May 07 - The Terriffic Twos. (No harm in being optimistic, I say.)

[twelveyeargap]

Morning ladies. Sorry I have been AWOL. You'd think with DH having been at home for a full month that I'd have had time for MN. Actually no, if any of you have ever had a DH at home for a full month you'd know exactly why I haven't had time. Get your mind out of the gutter Gin, it's not that.

Thought I'd start a new thread since MKG's lovely girl arrived such a long time ago!

April, am very sorry about your friend. How sad.

Have only had a skim through I'm afraid, but Scoot; you obviously have the patience of a saint dealing with all those tantrums, so I think you'd make a great driving instructor. Is it really what you want to do or are you trying to think of jobs to fit in with family life? Is it a reaction to the current job do you think?

Congratulations on the wedding plans SKY.

Belated birthday greetings to everyone I've missed and happy birthday in advance to all the rest. Seriously, if I go off to find the birthday thread it might be weeks before I get back!

LG&T, is there any way you can channel B's energy into activity? A gets quite naughty when she's bored or hasn't been "out". "Out" can just mean the garden and "out" means she doesn't sound so loud to me, thus killing two birds with one stone. I'm wondering if you being (understandably) afraid to leave the house with him is actually making things worse? Something like a trampoline in the garden could be great because all the bouncing up and down would use up tons of energy and wear him out, whilst also being "fun" for him and "quiet" for you.
Also, re B's nappy rash. Remember A had a hideous rash that needed anti-biotics etc? Well it went away and then was back a couple of weeks later. I thought it couldn't possibly be teeth again as she seems to have all her teeth. Took her off milk and hey presto, the rash was gone in 18 hours. Plus her soft, foul-smelling poos have turned into normal firm not-awful smelling poos. She's fine with butter or the occasional bit of cheese, but any more lactose sets her off. I wonder could B have a similar problem? A's excema also got worse on milk and is now clearing up. I think it's probably temporary, she had a similar problem last year, but for now she's on rice milk or the Lactofree products when I can get hold of them.

I was at the doctor on Weds to get my Mirena removed and replaced with a copper coil to see if my libido would come back. GP couldn't "find" the Mirena. I have to go for a scan to find it, then to a family planning clinic to have it removed if they do find it. She said it's probably just lost, rather than come out, but it's kind of put me off using coils altogether now.

DH still not redundant yet. It's been a month since he was put "at risk". He's seeing HR today and I suspect this will be the final meeting and they actually sack him. His manager admitted they were hiring new people for the desk, but not for "his role", which is just a load of crap. You can't make a position redundant on the basis you want to hire someone "more senior". That's just a staff upgrade. Hopefully they'll make a settlement offer today, otherwise he'll have to appeal and start sending solicitors letters. However, he's had loads of interviews, lots of callbacks and good feedback.

Good luck Mrs JB x

Pebble there are no words to describe your h behaviour. I have no idea how you could tackle it. No distractions like TMAM says and force him to talk.

I think you need to be clear about what you want out of this relationship too. You poor thing

AM well done on the sleep! Good boy Jackanory How is the girlie bump? We had our stay in the hotel AM, it is all down to you. I just don't know how to thank you. Tbh i get a bit teary thinking of it all.

I posted in the thread i linked to below.

MrsJB i hope you are having a lovely stay over here.It was so nice to see you and the family. You loooked great as always

When we parted i was all upset as dh had been told he could not get leave for our trip away but as i stepped through the door he called to say it was ok!

Sky good luck on the job!

Double buggies... ihave had them ALL. P&T are the best, closely followed by the Jane powertwin. The powertwin needs to have a big boot though. It fits car seats and carrcots that is very useful to have. The P&T folds small and has the cacoon which is fab.

I have the Jane in my garage...cherry and green £200 if any one fancies it?

We are on countdown in the gin house, not long till dh is off

Happy birthday Pink! I hope A is turning the corner??

April, did you have another successful night? Well done Jack.

I had been pondering the same thing TMAM BUT with dh away again soon i thought it best to wait. Although i find myself outraged that by the time dh returns the boy will be in pants and the girl will be weaned. He will miss ALL the crap fun.

Happy Birthday indeed to Pink! Hope A is less itchy now,poor girl. The hateful pox.

Happy Birthday PJ xx

Sleep camp is going better than i had hoped! 3 nights of sleeping through and going to sleep well

Can you believe that baby bump is 25wks today!!!! Moving loads and movements seem to be getting higher.

LG&T am so pleased that you were able to go to Chewton Glen before dh went away.

PG brain has arrived!! I went to pick the kids up from nursery at 1pm and was told they were in until 6pm i had it in my mind that they only did a half day, what a wally!

Hello
Hope you are all well.
April can't believe you are 25 weeks already.
Happy Birthday PJ hope you got the VBAC book. Hope A is feeling better, when A had it last year we put porridge oats in an old tight and put them in the bath/used them for washing her and they seemed to soften the water. She did have them everywhere and when she weed at night the pain of them stinging woke her up so we had regular middle of the night weeing baths.
LG&T glad you had a lovely time you MOTY you. Hope B had a good b'day.
TMAM well done on the running it is addicitve isn't it? (says she who has not been for weeks as felt to crappy)
Pebble hope you and DH are getting things sorted.
TSM think will not bother with a double buggy, G will have to man up and walk. Although I bought a buggy board/seat thing at an NCT sale and never used it so may dig it out.
MJB glad you had a nice trip.
Scoot hope your head wasn't to bad.
Sky good luck on the job front.
Lups nice to see you back again
MKG hope work is okay.
Abby nice break last week?
12YG Happy belated birthday to A.
Elkie hope you are ok.
SOH Happy belated birthday to M.
Belated Happy Birthdays to everyone I have missed and Happy Birrhtdays to those just coming up.

G now has a potty and did two poos in it last weeekend. He insists on standing up all the time though when he wees is this normal. He just sort of dangles himself over the potty .
Have a meeting tomorrow with the foetal maternal specialist bods. Hope everything will be okay. Have now not been sick for almost a week. Hurrah!

So I got this gorgeous delivery of flowers this morning from the lovely LG&T thank you again x

"Do you need a wee?" It's the extent of my vocab this week.

Day 3 of potty training today, she's doing OK. 3 wees and a poo on the potty yesterday and a dry nappy after nap. plus 3 wet sets of pants! This morning she woke me up to do a wee on the toilet which she did but she did have a wee in her nappy from the night.

Thats lovely AM.

Just logged on and see that MrsJB is potty training. We started today as well! 6 wees in the potty, one poo (which inexplicably made her cry) and two half-accidents where she sat down after she'd started (and left her pants on). Not a bad start I thought? That said, she's been sat on the potty half the morning...

When DH came downstairs after she's done her poo I said, "Tell Daddy what you did in your potty!" She goes, "Did big log in potty." Bemused look exchanged between DH and I. "You mean you did a poo?" "No, big log." I SWEAR to you, nobody in this house refers to that as a log. I was much amused.

Must catch up...

Hi all...

Had 12 week scan today and all is well. They've moved me forward a couple of days so I am now officially 12 weeks and 1 day.... C'mon pregnancy glow - where the feck are you ??!

All this talk of potty training has reminded me that I need to start soon if I'm to get Tils sorted well in advance of new arrival. We also need to get her into a big bed and out of the habit of bedtime bottle and numerous other things that suddenly seem to need sorting. I'm exhausted just thinking about it all

Hope everyone is ok ...

Evening all! I'm so sorry I have been so crap at keeping in touch. I am absolutely snowed under writing reports at the moment and seem to be sooo busy.
I hope everyone is well, I've had a quick scan of posts. Happy Birthday to all those little ones I missed.
LGT it sounds like your 'do' was great. Well done you, you so deserve it.
I see lots of people are starting potty training. MrsJB you were my saviour when I was doing C. I don't think R is ready yet. I'm going to wait until school finishes and I can give her my full attention.
Ok, that's enough. Must dash. I have to get back to the dreaded reports. I'll catch up when I've got my life back.....

Glad you like the flowers AM you so deserve them You need a Joggler to cope with the prg brain, they are FAB!

Tills hooray for the scan! The glow will not be long now. Will post the dress this week i promise.

CM are you ok? Nervous? I am sure it will all be ok. I am thinking pink for some reason you know.

POTTY TRAINING ?

You are all mad as a box of frogs.

Gin - I've sent you a message re:the dress. Word on the street is that its very much a jeans and top type of "do" so I suspect the dress might be a bit much. I'm off shopping the weekend to see if I can get some decent jeans

riiiiiiiiiiiibit

Great news on the scan Tilly

Ella has done really well this week in pants - went backwards with being away for 3wks and wearing nappies for convenience. I think she has had 1 accident all week so far so very pleased.

Yay to Jorja for doing so well with her training and hope that Aoife is also doing well - LOL at log!

just tried on a pair of Mat trousers and they are too tight surely i cant need to go up a size just yet. Or perhaps i will just wear floaty dresses from now on so that i dont have to worry about waist bands

Went to an awards do in London at the Park Lane Hilton on Tuesday and we (sunshine) won the one we were up for, for the 2nd year in a row . Was very pleased with my outfit and especially my shoes and bag as they were bright orange these ones. Got my dress from Red Herrings Mat range very comfy . Also had my hair done and didnt recognise myself in a photo that dh took of me. Think there are pics on facebook.

Have gone back to work this week! Helping out in the office as one department is very busy and has a big backlog to get through. Its been quite fun, although i am the 'office junior' Have created a filing system (very Monica from friends like) and have been asked to create a SPREADSHEET and you know how much i love those It's going to be very handy as i will be able to see how all the departments work and what is involved in the day to day running of it.

Anywho, better go otherwise i will get told off x

Hi
foetal maternal specialist confirmed no swelling in abdomen or head and is happy for me to revert to usual antenatal care. My MW told me they would do a nuchal scan but when we got there he said they didn't do them and I might be too late now but he would try to get me one. So I had one of those yesterday as well, risk of 1/134 due to age but after scan risk gone down to 1/850 combined with blood tests should get results tomorrow night. Discussed with DH whether to have scan and he reckoned forewarned is forearmed so lets have the scan and deal with what it tells us so we can be prepared for when baby arrives. I know especially given all the scans I had last time that these offer no guarantees but do feel reassured that things look to be progressing okay.

Well done MJB and 12YG on the potty training, G is just trying and walks about with his will poking over the top of his nappy. Will be concentrating on it when we get back from hols next week.

MOTY I am thinking pink as well but will not find out.

TSM brill news about the scan, what did you think of the apprentice? Think your glow must have run off with mine, am off work again today with upset tummy.

Abby how are those reports coming along?

April you look very glam as ever. Good luck at work.

Of for a lie down now I think before tummy goes again,

PJ hope A is feeling better and the pox aren't giving you too much grief.

Scoot how is FIL doing?

TMAM how is the African office doing, the UK branch is a bit slack at the mo due to illness.

Pebble any progress with DH?

DOH willy

Great news on the scan results Charley, must be a huge weight off of your mind. Must have been lovely to see the little bean on the screen.

Hope the potty training is still going well. Ella had 3 accidents yesterday of which 2 were poo (luckily they were at nursery)

Sleep is still going well. Dh put J to bed last night and he slept til about 12 but woke up coughing, dh didnt get in his bed and J slept til 7.

Dh and i have been married for 5years today - cant believe where the time has gone.

Wow at AM being 25 weeks! Why does everyone else's pregnancy seem to go so much faster than mine ever did? Floaty dresses sound good to me.

CM, hope the test results are ok.

Happy anniversary Mr and Mrs Meadow. Anything special planned April?

Thanks Elkie, this pregnancy seems to be rolling on by as well, I think it is because I hardly dare get excited until after the scans and now I am like only 6 months left aaagh

Hello everyone hope you all have lovely plans for the weekend

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AM's. x

Great news charley on the scan.

J is doing OK too. She is brill with the poo and takes herself off to the toilet. OK with wee's if I remind her to go, but I'm not convinced she's aware she needs one yet and has had a few accidents where she shouts wee wee but it's already coming out. Bless her! She has been dry 3 nights in a row now though and done a huge wee on the toilet when she gets up. She won't use the potty, hates it. Harrison didn't use a potty either, went straight for the loo so I think J will be the same.

Big brother all the way for me Charley, I love it!! bet Tilly is watching it too.

Good news CM I think you should call her Verity btw.

AM bet you looked fabulous! That dress is very gorgeous, the shoes would have me going arse over tit

Glad the potty training is going well. I am not attempting it yet.

Complications at work mean dh may not sail just yet! Just a few days delay but still.

Me and a couple of friends threw a baby shower for our french friend this morning. Lots of cake and presents, she is due in 3 weeks. A lovely baby.

MJB shall we set up a BB support thread do you think? I will have to SKY+ on Sunday night when BB and the Apprentice clash. Well done on the potty training.

Hurrah for a few extra days MOTY, I like Verity will have to run it past DH. I think the only name we have agreed on so far is Henry (as in Horrid ). I like Harriet Elizabeth (Elizabeth is a family name) but DH thinks it sound posh (and we are so not.)

I will resist the temptation to find out though. I will not succumb.

Sorry Pebble.

On the double buggy dilemma, I bought a secondhand P&T for £200 this week - it's a slightly older version - the E3. But I'm hoping that either we'll get great use out of it or be able to sell it on for something or both. An MN friend paid £300 for one on ebay, but I found this one from an ad in the newsletter of a local parents' organisation

One of the things that appealed to me is that weight limit for the bigger child's seat goes up to 25kg - the Maclaren says up to 15 kg and I'm sure our giant toddler weights more than that! C seems to be lighter but even taller than D at the same age.