Dec 08 babies are nearly one - PARTY TIME!

[EffiePerine]

As I accidentally filled up the old thread I thought I'd better start a new one

Evening ladies had a lovely time in Antwerp today. You are right invisible it's lovely, will definitely be going back there. It was just a little taster and a day out in another country for my niece but we really liked it. We saw some of Reuben's work at the cathedral (though only from the gift shop because we didn't want to pay he entrance fee). Our diet today was predominantly chips & chocolate and we are still eating it now. We bought loads of chocolate home and niece bought heaps to take home. She got these really cute pralines that are shaped like chips with one shaped like a dollop of Mayo and it's in a box that looks like one of the cones the chips come in, hope they make it to Australia.

The only bad part of the day was DS1 was run over by a cyclist. It sounds worse than it was he is ok, just got a real shock. Basically we walking down the middle of this pedestrianised shopping street with lots of other walking shoppers when I noticed there were lots of bikes and wondered if we were actually on a cyclepath, we weren't but my niece actually was walking just in front of us and noticed that one cyclist was cycling straight towards her so she kind of glared at her but then decided she would come off worse so moved aside a little. At the same time DS1 decided to go up beside my niece and ran ahead to get beside her but slipped over I think more because he suddenly saw the cyclist coming towards him but luckily he did because she saw him too late and ran over his ankles. If he hadn't tripped she would have slammed straight into him. He was ok but really upset by it. The lady stopped but I waved her off as initially I thought it was more DS1's fault for falling in her path but after we had settled him my niece told me she was riding really close. Some cyclist just get grumpy about pedestrians in these sorts of areas and won't budge but they ride so fast that if something unexpected happens they can't swerve or stop in time.

Syb I would love to share a bottle glass of cheerfulness with you all.

Syb were you the one who was going to get the passenger side airbag switch off but it cost £500.

Kayz how are the cakes? We are streaming the game on the Internet are you watching.

Kiwi we are also having sleep ishoos here. Waking loads wanting to feed, I think he may have a sore ear as his R ear is a little smelly. But I think we still have ishoos other than pain he just seems to be unable to settle himself off to sleep. It means if he wakes in the night for whatever reason he can't just go back to sleep. Also means short daytime naps. I was going to ask Trace if she wanted to have a little Dec 2008 sleep bootcamp thread maybe we could get a few of us together, and get Aub & WG in to give a lecture on their methods.

Just a quikie, happy birthday to Ladyt's O and Verso's F !!

Had a lovely day yesterday with DS on top form. He clearly knew it was his big day and was loving all his visitors. I still can't believe he is one already .

veggie sorry to hear about the sleep and DS1's accident with the bike. Hope the sleep was a bit better last night for you.

Aub- glad she is feeling better now

Zoe- how did the tea and cakes go?

Sybil- I was looking at car seats yesterday briefly. The one we have is a 0+ so does up to 13kg but he seems to be getting really long for it and gets frustrated as he wants to look out the window so constantly leans forward and looks uncomfortable! They are SO expensive though!! And I'm so confused by all the different types

Veggie - your ds jumping in the water story was funny - my dh would be the same - all pissed off that we were breaking the rules! And hope he is ok after the cyclist collision

Daisy - yeah I am right sucked in to this jungle show now - so good when she dumped the new guy on tv!!!I've always been into the XFactor but this is the first time I've ever watched the jungle - that vending machine nearly made me actually vomit! The camp is not far from where I used to live so makes me a bit homesick too

Got ds an early birthday pressie yesterday - Veggie - got the Weeride and they have assured us that I can bring it back within 28 days if it doesn't work for us. We are worried that since we are both tall, we might have to pedal with our knees out which will be annoying! I will give a full report after the weekend. We have a tiny helmet too which he got fitted for and I was able to put it on dh's credit he has at one store which was nice He looks so cute in his helmet with flames on the side lol. There is a lovely pub with a tow path along the Thames (where we had chaos last time at dinner) so we will see if we can go back and cause an even bigger scene this weekend after a nice bike ride

DS had major teething troubles last night and didn't want dinner or even milk !! He went to sleep and woke up starving and thismorning slammed back a cup of milk, massive bowl of cereal and two crusts off my toast!!!

Anyway, must actually do some work today....

By the way - does anyone elses dc do major arm flapping??? I was starting to get concerned when I googled it and read all this stuff, however he does ALL the other milestones, and dh thinks i'm nuts again and that he just gets really excited....

Happy belated babydaisy!

Happry belated birthday to baby Daisy and many happy returns to O and F . I can't believe our babes are getting to be a year old already. I keep getting surprised that DS2 can do stuff (he's currelty obsessed with posting things at the moment, narrowly saved DH's slippers from the coal scuttle), cos I keep thinking of him as a small baby! Whereas with DS1 I awlays thought of him as older than he was. Anyway, have a month to get my head round the idea of his first birthday.

On that note, any ideas for Xmas/birtday pressies? DS1 is pretty easy, anything with wheels is welcome. But am now sure about DS2. He isn't walking yet, but is pretty dextrous (more so than DS1, which may have something to do with DS1's left handedness). I asked my parents to buy him some sold-fashioned bricks, but that's the limit of my ideas!

Senmt off an application on Monday so am waiting to hear if I make the interview stage

Rub: DS2 whacks himself round the head/easrs, but I think that's teething/cold. It doesn't seem to bother him. His favourite game at the moment is putting his hands on his head, DS1 copies him which elicits gales of laughter... I think they're just exploring what they can do with their hands now they realise they're connected

Effie- He does it when he picks something up (waves it back and forth really fast for ages, but also with nothing in his hands - it is usually at times when he is excited i spose, but my worrying about nothing I guess is kicking in!
Good luck with the interview!!

Hi all - been v busy, but just popping in to say hi. Haven't got time to read all posts, but happy bday all the nippers who have reached 1! And to all those coming up.

Am back to work next week, so am busy busy doing things while I can here this week!

Will probably be able to post more once I'm back at work - hee hee!

All ok here. Seem to still be pregnant, which is good. My boobs don't hurt at all this time - is that normal? Only sign I have is that I'm knackered. Don't have our scan til I'm 13 weeks, which is a bit of a pain. But fingers crossed all ok. Am 10 weeks now.

Speak soon.
xxxx

Hi all.
It's my day off today, and L is a t school and P is napping, so thought I'd try and catch up with you all. Sorry to have missed so much.
Plodding on here. Quite a few tears...not heard back form the HV re parenting class yet, and am due to see CPN tomorrow.
Anyway, Happy Birthday to the oldies!
effie re presents I'm going to get P some crayons for her birthday (very generous mummy) because she loves to scribble while her sister draws. And for Christmas I've asked my parents to get her a bath toy or some bricks. I just think they're so young that there's no point spending for the sake of it. She will get plenty from other family members so I don't think we'll bother . She'll probably just want the paper to suck! And I've got L the most beautiful book about trees from The Book People online. For lucy's first birthday we got her a wooden rocking horse engraved with her name from the National Trust Shop - it's beautiful and really special and was about £40. but I just had a look and can't see it on their website now.
veggie sorry about the bike attack Poor ds1.
P is awake. will try to finish later...

Happy (belated) birthday to baby Daisy and Happy birthday to Baby T and Baby Verso! Amazing that a year has gone by.

Re presents, the thing DD loved most of all in those pre walking early walking days was one of those push along baby walkers, so if you haven't got one of those, I'd recommend them. Trace - I found crayons were a bit tricky for DD to get much out of when she was small - the best thing ever for us were the Crayola super washable markers - even a littlie can make a good satisfying scribble with them and they are very very easy to clean up if it goes all over the place . And they last forever - our set has been going for a year and a half at least. Otherwise I'd agree that toys etc seem a bit wasted when they're small - they just don't take that much interest in them. Usually the biggest hits with my DCs are books, but that's probably because they get full attention from mummy or daddy reading them.

trace - hang in there. Hope your CPN is some help tomorrow.

Veggie - glad you liked Antwerp. about what happened to your DS though, that sounds quite upsetting.

Effie - good luck with the application, fingers crossed for you. I'm starting to get mildly anxious about my interview on Monday (and big presentation I am doing at a conference this pm...)

Rubena - DS flaps and sometimes bounces too - its definitely overexcitement!

Hello everyone,

Happy birthday to all the oldies! It is amazing they are a year already.

rub DD flaps a LOT. She does it for any extreme emotion really, happy, excited, upset, her arms start going. She looks like she is taking off!

Re car seats. I went for this one in the end here It won the Which testing for this car seat group and as we don't have isofix there was nothing similar safety wise. It is a very unusual design, a sort of cushion rather than straps, but DD likes it. There is an amusing video on the German manufacturers website here

I can't remember if I congratulated zoe and daisy on their new jobs, congrats!

Love to aub, sorry to hear about DD being ill, sorry to dash, work calls.

Oh and I'll email JJ re the secret santa now.

Evening ladies. I've had such a lazy day. DH is working from home so we went for a walk (was supposed to be a run but was a bit too rainy) and sorted out some official stuff (we are now officially a married couple in the eyes of the Dutch) and looked at a gym which is next door to DS1's school which has a deal at the moment of ?199 for a years membership! So might join. Also had lunch together which was nice. Last night DS2 slept through which was great however tonight he refused dinner and had a big screaming session! Me thinks the nasty toothy pegs are on their way again. Poor little monkey. He is dosed up tonight. We leave for Paris and London on Saturday so hopefully it will settle by then...please. I'll be in London weds-sat but I'm not sure if I can fit in a meet up as i'm doing stuff with my niece and a few friends and also an ex-collegue is going to do DS2's 12month jabs for me. I think I'm gonna need a holiday when I get back. DH has very kindly booked us into a hotel for the night I drop my niece off at heathrow as it would have been a bit of a schlep with the boys for her 10pm flight and back to my friends in London. This way we just pop out say a sad farewell then go to the hotel for the night.

Invis you poor love, how did the presentation go. I actually love presenting at conferences have only done it twice but it's the ultimate being the center of attention even better than being a bride! Sad I like that but true. Interviews are another thing though, they are nerve racking. I know it's hard not to think about it but don't let the nerves ruin your weekend. Maybe plan some stuff to do this weekend to occupy you and keep your mind off it. FWIW I'd love to work with you.

Rub I do understand your worry about the flapping, with DS1 every time he shuddered a little I was sure he was having a seizure. But let me assure you babies esp boys express themselves with their whole body, eventually the flapping will be replaced by jumping and hopping. Before too long sadly they will learn to suppress these movements so enjoy this sweet way of showing he's excited while you can.

Trace how are you sweetie, was your day off ok? And can I just say wow on the scribbling ability of P! The only thing DS2 tries to do with crayons is eat them...actually he doesn't just try he DOES. He has bitten the sharp end off all of DS1's crayons.

Effie DS1 was a bit like that too and he is left handed. Nursery always had a problem with him not using scissors well which I'm sure is just down to the left hand thing. I think it's why he talked late too, R side of the brain bring dominant and all that.

hi. am back but only very briefly as I'm off to a friend's for a jewelery party - would rather be staying in but hey ho.
Had a nice day. Met an ex work pal in town for a hot choc and naughty cake which was lovely. Then after school 2 kids fro our road came round (they seem to live here at the mo and i'm finding it all a bit much) - I suggested the spares went home at 5 so L could get on with her reading , so off they went, but then P was so un-put-downable that I couldn't get anything done, like L's reading or making tea, so when dh walked in at nearly six I just thrust P at him and said I couldn't manage . He took her in the kitchen and made us all tea (how did he do that?) while Lu and I did her stuff, then P went to bed and L, dh and I had tea, so all is now calm and the house is a bomb site!
ANyway, thanks for your lovely words, thoughts etc. And for the heads up on the crayons. She has been grabbing pencil crayons but eats them and draws on her face, so I thought wax ones would be better. Maybe not! Also I felt bad when I re-read my post, having bought L a lovely engraved wooden rocking horse for her first birthday, and getting P some crayons for hers! Poor second child!
Right. Must dash and make packed lunch before going to spend the -evening-- wishing i was in bed enjoy myself at the jewelery party.
Night all.

trace lovely to hear from you as always. Hope the CPN is of some use for you today.

beans glad you are still keeping well too

Unfortunately more bad news from the daisy house, my MIL was told yesterday that the cancer has spread to her liver and lymphnodes(sp?). Its the worst possible outcome and they have given her somewhere between 6-12 months. Its just so hard to comprehend. DH has taken it surprisingly well (I think he already feared the worst). There is a chance she can have a new drug that has only been out for a couple of years, which may give her another 12 months or so but she has to have a biopsy first to decide whether it would be effective. I just can't imagine her not being around, shes only 65. My FIL is distraught, he has just retired and i suppose you imagine that you have several years together doing things you never got around too, and now all that is gone.

Daisy: so sorry about your news . Sometimes men are better at dealing with big crises than uncertainty. Thinking of you and your DH.

Trace: ignore the housework! If your DH can cook dinner with a demanding baby then get him to do it more regularly. Hope the CPN appt is helpful today. You are doing brilliantly and we are all cheering you on in a cyberspace way. How is L doing? Oh and don't feel guilty about P's toys: we have hardly any baby toys for DS2 apart from DS1's castoffs, but he doesn't care cos he gets to play with all of DS1's toys (when he can get away with it). I think life is so much more interesting and stimulating for him, surrounded by brightly coloured tat and noise, rather than the approved baby toys DS1 had access to at that age! When I see them playing mad boys games together (seeing who can get to the sofa first and diving on the floor or hitting their heads with their toast) I feel a bit sad for DS1 that he didn;t have the same opportunities.

Oh Daisy, so sorry to hear that Fingers crossed the biopsy is a success. Hopefully she will prove that time frame wrong.

Veggie - had a quick go in the (almost) dark yesterday on the weeride! ds was all smiles so hopefully it is a success, and once he was on the bike, he wasn't trying to rip his helmet off like he was inside! I didn't find it too bad at all to ride with however I wasn't on it long. We just have the standard one - do you have that or the deluxe? I wasn't sure at first which one but I figured the standard one would be fine as I wouldn't be riding for hours on end.... I was surprised at how small it is! How long will ds be able to fit into it for?

Yeah I'm not going to worry about his flapping as given that he jumps up and down at the same time, it's clear he's just excited, however he does also do it into the mirror or to see his shadow flap dh says he'll stop it soon when he needs his hands for more things! Thanks for all your replies about it

oh, daisy - that is so hard. i am so so sorry for her, your family and your poor fil and dh. i've been through it with my mum, but honestly i can't remember how. i just knew her strength gave us strength. thinking of you all if that helps at all.

hello to everyone - haven't been on for a while - will catch up later.

Hello everyone,

trace In order to reduce unnecessary stress I think you might need to put your foot down nicely with having other children in after school, you have enough on your plate. Perhaps you could have a word with their mum and agree on weekends only so they can get their homework done etc. I hope your CPN is helpful.

My old boss wrapped up his eldest child's old toys for his new son's first christmas. I think that is a great idea! It keeps the toy mountain down.

daisy I'm so sorry . What dreadful news. It is very young. Our friend's dad died suddenly the other day at 61 . Macmillan nurses and your local hospice can give lots of practical and emotional help, your MIL's GP or consultant should be able to contact them for her. Hospices usually offer complimentary therapies and massage. Our local one was wonderful with my brother, he died there eventually and it was a really caring place.

invisible How did the conference presentation go? Did you get any tricky questions at the end. I think that is the worst bit!

veggie I did chuckle at the idea of presenting at a conference being better than being a bride! I'm not with you on that one at all!

effie DH says that about when we have DC2 that they will have more fun than DD because DD will be there to entertain them. I'm glad you have found that to be the case. DD does the hands on head thing too, we have to copy and then she laughs!

DD is currently pulling herself to standing all the time, including in her cot in the middle of the night. I'm hoping that phase is over soon. I can't remember how long it took for her to stop sitting up in the night when she first learnt to do that, my poor sleep deprived mind must have blocked it out .

Hi ladies, not posted in an age. But just popping on to wish the lovely December babies a happy first birthday.

Hello,

Daisy I am so so sorry to hear about your MIL. If you need anything we are all here to help out.

Trace Hope you had a good time at the jewellery party. Also hope the CPN appt goes well.

Veggie I hope DS1 has gotten over the shock of being run over. Not done the cakes yet. I'll be making them next weekend and then they need icing and stacking for the parties on the 12th Dec.

Happy Birthday to all the babies that are 1 already. I am super super broody at the minute. I think it is because this time last year we were all pregnant and about to pop or had already popped.

Hope everyone is well.

Just quick post to say Daisy, that's terrible news about your MIL, so sorry for you all.

Veggie and JollyBear - thanks for asking, the presentation went pretty well, biggish crowd and quite a few questions. I kind of know what veggie is getting at, there is a bit of an adrenalin rush getting through it which makes it fun. I am a complete idiot though and managed to leave my phone on and let it ring (twice!) during the discussion. I had totally messed up on figuring out when this thing would finish and had fixed to meet a friend who was hanging around on Oxford Street waiting for me for an hour without knowing where I had got to . Must do better...

Rub, I did find my legs go out a bit when I peddle but it didn't really bother me. I did have trouble with long rides as I'd get a sore neck from leaning over him but then I got the stem of my handle bars extended and turned up so I found reach them more comfortably. I don't think there was a delux model when we bought ours soours is probably the standard one. We used it til DS2 was about 2.5years I think they are good til their about 15kg. On longer trips we used the trailor but it's great for little trips out, Ive loved getting to use it again now with DS2 he loves looking down at my legs, it makes me giggle.

Daisy I'm so sorry about your MIL, I think maybe your DH will come to a time when the reality will hit him and luckily he has you to turn to, and of course you have us.

I've posted a thread in the travel tips section about kids friendly places in Paris so any tips let me know.

We went to a town called Utrecht today and I went a bit mental in a cheese shop. I spent ?15 on cheese, soooooooo yummy.

Effie I know what you mean about the 2nd. When I was preggers I was sad that I wouldn't spend the same amount of time with DS2 but actually he has the attention of 3 people. I absolutely melt when DS1 goes up to DS2 and kisses him and tells him he loves him, DS2 often gets so excited he takes a swipe at DS1 but it's lovely.

DS2 is definitly teething he woke loads in the night and is off he usual foods in favourite finger foods of yogurts and purees poor little man have dosed him up.

daisy I'm so sorry to hear your sad news. Are you ok?
hello jam nice to see you again
well I had a good chat with my CPN and am seeing her again next week, and am keeping my meds the same for now. I've had a better for days with L, so I'm feeling more positive about that. A couple of things happened at work today which are playing on my mind though but I've decided I'll chat to my boss tomorrow about it to put my mind at rest.
I've got a weird throat today - it's sore so I had a look, and i've got a rash in my throat! How odd! It's all speckled and strange
Ooh I've found another meal success for P, if any of you are wanting any more meal ideas...she loves soup of any kind with loads of bread in it, so much that almost all the soup is absorbed. Then I just give her the bowl and she uses her fingers and wolfs it down! So far she's enjoyed tomato soup, veg soup and chicken and noodle soup
I really enjoyed the jewelry party in the end and ended up buying a few christmas pressies, so I was glad I went.
Anyway I must go - I'm worn out and need to sleep. And veggie yes sleep boot camp sounds good - and did you mention a crappy sleepers thread? I'll be in!
night night all xxx

Glad all went well with the CPN Trace. I am now being firm with playdates here and only really inviting those people to whom we get an invitation back from time to time. I hope that that does not sound odd, and I know one should not give to receive, but there were several people who often came round here without inviting us - or even just L - back and I felt a bit used. When everyone is busy and tired (kids and adults), I think you need to do what gets you through and if it means for us socialising where it is reciprocated, that's fine. I think also we tend to get invited back where the girls actually are friends, rather than for any other reason... I remember telling my sister about a playdate once and she was outraged that I was making tea for 5 kids (of whom only 3 were mine) when I had a small baby!

Daisy I am so sorry about your MIL. It' must be very difficult for you all. Am thinking of you.

Had a text from the lovely Lady T who sends love. Needless to say, young O is building a fanclub and charming everyone she meets.

Sorry am very tired and can't post much more. Nice to see you Jam. Hello to everyone else. Back tomorrow. Night night.