December 2007: It's all worth it for the smiles.

[claraquitetirednow]

I've never started a new thread before - has this worked?

Does anyone else find that other than putting our babies under the activity gym, bouncer and talking to them, there isn't much else you can do when you are at home? Sometimes feel as if I should be doing more, but don't know what??

My dss's mum took him to Florida when he was 4. Dh and I had him carefully well trained to say "I'm bored" and "Are we are nearly there yet?" every 10 minutes coz we are evil.
He drove her stir crazy.
Well we did say to her that EuroDisney was closer...

lol

bored today and can't be bothered to get my face ready to go out...think I'll go and watch my new friends - Philip Schofield and Fern.....

Lol amani, i used to slag off daytime tv but now i'm hooked! And no i can't think of anything to do in the house other than what you've mentioned. ds has some loooong baths sometimes as it kills half an hour and he really enjoys the freedom of splashing about (hilarious to watch too)

Ds has got his 1st cold too, i think i've been feeding about 18 out of the last 24 hrs, he's miserable and so am i. Luckily the night wasn't too bad so feeling ok, except my sore nipples-owwwwww

BT lol at your evil side

cazzybabs-welcome to my world re smp-its frightening!

Hi and welcome pablop

Amani - I've felt like that fr a couple of days too. I must leave this house soon.

hello all,
skid i am going back in may. poo. but it could have been april- i have found out today it won't be.

HV visit today for PND questionnairre- no real issues. But - millie is definitely teething- i got the HV to look at her gums- 2 white blobs very visible! No wonder she has been gurning more hte last few days. I know they can come and go before they finally break through but i hope she stops being quite so sore.

She went from her 10pm feed to 6.30 last night! Hurray!! Of course i was expecting her to wake up earlier and was awake anyway, but still.

Amani - Philip and Fern rule! Oh and now loose women. Oh yes, and infant activity wise, that's pretty much it. Although I make sure I take him to the pub too as often as possible .

Blardy hell Suey = teething already. Pleease say DS won't start before he's got over his cold. I'd like to remember what sleep is like.

Amani I have days where I feel like that too-although no daytime tv for me-it's strictly Cbeebies only here! Those are the days where I'm on MN everytime ds feeds (which is a lot I have realised-when he went 2.5 hours during the day on Sunday it felt like ages to me!).

I have worn a hole in the knee of my jeans-too much playing and nappy changing! Gone are the days when a pair of jeans would last 5 years!

Got my new hoover today and decided that I really need to get a life! It is very sad to get so excited about a domestic appliance (although my carpets now look lovely and clean!).

Skid my turn to be nosey now! Was the person that invited you from Botswana? Just cos it is such a small population and everyone really does know everyone-is worse than in soapland! Whisper his name if so and I'll ask DH! Oh and good luck for tonight-am sure it will be better than you are expecting (DH's bday is at the end of the month so I have a couple more weeks to psych myself up!)

Welcome Pablop! Afraid my evenings are usually spent dealing with screaming DS so am not on much then but can be found here quite a lot in the afternoons!

Ooh went a bit exclamation mark happy there-sorry.

Hello everyone and welcome pablop - I'm quite often on mn in the evenings if you're looking for a chat. It's my treat once dd is in bed! I was looking for some other things to do with dd too, Amani. My dd likes me to hold her and dance around the room whilst singing along to the radio - she smiles and gurgles away! There's no accounting for taste as I can't hold a tune in a bucket but at least no one else can hear me!

I give up trying to catch up properly so i'll just join back in from here.

Beanster - Sorry i mentioned the length of time Ethan sleeps for!

Ethan had his first injections yesterday, cried for a while and was a bit unsettled but he was fine after that. I also had a check up appointment to get a coil fitted, got to go back on the 12th March if ive had my period by then.

I'm another one who done nothing for mothers day, i don't believe in it really although i did get a lovely bath set from my 2 ds's.
DS1 has been bad since friday with a sickness bug so havent really had the chace to get out and about.

Hi everyone!
I've spoken to the lady from Surestart, she has just left. The Bfing group is now stopping until May - what happened with me on Monday has given them the final push to do it, especially as they know a couple of the women who are attending regularly are no longer bfing - they should have been encouraged to go to another group. She also agreed with me that it should be about support, unlike that unpleasant woman who I told you all about, and that is what it will be billed as in May. They will be contacting new mums and mums-to-be (my suggestion!) nearer the time to encourage them to go to the group. She has also asked if she comes across any new mums struggling with bfing if she could send them in my direction for a friendly chat - I have mentioned that if I make it to 6 months (which I think I will do!) I would like to train as a peer supporter. There is a VERY low takeup of Bfing in my town compared to neighbouring towns and they are wanting to reverse the trend. So all in all I feel quite vindicated.

DS did many many poos yesterday.... he does less in the night though which is good! He did wake up to feed every 2 hours - I think DH's dreamfeed kind of back fired...

Oh he appears to have severe bottom wind - being trumping like crazy lol.

awwwh thanks for the warm welcome everybody. 12 months ago I couldn't have imagined looking forward to chatting online about the colour, sounds and smell of poo!
Really wished I'd known about MN when I was pregnant, I joined late Nov but didn't start properly until a few weeks ago.

Wow BT that is really good, being a peer supporter, it makes a big difference for new mums to have somebody to talk to apart from HV, shame your group is finishing for 2 months, surely they could have asked the non bf mums to go somewhere else.

Louise76 Look forward to chatting with you in an evening. I log on whenever I can normally typing with one hand whilst feeding DS.

Thanks Clairey Bee!

Beanstermummy, thats cool that my little Isaac has the same bday as your little Freya, beautiful name btw. My DS was 2 weeks late and should have been born in Nov. Look forward to hearing more recipes, that Lamb sounded like it could have been delicious!

Hi Pablob and welcome.

Claireybee - you will have to make up for the things you didn't do while living in Botswana when you take your LO's there for a visit. I have heard that the wildlife is good?

Skid - hope your DH is getting some tonight and that it isn't too problematic for you! We may have "done the deed" but only a couple of times and since then (about 3/4 weeks ago?) I have been way too knackered to manage anything. Am I the only one who seems more tired now than I was a few weeks ago?

Roll on sleeping through the night - think I will introduce a bottle of formula in the evenings next week to encourage things.

Amani - I know what you mean about struggling to entertain the baby. She used to sleep a lot more. Now I seem to put her int he chair...put her under the gym...put her on her front on the floor...then??? Anyway I am staying at my parents for a couple of nights at the moment (as dh on yet another residential course) so they can help entertain her!

By the way I would deffo go for the holiday. Travelling with children isn't always as bad as you fear(says her who has had a few good and a few horrific trips with dd1).

BT - good for you thinking of becoming a BFing counsellor. I wish more people would bf in public - I am willing to but find it hard if I am the only one doing it. So try and avoid it. Oh oh Martha woken up, goot run

Evenin' all

Well Freya has fed like a demon today - after my earlier pst about the manic cluster feeds once she woke up - today has been far calmer - at all feeds 11:30, 16:00 and just now she's had ages and for the first time ever done both sides - I'm just wondering now if maybe I've had a bug and her and between us there's been less milk and the pattern over the last few days has got me going again? She seemed miles happier in between feeds so things must be on the up.

Amani - ever seen the film "Groundhog Day"!!!!! I'm currently loving cash in the Attic and then tend to channel surf and use Sky Anytime (or even Box Office but don't tell my DH!) to watch girlie films that I'd never be allowed to in the evening! Have to be back in if I've been out though for Noel and Deal or No Deal

Re SMP - I remember with my last maternity leave with DD1 one pay packet was £14 - as my pension, and other benefits were still going out even though I was only on SMP it amounted to bugger all basically - used up all our savings that time - fortunately this time I'm with a new company who give me 6 months full pay (sorry - not meaning to gloat) - although I seem to be spending more going to Costa or Cafe Nero every day to elieviate the boredom !!!

Pablop - I know the feeling re wishing I'd done MN more - with my first DD I only went on a bit and that was after she arrived - at the time we were living in the arse end of nowhere and I really think my PND wouldn't have been as bad if I'd had like minded folks in the same situation etc to chat to - and others wiser and more experience to ask questions of - the books really only tell you so much.

Safe Maccy Cheese for tea tonight - no more roasts for me for the time being - although my folks are coming up on Sun so will be doing another Jamie special - Beef, Guinness and cheese pie - yummy

Beanstermummy, beef & guiness & cheese pie, mmmm
I really cannot be bothered today, I have become such a lazy so & so, I am just about to do a cheese & ham & mushroom omelette for me & dh. Last night did Lancashire Hotpot with mustard & black pudding, (sorry anybody who gets freaked out by black pudding)

Hi there Claraquitetirednow.

I am meeting friends for breakfast tomorrow (arrgh will have to be up early and super organised but great to talk to grownups even though ds will be with me, I have hairdressers at 12;my ds will get passed round the girls and love all the attention. I will love looking human for a day or 2 instead of leggings & scrunchie in unbrushed hair yuk. I used to have standards.

I then have to prepare for a mammoth tidying up session because my mum is coming to stay on Monday, she cannot get her head around my slutty ways, shes very tidy and organised. She did not pass any tidy and organised genes on to me.

Pablop - I'm the same with the tidy gene - it seems to have slipped a generation with me. Lord knows I try but still manage to be disorganised .

Wizzska, glad to know I'm not on my own, mn doesnt help, havent got round to the omelette yet.
I am half way through maternity leave and I am going back to work in 13 weeks It is my intention to train myself to be a tidy organised person by then,
I am actually a happier person when the house is tidy. my DH is very tidy he gets very frustrated at my mess making capabilities.

I so need to be organised before I go back to work, its bad enough searching for something to wear for me in the washing pile that I havent got round to putting away never mind ds as well.

Hi everyone

Welcome Pablob!

Ds also has a bad cold, ended up taking him to the out of hours GP last night at midnight on the advice from NHS24. Dr checked him over and although he had a temp and wasn't feeding and was screaming his head off continuously from 7-10pm said it should pass within a week! Made me realise how very lucky we have been with DS and him not being a screaming baby, don't get me wrong he has his moments but doesn't do the prolonged cry very often. Poor soul just wanted to be held and have a dummy so I just carried on and thankfully he settled in his bed from 2-7.30 so I got some sleep (although I woke up and checked on him at 4).

Sorry Beanster and Caz about meeting up - definitely on for next week though
Beanster, really glad Freya's back to her normal feeding times, hope that continues.

Wizzska and cleaning types, I go through phases but my kitchen HAS to be clean and tidy (it's joined onto the dining room), if I go to the kitchen and its a mess then everything seems to be a mess also

Suey - did you find the right Nanny? Will you go back full time? I am sure you will find the right balance for you and your family and in your circumstances where you own your business it must be extra stress and pressure when you're not there.

Amani - yeah I do often worry that DS doesn't get a huge amount of variety but this time round it's different with having a toddler to entertain as well!

Sorry for everything else i've missed, I'm so tired I'm barely keeping my eyes open.

Off to bed now

Suey - snap on going back to work in May. I need the money! Very lucky that my work pays 14 weeks full paid leave but after that nothing and I have a whopping great mortgage to pay.

My plan is to go back 24 hours per week - basically 3 full days, but I'm hoping for some flexibility around that so that I can still pick up DD1 from school sometimes.

How long I can live on that reduced salary I'm not sure. I'm going to suck it and see. I know you're in a different situation being self-employed. How many hours per week do you think you'll be doing?

Pablop - I live in New Zealand so you might be see me on here at odd times! Sometimes come on in the morning NZ time which is evening UK time.

I'm going to my first new mothers group next Monday. Aimed at second time mothers - nice that they make the differentiation. I will have to try and pursuade them to hold it regularly on days that I don't plan to be working from May onwards!

Oh oh and have FINALLY stopped bleeding! Beatrix is almost 10 weeks

Blimey Buzzy! Thought mine was bad finishing at 8 weeks (think I may have had a period but I'll know for definite if I have one at 12 weeks!)
I'm not going back to work until end of August at the earliest, but will be going back full time. I will be looking at reducing my hours to 30 hours a week.
Daniel had a good night again, fed at 10.30, 2.30, 4.30 and 6am. He did this the night before last!
After the 2.30 feed I think I should have tried to get him to take more (I think he could have!) because he didn't really take a lot at the 4.30am feed - only fed for a short burst on one breast, where as previous feeds fed on both. Then maybe he'll go through till 6am! I can only dream though

Hi BT! Yep I'd say get as much into him as you can each time, it can't hurt
Its possible I had a period with no gap in between I suppose...

Amani I'd add put on some music, read a book out loud...but that's about it. Which is why I try and get out the door as often as I possibly can. DD has a little toy clown which is her new favourite toy - she can grasp hold of it and bring it up to her mouth. All very unco-ordinated but obviously gives her great satisfaction that she can have some control over her environment. She gets so excited, so lovely to see!