June mummies '05 thread 13 - the one where they they get to enjoy Christmas - well the wrapping paper!

[katzg]

one brand new spanking thread ready to go!

Hi Bubb. I am off now actually. DH is home from work thankfully so I am just sorting my route and finding the parking money! Will update. Thank you.

respect to you all who managed reusable nappies, we completely balked at the thought of doing that in a small flat!
i guess we compromised with no car and no holidays abroad, at least not by plane for a while.

how is 2happy? any news?

Hi all. Well I had my appt at the hosp and they have said it is a completely normal facial mole and perfectly safe. Phew. So I don't need anything doing. I am glad although I feel a bit silly getting a bit worried due to the speed of my referral. The poor NHS can't get it right can they, we either complain they are too slow or to fast lol.
Anyway I feel much better about it all now obviously.
Yes any news from 2happy??

thats good news Skyler

i want to join weight watcher to shift the rest of the weight before another pregnancy BUT THAT advert is really putting me off!

Sorry - typed a message re: Moltex this morning and it's gone! Anyway, yes, highly recommended, and have found them to be extremely absorbent and one of the best for nappy rash. They are elasticated at the back. Sky, I'm happy to send you a couple of samples to 'try before you buy'! I get them online from the Nappy Lady .

Great news about the mole.

Here's hoping 2Happy will have happy news soon!

Happy news? Nothing, unless you count that ds is now a firm fan of weird music ("ABBA, again, ABBA, again!")! I am the size of Belgium, and still growing Thanks for asking though
Glad to hear everything ok with the mole Skyler, hope yours healing ok Bubbs
Uki - I'm not sure when this weeks scan is, but fingers crossed for it

Thank you Trib. I appreciate the offer of some sample nappies but I am just going to go for it. I just wanted to check the elastic back as if dd leaks anywhere it is poo up her back. She must jet propel some of those out I swear! Thanks for the link too!
I bought myself a new dressing gown today. It is bright pink and fluffy so I am now going to get ready for bed just so that I can wear it .

Skyler-Excellent news regarding the mole.

2Happy-Lol at ds liking Abba.They do have strange taste don't they-Oscar loves the tune to Deal or no Deal.
Will be keeping an eye out for your announcement.

Ds had us in stitches tonight.Not only does he insist on brushing his own teeth now,he also sits over the plug hole to stop the water going away after his bath.He is so funny-it's such a lovely age now isnt it.

Ladies, as our pseudo-Swedish representative I am appalled to hear the works of ABBA being described as 'strange'. Send your children to me, I know all the lyrics!

Ds likes the theme tune to Strictly Come Dancing, and can even sing it if we limit it to a fairly tuneless rendition of 'doo doo doo doo doo doo doo'.

hi all

we used reusables sometimes, i have slinki minki nappies but not at the mo as we are without a washing machine whilst we have a small extension and downstairs loo built. Then i'm getting a brand new kitchen! yeah!

Any wise thoughts from Junies?

trib - where did you thread go?

I had it removed,katz - I found your helpful advice offensive to me (Just kidding, there were some comments lower down in the thread that I thought were unwarranted).

Oh dear Trib, email Tech???

Confused ???

I'll ask the question on here instead as I probably should have done in the first place - we're looking to buy a house and have a real dilemma between staying in Leeds where I have a good job but no family nearby, or taking more of a chance and moving back to Derby and hoping I can get work near enough by.

My childminder's off sick at the moment so - as every time my childcare arrangements are upset (normally because ds is ill) - the work-life balance becomes unsustainable and I feel at breaking point. I honestly don't know if moving to Derby would improve things that much, plus I would be giving up a job with a very sympathetic boss. But I would like to see my bro and his family more.

Katz suggested Sheffield as a handy middle ground between Leeds and Derby but I think it's probably too long a commute, although by keeping the current job I do have working from home opportunities (albeit not when ds is there, am amazed I have managed to type this message uninterrupted!)

Trib - we have a very similar problem. DH and i share childcare and both work part time, but if anything out of the norm happens, i.e a child is ill on a nursery day or DH has a meeting on a non work day then it all goes to pot! My parents are looking to move nearer to us, which wil be great, but we do rely heavy on our friends. but equally we have friends children at the drop of a hat too.

How much working from home could you do? because if DS is at a childminders/nursery then you won't commute but equally will be in piece and quiet.

peace even!

Oooh Trib, that's a tough one. Your work are sympathetic if you do have to take time off for illness at the moment, aren't they? The only thing I could think of it getting some back-up childcare, or use a nursery which does give you a bit more flexibility.

Completely personal viewpoint, but I think the commute might be too much, as you already have a lot on your plate without adding a long daily drive every day. What's the job situation like near your parents? And what do they think about it all? Is there any chance they could come up to Leeds to help out if you're struggling during the week?

CONGRATULATIONS LUMMOX!!! Hope you are recovering from the birth and that DS1 is coping ok with the new arrival.

Hi Uki Have you got another scan this week? Still keeping fingers crossed for you.

Katz, DS2 hasn't had his MMR yet either . Or the other one. I keep forgetting to get it sorted out. Bad mummy.

Although Lummox seems to have decided to disprove the theory , I would also say that the birth second time round was a lot easier. It wasn't so much of a physical shock and I recovered much quicker (shorter labour helped). Just beware that they can come quickly - as me and Katz discovered!

Skyler, glad the mole is nothing to worry about, hope the same goes for the smear too. Bubb, hope your squashed spider is healing well .

Not much news from the Wednesday household really. DS2 is starting to talk a bit now (finally!) and can say Daddy very clearly - me, DH and one of the cats are all called Daddy according to him. His singing is coming along a treat - no Abba but can do a mean EE-I-EE-I-OO (Old MacDonald, in case you can't tell!). DS1 is a great big brother to him, seeing the two of them playing and laughing together is so lovely it brings tear the eye. Life is just so busy, as I'm trying to study in the evenings on top of everything else, which is why I rarely have time for a long post (quiet day in the office today...)

If people fancy coming to Leeds, I'm more than happy to host if you can do it on a Friday. Let me know what you think.

Hello to everyone I've missed, all the very best of luck 2Happy - who's next? Is it you Bubb? Or JonahB?

Back to work I suppose...

hi all

that is a tough one trib - i could not do without family near and that is just for emotional support nevemind childcare, on the other hand a good job with a good boss and mat leave guaranteed is not something you find everywhere or even very often.
as for commute depends how you personally feel about it and how you cope with it i guess.
also the type and price of house you can get can factor into consideration.
i have heard of nurseries that do ,occasional care, for emergencies i think read about it recently in a magazine
best of luck

Cheers for the thoughts ladies. I haven't discussed it with my parents yet but my step-dad is coming up to Leeds on Thursday to take me out to lunch so I'll mention it then. His reason for coming is that he wants to talk to me about whether to buy laptop/PDA/mobile phone or some combination of the above and is fed up of the fact I can never speak on one subject for longer than 3 mins when ds is here Bonus for me is fabulous trip to either Little Tokyo or Dine China. Ker-ching!

Re: nurseries, every single disruption to childcare so far (except this one) has been ds being ill, so a nursery would be less flexible than a CM in that respect.

I like the idea of backup childcare but have no idea how to obtain it. Katz, unlike you everyone I know in Leeds works and/or is childfree so no possibilities there. I might ask my hv or at the children's centre where I go for counselling to see if they do ad hoc placements.

Job situation in Derby not ideal, a lot of IT jobs but mainly in things I don't do, or don't do any more. Main obvious source of work is more Brum/south Leicestershire, which is also not commutable comfortably. Parentals can't come to Leeds at short notice as they are always busy either in the day or at night - blummin retired types with their full lives!

I think the commuting from Sheffield is probably a no. It depends on what project I'm on; previous ones, I probably could have worked from home 3 or even 4 days a week if I had scheduled meetings well, but the one I'm on now is just constant fire-fighting and you can't really do that well from the end of the phone. I could probably work from home one day a week still (someone else in my team does this) but not sure there'd be enough of a gain - like no way of asking SIL if she could take ds for a morning at short notice cos would have to drive all the way to Derby first!

To be honest, I feel like I should plan as if I was a single mum. Not that I expect dh to naff off (he can't go anywhere unless I take him anyway!) but he may reach a point where he can't do anything at all. At that point, I will need to be near family.

Anyway, that was far too much about me, fingers crossed 2Happy will be returning to a size smaller than Belgium soon (and also not giving birth to a Belgium-sized child )

Bubb - how did the op go?

Wow that's a really tricky one, Trib. I know dh and I really value being close to both our sets of parents, and ds gets a lot out of it too, but we are able to have that luxury because both of us could find the right jobs here. If we couldn't have found the right jobs, would we have moved back? Honestly, I don't know. We might have done, and then regretted it if we couldn't find the right jobs. But we're in such a different position - the stress on you with dh is unique. I kind of think that if you're spending a lot of time at work, it has to be something you enjoy, or it'll become another burden. But there might be the perfect job in Derby..... Really tough.
Oh and didn't mean to insult ABBA - after all, ds is only obsessed with the cd because I asked for it for Christmas !

Oh Trib, sorry I have nothing constructive to add apart from to say I would love to be closer to my family. A factor in me not going back to work (albeit a small one) is lack of childcare options. I have to get dh to take time off work if I have appt like a smear or the hosp appt I had this week. We were spoilt in Cyprus as I could usually drop dd off and she could run around the gym for a bit but here that would be impossible.
I think you need to look at job options nearer to your family and praps play it by ear and make a decision if and when a decent job (with hopefully understanding boss) comes up. Poor you . Wish I could think of something better to say.

Skyler is probably too late for sharing my experience...but FWIW, until recently we used cloth on a regular basis, moltex as day backups,and nature baby for nights. In our experience nature baby holds on much better than moltex for the long stretch.
Now we are only using nature baby at night...

trib - not helpful probably, but can I ask... How much help can you realistic count with from your busy retired parents? The reason I ask is that I was all excited to spend holidays with my parents because I assumed I'll get all the babysitting help. Ha! I did get some, but nothing close to what I have dreamed... Just something to figure out so you can weight it properly.
Emotional support though is a different story, and definetely invaluable!

Trib-Nothing constructive from me either.I personally couldn't be far from my parents as I get on very well with my mum and see her about 4 times a week.Then again,I'm in a totally different situation,not being at work or having to think about childcare.
Thanks for asking about the op.It isn't until the 15th Feb,but after reading lots of others threads on the matter(undescended bits!)hopefully ds will be running around as normal shortly afterwards.

MrsW-Lol at your Ds2 calling the cat daddy.Ds is also now saying a few more words and everytime we see a cow his face lights up as he lets us know it's a "moo moo".
Not sure who is next after 2Happy-my due date is 26th April and I think Jonah's is in June.Wasn't there someone else before me?
Btw...the squashed spider is fine,thanks and hopefully being removed on Friday!

Hope everyone else is ok.