APRIL 2008 - The One Where They Can Eat Food & Shoes & Toys ........

[FrankenSoph73]

Thought as the messages were coming in thick & fast I´d start new thread. Don´t know if it´ll work though. Fingers crossed.

Bloody hell, this is brilliant, thanks Peachy.

I started this question off as a joke, but these techniques sound brilliant, I'm going to start introducing some.

bas got two at once a few weeks back, he loves using them to strip grapes mainly

Roelof's got two bottom teeth as well, it's so cute when he smiles and you can see the two little teeth, hehe. They came out together (ok, a day apart) when dh was away on a business trip. I nearly cracked up the days leading to it.

He loves "chewing" an apple with it.

I'd prefer it if he held off the other teeth for a while. 3 years would be good.

PFJ, where did you buy your alphabet cards, or did you make it yourself? Not 100% convinced that I've got any drawing skills, but guess I could trace

Also, Peachy, same question for you really - any specific sites where I could get some picture cards etc, or should googling for it be the best way?

Oh, btw - R had the biggest poo explosion known to mankind in Canary Wharf today. I considered washing him in the basin! (And I'm not exaggerating, I honestly wondered whether that might be a better option! Luckily had extra clothes and a full pack of wipes (to clean everything up to his neck...) to hand.

I admit I sing to Baby ALOT. songs with numbers in like 5 little ducks, 10 in the bed and 5 current buns and I show him the number reduction using my fingers. He loves to be sung to sleep with twinkle little star and Daddy harmonises with me too... How sad are we...

If you are showing LO your mouth movements you might want to stand with Baby in front of a mirror a few times too. That way baby understands you both have features like mouths and noses etc. in common. First time Jack saw himself in the big mirror in our bedroom he was confused/intensely interested. I think mirrors help. But then I am a bit weird. But then I am an ex primary school teacher too... if that makes you feel a bit better. o.O I am not sure it makes ME feel any better though!!

[tries to convince herslef she is NOT mad talking to baby ALL day]

Tesco Learn Together range, only cost a couple of quid.

sal, i'll dig some out for you and e-mail you them- some are password protected but i'm a member

however the best way is to use a digi camera and do them, that way he can relate easily. make a file for them by putting adhesive velcro on a board in stripes, i laminate all mine but not necessary, then store them on there.

best ones to start with imo food, fave toy, people

LOL at your explosion Sal. I have NO idea what I'd do if that happened to me out and about!

That sounds brilliant, thank you so much. I'll have a look at Tesco direct now, or else will take a trip to Tesco first thing tomorrow morning.

I'm so silly really, as I never think of these things. Roelof loves mirrors (the wardrobes in his room are all floor to ceiling mirrors), so I think he'd like that "game".

I think it's beautiful that you're singing to him at night. We did at first, but for some reason stopped. We actually discussed it tonight - want to start reading him bedtime stories again.

Peachy, thanks so much. I'll grab the camera and start taking pics of his day-to-day stuff as well tomorrow. I think I'll laminate it too, will keep them cleaner and last longer I guess. I want to take pics of dh too which I want to put up for him and carry around as dh will only join us after 2 weeks.

Right I am gonna watch tv and put my feet up!

Night all! Here's hoping for babies who sleep through tonight. xxx

Night PFJ. Enjoy, and thanks for the tips!

sal ebay seems to have loads of ready made sets- easiest I would thnk (they have nursery rhyme sets which are great)

don't be put off by the autism association: its just about facillitating speech and communication

Peachy, that is perfect! And what great value. Think I'll get a base set and add a couple of pics taken at home.

I've told dh about this, and he's really impressed as well. Tbh, I think we're both feeling extremely a bit guilty, as both sets of our parents were really focused on development, but we've kind of forgotten about stimulating R!!! I think it is because, in our minds, he is still a tiny baby!

Hi Popzie,
My DS sometimes sleeps through the night, and sometimes wakes once, which could be any time from 3 to 5:30. He's always been a pretty laidback baby, so it's rare for him to scream, but he does get more vocal (hooty, squealy etc) towards the end of the day, and always has done - so maybe this isn't something they grow out of?

DS sits really, really well for a long time, he hardly ever topples now and is stable sitting up in the bath etc. Not crawling, no teeth, tends to use stuff around him to help him roll over. Doesn't 'bounce' either, as in bob up and down with bendy knees - just locks his knees and stands so long as he's holding on to something - has done for ages.

I sign with DS but he doesn't sign back . He does give me a big grin when I do the eat and milk signs though.

Thanks for the warning VS (and hello!) - think it'll take DS a while to realise he can pull himself up but might lower the cot anyway just in case.

DS is more a vowel combination guy - I've realised I say "hello Benedict, how are you?" about a 100 times a day, and now he says "oowwwwaauuuuu". Every so often a BA or GA comes out but mainly it's mmmmm mmmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm mmm mmm mmm mmm or hooo hooo hooo hooo hooo hooo hooo

We do a lot of singing too - DP sings to him little songs about nappy changes, bath time, going to sleep etc. I'm more traditional and do the rhyme time repertoire.

I like the sound of that PEC stuff though - I'm probably a bit OTT with communication stuff, but DP told me that when he was little he used to head bang and I want to see whether I can help DS avoid the frustration by giving him some tools early on. DS doesn't seem to be that interested though

He does love his bedtime book though - which I'm thrilled about as am a book obsessive myself. We've been reading the same squishy book for ages and now he turns the pages, lifts the flaps and is thrilled everytime we find teddy in bed at the end of it.

Tell me about babies and grapes - it's ok? I feel very nervous about them. And peas. How do they eat them?

Kudos to you Sal for dealing with a poonami in public - that's one of my biggest dreads.

can I just say whoop whoop - spooks is back

Awww, how cute, can almost hear B doing the abridged "how are you". Make sure you make a mini video or something of it!

Hmm, saying that - I'm wondering about whether or not to get a video camera for our first holiday away with R. On the one hand I'd love a record to look back at the funny moments later, but then again, I think sometimes people get so addicted to recording the details that they miss out on having fun together. I've stopped taking holiday pics most of the time for that exact reason, and have to remind myself to take at least some lately. Maybe it's just me getting a bit obsessed with stuff.

Re the nappy explosion - all I can say: Always, always carry an extra set of clothes. Without it we would have been in serious trouble.

I cannot sleep. Urgh. The coffee possibly didn't help either. It's times like these when I miss studying. Nothing like an Auditing book to make you fall asleep instantly...

Morning all...

Jack woke up loads last night demanding a bottle. He's teething alot today too. Hopefully He'll settle down for a nap in a minute or two.. fingers crossed.

Have left out toast and tea and jam for everyone. Hope you all slept well.
Me tired. Ug.

Ah Bas was ok last night, feeds at 3 and 6. He was in his new fleece grobag so miht try that again!.

Got most of my Christmas shopping done already today LOL (DH pays for our kids, me the rest)- good going huh? just some halloween costumes to sort for a party Saturday then done - oh apart frm breadmaking which I promised I would teach the boys (we're having a cooking themed week- crumble yesterday- yum), and getting Bas weighed.

Oh fleecy gro-bag sounds nice and snug, I put a cardigan as well as normal sleeping bag and blanket on DD2 last night, winter is def here is freezing (or maybe just got used to v mild temps).

Ug indeed PFJ, B woke at 1, hungry then decided he definitely didn't want to go back down and was up til 3, with me attempting to lure back to sleep with various strategies including steaming to try to help nose and coughing, sleeping with me, more feeding, changing, singing, rocking etc etc. Finally just gave up and put him down with no distractions at all and he finally went to sleep but I don't know when because I went to sleep first

Thank you for the tea, I need it. And have no milk in the house and can't go get any until b wakes from his nap...

Peachy, is your breadmaking by hand or are you using a machine?

Does anyone know how to stop a cat from pooing on our lovely Iranian bedroom carpet? He's got a lovely well looked-after litter tray, but prefers to dump in our just-decorated bedroom. Any ideas? (And yes, I am trying to keep the door shit, but it doesn't always happen...)

Your babes all seem to be doing so much more than A. But to be honest, with dd1, I spent so much time waiting for her to do stuff, that I sort of missed out on her babyhood, iykwim. So I am quite enjoying A being a baby, not doing much. And of course, when they can walk and talk, things get much more tricky!

Shut not shit. An understandable slip on the keyboard. I seem to be constantly surrounded by shit. (DD1's ability to shit in the right place is akin to the cat's...)

Oooer Shipscat.. poor you. Maybe spraying the carpet with loads of air freshner may put them off, or spray them with water if you catch them in the act?

i think there is a spray you can buy, you could spray it on your bedroom door maybe? so as not to ruin your carpet?