Babies Born October 1st-15th 2008 #8

teruteru - Is D in regular child care? I think I've finally decided to use occasional care. I think M will cry lots though. But I just need a break sometimes and at the moment I don't get any breaks. I might also look into regular CC but I assume occasional care is quicker to get in to?

Avasmum - My night out was good. A much needed break. :) I'm also in Melb but south. How's Ava now? Sleeping better?

Amanda - Hope you are feeling better soon.

As I said above I've decided to look into occasional care. I moved closer to my mother for some help and at first she was a great help but she's fallen off the radar now. Last week I rang her when DH and Maya were both so sick and basically said that I really really needed some help. And she said she'd done her back. Which yes that's bad but it's the 100th reason why she can't come help or visit. So I'm just over it with her. It's been years now (14 years) of her looking after my bro (long story) and I was hoping things might change when I had M but no. I know I can't force them to change. They are adults. It's just so hard for me cos I really wanted help and wanted my mother to be a part of it all. I know a lot of you aren't near your mums or your mothers have passed but I am near her and I really wanted her help. I think it's time to realise that it's just not gonna happen. :(

Anyway, that's my sob for the day. On a happy note M seems to be doing better. And she's 10 months today!! :dance:

happy 10 months Maya :cheer:
So glad she's feeling better too. That's such a bummer about your mum, I think that's even harder if they're near but won't even help :( my mum isn't near, but I know she's there for me if I need her. Is Maya her first grandchild? You'd think that would motivate her!

Avasmum#1 - oh isn't it annoying when your DP just doesn't see something, satisfying when they finally get it!

AmandaJ - tehehe thanks, it's a bit exciting/crazy/scary/might still change my mind lol! I'm thinking a lot about being PG again tho. And as it's been so kindly pointed out, I'm no spring chicken, so gotta get a move on :) Hope your cold gets better soon.

Teru - thanks for the well wishes, you sound like quite the sewer! I should dust off my machine... nah, can't be bothered lol.

SamiH - hope the first day back at work went well, and the expressing worked a treat.

Not much happening here. X had a follow-up hearing test (he's got a few risk factors) so had some testing last year too. Apparently his ear drums aren't doing quite the right thing, and his hearing is a bit down. But, he's just getting over a cold, so hopefully that caused it. We're going back in 3 months for another check and an ENT visit if he's still 'snuffly'. Ha, he's always snuffly, so good to get him checked out I guess. He's also got the runs... 5 times b4 lunch yesterday then a MEGA poosplosion during dinner (makes for a nice ambience... :rolleyes:)... once I'd wiped the poo off his ankles :o it was straight into the bath!

Morning all!

*Tanya* I am glad you enjoyed your night out, makes for a nice change, am hoping mine goes well this weekend.
Also Happy 10Mths to Maya

Belfie yeah he finally has it figured out but doesn't mean it will help my cause at all.. lol
I hope xanders hearing tests go well, my DP has hearing problems and spent A LOT of time as a child at the eye & ear hosp and still has to go back, he was sooo stressed when they did Ava's hearing test in hosp, hope his poor little bot gets a rest too.

Hope everyone else is going well.

A quick update from us, had my scan last night for #2 who will now be known as Lil Miss ?? until we think of names.:cheer:
So we will have two little princesses running around our house... poor DP.
Avs has been ok, her chest infection seems to stick around until her tooth cuts though so ended up in my bed at about 4:30 this morn as she just kept coughing and i couldn't sit up with her all night in her rocking chair, she seemed to sleep ok with us but hopefully it settles a bit better tonight.
She had a late night at her cousins b'day party and didn't get down til around 8:30 so it prob took it all out of her.
Is crawling more confidently now which is a danger for me, look out furniture here she comes... hehe

Well i think thats it, i hope everyone else and the bubs are doing well.

ooh Ava'smum congrats on your pink package! :cheer:

well while I thought X's cold was mostly gone, and the runs seemed to have cleared up too... but he won't eat :wall: driving me nuts. Wouldn't eat all day yesterday and finally got some yoghurt into him for dinner :rolleyes:... this morning was sure he'd be ravenous... but this morning, he still won't have a bar of it - not even the yoghurt! Arrrgh so frustrating... have renewed sympathy for mother's of non-eaters. Now i"m worried that he is still crook cos it's very unlike him to not want food these days, plus he's still very snotty... which is probably causing most of it... has to stop & puff/pant between gulps.

aah mini-vent over. Why does a baby not eating make mummy want to eat more? Overcompensation? lol

hope everyone else is going well

Hey ladies just a quick question, am running out of ideas for Ava for lunch etc.

Anyone got anything the bubs like?
Today trying tomato paste, pineapple & cheese toasted muffins (mini pizza really), also she seems to have gone off her dinner wish is mainly mashed with chunks, has anyone started giving meals as in seperate meat and veg?

One last one, when can she have grapes, anyone tried grapes?

Thanks

belfie - Yeah M is her first grandchild but my bro is mentally ill and she feels like she has to help him all the time. So no room left for me. I hope X is feeling better soon. M is still snotty and not her happy self. :( She cried for ages today because she was too tired to cope I think. She is sleeping a lot more at the moment. Which is nice for me cos I can get some things done. But I'd rather see her well!

Avasmum - Congrats on your girl. :cheer:

As for food. Maya loves soups I make. I then dip bread into it and give her the bread to eat - so that it's all gooey with soup. She particularly loves a potato and leek soup I made. She also likes avocado on toast or cruskits. She loves cheese, yoghurt, cucumber, carrot sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, porridge, lite-bix.. Can't think what else. She prefers to pick up food herself and eat it. I do spoon feed her sometimes when I'm in a hurry and for breakfast when she has porridge and lite-bix. I have given her cooked fish and veges ,which she liked and also cooked chicken and veges, which she liked but I think the chicken was a bit too dry. I'm trying to work out how to cook meat so it doesn't turn out so dry. I haven't tried grapes yet. I know that they are a choking hazard so I would cut them up before giving them. I am also struggling to think of new things to try.

Hi to everyone else. :hello:

baah i knew i had post somewhere i need to reply...

tanya: what the diff between occasional & regular CC?? monsta is booked in for every thurs (so im guessing thats regular? whereabts are you? im in sunshine west so if you're nearby i could ask whether they have room for maya? dragon is super clingy sometimes but when he's at CC its byebye mummy im off to play

avasmum: congrats on the pink bundle!! as for grapes...i peel & de-seed them and he has no probs with it. its a PITA when it takes me longer to peel them than him putting in his mouth...

food...i need finger foods...please point me in the right direction? ive never looked into it but monsta doesnt like being spoon-fed, he wants to be a big boy and feed himself...baahhh new territory. so far its been fruits, pasta, meat, broccoli, peas, carrots...oh he likes nutrigrains too (i know it prolly has too much sugar but...i only give him a few...)

:hello: everyone else i need to sleep zzz

:

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aah mini-vent over. Why does a baby not eating make mummy want to eat more? Overcompensation? lol

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so THAT's why i am not losing weight :rofl:

hi everyone, busy with returning to work this week still trying to get things done and find our groove - bbl.

*Tanya* - any chance of getting a recipe for your soups? Ava likes the baby soups i have bought in the past, just never seemed to have the time to try and make my own.
She seems to be getting over mash, is off her weetbix aswell at the moment.

These are the foods she eats (sorry for taking up so much room.

Carrot, Cauliflower, Brocolli,Potato, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Peas, Corn, Beans, Zucchini
Beef mince, chicken breast minced, Tuna in springwater, rice cakes, cheese, mandarin
apple, pear, Banana *, Avocado *, Cream Cheese, Jam - strawberry & apricot, Vegemite
Cucumber, Has also had some baby foods with mango, berries etc, White Sauce (heinz baby mix), Bolognaise (heinz baby mix), pancake, Toast / sandwiches, Rice, Custard
Baby Yoghurt, sultanas

As an example she will have toast or weetbix for breakfast then a sandwhich and then a yoghurt for lunch, then at about 2:30 will have a rice cake and maybe some sultanas or a bit of cheese then for tea she has a mix of veggies and mince or chicken etc.

She seems to be off the mashed up veggies and i am thinking i am going to have to cook her food on a daily basis and put seperate foods, i.e chicken, potato, pumpkin, peas & corn but am not sure how much i would give her etc... hmmmmm

teruteru - are the finger foods for tea or snacks etc?
Ava eats plain adult rice cakes as a snack, bread, normal cheese cut into sticks, mandarin, apple (par boiled if needs to be softer), sultanas, toast, par cooked carrot etc.

Again sorry t take up so much room, am out of ideas and am getting bored with her food so she must be too. she did have muffins with some tomato paste, cheese & pineapple for lunch yesterday and love it, might give her muffins for breakfast every now and then.

[QUOTE=Avasmum#1;1927047
Again sorry t take up so much room, am out of ideas and am getting bored with her food so she must be too. .[/QUOTE]

Honestly hun if she is eating that wide a variety why change a method that is working for you. Babies and toddlers don't "know" to get bored with their food, they don't know there is something else IYKWIM. Just keep giving her what you know she will eat, and occasionally throwing in something new or different! She can go onto family foods now anyway at 10 months ish - so try her on just smaller portions of your food - she can pick up the vegies so no need to mash, try some slow cooker meat if you are worried about dryness (or was that Tanya - meh, mind block LOL)

Zanders front fangs are straining so hard against his little gums ... might get some Brauers today me thinks

Avasmum - you have mentioend Baby nurofen before - I have never seen this - do you mean nurofen for children?

Maya has gotten worse again!! *sob* She has high temp, is not eating anything (she was doing a weird thing this morning where she was taking the food and spitting it straight back out), she just keeps crying while awake and she wants to sleep all the time. I keep having to wake her, otherwise I think she'd sleep all day long without eating anything. It started yesterday afternoon and has gotten much worse today. She was up for only an hour this morning, put her back down and she went straight to sleep. I have no idea what could be wrong. She still has a very snotty nose and she's still taking anti-biotics. I'm taking her to doctors later this morning. Hopefully the doctor can give me some answers and tell me what to do.

Sorry no personals now. Will try and do them later.

Tanya - definitely sounds like a virus - and that her throat hurts her too hence the no eating thing - I would let her sleep anywhere up to 3 hours at a time as that is the bodies way of healing and resting too.

Antibiotics will only work for bacterial infections so wont necessarily make her better if part viral IYKWIM?? I hope the doctor can find something (I know that sounds dumb but we feel better if we know what we are dealing with hey!) and dont worry about her food, just keep her fluids up - I am sure you are doing all the right things xxx

Thanks Sami. Yeah thankfully she is still taking BM! So at least she's getting some 'food' and fluids (though I do worry cos she's so little and prob can't stand to lose too much weight). And yes I agree the sleep is a good thing. At least she is sleeping and not being kept awake by her illness. I agree that it's prob viral now. Maybe something new? *sigh* But it'd be good to get her checked out and see if she still needs the anti-biotics for her ears or not. Or if there's something else I should be doing.

It's so hard when they are so sick and miserable and can't tell you what's wrong. :(

*Tanya* - poor Maya i hope the doc lets you know whats going on.
Ava is still stick, was in our bed at 5am this morn with that cough, didn't really want her breakfast this morning either.
If she needs a sleep i agree with SamiH maybe let her sleep up to 2-3hrs and then just keep her fluids up while she is awake.

SamiH - Yeah i guess your right, she does eat quite a big when i write it like that, it's more that she seems off her dinner (mush) and i'm sure she should be sick of bread... lol
I guess i can keep doing this foods just swap the order etc, fruit after lunch, rice and tuna one day for lunch and then maybe a sandwich one day and then baked beans and toast another, keep with the foods she knows and just swap them around.
Any ideas anyone on good meats to cook? I personally don't eat fish so not 100% on the best way to cook it etc.
I have a steamer so i can steam the chicken but wondering about chops/steak etc and how to make it not so chewy for her, maybe i should look as a slow cooker and make her stews or something.
Oh yeah can she have sausages? i am sure she would love to have those with some potato, veggies etc to pick off her high chair.

Hope everyone else is doing well, please feel free to add me on facebook if anyone has it. you can just type in facebook.com/avasmum, got a pic of my gorgeous girl laughing as my profile pic... just when you do write your user name on BB so i know who it is... thanks again

:crossfingers: for Maya's Dr's appt.

Yeah, I rely on my slow cooker for the red meats - Zander loves lamb chops cooked in it with rice and some grated vegies through it - so do I!! Got apricot chicken in it today which we all love mmm

why is it when food is little does it looks far more appetising????

Sausages - they say no until 12 months cos of the choking hazard and skin - BUT I have tried Zander at a BBQ - just took the skin off and cut it into small pieces - of course he still didnt eat it :rolleyes: but that is how I would present it to bub.

Tanya - yay for boobies at a time like this - good for you and her and comfort and cuddles too - I sooooooooooooo missed Z the past 2 days at work :( but everything went ok, he didnt sleep great, but I know it will come. He has been down now this morning already for 90 mins so go figure hey!

Am thinking about investing in a slow cooker, def worth it i think, especially with #2 on the way i can chuck things in and don't have to rush around at dinner time.
Any brand suggestions anyone?

SamiH i saw your FB and your children are gorgeous, congrats on a beautiful family.
I think i might try some sausage when we have some next, take the skin of and cut it into sticks, she ate a piece of apple yesterday not cooked and seemed to get through ok even with only 1 tooth... lol

*Tanya* - hoping all is well after your visit to the Dr.

little miss ava is eating baked beans with bread for lunch, seems to be enjoying it, then at 3pm we have to go put a deposit on our block of land to keep it on hold... OMG SCARY!
She slept Just over an hour this morn so hopefully my happy girl is on her way back to me, tonight will be the test i think.

OK back from doctors. And the doctor has no idea what's wrong. She should be better by now (it's been two weeks!). Her ears are looking heaps better so she said to finish up the anti-biotics today. Everything else looks good. So either she's gotten some new virus. Or it could be a UTI. I have something to collect wee on her now and will take it to pathology later today. I'll go back on Friday for results. I reckon it's probably a new virus. The doctor said she's probably just so exhausted & run down from fighting the first illness that she's gone and picked up something new. :( Poor thing. She must be so over being sick. I'm over her being sick too. At least she is sleeping well, so that probably helps. Oh and she ate some soup and a bit of bread for lunch so I'm feeling better about that.

Sami - Where do you get your slow cooker recipes from?

teru - I'm no where near Sunshine any more. So I'll have to look for CC over my way.

Avasmum - I don't have time at the mo to give you the soup recipe. I got it from 'The contented little baby book of weaning' by Gina Ford. There's some good recipes in there. I just borrowed it from my local library. If you can't find a copy just remind me another time and I'll send you the recipe.

*Tanya* - so horrible when they can't tell you WHAT is wrong, i hope everything clears up for the poor gorgeous girl ASAP.
Will look out for that book, thanks for that!

Just a quick YAY me excitement note, we got our home loan today and put a deposit on our block of land, waiting on the titles and everything now and then we can start organising the house and stuff with the builder... YAY we might actually have a FAMILY HOME for Ava and lil miss.

Hope everyone is having a great night.

Avasmum - congrats!!! That's so exciting :hooray:. Re slow cooker, I luuuuurve mine it's a kambrook KSC100 6litre. The only criticism I read somewhere is that the "on" light is pretty easy to miss. It's true but doesn't bother me normally except one night when my meal got some extra cooking cos I hadn't realised it was still on. Can usually pick it up for $50 on special. FYI, Choice also recommends: Ronson RSC100 $90, Sunbeam HP5500 $70
Breville 5 BCS300 $80

Tanya - aww :hug: that's no good at all! Well I'm on the verge of taking X to the doc, so mebbe they do have just a persistent virus? After being totally off his food for about a day and a half... he's back on at about 1/3 his usual volume! Then tonight was sitting with a rusk he hadn't even put in his mouth, and his sippy cup... gagged on nothing at all and projectiled EVERYTHING he'd actually managed to eat (dinner being the best he'd done) and his entire bottle :( so maybe they've got just some funny bug? He's also very snotty still too and sleeping more than usual. Xander says "M, hurry up and get better otherwise I'm gonna have ta sit on ya until you are! I feel some headlock coming on..."

SamiH - hope you're finding your groove now... GL with Z's toothypegs too.

I had a book party today... was great fun. Chaos. Bedlam. But good, except I realised most of the other bubs were going up and down our 2 stairs (sunken lounge). Made me soooo glad that X can't yet... think his caboose is just too darn heavy. It's like a giant playpen atm, fingers crossed it stays that way for a bit! I thought X was mostly better, but tonight he was not so good, so i'm praying he doesn't still have anything infectious, wouldn't have thought so tho. Thinking of taking him to doc tomoz if he still isn't eating properly.

g'day to everyone else.

Avasmum - Congrats. :dance: Very exciting. How did Ava go last night?

belfie - I told M that X will sit on her if she doesn't get better and it worked. :-P Seriously she is actually doing better. The thing is it's been two weeks and she keeps looking like she's getting better and then bam gets worse again. Is that what X is doing too? I hope X is doing better. This is one nasty virus!

Yesterday M slept a lot! She ate some lunch - not as much as normal. Then when I got her up I realised she'd vomited it everywhere in her cot, in her hair, on her clothes... Her whole room stank! But she seemed better after that nap and spew. Her fever had gone completely. She ate dinner (and kept it down). Not as much as normal but it was something. I ended up giving her a dream feed cos I wanted to get more fluids into her. This morning she seems pretty happy, no fever and ate some of her breaky. She's still tired though. And she has developed a rash over her body. I talked to a nurse who said it's probably a viral rash because she's doing so well now, but I have to keep a close eye on her today and I have a doctors appointment booked for this afternoon JIC.

Belfie - Thanks for those names, will def have a look around, told DP i want one, he looked at me funny. Would mean his dinner is on the table before Ava goes to bed... lol

*Tanya* - Ava went ok, woke up a couple of times around 5 but i just kept giving her dummy, it's the stupid cough keeping her up, she went back to sleep until just after 6 and by then she normally comes and has a cuddle with us anyway before DP goes to work.
Hows Maya today, poor girl now has a rash, does it ever end with these little ones?
I hope everything is ok and you don't need to go to the Dr's again.

Well had my obs appt for lil miss today and Ava was VERY well behaved in the waiting room, and during my appt considering the attention wasn't on her.
They have told me with #2 if i make it to 39wks they will possibly induce me as they would like to know i am safely in hosp this time.
Strange as i always think of ppl being induced as bubs does NOT want to come out not cos she wants to come out too quick.
But all is well for now so fingers crossed it all stays that way.

Hope everyone is well. BBL to check everything, taking Ava for a play on the tramp.

Hey ladies.. Just wanted to say HI!

SAMI I hope you're settling back into work ok. Boy it must be hard to organise all those kiddies & work

TANYA I'm sorry to hear Maya is so sick. I hope she's on the mend today. Ewwwwy, a cot full of spew. The joys of motherhood aye

BELFIE And poor X is sick too. Poor bubba. I did have a squiz on FB & see some recent pics. Boy, what a cutie he is

CSAB How are you & miss V doing? I'll give you a buzz later this week

AVASMUM Hi... Welcome. I don't get on BB much at the moment as I'm working FT. My DS was born in August, but like Belfie & Sami, this was my belly buddies group, so I hang in here too. DS was 7 weeks early. '

Hi Mummamia, Amanda, Teru, Kuraiza (if you're stalking) & everyone else.

Well exciting news.... I'm going to Sydney for a week... WITHOUT BJ... I'm a little scared that I'll miss him dearly. Poor DH was frightend that he couldn't handle a week alone so my MIL is coming up for a week to help him look after BJ, & himself lol.

I was offered another job so have to go to Sydney for the training. It's about helping people buy investment properties with their superannuation. BTW... If anyone is interested on getting more information about it, let me know.

Can you believe BJ is turning 1 in a couple of weeks. I'm quite excited about his party. We're having a small one here at home on Saturday 29 Aug. I'm going to make a monkey cake. It'll be the first time i've made a novelty cake. How exciting.

He's going great. DH was in Sydney for 4 days (his grandma died) & BJ was really unsettled all that time. He was waking up to 5 times overnight & back to only sleeping 2 x 30min naps. He had all the typical signs of teething, off his food & milk, but I can't see anymore teeth coming. He still only has 4. The day after DH got home, he settled back down again. Hump, not sure if it's cause DH was away. I wonder if he'll do that for a week while I'm away

He gets around a bit with his push walker now. So cute to see. He doesn't cruise the furniture too well yet so I'd say he's still a few months away from walking

I've been doing well with my WW. Lost 5.2kgs so far. Still got another 5 or so to go. Have been going to the gym EVERY morning, running till I can't run anymore. Boy am I fit again, feels great! Don't know what I'll do when DH goes back to work cause the gym doesn't have a creche

If you've made it through this post, thanks! It's a long one. I hope I'll drop back in before I go to Sydney this sunday. BJ has his first 1st birthday party to attend this Sunday.

Caoi for now xx

Georgi - thanks and good luck with Sydney, it would be nice to get away, but i'm sure you will def miss the lil one.

It's very exciting that our lil ones are nearly 1, i have just done Ava's invites (pic in my blog) and we decided to do one BIG family party for her 1st birthday to save fights (mainly with DP's family) and then from her 2nd b'day on is only for ppl who see her regularly etc, so we have OVER 100ppl including kids. WHAT AM I THINKING?
I am kind of excited though as the property we are in is Marks cousins and they have one of those big round tramps with the net, so we are going to put some balloons in there, they also havea blow up castle for their kids and Ava loves it so having that aswell, it should be a good day. Well except me being the size of a house.
Has anyone else decided what they are doing for parties, presents etc?
We didn't get Ava much as we figure she has so much family she will get HEAPS, got her the laugh n learn puppy, a bath playset ($7 bargain), Wiggles Keyboard & Laugh & Learn Musical Play Table, spent under $150... YAY for toy sales.

Sorry if i'm waffling again.. gotta go feed the midget her breakfast...

Hope all is well.

*Tanya* how is M today, a lot better i hope.

And to all the other sick bubbas i hope you get better soon.

Morning

AM - thanks, of course I think my kids are pretty fantabulous too, but I may be a tad bias!!

Zander being our #3 wont be getting much for his first birthday from us - he has toyboxes full of stuff we can bring out as he gets older - but I do have a couple of little things put away for the kids to give him - his first cars, special stuffed panda bear, some clothes. We dont have family here so ours will be a smaller affair with friends and footy :lol:

Tanya - slow cooker recipes - sometimes I use the packets from the supermarkets and sometimes I just make them up too!!! I use my slow cooker probably 3 times a week on avg and still will in summer - it is so much easier for the afternoon rush here after school and getting snacks and clothes and unpacking bags etc - let alone getting dinenr organised :lol:
Good to hear Maya is feeling better and hope today shows nothing lurking just a hiccup in the health stakes!

Georgi - good for you!! I dont think I could go away for a week from Z yet (apart from the boob issue!!) - brave woman. It is hard getting everyone out the door at 7.30 for the working day, so in that way I am grateful my kids are early risers and all up by 7am so I dont have issues there.

belfie - mebbe we are spreading something around in this thread - Z has ocme down with a cold too - clear though so that is good and still pretty happy, but cant feed properly - but he slept for 6 hours straight last night so I feel like a new woman. Mind you he ate really well in the afternoon and at dinner so that might have helped too! He has finally gone onto normal custard (YAYAYAY) - instead of $1 for 120gms, I can just buy the one litre for $3.50 for all the kids - muuuuuuuch cheaper hahahah. The teeth are just sitting there so waiting for them to pop and he gets used to childcare, hopefully he will go back to his normal sleeping pattern without too much forced encouragement from us :lol:

Well work was um, interesting - the weirdest part was being in the office all day inside and sitting down so much - bleh - so Ididnt get much done apart from re-establishing my logons and phones etc - and had looooads of visits from friends catching up (lucky my new boss is great so he expects this cos I am a very social person ;)) But, I did enjoy putting on my suit and glamming up in the morning - bit more like me if that makes sense.

Sitting in my jeans and a jumper at the moment LOL

Washing awaits

*sigh* M's gone from sleeping heaps to not wanting to sleep at all (except for night time which is good). But it means I can't get anything done cos she just wants to be with me all the time. Maybe she's just sick of sleeping after sleeping so much. :rolleyes:

BBL

Avasmum - Love the avi. :) And I love the invite you made. How did you make it? I'm planning on making M's invite but not sure where to start. As for a party I've already booked a venue for M's party. It's a hall at a park. I'm not getting her any presents though. I figure the party is her present. In fact we are going to tell people that they don't need to bring presents. M already has heaps of things.

Georgi - :hello: Good to see you popping in. :) Enjoy your trip. I'm sure you'll both enjoy it and miss BJ. I just can't believe they are all almost 1 either!

Sami - Glad to hear you enjoyed work. Sorry to hear Z has an ear infection. :( Hope he's better soon. I have a slow cooker (bought about 2 months ago) but I haven't found any good recipes yet. I hadn't thought of packets. I might try some of those.

csab - How's V?

Hi to everyone else. Where'd fluff go?

So on Thursday M seemed to be doing better in the morning (except for the rash) but in the afternoon developed a high fever again. She even just lay down to go to sleep on the rug and then started crying. I gave her panadol but she refused to sleep. Took her to the doctors and he said the rash is either caused by the fever or an allergic reaction to the anti-biotics. I really don't see how it can be an allergic reaction though because I'd stopped giving her the anti-biotics when she developed the rash. But I guess he's the expert being the doctor. So next time we get given anti-biotics I have to wait in the doctors office after giving it to her to see if she has a reaction. Anyway, he said either way rest, panadol and fluids. Yesterday she seemed a bit better (no fevers) but just wouldn't sleep most of the day. And today she seems better again, but again having trouble getting her to take naps. :( So dunno what's going on with her sleeps.

*Tanya* - thanks, i just used publisher on the comp, picked out the background i like and worked around that, took about 30min, i LOVE to fiddle.
If you like give me some ideas of what you like and i can fiddle with something for you, am doing an invite for a boy from MG today with his mum.
I just get backgrounds from the internet, i get different fonts etc and then go from there, i have some fonts with fairies, butterflies etc. let me know, i can always leave spots blank and just e-mail it to you to edit.
Hope M is feeling better for you.

SamiH - work, hmmm i wish sometimes i was back at work, with #2 on the way no chance now... soo sad but am glad you had a good day.

Hope everyone else had a great w/end, my night without Ava was good but felt REALLY old at a 21st talking kids and upcoming babies.. hmmm
Ava's tooth has cut so hopefully she will settle once it's through properly, she is crawling EVERYWHERE at the moment so thats keep me nice and busy.
She has just said MUM again for the 1st time on MONTHS, dad stole her vocab so i am happy i am getting a say again now... lol

How are all the bubs going? not long and all the lil munchkins will be 1.

Avasmum - Glad you had a good time out. :)

I am still struggling to get Maya to go to sleep each time. Especially at night time now. She is taking about an hour to settle with lots of tears. :( I just hope she goes back to being a great sleeper again!

She's also throwing whopper tantrums - throwing her whole body about. And yesterday she batted a spoon away and she batted me. :( I have no idea what to do when she's like that. I am hoping it's just that she's still a bit sick and not coping as well and that she'll go back to her happy self. Otherwise I guess she could be entering into that part of being a toddler already?

Does anyone here use the living textiles sleeping bags or the dream bag? If so are they good?

I hope everyone had a good weekend.

Hey everyone, hope your all well, been very quiet in here so hopefully all the lil ones are behaving.

Just a quick one as lots to do today, got DP's mums 60th here on the weekend so it's MY job to clean inside the house.. Oh yeah like it's going to be spotless with a 10mth old chasing me everywhere etc.
Got a friend and her 4yr old coming today so they can keep her occupied for a bit while i get some stuff done i think, also got dinner for his mum tonight then dinner with my cous who got back from o/seas with the RAAF tomorrow night... OMG when can i rest?
Going to take my pal to see our block so that should be fun.
I am so lazy but have to get my big pregnant butt into worker mode for the day and get stuff done, no excuses, while ava is alseep gotta work like a demon... hmm hope the shower cleaner smell doesn't make me pass out... hehehehe

ON a good note i am feeling lil miss move a lot more which is great, when ava sleeps on me she kicks her but Ava can't feel it yet, tried getting mark to feel it but he couldn't so she's not kicking strong enough and is hiding very low still, dunno why cos my gut is massive compared to when was pregga's with Ava so LOTS of room to move.

Well might pop on and do some personals after dinner tonight, wish me luck... hmmm

it has been quiet, I've been meaning to post for days... where are the days going!?!?

Avasmum#1 - wow, a busy day for you! GL getting it all done. How are you feeling with the PG? More tired than normal, or pretty ok?

*Tanya* - how is M going now? It's awful when they won't sleep like that. I haven't used either of those sleeping bags, just PP, grobags & a jollybeans bag (which has a dodgy zip, so won't bother with those again).

SamiH - hey Mrs Fantabulous kids, how's it going now you've been back at work a few weeks? Hope Z is over his cold.

Georgi - wow, lots going on for you. Congrats on the new job and have fun making the novelty cake teheh! Well done on the weight loss too, that's great. Can't wait to hear the next update.

All good here. X finally over his cold. He pretty much stopped eating for about a week, but i'm pretty sure it was behavioural not medical. He had a few big gags and huge vomits with his blocked nose, and I'm sure it sends him backwards. So we went back to really smooth purees (finally I worked out what was going on :doh:), and he's come good again. I still offer him some finger food every day, but he's still not keen at all :( I would love it if he could feed himself tho!!! He's having fun getting into everything, now opens sliding doors, loves sliding the dishwasher tray in & out... in & out... lol. We're off for a family portrait today, should be fun. Won't know myself all tarted up!

:hello: to everyone i missed, hope everyone is going well.

belfie - PG is going well, got a fair bit done yesterday even though Ava only slept 20min in the morn then was awake til we left for Marks nans at 3:30.
Am 20wks today and still feeling pretty good considering i am up from about 6 with ava and not in bed til after 9:30 every day, i don't get a chance to nap but am going well so far.
Thinking bout getting marks aunt to have Ava 1 day a week so i can get some stuff done and maybe have a bit of me time..

Hope everyone is going well, got more cleaning to do today so have filled ava up with yoghurt and toast for breaky then going to give her a nice big bath before bed at 10 and HOPE she has a nice big sleep so i can do a few things... lol

Jack just 2 steps then fell on his bum :)

will be back later for personals :D

Avasmum - How were all your get togethers? Sounds like you've been pretty busy.

belfie - Where did you get your family portrait done? I've been thinking about getting one done too. I had photos done of M when she was a couple of months old but they came back terrible. How's X doing now?

fluff - Hello. :) I've been wondering where you went. Wow Jack is taking steps! :clap: How are you?

Sami - How's work going? How are your gorgeous kids going?

M is STILL sick! FOUR weeks of sick. Late last week she developed an awful sounding barking cough. Someone suggested getting a vaporiser so I got one on Friday and I think it's helped her to sleep better. So at least that's something. She does seem to be happier and sleeping better. She just has that awful cough. And she is eating HEAPS! I wonder if it's to make up for the period where she wasn't eating well. I'm just wondering how she can fit all that food in?!

I got a letter on Friday saying there will be an inspection this week. Nice notice. So now I have to clean up the place.

Feeling quite stressed at the moment cos I've got so much to do and not sure how I'll get everything done. Still got that paid work to do. Have done quite a lot of it but still have heaps to go. They prob expect it to be finished by now. Today I'm taking M to be weighed again. Prob a stupid time to get her weighed after she's been sick for so long and not eating properly. Then got to get my licence renewed & pick up some photos.

Tanya - poor M i hope she gets better soon, have you tried using the vicks baby balsam, put it on her chest AND the soles of her feet before bed along with using the vaporiser and it should help HEAPS... well it does with Ava.. not sure why the feet but it works.
All the get togethers went well, poor Ava was very tired yesterday but still had ppl here so was quite a bit of rocking to sleep as she wanted to be where the action was, her eczema has flared up so taking her to the dr's today to get some better cream etc.
I hope everything calms down a bit for you and M, try not to stress too much it's not good for us you know...:)
Hope your inspection goes well and you get a decent licence photo... lol

fluff-a-holic - ohhh first steps, i can't wait for Ava to start walking... YAY Jack

AFM - well the party went well, quite messy with drunk ppl but nothing broken and everyone behaved themselves, Ava slept through all the music etc which considering she wasn't herself was quite a feat.
Got a Dr's appt for her today about her eczema so hopefully i can get that all fixed up, all the invites are out for her b'day, now trying to sort out a cake... HMMMMM
Well better get going, got tidying to do, one of the MG girls is coming to pick up her lil boys b'day invite designs (should start my own business) and got a friend coming from gippsland for a visit.. hmmm BUSY day.

Hope everyone else is well.

I'm here - I'm terribly busy - and it currently sucks

Hugs and I will be back later for a proper update ... xxxx

Just a quick update about lil miss Ava's eczema.
Went to the doctors and they said everything i had been trying was great and how wonderful it was to have a parent that didn't come in asking for steroids the minute the eczema showed up, i was very proud of myself... :p
I have had to give in and get a steroid cream for the poor miss though as around her mouth is REALLY starting to irritate her and i only need to apply a VERY SMALL amount twice a day for no longer than a week, have also bought her some QV wash to make sure that it doesn't come back on her elbows and knees (which i cleared without cream)
Just in case these are some of the things i tried that seem to work:

* Moisturiser every day on the area, especially after a bath
* Bathing every 2nd to 3rd day so not to dry out her skin
* Avoiding over eating of acidic foods (tomato etc), she still eats these but not every day
* A CLEAN bath, no soaps or baby wash except for her hair (now going to use QV)

There are other things but these are the main things that have worked for Ava, other people have said apply vaseline to the area before eating and after face washing, and to cut out wheat.

Other than that she is slowly getting back to normal after a huge week, daddy is taking us out for tea tonight as he has to work away for the rest of the week so Ava might be having a restaurant dinner... lol
Am putting her in a baby show on Saturday which should be funny, we took her to the same one last time for a bit of a laugh and she won champion baby out of 30kids.
No expectations and am definitely NOT a show mum, will chuck her in some cute jeans and nice top and let her do her own charming... hehe if she doesn't get anything she doesn't get anything, one of the girls from MG would like to come aswell so should be a nice social day!

Hope everyone is well... so much for quick... oooppppssss sorry :redface:

Ooohhh sorry also forgot dummy's and teething can make the eczema worse but it can be hard to obviously avoid these, the dummy i use for Ava is quite strange looking but has BIG holes so it doesn't cover much skin, the DR said these are GREAT for babies with eczema, will see if i can add a pic to a blog at some stage.

glad it has cleared - there are a few of us in the thread that have thrown around all the pros/cons and tried and tested methods for eczema - i have 2 kids with it, belfie's little man has it, teruteru's bub has it - steroid cream is the only thing that will totally clear it up if it has gotten bad - and then you should clear it up totally and start fresh like a clean slate so to speak. Hope Ava's is not too bad and you can keep it under control.

Me, I am just considering wrapping DD's knees at nighttime cos she is scratching with the cold weather and heating despite all the slathering of lotions and potions :(

X says.... HAPPY 11 MONTHS Z! :dance:
SamiH - GL with DD's eczema, it's just foul when they scratch & scratch isn't it :(

Avasmum#1 - that's great that it's starting to improve, hopefully the cream will clear it up for good!

hiya to everyone... hope you're all well. We're about to have an eczema review in a few weeks, but I think he'll say keep doing the same thing. And we're off to RCH allergy clinic on friday, that should be interesting. Dunno if they'll do anything, I read somewhere that they don't like doing skinpr!ck tests on under 1's.

Tanya - family portrait as done by a work colleague of DH's who is a serious amateur IYKWIM.... so hopefully they'll be ok, but either way, it's free so that's awesome! I think he's forgotten what bubs are like tho, cos he reckons X was the fastest crawler he's ever seen... well I've been at my MG and X has way too much junk in the trunk to be the fastest!

My FIL just booked a week away for him & MIL ... the first week I'm back at work. Huh!?!? What is with that? Then they changed it... but not after making a big song & dance about it. Feeling that they're not gonna be reliable babysitters after all and might have to find some daycare... hmm.
anyway better go found my kitchen under all those dishes.

Hi girls. Just popping on very quickly cos I want to share with you what I am suddenly going through. I've never told you that I actually have an illness called Menieres Disease (you can google it but basically it's vertigo attacks caused by a problem with the inner ear). I was diagnosed with it about 6 years ago after seeing doctor after doctor after doctor. Anyway, with medication I managed to get it all under control and then off the meds I was able to get pregnant and have my gorgeous Maya. Towards the end of pregnancy I started to get symptoms of my illness and I had a small attack not long after she was born, but to go on my meds I would have had to give up BFing. Then yesterday I arrived home, parked the car, got out and had a severe attack and collapsed in the drive way. I am so lucky it didn't happen while I was driving or holding Maya. I am also very lucky my neighbours were home and they called my DH and paramedics. I was given a dose of something to stop the severe vertigo and vomiting. It was then that I decided to give up the BF and go back on my meds. I saw a DR this morning and have got my meds, so hopefully it'll sort itself out soon. Unfortunately there is little understood about menieres disease - they have no idea what causes it, how to fix it, etc. So even on these meds there's a chance it won't get better, but since it worked before for me I am hoping it'll work now. Anyway, I am EXTREMELY sad that I have to give up the BF even though I know it's the best thing for both of us now. We had our last feed this morning and I can't stop shedding tears over it. I am also scared about having another attack (I'm so vulnerable and helpless in that state) and I'm scared about possibly hurting Maya. Fingers crossed the meds will work and I won't have to go through it again!