June 08 - a Coalition for all (even those with May or July 08 babies).

[DomesticGoddessInTraining]

Abdn liked the title so I just went ahead!

Hello! Been on holiday, now preparing for my job interview next week (and veering between optimism and despair! ) although I'm still supposed to be on holiday...
Thought I'd stick my head in and wave if nothing else.
Some responses but not very co-ordinated!
Spider the car seat thing - funny, we get exactly that, and it really riles me. I kind of blamed myself for being uptight, but it really gets me going - his latest thing [bear in mind that he's small for his age] is to climb right up onto the parcel shelf. I can't possibly get him from there.
Hope the glucose test is fine - sure it will be! Mad consultant though. One midwife afterwards wondered whether they'd missed pre-eclampsia with me - gee, thanks!

DQ and Valium made the rolo treats, but they didn't work out great - too much pastry and some overspill. Not sure how much pastry I should be putting in there.

Sorry, poor show there. Back to the prep. Everyone keep sending get-the-job vibes here! I bought new shoes for the interview.

Dewin - LoL at the parcel shelf. Good luck for next week. DH has an interview too on Monday. Slough though not Edinburgh DGT

Eddie awesome on M's sleep.

Rolf glad it isn't prejudice about the fake tan. I like the idea of a court full of orange people. Even the judge.

MW has been for a home visit for the GTT plus usual 28 week check. I was so pleased to see her. Just scoffed my breakfast down and drinking my tea. Regarding my iron levels she said that I didn't exactly look glowing! Then she apologised for being tactless. I thought that was funny.

Just popping my head in. Life been pretty hectic here so am not keeping up at all.

Some good news (got the job, started on Monday), some bad (job boring as hell, nephew, MIL, FIL and Uncle IL all been in hospital over the past couple of weeks, all but MIL requiring overnight stays of at least a couple of days ).

Pathetically miserable as my waist is completely giving up the fight this week. I know this is what's meant to happen, but I'm still not happy about it, esp as I've been eating really well and haven't put on a single pound yet (17 weeks 2m).

Right, will hopefully be back later in the week able to have a full catch up and to be a bit more cheerful and less me, me, me!

Fantastic news about M's sleep Eddie, well done. Just got to use the same tactics for A now...?

Rolf, 6 desks . Bathroom sounds lovely! We have horrid brass taps in our ensuite and I wanted them changed - was gutted when the plumber said they couldn't be changes cos of the tiling that boxes the bidet in (all the others could have been changed just not them). Who has a bidet these days anyway? There was also a lime green carpet in there when we moved in . At least we could change that!

T is being so good with Daniel - I worried he would get jealous cos he always used to try to climb on me when I had another baby in my arms, but when I'm feeding Daniel he just climbs up on the sofa next to me for a cuddle .

Dewin, good luck with the interview. That is so funny about the parcel shelf. T and E like to climb into their own car seats but haven't realised yet that they can climb right over. Hope they don't! We should get the multimac soon - hope so cos atm I am squished in the middle of the back seat between a DT's seat and the infant carrier when DH is with us.

DH has failed to get his MOT done (again). You really do have to wonder what goes on in his head. I even asked him recently 'you did get your MOT done didn't you' to which he repied 'yes'. Well I tried to tax his car online yesterday and the MOT isn't registered . He said 'but it was in the garage in April'. Yes, for a service - the MOT isn't due until June. A few years back we were in France camping when he realised he hadn't had the MOT done.

Hi Penguin, good to hear from you, well done on getting the job. What are you doing? Hopefully it will get less boring when you get to know people. Let the waist go!

Oh what I'd give for gold taps with burgundy tassels

half your size Spider - do you need your glasses prescription renewing?Unless you mean height!

Dewin - are the cakes for your job interview, are you planning to wow them by wheeling in a trolley full of cupcakes

Well, I am quite keen to get the job, and if it helps...
How wrong would it be to offer the panel handmade cupcakes??

LOL

Finally managed to catch up, it took a while. We had a lovely holiday, nice and sunny in Scotland, don't know what you've been complaining about DG , the ILs let us know while we were away that they would be near here on the boat when we got back. It seemed to have been planned but they hadn't asked us, anyhow we had a nice time with them. Managed to glimpse the bottom of the laundry bin this morning, but only a glimpse, it's gone again now.

Neenz - sounds like you are doing very well with the new arrival.

Dewin - good luck with the job interview.

I discovered the other day that J can open the van door when he did it in a car park and nearly dented the car next to us. He jumps in and wants to drive and gets very upset when he isn't allowed to.

H is being a handful at the moment, very clingy and trying to crawl, he spends all his time trying to get hold of J's toys that aren't suitable for him, has no interest in the baby toys. I'm going to have to have a sort through and take away all the things with small pieces, seems a bit mean but otherwise when I move them J just gets them out again. Unless anyone has any suggestions?

Better go I have a baby who wants picking up.

waves.

gah, studying beckoning. had a night off last night to go through to the edinburgh fringe festival to see a play that my friend wrote - it was fantastically good, but got back home at midnight. cue tired biscuits at work today, DH had the day off, but I still ended up having too drop off and pick up C from nursery as the other car was in the garage and and he had some meeting to go to at 4pm. now exhausted and having a time out onthe sofa while he does bathtime.

too tired to comment on much, but I have been reading everyone's news with interest!

Feeling like a heffalump this evening. I have been going to ante-natal pilates for a few weeks now. Tonight I was feeling quite large and ungainly and struggling with some of it
more than in the past. At the end of the class the instructor asked the only other girl there about an Olympic rings tattoo she has. It turns out that she was a gymnast at the Sydney Olympics. I'm not feeling worthy of such august company.

Ktpie glad you had a good holiday. Sorry about the toy dilemma and the clingyness. Nothing useful to suggest as it is outside my experience.

Popping in to say hi - work is going really well and there might be a longer term part time contract for me - I've done three days in a row and loved it but now I'm missing the boys.

My two love play dough too but I hate it (under my fingernails ugh!) so I'm not that good at encouraging them.

fingers crossed for Dewin and the interview - will pop back in a few days - sorry to be ignoring everyone else but i'm exhausted and off to bed..

ktpie, we have exactly the same problem and my mum tells me it's very common with second and subsequent children! We have given up trying to offer M baby toys as he is totally uninterested and just let him share A's toys. This does mean we have had to put away some of this things with the worry about swallowing, but there are plenty of toys that he can play with without any danger (Bob the Builder stuff, Duplo, etc).

Yes, A is missing out a little as things like Brio are hopeless with M around, but we figure it's only short term and he'll appreciate having a brother in the long term!!

Off to Brighton again tomorrow, this time with dh. And did I tell you mum has offered to have the boys for a night so we can go and stay in a hotel on our own!! I am beyond excited about it .

Great news about the work AH .

at sharing your pilates class with an Olympic athelete spider!

Great about the work Abdn -smile

Good luck Dewin

Spider, although it's a great excuse for being an ungainly heffalump (I'm sure you're not though!).

Eddie at the night away!

Ktpie I put away dangerous toys. I got rid of all the boys' playmobil when they just refused to co-operate with putting it away . If there are a few non-baby-friendly things kept on a shelf that J can play with when H is asleep or whatever, they become special and have good associations for him. It's also quite a good way of training him to take something out, play with it and then put it away.

We've had a lovely day today. We went into Liverpool and went to a soft-play place (a quite nice one) with a friend and it was lovely for DD1 to have a friend to play with, and lovely for me to have a grown up to talk to. So everyone is happy. We're going out for a picnic with my brother tomorrow, so hope we get good weather.

Abdn - really glad work is going well!

Ktpie - no experience of the toys, but was going to suggest similar to Rolf i.e. put away some riskier toys in a box for J to play with when H is having a nap or whatever.

Very pleased to read that you'll be getting a night off Eddie! Well deserved.

Been feeling a bit more in control today (although still a bit stressed and snappy with DH ). I've been trying to think more about what I say to S when he's whiny/tantrumy/wants what he can't have today and we've had some minor wins.

Waves to everyone else as too tired to remember what else I was going to post.

Oh, quick grumble - managed to stub the same toe twice in the space of about 10 minutes from completely different angles. It's now a sort of blue shade and very sore

Hi everyone - this fell off my threads! Hope everyone is well.Dewin - Good luck next week - I can see how much it means to you. If you dont get it remember you still have my 50p offer . Eddie - jealous of M's sleeping!

Luke does the car thing - it's really annoying especially at the nursery when I am usually at the back of all the other cars in the queue and blocking everyone in. I'm afraid my only way of dealing with stuff like that is threats or bribery. It does work though!

Nowt to say really - life is fairly mundane. I have cracking back ache and have ordered a physio belt from t'internt (thanks for recommendation valium) and am hoping it might fend off the ever encroaching SPD. I can feel little movements now in my tummy - not proper kicks but definite 'goings on'!

Thanks for the toy advice, suspected the only answer was to have a good sort out, J's favourite toy at the moment is the train set but I think it may need to be put away as H keeps testing how well the wheels are attached by trying to suck them off, which isn't ideal. I'll put the less baby friendly toys in a box for when H is having a nap.

Anyone else still got a toddler of limited vocabulary? J can understand everything we say and he is saying more and stringing a few words together but compared to comments on here and kids we meet it is still pretty limited. I think he is just being a bit stubborn.

DG - ow about the toe, it's not broken is it? I broke my big toe a few years ago, not much they can do but I had to rest it.

Amber - hope the belt works.

Whenever I get the play dough out I think I have done a good job of keeping the mess contained then I find some later trodden in somewhere.

Spider - I used to do a yoga class which had 2 dancers in it, they were depressingly flexible and a good portion of the class was spent watching them and the instructor do the advanced moves whilst the rest of us felt useless!

Ktpie - I have called the HV this morning about P's speech. I am going to go and see her in a few weeks so she can check it out. I wrote down all his words and he has about 25 words, 20 of which I understand but no-one else would. He also has about 20 noises for animals, vehicles etc. Plus some signs that he has made up for himself that again make sense to me. In the last month he has started to say "hello daddy/mummy/Peter". That is as far as joining words up goes. Similarly to J he understands alot, and sometimes quite complex things. I'm not that worried as I can see he has come on quite a bit over the summer. However what made me decide to call the HV is that I know that the speech therapy waiting list is a year so thought it was best to get in the queue.

Thanks Spider, it's good to know I'm not the only one with a toddler taking his time, P sounds fairly similar to J. I am sure in a year or so we will wish they would shut up!

ktpie and spider. We went to see a friend last weekend and her boy didn't talk till he was 3. He is 3.5 now and speaks like a 4 year old! He did go and see a therapist but it just all came on suddenly!

Spider Peter's speech sounds fine to me. I don't know how many words T has got but she's not stringing sentences together or anything like that, and I think she's a genius . It's a definite advantage of not going to any toddler activities, not having a clue what her contemporaries are doing . Sorry, that was all to ktpie too.

We've had a lovely day out in the pine woods today, but I realised how urgently I need to get my eyes tested. I was inches away from running up to a man and telling him that his arse looked enormous, thinking it was my brother. He could definitely see that I was up to something as he gave me some very worried looks .

I've piled them all into the huge bath at the apartment. It's our last night here, then 2 nights in town, then hopefully home. The floor bloke told me yesterday that he thought we should stay away Sat night - fine but it's another £100 and I think the taxman might like a bit of it.

DG how is your poor toe?

T stood on the scales the other day and the amount of weight I need to lose is roughly equivalent to T . No wonder I am permanently knackered if I'm carrying spare lard the weight of a toddler!

Thanks Amber & Rolf. I have heard lots of stories of children that don't say anything and then burst into speech aged 3. Fingers crossed this is how it will go for us. If it wasn't for the speech therapist waiting lists being so long I would be avoiding my HV as she is nice but a bit irritating. I thought it would be irresponsible of me to not get it checked now, there to be a problem in a year's time, and then have to wait another year for the referral just because the HV irritates me. Poor woman, she's ok really, just never has anything to say that I'm not already perfectly aware of thanks to MN.

Oh, and forgot to say that the GTT came back fine, and my iron is fine too: 11.6 which is still a little on the low end of the normal spectrum I seem to think.

Ethan doesn't have great speech either, but in the last couple of weeks he has started saying more and more. No sentences but 2 or 3 words together, not all recogniseable though, and like Peter, lots of signs too, but thankfully not Mr Tumble's sign for toilet which I think is dubious!!

Haaaaa! What is Mr Tumbles toilet sign then - I have had great fun imagining what it is!! Another big Haaa at Rolf's story!

On another speaking note, Luke has developed a West Country accent! How weird is that? Another child has it too at the nursery. I asked if her parents were from the West Country and they said no - where's it come from??

J doesn't speak very well either. His most advanced sentences are 'where daddy go' and 'me big poo'

Sadly those are the only two three worders so far, and the other words are few and far between. I think its still really normal at this stage, and my experience with speech therapy is that you pretty much need to pay in this country to get an amount that makes enough of a diffference.