Jan 09: Spring is in the air and baby mj is due (and some of the others are going to the loo)

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a nice and new and shiny one

Crikey, its been quiet on here.

MissJ how scary with little N, glad she is ok, hope you are ok too. Glad you are home and happily snuggling.

Stripey congratultions on good results from your cvs. How exciting to have another DD on the way, have you told DD1 yet? She is looking totally gorgeous in your pics.

Moose Hope you are feeling better too. How is DS1 doing at school. Has he got a nice teacher next year, rather than the awful one he's had. Hope the school are supporting him and you like they should be.

Tree Well done on finishing your studies. Its mega stressful trying to study when you have small kids. I am meant to be finished but my dissertatin is looking shoddy at best....need another extention.

Gotart glad all is good with the two dds, P looks very cute on FB, love the pics of her and V together.

Big waves to everyone else.

I am back at work FT, but only 4 weeks until the end of term (thats my mantra) Am managing to keep BF, but expressing at work is getting a bit tedious. We are moving to Newcastle in a month, so feeling just a bit massively stressed trying to get it all done. In the process of buying this house. Eeek, all a bit grown up!

J is doing good! No growth from his scan a few weeks ago, so GOSH have said he can be seen in Newcastle and instead of an oncologist he can be under the care of a neurologist, so thats all brilliant news.

Hebe is good too, she just turned 5 months, can't believe it, tat flew by. Am hating leaving her to go to work, but have to do it or pay back my maternity pay, and can't afford to do that. DH is looking after her anyway, so thats good. He has a job at Newcastle Uni, so fingers crossed I can either be a SAHM for a bit or do a bit of PT...hooray.

Am in the process of making a ton of puree for the freezer whilst listening to glastonbury on the radio...rock n roll friday night.

Hi HKZ, lovely to hear from you.

Ds1 is doing ok - a bit wobbly about transition to year 5. He's been told who his teacher will be - but I don't have a clue who she is, so will have to wait and see. I had to complain to the Head about the way his teacher spoke to me this week - not good. Things are improving at the school in general though - we have a new SENCO who really knows her stuff and is really supportive of ds and ds has an ASD teacher visit him and meet with his teacher once a week.

I am feeling quite a lot better at the moment thanks and trying to capitalise on it by losing weight and exercising.

The house looks great - I would kill for all that space. Don't envy you the move, but it will be so worth it if you get to be a SAHM.

Fantastic news that J is still doing so well.

Can't believe Hebe is already 5 months old - how did that happen?

I have Glasto on on BBC 3 - but have to go and rescue dh now as he's been upstairs trying to settle dd for an hour and she's really playing him up. Little monkey - she's usually been asleep for an hour and a half by now.

It?s lovely to see all the chat on here after it being so quiet lately The thread isn?t really dropping off my list, as I?m not posting on mumsnet anything like I used to now

Yes the holiday was the long anticipated trip to France that a friend paid for a year ago. It didn?t feel real or like it was really happening tbh, until I was actually in the car waiting to board the ferry at 4am! With 2 very excited toddlers in the back, a good friend in the front and Bryan Adams blasting out on the car stereo LOL (sorry GotArt). My dad gave me £250 to cover the fuel and tolls, so I only had to worry about food whilst there and there was a supermarché literally next door to the site, so we could pop over anytime we needed to during the week. The campsite was great, a lovely big pool area, beach 5 mins walk, great evening entertainment and a great playground. The mobile home had a gas bbq for our use and a veranda with a stairgate so DS couldn?t run off. And it was so clean inside and was like a home from home with saucepans, cork screw, mugs, glasses etc. The Thomson team on site also had games, tennis rackets etc we could borrow anytime we wanted to. I love the fact that reps resolved anything within no time at all too. Not sure I?ll ever be able to afford to go again but it was wonderful and the kids loved it. It wasn?t too hot when we went either so nobody got burnt, it was sun and cloud and about 20 degrees most days. We borrowed a friend?s sat nav and mostly it managed to guide us very well, although it got confused in a few built up areas, so we kept a map close to hand. The kids were amazing on the car journeys and there were so many service stops with bits for kids in them. Hmmm I?m raving now aren?t I? I bet most of you have been to France many times since children They thought the ferry was magical. I didn?t put the photos on fb as I didn?t want people to think as someone on benefits that I could afford holidays, as I can?t! Anyway as you have gathered it was great.

DD?s birthday in just over a month and this year she wants a Kwazii cake May ask a friend to do it.

Does anyone know how Stripey is?

Moose I?m glad you treated yourself for a change! My FIL has sent me a card and some money, I?m fighting the urge not to spend it on kids and other important things, so you?re not alone there.

Miss J ? poor little Ness, glad you?re both home.

HKZ your new house looks gorgeous!

Ha out of a matter of interest I just did a quote for doing the same holiday next year and if I go in June half term it's £374, go end of July and it's £1,400 dear God! How can these companies get away with that?

tea I thought of you today as I took the dcs to Carter's steam fair as it was up the road and remember you saying how lovely it was. I have fallen in love with it, it is so beautifully decorated and what a lovely bunch of people that run it. The caravans are amazing, 1930's style and so are the rides. I want ot go back tomorrow!
Glad you had a lovely holiday, it sounds perfect. AM in awe of you driving in France, I am so terrified of driving on the other side (I refused to drive last summer, poor dh had to do it all!) Know what you mean abou tthe cost of holidays, its crazy. Now DD is starting proper school in September it's going to be camping all the way for us!

Moose glad to hear that even though the teacher is still a complete cowbag, there is a general shift to wards things getting better, about time too, DS deserves better! New SENCo sounds good.

Oh so jealous of you at Carter's! Been once this year already when it was in Maidenhead.

I actually almost drove on the right hand side when I returned to England several times in the first few miles. It was easy imo to switch to the right over there. You're so aware of the fact you have to drive on the right that you're concentrating to begin with and then you're following all the other cars and before you know it, it was habit. For me anyway. I'm a fairly dizzy/ scatty old thing nowadays anyway. So I like to think if I can do it anyone can. You'll have to excuse the typos after too much wine tonight with 3 girlies at mine.

Lovely house hkz, plenty of room for all the babes too. Are you done having babies btw? Brilliant news for J, and how exciting to be starting a new life up north - does DH have a geordie accent? Very sexy imo .

tea sounds like a fantastic holiday and very much deserved, so don't go feeling guilty about it or wondering what people would think. of wine with girlfriends - it's been too long for me, I only ever do baby stuff these days.

Thanks for nice messages - Ness is fine but seems to be starting her big nighttime sleep at 4am, so is sadly all done by about 4am! I think we got out of sync a bit with all the sleeping at hospital.

I don't usually have anyone round MissJ It was an early little get together for my birthday, which is on Monday. But I help on a divorce and separation recovery course on Monday nights, so I thought Saturday was a better option. But loads of people couldn't make it with weddings they were attending or other things, as I left it a bit late to organise LOL

It won't be long lovely lady and you'll have your groove back x

Right here's a question for you all. DS whose my official Jan 09 baby is sleeping so so badly right now What naps and bedtimes are you all doing now?

He's talking better but he's also being quite rebellious too at times and throwing cars in anger or similar Any top tips for me?

Missj jude's sleep was always messed up by even one night in hospital but it sorted itself out pretty quickly.
As far as more babies go, I have given away all the maternity stuff, baby clothes and crib and three does feel just right, and the thought of being pregnant again makes me shudder..... But then on the other hand never say never what about you? Don't you have a whole farmhouse to fill

Tea j dropped his nap around February, he goes to bed at seven and generally sleeps through til about 7 or 8. If he has a nap he is a nightmare to get to sleep, but without the nap he is well and truly Knackered at the end of the day! I don't think the light evenings and morning help much at the moment though. No advice about the behavior stuff, j is a pita sometimes too, I just put it down to being adolescent two. If he is very out of order, like hitting or biting or something he sits on his bed in his room for two mins. He's being pretty chilled at the mo though

I never seem to manage 2 or 3 days of no naps before I give in as he's so hideous tired when he doesn't have one. Maybe I need to push on through.

Morning folks

I am hiding in the living room while dh mows the lawn and the 3dcs play with moonsand on the patio. Off out later, haven't decided where yet, but seriously need to escape the house for a while. Will probably go somewhere for a long walk with kids and dogs, but sadly the camper's off the road at the moment, so we'll all have to squish into the car.

Tea, could it just be that he needs to get back into his normal sleep pattern after the holiday? I always find mine are a bit all over the place for about a week when we get home from our hols.

Dd is still napping in the afternoons 1.30 until 3.00, when I have to wake her to go and pick the boys up. She just gets manic and is a whirling dervish by bedtime if she doesn't get a nap.

She goes to bed at 7.00 officially, although its usually more like 7.30 lately and sleeps until we wake her about a 8.00 during the week - although for some bizarre reason, all three of mine are currently waking at 7.00 am at the weekends.

Fortunately having finally come out of my CFS crash I am actually able to get up now. I was having to stay in bed until 11.00 am at least at the weekends to try and catch up on some rest and store up some energy, but am up with the dcs now and coping fine. Still having the odd, eye/brain niggle, but at least I don't feel ill and exhausted all the time.

I think the rebellious stage is pretty normal too at this age Tea. Dd definitely has her moments. She can be soooo sweet, lots of "I lub you Mummy", but also plenty of 'NO!' , beating up her brothers and making unreasonable demands - gotta love these two year olds! Its all new for me, neither of my boys went through this stage - of course ds1 now has spectacular ASD meltdowns which are similar, but magnified 1000 times!

Unfortunately, ds2 being 7 is also going through a defiant and confrontational stage at the moment - all perfectly normal for a 7 year old, but not much fun, especially when its your usually loving and smiley boy that's doign it.

I guess you all have that to come - mwa-ha-ha!

... and of course all those of you with boys will also have the lovely testosterone surge around age 4.5 - 5 as well.

DS gets up at 5.30am at the moment everyday without fail. he tried 4.30am yesterday but I sent him back to bed with a drink. He's also waking several times a night

Oh Tea, you must be exhausted.

Dd was waking up in the small hours a few times a night last week and the week before - just to have a chat but we seem to have got past that phase now, thankfully. Perhaps its developmental?

Well it went wrong in Scotland at Easter with the in laws and has never resumed normality

It probably will settle down over time. Two breaks away from home have just messed up his routine and he needs to relearn it. Is there anything that he finds particularly soothing that you might be able to work into the routine. With dd and the boys its me singing a certain sequence of songs, but for other children it could be a certain story or a particular cuddly they only have at bedtime.

I have to go out now, but I'll have a ponder and see what else I can come up with.

wow gr8 2 c lots of chat

mm - well done u on losing that weight sounds like u r doing really well
and glad that the school r getting act together

hkz - wow hebe growing up fast moving is exciting
hi miss j

tea - france sounds great

bracken still naps at lunch for a couple of hours

Finally have a minute to get on here and the site is running... I usually only have enough enough minutes to get on for a read when the site is out; about 3am your time in the UK. However, I have no hope in hell of catching up right now. Anyhow...

Tea With a drink; what, like a gin and tonic? Poor you for having to get up so early with toddler... what time does he go to bed. DD1 gets up at 7 but goes to bed at 8.

Things are great here... highly anticipating getting back to running. Two more weeks. Have been doing yoga and pilates. DD2 is always needing me to hold her but it is starting to turn. I also got mastitis... ouch and SOB! The pain was something else. Sucks that DH is back at work. Mealtimes and DD1's bedtime is full of lots of crying from DD2, even if she is in the sling. We are starting to get a bit of a rhythm though, so hopefully we'll get through one of these times without a huge bout of crying. DD1 gets so worried about her sister crying, trying to console her. Very sweet.

I also got a job! I am now a sessional prof at the university! Teaching drawing.

Ciao for now.. DD1 is begging for grapes. ... Ah yes, DD2 is awake. Lovely... well, at least I had a couple of hours and DH got a nap too, so everyone is happy.

hi gotart

Hey tink... glad to see I'm able to keep up since my last post...

Moose where did you buy your foot gauge to measure your children's feet at home? I keep thinking how fab it would be to have one here. Then I can find a bargain shoe wise.

Man, I'm not coping. The crying! DD2 just won't let me put her down or let DH hold her. Every meal and bed and bath time is overshadowed by crying. I wish DH had more normal working hours. DD1 is now really taking on yelling and screaming too. Don't know where that came from. She's also running off on me at grocery stores and the like. I'm overwhelmed, to say the least. DH came home today because my 3 day headache is just doing me in and I needed a break. He came home to take DD2 for a drive, DD1 was (suppose) to be down for nap... she cried about that for almost an hour. (It was because DH was home that she wouldn't.) I had all of 20 minutes to myself.

GA you have my serious sympathy. I feel your pain. When I think back to DS being a colicky baby and trying to feed, bath and bed DD all on my own (as ExH was always out) whilst DS screamed his head off. I found it so very stressful, my fuse was seriously short and I was shattered and grumpy almost 24-7. DS started to improve at about 10 weeks, either that or I'd just finally mastered a way to make it work better on my own? It was a horrid time. Ultimately as he cried no matter where he was in the end I put him in his crib so I could bath DD and just went to pat him every so often. Probably not ideal but it was better than having him in a sling between me and DD at bath time So I'm sending you enormous ((hugs)) Whichever way you slice it this time is hard, so hard x

I've started a new thread as my phone cannot load up this thread anymore: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1250012-Jan-09-Summer-is-here-the-sun-is-shining-and-now-they-re-early-rising-sob

Hope that was ok?