August 2007- The one where we miss our plonkable babies! They're licking the pram wheels as we type...

[JamesAndTheGiantBanana]

New thread!

Might sound like a stupid question but do you have to warm the cows milk for them? I'm guessing they prefer it warmed as he's used to warm formula. Is it ok to warm it a bit for them or does it increase the bacteria? I'm a bit clueless really! All my friends have used follow on milk or growing up milk til aged 2 so I have noone to ask!!

Yes i warm it, as neither will/would drink formula cold.

As for follow on milk i think it is waste of money .

I'm still warming milk in a sippy cup for my 3yo. Tonight he wanted to be a baby- he said 'wrap me in a towel, and can i have my milk in a bottle' kinda cute, weird how attached and how much they love milk/bottles.

violet - good to hear you had a good night with josh, hope it continues.

IMHO i think it's fine to switch to cows if dc is a good weight, but otherwise they might benefit from the extra calories and nutrients from formula for a bit longer. just depends on how much they are eating i guess, my ds's weight just dropped dramatically when i tried cows, but he is very lean even now at 3 i make smoothies and sustagen to try and boost his weight. doesn't work much but can't imagine if i didn't.

LL has a fascination for coffee cups, tipped over my hot choc that dh put on low coffee table and then left the room, all over our wedding album, have tried saving, but some pages a bit ruined LL is fine which is the main thing. would of though dh would of known after yesterday when LL bent over backwards to spill all dh's coffee off table!!!

and to top it off he has put a dead cockroach, spider, rock, handful of dirt, and twice put small balls in his mouth in 48 hours. I wouldn't believe it myself and can't believe he finds all these things... he is a good eater though unlike ds

Hello. We had quite a good weekend. Sleep is still improving. Ds actually slept in til 6:40 this morning! That's unusual and he'll probably be back to 5:30 again tomorrow when it's my turn to get up with him Dd was awake at 2:30 and wanted to go downstairs. She layed down on the sofa while I went to the loo and she was asleep again when I came out so she stayed there til we got up.

Glad you had good holidays mamjoe and my2weegirls. Don't you just hate the post holiday washing.

mamjoe - when my ds learnt to pull himself up to standing in the cot I started laying him down each time. It took a very long time before he got the message the first night but last night I only had to do it twice before he stayed laying down and went to sleep.

James - thanks for the link. Sounds interesting. I think I'll do some research.

violet - Dd stopped going to sleep when having milk at night probably between 12 and 18 months. I think she carried on feeding to sleep in the day for a while after though. In the end we stopped her having bottles completely when she was about 2.5 and started giving her milk in a cup (which she hated). We knew it was just for comfort and she was eating very little food so she wasn't hungry enough for meals. It was hard for a few days but she soon got used to it. Sorry - that probably doesn't give you much hope. Fingers crossed things get better for you soon.

I swapped dd over to cow's milk at 1 and didn't mix with formula. She was fine with the transition. I was worried about the temperature of milk straight from the fridge but I took a chance not heating it and it didn't seem to bother her.

uki - glad I'm not the only one with a 3 yo who still wants 'milk in a bottle like a baby'. She doesn't get it though (mean mummy).

James

I hope today was ok for your dp .

UKI

We went on holiday sat before last and with in half an hour Lexie had eaten some rabbit poo and uck.

I keep having to remind dh to put hot tea cups at he back of the coffee table where Lexie can not reach them.

GillL

It not so much the holiday washing I hate it's the bloody ironing (said she who is ignoring and hoping the huge pile in the corner will do itself ).

James - hope the funeral was ok. How's the family?

Lizzie - I try to buy clothes that don't need ironing. Dh does his own shirts. It took years for me to get him to do it. He used to use that old excuse that he was no good at it.

Anyone got a cure for whinging kids when you're trying to get ready for work/school run in the morning?. I'm normally up 2 hours before I have to leave but I end up leaving later than I should because ds is getting tired already and dd is having tantrums because I won't let her have chocolate/her tv programmes on etc.

GillL

DH would quite happliy goes around in non ironed T-shirts .

As for a cure for whinging Kids i find earplugs work . Other then that ignoring them and just getting on what you need to do. Sorry not that is much help.

James, how is dp? Hope you and the family are doing OK.

Lizzie, I buy things that don't need ironing. The last time I ironed anything it was when I was pregnant,

I went mad on washing and ironing all the baby clothes ready for his arrival. I HATE IRONING! Love doing laundry though for some odd reason .

Well, not long til our lo's birthdays! I'm so excited. Is anyone planning a party for them?

We are hoping it will be nice weather and are planning a very small party in the garden. Fingers crossed for some sunshine for us all!

Right, off to put ds to bed.

Have a good night all!

Hi Lizzie, violet. We're just about keeping the thread alive. Hope everyone else is well.

I'm moving back to my old team at work so I'm much happier now.

Dh announced to me last night that he has been offered a hospitality ticket to the silverstone grand prix at the weekend and it means he will be away from home Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It will be my first time on my own with the kids for more than one night.

I was astounded. I phoned a local NHS dentist expecting to be told they're not taking on patients and I had no trouble getting the whole family registered (except ds of course as he has no teeth - STILL). It was the first one I phoned. I was especially surprised considering one of the news items today was about how difficult it is to find an NHS dentist. It will certainly save money. I was paying £40 for a check up at my private dentist. You get what you pay for though I suppose.

Lizzie - I have to ignore the dcs in the morning or I'd never get to work on time. Dh does help somewhat but it's me ds wants.

Violet - I'm hoping to have a little party in the garden if the weather isn't like it was last August. It would be nice to have a little picnic for the dcs' cousins and friends with a paddling pool.

GillL

Lexie saw the dentist at 4mths. Double check, but i think we get free dentist work until LO's are a year old.

I glad you happier back with your old team at work.

I would get dh to drop you off with me on sunday as DH and his dad are going to the race on Sunday for their birthday as usual .

We probaly do a family buffet/tea party like we have done for Lizzie up to now.

James i hope everything ok.

hi all

gill - that's good about the dentist (you are free until DS is 1yr). and all the private dentists are NHS trained and are covered by the same guidelines/rules as the nhs ones so it should be the same service - just that they will probably have more expensive holidays/fancier cars/nicer offices than the NHS ones .

i let dd1 watch tv in the morning whilst trying to get us all out the door. dd2 tends to crawl all over the place. i have my shower while dp is still here then get the 2 of them dressed. dd1 is up early so has had her breakfast but likes to follow it up with a banana and some fruit flakes whilst i'm giving dd2 her breakfast. then i get myself dressed right before we go out the front door.

of your dh's going to the grand prix - i love watching them!

dd1 has started biting her nails - she made one of them bleed yesterday. going to start a thread on it but does anyone has any tips. i looked at the horrible tasting stuff that you paint on them but it says not to be used on under 8's.

i can't believe that they are 1 next month! where has the time gone???
think we'll just have a quiet time with family popping in.

hope everyone else is ok?

Cant seem to catch up -
Hope that everyone is well, seems like they are all growing up so fast, tate is now all over the place, even crawling down the step to get out the back door! has started pulling himself up aswell now!
I briefly read that someones lo get up early, Tate gets up between 5.20 and 6.30 EVERY morning, dont mid it to much in the week as my Mindees arrive at 730 so it gives me a chance to be ready but kills me of a sat!

Im off on a hen weekend on Friday to Nequay! & of us and we are all really good friends so cant wait, 3 days of NO routine! Dont think dh is so excited about it!

James - Hope your dh is ok-

Im having a BBq in the garden for his birthday, we use this time as a good chance to catch up with everyone so it will be lots of our friends and Kids in bed at 7
Hope that everyone and their babies are well!

hiya everyone, sorry havent been on much lately this course is taking up most nights but got my assignment posted yesterday giving myself time off lol only 2 more to go till the exam.

james hope you are all ok and everything went ok on monday. thinking of you all.x

my2weegirls my ds1 bites his fingers as he copys me i havent managed to get him to stop though so basicaly im useless to you lol i know they grow up so fast but i cant wait until i dont have any babies ive had babies, dirty bums, sleepless nights and everything else for nearly 4 years. not sure what im going to do prob just a wee tea party thats why mums go to iceland. losis on the 30th then ds2 on the 10th sept then ds1 on the 29th so its gonna be hectic.

gill lol at your wee gummy bear. i cant believe how fast los are coming down he now has 7 and still eating mush the speach therapist was out seeing him yesterday and ive been told to bring him to the next stage. good to hear your happier at work. and very good on getting a dentist and yeah you should get free dental treatment for first year.

pink im so jealous lol sounds great have a lovely time

cant remember but someone was asking about heating cows milk? i put ds2 on cows milk before 1yr and he haad to have it heated and appart from having a pot belly he is perfect

went into belfast today on the train ds1 loved it and i took him on the big wheel (think they are trying to replicate the london eye) lol but was really surprised that they werent scared cause half way up i started panicing a bit but had to put a pig fake grin for the kids.

had so much more to tell you all but now my heads gone blank. chances are ill remember when i log off so prob be back in 10.

hope everyone is well. the thread seems to be getting quite quiet. loads of people missing.....probably with the babies getting more active.

Morning all - thought i'd report in. All fine in the Hersetta household - just not much new to report. Caitlin is fine - seems to have given up trying to crawl and now spends all her time trying to stand up which has led to more than a few bumps to the head.

Been offered a new job at a great company (I am being made redundant from my current job at the end of the month) with a big pay rise. Only bad point is I was going to take 2 months off but the new company would like ne to start asap so looks like I won't get much of a break - hey ho.

Hope you and yours are well - especially both James'.

Birthdays, yes! Looks like we might be at mil's for it, she said she might round up some other babies/toddlers for it. I think I'll just bake or buy a big plain cake or something, then have a go at icing igglepiggle on top, and just blow up tons of balloons, have some bouncy music on and sing some songs with them. I don't know what to get him for a present though. Maybe some age appropriate farm animals, as he likes Old McDonald Had A Farm. Either that or buy loads of ball pit balls to put in his travelcot and fling him in!

hersetta congrats on the new job, that's good news!

Uki, so sorry to hear about your wedding album, how upsetting for you! Lo keeps putting horrid things in his mouth too, god knows how he never gets stomach bugs. Last week he retrieved a loo roll
tube from the bathroom in while I was doing my hair, I suddenly became aware of him making yummy noises, looked down and he'd taken a good few bites out of it, munching away happily! ugh.

my2weegirls, ouch sorry to hear about dd2's bump! the sil who died was probably about 30 stone so the dvt was probably from being so sedentary - and yes, I'm going back on a diet this week!

The funeral went very well, huge turnout, though there were a couple of flouncy moments (sil's dp of 18 months decided he was going to beat up her violent ex-h at the funeral and seemed amazed when none of the family supported his bright idea- what a selfish idiot! so he stormed off for full dramatic effect) The vicar knew sil very well so the service was very personal. My dp was ok, her son (18) still isn't reacting iyswim, it looks like it's going to take a long time to sink in for him.

James said "mamamama" at last yesterday, I'm quite chuffed! He also says baba and gaga/googoo (so cute!) Still 2 teeth here but LOTS of drooling and handchewing so expecting more very soon. He's now cruising round the furniture and pushing his upright walker about a bit, so eek, he'll be walking in the next few weeks! Scary stuff.

Better get going, loads to do. Hope everyone's doing ok! xxx

James i'm sorry the funeral overshadowed by sil dp.

As for birthday i am going to place an order with party peices Party peices.

I like to get nice plates etc for the birthday tea.

Oh, sorry if I gave the impression that there was trouble at the funeral- there wasn't, just the threat of it. No it all went ok.

That partypieces website looks pretty good!

I've got so much to do I just can't get any of it done, James WILL NOT leave me alone for a minute. Need a babysitter!!

James don't apologise i didn't think for one minute there was trouble.

I usualy get tablecloth (which are good as they are large and made of plastic so great for when Lizzie is painting), plates,cups,serviette and balloons.

I would get party bags and bits from there when doing Lizzie birthday.

They have realy quick delivery too.

Found out this morning ds can climb the stairs. I went up to get some clothes and heard a couple of bumps followed by a scream.

Glad all went well (mostly) James. Sounds like your sil was well liked. Well done James for saying mama. I keep trying to get ds to say dada as he's been saying mama for a while but he's not remotely interested.

Damn - I'd forgotten about the free dental care. I didn't bother applying for the maternity expemption certificate because I already get free prescriptions and I was with a private dentist (with no plans to change). Anyone know if I can claim the money back?

pink - I'm so of your weekend away without the kids! I have to try to arrange something like that! My ds is up between 5am and 5:30 every morning but I don't have to do it every day. I make dh do it too including one day each weekend.

Glad you had a nice day in Belfast Tasha. I'm not done with babies yet but I do intend to have a slightly bigger age gap between dc's next time.

Well done on the new job Hersetta.

Hi everyone,

How's all your lo's? Joseph is a little tyrant now he's walking. Can't keep up with him! So much happier though, bless him!

We are hoping to have a garden party for a few close friends and family for Joseph's birthday. Just really hope the weather is nice so we can get a small paddlind pool for the kiddies and a bbq for the adults!

James, we still have no clue what to get ds for his birthday present either! If anyone has any suggestions then let us know! He seems really in to Thomas Tank Engine at the minute, he loves his smiley litle face and beams every time he sees him!

Thinking about starting Joe on cows milk as soon as he's 1 but I was a bit nervous about it too so glad you asked violet! I will try replacing one bottle at a time and see how we get on.

Took Joseph to get weighed today. He is now 24lbs 7oz so he has slowes down a lot since he got full mobile. He's still putting on weight though so I'm fairly happy. I was just a bit worried cos he used to put on weight so quickly, now he only puts on about 5 ounces every month so just hope he doesn't slow down too much.

Very envious about the grand prix gill, my dh would love to go to see one.

Tasha, I know what you mean about being done with babies! I only have one dc but I am sooooo ready for a break. I think you're amazing for coping with three, it must be so tiring.

I am actually loving the stage that Joseph's at now. He is so much more content and is so interactive and communicative now. He points, claps, waves and generally chatters away all day long. I have to say, until he got walking, I really didn't like the baby stage. It is just so hard when they are crawling but have so little understanding and can't communicate in any other way than crying. Joseph is so tall and now he's walking he looks like he's about 20 months old! His sleeping is still crap at the minute. Usually up at least twice in the night and rarely get to start the day later than 4:30am .

Anyway, best go keep dh company!

hi everyone - havent been on for a few days but have caught up mostly i think.

glad things went ok on monday james - hope your dp and his nephew can support each other when they need it.

echo the being at the silverstone tickets gill - would love to go one day. was in monaco the week before the grand prix last year and even that was fun.

ds also discovered stairs this week - up three and down three keeps him amused for a while. he's also saying baa for sheep and neigh for horse when he finds his little foam animals.

he's taken to walking on all fours sometimes rather than crawling - not always but its quite funny to watch when he does. think he wants to get all the way up to standing but hasnt quite worked out how yet. i love watching how they work things out over days/weeks.

good news on other baby james - he got moved to a childrens hospital once out of the meningitis danger - was still having fits but think they are now under control and nothing showing up on brain scans so although he's not entirely in the clear yet, he's out of the worst of it. so so so pleased for them.

have a friend who was due last week - met her for lunch today - so excited to see her new baby when it arives - think it will probably make me very clucky though. reminded me of how impatient you get towards the end, but she is looking fantastic - think i will need to try harder to stay more in shape next time round.

aaah dp is driving me insane, everything is about him! hes so bloody selfish and has been so moody and cold its unbelievable, starting petti arguements to satisfy himself because hes not happy unless everyone is in bad form. sometimes i think it would be a hell of a lot easier without him. im tempted to lock the doors and not let him in when he finishes work its that bad hes such an arse.

thats better

back later to catch up

awww conker thats great news on baby james, everyone must be so relieved.

Oh dear tasha! Don't know exactly what your dp has done but I can relate and I sympathise!

Are you on your own with the boys a lot? I find that dh is a complete ass hole when I've been on my own with Joe for a while. He seems to think it's not hard work being stuck in the house with a mobile baby all day long for 12 hours a day. Yes, I know he works hard too but a bit of recognition of the stuff I do would be nice too. I think he thinks babies are fairly easy as when he's here there's only half the work to do iyswim? There is always someone else there to watch him/ hold him/ feed him/ entertain him if the other wants a break or just a pee! Joe comes everywhere with me. Cries if I leave his side and follows me whilst sobbing

DH also seems cold and unfeeling sometimes. I know he doesn't mean to be, he's just tired but I get peed off with it too. Is your dp working a lot? Perhaps he's just tired and doesn't mean to be such a twat!

Anyway, feel free to rant away, it usually helps me!

yeah he does work a lot. its just lately hes been having a lot of mood swings an i feel like im bloody tip toeing round him. i feel like he tries to put me down a lot, he appologised last night and said he was just fed up with everything?? i think everything is grand appart from him being a grumpy hole. he ripped ds2s horn off his bike because he asked ds2 to stop beeping it and he didnt. it turned my stomach to see my wee ds2 watch him brake his horn off his bike he always goes against anything i do eg, i would use time out step, dp would completely crack and have the whole house in uproar all kids crying and he smacks. i look forward to him coming home and as soon as he gets home i wander why i wanted him home as something always starts. he kinda does this parade around the house to see if he can find anything the kids have done wrong, ignoring the fact that i may have already punished them my way for it, therefore it feels like hes cancelling out my punishment and cancelling out my positive parenting that ive worked hard to keep to all day.

sorry that was a bit long well he'll be back soon so better go. btw haven't locked him out lol.