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

[Pippin]

Vici and Sam so sorry honey what crappy news.

Jan good for me and defo weekday I reckon as it gets hectic at weekends. Also Waterloo and Euston are good for me won't be bringing dh but Samuel will be there.

Oh an Sam is having a monster week too, barely a smile either for days

 

[Boothh]

jesse does that awful screaming thing, he really throws himself around too likehes having a proper mini tantrum, it does annoy me sometimes but like you say its not like i can tell him off is it haha,
weve packed half of our house up now and were doing the rest tomorrow,
we still dont have anywere to stay though i think were gunna be on my mums sofa tonight good job jesse has a cot here for his weekend visits, at least he will be comfortable,

has anyone started buying christmas presents yet ? im so excited!! xx

 

[Boothh]

on the anniversarys thing ours is today, i know it cus we went to a gig that night and iv still got the ticket in my purse with friday 21st november 2008 wrote on haha, 6th of december is when i found out, x

 

[Mary Jo]

Awww, Boothh, not sure if you'you've just changed your avatar or I've only just noticed, but Jesse is gorgeous! What a sweet picture.

Vici, so sorry to hear about your awful news. So young, too. Do they have an idea what happened? And am sorry you mightn't make the meet but never know, it might be before your op.

Cleck, hopefully you and Emma and your husband can make it over to the UK sometime, we will have an extra special meet for you! OC and Elly, that goes for you both, too.

Grrrrrr to everything that makes all our sweet little babes turn into monsters!! Adam has been ok the last couple of days, we went to Chris's mum's yesterday and he met his great auntie Gill as well, and he was very good. sadly we didn't make it to Toys r Us as it got a bit late and I wanted us to get home for Adam's dinner. Hoping to get there tomorrow! Boothh, I have done no Christmas shopping yet but that's no surprise, I tend to bury my head in the sand and leave it till mid Dec most years anyway. Got to get some things for my nephew and niece though, as their presents need to be sent to Oslo and I don't want to miss the post.

Grumpymoo, I hear you on the swine flu jab for Rose. When you say you avoid crowds, do you mean when you're with her or by yourself as well? And what comprises a crowd? Going to the shops? Just curious, as I haven't done anything to avoid anything, just tried to be vigilant about handwashing and the like. Though I doubt I am as careful as I should be...

MA, you asked for thoughts on the swine flu jab - I guess if we're offered it for Adam we'll have it. I believe I've read that it's just a modified version of the regular seasonal flu jab, used widely every year anyway... it's hard though, I don't know what sort of risk he is at, we don't have other kids in school, for example, but Chris travels on the train every day and I am on public transport at least once a week, and you know what it's like in London for overcrowding...

I am secretly hoping that by the time he is 6 months old the swine flu will have disappeared and nobody will need the jab at all. Don't know if that's a realistic hope...

In general I am pro-immunisation, though. Definitely. Adam will be getting all his jabs.

 

[kaygeebee]

Vici, so so sorry hon. x

 

[kaygeebee]

On anniversaries........ ours is not till 6th Dec ....... after a stereophonics gig in Cardiff!

)

 

[ShadowRat]

Eeek, our anniversary was 15th November and I totally forgot!! I found out on the 30th so that's coming up soon

Booth and Pips, I'm selfishly glad that you guys know what I'm dealing with in a screamy, fussy baby. Today has been HARD work!!! I feel totally exhausted now (just put him to bed) and I am soooo glad that we get evenings to ourselves these days and that he is so good at sleeping right through. My arms feel like all of the sockets are just hanging out, Vincent is getting sooo heavy it's hard work to carry him anywhere now. I'm relying more and more on OH! It's weird, cos things that were ok for me to do whilst he was tiny are suddenly herculean tasks and it feels odd to be suddenly asking for help with them!

I haven't said yet, but Vici I'm so sorry about your news, like MJ says that's so young and sudden. Let us know if they find out what happened to him.

*Shadow gets a glass of wine and collapses onto the sofa, a nervous wreck!*

 

[ShadowRat]

Boothh, I'm just starting to look for Christmas presents tonight We're not gonna go too crazy with it this year though, only buying for close family (and Vince of course!!)

I am trying to find a place that does CUTE personalised Christmas Stockings, cos I love the idea of Vincent having one right from his first Christmas that we can get out year after year But all the places I've found so far aren't quite right... I am such a perfectionist about that stuff, it's awful, nothing is ever perfect enough!!

xx

Ooooh, just realised that Vince is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days old hehe! 333, cute

 

[Vici]

Hi girls, sorry i've not caught up earlier. My head has been everywhere today so i've tried to focus my mind and sorted out all Imis to sell stuff! Well, he had a car accident this morning at about 00:30. He was passenger in a car with a drunk driver The car left the road and hit into a telegraph pole before ending up in a ditch. He was given CPR on scene, in ambulance and at hospital - 2 hours in total, but was pronounced dead at hospital His mum was contacted before he died thankfully so got to hospital in time to see him (she was actually at my mums last night as they had been to a 40th b'day party in mums village) as her daughter thankfully took her in! The driver is still in police custody and has been charged with causing death by careless driving and drink driving The thing that makes me so so mad, is that over the last 3 years, he had lost 1 best mate to a drink driving accident (24 yrs old), 2 more in a car crash (20 and 28 yrs old, 1 of heart failure (35 yrs old), 2 in another drink driving accident (37 and 40yrs old) and 1 in prison for driving in the last crash!! I cannot believe that this same group of people have to go through this yet again for something that should NEVER have even happened. These boys seem to think they are invinsible

 

[cleckner04]

Vici- That is just awful hun. So many young lives lost. It's horrible.

 

[Vici]

Thank you all so much for your lovely words, means alot

Shadow - i'm looking at stockings too, not too worried if i don't find one BUT i desperatelyt want a first christmas bauble for the tree Haven't got a date yet, cons just said early new year. Will know when i have my pre op app which is 2nd Dec

MJ - thanks hun, hope we can come as i'd love to meet you all As for our anniversary, its 2nd Dec and we found out on 16th Dec. We then held it in and told everyone on xmas day

Boothh - i'm nearly done my xmas shopping. Got a few more stocking bits for Imi to get and DFs Her main present is this
https://s7ondemand6.scene7.com/is/image/MothercareASE/ll1250_is
I got it off ebay for half RRP

Grumpymoo - Rose sounds just like Imi - bald and hates being on her tummy Imi looks like she has a halo as its a semi circle on the back of her head where her hair has gone! Def know what you mean about first xmas, we're just the same. DF even said, don't get me anything then we can spend more on Imi

Cleck - would be lovely to meet you one day, hope you get your UK holiday soon x

MA - thanks hun, no date yet but "early new year" so not long Imi has always pulled her bottom lip under, since she was 1 day old. In lots of her pics it looks like she only has 1 lip so not sure that its a teething thing

Kaygeebee - great to see you are doing well babe x

Daddy put up Imis shelves today so will take you some piccies to see Just waiting for her bedding then she'll be in her nursery so daddy can build our new sliding wardrobes

As for meeting people on the net - well i'm marrying someone i met on the net and my bridesmaid is also someone i met on the net! Most of our "friend" guests will be people off the net all from the car club i joined almost 6 years ago!!

AND listen to this - Karen off here (kaygeebee) is real life friends with someone i know off another forum, how god damn weird is that considering we live about 300 miles away from each other
Some other good news - Imi rolled. Not like your wee ones do. She won't do a front to back (she just chews her fist on her front!!) but from her back onto her front, looooads of times But, she then crys when she's on her front as she can't move

And finally - DF and I should be getting married next year! We have found somewhere we love that is over half the price of all the other places i've found so we're going to go look and DF is going to haggle. He said this morning after our sad news that it was even more reason to do it and not waste time - you never know what's round the corner

 

[cleckner04]

Ohh Vici I SOO wanted that bright starts jumparoo thing for Emma but DH told me no in case we have a boy next. .. Although I did talk him into letting me get her pink activity mat, he won't go for this one. It's super cute though!!

 

[Vici]

We thought that to start with, but because our place is small we'd be selling it on rather than saving for next time. We have a flat roof on our bungalow so no storage I looove it but didn't wanna pay the £90 price tag

 

[Pippin]

Vici that is so sad to hear this has happened before. it's always such a tragedy.

Shadow I'm glad the monster is in bed now too but he'll be wanting food at 1am no doubt as always. I seem to be the only one who gets up still 2-3 times in between the hours of 8-8 and he's not under fed as we know Still I had a glass of wine anyway as it'll be out my system by the feed. I feel I have deserved it this week.

I hate to moan but do any of you feel like a single parent sometimes because your OH does bugger all? Samuel gets a quick cuddle after work and that is it most days. He does the dinner but I have to clear up and do the washing on top of caring for Sam. I had a go last night cos he can't even shut a blinking draw Saying that however he did take him for a walk this morning in the buggy so I could clean the house, hmmmmm, that still doesn't sound right does it anyway rant over sorry.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all so will focus on that I'm also the queen of shopping at the moment so I have done most of my Christmas shopping. Although I'm creating a calendar on line for most of the relatives of Sam. photobox.com are doing 3 for the price of 2 and they are so sweet. We get to look at Sam for the whole year round. Good job my family are as obsessed as me hehehehe,

 

[Mary Jo]

Oh Vici - that is so sad about those poor boys. they will take risks though. what a tragic waste and how dreadful for their poor families and their friends.

I agree 100% with your OH about the wedding, you really don't know what's around the corner. Life is short, precious and fragile so you need to celebrate the happiness. I hope you get a good deal on the venue! We have no wedding plans, when we got engaged, nearly 2 years ago, the tentative plan (but nothing was ever done) was 2010. I put my foot down at one point and said I wanted to be married before I was 37... I am 36 at the end of this year and I doubt anything will happen next year, unless it's a short-notice thing. When I got pregnant I realised immediately that short of a lottery win or an inheritance we won't have the ££ for even the understated wedding I would like, as money is tight with me on maternity leave, now we have Adam to clothe, feed and educate, and we need to prioritise finding a bigger place to live in the next year or so. Not to mention I'd rather hear the patter of tiny feet again than get married (just prioritising, being conscious of my age and all that!)

As for internet friends - I have loads. I met Chris online, for one. Most of my others come from a forum I've been part of for 8 years, I've met quite a lot of people from there, of those 5 are good friends - I stayed with or visited 3 of them when I travelled to Australia nearly 4 years ago, in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, and stayed with another in Israel 7 years ago. My friend who came over the other day is from there, too. And there are about 8 others I'd love to meet but they're in the US or Canada.

About Christmas stockings - we always used a long normal sock, didn't have a special stocking, so I am not fussed about it, but I believe my mum might be getting one for Adam as she got ones for Marcus & Emilie (nephew & niece).

What are all your plans for Christmas? Chris, Adam and I are going up to my parents' house in Hartlepool, my childhood home. We're leaving about 4am on the 24th and coming back on the 27th. I'd prefer to stay longer as Chris is off work till Jan, but his mum is having an open house for all her children & grandchildren on the 28th and we are on a three-line whip for that. She doesn't get to see her family on Christmas Day as for some reason her children seem to prefer going to their inlaws! Though I am sure one year we'll have to spend it with her. It's my fourth Christmas with Chris, the third we'll spend the day together - we'd only been together 2 months on our first so while he came up north for a couple of days before the Day, he went back south on Xmas Eve. The next year we hosted our first Christmas at our flat and my mum and dad came down, and last year we all went to Oslo to my brother and sil and the kids, which was lovely, pretty idyllic, actually, except, being 7 weeks pregnant (it was a secret til Jan 31st) I was ratty and moody and irritable to my poor daddy... This year it's just us and my parents, as bro&sil were over in Oct. I am looking forward to going to midnight mass for the first time in 3 years - former members of the youth choir I was in from age 14 to 22 always go, and we sing together, and I really miss singing so it's wonderful.

Speaking of singing, sort of, I went swimming today (had to force myself but thought of the Quality St I have been mainlining) and did 40 lengths again - to keep focussed I decided to sing in my head, one Christmas carol/song per 2 lengths. I didn't do 20 songs though as Vaughan Williams' Fantasy on Christmas Carols lasted 6 lengths...

 

[Mary Jo]

oooh, Pips, thanks for reminding me about Photobox - I took advantage of the Bounty offer from them and got 99 free prints a little while ago (offer was for 100 but I realised that postage was considerably cheaper if you got one fewer!) and I was pretty impressed with the service - placed the order on a Sunday night and they arrived Tuesday morning. I need to go through my pics and order small prints of certain ones for Adam's baby book, and also choose one to be enlarged and framed for Chris to give his mum (she dropped heavy hints that she doesn't have a nice pic of him, so we'd be pretty dim if we didn't get her one!)

I'd do a calendar, too, only my sil always does ones of the kids and I don't really have room for two! Plus I'd feel bad if I went to my mum's and she had their's up in the kitchen, where she normally has it, and not Adam's... silly, I know... Oooh, I don't know, maybe I will...

 

[Vici]

Thanks ladies Mum is just back from the hospital. Shes been there all afternoon with Debie (Lukes mum) and 3 of his 4 sisters. Cannot even imagine what they are going thru

Pip - I have to say, my Shaun is a diamond, he helps me so much. He had Imi for an hour earlier while I went for a massage

MJ - know what you mean about the ££. We have found this place www.isaaclord.org and the prices are so so good!! Its beautiful too and right on the marina in Ipswich We'll be doing things on a budget (i'm too much of a bargain hunter not too ) so figured if we book it, we'll have to find the money!!

 

[Mary Jo]

Aye, Pips, have to agree with Vici, much as I complain about Chris, I don't have ANY complaints about how he is as a parent and sharing the parenting. He takes him from me each night when he comes in from work and plays/cuddles/does nappies, and often the whole bedtime routine, always he does the bedtime feed (though I am the one running up and down stairs with bottles, the Dentinox, the hot water bottle, the cushion, a muslin, a bib - while he does the fun bit). During the week I do all the other feeds and everything else. He does a lot of the cleaning, I do pretty much all the cooking and meal planning and a lot of the shopping (we go together to do a big shop once a fortnight or so). We both do kitchen cleaning/washing up. I do all the laundry, he does all the vacuuming. At weekends he often takes Adam for most of the day - today he fed and dressed him in the morning while I got some sleep (was up till 2am earwigging on my ex-soap-star alcoholic neighbour and his young girlfriend having the mother of all blazing rows), then he drove me to swimming for 12pm and had him till I was home at 5.15pm. I fed him after that and we shared him all evening, but he slept on Chris's chest till bedtime. So I have NO complaints.

I do think, though, that the one thing that makes me feel like we are sharing the parenting as equally as we can (given I have him all week while C is at work) is that we're mainly bottle feeding (other than a regular morning and occasional afternoon breastfeed, the rest of his breast milk is expressed, and the rest - the majority now - is formula). I am only rarely not there when AE is fed - just Saturday afternoons - but the fact that he can give a bottle if necessary REALLY takes the pressure off me. Of course, if I was 100% bf, C would still be doing nappies and cleaning, etc, so it's not just that. I am so happy that he's as in love with AE as I am, and wants to spend every minute he can with him. And I am SOOOOO happy he takes his share of the extra-Adam household responsibility.

So sorry, Pips is your husband one of those who doesn't notice things need doing and that you could do with a break, or does he flat out refuse to help?

 

[Mary Jo]

Ooh, Vici, that looks like a nice place! Will you have the wedding and the reception all there? And can you have fish & chips? (MJ thinking of her belly again).

On which topic, I've not had a good couple of days. We had lunch at MILs yesterday and she made a big dish of tagliatelle with philadelphia and smoked salmon, which was nice but there was about 3 times as much pasta as I'd have in a bowlful (I bulk all our meals out with tonnes of veggies). And then there was a big bowl of Eton Mess for afters (pieces of meringue, cream and strawberries). And THEN on the way home we stopped off for chocolate and Chris wanted a tin of Quality St and they're not even very nice but I ate toooooo many. Plus a bar of Dairy Milk and a dish of home-made curry & rice. Don't think Monday's weigh-in is going to please me.

 

[Pippin]

I think he must of read my post yesterday as he came in and took Sam away for an hour and a half so I could sleep some more, it's not like your lovely other halves but it's a start isn't it. I lavished him with thanks so hopefully it will happen again next week. Poor Sam woke on the hour every hour from 4am this morning because of the horrible rain. Thought it'd be flooded today but we are ok. Is everyone else okay with the rain? Hope no one is flooded

MJ the photobox place is excellent, they are based close to where I live and work. I had loads of stuff printed by them for school (I'm the head of art) like massive A1 prints and they are fab quality. If you want large prints they are the ones to go to. They had a bit of bad press a while ago but I think they are fab.

Also on the internet friend thing I have never met anyone off the net until I joined BnB last year. Last May I met WelshRose and Forever3 in Wales (girls in my sig) and we really hit it off and have been in regular contact ever since. They have become my sisters I tell them everything really as we kinda started telling each other everything on here and once you start it's easy. It's also made me close to my local friends to in a way especially the pregnant ones as before I'd be quite shy discussing personal stuff like cycles and cm and stuff but now friends come to me as they know I will talk about it all, does that make sense?? I'm much more open now and as a result I'm closer to my girlfriends. Anyway, can't wait to meet all you as I'm sure it'll be the same.

RE Giraffe for meeting, sounds great but can they cope with 10 buggies at once? I think Shadow was asking wasn't she. I wonder if they have a function room as we could take over a space just for us and no public? I like the idea of us being able to move around and stuff.