December 2011 "Mummymummymummymummy.... it's MINE!"

[NorthernChinchilla]

Combining our catchphrases...sigh...

Had the neighbours round for tea tonight Danish gone to bed he's not slept all day I'm hoping for an 8 o clock lie in (pfft since when did 8am on a Sunday become a lie in)

Love the way we're having a sad-off! Think the folding wins it for me and glad Oi's keeping the side up for actually having a life!
And I know what you mean figster 6am on a Sunday morning is just plain wrong
Off out for a meal with my Mum tonight, DS at the other grandparents. Just have to persuade the little sodlet to get his socks on and we can go out in this lovely sun and feed the ducks !

Urgh! The cold has finally arrived! DH has been really good today and looked after DS and made a lovely chilli for dinner whilst I slept. Before my epic nap I did manage to tidy up our bedroom and organise the cupboard and I also went through DS's drawers and sorted out some clothes to store away.

I will need to ask DH to help organise the outside cupboard and get DS's baby stuff out so I can go through it and re-wash stuff. Will do that next weekend and just carry on tidying and cleaning indoors. Even a little but each day is better than nothing!

Only 9 days of work left before maternity leave as I work 3 days a week. Can't wait! Once I'm on maternity leave DS will carry on 3 full days a week at nursery, so I'm planning to batch cook some meals for the freezer and I really want to try and have a little walk each day. I may well end up lying on the settee but I have good intentions at the moment!

DS's nursery has the option of 8:00am-11:00am 5 mornings a week or 2:00pm - 5:00pm x 5 afternoons a week for the free 15 hours. Most of the playgroups are on in the mornings, so I'm planning to use the afternoon session so I can take DS and the baby to playgroups in the mornings, come home and make a cooked lunch, then take DS to nursery and the baby and I can hopefully have a nap! Then we'll pick up DS and DH, come home and wind down for bedtime.

I think if DS did the 8:00am - 11:00am sessions we'd end up watching tv all afternoon and it would be a horrible rush in the mornings as we drop DH off at the train station in the mornings as well. This way we can drop DH off and come home and have a leisurely breakfast before heading out to playgroup.

Hope everyone's had good weekends.

Do nurseries only allow specific hours??! Boi has his settling in sessions later this week, I'll have to double check with them.
I did ask in my visit if they accepted / offered the free 15 hrs, and during the visit I told them the three full days I need...

I think my nursery are just being a bit awkward tbh Oi, I think the morning sessions are so early it is a bit pointless. In my head I was planning on 3 x 5 hour sessions in the morning!

Is it normal to be shattered at 6pm? DS is sat in front of Peppa so I can make them pancakes without the nightly Whing-o-rama-leg-cling....
Baaad mummy!

If it makes you feel better aethel, Minimopsy watches peppa or the hungry caterpillar nearly every evening after nursery. Does that make me worst mother of the year contender?

Nah, mopsy you're up the duff and so all concessions are allowed!
(Tactful, aren't I!)

I, however, have no such excuses. It's two steps away from Greggs-sausage-roll-An-a-Froot-Shoot chez Aethel! I think I need more tea.

Oh, and friend's funeral is 150 miles away and at lunchtime on a school day, so I shan't be going cos it's just not practical. I know she was lovely and wouldn't mind, and we'd not been super close friends so I know again she'd be Ok (and God Forbid I would end up feeling like some gawkish rubbernecker if I did go.) just don't think I can justify the upheaval for this one, I'll raise a cuppa at the appropriate moment and say my goodbyes next time we're visiting the area. Still sad about it but more concerned for my friends who were so much closer to her. Hope everyone elses's friends with bad news are doing ok too.

More tea!

Ooh and mega excited: I entered a mumsnet comp and have just beem pm'd to say I won a voucher! Good timing pre christmas shopping! Yay!

Oh god, the weather! So grim today. We did shoe shopping. I'm full of cold and DS hates shopping, but it actually went well. Shoes were bought. McDonalds was eaten (no judging pls). But then the weather was awful we couldn't go to the park (gale force winds and driving rain) so we drew, and we playing cutting with scissors and we watched endless videos of people falling over while snowboarding (this pleases DS slightly too much) and I expanded his musical knowledge to the '90s but it was still on 4pm. So I stuck him in front of Thomas and the Misty Island or some such crap and retreated to the kitchen to drink tea in peace.

I have no judgements on TV, you do what you gotta do.

Aethal what comp did you win? I'm sorry about your friend.

Nurseries all seem to have their own policies about the 15 hours. I think ours just pro rate it off your bill over the year, but should probably confirm that.

Totally normal Aethel! I dozed off for 15 minutes on the settee this afternoon and woke up to DS screeching "wake up mummy!"

Sorry about your friend. Hope the day goes as well as it can.

No judgements on McDonalds here Hop, we drove past it the other day and DS recognised "donalds"

Our cm is already putting our application through for her to claim the free hours in Jan as she says it can take an age, once he starts with pre school one day a week in jan we will pay them directly. Cm will be dropping him off and picking up and Unfortunately as we need to continue paying the cm for his place by the time he goes pre school 2 days a week (12hrs) next September we won't really save anything.

Weather horrific here too was bricking it on motorway getting home need to get all the winter kit out from the wardrobe, hats, gloves, scarves I have bought a new tartan coat yesterday from next it's lovely!!

No judgements re Mcdonalds here either. We go too regularly really, I don't dare count the Happy Meal toys but we do seem to have rather a lot of Dragons scattered over the house....

Macdonald's? For our precious little darlings?!?!?! You lot make me sick!
(She says whilst deftly removing all dragon-fodder, KFC bucketage and a Dominoes menu from view).
Ahem...
TV? In the evenings?
If bloody only! His only interest these days is playing with his blessed engines.
Until bedtime, then he has been adorable recently. Loves a particular book at the minute, we read 2 stories from that, then make up some sings before sleep. (To the tune of What shall we do with a drunken sailor, we make up verses about Thomas and his friends. Very cute.)
Ah yes, the one night in his own bed didn't last.
Oh opinions please: DM says that Boi has no bladder control at all. She's tried him nappy free quite a bit. (With lots of puddles.) She thinks I should leave him nappy free for the hour we have before bed to teach him awareness/bladder control.
I just don't think he needs that. He's not interested in potties/toilets.and I can't imagine that much will be achieved in the last hour before bed.
Should I listen to DM? Is it a good idea? Or is she just trying to force potty training?

I'd ignore her. I'm much more a fan of letting them express a wish do do something....

But I am lazy and currently without a boiler. With all this rain Sundays laundry has still not dried on the airer.

oi your MIL is trying to help. Mine tried to help by smugly telling me that "all hers were out of nappies at a year". I suspect this is a) selective memory and b) aiming the "hose" over a pot at regular intervals rather than actual continence.

So if you think there's no interest, it's totally up to you. How about she keeps doing the nappy free time when SHE has him? Just to show how ready he is?... Oh, wait....

(Seriously, lots of little ones aren't great before three, some are earlier, some are late. Might be worth giving her a target time eg let's try when h: three/let's try in Feb/ let's try when it's spring. And take Boi shopping for big boy train pants and put them in a drawer he can reach, with great ceremony "for when you're ready").

He bought pants about 6 months ago! He saw some spiderman pants and some Thomas pants in Tesco. He was awe-struck. (terrible grammar, probably, awe-striken?) Anyway, he talks about them every so often. but doesn't actually want to wear them yet. "I don't think so. Not yet, Mummy".
I have no plans to rush him or force it. I am also lazy, and just think it'll be less messy to wait until it's his thing, and not our thing pushed upon him.
DM has best intentions, she has him two days a week, she was mum to 2 girls, the next door neighbour's boy is now nappy free. ...I think I'm going to say, keep on encouraging, but back off, otherwise you'll scare him off entirely! He's starting a new nursery next week - let's not give him too many things to worry about.

I was speaking to some mums on Sunday who said that their boys were late, and for ages weren't dry at night beyond 5. So I have time yet!

Maybe I'll say, let's give him until the Christmas holiday, and if he hasn't decided himself by then, we make more of a concerted effort.

Ds was nappy free in the house most of the weekend he doesn't have accidents he knows when he needs to go but last twice we put pants on him he wee'd in them I think he forgets they aren't a nappy people are suggesting I try pull ups now does anyone think they'd help with the transition?

I feel bad nappies are so much easier when out and about and weekends are always so busy. I think I might take a Monday off soon and start him off in the Friday see how we get on.

Yes, I next have a week off in Feb so will try with ds then if he's interested.

Swimming this morning, ds has now been happy to actually let go of me when wearing a back pack. He's so proud of himself "I did it all by myself Mummy"

I definitely think it's better to wait with the potty training until they're ready...remembering our first attempt with DS and it was just crap! This time around he's excited and happy when he's had a wee on the potty and pleased with his pants - huge difference in a couple of months. He had one poo accident today at nursery, but I think that's more that he doesn't have the confidence to speak up yet, at home he's doing a great job. Had two nights in a row with wee accidents, but classing daytime and nighttime as two separate things!

We're doing the same, we'll try after Xmas. Have bought potty, etc, and DS has the benefit of seeing other kids use potty/loo at nursery, so is getting the idea.
I remember my (German) DStepM saying very seriously that all babies in Germany were potty trained by 1 as the mothers had to work in the munitions factories during the war. This went along with her belief that having babies would not stop her and my Dad putting any child in a walking rucksack and going anywhere on the world....

I'm the birthday girl today, DP and I doing some jobs this morning then champagne cream tea and a bimble in town before getting DS. Then Thailand meal Sat . Had lovely time with the family over the past four days too.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some cards to open!

Meant to ask cm this morning about ds and starting potty training but ds decided to start crying when I left which he hasn't done for a long time so had to run away

Happy birthday Northern

Right important question - what are we thinking for Christmas and bday presents this year? We flying to Scotland for Xmas this year so he will get small trinkets for Xmas (books, little figures) and bigger gifts at bday which he will then be separated from the day after when we have to fly north .......how mean!!

Haaaapppyyy Birthday Northern! Have a fab day!

Happy birthday northern.

Def agree with waiting until they're ready before starting potty training. We didn't start with DS until he was over 3, he had occasional poo accidents for a couple of months but was dry in 3 days. I'm still struggling with DD1. She's reliably dry and knows when she needs a poo but refuses to use the potty. She's now got into the habit of saying she needs a poo, spending the rest of the day refusing to go and being miserable, then doing it withinn2 minutes of putting on her bedtime nappy. Any suggestions?

Thanks all . Had fun yesterday, and today am up a ladder filling, sanding, hoovering down, priming and then painting the bookshelves and cupboards in the front room wearing old PJs.
Once more, the glamour

Poor DS was a total limpet this morning, didn't want to go to nursery, wanted to stay with his mama. And mopsy, I wouldn't worry about the TV at all, an hour (or two) a day out of 14 won't hurt, I love cuddling up with DS on the sofa. He's at nursery so much, and at weekends we're always out and about - as you are - so in the grand scheme.....meh.
And you get a free pass for pretty much anything at 7 months gone!