April 2011 - Hello Grindstone. Nose here, reporting for duty.

[DairyBeetle]

Plumps comfy pillows, shakes warm fluffy blankets, passes them round, sleeps

Hopefully going to find time this weekend for Christmas decoration activity - DS1 is desperate!

Yuck to DH's with snot, they tend not deal with it well!

And now T has an inhaler too! What a performance getting him to take it though, he thought it was hysterically funny and wanted to eat the spacer. I am supposed to do this 4 times every 24 hours! He is really wheezy though, poor little chap :(

Anyone with a Mike the Knight fan, have you been opening the Cbeebies advent calendar? He was behind today's door, much to DS1's liking

Evening all! :)

Been AWOL over the weekend so going to try a quick catch up..

Cycle Belated congratulations on your wedding day! Very happy for you :)
Fizz Absolutely crap about the job situation, glad the kitchen is getting there though. You're a braver woman than me attempting a nappy change in the back of the car!!
ILTMI I'd like to know too if the necklace is any good. I'm constantly getting my hair pulled & eaten or slapped in the face just now!
Aussie Very poor show from DP. I would be fuming.
JKS I have most of my christmas pressies bought and wrapped, just a few bits and bobs to get and waiting for some stuff to be delivered. Tree will hopefully be purchased and put up next week sometime, am not one of those who likes it up at the tail end of November!
Ali I'll join you in snot and teething :( R is having a crap time of it! She's been velcro baby today, hardly eaten and appears to be constipated again (!?) the snot is like a never ending river streaming down her face and her gums are all lumpy again - STILL no fecking teeth though!!!! Aaargh!
Chilli Hope the boob is better soon.
GGF Swimming is a mammoth task with 2 small kids isn't it!
Frakk I'm even that your DH offered to cook, I think the next time I can expect DP to cook is whenever I have DC number 2!!

Well my dad eventually got home from hospital on Friday. He seems to be on the mend now but has 2 weeks of oral antibiotics to take. Not sure when he can return to work but he has an appointment next Monday to see about his hernia so if he needs surgery it'll be well after Christmas. He's hoping to make a formal complaint about the (4!!) GPs he saw who failed to diagnose a simple skin infection, so we'll see what comes from that - probably nothing!!

SIL is still pregnant! Babys head is engaged but that's about it. Think they have a meeting with their conultant on Thursday to see how things are going but apart from that nothing much happening. I am now waiting for her to go into labour on the day of the Christening!!

Morning! Today B goes to the childminder. I met last week for a few hours.

Kitchen is looking better now. Floor's getting laid Thursday. But I have to boast about my new oven and hobo! Its fab! Over requires a degree in electronics to operate but it cooks things evenly in time it says on the packet recipe!!

Aussie my DH did that too. He had a lunch and a night out for his mate at works birthday. He came in at 9pm trying to be sober. I was surprised he was home so 'early'. He eventually confessed he had taken a half day and been down the pub all afternoon. Like you i was fuming. I wouldnt have minded him going at all. It was the sneaking around that p@ssed me off. We were at said friends party a week later and one of DH's mates said DH was sitting in the pub saying 'DW doesnt know i am here', which set me off again!

I am full of cold. S has been coughing for about 7 weeks. Doc says anti b's wont do anything. Seems to be easing off at last.

Cant put my christmas tree up cos we have a leaky shower, and as such holes in our living room ceiling. Builder supposed to be coming this week

Ph PS Fizz hope B is fab for childminder (and mummy later!)

F has a cold and horrid snotty nose :(

I wanted to take them to see Father Christmas this week and go to that ceilidh I've been looking forwards to but I think they will both need to be postponed as his fever is not to be ignored :(

arch - :( It is such a shame when illness interferes with lovely plans!

MrsW - glad your Dad is on the mend :)

I have just packed up my Secret Santa parcel and I'm off to the PO in a minute

T is still poorly but sleeping much better since we've been using the inhaler. He was awake all evening but then slept 11pm-5.30am which is a good stretch for him these days! I can't believe he was going 8-9 hours when he was 2 months old!

Can I have a tissue please? B is with the childminder! I'm a mess!! Was going to go into the shops, but I think the sight of a blotchy faced woman, wailing and hugging his flopsy bunny, might just get me sectioned!

Oh Fizz! I can offer a tissue and a motherly bosom to weep on if needed?

T has just woken up from a 3 hour nap, had a huge feed and seems a lot better in himself although still wheezing away like an old man!

Awh hugs fizz

at motherly bosom! CM just text for me to go down with the rain cover for the pram as she's taking B on the school run and it's snowing(!) again, then dropping him back here on her way home. Not long now, not long now! Is time going slower???

FIL text that S hasnt been happy since lunch (i get an update a day). Said he needs sleep or Calpol (or his mummy but didnt say that!)

He's home, but still sleeping in his pushchair! I had to resist the urge to snaffle him up and squeeze him tightly when CM dropped him off.

Working on my Flexible working request just now.

Glad he's home Fizz :) I feel like I've got a limb missing when M isn't around (not that it's very often)
I have a napping baby too :) which is good as it's given me time to do most of my Christmas shopping online :) just got to nip into town for a few things hopefully at the weekend.
Generally night sleep is a bit rubbish at the moment :( she's waking every 3 hours or so and can be difficult to get back in the cot, possibly because it's cold. We've borrowed an oil radiator from PIL but it didn't seem to make much difference last night. Hopefully it will tonight. I've also put a fleecey blanket on top of the sheet and ordered a sleeping bag with arms. Of course we'll sort temperature and she'll start teething again won't she

Hope everyone is on the mend. My cough is reducing.

I've just had a horrible thought, should I have paid for the session today with the CM? There was an awkward moment at my front door just as she was leaving and I was faffing to get him in out the cold. Shoudl I call her and ask? I've read her booklet and she says she recommends a gradual child led settling in period, but doesn't mention fees for this.

Oh god have I pissed her off already?

I shouldn't think you have pissed her off. Just call her and ask

chilli - fleece babygro's are good too. I got mine from Next and Sainsbo's.

The Gumigem necklace arrived today and it is a big hit. I put it in his hand when he goes to pinch me while feeding and he plays with that instead of pinching me - hurrah. He also seems to love it as a teether too, he has played with it for quite a while. It also seems to divert him away from pulling my hair as well.

Apart from the gumigem success I have also come on here to do some big fat unashamed boasting Baby I will clap and splash on demand! He also responds to his name - he has done that for a while but I forgot to say. I don't care if he is doing these milestones late or early, I'm just very proud and chuffed

Glad to hear T is sleeping better Ali. Dh has got asthma, so I always keep an eye out for it. How did it present itself in your boys?

I don't know what the protocol is for childminders Fizz but we don't pay for our settling in sessions at nursery. Surely she would have mentioned it if you were expected to?

Nighttime sleep is also pretty rubbish here at the moment. We seem to have gone back to 3 hourly waking too. It's killing me. I imagined sleep would be getting better at 7 months, not regressing... . I'm clinging to the hope that it's teeth or the cold or something developmental.

A few friends have switched to FF recently and have all reported improved sleep, with most the babies sleeping through . I'm not ready to stop feeding yet but god it's tempting when I hear stories of lie ins and sleeping babies!

Fizz she should invoice you at the end of the month but you need to discuss payment if you hadn't already.

ILTMI yay! I remember the first time M responded to his name. It made him so much more of a real person

GGF 90% certain we'll be ending up near you. Not sure how I feel about that... But I would get to taste the famous gache!

I need to pack and send my Santa present. It'll be even more obvious than GGF's

lol at Frakk getting to taste GGY's gache. When will you be moving Frakk?

My secret Santa Santa present is wrapped, I just need to post it. What shall we do when we receive them? Open them on Christmas day? Open before, but on all on the same day?

I know what you mean about the temptation Star. There are times when I is resisting sleep and I am thinking to myself 'if you don't got to sleep soon, you're going on the bottle'. It won't ever happen, but it makes me feel better to have a mini rant in my head! Plus I am sure that the wakings in the night are sleeping related and not him being hungry.

I've got a cold now, am trying to keep the germs to myself but it's probably only a matter of time until the rest of the house catch it.

Thanks for the reminder about the Cbeebies calender Ali, i'd forgotton all about it and it helped cheer DS up after his jabs today. We also had the school nativity this afternoon. He wandered off the stage halfway through and then wandered back 10mins later. I'm looking forward to the official school DVD and watching the angels singing their song and then a certain sheep joining their ranks at the end of the line .

Right i'm off for another cold busting and to write the cheque out for P's Sing & Sign (before I forget again ).

frak don't forgot to spread plenty of butter on, to get the most of your gache tasting experience. If you visit the other island, (as a guern I am contractually obliged to not mention the other island by name or if I do to say it with a catsbum mouth). But I am also rather partial to a Jersey Wonder

So, called CM (needed to confirm something else too) and there is no charge for today or next week. Phew!

I've had a rollercoaster of emotions today! AF came back a couple of weeks ago and I think I have another on the way. The RAGE is something else. I used to be really bad with it as a teenager and the GP put me on the pill. I might need something like that again, but we had decided no hormonal contraception for me again. So looks like DH will be living with a she-devil 2 weeks out of 4.

I still need to buy my SS but fear not I will get it posted on time! I've done most of my shopping, but I'm feeling a bit stingey with B. We have got him the trike thing which wasn't cheap, but I have an urge to go out and buy loads of "bits". I'm mad aren't I, he's going to be spoiled rotten by everyone else, and he's not going to remember anything. I'm just so excited to be playing Santa!

Those of you BFing thinking of switching to FF, B's sleep went to pot when we switched. And he's still up at least once through the night. May just be coincidence, but I am connecting the two!

Does formula help babies sleep better/longer?

A study:

F has just downed a 5oz bottle, and then had a big feed from me (both sides). He is late to bed, and the bedtime routine has been interrupted by a poo-change.

he's been waking at 11ish and 4ish of late (so, based on tonights bedtime, I expect him to wake at 1).

I'll let you know...

Love the wandering sheep GGF

Ooh, have we finally reached gifted and talented 'our babies are so advanced' stage? Marvellous!

H says mama, crawls with aplomb and tries to copy words when you say them sometimes. We very nearly had banana today, it came out as bawawa but he's clearly a genius! He's VERY advanced...

My mum was over all weekend for her birthday and we took H swimming this morning. Mum got really excited and was so pleased to have a nice bonding experience with him. It's hard for here as she so rarely sees him