November '05 - babies getting bigger, mummies getting smaller!

[novadandypowder]

A nice new thread for us all - I know someone mentioned it a few days ago

bumping this so it's above the other one

Hello!! Thanks for nice new thread NOV, and the rather optimistic title .
Libby is back to her usual self this morning, and has actually been sleeping a bit longer in the mornings since the clocks went forward - strange I know! (we get 6.45 ish rather than 6ish - brill!!)
Have had a hellish time trying to get all 3 out the door and up to school this morning . Only have to do it once a week, but boy do we struggle to get there for 9! We're on foot, with a mile walk which always involves some 'crisis' (dd1s glasses this morning). Any tips from others on how to avoid stresses of this? LONDONER, how do you get your in on time? (though if I remember are you very close?)
Right, tantrum alert from dd2!
Diege

Morning everyone,

like the new thread Nova, thanks....

Diege, the thing I stick to which always seems to work is to always try and be ahead of everyone else, so get up and completely ready yourself before attempting to organise others..if poss. I find that having 5-10 mins to myself in the morning regardless of any chaos and noise either side of it does wonders. You somehow get into a good mode. So for instance, I might do the early feed with the baby like you, say sometime between 6 and 7 and then check whoever needs to be awake is awake and then hare off to the bathroom with everything I need to be ready and wash and dress in peace. Then I feel ready for the day. The times things go really wrong are where I'm too frazzled to even think about myself and start concentrating on everything else first and find I'm still in my pants when it's time to leave. Although I have a very easy school run now, I had many years of a 2 hour school run involving buses, walking, baby in sling, buggy and reluctant toddler so I do know what you mean. Try to think of things that will make it easier for you, so for instance this might mean putting a 3 year old in a buggy with a book even though they're quite capable of walking.... and it's nice and fast... they can always walk on the way back. The glasses thing is a tough one, I try to make sure I always know where the glasses are and keep a spare pair that only I know about for emergencies. Other than that no magic tips I'm afraid apart from remembering to take each day as a fresh one, and that no matter how behind you may feel, you are always moving forward when bringing up a family as they are growing, changing and learning all the time and these things will not always be so hard, your children will learn how to do all these things for themselves. I bet you're doing great, I think most people are coping in the same sort of way but we don't see what goes on behind the scenes you know? Hope that's helpful and not just dull lecture.

Have sent a message through Yahoo, forgot to sign it sorry, am v.frazzled as Elizabeth has a stinking cold now and was up half the night as she couldn't feed through the snot and kept throwing up....... she is asleep now though in a little stripey vest and looks like a beautiful doll, hopefully we've turned a corner.......

Brill new thread Nova :)

Diege - LOL at trying to get out in the morning! I always think I'm going well in the morning, but then, as you say, there is always some crisis! Baby poo this morning...... I try and make up for it at school and playgroup by being in the PTA and buying them things for snack

Beks - That's brilliant about pasting our pg threads onto a word doc! If you've saved it I wondered if you could e-mail it to me? I'd love to keep it for prosperity :) I could do the post-natal ones and e-mail them to you if you like? We've missed you BTW.

Londoner - I'm mad on dressing the children in stripes! I like the fisherman 'type' stripe the best! J also has a cold and this morning I looked over at her to see her 'first' 2 little snotty tracks running down her lip :) Strangely, grossly cute.

GG, welcome aboard :) Hope you enjoy reading and contributing to our endless chatter! Hope we haven't scared them off Nova, but you are right, they haven't posted for a while, so Bob2 and Yorkshire pud, if your out there, come back :) (Think Candimom's away getting married and baby christened isn't she?)

Jen, ooh, what a git stealing your mobile! Will you be coming on the 18th Apr?

Went riding again yesterday and luckily I do not ache much this morning. Unluckily the horse tried to kill me by freaking out and putting in around 6 huge bucks one after the other near the canal, bloody animal, although it was really windy. Friend joked that he's got a lead deficiency - between his ears... Am going back for more next week, bad horses are my weakness :)

Right,

Quick one here before lunch and soft play place this afternoon. May have bitten off more than I can chew as offered to take one of Tessa's friends whilst her mum takes her little sister for her MMR. Might get to see what Ash thinks of 'the big pink wobbly slide'! Then again might just evacuate the place by letting him yell - usually he is Mr Calm, Laidback Smiley Boy but if he is unhappy about something BEWARE

Just let Tessa open a parcal of tractors/trailers and animals that I got for 99p on ebay. May not have been that sensible as will probably need to have a 'discussion' about why they can't come to Big Space later

Just a quickie! Poor you LONDONER! As you say, hopefully E is over the worst of it; tough to get through the day when you're feeling exhausted though . Thanks so much for the advice about mornings - will try the 'getting ready myself first' strategy; agree that it's one thing to get them ready, but then when you're still in your dressing gown and the contact lenses refuse to go in !!!!....you've had it! Have also been confounded by exploding nappy, RODEO . I think it just helps to know that I'm not the only one struggling,and that every tiny thing I do (ie, get shoes on dd2!) is one step further to getting out the door .
Think YORKSHIRE has been posting on weigh-in stream? Yes, CANDI has a note so she has a permitted leave of absence .
Oh dear, dd2 has wet tights crisis! best go...
Diege x

Afternoon girls, the cloud has lifted [hooray] have finally got my AF Flaming thing drives me nuts coming and going when it likes - I'm definitely coming back a man next time

Rodeo it will be a pleasure to e-mail the thread doc to you, just need to tidy it up a bit but will send it this week - i think i've got your email address already.

Karma I take it your ds is on Easter hols that week then. Ben is back at school but feel free to stay as many nights as you like to make the most of being in London

Sorry to hear Elizabeth & Jess have got the snots, hope they both feel better soon.

Londoner that was a very inspiring post as usual, how do you manage it, you always manage to put everything back into perspective for me.

Jen what a pain in the A having your phone nicked, little rat bag, it's not the phone is it it's the inconvenience

Bob Thomas & Oskar are on a par as I got him weighed on Monday andhe's 17lb 12oz

Right off for some lunch while it's quiet, thanks for the support again girls, don't know what i'd do without you Beks

I've got a very poorly little tyke here. Took him to the A&E last night as he was vomiting up everything and was very listless - he then vomited bile at the hospital and suddenly became all smiles again. I'm giving him rehydration sachets to try and keep him at least hydrated, he doesn't seem to have an appetite right now. I did feed him a little bit and he's just thrown up all over me, the chair and the carpet - lovely!! Otherwise he seems fine?!? Hospital said that it was probably just a stomach bug that's been going around, and to just try and feed him tiny amounts at a time. I'm sure he's going to be fine, but it was horrible last night when he was like a rag doll.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

J & N xx

Hello!!

You lot certainly do move fast. Finally got a few minutes to myself to say hi. Owen only at school this afternoon so its all a bit of a rush as its half hour walk to school and back, and even longer when he decides he wants to go in the car. He's normally really good and scoots off shouting for me to catch him but not today, Oh No! Today he decides that even though its warm and sunny he wants to go in the car and he's going to stand an scream at me, so i'm a bit frazzled, grrrr! Gotta go back out in half hour or so to get him. Roll on Sept when he's at proper school all day. I'm sure then i'll complain that i want him with me and miss him lots.

Diege - I'm in Portsmouth, with the beach 5 mins walk away, so that's our summers sorted every year

Jen - Sean was born at 3.30am, 8 days late so he should have been an Oct baby, but you all seem really nice so Nov's ok.

What a lovely thread :)

LilJ - Really sorry to hear about Nate. I've mentioned this a few times before but with Z in hospital at only 4 weeks old with similar I have every sympathy with you of seeing your little one so poorly - it's such a worry. Hope he gets better real soon. How is his weight now Lil? I will have Z weighed again next week when we go for next set of jabs, would like to compare as we've both been mixed feeding and they both had weight concerns earlier on.

Hi GG - Welcome :)

Beks - I've had an idea! Why don't we put together a November ladies keepsake book. It would take a lot of time and effort but we could all contribute and have it bound. We could have lots of different sections of our pregnancy (even TTC - I was on a thread there for a while) and life with baby under different headings. We could make spaces for baby pics/scan pics etc.. It is a project that needs time, effort & patience. Each of us that agrees to it would contribute something small to cover paper and ink and the P & P needed to send it by post. Otherwise, we could convert it to a PDF file and everyone could download their own. What do you think?

Londoner - As always - great advice!

Having a good day today. Our dining room is off our kitchen (part open, part closed), currently home to oversized dining room table (was great in last house, not so great here) and a niche that I call my own - host to a PC and other bits and pieces. Want to get rid of everything in there and it's place put a small sofa, a large rug and make it home to all of Z's paraphernalia. That way there is ample space for him and friend's other kids & their toys, I can see him when in living room or kitchen, it keeps the living room tidy so that I don't have to panic whenever the doorbell rings etc. What do you do? Does it sound okay? My living room looks like a nursery already and just feel that there should be a room for the adults. Guess i just want to justify getting rid of my favourite piece of furniture. Oh well. Thanks for listening.

Beartime - Caleb is a lovely name. Meanings of names would be good to add to book.

ChaCha - thanks for the message of support. He does seem on the mend but only taking a little bit of food and I'm sticking to breastmilk as he throws up formula right away. As he's only taking a tiny bit of food I'm sure I'll have enough breastmilk to feed him for the day.

He was weighted last night at the hospital and he's 6.30 kilos which keeps him in the 25th percentile where he's been pretty much since he gained his birth weight back. He's mostly on formula these days as he only really gets one full breast feed in the mornings, otherwise I just give him the breast during the day to relax him and get him to sleep - I don't count them as feeds.

Gotte run as he's just woken up again and I hope hungry ...

Haven't had time to properly catch up but read about trying to get out the door on time. It's the same with us, chaos every morning. My new theory is that there's some kind of magnetic force around our front door which causes the children to wee/poo/spit up violently as soon as we get near it. Was actually on time the other day, got Tobes downstairs and almost onto the front porch before he said "Mommy, I'm not wearing any SHOES."

Londoner - hope Elizabeth and you feel better soon! Have you tried the nasal aspirator and saline drops - works wonders!

LilJ - that must have been scary

LilJ - poor Nate, what a worry for you. It is dreadful when they are listless, it is hard to know what to do for the best. Glad you took him off to hospital, poor little mite.

JenJam - e-mailed you.

The DTs had their (very late) jabs today. Apart from some initial wailing they took it in their stride.

Also got them weighed. Nat weighs 17.10 and Ezra is 17.1. Both on the 91st centile (of the premature scale).

LilJ - sorry to hear your little one's not well, hope he's better very very soon.

ChaCha - I never worry about what people think if there's childrens things all over the place. I know what you mean though about needing an adult room. It used to work i my old house, but this ones just so much smaller its overrun with toys and baby stuff

Just added Sean to the stats page

Hello All. Not been on for a couple of days, and just spent the last 30 mins trying to catch up!
GG - Welcome, everyone is very friendly, I didn't join until after Thomas was born, sometime in December I think, although can't remember now, have been to sleep (I think!) since then!
BoB - I have a tattoo - one that my ex-husband designed for me. Had it done before I reached my 30th birthday (something I'd always wanted to do), once my husband left me and we got divorced - just decided now was the time! Don't regret it, it's in the small of my back - so can't see it, so won't ever grow tired of it!
Nova - agree with you about Yummy Mummy on the Wright stuff (isn't Matther Wright yummy!) had really high hopes for that segment, but was disappointed with her slot, especially about the "you can put them to sleep however you like" wtf? doesn't she listen to the back to sleep campaign?????? was v.
LilJ - sorry to hear Nate is poorly - hope he gets better soon.

Have now put a couple of christening photos on the yahoo site - only put a couple cos thought might run the risk of boring everyone with endless piccies of Thomas and various family members in his Christening gown!!

Am going to get T weighed tomorrow - he was 15lb 8oz last time, so think he may be 16lb 7oz - but we'll see.

So wish I was coming to meet you all in London, but never mind - may make another meet up at some point.

Can't believe I go back to work in about 4 weeks Am looking forward to it in one way, but not looking forward to not being with my little man for the majority of the day.

Anyway, off to have a shower and wine refill before Taggart starts!

Brownie & Thomas
x

Just a quickie. Thanks for the new thread, Nova.
Beksmum, thanks for the extended invite. What I think I'll do is kill 2 birds & drive across to Norfolk where my friend lives. It takes me 5 hrs to get to hers so I can't go very often so it makes sense to drive from London. DS loves going there as he loves playing with her DDs & they have a big garden.

Have finally cracked the "clocks going forward" problem. Ella & I slept together for ages this afternoon so she was happy to stay up till 7:45.
Wish me luck as I have a job interview tomorrow. Its for the nurse bank so it shouldn't be too taxing. Its a win win situation. The employer can decide to not book for me for work if I turn out to be crap, & when a permanent job comes up I'll be ideally placed as they've seen me work so it would be a doddle. I've done it twice before & it makes the whole process much easier for me. Just hauled my interview suit out & I just fit into it!

Beautiful christening pics Brownie, you look so happy, and the gown looks perfect .

I tried Natalie in a friends bumbo and her thighs got wedged in it and I couldn't get her out!

sorry - the bumbo quip will have more relevance when you've looked at Brownie's pics...

Well Nathaniel seems to be on the mend. He's had a bit to eat and is fast asleep now. DH is in Lisbon for work so I'm on my own, but Daddy has been very worried about Nate and calling every hour to check in.

Nova - LOL at Nat being stuck in the Bumbo. They say it will last until 14 months, but I'm thinking 8 months max! But Nate loves sitting at the table with us when we have dinner and being at the same level. But Bumbos are hot commodities up here in Nappy Valley North London - I had to reserve ours and then I could only get a blue one (I wanted Aqua really). Now if I can only locate a 'winkle'? Apparently it's the best toy for teething and there's a three week wait in Crouch End!

J xx

Hi Guys

Sorry I haven't been on for ages. I've managed to log on and keep up with you all but haven't managed to post due to usually falling asleep of Holly crying.

Well we have no teeth through yet but we have also lost interest in her bottles. She is only drinking approx 3-4 oz every 4 hours instead of 7. I thought maybe she was ready for weaning but on asking the health visitor she advised to keep trying to give her the milk, to try smaller feeds more often and review in 4 weeks so now i'm not sure. She's also stopped sleeping through the night and can wake up to 10 times through the night.

On a more positive note, I have bought my wedding dress and shoes, bridemaid dresses and Hollys christening dresses and am going to speak to my boss this week about the hours I want to return to work on and have my fingers crossed that he'll agree to the more flexible hours that I need.

Sorry very self obsessed post - welcome to Garfieldsgirl and love the photos Brownie. Am very envious about your meet up in the big smoke but afraid will not be able to join you. I absolutely hate London - please post lots of photos on the yahoo site.

Brownie - Holly now has a bumbo and the photos that we have of her for her first time in it she has a beeming smile - She loves it.

morning everyone!

Brownie lol at sleep, I know just how you feel, hence being up at some ridiculouis hour this morning.

At the risk of sounding ignorant/stupid or both, What is a bumbo?

What a night I've had, Sean started teethingbat 2wks, but the last few have been ok, no trouble with those horrible teeth, but last night they came back with a vengeance, I think i slept between 10:30 and 11:30 and then another hour about 1am, and he just screamed the rest of the night. I hope he kept the neighbours awake too though - miserables b***ds.

Hope the rest of you had a better night than I had.

GG xx

yorkshire - do you feed her at night when she wakes up? Cos if you do that may be why she's losing interest during the day maybe? Sorry about your lack of sleep Caleb started waking up a lot but when I got him a sleeping bag it was fixed (she says hopefully )

GG - I also have been wondering about the bumbo so glad you asked! I hope your nights resolve themselves soon too.