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

[pmk1]

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

trace - Not sure I count as an experienced expresser, but my understanding is....1. yes you can leave it out at room temperature for 2-3 hours and 2. yes, you can keep adding as long as it is in a covered/sealed container in the fridge (so a milk storage bag or a bottle with a lid). my midwife even said that you can keep adding over a number of days, as long as you count the first day as the "use by" day.

wg - Had a laugh at your post at 3:30. I too was up while the rest of the house slept. So annoying!

zoejeanne - We moved DS into his own room last week and the thing I was most looking forward to was reading in bed too!

Better go...DS is grunting and whingeing on the playmat. DH is helpfully watching rugby.

Effie, Verso, Trace - I am feeling for you. We had a really crappy night here too. Awake every two hours and hard to settle after each feed. How odd that our good and bad nights seem to be coinciding. Maybe it's the moon!

Dh at a wedding today. I am meant to join him tonight once the kids are asleep but not sure I will now. How can I leave dd2 if she wakes that much?

verso trace & effie, sorry you all had a bad night, I'll add my own in as well. I just don't know why he's waking up, he isn't hungry but from midnight ds2 wakes every couple of hours & takes a while to settle him down again! Time to get the books out I think

kayz how exciting for your brother! But am on your behalf with MIL, why couldn't she just bring him home when you asked? grr

wg glad everything worked out ok in the end but must have been terrifying at the time

ladyt sorry about your row with dp, have you made up yet? Dh has a couple of friends like that & I never bother going out with him when they're there now, just not worth it!

pmk like the idea of a MN bbq, though I think dh would be another antisocial dh & not come! But if he did, then he would happily join in the sports chat with arti & wg but from an Irish perspective!

arti well done on day 1, hope it continues!

zj am of you being able to read in bed. Ds2 will be sharing a room with ds1 but I don't want to move him until his sleeping patterns are sorted, can't be dealing with both of them in the middle of the night!

Thanks for your support yesterday, I'm so glad I've got you lot! Dh & I had a chat last night so he gets why I'm feeling pissed off, but he's still doing the marathon. To be fair, it is in 3 weeks so not much longer to go & it would be a waste of training. But he's promised me faithfully that once its over I can have a night of proper sleep in the spare room once a week.

trace
i think you can keep freshly expressed breast milk at room temp 4-6 hours. As far as the adding to it thing - I do, but only usually after getting it at the same temp if you see what I mean - so if I have put 2 oz in the fridge and I express another 2oz, I keep it seperate in the fridge until its cold like the stuff already there. However, not sure if that's the correct thing and/or necessary either!

That is good thatvyour dh was understanding Ros. Roll on the marathon and your night off. Who is he running for?

Help me be a nice wife girls. Yesterday lots of you commented that you never stopped your partners going out etc. Well today I am tempted to do just that even though dh rarely goes out and is always a great help. Today he is meant to becar a wedding, leaving at 1 pm and back v late. I so don't want him to go. I am knackered, I have done my back in (old injury from my youth as a water polo player), dd2 won't even nap after her bad night, dd1 is potty training and just had her first accident... I want dh's help but I don't want to be "that" kind of wife. Hmmm. Help me stay strong.

Arti is there any chance of him coming home earlier? So he can go to the ceremony and maybe stay for the speeches and then come home.

arti I don't think you're a bad or good wife either way. It's just about seeing what needs doing and meeting the needs. Like Kayz said is there a compromise?
So far today I have got up with both girls at 7, done the usual breakfast thing, fed P and dressed her (including mega poo incident), made lunch ready for parents coming, stripped the beds and put the washing on, hung another lot out to dry, bathed dd1 and got her dressed, and cleaned the bathroom. DH is watching the Grand Prix qualifiers in his PJs having had his lie in. The parents are coming in 10 minutes. grrrrrrrrrr. No chance of my rest yet Zoe! To be fair it is the first day of his hols after a busy term...

So sorry for all those of you who had bad nights. Things weren't great here either I think DS woke 4 times, but I only fed him twice I think its all a blur when your half asleep isn't it?

arti wanting a bit of suppport at what is a very hard time for you isn't being a 'that kind' of wife at all. In your position I would want my DH at home to help me out too.

kayz don't talk to me about MIL mine did the exact same thing in the week with DD. She's been bugging me again this morning!

trace Please sit down, have a cuppa and put your feet up love. Reading your last post has worn me out!

LadyT Hope you and DP have sorted things out. He sounds very like my best friends DH.

Right best see to DS, am trying to get him to nap in his cot but he is crying (again) and is so tired, not sure my arms will take another 'rocking' session.

Kayz your MIL is actually taking the P there, she def knew what she was doing. If F is anything like A a late night completely ruins him for the next day or two. What was her excuse. Well done on the 30 mins. How is your knee?

Arti how far away is the wedding? Could he pop back between the ceremony and the dinner, there is such a long break then anyway.

Had a lovely night out last night boys behaved and ds2 woke for feed just as I was leaving the restaurant to come home at 11pm. What a lovely day we are heading out for a picnic.

Trace: this morning I got up at 7, did breakfast, changed and dressed DS1 and 2, cleaned kitchen, stripped beds, went out to the park, back via the shop, made lunch... this afternoon I'll be out again, then need to clean the bathroom, tidy the bedroom, make the beds. Then tidy the front room and mop the floors this evening. DH is working. THIS is why I don;t like weekends - I have to get the DSs out so DH can get stuff done plus do the housework. If I'm v lucky DH will take DS1 out for a couple of hours so I can.. do the housework. Rant rant.

Anyway, this too shall pass... DH is v v busy at the moment but it should calm down in a couple of weeks. PLus we are definitely moving next month so we'll have more space!

Her reason was that SIL and BIL wanted to give him a bath. No apology though.

How long was the bath, the poor child must have been a prune. Why on earth did they want to bath him, he's not a toy for them to play with whenever they want to.

Did anyone back monmoon?

I'd like to retract (some of) my hormonal rant of this morning - had a lovely afternoon in the park and retail therapy in the form of a silly sun hat for Max and some bright pink trainers for me. And DH (who escaped from his desk briefly) is cooking tea .

Good to see Cat as well and the gorgeous Mr T does not look like a Russian Gangster at all.

I managed not to expand large amounts of cash on summery clothes, but Green Baby have some lovely things in: www.greenbaby.co.uk/pl_ORGANIC_BABY_CLOTHES1.htm

All I'm going to say is that the teething fairy has arrived and it's not pretty.

(and I agree re weekends, trace and effie - except I get woken at 5:30am by (D)H getting up, and then DD1 is usually not far behind...)

yay for your nice afternoon effie. I hope you tea is yummy. My day was also much nicer than anticipated, the lovely sun helped.

I wish I had backed MM Veggie. 100-1, can you imagine?I am pleased though as I backed State of Play each way and he came 4th so I should get £40. First time I have won anything on the GN. It was so exciting, even DD1 was screaming. Apparantly she owned a purple horse who was running too. Sadly he decided to stop running and go to find DH at his wedding half way through the race...

Back soon as I have the evening home alone. First it's bedtimes.

oh Verso . Drugs? (for DD2 that is)

verso so for you if its the teeth. Anbesol always worked a treat for DD. Have got some teething granules for DS, as I suspect he is also teething (lots of dribbling and bright red cheeks). He tends to just look shocked when I put them in his mouth.

grrrr. just wrote a big post and it vanished

summary - lovely day here - nice time with my parents, nice hair cut (not very exciting but lovely to have someone wash my hair!), nice sunshine...
P has gone to sleep on her back for the first time ever!
day 4 of Operation Bottle - not a sausage!
Lu just had a meltdown while DH was putting her to bed. Sometimes they really wind each other up - I think because they're so similar. I went in to say goodnight and she was in floods of tears, and we had a lovely calm chat, so she's now happy and settled and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside because it felt like we really connected
P awake. time to put her on her front i think!
didn't think it'd last

PS: have you seen Bisou's pic of J and her looking all Queen of the Nightish? Gorgeous and

pps: on FB that is...

hello all

Dh off singing a concert with our choir so it's just me and DD tonight. Do I watch the episode of Lost a friend recorded for us, or do I keep it until DH is back...? hmmmm... Am coming down with a bit of a sore throat so might head it off at the pass with an early night. Am likely to get woken up at 11.30 by a windy wrigglying baby anyway the few times she went through to 2 or even 3 or 4 seem to have been one-offs.

big hugs to everyone with teething, unsleeping, grumping babes. I'm afraid DD has been a smiley little thing today which means probably a moo all night, but I can always hope

I backed the winner, Mon Mome, and also had My Will (3rd) and Cerium (5th) and the bookies I used pay out up to 5th and I had each way bets. So I won £404. Yay. Although I spent £150, but still a good net profit. DP backed 4th and 5th and our two guests also backed the winner so between us we made about a grand. One of our guests is Polish and was very bemused as she had never heard of the Grand National, but was a bit more interested when she realised she'd won £254.

PMK - so glad you had a better night.

Arti - is your DH still at the wedding?

I made up with DP at about midnight last night but I am still a bit cheesed off inside. I think best not to dwell on it. No one's perfect, least of all me...and I can't exactly flounce off back to London now we have DD. Well, we are supposed to be moving later in the year so we will see less of dickhead neighbour, though it turns out DP doesn't like the house anyway (we are moving there 'for me' ) and also, there is so much wrong with it according to the survey, unless several things are sorted or we get a big discount, the sale is off anyway

Well, DP has gone out tonight with neighbour to Cotswold Beer Tasting night, and he was hammered already when he left from our mini Grand National party...But I am off to London for the whole day tomorrow, so am not fussed.

Am amazed by all these teeth. DD is dribbling for England and has been for weeks, and is also constantly gnawing her fist, but I think it will be a long time before any little toothy pegs actually poke through.

Effie - ooh, will look for Bisou's pic. Jump - watch Lost!

Hi everyone. Didn't win anything - had bet on State of Play - but foolishly did it to win instead of each way. Well done LadyT though!
Had bit of a lie in as DH took DS out in pram this morn.

I think it's been answered but wrt expressing the milk can be left out of fridge for 6 hours. When I express I do just add the milk to milk in fridge ( I tend to get about 60mls just before morning feed, 40mls later in day and 60mls the next morning - add it all together and freeze for possible future use - just guessing 160mls would be an ok amount for full feed as have no idea how much he takes at a feed!)

Thanks Zoe - it was hard going at times but feel I'll be much more prepared for possible next baby (which DH has started mentioning already!!). I really can't imagine coping with two or more and have total respect for those that do.

Those greenbaby clothes look so cute - may need to do some online shopping!
DS refusing to be put down to bed but will stop crying if sat on my knee!! He's dribbling away and eating his hands so teeth probably on way here also.
Wishing good nights to everyone - time for some cheerfulness!

Wow LadyT that is an impressive set of results. I should have consulted you before choosing. I am really glad you made up with DP although not happy that you are still a bit sad underneath. Was it a really serious argument? If you did not have DD would you really be rushing back to the Big Smoke?

JJ - sorry to hear you are feeling poorly. I hope you have a good night. I would give Lost a miss, it is sooooooo confusing right now. We record it and are trying to stay loyal but it seems to have moved into the realms of pure science fiction. I used to hope they would find a way of resolving it in a realistic way.

Verso - about the teeth.

I am pretty happy tonight (which probably means its all about to go wrong). Despite my lack of sleep and despressive tone this morning I managed a pretty impressive day. Fristly, I never mentioned my reservations about the wedding to DH, which I am pleased about as he deserved to go without guilt. As a result I have been alone with both DDs since 1pm and to summarise I have managed the following: I took them to the park; made sandcastles with DD1; made DD2 giggle for the first time ever; took them home and baked cookies with them (although it has to be said DD2 didn't do alot to help); watched the Grand National and DD1 got really excited about it which made her seem like a mate rather than a toddler; made DD1 a very healthy dinner with lots of fish and veggies; got her to eat it with no protest; bathed them both on my own for the first time; and finally got them both to bed without a tear from either of them.

Sorry for the detailed list but I am very proud as I thought I was at the end of my tether today. It was all very confidence boosting. I have celebrated by eating five of the cookies we baked, that was also very satisfying but also slightly nauseating...