40 + yummy mummies with baby tummies and those who've 'popped' - come hither!

[jeanjeannie]

Come join our merry (talkative) band of ladies who lunch - feel sick - are getting fatter - sleep deprived or run off their feet with babies! Some of us suffer all of the above - while trying to retain an air of calm and mystery

All we ask is you play nicely, eat cake and indulge in the occasional gossip and moan about our ills....or anything else that we can think of.

We're like grumpy old women....only not so grumpy...

duchesse no reason at all why you shouldn't go - a great excuse to take it easy - enjoy!

mum41 D is 22 weeks - so I have started the weaning though not yet in earnest - he is not keen -will only allow banana past his lips so far . Perhaps the follow-on formula would take a little while to take effect anyway. Problem is he will only drink about 3 or 4 ozs of a bottle during the day whereas he will take 6 at night. This hasn't changed since he was a few weeks old.

Gosh I seem to have been droingon a bit over the last few days - sorry to be a bore ladies!

Ooooh snowing here! aaaaand stopped again...

I see poor Kym Marsh has lost her baby - he was born yesterday 18 weeks early and died after a few seconds. Harrowing for her. A few more weeks might have made all the difference.

Hello I have a very snuffly baby he was very niggly yesterday and is now hardly eating anything. Took him to the docs yesterday, just to check it was just a cold and the Dr was happy but I am getting rather stressed by his lack of milk consumption, he has just had 2fl oz the 1st since 4am this morning .

Tee sorry you are feeling a bit off colour take it easy with the typing.

MrsB sorry you had a bad night but I think you are right to try and fill him up in the day as much as possible. Like Bonzos little girl B didn't sleep until at least 7 moths even though I had followed all the good practice of putting to sleep awake etc, I think sometimes it is just how they are.

Hi Bonzo i see you are a geeky scientist too, not that I have been in the lab for a very long time.

Duchess I think if you were to have a fall the LO will be very well protected and so should be OK but I'm sure I have read that the pregnancy hormone that softens all your ligaments (relaxin??) is already working on your body so you pelvis etc will be more floppy than usual and so you could pull something more easily than you usually would.

Just had a newsletter for the nursery Ollie is down to go to in September they don't have any full time places for new additions to the list until Sept 2010, good job I put him down when I was 20 weeks pg.

hedgepig I always have a word with my health visitor when I'm worried about those kind of things and don't want to bother the doc, it usually puts my mind at rest.

hedgepig it's always a worry when they're not drinking, but colds and snottiness can affect their appetite/ability to take in milk. Talking to HV is a good idea.

MrsB If he's only having smaller bottles in the day, have you tried waiting longer between feeds? He might need his circadian rhythms (get me!) changing to make him a bit less nocturnal, so going for larger feeds in the day - with more of a gap between them - could help. It's hard if they're screaming for it, I know, but you could try to do it gradually. I had a similar problem, although I was b/f - they'd be tired and want a little suckle to get them off, and then not be hungry enough to have a really good feed on waking, so would get all fussy and feed every couple of hours - grrrr! Another reason I had to stop them falling asleep at the breast!

JW hope appointment goes well this afternoon.

Well I am home now. So could not handle work. I was literally falling asleep at my desk and kept sneezing!

Having some lunch and then its off to my bed. Hopefully be better tomorrow!

I have no advice for the none sleeping. Instead I'm watching avidly for June!

The one and only time I ever skied I broke my ankle. So don't go buy my example!

hedgepig gosh O does seem to have had the sniffles for a while now - it's a horrible thing in small kids when they get a cold, get over it then sniffle and snuffle for weeks after. Poor lamb. Is he miserable with it or just not feeding? So long as he takes some at regular intervals I suppose there's not to much to be worried about.

ermintrude yep I have wondered about the circadian rhythms but he sleeps at night and is awake during the day so he on the right "setting" I think. Leaving him longer to get hungrier won't really work as he isn't that bothered and will happily go for ages without a bottle during the day and will still only take a small one when he does get fed but then the feeds get closer together and larger as the evening progresses

What I am doing today is feeding him after the bottle so he is taking in more quite happily. My very non-scientific plan is to fill him up during the day in the hope that it switches his appetite from night to day.

Gawd, I'm boring meself now - just shurrup woman and get on with it!!

mrsb at the risk of sending you to sleep on this subject, maybe the large meals he's having at night are having a knock-on effect so he's not hungry enough on the day? So a 'pincer movement' of more in the day and cutting back at night might help. Don't fancy his angry at response at 3am, but it might be worth it in the long term. I'll shut up about it now, promise.

Tee hope you get a good rest and feel better later today. The tiredness is awful - hits me around 2pm and I know that if I try to snooze before fetching DS from school I'll feel even worse and look like a zombie in the playground too...

Heard from my one city banker friend - you'll all be pleased to know that he'll be getting his 6-fig bonus this year. Admittedly he's an analyst rather than a risk-taker but even so... I don't think any job which doesn't involve investing your own money should carry much more than a 6-fig salary, let alone bonus.

Afternoon everyone....we're back and knackered!

mrsB oh, I'm sorry you had a rubbish night again I've got not advice I'm afraid - just sympathy. We've tried everything possible and at the moment have kind of given up! I was up twice and that's a good night Keep on with the milk and like someone suggested - try and up his daytime feeds...sadly not worked for us!

duchess I'm very impressed you're going skiing! Then again I've never as much as slipped on a ski boot! I could just about manage to tackle a snowy hill sliding on a tea-tray!

ermintrude Apparently a pre-school is not meant to give you any sway with the actual school....although we were told that 'off-the-record' it does as they still use the catchment criteria - and they're not meant to do that! Hahah you should see the number of 'To Let' boards going up round here....all trying to get out of this catchment and into the one of their school choice!

DON'T talk to me about bonus's!!! You don't hear of a top doctors getting 5x their salary cos they've not had that many folk die on then this year Makes me laugh that it's to 'keep the top brains' ....well, doh, yeah - look what shed loads of brains, greed and zero common sense has done. Seems to me those 'top brains' aint worth the money

OOoommmmm.....calm, calm, calm....*thinks of whales and pretty flowers...

On a lighter note - what's everyone doing for Valentine's Day??? [slushy heart emoticon]

ermintrude I think that's exactly what's happening. Am going to try to put off one of his night feeds tonight.

jj I am not expecting much in the way of Valentine's slush /romance or surprises from OH. Also can't be doing with the restaurant thing with all the heart shaped chocolate soufflé nonsense that goes on. In fact I was planning to be good to myself and use it as an excuse to eat lots of yummy things. I am thinking of a venison bolognese and a lemon sponge pudding PLUS some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Am in need of consolation as its work on Monday

Re: Valentine's - DH hasn't mentioned it so I've taken the precaution of putting a beef wellington and sticky toffee puddings (Sainsbo's taste the difference) in the freezer just in case. Then if he has nothing planned I've no need to sulk and we can have a nice effortless meal in the evening . But he'd better get me a card!

MrsB that sounds like a nice menu, I am sending DH to M&S to get one of those meal deal thingies which we can scoff on Saturday. Not going out it is a total rip off around Valentines.

MrsB you are right Os cold has been going on for over a week now , basically I have to sit and hold him so he can sleep it out, as soon as I put him down he wakes and gets all fretful. I hope he improves soon or half term next week could be very boring for B.

JW I saw this in the Guardian yesterday and thought of you and the reading of riot act to DH chore wars

hedgepig good article except my DH doesn't have an 'inability' to do chores....he has a won't do it attitude!

Also your central heating might be causing the sniffles for poor Ol. Put a wet flannel on the radiators to humidify

Poor Kym Marsh. How bloody awful. Wouldn't wish a prem birth on anyone...and to lose him as well

Jab done! Last one. Looks like no more forever! Audiology at 3.30 which I know she'll pass as she jumps even when you cough.

Valentine's day will be like any other day at Worf Towers apart from...drum roll....DSS will be 9, big boy that he is. So daddy is taking him and a few chums to Laser Quest at the Trafford centre, obligatory MacD's (yuck) then home for excitement on the Xbox with the game he's been after for yonks. No hearts, no flowers and certainly no perfume! I might get a cup of tea if I'm a good girl

JJ I totally agree with hedgepig not only is it a rip off but not very romantic when you're not only having to share with far too many people, your favorite restaurant which is usually busy enough that you can have a private conversation without everyone over hearing but not so busy you're having to shout over the din but you're also limited from the usual full menu to a very limited 'special' valentines menu so we as ususal (as it was when we had our first date) will be out for a nice romantic dinner next weekend

On the high bonus subject.... heard a very good idea on the news yesterday....why not pay them with shares in the bank, what better incentive

jw* mine is the same. The house could be piled high with filth and he wouldn't notice or care. Which is unfortunate as with me being older than him I refuse to be "mummy" and nag or act the martyr and do it all myself. So pretty much the bare minimum is only ever done.

Now I am going back to work I may have to Have Words though...

my dear DH also doesn't notice things, he went to a conference and left the bag with the conference papes at the bottom of the stairs, I thought I'm NOT moving that so it sat there for 6 months until I stuffed it in his wardrobe

So pleased that this isn't just something that affects me It's just a sorry state of affairs that the selfish, self centred pigs never think to look around them at what's going on. Think they just have different (lower obviously) standards than we do. As long as there's no dust on the telly when the footie is on, then everything in the world is right - in this house anyway.

Problem with mine is he's lived with his mum most of his life, even when he had DSS. They both lived with her. Now she's gone, guess who's the replacement? Even DSS has mentioned I'm 'just like grandma'

housework is boring, a pain in the arse so they can't see why they should do it! The only time I can get mine to do anything is when we have someone calling round or coming to stay and even then he still insists that there's no need

as long as there's a clean cup for his tea he doesn't care about anything else!

haha mrsb Snap!

Has anyone seen the pics on DM website of the octuplets woman's belly? OMFG. Bio Oil won't help her.....

My DH is pretty good - he does all the hoovering (because it gives me motion sickness - really! ) and DIY, and will clean the cooker and sink unbidden. Since he's at work all day and I write p-t, I think it's fair enough, although I do all the other cleaning, and the 'maintenance' jobs that are done without anyone noticing - shopping, cooking, laundry. It's the little but relentless things like buying everyone's bd card and present, for both families and our DC going to friends' parties, that gets to me - so I've said I'll do his family for Christmas but their birthdays are up to him. I still need to nag though. But my friends have DPs who are infinitely worse - they really think that they are 'funding' their women to stay at home doing nothing so expect to do nothing at home themselves

omg! The size of her belly jw especially from the front view. And all the veins - blimey. How could she even walk?

I've scoured the DM website to no avail. I want to see how she compares to me at the moment.

OMG I've found her. OMG.

ermintrude yep. If a man 'works' as in the conventional sense, then the little woman at home is expected to have the house like a new pin when he walks through the door. As both myself and DH work from home, then in theory we should share the housework. Not so. He'll do it once in a blue moon which then seems him through the next 6 months. Am pleased that you have a partner that will do at least, some jobs.

tabitha & mrsb can you imagine having a belly like that?

Got back from the hearing appointment in one piece. She's failed it of course. Well, it's designed for a real 8 month old, not an imposter like Katherine! Yes, it's very confusing and very annoying having all these tests designed for an 8 month old when neurological and physiologically, she is 5 months old. To be repeated in 3 months...when she'll be strangely, 8 months old

jw That does seem rather silly to say the least do they also expect that with other aspects of growth and development or do they take into account she was very premature?

I can't agree with you ladies on the subject of husbands and housework etc, I have a dh who is more than happy and capable of mucking in with most anything that needs doing around the house, good thing really with twins and I have to say, all be it very quietly, he cooks a mean Sunday roast with all the trimmings better than me

Ooohhhh, not seen the pic but runs off to download pic of pregnant tummy onto profile just to show not all multiple pregnancies result in stretch marks

I will also have to say that I can't relate to DH's who don't help out. Mine is excellent at keeping the kitchen clean, better than me, actually and he loves to hoover. I do the bathrooms, but that's because I am really fussy about them. Although he has been helping with them as well.

He helps out with the laundry (except the folding!). The only thing he has a blind spot about is dusting, but I don't think dusting is all that important!

Honestly, if he suddenly stopped doing those things, we would have words constantly.