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These babies are going to be calm, easy and sleepy at all the right times, and we're brooking no argument about it!

999 replies

Biscuitsandtea · 07/10/2012 05:09

In here ladies - the other thread was getting full up so I thought I'd better start a new one.....

Will do some links to / from this thread but in the meantime please make yourselves at home Smile

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
PetWoman · 11/10/2012 19:58

I don't particularly notice cleanliness or tidiness (or lack of) in other people's houses, unless it's very clean or tidy in which case I'm impressed and envious! I can't remember when I last thought 'ooh this room is dirty' (apart from my DB and SIL's bathroom, because it was grubby and I always do a quick clean in the bathroom before visitors arrive so I was surprised they hadn't!).

Musical how do you get DD to sit still on your lap when you play the piano? I tried to play an easy version of Moonlight Sonata for DS when I was at my parents' house but he bounced up and down and pressed the keys so I couldn't play. I don't think my playing was that bad I learned Great Britain Did Fight Argentina for the bass clef. My sister has grade 8 piano so she plays and I sing with DS on my hip. Mostly Phantom Of The Opera as it's my favourite

musicalmrs · 11/10/2012 20:27

When I taught a lesson last week I realised I'd completely forgotten one of the sentences for remembering bass notes :S I use Grizzly Bears Don't Fear Anything for the lines and All Cows Eat Grass for the spaces in the bass clef.

Scream, glad M loves the keyboard! Keep at the same tune and you'll play it at a more normal speed soon. Does it have the chord symbols? If so when you've mastered the RH you can always play just the bass note from the chord - or use autochord if your keyboard has it!

Pet, I balance Iz on one leg - sitting with one leg either side - and pedal with the other if need be. I used to stick to pieces where my hands were quite close together so I could support her with my arms, but she doesn't need that anymore. She's also been doing it for a long time - there's a pic of her at about a month old on my Facebook on my lap (asleep!), and I definitely did it before that - and it's something I do almost every day, so she's very used to it! That makes it sound like I'm a very dedicated pianist - I mainly end up playing nursery rhymes and songs she likes me singing along to or playing!

My husband and I often go through the sheet music from musicals (we don't have the Phantom book sadly, though I've got various pieces in compliations!) - he'll sing and hold Iz and I'll play. Last time we did it, she fell asleep to me playing Fauré in the morning, and then fell asleep while we were singing The Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot as a duet. If anyone knows that song, they'll know it's not particularly sleep inducing...! Daft baby :)

She often just sits there, looks up and smiles or gets excited when I start, but after a while she gets bored and then wants to play herself (hence today's picture). Alternatively, I play something with hands quite far apart or move the melody up an octave so she can play some clustery chords in the middle :)

I ran a choir rehearsal for about 1h20 mins today. Knackered. Seriously, how do people work with a baby tiring them out?! Early to bed methinks..

PetWoman · 11/10/2012 20:27

Meant to say also Scream glad your DH is going to see a doctor - hope he can get some help. How odd that he preferred to see his brother instead of DD. Couldn't he have seen them both?

Scarlet I hope DD's cough clears off pronto and she's all better soon.

Jaggy :( for you going back to work soon and missing cuddles.

musicalmrs · 11/10/2012 20:30

Aaah, that should have said Too, glad M likes the keyboard - not Scream! Is a sign of how knackered I am, clearly.

Scarlet, hope DD's cough clears up pronto. If you're in doubt though, definitely go get it checked out..

PetWoman · 11/10/2012 20:33

X-post Musical - sounds like a fab home to grow up in! Lucky Iz. Am off to bed too and I didn't do any (paid) work today. :) did the choir go well?

DreamingOfPeace · 11/10/2012 21:37

Reading and brooking for all appropriate things as discussed above ^^

Dc determined to wear me into the ground. Especially S. He's harder than the other 2 put together FFS.

Bed quick, no sleep for longer than an hour from any dc here last night groan

Biscuitsandtea · 11/10/2012 22:12

Quick Dream sleeeeeeeeep while you have the chance!

So if S is worse than the other two put together does that mean the other two are on the mend? Has DDs temp come down now? How are the meds going? Do B and S still have baby Gaviscon or anything? A friend of mine has just started her little colic monster on baby Gaviscon and says it's amazing the difference it makes! How's the poo situation?

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scarletfingernail · 11/10/2012 22:37
Biscuitsandtea · 11/10/2012 22:38

BTW, Too, what does it mean to have perfect pitch? Is that when you can sing a middle c for example without hearing it first. So not just singing in tune but knowing what notes you're singing? How do you learn that?

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ScreamIfYouWantToGoFaster · 11/10/2012 23:00

No Brooking for Ninja and her DS1, as they recover from two stressful days. Also No Brooking for Dream and your poorly DC! More No Brooking for Scarlet's DD, I hope it turns out to be nothing more than a fleeting cold!

So tired I could cry. Had a lovely day out with two really good friends I haven't seen for ages, and DD was on good form for them, so that was a great afternoon. However getting home from Central London was a nightmare of train delays and cancellations, resulting in us getting caught in rush hour (with the pushchair! Sigh.) So DD was tired, hungry and frazzled by the time we got back, and it then took 90 minutes of fussing to get her down (and she's already been up once). Ugh.

Encountered my first post-weaning dirty nappy today. Shock just Shock. Nothing could have prepared me for the horror! I've decided DD will be reverting to an all-milk diet until she's potty trained Grin

O and Musical, so far DH has only turned up to take DD for the afternoon when his brother is in London, so he can spend the day with them both. Every time his brother has been out of London staying with relatives, so DH can't see him and DD at the same time, so far he's chosen his brother every time. This is par for the course with DH, he's been choosing his brother over me ever since we first met, but constantly denying that his brother is more important to him than me (and now DD). This is our single biggest maritial problem, and the issue most likely to break us up in the end :(

PetWoman · 12/10/2012 00:34

Dream hope you're fast asleep now.

Scarlet that sounds like a poo-castrophe! Poor you (and DD). Yes, best to get her checked - maybe she's got a chest infection.

Scream :( about DH and his brother. Why is he so attached to him? Hope you are having a better night than you anticipated.

DS is up again here. Something is waking this baby - but what? I don't think he's teething particularly, or that hungry. So What Is It???

musicalmrs · 12/10/2012 02:20

Argh, managed to lose my mobile MN post..

Pet, thank you :-) Yes, she has been born to a very musical household, but it does have its downsides - such as having to listen to squeaky beginner oboes and recorders in the womb, where she couldn't escape! My first memories of big kicks are in oboe lessons, clearly thinking 'What on earth is that noise?!'. Hope DS's waking is a one off (two off?)...

Biscuits, that's precisely what perfect pitch is. I'm not sure if it can be learnt, but I think it can develop through life or get 'stronger'- mine certainly has (either that or I have very strong relative pitch.. nobody who's tested me with it is ever sure!). My mother has it- was forever calling to me from upstairs telling me the notes I got wrong - 'you forgot all the F#s in that passage!'.

Scream, I'm so sorry to hear that. I can't believe he's choosing his brother over DD. Am I right in thinking his brother doesn't live round here, and therefore shouldn't be around long? Or is he living elsewhere and that's why your DH travels to see him and cancels on DD? Completely unacceptable either way. I think you've mentioned counselling before - could that help him realise how his attachment to his brother is pushing you - and now DD - away? :-( :-(

Long night shift here - been up about 50mins, normally 15 at most, and she's still awake. However, the most amusing one ever - after not wanting to go back to sleep, Iz threw up her whole feed, mostly over my shoulder and onto a cat! The cat, who was sleeping, was rather surprised to say the least... Grin.

musicalmrs · 12/10/2012 02:25

Scarlet, hope DD has been ok tonight, and that the horrendous pop was just a one off and a passing phase of her bug. No, I haven't been watching the workplace choir thing - busy few weeks - but now things are calming down I'm hoping it's on iPlayer so I can catch up!

Pet, choir did go well, thanks for asking! I think they think I'm all mad though. Not that that's a problem! Got some quite complex harmonies learnt, and all by ear as they can't all read sheet music, so am very pleased. They sounded good, and Iz was pretty well behaved throughout- only getting a bit whiny when she needed sleep but wanted to stay awake and watch!

PetWoman · 12/10/2012 03:39

Up again here.

Biscuitsandtea · 12/10/2012 03:41

Me too

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TooImmatureGhostiesAndGhoulies · 12/10/2012 09:40

Having Googled perfect pitch I'm now not sure that DH has it. He can't read music, so he can't say 'that should have been an F#', for instance. What he does do is say 'that note is wrong, it should go like this', and sing it. I think he might be able to if he had learned music properly, but he learned trombone as a child and for some reason his teacher didn't teach him how to read music, and he stopped at Grade 3. I am sort of on the tone deaf side of things - I can hear the tunes but I can't sing them, and I can't hear the difference between my singing and the actual tune, which can be v embarrassing. It's a shame, because I love singing.

Musical, Grin at Iz throwing up on the cat! Poor cat. What did it do?

Better night here - I got 5 hours unbroken sleep! Shock 11-4, quick feed, then back to sleep. Up at 5.30, 6.45 and eventually 8.30. Best night in a long time!

Dream, all the pics of you and your DC are so adorable! Are the boys turning out ginger? They are so cute!

pommedechocolat · 12/10/2012 09:51

Im like you too, bit tone deaf! DH is very musical although plays nothing now and he seems to think dd1 is pitch perfect (I think it means that when you sing without music you get the notes right?! I still dont get syncopation and he's been trying to explain that one for years..). DD1 does love singing - am trying to find her the modern equivalent of a tape player with a little microphone for xmas actually.

We had another one wake up night here. Getting too used to it and we're off to visit family this weekend so no doubt it will all go wrong!

Hope your dh gets his priorities sorted soon scream - does his brother have some kind of hold over him? Hope he does get his depression sorted, should make the world of difference for all of you if he does.x

Biscuitsandtea · 12/10/2012 09:56

So what's syncopation? Does more fibre help with it?

I can sing a tune without music or play it on the piano (with a bit if trial and error) but I thought that was just plying / singing by ear? No don't there is some technical term for it though

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pommedechocolat · 12/10/2012 10:08

Heehee biscuits. Whatever it is the Charlie and Lola theme tune has it apparently...

Biscuitsandtea · 12/10/2012 10:35

I have a vague feeling that syncopation is when there are two different rhythms or something like that? Or rhythms on half beats or something. Something jolly complicated anyway.

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pommedechocolat · 12/10/2012 12:12

Yes, biscuits - dh tends to be all 'see, that's on the beat', 'that's off the beat' about syncopation but cannot actually do a proper dictionary definition for me!

JenFrankenstein · 12/10/2012 13:28

Scream your DH really can't understand priorities, can he?

I had a very dirty dream last night about Steve McDonald. I think it's time he came back from his holiday as I'm obviously missing him Blush

ScreamIfYouWantToGoFaster · 12/10/2012 14:16

Who's Steve McDonald?

DH lost both parents in his teens, and following this has formed a completely unhealthy obsession attachment to his brother, far over and above a normal brotherly relationship. He refuses to acknowledge how unhealthy this relationship is, even when he's been bailing on DD to see his brother instead. Fortunately his brother lives and works in Switzerland, but unfortunately his brother returns to the UK for a couple of months in the Spring and again in the Autumn every year. DH will be useless and extra-unreliable until his brother goes home again, probably in late Nov. His brother stays with relatives outside of London most of the time while he's here. It's all so tedious and familiar, and I really thought that he would be different with his own child!

I can't contribute to the music chat - I'm hopeless! Tone deaf! My singing makes grown men cry Grin Very impressed by anyone with musical talent though!

JenFrankenstein · 12/10/2012 14:19

In Corrie Dream

Did you see this? I saw it and thought of you

Biscuitsandtea · 12/10/2012 14:27

Scream are you still going for counselling? Is it helping? Is that the sort of issue they could help with? I image it would be a very touchy subject to raise and very emotive for you both so v difficult to make any headway just discussing between yourselves?

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