--Lion Cubs - Mummy and Baby Group!-- We are all One Year Old!

[angelstardust]

Today we did bloods, which was nice and easy and daddy held her for once (and then nipped to the loo rather red about the eyes). And the lab managed to loose one of the blood tests!

Then we went to KFC and had a very healthy lunch of popcorn chicken and fries (as well as the cheese sandwich at the hospital), then a yogurt, then a cookie, then a sleep to digest all that food then a bananna then some carrot cake (which is actually healthy since it contains about a ton of carrots!) and we decided on just some cereal for dinner. Then grapes. Then some bread dipped in lentil soup.... Needless to say I am not worried about her appetite.

Party dress arrived! https://www.clothingattesco.com/gir...st=icat,4,shop,catggirls,girls-party-ages-1-7 and it was FREE!!! (tesco are now doing their vouchers online so I discovered £35 worth that I had lost from a few years ago, so I used it on teh tesco clothing double up and ended up with that dress, a fur shrug, 3 shirts for the boys, 2 bath robes for the boys and 3 tops for me all for nothing, much pleased).

weekend plans, tomorrow bro and sis in law are coming up to see Amber and the boys. Sunday we have a 4 year olds birthday party (I need to make a tutu tonight for her gift) then probably go visit my mum and dad.

 

[Andie]

We usually take the girls to local country park at the wkends and wear them out there but the weather is not exactly the best now for that sort of thing or we go out for lunch and a wee donner round the shops but that bores me easily and the girls! Im kinda at a loss the same as u Shiv...so i cant wait to hear what everyone else does so that i can get some ideas!! i actually cant think of anything around here for wee ones kieras age other than softplay,swimming but as u say shiv they are choca block at the weekends so i try to stay clear.

- jelr nice to see a wee message from you ( or not so wee msg hehe)that post must have took you ages to type? xx

 

[jelr]

Kim: All that stuff with you mam sounds terrible, sorry to hear you are going through this and especially this time of the year - I really hope it gets sorted and she learns her lesson and leaves you alone. Bryson sound like a real character.

Shiv: Yeah those teeth are a nightmare especially these back ones - It is reassuring to know Natasha is not the only one gets constipated with them, although I dont wish it on Sophia either as it is terrible on them - Natasha was really bad a couple of weeks ago and she was in agony trying to push. Months back I did give her brown sugar and water when she was really bad and it did work but at the moment it seems to be every other day since these back ones are taking so long to come through so I dont want to be giving her brown sugar all the time - so I am now giving her prunes and they seem to be doing the trick and she really likes them too thank god.

As for things to do the weekend, we are the same and are looking for things to do at the moment now that the weather has changed - the last few weekends we have just stayed home and played around the house but we will all get cabin fever doing that for too long. We have gotten out a few of the days and visted friends - but you would really miss going to all the outdoor places we went during the summer and it has gotten really stormy here over the last few weeks.

Work is going grand - just too bloody busy and I refuse to do more than 3 days, because between spending Monday cooking and doing a few bits around the house on Friday so as we can spend the weekend together as a family and not have to worry about the house, I just feel that I wouldn't get any time with Natasha if I did anymore - I really do think anyone that works full time with small children are brilliant. But the way my work is - I get paid for 1/3 of the hours that my groups do and the rate per hour is really really good - but I do have to get everything that is needed for those groups done no matter how long it takes and at the moment it is taking more than 3 days as I have 15 groups to co-ordinate so some times I am going back at paperwork after Natasha goes to bed - Ah I shouldn't complain really when so many people here are out of work - I just wish things were like they used to be here and DH and everyones jobs were safe so I could give up work or winning the lotto would be good too lol

AuntyE: It is hard to get time to do it all when you are working - Id say if Imogen is anything like Natasha she probably loved IKEA - I do my grocery shopping online but when my mam takes her to the supermarket she has a ball and loves saying hiya and waving at everyone lol

Cleck: that is part of why I'm afraid to buy too much of Natasha's pressies too early as I know I will want to give them to her - I have gotten 4 of them and was very tempted today to give her one of them as she isn't well lol - Id say Emma looks adorable in the cosy coupe.

Angelstardust: Eek on the bloods - I am dreading if Natasha ever has to have blood taken as I had a nightmare with her today just to get her throat checked - I couldn't imagine her not completely flipping for bloods - I'm sorry if I sound nosey now but what were the bloods for and you said she was ill lately - was it serious?

Well we have a sick little girl today and she was doing so well escpaing it - They all have it in mams where she is minded when I'm at work and I have been sick myself all week and she woke this morning couging like mad so I took her to the doctor and she is now on antibiotics - He said it is not down on her chest but all up in her windpipe which is the very same as my mam was told a month ago when she got it (although my mam still has it so I'm hoping Natasha doesn't have it that long) - She really did do well to hold off getting it this long. But she really did not appreciate the doctor examining her - the minute he even looked at her she started to cry which is funny as she normally doesn't make strange and then she started to scream when he put the cold stetethoscope on her chest and really fought to get away when he checked her ears - I could barely hold her and he only barely checked her throat as she was thrashing around so much she nearly kicked him in the head - he was really funny though afterwards as he is a real soft spoken man and said she is a determined young lady isn't she - another words what he was trying to say is boy has she got a temper lol

Well we have some big news - she did 2 steps yesterday and 2 today - but I still dont think she is near walking, it was more like she didn't really realise she was doing them.

Well not much else from me - Just really fed up today - actually feel like I have pms but its not that time and I have no reason to be in bad form, in fact I should be over the moon with Natasha's steps but I just feel really fed up - Its probably because little miss has been in such bad form all week and I'm tired - she has taken this week to slapping me and only me so I'm a bit upset about that as I feel like she doesn't like me this week, which sounds silly I know but I just always want us to be the best of friends.

Okay well that is my winge over with lol - Hope you all have a great weekend.

 

[jelr]

Sorry Andie only saw your message now - Nice to see you too - ha ha yeah I definitely dont know how to do small posts do I lol

 

[Shiv]

aw jelr it isn't that Natasha doesn't like you, she is just testing the ground with her new slaping skills! Sophia does it too, but i honestly don't htink she is trying to hurt me , sometimes she even slaps herself! I hope she feels better soon x Oh and she will be off walking in no time!

 

[Shiv]

oh and I have days where I am ina grump for no reason, and it does usually coincide with a week where Sophia has been unhappy - it is exhausting trying to keep a grumpy baby happy and mentally exhasuting worrying why they are unhappy. i hope you perk up tomorrow after hopefully a good nights sleep.

Talking of sleep, I get lots these days but am still constantly knackered - anyone else?

 

[HeidiLSparks]

Jelr,
Caylee slaps me a lot! It drives me crazy, I have no idea where she got it from, but the other day she was playing on Ross lap and I peaked my head in for a kiss from her and she slapped me, she randomly walks up and slaps me, she does it in public, its so embarrassing and frustrating . I love her BEYOND words, and having her hit me and bite me is just bahhh.
My doctor told me to get a spray bottle with warm water and when they hit you, spray them..because it does not hurt them, its just a shock to them and that within a week they will stop because they don't want to get sprayed with water.
I havent done it yet..I kinda feel like I would be treating her like a cat haha

I get a good amount of sleep, Lily has been sleeping through the night for 3 weeks now so I am pleased with that, she sleeps from 10 pm to 8 am usually, sometimes shes up at 6:30-7:30. This toddler bed has been making me exhausted though, going on our 4th night, and it is not getting easier yet, hopefully soon though!

 

[cleckner04]

Heidi- at your doctor. Spray bottle? She's not a puppy. Emma would love getting sprayed. She loves playing in water and most times when she is having a grumpy moment I sit her in the kitchen sink and turn on the faucet for her to play in the water.


Emma slaps occasionally but we firmly say no and tell her that we don't hit. She usually gets all upset and hides her head after that. She knows she is wrong when I raise my voice like that towards her so I think that is just about all I can do until she understands more. I have been more worried because she smacks Diesel(our puppy) in a playful manner but still smacking or patting him hard I guess because she doesn't understand how to gently pet him yet. I'm worried he'll snap with too much abuse so I'm constantly on her about it. Other times she will hug him and give him a kiss right on the mouth so I know she loves him and is just trying to be affectionate. But sometimes her affection comes with a smack.


jelr- Hope she feels better soon. I get grumpy too on days that Emma is grumpy. It's SO difficult sometimes. And when they can't talk to tell us what is wrong, it makes it so much worse. These are usually the days my DH gets long winded grumpy emails or texts complaining about being stuck at home with Emma with no help. I love being a SAHM but it is NOT easy and some days I would kill for a job so I could have a break.

 

[spidey]

I don't have enough time to look back to remember everything I wanted to comment too... so lets see what I remember!

jelr- thats so awesome about Natasha taking some steps on her own. Its funny because Kira just started doing that over the last day or so too! She only does it when she's not thinking about it though, otherwise she's very cautious and won't take any steps.

regarding activities on the weekend. DH and I have shopping addictions so Kira gets to go to the mall and different stores with us. We don't really buy anything, but we love to look around and dream about what we would buy if we had the money, LOL. I love the craft store and Kira likes looking at everything in there too and we usually leave with something small for her. Kira has snow bib pants so on the weekend no matter how cold or moist, we'll let her crawl around outside and she digs in the dirt and gets filthy! This past weekend I found some earth worms and she got to hold a few- so cute! So overall we're pretty boring!

Cleckner- I am so excited that Emma got a cozy coupe! I always wanted one as a kid! Do you think she's a good age for it now? I wasn't sure when to buy one for Kira. She's going to be the lucky one to live out my childhood dream of owning a cozy coupe

spray bottles would not work- Kira would LOVE to get sprayed!!!

SAHM's- I have so much respect for any mom who choses to stay at home! It's so much work trying to stay fresh and have energy for a LO. I think I'm in the perfect situation right now because I get the weekend with DH, 2 days during the week alone with Kira and 3 days during the week where I work 6 hours a day and Kira spends that time with Grandma. It's perfect because I have time away so the days I do spend with Kira are that much more special and it helps me to stay patient longer. Plus Kira gets so much attention from her Grandma too- she's one spoiled girl!

This weekend we're having another play date with my co-worker and her little girl who is 18 months. It's really fun to see what is ahead for Kira since they're exactly 4 months apart.

 

[Shiv]

Spidey - that is SO cool letting Kira play outside in the dirt, i bet she loves it and it is really good that they get to explore tehir environment and get to know what mud and leaves etc are! I would love to do it with sophia, but I am a wuss and although I don't mind her getting dirty, she only has a bath every three days (not as gross as it sounds, we wash her the other days, but if we bath her every day her exzema flares up) so I would have to restrict her to every third day of playing in the garden!

I would like to try Sophia with some more arts and crafty stuff, she used her crayons the other day, they have a big round handle for her to grab on to and she has tried before but not really been bothered, this time she scribbled over a whole piece of A4 in different colours. I want to try her with paints but am worried about her eating them. Iknow they are non-toxic but they still can't exactly be good for them!

 

[angelstardust]

Jelr, she had liver failure and was in Yorkhill sick kids for a week. Thursday the 28th October it started off as a tummy bug (I ended up getting it and so did the boys over halloween), but for whatever reason by the Staurday her liver had started to fail (Acute Hepititus) unknown to any of us (she had been upto A&E 3 times beteen the Thursday and the Tuesday am when she started vomiting blood) and I had been giving her paracetamol. So on the tuesday (2nd nov) at 5am she started vomiting blood. Took her back to A&E and she was in a very bad way, we almost lost her. Her glucose levels were so low they were unreadable. Then we were transfered to Yorkhill, she had beds at 2 out of 3 of the liver specialst hospitals in the uk and was at one point on the emergency liver transplant list!

Luckily she was given paracetamol toxicity treatment (because the liver wasnt working, the paracetamol was being broken down into a toxic metabolite) and she started to pick up. Her liver enzyme levels were at 15'000, they are supposed to be 30-40.

So now it's twice weekly blood tests to make sure that things continue to go back to normal. And she HATES them. Luckily now I am so desensitised to her blood I don't get upset, but she screams and thrashes and has to be pinned down.

Still waiting on the Big Blood Test Results to come back to find out if it has just been an unlucky combination of things or if she has some sort of underlying condition.

And she can't get paracetamol for a very long time. Or any medicines except the stuff she's on just now.

 

[spidey]

Angelstardust- I had no idea Amber had been that sick I can't even imagine what you must have been thru. I hope it was just a one time thing and she heals up perfectly! Such a strong little girl and strong momma too

Shiv- these are amazing for keeping most of the dirt off Kira: https://www.amazon.com/Infant-Toddl...Q7UY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1289655145&sr=8-3

Her hands and under her nails get really dirty, and sometimes the dirt settles around her neck too. I like getting into the dirt too, so it doesn't phase me when she's digging around in the garden bed. Other people cringe as they watch, especially when she starts throwing dirt around, LOL. Arts and crafts sound fun. Kira's getting crayons from her grandparents for Christmas so she can make me scribble pictures too!

 

[jelr]

Aww thanks girls - you are all the best. I haven't been in here in ages and then come in and have a moan and you are all so supportive.

I'm feeling much better today - well I still have this dose going on and my head is very fuzzy and my throat is killing me but I'm in much better form and so is Natasha so I think it is definitely a lot to do with that.

Yeah I know my head is telling me that she is only trying out her slapping skills, but then it is me she is only slapping and it makes me think silly.

SAHM - Like Spidey I do have the best of both worlds really as I have the weekends with DH and Natasha and 2 days on my own with her during the week - and she does get spoilt rotten over in her nanas by her nana and all her uncles and at least I get a break for the 3 days I am in work - again I know this logically but I still hate going to work most days and dont give myself a break because all I do is think about her all day and feel guilty that I am not at home with her and I miss her like crazy - and I phone my mam a million times and then if she is in good form after being grumpy with me that morning I wonder how come she is grumpy with me and not everyone else but I dont want her to be grumpy either as I hate the thoughts of her being upset and especially feel bad that I'm not there to comfort her - See what I mean about not giving myself a break - I think too much

Arts and Craft - I can't wait to start doing loads with Natasha - we did get non toxic paints one day and stripped her down and let her smear the paint on a page, but she ended up painting herself instead, it was really funny but at the same time we did decide that we would wait until she was older to do it again, because we spent most of the time trying to stop her eating them.

Shiv: Yeah I think being in bad form was a lot to do with worry about Natasha all week and it is so exhausting when they are grumpy and you dont know what is wrong - again I hate to be wishing her life away but I will be glad when she is able to tell me what is wrong with her if she is not having a good day. I am knackered all of the time too, but it is mostly my own fault because I find by the time I sit down in the evening I need a few hours to unwind before going to bed and end up not going until after 12 each night. I tell myself every morning that I will go early tonight but it never happens lol

Heidi: lol at your doctor telling you to spray Caylee - the minute you said that I thought of spraying a cat with water if the pee inside lol - Think I would feel a bit cruel doing it even though it doesn't hurt them, but then again it could be a last resort if she starts slapping others. Thats fantastic that Lily is sleeping through for you now.

Cleck: Natasha does the same she starts to cry and hides her head in my shoulder when I give out to her and I think okay at least she has realised and two minutes later she does it again ha ha. I take my hat off to you doing it all on your own when Corey is away, at least if I have had a bad day DH takes over when he comes home in the evening and at the weekend. Id say I would be in the looney bin if I didn't have that - Fair play to you.

Spidey: That is amazing that both Kira and Natasha have taken a few steps this week, I think they are the only two left to walk in the Lion cubs aren't they - it would be really cool if they took off together (well when I say together at the same time as it would be a bit hard together being on opposites sides of the world lol)

Angelstardust: OMG that is so so scary - the poor little mite, you must have been scared out of your mind. I really hope it was just a once off and nothing is underlying and that those bloods come back okay. The blood wouldn't bother me, I would just be useless with her thrashing and screaming as they tried to put the needle in and I would definitely be useless for holding her down - DH had to come to all of Natasha's injections to hold her. But then you do what you have to I guess and it is for her own good. You are very strong.

Well no other news - think i'm going to have a lie down when little miss is asleep as DH is down with my Dad sorting out timber for his fire.

 

[Andie]

Its been very chatty in here so no promises but i will do my best to remember what ive read lol....

CONGRATS to Natasha and Kira on taking their first steps!!

Angelstardust- Hugs to you and your wee family for all youve been through lately with Amber, seems so scary to think that she got so ill by catching a tummy bug! I hope things all go well and she gets better with no long term probs...fingers crossed for you xx

Jelr- Glad your feeling better!...and dont be so hard on yourself i think we all have days/weeks like that!! The fact that you think so much about your lo in the day and you worry about doing right by her just proves how much you love her and that your a great mummy! xxx

Anyone else feel that you cant really win ....I have been both a SAHM and a working mum and no matter which one you choose its really hard, just in different ways? i think its just that being a parent is hard work!!! ....But all those little rewards you get like watching lo doing new things, watching them grow and all the fun times you get to share with them makes it all worth it!!

sorry for anything ive missed but need to cut this short hubby nagging me to use lap top Agrrr! xxx

 

[cleckner04]

Shiv- Emma has the crayons with the big round part as well. She really likes playing with them. But we have trouble keeping her from eating them. I think she likes the taste. We also have those color wonder markers that only draw on the color wonder paper and not the floor or walls or anything. Finger painting is my favorite thing to do that is arty though with Emma. She seems to love it. It's a mess but cute to watch.

Spidey- I'm the same I let Emma play in the dirt all the time. The park directly behind my house has sand instead of mulch or rubber so she loves digging when we go there. Very messy. I draw the line when she starts eating it but she has had SEVERAL handfuls that she has eaten before I could catch her. And OMG I just read where you said Kira has been taking a few steps!! YAY!! Oh and I DEFINITELY suggest getting Kira a cozy coupe for her birthday. It is SO fun. Mine has a little handle for me to hold to push her easier without stooping over. Toys R Us has them it's the 30th anniversary edition pink one. I figure this will be her first step before we move up and get her a motorized vehicle to play in. I always wanted one of those as a kid too. The barbie jeeps. And I own a full blown jeep wrangler so I got the adult version but still wish I coulda had a barbie one when I was a kid. I love living out my childhood again through Emma.

jelr- Aww I bet it's hard to leave and go to work. One half of my brain thinks it'd be so horrible leaving Emma. But on grumpy days I'm thinking it'd be nice to have a break. We are never happy either way it seems. I really think Natasha's slapping is just a phase like anything else. I'm sure it won't last long and it's good to hear that we all have similar issues with slapping. So you know your kid isn't just a meany. Congrats on first steps too!!! I keep overlooking things when reading. Maybe it's your mile long posts.

Andie- I totally agree I think it's hard no matter what way we have it. I've never had to work and I've actually never even been away from Emma. So I do feel at times that I could just use a BREAK! But than once I sneak off to take a bath or whatever when DH has her, I just sit there and think about her and wonder what she's doing.



Speaking of which, I let DH take Emma for a while so I could relax in the bathtub a few weeks ago. I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys but Emma full blown pee'd in the potty!!! And I MISSED IT!! DH started screaming up at me so I hurried up and rushed downstairs and there she was with a full potty. We don't put her on it very often but we like having it there so she can sit and pretend to be a big kid and get used to it. We both went nuts and than we flushed it into the big potty and said 'bye bye' to the pee.

Sorry that was random but I can't believe I forgot to share it. We plan on doing Xmas tomorrow. Everything is here for her so we wrapped gifts while she was napping today and figure we might as well just do Xmas tomorrow so than Corey can see her enjoy the toys a few weeks before he leaves.

 

[Kimberly28]

Hi ladies. Well I'm exhausted but I had a fun afternoon. We knew that Bryson's favorite characters from the Sprout channel would be at the mall for a meet this afternoon and we knew it was a one time opportunity so we went and took Bry thinking oh how great this is going to be! So we get there and get in line to meet Sean and Chicka. We're in line during a "break time" for Sean so of course the line stops and we all stand and wait. Suddenly we see Sean walking past the line of all us families, moms, dads, siblings, and kids when all of the kids Sean could have stopped to say hello to, he stops and speaks to Bryson! I was so thrilled and honored and Bryson was like " I recognize this guy but I don't know what to make of this". He had the most confused look on his face hehe. I don't think Bryson realizes that the people on tv are real people haha. Bryson LOVES Sean and Chicka and every time he sees them on tv on Sprout he goes up to the tv and is glued to it. So it's finally our turn to see Sean and Chicka, we step up to them and Sean says "Hi Bryson!" Bryson is like "ok, I still cant figure this out but that's ok..and then Chicka comes up into her nest from below it and starts talking just like on the show to Bryson and suddenly he gets this look on his face like he isn't sure if he's ok anymore and then gradually gets to the point of crumpling up his face and he busts into tears and cries!! lol!! I know I shouldn't laugh but it was still so cute! Haha. Poor Sean felt bad. I could tell by the look on his face. He's a daddy himself so he hates seeing kids upset. Chicka kept trying to cheer Bry up too by blowing kisses haha. So that part didn't go so well but he did enjoy watching them with other kids from a little bit of a distance away. I know that they took a pic but I don't know how bad it's gonna be haha. They said that the pic will be available in 72 hours so I'll see about it then. It was still fun though and very cool to get to meet them that we see on tv everyday. If you wanna see what I'm talking about go to www.sproutonline.com and then click on 'The Sunnyside Up Show'.

Anyhoo, I'm cold and I'm tired so I'm heading to bed now. Back tomorrow everyone. Have a good night.

 

[Shiv]

Happy Christmas Cleck, Corey and Emma - have a wonderful day and show us lots of photos

 

[cleckner04]

Thanks!! We are taking a break right now. It's only 10 am but so far Emma has opened 4 gifts. So we are letting her have a play while we take a break. She's in the kitchen playing with her leapfrog magnet toy. I am hoping that thing will help me even more when it comes to cooking and her fussing. We also opened her dress up kids shoes. You know those plastic ones that are little high heels? She LOVES them. Immediately tried to put them on and started walking around the kitchen. You can hear it click clack against the laminate floors out there. And she was grinning like a loon. I know when she really likes her toy because she opens it, plays with it, than carries it to her cozy coupe and sits in there playing with it.

Oh crap, gotta go she just grabbed another gift from under the tree.

 

[Kimberly28]

Hi again ladies. I'm so sorry I didn't reply to the rest of you. Please forgive me! I was SO exhausted!

Angeldust, my goodness! What a horrific ordeal to have to go through! I'd be beside myself with panic and worry. And to think, it all started from a flu virus. Wow. Scary! I sure hope she will be ok from here on out. Such a tough little girl going through such a major health crisis. Bless her.

Cleck, I feel the same way. Sometimes I need a break too but of course I just spend that time thinking about Bry haha. Yay for Emma peeing in her potty!! Sounds like potty training her is going to be a breeze! I'm also glad that you and Corey are getting to do an early xmas with Emma so that he doesn't have to completely miss out while deployed. I look forward to lots of pics! By the way, Zach had a cozy coupe when he was little too! I definitely plan on getting one for Bry in a few months but for now I wanna get him a little sit and push thing to ride around in the house. The kind that is foot powered. This way once he has figured out how to get around on the sit and ride toy, he will be prepared for the cozy coupe. Zach also had one and he loved it when he was little.

Jelr, I think you're a wonderful mommy and you wouldn't worry about if you're doing the right thing for her proves it. We all have bad days every now and then. I'm glad you're feeling better btw.

Andie, I definitely value being a SAHM and getting to spend more time with my kids and be here for all of the milestones and important moments. I've been a working mom before and I had to spend more time at work and less time with my 13 year old (before Bry was conceived/born) and I hated all of the hours I was having to put in at work and missing him. I always felt guilty when he'd ask if I had to work today and had to tell him yes, I do only for him to look disappointed even though he was always good about it. So it allows me to appreciate being here at home with him and Bryson now even more so.

Shiv, I'd love to do the same. Lately I've been scratching my head about what can I do for arts and crafts at home here during the day while big brother is at school and daddy is at work to help get ready for the holidays. I'm at a loss though. Let me know if you come up with any ideas.

Spidey, I'm so glad that you're in such a wonderful working situation. That's awesome. IF I ever have to work again I'd hope to be able to have it like that too so that I don't have to be away from my kids so much. I cant help it, I love being with them. They are my world.

If I have missed anyone I apologize and I definitely didn't mean to!!

 

[HeidiLSparks]

Merry early christmas cleck and emma!!