August 2021 - They've been here for half a year

[BertieBotts]

Can you believe it! Our lovely little ones are (roughly) halfway to their first birthdays.

Welcome friends old and new for discussion of sleep, teeth, weaning, milestones, navigating post-baby relationships and the whole existential dread of parenthood... I mean those amazing moments when they make your heart melt. Or produce a poo that makes the wallpaper melt. Oh, all of them. Nothing is off limits because it's just good to know that somebody else has been there.

Tell me about it, I haven't had a sense of style for years and I was still wearing half my maternity stuff when I got pregnant, oops! That's why I just needed to get it out, don't need it any more. Like a kind of symbol to myself :o

Rubbish weather here too. I can't get back today. Saw DS on FaceTime a couple of times and he does not look happy. I'm wondering if maybe he is missing me (but could also just be teeth!). Really want to give him a cuddle but I can't until tomorrow, if I can even get back then 😩

Had a nice time but part of me regrets coming.

Aww @Daffodil21 don’t feel like that! Not that I can talk because I haven’t left DS yet for more than a few hours (only because no one will have him 🤣)

Thank you for your kind words @PurplePansy05 I’m just having regrets about my entire career to be honest lol. I have a degree in pointless subjects because I didn’t know what I wanted to do at 18 like most people. I’ve spoken to someone at work though who’s a union rep and she’s suggested that I could that that with her. Might give me a bit of a sense of purpose so I think I will.

DH is now sick after joking that he has the superior immune system last night. Isaac is the only one (so far) not to get the big so I’m hoping he doesn’t!!

Weather is awful here too.

One thing I am totally loving though is how Isaac looks at his brother. He looks at him with such love it honestly melts me. His brother is also the only person who can get him to belly laugh which is adorable.

@Whatshouldbemyusername chickpeas did not go down well at all with us 😂 he really hates the savoury stuff, hoping he likes it over time!

@PurplePansy05 ugh I have no style, I’m still in a size up so have bought a few bits to keep me going, still don’t know how I’ll fit my old clothes. When I’m walking around at pick up time there’s definitely a mum uniform here- sweaty Betty leggings (personally prefer lulu lemon), golden goose trainers (got those!) and a long puffer coat- I have an arket but it’s still a size too small. But it’s sort of me off the clothes because I don’t want a mum uniform!

@Magik01 sorry to hear about the bug, hope Isaac doesn’t catch it! It’s so sweet hearing about sibling love 💕

@Daffodil21 aw hope you can get back to him soon!

No separation anxiety here but I’m dreading it, my niece is 18 months and she is awful with it, screams the second mum or dad leave the room.

We are still teething here, I can see 2 more teeth on the bottom and 4 on the top! The white outlines are visible, I’m assuming they’ll take ages to erupt though and they’re giving him grief. So much drool!

@Magik01 that did make me laugh! He's just thrown up over DH so he's not quite right. I've somehow just managed to kill hours in the shopping centre just sitting about. Going to make the most of not having DS with me and having a hair cut at 5. No idea how good it'll be though 😂

I've got a back up plan for tomorrow in case trains aren't running (thanks to my very lovely friend), so I should get back to him tomorrow. We have tickets for a show tomorrow evening though which is what we came back for, so I really want to get back as soon as I can. I'm tempted not to go to the show 😂😂 but I'm sure we will

Okay I’ve missed a lot, again 🤦🏼‍♀️

@Daffodil21 😂😂 yes that’s him! I had never actually seen him on dragons den til last night, he seems to just have popped up from nowhere but I do really like his podcast! So many people don’t view things in the way he’s pointing out in it too. I really need to contact my work soon to tell them what my plan is for going back, the problem is I don’t know what my plan is (because I’m hoping I’m not going back) 🤣 Feel like it’s unfair to lead them up the garden path then just spring it on them right at the end. Haven’t even told anyone that I work with that it’s even going well 🙈

He’s now on antibiotics because his urine sample came back showing an infection. It was a week from going to the doctors the first time with him being violently sick to them phoning and saying that 🤦🏼‍♀️ He’s now on 7 days of antibiotics because of how long it’s been left. Three times a day trying to force the luminous yellow stuff into his mouth while he gets his hands/face covered in it 🙈 life is just going so well at the moment 🙃

Oh no @sarah13xx your poor little one!! Have you tried putting the liquid in a bottle teat and letting him suck? Like the syringe behind the test and you or your OH holding baby while the other hold the medicine be teat. I used to have to do that with DS1. Also what’s your insta handle for your business?

Does anyone have advice how to stop baby biting during breastfeeding? It's happening more and more and really putting me off feeding her.

The only thing I ever found to be effective is to watch them like a hawk as you can spot when they are about to do it, then stop the feed before it does. If they are biting they are not really wanting the milk anyway.

It is usually a testing thing e.g. when they first get teeth they wonder what they can do with them. Or to see your reaction. Or sometimes a reaction to teething. Try replacing with something they can bite e.g. a cucumber stick or teething ring.

sarah sorry your LO isn't well :( Sounds super stressful trying to give the medicine.

@Magik01 thanks I think we might have to try that! It’s the fact it’s three times a day, I could just about cope with it once but three times is a lot when you’ve just about recovered from the last one and you’re doing it again 🙈 We forgot last night trying to get dinner organised as he was going to bed and ended up having to wake him for it, which he was even more raging about 🤦🏼‍♀️

@BertieBotts aw thank you, just another thing I don’t need in my life right now but we’ll get there 😂

@sarah13xx yeah three times a day is a lot and I hate the taste of that lemon stuff! It’s bloody horrible, nothing like the lovely calpol! 🤣 I’ve given your page a follow 😄 it’s really lovely stuff, you should be super proud!! Have you always known how to knit?

@sarah13xx you must knit really fast! They are lovely. I can crochet well but never really got into knitting. I'm glad you charge a sensible price too 👍

@Magik01 no just a recent thing, I’ve actually got quite a few ladies now who make them for me so I can focus on the embroidery. I’ve got 32 to do this weekend so it’s an early start on a Sunday! Thank you 😊

@Ready2020 thanks, Etsy takes a fair bit of it in fees so ideally I’ll be able to set up a website eventually. I do more of the embroidery than anything else now and a few friends and ladies who just enjoy knitting make me them then I list them so the turnaround is quite fast but it’s just the embroidery done in that time 😊

@Magik01 you have a dog called Jenson, how have I missed that? Such a cool name 😍 That was high on our baby list

We are on day number 13 of a nightmare cold for dd. She is so snotty and mucusy and she will not let me near her with the nose suckers.
Day number 25 of ds coughing (he brought it home from nursery)
And I'm pretty sure it's turned into a chest infection for me 🙈
We have done countless covid tests and i all negative so it is just a cold but it's taken it's toll!

Oh what a nightmare @Smurf123. Big hugs! Is your DH ok? Can he take the kids out for a bit, fresh air might just help them a bit and give you a break? I bumped into an elderly lady last week on a walk and she said ooh, windy today, clears the sinuses It tickled me a bit.

So Instagram is suggesting lots of different "what X eats" accounts to me, I've looked some up and it gave me so many eye rolls! I mean, in some ways it's helpful to see what other parents do and it gives you some ideas, BUT...why would you feed your child pom bear crisps every day? Or sugary raisin bread cut out into star shapes, alongside fruit, and alongside weetabix? Am I weird to think this is all for show as nutritionally these are empty calories and teaching children they need extra snacks with the main meal is not a good habit? It just seems to be done for the pretty photos without a second thought about what sort of relationship with food this creates. Maybe I'm harsh, but I personally don't want my son to snack on salty/sugary stuff every day I'd just give him another half of Weetabix or some greek yoghurt with fruit if he was still hungry, not sweet baked bread etc 🤷🏼‍♀️ xx

DH is always giving the DC crap like that and I am fighting it all the time. I mean those things are fine but you're right they don't need it every day.

I don't see harm in having them occasionally, I just don't want DS to become a snacker like me, it's a curse as I eat healthy meals and then ruin it by unhealthy snacks and I definitely learnt that from my parents

@PurplePansy05 I do exactly the same 😩 and agreed, I really want to give DS healthier eating habits as it's so difficult to break! Luckily DH is good with his eating so I'm hoping Rowan gets his habits from him...

We just had a few nights in an Airbnb with friends who also have young kids - it's so nice being away with other babies as there's just no pressure, everyone knows that tantrums/naps/feeds/nappies, etc. need to happen and it just makes it much more relaxing!

Sounds lovely re air bnb @biscuitcat! We were planning a trip with our friends who have a LO too and hoped to rent a holiday let together, but they've just told us they're divorcing. I can't say it's a complete shock, but still, I thought they'd weather the newborn storm.

On a different storm note, @Daffodil21 how are you doing? Did you manage to have a nice time/get back to Elliott/get out of Ldn? I am sat here with my cuppa watching another storm unfold right now and its looking worse than Eunice. Brilliant. 🤦🏼‍♀️ xx

@PurplePansy05 thanks, dh took ds to garage to play - ds plays/watches tv dh plays his own computer 🤨
He thinks he's helping apparently.
Thankfully dd has brightened up this afternoon still snotty but I've had smiles and lots of chatting! And she just sat up by herself for the first time only for a few seconds but she did it! Almost 7months!

This storm seems much worse here, incredibly windy and stormy