The all new and exciting May TODDLERS thread...

[GeorginaA]

... it's May 1st folks...

I have for a while now - just couldn't be bothered to boil it up - after all, he's been drinking bath water for a while and putting shoes in his mouth - what harm could it do?!!

Actually, I tell a lie... I do filter the water, but I do that for all of us anyway. The flavour is nicer.

sarah+2 I thought it was OK from 6 months so have been doing it for a while.

I have been giving tap water for a while now too.

Hello everybody. Have just finished e mailing pictures of DS's birthday party around as thank you notes - there were loads to do, lucky lucky little boy! Thank goodness it was a beautiful day on Saturday for his birthday - most people just played outside in the garden, although I stayed inside to keep an eye on the younger babies and...ahem...the wine supplies. Tough job but somebody etc etc etc . Didn't see DD all afternoon (and our garden is titchy!) although heard her shrieking from on the trampoline and am aware (told by several very excited 4 year olds) that she bounced so hard her skirt fell down! DH made a cake with butterflies and flowers on it and I did a pass the parcel (and made myself slightly sick by eating all the residual Parma Violets and Sherbet Lemons).
DS can now do about 8 steps unaided; the very act turns him into a giggling fool!

I love reading all these little details about the may babies... they are such great mini portraits! We've had my sister staying with us and DD was absolutely in heaven. Dsis brought her mini Puma trainers to follow on from the mini Converse boots, determined to have her in labels... We have been reading lots of books, as DD now sees the point in looking at the pictures rather than just chewing the edges. She jabs a pudgy finger at details of interest, usually dogs, eyes or noses.

Georgina and Bozza, are you just going to ignore the summons to MMR then? I agree about the measles being the one to watch... G., is it just because you had the disease that you'll be passing on immunity? DD still b/feeds morning and night, but I'm not sure if I actually had measles myself.

I think I remember from discussions with jimjams that because I had measles as a child I'm more likely to have stronger antibodies that I'll have passed on, but at the same time I'm no longer breastfeeding whereas you are so that may well have an affect?

It's a tricky business isn't it and I don't think there's a "right" answer as such (and I do know a little girl who caught measles back in Croydon - she was a month short of her MMR date and in full time daycare as her mum was a nursery nurse, and she had a measle spot in her eye - was a very worrying time before they knew whether her sight would be affected. She recovered from that and then caught rubella, poor thing!) but on balance of risks I've decided that 15 months is probably the better time for us considering my medical history, the benefits of him having a stronger immune system and the fact that ds2 doesn't go to a day nursery. Does that help?

Yes that does help. Insofar as I totally agree with you and there isn't 'an answer' at all. We also know a family whose son caught measles 'on the way to the surgery for his jabs' and it lay dormant in his system until he was ten, when it attacked him so severely that he was left pretty much vegetative. Which of course he still is now.

These are measles issues, not MMR issues, but it's a shame that when you are a worried parent thinking about this disease the MMR is really the only weapon you have readily available to you.

re. the mmr jab, did you know that according to JABS website the MCA has overturned the ban on single jabs. theres 2 reasons for the doc allowing seperate jabs 1. lowered immune system etc. 2. if the child is already on a course of single jabs. So according to JABS if your doc agrees with you they can do therubella [which is readily available] then you are in the loophole created by the MCA and can follow on having the single others. confusing but www.jabs.org.uk [i think thats right!] has it all in detail. if my doc doesnt agree i'll end up spending a fortune privately. infuriating really as when dd1 was 15 months [7 years ago] it was all free + straightforward to getthem done

That's interesting sarah... very helpful to know!

ds2 will be having the MMR though after on research I decided that it was probably the measles virus that was the issue in damage cases no matter how that virus gets into the system (by the disease, by MMR, by single vaccine - this is my opinion btw and I am not a medical bod) and I'm fairly happy that the MMR on balance of risks is safe as you're going to get for us. It makes me cross though when people aren't allowed the choice and I'm glad that the ban appears to be lifted.

thats the point exactly- we all should have the right to choose whether to give our ds or dd the mmr or single jabs, noone, certainly not a poxy government has the right to make the decision for us. [especially as its mainly cost which is dictating it][just my opinion]. rant over!

We have sibling ivalry now as well - but with all the aggression coming from ds. DD is being her usual loving slef to him, but he has developed a violent little temper, and pushes her away really hard if she tries to kiss or cuddle him when he's not in the mood. he has also developed a huge attraction to her curls, so pulls them whenever he gets close. I'm "disciplining" him by saying "No" and putting him down a few feet away (in a vain attempt to try to teach him that bad behaviur doesn't get you attention) but dd of course can't really understand why he is allowed to get away with such behaviour when she would be straight to teh bottom step of the stairs if she hit him. She always looks so aggreived as well

we are delaying MMR until 15 months on advice of my excelent Australian private GP who gave ds the DTaP. He told me that medically it really makes v. little difference, and in fact one part of it can be less effective if given too early. But NHSgives it at 13 months because take up rate is better them as more mothers are still "in the system"

DS is 1 today!! He keeps throwing things to hear the sound of them dropping - only problem is, he's got good arm muscles and when others get in the way - woe betide them! Not sure how to discipline him? Hmmm
5 year old dd desperate for attention, and my time at mo - very draining. But she's so good and helps out entertaining him (sits in his cot and plays / reads to him whilst I'm in shower - he loves it. However she's all whingy and whiney as soon as we're all together and wants all the attention for herself - SO hard!

hi all

dd not too well at all. she's asleep at the moment but still has a temp. thats 3 days running. might phone nhs direct. yesterday it measured 37.9 and today 37.1 is that too high? she isnt eating and is especially tired and cuddly but doesnt seem too bad. think she has perked up a bit today.

we finally got the skip. now have to wait and see if they feel like coming to collect it! phoned yesterday but not here yet! cowboys.

anyway, our garden is starting to look better. need to scrub the paving slabs and replace some racks on the bbq, clear out the compost heap and make a new one that doesnt rot and collapse, move some plants around, maybe put some bedding plants in too.

i want to move to norfolk. have this yearning to go back home. fed up here. libb must think me mad!

yes she does. xxx

I seriously need advice from you all! I think I am really screwing up the weaning because DS doesn't have a tea as such, just a 10 oz bottle! He has a weetabix, yoghurt and a couple of ozs of milk, for lunch he has 1 and a half jars of food and 2 5oz bottles spaced during the day. He also has a small amount of finger food but when he gets home we suddenly grid to a halt.

I am really loathe to give him another jar and really hope to use my weekends properly and prepare batches of food so I can get away from jars altogether.

Any ideas on tea? what does everyone do here? He is quite slim but doesn't seem to appear hungry - but obviously this can't go on.

I also need to tackle his sleep because he has started waking in the night and isn't happy unless he gets into bed with us. He also doesn't nap during the day for the childminder (but does for us at the weekend), he does tend to fall asleep after his night bottle and that is probably the cause of our problems.

Oh blimey, I have made such a ballsup of this haven't I? I think I know what to do to tackle this but I am not sure where to start, also there is a question of not enough hours in the day! None of us get home until 6 in the evening. There is also the strain of trying to re-locate etc., I had hoped to tackle these problems along with our fresh new start but it doesn't seem to be happening at the moment.

What would you all do? what a mess I've made . . .

Libb - tea can be massively easy, honestly! Slice of bread with philadelphia on it cut into little squares that he can just shove straight in, quiche (buy from Tesco, cut into slices and freeze. Just take out a slice and wack on defrost in the microwave) cut into slices. Omelette with cheese or whatever in it. Mash with beans and cheese on it. Cheese on toast. Yoghurt. Rice cakes with hummous on them. Yoghurt. Make a batch of pasta sauces and buy some of those titchy Farfalline pasta shapes at Tesco, only take 4 mins to cook.
Got to go - Christian Aid envelopes need collecting...... Hope this is ok and nobody now thinks I'm crap at nourishing my children

Libb I am wondering if he has a bit more milk than he needs and this is filling him up so he doesnt need any tea. Might be worth checking how much he needs now and considering cutting out one of the daytime bottles. Having said that it sounds like he eats well the rest of the day. My dd has a bottle morning and bedtime, the morning one fills her up so that she will then not eat breakfast but then she enjoys her food the rest of the day.

Tea. I am trying to align our mealtime with DD's so we have a mixture of grownup food when we manage it, and fob-off food when we don't. Today we were in Edinburgh all day and she was so hungry when we got back I made a pasta sauce that quite honestly I didn't really fancy myself, with broccoli, Philadelphia and chickpeas. That's fob-off food. so is cheesy porridge. She had shephard's pie with us the other day. I find often she is tired and tea is the most difficult meal. If they are used to jars, I find it a good quick option to use a jar as a basis for a meal: eg. get the tomato and pasta one and add some 'real' pasta, some grated cheese and some chopped cooked veg. Or the carrot and sweetcorn one can be used as a sort of soup with bits of bread (garlic bread if the baby likes it) soaking it up. Pancakes are good and quick if you can be arsed.

DD has learned to say 'Pooh' for her toy bear. She drifted off to sleep slurring 'poooo, poooo.' made me larf.

Libb - you haven't made a mess of anything.

Tea for ds is whatever we are having. I tend to give him a banana, or raisins and rice cakes, or bread and butter at round 5ish, then he eats with us when dh gets home at 6.30-7.

Tonight we all had salmon and prawns, oven chips , baby corn and asparagus. It all took less than 20 minutes and he ate bits of all of it as finger food.

If you do need to feed him seperately I would echo all of Judds suggestions. DS also eats leftovers of previous evening meals if what we are having is unsuitable (though that's rare) Potato cakes (leftover mash, flour, butter, mix up, form into cakes and bake). I also do batches of chicken burgers, burgers and fishcakes and freeze on trays so I can just take a couple out and shove in the oven for 20 minutes. Those and a few frozen peas/sweetcorn ake a vey healthy meal, and it's all finger food so no need for me to do anything other than watch he doesn't choke. If he still needs filling up cubes of cheese, blueberries and raspberries all go down very well.

Ooh loads to catch up on. Judd you have just reminded me about thank you notes. Aah - I thought I had got DD's birthday out of the way and could concentrate on sorting out the holidays. Why can't life just slow down a bit? There is a bit ooh-haa at work because they have changed the system of pro-rata'ing bank holidays. This will mean an extra 0.8 day for me this year net so not a big deal. But affects those who work on Mondays negatively. Also sending us an e-mail half way through the year telling us that they have changed the terms of our contract not very good really. So stuff going on with that today and had day off on Tues, on a course all day Weds so the actual work is mounting up. Then DS has to go to school from 9.30 - 10.30 on a Thursday morning from half term to summer. Should be 7 weeks but we're on hols for 2. Have agreed with DH that I will take hols for 2 (so bang goes my 0.8 day) and he will work from home for 3.

Goreousgirl Happy Birthday to your DS. Hope he had a lovely day.

Spots no I am not waiting for the MMR. I will take it when the appt comes - although chances are that we will be on holiday. I just meant that you shouldn't be co-erced into it. If you are not happy then wait a couple of months or whatever.

Egypt. Poor DD. Hope she starts to pick up soon. DD has been having some disturbed nights but I spotted a point of anther molar tonight. The molars are so hard to keep track of. She's got 1 at the top through in 2 places, and 1 through in 1 place and 1 at the bottom through in 1 place.

Libb - don't beat yourself up at DS's routine. It happens to us all. Something throws things out of sync - illness, hols, "lifestyle events" etc and it all goes to pot. I think this not napping for the childminder is a problem. Because there is no wonder he is knackered at 6 and not willing to eat/falling asleep on the bottle. Have you discussed it with her? What do you do to get him to nap? Could she do that? At weekends (4 days) DD just has tea with us so that will be our main meal (shepherd's pie, stew, spag bol, meatloaf, risotto etc). But on week days she has tea at nursery at 4 which is a light tea (sandwiches, soup, pasta bake etc) with a main lunch. But then when we get home at 6 I give her a bit extra while DH and I have our meal and DS has fruit. This varies a bit because she spies what other people have got and wants the same but banana is a popular one. Could you get the childminder to give him tea earlier when he is not so tired? Although DD manages quite well at 6 at weekends but that is because she is having a decent nap. If he had an earlier tea maybe you could cut down on some of the daytime milk and save the big bottle until bedtime.

DD eats tons of cubes of cheese and also loves Judd's philadelphia sandwiches.

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meggymoo - come on in We've had a few new joiners recently, so please don't feel you can't join in! The more the merrier!

You'll soon feel like you have known us for ages too meggymoo. Is your DS your first?

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