Babies born ~ December 1st-15th 2009 #5

Hi Girls!

I keep meaning to pop in here and post and time has really gotten away from me again.

Rose - Sorry to hear Liam is waking up so often, you must be totally wrecked. I hope it's something like teeth so that there's an end in sight and he will settle again for you.

Beany - That's sad about your Mother's Group friend maybe moving away. But Playgroup sounds good and I hope you make more friends :)

Brussels - Just looked at your ticker and realised that you're 23 weeks pregnant! :omg: Wow! Does Eva seem aware of the new baby yet? Glad you had such a nice weekend away.

Hannah - Good thing your GP ran those extra tests, glad you're feeling better now. This last batch of teeth has been just awful hasn't it, but I'm glad it's passed for you now and that Amelia's walking! Awesome!

Willow - How's Harry and the boys? Bummer that you can't make the meetup due to your Aunty's 50th, would have been great to catch up with you too. After doing our renos we've decided to sell our place and have been looking at houses in Gungahlin so maybe I'll be over your side of town more often in the future? All depends on where we end up buying.

Lani, Carmey, Kanda, Tilda - See you tomorrow! I'm so excited! Am about to sign off and go pack car snacks, lunches, drink bottles, changes of clothes, nappies, etc. etc. The less I have to do when I get up tomorrow the better.

Ali - Promise to hug Lani for you ;)

Kawa - :hello:

Lots going on in our space but will have to fill you all in when we get back from Sydney.

Hi everyone !

Alison, Amelia in those pigtails is tooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!! Eva still does not have enough hair for any kind of styling :))) I'll count myself lucky to not have a lot to shampoo and comb, but am counting down to when I can buy hair accessories!!!! :ROFL:

Suz, yay for the meetup and buying a new place...Give all of the girls a big hug from me too! Be sure one of you takes pics! I know - I am pretty far along! It is coming so soon!!!! I forget it too! With the second pregnancy you don't count day by day like with the first, so I sometimes get surprised by my own ticker!!!!

I think DH and I might have come up with the name....We had a long list that kept changing and everyone gives their opinions non stop, so it gets a bit difficult to choose...but we cannot make everyone happy and are settling for what we like, and everyone will just have to get used to it. Plus they will all have new associations with the name once DD2 is born... So it will be either Stella or Sofia with Maya for a second name.....Stella Maya or Sofia Maya. Now to decide between the two!!!!! (Maya is a shorter variation of my sister's name, who is named Maayan).

Hi BS - firstly thank you and don't worry, I had to scrimp and scrape to get her hair into piggytails, she has my horrible fine hair and hers is also curly at the bottom so it didn't provide me with much ha ha, I thought I'd give it a go for my mum as she was visiting from down south. Secondly, I LOVE the names Stella and Sofia (one of my fave perfumes is Stella (McCartney) and Sofia is another version of Sophie which is one of my fave names, sounds weird but one of my family pets was Sophie and I loved her so much so that name is special to me - she obviously passed away a while ago but still. My cousin just called her little girl Sophia and my friends who are Japanese (he has been living here since he was 10 so sounds as Aussie as me) called their 2nd girl Sophia. Who cares what others think, you'll never keep people happy, that's why we didn't tell anyone until she was born, I didn't want opinions!!!!

Good news girls - Amelia had 1.5 hours this arvo and she let DH put her to bed tonight - first in ages as she's been so clingy to me and she didn't cry, OMG I am feeling so good, I hope it lasts and she's back on track!

lol, re: the hair - we have similar stories as far as baby hair goes :))))

So for the names, I feel like I shoul dnot have told but in a way it was good because Sofia was not in one of my tops until after I got opinions from people.....

But get this FIL is actually trying to propose the name Suzanne to me...I have nothing against the name but it is DH's paternal grandmother's name and she does not like me (and no one likes her)! Like I would name my own child after a mean old woman who does not like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't get him sometimes. He is a brilliant guy but he has some kooky ideas sometimes!!!!!!

I'm sticking to my guns and just have to decide with DH between the 2...The only thing making me heistate with Sofia is the fact that people will make mistkes writing it with ph or say sophie instead of sofia....Stella is less likely to be turned into a nickname etc...The french nickname Sofias things like SoSo or So or Sof or stuff like that...

I'll keep you girls posted!

Off for a sonogram! I am having my 2nd term full scan with the sono specialist - he has a great machine so I am so excited to see everything clearly!

xoxo

PS, I just saw the BB catchup photos and got all emotional! Must be the hormones of pregnancy!!! :ROFL: It is so nice to see all of you together and all the babies, who have gotten so big playing together!!!!! We have come a long way girls! All you mums look amazing by the way! Nice belly Kate! Kath, dying to see yours too!

Hello all!

Rose - oh gosh, it sounds like you're haivng a really rough time. I think its totally normal to not be enjoying having little quality sleep! But from your fb statuses it sounds like things have improved? I really hope so. I hope you're feeling better too :) We'll have to arrange a catch up for when you're better.

Hannah - Yay for Amelia walking!!! :clap: Sorry to hear about the vitamin D deficiency, I'm hoping you feel better now you're taking a supplement.

BS - You must have had such a lovely time in Paris, Eva sounds quite the star! Sounds like you have a wonderful in-law family. I am in LOVE with Sofia Maya - so feminine and elegant. Stella Maya is beautiful too (one of my fave perfumes as well, Alison!). I think you can't go wrong with either of those names - Maya is such a lovely name. That is a bit odd about your FIL pushing the name of his own mother! Stand your ground, you have beautiful names picked out already :)

Alison - I am feeling better from the tummy-bug, but now I feel like I'm coming down with his cold...I've had a sore throat for about 3 days now. DH has got a full-on cold, and he never gets sick! So I"m copping it from both sides, dunno how long I can keep fighting it off! Cutie Hooties!!! I LOVE it!!! Thats a fantastic name, Alison. Oh I wish you all the luck in the world, good on you for having the idea and acting on it :clap: I'm tryingn to remember what Michael was like when he was dropping down to 1 sleep. I remember he was taking FOREVER to get to sleep for both naps...up to an hour sometimes. That went on for a few weeks until I cottoned-on to the fact that he might be dropping a sleep. Moved his morning sleep to about 11-11.30ish, and didn't bother with an afternoon sleep. There was a week or so there where he'd get a bit more cranky than usual by the time bedtime came around, but he's ok with it now - I just make sure he's in bed by 6.30ish. His day sleep is usually between 1-2 hours. Perhaps you can try a sleep at 11, then maybe go somewhere with the pram in the afternoon, that way if she does get tired she can have a quick nap?

Suz - I have to agree, this lot of teeth have been the worst so far. It seems all 4 came through at once too :(

Hello to everyone!

AFM - My poor darling boy is still sick. While he has recovered from the conjunctivitus, mouth ulcers and tummy bug. I took him to the GP yesterday to make sure his ears were clear (after being on antibiotics for 5 days) and they're both still infected!! :( Plus he has his cold still. I thought he was all better the way he has been acting the past couple of days, I had no idea he still had 2 ear infections. So more antibiotics for him - luckily he loves taking them, I must admit, they're pretty darn tasty!

Found out on fb, of all places, that my boss quit work yesterday. Just great. While I didn't really like him, like him, he was a real cruisey boss, and I felt like he woudl always make sure I was happy, supported, not overloaded, etc. Its going to be wierd having a new boss and building up a relationship with them. Not happy. Plus I'm now shunted to the otherside of the office, which is just as bad as I thought. Very depressing sitting in a cubicle on my own :(

Oh, and fantastic pics from the catch up the other day!! You all look amazing. And Tilda - you are looking so lovely and big (in the nicest possible way, of course! :lol:). And Kanda, I can juuuust see a little bump popping out too! Getting super-clucky over here! Gosh, when you think of us all back, 2 years ago, having just fallen pregnant - we sure have come a long way! All the bubs look so big now, can you believe it??

Cutie Hooties is awesome!

Beany ouchies for the teeth....jeez, eva still only has 6! I have a feeling I will get a mass amount at once again like with her 4 uppers coming in at once, that was no fun at all!!!!

AFM - all is well, getting huge and rolling over at night is a hassle! :) Here I go into the home stretch...Going on 6 months now!!!!

Kanda, Tilda, how is it going? Hello to everyone else!!!

xoxo

Hi everyone. I'm sorry this is going to be a bit of a selfish post. I did a whole lot of persies yesterday and Matilda deleted them. I don't know why I let her near the computer when I'm posting because this has happened several times!! I'm just feeling so tired at the moment. Matilda has been waking between 5 and 5:30am every morning and it's just running me into the ground. It wouldn't be so bad if she did a decent sleep during the day so I could have a rest and some time to myself but she only does one or two half hour naps. It's not even time to make and eat a sandwich. So I'm starting each day feeling angry and resentful. DH just stays in bed or goes back to bed once she's up and fed because she SCREAMS if I try and leave and one of us may as well get some rest, but I still find myself snapping at him out of envy. And I really don't think there's much I can do. Most parents of early wakers say they tried everything and nothing worked. So I just have to hope its a phase. I'm terrified of doing a 4am feed with a newborn and then up for the day with a toddler. And for the daycare update...well I ended up looking at three places and taking the third place I saw which I was really pleased with. It's home based care and really nicely set up and the carer seems really nice and really competent. There were no grown men sleeping on the floor!! Matilda had her first day on Monday and what a big day it was for her! I took her over a 9am and tried to explain I was leaving but I don't think it really occured to her that mummy really would leave her at a complete stranger's house so she wandered off into the cubby and unfortunately didn't see me leave. I think this was a bit of a mistake but it probably wouldn't have made a big difference to the day. I got text updates through the day that she was a bit unsettled on and off, but had her lunch and a nap. But after her nap she went into meltdown and I was called in. I got there and the carer said to me, "Matilda is what I'd call a screamer". Hmmmm. She didn't mean to be critical I don't think and went on to say, this is obviously just something she does when she's very distressed which is why she called me. And next week she only want's to take her for one day rather than two again. So I'm hoping this all works out ok and she doesn't flunk out of daycare!! The other downside was that two other kids had colds and of course Matilda woke up with a cold yesterday. My heart sank when the friend that recommended it told me that Oscar (her nephew who also goes) is "always sick". This means Matilda will "always be sick" because she picks up everything and colds are never just colds. They go to her chest and hang around for a couple of weeks. Sighhhhhhhhhhh. There's no easy way, is there. Anyway, I'd better go and actually do some mothering. Oh and I did write up a big piece on it the post I lost, but I had a GREAT time with all the Sydney/Canberrra girls. It was really special to get together like that and I really hope we can do it again before another 18 months go by!! Hope everyone is doing OK, especially those doing it a bit tough lately.

Hey Tilda, I hoep you're feeling a bit better now...I have an early waker (6am every day, and she goes down at 8 and wakes at night most nights to be settled back down) and there is not much to do. I only get late mornings when she has been up for an hour or two at night, and that is worse. You have to try to to go down at the same time as her, even if it is 8pm....and try to have DH do other stuff like bathtime and story so you can rest for an hour before putting her down (this has helped me enormously during this pregnancy - I just lay on the sofa or prepare myself something to eat while he does the evening ritual. I am not bf so most night he also puts her to bed. It will help you balance out the feelings of resentment you are having. Thge bigger we get, the more help we need...I understand you. I have moments where I just get tired of picking up stuff or doing stuff - and when DH has to go out in the eve, even though it is rare and he really tries to stay put, I get a bit jealous at his freedom (I can go out when I want but am just tird and massive these days...lol)....

As for the daycare thing, I know how you feel. Eva was realllllly difficult to put into daycare and she started at 6 months, so I could not imagine doing it now. Eva spent her first week not eating ANYTHING - they told me they had never seen a baby not eat due to stress. She would go over 6 hours with no milk...it was so stressful...She cried with strangers and refused food. She would not nap well, only a bit after becoming exhausted - it gets better. Does this daycare offer a chance for you to sit in with her? I spent Eva's first week in there with her. You should do that, then the place would not be so strange, gradually leaving her for two hours then three, then fours then a day. Eva goes 5 days a week so maybe it will be a little different for you, but there has to be a way of transitioning smoothly. Ask the lady if she would be ok with you bringing her in the two days but staying along, letting the lady care for her as much as possible (play and feed other ids too, so Matilda can see that, since soon she will have that at home)...Each child expresses themselves in their own way. Don't let the lady make you feel bad. Imagine her not having seen you leave then spending a day with a starnger who does not know her habits and how to handle her like her mum does. In our daycare you are REQUIRED to spend one week with your child for five days straight starting from a whole day, then one hour less every day until Friday where you just stay for a bit in the morning to play and feed the baby then leave them for their nap and afternoon....they insist you be on call for that week so that they can better take care of the child. I am sure that if you propose being present during her regular days then the lady will not refuse - you are paying anyway, so you will just be helpful and be a helping hand in any case...I think it is wierd that the lady asked you to only bring her one day the next week...diminishing her days won't help her get used to it...try to call her and find a solution where you make the transition with Matilda. I hope hse can be flexible.

As for the sick thing, they are always sick in daycare and there is nothing to do about it. You have kids with parents who work and sometimes even if the child is a bit sick the parents can't take time off and birng in their child to infect the others...BUT a year later, she should be pretty resistant. Eva gets a lot less sick and a lot shorter nowadays...and to be honest now is prob a good time for her to be exposed to all of this, since you will be home with a baby and will be able to take care of her when she needs to stay home - can you imagine having to call out of a job every time she gets sick when she is older? ITis annoying and exhausting and DH and I have already considered pulling Eva out of daycare because of her being sick, but that is how it is...if this is something that really poses a problem then don't put her in, but remember that the beginning is the HARDEST PART! I went through a month of suffering when Eva started daycare. Just take it day by day...you will appreciate the rest and having some time to yourself. She just has to get used to it. But you should do what feels right to you...you know what is best for her.

I am thinking of you, and feel free to write me if you need to vent, I totally get it. Eva is very attached to us and still cries every morning when we leave her (for like 1 minute - she stops as soon as we are out of eyesight)...I still have guilt about leaving her but I feel like it has helped her become really social and well adjusted. She was so clingy with us that it is nice to have her learn to let other people hold her and take care of her and now I can leave her with MIL and not worry....before she would be hysterical without me around....now she is as attached to DH as to me....but when we leave her with other people, apart from the initial panic, she gets along very well. Just feel it out - if you feel like the lady at daycare does not like her or is complaining about her "difficult" personality, maybe somewhere else would be better....It is hard to choose a place to leave them and you want to just be sure that the carers are patient and kind to her.

I hope you manage to get some rest and am sending positive vibes your way...all this plus prego hormones...it isn't easy...it will get better.

xoxoxo

Hi BS - thank you so much for your reply! It makes a real difference to feel like someone is listening! We've just had such a bad couple of weeks. And yesterday it really peaked. Matilda had been coughing all night and finally woke up for good at 4.30am completely miserable and sleep deprived herself. That's the worst thing about her waking early - she's sooooo miserable and that makes everything else difficult because she won't let me put her down or let DH do anything for her without getting hysterical. And DH really does try. It was just an awful day. We were all beside ourselves with exhaustion. But last night Matilda slept 11 hours from 7 - 6 and she is a completely different child today! Happy, playing with toys, letting DH do things for her. Oh, if only we could get on top of this early waking!! And your daycare system sounds sooooooo much better. I think that's fantastic that they let you spend a week with them. They are so anti having the mothers around at all here and I think it's short sighted. They tell you different reasons for it but I think it's because they don't like parents hanging around seeing what goes on. But I'm going to have a talk to my carer tomorrow about it because I don't think Matilda is going to respond to the deep end approach and I have this feeling in my gut that it will just end with the carer telling me that Matilda isn't ready and shouldn't be in care. DH thinks I should just pull her out anyway and get more help at home but I would like to give this a go for everyone's sake.

Alison - how did your decals go? I can't wait to hear!

Beany - how is Michael going? I saw in another of your posts that he is waking early too! I keep meaning to reply to it! I feel your pain! Let's just hope this is a passing phase for both of us.

Hannah - that's great about Amelia walking. It makes a big difference doesn't it.

Suz - how's things down in Canberra, is it as wet as Sydney?

Kanda - did you get the house?????

Hi Rose, Carmie, Lani, Willow, Kawa, and anyone else that I've missed due to sleep deprivation! Thinking of you all and hoping I can post a bit more often soon.

Tilda, you should def see about staying with Matilda a few days at care...please keep me posted...If the carers don't try to adjust to Matilda's needs (at least at first until she gets comfortable) then that is not the place for her. I feel like Matilda SHOULD adjust, but the carer SHOULD also understand that it takes a bit of time and if she is not willing to be flexible to try to help her transition smoothly, that also means that she won't be more patient with her when she is teething or grumpy etc...At least you would have given it a try and worst case scenario you either ask around for other great centers, or you get someone in house...that would never work for me though because if Eva knows I am around she won't let starngers take care of her (unless it is DH or family that she sees often)...Plus, I have a hard time letting go of taking care of her when I am nearby...so even if someone else is there to do it, I would run to help all the time...but if your issue is housework and stuff like that, maybe some help with the housework and laundry would be enough...but I am thinking that a newborn and toddler at home might also be a lot to handle, although tons of people do it and are just fine :) I just need a bit of time for managing our lives (administrative, finanacial etc..) even when I am home full time.

You should also maybe try bigger structures like Montessori schools, if you have those there...(I mention Montessori because they are really very individual based programs and follow the desires of each child rather than forcing schedules etc...Matilda might like that). The bigger programs tend to be more "customer service" oriented...my daycare is part of a school, so they want the parents to see what is going on and they hold themselves responsible for the child's well being (needless to say, accidents like Eva's foot thing still happen :( ) No matter how you look at it, coming into someone's house is bound to annoy them, no matter what, it is still their personal space...whereas is a school or daycare center, the employees feel less connected to the space, and don't have their personal stuff sorrounding them (and you don't run the risk of the carer "throwing in a load of laundry" while the kids nap or whatever)...On the other hand the more personal care might be nicer for more sensitive babies who need more intimacy - Eva is super sensitive and does not like too much mess and noise, but I find that she is happy in her system and I am happy that she is in an environment that is more crowded, where meals are taken together, they have holidays and birthday with the bigger kids, and the carers only have their children to worry about since there is the school cleaning staff, kitchen and administrators at their disposition...I am happy knowing that they are 100% focused on the children and not worried about preparing meals or cleaning up (of course they have to cut up fruit and clear the table but there are ladies who come around to clear the dishes and change the garbage bins etc...)...

Another thing I do often is pop in at random hours of the day to see what is going on...and apart from a few times where I thought Eva's nose needed to be wiped, I was pretty happy to see them playing with the children, feeding them etc...

I am glad she had a good night's sleep and seems to be back in order, and I hope it stays that way!!!!!

Keep me posted on what ends up happening with the whole situation!

xoxo

Is anyone out there? ;)

Is it possible that Eva could be dropping naps this early on???? It has been a week where it is impossible to get her down (even putting her down later than usual) and she then naps ( or just stays in her bed playing) for 20-30 minutes!!!! I usually come in to check on her and she is in bed with a book so not even sure if she is sleeping that!

When do toddlers usually drop naps and is anyone else having this?

Hope you are all well!!!

Hi Bs - it's quiet on here isn't it!!! I keep meaning to get on but its been really busy with my patents here. Its fantastic having them but unfortunately all the extended family go nuts organizing get togethers so it gets frenetic. I can empathize with the nap dilemma. On a normal/good day Matilda will sleep for 11-11.5 hours at night and then only have one 30-40 minute nap during the day. It doesn't give you much of a break - especially when you're pregnant like us!!! And I've read that they can drop naps all together from 12 months and sometimes even earlier. Does Eva get very tired and grumpy when she doesn't have a nap? If not maybe she's ready just to have quiet time instead of a nap. But if she's getting beside herself with tiredness maybe something else is going on. I can't remember if I've already mentioned that I seem to have solved our early waking problem! I just happened to open a book I had more or less written off as too long winded and came across some advice to reduce the amount of food they eat between 7 and 11am so that they're hungry enough to eat a decent meal later in the day. Otherwise they don't eat much dinner and wake up early starving. I realized Matilda's breakfasts had been getting bigger and bigger. She was having porridge, fruit, yoghurt and an egg! So I dropped the egg and reduced everything else and voila she ate more for dinner and slept until 7.15 the next morning!! And we've only had one early wake up on a cold morning since then. Sorry if that went on a bit but I thought it's worth knowing about! As for daycare, the second trip was just as bad as the first and she screamed the whole time. And the poor thing was so unsettled and clingy for the rest of the week. She wouldn't even let my parents look after her and she adores them! The carer was inflexible about trying different ways of helping her settle in like letting me stick around or doing very short days so I called it quits. I'm going to do as you suggest and look at the bigger centers including Montessori which might be more flexible and have more carers to help her settle in. When there's only one woman they don't have the time to focus on one child while they settle in. In the meantime I'm going to focus on encouraging her to be more independent at home and get some home based help. Anyway M has just woken up. Better get going...

Hi Girls,

Sorry I've been MIA, life is just so busy lately, busy and stressful. Working 2 days takes up so much of my week and poor Amelia has has one sickness after the other lately. We finally got back to playgroup last week after missing 3 weeks with hand foot and mouth and 2 days later she comes down with a horrible head cold - playgroup is as bad as daycare for germs - it's no different really. Here's me avoiding daycare for that very reason and it still happens ha ha. I've decided to cut back on going every week, the doctor said I need to allow her immune system to recover before exposing her again or she's just going to be sick one after the other - this is the 3rd sickness in as little as 8 weeks, not only is it horrible for her but I feel like I've had no sleep for the last 2 months bar 1 week where it went back to normal. Trying to work alongside looking after a baby has me completely exhausted and I'm almost at the end of my tether. Besides that I am finding trying to fit everything in each week is getting harder and harder, by the time I lose 2 days working, 1 day on playgroup only leaves me 2 days to do everything else, including nothing/relaxing - which seems to never happen these days. I really want to either put Amelia back in swimming or doing toddler bop but both are on the day I have playgroup, plus I would like a day to get stuck into my decal business so I can actually launch it soon! Once I give up work things will be easier in that respect, but by then I'll hopefully be pregnant and not feeling like doing much if I'm unlucky enough to get 24 hour nausea/morning sickness again, groan. Aaargh whinge whinge, sorry ladies, just one of those weeks. On a better note Amelia is feeling and looking much better today, still a bit of a snot machine but she's much chirpier and starting to sleep better again, she still fussed quite a few times last night but we're getting there. The last week we've been lucky to get 3 hours sleep a night and anything at all during the day! So BS, on the sleep thing, not sure but if Eva is dropping her sleep I feel for you as it's hard work when they won't sleep! Of all the sleep books I've read they do suggest if you can keep the 1 nap till at least the age of 2 it's advisable, but as with everything all kids are different and some just don't need it. My sister told me recently that my nephew dropped all sleeps at 13 months, was a killer she said as he was a very active/naughty little boy at the time ha ha! He's now about to turn 18 and thankfully a nice boy now though lol. Amelia has only just dropped from 2 naps to 1 a couple of weeks ago, we had only just got her into a routine of going down at 12.00 pm for anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours, then she got sick so she's been all over the place the last week. Yesterday she had 2 1 hour naps again, today I'm hoping to start getting her back on track. I prefer 1 nap of around 2 hours which most of the girls' at groups toddlers are doing, but we shall see, another good friend from the group's little girl only has 1 hour a day and that is all she seems to need. In all honesty, as long as they sleep well at night I guess the day is not as big a deal, just means it's harder to get anything done in peace and quiet huh.

Tilda - I hope you can sort out your daycare issues soon. My brother in law's daughter who is now 5 goes to a Montessori school over here, it's very expensive, like $5000 a year, the same as the private primary school/secondary school fees where we're sending Amelia! It's really one of those programs that is individual for everyone, I personally don't really agree with the concept and seeing my niece in law she is a cute little girl but has become a little precocious, they are basically allowed to do what they want, so not sure I agree.....I think this next generation are selfish and over confident as it is I'm not sure we need any more of that ha ha, at the age of 4 she was learning to sing Twinkle Twinkle in Italian and her mother would get her up and say, sing for everyone and she was like a robot, it was really sad and so show-offy. Over here if you send your kids to Montessori you basically have to have money and unfortunately my sister in law is very much the type to look good to her friends who are all lawyers, architects etc so it's more a show thing - but like I said, it's an individual choice and it might work in a different way for Matilda. Best to go check it out and get a feel for it yourself, it may be perfect for you guys.

So how is everyone else? Anyone else looking at starting for another soon? My weight loss took a halt and I think I've probably put on, since Amelia has been constantly sick and dropping down to 1 nap I haven't figured out the time or energy for the treadmill. So bummed as I was starting to look and feel so much better. I'm going to start making an effort and go walking with a friend as of today, have to do something, I don't want to get pregnant with 3 kgs too many already on me, it will just make things that much harder to lose next time!!!

Anyway, best go, Amelia's just fallen over and put her tooth in her lip so she's bleeding a little, poor thing can't take a trick lately. You should hear her voice, it's all raspy from this cold...I have to say though she's learnt so many new words in the last week and with The Wiggles, she can now say Dorothy as clear as day, wasn't even attempting it until the other day. We do laugh though as she has also learnt to say drink (albeit it jink) - so she can say Dorothy clearly, but says jink for drink, crack up!

Hope everyone is well, sorry to rant on and moan, just been one of those weeks or 2 or 4!!!!

xx

Hey girlies, Alison, I am glad she is doing a bit better....I think the change in weather has to do with it too - you guys are going into winter soon, no? There is just nothing to do about getting sick - it either happens in daycare or she will get it all in playgroup or preschool or whatever. Singing in italian...sounds useless :) lolololol - wierd they would teach kids that in daycare...lololololol - I think 5000 a year is pretty reasonable actualy :) But it all depends on what you are used to...In nyc good daycares start at 1000 a MONTH! I pay 500€ a month here so like around 700AUS dollars (and in sept that is going up to 600 for everyone), and that is reasonable pricing! So it is all relative, I guess...Daycare has a lot more equipement and insurance and feedings to pay for, so I am willing to pay as long as I am happy and Eva is happy! It is such a reliefe to not stress where your child is during the day!

Tilda, glad you decided to pull out of that care situation - sounds like it is not for her....

As for montessori - I looked into it for Eva, it is great I think during the early years but I would not leave her in until preschool, just daycare until like 3 or 4 max....It is individual oriented, but for MAtilda, that might be amazing....the transition might be easier than trying to fit into a schedule - Amelia was always so great with schedules, so maybe she is just easier in that regard....Eva's daycare is also individual oriented until 3 years where there is structure and mealtimes - for the first year they nap eat and play when they feel and now they only have imposed nap and meal time and random activities (like going outside or events in the school) otherwise the kids do what they want. I appreciate the fact that the structure was introduced slowly. Tilda, Montessori, from what I heard is really great for individual development, but then sometimes it is harder for the children to assimilate to "disciplined schedules" when real school starts....or if they stay through until college or whatever they have a really hard time buckling down for that...Personally, I think it is a great program for young years but I would prob not leave Eva in for school....go and see, only you know your child, and you can feel it if something is wrong. The resources in a bigger center will just be much more varied and she will have more toys activities and diff people around. You know what is best for her...As for it being pretentious...I don't know - In NYC it is just seen as a sort of alternative to regular schooling and my best friend's borther has his son in daycare there and is super happy. He feels like they really encourage his individuality and the things he likes, and they never complain about him (which is what I did not like about that other carer)...They call him the "loudest singer in the group", not "the screamer" for example :)

Good luck - it is a hard decision....

I've been having some night sleep issues with Eva - she has a tooth coming in as well as the cold/conjunctivitis she had the past week - she falls asleep exhausted after no napping then gets up systematically around 12/1 screaming for ELMO! She loves sesame street so much and does not want to go back to bed. I don't allow her to go watch TV or this will never end but this has really put me in a state....I worry she watches too much TV now, I worry she is having nightmares (but from sesame street?) - she only watches baby einstein or sesame street and once a day at most (and not even every day).....I hope this is just because of her teething but for the mo I have decided to not let her watch anymore TV except for one video a day on the WE (about 30min). How much TV are your kids watching?

Anyone else having this waking screaming for TV or play? I have not had this happen since a long time and don't know what the issue is - I hope it is just a teething thing and will pass...She just went back to daycare this morning so let's see if she settles back into her sched.

Off to lunch with the ils

xoxoxoxo

Hi BS - just a quick one as about to have dinner but Amelia is the same! Amelia loves The Wiggles here and while she was sick we were letting her watch it on the portable dvd player as it was the only way to get her to sleep, she doesn't seem to have wanted to carry it on the last 2 nights but I did wonder. She also loves Elmo! Amelia watches tv most days, not all day of course but while I'm getting dinner or something or getting lunch I let her watch Sesame Street or a Wiggles DVD, I don't see any harm in a little bit, it's taught her how to dance and say lots of words, not that I don't teach her as well but you know what I mean. hee hee. Amelia has been waking between midnight and 1am as well, apparently their sleep cycle changes at this age and midnight/1am is the new wake time, they say they get past it so let's hope so huh! Anyway best run and get dinner finished. Will get back on for more later. xx

Thanks for reassuring me Alison...I feel like Eva has learned so much from the shows as well -she gets so into them and repeats back words and learns dances and stuff (head shoulders knees and toes was not taught to her by me and frankly, I was so surprised to see her doing it after seeing it once in a baby einstein DVD)....I did not realize this waking thing is normal....I saw her bottom teeth poking through today so here's hoping for a restful night...Let's see. I'll keep you guys posted!

xoxo

Hi girls, I haven't had time for a long post so I haven't popped in lately I feel bad if I just do a quick one and miss people. But thought I'd pop in and say hi:hello: Hope everyone is ok I'll try to get in later and catch up. We still have visitors and we're heading out soon.