Dec 08 it's time for sippy, tippy and doidy cups (& wee sticks!?!)

[Veggiemummy]

sorry could think of much and these where discuss on last page.

Just nipping on to say WELL DONE TRACE!

DS1 wants the laptop tp watch fireman sam so no chance to catch up yet (bah)

Hi Effie

I wonder what happening with JJ's lost laptop?

Brilliant news trace - knew you'd do it!

Love cats, love dogs more (but am much too lazy to have either).

Have started a London meet up thread - do come and join me.

I am firmly on the fence. I love dogs and cats. I enjoy the loyalness from dogs but you don't have to walk cats in the pouring rain. Saying that though I can't wait to get another dog.

Mexican wave for nurse Trace on her FANTASTIC news. WE all knew you'd get it. You are a star and they are jolly lucky to have you. Well done darling.

Wd it be impolite to say I'd rather not have any pets? If push came to shove, I'd have a cat (and indeed have had them in the past) but have too much on my plate at the moment to think about any pets. DD1 keeps telling people we are getting a dog (so I say "mmm, we'll see") and she has promised to walk it. I have told her she's too young (at 4) to go out alone with a huge hound but she blithely tells me I can walk it until she is big enough. I think not.

Am going out tonight and DH promises to be home at 7.30pm. This is something of a breakthrough at Fawlty Towers as it means I can get him to be home at this time once a week in the future. Someone to read a few stories and police the ladies as they bath. Result.

Have posted on the meet up thread. Wed 12 good for me.

Right were off see you on Monday unless I'm on my phone

Bye Veggie !!! have fun!

Hi,

Just want to say Congratulations ! to Trace, and also to Veggie for the complaint. You are both brilliant and I hope you are putting your feet up, as I type.

Hello to everyone else. Stressful day here, I have been a right stroppy knickers recently. I think sleep deprivation and work are taking their toll, I had to stop myself from shouting at DS1 all day. He wasnt doing anything wrong, just being a toddler.

And then, a quick dash to the emergency doctor as DS2 developed a rash on his leg that didnt go when you pressed it with a glass. Of course, couldnt get through to NHS direct, or anything, and when I looked on the internet it said to dail 999 if this happens, even if your baby is well - (He was fine, just ate a massive dinner and was watching "Brum" on Tv with his brother.) Anyway, turns out its nothing, and the doctor wrote "Reassurred 10 to the power of 9" and gave it to me. I felt a bit stupid, but then with menigitis/septecimia risk you cant be to careful can you ?

So now a glass of wine and to bed

Hope you are all OK. Kayz did you find a cure for early wakes/tiredness ? SL, sorry to hear about the crash, I am a bit of a scarey pants about driving now, as I'm frightened of that kind of thing- ie what other people do. I plan to take advanced driving courses as I suspect that will make me feel more confident. Indith, Kim, I hope everyone is one the mend for the weekend....

Oh, and I enjoyed reading everyones timetable. Here is mine for today:

4am BF I fall asleep with DS2 attatched.
5am I wake and put DS2 back into bed
7ish wake, and rise.
8am breakfast. porridge and blueberries, gummed toast.
10am short BF.
10am sleep
12am lunch - today bowl of lamb and sweet potato stew, yoghurt, gummed bisuit.
1:30 BF
2pm sleep
4am short BF
5:30 dinner. chicken with grapes and sweet potato, home made blueberry sponge and custard. Extra custard. Then another squidged bit of cake.
6:30 BF
9.00 BF

. At nursery it is the same kind of thing except he has one BF at lunch and misses the 10am and 4pm ones. He drinks only a little FM but eats all the solids they give him the greedy pig.

I'm not sure why but he really will eat anything you give him on a spoon. DS1 managed to feed him some of his breakfast this morning.

Escape! We did this for the first time on tuesday. I started a babysitting circle with some people I know at work who also have children. DH and I got out and had a currry. I highly recommend it, if you know other people who have kids, who you trust - www.mynightoff.com

Gotta go, neglecting DH

Hi everyone, I?ve been lurking all week but everytime I think about posting something has cropped up ... and 12 pages later here I am!

Our big news of the week is DD laughed for the first time on Monday, we?ve had the odd little chuckle before but my friends DD was dancing around and she got a proper belly laugh for her efforts, it was gorgeous

I?ve been really interested to read everyone?s ?food diaries? ? and I am a little shocked about how little DD eats, considering we started to wean her 10 weeks ago, although she is a little titch so I expect her appetite matches her size. DD?s meals are as follows:
On waking BF, normally only 5 minutes or so
Breakfast of porridge (4 teaspoons mixed with formula) and sometimes a couple of soldiers of toast that get squashed and abandoned, a couple of ounces of milk in her cup plus a BF of around 15/20 minutes
Lunch of pasta/rice/lentils with veg puree (3 ice cubes if homemade or a third of a jar), sometimes with some cheese, a couple of ounces of milk plus a BF (but she hardly takes any normally)
Tea is fruit or yogurt or sometimes scrambled egg, with the usual milk and BF
BF before bed of half an hour or so
Normally one wake in the night for a BF of 10/15 minutes
I?m trying to get her to drop the lunchtime feed and have a mid afternoon feed (either BF or her cup) instead, sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn?t. I?ve just started to introduce meat and fish ? tuna was a hit (which surprised me) but chicken is a big NO, in pieces, purreed, just NO. Its the only thing she?s really refused, which has thrown me a bit ? for those of you giving meat to your LO?s, what is the favourite?

Trace congratulations on the job, I am so pleased for you. Do you know when you start? We will have to have a big celebratory cake at the Yorkshire meet up for you (and Tilly, count me in, it?d be great to see you all again)

Great news also from LadyT about the IR and the house

Sorry to hear that so many of you have flu or other illnesses, I hope you all get better quickly, must be grim

WG you poor thing, having worries on both sides of your family, I hope it all gets better soon. Oh, and I too have a very vocal DD who loves to sing, she was warbling loudly in Wilko?s this afternoon and people were quite bemused by her

LadyT I keep forgetting to say about your work situation ? they are supposed to respond to you within 28 days of you submitting your request for flexible working (see here), so your employer should stop making excuses about being busy and get back to you. It must have been 28 days by now? And for Daisy who is still waiting for news

SL very scary for you, with the car accident, I?m glad everyone involved is fine and unhurt. Good to hear you?re getting a new one

Spot DD had a week at the most of being a turny over baby at night and needing rescuing, and then all of a sudden she decided she was happy to sleep on her tum and she was fine again. Here?s hoping T decides he likes it too

And before I go, could I be a cheeky thing and ask Spiggy to take a look at my work dilemma (sorry about all the random question marks in there, not sure where they came from). I?ve had a very sensible sounding response, but wondered if with your expertise you could add anything? Thank you

OK, night night everyone

Trace Fab news, congratulations!
Kayz and Indith, DD weighed today and is 21lb 7oz!!! She ain't going to be no ballerina!

Considering my dog has rolled in sheep/ badger/ fox shit three times already this week, my vote is with cats. But then they keep throwing up and trying to eat my baby frogs, so actually....hamsters .

trace fantastic news, knew you'd get it

Will go look on the London meet up thread. Not yet sure when I'll be in Yorks but it will either be the week before the BH or the week after!

Pets, I'd choose a dog over a cat (have had both!) but like sybil wouldn't get one now!

summer nice to see you back, at the crash, glad you're all ok & that the insurance is sorted

spot hooray for cot nap! Fingers crossed it continues

Had ds2 weighed the other day & he's 22.4lbs , Ds1 is only 35.12!

Speaking of ds2, he's shuffled backwards & got himself stuck under the settee, better rescue him!

Morning,

NJAN Nothing yet but we are moving him into his own room this weekend and going ahead with following the Gina Ford routine to see if it helps. HV said to give him more milk so we will try that too.

I doubt I will be at the London or Yorks meets. It is stupidly expensive for the train(unless someone knows how to find cheap tickets) and I will be back at work for the Yorks one.

Hope everyone is well.

Woo hoo go Trace that is such great news.

Much better here - don't know if it was SF or not. Suspect not really because wasn't too bad. But means trying to pack for holiday has been bit of a nightmare. But all done now - and am testing whether it's possible to do Paris with 2 year old and baby this afternoon.

Wg am keeping my fingers crossed for you. Not least for a bit more sleep. So sorry about your Dad's ladyfriend as well. She sounded great.

The inlaws managed to upset DH again last night .

And SL crash sounds frightening - glad you're all ok. We've got a skoda octavia - can highly recommend. Loads of space and v cheap to run. You can get some great deals at the moment. Sigh. Am so dull.

Really sorry I don't have time for longer post. Am definitely up for meet up - will be back on the 10th. Love to you all lovelies. xx

about to set off for the great family weekend.

oh, poor sl re the crash.

dd slept well last night - woke three times and only needed food twice. feel like a human being again.

will try to log on over w/e.

wish me luck with tuppencing!!!

Have fun wg, if you don't have fun, bring us stories!!

Re cats and dogs, I am probably a dog person but don't tell DH. He is allergic to cats, but loves dogs, so I make out it's a hardship that I will never be able to have a cat and therefore he can't have a dog. I had a sort of fight with MIL last year as she suggested I was weird for not wanting a dog! I like dogs, I just don't want the hassle. Her bloody dog is more hassle than DS (well sort of!)

Cars, we are looking at a newish Ford Mondeo estate I think. Superboring! LadyT I would like an Audi but would also like a newish car that will last us ages and for the same thing an Audi will be more expensive. Though I have a good friend who is an Audi car salesman so we may pay him a visit before we decide. lal I like the Octavias but my best friend who lives just round the corner has one and I don't want to copy! But won't rule it out.

kayz good luck with the sleeping!

No one on here is allowed to have a Skoda Octavia So Lal, you are going to have to sell yours I'm afraid. Frequently, when people meet DD they say "Ooh, like the Skoda!" and after a mere eight months it is wearing a bit thin. We took a calculated risk that they wouldn't exist after about ten years but they are so popular that now I am not so sure! Have a fabbo time in Paris. It could have been SF - some people are getting it more mildly. DP was shivery and sweaty only for a day or two, though the cough has dragged on a bit.

Kayz, if you go to www.thetrainline.com and try to book in advance, sometimes you can get really cheap tickets (like my £4 to London ones).

ZJ, sorry you are having work woes too. I had no idea how common it was. Disgraceful really. That's a good point you make about the 28 days - it's almost that since the meeting but only about three weeks since my formal letter.... Any further word Daisy?

Good luck WG. Hope it's not quite the trial you are expecting....

trace - so pleased for you! They clearly made the right choice!

WG - sorry things are so tough, its hard enough dealing with babies never mind everything else life throws at you. Hope the w/e trekking goes OK.

ZJ - in terms of quantity I think DS eats about the same as your DD, but is definitely starting to eat more. He is a little 'un, but then so is his sister and so is his dad, so I think that's just how he is. And it is really special when they giggle - must say its my favourite sound in the world!

SL - The crash sounds scary, but I guess its fun to have the chance to go car shopping. We've had skodas before, they're great, although we got a Mazda 5 (about 2 days before DS arrived), which we're pretty happy with. As Lal says, lots of deals around.

Indith/veggie - the reactions you get when baby wearing are funny! Most people are kind of intrigued rather than disapproving, but you do get some looks. Funniest is when people don't realise you've got a baby in there (not so likely to happen now DS is busy bouncing around). Must say, did a bit of a double take when I saw a teenage boy with a baby in a sling on the tube yesterday. Did make me wonder what the story was...very sweet though.

DH due back tonight - can't wait. Neither can DD. She barely opened her eyes this morning before asking me if daddy was back. It was nice to have a few quiet girly evenings to myself though. Watched a trashy film last night which DH would never have put up with followed by a long chat with my oldest friend who has moved to the US. She is TTC and thinks it might have happened but too early to test. It really made me broody listening to all the symptom spotting!

Not sure about pets really - DH and DD are definitely more into cats than dogs, but my guess is that any pet would have to be pretty laid back to survive baby/toddler love! Poor old DS is constantly smothered by his big sister and I think he is going to give as good as he gets....

We're currently looking at cars. DH loves the Skoda Octavia's but I am a bit worried about the boot size. I love the Fabia estates but we have got to get a 2nd hand car.

I'm afraid we have an OCtavia too. And a gold one to boot ( Have to say, we didnt want that colour, it was the only one we could find) - we didnt want to buy a new one, and newish ones are hard to find !

Its easy to spot in a car park though, which is handy....

Oooh, lots of good news on here since I last posted [grin[.

First a HUGE congratulations to school nurse Trace. Such brilliant news. When do you start? What a perfect job to raise children with heh?

Also a big congratulations to Veggie for standing up for morals in advertising. I hope you have a lovely weekend fetistivaling.

Another congratulation to Spot's MrT for managing a long cot based nap.

I am glad the Indith and Lal families are on the mend. Good luck on the Eurostar Lal (and do keep your clothes on...).

Also sending good luck vibes to WG for a weekend of tuppencing. I hope you get a bit of a break and some good news while you are away.

Enjoy your reunion with DH Invisable. The only good thing about having a DH who goes away is that it feeling you get when they are due back .

On the dog/cat question I have to admit that I am not a pet person at all. It is not that I don't like animals because I do love watching them in the wild and have even done a bit of otter tracking in my time as well as a few safaris. However, I just don't like sharing my own personal space with animals. There is too much hair and smelly food and toilet chores involved. If the DDs really want a pet when they are older I will consider a little bunny rabbit hutch in the garden but there I draw the line.

Right, off to top-up on paracetamol as I am fighting another cruel hangover. Must. Stop. Drinking. And. Staying. Up. Way. Too. Late.

Spiggy! come here and meet up with a few of us lunatics. There are a few new faces coming out of the woodwork but the usual group of Stealth, BouncingTurtle and foxy is ace

Arti hope the hangover is better. I must admit to being slightly of it though. One day dd shall sleep and I shall be able to leave the house in the evenings!

I remember when ds dropped his bedtime feed, it was so liberating. Then he dropped his morning feed and that was because he wouldn't snuggle in bed anymore, he just wanted breakfast. Remembering that is rather good actually, makes me cherish those night feeds even if they leave me shattered!

Kayz I remember you were talking about cheap train fares or lack of, you are in a bit of a duff place for cheap fares, they tend to be on mainline services and main stations. I even used to struggle to get them from Hull.

We have a Zafira. We got it because it was the youngest car with lowest milage in our budget at the car showroom (it was ex motorbility so really well kept, poor thing has been through the mill since we've had it!). I do really like it as it isn't really bigger than 5 seaters, it is the same wheelbase as the Astra, but has a great big, tall boot space and the extra seats are really handy for being able to give lifts even with my 2 in carseats.

Dd has crashed out. She hardly napped today (to be fair I think she woke from lunchtime nap because she was brewing a nappyfull). She has chowed down a pile of dinner though (she says she likes spinach. Yum) and when I put her down she complained for a second then shoved her thumb in her mouth! Please let her turn into a sleeping thumb sucker, please! If it gets me sleep I will gladly pay through the nose for braces later!

Just a quickie, hopefully more later...

...I got my redundancy. It is definately a positive for me, as I was desperate for a career change and this is the kick up the bum I need. Plus I get some more time with DS. With all being well I won't need to go back at all as my return to work is about 6 weeks before my official redundancy date. HR are sorting some things out for me. But strictly speaking I am entitled to 12 months off, so don't really need to go back till October which is after the redundancy date iyswim.

SL forgot to say about your car crash. So glad to hear that you are all okay though.

DS now crawling with a vengence. We have had to get the stairgates up. We had only just bloody taken them down as well, as we felt DD could cope without them. It was a work of art trying to get them back in the exact same spots, because half the paint came off when we removed them before

Daisy, well done on the redundancy, glad you are pleased with it and you will love spending more time with DS. They are only young for such a short time.

Indith, my DD2 is a thumb sucker and whilst it meant that she sleeps like a dream (and has done since 8 weeks) she has the most awful teeth. I am going to have to get one of those thumb guard things from the US to stop her doing it. All the rage round here, but sodding expensive and may not work. I won't pretned the sleep thing hasn't been fab, but the teeth thing is terrible and I fear the damage may already be too late to remedy without some slow and painful headgear.

BEfore you all hate me for the sleeping child, can I just say that DD1 did not sleep through the night til nearly 2, had a 9 month period between 2.5 and 3.2 of not sleeping in her bed and still does not manage a full night every night at over 4!

Am off to dinner tonight, although slightly fuxxy headed from last night still. Hope you are feeling better Arti!

Hello everyone else! I'll be back later on to see you all and read everyone's news. Hope you all have a good evening.

zj- replied on the other thread

Indith can barely work out how to find my friends from real life on FB, wouldn't have a clue how to track down someone from MN! Would love to do a meet and the 4th is my non working day

Lady T I love the name octavia.

daisy glad it all worked out how you wanted.

Had a busy afternoon yesterday. DD's first tooth came through and she started crawling. Admittedly it was just caterpillar crawling but it is better than the constant whinging when she wanted to move and couldn't. DS has also totally freaked out one of the nursery nurses, apparently he kept saying M has a baby in her tummy. She got paranoid and did a test and she is indeed pg unexpectedly! She's now waiting to see if his prediction of a little girl is correct!