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

ohmy gosh..it was lovely having a crazy houseful..but hard work!
they managed to figure out our floor cushions can be unziped and roll out into a futon type bed, so did that then jumped all over each other and hit each other with the sofa cushions..
i'd forgoten how much energy tots can have , especially 4 together..O just looked bemused at all the noise and chaos ..he's not used to it..lol

oh..and yes..i was awful for leaving wet washing in baskets..often i forgot to take it out of the machine at all.. and had to rewash..it just makesmore work in the end..lol

Rodeo - Have just had a quick skim through posts. So sorry to hear that you're unwell, how bad is the mastitis? Full blown flu? And here's me moaning away...

Really glad to hear that I'm not the only one who needs to shy away from phone/door at times. Just can't be bothered when I need to sort my own head out.

Life at moment is a bit like 'Groundhog day'.

GO - have been comfort eating. Needless to day haven't bothered to weigh myself. Still a fat arse.

chacha..groundhog day sounds familiar to me..
sorry to hear you are feeling so down with everything, it is hard especially as once you get used to the babies routine they suddenly start behaving totally differently so you need to get used to it again..
i wouldn'tworry about housewrok..often dp comes back and last nights dishes ares till on the table etc ..for me taking care of O and fitting time in for a shower/ time to myself during the day is far more important.
the only problem is I end up dashing around cleaning when dp gets home, as it's so much easier when i know o is being taken care of (don'tknow if you do the same)
this has its own problems as i think i should spend that time having a relaxing bath or catching up with dp...

and i'd love to meet you for coffee if only you were closer..hope you can come to the meetup!

Hi girls

Chacha sorry to hear you're feeling a bit blue, it does get better honest, it's just that at this age they get frustrated very easily and are demanding as they are learning cause and effect i.e. if I shout mum comes, if I play nicely on my own she leaves me to it - hmm right think I'll shout as I love looking at my mummy!

Don't worry about not answering texts and things you're friend will understand and as for housework and things leave it, it will still be there when you feel like doing it and if your dh doesn't like it just show him where the hoover lives he'll soon get the message

By the way I'm with BOB I do my housework when my dh is in so that I can get things done in half the time.

Rodeo oh no what a nightmare, hope you're feeling better soon honey, you can't blow us out next week, we won't let you!!! Hope you are surviving the holidays - we are, just!

Thanks for the kind wishes for my friend - I know someone asked whether she was ill or not before and the answer to that was No, I'd spoken to her in the morning and she felt fine it was a pure shock thing. She was the last person I'd have expected to be struck down like this, but then again she is the sort of person who can take anything in her stride and is already on the drs case to let her go home

Have had a busy day here making Easter hats, and decorating tee-shirts, thank god they are back to school next week {grin}

Hope you are all well, got to go as Thomas has just woken up and is not a happy bunny excuse the Easter pun! Beks

Nova - door bouncers are great, both ds's loved them, don't understand why advice should say not to get them.

ChaCha - make a space for some 'me-time', it sounds like you need to have a nice long soak in the bath, or just go and hide somewhere for an hour and lose yourself in a good book. As for ignoring texts/phonecalls etc. any good friend will undefstand that you need your own little outbursts from time to time and that you can't always shoulder everyone elses burdens, sometimes you need your own little rants, and a decent friend will be there to listen x x

Rodeo - hope those anti-biotics kick in soon and you're feeling better

BEKs - good to hear your friends on the mend, and giving drs grief to let her home!

Been to Harvester today where I used to work, so it was nice to see some old friends and even nicer not to have to cook and wash up afterwards . Boys fell asleep in car after so went for a long drive. Thats my way of relaxing - I love driving, and it was so nice not to have one or other making noise!

GG x

Chacha - must also add that I'm a terrible one for leaving Nat to grizzle if I need to do something. I'm hoping what BEKS says is true because I tend to ignore Nat when she's being a poohead and I'll often go up and make a fuss of her when she's quietly playing.

I also think everyone needs to think of themselves, and like Rodeo I tend to ignore calls/texts until I feel like dealing with them. Some may call it selfish, I prefer self preservation.

Take care

Me too Nova - if they are fed, clean, have something to play with/stimulation, and I'm sure they are not ill/teething/, then they can just carry on moaning to each other and I just get on with whatever I need to do.

I come to the rescue when the howling starts!

Thanks girls :)
Think i'll tackle downstairs when the LO is fast asleep and then book into the bathroom. I've been taking DS into the bath with me lately and it's been a quick splash in very shallow luke warm water and hardly relaxing. He loves it though so can't complain.

I gave him an activity caterpillar that was given to us when he was born, thought he might be too young for it but he sat up with me banging on the various buttons and chuckling at the sounds - that my friends lasted a whole 25minutes!!!

Beks - How's your friend? She's really young, hope she'll be okay.

I also try to do the catch up stuff when DH is home but I can get quite ratty with him as a result. Like he can't do anything when he's looking after him (and is usually asleep anyway). He'd last 30 minutes tops on his own I'm sure.

Best go, someone just doesn't want to sleep. xx

Evening All!
Rodeo - sorry to hear that you are feeling rough - hope you feel better soon.
Chacha - hope you are feeling a bit better also - like the others have said, a true friend will understand if you need to have your own rant. Don't feel bad about ignoring texts until you feel you can deal with them it does not make you a bad person, just human! Hopefully I will be able to come and meet you for a coffee soon (it is you that lives in Oxford isn't it?!) just need to get sorted into a routine once I go back to work!
Diege - glad lo settled into nursery, have got Ts sessions next week.

Brownie

Hi all, just a very quick skim through since mondays posts......

ChaCha-Re-parasol for the jane- they do their own parasol, apparently only fits oval framed prams, but not 100% sure, you may find anougher that does...they are very pricy too for a parasol...

Teething treatments- I really recomend Liquid ANBESOL, its soooooo much easier than teething gels, I used to get sick of re-applying those as they slithered off the end of my finger! Nelsons is very good too from what ive heard, although Ive never tried it.

Door bouncers- why are they no longer recommended? Alfies been going in his for about 3 weeks now, doesnt really do much as of yet, but enjoys sitting in it gently swaying/bouncing

Has been manic here recently, friday I went to visit the 2 child minders I have in mind for if the boys dont get places in the college nursery(which I doubt they will) They were both very nice and so much more structured than nurseries in glasto, they take them to soft play once a week, baby sing and sign, baby dance etc etc! very pleased.

My college interview is 26th April and Ive now booked my driving theory for the 2nd may
driving is going well but slowly, were only doing 3 point turns and havent done any other manuvures(sp?) yet! I need to pass so desperately, life with 2 children is nr impossible without a car and I can officially say I never really leave the house on my own during the week with the boys anymore as its too much hassle and takes ages...

Finding everything quite tough at the moment, think Ive had some mild depression the last few weeks, have found every day like trudging through treacle and as chacha said-like groundhog day every day. My house was a bit of a mess the other day when MIL came round MIL: "whats going on?...whats happening?....whats wrong with you?...Ive never let my house get into this state....look at that dust on the telly(!)...(tuts and looks dissapprovingly and mutters under her breath) lizzzie.......(in a long patronising sort of way)...."

then we were talking about me going back to college on a seperate occasion
MIL: ....just dont go getting pregnant again
ME:(offhand jokey comment)that wont be possible unless its immaculate conception....hahaha...
MIL: OH! POOR ROB!!!
ME: !!?
MIL:you do know thats the quickest way to lose a relationship....
ME:?!?

Shes really pushing it with me at the moment, I am going to get seriously ratty with her at some point if she doesnt watch what she says!

Oh, and for those that remember my sister who wants me to go to the wedding...were all going....shes paying for our accommodation for 3 nights and for us to fly(!!) to york!

right, got to go, will try and check in again soon before it all gets too much to read again...
L xx

oooops, dont know why that sad emoticon is there!? should be, ignore!

Diege - I'm amazed they could put them down in the cot and they go to sleep - I have to thru a whole rigmarole with Caleb and even then he still takes a while sometimes... do they all have same nap times or can you 'instruct' them on GF times? Interesting about the environment thing - cos Caleb wasn't used to sleeping in his playpen and DH seriously nearly went got the train home last week in the middle of the night cos he kept crying, I had to feed him to sleep, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference to his habits of going to sleep normally thankfully.

Nova - Caleb's started refusing to go down for his afternoon nap too, but according to GF they grow out of it around this time anyway and don't really need it.

Can anyone recommend a good activity mat for tummy time? I've been looking at some on e-bay but don't know what is really good for tummies. Caleb likes being on his tummy now but I want to encourage it even more.

Golden - that's reassuring, maybe its not me then So what do you do about Ezra? I wonder what that means his personality will be when he grows up... As for slimming thread - when I went to the conference I ate too much so I'm afraid to weigh myself until I've been good for a few days

BoB - LOL at the teething rattle - Caleb's like that when he finds my thumb and I take it away! I don't you the tots BTW!

Diege - what do you do after 10mins then - change toy/pick up? It seems like I can never get anything done cos I am constantly having to deal with him

ChaCha - sounds normal to me no its not selfish - if its a real friend they will appreciate your honesty.

Nova - I've been trying the leaving him to grizzle thing - trouble is he doesn't grizzle - he yells the place down and then I come finally to pick him up and he's all red in the face and shaking and looking so sad and he sniffles for about 15mins on my shoulder afterwards that I haven't the heart to do it again for quite a while!

I am wondering if he's teething though - loads of drool and lots of fists in mouth... who knows.

Busy I want to go to your nursery congrats on NOT getting ratty with your MIL!!

beartime - I put my boys down awake in cots too and they go off to sleep.

Ezra's more limited attention span means he gets more time on my knee, but he is much better at napping during the day, so I do find time to do bits and bobs.

Morning. BAM: can't be;ieve your MIL, cringed while reading the 'exchange' you had - probably more trouble than it's worth to mention it to DH IYSWIM!!! Hope you're feeling a bit brighter; that 'trudging' feeling is known by all at some point I think. Glad driving seems to be going well, though (not wanting to panic you)the only manoevre I can do with confidence is the 3 point turn ...find the others 'challenging' shall we say . You've reminded me about booking for theory too .
BEAR: Had to snigger at your 'faux pas' on classifieds with the all cooking nanny ; ha! serves you right, you are naughty! . Had a feeling it was meant for me(not that I was going to let you off the hook!) and you're right, once I was back at work all plans at 'Karmel-ising' went by the by. With dd3 I think it will be a case of her eating whatever we are having, mushed to a finer consistency ; have found a really good childrens' cookbook by Usbourne books, which is great from baby to adult by the looks of it!
Well, driving lesson to look forward to later on, then last minute egg-buying for family
Diege

Oh, in response to your questions BEAR, at nursery if the babies are tired, most will settle in cots when put down awake, IF they are already used to this (this happened with dds so know they aren't fibbing!). They will be going through my routine next week, and they actually prefer 'routined' babies they say (guess it makes their lives easier too!). I suppose with 6 to 8 babies in baby room at one time, they have to have structured feeds/sleeps so they know where they are . Re: L's attention spans, after 10 mins or so it's just a case of moving from one 'apparatus' to another (ie, bouncer to chair to sheepskin with no nappy (always good for 10 mins!), or simply on hip in kitchen while I try to do stuff. Another 'saver' is hoovering while she is awake downstairs as she will instantly calm and go into a trance-like state!
My guilty secret.. when getting dressed/doing makeup etc if she isn't happy, I put my hairdryer on cool setting and prop it up on bed while I get ready ; again, she settles into trance again, and I get 10 mins to get myself ready . Oh the tricks

BAM your mil !!!!
thats all you need
the ironing lady - who IS having her baby on 2nd November!!!! said this to me yesterday
ME IN PJS at 11.30. baby sick on left bra straps and all down vest top
ME: it's hard work isn't it! there's no time for looking nice !
HER: just be careful Jen
ME: what do you mean?
HER: lots of ladies let themselves go after they have a baby and their men go elsewhere
ME: !!!???? wtf, james is too knackered himself to go elsewhere
HER: you need to take better care of yourself Jen
ME: okay well can you keep an eye on him while you're doing the ironing so i can go and have a shower, do my hair and put my make up on? hehehe

its immaculate conception time around here too

Hi, ,

Managed a quick skim read (sorry!) ....... so interesting to see we're all pretty much in the same boat re: juggling jobs/baby on hip..... LOVE the hair dryer tip Diege! lol!....... it's really comforting to know I'm not alone there, am constantly never doing the things on my 'list' and my house is either 'fine' or 'just plain awful'......
Busy, your MIL sounds a nightmare...... my SIL is thoroughly unpleasant in the same way and I find it very hard to bite my tounge when my dh mentions her so know what you mean, am worried about upsetting him if I do, it's a real dilemma isn't it? I calm myself by talking to myself quietly reasoning to myself that she really isn't a very nice person but without getting too cross, just being matter of fact about it..... I don't want to be 'tainted' by this jealous and poisonous behaviour, it's territorial behaviour I think isn't it? Don't go there BAM, allowing yourself to be upset by it is the road to ending up like her surely? Perish the thought ..... That's what I keep telling myself anyway. That horrible churning/choking feeling they instill in you is theirs not yours, let her keep her venom, don't let it seep into your house/life [S-T-R-E-N-G-T-H]...... You are stronger.......
ChaCha..... hold in there, it will paaaaaaaaaass . It's really good that you can put your feelings into words, it means you're going to be okay.

Hoooraaaaay! 4 day weekend!

••••••••••••HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!•••••••••••••

Wonder how much chocolate I can eat this bank holiday .

LO is knocked out on a bigger feed...

DH brought me home a take-away, flowers and a massive Celebrations Easter Egg. My broken heart is now on the mend. Might not be the case with the weighing scales though.
Feeling much better today, got a lot done last night and time spent with DH was much needed. I need to give him some space to unwind I think, i'm like a budgie the minute he steps in through the front door Have spent too much time in the house again this week. Will hopefully get out and about over the next few days. Have a lovely weekend all of you!

Busy - Nice to see you post. Good luck on both your interview and driving. Your MIL sounds quite a character. It is easy to retaliate, harder to bite tongue - you did well!
How did your ebay venture turn out btw? Thanks for info on parasol. One of the weekends things to do.

Hey Londoner - How's everything? Thanks. I felt better for writing my feelings down. I feel that since having baby i've lost my confidence a little and am not as assertive as I used to be. Now that I'm able to tell friends what time it is I feel i've been set free of other peoples moans or a while. The LO is growing up so quickly I really don't want to be worrying about the world and his wife inbetween.

Rodeo - Hope you're feeling okay today.

Diege - Some v.good tips there, ha ha!

LO is awake. Enjoy those easter eggs (the ones for the kids of course!)

BAM - amazing what MIL think they are entitled to say - I remember mine when I had DS1. She greeted her first look at him with 'what a lovely liittle mongrel'. MONGREL - wtf.

Busy - normal to feel you are wading through treacle every now and again. Start giving yourself a pat on the back for everything you do, instead of beating yourself up for all the things you don't get round to.

Hi ChaCha!

Lovely to hear you being spoilt there by dh. Lol at you flapping round like a budgie when he gets home.
I'm okay, thanks. Am fretting about a wedding dh, baby and I are going to on Saturday. Went to Bluewater shopping centre last weekend and dh was so helpful sending me off outfit hunting while he had the kids for a total of 3 hours, in two spurts. Sounds good I know but I don't even know what size I am at the moment, and the clothes that usually suit me don't suit me as I'm top heavy rather than bottom heavy while bf... so it was hard. Managed to find something, a shirt dress from Zara, which I'll wear with a pair of (vertiginous) wedges my sister gave me... I really hope I can pull it off but am worried about being too top heavy and tall and don't want to end up looking too tall and conspicuous.... v. of Jen's Rigby & Peller bra, bet it looks great Jen. Anyway, wish you'd never asked? Lol! What if I'm walking over to congratulate the bride & groom and do a Naomi... and send the baby flying into the cake or something? Maybe I should just stick to some boring safe little outfit? Good old trousers and jacket for instance? Hmmmm... cast your votes now please....

Morning :)

Thanks for the get well wishes, they seem to have worked :) Don't feel fluey now and my boob feels a bi tender but that is all. Yay! My family are relieved too I'm so grumpy when ill

BAM - Sorry, that bit with your MIL did make me laugh! Just take a deep breath next time, fix a smile on your face and breeze through her daft comments - which I'm sure you're very good at anyway, I do it with my MIL sometimes, and always have to it with my Gran!

Great news about the childminder's! I used a childminder with ds when I broke my leg, I think for little boy's it's easier for them rather than nursery. Dd just walked into nursery on her first day and didn't even say 'Bye' whereas ds would cling to my leg like a limpet!

Jen - LOL at your ironing lady

GO - Love the image of the twins moaning at each other
N 'she's not going to pick us up you know, she's busy, get used to it'
E 'owww, but I want her to pick me up'
N 'I know you do, but she's busy'
E 'Well I'm going to call her anyway, I think I feel hungry'
N 'I've just told you she's busy, stop whining'
E 'Wahhhhh, I'm hungryyyy!'
N 'Muuuummmm, make him stooooppppppp, Waaaahhhhhhh!'

Chacha - Glad your feeling a bit better What a lovely dh you have, KWYM about being like a budgie when they come in, I'm like a puppy trailing after him, don't realise I'm doing it half the time. He also mentioned a habit I've got which I never realised until he said - When we're eating together I instinctively put my foot on his foot, now I've tried to stop myself doing it it feels really strange!

Diege, that is an excellent tip!! Jess always shuts up for the hoover so I'll try with the hairdryer now too!

Have a lovely Easter weekend Londoner :) And everyone else, but remember you can't actually start on the eggs until Sunday!!

x x x

Lndoner, outfit sounds fab! Just plant yourself in a corner and don't attempt to move I am also top heavy at the mo, looking forward to my boobs shrinking back!

GO - Mongrel

Rodeo - Sunday, bugger, DH and I scoffed one last night

Londoner - outfit sounds great, just put your shoulders back, strut your stuff and to hell with looking too tall (from a woman who is 5'10" in her socks!) In case of doing a Naomi, make DH carry the baby
I'm actually quite happy to be bigger on top at the moment, makes me a bit more in proportion! Managed to go up a cup size after feeding Tessa for a year and am hoping for the same this time - the novelty of having a cleavage hasn't worn off yet

Busy - glad to hear from you tho sorry you have been feeling down. Absolutely NOT helped by MiL.

As others have said the 'wading through treacle' feeling seems to get to all of us at one time or another, I certainly went through it about a month ago. Wonder if it is a 4 month thing? Did someone mention that a while ago?

Jen - nice retort to cleaning lady

Nova - we have been lent a 'door' bouncer that is actually on a frame. Means I can put it up wherever we are and Ash can bounce and twirl along to cooking/CBeebies/ironing/etc. Make is Tippitoes but it isn't mentioned on their website, might be quite old so ebay may be worth a look.

ChaCha - must admit I found the round parasols more work than I could cope with. As soon as I'd set it up so baby was in shade we turned a corner and I would have to alter the damn thing. Ended up breaking it (probably in temper!) and was really glad. It wasn't a Jane one though, just a cheapy, not sure if theirs would be any better. Ended up using a muslin over the hood when sun was in baby's eyes and my stepfather bought us a Shade-a-Babe when the weather got really hot and I was fretting. However Shade-a-Babe does make pushchair look like a black box on wheels and was nick-named 'the Shroud' by various friends

No more rolling here, obviously a one-off, but he can really move himself about on the carpet in the living room. Arches his back and pushes with his heels - made it over to the TV cabinet yesterday, at least 6 feet from where I had left him Tessa is now chief floor monitor, keeping it clear of all the 100's of little bits that seem to appear there, and we are getting out the playpen at the w/e.

Just had a visit from the childcare placement student who will be spending Tuesdays with us between now and Christmas (hadn't realised it was quite that long when I first agreed that we might be interested) She seems nice and Tessa liked her so we will see how it goes. She is with us to learn about the reality of looking after babies and young children, I'm determined not to let her just see the fun side though can't persuade the college to let her come overnight

Better go and get some lunch sorted.