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.

Scary, isn't it MincePies? That horrid sick feeling in your gut when they get hurt....

Love it, BG!!

Oh well, good news and bad news about the job then, I guess....

IC job would be/would have been in Bristol, too

dd2 had no nap this morning and has now been asleep since 12 despite our builder drilling into concrete downstairs! She must have been tired because normally she would stir if I as much as walk along the landing...

Oh, bother - I wish you'd got it now, BG - from purely selfish motives of meeting up with you when we get back to the UK (probably) in the summer...!

IC happy to meet anyway . It's only a quick trip over the bridge, and I may well get a job in Bristol at some point because that's where the jobs are... We have considered moving but can't afford the kind of house I want!! (Large Georgian house just off Whiteladies Road would be fab... if I won the lottery )

BG IC interested in a house in Chepstow, it is halfway!
I know one I would like to sell . If I ever go back, we could meet there!

Yay, we made it out of the house! I dug a path to the main road (which was gritted to allow one car through at a time) and took DD1 to pre-school. Then later on I donned the backpack and DD2 and we all ventured out for lunch and to a friend's house to play. Feel so much better for it!

BG, sorry about the job. But maybe no news is good news? The person who needs to sign off the appointment may not have made it to work because of snow, so no decision may have been made yet (I'm very good at positive reframing - can you tell?!).

CC how are you? And bethylou are you feeling better? I can recommend a very good decongestant if you want. And how is your LO?

IC, I'm very jealous of the "mama". DD2 chatters away constantly now (no surprise there, as DD1 was such an early talker and hasn't shut up since!) but it is pretty much all "dadadada" in very conversational tones. I guess she knows that she needs to make more of an effort with DH than she does with me!

That's a MN Feb2010 Summer meet up on the cards then, BG!

Got some mates in the Chepstow area, mamaloco - pretty part of the world!

Well done for escaping the house, wcress! DD says "dadada..."too, but not as much as "mamamama..."
She also does some great mooing, lip-thrumming and tongue-clicking as well as the rest of her baby babble.

LBH, you okay? You've gone quiet....

I like your positive reframing, wcress, I shall come to you next time I'm feeling negative about something...

Well, we've had a lovely day with DD in a good mood and DH home (he doesn't work Fridays, but has to be in tomorrow) AND it's been a sunny day here, albeit a little chilly.

And DH has bought me some comfy pjs after I complained about being cold when I get up for DD in the night, yay - an early Christmas pressie...

Evening all, you've been busy!

DS slept through again so I guess our bad night was just a one off (shush away the MN jinx!)
He has said mama first and now starts saying dada but he is extremely chatty in his own language!

mincepies good news for your friend.

BG lovely pix, don't we say no news is good news in English (or German)?

No snow here today but some part of the island are very icy.

Those of you with your first, you can look forward to this.... dd1 had her first nativity play this week and I went through an entire pack of tissues because I blubbed so much. It was incredibly sweet and the nursery class were delightfully random. My own dd stood transfixed by suddenly being faced with a large audience, fiddled with her costume, poked her nose, hand in mouth, yawned twice, and didn't completely get the movements right. Absolutely beautiful!!! They performed with reception and year 1 and 2 and had written the Christmas story to go with Abba songs so Mama Mia became Mother Mary! I was a bit at first but it was pure genius.

watercress thanks for being positive. I still haven't heard and feel a bit cross because they said they would definitely get back to me before the weekend. Ah well... but you are right, it could be someone in HR having kittens about not all references having been received etc. I am in two minds anyway because the job is fab but it means putting dd2 into nursery for two days a week (and dh seems to think you can just magic up a place in a good nursery for January... yeah, right.]

IC Summer meeting it is! I can already see our two toddling about giggling at each other .
Completely different topic, can you use a mooncup with a coil? Or does it create 'suction'?

CC looked at your blog earlier and dd2 started chatting to the picture of Esme. I then showed her your video of Esme walking and she appeared to cheer her on!! Very sweet.

dd2 has now had her first proper bump to the head... dd1 at 3 1/2 is great for revealing EVERYTHING and told me that she had told Papa to be careful with the baby on the sofa. He didn't listen to her and the next thing I heard from upstairs was a big thud of forehead hitting floorboards... She seems fine but has a lovely bruise.

Those of you with older dcs, what do you do for privacy?? We have Victorian doors with pretty but useless locks and I am terrified of having to explain to dd1 that Mama and Papa are having a special cuddle . Been resorting to pushing a wash basket against the door to have some warning...

Well count me in for the south-west meet up. My sister lives just outside Chepstow so we are there quite often. What a small world it is.

Knee deep in snow here and quite enjoying it. Dd's school has been closed for 3 days and dp can't get to work so it feels a bit like xmas has come early. Particularly as we put our tree up yesterday. Ds loves it and now can't be left in the front room as he gets a bit carried away trying to pull baubles and tinsel off the tree .

Ds has been a bit tetchy this week. He has a cough and runny nose and is teething. Tooth number 9 is just cutting through. For a couple of days he ate even less than usual and just had milk from me. He kept nipping me while latching on so I was really sore and one day it reduced me to tears it was so bad. I am so ashamed that I told him off for doing it too. There always seems to be something to feel guilty about.

I have forgotten most of the replies I was going to make. BG I have ridiculous hair growth too. I remember after dd it took months and months to go away. I was tufty for ages!

Am very envious of all your stories of amorous encounters with your other halves. Breast feeding hormones seem to take away all my sex drive. Mind you it doesn't help that ds still wakes every 30-45 mins in the evening and dp still sleeps in the spare room so I can co-sleep with ds. I have just borrowed the No Cry Sleep Solution from the library in an attempt to sort it all out.

Anyway must go and put my domestic goddess hat on once again as I have promised to make Nigella's chocolate brownies for dd's xmas fair tomorrow. This is in addition to providing three different prizes, selling raffle tickets and making decorations. To think I actually thought life was going to get easier when dd went to school. Ha ha naive old me.....

Cross posts with BG. Just borrow my ds for a couple of nights. That will soon dampen down any amorous feelings as you will be too sleep deprived

wow chinook busy times for you. Hope things improve soon.

Me and DH haven't exactly been physically close except the odd thing here and there. DD is always at least in our room and DH goes to bed before me.

BG glad DD is providing free entertainment .

Things have been a bit better for us. Night before last was still every 90mins but she fed fine and resettled quickly, so actually felt refreshed the next day. Never thought that there would be a scenario where being woken so often could constitute a good night. Last night she took ages getting off, lots of crying and nothing soothing her. Once she got to sleep she did 2.5hr stretches though. Good news is apart from last night she still takes herself off to sleep in the evenings and has been having cot naps.

I can see another tooth but am hoping we have a couple of days to recover first. Especially since I need to work this weekend.

Today my hips are hurting because I put them in positions they had no intention of being in at the climbing wall yesterday. Got to do a john wayne impression without the benefits of sex

Sorry I have read everyones, but haven't replied

well that was a marathon catch up - sorry, won't be able to reply to all!

have been busy eves this week sorting out presentation for interview this morning? didn't get the job - the call went like this "we were absolutely blown away by your interview and presentation - you've got a massive amount of experience and expertise that we could use. Sorry, you haven't got the job, but would you join our management committee"? chortle, chortle? relieved really, cos it was only a pt job, and i need f/time to keep our family of four? ho hum. Sorry you haven't heard about yours BG that's pants, but wcress is v probably right!

It hasn't really stopped snowing here since last Friday. The sledge we got DD for her birthday has been much in use - it's been ace!

I've been walking to and from work mostly this week - 4 miles a day, so feeling quite fit now! Arrived home looking like a yeti on weds night though!

must go to bed, but hopefully will be more in touch this week as no jobs to apply for :( and no interviews to prepare for :(

DH out this eveing so I'm catching up on telly I haven't watched in weeks and having some guilt-free time on here!

I also can do a Bristol meet up (1 hour 20 from Leamington with heavy foot on the accelarator-used to do it every weekend before moving here to live with DH). Would have to be Summer hols or Thursday/Friday though as I will sadly be back at work.

On that front, I'm so worried about leaving DS2 with the minders after Christmas. They are fab, and have had DS1, but they are very much of the, "He's fine!" mentality and didn't notice DS1 had a temperature of 39 degrees at one point (although in fairness, he's a good patient).

I haven't left DS2 half as much as I had left DS1 at this point (cos, let's face it, who wants to look after a child who pukes non-stop and stops breathing in his sleep?!) so I think DS2 is going to really struggle with being left. Haven't really admitted till this week how nervous I am about leaving him. I think it's the breathing thing that worries me and the fact that the minders want him to sleep upright in the buggy (unmonitored) rather than in the cot (with the mattress monitor).

I'm meeting them this week with DH but I'm worried I'm going to dissolve in tears as it's really stressing me out and they will just look at me a bit . I'm very lucky that they have agreed to have him at all really as I know many minders/nurseries wouldn't touch him with a barge pole.

Anyone give me an idea whether I sound unreasonably stressed? The lovely chiropractor I see knows all about it and asked me today why I was stressed about DS2, which made me wonder if I'm just making mountains out of molehills. Sure DH will tell me it will all be fine! I have to say that this week's constant DS2 vomiting/only holding down about 40ml of water yesterday while I was ill too probably hasn't helped.

Anyway, sorry for me, me, me. Thinking of changing my name to 'red, red whine' .

BG we still have a stairgate across DS1's room as he is only 2.8. Mind you, 'special cuddles' are still quite few and far between, mainly due to aforementioned stress on my part I think. DH trying his best to bring me round . Second Watercress on the wait and see about the job front, due to the weather.

Chinook sounds like you are a supermum! I am now the vice-secretary of the village show if that's any comparison - very Vicar of Dibley (and two of the small committee are so old they could be dead before we even get to next year's show)

CC glad you are feeling a bit better.

Let's hope DD decides to carry on the bigger sleep portions for you.

Oh bugger, had planned to write a long post but as usual dogs, laundry, sorting out summer/winter clothes, lighting a fire all got in the way!

I am going to attempt to post a video of my DD on Youtube... Can you tell me if works?

Count me in on the Southwest meet up as DP and I have been talking about moving to the Bristol area for a while, so any excuse to go there... and my sis is at the uni there so DD and I have somewhere to stay!

Oh Chinook I know what you mean about getting the co-sleeping thing sorted out. DP was home for a few days over the weekend and DD was in our bed a lot and he told me in no uncertain terms that we need to get her out of our bed in the New Year! He's gone now until Xmas and tbh DD keeps me company in bed. These last few mornings it's been so toasty in bed, we've managed to sleep til 8! And she doesn't snore!

Oh BG how cute... I can't wait for DD's first nativity play. It makes me cry just thinking about it.

CC my DD is also teething but I can't see any teeth coming through. She has two bottom teeth and has done for a couple of months, no sign of any more. Teething is awful and endless! She has also taken to biting me and laughing which is a bit annoying and PAINFUL!

Anyway, please let me know if the video works because I seem to be so incompetent at sharing pictures, and I love seeing all your LOs!!! [fbear]

beth yes, but I'd want to have the whole house! (mental note to buy a few lottery tickets.... )
I also feel more reluctant with dd2 than I was with dd1 to put her into nursery (I had to go back to work after dd1 to avoid paying back maternity pay). She also seems much more attached to me than dd1 was. dd1 was Papa's girl from quite young whereas dd2 is more focused on me. On the few occasions recently when dh has been in charge dd2 apparently kept asking for Mama the entire time! watercress unlike you I am trying to train my two to shout for Papa for a change .
stoof that's so annoying on the job (even if you didn't want the pt one). I am sick and tired of being told either I am overqualified or have not enough experience... Whatever happened to transferable skills?? (trying to change direction slightly but that's just not allowed apparently). Anyway.... (trailing off, contemplating changing my name to RedRedWhine before beth gets there first...)

Sorry Stoof cross-posted... sorry about the job but sounds like you left a very good impression...

Oh and Bethylou of course you're stressed... I would be too! It sounds scary and I can't imagine leaving my DD with anyone if she stopped breathing. You are certainly NOT unreasonably stressed just a very good concerned mum! Can you not persuade the minders to use the mattress monitor? Or is that just not practical?

Sounds like Bristol is a winner!

Abs cross post... sorry, can't get your video to work...

Oh no! HELP... what am I doing wrong??? Does work?

... I managed to reduce my little darling to tears twice today within about 10 minutes because I put something in the dishwasher. Both times she came crawling over very quickly, doing very excited baby talk and wanting to help me by standing at the open door and passing me the cutlery one by one to put away like this. Nasty mummy shut the door each time . The concept of 'it's not done yet' is a bit much to understand for a 10 mths old... I'll have to only load it when she's not watching I think.

Abs She is good!!!!!!!

Oh hooray! Thanks BG
That is adorable.. I hope my DD wants to help me load the dishwasher!

Both the vid and pic are great

Wow, loads of posts.

Bethy You are not being over paranoid at all. What are their reasons for not letting him nap lying down with the monitor? Just try and sound rational and prepare what you are going to say to them to back up your point of view so you don't get flustered. Good luck with the meeting.

Stoof Sorry about the job. Did you accept their offer of sitting on the management committee? Would that pay anything?

AbsB Great video! She's just adorable.

BG Bless her. She's so cute.

Not sure if we could make a SW meet up but DS's last remaining Great, Great Aunt lives in Somerset so if we could combine it with a visit to Aunt Janet (we took him to see her in the summer, she lives in Wooton Courtenay) then it's a possibility.

After 4 really good nights DS decided to wake up at 5.15 this morning. I let him grimble until 6 but he really was not going to go back to sleep. DH didn't get to bed until 4.15 because he was doing an overnight review. Can't say my parenting has been brilliant this morning. I put cartoons on and stuck DS in his playpen while I had coffee and cake.