March '13 - packing up our troubles and getting excited about the new babies

[ecofreckle]

It's that time again. This thread is going to explode with squishy babies. Which is nice.

Hi all! Another long time away due to busy busy life getting in the way plus new phone that wouldn't let me log in. Lovely to hear of everyone's holiday adventures - we are not going away till the end of September and I can't wait!

Biggest news here us that DH had a vasectomy and there is massive relief all
round. Lovely to close that chapter of life and move forwards to new adventures which is always exciting plus added bonus of not having to mess up my body all the time with contraception which has never suited me no matter what I tried.

In toddle news, DD is generally a delight to be with at the moment after a few wonder type weeks. Still no where near sleeping through but we are all definitely getting better quality sleep. She is now almost fully night potty trained as well which is awesome - love the money saving and freedom with going out with a small handbag again with no need for changing kit, spare clothes or pretty much any baby hit other than wipes and maybe a snack. They are so funny and a pleasure to be with at this age - we definitely have a very independent strong willed little person here but that's how I want her to grow up so wonderful to see it develop.

Hi rainbow. Nice to hear from you. I wanted to say thanks for sharing that article many moons ago about how toddler breastfeeding overseas is viewed as normal and for sharing the breastfeeding older babies and beyond group, it's influenced us here. You made a difference to us And also, having read toddler calm I'm now reading Janet Lansbury. Don't see you very often on here so thought I'd take the time to say thanks.

Worse how are things this week? Are you solo again?

Something I think you've broken up! whoop whoop

Bungle and Stormy its good that you have inhalers now, good peace of mind. I'm an asthmatic since childhood. Them there puffers make you feel good. How have they been since starting their medication?

Stormy ages ago you mentioned me probably envying you still having your mum. Just wanted to say when I read about what's happening your end I don't think that at all. I think how very challenging that must be for you and how I can't imagine that particular type of grief and pain. It isn't an enviable situation and I send love Hull bound to you

We need a report from yummy who's a full time working girl, from Wotta who may be immersed into another stinky piece of work having just got rid of the last one and Shattered mum of two, how are you petal? Shattered are you around weekend of August 8th? Betty have nights finished? And, do you really come off of nights and do a day of child care? Hardcore.

Hello everyone. I've been lurking but not really felt like I have much to say. Work a bit more under control (I've been nominated for an award donchajnow ) and had a week off. That wasn't a walk in the park - suspect Ds and I said goodbye to MIL - and my df has had another stroke (or seizure or poss just more of the dementia) but has perked up again a little now. Stormy I am so sorry to hear about your mum. Big hugs from me too.

Ds has gone bitey which is less than brilliant . Am frantically reading toddler books for tactics to avoid the naughty step which got introduced in desperation. The no no no, laaaa-teeerrrr etc is hard!

However yesterday was a lovely day as too long standing friends invited us to their wedding next month and another friend got offered the job she was interviewing for on the spot! Happy things. Kairos...

Best go love to all and especially yummy back ft now. Hope you're ok and glad Eid was good. And grrrr at Hunt for you Betty. Twat.

Two not too, in my defence that was bloody autocorrect after the rest of the sentence! Hate it when it does that...

An award wotta !! good going. You sound like you deserve one!!!
eco why are you down my way??!! Defo free on the Sunday. PM me if you're around
Not much to report here, treading water and mostly surviving. It's hard work but DS2 is chilled which helps. As does running round like a crazy thing most of the time!!

Ps worse yes would be amazing if you were closer, we could share childcare/ pool duties! altho I might struggle with 4 kids..

Shattered that's the assigned weekend to catch up with my friend and we're just trying to decide where to meet and if I should bring prim. I'll keep you in the loop.

Wotta you rock. Well done. Sounds like good news in a tough week.

Not prim Ecotod! You guys confuse me with your real friend statuses

Eco yes nights have finished but now on all weekend which is arguably easier than a weekend alone with madam and yes recently I've been doing a day of childcare after finishing a set of nights because nursery haven't been able to fit her in for extra days. It makes me want to punch myself in the face and means a lot of Dora is watched. On an iPad. With headphone. In my bed. Bad Mummy.

An award you say Wotta. Congrats!

Excellent work on the potty training Rainbow. DD is still miles off! She won't have anything to do with the potty or sitting on the toilet and when you ask her where she wants to do her wees she always says in her nappy. I'm not planning on starting it until she's begging me for pants to be honest in the hope it won't be a prolonged battle. She's a strong willed munchkin.

Eco we're thinking of a family break of a few days in Norfolk in September. I shall be picking your brain for tips!

Betty I am your woman for that mission. I like being useful. September's a lovely month. Taking my hat off to you and hoping those shifts and no nursery don't come about again any time soon. Respect sister!

Whoop whoop wotta. What's the award for?

betty In your shoes I would've left dc on the nursery doorstep and run. you are a superwoman although dd gave you plenty of practice of not sleeping during her baby days.

rainbow lovely to hear from you. DD has done amazingly with toilet training. I can't imagine going out with a small bag.

shattered the pic of ds2 is so adorable.

I have pics from ds nursery so will put them up at the weekend.

I am on a high it's Friday and pay day tomorrow. Also, we booked a weekend in Torquay. Please say it's nice down there. We went to Woolacombe in Devon before and loved the sandy beaches.

On the toddler news we have regressed sooooo much in eating food. The method of not causing a battle at mealtimes is not working. He has now stopped eating soup. I don't know what to do. I am giving his vitamins but that's not the point, he needs to something. My food guzzling baby has gone.

I like your style of potty training, Betty. In fact I'm following it myself. We've switched to pullups, she's pretty much got the hang of pulling everything down herself, and she'll take herself off for a wee if she feels so inclined. The question, "Do you need a wee?" has, to date, only ever been answered in the negative, but sometimes she realises she actually does. Mostly she just tells me she's doing a wee. I say, "That's grand, thanks for telling me, maybe you could get the next one in the potty and get a star for your chart." I have this horrible feeling I may have to put in some concerted effort over several days to get this cracked. And I frankly cannot be arsed right now. Has anyone seen my motivation recently?

Yummy! My neck of the woods! When?

dh and I not totally in agreement over potty training. Ds is not begging for pants (i dream of this too ) and still isn't very sure when he's done something but is showing a lot of interest in using sitting on the loo. No longer happy with potty (wants to be like us) so I've bought steps and loo seats and want to start giving him a chance to sit on these occasionally, possibly also wearing pants occasionally so he knows they exist to beg for later but dh says that is what we said we wouldn't do and potty training before he's ready making a mess on the soft furnishings and creating laundry when he's the sahp

If he's done his research on what constitutes ready, Wotta, he may have a point. I find it helps to think of it as a process rather than a one off event. Maybe try pants and no trousers in the garden if the summer ever comes back? Also congratulations on your award!

Fartypants woke up coughing at six. Read in her cot before filling her nappy at half past. I changed it. She didn't want to get back in the cot, so I said she could play quietly until time to get up. She used this time to hide Zebra and now neither of us can find him.

Done research... If you mean quoting back stuff I said when he asked about it when Ds was 6mo and not having considered it since...

Well tell him to go do some proper research and get back to you! It can be hard to tell when they're ready though. Your gently getting him familiar with the whole idea sounds good to me.

Oh it's been busy on here, and I've been neglecting you all. Rubbish. Null point.

Stormy your poor mum, it sounds awful. I hope in the kindest possible way her trials end soon without further indignities.

Wotta an award, you bright spark! !

Betty nights - ugh. Having been more than a little acquainted with the wee small hours over the past few months, I can say with some certainty I would not be suited to nights.

Shattered now if you could just move, onto my street.... 4 kids, no problem. 2 can't escape, and the other two could fight play

Potty, toilet, all a bit foreign to us still, although Worselet did decide she wanted to use the toilet the other day, largely because I was. What a conflict of interest that was!

No awards here, although someone called me super mum the other day. Hilarious... if only they knew . Context, the party, where both dcs decided simulaneously to be uber angelic and not show me up even once. I hadn't even bribed them. Result. Lasted until we got home whereupon Babax remembered he hadn't eaten for about 5 hours and Worselet realised just how tired she was. Normal service promptly resumed i.e. that of super hassled mum.

Teachers - how mad would I be to consider re-training as a teacher? DH floated it as an idea as he thinks I have the right skills. Not something I've ever considered before... The idea has grabbed my attention though.

Worse, if you have the right skills and enthusiasm then great. We need great teachers. There are some dodgy routes to getting qualified around right now though so research. I was childless with few responsibilities when trained and I found it extremely gratefully. It was endurance test for me. You will be thinking through the realities of training alongside small people. In haste.

Teaching, eh, worse? You're a brave woman. What sort of teaching were you thinking? I remember when my dad was a teacher in a secondary school. Well I say I remember, I don't really remember my dad then, just his absence. We saw him at breakfast and teatime, and to say goodnight, and that was about it. The paperwork requirements were insane twenty years ago, and I can't imagine there's less of it now.

Sounds good eco, keep me posted
Worse, teaching is hardcore- so probably right up your street!! . Lots of work and a hard slog but reckon it would suit you if you were up for it.
I've had a shocker of a day today. Can't even bring myself to bore you with the details. Crisps and chocolate have made me feel worse been consumed and I'm off to bed for a few hours. Toddles are Hard Work thank fuck it's Friday .

Stormy probably secondary, as my only relevant experience to date is tutoring at uni level. Strangely those hours don't scare me as they are considerably more family friendly than my previous career, plus they come with a decent holiday entitlement attached.

If I'm honest the thing I'd really like to get into is child therapy. Kids these days are under so much pressure it's unreal. I thank my lucky stars I grew up in an age where it was ok to look like you lived in Hicksville, and social media was limited to the phone numbers you could remember. That's probably a more difficult line of work to get into as a late entrant though.

Shattered because it sounds like you need them. Toddles absolutely are hard work. It's a good job they also do a fine line in cute really

I have belatedly decided I like pilates. Not only do I get an hour of rolling about on a mat with a view to re-finding my waist, but today, when Babax decided he was hungry half way through the instructor picked him up and fed him his bottle while continuing to demonstrate the exercises. I was seriously impressed. Now there's a skill I need to learn.

I'm enjoying pilates too worse. And my pelvic toner actually. Few minutes at Bath Time and boom! Done. Have you experimented yet Stormy?

Ooh I've missed lots. I meant to post yesterday but sleep beckoned. Actually I hand the phone in my hand ready to start writing when I fell asleep

worse I think it's a very noble thing, entering teaching right now. Always has been but I imagine it to be particularly hard at the moment. I know a few who've been in the game since graduating 6 or so years ago and not many are full time permanent staff anymore. But if you've worked in the city and have a healthy perspective on these things it might be perfect for you. I think my friends struggle because they're younger and it is their entire life - they don't have the life experience to step back and take stock, and certainly haven't done other crazy jobs. Therapy sounds very interesting too. I'm also looking at retraining while Bungle is still small, but I can't make my mind up what to do.

yummy sounds like you're doing well being full time. Are you enjoying the work? As for ds and food, any chance it's teeth related? It doesn't take much for my ds to go off food, the slightest cold or over tiredness or teething and we're back to weetabix and pleading. Take him to the gp if you're worried, they will take you seriously.

Stormy where the Jeff has summer gone? Although I must admit being pale and pregnant in 18 degrees is preferable to pregnant in 28+.

Wotta get you and your award! Good stuff, well deserved. Hope things become easier for you soon, sounds like you're having a time of it.

Betty a night shift plus toddler day time....You're a hero! My coping strategy would be the same.

Shattered toddlers are hard. I've barely been able to keep my eyes open after dinner lately, and ds is on a rather long leash right now. So I can imagine how it is to have a toddler and a tiny! I'm sure you're doing better than you think you are.

I'm going to have a go at some prenatal pilates I found on YouTube. They look useful for pelvic stuff and whatnot. I did an hour of yoga t'other day and really enjoyed that so must keep it up.

In ds news, we have the last two teeth popping through, and he is now biting through every dummy we have. Result is that they fall out quite soon and he forgets about them for a bit. AIBU to not replace them in the hopes that after a few days he believes all dummies are shit and gives them up?
He's also suddenly shot up and several of his 2-3 years clothes are straining on him. I'm sure he's done it on purpose because I've been spending money on Bungle

It's my wedding anniversary tomorrow (that came around fast!), so we're off to the in laws today for babysitting purposes. DH is treating me to a posh meal out and I intend to eat everything they have. Before driving back at 9pm and getting winched into bed. Happy Saturday all!

Think I may be joining you in the Pilates, worse. Physio on Thursday reckons my knackered hip is referred back-knackeredness, and says I have zero core strength, and I have to do pelvic floor exercises and go to Pilates. It all sounds a bit energetic to my sedentary self.

Have yet to try the flagpole, eco, I had the decorators in when it arrived and totally forgot. Must have a go tomorrow!

I've just been reading a thread (which turned out to be a zombie thread) about when is normal for learning the alphabet. Feeling slightly embarrassed at how advanced FP is on that one. I'm not sure if I want her to have all the baggage that comes with a reputation for being clever. Would far rather just say she's got an excellent memory, because that's certainly true and has no negative connotations.

And in other news: the Vom Fairy has blessed us with her presence!

'Scuse double post, but I was just flicking through Classics and discovered eco has had the Worst Ever Wasp Sting. All healed up now I hope?