May 2008 - we just couldn't wait!

[thefortbuilder]

for everyone who's popped already and congratulations to us all!

Hi all,

LM - well done to DD1 on her potty training. I am going to start DS after christmas when he has just turned 2. I can come to you for help and advice

YCBS - we had our 8 week check and first jabs all at the same time - spent the morning in the docs!

All ok here. DD has 2nd jabs on Thursday. Planning christening at the mo (end of sept) - which is quite exciting

jently DD2's Christening is in 2 weeks. We had a massive do for DD1 (first baby) but I can't be doing with all that again, so just our immediate families.....that's still 22 people over to our house for food after the Baptism.

mitchell Oooo, your scar sounds painful. I hope it clears up soon.
I think getting a potty for DS1 to sit on and get used to is a good idea. DD1 did a wee on the toilet at playgroup with the CM this morning...I am getting text updates!

DD2 very unsettled last night, I ended up feeding her again at 11pm. Not really a big deal, I know, but when you've got used to 7pm being last feed it was a bit of a !!

LM74 and YCBS thanks, it isn't that sore just annoying coz any clothes that rub irriate it, so have gone back to wearing loose maternity type clothing, I was very pleased to be back in my jeans, but they hurt. Hopefully will be able to wear them again soon.

I also need to organise DS2 baptism, but need to organise it around godparents coming up from London though.

I am so sick of this weather, we have been stuck inside for days. It hasn't stopped raining.

YCBS: sorry me again , you can see I have nothing else to do.With DD we had 3, my sister and DH sister and her husband.
DS1 had my cousin and her husband.
DS2 we are still deciding, but will probably be my sister and cousin again.

But if something every happened to us the kids would go to my parents(55 years old)or my sister. As they couldn't work full time because of DD, so not really the couple god parents.

Sorry that you are getting wet

Hey me too, Catholic but I also don't go to church expect for weddings, christmas and baptisms.

YCBS Both DDs will have four godparents each . Not really what I wanted, two enough IMO. However, when DD1 was born, I wanted both my bro and sis to be her godparents as I am v v close to my sis (we are BFF!!!) and as my bro 'plays for the other team' he isn't gonna have any kids of his own (and as you all know, he is amazing with kiddies). DH's family, well, his mother, wasn't very impressed that there would be none of his family involved, FWIW, my family are strong practising catholics and his family don't practice at all so it felt a bit hypocritical to me for them to be so bothered about being godparents (sorry if that offends anyone). So we then asked my neice (12 yrs old at the time ) as we didn't feel we could ask one but not the other of his sisters. We also asked DH's cousin as they are very close, and at the time him and his wife were TTC with not much luck (she is the lady being induced last night!!!!!) and we thought they might not have kids of their own.
DD2 is having my brother again, for the same reason, and my Uncle (we named DD2 after my Aunty who died last year) and both of DH's sisters.
God forbid, if anything happened to us, I would be more than happy for my brother to be their legal guardian.

On a lighter note DD1 did a wee on the loo at playgroup and in the potty at the CM's, however, she also poo'd her pants in between . Poor thing was quite upset by it apparently.

I'm off for a swim in a bit, making the most of DH being off all week. Hopefully that allergic to chlorine thing will have gone now I am not pg (haven't been swimming since).

Got a lovely evening of food planned. It's my sister's birthday so her and her boyfriend are coming over for food, DH has made sundried tomato focaccia in the bread maker and I have made a choc birthday cake. A friend told me about baking a cambembert in the oven then cutting it open and dipping bread in it.....I'm salivating just thinking about it!!

LM xxx

Hi all, I'm back!!!

LO's doing very well.

He's on 7-8 ounces every four hours... is that normal?

We're getting him chrsitened on Saturday (Catholic), big party etc.

Hope everyone's baby's are doing well!!

Lots of love
xxx

moaning minny alert- just skip this as I'm just having a moan....
I'm waking up around 1.30 am and not getting properly back to sleep again before K is up and at'm at 5.30 am- arrggghh. Its only been two days in a row but I'm sooooo tired right now.Everyone else is sleeping, except if I get out of bed that wakes up J after a bit, or when I climb back in she's disturbed, wants to feed and then I struggle more to sleep ( I just want to wriggle and get comfy, not compatable to baby attached to boob so I just have to keep still). I've been feeling really well, but yesterday (sorry asics!!) and today I'm just brain dead and struggling to string sentences together. DH's parents are over (down the garden with DH and K at the mo) and I feel such a wuss for jsut wanting to lie on the sofa.
RIght, going to LIE on the sofa while they're all out and J is falling asleep on the changing mat so hopefully I'll be back to normal soon. Just makes me realise how 'close to the edge' I'm functioning, and it just takes a little thing to make everything too much to deal with...ho hum.

Afternoon ladies

Mumblesmummy - welcome back! Good to hear from you.

So I went to Italy for the funeral and expressed like a prize cow before hand. DD was fine - she ate all my milk and dp reluctantly fed her 2 bottles of SMA gold (I bought some just in case) in the hours before I got back. I don't think she needed it tbh. When I express a bottle worth of milk is about 2 of her usual feeds. But when she eats from a bottle she eats a bottle in one go (does that make any sense? ) It is like seeing the bottle she decides that is how much she'll have but with my breast she stops when she isn't hungry anymore. Anyway - it doesn't matter.

Funeral was very sad but it meant a lot to me to go, There was something surreal about jumping on a plane and being just a jet set me for a few hours. I wanted a sign saying "I am a mummy" - I didn't like it very much not having dd with me!

I had to express every 2 hours more or less and felt guilty at letting it drip into the loo but had no choice. I had to do it - my boobs were exploding by the time I got home anyway.

Few lessons learnt for anyone breastfeeding and going to be away from their dc for while:

• Give yourself time to express. Doing it in a rush might stop the milk flowing as well as it might. If this does happen, I found stopping, having some food and 2 pints of water & starting again was much better.

• Take an expressing machine with you. My Avent one has a little battery pack with it which made it easier. I didn't take any bottles and just did it over the loo or a sink.

• Double up breast pads (especially if there are going to be any babies where you're going ) I used Avent washable ones with some other disposable (Lasonil I think) ones stuck to my bra which didn't look too bulky.

• Freeze milk in advance if possible. I did this in Lasonil freezable bags which can be defrosted quickly under the hot tap.

• Enjoy the fantastic feeling of going back to your dc! Dp had dressed Stella in my favourite outfit & put some flowers next to her with a big sign saying "welcome home mummy"

She slept through last night from 1130 - 630 snd then until 10! We put her in a grobag for the first time last night & I've finally followed my instinct and abandoned the Moses basket (I hate them!) She slept in her carry cot on the Moses frame & slept like a log! I hope it wasn't a one off. I am starting, 8 weeks into motherhood, to feel exhausted even though she sleeps well - it is just the daily slog tiring me out I think.

Booked our summer holiday & I am incredibly excited about 2 weeks with dp and dd! We are going with some friends & our god kids - ds 5 and dd 6 months. The boy is a bit hyper sometimes and am planning lots of activities to keep him busy. Any suggestions would be great (things to do in a big house with a pool and lots of land that don't take up much room in a suitcase!)

On that note - what do I need to take for my dd on holiday (going next month when she'll be 3 months)? Was planning on taking my own car seat and carry cot for her to sleep in? What clothes etc wise? Must be a thread on here....

Hope everyone is well & it isn't raining everywhere like it is in London.

MM

Hey MM, glad to hear the expressing worked well for the time you were away. I see from your profile page that you are bringing up DD bilingual, your Italian must be great! . So, are you speaking English to her at all? Are you Italian?
I'm speaking only English to DS but we live in Spain and his dad speaks Spanish to him so hopefully he'll be bilingual. Will be very interested to see what his first word is! I did find it hard in the first week actually, as I kept finding myself speaking Spanish to him. I think cos i had DH at home as well and as we speak Spanish together I just carried on in Spanish to DS.

Macao, It is a coincidence you ask about bringing up dd bilingual as I have just posted elsewhere on how odd I find it at times.

My Italian is fluent and is actually my preferred language but dp doesn't speak any. I have frineds brining their kids up to speak more than one language not Italian though) and they suggested that when it is just me & dd we speak Italian but when we're with English speaking company I only speak English to her. The language threads on here are quite useful for more info.

well what an awful day, where has the summer gone? , who was it who is planning on emigrating to oz? we did moved there 4 years ago, and decided to move back to the UK as we had no family or freinds, but we made the wrong choice! I would be interested to know how you get on with it all anyway.

DS1 had his 2nd day at nursery today, he ran in, gave nme a kiss and went in all by himself like a big boy, I felt very sad, but also happy that he atleast likes it there.

DS2 had his 8 wk check and 1st jabs today, check was ok, he has some very long named rash which is apparently ok and he also has belly button hernia ( i had one in pg), he may have to go to Plymouth for an op! but after internet research it seems they wait a few years to see if it goes away on its own. then he had his jabs, dear of him, he really screamed and was very unsettled for hours . He is sleeping peacefully now though.

On the sleep front, he is still waking every 2 hours throughout the night and going about 3-4 in the day! wish it was the other way around, but i think maybe he knows in the night i am his only, whereas in the day his feeds are constantly interupted.

Mitchell - sorry to hear about your scar, sounds nasty

Mumblesmummy - hi and welcome back, enjoy your boys christening

mumofkandj - i know what you mean about not getting comfy when co sleeping, i am lucky in the fact that i can sleep anywhere, but i do wake up very stiff and achey from sleeping around ds2.

ycbs - i was thinking of you last night, ds2 had bad wind from 1-2am, and dh actually got up, huffing and puffing grabbed the spare quilt and headed off for the sofa, but i made some comment to make him feel guilty and he stayed, moaning the whole time though! why do they think they have got it so bad!

mm - well done for your baby free trip, im very impressed, i was excited about going to tesco on my own the other day!

anyway have to go to bed, lets pray for sunshine tomorrow, night

Warning - big moan about to start!

Maybe this should be on the am I being unreasonable thread but....

Dp had to work late this evening. He texted to say he was on his way home and even brought food back. All fine (okay, so he bought pork which I haven't eaten for 8 years but hey he tried - cynical face) and I was looking forward to a nice evening. Dd has been a bit whiny this afternoon as we stayed in too much today and I had just got her to sleep when dp came in. I wanted us to be able to have dinner etc before she woke up in a better mood and ready for stories.

Anyway, she was asleep on the sofa and he its right next to her and starts stroking her . She wakes up just as the food is ready. He tried to put her down and back to sleep but it doesn't work and a whimper turns into a full on scream. He gets her and brings her to the dinner table but she is now hysterical and he is dropping food everywhere trying to eat with one hand . I take her and calm her down and sit in another room and put her back to sleep. He comes in and she wakes up . I take her upstairs and call him when she is ready for bed for a story. He proceeds to come up, fall asleep and start snoring !

I finally then get her to sleep and come down to put the washing on, sterilise the dummies, prepare the bag for tomorrow - all the stuff it is hard to do with a babe in arms that I do before bed ot make me feel more prepared and less frazzled. He comes down and gets angry because having finally woken up he wants to go to bed properly and wants me to go too . He suggests I shouldn't be angry with him for being tired as he is going to bed too late everynight (the baby's last feed is at midnight so we're awake usually until then but in bed from 1030) and being woken up (he may be woken up twice but never gets up!)

When am I allowed to be tired? When can I just kick back and fall asleep and snore loudly knowing I will wake up to find the baby safe and sound and looked after by him? Maybe this is unfair as he did look after he while I went to Italy but she is ours.

Sorry for the rant but I feel much better! I am going to have a cup of tea and relax now.

MM

It's hard isn't it? DH works very very long hours in a pyhsically demanding job but sometimes I do feel it's all on me. Last night Ds was over tired and having a screamy fit so I strapped him to DH in the sling and went in the garden. After about 30 mins he stopped. I think sometimes I do too much, where DH could help, like last night and maybe I'm excluding him almost.
MM I'm going to do One parent one language as I've heard if you mix then they can get confused. But he'll hear me speaking to DH as we speak Spanish together. It's a bit different for me as we live in Spain so he'll have that input, then English from me as my mother tongue. I have to say I take my hat off to you, I really couldn't not speak English to DS, it would be a bit weird for me.

Mumblesmummy welcome back

Monkeysmama glad your trip to Italy went well and sorry for your lose. Sorry about how you feeling about DP.
I get from DH how hard he is working etc, does he think I just sit at home all day having fun, doing nothing.

Magicfairy it was me wanting to move to Oz, our only problem is we have a disabled daughter and might not be allowed in so are thinking about trying to get in on temporary visa first and only applying for PR once there as they will then know what sort of care she needs.
My parents and sister would also come to Oz so we wouldn't be without family if you know what I mean. Where in Oz did you go? We are thinking Perth as thats where the oil is.

We might leave it a year and get some more points(once DH finishes degree) and we then would also know if DD needs spinal surgery.

Weather still crap here, flights are getting more expensive and DS2 passport not back yet so can't book for the 19th

ycbs hope you enjoyed your sleep, will ds get his injections with nhs health visitor or portland?

sorry ds2 awake sorry haven't commented on everyone, hugs to those who need it and to those who need it.

blimey, there's a lot of us catholics out there!!