May Toddlers - still toddling along!

[helsy]

Oi! Over 'ere!

I'm using my sick leave well and have just booked a holiday in Oban - we're going to see Balamory and sea eagles, hopefully.

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I can't believe my hands still know how to do this typing thing, it's been so long. But here we are, we now have broadband and a lush new computer! and how the hell are yous all ? So so pleased, Susi, to find out you have your girl all safe and sound and that Lucas is adjusting to her already. Big, big congratulations m'dear. I have had a little scan through the other messages and wasn't surprised to see that things are quieter than they used to be....that's the way it goes I suppose... means I got a good sketch picture of the state of play on May Toddlers. Cat, how are things at your end? Sounds like it's all been a bit heavy. Hope DD shows somw sort of progress if she's admitted - or for that matter if she isn't.

Prufrock, what are you studying?

Helsy, are things at work any better these days?

Judd, DD would die of happiness at Balamory Live. What did you think of it? I have heard very mixed reports from adults!

Ponka, glad your pg progressing well. Do people really have fat under their finger nails? how horrible. I hope your poor mil is ok but that really nearly made me throw up! I missed you in PP magazine as our local newsagent doesn't stock much beyond Scot Ads, Bliss and Nuts. I still want to see your article though!

Would love to know how Libb is doing...

I am doing we;ll and DD is the apple of my eye. She has finally started to do a bit of walking. In fact today may have marked the end of our buggy days as she refused to sit in it, insisting on walking (hand held) to the field of horses. She can do a tottering launch from one eager set of arms to another. But loves to climb and slide; loves loves loves to slide.

She provides total running commentary on all our activities and has a hilarious vocabulary. From the train we spot pylons, bales and cranes and on waking she caresses her toy cat's whiskers saying 'Wiss-wer'. I know it sounds annoying but where else can I talk about it? It makes me so happy to see her understanding the world. Think this is such a lovely age!

Rather nervous about the second one though. Am now 16 weeks pg. This pregnancy is passing much more quickly as I have less unbridled enthusiasm about meeting my next newborn. Sus, you are my guiding light!

Hope all of you are doing away nicely in your various parts of the country.

Maybe the pregnancy passes quickly because you already have someone else occupying your thoughts, Spots. Glad you're back online and your DD sounds lovely.

We're having problems with DD sleeping atm. She was doing 7.30-7.00 pretty well. But 3 out of the last 5 nights she has been waking up for long stretches. The worst was Sunday night when she (and I) was awake from 12.45 am until 4.15 am. Then DH came to have a shower at 6.20 am - he'd gone to sleep on the settee and set the alarm on his phone which was still on German time. Grrr Don't know why she's doing this.

oh bozza, sorry to hear that. if your dd is like mine, she goes through phases of good and bad. it will pass. she says....

spots, lovely to hear from you. a guess a second preg is never quite as exciting as the first. in a different kind of way, and where you wish the first one away - it goes slowly. the second one you must feel you want to hang onto for as long as poss to prepare!! that would be the way i'd feel anyway, and hence it goes quickly.

havent been online for ages - oh, CONGRATS SUSI! will check your other thread to see names etc... have been doing a spot of supply teaching - eek, and just been popping on her for a nose now and then.

hope you are all well. xxx

Egypt how's your DH's back these days? Hope supply teaching is ok. Does your lovely mum look after dd?

Bozza, sleep situation sounds hellish. poor you.

dh's back is fine thanks. he has 6 monthly visits to the osteopath to keep it in line.

yes, a mixture of my mum, dh and dh's mum look after dd when i'm working. it will only be a few days a month - ie, 4 or 5 but it makes 4 or 500 quid extra, which is a help. it's ok. great at my old school, where i know the way things work, but can be pretty scary elsewhere. depends on the kids. and the area! ?

how's sleep bozza? dd is already up again after going down at 7. she goes mental if i'm in the room and dh has hold of her. a real separation anxiety thing going on at the moment, which is horrible for me and dh too of course. hence, i'm on the pc whilst she gets used to being with him. sounds stupid, but does anyone's else lo's do this? dh doesn't see her all day and sometimes doesnt get home b4 she goes to bed, so it can be a couple of days before she sees him, but she is just never 100% happy with him when there's the option of mummy too. thing is, she is FINE with my mum! why?! she only sees her once a month.

Sometimes have that problem Egypt - although less so now and even occasionally the other way - she is a fickle little madam. Went to collect her from nursery and she was saying "daddy, daddy" and I was like "oi I;m mummy". Sleep has improved but not yet back to where we were. She seems really hot in the night so we went back to the summer sleeping bag but she was even too hot in that so we have opened her window!

I've still not recovered sleepwise though so really should be off to bed. Have spent half the evening arranging the kid's social life, well DS's really but DD loves to tag along.

We have the exact same Egypt, though DH takes DD through for her breakfast every morning so there is daily contact, in fact at both ends of the day as he gets home in reasonable time. I think it's (for us) because he mainly deals in jokey rowdy behaviour and sometimes she just wants to be a bit more low key. At the moment I can hear them both having a whale of a time but in the morning she'll be going 'mummy mummy' and he'll say 'Mummy is asleep' and they're both tired so she wants to come and knock-knock on the door and he can't think of any jokes so is a bit silent which she doesn't like! It's not very bad now but definitely as you describe. She has just materialised at my side! Baby glue.

Totally walking now! I am so happy to see her stotting along. She is noticing everytning anew.

Well DD has just got hyper on all sorts of inappropriate food/drink at the school Halloween disco and been strutting her stuff on the dance floor. Just went off on her own in the middle of a crowd of much bigger kids dancing away.

Dh calls DD my shadow because no matter where in the house I am she's always at my side. We had a small tiff about it last week because if I go upstairs shes at the stair gate crying and hes sat on the settee watching tv. I told him he needs to occupy her more.

Glad to hear things are good for you spots.
We also get the running commentry thing. Its quite sweet if I hear her on the phone or talking to the cat. Its also esp lovely to come home from work and get big cuddles from her and see the excitement in her face.

Oh goody, first day of half term and it's raining.
Dd2 was ill at the weekend - think I made the lasagne a bit rich, and she was throwing up for two days. We were all fine.
Know what you mean about the walking. She seems too small to walk! We've not had her measured (or weighed for a while, but I suspect she's short and fat . She's had nothing but milk and weetabix for two days - going to try her with a pear now.
Libb, are you around?

Chucking it down here too....
Mind you, I've only got DS until Thursday, DD is staying at grandparents - yay! She couldn't wait, had been asking each morning for a whole week when she would be going.
DS has had a bad cold and been very phlegmy and off his food. He's also STILL using his hands to eat most of his food even though he can scoop with a spoon perfectly well - bah!

can we join the ill gang? dd has an ear infection. i knew she wasn't right all week, hence the separation thing. she did have a cold, but she woke at 330 last night with a burning temperature. woke again at 7 and slept on my lap all morning. took her to the docs, who said that the cold had developed into an ear infection. this is the second time. antibiotics again. bless her. poor thing, and there was me saying she was turning into a stroppy little girl. awww

chucking it down here too.

oh... and the kitchen ceiling has leaked from the rain.......and dh is away. humm

What a poorly bunch. Helsy I wouldn't blame yourself for DD being sick if you were all OK - probably something she's picked up from somewhere. DD has had a bit of a cold/cough but not too bad but DS doesn't seem able to shake off his cough/tonsilitis and has visibly lost weight. We're a bit concerned about him.

Had a day out at the Railway Museum today. Went with two of my friends and their 4 yo DSs in my friend's Touran. So 3 adults, 3 giddy boys and DD in the car! The boys and DD all enjoyed it and DD managed really well without getting too grumpy. She nearly lost her little handbag - its clear plastic with her name on and contains half a dozen pennies and a conker - so v. classy but she is very attached to it and takes it everywhere.

We're not the only ones then - looks like Autumn is here with all her germs......
Dd2 hasn't really eaten again today - we gave her weetabix again tonight out of desperation as she wouldn't eat the blandest food, mashed potatoes, plain pasta, just one yoghurt and a bit of stewed apple, back to weaning food! She did spike a temperature this afternoon but it's stayed down with Calpol. She has a horrible hacking cough though. She's got the Argos catalogue under her mattress at the moment but she keeps turning round so her head is lower than her feet!
We're trying to think of somewhere nice to go tomorrow as DH has a couple of days off - so far we've got as far as rural, NW or Midlands, with nice things to do inside as it WILL rain, and plenty of room for dds to run around. Apparently, IKEA doesn't count .

Does kind of ruin the effect when they turn round like that doesn't it helsy? We used to put yellow pages under DD's cot but DH has thrown them away.

Went away for weekend and both shattered by the end of it. Just to Glasgow to see a friend and her wee boy. DD woke at 5.45 each morning which admittedly is not THAT early... but without DH to do the morning shift I was quite drained. And DD completely overstimulated by it all. I know the clocks went back an' all, but I was in bed by 8.30 last night! A quiet day today, reading lots and lots of familiar books and cuddling lots and lots of familiar toys.
Tomorrow is Hallowe'en party at Toddlers. I am making her a ladybird costume: thought she might be more co-operative if she recognized the thing she was dressed up as, but we'll have to see about that. It's just a red tabard with spots but she's already shown a little concern about the pins! I had a flash of inspiration and made a fly mask while she napped, thinking she could go as a fly, but reality dawned when she woke up and I tried it on her: no way. damn, and it was good! I might have to wear it myself.

anyone else dressing up..?

Well we did a bit spots. DS had a "pirate skeleton" costume and DD had a 74p witches hat from Asda. I took them out with my friend who also has a 1yo DD and 4yo DS and we did about 45 minutes of trick or treating. So now I have to go through their loot and remove anything unsuitable and put it into Mummy and Daddy's secret stash. DD got quite assertive on the doorsteps and didn't seem fazed (sp?) my much.

hey girls!
hope all your ill ones get better soon!
ds too has been ill last weekend; guess it was teething again. all the symptoms were there!
but guess what: no tooth 'grrrrr'

anyways, dp went back to work on sunday so i am 'on my own' now
and so far (knock wood) it's going allright!
seems like the 'being new, loud and interesting' dd-phase is coming to an end (we hope) because ds leaves her alone for longer periods

she sleeps really well! nights good 8 hours and during the day seems like we've cracked the naps too - the good ol' swaddle trick

just the eating isn't going too well. she's 3.5 weeks now and just reached her birthweight! (last week she only put on 100g ) - tried to top her up with one bottle before bed; she took 2,5oz like a pro but 5 min later half of it came out again
guess i have to turn up the feeding-marathon even more and feed her every hour! but she always falls asleep after 10 min!!!!

besides that everything's quite good. even managed to take both out yesterday for a long walk. will try today again

ds is very funny atm! yesterday i suggested to bake a cake with him and dp offered
well, most of the dough landed in ds' mouth!!! the floor, the table, the highchair - there was a bit left to put in the tin

could do with some 'toy-suggestions'! what do your lo's like to play with which keeps them occupied for quite some time?!
and what do you do for 'creative' play?

Great to hear from you Susi, have been wondering how you were doing. I don't have many things that keep DD occupied for long, esp.not by herself. Her favourite thing is still being read books by Me. But you'll know from your cake baking experiences how good playdough can be. You can make it from just flour, water and salt in a mixer - will look out recipe if you want. She will play on her slide in the garden while I trim things for 15 minutes, and if there's a silence while she's in another room you can guarantee she's found a tub of Sudocrem.

Hi all,

Susi, DS normally flicks from one toy to another in 30 seconds but he just spent about an hour today playing with a saucepan, wooden spoon, a packet of bread sauce mix, an onion and a pot of herbs, pretending to cook, pour them in and stir. He loves the toy kitchen at playgroup (we've decided that's our xmas present this year).

All is fine here. DS is a delight at the moment. He came up to me with a beaming smile, for no particular reason, and planted a big smacker on my lips a few days ago. I'm still feeling a bit sick. I'm getting even more worried about our cat. He's scratched DS quite badly now, on the foot and he wasn't even chasing him at the time. Might have to start a thread on that one.....

Glad its going so well Susi. DD mainly plays with DS's stuff which is mainly unsuitable but what can you do. She too loves books and being read to or climbing into the chair in her bedroom and flicking through a book, tossing it on the floor and repeating the process with another book. She loves her toy pushchair. I have started trying to spend time with her doing wooden puzzles and the more advanced shape sorters (she's mastered the simple ones). She is also into cooking and baking in a big way. I had DS and DD helping me to weigh out the fruit for the Christmas cake last week. i dread to think how it will turn out because DD kept turning off the electric scales and eating the fruit. Anyway I got DS to pour in the brandy and she decided to pinch another raising that must have been pretty well soaked in brandy - you should have seen her face!

Hello old girls. Feel like I am trying not to post here because I don't want to look too keen! in the face of all this quietness. I still so want to know all your news and the boring stuff as well!

We just got back from DD's first fireworks night. A big public display in the next town. I really thought she would freak out a bit at the bangs but we were far enough away and we bought her a flashing LED red/blue/green mobile phone. The main attraction for her was actually watching the trains go snaking past with all their lights on. 'Come on! More! Trains!' she kept saying. Huge bonfire with great fluffy flames and dark smoke. the business. Sge did get a bit worried when the bangs got louder so we went home before the end, but it was lovely. Friends we went with have a girl the same age and they were dancing around the sitting room before we left like little weebles.

DH gone out for chips; can hear him back now. hurrah!

Aaaaah! We decided DS was too little to go, so we MADE DD have a sleep this afternoon so that she could have some Big Girl's Time with daddy. They went to a big bonfire with fairground rides, lots of food etc and she came back full of it! She was obviously whacked but wouldn't go to bed until I inflated a plastic Nemo toy that she won hooking a duck.
How are you feeling Spots? I held a friend's newborn the other day and it hit me that I could feasibly have a gap of this baby and DS - eeeek. (does that make sense?) DS has been fab of late - very cute and cuddly. Likes rubbing noses like eskimos. I've been playing the piano at DD's preschool for the song time and have to take him with me. He is SO good - sits on the carpet with the big children, plays his instrument and watches the others doing the actions. A few of the big children get moved every time because they try and prod him to make him misbehave. He joins in with Farmer's In His Den too, and they always choose him to be the child. It's immensely cute!
I found 5p in his nappy yesterday - am very excited that he may actually be able to wee hard cash
Feel free to chat back, Spots. Our thread has been quiet of late and I never want to post if nobody else has! I do want to congratulate Bozza, if she is around, for her correct spelling of culottes on a Style thread I dipped into. Nobody else did it right except her! ("Give yourself a pat on the front, a pat on the front, a pate on the front". Oh, is it CBeebies at the weekend, by any chance?)

I'm like that about posting spots too. Could easily post more often. And double to judd for spelling culottes right - its good to know that English degree hasn't gone to waste.

Did you really think DS was too young to go Judd? We took DD last year and again this year. Although we've only been to the local Scouts one rather than a big fancy affair. DD enjoyed them - pointed at the rockets and said "bang" - I think she has learned that word from Piglet's balloon in endless Pooh stories.

Those of you with older children, do you find that the younger one insists on doing everything the older one does. Have been having trouble getting DD to clean her teeth. It turns out the cause was that rather than sit on my knee she wanted to stand on a step at the sink like DS. So now they are (rather unsafely) sharing a step with DD propped up by knee while I sit on the toilet.... Hmmm, not ideal. And that's just one example.

PS Judd should I get some culottes or not?