April 2009 - Chapter 3 - Let us round up the stragglers

[PuzzleRocks]

Ta da.

ok, there are a few typos there , please ignore!

Morning. Surprise, how is DH today? Does sound like the flu

WFH, H has also started waking twice a night again. She still does very liquid and often greenish poos ALL the time - maybe 8 a day - so I think something has upset her system. I really hope things will get back to normal soon because I am soooo fed up of changing nappies three times an hour. Surely it can't be a virus as it's gone on for so long now?

Does anyone on here try to get their babies to feed and nap at roughly the same times every day? I am wondering if I should start trying to get H into a bit of a routine and if that would help with the sleeping (probably not with the pooing...)

Good morning

Surprise - I hope you managed to get some rest. I wish DS a speedy recovery. Please try not to worry, easy for me to say I know, I know of a three children now who have most likely had swine flu and all have been fine after the best part of a week.
I think that the bug DH and I had may have even been swine flu and whilst Ellen got a bit of a raised temperature she was fine as was Holly.
I am so glad you had a good night out. A wee bit jealous too.

Schulte - Could you perhaps see another doctor?

Surprise, it is perfectly possible to get normal flu at the moment, and it not to be swine flu - we had this a few weeks ago when they had to swab DD. She had all the symptoms of a rather virulent case, and if she hadn't been swabbed I would have assumed it was swine flu. Indeed the GP was pretty convinced and came over in protective clothing and all that.

Another way of seeing swine flu is that the earlier you get it, the less time you have to be worried about it. As the predictions for the duration of the pandemic range from 2-4 years I would rather be one of the people who gets it this autumn rather than in 3.5 years' time with the possibility hanging over me all the time until then. Certainly the departmental contingency plan I am writing is working on the basis of us all keeling over at once sometime between late October and Christmas, given that we work with students.

Also having had nasty flu followed by an awful case of pneumonia five years ago, I know it's possible to survive this sort of thing even if you get a really bad dose - it's just a case of lots of antibiotics and a month off work. I found the neighbours were absolutely brilliant when this happened to me, and the GPs very efficient and professional.

Interestingly there were four of us in the village that had this pneumonia at the same time, all the same age, but we didn't know each other personally (my theory is we must all have been queuing up together in the post office or something).

Morning everyone

Tigga - don't pout lovely, I think I've managed to add everyone now on FB - if I've missed anyone please shout, tis not on purpose I'm just Mrs cauliflower head at the moment...

So our grand plan of getting O to only wake up once in the night for feeds has been scuppered by the 12 week growth spurt, which appears to have arrived bang on time... he fed 3 times last night and refused to go back into his cot after the 4.30am feed so slept on me for the remainder of the night

DH is heading back to London today leaving me with O at my parents for the week. DH is not normal - he is cycling home. Bearing in mind we are currently in the New Forest that is not a short distance. Weirdo. Anyway, I'm going to miss him but think I'll probably end up getting more sleep every cloud and all that...

Suprise - I agree with Boff, although its horrible thinking it could be swine flu its definitely preferable to get it now and build up immunity to it rather than to get it once it has mutated. I know that's easy to say when my DH hasn't got it - how is he feeling today? Sending hugs to you all...

Schulte - Are you taking H back to the doc? Is he ok apart from nappies? How old is he? The HV said that green nappies can sometimes be sign of growth spurt. She also said that as long as you are getting lots of wet nappies and the poo is green but not foamy then its ok. Also, O always does about 8 nappies a day, so might just be the way he is?

Your question about routines: O has put himself into a bit of a routine. He wakes up at 7am, has a brief feed and is knackered enough for a 1/2 hour nap at 9am. He then feeds somewhere around 9.30/10am and naps at around 11.30/12.00ish for a couple of hours (if I can get him to stay down for that long - usually best in car or puschair... he very rarely naps for 2 hours in his cot but he really needs it otherwise he's grumpy all afternoon). He then feeds somewhere between 1pm and 2pm, then has another half hour nap at around 4pm/4.30pm. He then feeds again around 5pm, bathtime at 6.30pm, final feed at 7pm then bed. That's where the routine ends - he then gets up anywhere between 2 and 6 times in the night to scream, feed or both.

We've been trying to get him to only wake once in the night to feed... before this growth spurt I was getting away with just feeding him once but he was still waking 3 or 4 times and needing to be settled - so not sure if it was going to work in the end. I'm beginning to think he'll just do it when he's ready and there's not a lot I can do to help him on his way (unfortunately )

Right... better go as O is crying and I'm suposed to be going for a run with my SIL...

x x x

Firstly, Surprise, what a worry you poor thing, hope it turns out to be no more than manflu.

Why is the Millster still sleeping? She woke up at 6, then 9, then noon for big fuss-free feeds and has conked out again... After a whole weekend of virtually no naps, and playing beautifully with DH and our friends. Starting to think she's bored of my company.

Hi - yes I am taking Hazel back to the docs. Unfortunately it's the same idiot we saw last time so I haven't got any hopes that we'll learn anything new. I THINK she does fewer wees now though so I will mention that to him. It's hard to tell when you have to change the nappies so often that they don't get a chance to get wet really.

5 poos so far this morning, all of them green and very liquid. I think it's gone on too long for a growth spurt, too. Maybe she had a virus and is now allergic to something I eat on a daily basis? Who knows

Sorry to bore you all with my accounts of H's poos but I really am worried, and fed up. Actually I expect I'll cry at the docs

Bicnod that sounds like a beautiful routine. What little predictability we had has all gone out the window since the diarrhoe started.

JJ maybe she's just having a lazy day? H sometimes sleeps loads after a day of being very active, I think it's just catching up on missed naps.

What are these growth spurts of which you speak? None of that malarkey around here!

If I never leave the house, will H grow up to be entirely lacking in social skills? Surely a bit of a wiggle on the old playmat each day is all that is required?

Juwesm all boys need is to be friends with their mothers, I wouldn't take H out ever if I were you. Then when he's 35 he can still be living at home and co-sleeping with you, and you'll never lose him to a terribly floozy....

Seriously though if you're knackered and don't want to go out, then don't! Although a quick walk round the block normally does make me feel a bit better, especially if I manage not to look so demented that people stare.

Thank you for telling me about your telly habits, btw, all. Makes me feel better. We went for a 2.5km walk in the woods on Saturday which made me feel better about DS1's activity levels. His walk was much longer due to plunging around in the undergrowth looking for bear traps and Gruffaloes with DP (wonder where he got the ticks, ) and he only started begging for the buggy board right at the end. We got him to finish on foot with the promise of an icecream

Hi - just a quicky! DH has made a miraculous recovery! He got up at 7 am and went to work! I do suspect he is still feeling ill but he can't be as poorly as he was last night or he wouldn't have been able to go in.

Well, first day of hols and DS's slept til 9 then quietly took themselves off to play on the Wii, DD woke at 10 am!!! Bless her, she knows mummy was tired. I have my 96 year old gran coming round today so I hope she will be in a good mood for her now!

Have a good day all!

Aaah, bribery. The only way to get DD1 to sit on the potty!

So, back from docs. It was eerily quiet in the waiting room - he said it's partly because people are on holiday, partly because of the flu. I asked him if he'd seen any babies with swine flu yet and he said yes, three of them, who were all okay apart from a high temperature, and had been given tamiflu.

Predictably, he wasn't concerned about this ongoing pooing at all and just said to hang in there and it will clear up at some point. So I'll hang in there...

H needing attention...

Thanks for all the info Boff, I know it is probable we will get it at some point. Not as bad as manflu though is it

All this talk of poo's is worrying me now. E only goes once every other day most of the time, occasionally once a day. When she was born she didn't go for 5 days and the Paediatrician was called but then she went and was okay. She doesn't seem to get tummyache or anything though.

Schulte - hope all goes okay at the doctors.

I've got two lemon tarts here... do I eat them now or later?

And could someone make me a cup of decaf coffee to go with them please?

One cup of decaff coffee coming up do you need milk and sugar? (we only have chewy milk Im afraid)

And of course you MUST eat them now!!

Milk please no sugar thanks!

There you go then. Nice and piping hot. (maybe not a good idea with baby around! Have it whatever temperature you wish!)

MMMmm lemon tarts and decaff coffee. We have run out of decaff.

A mini catchup but can't stay for long. Have bribed DS1 with icing (we made bread because we'd run out and DS1 decided it all needed icing, so half of it is sticky buns )

Re swine flu, I'm scared and don't know what to do till E is vaccinated, or at least operated on. I think it is currently looking unlikely he'll get his surgery in Sept. I don't know if I'll manage being besieged in our house though - already have had moments of wanting to kill DS1 and it's only been half a day [guilt]. Realistically, our plan is to try to stay away from crowds, public transport etc. etc. for a week or so and see what the news is like then.

Re pooing, Surprise don't worry. E hardly ever goes. DS1 was the same, except it was always a mega-poo-tastrophe when he did go. With E it's just a largeish poo and it's only once a week at the moment, so you can see why I've been stressing about his intake.

Re routine E likes to sleep all morning and is occasionally putdownable for a couple of hours sleep after 9pm provided he's slept on one of us for a couple of hours first (and you're then lucky at putting him in his cot). Other than that it's anything goes.

WFH our DS1s sound very similar. Philip will never voluntarily exercise himself as a general rule so I spend a lot of time stressing and frogmarching him about the place (by far the easiest way of exercising him is just to walk to where we want to go so SF siege is doubly awkward). If he doesn't get exercise he pings off the walls at bedtime. Having said that, I'm not worried about his telly intake, which I limit to an hour a day but often he doesn't take his full entitlement and regularly forgets to watch any. He watched shedloads (technical term) when I was pregnant. Just utterly utterly shedloads - though he only watches videos, not live tv as he's awkward about what he wants to watch and can't accept that what he wants isn't on and you can't rewind it

Ju us slow gainers get all the fun of the growth spurt behaviour (feeding like a nutter) without anything noticeable to show for it. God I hope Edmund is okay.

Hi all.

Well, my siblings and their partners have all recovered from swineflu with no ill effects. Thank goodness! [relieved emoticon]

Had a bit of a rubbish night last night - A was up and down like a yo yo, though on the bright side he's napped quite well today. See to have slept in an awkward position and now have a stiff neck....

I feel very virtuous and smug after repairing the puncture in the pram wheel! I celebrated by taking A out for a walk and buying some Subway cookies which I ate on the way home! Nom nom!

Re pooing - A used to go like clockwork once a day at 10am, but now only goes once every few days at very random times. These poos are a lot more solid and sticky than they used to be. I suppose that means he's using up all his milk? He's also having a growth spurt and is feeding like a milk monster - where has my lovely dinky little newborn gone?????

Seem

My neck that is, not A's!

one of those weekends... leading into i fear, one of those weeks...
i'm just not right... though nothing seems to be wrong either apparently...

I'm worried for you all worried about swine flu, I guess hunkering down til it passes is a more realistic option now the schools are breaking up (for those with older DCs).

Kali - proud of you for the pram wheel puncture repair - I'd have been calling out for the RAC.

So after sleeping all morning, M reawakes with renewed vigour, and proceeds to .........drum roll.............. roll over!!!!!!! By herself, front to back, right after being rolled by me from back to front. And then looks up at me with big eyes expecting applause. Which she gets (along with a few tears - mine). Let the fun begin.

I caught DS1 stealing money out of my purse!!!!!!!!!!!! £6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It came about like this. He had a friend over today, and they were joined by another friend. I treated them all to a picnic in the field out the back with all their favourite things. They were pretty 'orrible to his little brother who came home to hang out with me instead. DS then started running in and out of the house leaving the door wide open, restlessly, picking the baby up and then putting him down straight away, snapping at DS2, stealing biscuits, that sort of thing. Finally he came to me and said his friend had £3 on him so they were going to the newsagents. I then insisted he take his brother, and went to my bag to get out some spending money for them. My bag was open. The change from DS2's ice cream this morning was missing, and I realised immediately what had happened. DS1 then said 'Kill me now' in a sullen voice.

I resisted the temptation to beat him with a sharp stick, and instead called his friends over, and explained DS1 had been very naughty and they had to go home. They asked what he had done, but I said I would respect his confidence by not telling them. I then made DS1 shower and put his pyjamas on and do his teeth, and I have put him to bed at 5pm with two books and a jug of water, in the guest room (i.e. no exciting things to do). He is only allowed to leave the room to go to the loo and he is not allowed to talk to anyone. In other words, he is effectively in prison, all the more so because he thrives on interaction with other people.

Have I done the right thing?? Will he end up a career criminal???