Fab Feb 2009 - hey ho, hey ho, its off to babyproof we go...

[dinkystinky]

off we go again

MS, I really felt quite tearful when I read your post about F nuzzling up to you. H does that all the time and I know I'm too soft and give in all the time so he probably wakes 5 or 6 times in the night for a little 5 minute feed then dozes off again. I know I'm making a rod for my own back as I did with DD and should be firm and put him in his cot. I'm sure no harm was done by that little feed but am sorry you are having to stop. I must also make an effort to stop sooner than with DD who was still feeding at 2.5.

dinky poor you, I know how awful it is being that tired. Makes everything else seem so much worse.

LBB fab result at car boot sale. we meant to do one over the summer but it never happened. I'm trying to organise a nearly new baby/toddler sale (sadly just clothes and equipment, not the kids!) I did one last year like the NCT ones they used to do and although there weren't that many people involved (never are the first time) we made over £150 for charity by just taking 25% of sale proceeds. A few people have asked me to do another so I might do one Oct for winter stuff (winter lasts about 2 weeks here) and then one in the spring. Have sorted out loads of DDs clothes and embarrassed to find loads of brand new osh kosh she never wore

Just had lunch with a friend whose DD is the same age as G. equally pissed off and texted my best friend in Dubai and she said to get my butt (and dcs 3 and 4 of course) over there for a while which is tempting. Only 1 1/2 hour flight

Went to doctor which was interesting as he was a locum. Told him of the problems, including my back history, particularly the large metal pins in my lower spine. He then suggested an MRI scan Now I'm not medically trained, but I'm pretty sure I can't have an MRI or all my bits of metal (in back and in jaw) will fly all round the place and I'll basically explode! I therefore explained this quite calmly to him and he looked it up and said I might be right and referred me for a CT scan instead which I'll have hopefully within the next week or so, Saudi holidays permitting! He did say it sounded like nerve damage due to the symptons (numbness in leg/toes etc) but am starting to wonder if he was a 'real' doctor.

MS you are doing brilliantly.. and stick to bottles if you can, better than trying to get rid of them later.. we are still trying to get rid of the last bedtime bottle for DS ...

(((Herb))) I know EXACTLY how you feel, I have felt very tired and low in the last few weeks. keep thing simple(if expensive)

1. online shop, 2. cleaner preferably doing the ironing. 3. all other domestic activities have no urgency. 4. a play day at home with no activity planned is no bad thing...

Dinky, hope you get the sleep sorted and dont get too tired, are you full time ?

lbb, i am so impressed, i need to do a car boot sale

hey to everyone else discussing nappies etc.. am at work so have not read the thread properly, and I have prob.missed something!

herb thanks
It's so difficult to find the middle ground isn't it when you need to be in 2 places at once. Like you say though, it will pass.
I'm not much help.......sorry.
mos your nearly new sale sounds like it was a huge success, raising that much for charity is fab!
RE MRI scan, sometimes I wonder if these people did actually study medicine......

We've just been to the park with a friend and her little boy and ds1 was perfectly behaved.
Luke, not so much but that's because an hour after he started crying, I rea;ised he might be hungry, and then realised I'd left the bottle at home! Idiot me.

dd's leg isn't healing, another 6 weeks in plaster at least

things just keep going from bad to worse

for DD....

{{{{{PT}}}}}

Your poor DD. We'll do her another package to cheer her up!

I got DS to drink a whole 6oz tonight, I am so relieved when I know he's had a decent amount. I think I may have discovered the secret though, he seems to like it really quite hot. I was sure it was a bit too warm but he grabbed it off me and guzzled the lot.

Myabe I have been underestimating the incredible warmth of my norks.

MS my dd likes her bottles nice and warm.....

Hi all,

Swampy, will try and get back to you soon, I've just come to the end of a few days with our CM on holiday - D is still off tomorrow but so is dp so it's like a weekend day in the week.

PT your poor dd
MS Both mine like their milk really warm. I started ds1 on room temp formula but he had winding probs so when I heard that the warmer the milk the easier the wind comes up......but yeah, I too sometimes thought/think it's a little too warm, but if that's how they like it

morning all,
PT poor you and DD. How frustrating. Have they said why its not healing as quickly as they presumably thought it would?
Is she at school or still off?

Thank god we have a party today from 9.30am til 1pm. Someone has organised the bouncy castle in the sports hall and we'll let the little darlings have a good run around and wear themselves out.
Trying to plan what to do the next few weeks as its been confirmed nursery closed until at least the 18th Oct. Looked into flying to Dubai to see my best friend but fights are crazy, around £1,100 for myself DD and H! Its only 1 1/2 hour flight for gods sake it would be cheaper to fly back to the UK.

Am thinking of maybe trying to take advantage of schools being off and running some trial/taster sessions of my signing classes. Not so much for the babies but maybe ages 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 and try and tempt the mums by saying they can leave the little darlings for an hour and go for a coffee or something (thank god cinnabon is still open on compound)
Normally parents will attend with kids but think if I offer a drop and run scheme more will be interested, I can get more in (as no parents taking up room) and it would be good for me to have a few practice runs without parents watching

Views?

Morning. Hurrah, Danny only woke up 3 times last night though v snotty, grumpy and tired this morning so not entirely sure we're out of the woods yet. Markstretch - Danny (and DS1 too as a baby) will only drink formula if its really warm. Nkweto - yep, am full time at work - tis quite difficult trying to use my brain when fogged with cold and lack of sleep. Ho hum - this too shall pass.

PT - your poor DD and poor you. Sending you both huge hugs. Hope her leg heals quicker than expected now.

MoS - sounds brave dealing with toddlers/preschoolers without parents around! If you are going to do that I'd keep the groups quite small - maybe 5 or 6 kids in it max - and enlist someone to help out with crowd control. My experience from toddler classes is that if one of them loses interest, all of them seem to and then chaos descends....

I am feeling sorry for my poor ol' DD today.

After the black eye/trampolining incident on Sunday and the falling off the bike yesterday, we got to school this morning and she was bursting for the loo and didn't make it in time and peed her pants. She was mortified. I was hoping it would be a case of drying her pants under the hand drier but no she was soaked.

And she refused to change into jogging bottoms at school so walked the 40mins home in wet pants.

Got home and she says her throat hurts, and is croaking and coughing and so has had a bath and gone back to bed.

Poor old DD

poor DD MS, sounds like she's coming down with something nasty hope a duvet day and lots of TLC does the job.

docs didn't say why it was taking so long, the x-ray looked like a fresh break, even the twat doctor who was talking to us thought it was recent til i explained otherwise.

we're not even back for another x-ray for 4 weeks at which point she'll have been in the same thigh high cast for 6 weeks [itches at the mere thought of it] Am going to go have war with the teacher later and insist she's alllowed in for an hour a day at least... luckily i have all the other mothers on my side and a few of them are on the PTA so can help me argue dd's case.

Oh, poor ol' L, MS. Sounds like she needed a PJ day.

PT Hope little lady is not feeling too blue, is she able to help with A while you do the housework mn?

MOS I second Dinky about roping in some crowd control, especially if you have H with you. How many people have expressed interest in the classes? Maybe one of those mums could help you out? J took M to her first class last week, and she loved it - was fascinated for all but the last 5 minutes when she got a bit sleepy, and J said all the others were signing at least one or two signs (he said they were all more like 12-18 months).

Dinky Glad to hear you had a bit of a better night with Danny - is DS1 still disturbing you? That's what I'm not looking forward to if we have another; I can just about cope with M waking in the night, but I don't think I could with 2 waking on different schedules.

I'm on round 92 with MIL. She was half an hour late today and didn't even mention it (I don't expect her to grovel, but at least saying 'sorry, traffic was a nightmare!' would be nice), and then proceeded to have a coversation with me without talking directly to me "M, did you sleep well last night?" "M, is it time for some breakfast?" "M, where has mummy put your clothes for today?"

If it was anybody else I would tell them exactly what I think, but after having J sobbing on my shoulder yesterday morning, I know I have to resolve this calmly. But I really do think I have bent over backwards to accomodate her, and the rest of J's family for that matter. I want M to have a good relationship with her grandparents - she already doesn't see my dad - but I'm at my wits end. I'm so anxious, I'm snapping at M, J wants to visit a friend in Paris in a few weeks, and I'm really scared that I won't cope alone. I'm not sleeping, even when M is, and can't concentrate at work (have interview on Friday, so really should be on the ball this week). Argh.

PSL... she plays with him on the floor a bit but she's only 4 so not much help even when fully functioning

sorry things are still difficult with MIL... sounds like an awful situation

Pink - can you give DD some glitter, glue and pens and get her to decorate her cast? Might cheer her up. Am sure Mr A will love helping her too

PSL - huge hugs and sympathies on the MIL situation. It is soooo hard where family are involved in childcare routines and I'll bet you feel like you're walking on eggshells most of the time with your MIL as it is. You said on an earlier thread that she's a typical mum of boys - I should imagine that is contributing to your difficulties as it sounds a little like she's adoring M as her first granddaughter but you're being frozen out abit. Where possible though I'd advise just rising above it all and just gritting your teeth and smiling sweetly - or if it really isnt working thinking about getting M to go to the childminder on all the days that you need someone else to look after M. Is it possible to get J to do the handover to his mum as much as possible? If you're really worried about how you'll cope when J is away, could you maybe get him to speak to his family about how they need to be extrasupportive when you're on your own or if you think that would cause more stress, maybe get your mum or sister or cousin or someone other than MIL to help you and M out while he's away? Or maybe you can go to Paris with J and M for a minibreak (sounds like you need one!) FWIW my boys only see their grandparents once every couple of months or so and they both recognise and adore both sets and have close loving relationships with them - your MIL doesnt need to see M every single week to have a close loving relationship with her so if the childcare nightmares continue you should be able to resolve things without ruining the good relationship she has with M.

Your poor DD Markstretch - hope she's feeling abit better now. I remember wetting myself when I was at school - absolutely mortifying - poor girl.

I have to agree with dinky there PSL, my kids see my parents every few weeks and dp's once or twice a year and adore them and have really good relationships with them. I only saw my dutch grandparents every year or two and my irish granny every few months and i was extremely close to all of them.

There's some truth to the old saying; Absence makes the heart grow fonder. M won't necessarily get on better with you MIL if she's in her care once a week, quite the opposite in fact, she'll be on the same leval as all her other caregivers and seen as a person with rules, expectations and bad moods just like you, J, her childminder and your mother as opposed to an adored granny who spoils her when she sees her... in fact you could use that as your argument for ending the once day a week childcare agrangment

FFS. My post just disappeared! I'll try again later.

MOS you are a brave brave woman if you are willing to let a load of pre-schoolers be dropped off for a whole hour. I think you at least need one other person there as back-up.

PSL my MIL (and FIL) used to look after DD1 once a week and DH used to do the handover, going in late that day (but working late). I would start early and finish early to take over from the ILs at 5pm, by which point they'd be desperate to get away, and there was limited scope for us to piss each other off.

We do get on pretty well nowadays, but I found my MIL v intrusive when DD1 was a baby. She's not at all now (that we're on DC3 and she does no childcare!) but she treated DH and I like idiot children when we had DD1 (even tho I was 30 so not exactly a teen, grr).

I was working full-time at the time and had v little time for housework, plus a bit more slatternly than now, but I used to be SO cross when she eg cleaned my hob, taking it as a criticism of my house-keeping.

I think you have to weigh up pros and cons: saving cash (presumably) and time with M's granny vs potential marital/family strife and battle to rise above it all (not sure I always managed).

MOS, would parents not want to see what the signing is about at a taster session? I would have thought that your idea might work better for 3/4 year olds, that 2 year olds might be a bit young to be left. But I would think taster sessions might be better done on a similar basis to how you're going to run it normally.

Someone came to do a taster session of Monkey Music at C's baby group today, it was great fun and it was a good point for C to get a taster as he's really got the interest in picking things up and trying them out (and having a real taste of the toy monkeys and musical instruments).

MS, your poor DD, she has had a really bad week. Hope she feels better soon.

PT why are the school not happy for DD to go in at all. I know it will be difficult for them but for gods sake, surely they can sort something out.

PSL,poor you ref MIL. Hell would freeze over before my MIL had G & H. I hope you don't let it stress you too much x

ref signing classes, I'd only let the kids I know come round and would be a maximum of 6 in a class anyway. The 'normal' classes will be for parents as well but I just thought some of the older ones, ie DD's friends who are around 3 could come round and it would be a good chance for me to practice and use them as guinea pigs

To be honest, quite a few of the mums couldn't care less about what their kids are doing, they just want shot of them. They have been fighting over the available filipino nannies the last few days, trying to book them for the next few weeks so they don't have to look after their own children!

DD and I (mainly I) have just made cakes (large heart shaped one for daddy which we will decorate for him to take into work this pm) and little ones for her.
Will make lollies later and do some gardening (planing seeds in little pots that just won't grow) next week.

elkie is Mondy Music signing too or just singing and instruments? I've got various instruments as some of my 'props'!

right, going to walk to the shops before it gets too hot

i've brought her in this morning for an hour, to much sniffing and 'are you sure this is a good idea?' from the teacher

mos; the school are just lazy buggers, lots of parents complain that they ring you to have the child collected at the vaguest excuse. There's no way she's missing another 6 weeks though, the doctor told me 2 weeks ago there was no reason to keep her home, she's only missed these two weeks as the school are being so odd... they tried to refuse a boy with a broken arm last year fgs... on what grounds is anyones guess but his mother wasn't having any of it either!

i wish someone ran classes like yours around her, would love to do stuff like that with the kids

PT you should send her to my DD's school, they don't even let you know if your child is injured, they just keep them there!

Sounds like they are being lazy. Yes, I know it will be difficult with a broken leg but assume she has a wheelchair and surely they have to have provision for wheelchairs or aren't they discriminating against disabled students/teachers? Sound like arses!

Ref sign language, let me have your address on FB and I'll copy the dvd and post it to you. DH back to the UK on business in a few weeks so he can do it then. The dvd is really good and DD loves it and H just sits and dribbles when he watches it.

no wheelchair, no frame... just crutches she can't use....the bloody hospital is as useless as the school!

thanks for the dvd offer, i'll go on FB later and give you my address, do you have paypal? i'll send you the postage money by post if not.