FEB 2010 Longer out than in and first Christmases around the corner...we're 9 months on.

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Shiny new thread, as promised fellow FEBers!

Figured we would start another new one to mark first birthdays, bethlou, so I've held fire on referencing that landmark in this thread title - hope that's okay with y'all!

Anyway, welcome everybody, pull up a comfy chair, someone get the wine out and I'll open a huge box of chocolates for us all to share.

Finally home!
Today started well after a good night from DS but nursery called me at work at 3.15pm as they suspected DS to have a conjunctivitis. So they needed me to come to pick him up. So took an appointment to gp (on call doctor at the end of working hours) and we've waited 1 hour in the waiting room. DS was getting bored and hungry as we saw the gp at 6.10pm! (DS normally eat by 6 ish and is in bed at 6.30ish, but he is flexible for bedtime as long as he is fed). So DS is off nursery for 24h as he's been given eye drops for the conjunctivitis. (That rule is not in the nursery rule )

Before the GP I went to HV in order to get DS weigh and he is now 9kg330 (20lb9) and measures 70cm.

watercress you can try adding some leeks to your DD food, it works for us. Great news about the sleeping.

mama she is more like a toddler but still a cutie. DS also understand 'no' but he turns, looks at me, gives me a big smile,... and continues what he is doing!

CC good news on the tooth

IC that Baby Deli looks too good to be true and I wish something like that could be done here. I am almost allergic to soft play centres (esp those without windows) because those few I have been to are simply awful. Dirty, smelly, expensive, no decent coffee, and always the aggressive children running riot while the parents ignore them and happily let them bully the smaller ones.

Feeling particularly grumpy today... I've gone and done it again! Applied for a job because it seemed like a good idea (2 days a week, incredible salary) and now I am cross that they actually shortlisted me. What did they do that for??? Now I have to drag myself through the snow and ice, with a heavy cold (think chain smoker voice and continually filling tissues with great honks), all the way to the interview (at least an hour commute in good traffic) tomorrow... and then they won't give me the job anyway (somewhat pessimistic after the last three interviews). I'm really not in the mood!!!

BG poor you. You'll be great tomorrow

Well what a difference a good night makes. Instead of titting about until gone 11, we were in bed before 9.30 and DS slept from 7 until 6.30 with a quick resettle at around 1.

Mamaloco She does look really grown up. Such a cute and pretty little girl.

CC Did she bite you on the nipple? DS did a few times when he first had TOOTH and I was really worried I'd have to give up but he just needed a few days to adjust. Haven't been bitten since.

IC If you want to move to SE London I seriously would be interested in doing something like that. Am pretty much decided that I want to start my own business. An estate agent is buying up loads of shops and houses around where I live as they think the area is going to boom with the East London Line and the Olympics. I also have my old flat that we rent out that I could use as capital.

I love the way Baby Deli looks - lovely clean lines.

Have you written any more novel recently?

Watercress Good for you on the sleep front, and I hope you find something that works to unplug DD2.

GF That's a shame about the conjunctivitis - I hope the drops clear it up. Sounds like he's a good weight.

BG I know what you mean about the soft play centres. At least with DS he is still so young we only go in the bit where babies are accompanied so no bullying. Although a little girl of about 2 kept following him around and forcibly kissing and cuddling him. He tried to remain jolly but I could see he was a bit perplexed. Good luck with the job interview. Don't be down. It's always the ones you feel negative about that you end up getting. Let us know how it went.

As for me, I'm glad I have a few friends with babies within walking distance as it snowed again last night. I think I'm going to see my German friend this morning and definitely going to lunch with my Italian friend (and possibly see other Italian friend there if the buses are running).

Usually we go to baby gym on Wedndesday morning but I'll have to ring the Sure Start people to find out if it is on.

Lots of my friends are going back to work in Jan/Feb/Mar. I am a bit concerned about being possibly the only SAHM-to-be that I know in the area. There is one other lady that I met who is going back for 3 months so she doesn't have to pay back her maternity pay and then stopping but I don't know her that well. She is one of those scarily organised people who seems to schedule every second of every day. They go to about 5 classes a week. I don't know that we'll have that much in common. She does seem really nice though and when I said I wasn't going back, she grabbed me and made sure we swapped details.

God, another mammoth post from me.

Oh BC I'm in the same boat - all the mums I know are going back to work Feb/March/April time and I'll be the only SAHM. I am already feeling a bit lonely and blue because even the mums I do know, live the other side of Hastings and as I don't drive that's actually quite a long way and I feel that they all see each other every day and I'm mostly left out. Also I know that they are on FB with each other but none of them has tried to make friends with me. OK I haven't tried to befriend any of them either but if they're all on with each other why....? I don't know if I'm being silly or not, but I haven't seen anyone this week, have no plans to (plans cancelled today as someone's DH ill off work) and I can just see the days at home stretching away in front of me like a lonely abyss.

Sorry, very me me me.

One of my friends was expecting a baby in Feb but has already had a little girl at 27 weeks She's actually the DP of DH's friend and DH spoke to his friend on Sunday, who said the baby's doing well and if she makes it to a week (tomorrow) they can start to be hopeful. We haven't heard anything since. I feel we can't badger them with texts asking how things are, we'll just wait. It's so awful for them.

BG best of luck with the job int today!! Think positive, think positive, you never know.... Two days a week would be my ideal. Can I ask what kind of job it is that is 2 days with fantastic salary? I want one!! Oh, and hope you get well soon.

DD is getting crochety, it's time for her morning nap, bad mummy hasn't even given her breakfast yet, just too blimmin tired after not being able to get back to sleep at 4am last night. It was like being pregnant all over again.

That sounds worse than it is [guilty emoticon] DD is still only really eating food for fun since we started again with BLW a couple of weeks ago, and she's had two milk feeds, I'm not starving her!

MPFT sorry about your freind.

To all, thanks for sending the cold as I requested! you bunch are a bit too efficient though, we have freezing rain which is actually quite rare, the trees look really surreal!

MincePies (sorry baby brain, were you Fizzi previously I've forgotten! ... sorry about your friend. My sister in law's SIL (if you see what I mean) had the same thing happen last year. She was due two weeks after me in March and gave birth in November at 26 weeks. Her baby spent three months in the ICU and survived, he is now a healthy baby boy and even though it was very touch and go, it was alright in the end. It's very scary.

And BC, I'm also having similar issues with my nct lot and feel a bit left out as they all live within walking distance and I don't get included. I am also a SAHM but feel quite positive, do you have anyone who can take over and give you some 'me' time? I don't do any classes with my DD but I do take her to the playground. I'm going to start a music class with her next year as she loves singing!

BG How did your interview go??

I am wiped, but have to go and do some work.

Catch up later

Sorry about your friend scones fingers crossed for her

Now I know who mincepie is, I was really Sorry about your friend, hopefully it'll be a happy ending.

My DH has just been on TV! Ok, it was the local news doing a feature on Movember, him and some customers at the pub grow a moustache and raised nearly £3,000 for prostate cancer.

A bit more snow today but it didn't stay in town, more forecast for the night and if not freezing temperature... There'll be black ice tomorrow, I may walk to work and nursery (if they're opened). It's freezing in our house, only DS room is warm (18.6C) and my living room is brrr (15C)

bc if it is what you want to do, go for it.

I've never been to soft play, (I'm now even sure there's one over here ) so will not be able to comment about it but IC it looks great.

Heh, bc, it would be a great idea to develop, eh? I suspect we'll be in Bristol, though (which wouldn't support that sort of venture, I fear - although London would be perfect...)
Having said that, you just never know...
The pram naps have rather put paid to more novel, but I'll send you a bit more and welcome! Goodness knows when I'll get the chance to finish it...when DD goes to school?!

Sorry you guys are feeling left out as SAHMs - that sort of thing brings back horrific memories of being left out at school, I hated that.

I don't have a group here in Madrid to hang out with, but I'm great mates with one mum, whose baby is a couple of months younger than DD (they seem to enjoy rolling around together and always give each other ear-to-ear smiles when they see each other...it's really cute!) We see each other about once a week. And I'm dead lucky because of DH's timetable he's usually around for the first half of the day, so that hugely helps. If he has to go out early, that's when I usually skedaddle to my pal's place (or get her over) - definitely having a bit of company transforms the experience of motherhood. Lovely though the LOs are, it can be a lonely and rather tedious business day in, day out...

GF - your nursery seems to spend more time sending your DS home than actually looking after him! No wonder it drives you mad.
Good for your DH, btw - and to you for putting up with a tash!!
(My DH has a beard, but no moustache. Before him I was rather anti face-fur, but I'm a convert now. DD loves tashes, especially if she can tug them about).

Ah, MincePies, that's tough for your friends, really tough. I hope it all works out okay for them.

Ebaying stuff tonight so checking in on my way there..

MincePies we also have a friend with a 26 weeker who is now doing well. She was born four days after DS2 instead of in June and it really made me realise how lucky we are. Fingers crossed for your friends.

DS2 has started to throw up lumps about 4 hours after eating them. This is a new and unexpected turn of events and rather unwelcome too! So looking forward to seeing the consultant on the 20th!

I found January hard last time round as all my friends went back to work and the weather kept us inside a lot. I think all I can suggest is to go out to the groups that you've all been mentioning and speak to people that way. Now, with two, it's easier as DS1 speaks to me - although at the moment he seems ot be speaking 'Pingu', thanks to Granny who bought hm a dvd!! He also randomly tried to get DS2 to say 'pissed' yesterday - it was just a random word I believe but made me giggle inwardly, obviously! Of course, I didn't react and moved on..

IC Have you lived in Bristol before? I spent 5 very happy years there and loved it, though I eprsonally didn't want to bring up a family there. If you will need info about schools (and catchment areas) let me know as my teaching pals will be able to offer some advice/warnings!!

Off to make more money. Up to £100 now -brilliant way to offset our Christmas spends!

Ah, bethylou, what a bane - your poor DS' and their health issues...

It must seem never-ending...

Yes, I lived in Bristol for ten years - up until Spring 2008. Did we overlap at all?

I agree that it's not as ideal as some places for bringing up a family, but we've got loads of pals there, including many with DCs, so there is a good ready-made network for us.
State secondary schools are a bit of a bloody 'mare in Brizzle, but the new Redland Green School and the three new academies (public schools now turned state) have made the situation a bit better. Or we could do what loads of others do and park ourselves in S Glos, BANES or N.Soms....!
I used to live just over the road to one of the city's best primary schools... luckily, there are a few more half-decent schools to choose from for that age-group...

Sorry, going on a bit...!

The other good part about being in Bristol is it puts us in reach of my family (who mostly live in Cornwall) and DH's (who live in Glos).

Think it's time to get toasty in bed (until the midnight-or-thereabouts wake-up call from DD...)

G'night.

IC I have to confess that DS went to nursery today His eyes were fine this morning, and as I had to be at work, I risked it and it worked. So he spent a full day there and me at work.

bethy I hope your DS2 vomiting is not a new bad thing happening to you both. Well done on the ebay selling.

IC I was there from '99-2004 and taught in Nailsea - primary schools there are good .

And on the health front, I forgot to mention that I speedily went down with sinusitis yesterday (in 2 hours from perfectly well to needing to be in bed, in an ideal non-DS kind of world!) Both DS slept through for the first night ever. Me? Up since 3 unable to sleep due to feeling rotten. I must have been very bad in a previous life!! Luckily, the GP took pity on me and gave me antibiotics this a.m so hopefully on the mend soon.

I have become a zombie of late. 3 days in a row DD has woke pretty much every 90 mins. She is also quite difficult to feed, I assume its related to teething. I've developed some odd rituals to get her to feed, which involve lights, walking around and a frozen toy. The tooth still not quite all the way out yet. This is coupled with my general insomnia (I was bed for 3 hrs last night before getting to sleep). I went quite early for me 10pm because I was so tired. Plus I was freakishly hot last night, hormones?.

Sorry for lack of response to anyone, I have been reading.

Too tired for cooking so there are some advantages

bethy CC get well / sleeping soon

DS had is 1st bad night since we did sleep training, reading bc and LBH comments last night could have been our 2nd night of training and not night 6 HE is still asleep now as there is quite a bit of snow and nursery is closed up to (hopefully) 10am.

Day three in the watercress household of being snowed in with the DDs. Starting to get weepy at the prospect of a long, hard winter.

watercress I have the same feeling about this winter. For me the only problem is going to be is this weather continues and nursery keeps closing (like the schools) I'll have to take unpaid leave

DS is waking up from his nap, I'm sure it's not even 20mn he went down

watercress I was snowed/iced in for 4 months last winter. Snow is no problem (well not much) it is the ice which is.
Hope it will be less this winter as I have to do the school run (school doesn't close ever). Sometime I decide it is too much trouble and take DD out, but she has been off so much with illness this year I won't do it this year.

Good luck, jumping on bed and building forts with cushions always helped with DD1 (DD2 seems to be a fan too). Changing rooms too if they get bored in one, and going out even for 10 min and 5 meters. I feel tired for you...

They slept through, bethlou!! Wow!
What a bummer with the sinusitis (or, indeed, a header...) - get well soon...
So, we did overlap in Bristol!! Maybe we passed each other in Broadmead once or twice....

Ugh, CC, here's hoping your DD settles down again v. soon.

Likewise, GF....

watercress, I've been looking at the Parenting threads and there are loads of people already tearing their hair out because of the snow...

mamaloco, I'm with you - can handle the snow, but if it ices up, our buggy naps are screwed. The snow that fell the other day didn't settle and we just had flurries today. I'm very relieved not to be in the UK ATM, but we're not safe from the bloody white stuff here, either....

Poor DD fell off the mattress AGAIN today (twice looks like carelessness, three times is just stupid of me to take my eyes off her, even for a few seconds. From now on she's going in the cot, even if I'm going to be less than 10 seconds in and out...). She had a red mark on her head for a bit, but it seems to have disappeared now and there doesn't appear to be a bump or anything.
She made quite a bang going down though and howled for a bit afterward (although not that long) - I still felt guilty as hell .

Anyway, the rest of the day was fine. We shall see what tonight brings, but the last few have been fairly consistent with two awakenings, second one a longer resettle, then up about 07.00.

One cute thing though, when DD woke up this morning, she did her whimpering then wailing thing, then from the mattress on the floor (in almost total darkness), I said "Mama..."
And almost immediately I heard this little voice say, "Mama..." then we did a game of copying until she got fed up and let me know it was getting up time. So gorgeous!! She often says "Mama" now or "Uma..." - I'm still not sure she's applying it to me specifically, but it still melts my heart.

IC I'm so jealous of your mama! We keep saying it to DD, but she hasn't caught on. She has said Dada a couple of times, but I'm not sure she means it yet...

Poor you with the falling-off-the-mattress guilt. It does happen to us all (well I hope so). I haven't even related my worst DD-falling incident as it is so awful and I feel so, so bad for it. I have never indulged in that particular carelessness again, however.

CC and GF sending good sleep vibes.

bethy at your DS throwing up lumps. I really hope it resolves soon.

Thanks for the good wishes re my friend's baby. I got a text from her yesterday, she is doing well, phew and thank goodness, I've been so worried. I have read every thread I can on premature birth on here and it seems that the odds are quite good to survive with few or no complications. So it's just keeping our fingers crossed. I'm sure she's a little fighter.

We have a LOT of snow!!! DH can't get to work (hurrah) and so we had a lovely day, going for a snowy walk and then a pub lunch with a couple of warming pints. The only problem with the lovely pub lunch is that is has removed all motivation to get on with things I need to get on with. I just want to flop on the sofa, watching a DVD and yes maybe having another beer!

No news on the job yet which probably means I haven't got it ( and )

Getting festive silly