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March 2013 - 6 months down, 210 to go!

995 replies

StormyBrid · 16/09/2013 10:26

Old thread.

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

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
ecofreckle · 25/11/2013 20:17

I'm just dancing Gerry, will endeavor to entertain later! And yes, Hanson, tut.

pudtat · 25/11/2013 20:39

Ive been ebaying in an effort to afford Xmas but have hit my monthly item limit (didn't know I had one Blush). So... Hello Grin.

Avoided posting as would've been a bit Hmm about all the £ we're having to spend on the car at the moment, but brakes really aren't optional are they? Just feels a bit like we're being kicked when we're down but hey ho. Onwards and upwards etc.

How's work Gerry? You back in the swing? Lo finding things ok without you? Glad to have dp back?

Any crawling plonky Wink? Still nothing like that here.

Can I ask re 8m check those that have had them - did you have to book it or did the hv get in touch with you?

BettyOff · 25/11/2013 20:58

I got a letter through the post with a time for mine Pud.

Sorry for the radio silence, bad weekend. Madam is still a snotbag but also turned into the whingiest, clingiest nightmare of a baby ever. Nothing made her happy and it was exhausting. That combined with fighting with DH about having assumed responsibility for every decision made for this family & being thoroughly fed up of breastfeeding made for me feeling very sorry for myself and being a snivelling mess. Luckily I've pulled myself together again and normality resumes!

Right, I'm off to order a bathroom. Cutting it a tad fine as the fitter comes 2 weeks today!

worsestershiresauce · 25/11/2013 21:30

I don't think my hv likes me very much as she's very unenthusiastic about organising any checks. Ours are always a month late, which is a pain, as this time I've a few questions to ask... like should I be worried that a brown patch which looks like a bruise on the tiddler's shoulder has been there for 4 months, and are the little rough patches that have appeared dry skin or warts Confused? Why don't babies come with manuals? They should you know. Washing machines have manuals, even some kettles do. Babies are far more complicated and yet we are sent home none the wiser and expected to cope. This is rubbish.

Betty wonder week do you think? The last one here was fairly impressive.... in a bad way. I'm assuming these small people of ours are making monumental developmental leaps at the moment as they seem to be up all sorts that their parents would prefer them not to be.

The worselet's latest... 'I will not eat anything, at all, ever, when you want me to... and just for a laugh I will refuse my milk too. I will then sleep for 3 hours straight, before waking up starving, and deciding to party all night, with regular meal breaks.' Personally I'm not liking this tactic.

What bathroom did you pick Betty? Not that I'm nosey oh ok I am

Pud you're right. Brakes are compulsory. Sympathy though, it sucks when all the bills pile up at once.

Gerry yup, you killed it. I read the word 'Hanson' and had a horrible flash back, and had to take to my room with the smelling salts. I've only just recovered.

Gerrythetootallgiraffeswife · 25/11/2013 21:46

So, I was going to try to be all advisey about grumpy babies, and sympathy-y about rubbish days/weeks. But I'm rubbish at both of those things, so thought I'd tell you a funny Hanson related story instead.

I went to an all girls selective state secondary school, so behaviour was pretty good. I was (and still am) a bit of a wuss when it comes to getting in trouble, so whilst I did a bit of the underage drinking/smoking/skiving thing when I was in 6th form, younger than that I really wasn't very rebellious. Apart from one time in year 8- so about 12 years old. My friends and I were HUGE Hanson fans, and we had heard they were in London for a concert. So instead of getting off the train and going to school, we changed in the loos, stayed on the train, and went to London to look for them. We truly thought we'd find them if we hung around the only place we knew, which was the west end. On the way up, we had a fake conversation about our careers, so no one would suspect us (because there's nothing suspicious about vaguely tarty 12yr olds discussing their careers...). We never found them, changed on the train back home, no one was any wiser.

So, my ONE rebellion before age 16 was searching for 3 long haired mmmbop singing brothers...

Anypants · 25/11/2013 22:40

Gerry I take my hat off to your epic bunk. These days, you've only got to check twitter to see where One Direction/Justin Bieber/Crap X Factor rejects are so you were terribly brave going looking without the power of the internet. What would you have done if you'd found them? And have you seen them now.... Shock

worsestershiresauce · 26/11/2013 07:16

Gerry!!!!!!!!!! You rebel you Grin

pudtat · 26/11/2013 07:19

Hahaha! Brilliant! Grin

Gerrythetootallgiraffeswife · 26/11/2013 07:33
BettyOff · 26/11/2013 08:06

Brilliant Gerry! I love that you truly believed they'd just be there in the West End!

Plonkysaurus · 26/11/2013 19:09

Gerry that's certainly worth taking your hat off to. Or for. Whichever.

Pud sadly brakes aren't optional. I had my MOT this week. And the nursery bill to pay. That stung! Hope the ebaying is yielding some good results.

SoYo chocolate? You need it.

I'm pooped. Day three of solo parenting, two more to go. I miss dp loads, and the worst part is that I'm getting increasingly frustrated with DS when he behaves like the Worselet. I may have had a pantry moment earlier.

In other news....shhh but I'm handing in my notice soon and going to work for mom and pop.

ecofreckle · 26/11/2013 20:36

I broke my promise and didn't come back this morning Gerry. It was Hanson story. All a little bit too much for me Grin you nutter
Plonky great news! FEel liberated? How long do you have to work to qualify for your maternity pay?
Leni the recent pic of you and lo on facebook suggests your diet is going well, you are looking well. As is everyone in fact. I think you all either spend lots more time (as in some) on grooming or are natural (younger) beauties.
It's cold central here. Again. Makes for fun nights eh? How did you get on with that plug in worse?
Pud our hv at last weigh in said eight month checks are not being done in my area except for where parents have concerns. Massive back log apparently. They might get around to it around the ten month mark.
Stormy I have just the thing you need to save your achey back with all that walking Dd around. When on proper laptop later I'll try and link you to it. I tried the no monitor door open approach last night. IT was ok!
Betty you hit the breast feeding wall! What did you decide? Ecobaby is only on four or five times in 24 hours now and only for about four mins a pop now. I wore my wedding lingerie to dancing last night. IT fits me again :( so it's official, my baby boobs are gone. SHe's sucked me dry. Nice.
Worse dare I ask how food has gone down today? IS she waiting for epic Poo again maybe? We got a stack, 13, books for bedtime from library and there's one called Nora that I think the Worselet should read. Again, I'll try and link to it later.
I saw an awful childminder yesterday. Made me very sad for her charges. Grim. I want to break free of job into yurt based outdoor nursery for other crazy families like us.
How do you fry rosti without ending up with a pan on fire and a crappy pile of splodge? That bitch Karmel. But Gerry you're right, dd still ate it!
We painted pots today for Christmas presents. Ecobaby love getting her hands messy. WOrks of art she created! CLearly the next emin.

Plonkysaurus · 26/11/2013 20:57

Eco I certainly do feel liberated. Fortunately I don't have to work any length of time other than my weeks notice (such an essential job I do, that I'm required to give an entire week) as I wanted paid anything on top of smp. I will be doing a lot of studying in the next 18 months though, so back to college for me.

What was so awful about the childminder? I wish I hadmy old boobs back. They were a nice handful. Now I'm rivalling Carol off BBC breakfast.

I've never successfully made a rosti, and I'm pretty damn good in the kitchen otherwise, if I do say so myself. I'd have thought lots of oil, not butter, squeeze all the liquid from the potato before cooking, and a good nonstick pan would suffice, but alas, all my rostis to date have been found wanting.

Our next hv check here is a 9 month one, so mid December. That reminds me, Something did you ever manage to find your new hv team? And any news on the work front?

StormyBrid · 26/11/2013 21:27

I must admit, I have no idea what a rosti is. Some sort of fried potato?

Back saving harness looks awesome, eco. Shall have to accidentally on purpose leave that page open when FIL is here in a couple of weeks. Glad your monitor-free night went well. Was it all doors open? We have our bedroom door open but DD's closed. Don't really need the cats skidding off the side of the cot during a 5am game of Stair Wars.

pud we got a letter from the HV team saying when they were turning up. It's not an eight month check specifically though - they do it any time between seven months and a year. Round here it's at eight months but may be slightly different where you are.

worse random thought, but have you tried feeding the worselet with your fingers? When DD's in one of her "All foods are poison, I'm just going to lick the stairs instead" phases, she won't feed herself and she won't take a spoon, but if I break off tiny pieces of food with my fingers and put them in her mouth, she'll eat a fair bit. Could be worth a try?

OP posts:
worsestershiresauce · 27/11/2013 07:29

Eco Grin I'll have to get that!! She likes books. Spends hours eating the pages. Might provide a little nutrition if nothing else.

Stormy I've tied fingers, but no, nothing doing. What does work though is baby junk food wotsits thingies aka organix 'carrot' sticks dipped in mush. She'll eat any amount of those. Shame they are utter rubbish really.

Plonky did you find yourself a small dark confined space with snacks laid on to hide in? I can recommend it. So sorry madam has been broadcasting her how to break mummy tips. She has quite a few more.... Wink

Lots to say, but no time as we're off to a baby music class this morning which means I need to get the worselet up, the mush made, and myself respectable. It had better to worth it!

Plonkysaurus · 27/11/2013 08:40

I am a broken woman. worse he's definitely been getting tips. Today it has been waking up the second mummy gets in the shower (I had planned ahead and surrounded him with toys), whine a lot, poo all over mummy's bed (seriously, even two nappies could not have contained that), and proceed to cry all morning unless eating crumpets/drinking milk. We have to leave the house in 10 minutes and I've no idea how I've managed to get us ready.

I even had time for five seconds of pantry time. I cannot wait to dump him on nursery and go to my amazing job.

somethingbeginningwith · 27/11/2013 09:24

Ohh plonk I want to offer some help but don't know exactly what help that would be. If you want some company in the evening or something, I'm on hand! I would offer to take him for a little bit to give you some time but I suppose that's what nursery is for, but any other time, you know where I am. I know your DP comes back soon but, the offer is still there.

We haven't sorted the hv, I've left them 4 messages telling them that I've moved but no reply. Bleh!

I have a meeting at work on Friday to tell them what utter arseholes they are discuss my completely reasonable and justified request to return on reduced hours. Their problem of "my hours not being covered" has been solved by me as I've found two current employees of my company who would take on a job share which would in no way affect their current work. So ha! I'd like to see what their issues are with that!

worse how was the class? Sounds like a lot of fun!

BettyOff · 27/11/2013 11:13

Plonky I was like that last week and it was bloody awful, she just whined at everything & it broke me. I ended up shouting at her & then felt terrible. Lots of deep breaths, bribery with snacks and a bath after she's in bed got me through & luckily it didn't last. Come here to moan regularly! That's what I should have done but instead took it out on DH.

Something that sounds shitty. How transferable are your skills and how terrible would it be if you weren't working for a while and were job hunting again? If that's any possibility for you then push them as hard as you possibly can. If they really are complete arse holes its usually only when they truly believe you'll go that they'll flex.

ecofreckle · 27/11/2013 14:57

Oh Plonky. Bleaurghhh. That sounds tough. But you made it to work. Go you! Have you got DM around in DF's absence? Hope so. Like Betty said, come and have a moan with us in our huge virtual pantry. And, do tell, what will you be studying? Brilliant to be starting something liek that. You may just inspire me.

Something it sounds like you have solved your work's problem for them. It's pretty obviously why a new mother might want to return to reduced hours really, you shouldn't have to justify yourself. Good luck with your next meeting.
I am very excited to hopefully be meeting Worse/Worselet and Gerry/MiniVJ (!) next week. My girl doesn't get much girlie company as it's 7 boys and 2 girls in our mum/baby gang so we're looking forward to chatting about politics, international travel, Bach, boys and make-up and all those other things that girls chat about.

Today we finally cracked open the travel cot as a play pen for the kitchen. Although not crawling yet ecobaby is mobile enough to get right under my feet and in the potential firing line of a knife/hot pan so it was time. We seem to spend an awful lot of time in the kitehcn one way and another. Strange that, because pre-weaning I had managed to avoid it like the plague since the last stages of pregnancy Grin. Ecobaby finds it quite amusing to gurn at me through the mesh when I get down to her level.

We went to presma again this morning and ecobaby did a terribly stinky nappy during our colonel bogey marching which was a bit Blush as the mums around me subtly sniffed their lo's bottoms.

worsestershiresauce · 27/11/2013 15:48

plonk would it help if I said ‘this too shall pass’? Probably not… given that is possibly the most annoying phrase on the planet. Along with ‘might never happen’. For full effect the latter is best said by an annoying buildery type with his ar5e hanging out smoking a fag on some scaffolding.

Eco the plug-ins, I’ve just remembered…. They’d be bl**dy marvellous if it wasn’t for the extra bright fluorescent blue night light. I mean, who in their right mind attaches a blindingly bright light to an item intended for a child’s bedroom? A man probably…. But I digress. In summary, the vapour smells lovely, and really clears the airways, but unless you particularly want to spend the night chatting to your baby whilst they stare fascinated at blue walls and scary shadows, I’d recommend turning on for an hour before bed, and turning off at lights out.

Oh exciting. The meet up! I’ll check facebook. At least I will do when the internet connection is back up. I’m typing this on word, to post later, as connection in these ‘ere parts is random to say the least. I suck at girlie talk though, and my makeup tips stretch no further than to say that after a long night pacing the floors foundation is your friend.

Speaking of make-up the music group was great fun (there is a connection… honest). Never thought I’d see the day where sitting on the floor singing ‘the wheels on the bus’ whilst waving my arms manically in the air could be described as fun, but hey, how one’s life changes. Went down well with the worslet too who sat in open mouthed wonder at the sheer stupidity of adults, and the presence of other people the same size as herself. It also zonked her out (2 hour nap this afternoon…. YAY!).

The make-up connection…. All the other mums were wearing it Shock! Am I missing something? I thought we were allowed a year’s grace to look like sh*te. I was obviously wrong, and will up my game next week. I’ll endeavour to wear something that a) fits, and b) is mush free. Can’t say fairer than that.

Something good luck for Friday. You tell ‘em. The world is supposed to be going family hours friendly, and they know it.

Stormy any progress on the food front at your end? I’ve made a decision; I’m going to cut the tiddler’s milk right down. It’s what the HV told another mum to do, and given the tiddler is really not so very tiddly I think it is the only answer. She’s piling on the pounds and is starting to look a little sumo like, which is saying to me she needs to fill up and fruit and veg and stop pigging out on milk.

ecofreckle · 27/11/2013 15:59

oh no worse, it's the baby girls chatting about politics and travel. I should imagine we'll be chatting about poo, mush, how to stay awake for a chat with your dh and roomy vaginas Grin

worsestershiresauce · 27/11/2013 16:17

Eco GrinGrinGrin

ecofreckle · 27/11/2013 18:48

Wine Brew Cake those are for Plonky who has has a very shonky day by the sounds of it. Put the little fella to bed and crack it open Plonky.

BettyOff · 27/11/2013 20:04

Eco you just made me laugh out loud (I couldn't bring myself to type LOL) plus kudos on excellent use of the word shonky! I'll be stealing that once I have to wean myself off the potty mouth!