April 2009 - Episode 13 - 'I've been looking for the exit for months!'

[Schulte]

Fanjo Warriors, here we are

Hello, no snow in Provence either. V cold, and now rainy.

Am lurking but feeling a bit low, so not posting.

Op is on the 10th, WFH, should be a doddle. MIL is coming to stay for 2wks to help out. I am more worried about that, TBH, than the op.

What kind of writing ?

Hope everyone is OK and the meet-up goes well.

Schulte glad H's ear has stopped oozing, poor little mite. I think I would have the blood tests done - take some chocolate buttons and she'll get over it pretty quickly - just to be on the safe side.

Auld will be thinking of you on the 10th. OMG to MIL staying for 2wks - you are a braver woman than I

Had to go for emergency scan at EPU last week as had some blood but saw wee wriggler with a heartbeat so that was pretty wonderful - bit small for my dates so please keep fingers and toes crossed for stickiness.

I've started a FB thread about the Christmas meetup - here

Eeeek MIL coming - will she have rearranged your knicker drawer by the time you return home, or is she not the interfering sort?

I'm a writer and editor by profession, mostly corporate/marketing/web content kind of stuff, and originally in agencies but more recently in-house for big organisations. Am trying to build up a freelance client base and possibly move into some other types of work. Small steps though.

What date is meet up again?

Boys have spent the afternoon making beds in laundry baskets with sofa cushions and blankets and climbing in and out of them. Very sweet.

Schulte hope Hazel is feeling better? Afraid the boys are annoyingly hardy, but am sending you lots of sympathy!

Kingbeat, how's things going? You sound very on top of things, I imagine it's peaks and troughs if my friends going through similar is any guide? Hope you have lots of people to help look after you.

Must go and bath monsters. DS1 is trying to remove Orbit's legs. Orbit seems to like it

Hey warriors,

Schulte, sorry for not replying on your thread, but as i've had no experience of that i didn't know what to say hope she's over the worst and this cold weather hasn't played too much hassle.

Bicnod, fingers toes and eyes crossed for stickiness

WFH, things are going well, I guess, have changed my phone numbers so the only way that he can get in contact with me is to go into my work or to come to my flat directly (and this is a good idea? ) but yeah peaks and troughs really. I feel guilty for her missing her dad at this time of year, but then tell myself that if he was a better man then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. i have also decided that if she wants to find out about her father in years to come i will try and finsd him for her (his sister lives 10 mins walk from here) and i also know some of his friends so even if he goes back home, then i know i will be able to get into contact with him. ahhhh, sigh.

Bronze, cheers for the advice btw, have just decided to let her choose her own pace whilst i research differnt methods, and in no way is she ready for full on training as she cant manage to pull down her trousers although mornings are fun around here with poos and wees on the loo (i have a trainer seat she thinks potties are abnormal and runs away form them). having said that, it has added an extra 15 minutes onto my getting ready for work time grr....

anyway, let's see what happens.....

haope everyone is well, knees are holding up and fanjos are warriors, or something?!

AA good luck for the 10th! And for your MIL. At least try and get waited on a bit...

Bicnod sorry you had to go for a scan but happy you saw a healthy little wriggler! Getting closer to that vital 12 weeks.

WFH is orbit still legless? Nice to see you!

Kingbeat, it still sounds like you're doing the right thing - don't feel guilty.

Toddlerwarrior has worked out how to climb out of his cot, so he's in a bed now. It is a nightmare. It's taking 2 hours to get him to sleep, with countless silent returns to bed. He used to sleep perfectly and go to sleep on his own without a whimper.

Any top tips?

Zulu DS1 went through a phase of refusing to go to bed when he was quite small - we got him a small CD player and put story CDs or songs on quietly for him and he happily stayed in bed and listened to them until he fell asleep. Might be worth a try? He still has them now - when he was tiny he was always asleep within five minutes, now sometimes he is and sometimes he isn't, but at least he's lying down quietly!

Orbit is currently refusing to go to sleep unless I cuddle him, which is a nightmare, so am about to try CDs with him. I think with him its a separation anxiety thing, as it's mainly focused on me and he's very clingy and cuddly with me at the moment, so it might pass by itself.

He has however managed to retain his legs, despite DS1's best efforts. This evening they were running past me while I tried to tickle them - DS1 discovered that Orbit would just run straight into my arms when he could, so started using him as a decoy to avoid getting caught.....too cunning for his own good, that one.

Just popping in to say WFH I feel your pain on the clinginess - O on going to bed/resettling in the night: 'mama, mama, need mama' if I dare to send DH in instead of me and 'mama, mama, cuddle, cuddle' if I dare to put him in his cot before he's ready - all accompanied by heart wrenching sobs of course.

On the plus side he has just learned to say 'I love you' which, although I'm sure he hasn't a clue what he's saying, means he has even more ways of wrapping me round his pudgy little finger

We've given up on the toddler bed. It was going to cause a divorce! DH has lowered adjustable cot base to just about touching the floor and screwed it on, and TW is back in a sleeping bag under his duvet (just as well as it was -15 last night!). 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep - bliss! .

However I do like the CD idea WFH - we'll try that the next time we're brave enough to try the bed.

And thanks everyone for the travel cot advice. I'm off to order one of those flash littlelife ones - perfect! And Great Uncle Ralph is paying for it as a Christmas present - even more perfect!

I'm supposed to be working this afternoon but wanted to pop in and wave at you all. It's been a while. Big christmas kisses xxxx

OMG.

MIL arrived at 5pm. At 6pm, she was re-hanging the washing on the clothes horse because 'it had been done a bit hastily'. After the boys' bath, she was very put out to find that I don't keep a handy bottle of [toxic] cleaning stuff by the bathtub [where A could reach it], as she wanted to scrub it out. It had been scrubbed on Monday, not used yesterday. 'The boys have had a bath in it,' she said. They weren't muddy or even v dirty, the bath looks clean to me.

Am I weird? Does everyone clean and scrub their bath daily?

2 weeks????? How will I cope?

The upside is that I am not longer fussed about the knee job on Fri. I am in fact positively looking forward to a general anaesthetic and a few hours in a clinic. It will be blissful respite.

Hi folks. Been a while, but wanted to say hi as have been back on mn a bit recently, but was nervous about tackling this thread in terms of trying to catch up. I will give it a go though in the next few days - have kept up wi some on fb though.

Aa - don't you just love mil. My bath gets cleaned once ( occasionally twice a week if I feel energetic).

Quick update on us - ds2 is an absolute darling, sleeps well, chats away well, is very very cute and very very funny. Ds1 has had difficult year with very bad eczema (dermatologist a few times a week to start, now down to every two weeks) and we have found he is allergic to eggs, peanuts, shellfish, mussels and milk ( and that was just the five things we tested for so being referred to the allergy clinic to do more investigating) but its getting more under control now that we have cut those foods out, and we can see glimpses of the funny boy we used to have. Still never sleeps though which is driving us a little crazy.

Anyway, life is good. I see bicnod is pg - congratulations. Hope it's all going well.

Will try and read back some more. Hope you are all doing well though.

Bicnod, have been thinking sticky thoughts for you. Hope all is well and the sickness is passing.

Sorry to hear about troublesome bedtimes and sleeping. DS1 was a nightmare for years. A is easy, and I am all the more thankful as I recall the hell DS1 put us through.

Zulu, I'm glad you've sorted the cot issue, as I can't imagine the holiday you'd have had with TW wandering around unknown locations at night. That travel cot looks good. Do you really have a Great Uncle Ralph, or is that some MN generic code name I am unaware of?

Boff, v impressed at your techy prowess, in teaching online, though I shouldn't be any more, you are so multi-talented.

Schulte, how is H? How are the ears? How is the work-life balance working out?

Kingbeat, hope Christmas is shaping up OK for you and your DD.

Hello Puzzle!

I have just realised that this time last year I was sending off Secret Santa presents to FWs... nostalgia.

erratum in previous, me, me, me post: not longer --> no longer

Hi Conker - Good to hear from you, sounds like you haven't had an easy time. I'm glad to hear things are getting better. xx

Auld - Stop mucking about on Mumsnet and go and clean your bath you slattern.

Mine gets scrubbed out once a week and just a quick rinse after use. I'm assuming there are no coal miners or sewage workers in your household?

I can't walk.

This was not meant to happen.

My bathtub will be dirty for some time.

You're supposed to clean your bath?!

Hello Conker I was thinking about you this week, as it happens.

Auld - that's awful. I will email.

MIL: "We've run out of washing up liquid."
AA: "Oh dear. Perhaps you could possibly get some at Spar on your way back from taking A to the CM's."
MIL: "It's not called Spar. In my town the Spars have all become Huit sur Huit."
AA: "Oh. Well, that's what it says on the front. Never mind."
MIL: "You are wrong. Really, you are."
AA struggles off on crutches, trying to look dignified.

I may commit a terrible deed soon.

Still not sure whether she's actually going to get any washing up liquid. Which is annoying because, in contrast to bathtub scenario, she 'just rinses' the dishes in water under the tap after a meal, puts them on the draining board 'to deal with later' and leaves them there.
I have been sneaking in when possible to put them in the dishwasher. Sneaking on crutches is a fine art, I find.

Kill her.

Batter her with your crutches.

Yay, Hazel had her operation this morning and she's happy as anything. So relieved

Must do some catching up now...

Auld - why can't you walk? Hope operation went well. How long will you have to be on crutches? And yes, poison her with some bath cleaner from Spar. If it's any consolation, we've had IL troubles as well and even DH got totally fed up with them!

Bicnod, how is the sickness going?

Puzzle, are the girls well?

WFH, any news from work... not too bad I hope?

Lots of love to everyone!

That's fantastic news Schulte. About time the poor little thing got some respite.

And my brother's baby girl has arrived 4 weeks early and very small, but doing well. DD1 wants to know exactly HOW small the baby is!

Aah mothers in law. Don't you just love them. My pil are off for christmas to hong kong to see bil, and they may meet bil's new gf for the first time but all mil can go on about is how she was hoping he would get back together with his ex from about 10 years ago - he has been engaged to somebody else since then and really it's just not going to happen - she can't just look and see that bil is happy. It took her at least 6 years to stop mentioning dh's ex gf every time I was at the house, so I suppose bil has a while to go.

Haven't read far back as yet - sorry but time is limited. Are any other April mums pregnant, other than bicnod?