August 2008: Coffee's On. Pull up a Chair and Chat a While.

[TwilightSurfer]

[sambo303triesforScotland]

morning ann thanks for brekkie, can I have a bit of everything, I'm starving!

my dp also does that ultra annoying snooze thing which really gets me angry - nothing like an hour of really disturbed sleep just before you get up to put you in a good mood!

well done seb on the good night, we had one of our worst ever - I moved ds into the spare room with me at 3am as he decided to start a conversation with me after feeding. I was sorely tempted to leave him and return to my lovely comfy warm bed too . Cant be cross though cos he's got such a bad cold, coughing and unable to breathe. I feel like I've had about 20 mins sleep all night and going to drive down to West Sussex today to visit db and sil and dnephew.

cyteen and hotpot how horrendous that you have to apply for your jobs, the last thing you want to do on mat leave I'm sure.

miamla at T's mobility. I put ds on his front just now and he rolled onto his back - crikey

albs maybe no1's 3 day rule will work for your chocolate cravings and they will no longer hold you in their grip. When I'm being healthy I eat dates instead of choccie cos they're ultra sweet and sickly, yummy. Although I'm not sure swapping one treat for another is the idea of lent

dizzy OH the reins!! I too had forgotten!! would be great if you can find them

[poppysocks]

So with you on the snooze thing. DH terrible with it, yet a really heavy sleeper. I'm awake at the first beeping and in the end it takes me AND the alarm clock to shift him.

Have just done a mammouth read to catch up and now can't remember anything....

Oh yes, cyteen and rp - bugger to have to reapply for jobs. DH seems to do it endlessly and all that uncertainty is such a stress. Even worse when you're SO not in that mindset.

DH and I had a big chat last night about my work and I now have to speak to my boss to see if I can cut back to two and a half days. He actually said that he's enjoyed having me at home, everything more organised here and me less stressed. He also suggested a further half day for the girls at nursery so that I can have some 'me' time . Would that make me a terrible mother??? Think to get the hours I'll need to take the alternative job, but after thinking about it, think a new challenge is in order after 4 years in a job (albeit with 2 years of maternity leave in there ).

Right, better be off. DD2 has finally polished off/dropped a whole banana and the crusts from my toast. Hoping for a happier day today after the trauma that was her final lot of jabs. Spent the afternoon pounding the pavements with a v. unhappy little girl.

Oh, oh, ALBS, so pleased to hear that H's christening was lovely. And v that I managed to miss that it was happening!

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

morning all. yeah in sleep anna that is great.
sambo and vg sorry you both had bad nights. I did too if its any consolation.

However I got quite angry frustrated at the 4th wake up at 3am, as ds is not feeding properly, just seems to be suckiling and we both fall asleep. I wake up around 40 min later and he still just suckling.

I feel this is prob habbit and not hungry,but just to make sure I go get the ebm (never given bottle in night before) and he drank about 5oz.
So he was hungry/greedy???
So feeling much calmer I think great he will sleep now...wrong he wakes up 1 hour later,settle after a burp. Then wakes 2 more times to feed
I have tried swapping sides after few mins to keep him awake but to no avail,and the suckling and not feeding has drove me mad last few nights.
vg bless your ds1, how grown up catching the train by himself.here I was being a big baby about getting to London.
Hope you have a relaxing few days.
Hope the colds clear up soon, its so frustrating for them and seeing them struggle to breathe.

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

x post poopy I think that sounds great on the work front, and no don't feel guilty about having some time for yourself. I felt guilty having them thoughts.
I now am desperate for some time for myself.

dizzy you not missed anything, I used to work in my mums shop up till having dd, and I havn't been back apart from odd half day here and there before having ds. The shop is about to undergo a change, she is opening an equestrian section of the shop, selling riding gear/tack etc... As we are all a 'horsey' family it makes sense.(also very very horsey area, and no shops close like this)I asked the other day if I could come back to work, she said absolutley. Hoever the wage wouldnt justify childcare, but am desperate willing to put dd in Nursery for a few mornings anyway and ds/dd can be left with dh or stepmum. It would be nice to go back as Its the sort of job that is more fun and socialising iykwim and It would give me some time to myself.
I am lucky I dont have to go back, but I do miss it sometimes.

Ts glad you and dh are pleased with the kitchen it is a mammoth job and very messy too, we did ours when dd1 was about 4/5 month old.

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

poppy sorry not poopy. Its funny cause every time a type hotter I always put Hooter sorry.

Oh and thanks and well done if you managed to read all my drivel.

Shitty weather today, think may go shopping.

[cyteen]

Morning all

Crap night here too, the second in a row of 2 hourly wake-ups I am in a foul mood and feel guilty about it. Still, Joe is zedding by my side (am MNing in bed ) so I guess now is the perfect time to...proof read my job application and send it in .

poppy I think it makes you a good mum to want some you time. Being a mum is a massive deal but it is still only one part of everything that makes you who you are; I am firmly of the opinion that children benefit from having parents who are rounded people rather than just Mum and Dad. Plus, being able to have a break makes one a cheerier and more patient parent. Sounds like your DH has got his head screwed on, how lovely of him to suggest it

no1 that sounds like a cool job, I hope you get the chance to get back into it.

TS I am so very of your kitchen remodelling...having lived in rented accommodation my entire life, I've never had the chance to make a room how I want it and must put up with whatever shoddy installations the landlord has decreed. The house we're in at the moment is particularly bad - elderly dark wood kitchen fittings with vile rotting wooden draining board [vom] and the minimum of worktop space.

Is anyone else finding that weaning is causing a lot of wind in their LO? I'm sure a big part of this 2 hour waking thing is that Joe is farting like a badger all night Any advice, should I cut back, push forward or just dose him up with gripe water before bed?

[dizzydixies]

coffee??!?! COFFEE?!?!? I laugh in the face of your coffee - am needing a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart huge sympathies to all with

do our babies have another thread going asking who can get their mum to loose their mind through sleep deprivation first
not a great night here either ALTHOUGH all went down fine, Dylan awake for dream feed at midnight (fed fine and went back down) but DD2 decided to shout midnight to 2am which, am I'm not proud of this, ended in me taking her dummy off her and refusing to give it back until she promised to stop shouting and go back to sleep

after that it was pretty much downhill with Dylan if this fecking tooth doesn't cut soon I'm going in there myself and dragging it out

poppy am so sorry wee E had a hard time after her jabs - wee poppet. We've sent DD2 off to nursery for the second day this week as we're both sodding knackered and could do with some 'us' time. tomorrow is music class and swimming and we'll all do something together on Fri. Work sounds great by the way and don't be feeling guilty about time for you - its SOOOOOO important

VG good for you putting him on the train, DD1 at the ripe old age of 5 is demanding to walk to and from school herself - am not quite ready for it yet!

No1 job sounds great, nothing like a bit of adult company to restore your faith in the art of conversation. shall send you a link to my cousins new farm/stable/equestrian thing in the hope it may tempt you up to visit us

right had given Dylan DH's precious sky+ remote to finish posting on here but even that has now lost its appeal

have a good day everyone, grab a nap where you can

[dizzydixies]

good grief I meant huge sympathies to all with sleep deprivation

am sure she just said Mum although nobody else here to hear it and it was inbetween shouts so very accidental

[poppysocks]

Thanks for all the positivity about the working hours. There's the maternal guilt thing but also the cost of the childcare just so that I can be on my own. Seems a crazy extravagance. I must have been such a grump before though as DH says it's worth it if I'm not anymore !

Sounds a lovely job No1 with great childcare solutions. When do you think you could/would start back?

Wind doesn't seem to be the problem with weaning here, more that her poos have gone super hard. I mentioned it to the HV who just said to keep a food diary. She's getting tons of water alongside her food (loves taking it from the cup so def. no worries there) and most of her food is veg so rather confused by it all.

[poppysocks]

Hi Dizzy. Sorry for the super-crap night. Hope DD2 comes back refreshed and you are too!

Hope DS1 has a great time on the train VG. I can remember my Mum doing exactly that with us and my Granny meeting us from the other end of the train. Can't believe that our babies will ever be capable of such a thing.

Right. Soooo must get on. See you all later.

[dizzydixies]

just phoned and found out we can have a maternity linked mortgage break - thank god, that should remove some of the worry - yipee!!

[ataraxis]

For sale: 3 children guaranteed to drive you insane over half term.
All with colds so no swimming (which I had planned today)
All grumpy because of said colds
Two just wanting to be watching tv all day (no chance)
1 small one being particularly demanding (unusual)
1 older one already sent to bedroom for being rude.
Any takers?

[cyteen]

lol dizzy yesterday I was holding Joe and saying 'hello...hello...' in exaggerated madwoman-style fashion and I swear he said 'hello' back Accident or not, I heard it and he can't take it back!

So if you can have a mat-link mortgage break, surely it makes sense to go for number four?

VG how very grown up of your DS1 I expect when the time comes for my PFB to take a train journey by himself I will end up disguising myself as a guard and stowing away to watch over him

Well, job thing is done and dusted and Joe has been snoozing like an angel by my side for over an hour, looking all chubby and peaceful and delicious, so good humour is restored Time to enjoy some utterly pointless MNing before he wakes up.

[ataraxis]

dizzy, fab news on the mortgage break. We are on a tracker, so interest rate drops couldn't have come at a better time.

vg aww, bet he will love the independence. Must be tough for you.

ts, you be careful before Friday or is a last minute attempt for extending the family?

[ataraxis]

oops, just remembered that ds1 is still in his room whilst I am hiding on mn deciding on ways to occupy them

[AnnVan]

Sorry for those who had crap nights
dizzy I can't give adrenalin, but here - have some red bull (apparently it gives you wings don'tchaknow)

About Ebay - do sellers message you or anything once you've bought something? I wouldn't mind having some sort of confirmation that the bouncer is on its way.

[hotterpotter]

Ann sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, usually if they do it's after the item has been posted, so you might get a message later today, fingers crossed!

Looks like everyone's gone off to do fun things; I'm still in my pyjamas. Thought we were going to have a terrible night when DS was awake at 11.30 then 12.15 and crying until I let him feed at which point he was falling straight to sleep, so I dosed him with calpol and he slept till half-four then half-six, then DH brought him downstairs with DD at 7.45 and let me go back to sleep until 9.30 So I am feeling quite good today

Poppy I work 3 days a week (when not on ML obv) and it's great, especially as I do Wednesday to Friday so no rubbish Sundays for me! I think I would like to give up work completely, but actually the reality of two children is a bit more boring than I imagined when you have to do it every day so 2 or 3 days is a very good balance

[dizzydixies]

ataraxis we feel the same as our fixed discounted rate thingy ran out in dec so its dropped in price considerably but if we can just put it off it means we might manage to get through this unpaid maternity leave without having to live solely on credit cards

ann they will sometimes send you an email confirming its been posted or you can send them a message am about to put a whole load of stuff on ebay, clothes, shoes etc etc - I feel the need to bring some money to the pot and selling my gear might just do it

hotter still in pjs here and am glad you're feeling good. another lovely day here so I think we'll take advantage and head out somewhere - get some wind about us I agree completely with you about going to work, its nice to have some time when you feel that you're an adult with something to offer and if truth be told I sometimes feel like going to work gives me a bit of a break

I work used to work 7 day shifts but dropped to job share so I only have to work the first 4. It means I work 4 on and 5 off which sounds great but constantly changing shift work is really wearing and I think I'm done with the politics of it all. part time is great though if you can do it a much better balance all round

sazzles hope you're doing ok today and had an ok night

[hotterpotter]

Dizz glad your weather is good, it's raining a bit here which is a shame as I wanted to get in the garden while DD is at MIL's for the afternoon, oh well at least we'll get some peace . Do you not at least get basic SMP at the moment? Rules changed to 39 weeks last year I think? That's what I'm on at the moment, scary enough at £117 a week but way better than nothing

[dizzydixies]

yes but its only for 9 months and that, for me, is up in March. it is cheaper for me to be off unpaid maternity to make it up to the full year than put all 3 of them into childcare over the summer holidays so will stretch it out with unpaid and annual leave so that I dont have to start back until mid august when DD1 will be in P2 and DD2 will have her nursery part funded

and means I have longer to find a new job

[hotterpotter]

Of course I forgot you're off till August I'm back in the middle of June (obviously if I've got a job to go to...)but managed to save enough leave that I won't not get paid. Flipping heck it's really getting closer, have already had more leave than I had with DD so should be grateful for that.

[pertelote]

Morning all... sorry about all the bad nights, same here Little one very snuffly overnight, no sign of it now we're up however

Dizzy I've had that 'did you say mummy?!' moment too However as it is only this week that she has mastered the wave I think it might be a while...

[TwilightSurfer]

HI! Remember me. TwilightSurfer. Your friend who is never around any more.

Reese woke me up to chat. Now she's back asleep in my spot in the bed and I'm up in the cold house eating a bite. She's turning out to be a tummy sleeper....should I be concerned.

Poppy I think the ME TIME idea is GRAND. I'm looking forward to my ME TIME in....2011.

No1 great news on going back to your mom's shop. I'm a firm believer in the social aspects of work.

Dizzy {{{HUGS}}}.
You too, Ataraxis.
Our kids are truly set to drive us MAD any way possible.

Big Day Today. My birthday girls will be up soon and I can't wait. Before bed last night I told DD1 everything that happened the night before she was born (it was actually quite boring) and she turned and asked, "why did you go there without me?" YOU WEREN'T HERE YET....."oh." I guess the story will have meaning to her next year, maybe.