New thread time ladies

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/ind...howtopic=778955

GOLD!!

Supposed to be trying for a nap but the school across the road has the stupid band playing so loud I cant sleep! Grrr.

SILVER!!!

Slack member reporting in... LOL

Had a busy morning here, took Rach to speech, now we are home for the rest of the day except to pick up Olivia from school

Hannah had been a good baby, but the last coupld of days OMG her nappies have a certain smell to it . She is still fully breastfed, so I am thinking we maybe having an early teether here (the other two got their teeth around 12 months old).

Jess - good luck with your nap. And good luck with TTC, can not wait to hear who is the first out of this group to have the next

Mandy - have fun at the park. The easter egg hunt sounds great. Has the highchair gone? That would tick me off to no end. I would put it up for sale again as they aren't interested in picking it up. Good Luck with Miles and potty training. I have no advice as Rachel was 1 week shy of being 4 when it all finally clicked with her.

Iammum - you can't stay away when you need help or advice. LOL. Oh well keep posting as much as you like. I am sure if you disappeared we would wonder where you went. Holidays start this afternoon for us. Yay can not wait to have a couple of days of sleep ins (yeah right, Hannah is waking just before the girls.)

Kylie - Aww hun, you didn't know what was affecting Evan. You do now and that is what is important. You have done everything right. Chin up hun, you are not a bad mum. You are a great mum having a bad day. So glad to hear everything sounds like it is working for you and Evan is getting to sleep in his cot.

Nat - No crying yet from Hannah when she sees strangers. She usually smiles at strangers as she has so many aunty's ,uncle's, cousin's and grandparents gawking at her., but she is already showing signs of separation anxiety. If I walk out of the room to get the girls breakfast or go to the toilet she starts to cry. Yay at Nate being helmet free during the day. Must be such an exciting time for you.

Kristy - oh your little man is sooo cute in his outfit. Did you go to foundation day? I think we passed each other.

Hello to everyone else... I hope you are all ok...

Some of you may have seen my status, the older two girls are both getting their tonsils out on Tuesday 13th April. I only found out tuesday just gone. So I am trying to make it sound like an exciting time for Olivia as she is having a meltdown at the mention of the hospital, Rachel on the other hand isn't fussed about it. So I am going to be taking the girls shopping to get them a special toy to take with them, and make sure I have plenty of time to give them cuddles and go through with what will happen.


Need to go, little miss needs me...



Jo

Bronze???? My first time getting a place in DIO

(o)(o) prize

bbl

Mandy - It was for his Baptism a couple of weeks ago. It took me a while to get the photos onto the computer. RE: your ebay chair - can you offer a second chance offer to your second highest bidder? You've given the other guy enough rope to hang himself

Kylie - Ah, mother guilt, it's always with us. Remind yourself you are dealing with it NOW and you did the best you knew at the time. Stay in the moment and don't get too caught up in what has happened. Just do the best you can today.

Jess - Did you get your sleep in? I'm looking forward to tomorrow so I can have some help to get this house organised. It's pretty clean but little things are beginning to irk me like the cutlery drawer and dust in the garage. I get like that every now and again

lamum - That;s great re: sitting up! Owen isn't anywhere close to doing that. Lazy lump that he is, lol.

Nat - If Owen is tired he howls when strangers talk to him - just finds it too overhwelming. If he's well slept he is all smiles

Okay, I better go and do something. I really want to straighten my hair today so should use this quiet time to get it done.

Bugga just lost my entire post ok in short: -

Kristy; yeah i saw the pics on FB and it clicked thats what the suit was for... i thought they had to wear those big gowns so its pretty cool that you can get proper little suits for boys nowadays.. very cute.

Yup got rid of highchair, i was actually bathing the kids abotu 6.15 last night and heard someone knock on the door but, well i had the kids in the bath so what could i do so i just ignored it - thought it'd be another delivery anyway, we are getting builders stuff delivered daily for the new house ATM. Anyway 5 minutes later DH walks in and comes in the bathroom and says gosh he was old it must be for when hsi grang kids come over, so i looked at him and said WHAT?! anyway DH had just got home and this guy was jsut walking back up the drive when he spotted DH or DH spotted him or whatever and DH gave him the chair for the cash - so all good in the end, lucky DH came home when he did or it would have been a wasted trip for her. Hope i never have to deal with him again, he was a right royal pain in the tushy!

Mums group egg hunt was such fun.. Miles loved it, he was still searching after all the kids were bored and sat down to eat theirs. The girls were all squealing at the ants and spiders and stuff on the floor while looking for the eggs and Miles was just going buts its only a spider i love little boys theyre so cute he even gave mummy an egg
Gonna do another hunt in the back yard on Sunday for him with his real eggs that my parents and Dh and i got him. he loved it.

Ok thats all, i refuse to re-type more cos i lost all the last lot

Oh just a question about TV and toddlers - Ok so im wondering if Miles is watching too much TV. In the 70's when i was a kid i was never really allowed to watch it at all, i was always sent outdoors to play, and it was always so bloody cold over there, not to mention at least 3 months a year thered be snow/frost on the ground - and i really did have to trudge 3 miles through the snow to get to school .. only to get there and find out the school heater had broken and we were all sent home
But anyway it wasnt till i was a little older that i was allowed to watch an hour or so every couple days but then we only had 4 channels and no VHS's ... ok showing my age!
So Miles was on a total TV ban untill he was abotu 18 months old cos i just dont really think its good for kids but then i was pregneant and it was all too much like hard work to entertain him so i started to let him watch a little.
So now he watches an hour between 7.30 - 8.30am every morning while i feed Greta and get her ready for her nap and have a shower myself and DH goes off to work. The it goes off at 8.30am as we usually have some activity on outdoors like swimmng, playgroups etc... then it stays off till 3pm when Playshool is on and it stays on for an other hour till 4pm when he comes and helps me with dinner. Then after his bath we let him watch 1 show before bed while we are feeding and putting Greta to bed, sometimes he askes for timmytime which is liel 3 minutes long, and sometimes he asks for Wiggles which is like 15 minutes long..
So that means he either has 2hours and 3 mins of TV a day or 2 hours and 15 minutes a day
Now it didnt seem like too much but now ive written it down it sounds like WAY TOO MUCH!
So i just wanted to know how much TV does your 2.5yr old watch a day?? I am carefull to make sure Greta doesnt bother with it, cos i rememebr the health nurse going on and on abotu it being bad and all that and well i just dont want a baby watching it - although of course its only kiddy TV i never have it on during the day..... but i willprobablylet Greta start to watch it around 18 months too and try to keep her away from Miles'watch it till then.. but it just seems that we have gone from a total TV ban to 2hours a day in 1yr year and seemd a bit wrong considering i pretty much watched none at Miles' age .. i was out digging snow
Thanks for reading if you got this far!

Ok best go, ihear a little girl chatting in her cot so i guess she's awake - need to do the food shop

MnM, for how long the kids get here it depends who's on duty. If it's me, they're allowed 30-45mins but if DH is here he'll leave the tv on much longer. If they're really tired I'll also put a movie on in the middle of the day - like now - because then they'll relax enough to go through without a sleep & without losing it later in the day, then will go to bed without any trouble tonight. Having said that, I remember doing the math like you last year and being blown away, it really does add up quickly!

Kylie, , please don't be too hard on yourself. I always think of hindsight as looking at something with 20-20 vision. It's easy to look back and think you should've picked up on something or done a thing differently - I've had those moments many times when I think about N and his neck & head issues - but at the time we each do the best that we can with what we know. It's only with the knowledge that we've since learnt that we can now recognise it. Just remember, you're helping E now and he's doing better for the love & care you give him every day. I think you're doing amazingly well, so please don't let that mother guilt get to you... easier said than done, I know

Thanks for the comments about stranger danger. N used to be smiley but just started this recently, oh well, just means more snuggles for me. Speaking of which, he's snuggled up on my lap now sucking my wrist so I better scoot.
Nat xx

Oh wow, 40 mins is way shorter than my 2 hours need to really cut back.... thanks Nat.

Koiles: i watched a video back of Miles at just over 6 months and i could cleary see him pushing his food away but at the time i kept spooning more in, i hate watching it now, i keep thinking poor luv was clearly saying no im not ready i hate solids if id have realied id have left him till 7 months but you do the best you can and its only with hindsight that we realise...we live and learn.
I love watching Gretas first solids clips though she loves her food

Miles is playing DH's piano and singing Twinkle twinkle little star to some God awfull tune - im pmsl at him here !

We used to be around the 2hr mark too. Some days it's still tempting to put it on that long because it's the only way I get things done. Well, sometimes anyway, the boys have been all over me since 5.30am today without even a couple minutes break, tv did nada today . Looking forward to DH coming home for the long weekend so I can go sit alone with my thoughts for a minute or two!

hugs Kylie - hindsight can be good and it can have it bad points too. Please don't feel bad about it all. We have worked out reflux was the cause of Rileys issues during her last week in the SCN but not even the staff picked up on it. All her observations show it was reflux but because she wasnt vomiting no one thought it could be reflux. I still think that has a lot to do with the oral aversions she has now.

Strangers - Riley loves anyone who cares to talk to her. Yesterday she was off with the teachers having a wonderful time smiling away. Where as Ethan at the same age wasn't so smiley. The other kids i cant remember

Got to fly, a million things to do. So i hope you all have a wonderful first Easter with these little people!

My princess just had her 6 month needles and didnt even bat an eye lid, such a sweetie... i was worried she'd be a screamer but nope didnt bother her.. Miles never used to cry either.

Nat E is the same as Kristy said about Owen...when he's tired or hungry he'll get too overstimulated if someone he doesn't know tries to interact with him, but when he's happy then he's a right little show off...to the point of shouting from his pram to get strangers' attention at the shops, then when they look at him he gives a huge grin. Total attention seeking show off .

Jo racvia good luck with the girls' operations...wow two in the one day, I guess it means you only have to go through it once though rather than two separate occasions! I hope Hannah's tooth comes through soon so the stinky nappies go away.

Kristy he looks divine! LOVE love love the little suit. My sister has just asked E to be her page boy at her wedding late next year...can't wait to go shopping for a little tux for him...a 2yo in a tux . Mother guilt...that's exactly the word I was looking for last night. Knowing what I know now it was just such a slap in the face to see those videos. I'm much better today, had a sook last night and then forgave myself. Christ I'd never even heard of silent reflux so how was I to know what to look for...am being kinder to myself today. Hehe and E is no where near sitting up either...he can't even support any weight on his arms during tummy time he won't be on the move for quite a while yet!

Mandy glad to hear he finally picked up the high chair. Aww so cute you got an egg from Miles...even if he had already stuffed himself and it was a 'left over' hehe, gorgeous. Meh, just my opinion but there's a lot worse things he could be doing than watching telly...if he's watching stuff like Sesame St, Playschool etc, he's learning...it's not like he's just watching loads of cartoons that are teaching him nothing. Maybe cut back a bit time wise, but if it's educational things he's watching I don't think it's a huge problem because you do heaps of activities with him during the week. Go Greta with her needles, I can't believe she didn't cry, little trooper .

Chantal yeah I was too hard on myself last night, it just kind of hit me because I wasn’t expecting it. He is doing really well now, he’s a totally different baby now he’s on Losec, I’ve weaned him back down to only 5mg a day with solids, he’s having day naps in his cot on his own now, for the most part he is a happy smiley boy...things are definitely looking up. Good luck with getting Kydin’s first roll on camera...I was lucky to get E’s, total fluke!

Iammum post post post. We you.

Karen I don’t feel quite so bad now reading that even SCN nurses have trouble picking silent reflux up! Your easter bonnets were just lovely, the kids looked fantastic in them! Not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet but love the sig, the photos are just gorgeous, love a good black and white pic.

AFM I think I mentioned previously that I was fighting a nappy rash with E. It’s been going on for a month now and slowly getting worse. It started off as a small rash after I’d been out all day and had him in disposables...normally he’s in cloth at home and sposies when we go out, because it’s just easier. Anyway because I don’t have any cloth liners and the nappy rash creams wreck the cloth nappies, I put him in disposables whenever I put cream on him. So fast forward a month of 70/30 sposie usage and his rash is just out of control. It’s red/pink from under his belly button all over and on his legs wherever the nappy sits. Yesterday I noticed he had blisters that had popped, so I took him to the GP today.

Turns out his ‘rash’ is actually a chemical burn from the disposable nappies . GP says he obviously has sensitive skin and it just can’t handle the nasties that are in disposables. We haven’t really noticed the sensitivity before because he’s never really been exposed to anything artificial – I use cloth nappies, organic products for him, natural soap nuts as washing detergent, etc. Luckily I have used those products or goodness knows what his skin would look like! He’s given me a couple of creams to use to treat the burn so fingers crossed they work quickly. In the meantime I need to buy some cloth liners for my nappies so that I can use creams with the cloth and get him back in those.

I feel better that at least now I know what is causing the rash and I know to be careful trying new products on him in future. I am slightly peeved with myself that I thought I was doing the right thing putting him in disposables so the cream could clear it up, but it turns out I just made a burn the size of a 50c piece spread to his entire nether regions. Oh well, I won’t beat myself up over it, we know now.

Hi Girls,

Nat - With the girls Scarlett is always smiling at who ever looks at her in the pram. Piper doesn't necessarily cry but is definately more serious when checking people out.

Mandy- Loch has watched TV since he was a baby. At times it has got a little out of control with how much, but generally now it is very limited less than an hour, due to not having the time. If you can bring it down a bit that would be great, but at the same time you are only allowing him to watch age appropriate and educational content - so I think that is a good thing. I can't say the girls haven't seen tv cause they have, but as they get older I do hope to limit it. It is hard as their brother is 5 1/2 yrs older!!!! Also, I can't believe Greta didn't cry for her needles. Hope the girls are like that when I take them.

Kylie - Don't give yourself too hard a time, you are right you are a first time mum and how where you to know. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - but it can also feed mother guilt. to you cause you are doing an amazing job. In regards to Scarletts weight you are right is saying she was the smaller baby. I can't believe it really. When I look back at the photos I can't believe how skinny she was.

Chantal - I really hope you don't have mastitis, but if you don't hope it clears up really quickly.

AFM - Loch had a great birthday, and was really happy with his ipod touch - he was shocked to say the least, as we had told him he needed to save up for it himself. I still can't believe my boy just turned 6. Loch had his easter hat parade today, which was great.

Tomorrow we are off for a picnic in the park with my family. Hopefully the weather will be as good as today and we can have a great time.

I am also taking myself off to the movies on Saturday which will be lovely to have a little me time. I also need to take Loch to get his soccer shorts ready for the following saturdays 1st game of the season.

Sitting - Piper is probably not to far off sitting by herself. Tries to sit up in the bouncer, carseat and likes sitting on the lounge with us. Scarlett not showing as much interest. Both girls have been rolling since about 5 months, but then stopped in the last week or so. But as of the last few days rolling is all Piper wants to do. Today it was really hard to get her dressed as she was trying to roll on the change table - so cute, but annoying. She is also trying to move forward when she gets on her tummy, but all that happens is she goes backwards and gets so frustrated.

Anway should go now, time to head for bed.

Hi girls,

Just a flying visit. We are heading to the river over the weekend so have been packing baking packing baking!!

Our rooms are done. Carpet got laid yesterday. When I get back I will atke some pics and post them. They look beautiful!!!!!

Ok going to lay down and put my poor overworked feet up!!

Thanks ladies for all the comments about stranger danger. He does it when he has fed & slept, but Chantal, that sounds like N! He will smile when people first look at him but if they maintain eye contact, come close or worse still (like the lady did who set him off the other day), touch him or try to hold him while I'm there, he can't cope. I end up having the "it's not that he doesn't like you" conversation because most people he cries at ask if he's tired or hungry and I find myself always saying neither.

Now if you'll indulge me in a little sook N bit me during one of the overnight feeds and it's the worst he's bitten down before. I just did another feed and it is so painful. I'd mentioned at the BF Clinic that he'd been doing this & pinching and she couldn't suggest what I do to make him stop that I wasn't trying already, and I actually think this is the cause of all my bf problems lately. How am I going to make it to a year if I can't get him to stop biting down?

Alright, off for a shower to try to relieve some of the pain.
Nat xx

Hey girlies!!

Sitting - Phoebe isnt sitting for long periods, but she can do it for a bit. Its sooo cute. She looks too little to be doing it She is constantly sitting forward in her swing now too.

Moving - Phoebe is getting aaaaall over the place now! She just scoots along on her tummy and sometimes bunny hops hehee Looks really funny. I keep finding her under the table way away from her little mat. And she leaves the biggest drool pools too

TV Watching - hmmm i am very naughty I have the tv on all day on ABC kids. Amy certainly doesnt watch it all day. Only glances at it as she is playing, but i just like the background noise. Phoebes swing is positioned so she cant see the tv, but she likes to have a lookie at it when she is on the floor.

Poo - OMG Phoebes poos have gotten FERAL over the last couple of days and are getting very frequent again!! I am washing lots of nappies at the moment hehe But she is definitely teething, so i have put it down to that

Teething/biting - yep, as i said, Phoebe is teething good and proper now. The teeth that popped up and went back down at 3ish months were nothing compared to this! Poor thing having to teethe twice with the same teeth She cries out in pain and is almost inconsolable on occasion. And i can feel them and see them soooo close to the surface. And OMG the biting! ARGH! Nat, i am with you! I have grazed and bruised nipples (they are a funny purple colour at the bottom at the moment ) She will be happily feeding away and then will clamp down and pull back *cringe* but she usually only does it when she is finishing up, so i just take her off. Has taken me till last night to work that out though, and have had a week of it till then. Wish i worked it out sooner

Just reading and catching up - sorry for lack of personals! FIL is heading over, so should probly get myself and Amy dressed hehehe Phoebe is lucky - wish i could wear a pretty onesie and be done with it

Happy Easter to everybody! Hope you all have a great one. And if you are out on the roads, keep safe xoxox

Hey girls, I had to come on cause im so excited...... Ive broken the 80kg mark Im now down to 79kg WOOOOOOOOO FRIGGEN AWESOME!!!!! Now to break the 75kg mark hehehe

OOoooh that is AWESOME! Well done honey!! I am in the process of getting a personal trainer with a friend of mine. Cause we are doing it together it only costs us $35 for an hour session. SOooo cant wait to start. I need such a kick in the bum!!!!

Hi Girls Happy Easter!

TV watching Mandy: My girls watch a lot of TV. I used to worry about it but am over that now, lol. It's educational programs and it's amazing how much they pick up from them - Sophie just knows things and when I ask her how she knew it it is usually "oh, I saw it on Playschool". She has great general knowledge and a pretty good vocab too. I do, however, turn it off and make sure they have outside play morning and afternoon for about an hour each as well as quiet playtime inside with the TV off for about an hour each day. It's on the rest of the time. However, we also do lots of activities such as swimming, gymnastics, athletics, playgroup, visiting family and friends, playdates so it's all in balance. If DH is home with them it's on ALL THE TIME

lammum - Congrats! You'll be down to 75 in no time.

Nat, Jayne -Ditto to what you said re: biting when feeding. Owen is doing it a lot I have no tips either - I take him off as it is usually when he is near the end, thank goodness.

Naomi - Looking forward to your pics! I love reno pics - am queen of the lifestyle channel, lol Have fun this weekend.

Kylie - Poor Evan's bum! I don't even think about what's in disposable nappies even though I am a stickler for chemical free cleaning in the home. You like using soap nuts? I tried them once and sadly they have sat in my cupboard ever since. It's not that I didn't like them, I just didn't keep using them. Thanks for your comments re: my spunky monkey in his suit

We have a busy few days coming up and I'm happy about it! Firstly, groceries child-free tomorrow morning (thanks Mum!), meet with MIL for lunch then my step sister's 21st tomorrow night. Sunday - Mum's place then busy baking for Sophie's 7th birthday on Monday. Monday - ice skating and lunch with DD1's two friends and family party/cake Monday night. My birthday Tuesday (relax, do as little as possible ) then my sister is taking me to see Wicked on Wednesday. It's such a nice change from being home and racing around for the kid's activities. PLus DH has started holidays for 2 weeks

Thanks for your replies re TV watching guys.. good to know some are as bad as me i must say though that on a weekend the TV is never ever on cos DH cant abide TV so its off all weekend - and Miles never asks for it on.
Well ive had a little think and Koiles you are right, in the whole scheme of things, does it really matter if its on 2 hours a day - Miles isnt gonna wake up one day and go oh i had such a bad childhood because I watched 2 hours of TV a day instead of 1 but having said that just for my own peice of mind i think i'll cut it back - gonna go for 30 minutes in a morning instead of his 1 hour and 30 mins in the afternoon instead of 1 hour - that'll make me feel better
Kristy yeah Miles has heaps of activities too so i think it sort of balances it out too, i mean its only aftnoons that we are home and for an hour or so each morning then the other days we have stuff on so are out..
Also trying to work out soem quiet time as he has suddenly stopped his day sleeps now. He gets up at 7am and goes to bed at 6.30pm so almost 10 hours of him being non-stop full on crazy toddler is a little much so trying to work out the best place to have an hours quiet time. Cant do it in his room as its next to Greta's room and she is usaully sleeping so im thinking of taking a stack of books into mummy and daddy's bed and letting him lie in our bed and read for an hour - which he loves to do, he gets all excited when he gets to sit in Mummy and daddy's bed
Anyway thanks so much for sharing

Hope everyone is having a lovely Easter so far and hope the Easter bunny visits you all

We had a relaxing day at home, chilling out - then tomorrow we are heading to the Koala park at the end of our street, think we might walk up there if its nice day like today, its only 15 mins walk.

Then Sunday we are heading over to Bondi and Monday we have free tickets to the Easter show thanks to my lovely mums group friend who works for them

Everyone else heading up the Easter show?

Greta seems a little sick with her needles bless her, very clingy and weepy poor love, wants to be held and cuddled... which isnt like her - then i pulled her band aid off her leg and OMG she screamed the house down so im thinking the site of the needle is sore, its quite red and a little swollen... she slept same as ever though so it hasnt effected that
See how she is tomorrow - not that i want her to feel sick but the cuddles are lovely as she seems to want mummy not daddy.. although she was giggling her head off at her brother earlier too

Ok best get on for now

Mandy, I feel like the grinch who stole tv . I agree about not worrying too much, I only cut it back to improve sleeping otherwise I'd allow it more too. My munchkins just come to life around 5pm if I have it on too long, I honestly wish I could use it more and maybe it wouldn't feel so chaotic all the time. Poor Greta , N flared up after his this week too, our poor bubbies being inflicted with this pain. Enjoy the Easter show!

Freyja, good point about what they pick up. Mine love to watch Diego or Dora and I often get words in Spanish from them that they've remembered from the show. Oh, Wicked, you lucky mama! Have a fantastic time. Yay to DH being home for 2 weeks.

Jayne, mine are a funny purple too and I'd wondered about that, thinking it might be bruising? It's hurt for every feed today, but all the way through instead of just at the end. I hope Phoebe's teeth come through quickly, although having said that I hope they take a while because N's teeth are little razors.

Iammum, congrats! What a great number to break past, you'll be at 75kg in no time I'm sure.

AFM, feeding is still so sore, I wish he didn't have teeth yet and then maybe it wouldn't have hurt as much. Moreso, I hope he's not biting because the top pair are coming through, four teeth could spell the end of BF'ing for me to save myself from the pain. In happy news though, N had his first banana for lunch today and devoured it. He's a machine and constantly trying to swipe food from my hands. He's going to be a strong, healthy boy if this appetite sticks. For all the time it saves now for making (read "buying Rafferty's Garden") purees and then moving him through mashed to finger food later, it's so nice to have a bub that wants real food now instead of those purees he thinks are just for blowing colourful raspberries with .

Alright, off to bed. Hope everyone is having a lovely Easter weekend!
Nat xx

Hi girls

Just wanted to pop in and wish you all a very Happy Easter!! Enjoy your day!!
And

A Very Happy First Easter To Our Beautiful Bubs

Will pop back tomorrow for a catch up
Jo

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL AND YOUR FAMILIES. AND A SPECIAL HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OUR BUBBA'S CELEBRATING THEIR VERY FIRST EASTER.

OMG before you know it we will be at their first birthdays. So not ready for any of that.

Hannah has already tried to steal one of her sisters easter egg to eat. She was quiet funny licking the wrapping paper. Olivia didn't look to impressed.

Have to keep moving. Have a busy day today...



Jo

HAPPY EASTER MUMS AND BUBS

not a very happy easter for me though i must say.

i just got a call from my mum. my 24 year old brother was in a car accident last night. he is in hospital with suspected neck injuries, but as the system crashed at st george hospital last night they cant do an MRI until they get approval from some head guy. other than that he is fine, and lucky to be alive. he did not injure the 2 passengers, or hurt any other people.

he was driving an unregistered car while drunk, and smashed into someones garage and totalled his car.

am i heartless by saying that it ****ing serves him right? i am so ****ing angry that he would do something so stupid. drink driving is one of those things that i see as unforgivable. what if he had injured someone else? i dont give a sh*t about the 2 d***head passengers that he was with, they would have known he was drunk, but what about innocent bystanders? i feel so terrible saying this, but i wish he had been injured worse.

there are so many previous issues with this brother (drugs, stealing from me) and i feel at the moment like i dont EVER want to speak to him again.

it has been a good weekend for us otherwise, i have had naps every day so far emilys night waking seems to be settling down again. she had 2 nights of 1am and 5am wakes, then a 2:30am wake and just woke a bit early this morning at 6:30 (which is technically 5:30 cos of stupid daylight saving time)

question for those who DONT feed their babies to sleep for the last feed (yes, i do and i know its one of the things you should "never" do, but didnt care cos it worked for us) cos it isnt working anymore, and we have to try a few different other things to get her into a new routine. we tried eliminating her nap before her last feed, but it is really difficult keeping her awake for 2.5-3 hours. tonight we are going to try just having 2 hours to keep her up before her last feed.

but what i would like to know is if you dont feed your baby to sleep for the last feed, what do you do with them? how long do they stay up? do you have to not do certain things (ie, playing with certain toys etc) so as to not overstimulate them?

thanks! and sorry for major venting post. i really hope i didnt offend anyone.

Happy chocolate all!

Jess - We do a breastfeed, then solids, then bath, then massage, then dressed, then feed, then bed.

That last feed for us is just a calming feed so that his little eyes are droopy. I'll give him a little wiggle if he keeps going to sleep. Then I put him in bed with droopy eyes tuck him in and leave.

He goes to bed around 6pm-7pm and most nights sleeps til 2am has a feed and then another feed at 5am and then wakes at 7am....so our routine is by no means perfect as he still wakes through the night, however, I am pretty happy with it.

HTH

Jess: i wouldnt remove the last nap, cos then she'll be overtied and an over tired baby is harder to get to sleep'. Greta wakes from her last nap at 5pm and her bed time is 6.30pm - other than that i would say just to have a sequence of events so she knows what comes next and just keep doing it night after noght and after a few nights she'll get it.
Grtea has bath, milk then bed, always awake, pop her dummy in and pull her mobile and leave her and she just drifts off in seconds.
So she's up 1.5 hours, At 6pm we do bath and then milk at 6.15 and then into her cot at 6.30pm.
So sorry about your brother, hope hes ok.

Jo: yeah Greta has had her eye on Miles' eggs, think cos they are glittery and she likes glittery things - Miles isnt sharing though

Hope everyone is having a good easter and the Easter bunny/bilby has been kind to you all

"waves:

Quickie from me - Happy Easter everyone!

Jess sorry to hear about your brother. I understand where you're coming from that would be frustraing. I agree with Mandy, I don't really think it's so much 'what' you do within reason, but it's more repetition, doing the same thing consistently night after night so they learn that this is what happens before I have my big sleep. Some nights we only get half way through our 'routine' before E is getting sleepy, because he knows what's coming. It only took us a few unsettled nights for E to finally click and then he was sleeping 8hrs straight from 8 wks old and 11hrs from 12wks - heaven. This is what works for us: Bath, Massage, Grobag, Bottle, after his bottle he's still awake so we just sit and cuddle and have a quiet (as unstimulating as possible!) chat, after about 10-15mins the eyes will start to get droopy so I'll put him in his cot and leave the room. Some nights he'll go straight to sleep, others he will usually lie there and babble for a few minutes then go off to sleep. On nights when he's really tired he'll fall asleep straight after or during his bottle...I don't wake him up I just put him in his cot, doesn't make a difference to his sleep now.

I find E sleeps longer if he has a nap close to bed time. If he's left to get too tired he's way harder to settle, but if you think Emily is a bit different then you could play around with a few things to see what works - but in our case we needed to do the same thing a few nights in a row to see the benefit. Also, how close are her last two feeds before bed? I *try* to make it so E's last 2 feeds are only a couple of hours apart, but because I'm bottle feeding it's a bit harder and I don't like giving him top-ups. He'll usually sleep an hour or two longer if the last 2 feeds are close together. I'm going to start moving his afternoon solids to in between his last 2 bottles to see if that makes a difference.

And... we all went a whole day without posting yesteday!!

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE. HOPE ALL THE BABIES HAD A GREAT FIRST EASTER.

Jess - Sorry to hear about your brother, hope he is Ok. As for you our bedtime routine it is bottle, solids, bath then finish bottle. We then have a little cuddle and into bed. Some nights they are in with eyes open, others they have started to fall asleep on the last bit of bottle. The girls are usually in bed by 7.30pm and don't usually wake until about 6 - 6.30am.

Anyway, must go start bedtime routine with girls. Loch it at his nan & pops for a sleep over. The house is so quiet!!!!

Hey girls,

I will wish you all a happy easter even though mine sucks!

Our bedtime routine is..... after afternoon nap at around 330 -4pm we have a bottle at around 5pm then dinner/solids at 6pm bath 630pm then book and quiet time while mummy watches Home and Away then he usually has a little roll on the floor and has another bottle at 8pm talks and plays a little after bottle then either falls asleep in my arms or I put him in his cot half asleep and he rolls on his side and nods off. I dont see the harm in rocking and patting him to sleep, when he sometime goes to sleep on his own in bed. I just like cuddles! hehe

well as I said Ive had a pretty meh day today. Little big boy has been a right little sh*t lately and Im at the end of my teather, DP gets really angry and fustrated at him and he sees him all of 3 hours everyday I have to spend 24/7 with him. Its not the chocolate either, his like this everyday. yesterday at the shop he whinged at me the whole time repeating " I want my Buzz back!" (he doesnt have a Buzz! he just seen one at the shops and wanted it) Buzz being Buzzlighyear from Toy Story. This morning everytime this ad came on with a GX Skate Board he came running to me " Mum I want a GX Skate Board!" his always I want I want I want!!! DP and I cant even have a cuddle in bed because he jumps on the bed, jumps on us, or pushes his way inbetween us! Lately he is purposley doing things to hurt poor Little Man, he pinched him, he snatches things off him, he yells really loud and makes him cry! AHHHHHHH I have no idea what to do with him anymore he never listens, Ive tried the talking calmly but firmly, Ive tried the naughty mat, ive tried the going for time out, Heck ive even tried the wooden spoon! nothing works on him he is too strong! He NEVER gives up! he will whinge and cry for 5 hours straight if I stand my ground that long he is literally impossible, I seriously wish there was boarding school for kinders. Poor little man can never nap more than 30mins because big brother always makes to much noise and wakes him up!

Oh and im sick of reading how great everyones weekends are. Ive done sweat F all, all weekend because yet again DP has worked EVERY DAY! Mum doesnt even want to see us today because shes to tired. My head has been spinning all day, the room was literally spinny this morning, i felt like i was in a washing machine on spin cycle lucky i dont get motion sickness or i would of hurled!

anyway thats my b**ch....

sorry for the downer

Downer number 2 reporting for duty.

I seriously understand why some people shake their babies. I have had the most awful day with E today, I am just so so so so so glad that DH and Mum are both here. I've ended up in complete hysterics a couple of times and luckily one of them were there to take over before I did something I'd regret. He has fought sleep at every single nap time today. His eyes are hanging out of his head but he is just refusing to sleep. He's had 15mins all day. All of the techniques that have been working great all week are just falling in a heap, he's not responding to any of them. I've tried, DH has tried, Mum has tried...Mum got him to sleep for 15mins by putting him in the pram, tipping it on an angle and rocking it back and forth for an hour...even that's not working now.

I am so over this. I honestly hate him today. He is like a bad nightmare you can't wake up from.

Other than hating my child, I've done some gardening today, got a bit sunburt. My Easter present from DH? A choccie egg that he presented to me all smashed up because he shoved it in his bag and it got broken on his train ride home on Thursday. Sums up my day really.

Kylie sorry but I have to at the smashed easter egg! Least you got one, DP didnt get me anything.

But I really do sympothise with you.... bub is ok its his big brother I feel like smashing his head in! sorry to be so abrupt but thats how I feel his driving me insane with anger! few mins ago he whacked bub with a rackette! grrrrrrrrr

He's finally in bed, thank you lord for small mercies. He didn't sleep through last night so I've got my fingers crossed he does tonight. No idea what's wrong with him, but there's always something not quite right *sigh* I've just given up trying to guess what that might be.

My PND group sessions with the psychologist start on Friday, can't come quick enough really, he's really getting to me lately and I need coping strategies...if my mum wasn't here he'd spend all day long screaming in his cot while I took a breather . Everytime he cries it affects me like nails down a blackboard do, I just can't stand it.

Thought I should probably even up my negativity by sharing some of the good things that have happened over the last few days:
* E's started pushing up with his arms when he's on his tummy. It's the first time he's bore weight on them at all so I was really pleased, obviously means his shoulder has now fully healed and he can get back on track developmentally.
* He's also started to say his first words...well...is Boo a word technically? I always say Ahhh Boo to him and it cracks him up everytime. He's now started studying my mouth when I talk and when I say boo he purses his lips and tries to say the word. It's funny to watch he concentrates so hard and it ends up coming out b b b b boooooooooo hehe with the oooo all bubbly...the phrase 'say it don't spray it' springs to mind.
* Also his burn is healing really really really really well with the cream the GP prescribed. It's looking great - the burnt skin all kind of peeled away and the new skin under it is still quite fresh looking, but it's looking better everytime I do a nappy change.

Iammum hehe when I was in a better mood I did laugh at the egg too...he was so sheepish giving it to me and at first I thought he'd gotten hungry during the night and had eaten half of it and was then giving it to me . Although I also noticed an egg he'd bought for himself managed to survive the same trip home .

Flat and tired...need an early night.

Awww, i was just saying to DH that cos its the first year Miles has had an easter egg in the excitement to get one for him and do the egg hunt we forgot to get each other an egg - the next thing i know DH has his car keys and is heading out the door.. assumed he'd gone to get milk for Miles for his cereal tomorrow... 1 hour later DH comes through the door and says he has been to 6 servo's and has finally managed to get me an Easter Egg how adorable - 6 he went to thats insane! It was an humpty dumpty egg so i went oh thats so sweet Miles will love it ill save it for him for tomorrow - so DH goes "so ive been to 6 bloody servos and you're not even gonna eat the egg" Miles will love it though - he ate all his little eggs he had today - refused to eat the bunny though, not sure if he was scared of it or if he thought it was real or something

Koiles sorry you had a rough day... just remember that tomorrow is another day and everything might very well fall into place so dont give up on the stuff you have been putting into place - theyre babies they are fickle creatures! no rhyme or reason to them... you think you have cracked it then they go through a growth spurt or something and we have alter our whole routine just when we've got it working.
Think it was Friday after Greta's needles that she was not a happy camper, refused to sleep in her cot and wanted to be held all day and sobbed most of the day - so she had her first nap with DH in our bed, then she had a 3 hour nap with me in our bed later on and then her afternoon nap was with DH again in our bed, she just didnt want to let go of us - but today she is back to sleeping beautifully in her cot.
at the egg... you'd have to break it up to eat it anyway, so sweet of him to get you one though

Lammum: so sorry you had a crappy day i hope you get some time with DP soon and your little man settles down for you.

AFM: Well Greta has been eating like crazy., so not into her milk so i'll check its ok on Tuesday with the healthnurse at her 6 month check..but she is on 2 meals a day now. I cant eat without her wanting some food, she sits there with her mouth open so i have to take her a banana or an avocado or something out with us so she can at least have something ot nibble on
So she is on 2 meals a day. has 2 cubes of fruit and 2 tbl spoons of yoghurt for brekkie then has 3 cubes of veggies for dinner and 1 cube of fruit for dessert.
Im gonna have to increase her to 3 meals a day!
oh and she is sitting for a few seconds, abotu 10 before she falls over so almost there.

Ok best go keep my lovely hubby company

Did anyone watch wide world of sports yesterday? Cam (and Josh) were on it . it was during the wife carrying/husband dragging segment. Cam was in the crowd, he was wearing his cowboy hat and gave the camera a thumbs up. We missed it, but we had people call us to tell us. I can't fiind the footage anywhere unfortunately, not on the WWOS website or you tube. I have emailed them though, so hopefully they get back to me once work goes back.

Jess - So sorry to hear about your brother. Your feelings are very understandable.

Kylie - Sorry you had such a bad day. All you can do is keep trying and hope it all comes together at some point. I think it will. Friday will be good for you

lammum - my second born is my difficult child atm too *sigh* She used to be my golden child once upon a time. How they change.

I just wanted to share that this time 7 years ago I was about 45 minutes away from holding my first baby girl. How time flies! We're off to take her iceskating with two of her friends to celebrate the big girl's big day

ETA - Gee, I haven't been iceskating since I was a teen. Hope I don't pull a hammie.

Hello Everyone!!!

sorry I have been super super busy lately.. I have been working 3-4 days a week for the past few weeks as I am implementing a new software package for 5 companies.. (all one owner).. it's exhausting me but it's money asnd it's GOOOOD money!!

Well Ollie is sitting up now by himself and is trying to get the movements for crawling which is a little daunting!! Not looking forward to putting him down on the mat and then off he goes!! My baby is growing up too quick!! He has started saying Mum but only when he is upset he cries mum mum mum... He's started clapping in his own way too! he holds his hands together and moves them up and down.. so cute!

We have been staying at mums since Thursday so I have had 4 uninterrupted nights sleeps as Ollie has sleepovers in Nan Nan's room when we stay here.. She loves it..

Well best to get back to my work - am working from home today!!

Kylie

OMG its almost not worth me having a lie in, i mean i really appreciate that i get to have a lie in rather than get up at 6.30am every day but i get up to absolute carnage! The hosue looks like a bomb has dropped, Greta or Miles or both are usually in tears and DH is a heap and struggling to cope So it then takes me an hour or 2 to change their nappies, get them fed and dressed (DH usually gives Miles some rice crackers for brekkie so the poor kid is usually startving and hes usually still in his night time nappy) feed Greta, the poor kid was so hungry this morning, he can never remember when he last fad her, how much she had and when she had a sleep - i mean she is in a routine its not that hard to look at the clock adn go oh so now its time for this or that - but no he jsut forgets about it and she is either tired or starving hungry as in this morning and im woken up to her screaming and i get up and DH goes, oh ive no idea whats wrong with her - when did you last feed her, ive no idea, when did she last sleep, ive no idea then he ends up getting up and going off to sleep for a couple hours himself cos the 2 hours he's spent trashing the hosue - and Miles is a neat freak so its not Miles, has exhausted him. I sort fo love my lie in day cos its a chance to catch up for the next week but i also know ill be knackered within an hour cos of all the mess i have to sort out - then spend the rest of the day trying to get Greta back into her routine and its way better to let DH go get some more sleep cos he is jsut ferral to deal with if not.. we hardly ever argue the only time we do is on the day i get my lie in... so its easier to just let him go straight to bed when i get up - well im putting off the mess i guess i should go start the huge clean Ive changed Miles'nappy and fed him ive fed and put Greta down for her nap, poor luv was so hungry she was in a total pickle with herself
Hopefully DH gets up in a slightly better mood than he went to bed in then it wont be a wasted day like it usually is when he looks after the kids so i can lie in... did want to go to the Easter show today... asked DH this morning and goes into some dramatic tone of voice and goes oh im so exhausted with these kids i just feel ill what has exuasted him i dont know cos he hasnt fed or dressed or even changed their nappies all he has done is trashed the house all by himself

Clarinda: nope sorry, never even heard of that show.. hope you track down the clip.

Kylie; Glad youre well if a little tired from all the working.

Ok best get on with it, hope we get to the Easter show, Greta appears to be sleeping now and Miles has already had a time out on his bed, no doubt cos he was on a major sugar hight judging by all the easter egg wrappers thrown all over the floor this morning from one of his easter eggs

Ooops almost forgot:

Weigh in day 800g down this week

Mandy - Have you tried writing him a schedule?? put one up on the fridge so he sees it everyday then he'll know exactly what is happening at that time of the day! His a business man isnt he, so he should know how to abide by a schedule

Actually thats a pretty good idea Lammum, whenever i need to DH to go to an appointment with me he goes about the fact it needs to be in his diary and if its not he cant be expected to be there as he cant live without his bloody diary. So if i just write out sleep/eat/awake for each of the kids next to the time every Sunday morning in his Diary then he should get it, worth a try...thanks.

Well back from the Easter sho, got back a little late for the kids, arrived home at 7pm and Greta was well over it btu still smiling, she's such a sweetie. We had a 1 show bag and 3 rides/stalls rule for Miles so kept that side of things to a minimum... he chose the hook the dook thingy and a ride on the merry go round and a ride on a spinning saucers thing that upset him as it went to fast took Miles on a train for the first time and he was so excited, but the poor luv just couldnt understand where Thomas was, he thought by catching a train to the show meant Thomas the tank would arrive to pick us up But he had a blast, well when we found he animals and the shop that sold nothing but cartons of milk - thought he'd died and gone to milk heaven

Ok all from me, im worn out

PS 7 sleeps till we leave our house 5 years we have been here, im so sad to leave but so excited to get into the new place.

For those with a Mirena...do you know where can I find some good reliable info on the pros and cons and general info? What is the failure rate like?

The thought of getting pregnant again provokes an actual physical reaction in me and taking my pill has now turned into a borderline obsession. Need to start looking at alternatives.

I spoke to my obs about my mirena and he had lots of info sheets and booklets, he talked me through the mirena and a couple of other contraptions but I settler on the mirena. I came home and read all the leaflets then booked in a couple weeks later to have it fitted.
Id advise talking to your obs.

Koiles - i have the mirena & also spoke to my ob. I wanted something easy & knew i would struggle to remember to take my pill everyday. I am with you pregnant isnt something i want. I second Mandy & would speak to your ob or gp about your options.

BBL

Kylie, The mirena is as reliable as a vasectomy. Your GP (if you don't have an OB) can help you out there, or a family planning clinic- The family planning clinic is cheap as chips, lol

just a quick hello from me. Visitors up this weekend: the couple left today (keen to have a baby, may I add) and our single friend is here until tomorrow. Dinner at a friend's place tomorrow night.

THEN, the owner of our house has some friends coming to stay (I know, it's madness, but we really are only housesitting and should feel grateful, we barely pay any rent). So we have four adult strangers coming to stay in our home, and we have only one spare room with a double bed, so we've got to set up our little upstairs lounge as a double bedroom using the futon.

After the weekend, I'm keen to get back to some sense of normality and enjoy DH's holiday with him, but it looks as if we wont really get that.. these people are staying for 6 days. I sincerely hope they dont have ANY ideas about touching my baby, as I will be making sure he stays close to me. To say it's going to feel weird having them here is an understatement. I hope they're all BF-friendly because I am NOT censoring myself in our own house!

OK.. bedtime for me. I'm going to think some nice calm, relaxing and positive thoughts because I need to be optimistic about the coming week. Must admit, I've been feeling a bit funny in the last couple of weeks. Bub has been utterly beautiful, but clingy and pretty much hard work, and although DH is really supportive, I've been getting irrationally p*ssed off whenever he doesnt think ahead to how something will affect me (eg, he took our guest for a drive today while DS and I had a nap, but stayed out so long that by the time he got back, DS was due for another nap, and I'd got barely anything done, including breakfast for me). So I'm wanting him to help me more with DS while he is on school holidays (teacher), but then feeling really funny and needing to cuddle DS when he has been away from me with our guests.

Plus, at the back of my mind, I have this anger about the dr not listening to what I had to say, some fear about seeing a doctor this week and making sure that they just get it done.. and a real sadness and guilt that DS is almost 6 mths old and DH and I still havent been able to DTD since his birth. It's really impacting on our closeness and I'm just really angry that I havent been able to get it sorted. Agh!

This was meant to be a short post! Bedtime!

Thanks ladies you're a wealth of knowledge as always. I'll make an appt with my GP . Clarinda soooo good to know it's that reliable - I'd have my tubes tied in a flash if a) they'd do it this young or b) I could afford it! I am 150% certain I do not want anymore children.

Just a quick me post...I got a new job!! It's 3 days a week starting on Monday. I'm so happy. Working will be a piece of cake compared to looking after E...I'm really looking forward to having some time away from him. They initally wanted me to work Friday's but that's when I've got my PND support group on...and from what I can gather if you can't attend these sessions then they pretend you don't exist, there's virtually **** all out there available to you except a private psych which I can't afford or meds. So I managed to negotiate having Friday's off. Very happy! Mum will go home this Friday afternoon but her and dad are coming back for a holiday they'd planned in the first week of May anyway so it's not that far away.

I think a few days at daycare will be such a good thing for E. He needs constant entertaining and stimulation so to have all those other babies to roll around on the floor with and play with will just be awesome for him. Plus one of the girls he knows from mums group goes to the same daycare and they'll be in the same room together, so he'll 'know' someone.

BBL for proper persies, am off to do a mystery shop!

Congrats Koiles

Just waiting for Greta to wake up them we are off to the health clinic for her 6 month check up.

Still got this sickness thing - i just come across all hot and sweaty and feel sooo sooo sick then it goes - wish it'd pass its so yucky.

Oh washing maching beeping, no rest for the wicked

Sorry for the me post but....

ok I am totally tearing my hair out lately.

I feel like there is always something wrong!
Grace is either itchy and screaming, in pain and screaming, tired and screaming.

I am doing wet wraps twice a day and sometimes in the middle of the night.
Her skin is not getting any better. Her poor little feet are covered in red welts and have started peeling and scabbing. She always has new scabs and scratches on her head and I have put her in mittens every now and then but I can't bring myself to put them on her all the time as it can't be good for their development!

Plus because she is itchy it takes me up to an hour to get her to sleep...

The appointment with the hospital doctor is on the 14th and it can't come soon enough!
She flares up every second day without fail.

I'm now giving up dairy to see if that helps her.

I know having kids isn't easy but it's not meant to be like this
I spend an hour in the morning bathing and wet wrapping with her screaming most of that time.
Then the same in the afternoon.
There is no relaxing wind-down night time routine here!!

Every time I think we are in the clear she flares up again.
The steroids we are supposed to use on her for 3 days on and 3 days off and I can't stop them. She's been on them for a month solid now as the redness and weepiness won't go away.

I want her to be better
I feel so down in the dumps all the time.

C
x

Carly I feel the exact same way about E...we have never just been 'normal' there is always something going on with him. Just when you think one thing is fixed something else comes up. It's exhausting. The best thing I can suggest would be to get as much help as possible from your family. I wish I had've asked my mum to come over sooner. Even if your mum/sister/MIL/etc can come over for a couple of hours a few times a week you'll get that time out you need. You may feel like you need to be there for her 24/7 but really you do need some time to recharge and come back refreshed. And it's so easier to think of new things to try when your brain has unfogged!

Big hugs lovely I know how hard it is to just watch your bub in pain and not be able to do anything to help, it's heartbreaking. Don't be afraid to ask for help like I was.