December 2012: Now they're all 1

[Barbeasty]

We needed a new thread!

Happy birthday Hales . Sounds like you had a lovely time today. Southport's great - definitely on our list for summer days out.

I'm starting to feel a bit nervous about school allocations Beasty - think we can find out here from midnight (though might be wrong). Good luck to you, Spotty, WL and anyone else who's waiting.

Had a lovely day out with friends and our DC -10 in total. Had a picnic and lots of fun playing in the sunshine. Luckily had slathered DC in suncream but forgot about me and I now have red shoulders - don't think I posses any melatonin!

hales glad you had a lovely day out today. Sounds like you for some lovely birthday presents too. Happy belated birthday

pidj we wash every 2/3 days but DS gets through about 6/7 nappies a day. He is a mega pooer. Fortunately I luuuuurve nappies; I have bought quite a few preloved ones to try out different brands.
I'm also hoping to turn it into some sort of nappy business/ library... Well, I'll wait and see.

stacks if you move with two small ones make sure you get a company to do it! The worst bit has been trying to organise ourselves around DS and his needs. As well as it meaning that only one of us is really available to sort things out. But we are getting there!

DS seems much better today with his cough. We went to a meeting about finding him a new childminder lovely. Honestly you'd think the woman was in charge of some kind of specialist training programme. Not organising childminders. They have a bonkers system here, it sounds very rigid, utilitarian and I don't think we're going to find the flexibility we're after.
I insisted that on Fridays I want to take DS to the international group I go to because it's important to me. She gave an example that if the childminder he theoretically goes to took the children to the zoo on the Friday and then they were all talking about it on the Monday he would feel left out. Honestly he has just started making a noise for ducks and for dogs. I don't think there is any immediate danger of children around 15 months / 2 years old discussing a trip to the zoo.

Oops. Sorry that got a bit long.

Your child, your decision what days he goes surely. We put our dc in 2 different days into nursery to suit our childcare needs & the days grandparents can do etc and to make it the most economical. Both dc seem very happy and not at all bothered if they 'miss' things as other kids also there part time & they are doing other things instead. Your international meet will probably be just as important to your ds as other things they'll plan.

When I take dd in the ergo I just take a backpack too with the essentials for both her & ds and seems to all fit including lunches. But I still front carry so guess I may have rethink when I start putting her on my back. Although I can't figure out how to put her on my back without feeling I'm going to drop her so when I have done it it's been when dh also out so she's on my back and he has the backpack.

Evening all, just marking my place again. Been to Vienna for 2 days (work - didn't see anything other than offices).

Hope everyone's well will read more tomorrow. Should go to bed as DS has sleep pooed and it may be a bumpy night.

Night night m'dears

I got a bigger shoulder bag/ handbag thing from DD for my birthday, and the boba carrier has a poppered clasp thing on the arm straps which you can use to keep a bag on your shoulder, so I've used that the last couple of times I've slung A. I've just started back carrying, and he gets very over excited. Main thing is that he can't get my glasses when he's on my back!!

A only woke twice last night, and the second time the email had come saying we got our 1st choice school for DD. All accepted now, although her first reaction was to demand to know when we were moving house so she could go to a red school with her cousin. So not happening! !! She equates the colour of the school with the colour uniform, although we've referred to her school as the blue school because the building is blue too.

We've all got horrid colds, and DD is still deaf and has yet another earache.

We've not had an email yet. I'm not worried though, none of the primary schools round here are over subscribed

Thanks for the reassurance everyone - sorry for the paranoia. We really want a small gap but I just worry sometimes that my maternal streak will fail.

Hales happy very late birthday! And someone else's?

Pidj and Nutella - what do you do about poo nappies these days? We are in cloth still but only just, due to the issues of dealing with the poo! It wasn't an issue when he was bf but is a lot worse since we weaned.. Only get through about 3/4 a day though.

Can't remember who asked about bags while wearing but I just stick my normal everything-and-the-kitchen-sink over a shoulder with O on the back.

Nutella hurrah for the new house! They're slowly finishing ours - plastering now - so hopefully we'll be in by just after dh's birthday for a belated party. Seems like a dream still after last year of planning it and not living in our own room.
First priority though will be blackout curtains AND blind in O's room!!

Dp stayed at home with the children for two days and apart from washing up he hadn't done anything! The kitchen sides are covered in crumbs etc the place hasn't been hoovered so there's grass and food on the floor. The washing up is still on the draining board and the washing (which was left out over night) is still screwed up in the basket

I asked DH to clear the little bits of polystyrene he'd scattered over the kitchen floor (unpacking the meat slicer my Dad got me for my birthday) and when I went down this morning he'd not only hoovered but also cleaned it so all the raisins the DC had trodden in have gone. Bless.

Now if only he'd not cleaned around the clothes dryer etc......

Spotty might be worth checking online. I think ours were there before they sent the emails. 90% in Glos got their first choice, and I wasn't worried because logically I knew we'd get first choice, but it's nice to.have it in writing and accepted.

I think we might go and get DD her school tie on Saturday. She can't grow out of that! and DH can have months of fun trying to teach her to tie it

Utopian you can get paper liners which can just be flushed if they have poo. Or our fleece liners were smooth enough that solid poo would slip off into the loo and then wash the liner as normal.

Ours doesn't show online it's email or letter only

Just to torture you with the wait!

flushable liners here. flash anything sticky, bin if it comes off

We're in cloth with flushable liners too. Though it does tend to get round the edges of the liner often (he's had lots of looser poo recently, teething I think) but all stays in the nappy pouch. We're using the gnappy system which I love now, though still in 2 part bamboo little lamb over night. I'm looking to get some small g's for new baby too, they're quite expensive but you don't need many, and have a good resale. There's a whole bunch of fanatics out there for them, spending hundreds on old prints. Crazy people :)

After mentioning the 3 hour naps, DS has woke up screaming the last two days, after less than an hour asleep. I'm pretty sure it's teeth, but as he's fine all morning I don't feel right giving him calpol really. I have done today though, as he woke crying 7 times last night. Resettled himself within a minute or two, but still not the best sleep for him (or me).

I actually tried to explain to DS yesterday that as I am old, fat, pregnant and have a sore back, he should get up and get his own train from down the corridor. He didn't agree.

How do you all manage discipline and the like? DS is very well behaved generally, but if I say "no" he just carries on doing something, or does it more for the attention. I've tried physically moving him away and sitting him down elsewhere saying "no" firmly, but he's not at all scared of my scary voice, and will often go back to do it again. I also do distraction or ignoring bad behaviour, and rewarding good. However things like turning the oven on I can't ignore, but can't seem to stop him doing it. Any advice very welcome (I can't lock him out of the kitchen, the doorway/arch is too wide for a stair gate.

Dd got our first choice/catchment school.

Stacks it's hard at this age. Try to say 'do this' instead of 'don't do that'. I do say no but try not to too much. When ds goes near the oven I remove him and tell him it's hot then distract.

Re stair gates you can get room divider ones (think jojo do one?) maybe that's an option?

Got our first choice school too. Think for once our council had been pretty organised -offers site updated and email just after midnight yes I was daft enough to wait up and check and we've already got the letter too. Glad you both had good news Beasty and Spotty.

Agree that discipline is tricky at this age. I tend to go for distraction or "no" in a firm voice (coupled with physically moving him if he's doing something potentially dangerous).

Tbh I usually end up saying 'argh ds you're driving me mad get out of the kitchen! have a breadstick '

When ds is whinging and I'm trying to mumsnet and drink coffee do jobs I find poking ricecakes through the bars of the babygate works a treat. Do wonder what I'm teaching him but he's pretty good at refusing food when he's not hungry

H poked me in the eye before and when it started watering she told me to man up. She says it every time someone pretends to cry or says their going to cry. It just made me giggle that she said it when she saw my eye watering.

I am completely in love with my DO at the moment and I'm wondering how long it will last. He booked the week off for my birthday and had arranged to get my hair done today and kept both girls occupied whilst it was being done. Although they were both very curious about my hair.

Stacks we do a very firm no which just causes her to smile like she isn't bothered. Occasionally I tell her to go and sit on the chair and she always does that, but does it smiling as if to say 'it was worth being naughty then'.

I have just remembered I forgot to say congratulations on your DC getting in your 1st choice schools everyone.

Marking my place, will be back to catch up soon.

I just 'told ds off' and he stood there, lowered his head, looked up at me and frowned! This made me laugh and then he started laughing too

I pretend to cry and say "you hurt mummy" with a big daily mail sad face if he pinches/hits/drops something on me. Occasionally he laughs but more often he bursts into tears and holds his arms out for a hug! He and his slightly older cousin bumped heads a few weeks ago and R, after a cuddle with me to calm down, went over to him for a hug. Cousin was most bemused, but I was chuffed that he's learning so well :o (whenever I tell him off or he has a tantrum I ask if he's ready for a cuddle to say sorry after a few seconds)

If I say "ow" DS tends to do it again. I think he finds the word funny, or the tone or something. He's quite good with "gentle" or "no", but my initially reaction is always an ow, and never gets the desired response.

I'm currently listening to DS cracking up laughing at DH saying "oh dear" at his splashing. It's adorable if a bad habit to teach him.

If I tell A off he either laughs or smirks and carries on. I've started counting to 3 and moving him. It's what we do with 3 (reach 3 and there's a sanction). I know he doesn't really understand, but it's the method we'll be using so might as well get him used to it.

The rate we have to tell him off he'll be counting pretty soon!

It was the nursery easter party this afternoon. A decided to go to the preschool party instead of the baby room and they both had a really good time. DD is in bed fully clothed, and I could hear her snoring downstairs.