March 2011 mums, entering our 2nd year with our 'Babies'!!

[Purplefan]

Hi all,
Thought I'd take the plunge and set up a new thread for us...never done it before so hope it works.

Will be back later to update properly, have busy day as DH is off on a track day on his motorbike and DD1 has already been driving me insane, it has only just gone 9am!!! xx

Has everyone had some snow? What did your dc's think of it? Arthur has been loving the snow and especially the slightly crap snowman he made with dh (next doors snowman was amazing but they have 3 dc's between them. our snowmans head has fallen off bless him!)

Ha ha! Petty, can't imagine you unmotivated. The beauty of being such a resourceful person is that you can do anything you want at the moment once you know you really want something, so good luck with the start up of your biz (and from what friends tell me, it gets easier with the tots).

Ugh, Kagey, hope E is feeling better and the infection is gone! :( Still wish Franz would get the pox but everyone here seems to vaccinate making it difficult for him to get it.

F has become my little child labourer. Not sure whether it's legal for me to treat him as our house servant, but he seems to be begging to do all the cleaning/shopping/laundry, etc, and has a fit if he learns that we emptied the dishwasher (for example) without him! However, this week he seems to be wanting to help via his bears, whom I insist cannot empty the dishwasher but can help with other tasks.

Because we don't know where we are going to live next year (Brooklyn or Manhattan), I'm avoiding the hunt for pre-schools and have decided to home school until we settle. Hope I'm not going to regret this. My poor little guy could really benefit from some new faces...

Haha ckny1 Arthur freaks it if I try to do the vacuuming - that's his job! And once he has finished the vacuum MUST go away and NO-ONE can touch it! He's happy to "share" the dusting and laundry though. I see at as advanced payment for when they are teenagers and drop their crap everywhere.

DH's job got made permanent today and with an immediate pay rise, and strong hints from his boss that his salary will continue to rise quickly as rises are performance related and they are VERY happy with him! I immediately googled mortgage calculators, jumped on right move and checked my ovulation dates . I plan on being very busy over the next year!

Hi everyone, I've been lurking but finding it hard to find any time to post. The two kids are keeping me very busy! Spencer turned 12 weeks today. He is a really sweet, chilled out little boy and has grown so much since he was born -- well into 3-6m clothes for several weeks now and even some 6-9m things. He's doing great and feeding well and although his daytime sleep isn't great, he's almost sleeping through the night already; usually only waking once around 4 or 5 and then sometimes sleeping until 8. Of course, I never get to sleep until 8 bc Sabine is still getting up early. Her teeth are finally coming in, so I think that accounts for a lot of early mornings and grumpy behaviour. She dotes on Spencer, though, and has really adjusted well to him being here, so that's great. She's also talking loads and can recognize a few letters of the alphabet.

I still find it a challenge to get out much with them. They rarely nap at the same time (yes, Sabine still naps at least 1hr/day, thank god), plus the weather has been so cold. One negative of having a baby at the time of year: I can't BF outdoors. Ah well, I hate the cold anyway and don't really mind hibernating through it. I do feel bad that Sabine doesn't get out to play as much right now, though. But spring will be here soon and by then Spencer will be more mobile, so I hope I'm not causing any permanent damage to her social skills. ckny, I know what you mean about them benefiting from seeing some new faces. We do go to at least one playgroup/week and DH takes her out the days he's home.

Congratulations, petty. Sounds like lots of good things happening for you this year. :)

kagey I hope E is feeling better.

loz I keep thinking that these years of from work are when I should be coming up with an idea and plotting/outlining my novel, but, yeah, when exactly would I do that?! (Did you ever read Fingersmith, btw? Talk about amazing plotting.)

I hope everyone else is doing great. Looking forward to more birth announcements soon. Who's next?

eversomuch You sound like you are coping really well! I didn't even think about bf'ing outside in the winter - that would be hard! Fingers crossed spring is around the corner for us. It sounds like she is doing well being at home with you so don't worry!

petty VERY exciting! :oD

kagey I hope the chickenpox has passed. We haven't had that yet...

jojo Many congratulations on Emilia (love the name - might be on our list!) Hope all is going well.

H is doing well and turned 22 months a couple of days ago. She still doesn't speak much (if she doesn't progress in the next couple of months I'm going to ask the HV) but manages to be understand with her own version of sign language. Still doesn't sleep through consistently although is loads better than she used to be. She is shy but loves small groups and would probably rather live with her grandparents she loves them all that much.

We also use child labour. Please could you pick that up for mummy? Oohh good girl!

I'm due soon - 37+2 today (H was 9 days late though!). She is at her grandparents for the day so I am having a day of rest. We are getting a new roof so its not quite the pj day I planned but still lovely to have a tiny bit of time to myself before everything gets turned upside down.

Who else is due soon?

halo you must be late now - how are you feeling??? Hope it all goes swimmingly for you! Looking out for an announcement from you soon either here or on FB. Also I think stealthtoddler was also due around now?

How are the others doing with their seconds, Jojo and Everso? I'm really hoping that we can start trying for third (and final!!!!) baby from April - I'd like to be done and dusted before I'm 34! Hwvr as I've said before it depends on DS's primary school application outcome. So petty you never know, we might be due roughly around the same time again if all goes to plan!

We seem to be going down with hand foot and mouth - only fevers at the moment but we went to SIL's on wknd and her child had it thanks for warning us so I'm expecting some blisters tomorrow or the next day. So annoying - DS has two parties to go to on the weekend that he might have to miss! At the moment it only looks like Lara is coming down with it though. Anyway I'm knackered and had a terrible night with her last night and hoping for a better one tonight, but not holding my breath.

How's everyone else? Xxx

Aww Loz hope Lara is better soon. Arthur had HFM but when I looked in to it, you don't have to keep them home from school etc.... as its only contagious (normally) amongst children, and only with close physical contact so as long as DS feels ok in himself it should be fine to go to the parties. Once the blisters had emerged Arthur was a lot better in himself.

Just had a lovely loooong weekend away in Paris - just me and DH! We went to celebrate my birthday and a final chance to get away as a)trying to ttc dc2 (as it happens I should have been ov on my birthday, in Paris!) and b)trying to buy our first house so funds and opportunities for a weekend with just the 2 of us will probably be VERY low for a while! We are only in the first month of ttc and house buying so still very early days here!

Had a lovely meet up with sam and purple today. Our babies are so big and grown up now! Forgot to take a pic of them all together though - doh!

Can anyone inspire me with a birthday present for Arthur this year????? What are you all getting your LO's?

petty your Paris weekend sounds ace - we're hoping to do similar at end of the month. DH's brother is in Germany so we want to go and see them for a couple of nights.

I think we're going to get Lara a scooter for her birthday - she nicks DS's all the time, still can't actually scoot but it will be good for her to try over the summer!

Happy mothers day you lovely lot!!

All the lovely FB birthday photos has got me thinking about you all and wondering how everyone is as we enter our third year with our babies!!! It will take me a while to catch up on thread but I'll come back and post later (prob in a few days time never seem to have much time to sit still these days!)
Seems like a long time ago we were all going through our births, at the same time it seems like the past two years have flown by if that makes sense?!

I know what you mean highland

I had a flick through all the photos on fb, starting when our babies were er... babies and now they are all grown up

Having a lazy day at home with A today. Decided to do nappy free this morning to see how we got on..... there is wee EVERYWHERE! 6 months ago he would wee in a potty. I think he would like to wee on a toilet but not with me holding him so might have to invest in a toilet seat so he doesn't fall in again I know I have only given it a morning but think I will hold fire for a few more months and try again. In my mind I figured he would be closer to 3 when he was ready but we have had some signs. At least he didn't poo everywhere...

sat here twiddling my thumbs nervously as dh is at the bank trying to sort out the mortgage as we have had an offer accepted on our first home. Exciting but nerve wrecking!

Oooh petty exciting - did mortgage get sorted? Fingers crossed for you!

Potty training - hmm, I think Lara is the naughtiest little girl on the planet so can't see her doing it any time soon! Plus she's DIDDY so would fall down the loo.

Mortgage more or less sorted Loz just got the valuation to get through now.... but I'm pretty sure that bit will be fine! I am the impatient type though and I want to move NOW. Actually, make that I want to move yesterday!

Got a toilet seat from B&M stores yesterday for £2.50 - was very pleased with my bargain. Arthur likes to sit on it fully clothed. I think we have a way to go....

Congrats petty on the house move, exciting times!! And your Paris trip sounded fab, I would love to have a trip away with dh but will probably be a few years now!!
All is pretty good here, have three and a half weeks left of my pregnancy now, eek! So excited to meet dc2 and see what he or she is like, and get those gorgeous newborn cuddles. Finally got Angus sleeping through the night in his own cot again about two weeks ago so trying to bank as much sleep as possible now. How are the new babies getting on? Ever so, spencer sounds like a real sweetie and he's sleeping so well that's brilliant!
Also can't quite believe they're all turning 2, like you petty I also looked at the photos from the beginning and I can't believe it's been 2 years! We had a lovely birthday weekend for Angus, took him to Oban sea life centre to see otters and seals, and had a wee tea party at home....I even iced a cake for the first time ever, made a lion! Was nice to make a fuss of him before dc2 arrives.
Not much news from here really, he's trying to talk lots more recently but I have to translate or other people but were getting there. Am really enjoying his company a lot just now, he's good fun and has a sense of humour, and fingers crossed the tantrums seem to come and go quite quickly so far, we'll see how long that lasts!
No potty training attempts here, I am in awe at some of you, we've jus got to the stage where we say bye bye poo when changing a nappy but that's it!
Would love to know how everyone else is getting on. Tried joining the April 2013 thread but it wasn't the same, feel like I know you guys (even though I don't post very often I do read!)
That's A asleep so away to put my feet up with. Hot choc now. Will put an updated photo on FB too.

Sorry that was really long and full of typos!

Hello ladies!!

Im sorry to not namecheck so hope you and your LO's are ok....i need some advice!!

R seems to be going through weird sleep regression and i'm not sure if its illness or an age thing. She has a chesty cough and we noticed she has her last set of molars coming through so isnt happy but has always gone to bed no problem. However over the last few nights she has woken during the night beside herself and wont go back in her cot. Last night she wouldnt even go to bed at all so i had her in with me.

Doc says she has just a cough, no infection

Is anyone else going through this? Is it just the illness and it will all go back to nornal in time? Nightmare? Im at a loss!!

Hi Jojo - yes a few weeks ago Lara went through a rocky patch in her sleep and it came straight after being ill. I'd been sleeping with her when she was ill (chest and ear infection) and she got a bit too used to it!! When I knew she was better and off the meds, I became a bit stricter - first night I'd go in and stroke her but not take her out of her room if she woke, (tricky as she shares with her brother but he sleeps like the dead!!) then the next night it was a drink of water, back to bed, "night night I love you". She protested a bit but the 3rd night she was back on track. There were a few tears though. Interestingly, a lot of other mums with similarly aged children went through similar at the same time which made me wonder if it was developmental.

Hope you're getting the sleep back on track now!

Lara's birthday was today. We had a lovely day but a quiet one as DS has chicken pox. It's only day 3 and we're already so bored of staying in!!! Guess little La will get it next week. Thankfully we now have an influx of new toys to play with! I can't believe they are all 2!!! Lara refuses to believe it and says she's 3....

Hi Ladies, again apoplogies for no naming but am crap at goig n mumsnet as tend to go on fb, can you maybe get an app for mumsnet??

JoJo, same here with the sleep pattern, Lozario told me you had posted on here this week, Cassie seems to have done a completee u turn on sleep. if i put her to bed she wakes at least twice crying and pointing to the bedroom door asking to come in my bed which is weird as shes never slept in my bed! However if daddy puts her to bed and im out of the house she doesnt wake , now ideally daddy could do that all the time but he lives in scotland as he's in the Forces, so isnt home that often- just back for easter leave , so what do we do??!! SHE used to be happy with just a quick cuddle and back to bed but now cries and then wakes up 45-60 mins later,grrr!!

I think i may investigate as to whether its a developmenatal stage or just trying it on stage lol!!!

love to you ladies and to the lady who tried joining the April ante natal ...how very dare you !!!!! You are a March mumsnetter all the way and baby will become an honorary one

any progress with the sleep Sam and jojo?
Arthur was VERY angry to be sent for a nap this afternoon and threw himself out of his cot the sides are still up though as i am sticking to my 3 times rule (but my friend is sending me her bed guard). im hoping he won't want to try again if it hurt the first time ?
he also still had his nap (in my bed) so im hoping he has sort of learnt that rebellion is futile

Wow thanks for the helpful posts Lozario and Sam. Very interesting that they seem to be going through similar at the same age.

Thanks for asking Petty, i think we have cracked the bed aversion . Although it was tackled with lots of tears, by night 3 she went down without a fight. She still wakes stupidly earlybut thats another battle to tackle. Luckily DD2 is sleeping well so it could be much worse.

Its R's birthday today! We are going to see my parents today and out for lunch but DH has just hone back to bed with a migraine so might just be me and the girls.

Hope you're all ok!

morning ladies i type from my bed as daddy is on duty for the last time as he us going back to scotland tomorrow sleeping with HRH has improved as daddy goes in and she seems to have realised mummy doesnt get up in the nights and so far has only woken once in the night then daddy strokes her head and she goes thru.....we will see what happens sunday night We went away thursdsay night for a wedding in the Forest of Dean and my mum and dad slept at mine and the little monkey slept 7.30-9am !! Daddy is taking them off today as i was on duty all day yesterday whilst he lay on the sofa watching American sit coms hungover....can u tell that pissed me off anyway must get up

Seems like everyone is getting their sleep issues sorted, A is a rubbish sleeper so not much advice to offer here, also the only way he will nap now is if I take him in the car, not such a big deal now I just take him down the track for 5 or 10 mins until he's asleep then I can leave him asleep in the car outside the house, sometimes having to wake him up after a couple of hours (it's safe to do this by the way we're 3 miles from nearest public road in case anyone thinks I'm being v irresponsible!). I have no idea how we're going to manage that one once new baby arrives though?! I'm thinking maybe he doesn't need that nap anymore but he's a grumpy little so and so by 4pm if he hasn't slept! Everyone else's DC's still napping in the day?
8 days to go now until my due date.....and trying my best to shift a hideous chest and sinus infection, urgh, on third lot of antibiotics and SIL has taken A for weekend to give me a break which is amazing! Although I'm feeling the serious urge to clean clean clean, maybe that means baby is imminent?
Hope everyone had a lovely Easter, the weather has been gorgeous here so been spending lots of time sitting out in the sun

ooh more new babies to come im broody as hell and ttc has been disastrous so far only been trying 2 months though so plenty of time yet!
Arthur is still napping in the day, he fights it but he NEEDS it. He quite often skips his nap at the child minders (too exciting) or if we have had a boring day at home.

Ruby is exactly the same as Arthur Petty, she fights her naps but she needs them. I think they are so important. Its like they are missing out on something?!

Wow not long to go now Highland, how exciting! DD2 is 15 weeks old now, time flies quicker 2nd time round.

Yes jojo - at the CM's he calls out for the cm and her gd and she feels bad leaving him in the cot. Its too much fun and he knows he is the only one in bed It sometimes takes him an hour to go to sleep at home (usually 20mins or so) and he shouts for me a couple of times and then chats to his bears. But he can throw himself out of the cot now so not sure what will happen next time he objects.....