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

[pmk1]

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

Verso GREAT news that you had sleep!! Can your Mum and DH repeat that?
JJ - hmm well my theory is out the window then... hope the noise calms down next door

Hello just popping in am having a coffee and listening to 5 live which I know I should never do as it always gets me riled up. Must go as have to get to pilates but just wanted to pop in and give lots of sympathy to those who have bad nights or feeling yukky. Also Effie I didn't mean you are being neglectful for not doing those things it was just a suggestion. I think in general all subsequent kids don't get the same tummy time etc that the first child has, and it really makes no difference in the long run. Poor ds2 gets chucked on the playmat with the dummy continuously shoved in his mouth while I'm cooking ds1s dinner and he grumbles about it but what can I do?

Arti I think bugger the chain and go with what you want. Could you go have a look at both houses again and pretend you don't have a sale going ahead on one and go with which one you prefer in that situation. Just basically compare both houses.

ros & Effie - lovely to see you yesterday - DS had a great time too. Sorry DS is feeling a bit under the weather ros. And happy birthday Effie! (I have got the right day haven't I?). Hope you're doing something nice involving plenty of cake.

Thanks for all the good wishes for my brother everyone. LadyT he's on his 5th cycle of 12 fortnightly doses. A lot stronger than last time around, but he seems to be coping quite well so far - let's hope it works this time.

arti hope you're doing better today. And I second what the others have said. Terrible though you will feel letting the others down, you can't afford to make such an important decision on the basis of protecting other people's feelings. If it's a choice of a couple of months' extra hassle for the others in the chain and potentially years of regret for you, you don't really have a choice. They will find another buyer.

LadyT no I flippin haven't finished sorting out my clothes. My flat is Bin Bag City at the moment. Have managed to sort my trousers out though and found all my old 12s (that's age 12, not size) - how depressing. Oh, I just can't wait to get started on the tops...

York railway museum sounds great (well not to me but you know what I mean). Might plan a trip there next time I'm up at my mum's.

Hiya to everyone else.

Veggie I hate Radio 5 as well, especially the phone-ins. DP can't get enough of it though - what with that and Sky News, I am in a constant rage. Mind you I've got George Lamb on at the moment, which is just as bad - he always manages to sneak on while I'm not paying attention.

Thanks PD, it is indeed today. DS2 refusing to nap, but have had to consume custard doughnut to make room in the fridge for the Tesco delivery so not a bad morning . DH taking me out to lunch later and I have a new pair of red shoes with HEELS. Must do the washing up tho (bah), I envy you your dishwasher Veggie . DH has been having nasty eczema on his hands for ages and soo is barred from washing up duty, I have been washing pots for MONTHS and am v v bored with it.

Oh, do any of you West London types want to go to a handbag launch at Westfields? DH has an invite to the Aspinals spring event - you get champagne and a £50 voucher should you wish to buy anything. It's the 2/3/4/5 April. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll post it off. Or you could just go into Aspinals on those dates and quaff - I doubt they'll be asking for your names on the door

have also added another pic of DS2 on my profile - by gosh he is a funny looking baby. The eyes and chin are DH's and the mouth is mine, NO idea where the goblin ears are from .

Effie Happy Birthday! Your DS2 is v cute -not "funny-looking" at all. Tsk tsk. Btw if I was you I would buy my DH some marigolds...

My DD2 is currently grumbling loudly and fighting a nap . Splendid. Must be the day for it or something.

Hello all,
Just a quick one as DS is awake and likely to require attention any sec.
Hope everyone is good.
Hooray for verso getting some sleep.

Sorry jj you had such a crap one
Effie happy birthday! I also think your DS2 looks cute!

Hooray for the new thread! Gosh we talk a lot
Re york and Railway museum. I am likely to be there next Friday! We are going up north as a great Aunt of mine has died, and so we are going to see lots of relatives and see York as well as go to the funeral.

DH says "I have wanted to go to that museum for 27 YEARS". Bless him. Funnily enough I last went about 27 years ago and had a monumental strop that has entered family legend as I thought it was boring (I can remember doing it as well, I was about 4). I was a brat at that age though, obviously veggie your DS1 will love it.

Right got to go, mild vomitting incident on keyboard.

Morning,

DS2 is fine. Nothing wrong with his feet at all. I didn't think there would be but better to get these things checked I suppose.

I'm meant to be getting DS2 weighed today and I'm meant to be at weight watchers this evening but I have a really bad headache and might just go to bed.

Hope you are all well.

Grr, lost message again! So annoying!

In a bad mood anyway as had too many glasses of wine at the pub quiz last night...I must remember that 2 is ENOUGH. Furthermore, have to go to London tonight for screening thing, put on by paper I sometimes write for, so I need to keep in with them. But a) I have to do one of those crazy baby swapover things at Reading Station with DP, which is always stressful, and b) I have to come back tonight and as it will be late, DP will have to do 30 mile round trip as train will go to Oxford rather than my localish station; c) people who vaguely know me and whom I haven't seen for yonks will wonder why I look so spectacularly fat and dowdy. Vain I know.

Verso, glad you had a better night and sorry you had a chequered one, Jump...Sympathies on the teething, it sends the poor little things quite dotty I think.

ZJ, when is your DH back? Being alone with a baby is quite isolating, I think. Bath and a book sounds lovely, though...We only have a shower here and so reading isn't much fun in that I do think we are all lucky not to be single parent families. It must be so very hard to be on one's own all the time.

Arti, really glad you are a touch better. As to the house, it's a bit of a shame the ILs rained on your parade. I think you need to write a simple list of the advantages of each (or, if you like, the disadvantages of each). It's clearer sometimes when it is on a page. If you do need to pull out of the chain, just take a deep breath and do it. But you loved the first house before your PiL's comments. I guess pick the one you would regret not buying the most...As to little O at my MiL's, well...I just have to keep in mind that she loves her granddaughter and it is kind of her to look after her. Because everything she says and does grates on my nerves. AND she keeps mentioning my diet/weight. She is a dreadful combo of sickly/martyry/bitchy.

Kay, glad about your DS's tootsies.

Summer, I think I would have a strop now if I was taken to the Railway Museum! But that is no disrespect to trainlovers large and small

Right, have a bezillion things to do and must honk on with them!

hello

Golly Gosh what a blustery day! I think I should have my head shaved - it would make life easier with all this windy weather!

I've been into town this morning and got myself a pair of lovely jeans - perfect fit - only £4.25 from a charity shop! Can't believe I didn't think of that earlier, having spent too many hours trailing round the high street! They're a Next pair and so very comfy!. Happy me! Now do I give away my too tight pair or assume I will shrink at some point?

Phoebe is still very spotty but no worse than yesterday. Don't think I'll bother with GP as she's not unwell. Although last night she woke at 11 then 1 then 2 and 3, so I fed her each time, then when she woke at 4 she SCREAMED and I couldn't settle her - not even with magic-boob - so I don't know what got her goat, but she's happy again this morning. Very unlike her to do that .

On my way into town I saw loads of police and TV/radio vans and people with microphones... presumably all about that Lady in York who has gone missing.

I started reading "what mothers do" last night - I only read the introduction and I already feel better about my absence of routine and my frequent feeding! Think this is the book for me!

veggie i think your ds will love the railway museum. I've taken Lucy a few times and she thinks it's great ( as does my dad who is train mad!). In the great hall there are loads of engines and kids can climb up and stand in the front of some of them. And there's a very cool model railway. There's an outdoor play/picnic area too and a cafe but the cafe can be a bit pricey. They sometimes have craft or activity sessions too but they cost. If you have a spare hour in York and fancy a coffee let me know!

LadyT hope all goes well tonight - including the speedy child handover manoeuvre!
Kayz - hope the headache goes. Are you drinking enough?
zj - it must be so hard doing weeks without your DH. We'll try to make up for his absence by chatting lots!

Aggghhhh - Effie and Verso I am suffering with you. It really is the day for not napping. DD2 is fussing in her cot but I know she is exhasted as she has only had 45 mins all day. I am on my knees with exhaustion having been deemed well enough to care for the kids alone today. I am lots better but I jsut feel weak and the idea of gong outside it waayyyyyy too much, so the sleepy pram can't work its magic.

JJ - what a night you had. I thought mine was bad but we were only woken every 2.5 hours. I am amazed your D still earned her other D in your post. I hope she is more settled today.

Zoe - I hope you are having a happier day today. The whinging is excruciating and all the more so when you know you have nobody to take over in the evening.

Effie - I love the new picture of M. I acutally think he is a very good looking little lad.

Trace - Glad you are enjoying "What Mothers' Do". Its great to feel vindicated by such a nicely written book. On days I am routine free I pat myself on the back with that book. On days I am trying for a routine I pat myself with the Baby Whisperer. That way I am always doing it right. Good news about your genes.

LadyT - good luck with the great railway swap again tonight. What is happening with your driving lessons now?

I have a MiL gem for you all. My MiL was here all day yesterday to help as I was to ill to look after DD2 still (DD1 at the nanny's). You may remember I feel that the PiLs give us alot less help than they do their daughter and her three kids and that they favour those grandchildren. Well yesterday MiL took DD2 out in the pram and went to the local garden centre. On her return she showed me three fluffy Easter chicks she had bought "for the three grandchildren". I did not point out she has five and was talking to the mother of the two she had forgotten.

Arti your MIL is outrageous !!!!

Trace - I can't beleive I typed "genes" instead of "jeans" . I am clearly too tired to even be on here. I was obviously pleased about your trousers not your genetic make-up.

Something in the air I think DS was up at 11pm, 2am, 4 am, 5am last night Bit of a shock after just the one wake on average. A growth spurt I think he has been feeding lots today. Plus DH up ALL night with D&V, but of course he had to wake me constantly with progress reports He is now sleeping it off, and has had me up the stairs about a hundred times. I know he's ill but really its quite pathetic.

verso fab news on your sleep!

jump I hope you have a better night tonight.

arti your MIL, what a cheek

arti, effie and verso so sorry, E must have secretly logged onto babynet (Dec 08 babies thread - why does our milk always taste of chocolate or cheerfullness?) to tell your LO's about her sleepless whingey day yesterday and now they've taken it upon themselves to do the same - you have my biggest sympathies. However great news on the good night's sleep verso, and the red shoes effie. I have a bit of an obsession with red shoes, they are my ideal birthday present or indeed any present - have a great birthday.

JJ what an awful night/day, could you invite yourself to a friends (quiet) house and try to get some rest there?

Arti I love that you apply whichever book suits that particular days mood - a very effective and successful way of sorting your approach to parenting, I think I may try it too

Do you remember that when I reached 38 weeks, I got referred to the consultant for scans etc as the midwife was concerned DD wasn't growing? Well in the past week I've seen friends in the village who are 36 and 38 weeks pregnant (that is maybe telling that there isn't a lot of evening entertainment in our neck of the woods ), and both of them have been referred to a consultant by the same midwife because she doesn't think their babies are growing either. The first had the same conclusion as me - the scan showed baby is a good size and there's nothing to worry about - and the second is going next week, so I hope she also gets that verdict. I feel for both of them, as it is scary to be told that late on in the pregnancy - but now I'm starting to think that maybe that particular midwife is a bit overcautious. I know it's best to be checked and know your baby is safe and well than to be ignored, but now I'm sitting here thinking about it I'm getting a bit riled that she's scaring them for no reason. And she told one of them that the baby had moved into the wrong position, as she did with me, and then realised the baby was actually the right way up after all . Anyway, fingers crossed that they both produce healthy babies in the next month or so, little friends for my LO.

There does seem to be much unsettledness around - hope they all get over it soon! Just had a lovely lunch in Whitechapel and a wander back through Brick Lane stopping at Ambala for some sweets.. DS2 frowned through the meal despite the combined efforts of the waiters to make him smile... finally gave a big grin to a pretty girl on the way out

nope, still looks a bit funny to me. Lovely of course but still odd!

Arti: is your DH back at a reasonable hour? Do get as much rest as you can.

P&T usres: when are you planning to switch the seats around? DS2 is getting too big for the cocoon but couldn't remember at what age they can go in the seat.

ZJ - love the babies' thread title!!!

Lucy has just drawn a picture of a 'a dog who has had his face painted like a garden' !!

P has just done her poo expression so I'd better deal with that before it leaks out...

Afternoon all,

Thank you so much whoever recommended the bipistuff bandanas (memory like a seive? Moi? ), they are tip top. DD wore one for the first time today and has been drooling like a tap all day long. They do magically keep the wet away from their skin and clothes.

ros York is good for me but could easily do Leeds or Harrogate. I've only been to Sheffield once, got lost and drove into the bus station. Actually I've driven into a few bus stations in unfamiliar cities. I just loose my bearings and then in the confusion must think I'm driving a double decker.

arti I don't think you should let your PIL's comments about the house change your feelings about the house, hard as that is. Lists are always good for this type of decision. Your MIL is a gem!

effie Happy birthday . My DH has terrible eczema on his hands too but I just make sure I always have large rubber gloves in. Doing the washing up singlehandedly would drive me potty.

zoe It is really hard not having someone around in the evening to share the mundane aspects of your day with and take over some of the responsibility. I do wonder how on earth people cope on their own. When's your DH back? Mine is away this weekend which is rubbish. I hope things are ok with your friends - they must have been reassured by seeing you and finding out it was the same midwife. I suppose she has to err on the side of caution but it does seem to be a habit with her.

There must have been something in the air last night as DD was uncharacteristically wakeful too. Spooky!

ladyT I don't think it is the place for a MIL to comment on their DIL's weight. I hope the handover goes well and you have a lovely time.

trace How's P's rash?

Afternoon all. God what a grouch I am with not enough sleep. Sorry for that All much better now, we had a nice nap together at about 10 while the builders took a loooong tea break and just now two of them have been having the most hilarious conversation, not realising I was earwigging. Two lads, early 20s, talking about girls. "It's usually the ones that don't look that amazing that turn out to be amazing, if you actually talk to them". "I don't mean to sound like a cliche but it's personality that really counts" and then an extended analysis of the girls they knew at school and the fact that one of them finds spanish girls "really hot" ! Oh and she's currently snoozing in the sling so time to make treacle tart, have got mates coming round for dinner tomorrow, their first baby due in May

verso superspot and others with troubled nights, you have my absolute admiration for coping with this sort of thing night after night. verso so glad to hear you had a good one - long may it reign!

arti re houses, what everyone else says about the chain, you can't buy a house just because you feel possibly guilty about the others - you have to live there, it has to be for the right reasons. Hope you've managed to get some napping and rest in and feel back to full strength soon.

zj fingers crossed indeed for your friends. sounds like the midwife's a bit of a liability, extra worries are what people really don't need at that stage.

effie happy birthday! what a gorgeous new pic, he's a handsome lad re washing up, definitely time to get DH a pair of washing up gloves... they can be his un-birthday present. Did everyone else have those when they were little? When it was my bro's birthday I'd get a little book, or a new dress for sindy to keep me quiet, and he'd get something similar on my birthday. Anyway, for grownups, washing up gloves sound about right! Handbags sound lovely (especially with £50 off but a bit far to go...

PD I hope the safe place for trace's chocolate honeycomb was in your tummy

kayz glad to hear the feet are all fine. Re weighing babies, if you're up to weightwatchers in the end why not take him with you to weightwatchers then get them to weigh you, add baby, do sums!

ladyT hope the honking is going well! (you make me larf )

trace hurrah for fabby charity shop jeans and they'll be pre-worn in too so even more comfy. Hope Phoebe is on the mend [little hug]

Now here's a question for everyone. How many times a day do you call your baby by their actual name, with DD I think it's about 3 or 4, the rest of the time it's something from a hugely long list of nicknames. I wonder if she'll get confused? Most common ones are Legs (loves trying to stand up); Kicky (usually when changin a nappy...); Rigs (short for Wriggles); Lungs (...!); Squeak; Muffin ; Munchy, or Munchkin Bunchkin if you're not into that whole brevity thing (because she was early and we didn't have a name ready, for the first few days she was munchkin and it's kind of stuck...). Am I the only person who doesn't use their LO's actual name?!

jj: DH is worried that DS2 will still be 'baby Max' when he's 40 cos that's what we all call him, rarely Max and never Maximilian.

Sadly, DH also claims marigolds make his hands worse . He got me a nice bag and a book for my birthday though so is forgiven

Zoe: I'm of the (poss deluded) impression that red shoes go with everything - these ones are also surprisingly comfy to walk in.

DS2 hungry again - better go!

Pumpkin (although DD1 hotly corrects me "but I was your Pumpkin!"), sweetiepie, snugglebunch, pootle, mopsy (my Mum calls her this)...

Just back from GP. Good news is he thinks a lot of what I'm feeling is NORMAL given the amount of sleep I'm (not) getting at the moment. But for the less normal bits he's suggested increasing the ADs slightly as I was only on a half-dose to start with. I don't know if I said before, but since DH and I moved a bit further out of London I have to say it's felt much more like having a "family" doctor, which is nice. He knows my Mum and DH as well, and so looks at my situation from all angles, which is hugely reassuring. For example, he could see immediately that DH's to-work-or-not-to-work-that-is-the-question dilemma is a TAD stressful for me...

Blah blah. Sorry. Just nice to talk to someone sensible about the mess my head and emotions are in at the moment.

Someone wish me a good night tonight. I will be back to doing it all on my own so I need DD2 to SLEEP!

effie You could try some hypoallergenic ones! Glad he came up trumps with presents though.

JJ Oh I loved my Sindys. I got the house with working lights for my 7th birthday and played with it until I was in the first year at secondary school .

DD rarely gets her name. She can be... the Dribbler, Stinker, the Tiddler or Tiddles, Lulu, Miss Chugg-Chugg (DH plays a game with her in the bath where she is a tug boat helping other boats get out to sea), I also often call her by the cats name! All that time agonising over names .

That's reassuring verso. It must be nice to have a Dr like that. I really really hope you have a good night . Any chance that your mum and DH might make last night a regular thing?