Dec 08- Must keep chocolate & cheerfulness near, teething time is nearly here!

[pmk1]

Right.... back to post the link now!

JB I have to say with DD1 it most definitely was NOT "downhill from now". Mushy moment alert but I think every age she's had I've just loved her more. She keeps developing and growing and becoming more "herself" and I just love her to bits.

Thanks for the support re my Mum, everyone. I'm still cross but off to bed shortly in the vain hope of getting a few hours in before it all kicks off again... DD2 has been weird all day, grizzly but also sleepy (?) so I hope she isn't awake all night to make up for it.

verso, just thought I'd add my face as well, I thought she was your mother not his & should be supporting you!

arti, lol at you & jj's dh!

I just fell asleep in the bath & dropped my book in the water . Dh thinks its hilarious & says it serves me right for having a glass of cheerfulness in there as well!

jb, just wanted to second verso's 'not downhill from here' comment. Ds1 is now 3 & is just fantastic to be around, we have great conversations etc & is really sweet to see him get so excited about seeing an ant or a squirrel! They do have their moments, as we all do, but its generally outweighed by the good.

Ok, mushiness over now! You really can tell I've had a drink can't you?

Verso-hope you do get some rest.

Hatty I 've also had negative comments about having three kids. I agree that they can get more fun as they get older. My DD is 5 and it is lovely chatting to her. She wants the 'The Magic Faraway Tree' at the moment as her friend has the book and it so reminds me of being young myself. Plus there is someone to watch the trash of 'Dancing on Ice' 'X factor' etc with

LadyT-god those 'Apprentice' people are dreadful

DaisyDora-how awful for your friend. I know someone who's partner left her for a 19 year old just before she gave birth. She has taken him back now

JJ god they can drive you mad sometimes. My DS2, being the third child, often gets left as we are all busy and it doesn't seem to do him any harm. He is by far the easiest baby I have had

YAHOOOO!!!!

MN hasn't been working for me for about half an hour. I e-mailed Trace asking if it was just me. But she couldn't get on either.

Now I have forgetten what I was going to say. Verso I hope you get some sleep tonight. That goes for all of you actually.

I wish for sleeping Dec 08 babies.

Trace still can't get on so has asked me to say "Hello"

Oh Dear, can't remember what I was going to write now - I'll try... Just had to read the thread twice! I'm getting distracted by dh's excitment of the rugby 7's!
Lady if you are very very old..... and if my memory serves me, i'm not that far behind very very old myself!
Sybil I'm so glad the old you is back - your post just crack me up if I haven't said so before! I laughed out loud so had to read your post to dh who also had a chuckle about smacking your dc's heads on the door frame, cheerfulness, and mono boob!!! Oh we really must have a spot at some point!!!
Veggie Gosh if you had of said that about your SIL back then (or rather if I'd had "known you" back then) we could have set them up for sure!! He was pretty down and has 3 kids (on FB pics) but has since (6 mths ago) met the girl next door (literally) she is lovely and is actually next door! it's been over 2 years since they seperated so I hope things work out with the neighbour as she is perfect for him and does so much for the kids.
verso is it your MIL or mother?? Either way WTF!!!!
Ros what happened to your bath caddy!!!!! At least you didn't drop your cheerfulness!!
Major nice to hear from you - at last!! An excuse to watch X factor!! Except I've got a ds not a dd!!
Hope everyone gets some sleep tonight....

Just watched the secret millionaire no idea why I did that but completely depressed myself so now watching Mitchell & Webb to brighten me up, very funny vet skit so perking up now.

Don't you hate it when you realize you have done something stupid a split second after you've done it. I made a veggie casserole tonight in a lovely looking casserole dish thing I bought in Japan when ds1 and i had a stopover there. I have never actually used it to cook casseroles yet mostly just to serve rice if we have friends for dinner. Anyway took it out of the oven with oven gloves on, lifted the lid off with oven gloves on, gave it a stir with oven gloves off, then picked the lid up to put it back on and back in the oven but didn't put my bloody oven gloves on burnt my fingers and dropped the lid and broke it, bugger!

Oh and PMK that's great to hear about your bro and the girl next door.

Morning,

PMK Finger's crossed that all goes well with your brother. He sounds like he really deserves a nice lady friend.

Veggie Ouch, how are your fingers? Sorry about your casserole dish. Maybe you might be able to get another if you go back to Japan.

DS1 has started being very naughty these last few days. He is throwing huge tantrums, I'd say about 5 or 6 a day. He has started to hit DS2 a lot more as he had pretty much stopped. So I am taking him out today for some 'me time' as I think he needs it really. So we are of to Whitby on the bus(he loves buses) and we might go to this shop where you can paint your own piggy bank, plate etc.

Hope you all have lovely days.

morning all

pmk how great for your brother, hope it works out for them

kayz hope you and ds1 have a lovely day, sounds like he would like some mummy time! Am a little jealous as I love Whitby. There used to be a little shop where you could buy all the bits & pieces to make your own jewellry, I would save up & spend all of my pocket money there!

veggie ouch! Hope your fingers are ok, do you know anyone in Japan who could send you another one?

I really must get cleaned up today, ds1 is in nursery so poor ds2 will be moved from room to room in his bouncy chair!

Ros I think there is still a shop there where you can buy jewellry stuff. There was the last time I went. But the last time I went was last summer sometime.

Veggie: I am always doing stuff like that. Can you use the dish without the lid as a serving bowl?

Morning all anyone up for a little coffee break. Ros I'm sure he will love being in the bouncer I'm thinking of bringing the hanging bouncer thing down today so he can have some hanging upright time and u can take him outside in it as it hangs off his Amby cot frame.

Thank you all for your thoughts on my dish lid. I have never been one to get that bothered about possesions but there are some things I really like and this dish is quite cool. But had a look this morning and think I can get DH to paste it together so it still looks ok but won't be using it for casseroles anymore. Kayz I would love to go back there one day, so the draw of the cool china tea shop I bought it from will be more incentive. We stopped off there because JAL do cheap flights back home and they have an overnight stop off in Tokyo. Ds1 loved it.

Oh and that's a good idea to give him some mummy time rather than just having a go at him. We find ds1 has been a bit cheeky lately, he loves his brother but just getting a bit left out sometimes. We have also found asking him what is wrong at the time, and kind of naming the emotion for him, like saying "are you feeling angry/grumpy/sad at the moment" helps too. I think I read about it in the no cry discipline solution and it does really help as I think it is sometimes hard for them to understand their emotions at this age so naming it helps them with that and tells them it's ok to feel it. They get quite overwhelmed at times with just growing up don't they, bless em.

veggie - ouch! btw - was the sketch the one about the pheasant in the vet hospital? if so, dh wrote that one!

Yes that's the one, they cook it, it's hilarious, and I'm vegetarian so tough crowd for meat cooking humour. Am also watching old episodes of the peep show did he write any of that, so funny. When DH is away I like a bit of comedy to keep me company.

Morning everyone. We had a better night up for feeds at 2.30 and 4.30 and then for the day at 7.30 though she's still having a half hour of inconsolable sobbing for half an hour before falling asleep - kind of self-imposed CIO

JB and others who put your LOs to bed early-ish (6.30 or 7) what time do they wake up for the day? If she'd be happier going to bed earlier I'd be fine with that, just not if it means getting up for the day at 6am!

Just got my last payslip which includes any salary as opposed to SMP and there's a really weird figure on it - which if I do the sums makes it look as if I get paid £6000 a month [dreamland]. Time to phone and find out what that's all about!

pmk about fenugreek - how does that work then? Is it a supplement, or do you just eat lots of it?! Since for the first time in yonks I woke up without both boobs utterly drained and spaniel-ear-esque , managed to express a massive 4.5 oz (this is amazing for us) so that will go in the freezer for posterity... but would be great to up the amount so DH can take over every now and then.

SL that panda is fantastic I now have it in my favourites for cheering up with

LadyT I love your beacons of positivity One of my other favourite activities, though not a thing to look forwards to in the most realistic sense is houseturbation (how much do you love that word?! Saw it in a newspaper article) i.e. going to Rightmove and saying when I win the lottery, I'll move to the highlands and live in a huge castle, so time to find one. OK, it's just dreaming rather than actual positivity, but I love nosing at other people's mansions! On which subject, not sure what a bulging back wall is but sounds scary

katie hope you're all better now, and tummies sorted out. Tee hee at your poor DH and his trousers, he must have brightened lots of people's mornings

spot - not sure about sun cream, we use a sun hat (when there is any...!) and drape a mus over the front of the pushchair. If she's in the sling it's less easy though. you can get kiddy suncream, not sure if it's suitable for babes though. Anyone know?! Fantastic news about your sister has she discovered the amazing time wasting properties of MN yet... [evil grin]

arti good news about the formula, it doesn't mean you'll be doing it every day, but v useful to know that she'll happily guzzle it if needed! re DH's practice, that's the badger! Well deduced Mr Arti DH has a scary consultation this morning with a chap with psycopathic personality disorder (yikes) who is frequently aggressive and threatening so really hope he comes out alive!

hatty hello! lovely to see you! Massive admiration to you for coping with 3 LOs That book sounds fab, good to see MN is in fact continuing a historical tradition

JB glad to hear DD is ok, they're such wriggly little eels.

veggie evensong is where I met my DH! it's the evening service in the CoE and we sang it together in my college chapel 3 times a wee. Universally known as Evensnog, for obvious reasons... congrats on surviving ikea, you're very brave!

verso yet more at your mum. What on earth is she thinking?

ros oh no! re your book... that bath caddy someone mentioned earlier, we got one for a wedding present and it's great.

major (and others) mentioning that babies often get more enjoyable as they get older - reminds me of a letter I was shown that my mum sent to a friend of hers. It was when I was about 4 and she said to her friend how sad she was that I'd be off to school - "just as she's becoming her own little person and being good fun to be with, she's taken away to school". It's both for her, but to know that I wasn't always a complete PITA to her...

wg - did you ever get an answer about the vinegary poos? we've had a couple and (without wanting this to sound really odd!) they make me think of you

Oh that is sweet about you mums letter I'm trying to compile all the emails I wrote about ds1 and it occured to me that with facebook I have no records of correspndance about ds2 it would be nice to maybe keep a diary though that is something I've never really been into.

What was the question about sunscreens I think I missed that. Ds2 has a bit of PMT this morning I think but is happy now his nappy is off. I think he is getting a bit frustrated I think he wants to grab and hold his toys but hadn't quite got the motor ability yet. He has also made a grab at his boy bits and in the great tradition set by his father and brother (and many before I'm sure) he quite liked it and is trying for more.

That's a bit scary about your DHs patient JJ, no offence to your DH but should he not be seeing a psychiatrist if he's a bit not well.

Just a quick one. JJ, DS gets a bath at 6.15 and is usually asleep by 7 pm. He then wakes for a feed at about 3.30/4am and wakes for the day at the earliest when DH's alarm goes off, 6.45 am. I had such a difficult time with getting DD to sleep when she was a baby. I don't think I'd heard of babies being overtired then but looking back I think it was a classic case. I wish I'd known about MN then! Go on give it a go.

I was just about to tell Veggie about evensnog. My first job was with Oxford Univ (if I dare to mention the Other Place) and I dated an organ scholar at one time. I used to act as pageturner and drink madeira in the organ loft during the service.

Morning all, much chirpier in the Katie household today, although bambinos are still not 100%. Have been busy ordering shiny new things for my kitchen
JJ that's exactly how I feel about DS. He is just becoming a really fun person to be with and now they order him into school!
Amplanning aday trip this Saturday so that DH can get on with fitting the kitchen without DS 'helping' him. Think we might do either Warwick Castle or Cotswolds wildlife Park, anyone got any other reccomendations?
Off to buy an oven now, my goodness they're more expensive than I realised, luck its payday for DH .

Oh Nolda, cheeky cheerfulness in church your hardcore.

Katie love the sound of the shiny kitchen things, shame they have to be paid for. Gas or electric oven the price diff is ridiculous isn't it!

JJ forgot to say I started giving his bath at 5.15 and into bed by 6 to avoid the screaming demons and like Nolda in hindsight I think I should have been doing the same with ds1 but wanted him to have time with dh in the evenings and thought he was just grizzly in the evenings. Ds2 is usually up for the day at 7 though spends the last hour in bed with us after a feed at 6 so I guess he wakes at 6 but like his brother loves a morning snuggle.

Well the days of leaving J in one place and him being there when I cone back in are fast dissappearing. I went to put the washing on the line and he was on his back under his playgym when I came back in he had done a 180, flipped over, was almost off the mat and had lifted his head up and was giving his horse toy a stern telling off.

Thanks for the pushchair shade tip, Ros, just bought one on ebay. Am trying to flog the fisherprice swing that T didn't like and hope it should more than cover the costs!
As for T's routine - he's in bed at around 6.45, I wake him for a feed at 10.30 and then he'll have another feed in the night (any time from 3 to 5) then he wakes for the day between 6.15 and 7. But doesn't feed until 8 so I suspect the middle of the night feed could be dropped (but am too lazy to go through the trying to wean him off it faff).
Know what you mean about the plonking and leaving, Veg, though would love to see him telling the horse off! T does a kind of speaker's corner thing at around 5pm each day (don't know why that's when he's chattiest) but I get told all sorts of opinions, with the occasional sigh thrown in when I'm clearly not appreciating the delicate nuances of his argument...

Ds2 is more live at the Apollo than speakers corner, he loves telling jokes and luckily he finds them all hilariously funny as he's always having a little giggle in between punchlines. We've nicknamed him laughing Buddha as he always has a big grin, his eyes go kind of squinted and he's got big ear lobes.

ds2 is chattiest in the morning, just after his bottle. I get all sorts then really! He fell asleep on me today & kept giggling in his sleep, very sweet!

Bedtime, ds2 has his bath between 6 & 6.30pm depending on how tired he is, then bottle & bed at 7pm. He usually has a bottle around 12-ish, wakes for a bit of a natter at 5 & then up for the day 6.30-7am.

The bath caddy I use for putting my book on but for actually reading it I hold it, hence when I fell asleep my arms drooped & book went splash!

kayz I hope the shop is still there, might take a trip over when I'm up next week. Would be nice to take the boys to the seaside, especially if its nice!

thanks for all the wishes for my brother - he's happy again now... lets hope it stays that way.

Well I cocked up last night and let him nap in the early evening, and therefore he decided he was up for a bit of "look for dummy in the dark and if I cant find it just scream!" at 0300! Popped it back in -3 times and then he did sleep till 0700.
JJ we are doing a bit of experimenting... turns out if he naps anywhere from 6pm-8 or 9pm then feeds and gets put to bed, he'll wake up (but not usually need to feed) at 3 or 4 ish, but if he doesn't nap after say 6 or 7 ish he can go through from 9-930 till 6ish give or take, as long as he's totally gorged at that last feed.
sleep sheep arrived today, so we'll see how that goes!
Fenugreek is just a supplement which you can get at health food stores. I take this one and ooh it's on sale at the moment so must get more!
it really has helped.

I tried him yesterday on a formula top up after a feed and he seems to guzzle anything fortunately.

katie glad the sicky house is getting better! My cold seems to be on the mend too...

Oh and I have (temporarily) put some piccy's on of B feeling proud! Wasn't too thrilled as he'd just woken up and I think it was a little hot for his wool beanie!