August 2007 - milk, mash or puree - take your pick and take cover!

[shrinkingsagpuss]

James - sorry, couldn't wait any longer... hope my link works...

James- he's lovely, really. Don't worry about his size. I used to flip between hystericaly worrying if DS was being fed too muchh, to worrying if he ate/ drank enough. My mum used to tell me I over fed him (she does with DD too). DS is a lovely tall strong toddler know, as I've said. I'll find a picture so you can see how huge he was!!

DD slept from 7pm til 5am all in a row !! hurrah!!

Saw Gp today - she's referring me to a surgeon to posibly have my tummy stiched where the muscle wall is f*ed. Bit scary, but never mind. Wonder if they'd take away the stretchmarks at the same time?!

well done on the sleep shrinking, sorry to hear about the stitching wouldnt fancy that. i havent had my 6 week check for any of my boys is it important?

Hello. Had to take dd to the doctors today. She has cystitis. I feel really sorry for her cos she cries every time she does a wee. I've had it before so I know how horrible it is. I phoned at 8am on the dot and had to keep trying for 10 minutes before I finally got an appointment for 10:20. We turned up on time and the place was packed. Didn't see the doctor til 11:10. Then had to go and get her anti-biotics from the chemist and then drop her off at mum's. Bearing in mind I have to start work at 9am, I didn't actually get in til 12:45. Then mum phoned to say that she'd been crying for ages and wouldn't calm down. I phoned dh and he wasn't answering his work or personal mobile so I called his friend who works with him who called him out of a meeting. I felt really bad but I've only been back a week and already gone home early once and come in late once. I don't see why it should always be the mum who has to leave work when the kids are ill anyway.

James - James will be fine when/if you go back to work. My dd was a clingy baby and even cried when I left her at my mum's for the first week or so after going back to work. I had the same thing with 2 childminders that she went to. Once they get used to it they're fine. It's quite upsetting to leave them when they're crying but I can assure you that after a few minutes they're fine and playing happily I think we just have to accept that men need instructions. My dh needs to be told that ds is whinging cos he's hungry. His first instinct is always to stick a dummy in his mouth and try to get him to sleep. I used to have to leave a note for him to tell him when dd would need milk, lunch etc.

Great pics James - those PJ's are so cute.

Taken a leaf out of your book James and uploaded a couple of photos of Cait taken a few weeks ago. I sent these ones to a baby modelling agency and they called straight back and have asked to see her in person so we're off to see them next week.

Caitlin at 9 weeks

Looking dreamy

Me shouting

Hersetta, cute pics. I put a new one of my Cait on my profile today. Dont you just love them smiling.

GillL, poor wee thing, didnt know they could get it as babies, not fair.

Sagpuss, yuk about surgery, wouldnt fancy stitches either but wondering what to do with my belly, it looks a bit like a donut at the moment, or makka pakka's sponge .

Pink, what a deserving recipient of santa's sack, and what a nice thing to nominate you whoever did it.

Hersetta, look at that little button nose, she's so cute!

Stig, I love that pic of your Cait at 3 months, those rosy cheeks are adorable. J has them too but his are from teething!

How's your lo's fontanelle today, Tash?

Sagpuss, you may have to change your name if your surgery is effective eh? Best of luck with it.

Gill sorry to hear about the cystitis, I had it when I was little and used to refuse to go to the loo at all, which probably doesn't help, hope she's better soon. I'm still dreading going back to work for more than one reason. Yes, I hate to leave him, I'm also really bewildered by having to choose childcare, I don't know where to start, or when my maternity pay ends.

I'm not even sure there will be jobs out there for me (was just going to try a part time supermarket job for starters) plus where I worked last, I wasn't that good at the job - mostly because I was pregnant and didn't know, and severely anaemic so I was sortof chronically unwell and just wasn't paying enough attention- but it meant they kept on constantly calling me in to see management, telling me off and giving me warnings and improvement programs so my confidence in myself work wise has pretty much been eroded. I'm much better at being a mother than I am at being an employee!

Bah, anyway, I have Good News! Got back from slimming world earlier, thought I might have lost a couple of pounds because I've stuck to the diet pretty well all week- I lost half a stone! So it's quite a nice incentive to keep it up, at this rate I could lose a full stone by christmas. Yay!

Well done James - 7lb is fantastic. keep u the good work!

I know she's a cutie. Her Button nose is exactly the same as when they showed us a 4D photo of her when I was 20 week pregnant. Hasn't changed a bit.

I'm going back to work in March - dreading the thought already.

7lb - wow well done, i failed at the first hurdle with Slimming world, found the dinners really hard as i dont cook ( or have time) and i work 3 days a week so grab things when i can so im going to join weight watchers after Xmas ( lost 2 stone with WW before)

As for going back to work im lucky (in a way ) as im a childminder so have already gone back to work, have a 7 year old about twice a week after school and look after an 19 months old 3 days a week, tough but good money as i dont have to leave my children and it dosnt matter if dh is away at work for the evening.

Thanks guys. Last night she screamed every time she needed a wee but refused to go so she actually wet herself 3 times. I think the califig is working on the constipation this morning though as she's been straining on and off for ages but not complaining about the pain as much. Annoyingly it doesn't actually say how frequently you're supposed to give it to them so I'll have to phone the pharmacy. I've kept a nappy on her as I didn't want the added pressure for her to have to get to the toilet. I don't think she's needed a wee yet or, if she has, it hasn't hurt. I imagine it's just that she hasn't needed to go. I was supposed to get a sample off her before dh went to work but I didn't have the heart to wake her up. I'm staying at home with her today. She could have gone to mum's but on Tuesdays she spends most of the day in town taking the girls to pre-school and then shopping.

James, Hersetta - they are such gorgeous pictures. You must be so proud to have a modelling agency interested in Caitlin. I've just shown them to dd (my Katelyn). She had a big smile on her face and she wanted to see them again. She was very pleased about a baby having the same name as her

Well done with the diet James. Half a stone is brilliant. I don't know much about Slimming World but a lot of diets still let you eat normal Christmas food anyway as long as you don't go over your calorie limit. And if you do some exercise you can eat more nice stuff so you don't have to miss out.

half a stone - well done james

gill - your poor wee DD hope she's better soon. my DD1 keeps complaining of a sore bum - GP thought it was thrush but the cream doesn't seem to be helping so we're off to DR again on thursday.

DD1 and I are going to have some dedicated mummy DD1 time this afternoon. I'm dropping DD2 off at the childminders after lunch and picking up DD1 - we've not decided what e are going to do yet - dependson if it stops raining.

this will be the first time that DD2 has been looked after by someone either than me or DP so feel a wee bit strange (i know she'll be fine - but still can't help feeling a wee bit strange about it)

i was the same on sat my2weegirls when we left ds with dh's parents. they had been going on a bit about how we hadnt been out on our own - but i didnt feel any particular need to until last week when i thought a wee meal out would be nice.

went to a japanese restaurant in falkirk - really nice by the way my2weegirls if you like japanese food, and th grandparents babysat.

as predicted though - mil was a complete ds expert after 2 hours and told me all the things that i was doing wrong with his skin etc. i ignored her as usual as his skin is getting much better (possibly after me cutting dairy out of my diet - not a fan of soya milk but the things you do for your kids). she also said he has a very low boredom threshold. he's 17 weeks for goodnss sake - and also it was evening. during the morning we can lie on the bed reading stories etc for an hour at a time before he gets bored.

anyway sorry that turned into a rant. hope your wee one feels better soon gill, and hope you find something fun to do my2weegirls - but dosnt look like the rain is going to let up.

conker - was it the one near 'behind the wall', just up from grahamston train station? i really keep meaning to go in to try it. it was featured in the sunday herald a couple of weeks ago and got a good write up.

it's funny how we are all doing things wrong, comments i've had include - baby is too hot, baby is too cold, oh you burp her like that?....

still chucking it down here so thing it will be watching a dvd or soft play (i know what my choice would be - but think DD1 will opt for soft play - shudder)

yes saw it in the herald and thought we'd try it - will definately go back.

its funny cause my mum gives me no advice but i am then constantly asking her for it, i never ask mil and yet she gives me it anyway all the time.

Don't talk to me about mil's- last time we were there when J was 3 months, it was "aaw, he wants to try my gravy. Do you want to try my gravy?" and off she goes with a big wooden spoon to get some out of the boiling hot pan. I feigned ignorance and sped off in the opposite direction with James.

Yeah, sod taking weaning slowly, shovel some nice salty fatty meat sauce in his tiny mouth at three months! Preferably off an immense unsterilised spoon, please!

I've found a combination of playing dumb, making sharp exits and being well informed on the latest guidelines helps with unsolicited advice. Plus I now have the confidence to say that at the end of the day he's MY baby, I went through umpteen hours of labour to get him, NOT anyone else, so what I say goes. End of!!!

and mine keeps doing things like every year they write a christmas letter. before he was born they said that the christening will have to be before christmas cause they'd already written their christmas letter. eh???

and then on sat they came in and announced that their letter this year was going to be from ds (so clearly they hadnt written it before he was born). I know this might sound petty but i have become pettier the more mil annoys me until everything she does annoys me. i'd just prefer if they'd said- do you mind if our xmas letter is from ds.

i have started standing up to her more and just disagreeing with her when she tries to tell me what ds likes and doesnt like after 10 mins with him. i used to bite my tongue to be polite but it never gts any better so my new strategy is to say what i think (within reason)

Thanks. She's holding on to her wee at the moment. She's got a nappy on and it still feels dry despite her running around the room screaming cos she needed to go. Trying to get as much fibre and fluids into her as possible but that is easier said than done as she's not remotely interested in drinking.

Having a very lazy day today, although I did spend about 2 hours washing up as dh refuses to do such things in the evenings. We're currently still in our pyjamas. Will have to get dressed soon though as I'm taking dd shopping to buy sweets to put in the kids xmas crackers. I thought I'd try to keep her occupied today to keep her mind off feeling ill.

I'm lucky I don't get given any unwanted advice. Mum's quite an expert as she's had 3 kids of her own and been a childminder for 20 years. She very rarely comes out with bad advice. On the other side fil's partner learns things from us. She's had 2 children herself. It was quite funny when dh got her to feed ds when he was asleep. She didn't realise you could do that.

Pink - just read back far enough to see your message about secretsanta - how lovely - you deserve a happy xmas and an extra special bit of cheer.

moring - dd1 and i had a good afternoon together though she was a bit concerned at leaving her wee sister behind - but soon forgot all about her once she got to soft play.

dd2 slept most of the time she was at cm - so we are going to make it a regular thing till i go back to work.

off to edinburgh to meet work friends for lunch - hope you all have a good day.

ps gill hope you dd is better?

Thanks my2weegirls. The constipation is better. She did 2 quite big poos yesterday evening She's still in pain when she wees so I'm hoping the anti-biotics start to kick in soon. For some reason dh is getting annoyed at me letting her stay up til I go to bed. She's been getting really upset at the thought of going to bed and we'll end up going up and down the stairs all evening to see her when she's in pain.

Hi all

Not sure if i've popped back in yet after working last week, (i don't know where i'm at ATM. Anyway LL took the bottle really well, and mum and dh coped, one couldn't expect dh to do 2 dc's on his owndh coped OK with my mum too, as she is just like some of your MIL. I can't rememmber where i read this but someone said recently that

'the difference between your family and the IL's is that you can just say what you think to your own family'

My dh is soo funny as he just gives it straight back to my mum now, it's great we are like one big dysfunctional family now.

LL has had major developments today, can roll off a bed, unhurt and can take his own socks off.

Morning folks (oh wait, it's 12.11pm...oh well)

Glad your dd is feeling a little better Gill, she must have been feeling pretty miserable.

Hey Uki, so your lo can take his own socks off eh? clever chap! James discovered his feet yesterdsay, but so far he only notices them when he's sitting on my chest so they're in his line of sight.

His sense of humour is really starting to show now, this is the best bit! He's been laughing his head off this morning while I wiggled his legs and tickled and blew on his belly. He looks tired out after all that giggling actually! He's usually in the mood for fun at bedtime though when I'm telling him it's time to sleep, and his big gummy grin ends up making me laugh, then he giggles even more and won't sleep then because he's too excited.

Jabs tomorrow, dreading it as usual but it's his last lot til 12 months I think, so we get a few months off now.

Hello all !!

Sorry to have been such a stranger but just don't seem to have much time to get on here. All well, Paddy had his 2nd jabs today after his BCG on Monday....never just rains eh ? He's got a rotten cold and I also suspect some teething signs but despite all this the little wotsit is incredibly happy and giggly.
I say bless him, I didn't feel that way yesterday....Took him with me to a garden centre that has a massive Christmas section and the following ensued:-

Arrive and start wandering through the centre,
after 5 minutes, Paddy spontaneously combusts
Mummy runs for the babychange area
Paddy has not only expelled Satan but all Dante's circles of hell
Mummy bites the bullet and enters Hades
Circles 1-3 have exited the sides of his nappy
4 thru 6 have made their way out of the back
7+ headed for the front of the nappy
Mummy has breakdown
Mummy runs out of wet wipes
Mummy runs out of nappy bags due to filling them with poo sodden clothes
Mummy realises she doesn't have her usual emergency clothing changes
Mummy enters meltdown
Mummy delivers Patrick the Gospel according to TT
Patrick Smiles and laughs his bloody head off
Mummy melts

Sigh.......

LOL, gotta love those explosive poops. At least they don't smell much yet! J is in size 4 nappies now, out of convenience more than anything as they cover most of his back, contain all leaks and hold more wee so he won't wake up early because of a soggy nappy.

Just bought 99% of my christmas presents, so I'm going to wrap them in a sec, that'll be one weight off my mind, I've just got to send off the cards, buy a few more bits to pad out the presents, get a cheap tree and the christmas dinner stuff and I'm sorted for a low-effort christmas, yay.

Quiet here today, everyone busy with the little ones?

Don't smell ????????? Jaysus honey, these bad boys smell like an explosion in a caramel meets dustbins factory !!!

You know what ? I think the problem is that they don't smell like sh*te, just that lingering sweet/nasty smell that drives you nuts when you go out, then come back and realise that it's pervaded your entire house !!

I've been trying to be good in getting Christmas presents James and am so impressed with you getting virtually all yours done. I've managed a lot of the kids (married into a cast of thousands big family) and have soooo many presents to get. As for the card writing.....