FEB 2010 Three is a magic number, yes it is......

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

Come and take shelter from the DC here, folks!

My MIL does the "yes, yes, yes" thing too, CP. I have written down instructions for her and put them at the top of the change bag or her hand so she has them to refer to later on. I also say "just a couple of things you need to know..." at handover and now she does pay slightly more than no attention. Much as it pains me, I also do the self deprecating thing of saying "I know you think I'm being over-protective, but I'll just worry otherwise." That seems to make a difference too.

Another slacker with the sun cream here, though my two do have some natural protection I tend to put it on at the beginning of the day then not worry too much unless it's really hot and sunny.

I'm a slacker parent in many ways though. I went out with a group of mums I don't know so well the other day and they all had so much stuff for their kids (changes of clothes, shoes, hair brushes, loads of food and drink). In my defence, I got a lift with someone so I didn't have the luxury of a boot to fill

Glad your DH is seeing it too, CP, makes it much easier to handle.

I don't bother with suncream too much either unless I am out picnicking with british people , I am of mediterranean complexion and the DDs are a bit paler but not much, we stay in the shade and avoid midday sun usually... I do carry some for DH though only mad dogs and all that

DD2 has been eating and sleeping a lot too (MIL thinks it is because of the heat! LOL ). She does look massive, another growth spurt for all the feb "babies"?

Rainbow no news, I did spot some mistake in my cover letter though. next job

sorry for being absent

work crazy busy

both DC poorly, DS got sabutamol to try today - he's called it his 'breath' all by himself so I wonder if it really might be helping and he might have asthma? still waiting for 2 weeks virus free for him since he last saw the consultant in Jan - he still hasnt given his urine sample for them to check his kidney function.

my mum's 70 in a couple of weeks, we were away for the weekend just gone, had good time but sometimes i really could throttle my brother.

will try and catch up properly in next few days?

also, DS still in nappies - is he the only Feb 10er left in nappies???????

Stoof Daytime, no, night time, yes and no sign of that changing any time soon. If your ds is still using nappies in the daytime I wouldn't worry too much either. He's only just turned 3 really and has had so many health problems to contend with .

Here's a story for you (should probably go in AIBU but I'm too scared):

DH gets home at 9pm, we sit down to eat dinner in front of the TV.

At 9:15pm, there is a huge bang. DH doesn't move, I rush upstairs to check the DDs are ok. They are. At my behest, DH reluctantly checks the other rooms to see if something has fallen down. It hasn't.

Turns out that his car has rolled into the garage (our drive is steep). He reverses it, we check the garage door is ok (which it is after a bit of cajoling), then he leaves the car on the drive.

I suggest moving the car to flat ground. He looks at me like I'm mad. I suggest taking the car to the garage to have the brakes checked. He looks at me like I'm mad. I start reasoning it out. He says that maybe he didn't put the handbrake on properly. I look at him like he's mad. He continues watching TV. I question it further. He says I'm mad and "these things happen".

Aaaaaarrrrgh.

SR maybe your DH and mine need a brain transplant? DH keeps forgetting to put the hand break so the car randomly moves when one gets out very safe with children in
I hope the hand break held all night! I can see half/half BU. There is not much you could do at that time of night, OTOH moving the car on flat grounds and checking on the girls/house straight away would have been sensible. Ok then may be 1/3-2/3 BU (him being the most).

Gaaahhh, when not the children, it is the cat! looking at me and miawing (sp.?)...

The thing that has got me is how dismissive he was about it. I was quite concerned about it, but he refused to offer any reassurance at all (I would either have agreed to get the brakes checked, or been very sheepish about not leaving the handbrake on properly and been adamant about being much more careful in the future). I'm a real worrier so his refusal to talk about it (through embarrassment, I think) meant I brought it up a few times (basically i was trying to make sense of it and also seeking a little reassurance that something was going to happen to prevent a recurrence) and eventually he shouted at me to shut up

And that's setting aside my concerns about how his response to a loud bang was to carry on watching TV, whereas mine was to check on the girls and try and work out what the noise was

Sometimes I feel he doesn't care about anything.

SR in that case he is completely U.

Oh dear SR I think you know that it is DH being U. Not wanting to know what a loud bang was, is quite bizarre. When that happened to us (a pile of precariously stacked boxes toppled - my fault), we both rushed upstairs to check on the girls and find out what it was, hearts pounding. Do you think (very cautiously) he could be down, or even depressed? That just strikes meas a v strange reaction.

As for not wanting to discuss it or reassure you - men DH has taken to deciding that we've 'talked about it enough' when we really haven't in my view! Drives me bonkers.

I'd be both brassed off and rather discombobulated by that set of responses SR....don't blame you for feeling as you do. What is his game, eh?

stoof DD wears a nappy overnight and still has to wear one to do a poo, so we're part of the way there but still some way to go yet. Don't worry.

The clock was rather unsuccessful last night - it was so bright it stimulated DD into wakefulness for an hour or so at midnight. I had to move it much further away, administer Calpol (she felt rather hot, I wondered if she was having a post-jab temperature spike) and cuddles before she settled back down. Bless her, she was singing to herself when I stomped in and crossly asked what she was doing awake at that hour, whereupon she dissolved into dismayed tears (rather than the tantrummy shouting she usually does in these situations) then kept saying "I love you, Mummy" and "I try to make you happy, Mummy" which rather broke my heart while I was comforting her. Then, come the morning, she was still shouting out before 06.30....but it was an improvement on previous mornings (although I suspect the night waking had more to do with her sleeping in than anything else...!)

DD has been incredibly sweet and affectionate with me these last few days - wanting lots of cuddles and kisses and saying "I love you" a lot. It's thoroughly adorable. Not quite sure what's prompted it, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts..!!

DS wants 'calibs' (hugs) all the time at the mo.

stoof he still wears nappies at night time and is no where been dry soon. But every morning he tells me that his nappy is dry and looks so sad when he realised it's wet

SR he could have been worried by the noise and reassure you re the car

Oops 'calins'

Will we ever stop worrying about our dc? I seem to worry more the older mine get. Currently worrying about mature, brave, logical, compliant dd2 who will not show she is upset or hurt and would rather blink away tears than admit to weakness. It really upsets me and I am not sure how to teach her that it is okay to need help/support/cuddles.

Must be their age, this affection thing. DD2 - always affectionate anyway - is literally bursting with love at the moment. Today, she stopped me on the school run and very joyfully said "I love you mummy". She did the same to DH this evening. Bless her heart, I am bursting with love for her too.

Not much from DH on last night, alas. I sent him an email trying to explain, but clearly didn't do a very good job

SR Also confused by your dh's reaction. Either he knew he hadn't pulled the handbrake up properly and should have told you immediately, or he is indeed quite depressed which is the only thing I can think of to explain his lack of concern. Pretty sure both dh and I would have been up the stairs like a shot to check on the girls (him checking dd1 and myself dd2 - guess that's another thread).

JF, the split is the same in our house. I try to not play favourites, but realise I dote on DD2 while DH always sides with DD1 (not put that very well, sorry, I'm a bit tired). But then DD1 is very like DH in some of her personality traits, whereas DD2 is much more like me. Also DH is an older sibling and I am a younger sibling, which I think has some bearing.

Same in our house - DD2 really is the apple of my eye, whereas DD1 delights DH no end. I think it's ok, so long as we're not overtly favouring either one. Didn't someone post about mothers preferring second-borns?I wonder if it's more common for fathers to favour first-borns, too; I suspect so. They spend more time with them, first as the only child and then when DC2 comes along, mother is busy with DC2. And DH claims she is more interesting; I think DD2 is so cute.

Plague house here, DD2 has sickness bug (5 days after DD1 had it; I thought we were in the clear) and DH has gone off to work feeling off-colour and with dihorrea (sp sorry). I told him not to spread it around the office, but it's month end so he has to get the numbers done. I'm exhausted having been up most of the night with poor DD2, and stuck in with a bored DD1 :( At least we can play in the garden. Roll on bedtime. It will be me next, I suspect, as DD2 managed to be sick in my mouth yesterday which was just as gross as it sounds.

Scones, eeeeuww Hope everyone in your house is in good health again soon.

Scones yeewwww

DH is the same and we are going on holiday in the morning

Argh yuck, poor you Scones - and of course your DD2. Hope she gets well soon and you manage to avoid it....

I've been musing over the DC1/DC2 thing. I don't think I favour one over the other, but DS is so cute and effortlessly charming (not to mention at the baby age when lapses in manners are easily forgiven..!!) that I find I'm almost always well disposed towards him. Whereas DD, with her more complicated needs and emotional issues is a lot harder work at times, but a fair amount of this is because of her age. When she's being affectionate - which she is a lot at the moment (as mentioned above) - she's utterly adorable and I'm putty in her hands.

DH tends to give more time and attention to DD, but that said, I can see he's more and more enamoured by DS and he often asks for me to hand DS over for cuddles and so he can play with him. I think DS' sunny personality has won DH over and now DS is a bit older and more responsive, he is also more rewarding to spend time with. DS is great at beaming with undiluted joy when he catches sight of his daddy or his sister, so he's usually everyone's favourite..!

I've been pondering the DC1/DC2 thing too today, in brief moments of respite from work (which I've just finished, after starting at 8 this morning - I did have an hour with the kids when I got home, but otherwise urgh) ? I honestly don't think that either one of us favours either one of them. They are both ace but in different ways - I love spending time with either of them and I think can get equally pissed off too (shh) ? I find time with both of them quite difficult at the moment, but I guess as they both get older that will change.

My mum clearly treats my brother and i differently - we both operate within a different set of rules iykwim. As kids, he was deffo mums son and I was deffo dads daughter.

I'm having lots of 'I could pop with love' moments with both of them the last few weeks - I get seized by overwhelming desire to grab hold of them, squeeze them and never let them go? probably partly a response to the enormous guilt I feel about working long hours just now (but then DH is always ace and says (and means :)) all the right things - you give your all when you're here, you're working to provide for them, I'm often here when you're not, they're not missing out on parental input and love etc etc)

going now, I'm drivelling and have to be back at work in 8.5 hours.