January 08 Shiny New-Year Babies - Here come the Tumble Tots

[madmouse]

hello

Lucky - try Toys R Us or Argos - but try folding it before taking the tags off. The McLaren ones cost more but you can fold them one-handed (I take Amelie on buses/tubes and can hold her whilst I kick & flick the buggy) - try Freecycle/eBay or NCT - if you go on the NCT website, you can look to see when sales are on in your area. If you have a friend who is a member, you may get priority entry (ours lets in members 15 mins early). Free Ads in your local paper?

Does your DP do regular hours? When DD2 was 8 mths old I did a year on the tills at Sainsbury's in the evening, 7 - 11pm, 3 nights a week - I think I got around £250 a month plus 10% discount (not that Sainsbury's is the cheapest)

Lucky - Am thinking of getting a chest freezer too for that very reason!! We have got electricity in out shed thank God

I have got a maclaren too (for DS) which is easy to fold one handed if you need to but just can't hang shopping on handles as it tips up.n Ours was £80 from mothercare.

Sainsburys is a good idea (may do it myself if I need too cheers Housemum )

Yeh he works regular 10 - 7 or 9 - 6 but is constantly staying behind etc trying to please the bosses for ready for his promotion (which will stop all problems completely) so I couldn't really work till 9 then have to be home for around 12/1 (2 at the very latest) all the jobs are either 7-11, 9-5, 5-late or nights and I can't fit into any of them which is why I think i'll have to try to find work at home.

I'm currently looking through all the local agencies. I've just spoken to a "friend" who says I should buck my ideas up and just go get a job like everyone else has to cos I'm not special!! I dunno whats going on there but this is the only time I've had something like this from her so I'm gonna assume she had things on her mind - upset me though.

I know i'm not special and some people enjoy working and their toddlers enjoy nursery but I don't want anyone having their influence on her - esp with the kids in my neighbourhood who thought it was funny this evening to chase Salem with a sparkler!! - I only knew about it when I heard fireworks, opened the door to let them in and heard kids shouting "get his tail" so I went to look and saw a group of kids no older than say 13? Chasing him... Not impressed. This has hardened my resolve about not wanting outside influences.

Anyways-- Have put a wanted ad on freecycle for both and am doing a few job searches for both me and DP.

Just been offered a pushchair

good news Lucky but try to not let the local youth influence your judgement on those who may look after Aliyah!

No i'm not worried about who would look after her. More about who she would be mixing with.

Sorry ladies, just a me, me, me post tonight We had a 2nd scan for B2 today. All fine , great in fact, good strong heartbeat (the scan machine even lets you hear the heartbeat!) Dr is a bit perplexed as last time I went exactly 3 weeks ago he thought the embryo was about 3 ½ weeks old and now it is 8! I am however much happier with the 8 as that is exactly what I thought! Dr says due date is 4 June but I still reckon 6th (or 9 days later if DS is anything to go by!). Nuchal etc on 20 November for me.

We?re breaking the news to the parents tomorrow and I am really nervous about my folk?s reaction. They need to know though I am so sick of my Mum?s comments about my diet clearly not working and that I have a fat tummy ? actually, I?ve lost 5 pounds in the last month! Wish me luck.

Hope to catch up with personals soon though we have friends and family descending now for DS?s baptism on Sunday

MrsMc - that's all such good news Hope your parents are ok. my FIL said 'what are you, rabbits?' when we told them on ds1's 1st birthday that i was pg with ds2.
wasn't being mean, just shocked i think!

Lucky - ((hugs)) to you. think before you panic you really need to sit down and study your finances.
One thing i did ages ago and should do again soon really, is go through bank statements/cc statements and put each expense in a category, eg:

clothes (adult)
clothes (baby)
food
house stuff/garden
bills (elec/gas/water/council tax)
cosmetics
pets
'treats' (include whatever you like here!)
and so on

then write down over the last few months how much you've spent on each category and see where you might be able to cut back.
check your utility suppliers and see if switching would be cheaper, we switched to Atlantic for both gas & elec, though it's prob worth us checking again as that was a while back.
sounds like treats/takeaways might be an area to focus on - chest freezer a godsend - we got one at the beginning of the summer. buy big packs of things like chicken, split up and freeze. and tbh we also have ready meals in there cos i'm a crap cook and when dh is away i just want something easy and quick to eat plus all the frozen meals dh has cooked over the weekend to stock us up for the boys especially. oh and always have lots of frozen veg for their teas.

from what you've said, i would put work on the back burner for now. you prob won't get something sorted before dp hopefully gets his promotion (and pay rise) so focus on what you can do in the meantime then see if the pay rise helps out - by which time you will have cut back anyway - bonus
(ignore friend's comment! all our children ARE special to us and handing them over to anyone else is a big deal)

Your bank charges you? def get rid of them then! should think all banks are desperate for new customers at the mo!
Personally i would keep Sky because we all use it, lots. record programmes for the boys and us.
Skype for phone calls?

Lily - dh did come home early and took ds1 out for the afternoon which was nice but...not much of a break for me as i still had ds2. he did offer to take them both to a play place but i talked him out of it he would have had to come back sooner for a feed for ds2 and i know it's stressful with 2 at those places. i'm too kind!
he cooked me dinner though and brought me a baileys

but today hasn't been good so far. i'm still so tired (ds1 up at 5.30 again and seems quite happy with having a sad face on his chart!) and suffering with (p)mt quite badly told dh this morning that i'm having a hard time and he is NOT making life easier. he apologised then went to work...i know he had to go but i was really upset and saying sorry doesn't actually make things any better...
not helped by the fact that he's out all morning & all afternoon tomorrow, maybe home for an hour at lunchtime
may check with antenatal mums if anyone else's dhs are working tomorrow, can't face another day on my own.
reinforces that i will stop bf as near as poss to his first birthday so i can get some freedom.

sorry, more negativity.

have taken some rescue remedy and hopefully off to playgroup once H wakes up, even if we will be hours late....

Oh JKS - YOU are a godsend Thanks for taking the time to do that for me.

We are currently slowly making a list. We've agreed no more takeaways - esp if its just cos we can't be bothered.
Haven't got a chest freezer yet but i'm still waiting. Got my buggy though and its BRILLIANT. Barely used!! I'm going to the carboot on Sunday to see if there is a chest freezer there - try to persuade my mum to come incase I need to load one in the car. We've said no more than £50.

We're keeping sky but gonna cut down on the packages if we can. As for the phone I use it too much in the day so we've activated friends and family (they don't charge for my mum now which is where most of the calls were) and won't make phonecalls before 6pm unless emergency and even then we're gonna try to use our mobiles instead.

Bank charges are so we can have breakdown cover, a will writing service blah blah - basically stuff i'd never use so I rang them today and they've taken those charges off but will still charge for the £250 overdraft protection (£2) will I can cope with.

I'm not going to work unless I can find a job that fits around DP. I am going to jobcentre on Tues to claim JSA although doubt i'll get it. I'm going to be honest and say I can only work specific hours and see what happens.

Oh sorry MrsMc --- GLAD ALL IS GOOD you gonna find out the sex this time?

Mrs Mc how lovely a summer and winter dc! Great news!

Lucky it's amazing how you cope but you do and at least if your being proacvtive r/e saving money it may help alleviate dh concern! What about ebaying as a bit of extra cash even ggoing to charity shop and then selling them on for bit of profit!

JKS you sound so down. Can you not just give ds a bottle of formula as a one off ? DD ha had the odd couple and been fine just got them small ready made cartons! Maybe get dh to have both boys on Sunday and yo take yourself out for the day. It's amazing how much better you feel for a few hours to yourself!
As for ds early waking my ds was and still is the same. It was such a relief when he was old enough to get up and entertain himself for an hour or so before i got up!

Well dd did it again last night fed at 11 slept until 5.30 yeah !

Morning all

JKS - hope you are feeling a bit better today? Sounds like you could do with a break.

Lucky - thats great news on buggy Hopefully you won't have to go to work at all.

Mrs |Mcjnr - what good news about the scan!! Good luck with telling patents today.

Lilyloo - Glad you are getting more sleep!!

Madmouse - hope Nathan is better today.

Well Ds's last day at playgroup today Took DD to baby clinc again as seeing doc on tuesday and she wants her weighed as close to appt as poss. She is 17lbs 13ozs.

Going into town later with DD for some shopping etc but not can't buy anything for freezer as trying to run it down....needs de frosting badly!!!

Mrs Mc - that your Mum comments on your weight (you sure we haven't got the same mum, thought it was only mine that did that!) Great that all is going well.

Lucky - the buggy was a stroke of luck, hope you find a freezer.

JKS - as Lilyloo says the odd bottle of formula won't harm. I'm still trying to decide when to stop BF but thinking around 12 mths as then she csn go straight to cow's milk if I want, also I don't wnt feeding to become a comfort habit? Spoke to a lady at toddler group today who weaned her son off BF at 14 mths - from 11 - 14 mths he was just having first thing in morning feed and she had no problems weaning him off. Try to get a day to yourself - DH did that for me the other week, took a bottle of formula and went out with the girls (except the teenage, she doesn't do playgrounds!) - felt wonderful to just have time to not be reponsible for anyone.

Simpson - your DD not much diff in size to mine, she's around 18 - 18.5lbs (not weighed properly, just on our bathroom scales) Is DS full time or part time at school after half term?

Yay Edward is 2 today xxxx

Happy 2nd Birthday Edward

Lucky - well done on getting a good buggy so quickly. Hope you can get a freezer too. Al those takeaway boxes are v useful for freezing meals
In fact if you have good deals on your mobile, you could consider ditching the landline? Dunno how that would work with internet tho...
Will be interested to hear what the JSA say.

Madmouse - missed you earlier, hope Nathan feeling better?

Lily & Housemum - i know a bottle wouldn't be the end of the world but...i can't, yet anyway. i may get more desperate .
DH did ring earlier and say why don't i go to a hotel for the night and he will give ds2 formula if needed....i hate admitting that i'm not 'coping' and find it hard to let go.

Housemum - i will drop down to just 2 feeds from about 11months anyway, then drop the bedtime one for cow's milk over Christmas when DH will be at home a bit more, then drop the morning one around his birthday. So by the end of Jan i will be free....

simpson - how was last day?

Playgroup was fine, home for lunch, ds1 watching toy story, ds2 napping, other mums coming round later. Just got to get through the day

housemum - Ds is only going to pre school for afternoons and will start f/t school in a yr. Yikes where is the time gone!! DD finally packing the weight on at last although she has only but on 7ozs in the 2 wks since no dairy.

Gingeme - Happy birthday Edward What are you doing today?

JKS - Last day went ok. Sad though. Staff have been great over the last month or so.

Want to go ahopping and DD has decided to sleep for 2hrs Don't want to wake her as she has been whingey and obviously needs it!!

No we don't have good deals as such but its cheaper to ring during the day than our house phone is so I spose good deal there. It's cheaper for us to use the LL at night so I think we're ok there.
Wish we'd kept the boxes Might actually have something to freeze stuff in then.. lol
I'm so chuffed with my buggy. The wheels are abit stiff but nothing a bit of WD40 won't fix.
I'm feeling positive today. Not even bothered looking at jobs am just gonna tell the JSA the truth and see what they say. I've a feeling DP is earning too much anyway to be honest.

Aaliyah is currently up in her cot not sleeping grr playing so i'm having time to myself.
Have to take all 5 cats to the vets at 4:30 (if DD's had her nap) for their first set of jabs and a general checkover. Should be fun will probably be COVERED in more scratches later.

Oh HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD

Eeek going to cost £200 to fix heating But they are going to service boiler at the same time. Will do it next week sometime.

Well did some more Xmas shopping today so am getting there gradually!!

hi all

How are you?

Lucky did you get the cats sorted without waking dp?

JKS how are you coping?

Susie, thinking of you, keep posting. If you want me to text Bluebell for you give me a shout I have her number.

Nathan has just done a poo and his temp has gone down. Just not interested in solids. what little fruit puree he has eaten has stayed in but refused to eat this evening. But other than that he drinks my milk and when he was lying on the floor this afternoon chatting to the tv, having pulled over his entire toy bucket and removing all the toys one by one I decided he did not need a doctor, big step for worryhead me.

so what is it? Bug, virus, teething? He does seem to be teething but had nothing like this with the first two , or is it one of these things?

Simpson - sounds like DD was exhausted! maybe with things settling down stomach-wise she will sleep better generally?
Ouch on the heating bill!
Well done on Christmas shopping!
I found some Thomas stickers in the chemist round the corner with a little book to stick them in for £1 plus a little notebook for 59p for DS1 to write his shopping list in - i helped him draw pictures of things dh needed to get the other day and dh said he LOVED holding onto it in the trolley so thought we could do it every time.
(not EVERY item though, my drawing skills aren't that good and don't have the time when it's a big shop!)

Lucky - another thing i left off that list is to really restrict how much cash i take out of the machines. on a statement it just shows up as £20 unassigned and i don't like that! most places now take cards, so just have a little cash for the odd thing and tut at myself when i have to write more than £20 as - cash.
Keep ay boxes from now on
Did you make it to the vets? I find it hard enough taking 2!

madmouse - could just be one of those things, or teething - it can cause all sorts of reactions, maybe check his mouth tomorrow!

Hi LaT, hope you're feeling ok - as ok as you can anyway.

I'm ok thanks, dh came home at teatime, took over tea, i went round the corner to the chemist for hair dye, tampons (still not braved my mooncup ), a junk mag and a potter.
Came home and dyed my hair whilst reading said mag, came downstairs in time for Night Garden, then bedtime.
Pizza & garlic bread & red wine, feeling much more positive now

JKS good to see you have again !!

MM dd1 used to do this and still does r/e eating. She goes through spurts of not eating much and then makes up for it! Think it may be one of those things or him developing his own little quirky habits!

Happy birthday Edward!!

Simpson ouch at heating bill , hope you can get the money together. Glad his last day at playgroup was good!

Housemum hope your ok!

Lucky great news about buggy sounds fab. Hope you managed trip to vets without too much trauma!

Well all good here dd seems to be so much more cheerful in the day too now her sleep is sorted!

Oh and am selling a lovely little brand new hat and mitten age 1/2 set for a friend on here if anyone wants £2 delivered for a boy!

Am also in dilemma r/e ds xmas list this year which have started thread about. Do i get the full list or pick from it and risk dissapointment

Well I had to get DP up. I figured I couldn't cope holding the cats while they had their jabs if DD was screaming so he watched her and I took them £100 so glad I can claim that back later.

I gotta find DD a costume for halloween on tues as the babyclub want to have a halloween party. Have no idea other than a ghost at the moment 1 of the babies is going as a witch and 1 as a pumpkin so don't want to clash.

Am so chuffed with my buggy - I been walking everywhere with it ;) Just snapped up a folding table and 4 chairs too for the kitchen so we can eat proper family meals now.

Simpson - OUCH about the heating bill. I hope you get it sorted before the winter REALLY kicks in.

JKS - We're actually doing it a different way and I've taken £50 out for the month for extra things and will pay for food and fuel etc on my card.

Lucky, If there's a Mamas and Papas store near you I saw they had half price Hallowe'en outfits yesterday. There was a skeleton sleepsuit (black velour with bones on). Mothercare had cat costumes. Cat isn't on website but ghost is :

mothercare