March 2010. A lesson for much of life: Shut the door. Find the corkscrew.

[Arcadie]

Happy Christmas MMMs. This is my gift to you!

Who on earth is Bruno Mars?

Marking my spot before I lose you all

just checking in, should really be doing accounts/tax stuff but I continue to faff about in a very unproductive manner.
IWCAS so sorry to hear of your childcare issues. What a nightmare it has been for you. I really hope you get something nice sorted out and soon and big cheers for your lovely NCT pals helping out in the eleventh hour.
And big pom pom cheers for pixies DD2 getting home and I hope that she settles soon. How horrible for her to be a teenager and be scared of dying . Most teenagers think they are invincible.
Nice to see you back blessed your MIL sounds like a fruitcake. Mine was acting very strangely on Saturday when she was babysitting for us and instead of staying over as arranged drove back home at 1.30am (about an hour away!)Bonkers. Oh and when I told her about Operation GROMT she said don't get too carried away DH has never liked skinny women!!!!
Right I could waffle on for hours but I must do something constructive wanders off to harvest some farmville crops like a sad games addict

Blessed @ MIL. I think the best thing is to ignore her

IWCAS how's the childcare going? Hope you'll find someone really nice who will take good care of your little one!

Siamese How was C. first full day at nursery? Hope the sleep stills going well. Any news about your sister?

Pixie sorry about the eczema...

RKD I was very impressed with the invitation. I told DH I'll keep a copy, so we'll do it properly in a few years time :)

Sarah and Fliss glad the parties were a success.

PD Hope you'll have a good week, a bit less stressful than the last one

Flip Hope you are ok and that all went well in Ireland

BMI how is the sleep training going?

Waves to everyone
x

Evitas awwww shucks. Thanks!

Pixie Thanks so much for your positive comments. I ended up sounding a bit defensive I guess which I didn't mean to, I really did want the opinions of the naysayers as well so that i can avoid making a tit of myself with all the (very established) school mums. Honestly I think there are only 3 of us in DS1's class who haven't got OLDER children....[newby emoticon]

[bbear]

that little guy is TOO CUTE!

Lost you all. Back in a bit x

Oh, I was going to do a clever several-windowns-open-at-once-thing, but who am I kidding?? RL's too busy for a decent virtual life - , my, that makes this sound well dodgy, and I don't think it is; it's fab, but you know what I mean. I hope. So no offense intended...

From memory and in no particular order:

IWCAS, how did it all work out re childcare for R? Nothing more stressful for being in the lurch. Hope all is sorted. One of these days I can bore tell you all about how I came to have the wonderful CM I have had for the last 7+ years.

Blessed, glad you had an interesting trip and are back in one piece . Your MIL sounds like everything I will stride NOT to be when the time comes .

Was afribaby not around for a millisecond?

Arcadie, sorry, I did not post on your party-invitation-thread as our invitation are something like this: "Please come to DS's birthday party on the .... at..... from.... to ..... RSVP" . But hey, I live in the uncivilised North, so etiquette may not be quite the same .
BTW, I am currently in the throws of planning at least 2, maybe 3 parties for March and DS2's idea what he would like to do for his birthday was to invite some of his friends to our house so 'they could bring presents and watch him play Skate3 on the PS3' . Quite the social butterfly, my little darling...
sarah, well done to your biiiiiig party, I am well impressed you are mad.

BMI, siamese, sariska (was it?), how is it going on the sleep front? Any magic potions found (and I don't mean a wee dram in the bedtime bottle )?
Joe slept through one entire night recently which of course ment that from about 4am I was tossing and turning waiting for him, gah! He quickly reverted to 'normal' again, even more gah!! Although I have not fed him in the middle of the night now for at least 2 weeks or so.
We went back to the sleep clinic on Monday, no new advice, but he lost his balance and bashed his forehead against a chair - second steristrip to bleeding headwound in 1 month . A helmet sounds like an ever better idea...

Pixie, how is DD2 settling in? Poor thing, life is hard when you are a teenager even without being ill. I hope she remains stable and gets used to being at home again. Is she good at sharing what she feels or is she more of a monosyllabic youngster? And how are you? MS/cravings settled, bump appearing ??
Oh, and re Bruno Mars, thank you for the link, it was an education, although he is not my cup of tea. DS1 informs me that the Hives are 'the best band ever' - he'll be 8 soon .

Flisspaps, when you are done with your garden, could you please sort mine? Pretty please? I have all sorts of ambitions, but am probably deluded, the day only has 24 hours, the garden is tiny and DH has 2 left thumbs and is far too fond of powertools

Smac, I feel you pain re tax - I just hate this time of year. But I am now done, know what I owe (lots!) and as every year have sworn to do my next tax return on the 6th of April...

Other than that, not much new here. No firm skiing plans yet, seems to be difficult to get anywhere high up for 1st week in April leaving from Scotland.
We are considering flying to Germany for 4 days for the boys' halfterm but the flight leaves at 6.45. AM. Hmm. My mother does not understand why that puts me off a bit, for 3 overnights and then a slightly less early return flight. Not sure yet what to do. OTOH, I have not seen my father for 6 months, he is 77 and was quite ill last year (even if he doesn't see it like that) and this would be an opportunity for all of us to go.
Put boys to bed with joggers on, wake them at 5am, toilet-stop, then straight into car, at airport for 6, no check-in luggage, straight through security and collapse in seats??

Joe-joe seems to prefer sleeping on his front btw, and also now stands at the end of cot when he wants to get up - happy after a good sleep and crying if he only accidently woke up far too early. 'Tis cute though .

Have a nice evening all .

X-post,, IWACS, glad to hear thing are looking up .

He who must be obeyed is yelling...

Enjoy farmville smac! Sounds addictive.

IWCAS am delighted DS is happy now. Looking forward to hearing how P gets on with the reality of a full day minding him (and the joys of course, but maybe he won't be asking you why you don't work while he sleeps anymore!).

PD hope the sleep improves soon. I know DD is nowhere near as high maintenance on the sleep front, but she was pretty bad, and now all of a sudden does sleep through until 6 sometimes.

blessed welcome back. Your MIL sounds like a right laugh...not. What's her problem?

OMG I feel Great DD slept though again last night, this time till 7am exactly! I feel like Ive been given the best present ever :) Since friday, she has slept though every night except one. Having never slept though before. I positively encourage anyone just waiting to see if itll ever happen to their DC, to try a bit of sleep training - DD responded really well, it only took one week of pu/pd and surprisingly few tears (none from her) :) Of course she will now revert back to her night waking self as Ive written it down!

Evitas DD's first full day at nursery went well, Im told. She slept twice and ate everything! And moaned a bit. But she does have to have someone close by if she's playing. When we went to a toddler group yesterday I saw this too, she didnt get off my knee for 20 mins, like shes sizing the situation up..

fliss did DD get more teeth?

For those of you who havent seen the Brum meet up thread, we are all go for Sat 2 April, and IWCAS has promised sunshine and picnics, near a fountain near the sealife centre. Now tell me you dont fancy coming, it sounds idyllic! Older DC coming too..

Dsis - still pg, and looking like she wont get her home birth if this continues. Pixie she isnt on MN, thankfully, seems to think that MN is very negative and that the vipers make you defend every parenting descision - I think she saw a FF/BF and SAHM/WOHM debate.. I personally dont know what I would have done without MN and in particular you guys thoughout pg and now. Really good honest advice, and nice funny ladies :)

Goota go make breakfast - but hello to everyone else, and esp to Flip if youre out there?

ooooh siamese I'm very jealous!!!
My DD1 is exactly the same, always sizes up the situation before diving in. She is very wary of new people then after 5 minutes she warms up and is then best friends.
DD2 on the other hand, apart from one bad Monday at Welsh class when it seemed like separation anxiety had really kicked in, will go to anyone and if plonked down on the floor at toddler group just starts to find toys and put things in her mouth.
I'm thinking about the logistics of the MMM Brum edition........
Must get on with accounts
Yes where is flip - she was on FB the other day but haven't seen her on MN for a while. Hope all is good.
IWCAS glad R enjoyed his day without the nasty CM. I think P having him for a whole day will be eye opening for him (but in a good way! !

Hello ladies [waves frantically]

Siamese have been following news of your DD's sleep on Facebook and am delighted for you!! Hurrah! My DS started mostly sleeping through at about 8 months, and despite the odd blip when we've been travelling, it's been great. Good to hear that the nursery settling is going well - when are you back to work? Sorry to hear your sis is being a pain...though she does have my sympathy (memories of giving up my own longed for homebirth are still fresh!)...but she is in for a big shock! I also have friends who are very anti-MN, which annoys me as they judge the whole site all on the most controversial AIBU threads

Smac I love the pics of your gorgeous girls on FB . Hope you got some haggis too - we had an early Burns supper on Sunday (my American DH had never had haggis) and DS loved it . I'm also in the throws of becoming a nappy agent for Nappy Ever After, an established laundry/shop in London, so lots of nappies and nappuccinos and accounts stuff on my mind at the moment too...

Pixie yay that DD2 is home! Sorry that she's struggling a little - who wouldn't? - but sounds like you're doing your best to help her settle. Hope the oxygen at night is going well, that the ezcema (sp?) clears up and that you're getting to the blooming stage

IWCAS I was so to hear of your CM woes - what a terrible situation. And I was beyond at her aspergers comment - does she no knowing about babies/toddlers? TBH, better that you found her out sooner rather than later and sounds like things are looking up childcare wise. Which is A Good Thing. Exciting about DS being so close to walking!

PD skiing plans sound exciting - hope you get something sorted soon.

Arcadie I read your invite thread - fascinating stuff! Your DS1 sounds like he knows how to think up fun ideas . Birthdays are a total arms race in London (my insights come from my sister and two nieces). Even with the first birthdays looming my friends are hiring rooms in pubs and buying in food and the like...which makes me even more determined to have a little bash at home with home made cake and the like!

Donttry waves - glad to hear that DD is sleeping a bit better, though agree that naps and sleeping times can be a pain in the arse. My big achievement recently is getting DS's bedtime back to about 8.30 (it had settled at about 9.30 getting over the jet lag and I missed my evenings with DH!). How's brighton/hove these days? It's two years since we moved back to London after our Brighton experiment...and I can still remember the wind and rain on the dark mornings walking to the station!

Evitas am v happy to hear that DS is settling well with CM - what a relief for you. And exciting about the baby plans at some point in the not-too-distant future...though hope you didn't have too bad of a stomach bug.

Sorry for lack of other shout outs. I'm lurky mclurkster these days. I am following things but am (purposefully) busy in RL at the moment so MN and FB are suffering.

We had our IVF appointment on 10 Jan and were told we had to give up breastfeeding...which made me quite and a bit (brought up a lot of anger/grief I thought I had gotten over that we can't just conceive naturally). But DS is down to about 1-2 feeds a day and eats like a horse, so reckon now isn't a terrible time to wean off the boob. But other than that things are looking grand, though do have to have some hormone tests soon which will confirm whether things will be the exact same as last time. So we'll hopefully start in Feb...but my MN and internetting in general will drop a lot, as it's the only way I can protect myself from my Dr Google (wherein madness lies...)

Thanks to those who asked about my mum - she's recovering fine, though still in a lot of pain (the wrist fracture in particular). I'm going to go back on the 1st Feb for another week. She's in good form and we all enjoyed the visit and I'm looking forward to going back.

DS is still not crawling but is also on the edge of walking. He can actually make it around the flat pretty well going from furniture, along walls, around doors etc. It's so funny to watch him motor around. Though am a little in denial about how I'll have to get eyes in the back of my head once he does get on the move!

Bye for now!

Er, IWCAS that was supposed to say "know nothing" rather than "no knowing"

Welcome back flip. Hove is great these days ta. Lots of other mothers (and the odd dad) around). Good luck with the ivf. Very exciting though I can imagine how it throws up lots of emotions. V exciting re nappy agent. You doing that as well as going back to work?

I got my career break approved. Decided to go for just one year at the mo (until next May) in case I need to go back. They are under no obligation to take me back until the end of the careerbreak, so I though it was safer to just apply for an extension of another year when it ends). Of course I hope to never go back and find something else (that pays) to do.

Talking about hiring rooms for 1st birthday parties....me and the NCT girls are doing this!! I know it seems excessive bit is £15 an hour for a room in a hall between us all and we can have a little reunion with the dads, with messy activities for the babies and messy drinking for the adults!! Wouldn't hire a hall just for DD though at this age. Think it would be ott and overwhelming for her - this way it's just like a little playgroup.

Oh no Pixie so sorry to hear DD is back in the hospital hope the tests at GOSH are ok,

How do u do it all and still sound so chirpy?

Donttry- wow at the career break, hope u find something that fit around lo's make life much easier!

had the dreaded 8-12month check with HV- Elliott is perfect for development, height and weight! (75th centile for both) he weighed in at 22lb 3oz and was 75 cm tall! .... of course i knew he was perfect anyway! lol

Fliss- very exciting news about your ivf- sorry to hear its bough up alot of emotional stuff for you though, hope all goes well and Richard get a much wanted sibling in the very near future:)

not much else to add, except cant wait for the meet up in april,. so whos coming then?

Yes, Pixie, that's rubbish news for you and DD2. I do hope she has an easier time of it very soon.

Good news on the HV assessment of E, sarah. My DD is suddenly almost 18lbs, which puts her almost on the 25th centile, when, previously, she was on the 9th. (My weighing, though, so could be inaccurate.)

Oh, I am planning to come to B'ham on the 2nd. Looking forward to it .

The big news here today is that....drumroll.....DD settled for sleep this evening In. Her. Cot. To be sure I had fed and rocked her to a sleepy state and then sat next to her, silent but patting her intermittently. She lay down on her tummy, wriggled a little, chatted quietly to herself and then went to sleep. I was genuinely . (Pleased too, of course.) She has never done that before.

Good news on your career break, donttry. Will you still be doing your KiT days? I am hanging onto the thought that I will resign once I have been back 3 or 4 months (3 months notice period). I know it sounds terribly calculating but I really don't want to have to pay back my contractual mat pay, which I would if I didn't go back at all, and, anyway, I figure they will get several months solid work out of me anyway. Assuming I get a bit of sleep, that is. I seem to be averaging 4 hours a night ATM, which is rubbish.

Flip, I understand what you mean about Dr Google. I'm pretty bad at that myself for one thing and another. Anyway, I shall keep everything crossed that no. 2 is on the way very soon for you.

Evening all :)

Pacific I am never going near a garden again after doing mine, what you need is a chainsaw and several tonnes of concrete. Jobs a good?un.

Perhaps I should be giving the same advice to Blessed with the story of the MIL?

Siamese DD now has 6 stumps teeth. Three at the bottom, and then three at the top. But the top three have a gap between them as she is still missing one of the very front two. They?ve made a huge difference to her ability to eat though (or so it seems) Hadn?t seen the MMM thread in the last few days but I Will Be There

IWCAS How is R getting on with P?

Flip :( at having to stop BF, but fingers crossed that you?ll be doing it all over again soon enough! Glad your mum is on the mend.

donttry How fantastic that your break has been approved! Bet you?re over the moon.

Pixie :( at DD being back in hospital, hope that she?s back home with you all again soon. How?s she doing?

Sarah It?s not me with the IVF, it?s Flip Brilliant news about Elliott?s HV check, of course he?s perfect ? he?s a March 2010 baby!

News update chez FP - DD has taken to spending her days waddling up and down the living room . Up and down. Up and down. All day long. With scheduled breaks to play with the surround sound buttons but only when I am feeding our mindee, so that I can?t stop her turning the music off. And on. And off. And on. And off.

We bought a flashing toy duck the other day to go in her collection of bath toys but she is absolutely petrified of it. Won't go near it. I?d taken to putting it in the hall to stop her going out there (it worked, which meant no more bumped heads on the tile/concrete hall floor, I'm not just mean and horrible) however the last three nights she has been waking up screaming in her cot at about 9pm. We couldn?t work out what had suddenly gone wrong until I went up tonight and realised she was in fact still asleep. We think that Devil Duck as he is now known has been appearing in her dreams and causing nightmares, poor bugger.

He is now Dustbin Duck.

To make it worse, we went out for a walk today.

To see the ducks.

Will she need therapy? Or will she just be a little bit quackers?

Forgot to add, I have sent some FB friend requests out, so if you have some random woman asking to be your mate, it's probably me - initials LD!

Although I have managed to send one to one of Arcadie's friends who appears to be nothing to do with March 2010

Fliss lol at DD and the ducks. Poor little mite! Is she walking without holding on? Wow!!! DD did a few steps a few weeks ago but nada since.

pixie you sound so accepting about your DD, i hope she is ok. She sounds like a strong 'un anyway.

siamese and sariska delighted your DDs sleeping has improved. My DD's has too, altough last night she came into the bed at half three and then partied for an hour at 6 before passing on with her head on my leg ( I had passed out before this myself). Siamese DD is often like that at groups too, I'm glad she sometimes susses out the scene first , think it's a really good trait. I want her to be her own person and not be a people pleaser iykwim.

I don't really know what I want to do for money - was considering maybe some legal proofreading or maybe to go ahead with my top secret baby invention...I dream of having a guesthouse somewhere scenic, but might need to win the lotto first. Note to self: do the lotto.

Still doing my KIT days sariska as need the cashola so hope to see y'all up in the smoke.

By the way pixie there's some great rap out there, honest (!), some really intelligent stuff, but the airwaves are taken over with swaggering idiots.

passing out on my leg, not on

From the one who wants to be a proofreader lol.