Dec 08 - Nanny Anne's Apprentices.

[daisydora]

Thread started - hope i've done it right!!

Oh MK I quite liked PMK could we vote on it.

Unfortunately the more the fuss the slower your let down will be. To help things along have a look at your LOs cute little ear or just generally have a good look at them and realize how much you adore them. This loving feeling will stimulate you let down and get things going. I have the opposite problem. I'm often a bit crap at remembering which side I am up to with the result that one ends up a bit oversupplied. When I put him on it it turns on like a firemans hose and nearly chokes the poor child as he can't keep with the flow. Needless to say he gets a little peeved with mummy.

Hello all,

I've loved all the Brownies and guide chatter . I'm afraid ros that Elves are best IDSTF - anyone remember that acronym stands for?!

Daisy LOL at you having to do your Prince Charles impression. I'd love to see that. You Tube perhaps?

Kayz I have a fantastic fruit cake recipe that belonged to my late Gran I can give you if you decide to make a big cake. It really is delicious. She couldn't really cook anything else but oddly her fruitcake is a triumph!

katie I think you can hire the cupcake stands from cake decorating suppliers. The trouble with cupcakes is that unless you are making them in fruit you have a lot of baking and decorating to do the day before. That always puts me off the cupcake as celebration cake.

Trace Attack of the giant cornflakes, very funny . Glad L is on the mend and I hope P feels better soon.

Verso What a tricky situation. Perhaps your DH should take both children for a day and then see if he thinks work would be easier. I wish I could help in some way, you must be under so much pressure.

Indith Thanks for the reassurance that DD's eczema might be short lived. Fingers crossed.

veggie I was very keen to start reading as a child and can remember clearly how great it felt to be able to read books for myself. Reading opens up such a wonderful world for children, you can never be bored with a book . I'm hoping DD is a geeky swotty child like me .

My younger brother is staying with us for a few days and I love him to peices but he has learning disabilities and can be hard work! He's 25 BTW so not a youngster. He is very able in many ways but finds it hard to look beyond his needs and doesn't empathise very well - not a good combo with a baby really. I took him and DD to the Museum of Science and Industry today and it was fun but I'm exhausted now.

Re weaning - I'm quite keen on the idea of BLW although I've only just heard of it (!)so may need to read up a bit more. I had a milk allergy as a youngster (perhaps related to me being weaned stupidly early by the advice of our GP on Ready Brek ) and want to try and avoid DD getting such things if possible. Anyone got a book they can recommend on weaning so I can get up to speed?

hehe veggie sometimes mine start actually squirting, and I'm there forcing the poor child on so that I don't get milk everywhere.
Fortunately it only tends to do that in the morning now, before I've gone out or anything.
Would be most embarrassing while having a pub lunch or something

Oh MK we sent the citizenship by decent app off today how long did yours take. Oh and Kimberly have you gotten your DS' U.S. Citizenship?

mk1 I like it with the p aswell - it looked a bit like 'pink' which always cheers the soul - you could always keep us on our toes and turn up with a new name every day!

Jolly - If Destroyed Still True - what's the 'f' - is it Forever?

Have had a slightly too hot bath so am a bit warm to go to bed yet. Daft me! Talking of baths, I posted another thread in parenting on how often to bath dd1 - interesting chat going on! Some people don't mince their words do they? We're all very nice on this thread! Made me think of you Veggie the other day 'running back' to this safe thread!

Spot - are you ok?

lol Trace and Veggie pmk1 it is - had to have the '1' as without it was already taken!
Veggie can't remember how long the citizenship took, but I remember it was really quick - I think it was back within a week?

I can't wait for his Aussie passport, and Bisou I will email you a photo of him in ihis Aussie gear with passport! (And anyone else if you want one!)

Oh gosh I hope you all don't think I want to stifle ds1 with his reading efforts. I will def encourage him if anything it is a perfect exercise in practice and effort producing a result which is a bit of a theme DH and I like to go with in anything DS1 sets his mind to. I just do feel that some little ones are pushed too quickly into academic persuits and taught them rather than being allowed to discover them. Children up to 6 should be discovering how to learn. As well as experimenting with, and learning to enjoy language rather than being set tasks etc. Most importantly I'm surprised because I come from the benignly negligent school of parenting and have a friend who is doing all the words and flashcard stuff and amazingly the result with our childrn has been the same.

Oh but funny story on the childrens first reading theme. A friend of mine didn't realize her son could read letters and words. When he was almost 4 they were in the car in traffic in London when suddenly he starts saying 'ssssss eeeeee.....ssssssseeeeeee......SEX, mummy what is SEX' my friend was completely baffled until she saw that a nearby bus had an ad for the sex in the city movie on it!

Kayz where are you, have you heard the result can I tell you?

PMK, I was going to vote for that for the same reason as Trace!

Daisy, if you think Prince Charles impressions are embarrassing, I was persuaded by my mother to go on the radio when I was about 8 or 9, as I could bark like a dog. They sent me a prize, but someone there must have a wry sense of humour as it was a biography of Barbara Woodhouse (for those on the thread who are a) from overseas or b) under the age of about 35, she was a batty dog trainer who was briefly and regrettably 'famous' as a tv personality in the late 70s/early 80s. Not the most riveting of reading material for a young mind. I did try to read it (bless - such a game girl I was) but it was so dull that I never got beyond Chapter 1. Also, she used to blow up horses' noses to get them to like her. They must have been too shocked to bite her face, is all I can say.

ANYWAY I digress again. Interested in the stuff about not reading until 7. I suppose I am the other way, as I can remember being held back at school because I could already read, but yet they made me do the starter books anyway, and it made me very angry and I am keen for DD not to have that experience. But at the same time I don't want to be one of those dreadful pushy parents who are so personally inadequate that they just want to bask in the reflected glory of their kids' achievements OR can only value their kids if they perform at school. I think I will be focussing on reading/books as enjoyment, as that's what it's all about anyway. I do want DD to enjoy books, as it is a wonderful enhancement of one's life to do so. I've said it before, if she turns out confident and kind we have done a good job. Not sweating the other stuff as those two things cover it for me.

Weaning - I can cheerfully admit I know nothing about any of it. I have heard of the 4-6 months advice rather than 6 months, but DD at 4 months is clearly happy with formula. However, I couldn't resist letting her lick my pear because it was very nice and it was even nicer to see her little face go mad with delight at a different taste. I will investigate this BLW though, as babies eating proper food sounds quite good, rather than eating mush. I suspect DP will have something to say about this though, as he is a great conformist, particularly with regard to DD.

Arti, I loved the Cotswold Wildlife Park. It wasn't too crowded today and it was just the right size and not too tacky either. Two of the Humboldt's penguins were enthusiastically shagging, though, which I could have done without. Did you know leopards are the same as panthers, but just patterned? I liked the wolves, the tapirs and the fruitbats. Also, I didn't know that otters ate small mammals as well as fish. I felt a bit disappointed in them, to be honest. Funnily enough, I most enjoyed watching a very tubby robin eating bits from one or other of the cages, and he wasn't part of the paid for wildlife....

Jolly, that does sound like a tiring day. Did your brother enjoy it? Is he able to work at all? There is a whole section on weaning on MN so I am going to have a look on there in a few weeks.

Aw, been thinking fondly of Guides all day. This thread is like Guides! As for other, harsher threads, I do like getting stuck in now and then, but less so since I haven't been at work.

Anyway, I've crapped on again. Must go to bed early tonight. Off to feed my beeyootiful daughter. She slept for the four odd hours we were at the Park. DP was bitterly disappointed, I don't know what he was expecting ("Oh Daddy, what magnificent lemurs").

Lady that is hilarious about the women blowing up horses noses? What a strange bird!

That's annoying about the early school reading I think many UK schools have trouble dealing with exceptional students. Schools back home are similar really. I think with Govt targets and boxes to tick it hasn't gotten much better. Not that I was exceptional but in the first 2 years of high school we got put into one class for all subjects and the class we were allocated depended on our overall results in all subjects. I was quite good at English and reasonably good at sciences but horrendous at maths so I was put into a C class. It was a nightmare in my English classes, the other students grammer used to drive me mental and the texts we were given were so boring a took about 40 mins to read. Luckily they made an exception in the next year and pushed me up I just had to work a bit harder in maths.

ladyt - big chortle at "Oh Daddy, what magnificent lemurs" . Your posts do make me laugh.

Another geeky early reader here. I LOVED reading from before school age. Hope DS does too. Though I think he is going to take after DH which will mean he will grow up reading awful thrillers and geeky websites and that will be about it. I'm with you all on the non-competetive pushy parenting though, I hate that stuff. LadyT, do you think your DP might be the competetive parenting type? What with him wanting her to be appreciating the lemurs and all already?

I quite fancy BLW though it seems a bit of a trendy "latest thing", sort of thing. I hope that doesn't offend any of it's fans . I mentioned it to my friend who was weaning her daughter, and she had never heard of it. When I sent her a link she said "Argh, imagine the mess" and didn't seem to like the idea. It appeals to me as I'd like to give DS bits of my food that I like! BUt I also quite like the idea of making him up little purees too. I have to admit I don't really know much about either yet . Can you kind of do both? I guess I should read up properly before starting (a while to go then) as I will probably get it all wrong otherwise (like put loads of salt in or feed him stuff he's not allowed).
Talking of not reading properly, I didn't realise you don't take a break on the mini-pill like on the normal pill. Oops.
I have taken a week off. Fortunately no chance of accidental pregnancy due to lack of action!

Thank you so much girls for all the kind words about Lucy. Am delighted to report all is well, bloods normal, glands down a bit and Dr thinks nothing to worry about! Am so relieved. However, I did manage to volunteer for the garden project at the surgery, even though I professed my talents to be cake making and being bossy. Apparently the latter is to be used in fundraising / project managing and the former to raise morale. I was so happy that L is OK that frankly I would have agreed to anything.

Barbara woodhouse, what a phenomenon - always wore a Guernsey and a horse blanket skirt as I recall. It's hard to think that children across the country were gripped by the antics of this slightly mad old dear on a Sunday night. Do you remember the choke chain, LadyT?

Weaning - I did both girls late (about 7m) as it clashed with holidays. It is SO much easier to wait and just give milk til they can sit up and munch a breadstick / rice cake or whatever. Even St Annabel of Karmel agrees that the first year is just about tasting and that milk is the main source of nutrition. However, some of her stuff is a little extreme. She was in the Daily Tel a few months back saying she made a choice of suppers for her son in case he didn't like the first thing she made. He's at university, FFS.

PMK, I'd love to see a photo of B in his Aussie regalia. COuld you email it round please?

Jolly, your day sounds exhausting. Hope tomorrow is more relaxing.

Veggie, I remember my first day at infant school spotting a word on a flashcard and being given a book to take home (think 1 word per page, if not per book). Apparently I ran out of school to my dear mama shouting "I can read! I can read" to the hilarity of everyone waiting. A miracle! The word was "something", incidentally. It would have been more apposite if it had been something more fitting like "wine".

AM sooooooooooooo tired so am retiring to my bed. Hope you all get a good night.

Oh, the irony - so tired, both DDs fast asleep, but I'm so upset I can't get back to sleep myself.

Last night he did a complete u-turn. Said he never said anything about resigning.

Oh - DD2 waking up... good job I didn't go back to sleep after all!

Sybil that is fab news! You must be v relieved.
Verso grrrr at your dh. I hope you get/got some sleep

been awake since madam woke at 3.30 for food. have discovered eating nutella sandwiches in the dark while on mn makes for a sticky laptop. bugger.

i loved babs woodhouse - coincided with us getting our first dog - choke chain was part of my daily life.

confident and kind - wise words, ladyt

sybil -glad to hear about L - you must be much relieved

verso - hope you have managed to get some sleep

re: weaning - my cleaning lady (for yay, i have joined the ranks of those with a cleaning lady now - that's what the child benefit is for, isn't it? - actually pannicking about money and slighty regretting getting her, but she is lovely and cleans the house way better than i would/could) asked if i would be giving yoghurt in the next couple of weeks. i can't even give my child a dummy or a bottle, why would i give her yoghurt??? honestly, i am pathetic about just giving her boob and nothing else - must try a bottle this weekend, but it just feels wrong and slightly scary to me. i can appreciate it might make life easier and involve dh more, but but but... we'll see...

another nutella sandwich, or try going back to sleep??? ho hum

good to see i'm not the only one awake, summer!

A better night for us - tried to wake DS2 up a little more for his 11pm feed and he fed for ages, fell asleep at 12 and slept till 4 . Then awake again at 6 whivh woke DS1 who screamed blue murder to get up and is therefore NOT popular this morning.

Verso: for you - what does your DH think he's doing?? If he does it again I'd be tempted to say 'right, if that's what you want,YOU work out how we can afford it then we'll sit down and go through everything'.

Oh Verso, how frustrating for you, do you think your DH has any idea what effect his actions have on you, and that even if it's "just talk", words actually mean something? .
Interesting stuff on the weaning, I'm with Summer on the not knowing anything about it, sounds like it could be another ideological minefield along the lines of breast/bottle etc. Come to think of it, I imagine this is just the start of giult, worry and endless self-recrimination that is parenthood. Cf the reading debate! I don't know what my mum would have done had I not had books to occupy me from an early age. She didn't really "get" the concept of toys ...
Actually, bring on the sodding violins, the last 2 nights DP has volunteered to do overnights if I did the 11pm and the 6.30am feed. Bit his arm off. Did T wake up once either of those nights? And when I was back on normal duty last night, did he decide to wake up 3 times? Fair enough, he'd had his jabs yesterday so is prob a bit unsettled, but still paranoid enough to think that DP has the magic sleeping touch and is now buggering off to Amsterdam for 2 days and taking it with him.
WG, I too am a fan of the Nutella sarnie, have one nutella one and one peanut butter one from brekkie each morning, along with cereal and a cuppa. I think I've forgotten I don't need the extra 500 daily calories anymore...
LadyT, I was given a year's membership to London Zoo for my b'day (in December) and am yet to go. But will hopefully go soon and will be v disappointed if T isn't wildly impressed with the monkeys.

That's v good news about DS2 effie .

Because I haven't come up with a solution to his problem at work, he got angry with me this morning and said "you just wash your hands of it then" and "I just don't feel you support me enough".

I don't really know what to say to that. I am at a loss. I also feel desperately sorry for my poor children, and appalled at myself for having DD2 despite the problems we went through with DD1. I should have known better. It was hugely irresponsible of me and I bitterly regret it - although I could never regret her, as she's an angel.

Very very sad today.

Sybil such good news about Lucy. Hurrah!

Wg we've just got a cleaner again too and having similar worries about the cash. But house is so lovely - and so nice not having to do it that for the moment am going to stick with it. In the end I think if it means just being a tiny bit less hassled it's worth it. How's this week been so far? Am obviously sad for you that your DH is going out to work but also happy for the rest of us who get to hear the next series. That's terrible isn't it.

Veggie yay for your boy on the reading. Think all in their own time is exactly right approach although sometimes I find it hard to force myself to relax about these things. I was early reader although quite sketchy - and still am - I recognise patterns of words rather than read from start to finish so am embarrasingly awful at pronouncing anything I haven't heard anyone else say. On first day at school I told all the other children that the water in the infant sinks was dangerous (there was a sign above it - I knew it said water, and before that a long word beginning with d and the only one of those I knew was dangerous). Cue crying children refusing to wash their hands and Lal banned from playing in the Wendy house for the rest of the week. I thought I was helping...

Spot am a big fan of London zoo. DH and I went there for our first date and we've taken DS loads.

Verso really hope things get better for you soon. Sounds like really bizarre behaviour.

Morning,

Sybil That is fab news about Lucy.

Spot I love love love London Zoo. I've been loads of times when I was a kid as we were only an our from London by train. Then when My mum and I(me) went to see Duran Duran we went the day after. Then last year I took DH to London Zoo!! I think I'd go loads if I lived in London.

Verso I can't believe your DH. Does he not realise how much you need his support.

Very of the cleaner talk. I'd love a cleaner. I hate dusting, it drives me mad.

YAY Veggie!!! Now we just need to beat Chelsea(should be easy)

effie glad you had a good night

jolly I can't remember that one, is the F Friends? Actually I'm sure my parents still have my brownie stuff, I wonder if they've got the handbook?!

Barbara Wodehouse, I remember her!

veggie I think you're right about the industry & weaning, lots of baby food still says 'from 4 months'

I'm getting more interested in the idea of BLW, but need to read more about it

verso for you. I don't know what to say!

kayz sorry to hear about your friend, I hope she takes you up on her offer today & it helps.

Reading, ds1 is a little young to start reading. He's starting to show an interest in the alphabet & asks us what words start with but that's as far as we've got. I'm finding it a hard line to balance as I don't want him to be behind when he starts school but I don't believe in forcing it, he'll learn when he's ready!

I ended up having a really crap day yesterday, so much so I ate my tea in the kitchen rather than sit with dh (he caused part of the crapness). But I'm hoping to be more positive today! It helped that ds2 barely touched his 2nd feed last night, I think we're on our way to dropping one finally!