Babies Born February 2007 #8

the dress in the picture of jem and her hair clip is pumpkin patch, somehow my mother in law wandered into pumpkin patch too..... hehehehehe awesome ehehehehehe actually the other red dress in the photos in my gallery is pumpkin patch too.... she has a lot of pumpkin patch..... hmmmmm and then anything with cool slogans she has a lot of slogan shirts..... she has way too many clothes, heaps more than me, am a bit worried though that she has gone from a size 00 to a size 1, leaving all my size 0 clothes BNWT wondering if they are going to find a new home....

hair clip place on ebay any baby with a little hair can even enjoy....: PJs Pretty Pieces i hope i dont get in trouble from belly belly but : eBay Australia Shop - PJs Pretty Pieces: No Slip Bubba Clips, Pinch Clips, Special Occasion Pieces or message me and i will email you the link if that doesnt work

what kind of things did the sleep consultant suggest???

Hi girls :) I've had a quick read of the posts, sorry to hear about the sick lil bubs :( not fun. brendan had a cold last week, luckily wasn't anything too serious even though it did cost us a trip to the hospital.

Kristy, thanks for sending your love. Things are getting easier now.... mummy by day, sally by night :)

Kym, I'm glad the sleep consultant went well :D

Take Care everyone :D

hey sally, i just looked at your photos, omigosh brendan is such a cutie! those eyes are amazing!!!

SMYLIE _ Thanks for the link, I'm just going through the 'check out' for Claudia's Christmas clips! LOL> I got her an adorable Mrs Clause outfit for Christmas day & now with these Christmas clips, she's going to totally look the part! I'm soooooo into the accessories as well. More so with jessica because she has longer hair, but Claudia has her first headband. I never used to like little ones with headbands, but I have to admit, Claudia looks super spunky! I am a bad mum too, jessica had her hair parted the other day in the sun & now has a really cool sun tan line in her scalp. NICE! She was out there for like 10 minutes & she is usually so good with her hat, but this time she didn't wear it & look what happens!

CATE _ Those outfits are the only PP stuff that they have. I rarely go into there for the same reason - it's overpriced. However, in saying that, I do like to have a really nice outfit each season for the girls for those special occasions & I just couldn't find anything I really liked & I did @ PP. I'm glad to hear that the cold has eased up. Have you found a new place yet or are you still at home with Terry? I'm sorry, I've missed a few days.

BRENDANSMUM_ I'm sorry to hear that your little man has a cold but OMG at the trip to the hospital, that is scary! I sure hope he's much better now. How's the rolling over going?

KYM _ My goodness, poor Monkey. Is she better now? What did the sleep consultant entail? I'm glad that she worked one on one with you, rather than reading off her sheet of 'rules'. Once she is better, I hope that it works out for you guys, you need a rest that's for sure!

TASHIE _ How are you sweets? I haven't forgotten you that's for sure, I have been thinking about your e-mail & your nasty man with the weight. Tell him to carry a child inside him for 9 months, have his hormones rage out of control & then expect to keep the weight down! I'll e-mail you tomorrow.........

KRISTY _ You're a good girl doing the Christmas Cards. I must admit, I have never done them, I think I will do them each year, but never end up doing them. I should, I might go buy some tomorrow & do them! How is Erin? Are you back in Perth now? Where abouts again? Wayyyy North isn't it?

ME/US _ We are all sooooooo pooped! This week has just been bedlam. The girls have been just so wonderful but now are sooo tired! Poor Claudia just crashed in her pram at playgroup today, she couldn't even move her arms & legs for a while, just laid there, until her eyes grew too heavy! Jessica had a wonderful birthday party & the bouncy castle was a great hit! I'm so glad I got it & I got a gold star from the company for keeping it so super clean! Yay for me! Jessica got some wonderful presents & Claudia tried some wonderful party food. Like Chocolate Crackles! OMG she went mental for them! My house is still in party dis-repair, so tomorrow Jessica is going to a friends for a playdate & while Claudia is napping I must get onto it.

Hope all the babies are great!

Love Jayne

PS _ I almost forgot, Claudia is furniture walking & can stand unaided for around 20-30 seconds when she is concentrating! So exciting!

Smylie, thank you so much :D You have some gorgeous pics of Jemima, :D I love looking at baby pics... they are all sooo cute :)

Jayne, Brendan is better now. The trip to the hospital was minor. I had to get him checked out to make sure his lungs were good, he also had a cough and a fever, it's not worth taking a risk. The last thing I wanted was for him to get a chest infection, or something more serious. He's rolling really well now, he's learnt to move the "arm that gets stuck" out of the way! Hopefully won't be too long and he'll attempt to crawl :D
Well done to Claudia for the furniture walking and standing!! Wooooohoooooo! :D

Take Care
Lots of hugs
Sally :)

BRENDANSMUM _ With Brendan being so early, do you have to monitor his lungs & things? That's the main reason for concern isn't it? Lungs are under-developed at birth? Gosh, that must be really scary, I'm so glad you take him to the hospital, I always do when I'm not sure too. But the time I took Jess to the Dr instead of the hospital she got put into hospital! You can never win!!! WTG on the rolling! My niece used to roll everywhere to get places, she didn't need to crawl because she got everywhere rolling, even under beds! :lol:

"just" a virus!!! that is the worst i reckon coz there is nothing that you can give them to make them feel better except rest and cuddles.... hate how it is always "just" a virus

i am totally upset today for stupidest reason, mother in law wrote their "xmas letter" and starts off by saying most exciting thing was 2 granddaughters hannah and jemima then mentions SIL labour (week of labour pains and false alarms) too fast for pain relief and SIL was proud of achievement then goes on to say Kelly's was different story elevated blood pressure meant bedrest except for trips to visit favourite niece (ie hannah) and then admitted then AFTER A FEW HOURS HAD EPIDURAL FOR PAIN RELIEF grrrrrrrrr the true story after FOURTEEN HOURS i had an epidural.... and not proud of it..... and then she says i was OFFERRED a c-section... hmmm it was that or keep my baby in mega distress with labour going nowhere.... CHOICE i think not and ends it by saying the cord around jemima's neck PREVENTED a STANDARD delivery
so now everyone she knows sees SIL as hero and me as easy way out girl oh and SIL is working one day a week as macca managers and taking career break from teaching (probably not going back foryears) and Kelly is taking a career break..... NOT THE CASE!!! it should read Kelly is enjoying being a stay at home mum!
grrr
sorry for that rant i have no idea why she had to mention the labour at all ho hum

Kel - OMG. Your Mum is a cow for saying all of that in her letting. I would be so ****ed too. IMO she shouldn't be talking about your labour at all. It is your business to tell who you want, not all of her friends and distance reallies. I say, chuck a spak and let her know she has offended you. By the sounds of things your labour wasn't favourable and I am very proud of you for lasting sooo long before having an epidural. I only lasted 9 hours before I had one. And I wouldn't worry about what people think. Everyone knows that if you are 'offered' a CS during delivery then it is because you need to have one not because you want to. And I think that when people read it that will be as proud as I am of you.

Sally - We have run up to the hospital a few times ourselves. I agree, you just can't take the chance. Though I am learning to read the signs and my mother intuition a little better now though and don't freak as quickly.

Jayne - Glad to hear the party went well. And well done to Claudia for standing on her own. She'll be walking in no time.

Kym - How is Monkey? Feeling better again yet? Have you tried the white noise yet?

Tobi is driving me nuts with all this crying. I am pretty sure he is teething this time, either that or he has Monkey's virus. His temp is up a little and drooling heaps. If he is still upset and hot in the morning then I will take him up to the doc to make sure it isn't anything else.

Tobi can sit on his bum himself now. I just went into his room and he was sitting up in his cot. Clever boy!! But the cutest thing by far is him playing with his ball. He throws it and then crawls after it, picks it up and crawls again. It entertains him for ages. He loves putting it under the lounge too so that we have it get it out for him. He looks in from one side at us on the other.

Last night I asked DH to distract Tobi for five minutes so that I could paint my toe nails. So he started playing with him, but not for long enough. Before I knew it, Tobi had the bottle of green nail polish turned upside down, dripping down his arm onto the floor and then when I got the bottle off him, he stuck his green hand on the lounge. And then DH tried to blame the whole thing on me as I shouldn't have been painting my nails on the lounge in the first place!!!! Little Tobi still has one green nail!!!

Hi to everyone else.
Love and Kisses
Tash

HI Girls

TASHIE - Lol about the green nail polish. ( Mental note need to paint my toenails!) Erin teh oterh day managed to open a plastic jar of nappy cream and had it all over her. Typical men have to blame someone!!!!
SMYLIE - WTF!!!! Why would you describe your DIL labour !!! Isn't a beautiful healthy bay all the information that she needs!!! I would be so annoyed as well!!!
SALLY - Yay for Brendan rolling. He will be off crawling around in no time. I just read your birth story. What an amazing gorgeous tough little boy you have there!!!
JAYNE - I am in Mount Nasura top of the Kelmscott Hill so south. We were in Bruce rock near Merredin before. Sounds like the party was a great hit, those bouncy castles are a great hit!
KYM : I have become an Ebay addict lately very addictive. Hope Monkey is feeling better real soon. Erin had a high temeprature just before her teeth cut through. She has 6 nearly 7 now. Does the sleep consultant stay at your place for a night?
CATE - Erin has started waving this week as well. It is so cute ! She has got the regal queen wave down to a T now!! Hope you are both feeling alot better now.

Well our blinds are getting fitted tomorrow and the tiling on the balcony finished so apart from the airconditioning which is next week most of the insides are sorted now.Finally updated Erin's photo.The In laws have bought Erin a big playpen 2.5 x 2.5 metres for Xmas. I picked it out new on Ebay it was delivered today. As we have tiles I have got some thick underlay and some soft fowm mats to put in there. WIll be handy when I am cooking and doing washing etc.

Well Erin is asleep and I feel knackered so might pop down fro a quick nap myself. Take Care girls!

Hello :D

Jayne, Yes, any sign of a cold, even though most of the time it isn't a issue, I'm straight the the hospital especially if it's accomponied(sp?) by fever. His lungs were underdeveloped at birth, Brendan was at risk of going back onto oxygen if he caught a cold, the risk is a lot lower now, but it's still a risk. He is also at risk of chest infections and Asthma (i have a mild asthma)

Take care :D

Kristy, Thankyou :D hopefully won't be long and he'll be crawling... but atm it's rolling!

I am sooo looking forward to the sitting by himself stage... and waving. Must be so cute :D

Bad day. See boohoo room.

:hugs: Cate, I hope you can sort things out...

Kel, I am so mad at your MiL. I hate friends telling other people about my labour, if my MiL did it I'd be crying. Thankfully SiL had a section so no-one on DH's side even asks about my vaginal birth, even though I was prepped for a section and had 2 epidurals. Oh, I sound so evil for saying that but MiL favours niece so much that our family don't get a look in any more.

As for clothes, I got DS a furry coat for ?7 (about $18 I think) and a cute hat for ?3 ($7.50) and everyone thinks they're Pumpkin Patch stuff. Result! Supermarkets rock. I can get cute tops for just ?1.50! I know where I'm going next clothes change.

I hate weight. I have people not talking to me because of mine, they just blank me. So what if I'm thinner than you? Who cares that I have a supermodel body, I don't have the face to match! And I am a nice person, so stop ignoring me! I hate that people, even husbands, just look at our weight and not the reason. Maybe the reason I've lost weight again is because we've been so ill we needed antibiotics and you still come home and play on the computer and demand your dinner. Sorry, mini-rant there.

Little man didn't sleep last night. Up at 12.45-1.36 then 4.30-5.30. Acutally, he was up at 4 but I ignored the snuffling sounds in the hope he self-settled and he finally got from tummy to sitting! Well done, I suppose. BUT, in his defence, he had bad day sleep (12-1.30 only, not the usual 12.30-2.30), pooed in the bath and needed to be showered off, was put in a sleepsuit he's just grown out of (growth spurt!) and did you know that they go in as raisins but come out as mini-grapes? That has to mess with your sleep, pooing a grape.

Well, best get myself some lunch while DS sleeps (on the sofa, in case bed sleeping is messing up his routine - well,the last week he day slept in bed and night sleeping was worse). Sorry for missing people out, I am tired and hungry!

No worries Ryn, go the mini rant! weight sucks, you cant win and it shouldnt matter! People should not ignore you coz you look great after having a baby, yes I am jealous as all hell but i know it is my fault i put on 30kg when I was pregnant I have about 11 more to lose and I am back to the weight i was before but would never make anyone else feel "bad" coz i cant control what I put in my mouth.
Be proud that you look great, anyone that cares about weight is not worth your time.

RYN - I hope Liebs backside is ok after the grape! I say good on you for having a knock out body! Like KEL said, it's our own faults for not controlling what we put in our months. Coming from somebody who is very overweight & tells myself every hour of the day that I'm going to do something about it, I still haven't pulled my finger out. LOL. I WILL I just need the right frame set. In saying that though, today I made a salad for lunch! YUM!

Claudy is having BAD day sleeps & needs to go back to bed. BBL.

I have 15kg to lose, the whole pg weight. I'm so tired and lose 3 wk days for gym. And when I can go, I don't want to.

I wrote my resignation letter today, and its on the desk for the owner (she's not there every day, has 3 centres). I'm burning out. I never see El, and when I do I'm so cranky and tired and I can't settle her, as she's used to her dad doing everything. I'll work until the owner finds a replacement. End of January I'm outta there. I do love kids, but I just can't work in a centre. Perhaps I'll do better at a school or family day care. Or maybe there's another career out there for me.

We had a fire drill today. At first I was confused, didn't know if it was talk or prep for the drill. And then two cots are brought out and the babies are put in (6 each cot, but hey, gotta get out quick) and the older kids are walking out following the leader. My adrenaline was going, I seriously thought it was real, the director at one point saying there was a fire in the kitchen. And all my fire drill "training" from cadets kicked in and I was feeling gogogo. But now I know what has to happen.

Was going to say other things, forgot now. Might post later.

Love to you all ladies xxxxxxxxxxx

CATE - WOW on the fire drill, I guess they got you good. I'm sorry to hear that working it taking it's toll on you in more ways than one. I really hope though that the Director comes to you directly for a discussion so that you can air your differences so that the next person who gets the your job doesn't end up the same way you did.

ME/US - I"m not sure what's up with Claudia. She has been sleeping shocking during the day. She hasn't been too bad over night, mostly sleeps til 5 am & then up a couple of times before then & 7:30-8am when she usually wakes, but during the day I'm not sure if it's because she wakes before she is ready to or her teeth are giving her the pips but she has been SCREAMING the house down. She is putting herself to sleep just perfect, but only sleeping 30 minutes if that. I"m going to pick up the photo's that I had professionally done of the girls tomorrow. I'm so excited. It's a christmas gift for my parents, of their 4 grandchildren ( my sisters kids included ) but they also did personal ones of the kids themselves. Jessica went all shy & wouldn't have them done, but there is an absolute gem of a pic of Claudia that I had to have. It wouldn't have been right not to get it. I'll figure out a way of scanning it & getting it to you guys, even if I have to add it onto facebook.

I've got to go, I have a tonne of house work to do. I just can't seem to get on top of it just lately. Some night I'm up at midnight cleaning the bathrooms. It's just getting a bit full on now with Alan being gone so long. I no sooner finish cleaning 1 room & the kids go & make it messy again & don't even start me on washing. I swear I'm forever pegging & unpegging clothes! It's just insane!

I hope you are all having brilliant nights!

Love Jayne

good luck cate.
went to MIL house tonight with Benji's new car (he bought a new merc) and they were looking for another photo for the infamous xmas letter.... the one they had was on jem 5 months and they had said it was her 9 months so now they have adorable xmas photo instead, nice

jayne add me to your facebook! i am Kelly Wylie not too many of us i dont think and my photo is me with jemima wearing hungry jacks crown... would love to see photos of claudia..... i am just starting to try and get on top of the housework, previously for the last at least 4 months i have ignored it using the unfinished kitchen as an excuse, i guess with 2 little ones you just CANT do that...

SMYLIE _ Oooh ahh aren't we flash with the new merc! I've just added you onto facebook, awaiting your confirmation of our new found friendship ** gush gush **

ME/US _ Claudia has had a bit of a snotty nose, so I gave her some Paedamin before bed last night & she slept like a trouper. Been into Fremantle all day, picked up my ADORABLE but very EXPENSIVE pictures, will scan & put onto facebook when I get home. I haven't even got home yet & it's 6:34pm! I've been out since 10am! We stopped in at my parents place on the way home, ended up having dinner here. I did some shopping on my own. PURE BLISS! I kinda spoiled myself. I got a gold snake chain & a diamond encrusted heart shaped pendant to go on it. Something I've been wanting a while & Alan told me I could go & spend some money on some jewellery because I've coped so well with him being away. Aaawww, he loves me! He gets home next Sunday! WOO HOO! I also bought a bottle of Rosa Zibbibo to go with dinner. DELICIOUS! If you're a fan of Brown Brothers wines, give it a go, it's pure yumminess!!! THe girls have been so good, being dragged around town all day. Claudia loved all the Christmas decorations.

Love to all the babies.

Jayne xox

OMG. I am so over the crying. I know that some of you guys have it worse, but Tobi just wont stop crying. I have to cuddle him all day, otherwise it is tears. Sometimes even when I go to the loo! I took him to the doctor on Thursday and he said that he had a sore throat, put him on ab, then on Friday, came up with a rash, we think is from the ab. Went to see a different doctor and she said that his throat looks fine! I know that he is probably teething, but he has a reaction to the teething gel too and around his mouth gets all sore and red. He looks like a clown! So the doc said to stop using it. He isn't eating again and like Claudia is very tired but having trouble sleeping. I have actually been putting him down for three sleeps a day. This morning feed him and put him straight back to bed, so I got a couple of extra hours too. All I can say is 6 sleeps till the grandparents are here and can help me out a little.
Meanwhile everything is great with my DH and I again. Nothing like a fight to spark things up again. He is really trying to make an effort around the house more and with Tobi, so that has given me more energy to make more of an effort with him too. I am no longer 'unattractive' and now back to turning him down (when he wants to go for seconds!!).
Brissy girls - Going to be up there in January and hope we can meet up. Maybe the 16th??
Hope everyone is ok. Thinking of you all.
Love and lots of kisses with drool
Tash and Tobi

Tashie - hang in there - dont throw tobi out the window!!!!! (that is what i feel like doing sometimes with jem....) i know what you mean and y ou are not alone the crying when it is constant is so so so draining!!! just keep cuddling and dont worry about what you are not getting done just think about tobi and realise how special it is that you can comfort him....
and i am a brissy girl and would LOVE to catch up in Janurary, i'm sure michelle would be up for it too! where in brissy are you going to be?? otherwise i dont know if school is back or not but it is easiest for michelle to meet on the northside and i have car will travel.... are there any other brissy girls???

Hi everyone!
Bella's due to wake soon so I'm typing with super speed! You'll all be glad to know that Bella has been the baby from hell the last week. She is clingy, cries when I put her down, cries when I pick her up, cries when I look at her. ARGH!!! Woke me in the middle of the night so I fed her, then she cried when I put her back down and I nearly lost it. DH wasn't much help and I let him know it this morning! He knows better for next time now.

Only 3 weeks and 4 days till we go to Thailand, so Tash, that means I'll be away on the 16th! Dammit!! Oh well, maybe next time??

Kel, I've been meaning to look at those clips on ebay. Will do that now if Bella lets me (it's way past her lunch time!).

Took Bella to the gym at 8am this morning. I usually take her at 11am after her first sleep. It turns out the 8am gym time is great. She is fine in the creche (has lots to look at and play with I think), then feed her on the way home, then straight to bed! I just hope it doesn't mess up our afternoon routine! Either way, she's still the baby from hell, with extra cuteness thrown in!

She is crawling everywhere at lightening speed, claps heaps and points at everything! When I tell her to dance, she dances (usually while kneeling), and she has a little piano thing that plays songs and she knows which button to press to make the song go. Very clever!

Ok, gotta go. Will try to catch up with personals later. Have a great weekend everyone!

I looked at a place yesterday and it was awful. It was a garage (complete with roller door!) with one room, floor very uneven (bug ridge right down the middle like one half lifted up) and the bathroom is accessed from the outside. Not a place to be raising a baby. I'm still looking.

Trying to get El back into a routine. I had a blowup to Terry about it and threatened to move to Brisbane with her. He saw that as kidnapping, and yes it partly is, but she is MY child too! So he has to help me get her back into a routine or its going to be hard on her when I can't do the random routine that he does.

Daily Routine
700 Sleep
730 Sleep
800 4 scoop feed
830 Bath, dressed
900 Solids, 1 jar
930 Play
1000 Nap time
1030 Nap time
1100 Nap time
1130 Play
1200 4 scoop feed
1230 Play
1300 Solids, 1 jar
1330 Play
1400 Nap time
1430 Nap time
1500 Nap time
1530 4 scoop feed
1600 Play
1630 Play
1700 Play
1730 Solids, 1 jar
1800 Play
1830 4 scoop feed
1900 Play
1930 Pyjamas
2000 Sleep

Does this sound ok?

Tashie :hugs: I know how you feel. Its like that at work at times. Part of the reason for quitting. Mostly I'm quitting coz I NEED to be with my girl. She can do the constant crying at its so hard. Why do men just stand there or try to play with them? They just don't get it.

Hi everyone :hello:
I have been missing in action for what feels like forever now!!! You miss 1 day on here and it is almost impossible to catch up... I have missed almost 2 weeks... I think I will just give up on trying to catch up.
We're all well, we've just been sooooo busy with end-of-year things, end of school, xmas shopping etc.
To answer the questions I noticed I have been asked;
I live in an area on the Mid North Coast called South West Rocks... it is a gorgeous, beach side suburb... have you heard of it?

My diet has been on hold since my miscarriage. I tried to get back into it, but my heart hasn't been in it. I am restarting it next week... I have chosen to do it right before xmas to prove to myself that I can do it. I lost 19kgs in 6 weeks. I have a lot more to go. It was quite expensive (approx $800 with vitamins etc) but well worth every single cent. I have a male friend who lost 80+kgs within 6 months. I recommend it to anyone who needs it. If you do decide to do it, I can be a support person :D

Harrison isn't walking yet... he has taken a few steps, but not walking. He still doesn't have teeth... he is so little and gorgeous. He is a chatterbox who copies things that we say. His newest word is up... he holds his arms up when he is on the floor, or wherever, and opens and shuts his hands and says "UP UP UP" sometimes he says "Rob UP" to his Dad... its very funny. My Mum has a dog called Milo, and Harry calls out "Mymo" to him.

So, thats kinda about it I think... I will pop in as often as possible.
I hope everyone is doing well and all the gorgeous bubba's are doing fantastic also.
Take care :grouphug:

Hi All,

Just a quick one from me and sorry but all about me...well about Quinn, he has CHICKEN POX! I know!

Poor little thing - they look so sore and yukky, he doesn't seem bothered by them though...but he only really got them today - so it could turn ugly.

Oh Quinn says giggsy too, more like giggee. DP has a little figurine of Ryan Giggs (from Manchester United) and QUinn loves it and wants it all the time and he points to it and says gigggeee sometimes he says Gig! zee! with and pause to make the z sound. it's so cute.

Hope no one else has chicken pox!

No to the Chicken Pox, but we finally have a reason to why Tobi has been crying. He has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Kym, how is Monkey? Does she have it too? I am trying to track down all the babies that Tobi has come in contact with and warn them that they might have it too. I looked it up and there is nothing you can do, just wait till it passes. It has caused his routine to be all over the place. He slept for 13hours straight last night and having really long naps during the day too, to the point where we are waking him up caused we are worried. It must have really knocked him around. At least I know why Tobi was so upset now. Fingers crossed he is all better before Christmas. He is eating again, so the sores in his mouth mustn't be hurting as much.

Kirsten - I am so sorry to hear that Quinn has Chicken Pox. I hope they aren't too bad. I still have some scares from when I had them as a kid. I remember it was Easter and I had that white stuff all over me to stop me itching. I still vividly remember hiding under the blankets so that the Easter Bunny wouldn't see me and be too scared to give me chocolate because of my white spots!!!

Lisa - Welcome back. Thanks for the info on the diet and congratulations on losing so much weight. Well done. I will be thinking of you over Christmas being such a good girl. It will help give me the inspiration to be good too.

Michelle - Welcome back too. Pity I wont be able to catch you in Jan, but we'll be back up again in March, so we'll meet up then. I have been heaps of flights to come up to Brissy next year.

Kel - I will be staying around the Northgate area. But will also be heading towards Toowoomba probably on the 17th, so can meet up with you then, if you live on the southside. Will make plans closer to the date.

Jayne - Glad to hear that you are spoiling yourself. You deserve lots of gold for doing it on your own, especially with sick kids, birthday parties and annoying neighbours. Is Claudia's ears any better this week? Is she still screaming the house down? I hope she doesn't have what Tobi has. Apparently it is going around.

Catherine - When do you finish your new job? Why Brisbane, does you family live there?

Sally - I wish Tobi was only rolling. I get so sad thinking of how quickly they grow up. I have come to realise that he isn't a baby any more. So enjoy your time with Brendan while he is developing and never wish that he was doing more. They just don't stay little for long enough. Does Brendan see his Dad much?

Hope everyone else is well and happy.
Take Care
Tash

Hello :)

Kirsten, Sorry to hear that Quinn has the Chicken Pox. Hugs

Tash, Brendan is my little baby for longer, and I love that :) I guess it's a good side to having a prem, I get to watch him grow slowly!!! B sees his dad every second weekend and in between, so far this week Brendan has seen Nigel every second day! It's nice that Nigel is making an effort now.... too bad on his parenting skills... but thats another story! I've had my rant in the punching bag room!!!

Take Care
Hugs

Oh it sucks little Quinn has the pox. My cousin had it when she was just over a year old, El was just a newborn, so they didn't visit for a while (they live near Wollongong) so El wouldn't get it. I had it when I was 9 and my brother gave it to me. The end of my quarantine was Christmas Eve. So I was able to go to Grandma's for Christmas. I had it pretty bad, completely covered in pustules, inside and out. The perk was 4 baths a day (mum had this bath wash stuff), as I was old enough for showers.

Tash, yeah my family are all in Brisbane.

Just eating my dinner, back later perhaps.

Tash - Jemima has had Hand, foot, mouth it sucks, but she was so so lucky she didnt get the sores in her mouth. DONT what ever you do give the boy bonjella it makes it sting. And it sucks that there is nothing you can do but wait it out... you are lucky he is eating again... jem didnt eat FOOD for ages she went off solids completly and only wanted boob and for the week she was sickest could not even keep breastmilk down.... she was awesome though and between sleeping and spewing and stuff was still my smylie wylie.

Kirsten - i am so worried about jem getting chicken pox, wonder why they dont get the vaccination til they are 12 or 16 months?? hmm.... sicknesses confuse and frustrate me.... I just totally got up benji coz we were at a party and he was watching her and he on the way home tells me that she had some juice... i'm like what juice?? he said he didnt know where she got it and that he didnt know whos cup it was... i said well "harrison has a throat infection and that other kids apparently has mozzie bites all over him....." oh well she will be totally fine....

she was asleep in the car and now she is screaming when benji went and got her so i best check that out.....

Hello...Thanks for that Kel, wish I knew about the Bonjella thing a week ago when we thought it was just teething. No wonder why he was so upset.

Oh no on the Hand, foot and mouth disease! That sounds like NOT fun at all.
I have spent a fair amount of time calling all the mums of babies Quinn has been around and no one seems to have any spots yet.

Well this morning Quinn's spots are everywhere, especially on his bottom - there are just so many of them and they are getting all blistery - they look so awful, but he seems completely fine, eating well and sleeping well (he did wake up early this morning but went straight to sleep for his nap). He has a big one in his mouth and a couple on his palms, I keep asking him if he has any new pops. Then we do round and round the garden (round and round the chicken pop) and he thinks it's hilarious. None of them have burst yet apparently that is when they get itchy.

It's going to be a long week here in quarantine!

Kirsten, if it's any consolation, Bri had them when she was around 3 years old and other than a little bit of itchiness, she was perfectly fine even though she looked like crap! So hopefully Quinn will be like that and not "sick" like other kids get!

Oh, poor sick babies! I hate it when they're poorly and just cry and cry and cry all day and night. OK, it upsets me with the constant crying. Kirsten, I had chicken pox age 7 so don't really remember it, wish I had my school books from then as I do remember writing loads about it all with diagrams - yes, I was anal even then.

DS FINALLY went back to sleeping "through" last night (just over 5 hours) rather than up hourly so I am feeling a bit better. He did 7.50-9.10-12.30 then 12.50-6.10 and then he was up for the day. He isn't feeding overnight and I think that helps. He also finally accepts having a sheet over him at night too, I thought he was too cold but he didn't like the sheet, finally it's OK!

Um, what else... oooh, bad memory atm!

Lisa, congrats on starting your diet again. That sounds like a huge weight loss, I'm well chuffed for you. 16kg is really impressive even without a conversion to imperial.

DS is pulling stars off the Christmas tree again, because we hang one star a day on he thinks he can take them off too. Maybe this wasn't a good advent idea...

Hi all, I've been reading, but no time to post....

I will still answer questions about our sleep consultant when i get more time.... (if you still want to hear..... she was very good)

But just wanted to send big hugs to Tashie and Kirsten with sick bubs....

Tash, thanks for the heads up..... Monkey is now fine, but I wonder if thats what she had when she was sick the other week, so maybe she gave it to Tobi???? Very sorry if she did.

Nice to see you again, Lisa - yes I know Sth West Rocks, but not well - lovely... I'd prefer that to Newcastle, but i can understand there's more in N'castle for kids, jobs etc.....

gotta run...

kym, if Monkey had had hand foot mouth you would have known about it... they get spots on their feet, hands and mouth and spew alot and sleep alot
i'm really interested in what the sleep consultant said, but dont stress just tell us the things that make the most difference!
jem slept through last night for the first time in ages, she has been waking at 2 or 4 am.... now i am thinking it was coz of my dogs waking her maybe?? coz i kept 2 of them in the laundry last night and she didnt wake... hmmmm am going to try it again tonight!

Hello!!!
OMG all the sick bubbas! I'm so sad to hear that there are so many of them! Speedy recoveries to the sickly bubbas!

RYN _ Glad you are getting 'somewhere' with Liebs & the sleeping. PMSL about the taking down of Christmas decorations. Reminds of the hokey pokey. 'Mummy put the decoration on, Liebs takes the decorations down, Mummy put the decoration on & Liebs shakes them all about.' Ok, I"m delirious. Never mind me.:cryinglaugh:

SMYLIE _ What was up with the little-princess-who-steals-juice & the screaming? I hope she settled down quick smart. It's horrible to hear & see & worst of all it's horrible for the little one to scream like that. Hope all is good in Smylie land now.

KYM _ Glad to hear that Monkey is going great & WTG on the successful sleeping !I bet you feel like a new woman!

KIRSTEND _ How is the Spotty Quinn today? I know it's horrible, but at least it's something you can look back on & say 'been there done that' when he starts school. I had Jessica immunised for Chicken Pox quite late, but that was because my niece got them right when we were due to go to QLD for a holiday & of course they had been in contact. Otherwise, the Dr just advised me to let her go ahead & get them. She said it's like 90% given that she will get them in her first year of school. But because of the holidays she did the vaccine because of course we couldn't go on the holiday with the spots if we were going to get them. I hope that he is coping as best he can with them, he sounds like a real trooper!

TASHIE _ OMG @ Tobes! I hope that he is getting better with every minute that passes. How horrible is that. What actually causes it? Is it like a bacteria & of course being babies they pass it through their hands/foot/mouth from the things they touch & slobber on, etc...? What can you do to treat it? Anything? How long does it last? I feel sorry for the little fella!

BRENDANSMUM _ WTG on Nigel spending more time with Brendan. I wonder if it's cause he is a bit more mobile now & more interactive? I know Alan didn't really do much with my 2 when they were so small, it's a man thing, but it still sucks. Is Brendan b/f? So can you leave him with Nigel at all so you can get 5 minutes break?

LISA _ Awesome achievement on the weight loss honey! I'm so proud of you! I have like almost 30kg to lose myself, so I know exactly how you feel. What diet is it? I'm glad that you're getting your money's worth & it's nice that you have some inspiration & motivation in your friend who's achieved great loss with it too.

ME/US - I feel as though I'm losing the plot. I've been up since 2am. I got about an hours sleep from 7-8am. I've no idea what's goign on with my girls. Claudia screamed the house down if I wasnt' rubbing her back in her cot. I have a sore back & shoulders because I rubbed her back for 50 minutes, thought she was asleep, I tiptoe back to bed, pull the covers on & she starts again. I did this like 2 times & thought I'll put her in my bed & at least I can do the rubbing while I lie down, nope, princess wouldn't have anythign to do with that. I sit on the couch - NOPE, I offer to feed her - NOPE, I stick her in her bed & put some soft music on - NOPE. Grrr, in between that, Jessica is up & down like a yoyo too. So finally I just took her to bed & made her lay in my arms. She just started at me for about an HOUR! Every time she went to start to cry I just said 'no more' & she'd stop. So she finally drifted off & then Jessica comes in crying! Typical! Then today Jessica has been the brat from hell & Claudia is doing the whole clingy/crying/has to be in my arms every second. I've had enough! I've been on the verge of tears all day! Ok, I'm goign to stop, you've all heard enough!

Love Jayne

Jayne - You poor thing. I wish I could help. When does Alan get home? I hope your girls cheer up soon.
Kym - Any luck on the sleeping yet?
Kirsten - How is Quinn going? I heard that they don't give babies the chicken pox vaccine to babies because it doesn't really worry them until about 12 months old. So I hope this is true.
Michelle - When do you get back from Thailand? Maybe we could catch up before I fly home.
Sally – I am glad to hear that Brendan’s Dad is getting better and seeing him regularly. Will you be seeing him for Christmas?
Ryn - Glad to hear that Liebs is sleeping a bit better. I hope he is only going to get better and will give you the best ever Christmas pressie...sleeping all night for both of you.
Us - Tobi is back to normal. I actually thought he was going to be like that forever, so it is such a relief to have a happy baby that can play on their own again.
I went pillow shopping today and picked a pillow that my Mum can get me for Christmas.
What is everyone doing for Christmas? We have my DH's parent's and sister coming down on Friday night and then my Mum for Christmas. So I am really looking forward to that. I am very close to DH's family and miss being so far away from them now. Then we are flying up to Brisbane for DH's school reunion and back down for New Year's where we have a house full of friends staying for a week. DH has a month off work which will be good. I think we'll do heaps of day trips etc.
Love and Kisses
PS. 6kg gone now. I am hoping for another one by Christmas if I keep being good. For all you girls that want to lose weight too, lemon juice in your water and eating small amounts every two hours works wonders.

Hi All,

Well we had the peak of the illness yesterday, poor little thing was feverish and sad and cuddly - he had to be cuddled all day - which is fine by me, but it's hard work and I was exhausted, especially since he was awake most of the night before, but he is so much better today, very tired still (he had 4 naps - 2 of them on me) and the spots are starting to dry up really quickly - so it's not as bad as it could have been. Apparently kids get around 250-300 spots, Quinn only has about 100 - 150 which I thought was heaps! and none on his face - except the one in his mouth.

It's also lucky that he is little enough not to really understand the concept of scratching, so even though it must be so itchy he hasn't scratched any of them.

Last night he slept nearly all night woke a couple of times but put himself back to sleep within about 2-3 minutes. Even with me being as tired as I was, I was still on wake up alert - it's an amazing little radar that wake up alert isn't it? Normally I sleep like a log!

Yay for the weight loss to the ones who want to lose weight, I'm afraid I am in the Ryn category, people say "I hate you because you're thin" which is a bit mean - i bet no one ever says to anyone "I hate you because you're not thin!!"

Tashie: Hopefully the pillow solves your problems and you are in sleepy time very soon! And I'm glad the foot hand mouth thing is gone.

Jayne: I'm actually glad in a way that he has had them and we don't have to worry about anything to do with them ever again! I'm really quite amazed at how well he has dealt with it and how fast his recovery is. The doctor said to expect 7-10 days of fever and pain. I hope you've managed to get some rest - you're dong an amazing job with your girls!!!

All the sleeping babies - yay! I am so lucky with Quinn's sleeping! and I am thankful every morning when I wake up.

Oh and the extra bonus to go with the chicken pox - Quinn is getting his Vampire teeth - Ryn he will be able to come over and fix up your vampire problem soon :)

hopefully everyone else is doing well and that all the babies are healthy and sleeping for a wonderful Christmas :)

Tash, I know how you feel with thinking Tobi was going to be clingy etc for ever - in our world a couple of days can feel like for ever! - I often feel like Monkey is going to be a nightmare sleeper for ever, then we have a couple of good days and I forget... then it gets bad again.... I think its like the whole pregnancy/labour thing - we are programmed to forget the bad stuff, otherwise who'd do it again!!!

I'm afraid I'm in the "skinny" group too - except my weight is abnormally low at the mo due to BF - so I have actually had some friends "worried" about me!! And I am not particularly looking forward to when I stop BF and go back to my "normal" and not-so-skinny weight - I'll be whinging about diets soon enough I'm sure!

So, tonight may not be the best night to sing the praises of the sleep consultant, as we are having a total shocker - DH has taken Monkey for a drive, as all else has failed!!! Hence, why I have some time to jump on here!

We have had the biggest trouble with day sleeps, although night sleeping is still a prob, just not as distressing as day, as there is usually less screaming..... to give a quick picture, Monkey got to a point where she would scream hysterically even in my arms and the only thing that worked was driving. Michelle (sleep chick) thinks it is a combo of a few things incl. just fighting sleep, plus developmental stage, plus wanting to be independent but unable to put herself to sleep yet, plus teething (possibly...) etc. etc. etc.....

But here are the things that I felt have helped somewhat:

Some little routine changes that involved getting the room ready for sleep, doing our little ritual (books etc..) out in the living room then going into her room - previously I was doing all the wind-down time, books etc in her room then darkening it.

We also changed the order of the evening routine to help get her down.... (all you intelligent mothers probably already do this!) so now once dinner commences theres no more active play time, it's just dinner, bath, books, BF then settle. (we also weren't bathing every day, but have now started. Also this is now necessary due to crawling etc...)

I have also added music into the room for settling - to be honest I'm not sure how much difference it is making now that we are a couple of weeks in; at first I thought it was good.... perhaps I could switch to white noise... dunno....

We have given her a "blankie", which was something we'd tried prev without success - Michelle recommends using a muslin square edged with satin ribbon - she says the satin is "unique" in the bed (ie. its not cotton like the sheets), plus the babies are attracted to its feel. Monkey had a "taggie" when she was younger and we've tried little cuddly toys etc... but they always seem to provide too much stimulation and serve only to make her play rather than sleep. Again, jury is out as to how much this is helping - it seems to have its moments, but isn't a magic wand.

The other thing we are doing is trying for more consistency, something I'm not particularly good at! And because both day sleeps were equally stressful, we are only "working" on 1 of them at the moment - so for the morning sleep we go out every day and she sleeps in the car or pram. Then I am home to "work on" the afternoon sleep.

When things still aren't happening I used to have no plan or know what to do... so we worked out a system of having "quiet time" if she won't sleep. I have set up our guest bed so we can both go in there and chill out if she screams in her room and won't settle. Often within 20 min of this she will fall asleep on the bed and I can transfer her. Not ideal, but at least I have something to try if the cot or being held by me aren't working. Again, not a magic wand and I think as the days go by she is learning the "new" methods and is starting to protest to these too!

I think that's mainly it - some of it may not make sense because I haven't described what was happening before etc.... and I am pretty tired.....

Michelle said that if we can get days better, then night will be better too..... I do believe this, but it seems a long way away!!

And of course, we now have to throw day care into the mix!!! (starting on 8th Jan). I think I was stressing about the countdown to day care and what would happen if she couldn't put herself to sleep, and my psychologist (who is an infant/mother attachment expert) thinks perhaps my stressing about the future may have started her distress for these sleeps in the 1st place, but now I'm trying not to think that far ahead - the reality is she won't be able to put herself to sleep by then, so they'll just have to deal with it! I have found a day care that have said they'll do whatever is necessary include rocking her in their arms if they need.... little do they know it may not even be this simple!!!

Whoa... my longest post by far... hope I haven't bored you all..... hopefully if you are bored you are adept at skim reading!!!

Goodnight all.