May 2009 - A new start. Mine's a large gin please.

[runningmonkey]

Here you go ladies.

Hi all,
Just a quick hello before I am required for putting to bed duties. Hope everyone has been enjoying the sunshine.

belg sorry you are feeling down. Its difficult starting a new job, especially going straight into one from maternity leave and while still having broken nights sleep. Someone once told me it takes at least 6 months to settle into a new job properly so I hope it starts to get better soon.

tum sorry you have had a pants week too. Hope the sunny weather and your nice weekend are the start of something good. I bought A's new shoes in Clarks and was v happy with the service but would have much preferred an independent shop but we don't have one around here that I've discovered yet.

saus hope you had a good night last night.

momi, grumps and dandy glad you had a good meet-up.

llare that sounds like a great first day back. Hope you have a good week this week too.

Right, am required must go, hello to everyone else I've missed I should be back later in the week I think x

Oh v quickly, forgot. I think we are getting A www.amazon.co.uk/Im-Toy-IMN-22050-Marbel-Melody/dp/B000KRNBFY/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I112WQFX YBWFNJ&colid=2HAZ0TRWXUMVBthis

YBWFNJ&colid=2HAZ0TRWXUMVB this

gah, don't know what went wrong there, sorry. I think the link works though.

tum sorry here too you had a pants week, but sounds like yesterday made up for it. Re shoes, we have a good local independant shoe shop that stocks adult and child shoes. Its mainly Clarks, Ge-ox and some Start Rite (I think) and I've always been happy with the measuring service in there. I think most of DS1s shoes have come from there, apart from Crocs. They have just introduced a loyalty card scheme too - buy 6 pairs and get one free. Wish they had introduced it 4 years ago - reckon we'd've had 2 free pairs now. It is great NOT having to go into town or get in the car when new shoes are required. HTH.

re: birthday pressies

didn't want to spend too much as she has lots of stuff already

we've bought M a elc drum that she liked from one of the groups we go to (1.20 ebay) big wooden sea creature puzzle (0.99 ebay same seller as drum) wooden xylophone (0.99 same seller) - 7.20 incl. postage

Also - went to asda today and bought a paddling pool 10.00 and 200 balls to go in it 8.00 - think this will be her favourite thing and hopefully it will last longer than most of her toys

Mum is alot better than she was - they might let her go back to the home tomorrow

We've had a lovely weekend here - lots of time spent in the garden and a really nice meal out with friends last night

I'm off to bed now as I feel exhausted - just hope DH doesn't wake me up when he comes up after watching the golf

Sorry for going AWOL. Just not enough hours in the day at the moment!

I can empathise with all the work stresses. I've just had a v difficult week too with someone making me feel inadequate and unsupportive for having to do nursery run and "only" work 4 days.

Headless - good to hear from you. Not long til scan now

Looby - glad your mum is doing better

Running - I really like that musical instrument toy. Might nab the idea for O actually if that's ok?!

Grumpy, younger and Dandy - glad you had a good meet up!

Tummum - poor G! Sounds awful for him!

Sorry for not NCing further - hello everyone else! Will try and be back on in the week.

We're back! I'll attempt a namecheck, but please don't take it personally if I don't mention you, there's a lot to read.

spangle, I'm so sorry to hear your news. Thinking of you all x

belgina - sorry to hear that you aren't feeling happy, I hope you can find a solution or somthing that suits you.

at the York mini-meet, glad you had fun.

sausage - glad you are at home now, but sorry to hear about the DH problems.

looby - hope your mum is improving now.

shoes - Clarks not great, but don't have much choice around here otherwise if I want proper shoes. I've kept the girls in soft shoes as long as I possibly can before going for more structured ones (love Inch Blue). Anyway, for proper shoes I'd like more choice, better fitting services and LESS PINK!!!!!! We donb't have many independent places round here, but the the best chain I've found is Russell & Bromley, their staff are very helpful and they have a better selection than a lot of chains. And if we want to go it means I get a day out at Bluewater too!

We had a good week at my parents. Hectic, and not relaxing at all, but good fun in most ways! DD1 has chicken pox () and A has that non-specific snottiness again, and hasn't slept properly all week because of her tickly cough. But it was lovely to se my family, the girls loved it too, and I got to go out with my oldest bestest friend for dinner on my own with no children - we got very slightly drunk and had very long chats about all sorts of stuff.

OK, now I have to apologise if this causes any , but DH was great while I was away, he cleaned the house, changed all the beds and did his own ironing! Sorry.

I think I need to change my name again!

fli hello. You sound so much happier in your post! Are you feeling better these days?
And well done to your DH. Yes am

looby glad your mum is doing better too.

ses grr at your work stress. I always feel like that myself without anyone else sticking the boot in too. No fair and especially as we all know that you are working hard.

MIDLANDS MEET UP pula spangle jael is it still on? llare aren't you midlands but don't know if you work on mondays? Jael hasn't been around for quite a while either. If not, no worries as have been asked to work next Monday. Am holding out at the moment and am quite entitled to say no, I don't work Mondays, and am hoping our meet is still on.

Helloo

Busy bees, aren't we?

Belgina - sorry to hear about your work - whats not going well? Is it the people / team structure / patients? Is there anything you can actually do or will it be just time settling in do you think?

Flip - you sound a bit happier - VERY at your DH doing his ironing! I was just about to start a load but then thought better of it and came up here with some chocolate

Shoes - gawd hadn't even occurred to me yet!

Presents - ILs are giving us Gap vouchers and my Mum wants to get one of those walker things with bricks in too. Dunno what we will do, as M has far too much tosh already!

We had a lovely day out on Saturday - mostly cabbed it everywhere as I still had one crutch with me - I was absolutely shattered by the end though and nearly fell asleep during the meal with my friends Griff Rhys Jones is a very good Fagin, but I'm not too impressed with the new Nancy. Ah well.

Can anyone please give me advice on easy finger foods stuff? M is now completely against a spoon being put in her mouth, apart from for yoghurt. I am worrying myself silly (yes, down to tears, how sad am I) that all the bits I'm putting in front of her just isn't enough - a lot of it ends up on the floor. I haven't the time, effort or inclination to arse about doing all the swanky AK recipes (ok, I've found a couple I could do) - I was happy with the pureeing lark, but now...??? She seems to be living on toast, breadsticks, pitta bread, finger sandwiches (with either marmite, jam, cheese spread, mashed sardine etc in) plain pasta.... no more meat or fish really (apart from the mashed sardine), yoghurts, raisins, and chopped up bits of fruit (apple, pear, blueberries, strawberries etc)... but she's still wolfing down her 3 bottles a day so I'm convinced she is still hungry! AARRGGH! Has anyone got any ideas of stuff that I could potentially make and freeze to make things easier? Wish sausages were healthier....! Pleeease help, am at my witsend and going bonkers worrying about it.

Hm. On that note I have to go and stand for a bit, as my, erm, bottom is a bit sore.

ladyhelen- just seen your post. I hope you haven't agreed to work next Monday yet, as we are definitely still on for a meetup! I've been in touch with Jael on FB as she has left MN, and I am hoping to get to the farm/country house around 11am (maybe a bit earlier). I will message you and spangle on FB if that's OK so we can make arrangements- not sure if spangle is planning to come still.

I am officially on a course today/tomorrow but we have internet access during breaks which is great for FB/MN .

But it doesn mean i can't do a proper catch-up!

hopalong- I'm no expect at BLW (prefer the spoon-feeding malarky as a) i prefer to fill S up and b) I don't like mess) but you could try eggy bread (if she's an egg eater). Also it's amazing what they can eat given half the chance. When S was left with a bowl of spaghetti bolognese when i was busy elsewhere he made a very good start on it, as it's sticky enough to get a good handful, but easy to chew/swallow too.

Don't despair and definitely don't cry any more - it's all part of their development - my DD and DS1 both refused to be spoon-fed at some stage (DD was later than DS at maybe 14 months). There is either the 2 spoon option (where they try feeding themselves with a spoon while you sneak food in) or the give them a spoon and let them have a go or use their fingers if that's what they want. S is getting quite good at finger foods and will happily chomp on a whole apple or pear or something he likes but if he can't be bothered or isn't hungry, it just gets thrown on the floor, so i assume he can't be that hungry.

Headless thank you for thinking of me but I am indeed at work on a Monday and need to keep my leave at the moment for emergencies! How are you feeling at the moment?

Sausage I don't really do any kind of baby feeding methodology as G eats whatever we are having, which means that DH and I eat far, far healthier food than we did pre-DCs. I do a mixture of spoon-feeding and leaving him help himself. He tends to take the spoon off me these days and throw his food on the floor when he's had enough.

I've just got in from work so will catch up with everyone else later...

flip Nice to see you back Sounds like your time at your parents did you good in a way. @ you dh, lol. You really have got a wonderful man there from what I've been reading on here

llare Hope your day at work was OK today.

saus C is BLW. It's only realy in the last month she's started eating 'properly' and in the last week she's really been dropping milk feeds. Generally we give her bits of what we're having (including meat, which she loves. Big chunks for her to suck, too big for her to choke on IYKWiM) So she eg has 1 piece of potato + a handful (my handful) of a selection of veg that we're having + meat/fish. For lunch she has breadsticks or a buttered/cheese spreaded slice of bread with chunks of fruit, sticks of cheese or cucumber on the side. A lot still ends on the floor, but if she's really hungry or really really likes the meal (like pasta or tomatoes) more goes in than on the floor. I do always pick stuff of the floor mat and put it back on her tray. I also feel she appears to have less than the other 2 did, but I think appearances must be deceptive because C is definitely still growing along nicely, she seems to be happy with what she eats and she's still the biggest of my 3.

shoes I also tend to wait until my los are ready for outside walking, which with both of them was after a good month or 2 of independent walking. C's currently in soft leather Shooshoos. I'm also one for less pink girl's shoes. Especially pink of the sickly kind

work I think it's a combination of the people and the general atmosphere of the place. The vibe it gives off IYKWIM. I think most of the problems lie with myself though. I had a lot of trouble as a student and that still haunts me and affects my confidence. I constantly have the feeling people will be picking faults with what I'm doing, even though I'm pretty sure that's not happening, but as I'm the new MW on the block I keep thinking everyone must be watching me a bit more closely than the other mws that have been around for longer.

saus oh please don't cry over weaning. I did too with DS1 and was determined not to get stressed with R. Anyway, sounds to me that you are giving M very similar stuff to R. Other ideas are roasted veg are a winner in this house . You can cut it into little fist size sticks. R also gets strips of meat which he loves, so you could try chicken nugget type thingys maybe?

Sorry you won't be able to join us llare. Next time?

pula I was holding out till I knew for sure so will tell work I can't do next Monday. Tis no prob. I didn't realise Jael had left MN. I know there was a bit of ,ahem, hoohah a few weeks ago but did I miss her departure?

Morning all,

saus I know its easy to say but please try not to stress about food. If M is guzzling milk she is getting a good load of nutrients and calories so won't starve. As far as finger foods go A loves cream cheese, on toast fingers, on rice cakes or in sandwiches. Things like noodles are also a big hit, and hilarious to watch her eating. For fruit and veg, peas, advocado, halved grapes, blueberries and bananas are a fave. I quite often spread fruit puree (the bought kind ) onto toast or a rice cake and A loves licking it all off before eating the soggy bread/ricecake. I guess you could do that with any puree if you want to make sure she is getting proteins etc.

belg I hope you settle in quickly to work. It must be hard if you have come from a place where you felt really happy and had some good work friends. IKWYM about feeling like people are watching you more as you are new and although its disconcerting they probably are in a way as you are new to them... but not to find fault though but probably because they want to get to know you better. I'm not sure if I made sense there, hope you understand what I am trying to say - its meant to be encouraging

headless, pula have a lovely meet up. Please say hi to Jael from me, I hope she is doing ok.

hiya flip glad you had a nice time at your parents.

Hope everyone has a good day x

Aw thanks everyone I always thought the whole bringing up a baby thing was sooo easy. HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA. - I am constantly beating myself up about things with M, which I know is ridiculous, but there we go. I got so wound up about it earlier that I just scoffed a whole box of choccies that a friend brought round yesterday - feel a bit sick now. Also, the whole clearing up all the bloody mess is difficult as I can't bend down onto my knees yet (sdoopid hip) so am always humfing and falling over. Hm. Anyway, thanks for the tips - running - M loves cream cheese too, so that's a good start - found out at lunchtime she's not too keen on avocado, but it's cheesy pasta for tea, and I'm having a peep at some recipes online and in books to get some more ideas.

Belgina - poor you, spesh as bad times as a student. I had a terrible time as a student, but thankfully it doesn't haunt me anymore. I hope things pick up for you soon.

Bum. M is awake. Ggrrr.

just checking in, all. I really wanted to NC but desperately trying to catch up with work.

belgina, hope you're feeling better soon about work.
saus, weaning is tough stuff. blw 'worked' with dd1 but H isn't having any of it. when I started, she couldn't feed herself quickly enough or get enough and would get so frustrated. so I resorted to spooning it in. now she's so stubborn, she won't allow me to spoon it in but can't really get enough herself. it's a battle. but don't let it be a battle (they say). it's a mess, too.

H does a lot of pizza (homemade), ravioli (not homemade) cut in easy to pick up pieces; crackers, cheerios, cheese on toast. she sucks on meat from time to time but doesn't get much unless I spoon feed her cottage pie or bolognese ragu'.

... ok, i'm starting to ramble and need to get back to work. I just wanted to show off my name change. I feel so much better now I'm back to momino. will return to NC properly in a few days.

take care all of you. xxx

Aww saus don't beat yourself up - you're doing a grand job! I do think someone should invent a kind of net that catches the bits of food so you don't have to keep bending down.

Glad to see you back running

Sending more sticky baby vibes Headless's way.

Hope Dandy has a lovely time in Paris. DH proposed in Paris so it has special memories for me.

Right - apologies - me me me post coming up...

I think I'm pregnant . I mentioned a while back we had a little whoopsie and I had to go for a morning after pill... well I was expecting my period today-ish and I had a couple of cheapo tests in the cupboard so I did one this morning. Only thing was (TMI) I only had a bit of wee. Looked at the test and there was a v v v faint line but I wasn't too bothered because (a) I wasn't testing early so it should be a clear result, and (b) I have spent hours poring over such tests when TTC H and they all turned out to be BFNs. So tonight I dedided to do the other test and there is definitely a line albeit not as strong as I might have expected. But you don't get a false positive, do you?

Aaaaarrgghh.

DH doesn't want another baby and is obviously still shaken up about MIL. I know it takes two and all that, but I feel bad for putting extra strain on him.

I am never going to sleep again.

We are going to be skint for years.

We will probably need to move house .

It was my first day back at work today and I enjoyed it.

And breathe............. obviously it's v early days and might not work out. In the meantime, has anyone got any calming words and reassurance about small age gaps etc?

momino - yay for name change!

saus - I agree about sometimes feeling that I should be able to be a much better mum. I think it's like a rite of passage though...

Belgina - ((((hugs))))
Wish I could do something more constructive but hope things settle down for you.

Things have been pretty rubbish here. Just lots of little things - O has conjunctivitis badly in both eyes and he's teething (again!), leading to lack of sleep for me, leading to me being ratty, arguments with DH who seems to be leaving me to deal with O every time he wakes up, plus the work stuff still looming over me!
I guess this is all just part of being a working mum though! Ho hum!

Spangle - sorry, x-posted
I want to say congrats but I can only imagine how overwhelmed you must be feeling.
There are a lot of positives about small age gaps and you'll find threads on MN about that.
Have you told DH? If so, how has he reacted?

of course I AM working.
saw Spangle's post.

Small gaps work (I had 3 in 3.4 yrs) or you make it work. my dd1&2 are so, so very close as friends. dd3 was a 'surprise' during a period of depression for me and I cursed the pregnancy. but I'm so overthemoon with her. I can't imagine life without her and how much joy she's brought me/us. loveherloveherloveher to pieces .

try not to worry; whatever happens it will work.

Ses, I hope O is better and you're a bit more relaxed as well. bloody work.

speaking of, I'm really going back to work. now.

Oooooh spangle - breeeeeeeeeathe......

Um. You don't tend to get false positives.... ..... sorry......

Get a brand spanking new test in a week or so and do it again then. Well, that's what I'd do anyway. And small age gaps? Perfect playmates!

Please don't stress about it now unless you know for certain.

Oh God. Thinking of you. DH wants at least three kids - wtf?! I'm nearly 38! Whats he thinking?!! My grey hair has only sprouted since having M!!

Momino - hurrah you're 'back'!

Will NC properly tomorrow, but thanks for the tips everyone - so, so helpful as always . Am off to watch the Great Ormond St thingy on BBC1 and cry a bit (am a bit pissed!)

Ses sorry you're having a rough time. How many teeth has O now? Yes I told DH this evening (I didn't bother him with the faint line this morning). He is ok, calm (but then he's rarely anything else). He is mainly worried about not being able to give H undivided attention... and the lack of sleep etc.

Momino thank you, that is very reassuring. It's obvious how much in love you are with H. I know I would be once the baby was here.

Saus good advice. There is very definitely a second line, no doubt about it, but I will get another test to do in a few days' time (can't last a week!). Your DH wants at least three . On the positive side if this pregnancy works out I'll be under 40.

Right, I'm going to pour a small glass of wine to help the news sink in. I'm coming round to the idea a teeny tiny bit.

Spangle - he's had 8 teeth for a few weeks now and with the amount of dribble, chomping and chewing of his thumb (until raw at the nail bed) I think there must be more iminent!

Bless your DH for staying calm. I think a small glass of wine is definitely in order. Have a sneaky hug too