March 2013 - 6 months down, 210 to go!

[StormyBrid]

Old thread.

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

PUD PUD PUD - tell us: how was the world of work and how was DH when you got home (I realise you're not home yet as you are a proper working gal but in case I don't get back later).
Soyo, that's goo dnews about nappies. Babies are do dynamic; that rash could be here one minute and gone the next. Hoping for steady improvement your end.
Worse what's with all these germs everywhere? It's still (I'm optimistic) summer for goodness sake. How has today been with feeling out of sorts? And, yes, there are teeth. But I think what with one thing and another she's got out of her habits and is a bit all over the place. We are trying EBW pick up put down and , though trying, we did have a better night last night and things seem to be heading in the right direction. Next time we yurt, or visit family, I'd really like to meet up with you Weald ladies....VJ and Worse brace yourselves for a pre-Christmas visit if you're up for it! And plonky, I'm trying to persuade DH to spend money we don't have so we can return to peaks first half of next year when I hope to be able to do the same with you and, is it, something?

OK, pots to wash and babies (actually just the one) to weigh.

Knackered. All ok, sort of like I was never away. Got to put the boy to bed when I got home. He was v tired but had lovely snugly cuddles. I'm just wondering if I can make it to his dream feed.

Too much to name check apart from pud how'd it go? 5.5 weeks till I go back (well a bit earlier but I'm taking a week's annual leave for half term) :(

I can't believe it, it's gone so quickly. With DS I was climbing the walls by 8 months and really ready to go back after 9 months but this time I've loved spending time with both DCs and DD'll only be 7 months so she's earlier. Still, we've found that lovely childminder who has been recommended by even more people this week so I'm as happy as I can be on that front.

My line manager's job has just been advertised with a closing date of the week after next. I'm completely torn as to whether to go for it, mainly because I'd be interviews by internal directors (inc my own) and I am so nervous about coming across as completely stupid, combined with the fact I've (obviously) been in maternity leave for over half a year. Also, there would be more travel and time spent in London and Europe too away from my DCs (if they let me even do it working from home) and on top of that I'd be line managing my current colleagues!

On the positives, I know I could do the job, I would like to do the job, it pays far more than I currently earn and DH would be probably able to work PT from home so would be there for the DCs.

Sorry, that turned into a big brain-dump! Sleep-wise, we stuck with no dream feed last night but she did wake and I fed her at 3:45 and went through till 6. Still better I think as at least I don't have to stay up for that last feed now.

I went to a weaning session today at the children's centre and the lady gave some rather dodgy advice I think. I'm happy with DD's progress though.

No teeth here yet. I must look in DS's red book and see if I wrote in when he first sprouted.

Sorry if I have forgotten anything else that is going on.

Cross-post pud. I remember feeling knackered for weeks after going back after DS. It's the extra mental exertion as well as any commuting.

Great that you're back in the swing pud.
Wing sounds like a real dilemma. Lots to weigh up. I was offered a 'big' job in my team a couple of months ago and I had a gut reaction. Did you? Maybe there lies your answer. ON the subject of weaning I also saw health visitor today and she'd recently done a dissertation on blw. Some recent research suggests that having pre loaded spoons alongside finger food is the way to go nutrition wise. Or combine with spoon feeding.
We just did more PUPD and this time had 9 PUPD over eight minutes. Sleeping again now. Thursdays are our funny night though as dh in another room and up at stupid o'clock so my hopes aren't high.
How are you getting on everyone else? End of a long week stormy? Bed early worse? Raring to go for that dirty weekend Plonky? Been to Aqua Sana soyo? More teeth Kff? Waves to everyone else.

Despite a horrid day yesterday we had a lovely day today. Ds was in a much better mood and has now mastered the crawling skill. He follows me everywhere.

pud glad you survived your first day. Just keep counting down til the weekend.

God knows why im still up. Actually 2 reasons. 1- i had half hour nap this afternoon.2- my left side aches and ive googled myself scared.

Hope you all had good bedtimes.

It appears that first cold+wonder week 26 is a recipe for losing both the plot, and this thread! Found you again, just marking my place for a catch up later!

Glad to hear its all gravy Pud

Wing I think eco's right. What's your gut instinct?

KF step away from dr google. Dp was convinced he had emphysema last week. Just asthma. Perhaps paracetamol and a nice bath?

Eco I think a mixed approach to weaning is sensible. After a day or two of trying pure blw I had a hungrier baby, on more milk than before and I was a stressed mum. Mixing the methods means he still gets a feel for food and all that fine motor development stuff but he gets fed. And I don't cry.

And yes, if you want to meet up I'm up for it. If something and her toddler are free ill press gang her should be easier to get right into the peaks now were not on bottles exclusively.

Dirty weekend postponed for a fortnight. I appear to be smuggling golfballs in my sinuses.

plonky you was right i should have ditched dr google. Turns out i just pulled a muscle. Dr said if i had been having a heart attack for a few days i would have known about.

As for weaning i have no advice to give. For about 2 weeks ds has been off his foods. I have no routine whatsoever with this little man. I just want these teeth to come out.

Glad it's going well Pud.

Wing my tuppeny worth 1. Realistically how likely are you to get the promotion? How would it affect your job, your confidence, and your relationship with your colleagues if you didn't get it? Don't answer that btw, we don't need to know! 2. How much travel is 'travel'? Don't underestimate the effect on the rest of the family if you are away every week for several days at a time. It is very hard on the partner left at home as although travelling might not be all that much fun, it certainly looks like it when you are the one keeping the home fires burning. Can you sense a little resentment here

Only thing to add, if you want it, you GO!!!!!

KFF what Plonky said. She is very wise. I'm wondering if she has a quick fix for a knackered back? It's pi55ing me off. Every time I sneeze my back seizes up... so I do the strangled yelp thing, and dd laughs . She'll not be laughing next week when she's caught his bug off me and is feeling sorry for herself. That said, neither will I.

Eco you're booked in!!! Be good to properly meet you even if it does completely ruin the image I have made up for you

Weaning wise, after an encouraging few days the worselet has downed spoons and gone on strike. I have been steaming and puréeing like a good un, but of late the only one eating purée is me (carrot and pea is my favourite). Baby porridge is considered acceptable, and toast is apparently ok for licking (but not eating). I'm assuming that she'll work it out at some point before she leave home.

I've gone and got myself her a cushitush though, to help with finger foods. The stupid sodding high chair that we have is pants. Just pants. But because it was a gift I am stuck with it. It's huge, the tray is so high dd can't even see over it, let along reach things on it, once the tray is slotted in there is no way you could get her out in a hurry if she choked, and what is more it seems to be specifically designed to seriously injure small fingers and legs. I hate it. Aaaaaannnnddd breathe.

This might just improve my mood though www.cushitush.co.uk/

Not much else on the agenda other than we are going baby swimming on sunday. Yay!!!! Can't wait.

I just remembered how i injured myself. Few days ago ds kicked me in the chest whilst changing him. It really hurt and shamefully he made me cry. I just remembered as he was doing the same after his bath. I need to drink some of this aptimal stuff to get strength and energy like our babies have. worse maybe worselet has injured you. These babies are out to get us. only joking

leni where are you? Hope you are ok? Do I have to walk the streets of Greenwich shouting where's leni?

wing sorry forgot to add my bit about the job thing. Do you think this opportunity or an even better one would come up again in the future? If not go for it, if yes enjoy spending that extra time with your young family and maybe consider it when they are a bit older. Ultimately its up to you. Maybe you should apply for it and take it from there. See how you feel once you have applied and been interviewed. Good luck.

Sorry for drip feeding posts and being annoying today. i blame the sleep deprivation. I cant think.

KFF the worselet did injure me. The runt. Did an about twist as I bent to set her down and left my back in pieces. She has some way to go to catch up with dog1 though. He broke my wrist so badly it needed pinned. Dog2 merely bit me. None of them understand the hand that feeds you concept.

[Disclaimer: dog2 is not dangerous. He had a panic attack about 2 huge great labs bearing down on him at high speed and lashed out. We now avoid labs at all cost.]

I hope you heal up soon KFF, and learn to dodge the kicks

MiniStormy seems more interested in injuring herself than me. She's very good at throwing herself forward or backward and finding the one tiny bit of unpadded floor available with her head. She did this at my dad's today, and said "Mummy" after crying. I'm calling it accidental though, like when she cried "Mummy!" after her last injection, because she's still a bit young for proper speaking.

Also, she has totally abandoned all attempts at crawling, and is trying to pull herself up on the furniture instead. Closest she's managed so far is rocking up on both knees, then getting one foot flat on the floor. She didn't know what to do next, so opted for falling over.

Also, teeth. Argh. Must buy shares in calpol.

eco it is me near the peaks, yes! And I'm definitely up for a get together. How exciting

stormy we've also discovered the art of pulling ourselves up. Stopped quickly when the hands slipped so he faceplanted the walker instead, and that resulted in a very unhappy, wobbly pout.

kf footballer in the making? hope it feels better soon though!

I've had a little monster today. All smiles and fun when other people are around but the second we get home, it was non stop whining. So, I just went out lots. He saw 8 family members today, that ought to sort him out!

I want to meet up too

Well I read and digested all your points, thank you. I also spoke to my current line manager earlier and asked him straight out what he thought of my chances. Doesn't look promising as we've just got a new chief exec who has decided to prioritise areas in which I have far less experience and this job is being aligned with those priorities. Apparently, if my LM had left 12-18 months ago I'd have been a front runner with my current and past experience but now it's likely to go to a colleague (who is also going to apply) as she's got the portfolio in the area being focused upon. if that makes any sense to you lot who don't know my job

I'm a bit disappointed but I know there really isn't any point in busting a gut and having sleepless nights over applying - what he said makes sense.

And my gut feeling? Relief actually. If we still lived in London I'd have jumped it, even if I had the same 'portfolio' issues as I do now because the travelling wouldn't have been as much of an issue (ie just the European stuff to worry about) and it would take me into areas I fancy moving into and not see myself doing otherwise.

My main problem now is I really want a new challenge. I do enjoy my current position and the life it allows me to lead - working from home but with regular travel to London and doing some really influential stuff - but I saw through a massive project before I went off on mat leave and I can't see anything like that on the horizon in this position and I need some professional stimulation. I think I'll talk to my Director about this and see what he can give me work-wise over the next year and also perhaps start actively look for another job

Right I'm so sorry for completely hijacking the thread. Normal service shall resume!

I also wondered where leni and eig have been recently. Hope they are lurking and okay.

KF glad it's not too serious!

Weaning-wise DD is doing brilliantly. She's pretty much eating what we do at tea time so had cottage pie tonight, just cut up into smaller pieces but not pureed or blended, last night was lamb hotpot, the night before my chicken curry. All homemade so it's making us eat better too. Breakfast she's having toast & butter or baby rice (because it's like ready brek in my eyes and I need to get through the box somehow!) and lunch I am being lazier and she's having a stage two Ella's pouch so far or today she had toast & pâté followed by some puréed fruit.

She's very constipated though - although her pooing face is extremely cute - I know it's common when introducing solids but I'm not sure what to do about it. She is producing a few small squidgy poos throughout the day but I'm she's not happy about it. Have any of you used prune juice with your DCs and if so, how much did you use?

Hope I've not cross posted too much with anyone as I've been writing this mammoth post

wing - if you do blw, I give DD a couple of whole prunes every few days plus she's accepting more water with each meal, and that seems to do the trick. We still get the odd shart but a good clearout normally follows. She was upset a few times because it's a whole new sensation but once she got the hang of it, it's no big deal. She still grimaces when she goes now which helps, as the liquid explosion pfffffffffttttt has gone for good but was fairly loud and I would change her right away. Now it's just a little grunt, I have missed it and got her crying in pain with the ensuing nappy rash

I have a question - I am going on a coach trip with DD and I don't know what to give her for food. We are on 3 meals (plus feeds) and she's going to have to miss breakfast as we have to catch the coach at 8am. Won't be home until 8pm. Thinking Organix carrot sticks or little sandwiches and yoghurt for lunch but what do I do for dinner? Any ideas?

Rice cake, stick of cheese, cucumber sticks, dried apricot? Fairly un messy I'd think.

Any smorgasbord of bits and pieces you know she'll eat.

More to post later, but for now am too drunk and too fretting about family stresses.

That's a god idea Any. I'm not BLW eg the baby rice and pouches tend to be spoon fed but she's having a lot of finger foods too so prunes would work I think. I'm guessing cut in glad for safety.

As for the coach trip I think the suggestions so far are good or what are you planning to have - can she have some of that (or are you planning on eating when you get home)?

stormy, hope you don't feel too hungover this morning and the family stresses seem better in the cold light of day.

stormy, wing, eco - thanks for your help. I'll take lots of non messy finger food and then presume we'll stop for lunch somwhere so she could have something a bit more substantial then. Am now worried about getting out of the house on time - have to leave at 7.30, which means i'll have to get up about 6am to get us ready I'm knackered now as DD threw her teddy out of the cot and needed a retrieval and cuddle at 4am. And DH has Manflu a cold so is feeling pretty sorry for himself and is incapable of doing anything useful. And doesn't want to get too near to DD just in case - if I had a cold, would he take over and look after DD for me. Er, no. Hence, no sympathy

DS has a cold. First one - amazed we've got this far really. Not too bad but snot monster and not able to sleep or play laying down which is rather unsatisfactory. Crap night probably normal for Soyo which took me back months! Hope he improves tonight as working after several of these won't be funny.

Horrid feeling this helpless. Hope all other poorly babies on the mend.

Leni - how are you?

Weaning out the window with this cold, it's all I can do to get milk in him. It's blooming hard fitting it in, I do struggle to know how to do that though now it's dh problem as he still seems to need three naps a day.hopefully it will work itself out..

Aw Pud hope ds feels better soon. Another coldy baby here, but we're right at the start of it so just sneezes. Could be worse. DH came in covered on yew berries earlier but didn't realise until he had spread them liberally around the entire house. If the worselet had eaten one of those we'd have more than a snivel to worry about. This parenting thing - fraught isn't it.

As for weaning, a sneaky browse of the weaning threads has revealed to me that dropping milk feeds before about 9 months isn't particularly common, and most babies are a bit random about whether or not they can be bothered with the whole food thing until about 12 months when they suddenly go nuts about it. Given the number of early grub monsters on this thread I found it reassuring to know the worselet isn't backward that.

Wing good for you making a decision, and I hope you find that challenge. Half my friends job hopped after maternity leave. It's pretty common.

On the gut front, adding cooked prunes to fruit puree and water before every feed did the trick here. Spectacularly so.

No climbing on the furniture yet, but much effort is being invested into balancing on hands (head) and feet. The ratio of effort to success is still a bit poor though, and I can't see it getting much better any time soon.

Hope everyone is out and about having a fun weekend.

Family stresses are, alas, ongoing. We're about at the point where my mother needs to go into a care home. She's going to hate it, Dad feels horrifically guilty, all a bit depressing really.

I managed to cope with the Shirebrook Posse while horrendously hungover. Go me! But I may have gained some bad mummy points today. We have added quavers to the (very short) list of things DD will eat.

We went for lunch at the usual place round the corner. Their coleslaw is amazing, but results in absolutely criminal farts. In DD it went one step further - we had a geology nappy. One to remember if we can't get hold of any prunes next time she's having trouble pooing.

Stormy that's hard. My dad is currently finally in the process of getting a dementia diagnosis, although he's suffered brain damage caused by heart failure, diabetes and stroke for some years so it's more of the same iykwim. Hard though, so big hugs. How's your dad? Guilt is a difficult emotion for the partner , well it is for my mum anyway.

Lovely day today , boy feeling bit better so pub lunch with friends and their children then a walk. Nap time now methinks...

stormy, pud that's hard, life can be very cruel. I'm so sorry.

Not much doing here, what with the worselet and I being snotty wrecks. We did manage an outing today though, to buy toys. One can never have enough toys apparently.... or toy shops. The sheer excitement of Toys R Us sent the tiddler into a long and happy sleep. Now all she needs to do is work out how to play with the array of plastic tat we bought her without clonking herself over the head. Hard plastic and babies are such an ill advised mix.