The Final Fruition of the Frolicking Forays for the First Time Frolickers

[Spirael]

We came, we saw, we frolicked.

Now our PFB has arrived and we can begin the stressful befuddled guiltridden exhausting wonderful journey of parenthood!

(Or at the very least we can stop bothering the antenatal bunch until they join us!)

[highheelsandequations]

I've been wanting to try for number 2 since we left the hospital!

[cherrycobbler]

Also v v broody after watching OBEM!! But still breastfeeding and no periods yet so couldn't even start trying if we wanted. Probably for the best, should really get a few full nights' sleep before contemplating the first trimester tiredness. Sigh.

Flo I think I saw a pic of Hannah's wiggle dance on FB, the cutest thing ever!

Hope R's day at nursery was ok MrsW

[bunnygirl80]

Those of you saying there's no way you could have number 2 as you're still bfing do know that it's perfectly possible to conceive while bfing and without ever having a period don't you? Wouldn't want any unplanned second time frolicking to occur

[cherrycobbler]

Ha ha, lack of more than two hours' consecutive sleep a night is acting as more of a contraceptive than the breastfeeding at the moment

[MrsWajs]

Evening all! :)

Flo I am indeed back to work soon, 30th January to be precise :( and I am soo not looking forward to it! A) beacuse I've gotten too used to spending every waking moment with R and can't bear to leave her with someone else for such long periods and B) because my workplace sounds to be exceptionally crap at the moment!!! Ugghh!! But needs must so I'll just have to get on with. I will secretly be pleased to have some adult company for more than a few hours a day though!

Cherry Nursery went really well thanks :) R was more than happy to go in and apparently was brilliant all day. She was a bit upset when we went to collect her but she'd dirtied her nappy and required a full outfit change so I'm not really surprised she was grumpy.

Re: TTC no.2, I am in Highheels' camp and have been itcing from very early on for another, however, DP has not been remotely so keen and it has only been decided since New Years Day that we will definitely try for another, although it won't be for a year at least as we need a bigger house and he needs a more stable job, but that's good enough for me. I have to say that him finally agreeing is better than any Christmas present I got things haven't been all that great between us recently but I think the holidays have shown him a lot of what I do on a day to day basis and he has loved spending so much more time with R so I'm hoping that we are back on track a bit now and that we can go forward into 2012 happier and with new plans to look forward to!

R is getting on brilliantly, 2 bottom teeth now - the 2nd came through on Christmas day (poor baba) she can roll down from sitting and is making moves towards crawling - eeeek!! She does the little "wiggle dance" you mention too Flo - sometimes just the head and other times her whole body! It's hilarious. She also uses her hand to flick her lip and make a "lurdlelurdlelurdle" sound if that makes sense? And most of all she loves flashing her teeth at anyone who will look, resulting in a frankenstein type appearance!! She was eyeing up the sofa today so I think pulling up might be on the cards soon too!! I'll not mention sleep as I have been one of the "lucky ones" and I can only but offer sympathy and or maybe to those who are having a hard time.

[pixiestix]

Oh god, I am the only one in the world who is running screaming in the oppostite direction at the thought of TTC number 2! DH expressed his utter horror at the thought of having another a little while ago and it really upset me but since then I have had a think about what motherhood has really been like for me and I am feeling the same horror as him. I'm so tired, so under-acheiving in everyway, have so little time for myself, and so unfulfilled 99% of the time that I need to seriously sort my life out before I inflict it all on another human being.

Or maybe I just need a holiday and a big glass of wine!

[haloflo]

Tbh if I got pg I would probably have a panic attack. I have romantic memories of newborns but if I read my posts from when she was younger I think I would remember how hard it was. I'd soon put myself off. Don't worry bunny I know its possible.

And Cherry so so true!

mrsw Glad R was fine. I know what you mean about partner's not seeing what we do. My DP starts looking after Hannah for 2 days a week next week. I think it will be good for everyone.

pixiestix Why do you feel you under achieve? At work? Hope you are ok. More than one sent your way.

Can't stop long, I started this during Hannah's afternoon nap and now I'm half way through cooking tea.

[cherrycobbler]

Aw yeah for MrW agreeing to the TTC %232 plan!! If we do TTC again it will likely only be next year too.

pixie like flo I think I am forgetting how tough those newborn days were - I really really struggled and not quite sure how I'd cope with newborn + toddler in reality! The thought of being tired and overwhelmed for another couple of years also isn't great...

Good luck at work next week halo, enjoy those hot cups of tea!

[cherrycobbler]

TTC number 2. I obviously didn't mean MrW agreed to a family of hundreds!

[haloflo]

Hello all - I have posted the exact same thing on fb but I just wanted to say that my first day back at work was really good. It appears I pretty much remembered what to do and Hannah was fine. She is going to her Nanna's tomorrow but she loves her and i'm confident she'll be just fine there too. Hannah can survive all day without a breastfeed now - I never would have believed this when she was 6/7 or even 8 months. She fed when I came home and then just took one side at bedtime. I was tired but that was mostly because I couldn't sleep through nerves, nothing to do with Hannah waking up!

[highheelsandequations]

Have posted this on fb as well so apologies.

I have a BLW question.

We are doing BLW about 70% of the time but I'm still giving Rose some purees, porridge (real stuff not baby porridge), mashed potato etc. that require spoons. Most of the time I put food on the spoon and hold the spoon out to her and let her take it and smear it all over her face or put it in her mouth but I have to admit that I have spoon fed her myself a few times, especially when she's getting frustrated.

Anyway, when we're doing the baby led meals Rose has a habit of biting off huge pieces of food (even without any teeth!) and gagging repeatedly on them until she eventually swallows, spits them out or I take them out of her mouth as I can't stand watching her gag any longer. I know that as long as she's making a noise she's fine and it's all her way of ...learning to move food around, chew and swallow lumps but I find it terrifying to watch her. And some of the pieces she ends up with in her mouth are enormous!! This morning we had eggy bread for breakfast and she was just cramming more and more of it into her mouth, biting more off even when she still had some in her mouth. She seemed to be enjoying it and every time she'd recovered from her coughing and spluttering would go straight back for more, she ignored the fruit on her plate and kept reaching straight for the eggy bread. In the end I pinched the rest off her plate when she wasn't looking (bad mummy!!) as I was so scared I couldn't stand watching her any longer.

So I suppose I have two questions. Firstly, have your babies done similar and if so how long did it take before they learnt to take smaller pieces? And secondly am I better making the food bigger or smaller to help? I was thinking that if I gave her bigger pieces (e.g. half a slice of eggy bread instead of a strip) she wouldn't be able to fit the whole piece in her mouth and would have to take smaller bites. But then again if I made the strips thinner she might take smaller pieces, or would she just cram a longer piece in her mouth and get just as much?

I know I'm supposed to relax and let her get on with it but it's so hard!!

[pixiestix]

Hello old fred. We haven't forgotten you, honest!

[bunnygirl80]

We should probably run a duster around the place to get rid of the cobwebs

[NotBobbysGirl]

And maybe the hoover too or would that be too far!!?

[haloflo]

Hello thread! How is everyone on this leap day?

[bunnygirl80]

Let's not take things too far notbobbysgirl

[pixiestix]

Maybe Will could give it a good brushing??

[bunnygirl80]

I'll send him in. He's pretty handy with a mop now as well so hel'll get everywhere nice and shiny

[highheelsandequations]

Rose enjoys playing with dusters, I'll send her in :)

[Spirael]

I'll get Mindy to do the washing up. Though she might pull off her clothes and jump in the water...

[pixiestix]

I'll get T to pull all the books off the shelves, smear food up the walls and hide all our shoes. Oh no, wait.....


I am mostly spending today with gritted teeth.


Its lovely to see you Spirael! How is that beautiful girl of yours? Please tell me that they become magically docile and well-behaved once they hit 20mo. T is nearly 18mo and a horror spirited.

[Spirael]

Er... I won't mention the grumpy tantrums then. Or the sleep regression, combined with the discovery that sleeping bags and cots can be escaped from... At least she's not figured out the door handle. Yet!!

[pixiestix]

Lalalalala I'm not listening!

Door handles have been figured out here but the cot/ sleeping bag combo still makes an excellent prison

I was thinking about you and Mindy the other day. I remember when we were pg we both said that if we had girls we wouldn't succumb to the whole "Mummys lickle Princess /pastel pink and lavender" horror. I think I've succeeded pretty well in giving T a fabulous non-sex-specific wardrobe but I swear if one more person says "Hello little man" I'm going to get her a pair of fairy wings, some diamante high heels and a tutu! Its driving me crazy!! But yes she is still very bald for a girl

[Spirael]

Door handles are the round twist ones here, which she struggles with. Unfortunately DH and I hate them and are contemplating changing them to pull down handles, which she'll inevitably then be able to open!

Mindy's wardobe isn't too bad on the non-pink front, though it's taken a while to train the grandparents not to buy her pink clothes.

She does however have quite a lot of dresses, because she seems to be taking after DH with impossibly long legs and a skinny waist so finding trousers long enough that'll stay up is next to impossible.

We also get a lot of "What a lovely little boy!" comments... I think it is the hair thing, Mindy's hair was slow to grow so is currently boyishly short. I keep trying to get her to wear alice bands, but she pulls them off and wears them as a necklace instead!

Sent her to nursery today though in jeans, t-shirt and trainers.

After a few days of grumpy tantrums, she was in a great mood this morning, so hopefully we're over whatever was causing the problem!

To be honest, she's at a lovely age right now. :) She can express her wishes, she's gaining independance so needs less help and she spontaneously shows her love.

There's nothing quite like arriving at nursery after a hard day at work to have her call "Mama!" and bolt across the room with a big smile, to throw herself against my legs and cling tightly. Then demand to be held and refuse to be put down.

[bunnygirl80]

Door handle related tip I was given if you have pull down ones....put them on upside down as they won't figure out/ be tall enough to push them up for longer! We have round twisty ones so Will just hammers on doors until I get fed up of the noise and open it for it