April 2011 - Babies turning one, shopping to be done, toddling, tantrums and talking to come

[Fraktal]

New stage, new thread!

whatever takes your fancy

Whoever asked where I got the happy land train set its now half price in elc

First rehearsal as choir master done! There was only 7 of us, but we managed to learn the first 2 lines of California dreaming in 3 part harmony. Ace! Loved it :o

I've. Been asked by our internal comms people to write a blog for the intranet to promote the choir and recruit more singers. Specifically men. Given we did Abba, would it be wrong to title it Gimme gimme gimme a man on an Thursday night?? :o

Well done fizz. LOVE the title. DO IT

On a, bloody iPad!

I actually think it would be wrong not to use it!

All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey ..........

Great title Fizz, glad the rehearsal went well.

Lovely stuff on etsy Chilli, I will forward your link to my chums too.

Off to the park to meet some friends this morning - may need a cardi!

Hello hello! Long time no speak, RL has got in the way.

I've read through and tried to take notes to remind me what to say, here goes...

Shoes - M has horrid baby pink ones, hoping she'll grow out of them asap so i can change for something less pukey. Choice was pink or pink
She wears crocs happily - which is actually something I've encouraged as DS1 is a right pain with anything summery on his feet and often ends up with his Clarks shoes in the sea, grr. Admittedly though M hardly does any walking in them, just sits in car seats/shopping trolleys/etc looking like a fully-dressed child rather than the feral look my DC often end up with (a la ILike ).

There is a cheaper website i've used, shoes for kids or something similar, 'last seasons' Clarks and start-rite.
Luckily so far all 3 DC are staggered with growing out of shoes so i haven't had the massive whack of 3 x Clarks prices. And DS1 will wear cheapish trainers sometimes.

Tooth brushing - though of course it is important, i think given that these teeth will fall out, it's more important to get the idea of brushing than the actuality, so i just let M get on with chewing the brush she hated the toothpaste at first so she just had the brush, now she's come round - we put hardly any on for a while, now she loves it. Also, kids toothpaste is made to not be spat out so don't worry about that.

Eating - as far as i can tell, all kids go through phases of not eating much, it's not necessarily fussiness, just appetites changing. Keep the parental stress down, offer a range, if they don't want it, move on. Easier said than done I know.

Drinking cups - M will drink out of anything now, esp if it's her brothers! Loves to be helped with an open/adult glass too, esp if it's mine, grr.

April - i am having a daily quandary over DC4, so thanks for your comments. Mostly I am pro-4, but some days....I think I want to start TTC-ing in Dec, aiming for a Sept/Oct/Nov baby but stopping to avoid a Christmas baby, mad i know but DS2 is Jan and that's close enough. DH is still unconvinced but not totally against it. With M dropping BF so casually i really feel like i'm not done with the baby stage yet. & you are expecting no5?! How pg are you now?

Kitty - not long to go

Jo - hope sleep goes ok on holiday.

Gsy - so sad for your family :(
& MrsW for you too.

ILike - I have lots of plans for when term starts, ebay is on my list too!

Off to Jersey tomorrow for a week, main worry is getting DS2 (SN) onto the plane and actually strapped in for take-off. We may make the news if he lets loose and we get kicked off...!

DS1 & DH have been at sailing camp all week, out atm for the presentation evening, DS1 has had so many late nights, yet still mostly up at normal time, think he's knackered.

Right, that's me caught up i think, will be away for a week, then back to normal/school/work/etc.

Good to 'see' ya jks

Q- Is there a way to stop s taking his arms out of his car seat straps? I pull it as tight as I can. Is that too tight?

Hi JKS!

Kitty I've seen a product for that somewhere. Like a sleeve the strap goes through with fabric that goes round the childs back to the other strap. Effectively blocking their way under the strap.

No idea of name or anything useful though. I'll have a Google.

5 point plus

Although having googled, a chest strap might be simpler/cheaper.

Thanks ubw. Chest strap should be sufficient. Ta

B managed to pull my knitting box over tot he door this morning, climb up and open it

Is he a genius or is this normal??

It's like watching human evolution, isn't it Fizz?! First tool use, then problem solving, language development, social development. It's fascinating! When it isn't infuriating

F hasn't done anything that clever. But he is climbing on his toys to reach the shelves.

I think you must have a genius!

Thanks UBW although he is currently trying to lick the door stop, so that must have negative genius points!

It is fascinating. B loves books, any book, the Argos catalogue will do, he just loves to turn the pages. He hardly ever rips them now.

I do wonder if he is plotting something as the look on concentration he gets sometimes is amazing he might just be pooing though

Tis normal for some children Fizz.

Even now ds2 doesn't think out of the box physically but does verbally. He has a photographic memory for facts but isn't that sharp physically (ie on a climbing frame, riding a bike etc). He is now able, but lacks confidence and doesn't have the motivation/ can't be arsed.

Ds3 however has the physical motivation and will get into any trouble going

Just wait until he's big enough to start scaling work surfaces Fizz. DS has no fear in his pursuit of chocolate from my emergency stash the top shelf corner cupboard. Even I need a stool to reach it

P is the same with books. Earlier this week, I found her sitting in her sitting in her chair 'reading' One Hundred Years of Solitude, which she'd taken the time to select from the bookcase. Not sure that she understood much of it

S too. The ikea catalogue in addition to his books

Fizz T is like that, very practical and good at physical problem solving. He will go and get things to make a step tower to reach things high up
DS1 is totally different, much less physical, but really good spatial awareness and sense of direction.

We are slowly slowly getting there with T and sleep 8.30-8am last night!

B already knows where the biscuits are. In the only cupboard without a lock, well it did have a lock then we realised we couldn't open it either so took it off! I've caught him a few time with an u opened packet of bourbons hanging out his mouth!

He woke at 5.30 this morning. I left him singing to himself until 7.30. He sounded quite happy! And I got another hour or so sleep.

These are good stories!

Well done with the sleep Ali! F slept through last night too, and has so far seemed much happier today. Yesterday was such a huge grumpy tantrumfest, so I'm very relieved!

Advice on DS1 needed from those of you with older ones!

He broke down sobbing at the dinner table wouldn't tell us what was the matter for ages, then all of a sudden 'mummy my whole life is changing!' and more sobbing.
He doesn't want to have glasses, and he is upset by the preschool to school transition - although he is really looking forward to school and is excited.
We have talked about all the things which are staying the same, and he seems better for having got it off his chest - but oh dear

Oh Ali :( poor wee soul. I can sympathise with the glasses thing, I've worn them since I was 6. There wasn't the Harry potters and the other hero glasses wearers either. I hated them. Mum compromised with me in that I wore the at school for blackboard work, then took them off when playing, and other fun things, on the understanding I wore them all the time at home. Eventually I got used to them. And looking back they were awful, at least nowadays he can get decent specs, batman or Ben ten.

I remember something for school when we were going up to the academy about a big jar, some stone, some gravel and some sand. The stones represented the big things I your life, mum dad siblings, the gravel was the things that make you you, hobbies, things you liked, toys, bikes, friends etc, and the sand was school, weather, small things that can change anytime. Y then had to put them all in the jar to make them all fit. Stones first, then the gravel settled in between the stones, and then the sand around the gravel. Put the lid on and shake it and the big things come to the top as they are most important then the gravel, then the sand. The stones didn't move much and were stable, the gravel moved a little bit as you grew up and the sand was always shifting, but because the stones were solid you could cope with the sand moving. Is this making any sense at all?? I might be missing out something important, but I always try to remember my jar when things are in upheaval. And just wait for it all to settle again. Might be a bit complex for a 5 year old.

Icecream??

Oh I like the jar idea, he would get that. He is only just 4 - very wee to be going to school!

Oh Ali, poor ds1. So many changes for a wee one.

It's good that he can articulate what he is feeling and can trust you enough to voice it. I guess you then need to be able to show him coping mechanisms that he can use that work for him. Whether that be thinking of his favourite time over the school holidays, or a little toy that he can put in his pocket and touch when he needs some reassurance.

Open a running dialogue with his teacher as well so they know he is feeling anxious. I am sure they are very attentive in reception anyway, but if they are aware that ds1 is feeling overwhelmed they will pay extra attention. They will also have some good ideas for coping mechanisms if he is finding it a challenge.

Every child has a wobble. Some may have a wobble when starting primary school and then breeze starting high school, and vice versa.

Don't you just wish these little tinkers came with an instruction manual?! Tantrums, feeding, sleeping I can deal with. The emotional stuff I find a real challenge, I'm so scared of fucking it up.