Sept 08: last year they were cute little bundles that smelt of milk and vanilla, but now they've been replaced with a babyzilla!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

A new thread for us as the last one was running low.

Can you fit a chair in C's bedroom IOM? That way you can have a bedtime read then pop her in her cot straight after.

We're now about to start introducing a bedtime story as I'm slowly moving away from breastfeeding and trying to introduce a substitute/diversion away from my chest!

Hope you're feeling better Hopefully, there's loads of it about. You think this cold winter would have killed off all of the bugs wouldn't you?

We woke up to snow here this morning

She is still in her cot but she's such a climber that we're expecting her to force us to move her into a bed soon.

She has a sheepskin on her floor and this is where I dry her and put her pjs on after bathtime. Once she's in her sleeping bag we sit on this rug, she sits between my legs, and we read the book, usually 3 times. I then tell her that's in time for bed. She usually nods her head, we close the book and then I put her in the cot. She puts in her dummy and lays there while I put her book away and anything else. Then I walk out and close the door.

I have it quite dark in there - just her nightlights on - so it's calm and quiet.

We do a good night story (or 3 here too now). He drinks his milk much better with it and goes to sleep straight away. He's got a seat in his room at the moment which makes it easy.
DS1 gets his on a little wicker chair that was my grannys when she was little, I'd like to sit on his bed but don't think his toddler bed is designed to hold my weight.

I like the idea of Roald Dahl, might try that here too. Better than reading Noddy and Mr Men over and over again!

Meglet the house is great. Can't believe we've been here a month already. So much space for the boys to run around and space for visitors. Everything is unpacked apart from some dining room stuff and that's because it's getting replastered and decorated asap. It was bright oranage above a dado rail and dark orange under it. A bit much!
Once the dining room is sorted the next mission is the garden, it's a bit of a jungle at the moment but has the potential to be great.

Debi the driver for us was him going to see Fantastic Mr Fox with his dad, so when he realised he had the book he asked to read it. Then he was excited by the title of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and it's gone on from there. We're currently reading the BFG and, while it's a little scary, he's really enjoying it. I have to make sure I don't end on a too scary bit, so sometimes I'll read on until tghe scary bit has passed, but so far he's just enjoying the story.

I also bought a book of poems for every day of the year and we read a poem every night. I'm not sure he always gets these but I love poetry so am hoping he'll get it from me.

I second the roald dahl books (although my ds is 6) also Dr Seuss {SP?) is good, especially if they wnat to try and have a go at reading it themselves.

Ds1 is reading "I wish that I had duck feet" by Dr Seuss and then we are reading "101 dalmations" to him (the REAL version, by Dodie Smith NOT the heinous disney version!)

Toby LOVES those touchy feely books by Usbourne..."thats not my puppy" being his favourite at the moment. Also lift the flap "dear zoo". Have read that about 100 times!!!

DS is a huge Gruffalo fan - he can finish lots of the phrases if you leave a gap for him to say the word! And he points at the tv and says 'gruffalo' or 'bumble' (mr tumble). Makes you so proud sometimes

That animation of the Gruffalo from Christmas is absolutely lovely isn't it CarrieBo?

bec we love dear zoo too. There's another similar one by the same author called 'Oh dear' which were given last easter with an egg cup in a special set.
debi I'm so glad the house is working out well for you!
We do stories after bathtime, then brush teeth and turn the lights out and one of us takes each dc to their room and sings them a quiet song as we put them into bed. As soon as we start the lullaby song, ds gives the loveliest cuddle and is happy to be put in his cot.

T is a bit in love with the 'that's not my...' books as well, the plane one is a current fave.

Poor little chap is currently having a marathon 3 hour nap after yet another bad night. I know it's probably teeth, but I'm so worried he's suddenly going to have monster ear ache at 3am and there's nothing we'll be able to do. Doc said his ears looked fine on Monday, but he keeps tugging them (after being reduced to tears at 5am by my whopping great ear infection last week I am particularly paranoid I think).

Of course, all this illness has pretty much put paid to TTC this month . I know we'll get there in the end, but I wish we'd started earlier now!

'That's not my...' are a huge hit here as well. We have the baby, monkey and puppy ones and Robyn loves them. She also likes any flap book and Dr Suess's Wacky Wednesday and Hop on Pop. After reading them 20 times a day I can recite them in my sleep. If we are out and have no books then we have to sing the 'Fifi' themetune. She sings Fifi and I do the words, at the end she cheers.

My friend is still in hospital but has been told she can be induced anytime from tomorrow. Will probably end up being weekend but she is a lot happier then she was and quite excited. I had to do some last minute shopping as her dp is a bit useless and she had nothing for herself to wear after baby born. He is popping round tomorrow so I can fit the carseat for him.

Sunshine I really wish I had your nighttime routine. Robyn is a nightmare at bedtime. I really don't know why as the other 2 were pretty easy to get to sleep. She is currently having a long nap so bedtime tonight will be off again.
She has also started to refuse my milk. She only has an early morning feed and a go to bed feed then occasionally one in the day to get gher to nap and if she wakes in the night. She refused me yest morning and again in the afternoon and this morning she barely had a suckle prefering to go get breakfast.
Not sure if I am happy or sad about stopping bf but at least the timing is good. Just have to introduce a bottle at bedtime and if that works my boobs can finally get a rest.

Ah debs I too am thinking of giving my boobs a rest.
I am going away this weekend for the first completely child free on since I had E. Dh and I off to Edinburgh. E currently feeds off me to get to sleep then a quick feed in the morning but like you he is prefering getting up and having breakfast. Occasionally he wakes and I quickly feed him off to sleep during the night.
Does anyone know if my boobs will work after a two day break? and also are my folks going to have a nightmare time without my boobs! Also, am I being mean leaving e without me. I so need a baby free break but am getting worried.

debs Like you I am not sure if I am happy or sad about stopping feeding or dont know if I really want to. But I suppose the time is right? I do enjoy our feeding time still though, and E gives me those doey eyes and gets so excited when I get them out.

We are geting Toby some more for easter as EVERYONE else we know will get him chocolate!

debi So good to hear positive moving stories....now that it looks like ds1 wont be going to the local junior school our reasons for still living here no longer really apply...that was the main reason we stayed (i.e. "good" schools)

Am looking at houses!!!! Must be mad..poor dh thought we would be here till we both popped of the perch, I think

keeping my place.....

DD has her bedtime story first, she likes 'Is this my nose' (I think it was in the bookstart pack) and we have a Winnie the Pooh poem book she enjoys. She likes 'reading' Bear Hunt on her own, in fact, despite her mini Gengis Khan traits she is very good at looking through books nicely on her own when the mood takes her.

Mamamuffin - I stopped BFing just after a year but DD had a bout of illness that stopped her feeding and I would say that I already had a lag in milk after two days, however this was when she was exclusively BF, it might be different for your LO as they're so much older. A lady I childmind for just feeds her LO at night and has done ever since the start, LO is only 12w now so she is still really little but there's been no supply issue there.

Had my first night away from A last weekend. As everyone said, he was fine (I was prevented from phoning my parents that evening to check), and my parents seem to have survived pretty well - helps that my dad can sleep through anything and so was fine to get up at 7, and also that A only woke once properly. Luckly got lift back to London as Norfolk was snowing! Excellent house party with pool and sauna and log fires and other people cooking (place normally rented to groups with kids for holidays, so I kept thinking 'ooh, must bring the kids!'

Unlike the last couple of nights. Yet again, we've all got both a cold-type bug and a nasty tummy bug - now MrNC and I have the tummy pain it's clear that's what A has too, not constipation. Most unpleasant. At least MrNC works from home tomorrow and could look after him if necessary and catch up later. Beginning to get paranoid about hygiene but really, my house may be untidy and cluttered but the important stuff is fairly clean. Honest!

Mama E will be fine - enjoy your weekend away. Edinburgh is a fab place.

sunshine the gruffalo animation is so fantastic that that's what dd is watching right now ! We're doing a gruffalo party for her third birthday which is at easter.

mama have a wonderful break, relax and enjoy!

Becaroo we're house hunting at the moment (to rent), and I'm feeling all overwhelmed and can't make a choice. It's currently a toss up between:

• scruffy house, bit dingy, but brilliant garden and lots of space
• immaculate house, practically on the beach, but miles from town and not a very exciting garden
• nice house, not a very clever layout (downstairs bathroom, smallish kitchen) and on street parking, but nice garden and plenty of space

It's amazingly hard to decide what we actually want! We can't afford our perfect house, so we have to pick something to compromise (location, size or quality), and we can't decide which.

Took T to doc's again this morning, when they finally admitted he has an ear infection (no sign of one on Monday, but I knew he had one. Silly doc) so he's on antibiotics and hopefully on the mend.

Praying for some sleep tonight, T being up so much in the night has really reminded me of the good old days!

hopefully

Its hard isnt it????

I vote for no.2 You dont need a garden if you have a beach!!! And I have a bit of a thing about cleanliness so immaculate is good!

Thing is, we wouldnt be going for bigger/better but more or less the same, just in the village I am from which is only 4 miles from here! But my bank is there, the GP is there, its fairly rural for the kids and now that it doesnt look like ds1 is going to juniors here anymore my feeling is....why the hell stay????

PLUS we extended our house 3 years ago (didnt think I could have any more dc so only a downstairs one) so if for example its worth 160K (am having it valued next week) we could get another more or less the same (apart from a smaller kitchen and no downstairs loo) for £140/145K and after fees clear all our credit card debt!

Poor dh. Apparently he thought we would stay here forever...just because thats what his parents did...grrr

Carriebo the mouse is so expressive - it's gorgeous.

On houses we've now decided to stay put. Funny DH has moaned about this house since we moved in but since the estate agent came round and said how lovely it is, he's now realised how much he likes it and wants to stay. Only what I've been saying for the last 3 years

Anyway, DS goes to school in September so that's £1k a month saved!

We love the gruffalo 'film' too. Well I say we, I've lost patience with it as it's a bit slow. DS1 loves it though and has watched it so much he can read it to me almost word perfect. It's very funny as he speaks like James Cordon when he reads it
DS1 loves the Mr Men books at the moment too after being given virtually all of them from a friends son.

DS2's favourite books are all the Thomas ones, Dear Zoo, Peppa Pig ones. He also really likes Monkey Puzzle which is by same person as the Gruffalo.

Hopefully I wouldn't go for the 1st house as it could be hard for you to do anything to improve it when it's rented. The beach sounds good but would it be a pain being far away from town? We have a downstairs bathroom which is actually good at bathtime but we do have an upstairs loo & shower too.
Hope T sleeps better tonight.

DD loves anything Peppa - pig is one of her words.

£1k a month childcare!!!!! Really? Wow!
We won't save much when ds1 goes to schl in Sept as we only pay 1.5 days childcare for him now and I think we might have to increase ds2's hours in Sept so I can get my work done but still pick ds1 up from school.

Been holiday planning this eve. Don't know if we can afford it but hey ho!

It's a bit more actually and that's just for one of them. We still have to pay that for DD!

Can't wait for my holiday. Off to Provence in August with our good friends and their daughters.