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

[pmk1]

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

Have read the thread but can't remember everything apart from mystery new person, Boat that Rocked rubbish, Jolly teeth (Calpol yes, Dentinox teething gel also good, Ibuprofen on standby for molars), Effie's 14-week growth spurt, Kayz's mentalist HV and hatty's advice re potty training which I totally agree with. I didn't even try with DD1 until I was sure she could do it (lazy Mum alert) and she did it almost overnight too - and straight on to the grown up loo, she didn't want the potty at all!

WG glad to hear you and your DH are getting some well-deserved couple time. The tiredness is so draining. You have a lovely friend .

Bad night for me last night - spectacularly so - up pretty much solidly from 11:30pm to 5:30am - so Mum and DH are giving me another night off tonight .

Oh, and WHAT was your (D)H thinking, daisydora?!!!! I am rendered completely speechless. What a numpty.

Gah it's only day 1 of 4 of single parent-ness and I'm over it already. Usually I don't feel like this until the last day that DH is away (strangely is doesn't matter how many days he is away for me to be over it on the last one) but feeling quite stressed today. J had 3 20 min sleeps and just didn't seem to be able to sleep longer and was just a grizzle grump all day. He didn't feed well for his standards either so might be coming down with something. Currently trying to bounce him in his cot to sleep but so far still wriggley. Ds1 has been lovely but talking non stop and he's doing my head in. I'm proud of myself though I have only snapped at him once otherwise I manage to difuse any possible 'situations'. Usually on days like this I lose it a least once and end up yelling at the poor boy over something stupid. I did the ask him whas wrong and name his emotion method and it worked. I also made things a little easier by going to a friends house for his tea where an amazing thing happened he ate recognizable cauliflour, this is a very rare thing for ds1 to do. He will usually not even entertain the idea of vegetables on his plate so I hide them but these were big bits of cauli in his dinner and he are it hooray.

Also took ds2 to dentist as GP advised this for his weird gum lump he thinks it's fine but wants another look in a month. Had a bit of stress on the way to dentist as couldn't find it and was going to be late but then realized I was exactly an hour early so bought some hair dyes at boots while we waited. My friends niece is studying hair dressing so is going to cut my hair tomorrow and put some foils in, she is apparently quite good.

Right better get onto son1's bedtime now as son 2 seems to be asleep hooray.

Oh and Syb I like the change will you be recording a track soon then.

Trace your L is hardcore. I'm too scared to take ds1 as he hasn't had his preschool boosters yet, it is bad enough that there are 2 of them.

After posting in AIBU about HV I think I might report her. Not sure if it will do much good but I know if she had said that with DS1 I'd probably be trying to wean him now.

Well done, WG, tis I, sybil, in my country guise. After last week's hilarity I thought I'd try out a new name. Didn't we used to have a poster called Rhinestone Cowgirl? Or is it a name changer who is still here?

I keep trying to read but y children / life gets in the way. Currently in my bedroom just tapping away waiting for the DDs to go to sleep. Need some cheerfulness NOW. I will be back to read, and I hope post, later.

Good idea Kayz what prompted her to ring, it is one thing to say it if you go to the clinic (and also very wrong) but another to actually ring you and suggest weaning now. I was told to wean ds1 now and it was a disaster if I had known what I know now I would have reported my HV. In my case she was actually undermining my breastfeeding. Actually Kayz while your at it why don't you report that MW you will be writing to the PCT anyway so you can pop her in too. She messed up BF for you which is a big no no for health professionals.

Surely she knows you have one very healthy child so you know what you are doing.

Just a thought, kayz, before you go in all guns blazing - my HV team got confused about a month ago and left me a bizarre answerphone message about "advice on weaning to a bottle". I was really offended and annoyed - but when I phoned them to find out what it was about it turned out they had me mixed up with someone else. Not very professional, but it can happen when the clinic is busy.

Verso I don't think they got me mixed up. They might have but when I said about how old he is she just said that he was old enough to be weaned as he was so big at birth.

Evening All

I have just been reading the chat about the Phil and Teds seat. Like Lal we have had no choice but to move DD2 to the seat as her head was getting squashed in the cocoon. However, it had not occured to me to worry that her neck was unsupported now - it seems as reclined as a baby car seat. Now I am a little concerned as she naps in there. Its quite a significant design flaw that the most popular double buggy in the country does not have a safe place to put your younger child between the ages of approx three and six months.

LadyT I was very pleased to hear about your DP's drunken declarations. I love a bit of drunken romancing from a man. I hope this evening goes well and it gives you some career boosting ideas.

Veggie - you are a star managing on your own so often. I hate, hate, hate it when DH works away. I am sorry it has not been easy today but I do admire the way you just get on with it.

Hatty - you totally deserve a baby that selttles so easily. You really do. I cannot imagine how you survived the first few months with twins that stuggled to settle.

Daisy, Verso and Effie - sorry to hear about your poor nights. Good luck with sleeping babies tonight. I think Spot joked about drugging and I have to admit that I have looked longingly at the bottle of Medised several times. We gave Medised to DD1 from 4 months for teething because two years ago it was recommended for babies from 4 months. It had an amazing effect on DD1 and she would snore away happily all night after one teaspoon. Now they say you can't give it to under threes which is a bit of a tradgedy really. WG you are over three so maybe that is the answer for you!

PMK - how are you feeling now? Better I hope. At least you had a weekend of cheerfullness.

We had a lovely day. DH had a day off so we had breakfast at our favourite cafe and then took the girls to Kew Gardens and had a picnic lunch in the sun. There is a petting farm at Kew this week and DD1 was sooooooo excited. Later I made her a daisy chain which she loved and she rewarded me by pooing in the potty (how my life has changed that I see a deposit of poo and pee as a reward...). It was slightly embarrassing as we were in the childrens' play area at that point and I was BFing DD2 and DH was in the loo and DD1 chose that moment to take the potty out of the pram herself, pull down her pants in front of the throngs of kids and their parents and then do her (quite smelly) poo in front of them all before running off with her knickers down. I was then left trying to catch her while BFing and holding a potty of poo. Oh well, I was still very proud. Anyway it was a lovely day but I am just knackered now. Do the others with two kids find they are totally wiped out at the end of the day, even when it has been a great one?

pfffft at your HV Kayz.

Hooray for a night off Verso!

Like the new name Sybs

Had a lovely day in Chelmsford with a friend, we pottered round the shops and I spent the last of my birthday money on some trousers that will hopefully fit. H&M have some nice long t-shirst for those of us who need to cover muffin tops. DS2 spelt beautifully in the pram (he still jsut about fits into the cocoon but it's a close thing) and is now wide awake and munching his fingers. Have given up and brought him in with us so we can eat!

arti by 6pm, I am wiped out and long to get the DC's to bed.

Well done to your DD for poo in the potty, I remember getting similarly excited when DD was potty training. My mum used to get hourly text updates. She said she prefered me when I used to ring at 3am saying I had no money for a cab could Dad come and get me

Could you please read this and tell me anything that needs changing.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to make a complaint about the help and treatment I received from a midwife. I had my second son on 12th December 2008. At first breastfeeding was going well and we were getting the hang of things. He weighed 10lb 5.5oz at birth and dropped to 9lb 6oz after 3 days. On the 5th day he had gained 1oz of his weight back. However the midwife made my husband go and buy formula milk and we were told we had to give him formula top ups. This was despite saying that I did not want to give any formula feeds.

I feel that this midwife completely undermined my chances of breastfeeding. She did not give my milk a chance to come in and was just set on pushing formula feeds. I tried to persevere with breastfeeding but my son had become used to getting the formula from the bottle and then became fussy at the breast and would not latch on. When he was six weeks old it became obvious that breastfeeding had been ruined and I had to stop breastfeeding. My son is now 17 weeks old and I still feel guilty. This is why I have decided to complain as I do not want this to happen to another new mother.

Yours
Faithfully

Ohhh, now I get it Sybil - your new name is to do with your drunken singing. At first I thought Glenn Campbell was a footballer, so i thought it was veggie or kayz . then i googled it and realised it was a country singer and also thought of the old poster RhinestoneCowgirl! kayz your letter sounds great to me. But other bfing experts might have things you could add. I can't believe your HV visitor rang you up like that. I haven't seen my HV since DS was 6 weeks I don't think. I don't know if I see them again to be honest. Is everyone else seeing a HV regularly (they seem to cause more trouble than help, but just wondering if I should be seeing one)

daisy lol at your mum's comment!

veggie sorry you are on your own!

Just read that back and it sounds like I class myself a bfing expert! I meant "others, who are bfing experts" if you see what I mean.

Haven't seen HV since DS's 8 week check, think I see her again at the 8 month check. They do hang around the baby weighing clinics round here, but I don't go to them either

Had to put my fatty cuddly boy in a 6-9 month sleep suit tonight. He is quite long (and fat) so never found the need to weigh him

Evening all

Effie, crikes dd2 is very advanced spelling in the pram

arti loving the poo story, what a fab achievement nonetheless!

veggie you're so brave to have 2 LOs all on your own, and seem to be doing pretty well so far, good on you Hurrah for the cauliflower, lots of older LOs having great developments at the moment!

WG sorry to hear about your near row, what a fab friend you have there, really hope you're feeling up to getting out.

DD is really being quite odd, seems to be scared of going to sleep - she's quite happy with the bedtime routine until it gets to being laid down in the cot then she starts to get upset and kicks her legs up a lot. Not over tired, she's managed to get about 2-3 hours of naps most days* but still seems to dread going off to sleep. Anyone got any ideas about what we might be able to do? She also is often asleep with her legs up at right angles (!! abs of steel... ) and twitching a lot. Is this practicing her new skills by night or summat?

*even if I've had to feed her to sleep a few times and the others have been rocking or walking in the pushchair, have decided all naps are good naps frankly

pmk thanks so much for the fenugreek tip, managed to express 5 oz yesterday - dd hadn't fed off that side for about 8 hours which probably helped too but I'm sure the fenugreek is making a difference!

and hello hatty and nolda

good evening.
Just a quickie as DH is out and the girls are sleeping so I'm taking to my bed in a minute. I've ironed my way through Saturday's Casualty so feeling proud of myself!
Kayz - I think you get your point across very well in your letter. Were you going to mention the HV too?
JJ - could it be that dd is just too interested in things so it seems like she's missing out if she goes to sleep? i'm finding it a bit harder to settle P at times because she'd rather smile at things than close her eyes. Although legs up is often a belly issue - is she trumpy? Hope you get a good night tonight.
Jabs went fine here. L didn't come with us in the end because she was in Asda with DH. P screamed with each jab but was quiet within about 2 minutes and seems to have been fine since. I had tears in my eyes though for the first time - Lu has had loads of jabs and needles and it's never brought me to tears before!. I'm a woos these days
I'm off to the GP tomorrow because I've had a painful hip for about 3 weeks. It was just sore in certain positions at first but now it hurts more often and even aches at night. Hopefully they might have an idea what's wrong...BTW how's the knee Kayz?

Thanks ladies, I am lucky though as DH always spoils me and helps loads with the boys when he is home even when he is supposed to be working upstairs. He let's me sleep in heaps (but that is by his own admission more to do with the getting of the jiggy than helping). Oh and Daisy if he helps you to get some sleep, give him a little sugar, it's like Pavlov's dogs then. Actually no that's not quite right but you know what I mean he'll do more to get more.

Arti that poo story is hilarious. DS1 still announces he is doing a poo even though he has been TT for a year and half, and can wipe himself so doesn't need a grown up helper. He has also started describing his poo. 'oh that ones a snake mummy', 'oh that's a droppy one' and 'oh that was a bit squishy mummy' nice

Kayz that sounds perfect esp the undermining BF and you feeling guilty, gold. It would be good if you could cc it to a few people like your local MP the head of women & childrens services and the head of acute midwifery as well as the head of community. You can find those out by contacting your hospitals PALS service.

Effie you ds2 is amazing, I can just see him, you shoot him a word and he spells it out in one of the speak & spell caterpillar things. Hey has anyone tried to make the caterpiller say rude words? It just giggles.

Lots of babies getting jabs today, I hope they are all ok after them?

JJ/Arti after DD had her 1st jabs and her given her the full quota of calpol, I seriously considered taking some paracetemol myself before feeding her to encourage her to sleep I don?t know if it would have worked, but couldn?t actually bring myself to do it in case I overdosed her

Daisy I also hate being woken for anything, so would have had a proper fit it was me. What a cheek!

Trace When you try to give DD2 a bottle, does she get upset by it, or just refuse it point blank? Still no bottle joy in this house either ? got my Mum to try today as DH is starting to worry DD will hate him forever for forcing the bottle on her each day. I think I?ll buy a cup to try

Spot I?m sorry to say I laughed loudly at your injury. It sounds quite nasty, but the way you told the story was very funny. I hope your bum feels better today?

LadyT glad to hear that your DP is forgiven after his little speech, that was quite sweet of him

Verso enjoy your night off tonight and get lots of sleep in that sleep bank

Veggie I hope the rest of this week goes quickly, I think it?s the knowing that you can?t just had over the LO (?s in your case) even for 5 minutes that is so draining. Only 3 more days to go. Enjoy the hair cut tomorrow, my one trip to the salon since DD was born felt like the biggest luxury ever

Last night DD woke a bit earlier than she normally does, with her head jammed at the top of her moses basket cause she?d wriggled up there. I think that was what had woken her, but because I?d got up to her she decided she wanted a feed, but then still woke at her normal time for another feed. Some of you are starting to wean your LO?s off one of the night feeds ? are you not giving as much, or not giving anything at all? Should I have left her without giving her anything? I suspect if DH had got up instead that she wouldn?t have even thought of milk. And Trace, I also enjoyed the birdsong this morning, I think at that time of the day we need to find something to enjoy

awake again - 4th night in a row i cannot get to sleep post feed. arse buggery bugger.

wg did you manage to get back to sleep? I do hope so there's nothing worse than lying there when everyone else is asleep. I always find myself anticipating the next feed

Glad all the lo's jabs went okay, hope they had settled nights.

Well DS was a lot better last night, awake at midnight and then 4. He only had a quick feed both times and went straight back down. I did try to re-settle him with the dummy but he wouldn't entertain the idea. Kept pushing it out with his tongue!

My hairdresser is coming this morning to give me and DD our holiday haircuts! Good job as DD is starting to resemble an Old English Sheepdog, and words fail to describe the birdsnest that is my head

Hi all, haven't posted in ages so have just had to read through to catch up. But I think I've forgotten it all already!

kayz letter sounds good, are you going to complain about the HV as well? I saw your AIBU thread, NM honestly, what are they thinking?!

ladyt glad you've made up with dp, I used to get drunken declarations of love as well, made my eyes roll but also quite sweet! And well done on the GN win! How were your cricketing boys?

arti sounds like you did really well when dh went to the wedding, well done! Glad the potty training seems to be going well. Don't have anything to add on that front, everyone's already it said it!

veggie ds1 loves the cafe culture as well. WHenver we go out, its 'can we go to the cafe'!

Sleep deprivation is well & truly set in here, ds2 just wakes up hourly from around 2-ish. He won't feed though so it doesn't seem like he's hungry. I don't know what's going on or how to stop it, but its leaving me exhausted. And ds1 is rejecting me all the time, only wants daddy even when he's at work, doesn't want me to play with him or do anything with him . We've tried asking him about it & he just says 'mummy's poorly, she doesn't like playing with me'! My mum was looking after him yesterday while I was on my course & they planted the seeds in the garden which was something he flat out refused to do with me. Its just making me really tearful & sad, on top of the lack of sleep, I don't know what to do anymore.

Sorry about the me post, I know there are people on here who have it much worse than I do! I should be grateful for having 2 healthy lovely boys!

bah I feel awful... too much cheerfulness over the weekend put my cold and sore throat recovery back Arti thanks for asking. wish I felt better this morning. B had his jabs and was up every 2 hours last night - he was very sad. He also still has a runny nose so it didn#t help things. dh snored blissfully from 9pm. Hope it doesn't go on for 2 days like after last jabs My throat feels like I've swallowed a razor blade... I havae only very crapily (not a word, don't care) caught up! Syb or Glen rather, you do make me smile MN Kareoke might have to be the next meetup
WG what's with all these sleepless nights? Wine and a dash of night nurse
JJ glad the supps working well, I've run out so must get off arse and get some today... really don't feel well though.

pmk sorry you feel so rough. Could dh take a day off work this week to let you rest for a day?