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

[stripeywoollenhat]

there.

Peach i am not brave, am Scared!!!!! But they are very close friends of ours and OH was insitant that we go solo and "let out hair down" As IF thats going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if i end up driving home in the evening..... as i don't really drink anyway, and haven't had a drop since falling pregnant.

Jules/tink Sorry to hear of DD2's bad night. Was she simply alert & not hungry or in pain (with her teeth?!)

Dog Not loving mental image of what post BF boobies look like?!?! Eeeeek! Have an agreement with OH though. (i call it the pre-baby, like a prenuptial, ahaha) that if i am REALLY unhappy, i can have a boob job. Thing is though i have 2 problems with that.... 1- unnecessary surgery scares the heck of out me. 2- It can't be gaurenteed that i could breastfeed post boob job & hardly fair on the rest of the children we intend to have!!! Hmmmmm. In all honesty i think i'll just invest in some good bras if they are as bad as i fear they could be!!!!

What nappies are you using Dog? I am still on pampers new baby Size 3. They are still pretty Massive on Esme, but where do i head from there? Hmmm.....

Ah rray- bravery is when you're scared, but you do it anyway... so yes- you are brave!

Peach i understand the definition of Brave - i meant i am scared i will chicken out!!!! ...Think its rather likely! That or i will just not last the full 24 hours! We shall see.

bracken is in new baby size 3 as well. active fit our good for when they are crawling and pampers baby dry for night hold more
have been having fun outdoors today in the lovely sunshine
have been making weaning purees ready for weaning bracken in one week. have made apple,pear,sweet potatoe and carrot

Hi everyone!

Just had the DAY FROM HELL with DD. Thought last week was bad, she has almost had me in tears this evening. Feel like such a failure .
Just keep thinking that somehow its all my fault things have turned this way and somehow have turned her into a selfish, spoilt, disobedient, uncaring little girl. Not sure what went wrong as she took to Zach really well in the first few months and I have constantly tried to put her needs first and disrupt her routine as little as possible. But today she has really hurt him a few times (purposefully not by accident) and NOT listened to a single thing we have said. She has had her calendar (most beloved posession) and all the books in her room confiscated. She usually comes down after the bath to watch 'super-why' and have a cuddle and then we put her to bed and do 3-4 stories. Well tonight she went straight to bed after the bath with just a kiss and a 'you've really upset me' talk. Did not seem bothered!!!!

Meant to be such a good day as well, went to local PYO/farm shop that also has a play area and animals and then went to in-laws in Cheltenham for lunch. To be fair she was really good whilst out and during lunch but afterwards was REALLY naughty at the in-laws for the first time. Really don't think it helps that Zach is such a good baby and people always comment how good he is all the time. But then its not fair for him just to get ignored and her to have all the attention all the time....arrrggghh!

Starting to think he will grow up really timid and always be in her shadow because she has such a strong personality and will always dominate him. Feel so sorry for him sometimes even though I know he is happy and loved to bits.

Organising her party at the moment at a local soft-play for 20 children, costing us over £100 and also having a day out at legoland on her actual birthday. i really don't feel like doing any of it now, Does that sound awful? Just don't feel like she deserves it at the moment. I was a really well behaved child and I was far from spoilt and never had a huge party or days out like that were a rare treat. I know she won't understand any of that and has no concept of the value of things......ho-hum!

Anyway, rant over. Glad everyone else well and sounding like some good pooing going on with all the babes!

Tink Making purees was really exciting for me at first then I hated it and really don't want to do it again. Hoping Zach might be up for a bit of BLW if possible, I'm such a lazy cow! Hope Bracken enjoys her treats

Dog day sounds lovely, so

Ray sounds great, but it will be sooooo hard to leave her. once you take the plunge though you realise its quite nice to have time without them, makes you appreciate them more I think

Pat- Sorry you have had a tough day with DD. This age seems to be a real challenge. My DD is also very strong willed and quite a 'personality'and really pushes both of us to the limit sometimes. She has tantrums quite often and I am also pretty sure I never behaved this way as a child. However, she can be a complete angel sometimes too. Just remember it will get better and DS won't miss out and he'll learn how to handle her soon enough...at least that's what I'm hoping with my ds and dd. I'm not a huge fan of baby book but someone leant me Toddler Taming a few months ago, when I was at my wits end, and I actually found it a really good insight into the mind of a toddler. It made me see things from DD's point of view a lot more clearly which has helped me keep my patience with her a bit longer. Her birthday sounds like it will be great fun, kids aren't the best at expressing thier appreciation half of the time but it sounds like she'll have a good day. have a glass of wine or two and it'll seem better in the morning (unless you drink a whole bottle...then it will, quite possibly be worse )

Ray..Don't chicken out! Enjoy your 24 hours of freedom, am also Am having to bribe various dotty old relations just to take our two for our wedding night!

Poo update: Two whoppers again from the boy, complete change of clothes both times... who knows whats going on down there?!

HKZ 2 massive poos here today too. Although only Vest changes required. One whilst in bumbo, and whoever said the bumbo means it shoots up their back was Sooooooo right!!!

Pat i think OH will FORCE me into doing it! Eeeeek!!! But at least its MY mother i'm leaving her with. Sounds weird, but much more comfortable leaving her with MY mother (and father) than the in laws.

dog Funny how some nappies work for some, and not for others. i guess i'll just find out through trial and error.

tink You sound well prepared with the pureed stuff. But, is there any reason why your weaning early? i went to a weaning class with my HV the other day, and i don't know if the advice was different when you weaned Atlanta, but the current recommendations are NOT before 20 weeks, and as close to 26 weeks as possible. There has been research into babies digestive systems not being ready for solids before then & even links to increased allergies & even IBS later in life! I hope you don't mind me prying, but Bracken seems to be sleeping well & content, and is only 16 weeks isn't she?
Glad you have been enjoying sunshine. Oh and i took Esme for a walk this morning in the sling, but this afternoon has been more cloudy.

Esme sound asleep, shame there is nothing worth watching on TV!!! Boo!!

Pat- totally forgot to reply to your bit about hellish day with DD. Afraid as a first timer, i'm pretty useless on the Advice front, but you have my sympathies. Sounds like hard work, especially when you have made every effort to makesure DD feels totally included. :-( Lets hope she is just having an off day and is back to being a loving big sister tomorrow!!! Fingers crossed. Hope you have a relaxing evening.

I've got toddler taming on order from Amazon - looks like it was a good purchase.

Pat - similar here. Some days DD is wonderful, others she is bloody hard work and so infuriating. I think they are having a delayed reaction to the arrival of a sibling - my DD was fine at first too. She seems to have clocked that DS is a permanent addition and now that he is more alert and requiring entertaining her time is being shared all of a sudden where as before he mainly fed and slept which I guess isn't so much of a threat. To an egotistical toddler I'm guessing throwing yourself around the floor moaning/screaming is a pretty rational reaction to not getting what you want . Shame for us parents though.

Dog - you definitely don't need a face transplant!

I'm dreading the post feeding boobs too - never fed DD so am guessing it will be a shock.

EPPM or anyone else who has moved babies into their own room and is still breastfeeding - what do you do for night feeds? Do you feed them in their room or bring them back into your room? It is a bit of trek to DS's nursery as we are in the extension and he will be in the old bit of the house so there are stairs to navigate - we didn't move DD until she was 7mo for that reason but I'm certain we'd all sleep better if I moved DS sooner than that.

lenni - feed him in his room as it's less disruption for night feeds

all with todders - gosh don't they push you!!! with being 3.5 years old mine can explain a bit more which stops it a bit but its still bad!

hi

re: weaning hv has recommended that i start weaning bracken @ 4 months old just as i was advised to do so with dd1 as they are both fussy eaters dont drink much milk

pat - sorry to hear about your day.
my dd1 went through a stage of that it seems like they hate u doesnt it and are purpoly trying to be horrid. dd1 is still annoying sometimes but has got so much better
sure it is just an age thimng

dd1 @ nursery
dd2 just had a bottle. she woke up again last night chatting went into her room tucked her bak under cover and she went back to bed think it is teeth can definetly see and feel one bottom left when u look @ her next 2 where middle ones would be

Thanks for all the advice and sympathy people, helps that i don't feel completely alone!

Had a glass of wine and some nice flapjack from the farm shop and things seemed much better last night after I'd talked it through with DH. We are going to focus much more on the 'positive' parenting style that we used to do before DS and try and be far more consistent. I tried to take myself back to dealing with all the challenging teenagers at work and focus on a 'non-confrontation' approach like I do at work, which in 7 years of teaching I have found works really well and have only ever had one child really rude to me (bit of a basket case- was rude to EVERYONE!). I decided to make a little reward chart, not very complicated just gets a sticker/star each time she 'listens to mummy and does what she is told the first time'. Guess that will cover all bases rather than specifically stating ALL the things she should be doing!

Thanks for the toddler taming tip, spoke to my friend this morning and she is going to lend me her copy, worked well for them too!

On a more negative note I also chatted at length with my mother who offered some great advice to start with and then ended with 'if all else fails just give her a quick smack on the back of the legs...... '. Well, I can't remember being struck as a child but maybe this would explain why I was so well behaved !!!

Lenni I think you are right on the delayed reaction thing and the fact it has picked up since the LO's have started becoming more interesting. Thats exactly what my friend and my mum said too.

Anyway, this morning she woke up in a very good mood and me and DH were really positive with her. She got dressed no problem and didn't even moan when I did her hair and put her shoes on! We'll see how long this lasts, test it with a trip to the library and the park this afternoon after pre-school, wish me luck!

Ray- Another victim of the Bumbo back-fire I see, I also find if they do it in the door bouncer a similar situation occurs .

Tink- Wow, more teeth! Bracken is going to have a full set soon!

Hi books- LOL at the pea incident. Also funny is when a whole nugget of fully formed poo rollls across the floor, or maybe thats just me!

pat With her door bouncer i find for some reason it gets down her left leg??? this never ocours in any other position, so i don't blame the nappies- i blame the door bouncer. Or...actually, i've just thought.. the 2 times the down the leg incident has occoured, the nappy was put on by her DADDY... maybe that explains it better! Glad to hear your feeling more positive about things & Hope the new method works.

tink I'm so forgetful. I totally forgot about Bracken being born onto was it the 75th and dropping down. That makes much more sense now as to the early weaning! One of my NCT friends has also begun weaning early, as she was having to feed (BF) 8 feeds in the day, which apparently is classed as Excessive??! Esme is pretty set at 5 feeds a day.

Lenni Esme has been in her own room for about 13 weeks now & she is still totally breastfed. I feed her in her nursery, i have a nursing chair in there, which was SUCH a good buy!!! It was an absolute nightmare when she went through a growth spurt a week or so ago, as obviously your so much more awake going into another room and feeding. But both of us managed to still go back to sleep straight away after the feed. Shes been doing 10 1/2 hours on the trot the past 3 nights (7pm-5.30am) so when she wakes at 5.30am i've just nipped in, given her only one side, and put her back down until our morning starts about half 7 when she'll have the other side. I don't know the reasoning behind it, but alot of my friends said their babies sleep better in their own room. If you have a breathing monitor like we do, its extra piece of mind too.

New mobile FINALLY here!

Off to shower & have a spruce up of house while Esme napping.

hi

good luck pat @ library and park sure it will be fine

rray - bracken feeds 7:30am - takes 2ozs
10:30am - 4ozs
12:30pm - 40zs
4pm - 4ozs
7pm-4ozs
10:30pm-3ozs

i cant believe that bracken is teething and has one tooth dd1 was much later

having a good day here
dd1 did a urine sample a week ago, results came back borderline. getting an appoinment in morning for tom to see nurse and do another sample

sorry to hear about tricky toddlers, hope they settle down soon.

tink - teething already! am hoping c starts teething later rather than sooner...

lenni, we still have her in our room, think the who guidelines are 6 months before moving to own room. i'm not sure that we'll wait that long - her room is right next to ours, only about four steps further than her cot is now... but we will get a chair for the night feeds i think, to minimise the waking...

so dp's mum has gone home after a pretty grumpy weekend with us - she's not exactly supportive of dp's relationship with c and as we are still struggling with the sleeping, the small one was pretty centre stage. everybody much less stressed here now, including c, who seems to have sensed the tension. it's pretty hard for dp, am hoping stupid sort-of-mil will get her head round it soon or else manage to keep her feelings about it to herself.

in other news, c seems like she's about to crawl! today kept trying to get up on her knees. she can't pick her head up at the same time, it's too heavy, but is definitely working on pushing herself forward. i have no idea if this is how they start crawling or how long it takes them to learn to do it, but am getting a bit nervous about child proofing, we haven't done anything and our house wasn't put together with a baby in mind so there's quite a lot to do... those of you with older los, can you remember how long it takes them to get from intial efforts to mobile?

8 breastfeeds a day is excessive?? Second your ray! WTF!! DS always has 8 feeds without fail pretty much. He feeds twice in the night at the moment but if he doesn't he makes up for it first thing in the morning. I feed him at 7am, 9.30am, 12noon, 3pm, 4.30pm, 6pm and 7pm and then at least once during the night! He goes 2.5-3hrs during the morning and early afternoon but after 3pm starts tanking up for the night. Doesn't do my diet any good since by tea time I'm ravenous and have major sugar cravings.

Pat - you are definitely not alone. Reward chart sounds like a great plan, and nice to put the teacher in you to use eh Give me a box of stationary and a project and I'm happy for hours! We always used to joke in the staffroom that if we hadn't of made teachers we'd be stacking shelves in Staples!

Hope DD1 gets sorted tomorrow Tink. Does this explain the wetting recently?

Hope move gone well MissJ

Thanks Sparkle - (much nicer name!) I think I'm going to hold off on moving him. Spoke to bf counsellor today and she seemed to think the night feeding was pretty common at this age (17wks) and was one of the reasons a lot of people start thinking about early weaning but she said if I tough it out he should settle back into sleeping in a few weeks time. Apparently their calorific needs are quite high at the moment while they deal with the looming developments of sitting, crawling, rolling etc. but their stomachs aren't big enough yet to take on what they need. Not sure if that was gobbledegook to keep me on the bf straight and narrow or if there is any truth in it!

Been wondering about the MN book Dog - might get it once I've got through this Toddler Taming one. Any news on Arlo's pre-school place?

Ray - you have inspired me to get DS in the jumperoo with your poo story! I don't have a door for a bouncer as ours are all stable door type ones with stone lintels (is that the right word??) above so we bought a jumperoo at the NCT sale to let him bounce in. It looks like fun but haven't given it a go yet.

Wow stripey! That's a forward child!
Evie was 5.5 months when began crawling backwards, 6 months going forward. I guess she started getting up on her knees just after 5 months. I soooooooo don't want Zach to move anywhere near that early as it is an absolute nightmare once they are mobile (secretly thats why I'm stuffing him full of milk, hope he will be too fat to move ).

Afternoon went well, one lttle hiccup en route to the library, but managed to diffuse situation and prevent major blow-up. Went to bed like a dream . Tomorrows another day though .

Hope everyone had a nice day in the sunshine, weather meant to be crap rest of week, hurrah!

Stripey - yes that is how they start! Well done C!! As for baby proofing I wouldn't worry just yet, it took DD a few weeks to get from trying to crawl to being able to crawl and she was pretty slow for a while and didn't go very far. It'll be a fair time before you can't head off any danger iyswim. Once they start pulling themselves up on things is when you really need to start baby proofing ime - or if they crawl for a long time they'll get pretty nippy. Sounds like C is going to be a quick walker though if she is strong and willful.

Can understand it being awkward for your DP and her Mum - it isn't the same entirely but my Step Dad has no biological children but has 4 step-children (my Mum's) and his Mum had quite a big issue with how to relate to the step-children and step-grandchildren. I think she also went through a grieving process for not having her own grandchildren at first - it is all fine now though. Hope your MIL comes round too - am sure it will get easier for her with time once C grows into a toddler and she can see her relationship with your DP. It is much harder to build bonds with them when they are babies.

pat - glad your afternoon was okay. i am a bit appalled about the movement, actually (proud as well. and utterly bemused - my entire family were a bunch of lazy arses on the movement front, so my mum tells me) - i wwas assuming it'd be august before i had to think about this stuff. oh well.

and ray, i'm also at hv - here it's 6am, 8am, 10ish, 12ish, 2ish, 4ish, 6ish, sometimes 11ish, and somewhere between 2 and 4am. she would be starving if i only fed her five times!

lenni - not a teacher (would be absolutely awful at it) but also have slight stationery fetish... pritt stick and glitter at the ready for the small girl as soon as she shows and interest...

Stripy- Sorry about grump MIL, hope she gets her head around things. MILs, ime are always bonkers in one way or another. Its lovely watching babies finding thier mobility, DD started crawling really early, at 6 months, but didn't walk til she was 13 months. Jude doesn't look like he's going anywhere fast, he's a typical boy...happy lying on his back farting away

Pat ikwym... I can handle a room full of teenagers pretty confidently, teach lots of kids with EBD issues, so lots of positive non-confrontational interaction and tactical ignoring etc...just wish I could do it effectively with a 2y.o.

Hooray for star charts! I am thinking of doing one for food, DD used to eat anything, but since christmas all she really eats is taramasalta, pitta bread,fish fingers, rice cakes and anything bad for her

Can anyone recommend a mobile (toy not phone!) that would attach to a travel cot, as poor ds is resigned to the travel cot at the end of our bed with no entertainment, and the ceiling is so high I have no chance of attaching anything to it.

Going to keep Jude sleeping in our room until he goes through the night as am far too lazy to get up, and he'll be sharing with Lily, so I don't want him to wake her up in the night. I think she stayed in with us until she was nine months, mainly cos we lived in a one bedroom place and there was nowhere for her to go!

Dog-Like the jar idea...