March 2013 - we're gonna need a bigger wine rack

[Plonkysaurus]

Ta da!

I was imagining 2 women in the house going through pmt at the same time. ouch.

Wotta thanks for Mercury in retrograde tip. I shall ask my mystic badger friend about it. Teeth brushing wise have you tried letting him brush yours and doing them at same time. Sure you have but mention as that helped us. And! Why about 2 children?

Betty, you're in crazy work mode now, hope it's going well (just watched one born) and that you made your house a temple to come home to.

Plonky you will have walking by the wedding That will be nice! You should get a cleaner. Working mothers deserve that. Can't see how you fit it in otherwise. I had two dinners tonight by the way. Whilst you are pleased with your size ten tee I'm packing in the calories and glancing at celebrity masterchef made me NEED one How are the poo bum and sinuses by the way? Delightful combo.

Doli you were tired yesterday, how about today? Nausea still absent? Hoping you're feeling good.

Stormy we have no walking sense here either. Ecotod gets to top of slide, stands up and goes to walk forward

Something how did wrangling two childre, a dog and your dp go?

Yummy I've banned weetabix I'm another admitting to a gender bias in terms of what I secretly hoped for. I was genuinely excited about a boy or a girl though for different reasons. But the chance at a mother daughter bond like I'd had was a lovely thought. Now I look at affectionate boys and boys with their dads and think aawww.

MIL arrived this morning so I've had more chances to progress stuff today and Ecotod has had fun with her. We are in chaos though as all boxes from garage, attic and office are in the house being sorted. It's like an episode of that hoarders programme in here! We have decided to rent our house in norfolk out and rent down in BB. That will give us time to wait out our fixed term and for me to find work to appease mortgage men/women. But most importantly right now it will unite us three once again. It might happen quickly too. Dh viewed a small terrace in village we were buying in and I think we've decided to go for it. Am I mad to move to a house I've not visited?! We'll have to put loads in storage but right now a life of few possessions and with a husband greatly appeals.

Right the delicate among you sensitive to TMI look away now. I am still having diarrhoea. It's nearly 4 weeks now. I have had a couple of three day gaps where I have been ok during that time. Yesterday, having been ok for a few days, I visited a friend. One minute I was fine and next I was running to her loo where I stayed for 15 minutes with diarrhoea that looks like orange smoothie (sorry but it's relevant to my query). Does that sound like the nature of stressy tummy or even IBS to you guys? I am wondering whether to return to doc.

I hope Doli didn't read that.

Eco so good to hear from you. I think the house plan sounds great, and you sound a bit more positive. The prospect of all living together for good must be good for the soul!

The dire rear sounds...dire. It doesn't sound like my IBS but that could be because everyone experiences it slightly differently - or because it's not IBS. Either way id be seeing a gp. It could just be stress, in which case it might not go away until you're settled in the new place, or it could be an intolerance. If I eat bread or something crap like McDs, or don't get enough sleep or have too much stress, or have exams...well I get the dire rear but not in that, erm, hue.
Gp!

Right, enough poo chat.

The sinuses are somewhat under control, thank god for sudafed. I somehow have to cram a days work into three or four hours with a small child around today. Does anyone have any tips?

Age 2 Eco, age 2!

eco it sounds like having MIL over will really help you. I second going to the gp, having it for 4 weeks is frankly enough! On the house front, when we were renting, I found a house online, sent DP and MIL to look at it and DP put a deposit down because he'd have been mad not to. It would've been snatched up. So, I moved into our first house having only seen pictures and I loved it; I trusted his judgement.

The mothering, auntying, DPing and dog ownering went surprisingly blissful. DP took pup out for a long walk, I fed the kids, slung 'em both in the bath, we all had a snuggle, small one went to bed, big one and I watched Curious George and then he went to bed, took pup for a short walk and had a bath myself! Two kids is well easy, innit?

wotta we always brush DS's teeth in the bath. I brush them as best I can before he snatches it out of my hand and brushes the duck with it. I seem to be able to get them brushed a bit this way though.

plonk no tips for effective work load handling but, dollops of peanut butter must be able to help, right?

I never had a gender preference but since I've now got a snotty nosed, bruised knee'd, scruffpot boy, I think it's only fair that I have a girl next time.

something ah see now you got the hang of taking care of 2 kids I think you should start for another one straight away.

If I have a girl I am sure we will be bankrupt. See i am the sort of person who will have everything pink and girly.

eco i think you should go to the gp. Have you had your gall bladder taken out by any chance? That affects your digestive system too. Glad you have a plan now and you sound a bit more positive. At least you are with dh.

Right i am off to messy play. God help me.

Hi all, sorry for the radio silence of late, it's been busy busy busy here. DH has the week off, given it's the week we were supposed to be visiting my parents in France, but then didn't. I'm glad we didn't actually, what with the strikes and all, so it looks like this pregnancy was perfectly timed.

Eco That's not IBS. The IBS I'm familiar with involves bloating, cramps, pain, and intermittent constipation and dire-rear. 4 weeks and it sounds to me like you need proper investigation. Could be anything, but I wouldn't leave it any longer. If nothing else your electrolyte balance will be way off by now which can be quite dangerous. So, friendly nag - GP, make a fuss, ask for a referral. In my experience GPs require you to make a big big fuss. Huge. otherwise they send you home with a 'there, there.... it's just neurosis' (which it's definitely not).

Great day out yesterday - Canturbury. For those of you who haven't been (anyone?), it's well worth it. The Cathedral is amazing, although it does have the downside that high pitched toddle screeches echo. This makes the making of high pitched toddle screeches extra fun. Even more fun can be had if the toddle in question realises this just at the moment the very formal priest communion led by the bishop starts. We beat a hasty retreat.

Dolitoddle wasn't deterred in the slightest and followed up this little routine with falling madly in love with a rather lovely and very talented busker. Sat herself down, gazed adoringly at him, and wouldn't be moved. Buskers have just gone way up in my estimation, as not only was his music hauntingly beautiful, he also changed his song to something quieter especially for her.

That's my tip for good sleep. A day out. It may have been a 10pm bedtime but we got a good 10 hours after that.

Todays trip, less exciting. A second hand furniture barn! The glamour.

Another terrible bedtime last night. Asleep by 9pm. Woke up crying at 6.15. Did milk, calpol, nappy, back to bed. Woke up again at 9.15am. There's no way of getting a nap in and expecting sleep tonight. So. I think we're trying a nap free day. This could be interesting...

plonk I read that about boys too. Thought it was interesting. It wasn't implying boys were superior stormy, just different from girls. Which...they are, given that they have a Y chromosome and all that. I would have been happy with either. If I have more - I would be happy with either again. I do love my boy though.

doli can I make a suggestion? Why don't you change Gp; either within the same practice or a different practice all together. Not all Gps are useless and dismiss everything as neurotic. Some even know how to treat such things are diarrhoea!! eco I second/third/fourth the advice to go and see yours. Hope you're doing ok. You asked about our holiday and I forgot to reply but it was lovely thanks. Have you banned weetabix because of the sugar for Ecotod or did you mean in case it's affecting you?

plonk are you getting excited about the wedding? Or does it just all feel overwhelming?

Off to catch a bit of tennis before little one awakes

The thing is, Shattered, the differences between boys and girls (pre-puberty) aren't innate. They're imposed through socialisation right from birth. Active toddlers need plenty of exercise regardless of what's in their nappies. But right from the word go boys are encouraged to be active and physical, girls to be calm and sedate. Which doesn't stand anyone in good stead in the long run. (I know how Plonk's comment was meant though, don't worry )

Well stormy I agree that plenty of exercise is good for either sex, not disputing that, but I don't think socialisation is the sole source of gender difference. Tbh though, I know you're very into your feminism and women's rights so I'm not going to get drawn in as I think you'll want the last word. I'm a great believer in equal rights, and I think they way women are treated in vast parts of the world is horrendous-eg Meriam Ibrahim (?sp) and all the rape being publicised in India at the moment.

Anyway, enough of the deep stuff, did I mention the tennis? Murray about to start....

Shattered I would love to find a decent GP, but how? I had two in London. One couldn't speak English, and when I had a breast cancer scare just wrote me a letter sealed it, said 'serious', and left me in tears. The second told me I was neurotic when I went with obvious symptoms of hypothyroid. I both cases I got no treatment until I paid for a private consultation. Where I am now is no better. My own GP ignored my thyroid issue during my last pregnancy, until a private obstetrician wrote to her basically implying negligence. She also didn't figure I might have retained placenta after the birth, preferring to suggest I might have a STD . For this reason I registered my current pregnancy with a different GP, and she was the one who told me monitoring my TSH levels during pregnancy wasn't something she was responsible for

So you see, any time I have actually had anything wrong with me I've had appalling treatment, from a range of GPs. I'd love to find a decent one. As it is I rely on MN for pregnancy related medical issues, google for everything else, and private doctors to get referrals. I have NO faith in the diagnostic capabilities of GPs. Their role seems to have been reduced to that of writing referrals to specialists. If you get a referral the treatment you get on the NHS is usually very good, but getting the referral and then getting to the top of the waiting list takes forever. Hence my suggestion to Eco that she pushes for a referral.

This is where you all tell me you have wonderful GPs isn't it? I'm not so sure I have just been unlucky though. My grandmother died from bowel cancer after having her symptoms dismissed as 'stress related, and neurosis'. Her GP basically killed her.

Actually doli yes, I have great respect for my Gp. She is lovely and extremely good at her job. for your grandma and your previous treatment though. I vaguely recall a website where you can rate your Gp so you could see what others think of your local ones. I also think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this subject though. Not belittling your experiences in any way; but there are lots of good Gps out there.

Think it's time to get off my soapbox and stop talking about either gender equality or medical negligence!!! anyone?

I've just remembered another cr*p GP story, and this one is quite funny. I've mentioned I have PCOS, which has some pretty obvious symptoms. The GP I saw (another London one) said he'd eat his hat is I had PCOS. Apparently only fat women have it, thin ones like me don't . Point blank refused to take me seriously, and suggested (again) I might be stressed or neurotic. So I battled on for probably 6 years feeling awful.

Eventually DH had enough and paid for me to have a private well woman check. It was diagnosed immediately, and confirmed with an ultrasound. The original GP on receiving a copy of the diagnosis claimed he had never met me before. I am completely serious. He actually sat there and told me to my face that he was pleased to meet a new patient!!!

I'll end my rant here, as it has become a bit of a rant......

doli maybe its the London GP's. Mine couldn't even see ds' blisters was chicken pox. There is one gp I do like. A female one and is very nice and listens to your problems. I do have a lot of horrible gp stories too. I was referred to a hospital consultant to find out why my iron levels were low despite me taking iron tablets. Of course I was completely dismissed until this day it has never been investigated.

I also discovered pain on the right side of my abdomen after i stopped the pill just before ttc. I was told to take paracetamol. The issue is I want to know what the cause is not to mask the pain.

I think Gps are so overworked they are just keen to get through each patient as quickly as they can.

I'm interested in the well woman check though. What does it entail?

shattered I sort of agree with you. Looking at friends and families babies/toddlers I can see there is a remarkable difference in their personality.Nature and nurture plays a part in the way we are.

Gosh this is deep for a friday.

eco how are you feeling?

doli hope you are taking it easy and looking after yourself.

doli I'm with you all the way on rubbish GPs though I think a lot of it is down to the fire fighting approach of the NHS rather than genuine preventative medicine which is the ideal. I have had my fair share of terrible experiences. My mum when to the GP one with bad heart pains and palpitations and on explaining her issues to the GP he responded by saying he had those too and he didn't worry about them and promptly sent her on her way without examining her. She promptly went private and sorted out serious issues that way. I'm sure there are good GPs out there but I don't think they have a good environment in which to work - especially when you consider that prescribing better and more expensive medication actually eats into surgery profits and GP owners earnings. I find that very scary.

stormy I'm with you totally on gender issues. Children are not even aware of the concept of gender till about 3. DD adore cars, planes and tractors, always picks out colourful neutral clothes when offered a choice (we try hard for gender neutral in the house so we have a lot of wonderful colourful boys clothes) and as far as I can tell is no less active or less "boisterous" than her male counterparts. I think the expectations we place on our children influence their behaviour more than we could ever realise.

I probably shouldn't post as it's late and I'm tired but the generalisations on this thread this evening have made me cross. I'm off to bed to hopefully get some decent sleep and stop being annoyed by random strangers on the net!

Shattered. Hope you get a good night. Think the nhs is one of those subjects. I've actually generally had very good experiences with gps, although a mixed bag of hospital experience - some fantastic and some shambolic and downright neglectful. Guess it's like all professions, there's good and bad, but this is one where everyone has personal experience and of course the implications if it's got wrong are serious. Don't let it wind you up though.

I shall be talking to DS gp on Monday - recent weigh in shows he's gained 0.02kg since march which isn't really good enough. So he's needs to be checked out. Now on 2nd centile. And has a tummy bug.

And on that note... Goodnight. Calm weekends to you all.

Can I please stuff the worms back I the can? Please?

I never meant to insinuate that boys need lots more physical activity and fresh air or whatever than girls do. I merely said that the long walk Stormy had with her dd reminded me of something I'd read elsewhere on MN. Something that had made me smile at the time and applies equally to both sexes.

Hormonally boys and girls are pretty much the same til the age of 4, when boys get a good ol' whack of testosterone. I have no opinion on that because I've not spent any time with little kids so I simply don't know. I just like the idea of treating my kids like dogs, with lots of fresh air, good food and long walks. Because that's the childhood I had.

The nhs is a tough one. I'll let you all grapple with that insight, for I am off to bed.

And Wotta hope you find the help/reassurance you're after. Must be stressful. Hopefully just down to bouts of illness that he's now past. Sorry you're having to deal with that kind of stress. Enjoy a big x

Hello all! Remember me? No? Of course not! I've changed my user name? Jojobella followed by some random number I don't really remember, from the antenatal threads? No?
Oh go on! Say you remember me!

Hi patchwork i think I remember you. Were you studying at the time and moved up north to have the baby? Sorry if I haven't remembered who you are sleep deprivation is a bitch. Anyway how are you? Did you have boy or girl? How are you finding motherhood?

shattered how are you this morning? I bet your dream job was to be a gp or you know someone is a gp. Like in any profession there is the good, the bad and the ugly. I hardly tell anyone in rl what I do because the profession is hated. Although I don't know anyone who likes traffic wardens.

wotta I remember you saying he didn't eat much. Does he drink milk? I hope he is ok.

I remember patchwork! And your son's name. He's one of the older March babies, mid February. And was it York to Glasgow? I had no idea I had so many working memory cells left!

I used to have an awesome GP, until he buggered off to Uganda. Been a bit hit and miss since then. Still miss that doctor.

Thanks wotta and yummy

wotta that's worrying how are you feeling? DS dropped a couple of centiles when we weaned, I tried to make every mouthful count as he wouldn't eat- even making porridge with cream! hope DS is ok.

Can't remember much else- we had a prolonged 3am wake up sadly which I didn't really go back to sleep properly from. How is everyone? eco you ok?

Oh and yummy I am now intrigued as to what you do!