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Now they are two! (new thread for the April 2004 lot)

279 replies

hewlettsdaughter · 26/05/2006 20:11

So - dolbear, you said you were starting to get broody? Not me - I took my pram and a load of baby stuff to a local charity shop the other day (did get a bit sad when I handed over the pram though - the woman in the shop didn't help when she said "think of all those walks you did with that!"). Hope you are all doing ok.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
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lunavix · 07/11/2006 09:10

MrsD you know a good childminder if you need one

I have been lurking, and I'd love to meet up at some stage, not sure if I can brave London though.

DD is a star, the apple of my eye well and truly. Ds started preschool last week, and loves it although he sobbed yesterday morning (his second day) and I had to kinda fib to him that I was coming back and run but then he was fine so I feel justified (around 5%, the other 95% being guilt!)

lunavix · 07/11/2006 09:11

Oh and we're moving too! (same area though) our offers been accepted on a house yippee

MrsDoolittle · 07/11/2006 11:00

Lunavix - I can come around and see you as your onky 'down the road', you have been quiet of late. Friday afternoon?

Original poster
hewlettsdaughter · 07/11/2006 19:57

Good to hear everyone's news . Sounds like you're having a hard time of it MrsD. Christmas often causes problems doesn't it? We are spending Christmas at home but we have invited my mum and one of my brothers to spend it with us.

I haven't investigated pre-school yet. I am hoping dd will be able to do sessions at the school near the childminder's house and then she will be able to take/fetch her. Haven't discussed this with her yet! (though it is what happened with another of her mindees).

Can anyone recommend an online bed shop?

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tracyk · 07/11/2006 22:15

We got bunk beds from Ikea. Made up the bottom half for ds and the other half is in the attic for visitors once he's a bit older. Really good quality - but not too £££.

Chuffed · 08/11/2006 09:27

Hugs MrsD, that sounds like a nightmare. Tell your family that if they would like to spend Christmas with the children they can bring a platter of something and join your day. Well that is what we do and we end up with a gathering of both sides of family and a whole heap of food that no one person has to prepare. The kids are comfortable as they are at home, it is easier for others to move locations but the family doesn't live as far away as yours.
We are totally skint after Spain and have soooo many birthdays coming up in Dec it is awful. Can't believe ds will be one on Xmas day
He has turned into a chilled lad and is pretty happy but will be a challenge to his sister when he can hold his own, he is certainly trying now to stick up for himself.

Is anybody else finding their 2.5yr old is either GREAT or AWFUL with not a lot inbetween?
We had a great reading session yesterday and we started the faraway tree which I am really enjoying reading as it was my favourite book as a child.

Chuffed · 08/11/2006 09:29

no recommendations sorry HD.

Good luck with the move Lunavix, moving is an awful lot of extra work

tracyk · 08/11/2006 11:19

We are getting everyone to come to us this year too. This will be the first year that we haven't had to travel from England to Scotland for the hols. So they can all blooming well do the travelling this time!
I shall be asking them all to bring food etc as there will be 12 adults and 9 kids! I can't even begin to think how much food that lot will wolf!

fennel · 08/11/2006 11:31

We have inadvertantly given both sets of inlaws the impression we are spending it with the others. In fact we are hoping to stay at home alone or maybe with friends or the bits of family we actually find fun to be with.

tracyk · 10/11/2006 15:09

hooray - after no naps this week - ds is finally having one today! He really looks knackered around 4pm if he has no nap - and I need to be on constant alert for snoozing.
But today it is gloomy and wet and he is napping in the car for an hour or so.
Do your lot still have naps ??

MrsDoolittle · 10/11/2006 15:18

Dd stopped napping in the summer and has refused to since. She has been getting really tired recently and I have had to insist on naps last week.
She went down for 2.5 hours one day!!

tracyk · 10/11/2006 15:22

How do you get her to nap MrsD - I have to drive somewhere for ds to fall asleep - or snuggle him in my bed with a dvd on and he'll eventually nod off.

MrsDoolittle · 10/11/2006 15:58

I'm a harsh mummy I'm afraid.
Dd hates the hoover, so I suggest she has a nap while I do the hoovering downstairs. She's tired anyway, I think she won't go if she thinks she is missing out. She doesn't mind missing the hoover.

Anyway, she's back at nursery this week. No napping again. Maybe this weekend.

fennel · 10/11/2006 18:38

dd has mostly given up on naps. She can still often be fooled if I say "let's go to... " and put her in the buggy or car seat and then say "I'm just fetching my bag" and leave her for an hour or two.

This is getting more contrived now she rarely uses the buggy, but she falls for it anyway.

Chuffed · 16/11/2006 10:24

no naps here although dd occasionally passes out in the car or in front of a dvd but I have to wake her up or she won't go to sleep until about 9ish or later if she sleeps during the day.

fennel · 16/11/2006 10:35

is anyone trying potty training? (I know some were done months ago).

tried dd3 last weekend on the basis she's quite a bit older than her sisters were. Have ascertained that:

a) she has at least got over her phobia of having nappy off or going near a potty

b) she has absolutely no bladder control or awareness whatsoever

c) it's worse doing this in a house with carpets. Old house had all wooden floors, new house mostly carpets. what do people with carpets DO? assuming the child isn't a natural at it?

d) have also worked out that despite dd3 being my 3rd child we have no idea how to potty train. the others just were ready and did it, quite young. and this one doesn't...

Original poster
hewlettsdaughter · 16/11/2006 19:07

dd pretty much trained herself a few weeks ago - she was ready before we were, to be honest!

if i were you i'd just wait until dd3 is ready, fennel

(by the way, i like your method of getting her to nap! our dd rarely goes to sleep when she's with us for the day - she does sleep with the childminder though...)

OP posts:
Chuffed · 17/11/2006 20:24

Fennel if I were you and having nappy free time I would just shut certain doors to contain accidents to areas but accept that you will just have to have a carpet clean after it is all done.

You use cloth don't you, are all of yours stay dry liners or does she 'feel wet' that might help but all and all it will suddenly click, if she isn't ready she isn't ready and it will just cause more headaches.

fennel · 17/11/2006 21:09

hi chuffed, and HD,

yes she's in cloth, and knows when she's wet, and requests nappy changes. but otherwise no she just seems not to be ready.

may try again in a few weeks.

have located a shop hiring out carpet cleaners though

Chuffed · 23/11/2006 08:58

Can I just share the most amazing 2 days with dd. We got given a chrysalis with a monarch butterfly in it yesterday morning and in the afternoon it hatched and we got to watch the final stages of it scratching it's antennae out of the chrysalis and drying it's wings.
dd held it and talked to it and it sat on our windowsill on a potplant for the whole night and we let it go onto a flower this afternoon.

She has read a book about life cycles of butterflies etc now and loves the dvd little einsteins huge adventure, but it was just so magical for her to capture all that and she seems to have taken it all in.

Original poster
hewlettsdaughter · 23/11/2006 17:39

Wow that sounds fab Chuffed. In the summer we were going to try and find a caterpillar on a nettle and put the whole thing in a box to try and see if we could watch it turn into a chrysalis and then a butterfly. We never got round to it though.

Did any of you go to the meet-up in London?

OP posts:
tracyk · 03/12/2006 09:25

That sounds fab Chuffed. I think ds did this at nursery - but he didn't really mention it - so he either missed it or wasn't fussed about it. He does love Little Einsteins though - but I think more for the rocket.
He's getting more expeditions recently. His grandpa takes him out for the day on a Thurs just now and has been to the Sea Life Centre twice and the Zoo and loves his trips to B&Q! dgp has much more patience than I ever have!
Any Xmas trees up yet? I'm itching to put mine up - but dh won't let me!

Spicedfennelwine · 13/12/2006 10:27

We have our xmas tree up now. Dd2 is obsessed with trying to reach the chocolate bits, and the iced gingerbread shapes.

HD I think we all bottled out of going to that bit meet-up in the end. Too far, too expensive especially with renting hotel rooms in central London. Am resigned to being provincial and boring not west end party animal

dd3 is getting to be rather strong-minded. only about a year after some on this thread. she does most things late. and she's a total pest at night lately, keeps getting up, wandering around, making demands. grr.

and both our buggies have broken so now she has to walk everywhere, which is probably a good thing in the long run but it is rather tortuously slow at times. and we keep losing her, all over the place, she's a wanderer.

LucyJones · 15/12/2006 17:43

Hi everyone, sorry haven't posted here for ages
Ds seems to have taken to his sister very well. She's 3 months old now and an angel at night most of the time.
Ds is still in nappies. He's giving out some signs I think so we might start training soon although I'm very bnervous!!
Merry Xmas

Chuffed · 17/12/2006 07:16

glad it's going well LJ. dd trained in winter, get some 'babylegs' which at least keep their legs warm when they have nothing else on for that first while.

Fennel we are still having those night issues especially when dd falls asleep by mistake. So irritating.

Trees up at our house, summer keeps poking it's head out and retreating, hopefully it'll turn up for good soon. Busy busy busy is basically my middle name at the mo.

Have a good hols everybody!