New thread time ladies

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/ind...howtopic=756122

gold!!
yah
lets jsut say teething poos and gastro don't mix. t's bum is so red and sore i have to wash ti under a tap because as soon as i touch it he screams his head off i guess at least he isn't throwing up. would be nice to to get a poo every 2 hours though
maya

Hi all, sorry been MIA getting kids all ready to go back to school. The 2 older boys started yesterday but wont know who their teachers are or what class they are in until next Friday. The principal is hanging on to hope that we get 8 more students to make an 8th class.
Miss Em starts kindergarten on Monday, she is so excited.

Ok cant see who said what but will answer what I remember.

Hayden is a mountain goat he climbs anything and everything that is able to be climbed. He can now pull himself from his bed onto mine and from the floor onto mine.

He has lost a bit of his appetite for a few days but I put that down to a new tooth that popped up.

His latest clear word is tittie drink and promptly tries to undress my top half.

I dont know what Im going to do with myself now the kids are all at school except Hayden. Will be a nice change as he is a fairly happy go lucky easy boy and I can walk around the house tidying up and he doesnt follow me around screaming.

Has anyone else given their bub cutlery to try yet? I bought some of the colourful cutlery at Ikea the other day and took pics of H trying to use it. He is getting the knack of it, so cute but still end up with food everywhere.

Hi Coreysmummy, we havent met.

Well I'm off to take Miss Em to Pancakes on the Rocks for a special lunch to celebrate her going to big school.

Morning

Gabrielsmum, awwww he is a cutie. Thanks for the photos.

Maya, poor T. Ouch. Vent away.

Tera, I at tittie drink. Kane doesn't talk much but tries to pull up my top or if I'm in pjs, pulls my top down. Kane has started climbing everything too. He's fallen off he lounge twice already.

everyone else.

Had a sh*t f/n here & nearly lost a friendship so feeling pretty low atm.

TTFN.

Hi All,

Its a bit of a crazy day here at work. Not happy considering I dont usually work on fridays.

Tera - I love calling H a mountain goat. I think I will use that one with Gabriel! and tittie drink is very cute. Don't have that problem, the whole BF thing stopped at 2 weeks for us. Yay Em in big school.

Maya - T's poor bottom. Have you tried paw paw ointment. It can soothe as well as protect. It is worked well for us in the past. It must be aweful for him.

As for cutlery, I think I just need to close my eyes and let him try. I am a bit of a freak at the moment with cleaning up after G. I thought of cleaning up the dining room after every meal stresses me out. DH gets annoyed when I clean up the lounge room before G goes to bed, so I don't know how I am going to go with cultery and eating on his own. I am bad enough when he has sandwiches!!

GTG... work to do.

Have a great weekend.

cutlery - we have been teaching t to use a spoon and he is getting it pretty well. so much so that he refuses to let grandma spoon feed him (mummy is fine as he knows mummy means business and won't put up with any funny stuff). i have also tried a fork (he got given a baby set of cutlery) but he can't quiet figure that out yet

tera - very cute of hayden asking for it. we still don't get any words really he makes noises but everything is still bubbubbubbub. though i was getting called mum mum mum this morning which is rare, noramlly he keeps aksing for dad.

gabreilsmummy - tried pawpaw cream but we live in the tropics and well nappy rash goes from a few small spots to full on fungal infection within 24-48 hours and the ONLY thing that works is teh daz... something cream which is a heavyduty zinc cream with anti-fungal in it. will clear it up usually within a day or so it is jsut the combiation of gastro with teething poos atm that has made it sooo bad. pawpaw cream works for everything else on him though

fuzjuz - hugs

well gtg kid needs a wash i need a wash and i need to take mil into the hospital
maya

Hi Dec08 mummies

Can I just ask if any of your bubs are showing little interest in free standing and/or walking? DS1 was walking and running around pushing a walker at about 10 months, then walked just after his first birthday.

DS2 is cruising around holding onto things that do not move. But if I try to get him to stand holding onto my hands or the walker, he just flops down on his bum and whinges. Just wondering if there are other reluctant bubs out there and what you are doing to encourage the free standing/walking?

Thanks

Jalex - i don't know if it will help but ds was a long time between cruising and walking. he started cruising at about 8.5months but didn't walk until just before christmas, so 3.5 months. we encouraged thinngs by walking him around to the different things. but it isn't uncommon for kids not to walk until hey are 16months. our nephews didn't walk until they were 16-18 months.

everyone

maya

Hi everyone

Been a bit absent this week sorry, been preparing for Em's surprise party yesterday - she loved it, thank goodness! A few people pulled out at the last minute which was a shame, but still a great afternoon. Will try and post some pics later this week - have 4 full days at uni starting tomorrow so starting to freak about how I'll manage!

Jalex - Hayden has been crusing for months and this week has started to walk (at 13+ a bit months) however my first child didn't even weight-bear until she was well over 12 months, and didn't walk til about 16 months.

Maya - how is T's bum now, it's so awful when they have a red sore bottom. I called the pareting line about H's the other day and she suggested 2 x bi carb baths a day, only for 10 minutes at a time, but it seems to sooth him. We've had awful trouble with H because he's getting about 6 teeth all at once, so has had shocking nappies for weeks. We've been using the Daktozin cream too and it works pretty well, but have to keep using it for 7 days even if symptoms are clear just to keep it at bay. How did your MIL end up getting on - silly thing for not getting it seen to earlier!

Gabrielsmummy - I'm a bit the same as you with cutlery and self-feeding, hate the thought of clearing it all up again! So to compromise H and I both get a spoon and I help him dip it in and guide it to his mouth, while I get a few good spoonfulls in between. At dinner time I let him have more of a go because it's bath time so soon afterwards, less painful for one who likes to be neat

Juz - hope this week improves for you

Tera - enjoy your time with just Hayden there with you, it's lovely to have that one-on-one time. We're only trying spoons just now, will eventually get to forks later on. Is your Em who's starting big school an Emma or Emily? Would be too funny if it's an Emma because MY Emma is starting big school in 2 weeks - we would have wonderful taste in names LOL.

Hi to Sam, Ssorrento, Fraggles (hope the beach is lovely!), Peacey, Kate (loved the pics on FB!!!), Coreysmummy and everyone else I have slackly missed!

Haydie has just started saying Daddy - or at least something that sounds pretty close and is usually in conjunction with him following Al around LOL. He's so sweet, Emma came home from a week with my parents yesterday and this morning when we were all piled in bed he gave her about 5 cuddles, just plonked himself right on her, he missed her!

Not sure how the next 4 days will go, I have to be at Uni 9-4:30 so am going to miss the kids! First time Al has had both of them for longer than a couple of hours too, so wondering how it will go... Haydie will have to have a bottle at lunch time for his sleep so it looks like we will be down to only one BF a day which makes me a little sad, but I can't really explain why... Certainly happy with how long we've gone for, perhaps it's just cos he's going to be the last baby I have or something

HI THERE and BIG SORRY I have been AWOL.
We had some money stolen through Paypal and I had to reset all my passwords, unfortunately EB was a password about 12 characters long ...numbers and letters and my brain coupldn't cope until now.
Oliver Finnegan arrived Monday 18th at about 7.15pm...wonderful birth experience even though it was a booked c section but it suited us perfectly. More on that later!
I will have some questions from some of you old hands as I am BF and it is going along really well - oh what a difference the 2nd time around makes! I had some excellent advice from a lactation consultant and we are travelling well...O has regained his birth weight so I don't feel all the pressure I did with Hugh.
He is very tiny - 700g lighter than huge but only 1.5cm shorter in length and about the same HC...so he is more lean (mind you ...Hugh has never been lean in his entire life!)...
The 10/30pm feed is the beginning of the nocturnal habits and i have only had 5 hours sleep in the last 2 days...all he wants to do is EAT at night????What's with that?????

Will be back later ....well I hope to be! Not much time to sit here being selfish (on the computer!) .
I'll try to catch up on the last 2 week's news....MAYA - are you well?

xxx

Kathryn-Anne - Fantastic that everything is going well. Saw the pics on FB and he is divine. Hope HWT is coping ok with the new man. Nocturnal feeders bahahahaha - that, Kate, is called a newborn!! How different is second time bf'ing hey?

Nic - Glad Em's party went well. Good luck this week at your uni course, hope all goes smoothly on the home front (I'm sure it will). Enjoy your headspace alone, as much as you can, when you have full on uni days! Completely understandable about the sadness of being down to one breast feeding, its the prospect of the end of a very special stage. I was teh same a few months ago, even though I chose to wean. BTW, bought my mum lillies at BEllerive Foodstore the other day, to support you/ your friend

Jalex - Rest assured, there are other reluctant bubs ie mine. I've been encouraging him to stand and walk but he just collapses. He's only been crawling 3 weeks so he's just very laid back on the mobility front. It's hard not to compare to siblings isn't it? DD was walking - more like running - at 11 months so I found it strange but have just come to accept he'll do it in his own time. Apparently I didn't crawl and didn't walk until 18m so he must have my slow starter genes!

Gabriels mummy - I am the same with the mess thing. I know I should be letting him have a lash at cutlery but every meal time I can't bear to face the clean up Hope work settled down for you. Love the pics and G's hair is soooo gorgeous.

Tera - Wow that must be some change for you, going from 4 kidlets down to 1 during school hours. ENjoy it! Hope Miss E enjoys the first days.

Juz - Sorry to hear you have had a rough few weeks, hope things are picking up for you.

Maya - Hope things on the MIL front have improved and you're feeling better? Love the new sig by the way.

Ssorrento - Takes about 55mins on the plane. The whole trip is so quick now with online check in and carry on baggage. Left home in Hobart at 8am and was at my friends place in Essendon by 10.15. Stamina, me? Nope, I am getting by on adrenaline and caffeine, and the skin of my teeth How are you enjoying your child free days by the way? Good for the mental health I bet!

As for us, we're ok - had colds, and both kids had tummy upsets which I could have done without with DH away. But only 5 more days and he's back, all going well. I have to say, it definitely doesn't feel like holidays when you use your annual leave to cover your husbands trip home!! Still, I have to remember that he lives all this way away from home year-round I guess.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend.

Hi girls!

Hi Kate, yay! So glad the BF'ing is going well. F fed every 3.5 hours as a newborn. He only stretched out a bit later...

Hi Nic! You'll love being at uni. Very sweet about H missing Em, F really misses his big sister when she's away too. He gives her kisses very willingly but I'm lucky to get one each night !!

Hi Sam! Not long before hubby gets home - I understand about your leave not being leave and also about the hubby living this side of the world thing. We are the same here. Mine took me to see the wolfe tones the other night, your hubby would have loved it. DH stood there singing and dancing with the people around us, the sheer love these irish lads have for their home country...well I've never lived anywhere that's been invaded, or a war zone, but I imagine that if some other country came to invade mine with tanks and guns, changing everything including my name and language, taking my land, murdering my people and oppressing me and mine, I'd feel a bit patriotic too. But it's also funny that they have such wanderlust and are found all over the world shedding tears into their beers singing old songs. Never met a people so friendly nor so fond of a sing-song. Have you been to an irish wedding in ireland yet? funniest thing. who else sings their national anthem at their wedding i ask you

Hi maya hope the nappy rash clears up.

Hi gabrielsmum! Hi Ssorento and Juz!

Hi Tera! F feeds himself now THANK GOODNESS. He uses a spoon and if it's too slippery (e.g. pasta) he uses his hands. He's not messy until he says 'I'm done' and if you don't clean up the remaining food when he's done, he throws it. EVERYWHERE.

Sitting here enjoying the cool breeze (phew), watching tennis and thinking about how easy it was to get the kids into bed tonight - amazing.

My girl starts school tomorrow!!!! OMG! I feel so...mature. BwaahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! I'm nervous for her, I really hope she'll be ok, she's quite a sensitive child but she's confident too. She asked me tonight 'am I happy mummy?' 'am I really looking forward? am I?' what was that all about, I don't know, I think she's a bit scared. I'm scared.

F is going well, running everywhere and talking non stop (he'd need to to get around his big sister who never stops) but consequentially, he's had 2 really big falls this week and he got bitten by another child too!! My poor bubba. He is so bumpy and bruised and cos he pulls at his ear when he's tired and his nails are a bit long, I noticed tonight he'd scratched his ear until it bled. Arghhhhhhh can I wrap him in bubblewrap??

Have a good night everyone especially you KA!!

xoxo

I was feeling better & then this happened near our town & they're local kids:

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/lo...sh/1738447.aspx

We drove past it on sunday. Slow down, speed kills.

Hi everyone

Peacey - he got bitten? Badly? What did you do?

Samshine - tbh, I used to feel a bit guilty about putting him into childcare and then having a day to myself, but it gives me chance to get things out of the way so that I can just spend my days with him playing and focusing on him rather than trying to keep him amused whilst I get things done, which means that he benefits from it. And it also socialises him, given that we have no family over here. Wow. There's a fair bit of justification that you never asked for! I guess we're lucky that we can do that at the moment.
Do you wish you could go with hubby to visit his folks, or are you happy holding the fort (obviously minus the stomach upsets)

Kate - cute piccies on FB. You look so bright. Glad to hear the bf is going well. I was feeding O every 30mins, but that was because we couldn't understand why he cried all the time and so thought he was hungry Oh the ignorance!

Nic - looking forward to seeing some piccies of Ems birthday. Good luck for your first day at Uni. Have you got a new lunch box and some shiney new shoes? And have you sharpened your coloured pencils? So cute that H missed Em and showed her!

Tera- at tittie drink. V funny, and quite advanced, I may say.

Cutlery - we give O an extra spoon to hold when we feed him. I used to have some success with Nics technique, but now he just wants to wave it around when I try to help him. TBH, he's been a bit off his food for the last few days, so I haven't pushed him.

But..........ta da........we have a walker He's been taking some steps when coerced into it for a couple of weeks, but on Saturday he just decided to walk from Dad to some toys and he's been at it ever since. Soooo cute. He walks around with a cuddly dog in his mouth and his arms flailing.

Not much happening otherwise. Had friends over for a BBQ on Saturday, and spent a lovely day yesterday just relaxing with O. We had an hour long bath together til we were all wrinkly, and then spent ages chasing a fit ball around our bedroom. Who'd've thought that would be the highlight of my weekend if you'd told me a few years ago.

Hi Again

Justine - so sorry to hear of that accident. It sends shivers up your spine when you hear accidents involving little ones.
Sarah - every 30 minutes???? Now that would send me insane! O was feeding more often at night but now seems to have got back to normal - I am trying to stretch him out to 4-5 hrs between feeds at night and 2-3hrs during the day. Last night it worked and I got quite a bit of sleep.
Sam - I thought of you quite a bit whilst in hospital...I remember your birth experience with F was not so pleasurable and I felt for you. This time I felt lots of guilt beforehand (about the scheduled c section) but I was back in my bed 1.5 hours after leaving it and I felt fantastic. This time I had a spinal block instead of an Epidural and I think it is a heavier anaesthetic but it wears off faster. My recovery has been speedy and although I am not picking up huge yet, I am doing a lot more things at 2 weeks post than I was last time at 6 weeks. Unfortunately that means hanging out washing and vacuuming
DH has been outstanding and almost has taken my breath away...very helpful and obliging. Unfortunately I only have him for another week before he goes back to work.
Nic - back to uni already? That sure is a lot of time away - have you had a CHAT with Al....regarding him picking up some more responsibility re kids?
Peacey - hi !!!! and OH NO to the F's injuries!!! huge has been walking for a while now and has a pair of proper shoes for outside walks. He falls over when he gets overconfident and begins to run but nothing seems to bother him at all...head butts to the ground never end in tears! Strange child.
Will be back later for more personals but 2 loads of washing have finished, shower beckons and cake needs pulling out of the oven....(DH and H are out on a WeeRide for an hour).

My BF question for some of you was : do all bubs tend to favour one breast over the other? O will drain the RHS but always goes to zzzz on the LHS which means it never empties properly...very annoying!! Of course it empties itself into the pad as soon as he goes to the other side... how weird!!!!! I feel like a burst pipe sometimes...ggrrr.

Be back soon
xxx

Kate - Glad O is adjusting his nocturnal habits a bit, and sounds like your DH is being fantastic. But hey girl, what are you doing vacuuming and hanging out clothes while he's still home?! Your birth experience sounds great from what you've said, I have heard a few people who have had both say what a better experience an elective C/S - even recovery wise - compared to an emergency one.
As for you bf'ing q - F favoured the right side too very obviously from day one, and so I always had a better supply right side, and a lopsided cleavage C favoured the left but not as obviously!
I know you're really really busy but if you get a sec can we have a few more pics of the new little man to cluck over?

Ssorrento - All valid justification! I know if I gave up work now that my two would still have one day of care a week. I love the interaction they get with others their own age and the skills it teaches them, especially from this age on. Don't ever give yourself a hard time about it - your happiness affects O's so you've got to look after yourself too.
Would love to be going with DH but wouldn't want to be taking the kids yet know I wouldn't go without them either, so it wasn't going to happen. After doing the trip with C so recently, I wasn't mentally ready to take 2 of them this soon. In a few years maybe. I am sad I am not seeing all his family and all our old friends, but I don't think it would have been relaxing for me or DH or the kids. At least this way he can spend quality time with his family andmates.

Peacey - Wow you are such an old one now you have a School Aged Child Hope Lani's having a lovely day and the nerves passed. LOL on the irish weddings - went to a few, and the anthem cracked me up (and how huge are the weddings!). I never laughed so hard as one night when we were out at a club in rural Donegal and at the end of the night they played the anthem, and lads got up off their barstools to stand for it, thought they were completely legless. I'm sure they have to be the most patriotic nation. Does your husband sing alot? Mine breaks out the rebel songs without fail once he's had a few pints. My DH can't have known Wolfe Tones were in Melbourne otherwise I know he would've fit his return journey around it. He will be devastated when I tell him. I would have loved to go too! HAve to say a few weeks free of hearing the Pogues, Wolftones, Luke Kelly etc and playing MY stuff has been nice.

Juz - Oh, those accidents are sad. Poor parents.

Ok better go and collect my children from care. Have had a day to myself which has been soooooo nice. Apart from the trip to the dentist and the discovery of the amount of $$ I will be outlaying over the next few months to my dentist. I noticed the (kinda cute) dentis had a lovely designer shirt, designer shoes and even belt, looked at my quote and discovered he well might with prices like that. If only we didn't need teeth.

Hi,
Just wanted to pop in quickly, we had a great time at the beach. Will BBL H is climbing on me now.

am popping in from work as the internet is not on at our house because we are switching providers (to telstra of all people but they own the lines so can fix them faster and i am not going through a company, going through a company when they go crap)

sam - don't you just love how much they charge? thankfully i have good teeth (only 1 filling and a cap where i fell facefirt into a gutter aged 9).

kathryn - just saw the pics on facebook. awww you grow handsome boys. it's great that bfing is going well. hopefully it will for me too.

ssorrnento - congrats on the walking. now watch how fast he learns to run

fuzjuz - i have taken to not even watching the news lately as all it seems to do is make me cry

peacy - ouch to the falls. and aww a big girl goign to school now

nic - have fun at uni (might be me next year but i am doing it distance ed)

well i have had to resort to getting some claming meditation techniques from my sister and cousin. had crappy news on friday regarding mum's health. the op she had in dec has improved her symptoms but not her actually health, so it still looks like a transplant at this point, and from the way she has been saying things, most likely they want it done by the end of the year. so i spent most of the weekend crying and snappy and stressed. i hadn't told ryan because his mother is ALWAYS there, and though i know her i don't know her too well and it is just something too personal to share with her at this point, i feel like i know you guys better and this is through the net. the fact i have a good chance of loosing my mum is pretty much deverstating, and on top of pregnancy hormones i'm a mess. and then you add in how busy i have been with work and tristan. but i am feeling a bit calmer today, if a bit sad.

tristan - well he is better. his bum is basically clear, though we are layering him in cream with a sposie at night, just to keep on top of it as the teeth haven't popped through yet. he is really starting to show this determined little creature he is though. most people i know say kids so young don't have too much of an attention span but he will sit there and work on something for an hour if he has to, to figure it out. (i watched him concentrate on putting ryan's big work boot on to the coffee table. he was so determined it was going to go up on the coffee table and he was going to get it there). he also will get a book find somewhere and then flick the pages, making noises like he is reading it outload. it is so cute. and he has suddenly taken to this stuffed toy "bunny". and will wake up and have a chat with him in the morning he has also shot up again. i can't get him to stay still long enough to measure him but he is now as tall as the back of the couch, as i can just see his hair over it lol.

new bub - well can i jsut say thanks heaps kathryn for all the info and pics for the pram but we have found one that is different. called the babyjogger city select and you can have both seats facing either way but it is inline like the phil and teds. also the seats are a certain height but the canaopy has 3 height settings so you can give them a bit extra (goes to a total of around 62cms high for a back - saw a pic of a 5 year old in it comfortably) and the seat takes up to 20kg. also folds so flat will fit in my yaris now probs, and going by what a friend says who has it in nsw she is in love with it. i figure if the kids are fighting they can just go back to back on the pram but they can also look at each other for another option. jsut have to order it now (can get it from the states $350 cheaper with the $). it's not actully released in oz until april.
better go as at work, will pop on again soon, probably at mum's on wednsday as tristan has swimming lessons that morning
maya

.......good on you Maya. I have a good friend with the BabyJogger so will ask her if there are any bad points as she has had it a year or so.

xxxx

Hi all.

Maya, I feel so lucky with Phoebe, as her bum never gets worse than a bit red. A bit of cream at night is all I need to keep it under control. Poor T must've been miserable with all that going on. How are things with your MIL now? Really sorry to hear about your Mum. I guess this means the move to Perth is back on the agenda? The pram sounds really good. Expensive?

Tera, with cutlery, we're similar to others. Phoebe loves to stab a spoon into whatever is in the bowl, while I use another spoon to actually get food into her mouth. Those Ikea bits and pieces are great though aren't they? We have the bowls and cups, and every house I go into with kids has them too.

Nic, great that Em's party went well - looking forward to photos. Must've been joyous to see Haydie so sweet with his sister. Moments like those make me wish I had the energy to think about another one... How are your 4 days at uni going? And how is Al going? I certainly know how you feel about going down to 1 BF. Thankfully Phoebe still has the one too. She was sick last week and sometimes wanted boob instead of bottle, so I am glad I still had something to offer her!

Kate, don't apologize for being AWOL - you have the best excuse ever. When Phoebe was a couple of months old I kept getting emails from my MIL in NZ demanding photos and big newsy emails - I eventually cracked it and sent her something very blunt. Hope things are going OK, and the nighttime feeding plan is continuing. It wasn't until Phoebe was 4 months old and we were at sleep school that we stretched out her feeds to 3 hourly (from 2 to 2.5). I would have done that MUCH sooner with hindsight! Phoebe loved both breasts equally, so can't comment on the favouritism O is showing. He looks gorgeous, by the way, and I'm happy to hear that the booked CS was a pleasant experience.

Samshine, the countdown must be down to hours now!

Peacey, I'm very impressed with F's skills at feeding himself. I didn't know you were married to an Irish lad as well as Samshine. My DH lived and worked in Dublin for a year, does that count? It is a country that seems to reach out and grab you though. DH is still very attached, and I have very fond memories of a couple of short visits I've done. One in particular: my boyfriend and I drove into Dublin and found a B&B out in the suburbs. Took the bus into town that night, but while we were there realised we had failed to grab the name or the address of the B&B. We knew which bus we'd been on though, and knew it would go right past the B&B, so left pretty early to go home, paranoid that we would miss the last bus. As we got on the bus, we didn't know what sort of ticket to get, because we would only know where we were going once we got there. The driver said "You're at such-and-such B&B, that'll be such-and-such amount". Turned out he'd driven past that morning as we arrived at the B&B and got our bags out of the car! Such a small town.

Ssorrrento, I so agree with you on having those days to yourself so you can then concentrate on bub on the other days. I do way too much of the keeping her amused while I try to get things done. And it doesn't work too well at the moment. However, this week I'm kinda taking this theory to the extreme - more later. Your hour-long bath sounds lovely!

Hi Fraggles, Fuzjuz, Gabriel'sMummy, Tera and others. :wave:

Us: So, Phoebe's in for her first day at the new centre today. So far she's loved orientation and hasn't wanted to leave. Will be interesting to see if she sleeps though. I ended up taking our safe-t-sleep in for her to use - I never bothered at the old centre because it was only 1 day a week. Now 3 days. Which brings me to what I alluded to earlier - I have no work, so 3 whole days off! Hopefully something will come up by next week, otherwise I really will start to feel guilty! However I deserve the days this week after a crappy weekend with a sick bub and a hubby stressed about starting teaching at a new school without enough preparation.

And I promise that when I finally get off EB this morning I'll jump on to SEEK.

We have a walker too! She's been taking steps since Christmas, but its only been the past week or so that she's started to prefer walking over crawling (you can carry more that way!). We borrowed one of those little beetles on wheels from the toy library and she loves to push it around the house. Some words are starting to come out - cat and hat and ta. She also invented her own sign, a kind of crossing of the arms across the chest, which means cuddle. Lovely.

As I said, she was sick last week - just a bit of vomiting, but I'm really not used to it. It was so obvious I never had a 'vomity' baby, because when she was in bed with me and starting vomiting, I picked her up and moved her so that we ended up covering the pillow, me, her and the doona. Should've just left her in one spot!

Sleeping is pretty good, especially at night. Usually 7pm to 6am. If she wakes at all (which she did a couple of times last night, due to a practically sleepless day), it just takes a few words and pats to calm her down. She still always settles herself, which is such a relief at the end of a long day.

Eating is another issue. She's starting to get fussy and want only bread, rice cakes, cheese and maybe fruit. Every meal I try to spoonfeed her something healthy and substantial to begin with, but she's beginning to refuse it, knowing the good stuff is coming. Arrrggghhh!

Now that hubby is teaching further away, he takes the car a couple of days a week. Not normally a problem, but of course yesterday the cat had to be taken to the vet because she'd shown up the night before with a severe limp. So I jumped on my bike, with Phoebe in the trailer, and the cat in a pillowcase in the back of the trailer. Quite hilarious! Especially when I arrived and found that the cat was loose in the trailer, having escaped the pillowcase.

Well, must begin the huge list of 'to do's'. Have a great day everyone.

merryn at the cat being free in the trailer. the new pram is a little exxy, but about the same as others i have looked at if i get it from the us. including postage it is around $860 at the moment, better then the $1200 the price is looking to be when it comes out in oz. but because bubs are close we don't really ahve much we need to get as we have most of it already. i already have 2 carseats, t will be in a big bed by then, have a bassinett and rocker, plenty of clothes if it is a boy and well a girl can wear them too lol, esp at home, ltos fo linen, so i can justify spending a bit on a new flash pram i reckon (i will be paying for it out of my wage, as we live on DH's and any extra's come out of mine - plus my car loan)

kathryn-anne

gtg at work, hopefully the net will be back on on friday at home. i will ring and hassell telstra if it isn't.
maya

good luck battling Telstra, Maya - total bunch of twats!

Hi everyone

Going to be a totally me-me post sorry, hopefully on Friday I will have enough time to write properly!

Uni has been good this week, learning lots which is great, and it's helping to de-mystify the whole uni thing for me. Am sure I'll have a panic attack when I have to actually start doing coursework, but until then I'm cool

Been interesting to see Al managing the kids and the house all week - he's going really well, except for the fact most of the housework is being ignored LOL. But the kids have loved having him round so it's all good. Hmph, went to help him get the washing off the line and promptly stepped on a bee so last time I try to help the househusband!

Better go - they had the nerve to give us HOMEWORK for our intro to uni course - how rude! Better get to it... feeeeeeel the enthusiasm!

Hope you're all good

Yay - you go Nic! Bummer about homework though. I hope you sat at the back, sulked and tutted very loudly.

Just quickly pooped in to post some piccies.
O interviewing me for the role of 'mother';



O down in da hood;

Great pics Ssorrrento. Love the interviewing stance!

nic - grr homework, sounds like you are going well. just a tip, if you get stuck with something ask at the library desk, they normally know where you should be etc. we get asked lots of questions here by students that are in no way related to the library.

ssorrento - love the pics.

jsut popping in. at work. ordered the pram this morning. hopefully it is in stock and with the us postal service shouldn't take too long to get to oz.
gtg bbl
maya

Sorry I haven't had a chance to get back sooner. But thanks for the replies to my question about walking. It is nice to know that I am not the only one that has a child with no interest in doing it I guess he will get to it in his own time, he does everything else at his own pace

Wow to some of you having brand new bubbas, you must have busy little households...I know mine is and I have a 19 month gap!!

argg whay do telstra have to be such a pain!!!!!!!!!!!! trying to organise for dh's mobile to be fixed is just turning into a huge saga! then found out from one of the many departments i got transfer through to that some enterprising person had put a cancelation on our change over of internet. thankfully lucked out got an actually supervisor covering calls for someone. and he is fixing it all and ringing me tomorrow just to make sure it all went ok. so we might be missing the net for longer. will ring and hassel them tomorrow. pregnancy hormones are so good for kicking butt

jalex - that is around what my age gap is going to be. 19-20 months. fun

gtg at work should really be doing something, but omg next week is going to be hell, everythign that could go wrong for start of semester is going wrong.
maya

Hi,
Ssorrento - great pics.
I have added some pictures of our beach trip on facebook for anyone who wants to have a look.
Haven't been up to much else, both kids are starting to play a bit more now (and when i say play i mean fight, lol). I thought E had the biggest squeel you have ever heard but H is not far behind, they can both be very high pitch and loud. If H doesn't get what he wants he pouts and then drops to the ground and screams. He is a bit of a drama queen actually.
Arggg gotta go he is now trying to climb into the tv cabinet drawer.

Fraggles - thank god I'm not alone, H is a big drama queen also, and the biggest squealer I have ever heard - I am hiding in the bedroom for 2 minutes while Em helps him with his tea because he has actually made my ears sore

What the heck can I do to stop it because it suuuuuuuuuucks big time! Am trying just ignoring it but it doesn't seem to stop.

Ssorrento - LOVE the pics, Ollie is such a little cutie! I am a bit loathe to take H to a cafe at the mo due to the above

Maya - hope you got the phone sorted, Telstra are such a pain to deal with - I've waited on hold for over an hour before.

Sandalwood - what awesome sleeps you're getting from P now overnight, it makes such a difference to your whole life doesn't it. I had such a LOL about your cat out in the trailer too, gosh P must be good with it to not attack it. Mine would be bald from H scruffing their fur, and he would be bleeding from head to toe!

Sam - is DH back yet? Excited about your course starting very soon Happy birthday too, hope you've had a wonderful day with lots of spoiling.

Kate - how is your O going, hope the night feeds are stretching out a bit more for you. Had to read twice when you said B was helping out - marvellous! Story just for you - I was tidying out the wine cupboard today and turned round to find H picking up a bottle of 97 Clos Vougeot and trying to swig on it LOL - like father, like son.

In other news though he's the cutest thing and is toddling around proudly, when he remembers he can walk that is! And he's so funny because he will come up behind you and tickle you on the bare skin between jeans and top - laughing his head off!

Better go before Em gets a headache too - she's such a good helper. Starting kindy this week to - am so excited for her!

Another selfish cow post sorry, Al is working nights tonight and tomorrow so I might actually be able to get on the computer for more than 2 seconds. Hope all is good with mums and bubs and bubs-to-be!!

am still around. net is scheduled to be back on wed. night/thurs morning. kicked but at the telstra store phone is on the way to be fixed. made sure all the staff were aware i was NOT HAPPY!
on a note about not being happy, ms is back, figure it out my workplace = ms why can't i work in a stress free environment without a bunch of idiots running around bring on july!
maya

Ohh Maya i understand exactly what you mean about wishing you could work in a stress free environment. Just keep counting down until you are on maternity leave.

Better get back to work

Just had to come share this pic of my big girl starting Kinder today!!



And here's one of her birthday cake from a couple of weeks ago.



Where has everyone gone???

Oh Nic - Great pic of Em she looks so grown up in her uniform.

Not up to alot here my thyroid test came back still boderline underactive but my heart rate is still high so the heart specialist doesn't want to treat my underactive thyroid because that will make my heart beat faster. At the moment i have been put on medication to lower my heartrate. I am so worried at the moment, the specialsit is somewhat baffled but not really concerned. When i was wearing the monitor i was doing my housework and my heart rate got to 160bpm. So see there is proof that housework is not healthy

So quiet in here! We seem to go in fits and starts.

I had a flat out few days, DH arrived home friday, engagement parties saturday and sunday (long weekend here) and I had a birthday and started back at work after my 'holidays', so that's my excuse

Fraggles - Hmm that's def odd re your heart rate? Did the dr say it was an abnormal rhythm, or just a normal rhythm that's fast?

Oh, Nic, look at your big school girl, she looks so cute in her uniform, hope she had a fantastic day. Glad the uni course went well and the home front was ok in your abence. Are you looking forward to starting? I'm starting to get stressed. Mine is nearly all online and mastering the layout of it is a nightmare. Would nice to have some on the ground support.

Maya - what is it with telecommunications providers. Helpful tip if you're not getting anywhere - the telecommunications ombudsman - worked for us! And just the other day I changed ISP's. Dodo bent over backwards trying to match and better our new deal when I rang up to cancel them as our providers - if only they'd had a fraction of the same interest in providing good service for their current customers we wouldn't have been leaving!

Jalex - We must have pretty similar ages. My two are 22/05/07 & 11/12/08.

Ssorrento - Loved your pics!

Argh, I can't see or remember anymore posts so hope everyone else is well.

There's not much news here anyway. Fintan is great, I am loving this age, whereas with C I distinctly remember not being a fan of the 12-18m stage. Perhaps that was being pregnant and her being a bit more full on. He is just charming and a delight. On the other hand, I'm not sure whether my daughter is 2 or 14. I never dreamed 2.5 year olds used back chat, eye rolling and emotional manipulation but it seems they do.

SPeaking of which... better go. BBL

Sam - He hasn't mentioned it being an abnormal rhythm at all, just that it is fast

I am loving this age as well, i am looking forward to H picking up some words now though as he barely talks

sam - yeah westnet were fantastic with their customer service (they have this great thing that you jsut log your phone number and if you ahve to hold mroe then 5 minutes THEY ring you) BUT it was an absolute pain when something went wrong so we are with the crappy telstra. thing is i get these really lovely people on the phone (tip ring in the morning, you get melbourne people who are loovely) and then when i have to deal with "real life" people that are well you get the msg. oh and someone stuffed up again and internet won't be up until monday now am ringing every day until it is back.

fraggles - hugs

nic - awww look at your big girl.

well i looked at the childcare centre T will be going to today. i reckon he will love it (esp. the outdoor section is it a todders paradise) but i don't want him to go . i want to be home with my baby, am sick of work and all their crap - somehow i seem to have been put in charge of student ids. err doesn't student amin normally do this in most uni's not the library????? i don't really mind when it is running properly but it isn't at the moment and it is just turning into a huge saga.
ok better go am tired and therefore cranky, somehow the 2nd trimester glow/energy seems to be missing me again
maya

Just popping in to say hello to everyone. Not much happening here except I'm on an exercise mission at the moment, trying to lose 10kg in the next 4 months, so hopefully I can stick to my plan.

hope everyone is well





+

Hiya!

Am trying to reply using my phone as I am thoroughly sick of computers so sorry for missing everyones posts!

Tera good luck with the weight and exercise.

Hi Maya - student admin should do ids definitely! Hope you start feeling the happy glow soon...but you are working and running after a 1 yr old, dealing with stupid phone companies argh no wonder you don't feel all glowy.

Nic I love the cake! And a cute big girl too! I completely understand the child/teenager thing. Tonight mine told me that she wants peace and quiet and can't I be quiet for a change - how do you like that I ask you!! From a 5 yr old who never shuts up!!!!

Hi Fraggles! Hi Sam! I am loving this age too! Such an adorable age. Got a tad teary looking at him tonight, his head nearly reaches the table and realised how fast he's growing up.

Afm, work has been completely full on since I started back full time. I mean, I absolutely love what I do, but I'm exhausted. at least the travel is only interstate. And feeling guilty I'm not doing the job justice cos I'm juggling the kids and feeling guilt as a mum that I'm working. You guys know what I mean? My girl started prep. She's going really well so far.
Work bought me a kitchenaid so I'm happily baking good things for her lunchbox! It us the best thing in the kitchen (other than my cheezel stash).

F is terrific, so much fun racing about, looking at everything and talking about everything. Very good at feeding himself and eating like a horse, always so hungry. His poos so stinky though the other day he ate a fazillion things and his nappy smelled so ick that his big sister caught a whiff of it and was promptly sick. She barely made it to the bathroom in time!! She won't come near at nappy change time anymore.

Anyway I'm for bed have a good night girls

xx

Argggg - just lost a post! So now only time for a quick question. Does anyone need to really work at winding bub down in the evenings? Phoebe is totally manic after daycare - sometimes happily manic, otherwise unhappy and manic. No longer puts herself to sleep, but requires many visits before she drops off.

What do you do to calm them down? If I try to cuddle or sit down with a book, she wriggles and cries until she's free. I think I need to extend our bedtime routine with some calmer activities, because the bath is not at all relaxing for anyone. What's in your routine?

Hopefully time to post properly later today.

OMG what a day. I had been phoning around the whole town to find a dance class for DD, well i finally found one on a day i could take her. Took her today but they had told me the wrong time so i rocked up mid way through the class (not knowing why there were diapproving looks from parents) got DD to join in she finallly starts to settle and join in when the class ends, i was totally confused the lady came up to me and said "Darl, the class starts at 4pm" i said oh really i was told 4.15 for 45 minutes not 4pm for 30 minutes. She doesn't reply to that at all. Seriously i was so annoyed none of the parents would move across on the seats to make room for me so i had to stand at the back with H in my arms because i couldnt put him down on the ground because the parents other children were down there with their laptops and pens and pencils spread everywhere. GRRRRRR.


Sandalwood - H still has a bottle at bedtime, to calm him down we have bath time, then he listens to a story with DD (he never sits still though) and then a bottle in his dark room and straight into bed. The bottle in his dark bedroom is what always calms him down though.

Peacey - Oh no your poor DD being sick with F's stinky nappy.

Lovely pics everyone.

Just a quick me post, have been lurking as I'm not doing so good atm.

Wanted to let you know that

KANE IS WALKING!!!

He looks quite funny with his arms in the air walking like an orangutang .

Hope you're all well & have a lovely w/e & Valentine's day. xxxx

everyone

will bbl to post something a bit longer but the net is FINALLY back on.
maya

so sorry I have been absent!
keep having to reset my passwords/empty the cache etc and can't figure out how to log back on! d'oh.

going kinda well here. life was perfect when B was on paternity leave and now my days are about keeping head above water ha ha. Hugh just roams the house looking for things to grab off benches, tables, desks etc and I am stressed out whilst stuck in the BF chair.
I am worried that this is going to affect my feeding Oliver, and am not a confident BF anyway. Poor lad seems to have to try to suck whilst I stomp about the house chasing H.

What did the rest of you do when BF the second bub??

Nic - your little girl looks mighty pleased to go off to kindy!
Sam - I will post some more pics of O on FB as you know I can't figure out how to do it on here. He is not the most photogenic chap at the moment...nevermind getting a shot with his eyes actually OPEN, but see how we go.
Peacey - big hug that you feel stretched as a mum and career girl :-( . I think I would die if I had to work as well. I have to concentrate hard enough to drive in a straight line thesedays let alone be productive in an actual job!!!!!!!!
Haven't had much time to catch up on the other posts but now that I have logged on again will try ....

x

Hi,
Kathryn -Anne my age gap was a bit bigger thans yours DD was 2.5 when H was born so when bf H i used to either set both DD and I up in front of the tv, i also had a container of snacks for her to have while we sat down. However with your age gap i believe i would probably section off areas of the house so H is contained while you feed O. DD could open doors when my H was born so that didin't work for us but with your gap and H not being able to open doors i would probably do this.

Juzzy - Yay to Kane walking, although it is sad at the same time that they are growing up so quickly now. I got a baby catalogue in the mail the other day and was quite sad to see H had outgrown many of the things in there, it reminded me he is not a baby anymore I do have to admit your post had me a bit thinking you may have been announcing a BFP

ta fraggles but we have 4 baby gates PLUS the usual doors everywhere and I still get stressed watching H destroy everything! We have a dedicated room for bubs - play area/feeding/tv & dvd room etc. I think the hard part is not being able to communicate with him effectively - if he 'understood' why mummy had to sit still for an hour then perhaps he would not be so melodramatic!

I guess there are good parts somewhere for having bubs close together...just at the moment the bad points are more obvious!

sniff...

Ok so my life is extremely busy at the moment, if I miss a personal it is because I am “looking productive” and typing it in my outlook email god I wish I could get on more often but it is just so much chaos at the moment.

Kathryn-anne – I would do what fraggles is suggesting. Also maybe have some “special” toys he can have just for when you are feeding? Hmm I don’t know, my kid runs around like that anyway. I have had to move everything back off the junk table to the wall as he would just pull random stuff down. Sounds like you are doing pretty well bfing. Looking forward to the photos though I haven’t even made it onto facebook yet even though the internet has been up since friday

Fraggles – I was doing something similar the other day, looking at some catalogue and thinking my baby wouldn’t fit into anything like that anymore. They grow up sooo fast

Fuzjuz – yah for kane walking. No stopping him now

everyone else

Well work sucks as per usual. And this week will be stressful as mum flys to perth on Thursday and we SHOULD find out if they want her to move there for the transplant or at a future date. I am kinds hoping in a way that they tell her to come down pretty much straight away though that will be very stressful in itself. Urg I don’t even know what I want or feel about this anymore. But I spoke to my boss today about childcare and maybe changing my hours as I just got the fees from the childcare place he will go to. $90 a day and then $54 for a ½ day how on earth people work with their kids in childcare I have no idea. And all the places around here are about the same. So if mum does move I will change to 3 full days and 1/2. And she was quite happy and understanding about it. Which takes a load off my mind. I just want to know what the hell is going to happen, it is so stressful. So have been trying to spend as much time as possible with her. And if she does move I might go visit for a couple of weeks after b2 is born, on no just realized something, if mum isn’t here who is going to take care of T when I go into labour??? Sorry I am rambling a bit. B2 is so much more active then Tristan. Likes choccies esp even if i did eat too many and make myself sick. And have my scan 2 weeks Friday we aren’t finding out but I can’t stop thinking of b2 as a girl. And pretty much her name will be keira (if a girl), unless we go right off it.
Tristan is going well, 10.15 kg, 80cm and 50cm HC now. He is actually starting to look a bit chubby which is taking some getting used to lol. Probably by the time I am used to it he will shoot up again. He is into everything and being my lovely cute ratbag. Finally have trained him into the “no hat, no outside” frame of mind too. He sees me with the hat, will run up for it to be put on and then run to the door. And he keeps it on now! which is good because even with hat and sunscreen he seems to be developing a tan must be the olive skin from me. I will have to post some more recent pics of him. Have decided to enter the Harvey norman picture contest with one, just need to pick it now. Don’t really care if he doesn’t win, but wouldn’t mind the education fund for him they are offering as a prize if he does.
Ok better go and actually do some work, then I can get home to my gorgeous boy
maya

seems like we're all busy, explains why its so quiet in here

OMG, I am pulling my hair out here, and things are going to get even more busy! I got a call yestereday from uni saying theyd given me credit for prior post grad study and if I rearranged my study I could graduate earlier as they had a student pull out of second year... Basically, I'm now doing second year first. As uni starts next week I have had to enrol in all these new subjects today and am supposed to start my prac placement as a child health nurse next week. WTF!!!!! Arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

In theory its great - I will graduate May next year instead of november, but it means I have to approach work today about seriously cutting my hours, means no money for ages, yet still 'working' 4 days a week, between paid and prac work. ANd somehow fit reading and assignments, not to mention parenting in.

I have also been helping a friend with her business in birth prep and education which is about to launch.... which is great but busy!!

So things are about to become bedlam here. My mind is frazzled already so not sure of my coping abilities for the year ahead. Sink or swim I spose.


Kate - Saw the new pics on fb - he's soooo gorgeous! As for feeding, I used to feed in the lounge room, which is child proofed and well sectioned off so C couldn't run off and me, I had a basket of 'special toys' which only came out when I was breastfeeding so were a novelty for her, and used to set up C with snacks and water so she wouldn't be asking for things. Inevitably though, alot of F's feeding was done on the go - I vividly remember breastfeeding and cooking dinner with C in the high chair by my side!

Juz - Yay on Kanes walking!

Maya - Glad you have the net back, sounds stressful sortiing out your situation with cc and your mum. I know child care is expensive isn't it? Don't forget you get 50% back though, each quarter. We desperately need another day, since I am now doing prac and work, but just can't afford it.

Fraggles - Hope the next dance class goes a bit better. I know exactly what you mean about the baby catalogue - it's sad isn't it?

Peacey - Juggling work and parenting is damn hard isn't it? It must be super hard for you with travel too. I literally lol'd when I read about Lani vomiting at F's poo. Our Fin's are toxic too at the moment, putrid.

DH blindsided me the other day. HE was always so adamant no more kids, definitely. So anyway, we were pushing the trolley at the supermarket with F in the seat and C in the trolley bit, and he says to me 'imagine a third little red head between them' . Then, that night he said to me 'you know, don't get excited, but I haven't ruled out a third after all'. I was gobsmacked. So then, we're chatting away, and he says 'If we did have a third, I wouldn't want a too big age gap'!!! I was speechless! I definitely don't want another now, there is too much going on. Also, I am getting glimpses of it getting easier, and have come to terms with the fact DH didn't want a third, and am not sure how I feel about going back to babies. Anyway, I'm sure he was just having a moment and it won't be an issue anyway, but still gobsmacked by where that came from!

Anyway supposed to be doing uni prep stuff, so better get back to it before I have to get ready for work.

Hope everyone is well

KA - just saw the pics on facebook, aww so cute. and what big feet he has.

sma - wow you are going to be busy. i know if i had one more thing added to my plate at the moment i might just run screaming into the bush. oh and we know about the rebate but still i can't believe how expensive it is. seriously there is no way i could afford to go back to work after b2 is born. think i might just study instead.

gtg more to do, urg. i need a holiday.
maya

Maya - I have noticed that it is much more costly to go back to work with two in childcare. We are struggling at the moment but E will be in Kinder next year so that should make things a bit easier i hope.

Sam - Wow you will be very busy, there is no way i could do what you are doing at the moment so you have me in total awe. I found myself talking about the possibility of a third myself the other day eeekkk, need to snap myself out of that at the moment i think, things are just starting to get easier now. I don't even know if i will be able to have anymore, i was put on some medication to try to bring my heartrate down, no idea if i am on it for the long run yet or not. The doctors also can't agree about my underactive thyroid, the GP wants me on medication for it but the heart specialist doesnt.

Geez work is so boring, luckily last day of the week here and i have an appointment at a job agency tomorrow. So far today i have made one phone call to request someone fax something to us, got myself up to date with my course homework, checked facebook a thousand times (it would appear other people have lives throughout the day though), checked EB quite a few times, had lunch, gone and bought a magazine, chocolate and a drink and now after this post will read my magazine eat my chocolate and have my drink, what a productive day,