Sept 2008 - no witty title as we're too busy dealing with stroppy 3 yr olds.

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

Hello all. Couldn't see a new thread so thought I'd do the honours. Sorry for rubbish title, I'm no good at witty! :)

DD finally has her MMR booster this week. Hope she doesn't get crabby / poorly.

Hello all

Well, I have failed, FAILED totally to stay off MN over Lent

I am going to hell arent I? Hey ho

Needed to wade into the SN topic last week to defend a friend who was being subject to a really nasty and unwarranted personal attack

So, Im baaaaaack, how the devil are you all?

No news from casa becaroooo really....had my hair cut and its DISASTEROUS Far too short!!

Toby had is pre school booster last week and now has the runs and cold/cough, poor thing. He didnt even flinch when they jabbed him though!

Ds1 had a FANTASTIC report at parents evening...the first one where I have
come away and not feel like the school and I are failing him He has gone up 2 NC sub levels across the board and am v v proud of him.

Had a great weekend last weekend, dh was in China and the dc were at my PILs for 2 nights and it was just.....lovely Missed the dc but it was so nice to stay up watching films til midnight and sleep til 8am and not HAVE to do anything!...no picking up toys, going around turning off taps and flushing toilets (am I the only one whose dc and dh doesn not flush the loo or turn taps off??? ) Really recharged my batteries which is good as last week was a bit crap...Tobys jabs, parents evening (which I always dread), new fridge freezer delivery so had to stay in ALL day on thursday and very little sleep.

Got to put the new sink and worktops in the kitchen at the weekend (oh joy) but at least it'll look better. Am trying to get dh to agree to a new oven but not having much luck atm!!!

Hope you are all ok x

Hi everyone. Had a wonderful birthday - breakfast in bed, day out at the seaside, dinner out, cocktail party with friends on Saturday, and loads of chocolate and wine as gifts, and a new coffee machine! One of the best birthdays ever, no stress or tears
I'm one of the people giving talks on our church women's weekend away next weekend so every spare second needs to go into preparing that so I'll be around even less for the next 6 days, but by this time next week it'll all be over and I'll be back! Til then...

Hope it goes well carrie and a belated happy d bay! x

I have been roped into helping at sunday school at church....oh dear. Its been a looonnggg time!!!

Bookmarking

What are you going to be talking about Carrie?

How is pre school going for ds Bec? And hurrah for ds1's report.

I have started to run, yes run. I haven't run for probably 20 years and I am overweight and unfit. However I am actually seeing some improvement. Nothing like what Debi does though. Whenever I see your FB messages I am in awe!

Beware ILTMIMI it can be addictive!

This time last year I ran occasionally but didn't really enjoy it and would have denied I was a runner, however I'd put my name down for the Manchester 10k. This year I've put my name down for the Hell Runner and get upset when I can't get out.

I too am in awe of Debi tho'!!

I can see already how it can become addictive. I am doing the couch potato to 5k and I am still doing the running/walking/running//walking etc, but I am getting faster and it is getting easier.

I am looking forward to the day when I can say 'I am a runner'

glad you enjoyed London debs!
Anyone else still living in london/croydon?

R is 4 weeks tomorrow and doing that 4wk feeding frenzy, complete with lots of puking and screaming with indigestion, but otherwise doing very well. though i'm fighting huge anxiety/postnatal hormonal emotions and hoping it doesn't get worse. doesn't help that any mn thread i read for reassurance eg on cosleeping invariably strarts well and then someone posts 'yeah i did that and my baby died' - great. the mental health threads are far too depressing for a depressed person imo...
have finally tracked down some other mums with small babies and baby groups which should help - at least some of the other mums were also taking the piss out of the excruciatingly bad baby signing dvd inflicted onthe group today!

Haha, pmsl at you being in awe of me ninja and ILTMIMI (and also a bit impressed ) You're quite good too aren't you ninja? And well done ILTMIMI for getting out- you'll be a runner soon enough
It's 19 days till my half marathon, eeek!

Popping on to say NC I found 4 weeks absolute hell (coincided with xmas too) and couldn't see a time when I'd ever cope with 2 and I hated newborns!
Fast forward to 13 weeks and I'd happily keep DS this age forever. I'm loving it and we found a routine that suited us all about 6-8 weeks old. I even got them both to bed by 7.15 when DP was away. All led by DS but as the 2nd he does just have to fit in a bit with DD's routine.

Helps that he's been sleeping 7-7 for 6 weeks now Yes, we're lucky.

Happy birthday Carrie, you big kid!

I wonder if you are able to comment on my church electoral roll thread? Turned into a bit of a bunfight. Stupid me for posting in AIBU.

Bec, I hope you are now settled in the new house OK.

I am liking the 40th birthday discussion on the thread. It was 3.5 years ago for me, but rather ignored due to something else that happened in Sept 08!! I am wondering whether I do something fancy for another birthday instead? It doesn't seem fair to miss out on a big party altogether, does it?

iltmimi toby starts pre school after easter...so 5 weeks! eeek!

fanny thank you...we are having to spend a lot of money on it sadly to get it decent but its growing on me!!! We are revamping the kitchen at the weekend...everything the previous owners did was a botch job, basically, so we are having to put right a lot of manky/poor quality jobs

Dh off abroad next week with work again for a whole week. Its going to be hideous....I am getting very little sleep as it is and with him away it'll be even harder.

sigh.

mrsa 7-7???!!! how do you do it???? My nearly 9 year old still doesnt sleep through!!!

Just popping in! Fanny I had a quick read of your thread, at you putting it in AIBU!! I grew up in a CofE church so know a little bit about it but I'm happy to ask my mum if you want more detail as she's the queen of all things parochial; I've been out of the CofE for 15 years now. I know that the church have to submit their electoral roll to the diocese, and on the basis of that (electoral roll should equal bums on seats and money in collection) they work out the parish quota, which is how much each parish must pay to the diocese each year. In this way churches are paying proportionally to their size and demographic, and wealthier churches support poorer ones as all the vicars are paid the same. So every person who puts their name on the electoral roll but doesn't make a meaningful contribution to the church financially is actually doing the church a dis-service. Does that make sense? I believe that's how it works. In terms of school, if you're in the village then you're in catchment and qualify for the village school. So I wouldn't go on the electoral roll if I were you, but then if the church is using it for a mailing list for events then that's a bit different! Maybe find out if they do just have a mailing list...?

ILTMIMI I'm talking about boats! The idea is of going into the harbour regularly for rest and refreshing and repair, but that we weren't designed to stay in the harbour, we were built for life at sea. In spiritual terms its about finding our rest in God, but also challenging people not to stay in the harbour as it were, but to get out there on the open seas and do something. In fact maybe I'll just say that and sack off the rest of the talk and my powerpoint

I'm so impressed at all this running everyone is doing. I've missed swimming for the last couple of weeks and feel very naughty, must do better.

Bec I hate it when DH is away too. Later this month he's got his first work trip since DS2 was born. Thankfully my mum can come and help, but its not the same.

Fanny you must celebrate! It was my parents Ruby wedding last year and they're celebrating this summer with a massive party that has spiralled out of control so you should too!

thanks mrsA. About 2 nights in 3 A will sleep 8-8ish or only wake very briefly to ask once to get tucked in after using the potty/find his triceratops/get another cuddle, but the other nights will have him getting up repeatedly doing much the same thing - ideally just after dd has gone to sleep... touch wood it's getting better. And that her colic/reflux doesn't get worse. apparently feeding little and often can help so doing that today.

more worried about my mental health - how often do normal people check their offspring are still breathing???

NC With ds1 I did it all the time...when being rushed to hospital with him I kept hold of his little foot - I thought as long as I was touching him he couldnt die

With Toby I used to check a lot when he was a newborn and a bit when he was ill...but not anything like with ds1. I know for me it was an early symptom of PND but I am sure it isnt for everyone. R is only 4 weeks old...its still such early days...you sound like you are doing an amazing job!

bookmarking.

nc I tried not to check too often when they were, I over-worry at the best of times and decided that way madness lies. I do still check them at bedtime though, DD is a very light breather so I always check she's breathing.

bec Glad to hear you're slowly sorting out the house, I see your property thread pop up in active convos every so often.

DD had her MMR booster today. She did really well, she wailed after the jabs but was consoled with a packet of choc buttons and happily wandered down the street afterwards. Bad mummy then spilt the packet of buttons on the floor of the public toilets, cue HUGE meltdown from DD and me trying to pick them up before she ate the last ones off the floor .

NC I do it loads. I have stopped going into the elder dc's rooms to check on them, dd1's door makes too much noise and we can see through the glass into ds's room. When I get into bed I listen at Lucy's cot and then as I get into bed I give Robyn a kiss. I have some nights got into bed and then decided I couldn't hear Lucy so have got back out and then leant over her cot and given her a nudge. SHe is a very quiet sleeper.

BEc I will raise you your 9 year old and give you a 13 year old. HE still wakes up several times each night despite having melatonin to settle him. He is learning not to get out of bed though which means we can ignore his shouting or banging.

I've just got a graze box, which was yummy. and I get some free box vouchers. If any of you want to try them pm me and I will send you the codes

NC I still do it, more so now DD doesn't have a monitor as DS has it. She is a heavy sleeper but very quiet, so I check on her before I go to bed every night.
If I have to get up in the night to take DD to the loo, I always check DS is still breathing and he is next to my bed in a basket still!

And I am so sorry to those with non-sleepers. To be honest, i try not to go on about my sleeping children as I know how hard it is when they don't sleep. It's nothing DP and I have done - it's all them. DD slept 11-7 at 5 days old and then 7-7 around 10 weeks after awful colic (we evetually put her on her front to sleep which got rid of the colic). DS woke 1 or 2 times a night till 6 weeks, then simply slept 7-7 one night and hasn't stopped since. I did expect to keep him downstairs with us till at least 12 weeks in the evening but he just falls asleep at 7 and doesn't wake.
nothing to say it will last though - we've yet to hit the 4 month spurt!

debs Oh dont!!! Ds1 is now on melatonin too and it is working to an extent but they are both just so unsettled when dh is not here...going to be a looonnnggg week next week!

mrsa I am v glad for you that he is sleeping so well esp after all you have been through!

Becs the IM is being issued with the court summons this week for non-refunding of our fee and just after that the formal complaint will hit the desks of the nursing and midwifery council. Just the small matter of reporting the hospital staff to the police for assault next.

Don't cross a women that you abondon at 41+6 weeks pregnant in early labour, that's all I can say.........

and a woman who clearly can no longer spell.

Good luck with all of that MrsA. I hope that you get some resolution.

M has been ill for over a week - nothing obvious just a bit of a temperature, tired, clingy, awkward! Hope she's back to normal (which still includes awkward!)

Been to my BIL's 40th - a all you can eat Thai Buffet yum yum. I thought that I'd full for a week but have just had a toasted Cambozola sandwich. What a pig.

Kids played really nicely with their cousins

DD1 is off skking with exh for 10 days on Thursday :( I'm sure she'll have a good time though. He's being a twatbadger again, I though the quiet 2 weeks was too good to be true.

mrsA I didn't tell my 'mummy friends' when DS slept through from a young age, I thought our NCT group would lynch me. They were very sweet when it eventually came out and still spoke to me .

I decided it was payback for an EMCS and breastfeeding nightmare, something had to go right!

I'm baaaack! Awesome weekend away, although I think DS2 is missing having 40 doting babysitters! None of them were there though when he woke at 4:50 on Sunday morning and wouldn't go back to sleep. I've never in nearly 5 years of parenting have I started a day that early, its always been a case of feed and go back to sleep, but not only would he not sleep, he just cried. Normally he'd suck his thumb and play with his teddy then drift off again but he wouldn't, and I was so aware of the women in the rooms around me that I didn't want to leave him for any amount of time to cry. Eventually I put him in the buggy to rock him to sleep (what would gina say?!) but that didn't work, so then I brought him into bed with me and lay him down and fed him and eventually at 6:30 I managed to feed him to sleep next to me. I set my alarm for 8am thinking at least we could redeem 1 1/2 hours sleep. And then he woke up 20mins later .
Thankfully he slept through from his dream feed as normal at home last night, phew.
However, he was a total delight the whole of the rest of the time, didn't disturb the weekend or cause a distraction, and gave lots of lovely smiles, cuddles and laughs to bless all the ladies, so all in all a success! And my talks were well received and everyone's putting on fb what a great time they had, hooray!
DD and DS1 were claiming to be sad about me going away, but when I came home they ran to the door shouting "Elliooooooooooooooooooot!!!" so I know who it was they really missed , I know my place in this family!
ninja so :( the tb is at it again. How does your DD1 feel about going away for 10 days without you?
MrsA lol at "a women that you abondon" . Any response from the IM or is it too early?
NC how's the colic? I'd heard that feeding little and often causes colic, which just goes to show that there's a lot of conflicting advice out there
And yes, I check on the DCs every night when I go to bed.