June 2008: birthdays, bunting and bumps make mummy a little bit tired!

[pureeandpearls]

Bring it on!!!

Gosh, it's quiet on here!
A quick post from me as I'm setting off on my train adventure tomorrow and I'm trying to pack and things. (Tin hat? Check! Kitchen sink? Check!) Bizarre but I find going by car much easier. I suppose it's what you know.

Drama here last night as Iestyn was sick (he wasn't himself all day, but vomited at 10pm). I can't cope with sick and phoned my Mum begging her to come over - we had already had a big row and she'd stormed out! We forgive and forget quickly in our family. Anyhow, she came and I wailed at her but she said I'd coped admirably well for someone who can't cope with sick, because Iestyn was cleaned up and sleeping, and the sick was more or less cleaned up too (although she dealt with the cot sheet which I had thrown in the toilet - I was going to deal with it!). I then begged her to stay overnight which she did. Oh, yeah, Iestyn - basically a little bit ill and on antibiotics now. Nothing serious though.

He settled nicely for me tonight though - this controlled crying business, I'm not sure that I'm doing it right but I did it on Monday night too, and it works well. I suspect I'm doing it wrong because there's no 'control' aspect here - I just dump him in the cot and walk away. Felt horrible on Monday when I did it first, but by the time I'd got the washing in he was asleep. Tonight, he didn't even cry, and was asleep by the time I'd tidied up and was ready to go downstairs, but he was well awake when I put him down. What is controlled crying and how do you do it properly?

Not sure whether I'll bring my laptop to London so may not post again. Off to bed in a minute - reading a great book about mormon polygamy. Really good!

Evening all. Lost a really big post earlier and too tired to think about doing it again.

Essie we've been doing some fake controlled crying here too. Essentially, we put him in his cot and ahem, leave him to it. He hasn't cried for more than 10 minutes each time though, apart from once in the middle of the night where he cried for ages, but DH and I were way too exhausted to get up and see to him . Anyway, it seems to have worked (or an amazing coincidence) because for the last few nights he's slept through. Although we've got the baby monitor on the lowest volume setting because he's got a noisy fan in his room to keep it cool, so maybe we just don't hear him any more. He's sleeping a wee bit later in the morning too, so happy campers all round here.

Thanks all for booster seat suggestions. Has anyone got one of the hard plastic type with a tray that they particularly like/dislike, just so I can consider all options?

Today's question is about stairgates though - we've got one to put at the top of the stairs and another for the bottom, but actually I'm thinking that putting the second one on the door to the kitchen (which is off the living room rather than through the hall) is much more sensible. Any thoughts? How/when do you teach them to crawl/walk up and down the stairs safely anyway?

Am very envious of everyone with their summer hols and trips - nothing doing here sadly. I do keep meaning to look up debs place in Austria Ali but everytime I get her to share the link I forget to save it. If only I could get her to post it again without having to ask... Glad you're having a good time - loved the pics on fb.

Right, am exhausted as usual and still one or two chores to do. Big hello to you all, wherever you are all hiding!

Puree, will look on FB now

BDQ - here you are link I don't mind how many times you ask, just get us some bookings people, summer is still looking bad!
We have a booster a bit like thisIt has lasted 8 years so far and is still OK

Essie - good luck on the train. You do know how lucky you are to have a Mum like yours don't you?

Neenz -Esthers shoes sound so sweet, well done on holding out for Theo's.

Sybil - you have the patience of a saint, if he was only eating the chocolate yoghurt, you'd need to worry but if he's having dairy, and fruit that's something. Could you sneak a little tuna under the cheese maybe? Would that work?

Amber - hi

Poppy - happy holidays, looking forward to all the photos

Just had a lovely evening with Ali and James until James beat me at bowling on the Wii

Morning all,

Essie - that sounds like my version of CC, I think you are meant to leave them for a certain amount of time then go in and settle them back down, for me the settling back down part gets him more worked up so I leave him unless he cries for ages or the cry sounds more serious.

Neenz- exciting about the shoes!

Ali and Deb - wish I was in Austria too!

BDQ - we are going to put a stairgate at the bottom, at the moment he heads straight for the stairs and starts to climb them (giggling like mad as he goes!), but needs someone there to catch him as he starts slipping back down. I let him climb them when we need to go upstairs as I guess practice makes perfect!

Sybil - hope the eating improves.

I had a rubbish day yesterday (pregnant moan alert!), had bad morning sickness and a foggy feeling in my head, like I had throughout pregnancy with J, until a week or so ago then suddenly felt fine, back to normal, which has been worrying me (told the MW at my booking in appointment on tuesday that I felt too normal and she just shrugged it off, fair enough I guess!). Yesterday I had the tiniest tiniest spot of red blood and nothing else (spent all day checking!). Not sure now whether to make a fuss and demand a scan based on not a lot really or just try to wait the 4 weeks until my 12 week scan. Can't decide if I am just being paranoid or whether I should go with my instincts and insist on being checked out.

Ktpie - if you're worried get checked out, I'm sure it's not anything to worry about but you won't rest will you until you know for sure.Please let us know how you get on.

BDQ- we didn't bother with gate at the bottom of the stairs until Cecily crawled up them, and I totally recommend a gate at the kitchen door! Re: teaching, I taught Cecily to go down before she realised she could crawl up: every time we came down the stairs I stopped at the last two or three and guided her backwards (does that make sense?) Did the same with getting down from sofa/bed and she's doing it by herself now.

Ktpie- second Debs.

Debs-gutted for you- I'm resigned to losing ateverything onWii.

Essie- have a safe trip!

Hello all x

Hello everyone

Very quick post with a question...

If a 12 month old swallows a plum stone (actually, 2 plum stones ) but seems fine is there any cause for worry? If there was going to be a problem would I know straightaway? I can't believe I was so dopey as to let her. I thought she'd nibble around the edges and then I'd take the stone away from her, but she did some very quick nibbling (defo didn't swallow it whole) and then it was gone. I've checked in her trousers and around her high chair and the stones are not there.

ktpie sorry you're worried. This is my view:
the first trimester is fraught with worry and uncertainty. If the baby isn't going to make it past the first trimester then (given you've already had a baby) there is nothing you can do to prevent the inevitable. Would a scan really help or would a scan showing a heartbeat just reassure you until the next worry (and there will be a next worry, there always is in pregnancy)? Will you find peace of mind in your own head or at the hands of a sonographer? In my pregnancy with DD1 I opted for the latter every time and was a nervous wreck. In my pregnancy with DD2 I opted for the former and was much happier.

However, I know that I am a headcase about pregnancy (dodgy obstetric history). Possibly a scan showing that everything is fine would just get you back on track and able to relax. Actually, now I've typed this meandering post I think you won't relax until you've had a scan. Sorry to be so inarticulate

Rolf- I know what you mean and I was feeling quite laid back about it all until all my symptoms seemingly vanished overnight, was shrugging that off too until I had the spot of blood, which again on it's own I would probably not have worried too much about. Feel a lot more positive this afternoon and have left a message for the midwife so hopefully they will ring me back before the weekend.

I guess the problem with the plum stones is if they get stuck in her digestive system, I imagine she will get pretty distressed if that happened, I don't know though, I guess you could phone NHS direct if you are worried.

I should be tidying the house for the MIL coming tomorrow, but I'm not. Will rush around like a mad thing at the last minute as usual.

Rolf I am no expert by any means, but I would err on the basis that if she seems fine, she will be fine. I don't imagine that that you can do anything except wait for them to pass.

ktpie if you're worried then ask for a scan. If they absolutely wont give you a scan you could ask them to check your hormone levels via a blood test for a bit of reassurance that everything is as it should be. Let us know how you get on.

Puree thanks for that. I think I might start with the helping him learn to crawl down the stairs. He's much more likely to head for the kitchen than the stairs with our layout and we're pretty good at making sure the door to the hall is closed. Thinking a few months down the track we're much more likely to be in the kitchen while he potters in the living room and would normally have the doors between them open. I think we definitely need one at the top of the stairs, as I'd like him to be able to leave him to roam a bit more if I've got stuff to do upstairs but at the moment he makes a bee line for the bathroom (he likes banging things on the floor because its tiled and not carpeted) and the bathroom is right next to the top of the stairs, so I have to constantly keep an eye on him. I did toy with the idea of 3 stairgates (kitchen, top of stairs, bottom of stairs) but I think that's a bit PFB for me (qualifies that with a heartfelt apology to anyone who does have 3). Food for thought anyway. What does everyone else do? I've also read in a few places that a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs should be placed a few steps up - why is that? Seems like more of hazard to me?

Essie how was the train journey?

It is very quiet on here at the mo - is everyone enjoying the sunshine? I'm getting excited, but frantic, that S's 1st birthday is now less than 2 weeks away! Have lots to do. Including deciding what to do about a cake. I'd really like to make one but wouldn't have a clue where to start re decorating it, so I think It'll be a trip to M&S. DH has already warned me off getting one made. The place our wedding cake was done was fab, but I think it would be about £100 for a birthday cake. I think I might just go and have a look though...

Oooh, nice cakes, but nice prices . M&S do personalised cakes though at reasonable prices so may go down that route.

I'm also on the search for some bunting, decorations etc with a 1st birthday theme - anyone seen any online that aren't too naff? Not sure if I asked this before, or if it was in my disappearing post yesterday.

I'm at home and should be working but it's bliss having a couple of hours free time to surf catch up on chores! Had a meeting today and it made more sense for me to come home rather than pass my house (after a 2 hour drive) to drive all the way to the office for an hour then home again.

What's everyone else up to today?

Rolf, give NHS Direct a ring just to put your mind at rest. And ktpie - hope you're ok too, it's just far too easy to worry isn't it?

BDQ, for B's cake, I'm going to bake a chocolate cake in a large rectangular tin, then cut it in half lengthways. Use one half as the main part of a number one and then the other half to make the rest of the shape - the base and triangular bit at the top - hard to describe, but I'm sure you'll know what I mean! Stick them together, and then I'm doing green frosting to make a safari cake - I got a lion, a tiger and an elephant from some cake decorating company and some icing animal faces to decorate. You could cover with any frosting, and then stick in sweets, chocolate buttons, etc. And the all important candle of course.

I'm going to test chocolate cake recipes this weekend! Will be buying most of the party food, and making a cheese and pineapple hedgehog. I'm going for all the things I wanted when I was a kid, but my mum wouldn't let us have! This is for party number one at home on the Sunday before B's birthday. Party number two is at my mum's on B's actual birthday, so I may make another cake then, but probably a different one.

Saying that, Puree is probably our expert on birthday cakes, didn't you make FIVE cakes for Cecily???!!! (And deserves a medal).

Thanks for the plum stone advice. About 5 mins after swallowing them she did a huge poo which I think contained the stones. I sifted through it (a new megical moment in parenting) and couldn't locate the stones but there was an awful lot of poo.

More delightful news from my house...I think I have hand, foot and mouth disease My tongue is v sore and covered in blisters, and DD1 is complaining of toothache and her tongue also looks blistered. My moral dilemma is this - it's DD1's party on Sat. I'm planning on keeping quiet about the h,f&m. Is that v bad?

I wonder if there's a reason why I'm the only person on the thread who hasn't had a meet-up

Not to worry Rolf I am unknown to other June mums too

5 mins sounds quite quick to pass through. My ds swallowed a ballbearing once (don't ask, he's a banana brain) and it took 24 hours to get through to the other end. Being heavy it did fall out of the poo to the bottom of the toilet though, so was very easy to spot. Also that meant that I didn't have to do any intricate sifting...

SV and Rolf I only met Libra by accident.

Cakes - DD made Sebastians' one for him (well it was a smartie cake mix from Tesco) and also fairy cakes.

BDQ - if you are near a Tesco they have quite a good selection of birthday balloons and banners.

More rain here today, but apparently this is freakish weather and other bits of Austria are flooded. However we went to a spectacular castle perched on a mountain top. It stayed dry for the outdoor falconry display and then hammered it down for the indoor tour. All in all a success. However, Peter moaned a bit in the backback until a nice Austrian lady came and gave him one of her toddler's spare biscuits. Clearly it was obvious to her that we have been starving him . She was right too, and it cheered him up for at least 2 minutes.

Rolf - bit of a tricky one on the birthday party. What does your instinct tell you to do? good luck with the poo sifting. I guess it is a logical progression from garlicgate though.

BDQ We cracked the birthday cake dilemma by not bothering and my Mum giving him champagne instead. Actually it was down to my disorganization. I bought cake ingredients except eggs. I have a musical candle sitting in a kitchen drawer ready for I don't know what.

Rolf is anyone coming who is pregnant? If not then I would see how you are.

Sorry just had to add that it was so nice to go shopping today and not have to look at ingredients in food, and lovley to stock up on rice pudding, custard and yoghurts for Sebastian.

How liberating Five!!

BDQ- I did indeed have a hand in five cakes (thanks for remembering Whinegums) and can tell you that ready made is by far the eaiest. But the one I liked the most was the cake I made myself- I made a basic Victoria Sponge then took a tub of Betty Crocker Vanilla frosting and dyed it pink. I smothered this all over the sponge then basically threw every sprinkle known to man at it. If you feel like piping, I highly recommend these as they are very easy to use! As long as there is a number 1 on there somewhere, who cares?!!

Rolf- I second other comments- would have thought plum stones would take time to travel down and out, and imagine that the passing may cause some discomfort....

Stairgates - we have one at the bottom of the stairs and the top. Luke loves climbing stairs and I let him go free range really and don't worry too much about following him about so a gate is a must for us. I happily let him climb the stairs if i am behind him but I worry that he might fall backwards.

Ktpie - I would be too worried to wait for a scan and pay for a private onw if it was me - I am completely paranoid though. Pregnancy symptoms are meant to go away anyway aren't they so I'm sure you are fine. A tiny spot of blood is very normal as well. I was always getting them. I think I just have a sensitive cervix.

Shoes - Luke is a 4.5G - huge but P&P said Ryders were the same size (Ryder must have grown a lot since I last saw him!!)

Loiving all the cake ideas - feel like I should have attempted one for Luke but he doesn't even like cake!

Rolf - phone NHS direct - that's an order! They may tell you it's fine and to keep and eye open but nothing passes through that fast. Better to be safe than sorry with a tum so small. Oooh - I have never heard of that hand foot and mouth illness before - is it highly contagious? Eek - what timing eh?

Five - it must be fab to be able to feed your child whatever you want now! Rice pudding is one of my faves - yummmy!

Ali sounds like you are having a great time - very jealous!

Sybil - Luke is a funny one with eating too. If it was up to him he would only ever eat weetabix or toast.

Essie, Puree and P&P - gutted I can't come tomorrow. Maybe next week instead for me. Was really looking forward to it but I can't fit it all in and meet Mark's sister for lunch even if I moved it right back to a late lunch. Collier's Wood is a long journey for me in Greenwich!

\rolf and Sybil - where do you guys live?

Ooh, whinegums and puree you make it sound so easy. What's this frosting stuff you speak of . I think I could make a basic sponge, but I've been put off by the thought of icing a cake. Whinegums where are you getting your cake decorations from?

5 your shopping experience sounds bliss. I'm looking forward to that myself. We had the blandest chicken pilaf tonight (in an effort to make something that S could have with us). Because its too hot for him, he didn't even eat it .

Oh, this is the one I was looking at at M&S. There are loads of bakers and cake makers in Edinburgh, but I'm really struggling to go and check them out to get something a bit more 'first birthday' and if I want to order from M&S I need to do it tomorrow. Hmmmmm.

My computer is broken so borrowing DH's work laptop and will be quick...

ktpie I spotted quite heavily with DS1 - fingers crossed for you! I did have three extra scans but by the time I bled the fourth time I didn't bother calling them. I was too tired to worry.

LOL at the reminder about garlic gate...

will catch up with everyone else soon...

She's been fine since swallowing it. I'll keep an eye on her. I feel very badly for letting her swallow them

Hand, foot and mouth is one of those gross, highly contagious minor illnesses that one can be utterly ignorant of until becoming a parent! I'd heard of it but never come across it. You get blisters/ulcers in your mouth and on your hands and feet. I assume it's what I have (although hands and feet are fine) but it's much worse in the evenings, so I resolve to see the GP, then much better in the morning, when I decide that I can't be bothered to see the GP. You are contagious before you show any symptoms so NHS Direct advises keeping children in school unless they feel unwell. DD1 is complaining of toothache, and although I think it's probably pain from the blisters in her poor mouth, I'm taking her to the dentist tomorrow afternoon as it's bad enough to make her cry .

I'm having heaps of fun sticking my hideous blistered tongue out at DH and asking if he wants some

Amber I live near Liverpool. Just a few miles from Neenz but we've not yet managed to meet up, despite a few attempts.

Sorry, very self-centered post there...

Erring more on the bought birthday cake again...

BDQ - frosting = buttercream really - butter, icing sugar, spot of milk and flavouring and colouring as required. Easy peasy!

Here's the decorations I got - www.cakecraftshop.co.uk/shop/6/311/100/163/517/index.htm - set of animals and a couple of sets of icing animal faces. I also got some jungle candles in Sainsbos. I do like that cake from M&S though, but I'm too tight to pay that much for a first birthday cake (when I could spend that cash on booze for the adults!).

Rolf, there is another thread about a DC swallowing a plum stone - I clicked on it because I thought it was you. Must be the day for it. Although I've never seen a thread about anyone losing garlic [snurk emoticon]. No, we will never let you forget that one.

Five, meant to say that's great about Sebastian.