Jess - just get a tarp and put it down. It's going to get really messy from here on in!! Or tie the kids to the clothesline and hose 'em off! No, I'm kidding... here is the BB baby food recipes link, there's some good stuff there that might help. Mashed potato cakes (with fish, chicken and/or vegies) might be worth a try. I picked up a recipe book from the op-shop this afternoon, I'll have a browse and get back to you!
So sorry to hear about the dramas with the formula. That's awful. I would ring the MCHN hotline, expecially if Tiahna's got diarrhea. Dont want the poor darling to get dehydrated or sick. There has to be someone who can help you out (coz I can't. ) Soy or goats milk might be an option if she's not able to digest the dairy proteins and that's the cause of the runs... :shrug: Don't beat yourself up about not BF any more. You did everything you could.
IKWYM about no fear. DS is the same now, and is constantly climbing up onto things and then screaming when he falls down and smacks his head on the floor or whatever. He's decided now it's hilarious to roll from lying to sitting to lying down again, and he does it over and over again, and laughs and claps every time he sits up. He's nuts! Oh well, at least it keeps him amused for a minute or two. And also climbing up and standing, starting to try cruising on the furniture, but he's sooo wobbly!
Aadi is sick at the moment... all that talk of bubs getting colds, and now he's the snot-monster from Hell! It's gross, and he's so snuffly and grumpy cause he can't breathe properly. He's waking himself up choking every few hours and crying so much. It's awful, and it's not like we were getting any sleep beforehand, so we're all exhausted now. But he's got so much energy during the day it's ridiculous. I don't understand how he does it. Bouncing, kicking and biting, rolling and climbing all over the place. He was gobbling up loads of food until today, but he's just not in the mood to eat anything now except breakfast.

Girl - I would have done anything to belong to a real "family" as a kid, but it wasn't going to happen. Therefore I was kind of forced into being independant from a young age, and now prefer it that way. Happy in my own company. Left home at 15. But now that I have a baby, and I NEED that family support and don't have it. A baby isn't really company (despite what your DH might say). You're even more alone and isolated with a baby if you dont have family or friends with you. In other words, come back to Melbourne, and we can hang out!