December 2011 - they'll soon be one, put away the <haddocks> and bring out the bunting!

[seven77]

I loved kate's thread name but thought we needed a birthday theme for this one. We'll soon have 6 weeks of birthdays to celebrate!

Gah DS is having one of those days he's either slamming cupboard doors, slapping the fishtank, trying to get into the kitchen bin, sticking his hands in the skunk litter tray and generally being a pest!! Am thinking we might have to forego a Xmas tree after all of this keeps up.

Sorry to hear you're still suffering Mopsy

I've had a wrestle with Freya at both her nap times today - she's far more interested in climbing up the sides of the cot! I feel your pain Figgy!

One of the shops in our little town did one of those Xmas trees hanging from the ceiling efforts, was v swanky and prevents any DC/skunk issues?!

I can't access your profile LMF, it just hovers over it and says your name and 'iZombie'... and I really want to see new pics of Octoboy!

DP is acting in accordance with his family tradition, and ignoring the whole thing in the hope it will go away. They either totally over-react or do the ostrich thing, and never, ever talk to each other properly about stuff. I'll broach how he might be feeling about the whole thing later...

Sounds pretty grim mopsy, sinus pain is one of those you can't get away from, like toothache, iyswim?

DS and I have had a lovely day. DP was hungover, so he just stayed at home and did housework . I took DS off, and we went out for lunch together, and bought Xmas presents and decorations, and I bumped into a load of ex-colleagues/friends out campaigning so we all went for coffee and cake and for DS to be thoroughly coo'd over Chippy for dinner, and a glass of wine.
Bliss.

aaargh, DS has moved from snot to puke central. admittedly because of the snot... have a load of washing to do already of yucked up on clothes (ours and his) and he's now dozing on me bolt upright to try to get the aid of gravity. think it may be a long night...

DH & I are off to London today to watch Rock of Ages

DS now periodically erupting both ends, and I feel sick :o/
He's clingy but reasonably cheerful with it. However if I don't settle down will be my first sick day since returning to work. Can tell I'm not right when tea makes me nauseous

That was NOT meant to be a happy smiley, I feel rough as a badgers arse.... is perhaps closer, as there's no current smiley for

Oh dear aethel, are you thinking one of the noro/rota/other grimness viruses? Really hope you don't start errupting, but if tea is making you feel ill...

I'm feeling unusually grand, I actually got a proper lie in, til gone 9, don't know how to cope !

Oh dear aethel, hope you and DS are both better soon.

northern I'm very jealous of your lie in!

Enjoy London DSM.

BJR what's DS hospital appointment for? I just followed a normal recipe but used lactofree butter, tesco sell it, it's proper butter just without the lactose. This was before I knew vitalite is completely dairy free which works out a lot cheaper!

I have a hangover. Rough as a badger's rear section. But I do not deserve sympathy, unlike aethel and mopsy. I brought it upon myself by being a drunken bum. We had a night out, and the GPs babysat.
To make us pay for our insobriety, BOi decided to whinge most of the night, and gave up on sleep entirely very early.
Bleurgh. ( not angry, just green, and with slitty eyes because the sun is hurting my head).

We're biohaz here too. Eva has dihorrea, I have a splitting headache and DH has lost his voice.

Sat in Shaftesbury theatre waiting for Rock of Ages to start

Hope you all feel better soon x

We have independent standing!!

for figgyboy!

I just found Eva in the playpen literally covered in poo. I had to cut her bodysuit off and hose her with the shower :(.

Well Done FiggyBoy

Def recommend seeing Rock of Ages was brilliant on the train to Wimbledon to get in the car & maybe grab a Starbucks

DS been awake since midday been unbearable since 5 going to bed imminently!!

seven how on earth do they manage to get poo everywhere!!

We're on the dioralyte. I say we, I had some, DS wasn't so keen, preferring intermittent water from his sippy cup. However after a day of clingyness, he suddenly perked up big time when DH cooked the DDs their pasta pesto and made "aaaah" motions a la Mr Happy Eater. so he shovelled some in gamely, and only some of it came back... Gonna have to wait this one out, especially as DD2 is now looking a bit peaky and DH feels queasy. Plague house!

Glad you liked Rock of Ages DSM!

Hope the other poorly babies recover. oi, you are allowed sympathy, as it isn't often we all get out to have fun so your hangover is disproportionate to the sin!

Hope poorly peeps and babies/children are feeling better soon! It seems we need to don the BioHaz suits again!

Freya joined us for dinner and sat on the floor with her cousins with ham, roast potatoes, peas and sweetcorn. She did tip it off the plate (good job I put a tablecloth down for them!) but continued to munch her way through it with the bug girls

Then they all had a bath together and my bathroom looks like there's been a tsunami

OMG, the choc fondant puds were amazing
Hope we all have a decent week!

Good morning everyone :)

Sorry I've missed lots on the thread! I've just typed out the worlds longest ever rant and deleted it as it probably shouldn't be "out there on the Internet"! Long story cut short is that DH's ex step mum isn't well again and her children asked DH's sister (their older half sister) for help and she thought they were "attention seeking" and "crying wolf". I only found out by accident and have got social services involved again. I'm so angry with my eldest SIL for thinking they were attention seeking and I'm so angry for DH not telling me what he knew as they've delayed the ex step mum getting help by a week!

Anyway, on a child related subject, can I have some ideas off you all on what to play with DS? I do sing nursery rhymes to him, chat to him, read him books, and take him to playgroups, but I'm not sure what I can really play with him in order to teach him if that makes any sense?

My friends DS seems to be very good at learning tricks like putting his hands on his head, stacking building blocks and passing toys backwards and forwards etc. DS on the other hand just crawls away as fast and as far as possible and enjoys cruising mainly! I think it is a first time parent worry that I don't do enough with him, I guess they all get the hang of the same things in the end don't they!

DS is having about 300mls of milk a day at the moment, about half a bottle at breakfast, mid afternoon and bedtime. I'm a bit worried it's not enough, but I can't force him to drink it....hopefully it's enough!

Hiya cheung, good that you're looking out for DH's family , bit on the part of DH's sis but well done for you being on the ball. Good luck!

With regard to "purposeful play", I am in no way a teacher, but have had the DDs go all the way through the nursery-infant system, the best thing people who know seem to advocate is "child-led-learning". By which they mean let the baby/child tell you what they like doing, our role as grownups is to make fun stuff available and then encourage them. So if your DS wants to crawl/cruise then just let him do that! A few simple toys can help encourage him, but if he's not into them it doesn't matter at all.
Things that are good to have knocking about are stacking cups, a few building blocks of some sort, toddlers love "real-things" so maybe a set of teaspoons in a tupperware (they will eat them, bang them together, put them in and out, and late you can count them to encourage number awareness). My friend has a '"sensory bag" she takes out with bits of fabric, cups, balls, feathers, stones etc inside for her DS to play with. As I speak DS is indulging in "paper play" (grabbing my magazine off the side and trashing it...) Natural curiosity means they will find somthing fun to do but there's really no need for them to know their letters by two or the capitals of the world by four....

Hi Aethel, I know I can't believe eldest SIL was so sceptical. It was only in July that the kids mum was in hospital under a section 2! I've told my younger SIL to tell me in future. Last time I told her to tell anyone thinking that whoever she told would deal with it as I'm not very close to her so I thought she might not come to me first and as long as someone knew it would be ok!

We've got some building blocks for DS and he does enjoy destroying my creations! I should get them out this afternoon actually thinking about it! His favourite things are physical, like crawling and cruising. He also loves his plastic toy cars and rolling them on the floor with one hand whilst crawling at the same time! I finally got him some stacking cups for his Xmas stocking :-)

It's so difficult not to compare him and my friends DS as they're 2 days apart but so so different! Even at this young age babies really aren't all the same!

He does love flirting on the bus and in cafes! He has a sort of call that he does to make people look at him and then when they look over they're rewarded with a big toothy grin! I think it's just strange where he's so independent and doesn't seem to need much input, but I guess he does let me know when he wants attention!

I had a look around the nursery and I instantly felt happy with it. I'm going purely on my feelings, although their last Ofsted report was outstanding and the manager has been there for 19 years so I guess it's also a sensible choice. I think nursery is going to exhaust DS at the beginning, but the older he gets the more he will get out of it I think.

What I'm going to do is have DS in nursery one day a week and cm two days a week and then build him up to being in nursery three days a week over the coming year. We will still have two days a week at hme together and I'm going to make sure we make the most of them and then we will have weekends together as a family with DH.

I don't know about everyone else but I'm finding DS much easier to care for and much more fun now! I loved watching him sleep as a newborn, but I really love seeing his personality coming out and watching him learn and explore! The older he gets the more I'm enjoying him :)

They are so much more fun now, I agree, and much easier. (I'm not sure why it's easier, I can't leave him now he's so mobile as he's climbing on everything and wrecking anything in sight.)
He is quite good at entertaining himself though. THings he likes: crawling with things in his hands - check! Turning the light on and off. Pressing your nose to get a Beep, Letting go of a helium balloon, so we have to get it off the ceiling (similar to the I-drop-you-pick-up game, but via the ceiling), drums (pans and woode spoons), peek-a-boo flap books, and noisy books, finger puppet books,... he loves his teddy, his soft Iggle Piggle and a tiger handpuppet.
I've had this morning off, and last wednesday afternoon, and always have Friday afternoons off, and we've been singing "If you're happy and you know it" and he's clapping along kind off, and enjoying it. And I've started to try to expand on the copy my arm movements, and dancing. He throws both arms in the air when we say Sooo Big. Now I'm trying to do more.
He's also getting more confident at walking. He'll just happily try it for himself, in between the sofas and tables, and he's getting steadier by the day. So this is also a game.
We have stacking blocks, and whilst he's very happy to knock our creations down, he's not interested in building. He does like to put things into things though.
And everything is a phone. He'll put anything to his ear and chatter to it (shoes, remote control, phones, glasses cases...)
I hope your DH's Ex SM gets the help she needs and that the kids are OK. Good luck.
Northern chocolate fondant?? Mmmm! Your culinary prowess and verve put me to shame.
BTW I'm working from home. Stop interrupting me.