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

STW No, I don't add fruit, I can't manage to do it plain yet!!
Hope your 'homebaked' cheesecake went down well.
It's ds1's birthday on tuesday, the same day Luke will be 6 months! where has the time gone?

I suppose it doesn't really matter if S doesn't get a traditional breakfast, think that is more important later on to keep them ticking over to lunch/snack time.
Luke has fruit purees for lunch at the moment.

bugger.

i think i really screwed up. i've known for ages aaron is tongue tied but i never brought him to the docs about it.

i went online researching it today though as i had a niggling feeling his problems with solids could be related and it looks like i was right

he can't move food in his mouth at all and by what i've read that won't improve and he could have huge speech delays too... i should have brought him to have it snipped but now it's too late and if they do it at all it would be under general anaesthetic.

i feel so shit. i knew he had it but thought bf-ing would be all it affected and as we struggled through and managed it, albeit with huge difficulties, i didn't think it needed dealing with.

feel so shit now

Hi everyone....we're at my brothers house near the seaside this weekend but it's been peeing down with rain so all the little boys came back from the beach soaked through but with ice-cream round their faces and sandy hair . DD has been poked and prodded and kissed by her all male cousin line up and seems to be quite enjoying herself.

coco - glad you're coming through the flu...probably almost a relief that they've all had it now is it? I worry about DD particularly as she starts nursery on Monday but she's had a horrible streaming cold for the last few days and has been a bit miserable to boot but she seems to be on the mend.

We're on three meals a day now but I've been giving the Organix baby porridge which is quite nice and she seems ok with it for breakfast- a couple of tablespoons mixed with water - i've tasted it and it tastes quite nice. I don't like giving her anything that I wouldn't eat myself. I had a massive cook up the last couple of weeks as I'm back to work and have done her some nice meat/chicken/fish dishes to get her used to the tastes with some nice extra cubes of veggies too. She really loves her lunches - I tried her with a few of DS's soft veggies at lunch the other day but she struggled to pick them up although gave them a good try !!....she seems quite partial to the baby rice although I'm giving that up when this last pack is done and she'll have proper mushed up teas from next week.

Sorry Dinky that you're still not getting a lot of sleep - DD didn't sleep well last week with her cold and I felt knackered with it so feel for you. I still tuck her in tightly at night as she can roll on to her tummy but then gets stuck and can't get back again and gets sooo cross.

Back to work on Monday. Half dreading it and half looking forward to it - the redundancy thing is still under review so no doubt we'll know a bit more when I get back properly. I'm nervous about DD being at nursery but she'll be fine (or so I keep reminding myself !). She went for a visit last week and DS went down to see if she was ok [sweet big brother emoticon].

Right, dinner ready so am off....

PT please dont feel bad the GP should have said it needed doing at his 8 week check if it was that bad.... It is not down to us to check and decide if dc's need things like this doing it is the medical profecionals.... Go to GP and say you are worried and let them make the decision... fwiw a friend of mine had her ds done when he was 14 and he was really bad, the opp was fine and no after problems.... He wanted it done as he was developing and was worried about girlfriends and things they said if he hadn't requested it then they wouldn't have done it...

DS had pureed parsnip and peas today mixed with water. I gave it to him when it was still warm and he gulped it down... he has only been taking a couple of spoonfulls of his food a day but today he ate all of it (about 10 spoonfuls) and then fed after as well......

I cant get him to take any fluids though. he wont take a bottle and only chews on cups. I have a TT one that has no non spill it comes out if you tip it up so he doesn't have to work to get it. But he still wont suck it..... Does BM still give enough water if we are giving a little bit of solids as well? Any ideas of how i can get fluids down him any other way? It is not the water he wont take, he wouldn't take bm any other way either so dont think juice will help!!!!!

WE have been out all day looking at cars and we have bought a new one that we pick up on Tuesday..... So pleased that we are getting rid of ours as I hate it but very nervous about the expence as i have no job to go back to so we are reliant on DP getting ot...... but he has never not done OT in the past..

no medical professional has even looked in his mouth... not even while he was in hospital for pneumonia such is the nature of our health system... you don't ask, they don't bother!

actually tbf my regular gp probably would have noticed but at his 2 week check she spent it removing his umbilical and she hasn't seen him since, his 6 week was done by the nurse and the other doctor who i hate.

no idea about cups... i thought aaron had cracked the doctor browns sup but when i left dp with it filled with expressed milk he had no joy despite aaron being starved!

great news about the car, what type is it?. we badly need a new car... ours is starting to behave oddly and i'm getting sick of breaking my hads trying to strap the kids in

Ford focus it is nice and very cheap on tax and very good on gas so win win all around.... Just a lot to part with in these times....

good choice. ours is a ford focus estate and it is a great car... we've just outgrown it and neglected it somewhat.

absolutely ace on petrol though and almost never gets sick... we've had it 3.5 years and it's only broken down twice in that time, and one of those could have been avoided if we'd brought it to the garage when it started making an odd noise instead of driving 400 miles and being surprised when the back axle went wonky

only real downside with ours is it's an estate with a 1.4 engine... 0-60 takes about 5 minutes

ours is a 5 door hatch. It is an o8 so only a year old. It is a zetec diesel and tax is only £35 a year we have been paying £220 on the land rover........ I hate the land rover as well...

ours is a 2001 and still in decent nick... despite 3 years of benign neglect and us forgetting to service it. timing belt was done for the first time ever in the cars life a few months back... never seen a mechanci look so shocked

wow, ye have cheap tax... ours is 90 euros every 3 months! plus 500 odd euros insurance.

bumps Try water with a spoon or syringe?
We had a ford focus. Now have Vauxhall Zafira, also 2001. I love the extra space. When we had the focus, I had to take the wheels and hood of the pushchair (double) to get it in the boot. PITA when raining.

I heard the saddest story last night. A friend of mine, lets call her J, fb me telling me about our friend K and how she's been treating her ds who is 3. J said K keeps yelling at him that she hates him and doesn't want him anymore, yells at him that she wants to break his fing neck and all sorts. J is really worried and told K to let her ds stay with her for a while but K said no. J is going to contact SS about her concerns. But has to be done I think, J said she doesn't want K left alone with her own ds Couldn't sleep last night thinking about him, he is a lovely little boy, 'friends' with Jacob.

hello all, bit of a panic then as you dropped of the 'threads i'm on'. had a nice day in London Thursday although very rushed as the friend I was meeting only arrived from Heathrow around 12.30 and had to leave by 4.30pm. we managed to squeeze in the big bus tour that i'd never done before although didn't have time to get off at any of the stops or do the river cruise that was included. Might try to go up in September when DH back for a few days and do that then.
I was in agony all day though as my right wrist was really hurting. I hurt it about 3 weeks ago (trying to fit the P & T into the car without folding ) and ended up wearing a support bandage for a few weeks and it seemed ok. Wed night DD fell asleep in my bed and when I picked her up to carry her to her bed I hurt it again. Ended up going to hospital Thursday night and after a few hours there was told I've damaged the tendons and have to wear a splint for a few weeks which is a PITA.

Thankfully DS1 has been helping a lot the last few days and even did all the ironing for me and hoovering but he is off on work experience for a week from tomorrow and will be staying in a hotel near my old firm all week. Not sure how I'll cope without him.

PT it is not your fault about Aaron's tongue. If it was bad then surely it would have been picked up at birth or a check up? I remember being hysterical when H was born when the consultant said he had TT but in fact I think it is quite mild as he is feeding ok.
A good friend of mine in Saudi has two sons who had TT. The eldest didn't have treatment and he is 3 soon and has no issues eating at all although he does have a tiny lisp but nothing that speech therapy won't sort.
Her second DS also had it and she picked it up and had it snipped when he was 5 months. From what I understand, it is easier getting it done the younger they are but if it is a real problem they will do it now. He must only just be 6 months? Insist on a referal to a good consultant and please don't let it get to you x

LBB hope party went ok and you had fun with bubbles

herby good luck going back to work tomorrow and I hope you get answers with regards to your future.

bumps hope you, DD and DS are all ok today. Like I said before, if you fancy a BW meet up let me know.

On the subject of meet ups, any thoughts on one the next month or so?

mos I've never been on the London Tour bus. Would love too. Maybe I should book my parents in to have the boys so me and dp can make a day of it.......when we have some extra £ that is

Sorry to hear about wrist. What a massive PITA that'll be.

Haven't had party yet. Tuesday is the big day, so party is then. Got to get a cake tomorrow and think I'll prob do pasta and things tomorrow evening so I just have to make a few sandwiches on tues morning. If I don't have enough food, then tough coz I've run out of money now so will have to do with what we've got. Should be ok though.

Pink - big hugs to you re Aaron's tongue tie - but as Bumps said, it really is up to the healthcare professionals to spot this so the useless GP at the 8 week check, or your health visitor, should have spotted it. I'd definitely recommend making an appointment with the good GP that you like to see how extreme they think the tongue tie is - it may be that its not as bad as you think it might be and wont effect eating or speech that badly [fingers crossed emoticon] Hope your chest infection is all better now and the coughs have all left your house.

Bumps - glad your DD seems to be on the mend. Exciting news re the new car - my friends who have ford focuses love them. The BM should be enough fluids for O despite you weaning him at the same time - just make sure you give him plenty of short "drink" feeds as well as long full feeds. Danny has started self weaning this week (abit earlier than I was hoping to do but he goes mental if at the table when we're eating otherwise) - bit of pineapple, toast, mango and rye bread sucked to death - potato was rejected wholesale - and always wants a drink of BM afterwards. If you do want to get him used to water/other drinks, just keep trying him on open cups -lifting them to his lips and letting the liquid touch his lips - he will get the hang of it eventually especially if he's watching his big sister drink her other drinks up from cups.

Herb - glad you're having a nice time by the coast despite the rubbish weather (honestly, what happened to the scorching summer we were promised???) and DD is enjoying all the male cousins attention. Poor DD having suffered a cold though - summer colds are the pits. Good luck with the return to work. I know what you mean about feeling apprehensive - am not back till midSeptember but now we're into August and other mums I've met on maternity leave are starting to go back to work already, I'm starting to get that back to school feeling too. Speaking of August - is anyone organising a final summer meet up for August or is everyone off on holiday then? Danny would not react well to being tucked in (he hates being restrained in his pushchair and car seat at the moment) so am just trying to ignore him and let him sleep where he falls (which means he is sleeping on his front, side or in some other extraordinary positions - my favourite one so far has been a semi-shoulder stand position with his legs up the side of the cot) until this phase is over. Though he's been pretty good with only 1 night waking and wanting to be up at 5.30 the past two nights so cant really complain at the moment.

LBB - my top tip for making jelly is always use less water than the instructions say. So if it says use 1 litre of water, use say 750/800 mls.

Took both boys swimming this morning and out for lunch at a local cafe - both sleeping at present which is indeed a rare luxury. Danny refuses to have a late afternoon nap (basically screams for 40 minutes if you try to put him down for a nap or stays wide awake and wired if you take him out for a walk to go to sleep during) so am trying to get him to extend his lunchtime nap from its usual 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours so he'll be able to last out until bedtime at 7 when I go back to work as its unlikely I'll be home in time to get him down for 6.25 in the evening as is currently the case.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

MOS would love to meet up with you. I owe you lunch.. Cant do this week but how are you set for next week? just let me know....

Hi to everyone else hope you are all enjoying the sunshine and the holls....

MoS - great minds clearly think alike! Glad you had a good - if hectic - day in London but what a shame about your wrist. I hope is not hurting you too much. Is your DD1 around to help out with the little ones while DS1 is on work experience?

Ps LBB - that's really sad about your friend and her 3 year old. I know - believe me - that threenagers are "challenging" at times to say the least but the way she's reacting to her child really doesnt sound right or healthy. I think that you and your other friend are right to be concerned.

Thanks all. Had a good nights sleep and have calmed down and resolved to stop googling myself into a panic. Bringing him to the gp on tuesday to see what she says... i'm sure he won't starve without solids in the meantime and will keep attempting purree as he seems to get a small percentage of that down... although most of it falls out and ends up all over him so it's messy and unpleasant, especially with no washing machine! It's silly but one of the things upsetting me the most is that we won't be able to do BLW, ds1 enjoyed it so much i really wanted aaron to wean that way too but he simply can't move food in his mouth so the only chance of getting any in him is to shovel enough goo into him that some falls down his throat and not just straight out of his mouth again.

mos... so sorry about your wrist, what an awful time for that to happen with your dh heading off again. I hope it heals quickly for you and the older two help out lots in the meantime.

Swimming sounds like fun dinky, i miss being able to go with both my older two, we only have regular pools here, no toddler pools so i have to bring one at a time now. Enjoy the peace while they sleep

dd's frineds mother has just called and brought her off to soft play so i've got the afternoon with the boys which i love... i know it sounds horrible but dd makes everything so stressful when she's here i really enjoy spending time with the boys without the constant fighting and screaming from dd

btw, top tip ladies... encourage your kids to get friendly with kids who's parents only have one lo.... they really go all out bringing their kids' friends everywhere with them so you get loads of free babysitting

bumps I can do a few days next week. Think DS1 and DS2 are around so might bring them up too for crowd control in the car and they can go to the cinema. Think Tues - Thurs are good days.

LBB tour was good but very expensive, £25 per adult and £10 per child (over 4) which is crazy money but I felt I had to do it as my friend from USA wanted to

PT He'll be fine without solids. Food is fun until they're one and all that. Don't worry. I know you said you wanted to BLW because ds1 enjoyed it so much, but there is a chance a might not have liked it regardless. Don't beat yourself up. See what doc says. FWIW puree feeding is a huge mess for all of them isn't it? Luke gets puree on his socks
mos Wow, that is expensive! I've taken it completely for granted growing up in London. Never seen Big Ben or Windsor Castle. Been to Harrods once and that's about it. I'd love to sit on an open top bus and drive around knightsbridge and wherever else it goes. Not for £25 though. My friend drives a convertible, so maybe we'll follow a bus one weekend
dinky yeah, it's just awful. How can you scream at a 3 year old that'll you break his leg because he wet himself? The other friend is so annoyed that her 3 dc's witnessed this and is unsure of how to address it with her 3yo. K only seems happy when her ds is with his dad, and then goes crazy at the boy when he gets home. Not sure if it has something to do with having a new boyfriend, maybe she is at a stage where she resents responsibilities and just wants to be free to enjoy being 22. Really don't know what to do. J spoke to the staff at childrens centre, one of whom went round to see K and her ds the other day but didn't seem overly concerned dispite K saying how she felt. Thinking maybe it's because we all say things in jest like, "I don't like him much today, he's being a little monster" and such, but you don't say it to the child do you?!
J said she's not letting her dc's be around them anymore, but is keeping in contact with K to make sure she never alone
K is coming to Jacob's party on tuesday, but without her ds. he is with his dad that day.

We wrapped ds1's birthday presents last night. I'm very excited now. Sad isn't it? I can't wait to see his face when he opens his presents, and I know exactly what he'll do. He'll kneel before the little Henry hoover and point out his eyes yelling eyes and laughing. He will laugh and say "dilder" when he opens giant bob. He won't really care about the painting kit until I get the paint out (needs a while for me to become brave enough). We also got him a Bob tractor which he'll love.
We collected a big Thomas the Tank activity easel that my dad got him, so he will be running around yelling choo-choo when he opens that.
He won't get pressies till evening though as dp is working. He's gutted he's missing party. Yeah, right

Lots of prep work to do here today, going to make up pasta salads and sandwiches tonight so minimal stuff to do tomorrow as the boys are always in the foulest nood when I need to get things done. The terrors

i haven't been here for ages as i've been away on various holidays. a week in the new forest, 2 weeks in spain at the in-laws during which dd properly learnt to swim. ditched the 'noodle' or whatever those foam sticks are called and swam, swam, swam. swimming underwater through hoops, and even jumping in on grandpa without him expecting it and breaking his little finger. oops!

for a wet day in london i can highly recommend the museum of childhood in bethnal green. it's not exactly central but we have various friends who live even further east so it was a good place to meet up. it's fantastic, lovely and airy, not too busy, great cafe, area for kids to do art and exhibits of toys from when we were young to make us feel old.

lbb the situation with your friend and her child sounds horrible and even if it just gets her onto parenting classes or counselling then it's got to be a good thing to move it on to someone else. did you hear on the news today there's been a huge increase of people reporting concerns about how children are being treated since the Baby Peter case?

i'd been hoping to get to 6 months before weaning ivor but he started wanting 8oz bottles in the middle of the night and he's already 18lbs so i started him and blimey did he think he'd died and gone to heaven?! he's on 3 meals a day now and loving it. hasn't rejected any foods so far but butternut squash is definitely his favourite. in the morning i give him fruit, part pureed, part whole and some of the quinoa based 'porridge' that Plum make. it's gluten free and he seems to like it.

i'm back to work from 7th sept, the same day dd starts school so i'll only work school hours that week. i'm part looking forward to it, part dreading it and of course feeling guilty about the whole thing but i'm sure i'll get used to it. it just seems amazing that this special first 6 months is gone, i know all the bits coming up are wonderful too but i'm already looking at newborns and wondering if ivor was ever really that tiny.

btw i meant to ask as i was such a latecomer to this group, who set up the first Fab Feb antenatal group? are the early adopters still on here now?

i was early enough katie but i think it was about 3 pages in when i found it your hols sound fantastic, i can't wait for mine to grasp swimming properly, ouch on grandpa's behalf though... is he ok now?

lbb... theoretically i know all that and would preach it myself to anyone i was giving advice to but when he's nursing soooo much and doesn't sleeep for longer than a hour at a time and seems so excited by food and so miserable when it doesn't go in i can't help but wonder would things improve if the poor thing had a nice big belly full of grub!

your friend sounds like she has real issues, that poor little boy is his dad better than her? any chance she'd hand over custody full time?

good luck with the party tomorrow

This is the first Fab Feb thread, katieB.

Ah LBB - DS1 is going to have a brilliant day tomorrow. Lucky little guy. And I agree with Pink - it sounds like your friend's little boy may be better off with his dad if his mum is behaving like that towards him. I hope she calms down or gets help really soon.

Katie - sounds like you've had a lovely time away and congrats to your dd for learning to swim all by herself. She sounds like a total waterbabe now. Poor grandad though!

Pink - Danny was awake most of last night too even though he was eating some solids, and feeding lots, so no guarantee that Aaron wouldnt be too even if he was getting more solids into him. Hope your doctor appointment goes well and gives you some reassurance/comfort.

Both boys woke with temperatures this morning and both are being very sulky, clingy and cranky this morning. Its going to be a very very long day...

dinky Hope your day isn't too bad.
PT I know. Hope I didn't come across as patronising or anything, I just know for me sometimes, I need someone to tell me the most obvious things iyswim?
katie good to see you Sounds like you've been having a wonderful time.

Re my friend. Her ds's real dad is a bit of a shit by all accounts and has never had contact, the lad that the boy calls dad is only 19 and although he is a great dad and would do it, not sure how that would work legally and she wouldn't hand him over anyway, unless I think if she dumped him at SS offices
I told J to speak to the staff member at children's centre again today to make sure she knows the concerns and hasn't brushed it off if K was good at not admitting how bad it all is iyswim.
But as I haven't seen any of this, I can only go on what I'm told so don't know what, if anything, I should do............
I told J if she that worried, she needs to contact SS or NSPCC herself, but she said she'd feel shit if he got taken away. I said not as shit as she'd (we'd) feel if he died or got seriously hurt.
Should I speak to K myself? Tell her I know? Tell her to get some help and it'll all work out one way or another? Stay out of it? Talk to children's centre worker? What? I just don't know. I told J that a 3 year olds safety meeds to come before friendship if all is how she says and there's no exaggeration iykwim. Awful and I don't know what to do.