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.

My HV got in touch with me. Although DS is nearer to 9 months now.

Jolly- They did height, weight, head size, checked his hips, sat him up, then put a toy in front of him to see if he would reach and pick it up, which he completely ignored and pulled the telephone off the desk instead Had a bit of a chuckle at your dh thanks!

Kiwi - They sent me a letter about 2 weeks ago with the appointment time on it and info to change it if I needed to. Surprising as they are usually pretty slack! Mr Kiwi sounds impressive in the parenting department! Actually, I must admit dh has improved in the short time since my melt down. I think he just didn't realise how little he was doing I still think I will not jump up and do everything and give him a chance to do it first, however sometimes it's just easier to do it myself, rather than explain, so I think that's why I end up taking over.

Ah perhaps I'd better contact them, because we're away for the whole of September, lucky us.

hello everyone!
Not heard from the HV re my check. I knew there was a check but I thought it was 7 months so I thought maybe it didn't happen if you didn't bother about it!

Re other halves, my DH is pretty good. But he still winds me up sometimes. Particularly the other morning when he knew I had been up all night with insomnia and got up with DS for me, and didn't give him breakfast. I know that doesn't sound like much but it annoyed me, as he was saying how sorry he felt for me and it should have been obvious that instead of getting up with him and playing around it would make my life easier to give him brekkie. Actually it's mostly feeding that annoys me, the fact that he asks about everything. But then I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to the kitchen and cooking so it is not really surprising that I am a pain in the arse and expect him to know how to do it "my way", but then get annoyed when he asks questions! He does dress DS in the mornings, and frequently he dresses him in something ludicrous (these lime green dungarees that we were passed down were a favourite, usually to wind me up as well!). In these cases I just change him later on!

Oh and re leaving him - I will be leaving him for 4 WHOLE DAYS with DH while I go mountain biking in the pyrenees!! And I am sure it will be fine....deep breath...

Well I got DS a play pen so there is somewhere safe to put him. He just pulled himself up to standing and fell directly backwards. Sigh. So much for "safe". Do they learn not to fall over so much after a while of learning to pull themselves up??

Oh I haven't got my period back yet? Is this normal?? DS still feeding quite a lot, but I am trying to move him over to formula, so I guess that they should come back soon when I have done that.

Oh wg going a way back now, I also feel that weaning is a pain in the botty. It is fun sometimes but when you've not got much time and they decide to blow the food you made all over the kitchen it gets a bit wearing.

Oh wg and kiwipanda sorry to point out the obvious but aren't you both coming to the meet up, so you could give the photo frame then??

Right DS has just woken up, but I just wanted to ask something. kayz you said something abuot not getting mat pay if you get pg quite quickly?? How does that work, not that I am sure what I am doing yet, but I want to make sure that if I go back to work and get pg that I get paid mat pay, and I thought I would?

Summer I'm not really sure TBH. It was something SIL told DH. Apaarently you have to be back at work for 16 weeks. But I don't know. She told DH that I got myself pregnant with the first 2. Not sure how though. Your biking trip sounds very good. I managed a whole 15 miles the other day, been slowly building up. Tempted to join the local cycling club.

I think the Mat Pay thing is right, not sure how it works but maybe something to do with NI contributions possibly. My SIL is pg and has to find work for another 12 weeks in order to qualify for Mat pay (she was made redundant from prev job). She hasn't got enough 'qualifying weeks in' according to Job Centre.

Kayz at you 'getting yourself pg'. Aren't IL's great

As far as I know you have to have been at work for 6 months before you are 26 weeks pregnant. But I do think that if you have been on ML that still counts. But I am not sure.

I know Daisy!! I don't know how I got myself pg. I remember DH being there. He was awake, fully consenting and knew we were trying.

Summerlightning That's a very good point! I am almost certainly coming to the meet up, just got to check w/ DH that he hasn't made plans for the day as he's off on weds.

I have just had a really irritating argument with my sister on the phone. She really pisses me off, she NEVER asks after DD but always expects me to enquire into every minute detail of her daughter's day. The subject of the argument was too complicated and tedious to bore you with but now I am going to be fuming about it all night and failing to get it out of my head and not sleeping. Does anyone have any top tips of how to get something out of your head!?

Kiwi I tend to go for a ride on my bike. But if you don't like cycling or you have rubbish weather like we've had all day, it's no good. Sisters are annoying, mine dries me mad!!

Kayzr I love cycling and that's a really good idea, but alas both my bikes are out of commission at the moment. I miss cycling - I used to cycle to work and back every day (c. 20 miles) pre-DD: that long lost other life where I was fit, went to the gym at lunchtime and actually had energy rather than sitting on the sofa eating chocolate and being a slob as I currently do as soon as DD is in bed.

What I really need is a boxing class. Another thing I really miss. Channelling that aggression into your right jab: can't beat it. Oh well, I'm sure a large glass of rose wine has much the same affect and only burns a few less calories, eh?

Woohoo on the bottle WG!

Not sure about 8 mo checks, must ask the HV if I take DS2 to be weighed in the next month . DS1 had one at about 9 months and it was a group affair so he spent the whole time pegging it for the door (he was a fast crawler).

DS2 is pretty grumpy at the moment, not sure if it's teeth or heat or getting ready to move but he is not happy! The only way to keep him quiet for a few minutes is to stick him in his high chair and give him a breadstick. Likes his grub (not sure where he got that one from )

yeah, so she may take a bottle. doesn't mean she will go to sleep without the boobs, though. ugh ugh ugh. am going out on thurs and leaving dh to BATH HER, FEED HER AND PUT HER TO SLEEP. eeeeeeek.

kiwi - let me know if you are definitely up for the meet up and if so will bring the frame with me.

Big news in the Invis household is that DS is sort of crawling - or at least moving purposefully to get whatever it is he wants! All a bit scary this being mobile. We have a small landing in our house with 2 steps down to the next level. DH had (rather foolishly) put DS to sit by it when Mr decided it would be good to launch himself forward...caught him just in time, but he gave us all a bit of a scare, himself most of all!

WG - on bottles/formula - it might be what's in the bottle that matters. I spent months expressing breastmilk and chucking it down the sink only to realise that DS would drink if there was formula in the bottle, but not really if it was EBM. The feeding to sleep thing is a bit of a bugger. Thing is she probably will sleep eventually, but might yell a bit first to get there - at least that's what mine does. Def easier to feed him to sleep, but he does cope if it doesn't happen. Normally he wakes up just as I walk in the door to demand a feed!

DH is pretty helpful on the whole, but it def took a while to get there. During the first few months after DD was born, I remember being really frustrated that I was supposed to be the "expert". But in the end needs must - when I had to leave DD with DH they both coped and figured it out in the end (IMO leaving them to it is very different to a dry run with you in the house - its too easy for DH to forget to do things, or not do things cause it still doesn't really feel like his "problem"). Anyway, these days he's very good with both and they adore him. I reckon you get there in the end.

fallen behind again so probably missed loads.

Indith lovely to meet you yesterday even if we didn't get to talk much! Didn't get your mobile number though as hadn't read your message on here.

8 month check- up here the hv rings to arrange a time. She's just rung for M's 2 1/2 year check but agree to rearrange so we can have a joint appointment for H as well.

Glad to see all the reluctant sleepers are mainly heading in the right direction. As soon as we move and DD has her own room it is going to be evil mummy time. She quite happily goes without milk at night, just dummy bingo so that is going to be taken away. Am going to book a week off work so I can sleep during the day though!

DP is generally good with the kids but what is driving me absolutely crackers at the moment is having to constantly think about what everyone in the family will eat. DS is very fussy and trying to get variety into his diet without constant battles is exhausting, DD will try pretty much anything but I have to plan so there is stuff in the house. And then when it comes to our dinner I ask DP what he wants and the reply is always "what have we got" followed by face pulling when I list the things and a melodramatic sigh and "I suppose its pasta again" aargh. I like food and cooking but it is just getting tiring to try and think about so many different meals in a week. Anyone else or is it just me?

taking the kids to meet DP for lunch at our fav restaurant. wish me luck!

I am knackered. DS2 got us up at 5 this morning. We had planned to go for a picnic so we decided to do that anyway. We went for a lon walk afterwards and over 2 stiles. Which was fun, we tied DS1 to the fence using his backpack and then lifted the p&t over with DS2 in. Next time I think I might just turn around.

DS2 can sit up now!! He also pulled himself up to standing at the sofa this morning.

Hope you are all ok today.

Kayzr me too - DD had us up at 5.30 for no apparent reason this morning, am dead on my feet.

WG definitely coming tomorrow, hopefully looking slightly less zombie-like! If I remember correctly it's at 12 (will go find thread now) so possibly a tiny bit late as DD usually crashes out after swimming for a long nap. But presumably you won't be moving on from the meeting spot?

I wish I could come to the meetup tomorrow but I've had a day off every week since I started work over a month ago and it is The Teddy Bears Picnic (!) in the rain at nursery tomorrow afternoon.

I'd love to meet everyone, next time is a definite for me. Hope you have a lovely time...

Hello everyone

Spiggy, it is NOT just you with the meals. I have exactly the same problem. I always decide what the menu is and yet DP is an excellent cook and I am rubbish and hate cooking.

Great news on the crawling, Invis! I was telling DD only today that she is going to feel very out of things tomorrow at the London meet up when all the babies are bombing around and she is sitting in state like a young Queen Victoria.

Kayz, I am with you on the stiles. Tons round here. DP has started wearing the Baby Bjorn though so it's easier in that.

Sorry not to meet you tomorrow, NJAN. Another time.

Funny hearing about these 7 and 8 month check ups. DD is 9 mnths on 25 Aug and I was wondering why we had been summonsed to the HV for a 'family meeting' on Monday. But it's tough luck - I have my skydiving lesson thing so we can't go. (It's a one off to see if I like it )

Right, supper time. See some of you tomorrow!

kiwi - we won't be moving! I'll probably be getting there a bit earlier as I'm meeting dd's godmother first, and will have to get a train home pretty early before turning into a pumpkin.

spiggy - dh isn't quite such a sigher re tea but you're quite right that it is exhausting, I'm having to think up 4 meals a day (dd's breakfast, lunch and tea and our tea) when it used to be bowl of cereal for brekkie, whatever the work canteen had on for lunch, and the only decision to be made was tea.

pmk it sounds like your ds and my dd are nearly identical - at the check yesterday she was 8.5 kg (18.11 lb), height 72cm, head 46cm.

right - will catch up with lots of you tomorrow

kiwi - i will be moving on fairly swiftly - have to see a mate down from edinburgh for only one day, but if you're not there, i will leave it wiht someone for you.

ladyt - wtf??? skydiving??? just drop that one in, why don't you? you make me laugh so much, i love it!

jj and all others, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. will probably have to leave after a couple of hours - boo hoo, but will be good to see you.

and here is the news in the waitinghousehold... drum roll... dh managed to bathe madam, FEED madam, and PUT HER TO SLEEP ALL ON HIS OWN. first time in 7.5 months i haven't done any or mostly all of this. i celebrated with a glass of wine (or several) on our newly delivered and assembled garden furniture in the garden. yum. i can see the gates to freedom open...

I have meal plans (sad). I wrote down 21 meals, and DH went through and added others he liked, and then we rotate, though I do most of teh cooking. This means getting a large shop delivered fortnightly makes sense and we eat, red meat, chicken, fish, pasta, rice etc once or so a week along with lots of veggies. I dont always stick to it but it helps.

TBH this came from when I went back to work after Tom. He needed an evening meal and I couldnt cope with suddenly not having ANY time in the evenings to spend with the precious LO and do cooking for all of us, housework, packing nappy bags. So I knew I had to get organised. This time round I have been uber organised as I knew it was the only way to avoid getting really stressed. The first 3 months I went back to work after Tom were so stressful I barely remember them and nearly quite my job because I couldnt cope. So the dinners for the 4 nights a week I work are either; very quick, ie pasta and quorn bolognese (10 mins), stir fry (10mins), or I've cooked them the night before to reheat (curry, just need to cook rice). I give DH or Tom a choice of 2 dinners and they have to suck it. Fortunately DH is very unfussy...

We just had a power cut for an hour! Some numpty in a truck drove into the power cable, taking out the leccy along our lane.

I'd just dug out and lit about a thousand candles and it came back on again. I tell you what, it's hairy in a village - no light pollution, so pitch black...

Lovely to have the broadband back though. Missed that more than the light!

LadyThompson DD neither crawls nor sits = I'm actually beginning to wonder if she'll EVER sit as she's made no progress for months. She'll sit for a few seconds if you put a toy in front of her but then just moves and keels over.

Anyone know when should I start to worry?? I keep meeting little ones the same age who can do so much more and am feeling a bit neurotic. I'll be the one tomorrow with a DD attempting frantically to wriggle off my lap, then wailing when she actually achieves her goal. Sigh. Oh for a calm baby.

WG if I am late it'll hopefully only be by 15 mins or so so hope to still catch you..??

Thanks everyone for your wise words (as ever) on the Mum situation. We saw her again yesterday and DD was on much better form (phew!), and having read all your comments I took a bar of her favourite chocolate and gave it to her and said this is from E, to say ?sorry for having an off day and being tired and grumpy?. To which Mum replied ?well grumpy anyway?, which I thought was quite a childish response and made me and - I nearly snatched the chocolate back! Babies moods are quite simple and affected by simple things ? food, tiredness, pain ? and as we were with Mum on Friday night when E stayed up late she knows full well that she was a tired little girl, and wasn?t deliberately being awkward for her. Grrr. That is the last of me being an understanding and sympathetic daughter

DD has a new noise, a sort of ya ya ya, which involves a lot of facial stretching, making her look quite like Wallace when she does it . It is an appropriate noise to make when happy, sad, eating and crying, according to DD, and she has ya ya ya?d pretty much none stop ever since ? including in her sleep last night!

After the DH discussions, I persuaded DH to get DD dressed himself on Sunday morning. It took some cajoling, but I insisted he got to choose what she wore for the day rather than me telling him. It took a while and she ended up in one of her best dresses, even though we only spent the day at home and in the paddling pool, but hey ? he did it and she looked pretty. And then he had a major breakthrough on Sunday evening ? I prepared tea whilst he bathed DD, then he cooked it whilst I fed her and put her in bed (as usual). But ... I came downstairs to find he?d already washed up. He was amazed that after tea there was no chores to do and (I quote) ?this washing up as you go along is really good, isn?t it?? So good in fact, he did it again last night. What a fab man!

Kayz on ML ? I thought the same as you, that you qualify as long as you?ve been employed for 26 weeks (which includes being on ML currently) as you are still on their books. And well done you, on getting yourself pregnant

Indith in case you?re still online, I believe the plan for the York meet up was either the week before the bank holiday, or the week after ? it depends when Tilly is coming up to Yorkshire. Tilly ? we miss you, are you out there? And Indith, so pleased to hear about sleep progress ? there?s been some lovely magic sleeping dust sprinkled on lots of December babies (Trace I hope P is sleeping well on your holiday and not waking L at all)

JJ I also realised how big DD?s head is the other day. I was trying to teach her ?how big is E, so big? and held her arms up, and her hands barely pass the top of her head, yet for me even my elbows are higher than my head

We had our 8 month check at 6.5 months ? and the (student) HV who did it was surprised DD couldn?t sit yet. That really annoyed me, cause if she wanted to see a sitting baby, then she should have come at 8 months like she was supposed to (that?s assuming DD does sit before she reaches 8 months ? we?ve managed about 5 seconds so far, before I have to catch her). Kiwi the HV rang me to organise it, I didn?t even know they were supposed to have a check so it would never have happened if left up to me

Jolly I?d disagree with you and say its not Mum?s who don?t get a fair deal at work, but parents ? a male colleague of mine requested flexible working last year and got short shift too

SL I haven?t got my period back yet either, but I?m also still BF a couple of times a day, although I am increasing the formula I give her (am scared of top teeth coming through and getting bitten on the boob!)

Is the skydiving a joke LadyT?!!

Great to hear of the bottle success and bedtime success WG, now roll on your night out!

Enjoy the meet up tomorrow, London ladies. Can someone take photos and post them again, so we can see the bigger babies and the new Mums?

That's a long one, ZJ! Sorry your Mum was a bit less than gracious about the chocolate. I guess she is still a bit wounded and is hanging on to it a bit. Exasperating, though, I am sure!

DD's 'ya ya ya' is 'guya-guya-guya'-(or possibly Gaia, for those of a classical bent) - ad infinitum.

And no, the skydiving isn't a joke! I am doing training Monday afternoon, but they don't chuck you out of a plane at first, you get blown 20 or 30 feet up in the air by what is basically a giant hairdryer, and that's how you learn to do all the moves.

Well, it'll keep me away from 'Cash in the Attic' for a day, anyway

Won't be on again until Friday morn as I am staying in London for a bit of extra time. I have chased work about a response re: my terms/days as I am getting really worried about getting DD into a decent nursery. I am fretting about their response but they are taking the hiss, I had to.

Night night girls. Wishing you sleep.