F(l)ab Feb 2009: Primark pants and teething rants

[dinkystinky]

A brand new sparkling thread to mark the four month mark for our bubs

MOS you're sweet - thanks for looking at that and that is just the colour so that would have been a great option....BUT Panic Over - she phoned. You see I knew she would but my mum just got me in a panic....typical. My dress can be picked up next Wednesday and if there are any problems she'll sort them out. Thank god my mum has calmed down although no doubt she'll find something else to panic about tomorrow

Envious of your fan LBB - My mum is the fan lady and she lent us one the hot summer of '06 when DS was born but I think she must have nabbed it back again. I also remember we used to have a little air conditioning unit we bought in the hot summer of '03 but that seems to have miraculously disappeared (DH gets a bit antsy about too much "stuff" around so clears things out unnecessarily) - Dh asked me when we were starting to get rid of the baby stuff yesterday (secretly I was hoping he might come round to a number 3 but clearly not!). I was a bit unsure of what to put the DC's in in bed tonight. DD's room has blackouts velcroed to the windows which actually serve to keep her room really nice and cool as its at the front of the house where the sun beats in late pm. She's in vest and 0.5 tog grobag....she didn't feel too hot when I got her at 10 ish last night so I think she's ok. DS felt a bit sweaty but I presume he'll let me know if he's too hot. He really wanted his grobag on tonight (0.5tog too).

I am actually on Facebook now - but not ever sorted it out amongst this group IYSWIM....

Ooh I've just been on facebook - got waylaid after typing my message earlier and have only just sent it and have found 3 people I went to school with (one of my best friends too who I bump into occasionally) and a couple of old uni friends. Weird place isn't it - I have the oddest selection of "friends" as not all the people I would really class as my "friends" are on it.

herb yes facebook as put a really funny meaning to the word 'friend'
Luke is in just a vest, horribly hot in there. If your ds gets a bit hot but still wants something, could you pop him into a pillow case?
swampy That's nice about McDreamy.

I'm up with ds1 who has a temp of 40.5. He's just had some calpol, some water and has been sponged down with a cool flannel.
coco I know who you are

Hello all

We are back from Glastonbury! Will have a proper catch up with the thread later as I am drowning under a sea of muddy laundry at the moment but we had a fantastic time!

Hope everyone is ok xx

STW, i weaned ds1 for allergies ad i'm convinced that's why his cm intolerance was much less severe and he was fine with wheat.

it's a pain for the first year but worth it. i kept him off cows milk, eggs, gluten and citrus until 9 months, delayed wheat til well past a year (only now since 2.5 has he been having it regularily) and kept away from nuts until about 2. when he reacted to cows milk i kept him off it and just tried him every few months to test.. he grew out of it just before last christmas so at 2.5.

the blood tests are a pain aren't they? dd was the same in that nothing except low iron levals showed up as she's not allergic but due to us not realising until quite late there was a problem we had plenty of other evidance.. most striking the fact that from the age of 10 months when she started having wheat until 22 months when we took her off it she gained no weight at all (she looked anorexic) and then when we took her off wheat she gained 2kgs in 2 months. wheat damages her gut and makes her incapable of absorbing other foods so we've been told to just keep her off it long term and hope her gut repairs itself enough to tolerate it in a few years.

herbie.... hope the dress panic is resolved soon... must be so worrying!

Glad the dress crisis is averted Herbgarden. And hope DS1 is ok LBB - a temperature in this hot weather must be miserable. Glad you had a good time at Glastonbury Markstretch - lovely weather for it! Nkweto - hope your first day back at work yesterday was ok.

Not much going on here - DS1 is really acting up something chronic .i.e. deliberately wetting himself, throwing things on purpose, biting other children - which he has never done before - and snatching stuff, not listening and basically just being a terrible pain - have to keep reminding myself its just a phase. All treats and tv privileges are currently on hold until he starts behaving - not that its having any impact at all on his rubbish behaviour. Danny on the other hand is being a delight - if it wasnt for his strong insomniac tendencies I'd be tempted to wish for him to stay this age for ever.

Dinky - Are our DS's in cahoots?? Have you read the posts on here calling them "Threenagers"??? I've found DS pushing his boundaries more and more even just in the last few weeks doing things which he would never have done before meaning that my reactions are stronger - he even looks me in the eye as he's doing something he knows he shouldn't almost willing me for a reaction....and like you DD is an absolute poppet (and I don't think it's just that 5 month honeymoon thing) - she is happy to sit and watch and screech and gurgle and basically is the light in my day (pass the sickbag)....I went to a party on Saturday with a bunch of 3 year olds and apparently they're all at it - great. At least you have Danny to cheer the day up (and at least if he's generally lovely you might forgive his insomnia !). It will pass !..A friend of mine said she found 3 - 4 harder than 2 - 3. PT you've got a DS same age too haven't you ?? Is he being a devil or an angel ??

Been to have a haircut this morning - timed it so that DD would be sleeping and I could perhaps have a relaxing cut rather than worrying about her. It feels a bit hot to be sitting outside this lunchtime and also one side of me are having their trees lopped (annoying moped type noise) and the other side are having their lawn mowed....relaxing, not.

Have to pick our mended car up this afternoon - it's going to cost an arm and a leg - didn't ask the lady at the garage to tell me how much earlier, I'll put off that awful moment. Thank goodness I'm back to work next month....

he alternates on an hourly basis

he can go from sweetness and light to pure evil in the space of a heartbeat annd then back again.

dd was awful at this age too though so am attempting to remain zenlike about it (and failing)

Herb, my DS2 just turned three and he is definitely a threenager! I am tearing my hair out by the roots because of is behaviour.

Remember pregnancy?

dinky, DD is EXACTLY the same as your DS1. she keeps throwing her drinks at people/across room and bit me today at dentists! bitch. she'd damm well better grow out of it soon

You lot are making me feel soooo much better about DS. DH and I had a chat last wednesday night about our "plan of action" (honestly we did as I was ready to do serious damage by Wed eve last week)....we then concluded that it was a phase, it would pass and we'd rise above it !!......I started to wonder if I was just becoming a useless crap parent unable to control my kid (s)..

I'm trying to start reading again this week. I used to read loads of books but since DD can't concentrate for very long to read anything. I sat out in the garden last night for ages reading the rest of the Sunday papers so might try to sit out and read tonight - I almost felt a bit chilly out there I'm trying to up the concentration levels in anticipation of going back to work in 4.5 weeks (!)...

Right Big Cook Little Cook almost over. Operation bath and bed commences - maybe a dip in the paddling pool instead of stuffy bath ?

herb my ds1 gives me evil stares while he's pushing his luck, almost like he's daring me to tell him off.
Toddlers can't be reasoned with. They need to know the bounderies, but not as easy at it sounds is it?

Fingers crossed ds1's temp stays ok tonight.

LBB hope DS1 is ok? Must be hard to keep a temperature down when it's this hot anyway. How's the no smoking going?

Dinky hope this finds you having a more successful anniversary dinner tonight! How do they always know when to play up? Having a bit of a rubbish evening here too with unsettled kids. This weather is not doing us any favours!

Scary Interesting reading about "threenagers" I was hoping once the Teerible Twos were out of the way it was plain sailing !

PT thanks for the postings about allergies - I have been advised simlarly reagrding weaning and to keep a food diary. Been given a list of potential allergens and will just have to see how it goes, but nuts are a complete no-no and are likely to be for life . Not the worst things to have to avoid though.

Herb glad the dress situation seems to have been resolved! We've done teh black out velcro thing but it doesn't seem to be helping in DD's room. It has two windows that between them get the sun all day. I've put a fan in her room but all it does is circulate worm air. Her sheets are soaked in sweat already.

Well, Sam is booked into hospital on Thursday/Friday for his reflux pH study so I've got that to look forward to this week! Orlena is at nursey those days and DH can do the picking up etc. Sam and I have to be in Harley Street (thanks to private insurance!!!) at 9am on Thursday. Could be an interesting ruch hour train journey with overnight bags for us both . If the feeding tube goes down well and Sa is settled, we should be able to leave the hospital for a few hours, which will be nice! By the way, the pathology tests we had done last week cost £1,084!! Something we could never have doen without my health insurance.

Anyway, better go and fold yet more laundry.... Hope everyone is well .

Hmmm, that should have read warm air!

STW Think ds1 is ok, he's asleep and his temp was fine before bed so fingers crossed.
I've been naughty with the smoking, but got some stuff from the docs today, champix(sp?), they are a drug which are supposed to close down receptors(sp?) in your brain. The doc didn't want to give them because a side effect is sucicidal thoughts and he doesn't think it's a good idea with depression 'history', but we shall see how it goes.
Hope it goes well thurs/friday. £i,084 is alot of money, thank God for health insurance. Dp has just taken out a health insurance package through work to cover the 4 of us.

LOVE the term threenager - DS1 was far worse aged three than he was as a two year old. That's when the "I hate yous" started along with the "nos", the picky eating, the shouting etc etc.

Weirdly, he seems to have calmed down a bit since turning four and the teachers at his school nursery have remarked on how much better his behaviour has become.

I do really think three is the worst age (this has been said to me by lots of mums of older kids too).

The only advice I can offer is keep boundaries firm - bed times, rules etc and try not to swear as much as I do (hearing a three year old saying "for fuck's sake" ain't pretty).

Best news of the day. Stan is cutting a tooth. A little white spike is poking out of his gum and it won't be long until a fully fledged fang emerges.

I feel like crying reading about threenagers, my 2-yr-old DD2 is so awful I feel like I can't go on some days. If she could actually behave any worse in a year's time I think I'll implode.

DD1 was such a good little girl.

Oh, and LBB, I know who YOU are too

Coco
I too am not liking the sound of this 'threenager' talk either. I'll pretend I heard nothing of it. mslucy def agree on the boundary thing though, very important IMO. I have just introduced a new rule, if he throws a toy, it goes on top of the microwave for 15 minutes, then if he does it again (to same toy) it goes for rest of day. Too harsh???

Dp's gone to work. This is the first night since Luke was born that I have attempted to sleep in a room on my own. It's dark and I don't like it.
I've left their bedroom window open which has left me a bit uneasy too, I hate windows being open.

LBB not remotely harsh. Necessary.
I never, ever thought I would be one for any kind of discipline - not my thing at all - but it is so important and kids really need clear rules to feel happy and secure.

Coco Don't be sad. Not all kids are the same and if DD2 is being a little S* now, she may have got it out of her system by the time she reaches two. I guess where I'm coming from is the thought that I was always a bit smug until DS1 turned 3 and really let me have it. I was totally uncritical of him until then - he could literally do no wrong. Now I sometimes worry that I am a bit too critical of him - there is no malice in him, he is just a bit much and I am always so tired what with him, Stan, work, life etc etc.

And remember, if all else fails there is always WINE

reaches two - I mean 3 obviously.
That's what comes from drinking a mere 2 glasses of fizzy pink stuff - I am such a lightweight these days!

Morning all.
Ds1 seems a bit better this morning. Temp is ok. He was up a few times last night and ended up in my bed at 4:30.
If he's still ok in an hour, it's off to his little girlfriend's house as her mum has the paddling pool out.

am contemplating going swimming with dd. i want to teach her and ds1 to swim individually so i can go with all 3 (no toddler pools within 45 mins). i have a choice of an open air pool (not great weather) or an indoor one that i'm not sure how to find (dd whinging in the car while i drive in circles).... think i'm going off the idea rapidly

mslucy... i got light headed after just a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend... shocking to realise i'm now officially a complete lightweight

Afternoon all. Reassuring to hear I'm not the only one dealing with a threenager at present Today was a good day (mostly because we've reintroduced the rewards for no wee accidents incentives and doing the praise the good approach) - yesterday most definitely was not (though thank god both boys slept well so DH and I got to have a much needed nice meal out with a glass of wine or three). MsLucy - I think I was the same as you: DS1 was such a lovely 2 year old who hardly every had tantrums I thought I'd been let off easy.... then he turned 3 and - wham - the jekyll & hyde personality emerged... Coco - I agree with MsLucy, if DD2 is a handful now, chances are she'll calm down once she gets a bit older.

STW - good luck with braving rush hour tomorrow and with the reflux tests.

LBB - hope the drugs help with giving up smoking. Glad DS1 is better.

Coco - I believe we have a mutual acquaintance on facebook.

Danny had his third set of jabs today. He was not happy with the jabs - but at least only cried for 10 minutes this time round. We're off on holiday to Suffolk on Friday for a week - rather hoping the jab effects will wear off but will be there with the grandparents so at least there'll be plenty of hands to help with him and DS1.

evenin' all not much timeso will catch up tomorrow - off out with the playgroup mums tonight. Don't know many of them so it will either be a great night or a miserable one....let's hope the former !!....

speak tomorrow !