November 2014 - The one where they won't stay still.

[MrsAukerman]

New thread, new moves, new poo!

Just want to say or preferably shout at the top of my lungs I CANNOT WAIT until this bloody Wonder Week leap 6 is over.

lady have I read this right - is it your buyers that are having another valuation done on your house? so they could potentially reduce their offer? if so thats a really shitty thing to do . if i've misunderstood -sorry!

we're 4 days to go til the start of leap 6. from the sounds of it I dont think we'll like it!

DD has just learnt how to clap her hands & looks so proud of herself when she does it. she's also shouting 'ma ma ma ma' a lot & can now get across the room to something she wants by purposefully rolling. think we're a while off crawling yet as she still 'swims' on her tummy & she's not standing either. I don't mind though - its much easier when they stay still!!!

Worse than that omama our sellers decided to revalue! In a weird turn of events, we waited 3 weeks for the revaluation which came in yesterday at an increase of 30k (ouch!), we spent all afternoon discussing whether we'd still go for it only for a last minute call saying the seller was going to proceed with the original price!! Amazing news!! So we're back on and hopefully 6 weeks from moving.

Off to jimmy's farm sausage and beer festival today. Mud and rain won't stop us!!

Hope everyone got some sleep last night...

ladydolly that's great news! It must have been very tempting to walk away even when they only started to talk about revaluation! It's incredible how painful is the house buying/selling process. And how long it can take from acceptance of offer to exchange of contracts. We were in the middle of the chain and there have been few time we thought it would never happen. Fingers crossed it now moves fast.

We had to buy DD a new car seat today - she's out-grown the "baby" one... So this one has to be left in the car (no more leaving her in the car seat in the hallway when she's fallen asleep then ). We opted for one that swivels round as I've got a dodgy back and wanted something that was easy to get her in and out of. But oh my goodness, they are not cheap...and soon we'll need a new pushchair / stroller thing...

What did you go for haven't? I wantes a swivel one but we need a seat we can get in and out of the car since me and dp will do drop offs at the childminder. So that's 1 seat, 2 bases plus the seat for the childminder. Came to the same price as a foreign holiday!!!

Bit the bullet on the stroller too, the obaby, happy with it so far although the basket is small/hard to access.

My salary might as well be paid straight to John Lewis.

- yep, ladydolly, JL did very well out of us today as well...got the Britax Dualfix car seat. Am still trying to decide haven't actually started looking properly yet on the stroller. Want to get something that is good on gravel paths - the one we have at the mo is useless on anything but smooth tarmac pavements and as she's getting older, it'd be great to take her out and about more.

We got a stroller last month - I think its a Quinny but tbh I don't recall, it was in a sale, therefore decision made! It came with a footmuff and a rain cover and basket underneath so has everything the pram had.

I can't believe how light it is and how easy to negotiate in the aisles of shops - we're basically never going to use the pram again, are we??

Its another one of those "Things People Don't Tell You" - how bloody short is the time you actually use the pram!

Btw, how did you know they'd outgrown the car seat? I'm worried I won't be able to tell.

Anna it's when head goes above top of seat don't worry about legs or they exceed weight limit usually 13-15kg on baby stage 0 car seats ds1 was in his til 18mths.

We have 2 maxi cosi cabriofix as husband will drop to nursery and I will collect and remember from before easier to have 2 and for next stage we have 2 a mothercare one for husband car and maxi cosi priori for mine.

Ladydolly childminder should have car seats never come across one who has expected us to buy one as they use them for other children too only exception was using our first stage maxi cosi with ds1 before I was happy for him to forward face.

We have a baby jogger ready for when we stop using the big pushchair prob around 18mths we have a stokke xplory and ds1 had a quinny Buzz I like them parent facing for as long as poss.

Yeah anna I didn't know what to look for either re when dd would need a new car seat but they told us in John Lewis that it's when her head reached the top of the seat. ..which it is now and to me she also looks just really squashed in it!

Will have to look at the various pushchairs you've all mentioned and raid the savings account

Right, time for the dumb moment. Are they travel system prams your LOLs have outgrown? We bought bugaboo chameleon with a thought that this will be the only pram/buggy we will ever need. Idea of DD soon growing out of that expensive gear makes me ill. I had in my mind that she would have a buggy till she is around 2-2.5 years and that the current one would serve for it. Am I being naive?
Btw, mothercare sent email yesterday about car seat coming free with some of the buggies, if that's of help to anybody.

Until what age we have to have babies rear facing by law in UK? Previous months DD was sat front facing in the car and she seemed more content that way, now she is back rear facing and keeps having tantrums and tries to get out of the seat bcs she cannot she what's going on in the car.

If I didn't have my travel system donated by my dsis I probably wouln't have bothered. I bought the obaby because it can lie flat suitable for newborns (for the next one). Nearly every parent I know moved to a stroller before lo's reach one. But that doesn't mean you have to strawberry!!

With DD1 I carried on using the Silver Cross pram- turned-into-pushchair until she was over 1, then I got a cheap buggy (can't remember what make). I had expected to use the Silver Cross for as long as we needed a pushchair, but I visited my sister and borrowed her buggy and it was so much lighter and easier to push. The pram we got for DD2 is already lighter and easier to push than the Silver Cross was and I like her forward-facing, so I don't know when we will put her in the buggy. DH keeps suggesting it. I think because it will be much easier getting it in and out of the car and there will be space for other things in the boot. We will probably get the buggy out for my parents and in-laws to use when they are looking after her when I am back at work. Our front door step is smaller than a pushchair, so you have to lift it out of the door, which I can just about manage but they won't.
I am hoping we won't have to get new car seat until I am back at work and we have money again. DD1 is currently in a Britax Two Way Elite extended rear facing seat although she is forward-facing now, so we will buy her something new, turn that back to rear-facing for DD2. We have been very happy with it if anyone is interested in extended rear-facing.

Thanks everyone who pointed out the issue of too small shoes. I haven't been putting shoes on her since she was tiny, it was winter and they kept falling off anyway, but I realised nursery will expect her to have them.

She is 9 months old today!!
We have had an accident-prone few days. A couple of days ago she nearly drowned in the bath. She sometimes leans over and puts her chin in the water/ tries to drink the water, but this time she put her whole face under and didn't take it out again. I had to haul her out and she was coughing and spluttering, which was quite scary. Then she fell off the bed at 3am today, and now has a big red mark on her forehead that will turn into a big bruise. Now I feel like a terrible mummy for letting her get hurt:(

Oh happy don't feel terrible - you definitely didn't do anything on purpose! Yesterday I managed to elbow DD in the head when I was leaning over her to wipe her highchair table...now she has a lovely red mark on her forehead but am sure worse things will happen.... And 9 months! WOW! We're the other end of the November arrivals - will be 8 months in a few days

Strawberry definitely not a dumb moment - I too thought our travel system was going to last until she was about 3-4years (and it wasn't a mega expensive one - Mamas & Papas Zoom). BUT, I think a stroller / buggy thing (don't know what the difference, if any, is) will be easier to handle and pack away in the car than a separate chassis and seat thing. Also, whilst the Zoom was adequate, it's not that sturdy (hence the price?) and not very suitable for where we want to be able to use it - we live near the New Forest / south coast where there are lots of gravel paths and the Zoom gives a really bumpy ride. So we're going to bite the bullet and invest in one that will hopefully last us longer than 8 months...

OMG - just seen a rat run across our patio! EEEKKKKKK! . Does that mean there's loads of them somewhere???!!!!

Errr.....yes. Sorry. But in fairness if you live in an urban area there are always going to be rats around. My attitude is, as long as they're not in the house who cares.

If you're really worried getting a cat will help. Terriers are best of course - the one we had as a child would leave a present of a dead rat on our doorstep on occasion - but cats are a lot easier!

Strawberry we got a free travel system. Its comfy but HUUUUGE. We call it The Tank. Barely fits in the boot & it kills us. So we desperately wanted a lightweight option.

But if we'd forked out hundreds on our travel system we prob wouldn't be switching so early.

We had our taster session for water babies this morning. It was lovely but I didn't realise till now what a solemn child DS is! All the other babies were kickng and splashing and laughing but DS spent the entire time with what I can only describe as a Prince George expression on his face.

Eyebrow cocked, taking in everything, as if to say "I'LL BE THE JUDGE OF THIS ACTUALLY"

When the Leader woman dunked his head under water and was all "Wheeee!!" in his face he came up and looked at her as if to say "REALLY? WHEEEE?! CALM DOWN DEAR"

I felt like gabbling "he does giggle at home, really!!!"

Anyway, the course is bloody expensive. Worth it, yes/no?

They do say you're never more than 10 feet from a rat, wherever you are. They just stay out of sight usually.

Anna I did two six week blocks of swimming with DS. It was also quite pricey but I think he really enjoyed it and he got more and more relaxed every week. The taster session we had he screamed his way through

The wedding went off brilliantly and DS was a star, sleeping happily in his pushchair until we headed for home.

And wow, 9 months. We're only just getting to 8 too. And don't feel bad happy accidents happen and they do have a habit of surprising you and doing things you just don't foresee.

anna dd is exactly the same ('prince george expression' megalolz!!). I just take her to the pool in my gym once a week now, just so she's familiar/confident about being in the water but decided not to pay for classes until she's much older.
She is amused by splashy swimmers and other kids but not enough to warrant a smile.

We did baby swimming with ds1 from 4-9mths was £10 a week and was a Sun so we all went n was only few pounds more than going to local pool, with ds2 I did a free trial with same company but only class we could get to due to school run was far away and changing room cold, alot of other franchises were too expensive or bad times for us. I go to local council pool baby/toddler swimming which is £4 and pay as you go and pretty good.

Oh happy don't feel bad, I managed to shut dds foot in the door and cut it, I cried!

We've got the out and about nipper which is brilliant and has tons of room so I think will do her till walking, well worth the money tbh!

Got home from a&e at 1am, temp of 38 and raging infection back in my jaw am on mega antibiotics that wipe me out when I take them so have spent most of the day on the sofa under a duvet. Thankfully temp has settled now so feeling marginally better. Need to be better for Thursday as its dds first ever trip to hickstead!

Anna, I looked into the Water babies thing but decided way too expensive for what it was and we went to half hour lessons once a week at the local school pool. It cost £6.25 per lesson. They've now stopped as it's school hold, but I'm still going to take her once a week just to splash around and keep her used to being in the pool.

Ark, jaw infection sounds really painful - hope you're on the road to recovery

Think I'll try and pretend I never saw the rat.....

Ooh everything's so cheap in Manchester!
Puddle ducks is 8-12 quid a session
Normal pool is £2.50
Posher pool pseudo-led session is £4.55

I go to a council run one that costs........

£1!

We used a handmedown pram (not a travel system) for 5 months but more and more just used slings.

Bought a stroller for £55 for our hold and use it about once a week.