May09 - Christmas is on it's way and Grumpycaaa is comin' to town!!

[essenceofSES]

Hope that works!

Cocktail anyone?!

Hi ladies,
flippin, at A's cleverness.

I'm getting nothing done. have just been on the tel with my sis for half an hour.

going to at least wrap my mum's gift to post tomorrow. i'm rubbish at being productive.

Momino- hope you get some wrapping done tonight. I managed to get the DCs and nephew/neices gifts done today whilst DS2 had his half hour nap (I wrapped very quickly).

flippin- your A and tummum's G both sound very advanced and active. S is quite happy just sitting, although if in his playnest he makes it his mission to escape head first so i have put it to one side (DD is using it as the baby jesus's manger ). He does sometimes lurch forward and end up on his tummy, and pushes up on all fours, but then complains, a bit like momino's C. He also seems to have forgotten how to roll, probably because he's always just put in the sitting position.

Fi- it's funny how these teeth take us by surprise- I have been checking Ss mouth every time he's a bit grumbly. Then after the best night sleep EVER a tooth is there! I must be a very deep sleeper as I slept solidly for 6+ hours but DH says he was up 3 times between 3-4am with DD (bad dreams she says) so he didn't benefit from Ss great sleeping. DH is out tonight (boys night at the pub) and tomorrow (work do) but at least I have a meal out on Friday night with some mums from a local playgroup .

arrrgh i'm fed up coughing! dh too. he was up at 3, I was up at 4, ds wanted up for the day at 5 and G woke at 6. dh got up with ds and has now gone back to bed. i got a bit more sleep after feeding G luckily.

fi - I really hope your coughs clears up soon, sounds rotten for you all.

pula - LOL at the manger!

You'd think 'active' would provide plenty of opportunity to tire herself out and Go To Sleep, wouldn't you? Another terrible night, she went to sleep eventually at 11:15, woke at 12, in bed with us until 5, in her cot for an hour then up for the day! I sleep badly when she's in bed with me, but it's better than no sleep I guess.

Lazy soft play day I think, no energy for anything else. Severe weather warnings for later, snow! It's very cold and icy at the moment, and the sky looks like it's getting heavy, iyswim, but nothing yet.

I hope A goes to bed at a decent time tonight, I really need to get on with writing cards and wrapping presents. I've got friends and toddlers/babies coming over for lunch tomorrow, I ought to try to clean the house a bit too.

Flippin Sorry for your bad night. We had one too. R was up every 3 hours and DD woke crying at midnight and took ages to go back to sleep. We had her in our bed but she thought it was play time so I put her back in her cot and she went to sleep fairly quickly after that.

We have our toddler group Christmas party this morning. DD is wearing a very cute dress and R is dressed as a reindeer.

Morning all.

Sympathies to all with crap sleeping. G is normally pretty good, but for the past couple of night he has woken at 3am. I've let him cry for about half an hour [heartless-mummy-emoticon], then given in and given him a hug, put him down and then he is off sleeping again . I think it might be teeth or getting too cold, so tomorrow I will dose him with calpol at dreamfeed time and put him in an extra sleeping bag.

LadyH love the Xmas name, and at your lovely outfit. I would scare the horses if I wore such a thing.

Flippin sympathies with activeness. It's a nightmare, isn't it ! G is now 'cruising' around the furniture. I reckon he will probably be walking by Feb

Pula LOL at the manger. And great news about the Uggs

Grumps only a few days to go

Well, I went to work Xmas lunch yesterday, where I found out that my boss is leaving. He is leaving next week, and I found out through attending his leaving do. Not very impressed with the communication abilities of my organisation. The good news is that DH has agreed that if my job doesn't work out, I will leave and be a SAHM . So I'm kinda hoping it doesn't work out !

Saying that, I'm not sure I would be a good SAHM. Today I sent DD1 in school in her uniform when it was party day so they could wear mufti. Poor thing, she was so upset. I rushed back with a bag of party clothes, but I am still at myself for putting her in that situation.

Oh, and at those all organised for Christmas. We're in a right old state here. Will be carnage, no doubt. haven't even got the vat of champers in to prepare for arrival of ILs next week.

can you tell I'm loving the festive faces !

Morning!

Sorry for bad nights. Not much better here. Longest stint in his cot was 7.30 til 11.30. tumm - when you say an extra sleeping bag, do you mean G has one sleeping bag ontop of another? What togs? I'm sure DS is cold at night. I did put a hot water bottle on his mattress last night before bedtime.

snow - we had quite a layer yesterday but it warmed up in the evening, rained and washed it all away.

Work - situation has got worse as my boss phoned me yesterday and said she was v sorry but had some new info. Apparently there is already a precedent that my role can't be done on less than 4 days a week. Don't know what I'm going to do

Good Morning all. Been away for a bit. I couldn't keep up, couldn't post because mn seemed screwed for me, so ended up missing a big chunk. I hope everybody is well. I hear nights aren't great for a few of you. We've had a complete turn around. After a few nights of me being absolutely knackered and letting dd2 come in with us, it seems she likes it much better than her cot and so 3 nights on the trot has screamed until she got what she wanted. She wasn't hungry because I'd just fed her. I don't think she was cold.....A stubborn little madam I can tell you. Last night in the end she screamed for a long time, and then I did cc. I have never been so tired in my life, and sleeping with dd2 in the bed is making it worse so I put my foot (or head) down. Fingers crossed she is better tonight. I don't mind her coming in after an early morning feed, (5.30) this morning, but at midnight, NO!

We've had 1 tooth since 3 weeks ago, 2 teeth since 2 weeks ago and she has been commando crawling 1 week now. I can't believe it. The other ds didn't crawl until much later. She can get onto her hands and knees too, and tries to crawl properly too! Weaning is happening very very slowly, but the biggest hit so far has been lasagne. Shre really really enjoyed that.

Ses Bummer about your work. I hope you get something sorted.

Grumpy Not long now! Have a safe journey back to the UK, and I've no doubt you'll have a wonderful Christmas.

OH and dd1 was meant to be Mary in her nativity at nursery on Tuesday. She walked into the room, took one look at all the mums and dads staring at her, and burst into uncontrollable tears. I sat there and couldn't move because I was crying myself. Anyway the donkey took over as Mary so Jesus was born to a donkey. Saved me £6.50 on the DVD.

Jenn- your poor DD - it must be very overwhelmingj for them when they are so little, and everyone is looking at them.

parumpatum- i put DS2 in a sleeping bag (2.5 tog) and then put 2 blankets over him which i assume should keep him warm enough.

Ses- nightmare about your job. I guess you can either ask your boss to advertise for a job share (both 2 days a week?) or else I guess you could see if there are any other roles which you could do, or else be a SAHM! I plan to work 4 days a week, but I am not sure how i will feel about it.

Afternoon everyone and a big hello from me and C, aka Velcrobaby. C's cold is lots lots worse today and I can't leave the room without her bursting out into tears, which really isn't like her. So I'm not achieving all that much today. Her being off her food yesterday has also led to me having a blocked duct today and my right boob is soooooo sore. I keep trying to force feed her/express, but it's a stubborn blockage.

jenn Aww, your poor dd. It's scary enought for adults to go on a stage in front of lots of people, let alone a lo like your dd. The donkey must have made an interesting Mary

at all the mobile babies out there, especially flippin and parum's. I suppose A just wanted to practice her new found crawling skills last night, flippin When the novelty wears off she might sleep better again [hopeful emoticon]

ses about your job. I hope you can find a suitable compromise. I was also thinking jobshare or something alike.

fi Hope your cough goes soon. Mine has turned into an annoying tickly one

I went out with mums from school last night and it was lovely. I came home just in time, because C woke up crying within a minute of me coming home. Apparenlty I'm known in the village as the woman with the baby in a sling, lol.

jenn, on the nativity dvd, but I hope your DD is ok, bless.

ses, . I don't know what to say. Is there any alternative? do you have to look for a new job if you want shorter hours? good luck.

tumm, hope your job doesn't work out then ! that's too bad about your DD but try not to be too hard on yourself. she will forget it. same thing happened to a mum I just saw at nursery. she has to use her lunch hour to get the casual clothes to her ds at school who was embarrassed at the situation. I guess I didn't think about the effect on the child until your post. With the school years approaching, I guess I'll have to put myself in dd1's shoes soon (if not now!).

Febes, bet your DCs look so cute!

sorry to all who have had bad nights. mine was ok (relatively): dd1 woke up about 3 times but went straight to sleep so not too much loss of sleep. Harper, strangely, woke up early at 6am but I automatically brought her into bed, fed her and didn't wake up till past 7 so another rush to nursery.

funny thing is that I think my quality of sleep is poor and I don't get enough of it but I don't need to nap in the middle of the day like i did in the Early Days.

will catch up again later. time to tidy, cook, walk dog, etc. got another choc cake to make as dd1's actual birthday is this sat. we do manage to stretch bday celebrations through a week but it's mainly the cake factor.

tum So sorry, I meant to name check you earlier, but velcrobaby was on my lap and I got a teeny weeny bit distracted. I just want to say not to feel bad. I think a lot of mums have done that before. I have. I've also turned up with the dcs on staff inset days etc... We were actually talking about just that last night and one of the mums brought her son in dressed mufti only to find it was a normal uniform day and she had to take him back home, because he wasn't allowed to go to school like that!

Hmm, the wind is picking up. Clouds are coming. I think that snow they were talking about might be on it's way

jinglebelg, xposted. hope C is better soon. lots of cuddles, lucky you!

it's really snowing here now. flurrying as we say in Ohio. do you have that word here? it's snowing lightly with the wind sort of blowing it non chalantly. well, that's not the official definition, but you get the point.

will have to bundle up when H and I take the dog out in a bit.

Hi everyone. I've just caught up
I've been so busy, I haven't had time to MN
I can't wait until DD breaks up on Friday, no more school runs for two weeks, yay! I made mince pies with her last night to take in for her teachers, which she was so excited to bring in and she wrote all her friends Christmas cards, which I was very proud of. She wrote each childs name in the card, they were sooo cute, I can't believe she's almost 4!!!

J now has two teeth their top teeth, but not top front teeth, there like the ones that go next to the top fron teeth my boy has to be awkward!!!

I took him to be weighed this week, and he'd lost 1/2 a pound, which the HV were all stressing about, which stresed me out, but J's not a small baby...they tried to say it's because I havn't given him any eggs or cheese or fish yet. And that I've got to feed him these foods and go back to re weigh him in two weeks...He's crawing now though, across the room at 100mph instead of his mini crawling moves he was doing before, so I tried to say maybe he's lost weight because he's alot more active now, but they seemed to think it's because I'm not feeding him adequate food, which disheartened me, I really try. And all because I havn't given him eggs or fish yet, they think he's lost weight! He's eating chicken, vegetables, pasta, rice, he doesn't go hungry...I feel abit down about it tbh, I'm abit nervous about going back.

J's waking from his nap, I best go X

Jael- it sounds a bit strange what your HV are saying . I can't believe that because he hasn't had eggs cheese or fish he will lose weight. Worth taking him back again in a few weeks just in case it was a dodgy reading. I know my DD didn't gain weight when she started being more active so it could well be that he is burning more calories now. If you are worried, try a post in the weaning section and i am sure most people will say your HV is talking rubbish. And by the way, I haven't given S fish yet, and he didn't like egg, and he has the occasional cheese sauce so we are no different. In fact I get a bit because S prefers the bland jars I give him over my tasty homemade veg or chicken dinners.

Jael I think your HV are talking sh*te TBH. If he is happy and well, and eating well, I think there is no problemo. My opinion is that you should go with what works for you, because you know your baby better than anyone else. I haven't started G on fish or eggs yet, as they are really strong flavours. He does like cheese, though, especially when given a piece of pizza to chew

Thanks for the support on the uniform thing. I just felt sorry for DH but it was all fixed when I dashed back to school with a party outfit. Twill be all forgotten by the time I pick her up. Speaking of which...

Oh, and MEN

Couldn't not sad Ses I hope you find a solution that works out for you. 4 days a week is hard, but it is do-able with a LO. But if you had your heart set on a lot less, I can see why 4 days seems like a lot of time away from O.

Urmm, I meant sorry for DD1.

As for sleep suits, G sleeps in a vest, babygro and fluffy fleece thingie over the top. I think I will try him in a summer sleeping bag over the top of that tonight.

parumptum- your DD1 story reminds me of when I used to send DD to nursery every time in jeans even though she wanted to wear a dress like the other girls did. One day i decided to let her wear a dress, and we turned up late and EVERYONE including staff were in jeans as it was "jeans for genes" day and I'd forgotten .

Hi all

Sorry I've not been around for aaaaaaages, been busy with visitors/Christmas/house stuff. I keep reading a bit to catch up then not having time to post.

Ses sorry about your work situation, it's especially difficult when you've spent a long time planning for a certain situation then they come and move the goal posts. Is there still room for negotiation?

sleep / teeth we have had some bad nights here which I'm sure are down to teething. Last night H was like a little furnace but batted the calpol away. He wasn't crying much but would only sleep on my shoulder, and so I had very little sleep until I remembered where the syringe was (and DH looked for it with his eyes open) at about 4.30am. Once it took effect he was fine and went to sleep in his cot, but we are all exhausted today .

Sorry to those with DHs being rubbish. DH is ok really, but does tend to leave dirty nappies lying on the living room floor claiming he is 'just about to put them away'. Oh, and the other day, he was really helpful and offered to put H's poo-stained clothes to soak in milton... I found them a few days later clearly unsoaked. He said he couldn't find the milton. I pointed to the bottle which was where I told him it was at the time, to which he said 'yes, I saw that bottle, but imagined it in a green bottle.' . And then assumed the washing fairy would find them magically forgot all about it .

Better go as the beast is stirring. Hopefully back later. Hope everyone is ok this afternoon.

spangle- nice to see you again. Your DH stories made me . My DH is very good really, but also has a habit of leaving nappies on the floor too. And even after 5 years of doing (disposable) nappies, he still doesn't use the side tags to roll/wrap the nappy up tightly once it's been removed and leaves them "open" - nice.

Jael try not to worry about it. I haven't given eggs because my brother had an egg allergy as a baby and I don't want to risk it yet. He's had tuna but only because we accidentally defrosted a tuna bolognese sauce instead of spag bol. All of my homemade stuff is orange so it it a bit confusing! I wonder if he has lost weight because he is getting more active? G has definitely lost some of his podginess but he is rolling around all over the place. Anyway, try not to worry. I don't know how much G weighs because I never take him.

ses work sounds pants. Worth appealling the decision though. IME appeals succeed where the case includes the business case for the flexible working, and explaining when and how business objectives will be met. Perhaps you could offer to do it on a trial basis to prove that it can work on fewer than 4 days?

Tummum woooooo, SAHM eh? Sounds promising.

evening all,

Dh out at work Christmas do tonight so I have laptop all to myself and a big mug of hot chocolate

ses sorry to hear about your work, llare has some good advice there and are you a member of a union? They might be able to help you put together a business case for doing the job on less than 4 days and also advise you about whether their 'refusal' is valid or not - I think they have to provide evidence that the job can't be done in the time you are suggesting, just saying there is a precedent might not be enough - not an expert tho so don't take my word for it!

Hello spangle hope H gets his teeth soon. Sorry but your DH stories made me lol a bit. Just like mine.

jenn your poor DD. When I was about 6 I was picked to be Mary and went home in tears about it because I wanted to be an angel My mum had to go up the school and everything to sort it out. I ended up being a narrator instead, and every year after that - think I was being punished!

tum am sure your DD will forget it soon enough - there's always at least one in our school who turns up in uniform on a mufti day. You'd think teenagers would remember wouldn't you! Hope you get the outcome you want with work too.

Jael I agree with what others have said, your HV's sound a bit weird. I would imagine that J has lost weight as he has suddenly got so active. My friend's DD just did this when she started crawling and then she went back in two weeks and her DD had piled on 1lb 2oz without doing anything differently. After the stress I had early on about A's weight I am very much of the opinion that you know your baby and if they seem happy and healthy and are doing everything they should then they are ok On another thing entirely - I love your tales of your DD. She sounds gorgeous and a total credit to you and your DP.

Hello to everyone else, hope everyone is wrapped up nice and cosy on this cold evening - especially you grumps

ses reading my post back I realise how badly written it is. I had a brain, once!

You might also check whether work have followed the flexible working procedure. Sadly, the legislation as it stands has no "teeth" because parents have only the right to ask for flexibility, not the right to it. Organisations need only to give one of a few legitimate reasons for refusal and follow the procedure, and they are protected. But definitely worth putting together the business case. In mine, I successfully argued for 2 days in the office with the rest of my hours worked flexibly whenever. I argued that the flexibility would work both ways in that I would be able to flex my working hours to respond to work demands. There was loads of other stuff too. It might also help to think about how you might be different from everyone else and how therefore granting you what you want won't set a precedent.