Sept 08: How do we like our eggs in the morning? Fertilised, or completely and most definitely unfertilised?

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

A brand spanking new thread where we can chat about the state of our eggs, SWI, our veg patches and any other topic we fancy

Ooh can i join the weird soft fruit allergy club too! I've never met anyone with the same problem, but apples, cherries, peaches, plums etc all make my mouth really itchy, and sometimes my lips a bit puffy. Though have managed some apples lately without so much prob.

Sorry Hopefully for your disappointment, fingers and toes crossed for you

Fanny glad you weren't faced with embarrassment of being diagnosed with a period - hope the bleeding settles down soon

Heat rashes - don't know if that's what dd2 has
she has terrible skin, presumably bad eczema, some huge patches of skin on front of her legs that were just being scratched raw, though latest rather scarily potent cream has helped that. But whole body seems to be covered in sore bits or bumpy bits - because she's mixed race, it's not quite so obvious until you look closely, but there;s hardly a bit of her that's clear skin - we're off to winchester to see a specialist in a week or so - if she hasn't got chicken pox that;s waiting to spring out at the worst time... dd1s is clearing up now.

Had first ever couply weekend away! Spa wasn't that great and neither of us slept well (both poking the other to stop them snoring), but it was fun to be alone and we got rather drunk in a cheerful Italian restaurant, and the Sunday was good mooching about after a huge buffet breaktfast and massages (they didn't touch my tummy, luckily!). A had a wonderful time with his grandparents, mostly scooping water out of bowls and throwing it about. Next time though we'll probably save money and stay at home!

Have huge amounts to do at work and voluntary stuff over the next couple months - need to stop looking at MN etc when using the laptop to update infinite spreadsheets...

I get my preg tests from Poundland, but now 99p Stores are doing them. Clomid this time isn't making me want to shag everything in sight, which is generally a relief but not sure it's working? Could just be the heat.

Lurky lurklurk

fanny hope aches and pains clear up

cc brave woman embarking on such a huge project with littluns, but you are ruthlessly organised so am sure it will all pass smoothly.

splish good luck with skin specialist. Very sorry to hear you're still in the refuge. Is there nothing that can be done via legal aid? Sounds like your dd's are coping wondefully and enjoying the communal living even if some of the other mums aren't setting the best example (must be very stressful for everyone).

thanks for my birthday wishes D&S

Hope everyone's well. Not much to report here, have booked a holiday in Devon which we're REALLY looking forward to. Having acupuncture to sort my cycles out but doesn't seem to have had an immediate effect. Still looks like I'm in for at least a 6 week cycle at the moment.

DS is sleeping in his room in the double bed most nights, which is a turn up for the books. Whenever he wakes and has a little cry we either go see him to resettle him or sometimes bring him in with us. Occasionally he wakes up and just walks into our room. Is much easier than the last time we tried sleep training. We still have to lie next to him till he falls asleep, which neither of us mind doing. I suppose one day we might try leaving him to fall asleep himself, not sure when though.
Any other co-sleepers doing this yet?

My mum's settling in well too which has massively reduced my stress levels. Am really enjoying work now that childcare isn't a pain to organise.

Can anyone recommend child-friendly places to visit, pubs etc in Devon?

Digi I tend to feed Robyn then we lie down together in our bed until she falls asleep then when she moves onto her back I pop her in her cot. If I leave her awake she follows me so sometimes I am in there 5 mins other times an hour.
When she gets her own room i will put her in her own bed so we can help her get to sleep. ATm her cot is not somewhere she wants to be awake but our bed is not big enough for all 3+bump

We still stay with both of ours to get them to sleep..with ds1 its usually about 3 mins but toby can be up to 45 mins which I dont mind as I am lying down!!! He is on with me at the mo as its so hot and he and ds1 are both ill this week - dh away for work of course! - but hopefully when all the sutff to the house has been done we will work on getting him back into his own room.

DG we have been to Gitcombe which is close to Dartmouth for the last two years with our mutual friend.

Great places to go:

Dartmouth - lovely restaurants (New Angel and The Sea Horse). You can get the boat across the River Dart and catch a steam train to Paignton.

Salcombe - lovely chi chi sailing town. Lots of nice places to eat. Fab ice cream, sweet shop and seafood places. Great beaches (some you can get boats over to). Really lovely (it's on my list of fantasy places to live). The Winking Prawn just outside of Salcombe is a great place to eat and has a cool beach close to it. Next beach along has a sea tractor which is quite giood fun.

Dittisham - great place for crabbing.

Riverford Organic Kitchen (just outside Totnes) - won Observer's best eco friendly restaurant award. Really fab place where they have one sitting at lunchtime and you share benches with other diners and all get the same amazing food. They have loads of toys out for kids to play with. Very relaxed and lovely. Part of deal is you have to do a guided or non-guided tour of fields (we chose to do non-guided and gave up after 10 mins).

Bigbury Bay - really fab beach with loads of great rock pools and you can walk over to the fab Burgh Island with it's amazing Art Deco hotel and also nice pub called The Pilchard. In Bigbury-on-Sea there's a great, very family friendly, restaurant called The Oyster Shack too.

Tuckenhay has two lovely pubs on the River Dart - The Malsters (which used to be owned by Keith Floyd) and the Ferry Inn.

Blackpool Sands - another good beach with a fab beach shack restaurant.

Hmm I notice most of my recommendations are food and drink related. Anyway enjoy - love it down there.

Oh and I never stay with my two to get them to sleep. DD is pretty good and very rarely murmurs once I put her in her cot and walk out. DS tends to get up at least once after he's been left but he soon goes back.

D&G - love the sound of all those places - can understand why it's on your fantasy home list!

i don't stay with mine either - bf dd2, sometimes she falls asleep, other times she doesn't - either way - pop her into cot, tuck her up and leave. dd1 used to insist on my presence but gradually moved to sitting at top of stairs and answering when she called out, now can just go.

D&S not d&g,

DS has always been easy to put to bed, but he's actually been better/easier since dh has taken over the bedtime duties. Bath, story, song, put in cot and he then drifts off. Sometimes he chats away to himself for a few minutes, but mostly he goes straight to sleep.

It seems DS has found his willy. He has always poked at it when his nappy is off and he knows what a willy is. But yesterday when I took his nappy off he had a full on erection.

I tried to be all cool about it while inside I was screaming 'omg erection, omg erection.' Then this morning he only had his nappy on and he got his willy out and played with it so he got an erection. I'm not worried about it or anything, but I am suprised about how shocked I was

debs75 Can you get a sun umbrella?

carrie and MrsA Well I am a big fraud and have not actually started on this 'mother of two children' lark just yet. The thing is, my parents have been here for the last 3.5 weeks so they have had DD nearly full time, while I've just been focusing on DS. Problem is they leave this Friday - PANIC!!

So this is an urgent general appeal for advice. What tips can anyone give for coping with a toddler and a new baby? Especially as I am still only 3 weeks post c-section so officially cannot actually pick up DD for another 3 weeks. We are going to use the childminder a whole lot more for a little while, but that won't cover every situation. My big worry is, since I am spending 12 hours a day with DS attached to me, how do I manage DD? And specifically how do I stop her from injuring herself since her current mode is full-on Energiser Bunny, climbing up the sofa and launching herself off into mid air from a great height? She is also climbing on to the dining chairs which could lead to all sorts of danger. I genuinely don't know what to do. I doubt she would tolerate a play pen. Any ideas?

I am wondering about getting a rocking or vibrating chair for DS in the hope that I could put him down a bit more so I can focus on DD's needs. Can anyone recommend a model that worked for them? It would need to be quite lie-flattish to start with, and maybe sit up a bit more as he gets older. I want him to be able to go the sleep in it if possible.

Wow D&S thank you! Think you've just filled up our week with all those great suggestions. We'd already planned to go to the Riverford field kitchen as we get their boxes, can't wait!

fanny being a mum of merely one, I haven't got the foggiest, but have seen lots of other mums recommend learning how to tie your baby into the feeding position in the sling leaving your hands free to do other stuff. Also, I guess your dd is relishing having lots of adults around watching over her and taking advantage of the opportunity to test physical boundaries etc. Perhaps when it's just you three on your own she'll behave differently? Please let us know how you get on as us ttc'ers attempting to become mums of two will be very interested.

I'd heard of this myth that some toddlers happily chat themselves to sleep in their cots! Hmm, maybe the next one will be like that.

We thought of that Fanny but the garden is so big (60ftx60ft) and has a path running round for ds's bike so she would never be under it.
It is a bit coolere today so I might let her out
I hope things get easier for you once parents are gone. She probably is just testing boundaries with all the adult supervision. When they are gone she might calm down as she will have mummy back. Does she like reading, I read to dd when i tried to feed ds and we could have some quiet time.

debs over your enormous garden!

Thanks for suggestions re two kids - keep 'em coming. Unfortunately I can't do a sling (boo hoo) because of SPD. And he's heavy, too! HV came yesterday and declared him to be 9lb 11 already! DD loves books but even then she doesn't sit still much. And I greatly regret getting her books such as 'bouncy bouncy on the bed, all fall down'!!

Fanny you should try mowing it, it takes dp 4 days as it is so hot and bumpy.
On the plus side I can fit in a 12ft trampoline, a double swing set, climbing frame, large shed and room to kick a ball about. just as well as can't trust ds at the local park.

Fanny - all I can say is DVDs are your friend.

DG we loved Riverford Field Kitchen. The food is amazing (we had two puddings each as they were so good).

fanny there's no way I could have bf ds without the tv for dd! She would just climb all over me, none of the 'read a book and snuggle up together' thing ever worked. I would get dd to choose what to watch, settle her down and then feed ds. I also found that ds loved watching me and dd play, so he would sit in a bouncer or lie under the activity arch and be entertained by me and dd chatting and playing, and I encouraged her to 'share' with him and 'include' him in a game so it was three way communication.
DS also learned to self settle very very quickly. After a feed and a bit of awake time I'd pop him in bed and next thing I knew he'd be asleep and it hadn't occurred to me to listen out for him crying as I was too busy getting on with things with dd!
And if they're both crying, pause for a moment to work out which one you can fix quickest and take a deep breath!

I went back to check on the extension yesterday. at how much they've done! From the front its a normal house...from the back, well there is no back! The old kitchen and dining room have been ripped out and the wall is gone, they're open to the garden! The doors and windows should be in now, then they're ripping up the floors ready to lay new ones with damp proofing throughout the downstairs. This week has been great so far, our friends house is so nice and the kids are really well settled. I'm aware that this is the nicest house we'll be in the whole time so apart from our holiday week it's likely to get worse before it gets better!

Anyone know how to get a list of programmes you've recorded on sky+, or how to search the tv guide for specific programmes? Or can you just tell me when the new series of House is on?

Carrie If you have sky+ then you can on the tv guide page do a search by alphabet so you would put in 'hou' then search through till you found house.
If you have sky+hd then you go to tv guide scroll across to search then type in 'house'. You can do a genre subsearch as well on sky+hd

Digi not co sleeping so can't help on that front, but in the past few months, C has been hard to settle to sleep and what has worked for us is that we put her in her cot after bath & story, stay with her a few minutes to settle and calm, then say we're just going to sort the washing out or something in our bedroom. I say goodnight and that I'll pop back in in a minute and then leave but leave her door open.
I then make quite a bit of noise tidying up in our room etc and if she cries I call out that I'm still here, it's bedtime etc. 9 times out of 10 she doesn;t cry and if she does, she generally re-settles just by hearing my voice and we only have to go in occasionally. I think she is soothed by the sound of us nearby. Once she's asleep, i close her door.
Not sure if you've tried it or if it'll work but I find it's a very gentle way to help her to self settle.

And I have bought the fertility book from Amazon, thanks Fanny. I also bought 25 pregnancy test strips for £4.48 from Amazon. A bargain. They are very basic but apparently are the ones they use in doctors surgeries. If/when I get a +ve, I'll then invest in the digital all singing and dancing to make sure:
Ultra Early Highly Sensitive 10miu Pregnancy Strip Tests - 25 Pack

I shouldn't say this but the thought of 2 scares me, so in an ideal world we would try for a bit longer (plus am enjoying the trying - knowing we're trying has brought us closer and we're both quite 'up for it atm'! )

I know i shouldn't worry and be grateful that I mahy even be able to conceive but I have to say i'll be glad that if we did get lucky quickly C will be almost 3 by the time No 2 comes along. C is not interested in the TV past about 5 mins.

Although, I did sing I am the music man with her yesterday morning whilst I was getting dressed, as it was on the Fimbles, and nursery said yesterday that she was sitting on her own at a table singing 'p a p a piano, piano, piano'!!! She may not talk much but I am so proud

MrsArch they are usually much more interested in TV by the time they are 3. DS will watch for a good 20 mins before he gets bored. Also at that age it is much easier to leave them to their own devices while you do things with baby.

DD has moved up to Little Learners 1 this week which means that she's back with all her friends from Toddlers who moved up a couple of weeks ago and she's in the same large room with DS. She is absolutely loving it - ruling the roost apparently. her good friend V and D are also so happy to have her there. A good result all round I think.

Glad to hear the room move went well D&S. C has now settled quickly into the Butterfly room - we only had about a week or so of upset and she loves it now. Plus her good friend DJ will be joing her in 2 weeks - they've been apart for almost a month now and she's missing him!

When I think back to how awful it was last year when I went back to work (almost a year to the day now), and she took weeks to settle in, I'm very glad it wasn't repeated when she moved recently.
I'm loving nursery now cos it's in the grounds of a large college and they have broken up so all the students have left and taken their LOs with them so we have lovely rooms of 6-10 children. The students' kids are nice but it means much larger groups when they are in. In the holidays the 'full-timers' can join uip together occasionally and there is more time for stuff.

V happy.

And DP arrived home last night with a 42" plasma HD TV! Out of the blue. He's in the industry so got it for £700 when it retails at £1500. Am very excited as never had HD before! Must think how to thank him......

MrsA

MrsA When we started trying for DC2 D|P was quite looking forward to lots of SWI. I got caught on our first try and within a month was off sex. He wasn't very pleased at all.