Jan '07 part 24: As soon as she's finished her nativity scene, Loosh is going to knit each and every 101 Dalmation!

[2HipHopandHappy]

No, really

Echo...

Ok, I'll stop pissing about now.....

"Oh, sorry, there is a crumb under my K" - now why do I find that an unreasonably amusing statement?! Possibly because I am on my own with only rabbit-catching cats for company

Sounds a bloody lovely anniversary, MrsC. I would think he's set a precident, though, Cristal is obviously traditional now on your anniversary (she says, having no clue how much it costs!)

Rgee its our 5 year anniversary to in July and we were meant to be going away for weekend to meet friends that we met on our honeymoon as they got married same dat but we cant coordinate overnight babysitters for same weekend till september and then we have ellies birthday and eurodisney so doesnt look like it'll happen

Mrs C do you think they'll let you have a wireless laptop??

Hi all

So nice to see you all. I've been asleep pretty much all the time since i last posted... almost! Well, it feels like i'm doing nothing but sleeping. I get on here, read the thread, think to myself I'l post in a moment, have a little look out there >>>> at the rest of MN, post then fall asleep. Horrible feeling.

WIll be thinking of you on Friday MrsC. Seems to have come around really quick that has? Really hope all goes to plan. I'll send lots of healing hugs from me and Izzy, your way on friday afternoon, so look out for them.

2happy: where in Devon were you? I love Devon. I'd really like to move to either devon or cornwall. I guess, cornwall just beats it for me, well, one particular place in cornwall actually, I'd live almost anywhere in Devon.

Rg: There's always something to say, even if you don't think its interesting I've had reflexology recommended to help me with my pain, what do you think? can it help with such things? actually, I'm not that sceptical, I'd give anything a go if it might help.

E&H: I'm liking that play house! I always wanted one, but never got one, had to make do with pretending! i spent hours and hours with friends in their playhouses. Was so jealous of them! Like the sound of the curtains too!

Had a quiet time this week and weekend. Mr C is in China until thursday. He's still missing us- always good to know.
izzy still teething these bloody premolars! Oh, and having her MMR tomorrow. I'm then going to look around
the shops for a dress or outfit of some sort for my brothers' wedding. Izzy is walking so much now. every time I see her I feel so proud! daft mare hey!

Oh, and lastly, she had her checkup yesterday at the hospital. her hips were X-rayed, and the left is looking really good, she's about 80%coverage of the socket, but the right has slowed down considerably. Still acceptable, but just a little worrying as they were the same at the last x-ray.

It's really really odd, but I've always had a really strong feeling that she'll need surgery on that one.I've told mr C this, of course, and at the last check up, he was so pleased to say, well thank god your instincts aren't always correct, as both hips looked ok then... It was always my right hip that was worst too... felt horrible telling him last night on the phone that it might not be ok after all. Feel sick to think too much.

MInd you, thank god for my instincts, if i'd ot followed them in the first place, she'd never have had her diagnoses at 12 weeks, and very likely would have ended up just the same as me, with pain and disability ahead of her. thank god, i pushed for her to have the early scans. So, anyway back in 6 months again.

Right, well.. i'm off to find the source of the smell of stale milk I've got, here on the sofa!!

hope you are all ok. take care. Suze

Susie - news about xray but like you said at least she is being monitored early, sorry if you have said why has Izzy got problems with ehr hips (was she in cast when she was little or was that someone else?) Ellie was a flexed breech and had clicky hips but thankfully with physio they rectified themselves fairly quickly? Hope you are starting to feel better

really sorry to hear that, susie, good job you've been fighting her corner and getting her see.

2happy - too expensive to have every year I thin!

EAH - I don't now, I assumed I couldn't tae the laptop, I will as tomorrow.

Reggie - can you have champagne at the cricet?

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

E&H: I thought I had... maybe I havn't! She had DDH= developmentally displaced hips. I was born with CDH = congenitally dislocated hips. Its hereditary apparently...

Girls are more likely to have it than boys anyway, and girls born to mums who had it, have a hugely increased risk of it.
We didn't know this until I was pregnant. Its not something that is detected until after birth either. It used to be always called CDH, now they call it DDH, no idea why.

Mine was missed until I was 21 months old. Always got hummed and harred about, but no-one ever followed it up. Was spotted when I was eventually walking at about 19 months, and I wasn't walking properly then. I was taken in immediatly, and had surgery,frog plaster. traction, all sorts. It was all too late for me, and I had surgery from then until today really. I've now had my right hip replaced, left hip needs replacing now. I've had arthritis since I was 15.

Izzy was checked at birth, and every day in the nnu as part of their regular top to toe assessment. every time, they said her hips were fine, and normal. I felt that they were not right after about 3 weeks. She'd had an automatic referral due to my history. We didn't get a scan appointment sent through. I was more and more worried as I noticed her legs were different lengths at times, and I could hear them clicking really loudly. Eventually, after I rang every day, we went for a scan. It showed both hips were dislocated, and no socket at all on one side. She was put into a fixed ( frog leg shaped) harness for 12 weeks. (at 12 weeks old)

I was utterly gutted. Felt so guilty. really guilty. It strangely has been really cathartic for mum. She lamed herself entirely for my problem, and finding out it's definitely genetic has really helped her. Of course she was gutted and upset too, but it healed a few old emotional wounds for her I suppose they say something good always comes out of something bad.

On the day of the 1st scan I said what I thought and that I was concerned and was told even then that her hips felt normal, and not to worry, i insisted on the scan anyway, so she did it. She couldn't believe what she saw on the scan. Both were so abnormal. We thought she'd need surgery after the harness, and they're still not ruling it out, but she's done really well and the left is almost normal. Just the right has slowed down its growth. I just have a strong horrible feeling still that the right is not going to get right and she'll need surgery at some point. I just don't want her going through what I have. I've had a lifetime pretty much, of pain and disability due to it.

So, i've just got to keep takig her back every 6 months util she is 5. Hopefull, the right will catch up, and she'll be ok.

Helllooooooo all

Mrs c hope all goes well we shall be thinking about you.

Eah hi mate

Rgee whos going from the apprentice tonight ?

Susie sorry to hear about lo at least she gets regular check ups.

Pcf not long now are you scared ? How is alex getting on at school ?

2happy glad tyou had a nice break .

Its my 7th wedding anniversary this year time flies.

The playhouse is up!!!!!

DH spent all morning doing the bottom/sides/door/windows then my Dad came round to help with roof and DH had put all the panels on wrong way (irony is he had right first time but changed them as he didnt think it was right) It has felt in roof, door number etc now we need to lay the flooring, make patio area and furnish. I am printing pictures of all the disney princesses and then will laminate them and they can goon the walls

Susie - good job you were adament about the check up - think its mothers intutuion (sp) isnt it

Mrs C - best of luck on friday (not sure I'll be able to post tomorrow) will be thinking of you

Lal - hope kids behaving and you survived teh baked bean flinging

Vin - hows bump still kicking like mad (maybe future footballer??)

Hello to everyone else

MrsC - how did the pre-op assessment go? (And did you ask about wireless in hospital?!!)
eandh - congrats on the speedy erection build
susie - good news that one hip is ok, sorry to hear the other one's lagging; but like you say, at least it's been identified early (thanks to you for pushing, so stop feeling guilty, daftie!). We were near Exeter, mainly because that's where the wedding was. My Mum's Mum's family is from near Tavistock - Mary Tavy, Brent Tor. My Mum's Dad is from near Mevagissey. If it wasn't so far from where home is for us all now, I'd jump at the chance of moving there. Beautiful, and warm! But I think the stupid little roads would p* me off - we have tiny roads here, but at least there's always a verge to pull off when you meet an oncoming sheep car.

On my own again tonight - dh has taken ds1 for a sleepover at the ILs, then they're taking him to a mate's farm tomorrow. They think they're going to show him the lambs (hopefully orf-free, since there's a lot of it about ATM), but if they honestly imagine they're going to get him past the tractors, then they really don't know their grandson!! Still, a day of me and ds2, which will be lovely. I will try to interact with the poor child, and not MN all day!

the day in pictures !!

oops wrong link before this should be the right one

WOW!!! I am soooooo jealous! I want one too.

and I won the cooker,sink,dishwasher/fridge for £20 woo hoo

That looks good, eah, I was thining about getting a little kitchen for F, he loves helping me. We haven't got much room though, I might get one of those little wooden hobs thats go on a chair or something.

Pre-op was ok, thanks. I only spoke to the surgeon in the end so I didn't ask about wireless. Maybe I will just enjoy a laptop break.

Feel quite nervous now and packing my bag. I wanted new slippers and hot water bottle and stuff, don't know why. I was even going to buy a new towel and dh was like, er we have hundreds of towels so I didn't!

Oh dear, I seem to be hopeless at keeping up to date these days! Mind you all I would have been doing is moaning about being pregnant and having a screaming little girl who is teething an still not walking so my back is killing me from carrying her. See I told you; moan moan moan.

Just a quick question, when do you think I should start worrying about Ruth not walking? Is it all ok until after say 18months or should I get some advice? Luke was quite late at 14months but he was doing alot more than Ruth is doing now at 12 months. She will pull herself up, but rarely cruises. SOmetimes she stands when she is doing someting and distracted but for a second or so.

Carrot- Will be thinking about you tommorrow. xxx

Susie- Well done to you for standing up to them and insisting on the scan. Hope that the right hip is better in 6 months.

2happy- HOpe you enjoyed your holiday.

EAH- We went looking at sheds last week and Luke WOULD NOT leave the ENORMOUS play house he had started to 'make tea' in! Had a full blown tantrum and had to be practically dragged out of the shop! Tried to explain that we did not have £1999 to spend on a playhouse that would not fit in our garden but he didnt seem to understand.

Vino- Had a nightmare looking for maternity wedding outfits but Next have an 'offers' section at the moment and I got two dresses for £12 each, and some really nice sage cropped trousers for the warm weather. Worth looking regularly as they get new stuff in quite often.

Sorry no more personals but hope everyone else is ok and all the los that were sick are getting better.

Dragon: I think it perfectly acceptable that you not worry until at least 18 months. Do you have any worry's about her hips at all? have you noticed clicking> differeent leg lengths? DO the creases on each leg match ou if you pull the legs straight together? If the answer is no to these, the her hips are likely to be ok. If you are not sure about some of these things, then just take her to your GP and tell them you're concerned that she's not walking yet.

I know I didn't walk until very late, and it was not seen as a problem, clearly this sounds ridiculous as I did have a huge problem, but what I mean is, the fact that ia wasn't walking, in itself didn't cause concern.

THe consultant we saw this week told us that it does tend to be familial, so if you were later in walking your children are more likely to, if Luke was 14 months, ROse is not far behind at the moment, so I'd say dont' worry yet.

Althoguh, you know, your GP or HV won't mind if your are worried, to take a proper look at her hips, and legs.. if it puts your mind at rest

Sorry, can't stop now. just wanted to say, MRS C
Really will be thinking of you tomorrow, best of luck and just you take care and rest plenty. Hope it all goes to plan. Lots of love and special cuddles from Izzy. {{{{hugs}}}}

MrsC - just wanted to wish you luck for tomorrow. Will be thinking of you

EAH - the playhouse looks fantastic! LOved the photos of the girls and DH building it. Ha ha.

DH - what is your due date?

Hi everyone else. I am shite at keeping up with this thread at the moment so sorry for lack of personals!!

What is it with little boys and kitchens? J LOVES playing with the DTs Little Tikes kitchen and BBQ. I would love to get him one but we haven't room.

Well, DH, J and I had a lovely day off together, we went to Ikea and as we wandered round I saw this gorgeous little girl in her pushchair missing a shoe and sock. I tapped on the mother's arm to tell her in case she hadn't noticed and guess who it was.....our very own, very rotund Vino, DH and E!!

Good luck Mrs C ((()))

DH - ds2 is miles behind ds1 developmentally. In all ways. He is smaller, later to mopve, later to talk, he was later on solids, he's later to stop bfeeding, he's later ti sleep through the fecking night; the only good thing is that he is also miles later than ds1 at developing tantrums - ds1 was carpet burning his forehead before 1y, ds2 has yet to have a proper tantrum (I don't count his screaming if I am 5 seconds late getting his food...he knows when he's hungry this lad!). I think the (massive generalisation, but still) widely held belief is that second kids do develop more slowly, because a) with your PFB all your attention is devoted to them - when was the last time with Ruth going "mumma. Mumma. mummmmmmmaaaaaa. Say, mummmmmmaaaaa"? Compared with how many times you did that with Luke?!; and b) your second child doesn't need to walk or talk. They sit and point and go uh-uh-uh! and dc1 runs off and gets whetever it is. That's how it is with us, anyway! Of course I would be mortified if there was something wrong with ds1 and I'd ignored it, but I am not going to go near worrying for a loooong time yet

Well, be proud of me, in the space of time ds2 was napping for this morning I laid 40sq m of turf out the back. I was a bit knackered, I should have had the Benny Hill music going! If it doesn't rain by the time ds2 goes to sleep again this afternoon IO'll get the front lawn cut. On the downside, I foolishly chose today to be the day I tried to potty train ds1, needless to say, it hasn't gone well! Ah, who cares if he's still in nappies when he goes to uni

(I should mention, though, that ds2 can very clearly pronounce words like tractor and, inexplicably, calendar. He just doesn't bother with mumma or dadda )

Ah. It's hailing. Won't be cutting the grass then!!

Afternoon -

2happy am super impressed you know what I reckon between us Jan 07'ers we could set up a home/garden improvement company (I'll be the buyer for the materials )

Am at work was so busy this morning and was rushing around and now at 4.11pm I have finished everything so good excuse to MN for a while

Not much else happening - Hattie has wrecked teh stair gate that was on her bedroom door by swinging on it when it was open and its broke so now when she wakes at night she gets out of bed and toddles into our room or ellies room (prefer it when she goes to ellie's and they snuggle up in bed together and go back to sleep )

Have told Ellie that she can ask Nanny and Grandad if shes allowed to sleep over at the weekend and planted the idea that wouldnt it be fab if Hattie stayed as well

Bit of a boring bank hols as DH working tomorrow and monday.

Mrs C - hope everything going ok have been thinking about you today

PCF - Have a fab fab fab fab fab day tomorrow and we look forward to seeing you as MrsPCF

Hi everyone.
Sorry no personals, but I have been AWOL a while, so thought I would offload update you all..
I am currently a HUGE ball of stress!
I have been looking for a new job, but there is loads of effort involved in getting a new teaching job. There are only 3 times of year you can resign - the next one being the end of the month, then in october, then february - and it's obviously best to have a job to go to before then. Then you have to visit the school you are applying to, write a personal letter of application, if you have an interview you have to teach a small group while being observed. So, having finally found a person who wants to job share we are applying for jobs together. MAJOR hassle, and taking up hours of my spare time.
Then the house sale stuff is moving forward, and we had the homebuyers report back with a few things that need sorting before we exchange. Some things could be pricey too, but that depends on the extent of their badness (lke the roof needs checking, and so do the electrics).
Then I am going to Edinburgh this weekend without s. . First time away, so I am packing for S, with a crib sheet of what to do if he reacts to something, cooking food for the weekend so I dont have to worry about what he is eating etc. DH is having him, but it'll be the first time he is totally responsible for him for a long period of time.
And to top it all my dog ran off this morning!!!! Luckily he went back home, but only after I spent 30 mins traipsing over the heath calling him..
And I have to sort out S's jabs still....

Sorry for the rant, but I thought I would let you all know why I havent been posting..

Hope you are all ok, but I havent read the thread recently