January 2009 - "This is halloween, this is halloween, babies wake in the dead of night..."

[VerySpookyLennipillar]

A homage to the Nightmare Before Christmas song. DH obsessed with that film, we all (DD included) have to watch it on Christmas Eve.

Lucy Burney book has a lot of gluten free stuff in Moose, including custard, instant choc pudding and banana ice cream. I'm sure you are totally up to speed with all this stuff though, and don't need more recipes to make you feel inadequate. I always feel like crap after reading my books.

That link you gave us threads and thread ago was great too, we spent £80 on gluten and dairy free food for DD. Such things as millet porridge and spelt crackers dontchaknow. Still eating quite a bit of it. The rabbit biscuits looked lovely but fell down on the taste sadly. Haven't dared to go back to the site since

have just bought

dd2 for her 1st bday elc click clack caterpillar, whiiz around garage multi coloured and wheely bug small tiger - reduced to £39.99 on kiddicare
then bought dd1 for xmas cat in the hat tag book for tag system and jolly phonics workbooks 1-7
saw dd1s school teacher all ok just needs to work on her wriitng and social interaction

dog, glad you have retrieved some money at least, sorry about poor sick dd

moose, hope ds1 is doing better today

hkz, fingers still crossed for j - hope you get answers tomorrow

well, we have not been having the nicest of times here - i sloped home from brussels with a bit of a headache, to the cold shoulder from c, who managed my absence fine but clearly didn't approve of it. she has more or less forgiven me now, though. she is still not quite right some way - slimy green poo and a bit miserable on and off. it could just be teething, i guess.

c's dad has decided against donating again, i think his partner is really not persuadable and i guess that's fair enough, but dp and i are both a bit downcast about it .

and we have mice in our house.

better take the small girl off for her nap now. sorry about the me, me, me post.

dog, if i were two or three years younger we might look into finding another donor, but it would probably take too long to start again in terms of my fertility. we have been very lucky with c's dad, in that he wants to have a relationship with her but doesn't want to be her parent, i doubt we could find that again very easily. we aren't willing to have a child without a dad when c has got one, iykwim, i think that might be quite difficult for a small child to deal with, you know? and adoption would be tricky here, gay couples can't adopt and it takes a very long time. so it looks like c will be an only, which is obviously fine, and we are indescribably pleased to have her, so can't complain too much. but still, you know...

our cat dealt with one of them last night, but then i saw another one in the late evening, so i guess there's more than one... my mum tried the sonic thing once. it doesn't work, surprisingly . we are doing things the cruel old-fashioned way, with traps - but we can't have mice with c crawling around, so...

Tree, sorry I disappeared last night. Combination of ds1 appearing downstairs at 11.30 pm! AND his appearance waking dd, who was asleep in her swing after being impossible to settle all evening.

Just realised, I have the Lucy Burney Optimum Nutrition book. Bought it when I was weaning ds1. Hadn't even thought of looking in it for GF recipes and hadn't registered it was by the lady you were talking about. [doh! emoticon] Will have a read today I think.

Dog, sorry to hear B is feeling poorly. Yay for I's new teeth though. Dd nearly has her new bottom ones, but is really struggling to cut the top two and seems to be shoving her hands really far back in her mouth so I'm starting to think those horrible molars are moving around in her gums. Poor thing.

Good news about A. Sounds like he is really coming on.

Stripey, you seem to be having such a tough time of it at the moment. Sorry to hear C's dad doesn't feel he can be a donor again.

Oh Stripey. for you, though of course we are all very luck to have our dc's. A final no is always hard to hear so I do understand. Stout heart and savour your C.

I feel like your donor towards any children that come of it - I want to be involved but not to parent.

I agree with you Dog, on all counts.

Do you still want a yurt site in Yorkshire Moose, there is one advertised in Green Parent this month. Will get details for you.

Now wanting to go back to that food site you told us about, but can't due to potential financial damage

Can a savvy person tell me where our facebook page has gone? It seems to have gone from my list, and I want to see the meet up picks!

Get well soon DD of Dog and Stripey.

Tree I think you just have to type it in the search box as it doesn't show up on mine either anymore...

Stripey, sorry C's dad didn't agree to another DC. That must be tough on you guys, but you have the adorable C, just for you both that you can't have another.

Dog, is dd1 feeling better? Glad A's speech is coming on, and awww at baby vampire

Moose, how is DS1 today? Has he recovered from his gluten intake at the weekend?

Wheely bugs....they ar egreat. Picked a lady bird one up for DD is a chariteeeee shop last year for a fiver and it has been used non-stop...J loves clambering/dribbling on it too.

Very much appreciate all the positive vibes. We got a call today saying we are going to see the neurologist which sounds a bit ominous...but I just want to know whats up now.

Hi HKZ, ds1 is a little better thanks, but still hasn't returned to the lovely boy we had last week. Still seems to have a hair-trigger and no patience - horrid outbursts over the slightest things. At least we have seen how good he 'can' be and that's helping us stick with it at the moment. I have found out that its quite common to see good results initially and then have a period of aggravation as they go through withdrawal. Am now thinking it might be that, rather than the relatively small amount of gluten he had at the weekend.

Good luck for tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you and sending more positive vibes.

morning

hkz - good luck
mm - sure he will be ok

jolly babies in a min then getting bracken weighed havent been for ages

Mm - keep up the good work. It will pay off, but I know the effort involved. He will be so healthy, whatever about his behaviour that it is a win win solution. I think the withdrawal can be weeks can't it.

HKZ - many positive vibes and cyber handholds.

Have a lovely morning Tink, sounds jolly.

Hell here, Harriet cried all last night, then from 5.45 till 8.30. She screamed doing a poo at 8 and settled down after that. I am actually growing to resent bowels. They make my children miserable.

Am starting a food diary for both of them today, and will ring H's dietitian and see if she will review it as to where I am going wrong.

Will chack back for news HKZ.

tree, i'm with you on the bowel resentment, a few days here of nasty green ones and now she is back to straining. i hope h is doing better today, and that you can have many soothing cups of tea

we are still a bit mopey here, and also seem to have some sort of germ: a barrel of laughs, i believe the expression is thank you all for your support - it has been a bit more of a blow than i expected, somehow. but all will be well.

hkz, am thinking of you and the small boy

I think 'no' is the hardest thing to hear. In regards to anything.

On top of low energy and a straining dd. Arse!! I suggest getting the hell out of there and having a slap up lunch somewhere.

no can do on the slap up lunch, just did a quick survey of the finances we are flat broke until the beginning of december... the downside of taking a career break...

Flat broke till end Feb. Am £167 overdrawn with no income other than FA and flat rate Tax Credits, and my money runs the non-bills side of things. Doesn't add up.....

Be eating lots of porridge me thinks

Might have to wait for the wheelybug. Ah well.

[glum emoticon]

HKZ - logging on for news, hope it has gone well.

Tree - hope H is better now. What a trauma you have with her little tum, hope the dietician helps. And possessor of guilt 'Where I'm going wrong' sounds like it belongs in the bag.

Very for your news Stripey. I have a friend in RL who can't conceive a sibling and I think in plenty of ways it is just as painful for her as not being able to have had a child at all. After all the sibling would be just as wanted as the first, and you know what you are missing out on second time. It is little consolation to think of the child you do have, since they fill their own hole, not the hole you have for a sibling. IMVHO I think you are right to grieve and move on rather than search out another donor etc. - only said given the experience of my friend which has been a very difficult path and has ultimately been fruitless. She feels that her life has been structured around getting pregnant for many years now, a tortuous experience even with the easiest conception. That said, you might get lucky and find the right person, I wouldn't worry about the donors being different from the child's pov, as Dog said, children tend to be more accepting of these things, and by the time C is an adult I would imagine that sperm/egg donation and much to do with fertility will have lost it's ...

I'm waffling, what I should have put is (((hugs)) to you both, cuddle the little one and curl up with some comfort food and drink her in. Will be thinking of you.

My new name is far too hard to type, must get an easier one

Tree - DD has a wheelybug. I trip over it frequently, she has barely grazed her cheeks on it. Am certain it has the potential to be wonderful, but children are fickle. I wouldn't waste too much headspace worrying about not having another lethal obstacle adorning your front room.

Your name is very good though SMLP. Interesting about the wheelybug - I think I'd be mightily pissed if she didn't love it. Espcially when DD1 got so much joy from her like-a-bike. Hmmmmm.

I agree with you Lenni, about families. I think adults imagine the pov of the child, but in reality I think children crave stability and nuture - and don't give a hoot if the sibling in the next room has different genes to them. So many complicated extended step parents and siblings now anyway, the donor role is almost an extension of that.

That said, I can totally see your wanting to draw a line in the sand here, Stripey. Lenni puts it so well, that one baby fill one special ['C'] shaped hole, but that other holes may exist too. It's ok to acknowledge that. I don't feel 'finished' either, but may have to be for financial and childcare reasons - so I know the feeling. It is a jagged pill indeed. It doesn't mean we aren't grateful for our babies, just that we think they are so ace we want more So it's a celebration of our love for them really isn't it.

I was an only, so was DH. We are very happy and any issues we may have would have still happened had we siblings.

I want my lunch but dd is asleep on me and I don't dare move. She needs her sleep poor thing. She did more mega poo, then ate huge amounts of millet, carrot and apricot stew type thing. Along with 200 mls of fresh squeezed orange and 6 oz of milk. Is snoring and giggling in her sleep

.....just updating with a newsflash....and breath a sigh of relief....
It wasn't the best news but not the worst either. Jude has a tumour on his neck , pressing on his nerves, hence the lack of function over the last few months in his arm. The neurologist is pretty sure it is benign. he is to go in for another MRI this friday (have thrown away all fridge magnets just in case). He has also been referred to a Neurosurgeon at Great Ormand Street some time next week with a view to removing the tumour. Its a massive relief to have a diagnosis and to be able to get on with treating him and at tyhe moment it seems pretty straight forward. So a huge thank you for all your good vibes and hugs, very much appreciated...the boy is howling upstairs so must go and tend to him, will catch up later.