radical cross stitch, theological debate, Easter bunnies, changing bags,and a baby brother...it must be June 08!

[spongebrainbigpants]

Welcome to our new thread .

What a lovely teacher sybil. Reassuring too - I'm v. nervous about L. starting primary school next September, he'll be only just 4 ....

broody AH? that would go some way to addressing the return-to-work issue!

My sewing machine was my Grandmas and I presume it was bought in the fifties (most of her stuff was), it's fairly similar to this one but not as fancy, and with nicer dials, same colour and similar wooden base. Same barely electric motor, I keep thinking it's going to electrocute me! Works fine though, unlike the one my Mum bought a few years ago which is broken.
Our washing machine is about 15 years old and I am dreading that breaking as I don't think a new machine would last ten minutes here with the amount of mud that DH puts in it.

Sybil - that's terrible about the cookers!
Glad your DS had a good day at school, it does sound like he has a good teacher.

Neenz - good news about your friend.

I got J some washable pens and a colouring in book this morning and he is just busy working on a pointillism frog, in blue. Well that is the effect you get when you repeatedly bash the pen on the picture.

SA that would mean I'm not returning to work permanently though (five more years at home? It'd be so hard to go back then) and I'm not sure I'm okay with that. I really miss work, and although I'm happy on a daily basis, and the boys are so much happier, part of me feels like it's dying.

Gosh that sounds far too dramatic, I'm 95% fine!

weaning tips - we just had a major war about stopping during the day. Basically he was inconsolable and I would just keep walking away from him. Since I'm refusing to feed in public, I need to refuse all day every day as he wouldn't understand the distinction. My rule now is no BM if he's not in his sleeping bag. (I tried offering milk in a cup, which he will take normally, but he'd get enraged and through the cup across the room).

AH that sounds really tough but I think it is what we need to do too. More gentle approaches have got us precisely nowhere, she is even back to 2am feeds at the moment after her ?ear infection incident. She is also easily understanding enough now for me to introduce a rule like 'no feeds except in your bedroom'. Although I think I will have to leave this until we move house now - one major disruption at a time.

But what I wanted to ask was: how long did the inconsolable bit last for?

(and sorry for my broody/work quip by the way, sent quickly but I regretted it straight away as I know it's a sensitive issue for you. I hope you can find some way to nourish the work bit of you - even if it's not a way that earns you money for now. Having said that, 95% fine sounds like a great achievement to me and really validates what you are doing right now!)

AH, the stopping BFing sounds really tough, they are not daft are they - they really know how to tug on the heartstrings . I agree 'only feeding in bedroom' or sleeping bag is a good disctinction he should understand. Hopefully only a few days of being upset and he will be fine.

I think I will feel the same as you when I give up work cos although i really want to be at home, I don't think I'll get back into print journalism... because of the hours, I wouldn't want to go back to a full working day ie not being able to pick the kids up from school, until they are all in high school. That could be a long time. But although I really like my job I think it is more the satisfaction of doing a job well and getting paid for it that I enjoy, so I am going to become a cm. I think I'm the sort of person who just loves to do a job well and really throw myself into it so I hope it will suit me and earn us a bit of cash too. Have you considered doing something else that fits in better with the kids or is it your actual job you really miss?

Yes my twins friend is quite amazing, she went to 40+2 (actually she was due Tues so 40+3) and was so keen to have a natural birth that she switched hospitals so she could have them in an MLU, which she did . Yes I think the docs were getting a bit twitchy with her going so long, she was being monitored every few days, but she was really adament she didn't want to be induced cos then she would have had to go to the CLU.

DH left the baby gate open this morning and as I was making the DTs' porridge they climbed halfway up the stairs and E fell down. They usually manage the stairs really well, I have been letting them go up and down on their own for a few weeks, so I think T pushed her - he was looking very sheepish and she was giving him dirty looks. She seemed fine though she cried quite a bit

I did read all the posts earlier but S came home before I could post and now I can't remember anything.

Am very pooped a glad not to have to revise tonight!
Weary waves to all!

marking my spot - too tired to post

SA three days? And Fraser's a stubborn monkey! And no offense taken at all about the work/broody quip, I'm definitely seeing the strange humour in my competing desires... It's a big issue for me, but not a sensitive one I guess

BDQ congrats for getting this exam over with!

neenz i miss working with my brain on science stuff so I'm considering trying to pick up volunteer work at a non-profit in the New Year. I've a PhD in climate change for goodness sake, someone should want me for free

DS1 has fallen down stairs before, terrifying but part of the learning process. Glad E's ok.

I have utmost respect for CMs, I do not have enough tolerance for my own kids, let alone other peoples!

x-post, hugs to sponge. Hope you get a decent night.

Glad E's okay Neenz.

Had a really crappy day here. Two vry heavy, really heavy climbing frmes fell on top of ds at toddler group. Thankfully he was inbetween the bars so they didn't actully touch him or in all honesty he wouldn't be here anymore . The equipment was in the hall and was perfectley stable but three others decided to collapse the frames and lean them against the wall, ds brush passed and they fell. He screamed very loudly but thankfully only out of shock. Can't believe the women were all stupid enough to thing it was a good idea to balance them against the wall like that! Felt so relieved he was okay when we were at toddlers but feeling more and more livid about it now.

Goingto, that's awful - the stuff of nightmares! So glad he's ok.

going so glad he's okay. The shock and anger is a really normal reaction I think when we get scares like this. I was the same way when DS1 had his head wound and ended up at the hospital for an x-ray. I was so relieved but then later I was almost irrationally mad at the kid that had pushed him.

Oh Going that is horrible. These things do tend to replay in your mind as well, so not easy to forget about.

Sybil I cut down on BF v slowly over a couple of months. I took this approach purely selfishly because I knew I was going on holiday and wanted to be able to BF on the plane, but then the following week I was away on a hen do and I set that as my goal for stopping. For night feeds I found this useful. For months P was waking between 4-5ish for a feed and then going back to sleep for only 30 mins. My excellent sleep book suggests dropping night feeds gradually reducing the length of the feed by a minute each night. The theory is that the baby is habitualised into feeling hungry in the night, and you need to gradually stop the feed so that their appetite has a chance to readjust.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense, I have had a couple of glasses of wine .

Goingto, hope you're feeling ok now. Not surprised you're angry. And Neenz - hope E is alright. Must have been one of those days - I sat B on the bench at nursery whilst I changed his shoes, I stood up and he splatted on to the floor. Luckily he put his hands out, so he didn't go face first, and it's child height so it wasn't far to fall. I still felt dreadful though.

Having a slightly better night here, fingers crossed - put him to bed at 7 and not a peep since. I had him at the docs today, as I correctly suspected ear infection. So, he's on antibiotics and Calpol.

Anyway.

Abdn, yes, I'm sure someone would want you! What happened to the freelance stuff you talked about a while ago?

BDQ - glad exams are over.

Amber if you're reading, hope move went well.

Can't give any advice on giving up bf, it went pretty smoothly here. Sometimes I miss it, but 99% of the time, I'm glad it's over.

We get our house keys next Friday! Not looking forward to the actual moving, but can't wait to be in.

Amber if you are around, I was wondering how your sister is doing? How was the clinic appointment? Thinking of you.

whinegums the freelance work seems to have fizzled out. It was a case of talking s&*t I think which upsets me - everyone was so positive at first and then sort of drifted away. I'm more of a practical see things through sort of person but I'm also gullible so I really thought this was possible but it's not turning out to be as easy as everyone said. I'm still looking for work, but it's more of a cold-call at this point and therefore less likely to work out. Since if I do work, the plan was that DH will end up staying home with the boys one day a week we'll therefore not end up financially ahead so maybe I should just go for volunteer work and get my brain moving again...

Really I just need to have an identity outside of the home, it's not about money, but about my perception of myself as valuable (other than to my kids).

oh and Amber - how is the house?

Abdn, totally get where you are coming from! I definitely need to be 'doing' something that makes me feel validated iyswim. Raising my kids well is obviously one of those things but working/earning and doing a job well is another. I am just a perfectionist and I love to be told how great I am at a job

Going, how scary . You do have to wonder what people are thinking - everywhere I go I think of what danger there could be to the DTs. Anything that looks like it could fall is the first to go! What were those mothers thinking?

Whinegums, poor B, hope he feels better soon. I know what you mean about the actual move but it will be great when you are settled in.

T was awake at 2am last night, thankfully went back to sleep quite quickly but I was awake till 3. And then this morning DH gave me the tired sob story so I got up with the DTs cos I didn't feel too tired. Then DH got up an hour later! I don't think I could have got back to sleep anyway and I am off to the football this afternoon so will get a break then. But they are such good fun at the moment anyway and barely take any looking after that I was thinking yesterday I will miss them loads when I am at football. I really struggled at work this week, when I left them at the cm on Thurs E chased me to the front door crying . She was fine after that of course but it made me feel

Is anyone not on the mailing list yet for 30% of at Gap? They've another promo starting next week, and I can invite 5 people to go on the list. If you want me to email you send me your email via fb!

Hi guys, much better night last night (midnight, 3.45am, 6.30am, then had a lie in til 8.45am!).

Going those women sound like total idiots - what a scary thing to happen.

On the work thing, already starting to think about going back to teaching next September - love being with the boys but need to work!

Hi to everyone else .

BDQ I'm not on the list - could you send it to me please? My e-mail is [email protected]

thanks

Hope everyone else is ok. It's NCT photo day tomorrow. DH and I have decided we are too gruesome so it's going to be just the children. It's the only NCT thing I do. With each of the boys, I made lovely friends through the NCT, but with the girls (since we've moved up here) there's been a distinct lack of kindred spirits in the NCT. I've met really nice people up here, and the NCT people aren't mean or anything, but it's one of those things where you can only feign interest in someone else's children for so long before you realise you have nothing whatsoever to say to each other

Lol at the feigning interest in each others' children Rolf!! That can be the drawback with making friends through your kids - you suddenly run out of things to talk about and then can be stuck with each other!

I'm feeling altogether more human as not only did my lovely dh look after M last night but A chose to sleep until 9am!! Yes, you read it right 9am - never ever ever slept that long before, amazing!

So dh has gone back to bed and I'm entertaining A - but he's in a really good mood cos he's slept so long. Result!

Just ordered my birth announcement cards - I know they're a bit pointless in this electronic age but I did them for my PFB so can't leave M out !

LOL at your birth announcement cards and needing to do the same for M as A .

Have emailed Rolf and Neenz re Gap 30% discount this week, if anyone else needs an email let me know - I've got 3 left!

Have been very miserable and hormonal this weekend - been very mean to poor DH. Going to try and get out of the house today and infuse myself with some winter sunshine!