October 2011 - Learning to accept our babies are toddlers

[ClimbingPenguin]

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I've hired someone to get all our babies to sleep while we go get sloshed in the corner

she can't do it on the living room floor like we do

that sounds a bit rude. To clarify, DH and I do "it" on the living room floor

definitely keep up the fluids, if it has been five days then I'd go and see GP. Don't think he should be at nursery (do they have the 48 hr rule there?). If it carries on then get a dioraltye type solution from the chemist as sounds like he is starting to get dehydrated. I know it is hard with the runny nappies but try and watch wee output as well, as they'll need this info. Just check every hour for example to see if it is wet at the front.

remembers sneaking downstairs to do 'it' so children don't wake

spoke too soon... spew city

Yes to what climbing said about the rehydration sachets. It's the salts and sugars they need from it. Nhs 24 are advising no fluids/food till there has been an hr with no sickness then only small sips at a time to allow the stomach to settle and allow it to tolerate fluids better. The chemist I spoke with when it was S said aswell any foods that she would eat that were pretty bland, she even said yes to ready salted crisps (which she happily gobbled up!). It's so hard when they are ill. You can take a poo sample to my gps and they will send it off just to test that its not anything else if its been going on for so long. Poor boy

Yes the rehydration stuff is good we used it when W had a d&v thing and it def perked him up

duck great about your friends baby - what a little fighter

Wow pene A really could end up sharing his birthday!

Engles Poor little thing.

Having a f*ing awful time at the moment and wondering when it will end. Seb really not happy at night for the past week or so and most nights ends up in with us and crying out in his sleep = not much sleep for us. Also work been really shit at the moment. One of my staff has been off for 5 weeks with 'anxiety' and so I've been doing her job, as well as mine, for 5 weeks. She came back today and, rather than being able to hand some things back over to her, I just wished she'd stayed off. Ended up having a hour and a half 'back to work meeting' with her crying about how she was not supported about things I didn't know anything about, that decisions were made in her absence and moaning about things going back to the summer. She's back on reduced hours so only doing 4 hours a day at the moment and it looks like I'll be doing the lions share of her work for a while still. My boss, although lovely, doesn't have a clue as he is over overworked as well. Just seem to be coming home all the time recently moaning to dh and bursting into tears. I'll be being signed off soon. The more I continue with this job the more I think I want to be off with Seb. What am I doing? The problem is that I am the main earner so I don't have a choice, Dh is being made redundant in July and we just hope he can get another, decent job soon.

Cracked open the wine but can't have too much in case Seb needs to come in with us again.

Moan over.

Aww tally

That really does sound shit! I can't offer anything really, but look after yourself. You don't want to end up off sick as well

That sounds terrible tally - sounds like that person is lashing out and you have become her target. How yuck. Have you read Half a Wife by Gaby Hinslif? (sp?)Not a magic bullet, but when I didn't want to be back at work it motivated me to stay to keep my hand in.

I don't know what I'll do if they have the same birthday! I really don't want that, for lots of reasons including don't want to be in labour for A's birthday. I guess it's not up to me though DH thinks it's all fine and that if the birthdays are close together we can just make it a family festival every year and that's when we should go on holidays etc. We'll see!

tally I think it's outrageous when 1 person is made to do another's job. How can they expect 1 person to do a 2 person job. They should either hire a temp, split it between a few or pay you her wage too. I hope it gets better soon.
Sorry about seb too. Is it night terrors? Isobel had them for quite a while, but she has got over it now- if it's any consulation.

Well, i had an accident on sunday. Went through a hole in the floor board (which i knew was there- doh) I know they say labour is the worst pain ever, but i beg to differ. I didn't scream and sob when i was in labour- put it that way. Oh my god it hurt. I have lost a big skin patch and got a bruise almost the size of the whole side of my thigh- from knee to bum. Felt extremely sorry for myself, i can tell you. Numbed it with co-codamol, ibrupropen and whisky. Dp bought me chocolates the next day too.

Will put pics on fb.

climbing and engs how's ds' doing now?

mine's doing fine, I think it was strawberry's that ill (with the pox)

sorry about your leg, I would be feeling very sorry for myself too, especially with not being able to be as physical as I would like.

I did a 2 mile run yesterday with both children in the phil and teds, that was hard work but not hard enough to put me off doing it again.

tally is there no-one else to go to? feel free to actually swear btw It's harder when the pressure is on and you don't have a get out option. Hopefully something will come along for your DH soon.

Aww Tally that sounds awful :( Plus spending 90 minutes listening to someone whitter on is a PITA if you are thinking "bloody hell I just need to get on with my/our work" (I know that might sound horrid but that's what I would be thinking/have thought in the past). I can empathise with the wanting to stay at home too - although I never would have thought that before P turned up. I hope things improve for you and feel free to moan on here. I wonder if it is night terrors as Sassy says re the awake at night, P has been like this for weeks, Wonder Week 64 says their sleep regresses, they become babylike and clingy and food fussy. We have started leaving her fairy lights on in the hope a bit of light helps when she wakes up.

On a positive I made the Key Lime Pie and it was FIT . P had some too.

Pene as it's 1st Oct and your second maybe it will end up as a September baby? I went to see my friends 2 week old yesterday she is soooo yummy and they delivered her themselves in the car, Mummy pulled her out whilst her DP was driving round the hospital car park to the Maternity Wing. She said she felt her head through her jeans and had to try and shuffle her jeans down whilst he was driving

Sassy hope the leg is a little better today.

Hope poorly babies are feeling better Engels and Climbing

Tooth No5 is on the way :) Does anyone's baby have less teeth than P ???!!

Yes sorry I meant Engels and Strawbs

no spew or poo so far today (fx)

GP said it was probably due to antibiotics last week but when I rang nursery or they rang me because I forgot they said they had 6 kids off on Monday with d&v.

am working like a demon to make up for not being at work today (have a pile of marking to get through and did nothing all weekend).

ouch sassy

Tally Don't worry about your manager at the moment. The person you should be worrying about is yourself. If you can't cope (and what normal person would if they were expected to do the job of 2 people) then tell your manager - that's what they get paid for. I see it at my school all the time - management pushing more and more work on people and as long as it's 'solved' and off their hands they forget about it. Until someone has a breakdown because they can't cope. No one else knows what 'too much' is for you except you.

I know it's hard when you're having to do all her work, but try not to blame the person who's been off with anxiety. She's probably offloading all the stress and anxiety that has been building up inside her onto you as you're the one she's in contact with. Does she have a line manager? Because they should be dealing with it not you. Management need to arrange cover to cut your workload. Tell them what you told us I'll be the one signed off soon

Hope I haven't overstepped the mark, but I have learned over here the hard way that you have to look out for yourself says the woman who was crying last night because she had too much marking and couldn't see the end of it

My moan is about not going to work (which is actually what I was crying about last night). M couldn't go to nursery and I had to take him to GP given digestive gymnastics the last 4 days. If DH stays at home with him he loses a day leave (which we really need this year, what with a very looooong holiday to NZ). I get a certain amount of "care leave" as a teacher so can stay at home with M without being penalised. However, I REALLY want to go to work. If I'm not there I just get further and further behind, both with my curriculum and also my marking. I would have had 3 free periods at school today to get cracking. I don't know what's wrong with me but I just find it impossible to mark at home (though have had a kick up the arse today so have managed some). I feel like I really need my days out of the house, at school, to get my planning and marking done. I don't know how other teachers do it. Sometimes I really just want a job where I leave at 5.30 and that's it But then I rememebr how much I love teaching and the holidays and the pay and give myself a slap round the face.

How can so much poo come out of someone so small?!

Engels, I totally feel your pain. I'm off school today unwell and all I can think about is all the things I'm not doing and what the supply teacher is doing or not doing. And I totally get what you're saying about wanting a job where you leave and forget about it!! But remember that we love teaching (and the pay and the holidays!).

Are you full time? I'd love to go down to three days, but wonder if I'd spend the other days worrying about what was happening in my classroom. And if I was part time I still wouldn't have more time by myself to do work. I find it a real dilemma at the end of each work day - I want to go and get Lizzie from nursery straight away but could also easily stay in work for hours doing marking, prep and planning. I feel like I'm doing nothing well!!

I'm guessing I'm not saying anything you've not said to yourself - I hope that hearing you're not alone might be a small consolation!

Aww tally that sounds horrible, as others have said make sure you look after yourself. If work are putting too much on you make sure they know and don't do it all its not worth getting ill over. Fx your DH finds something soon too.

sassy how's the leg doing, saw FB pic looks painful!

eng at least it's poo not vomit! I feel your not at work pain more often than not its me who takes time off with a sick W because my work can carry on without me but DH often has meetings etc. plus I earn less so if we have to loose someone's pay its better that its mine. Saying that DH is the one at home today!

W is absolutely covered in spots poor thing in his ears and up his bum and everything - lucky not in his mouth though. He's not too bad during the day because we can distract him but he can't get to sleep in his cot at night so the last 2 nights DH and I have split it in half sleeping with him on us on the sofa

Poor boy strawberry . Chicken pox is just horrible. I remember so clearly having it when I was younger. It was through the summer and I just remember being so itchy and crying all the time (think I was about 5) and my mum putting calamine lotion all over me at night. I wish the vaccination for the pox was routinely offered here as it is in so many other countries. Wishing W a speedy recovery

Strawberry I have no idea if this would work but have you tried giving W some Nelsons Teething Powder? I find that because of the Camomile P has calmed down and chilled out within 15 minutes if I give her a sachet. I know he is not teething but there is not really anything else in it so wondered if it might help him sleep?

Am with you all on the get-distracted-at-home-instead-of-working. I have just arsed about ordering P a ginger guinea pig t-shirt from The Mountain.com rather than actually doing some work. I have been sat here now for 90 minutes faffing about !! :(

Love the sound of the tshirt!!

Just had a look, they are so funny

Thanks everyone, feeling a bit better today. Spoke to my boss and have a bit of a way forward but need to speak to my staff member tomorrow. not thinking about if she moans about this too! I work in the public sector which the Tories think runs itself so no slack/capacity at all. Engles I'm her line manager so it's up to me. Half of me wants to sympathise and the other half wants to shout 'get it together and don't be so pathetic' at her. I know that's wrong. Pen - I've looked up the book you recommended - I might just get that, thanks.

Sassy/cheshire thanks, I do wonder if it is night terrors. I'd thought it was too early for that but maybe not. He seems to hate being in his cot/room by himself and settles quickly in with us, although he still cries out in his sleep. How do we stop it? Do they just grow out of it? We think there may be teeth coming through too.

Sassy Ouch! But yay for dh and the chocs .

Cheshire Glad you liked the pie -claims complete credit for recipe.

Well done to your friend, my god!

Engles I hope that was a rhetorical question, lol! Our work situation is the same as yours. I can claim a certain amount of 'special leave' a year but dh gets nothing. He's said (to me) that next time Seb is ill he will just call in sick to look after him. He's got hardly work on at the moment anyway as his office is winding down to redundancy and I'm manic (as you may have guessed) so it makes sense.

Straw that sounds awful, sending

loving the strikethough today

Sorry i just need to rant- will write a proper post later.

So last night went like this-

9.30pm - bedtime
midnight- Jacob puking
12.20- isobel puking
1am- finished stripping beds, washing carpets, stair gate, changing kids pyjamas
2am- Isobel is sick again- more bed changing
3am- finally got back into bed, after laying on their bedroom floor from 1am
3.30- chloe puking in the toliet
8am- wake eva up- puked all her milk up over the kitchen floor.

WHY! we've had the norivirus, 3 kids didn't eat same dinner as chloe, but they ate the same as me and dp, and we're fine- so definately not food related.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

That sounds awful sassy for you. Hope kids all feel better soon and that you manage to avoid it!

Oh no sassy !