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!!!

Hoorah, DH is back! And full of renewed childcare vigour (and not just childcare vigour )

Plus he just managed to settle DD to sleep on his own after she started protesting a few mins after I'd put her down. Great for his confidence. Also heartening in general because those feed-back-to-sleep nights are now numbered....

IC and ... I won't see dh for two weeks... sob

CS Yes, will post times on the group. I usually go on a Friday at midday if that's any good to you. Glad she is fine after the jabs.

IC The gadget looks good and I hope it works for Rosie.

Stangirl What gigs are you going to? Am very impressed that you were out clubbing until 3 just before giving birth. I

DH has come good and secured us freebies to Sonar Kids and Camp Bestival so we will be doing festivals this year. Anyone else going to either of these? Really looking forward to Barcelona, will probably stay for a week.

BG Have you tested?

Another six poos today. No joke. He's turning into a turd factory.

bear don't think the MN jinx could touch me... not with my history of PCOS and multiple mc etc . Think it's just PMT but oddly similar to pg

turd factory!! I love your turn of phrase, Bc!

Barcelona, ooh - so near, yet so far.... Fabulous city.
No plans for either of the festivals you mention, although we'll probably get along to WOMAD, pregnancy and toddler allowing...

Sorry to rush in and out but DS1 is sick and I raise BC 6 poos to three bouts of the most disgusting daihorrea I have ever seen (and working with small children, I have experienced a few!!) For fear of turning pregnant tummies, I will say no more... but please think of us. DS was up from 11-12.30a.m and then DS2 took on the baton from 2:30a.m. till 4:30a.m. so a rather crap night. We all went to bed for the two hour nap today! Off to bed now, once I've posted a question about dummies, which is why I'm on here tonight.
Love to all and will return when the vomit and runs dry up!!

That's DH's department

Just wanted to mention a few things quickly

IC for months DD's crying outlasted her nap time as it tended to be at least 30 mins settling for 30 min naps.

BC She is still clingy to start with and if she's tired and see's me, then DH will just not do. It's only situations that last a bit more than 2 mins, that she then abandons me (like stangirl a part of me gets sad even though I know it's a good thing).

In pregnancy I never got excited about the heartbeat I used to pretend to act all excited about it as DH and the MW expected me to.

Dummies, we still use one, but she tends to chuck it out when she's close to sleep and often refuses it as she knows it means sleep is imminent. She only has it when she's tired and we've learnt to hide it away when we gets up so we're hoping we'll be OK. If I was a SAHM I'd prob wean her off it, as I don't think it would be traumatic, but DH is scared to and I don't want to override him (as hard as it is sometimes, pick your battles and all that)

well for a quick few points, that's quite an essay.

oh DD has yet another new tooth so that's 3 in just over a week.

plus (really is last thing) I've been out two Fridays in a row

night all, am back in the states and shattered

Aw, bethy, that's tough. I hope everyone feels better today.

Glad you got back okay, PA!

Interesting about the naps. I guess with the pram-pushing, we've got used to DD doing (usually) a good hour per nap and although it doesn't have a terrible effect if she does less, that's usually because we do our best to make sure she has more at the next nap or the next day. Fending off over-tiredness and all that.
Also, a lot of people say once they're walking, LOs tend to nap longer because it tires them out more. We shall see!!

Well, it's 04.30 and I'm up. Pregnancy insomnia, I guess - and I've got a bit of a tummy upset (just a little squitty, nothing too dramatic though... TMI, sorry )

Ironically, DD is STILL asleep, having not stirred since DH got her off shortly after 19.30. I think it's a new record.

I think I'm starting to feel sleepy again, so will go back to bed.

See you later

Well done on getting nback to the US of A. Did you enjoy your stay in the UK?

We're also having some poosplosions - I never mind as it gives DD2 a break from constipation! It's definitely down to teething, thugh we do have to persuade the nursery tomorrow of this fact, otherwise they call and ask to collect your child in case it's a tummy bug (my boss would be delighted if that happened on my first day back!).

DD2 has discovered the delights of putting things back in boxes and can now post letters into her wooden letterbox!

Oh, and who said they had had a crap night due to poos? I feel your pain (and hope it got better) but the inadvertent connection did make me smile :)

PA glad to got back okay.
IC hope you got some more sleep!
Sorry to hear about all the tummy bugs yet again... . Hope things improve quickly.

I'm having quite a lazy time but oddly feel a bit restless while being looked after so well . Also miss dh quite badly... and he misses us . Good for him to realise it's not fun to have a quiet tidy house rather than a slightly chaotic but fun one

PA pleased that your return went well. I've forgotten, where are you in the States? I love the US - our last 3 big holidays have all been road trips in the States and I'm hoping to do another in October. The restaurants are so much more kid-friendly than here. We ate at some really posh places last year and not one of them blinked about us having a baby in a pram asleep at the table with us.

IC good news about your DH back and energised .

BC I'm thinking of going to see Arcade Fire/Mumford & Sons/Vaccines/Beirut and Pulp (2 separate gigs). Only problems are a) they are both in Hyde Park, which I hate hate hate and b) they are both not long before I'm due and so there's a real issue that I may have just had a baby/be in labour. It's a lot of money to waste if i can't go, so I'm going to ask a mate of mine if he can do freebies first - he often comes good on things. I've also already got tix to see Pete and the Pirates in May and Primal Scream do Screamadelica in March. My mate can definitely get tix for Camp Bestival so I'll wait to see if the new baby is colicky before I decide whether to go to that. There's also a great festival in Paris called Rock en Seine held over the August Bank Holiday weekend and we might go to that. It's a day time/weekend festival where you just stay in a hotel - so very manageable with babies.

beth and others with poorly LOs - wishing them all a speedy recovery for everyone's sleep and peace of mind.

BG I feel so sorry for you missing your DH. I get the 'ump with mine when he has to go away for 2 nights for work.

Hiya!
Ooh, a choice sounding line-up, Stangirl (except Vaccines who have yet to win me over...) - love the rest however. I'm with you on Hyde Park as a venue though. I can imagine it being less than convenient - in all senses of the word!

I know what you mean about feeling restless when on a "break", BG! Good to know your DH misses you more than he appreciates the quiet...

So your DD2 is playing catch-up with the teeth, by the sound of it CS!
I can see DD's pre-molars lurking below her gums, hard to tell how long they'll be before making an appearance. I think she'll be pleased to have some good grinding mechanisms in her mouth, although I'm not looking forward to the possible restless nights that may accompany their advent...

Well, DD woke just after 05.30 - so slept through, pretty much. Ten hours in one stretch is definitely a new record for her. I snuggled her in with me and she snoozed off and on until just after 07.00. I think I managed to doze a bit, but last night was no more than about 2 and a half hours of sleep all told. Hey ho. No doubt tonight will be much better and actually, I'm feeling okay with it.

IC well done on the sleeping

bethy hope your DS2 is feeling better, same thing CS

Stan I'm impressed by your plans!

PA pleased to hear you're back safely.

We're planning an US trip probably September 2012. So DS will be 2&1/2 and I may carry a bump by that time. Our next holidays will be France in June visiting family and going to the Med.

Teeth seem to be on strike and not wish to appear. We've been on 7 since December despite a lot of teething symptoms.

Talking of teeth, dd2 has 12 and people comment on how toothy she is. She also has her hands in her mouth all the time at the moment and there are lumps where the canines go, so more on the way.

DS has both hands in his mouth at the present or fingers so we've definately have some teething but I also think he's sucking fingers/thumb as the day dummy is gone! (most of the time as I had to give it to him at the pub when he started screaming!)

Two random thoughts...
I dreamt last night that I gave birth to another baby girl... Unfortunately my dreams are rarely predicting the future...

My mums keeps asking me every morning if the children slept through, to which I always want to answer 'Of course, why shouldn't they'. Beginning to realise that I appear to have been very lucky to have two children who both turned out to be great sleepers and great eaters and that this is by no means the norm.
I think if I have a third it's going to be payback time big time

I've ordered one like yours for next, BG

I keep thinking that another baby can't surely be as hard as DD, but then again I can't imagine coping with two (even if labour, eating and sleeping are textbook)

I'm booking an appointment to see the doc tomorrow (haven't had a brown inhaler for 2 months which is very naughty of me), but imagine he won't help much as I'll have to find a ob-gyn and also look up how much my insurance policy tells me I have to pay towards costs . Typically it seems about 10% and probably looking at ~$2000. Also I know I'm going to ask about an ELCS. Think I'll hold of telling boss for a few weeks as there are some issues I want sorted and feel like I'll lose my hand if I drop that bombshell on him. Though in a way if he refuses to renew my contract, it will make like a lot easier and I won't have to feel guilty.

Well we have a very overtired baby today, the plane wasn't great (but not terrible either). The attendants wouldn't let me have her in the sling nor rearwards facing this time and I was too tired to argue. Oh well, once they saw she climbs out of their stupid lapbelt and there is no keeping her, they let me do it my way for landing. Just resigned to a day of short naps with short grumpy awake times. Saying that she's been down for 90mins now.

well done on the sleeping through Rosie, even if it's a one off for the time being.

sorry I'm very grumpy as I have a horrible cough/cold

are there drugs you can't have whilst pregnant but can BF, or are they the same? I can't believe I've forgotten all the pregnancy knowledge. At the time I remember thinking that about other people.

PA glad you got back ok and 90 minutes sounds pretty great for a nap to me As far as I recall the drugs you can take in pregnancy are the same as BF, and isn't it pretty much only paracetomol or cocodomol (sp?)? Get well soon.

By the way does that mean you have to pay $200 or $2,000?!

BG I've ordered one like yours too for this time Actually I will probably make more of an effort to sleep-train number two which I didn't/haven't with DD (although it is on the horizon - DH has a week of at the end of March and she will be Sleep Trained ). Oh, and my sister had three DDs who all slept through from something like 8 weeks, and were all great eaters too. I want her to tell me her secret but she says they just did So if the MN jinx strikes... you'll be fine...

Get well wishes to bethy's DS1.

Teething here too I think, DD has been shoving her hands in her mouth most of today.

We had her first birthday party on Saturday. I didn't manage to enjoy it much I just found organising it very stressful, and I think that dreaded 1st trimester fatigue is kicking in, and all I wanted all day was just to lie down. Still, it went off well, and we have lots of lovely photos taken by my good friend as I was too shattered to even take out my camera [poor effort emoticon].

I have a job interview on Thursday! It's a PT position, 2 days a week, that I could do from home, and for round here the salary is not bad at all (although laughable by London standards - but I'm not in London any more). So I really want it. I have to give a 5-minute presentation which is freaking me out a bit as I haven't given a presentation in years.

Good luck with the sleep rocker when it arrives IC

Good sleep vibes to all for tonight. Night night

Sorry to hear about the poosplosions, colds and missing DH - sorry not to label but must get to bed ready for the next busy night!

Glad to hear you are back safely PA. I reckon a second baby is generally easier. We were saying tonight that DS2 has a nasty cold and cough and we've barely even noticed due to DS1 trumping him with the D and V (and horrid slide down a chair edge yesterday which has left such a bruise on his spine that I'm glad he's too poorly for nursery tomorrow, as I'd have questions to answer )

The guilt for the fact that you can't provide the same level of care and concern is greater though - perhaps prepare yourself for that.

Concern about sleeping (or not!!) seems to diminish as a)you know they'll sleep in the end and b)you simply have less time to worry about it. I'm not meaning to sound flippant about any of the night-time problems that we are going through as a group, as I remember it nearly finishing me off last time. However, by now, DS1 was at least trying to sleep through (apart from the hideous night coughing) whereas DS2 is much more variable. I'm so chilled about it (hence not posting much about it - it's just become part of life here and I hope one day to post that it's all resolved!) I'm also using what I learnt last time round and not making the same mistakes! DS2 seems a little more chilled out than our DS1 but we said tonight that we think he still feels loved, despite not having quite the same level of undivided attention. I was hoping to have a day with just him tomorrow (as it's half term) but DS1 is not well enough to go to nursery so poor old DS2 will have to vie for my attention as usual .

Sorry if any of that has come out in a muddle but wanted to post before sleeping (for at least a couple of hours I hope!!) Back when the mayhem has cleared. I've been posting on a reflux thread and didn't want you lot to feel I'd forgoten you. psmile]

but do want it to end with a . Too much perhaps?!!

She was still grumpy, but got so little sleep yesterday. No that's us paying $2,000.

I guess the teeth are due to the full moon We still can't see the new three as they're still only peeking out the top. However, I think I'm starting to feel them.

sorry about the stressful party. We're not having one (advantage of no RL friends). Also 5 mins is only 5 points. Just practice loads. Feel free to ask us Febbers for help if required or for reassurance and a second eye.

Anyway remember you're all great

scones I used to be a very nervous presenter until I started using beta blockers. They are awesome. I could do presentations on them - which taught me i could do presentations - now I can do them without the bbs. My doctor prescribed them but you can also buy them online. No idea if you can take them in pregnancy but my guess is you can because I'm thrombophilic normally and can still take them. My make is propanolol.

Good for you, Scones! You can do it. Think positive and practice plenty, you'll be great.

Ugh, bad luck with the cold PA - yes, that's one of the major drawbacks of being pg, not being able to knock back most of the usual remedies. You could take some echinacea, that shouldn't do any harm.

Thanks for the words of wisdom on second babies, bethy! Knowing the difficulties you've had with your two and yet hearing you so cheerful and philosophical time and time again is very reassuring.

Yes, my DSis (mother of 4 DCs, each about 2 years apart) says the guilt thing is unavoidable, but you just have to "harden yourself to it". I'm convinced her 4 DCs all feel equally well-loved and unless parents have been favouritist, most second children would tell you they felt just as loved as their older sibling, I'm sure. (I'm an oldest, as is DH, so can't speak from experience).

And sleep...yes, I suspect you're right, bethy - with two you just get on with it.
But I'm still directing lots of positive energy towards having a good feeder and sleeper this time!!

On which subject, DD woke at 00.30 last night, resettled with a quick feed, then woke again at 02.30, but put herself back to sleep by the time I'd got to her room. Typically, I was then wide awake (not helped by pg-related gut-rot again) and heard her stir and whimper again at 04.20, but again put herself back to sleep without intervention, waking for the day at 06.50. So that was actually quite encouraging. The more she can do that, the better.
I got back to sleep about 05.00, I think.
Not great, but better than the previous night, anyway

I want to be somewhere warmer! Top temperature today expected to be 0 degrees and night time down to -9