Babies Born ~ May 16th-31st 2009 #8

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, I've really noticed that Brooklyn doesn't always respond to her name. I've obviously noticed it before, but I always just thought she was ignoring me thinking she's a very independent child, yet a mummy's girl because she always likes to be close, but doing her own thing. Does this stuff sound normal to any of you?

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This isn't unusual at all - Bailey is sometimes so intent with what he is doing/playing with that I sometimes have to say his name a number of times until he 'tunes' in! Bailey is similar in play - very independent and will amuse himself for ages, but still likes to know I am close by - I think its a security/seperation anxiety type of thing which is very common at this age. Child care were telling me (and I have read this also) that it's not until a child is around 3yo that they really properly socially interact with others consistently - eg they will happily play near another child - but not necessarily play with them - if that makes sense.

Good advice from BG - wouldn't hurt to ask around in the autism thread if you are worried - might put your mind at ease :)

Catherine, I think all kids are just different - some of other babies at Mothers Group are quite quiet but they are more into crawling or walking off exploring, whereas CJ is a bit of a chatterbox (although alot still babble) but not much of a mover. She has just got into liking to do things like putting everything back in a box one by one etc and she drags nappies out always one by one too - sounds like similar thing with Brooklyn - I am not sure at this age they would get the concept of right I want all these things over here I can just pick them up and move them all at once anyway. I think CJ also doesn't always respond to her name, and then again if I am busy I probably don't always respond to mine either. My DH had an attachment to a leather satchel, my brother an attachment to anything that feels like swimsuit material, CJ still chews on everything but has friends who stopped wanting to explore everything with their mouth months ago - so I think the furry dog thing sounds very normal to me.

Thanks for the reassurance girls. I had never thought of the soft dog unusual until I reas about autism. I always just thought of it as a sleep association/comfort toy. Ro has a lamb, but never took to chew or sucking on it. Lol. Rochelle never really did that one by one thing, that's why I just thought it odd, but Rochelle seemed to be able to communicate alot earlier too. I think I just had a moment of weakness and started to analyse everything she did since reading that autism thing. I'm glad I found my rational thinking again... Must be the sleep deprivation! :)

Catherine: totally know how you feel about over-analysing everything. DH really put the worries on me the other week by asking if it was right that Phoebe falls over and/or hits her head as much as she does. (This along with her unequal pupil "quirk" set my alarm bells ringing!) But I had to take deep breaths and realise that that's what "toddling" is - learning to become confident on your feet. The fact that she hits her head I think comes from me - I was always hitting my head as a kid. And hey, I turned out... sort of... ok! LOL.
If you do want my opinion though, I think Brook's behaviours you mentioned sound very normal for kids our age. It's hard when your second is so different from your first, hey? Phoebe has always been more sociable than Natty was but now she is becoming much more shy and reserved while Natalie is coming more and more out of her shell every day. It is amazing to watch their personalities develop!
Congratulations on the birth of your latest darling little girl! How wonderful to have another little munchkin to love and cuddle. I am sort of grieving for not having any more kids, but I know it's a decision that's right for us. I just couldn't mentally cope with another and we can't really afford it either, lol.
Nay: Glad the orthotics have been sorted out so that he isn't too bothered by them. Interesting re the sensory thing with the feet. Phoebe hardly ever wears shoes and she seems very aware of what's under her feet. I wonder if Bailey will like the sand at the lagoon / beach in Cairns... has he felt it before? Phoebe has been to the beach twice in the last couple of weeks and she SCREAMED her head off when I put her down on the sand and she continued to cry until I brushed it off her. It was amazing... she was happy on the picnic blanket but just hated the sand! Apparently I was the same too - mum said she couldn't put me down on sand until I was at least 2. (We used to holiday regularly on the Gold Coast.) It was funny - like the giraffe in Madagascar - "Aghhhh! Nature! Get it off!" etc.
Nicky: Glad L is better and sorry about A's teeth :( STILL no sign of more teeth for P - she has had 8 for months and months. I wonder if there are any more in there!
Bella: Good for you with the friends of the birth centre! I think your commitment is wonderful and I wish you all the best with it. Even if you help just one mum it will all have been worth it :) But I'm sure you will help far more to have empowered births.

We're doing well, although Phoebs is getting sick again, poor little mite. It has been pretty constant for her and her snottyness is just par for the course these days. She is such a little actress - she has the crocodile tears down pat and also pulls this hilarious face when I try to feed her something she doesn't want - she closes her eyes and dramatically turns her head away... I call it "going to her happy place", as though I have insulted her sensibilities so greatly that she needs to escape the moment and have some time out. It's so funny.
The girls get along fairly well, although Natalie wants to play so much more than Phoebe (which I guess is age-appropriate) and I just know that one day those rolls will change over and Nat won't want to play with Phoebs because it'll be uncool to do so. It is an interesting sociological experiment, this having children caper.
While I am very disappointed that Phoebs isn't coming to Melbs, I am really very excited about coming myself! I will miss both the girls because I won't see either of them for the whole day :( But I intend to make the most of my time alone. DH is going away again in October for a conference for work, so I am cashing in on my 'me-time' in preparation for that.
Phoebe has started waking more frequently at night again which is a bit of a drag. Nothing like she used to be but she does need a long cuddle to resettle (now that we have completely weaned) so it still takes it out of me. I am trying to be healthier too, eat more healthily and exercise a bit, in an attempt to feel more alive... I feel like I am wandering around asleep most of the time, so tired.

Anyhoo, so looking forward to catching up with some of you tomorrow. To the others, have a lovely weekend (long one for some of you) and catch up soon. xxx

Amy - CJ does the same turning away thing, and if she is in position to she puts head on floor and looks other way too.

Oh Amy - DH said thanks for putting him onto those literal music videos on you tube, he said they are very very funny.

All good here, just shattered about to go to bed, been a busy week with work (who after Nov sound like will be up for keeping me on longer but part time - yeah) as have had overseas guests over so had to go out to work functions two nights - fancy free food is nice but two nights in a row I just can't cope with!

Great photos from zoo everyone.

Have you watched any? Some of them are funny, some are a bit lame. I certainly got a chuckle out of a few. But you have been so busy probably not had time!
Congratulations on the work! Great stuff. Do you know what kind of 'part time'? A couple of days a week perhaps? :crossfingers: lol.

Krystie - thanks for letting me try those Buds. They are a BIG hit with the girls!

Morning all.
I wonder if Phoebe is finally getting some more teeth - she has been crying in her sleep the past few nights. I get up and get to her room and she stops and settles back to sleep. I wonder if when she's transitioning from one sleep cycle to another she's getting disturbed by something... I wonder if teeth are on the way. Have never noticed teething issues here before.
Taking Natalie to the OT this morning in the hopes that we might be able to address some of her eating problems. She'll be assessed today and we'll find out if she has any sensory processing problems or if her issues are largely behavioural. I just hope we can get some strategies that will encourage her to try new things. Her diet is so limited.
I am really getting the irrits with the rain. I have a big backlog of washing to do! I've pegged some out today even though BOM says it's likely to rain. I can't afford to go another day without doing washing!
I am thinking of starting a thread about favourtism. I never thought I'd be guilty of it but I have to say it is VERY difficult to give the same amount of positive attention to both girls at the moment. Phoebe is at such a beautiful age, even her tantrums are cute (and short, LOL!). I'm constantly struggling with Natty's behaviour though and it needs to be a conscious effort to be positive with her. Probably things will turn around before too long and I'll find I get along with Natty really well and Phoebe is really annoying... I hope so anyway - I really don't want to have to remind myself to be loving toward either of my children, but if that's the way it's going to be sometimes, I'd like it to be not just about one of them.
Hope you are all traveling along ok. xx

We are Home - and will post something decent soon, have missed you all :)

Amy- From what I have heard other mums tell me it is pretty normal to feel the way you do. I read somewhere that hormonally you are set up to favor the youngest child to ensure that they don't miss out due to the established relationship with older siblings. So don't cut yourself up. I am sure that it is just a phase you are all going thru. My gf tells me her older bub who is about Natties age is driving her mad too. So don't fret it babe. your a great mum

Love Bella

Amy - I feel like we are in the exact same situation... especially with our older ones. Lachie barely eats anything and I've actually been looking into sensory processing disorders.... How did you get onto an OT? I've not taken lachie to see anyone yet ( I had an appt with my MCHN on Tuesday but had to cancel it).
Lachie has been driving me mad... I'm in tears most days because his behaviour is just horrible. I feel like I am the worst mother in the world.. especially after I've gone nuts at him.
If you ever want to have a chat, I'm always floating around. xx

Hi everyone! I've not been coming in much of late... so busy.
All is going well. Allira's just started spitting words out like nothing I've seen the last few days, so it's all downhill from here! haha. She sits and watches the ACDC music dvd with Lachie, and stamps her foot and screams out "thunder!". It's a bit cute.

Tennis is meant to start tomorrow, but it's pouring rain and I think it will get called off. We've got a wedding in 2 weeks (child free for 4 days.. YAY), then supposed to be going to the Metallica concert but Hubs won a trip to Macau when the concert is on (just him... not me). He doesn't have a passport, nor a full birth cert, so I;m not really liking his chances.... The chick who's booking the flights wants his passport number next week and I don't think we'd get the passport for at least 2 weeks (that's getting it rushed). So we'll see. Fingers crossed, because it would be the experience of a lifetime for him (it's a trip to the Macau Grand Prix where he could possibly work with the pit crew of one of the cars!!) and it would be such a shame for him to miss out on going.

Other than that stuff.... same old here. haha. I am trying to get everyone else organised for Christmas as the kids have been done for months.
We got a new house that we move into in Feb/March which is awesome, and means I'll head back to work at nights so we can save to buy. We nearly bought a house in the last few months, but we've decided to try and get together a bigger deposit and by me having a wage, hopefully that would mean we could afford something a little better.

Anyway, that's enough waffle. Hope you are all well! Miss you girls.

xx

im still here just plodding along until baby decides to make his/her entrance bored as though just waiting

Nicky: Thank you, lovely. Yeah, I feel like I'm always yelling at Nat for something, poor kid. She just knows exactly how to push my buttons and it is really hard to keep things light when you are fricking exhausted. We went ok at the OT. She spent 2 hours with us, assessed Natty and spent some time talking with me. She thinks that though Natalie was very aware of things on her hands and wanted them clean, she didn't think there was much of a sensory thing going on. Which means Nat is likely in a "food jag" - she's stuck on certain foods and won't budge - it's behavioural. There were a few strategies she gave me to try, and she's going to write up a report for me. I can email it to you if you think it might give you some ideas, in case L's issue is behavioural like N's, until you get to the nurse or an OT if you're planning on it. Anyhoo, I can tell you more about the assessment and everything if you're interested in details. I'm actually considering buying the textbook she was referring to ;)
WOW, I hope your DH manages to get to the Grand Prix! How exciting.
And LOL @ A's "thunder"! That is so amazingly cute.
Bella: Thank you too for your reassurance, mate. You are so kind to me with all my insecurities, LOL! I do appreciate it.
Jacinta: Not long now, babes. Before too long you will be soooooo busy I'll bet you won't believe you were ever bored, LOL!
Nay: Welcome home :) Your photos looked fab - like you all had a wonderful time.

We have had a good day today - I haven't been too stroppy which is a nice change, LOL! Had a pretty good sleep last night, although P woke around midnight and was screaming - like something had scared her. It was awful, poor bub. I went straight in and gave her a cuddle for a while until she was pretty much back to sleep. I heard her about 45 minutes later - she was chatting and laughing, having a real party :rolleyes: I left her to it and didn't hear anything else from her til almost 8 o'clock! (Pretty unheard of for this little chicken.) So I had a lovely sleep-in as DH got up when Nat woke.
I believe that's what's given me the strength to get through this afternoon. I have done quite a few chores, leaving Dora on for Phoebs while I raced around like a mad woman. I was doing the dishes and Nat came and asked for some bubbles (a regular occurrence) which I gave her in a cup. Once I'd finished the dishes she was still happily playing with the bubbles so I took the opportunity to clean the bathrooms. When I came back to the kitchen, Nat had pulled the stool over to the sink, taken off all her clothes and climbed in. PMSL! She is sooooo crazy. I just shrugged it off - I mean, it's only greasy, dirty water right? :rolleyes:
DH is off to QLD tomorrow until Thursday night. Am not really looking forward to single parenthood, but in some ways it's easier - at least there is no expectation of him helping me and no disappointment when he doesn't, LOL.
Talk to you all later! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. xx

Just had to share: Nat is sitting on my lap and she just caught sight of my avvy. She said, "There's me, and you, and there's my sister called Phoebe. And we're in the jungle!" LOL!

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Just had to share: Nat is sitting on my lap and she just caught sight of my avvy. She said, "There's me, and you, and there's my sister called Phoebe. And we're in the jungle!" LOL!

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that's so cute!
loving the new Av Amy!

have been reading, but, again, not posting. am having some issues with how i'm reacting to things happening IRL and have, once again, withdrawn a little. this past week was particularly bad, and i kinda fell apart (more than once). have been feeling disconnected from C (i think mostly due to the stress of the house hunting etc), and realised after all had happened, that i'd stopped wearing my wedding ring a couple of months ago when i had some dermatitis, and just didn't WANT to put it back on. that realisation was a really HUGE slap in the face - we've been through worse than this! so C and i have been making an effort to talk the issues through. i have been struggling a lot though. yesterday he went to my jewellery box and got ring out and put it back on my finger and told me he didn't want this stuff to drag us apart any more. so i know have that tangible link again. it's been very full on and all over the place, and mostly i can't put it into words. i'm pretty sure E being so unsettled is triggering some of my issues, cos i'm exhausted, but then part of her unsettledness is possibly coming from me being so edgy and stuff - viscious cycle huh?

anyway, the house hunt continues. it's doing my head in. no land lord really wants to rent to a couple where all the income is tied up in a woman of child bearing age apprently. we've also had issues with our cars this week - not sure if i mentioned the great car swap debacle that went on with my bro. he was desperate for a work ute, C wasn't using ours, so he asked if he could buy it. we needed a second car so said no, so he offered to buy us a decent car to swap it with. stupidly, i trusted he would get something E safe and similar value to our ute. meh, why do i continue to trust him? anyway, the piece of cr@p he got for us was just ridiculous. it's taken four months just to get him to get a battery for the damn thing! the SECOND time C drove it (i refuse to put E in it), one of the windscreen wipers broke. i decided, when the house settles, i'd pay out less of our other debt, and buy a cheap SAFE car. sarcastically asked my bro if he knows anyone that can loan us the money for a few weeks, and then let it go. while we were looking at houses today, he rang to say he and SIL had crunched some numbers, they know they owe us money, they can pay for it, when do we need the money. we had an idea of what we wanted, so went and had a look - and found exactly what we wanted about 1000 cheaper than expected - so rang my bro, he said do it. Wednesday we'll have a new car! well, a 12 year old second hand car, but new for us! and safe for E! yay! it's getting re-roadworthied on monday just to make sure, then on wednesday, we'll get our friend/mechanic to check it out again to make sure there is nothing we missed (C being a truckie, i doubt it, but i will ask) - we'll also get K to put the bolt in the back and install the spare carseat for E.

BG - you should move up this way! I have been offered so many house in the last 2 weeks... there are so many rentals out here in the sticks. Sucks that you're finding the rental market so tough. That's why I'll never move back into town again whilst renting. We'll just wait and buy (oh and I love it out here anyway).

Hope you're all having a good weekend. Amy, if you do get the chance to email anything I'd love to take a look. I did a little online research a good month or so ago, and I'm pretty confident that Lachie just has behavioural issues... but it's so nice to know that my nutter is not the only nutter child out there. hehe He can be such a loving, beautiful little boy one minute and then causing me to cry the next.


xx

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BG - you should move up this way! I have been offered so many house in the last 2 weeks... there are so many rentals out here in the sticks. Sucks that you're finding the rental market so tough. That's why I'll never move back into town again whilst renting. We'll just wait and buy (oh and I love it out here anyway).

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we're out in the sticks here and i DO love it, BUT, C isn't working, i'm having to work a lot more hours to bring in an income to support us and adding that onto the travel (about 80k's a day) i'm hitting burn out. i could have re-financed the mortgage again but we decided to sell, pay out debt, get a rental in town and give ourselves some breathing space before we recommit