Sept 08: They're under starters orders .... and they're off .... well, some of them!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

I thought I'd use this title as not all of our delicious babies are on the move yet, including mine

Glad your HV had a clue Starlight! Mine was good too, and said she'd chase the hearing test numpties.

Lo and behold, they rang MrNC 2 days later - must have got his mobile number from the HV. He said it was just as well they didn't call me as the receptionist's English was terrible and she didn't undersyuand at all when he asked why she gadn't called my textphone...

time to give a hot sticky A dinner...

Does anyone have a Petite Star Zia? Any good?

I can't think straight in the heat. DH just said DD's nappy smells pooey. I said that's incredible, I've done several poos today. (I meant, changed several pooey nappies of DD's of course.)

I didn't know what it was pony so I googled it and on this website there's some reviews here

Don't despair Ponymum, the fullness of your boobs will come back. When you breastfeed the fat that was in your boobs before is replaced with milkducts. Then when you stop your boobs can look a bit deflated. But the fat will come back into them. Or, have another baby

I don't know anything about that pram, it looks very much like the Quinny Zapp though.

How are you dressing your little ones for bed in this heat? It's 26 degrees in ds's room, he's in a vest and nothing else, no sheet or anything. And then when he's with us we take his vest off so he's just in his nappy. Not enough?

Re breastfeeding. I still see it as a really easy thing to do which I'm happy to do at the moment. But I do find myself increasingly apologising for still breastfeeding him as much as I do. I was hoping ds would have started cutting down a bit but he hasn't. He's 10 months on wednesday.

And from the swollen lumps on his gum it looks like his two bottom teeth are trying to cut through, which is very exciting (yet painful-although at least an end is in sight). With two bottom milk teeth and two top canines I imagine he'll look like a tasmanian devil!

ds is in a nappy and his sheet sleeping bag. We've got a fan in his room, so even though it is hot in his room it keeps the chill off him when the fan passes over him.

I would say your ds sounds like he's dressed fine. It hard to know what to do sometimes though isn't it?

Don't feel you should ever have to apologise for bf'ing your son. If people are giving you sniffy looks it is their problem, and if they don't understand why your son feeds as much as he does, then they don't understand the concept of bf'ing either.

Effy is wearing Gap summer pjs - t-shirt and shorts, with no sheet. She also has a fan in her bedroom. It's not helping her sleep any better though.

Got a call from nursery earlier to come and collect her. She's had croup this weekend again and it really scared them - she was breathing realy quickly and with stridor. She'd also been sick and very unhappy. I called the doctors and they can't fit her in so I have to call again at 08:30 tomorrow.

This is the fourth related illness she's had in 5 weeks so I'm starting to worry there' something underlying that noone's picked up.

I hope poor Effy feels better soon. I can't believe your GP won't see her today, that's awful.

If you are worried, maybe it's worth talking it over with the GP and asked to be referred to a specialist?

I good tip to keep our little ones cool (and not so grumpy!) is frozen fruit. DS loves frozen grapes and melon.

ponymum the heat really picked up this afternoon! I went out in jeans and a cardi this morning, it was quite a pleasant temp. I was at monks cross this afternoon too, buying too much in Asda as usual!
Dh is currently sorting out the loft insulation, domestic bliss!

And I hope Effy feels better soon and that there isn't an underlying problem. When ds had bronchiolitis I read somewhere that their respiratory systems take more than a year to really mature and some babies will catch everything going in that time.

Might try the fan in his room later this week when it gets even hotter. Think I'll keep the blind closed in his room all day. And our bedroom curtains shut too, try and keep the house cool.

Poor little Effy. Is croup worse in the heat or is it a blessing that it's warm?

It was 30 in DD's room this evening despite the window being open and curtains and blind shut. She was bumping around for quite a while before she dozed off.

The only way I think I can get my 'old' boobs back is to do loads of push ups. I used to do kickboxing and we'd do a few hundred a week, there was an older woman who went and she said the push ups had made her boobs perky again. I took the brave step of giving some my old bra's to charity last week. Some of them were so pretty, but they won't ever fit around the rib cage again and were just cluttering up my drawer.

starlight so pleased you had a good day .

sunshinemummy your worries about Effy are similar to our worries about DD. She has had one chest infection / breathing related illness after another. The GP said to us that we can expect much of the same for the next 12 months, so that sounds similar to what carriebo heard. It is horrible when your child is always sick, and I really sympathise with what you are thinking. I do hope she improves soon and that she has a good night tonight.

carriebo so no bumping into each other over the moon cup counter this time then?

ILTMIMI thanks for the booby reassurance!

digitalgirl DD is wearing short sleeved vest only. Her room is 23 - 24 degrees. We keep a fan on in there and turn it off if the temp drops to 22. If the night starts at 22 or below we try a long sleeved vest or maybe short sleeved plus a 0.5 tog sleeping bag. She seems happier without the sleeping bag atm though.

meant to add that dd is only wearing a vest, one of ds's old ones that says 'boys are trouble'. It looks cuter on her .

I might gro-bag her when I go to bed, she has a 0.5tog one.

Carriebo and Ponymum I suppose that's reassuring in a way but she's really suffering so I hope there's something we can do - poor little thing, she's so happy normally.

I need to get my boobs measured. I have no idea what size I am any more and there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to what bras fit me.

Forgot to say I got my wedding dress on Friday. Friend and I went shopping and it was the first dress I tried on! It's gorgeous. It's from Paul & Joe and is Aubergine chiffon. I have a fab belt to go with it and some really nice shoes from the Harrods sale. It'll do for the second wedding in Bermuda as well as I can wear it with my gold wedges. I have to do a reading at the second wedding so want to look nice.

Now need to organise a dinner venue, hairdresser and florist in NY.

sunshine - how exciting! I have just checked my address book for hairdressers and florists in Manhattan but it appears to be blank! So i am very sorry, but I can't help you with that.

meglet - we are indoctrinating DD with the mantra that boys are definitely trouble! perhaps we should get that vest too. DH's philosophy is that she can choose between ponies, books, or the clarinet - but definitely not boys. (I think this rule is supposed to last until she's about 25.)

I have a stroller question for mummies with toddlers. For an around town / in and out of the car / lightweight travel type stroller, we were considering a lightweight MacLaren. For a number of reasons we are now thinking about the Petite Star Zia (mostly because the seat recline mechanism is less awkward for me with my back / hip problems). My only reservation is that the foot bit doesn't flip up flat to make a totally flat surface with legs supported when they recline. For those with toddlers, is this a problem? As DD grows, her legs will stick out in the air over the end, then eventually be long enough to go down on the step. Will she still be comfy enough to stay asleep?

Apologies for such a pedantic, detailed question! The link is here

Pony I've also seen the BJCM recommended (by the women on MN in the know)

I think most toddlers just sleep slumped as thwy are, peobably not a problem

Ponymum I don't know about that particular stroller but it looks similar to the Quinney Zapp that I have that DS has never slept in. He's always found it too uncomfortable. Friend has the Maclaren and Effy finds it really comfy.

I'm doing the 'we're on rightmove' dance. doo doo doo doo de deeee

Phew, it's hot! C slept in just her 'shortie' from M&S last night, no gro bag but it was still 26 degrees in her room. We tried the Mediterranean approach last night - after tea headed out to tesco for shopping etc, telling ourselves she could go to bed later when cooler.
Didn't go well- she got over tired and then couldn;t go to sleep cos of heat, think she dropped off about 9pm!
DP and I have decided that if still v hot, we may put her in the garden in the pram in the evening, in the shade, and sit out there with her till she drops off.

Ooh, Monks Cross - have had many a lunch there between appointments in York.
On that note, back to work 2 weeks tomorrow .
Trying to cram in lots of stuff for me and C. Think we'll head to zoo this afternoon cos it's quite cloudy today.
I've just been told I have a meeting in birmingham 2 days after I go back - great, tackling the M6 on a friday afternoon trying to collect C from nana's by 5.30!!
But, have just found out some great changes to my job, really positive ones, plus a pay rise, so getting a few pangs of excitement about going back.....god am i a bad mummy!

Oh, and hope Effy is better soon sunshine, what a worry for you.

We saw docs last week about C's leg creases - apparently it's not used anymore as there is no correlation between creases and hip problems. Her indentation in her back is just a birth mark too. And doc couldn't see any difference in her leg lengths, so I feel much better. He said she'll stand when ready.
He said they're trying to get message to HVs that uneven leg creases don't mean anything.
starlight I'm with you on the attitude - you go girl.

Hmm, must get dressed now - like a newborn day!

ds2 last night slept in a vest and 0.5tog sleeping bag. We put him in the sleeping bag becasue the night before when he wasn't in it he woke at 5.15, stood up and shouted at dh until he got him up. So we thought he might not stand if in a sleeping bag.
Hahahaha 5.15-6.30 this morning and I jumped out of bed about 40 times to lie him back down after he stood up. He then went back to sleep for half an hour before doing it again.

DH has been getting him up as soon as he wakes and taking in downstairs (he has an obsession with being convinced that ds1 will wake up unless he does even though he doesn't seem to) and I think ds2 has got wise to this so I put my foot down this morning and kept him in bed.

We NEED a bigger house. I want him out of my room.

debi have you only got a 2 bed .

i have a teeny tiny 3 bed,but tbh dd's room really isn't much bigger than the cot, it won't fit a single bed. open plan downstairs so there's no where to hide from all the mess and noise, arrghh! It drives me mad.

carrie i've have had a nosey look at your house .

yes only 2 bed and I'm sure him being able to see us is making him worse in the mornings. And I think that if he was with ds1 that he'd see him and shout at him until he woke and then we'd have both of them up.

I looked at carrie's house too. And for that price I'm tempted to buy it, it'd get us half way back to Scotland!

meglet I have the same problem - smallest room is small (although could get a single bed in) and downstairs, although beautiful and spacious is all open plan - the mess is closing in on me, the hall is the dining room is the study is the storage is the buggy park...it does my nut! There's an awful lot to be said for the traditional 3 bed semi