July 2016 #3

[primarynoodle]

Hello all! Can't believe we're on thread 3! Let's kickstart with a then and now photo :)

Here's Annie at 4 months 4 days

Ha ha, name change fail! I'll keep you guessing

Ahhhh who are you?????? Is it you blue???? Whoever it is ... define lots.
I don't want to get munted as I still have a baby to care for but just wanted a few glasses to relax

Ha, Bluebell, clearly you've got yourself a bit of a reputation!

Anna - what I was told (by an NCT instructor amongst others) is that it wouldn't matter even if you got completely smashed (my word not hers!); the amount of alcohol in your milk would still be minimal (unlike when you're pregnant, when the alcohol travels much more easily across the placenta).
I agree with you that of course you still want to be capable of looking after your baby. But if the info above is correct, then it means that you don't need to worry about the quality/safety of your milk, and so there's no need to express.
I'll probably enjoy a few glasses of wine over the course of the day

Oh no! Now I feel bad. Sorry blue

The artist now knows as qawse thank you. I had read this too but I know so people are really funny about it. Think about it my HV told me to enjoy a few drinks so you don't feel like you're missing out and less likely to quit BF altogether.

I've got a night out tonight without kids! Whoop!! I'm going to drive though as Grace is up so much at the moment I dont want to deal with that half cut! Hoping it's better next weekend!

primary - I've really been missing school and Christmas plays etc too - so I took Ruben in and spent the morning there today! He showed 160-ish children his 'walking' in assembly, and was unfazed when they all laughed! I got to answer some fabulous questions from the kids ('Do you feed him from your boobies?') and he spent a very happy half hour on my colleague's lap in the staff room, unloading Quality Street from a box one by one, and tasting all the wrappers! Yay for primary schools on the last day of the Autumn term!
I am worried about your back hurting with the sling! Are you sure you're wearing it correctly? Try and find someone in real life who can help you check. I find the sling helps enormously with my back.
Your vagina / football comment did make me laugh. I second julf - she needs a football for Christmas! Grr to the MIL - also, how embarrassing for her to be caught pretending that Annie is her daughter. Hopefully she won't dream of doing such a thing again! Trying to be fair though, I can imagine doing such a thing myself to avoid any awkward corrections with strangers. Maybe she didn't mean to be as totally batshit crazy as it appears?!

sunday the cake sounds delicious! I have a few baking plans before Christmas but I am not living in hope of them coming to fruition!
The cottage also sounds great. We too usually go for the budget option - I dream of a roll top bath! Mmm!

julf omg, hideous baileys shots takes me right back to uni and my mean boyfriend (now DH) making me drink (or rather, eat, as it curdled so badly) a penalty shot of Baileys, orange juice and tobasco. Can't believe I married him nine years later!
God, reading your post has made me realise that I never called the physio back after she left a message!!!! I am freaking useless. It's not NHS - you are joking! It's £35 for a private session so I figured I could afford it and my body would thank me even if my wallet didn't. Got to actually book an appointment though...
Laughed at your 'spontaneous and cavalier' shopping which is the exact approach I've adopted and very different from my normal planned campaign! I currently have a pile of purchases from lush stinking the office out and waiting to be divvied up between relatives!
I love the sling. I used it when we went to Cheltenham on the train on Weds so that I didn't have to ask people for help at the steps of our local station - also, I find it keeps strangers from touching Ruben's hands as they are nicely tucked away!
Has Jasper continued with his evening sleeps? I do hope so!
Really glad things are going well regarding work decisions, and DH chuckling away at Jasper. Did you find out any more about your joint pain? Any help from the docs?
Thank you for sharing the article - it has made me resolve to read a Caitlin Moran book! And the photo of jasper with the wine is brill.

Anna my DH is also ill (suspected stomach ulcer but we think it's coeliac disease as his dad also has it) and my house is also a disaster! You have my sympathy! He can't even look after Ruben at the moment so I'm juggling cleaning, baby, present wrapping... I haven't even started writing cards. Argh!
Ruben doesn't bloody nap except for a) in the car or b) on me after a feed, in which case I cannot move a muscle or he wakes up. When you add those up he probably naps between 1 - 2 hrs a day and he gets about 11 hrs at night. Disappointingly he doesn't seem to need more!
Feeding has been all right thanks, although horrid having to wake up to an alarm - I started having vivid nightmares again last night like when he was first born, which I'm sure is to do with the constantly interrupted sleep. However one more night of that and he should be healed enough to leave it longer between feeds.
My dad also calls Ruben 'my boy' but as you say it's just because he's a very proud grandpa!
I may have one drink on Chrimbo day and feed anyway. Two drinks aren't worth the hassle of taking milk and equipment to DH's parents' house!
Ahahaha no, qawse is not me! Just got to that bit! I am honoured that you thought of me when you read about someone making free with the booze though! ;)
Hope you enjoy the night out!

becks your DD is the cutest! I'm a disaster at my school's nativities - I always end up sobbing during the rehearsals - so Lord knows what I will be like with my own child! It's a wonder you could see straight to take a photograph!

Lana yeah it was me with kicking sensations. Not pregnant, just gas and shagged stomach muscles! And I am not disappointed that I'm not!

Quite a bit going on with Ruben now. We are in 6-9 month clothes because I realised that hauling poppers together over his nappy and stretching socks up over his calves to cover the bare leg left by his trouser bottoms - as we have been doing for weeks - maybe wasn't the way to go any more! I was in denial - a) because where is time going? And b) because we have a paucity of 6-9 month clothes and I may have to actually buy something!

He did his first two genuine, on flat ground, off his own bat rolls the other day - and I missed them because I was on the loo! He's much more mobile now - I found him I. His cot this morning having rotated round 180 degrees from where I left him at 3am! Aaand, last night I found a sharp little tooth! Which might actually explain the Tesco cafe feeding meltdown the evening of the tongue tie snip. I'm sure he's raking the tooth against my nipples when he unlatches... Going to have to work out how to discourage that!

We are massively not Christmas ready here. As DH has been ill he has taken even less interest in present purchasing than usual - except to tell me I couldn't spend much money due to our significantly reduced income! I have ignored that as the stress of finding decent presents for fifteen quid is just too enormous. Also, the whole reason I copy edited that book last month was so that I didn't have to stress about paying for Christmas. I did have a brainwave yesterday though - we have a gorgeous Oxfam bookshop near us and I decided to find one book from it for everyone who will be with us over Christmas - lovely hardback books suited to their interests, all in great condition. I will be honest about where they've come from but it made me think... I'd love to do a family Christmas next year where all the adults' presents only come from charity shops. I think it would be less stressful because you would have a 'limited palette' of shops, and good fun because of the challenge element - and a good leveller because the salaries are wildly different in our family. What do you reckon?

HOW have I fallen so far off the thread?!

julfin looking back I think I developed PND at about 6months PP with DD1. At the time I never linked them. Interesting fact thank you for sharing. Sorry to hear the weaning course wasnt very helpful. Have you started the process yet? I really feel for you with your work decisions- it's such a tough call . Are you feeling any better /clearer about the situation? I could never imagine going back to work full time (only because I would have a breakdown trying to juggle everything
Loving J's admiration for the Pizza Express (?) meal! Bet there was nothing about wine and pizza in your NCT course

beaut really sorry to hear about the bickering with DH. This time of year is always extra stressful, never mind with him working away and you dealing with everything. We are rubbish with sitting here too. and no official rolling either.
Super exciting news about your NY trip to Dublin!!! That's amazing and I bet you guys have an incredible time.
About your weight loss- slow and steady wins the race!! Especially well done on losing weight at this time of year- how have you managed it?! Far too many mince pies entering my mouth...

bluebell Poor you and Ru with your feeding woes. Sounds incredibly draining and stressful. You're such a super mamma for sticking with it all. I hope everyone feels better soon.
I was having similar flutters for a while and then.. the dreaded Aunt F bitch returned. How is your book's progress??

mrsrolly I want to live by the Frugi factory I need to move!

anna we usually have a longer afternoon nap about 1.30-3 (I have to wake him for school run) and we usually have one in the morning on the school run then. But that tends to be a small one. Sometimes a cap nap around 4.30? Where our nights have been so awful recently he's been sleeping 11-12ish too. He does always go to bed at 6.30/40 and puts himself straight to sleep.
Re drinking - I've been a little merry on several occasions (doesn't take me much) and still breastfed. Granted I'm not 100% BF anymore but still. Definitely ok to have one or two over Christmas

Ladies I can't cope with the name changes - please reveal yourselves you mysterious creatures!

Sorry I've majorly dropped off. The stresses of the burns resulted in every 2-day trips to get the dressings changed for a few weeks. my DCs have been poorly - little G has it so awfully. He has been coughing so hard he throws up all his milk. Also waking every 1-2 hours in the night and not settling back down then me being paranoid he's going to choke on his sick. My 4year old DD ( was her birthday last week) has also been waking several times a night. Every night. YAWNNN. She cries and cries. Almost like night terrors? I'm not sure. But it's super horrible and I'm soooo tired. My DH is being a complete and utter arse unfortunately. Wahh all the moaning in the festive period

anna sounds like a manic time for you again. I'm sorry about Grace's cold. Hope it doesn't last long. Napping is really variable here. We usually get two or three naps (on me, in the pram or in the car). They can be anywhere from 10 mins to 3 hours but I never know what I'm going to get. Enjoy your child free evening and Christmas tipple!

primary sounds like Annie needs plenty of footballs, cars, trucks and drills to play with or stare at confused owing to her lack of penis. Massive cringe at the MIL baby comments. She must have been beetroot when you came back. The teething thing I could have written about M. I've got no idea but she's chewing and dribbling loads. It's better now but she was crying more than usual and being soothed by dentinox. I don't want to give things if she doesn't need them but how do I really know if she needs them.

julfin glad your dh is stepping up his game again. It's lovely to see. Mine has started singing when he thinks I can't hear. Loving the pics of Jasper in Pizza Express. I'm starting to feel guilty when I'm eating. M is showing an interest in food now and seems to either give me puppy dog eyes or daggers if I'm eating. Are you qawse? This is a good puzzle.

bluebell sorry to hear your dh isn't well. Poor R with the tongue tie again. I can't believe he's still having problems with it poor little mite. Hopefully when it heals that'll be the last of it. The kids must have loved seeing Ruben in school. If he's anything like M he'd have enjoyed the attention and the chance to stare at people. 6-9 month clothes feels like a huge jump. Not sure why as it's no different to moving up to 3-6 really.

cookies that sounds really tough. I hope your dh stops being an arse soon and helps out. Sorry to hear about all the sickness. How are your burns now?

Lana - I chuckled re your DH's stealth-singing 😂
Yes I get the puppy dog eyes too when I eat.
Yes you guessed correctly re Qawse - glad you liked the puzzle! I was trying to work out how this whole name-change thing works, and then forgot to change it back!

Bluebs - frustrating for you re Ru not napping much/easily. But his total sleep time sounds pretty normal. I reckon J does about 9 hours at night (11-8ish) and normally about 4 hours of daytime naps, so 13 hours total. So broadly the same.
I know what you mean about being in denial re where is the time going. Can't believe our little babies are nearly Half now. It'll be no time at all 'til they're leaving home to make their own way in the world 😳😔
I'm so sorry you missed Ru's rolling.
I think your charity shop idea is brilliant. I've not been a huge charity shop shopper in the past, but have really got into it this year for J's presents. I've found some lovely wooden toys including a xylophone (for 1st birthday probably), a rolling shape-sorter, a twirly abacus-type thingummy (are you following?!), and one of those big multi-activity cubes (I think the one I got is about £50 new, but I got it for £18, and the other toys were just a few quid each) -
plus some really lovely books, all in near-perfect condition. As for buying adults' presents from charity shops, I certainly reckon it's doable especially with books.
Ha ha: "Do you feed him from your boobies?" 😂
Ooh quality street wrappers - I reckon J would love those! Nice and colourful and rustley! He seems very keen on red at the moment. I was wearing a bright red cardie today and he kept playing with the buttons, totally entranced (when he should have been feeding).
J hasn't continued his evening sleeps, sadly. But today he managed two daytime "naps" of 2.5 hours each, so I can't really complain.

Anna - did you enjoy your night out?
Hope Gracie is better soon.

Yes Anna and Cookies, pizza express correctly identified! Was it the whiter-than-white tables or the red salt cellars that gave it away?! 😀

Cookies - nice to see you here again 😊 Gosh I'm so sorry you've been having such a tough time. Are the burns better now? And poor little G. And your DD. Did she have a nice birthday at least? Grrr re your arsey DH. Is he being unhelpful re the night-wakes, or just generally? You are most welcome to join us in the Mummies' Commune 😀
Not sure exactly when I'll go back to work (depends partly on what roles come up and when) but hopefully I'll get at least a bit of the summer.
I'm with you on the mince pies. I've occasionally been tucking into one or two in the middle of the night...
Re baby food, I've given J a few bits and bobs ad hoc: cucumber, steamed carrot sticks and broccoli stalks, (pizza crusts - bad mother), stewed apple from an apple strudel in Paul. Mostly he just chews them and makes them soggy, but a few things have definitely disappeared down the hatch. I don't intend to create special meals for J, but just give him bits of what we're having (over-cooked when necessary), and gradually build up. I'll probably do a mix of solids and purées but mostly solids. I gather most of his nutrients will continue to come from milk for quite a while, so I'm not going to stress about how much he properly eats solids-wise, although I will try to ensure a balance of food-types.
I'm thinking of expressing more, if I can, and giving it to J in a double-handed sippy cup. That's basically how he holds my boob now, and it's pretty painful, especially with his little dagger fingernails 😬

Slightly concerned that my picture of J plus the Qawse advice might have made me seem like a massive boozer 😳 In my defence, the pizza express wine wasn't mine 😀

I've found a really good app called "infant sleep". If anyone's interested, it has advice e.g. in the section called "sleep and night waking" in the "how will my baby sleep?" chapter which really resonated with me and reassured me - Anna I think it might resonate with you too.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend. We're away for the weekend, in an old haunt, pottering and reminiscing and doing Christmas shopping in the Christmas market 😊

juf that app is brilliant! Some really reassuring things on there that you never hear about! It's good to hear that sleep training doesn't seem to work long term. I've never felt comfortable with it but did with dd1 as EVERYONE tells you to 'just let them cry' we tried it so many times, different techniques and it just didn't work. She just wants to be in bed with us for a cuddle and that's fine by us now! I think Gracie is heading the same way....

Night out was lovely but cut short. Gracie was screaming for over an hour for DH and his mum. DH was getting really upset and worried she was poorly so I came home. Luckily I'd just finished eating! She was absolutely fine once I put her on the boob and had a huge feed. She did kick off again when I left the room to get ready for bed and calmed down as soon as saw me. I guess I need to start leaving her more but I don't get much chance to do not sure what my options are!

What's interesting on sleep is my friends who had 'good baby sleepers' are now having issues as they're getting older, whereas dd1 is generally getting better and better. It's all just swings and roundabouts. My philosophy now is they're only little for such a short time, I can survive without a decent sleep and nights out as it's not forever. And I do love my baby cuddles!

Ha juf on the wine! I really like having a drink but generally only one or two. I do like a few at Christmas and with it the first without mum I know it's going to be tough.

Anyway I've gone on enough for now and must go to sleep!

Hey ladies,

I'm going to attempt to catch up whilst stuck under a sleeping boy. It's been mental here with end of term shenanigans but all very festive and lovely!

Anna I also have a very clingy boy left him with my mum and expressed milk which he wouldn't drink and then I think he cried for a significant part of me being gone interspersed with sleeping and being distracted playing! I was gone for just over 3 hours. Such a monkey was all smiles and happiness as soon as I was back. My mum swears he was saying mama when he was crying but I think she may have been hearing things everytime I say mama to him he just laughs at me!
You absolutely deserve wine this Christmas after your tough year! I hope you all find new traditions to remember your lovely mum.

Julf solidarity in wine consumption here! The lack of sleep is curbing my enjoyment of much wine but I tend to have a glass earlier in the evening so I have a break before bed as this boy is all about the Co sleeping I am going to check out that app. We ate going cup as well but probably with water in from next month. I hope you are enjoying the Christmas markets

Blue I love that charity shop idea we do secret santa in my family and I may steal this idea for next year! Daytime naps here are also done in cuddle mode or not at all hence this message! Recently it has been sling or van naps though it can be inconvenient sometimes but I love it really making the most of the tiny person cuddles as Raffy is growing too fast! How is ru after his second snip now? You really should be a breastfeed case study I think you are amazing!

Primary my MIL always refers to my Dd as a girly girl she couldn't be anything further from it always up trees trousers to school and at 10 still no interest in jewelry or clothes (no complaints from me on this) but it's interesting what other people project onto your children! I just let them all get on with it I think sometimes people have a different way they have always called Dd their little princess but to my knowledge never claimed parentage ha ha how bonkers I don't get the claiming of the children. did your Dh hear back about his scan yet?

Cookies I hope Dh sorts himself out soon and you all stop being so poorly. You have had a run of hecticness I hope it's all quietened down a bit now I love the school holidays as no clubs to have to run around to and no school run (yay!!)

Lana I think we are teething here again we already have two but not the top two as I expected but the bottom again!
Primary timewise I think noticeable teething for a week and half before they broke through they are still growing upwards and have been for maybe three weeks now I am not 100% as all the days and weeks seem to roll into one!!

I am using the new year as a reason to get reorganised I have been very slack on all fronts for the last two months maybe so need to get back on with exercise and general house and life management!!! Think a combination of winter and a need for sleep have meant I have slipped into laziness ;)

Also apologies for not punctuation and probably a million typos my phone is very poorly and needs to be sent away for fixing! It's had too many floor collisions.

We've started weaning here. Just lunchtime at the moment. It's the easiest meal to fit in around everything else. Ben will polish off 1/2 a pouch of purée sat in his bumbo. He seems to really enjoy it. This hasn't affected his milk consumption yet. Currently he's got another cold, chesty cough and copious amounts of snot and not a lot of sleep at night. I'm glad we've not got to worry about the school run for a couple of weeks!!!

This is how Benny is crawling at the moment. The cat lured him into the dining room!

Hi all, E has been teething so he's been very grumpy and has started waking in the night again so DH and I have been tired and getting on each others nerves what with Xmas preparations too. Seems to be happier today, fingers crossed!

How is Ru doing now bluebs? Sounds like your visit to school was fun and I bet he loved the attention! Perfect distraction while his tongue heals.

Anna hope you enjoy a few festive drinks over Xmas and make sure to raise a glass to your mum xx

Are things any better cookies? It's stressful at this time of year when the pressure is on to have a 'perfect xmas'. Hope Gs sickness has gone, I remember being unable to sleep when Es reflux was at its worst because I was terrified he'd choke.

Julf you sound like you are cracking on with the blw. I think we are gonna start weaning next week when we are home from visiting family, he's definitely ready and I'm sure milk is just not enough anymore. He's been sneaking extra feeds in recently and is already having 9oz at a time. Is this infant sleep app from the unfortunately titled ISIS online? I was recommended their website by midwives and I really like the scientific and biological explainations. And the images of safe co sleeping were really helpful in the early days when I was struggling with breastfeeding.

Mrsrolly E has been showing signs of teething for a week now and I can't see any little teeth buds so I was relieved that you said it can take a while to break through.

Wow crawling Becks! Hope Santa is bringing a stair gate for Xmas :) E has no interest in rolling and hates tummy time but he loves 'standing' with help and often refuses to sit down!

I've wrapped all my presents now, it's taken ages because E has been helping so I hope my present recipients don't mind a bit of baby slobber! Still not feeling very xmassy yet though

Wow becks Ben is super baby! I know he's a few weeks older but o.m.g!! All the baby proofing! Can he make it to the Christmas tree?!

Good wrapping efforts sunday ! And yes I'm super paranoid about choking. He's just coughed up his entire (breast) feed all down himself and half on my pjs. I swear he's losing weight he's been so troubled by this lurgy.

julf your BLW efforts are great! We are crap but I let G chew some bread the other day does that count?! The lurg has halted our efforts. I need to investigate this app you speak of. I'm getting a bit down in general about the waking etc at the moment. Several mums on my FB keep declaring their month old babies sleep 7-7 and whilst I'm happy for them I'm sleep deprived and bitter!
Ha the Pizza Express was clocked and identified and made me want pizza
Enjoy the Christmas markets. All the ones I would go to are finished now. Boo. Have a fab weekend

bluebs I keep thinking of you and your BF adventure. I really admire your commitment you're amazing and I totally couldn't have done it. They did warn me actually that TTs can grow back and cannot believe this happened. I really hope feeding has improved ? During the height of the burn we supplemented with quite a bit of formula but seem to have built the breast milk back up. Nothing near as much as you have overcome. I definitely feel as though you could write and share your journey with other mums. Such an inspiration. Hope DH is feeling better soon.

Can't believe all the teeth. We have lots of symptoms but no sign of an actual tooth.

The burns are healing well thank you ladies. They have almost dried out now- but red at the moment. Not being in pain when I hold or feed G is a massive bonus. Have started on lots of fresh aloe Vera and a selection of oils from Neals Yard.

I'm much more careful when I'm making up a feed since you got burnt cookies. I really hope the oils and aloe Vera help with the healing, burns can get so tight and itchy.

I'm willing to bet £££s that the FB mums are talking shite about their 1month olds sleeping through! And if it makes you feel any better, I got covered in regurgitated milk earlier this evening too, all in my freshly washed hair that hadn't been washed since Saturday and I've no idea why it all came back up! I really hope he's not got a bug. We've just had another feed so I'm waiting to see if it stays down

julf/qawse ooh I should solve mysteries. Maybe it could be part of bluebell's next book - 'Mumsnet and the Mysterious Name Change Quandary'. Go J on the food front. He's tried quite a bit so far. How much of it went in his ears? On the sleep front, we had been trying to settle M in her cot but she wasn't happy and took a long time to settle if she ever did. We've decided not to follow the crowd on this one and if she's happy and it's night time then we leave her awake in her cot but pick her up when she starts grizzling or crying. She's only up once or twice usually and won't be little forever. Hope you enjoyed your weekend away.

anna I'm sorry your night out was cut short. It's an awkward one but Grace sounds like she wanted her Mum and nobody else would do. Had you managed to relax into your night when you were called back? Your good baby sleepers comment has made me worry now! M has been really good (I think she has anyway). She's always quite liked her night time sleep to the point where we used to have to wake her to feed when she was tiny. She doesn't usually sleep through but that's fine with me.

becks go Ben on the crawling! Is he pulling himself up to stand too?

cookies I'm glad the burns are healing ok. Well done for building back up bm supply too. Fingers crossed for teething symptoms to die down soon.

Oh lana sorry! Didn't mean to scare you! What I'm trying to say is in general most kids go through good and bad patches with sleep. My godson is a freak as he's always just slept but I don't know another kid like it! You just have to roll with it and thank god we have the internet to find support at 3 am
I did have a lovely time thanks. Got dressed up and did my hair and everything. Felt mega glam!!

becks that crawling is awesome!!!!! Can't believe it!

cookies I'm so pleased to hear you're on the mend, you poor thing. Well done for getting the breast milk up again too! It's hard with to increase it so that's great!

sunday you're too organised for me! I've still got to finish shopping off then get wrapping. I'm mega laid back and normally end up doing it all Xmas eve which I quite enjoy!

Glad it's not just me rolly I swear to god Grace would climb back into my womb if she could!!! Love your mum. So sweet! I also have a wine early on! DH asked me if I wanted one tonight but it was 7.30 and I said it was too late... he was I like one about 6.30 /7 when dd1 is in bed! Then that's me done.

Was feeding Grace today in a bench in the mall. A lovely lady came over to tell me how lovely it was to see and that you don't see it often. I've fed loads with dd1 and Grace in public and never had comments good or bad! I felt really chuffed to be honest!
Life is manic with Christmas. We are deep cleaning the house tomorrow in preparation to host on Sunday! Joy!!!!!
Hope you're all well x

Don't worry anna. I was fully expecting to have a bad sleeper/naughty toddler/hellish teenager at some point to make up for what I think is a pretty laid back and easy baby. Good luck for tomorrow's deep clean!

Anna - I'm glad you liked the app. Sorry to hear your evening was cut short. I hope you find more opportunity to get G used to being with other people in the evening. It's great that DD1 is such a good sleeper.
Good luck with the deep clean!
That's really nice of the lady in the mall.

Rolly - I think it's fine to be slack when you've got a little baby!
Nice to have solidarity on the wine consumption!
Funny about your MIL projecting girliness onto your daughter.

Becks - hope Ben is better soon. That's amazing crawling! Super strong 😊 Remind me what date he was born - was he a late June baby?

Sunday - hope things settle down with the teething and household tiredness/grumpiness.
Ha, Yes re the unfortunately titled Isis!
I think teething pain can happen as much as 3 months before the pearly whites actually show through, although it is worst in the few hours before they pop.
Yes likewise Jasper dislikes tummy time and much prefers standing. He can stand without being held/supported now, as long as he's got something to grip onto.
I think I'm going to have Jasper "helping" me with my wrapping too. Any hints/tips?

Cookies - hope the lurgy goes away soon 😔
I'm so glad the burns are healing well. That's great news re the BF supply - well done you!
I agree with Sunday in calling BS on the 7-7 sleeping.

Lana - ha - before I read your message I'd just been thinking (triggered by what Cookies said about Bluebs' share-worthy BF experience) that maybe Bluebs could write a crime thriller set in a BF workshop (especially since I calculated that my breastmilk is worth nearly £40 a pint in terms of expressing time - a valuable commodity indeed - well worth stealing 🤣). Even better if the novel could involve MN name-change mysteries too 😀. I love your book title - very Nancy Drew 😂. Bluebs please can we help name your current novel when it's finished?
Only the cucumber 🥒 went in J's ears. He's been watching and learning since then!
Thank you, yes we had a lovely weekend relaxing in old haunts from when we used to live there.

I took J swimming today for the first time, with my mum. He's always loved his hot baths, and he "swims" around happily in the big tub. So my only concern was that he might not like the lukewarm water. But he loved it! He was in there for 45 minutes. It was at my mum's gym (she got a Christmas guest-pass for me) so I also managed to do a monster gym session plus plenty of time in the jacuzzi/steam/sauna. Pure bliss! Am feeling very strong and healthy now - but will no doubt be in agony in two days' time.
Did I mention that J has his own gym membership?! Costs a quid a month and he has his own membership card! Spoilt baby! 🤣

Tomorrow I'm going to be doing all my wrapping plus any last-minute shopping, whilst DH does all the prep for Christmas meals and two days of hosting...

And then on Christmas Eve we're going to a beautiful carol concert which we went to last year. It's not very baby-friendly, so we're dropping J off with my folks, who are taking him to two parties before coming up to ours for Christmas Eve night. Party animal!

Is anyone tempted to dig out their maternity trousers ready for their Christmas dinner? 😉

Ha ha lana I'm sure you'll be fine! Some kids sleep. Just not mine!

juf that sounds like a lovely Christmas Eve. Enjoy the parties!! We are off to the Christingle service with the girls at 4 then home for lasagne and wrapping! Got DMIL staying with us so she'll happily sit and cuddle Gracie whilst I mop the floor and tidy up!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. This group has really helped me through a very difficult time and you're all just so lovely. I hope your days are filled with love, joy and food but most importantly decent sleep and no fussy baby xxx

P.s if anyone needs something to contain / entertain baby do not hesitate to buy a Jumperoo. Pricey but worth it!!

Merry Christmas gang! Thanks for all the support advice and just a place to be reassured I am not losing the plot!!

Hope J enjoys the parties Julf, Raffy was the star of the show in the pub for DH christmas do last night. Awake, happy and flirting with everyone.. last one standing as we left just after 11. Hope you and DH enjoy the time together as well Glad J liked the swimming its so amazing how well they float!

Anna, lasagne is such a good idea we are off to the woods for our annual christmas eve tradition (a theatre group do an amazing winter wood immersive theatre experience) so magical and I truly feel like christmas with my brandy hot choc as we watch the stories. But no idea what I am feeding us when we get in!

Hope everyone has an amazing day tomorrow and dinners are cooked and consumed with ease and maybe the little ones may be so concerned about spotting santa they may sleep through (ha ha ha not likely here ;) )

Here is to an exciting 2017 as our little ones grow even bigger and more inquisitive!

Merry Xmas all! Good luck to everyone who is hosting this year too. We are at my family's house, just chilling and I'm looking forward to tucking in to all the food and drink I couldn't have last year being pregnant, mmmmm brie and Bailey's and bucks fizz!

julf I've managed it a few times when I put her down awake and she'll drop off without crying but it's literally a 5 second window of the right time and only occurs in the day!
At night were regularly waking every 1-2 hours I'm so tired. I will download that app asap!

bluebell you poor thing with feeding! Has it got better now? DP had results back and it's not a tumour! Great news. The pain is still really bad though so back to square 1 now :(
I think charity shop xmas is a fantastic idea! I'd do it in a heartbeat but unfortunately apart from dad my family are insanely materialistic

anna wow that'll be an expensive December in a few years time! I used to nanny for TWINS born on CHRISTMAS DAY! Poor parents. Also I'll be having a few glasses of mulled wine tomorrow, as others have said I've been told as long as you're not drunk your fine to bf

becks at Ben! Wow!!

cookies I was badly burnt by my hot water bottle exploding last week.. it's made me super paranoid about hot stuff and babies!

Merry Christmas everyone :) we just got back from seeing fantastic beasts at the cinema - was great and Annie was silent! mildly awkward though, I'd just got my boob out to feed her before the trailers started when the lights were still on when a group of kids from my class last year came and plonked themselves next to me! Thankfully I had my hair chopped off yesterday so they didn't realise it was me until the end of the film haha