March 08:Happy Birthday!!! We made it through a whole year!

[turtle23]

new thread.

ST- lovely to see you again. Glad things are getting sorted/better. Have FB'd you and will have to meet up soon.

Facebook group event created for London meet-up. For those of you not on FB or not part of FB group (Marchmums) let me know and I'll figure out how to keep you in the loop. For now, we've got it scheduled for Wednesday 24th June. I think we should try to do another meet-up on a Saturday later in the summer for those not able to come during the week. But let's get this one organised first!

ST - Hello! Glad you're getting somewhere with treatment, hope you get the childcare sorted.

FF - rollerblades, check...ice skates, check...that's all I can think of for socially embarrassing accessories of a fitness nature for now Fingers crossed for your reunion this week - when will you know if it's definitely happening? On the other hand, Take That will be great Oh, and well done on finishing the race!

MB - where does GG put it?! Even burning it off, that's impressive. Am quite irritated that E still fits his 9-12mth trousers cos he's a little shortie in the legs dept compared to upper body. Maybe I should be feeding him more

And E took his first steps a couple of days ago! Saw it for myself today, wasn't official till then...one of the drawbacks of him being with granny means she gets to see all the firsts normally...at least DH was there to see the toddling. I keep finding out he says random words too, but haven't heard anything legible myself yet! Iggle & Makka aside, we think he's saying thank you, has also said "flower", though no idea who taught him that!

ps, really want that emoticon

I'm loving this learning to talk phase, so cute. Asked DD today what we should call her new teddy bear, "BOB!" she shouts, cue much laughing from me and DP and a new teddy called Bob .

DD has 7oz of milk in the morning and 7oz in the evening - are you all totally off the bottles now? DD still has one for both feeds she doesn't seem to relax when she has it in a cup so wolfs it down and then vomits!

Ewe, we're still totally on bottles for milk, he refuses milk from anything else! He'll drink water or milk from the tommy tippee cup by himself, or from a doidy cup or ordinary glass, but no way do we let him loose on that by himself as it goes straight on the floor.

E now knows how to sing along to the ITNG music

Mum of a 19mth old girl in E's swimming class is frustrated as her daughter only says Hiya & Bo. Limited conversation

i had a moment this morning, you know where you don't realise what they are capable of, then they suddenly show you? Gg pointed and asked about the old picture shoved in his room and i said, picture, colours, circles. Then he looked around until he saw his coloured circles grobag, pointed 'dere' and left me really astounded, tbh.

back on planet he's just a baby tho, yes he still only takes a bottle. suspect its more me and dh who don't want to switch him to anything else yet, we were saying over the weekend how odd it will be to finish with bottles, for good.

he is a strapping fellow gg, but don't forget he was born 60cm long...and is following on that curve really. by no means the biggest boy his age we know, but he is most def built like a prop forward. with a very girly face

As requested by MB, details of G's frantic trip to the doctor today.

He woke up early from his nap and was very unhappy so I figured his teeth were bothering him. I gave him Nurofen and finally a bit of boob which seemed to calm him a bit and he went back off to sleep. He woke up again about 15 minutes later and was still in a real state. Nothing would calm him, he was throwing his head back, didn't want a drink or food, no boob, nothing. After 20 minutes I was getting pretty concerned so I called the Dr.

He thrashed around while I tried to get him in his car seat and THEN - he started smiling and laughing as soon as we drove off.

Got to the Dr and he was subdued but fine (of course). Dr checked his ears, temp, etc and found nothing (of course).

For the rest of the day, he was a total nightmare and carried on flailing about if I took anything away or told him no. So in the end, I think I medicated a tantrum. Oh, how I fear for my future!!!

hello all,
I DONT HAVE FACEBOOK SO KEEP ME IN THE LOOP PLS

This truely is a fascinating age, they learn the oddest things so fast. Ds went down the slides at soft play today, he will turn around and go down feet first on his tummy, first on the toddler slide then he went down the BIG slide while i went down next to him

ewe love the teddy named Bob
JFly Im sorry but i did giggle

oh J what a worry though! but repeat after me:

'I am but a duck's back, yea and the water rolls off of me'

for i think, endless years.

oh wait up! duh! this is the famous don't wake them during sleep cycles thing as well you know. until ds1 was 3.5, i couldn't get him up from afternoon naps without great caution, trying to time it to a 50 minutes sleep cycle. he would be a right little monster if he woke while deep under. for ages. food, drink, nothing helped. had to just leave him to it.

Hello sll,
JFly- how scary but all too familiar. I think I may well have also inadvertantly medicated the odd tantrum.

merryberry- thanks for the link to homestart, may be making progress here. Btw, loved your story about the circles. C and DD have exactly the same grobag as GG, may well start accidentally leaving pictures of circles about and hover over him, prodding with a big stick.

littleducks-thanks for your suggestion am my other thread.

Ewe, pmsl at "Bob". It reminded me of the all too brief phase in DD's life where she insisted on being referred to as Percy.

Hello everyone else, I can't go further than five posts up the page without forgetting stuff.

We're on pints of milk here too. C gets through 3-4 bottles a day, all 8oz. Am trying to cut down the morning one atm.

Life is very exhausting here as C just wants to hurl himself off things or as I said before he has entered the Climbing in a Big Showy Offy Yet Extremely Reckless Phase.

Right better dash, teeth cleaning needs to be enforced....there was something else I wanted to say but can't remember.

Anyway, take care of yourselves you lot.

Have been crap crap crap about posting and miss you all! Hope all the babes are doing well.

Things I am worried about:
-why am I the only mother running after her child at playgroup/park/etc bc my child only looks at things for 30 seconds. She is way more physcially active than any other baby I encounter. Have been having little thoughts that maybe she's got ADHD or something and have been trying to do some internet research
-S LOVES soap and lotion and will do anything to have a drink or lick of it. Please tell me someone else's petite monstre is doing this -- or knows why nutrition deficiency this indicates??

Sigh :.)

MNFM- don't know that that sounds particularly unusual? Does DD calm down at home? In a new environment my DD runs around manically leaving me trailing in her wake apologising to everyone she's barged into. Yesterdays induction meeting at DS's new school was a particular high point.
I'm more worried about Tourettes TBH- the noises she comes out with constantly are extraordinary- whoops and whistles and hoots and a particularly salacious raspberry she seem to keep for when we are just behind stately old ladies.

psssst....

AND

turtle, we love ya, turtle, we do.

Thank you. x

Hi

I have not been on here for a long time but I am completely at the end of my tether. Have posted on sleep thread (amongst others) but I am still completely lost.

Anyway, is anyone else dealing with a 14/15 month old who will not sleep? LO has gone from 2 naps to 1 nap of about 2 hrs from 11:30-1:30pm then WAS falling asleep at 8pm, waking for milk at 9pm and going back to sleep with only a couple of wakings during the night and up at 6am.

Recently he is absolutely screaming and crying if we try and put him in his cot at bedtime. He will not sleep so we end up bringing him back downstairs (groans and tuts all round) to tire himself out. He doesn't. He just runs riot and will not sleep again until 11:30pm or midnight and then is up at 6am again! His naps are f#cked and he is sooooo not getting enough sleep.

He is also going through a period of not wanting to eat anything apart from raisins and yoghurt.

DH was shouting at me last night because we never get any time together and he seemed really pissed of at ME because I haven't sorted out LO's sleep routine by now. Needless to say, since DH works so I can be SAHM he doesn't do bedtimes or up during the night. He just gets LO hyper at bedtime (DH doesnt like being "told what to do" when I ask him not to get LO hyper and then expect him to go to bed)

So, I am really, really struggling. Is anyone else going through this? I have heard they are meant to be going through a developmental "spurt" at the mo but haven't really found much about this....

Please help

Oh PFT...P is nowhere near that bad, but the echo sounds the same. He was sleeping 7-7ish and now it is a struggle to get him to sleep before 9. AND he will only stay asleep if in a big bed(alone or with me) as he rolls and wriggles so much in his sleep that he bruises himself in his sleep in a cot. I have everyone tutting at me but I have to sleep as I am also pg...ugh. As a result, I usually fal asleep with him at 830. He then wakes either at 430 or (miracles recently) at 6.
I have moved his daytime sleep all over, longer/shorter etc it makes no difference.
I think it is just a case of the age-old mantra of this too shall pass. And that which doesn't kill us...etc.
I am bracing myself once again for the controlled crying route. It isn't for everyone, but P doesn't respond to the softly softly approaches.
Does LO have a structured routine in the evening? I'm afraid (hypocrite, me?) that consistency is usually the key. And, yes, not letting them come down to play as well.
Ahhh the joys, eh?

Ahhhh turtle... Thanks for replying. He actually fell asleep for a nap so I went with him this morning. So, I guess that means he will prob have 2 naps today. Don't know what that means for bedtime though!!!

I really feel for you being pg at the same time as having to deal with LO who doesn't sleep through. OH was talking about wanting another one now so there isn't a big age gap and thinks it will be harder if we wait until LO is settled and we are used to getting a nights sleep. Don't think that will be in the near future though.

You are right - we will just have to stop bringing him back downstairs to play. Just means he is up all the longer, but I am just sooooooooo tired I am breaking all the "rules" so to speak.

Thanks for the support though. It is nice to feel a little less alone in this.

I have just been recommended a book called "Solve your child's sleep problems" by Dr Richard Furber (sp??) which I am going to try to get a hold of since all the other techniques seem wasted on LO... It's prob just me. Feeling like a crap mum today. I am soooo moody and teary now. Think its sleep depravation. Ahhhhh well.

sorry, am trying to post! hope later when i have help here x

How is everyone today? I'd give you advice if I had any to give-Paranoid, but all I can give you is sympathy- sleep deprivation is a bugger.

I feel really morose about life at the moment. Bored, I think probably, I'm in a definate rut. Does anyone have any recommendations for good exhibitions in London? DH is pissing me off vexing me at the moment and now his football team have got promoted he's planning on spending a lot more time going to watch games so I need to get a pre-emptive strike in for a couple of Saturdays off too myself. But I have not much money so free exhibitions, or ones that don't cost too much to get in. .

DS made me smile yesterday tho' came running in from nursery shouting about a new boy called, apparently, 'Grease'. This is DS's description:
'.....he's got a small head......'
'.....and a medium size body......'
'.....and really, really tiny feet'

I think he's a Weeble.

pantshavenames I wonder if it is anything to do with this 15 month mark? At first I couldn't take my eyes of LO. He was the most entertaining little thing and I would just spend ALL day playing with him. Recently (not sure if it is just the frustrating feeling of being a crap mum cos I can't get him into a decent sleep routine) but I seem sooooo disinterested in everything. I keep trying to remind myself how much I hated my old job and how much better it is getting to be with LO every day n not have to do what some old b!tch tells me n office politics n ALL that crap... but I just seem to be sooooo low just now.

Anyway, trying to be more upbeat...

What games are you all playing with LO's just now? I am rubbish at thinking up inventive stuff to play. Think LO is bored of me hiding his toys under a blanket for him to find and our garden is still a bit of a challenge since he just runs out there, grabs a handful of dirt n stuffs it in his mouth the WHOLE time he is out there! We are looking at getting a baby swing for the garden (saw one for about £30). Any ideas about that?

Hope you are all doing great and thanks for not ignoring me when I decide to post megaposts when I resurface from time to time...

Hello PFT - our LO was a horrendous sleeper up until the 10 mth mark when we had to get tough as I was going back to work, and the thought of doing a full days work after being up 4-6 times a night was scary....So, as much as I hated the thought we did controlled crying first night was horrible, second night was amazingly better, and third night he went to sleep without so much as a peep. Touch wood, in the last seven months I can count on one hand how many times he's not slept through. It was a complete and utter revelation....

It's not for everyone, but we had tried everything else and got to such a low point that we'd reached the last resort.

Good luck, sleep deprivation really is horrendous.

Hope everyone else is well. Life here is completely and utterly bonkers, doing far too much work and feeling very guilty about not seeing enough of DS who is up to all sorts of cheeky tricks

Must be absolutely and completely mad, but starting to think another might be a nice idea

Hi all,

PFT I know what you mean about wondering about exciting games. I find that Ff is happiest when I open her toybox, clear a big, safe, space in the living room, and leave her to it. Her current favourite game is sitting on the floor with a blanket on her head, until I notice think she has hidden for long enough and say, 'Where's Ffion?'. She then emerges, giggling like a lunatic, before hiding again. This can go on for at least 20 mins, and can be played whilst Mumsnetting catching up on the housework.

We've got a swing from Argos. I think it was about £30, and she loves it. I have very nearly trained Girldog to push it too...

As for sleep, we're very very lucky on that score, but we NEVER break the cardinal rule of lifting her out of the cot. Once she's in, unless it is a real emergency, she stays in until the morning.

Turtle I hope things are better with you. If you want a break, you and P are very welcome to come here for a few days. Bloke is away for another three weeks or so, and we've got plenty of room. FB me if you like.

Bloke flew back out to Afghanistan this morning after a week off. It was lovely to have him here, but now I feel a bit sad about him going back. A week isn't long enough really, because as soon as we got used to him being here, we were getting ready for him to go again. Still, we're on the last lap now. (Although, got a bit as he casually dropped into conversation that there might be an opportunity for him to spend a month in the US towards the end of the summer. I told him that sounds lovely, but he would be taking two dogs and a toddler with him if he went...)

Saw Take That in Cardiff on Tuesday evening, and, at risk of sounding like a bit of a loser, they were AMAZING. Best concert I have ever been to, and that includes the Rolling Stones.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

good news, bad news.

good news, I'm here! i came over to post some reflectful thoughts on infant sleep around 15 months. etc

bad news. mine was up at sodding 0430 in a really i'm up kind of way and his brother was crying to go back to sleep. so me and baby have cooked dad a shepherd's pie for dad's day, had a midnight snack and i've just puit him back to bed. i'm kind of sitting here, gently dying a brain death now.

i wouldn't care about the sleeping overall as i know he'd sort himself out. but i worry about the problem of not being able to leave him to get over it himself a la monthlymayhem as he shares a room, as he must surely be learning that if he really, really howls he will be got up. i just had to try not to play with him or reward him too much with attention. pretty hard. and my god, i could have murdered a cigarette at one stage.

glad you had your week OK with dh Ff, hope the rest of the tour goes fast. i'm off to see tracy chapman this week at the roundhouse, i've worked out its my 1st gig in about 14 years! love the fact i can walk there and back with my local mum mate. well, i hope i can ;)

games: we play 'dancing' GG like to hold somethiung and stamp a foot and grin and make a noise - that's singing and dancing.

he's beyond into having 1 or 2 things hidden under cups and turning the cups up. i swear he wets himself at this one, with the joy of suprise.

other than that, he copies his brother. he clikes to mark paper with pencils etc, to thump play doh and to thump a plastic bat with a ball. and to get in and out of the little tikes garden car.