July 2016 #2

[Bluebell20]

A new thread as we (hopefully) move towards longer sleeps and lovely little smiles!

Trying to catch up /not just lurk! We've had back to back illnesses the past 3-4 weeks. Cold, sickness bug, now another awful cold that's crippled the whole family :(

1 year ago today I got my BFP!! Crazy!! It was my birthday just under two weeks ago and that was the night G was conceived, so feeling very nostalgic at the mo

primary poor Annie and all the poo. Hope she's on the mend soon . And really hope DH is ok

Is the Bath meet up still happening on the 28th peeps??

bluebell how's the book coming along? Have things improved with DH at all?

indians Hallie is as gorge as ever! She looks so grown up! Love her doll!

anna glad you had a lovely birthday. Grace looks an absolute beaut! Baby grow is amazing!

Right my peace is over... back to 3 children... will try and keep on the thread!!

Ha Anna, sounds like your mum was definitely smiling down on you with the bulb planting! Also loving your highly accurate examples of sod's law in practice.

primary we've only had a couple of arms out - he's forgotten it again! And no more giggles either, although I keep trying! Impressed by your line-drying tactics. Hope the drive to Manchester went okay.

Indians if you're getting by okay without ironing, I wouldn't start now! Agreed, housework is a total fucker. I cleaned all day long yesterday and as DH kindly pointed out this morning, you wouldn't know, because the house is still a pigsty. That's because I chose to clean rather than tidying. At least I know it's clean behind the clutter! Your Halloween costumes sound soooo cute. We're away with friends for bonfire weekend, but hoping to find something near the cottage where we're staying. I hadn't considered the noise and Ruben until you said that... Hmm. Baby earmuffs?

Cookies Happy belated birthday! Yeah it's one year ago this week for me, too! I took a test before going away on a conference and it was negative, but I felt really funny at the conference... Came back and fished the test out of the bin, and it was positive! Yes, still planning to meet up on the 28th. Really looking forward to it, actually! The book went on the back burner for the last fortnight but I've been working on it again today. Hoping to be at 15k words by the end of the weekend. Things with DH are a bit better, thank you. He was a bit naughty yesterday with me in front of his mum though, and his mum told him off!!!! Always good to have back-up...

Argh, DH just called me downstairs to show me something... The something was letting Ruben taste the apple DH was eating! Obviously he was only licking it, but, argh! Why?!?!

No ironing here to my mums eternal horror and disappointment

Blue my older Dd has just turned 10 she is a very beloved but complete accident baby! We didn't find out until I was 25 weeks so different to this time when we knew from probably 3 or 4 weeks. She is an amazing big sister and despite my nerves the age gap is really working for us. For years we were just going to have one and I always said (for me) 30 was my cut off for another one because I had Dd so young.. I'm 30 next month and the older DD got the more I wanted to do it all again! Sounds like such a cliché but they do grow so quick!

Indians we are doing both but I was planning on a sainsbury costume you will have to share a post as that sounds very adorable! I think the lights of the fireworks will keep raffs attention but if you are worried you can get baby ear defenders we have some from when DD was smaller for festivals

Primary we aren't huge car fans either but it has got better since I attached a mirror to the head rest now in the daytime looking at himself makes a shorter journey less likely to descend into screaming!! I try to time longer journeys with naps
I find the screaming so distracting!

Sunday I am mostly doing the workouts from
The body coach TV if you can cope with the cheery cockney accent they are great, I did the lower intensity ones the first week as I literally did no exercise whilst I was pregnant aside from walking. Half term this week though so routine is out of whack and I am so hungry and eating all the naughty food..

Anna he will take a bottle but ended up being a hen party crasher there was always a baby portion but my Dh lost his dad recently (they had a mostly estranged relationship) and his dad lived far away and the Ashes and family gathering were moved to the night of he hen do so we were only apart for 2 hours but he drank the expressed milk no problem. You should absolutely go to your works drinks I'm going to mine I think. Good to keep in touch may ask my boss if it counts as a Kit day ha ha

Hope all those that are poorly/been injected are feeling better soon.

sunday I do sometimes iron baby clothes. Definitely not sleepsuits and vests though. Tshirts, leggings, dresses, jumpers - proper clothes basically - go on my ironing pile and are eventually ironed if they're not needed before I've got round to it. I usually don't get round to it! I ironed all the newborn vests and sleepsuits before M was born because I felt I should. It was done so early that they were creased by the time she arrived though.

bluebell I'm sorry about the smear situation. Hope you're feeling a bit better now. Have to admit I'm a bit worried about it hurting. I've got mine next week. Giggles and arms out sound amazing though! I'm a bit jealous.

sophie I'm glad you've finally found a solution. It probably helps that it's a readily available milk too.

becks I hope Ben is feeling better and back to himself soon.

anna sorry to hear that the girls aren't well. Can't even begin to imagine how difficult it is with two poorly little ones.

indians good luck with the fireworks! Hope Hallie likes the flashy lights.

cookies boo to the illnesses. I'm impressed you know when you got your bfp. I know when M was conceived but can't remember which day we had the positive test (although I did tell dh it said maybe). I'm still up for the Bath meet up.

Anna - I hope the girls are feeling a bit better...?
Incidentally, do you ever call Grace Gracie? I sometimes do, in my head, but have been restraining myself!
Gosh, already grown out of 3-6m clothes?! She's going to be statuesque! I've got Jasper in some 6-9m cardigans but that's only because it seems unnecessary to buy two sets of winter clothes (October-January and January-April), so I'm just letting him wear super-big cardies. They look very cute. And his sleep-bag is 6-18m - it'll hopefully last two winters 😄
What you said about sleep training versus evening cuddles really resonated. Since then I've abandoned my approach i.e. I haven't been leaving him to cry for up to ten minutes. It was just making us both miserable, and it was making him more wakeful so defeated the object anyway. And I hate the idea that he might feel abandoned. I know it's different for different babies (and parents), but for us it wasn't working, and I'm so glad you wrote what you wrote when you did. Jasper seems to need/want cuddles in the evening, so I've been cuddling him to sleep the last few days. I'll do a bit of research about different training methods, but for now I'm happier, and I think he is too.
Having said that, I think he might be teething (no blisters/pearls visible yet, but the other signs are there), so we've had some quite hysterical crying in the daytime, even when being cuddled, as well as some odd napping patterns (which were previously quite predictable). Poor mite. He's also wised up to the fact that a purple syringe means Calpol, which makes him scream like a newborn (Remember when we had those?! 😔)
Are you planning a visit to Canada at all? Beautiful country (even if I'm biased, being dual national).
Your mum's resting place sounds really lovely. And it's so nice that you've got the girls and such a wonderful family too. Glad the bulb planting went well. Hope it brought you some comfort.

Rolly - hope your family cold has got better.
It was really helpful to hear that you started a bedtime routine at 6 months last time and that it went well. Maybe I'll aim for then.
Gosh, 25 weeks pregnant! And that's lovely that she's such an amazing big sis.
Re the other baby at the hen do: 5 weeks is SUCH a long time at this stage.
I (astonishingly) have 3 high chairs (even though I don't plan to wean until 6 months). One is lent from a family friend and two are from charity shops (about a fiver total - ha!). They are all fine, but DH is keen to get a wooden one because a colourful plastic one "wouldn't go" with our flat. Which is true, but I certainly don't care 150 quids-worth! The Tripp trap is really lovely though. We'll see what happens - DH has been pretty hands-off with the whole parenting thing, so I suspect he might not actually go out and buy a high chair, in which case I'll just use the best of the ones we got.
Ha ha, I lolled at Raffy's loud poo at the wedding! Btw I love the alliteration in his name. Jasper's surname is a J too 😄

Primary - your wedding sounds great! We spent quite a lot on ours and are now struggling to buy a flat 😕 If only our jobs didn't tie us to London...
Again, it was great to get your perspective on sleep training (or not) and your evenings together. What we want for us, is to have some quality time together in the evenings, and I'd much rather achieve that by having J chilling with us than by attempting sleep training when I don't think he's ready yet.
Re nannying, I might need to pick your brains at some point. In London it's more affordable to have a nanny share (i.e. one nanny for two families simultaneously) than to use a nursery. So we're thinking about a nanny share for Spring when I go back to work. It would be great to get some tips on questions to ask (and things not to say???!) when meeting potential nannies, to make sure we get someone who's a good match for us.
Effective wind tunnels - ha!

Tams - crikey - poo up as high as her shoulders?! 😳 I'm sorry but I laughed. Lots.
Your sleep routine sounds like a very happy medium.
"Next time"?! I can't even...
Yes I do fingers in the mouth too, especially now that J has started refusing a dummy and seems to be beginning to teethe. He seems to get comfort from it. You should be careful though - the other day when he seemed to be in pain, I put my finger in his mouth for comfort, and then suddenly he rammed his head backwards and then forwards again, and my fingernail scraped into the roof of his mouth. Then we had even more tears... I felt so terrible. Becks, your muslin approach sounds sensible.

Becks - I'm sure your parents and Ben will be absolutely fine on Saturday. Just like you lived to tell the tale, right?
Hope he's recovered from his jabs.

Bluebell - I'm sorry to hear you had a traumatic time in hospital. It's such a tough time anyway, the last thing you need is to feel unclean when you're already feeling ghastly in so many ways. We put my name down for a private room but never made it to the top of the list. Maybe I should have had a meltdown 😉
I've got Each Peach Pear Plum memorised, and am working on Peepo, which I love because it's SO 1950s!
Gosh, sorry your smear was horrid. Haven't booked mine yet...
Ooh how wonderful that Ru reaches up when you go to pick him up! Adorable! I think my heart would melt...
Re ironing, I loved your line about "I would have thought that ironing would stretch sleepsuits right out of shape". You almost (almost) sound as if you've convinced yourself 😄
Ha ha re your sit-up attempt! I haven't attempted that yet. Blissful ignorance!
When you said your DH "was a bit naughty yesterday with me in front of his mum", I totally took that the wrong way 😉😬 I'm sorry he's being bad again. I hope he starts upping his game for you soon. Mine is still fairly mixed tbh but I've adjusted my expectations and kinda accepted that he is how he is 😕
Re babies eating proper food, apparently when we were small, babies were usually weaned at 3-4 months. I'm not recommending it, but I don't think it's a big problem at this stage.

Sunday - we live in a one-bedroom apartment, so the concept of "baby monitor" or "upstairs" is lost on me! 😄 J's crib is roughly 4 meters away from the sofa, and we keep the door open. So it takes me about 4 seconds to check he's ok.
To get a thoroughly researched and evenly balanced answer to the ironing question, I think you should post on AIBU 😄 please please please! For my part, I wanted Jasper's first few outfits to be ironed for the first time he wore them, but haven't ironed any since he was actually born.

Indians - looking forward to seeing the wolf 🐺 and pig 🐷 photos! We're not going trickle-treating (sic) but I did dress J in a pumpkin 🎃 hat today (My phone 📱 is totally all over the emoticons in this paragraph). We're probably going to go to some fireworks 💥 but if we do, my mum will babysit.

Cookies 🍪 I hope you're all recovering. And hope you had a nice birthday?
When G is older, I trust you'll share the conceived-on-mummy's-birthday story...? 😉

Yes I believe the Bath meet-up is still happening on Monday 28th. I plan to hop on the train from London. I'm not sure anyone's settled on a venue though...? I think there were a couple of suggestions on the fb page but I have no local knowledge myself.
And re London meet-up, we're definitely on for Friday 25th, in Inn the Park (cafe) in St James's Park. What time do people want to meet?
And I believe Edinburgh meet-up is on Tuesday 22nd. Again, not sure if there was a venue yet for that. I think Kaytee and SunnyScot were fixing that up - they're on the fb page.

Has anyone else started losing track of how old their baby is in weeks? I've had to count on a calendar. I think once his 16 week immunisations are over, I'll have to switch to months.

15+1 or 3.5 months

Oh juflin that's so nice to hear. I agree. I know having couple time is important but you will get it back. It's just for a short period you need to share each other with your little friend I'm awful at letting them cry, my
Instinct is to go straight to her! And then apologise as I spill my dinner crumbs over her . I do known people who have successfully sleep trained though but you do what works for you! Every baby and parent is different!
Yes we do say Gracie! DD1 calls her that, comes in in the morning and says 'hi Gracie' it's so sweet my heart wants to burst!
Would love to go to Canada! DH loves it there particularly Vancouver Island? I think we will go when girls are a bit older. DH is desperate to go to Aus next year (it's where I'm from) and we've just booked Spain in spring so that will be us done as money is tighter now I'm not working.
Ha ha yes to buy bigger sizes so they get more wear!
I know she's so long it's stupid!!! I hope she slows down growing soon!

blue re smear mine really hurt when I was BF too. Your cervix is really tender when you are. Apparently to make it more uncomfortable to have sex so you don't get pregnant again with a small baby. Bit of a natural design thing. Well my nurse mate tells me anyway!

rolly^ your poor DH. That must be so hard to deal with emotionally. Hope he's ok. And yah yo baby crasher! I think that's cute!

primary well done for hanging things out. I've totally abandoned it now and use tumble drier. I just don't have time for it but hopefully when weather warms up I will!

Girls have a nasty virus. It's been so hard, I lost my shit tonight with DH when he was trying to help. Both girls crying and I just wanted to eat my dinner. I didn't get to eat lunch so was starving!!!! I then had a word with myself and got back on track! Dr said it'll run its course but we have to cancel jabs so need to rebook those at some point.

I've just sorted out my childcare for when I go back to work. I couldn't get places till August so I'm having a year off. I wanted to go back earlier as I'm a bit bored already. I only had 7 months back after returning after DD1 so I feel like I've been off for ages! Just need to remember to make the most of his time with the girls. I'm going back three days to start I'll then probably go up to 4 when Gracie is 18 months/2.

I'm bloody starving! What time is breakfast?!

Oh juflin that's so nice to hear. I agree. I know having couple time is important but you will get it back. It's just for a short period you need to share each other with your little friend I'm awful at letting them cry, my
Instinct is to go straight to her! And then apologise as I spill my dinner crumbs over her . I do known people who have successfully sleep trained though but you do what works for you! Every baby and parent is different!
Yes we do say Gracie! DD1 calls her that, comes in in the morning and says 'hi Gracie' it's so sweet my heart wants to burst!
Would love to go to Canada! DH loves it there particularly Vancouver Island? I think we will go when girls are a bit older. DH is desperate to go to Aus next year (it's where I'm from) and we've just booked Spain in spring so that will be us done as money is tighter now I'm not working.
Ha ha yes to buy bigger sizes so they get more wear!
I know she's so long it's stupid!!! I hope she slows down growing soon!

blue re smear mine really hurt when I was BF too. Your cervix is really tender when you are. Apparently to make it more uncomfortable to have sex so you don't get pregnant again with a small baby. Bit of a natural design thing. Well my nurse mate tells me anyway!

rolly^ your poor DH. That must be so hard to deal with emotionally. Hope he's ok. And yah yo baby crasher! I think that's cute!

primary well done for hanging things out. I've totally abandoned it now and use tumble drier. I just don't have time for it but hopefully when weather warms up I will!

Girls have a nasty virus. It's been so hard, I lost my shit tonight with DH when he was trying to help. Both girls crying and I just wanted to eat my dinner. I didn't get to eat lunch so was starving!!!! I then had a word with myself and got back on track! Dr said it'll run its course but we have to cancel jabs so need to rebook those at some point.

I've just sorted out my childcare for when I go back to work. I couldn't get places till August so I'm having a year off. I wanted to go back earlier as I'm a bit bored already. I only had 7 months back after returning after DD1 so I feel like I've been off for ages! Just need to remember to make the most of his time with the girls. I'm going back three days to start I'll then probably go up to 4 when Gracie is 18 months/2.

I'm bloody starving! What time is breakfast?!

Not getting any sleep tonight. Grace is so unsettled. Crying in pain when she coughs. Poor thing!

Meant to say re weaning we did it early at around 4.5 months with DD1 under dr supervision as she had horrendous reflux and was ready for it. Holding head well etc. She was fine! They said it can cause food allergies doing it before 6 months but she was already allergic to everything
I'd start with baby rice with breast / formula milk. They love it!
Also Stokke high chair. My sis has one and loves it! I got the Hauck knock off version from Aldi for about £40 it's fab! We have that at the table and then the high chair floats between kitchen and playroom depending on how crap a parent I'm being with TV !!

Rolly awwh it must be lovely for your DD to be a big sister at that age. Wow to finding out at 25 weeks! That must have been quite the surprise! Haha, love the idea of a works drinks do as a KIT day!

tams thanks - hoping it was just thrush causing me discomfort. It would be nice to be able to get back to normal again in that department! Glad you're still up for the meet-up - whoop whoop!

julf I'm glad you feel better about the nighttime situation. If both of you are happy, it sounds good to me! DH FINALLY bought Ruben a dummy the other day, and we tried it last night for the first time. It was really good - he used it for about ten minutes to get himself to sleep, then it dropped out of his mouth and I took it away. It was much better than his thumb, as he's still not coordinated enough to get it in his mouth every time he wants it.

Loving your high chair collection! Maybe not the best plan in a small flat?! I am overwhelmed by the amount of baby stuff that keeps appearing in our house - as quick as I shovel a load of clutter out, more comes drifting in! How does a nanny share work? Do you take turns having all the kids at one house?

Haha, I don't recommend the meltdown! Although the private room was total bliss. Regarding ironing, I once ironed a t-shirt to try to dry it faster, and I stretched it to about 150% of what it was previously, so I am totally using that one isolated event as an excuse to never iron anything made of out jersey fabric again!

DH... Oh, I don't know, I just don't think he thinks in the same way as me! For example, he's just taken Ru out for the afternoon, and I had to stop what I was doing to look after Ru while DH sterilised all the bottles and sorted out the milk. If it had been my day on Ru-duty, I would have sterilised everything while Ru napped in the morning, to avoid having to ask DH to stop work (which I would have got a mouthful for!). Obviously I don't mind spending time with my gorgeous baby boy, so it's not a massive deal, but it is a bit... Irritating!

That Boston Tea Party I suggested is too far from the train station I think. If there aren't any other suggestions from people who know better, I will get my arse in gear and find somewhere for all of us!

Ooo Anna Spain will be lovely. Jealous. We never ever go on sunny holidays! That's interesting about the cervix and nature putting you off sex!!! Makes sense. However, as we have contraception now I think Mother Nature needs to get with the program and let me have my sex life back! Sorry the girlies are so poorly. Hope you got a little more sleep. Sounds like a rough night.

One of my mum-group friends has a baby in hospital with a kidney infection at the moment. He's doing okay and I wouldn't mention it, but she said that his wee smelt funny for a whole week before he got really poorly, which apparently is a sign - so there you go ladies, that's one to look out for.

I'm feeling really good about what I've achieved this week in terms of sorting / cleaning / life admin. The bullet journal is helping - I just looooove colouring in a little square next to each completed task! One of my goals for the month was to sort out my old family VHS tapes. I don't even own a VCR any more, but I've found a place online that will put them onto a USB (for a hefty price - agh) so I'll be packaging them up next week and sending them off. Untold numbers of painfully boring school assemblies. I'll have to do some major editing when they come back. Another job...!

This little one has just rolled from front to back and is looking very pleased with himself!!!

Aww becks fab! Annie shows no interest in rolling lazy sod. She has found her voice though! Very chatty

Will catch up with everyone later but want to share my news :)

Me and dp have decided after a horrendous few years and with all the family politics we are going to do this re wedding: my parents and his mum/step dad plus us and Annie are going to go to Italy to get married! Our idea is at the moment to go for 10 days - first few days just us, then meet everyone on day 4/5 and have a little ceremony. Then my parents will take Annie off and me and dp will have the rest of the week in Italy by ourselves and spend the last couple of days sightseeing in Rome.

No politics. No 'doing stuff for everyone else'. Just us :) I'm so excited now!

Cool news beck! Ruben is nowhere near such gymnastic ability!

primary HOORAY for your news! Sounds like a splendid solution all round. Congratulations!

Hallie saw the school pic on FB and it's the cutest! I'm not surprised at all that Hallie's been taken up by an agency! Hmmm, I don't know... I think I would just consider any job offers that come in in terms of what the product is - i.e. a) do I agree with it (don't want to go endorsing anything I'm uncomfortable with!), b) is it an enormous brand (is my baby's face going to be plastered over products in every supermarket in the land and do I really want that?!), and c) is my baby going to be embarrassed about it when she grows up (little girl's clothing - cool, nappy rash cream - maybe not so cool). You could put all the money towards things for her and Bertie. I can't see how that would be a bad thing!

GOD brain fart. Indians not Hallie.

I just did my weigh in a day late and I've put on three effing pounds! Damn it!

Going to my brother's gig tonight and absolutely crapping myself about being a 2 hour drive away from Ruben. I have got to get a grip!

Hey all,

So my bad night/morning got worse. Grace has had this horrible virus which was cold/cough type thing. Yesterday morning around 6 she started to struggle with her breathing. It was really fast and wheezy. She wouldn't feed at all which is a huge warning sign to me as she's normally such a good little feeder. I text my nurse mate and sister (who has medical background) both said go to a&e. As I was getting my trousers on Grace stopped breathing for a seconds. It returned to fast breathing but I just threw her in the car and sped to a&e. They saw us straight away and were amazing. Luckily her breathing wasn't stopping so she was getting enough oxygen in to not go onto a machine but her heart rate was very high. The paediatric dr came in really quick and checked her over and said it was broncholitis (bronchitis in babies basically) we were admitted to the kids ward straight away were the consultant saw us and reassured me! They gave her drugs and told me to get her to sleep as she was exhausted. Luckily after the sleep and drugs she perked up but heart rate was still high so we were kept in all day till she improved from the antibiotic. Had a better night last night but almost went back in as she started vomiting and wheezing but it calmed down thankfully. Am not letting her out of my sight today. The only other time I've been frightened was when I cycled down death road in Bolivia! It's not an pleasant emotion!
She's doing much better now but fast asleep on me.

Please please please take your baby straight to a&e if they get anything like this. The dr told me this is the time of year it starts and it occurs in babies aged 3-6 months mainly.

indians do it!!! My niece and nephew did some modelling when younger as god father is a commercial photographer and they're both very blonde, blue eyed gorgeous kids lol. You get good money to put in their bank accounts and you can pick and choose what you do. It's also quite a fun day out (I went to one with her for Sharps bedroom) I'd go for it!

Ah becks that's awesome!!! Now the fun starts lol!

primary that sounds bloody awesome! Do it!!!! Weddings should be about the bride and groom being happy not accommodating everyone's wants! Keep us posted on the plans and dress!!!

I'm having a lazy Saturday with my poorly girls.
X

Gosh Anna how scary. You must have been beside yourself. Well done for keeping cool enough to drive to hospital. So glad that she's on the mend. Poor little love. Hugs to you all xxx

Anna - oh my goodness, poor Gracie and poor you. What a tough thing to go through, as if you needed more. So glad she's better.
That's adorable re your daughter coming to say good morning to Gracie.
Really interesting about the cervix being tender to discourage BD!
I'm really hoping work will let me go back for 4 days per week. I'd really miss having time with Jasper to myself.
Thanks so much for the tip re the Hauck chair. This may be the answer for us. They look lovely! (And much more affordable!) Do you know which model you've got?

Bluebell - re the high chairs - ha, not all three in our tiny flat! One for our flat, one for my parents' house, and one for their little place on the Isle of Wight - they go there a lot more now that they're both semi-retired, and I'll be visiting much more often now that I've got Jasper. They're just a few minutes' walk from the sea there, so it'll really come into its own once he's old enough for bucket-and-spade holidays.
Re the nanny share, it works however you want it to. You can either alternate weeks, or have specific days of the week when they're at each house, or you can do it all at one house if that's what the two families agree. In our case, I'm hoping to do a four-day week when I get back to work, so i can have one day with Jasper, and my mother will do another day, so we'll only need a nanny for three days per week. Hopefully we'll find someone who's happy to share a nanny for three days. If we don't find someone ourselves (I'm networking hard!), then there are nanny-share agencies who can link us up with other families. No doubt the agency fee would be hefty, but it would still be cheaper than London nurseries.
If you're able to find somewhere for the Bath meet-up, that'd be fab, thanks!
"Ru-duty" 😄 great term.
Yes I can see it'd be frustrating that DH doesn't organize stuff properly while he's on Ru-duty. Did you manage to restrain yourself from enquiring politely "oh no, did you run out of time during his morning nap?" 😄
What sort of holidays are you into if not sunny? Skiing and stuff, or are you more of a sightseeing type? I love active or geeky holidays myself (active eg cycling, and geeky eg ancient ruins).
Thanks for info re kidney. Really hope your friend's baby gets better soon.
Wow, I would love to dig out our old family videos. I think there's one of me as Dick Whittington in the school play, aged 6 😄
How was the gig and the time away from Ru?
Well done on all your life-admin/chores. We had J's chest-of-drawers delivered recently. So now I'm rearranging the cupboards and sorting through all my clothes, bringing my pre-maternity clothes out of storage, putting my summer stuff into storage, and trying to find space for the ever-increasing amount of baby stuff. Big task. It'll be satisfying when it's finally done, as we've been tripping over stuff for the last few months. I've just realized how boring this paragraph is 😳 Sorry!

Primary - that's really wonderful re the wedding! ☺️ Where in Italy will the wedding be? Is it somewhere that's special to you both, or somewhere new that you've always wanted to see?

Becks - love love love the fox suit and shoes/slippers. Where are they from?

Indians - we are actively thinking about exploiting J for cash. What route did you take / who did you contact? Really cool for them to be able to say "I was a child model". I agree with Bluebs' considerations though.

Ellizardo - you still there? Hope all's well with you and the littlies.

And a shout-out to Thom and Pulpi if you're lurking. Hope you're both OK. Would be lovely to hear from you. Pulpi - we've just booked flights to Canada to visit my rellies and some friends at the end of my mat leave - really looking forward to it.

Things are pretty positive for me at the moment. DH has been really warming up re the whole baby situation. We're currently away for a long weekend at the mo, and in the last couple of days DH has been playing loads with Jasper and laughing at his funny antics; he volunteered to look after J while I had a shower (normally I'd put J in the bouncy chair in the bathroom while showering, even when DH is around); he's taught J to roll from front to back; been galloping (gently) round the room with J on his shoulders; getting J dressed a couple of times; comforting him when he cries rather than just getting agitated; and has even been taking funny photos of J and texting them to friends and family. I've been really moved/touched by how far he's come along. We've been having lots of fun the three of us. It means I'm a lot more chilled (whereas normally I find weekends quite stressful as I'm trying to satisfy them both with their conflicting interests, whereas now I feel that DH and I are a team looking after our baby). We've been out for dinner the last two nights and took J with us: last night he slept for the whole evening, and tonight he had some wake-time but was really chilled. He's been giggling and cooing and has been an absolute pleasure, and it's great to be able to share that with the man I love, and to see them really enjoying time together. It's a massive step forward.

Does anyone have massively achey knees/back/buttocks? I'm a mere whippersnapper of 34 so I don't think I should be falling to pieces quite yet - but it's all been really hurting for weeks and weeks. Presumably from holding J in weird positions whilst doing housework etc. I'm really jealous of my bro who lives in SE Asia where a two-hour massage costs about £20.

3.5 months.

julfin I'm glad you both seem happier with the new sleeping approach. It's not forever (how many 15 year olds are still cuddled to sleep?) so you may as well make the most of it. I'm starting to think that about our daytime naps. I just can't put dd down without her waking.
I'm also loving your plethora of high chairs. It's given me a kick to start looking.
Yes, I did say next time. The plan is not for a few years but I did admit to dh last week that I thought this having babies gig could become addictive.
Thank you for the fingernail warning. Luckily, dd usually just tries to suck or lick my knuckle or the side of my finger. I wouldn't have thought of the muslin trick though.
So pleased that your dh seems to be enjoying Jasper and becoming more confident with him. Enjoy the rest of your weekend away.
Yes to the achy knees and back. I'd put it down to getting on the floor so often and arching my back when I'm holding or carrying M. Falling apart before thirty here!

bluebell good news about the dummy success. Sounds like it's just what Ru needs at the moment.
Sorry I'm going to be useless at suggesting places even though Bath was my idea. The only place I knew by the station did hideously strong coffee (probably not bf compatible) and has also closed I think.
How was your brother's gig?

becks congratulations on the rolling! Fab work!

primary wedding plans sound perfect! You should definitely do what's best for the two of you and Annie. It's so easy to get sucked in to doing things for other people.

indians lovely school photo - Bertie looks so proud to have his sister there.

anna that sounds terrifying. Well done for keeping your cool and driving to the hospital. Poor little Grace. I hope she's feeling better soon. Good to hear that you're both home though.

Anna a scary situation with Grace, is your other DD feeling better now also?

Cookies I was trying to remember what day I got my bfp. All I remember was that it was a Thursday and I was meant to start taking fertility treatment on the following Monday. Shock natural conception!

MrsRolly cheery cockney might drive me mad! But I've a friend following the body coach and he really rates the recipes too.

Julf glad you've found a sleeping solution that works for you all. It'll be nice to have evenings back to being 'grown up time' but I think our babies are still too young for sleep training imo. I am no way brave enough to post in AIBU!! But thank you all for responding to my ironing question, I can now reassure myself that I haven't failed some form of Mum Test by not ironing baby clothes!

Wedding plans sound lovely primary! Is it next year you are planning it for?

Indians wow on the modelling! Hallie had better start practising her best blue-steel pose A tooth too! Getting very grown up now. I think E might be teething as he's had a red cheek a few times and has started to gnaw on fists too although it could be a while before I actually see a tooth from what I've read.

2lb loss on my weigh-in this week :) E has been helping me get more exercise by dropping his hat/glove/toy out the pushchair during our daily walk meaning I have to repeat the whole walk to try and locate the missing items!

How has everyone got on with the clocks changing? We've been sleeping through for 3 weeks but tonight DS has woken for a feed at 4.30am (5.30am) so I'm now totally confused about what time it is and wide awake! Gonna be a looooong day

Julfin the suit is from America, my parents got it when they visited my bro. It's from carters. The 'slippers' are part of the sleep suit. It's so cute. I remember DD had a white towelling sleep suit from there with a big cupcake on the bum, that was cute too. I'm glad your DH is getting on board with being a dad my DH was a bit like that first time around. Sounds like you've had a great weekend. I'm with you in the aces and pains (I'm 32) I think it's because of all the relaxin during pregnancy, I was never the same again after DD and it's worse now after Ben. I feel like an old woman slit of the time!!!

Anna how scare for you, I'm glad Grace is ok. I'm worried now as Ben's been poorly and is still a bit chesty. We went to a friends 40th last night and Ben had been grisly all day (not like him at all) when we got back Mum said he'd really been crying alot and she thought he had a rash. I was so worried but I checked him over and couldn't see a rash so settled him to bed and then I didn't sleep a wink worried he'd stop breathing or something but he was fine and is much better today. It's so worrying when they are poorly.

Sunday we were so lucky with the clocks, DD and Ben went to bed at normal time and woke at 7.40am not too bad at all.

Thanks everyone. Grace is much better now thank goodness. Her breathing is much more normal and she's slowly picking up on herself. Hopefully in the next few days she will be back to normal! She's just slept 8-4 so that's amazing! My boobs were rock solid though Sunday, thank you. older one seems to be on the mend too but still not right. I let her have two big naps yesterday as nighttime sleep is awful. I've not heard her wake but DH sleeps in the to next to her and goes in when she wakes. I look forward to the day I can sleep with DH again!!

becks, Indians it's so hard when their so little to know. I always think err on the side of caution and get them checked over. I was reluctant to with Grace as she didn't have a temp but turns out they don't often do with this! For colds and coughs I'm a huge fan of those nasal saline drops and baby Vicks on chest, back and feet. We've also been having showers with Gracie or you could just put them in the room with you to get the steam. Hate this bloody time of year. Just illness after illness!!! Especially as DD1 picks it all up for nursery!

sunday well done on weight loss! I'm down a pound this week but stuffed my face with hobnobs and the bloody Halloween chocolate over weekend as I needed sugar for energy. I'm getting back on it tomorrow though. Going to start treating myself to those pre made salad bowls that are £1 in Tesco. Then can add some meat to it. I just don't have the chance to make anything in the day when I've got both girls with me!

I did the abs day on my workout last week. Lord was I in pain for two days after!! Wondering if I've started too soon with it. Think I'll try do my walking and a few squats etc for another few weeks!

juflin it's the alpha one. Do you shop in Aldi? They often do them in the baby events. I don't get there as much as I'd like but I'll keep an eye out! It's fab as it goes up the ages with them. DD1 is a shorty so she loves it for eating with us at the table!

Can't believe we are almost on November. I'm going to start Xmas shopping this week as have so many bdays coming up! I'm not going to get loads for the girls. They get so much from family and friends so I'd rather just get one or two token things and not have a house full of toys!
We are hosting Christmas this year! I've been pregnant for the past two so looking forward to pate and prosecco! What's everyone else's plans?