekend, and will do it on demand at the moment. She is the most delightful and happy child, just a joy to be around.

DS is so looking forward to Christmas! We are going on the North York Moors Railway Santa Special on Sunday (snow permitting!) and putting our tree up on Saturday so it's all getting very Christmassy - we were making Rudolph Christmas cards for the family this afternoon.

Weaning is going well, haven't found anything she won't eat at the moment, although she does pull the most funny faces when she first tastes the food!

Sorry again to anyone I have missed and keep posting, I do read them all!!

tt, wow on your little ones development, she sounds just lovely!
i am with you on the birth gift front, i had a meltdown about 6ish weeks after birth as i felt so unappreciated and that all the trauma of virginias beginnings were just something to be got on with, yes i too received no flowers. he said he thought i had enough going on and wouldnt have appreciated them at the time , but he was sooo wrong. he said to compensate that he would buy me an eternity ring and you know, all i really wanted was the flowers, just a little acknowledgement of the difficulties iyswim, so i gently refused the ring and eventually got the flowers! made such a difference, my dh really is very good, i am just so tired and he is also too tired to second guess my thoughts, i know hes not deliberately being mean, but its hard. especially i hate telling him what to do, what i need, i think i drop rather unsubtle hints but he only gets them if they are spelled out loud and clear, eg BUY ME FLOWERS!

soo jealous of all the snow, we have NOTHING just the cold and bright blue skies hmmmph, although the drive this morning is thick ice.

i am guilty of putting up one of our christmas trees yesterday, cheered me up no end.we usually have a little one in the 'snug' (so called as it is the snuggest, warmest room in the house) a large fake in the dining room, a large fake which is disney decorated in the office and a 8.5 foot one in the lounge, always in 'ice and snow' theme. i love christmas and have a strict budget with regards to gifts but i always go to town tastefully on the decorations and the food (takes a week to decorate normally). last year i boned and prepared turkey,chicken and duck to make a royal roast, it was lovely! planning on the same this year. i once tried a goose but was very disappointed in the amount of meat that you get compared to the amount of fat produced. when the older children were very small the christmas tree fairies would put the tree up whilst the children were in bed, such magical moments....
what are everyone else's christmas 'traditions'

Hi All, just popping in to say we have a date for a clinic appointment at Alder hey on 18th Jan - hopefully this is things moving now :)