FEB 2010 First birthdays beckon and toddlerdom approacheth...uh-oh!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

It's humbling to look back at the last year and see how our LO's have gone from helpless newborns to action-packed pre-toddlers.

BRING IT ON!!!

mamaloco I do share what I can with her it's just that what I eat is soo unhealthy. Yesterday's lunch (for me) was half a jar of nutella and a bag of crisps. Today was better, I had bought an M&S prawn and pasta mayonnaise salad and we shared the pasta bits on the bus. She doesn't normally like my pasta but she liked this. We only cook a couple of times a week at night because neither DP nor myself enjoys nor is any good at cooking. Last night we had pizza, the night before fish fingers and baked beans. When we do cook, I do keep some for her for the next day. So once a week or so she might have bolognese sauce. This is now a problem as she will only eat with her fingers - and bolognese sauce via fingers is very messy. I slipped in some dropped sauce in the kitchen a couple of days ago and executed an almost perfect split - whilst holding DD in one arm.

Blimey, be careful Stangirl with all that elastin milling around inside you!
Yes, I read your contributions to the "chores" thread. I think it's fair to say you're not the home-maker type, eh?!

IC I've just wikied (is that a word?) "elastin" and looked at the ingredients on the side of my nutella jar and am a little confused. Is elastin an ingredient in the various crapola I shovel into my body? What awfulness is it doing? It can't be as bad as the over 25 years of smoking that I did though (no more however).

You are spot on about me not being a "home-maker" - though I prefer to spin it that I am here to make everyone else feel a bit better about themselves.

Elastin something to do with pregnancy and being more bendy...?

DD is screaming upstairs as I type. I've reached another of those "had enough" moments. I've been so calm with her all day. She didn't nap this morning; calm. She didn't nap in the car after swimming; calm. She didn't nap when we got home from swimming; calm. In the end got her out of her cot, gave her a wander round the living room and something to eat. She rubbed her eyes and yawned for all she was worth. That was half an hour ago. So I put her down; she has screamed ever since. I've been going in, lying her down again, gave her calpol (two more teeth coming through), shusing her, stroking her head, rocking her, all very calm. But she's hit that button again and I've stomped downstairs in a huff and turned the monitor to its quietest setting. I wish I could turn it off. I'm such a bad mother.

Hey stangirl I reckon fish fingers and baked beans are pretty nutritious. Well if you get reduced salt bb anyway.

Ah, yes, I see now - the splits thing! I managed to break the ligaments in my foot last pregnancy because of the looseness of everything. Apart from the paper cut on my eyeball it was my fav pregnancy injury.

Scones unfortunately DP won't countenance low fat/low sugar/low salt anything. I have started a campaign for low salt bbs in the house though - so we can share them with DD.

LOL Stangirl!

Scones is right - your body makes extra elastin (it's a hormone) during pregnancy so the bits of you required to let the baby exit will be more stretchy. It can also make it a bit easy to pull muscles and strain joints because you're not being held together as tightly as usual....

Nutella...mmm...

Of course, the fun part about pregnancy is you can blame the eccentricities of your diet on cravings

You're NOT a bad mum, Scones. Overtired babies are a bliddy nightmare to deal with. I hope she's crashed out now so you can get some peace.

Oops, just X-posted with you....

...paper cut on the eyeball

I think we should be told!!

IC well i became very clumsy, uncoordinated/slow to react last pregnancy - something which I understand is indeed to do with being more loose with the extra elastin. One day on the bus on the way into work I was reading a broadsheet newspaper and when I turned the page the paper bent over and swiped through the gap in my eyelids cutting my eyeball. It hurt a bit and watered a lot. I went to a&e and they put some dye in it to look at the cut and then sent me off with some anti-septic cream to drop in my eye for a few days. Felt quite a plonker. All better now.

Stan a friend did cut her eyeball with a leaf (you know from a tree). She was in a lot of pain.

For my emergency "I dont want to cook" I have tin sardines/maquerel and tuna, sweet corn, french beans, and different pulses, couscous, ham, eggs, and some frozen veg. like spinash and peas, frozen plain rice and always a cucumber, carrot, pepper,.. that can be eaten raw, plus bread so I can make sandwiches.

DD1 favorites is sweet corn/ maquerel plus an healthy chunk of cucumber (all served cold). Then yogurt and fruit. DD2 tried last time and loved it, she is chewing pretty well though. A bit messy (I stop giving her couscous because of that) but all can be eaten with fingers. Could you try something like that?
I wash the tin veg/pulses 3 times (a lab thing don't ask) with cold tap water it gets rid of most of the salt.
Instead of bake beans can you buy beans and the sauce separately?
Also fish finger are fine if you get rid of the crumbs/batter, just give you DD the inside.

It is normal for them to stop eating puree sooner or later and refusing you to feed them.
For DD1 I had a short curved spoon and fork from boots which was great for her to feed herself. Not sure if they are doing it anymore.

Also can you distract her, DD2 HAS to have something in her hand to eat by herself (bread, carrot, apple, lentils, pasta...). I can still spoonfed the soup in between bites.

exhausted of to bed, good night all.

Stan half a jar of nutella and a bag of crisps.... my dd1 would think you are the best mummy in the world!!!!

Just came back from a training day and found the house very very quiet! So quiet that I got very spooked and raced downstairs to see if everyone was still alive! Appears (on first appearance at least - no chance yet to ask dh) that everyting has gone well and dh has enjoyed being in charge for the day . Mental note to not underestimate him...

PA don't go! Really didn't mean to be nasty in any way

Scones don't be too hard on yourself. On several occasions I have put one of mine into their cot to be save and have walked out for a few minutes to take a few deep breaths... Must be better than shouting at them when the day has been particularly hard! Hope that calpol has kicked in and she has calmed down now.

x post with mamaloco... my dd2 also has to have something in her hand (anything will do, spoon, rice cake, bread, toy, her slipper that she's pulled off...) and I can then usually sneak in the odd spoonful. I also use a lot of frozen veg and just chuck it in with pasta, quinoa, red lentils or cuscous, add a few herbs and some cheese and then call it lunch

ah, my last post should have read 'raced upstairs'... (secret longing for a three storey house there with the kitchen downstairs maybe ?)

something like that but with more curve spoon

forgot to say scone you are not a bad mum. They have to learn that we have limits too. Now they are reaching an age when they can certainly start manipulating us and always want more. It is time to start saying "NO" (ab nauseum)

BG I have done that too, live them in the cot (safe) and walk away (usually with my hand on my ear).

BG I thought you lived in an upside down house.

Scone I have done it too, whne you need to count to ten or you going to explose!!! You're not a bad mum, you are human who needed a break (and as my DH says 'she is human too, only smaller' ). Seriously, I agree with mama she needs to learn that there's limits (easier say than done I know)

PA stay with us

I also use the trick of giving DS a rice cake to munch on while I spoon feed him. Nursery say that today he managed to spoon feed himself a bit (his key worker was so proud of him!)

IC thanks for the beetroot recipe, I found one on organix that I'll try (it's a mash of beetroot, parsnips and carrots)

I keep in the freezer stuff like mini pita as they are great to stuff with tinned tuna, chicken burger...

Forgot to say, my little werewolf went back in its box! New visit will probably be 18th Feb

DD has been an angel at CM and didnt cry when I arrived to pick her up. Instead came crawling extra fast with a big smile and let me cuddle her for a whole minute. I loved it. She slept till 6.15am this morning according to DP and tonight she has gone down awake and fell asleep with no settling!

Things have gone so well, I am agreeing to let DP take me out for the 1st time in a year for a meal on our own tomorrow night.

Scone If it makes you feel better I went for a drive and a cry in my car at 2am I left DD with DP when it all got too much for me. When I came home they were both fast asleep. I have also turned the monitor down and had a cry so many times.

PA I know you are there..big hug. We all get sensitive over something. It normal. Come back soon.

I am having an up week and managing without meds. Hoping this is not short lived. 3 days with DD and no work till Tues, really looking forward to it.

LBH well done you Have a great night with your DP tomorrow

Well I think we are finally on the mend properly (touch wood).

Thanks for the good wishes, and for letting me moan.

It seems that it wasn't food poisioning but a virus as my poor mum who was helping me has come down with it now. DH has just gone off on a mercy mission with the remainder of my pills for her.

Stan Ow ow ow - papercut on eye sounds nasty.

Just before I got ill I bought some filo pastry and made a filling with frozen spinach, ricotta, onions and a bit of nutmeg and lemon juice and then rolled them up like little spring rolls so DS could hold them himself and munch them (he likes spinach, so I thought it would be a hit). All over the floor, until I opened them out and fed him the filling on a spoon. You just can't tell what they're going to like.

You know Arancini? The deep fried risotto rice balls - I imagine that they would be really good finger food. I think when I am a bit better I'm going to make a bit too much risotto and try and make him some with the leftovers.

Well done on the walking, Bethylou 's DS2!

DS stood for around three seconds unaided this afternoon!

Scones Sorry your friend was feeling so bad. I guess it is better that she was honest and cancelled than tried to put a brave face on.

It is so good to be back and catch up with what you've all been up to.

Oh ok, I have a WWYD thing to ask. My NCT group didn't really gel with each other and there was a faction of blondes who all seemed to be clones of each other who really bonded and I wasn't one of them. I arranged a lunch when the babies were about 3 or 4 months and it was obvious that the blondes all saw each other loads. One of the other women (also has blonde hair but not a 'blonde') is really nice and we kept in touch and have met up a couple of times.

So one of the blondes just emailed about having a one year meet up. She said "Me, X and Y were saying" so they are obviously still thick as thieves.

The girl I like has replied and said yes.

I dunno. I just think after one year, the only reason they'll want to see me is curiosity. If they liked me and wanted to stay in touch, I've been up the road for the past year. I know I have nothing in common with them (not being one to get excited about the Sex and the City movie or think that having a cake is some sort of dangerous act) but maybe I am curious too...

Should I reply or not, and if I do should I say yes or no?

Also, Scones you are not a bad mum at all. When they don't sleep and scream and scream it is pure hell.

I've been so lucky on the whole to have a happy (if wakeful) baby that this week has really bought it home to me how hard parenting can be. I couldn't handle it at all. When DS was screaming for hours and never smiling I had some very negative thoughts. Yesterday when I finally got my appetite back and NEEDED food I left him in his cot for over half an hour, screaming his head off while I cooked and ate my lunch (DH was out unfortunately). It was naptime but he just wasn't having it. I'd fed him and cuddled him and I had nothing left and I just needed to eat.

Bearc in that situ I would politely say no. I have come to the conclusion that as an adult you don't have to do things you don't want or are not happy with. If they dont make you feel welcome then they are not worth bothering with. Some people you gel with some you don't.
See someone whose company you enjoy. They wont mind.

They sound like a schoolgirl clique.

:)

bear glad you are better. Agree with LBH, don't bother going... They sound awful.

BC I am a why not kind of girl I would go, and leave early if really unplaisant, if it does not require too much effort on my part (like trekking in the snow...)

mamaloco you are right... I am just a bit cynical sometimes

BC I'm with mamaloco and would go. It's only a few hours and as well as seeing how the babies are doing and chatting to people at the same developmental stage, I'd be curious to see the comparison with my LO.