Sept 08: the thread for when they may start crawling, and there will definitely be some separation anxiety bawling ....

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Welcome ladies

Well, there's no crawling going on in our house, but there's defo some separation anxiety bawling going on .... tears, screaming, the works - oh joy!

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.

hopefully my thinking re bf has always been to bf at least until he has no milk at all during the night (last night he didn't but that was 1st time pretty much ever). But then the 1st thing in morn feed is so much easier as a bf so I don't know how long I'll carry on that one.
I would also like my body back and would like to not have my nipple flashed to everyone around when he decides watching what's going on is better than feeding. Not including the middle of the night he has 2 bfs and 2 bottles a day. That'll be down to 1 bf by the time I go back to work.

kagey just registered for the mystery shopping thing. Did you read the terms and conditions? The 1st one is that you're not allowed to tell anyone when you complete an assignment

Ah, but we're not 'anyone'!

sunshine I can sympathise! Ds1 (who is nearly 6) still comes in every night too - it varies from a "good night" when he doesnt come in til 4/5am to a "bad" night when he comes in at midnight Not getting much sleep here either!

star I avoid those threads like the plague - I find them really uspetting I stopped reading them after one about doing CC on a 4 day old - I am not kidding! And who would want my advice anyway, with a 6 year old still in my bed and a nearly 7 month old who looks like he will be joining him!!! I know, I know, "I've made a rod for my back!"......

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
Bacaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!

kagey Loving the mystery shopping - I used to work at a market research company which specialised in this, so you are bringing back memories. I once did a presentation at a conference dressed in a "spy" disguise which I stripped off mid-presentation! I think it was supposed to illustrate that we did more than just mystery shopping or something.

We are still having a hell of a time trying to get DD to take a bottle. Wasting lots of precious expressed milk with all the bottles that have been refused. My mum (hard-hearted nurse) is trying to help, but even she is saying poor little girl, let's not perservere while she is screaming like this. It doesn't help that teething is clearly giving her lots of pain, and she seems to really need the comfort of mummy.

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.
Becaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Ponymum - back at work f/t pending redundancy, then panic

Whoops Debi, must have slipped my mind , and I have blabbed to DH .

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
Bacaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Kagey - return to work approx 14th July, part time (3 days a week if boss agrees). DD at Nursery.

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.
Becaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Ponymum - back at work f/t pending redundancy, then panic
Kagey - return to work approx 14th July, part time (3 days a week if boss agrees). DD at Nursery.

debi if I see you where I work in amazingstoke I'll be extra nice . We get mystery shoppers all the time.

Starlight by all means, keep spreading the light, save the babies and those ladies' milk supply. I know I needed it. And I know you worry about your own children anyway

So glad that Hopefully brought up the BFing issue and imoscarsmum brought up the returning to work issue. Both are doing my head in. So:

imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
Pacita - going back, gradually over the next month. Will start from home, end up doing 3 days a week. (this is the plan)

About breast feeding, I would really like to continue, more than anything because bottles are a pita (although I've discovered hipp organic follow on milk bottle, which looks quite handy, as you just keep in fridge like a normal milk bottle. Expensive though. Will let you know how it goes down). My idea is to be on breakfast and night time feeds only by the time he gets to 8 months. Does that sound realistic? I'm not planning on feeding much after then.

Returning to work: well, as I work for my partners company i've got the luxury of returning to work gradually. Having said that, and in the current climate, it's got to be clear that I am needed, or it will not be justifiable to keep me. There is a nursery I have my eye on, but it is full, so I'm considering a (non-registered) child minder to look after Diego a couple of days a week (DP would do the third one, I would do the remaining two). The minder is actually my cleaner, who adores Diego and speaks Spanish.

Having said that, I am in two minds. I was kind of thinking that a nursery is a safer environment, more controlled, no single individual (unsupervised) looking after kids... Is this a slightly paranoid thought? What are your views?

Imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.
Becaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Ponymum - back at work f/t pending redundancy, then panic
Kagey - return to work approx 14th July, part time (3 days a week if boss agrees). DD at Nursery.
NotCitrus - return 3 days early August, pfb in nursery 2 days, with MrNC on his day off. Have nursery arranged but their spaces for Aug and my start date and what project I'll get to do are still up in the air.

Sorry, wrote a long and rambling post and missed some of you. Here goes:

Imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.
Becaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Ponymum - back at work f/t pending redundancy, then panic
Kagey - return to work approx 14th July, part time (3 days a week if boss agrees). DD at Nursery.
NotCitrus - return 3 days early August, pfb in nursery 2 days, with MrNC on his day off. Have nursery arranged but their spaces for Aug and my start date and what project I'll get to do are still up in the air.
Pacita - going back, gradually over the next month. Will start from home, end up doing 3 days a week. (this is the plan)

re bf - I worked out A was 97% breastfed, 98.5 or so if you add ebm, at 6 months. Now he's having 2 solid meals a day and really taken to it, so my bf has gone from around 6x to 4x a day.
Which I'm finding a lot easier to deal with, bit more energy, lot less night leakage (but the odd lunchtime squirt...), more libido (but that wasn't a problem except for being too tired), and finally the painful letdown and feeding on the left side has got better, although I only use that side ~1-2x/day.

So I think I'll stick to the odd bottle of ebm or formula but carry on bf for a while. When he's at nursery or bit before he can have formula in the day as I doubt I'll be organised to express enough (usually need to do it 3 times to guarantee full feed). And soon after he'll be 1 and canhave normal milk.

So far I don't want to introduce solid lunch as I think I'd just leak everywhere! And it's a hassle... How many meals are other enthusiastic eaters on?

hurrah! DP just msned me that the nursery has Mondays free... this means that I may return to do a day of work earlier than I thought!

As to meals, again, I always have the feeling to be winging it. Diego loves his lunch (generally a puree and some finger foods) and his dinner (cereals and fruit). I do finger foods with both, and have introduced a tea at 4, where he gets some fruit sticks. Am thinking about introducing breakfast.

I wonder if I'm going too fast. After having been a relatively good sleeper and achieving one waking from 8 to 8, he is now waking every hour howling. He's done it for two days in a row. First I though it was itchiness from his eczema, then teething, but could it be hunger????

Pacita My DS was on 2 bfs a day at 7 months (ttcing) and no formula either, but he ate REALLY well and had a lot of unsalted cheese, yoghurt plus milk in cooking and on cereal etc.

BS is on 8 feeds a day and very little solids at the same age.

There aren't really any rules now. It is between you and your baby. Just make sure he gets plenty of varied nutrition. Formula has added vits, and is a little more digestable (not very necessary now), but you can get round that with either vitamins or healthy diet.

You might find that once down to 2 feeds a day you enjoy snuggling at night and first thing in the morning, especially days when you are at work.

Aaaargh! Now ds won't even sit in the highchair. He's been on one meal a day since Sunday. He's getting loads of milk so am not so worried enough to go to the gp. But he just seems to have completely lost interest in eating solids so much so that he cries the second I hold him over the highchair like he knows what's coming. He wouldn't even sit on my lap when I ate my lunch. When will these bloody teeth cut through? it's driving me bonkers as much as it is DS.

No idea when I'm going back to work, when I get a new job I suppose.It's not for lack of trying. I need to line up some freelance work for next month. 6-8 days should tie me over. Will copy and paste list when I get to the laptop (am on phone).

starlight liking the not so NY resolution. Whenever I've attempted to post some advice in that section I'm generally ignored.

There's a very child friendly restaurant in Crouch End called Monkey Nuts and generally quite cheap mid-week, but it means a 5 minute bus ride from Finsbury Park. Is that too traumatic for those travelling into London?

DG I think that would be possible. I'd get the train to seven sisters from cheshunt, then walk 5mins up seven sisters road to South Totenham overground, bump my buggy up 50 steps and get the train to Crouch End.

Is the restaurant anywhere near the train station?

I'd probably take a single buggy and a sling.

DG you'll find work soon enough, you'll see. And to be honest, if you can actually get work as a freelance, that might be a really good solution - at good day rates. I have considered it myself, the only thing stopping me being that together with the good day rate comes the fact that they want your blood on the project's sign-off form, which one is not so able to do having a baby.

I know that it's not your thing, but have you tried Alfredo with a bit of puree, just to see whether he'll take something off a spoon?

Monkey nuts is a brilliant idea! I hand out there a great deal mostly due to their nappy changing provisions and huge amount of high chairs! It is true that it required a bit of a bus ride from the tube though... Who'd be up for it, and when?

Imoscarsmum - going back on 15 July, full-time.
Lollyheart- started a new job on tues 14th april, p/t
Plusonemore- return to work September, 3 days a week. DS1&2 in nursery
Hopefully - theoretically going back part time in September, hoping to find an alternative. DS at childminder.
ILTMIMI - SAHM
Starlight - SAHM (unless anyone can find me affordable childcare for 2 preschoolers)
DebitheScot- probably going back 1st week in June (haven't actually told boss that yet), 3 days a week till summer then 2 from Sept. Ds1&2 at childminder.
Becaroo - SAHM - at least til ds2 is older or I get back to studying!
Ponymum - back at work f/t pending redundancy, then panic
Kagey - return to work approx 14th July, part time (3 days a week if boss agrees). DD at Nursery.
NotCitrus - return 3 days early August, pfb in nursery 2 days, with MrNC on his day off. Have nursery arranged but their spaces for Aug and my start date and what project I'll get to do are still up in the air.
Pacita - going back, gradually over the next month. Will start from home, end up doing 3 days a week. (this is the plan)
Digitalgirl - hoping to start freelancing before the end of May, but currently searching for a part-time job - 3 days a week.

pacita I've been offering mush on a spoon, porridge, avocado, mash, bolognese. But during the two mealtimes that he's not hungry he's actually started turning his nose up at the food and has learnt a new frowny facial expression!
This morning I made some ready brek, tasted it to make sure it was cool enough and he grabbed the spoon off me and happily accepted two spoonfuls until I put his bib on and lowered him into his highchair. Then it was tears. I didn't realise I'd made mealtimes so traumatic for him. I refuse to walk round the house with him attempting to sneak food into his mouth while distracting him...because I figure if I'm having to feed him by stealth then I shouldn't be feeding him.
Anyway, after I sent that last post he sat on my lap and ate some ham, pitta and half a plum. So I guess that was today's meal.

starlight have just checked the TFL website for the quickest journeys and you could either get the tube from Seven Sisters to Finsbury Park (one stop) and then the W7 bus (5 mins) or if tube steps are a prob you can get the 41 bus all the way from Seven Sisters to Crouch End but it takes about half an hour. I'd be tempted to collar some strapping young lad and get them to haul the buggy up and down the tube steps.

Or am I going about this wrong? Perhaps we should think of somewhere nearer a station?

DG, Jenbot, Star, notcitrus (am I missing anybody?) We could do something near finsbury park station, such as meeting for pizza or pasta at La Porchetta in Stroud green? I don't know how baby friendly they are, but they are friendly and good value... DG do you know them?

I can probably get to Porchetta. My toddlers favourite food is 'papa' so hopefully he'll be occupied.

The only thing that worries me is that I always have trouble finding that restaurant. I think I know where it should be but end up with DH driving up and down and up and down trying to find it.

Off to find if the route is possible/sensible.....

La Porchetta is fab - happy to meet there. I'll get the tube from Brixton (which has lifts!)

digi - tears are wierd. Sometimes I put A into his highchair and put bib on and he'll cry lots, but I put a spoon near him and he'll grab and eat like there's no tomorrow. So he can't be not-hungry. I think he's all confused with teething, cutting down napping, dealing with lumpy food when tired, finding pooing difficult...
Breakfast tends to go well but tea is often in phases - try some, take down, change nappy, try again, try nap, then put in highchair with some finger foods to chew while I do stuff in the kitchen, and eventually eats more... sometimes I leave him with toys in the highchair and do stuff in the kitchen and just offer food/water when I wander past. He's very confused about sleep now, I think he's howling at bathtime because he's tired.
But he goes to sleep round 8, then wakes only once or twice before 9am, so I don't want to risk that!

Effy is just the other way - she loves her food so much she's been dropping her milk during the day.

How exciting! La Porchetta is looking like a popular venue, now we just need a date!

Star, it's about 10 minutes walk up Stroud Green road from the tube, you'll find it no problem!

After two days of hellish sleep, Diego is back to one waking at night. I wonder what that was about...