DEC 08 - Welcome to the house of ill - We're riding a poonami

[MomOrMum]

This was the only thing I could remember some saying should be the next title!

Oh and JB I'm sorry but I don't think I can take your word for it, I will try 'the chocolate line' but just to be certain I'd better try a few other shops.

Evening all, am finding all this talk of flooring very instructive, it?s as though our thread has turned into ?25 beautiful homes? or whatever the magazine?s called! I am v interested as we are generally looking at stuff (though still not sure about where we end up permanently). Today I saw a lovely flat in a great location, ticks all the boxes but doesn?t have a garden. For those of you with older DCs, is a garden a must? I imagine it is, but would be interested to hear if you?ve managed without. This flat is 5 mins walk away from a lovely park, but it?s just the ?having any sort of outside space? issue?

LadyT, I can?t begin to imagine how frustrating the whole food refusenik issue is, I get wound up when it happens here occasionally, it?s such a primal thing to want to see your child eat well, it?s good that she still likes formula so at least she?s still getting the essentials. She will probably one day surprise you by picking up a T bone steak but I feel for you right now. I?m sure as others have said that it will change though, and it sounds as if she?s doing pretty well on whatever she?s getting!

We still have the dummy here but put a few around the cot and T usually finds them eventually. I am a real believer in going for whatever gets you the most sleep.

Jolly, T seems to have taken to the goat?s milk surprisingly well, he?s a big fan of milk (and will only have it in his bottle) so if it?s white and in a bottle he?ll go for it. Glad you had such a nice day, that?s very sweet about your DD?s cat fetish. T loves cats too but calls them ?shits?. Mhmmm.

Veggie, that?s really annoying about the postal charges on the violin, how cute when DS will play it though! Will you post a photo when you get it?

WG your back sounds reet dodgy, but it might go away of its own accord with ibuprofen and not overdoing it for a few days. Has it happened before? Good news on the sleep, may madam repeat her snoozathon soon.

NJAN, sorry about the sickness, and that mother?s day was tough. Glad the DSs are enjoying each others company.

Nice to see you NJAN, sorry yesterday was tough for you. Hugs to you. I doubt you gave Kayz crap advice! I bet she is just busy with the RL stuff. Hope your DS1 reinstates the kisses soon, but lovely that he is palling up with DS2.

Veggie, I badgered my Mum for music lessons when I was about 5. I think it means he's really keen, which means he might stick at it. I reckon if he's got a borrowed violin you can just see how he goes. My DD will have every encouragement with music but there is no way I'd force her to keep doing it if she hated it (same with any hobby). Must remind myself not to project though as I was a busy kid who always wanted to do everything. DD might be completely different to me!

Oh dear WG, I suppose you have tried dosing yourself with anti-inflammatories?

Right, must find a book to read. The one I am reading was recommended by a friend (it was written by a friend of his) but I am finding it slow and overwritten.

I have done NO work today. I have had the focus of a bowl of strawberry blancmange. Must do better!

Hey, that's smashing news about the goat's milk, Spot! Yay. Is it busting the snot? I guess it will take a while. As to the food, I fear it has become pathological. She only has to see a spoon and she shouts NO! Oh well - my getting annoyed ain't going to change it. Sorry about all the houses guff, I think I am a lot to blame! It's just on my mind a lot at the mo.

We nearly bought a house without a garden but it fell through. Similarly, a park was five mins away. Most people urged me not to buy it BUT I think unless you are used to a garden (and I am not), you don't miss what you've never really had.

Also, it means your DP wouldn't be on at you to buy some chickens to keep in it as my DP is

Lady I'm on The Children's Book and I am contemplating giving up. I'm only 80 or 100 pages in, if that. Parts of it I really enjoy but then next thing there are 1,000,000 characters and I can't keep track and am flipping back pages to try to figure out who's who. Might give it another few days and then pack it in.

NJAN Nice to see you!

Laughing about the DHs and boob stories. I can 100% guarantee that my DH and his friends have never had a conversation about my boobs, unless it was about how freakishly small they are.

Veggie Bruges sounds lovely! I keep badgering my DH to take us to Belgium with him, but he is always so sick of being there for work that he is desperate to leave by the weekend.

Night all!

spot - i am so so grateful that we have a garden now. madam points outside and demands to go into the garden, even goes and grabs keys and tries to open the backdoor in order to get out there. it distracts her (looking at birds/planes and transferring gravel) and she just loves it. i reckon she's going to be out there nearly full time when the weather gets better. but not everyone is so lucky to have one, i know.

WG - Matthew Cutler is alas not a real friend. I met him at a party and had a chat about la Brook and others, but that's about all. I agree that his website makes him look very hunky when he's not. He's even more fey in real life. I must confess I am not sure about the marriage to Nicole as I have lots of gay friends and quite a sensitive gaydar, and he certainly activated it!

NJAN, good to see you but sorry Mother;s day was hard. It's hard having time off for sick kids isn't it, and especially so when they are not that ill. Whilst one never wants the kids to be ill, at least you feel you had to take the day off if they are flopped on the sofa, whereas when they are bouncing around and full of beans it seems like a bit of a waste. We have red eyes here at the moment, so it might be me off on Wed. I'm freelancing as well so I can't even pretend it's me who is ill and get paid for it! Boo!!

Effie, is the eye better? And Trace, am thinking of you too and sending good vibes to Miss Lucy. Kayz, hope things are still calm and amicable down your way.

Am so tired am off to bed. Hope you all sleep. Night night girls

LadyT - we inherited cream carpets in our current place - its been disastrous, they are hideously stained with split tea, calpol and who knows what. Had some nice beige type carpet at my old place - originally thinking along the seagrass/coir theme, but in the end found a textured wool thing at john lewis that looked a bit like those, but was much comfier. It wore very well (but before the DCs).

Veggie - I;m sure you'll have fun in bruges its lovely. See how it goes with the music - I always loved the idea of playing an instrument, but don't have a musical bone in my body, so lessons became a real chore. But then I guess it is one of those things you have to work at a bit to get somewhere.

WG - sorry your back hurts. Mine seizes up from time to time. When it does, chiropractor seems to sort it out. Am in two minds about that kind of thing, as it does seem like quackery, but it did work more or less instantly. Glad madam is sleeping better;

turnip - full report please!

MoM - really enjoyed your article.

Think we might have picked up a D&V bug. DD was calling in her half sleep, so went to check on her and found DS asleep in a pool of sick. Obviously had to clean him up, but he was not happy at all about being woken. Feel bad not to have noticed. Took him a while to settle down again as his cuddly thing had to go in the wash. Bit worried about him as one of the little boys he sees very regularly has been very ill with high fever, diahorrea etc and got admitted to hospital at the weekend - very frightening.

Hopefully he'll be OK. He is normally a bit greedy on the food front, and when he wants it, he wants it now. We were out and about yesterday and he fell asleep in the buggy before lunch. We sat down a bit late and he woke up ravenous and yelling, so he downed a bit of left over milk from his bottle, then started yelling again, so we gave him the milk that was meant to go with DH's coffee and started looking for something else we could give him, when his lunch appeared in the nick of time and got promptly hoovered. He was absolute sweetness and light after that. Totally sympathise with eating frustration though. DD just isn't that interested in food, still wont feed herself and cajoling her is a bore for all of us.

It's musical beds here and not in a good way. DD2 woke up threatening to be sick, but has gone back to sleep. Just fed M and bacck in cot but L still in the bed with me. Oh dear.

Good luck for the scan tomorrow LAdyT. Fingers crossed all is well and that you get the very handsome Dutch Obs at the FMC who saw me. It was disconcerting to say the least to have him rub the thing over my wobbly tum. Are you going to ask about the angle of the dangle? I did both times at the FMC 12 week scan and they were spot on. Think Aubi did as well.

Very exciting. Now let's see if I can get ano hour in before I have to do showers, uniform, schoool runs, etc

Hope everyone safely in land of nod.

Oh dear Syb, that sounds very hectic...I hope you don't have to have a day off tomorrow. Actually my scan is next Tues but thanks for thinking of me! I will be 12 weeks 1 day then. Yes, I am planning to ask the angle of the dangle! Last time we forgot as got distracted by the whole lack of a nasal bone thing. I am sad that DP can't come (particularly as I am slightly nervous about getting a figure like 1 in 96 again) but he is in a trial and it can't be helped.

Invis, I know we have all said it but the amount of bugs going round seems to be quite something.

Mom, I don't think The Children's Book particularly changes in any marked way in the next 500 pages so maybe cut your losses. I hate doing that but I think I might do it with the book I am reading - lots of good books out there, life IS too short!

Bit grumpy this morn - no milk left so I haven't had a coffee (can't drink it black these days) and just had the pantomime with O and her porridge, which she was eating as late as last week. I have spread it on toast finger which she is now sort of eating. Ha.

Ok ladies, I'm on the decaf coffee this morning because I MIGHT have a bit of a LadyT/oops situation going on here.

Am probably totally reading into things, but I felt weird all weekend. Dizzy, thirsty, insomnia. Thought it was because I ate something with tartrazine in it (weird E number that I am allergic to), but couldn't think of what it was. Then Sunday noticed some weird sharp twinges in the belly. Then took a quick look at the calendar and realised that my calculations for a "safe" day might have been a bit off! It was one day after my period finished, so I figured that was surely safe. But looking at the calendar, my periods have been really long and one day after was likely 4-5 days before ovulation, which according to the ever-wise Google is a possible fertile day. Oops!

Not a major ooops as we were going to start trying in the next few months, but definitely would be a bit of a surprise!

I feel more normal today, so maybe it was just a blip. Figure I can probably test on the weekend or early next week....eeek!!!

I am so busy at work in the next few months and I have a major fear that with the tiredness/sickness I won't cope. But it would still be very exciting news. Arghh! Will just have to wait and see!

Ooh mom cheeky. We have both decided that I am unreliable at gauging my fertility as I want another one, so contraception is left to DH. Also when we are at the erm crucial moment I would say I'm safe regardless . I got those intense pains with DS2 so bad I thought I was about to start my period and took neurofen. I realised I was pregnant the next day when the pains had completely dissappeared but no visit from AF.

Spot, I have to have a back garden but when I grew up we had a couple of paddocks. It is helpful to be able to open the back door and let the boys wander in and out esp as they are highly energic souls and I think
if cooped up there might be murder. I think if it's a longterm home it has to be all that you want. If it's just for the next few years you can make compromises. It is always good having green space close by but to get there you have to dress them up and yourself and all go out together rather than just kicking em out there to potter about on their own.

Aw, go on, Veg, have another

Mom, that is SOOO exciting! When can you test? Yes, I am going to take much more care in future with 'safe' days - this whole business of ovulating twice in the same cylce has given me food for thought!

Just popped over to the Fatties thread. It was rather quiet!

Mom - ooh how exciting - hope you get the outcome you are hoping for - keep us posted on the testing! Maybe you will join our little group within the group - we need more members

Lady I had a thought about the eating thing -with ds he eats more if I am eating something at the same time - I guess he feels more like he's in the eating 'gang' then, so he tends to want more to be like me perhaps
Good luck with your scan next Tues was it? I'm assuming they tell you about the Nuchal figures there and then since you are private? I had been told the nuchal looked good from the scan but blood tests took 2 weeks to get back. At least you won't have that dreaded wait if that is the case. Pity you aren't there tomorrow as dh has to go there for the afternoon so I could have popped along with him.

Sybs hope things have improved today - can I ask what on earth the angle of the dangle is? I thought I knew for a minute but then Lady's O is a little girl I'm very bad at skim reading somethimes....

HOW EXCTING MOM!!!! You only have one so far don't you??

You would cope if you were, I had just gone back to work and DS wasn't sleeping and I survived, although it was shit. Worst came to worst you would have to come clean with work before 12 weeks so they could cut you some slack.

can I ask to those preggo ones - I feel I have expanded rapidly in the last week or so - my last pair of 'fat'(very low cut) jeans are really really tight now so I'm going to have to don the maternity ones next time. Can I ask if/when you have or might have to do this? - prob a qustion for Summer as I think you are around my time line or a bit ahead. I feel like I've suddenly popped out massively. I work with a girl who is 22 weeks and she just looks like she's eaten a bowl of pasta - you cannot see a bump at all - it is her first though. I just can't remember from last time when I switched clothes.

Rubes I have just switched to maternity jeans. My fat jeans still fit, in fact they are big on me, but they were post-DS jeans and so I weighed more when I fit them than I do now!! I have a bump now but depending on what I wear it is not necessarily that obvious. Probably slightly more obvious than last time at this stage I reckon, I like to think due to less pie eating so therefore not being as generally "fat" but probably due to it being number 2 as I am also getting a bit fat now as well, boo.

I have just asked my very honest male workmate and he says I do look pregnant now, not just porky.

It's a shame it isn't tomorrow Rubes, it would have been fun to have someone to share the scan with - other than O! I know what you mean about eating with others - she put her hand out for my toast this morning so of course I tore some off but as soon as I tried to hand it to her, she said no, shook her head and cried. Same thing happened a further three times and then I gave up. She looks ok in clothes but is an awful skinny ribs with nothing on.

Angle of the dangle - at 12 weeks, all foetuses have a 'genital tubercle' - think that is the right technical term - which just looks like a sticky out thing. In boys, it sticks up a bit (so a smaller angle from the body) but in girls it is more horizontal (so a greater angle). And that is how they guess the sex at that age. It's still only about 60-80% accuracy as a gauge though. Oh, and yes, they give you all the figures at the time. You are there are while as you have to wait for them to factor in the bloods with the scan.

Rubs I think they mean is it a girl or boy, not whether it hangs to the left or right.

Lady I wish, though I'm coming to terms with it now and much as I'm sad as I pack away DS2's baby toys to give away, I'm quite happy that I won't be dealing with bad nights for too much longer. DS2 is a bit crotchety which either caused or is secondary to, his bad night last night. He fed on & off from 4am. Apart from the lack of sleep I needed to wee from about 5am! I have given him some neurofen this morning because yet again i've lost his teething remedies. His teeth come through in twos compared to DS1, who had teeth come through 1 at a time. But they come through at about the same rate that hoop pines grow, like a millimeter a year!

I love honest blokes Sometimes one just wants the unvarnished truth. I get a little too much of that with DP though

Oh, and if I am still in normal jeans at 20 or so weeks I will be thrilled with myself although I am v pleased I have still not put any on (although I FEEL bigger to myself). Rubes and Summer, are you about 21 and 23 weeks respectively?

Oh I love the FMC, the hot chocolate...yum, why can't every scan center be like them. The Derby city 25p hot chocolate just didn't cut it, and the little hand towels in the toilets, a lovely touch. We loved it so much we actually considered paying the money and travelling down to London for our scans!

Actually I have bad memories of the hot chocolate - when I was 20 weeks and they were trying to see if DD had grown a nasal bone, she wouldn't play ball and turn her face to the camera! So after being manipulated and squashed around they made me drink hot chocolate in an attempt to get her jumping around ! Far too sweet for me It didn't work actually - but the star jumps did

I am 20 weeks tomorrow. I think i am almost the same to the day as Rubes. I am due 4th August.