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

Justaboutabishop?

I like the Anglican church for being more progressive than Rome, but at least Rome stick to their guns. If you don't want gay or female bishops, then you shouldn't ordaine them in the first place. (That is not my personal opinion btw)

I gave up breastfeeding 2 months ago and thought that I would never get over it. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought and loved the closeness it gave me with DS. Now when I look back the sadness I felt was purely mine. DS wasn't one bit bothered! Just remember, you will get over the sadness and you will have the closeness with your little ones in other ways. I do understand how you feel though.

2+1 - you sound like you are frazzled! You are doing a fantastic job and never cease to amaze me how capable you are! Keep smiling

Catstar - I almost forgot about morning sickness...or should I say 24 hour nausea! I hope you feel better soon.

Justabout - Sounds like fun! Well done

Regarding the sleep issues....I read (and enjoyed) the baby whisperer books and followed her 'pick up, put down' method and found it worked wonders (at least when LO was very young). Its basically just picking them up when they cry and as soon as they stop you lay them back down. At first it can be very tiring because you can find yourself doing it tons of times...over time they get to know that you are there and calm down a lot quicker. It may be worth a try for those of you that are struggling with what to do.

Talking of patience.....I found myself getting really uptight with DS at the weekend at his refusal to lie down and let me change his nappy. In the end (after practically leaning on him and getting poop everywhere!) I let him stand up and we changed it that way. Am I making a rod for my own back?

MFO- DS was the same as your DS, and I did start changing him upright, but in retrospect this really did make a rod for my own back, as it's very hard to clean them properly and as he'd "won" that I think he then realised I was perhaps fairly easily won over. So I backtracked and started to make sure he always lay down.... But it took a lot of effort- I found finding something v interesting for him to play with when changing helped, and explaining that he only gets said item if he lies down and stays still!! When he was around 18 months I had really battles over nappy changes and sometimes would resort to putting him in his cot when he begain to really be uncooperative- he hated that and it seemed to work. DS's terrible twos started very early from what I recall!

DD isn't being quite so difficult, yet, but is showing signs of going the same way! Consistency is all I can say... And reading Christopher Green's toddler taming book!!

I have used the pickup-putdown technique too, and various ideas from the No Cry Sleep Solution, and although it's been an exhausting few days last night DD slept through except for 1 brief awakening!!! So those techniques certainly work - she can do it, lil monkey! And she is banned from our bed until the morning...unless really poorly. Unfortunately DS is awful with broken nights so it fell to me to "train" DD over the past week and now I'm feeling worse than ever after a good night's sleep!!

Good luck everyone xxx

Madmum, Sorry to hear that your exhausted. Its not easy is it!?

I was looking at the Toddler Taming book. May have to have a read of that one too...Can't hurt to be as informed as possible can it!

I was so sick of fighting with him at the weekend to change his nappy. He was grabbing handfuls of hair, kicking out with his feet and grabbing at the nappy! I admit I just gave up and let him stand because I could feel myself losing patience

MFO- then he might already be ready for the "time out" treatment.... So long as you explain why you are doing it and what he needs to do. He will go ballistic probably but the connection will be made very quickly that standing up at nappy changing time results in being put in his cot & ignored (for a min max- and make sure it seems very boring there). Do you always change him in the same place in the house? If so then he certainly knows what is expected of him so there's no excuse in that respect...

Babies grow up too fast!!

If others have other methods of dealing with uncooperative babies at changing time do let me know, I'm interested in hearing what works....

PS. I secretly believe all "time out" methods are actually more for the sake of us parents than for the babies/toddlers/children. When DS starts making my blood boil I don't let it shown as far as possible and we just do Time out- lets me calm down as well as him. But I'm not perfect at this yet... e.g. at breakfast I shouted at him (which is rare) for not eating up and just putting porridge into his cup of water- and made him cry . I ended up apologising for shouting at him, and luckily he's old enough now at 3 to understand that I'd shouted because I was angry with his behaviour (even if shouting is wrong!) and so he said sorry too. And finally ate his porridge... Meanwhile DD watched all of this and took notes I'm sure of how best to wind mummy up....

It did with DS when he was under 2, so long as it was unusual, i.e. not really a toy. Always found odd things I had around our bedroom good, e.g. tin whistle, harmonica (DH is into making lots of noise), my necklaces, bottles of perfume (until he could work out how to squirt them) etc etc. I'm finding with DD this works pretty well too. It's a job sometimes to find something unusual enough but worth it!!

As an aside Justabout (your bishop thread is fab but way out of my league) You say about our children growing up with lady bishops, but when my mum and dad got married, there were still barriers on the alter, to keep women off. When I was a young church goer the only alter servers were boys. Having been away from church for a few years, I came back and there were lasses being alter servers That is the extent of change in my 30 years

Madmum.. I am guilty of being a shouter at my now 4 year old.. he is a little....... cant say even to adults.. he would make the pope swear.. he is a proper little rascle.. everything is a battle and I mean everything. Everyone is always asking me how i cope,... no matter where we go.. he doesnt stop.. arguing, tantrums, fighting, whinging..etc every meal time is a battle too.. running of , wondering away on his own.. But i am hopinghe will grow out of it.. it is driving me mad.. I swear he exhausts me more than anything else..

Anyway on a happier note i drove to Herford yesterday to have a look at our new house.. it really tired me out 3hrs there 3hrs back..
The new house is half the size.. * and I really mean half the size of the one I am in now. My daughters bedroom at the mo is prob about 6meters by 5 meters, her new one is 2meters by 2.7meters.. so I am having to buy her a new bed..etc.. I have said she can have one of the room in the cellar as a chill out area for herself an when she has friends overkso I wi;l put her ps2 down there and another dvd player and her big tv. As her bedroom is so small she can have her 14inch tv in the room.. for noght times..
DH, wants to build a bar in the cellar, but I am not fussed on the idea, I would rather do a guest room in the other room.. then if anyone visits.. that should be a BIG IF.. I can out them up..
The boys are also loosing there play room.. DS1 will have his toys upstairs in his bedrrom that he is now going to have to share with Lee, but I will keep lees toys downstairs...
I asked to be put in a 3 bedroomed this time as all the 4 beds are a good 15-30min drive longer if traffic bad to camop which is where all the youth clubs are and guides.. etc for dd. and I need to make sure she has lots to do.
They will all manage with downsizing i know I will .. alot easier to clean.. she says!!!

High Five Justabout! Well done!

2+1 - sounds like you have a bit of juggling to do regarding downsizing!!! Very handy having a cellar. My DSis who lives in Maine has a basement the size of the house underneath and the kids have that as their playroom - invaluable for letting off steam!

Re. Nappy changing - this is an ongoing battle for us too. Distraction doesn't seem to be working - so the other day I tried this: kneeling on the floor with my legs apart with O round the other way so I was gently "gripping" her head and shoulders between my thighs. I just talked calmly to her telling her what I was doing and it seemed to work because the next time she didn't struggle. Probably a very cruel thing to do. We have the added bonus of trying to get her eczema cream on a few times a day too!

We've had a couple of better nights sleep - coincides with it being a bit cooler so maybe this is helping. I don't know.....

I find it quite daunting that we're leaving the baby stage behind and O is actually becoming a character and doing things intentionally - things that can't just be put down to her being a baby. I might give the Toddler Taming book the once over too!

Have a great day everyone.

Had a bloody nightmare of a day today. Why oh why was I thinking that 3 children would be ok? Felt like bloody throttling them both. Ds has become a needy clingy mite, and daytime sleeping???? Dd is much better than she has been at behaving herself, but no sleep for her either today. Ds up at least once in the night and then about 6 for good and I'm bloody exhausted.

Jennster- I am also wondering why i think 3 kids is a good idea. I am really knackered at the moment. Started TTC this month so will be testing at the weekend if my period doesn't arrive. Although when I say TTC we didn't exactly make that much effort!

Lack of daytime sleep for LOs is a killer- its the time you need to have a rest too. Last Friday I spent 1.5 hours pushing DS and DD in their double-buggy around town in sweltering heat as DS was really tired and grumpy. Did he drop off- NO! I just wanted him to sleep so I could sit on a bench and eat ice cream in the sun. At least I felt better in the knowledge that his cot antics when he fights against sleep apply to buggy too so its just one of those things.

Hello All. Wishing all the July babies a very happy first birthday. Are some people pregnant again? Oscar will be one next Wednesday. Isn't one year old a marvellous age?

Swedes- just Catstar is as far as I know although others are thinking about or trying to get pg.

Yes- happy birthday to all the babies. Can't believe how quickly the last year has gone.

I am sat in bed (off sick from work) with my laptop and feeling very sorry for myself (kids in nursery thank goodness). Have still been doing some work though as really busy at the moment.

Catstar - Congratulations.

for anyone who has not bought their lo a 1st birthday present - get a wheelybug (or get the grandparents to buy one )! Minimeep is fair pleased with herself - she whizzes from room to room giggling away! Have put some pics on my profile!

Pula - hope you're feeling better - it is rubbish when you are stick but you still have to work.

To all of you with/thinking about having 3 kids - - I have said 2 is the max!!

We seem to have cracked the sleeping thing (though I do know it could all change again) and minimeep is back to sleeping through - I feel so much better again and me and dh have stopped snapping at each other (and it is nice to actually sleep in the same bed again!)

Does anyone elses baby soak the bed with drool? I have to change the sheets almost daily! When the weather was warmer her bed would dry quickly - but it is cold today so I had to do a full bed change because her bed was too soggy for her morning nap. I've had to put a waterproof sheet (cotton one - not horrid plastic one!) under her cot sheet - and sometimes her sleeping bag is all soggy round her neck! yuck!