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

[PreggoK8]

Hope this has worked...

Raggie re teaching jobs I am looking in the TES, also at the local authority jobs sites as they are updated daily in the case of Norfolk and weekly I think in Suffolk. Also the advisors know I am looking out and one of them asked if I could go and fill in somewhere after half term, but of course that's too soon, I think really it's September I'm looking for. Does your LEA have a jobs site? And who are the primary advisors? Could you send a CV to them? My dream would be pt but I can't see how with a new job I could go anything other than ft. I'm also going to have to take a very big pay cut I think. Honestly, I could just weep when I think about the lovely colleagues, the salary and the convenience I chucked away when I left my job in July, all for the sake of this one bully. But then it was the right decision to leave, I had no self respect anymore and it was time to move on. It's only because I'm scared of not knowing the future now that I am regretting it- if I was going back in March, full or part time,to work for her, I'd be spending the last days of my maternity leave worrying about that just as much! I had lunch with two ex colleagues today and it was sad to think that some of the ideas we came up with while we were chatting are things that they can work on together this week, but without me
Never mind, at least I can go to the pictures every Thursday morning !
I loved Up In The Air, especially the scene where they were talking to the younger woman about finding a partner- it was very funny, very true. I thought the younger woman's character was very well observed and the actress was fab.

Many sympathies TOK It's hard when they have off periods and horrid that babies can't say what is the matter and what they are thinking- with ds aged 4 now it is so easy to know what is going on but with Hedy I have no idea.

Hedy has got such an awful cold that she has actually now lost her voice and sounds like Mariella Frostrup. All she wants to do is sleep and she's feeding fitfully so I'm in a panic about her getting dehydrated. Would phone NHS direct but the out of hours service is such a nightmare that I may as well stick with Calpol and cuddles until I can ring the GP tomorrow morning.

Scarlotti like Raggie I am just beginning to see that putting Hedy down sometimes when she's raggedy in the evening is the best thing, she will rant a bit to herself and chew her knuckle, then conk out quite happily. I ownder if she likes her moses basket now because she's nearly too big for it and therefore it's nice and snug. So that means we'll have to start all over again with the big cold cot!!

Don't have any problems putting him down for sleep now as he's used to his bedtime and seems quite happy in his bed. Think I will try and delay picking him up/attending to him at night though and see if he goes back off to sleep or progresses to proper crying.

weston would you rather she went down at 7 or 9 - i.e. do you want more or less of an evening to yourself? If it's 7, then just persevere with the going to bed bit and within a few days she should get the message. Ioan used to (and sometimes still does) wake after 40 mins as that's the end of his first sleep cycle. I can now just put his dummy back in and he'll go straight back to sleep. I make sure he's fed properly at around 5pm and then again just before he goes to bed around 6:30/7. He's so used to the routine now that he will even lay there awake for a while if he's not falling asleep immediately.
Also, is your dd giving you plenty of wet and dirty nappies? We only get dirty nappies every other day or even every 3rd day so don't worry about that. Lots of babies start of on one line and then slowly move downwards (or upwards) to the line that they actually belong on. They are almost overfed by the placenta inside, and then adjust to their meant-to-be weight over the first few months or more on the outside.
If you're happy with how she's doing then I'd be tempted to give the clinic a wide berth - I went through that a lot with DS1 and it really tarnished the initial time I had with him and I got myself tied up in knots over it all.

raggie 9 hours! or 8, even 8 is ! Although Reuben has had several nights of 5 hour stretches so 'yippeee!' for us! He has been going to bed at about 10:30am and sleeping until about 8am, with 2 feeds (3:30am and 6:30am or so), but last night he was awake happily gurgling for a good hour or 2 and fed 4 times . His evenings are still hit and miss, some evenings he feeds continuously and others he sleeps. Same in the day, he has not slept at all today apart from 20 mins in the sling and 20 mins on my boob (so i guess he has slept!).

Not much to report here. Had a lie in again today til 10am! Which was nice as i was awake a bit in the night. I am sure some good things have happened this week but I can't remember a thing

weston agree with scarlotti i stopped going to clinic with DD after about 4 months as I felt it so unhelpful and stressful. I ha the 8mth check and that was it. If I had any concerns over DD I went straight to the gp instead.

Hi ladies,

you are all at it!! How nice. Have temporarily deserted the thread, as no time WHATSOEVER!
Had a real low point yesterday when dd1, 2 yo, pooped on the floor, then the stupid dog started to eat it while I put her in the bathtub, then chased the dog outside, poop all over the place, the baby bawling at the top of her lungs, me with a stomach bug, dh has pneumonia and everything a big old chaos.
Anyway. will try to catch up on how everyone is doing!

Hey all, hope you're well Am surprised how many early teethers we have on here!

Longway hope you're over your jetlag now

Southern hope you enjoy your holiday. Bryn is very stuffy too. Walks, steaming and using an air purifier seem to help a little, though not much.

Scarlotti sorry about the job - but its their loss, and its obviously wasn't meant to be.

Helips AWWW at your DS, that's just so sweet!

Clair Bryn tends to have nasty nappies for the next two days if I have even a really mild curry, but that's the only thing I've noticed.

Raggie at nine hours. Fab news though, long may it continue!!!

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

Well, I saw the psych on Friday. He was really great. Said that he's willing to try extra therapy first (back up to once a week) and will see me in a few weeks to see how I'm doing. And then, if he's not happy, or I'm not happy, we'll try upping my meds. Both he and the local sister who is a family friend have reassured me that if that's what I need to do I should just do it. We'll see...

He also asked me how long I'd spent away from Bryn since he's been born. I worked it out and it was just under two hours... Am now on orders to go out at least once a fortnight without him. First night is "booked" for Saturday as it is DP's birthday. Am nervous as hell already.

We celebrated our first anniversary together today. It was quite ironic cuddling in between changing a three month olds nappies!!!

wook you poor thing having to give up your job because of your bullying boss... I am missing my colleagues too - and the thought of my nice, secure, Inner London salary supported by TLRs I've given up. Don't think that's going to happen if I'm only P/T, especially in a new area. Today I emailed the 'Teacher Recruitment and Retention Team' just to let them know I'm looking and highlighted a few salient points from my work history. I checked the local gov website too and there were several primary jobs - more than TES plus some were part time. Not classroom teaching though - additional support programmes. Doubtful classroom teaching job will come up P/T I suppose but I'll keep looking I guess. Just not sure when to go back - if not til September will be v skint over summer and if before...well, that's really soon! Hope maman isn't reading this. Back at work already, she'll think I'm a right wuss.

Happy Anniversary erika! Lovely to see you back Good luck with the extra therapy sessions.

Poor you comma with being ill on top of that lot. Yesterday Rosa pooed really badly while feeding, but I didn't realise how badly...There was a huge wodge of poo on my cardi pocket, which then proceeded to disperse itself around the house as I traipsed back and forth cleaning her, finding new clothes, putting away the dirty ones in the wash etc. Doorways, walls, bedspreads ... Nowhere was spared.

Hello ladies, I've been away for a while.. Mainly due to tiredness and feeling a little bit out of sorts. I hope everyone is doing ok, and through reading some posts it seems like some of of us are trying to pull through these early months.

Had a terrible weekend. Mainly from my point of view DH is working lots of overtime hours to cover my loss of income, which is just one of them things that we can't change. So I'm on my own a lot lately. DS1 has turned from being a devil child, to being back to his old self, now back to devil child again. He's being so naughty and so demanding. He's had some wetting accidents which are stressing me out. Twice at pre-school this week. He's been super dry since he was 2.5 yrs old, so this has come out of the blue. He seems to be holding his wee and then not making it to the toilet on time. He denies he needs a wee and carries on dancing and jogging on the spot, which he did for a couple of hrs yesterday. He then hides the fact that he needs the toilet (quickly!) and tells me that he's going to play in his room and then sneaks off for a wee. He gets so upset if a wee accident happens. I'm trying to look at it as a phase and due to circumstances at home where he is missing DH and the arrival of the baby, but it's worrying me that he feels upset about stuff, but doesn't realise how he feels. We were up with him twice last nt as he wet the bed, then needed the toilet again a couple of hrs later. I've been awake since 4am worrying about him and then DS2 woke for his feed and hasn't gone back to sleep I also feel like I have a cold coming on. Just what i need..

Something Erica that you said, about time away from Bryn. I haven't had a moment away from both children in 14 wks. I think I need to change that straight away. Glad to hear Erica you are getting the support.

Sorry for the me post. I need to get some sleep when baby decides to nod off and hope today will be better with DS1. We have a play date this afternoon so that should put a smile on his face.

Fruit sorry you're having a hard time of it at the moment. DP took Bryn for a walk yesterday, was gone for about half hour, and even that half hour where I wasn't somebodies mum (although I was still sorting baby stuff!) did me the world of good. I really hope you can get some time to yourself. Big hugs. x

Raggie i don't think you're a wuss I've been backat work 1 and a half weeks and i'm now ..on sick leave!!! I've had terrible pain right at the tip of my spine the doctor doesn't know whats wrong as i've not a fall or anything so i've got to see a specialist? Oddly enough dp is on sick leave too! His foot swollen and he can't walk! You should see the 2 of us hobbling around we look more like grandparents. I'm a bit down about being off work as I realy need to get into some sort of routine but at least I get to see dp!!

And as if that wasn't enough ds1 woke me at 5am sunday saying his pjs were dirty? Couldn' work out what was going on till I took him back to bed and saw tha he'd thrown up everywhere!!Nothing better than changing bedding , pjs, mopping floors at 5am!! Plus he threw up after that so i had to do it all again at 8am!! He was a bit off colour all sunday but seems fine today (screaming and crying as per usual when I left him at school!)

Hang on in there all of you that are having a tough time. It does get better as they get older

ErikaMaye sounds like you?re in good hands. I think some time to yourself will work wonders. It is hard to do it the first time (I sobbed for a good 10 mins) but you could try starting with just an hour or so and build up. I did that and I started to enjoy it pretty quickly and felt like I could cope so much better when I got back. Congratulations on your anniversary

Raggie eek - that sounds like a nightmare!

Fruitpastels sorry to hear you?re out of sorts. This kind of thing is so common and a new arrival will always change things for older children, but I suppose that doesn?t make it any easier to deal with! Again, sounds like you need a break. Could you get a babysitter and go out with your DH for a date? Could do you both wonders.

I?m still on the search for a new bloody house to rent. Starting to worry that if we leave it too long that Joe will not be happy with just me when we leave and want his grandma! I know it?s silly, but I do like to beat myself sometimes and tell myself he doesn?t love me that much and wouldn?t notice if I disappeared, etc. It?s just so stressful trying to find the right house, and I?m still so upset at our landlord screwing us over, and all the extra stress I?ve had with Dad, and planning the wedding, etc. What are the 3 most stressful things you can do again? Lol.

Hello All

I'm back from a week in Perth - over 800 miles round trip by car with overnight stops in Sheffield both directions. I was nervous about how the baby would cope, but James basically slept all the way. Only things we did differently from normal is that we took longer breaks and tried to tire him out as much as possible both before setting off and whenever we stopped. I spent most of the time in the back seat next to a snoozing child either gazing out the window or reading the paper. It's the most relaxing time I've had in weeks!!!

Scarlotti Sorry to hear about the job. Fingers crossed something else comes up at a time when you are more ready to start back at work.

Laugs with you on the adaptability of James. We're also doing Jim, JImmy, Jimbo etc but current favorite is General Jimster! Not sure how the poor chap is supposed to recognise his own name with so many versions flying about.

Wook your cinema outings. We have a decent cinema in town but no baby screenings so really missing the movies. Are there a lot of people at them? Wondering if I could try and persuade our picturehouse. I used to be a cinema projectionist way back when and am still addicted to films, have had to join LoveFilm to make up for it.

erika Belated Happy Anniversary. Sounds like you are looking after yourself well. I join in the general recommendation for having a bit of time away from Bryn. It's nice to be by yourself once in a while.

K8 when is your wedding?

venus good to hear your road trip went well, we've got a 5 hour one this weekend to my Mums so hoping Ioan sleeps for most of that too.

fruit sorry to hear your DS1 has regressed a little, it is just a phase though so hang in there and it will all pass soon enough

Bit of a better night here, he is just murmuring at 3 and 4 so didn't take him out to feed last night and only had to help him back to sleep at 4am. Feed at 5 was just a few mouthfuls too so hopefully that will go soon too as he's awake again at 6 for another. Going to get the next size nappies for night time too in the vain hope they hold more!

Venus ooh a week in Perth sounds lovely Have you come back all refreshed?
We've booked our wedding for September next year, but havin traumas with the reception venue, numbers and catering re budget as I have an enourmous family on my dad's side. I'm making sure we can pay for everything on our own as alhtough my dad's offered a couple of grand towards it, I don't feel like I can count on it (now, or even in a years time as he's so unpredictable at the moment).

Thats weird, just typed a post and it has disappeared, how annoying, especially as I am typing one handed!

The gist was, Millie is poorly with a cold and terrible cough, poor little thing.

congrats to erika on 1 year anniversary.

venus glad you had a nice relaxing trip.

fruit poor you, hope things get better for you soon, its horrible when the dh's work long hours and you are left to do everything. I hate it when dh works late and i have to deal with the kids on my own all day, it is so tiring.

comma what a nightmare situation, sounds like you coped well with it all though, nice to see you back on the thread!

ooh, this post ended up being longer than the other one so it better work this time!

K8 Ooh, what a tricky situation to be in. Must make budgeting a nightmare. If only you knew you could rely on it... What kind of a 'do' are you planning? There are always SO many decisions/choices to make.
Well, if he gives it to you at the last minute you'll just have to upgrade the honeymoon. Perth was pretty nice and low key. With traveling up and down and overnight stops in Sheffield with my DM we were only there for 4 days but that was long enough. Not least because my in-every-other-way-lovely MIL is a really terrible cook. All veg plain and steamed, all meat overcooked and dry. Yum! We also had soup for 3 lunches on the trot - because you can never have it too many times. Suddenly DH's spice intolerance makes sense! James got spoiled rotten though, which was lovely, and I got an extra nap or two.

scarlotti nice to hear you had a good night. Ooh, they make such a difference, don't they? Have to remind myself that it's not so long since we were all doing the 2 or 3hrly feeds all through the night, every night.

James's sleep patern has been all over the place lately. After sleeping until 4am a few weeks ago he's been only getting to 3am or even only 2am over the weekend before demanding a feed. Then last night he cries at 1.20am, settles back to sleep without a feed, wakes at 5am for a feed and sleeps again until I get him up at 8am! It will prob never happen again but bloody hell it was brilliant even as a one off! I'm lucky in that we usually have a peaceful evening between 7pm and his feed at 10pm, but so looking forward to better nights.

K8 we are all invited, right?

k8 all of us, AND our children are invited right? .

Is 10wks too soon to be teething? Reuben is dribbling like mad, pouring out of his mouth, and he is a little fidgety at night, but apart from that, all is fine, no other signs of either teething or illness....

Will catch up properly in a bit...

I think Anya is teething too Pav and she is just 11 weeks (or 12, can't remember ). he is slabbering, chewing fist and very irritable. Her gums do look quite white too.

Ioan's been dribbling for about a month now and I can just feel a line on his bottom gum which feels like a tooth. He goes through two bibs a day just by soaking them with his drool!!

Oh so it could be teething then? His gums are quite white too! I can't remember what they looked like with DD, but she had very sore gums, red cheeks, lots of pain for a while before the first one came through. We used oragel which we tried when in USA, it knocked the spots off her pain! She was 7 months and 3 days old when her first tooth came through...I remember that because it was the day of my mum's funeral and we were in the hearse and i noticed and exclaimed in joy, then felt very and my brother laughed and it made things a little easier to manage. Her second tooth came through 2 weeks later to the day, so this is a bit surprising!

Oh and he is also chewing his fist loads! I thought that was because he has just found them

DS1's first tooth came through at just under 4 months so they can start really early. Only problem for them is that they are still too young to be able to hold the teether toys!

Apart from fists! He has spent 10 mins going 'arrgh argh' with his fists!

RE teething: Just starting to cut through the skin here. Calpol and keeping dummies in the fridge are the way forward for a few minutes peace! Poor little things, am surprised how many are teething already. Bryn gave himself a lovebite on his arm this weekend Spat his dummy out, and I didn't notice. AH well...

6 hours! straight! I had 5.5hours sleep myself! He slept on me after feeding from about 9:00pm til about 10:15pm, nappy change, put him to bed while i did teeth etc and when i got back to the bedroom to feed him again he was fast asleep! So i crept into bed, lay there a while waiting for him to wake again, then, before i knew it, DH was getting into bed (he had been out and was late home). Then i woke wondering what time it was and when Reuben would wake up, for about 15 mins, then Reuben woke and i fed him, checked the time and it was 4:45am! Back to sleep for both of us til 6:45am, then back to sleep for him and DD got up at 7:10am! I feel good.

DH wanted a lie-in today, he asked if I could take DD to nursery (he normally does it and i get her) so he could stay out late. Seeing as he asked nicely and cooked me a lovely meal i agreed. So yey! for the good sleep!

DD and I are up, we have eaten porridge and home made fruit compot, are both dressed and now ready to go to nursery in a few minutes!