June 08: I see it, I want it, it's mine!

[spongebrainmaternitypants]

Welcome to our new thread .

neenz, we are the opposite to you. When dh is at home he does the majority of the nappies/feeding etc so that I do get a break from it. Just as well as I hardly ever go anywhere without them! He is a great dad and is happy to be really hands on when he gets the chance.

We have had a day full of getting ready for school. The pe bags are packed, homework diaries have been completed and colouring pencils are sharpened and ready to go . I have also written cheques for over 120 quids worth of lunch. Honestly, I'm sure school dinners were a lot cheaper in my day!

Hi Everyone.

Been enjoying the English Bank Holiday here. We went to a Thai festival that is held every year at the August Bank Hol. We got to eat lots of different things, and P enjoyed trying them too, even the very spicy ones! He did struggle with the grassy slope that we ate our lunch on though. It turns out that he as only ever crawled or walked on the flat. Put him on a gentle slope and he was all over the place. It was very funny. We also bought a chilli plant (the festival is held at a large PYO/garden centre so plants are always available). The chilli plant had lots of ripe fruit on it, so we are now drying them out to make chilli oil.

Sybil good luck with back to school tomorrow. You all sound very organised.

Neenz sounds like you had a great break.

Here, DH does lots of the childcare when he is at home, it probably splits up 50-50ish. I know what you mean though Neenz about it being easier to do it yourself because it is part of your routine.

I have been doing lots of baking in the last week. In fact it is the first baking I have done since I was overdue with P. So far I have made two batches of blueberry muffins, and a chocolate and orange cake. To be honest the only thing that set me off baking was having a load of eggs that needed using. P seems to be intolerant to egg, but strangely is fine when they have been used to make cakes

Ali, very impressed with the baking. When I was PG I used to say to DH that once I was on ML I'd bake biscuits all the time. Mmm, I think I did once or twice

Sybil, you have it the right way, getting DH to do all the work when he is there. Did you see the Fay Weldon interview last week where she said we should all stop nagging our men to do the domestic chores and just do them ourselves? I don't agree at all, I think each couple has to work it out for themselves so that all parties are happy. But for me I am happy to do most of the domestic work cos I enjoy having a clean and ordered home, and I like DH to have a rest when he is here, plus I am a bit of a control freak . He does some stuff and will do anything I ask (like getting the kids up so I can have a lie-in or making tea) but most of the time I just do it myself. He is off to the Court of Appeal again tomorrow [proud] .

Ali - lol at P being OK with eggs in cake!!Thai festival sounds good

Neenz - I think we need to be in the northeast as like you say we have some fantastic friends there, true friends that you can rely on at any time of the day or night, but maybe just not Leyburn.

Neenz - your weekend sounds heavenly - civilised meals , cinema - bliss.

BDQ - wasn't it your anniversary - how was your meal?

Sybil - well done for getting organised, I've been doing that too so that when we get back from holiday I'm not racing round.Instead of school dinners (they're only in school in the mornings)I have to fork out for everything else - pencils, pens, paper, exercise books (13 Euros just for Stefans today)paint, paintbrushes, scissors, glue, selotape, text books etc etc etc.I dread to think what it all costs in total.

Today I've had Tristan to the eye specialist following an eye check at school - turns out his left eye is OK - not great but OK, his right eye is bad - only 20% vision in it. So he has to have glasses and also wear a patch for at least 2-3 hours a day on his better eye to help improve the bad one, for at least the next 5-6 weeks.He had to have some horrible drops in which really hurt , to enlarge his pupils and he was very brave and is now very excited about the prospect of choosing his glasses.But I am gutted, I know in relative terms these are all minor things but poor Tristan has had so many things wrong with him - adenoids out, glue ear, teeth taken out, he'll need a brace in the future,birthmark removed, and he has an inhaler and eczema, good job he's so gorgeous!!!

It's not all doom and gloom - only one more day until our holiday!!!

Hi all
debs sorry to hear about all Tristan's woe's, but yes, he is indeed definitely a looker. It's good they're taking action now to help his eyesight though - have they given any indication of what improvement they might expect?

ali - that's funny about P's walking uphill, how cute

back at work - so much harder after a long weekend! At least it's a short week now though

It's really feeling autumny now - need to get A some warmer clothes. Trouble is that he's far too skinny for the 12-18 trousers I have for him, but the 9-12 ones seem too short. Wasnt' it easy when they were in babygrows!

Deb As much as Perthshire is heavenly, I think the NE would be great for you. If all my closest friends were in one place, I'd be very very tempted. As it is, all of my good friends are spread across the country in canada and I couldn't move anywhere and be near them. And huge hugs for Tristan, and for you. Enjoy your holiday.

My DH is pretty good at the nappies and such but I am still in charge of things like when we should eat etc. It is a break not to do nappies though and I know he needs me to do the organization because his brain would fall out. He seems to be constantly thinking about work...

My first day at home went well, we played in the mud puddles in the forest all morning and then I drove DS1 up to pre-school. I had been laughing at the thread about dressing for the school run but some of the other mothers there looked fantastic. I was glad I was obviously dressed for outside play (one of my legs was muddy) so that it didn't look like I was just a slob. I like the idea of dressing nicely on a daily basis but in practice I will probably end up there in wellies most days.

Fraser has been pushing the buttons on a music 'book' and trying to do the actions to twinkle twinkle - he's growing up so quickly. Now he's walking around holding on to his shoes asking to go outside, but DS1 is still sleeping so we can't (and we're all in pjs).

abdeen, glad to hear your first day went well! I find all this dressing for the school run quite funny - in a way I can understand how it happens, but it sounds quite competitive, in the manner of a school non-uniform day or something

allnew adjustable waists from M&S are the skinniest trousers I've found. Tesco are very baggy in comparison. DS1 is a beanpole, albeit a short one. I miss babygrows too...

x-posted again. This whole school thing feels like a completely different world already so why not have a uniform? One of my friends described the playground code as wideleg jeans, a floaty top from next (to hide the jiggles), and flats - which is pretty accurate - so i guess it shouldn't be a surprise that the school run is sort of the same. (And I'm not talking about high heels or anything - everyone just looked nice-ish. Like Saturday in town for lunch nice. How I wish I looked every day.)

Ali - the Thai festival sounds great. Tempted to get some blueberries and try blueberry muffins now! I've been baking quite a bit since we moved and my mum gave me her ancient Kenwood chef, it's great I just chuck all the ingredients in and the cake is mixed in no time.

Here DH does quite a bit of the childcare when he is home, he does the bath and bed routine every night, it gives him chance to spend some time with J. He also does quite a bit of the cooking and does his share of washing up if he didn't cook. He doesn't do any cleaning, theres no point, he can vac a room and leave bits all over the floor and not notice, but he does do loads of DIY, he's very good at it too and likes to get things done ASAP, not like me who procrastinates and leaves jobs half done if I ever do start them! I think he is a bit of a control freak as far as DIY is concerned, he hates paying someone to do a job he could do himself, he just doesn't trust them to do it properly.

Debs - sounds like a good thing they are sorting out Tristan's eyesight now, 5-6 weeks isn't that long and hopefully there will be some inprovement.

When J goes to school I can't imagine myself dressing up for it, I barely dress up if I'm going out! It makes me laugh the things some women get dressed up for, like when you go to the gym and they have loads of make up on and their hair carefully done, I however have messy hair, a red face and a manky old tracksuit on (back in the days when I used to go to the gym, such a very long time ago!)

J has his MMR today, I feel a tad nervous about it, silly really!

I second adjustable waists allnew- got ours from Boots and Tescos.

Funnily enough was talking about school dress codes for mums yesterday- at the time I was wearing white maternity jeans and a lovely linen shirt. I changed into this at 1pm to visit friends. By half past two I was covered in blackberry juice (runningpearls went blackberry picking/squishing in the garden.) I can only assume that by the time she gets to school she'll be a bit cleaner otherwise I will need to buy teflon clothing.

Sounds like you all had a nice weekend. We went to the beach, which was a bit chilly.

Debs- sorry to hear about Tristan's eyes. The poor boy has been through the wringer (and you). On plus ide maybe he's just getting the tricky stuff out of the way now so he can go on to be a heart-throb and earn millions and buy you a big f*ck off house in LA!!!!

[waves to everyone as she wanders off to get dressed]

I need inspiration

Deb I agree with the others, it would be unfair to make Tristan such a looker if he didn't have a few very minor flaws. Hopefully the eyesight will really improve though. I think this way about ds1. He had a speech impediment so no one could understand him until he was five, he has terrible eczema (so much so that the skin on his face used to peel off every couple of weeks), and he is allergic to eggs so if he isn't careful of what he eats he gets a really nasty rash/scab around his mouth. These however, are obviously things sent just to even how gorgeous he is

On the egg allergy thing, although ds1 is allergic (but only to the white bizarrely) he is fine if they are cooked in cakes etc. It is only if they are just lightly cooked, or in a large quantity, like in a meringe that he has a problem. According to his nutritional bod, this is really common.

thanks abdeen & puree, will give them all a go as it sounds like adjustable waists are the way to go

abdeen I know what you mean about the clothes. I've found my clothes requirements have really changed since having A. Before, I would buy smartish coats, but I just have no need for them now outside of work, and I'm short of just 'walking about with the pram' clothes! Got a pair of Fly wedges at the start of the summer and don't know what I'd do without them (I just can't 'do' flats - am such a short-ass and have just never worn them)

Hello all, at work, it's September, and feeling all positive here! Well, apart from one thing - as I came in through the main doors - main university entrance, I stress - I saw the lift was about to go up and I work on the third floor, so I decided to dash for it, but instead slid a couple of metres on the side of my shoe and landed on the floor on my side with my legs splayed in front of the full lift. Lovely. Seriously bruised.

Anyhow, Iestyn was good last night and woke at 7.30, but I made myself tea and then fetched him. This is the first time I've done it since stopping bf. I just put him down with his toys, and he played for a bit, and then came to be cuddled loads but didn't try to attack my breasts. So seems that all is well there, and I'm no longer bfing. Mixed feelings, but I do wonder whether I'm feeling more in control today because I am in control: of my own body.

Debs poor Tristan - it's such bad luck when one child has a catalogue of things and another has none. You might have been half joking about his good looks but I think he actually is good looking.

ktpie I was really nervous about the mmr too, mainly the whole fallout afterwards (as you all know!) but in fact it passed without a hitch. No reactions at all. But (also as you probably know) I have a tendency to fixate on things. At the moment I have this ridiculous fear of Iestyn choking on something at my Mum's or at nursery.

Ali and Sybil stick to cakes then? Maybe you should do it yourselves as a precaution. Personally, I hate sugar in drinks or on cereal unless it's been fully processed i.e. chocolate and cake...biscuits...

Nothing to add on the school run having never done one. But I suspect things are a bit different out in the sticks here? I'm in work in jeans today (just as well it wasn't a skirt this morning) but I find floaty tops to be the best thing at the mo. Although people think I'm pg. And I assume the elasticated waists are for the children not the mums?

I was also going to say that DH is good when he's here, but actually I had a big shout at him yesterday for being totally gormless. God, he needs to grow up! I left him with Iestyn from 11.45 till 12.30, and instructions to give Iestyn lunch. He did - he found the bolognese sauce I had left on top of the fridge freezer to defrost, and gave Iestyn that. i.e. just the sauce, no pasta or anything, and cold, with frozen bits in. I can't cook, but I can think things through!!! He also 'forgot' to change Iestyn's nappy - so 9am till 12.30 in one nappy. Not the end of the world, but still... He then said 'oh you're in control with the food and things and I can't be' which made me very , because I only am because I have to be, and I can't cook really but I can follow a recipe: in other words, I can read!!

And back to calm...

Puree how about Verity? I really like that name but alas it rhymes with Cecily, although whether that's a bad thing I don't know.

oh essie, sorry, but that falling story really did make me laugh, sounds most comical. Hope you didn't hurt yourself though!

ktpie - also meant to say, hope the mmr goes well. A was mostly fine, just a bit whingy few days later and few spots around his mouth/face for a few days

Puree, I love Verity, alas DH would not have it. If Jamie had been a girl my list was Verity, Felicity (also love, love) and Genevieve. Dh hated all of them sadly. If Jamie was a boy my list was Dominic, Tristan and Noah. Its a bit unequal the name choosing in this house

My 'mums run' look is jeans, whatever top I pull first out of the cupboard, and a quick ponytail. No make-up etc on this slummy mummy! There are lots of beautifully groomed mums at the school gate though. One of my friends is always in full make-up and elegant dress/cardi numbers. She is french though so I forgive her. Mind you it was a close run thing the day she told us that she always wears co-ordinating pants/bras, and doesn't understand people who don't. Fortunately I wasn't the only other mum looking sheepish...

Quick post while at work...

Deb it was our anniversary and we had a lovely meal last night thanks, as well as a fun night out on Saturday so had a really good weekend all round.

I bought a waterproof jacket yesterday - I went for the berghaus 3 in 1 calisto jacket. I really liked the north face triclimate one but it didn't suit my shape at all. It's lovely and slim fitting, but to fit over my curves left lots of room in my weedy shoulder area so not good. The berghaus one was £40 cheaper at £120 so that was a bonus. Would still have preferred to buy the boden biker jacket though...

Puree I really like Eleanor as a girl's name and think it's in keeping with C's name. I'm rubbish at boys names but I did think Thomas was a nice traditional sounding name that would go nice with C - not sure about how it sounds with your surname though?

to everyone else!

sybil at the matching pants and bra. I haven't bothered with all that for a long, long time

bdq - am longing for the biker jacket as well. Did the practicality decision take over?

Love the name Verity

Hi everyone. Deb, sorry to hear about Tristan, but happy holidays!

BDQ - Happy Anniversary - and belated Happy Anniversary to Neenz.

Essie, I'm so pleased I've stopped bf too, but B still goes for a grope whenever he can. Let's hope he grows out of that soon. Hope your bruises fade quickly.

Puree, I'm useless with the name game, but a friend of mine has just had a girl called Lila and I think that's lovely. See, no help whatsoever.

Those of you with LOs at nursery - can you tell me about settling in? Nursery called to say they have a two week settling in period, but they won't actually open until the 14th and I start work on the 21st! I think B will be fine at nursery - he's not particularly clingy and is quite sociable, two weeks seems a bit long to me. I'd be happy to do two weeks (or more if he needed them of course) but I'm a bit stuck as the nursery isn't open long enough beforehand! Gah!!!

I'm freaked out by the idea of playground codes, school run clothes, etc etc.

Sybil that is interesting about the eggs, as it sounds exactly like P. I've not established whether it is the white or the yolk. When he has had scrambled eggs though he has gobbled it down for a few minutes, then started screaming and going red. I've not tried egg in a pure form for a couple of months now as a result. Does your nutritionist person think it is permanent for your DS or something he might grow out of.

Essie I think that a romcom is ever made about you, Sandra Bullock could pull off the scene in front of the lift perfectly. Who would you want to play the male lead though ?

Puree, I have posted on the other thread. I was also thinking about Verity Essie, but didn't put it on the post on the other thread because I agree it is a bit of a mouthful with Cecily. Hence I ended up with Vita and Virginia. I think I am having an obsession with names starting with "v" though. On reflection I must be having an obsession with the Bloomsbury Set for a name to go with Cecily. A link for you Puree in case you want to pursue further.

I am a lost cause when it comes to clothes for playground outings etc. I naturally gravitate to jeans and jumpers, but this summer I have trying to vary it a little. Even so I did manage to bump into the nouveau glam member of our NCT group in Sainsburys a few months ago when I was on my way back from a walk through a muddy forest with P in the backpack. Her: skinny jeans, teeny top, grey stilettos . Me: saggy jeans, a 7 year old cardi and walking shoes.

whinegums - our settling in period was 2 weeks as well. The first week was one day with us for an hour, then a couple of hours 1 morning then 1 afternoon or something. The second week started to extend the sessions to include sleeps, meals etc, to get them used to the nursery routine.

Personally I appreciated the 2 weeks - although I definitely wouldn't have called A clingy, it did take him a while to get used to being left

Is there anyone who could help you out during the 2nd week - DH?

Whinegums C's first nursery did three days of settling in and that was enough for her! Her current one wanted to do 2 weeks but we didn't have enough holidays so we did a week, and tbh that was more than enough for her! hopefully B will be the same. The nursery were quite happy with doing a week as she settled in so quickly.

sybil I like the suggestion of Genevieve to go with runningpearls think that goes very nicely!

Ali my wardrobe sounds a lot like yours and nothing like the NCT woman's! Mind you I did feel left out on our recent Scottish meet-up as BDQ and whinegums had matching shoes...

Has anyone used the Mumsnet boden discount recently? inspired by Puree, I was all set to order myself a nice Mac, but I can't get the link to work and I refuse to order one without the discount!

Deb I think it's so cute that Tristan is looking forward to choosing glasses. Mind you I started wearing them at about 8/9 and I insisted on having frames with roland rat on them. Some parental guidance definitely lacking there!

The MMR went fine, big scream after each injection but soon cheered up. He's having a nap now to get over the trauma.

Essie - poor you slipping over, I hate it when things like that happen. Sometimes men can be daft about really obvious things.

Sybil - the idea of matching bras and pants made me laugh, has happened here about twice, ever!

Realised after posting the other day that I'm now going to have to look for a maternity coat, not an idea that fills me with glee.

Puree - I'm impressed by your organisation on the name choosing. If J is anything to go by we won't narrow it down until the baby is a few days old!

I'm impressed by the matching shoes going on in Scotland!

Viva - I had a roland rat birthday cake!