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

[pmk1]

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

good luck at dentist Jam.

DS here is mainly Matso ball as he is so chunky. Also Matty, the mattster, matteo, etc. DD1 is lulupop and DD2 is peggle, which is odd as she is called Matilda.

Cant type well as feeding/pumping and only got left hanf free. Back later to catch upproperly.

I said I'd go to Leeds today with my friend while she takes back a rucksack to a shop...I hadn't banked on getting up a gazillion times in the night - good job she's driving!
Am just trying to get P dressed now while Lucy sits and draws and practices her writing! What a good girl she's being No face-painted dogs this morning though..oh no..there's a big load of colour and lots of people-type shapes..."tell me about your picture" i say (sounds kinder than 'what on earth is that?'!) " well that's Moses and his big stick, that's the sea, that's the Israelites and those are the Egyptians chasing them" Someone's been listening in Sunday School!!!

Right.
Off to school...

see you later xxx

lol at the biblical picture! DS1 does identical scribbles and then says very seriously 'that's a house' 'that's a cat' 'that's a spaceship' (all looks like the same random scrawl to me)

Morning,

My headache didn't go all day or night so missed WW and getting DS2 weighed. So I weighed myself and him. So he is about 15lb 7oz. I will get him weighed next week even if it kills me. HV keeps saying "Well you don't have to get him weighed, but it is nice to know what they weighed"

LadyT My MIL always mentions my weight constantly. When she went on holiday she got me this big baggy top "Because I was fat she got me this top"

Trace I love all the pictures Lu does. They sound fab. DS1 is always drawing scribbles that are trains, cars, Fireman Sam etc.

DS2 gets called Munchkin, Noisebox and I call him Dill Dill. DS1 used to get called Mr Moo, not sure why though.

Hope everyone is well.

Trace, lol at biblical picture! Effie, ds1 does very similar drawing to yours, though he did do a very recognisable fish the other day!

Sorry to hear about your bad nights, trace and effie. You know I know how you feel. Truly.

Love the holy picture, trace. Very impressive!

(Thanks for the explanation re crisps, btw !)

It feels weird to say this, but for once my night wasn't too bad . 2:15am, 3:15am (which I think was actually just the end of the 2:15 feed) and 5:40am! Maybe the growth spurt is coming to an end? About bl**dy time!!

Hope everyone has a lovely day today.

Verso I really really hope this is a sign of things to come. Is your DH still set on giving up work?

Trace I love Lucy's picture, a big mummy tick for asking what the hell it is without actually using those words. Ds1 has just started drawing recognisable people. They have three dots and a line for their face a circle for a body and appropriately placed lines for arms and legs. Aliens on the other hand have several dots and a line for a face and lots of lines coming out of their body- of course.

Not much sleep for veggie mummy but I did read the section in kellymom on wakeful 4 month olds which had helped me understand why. Ds2 is not quite 4 months but I think it still applied. As they become more aware they will just snack during the day because there is so much going on they want to be a part of, so they will them catch up overnight. So it's best to try to feed in a quiet dark room during the day. Unfortunately I read it too late to prevent last nights frequent waking.

He has def had a growth spurt as he weighed in at a 7kg (15lb6oz) yesterday. I would like to know why it's not coming off me though. Kayz I think he has caught up with Dylan almost, did you know they are almost twins. Will have to get them matching Arsenal kit. I have bought J an away kit because they were on sale and it works well as ds1's first kit was an away kit.

Kayz your MIL is so out of line, that is just horrible. Is she overweight, does she have issues with weight or something. She does realize that you put on the weight providing her with grandchildren. Oh and PD was it you with the MIL who showed you the Easter gifts she bought her other three grandchildren, that is also shocking. My grandmother on my dads side used to do stuff like that. One year for christmas she bought two of my cousins rollerskates and for my brothers sister and I she bought pens.

She is overweight yes. She lost loads of weight after being ill and has put most of it back on.

They are almost like twins. I would love him to have J's hair though I love it. I'm going to get him an Arsenal kit soon. DS1 has one that has Freddie on the back. DH did laugh when I was carrying Freddie in his kit and I had my Ljungberg shirt on.

Happy belated Effie - Gee I'm crap! Hope you had a nice lunch with your dh.
Lal exactly that's what I said regarding getting mil use to the idea. He doesn't often say much and avoids conflict like the plague - especially where his family is involved, so if and when we did decide to go, it would probably look like all my idea and I was dragging him out there like you said. So i've read your paragraph out to him! he said "ok - at the next oportunity then"! Result! Where does your brother live now?
Verso sounds like you're feeling slightly better again - well done, and glad you can have at the very least a night off.
I've woken up with a sore throat - perhaps it was too much cheerfulness yesterday. We went to one of my favourite pubs for a late lunch since dh got off work early. He rode there and I followed in the car! it's getting all too frequent this dining out with dh fully clad in lycra! Thank God he wears a 2nd (albeit lycra) jacket over his Freddie Mercury style outfit!
B gets called a variety of things - a lot of the time his own name, and then there's bean he gets a lot since dh thinks it sounds like that when I say it?? I don't - I hardly think I sound Kiwi! Also gets babyboy and b- boy and from mil he gets his formal name of course!
Lady hope the railway swap went off without a hitch again? You really lead a busy life! Good thing you chose not to BF! I'm getting tired of the am pumpings - but it's picked up a little and I got a massive 7oz today! I had to yell out for dh to bring me another bottle in as I only had one of the smaller ones attached! I've got some F in the cupboard though, just encase things take a backward turn... Speaking of FF - what is considered the best brand to use? Or are they all good and depends on your b aby etc?? What do all you FF-ers use?
Kayz words fail me with your mil - and you too Lady!

PMK, I use SMA, we used it for DS1 too so we just chose to use it again.

Veggie I must go and read that part of Kellymum too - although I think i've found the problem with the waking at 0430 and put it down to the napping after 6pm - only thing is, it's hard to keep him from getting overtired if I don't let him nap at all between 7-9, so I'm going to try putting him down at 830 maybe and see if he still sleeps through

apol's for terrible spelling upon reading it back!!!!

pmk, we use Aptamil, like Kayz its what we used with ds1. I'm not sure if there is one overall to use, I think they're all pretty similar. Unless your dc has an allergy of course then you need one of the soy based ones

Hello girls

Well, the Great Swapover was nearly a disaster ? got to the bus stop (buses v infrequent so I HAD to get the 1540 into Oxford otherwise I would have missed DP and wouldn?t have got to London in time) and realised I?d no money in my purse. Luckily the bus driver let me go all the way to Oxford for free as he took pity on me (probably cos DD was strapped to my front). A minor miracle, as it is a long way and the fare is £3.80. Managed to hand DD over to DP on the platform in the seconds before the train doors closed, and off to London I went, in a faded jacket that?s far too small anyway (coat is covered in baby sick and not wearable until cleaned). The party was full of the usual Z list celebs that tend to write for this particular section of the paper and I walked straight into one of my clients, which was lovely in a way (neither of us knew the other was going) but also bad, as when you represent writers they don?t like to think that their agents are doing other stuff themselves. Anyway, the screening was of ?Man on Wire? and it was really good, don?t know if anyone?s seen it (it?s quite old).

When I was coming home on the train I read this thread on my phone. Oh, it does gladden the heart. I remember PD telling me once that other ?month? threads aren?t like ours, and people have spats and all sorts. Gosh. Well, I love ours. And I love reading all these little snapshots from everyone?s lives.

Effie, I neglected you yesterday and didn?t say Happy Birthday. Were the red shoes a pressie? I agree that they probably do go with everything, and are cheery to boot. Did you ever do The Canterbury Tales? I remember the Wife of Bath had red shoes?They were soft leather. Oooh, what?s the handbag like? I shall have to think about Aspinalls. I need a new bag but I am supposed to be curbing what I spend. Oh, and your DS2 is a cutie and not at all strange looking.

Arti, I was aghast at your MiL. What on earth did you say? Driving ? I keep having lessons about a month apart and until I have a couple together again, I can?t really put in for my test, imo. Passing my test has now taken on mythical proportions in my mind ? I can?t imagine ever passing. It would be like Sisyphus rolling the rock right to the top of the mountain.

Ros ? a nice dress ? well, I think Debenhams are good as they have clothes by decent designers but in a more affordable price bracket. I also saw some nice things in Monsoon recently, in bigger sizes as well, if like me you are struggling with the dreaded baby weight. For blow the budget, there is matchesfashion.com but that is high fashion. Try posting on the Style section on here ? I have found the posters on there really good. I want a spring jacket actually. I may post there myself.

I wonder if Spot has had a nice time. It?s a shame that the weather went a bit duff this week in comparison to last.

Jump, I didn?t honk on yesterday, as per flippin? usual. But MUST today! I am perpetually behind with work. Loving the Sindy talk. I laughed about the Live Aid anecdote, Daisy. I remember watching the Royal Wedding in 1981 and ?playing? all the aristocratic guests arriving with my dolls. All my Sindys and Barbies were utterly pristine and my first thought when I knew I was having a girl was ?dolls?? I only had the horse. But I had tons of clothes. I wanted the car though.

Nicknames ? well, I too love my daughter?s name but she was Frogmella before she was born so she is now Froggy, The Mella, Baby Mustard (long explanation involving an episode of Father Ted) or The Mustard, Little Brown Butt Hare (corruption of Little Nut Brown Hare from ?Guess How Much I Love You) and Chicken Pie (odd as I am veggie), Chickenpops, Babypie, Babypops. (I know, I know).

As for your builders, Jump, what an eyeopener. I love earwigging people?s conversations. My client I saw last night was telling me about a conversation he?d just overheard in an Indian restaurant. It was straight out of a Pinter play. Marvellous.

Kayz, how?s your head now? Have you been drinking enough? If you are busy and forget to have a drink, dehydration can cause rotten headaches.

PMK - we use Aptamil. This is mainly because DP noticed it was the dearest (by a couple of pence) I think they are much of a muchness.

Right, off to make a cup of Miso soup and do some STUFF.

As usual, I have failed to do (m)any of the zillion things I wanted to do while DD was at pre-school this week, one of which was to catch up with MN. Anyway, just wanted to wish Effie a happy birthday for yesterday and say hello to everyone. Hopefully, back later .

Today is a proud day at Casa Veggie. Ds2 is officially an Australian citizen (by decent). Unfortunately the certificate isn't as pretty as the one Ds1 has but still he is now a little Aussie and that's great.

PMK if you were kiwi it would be Bin. We actually have trouble with some of the Midlands accents the other day we went for a walk near the Pennine trail and ran into some friends from around here who tolds us to walk down a certain track as there was lovely 'paul' down there. They both laugh at the look on DH and my face as we looked at them completely baffled about why we would want to look at a lovely person called Paul. We eventually worked out they meant pool.

Lady that baby change over sounds a bit of a close shave but what a nice bus driver. I am always out of change I am a bit over dependent on every one taking switch (or EFTPOS as we call it back home).

PMK the formulas are all basically the same and I have an activists distrust of all of them >shakes a tiny fist at nestle< but someone had a great top tip for choosing formula ages ago while we were all still up the duff and to this day I think it is the top tip of this thread. The tip was go to your local late night corner store and check what they sell so if your ever caught out in the night or on a Sunday arvo you can still get some.

Veggie I was wondering the other day if your boys can have triple nationality. It was about 4 in the morning and DS2 had woken me up and for some reason I wondered if they could be like Australian, Chinese and English. Don't ask me why I was thinking it.

I think because they are British first they can have triple nationality. I can't as Australians can only have dual citizenship and even this we were only allowed since 2001. However, DH doesn't have Chinese citizenship his dad fled china just as Mao was coming in and his mums family fled before she was born so he was born in the Phillipines. I think he had to give that citizenship up when he became Australian at 16. However he does have the right to a Taiwanese passport (and by decent the boys do too) and did have one for a while but has lost the actual passport, this is thanks to a dodgy deal his dad did when he fled, unfortunately most of the world doesn't recognise this passport but it can get them into Taiwan if they ever want to live there. We are thinking of going there sometime over winter to meet up with his mum & brothers who will fly over from Australia so we should get that sorted.

Sorry that was a long boring answer.

Oh and PMK I'm gonna dress ds2 on his socceroos gear and take photo later, when will your ds 'wanna be a wallaby'?

That formula tip is brilliant. Had never thought of it before (we use Cow and Gate because, when drug-addled and sobbing in hospital 2 days after CS with starving screeaming 11lb 6oz baby that was the only one of the two options I recognised when the midwife offered me formula) but it is, fortunately, stocked by our local Tesco Metro!

My Dad has just rung me. His GP thinks he might have skin cancer. He has a spot on his nose which he has had for years. A few weeks ago he knocked it somehow and it scabbed over. So he went to the GP and he needs it operating on and then they will send it for tests. He doesn't seem remotely bothered but I am really worried.

Veggie It wasn't boring it was quite interesting actually.

Oh and when I told ds2 he was now Australian he promptly burped, so definitely the Aussie genes are stronger than the soil he was born on.

Oh Kayz big hugs. My lovely dad unfortunately was taken from us due to skin cancer I know that's not what you want to hear but trestment has come a long way since he was diagnosed at 21 (he would have been 70 now). The treatments where experimental back then but he lived until he was 42. He agreed to the treatment back then as he knew that the try & see style of research he had would help people in the future. It would be nice to think that my dads decision contributes in a small way to your dad beating this. But then don't forget it could be benign.

How funny LadyT, DD2 is Frogmella too! Sometimes she is even Frogmella McFrogston She is also Nina-noo, noo-noo, Nina-Ribena, beena and The Ward in Jarndyce (DH was reading Bleak House when I gave birth).

Kayz - that is worrying about your dad but there are lots of types of skin cancer which are really easy to treat and very, very unlikely to spread. It is quite common for fair-ish people to get some types of skin cancer as the age. I hope it is not cancer but if it is don't panic.

Effie - I too neglected to say many happy returns yesterday. I hope you had a great day.

I am off to Cambridge for a wedding tomorrow. DD1 is staying with the outlaws (lets hope they can retain the memory that they have a fourth grandchild for the whole weekend). DD2 has a babysitter in our rooms in DH's old college. All sorted then. Except I have no outfit... Can't go shopping now as I have both girls. We are leaving at 10am in the morning. Hmmmmmm.

Kayz - my dad had skin cancer 20 years ago, then lymphoma five years ago. He is ok, touch wood. Try not to worry.

Oh Arti - could you not brave Westfield? Do you have a double buggy or is DD1 not in one now? I expect you are still feeling rough from the mastitis. Does a kind friend have something you can borrow at short notice?