July 2010 - The gang's all here, we're now getting started on our baby's first year.

[stac14]

Starting our first post-natal thread since we are all over to the other side

mlic it does have a certain finesse, does it not?

All - I'm dreading the 3m growth spurt, that combined with A's wind and F's teeth is gonna finish me.

My mothering skills are getting worse by the day: today I managed to venture out without the change bag - so no nappies, wipes etc. I actually had to cadge a nappy from another mother. Skills, eh?

needle is G over her phase of screaming when you'd try settle but being ok for anyone else?

Hello pip! You're in on the basis of no sleeping-thru but we need to know your baking and ironing status for full posting rights

OMG stop chatting!!!!!!!!I can't keep up!!! by the time i have caught up i dont have enough time to post!!!!
I feel very inadequate regarding all u bakers, the closest i get is 'add the water' packets of cookies and that makes me feel all clever!!
Ironing, Bahhhhh, who can be arsed, not me! I do keep the house very clean though,to the point that DH has told me i perhaps have slight OCD! can i stay???
Hi to the new people, i think u will find us a jolly lot who talk about......well everything really.
cherry how old is lo, Devon was weighed on monday at 11lb5oz, he was weighed 3 weeks before that at 10lb14oz so i really thought he would be more yesterday, the HV said it was fine though. He is 12 weeks on thurdays.
Im joining the big cot corner, tonight's the first night. I have put his sleeping bag ready in there and it looks so small! Im really nervous, i hope he doesnt pick up on my feelings. Im sure he will be fine....
cake I went out with the bag but without the bottle he was due! I had to go back and get it, so ur not on ur own!
Devon is still suffering from the dreaded colic 7-10ish so wrt putting him down in the evenings its hit and miss really, however...he has been in the wonder swing asleep since 6.30 and it hasnt been swinging at all, thats a real step forward for him, i hope its a sign of things to come!I do usually have to rock/bounce/shhhh him before he goes off.
Im going to give him his last feed now and put him in the big cot, wish me luck! xx

Lol cake, she seems to be over it now. her phases never seem to last very long. she's been pretty laid back today thanks- I took her to be weighed today, she's 11lb3, 64cm, so a long, skinny little thing.

I had hoped to meet some local mums, as I don't have any actual parent friends, but the women round here seem so unfriendly. It's kind of tragic really, none of my friends are even considering babies, and so they can't even begin to understand what parenthood is like.(anyone wanting to avoid listening to me whine should look away now) I love being married, and I love being a mother, but I have to confess to finding it really lonely. my friends keep going on about how my life is over and they don't understand how I can possibly be happy. these are the same girls who do nothing but complain about hating their jobs and their miserable love lives. I don't get it! how can these people not twig that while they're all busy feeling sorry for me, I'm the one whos stupidly happy?!
Argh. I'm so frustrated at the moment- I knew that this would be the problem with having children so young, but I'm finding it so hard to meet people now that we've moved. Gwen is dD too young for all the local mother and toddler groups, and the local mothers I have come across are just plain unfriendly.
Urgh. Rant over.

Do you think there has ever been a mother in law who was easy to get on with, or is there some national. That happens at weddings to turn perfectly civil women into hags?

hey long time no post. have read back the last 5 odd pages and i'm exhausted lol :)

I have to confess i feel a bit like you needle in that i adore being a mum but in the evening once Dreya is asleep i feel a bit lonely almost redundant . She literally is my life right now.
I'm lucky in that i have a few friends that might visit me in the evenings but other than that i pretty much just watch tv by myself (cue violins)

I'm hoping to join the big cot clan tomorrow and give Dreya some room to stretch but not ready for her to go in her room yet.

btw i bake but do not even own an iron!!! i hang clothes when wet and they're fine

You know, to be honest, I hadn't thought about BF support groups, as I was being all self satisfied about not needing any actual BF support. Dim eh? Thanks mlic, I'll look one up. There is a new mother and tiddker group just round the corner which I thought I might try, it only started last week. It's funny, it just never occurred to me that my old friends just wouldn't be able to understand how different your life is once you have a child. It's frustrating- almost as much as realising that your mother was right all along.

mlic i generally buy clothes which don't need much ironing. Then it works like this:

I get a dress out and assess creaseage

If it's a little bit creased then I just smooth it out a bit and threaten i with the iron.

If it's pretty creased then I aim the hair dryer at it and/or put it in bathroom when I shower and feel like I've done a professional job on it.

If it's basically a tangle of fibres bearing no resemblance to a dress and DH is in then I beg him to iron it, if DH is out then I don't wear it.

If I have to wear it and DH is out then, and only then, will I iron it.

Unbelievably, I'm often described as well-groomed

My previous cleaner used to iron and there was barely anything of mine for her to iron due to aforesaid buying tendencies. But for a short period in my life, I wore shirts to work rather than just interviews!

needle MLIC is right re bf support. Also join every class you can find near you and you WILL find some kindred spirits, I promise.

I did everything going when I had DS - baby massage, sensory and rhyme at the local Sure Start; paid for music classes; rhyme and story time at the library - and I met some great women. Some have become close friends for life (e.g. one of them looked after DS for the night when I was in hospital having DD).

I also made a couple of friends just by starting conversations when sitting next to new mothers in cafes. Remember most new mothers will be in exactly the same position as you and are desperate for some adult conversation, even if its just comparing babies' pooing/sleeping habits to begin with!

Now with DD, I haven't got round to going to any classes at all as I'm always out meeting the friends from the first time round

Lol, I iron gwen's dresses and dh's shirts and handkerchiefs, and I too have to confess to ironing teatowells but none of my clothes really need to be ironed. Besides, I'm a dressmaker, so I spend half my time pressing seams anyway.

I iron when i have to, like you cakes i get dp to do it when possible. None of the clothes in the drawers or wardrobe are ironed and i have been known to bung things in the drier to remove creases. Strangely i used to love ironing and would happily stand for hours doing it but it became a waste of time

dh i had asked that before i spoke to you on fb lol

viks rileighs going into the cot tonight too, it seems huge, let us know how devon likes it

cherry i wish i could bake but i havent done it from school

Got my hair done tonight was lovely being pampered but i love it, so tired and hoping lo sleeps better x

All our babies are getting so big going into the big cots. Ellie seems ok in hers again tonight thankfully. Even though its way bigger she looks so much more snug! Its the thicker mattress i think.
Mlic i dont iron either!! I iron ellies clothes but nothing else really unless it really needs it. I've become an expert at shaking the clothes out well enough when i take them out of the machine that when they come out of the dryer they're crease free! Just have to take them out ad soon as they're done so theres no time for creases to settle in!and that was good sleeping for ds!
Needles hopefully you find some like minded woman soon. Really not easy when you dont have the full support and understanding of your friends.
Nice to hear from you nixter!
Think ellie may be going through the growth spurt. Shes taking 8 oz bottles all day anf last night she took 13oz! Granted she puked half if it back up for being so greedy but she was devouring her bottles today! How many weeks is it that it normally happens? She was 13 weeks on monday

Morning all!
Last night was good from Sam's point of view - in bed at 7.30, fed at 1.30 and up at 5.45 but DD woke twice during the long spell between 11 and 1 so I was still up 4 times - argh!
Sam went into his cot 2 nights ago too, he was just too big for the basket. I can't believe how much he scoots around, he ends up right at the other end of the cot all spun around!

mlic I don't iron a thing. DD goes out creased, I go out creased, DH when he's not at work goes out creased, Sam goes out creased - I just really don't care about creases. I don't notice them on anyone else so can't see why anyone should notice them on us. My mum comments every now and then but I hate ironing so why put myself through the torture?

I love baking though, not got much time for it at the mo but I usually do quite a bit.
needles I'm in the same boat with no friends since we moved. I have some lovely friends at the same stage of life as me but now they're 4.5 hours drive away. And it's true that you do sort of leave your childfree friends behind when you have a baby!

haha mylife great re sleep!! So does that mean ur going shopping for Uggs today?
I do what KK aid and rush to the dryer before the clothes go cold and hang them whilst still warm, hey presto no need to iron! I do do DH shirts if im being nice but usually he does his own!
Devon looked so small in the cotbed but he had a good night only waking once at 4.40 for a feed, i tried not to give it but i figure he is still so small i cant deny him. I had a dredfull sleep though as i was worried about him in the big cot! Im not sure he knew he was somewhere different but i went in this morning and he was star shaped so seemed to be enjoying the space.
Singing group today, needle I know where ur coming from, i felt like u do for quite a while but started to go to some groups and it really did make me feel better. Look up surestart or NCT or the local church or library.
Has anyone started to think about nurserys/childcare? I am due back at work in April, i feel i probably need to start looking now. Also what about schools, has anyone put their names down yet?

I go away for one night and I come back to 1000 more posts!

cherry white choc muffins sound SO good! I love white choc, its my fav

Going to the baby group again today, I met a girl there last week who is the same age as me in fact we found out we had loads in common, Im going to ask her if she's got fb, best way to keep in touch nowadays I think!

When oh when will DP propose??

morning all, rileigh ended up in my bed as dp went into the couch to sleep as i had the light on to check on he in the cot, she looked so tiny. Anyway he is off for a couple of days so shes going in tonight

mlic i had saw that in the book but the hv had said it would be when she's a year so maybe i need to ask again. Great sleep for w and lucky you getting new uggs wish it was me i got mine last year

viks rileighs the same waking for a feed and like you i was awake for ages

Good luck tsc with witch in law, sounds like you had night out x

tsc Im on the mini pill and although its different for everyone I havent really had a period, I think I bled for a day and it was very slight.
Have you thought about what type you want?

Stac Im hoping its a growth spurt and he goes back to sleeping through. I didnt mind last night though as he was in the cot so i thought he might have been even more unsettled.
He's having a kip now in the swing.......which isnt swinging!! I must read more of 'the baby whisperer' its about watching for sign's and learning ur baby and it has helped me to pin point sleepy time better as his signals are very subtle so its easy for me to keep him going and miss them so that he gets over tired.
DH Its really nice to know ur not on ur own, there are some lovely people in the groups and all sorts of ages too which is good.
tsc is this the mil in Dorset? How long are u staying for? I know none of my family like his name and i tell myself i dont care but i do a bit, i kinda wish we had gone for something more traditional but we didnt so thats that and they will have to get on with it wont they!
Cant get going today, still in my dressing gown watching the miners coming out, amazing.

dh x post, try not to worry bout proposal you wanted a surprise and looks like he's sticking to it, you never know lol

I meant to say they were selling the baby whisperer books for £4. Has it been working for you viks? I'm hoping its a growth spurt too

chul thats a great sleep for sam to, cant believe the gp refused ranitadine, i would ask for a different doctor or a peadiatrician appointment

Have to take the boys to trade in comp games, would rather stay in lol. Also got the docs today regarding contraception x

tsc that should have said a good night out lol x

Afternoon all! Back at work again for today and tomorrow. Currently posting in my lunchbreak. DH is being a SAHD - will call him in a minute to check everything is ok! I expect it's all fine, he's really very good.

The growth spurt lasted about a week, stac. I seriously couldn't get the milk into her quick enough for it. She was attached to me from dawn to dusk and bawled if I ran to the bathroom or tried to make myself drink/food. However it's paid off as she's finally getting some cute little chubby cheeks now.

We're doing the naming ceremony ourselves, memphis. The council run them, but we decided we couldn't be bothered to pay someone to preside over something which ultimately means nothing by law, unlike a civil union. Instead we have asked a friend who is good at public speaking to run the ceremony for us and have hired out the local community centre for a few hours.

We've written the ceremony ourselves and basically it is: Introduction, Brief speech by DH over name choice, Reading by my DB, I light a candle in Mindy's engraved silver candlestick, The Mentors/Proxies light the candles in their engraved candlesticks from the flame of Mindy's candle, A friend does another reading and everything gets finished up with a toast. Then we have sandwiches and cake!

For the religious members of the family we've explained that we have nothing against Mindy being baptised, but we want her to be old enough to decide for herself. That has gone down fine with most of them as it means they are free to try and persuade/convert her.

Housework I'm doing more now than I was before, CherryPie. However a) I don't have any other kids and b) Mindy loves the sound of the vacuum cleaner and washing machine. How old does she need to be before she can put washing in and hoover for me??

Yike, I can see how fitting around those run times could be tricky, CherryPie! I do a work run every morning and evening for DH, so I can keep the car during the day and because he hates driving in rush hour, and that's hard enough to aim for each day! I like having it as a bit of regular structure though.

Mindy has been in her big cot in the nursery for a few weeks now. She seems to love it! I have to go wake her up in the mornings now and she's always doing a starfish impression. Guess she likes to spread out!

Ok, I think I'm up to date again! Better run off and do my dairy cow impression express before lunchbreak is over. Otherwise I may well explode during the team meeting.

congrats mlic i have 2 pairs of ugg, one pair long that are horrid, so may need to replace them with the bailey button one! i know im probably very lucky with lyndon not being fussy an being quite happy playing in his cot, not sure how i would cope if he wasnt thats why i dont really want another one, after him being so good i will be given the gift of a little shit!! on the ironing front, i ironed 2 baskets of my clothes last night i felt shameful with you ironing so much but except for lyndons and my teatowels thats it til the new year! teatowels hand on my oven i dont want them looking creased!!! oh shit im turning into my mother!!!!
Lyndons jabs didnt happen she presumed as they sent me a letter with an app for less than a month since last jabs i would know it was sent in error and not come so he didnt get his jabs!! then he had docs, being monitored twice next week then going to take action then my app.... 45 mins of me crying and losing it totally for her to say all mothers feel like you if you still feel bad in a month come back bye bye!!!!!! i fear i may end up torching that shit surgery! but one thing she said was unless i work out for hours on end in 1st 6 months my body wont respond to it so thats it im putting the dvd away til january! i left surgery had a fry up then ate a ripple while i had my tattoo!!!