any other over 35 first time mums?

[clio]

Borboleta--have you tried the Playtex sippy cup with a straw? J first learned on that one, and still uses it. Apparently it also allows you (Mum) to squeeze it to make the water go up the straw and into his mouth to help him figure it out. I personally never figured that part out, though...

SK--Happy Birthday to Finn!!!!

I am very sorry about your manic episodes. I assume you were put on lithium, or an anti-epileptic or an atypical antipsychotic to stop the mania, seeing as anti-depressants frustratingly always send those with hypomania straight through the roof to full-blown mania? Or did you have to suffer some full-on manic episodes before the doctor realized that your hypomania was being amped up without a counteractive, mood stabilizing drug? You must also be a very rapid cycler, too, if you undergo so many mood changes in a month. That must be tiring, but at least you can pride yourself on the fact that only 1% of people who have bipolar cycle so rapidly. It's a cool statistic to be. I wish you had brought up your manic depression earlier! It's a very lonely illness when people don't understand it, mania in particular...

Angel--have you tried the bowl game I told SK about? Large bowl, toys in it (your best bet is using relatively small balls, but anything ball-like would do, like tennis balls.

Storm--oh my gosh, your husband's parents have some whackadoodle ideas. But I think I'm loving your father more and more; what a generous analysis of the situation. That must have been hard on your OH.

Okay, OH's birthday was yesterday, and we're throwing a bit of a party (in other words, same Sunday Family Dinner is being held at our house, not at Oma's and Pake's). So, I've got to go and help OH out. Bye!

 

[kosh]

don,t know why I do not get the subscription emails anymore?i know I haven,t been posting much lately but still

happy birthday Finn!!

clio


AngeL. I am a biologist, work in cardiovascular genetics. I came to the UK in 1997 to do my PhD and then got a job and stayed. Thanks for your comment re my English, I still struggle sometimes...
Re Gael's sleep same old same old Had a few good nights last week, but then good night for us are 3-4 wakes per night But he is doing great. Since he started pulling up to stand it,s like he's discovered a new world!! He is sooo happy and is constantly on the move exploring. He's talking non-stop too, although he doesn't say a single world Well, maybe that's an exageration, he says dad and mum, which means both mum and boob
He doesn't wave good bye, but he blows kisses instead I have a latin lover
Believe it or not I'm coping quite well at work, of course, i'm very tired but overall I'm better than I expected. I think it's mainly because I do flexitime so I don't HAVE to be there at 9am

well that was a long post from me!


Sorry not many personals, hope you all ladies and LOs are doing well

 

[Leeze]

Happy birthday Finn. Hugs to everyone else. Too tired to post more just now xx

 

[Borboleta]

Clio: I am going to try that cup that you mentioned. Sounds wonderful ! And our OH's are born a day apart. My OH was born feb 1st and he just turned 43. How old is your OH?

Sabrina: glad to hear you were able to go to the zoo !! And how cool that Finn adopted an elephant!!! Did he get to see it this time? A

Kosh: your english is perfect!! And thiago doesn't say anything yet. Not even mommy or daddy. Oh well, he will be a chatter box eventually. Hopefully a bilingual one too .

Claire: what was your DF doing that messed up the heater? Poor little L, did she freeze too? Could you go someplace else just to keep warm? Oh, and I was going to ask you since I see you talk about DF do you guys have a wedding date yet? That would be so cool to have your daughter as the flower girl.

Thiago was in great mood tonight. Sooo cute walking around the house babbling God knows what and following us everywhere we went . He is just happy exploring. He is starting to open cabinets which he didn't before, so OH will have to put locks on some of the danger cabinets.

 

[Claireyb1]

Borboleta It's ok we didn't freeze! we are lucky that we live in quite a warm building so it didn't get too cold last night. I just hope he gets it sorted today. I have the oven on in the kitchen to at least warm us up a bit this morning
Re: wedding.......well,in my ideal world I would have been married before I had Lucy, but I knew time was against me with my age. So I (we)made the decision that the wedding can always happen anytime,babies can't.So here we are......plus one but still only engaged. Tbh, I can't see us getting married anytime soon (unless we run off to get married on a beach somewhere?!) as we need to move to a bigger (and more expensive) property and we would also love to have a sibling for Lucy before I'm too old (I think we may try towards the end of this year,just before I'm 40 )
Some days I think about just getting married with not much fuss, but deep down in my heart I had always dreamt from a little girl of my dream white wedding......so I don't really know what to do??

xx

 

[AngelUK]

Good evening ladies. Hope you are all ok? Seems the thread has slowed down a bit lately?

Borboleta I think you and Claire are right and gymboree would actually be helpful to the boys. I am a bit stuck at home at the moment though for reasons I will explain further down. Also I think I will wait till Dominic isn't so snotty nosed any more.
Glad your DH had a nice birthday and I am not at all surprised that T liked the brownie! I wish there was a greedy drooling smiley on here to express how the mention of brownie made me feel (though I always think they smell nicer than they taste ) lol
Did your DH put locks on the cabinets already? I must say so far we haven't done any of that and I am only now becoming aware how many dangerous things we have around! Lucky the boys are not even crawling yet I guess

Claire I remember one winter when our boiler broke down and we went to B&Q to get space heaters. At the time I still had a key metre for my electricity and one day with the space heaters cost me over £12 when normally I spent about £1.20 a day with the boiler going all day! ACK! Glad your place didn't get so cold and I did smile at the great idea with the oven! I tend to wait for the early mornings with the boys to put the washing in the tumble drier on. Warms up the place a treat too and I then don't need to turn the heating up lol.
I know what you mean about having dreamed about a white wedding since a young age. I did too. But it is definitely not for us. But your idea of getting married on a beach sounds lovely! Maybe on the island where he proposed? At sunset! You could still wear a white dress but maybe a more summery one Oh that would be all soo romantic!

Sabrina glad you made it to the zoo. Do you think Finn liked one animal better than another? Maybe the big cats since he has two small ones at home? How is Finn with your kitties now btw? Does he try to play with them? Lately Sebastian has shown an absolute fascination with Alfie and wants to rip out his fur and his ears if we would but let him. Alfie is very patient though and so far as only turned round a little fast toward Sebastian but then didn't follow through with the expected paw swipe. Good kitty!
Also, did you give Finn a bit of cake in the end and if so, was he impressed?
Hmm! Cake!... Have fallen of the wagon in a major way

Clio yes I remember the bowl and ball idea now that you mention it! Thanks, I will give that a go once I have time to go and buy some suitable balls.
How are you? Hope you got your lecture all written out and that you manage to sleep and rest your hip. Do you think the treatment worked? Or still too early to tell?
How did your DH's party go? And what did you cook I am thinking of food constantly and am a greedy pig :/

Kosh I am very impressed! I was never very good at biology though better in that than any of the other sciences. And I would never have guessed that you are struggling with English.
I am glad you are coping well with work and so little sleep. I don't know how you do it! You are wonderwoman Gael sounds adorable with the blowing kisses! Indeed a Latin lover already

Leeze I loved the piccies of Kia on facebook . She is a cutie! Hope all is ok there and you get some good sleep soon.

As for us, the boys are recovering well from their cold. I think Sebastian has pretty much stopped even being snotty. His voice is normal again but his appetite isn't great. Though this is nothing very unusual. Dominic is still snotty but it is clear and not yellow or anything (Sorry if TMI) but he has coughed once or twice. We put some more rub on his chest and plugged the diffuser in. Can't harm him and might help.

At the moment I am stuck in the house a little bit. I think I may have mentioned my best friend Andrea before? She is Sebastian's godmother and has been very ill with a very bad form of Crohn's since she was a child. She has had so many operations since then that I lost track. She knew she would need another one soon but kept postponing it as she is very scared that that one too will not work out and that she will be left with an open belly and in hospital for the rest of her life. Which in this case would not be long... Anyway she has been very ill again in the last year and getting progressively worse. She hasn't left the house in half a year. I usually call her every Sunday but it is often impossible for her to come to the phone right then cause she spends most of her days in the bathroom. So I try to call her the next day and so on.
This Sunday she called me and told me that she is in hospital again. Seems she has developed fistulas into her bladder now and the agony she is in when she tries to pee must be indescribable. She has lost so much weight too that an operation is out of the question. She is almost as tall me (1m72 or 5'8) and now only weighs 41kg (90lbs or 6.4 stone). All her life has been spent trying to be brave and hoping for the best outcome and ALWAYS ALWAYS getting the worst possible outcome. If I believed in such things I would say there was a curse on her. Anyway, I promised to call her back but then later on Sunday she didn't feel like talking and neither did she today. But I know it means everything to her that I keep trying and until I can talk to her for more than 5 minutes I will be stuck in the house trying and trying. And when she gives me the ok I will be flying to Switzerland for the day to see her and be back in time to put the boys to bed. I am so worried about her and so depressed. What a shit life she has had and how brave and funny she has always been. But how should she recover from this now? How can I give her the strength she needs. How can I help. In all these years I have always managed to cheer her up and be there for her. And I know that although she is happy for me to have my boys, she also feels that she has lost me to them a bit. And I know she cried when I told her I was pregnant cause she knew she would never have a baby of her own. She got a new kitten soon after my boys were born... She loves me dearly but cannot help comparing my life to hers. And I feel guilty for my happiness. I adore her and would do anything for her (except watch her die!) but I also find it hard to be cheerful and positive. And I fear that she is waiting to tell me that she has had enough. She so often has come close to it. You know in Switzerland that is legal in certain circumstances. But I do not want to debate the ethics of this here.
I know you cannot help me with this either but I just felt like writing it down. It is like a huge weight upon me and I just wish I could handle it better and give her something of my strength.
I hope you are all well and thank you for listening.

 

[kosh]

oh angel! - I feel for you, and poor Andrea, what a terrible life, it does feel as if she had a curse I know what you are saying re not knowing how to cheer her up, but I guess that to have you there with her for the day will be enough for her to know how much you care!

 

[Leeze]

Angel, that is so very sad about your friend. Sometimes life is very cruel and its the loveliest of people who have the worst luck. I bet by being there and listening and supporting her you are doing so much more than you could imagine. I would imagine a lot of people in your position wouldn't give as much once they had children. You sound like a very loving and loyal friend.

Claire, I know what you mean about the dream wedding. I want romantic proposal too! But then I also think of the protection and stability marriage gives in terms of legal rights if anything were to happen to either of us and that makes me just want to go down the local registry office!

We've moved into Kia's room with her to get her used to it and with a view to moving back to moving back to our room once her sleep is more settled. Its not been great the last week or so and work is pretty more full-on so I'm struggling a bit with tiredness at the moment. Trying to keep up with you guys were I can but got limited time and brainpowrr )

 

[Storm1jet2]

Angel, I agree with Leeze, sometimes the worst things happen to the most lovely people and I'm sure Andrea truly values your friendship.. you are a true friend. Please don't feel bad for your own happiness, I'm sure Andrea wouldn't wish one teeny tiny bit of your happiness away even if she does perhaps wish she had the same. Big hug.

Leeze I feel for you and work and the lack of sleep, I know it too well. I'm terrified of slipping up in work cause my concentration is so bad! Tomorrow I have to make some changes (deleting disused application groups) usually no biggie but I'm terrified of deleting the wrong group amongst the masses. The potential impact is huge, for example if I deleted the call centre software group I could take out all the call centres in Europe, the middle east and Africa...the software would uninstall from the thousands of PCs overnight and no one could work.. ok it could be fixed but time is money and the chances of it happening are slim to none.. ok I'm scaring myself now... Arrghh stupid fluffy tired baby brain..

Clairey I hope you got your heating fixed! Can I also say you would make a beautiful bride regardless of location - you too Leeze.... Oh we need a wedding on this thread!

Sk I can't remember if you said but did F get his cake? Oh I love cake but have been super good and lost 4 1/2 lbs last week, woo hoo... But that's the first week so need to keep it off this week and aim for another 2!

Rowan how are you feeling, I was looking at L yesterday and thinking there is no way I could cope with a newborn too, but L is a nuts kid. This week she has decided to be a mountaineer, she is climbing everything! She's a little climbing nightmare with no fear, wee monkey.

Oh baby squeaks.. got to dash!

 

[SabrinaKat]

hi, gang - snow here so am NOT going to work as road conditions (bus) are pretty bad.

cake - my OH got this horrible sugar-fest cake, which was horrible -- so no, I did have a slice but we didn't give to LO. In fact, we just threw it away, so it tells you how awful it was! I haven't weighed myself this week, but am bloated from AF, so would be unhappy with any negative result.
angel- I am sorry for your friend, but having such a good friend as you can only help her feel connected and loved....

am sorry no real personals, although I went to bed last night at 9pm and although it took some time to fall asleep, did sleep until 6am -- OH had LO last night, but was decent and let me sleep -- his teething is terrible and although we are doing everything possible for him, it breaks my heart to see him in such pain that he is screaming....

bye!!!!!!

 

[Claireyb1]

Angel Big hugs to you and your friend! I echo exactly what the others have said. By you just being there and being her friend through thick and thin will probably mean the world to her. Sometimes it's not what you can do for them,but just simply being there for them when/if they need you.

Leeze Yes, I too often think about the practical side of being married ie. the legal impact of not being married and wills etc. Not to mention sharing the same surname as my partner and child! lol

Storm Right now I don't feel like I would be a very beautiful bride.......way too sleep deprived! but a very sweet comment - thank you.

The heating is fixed! DF fixed it last night without the need to call out an engineer,so all good and he felt all proud of himself for fixing it and providing heat for his family - must be his caveman instincts
Lucy's sleep is really bad atm and I'm really struggling to cope with such lack of sleep for sooooo long. I never thought I would be feeling like this at nearly 13 months!!!???
Since she has been ill all she wants to do is comfort suck and she is waking every hour. I'm hoping it is just the after affects of being so poorly and the fact that she still only has 2 teeth and we must be due more soon?? Oddly,when she was actually poorly and sick she slept the best she has slept for ages?? so I'm at a loss as to what to do?
I'm knackered and she is full of beans!

 

[Borboleta]

Good morning ladies,

Claire and leeze: I agree with you ladies about waiting to have the wedding and proposal of you dreams. I got none of the above and there is a part of me that wishes I had a romantic proposal and actually OH was the one that proposed and not me and that I had a beautiful wedding gown and my whole family and friends from Brasil here to celebrate our wedding. Anyways, I guess it all depends on how soon you want things go move. . I couldn't wait anymore .

Angel: so sorry about your friend. Would you mind me asking how old is her? It is really hard to understand why some people have to have such a hard life . But as the ladies said I think you just being there for her and checking on her is a wonderful thing and she will apreciate that. You are a true friend angel . And she is very fortunate to have you and her life and vice versa.
And you will have so much fun running after your boys when they start crawling . We have not done the cabinets yet although I told OH we need to do that because thiago has been opening them !

Storm and kosh: I don't know how you cope with lack of sleep and working!!

Okay, thiago wants the iPad! I will be back soon.

 

[Rowan75]

hey ladies - quick pop on as ma and pa are looking after M at theirs and I need to make a start on dhs accounts - got from last april to do before M2 gets here and carrier bags of receipts to sort out!

angel big hugs hon - a difficult situation - but try not to feel so guilty - you are a good friend x

Im shattered mostly at the moment - reached that point where you have no energy - but theres no let up in being a mam is there?! my bump feels enormous as does he - people think Im due any time as the bump is sooo low (about a 5 inch gap between my bust and top of bump) its sooo droopy - lots more stretch marks this time

M has been sleeping better tho only a couple of wake ups a night for reassurance - shes v random re naps tho - some days no naps some days a 30 min nap - she fell asleep in my arms while I was making her lunch yest! She gorge fun she Adores her dad its lovely to see her face light up when she hears his van! she runs to the door squealing with excitement! Lovely

shes back on 2 bottles a day and Im mixing the formula in with cows milk gradually so that eventually she should just be on cows milk - we shall see lol - trying to get her to feed herself with a spoon and trying to get her not to throw all her food on the floor - shes so cheeky!

glad you got to the zoo SK

have a good day everyone x

 

[Storm1jet2]

Morning!

Rowan I honestly don’t know how you are coping with M, being heavily pregnant with M2 etc etc – I would be wiped out of I was pregnant right now. Its lovely M1 adores her daddy so much, must be nice for him to see how excited she gets when he comes home! Daddys girl already

Clairey I feel your pain re sleepless nights – if I had been told my 13 month old would still be up on average 6 plus times a night I would have laughed and told you to wise up, I’m not laughing now! At least DH is stepping in to help a bit during the nights now cause L is on bottles. I had to laugh this am, she was in bed at 8 up at 12 (I went in) then DH went in at 12.30, 2.30, 3.30 and brought her in to me at 5.30 – he was so exhausted he couldn’t even speak this am and I had to leave her to nursery before coming to work (he is off on leave) – I also pointed out to him there were many many nights I was up every 10 or 20 minutes with her and then had to look after her the whole next day on my one… in my book last night was an average night with the little lady and not that bad. From 5.30 she didn’t really settle – just wanted cuddled and her bottle and was then up jumping on my head from 6.50 so we got up (had to get up at 7 anyway)… Some day she has to sleep surely… please…

Kosh what is Gs sleeping like – is it still every hour he is up? Are you coping ok in work with the exhaustion? Luckily for me I have a desk job and when I’m exhausted at least I’m sitting, but meetings can be hard cause I want to sleep!

Borboleta I keep meaning to ask is T a climber? I know he has been walking since he was very young and just wondered if he had started climbing? L is terrible she climbs up everything – she has no fear!

Leeze hope all is well, have you got K used to her room yet?

SK – Can’t believe F in one already, your trip to the zoo has made me want to take L, but its stupidly expensive in Belfast (probably cheaper than elsewhere) so I think I might wait til we get a good day and take her with her cousins.. if I’m feeling rich 

Clio – I miss your long posts but I completely understand it’s a tough time right now. I hope you are ok and J is doing as wonderfully as he has been, I love hearing about him and all the things he does he is one advanced little boy.

Angel – big hug to you, have been thinking about you and your lovely friend. I hope D and S are continuing with their better sleep and that you get out and about with them soon.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone oh yes skweek and Charlie – hope all is well with you both and your little ones

Oh Clairey I know what I meant to say too – so you are thinking about TTC at the end of the year? I have a formal at the end of April and I’m seriously considering TTC after that – need to shift the weight for the formal and the TTC! Is anyone else still considering going for a second? I know Clio, SK and Angel have all said no (well in Angels case it would be number 3!). So that leaves Rowan who has already beat us all to it, Clairey towards the end of the year and Borboleta and Leeze undecided at this stage… Actually I’m terrified of getting pregnant at the moment – I really want to go to this formal (leaving DH at home with L) cause some of the girls in work are going together and we are all leaving our hubbys at home to mind the kiddies – all I can think of is 24 hours of completely free time! We plan to meet up at noon and have lunch, get hair and makeup done, go for a drink or coffee then get ready, go the formal and stay over at the local travel lodge. I could get 6 hours straight sleep! Woo hoooo

 

[SabrinaKat]

Nothing much here - LO was fussy all night, but no real parties. At the moment, my OH and I taking one full night each, e.g. I went to bed around 9pm on Monday and slept until 6.30am, and then last night, OH went to bed around 9-ish and slept until 6.30 and I didn't go get him around 5am even though LO was fussy. He (LO) seems in good form today, so cross fingers that he will take a nap this afternoon as I am exhausted.

hope ALL are well, and apologies for no real personals, but I agree with you, storm -- if anybody had told me that sleep deprivation would be a factor a year on, I would have cried. I have asked around, and supposedly, when they stop teething and are a little older, e.g. to be able to tell you what's wrong, then it gets easier AND when it gets to summer, perhaps the warmer weather will help as well (it's hard for me, though, as the longer summer days are hard for my system to adjust to, and I've lived over here for 20 years!).....(god, I hope so....)

Also, I am feeling guilty in my sleep deprivation makes me snappy towards LO, but he thinks it's a game when he's acting up and then, he laughs and I can't help it, but I start laughing, too - so much for 'discipline'.....growl.

bye!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Claireyb1]

Storm tbh I wanted to ttc about now so I could be done and dusted with my family by the time I hit 40,but with Lucy's sleep being still so bad it just isn't right for us atm - besides you actually have to dtd to get pregnant and with the way things are atm that's as rare as rocking horse sh*t
I figure that by the time Lucy is nearly 2 things should surely be a bit easier??? and then add on another 9months (pregnancy) after that she will be closer to 3. Am I being deluded??
I don't want to base my family planning choices now on lack of sleep that I could spend the rest of my life regretting. ie.choose to stick at just one child as she is a dreadful sleeper and then regret that choice in years to come (I know I would) I guess I have the rest of my life to sleep!
As I had a really good pregnacy,I'm not scared of that too much,although I worry that it might hit me hard 2nd time around and I'd be keen to avoid stretch marks for the 2nd time (will I be that lucky twice?)
Thankfully BF'ing did wonders for the pregnancy weight and I weigh less now than before I was pregnant (never saw that coming!)
So much to think about though......need to move to a bigger house too!

 

[Borboleta]

Hello ladies,

Storm: your formal sounds soooo much fun!!! A whole day of pampering!!! You deserve it girl !!!
And I cannot make up my mind about having another one ! Hubby seems to want to have another one but I am the one that is not sure . I love my little t and can manage things so well just with him. And I did baby sit 2 kids at once and know how hard it is but then I think about how cute it is when they play together and stuff . I really wish I was a bit younger and could wait a couple of years before I tried again. But I told OH that by my birthday in September I will make a decision. And my OH has to be employed before we decide on anything !
Storm: little T is not a climber ( knock on wood )! At least until this moment . He just follow us everywhere!!! If we live him in the living room and he hear us in the kitchen he will come and be by us holding on our legs. Another thing that is super cute is that he is now walking and kicking a ball !! He is soo happy that he walks full force by himself. He has been in great mood lately. Sometimes he sleeps thru the night sometimes he wakes up once. You never know with him !

Claire: you made me think about reasons to have another one . That is a good point. And if it is meant to happen It will be right.

Clio: yes we miss you but we do understand you are busy and hope you are doing alright.

Sabrina: glad that Finn is sleeping a little better. And so funny his reaction to you snapping at him . That is something that I am not looking forward to it!! The terrible 2's and the worst terrible 3's!!!!!

Actually I just thought of a question. How are you ladies going to discipline LOs? Time out??

Rowan: oh poor thing! My heart goes to you! So sorry you are just feeling like huge at this stage!! It must be really hard to do things with m1 st this stage. Does m2 kicks her when she is sitting with you?
And so cute how she loves her daddy. I think thiago is a mommies boy how about you ladies? Leeze, storm, Claire, Charlie? Are the little ladies daddys girls? Clio, Sabrina and angel are the boys momma's boys?

 

[AngelUK]

Thank you all so much for your kind words!
I still haven't managed to talk to Andrea although I have tried every day several times. One of these days she will feel up to talking I am sure.

Kosh it is so nice to see you here a bit more often. I really hope the sleep thing continues a bit better. I have no idea how you manage to function and I am in awe. Sending you lots of

Leeze I didn't realise that Kia was an unsettled sleeper still too. Has she been in with you so far then? And is there no chance your OH could let you sleep once in a while and take over? I don't know what I would do without Nick and alternating nights!

Storm that does sound like a scary scenario! My golly deleting all that? Do you know, what with the fear the the thought of it I would probably be irresistibly drawn to the delete button, much like I have to look down from heights even though I suffer from vertigo. LOL Lucky there is no such single button though huh? I hope you managed to keep it together, though I really don't know how you do it. I thought Lydia had improved in her sleep? Has it gone to pot again?
I did laugh a little in sympathy that you are excited for 6 hours sleep in April! I seriously hope that by then L will be sleeping better as a matter of course! But it does sound like a lovely 24 hours and you should definitely go if you can. Just hold DH off for a bit longer lol

Sabrina shame the cake was so bad when you actually allowed yourself a slice! What a waste of a treat :/
I am so sorry Finn is in that much pain that he screams! I bet that really hurt you inside too. But glad that today was better. Weird how it can be one day pain and the next day not huh?
And I totally get you when you say you would have cried had you known that sleep would still be such an issue at 1 year. I wouldn't have believed this either. I blithely expected my babies to sttn by 3 or 4 months and then by 6months and then I caught on lol. Gald Finn thinks your snapping is a game! My OH sometimes snaps at Sebastian when he is blowing raspberries while being fed and it makes Sebastian cry
If you don't mind me asking, why is it difficult for your body to adapt to summer days being longer and why especially in Ireland?
Hope you get a good night tonight

Claire I am glad your DH was able to fix the heating. Made me laugh what you said about the caveman instincts lol
And I also feel for you with the sleep deprivation. Pre-babies we really had no idea ,did we, what true tiredness really means? And I am well aware that compared to you, kosh and Storm I have it easy since my OH takes every other night and I don't even have to work.
I don't know much about BF but I also wouldn't have expected that at 1 year and almost 1 months old babies would still comfort suck ALL night but then again why would they not, when they are in pain with teeth etc. It just sounds so exhausting for you! And I totally understand that you find it frustrating to realise that she knows how to sleep better, like she did when she was ill but just won't. Dominic has slept from 7 pm to 3 or even 3:30am on a few occasions, so I know that he can go without a bottle for 8 hours. But I don't know why he doesn't do it more frequently or what made him do it then. Oh well, if we understood babies we would be rich lol

Borboleta Andrea is a year younger than me. I had just found out that I was pregnant when I went to Zurich for her 40st birthday party. Needless to say that I didn't tell her then but waited till I was 4 months along. What a thoughtless birthday present that would have been for her. She didn't know we were having treatment either btw.
As for my boys crawling and starting to walk, OH and I were saying we should enjoy this time before they can do all that cause after we won't ever get to sit calmly on the sofa any more while they play, as we will be running after them in all directions lol. But we are looking forward to it of course

Rowan hope you managed to make good inroads with the accounts? I don't envy you, it doesn't sound like fun :/
I can imagine that your bump would be lrger this time round cause of the abdominal parting? I really hope it didn't open too much again. I have been watching a DVD for diastasis that I had ordered from the US. It is called the Tuppler method and is specifically for diastasis recti. I felt exhausted just watching her! lol I don't know when she thinks a mum can fit in 3 sets of 100 elevator exercises in per day and then some other ones as well. She says you could do them while driving but advocates that you hold your hands over your tummy to feel if it working correctly? Errm... maybe I need a chauffeur lol I think I will have to give that Erin OConnor (if that was her name) you recommended a go. Maybe she won't fill me with despair. lol
As for naps, I think I have noticed something after another lady on Noelle's sleepless rant thread mentioned it: First of all she recommended the 2, 3 and 4 hour rule which actually makes a lot of sensen for us though we largerly drop the 3rd nap now. But what it means is 2 hours awake in the morning before the next nap and then 3 hours awake and then 4. It was also mentioned that if she lets her baby sleep too soon and less than after 2, 3 or 4 hours the naps will be short and crappy. I have observed this to be true with my boys too. If I try to push them to nap a bit later than they would like to, even just 15 to 30 mins they will usually sleep longer and deeper. Do you think this might be something that applies to Martha too?

Clio I hope you are ok, we miss you but totally understand that you cannot come and chat at the moment. But I will look forward to seeing you here again soon hopefully and send you and your lovely J lots of in the meantime.

Charlie how are things with you and S? Any chances of more piccies? They change so quickly at that age and I would love to see some more recent ones

As for disciplining our boys, this is a good question Borboleta. I don't think we really have talked about it that much cause of course we will have the perfectly behaved children, right? I think time out is probably one of the things we will consider and maybe the naughty step. I have only watched a few of Super Nanny episodes but it seemed to make sense to me at the time. From reading on BnB though the opinions on her method seem quite negative though nothing specific has been really mentioned. So I will have to do more research into her methods and look at alternatives.

I don't think my boys are either mummy's nor daddy's boys. Since they had us pretty much equally from early on they seem to look to us equally. My OH plays more rough and tumble games with them and makes them laugh more maybe but I talk to them more. But we both cuddle them as much and they both seem to derive the same comfort from either of us. Mind you Dominic still doesn't like being closely cuddled. Tough beans though cause I just have to give him a bit of a squeeze sometimes lol

Ok got to go. Oh requested that I come and spend time with him on the sofa watching a film rather than typing on here. I think I have neglected him a bit lately. So, I hope you are all ok and talk to you soon. xxx

 

[charlie15]

Hello ladies, I have managed again to read a little of the posts as life as been busy busy!!

So sorry Angel to hear about your friend with Crohns, it sounds like she has it very badly and I'm sure she appreciates you being there for her through thick and thin.

Clio, i hope you are doing OK. I don't know a huge amount about bi polar personally but i have some experience from work. Manic episodes are poorly understood and must be so hard to live with. I hope you find the right solution to give you the right balance as you sound like a wonderful mother with a big heart!

Happy belated birthday Finn! hope your shift patterns with OH are working well and you're both getting some sleep now SK.

Claire, how do you cope with comfort sucking when over a year old? S does it now but i seriously hope it stops at 6 months as would like to carry on breast feeding for a year but not with comfort sucking! glad you got your heating back and your OH is feeling like a proper caveman. I am very jealous that breast feeding as helped you to loose weight! not really having that effect on me but then that may be all the chocolate that i crave and cave into eating since having S. Never had a sweet tooth before in my life!!

Storm, how are you living in your parents old house? it's a great idea in practice i hope it's working out for you in all aspects though. I haven't been able to read back too far so I'm not 100% that you've moved yet.

Borboleta, I'm sure T will be a footie superstar for Brazil!! he sounds so cute!!

Rowan, gosh really how are you doing third tri with a LO??!! it's what i really want as i would love an 18 month age gap with 2 but it would be tough even with an easy pregnancy!

Well Sophia is now 3 months old!! and her personality is really coming through!! She's a little chatterbox (like mum!) a real wriggler who constantly moves and kicks when you carry her! She's very alert and wants to look around everywhere so hates her pram now as she can't see anything!! tomorrow i am taking her out in her buggy on the flattest setting, luckily she's a very long baby so she fits in it with her spine still flat so hoping that she enjoys seeing the big wide world a bit more! Tomorrow we're off to gymboree which she loves!! she's a little too nosey for yoga and massage as she's not too happy lying down with all these people around her when she can't see what's going on so has to be massaged sitting on my lap! i think she's going to be a little character!!

Angel I will post some pics soon, i have some lovely ones of her in the bath! at the mo she's more of a mummy's girl but i think that may be the power of the booby!!

As for me, i am making my way to the gym for the 1st time in 4 months on Friday and i cannot wait!! i am lucky in that the gym is around the corner so not even a 5 minute walk and my OH will be at home a lot more for the next 2 months i am a bit of an exercise nut I'm afraid as it's the one thing that helps me cope with stress, sleep better and just generally feel better as well as hopefully loose some of this weight!

I really feel for all of you who are still sleep deprived one year on. it must be so hard, i am struggling at the mo with such broken sleep for only 3 months! S is totally random on the sleep front, she has done 9 hours!!! 6 or 7 which i know sounds great but she also does 2-3 hourly wake ups so when she sleeps longer i never do as I'm always expecting her to wake! I now know what you all mean about parties in the night! twice now S has done that, last night between 4 and 6 I'm just like a zombie and try to lie next to her and doze in the hope that I'm too boring to play with at night so she stops and stays asleep in the future!!

Anyway hope you all get some better nights in soon. I am off for some bye

 

[clio]

Before all else (I haven't even read beyond this...)
Angel--oh my, what a burden your poor friend has carried. I had heard of Crohn's but I didn't know it could be this aggressive or painful. I hope you're enduring as well; if she is your best friend, this must be painful for you as well. I hope she pulls through this latest episode and that you do, too. And what an incredible friend you are, flying both ways in one day. How long does it take? How did the visit go?

Everyone--thank you for your really kind words. They mean a lot.

Okay, the latest J story:

I ordered some of the books Leeze suggested (all very good ones, too--he is fascinated with them). I also threw in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," seeing as it's such a classic. Do you guys know this book? The caterpillar basically eats his way through the book and leaves behind holes that J likes to put his fingers through. Partway though the second reading, though, he started opening his mouth really, really wide and then placed his mouth on my arm, removed it, and did it again a little higher up, and then higher again until he reached my elbow. And he also did it more than once while reading the book to him. But I really didn't understand what he was doing. That is, until the time he brought it to me to read while I was distracted, and all of a sudden, he chomped down HARD on my wrist. Then it struck me (after I yelped in pain and scared him)--he was pretending to be the caterpillar! So that whole mouth against my arm was him acting out the story!

Sorry, guys, no real personals... I'm worn out today. I hope you're all hanging in there!