Babies Born February 2007 #9

KYM _ Like Kel said, Monkey will get used to it, it's amazing what they do in the company of other people. Remember how in 1 day she can say the carers name? Incredible.

KEL _ What a bugger with the clip, you will just have to buy more now! LOL> I'm trying to find a cute clip to go with the lime green & purple fairy dress I bought for Claudia's first birthday.

RYN _ Have you tried the creche? I think it's worth a go, you enjoy going to church & you never know, in time Liebs is going to enjoy the creche, I'm sure of it!

ME _ In a rush, Jessica is next door & Claudia is asleep. I'm just doing some stuff online & then going to tidy up before heading over to my sisters place. Staying there for dinner tonight.

OH yeah, I forgot to say, Claudia can do 6 steps now! WOO HOO!

hey jayne
claudia is awesome six steps!! i had a nice clip by accident for jemima's christening it was yellow and green crochet one from that same ebay chick
i have decided jemima is going to wear her denim skirt and a carebear shirt on her first b'day it is carebear themed, i was thinking fairy/garden theme as i LOVE those things myself but jemima has always been carebears and retro things, lots of butterflys but i'll save that for her second birthday unless it gets overdone this year by everyone else (everyone i know has a babygirl...)
i am making jemima's invites now.........

i have just lost ANOTHER hour of my life, in the day time if we are not out and about jemima takes ONE HOUR to go to sleep and if i try and put her in the cot to self settle she takes even longer, i think i will go and cry about it as it is so frustrating but i DONT want to let her cry to sleep, i just dont think i would personally like that

on a lighter note i made meringues for the first time today so i hope they are to benji''s liking HE LOVES them but i only just found out he loved them..... i cant believe my new oven didnt toast them like it has most other things modern fancy smancy thing i was used to my 50year old one.....

Huge personal crisis atm. Sorry, going to be lurking and skim reading. I have mediation and possibly court so I just need to relax and think.

Hi Girls.

CATE - So sorry you have some problems, know we are all here for venting/advice etc.
KEL - Yummo on the meringues !!! Go you little Martha Stewart. Can't Beleive we are talking about 1st Birthdays, haven't yet decided with Erin whether to do a family thing or friends as well. As we have just moved in we have no paving, lawn etc so would have to find somewhere to have it.
JAYNE - Yay on the 6 steps. Erin has just started standing on her own for a few seconds. If you are ever down Armadale way hon, let me know as I would love to catch up.
RYN - I think it is a little sad in the way that he Liebs has to go in to creche . I feel Church should be about embracing children not shutting them away IMO.
TASHIE - Happy Belated Birthday sweet. I use dto get heaps of mice in the house in the country we were in. I caught 10 in one day after we had been away for 2 weeks. They had eaten through my wool underlay in the cupboard, a wheatbag even a tampon !!! Crazy Mice.
KYM - I will proably start doing a similar thing with Erin's feeds. She has 3 a day. Last night was the first time she had woken up at night for ages, so I was so tired I just gaver her a quick feed and she was back asleep in 5 mins. That is what scares me about stopping BF, that you don't have the magic sleep potion right on tap like that!! How is it like being back at work, what sort of work are you doing?
Kirsten - bugger about ther Comforter. Erin is always throwing things out of her pram. IS Quinn over the Chick pox now?

Have made a appt to see the preist on Thursday to discuss getting Erin Christened. Am just going to have our immediate family and the god parents as again, with no backyard yet it is hard to have anything back at our place as there would be so many kids. Had to go and have a follow up pap smear as my one after having Erin had abnormal cells, common after having a baby. My Dr said she thinks it would be hard for me to fall pregnant whilst still BF but guess no harm in trying. I was going to ber very casual this time, but couldn;t help myslef and bought some OPK off Ebay !!!

Well better get some things down whilst Erin is sleeping xxx

have heaps to say but have to go on walk BUT want to be shot down by you guys first so i have comebacks when i get shotdown at mothers group in the morning

jemima's fave snack of the moment is cheeseballs or cheese and bacon balls or cheezels -you get the picture.... please now attack my judgement as a mother and tell me why this is bad
thanks
mwah

Sorry, Kel, can't help, DS likes cheesy puffs! I am trying DS in creche this morning, but he doesn't like it. At least I'm easy to find during the week when he kicks off! He loves singing too, but during the hymns (and he loves dancing to them too) and he does join in a little with prayers, but not much as I shush him or ricecake him. I'm just so upset I'm thinking about leaving the Church. I don't feel welcome anywhere my family isn't welcome.

I'll explain everything later. Too emotionally exhausted to keep getting into it.

KEL _ I don't know if you remember but Jessica had gastro in NOvember & the only think I could entice her to eat again was those cheese & bacon balls & claudia just about does a cartwheel to get some. So I am a bad mummy too! The kids absolutely love those & they love the Chicken Crimpy's as well. I was thinking about you today when I was giving Claudia her lunch, she is loving Macaroni Cheese. I know that Jem is a fussy pants with her food, so maybe the macaroni cheese is something to try? I love 'themes' for birthday parties, Jessica's first birthday party was a butterfly theme. Butterfly invites, butterfly balloons, all the kids were asked to wear butterfly wings, butterfly birthday cake. Butterfly lolly bags. I loved it! But I've no clue what to do for Claudia's first birthday. Carebears is cute! I love the carebears. Jessica is getting into carebears atm. I'm going to check e-bay for some 1st birthday invites, because I"m thinking of just doing everything 1st birthday, like invites, balloons, cake in the shape of a 1, napkins, plates, etc... I've got to check that ebay woman to see if she has a clip that will match claudia's fairy dress.

RYN _ I was going to suggest to you are you happy going back to that church when they told you Liebs wasn't welcome at the church anymore unless he went to the creche. Do you go to Church every day? I'm not a religious person at all, but I don't think it's very christian like to shun a family member like that.

KRISTY _ I'd love to catch up too! Where abouts in Armadale are you? Far off the Freeway? I only know Armadale Road. I used to know Forrestfield a bit, but that was a little while ago. Oh wow with the OPK's!! I guess you can't be sure, I think it's great that you're TTC again! BTW Erin looks so much older in that ticker pic than what she is!

ME _ Well nothing new to report here, been out a lot today. Went to visit a friend today, then over to my sisters after lunch. Her little boy - 6m is having some sleep issues & my sister had the CHN coming out for a chat & my sister wanted me there for moral support. The nurse wasn't much help, but was nice for the kids to play. Claudia had a ball as usual. Both kids were very well behaved. My niece was a total ratbag! Was nice to see another child get into trouble for once, as it's usually always Jessica doing wrong! I've been riding every morning with the kids in the caravan behind the bike. It's been great & I feel more energetic. Went to the beach for a few hours on Sunday too & had a big walk so I'm getting moving & I'm hoping the kg's start to fall off!

Love Jayne

Hugs, Cate, I hope everything works out soon.

Jayne, I don't go to *Church* as such every day, but Monday and Thursday are Bible studies and Tuesday and Wednesday the Church runs playgroups, so we go there. IKWYM about exercise, the Church is a mile away - well, somewhere between 1km and one mile - and walking there and back has been great for me. It was another ember of the congragation so I'm going to call the Church and find out their official policy - and apologise to the curates, whose services DS has been toddling around in. Mostly to see what they say, but also if I have created a problem I want to apologise as I did not intend to.

DS still hates creche, I tried him in there 3 times today, and I feel awful for trying to push it. I know I have to go back to work in 5-6 weeks, but I don't want DS to suffer. And why should he? Oh, I'm just so upset because I feel we're not welcome anywhere now.

jayne - i am going with retro carebears BUT i very almost went with pink and white 1st birthday carebears for jem's party which reminds me i gotta get the napkins and stuff ordered, i have cups and plates and some big balloons in carebear shapes but not the banners and stuff but you should find them on ebay and think about it it has lovealot bear as the carebear and says 1st birthday on everything, cute as and special..... type in CARE BEARS GIRLS 1ST B'DAY PARTY SUPPLIES coz it doesnt come up under anything else and only comes up when you scroll down heaps to ebay sellers and they have everything

been fighting EVERYONE lately seems i am getting a bit sick of doing EVERYTHING for jemima and feeling like NOONE is doing anything for ME so i am feeling selfish at that and expecting benji to just read my mind and know what i want
he is doing so so so much so i am feeling awful for feeling so selfish
had massive fight with new best friend or more exactly i made her cry and if he could benji probably would have the kind of crap i've been on about lately
i have a permanent stress headache prob coz i am thinking if i keep this up i will have no friends - not a cool way to start 2008
at least my baby loves me

KEL _ Oh dear, you are quite the snapping turtle at the moment! LOL. I'm sorry to hear that things aren't going your way. I know what it's like to expect Benji to read your mind, I'm always doing that to Alan. It's not their fault, they just don't have the initiative or intuitition that we have. Maybe give your bestie a call & apologise & explain that life isn't 'peachy' for you guys atm. Jemima is being impossible at bed time & you feel as though the rug has been pulled out from underneath you. I think when Benji is home (over the weekend?) for the day, you need to leave Jem with him for a while & have YOU time. Go when you know she doesn't need a feed & either get yourself a coffee & a magazine & go sit at a cafe, or do some shopping for Jem's party or something. Do whatever, but so long as it's YOU ONLY. GOod luck!

it is not nighttime that is the problem... nighttime ROCKS jemima has been feeding to sleep or just relaxing on me to sleep and i have the time to do it.... it is in the middle of the day when i am at home that i would rather not spend up to an hour getting her to go to sleep that is frustrating me to TEARS!
my bestie.... has a 7 week old and a 15 month old so is not without own 'problems' but she said we are all good so we will see..... i know it will be fine with her we are basically the same person

i think i do need some ME time or maybe even time with a friend that doesnt have kids or something, i think i would even just like time AT HOME when jemima is not here, not sure.......... feeds is no worries now so i was thinking about getting a day to myself somehow.... she has one in the morning and one before bed and thats it... this morning we had a 4.30am coz of the weather everyone got woken up by the rain and she has not had a feed since so she will have one soon and most likely fall asleep........ i think saturday is free so maybe benji doesnt know it yet but maybe i run away for saturday....


i am so proud of jemima's birthday invite, it is almost finished..... i put myself under loads of pressure as her other invites and what not have been pretty good too (if i dont say so myself heheheh) but i am heaps happy with this one.....if anyone else is going a carebear themed party let me know and i will help you as i have just downloaded the "carebear family" font so i can type stuff up and it looks like carebear writing, so cool (small things amuse small minds ho hum)

a old friend dropped in this afternoon and made me feel slightly normal again, i think i was getting myself all wound up about routine that i was trying to think about starting and things ruining it and hardcore diet i am on, needless to say after routine was shot to pieces this arvo we had pizza.........

kymmy, when does monkey go back to daycare?? how do you get her to sleep in the daytime?

Kel, it sounds like you are waaay happier without routine, so who needs it???!!! It's not like you to sound this stressed out, hope you are ok...

Monkey went yest and today - as this is wk 2, she has done the whole "OMG this is a REGULAR thing?" and screamed when I left her both mornings..... Yest she didn't sleep in morning, but collapsed about 1230 and slept 2hrs. Carer and I both happy with that if thats what it will be for now. I have been very sad both mornings though, leaving her like that. Yest carer told me she settled in about 10min, so hope today is same...

Day sleeps suck don't they! Hun, I can soooo feel your pain and frustration and an hr is just too long for both of you. My sleep chick said she doesn't believe in trying for any more than 45min, regardless of what "method" you are using to get bub to sleep. It sounds like its afternoon more than morning, yes??

If there is 1 that is worse than the other, here is what worked for us, based on my sleep chicks recommendations (which I played with a bit...)

Does she sleep well in car or pram?? For Monkey this was a guaranteed sleep aid, so we used it to our advantage.

If so, then whichever is crappest / hardest sleep, then go out for that sleep EVERY day - walk or drive - I did this for a month and its a bit hard to plan at the start but gets easier. If its the car and it only takes you 15 min to get somewhere then just arrive a little early, read book/txt friends etc... and let her have at least 30-40min.

The other tip I have is to try the "chill out room" concept..... as both our sleeps were hard and full of screaming and crying (from both of us usually!) I would go out EVERY morning and then be home to "work on" the afternoon sleep. But sometimes this was still a battle and stressful. At least I knew she had slept in morning in car etc...

So in afternoon if she had not started to settle down after a nominated time (I chose 20min) we would "abandon" her bedroom and go down to our spare room and lay on the bed together. It doesn't have to be a spare room, your bed would be fine, just that our bedroom is really light in pm, so spare room was less bright and more chilled out.... I would just let her wind herself down and let her sit/roll/lie whatever with minimal stimulation, so no toys, but we would maybe have a little cuddle and a quiet chat in soft voice etc... or even sing a soft song etc.... Often after she'd calmed down from the stress of being tried to put to sleep, she'd virtually fall asleep on the bed beside me and I'd either lie there with her or try to transfer her back to her bed just before she fell totally asleep.

The sleep chick's theory with this was that even if she didn't sleep, which happened sometimes, then at least it was quiet time for min 30 min.

While it was still time-consuming for me, I wasn't getting tired holding her and it was nice, positive time together, not a battleground.

I have no idea why, but fairly recently, since Christmas, all of a sudden she has grown out of this horrid phase and day sleeps are a breeze for us again.... I have only just started staying home some mornings and she seems to be fine. I still cuddle her, we haven't graduated to self-settling yet, but there's no more sleep war for now.....

Hope this helps, sorry I'm long-winded, not good at explaining things succinctly!

Hi to everyone else!!!

Oh, and Cate, thinking of you hope things are improving...

jem doesnt sleep sometimes but i agree that it is at least 'rest' that she is getting
daytime sleeps when i am home just doesnt happen easily either an hour of my life peacefully or longer with crying trial....
have been 'wasting' my wednesday mornings constantly since swimming lessons 'trying' to get her to have a nap before we go but this morning said "f*%K that!" as am over that so went for a walk with her instead, she didnt fall asleep but thought about it and had a relax all the way as i am pretty sure we wont get a walk this after noon (meeting tashie!!) so that was way more productive than me trying to force her tosleep THEN i wanted a shower and am over waiting for her to nap or putting her on shower floor ect especially when i want to shave my legs or whateva SO i brought the highchair into the bathroom and covered it with grapes, arrowroot biscuits, cheesesticks and i think her water and she thought it was odd but sat there for my whole shower happy as larry

went to sleep in the car on way home from swimming which i thought she would and as i am lucky and she transfers really well out of car is still asleep now after an hour or so, she may need to wake up soon so i can give her more food and then she can have a nother nap on the way to meet tashie which is at least half an hour i think will check on that now.

kymmy (i hope u dont mind if i call you that) thanks heaps for the sleep stuff will definately NOT be doing the car thing even though she goes to sleep in the car i just cant do it!!! petrol too expensive and she needs to learn to go to sleep by herself..... just wondering how... the chill out room is kinda what we do we go and lie on my bed and i try to make it beside me and not on me but still sometimes this takes ages and sometimes she doesnt transfer into her bed so i am stuck with her on my bed which means i cant do alot incase she wakes up and jumps off my bed
i keep telling myself to put her in cot and pat her to sleep through the crying for a couple of days but not sure when to put her in the cot should i wait til she is half asleep or before that? and when i put her down she just wants to climb out of the cot

and i agree WHO needs routine!!! jemimas night time thing is working pretty well but i am getting way too stressed if things come up that are not part of the plan so that isnot worth it - especially since she slept the same last night as she does on other routinenights and yesterdays routine went to pieces

i have gotten my wall calender on the wall in my 90% done kitchen and am filling it up so i dont have to think about daytime naps at home for a couple of days!! heheheeh

Mediation went really well. Tomorrow is our first joint session, and I'm confident that we can work at least most of it out and the other things will take some time. I've been having fun hanging out with my mates who I'm staying with. Monday wasn't a good day, after seeing legal aid to get advice which was helpful but didn't make me feel any better, I had a bit of a squabble with a friend through text messages. I was in the wrong but didn't need to be chewed out like I did. But we're both under stress so I just have to leave it until she's ready to talk or whatever.

Good luck to everyone on settling and routines, I skimmed read so I don't know all the details but I wish you all luck and :hug:

hey cate
as long as you are remembering that the MOST important person in all of this is Elouise then there is nothing to worry about.
i hope it all sorts it self out soon.

Of course I don't mind if you call me kymmy - though it's funny, there's only a few people that do! (although that number increased significantly with the introduction of Kath and KIm...... Kimmeeee, look at meeee..... oh how I get sick of it!!!)

I sometimes have the same thoughts about trying to actively "teach" Monkey to self settle and put up with some crying, but I always decide that its not for us, no matter how bad things get. What if it didn't just take a couple of days???

And my other theory is that although it is a skill they need to learn, we wouldn't teach them to ride a bike by shoving them on, leaving them at the top of a hill and say "see you at the bottom" would we! I don't believe in teaching lessons in a manner that is distressing, unless it is something that is life and death, like road safety. And, like you, Kel, I wouldn't want to cry myself to sleep either - have done at certain times in my life and its not nice...

BTW, we are having the same issues with the standing up in the cot even if we put her down 90% asleep...... she just rolls over and up she gets.... very frustrating, but she thinks she is ever so clever....:lol:

Funny about the high chair in bathroom - I used to do that before Monkey could sit really well... she is at stage now where she's not really safe in bathroom anymore if I'm showering 'cos she trys to open door, gets tiles all wet then trys to stand/crawl around on wet, slippery tiles... And can't get highchair in bathroom anymore due to new gates in kitchen.

Little whinge now.... I thought I had got to point where I could go to bed without bra and br-pads and it was ok for a few nights even if Monkey did feed in night. But we are back to it all again, as I started leaking again... very frustrating!!! I don't leak just in my sleep, but if she feeds, she often has a "real" feed and my let down is so strong that the boob she isn't feeding from just goes beserk! And I was sick of changing tops in the middle of the night and having double the washing!!! I know I shouldn't whinge, I am blessed with abundant milk....

Oh, and can I ask..... are any of the munchkins dropping to one sleep yet??

Monkey isn't - still very much needs her 2 sleeps, but we are thinking that day care days it looks like she'll only sleep once, which is fine by me... just thought I'd ask, as I don't know when to expect her to drop to 1 sleep every day.

Oh and carer is doing such a good job! She has discovered that Monkey prefers a big, cuddly teddy as her sleep aid - very much like a toddler. I had never really thought of it and kept trying to push satin blankies and other small things we tried like that Pooh toy someone mentioned....

Nope, she has become attached at day care to a big Christmas teddy of all things - even more ironic as the carer is Hindi (Hindu... not sure which is correct) and only has the Christmas stuff there for the kids!!! And she is even managing to get Monkey to kinda self settle in cot cuddling teddy. Carer and I both agree it is probably also happening this easily because she is soooo exhausted by the time she gets to sleep at day care, but who cares! Am very proud of my girl :D

So, now we are trying her favourite teddy at home in the cot too. Though last night, when I put her down 1/2 asleep, all she did was sit up and play with him.... methinks she might be taking the p*** a bit and knows she can get away with it at home.....

Off to Parramatta when she wakes to get cool new day care bag from kids central that they ordered in for me - yay! Was also going to go to Medicare to submit child care benefit forms but DH forgot to sign :doh:

Warning, long post:

Mediation went very badly. Terry and I could just not agree or come to a compromise about where Elouise will live. We couldn't even agree on which city to live in, Sydney or Brisbane. He had several factors that prevent him from moving to Brisbane and I have a huge financial concern about living in Sydney and he just had little things that added up but were not really much to concern himself with.

So his problems are:
I can't apply to transfer uni until November.
What's going to happen with the cats?
I have a support network here (Sydney).
My dad hasn't seen Elouise since she was 3 weeks old.
I don't think you can cope looking after Elouise.
My income is now only $250 a week as I had to cut back on work, so I can't afford to rent.

His positives are:
He lives with his parents so he has a roof over his head without having to do much for it.
My mother can help me out looking after Elouise.

My problems are:
My income is not that much, purely on welfare.
I will need to pay rent, electricity, water, gas, phone, internet, food, clothing, Elouise' other thingies and private health.
I also don't have a lot of support in Sydney.
I will have to work to earn enough money to pay all my bills, so then I will hardly see Elouise.
Sydney is one of the most expensive living cities in the world, ie income and expenses are almost the same. The rent is high, is rising and there's not much available and high demand.
He collects most of the water used in his house to put on garden/flush toilet. It sits stagnant and smells revolting. (On sunday I refused to go into the bathroom because of the stink).
He has a german roach problem, yet they have been removed because his mum got pest control in.
His parents will soon be renovating the house, making it 2 storey.

My positives are:
In Brisbane I can afford to be a SAHM.
I can afford my own place.
Elouise will not be bounced from home to home each day/week/month etc.
I will not need to rely on my parents or any of my friends or family from day to day.
I will live in a stable home.
I have been Elouise' main caregiver and I will continue to be.


So of course we could not agree. The mediator rang me a little while ago to say that she will make the certificate (that says we tried mediation) so I can take it to a lawyer. The legal advice I had gotten beforehand was actually wrong and was in fact the opposite of what I'm entitled to. The mediator was trying to hint to me that but she couldn't do more than that as she's meant to be impartial and not allowed to give legal advice. So I saw legal aid after mediation and the lawyer (different lady to Monday) said that I can get Elouise back now and can keep her until the courts have come to an agreement about where she is to be placed. Bear in mind that proceedings can take anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to reach a conclusion. So I'm going to fight for Elouise, becaus I feel its in her best interest to live in one home at least for the next year or so, and have a stable home life without financial struggle and constant upheaval and uprooting. The mediator told me on the phone this afternoon "I think you'd be pleasantly surprised" regarding the court proceedings.

So today I was completely distraught during mediation, about the things Terry was pulling out against me, and then I feel very confident about court.

Btw I see a solicitor tomorrow! The legal aid lawyer picked up the phone within 2 minutes of seeing me to refer me to a solicitor. She said I qualify for legal aid and that I'm very likely to "win". Ie that I'll at least get Elouise now until the whole matter is resolved in court. So with the first lawyer saying that if I move to Brisbane and take Elouise, Terry can file to have her returned to him as she'll be too far from her dad. Yet the second legal aid lawyer said that it doesn't matter and what matters is who is the main caregiver and who will be the majority caregiver in the future (both me).

So going rom a totally **** mediation to being confident in getting Elouise back, I feel pretty good now.

Thanks for reading this saga and for all of your support and advice.

Oh and he tells me that Ellie's rash is back. Thanks for telling me :rollseyes:. And yesterday she had 24 scoop of milk. Normally she has 3x4=12!!! "She was hungry, she's going through a growth spurt". I told him, offer her more water and more food, 3 meals and two snacks, because we're meant to wean her off the formula not increase it! And she was having a bottle every 3 hours! I can't believe it. I'm not saying I told you so, but I did mention that he'd have her back on snacking. I knew it would happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I bloody hope I get her back into routine. At least he is getting her to have 2x1.5hr naps and she is sleeping well.

Cate, all my thoughts are with you.

DS is dropping to one day sleep now and is learning to self-settle: he has a VERY bad cough so can wake, cough and sleep again (even wake, cry once or twice and sleep again - I can't get to him before he falls asleep again!). But he was up between 1.50-3.20 last night, not so great! I made DH get up at 2.50 and help a bit because I was reaching the end of my tether with DS, so at least I had a 15 minute break! How did I do this alone for 11 months? But he needs a slightly longer day sleep, he has this in his pushchair and yesterday the ruddy postman woke him up by ringing the doorbell and walking away (there was a parcel outside, but it didn't need signing for and it wasn't raining). So annoyed with that! He has a blanket with satin and fleece on, his Herr Hare, Tinephant (a tiny/DS-fist-sized orange elephant that makes a tinny rattle sound), Coo (a white cow, same size as Tinephant) AND Keel (a fluffy teddy he shouldn't be allowed yet). Sometimes they calm and settle him, sometimes not. Make up your mind!

Kel, I agree with the cost of petrol - 110p a litre! That's almost ?5 a gallon, or about $2.50 a litre in Australian terms. Well, that's diesel, petrol is similar though. Routines are not fun, I agree - we have a loose one and DS likes that. Shame he changes his sleeps as soon as I tell MiL when they all are though! (He's tending to go down 11.30-12ish and until... well, let's see if he doesn't get interupted today!)

I'm off to the osteopath today about the car accident (remember, the one I had 9 months ago) to get my PI claim sorted. Not very impressed with the length of time this is taking. But if it goes to court I think I get more money... just keep telling myself that if God wants me to get loads of money so I can have a bigger house and more children sooner then He will make it go to court so I can get that. Nothing I can do about it.

Got my period back too. Not impressed, I'm still feeding! Hope it's a one-off and I get a few months off again now. DH has said he prefers to be in charge of contraception, he'd rather me not have to take pills/the mini-pill, so that's fine with me. Just a hassle having to remember to buy the things in. But when he wants #2 then we're ready to go, no coming off Pill nonsense.

AAAGH! DS just sat on his bum, let go of everything, then grabbed my robe and pulled up by himself! First time EVER! (Yes, I know he can walk but he can't pull up and has gone lying to sitting only once too.) So proud. Off to give love!

cate - you go girl just make sure that eloiuse will always have her daddy in her life, never bad mouth him in front of her no matter what you think as that is not fair...... so glad you will be able to look after her while all the legal stuff is going on.... that is all so full on especially since you guys so young.

ryn - i am so jealous you have AF back.... i am still waiting.... how often are you feeding?? i cant believe pubert doesnt pull himself up on everything but is walking... that is so funny!! i love it when they pull themself up on you coz they want you not coz they want something nearby.... that is so funny (but not) about the postman as EXACTLY the same thing happened to me today!!! went for a walk, jemima fell asleep, i put her in cot sat down for 5 mins and then the mailman ran upthe stairs with a parcel and sung out! and she woke up! how funny and it was not raining at that particular moment either!!!

today i took jem for a walk when i thought she was tired as we had already cried together when i refused to let her pull my hair to get to sleep, she cries like she is in pain when i dont let her, she doesnt understand she doesnt need it so instead of continual fighting with her we went for a long long walk to buy some bread and she loves a walk and went to sleep.... she didnt eat much this morning either so i dont know what her problem was

kymmy all your sleep talk is like you are watcching my house!!! monkey sounds exactly the same as jemima when i am out she sleeps whereva or in between visits in the car but at home just wants to be sleeping on me or next to me not very convienent when i want to do stuff while she naps... even worse that when she finally does sleep it at least today is not for very long...!!!

she ate big chunks of apple today so i was kinda proud of her but moreso proud of me for not freaking out she would choke!!!

all you girls that let baby eat own lunch (sandwiches and fruit and stuff) how do you have the patience or TIME??? jemima takes so long to eat hardly anything (so long that i just spoon in the yogurt or fruity custard or something...)

Patience... I put DS's sandwiches/fruit on the coffee table and sit on the sofa with a book. He eats most of it. Because he self-fed from the start he's quick - any slower and I eat it! I spoonfeed him yoghurt, but he attempts fork and mash potato at night - great because we're all eating together and he's so speedy it's good to slow him down! I give him apple quarters and orange segments no problem, he loves them. He has eaten a whole pear before too!

I'm feeding at 7amish (give or take) and to bed, so 7.40pmish. He doesn't get it any other time, has to be upon waking and bedtime.

I'm so sorry girls for thinking only of myself. I hope you all sort out sleeping problems. I don't know how to help as I really don't know how Elouise has managed after our issues, as Terry doesn't seem to mention these things. Gawd he's ridiculus!

Cate, please don't apologise, you need a place to be selfish and vent! I couldn't go through what you are right now and offer support, and I know I have done my fair share of taking from this group, so please don't feel bad about it.

Hey Ladies,
So sorry, it's going to be a sad post, I'm absolutely devastated.

3 of our 5 bunnies died today. I'm assuming it's heatstroke but I'm just so gutted. It was a very hot day today, around 40 degrees & yes, the bunnies were outside in their hutches in the afternoon, however they were all inside until then (Claudia loved to pat them), & they were outside with cold water from the fridge in their feeders, frozen bottles of water for them to lie on & they are in wooden hutches, not steel & when I came home after the beach & Jessica went straight out to them, as she always does & she came in saying 'Mummy, Cocoa can't wake up'. I just stood there & shook saying over to myself, please don't let it be & I go out & our 3 babies are dead. Cocoa was 4 months & we got him on Christmas Eve, & Honey & Angel were just babies, born 25th November. We haven't even had them 2 weeks. I am going into breeding them & I had chosen all these bunnies for their colours. Jessica played with them all, every day, even Claudia used to let herself out the door to go & talk to them in their hutches. I even have to tell her off because she takes down their water & drinks out the feeder!! I'm so sad. We love all our bunnies & we were so looking forward to breeding them. My two older bunnies, Chocky (1y) & Pebby (7 months) are still ok, but I have bought their hutches inside JIC.

So sorry, talking about crying yourself to sleep, that's what I'll be doing tonight....

Love Jayne

oh jayne!!!! that is so so sad!!! i have fish and i feel gutted when they die so i know kinda what you feel.... if my dogs ever die i will take a week off i think.... but they are not going to.......

kymmy how many feeds are you doing now??? sorry if i missed it but do you have AF back?? i am worried/wanting/??? mine to be back soon (worried in case i get caught out somewhere random it is not like i've been carrying around supplies.... and whats with leaking again???? that sucks also to think about i stopped breastpads the week after jem dropped middle of day feed.......

ryn - i got to ring all sorts of places while jem was eating her apple today, i didnt think of relaxing and reading book..... hmmmmm

cate - no need to apologise just sort your family out!

me - jemima did a weird wake up last night, she woke at 10.30 and then cried and carried on and then was happy and played til midnight (i was up anyway) and then woke like what is becoming normal at 4.30 for a feed then slept til before 8...... wtf?! wouldnt go back to bed so she just slept with us but still not straight away like normal..... very interesting..... she fed to sleep about 7.30ish which is becoming her normal so i dont get what was different with last night.....

KEL - I had a rough night with Claudia as well. She went to bed at 8:30, was up crying from 10:30 til 12:05, then slept til 6am, up with her feeding & crying from 6 - 7 & then went back to sleep until 8. She has a mega stuffy nose today, so I'm sure that's what's doing it. As for Miss Jem, I'm not sure what's up with her? Claudia loves Apples too. She scrapes them along her teeth, it must feel good & taste nice at the same time? Claudia does hand feed herself most times. if we have mince or if she's having yoghurt or something, she is spoon fed, but mostly she does it herself. Now she lieks to hold the spoon while I load it up & then she guides it into her mouth. Very cute!

KYM _ I"m glad that Monkey is sleeping at day care, sounds as though her carer is a total gem! Worth holding onto. I think it's normal that they put on a show when you leave them, I have heard lots of friends say the same. I'm so glad to her that you have a stressfree approach to getting her to sleep! Less stress on both of you.

Hope you're all having a great day.

Love Jayne

Spooky.... Monkey had a weird night too..... Was difficult to get down and didn't go to sleep till 8pm (norm is around 7) then awake - very unhappy - from 11-1230 then awake again briefly at 230 (DH settled, what a gem) then up again - very unhappy at 445. Wouldn't go back to own bed so slept on my chest until 6 when I fed her. Maybe in a parallel universe Monkey and Jemima are the same person......!

As usual, I thought it might be teething..... who knows..... but I tried these new teething tablets my friends recommended - has anyone heard of or used them? They are homeopathic, main ingredients are Chammomile, Belladonna and coffee! Despite this they say they are fine for giving at night! Anyway, who knows if that's what DD's prob was.... she seemed to calm down but not completely.

I don't have AF back yet either Kel. Although for us, not so much of a prob as we aren't planning to TTC until around winter this yr. IKWYM about supplies - I always keep something in bag just in case!!

You never know... there may be some eggs popping down soon, don't get too disheartened.

Essentially, I still do 3 feeds, as I was trying to make it 2, but inevitably we do an o/night feed which is a real feed not just comfort.... So we BF on waking, usually 6/630ish, before bed around 6/630ish then whenever o/night - this can be anywhere between 1130-3! If it is closer to 3 then it seems to be a big feed then the b'fast feed is just little.

Jayne, so sorry about bunnies mate. Hope you feel better soon.

re: food - Monkey still not fantastic at self-feeding finger foods and managing chunks, but I'm sympathetic as I think no teeth must make some difference to her chewing ability! She is getting heaps better, just seems to be a slow process for her. She has started wanting to spoon-feed herself lately, so we are practising together with a bit of hand over hand technique, similar to you Jayne. Sometimes I just let her go for it, if we aren't busy or need to go out - she loves it and food ends up everywhere as you would expect! The spoon in the hair bothers me the most though - it ain't a hairbrush darlin'!

We went for a swim this morning and this lovely 9yr-old girl attached herself to us - very sweet, but I was very conscious about her Dad wondering if i was a weirdo. Monkey loved it though - she would copy what ever this little girl showed her and for the 1st time in the water did some arm actions that looked a little like doggy-paddle - tre cute!

And now she's snoozing - I'm hoping the combination of the sound of light rain outside and the swim exhaustion will lead to a niiice long sleep. I have heaps I could be doing but am using Fridayitis as my excuse :lol:

Hi everyone... Remember me? lol
Just wanted to let you know that Harrison and I are still around, alive and well, just very busy preparing for our move to Newcastle... DH got a brilliant job there doing exactly what he loves doing, and for much better money... so now, it is all just a matter of finding the right house for us.
As soon as we're settled, I will be right back in here catching up.
I hope you're all well and happy :)
Lisa

Hey Lisa, I've missed you!
I figured you prob had your hands full with the kids / school hols etc....
Congrats on the big move - all the best.
Harrison is looking more handsome every day - go curls!! (Monkey has plenty too...)

Hey Lisa,

Congats to you guys on getting the dream job! How awesome is that. I bet you guys are just stoked! I'm loving Harrison's curls! I bet you don't when you have to brush them! Do you have curly hair, is that where he gets it from?

Ok, you girls all scare me, Claudia took over 2 hours to get to sleep tonight. I'm walking around the house with her doing WHATEVER to get her to calm down & I'm cursing you girls all the time! Claudia seems to do things about a week after you guys complain about it with sleep issues! :doh:

I'm off to my mums in the morning, spending the day there with my parents & going to a going-away party for our friend that night, coming back to my parents, staying over night & then coming home sunday. Jessica is soooooo excited. I'm not sure Mum & Dad will share the same enthusiasm if Claudia puts on the same performance that she did tonight.

Hope you are all having sweet dreams!

Love Jayne

L I S A welcome back!!!! was wondering about you.... not a bad thing that you been too busy for computer!!!

I feel like i've been on the computer non stop!! finally got jemima's invites printed today and right now doing the labels they all have a carebear cloud and star on them with carebear font for the pink writing on a clear label very cute!

jemima didnt go to sleep straight away tonight like she normally does, she got milk drunk like she has been then sat there LAUGHING!!!???!!!! cute as but ho hum! probably ended up in bed about 9 instead of 7.30 anyway its all good may mean a sleep in?? heheheeheh

jayne - yesterday i had normal baby, wednesday pretty awesome child BUT TODAY AMAZING baby, so i wish that upon you!!!! she was just adorable all day and when i went grocery shopping she slept the whole time in the trolley i had to use one of the baby capsule ones not a normal one for first time in ages she woke up when i went to pay and then was cute as for the butcher and all the way home and all night, i went to the physio (i counted the 8th time i have left her in her life - kidzclub doesnt count coz i am still in the building and they DO come and get me) and got home and she had been awesome for benji...... coz we were out most of the day day sleeps were not an issue she went to sleep pretty easy coz she was tireder this morning then usual as she slept in and then we went to the gym, printing place and then home then big nap and trip to glass place (i'm trying to finish this darn kitchen), MIL for pittstop as i had no yogurt til grocery shop then nap at grocery store and then butcher then home for first dinner
loving being a mum today
yesterday different story - i had issues with cleaning under highchair... go figure

two exciting things
one - as of today i have lost 4.3kg on my stupid diet in 2 weeks so yippee
two - jemima is still asleep!

Hi girls,
How are you all? I have been reading every chance I get so I don't get too far behind in everyone's entries. It sounds like you all have been having a hard time lately and I hope everything picks up soon. We are up in QLD at the moment. I am looking forward to my DH going back to work next week and everything going back to normal and getting back into a routine again. Tobi has been out of whack. Some days he only has one sleep and then the other day he had four, but he had a temperature, so that was probably the cause and we were in the car all day too. Anyway got to run. Hope you're all well and happy.
xxx

Hi girls! We finally got back from Thailand late on Thursday night and we're still catching up on washing and stuff. YUK! Thailand was AMAZING! We had a fantastic time although we really missed the girls. I don't think I could have stayed away longer than a week.

Bella was an angel for Mum. She was sleeping 12 hours every night (what the...?!) and was having two 2 hour sleeps through the day. Last night was her first night at home, and although she grizzled a bit when I put her to bed she slept 11 hours.

I've only had a chance to quickly skim through what's going on and for those girls having trouble getting bubbies to sleep, I feel for you. I suppose I was ok about letting Bella cry (not too much and not too upset) on occasion and I'm being rewarded for that now.

Catherine, I hope your custody stuff works out and bub doesn't get dragged into any of it - that's the worst thing that can happen and can really mess them up.

Gotta go - I'm now a website builder (hence the trip to Thailand which was mainly for pleasure but had some business thrown in to make it tax deductible!), and I've got some stuff to do for my website.

Hi Ladies,

Welcome back Lisa.

Got the results back from my 2nd pap smear and they have come back with abnormalities again and CIN1 which is to do with abnormalities in the cells. So I have to have a Colposcopy whcih is like a pap smear but with a camera and they inject some dye to have a look more closely. Have an appt on the 12th Feb so not too long to wait. Will have to put the baby plans on the back burner till I see what the GYYNO says.

Other more positive news met with the priest and have booked Erin's christening for the 30th March. We have to go to a information session which they hold once a month but the Priest was veruy relaxed and friendly which was nice.

Will do presonals next time as Erin is destroying our study at the moment so better go rescue the printer!

Hi Lisa, I've missed you and Harrison!

Hi Michelle, I was wondering where you were too: good to hear you had a great "business" trip.

Jayne, I will stop complaining of DS's sleep now. He has dropped to one sleep, I am making him do until 1.30-2 (from 12ish) and last night I gave him a pillow, he slept curled up on his side and he slept 8-10-12-6!!!!! Then up every 15-20mins until 7am. But DH and I were both awake at 6 when DS woke up, new comfy matress and a decent sleep was so nice. We're usually up at 6.30ish or just before during the week anyway so it didn't feel too bad. I also changed his warmth stuff - now he's in nappy, PJs, sleeping bag, quilt. Before it was nappy, bodysuit, PJs, sleeping bag - complain if a quilt, blanket or sheet was added. He does have a nasty cold/cough right now too, so I'm impressed with him. He didn't cough so much when he had the pillow so that's good.

Kel, well done on the weight loss, that's fantastic. DS laughs at me some nights rather than sleeps, it's so frustrating. But he's happy, that's the important thing.

Kristy, you poor love with the abnormal smear. I hope it's just a viral thing or a normal growth thing and clears up for you. There are a few things that can cause early warnings so I hope it's something easily treated for you.

As for us... well, DS is sleeping a little better, he has been ill, he's now charging around the living area and kitchen on his ride-on walker with a biscuit in his hand. He wants me now, gtg! Love to all.

kristy are you scared?? that would be awful having to wait to find out more.... christening in march sounds lovely like most people get married in march just nice weather and everything

hey hey micfhele - i hope you remembered my tacky snow globe!!!

ryn - i keep forgetting while we are battling sweaty babies in gross heat you are trying to keep your bub warm... it is so so weird.... i meant to tell you the rev at my church is the opposite to your church, this is what he said when i emailed him re jemima in the church (yes he is on email how cool is that)
"Thanks for your concern about bringing Jemima to church, but please believe me when I say it is not a problem for me and most of the congregation, if there are a few grumps’ who frown when Jemima makes a noise I apologise for them, they should know better Jemima is just as much a member of the congregation as everyone else and sings better than some. We are trying to make this a child/family friendly church and looking at ways to do this better, your presence with Jemima is a great encouragement to other young mums and their children, if Jemima has a bad day and wants to scream the place down then I am sure you have good sense to take her outside for a bit but otherwise she is OK, by the way you can go into my office for a bit or to feed or change her if that helps."
how nice is that!!! they all love jemima so you should bring pubert over for a visit

jemima been an angel again, i have finally figured out what it is - it is not jemima when she has a bad day it is me, it is all a matter of perspective!!!!!!!!! when i am stressed anything she does seems worse than it really is and most likely fuels her to be "bad" but when i am like i normally am and in a whateva mood then whateva goes and we are all happy

KEL - Can you please e-mail me a copy of your care bear invites? I want to check them out.
BBL for personals.

Do they even make snow globes in Thailand!!!
They DO make the ultimate tourist gift though, as long as your recipient has the same sense of humour!!!

Not much time, just wanted to say hi.

Kristy, I hope all goes well with tests/gyno appt's. I have had a friend with these early type 1 abnom cells and it turned out to be harmless. I hope its a "false postive" for you too.

Kel, I know what you mean about your stress levels affecting Jemima; that happens a lot here too....

In saying that, Monkey had a bit of a shocker last night getting to sleep - took 2 1/2 hrs, but kinda our fault, as we were out in afternoon and she didn't get pm sleep till very late and it was only 40 min in car. So then she was grumpy and overtired in evening.... you'd think we'd learn our lesson, but its hard to do nothing your whole life just so they sleep!!

And to make it worse, we lost the trivia game we were contesting with friends when we were out (there's even a trophy, but our name is only on it once so far!!)

There's always an up side and last night it was that she slept through - 9pm till 530am - so NO o'night feed - YAY!

I start work tomorrow - blah.... hope I do eventually enjoy it when I stop missing my girl...

Love to all.

Hello all,

We have a MOLAR!!!! Quinn has 12 teeth now and he is not even 1!

He has only 3 of his vampire fangs and the lower left - where the fang hasn't come through yet is the side with the molar!

I come in here and read all the time but don't post as often as I would like to because i feel sorry for all of you girls who have sleep problems.
Quinn is a very good sleeper. We did Save our Sleep early on - he was always a good sleeper, but we were putting him to sleep by bouncing on the ball. I have to say that it has really paid off now, we just put him into his cot at 7pm in his grobag with his comforter and he sings for about 4 minutes then goes to sleep and sleeps 12 hours. Same with day sleeps although he can sleep anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours for each day sleep.

Kel: Snow globes! I love snow globes - I had a bit of a snow globe collection going for a while there - can you get any tackier - I was the Queen of tacky, it's all gone now...too much stuff to be carting around and dusting, I got over it one day and threw it all away!

Kristy: more often than not abnormal cells after pregnancy are nothing to worry about. keeping my fingers crossed for you, I'm sure it will all be fine.

Hi Lisa and Michelle :) Long time no read.

ok gotta go, this house isn't going to clean itself!!! unfortunately!