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

[spongebrainmaternitypants]

Welcome to our new thread .

J isn't walking properly either, rereading my previous post it was a tad misleading, he can manage a couple of steps on his own, and is getting better at walking holding someones hand. Think shoes would help as he seems more interested in having a go outside but unless it is nice dry grass it often isn't suitable.

Jojomamanbebe do the rucksacks as well here

Hadn't noticed the DM fiasco (mainly stick to here) but think it's all a bit off, the totally open nature of MN does bother me a bit TBH.

The roast chicken was delicious!

Thanks for all the toddler rein links. On walking, S has twice managed about 44 steps unaided but that was only at his GPs. They have big open carpeted space though and we have laminate floors so wonder if that makes a difference.

On the DM stuff, not sure MNHQ can do too much about it. I'm always keen to try and stay reasonably anon, but tbh I don't post much in chat, aibu etc so I don't expect any of my pearls of wisdom to appear in the DM.

Oops, 4 steps not 44

no walking here either, but definitely want one of the rucksacks. I've been lusting after one for months!

We've been in Inverness all weekend for a school friend's wedding - it was fabulous. He's RAF and it was very uniform heavy - plus they all got changed into a different uniform for the evening! The weather held out for the church and photos, which was a miracle. the evening got rather strange when the groom turned his napkin into a bandana, daubed it with a red wine fingerprint and declared that the dessert was to be eaten by Korean rules. This is apparently RAF code for eat it without using cutlery or your hands. These people fly planes. scary. Charlotte was quite impressed by the mess generated by several grown men eating a choux pastry swan with their faces down on the plate!

We also visited our friends who relocated to Inverness last week with their now 16day old son - was very impressed that they had managed to produce a roast chicken for lunch - I had offered to bring M&S goodies, but a full roast dinner was produced! seems to have been the day for it!

Whinegums I have no problem with the photos going on FB.

ooh and Essie I have a chameleon and we still use it loads, just use our maclaren if we're going on public transport or nipping to shops. I love it!

Oh No problem with the photos whinegums. I should put mine on too.

Viva I still have mclaren envy! Am throughly bored of my butchers stripe, and covet your champagne version. Somehow don't think DH could be persuaded though - will be stuck with ours till it falls apart! Will just have to use the car and the bugaboo bee more!

Hello all

Finally managed to sneak on! Been soooo busy with job searching and new house that eves are taken up with glasses of wine!!! We now have internet etc so should catch up more.

Thanks for comments re wedding we had a wonderful day and it all went fantastically.

On the Fleur front She is babbling away, we have sentences now such as mummy look dog!! which is dead cute. We can climb everywhere up stairs etc but no walking yet. We also are getting better holding one hand but after a while we get bored and realise crawling there is quicker!!

Qucik reply to some posts ive skimmed through on this thread.

A meetup fab idea and i love camping thats how i met DH we were holiday reps for Eurocamp/Keycamp so a tent was our house for 2 yrs.

Debs glad that nigels BPis ok I take medication everyday and have done since 3 years ago for High BP no reason found it can be genetic. I started on it at 26 yrs andd my pregnancy sent it through the roof hence fleurs early delivery. Will have to seriously chill before next one is due!!!

Essie saw you mentioned you wanted a buzz I loved ours at the beginning but now its taken some wear and tear i find it quite cumbersome and hard to lift in and out of trains buses etc here in Holland. Having been used to the zapp while the buzz was in storage I would seriously consider a lore lightweight one but the buzz is soooo much more comfortable for Fleur plus it reclines back for sleeps.

Beds - we have 2 singles pushed together here we both like our own space and duvets plus if fleur joins us there is more room though she does end up down the gap sometimes!!!

Allipalli that TAGA is fab so far the wheels on our zapp have fallen off several times along the road!!! we strap it to the back of the bike. We love the bakfiets as it rainy weathher think fleur would be drenched in her rainsuit

HIYA to the rest of you and Heloo to our 1st troll do join us!!!!!

Well off to drink more wine its my lie in tomorrow yeeeaaah
Ill try and post some pics of new house etc soon

So pleased to hear that Ethan's not the only one not walking! He's cruising, but like you say Poppy crawling is faster.

Viva - wedding sounds great and I'm very impressed at the friends relocating with tiny baby and producing food! Send the M+S goodies to me instead!

Current guests drove from the UK so they have bought PG Tips, sweetcorn relish and branston pickle for us!

BDQ - I thought - wow 44 steps

BDQ the champagne one is now more of a bucks fizz version as Lottie spilt orange smoothie on it this morning!

Hi Paro!

Paro - lovely to hear from you, looking forward to seeing some photos of your new place. Do you miss the sunshine of GC? Interesting to hear that you're on BP medication and what's the mention of the next one - something you want to share?

Hiya viva!

Debs jealous re tbags havent found english ones here yet!11

Hehe !!! Not missing sunshine yet!! as its nearly 30 here at mo but i bet i will. Im missing the sea though

Re any news when i posted the post and read it back i thought ooooh!!! nope no news here yet I have to assure a job first to get maternity benefits but deffo wnat another before fleur is 3 or 4 so could be trying end of next year

Yep BP meds evey day for last 4 yrs. Ive had loads of tests but no reason found my dad had high BP at my age and then it went away. Need to see dr here to have a review since i have had fleur. Maybe its ok they say pregnancy can cure some things

Looking forwaard to the ITV thing though our UKnova account has been cancelled as we havent used it as we had no comp or internet hopefully we can get new one b4 then

Hi all! Back from camping, we had a fab fab time. Just had a quick catch-up... Sponge, Mountain Buggy is a fab pram, the only problem is it is very bulky for getting in and out of the car. We took an umbrella-fold pushchair on hols with us and it was so much easier, no good for a newborn though, not as hardwearing, more difficult to push etc but it made me realise how difficult the MB can be. But I think any twin pram is going to be the same. I would buy the MB again I think, it has been very good especially with the carrycot. We got ours for £555 brand new from an ebay shop, then bought a second-hand carrycot for about £50. It is fine for getting round the shops - it fits through a standard doorway (and all public places should be big enough now cos of wheelchair access). As for the sex while camping thread... that is hilarious! We managed some this time and DH said 'do you think people can hear us?' I was like 'no way!', after reading that thread I am not so sure .

We had a great time - we went on walks, cycle rides, a wildlife park, Blenheim Palace, we only had three days where it rained heavily. The PILs came for one day, I'm sure you all remember how they invited themselves along despite us saying we wanted to have a holiday on our own - well it all kicked off cos they asked us to go for a bbq at their campsite the day after the bbq at ours and were really annoyed when we said no! More about that another time cos it is past my bedtime

But just one more thing - I have seen the MN column in the Daily Mail and seen the threads kicking off about it here... but I am dying to know what L eah H ardy's MN name is... anyone know?

Hiya neenz- c'mon as I enjoy the ongoing saga of your pil. The mail woman used to post as aloha but not sure what name is now. If it was just aibu or chat I wouldn't care so much but there isn't a lot to stop them looking elsewhere.

Viva - wedding sounds very glam. Bdq all your talk of coloured maclaren not easing my pushchair envy (not does your red to bugaboo bee) - both the maclarens here and in france re in accountants grey.

Must go as suspicious burbling and giggles from area of the bin....

Why do they all love the bin poppy .

On the DM saga I think it'll be a real shame if it affects people posting on MN etc. I think it's quite easy to forget that anyone can read it anyway. The DM have been quoting it for ages already, but I apreciate a regular column makes a lot of people anxious. I can never figure out how people can find out who's who with a 5 minute go on google though, so maybe I underestimate how easy it is to identify folk. I saw people on the DM thread say they figured out who this woman was in no time at all and I have no idea how!

Anyway, will leave the DM chat to the DM thread. What's everyone up to today? Bit wet a miserable here today and DH has the car. I'm shattered after lousy night's sleep. So I suspect it could be a very long day! S currently plonked in front of cbeebies already!

BDQ- I was thinking wow 44 steps, and that's a very exact number! Sounds about the same as J, 4 steps that is, not 44!

Viva - the wedding sounds great, we have a couple of RAF friends and that all sounds about right.

Hi Paro!

Debs- now I fancy some sweetcorn relish.

Neenz- sounds like a fun camping trip, DH seems to be trying to organise a camping trip near where his parents will be in Wales, I'm not quite so keen myself.

Poppy - I don't like the fact the whole of MN is searchable on google, other forums have closed areas that wouldn't come up on google. For MN I think that would be appropriate, at least for some topics.

We are meant to be going swimming again this morning, J is supposed to be having a nap first as he was shattered when we went last week, but I keep hearing the noises of an awake little boy.

poppy agree with you on the MN-DM thing - I wish there was an agreement that some threads (AIBU and chat) were fair game but others were not publishable.

I've finished my first (mini) bit of contract work and I'm feeling much calmer about leaving my job. Of course the nine days I have left in the office are dragging horribly...

and DS1 starts at the state nursery on Wednesday! I've taken the day off and it feels like he's really starting school instead of childcare. I'm not too emotional about it but it feels like he's grown up very quickly. (And then he brings me down to earth by calling from the toilet to get his bum wiped).

I've started a new thread for my mattress dilema: here. I tried sleeping with DH last night and my hips were too sore so had to move back into the playroom. I don't think he's as bothered as me - a whole bed to stretch out in! It's like every guy's dream - sex without cuddling after (on rare nights we're not too tired).

Anyone got any good tips for dealing with a bad tempered 13 month old who's taken to throwing his toys accross the room pretty forcefully? Have just put him in his cotbed where he is screaming blue murder while I count to 10!

BDQ that's exactly what I would suggest. F is throwing stuff lately too, I think he unfortunately has my temper instead of DH's laid back personality. I'm hoping as long as we don't give in, they'll learn that bad behaviour doesn't exactly get them anywhere.

Thanks abdn. I usually find that distraction works reasonably if he's having a wee tantrum but the throwing stuff just isn't on. He has quite a strong throw so could hurt someone or damage something. After a couple of firm (and maybe a bit loud) No's I put him in the cotbed. After I posted I tidied away the toys and went up and gave him a big cuddle.

I am having tantrum troubles here too! Theo is worst - this morning Esther was playing with her ride-on car when Theo went over and tried to get it off her. She just walked away so I got the other one out for her to play with, but when Theo saw she had the other one he left his car and came over to push Esther off hers. Again, she just left it and went to play with the other one, but he followed her again! What is that all about? I just said a firm 'No, Esther is playing with that' and pulled him away so he had a massive paddy, but I wonder how much they actually understand? Does he realise why I am saying no? I had to separate them in the end . They played quite well together after that. It's hard cos I want them to do what I say but I don't want to expect too much from them. I am entirely sure how to get them to behave! With the throwing, I think the cotbed was a good idea, just remove him from the situatioon but don't give him any attention etc. I find ignoring things works quite well!

As for the PILs, well obviously we didn't really want to see them while we were away and had told them that a few times, but they still organised this trip down and FIL in particular is obsessed with the idea of us going to France on hols with them. Anyway this year they camped about 20 miles away near to where DH's brother and family live. They wanted us to go there for a bbq but DH told his mum before we went that we wanted to do something at our tent because travelling all the way over the theirs with the kids etc was a pita. She said at the time 'don't think your dad will be very pleased' but we never heard any more of it so the bbq was arranged for our tent on friday, the day after they arrived. We told them to come 1.30/2pm, DH's brother and family turn up at 2.30, that's fine, but PILS turned up at 4.20! They'd been for lunch with a friend, they never even apologised or explained why they were so late. Anyway everyone was having a few drinks and it was very pleasant, then FIL said he was cooking a roast on his bbq the next day, and MIL said 'can you come?' I said 'no, we are going up to Witney for a bike ride tomorrow'. So that was that, till later on (when more alcohol had been consumed) FIL starts making 'jokey' comments about how he has loads of nice wine at his tent but we won't be able to having any cos we weren't going to his bbq the next day, then he started going on about France and how 'no one' wants to go on holiday with them (SIL has said earlier she and BIL and kids would be holidaying in the UK 'for the next 10 years at least'). DH told FIL they can come on hols with us, just not to France in the summer as we want to have our 2wk break by ourselves. We have asked them to come to Wales in May with us instead. FIL said 'What, come on holiday with you at a time and place prescribed by her (meaning me), that's no good to me is it'. Cheeky git. This went on for a few more mins before DH just went mad saying 'I am fed up of this, I don't want to hear about this any more!' and stormed off. He came back a few mins later saying he was sorry for losing his temper but he was fed up of these jokey references to France and this bbq tommorrow. FIL said 'Well I am upset! We've travelled 200 miles and you can't even come for a bbq!' I said he'd no right to be upeset, we were on our holiday and will do what we want to do. DH reminded them that we've told them numerous times that we do not want to spend our summer hols with them or anyone else. So this went on and obviously FIL backed down eventually and said they'd made a mistake coming and they shouldn't skirt around the issues and should be more straight talking like me and SIL (DH's brother's wife who has also told them she is not going to France). The thing is France is not about holidaying with us, they just want to show off their grandkids to all their mates at the French campsite they go to. Well I am not travelling 1000 miles just so some people I don't even know can see my kids . If they really just wanted a holoiday with us then they would be happy to come to Wales. Well I don't really want them to come on holiday with us ever so I am not fussed whether they come or not, so if he is bothered about it being a time and place prescribed my me he can shove it up his ass. But at least it all got said and is out in the open now. I don't think they will be mentioning France again - they'd better not anyway.

Sorry, a few paragraphs there would have been good!

Phew Neenz! Lets hope getting it all out in the open puts the issue to rest.

On tantrums and behaviour, it really is difficult isn't it? I don't really want to ctreate ishoos, and try not to have unrealistic expectations but at the same time I don't want potentially harmful behaviour going unchecked. He's playing happily now thankfully. We're trapped at home as it's raining and no car

neenz 1) i think it's lovely your DH stood up to his dad. As annoying as your PIL might be, you should be so pleased your DH is standing up for your family. 2) I think T knows exactly why you're saying no, Fraser definitely does. The problem I have is getting him to realize that he is good boy rather than the naughty rascal he seems to think he is.

bdq is that where the rain is? It's grey here but not actually wet so we're making mudpies in the garden and Fraser might have just eaten a piece of chalk. That can't be harmful I hope...