Jan 09 - weaning,smiling,laughing and chatting and loads more fun to come:)

[stripeywoollenhat]

there.

Good choice dog.

Agree crap about telly. BBCi?

They always do that hey?

Don't worry. Whay do we worry they will think we are mad? I do. It's odd.

I had a pregnant woman ring me and ask to see me becasue her toe hurt. I didn't think anything of her [except what am I going to say - I know nothing about toes except there are often 5 on each foot]. So why do I feel bad and wrestle with the phone even to call nhs direct? Most odd.

It's good he's gone, you will be able to rest easy.

I have sinusitis. Ouch.

Still can't fix telly, I am useless!

Something rather strange just happened though, I fed Zach after the bath and he was rather grizzly so I left him for a while and saw to DD, I then fed him a bit more a 7 and he didn't seem to want much, just cried a bit. I had had enough of this so left him on the sofa and went to make a cup of hot choc and read some bits on MN. Anyway 15 mins later I notice its very quiet and the poor little lamb has fallen asleep BY HIMSELF on the sofa. Could this be.....dare I say it......the mythical day when he learns to self-soothe????? Didn't even try that with DD till she was at least 7months old! On second thoughts he's probably just a bit poorly.

Dog hope you get some answers from the doc, trust your instincts x

Tree Lol at the Toe! Ouch at sinusitis, as if you haven't enough on your plate! BBCi player is very slow on my PC, maybe I'll just have that bath I wanted at the weekend

Dog just come back and read about Arlo. Hope he is ok.

DS2 appears to be coming down with something as well now. He has bright red cheeks and a headache.

I don't think I've mentioned on here that he is also losing his hair. Its coming out in handfuls. I was terrified it was a sign of some terrible underlying illness, but apparently its a condition caused by him being so ill just before Christmas. It happens when the hair goes into its dormant phase out of sync and occurs 3-4 months after the illness. Its so sad to see his lovely golden curls disappearing, its so thin now we are going to have to have it all cut short. I am so about it as he's always had long surfy curls. It will take at least 6 months for it to start to recover.

Oh Moose

That's crap mate!

hey dog, better to feel like a fraud than to miss something serious.. when Rosie was v ill and admitted to hospital I'd thought I was overreacting and would be sent home and told not to worry. Sometimes it is impossible to tell what you need to worry about & what is ok. Hope it is nothing. Keep us posted!

I've got hopelessly left behind with the thread as usual, just too slow.. life is hectic here but mostly good. 3rd wedding anniversary last Weds, dh took me out for a lovely lovely surprise meal and it felt like a date, which we really really needed. Not so good was that when I asked him if he still fancied me (about a week before that) he paused and said... "well you're not as slim as you used to be". eek. I took it very badly.. first of all I can't believe he would SAY that (fool), and second, he is right and I feel totally unattractive and chompy. I've decided to treat myself and spend money I don't have - have booked a shopping session with a personal shopper/stylist type woman who reckons she will help me find a capsule wardrobe for £200.. doing it this Thursday I reckon that if I have good clothes hopefully I'll feel a bit better - til the exercise and healthy eating pay off. Ha.. who am I kidding, they have to START first

MissJ I haven't forgotten the sleep thing! We used a technique somewhere between the extremes of crying-it-out and attachment parenting.. I'd be no good at either of those! I've got a book - Healthy sleep habits, happy child - which has a lot of the stuff we used in it. You can have it if you like! - maybe email me your address through fb? Some of the ideas - most children need more sleep than you think - so, we watch really closely for signs of sleepiness and get them down for naps before the dc's get overtired. We also started to put ds to bed at a much earlier hour - 6pm - and it made all the difference.
I've got some other ideas for techniques I've used with parents at work (I'm a psychologist), but more with stuff around only sleeping in certain places / fear of the cot, that kind of thing. anyway, I won't go on! let me know if you want to know more, or want the book.

Thanks Spink, book sounds great and I will fb you my address... I am somewhere in between those extremes too with my parenting approach. How interesting that you are a psychologist - I am just about to apply to OU to do the diploma conversion course - my first degree included a lot of psychology, and I really think I'd like to retrain as a psychologist - but not sure what kind yet. For now the diploma will keep my brain in action hopefully (inspired by Lenni).

DP's comment - harsh, and what an idiot! And of course you can't fail to feel bad when you hear something like that. I hope the personal shopper helps you. Do you do anything like yoga? I have found it really helpful in the past because it's not in itself targeting weight loss, but helps you become more aware of your body in a healthy, nurturing way, if that doesn't sound too hippy?! (hey, you live in Brighton, you'll be well used to hippies! )

dog poor Arlo and poor you. Never feel bad for calling the professionals, that's what we pay our taxes for... unless of course it's a 'hurt toe' - LOL tree!

BTW Tree loved your comment on that thread about babies having the right to eat, right on! I got so cross I had to stop reading. All that crap about children not having the right to leave the room when their teacher was breast-feeding! It's only because our society has sexualised our boobies so much. What a shame.

Moose sad about DS losing his hair, poor little mite... but sure it will grow back gloriously soon.

stripey will be interested to hear how your sleep-training goes, didn't you say you were going to start in a week or so? Which method are you planning?

LO fast asleep - has been lovely and relaxed all day after swimming. Might have to go every morning if the results are this good!

Dog-pleased it was nothing serious, hope he feels better tomorrow

Moose- your poor little man . Interesting about the 3-4 month cycle thing as this is always the point when mine starts falling out after having a baby, just around the hairline though. I'm sure his ringlets will be replaced by some glossy locks!

Spink Enjoy your shopping trip, sounds like the perfect pick-me-up. I really need to focus on losing weight soon, I'm just so bloody hungry alllll the time. Must get my roots done though, I feel seriously frumpy. I would, however, do something quite nasty to DH's Privates if he dared to comment......

Agree, go Tree on that Bf thread!! I was equally annoyed but not confident enough to write anything. My SIL told me she was buying a 'Mama scarf' or something at the weekend and I talked her out of it, hurrah! Just got to stop her feeling that she has to slope off to those terrible 'feeding rooms' that are full of stinky nappies on shopping trips. Zach is very much an anytime, anyplace baby and only ever had one negative comment, from my friend fgs!!

Dog what dates are you in Hassocks?

Oh, boo if middle of the month!!! We have DD's birthday and also away on holiday in the Lakes Now, I could do the end......... obviously stick to your plans though!!!

Dog Glad Arlo is ok, hope he feels better in the morning.

Moose Sorry about Ds's hair, hope he isn't upset about it, golden curls sound angelic.

Spink Men seem to quite often loose the link between thier brain and thier mouth...Shopping sounds brilliant though, am very . My wardrobe is depressing.

Evening everyone else! I feel rotten, aching all over and sore neck and throat...think I have whatever DD has, so am going to slope off to bath and bed.

Hello to everyone!

I have just been out of the loop... every time I start reading the thread, I get distracted... even when I get to read all the posts, I don't get to write one... gah!

dog sorry you are experiencing house of plague atm- hope poorly dcs are better soon.

The Organics for Kids stuff is great isn't it? Keep meaning to actually order something for ds (poor nsb that he is)
He has dropped off to sleep by himself from almost day one tbh... unlike his highly strung sensitive older sister who is currently having to have soothing music every evening to get to sleeep
She is off the wall atm (dog- saw you on another thread somewhere bemoaning dd1's behaviour)- tantrums, hitting me all the time. She is super tired with getting up so early for nursery, but she hates going to bed.

moose that sounds horrible for ds- hope he isn't too sensitive about it at school

And guys... you need to stay off AIBU if you value your bp dp is often confrontational, and obstinate about it too... I've learned to walk away...

I think there was something I wanted to say to Lenni... but it was about 3 days ago now so a) it could have been anything and b) it's probably too late/no linger relevant...

We're hoping to see St Etienne later this year when they play a festival in Moseley... we love them... and I saw senser too! back in 1994-eek!
(am v big NMA fan too)

Hi Peach good to see you around again and good to see another DD is not towing the line, not just mine then!! In fairness to her highness she was good as gold today (did someone come and secretly swap her last night )

Hope you feel better tomorrow HKZ. Oh, swapped the lunchtime feed for bottle for first time today and my boobs were in agony all afternoon. Never leaked so much, ever , tell me it gets better after a few days.......

Dog glad the doc wasn't worried. Hope he feels better soon.

DS2 hasn't noticed the hair loss (despite frequently climbing on the toilet to look at himself in the mirror - drives me nuts leaving footprints on the lid all the time). He is however really upset at the prospect of having a short haircut. People have always commented on his lovely curls so he is/was understandably proud of his hair. I have gently explained what is happening but I don't think he's really taken it in. We are planning to take him to his favourite hairdresser this Saturday but I'm not sure what they will be able to do with it as it is really really thin now.\

Poor thing looks a bit of a sight at the moment with his missing front tooth (the one he knocked out last year) thinning hair and glasses. Good job he has a stunning smile. Its a shame for him though as his big brother is gorgeous without knowing it which makes him all the more gorgeous iyswim.

Pat it is exactly the same thing as postnatal hair loss. Its called Telogen Effluvium:

Following a high fever, flu, or severe emotional stress, hairs that were in their growth phase can sometimes be suddenly converted into their resting phase. Two to four months later, when the child is otherwise fine and the stress is forgotten, these hairs can begin to shed. The shedding, which is actually a mass exodus of follicles from growth into dormancy, can last for up to six weeks.

The hair loss is not total nor does it tend to show up in patches. It typically just appears thin throughout the scalp. Unless the initial cause is repeated, all the hairs normally return (Telogen effluvium explains why many mothers lose so much hair weeks after childbirth).

Unfortunately DS2 has a particularly bad case and has lost 2/3 of the thickness of his hair so far and its still coming out.

Spink I don't think my DH would've survived a comment like that! A bad case of male foot in mouth disease methinks. I sometimes think my DH responds to me with a combination of automatic prerecorded responses and reactive responses that involve no brain power or forethought whatsoever - men!

ok. been a while again. why is the time going by so fast.

patthehammer ya, i wee bit of potty training. i put her on when i go and try the sound pssss and when she gets a good grunt on and i know she's getting down to business, i repeatedly say poo. it must be kinda funny now that i am sitting here writing about it. if you miss anything on tv, site on the internet that is pretty good is www.surfthechannel.com

moosemama i am a little enthusiastic about the potty training and signing but we'll see when the next and the next LO come. there are days now when i wonder if i'll be able to keep it together and i've only got one and no animals.

tree on the napping not in your arms for 33 minutes. it such a great feeling the moment that happens. here's to many more soon to come.

stripey i just put DD on the potty when i go in. its funny to see her teeny bum sitting there. its very cute. (i'm chuckling to myself at the picture.) so far it is going fine. i can get her to almost pee on cue. the psss sounds sort of works but the blow dryer is a no fail option. since her first bath we've blow dried her and without fail since that first time, she pees. its like she is so completely relaxed.

rrayray Violet has been standing for almost 2 months now. it is freaky to see a tiny thing standing, eh? she was standing before she could sit up, (which she is doing now) and roll over. the rolling over thing has been a bone of contention with her in that she adamantly refused to do it. she did however do it today for the first time completely by herself. keep encouraging her.

dog midwife career? awesome. also, been there about the feeling stuck in. don't have any advice... um... it'll pass. actually, now that i think about it, i'm feeling a little shut in too. good thing tomorrow is tuesday... swimming! yeah.

jules for food i'm doing a tbsp of fruit and tbsp of rice cereal for breakfast and tbsp of each of rice cereal and veg for dinner. it seems to be going great. we started pear today and she went crazy for it. Violet is loving eating. great chef's daughter.

missjackson that the swimming is going great. it is such a fun outing.

hong [cheesy romantic emoticon saying 'ahhhhh' here] at you and DP's night out. lovely. and the potty training is going fine. infants can go on cue but you have to also no what their cues are. some babies don't give any indication they are going, but Violet has two faces. once you establish a sounding cue for them, it gets to the point where you take them to the toilet and can make them go so they learn to use those muscles. they are apparently fully capable of developing those muscles sooner. i have a friend who has done it and she was diaper free at 1 year... her daughter i mean. i hope it works because that sounds fantastic.

ok. this was a long post. must go. DD is stirring and i want to get a cup of tea before she wakes. she hasn't been sleeping much, and needless to say neither has DH and i, because of her teething, (not much crying just constant attention and moving around) i caved and gave her children's tyelonal... acetametphane (sp) she has slept like a charm but is going to wake one hell of a hungry milk monster.

spink - would highly recommend the personal shopper, did it after i lost my ds1 baby weight - fortunately had £1000 to spend - was lovely, capsule wardrobe looked fantastic, got boots, jeans, 5 tops, a skirt, a coat. unfortunately piled on the weight just after and haven't worn any of it since. just 3 stone to lose to get back into it

still haven't really got over the fact I had to deal with my complete w*** of a boss after going back to work after DS1, a year of horrendous misery.... still best thing that ever happened in terms of having my own business - would never have done it if it hadn't all happened .

OK all you mega shoppers we have a birthday party in two weeks. I should get both boys a new outfit...any suggestions?? Not a posh do - a 2 year old's birthday party. I did really like that stuff with mushrooms on - was it little shrimp?