Dec 08 mums - embuggerance to it all - sleep or no sleep we love our babes

[waitinggirl]

i hope people don't mind, i took the bull by the horns and did it. title a bit naff, but more important the thread exists rather than search for a better title. hope i haven't stolen anyone's thunder...

hi SL - thx for the thoughts about weaning. yes, maybe. madam also doesn't guzzle her foods (never had the experience where i couldn't shovel it in quick enough) - she tends to tentatively try something, grimace, then ask for a couple of spoonfuls more. recently she has started crying after only a couple of mouthfuls - before she was getting through quite a bit. can't decide whether to lay off the solids for a day or two, or keep going?

also, slightly intimidated by the variety you are all giving your babes - we really are only doing one or two veggies/fruits mixed. carrot and pear, or squash and banana. you seem to be serving highly complex foods - wow! mind you, we only started recently, i suppose.

she slept much better last night after thursday's catastrophe (i literally got up to see her 8 times before 10pm - must have been something wrong with her). last night -woke only twice - yeee haaaa!!!

yay VG on your dh's job news - hurrah!

daisy - yes, she has a funny cough - must be the saliva dripping down. i think she's realised we pay her more attention with it, though, and may be using it for attention now. quite funny, actually.

ladyt enjoy italy, you lucky lady!

arti - let us know how going back to work is - good luck, thinking of you!

in terms of development, madam was born on christmas day - 7lb 10oz, a couple of weeks ago she was 16lbs 3oz. she can roll but rarely does. loves lying on her back and playing with stuff - very dextrous both with her fingers and toes. she can and does sit now and only topples after quite some time (lulls you into a false sense of security - oh, she's fine, i'll go and do something... whoops she's just gone arse over tit). she is, however, the chattiest baby out of the ones i've met. she cannot keep quiet for love nor money - and with parents like us, you'd expect that, i suppose (dh is a writer/performer, me an actor/voice coach). am seriously thinking of videoing/taping her to show to my students.

am feeling great - amazing what some sleep can do for you. it's been one bad night, one good for the last few nights - let's see if we can break the trend and have a couple of good ones on the go.

have lovely weekends

now I have mastitis! I'd like just afew days when the entire family do not have one illness or the other.

have also just worked out that nursery fees cost us £9k a year that was the gross salary at my 1st job. #3 will have to wait til ds is in school.

Spiggy I hope you are better soon!

NJAN I had DS2 on the 12th. No labour for me on the 13th! I think I would have killed someone, I was so fed up.

spiggy I hope your feeling better s oon hon. Can you get an emergency appointment with the doc for some AB's today?

DH is on his annual drinkathon today with his friendsit starts at 11am. It has been a tradition since he was about 20 (he is now 40!). So he is currently making himself the mother of all fry ups (another tradition) because as we all know that will stop him getting drunk. He is like a kid at christmas - pathetic really. I am already dreading the drunken 'I lurve you and my babies hic hic' chat when he rolls in at stupid o'clock.

Off to see the GP's today. My Nan is doing great but my Grandad has just been told he has skin cancer and the melenoma(sp) is getting bigger and dangerously close to his eye. he has an emergency appointment next week. I'm hoping a visit from me and the children will cheer him up.

Kayz, was your due date the 13th then ? Spiggy, hope the mastitis clears up soon. WE'd also like a third, but will have to wait for the same reason. May never happen

Nope the 12th. He was a rare due date baby. My MW had never had a lady give birth on her due date before.

Urgh. Bad night here. DS up a lot. And waking DD. And we've got people for lunch...

Spiggy and Njan we have almost the same gap between DCs - my DS was born on Jan 20th 2007 (14 days late) and DD on 29th November. Though she was early - prob because I had such bad hyperemesis.

Back later. Quick woo hoo to Veggie - so pleased for you. And of course to wg for madam sleeping better.

Woohoo Veggie!

Spiggy you poor thing. I love the name Harriet by the way, it has always been floating around near the top of our names list but never makes the cut because it is a bugger to say in French (my mum is French, much family over there). You will have to come eat cake play with us you know, Ds was born Jan 07

dd has had 2 decent nights! Last night slept 6.30 til 10.10. Fed and slept til 1.50, fed and slept til 3.50 so I sent dh in and there was much screaming and refusing to settle then she did a poo and needed a pj and grobag change so I fed her and by now it was 4.40 and she was wide awake so since 5am is her usual getting up time I wasn't holding out much hope but I put her back in bed wide awake and left her and she just went to sleep and the next thing I heard from her was a chirrup and a giggle at 7!

Of course I feel like a zombie, not sure my body knows what to do with sleep!

DD decided that the milk tastes funny and is refusing to feed off that side- not what I needed! Luckily I brought my breast pump home (usually leave it at work) so am expressing a lot. I can't get a lot out though- usually I get 4-5oz but am only getting 1, if that. Not feeling as shivery as I did at 3am so hoping that it is getting better rather than worse. I'd rather avoid the walk in clinic as it is bound to be filled with people who think they have pig lurgy.

Lal- Ds was nearly born on the 20th Jan. It was just that he was being a stubborn so and so that meant he was dragged out born on 21st at 2am.

Indith- Crikey we are similar. I do like cake eating meeting people as well.

Daisy hope your grandad gets some good news. At least he's not waiting long. fingers crossed for him.

Uh oh dd wailing better go

I'm trying to find a dress and a holiday at the same time and I can't seem to find either. Holiday is proving easier then the dress. I'm off shopping on Thursday so hoping I find something there.

DS2 is in love with the kitchen. As soon as we put him on the floor he goes straight to the kitchen. He is now in there with DH and all I can here is lots of babbling and giggling.

Spiggy: DS1 would have been Harriet if he had been a girl - I love the name (and makes me think of Harriet Vane which is a Good Thing). And NJAN: DS1 is a William. Which goes to show that we all have astonishingly good taste on this thread .

Friends over for a bbq tomoz, so have been frantically cleaning! We've invited loads of people we haven;t seen for ages so should be fun. The forecast is for RAIN but we have pimms and DH is planning to make homemade lemonade so we will be summery whatever

actually DS2 would have been Harriet. I think we'd settled on Eleanor for DS1 but I was never fully convinced so good job he was a boy after all. But we have now used up 6 boys names we like (both of them have 2 middle names) so if we have a third boy we will be stuck.

Evening all hope you've all had nice Saturdays. We spent much the day procrastinating, then made an assault on the front room which had the last few annoying bits from the flooded basement in it. I found the DVD that lady wanted a copy of so will let her know when she returns.

We have just gotten back from a lovely family dinner at pizza express we got sat at the window table I have always coveted (sad I know). It meant that DS1 spent much of the meal waving like a maniac at the passers by, and at one stage I flashed my boob at the general Derby public as DS2 took a break from his meal. Nice. He also enjoyed the limelight, he has started realising his pulling power, and smiles in a very I'm cute don't you just want to eat me kind of way that draws them in. DS1 often decides to capitilize on his brothers pulling power by starting up a well timed robot dance for the waiters and diners. It's makes for a busy but enjoyable dinner. They sell plum baby at pizza express now, we bought a spinach and something with something else one but DS2 was not impressed and preferred our salad bits and pizza crusts. Oh he sucked the very life out of an olive.

After booking that birthday softplay place we got the names of DS1's school friends and there are 22, add to that his mates outside of school and his cousin there will be 25 invited. We originally booked it for the weekend before school gets back to maximize attendance as most will be back from holidays but have now changed it the weekend after his birthday 23rd august because the booking is for a maximum of 20 so we have to hope some are on holidays now and can't come. I was kind of hoping for 15, what are our chances that 10 won't be able to make it.

Oh and sorry about your mastitis Spiggy, you can try compressions while your expressing and even if she doesn't like it try her on that side first anyway. Also warm water running over your booby in the shower is nice. Also rather than going to the walk in clinic do you have an on call number for your surgery you may be able to get someone to come to you or at least speed up the process.

Veggie when is DS1's birthday? DD was born 18th August and is having her party on the 22nd August. 25 is a lot of little people, I'm dreading it when DD starts school!

Effie my ds is a William too, tis a great name I must confess (may I now confess, we never did do a reveal did we?) but I had you fo rhte secret stork and was quite amused to find myself (baby wearing would be extended bfer had ds not decided against it linguistics geek) buying for...well... We are planning a bbq next weekend, do hope the weather holds. I love a good bbq Next door keep having them and the smell is always amazing. Actually they have great cooking smells all the time, they are polish. I feel I must learn some polish cookery.

Veggie you are very brave, the though of eating out with both of mine fills me with fear We did share a cheese scone between the 3 of us in the cathedral cafe the other day though so maybe I'll work my way up to it!

Kayz have you seen the new fatface stuff online? I am in love with this dress

Oh that was his due date (or was it the 19th) his birthday is the 17th how old will your DD be? DS1's best mate is the 18th his mum and I were testing during labour. Well DH was texting her DP actually I was in no fit state and probably would have dropped the phone in the birth pool in my gassy haze.

I know I have no idea what we are going to do if the all say yes. We just didn't know who not to invite. I asked his teacher who he didn't play with much and she said he plays with them all! They're a close bunch. There are his old mates from London who have said to invite them as they may be able to come up but I think I'll just say don't worry.

Hello >waves

DD will be 3. The 17th is my Grandad's birthday so equally a fab day to be born.

We are off to the local petting farm. Its an absolute bargain as they let you cater yourself. I think we have about 15 on th elist and I am hoping that some of them drop out.

DH has just rung to say he loves me and will be home in an hour and do I want a kebab Who says romance is dead?? I do hope he goes straight to sleep I hate drunk people when I'm sober!

Hello verso, hope you are well!

Oh I like that dress Indith I need to find a dress for a wedding in the Lakes district in October, it is all in the hotel thing we are staying in so I guess that means I can wear anything really, doesn't it, I mean like short sleaved and not warm.

Indith I have cafe trained DS1 he has been saying 'I'll have a pannini and a babychino please mummy' since he could talk. He can be cheeky in various situations but is amazingly good at cafes and restaurants, oh and on trains, another thing he has done a lot since birth. I often get comments actually on his behaviour on the train from old ladies. They say he is such a well behaved boy not load and boisterous etc but I have to say it irks me a bit. Why is it that children making normal sounds and chatter on a train is bad behaviour but adult havng conversations or whose phones are ringing and carry out load phone conversations are ok? Probably why I got so grumpy a that women the other day. Oh and indith Pizza express is really child friendly they have colouring stuff and really good childs menu and it's noisey anyway so they get drowned out.

Ds was very well cafe trained, he still is pretty well behaved and has good table manners but I don't take him to cafes all that much as he won't sit still long enough these days! The problem with a child who doesn't have much of a sweet tooth and isn't a cake fan, especially when it has icing on it is that you can't really bribe them into sitting still long enough to eat yours!

Mmmm...there is a lot of currency from a child with a sweet tooth. We did spend much of the night reminding DS1 that he didn't have his ice cream yet to make sure he stayed in his seat. Cakes at cafes are a little bit of a problem as I usually go with the idea of being good and not having cake, DS1 sees all the pretty cakes innthe cabinet and says he will have one then when it comes to actually eating it he has a nibble and then I have to finish it off. I know I could just say no when he points it out but something in my subconscious takes over and I say yes

JJ great to hear from you from Canada, its sounds like you?re having a great time. Just realised you?ll be on that night flight as I type ? hope your DD is being an angel. What a bummer about the blocked duct and fever, but great that you got it sorted quickly. It seems like mastitis is turning into a mini pandemic on here at the moment - sympathy to Spiggy too, I hope you get some AB?s soon to make you better

SL I also put DD in 2 bibs for feeds ? a normal one that?s quite snug round her neck to catch dribbles and one of those cover everything ones to catch the rest of it. And on the weaning/sleeping ? I?ve found its made not a jot of difference to her ? although I don?t think she?s eating a great deal yet. The Annabel Karmel recipes I?m making for her say things like ?2 portions? but for DD its more like 6 or 7 portions! I haven?t given her meat or fish yet, but thinking of trying that soon. She would be useless if I?d gone with BLW ? I give her lots of things to hold and she just looks at them, bless her, but enthusiastically sucks at her spoon if I give her that (before sticking it in her eye/ear/nose)

Gosh Arti, back to work on Monday. Are you going back full or part time? I?m really quite scared about rejoining the real world as a) my brain no longer works and b) I am never out of my pyjamas before 9 in the morning

Have a fab holiday LadyT, I hope the sun shines for you and the 3 generations of the T family have a great time

Hurrah for MrVeggie, what a great resolution to the work situation

Those of you with Williams ? if DD had been a boy (we were convinced she would be), she would have been William. It?s still a favourite name, so if we do have a boy in the future then I?m sure he will be William

So we?re all ready for DD?s christening tomorrow, and I?m really quite excited about it. I?ve just painted my fingernails in honour of the occasion, for the first time since DD was born! I hope we have a lovely day. Poor DH has lost his voice, which he is gutted about as he requested lots of rousing hymns in church as he loves a good sing, and now he won?t be able to join in. And worse, without his good singing people might hear my bad singing! I?m a bit worried DD will look silly as we?ve got her a 6-9 month dress, but she?s still firmly in 3-6 month clothes so it might well drown her. Oh well, she?ll be cute none the less

Night everyone, good sleeps I hope xx

Morning!

Zoe Have a lovely day today. I'm sure your singing will be fine!

RE William, MIL wanted us to call DS1 and DS2 that because 'it is a good strong old fashioned name unlike Freddie' which is what she said to us when we told her DS2 was a boy. Hence the reason I will never use it despite the fact I used to love it.

It is chucking it down here!! I was going to take the boys for a walk but not in this.

LadyT Hope you are having a lovely time!

Hope everyone is ok!