Jan 2009, baby D0Gs and bumps galore.. lets make room for many more...

[120]

here we are. am going to start a bet on who is next to get broody!

Dog - D was terrible until my milk came in, constant feeding. He settled once he'd been fed, J is a big boy so is bound to want to get your supply up, D was exactly the same. He would feed constantly at times in the first month but soon settled into a better routine. He slept really well from about 8 weeks, but not through the night like your babies

I had one of those heat pad things for in his crib so I put him down onto a warm sheet, it seemed to make it easier to put him down. Although I must admit I used to let him sleep on my chest during the day a lot in the early days, only way you get any rest with other children in the house!

I am very jealous, it all sounds lovely.

Get those cabbage leaves out Dog! Glad you were spared the 60 mile trip. Mmmmm, I am thinking of the smell of newborn babies!

Books, DD is April 2007. Bandage is good idea, hadn't actually looked at the price...£60 is a bit nuts!

Tea I can't even remeber what we've been doing with tem re:sleeping. Think they went in together when DS was about 6 months, then tere was a leak in the ceiling, then they shared the spare room, then DD moved back cos DS started waking in the night, then it all went out the window cos we went on holiday. Now I don't care where they sleep as long as I get 8 hours! (Which rarely happens!)I love the idea of them sharing though, when I closed the door last night Lily was saying to Jude 'Now don't worry, you be a big boy in your big boy bed and I am here so don't be scared.' It made me cry! Times like this make all the hard work of a close age gap completely worth it as they are turning into little buddies.

Just got back from GOSH, MRI showed no change, so am a bit disappointed that the tumour isn't shrinking, but no growth is a good sign. So J is being referrend to a Vascular Anomolies (sp?) Clinic to see if they can shed any light on how to manage this. The oncologist says it is still to intwined in everything to think about operating and as he is so healthy otherwise they will just keep doing an MRI every 3 months until it either a) regresses or b) he is older enough to respond to whatever therapy is appropriate at the time without it affecting his growth. He's also been referred to an Eating Clinic to check his diet and general intake of food and to look at how to make eating easier. TBH he has got over a lot of his earlier difficulties himself and seems unfazed by food, but am happy to have the reassurance of professionals.

Right, lunch and a spot of cleaning, how glam.

Hi all.

Oooo sorry you have had tough days DOG. Newborns. Full on little creatures. I'm glad you have sidestepped the trip to hospital, was it for jaundice levels?

I can't really talk about settling babies, as you know dd2 only slept on me and her daddy for about 2 months, with us doing 12 hours shifts holding her. SHe is still pretty much the same. She will have a dummy until she is well beyond toddler years, I cannot see me winning that argument ever. Hell, dropping the night feeds would be a start
DD1 was stopped from having a dummy at about 2, she promtly replaced it with moo and bee [long gone now, lost in Bruges] tbh they are as much work as a dummy. She loses them and wakes to find them and so on.

Books - how are you? Your head must be spinning!

Moose, how is dd?

Hey Ray, lovely to have you about

Chef - I'd be fuming too. Really badly fuming. If someone had an 'issue' they should have come to you n a friendly way, not gone ahead and reported. Beyond belef really.
Although there has been cases of pictures of naked children being taken down by fb, though that was fb it's self. Whats happened to you is just odd!!
How can an 19m baby be offensive? How they manage to go into a store where magaznes are sold I have no clue, becasue I find the front of most mags aimed at men utterly offensive

I actually mopped the house today
I also positioned by Boo wall sticker from Belle&Boo. I now have a small retro rabbit on the stair return. Looks very sweet

Been to chiro today, spent a whole £28 on my self Was amazed by the amount of clunks, clicks and cracks. My neck went with a real wollop. I normally feel ill after chiro, but not to bad today. And I can twist to the left for 1st time in months

dh agrees dd2 might be better in a bed. DO you think I shoudl just go for it and put her straight in the 'girls room' or cot bed in our room and do it is stages? What d'ya think?

Can't remember anything else - sorry!

I vote for gentle stages with your DD Tree, bit like the idea I mooted to Miss J on 15 Sept at 22:15 ish?

HKZ - So sorry you didn't get the news you were hoping for with J, but it does sound like the professionals think things are positive and moving in the right direction. It must be so hard to know he has it still there and they can't get it out. You deal with it all so serenely. My two do things like that occasionally, and they also make me sob, they can be so totally loving to each other sometimes can't they?

Tree - I think whatever you do doesn't really matter, not in an unkind way, more in a she's not an entirely predictable kind of baby way. You might put her in with J and she'll be fine with it, or it might not work. Either way you haven't lost anything. Same with cot bed in your room. DD co-slept with us until 15mo, it was never going to be an easy transition so we went for the gentle approach, but only because she was predictably hard work with the separation, and we didn't have another DC. I think if we'd already got another child we might have decided something different, or we might not. I'm not helping am I?!! I'd guess your instinct would be the slowly slowly approach normally, but as H doesn't sleep all that well I don't think you stand to lose much by doing it either way.

Books - No, never disturbed in the night, she knew it had gone. That's what I mean about the language, I think that was quite important, she had enough understanding to know it was gone but not enough to question why it was gone (or where she could get another one!!)

Dog - Oh yes, I remember that day. I tried to express in the end as DS wouldn't budge, the MW told me off and I didn't manage to express anything anyway. Then eventually I got DS to have a mahoosive feed and he promptly vomitted it all back over me. I was drenched in baby sick, but totally blissed out with no longer having rock solid boobs.

Sorry HKZ I missed your post about DS It must be so hard, as I'm late to this thread I think I've missed a lot of the background and history Really hope the Vascular Anomolies Clinic are really helpful ((hugs))

boommarking

Hi

Sorry, haven't read much again. Another mammoth day at the hospital - this time the one in Birmingham though. Called GP for avice this morning and they said to take her in, after she was up and inconsolable from 3am to 5am!

She screamed at eery single nurse and doctor that so much s looked at her.

Paed couldn't get her to react when manipulating her arm, but we felt we'd narrowed it down to her wrist from observing when she screamed. He was concerned enough to xray despite her not showing any signs of a break. She was however really good for the xray and sat perfectly still on my knee.

I had a gut feeling she'd fractured her wrist, despite no bruising and her still using the arm and knew I wasn't going to be statisfied until they'd checked it out properly. I was so relieved when the doctor agreed with me, as I was convinced they were going to think I was on over fussy parent.

And .... she is in plaster up to her elbow. Temporary plaster at the moment and we are back to the same hospital to have the paed ortho review her case and get her proper cast fitted tomorrow. They reckon it will probably be in plaster for four weeks!

She has a tiny buckle fracture just above her wrist.

Ds2 went back to school on the advice of the emergency doc, but looks like he is 9 months pregnant!

AND

As we pulled out of the hospital at 2.30 this afternoon, the school called on my mobile to say they had been trying to contact me all afternoon as ds1's teacher was quite concerned about him. Apparently he felt sick and wobbly and had had a couple of really bad bouts of diarrhea. They had been trying to call me, but my phone was off as you aren't allowed them in that part of the hospital. Unfortunately, the second person on the school's list to call in an emergency is my Mum and she was with me - with her phone switched off.

We raced back to fetch him and arrived at 2:55 which is daft really, as he comes home anyway at 3:15. I asked if ds2 could come home at the same time to save dragging dd up there twice in half an hour and they said it was fine.

So that's my day - great huh - and yet another trip to the hospital tomorrow.

Fwiw, I don't think ds1 is 'ill' I think it was a combination of anxiety and the fact that he ate wholemeal pasta last night for the first time in months as we had no food in and had run out of the gluten free stuff.

Unfortunately, the school now won't let him go back for 48 hours, so he will have to come to the hospital with us tomorrow. Dh did suggest he took the morning off to have him, but I am convinced ds isn't actually ill (as in infectious or viral). He has been absolutely fine and chatty right from the moment I picked him up and is currently happily playing on his Nintendo.

Right - that's me, how about you lot? I will nip off and try to read and catch up if dd will let me (she is being very clingy and is extremely cross about having her arm in a cast - Keeps saying "Off! Off!" in a very angry voice!)

Mahoosive post - sorry. Was just a fast-typed brain dump really.

Good grief Moose, never rains but it pours eh? Glad she's now in a cast and will hopefully heal quickly. Your poor DS too.

Well I'm supposed to be packing tonight once the kids are in bed but I'm feeling sick and have a head ache again. Gah! Think I'll be in bed instead Awful trying to get the kids to bed when you feel like this. I don't know what's going on with me at the moment, I've felt worse as the day has gone on and now feel rotten.

HKZ - I xposted earlier, so so sorry. never even asked how it had gone. Great news it is the same, same is good. All just carries on. Is he now on solids then? I often wonder about how he is doing when I am arguing with dd2 to eat. It annoys me she can eat but won't,a nd there is your little man in the reverse. Good idea to get some extra input about his diet, but I bet you have everything covered. Serene is the word, you are so calm. All I had to do was support dairy free diet and look at the fuss I made!

Moose - oh blimey love. Poor dd! How is she finding it? I guess she wont be at too much risk of blisters, dd2 had absolute buggers when the cast came off. What a day! How typical the school wanted you for the one afternoon in a year you are out of range! Hope you all have a peacefull evening, and I guess can only treat it as a long weekend.

Hello to all, just trying to settle girls. So far we have one in bed - but awake. And one not in bed - but asleep. Neither is the perfect combo is it?

Oh no Moose, not more plaster casts That makes 3 children on the thread with broken bones in the last few months, lets hope that is our 'always happen in 3s' curse out of the way. Poor DD, and what a nightmare day for you all.

Think I'm going to head back to the GP tomorrow if I can. Things still moving around when I try to focus on anything in the distance, not too helpful when driving. I think a full 7 days of visual disturbances is a bit odd, have had plenty of migraines in the past but none with after effects this lengthy. Might leave it until after the weekend though.

Hope you are feeling better in the morning Tea.

Dd you see your mw about the itchy hands HKZ?

I didn't realise you were still feeling dizzy etc Lenni. Awful. Def get yourself to gp. they might say the labrythiwhatsit I had. It was on and off for a good few weeks. ANy news on job front?

Tea - oh I really hope you feel better. Aren't you away camping this weekend?

Thanks for your suggestions on moving the H-bomb. Maybe slowly and gently, as she is a bomb. Being careful not to cut the red wire, just the blue one, but after the green and before the yellow.

Maybe I will never have the motivation and energy to do anything, and she will be in with us until she is 10.

Having a cup of tea and hot water bottle in bed, then big sleeps. No boiler action yet, and I must admit to feeling a bit chill. COuld do with an hour on low heat to be honest. Oh well, we have lots of clothes.

Feeling chiro effects now.

Tea, are you off tomorrow? Have a great time.

Tree, do what feels right for you with DD and sleeping.... I keep on having to remind myself to trust my instincts with regards to doing stuff with the DCs. I think I might copy you with your hot water bottle and tea idea. I have actually put on the eating for the first time tonight.
Waiting for MW to call me back re itching, will chase up tomorrow.

Lenni, get yerself to the GP tomorrow, then things might be sorted before the weekend. How is the job hunting going btw? Is there much around at the moment?

Moose, sounds like you are spending a lot of time in hosp this week. Poor DD. How is she dealing with the plaster?

120...ate those biscuits for my tea! They were pretty good! Both DCs completely wiped out and asleep within seconds. Lily oncemore requested a baby sister called L!

Think with J and his health we are in it for the long run and there isn't going to be much radical action until he is older, so no choice but to be calm about it...or implode in a giant ball of frenzied madness (which could happen ) I think lots of us on this thread are in similar situations with DCs and health, just one of those thangs I s'pose. Good job we have this thread to preserve a general sense of sanity!

Argh, Boden know my weakness don't they. Just emailed me pictures of all their gorgeous girls dresses with voucher code. The meanies.

Heating on here too. Our oil tank is looking far too low for my liking though, I can feel another enormous bill coming, I daren't even look at how much the stuff costs at the moment.

I've seen a few more jobs HKZ, one as a non-teaching Year Leader which would be a backward step career and money wise but is school hours only and £28k so in some ways with no after school workload would be a decent salary for 8.15am-3.45pm days. Seen another as Behaviour Co-ordinator working under the Assistant Head so kind of similar to my last position, think it is TLR1b though so more money than I was on before as only had SEN points and recruitment and retention before. I've applied for it but am on holiday for the interview so probably won't get shortlisted (have said am away in letter in vague hope might be flexible.) In a really local school, in a town I've worked in before and I loved working there so have kind of got my hopes up but I know that I probably won't get it. Am getting quite depressed about the job situation, I had a fab career before the DCs, have loads of experience, CPD, SEN qualifications etc. but the fact I've not been in a permanent position for 3 years really counts against me. It is really affecting my self-esteem now, and I'm getting more resentful of all the stuff that goes with being a SAHM. I've given up all my contracts at the uni too to try and get something permanent and enjoy a last few months with the DCs and yet Oct half term is fast approaching and I've not found much at all. Argh. Sorry, I'm venting on you.

Evening all.

HZ same thing here, both crashed, though H had to have his Bircher muesli first (his latest fad). Those biscuits are fab with lemon icing (lemon juice instead of water) but forgot to do it today in my determination to get them iced before they were eaten! Lovely to see you all.. thanks for your hospitality. J & L are so cute.

Very tired and horrid curse pains so off to bed with a hottie (water bottle).

Good Evening Ladies. I managed to read all of todays post but I have nothing to add.

Moose poor DD.

The picture thing on FB is odd. My albums are only for friends, so FB wouldn't take any down unless they were complained about. If they are in the public realm, they have the ability to take them down themselves if they are offensive. The x-stitch raises interesting comments in that it was a nude male that was flagged, but all the nude women, even the ones where it is obvious she is spreading her lips apart, weren't flagged. I find it a little funny in a way. I also find it suspicious that it happened right after Teas comment about who it may be, (not that I think your comment was bad, just funny how it solicited outrage too. lol) and I feel like it was a scramble to deflect any suspicion. Oh, maybe I just need to get out of the house...lol. But it gets better. There's also a funny thing here with my mummy group friend's in that one of the women, whom is a suspect in this drama. She has been to my house and seen my work, sideways glancing at it, (lol)(Oh, and Tea, my friends really were taking the piss but great response back), has made comments in passing about nude children on FB and strangers seeing them, and just a little passive-aggressive really. So, lets call her Betty, Betty emails another mum, K, and asks why she, Betty, never got a shower for when her 2nd was born. K replied that she didn't know why the question was directed to her only. Fair enough. Betty said it was because K was the one that usually instigated the showers. The fact of the matter is, the 'tradition' didn't start till T, so its brand new. In the end, really, come on, we're adults here. So K sent us all the dialogue between her and Betty and we are all waiting to hear from her, which is unlikely. But the worse thing is that I left her off a thread by mistake, honestly, for K's upcoming shower plans but another one of the mom's hangs out with her regularly because they live around the corner from each other and she, S, (who also didn't get a baby number 2 shower) told Betty about it and I think this is also what prompted her to contact K about the lack of shower. So now, we've had to start another thread to discuss K's shower plans without S knowing we aren't interested in Betty coming. I said we should contact The Life Channel or something and do a reality show.

hkz that's good news about J; I know it could be better, but great that it's not growing and he seems to be doing so well. Hopefully one day it will be resolved though, it must be hard not to worry about it. You are super chilled though.

dog cranial oesto-whatever sounds like a great idea, wish I had done it earlier with N as we had such a long second stage labour, and it can't hurt in any case. I bet he settles loads though once he gets a proper belly full of warm milk. Colostrum never strikes me as particularly appetising!

Thanks for all the input about sleep and beds and how to make the transition... Lenni that's what we'll try I think, luckily his bed is big enough for one of us to cuddle in there with him. But he's been super excited about us doing the room, and he keeps grabbing his little cowboy pillow and snuggling up in the bed, so hopefully he might go for it... I framed a photo of me and DH and put it by the bed too, and he loves it, so sweet! We are going to put him in there on Sunday night, once my Dad has gone, so wish us luck! On the same subject, tree I think you could make a big fuss of H going into the big girls room with her sister, and see how she takes it - you can always step back from that and have her back in with you, but she might buy into it, you never know...

120 damn the curse. I only ended up having about 3 AFs before this pg, so that was quite nice.

Lenni I am sure something fab and just right will come up jobwise - someone will snap you up.

books yes please for recipe. at price of thumb protector.

tea you will meet someone perfect in a few years and have another couple of little ones if that's what you want - I always think those sort of families are really nice, with two sets of kids a little bit apart. I have an older half brother from my dad's first marriage, a bit different from your situation I know, but he is 8 yrs older than me and totally fab, I loved having such an older brother when I was growing up (and still do!)

Sorry, am too tired to remember anymore, and just seem to be waffling now... so will say good night to everyone.

meant to say lenni my brother had similar visual disturbances thing, but it was never sorted out despite lots of investigation. In the end it went when he changed jobs and de-stressed a lot, so he thinks it was anxiety related.

ps did you see Jamie Oliver called his baby 'Buddy Bear'...! Poor kid!

Ooh that's clever books. Sadly N has no attachment to anything so I can't use your trick - no special toy, bear, blanket, no dummy, no thumb - just my boob .