***Lion Cub Mommies-Back In Action!***

[cleckner04]

Popping in to say I hope you are staying safe spidey!!

I'm awfully glad I don't still live in virginia right now. They just evacuated the area that I lived in. I wonder how our old house will hold up. I sometimes wonder how the new owners are treating it.


Corey and my 7th wedding anniversary is on Sunday so we decided we'll take a drive to disneyland and do part of our L.A. vacation early. Just the disneyland part. We'll be going to disneyland tomorrow and than disney adventureland and downtown disney on Sunday before driving back. It's kind of a last minute idea so I've been rushing around cleaning and packing. Cleaning because I hate coming back to a messy house when we've been gone for a while. And it is so much trickier to pack now that we have Emma. I keep thinking I need spare outfits in case she spills or gets dirty and I need all the little hair bands so I can keep her hair out of her face. And than I have to remember her favorite snacks so she doesn't get grumpy between meals. Such a hassle.

My weight is like up and down all the time. I guess I'm just maintaining the weight I lost when DH was gone but I seriously haven't been losing more because we keep going out to eat. I can't help it. We went to this mexican taco shop that was featured on man vs. food and got the burrito that he got on the show yesterday. It was delicious and probably really bad on my weight. I was too scared to step on a scale this morning. I really wish I could just get down to 180 and than maintain that weight. I just can't find the motivation now that Dh is back though.

Okay, enough talking about myself..

jelr- It must be so hard going back to work when you have gotten used to being home with N. I hope it all goes smoothly. Good luck with quitting smoking too! Does your DH smoke too? For some reason it's sticking in my head that he smokes too. If he does that would make it 100x harder to quit I think if he still smoked.

spidey- that is so cool that Kira has pooped on the potty a few times!! I can never tell when Emma is pooping. I swear she just stands there and does it while playing without even stopping what she's doing. It's crazy all that is going on at the east coast this past week. Hopefully you guys will be good through it all. In a way it's so exciting but it's also scary. I always loved when we had tornado warnings and big storms in Ohio. It was just so exciting in our boring little town.

Shiv- Wow I can't believe how big Sophia is next to that other little girl! Sophia really is very grown up looking. And acting from the way you describe her. She makes Emma seem like a baby still.

MJ- I'm so sorry you are feeling down. I hope you manage to speak to someone to help get your feelings out and help you feel better. I think it's always good to get it out instead of bottling it up. Your stairway is awesome in your new place. I love how it wraps to each side of the upstairs. I've never seen anything like that. And the work you guys have done looks beautiful! I hope you keep updating us with progress pictures. I wish my DH was more gifted when it comes to carpentry. He's all about the mechanical work but doesn't know what he's doing really when it comes to house repair.



And I think that's about it. Sorry I'm not around much lately. I lurk and read but always seem to get sidetracked to respond. I've been spending quite a bit of time with the neighbor across the cul-de-sac. Emma and her two girls get along really well so we always sit out there while they play in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Which kind of sucks that I finally have a good friend right before I have to move again. Sometimes my weird attached neighbors come out too. They have two girls also so the 5 girls all play together. But it's more of a frenemy type of situation with my attached neighbors. We are civil to eachother but I still think they are weird. The husband tries really hard to be cool but he's really just a giant douchebag. And the wife is accidentally pregnant right now and keeps going on and on about how fertile she is every time we see her. She knows DH and I are trying with no luck too so it's like she is rubbing it in on purpose. They didn't even want to be pregnant again so it's quite irritating and I think it'll be really hurtful for me to see her once she starts showing. She's only 10 weeks pregnant right now.

I'm pretty resolved to the fact that I probably won't get pregnant yet. I've been trying to cut Emma down on the booby still with no luck. I put vinegar on my nipples yesterday and she didn't even flinch when latching on. She just fed like there was nothing different. I told Dh last night that she will BF forever. I just can't see her stopping without a million tears.

 

[spidey]

I won't give my exact location on here, but the nearest city is Baltimore. If you look at a map of Maryland you'll see the Chesapeake bay and I live very close to the bay. They had the storm tracked so it might come up or be close to the Chesapeake Bay but now they're tracking the storm more off the coast, which is good news for us. Ocean City is the place where all the locals go for the summer and I'm a 3 hours drive from there.

I'll take pictures of any storm damage. I'm not expecting it to be too bad, but we'll see. It's going to hit us late Saturday so I'll be sleeping (or trying to sleep) during most of it. I'll be filling my spare bathtub with drinking water and we have lots of propane gas so we can grill if we need to since my stove is electric. I've always liked storms so I'm a little excited about it.

Cleckner, have fun on your trip!! Thats really nice that you made friends with the neighbors across the street Your strange newly pregnant neighbor sounds annoying Emma is a stealth pooper Kira's poops are large and on the harder side so she usually does some serious pushy faces so I know ones coming!

 

[Mary Jo]

coming back later to post properly, at work, but just want to say Spidey, STAY SAFE. hope you don't get too much damage and that power doesn't go off, or if it does it's very temporary.

 

[spidey]

The storm has passed and we only lost power for a short time Overall there wasn't much damage besides some fallen trees and I missed most of the hurricane because I slept right through it! Many people are without power now so I'm pretty lucky and we managed to get to the toy store today to pass the time

So, during all this excitement I ovulated! I got a positive opk on Thursday evening and an almost positive Friday evening. I was really bloated and a little crampy on Friday evening so I think I ovulated on Friday, although it could have happened Saturday. Either way, we so I'm in the 2ww now. Nips started hurting Thursday right on cue. AND... I was told I'm keeping my job for the next 12 months!! I celebrated by buying new underwear, socks and a purse When I heard the news about my job, I gave my direct supervisor the warning that I'm trying to get pregnant. We've worked together for the past 10 years and just recently he became my supervisor after my boss went psycho and quit. So now I'll feel a little less guilty if it happens this month.

 

[jelr]

Woooohoooo Spidey for surviving the storm with no damage and only minimum tv and internet withdrawals, ovulation and keeping your job for another 12 months.

Looks like it was a good weekend all around for you, I'm so glad you weren't hit badly by the storm though.

Cleck: Hope you are having a lovely trip away and Happy Anniversary. That is great that you are getting to know the neighbours. But yeah I have to agree the neighbour beside you does sound like a pain, that is really mean of her to keep going on about the pregnancy when she knows you are trying.

Yep DH does smoke as well, so I know that is going to be tough, he says he is sick of them and will probably give them up too, but I'm not so sure and am leaving it up to him as he hasn't had a drink in 19 or 20 years, and buys me wine all the time, so I think he has already done so well and I'm so proud of him to have won the battle with that addiction, so I dont want to take his cigs away from him too and as I have learned myself when I gave up in pregnancy, it is something you have to do for you and not that you are forced to or it wont last forever. I am really really hoping that he does give up with me though as I know it will make it easier on me, but I'm not telling him that as I dont want him to feel he has to ifykwim. He actually doesn't smoke that much once he is home in fact I would say I would smoke more, which is funny as I never noticed it before Natasha was born as we just smoked inside and you would never really notice how much the other is smoking, but now that we go outside to smoke it is much more obvious so I don't think at home will be that much of a problem, but it will be more if we are out or at others houses, as we would always go out for a smoke together for a change of scenery and that is where he would smoke more, I think it is partly a break away from everyone drinking for him and thats why I wouldn't ask him to stop but at the same time I know that is where I will find it harder

Well it was a hectic weekend here but a pretty non eventful one, our bathroom is finally finished. DH also got a truck load (and I do mean truck load literally) of turf delivered yesterday so himself and my brothers spent the whole day out bringing it from our drive into the shed, I did a bit, but the dust was blowing around and some was going in Natashas face so I brought her inside out of the way, so I am so glad that is all over, because I'm shattered and have a nasty sore throat and Natasha is a bit snuffly too, which was a bit of a shock as she hasn't had a cold since last Feb/March and she was doing okay with it until today where she spent most of the day screaming and having melt downs for no reason at all - which I felt bad for her as I know she probably feels rotten, but it was really hard when DH was so busy and I felt so crappy myself. Oh well hopefully tomorrow will be a much better day.

 

[spidey]

awww, I hope you and Natasha feel better today. She must of picked up a germ from her party. What are you going to do with the turf?

Operation wean from the deedee has started! On Saturday Kira was bossing DH around all day with the pacifier in her mouth, and DH was being really stubborn saying "I can't understand you" and both of them were acting like toddlers! Of course Kira held onto her pacifier even tighter since DH was trying to take it away. So on Sunday DH said "deedees are for sleepy time" and we hid them all. She asked for it several times and we occupied her mouth with cookies and she never had a huge meltdown. So far today she only asked me twice, and both times she easily accepted the "deedee's are for sleepy time" explanation. Tomorrow will be the final test since my mom has Kira, so I hope Kira is as understanding with her. To be honest, I'm shocked at how easy it's been so far (knock on wood!).

 

[cleckner04]

spidey- I'm glad the storm didn't cause too much damage and that your power wasn't out for long. And it sounds like the weaning from the pacifier has been so easy!! I wish it was that easy to get Emma off my boobs since they have always been her version of a paci.

jelr- I can see why you wouldn't ask your DH to quit as well. I would do the same. Although I do know it will be much harder to quit if you smell his a lot. I have my fingers crossed for you to be able to quit easy enough. I know it's a very tough thing to do. I've got an aunt on Corey's side that hasn't been able to quit even after losing a lung and both of her breasts from cancer.


Well Disneyland was so much fun! Although I feel worn out and bled dry. They sure know how to market themselves so you blow all your money there. Emma did really well. We bought an umbrella stroller so I didn't have to haul around my big one. She only sat in it a handful of times though. The rest of the time she wanted to walk or help push the stroller or I had to carry her. But we managed without her running off or anything. She enjoyed almost all of the rides but the dumbo ride that goes in a circle she hated. That was really stressful because she kept trying to climb out and she was clearly panicking but obviously you can't get out when you are strapped in and up in the air spinning. She got really excited when she saw Minnie. Which was the main character that I wanted her to see since she loves her minnie doll so much and her birthday was minnie. She tried to sneak further up in the line to get to her but I had to keep telling Emma that we have to wait our turn. But once we finally got up to her Emma turned shy and just stared. A few characters tried to interact with her and those were the times that she'd start to fuss a bit and hide into me. We were watching the parade and captain hook came up to her and put his hand out to her. She didn't like that at all. Which was funny and I wish I got it on tape. I'll post pictures on facebook eventually but we want to do the rest of our LA trip this weekend or next so I probably won't post the pictures until they are all sorted.

 

[cleckner04]

Oh yeah, meant to say that the neighbors attached to me are suddenly giving us the cold shoulder. Not just DH and I but the across the street neighbors too. While we were gone the across the street neighbor(V) went outside and as soon as she went out they packed up their chairs and went in. V has waved at them several times and they just look at her and go on their way without waving back or smiling or anything. Last night we were all hanging out talking and the attached neighbor husband came out with his remote control truck and he played by himself off to the side but when we waved he pretended we wasn't there. Corey even walked by him and said 'whats up man' and he didn't speak once. So they are being really immature and we have no clue why. Maybe the wife is on this forum and read what I wrote or something.

 

[Shiv]

HI everyone - Cleck good to see you back!

Spidey - so glad you weren't too afected by the storm. Were any areas hit worse than expected?

It sounds like getting Kira off of her dummy might not be too traumatic which is good.

Cleck - your trip sounds fun, will look forward to seeing the pics.

have you tried lemon juice on your nips yet?

Jelr - I hope you and natasha are feeling better. Sophia is snotty too but I don't know if it is a cold or her 2 year molars causing it.

MJ - glad you are feeling a bit better.

As for me, well we've had friends staying for the weekend whcih was good as Sophia always has a blast with them (same people we went on holiday to yorkshire with earlier this year). Anyway we have decided to go on a proper holiday next year - ABROAD including a flight! I don't know whether I am being brave or stupid seeing as I will have an 8 month old by then! But I figured if I didn't bite the bullet and go next year then Sophia would be in school and it would cost a fortune. So in total there will be 6 adults and 3 kids, and we are going to get a big villa with a pool in Menorca or the like! Exciting but scary! I figured it would be a good introduction to going away as we will have extra hands to help on the plane etc.

I have my 36 week appt tomorrow with a doctor instead of midwife (still haven't met my midwife ) and she will determine whether baby is head down or not and send me for a scan if s/he isn't. Baby has been so hyperactive the past few days, it makes me feel sick as s/he keeps booting my stomach/bowel or something and it feels really weird. I never had this with SOphia, I always struggled to count 10 kicks in a day with her.

I am MASSIVE! The last couple of weeks I have just ballooned, I am bigger now than I was when I had Sophia, and it is all sticking out the front so that my maternity tops are flasing bump at the bottom I have put on 2stone and 2lbs at 36 weeks which I am ok with, I have 3 lbs until I hit 12 stone which is what i wanted to be my maximum. So assuming I don't go overdue by too much I might not be too far off that. Which will mean that I will have put on a stone less this time around.

David is off to Holland again either the end of this week or next week and then that should be him at home until the birth (I mean he will still be working, but in the office 15 minutes drive away). I have my best friend coming down on Saturday for 5 nights with her little boy, so it is going to be pretty busy i guess. I hope she doesn't expect to be constantly entertained, my whale like status is stopping me wanting to do much apart from sleep (and eat obviously )

anyway , I guess that is it from me, nothing too exciting!

 

[Shiv]

oh and Cleck - your neighbours really are weird!

 

[jelr]

Spidey: That is brilliant that she is weaning so well from her deedee. I was surprised myself when we did it for during the day how easy it was after. I definitely think hiding them is the trick. We will burn the turf, I'm not sure if other countries do this as I know Ireland is known for its turf - here is a link https://www.irelandlogue.com/about-ireland/irish-fuel-turf.html - apologies to you UK ladies as it does make a smart remark about the English, but it was the best description I could get with a picture.

Cleck: Sounds like you had a lovely trip, We went to disneyland florida on our honeymoon and I would love to bring Natasha some day, but I would never do that long haul flight again and especially not with a child - I dont think the smell will actually bother me because I wont smell fresh smoke as DH will be outside and I realised when I was pregnant that the smell of smoke off of somebody is actually quite disgusting but I think it will be more that it will make me think of them when DH does go outside ifkwim - the champix tablets are supposed to actually turn you off of them, so I'm hoping that this does happen, so when I do think of them when DH goes out for one, it will more disgust me than make me want one - I have no idea if that will happen, but fingers crossed it will - Your neighbours are definitely weird, I can't understand people like that, if I had a problem with someone I would just say what was up, especially when Corey asked the man out straight, but then I have a big gob that I can't keep shut

Shiv: eeeek I can't believe how quickly your time is coming up - I really hope baby has turned and that you enjoy having your friend over and it doesn't turn into a chore. I think it soundsl like a great idea to go on holidays when you have a crowd going with you to help with the journey. We have also been putting off foreign holidays for the same reasons and you make a good point about school - what age do they start in the UK? Natasha will be 5 before she goes here. We did plan on going this year, but then I was pregnant and we put it off and then DH lost his job after I wasn't pregnant and now hopefully I will be pregnant next year so we wont be going anywhere again, but hopefully the year after - God that sounds so far away now that I write it down

Well Natasha seems to be back to full health and I thought I was this morning as my throat wasn't sore anymore, but now I'm all sniffly this evening and really feel crappy and tired, but then I have been tired since Natasha's birthday so I dont know if I'm run down or what, because I dont usually get sick either or if I do, I just get on with it, where as this time, I'm really feeling sorry for myself - I just ate a big jumbo size of crisps all by myself - you know the ones that you open if you have a crowd over and DH said to Natasha this evening that mammy will be back in work next week and I bawled like a baby and got really upset at the thoughts of leaving her so I will have to give myself a good talking to and get on with it really

I think it is partly because she is reaching a stage where she is kicking up a bit and ignoring us and being bold, which she never really does and we have had a few time outs and that in the last week and I hate the thoughts of anybody else other than myself or DH disciplining her if that makes sense and at the same time I dont want my mam to let her away with murder either. Ack I'm sure it will all be grand once we get back into the swing of things.

 

[Shiv]

so turf isn't grass then?......You irish folk have some weird ways er

I am glad natasha is feeling better, but not that your aren't. The problem is I find, that once you are run down and knackered, there is no chance to re-energise, no lie-ins etc so you tend to stay run down for longer. I hope you can shake it soon.

I hope you enjoyed your crisps! I have eaten a ton of crisps over the weekend too!

I forgot to mention aout Sophia's recent potty experieneces. She is still being awkward abot wearing a nappy when we are at home. A couple of times last week i have gone for a shower (when i am in the shower Sophia has the run of upstairs), i have said to her, here is your potty, ifyou need a wee or a poo you can sit on it. I get in the shower then a few minutes later I hear "mummy doing a wee in my potty", so I get out of the shower and look in her potty which does indeed have a wee in it. then I have to ask, have you done a wee anywheer else, and she shows me where she startde to wee! So she starts to wee, then realises, stops the flow (no drips en-route to the potty!) and runs to her potty. SO this is kinda clever but she obviously doesn't know BEFORE she is goign to wee which is obviously the key to potty training.

Today however she did do a wee in her potty starght off, however she had just been upstairs and started to wee so I lifted her to the toilet where she contiued. Then we came downstairs and she found her potty and did another one staright away! Progress I suppose not that I am actually tryign for progress!

 

[cleckner04]

I'm so amazed by the little ones that are willingly going on the potty already! Every time I ask Emma to sit on the potty she flat out tells me NO with a stubborn look on her face. She seriously is just not interested at all. I wonder if one day she'll just decide to go on her own or if I need to figure out how to properly train her.


Ok I was gonna post more but Emma is insisting we go for a ride in the jeep with daddy so I gotta go.

 

[spidey]

jelr, when you said turf, I pictured a bunch of rolled up grass to put in your yard

Cleckner, I can't wait to see pictures of Disney! Emma is very brave for getting on rides and Captain Hook would have freaked me out too Your attached neighbors sound so dramatic.

Shiv, your vacation next year should be fun! Atleast with an 8 month old they can't walk so you don't have to chase after them the whole time. You need to post another bump picture so we can see your massive bump! Fingers crossed that baby is head down and your appointment tomorrow goes well. Will you ever meet the home birth midwife? So far you've met the anti-birth one and now a doctor.

jelr, I hope you feel better tomorrow It's hard knowing you have to return to work so soon and won't see Natasha as much. Kira's been a bit rebellious this week too. I feel like the terrible 2's are finally kicking in for us.

And huge congrats to Sophia for figuring out the potty!!! Thats really promising that she'll make it to the potty to finish her pee. I'm also amazed that she remembers where she tinkled in the house and will show you! Such a smart girl!

The hurricane did hit us hard but we got extremely lucky with having no damage and keeping our power. Most of this area is still without power and many of the major intersections don't have working traffic lights. Now they're saying that many won't get power back till Friday. School has been cancelled too and lots of people are trapped on their roads from fallen trees. We went to the store this evening just to find out that the entire mall and all the surrounding restaurants were without power and closed. Tomorrow I get to drive to work without working traffic lights, so that should be a real b*tch!

Kira put up a small fuss after her nap for her deedee, and bad mommy gave her some M&M's to eat instead. Besides that, it's been a success all day!

 

[cleckner04]

Spidey- M&Ms solve everything. Good luck getting to work without traffic lights! That would definitely be a pain in the ass. I've had to go a few places while living here and traffic lights were out and people were clueless about what to do.

Shiv- I just saw on FB that baby is head down! That's wonderful news! I agree with spidey, we need piccies of the massive bump.

 

[Shiv]

This is where roundabouts would be handy for you Americans!

Thanks Cleck - lets just hope baby stays that way!

Well here is today's photo - it looks less massive than it does in real life, and it appears to have dropped over night! I'll put last weeks up to compare so that you can compare!

Today's photo is the one in jeans

 

[jelr]

Nope people turf is not grass I didn't even think when I posted and it was only until spidey asked what we were going to do with it that I guessed you thought it was grass and not the turf for fuel. Shiv: I knew the US ladies wouldn't have had a clue, but I thought maybe you might have heard of it in the UK, we usually dont burn turf as it is very dusty, but now that we have the stove, it will solve that problem as there is definitely more heat from it

Spidey: If the m&m's work then go with it - Funnily enough Natasha has started to not want to give hers up after her nap this week either, but is not kicking up, she has just said me go sleep and stays in her cot for about 20 mins after waking and I think it is for the extra few mins sucking - Sorry to hear Kira is being more rebellious this week too. I like that description actually, I usually think of rebellious with teenagers, but it actually describles Natasha so well this week and it much nicer than bold as I actually hate that word. Best of luck going to work tomorrow, I have only once had traffic lights down and it is a real pain as people dont have a clue - I'm so glad though you were so lucky with the hurricane.

Cleck: I hope your neighbours are not doing anything else weird - I woudn't worry about Emma and the potty, I reckon she will just sit on it when she is ready, she is just making sure you are clear that she is not at the moment, by her stubborn NO - or I know my friends little girl wouldn't use the potty at all, so they got these steps attached to a potty seat for the toilet and she took to it straight away, so maybe some children just dont like the potty for some reason

Shiv: Bump has definitely dropped and gotten bigger, I do think you look amazing for 36 weeks pregnant though, you are only bump and are not carrying weight anywhere else. I would say you are so relieved about baby being head down. Mad that you have not met your midwife yet. Have you looked into getting the birthing pool and all yet?

I know what you mean about not having time to re-coup when you are knackered or run down and I think that is what the problem is with me at the moment as I dont have any reason to be run down as I'm eating better than ever and am off work so not under much stress. I even went to bed early all this week. Natasha did go through a couple of weeks again of crying in her sleep so I was awake nearly every hour and found it hard to get back to sleep and now that she has settle down again, I keep waking anyway when I could be getting a proper nights sleep - think my body clock had just gotten used to waking every hour so I think that is why I am so knackered, hopefully Natasha will keep on sleeping and I will be so exhausted next week being back at work that I will go out like a light for a few nights and be back to normal.

Yay for Sophia more or less potty training herself, now that is clever :thumpup: - I'm really impressed that she can hold it - I'm hard pressed to do that myself some days - I think Natasha is starting to get a better understanding of it as for the last few months she hates if she is pooing that anybody is looking at her or she hates if you mention are you pooing, so lately if she is constipated I will say are you okay or are you alright, do you want me to rub your belly rather than asking her if she is pooing - well the last few days, when she starts to poo, she comes running up to me and says alright mammy and gives me a kiss - so she is now kind of starting to tell me that she is going

MJ: hope you are okay and feeling a little better this week - am thinking of you

Well we just had a completely lazy day today as I'm full of snot so not much news going on, had a friend over for dinner which was kinda weird, well not weird but I was so paranoid as even though we are best friends for nearly 20 years, I have never cooked for her or any of my friends really - it just happened that she was calling tonight and had said she was going to come straight from work as she wanted to spend some time with Natasha too, so I said sure you may as well have dinner with us then. I only did roast chicken and potatoes and veg as I reckoned I couldn't really go wrong with that and she was still standing leaving here an hour ago

Her visit did cheer me up a bit though and I'm not feeling as sorry for myself, I think it really is that I just dont want to go back next week between wanting to be one to sort out Natasha's rebelliousness myself and I'm just afraid that I will miss out on all her new words and things, she really does amaze me more and more each day. It really is such a wonderful age and you can see her little imagination coming out more and more and her memory just shocks me - I had to email DH his work brochure as it was on his laptop here and when she saw it she straight away said "birdie on Daddys ban (van)" - so she recognised the logo. Only this week she is recognising the correct colours and saying them out randomly like blue car mammy when we are out and so on and today she was playing with a toy and next minute she piped up "heart on the top" which there was. I knew she knew the basic shapes like a circle, square and triangle, but didn't realise she knew a heart also and I love hearing and learning all the things that she does know, so I dont want to miss any of it when I'm at work - but then as my friend pointed out, once I go back and get into my routine I will be fine and that it is more the thoughts of it is usually worse than actually doing it and she loves being in my mams too, so I know she will be fine and I will just have to get over myself really - So give me a kick up the bum girls and tell me get over myself

Well I probably wont be on for the next few days as we have the wedding Thursday and tomorrow night I may do my nails and so on and make myself presentable and DH and I usually dont go online Friday or Sat night now, so I hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[Mary Jo]

ah poo, I was just almost done with the biggest most bloated post ever and I managed to lose it. GRRRRRRRR.

can't face writing it all out again. so it'll have to be the extremely abridged version.

Spidey, hooray for making it through the hurricane with minimal bad effects. massive hooray for your job and for the OPK, fingers well and truly crossed... Kira is super sweet in the video ... she is pretty much on a par with Adam speech-wise, sems to know a lot of words but doesn't always get the whole thing out. he is understandable to us but probably not everyone. am full of admiration for you with operation farewell deedee... that's one battle I am not winning right now. I am weak willed in the face of a screaming, crying toddler who is desperate. I should hide them, 9 times out of 10 when he's dragging me somewhere it's to wave at the top of the fridge where the deedees are.

Cleck, Disney sounded like a lot of fun, good on Emma for not running off (that's my trouble with Adam, he runs and then when he's caught he struggles and screams when being put back into car seat/pushchair). fingers crossed your dates coincide nicely with Corey's time home. and I can't believe Emma wasn't bothered by the vinegar on your nips. perhaps she liked the different taste sensation? Adam is also a stealth pooer, he never tells me, only after breakfast he says "poo poo" but he's already gone by then. he doesn't seem at all bothered by sitting in a load of shit. or in a sodden, dripping wet nappy. till he's able to tell me, or indicates to me that he doesn't like it, I'm not even attempting much with a potty.

Shiv, first - happy birthday Sophia and am glad her birthday and party went well. I also love the pic of her in the backpack, she's adorable. she does look older than 2, I think next to Adam she'd really look older, he has a chubby round baby face, and with his curls and longish hair (for a boy) he does look like a baby. though people do remark on his height. think your holiday will be fine with that child/adult ratio, especially if new baby isn't really active by then. though IIRC, Adam at 8 months was cruising and being v difficult when not allowed to do what he wanted...

massive yay for baby doing the right thing, finally, and going head down. hope this is it and s/he stays put. well done on your weight gain, don't think I am doing so well, though I don't know for sure as the scales are in a box, location unknown, so I haven't weighed myself in well over a month. the nurse weighed me when we registered at the docs, and I was 11 and a half st, but it was fully clothed and after breakfast so it doesn't count in my eyes. have been eating like someone who isn't trying to be careful not to gain too much weight. oops.

Jean, ack, am sorry your holidays are almost over, I totally understand what you say about not wanting to miss a thing with Natasha. I'd be exactly the same. he is also picking up new words and behaviours every day, and I have no idea where he learns some things. TV I suppose... still, N's 3-day birthday celebration sounded awesome, so glad the weather didn't spoil anything and that she had a great time. hope the champix works for you, and I am with you on understanding that someone can only give up something when the motivation truly comes from themself, not someone else. I tried stopping drinking (several times in the years before I did) but never for the right reasons (to please someone else/get them off my back) and of course it failed. when it came from me, when I knew I had to do it and there were no conditions attached, I was able. I hope Jim comes to the decision to quit himself, but you are very very understanding in why it mightn't be the right time for him, and I think it's admirable.

as for us... thank you all for the support after my last post, when I was feeling so low. I'm not quite so bad now, thank goodness, honestly think I was just exhausted and it crushes my mood. also I'm not fighting with Adam. if he has a tantrum I am not engaging with it, and if he pulls at my hands, I am just going along with that, too. I still hate it but I hate getting angry about it more. I've been sleeping ok, 3x a night toilet trips notwithstanding, and managing to stave off Adam's early mornings with my iphone (he watches episodes of Cbeebies shows while I doze, and on a good day I can keep him in bed for an extra hour). also, we went over to C's mum the other week, and while we were chatting she asked if I was still carrying Adam, meaning upstairs, etc, and yes I am when I have to, which is usually to enforce a nappy change when he won't walk up because he doesn't want to go. she came up with the simplest suggestion and I was kicking myself for not thinking of it myself... to keep some of his nappies downstairs so I moved the changing mat and got some wipes and it's all working well and that's 3-4 fights a day I am not having now. also getting his clothes all ready when I'm upstairs on my own and bringing them to him and dressing him while he's doing something else.

C has been getting on with the the house some more, he finished the work on the stairs and it's now a lot safer:

before: scary v-shaped stair

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a189/ariel3112/IMG_0284.jpg

after: v shape filled in with a very solid triangle of wood:

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a189/ariel3112/IMG_0372.jpg

https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a189/ariel3112/IMG_0370.jpg

carpets are being fitted tomorrow. a hardwearing cream carpet on the stairs and landing, and a green one in Adam's room (it's not so dark as pine green but darker than emerald). his walls are pale yellow - plan was for cream but B&Q's colour sample chart was very misleading and it's definitely yellow, but by the time I got to see it it was almost all done and I didn't have the heart to tell Chris I hate it - which I don't but I almost do - and make him do it over again. it'll be ok once it's all done, I'm sure. I've bought him this duvet set, so I think it'll look nice. thinking about getting some wall stickers as well but never done anything like that - I know you have Cleck and Jean and I think Shiv - is it easy to get a good result?

can't wait to get the carpets down, it's the last big disruptive thing in the near future (longer term the shower and the wall behind it in the bathroom has to come down as it leaks so the shower can only be used if you sit in the bath with it away from the wall, but that's going to be a big job and no immediate plans). am concerned how it'll be in the house with a carpet fitter and keeping Adam away as we have to take the stair gate off. eeek. once it's done, all I really want doing is my shelves up so I can empty my big understairs cupboard of the remaining boxes and get the cupboard properly organised, and once Adam is out of our bedroom we can sort the wardrobe and chest of drawers out (drawers are up but empty and facing the wall as Adam just wanted to climb in them and it was doing our heads in).

have not had blood test results back from hospital, not sure if I will need to call and ask, as I am curious about my iron levels. actually I might call because I am nervous they might have got lost or something, with me being a new patient and not even booked in properly, and then I'll be 35 weeks (next appt is my booking in 2 weeks on Thursday) and I'm scared if the results are lost they'll insist on redoing them, so I'd rather redo them now not then.

am working this Thursday, usually only do Saturdays bu my boss emailed today and offered me a 12-8pm shift. I was going to automatically turn it down but then C suggested his mum have Adam. she has offered before, she is a childminder, so we thought we'd see if she could do it, and she can. it'll be Adam's first whole day with her he's only been looked after by her a couple of times and only 2-3 hours max; this will be from 10pm till about 5pm. so I have to get him from Sutton to Richmond for 10am or so, which will be 2 buses and 2 trains, and then get myself over the other side of London - Tower Hill, which is a bus, and then 50 mins on the tube - by 11.30am (I hate being late so always plan to be there at least half an hour early in case of delays). C will go and get him after work, he's going to go in early so he can finish at 3.30pm. I hope it goes well and he has fun, and is not badly behaved. she has 5 other kids that day, and another adult. if it goes well I am hoping we can maybe do it again to give me a break (C would take him in the morning, leave his car at his mum's, get the train to work, then back and drive them home) both before and especially after the new baby is here. my mum isn't coming down till the 14th Sept, so another couple of weeks yet, but she's staying nearly a week when she does, so am really looking forward to that.

ok, better go to bed now, I'd probably have been asleep by now if I hadn't have lost my last post.

 

[spidey]

MJ, that is a huge improvement to the stairs and they seem 100 times safer We keep Kira's clothes and changing pad and wipes on the main floor too and it's great to walk a few feet and then change her. Or if she gets dirty I have her clothes close by to change her into new ones. The only downside is her clothes are all downstairs so she often pulls them all out and instructs me to re-fold them into neat piles I'm glad you're feeling better By the time you get your iron results the baby will be here! The caterpillar bed set is very cute! Are you thinking of doing caterpillar stickers too?

jelr, I'm glad your meal turned out well for your friend I almost never cook for other people and when I do, I get nervous too. I always wonder if my tastes are the same as everyone else's. Natasha is so smart with the things she comes up with Enjoy your weekend and have fun at the wedding! I hope you feel better soon

Shiv, you're looking quite pregnant! Do you put on any creams to prevent stretch marks? I'm so happy the baby is head down! When are you getting your birth pool and what room are you planning to have the pool in?

Cleckner, Kira's not into the potty either. She only pooped on it because I caught her mid turd in the bathtub She can't get her pants up and down and she can't sit on the potty without my help. She was a late walker (16 months) and hasn't figured out how to backup yet. I don't see the point in trying to potty train her when she can't even aim herself to sit on the potty


My nips aren't hurting too much so I have a feeling this month didn't work. But I know its still way early to tell. I decided that when AF comes I'm going to make an appointment with my midwife for a normal check-up, but also to talk about my inability to get pregnant. At some point I'll get more desperate and seek out fertility help and I have no clue if the midwife does that. Also I'm afraid that if I do get pregnant, my progesterone will be too low to maintain the pregnancy. The midwife doesn't want to see a newly pregnant person until 10 weeks, but I'm hoping they'll agree to see me earlier so they can do blood tests to make sure everything is okay. So I'll get that all figured out. DH was talking about getting a vasectomy again today. He's partially joking, but he's also partially serious. He's very much against more than a 2 year gap for whatever reason, so I spent an hour today re-assuring him (and myself) that it's probably good to have them 3-4 years apart. He's saying January he will book a vasectomy if I'm not pregnant by then If I said "okay" I am 100% certain he would do it too. I told him I'll get pregnant with or without him, and the mailman isn't looking so bad The only thing I wish is that I wasn't living cycle to cycle. For example, I can't think about Christmas without first thinking "hmmm, I wonder if I will pregnant by Christmas". I don't want to think back on these years as the years I lived month to month wondering if I was pregnant.

 

[cleckner04]

MJ- the stairs look really nice. I know when the carpet is in it will look amazing. Our house had hardwood floors and we carpeted over all of it but the living room and it just made our old house look so much better from that simple update. I really love putting up vinyl wall decals. They arent too much work. You just have to take your time with it if you are doing something intricate. They sell cheap stickers that are simple to just stick to the wall but the ones I have take some time because they are more than one piece to make a bigger piece so you have to line it all up so you can't tell it's separate pieces. The hardest one was the tree in Emma's room. It took me a few hours to do. But I did it alone and had to fend off Emma while doing it so I think it could've been a lot quicker with help. I'm glad you are feeling better.

spidey- All I can say is my brother and I have a 4 year age gap and we were very close growing up and still keep in contact as much as possible now that we live so far from each other. I don't get the obsession with having children super close in age. Biologically speaking we are meant to have a 3-4 year gap between children because that's how long we are meant to breastfeed our children. I've read a few articles on age gaps and they say to either have a 1 year gap or a 3-4 year gap. Because before 1 year they don't have a sense of identity yet so a new baby will fit right in. Than they get to the awkward stage where they are trying to figure out their identities and bringing in a new kid would be more of a struggle in those years. But by 3-4 they are more independent and accepting of siblings. This is just what the articles said. I always thought a 2 year gap would be perfect too but obviously that isn't going to happen so the articles have made me feel a bit better when I start getting upset about not having another yet. Another random thing that would probably upset a lot of women on this website is an article that said research has shown that women who have babies less than a year apart in age have a 20% shorter lifespan. I'm not sure what the reasoning is but I think it's something about not giving the body enough time to recuperate between pregnancies.

That was a bit of a ramble but I hope your hubby doesn't get too serious about the vasectomy talk. Kids will be as close as you raise them. I think there are just as many siblings that are close age gap that hate eachother as there are far age gaps that hate eachother. And vice versa.