March 2008:A new thread before they start crawling!

[turtle23]

Thought it was about time....

You've just reminded me...period due today and DH and I decided ABSOLUTELY that we have 10-14 days left before TTC again. Hurrah! I am sleep deprived and wobbly, but cannot wait! [mad psycho emoticon]
#disclaimer-we didn't get pregnant easily first time round, so have to try now#

ooops 12 hour cross post there

sorry to hear you're having such a hard time merryberry sending lots of good thoughts in your direction tonight.

turtle LOL @ dickhead

cheers my dears. your support means a lot, as so many friends not in country/town right now. well, am hoping i've turned a corner for now! i had to get dh home from work a half hour early, and spent most of evening in tears and panicking. i think the straw that broke this camels back was that i stopped breastfeeding on saturday, and by last night i had very swollen painful hot boobs on top of everything else. and literally my equilibrium was not up to dealing with the pain of that while feeling so vertiginous and wiped out from the steroids.

on the upside, i've got so little joint pain and so much function compared to 2 days ago that i could actually get in/out to wallow in a bath to help relieve the 'norks of fire' and he ran out and bought some cabbage, that old wives remedy for helping cope with engorgement. not only have savoy cabbage leave glamourously poking out from bra all night helped, but they have given us such a good laugh that this hormone/treatment/illness/emotional storm has been given a good whipping by humour.

i had my 1st 8 hour sleep in over a year, and dh has stayed away from work to let me rest more (he's self-employed and very busy, it's a big issue, him taking time out). better get back to bed and make the most of it.

merry- glad you dh could spare some time from work and just wanted to say without sounding too soppy that i think you are really brave and doing so well to cope

iwantasecondone- good luck with ttc amd pmsl at 'dickhead'

i have been watching cbeebies and the acorn to oak tree advert thing has started again, and it brought back flooding memories of feeling terrible and being sick (poor dd was parked in front of the tv then) I would have another if i could guarantee no hyperemesis in pregnancy, but as it stands i dont think i could cope!

skidoodle- i havent given any solids either and am starting to feel a bit odd as everyone else i know has, but ds isnt 6 months until 1st oct so there is a little bit left to go

its not the weaning i am looking forward to, but the stage afterwards where i can make nursery teas, fish pie and custard things for both dd and ds.

wontbepreggarsagain- am amazed at the idea of your girls cruising, ds doesnt even roll much, it must shock people to see these three month old looking littles do things like that!

oh, yay, corner turned! so much better. boobs finally calmed down. think the steroids sent them into wee bit of overdrive. cold getting better, arthritis pains SO much better! hurray. off to do kitchen fitting costing now, excitement.

Hello friends!! So sorry I've been MIA all summer but we've been gone for the majority of it and have been spending the last few weeks trying to recover and get caught up. Thanks to Glam and Turtle for your recent outreach :.)

Had some excellent travels - home to Canada for a month, mini trips to Germany Spain and Italy and to Kenya to visit the in laws. Before that causes any envy (sorry holidays queen, hope you've been able to get away!), the last trip was hell (vow never to do more than a week with in laws nattering on about 'in my day'...) and Sanam's schedule is shot to hell. Will take weeks to get some routine - not that I am big routine person - but a bit more would be nice. Has been waking at 5, poor thing, it's 7AM somewhere in the world!

Other than that we're great. Feeding going very well, just started protein. She's crawling, standing holding onto things and sitting by herself. I am still breastfeeding for the first and last feed of the day. And I am back to work two days a week now, one of which is at home. Have mixed feelings about it - like something else to think about, love the nanny, but wondering if I should be saving energy and time for Sanam. I know they are growing fast but she still seems so young.

Just saw March 2009 thread - how WEIRD.

HURRAY! welcome back

MB - so glad you feel the corner has turned but remember, so much support for you on this thread...and as you won'tbe - you're an inspiration to us all...thank you.

ds doing well - in bed but chattering his heart out - must go and get him but rather enjoying a few moments peace with dh out as well...have just pureed yet more food - any view on green bean...ds though it wasn't very nice!

happy weekends to all, hugs to everyone who is having a hard time and smiles to all those lo's who are fast growing up.

What a lovely thing to see your posts MNFM and MB. I'm so pleased for you Merry . And great to see you back MNFM. A week with inlaws sounds hideous, 2 hours with mine and I'm biting the inside of my cheeh hard. .

Such a lovely day, weatherwise today. We were going to go to the zoo tomorrow (tomorrow has been designated Family Day) (have mixed feelings about zoos but the conservation aspects go some way to making me feel better) but it would have cost nearly £50 to get in for 2 adults (one being a student concession) and 1 child ticket. I was horrified. So, I though of Kew but that's boring, South Bank Food Festival, boring and anything else I suggest is also boring. We might end up going bowling. Or maybe I could stay in bed all day reading and eating chocolate. No, Mummy that's boring. I give up

Hello everyone - particular hugs to MB, and hoping you are through the worst of it at the moment and that the treatment works well. I've caught up with the thread and have lots of shout outs to everyone who's posted, but that would take ages, so it'll have to just be a general hello for now!

We're just back from a glorious week in Northumberland. DH and I haven't done British holidays since we were teenagers as we always had the philosophy that we would wait until we had kids before spending time in the UK, and DS is little enough to still be portable so mainly abroad for now (Majorca in June, Egypt and South Africa booked for either side of Christmas). BTW JFly - have lots of recommends if you still want them . But we had a wedding up there and DH wanted a week off, so we braved it. Apart from one rainy day where we just went swimming with DS, the weather was gorgeous and we walked for miles and miles. I can heartily recommend one of those backpack rucksack type carrier things once LOs are sitting - DS was so happy in it and would spend hours just looking around, sucking his thumb and sleeping in it.

The wedding cake survived, just about, and tasted great so I was very pleased and am now wondering whether I should set up a cake business. Glam has inspired me!!!

Spent a lot of time on holiday trying to decide what to do about bf but not getting anywhere. Feeling like I need to not be tied to my baby so much - want to get my boobs back to a normalish size as they currently enter a room 5 minutes before the rest of me does , and I want to be able to do things like go shopping for an afternoon without needing to pump etc. But at the same time, it took us so long to get to a good place with it and we both really enjoy it now. I just have no idea what I want to do.

Weaning not going great - some days he loves his food, other days he screams. I think it is to do with timing and how much milk he has had or if he is tired, so planning to work on that the next week or so. Doing purees with a bit of finger food - but definitely BLW as he refuses to take purees off spoon unless he is putting it in his mouth. Screams if I even try to guide it in there Off to buy splash mat tomorrow

Such good news, Merry. Chronic pain is such a very hard load to bear emotionally and otherwise, and I can't imagine what it is like with two small children. You would have never known from your prior posts what you've been going through, what with your positive attitude.

HQ suggestions, yes please! We still haven't sorted anything and we're supposed to go away on Oct 11th. I'm tempted to just stay in Britain, but then as you say G is so portable, we should take advantage and GO somewhere.

G is so funny with his first foods. He loves the Tripp Trapp and I think spending time in it is actually helping him get stronger with sitting on his own. I'm just kind of playing it by ear and trying out food when he's happy and alert and not really following meal times. I just want him to get used to the idea and then I'll worry about how much he's eating and when. Hope that isn't lazy parenting!

HQ - which back pack thingy do you have? I just ordered the chicco one one ebay but have not tried yet.

Morning all. Off to Ikea to buy the Antilop today - can't believe I'm trying to brave the place with a baby in tow and no DH to lug stuff around while I eat the cheap hot dogs !

I've discovered that DS loves prunes, funny boy - pear and prunes for breakfast today, and only a bare spattering left on his bib!

MNFM - the one we were given is this one by Vaude. I've never heard of the company, but it has a big rucksack bit for all our stuff, DS seems very secure in it and it has a lovely cushioned head rest thing for him to rest his head against for a snooze so a big thumbs up from us.

JFly - I consulted with DH (my name on here is just a pisstake of one he uses on various holiday websites - his dream is to run his own personal travel consultancy business!). The Med can be a bit hit and miss in October, weatherwise - southern Spain is probably your best bet. So we both that you should take a look at the Canary Islands - they're really not as bad as their reputation, provided you pick the right island/resort! Lanzarote is fab - volcanic landscape, traditional architecture, cultural stuff because it was the home of artist Cesar Manrique, vineyards etc, and all within a short drive as the island is pretty small. Plus beautiful beaches and the weather will be more reliable than the Med in October. I've only self-catered there but friends of ours stayed with their baby at this hotel which is geared up for families, so you may want to check that out. Playa Blanca is probably the best resort to be in - the nicest, and the best beaches close by. If you think you could bear a 5 hour flight, then Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt is perfect for a week in the sun - you can do deserty things, and go snorkelling/diving if you want, but really you can just chill out in the sun. Some of the hotels are particularly good for families - and out of season as you are now, you may get a great deal on a posh hotel. We've got a good deal at the Four Seasons in November and they do free buggies, free freshly prepped baby food cooked to your spec etc! We've visited twice before and nosied around most of the hotels and they all seem really nice - we stayed at the Hyatt last time and I would recommend that as well.

thanks everyone, i'm doing OK. have started a deeply geek chart of joint/pain/meds and am now trying not to think much about symptoms until i fill it in before bed! oh, how i love to see those data graph

excel makes everything better really. as do cheap hot dogs - am jealous while eating my expensive pret wrap

Hope today is a good day Merryberry.
I'm not going to make it to the meet. Pascal is absolutely miserable with cold. We were up all night with him doing the cough til you vom bit. Poor baby was so tired and had to be changed three times. Just hope and pray that he is better before we are supposed to fly...and that I dont get it! Have fun everyone.

And yes, I do know what day it is...just thought I'd say so now as I don't plan on getting up tomorrow morning, DH is in charge as I am shattered.

Tilly has a horrid cold too, it's getting worse and she has been to out of hours doc this week and it's a chest infection/croup so I don't think I should come to the meet either. Wouldn't want to pass anything on!

MB and WBPA hugs to you both, you're brilliant!

Just spent a nice weekend oop north with a bunch of mates and am babied out...supermum friend with a 5, 2 and 7mth old is an inspiration, partic as middle boy has Downs but is gorgeous. Think LO may have figured out the basics of crawling now from his playmates, but although legs are doing the right thing, he still tries to skydive with his arms.

He's recovered mostly from the stinker of a cold last week, we had to miss swimming which ain't good at £10 a lesson Went tonight, but he was so hungry afterwards he downed a 9oz bottle and vomited it all up within seconds. Am hoping just because he drank so quickly combined with the coughing making his stomach muscles contract it up, don't want him being properly ill!

Have got rid of my dad back home now, but got mum over tomorrow until Monday, will then have a couple of days to myself before work starts so want to make the most of it.

Think i've caught up now, hello to everyone else and more hugs to those wot need it

Meet up isn't looking good for tomorrow. Too many colds and such.

Shall we reschedule?

Think it would be madness to try and meet up with the vomming cold brigade! Reschedule? I, myself, am away til the 24th October, but don't let that stop anyone.

OK, haven't heard from littleducks about today, so I think it's safe to say we're going to reschedule meet-up. Proposals on a new thread?

New meet up date would be great. I couldn't do today anyway, but I may contemplate stepping over the real/virtual life divide if it's rescheduled

DS slept through for 8 hours in his cot for the first time ever last night! The only times he has done it were for 2 weeks in Majorca and then 4 nights last week on holiday - we were beginning to suspect he just hated his cot or his bedroom here! For the past week he hasn't needed a night feed, but has needed me to comfort him in the night, but last night he went from 10.30-7 without a murmur I feel groggy from sleep...

new and improved meet-up thread

Sorry so many colds floating around and as always special hugs to MB and WBPA. HQ - I have a question for you - in light of your throw away remark about your husband and desire to set up in business....do either of you know any really baby friend hotels in florence, trying to convince DH of a trip in Nov/Dec - So much easier with one baby, he'll be 9 months old and so all possible, but need to find a hotel that offers babysitters, maybe even Pureed food (or am I asking too much!) Does anyone for that matter have any ideas - been there?
thanks so much.
Iwantasecondone good luck with the 'trying'. In a whisper I let you know we've been trying for a couple of months - properly last month and I was so disappointed for some reason when I wasn't. I took my lack of pregnancy really badly which is pathetic considering it took me 15 months to conceive first time around. Anyway - we're back on it now...and i'm trying to be positive about it. Anyway - just to say am thinking of you (not thinking of you trying but you know what I mean!) good luck.