March 2013 - 6 months down, 210 to go!

[StormyBrid]

Old thread.

Keep on rambling, ladies, we have a whole new thread to fill!

Chin up soyo - you can get through it

Howdy folks.
Just caught up with your news. Second children? Yikes.my ideal would be five years so one is starting school but that'd mean baby at 42 so we are seriously considering being thankful for our one.
Wing am still in pads here too and have only gone braless overnight once. Like you say, It's the leakage from other one whilst feeding. It's a bit inconsistent but enough to keep me wearing them. But I Have bamboo washable ones and it's ok. It's the overnight bra I want to ditch. Nipples not sensitive here. Good jobs as Eco baby likes to do what we call spaghetti nipple here.
It's the day of the wedding, currently It's eight am here. We're in Joshua tree having had a fun drive down route 66. It's beautiful in the desert. Eco baby is doing well now having recovered from her jet lag. She gets masses of attention from friendly Americans we meet. Sleeping well to the hum

It's now one and I broke off that message as Eco baby did a mega nap and We went in hot tub overlooking mountains. I think I was saying she likes the noise of the air con. It's very hot here and our wedding in an hour rs outdoors. Eco baby is only child present so am hopeful we can pass her around a little.
Now we've settled into life here I'm delighted we came but for first 48 hours I swore never again. The flight and jet lag for us were hard. But short lived! Certainly doable. But we have another two weeks so who knows what hell could lie around corner. Time will tell.
BEtter go and get my frock on and sort my desert hair. Happy weekend everyone.

Oh my goodness I am so jealous eco. I went on a Route 66 coach trip when I was 21 LA>Chicago with a group of strangers and it was an amazing trip.

No leakage still here BUT my first period post-birth started in earnest yesterday and I am so hormonal and in pain. And because I've got a coil in, I can't wear tampons until after my check-up and I've run out of normal Always so am actually having to wear damn maternity pads :( I have been very depressed today about everything; stopping BFing, returning to work, basically returning to my life pre-DD IFKWIM. Sob :(

On DC2 theme, I love the 4 1/4 years gap between DS and DD. Having both in nappies would have been awful IMO! I've got friends who have had them less than 2yrs apart and they seem to me to have struggled far more than we have but there are pros and cons to every age gap.

I'm currently working on DH to bring him round to perhaps having a third(!) but we wind have to have a smaller gap this time if we do go ahead because it wouldn't be fair on DS if he were 9 when the next one was born -and I really would have issues going back to a newborn stage after another 4 years!

Eig, good to hear from you.

worse, yay for sleeping!

And whoever suggested lactulose, thanks. DD was so constipated yesterday she puked every time she was trying to poo as she was straining so hard, poor little thing. Far runnier today so I'm not sure what changed overnight!

Hello to everyone else :) I went out on a mums' night out last night where I only really knew two of them. I felt incredibly frumpy and kept noticing myself doing annoying things like laughing too hard at someone's joke, saying stupid things etc. I've never been self-conscious socially so it was very weird. Probably a combination of hormones and just getting back into the swing of socialising again, especially with new people. I berated myself the whole way home though. Grr.

Anyway, I have just eaten half a chocolate orange and am now watching HIGNFY from last night. I need a laugh. Night all.

Oh and nipples back to normal today. I feel a lot freer even though I'm still in nursing bras

wing I know the feeling you describe exactly. when it happens it is so awkward and bad for your self esteem. and I do the same on the journey home, going over and over conversations etc. thing is, no one else except us notices anything odd! maybe we need to get out more.
on the subject of poo, three days after first food eco baby's poo has been an adult consistency nugget a few times a day. surely they do not go from breast milk goo poo to hard stuff overnight? am thinking she might be constipated? gave her pureed prune this morning just in case.
so, the wedding was lovely. spectacular setting among the beautiful cacti and mountains, gorgeous just pregnant bride, amazing food, sweet vows. I left dh there and came back to motorhome with dd. he is staying out for the night as he doesn't see his LA Friend much these days. ecobaby did well but was too tired for supper by the time I offered it and flaked out in pram instead. tell me, how is it that at home we creep upstairs to bed and she wakes but tonight she took a three hour nap right next to live band?!
she is asleep in her cot now so I will snuggle down in our home on wheels too. I can't work out what time it is with you as am so tired....half six in morning on a sunday maybe....I hope you are all fast asleep with cosy days ahead of you. the heat has made me nostalgic for the autumn!

Eco What a wonderful experience to tell DD about when she is older. My parents upped sticks and emigrated for a year with 2 under 2, and I still ruffle my feathers with pride a bit when I think of it. My mum managed to cope in a flat without stairs, with 2 tiddlers, despite not having a word of the language when she arrived.

I can see an equally proud teen eco-baby rolling her eyes and telling her friends 'yeah, like they're mad. Carted me across america in a van, and left my pram by a live band while they partied. For real'.

On the poo front, lumps are not good. Prunes, lots of water, and go easy on the banana.

Wing I can identify. I'm uber confident 80% of the time, but 20 I regress back to childhood shyness and shrink delicately in a corner. Wallflowers have nothing on me. I like being the age I am though, as it's something that definitely diminishes the older you get. It's not all grey hair and saggy knees you know.

On the third front a) you're mad, and b) a 9 year gap is fine. SIL is 8 years younger than DH. She idolises him, and as a teenager he regarded her as an adorable little pet. They are still really close.

Today we are supposed to be going to christening, but given DH is still in bed with man flu I suspect this won't happen. I am not gutted. The poor baby is the outcome of his colleague's affair with his secretary. I went to the man's wedding, and the christenings of his two children with his wife. I like his wife, and have no reason to like the secretary. Lives may be complicated but the attitude of so many men to their families is disgusting

Glad you're having a good time eco and worse enjoy the christening - remember to smile and drink some free booze...

I am having a terrible start to the day - awake at 6.45, screaming through breakfast, only a half hour nap so didn't get to nap myself, DH got up at 10. Am v. angry at him as I am tired and he never offers to do anything for DD. He's got three days off from his new job where he had to start at 4.30 every morning last week. I do alright when he's not here. It's just that when he is here he may as well not be. I finally managed to get him to give DD a bath yesterday after days of asking and then I had to redo her nappy as he'd left it hanging off her. If I wasn't still bfing i'd have kicked him out of bed this morning to go and sort her out. He said 'did she have you up early this morning?' just now but no offer of 'anything I can do?'. I've half a mund to just go out and tell him he's got to give her lunch but a) he doesn't fully get the blw, b) I haven't prepared lunch yet and c) she'd end up with porridge as 'she loves it'. I need to spell it out for him, don't i? The sh*tbag.

*half a mind.

Very early start here today - the man's alarm went off at half past five. Why he feels the need to get up so early just to watch the Grand Prix I have no idea. Particularly as the replay is just about to start now. Still, it meant I got to sleep in until half past eight.

Ah, the solid poos! Here we have nothing for two days, then a day of straining that eventually produces a tiny solid lump. Within half an hour a huge and soggy explosion takes place. I suppose the solid stuff blocks things up a bit, but when it clears everything else just falls out. Have had to go up a nappy size too, as size 3 was involving poo up to the shoulderblades. When the baby is sitting on the floor, the poo can't go down. Up is the only available direction, and by god does it go up.

Am having a major attack of the broodiness. Doesn't help that newest niece is due two weeks tomorrow, and my cousin's just announced another one too. How do I persuade the man that we need to have another one? He keeps saying "We should focus all our attention on this one." I keep thinking "Yes, but if I turn out to have the same disease as my mother has, I do not want DD to have to deal with it alone."

Any wish I had some advice for you. I could tell you how I got the man to step up and take responsibility with parenting, but I think men are like babies, in a way - no two are the same, and what works with one doesn't work with another. But yes, you will have to sit him down and spell things out very clearly, as it sounds like he's not going to suddenly realise what needs doing all by himself.

I really wish I didn't have morals and so could just engineer a contraceptive "accident"...

Well, what can I say? I threw a paddy as DD just refused to have a nap so u took her for a walk. Got back and told DH that I was having a bad day and could he help? He says 'ok - what can I do?' so I get him to give her lunch (i still had to make it but he sat and watched her). I should have sat down but alas I managed to sort out the washing and tidy up a bit. I may be pushing it but I might see if I can get him to do the bath again tonight....

Don't ask him, Any, tell him. Tell him you're going to have a sit down while he does the bath because you're knackered. And don't jump up to fetch and carry for him, let him bugger it up all by himself because that way he'll learn.

In other news, my persuasive powers know no bounds. Terms of baby number two: I have to get down to under thirteen stone; and I have to source a pizza and some weed for this evening. Let the healthy eating campaign begin!

So, silence all night. That means all the babies slept, right?

Fraid so. Dosed up DD with calpol as she was sneezing and snotty last night. Told DH to do the bath as she was screaming at me and, lo and behold, he did it! I think he has realised that he could help me a bit more. Wonder how long it'll last...?

How long it lasts probably depends on whether he can make the mental leap from "helping you" to "parenting". We had calpol induced sleep until twenty to seven, after an eleven o'clock waking up screaming incident. Added to the chewing and the dribbling, I suspect the top teeth are on the way.

You're right stormy - I think i'll chance my arm and see if he does the bath again tonight... Softly softly catchy monkey. Trouble is, he's back at work tomorrow, starting at 5am, so he won't want to do anything when he gets in. Ah well, we'll see...

The man never wants to do much when he gets in either - he's out the house at half seven and not home until six. Still does bath and bed five nights a week - it's daddy/daughter bonding time.

Glad to hear he's doing more Any. I think Stormys bang on with making the leap from helping to parenting.

eco it sounds like you're having a gay old time. That must have been a long flight, you (and your arms) have my sympathy.

We went to the PILs on Saturday and it was far better than anticipated. I was a snotty mess so persuaded dp to get up with DS on Sunday morning, and MIL behaved herself. Then we met my family for a nice meal just outside Macclesfield. Didn't get any time to ourselves but we've got our dirty weekend away coming up. And in just over two weeks I'm back at work so really trying to make the most of this time.

Had a sinking realisation that for a couple of days next month I'm going to be solo parenting and working! Dp is off to Dubai with work, so somehow I've got to persuade my boss to let me finish early to fetch DS. Everyone I know is abroad at once! Nail-biting fully underway.

Oh and still no teeth here. The canine I spotted weeks ago settled back down. But he has learnt to say dada.

Hello all!

Sorry I've been awol - a busy time meant getting so behind on the thread that it got a bit intimidating... So I've not read through apologies. A lot happened and I thought it would be better to just draw a line and join in afresh!

Here's a potted rundown of my news:

We've just got back from a weekend visiting family (my 'holiday' before going back to work). It caused an almighty screaming row where we both said regrettable things but it cleared the air. Mil's dog is to blame

DS has 2 teeth plus an enormous scary black teething blister. Still not sleeping through but loving new people now and finally turned 6 months. I actually want to chew his face I love him so much

I've been writing songs again and it's going better than ever. I cut my arse-length hair off. I bought new work clothes that don't look awful.

Still waiting for my neurology appointment, meanwhile symptoms are fluctuating and OH is being more understanding.

Hope everyone's doing well - anyone back at work yet?

Hi Leni, certainly sounds like you've been busy. I hope you've turned a corner with your dh. A good row can be a positive thing, those rare moments when you're not bothered about being tactful or polite so you can just be honest!

Six monthsers are bloody gorgeous eh?

Hi Leni good to see you back. Plonky's right, issues are better aired than not, so hopefully things will pick up at home. New look, new wardrobe and new sounds.... go you!!!

I'm loving this stage too. Dd has such a great sense of humour and has reached the point where she can anticipate if something will be funny. Hours of fun. If I say 'boop' to her in a certain way she laughs. I always pull a face beforehand, so if I pull the face then hold my breath, she holds her breath, snorts a bit with stiffled laughter, before cracking up when I 'boop' at her. The game can be continued to the point where we both crack up if I so much as look at her out of the corner of my eye. Now obviously I need to get out more, but in the meantime I can honestly say it is like having a very small best friend around the place.

On a more mundane note how is everyone dealing with weaning digestive problems? I'm up at least every 2 hours every night now because the tiddler is waking with stomach cramps. She settles down when I cuddle her, but I can feel the trapped wind in her intestine. I'm knackered, she's knackered, and tempting though it may be the solution is not to feed her only milk for the next 18 years, so any ideas gratefully received.

worse we've had a couple of occasions of waking up screaming with stomach cramps (although it's rare, thankfully). A cuddle while the calpol kicks in generally does the trick. Although I can understand you might not want to go down the calpol route if it's every night.

Hello, Leni, good to see you back!

If DD sees me looking at her tummy and grinning she bursts out laughing, anticipating the raspberry.

I weighed myself this morning. 47lbs to shift before we can try for baby number two. That's totally doable.

Stormy I have a friend who's particularly adept at baby making. She puts us lot in the shade. Anyway, she swears by losing the weight between pregnancies for a number of reasons, not least because it boosts fertility. I have about 20 lbs to go before I'm skinny again and I'm hoping a lot will fall off once I'm back at work and on my feet all day. I found the 'Avoid the Quiche' thread on weightloss chat, there's some really inspiring stuff there.

We've had a bit more nighttime grumbling with weaning but it seems to have dropped off again. Whenever he seems grumpier I tend to resort to blw and try not to have an anxiety attack at the mess. I've no idea if it actually helps, though if he's feeding himself he never eats as much as with purées.

And yeah the sense of humours lovely. DS finds it hilarious when I make the bed if he's still in it, it's like an enormous game of peekaboo.

Morning all.

Welcome back leni. Yay to ds having teeth.

stormy good luck on losing weight before baby number 2. I have lots to lose too. I actually lost weight when i was pregnant but put it all back on when my appetite came back after the birth. If only i didnt have a sweet tooth.

worse we still have some digestive issues. I can hear the wind in his stomach but he doesnt seem to be distressed by it. This may raise a few eyebrows on mn but we gave ds cooled boiled anaseed. It worked a treat with wind. He used to cry so much in pain but started to feel much better when he started farting away.

We took ds to a wedding on sunday. BIG mistake. He cried most of the time and was very miserable. He just hates to be in crowded places especially in the evening.
so just when i thought we got over the whinging stage when ds started to crawl we have started again. Ds is now trying to pull himself up to stand by holding onto furniture. He gets stuck cue whinging. So now when i put ds for a nap he is more interested in standing up in his cot.

KF getting stuck and whinging is preferable to DD's current version of trying to stand up, which involves getting up onto her knees, not knowing what to do next, getting distracted by the cats, and falling flat on her face.

I was actually quite pleased with my weight this morning, because it's stayed pretty static (within its usual half a stone range) these past six months. Considering these past six months have involved rather a lot of biscuits and far too many sandwiches, I shouldn't have to make too many drastic changes to start shifting a bit. And 47lbs would seem a lot scarier if I hadn't managed to lose 59lbs last year. Note to self: don't regain it all with baby number two!

As for inspiration, Plonky, I find the thought that I'm doing this for baby number two is pretty good for keeping me on the straight and narrow. Yes, I would love to polish off the packet of chocolate caramel digestives the man left next to the TV. But I want another baby more.

I must admit I've really slowed down with offering DD solids, because a) she's not particularly interested still and b) the constipation isn't fun. Must crack on with it though, she needs to be eating well enough to handle Christmas dinner!