November 09 babies are growing up quick, and mummy's getting used to getting covered in sick!

[PreggoK8]

Hope this has worked...

Sorry to bombard you with posts, but I AM stuck in a dark room...

As much as this was a bit of a desperate attempt, it a) seems to have worked (he's only woken up once since 7PM, so none of the usual crying every 45 minutes and b) it's actually really cozy. He's shuffled over so that his feet are against my thighs, he obviously knows I'm here. He just had a little giggle in his sleep and my heart melted.

Still no Nutella. (Not sure if I should be proud or disappointed.)

AND, oh yes... the unattractiveness... I'm still 2 or 3 kilos away from my booking-in weight (and most of that is probably my boobs...) and I really feel so... floppy. I'm hoping (like someone else, sorry I forgot who) that once the mornings are lighter I could go for a run before DH goes to work. I was just looking at my wardrobe thinking that I've not worn most of the stuff for a year... my go-to tops are V-neck maternity t-shirts from Asda because they're strangely forgiving and very BF friendly. I've been wearing the same ones now for an eternity, and nearly ordered some more last week, but somehow ordering maternity tops just feels wrong.

Having said all that, it's not like I have the willpower to resist eating. Ho hum. The other night I dreamt that I was pregnant again (a miracle!) and the first thing I thought was "oh noooo, back to obsessing about what I can't eat...".

Ooh, Bristol meet up - I think it's only an hour from oxford and I've never been before so I'm v interested! I'm off to Scotland via Yorkshire tomorrow for a week so may be a bit quiet for while but I'd love to come and crash join the party.

Back in Oxford next Tuesday so I'd prefer Thurs for a meet (can't do Friday). I'll probably be mainly lurking when I get the chance over the next few days so will keep my eyes peeled for details if you do go for later in the week.

Exciting!

PS brood it's eeyore who's in the Land of Oz - she's not MNing much so FB probably best way for travel tips...

top of the morning to you! It worked! He slept from midnight til 5AM (when I woke up, checked the time and bolted upright and nearly woke him as I was in a complete panic gently making sure he was breathing.

Now I have no idea what to expect today, nap or mood wise... Uncharted territory! But I'll certainly be going to bed at 7PM again!

Hope you're all having a lovely morning.

also, yay Raggie! Come for a roadtrip!

Have to confess I'm jealous of you guys meeting up... Up over this side of the border we all seem to be too spaced out.

Well I can't remember what time Ethan nodded off at, before midnight anyway, but he slept til 7!! It's the second time he's done it, first time was Friday after two bottles of EBM so it's nice to know it's a possibility with normal feeds as well. I'll make the most of it as I am aware some of you guys have experienced the 4mth sleep regression which might not be far away for us.

On the unattractiveness front, my boobs are an entirely different shape now. Maybe it's these nursing bras. Also have the soft belly... Odd to be almost back to normal weight but still look so out of shape. Nothing for it, just need to get pregnant again then all is forgiven!

I am jealous of the meet up too! We'll have to have a northern one DWB. Are you in Glasgow? Somebody take some pics of the Bristol meet for us!

Brood I'd just finished a course of oral and topical treatment, and treatment for DS' mouth. Looks like I might need another. Grapefuit juice sounds quite painful but might be worth a go! I tried natural yogurt once, which I thought would be really soothing but it burned like hell.
Your DS sounds so cute cuddling into you.

James rolled last night! Well we think he did, otherwise DD pushed him

My body has definitely become 'mumsy', like the rest of me. I feel soft around the edges.

Morning guys. Will need to catch up later. Last time I was on here we were up to 11 pages now its 19!!!

On body front- yuk. I am soooo not back to my pre preg weight which is very frustrating because with ds I pinged straight back into my pre preg jeans after a week! I put more weight on this time though and with having the cs I've got that lovely over hang just above my scar which I think will probably never go away! As for my boobs, well that is what I am most depressed about . I think mother nature is punishing me for giving up on bf with both dcs . My lovely double d's are now just about a b . I always said I would never have cosmetic surgery but now... I don't know, I probably would consider it on my boobs. Can't believe I'm actually saying that!

Dontworrybaby WOW!!! I am tres of your mammoth sleep last night. Anya is not yet 4 months but hasn't slept through EVER! They say that once a baby is Christened they sleep better at night . Well obviously Anya is rebelling against that one!

Speaking of which, what a stressful weekend with the Chrisdtening. Anya looked like a little angel but did not react well to all the attention. She's just not used to alot of people fussing over her and of course the mil thought that she could calm her down every time when all she actually wanted was her mummy. Twas very frustrating and once again we were all happy when we got back home, far away from the inlaws!

I will go and catch up on everyones news now.

Hello Ladies.

Alfie is just waking (bed about 12am) now but I have been up for an hour getting the bigger one off to school.

Ursi you are right, eating less really is the only option. I worked out my WW points yesterday - and stuck to them!!!

Laugs I like swimming too (boobs too sore to run) but the idea of getting into a costume fills me with dread.

Yay Ragie come join us.

Feeling quite happy today which is good because yesterday I spent the morning crying having decided to leave dp and couldn't decide if I should take the baby or not . Needless to say I was going nowhere and dp is very lovely and supportive, just needed to throw a paddy and all feels a little bit calmer now.

Right off to play and stay for some company and anice cup of tea x

Yay, raggie great you can join us, but we're meeting a week later than you've assumed! Unless my brain is completely fried (always a possibility) you are back on 30th Feb and we're meeting the week after.

So, Bristol meet up ladies - state your preference: Mon 7th, Tues 8th, Thurs 10th, Fri 11th

Still not getting much more sleep here. What is the 4 month sleep regression thing? I heard somewhere that part of it was themn being more aware in what's going on and so looking at a boob to take more milk just isn't fun so shorter feeds in the day.
Hungry milk is only buying me an extra half hour or so, not even sure it's doing that. I can't judge what's going on as he's waking because he's congested at 5am. He'll sleep in with me then as he sleeps on his side which must help drain one nostril? Does anyone have any other tips? I've raised his hammock, put karvol on every night and use the snot sucker How long do we think it takes them to get over the snuffles?

Body wise, I've got back to pre-pg weight (although that was too high anyway ) but it's very wobbly as DS1 pointed out to me the other week! My boobs have ended up a different size after each baby so heavens knows what will happen this time!

Am very of these babies sleeping for long stretches. For those mums, can you clarify whether you've reached/passed the 12 week spurt? That's when it seemed to go wrong change for us, and it's not gone back since [pouting emoticon]

Broodzilla, what was it exactly that you did? Just being there with him?
For the tummy problem: I think the mummy tummy homepage has an exercise for exactly that problem.

tummy-time, Paula quite likes it when naked or at least without nappy. So she get now not only her evening massage but also some more or less naked time during the day when she is only wearing a shirt and leg warmers (I can only recommend them, they are great for carrying her in the sling too as you can take them off when going inside). It must be much harder to be on the front with nappies on, especially washable ones.

I have told my husband about our discussion how to get back in shape and that I had said the only way was eating less and doing more exercise. He asked me if I had actually told you that I was eating a lot and have never done much exercise in my life. So just to make it clear: I did not speak of my own experience

scarlotti, if it helps, I wish I could sleep as long as you can. I gave up, accepted (more or less) and strangely I'm not that tired anymore

keep forgetting to ask if anyone has the same problem and/or any advice: Paula has very red neckfolds. It's impossible very hard to clean them properly (after vomitting for example) and I don't know how any air could get there. I tried with bepanthen but I think this doesn't help or makes it almost worse.

laugs I like your 'soft around the edges' description. We have to remember that we had babies not so long ago and love our bodies for it. I've heard it takes two years for your body to recover. Yes I'm near Glasgow. Where are you?

TOK the christening photos on fb are lovely, Anya looks very smiley. Beautiful.

From what I've read, the sleeping can regress at any milestones and 4 mths has a few... Rolling over being one but frazzled brain can't remember others.

Ethan's usual pattern was to drop off around 11/12pm, wake around 4:30 and 7:30. Last Thu he woke at 1:30, 4, 6:30... Then fri he had two bottles of EBM while I was out and a feed from me at midnight but I had to wake him at 7:45! Back to the 4/4:30 wake up sat & sun then around 7/8 hours last night. He was 12wks on Sunday but I can't tell whether he's had a growth spurt or not. Only thing is I think I fed him more yesterday as I was ill and didn't have the energy to carry my 15lber and soothe him when he was upset. I'm sure that has helped him sleep longer.

It is so quiet in my house DS1 is at pre-school and DS2 is sleeping! I'm so glad to be back to school as the winter days makes it so much harder to occupy DS1.

Congestion here still Scarlotti It's never ending as we've had this issue since he was born and when it got better he started to catch these colds. I've been using the saline drops far more frequently and have noticed an improvement but that could be a coincidence.

TOK Anya is beautiful It's funny you were talking about your boob size as I was talking to DH about my boobs this morning. I've already got my money pot saved for a bit of enhancement later in the year. I'm a bit gutted that I might have to wait 6 months after I've stopped bf to have the op, but thinking logically, I can't lift DS2 for a couple of weeks after the op, so it for the best I wait as long as I can. My boobs never recovered after DS1, so I dread to think what will be left this time around I will not be doing a Jordan. I'm hoping for as natural as poss!

DS1 hated tummy time. DS2 seems to enjoy it but not for very long.

I think we just have to accept that it's still too soon to expect our LOs to sleep through (i.e. 6 hrs plus) on a regular basis - much as we would like them to. Any night when they manage it before 6 months is a bonus. At least that's what I'm telling myself after my short run of 'good' nights ended in spectacular fashion with a baby who's only slept for an hour since 3.15 am.

ursi Would it be easier to clean them if you lay her on her front? I know James streches his neck right out then and i could wiggle a bit of damp cotton wool in there if I needed to.

brood It was me fantsising thinking about going running again. Have just realised that I'll have to see if I can squeeze into my sports bra before I get too excited about it. At the moment going back to bed for an hour is way more exciting than hitting the road, but if I've got everything ready then it's at least a possibility when the mood's right. Right? Also sending vibes to help you to be strong in resisting buying more maternity tops - you know it's the right thing to do!

Impressed with how many of you first-timers are already thinking about baby number two. I assumed we'd have two children, if possible, but despite an easy pregnancy and a pretty easy baby I feel no urge to work on another. I'm already 38, so I can't leave the three year gap I suspect I'd like if I'm serious about giving James a sibling. It's tough, isn't it? I didn't meet my DH until I was 33 so parenthood was always going to be fairly late, biologically speaking. Serious case of use it or lose it. Will have to see how I feel once I've forgotten about the tiredness in a couple of months time!

DWB & laugs if you manage a northern meet-up let me know. Aberdeen is a long way from anywhere, but I might be able to wangle it if we have enough notice. Could leave DH to paint the extension for the weekend!

DH trouble seems to be abounding again. Luckily, mine is behaving. well, being overworked actually. But with #2, we've been through the competitive tiredness thing, the what-jobs-he-should-really-help-with thing, etc. and come out the other side, so it hasn't been so bad this time. Oh, and Isla sleeps so much better than DD1 which has been a miracle for us. Scarlotti I really hope that you and DH find a way forward that works for you both, and Relate is a great first step. I'm still helping my dear friend through her separation and the worst thing for her is that it was totally out of the blue as far as she was concerned. One minute it was cosy and Christmas, and the next minute her life was turned upside down by him leaving, admitting an affair, refusing to work on the marriage and declaring he'd been unhappy for years. She's set to lose him, the father of her kids, her house, her job, her dignity and her self confidence in one fell swoop. Words do not describe him. Interestingly their #2 is under 2.

jabs - Isla had hers yesterday and is brewing a megapoo. I've heard it gurgling since 5am.

I definitely feel that for me, BF is bad for my shape. I'm back to more or less pre preg weight (which was 3/4 stone heavier than pre-DD1) but I've definitely accrued more podge around my tum since I gave birth. And in other places too. I don't think my crisp habit is helping matters at all, and I'm not going on the long walks I'd envisaged since DD2 needs fed in between nursery runs and DD1's naps interfere with things too. My appetite is bottomless (I never feel full), and I'm baking lots in an attempt to find something nice that I can eat in the absence of chocolate. DH even pointed out that my podge was bigger than his the other day so I've negotiated a return to pilates for me on Monday nights, not that Isla has settled a bit. When I get around to it...

The good news is that Isla's head is not about to pop and has dropped 1.5 centiles since her first paed appointment. Still looks massive in comparison to others' though. No wonder she has a hard time lifting it for long on her tummy

Hobnob my ds had a whopping head and it is still a bit broad at the forehead I think compared to others, but looked much more in proportion from about six months on. Too many brains!!

I am doing a healthy cook up today but oops have spoilt it all already with a kinder bunny and also bought all the ingredients to make rocky road. D'oh!

Hobnob how awful for your friend. I think the thing about not making big life decisions with babies under 2 is definitely true, I look back and feel very different now to how I felt when ds was under 2 and also still not really myself again yet. Children with complex needs and no independence are very wearing and give and take has to happen on all sides, which is hard- I personally find compromise very difficult at times.

Ds's school has a running club! I have joined! I have never run anywhere in my life ever but apparently they will help out beginners.

Venus re the second baby, I did not want another until ds was about 18 months old- the 'two under two' thing looked far too scary! And what about nursery fees for two children, how on earth do people afford them? I remember an NCT mum I knew getting pregnant again when our babies were just coming up to one and I thought she was a total loon!! But once I did want ds 2 I felt a real, proper 'baby hunger' which took me completely by surprise. I absolutely yearned for a baby but it took two more years to be able to conceieve one that stuck. Very annoying. You'll know when and if you're ready for another I'm sure, I had a very overwhelming feeling.

Ninja I am prone to the odd paddy, amazing how they seem to clear the air!

Laugs does it feel any better today? I just remembered - are you pumping? My medela pump seems to make my boobs feel quite painful afterwards and definitely wasn't helping when I had the thrush before.

I really fancy some kind of exercise class (I'm terrible for avoiding exercise, hoping a class would keep me motivated) but the physio told me that the SPD means I can't do normal classes for A YEAR! I'm getting married in six months, but it will just have to be with a few extra pounds...

Tbh, I quite like how I look, before I had the children I was really skinny, so it is nice to feel a bit more substantial (I'm a curvy 14) but I would love to feel a bit more healthy and could do with my stomach being slightly flatter as I hate being asked if I'm pregnant. Also I hear that exercise is good for keeping mental problems at bay.

There is a buggy pushing exercise class in Saltwell park, but it is two buses away, and it is cold...

I did a balance ball class once, which was really fun (mainly because I kept falling off) but I think that would be a complete no-no 3 months after a cs and spd. :/

wook thanks for that. I think you are right about just waiting until it seems right. I think that if we wait and it doesn't happen then we'd be okay with it; little Jim would be plenty. My sister had her kids at a similar age to me and exactly 2 years apart and, capable as she is, she's struggled. I'd certainly have to give up work or put all my pay to childcare.

Just made a new recipe for coconut flapjacks, got out my bag of dessicated coconut to see a BBE of August 2005! So they are now candied peel and ginger flapjacks...

Went out and bought little Jim a fancy teething ring at the weekend but what a waste of money - all he wants to chew on is my finger. He grabs it in his little hand and stuffs it in. Today is def. a one-handed typing day.

wook I know we have local "jogscotland" groups which meet once a week and have 3/4 different groups for different stages. Each group has a group leader who chooses the route each week and runs with the last person so nobody is left alone. I know all of this because my mum is a jog leader... unfortunately I've also heard her say that the people who only run once a week never make any progress and I'm not sure I have the motivation to stick with the club once a week, never mind run on my own as well. Let us know how you get on if you give it a try.

On the relationships front, I have various issues with DP not pulling his weight. Mostly at night time. I don't think asking him to change Ethan's last nappy and get him into his sleepsuit every night is too much to ask as it gives me time to get myself ready for bed, when I then have to sit and feed him for about half an hour before he'll fall asleep anyway. DP does think this is unreasonable and me being lazy. Last night I left Ethan lying on the sofa while I got into my pjs, filled my bottle of water, plugged my phone in and turned my lamp on. During this Ethan's crying was getting louder and louder. I came back and shouted at DP for not getting up to him, he accused me of slyly trying to force him to change his nappy and get him ready for bed. All this after I had already asked DP and he'd tried to get out of it. So after nappy was changed, I then had to put Ethan down in our bed, wash my hands and go to the loo before I could pick him up to feed him again. Sorry for the ramble but it's typical of our run ins... both of us are tired and want more from the other person. I am trying to take a step back and see this as the difficult, sleep-deprived (I've got a cheek after the 7 hour marathon last night), stressful stage and look forward to happier times ahead. It is hard though.

I'm in awe of all you homely types baking/cooking. I thought I'd have so much time on my hands on maternity leave... I was wrong!!

I am weirdly really in love with dp and really annoyed with him at the same time. i think it might be because I need him so much atm.

EG, this morning, i got up with DD1 at 8am, gave her breakfast, got some washing up done, put some laundry in and hung up some more. DP brought Emmeline down when she woke at 9am, I sat down with a brew and a cereal bar and fed her, DP went back to bed.

After I had fed Emmeline, I went upstairs to get dressed and DP moaned that the kids were making noise downstairs and I was faffing getting dressed. I asked him if there was any chance of him helping get the kids ready, he grudging said yes.

I went down and got the kids clothes and nappies out (their bedroom is downstairs) and was halfway through changing Emmeline when dp came in (it is by now half ten) and got DD1 dressed, then wandered off again. I fed Emmeline again and did my hair and makeup (which basically means a ponytail and a quick swish of mascara, which is more than usual) then did DD1s hair, but then she started having a tantrum, so DP reappeared and put her in her bed.

I had a chilled half hour, then DD1 got back up and asked for lunch. DP heated her up some tinned ravioli, then asked where me and the girls were eating dinner. I said the table (where we always eat...) and he put the ravioli down there, then disapeared again. Then he left for work.

I just know that he sees that as a day of helping look after the kids, when in actual fact he spent a total of maybe ten minutes with DD1 and maybe two with Emmeline. But I know that when he gets in tonight (at about 11 or 12, even though he finishes at 9 and it takes less than an hour to get home) I will be really glad to see him and will be really grateful if he brings me a brew or some of what he is making himself for his tea while I breastfeed and settle Emmeline.

I know he works full time, but I don't think he understands just how tiring it is to be at the beck and call of two under threes all day. I get baking and stuff donw, but mainly because DD1 really enjoys it and it is an activity I can do with her sat at the kitchen table.

Butterpie your other half is doing well to bring you a brew or some tea while you're feeding. All the books suggest the daddies doing this if the mum is breastfeeding but I now try to organise a drink/phone/tv remote before sitting down to feed as I felt that DP resented me asking him for things.

I'm starting to consider coming up with a rota which would force us to agree on a fair split of chores etc. Hopefully this might help avoid the arguments.

Dh is a bit like that too Butterpie, he would consider he has "helped me", by buttering ds's bread for lunch, and taking ds to playschool this morning (a few mins up road.) If I have to ask him to do anything I get the 'cats bum face' pulled at me, so I dont really ask him much. He will do a big tidy occasionly which is good, like he did on Sunday but that didnt impress me as he said he was sick so couldnt go to a meal my mum was making which was pre-arranged for my uncle's birthday. (a gorgeous roast btw, where all he would have to do is sit and eat. she only lives two mins down the road.) but somehow he mustered the strength to tidy-up the lounge and sort the whole kitchen, and then play xbox into the night. He looked pretty smug about it when I got home but I would have been more impressed if he'd just stayed in bed and pretended to be ill.