June 2008: New Year, new thread, new names, new words, new goals, but no resolutions!

[abdnhikinginawinterwonderland]

New thread since the last one's at 997 posts...

oh I know it's horrible - I never know if I should go in since it upsets him so much. At least he's old enough now to understand what I say so I can talk to him.

Fraser is in a foul mood today because he didn't get enough sleep. I'm wondering if he's teething - should I give him some calpol in case he is (I can't feel teeth but then I never can until they are through). How many teeth does everyone have? F is still missing his canines and the second set of molars.

Essie - glad I'm not the only one who thinks couple means an undefined number but more than one. It's only since I met DH I realised that people class it as meaning just 2. Language is a funny thing.

You lot make me feel really harsh as I've never done controlled crying, I just leave him to cry to sleep , I listen on the monitor and if the crying turns into real upset I go in, usually then there is a real problem then like he has lost his muslin which once rectified calms him down, but I found if the crying is just regular crying if I go in he looks at me with real surprise as if to say "What are you doing in here?" and then when I leave him again he gets properly upset. It seems like he needs to cry to get to sleep and sometimes it will go on for ages but he won't be properly upset.

Paro - we have a tumble drier but it needs a vent and we haven't done anything with it since we moved, trying to avoid it as it costs so much to run. I get by with a load of airers and we have tons of washing, but having the central heating on does help.
My stretch marks are busy getting worse and are all horrible and itchy, there is definitely more stretched skin than normal on my tummy these days.

Deb - glad your Dad has been in touch.

Spider - luxe tracksuits makes me shudder.

Even though I've not been going out much for months now that I really can't go out I'm feeling really stir crazy. Keep looking at that Geocaching site Rolf mentioned and planning lots of long walks! Ridiculous as I can barely walk around the house at the moment. This morning it is my abdominal muscles which are blooming painful.

That was tough but easier than I expected, he cried very hard but went to sleep after just over 30 mins! He's happily snoring away as I type.

Still got a couple of qu's and have started a sleep thread here.

Hmmm, smthng's up with my MN, I can't access page 1 of this thread. Sorry all those I am therefore ignoring.

Thank you for the support Abdn, unfortunately Ryder was in no mood to listen to me!

Abdn - I'd give him some calpol just in case and I'm pretty mean about giving Ry anything. Ry has A LOT of teeth, I haven't counted yet, but will count them from the teethmarks when he next bites me. Seriously when he smiles he has a mouthful IYKWIM.

KTpie - that doesn't sound harsh, that sounds like mothering by instinct which is great. I include CC in mothering by instinct BTW in case I accidentially raised any hackles there. For me, my instincts are telling me that after all the recent disruption Ry needs a routine to be fully settled here, hence the CC.

Hope you feel better soon KTpie!

Sponge has posted on FB that she is turning into a 50's housewife (cake baking and scarf making). Essie/Teddy Bears Picnic replied "Remember to apply lipstick and clean the children for your husband's arrival from work!". I'm not writing this on FB, but thought you guys may find it funny that in our early days of living together I used to put on lipstick, etc before I went home to him. I did it again during mat leave too, I stopped when I realised that DH didn't even notice!

PP - I used to know someone who used to set the alarm early so that she could put on a full face of make up before her partner woke up, for years he had never seen her without make up. I'm pretty much the opposite to her and only used to wear it for going out, partly because I'm rubbish at putting it on (perhaps through lack of practice) and find that the longer I spend putting make up on the more ridiculous I look and partly because I am lazy . In fact I tried to find my make up bag the other day and it has gone missing, I've no idea when I last saw it, maybe last summer I agree that men are completely oblivious to make up.

J still only has 2 teeth, went round to a dentists house for a cuppa the other day (fiance of one of DH's friends, not just random) and she was quite reassuring about not worrying.

Hope everyones sleep issues sort themselves out.

J has four teeth but two molars are coming through on one side (very bumpty and tips just showing)

It was so cold last night I put the heating on overnight I have never done so before and blame the lack of dh's bodyheat. I think J was cold though and he slept really badly beforehand and really well afterwards. What are people putting their kids to bed in at the moment?

J's new word is 'ow'. He uses it every few minutes and always has a body part that he is cradling and which needs kissing to go with it. Its very cute apart from at three am.

KTPie - LOL at yr friend. Perhaps I should stop the make up - R loves playing with it and not in a paint his face way, he actually knows that lip stick is for the lips, make up brushes for the eyes etc... The only one that confuses him is the blusher brush which is big so he thinks it's a hairbrush. Not sure that it is good for an 18m boy to be so clued up on cosmetics.

Sybil - The 'ow' sounds really sweet.

Sybil that's sweet with the 'ow'. And Iestyn has overtaken at least two babies on this thread - he has seven teeth! Front top and bottom two, two molars on the right side and as of New Year's Day (new teeth!) he has one other lower front right one. Is that a canine? How many do they get in total?

Make-up - I really like make up but I'm not obsessive about ensuring I wear it at all times etc. I recently had a Bobbi Brown makeover and bought almost all of the stuff she recommended: I needed base and powder, the concealer worked so well I couldn't not buy it, and she suggested blusher too, so now I'm wearing blusher! I never did before but it does make me look a bit more lively and awake. (I did try blusher in the past and my then boyf - might have been DH - said 'have you had a drink?'. So I didn't wear any in case I looked like a wino. But nobody has commented this time apart from 'you look well' etc.) Iestyn also knows about putting on foundation and lipstick, but not mascara. He also demonstrated applying body lotion with my (unopened) bottle the other day.

Ktpie aren't you doing a form of controlled crying? I'd say I don't do CC, but then again, I let Iestyn have a good cry (if it's the right sort of cry) before going in, and I'll put him in the cot crying (whingeing, actually, not pain/distress etc) and walk away as well, and he usually stops. The result is that he doesn't really wake and cry that much; he very rarely wakes in the night where I have to go in to him (he often wakes and cries, but I just let him be and he stops), and he often whinges when I put him down but I rarely have to go back in. I should add though that this has not always been the way - only 6 months ago it was quite tricky. And Penguin (or can I call you Pudding... Biscuits... we need Cake now - UDC? ) it must be the disruption with Ry. It's a big thing for him.

Oops, must do work.

OMG, had noticed throughout morning that lounge was very warm, even with heating on but not really understood why. In last ten minutes I have just noticed that the electric radiator has been plugged in and switched on. I definitely did not do this as the heating has been on constantly for the past couple of days and I had the monitor in that plug last night. When I left J in the lounge this morning so I could put the pushchair back in the car without him falling over in the snow he must have plugged it in and turned the socket on!!!!

I am gobsmacked....

It's more just crying Essie with less of the controlled I've never done the timing the number of minutes thing which is what I class controlled crying as being, I just leave him unless he sounds really distressed, or has taken ages (and I mean ages) to settle.
Saying all this it has taken ages for him to settle down this morning for his nap, he wasn't crying but I could hear him just messing about in his cot. Turned out he had taken his sleeping bag off and chucked his muslins and Zebbie out so I sorted all that out and he was asleep by the time I got down the stairs, but now it's lunch time.

Sybil - It has been really cold recently. J is sleeping in pyjamas with a long sleeved top underneath and his sleeping bag, but I have been putting a blanket over him when we go to bed for the last few days.

Tescos have just rung to say they can't deliver my shopping, rubbish. Will drag DH there when we go to see the midwife this afternoon, he'll hate that but otherwise we may starve, when I say starve I mean of course just live on all the left over Christmas nibbles that our house is rammed with and not have any fresh food for a while, we may actually get scurvy.

Hi all!

I have managed to piss offthe nursery woman already by complaining that they were closing early today because of snow.Hey ho - why do I always manage it?!Oh well. Got to call laura tomorrow the manager to find out about timings in case they don't open/close early etc again. I find it bizarre that some snow means that people can't go to work who all live locally. I would understand if they needed to get train/tube which had been disrupted but all the local buses are running. I am in general with the amount of disruption snow brings to the country- Deb - do you get any of this in Austria? We had three days warning for this as well and they hadn't even gritted the roads. rant over!

Luke has some teeth. I have no way of counting as he will not allow it! I know he has the top 4 and bottom 4 plus at least one molar on each gum. That's 12. There may be more lurking - who knows! I love his little toothy smile now though.

ktpie - what times does J have naps then? Luke has one nap sometime after lunch although 2.15 today as back from nursery. You mentioned morning nap - does he have 2 a day - if so you are one lucky lady!!

make up - Essie - I love it too but never wear it unless I go out now or meet someone I haven't seen for a while!

Sybil at the heater!! Luke's most used word by a million miles is no. Anyone else have this? Anyone would think he was being abused - it's awful!

Sybil [shoock] at turning the heater on himself!

I think the twins have 12 teeth each, four top, four bottom and four molars. It never occurs to me now that they are teething, but I suppose there will be more to come will there?

Abdn, you know my motto - if in doubt, get the Calpol out

PP, I also find going in during CC gets the DTs more worked up, but I still go in anyway cos I think it is important to reassure them (but if they are not really crying I would leave them for 30 mins or so like ktpie) even if in the short-term it gets them more upset. I find they soon calm down. Well done Ry for going to sleep in 30 mins last night!

There is a woman on my August AN thread who has just found out she is having twins and I am so jealous! It is weird cos obviously I do NOT want another set of twins. But having twins is so lovely so I am

Wouldn't say anything too soon Neenz - you haven't had your scan yet...

How come she knows she is having twins so soon? My sister said the same thing though, that you feel awfully special when you are having twins.

I like wearing make-up, I just hate taking it off again at the end of the day.

Deb, glad your dad has apologised. He has been totally out of order and you have done absolutely the right thing standing completely by your DH. Your dad has to accept and respect your choice of husband, cos it's none of his business.

Amber, I'm sure you haven't pissed off the nursery staff. You have a right to complain when they shut early.

It's unfair to compare the UK to contries like Austria or Canada when it comes to dealing with snow, cos several inches of snow is the norm in those countries so they are totally set up to deal with it. We can't afford to have all the snowploughs etc on standby when this sort of snow is so rare, surely? It is annoying though! I got a bit complacent this morning and went a bit fast on an icy sidestreet and was going too fast when I got to the end and tried to brake, I just skidded [scary]. I wasn't going really fast so I did stop in time (thankfully it's very flat round here). So I obviously started going really slow again. There was a dick young driver behind me and I saw him skid behind me in my rearview mirror - but he still speeded up and overtook me . Idiotic drivers.

Sorry x-posted there - she had a scan at 6wks, not sure why. I had one at 7wks cos of a previous m/c so maybe same situation, or perhaps it was ivf, which would explain the twins!

Don't even joke about me having another set of twins (or god forbid, even more )

Not so much kind abdn , more of a very low tolerance to loud crying . Feeling shattered today. It's a terrible week for S to be playing up at night - am working on v important project for our chief exec which involves lots of huge spreadsheets which I'm not great with at the best of times! Numbers hurt my head.

Thanks for the t-shirt sizes too. Must remember to gack on the howies site and get on their mailing list.

Had PP been on today? Hope the night wasn't too bad.

sybil at the plug!!!! They're very clever aren't they?

Ooh, dinner's ready must go!

Wow! Busy today! Goddess, thank you for the recipe - have posted a pic of my cake on FB, but haven't tasted it yet! Will let you know . . .

PP, lol at you putting lipstick on . I never wear make up and think dh might think I was up to something if I did!

Too tired to remember what everyone else said - feeling v achey and crap today so off for a lie down on the sofa .

Amber - yep I'm very lucky, he still tends to have a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon. I think he has clung on to the morning nap because we cruelly wake him up at 6.30 and all have breakfast together before DH goes to work. By 8am he is ready for a bit of a kip.

Sybil - x posted before and I'm about the plug!

We had a horrible trip to Tesco this afternoon, DH was grumpy about being in a supermarket and I was in lots of pain walking about. Think we are fairly well stocked up now so should do us for a while and hopefully next time Tesco will manage to deliver.

It's quiet today - I'm first on!

Had a bit of a breakthrough with E's eating at lunch. She has been refusing every cooked meal I put in front of her but she ate everything the CM offered her this week , so I was a bit more insistent today and she ate some butternut squash and sweet potato.

I offered her shepherd's pie first but she woudln't entertain it, she just kept pushing the bowl off the tray. Then I made the butternut squash and she refused it at first but I could see in her face she was interested in it. So I just put it on the counter for a moment and then put it back on her tray and left her to it. She ate it all . I tend to cook stuff with tomatoes cos T loves anything like that but maybe I need to start making stuff that looks more orange so E eats it

Hello everyone and a happy new year

I don't normally have time to post any more so I hope you're all OK about my random lurking and occasional self-centred posts!

But today, I have nothing to do for the next 20 mminutes except MN!

Penguin, are you in NZ now? How is going? Hope your nights get better.

Debs, I can picture Nigel because I watched you on TV so I was sorry to hear baout your troubles with your father. I'm glad that you've been in touch and that he understands he can't be rude again. WHat news moving by the way? (sorry that I am probably way behind the times)

Neenz, I know what you mean about being jealous though I can't imagine having two sets of twins! I think it's a hankering after past experience. I found myself being slightly jealous of my cousin when her two year old boy had a tantrum yesterday. Ah those were the days. These days DS (Aged 4) mostly pretty rational and much harder to ignore! Congratulations by the way! WHen are you due?

Neenz, snort at pretending not to notice esther's eating. I think they use it to get you!

D has 14 fully formed teeth and has the last two canines coming through at the moment. There are 20 teeth in total - the last 4 are the second lot of molars that come through at about 2 1/2.

Amber, agree with you with nursery closing. I do think people are taking the p* a little - next week, when it's still going on things will be much more back to normal I reckon.

WHo is Goddess please? Are you someone renamed?

Essie/ Teadybear - why new name? And thanks for the name check for me! You young pup, you don't need blusher and other such fripperies!

Ktpie, I second the 'what the hell are YOU doing here?' thing! I put D down in her cot at lunchtime today with the curtains drawn so that she can look at the snow. WHen I checked on her after about 10 minutes (I had heard lots of chatting through the monitor), she had her nose pressed against the glass, and was most put out to see me - and then devastated when I left her again.

Abdn, keep thinking of you with the weather. It must be very cold where yuo are. Sorry that Fraser's not sleeping well. Everything is so much harder to bear when the sleep bank is depleted.

Sybil - snap with turning the central heating on at night. I feel very wasteful. my DH can't apparently operate the heating let alone the DCs

Make up - bizaare. I must be psychic (though one day late)! One of my new years resolutions is to look after myself better. I haven't worn make-up since my wedding day in 2004 but I went out and bought some mascara today. I am currently wearing tinted moisturiser as well!!!

Anyone else still BFing? D won't give up, and it's so snuggly in the morning that I guess I don't want to give up either.

Sorry to anyone I have ignored and sorry it's so long. YOu would probably prefer less quantity more frequently, I know.

Don't be daft UDC, it's great to hear from you. Cute story about your DD putting her nose up to the window. I think Going is still BFing, not sure if anyone else is. Good on you for continuing! Glad you are ok.

Goddess is BitOfADramaQueen

I am due on aug 16, feeling pretty rough today. I am 8+5. This weather is OK actually cos I don;t feel like I should be going out, staying holed up all nice and warm is just fine.

UDC don't worry about us up here - it's hardly cold, we've been outside every day and as long as we're dressed for it, it's lovely. I wish the schools would open again though, DS1 is bored but the parking lot at his nursery school is so full of snow that it could be a while yet. We need a mini-tractor to dig it out...

We do have the heating on all night, but it's a well insulated house and a new boiler - our gas bills are pretty low (£40/month). The people I feel for are those in the lovely old stone houses. (Okay not really because I'm too jealous of how gorgeous those homes tend to be).

I had a lovely time baking bread with DS1 today, Fraser sort of hovered around and made a mess in the background. Then while F slept, DS1 and I went shopping and had a lovely time. It's really nice to only have one kid to keep track of for a change!

Fraser slept much better last night too! Life is lovely. My mood totally depends on how tired I am.

Oh and I'm still BFing too. Thinking of quitting next month though after F gets his swine flu vaccine (he will only have BM when he's sick so I didn't want him to get swine flu right after I'd stopped - I was worried he'd end up in the hospital just to get fluids into him). The early morning snuggles are lovely, but my hormones are all over the place and it's starting to bother me.

Great to see you UDC (and you too Paro). I'm still bfeeding but feel the same as you, Abdn - I think it's messing with my hormones. T is my last child though and we are both really enjoying it, so I'll probably keep going for a while longer.

We've had the plumber round today, laying pipes for new radiators (we have no heating upstairs at the moment ) and poor DD1 fell down the hole. She has a scrape on her hip and is feeling very sad. She is sucking her thumb and clutching a hot water bottle.

Oh no, Rolf, your poor DD

Sorry I forgot about you BFing ladies!

We are getting a new boiler - hope to get some money off with the boiler scrappage scheme but I rang the helpline the other day and had to leave a message cos all the operators were busy. They haven't rung me back though. Will have to chase it. Hopefully it will cut our gas bills cos they are pretty extortionate (about £70 a month iirc ) - although it will be about £2000 (maybe be £400 off with the scrappage scheme tho).