November 09, new skills are fun - look what I can do now, Mum!

[DontWorryBaby]

New thread for our little handfuls!

MsI Has she had her MMR recently? Swollen glands can be a side effect of MMR... copied from NHS website:

?About three to four weeks after the MMR injection, one in 50 children develops a mild form of mumps. This includes swelling of the glands in the cheek, neck or under the jaw. It lasts for a day or two.

Naps - Ethan has one a day, usually 1-2 hours around 11ish or lunchtime.

What's wine...?

Naps, Lucy usually has one nap a day. Asked the nursery a while ago to keep it no longer than 1.5hrs, due to her being then wide awake in the middle of the night I have a feeling that may be all sorted out now, as I let her sleep a bit more if she's at home. 12.00 onwards at nursery, no set time at weekends.

MsI hope GP's appt goes well. Not at all sure what it could be, but DWB's tip looks good.

Well, GP was pretty useless. Said it 'might be mumps' even though she had her MMR 4 months ago . When I reminded him of this and pointed out how firm it feels he said it 'could be a swollen lymph node' since she's been a bit snotty. Deduced that from NHS website myself.

Honestly, though, he looked like he'd never seen a baby before and she totally freaked out when he was examining her which, to be fair, I think she would have done on anyone but.... I just didn't feel reassured in any way! And I had to ask all the questions like, how long it's likely to last (a week), how to treat, is it likely to get worse or appear on other side etc etc.

Grr. Sorry, I know I'm being a bit unfair but it's so annoying when doctors inspire such little confidence.

MsI sorry your GP was no help to you. Sounds like my GP! I'm sure it's nothing to worry about and it's connected to her snotty nose.

Thank you for the nap info ladies

Mrsinterpet - what size is the lump? Roo has two lumps, one right behind his right ear, pea shaped, solid, feels like a lumpy node, moves about if i wiggle it but is very hard And one at the base of his neck. Neither are sore, and he has had them both for a long time, the one behind his ear has always been there, well at least from about 5 months? can't remember exactly. I checked with the doc and he was not at all bothered, said it was a querk or something like that, either way he said it was nothing and he has never shown any signs of it bothering him. I do keep an eye on them as I am always worried about his health (don't know why, I worry about him being ok or getting really sick more than DD, I just knew she always was ok, she seems tougher than him) but they have never got bigger.

talking - oh yes body parts, we have 'eyes' which involves being poked in the eye, but said every sweetly and quietly! we also have 'ears' 'teeth' (teese) 'hair' 'nose'. He has just learnt to say 'nuts' though, which is a very odd word, he copied me and now goes around saying it but he says 'nowts' his favourite word is 'booboo' but alas that has stopped since the weekend (through not offering, and distracting if he asks for it, if he insists i think i will give in but not so far, and soon enough it will all be gone ). He can also say 'nightnight' (natnat)' (followed by blowing kisses). and 'byebye' which is 'byebyebye' as he can't stop after two of them!

This age is adorable. Melts my heart. But then, I just spent 20 mins laying on DDs bed while she ate her yoghurt and drank her milk at her desk, listening to her endlessly chattering about everything under the sun and I actually had tears, she was just being a lovely happy little girl and I felt sooooo proud of her. And also a little sad that she was growing up so fast. Too fast. I want it all to slow down, my babies are growing to quickly!

oh yes naps - 1 per day, 11am almost to the minute (this from the random boy who had no idea about sleep patterns) and lasts for somewhere between 45 mins and 1.5 hours, never normally more than that unless he is unwell. However, he did sleep in the car on the way home from the beach today, but likely because he basically charged around for 2 hours non-stop, splashing and marching to and from the sea, so was v v tired. And did not then go to bed til almost 9pm as a result of the second nap!

Pav - sounds bit different to Roo. Her swelling is bigger, well, over a larger area anyway, like from under jaw to just behind ear. She looks like a chipmunk on one side basically. Poor wee thing. Now that I look at the photos I've taken this week (have taken loads as with family and to send to DH), I think she's had a slight swelling for a few days. Her slight grumpiness I put down to teething but I guess it has been this, increasing slowly day by day until today. Hope it has gone down a bit tomorrow.

So sweet to hear you enjoying the little ones so much!

Rosa doesn't use many words apart from some randoms, 'door!', 'BYE', 'that!' etc but will point to most things when you ask her and make her own little version of their noise - oh yes, not just animals, but clocks too

Oh yes, and her's are definitely sore, or rather tender. they don't seem to bother her on a minute to minute basis but won't let me touch them or kiss her cheek etc

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts on the interview! I break out in nervous sweat every time I get a chance to think about it. I've never had to interview for a real job before, being a (now-former?) academic. And this will be a proper interview! 39th floor of a building in Manhattan, surrounded by investment bankers, etc. I have a hard time picturing it.

DWB We sing Head & shoulders, knees & toes :)

scarlotti Mummy is the best word, agree! M is starting to say "mama? mama?" when she wakes up from her nap (instead of crying) and it's so lovely.

Fruit M used to take two naps but gave up the afternoon one around 9-10mos? At first it was exhausting, she'd be a wreck by bedtime. I very gradually moved the morning one later every day. Now she takes one nap from around 1-4pm. It's fantastic :o

Pav I sometimes get a little weepy-eyed too these days... the other night DH said good night, I love you, and M said back, clear as a bell, "I love you Daddy". It was a one-off but we definitely weren't fooling ourselves! She loves to talk in full (gibberish) sentences, so I think when it all clicks, she'll be unstoppable.

MsI Hope Rosa's sort spot clears up soon without incident. So frustrating when the GP can't be useful or reassuring. You'd think they'd try to be at least one of those Too bad about her sleep schedule, too. No way to convince the nursery to let her stay awake until you fetch her? Sleep is such a precious thing.

Oh and Pav, meant to say :( about the end of "booboo". I know how you feel.

mis if it is bigger than pea sized, go back to gp. It is most likely teething related as apparantly the lymph nodes filter everything more when teething, or something, and I read also that lymph nodes also 'learn' at this age about filtering new bugs, and often there are bacteria being processed even if no signs of being unwell as there is so much new stuff for them to learn about, and this can result in enlarged lymph nodes especially in neck/ears because of where they filter germs from, but, pea-sized is considered 'normal' and anything bigger than that (there is some way they should assess what that size is) is considered 'enlarged'. I think you should insist they make sure there is nothing underlying, they are really crap sometimes. It only takes a little bit of testing to rule out problems and put your mind at rest, then you can not worry about it. We took DD to gp this week for a couple of things, including painful 'bits', the gp explained what the problem likely was, then we did a wee sample to rule out a uti, even though he is 99% sure it is not. It really does not hurt to just make sure. I hope the swelling has gone down today.

longwayaway 1-4pm I am impressed! although if R did that it would mean I did not have any time with him on my own before B came home from school as I finish work at 1 and leave to get B at 3:10!

R says 'mama?' all the time too, it makes you melt doesn't it? he says 'mama?' 'mama?' adidledoo' and that means 'mama? i love you' i am convinced of that. DH thinks I am barking, but he says it in the same way that I say 'i love you' to him and he holds my face when he says it, so it must be right! [crazy mummy emoticon]

He also said 'pizza' this morning. He held up a bit of pretend pizza and B said it and he said it back lots of times and very clearly! he loves his diddle sounds though, everything tends to start with 'diddle' and he likes walking along singing 'diddledoo diddledee'!

Pav To be clear she is not totally asleep the entire time, but she is in her crib and out of my hands! Her nap is the only time I get work done during the day so I, er, cultivated that sleep schedule :o I 100% believe Roo is saying I love you. M says "thank you" (which sounds like "day doo" and I know that's what she's saying because it's always in the proper context (after I've given her something she asked for). Most of M's "words" start with D, she sings a similar song :)

Not many words here yet. He is a real chatterbox and babbles away all day. He is also very expressive with his hands and will talk to me with lots of hand movements. Also the facial expressions are a delight. Very sweet. I can't believe how different my DS' are to each other. DS1 is like his Dad in hair colour but with straight hair like me. DS2 has my hair colour and curly locks like his dad. Its so interesting to see the mixture of both DH and I in our boys. Back to the words.. We have mamma, dadda, nanna, baba (bye), his brothers name, but not clear to anyone but me, this, that, and I'm sure we have a thank you. It's lovely to hear what our toddlers are up to.

longwayaway we have that too for thank you, more like 'daddy' I thought for a while he was saying daddy, but he says it when we pass something or he takes something and there is a pause 'da de' very sweet. fruit I suspect that all the clear words Roo says are only clear to us! I remember with DD fully understanding complete sentences that sounded like babble to others, including Dh for a lot of them!

My brother is visiting at the moment, and DS has been spending a lot of time hiding from him and going 'boo'! it is like he knows he is related, even though he has not met him before! (yes slack of my brother, but hey, he visited eventually!)

Thanks for the advice.
We went to hospital yesterday for a second opinion and they decided to admit her for a scan and blood tests if necessary to rule out cysts/abscess etc. To cut a long story short, it is a (very) swollen lymph gland as a result of an ear infection. She has been prescribed oral antibiotics rather than IV as we're on the train home to Oxford today. BUT she won't take them! They do taste disgusting, I must admit. But they siad if we can't get them into her, to go to hosp in Oxford for IV anti-bs if necessary.

Again, the reassuring thing is that she doesn't seem to be in any obvious pain so I am not too worried at the moment about the train journey and her not taking the medicine at the moment but will have to decide whether to take her up to Ox hosp tomorrow.

Have tried putting the medicine in apple juice, milk, yoghurt but all no go. She refuses it in a spoon and spits it out if I try using the syringe. ARGH!

MsI glad to hear there is nothing to worry about. The medicine is so hard to get down them. Sorry I have no advice there. Why don't they make these medicines taste good is beyond me. Hope you have a good weekend with her and manage a way with the meds.

MsI so glad you know what it is. No advice about taking meds I am afraid, Roo loves taken them {weird child} Hope she feels better soon and enjoy oxford!

We were meant to be going to bigbury beach with our kayak today, meeting a few friends, and my brother was going kayaking for first time in years, kids excited about it. Parked up in sainsbo's to find the bonnet steaming, i thought at first it was on fire and you have never seen a woman move so fast, those kids were out in moments! My adrenaline kicked and and {ashamed to say} i only thought of them (ie not my dh or brother). Only for a moment before DH was saying 'it is steam, not smoke'. But still. So, the long shot is that the thermostat has stopped working, and the fan switch has gone, and there is a split in the pipe going to the radiator. So, the water was not going to the radiator, the engine was overheating, and the thermostat was not telling us, and the fan was not kicking in to cool it down, we had no idea and was just plodding along! It alas cannot be fixed before next week, so screwed up our plans for out and about beaching it, but at least 1) we are alive 2) the car has not actually blown up 3) it is not the head gasket as we thought, and 4) it will cost around £100 in total to fix and 5) we went to the fair instead

Pav how scary. Hope you get your car on the road again without too much expense. We had an expensive day yesterday with MIL's car. The entire exhaust needed replacing. We own the car but MIL drives it. It was also vandalised the other week so we had more cost! But it's worth the money as she helps out with lots of childcare and have no other family close by to help out.

I will say this very quietly.. A brief update on sleep. C has started to sleep through. We have successfully weaned him of his night feed. He is walking steadily now and more physically tired. He is enjoying sleep! I don't think we are fully there yet as lots of teeth to come through, but there is hope!

Wishing you all a lovely Easter Day. Hope the sun is shining for you
[busmile]

Thanks for your words of support

We went straight to hospital on returning to Oxford yesterday evening. She hadn't taken any anti-bs and the swelling had increased and was inflamed - infection spreading probably. We had to wait 6HOURS to be seen by a doctor, despite having a report and prescription from Scottish hospital the day before. Long story short we were eventually (1.30am) transferred up to Paeds ward where she has had doses of anti-bs intravenously. It's not a drip, they just put it in through a syringe every few hours. Spent the night in a bed beside her in an otherwise empty room on the ward. This morning the ENT specialist and consultant have checked her out and the plan is to keep going with the anti-bs for 24hrs and if not significant improvement we are booked in for scan tomorrow (Monday) afternoon where they may then decide to use a needle to drain off the fluid which is causing discomfort and infection. So, watch and wait.

To add insult to injury this morning I woke up with an upset tummy and (TMI alert) diahorrea; I was then sick twice at 6am and 7am ish so we have been put in an individual room with its own bathroom. I have not been sick again and hopefully on the mend but the individual room is to keep my germs away form the rest of the ward so we are banished there! SO I have come home for a shower and some clothes etc and MIL is with roo and that at least means that she is allowed to go to the playroom, not like when her leper of a mummy is looking after her! Even worse: period arrived this morning. So now I am green about the gills AND anaemic-looking. The glamour!

On the bright side DH is home from US tomorrow, yay! Have missed him SO much through all this.

Ah, MsI, hope both of you are on the mend. Come back quick MrI and look after your poor girls!

Just dropping in quickly to wish everybody a very happy Easter.

PS. I think I was called 'mama' for the very first time ever yesterday... Dad gets called 'tata' (Polish equivalent) all the time, so it was loooong overdue

Oh poor You and Roo, MsI . Hope you both recover quickly and go home soon x

MsI oh I hope your Roo starts to feel better soon and you don't need a scan/needle draining thing. What a tough time you have had to experience without DH around. I really hope you get some good news soon.

Easter egg hunts and a toy police car with a siren for our Roo, he loves it the most over even the chocs! Doing easter painting in the garden then roast lamb for the lads (DH and brother, plus kids) and some 'veggie crap' for me (as DH refers to it! luckily I love roasts and yorkies so ok for me!).

Happy Easter everyone (and MsI hope you get to enjoy a belated easter with your Roo on the mend x)

msi Hope you and Roo are both feeling much better soon and that you are both home with MrI before too long.

We've just returned from a fab weekend away in our caravan, we even had a great time with Dh's family on Sunday (doesn't normally happen)

Thanks everyone. A quick update:

Rosa had an ultrasound yesterday which showed lots of fluid so they took her to theatre and she had an operation under general anaesthetic to drain the nfection. This morning she's much brighter but doc's concerned swelling not decreased enough and her temp was still spiking after op so worried infection still raging. Giving it 24hrs then possibly another scan tomorrow and worst case, another op. DH back yesterday morning, such a relief but he didn't know the full pictrure and had a real shock when he saw her/found out about the op, whereas I'd had time to prepare.

RooRoo being an absolute trooper. Cross about exams and medicine but full of smiles for nurses and waving bye bye happily when doc's leave her room!

Glad you guys had some fun Easters. Be in touch xx