any other over 35 first time mums?

[julesjules100]

Borboleta - its a company that makes all organic baby kit in the UK so things like sheets and mattresses. I bought a cosleeper cot (called a Bednest) a while back and while its really well made the mattress was terrible! Its a funny size too and little green sheep make these organic mattresses to go in instead (the only place I could find who do), which are a coir centre, wrapped in sheeps wool and then covered in cotton. They have no chemicals or anything in the manufacturing process so all v natural. No, still no further on the names sadly. I really think it will be either Alexander or Oliver.

Angel - safely back in London now. The weather was HIDEOUS in Lancashire this morning, so bad I was sure the trains would be cancelled but all fine and only 10 mins late which was perfectly acceptable. No snow from just north of Birmingham down south so not sure whether we will indeed see any in London tomorrow.

Sorry no more personal messages but I'm completely exhausted tonight and about to go to bed Hope everyone is well x

 

[julesjules100]

Ps this is said sheepy company https://www.thelittlegreensheep.co....default.aspx?gclid=CJXPtvqikbYCFeXLtAodTEkAIg

Let DH smell it earlier and said it smelled like a barn to which he replied "well, if its good enough for Jesus its good enough for our LO"

 

[Borboleta]

Angel: how do you walk in the park with bad weather with the boys in the stroller? I would love to see a picture. Do you have a stroller cover or a umbrella? That is great that rain or shine you walk with them. Thiago gets bother of staying home too. I always go out somewhere during the day.

Charlie: like angel said Thiago too figure it out how to put the paci in his mouth at a very young age. I don't remember waking up because he woke up wanting his paci back on his mouth. Let us know how the weaning goes.

Sabrina: your headaches sound awful poor thing! Hopefully you have it all figure it out and the new meds will be a huge improvement.

I now have a theory why Thiago sometimes sttn and sometimes he doesn't. Every night when he wakes up I go in and pick him out of the crib and touch his diaper I feel the warmth from his pee on his diaper. So I have a feeling that sometimes he wakes up because he feels that he peed on himself. So I told OH that this morning and thought that maybe it is a good thing and in a very near future I could start potty training him. My husband than said that what Thiago needs is a urine catheter !!! I laughed so hard!! Anyways, doesn't that makes sense?

 

[Claireyb1]

Thanks for the kind comments on my cake. The only question is,who would make my cake if I got married????? lol

Lucy still has a high temp.It went down earlier and then went back up before bed.I had to take her out of her sleep sack as she was boiling she seems pretty much fine in herself,other than taking ages to go to sleep tonight she has had calpol and nurofen,so I hope she will be ok. I didn't think teething was supposed to cause a high temp??

Charlie I'm away for a few weeks in April so I guess on my return we can meet for this coffee - hopefully by then we will have better weather!lol I can't advise you on the dummy issue as Lucy never took one,although she has one big dummy that she still likes to use.......ME!

 

[SabrinaKat]

hey, B - why not just 'sense' when T is about to pee/poopie and then swing him over the toilet (note - I am making a joke, but I think that's what elimination communication is supposed to be?) - then you'd save on nappies!

glad to hear you made it home, jules - we 'only' had very high winds, terrible rain and in some parts, floods - very scary. I think, storm definitely got snow up in NI? As for taking LO out in this weather, I have to as I pick him up and then walk home from the creche. He hates the plastic cover on his stroller, but it must be done. As for me, imagine a petite red-haired woman wearing a huge scarf (purple) around her head a la russian or german housewife (otherwise all in black) singing out 'Old McDonald has a farm (also now a zoo, and a museum) in the pouring rain, trying to get the baby to 'enjoy' his walk home, watching for cars in every direction and trying to get past the dog dirt on the pavements/sidewalks. AND because I wear glasses, they get all wet and windy and my only reward for such a ridiculous sight (and sound) is that LO tolerates the rain and will smile at his babuska (sp) mummy! I used to wear contacts, but a) no time in the am and b) the dirt and grit here in Dublin is awful (and I lived in Manhattan for three years), so am quite a sight!

I WANT SUMMER NOW!

On a funny note, have you ever bought something for LO that you wished you had bought in a bigger size for later? There was a romper (one piece with no feet) that I loved and bought for LO last summer (3-6 months) and it's even one of the pieces in my keepsake box (including his first babygro that he was put into when he was born - I can't believe he was that small!), and I was wishing that I had bought in a larger size and it was on ebay and I got it in size 12-18 months (it's green with farm animals sewn on)...so am feeling pleased with myself.

re: meds - I was only on the 'new stuff' for a few weeks and it should only be a day or two before it gets out of my system. And the chemist was happy to give me some of the 'old' stuff when I explained that I did have a doctor's appointment for Monday am -- she was surprised at my reaction, but it did make sense re: headaches, taste in mouth, etc., so my safe old ones are probably best....and I am relieved, because my old meds (only tablets for sleeping) were pretty okay, and as long as I can sleep (or relax), I can handle most stuff. also, oddly, since we had the argument with MIL, things with OH are better, perhaps because he finally made it clear that LO is the priority and I am able to hold my tongue a little better?

anyway, hugs to all!

bye!!!!!!

ps. Angel - we don't technically 'eat' together as....um...my OH is rather noisy, so I make dinner, and prepare LO's, OH gives to LO in the living room where I eat also (so LO sees me eating the same or similar), then after LO has eaten, Sabrina who has been not so patiently waiting moves in and OH goes and eats his dinner. But we all eat the same stuff...also, it's easier for me to sit on the floor to feed LO (my hands again), so I'll spoon some stuff, otherwise, it's finger foods and if he makes a mess on the floor, it's easy to clean (and don't forget we have Sabrina the feline hoover!)....

ps. claire - you're on the other side of London? (I mean, I think in terms of Oxford and London (was at Oxford for awhile?) nearish angel? how cool -- although I think storm is near (2 hours+) to me, actually she and my OH seem to do the same job in computers for (different) banks...

 

[charlie15]

Angel, I haven't heard of the gentle removal method but will have a look at it for sure. I have started by introducing a lovie bunny that now comes everywhere with us, S seems to like it, so I hope we can use that as a bit of a soother otherwise I'll also end up being the big dummy too Claire!! It definitely is the dummy falling out as we co sleep so I see it happening! And on the nights where it somehow stays in all night I don't hear a peep!

Claire where are you off to! Somewhere sunny I hope. May will be good and hopefully this lousy weather will be totally behind us! Talking of cakes I ordered Sophia's christening cake today, it nice and simple with lilac and yellow flowers around the edges, hopefully it tastes as yummy as it looks!

Right this time I'm off to bed, so so tired I really shouldn't stay up to watch Graham Norton!

 

[charlie15]

Oh and meant to say Claire, hope Lucy is better soon. That temp does sound a bit high for teething, maybe a bit of a virus that will hopefully be gone ASAP.

 

[SabrinaKat]

Lucy still has a high temp.It went down earlier and then went back up before bed.I had to take her out of her sleep sack as she was boiling she seems pretty much fine in herself,other than taking ages to go to sleep tonight she has had calpol and nurofen,so I hope she will be ok. I didn't think teething was supposed to cause a high temp??

[

I don't know whether you know about Dr. Sears (Wm, dad and Bob, son), but they suggest that fever associated with teething is related to inflammation of the gums, rather than an infection, if that makes sense? Using calpol, nurofen, a cool cloth are all recommended and should help to bring the fever down. We had the same worry last weekend with Finn, e.g. at creche last Friday he did have temperature around 39-ish, but with calpol it did come down, and then he was fussy with a temperature at 2am (nothing over 39) with the above meds and tlc, it did come down. It was scary, but if LO is being fairly normal (Finn wasn't interesting in proper food, but did drink bottles and wanted loads of cuddles), then try not to worry too much. I personally like the Sears approach, it recommends gentle sleep habits and the son wrote an excellent book about vaccination, giving the facts so that parents could decide (they recommend vaccination, but in a gentle-gentle approach)....

hugs

ps. obviously, you have the benefit of NHS direct and possibly a nurse as well to contact if anything worrying does happen?

 

[lightweight]

Hi and thanks form the welcome messages yes having 2 under 2 is chaotic and exhausting, but its also very rewarding - Hannah dotes on her brother and watching the interactions is priceless - def makes up for all the hard work! If only Gilbert would sleep a little better - he's started to think that 5am is playtime which doesn't help!

Anyway for those of you TTC - go for it I say! If I were younger I would probably have had a bigger gap between kids, but in a way am glad we were forced into having two close to together

 

[Claireyb1]

SK Thanks for the info. her temp went back up again early morning and I'm not sure if it woke her - high 38's again. stripped her off a bit and she fell back to sleep for a bit (I couldn't ) she got up at 6.30am but has crashed again now and has been asleep since 9.15am. Will see how she goes - again she is kinda fine in herself

Charlie sadly I'm probably not going to get anymore sun or warmth where I'm going as I'm off to Ireland. West Cork to be precise,we have a house/cottage there and I'm going with my Mum and then DF will join us for the 2nd week. I am prepared for the rain and have lucy's 1st pair of wellies at the ready and a waterproof all in one too! lol it's home from home,so it's not like being holed up in a hotel room somewhere - she will have a lot of her toys to play with

Jules I loved your DH comment re the sheep smell,keeps making me smile so problem solved on the name then...........baby Jesus it is! lol

Lightweight if you don't mind me asking how many years past 35 are you and whereabouts in Surrey are you? glad you are enjoying the challenge of 2 under 2. My mum managed to cope with 3 under 4 so I guess I will cope if we have another soon I hope little Gilbert learns soon that mummy doesn't want to play at 5am

Storm hope you're ok with all the bad weather you've had?

 

[Borboleta]

Good morning ladies,

Claire: sounds like fun you trip to Ireland and I am sure you, your mom and L will have a wonderful time. Did the people like the cake you made at the wedding party? What flavor was it?
It sounds like poor L has some kind of virus. Hope she feels better soon poor thing.

Lightweight: how do you cope with sleep deprivation and functioning taking care of a mobile 2 year old? It must be hard but like you said it must be rewarding too.
Is you daughter a good sleeper at night time?

Jules: I laughed too about your OH's comment on the mattress. You better find some lamb perfume so you little Oliver ( my favorite name from your options ) can identify mommy to the mattress and subsequent to sleep .

Sabrina: I laughed at your comments about little T and you walking during bad weather ! I would love to see you dressed up like that and singing to Finn.

We Sttn last night. We went out for a meal with in laws and thiago ate so much so I think that helped him with Sttn. I have lots of theories of what makes him Sttn or not don't I !!!
Anyways today my MIL is coming to watch thiago while OH and I are going to watch OZ . I am excited to have a little time to actually watch a movie for a couple of hours without interruption and sometime with OH. Will miss little T but MIL is so excited about coming over and having him for herself. So let her enjoy him.
And yesterday at the restaurant I brought the iPad with me ( always do, so when he starts fussing I pop Pocoyo or some short videos for him to watch) and we were watching a video of himself pretending that he is fighting with his 12 old cousin at Walmart and he started laughing so hard at the video. the waiters came to see what he was laughing about . It is cute to see the development of their sense of humor.

 

[clio]

Started around two days ago, so some are my responses are very late!:

Welcome Lightweight! Your story inspires many here, I suspect.

SK--sorry you're having so much trouble with the new med. Is it Wellbutrin, by any chance? (The metallic taste in the mouth is a huge side-effect, and it takes forever to get used to it.) And how maddening that, if only you had known, you could have stopped your migraines! How is your head right now?

Angel--Is it awful that I'm happy that Seb does the Mad Bam, too? J did it to the cat the other day! Though I don't think she noticed. As for Morgan's patience with J, it is rather remarkable. He will corner her, leaving her only a small window to get away, and just wrap his arms around her back and belly. Then, he rests his head on her. Sometimes I see her smushed against the living room window while J mauls her there. And if you get closer, all you can hear is Morgan purring and purring and purring. I wish I had a picture of it, but I know that if I were to move and get the camera, J will get distracted and let go of the cat. And just like SK (I think?) mentioned about her cat, Morgan will play the slowest game possible of "catch me if you can" with him. She'll walk forward, stop, wait for J to catch up, then walk forward again, then wait again, etc. If it were my old and most precious cat, Spider (RIP) , we'd have none of this. Spider, in fact, would have just wasted away, silent and rigid in the face of such a betrayal and certainly wouldn't allow to J to approach her, let alone kiss and hug her. Morgan, however, is just intent on letting this boy love her. *ahem* And allows him to perform the Mad Bam on her.

Your coffee maker looks divine! I love the colour, too. And it's cool that you have a fridge like that, too. From what you've described, house-wise, I would love to see some pics!

Re: Food--do toddlers have an "off switch" when it comes to eating? I know that newborns do, and that's why they say you can't overfeed them. Maybe the "rule" still stands at this age?

We don't eat with J, either. We tried, but it seemed like such a manufactured event. We weren't eating, just staring at him. So, J eats alone and seems to prefer it that way. Most of the time we let him get on with it and don't pay much close attention to him. We also started doing this because he ate much more this way, especially new foods. It's like he needs some privacy to work it all out. What happens if you leave D and S to their own devices once the food is in front of them?

Claire--OMG! Why on earth are you not making cakes for a living? And how did you learn to make them? I doubt fondant is a common ingredient in most homemade cakes! Is little L feeling any better? How is her temperature?

Jules--I can imagine the difficulty with a spiral staircase and having your LO climb up or down them on their own. Have you considered changing your LO on the floor or a couch? That's what we did/do. We have a number of thick change pads and a discrete wicker basket that contains all you need to "do the deed."

Oh, and J came at 38 weeks as well, with no warning whatsoever. And, he was a perfectly healthy 8 lbs and 1 oz. I would have loved for him to stay put until 40 weeks, but I also shudder to think how big he would have been if he were to have stayed in until then!

And what is all this talk about a sheepskin mattress? Let me go check out that link...

Borboleta--grrrrr... I had answered your question about bottle weaning and then lost the post. J has dropped from around 24-30 oz to around 18 oz a day. We still give him the same amount of liquid in each bottle, but often it is half and half milk and formula. There is always at least 2 oz 3% milk in all of his bottles. As for weaning off the bottle entirely, I'm quite afraid to do it because I think my kid is going to die from malnutrition! I'm still not confident that he's getting enough big people food, or enough nutrients, or what not, and feel safer knowing that the formula will make up for anything I've missed. Plus, women breastfeed for years; why do we need to drop the bottle so quickly when formula exists for kids T and J's age? What do you use now? Enfamil, or Similac? A while back we switched over to Enfapro, which goes from ages 6 months to 18 months. And I think there's one that you can use from 18 months on.

Jules and Angel--oh, every science fiction/fantasy person must watch at least one episode Battlestar Galactica (the 2005 version, that is, not the earlier campy ones). My husband and I still constantly lament that the show is over.

Okay, I'm posting this right now, so I'll be somewhat caught up and won't lose the post again.

 

[Claireyb1]

Borboleta the cake was for my brother and SIL and the party was just this evening - they loved the cake and so did the children! the bottom and top tier were chocolate and the middle was vanilla.

Clio I would do this as a job, but actually doing from homeis not as straight forward as you might think - all sorts of health and safety issues etc etc,so for now it is just a hobby. I trained as a chef so I guess that's where I get the skills from,although I'm self taught on the cake front.

Lucy is OK she is very clingy and not her usual self and still running a temp on and off.She is more tired too, but I don't know if that's from the poor night time sleep? we shall see what tomorrow brings. She did enjoy seeing all her cousins today at the wedding party though

 

[SabrinaKat]

not a bad night, but LO was fussy from about 1.30 to 2.30am, so I pulled him into my bed and we both actually slept okay-ish...

MIL moment: OH on the phone to her, saying that he will come down on Tuesday and she asked if he was coming for a few DAYS (WTF?).

clio- nope it was Zoloft for the anti-depressants and Zopiclone (sp) for sleeping tablet, and it was the latter that can have a side effect of metallic taste, dry mouth, etc. I went back to the older med (Amitriptyline, sp) as it is more an anti-depressant and has migraine/tension reducing qualities, but I use 1/2 dose to sleep. I'm seeing the doctor in the am, so all should be sorted soonish. Only a slight headache at the moment due to head cold, but that's liveable.

Finn is a very happy baby today, eating his toast and standing up against a footstool and screaming out 'dada', although dada is asleep and I made his toast!

bye!

 

[Claireyb1]

SK how far does your MIL live from you and why does she think he would stay for a few days????

Charlie the wedding party I went to was at the Grange ph on Ealing common and I drove past St Benedict's,then Haven Green (how we loved to hang out there! lol) and on the way home I drove up Hanger lane and drove past the grounds and school........memories! for anyone confused by me telling Charlie this info of my evening? we went to the same school and she was the year above me....small world eh?!

hope everyone else is ok?

 

[Borboleta]

Claire: that is a small world!! Do you remember each other? And would you consider making your own cake for you wedding? Some people do . Have you two gave it a thought of when would be a good tie to get married? Before you have another one I hope.

Sabrina: Finn is saying dada dada! Does he say mamma?

Clio: actually thiago is now on full whole milk. No more formula for us . He used to drink similac. And he loves the regular milk. It was such an easy transition!!! He is drinking 3 8 Oz bottles of milk a day. Actually now I am giving him the sippy cup 2 times and a regular bottle just for night time. I do agree with you though about than being so young to take the bottles away. But I think I feel guilty that he still likes his paci so I thought instead of dealing with two problem later on to wean him off I am trying to get the easy one resolved and he is accepting the change very well. Now the paci it will be another story I have a feeling .
Thiago eats what we eat and he has meals with us. At first I was a little concerned about the fat and salt quantity but than I just gave up and he has really improved a lot on his eating. The other day he had pot stickers and popcorn shrimp. The only thing that he does not seems to be a bit fan of is pasta ! Isn't crazy! I don't know what it is but he is really not interested in eating. Oh well I new some kids that don't like butter !! And my sister wouldn't and still doesn't eat ANY kind of fruit!!!

Anyways, thiago woke up at 2am and I was there for 1 hour trying to put him back down ( a little harder than usual last night) but he finally did. As I am writing here he is still sleeping and it is almost 7am. The movie OZ was pretty good and I would recommend you watch on the big screen since it is so beautiful. It made ja want to watch the first movie again. I told OH that I don't remember the monkeys on the first movie, only the scary witch. He was shocked that I didn't remember the monkeys .
Oh,and Clio: we did watch battlefield galactic a . Oh, even got the DVD collection. I remember not wanting to watch in the beggining but then I got hooked eventually . It was a great show I agree !

 

[SabrinaKat]

my MIL lives 1 1/2 hours away, and he used to (pre-LO and pre-pregnancy) to perhaps go down on Saturday and come back on a Sunday once a month-ish, but that was over two years ago. I really thought my OH talking to her would help, but she obviously still thinks she is the most important person in his life. GROWL

Finn says mama, dada, nana, nang (?), baba, etc., and we think sometimes he imitates us; my OH 'swears' LO yelled 'come on' at him one morning for his bottle (my OH moves slowly in the am) and perhaps even no no no, when he is full. He will yell mamamama at my OH, so I think he isn't confused, just wants the other parent at the same time?

not much else - am exhausted with all the crawling, standing and attempted jumps. He's now in the jumperoo watching My Cat from Hell, a tv programme on animal planet with a 'cat whisperer', and as the cat on the tv looks like Daphne, might be a bit confused.

bye!

 

[Storm1jet2]

Hi all, I'm so out of the loop.. must try harder!

The weather has been woeful, it wasn't too bad at our house but my dad was totally snowed in. We did go to visit him though, we parked on the main road and hiked in to the estate. I was carrying L in my arms with a rucksack containing supplies for my dad. Dh had to drive further away to leave,the car somewhere safe and he had to hike back with 2 bags and the dog. Such fun! L actually loved it but my back was broke. There was nearly a,foot of snow round,my dads and no one can cope with it over here!

In other news L is developing a right bad little temper when she doesn't get her way! I've been smacked in the face so many times! When she gets told off she has major meltdown! Have we hit the terrible twos so early?

Ok better go, dh has L out and I'm meant to be tidying up!

 

[Borboleta]

Storm: thiago sometimes gets a little frustrated too and might throw a short fit about something. I noticed it is normally when he is teething though or super tired. Do you think that could be happening with L?
And I am so sorry about all the snow your dad got. Do you get snow often during winter time where you are at? Does L likes playing in the snow?

Sabrina: is nana for banana? Funny how he says mama for daddy and dada for mommy . Too cute. Is he trying to jump from the couch or just anywhere?

Yesterday I saw a lady at a restaurant with a newborn baby and I told OH that I don't miss when thiago was that little. I much prefer when they turn about 6 months on. It so much fun when they interact with you. And I love this stage that thiago is in too. He is a little character sometimes .

 

[Leeze]

everyone and welcome lightweight. lovely story re 2 in quick succession. we:re thinking about number2 but its been a tough few weeks so right now i can't really imagine it.

been trying to keep up on here but am normally so tired in evening. last week i fell asleep on bed with Kia most evenings around 8pm and OH wakes me at bedtime so I can get ready for bed. serious teething he'll and all the associated horribleness. multiple wake ups and lots of 2am parties. we've gone on holiday for a week to a toddler friendly farm. lovely place although probably better in summer with warmer weather.

Angel - i normally eat a small starter-size portion with Kia around 5pm and then somthing later with OH.or sometimes just eat early with Kia and then OH heats it up when he gets home. Kia does normally eat better if we eat together.

love to all. will try catch up more soon! XX