any other over 35 first time mums?

[SabrinaKat]

Our wedding was only family and a few close old friends at a beautiful church in Rome (about 15 people in total); it meant that everybody had to travel (mine from USA, my OH's family from Ireland), and believe me -- I never wanted a huge wedding anyway! We spent about 5,000 euros in total for reception and hotels, and then another 5,000 on our honeymoon to Australia (3 weeks). We didn't have to do a pre-marriage course, as our priest at the local church 'signed us off', e.g. I told him I wasn't interested and would probably spend the time arguing with the priest (one of my subjects at university had been early church (not bible studies), and when I was confirmed at age 26+, my confirmation class was very academic and we argued history, not biblical theology)....the Church of Ireland was very welcoming regarding christening, but not so, Roman Catholic, e.g. my husband can take communion in protestant church, but I cannot take it in RC church (some priests will allow, but not the priest at my FIL's funeral mass a few years ago and it was somewhat embarrassing to have to sit in the pew whilst everybody else went up) and tbh, it isn't fair to LO if his mummy can't even take communion if he goes to mass....growl.

OH had LO last night and although I did wake up around 6am, it was wonderful to actually GO BACK TO SLEEP, and I did until 10am, then went and got my hair cut....

hope all others are well!
bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Indigo77]

Kosh...I will PM you...

 

[clio]

Oh boy, you miss one day...

My Mum came on Thursday so I've been unable to post much. So far, the visit is going well--no one has fought and I haven't had to banish her from my life yet (a regular occurrence since I was 20; usually lasts a few months. Who would have thought that we Germans were such a passionate people? Well, apart from Wagner and that little guy with the mustache and spittle.) She adores Jonah and would babysit him for hours. Seriously, HOURS. During which, of course, I intend to nap.

Borbolta how true! I have known a number of women who got pregnant to fix their marriages and then ended up divorced anyway. OH and I have never snapped at each as much as we do now.

Re: women getting pregnant to save their marriage--they obviously have no idea how bad an idea that is. Like you Angel, I have never snapped at my husband this much. We've been telling each other in self-righteously that "that was rude!"

Oh, and that christening business! One, it sounds horrible, and two, it reminded me of those logic sections on the GRE where you have to figure out who is sitting next to whom if Janey is next to Dicky on the roller coaster, but not Spot and if Dickey is sitting in front of Spot, who is sitting in front of Janey?

Bah! I have so much more to respond to, but I've got to go for a walk with my child, as instructed by my mother.

 

[AngelUK]

I am part German (my mum is half German half Hungarian) and I would like to point out that the little guy with the moustache and spittle was in fact Austrian
Cool that your mum will baby sit for hours giving you a break Mine would too when she is here visiting but I don't trust her to do more than watch them when they are asleep and in between feeds. I am always really scared when she picks up one of them cause they are so heavy (both near 20lbs) and my mum is over 70. I am scared she would trip or drop them etc. :S

As for the Christening, my golly if I could I'd cancel it and I would be soo happy. But I know realistically too many ppl will be offended. My friend Beau just came up with a possible solution. One of his best friends is Greek, I know her slightly and she wouldn't be offended if we ask her to play proxy I am sure. So if we cannot find Nick's cousin in time she might be a great solution. But I am dreading the day one way or another. One of my dreads is the actual ceremony itself cause in Orthodox christenings the babies are dunked into the water completely and it is the godparents job to un- and redress them before and afterwards. So since I trust only OH with such jobs I do not like that idea AT ALL. Not to mention that I know my Sebastian at least is going to scream when dunked! He hates bath time. Is what I am a helicopter mum in the making? I hope not but I am a bit overprotective I know that.

 

[clio]

Back from walk...

Angel--You're right! He was Austrian. My Nazi Historian father would be appalled. (Wait, that didn't sound right... My father is an historian of the Nazis, not an actual Nazi.)

Apparently we went about the whole god-parents thing completely wrong. We had chosen my BIL and SIL as god parents, but never told them. We thought we had (or, perhaps, more accurately, thought it was self-evident), but after my husband mentioned it to his brother in casual conversation, there was a very strange silence afterwards... Not that we're religious; we are just using the term to indicate who we want to raise J if we were no longer around. My BIL and SIL are religious, though (they're both Anglican priests) so they thought it was extra strange that they were suddenly decreed god parents seeing as we never even had J baptized.

But J is about to be welcomed into my in-laws' flock. I decided a while ago that if, heaven forbid, anything should happen to us, then he should already have been raised in the Anglican faith. It would, I think, be extremely awkward to become the ward of two Anglican priests with their Anglican children if he were raised an atheist. So, tomorrow, we all go to Church. I'm just going to hang out with the kids in the nursery so I can supervise J's "socialization" with other babies/kids, but my husband, who will sometimes go to hear his brother preach, I guess will now become a regular in the pews. (I should mention that apart from our complete religious differences, my priests-in-law are our best friends, and the cousins adore each other.)

Borboleta!--have you tried saline solution? It works wonders with J. I thought at first that it was just to soften the snot in his nose so we could suck it out, but then later learned that it reduces the inflammation of the mucus membranes AND thins the mucus in his chest. I would always give it to him just before a feed, hold him upright for a small bit so the mucus everywhere had a chance to drain, and then feed him his (mucousy) milk. The Baby Vicks was also really helpful. Poor little Thiago! I hope he's already feeling better...

kosh--J already has two bottom teeth, and is currently working on his upper ones. His gums are bulging, and it looks like the teeth are pushing their way forward, through the gums. And I can't visualize how they actually do come in. I figured a pic would help me see how it's done.

Okay, I can't remember anyone else's posts. Sorry! I hope you are all doing well and that bambinos are sleeping well, right, left and centre (<--hahahahahahaha!)

 

[Storm1jet2]

storm -- how old is your LO? I'm trying to do two meals plus a snack, plus milk and I keep thinking he's hungry, but since I'm a little chubby myself (as is OH), I keep thinking he's too thin, but apparently, he's on target, and a long, lanky baby, too....

kosh - a three hour nap? We get those sometimes, but I always seem to be checking on him every five minutes when he goes past the hour mark (today, tho, naps seem to be about 30mins+)....

am sooooooooooooooooo tired....

bye!

Hi there - she is 8 months and a week a bit I'm constantly battling with my weight and she is heavy! Heavy but not fat - she is in 9-12 month clothes cause her legs are so long. I have her on breakfast, then a bottle, lunch an afternoon bottle, dinner and then a bedtime bottle. Probably seems odd I give her food first thing and not bottle but she has reflux and a good solid base for the rest of the day keeps more food and bottle down!

Kosh - 3 hour nap????? Wow she has never had one of those bad boys! Usually 30 minutes in the am and 30 minutes in the afternoon, but very occasionally she does over and hour and once we had an hour and 45 minutes

I've been exhausted since I got my BFP!

 

[Storm1jet2]

Ah ladies the joy of the Christening! We had LO baptised when she was 6 months, entirely our choice as we are both Christians - but the hassle from DH family about who had to be invited was less than funny. They treated it like a huge massive party which under normal circumstances would have been ok, but my mum who I was incredibly close too died when LO was 4 weeks old, only diagnosed the day I have birth and I didn't know until 2 days later - so I had already named LO with both her grandmothers names as middle names and I knew I was going to struggle in Church when they said her name. But OH parents are soooooooo rubbish and insensitive all they cared about was all their family got invited to the food bit afterwards which I held at my dads (have to get used calling it that and not parents!). That said OH parents have been utterly crap, they live 15 minutes away and have seen her 8 times in 8 months - they can't be bothered with her when she cries. Ok I'll hold this rant for another time - enough said...

Anyway back to the baptism, as I'm protestant its only symbolic to say you will bring your child to Church and bring them up in a Christian home. Some people choose to have their child baptised or as most people call it Christened - others don't. Our Church doesn't have godparents either so that made that bit easy - I don't know how I would have chosen any!

I have tried LO with omlettes, she likes holding the strips and sucking the tomato and cheese off! Today she ate all my vegetable soup! Technically it was the vegetables and chicken removed from the watery soup and blended but she ate it and it was good for her - I was happy!

She had a good night last night, only woke at 2 - was wide awake and practising the starting crawling position, so I brought her in with me and she slept til 7 - very very little crying! Given the night before she had a terrible night I'm hopeful for tonight. Yesterday I didn't give her any fruit after lunchtime, no banana and gave her gaviscogne in her last bottle - we've done the same today so I'm hoping it's cutting the wind down. She is a wee acidy parpy burp machine!

And just I type that she is having a wee cry - NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

EDIT - apparently lying sideways across the cot with your legs in the air isn't the best position for staying asleep................

Oh and people have babies to save their relationships must be nuts - we have fought non stop since LO arrived - exhaustion is a terrible thing!!!!!! Nothing serious just all the little niggly things that you find unbearably annoying when you are tired!

And for my third edit cause I'm tired and keep forgetting things - she bites and she bites hard! Since she got the top 2 teeth she bites and it hurtsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss )

 

[skweek35]

Hi ladies,

Sorry I've been MIA - being back at work this week has resulted in one busy week! And things are not set to calm down either! I'm due to teach my old class for the next week! HELP! - not sure if that is a cry for help from me or the class -

I have read this page in an attempt to catch up -

Sabrina - I would love to have done something like that - a nice small wedding! But there is no way my family would ever let me get away with that! I would love to have just had my parents, siblings and their partners and OH's parents and his sister and her little family! Done and dusted - but hell no. Our wedding - if left to my mother - would be the biggest and grandest affair of the year! NOT my idea of a lovely wedding.

Clio - so glad your mom's visit is going well.

As for having babies to save a marriage - totally stupid idea!! I suspect one of our neighbours did that! Apparently her marriage was on the rocks when she had her son - well lets say I can confidently say her son has not 'fixed' the marriage! We hear everything in this cul de sac!

Storm - I would love to have my child baptized/christened but can see there is no way of getting my OH to church! I was baptized and went to church for years so feel it is an important part of a child's life. He, on the other hand, is always saying that his brain is too scientific to believe the Bible.

Hope everyone else is doing well

 

[SabrinaKat]

well.......my OH has been great today -- he's been able to get LO down for a few naps, but admitted that he was exhausted, so at least, he has a better idea of what I do EVERY DAY! - LOL!

storm: I give milk first because I figure I'M thirsty when I wake up myself, and then later, we have some porridge!

other ladies: am 'relieved' that I'm/we're not the only arguing at times. Now that my OH is able to get LO to sleep, it has made a huge difference to us and our marriage - LOL! If I am so tired, that I simply can't face another verse of 'Finn is a monkey baby', then at least, I know my OH can now rock him (without music sadly, tho) to sleep!

We're away from tomorrow to Tuesday, so if I don't post before we go away (my OH booked a holiday to stay at a hotel for two nights in Tipperary, and fortunately, we had a trial run in July, so I know to bring....everything that the baby could ever want (his basket, his activity centre, his bouncy chair, some toys, loads of supplies, clothes, etc....and me? ONE small bag...we had a bell-boy bring up all our stuff last time, and it was quite amusing walking with LO in his massive stroller set, and a collection of baby things piled up high, whereas MY bag was slung over my shoulder!) ...am thinking of you all and hoping all are well (and most importantly, sleeping!)

bye!

 

[Borboleta]

Hello ladies,

So today and last night we had a great day!!! Thiago slept with me from 9:30pm till 5:30am, gave him a bottle and he slept till 7:30am !! Back to his old self hopefully!

Clio: I found this blanket that thiago got as a gift and he loves it! He is slept great holding the blanket! We will keep using!how is your patented blanket going? Oh, and we have been using this cheap non brand sippy cup with thiago and it is going very well. He actually started drinking from a cup. I have been offering to him the last month or so and he loves it!

We would love to have thiago baptized but we need to find a church yet!!!

My dad is coming tomorrow from brazil so I need to finish getting the house nice and organized to him!!! talk to you ladies soon.

 

[clio]

Wow! It seems like lots of us have family visiting.

Oh, and I totally forgot my most exciting piece of news: J said his first word! His grandfather has been insisting that he's been saying it for a while now, but I didn't believe him. But then, two days ago, I heard it. He reached out his arms to me and said: "Up." Right now, I just came home and he put his arms out and said: "Up up!"

I'm very happy that he has said his first word, but am a bit flummoxed that it is "up." What's wrong with "mama"?

 

[kosh]

awwwwww J's first word!!!!!!!
i know what you mean about mama not being his first word,but i think 'up' is a very nice first word too!!!

 

[clio]

Thanks, kosh! It is actually really exciting; I wasn't expecting a word for a while. And it's probably not so strange that it's "up." This is the time when separation anxiety sets in!

J's apparently been asking his grandfather "up!" for a while because he loves to sit in his chair with him.

 

[kosh]

awww that's so sweet!
and i truly think 'up' is a nice first word - he's not just calling you or his dad, he's telling you what he wants!

 

[Indigo77]

Omg! Jonah said 'up'!

& the context is sweet indeed...

 

[AngelUK]

Sabrina I hope you have a nice time! I hate travelling with loads of stuff and always only had a bag, never a suitcase. I know that has changed for ever now

Borboleta I bet you are looking forward to your father coming even if you have to tidy lol, so for you too, I hope you'll have a lovely time And I am so glad your handsome little fellow is back to his normal self

Clio I think "up" is a lovely first word too A friend of mine apparently said nothing but NO for ages. Now that is perhaps less nice in a baby but certainly fits her character to this day lol.

From us not much news except that Dom has started rolling in his cot and everywhere by himself. He has been able to roll over for a while now but never did so unless we prompted him during tummy time on the floor etc. He isn't too good with rolling back to his back yet so I am a lil worried, especially as he wears a woombie at night. I seriously don't think he would sleep at all without the woombie and I know that my little Sebastian still has the startle reflex cause I have observed it during nap times. Sebastian is no where near rolling over. He sort of can roll back on to his back when we have rolled him to his tummy and he hasn't unstuck his hand. He does turn to his side occasionally but that is it. I am not worrying about that though as I know all babies are different. The fact that he still has a bit of a wobble with his head when we carry him or when he is sitting on our laps is maybe a bit more worrying. But the doctor said he was normal and not to worry. Hmm.

 

[SabrinaKat]

haven't left yet.....! LO woke up crying at 12am, and so I gave him a bottle and it took about another hour+ to get him resettled. I was very nice and DIDN'T wake up my OH (as it was my night), but unfortunately, as we have to take the cats to the cattery around 9am, OH won't get the lie-in that I got yesterday, but at least, he can go back to sleep when he comes back.

On another note, I noticed that most of our LOs except Bravemom and skweek (soon, tho) are around the same age, which is great as I was worried about LO's first word, but J is a month+ older, so am not so worried (he does say 'ack' alot, perhaps ancient Hebrew?) and that our LOs seem to be having the same problems (teething) around the same time as well -- so very helpful and nice to be able to share with a smaller group of ladies!

anyway, got to go put the cats in their cat carriers - now, that's fun!(not!)

bye!

 

[AngelUK]

Well my boys are a bit younger than most here but older than little Nico. But yeah I agree it is lovely to have you ladies to chat with
xxx

 

[kosh]

morning ladies!
i'm in a good mood today as we had a decent night (for our standards of course) and this morning we went to the swimming pool for the first time! not only that but i managed to convinced my mega-stressed DH to come too. we had to have an argument before leaving the house of course but all was fine when we got there and we had a really good time in the end Gael loved it. He's fast asleep now, of course!

now, i need to get my act together and sort all the paperwork to get his passports. yes, plural - he'll have 4 nationalities! Mexican and American from DH, and Argentine and Polish from me!

oh, btw, it's interesting to see that many of us have mixed ancestry. what do we have? German, Hungarian, Swiss, Irish, Greek, Polish...what else? how about you Borboleta?

hope everyone is having a nice weekend. enojy your families visitingand your trips!

 

[skweek35]

Morning ladies,
Sabrina - hope you have a great time away!
I can just see when we go on honeymoon next year - with LO - its going to be the same, loads of stuff for her and a few pieces of clothing and the essential toiletries for us!

Kosh - glad to hear you had another good nights sleep! I know I am always better after a good nights sleep! Broken sleep these days seems to put me in an instant foul mood!
Oh I can add to the metropolitan feel of the thread - English South African with a kick back of Dutch! My mom is of English decent and my dad is of Dutch decent although we were all born and brought up in Cape Town.

Clio - :aww: love J's first word! Just cute(and clever) that his first word was used in the correct context too!

I unfortunately have to spend today in door planning for a class I thought I had passed on. Fortunately for me I have a lot of planning from when I taught Year 5 a few years ago. SO planning shouldn't take too long (hopefully)