December 2008 Coven - white light and basket cases

[EffiePerine]

Seeing as LadyT broke the thread...

LadyT Maybe not persona then I have very regular cycles, so lucky that way. The coil is worth a thought, though I did have one put in a few years ago as emergency contraception, and it kind of fell out. I can only assume it wasnt put in properly. DH wondered why sex was uncomfortable but didnt complain

Veggie I have tried steaming by putting foil over the top of the bowl, and putting the bowl in a pan of boiling water. Took a long time t cook though (1-2hours?).

ZJ Good luck with sorting your job woes.

Party central chez spot in the wee small hours, I'm sure loads of you have gone through this before but this is a first time for me so please indulge a bleary-eyed person - I guess this is a four/five month growth spurt thing? He woke at 2 after a mega coughing fit and then at 4.40 where he decided it was time to feed, dance, sing, shout etc for 2 hours, then back to sleep for 20 mins. Am really gonna try and get a GP appt today about his cough as it's really distressing him (and me!). Am just vv fed up of spending half our life in medical establishments.
But - had a nice afternoon yesterday got out and about locally with a friend who has a small baby and T loved all the attention from passersby - in fact on the way home I had him facing front in the Bjorn and everyone who passed grinned at him, so I'm pretty sure he was flirting away merrily out of my eyeline.
How was your night, Superjump?

Hello girls - just a quick one while I squirt off some milk and get the girls ready for school. Sympathies to all on the non sleeping babies. M has lost the ability both day and night. Last night he only had 4 wakinbgs but that's been quite good the last week or so. Onr night I got 30 mins sleep in total.

Am very impressed by all the nookie going on. Am still in the Gobi myself but I'd rarger have sleep than sex, and having a baby permanently latched on is the best contraceptive.

I'll try to come bacl later but am as I have some work to do and need to prioritise that really. I work as a law lecturer in a university( and am going back in JUly) but only 2 days a week. My work has to be handed back on Monday, I haven't started and we have the outlaws down this weekend, so I don't quite know when I am to do this. Hey ho!

Hope you are all well and cheery. Lots of love to everyone.

sybil nice to hear from you again. Sorry your nights are so naff - you and I should set up camp in the Gobi and send our babies away to sleep school

Last night was Not Good. Despite my positive gut feeling - P was awake every 1-2 hours again (but she is highly cute and therefore forgiven!) - but dd1 kept being awake and shouting for us and came into our bedroom (her farm was broken and needed fixing right there and then?!!!), which resulted in he being in naughty corner at 04.50am! She used to be so good at sleeping 7-7, or at least staying in her room and entertaining herself between those hours. I think it's to do with how light it is, even with black outs. Must implement new measures to change her behaviour... (she also looks highly cute in school uniform so is also forgiven!)

We have sunshine again today (and a chilly breeze - I sound like a TV weather girl) so I'm going to attempt to mow the lawns and do some more gardening. When I had PND after dd1, doing the garden was one of my escapes that I think helped my recovery, so I find it quite therapeutic, especially when you can see improvement happening - I don't like it enough to go out in cold weather though!

Kayz - I was thinking of you last night - felt like we'd not heard from you in a little while - hope the weaning goes well . DH wanted to give P some Angel Delight last night but I put my foot down! ZJ - Butterscotch was always my fave too, with a big dollop of lemon curd in it. Yummmmmm

Does anyone know how V is getting on? I think of her often.

oh and Spot - hope all goes well at the GP. I know it's no comfort but a cough can linger for a few months, so the GP may not have anything constructive to say - but don't be disheartened. You've had such a lot to deal with - colic and reflux and the milk thing and the horrid tummy bug and the cough and colds...poor you. Hope that you've had you share of ills now and that he has fab health for the rest of his days...!

sorry - haven't written for ages, but been lurking. bookmarking myself (now know what this means). will catch up later.

Oh my we had the night from hell. DD1's nightly tummy bug struck again and she was so uncomfortable and just could not settle. Her cries kept waking DD2 and so she got loads more feeds than she needed just because I needed her to settle. In total I got about 2.5 hours sleep and that was broken up. Then at 5.30 they both rose for the day all happy and bouncy. I was not a nice mum this morning.

JJ and Trace - I only ventured out of the Gobi very briefly and thanks to mucho alcohol. I have now returned to the centre of the desert and can't imagine ever feeling-up to leaving again! Good luck with the spare bed JJ...

Spot and Sybs - much sympathy on the wakeful nights. Spot, when the DDs want anything more than a feed and cuddle I get quite Draconian. There will be no playing in the night chez Arti. It's the only bit of Gina I follow - no real eye contact or speech at night. Doesn't work after 5.30am though.

Zoe - that work situation sounds stressfull. I hope you find a solution. DD1 used to do the waking marathons too. I figure it's ok unless it makes them grumpy in which case I strive for naps at any cost (car, pram etc).

LadyT - glad to hear your DP is working on reducing his grumps. Good news that your house purchase is still chundering along (albeit v slowly). Ours is going nowhere. Can't buy the dream house because of schools and owners of the sensible option can't find anywhere to move to so may stay put. There is nothing else on the Market in the school catchment area. We did visit a lovely private school this morning, which would allow us to live in the dream house, but it's über expensive and I would have to commit to working a five day week and not indulging my holiday fetish for a long, long time.

Right, must drag my exhausted behind off the sofa and down to baby massage.

Morning,

Trace DS1 is being a nightmare, so not getting on as much as I want to!! He won't stop waking up DS2 if he falls asleep downstairs. He keeps hitting him and when I asked HV for advice all she said was "Don't let DS1 hit DS2" Well duh!! We kinda know that but it happens so fast, 1 second he is playing boo with him and the next second he smacks him.

Anyway hope everyone is well!!

Morning everyone. mmmmm butterscotch angel delight, we've currently got a few pints pf milk too many so might have to pop to the shops and have the unhealthiest lunch on the planet. Not sure about the addition of lemon curd tough, surely that contains natural products (and fruit!) and so would sully the eerily smooth artificial perfection...?

arti and trace so sorry about the dreadful nights. and spot (enough of this superjump business!) that sounds a lot like dd. supposedly they have all these new pathways forming on thir brains and so want to practice using them at all sorts of unsuitable times. when you think about it it's pretty bloody miraculous, they come out of our lady bits not kowing anything and four/five months later so much is going on in their little brains and bodies. makes you feel pretty humble.

we had an ok night simply because i said sod it, bring on the rod and fed dd to sleep lying down next to me every time she woke up. as a result i feel alot more human despite being woken 4 times. and had a lie in/nap with her til 9 . she's currently al boobo getting ready for another nap yawning like a mad thing, so hope to be able to pop her in the pushchair and keep her asleep.

zj blimey about the work situation, don't know the law but are they allowed to do that - ie give you a different job after ML than the one you had before? re the no napping, again I'm trying to take it easy and as long as she doesn't get too stroppy for lack of sleep, let her set the pace at the moment. Am I just a big wet blanket in thrall to my baby at the mo?!

spot hope the doc can get the cough sorted, if it's keeping T awake then that's another reason for them to take it seriously.

Triumph! Sleepy dd transferred to pushchair, mr thumb in mouth, white noise baby mix on to drown noisy shouting builders and https://www.btowstore.com/WebRoot/BT2/Shops/Store2_002E_Shop1282/4791/FDD1/B184/4A90/86FA/AC10/3D2A/ 24EC/Skidaddle0020Zebra0020Sm.jpg zebby clutched in her free hand. We have sleep! And I have my breakfast, and capital letters back!

kayz/veggie, am I the only one who doesn't follow footy at all (well apart from the glorious Colchester United very occasionally, Come on you U's!) I have no idea what you're on about.

JB Shropshire is so beautiful, we had a weekend in a little holiday cottage/barn thingy in the hamlet of More last year and it was just lovely, so peaceful and the hills are stunning. Love the image of baby washing in a bidet! So that's what they're for...!

sybil can you get the outlaws on baby duty while you work at the weekend? Not much fun but needs must?

well yesterday's baby get-together was great fun, lovely to chat to other mums with babies about the same age and really cute to see them playing together. BUT I now worry that we're not doing enough for dd? She has a few toys, little rattles and cloth books and skoosh ball and a playmat for kicking about on, but everyone else was talking about musical bouncy chairs and things like this and all sorts of toys that play tunes and say things to the baby. Am I depriving her of valuable learning opportunities?! She's in the sling with me a lot of the time so gets to see the world and is talked to a lot, is this good enough? I asked my dad what me and my bro played with and it was things like wooden blocks, abacus, books, rattles, nothing electric or flashing lights. (and we've both turned out ok !). So I wonder if we're not doing enough, or it's just that everyone else is doing more and dd will catch up in her own time - or learn in her own way. I mean, it's not as if kids were stupider a generation ago because they didn't have all this stuff. They just learned in different ways.

NB this is by no means intended to sound like having a go at people who do have all this stuff, merely wondering if we're putting dd at a disadvantage. Gah, competitive mothering!

JJ hope you're enjoying your breakfast! I have no electronic toys for P - except some sitting in a draw which were given to L and rarely used! They guzzle batteries and annoy parents! I'm sure some are good but I can't imagine that anything can be more stimulating or comforting or soothing or entertaining than seeing the world and hearing mummy and daddy and sibling chatting away! I'm sure Babyjump is getting all she needs from you. Having said that P has already watched the Baby Beethoven DVD at least 5 times and she loves it! We don't have much storage space in our house so we always made a point at birthdays/ Christmas of asking for small things - as a result she has lots of jigsaws and craft stuff and books and little dolls and bears and tea sets and a FANTASTIC imagination . In fact she currently claims to have a never ending supply of invisible sweets (called Bracelies) in her shoe and is often caught sneaking one in her mouth! When we went to my parents house recently she wanted sweets in the car, so I suggested she eat some Bracelies (but not all at once!) and she did - she had one every 15 minutes for nearly 2 hours! This morning she offered me one in the playground so I said "yes please" and pretended to eat one, and one of her pals' mums said we were both nutters!

P has just had a feed and gone for a sleep in her cot. yesterday she slept for 1 hour 50mins at this time so I'm going to grab a spot of lunch then join her for a nap. N ot in the cot - I'm not that flexible

Just bookmarking myself for later and to let you know i'm to be an auntie again, my brother who left his wife then suddenly was with another women who of course he hadn't been seeing before he left his wife?!? has impregnated aformentioned women. I am very happy for them but can't help feeling for my ex-sil. Also liking my new SIL even less as she wanted my bro to annul his previous marriage so they could marry in a catholic church that she liked the look of ( he's not catholic) but my SIL refused to sign divorce papers, so they couldn't sort it all in time so instead she decided to get pregnant! I am not catholic and not overly religious but apart from causing more pain to an already upset women by making her marriage of 17 years nul and void she is taking the making a mockery of institutions which people live and give their lives for!!!!

Oh gosh I didn't know I felt that strongly about this right better go get myself day sorted.

ooh veggie so many emotions tied up in that. yay for future Veggie-niece/nephew but poo to the lady and poor poor ex-SIL. People do have complicated lives don't they?

boo broken link, zebra is this one! zebra

veggie that sounds very complecated, might have to write it all out to make sense of it?!

trace P sounds like such a darling!

Congrats Veggie on the neice/nephew but boo on new SIL.

Jump DS1 has loads of annoying noisey toys. I thought they were great when I was pg with him. Now they drive me mad!!! Don't give into to the noise!!

Hello all!
Very happy, I have a new nephew!! Long labour followed by em c-section, but he is here at last. Just seen a piccie and he is a bit...erm...ugly...and looks like my brother! I love him already.

Also first non-DS night out last night for wedding anniversary. Got tiddly and had great time. Most excellent.

Veggie congrats on new niece/nephew but your new SIL does sound a pain in the bottom.

Jump I have been thinking the same thing re toys. Worrying that DS is getting bored of the ones he has, now he is more interested in toys. I have a few snipes set up on ebay for some more rattles/toys, etc. The only big electronic thing we have is an electronic swing which plays music and sounds when you pull things, and rocks back and forth, which I got second hand from a friend. I don't think you are depriving DD, but those Baby Einstein things, I get the impression might be quite useful for getting on with things while they play . I am thinking of getting a Fisher Price Jumperoo, they get really good reviews and are a similar thing, except they can jump up and down in it too. I think they are useful for lazy mums who can't be bothered to always entertain their children....like moi !
Oh and also, going back, you should tell your DH you are staying in bed if madam is awake and he can sleep on the sofa to get sleep until he sorts out the spare room. Bet he'll soon do it then.
Oh re contraception, I didn't really get on with the mini-pill, so I stopped taking it as am not really keen on being on pill anyway at the moment. Using condoms at the moment but not ideal. I assume coil not a good idea if you are thinking of having second baby reasonably quickly? Asked doctor about cap but they said they can't do that and I have to go to family planning to get fitted for one...has anyone tried...are they a faff? Wondering about persona, and risking that it might not work ....but am BFing and haven't had period yet, so presumably I couldn't use it as it relies on your cycle?
Oh and re work, I am planning on going back to work, in November. Have not spoken to work about when I am going back, aand want to go back 4 days a week. I am a computer programmer, and work fairly sociable hours, and work is only a 15 min commute away so should be managable.
zj I hope you sort your work situation, that sounds crap.
I also love apprentice. Most disconcerted to find that my friend who babysat last night had manage to change channel so it had not recorded. Much relief when found out it is repeated tonight! I also hate Debra. She has a nasty face. But quite like Yasmina, she looks like she'd be good in a physical fight, which I find appealing somehow!! I like the blonde girl, I forget her name, she seems quite pleasant normal person. Whether she's any good I don't know.
But then we all know it's not really about that anyway. TV gold.
Right gotta go, mr trouble requires attention.

Oh I forgot to tell you about my trip to baby group!!

HV wants me to go to these course/group things. 1 for parents of 2-3yo on Wednesday 9-12 then to a post-natal one on Wednesday 1-3. So I said no, not interested. She asked me to just go to one meeting of one of them so I choose the post-natal one.

So I went yesterday, plonked DS1 in the creche bit and went in. We were all asked to tell our birth stories and I got a lot of "Oh my god", "why didn't you ask for a CS?" and faces like this >. Afterwards we were just sat talking and 2 ladies said that they thought I was making my birth story up as it is impossible to naturally give birth to a baby DS2's size. When I said that it was true they just ignored me and then went on to say "that they think large babies look like they have downs syndrome". I lost my temper a little bit and stomped out!!

HV has just rung to ask how I was as she was told what had happened!

Oh my god Kayz, what a bunch of weirdos!!!

Have discovered new game for DS. Have put him on play mat but with plastic sheeting underneath him, in the nuddie. He is loving it and is really concentrating trying to roll over. Not managed it yet though.
Obviously I will have to clear it up when he does a wee or god forbid a poo, but he is having fun at the moment.

Kayz that is just horrible, I am completely gobsmacked that these women could say these things. Clearly they are dealing with their own unresolved issues, I personally am proud of you Kayz and you should be allowed to be proud to stuff them.

SL ds2 loves being in the nikki narna, I think he rolls better when he is rudey nudey as he doesn't have his massive nappies hindering him. Oh and his bott bott is lovely bare too.

Just back from WW and I have lost another 1.5lb!!

quickly...
kayz - nutters!

veggie~ hurrah and oh, life is weird, isn't it?

not been on much - had mentalist pil here over the weekend - mil said "tuppence" nearly 200 times a day. she also can't refer to the cot as justt the cot, it is the cot "which i bought tuppence" - interchange any item she bought. she hovered over her tuppence every hour of the day - nice in one way (i even got to paint my toenails, joy!), but also a bit suffocating for all involved. meanwhile pil is getting more nad more antisocial - only able to make conversation on his terms (with cronies down the pub), and not make conversation wiht sane people. but they are not bad people, i just occasionally have ENOUGH and unfortunately they make dh feel like he is a bad son and full of guilt. this is completely unnnecessary and i keep trying to tell him he has done nothing wrong. they live in the arse end of nowehre in north wales, don't like each other, live at opposite ends of hte house and don't know how to interact with each other, let alone other people.

anyway - very quickly - what do people know about cyber cheating? one of my dearest friends found out yesterday that her husband has been frequenting internet porn chatrooms and has been doing whatever it is you do on those things. i've always liked her husbanda dn thought he was full of integrity, with a wild past however, but it seems he has gone a bit awol and mad all of a sudden. they have a 4 year old dd and my friend is also 5 months pregnant. they aren't british, and only over here because of his job, so if she did leave him she'd have to take her daughter out of school and return home to live with her crazy mother, but away from all her friends over here. it is a hell of a situation. any one had any experience of this sort of thing? i am hoping they can sort it out, but obviously maybe they just can't and this is a symptom that something is desperately desperately wrong. he is abroad iwth work at the moment, coming back on saturday. she has only told me and another friend so far. awful awful awful.

Oh WG that's sounds horrible. Does he know she knows? Quite bizarre, I wonder if he considers it cheating, men have that thing where they think unless you actually 'do it' with someone it's not cheating, not all men just the naughty ones.

JJ have just finally read your post from earlier and do not be getting into noisy and battery powered toys now. You will be spending half your income on batteries before long (all you first timers invest in a battery charge and reusable batteries, worth it in the long run). Also ask any speech therapist about toys that speak and they will roll their eyes and quite possibly curse as they are terrible for childrens speech development. Right now there is nothing better than time with mummy and daddy and talking. If you can't think if anything to say read the paper to her. That's how I manage to read the paper occassionally by putting ds2 on my lap opening up the paper and reading any article in a storybook voice. The baby Einstein and baby IQ DVDs are quite good and were designed to encourage parents to speak to their babies.

Kayz What nasty things to say to you. Perhaps a bit of envy cos you have a big healthy baby and had a homebirth ? Congratulations on the weight loss by the way.

WG Its sad when something like that happens to yoru friends. I have no experience of cyber cheating, but like veggie, thinks that perhpas he doesnt consider it actually cheating. Its hard to maintain a good relationship all the time with kids around ! Well, i find that anyway. We were together for 12 years before we had kids, and there is a big difference before and after.

JJ I'm not sure those things are that much use - anything like that we've had they seem to bore of quickly. What both mine have liked are quite mundane household items - like empty crisp packets(a big hit), tin foil, egg boxes, paper etc.. And looking at anyold pictures in books together.

Mind you, the jumperoo does look good

Hello everyone,

zoe What a pain about work. I would be dead on my feet with a commute like that. Could you look out for a job whilst still on ML?

DD is having a similar daytime nap strike. She'll sleep in the car but not the pushchair or in my arms. The cot has always been a no no during the day for some reason. I'm hoping it is a temp thing!

ladyT Not sure about Howard! I'm surprised Sir Alan fired the person he did (don't want to say who in case some people haven't seen it).

arti Blimey, I hope you are not the first thread pregnancy .

JJ We haven't got any exciting battery operated toys either. We have a small house and don't want too much big stuff. I worry that we SHOULD have that sort of thing though! trace I'm really hoping DD loves crafts.

veggie Crikey that's a complicated situation. Congrats on becoming an auntie to be. Oh and I wanted to ask. You said the other day that you were letting your DS have a lick of an apple etc. Is that OK to do if there is a family history of allergies do you think? Anyone else know?!

WG I'm surprised you can keep your temper with your DD being incessantly called tuppence. It is v funny to read but not much fun for you!

Best go and spend some time with DH, night all.

Ds2 current favourite toys are tracker bar packets and his wipes packet, though he does have quite a soft spot for his horse and woozit thingy.

It's true NJAN babies do effect a relationship, it's hard to explain to people that having kids has brought out the best and the worst in our relationship. I think we are lucky in that we communicate well and respect each other highly....enough to apologize for the horrible things we sometimes say to each other.