March 2013 - gurgles, giggles and going on holiday (for some of us at least!)

[pudtat]

Will this do? Never started a thread before so hope this works...

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Morning all. Guess what - another broken night here!!! Looks like the worselet's sleeping through phase was just that... a phase. Damn! She's an unhappy little bag of wind and farts again. Any advice anyone, other than baths, massage, and cycling her legs?

I'm on the edge of my seat Leni - what was the verdict? Hope you've found somewhere perfect

KFF what is this dummy magic of which you speak? I've tried a dummy with dd - she spits it out. I've even tired a variety of shapes of dummy - she spits them all out. In fact she will chew almost anything except a dummy. Most bizarre. No advice on the thumbs issue Wing, but I imagine she will with time start to remember where thumbs are kept.

Happy holidays SoYo - hope you get to relax and catch up on sleep.

Pud - The whole hot weather things has been a bit of a nightmare for me tbh, and despite my best efforts dd appears to have developed a tan. I'm telling myself the vitamin D will have done her good, but I rather suspect the rest of the world will be pinning me as a 'bad mother'. It's the sling that is the problem, as the hood of the pram comes right down over her head and shades all but her toes. Not tried suncream yet as my only foray into strange unguents (baby shampoo.... thanks MIL) resulted in a very sore head and a nasty case of cradle cap. Warm water and cotton wool is all that gets near pfb dd now. Yesterday I spent the day walking around with a copy of the FT shading her head. One likes to start the lo's education young

Ha ha worse on the FT!

I am with you on the little bit of vit D is good for them! We also use nothing but water on dd so won't be starting sun cream just yet. Keep them mainly shaded I say but a bit of sun won't hurt!

We had a busy day yesterday. Jabs in the morning which resulted in that horrible little squeal that just breaks hearts but that seems to be the only reaction so far other than having a clingy baby most of the evening which I secretly loved. Then off for a pub lunch where DM kidnapped DS for a while and refused to give him to anyone else, even when she was eating. Then friends round for a night of fajitas and cupcakes where DS fell asleep in an old school friend's arms much to her delight and her OH's ever so worried face which just screamed 'not yet not yet not yet'! Even the poonami before bathtime didn't scare her off.

pud I put DS in children's factor 50 sensitive Nivea suncream and it seems to be fine. He stays in the shade as much as possible and then we go inside, when we can, for a bit of time in front of the fan which he thinks is hilarious. Also, what is it about babies in shorts that just screams cuteness??

wing sucking on his fists and sleeves was how DS started with his thumb sucking and now we need to use a jack to prise it from his mouth. He sucks his left thumb and his right wrist, never anything else or the other way round. I wonder what went through his mind to decide that.

Hope it's lovely and sunny for everyone today and there are lots of smiley, happy babies and mummies!

Worc- i had to use an enormous cherry teat dummy. I found when he wants a dummy he will suck on it for dear life but if he wants his fist he is determined to suck on his fist. So actually wing ignore my advice i was half asleep .

Our main plan for avoiding sunshine is not walking south around lunchtime. The downside to a second hand buggy is the parasol and rain cover vanished long ago. DD does have a very cute little sunhat though.

Eig does napping improve from three months? I really, really hope it does.

Still no more sleeping through the night here. But we've been doing dream feeds at 10 and 1, just to make sure she's got enough milk in her, and that makes her sleep until somewhere between six and seven in the morning. My usual trick of breakfast in bed and a firm "It's still night time, chicken, go back to sleep" is becoming less successful though. Getting up to half an hour of chattering to herself before she goes back to sleep. And this morning I was woken at 8.15 by " hic-oooh! hic-aaah!"

Anyone else invested in one of those doorway bouncer thingies? We got one yesterday, DD loves it. As do my arms. She's all about the standing up these days. And yesterday saw the first ever roll! From back to side!

As for that Wonder Weeks book... anyone else keep forgetting the list of upcoming skills has them at the earliest point they might appear, and so thinking their baby is a bit slow for not doing them all yet?

Meanwhile, my hippy babywearing cloth nappy friend is having a busy week. Baby turned one, went back to work, and announced pregnancy number three. And it's making me broody. How can I want another already?

stormy my experience was yes it does as baby more active at awake time, door bouncers great so really needs the nap. We are blackout blinds and in cot though if we want a proper 2 hour nap at lunch. Any slacking from mummy the light or venue and we'll only sleep 45 mins!

We managed a good nap earlier - woke up and squeaked a bit after forty five minutes, then actually went back to sleep! Went down again fifteen minutes ago after a good bounce, hopefully she'll stay down until the next feed.

The man has just agreed we can have another baby if I get him a Ferrari. Anyone got a few hundred grand spare?

Stormy here's your answer
www.toyshopuk.co.uk/brands/ferrari/

It's not like he specified the exact model is it....

Actually scrap that, I've just read the prices on there ...!!!!! They're toys FFS.

We use Mam dummies which are brilliant although DD was born wanting to suckle everything in sight. As for more babies...shudder....love both my DDs to bits but don't know how anyone who goes through it once would want to do it again!

stormy what door bouncer did you get? Didn't realise they could be used at such a young age! Would be fantastic if possible to use already as DD is nosy and likes to be sitting up and looking aroung. Ideally she also likes to be as high up as possible too - think it comes from being transported almost exclusively in sling since birth which made her neck muscles strong quite quickly and she just wants to constantly look around which can be difficult for me to facilitate all day long!

My brain is broken.

We had a second viewing of the Greenwich brand new place and it's so light and lovely... Loads of room for entertaining and 3 bedrooms so room to work from home etc.

Then we went to Beckenham...

A maisonette on Abbey Park Rd, a private estate of sixties places with lots of green. Anyone know it?

A two up two down over 1st/2nd floor with own entrance, needs work and no open hallways or third bedroom, but could have a cat and the town centre is lovely. Really cute house with big windows and we could add value, plus we'd own it all.

I'm so torn still, worse having seen it!
I can see myself in the new one so easily as I tend to find the crumbly old dated bits stifling in sixties builds, but in Beckenham there's less space but it's a little house! And very safe area with more green. There's less working room which may mean no teaching from home of DS/OH are home.

Ok i need a vote...

leni sounds likle a really tough choice. On the one hand I usually always prioritise my ability to earn income so would be inclined to go for space where I could work and also space that family could grow into but on the other hand I am dubious of share ownership schemes. Do you have a gut instinct about the houses? If not perhaps write of pros and cons list and decide which of factors is most important to you?

Why dubious? I'm new to house buying so all input helpful!

This is our first ever bought place so only planning on staying until DS goes to school really. Not a family home as such.

My friend just threw eggs at Cowell on BGT!!!!

Leni - you need to draw up a pros and cons list for each, them sit down with your DH and go through what factors are most important to each of you. No one on here can tell you which is the right option for you, because we aren't you.

If it were me I'd go with the Beckenham place because I always prioritise location over space, ownership over part ownership, the potential to add value over right at the top of the price bracket already, and two storeys over one. Noisy neighbours above your head can be pretty hellish! If I remember correctly didn't you say the other place fronted onto a busy road? That would also put me off, especially given your ds will be at the mad running about age before you plan to move.

However, if you work from home, space and a swanky interior might be more important... Sooooo, no help really

But back to babies - for those of you going through the hand chewing phase, the answer is a gummee glove. It's fab. DD spent ages crackling the crackly patch and trying to shove the chewy bits in her mouth. She's not really big enough to properly chew it, but she gave it her best shot, and saved the skin on her hands from another evening of being slobbered on.

Gummee glove sounds hilarious... Can you get grown up gloves made of haribo you can slowly eat? Now that I'd buy!

Rainbow we got this. It says three to fifteen months on the box; the main thing is they need to be able to support their head. DD is grand at that, since sitting down is for wusses and only wimps lie down - she's determined to be the Amazing Standing Baby at all times. A good sized doorway comes in handy too - we've a double width doorway with no door in it between living room and kitchen which is ideal.

leni I'd be inclined to go for the Beckenham one, mainly on the grounds that you'd own it yourself rather than sharing it (presumably with the bank? Which means you pay off the mortgage then have to take out another to buy the other half of it?).

worse I may have to invest in one of those gloves. It's getting hard to get the dummy in DD's mouth even when she's shouting for it, because her hands are always in the way.

Why do some people always manage to annoy you and how can the competitive parent thing start so young. I've religiously (!) avoid this lady at church who constantly quizzes me about feeding and compares our babies. This morning her opening line on grabbing me is, gosh you can see a real difference in our girls now ( born a few days apart) mine is so much bigger than yours and holds her head up more. I praise myself for refraining from getting into a debt ( I wanted to say dd is in the 60th percentile blah blah blah), instead I made a oh right comment and moved on. But why is it you can't see some people without it seeming like they are unfavourably comparing your baby. My standard line ( unless its really obvious something is wrong) is " doesn't she or he look well!". Ok rant over I know I shouldn't care but I think especially with the feeding issues and illness I am super sensitive about dd.

Eig you're a better woman than me. I'd be tempted to make a a veiled comment that would leave her wondering if her precious dd wasn't just a tad overweight. But then I am evil, and don't much care who hates me

Stormy I did wonder if 10 quid wasn't a bit steep for what is basically a fancified teething ring, but based on how successful it has been I'd say it is probably worth it. Mini-worse is giving herself dish-pan hands from all the slobber, and that isn't a good look on a 3 month old. It isn't a good look on her ageing mother either, but at least I have an excuse other than I dribble.

That door thingummy looks like fun.... I'm tempted. However I may have to sit on my hands for now as the amount of baby paraphernalia that I am amassing is getting ridiculous. Doesn't help that MIL sends me a 'wee parcel' every week. She's the sweetest granny ever, and just can't keep out of baby stores. I'm kind of thinking my SILs need to hurry up and produce or the tiddler will become the ultimate spoilt brat.

Right, tis lunch which means thinking about what to feed large people and when to feed smaller ones. Complicated this family management lark isn't it.

worse I was really tempted to say, well given how much bigger you are than me ... Must be genetic but stopped myself. Dh excelled himself by getting the gender wrong and saying gsh your boys got big when he came over to rescue me. Don't knw why it upset me, 5.8 kg at 12 weeks is a good size . I have been trying to get dd into a better routine, been reading "save our sleep"' it's got some good sense re daily naps etc..

Share the nap sense with us, Eig, we're all agog.

Seems alright to me commenting on size differences between babies (because, well, they do come in different sizes). But getting competitive about who's got the better head control? Presumably the woman hasn't got anything important to occupy herself with. I admit I quite like comparing babies, but not in a competitive way. It's just interesting seeing the different paths each baby takes to gaining full body control, as it were.

We are having a bit of a rubbish day today. DD's doing grand, but she is now down to one surviving great-grandparent.

Stormy sorry to hear that

The shared ownership means Family Mosaic own the other half, not the bank. Everything's guaranteed for 4 years and they're really easy to sell on. You can buy back 5% at a time if you want so it means we can afford three beds. Leaning more towards a bigger space for when DS starts rolling/crawling/spreading himself about! Then maybe graduating to a proper house in Beckenham when he's bigger and needs me home less (work further away from there). The one we saw needs all new windows and doors etc, complete repainting and removal of artex ceilings throughout and a new bathroom, and I'm not sure the value would even go up much as it's already pretty expensive. I don't know if I can be arsed for such a small space, but there's only smaller ones in our price range that don't need lots of work Hence my reservations... But still haven't properly decided. Feel a bit anxious and depressed about it actually because I want DS to be happy!

Had a bit of a ukelele experiment yesterday - DS laughs when I play to him so we held it up by his hands and he grasped the strings a bit making some notes, but then he got so excited he started going all aquiver and hyperventilating! Had to take it away again he's so easily over stimulated.

Anyone know about hungrier baby milk, i.e. when it's used and why etc?

The hungry baby milk just fills them up more, I think. I'd imagine it's denser? Likely to aggravate rather than improve any digestive issues though, I'm told.

Can I be nosy and ask what your price range is, leni? Mainly so I can be shocked and horrified - one gets a bit of a skewed idea of what houses cost living in Hull.

Just asked hippy friend, hungry baby milk has cereal in to fill them up more. Gets stuck in the teat a lot, and made her son constipated. It didn't improve his sleep, just made him wake up farting a lot.