December 2008: because i unwittingly finished the old thread

[waitinggirl]

oops. sorry. didn't realise i was post 1000. hope people find this...

Another DD who won't settle/doesn't want to be put down (DD2 that is). She is totally gorgeous but with DD1 and essentials like being on MN doing the bottles, I simply can't.

Good to see you, Pingu. I strongly doubt you EVER look like a scarecrow

I love babes in tights, Rubes. But I also love little cutie sleepsuits.

SL, believe me, I totally understand your frustration. That's all I can say.

Oops, gotta go...

Argh. I effing hate laptops. I have just spent an hour reading the thread and replying to everyone and then my farting sleeve brused the touchpad thing and closed the window with the reply in it. Bastard machine.

So. Most important things - WG glad you have got some helpful advice from the wise ladies of this thread on the nighttime stress issues. Deirdre am sending lots of prayers to your grandad and grandma and hope they make it to their 60th anniversary, how lovely they sound.

Grr, can/t remember the rest but hello to hatty and verso and pingu and all the other peeps who've been absent a while like me.

Update on us - had another scan yesterday, baby's tummy is still above the 97th centile so they want me to do the GTT in case it's diabetes - even though I test every day with DH's kit and my sugars are absolutely fine. was it katie who had GD before? and again I think? The silly thing is that she's growing all parts at the same speed, it's not like the tum is taking off at a huge rate of knots, she's growing in proportion with herself but just has a big tum like DD1 did. Oh well. :(

JJ - Try not to worry, I'm sure they just being very thorough. At a scan at 16 weeks DS's tummy measurement was off the chart but only I seemed to be concerned about it. As far as I know, I didn't have GD, (whispers) just a 10lb baby.

We've just been doing compulsory rainy afternoon baking. My sister was down at the weekend and gave DD a bake your own bat biscuit kit. Good fun and no complaints on taste, although looking at the ingredients, just flour, sugar and butter. If I'd looked before hand I would have added some vanilla sugar or something.

Hello all!

rubes hope DD gets on okay with the jabs. Thanks for asking about the GP's they are much the same. Mum had an appointment with Grandad's consultant this aft so I'll know more later.

Pingu hello, all this brazillian blow dry stuff had me very . But I get it now - I think!

We baked yesterday aft nolda. It was a bloody disatster zone. DS flinging cake mix everywhere, DD screaming that he dared to touch her pink cake cases, fingers up noses then in the mix. I haven't sampled their wares yet but the DC's have and as yet are still in good health

JJ Second what nolda says they are just being careful.

Oh and yesterday in the local shop the shop assistant asked DD if she was looking forward to Trick or Treating at weekend. Isaid no she wasn't going as I don't 'do' Halloween. She looked me right in the eye and said 'oh the poor little girl what a shame' . So I am officially mean mum of the year in the Spar!

I wanted to write more but can't think....

Don't get me started on trick or treating, Deids. Suffice to say you are not the only mean mum on here.

Deids hope they get some good news.

Jabs were ok... I was very brave and held her DS had a complete meltdown as it was raining and had to put rain cover on buggy (cannot WAIT to get my car back!) - total meltdown kicking it off and screaming. I just did his straps up tighter and spoke to him in a very stern voice and he stopped. He hates the rain cover. I think I've finally reached that point where you don't give a toss what others think of public tantrums, and it was actually easier to deal with and he was easier. I think he sensed I didn't give a rats and basically gave up.
mean mums? Add me to the list. Are we really suppose to trick or treat? I'd rather poke my eyes with a burnt stick to be honest.
I'm going to two toddler parties this weekend, one at a soft play and the other at home but has an Entertainer booked and a nanny for the babies.... I'm here trying to work out how long I can get away with doing "family" only birthdays as they don't really remember - we reckon aged 3
Well I've been taking an AGE to do this Sainsbury's order today.

Cheerfulness - 25% off already reduced (but probably not really worth that in the first place) wine. Can't go wrong ladies.

Oh and JJ de-activate the touch pad - tis what I do.

My children are weird. After spending the day indoors as it is too hideous outside I let them make their own pizza for tea. Naan bread base then a board with lots of stuff to choose. They put it all together I chuck it in the oven then they still say bleaugh, yeauch when it comes to eating it. Weirdos!

I actually don't mind trick or treating but I think that shop assistant is bloody rude. It's not like every child does it. I think in the whole time we lived in the UK we had one trick or treat knock. I don't think they do it here.

Lady nice about the flowers, tell him several women have it on pre order so if he could hurry up and get a publisher that would be just lovely.

Hey Pingu lovely to hear from you. Made me giggle with your DDs dress styles. Are you going to Derby for Christmas?

Pubes please please please don't post less I love coming on and knowing you are there.

Bloody Emily the rat/hamster bit DS2 really badly today. He loves feeding her scrapes through the cage and he must have held onto one bit of pumpkin skin too long and Emily bit really deep. It bled everywhere including all over me and his clothes. have just scrubbed them a bit now. It happened while a friend of

Oops didst mean to press send. Was saying it happened while a friend of DS1's was here and he was a bit disturbed by all the blood I think.

Ugg boots are wrong in public I just can't believe they are so fashionable here. They are worn by the chav equivalent back home. I nearly died the other day when I saw them in a big posh store on the weekend along side dolce et al & Dior (I didn't even know Dior did shoes)

Had a bad time today, one of those days where I really haven't enjoyed being a mother. i just broke down in front of DP cos I totally lost it over dinner.
I heard myself pleading with T to eat and I just sounded so pathetic and realised I had totally given away all my power to this child who's not yet 2 and needs me to be in charge.
I'm just so fed up of him being ill all the time, of not eating, of acting up (which I know he's doing because he's feeling ill and been inside all day). And it'll mean another shit night with no sleep and probably having to feed him again in the night.
DP away again tomorrow for 48 hours and I just feel that there are things I should be taking in my stride that other mothers do naturally.
I am not a natural mother, that's the thing, and today I've been plotting how soon I can get back to work to escape. And then I feel horrible and guilty for feeling that. Just tired and emotional.

Hi Pingu, nice to see you . Can you link to that sing and sign DVD on Amazon, I need something that's not sodding lala and po.

Sorry no more personals, need to put some pizza on.

oh no poor spot. Don't underestimate how knackering being pregnant is without you realising it. I felt the same as you when pregnant, like I couldn't be bothered with DS and I didn't look forward to my day off work with him. It's much easier with 2 and not being pregnant!! Also I didn't have the sleep problems and constant illness. Well actually I did at the start of pregnancy and it was hell on earth. I literally went to work, came home, went to sleep.

The eating is a tricky one. If he's under the weather can you just give him something you know he likes? DS hardly ate last week after having a bug. But he did sleep at night. How is the not feeding in the night going? my DS has actually been having milk in the night again a bit recently. Hopefully he will just stop now he is back on form though.

Ahhhh, both of them in bed. Bliss. Bet DD is awake though and just wriggling around. Not gonna check though .

oh, spot, my love - no idea what to say, but we really do all have times like that. you've got a lot on your plate - as SL said, don't underestimate how hard it is being pregnant and having to deal with T at his most tricky. i'm so sorry.

thanks for everyone's thoughts and help yesterday. we talked about it and dh is interested in getting some counselling. i don't think he quite understands how important it is to get as much of this sorted as possible before number 2 arrives, but i will try to push him ever so gently. last night she slept (back to usual), but dh was up every hour or so anticipating that she was going to wake. the lack of sleep is really preying on him, added to which he is hating his current job and doesn't know where his career is going. i, however, slept like a dog. hurrah. and did some spiffing teaching this morning - was really quite proud of myself.

hopefully madam will revert back to lovely sleeping girl - fingers crossed.

when the shit was hitting the fan on sunday night i came downstairs and wept and wept wishing my mum was here - i felt her absence so palpably.

interesting to hear the aussie perspective on uggs. i mean, they are beautiful, but how impractical??? and expensive??? i just couldn't do it. i bought myself a pair of rocket dogs instead which i wore to a wedding with an isabella oliver dress last weekend. doing exactly the same this weekend for my cousin's wedding. we're weddingtastic here at the mo.

Evening !

I'm sorry I cant keep up so this is a bit random...hope the house hunting is going well veg and that DB GPs are doing OK.
WG my DH doesnt get emotional but he has definitely found being a parent hard and it was very detrimental to our relationship. A few months back I really felt we'd fallen out of love, perhaps he misses it just being the two of you sometimes (this feels like a terrible thing to admit, but I said to DH the other day I wish we could have a weekend off without the kids and instantly felt less guilty once I'said it and he agreed with me, there was a seige mentality instead of a competitive one for a change). DH also found the uncertainty of pregnancy really hard to handle.
Lady it is hard with two, I used to look at people with more than one child and used to wonder how they managed, I had to massively lower my standards re: food, tv etc. It does get much easier when one of them can be reasoned with and can be relied upon not to unroll the toilet roll/empty all the drawers of clothes/unpack all the kitchen cupboards. However, after that they start following you around asking unanswerable questions like "Why are cars big?" "How high is the sky?" "Why did you drop that plate on the floor?" "Why is it called a sponge?" etc etc which is challenging in a different way....However, it is more than made up for when they entertain eachother, hug eachother, laugh together which does start to happen pretty quickly.

Anyway, hello to everyone else. Not much has been happening here. We went on two long cycle rides recently which were brilliant, and I had a scary job interview. And I am still shredding. Not sure if I have lost any weight as I have still been "enjoying" my food but things are definitely getting tighter.

Night ladies..

I wish I could teleport you all back to my youth Uggies were as cheap as chips back then.

Good to hear DH will have a go at the counselling WG.

Lovely Spot, I'm sorry you've had one of those days. I've lost it and had a mummy melt down over many things but DS1's eating has been the biggest & most regular thing I've gone loco over. Everyone says just don't feed him he'll eat eventually, but how can you do that at this age. Anyway if it helps at all DS1 was a nightmare eater and still has his moments but he has a decent repertoire of foods he'll eat now so.I stick.to those and occasionally bring in new stuff. Also surprisingly he doesn't seem too messed up by my pandering to him....yet. also as Lightening said pregnancy makes everything a lot harder. If it helps DS2 is a brilliant eater, its a pleasure to watch him consume. So there's hope for your DS2.

I forgot to answer you the other day lightening about DS1 & the Apple picking. He will handle fruit but if he smells it he gags, I wondered whether the farm would smell of apples but it didn't, even though there were lots of old apples on the ground.

Thanks folks, I think I'm just feeling a wave of self-pity as it feels like T is always ill and never sleeps. I should probably get some kind of diary going on so I can see that he is sometimes ok, just v prone to getting horrible things.
We did feed him in the night last night SL, and probably will again tonight as he refused even his favourite dinner and he's running a temperature and sweating everywhere so is definitely trying to get something out of his system.

Glad the teaching going well, WG, I'm so pleased. I remember when you were having wobbles about it right before you started and it's great that it's working out.

NJAN, I am strangely looking forward to that questioning phase, as well as the time when my boys will (hopefully) want to hug each other. What was the scary interview for?

Effie was fab on the telly just now, felt very proud

I shouldn't be too self-pitying, my sister went back to work today for the first time, and her DD had been awake since 2am! Plus she didn't eat a thing in nursery all day so likelihood of a repeat performance quite high. I must stop romanticising going back to work in an office, I know it's no picnic.

Oh and WG I was going to say I really identify with your DH in that I also get obsessed with T's sleep and often lie awake waiting for him to wake up (and not bothering going back to sleep after as I just feel 'it won't be long before the next waking so what's the point'). IS he quite anxious normally? i realise i am but it's easier to hide when you've had a good night's sleep.

X-posts Veggie, thank you you are very reassuring . I know I need to pull myself together and remind myself that it's not forever and I'm not ruining him by giving him food he'll eat. But I had no idea how emotive a subject food was until T became such a tricky eater. It can arouse such anger in me, it's scary.

Spot, I'm sorry you've had a tough day. I was talking with someone at work about continental eating habits and she said the French and Spanish were a bit puzzled at our idea of feeding children early and hustling them up to bed and out of the way. I say we NEED that time. Being at home with kids, especially when they are ill and you are preggers, is so tiring. And if your DP isn't around to help it all lands on you :(.

Ta for the kind words - I don't think I'll have any annoyed members ringing up to complain which is good. I hate the way I sound on recordings though.

Spot, as others have said, being pregnant and having to cope with a challenging toddler is really tough. It's a very recent memory for me. Particularly in later pregnancy I felt quite emotionally vulnerable, and it was hard. As for the not eating, that's a massive ballache. It's still pretty bad here but I grit my teeth and do my best and feel pleased with the good days and pretend the bad ones haven't happened. I suggest you do the same. O is on fortified formula and it's fattening her up no end but that's only temporary - however, she is also on Abidec vitamin drops which I think you can get from Boots: what about getting some for T, and then, if he is being faddy at least he will get vits and minerals and it might boost his immune system a bit? Want me to send you some of the fact sheets I received from the private dietician? You never know, there might be something in 'em. They will certainly tell you not to plead with him. You are being vv hard on yourself. Please don't be.

Sorry about the tribulations re: the scan, JJ. I bet she will turn out to be the easiest little soul after this pregnancy.

NJAN - what IS this 30 day Shred? What precisely is being shredded? It sounds faintly alarming!

That's good you had a successful day, WG, and double good about your DH not ruling out counselling.

DB, I don't mind Hallowe'en per se, but Trick or Treating is horrid. And so American. I will be going bigger on Guy Fawkes Night when the DDs are older, it has a bit more to it. Mind you, I love fireworks but don't really like the burning of the Guys. He was a Yorkshireman, you know.

I am finding Sainsbos hideously expensive at the mo, Rubes (even with money off the cheerfulness). It might have to be back to Lidl/Aldi for us. But it's a hassle because you can't buy EVERYTHING there. I do think the fruit and veg is brilliant value though and we get through stacks of that. Glad the vaccinations passed off quite smoothly!

Veggie, I think you have been quite composed about the biting antics. I used to like rodent style creatures but since I had the mice in the flat in London I have gone right off all such creatures, I have to be honest. Even though I find it cute that my nephew's rats adore blackberries.

I am really shattered. But DD2 will be up again around 1. I find it more painful getting up once asleep so I think I will just stay up....

Effie, I didn't know you were on the box/radio! Exciting.

Oh Spot, so sorry. Lady had good advice though. And gosh things are so much worse pregnant. I'm crap at advice so will shut up but am thinking of you and you are welcome to visit anytime.

WG glad things are looking up.

Lady yeah they just bump the prices up these days and then pretend they are taking more off really I think.
Lady, do you know off the top of your head of a nice bar very near Oxford Circus I can meet my friends? She won't have phone on her so will have to ring her hotel ahead of time and let her know where to meet. I just can't think at the moment anywhere good there. I will ask DH too as I know he transits through there to work those days he does in London

2nd night for dd in the cot. Asleep at 730pm with a mini waking at 830 but then nada till just now. Have fed her and she was still half asleep and then wouldn't burp as she was all tired and floppy etc (is that dream feeding - though I did pick her upto try and burp her so guess not?) Hoping she will be out till at least 5 now, so I should really get to bed.

OK Vag, that's very kind of you [not convinced] I won't scale back too much but I do have a busy week / weekend ahead so you'll all get a break from my ramblings Hope DS's finger is OK.

Yeah Lady, when I told DH (who is currently sharing a bed with a man) he said we should get rid of her. I wast that bothered at the animal as I think it was more that DS2 held onto the food too long so his finger just got in the way as opposed to a cheeky rat/hamster premeditated attack. I grew up on a little hobby farm and we were constantly being pecked by chickens, scratched by cats and bucked by sheep. That sort of thing doesn't bother me too much. DS1 & I once got set upon by a flock of marauding sheep in a field at mudchute farm. But it was my fault because I'd stupidly decided to walk home through there after getting our shopping which included a lot of vegetables. DS1 had an organix original fruit bar snatched right out of his hand by one bold woolly.

Spot I do know your pain and I've pleaded so.many times too. I still fear I've set him up for an eating disorder when he is older. Please know it gets better and somehow they do grow, but know also that your not the only one who does this.

Poor DH he is in Luxembourg and when they arrived the.hotel had given him the three person room he had asked for (he managed to convince his boss in the UK to let him & the other 2 testers from his team go to this conference if they kept costs down hence sharing a room) but its a double and a single bed. So DH is sharing with one of his staff who he is a little nervous about this guys sexuality. He often makes bi-curious remarks. But the other guy flatly refused to share so DH had to also he booked the room and should maybe have specified. Anyway the hotel is going to try to get them another room tomorrow.

Rubes, go here It's at the top (north) end of Regent St so five mins walk from Ox Circus tube. I have been there with several Mumsnetters! It's just really handy, and a place you can actually talk, with a proper choice of wine. Ok, so the decor is a bit dated but I can forgive it in a hotel bar. Otherwise I would say the Soho Hotel here but it's off the top of Dean St so a 15 min walk. It's cooler, you might see the odd celeb but is busier and the drinks are quite dear. I like it because the staff are so wonderful and every time I have been in there with DD1, usually in a pushchair, they have fallen over themselves to be helpful and cool about it, which you wouldn't expect. Of course, now she is a bona fide toddler they may not be so keen, who knows...

I am sure your DH's bedmate won't try anything, Veg Call me too naive but for one thing, why would you with a third fella in the room. However, I wouldn't particularly like to share a bed with a work colleague, male or female or straight or gay or bi or whatever.

Another night from Hades, T coughing so much he was sick, then up every hour until 5.30 when he decided he was awake enough to play . Thing is he seems weirdly happy.

Lady I would love you to send me the factsheet, I will FB you my address. Thanks so much.