Start your runners (talk) and your new jars of Jam, 'tis the season-almost.

[Vagolajahooli]

Here we are ladies, time for all that talk of christmas table runners and chrissie deccy colour combos. And will we be getting some new Jam in this thread! Maybe not quite.

My friend had a baby last night. Her 2nd surrogate baby. She's bloody amazing and her friends are overjoyed.

Pffft nothing!

Kayz is she the surrogate or is someone the surrogate for her? I wanted to be a surrogate but I was too old after I had DS2.

Jam, I don't want to add to the pressure on you but today is 11.12.13 which really is a pretty cool day to be born. Maybe you could pop him out at 9.10pm tonight to complete the pattern.

DD2 was a great nativity sheep yesterday. I cried. A lot. Oops. She celebrated by getting the runs all night long and soiling her sheets several times. It was a treat.

She was the surrogate.

Haha RT. Dh & I were saying yesterday that next year if we write DS2's birthday in the American stylee it will be 12/13/14 which we thought was pretty cool.

That is very cool Kayz well done to her. Giving parents the opportunity to have children when they can't do the pregnancy and birth thing is pretty amazing.

I'm afraid my plug was a week before this time too... BUT it definitely means something's going on.

DD3 will not sleep for long in the day. I am shattered by her incessant wakefulness! She's pretty good at night, but I am on my knees by the end of the day. She only ever does a maximum of about 45mins. Gah! I spend my life working out when her next sleep will be! Unless we're on the move, then she sleeps just fine. Grrrrr.

Vag, DD1 has nightmares. Not horrific ones, but bad enough for me to be up with her. But she usually settles pretty well afterwards.

DD1 was the star last week. Was gorgeous. And DD2 is a star on Friday. Can't wait!

Beans, 45 mins is one sleep cycle and I think it's really normal to only have short, one cycle, naps until five or six months. It sucks but it's what mine all did except DS who inconsistently does produce some long naps. I remember back when the Dec 08ers were tiny you suggested the Baby Whisperer EASY routine which works with the 45min cycle. I followed your advice and it was a great routine. Have you tried that?

Ds2 was a long napper ds1 was a nightmare napper unless in his pushchair. 45 mins was about his average too.

On the dreams, we don't hear him in the night, though DS1 reports hearing him whimpering. But he tells us the next morning that he had nightmares, and is sometimes scared of going to sleep. Anyway we have been blowing bubbles made with anti monster & nightmare smells (I didn't have a spray bottle so had to improvise) & today we went to the local religious idols & icons shop and bought a dream catcher. It's a proper legit made by native Americans dream catcher with halfa wolf on it and a little figurine of a wolfs head on it. Ds2 nearly burst with excitement when he saw it, he had a grin from ear to ear. The guy who owns the shop was so taken with his response that he gave us a €5 discount. I also think he thought I was their adoptive mother and that they were in fact little native Americans.

Anyway it is hung up beside ds1's dream catcher now (which I thought we had lost, and if I had known we still had I wouldn't have gone out and spent €20 on a new one) & will see if he believes that will sort out his nightmares. It worked with DS1. I think maybe the dreams have started because DH has been showing the boys movies that are appropriate for DS1 but not really DS2. I think they freaked him out a bit.

RT, I'll give that a go. I was Rachel Waddilove, not baby whisperer, but will buy it. Thanks for that tip.

Vag, DD1 thinks she can't close her eyes to sleep because she has too much magic in her eyes. So she thinks her dreams happen above her bed. Generally she is ok, but occasionally she gets really really frightened.

Is that the lady that says put them down 1.5hrs after the last waking? You told me that beans and it worked a treat. The other thing that helped was Deids white noise. Though I used a downloaded white noise sound whereas I think deids used her hoover. I used to play it the whole time DS2 was asleep for naps and he liked the room really dark too.

Oh and "magic in her eyes" that sounds really cute.

Ha yes white noise worked a treat! I also used to put the radio on but not tune it to a station. He liked that static crackle sound!!

DS2 is 5!!! Where has the time gone?

DS1 is having a tantrum about how unfair it is for DS2 to get presents. You'd think he was younger not older.

Happy birthday D.

DS2 is convinced he has had his bday as he had his bday treat last wkend with his friends and got quite cross when we said his birthday is on Tues.

Off for a sweep today ouch and yay at the same time.

Kayz, Happy Birhday to your DS2.

Jam, I hope the sweep brings results.

Are we going to get DD's homework done before school...? Only remembered it was due in as we were leaving for school panto yesterday evening. I'm so disorganized!

That would be a no, then. She left her log in at school. So glad I stayed up late setting up the new home hub thingy. And she's gone to school in tears. I hope everyone else's day is going better.

Happy birthday big boy Kayz!

We are up tomorrow. All the presents are sorted just not wrapped. Have to do that tonight and make the first of his two cakes. Kayz we actually get the non birthday child a present too. Just one. It is identical to one of the actual birthday presents. DS1 doesn't really need it for on DS2's birthday as he doesn't really get jealous, but DS2 definitely needs it or he would throw a big strope. Usually its just something small but this year it is ice skates. They both need a new pair and DS1 needs them for this weekend for an ice skating birthday party of a friend of his so couldn't wait until Christmas. Hopefully we have iced over canals for long enough this year so they get a good wear out of them. I wanted to ice hockey sticks and a puck too but they aren't selling them in the shops yet.

Nolda I hate that feeling, and I get it a lot.

DS1 has his IQ test on Monday after one of the busiest weekends of his life and at the end of the year when he is already tired. I'm not happy but they said it is either now or we have to wait several months. Poor DS1, I'm starting to get quite stressed. I don't really care what result he gets, I know he's a clever, lovely kid, but I worry about them making educational judgements on him based on this.

oh Vag. you're right! this is no indication of what YOU know. It's a rubbish time of year to do it.

happy bday kayz ds! we do a little present for the other one (s) too. stops too much jealousy. plus DD1 actively wants to share her presents with DD2. It's v sweet.

DD2's nativity tomorrow. DD1 is so tired she was weeping on her way into school today. I asked her teachers about giving her the day off school tmw as she's beyond it and they actively recommended it. so we'll watch DD2's nativity and them go and play at inlaws as DH has the day off too. and we're staying the night there thank god. our bedroom is Arctic with this loft conversion being built!

Jam! good luck with the sweep! will keep finger crossed for you and legs uncrossed!! x

Stretch and sweep done. 1/5 engaged and cervix softened and shorter. So he's on his way.

Hooray for Jam's cervix!

Yeeeeeehah!

this is the only place I can write this, but the feeling of bliss when DD3 drains my big full boob is just so nice. I feel so much better!

PS I am going out in London tonight for the first time since DD3 arrived. eek!