October 05 - First Birthdays

[Yokefleet]

Happy Birthday to Joey!

mb- just had a night similar to yours.

I think we're past the in between stage now (nice while it lastest) and teethingis backwith a vengence. He seems to be constantly snotty. I did thinkit was a cold but wonderingnow whether its just teething.

Ijust hate that I can't make it all better for him

lasted not lastest

Did all our babies co-ordinate diaries?! - Joey's also got a stinker of a cold (got round the waking 2 hourly last night by putting him in our bed with me as DP was on a night shift), and is teething too.

lol I think they must do. I can't believe the amount of times I comeon and read someones post and think they have described my day perfectly

nsnm agree re diaries, Thomas is full of cold and teething with numbers 11&12 at the minute.
Hope everyone has a better night tonight.

xxx

we are all in the same boat i see!

Becky's nose is running, her teeth are STILL playing up but none appearing and she is jsut generally grumpy

brought Evelyn her first pair of proper shoes on Sat, she's been walking for about 2 months now, 1 month solidly, so got her some shoes as she wants to walk outside... bless her, she was really struggling with how to walk on them!!
She sussed it today, and she's been running around in her shoes, and walked from the car park to nursery with the CM to pick up another child!!

That's amazing Elf. I am just getting used to the fact that Johnny can crawl. he's not making any attempt to get on his feet yet, but I'm not really in a hurry! His cold seems a bit better and the teething pains have eased off but the teeth haven't appeared yet, so no doubt there is more crying and pain to come. I have been co sleeping with him from around 2am in an attempt to get some sleep as I have three mindees to look after as well, and it's school holidays, so I have the older one full time all week. I am supposed to be breastfeeding less, not more!! It's doing my weight wonders though and I am now a couple of pounds lighter than pre pregnancy.

Elf - where did you get Evie's shoes from? Joey is pretty much permanantly walking now, so i could do with getting him some. Tis quite scary to think that this time last year he was only a tiny babe-in-arms!

He's still snotty and still teething, although he did sleep better last night. Hope you other mums and babies had better nights too! NSNM x

We got Thomas's first pair of shoes from Clarks about a month ago as he always wants to be on his feet. He is forever taking them off though usually by the time I have got his coat on, so I now don't put them on until I am about to get out of the car!
We were talking about what a difference a year makes last night as it was a year ago today that my dh went back to work after his paternity leave, it just seems so long ago.
How are your lo's doing with feeds now? Thomas seems off his food at the moment but I am just putting that down to the teething he is drinking much more water this week too. Thomas now is only using beakers for drinks all the bottles have been put away in the loft, I was suprised at how easy it was to stop the bottles completely (my neice has only just stopped having a bedtime bottle and she is 3) We have just had to have last milk feed before going for his bath instead of having a bottle after his bath and he his is still going off to sleep fine, we just replaced the cuddle of the last bottle for a cuddle with a story book.

Amazing at little Evie, Elf . Sophie can take a few steps but not enough to need shoes yet. She looks funny as she is small for her age, around the 2nd/9th centile, not that I've had her weighed for ages (note to self: get her weighed). All my babies have got their shoes from Clarks, in fact they still do!

We had a very small party for her last Friday which she absolutely loved. She looked gobsmacked when everyone was singing to her & she seems to love music of any kind (taking after her old mum!).

We're teething here too. She screamed the house down last night and I was only out for 20 minutes. As soon as I got home, she latched herself on - my boobs are geting sore . Ironic really as earlier in the day my GP pulled a face when I said I was still bf! Well I don't fancy getting up every hour at the moment and, like Mawbroon, am bf more than ever!

I also got Evelyn's shoes from Clarkes. They weren't too expensive £18.00. They're "pre-walkers" shoes, and she's got big feet like her mummy 4F!
They're quite soft, and also got rubber type ends so that if she does crawl in them they dont get too scuffed. She hated them Sat and Sun and refused to walk at all, but on Monday she just got on with it!
She's become even more of a mummies girl - last night she woke up while I was in the bath and screamed at DH until he brought her into the bathroom, and then fed for about an hour. I was shattered!
I've stopped b.feeding / expressing in the day, she's now just having a b.feed first thing in the morning and at night-time. After six months of lugging all the expressing stuff to work / storing the milk / having DH drive by especially to pick up the milk on days I go to college, it just got a bit much so I have given in. She's drinking C&G follow-up milk which smells awful but she seems to love the stuff.
Food wise she's doing really well - she hasn't quite mastered the spoons / forks but she loves to feed herself, it's quite funny watching her pick up a handful of peas and cramming them into her mouth. She's eats nearly everything, the only thing she doesnt like is egg, anything else, it's down the hatch!!

We went to Clarkes today. The sales assistant advised us to bypass the pre-walkers shoes as he's got quite big feet and is on them all the time, so he's gone straight into their little walkers! He's also got very wide feet, and is in a size 4.5 H! So cute, with the little photo they took and everything, and he looked well chuffed wearing them when we walked out of the shop...shame he'll only be in them for 6-8 weeks (at £26 a pair!!!). He should be due a new pair just in time for the wedding. Ordered our wedding rings today too. Only 7 weeks to go.....

Yokefleet - sorry missed wishing Thomas Happy birthdAY!! Hope you had a great day

Elf and to Evie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Jockey & Sophie - HAPPY BIRTHDAY

And more belated birthday wishes to DontlookatmeImshy DS.

Can't believe a whole year Who's met whose babies? I've only met MB with Johhny, and she stole ds's Bob the Builder Mug!!! Only joking of course.

Is anyone going to the London Xmas meet up?

Well RTL, I have met your LOs and also Cameron, the mumsnetter formerly known as Mummygow's wee one. (Hey Mummylovesus - how are you?)
My mindee spotted your ds's Bob the builder cup and asked if he could use it. I had to hide it after that
These teeth of Johnny's are still not through yet but he seems a bit better in himself.

Och MB...let your poor wee mindee use the Bob mug!!! How's the minding going? I'll have to get my MSN sorted. What are doing on Saturday for Johnny's bd?

I am talking complete pants (as usual). I have indeed met Mummylovesus, but not Cameron. I have however seen loads of piccies of him.
RTL the minding is going ok with the kids, but TBH the mother is taking the piss with her timekeeping and other things and I am on the verge of giving her notice. In fact, I might well do it today.

Sorry to hear about your childminding troubles Mawbroon. Hope you get things sorted

OMG - Evelyn opened the washer and tried to climb inside today. Then she got hold of the cooker handle, swung on it and opened the bloody oven.
Neither were on and I was washing the pots but thats beside the point!!

MB - saw your post this morning but didn't have chance to post - sorry your minder is taking advantage. I feel awful when I cant pick Evelyn up bang on time, but it sounds like she's taking the pee a bit.

MB - have you had a word with her? Hope things are getting sorted.

Morning all. No, I bit my tongue. Yesterday she dropped them off and picked them up almost on time. It is a case of balancing all the pros and cons I suppose. The kids are really nice and well behaved, I feel that they would suffer if I let them go after just a month in terms of continuity of care as the only other childminder in the town is full and I have no idea who would look after them. I know none of these things are my problem, but I have them for a lot of hours and I want to keep my income above a certain level so that I qualify for maternity allowance when I have my next baby (no, I'm not pg). I am thinking better the devil you know. I could have punctual parents who's kids are little horrors!
Aaaaargh decisions decisions. I have already had words with her about her punctuality and she did improve a bit. Maybe she is like the kids and needs constant reminding. And I am not nitpicking about 10 minutes here and there by the way. I am talking about being 90 minutes after the agreed time with no phone call, and coming 2 hours after I called her to tell her that her son had a temperature and could she please come and get him.
Ho hum, it's nearly the weekend.

Mawbroon & Elf - can i ask a personal question? How much is a childminder? Once my shoulder is finally fixed, i will need to go back to work full-time to recoup some money, and work are putting pressure on re my DP and us working opposite shifts to manage childcare, so Joey will need some form of minder. I'm not keen on him going to a nursery at this age (fine for some, just not right for us), so a childminder will be the most likely option, if it's not going to cost more than i'll actually earn. He'd need to go 2-3 times a week, but not in a fixed pattern as we do shift work. Also, our day shifts are a bit of a nightmare time-wise, in that we start work at 8am and don't finish till 8.30pm! Is this at all feasible? My mum could help out occasionally but she also works full time, lives 15 miles away from us, and doesn't drive. All advice gratefully received! NSNM x

I just got Becky's first birthday card and present in the post!!!!! doesnt seem possible... ok so its not til wedensday but she CANT be 1 yet..... she jsut CANT!

NSNM - that is a "how long is a piece of string" question!! There is no national guideline for childminder's fees, hours, etc etc so it is up to each individual how much they charge, what hours they work etc etc. I think what you may find is that because you are looking for flexible days/hours, the childminder will have difficulty filling Joey's place during the time when he's not there, so you may be expected to pay some sort of retainer to keep the place open for the whole week IYSWIM. Your best bet would probably be to contact Ofsted and they can give you a list of childminders in your area. I am not sure exactly who you need to contact though, because here in Scotland, we are regulated by a different body.
To give you some idea, I charge £3.50ph per child which includes 1 meal and 1 snack, with the parents paying extra for any food over and above. For a baby, I would expect parents to provide nappies/wipes etc although I do have spares in the house!!
Good luck with your enquiries. It might be worth taking a look on the childminding boards for a bit. That gives you a good idea sometimes of what is on offer out there.
HTH

PS I have no mindees this morning. I am not mumsnetting whilst they run riot. And Johnny is asleep - ah bliss