July 07..Happy Birthday, ..little monkeys..

[twoplusone]

I ladies thought I would start this..

I cant believe they are starting to and are going to be turning one.. This year has flown over.. I miss being pregnant. But i love watching lee playng with his older brother and sister, it always makes me smile.
I love the fact that he is now playing properly , will go to his toy box pull himself up and see what he wants to play with.. normally after throwing everything round the front room first..No such thing as a tidy room in this house.. How do people do it.

Hope everyone is ok.. speak soon

They can detect the rustle of a sweet paper across a noisey room for sure.

All this talk of sweets. Might have to nip into the kitchen to scoff some as DD is sat here and I've already had to share my crisps with her!

hi all been ages since i checked in, as usual ms is knocking me sideways although atm am determined to eat and drink as I do not want to be admited!

Hope everyone's dc's are doing well, realy weird just started thinking about christmas and realised it will be dd2's 2nd omg where does the time go!!!

Moring everyone - I haven;t checked in for ages either.

We've had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with teh wee bean - but all seems to be good now so I am finally beginning to relax and enjoy the pregnancy!

Is anyone else's dd/ds obsessed with cuddly toys? Minimeep adores them and is always cuddling, kissing and throwing herself on them. It is so cute!

We're off to buy her first pair of proper shoes today (have managed to get away with soft shoes until now) in the hope that they will make her feel more secure when she is trying to toddle. I don't know how much longer I can carry her about (I get hip/pelvic strain!).

catstar - we have only just managed to get minimeep to take a few steps holding only one hand - she's not that keen - but is cruising around the furniture like there is no tomorrow! She started off by constant standing - I guess our dd's will just do it when they are ready!

Pula - i don't think I congratulated you either - hooray for you!

Meep, glad to hear the bean is doing well, and sorry to hear that this has been a stressful pg so far.

The advice we got from the shoe shop was not to get proper shoes til LO was properly walking. They can sometimes put them off walking.

DS knows how to walk and has done for a month or two, but still prefers to walk on his knees. Very hard to encourage him otherwise.

We have had a rough week with DS . It started with a cough on Monday. I packed him off to nursery on Tuesday with some calpol to cheer him up. I am a bad mother as I decided i'd rather go to work than have to take time off to look after a grumpy child (I was tired after being up in the night with him). By 2.30 nursery phoned- he had a temp of 39.6 and was just lying there not doing anything. I took him to the docs and she was concerned it was more than a chest infecti Hon and thought it might be pneumonia so referred us to childrens hospital. He was kept in overnight, needed some oxygen and inhalers but was discharged yesterday. He is much better in himself (back to his cheeky ways) but still very wheezy. The hospital thought he had ear and respiratory viral infections and the medication he's on (inhalers, steriods and anti-bs just in case it wasnt viral) seems to be working.

I must say, this whole experience made me realised the kind of thing some people have to go through with their poorly DCs on a regular basis. I felt emotionally and physically drained, and really upset by the whole experience (pg hormones probably didn't help either). Hats off to you for being so strong.

Pulapula, Glad DS is on the nend now.. bless him
Meep glad you are starting to feel better.

Justabout..lol about losing the bet..

Well I am home alone again now, hubby went yesterday.. so we are awaiting a phone call, but tbh not sure when that will be, he had better facilities when he was at war than he does on this excersise.. where he is has nothing just 2 tents and a hole in the ground, they have taken there own portable solar showers. They are trying to get a phone to them once a week. (a sat phone) but 24 of them need to use it so the calls will be short..
But never mind.. all i really do is whine and moan.. sorry.

Lee is cutting, 3 back teeth and he is really suffering bless him, 2 hve cut through the other is really swollen on the gum, he is off his foood aswell. He has a terrible cold.. not sure of the last jab last week is starting to come out in him too. sothe poor mite prob has a headache, aswell as teething and generally feeling groggy.
Hoping he is going to start sleeping through again though..

Hope everyone is fine and have a good weeekend

pula - I got same advice when we got to teh shoe shop - but I still bought a pair of pre-walking shoes as dd likes to toddle a bit when we're outside and the soft shoes were letting her feet get wet!

I hope your ds is better - it is so worrying and stressful when they are poorly - not a nice experience at all - and yours sounds very scary.

2+ - good to haveyou back - though unfortunately that means your dh is away

Hooray for rev's ds2!

OMG - poor wee minimeep -she must have been sick in the middle of the night and I didn't hear her [blush}

I did hear a wee cry out at about 2am but nothing major and I thought she was just fossicking about and had gone back to sleep. When I went in this morning her sheets were wet and stinky, as was her cuddle bunny.

Despite this she was incredibly chirpy and smiley so it can't have been too traumatic for her (more for me!)!

Have sent her off to nursery as she was so happy and full of beans this morning, so I'm hoping it was just a buro that went wrong in the middle of the night!

Hope everyone is okay?

Poor Minimeep! It's amazing what doesn't bother them - and also amazing what can. Little O went bonkers the other day when she wiped her nose and got a bogey on her hand !

I love the word "fossicking"! Never heard it before.

Hope everyone ok? Twoplusone - hope you have heard from DH by now and that he is okay?

I had a scan a couple of weeks ago and found out we are having a boy this time round! Very excited - but I go through moments of "I can't wait" then moments of "what am I doing this again for"!!! All in all though, I can't wait.

O is getting better at walking now but she just wants to go between me and DH - anywhere else and she just crawls.

Meep - you mentioned about cuddly toys - O is the same, she adores her Iggle Piggle and kisses and cuddles him. In her cot in the morning we can hear her talking to him and snuffling him, then when we go in she holds him aloft for us to admire . I vowed not to get on the merchandising bandwagon but she really loves In the Night Garden and the Teletubbies - mind you so do I .

Right, better get on with some work - got my maternity chat with HR after lunch.

Catstar, exciting to hear that you know what you're having! I think we'll find out this time too.

Ben loves cuddly toys too- especially dogs (soft ones and real ones). He also has his "baby jack" elephant comforter which he rubs against his face when he's tired.

He also has a real life girlfriend that he kisses and cuddles at nursery. Apparently she is obsessed with him! He was having a really good sleep (2.5 hours- why can't he do that at home lol) and she was desperately trying to wake him up!

catstar I think "fossicking" must be an antipodean thing - DH is a kiwi - as I got it from him - but it just describes the rustling that minimeep does so well . No more voms from her, but she's still not very excited about food and has a horrible cough.

Oh - but she took her first couple of steps - she stands herself up - lets go andthen toddles for about 2 or 3 steps whilst grinning and looking very pleased with herself - I am so proud!!!!

In the Night Garden is a firm favourite here too - we have a book and a bath toy - but I suspect that many more will be winging her way at christmas!

Catstar - can you send some boy vibes my way - we're not going to find out as we don't really mind but it would be nice to have a boy!

Pula that is so sweet about Ben! Nursery told me that minimeep had taken to a new baby boy and would fetch him toys because he couldn't crawl yet - awwwwwww!

Hello all! Is it cold enough for you?

Pula - love hearing about your DS's little girlfriend!

Meep - sending you boy vibes, although what a waste of pretty pink clothes! That's my only sadness - well the new DS will still be dressed in pink grobags cos I wasn't clever enough to go for unisex colours when O was born!

We are all getting over colds in our house - Little O was very subdued last week and I had to have a bit of time off at home with her. It worked out well cos I was feeling rough too and didn't fancy work anyway.

I had my first "parents' evening" at the nursery last week. Was a bit when they asked they started talking about O's strange tendancies and asked if there were any special needs conditions running in the family. They said there's nothing to be concerned with at the moment - the girl was extra interested cos she's doing a course at university on special needs in the very young. Still, it did get me thinking.... I think Little O's just a very cautious thing - do you think I should just ignore for now???

I can't get excited about work today so am off to get a coffee (we have a Starbucks upstairs with some lovely cakes too!). Catch up with you later.

By the way, we use the word "snuffling" to descibe Little O travelling round the cot on her face with her bum in the air. Every morning there's a new set of snail trails from her snotty nose .

I am due number3 on 9th May. Moving house week before Christmas.

I use the word truffling for the snot streaking, bum waving cot movement.

Catstar, I was lucky that my sis-in-law had a DD a couple of weeks after my DS and we had the opposite first time round so we swap all our boy and girl clothes/grow bags etc. Otherwise DS would have been in pink grobags too lol.

I wouldn't worry about "strange tendencies" at this age- DD had plenty (some things that looked a bit OCD-like) and she is a normal 3 year old (i think!). I would think being cautious shows that she is very aware, and likes to suss out situations etc, but I'm not an expert obviously! My DS is very slow at speech (only a few words) and doesn't seem to know who I am either (doesn't say mummy but says dada). For example, when asked where Ben is he puts his finger to his face, when asked where Katie is he points at Katie, but asked where mummy is, he either points to himself or anywhere but me lol. Fine.

Jennster- you are brave moving house the week before christmas. Hope you get settled in OK.

Hello all, been a while sorry! Have tried to catch up on your news! My computer keyboard seems to be giving up the ghost to please excuse typos- half the keys I have to almost punch to get them to work!!
We've had snow today! Mairi's face was a picture when we went out in it! She is finally walking on her own confidently- and now trying to run! I can't believe how different this stage has been for her compared to DS- within a month of pulling up/walking holding hands he was happily racing about solo whereas with M it's taken 3 months of walking holding hands before she dared go it alone!! but now there's no stopping her

With the colder weather we seem to have become inundated with bugs- nasty colds & coughs seem almost continuous and she's back on her nebulisers, which I feel a bit sad about. She's not sleeping well still, it's been about 5 months now- we might get a couple of nights where she only wakes once or twice but most nights she wakes a lot. And doesn't seem to sleep that long in her daytime nap(s) either...I guess she maybe just doesn't need as much sleep as DS did (who's my reference of course!) but we are at time really struggling with the broken nights. I feel we've tried every sleep training technique in the book too, so running out of ideas... . We have been TTC#3 too but no joy yet- I feel maybe with the lack of good sleep and me writing up my thesis (it's all coming to a head now...arghhhh) it's not ideal timing and maybe my body's not ready yet either. Sometimes though I dwell on it (we conceived both before straightaway- so lucky) and wonder if it's a sign to stop and just stick with the 2... Anyway enough of me droning on !
We use the word fossicking over here too! In fact I think it's a great word (though have to say truffling sounds even more appropriate!)

Hope you all enjoy the halloween celebrations- it's a big thing over here and DS has been to his first halloween school disco- at the tender age of 3!! He loved it though (he's mad for dancing)! Have to get M dressed up on Friday for 2 parties- should be fun! (and a night off thesis writing too hurrah!)

xxx

PS. Jennster- have you sold your house? Don't envy the "fun" of moving but it's great that you're able to! Our house has been on the market for 1.2yrs, and in spite of dropping prices etc. I think here things are really stagnant & will stay that way for ages...We hadn't planned on being here this winter and the house is freezing (it's quite old, v draughty, no double glazing etc.) so now trying to make some improvements in order to survive the cold!!

pulapula- my DS sound a lot like your DS is at this age now- he was quite slow with speech and really didn't start to tak until just before his second birthday- but when he did start it really came quickly & he has no probs now. I wonder if this is partly a boy thing- they often seem to excel over girls in the gross motor development but are behind girls in speech/communication... I hadn't realised how pronounced the differences can be between boys & girls at such young ages.

Catstar I wouldn't worry overly, I really think at 15 months it's very young to look for "signs" of anything developmentally "abnormal". Children seem to develop often quite slowly and then have periods where they make huge advances very quickly. I have to say I hate the fact that in a way everyone is looking for problems- although I know early diagnosis is key for things like autism/ASD. It's hard not to worry but try not to! xx

MMN, yes I notice a lot of differences with DD and DS- it's amazing how they are attracted to certain toys even though there are plenty to choose from. DD used to love playing with soft toys and putting them to bed (covering them with "blankets"). DS loves toys he can push along the floor (cars etc) and even though he's only just started walking he loves to kick a ball or balloon around. Soft toys are just good for throwing to him lol.

Not sold our house. The only reason we got the house we want is because we put in an exceptionally cheeky offer, and weren't in a chain. We are going to struggle for a few years, but see how renting this house goes. If it doesn't then we can sell, but we would rather hold on to it for a while and wait a few years. Both the dc were born in it, and I have lots and lots of plants in the garden which have meaning to me. A bay bush from my Grandpa's garden, a fuschia from my Grandma's garden, an asparagus bed and a couple of globe artichoke plants, a fan trained apple tree and a beautiful bamboo purchased with wedding present vouchers.

My goodness the differences between boys and girls are pronounced. Ds hardly seems to say anything of meaning, whereas dd was well away with words by 14 months. Ds has no intention of stopping bf any time soon (although I have other ideas) and seems to be a real mummy's boy. Dh had a dream last night that he was gay, and put it down to his over-bearing mother and bossy sister. I'm not over-bearing by the way.

Anyway. I have nearly finished painting the bedrooms the dc won't move in to, and am waiting in for the packing boxes to arrive. If I get a chance today, I'm going to write the Christmas cards and file them away in a box I will probably loose.

Good luck with the move jennster - hope it is all stress free!

justabout I hadn't realised your dh was a kiwi! I wonder where mine picked up fossicking from!

Catstar - I wouldn't worry either - minimeep is quite cautious too - maybe it is just a girl thing.

Madmum - sorry to hear that M has been poorly - you have my utmost respect for coping with constant sleepless nights.

Minimeep has had the lergy too - a bit of vomit, with copious snot, high temps and a hacking cough. The snot trails were so bad that we were having to change her sheets every night! But she's onthe mend now and of course has given it to me, and all i can take is paracetomol - boo!

Having a very stressful time at work and the bean boots me when I get too stressed out - then I get so worried about harming the bean - aaaghh! Roll on the Christmas hols - then maternity leave.........!