May 2009: Brides and bibs

[EtherealFiByTheSea]

Here we go...

Jenn Not sure I want to know how it got there, or whose it is, but I trust you now have a vomit free gusset

Tummum at your DS's adventures. My DS rolls and commando crawls, but although he kicks non-stop and is a very wriggly baby, he shows no signs of wanting to travel around the room. Which is fine by me.

at your FIL being annoyed at having to sleep on the playroom floor. I think it's more unreasonable of you to not have two guest rooms, complete with bed and all the trimmings

He sounds ... challenging.

Speaking of which, I've had my mother round today for 6.5 bleeding hours. That's 6 hours longer than I can comfortably bear. Actually, it wasn't too bad and we did go out by the Thames and she bought me a nice lunch. But the combined irritants of my mother and daugher (DS is too little to annoy me) did wear on my patience. Particularly as they have the same two really annoying habits. The first is that after you say something,they say 'pardon', and you're about to repeat it when you realise they heard you perfectly. The second is when you say a statement, and they repeat it to you as a question, forcing you to repeat yourself or as a minimum, confirm or deny something that you'd just actually said. I can take it from DD, but my mother does this all the time, complete with sounding very shocked at the most mundane statements. For example:
Me: I shop at Sainsburys.
Mother: Really? Really? Oh, you shop at Sainsburys do you?
Fantasy Me: Yes, I shop at Sainsburys. I just EFFING SAID SO, didn't I?

Sorry, but it really winds me up. I have to repeat myself all the time to her.

Flippin Exciting times in your house with baby A on the move!

Hello everybody

I've had a busy day here but seem to have achieved absolutely nothing. I dashed around Sainsburys only to find that it was absolutely heaving and more like blinking christmas than October. What is it with Hallowe'en this year?

G is getting far more mobile and is rolling around the floor and trying to sit up. He did learn how to sit unsupported but appears to have lost the knack. Weird! Weaning is going well. I gave him a yoghurt today and he had great fun smearing it around the tray with his fingers while I made cake. It was very funny!

Ses I didn't use a nursery in the end but I did look at a few. My only advice is to listen to your gut instinct when finding childcare. I had a long list of things I wanted from my childcare provider and found a nursery that ticked all the boxes. But something about it just didn't seem right and it really niggled me. Still, I went for the settling-in session and observed some pretty shocking practice. I withdrew DS1 immediately and found a childminder pretty sharpish, as none of the other nurseries had spaces. I was really happy with our childminder as she was happy to be flexible about our hours in a way that the nursery was not.

Jenn So sorry to hear the vomit continues. I shall send get well vibes your way.

Tummum I am going waft the smell of something calming your way as I think you need it.

flippineck another crawler! Woo-hoo!

Febes I love your SIL's paintings too. I am waiting for an opportune moment (ie cash!) to buy one.

Got to run but will come back later and catch up. I've got a cake to decorate tonight for DS1's birthday party tomorrow at soft play...will be hell but he will love it!

Jenn - thanks. Lots to think about!
As for puke in your knickers... How??! Yes- best laugh.

Dandy - that double dose sods sound v wearing. Have you got a bottle of wine open? I think you deserve it!

llare Thanks for the calming stuff.
ses Alcohol! Good idea. I don't actually like wine that much (although love sparkling wine and especially champagne), but I do like beer so I'll crack one open once DD is in bed.

llare I'm joining you with the grumpy old woman emoticon. Actually, I'm not sure you said 'old', but I will. I've just had a 'god, I really must be getting on' moment when I read in the news that the artist Sam Taylor-Wood, 42, has just got engaged to a 19 yo. I would still be shocked if she was a man and he was a woman, but I do find it especially surprising this way round.

ses I second the 'listen to your instincts' rule re nurseries. Don't put your child anywhere if you have an iffy feeling. I saw two when looking for one for DD. She was 14 months and was going to do one day. I took her with me both places. The first one we went to, the manageress told DD (who'd just woken up and was wearing some pink) "to smile", and then kept calling her 'he' even after I corrected her and had told her DD's name. Now, I don't mind really when strangers in an airport queue or a shop call my baby the wrong sex, but I do expect a bit more attention from detail on that score from someone whose job it is to look after children all day. And purely on that, I decided the nursery was a no. I subsequently heard bad things about it from parents whose kids went there, so was glad I went with my gut.

er, attention to detail. How ironic

My DH is making dinner

Meant to say earlier: muddled, welcome to the dark side!

• dh is making dinner here as well.

AND
he filled the bath for me and made a perfectly (well, a bit too strong) shaken vodka martini.

he's either seen 1) how wound up I am by looking after 3 young children and a dog all day, or 2) wants sex tonight.

Something in the air tonight with DHs then?!
My DH also reckons he made dinner. He heated up the left over spag bol and did jacket potatoes
I should just be grateful, shouldn't I!

Grumpy - feel free to come on here and have a moan. I might join you! I'm feeling fed up this evening with feeding O to sleep or co-sleeping the whole time. Then there's the 2hrly waking from 1am. I've had enough!!!
(rant over!)

ses, they probably 'heard' us chatting about life-coaching classes and got scared.

momi -

saus must be having her "last evening" now! Hope she managed to work it out so that ILs were separate tonight!

My DH obviously wasn't 'listening'. The only meals he provides are Chinese takeaways, unless I am ill/very grumpy, in which case he will push himself and do pasta and sauce.

Sending good vibes to saus

Just flicked over to Autumnwatch. Chris Packham revealed he has a poodle No offence to poodles, but it has kind of shattered my fantasies impression of him.

Evening everyone,

Will try to remember everyone, but it's going to be hard, lol.

jael Phew, your lazy day sounds like my busy day TBH. I can't imagine what your busy days must be like.

muddled Great Halloween name. Got one just in time for the big day

flippin Yay at the crawling. C's too chucnky for crawling I think. I think lighter babies get mobile quicker, because they don't have to carry all that weight. Well, that's my theory anyway.

Great idea for the DH course. DH does big house jobs only, so he thinks that excuses him from having to do the mundane things. But he's not that bad really, he does do bits, just one at the time. Heebie I totally recognise my DH in your description.

tummum @ the near miss. I worry about the other 2 not closing doors/stair gates etc... when the day comes that C's mobile. I also worry about lego and knexx. Even though it's stored in the dcs room, bits of it somehow manage to travel downstairs.

Ses Definitely agree with going with your gut feeling + checking on staff turn over. The once or twice we've had the ap not gelling with the dcs as well are the times I've gone against my gut feeling for some reason.

jenn Vomit... Underwear?! How?!

Dandy Have you managed to breathe and relax yet? Cracked that bottle open? At least it shows your mum listens to you. My mum often just starts talking about something totally different

We've had a nice day today. I won some tickets to a local baby show that's started by some local(ish) mums who are annoyed that they have to go all the way to London for baby shows. It was lovely, because they were all local nursery shops and baby signing/massage type people. So now I know where to go for a new car seat and the like

Jenn - oh no, but lol at puke in knickers! DD1 did that to me once, she was in the sling on my front, was sick down the neck of my t-shirt, I had to change ALL of my clothes except my socks!

momi - at your DH. Mine did make me a G&T this evening, but that's all he's done that's helpful today.

lol at man school! Should there be a course on dealing with sex (or lack of). DH got in a bit of a strop last night because I'd rejected what he thought was a great offer. Men, pah.

nurseries - no tips really, just go with your gut instinct. I looked at a couple when I went back to work after I'd had DD1, and wasn't convinced by any of then tbh as they didn't seem able to deal with DD1 (at the time she wasn't moving at all, wasn't really a joiner in, and was really struggling with separation anxiety) so I saw a few childminders instead and now have a fantastic CM. She's great and has really helped M. The flexibility of a CM is very helpful to us because of DH's random foreign trips as well.

Yeah, tis exciting about the nearly crawling! Very entertaining to watch.

We had a good night last night, A woke at 1:30 for a feed, went back to sleep really easily and then woke at 6:30! Please can I have many more nights like that.

Exciting stuff - tomorrow is my spa day! I'm going to The Sanctuary. DH is very nervous as I'm leaving the house at 9am and will be back after dinner! Freezer full of milk, what more does he need?!

salem - my neighbour says that about chunky babies too! She came round for tea this afternoon, her daughter is a week older than A and now weighs 19lb 8(!) but doesn't move at all, she was blaming the chunk factor too.

Dandy - all calm now? I have a problem with DD1 and repetition too, but it does get incredibly wearing at times, we have to same conversations over and over again. No, grandma and grandpa aren't here. Yes, we'll see them in the spring. Yes, I know we went to London on the train for your birthday to se the fishes (it was March FGS, we don't need to discuss it everyday!)

Imagine pouring a pint of water into your crotch, well then imagine it's baby sick and hey presto you have very wet puke soaked knickers.

Just eaten an enormous Tbone steak with salad and baked potato. Mmmm. There is a teenage metal disco in the church over the road. It's very loud. Must have words with the vicar.

ROFL muchly at 'Must have words with the vicar'!!!!

My dd1 was my lightest (on 50th centile) and she rolled around 6m, crawling followed after that. DS and C were (are) much chunkier and no rolling whatsoever. C goes sort of on her side and that's about it. (She was 20 lbs 2 weeks ago btw

Jenn, lol, you must be one of the few people in the world who's got to go and have a word with the vicar about metal music!

I think you might be right Salem about lighter babies getting mobile quicker. From my completely unscientific sample size of two, anyway! DS2 is definitely slower at moving around than DS1, but I also think that poor old DS2 gets to sit in his bouncy chair out of harms DS1's way so doesn't really get the practice!

Jennster I am laughing hard at you having words with the vicar over metal music. I am struggling to see our vicar allowing that! However I still have the image of your pukey pants in my head and the words pants and vicar is making all sorts of carry-on jokes pop up in my head.

flippineck I am very jealous of your spa day tomorrow.

We are struggling to ice the cake I promised DS for his birthday. He wanted a fire engine cake and in a moment of madness I decided to make it instead of paying someone. It is a blinking disaster and I shall post the results on facebook for you all to laugh commiserate with me. I've left DH to do the tricky bits because I can't stand the look of it.

It's just occurred to me (doh!) that smaller babies don't always move quicker - DD1 was smaller than a (A 25th centile, DD1 9th) but never crawled and only occasionally rolled and eventually bumshuffled at 13 months.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now - need plenty of energy for my hard day tomorrow . Night all!

flippineck Have a wonderful time tomorrow. You deserve it. Btw, I would bypass your HV and go straight to your GP with your PND concerns. Afterall, it is he/she who would diagnose you and can prescribe ADs or refer you for counselling.

babies moving Both DD and DS were/are small babies. DD on 9th percentile, DS just under 25th. DD first rolled about 6 months, didn't crawl until 10 months. DS can roll, but doesn't do it much. DD never seem bothered about getting anywhere, was quite a stationary baby. She didn't walk until 17 months and then oh boy, it all changed and she became a fearless running demon.

Morning everyone.

Self inflicted tiredness here. Switched off computer after my last post, intending to go to bed at a decent time and ended up watching telly until midnight. My poor hands are ally itchy with excema that's flared up due to tiredness. Definitely an early night tonight.

Flippin Have fun with the Spa day. Not at all. I keep hinting at DH every year that I'd like something like that as a p xmas pressy, but he's just not catching on.

llare Don't worry too much about your icing effords. I made ds a Pokemon cake and made Pikachu in icing. I thought he looked like a very wonky Pikachu and thought he looked rubbish. But then our 6 yo b'day party guests arrived and they all thought he just looked like the real thing. DS was very happy with it too. I'm sure your fire engine will look just like the real thing in a 3yo's eyes

moving babies Hmmm, clearly not a weight thing then, but a temperament thing maybe? Dd1 spent a lot more time in her bouncy chair than the other 2, yet she's the one who rolled and crawled earlier.

Morning all. Rant alert. Sorry.

AIBU to expect FIL to clear up after himself. He made me a cuppa this morning (which was very thoughtful of him) but then has left the milk out without the top on, the worktop is awash is water and the teabag is sitting on the (wooden) worktop causing a nice stain. I am not the tidiest girl in the world, in fact I would say I am pretty untidy, but this sort of stuff just gets on my nerves.

AIBU to have the hump that FIL has gone out this morning to buy ingredients for a full cooked breakfast because he doesn't want the selection of cereals and toast that was on offer?

AND

AIBU to be very irritated that FIL keeps on whistling at DS like he is a dog when he wants DS to crawl towards him. I am really having to bite my tongue on that one.

DC are behaving like brats, because Nana has promised to take them shopping to buy them lots of clothes and toys today. I fear it's going to be a looooooong weekend !

Hope Saus is having a lovely lovely day, and hope the weather is better for her than here

Llare very impressed with the cake making effort. DOn't worry about it, I am sure DS1 will love it because you have made it.

Flipping .

Right, off to find some valium...

toffee Found the valium? Hope the weekend wont be too long a one for you. I think you're YANBU about your FIL, but at least he didn't expect you to go out to get the ingredients for a full works breakfast

Herumph, it's raining here now. I need to go out to the shops for a few bits and pieces. Might not do it now and see if I can survive with what's in the cupboards for now. Might also consider letting the dcs watch daytime telly (normally forbidden) if it rains all day, cos I need to do ironing/washing/empty the soon to be guest bedroom for my parents and cousin next week. I'm feeling a bit annoyed with said cousin. She keeps asking my mum whether she needs to bring pillows/sheets etc... Why can't she phone or e-mail me. Apparently she tried to phone me 2 days ago and I wasn't home, well I was home by 6.30, so she never made a big effort in trying to get hold of me. AND she keeps send me annoying forward e-mails, but now she needs to get hold of me she doesn't seem to be able to send me a proper e-mail.