October 2011 - we can hardly believe its true, our babies are turning two!!

[MummyDuckAndDuckling]

Hi!

Hope you don't mind me starting a new thread as once again, birthday season has begun and the first of our October babies are turning 2! Would be lovely to hear from everyone past and present
Ill try copy over all the stats again when I'm next on the laptop.

Hope everyone is well :)

Haha! Not long till 3rd birthdays starting!!! Crazy!

All well with us. S had her apt at hospital for uti which was a bit 'hmmm'. Felt like I got a lecture for her not drinking enough etc. she had an ultrasound on Monday to check her kidneys and thankfully all looking good. Will have a follow up at hospital but hopefully that's it and those uti's were just 'bad luck'.

It took S about 2-3 days before we really got anything on toilet. Don't think she could work out how to relax properly in order to let the pee out, iykwim? Perfect weather for garden nakedness!!

Currently 24 degrees in S room. She's sleeping in pants and t shirt. Had to take duvet out her room and just give her a sheet but she was arguing that she wanted her duvet as she was 'cold'

Glad to hear her scan was okay duck.

Feeling absolutely knackered here. Dh has just gone out for evening course so I am collapsing on tne sofa and working on a toblerone.

It's def the heat! I have zero energy just now!!

Hope you've had some decent sleep now chesh an P is ok

Glad S's San was ok duck

W had his kidney check up at Southampton today and his consultant is happy not to see us again he has referred us back to a peads consultant at Winchester for a check up in 18 months but we don't have to go to Southampton anymore. Very pleased not only because it means they are happy with W but because I hate Southampton General!

Just found out Jonah has hip dysplasia in both hips so is going to have to wear a harness and if that doesn't work he'll be in a plaster cast for 3 months.... Poor little mite I can't bear it for him even though I know he won't remember a thing

Sorry, not sure how but my phone hadn't updated thread since 10th so i missed lots of posts!

Cheshire hope P ok now and you've had some sleep. No. 3 is definitely off the table after recent experience I think!

Strawberry that's great news re W you must be so relieved.

Duck good news about S scan. Don't even want to think about E turning 3 it's far too old for my baby!

Engels I'm with your DH If I had a weekend at home without DH and boys I would be miserable (after the first night of excitement at being able to have a bath in peace....)

Great news strawb

A friend's DD had that killa she's a few months younger than ds. Had to wear it for a few months but absolutely fine now.

Big hugs killa it's so heartbreaking isn't it when they need something medical doing isn't it. You are right though he won't remember it, doesn't make it easier for us to watch though

Yes exactly that strawberry.

Brace is on and apart from crying when it was fitted J seems fine. Fingers crossed now that it works!

Hello ladies

Killa sorry to hear about J, that must be tough. If it helps a girl A's age in my coffee group had this, and now she runs faster than A! Fx it works.

I don't know if I'd enjoy a child free weekend or not! A friend of mine has every Sunday to herself now (custody arrangement) and says she loves the lie in and leisurely breakfast, but once that's done feels a bit lonely.

I've had a weird week - a bit of a roller coaster emotionally really - as I found out that I am probably going to be made redundant from my job (I do Policy in Govt) that I was due to return to in a couple of months. I really liked my job, and although I've loved my year off (excepting some crazed poo-covered early days) I think part of loving it was knowing it's not forever.

I don't even know if I have to go back for a short while just to be made redundant, or if I'll never return.

AND I just can't decide what to do - it's affecting everyone at my level and there will be a third the number of jobs left, which I could theoretically get, but need to decide whether I try for one of these or just take the redundancy. If I try for one of the remaining jobs and get one, of course I won't get a payout. And I just can't decide - the payout won't be massive, but will buy me about another year as a SAHM if that makes sense, and I just don't know what my job prospects will be like afterward.

Gaaaa! Decisions! Sometimes I think I want to take the payout for longer at home with my kids, sometimes I get terrified at the idea of being without work at the end of it, and the idea of being at home for another while fills me with joy and dread in equal measure. Including often mere minutes apart. Like I'll be reading with the kids and think yay this is great, then A does something naughty and I think nooooo!

Sorry about the epic post! Writing it all out like that feels somewhat cathartic. Thanks for letting me rant!

Hard decision pen . I think if I loved my job I would apply and hope that I get one of the jobs still there (don't know why I said "if" - I do love my job!). If you have ideas or desires for taking your career in another direction then I would consider the payout (novelist? ).

I guess the question is, with so many people facing the chop in your area, where would more jobs come from? Would you and dh consider a move in the future (see yourself as JAFA?!).

If DH and I were in this position, I would reapply and DH would probably take the redundancy.

When is L's birthday? (I'm losing track!). Can't believe it's nearly a year ago we met up in NZ!

Thanks for the advice engels! I love the idea of being a novelist or at least giving it a good go to finish and polish a book, but did like my job too. Moving isn't really an option as DH has a good job here and all the govt jobs are here too, which is what I'm trained to do really.

At least I have a month to think about it all, and will spend much of it obsessively browsing job websites to have a think about my options

L's one on 27 September! I was thinking of you and M the other week when I took both kids to Te Papa. A likes it even more now he can talk, although he has discovered he's really scared of a skeleton of a horse for reasons I don't understand.

Killa, must be very hard but time will fly past. I have no experience with this but sending

Pen, I'm not sure what I would go for. I spent the first year with S (minus 6 weeks over the summer) and I was starting to climb the walls! I do like the idea though if you take pay out then you could have another year as a sahm. How does it work with pre school/school with A? Here in Scotland, every 3 year old gets 15 hrs funded pre school a week from the term after they turn 3, meaning S will get hers from Jan 2015. I'm fortunate in that I only work afternoons so I'm still with her till 2pm when I drop her at my parents. But her pre school hours may be in the mornings meaning it will be an hour between picking her up and me leaving for work that I'll get with her (minus time at breakfast etc!). I think I'll find this hard!
At least you have some time to think about options

We spent today with S dad at local(ish!) beach which was nice. Not quite as sunny as it had been but she had fun in the sand and freezing cold water

I'm at volunteer at the commonwealth games this summer and have training tomorrow morning so S staying with my mum tonight. I've had a lazy evening and looking forward to no 2am wake up wanting milk but wish I could get a long lie. Have to be at venue for 8am!

Oh my god...M has just wandered downstairs 45 mins after bedtime. He'd gone into the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom, opened up my body shop footscrub, smeared half on his face, the rest on the floor and god knows how much in his mouth , picked up my ttc pee cup and filled it with water from the toilet. I'm pretty sure he was drinking it!

A story for the baby book!

And eng sorry but that did make me laugh! Def a story to embarrass him with in the future!

What a tough choice pen I have no idea what I'd choose to do (unhelpful sorry!)

W is watching Disney songs on the iPad at the moment and singing along with some of the ones he's heard most! (he likes to listen to them in the car, he also really likes the drum heavy soundtrack from the newest superman film)

I don't know how the little bugger managed to get into the bathroom without us hearing!

Would she go every morning (if those are when you havebto take the hours) duck ? Would be a massive change for you both. I must say I really enjoy the days M is at nursery and I'm on school holidays for doing grown up stuff or me stuff, but obviously I always get my 2 days off with him. Hope your training went well.

Hi all,

Killa hope J's brace goes OK. You're right, he won't remember a thing.

Pen sorry to hear about your job. Could you try for other posts and then get the money if you don't get one of those? At least if it does come to that then you are not totally against the idea. They had to shed laods of jobs where I work about 3 years ago (I also work in Gov and was in Policy at the time!) I couldn't have afforded redundancy (didn't know I was growing a bean at the time!) as I am the breadwinner so had no choice but luckily they decided to go for volunteers instead.

Mummy can't you pick which hours she goes or will she just get offered a place?

Engels sorry but I did chuckle a bit. We've put a stairgate on Seb's room. Lord knows what he'd be up to if we didn't.

Has anyone else still got a feisty little thing? Seb is so head-strong and sometimes it's a real struggle to do anything; change his nappy, get him in the bath, get him out of the bath, walk down the road..... Sometimes it's a two person job. DH really wants another but sometimes I feel like I struggle with one. How on earth would I manage a head-strong toddler and a baby? Whenever I've been to a cafe with friends and their kids (same age as Seb), they all sit nicely with toys etc and Seb's racing round the place. He almost made it into the kitchen last time. I feel like such a bad parent for not being able to control him; he just does what he wants. I do try to and talk sternly but it doesn't seem to do anything. Help!

tallulah M is the same. A few months ago he legged it into the kitchen area of Starbucks and last month he ran away at the till in the supermarket (the 1 time I'd popped in for a few bits and he wasn't in a trolley). If I'm on my own with him, he is either still in buggy (if going round town for example) or with reins (at zoo). He can cope with short trips now, but when I'm on my own I'd rather deal with a few funny looks because of reins (the Dutch don't really do them) than have to chase him in a public place.

He is slowly getting better. He didn't run away once on the ferry the other weekend when I was on my own, though thefirst trip he was olouring and reading the whole time with my undivided attention and the way back he found the soft puzzle ushions so was thrpwing himself around for 90 minutes.

I'm hoping that he'll have calmed down a bit more by the time the baby comes, but in the meantime I'm keeping him on a short leash while I'm on my own with him. I think DH is scarier os he doesn't leg it so much.

Yes another runner (at times!!) here. I've almost given up going food shopping with her as she won't sit in trolly but then just messes about and I get angry with her. She wants to push the trolly and you can't dare touch it . Hard work!

I lost my temper with her early hours of the morning. The last 6 months or so she's waking every flippin night between 1-2am sometimes for well over an hr. She wakes screaming for milk but then wants me to stay with her/rub her back/head etc. generally I do for a few mins but then without fail as soon as I lay back down she starts crying again . I flipped last night and think she got a fright as she was clinging into my neck for a cuddle. I was just do tired and really not in the mood for it. Was some time around 3am that it all went quiet again. I have no idea what to do. I started leaving a cup of water beside her bed but she just ignores it and shouts for milk. Ahh!!!

When M started waking in the night at 24 months we first tried the softly softly approach. It was only us getting cross at 3am that sorted him out (and choclate bribery when he stayed in his own bed the whole night). He still says at random moments during the day without prompting, "Have to sleep in my own bed. Otherwise mama and papa cross".

She knows she's to stay in her own bed as in the morning she will say 'I slept in my bed allllll night' . I think tonight if when she wakes I'll stick to just water. I think it's just habit now more than anything!

If M wakes up in the morning and we're still in bed, he'll peer round the edge of the door to look for sign of life as he doesn't want to get shouted at. If he does wake up in the night which is still happening once a week or so, he'll hover in the hallway until we fall asleep again then try and sneak in.

The first thing he says to me every morning now is, "I had a good sleep!"

He is very sweet, though still having tantrums.

Had a very long day at work today and not going to get much better with end of term madness. Plus DH was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes today. Hope it's the wake up call he needs to do some bloody exercise.

Oh that sounds hard. When do you finish school? My last day is tomorrow and I cannot wait! I'll be skipping out there! How is DH coping with the diagnosis?

It's finally went quiet after half hr of screaming. I let her stay up and watch a bit of frozen as she had been asking for a few days. Is anyone's dc still having an afternoon nap?

After this week, 2 more weeks. But last week will be lush (meetings, planning time and no students!).

I think DH is still in denial. He thinks his diet is fine, but he eats zero fruit or veg during the day and even though we eathealthy meals his portions are always too big, and he's just scoffed half a tube of pringles in front ofethe tv!

M hasn't napped since end of last summer. It was becoming a battle and I gave up after the poo incident (shit smeared on his face, haid, floor, hands, door handle and frame ). The only time he does now is if we're in the car late afternoon and he nods off, and then I have to keep him up a bit later.

When I had gestational diabetes with W I found that the weirdest things would push my blood sugar up eng curry for example was pretty bad. I know GD is different from proper type 2 but I think a lot of the management of it is just learning what works or not for each person.

W isn't so much of a runner in the supermarket tallulah but he is a 'grabber' he likes to run his hand over the things on the shelves and pick stuff up. I do have to resort to putting him in the trolly sometimes (and I do admit to bribing him to sit in the trolly with a chunk of fresh bread which he loves)

When W had a little phase of waking up in the night we got him a night light bear, he can press its paw and it lights up for 15 mins. We would pop in and tell him everything was OK put the bear on and say that it was night time and mummy/daddy needed to go back to bed. He was pretty much ok with this and it gave him the ability to settle himself back down.