Babies Born June 2006 #18

Dentist was easy peasy - he didn't seem to believe me when I told him I had had a whole extra set of wisdom teeth. I even told him in dentist-speak (i.e. that I had four 9's removed) and I think he thought I was putting it on, but then I described to him how I had them extracted. I think he was jealous that someone else discovered and extracted them before he got to them. Either that or he really didn't believe me because he seemed to be making an effort at being unimpressed...but the way he kept asking questions 'nonchalantly' gave him away.
Anyhow, we went to see MIL on the way home. She's so not ready to have Oscar on her own yet for more than an hour. I was sitting at the table and she was holding Oscar. He started to whinge and I left him on purpose. In the end she palmed him off to DP. I said nothing, but I was hoping she would stick with him and see if she could settle him. He'd been fed, so they weren't hungry noises, though he fed later (a token feed, he wasn't ravenous exactly). So, it will take some groundwork in that area. She's a great lady and I have absolutely no problem with her except in how she has related to Oscar thus far. She hasn't offered to mind him, that I can recall, yet DP keeps saying she will look after him if asked. My dad, on the other hand, as well as some other friends of ours, have offered to look after him - and that's with no prompting or hinting whatsoever, they've just put the offer out there. That's part of my reservation. I don't want to ask her to look after him if she's only doing it cos I've asked. I'd like her to WANT to look after him so that it's not so much of a favour to me, but a mutual arrangement that would satisfy us both. Does this even make sense? I brought it up with her tonight and, honestly, she's been more enthusiastic about the prospect of having Odin over than she was at the prospect of gradually having Oscar for longer and longer. I hope she didn't think I was saying I didn't trust her, because the increments thing has more to do with Oscar's comfort levels than the minder. My dad wouldn't need the increments as much cos he has spent that quality time until now. My dad has offered to mind him, and the role reversal just sits oddly with me, for some reason. Apart from this, I have no other issue with MIL whatsoever!
Mel - it was pretty blowy, but I was rugged up for it! Branches on roads etc, there have been two calls for 'powerlines down'. I really wish we had a water tank on days like today - all that water! I went to real op shops today and the vintage shop lost my custom - I waited and waited, then went to another shop to kill time, but no-one came 'back in 5 minutes'! The annoying thing is that they had left two bargain baskets out the front and there were some items I wanted...but no-one to leave money with. So, the charities got my money instead. One of them had a special $1 for tops day, so I scored a cool t-shirt for a buck!
Rory - very sad about your cousin's little monkey :( Mmmmm, burger, there's an idea!
Ok, I think I should do something about dinner and put this boy down, methinks...
Simone - great ticker pic!

IK wow at having that many wisdom teeth the ones I have are enough to drive anyone insane, it's a shame about your MIL, but she sounds better then mine. We hardly see them unless we go around or ring them, I would never leave the boys with them as well as they would never offer to have them with out us been there.

Mel it got to about 33 here today not good as it's not even summer yet, so we're in for a hot one.

hugs xoxo

My news - gave Flynnie solids today. I was going to hold out till 6m but then I did some googling on introduction of gluten and incidence of coeliacs disease (no one in family has it but both DH and I react to wheat/gluten. Turns out that the delayed intro of gluten (past 7m) is as much as a risk factor as early intro (before 3 m). Recco is that gluten is introduced 4-6m. So given I want to take about a month to build up to bready stuff, we gave Flynn some rice cereal and he wolfed it down. Ok, we cheated and gave it to him before boobie, but he still loved it.

gottago - boobie monster calls......

Simone - luckily you guys are OK. Make sure you tell DH not to do that again, there are far too many wackos in this world and you never know what they can do. Road rage is quite scary. Thankfully you could manage your asthma. Love the new picture!

IK - MIL are a strange species. I don't know whether we are more hesitant because they are not our mother's? I always feel a bit strange asking my MIL to babysit, she sometimes makes me feel like it is an hassle, without directly saying so. At least you can rely on your dad and other good friends. Ultimately, she will be the one missing out on spending quality time with Oscar. The charity needs your money more anyway, so there's your good deed for the day LOL!!!

Rory - how exciting giving Flynn solids. Glad to hear he loved it, some babies aren't too keen on rice cereal (it tastes pretty ordinary!!!).

Amanda - I have a friend living in East Brisbane and she said it has been quite hot lately and you are in for a very hot summer. Lucky you have air-con LOL!!!

Rory yay for Flynn, now that you started, it's going to be a whole new story with the nappy changes now, lol have fun :p .

Simone love the new ticker

Ok be back later have to get the boys ready.

hugs xoxo

Morning one and all

im thinking about making today the day i start Anneliese on solids, got some EBM out of the freezer this morning, and going to give her some rice cereal (yuk!) when the boys have gone down for their nap, so they are disrupting bub, i can concentrate on feeding her!!

Well, hopefully we will see some sunshine here, i have some clothies that need the bleaching... so cold, i've still got the heaters on!!

Morning all!

Simone - good luck with the solids, let us know how it all goes. Good idea trying to do it without distraction.

DH has taken Chelsea to the wave pool and Marley is sleeping so I have a very quiet house at the mo. Great day for washing, we have sunshine over here and a bit windy. It was really cold this morning, I had heaters on too.

Dinner out (without kids YEAH!!!) with some friends tonight, so I am really looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Ooooh, who's going to be the last to hold out to the 6 month mark? Bath, Cee Cee? Are you going to succumb to the trend??? I definitely don't want to have to worry about pureeing anything whilst in NZ and it's only a month and a half away, so I'm hanging on still!
Oscar is moving around all over the floor - he is NOT where I left him! I put him there whilst I was having my cereal cos he put his hand in, closed it over some of it, drew it out and shook his hand over the floor - lucky they are floorboards!
Right, catching up with two girls from my birth class today and then I have to get back to get ready for this union dinner...

Anneliese has started moving around in her cot now IK, i wrap her and put her in, all tucked in, and i went into before and she was uside down up the other end of the cot!!!

Declans is bed (calling out "Mummy") and i just have to wait for him to sleep before i can put Xander in there, or there'll be no afternoon sleeps for anybody!!

Wonder where bath is, very quiet in here without her... Miss ya Bath!!

I have the boy in a sling - that'll learn him for getting into my cereal! I hope he sleeps soon cos I need to shower and get out of here...
Anneliese is a monkey! How about tying her legs together??
Is it getting to that time of year again where people are getting busy enough to be away from BB during the day??
I've got a load of nappies on but won't have time to hang them - they'll have to hang under the house, so I hope the laundry booster did its job in last night's soak...
Mel, where's the wave pool?

Mel enjoy your night out
Dee - yeah I'm in Sydney except in hills district. Miranda's a bit too far for a little boy who doesn't like the car much.
Simone I still wrap Nathan, he usually ends up sideways in cot and completely unwraps himself.
Amanda I was quite relieved with the nappy changes after introducing solids as they were so runny they were leaking out the back every time.

I just gave Anneliese some farex with EBM and puree pear, (about 2 tbsp all up) and she ate it all :D she loved it, and i will be giving her one meal a day from now on. She giggled at me the whole time...

I called DH and told him, and as he said "She's come a long way since the NICU." She sure has.

Just surfing around youtube, i've heard heaps about it, just watching scissor sisters new vid clip. such a funky song!

Just got back from work after a few morning meetings - I was shocked to find my boss is happy with how I am going in terms of meeting my budget - yay! I was also very proud of myself that I didn't buy any expensive crap in the city - I did buy a copy of Who Weekly (which I hid from DH - I am embarrased to be caught reading trash about Brit's bust up with K-Fed!!, and to be honest I regretted the $4.30 I paid for it!) and a small book about food and wine matching for $8 but THAT"S IT. Yes, made it through Melb Central with bank balance mostly intact.

Karen, Flynn is a back-leaker too! I figured it was just cause he had no bum - I didn't realise it was a universal baby-thing.

Sim, you hip young thing watching youtube - bet you know how to download mobile pohne ringtones too!:)

IK, I reckon hang out to 6m if you can - I was really keen to and in fact had decided I would, but the gluten thing just tipped me over. Geez it was a hard thing to decide, though, cause there are only a few studies here and there, and nothing to answer the question of whether "late" intro of gluten (ie: after 7m) is a problem if bub is still mainly BF, which I intend to do. Also, many of the studies were focusing on kids who already had a family member with coeliacs disease, which Flynn doesn't.

gotta go - off to visit my GF and her one month old son today, provided she has had a good night's sleep!!

Rory - i CAN download stuff to phones, but not to my phone... its too old!! I want DH's PDA, has a iMate Jammin... his dad bought it for him. like $900!!! I wouldnt buy it for him, so daddy bank opened for him...

I now have hayfever, everytime i seem to shake something i get something else!!

And i only watched youtube as i wanted to see Scissor Sisters new song, and when i googled it, thats what came up... off to play with the kids websites for a while :) started anneliese's journal today, and did some milestones. :D

hi girls,

Well, today is much nicer than yesterday, i have done two loads of washing and hung them out to dry (its a bit windy so shouldnt take too long)

Simone - Im glad the solids went well, i have had lachlan on them for a few weeks now, i dont think it makes him sleep any better (which is why i tried it) but he loves eating from a spoon and has really mastered the art!

Ok, IK, you will understand this one -
We have to go to a wedding on saturday (i dont want to go, just for the record) anyway, DF wants to leave Lachlan with his mum. Now she is great with kids etc, she has raised 6 of them but Lachlan is so unsettled and really clingy at the moment and im just really worried about leaving him. She doesnt understand that when he is tired he NEEDS to go to sleep, not stay up and play. She has two kids at home with her they are 13 and 11, they dont understand that he is a baby and they yell and scream around him and he gets really upset. Im dreading leaving him with her. I have left him with my mum and he is fine because they have spent so much time together but he hardly knows MIL and i think that its cruel to leave him. DF just says "hes a baby, he wont know" but he certainly does.
Mum calls me if Lachlan is too upset and i come home from whereever i am but MIL wont do that because that would be like admitting that she cant settle him and i would rather her call me.
I dont know what to do!

Should i just say no, im not leaving him and risk an argument with DF and MIL being offended? or do i just go along with it, i know he will be ok but he will be really upset and im not going to enjoy myself? OR be really sneaky and fake an illness so i cant go at all?

OMG the air cons are working overtime, it is so hot and humid here, we are bound to have a storm soon, It is 39C outside, I'm sweating like a little piggy trying to get stuff done. I'm back home but not for long a few weeks and we'll be back in Brissy to buy a new house for us to live in. It's time to leave this joint. 6 years is long enough.
The simple life, hmmmmm let me see, car 2002 model, old car 2000 model, plasma screen, check, lcd screen, check, dvd recorder, check all mods and cons, yup. keeping it real simple here, lol, not. Godddd I love having money, (evil laugh). ( We was poor wonce, never again, I hope, lol, eek).

Solids, Nathans not interested yet, we'll see over the next month.

Can't wait, 4 weeks till we go to see the Wiggles and Robbie Williams. Woohoo,... Is it wrong that I'm more excited about seeing the Wiggles, lol?
OMG it's way tooooooo hot.

Simone I have found Marley a good body length out from her blankets, she must kick her feet and push her way up and is near the other end of the cot! Our babies are getting far too clever LOL!!! Great news about the solids - good girl Anneliese! I love Scissor Sisters and the new so is so cool - good music to do housework to, gets you motivated to push that vac a little bit harder LOL!!!!

IK - wave pool is at Glen Waverley (on Waverley Road). DH wasn't very happy with the parents facilities there (he is sounding like a real mum LOL!!), there were only 2 parents change rooms and lots of dads with their daughters so he had to wait a while to get into them. He has got a thing about changing her in mens change rooms (I have too!!), He normally goes to the Knox Leisureworks at Boronia - has heaps of parents changerooms and room for prams etc. Chelsea had fun and should be very tired tonight and sleep beautifully for DH when I go out. The kids are always really good for him - typical!!!


Rory - you should be very proud of yourself making it through Melb Central like that - the place is a gold mine! Like IK, I am going to try to wait until the 6m mark and so far Marley has shown no signs of wanting it - plus it's a lot more work (I'm not really that lazy LOL!!!)

Dee - I'd be doing the sneaky illness thing, that way you don't offend anyone. If you really don't wont to go, you wont enjoy yourself and you'll be worrying about Lachlan all night anyway. All my washing has dried too - very windy today.

7th Heaven - the heat must be getting to you if you want to see Wiggles more than Robbie LOL!!!!! You poor thing it must be awful being so hot. Thank god for air-con.

Dee, Dee, Dee I think you're getting into troubled waters there hun. You should go to the wedding, it will be fun and outings like that are few and far between and need to be taken advantage of, lol, BUT We as mothers have to remember that our DH parents are just as entitled and needed as grandparents as our own parents are. Maybe he needs to go to the MIL so that he will get used to her. There is nothing more important than family, and if she is willing then grasp it, make the most of it. Now I know being a first time mother can make you alittle crazy when it comes to who you leave your kids with. But she did raise your DH and 5 others, so I'm guessing she kinda knows what she is doing, I think you need to trust her, give her this chance. I know you trust your mum more, and that is great, But I think you need to put a little faith in your MIL. Let her know your reservations or get DH to do it and give her the number, call her yourself after the ceromony and during the reception. But don't worry yourself too much, you want to have fun, and who knows he might just be fine. Just offering my opinion. In the end you can only do what you think is best.

LOL Mel, it is very hot. Hot potato, hot potato...

7th we'll have to organise a meet when you come back down, will be nice to meet more Junies.

Dee yay at been able to get your washing done, I don't know what to say about the MIL issue but I hope you work it out :hug: .

Simone I'm glad that Anneliese like her solids.

Me I'm not sure when I'm going to start solids yet, as we speak he's having a chew on my finger so I think he maybe getting a tooth . Another hot day here today not sure what the temp is but it's bloody humid.

Got to go make Lockie a drink.

hugs xoxo

Perth and QLD, send the warm weather down here!! Im freezing, only just turned the heater off... Sun's come out, but its still cold!!

I finally figured out how to put links in my sig... Nothing can stop me now Mwahahaha!! (im going crazy... LOL)

just checking out BOM for friday's weather forecast... any ideas for meet up depending on the weather??

BTW, They reckon its meant to be 14 in melbourne tomorrow... 14!!! Are they serious!! Theres 2 weeks until summer, and we're going through and extended winter!!

OK, just found this... Mind you, this is only for melb (as if you couldnt tell, everywhere else is 30*C+ Hahaha)

Thursday Few showers. Min 7 Max 18
Friday Fine. Min 8 Max 21
Saturday Fine. Min 9 Max 23
Sunday Fine. Min 11 Max 25
Monday Fine. Min 15 Max 30

Afternoon girls, I agree it's a lovely day here in Melbourne... just about to hang out my last load of nappies. Been weeding the garden... the soil is lovely after the rain.

Solids: Niall will most likely make it to 6 months but if he starts losing weight I will consult the MCHN and do what she recommends... I really trust her... she knows that all babies are different and doesn't apply blanket solutions. However I do agree that the world of solids is a messy one if they aren't ready... it goes everywhere! We tried it too early with Verity and put her off it I think plus it went everywhere because I didn't realise she didn't know how to swallow. Back then they recommended to try solids from 4 months I think. Wade was much better... with him the recommendation was from 5 months and he was ready... he didn't push it out with his tongue, cleaned the spoon nicely and opened his mouth like a baby bird for more. Anyhow I suspect Niall isn't quite ready yet so am happy to wait as he is still gaining lots of weight and has also started to sleep for longer at nights. Last night was about the 3rd night in a row of him sleeping "through"... so I really don't want to alter anything.

Thanks Rory for discovering FlyLady.... she's been very inspiring... i think I'll be ready to accpet her email reminders from the start of next year.

ok... promised to watch Pocoyo with Wade.... back later. Sorry to those I missed...

well hi again

Aleise has been asleep nearly an hour so hopefully I can get some time to post here.

gluten solids: I'm a Coeliac and I asked the paeditrician about the need to test Aleise for it at 3 months (when my brother was tested) and he said not to worry unless there are any problems. He also said don't worry about introducing gluten/wheat solids when the time comes and you only need to be concerned if there are any adverse reactions. BTW - I'm the only Coeliac in the family so I don't think its a strong gene. I was told by my paed (when I was a kid) I'm not likely to pass it on unless my hubby is coeliac too. Also many people are wheat intolerant but not Coeliac. Gluten is in rye, barley and oats too so it isn't just wheat. Rory: I wouldn't worry unless Flynn has any vomiting, diarrohea, weight loss and/or bloating.

Abba show: Yeah I agree some presenters were crap like the chick who did "Honey Honey" and Rhonda Burchmore looked like mutton! I admit she's got a great bod but it looks silly on a woman her age to be prancing in a dress that's meant for 20 somethings! Kerri-Anne looked better.

Billy Joel: We're going on Tues 21st Nov and can't wait! Have got a full week next week too as its my work Christmas party on 24th and my brother's engagement party on 25th! Oh and get this he's having a pizza night and told me to bring my own food... nice hey?

Weather: yep nice and hot and can't wait to swim in my neighbour's pool soon. Would like some more rain though.

Well sorry no real personals - not much to say really - take care all and chat again soon.

Hey Bath :)

Neeny - thats kinda silly of you BIL, having a party, but telling you to bring you own stuff??

Well, just hung out 2 loads of towels, and a load of nappies, the sun has decided to show and its windy, so they should be dry soon!! There's showers meant to be coming in tonight, BOM reckons... so my garden might get even more green!!

DH might be going to U2, or should i say working it... I wanted to go to Billy Joel, but had no money at the time, thinking of going to Pink, i just love everything about her...

just quickly cos I have to get ready to go out...
Simone - I missed the washing opportunity! Gonna have to hang some in front of the heater and the rest under the house!
Dee - I read Tulip's parenting debrief about when she went against her better judgement and left Lucas with her IL's. For me it's not worth the 'if he does' factor. DP said he 'could get upset or might not', but this is my boy, who DOES have feelings and a consciousness and it's not worth it. It's also recommended to gradually leave babies with people who wil care for them with someone relatively unfamiliar for such a long period of time. Of COURSE they know - I get peeved when people assume that babies are like goldfish! They are little people who absorb everything. Go with your gut feeling because it's always right. If you have time to do some groundwork between now and then, then do it and see how you feel about how they go together. If you don't feel she is ready, then you have more of an obligation to yourself and Lachlan than you do to anyone else. I'm sure my MIL thinks I'm a bit precious, but she to prove herself to me, not the other way around.
I think Oscar just submitted my post unfinished. He's on my lap and touching everything!
OK, better get going, sorry I haven't responded to everyone! Catch you all later tonight or tomorrow
PS Mel - I like Knox's facilities, too :) But Ringwood has a good set up, for an older pool. I only go there cos of Babyswim and their hydrotherapy pool, but was using Knox before that. See you tomorrow!

Hiya girls! Just back at the PC from an afternoon of housework - desk tidied (ready for "work" work") and washing done. Problem is my washing machine has developed a tissue gland :angry: I swear I checked!!

Dee, I was about to say "no, no, don't let your MIL look after Lachlan, but I reckon there is merit in what Dee (7th) has to say. That said, Flynn tends to be an "easy" baby and I am still stressing at the thought of my mum looking after him on the 8th of dec, when we have a function to go to. So I am a wuss when it comes to leaving bubs too!!

7th H - I bet the "poor" in we wuss poor once is pronounced "paw-wuh" in your best Southerner's accent? LOL! DH and I talk about when we wuss paw-wuh and were cherrypicking up near Wangaratta - we ran out of dosh before payday and ate dry lettuce sandwitches on white bread for 2 days (we were only pretending to be poor - we were both 18-19 and still living at home- we could have easily asked our parents for $20 but there was a certain romance in living in a tent and picking cherries all day).

Hey Amanda:hello: I am jealous of the heat you are experiencing!! Chilly here ATM.

IK, do you know if there are any hydrotherapy pools over my way? I can't seem to find any on the web and wondered if your pool was part of a hydro pool association??

Neeny, you're right about the genetic link in CD - apparently 40% of the popultaion have the gene but only 1% get CD. They reckon it is caused by a combo of genes, environmental factors and bodily stesses. But i figure as a mum I have to be neurotic about something - my neurosis is Flynn developing an allergy. I get hayfever pretty bad (well I used to before I was pg - it has only been mild this year - WTF??)

Bath, I can't claim kudos for Flylady - I was ref'd to her by someone in the homemaker thread! I wouldn't rec the email alerts - they are mostly things you can do without IMO. But I do like the daily missions - today I was supposed to clean beind my toilet, but it was clean already:)

Mel, Flynn is an esacpe artist too - he often wriggles out from under the covers. Funniest thing is I use the patented "Wally-Wrap" (invented by my GF's DH Wal) which pins Flynn's arms to his sides, so when he slithers out from the covers he ends up the top of the cot kicking like a little Riverdancer - PML!!

Sim, I reckon Melb Central is still the safest place to meet up - that way if it is nice we can venture out but have somewhere warm and dry if its awful. Who else is up for a Melbourne meet-up on Friday??

And girls, check out the new avatar that Bath made for me!!! Thanks Bath:hug:

Rory: Yeah I just noticed the new Av has been uploaded... but it seems either I or Kath forgot to make the background transparent *d'oh* However to everyone who hasn't met Rory... this looks a bit more like her ... Horizontal stripes and all ;)

Bath, Rory's Av looks great, adn it definately looks liker her. One day mine'll look more like me LOL. As thos eof you have met me will know, it looks nothing like me!!

i've just asked about getting the background fixed rory... Simone: i just knew Rory prefered horizontal stripes... plus the pram needed adjusting, in the old one flynn looked too uncomfortable!
lol i'm a bit weird that way... I could actually fix yours to make you look a bit more like you if you wanted Simone... I love fiddling around with avs. IK: I even have one (in my mind's eye) for you... HAB and all!

Hi girls - just that one of those motherhood moments. Last few days Flynn has protested going to sleep - I have noticed a gradual build up of defiance in my otherwise placid, malleable lamb (LOL) Mostly picking him up and rocking him till he is settled then putting him in his cot while still awake has worked. But this time it didn't. So I decided to be a hard ar$e and settle him in his cot. Then he got real upset and even picking him up didn't work and he started gasping like he wasin pain. So I gave him panadol (first time) and then he gave a little burp. So it was wind! I felt real bad but then he stared gurgling and was all happy again. So he sat around for a while, I gave him rice cereal, and then he went all tired and floppy so I put him in his cot. He cried. I put him in his pram. He settled but then cried. Now I have given in - the little bag of rats is sitting next to me in the pram, kicking and gurgling away. Yawning, mind you, but happy.

I am so conflicted!! I am seriously happy with him being up and not having a set routine and bedtime, but the words of all our friends with kids keep haunting me - oh yeah, ours did that, now look at them - as they point to a whiny terror. It feels right to have him up and cuddle him, but the whole hard ar$e approach just might save me in the long run!! I guess I'll just go with my gut and let the bag of rats win. Here's hoping he stays a lamb!!!:pray:

I think all babies go through times like you've described Rory. Sometimes there's just no set solution. All I can say is what has worked for us: flexible routines. We do roughly the same thing at roughly the same time each night. It seems to make sense to me and as many "experts" have said babies do gain a sense of security in knowing what roughly to expect next. I liken this to me living in a strange land where i don't speak the language... if somehow I knew what was going to happen next... if amongst all the babble and strangeness of my life I knew the rough order that my needs were going to be met i would feel a bit better and less panicky. Regarding settling and inducing sleep and relaxation the "experts" even recommend a routine for us: things like winding down in a warm bath and having a hot milky drink and dimming the lights and avoiding physical activity right before bedtime or stimulating TV... reading a boring book instead. All these things can be incorporated into a rough and flexible routine. Anyhow, as I said... it might not work for every child but it's worked for all of ours. You'll find your own way though. I've also heard arguments against routine which sound plausible in theory but i just know it wouldn't work for us. If Verity didn't have a set bedtime she would take full advantage of it and be a mess the the next day and the teacher wouldn't be telling us that she's about the only child that doesn't arrive at school each morning half asleep... apparently most of her friends don't have set bedtimes because the parents are playing the "I want to be your friend not a parent" game. Still that's another issue. These are just my opinions BTW... I'm only relating what works for us.... not saying everyone ought to do it.

Thanks Bath - it's nice to you you are among friends:hug:

You know I have never really assessed my parenting skills until I came to this site and know I find I do it all the time. lol. I have always had a structured routine, somewhat flexible, not too hard a$$. I find that I am a strict parent compared to others, but it is what gives me my sanity, I hear other friends who are totally child led talk about being sleep deprived or watch how cheeky and down right rude and naughty their children are (I'm talking kicking and punching and laughing at their parents) and I bite my tongue because I do have an underlying rule not to impose my child rearing policies on others. But I know what I do is right for us, I have a set bed time (7.30 lights out) even on weekends, although the older ones get to stay up later they still have to be in bed asleep by 10.30pm otherwise my house is a complete nut house the next day.

People comment to me all the time what lovely children I have, even at IKEA the other day this old lady came over to us as we were getting up from the table and said she just had to come over and tell us what a lovely family we are and how well behaved our children are. It made my day. Nathan has a routine and I stick pretty close to it and it is roughly the same as I have always had, tried and tested. My children are far from being little robots, and they have their moments, but I like to think I have taught and am teaching them well. I think It is important to let them know that you are the boss and these are the rules and you have to start early. You don't have to flog your children to keep them inline but you do need a firm hand. Consistancy, co operation and cohesion are the key, you and your partner must be in it together, because they work out pretty early how to play one parent off against the other. Just my opinion but I believe that children need to be led, it helps them feel secure and loved and safe. They don't have the mental capacity to know what they need althought they will try to get what they want on every turn.

I find that particularly where we live since people make alot of money they spoil their kids and give them everything their little hearts desire and then ignore them or deny the the important stuff in life, life's lessons. They are not being taught to our children. The biggest one being "You can't have everything you want" Parents have so much guilt because they are so busy that the buy their childrens love but they don't get the respect.
Most of my childrens friends have their own TV's and computers and game station thingys, mobile phones and double beds, But i refuse to give my kids any of that stuff.
They share the family Room TV and computer, granted we do have a few of each in the house, but they are communal. We earn each others respect in my home. Love is given freely.
My children are taught that they can come to us with anything ,but, they are taught that for every action there are consequences. I teach them to be respectfully not just to old lady's but to themselves. and they are taught they have to work hard to get what they want. they can't wach adult TV or movies I screen everything they watch and I am the internet NAZI, I do tag what they are into. I will not compromise my childrens childhood and safety in the name of their supposed privacy. People seem to be in a rush to age their children these day, treat them like an adult, they are not adults they are children who need to be gently shaped and moulded into adults, one day. Well i've waffles and thought out loud long enough, I'll get down off my soap box now and go to beds, night night.

7th - you sound like such a beautiful family, you must be very proud of yourself and your kids. It is amazing how much you notice other peoples kids and the ones who misbehave. I love seeing a happy family with lovely polite kids. I might be leaning on your for advice. Chelsea gets a bit of an attitude after being at kinder, thankfully it disappears quickly but it upsets me when she talks rudely or says something horrible. Luckily when we are out, she is mostly well behaved.!

Neeny - Rhonda Burchmore looked shocking, I agree! She has got a great bod, but the face isn't keeping up with it!

Rory - absolutely love your "riverdance" description. It is like that, wiggling and kicking. Maybe they will be dancers when they get older. We have a routine which is flexible but Marley pretty much keeps to her routine by herself. She generally wakes and sleeps at roughly the same time each day. Chelsea has a roughly set bedtime with the same routine (bath, story, bed) and she sleeps really well. As a baby we had a similiar routine to Marley. They say babies are creatures of habit and will do things because they are so familiar. Don't get too worried about it and do what feels right in your heart. You know Flynn and his mannerisms so you can't go wrong.

Bath - great to hear you back. Your family sounds beautiful too and you seem to have a lovely approach to things. Sensible and relaxed. It's great to be involved with people who take such pride in their children and family. I hope as my family grows, they will continue to be thoughtful and respectful of others. Too many kids are not these days.

My dinner out was beautiful. Had a yummy pizza and glass of wine. Got home at 10.30, with 5 girls chatting we could have gone on for hours. One of my friends bought her 5 week old daughter. I had forgotten had little newborns are, even though Marley is nearly 5 months old, the time has flown! She virtually slept the whole dinner and woke up when we were having coffee (good girl!!). DH had everything well in hand when I got home, feeding Marley and the house was still clean LOL!!!!

Time for bed I think.

Mel: Sounds like you had a well deserved and lovely time out last night ... And well done to your DH! *clap clap* I know, time is flying! Way too fast for me that's for sure. I can't recall if you are planning a number 3? You've still got time on your side :)

Now I'm on way over to the Secret Santa thread because we opened our front door and found our pressie on the verander for us this morning!!! We'll open it on Christmas morning... it's going to be a long wait!

Oh and Heaven, I agree with Mel, everything you said makes perfect sense and isn't it a wonderful feeling when strangers give you compliments like that... puts a smile on your face for the rest of your day and really helps on the not-so-good-days when the wheels fall of the wagon and the kids aren't so angelic! :)

Back later!

I'm late for this morning coffee (if you lived up here this morning, you would have stayed in bed, too!), but Mel, I'll be at Borders at 12.30 with either HAB or buggy or both - Oscar is wearing a red beanie with ear flaps and I'm in flare jeans (my hair is straight today) with red and white boots that look like boxers shoes, and a CFA logo on my blue fleece jacket...

Well Cody had a bad night last night, he was up every hour, so we're both pretty tired and I'm brain dead which is nothing unusual. Don't know what was wrong with him maybe a growth spurt or just unsettled will see how he goes today. He's also getting quite fussy at the boob lately, he'll start feeding then pull off, back on for a while then pull off again, then he won't take that boob so swap him over to the other and seems fine for a while, maybe it's just the heat and him getting hot been so close to my body heat *shrugs*.

Better go do a bit of cleaning up.

hugs xoxo

Hi Amanda, Niall is doing the same thing, being less focused at the boob... mainly due to being easily distracted. Whenever somebody walks into the room where i'm feeding now he pulls off and has to check out who it is. I remember the other two doing that too at about this age. He now gets his best feeds first thing in the morning in bed with me and last thing at night after the kids have gone to bed and he's had a play with DH. I agree, the heat won't be helping Cody either. Lucky we don't have that problem today down here! Like Ik said it's pretty chilly! 14 and raining heavily! (But I quite like it to be honest) :)

Thanks Bath, it's funny how easily I forget about these things from one to the other in kids. Can you send some of that coolness up this way, I'm breaking into a sweat just sitting here.

hugs xoxo

Wow it's slow in here today, might go have a lie down when Wyatt drops off, got a headache that's been here for the last few days and never really goes away. Be back later.

hugs xoxo