Jan '07 part 15: a big (calorie-free) bar of chocolate to cheer us up

[2Happy]

And dairy-free too if needed.

It's not been the best month for a lot of Januaries has it?

Have a great holiday, Wilkie. Will you be there for your birthday?

I am a bit zombie-like at the moment. F's teeth are a nightmare and he's been waking 4 or 5 times a night and STAYING awake for ages. I can see they've pierced the gum though, hopefully it will improve from now on. Why is it always when dh is working away that he sleeps badly? And his bottom is red raw, he's honestly never been red or sore since he's been bornm it looks really painful.

Hope Ellie has a great party, EAH

Hurray for Zac, UD, sounds like heaven. F's not too bad when he's not teething.

Hi all.

Hope E has a FAB day today EAH - am sure she will. I can't wait until P is old enough to get excited about birthdays / Xmas (busy old week - they all come at once!). although not so sure about the staying awake until 1am due to intensse excitement.

To all you going on holidays next week have a great time, and no doubt things will be quiet on here without you!

Lovely to have a day at home finally. Vino is coming over so we're off to the park, then lounging in my new garden. I need a car seat too, so any recommendations? Seen a Britax Eclipse Si which is a good fit in our car so may go for that one.
Off to Centre Parcs this evening for my hen do. Two nights away for the first time. Hope DH can cope

Have a good weekend!

RGee - we just got the cheap Fisher Price one but i've been vilified by my rl friends because it doesn't look very comfortable! (i think he looks fine in it, and sleeps much better than he did in his rear facing one, where his head would slump). we got it for £60 from Tescos!

good night here, think him settling himself has really made a difference. i think his gums are hurting less today though, which always makes him less of a goblin and much cuter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE!!

UD - thanks, it's gradually going down. Ethan loves his baths so haven't tried a shower yet, it's great that Zac loves them Good luck for MR UD. UD how did you manage to get him to sleep without being fed or rocked? I'd love to do that with Ethan at some point as he's so very heavy now!

Rgee - took about an hour and a bit to get it up, I had to use a small washinh basket to hold the base up so I could screw the ends on and then rest the sides on a play bus to screw them in lol :D Awww, Ethan has only said mama a couple of times, must be lovely to hear all the time, we get dada constantly here hehe.

LTH - I'd love another baby but as dh has had the snip there's no chance We did decide together but I said yes mainly for him as he didn't even want 3 let alone any more.

Wilkie - Ethan is always bumping his head these days, nightmare. Ethan has 2 teeth but is acting like another is coming so I expect one soon.

eah - have you done a test? Hope the party goes well.

pcf - it's almost better now, he's not keen on the cot though so I sleep in the spare room with him until he wakes then he comes in with me for the rest of the night, we're working up to staying in it all night! Hope the ttc goes well

Shimmer - Poor F Glad he was ok. Ethan generally will only nap when he's being held and so most days is only 30-60 mins all day long. He doesn't sleep any better for it at night. He usually has a short morning nap and a short afternoon one or just one slightly longer one. I think he's scared he'll miss something if he sleep for too long lol.

Mrsc- sympathies as Ethan loves doing this, he fed about 10 times last night and still wakes 4-5 times a night usually. He likes staying up for an hour or 2 in the night some nights still too Hope you get some more sleep soon.

Jodie - Ethann wakes 10 times and feeds 4-5 times a night usually How do you cope woman?

It was a lot better last night and there are two while tops now so hopefully thats the worst of it over, for a while anyway.

Happy birthday Ellie!

Mrsc - no he woke to feed 10 times last night bubt usually only 4-5 That's another reason for me to bring him in bed with me at night still, much easier without having to get up. I think it's his teeth keeping him awake more lately.

Well I'm home alone today! Lo gone to nursery and keeping my fingers crossed she sleeps ok and takes her milk today. I was bored by 10 o'clock so nipped out but now my wound's sore and I'm tired so wish I'd rested like I was going to do.

BUT, the fire brigade rang to ask if I would be in this afternoon and they will come and do a free fire check on my house and give me new smoke alarms if they're needed! Glad the house is sort of tidy

Lo has been waking up loads in the night too, but also doesn't seem to want to co-sleep at all. Was dreading last night a bit as dh away. She only woke properly at 1am and I gave her some calpol and rocked her then she slept till 7.15!

Will read all your posts later, my goodness there suddenly seems a lot!

a quick question for you all.

How much water/juice do your babies drink?

Ds4 isn't interested in water at all so I bought some of that over priced heinz baby fruit juice and tried him with that.

Although we did have some succes today (about2oz) he's still not really interested. He might drink a few sips but that about all, todays 2oz was a huge event.

HE likes to dribble it all down his front more then anything....creating even more washing!!!!

No juice here but I do give Ethan water with his food, more to get used to the cup really. He drinks small amounts but nothing much. I think the milk is still the main drink they need at this stage.

Tell a lie, I gave him a little bit of fresh orange today in his cup as I was having some and I felt guilty with him watching me drink it lol. He loved it and drank it all down really quickly.

pcf - you could make up the milk in something bigger and transfer to beaker but I don't think it should be a problem until around 12 months anyway. Was it a hv you saw? She didn't sound vey supportive

Forgot to say that I had a letter today about Ethan's allery and had to call to make an appointment. We're going next Thursday at 9am so hopefully that will be of some use.

Jodie - Zac didn't seem very interested in nursing to sleep but was really drowsy, so i just put him down in his cot/our bed and let him sort of sing himself to sleep! i could hear him over the monitor but i was really scared he was going to fall of the bed! he was fine though, when i went up to bed he was curled up right in the middle of the bed so i had to move him. he slept really well though so for a good night tonight!

PCF - i agree with Jodie, that HV doesn't sound very supportive. You should've said something like, "If I'd had more support and care from the NHS I might have been able to breastfeed, and it's none of your farking business anyway!"

LTH - Zac dribbles his juice down his chin as well. He quite likes water, so I thought I'd try him with some C&G juice just to give him a different taste, and he tasted a bit and looked really disappointed that it wasn't milk or water. Strange boy!

well i am quite excited - an old friend of mine is coming down to see me from S.Lincs tomorrow and we're going for a beer. Dh is going to have Z so I'll have a few blissful baby-free hours! i'm really looking forward to it!!

also - wanted to ask any of you 2nd/3rd/4th timers, are crawling or cruising shoes really necessary? my friend's bought them for her ds who's just started crawling, and i looked in Clarke's today, and they're about fifteen quid. does Z really need them or are they a massive cynical marketing ploy?

no UD dont buy them the best thing for them is bare feet so they can spread their feet

Hattie has between 4-5oz watered down juice a day from her beaker but it varies widely.

Had a lovely day been to port lympne zoo and ellie walked miles then we took her on the safari jeep to see all the animal that are kept in the big open spaces, she was trying to fall asleep on the way home we managed to keep her awake but she is conked out now. She has had lots of lovely things but the light up/singing vanity table and stool from my brother and his gf is one her favourites and she loves her slide (wasnt bothered this morning) have to say family were very good and we havent got to much platic tat just a few nice things, party at 11am tomorrow (she has a dilema now as my mum and dad bought her an outfit so she cant decide which one to wear)

DH popping to a retirement do at his work tonight so I am going to sort clothes for holiday and do the ironing.

UD - did a thread here about same thing and have decided not to bother. Also, your car seat - we have just bought a cheapo Argos one for £35 for DHs car. I think as long as they meet British Safety Standard and LO is comfy then not to worry. Our main one is a Britax Renaissance which are about £150 new but this is second hand and we paid £40.

EAH - glad you had a nice day, loved the photo of her at the zoo

LTH - J drinks C&G juice (he WILL NOT drink water) and prob has about 4oz per day. He has it in a Tommy Tippee beaker. I also give him sugar free ice pops when it is hot or he is teething as a way of getting liquid into him.

Had a lovely day. DH been off so we went to town to buy said carseat, had a Hollywood wax in preparation for our hols, went to Asda for food shopping, then spent afternoon in beer garden of local pub that overlooks a gorgeous lake.

Your dh had a wax??

my mate's just phoned to say he can't make it tomorrow. am really gutted - i've been looking forward to it all week

Think I just sent DS2 to bed a bit tipsy

DH was at some buisiness thing... the sun was shining.... and the chardonnay was chilled.... and what do you know ... 2 glasses later and LO was in bed for 7.30 !!

I dont usually drink alone but it was such a lovely evening. again

DS2 has been rubbish at sleeping recently and wakes approximately every 2 hours. Luckily he doesnt really wake up and a quick suck sends him back down again. He doesnt have a dummy and wont take one as I've tried. But as I'm co-sleeping it isnt really too bad (and a bit of touche eclait in the morning works wonders, Ha !) Is it just the BF babies that seem to be waking more often or are there some FF that wake up too. No, on second thoughts I dont really want to know.

I've been placing ads this evening as I've been trying to sell a few things (definitely not a #4 here !) and I've just missed the local NCT sale which is usually quite good. I promised DH that I would get rid of a few things before I bought more but I want to try some Fluffles and a few quid would come in handy. We are not short of a bob or two but a promise is a promise....

Off into town tomorrow for gum shields as both older ones need them for hockey and rugby >>>>

And then its our wedding anniversary on Sunday. I wonder if he'll remember ? Oh, he's just come home and put a bottle of fizz in the fridge from the golf day he's been at, that will do nicely. Have a good weekend.

Oh, don't buy pre shoes ( waste of money) and no juice here just occasional water when I remember and milk (usually alcohol free !)

So sorry about your mate UD. Its horrible when things like that happen and also some . Will you be able to arrange another date to go out?

Praps I don't really don't want to know Wilkie, but what's a Hollywood wax? The only one i've ever heard of is the Brazilian!!

EAH sounds like Ellie had a fab birthday. Good luck for the party tomorrow!

PCF what an annoying nurse/HW! I've had very similar conversations with HW myself Grrrrrrr I think 8 monthsish is really quite early to be only drinking from a beaker. F is very good at drinking from his now but i will still definitly be keeping his morning and evening milk from a bottle for at least a couple more months.

LTH F drinks water from a tommy tippee cup at meal times. I'd guess he has about 5-6 oz a day.

Freddie had chocolate ice cream today for the first time! I met up with some friends in the park and it was roasting and we had ice creams and he was looking at it so longingly it seemed mean not to let him have a taste. He absolutely loved it!! It was the 1st time he's had either ice cream or chocolate and it was completely hilarious watching the glee on his face!! I let him have a few licks then had to distract him and eat the rest standing behind him so he couldn't see it, otherwise he would certainly have wolfed the lot!

Have to mention about the shoe thing!

I've never agreed/liked babies in shoes so never bothered. But while I was at the hospital with dd3 on monday there was another mum there moaning that her baby had managed to get his shoes off again while sitting in the pushchair and the paediatric consultant herself said they weren't recommended for babies anyway!

And talking of carseats, I subscribe to which? on-line and if anyone wants any details from it let me know and I'll look it up for you. Not all car seats are the same!! I'm really lucky as the one from dd1 is still going and I checked with road safety officers recently and they said it's still ok to use as long as it's never been in a crash!

UD, the cruiser shoes are really cute but are basically aimed at people who can't waitto get their babies feet into shoes IMO.

DS1,2 and 3 all wore the same ones (ds1's cast offs) once theye were up and cruising along the the walls, chairs etc BUT only if we were out (ie at playgroup etc)

Once there were walking I got ds2+3 their own ones (which ds4 will wear!!)

I was in Brantano the other day and there were some Nike trainers for babies on sale. I shit you not, they were prem baby size.

Literally, about 2inches long. I stood there in there shop, pointing at them with chin on the floor. " (dh) Look at those ridiculous shoes.....what in gods name is the point of those....jesus christ, there for prem babies....OMG...WHY??? WHY would anyone squeeeeeeeeeeze thier teeny newborns feet in to those monstrosities???.....look at the size of them...." ( I think he was walking awy at this stage)
I've made it my mission to declare them hidioeus and pointless at every opportunity now. The big DS's always pick the up if we're in a sports/shoe shop to see if they'll fit ds4. I actually quite enjoy it

don't forget sugar free ice pop = evil aspartamine central.

Oh forgot to ask, Which one of you has been sending subliminal messages to Ds4 about it being fun to wake up 50,000 times a night??

You can stop doing it now because he's become quite good at it

Ok, I'm assuming that you haven't all got teeny Nike trainers on your babies feet and I ahven't offended you all.....