March 2013 - time to wrap them all up in tinsel

[StormyBrid]

Old thread here.

worse we're like Plonky on the timings - we keep mealtimes and milktimes separate. I spotted something in Evil Baby Whisperer that suggested around this age milk should be at the time you'd give a snack. Thinking about it, that's pretty much what we do - milk at the crack of dawn, 11am, 3pm and bedtime, food at 9am, 1pm and 5pm. It seems to work, and Fartypants is definitely in the process of reducing milk herself. Those middle two feeds, she's having about four ounces now.

How is the worselet on mush? Does she show any preferences? If we were sticking with baby led weaning we'd be getting absolutely nowhere. Savoury mushes, she'll try a mouthful then get distracted by the cat. Fruit mushes, she practically inhales. For a reduced stress option, can I suggest getting yourself to Asda? They've a hell of a range of cheap fruity mushes, and then at least you're not having to throw away purees you've spent hours lovingly creating.

Incidentally, six month old Molly may love her porridge, but all that means is that Molly's a total weirdo - porridge is vile. It's weetabix all the way round here, with mashed banana in.

eco hang in there, it does get better. How long until 37 weeks for you?

I am thanking my heathen gods we don't have crawling yet. Nappy changes with rolling are bad enough. Especially when it's a particularly horrific one.

Yay to the good nights betty - last night was a blip and she'll be fine tonight. Promise.

We put Christmas away too yesterday and yes, it makes me sad, but had a good old clean and hoover and now the house looks bigger again!

Weight loss? Pah, it's still winter and I need my fat stores to keep warm Come summer, it'll be salad all the way

Any can I bend your ear about crochet please? I'd like to try it. I have ordered some hooks and have left over wool from my last disastrous attempt at knitting. Any tips for getting started?

Betty I looooove taking Christmas down. Don't get me wrong, I like the season as much as the next person, but it does go on a bit. I've always worked in retail though, so immediately after August bank holiday all you hear is Christmas this Christmas that. Hope you're not mourning your tree too much.

Eco, feeling any better? And you Pud. Big snuggles to that lad of yours.

I think I've gone mad. Yesterday I was like a woman possessed, baby proofing and cleaning as much of downstairs as possible. I've been up since 6 (totally ds's decision) and haven't really stopped all day. I think it's the pre-new job jitters turning me into a control freak.

Oh! And bloody DP. I want to throttle him. Waking me at 5.45 mumbling that ds was crying. So I got up, put ds in our bed and we all fell back to sleep. Standard practice in this house. But ds was obviously hungry, so fidgeting and moaning after just twenty minutes. I changed and fed him. I fed the cat so she'd leave us alone. We tried to go back to sleep but it really wasn't happening. As I was getting out of bed, AGAIN, DP moaned that he can't deal with broken sleep, work will be shit, why did I put ds in our bed etc. I'm fed up of trying to do the right thing by both of them, and having both of them wail at me. I might have used some choice language at him, but he's really upset me lately with this stuff. Last week he told me I was negative, then I needed to 'calm down' (presumably efforts to be positive and proactive = crazed plonky). Gah. Sorry for the rant, but suffice to say he'll be getting short shrift later.

Give him a flick round the earhole from me, Plonk. Can't deal with broken sleep my bum. What does he think you've been having to deal with these past ten months? Or is he one of those blokes that thinks possession of a vagina means you don't need a decent night's kip?

I could teach you how to crochet in about five minutes if you were here, but you're not, and Fartypants has just woken up, so I best dash.

He's gonna get a damn site more than a flick round the lughole. He's normally a very good feminist, so I don't think it's that. I know he was very stressed about work before Christmas and he tries hard to take everything in his stride, but perhaps he's jittery too. Either way he's a plank for behaving that way.

Can you do a Crochet with Stormy video and put it on Facebook? Pretty please?

betty well done on the good nights. Hope it carries on for you. Hope you feel less of a zombie with a better sleep.

plonky tell him the march ladies are on to him! Dh is exactly the same. Dh complained he couldn't get to sleep until 1am last night. It is funny how he fell asleep quite conveniently just before I woke up at 1:22am to give ds his milk. I then didn't sleep until gone 3am. You will be fine in your new job. Think of it as a new challenge. Good luck on your first day.

On the subject of crocheting I have done a very small tablecover. Dm went crochet mad and crocheted me curtains and bedspread which I never used. plonky have you looked on youtube for videos?

This weight loss malarky is not good for our relationship. I am begining to have withdrawal affects from sugar, additives etc and I am ratty. Poor dh. I have hidden in the bathroom i wish i had a pantry. Would it not be good if junk food was healthy for you for just one day.

In baby news ds has a cold again! Countless times he has wiped his snotty nose all over my white top.

Well I came on here to complain I was knackered, but having read everyone else's posts I'll revise that to I'm lucky. I'm not ill, dd is not ill, DH has not been a plank and the worselet slept last night.... so all I've got to complain about is having sole charge of a very mobile baby and two even more mobile dogs for 14 hours. A mere walk in the park really but I'm still knackered

Crochet sounds hard but looks pretty. Respect Stormy I'd love to be as creative. I did learn when I was a kid, along with macrame, but then I forgot. My Granny would not be proud.

Thanks all for the reassurance nut butters will be fine. I'll take the plunge. Pud I live on the stuff too. It is not unknown for DH and I to sink a 1kg tub of Meridian peanut butter in less than a week

Get well soon vibes to all those currently suffering, and good sleep vibes to the babies.

Evening all. Today I realised that dd really is taking after me, and is a creature of habit. I was definitely pleased to be back at work, dd has a new trick, which is just mindless SHOUTING, which is starting to grate. She was definitely pleased to be back at granny's, who has much more patience when being SHOUTED at!

So, we finally have a fence putter upper coming to do a quote tomorrow. At 7.30am. WTF? Didn't feel I could refuse as we still get laughed at every time we phone companies. We've been told that most places have doubled their prices as well. Vultures.

Plonky- I have dabbled in crochet but am a knitter really. However, would imagine same rules apply. When I started, I found that it was best to go with an item of child's clothing, in a chunky yarn. That way you learn lots of new techniques. YouTube is definitely the way to go (completely self taught via YouTube here), and the main thing is don't read too far ahead in the pattern or you'll freak yourself out. One row at a time!

First full day of carb re detox here, the carb flu usually lasts a couple of days but feel so much better after. I've now told people at work about the skydive, so I HAVE to lose the weight now I've started getting sponsorship.

Right, droopy eyelids. To Bedfordshire (the one upstairs, not eco 's future home. How was it by the way? Nice houses? Good walks?

Boo to your OH plonky but as long as you remind him you're both working hard with broken sleep, plus a kick to the shin as you get out of bed, it'll be ok.

As for crochet, I agree youtube is the best way to get how to do the stitches then go somewhere like repeatcrafterme.com for some simple patterns. Make sure yoy know if you're following US or UK instructions though as they gave different terms for the same stitches. Once you start, you'll wonder where the time goes... Granny squares are quite easy too and you can knock up a blanket in no time. Hang on - shouldn't I be talking you out of it so you'll buy my wares instead??

Bleugh. Got to work but was a bit of a nightmare. Not exactly a gentle day. DS still proper poorly but slightly Perrier. Coughing down the monitor as I type though . Dh also still bad, it's a stinker!

Glad to hear Betty's sleep improving and appetites around the place too. If it wasn't for Ella and her friends DS wouldn't be eating at the moment - we're focussing on purees to keep him hydrated as he's struggling with bottles a bit due to breathing being so hard .

Using the classic pouch as a guide, how much would you say yours are getting through at an average sitting? DS has half to a whole one with some finger foods (such as pieces of fruit or veg, toast or crumpet, rice cake and dip etc) and prob half to a whole pot of yoghurt or fruit purée for pudding. I just have no idea if that's a little or a lot?

We still have 4 bottles a day too though only averaging 450mls a day across those - have started vitamin supplement. Would consider dropping another bottle but not keen at the mo with him poorly and not sure which one either? We do 7am, then breakfast , lunch 12 then 2pm bottle, tea 4:30-5 and 6pm bottle before bed. He still has a 10pm feed in bed which is usually his biggest of the day. Any thoughts ladies?

Perrier? Perkier - blooming phone

DD just fell out of bed. Today I get the bad Mummy points. She had another crappy night & came in with me at 6, woke up at 7 & was messing so was having a bit of a boob feed & I though she'd gone back to sleep so I dozed back off but woke up with a bang and a massive wail. Bad bad Mummy. She's got a terrible cold too and her face was like a mask of dried on snot this morning, she obviously didn't want mini Pud & ecobaby to feel left out.

I feel a bit broken with tiredness today, luckily we've got plans to drag me out and then I think a very very early night is called for.

Pud that sounds about the same as DD in terms of food when she has purees but most of the time she just has finger foods now, a slice of toast, a banana, a yoghurt and some other bits is her usual dinner. I keep forgetting those damned drops though. More bad mummy points there.

Gerry, glad you're finally getting the fence sorted! Shame about the early start!

We've had a right Yo of a night here. Kudos to you Betty. Don't know how you do it.

Any tips for cleaning a shot encrusted baby nose when said baby hates having her face washed?

Will post more when my brain's awake. God knows when that will be.

Damp flannel and wipers on the bus go swish swish swish here...

Morning! Despite the usual two night feeds and insomnia afterwards and a pre-7am 'I'm up for the day Mummy' and the relentless rain I feel euphoric. I have woken to no migraine! Life is back on!
Snot faces: flannel pretty wet with hot water so it's not cold and horrid and like Pud says, lots of singing. We pretent it's a flying bird. But she still walks around with snot on her face a fair proportion of the time as when it's crusty it is hard.

Pouches: we pouched at weekend as we were on the road. Ecobaby has a whole one plus finger foodie veg and then bit of fresh fruit, half a pot of fruit puree and a dollop of natural yoghurt. It feels like we are overfeeding her but she is enthusiatsic until the last mouthful and she still needs these god damn night feeds so I guess no danger of overfeeding.

Pud, although we are BF not bottles, it looks like we are still feeding as much as you (although can't tell volumes obviously). We do 7am milk, 8am breakfast, 11am milk, 1pm lunch, 3pm milk, 5.30/6pm dinner, 7pm milk. And then inevitably 2 milk overnight. Ecobaby is 'rounded' but not unusually so. She is also tracking along her original centile. I guess things are ok therefore. Does anyone else do a late dinner like us?

Betty that sounds bad. But we mustn't look at these things as bad mummy situations. Bad babies! Ecobaby followed me into the spare room today and the door shut on her after I had walked in grazing her crawling fingers. I think this next 12 months are going to be chocca full of these accidents.

Gerry we are not looking forward to the SHOUTING or SCREAMING. Ug. That must be trying. Maybe earplugs?

The weekend in Beds was intense. We saw 12 houses all in all. All the way from near Luton up to Market Harborough in Leics. There is something 'wrong' with all of them and I am not in the mood to compromise being as I am being uprooted from a little life I am quite happy with. Our favourite was this one: Finedon cottage but it is one street parking and the man in the local shop said the village is one of two halves: a naice part (which this is in) and the other side of the main road a dodgy part with, to quote him 'some unsavoury characters'. It is also smaller than our current house and we would need to get rid of quite a bit of stuff. Brain not quite upo to making big choices right now!

Worse, I find the normal DH day of 10 hours away from us quite hard enough work. So add another 4 hours of solo parenting and 2 dogs and some lively builder types giving you krypton factor style challenges in order to leave the house and that is a recipe for tiredness. Will he be home more today? Can you promise yourself a curl up on the sofa this afternoon at nap time? My gorgeous man (feeling loved up today as am now migraine free and alive again...did I mention that?!) was able to take the day off yesterday which is unheard of, in order to be able to take care of ecobaby whilst I wept quietly under the duvet about how horrible migraines are when you cannot take (because of BF) any drugs at all except paracetamol, but as the day wore on and I perked up a bit more I got under the blanket on the sofa and watched the 2007 BBc version of Jane Eyre on DVD. Despite feeling poo it was very decadent feeling to do it during the day. I imagine doing something like that when you are feeling well, but tired, would be awesome! What's your poison TV wise? I would guess very little as you are, like me, quite frenetic in pace!

Yummy my various knitted garments always seems to have a snail trail on them thanks to ecobaby. It's a nice look yes?
Plonky your DF. A blip in character by the sounds of it? Did the clip around the lighole help? how frank was your exchnage of words and do you feel better for it? Also, how has it gone in the new job? very excited for you about it.
Any Christmas has also departed from our lives. It does feel like you have a new house when the trimmings (is that a bit of a gimmer thing to say? Oh well, better face facts....) are put away. We put a sheet of paper in our trimmings box with all of our hopes for the year ahead. When you open it the next year it is nice to reflect on what has happened.

Right, did I mention I no longer have a migraine? I am going to go and prod the napping baby and see if she fancies a walk in the rain to celebrate being alive. Happy Tuesdays to all.

Hi ladies
Sorry for being quiet, DS has also been
poorly and therefore sleep /naps have gone
tits up- so not had a chance to write.
Residual snot left here too- plus another
face wiper hater.
betty well done to the sleep. Must feel good!
eco glad you are better; I don't get
migraines but my DSis does and they are
bad so sympathy.
plonk hope dP improves. Hard isn't it? We
also argue about lots of things, mostly
brought on by my tiredness. Guess that'll
improve when I go back to work!

Weather was awful overnight -proper hail.
Seems sunny now though so will be
making the most of it.
to the crotchet ladies. I am not
that way inclined at all- find it far too
frustrating. I am thinking of ordering an
adult colouring book tho! .

Right . Hope all snot disappears soon.

Argh. Naptime + screaming + coughing = vomit everywhere. And not milky baby sick either. Missed me, missed herself, missed the cot, hit the rented carpet. Can anyone lend me a pantry?

No pantry here Stormy and you can't have the boiler house that's my hiding place but I can offer you a shed or a greenhouse.

My pantry's just called the kitchen here, but you're more than welcome to escape to it. You're also welcome to go twos on a fag in the garden.

And who'd suspect we have such a crafty group of ladies? I'm impressed!
Worse fourteen hours alone with a baby is hard. It doesn't matter how supportive your DH is, how lovely your baby is or how spacious your pantry. Did you try the nut butter yet?

Betty baby falling out the bed is horrid, you may have a big glass of on me. It happened to ds when we were on holiday and I cried more than him, but am assured it's a rite of passage.

Eco so glad you're feeling better! migraines are evil. I like that house, has a lovely cottagey type feel. We also have a lot of SHOUTING. great fun. Quite glad to go back to work.

Gerry I joined the boot camp last night! didn't realise you were doing it too. All the best!

Work was really good. Quite odd to walk into an office and see my parents, uncle and cousin - I did it years ago but this is very different. And I can work from home!

Stormy you're welcome to my pantry, but you might find me in it. Dinner tonight involved high pitched screaming, and throwing of food. After a bit I was tempted to join in. I know my cooking is bad.... but really, that was just rude.

Plonky 14 hours is my standard day, which is the price of commuter life. On the upside it is helping ease the guilt at nursery decision somewhat . Not tried any nut butter yet, which is entirely down to madam having a right moo on all day. No idea why, but it could have something to do with her having decided to start the day at 4.30am. I on the other hand have been eating pretty much nothing else.

Eco migraines suck. Huge sympathy. Random related question - did you still get them when pregnant? I was graced with a blissful migraine free 9 months, only to be hit with a triple whammy of 3 back to back in the first week post partum. Weirdly I was also able to eat my 2 major migraine triggers (cheese and oranges) when pregnant. I can't eat them now though. Bizarre.

Cute house, but.... have you done the old cottage thing before? I only ask because they are without exception damp and/or cold. Stone walls need to breath, so either you leave the original draughty windows in and have cold dry rooms, or you double glaze and have warmer damp ones. I am an expert on old houses and their foibles. I'd rather not be...

Betty we had a bed/fall incident here a while back, when the tiddler took a dive and ended up suspended between the bed and the cot. I nearly died. Scary stuff - I hope you are both ok.

Pud on a good day the worselet could clear that. Today however is not good. Total intake over 3 meals : 2 mini fromage frais pots . I predict a rumbly tummy at 2am and a broken mummy at 3am.

Night all. May the tinies sleep and the snot evaporate.

Day got worse. She launched herself after an escaping duck and nearly drowned herself in the bath. Went to bed fine, then woke up an hour later. Refused to go back to sleep. Singing, squealing, brrrm brrrm noises... eventually we gave up, turned the monitor off, and left her to it.

stormy i don't have a pantry but you can use my bathroom (my hiding place). Tomorrow is another day and im sure it will be much better.

eco happy that you are migraine free. Have you worked out what triggers it? Your mive sounds exciting and scary. Hope you find the right place to stay eventually.

betty i hope you are now both ok with the baby falling off bed incident. Its really scary. In a split second off they go. Just to warn you unfortunately this will not be the first and last incident. I may be a bad mummy for saying this but I am kind of accustomed to the bumps and falls now unless ds is crying soo much then im a jibbering mess.

shattered hope ds gets better soon. I did not know adult colouring books existed. I must check it out, I need a new hobby.

Have I killed the thread?

No Yummy, I did reply but it got deleted!

Stormy, I failed yesterday in many ways, first the bed fall, then I went for coffee with no wallet, then took the dog for a walk with no coat on and baby in backpack and got caught in a torrential downpour!

Today I managed to her half freeze to death while she has a stinking cold, I just assumed she was tired until I realised she had stone cold hands and face.

Eco/Wors, I'm with you on the migraines. I spent most of the last decade beta blocked, came off them to get pregnant and had a blissful 9 months but they're back, nowhere near as bad as when I was younger though.

Oh and Wors, DD has had breadsticks for lunch and a sweet fruit Ella pouch for dinner 2 days running. Curry, vegetables, fruit, toast, rice cakes, cheese and yoghurt have all been binned or fed to the dog.

I am also impressed by the crafting you busy lot, I can't even knit a scarf without massive holes! Making wedding invites is as crafty as I've ever been!

I'm going to have tea and chocolate and then I'm off to bed inbetween rubbing madams leg to get her back from her screamy poorly state. Night all.

Wow it really has gone quiet here. Funny how that happens sometimes.

I've had a truly horrible week. I can't say much for fear of outing myself and betraying the privacy of a grieving family, but suffice to say I have now experienced the worst thing a teacher can experience. I feel very sad.

Oh Gerry, how awful. Big hugs and sod the rules.

Still ill here. Got antibiotics today for sinusitis and am praying they start helping soon. I have a constant headache (not a migraine but two and a half days in still pretty dull) and the most painful face. Really bored of this now.