July 2010: Tantrums R Us

[Woodlands]

Here you go! Sorry for crappy title. My one chance in the limelight and I can't think of anything good and I have to go and collect J from nursery right now...

Memphis J put on just about 3lb between 7 months and 12 months. I agree, no way should he be losing weight at this age - hopefully that will get the GP to take it seriously.

I don't use E45 on me because it contains lanolin which I'm sensitive to, so I'm reluctant to use it on J. I think it's just an emollient cream like th Diprobase I'm using anyway. I have heard that Neal's Yard camomile cream is good - will maybe see if I can get some.

I was meaning to ask those of you who have had walking toddlers for some time - how often do you have to buy new shoes? I bought J some pre-walkers back in about October, so I decided to take him to get his feet measured again today, but they haven't grown. Slightly annoying as there is a sale on right now! I haven't quite got a feeling for how fast their feet grow.

ds2 put on 2.5lbs in that time memph. I don't think his weight gain then was such a worry but agree he shouldn't have lost weight at this age. Glad you seem to be getting sorted at last.

I only buy shoes when his feet have grown Woodlands. His first shoes at 11 months weere at 2.5. He's still only a 3.5 now. He's on his 3rd pair of shoes but that's only because the last pair he had were too summery and had gaps in them (sort of t bars), so I bought him some more protective, warmer ones for the winter/wet weather.

woodlands L's feet grew really quickly, S has stayed in 4's since August. If I see some in bigger sizes that aren't hugely seasonal I tend to buy them in the sales. They're going to wear trainers regardless of the season for instance (at least mine will!). I made the mistake of buying L some winter boots last year in the next size up and she didn't fit them til the summer...won't do that again!

I thought about buying some in the sales, but wasn't sure whether their feet grow steadily or in spurts. So for example he measured as a 4H today (4G last time) - will he be just as long in a 5, or suddenly be a 5.5/6? Oh I don't know! For example these look like a bit of a bargain: www.startriteshoes.com/boys-and-girls/brand - but not much point buying them if I don't know what size he'll be.

I wonder if it's worth buying a gauge to measure his feet at home, and then buying shoes cheaper online?

I also vote Brum for meet up for obvious reasons! cake we need a spread sheet or some such thing! U can all have a munch of the -very reptile like- F.
chu I remember you saying they lost her pw now, that sucks man! sounds like she got on really well though thats great, it is a new chapter in hers and your life and i dont blame you for being emotional, i think we all will be. Re the double buggy, did you have feet banging issues, D just bangs his feet on the plastic foot rest all the time! also D's seat back doesnt seen very upright, did you have any of these problems?
memphis and cake there is an upside to not having any serious ex's then!! How long is he in for cake?
woods D is on his second pair of proper shoes but i want to take him to brantano and measure his feet again soon, you can do it yourself there. and the shoes are cheaper, i didnt worry about width as he seems a pretty standard width, hes a 4 atm.
mylife was it your int today?? did you go?
dh i hate days like that, D is like that most days between 10-11 and 4-5, it sucks and i hate it. This is when we have several 'silent protests' where he just lies on the floor when ever i have to tell him no, what i find the most difficult is the throwing and the distructive behavour, e.g smacking all the fridge magnets from the front of the dish washer onto the floor or throwing his toys.
F has been asleep loads today, how the hell do u wake a sleeping baby?? He has fed a lot too though. How do i get him out of this snacking little but often thing, hes fed every hour for the last three hours and only had an oz at a time, its a right pain in the ass, hes really struggling to bring up his wind as well, its such a shame for him, he looks like hes really in pain, any tips anyone? Had an unexpected visit from my aunty and uncle today, it was so lovely to show off my boy and our house and stuff, even though i ran around like a nutter doing jobs this morning, im glad though cos its all clean and tidy now and i have nothing to do only LOTS of washing!!
DH has had to go to an open evening tonight so its solo bedtime again, whats the betting F is awake and crying through out as hes slept loads today. I just hope i get some quality time with D inbetween cm and bed!

They are a bargain Woodlands. I just get the boys measured at Brantano and buy their shoes there. Last time I went they both needed new shoes (although neither of their feet had grown ) and boots for ds1 and shoes for ds2 cost £30.

That's a really good price, tbh I skip half sizes on the whole, S could wear a 4.5 but the difference in size is minimal (and changes depending on where he's measured). I'd be tempted to buy a 5 cos guaranteed he'll be a 5 at some point, and at that price even if he's only in them a month it's still a good buy. But then I am a) a hoarder and b) a cheapskate

viks yes and yes, they both always kick the footrest and it is a bit reclining but it didn't seem to bother them. I love it but the things I would change are the raincover, basket and seat position!

oh yes, mlisc your interview? (well remembered viks)

dh my two always want snacks too, they seem to spend all afternoon eating or whinging for food (yet won't sit down to a proper lunch...) and for those of you thinking it, yes, I have tried not giving snacks and doing lunch for a fortnight til I gave up and went back to where we are now.

x post vik

I have never been so pleased in my life to be turned down for a job

woodlands I also say a 5, is the 4 g today at clarkes or start rite? as startrite are known for being wider than clarks, The ones that are £14 with the elastic laces are like L's I think they are great as he cant undo them then pull them off as easy, L is a 5 and has been a 5 for months, his feet hardly grow and as he has to run everywhere we wear through pairs, he has 3 pairs of 5's now as he has been that for ages, well his clarks are still great but he is on his second trainers as they were trashed from crawling along pushing cars or running!
mlic what happened at interview then?

So....when we meeting up?

Holy shit man, i have just had THE MOST HORRIFIC HOUR EVER!!!!!!!!!!!
As i said DH was out and i did D's bed time fine, untill he fell off the side of the loo(i sit him on the toilet, with the lid down, to have his hands and face washed and his teeth brushed) unfortunatly he fell off the side which is closest to the wall and really cried, but he did calm down quite quickly and we had two books and a nice cuddle before bed...............then it all went to shit. I cooked my tea(well i defrosted pre made chilli and microwave rice!!) and my plan was to scoff that then feed F, however D didnt settle and when i say screamed i mean proper screamed like i havent heard in months and months..........or ever really, F was crying as i had started feeding him and he needed winding badly, this went on for 20 mins till i decided i must try and do something about D, so just had to abandon F and go get D and bring him down. This hasnt happened ever, i have never brought D down, i have always managed to keep him in his room and get him back down again. He was in a right state, god only knows what was wrong with him, anyhow, i kept him down for 20 mins while i finished feeding and winding F, but i made him stay sat on the sofa and didnt turn the TV on. When i took him back up F stayed quiet in his car seat, thank god, and i rocked D for a few mins but he started screaming as soon as i layed him down again, so i told him very sternly that its bed time and he needs to go to sleep and i left the room, and he did just that after a few mins.
I know im going to have to deal with these sort of things on a regular basis but OMG its quite traumatic!! I have had to have rescue remedy!! when DH finally came home all was calm F was happily in the sling and D was settled in his cot, so he missed it all!!
Sorry its a meeeeee post but i had to vent, very cathartic to write it all down!!

viks fwiw I always dealt with L first if they were both screaming when S was little. Your F at the moment has very predictable needs and doesn't cry as loudly, whereas D has more complex needs/desires and will get more wound up more quickly and get scared etc. You did the right thing to ditch F and see to D and well done for being firm at the end!
DH worked away for three weeks when S was about 8 weeks old and there were many times when he got plonked wailing on the sofa while I dealt with L. Not fun at all but it doesn't last for ever!

cake and Memphis at your ex's.

vik That sounds like a nightmare of a bedtime well done you for handling it so well I probably would of fallen to pieces.

mlisc Are you pleased you went for the interview in the end? I have my interview on Thursday and I'm so nervous I think I do really want this job though.

crikey viksam, that sounds awful! no consolation now but you will look back and laugh (or cry) about nights like that in years to come.

I am also a hoarder and a cheapskate so have ordered those shoes in a 5, plus a fitting gauge so I can buy shoes online in future. I will also watch the videos about how to check the fit.

vik yep you will have a few times like that but you did great. Sometimes one has to wait a bit to get your attention, it's just how it is. I agree, I usually dealt with the older child first but it really just depends on the situation sometimes.

Wow to the dodgy exes - memphis how long were you married to him? I mean, I know you still are but how long were you together? He sounds v dodgy! My only dodgy ex was a bloke I started seeing when I first got here who after a few weeks told me he would have to "go away" for a while but wouldn't tell me where... I said he must be married or with someone else so he got out a load of court documents, he'd been caught drink driving and hadn't turned up in court and they had now caught up with him...I dumped him on the spot, stupid git.

What an idiot wss!

Vik I agree with the others, you defo did the right thing. Many a time ds2 has been 'plonked' in favour of sorting ds1's needs. It won't change for a while. Just thinking back to ds1 escaping the house at 2.2(ish) and ds1 had to be abandoned while I ran off after him! Toilet training ds1 from 2.1, ds2 was (thankfully) not crawling so could just be left to cry when ds1 needed me, etc.

Ds1 took his pull ups off and wet the bed last night So I was up at 12 with ds2 (ds1 woke him up by talking loudly), then 3am changing ds1. I'm so resolute in my decision that it is impossible for me to work full time and simultaneously keep my sanity. I will go for this other interview next week but even think 30 hours may be too much too.

We're all in our pyjamas and have to leave for school in less than 20 mins so I'd better get a wriggle on!

vik sounds like a hard evening, glad you got it sorted in the end and a v good job D went to sleep when told in the end, I doubt my D would.

D is a size 5 on one foot and 4.5 on the other which makes it easy he's still in his first walking shoes which are 4.5. The woman in Clarks was desperate to sell me some more when I told her I didn't really like any of the shoes as they're the same styles as when I bought Ds moths ago and she said they're getting a whole new stock in a couple of weeks so will hold on til then.

Taking D to the zoo today with my friend, really hope he's in a better mood. He did a poo this morning after going days without so hopefully that's made him feel better. It looked like rabbit droppings.

dh take a few extra nappies out incase now the hard stuff has shifted the backlog of poo mayappear, thats what happens with L anyway but then again he is a little shit king!
woodlands I was under thew same roof as him for 3 years, things started going missing, like my jewelery, my computer, expensive pushbike (my wedding gift) golf clubs, and a dehumidifyer which cost my mum £700 for my chest- he had pawned it all off when I was away on business, £400 phone bills, I knew he was hiding stuff, desperate for me to have a baby (obviously so I couldnt leave) then I found he had borrowed £100's off of out elderly neighbours saying I was demanding more gifts or I would leave (I was earning an amazing wage at the time) then, weirdly I noticed the valance on the spare bed was messed up so when I went to sort it I found in excess of 400 letters under the bed, loans in my name, re mortgage, mortgage all in months of debt all wanting possession of the house, he had been clearing out the account and spending the money, I didnt know, he even glued the letterbox shut when I was home so I didnt see any mail! I also found forms for loads of loans on the house with 'my' signature, 6 weeks after kicking him out I had a stroke due to the stress of it all, but I sold the house for a £35k profit, I demanded I had it all, payed off what I needed, mortgage was with a single buidlding society so they were very understanding, sold the house to a cash buyer within a month, all debts I could I changed to his name and redirectred to his parents, The solicitor said he had signed money all to me knowing he could get half back in divorce so he told me to have fun spending it, so I did phew that was long but thats the whole back story!
Aldo quite humiliating that im scared of him as he has a 28 inch waist, weighed 8.5 stone and looks the spitting image of max branning in eastenders

Just seen two top molars poking through in Ds mouth which would explain his foul mood recently. That's 11 teeth now!

X post memphis yeah I'll def be taking extra nappies!

Lol at your description of him memph

Wow, sounds like something out of Eastenders!

mlic he went to a fancy dress with a duster and glasses on as the Mr Muscle (the scrawney one before they made him buff) One thing I can thank him for is I was obsessed with Eastenders and now I cant watch it as the ginger craggy one makes me feel ill!

You wonder how someone can be so conniving to their own wife! He sounds like a right nasty piece of work and Max Branning is ugh!

OMG mylife i remember ds1 doing a runner!! its just such a mare cos if i dump F on the sofa i then have to put the dog in the kitchen and then he cries too so i have all three of them crying!! I might just have to join in next time! Ur night sounds shite, hope its better tonight.
memphis shocking story, how shit, u must have had a huge distrust of men after that.
dh did you have fun at the zoo? We went to a country park place where they have animals to pet and feed, its the first time we have taken D anywhere like that and he had a really nice time, he was totally knackered even before we went though so he was fighting that all the way.
He really does seem tired all the time atm, and hes been like it for weeks now, does anyone else have that problem? I really dont know what causes it, he has been sleeping so much better at night in the last few weeks and always (apart from today!) has a good afternoon sleep of up to two hours. Today however he fell asleep in the car for 15 mins and didnt settle when we got home in his cot so only had that 15 mins and so far tonight hes woken twice and we are sat here listening to him crying again! dh has gone to resettle him, god knows whats wrong with him again tonight, i hope this isnt going to turn into an issue. His behavour is really not too good either at the moment, i think a lot of it can be blamed on tiredness though and its a weird time for him because of F too, i just feel like im telling him off all the time but i cant let him get away with throwing, smacking, putting food on the floor, not having his shoes/jumper/coat/nappie etc on, not going into the bath, not coming out of the bath...........i really could go on....and on!!
I currently have F in the sling, i love this sling, hes totally settled in it and seems to bring up his wind better in it too, i must put him down now though cos im off to bed if D allows me to sleep! DH is happily doing the last feed and bringing him up in the moses basket, im so greatfull as it frees me up to go to bed when ever i want, he been so good, i am very lucky to have him, remind me i said that when im ranting!