Babies Born ~ September 16-30th 2010 #4

hey everyone,

Had been reading but slack posting.

Bec - so sorry to hear about the HIV+ mama, taht is so very sad :hug:. I was following details of your trip & it sounded fabulous. HOw is it going back in Aus now? And no I haven't tried baby sign language.

Connie - how is handsome george?

Dory - how are you feeling now? How is everything going?

Chuckie - that's terrible about that hospital worker! So wrong. Did you end up putting in a complaint? Hope you're feeling good.

AFM well it's been a hectic few months with DH dizzy again and I was finding it really hard. I took a bit of a break from BB, cos I was just struggling mentally with lack of responses (to other threads - not this one). Anyway, he's on different meds and they're finally working albeit very slowly. I had my mum over here for a few weeks in Nov to help out as we had some big things on (X"s repeat allergy reviews - OMG I hate them more than anything in the world), and he obligingly had gastro while she was here. I was also crook in Oct which didn't help anything. Anyway, it was wonderful to have her here & not be doing everything. At present we're looking forward to Xmas & enjoying DH getting slowly back to normal, but there's still some adjustment going on. He was dizzy last Xmas so it's great that he's at least a little better this year. Kids-wise - Annika still isn't walking but she's up & cruising and a very speedy crawler. She's a cheeky little chatterbox and eating SO much it does my head in. Breakfast is usually at least 1 piece of toast, maybe some fruit and an adult serve of porridge! Gutzahontas! She wants all of X's toys and he doesn't want her to have them - so it seems like I'm perpetually in world war 3 which drives me nuts at times. Can't seem to turn my back for 1 second arrrgh. So saying I'm hopefully they'll start to settle down soon. She certainly learning much younger than X did to fight for what she wants! She'll yell at him & give him a big stiff arm when he tries to get in her space. It's rather a crack-up actually as I remember X at the same age was a very quiet gentle little soul. I can really see that the 2nd child learns so much more at a young age! They're both still great at daycare which is fab. They smile & wave as I go, I'm so lucky to have that.


Anyway, hope everyone is going well! take care

Belfie - oh what a rough couple of months you've had. Poor DH, and you with him being dizzy. Hopefully these meds stop it completely. Poor X with gastro. We had it here about 2 weeks ago. What is involved with repeat allergy tests - is that where they put various substances on the kiddies arm, and then wait for a reaction? So it can be nothing, a skin reaction or full on vomiting? I saw something like that on the tv once. Looked awful for all involved. Hugs. Glad to hear Miss A is doing so well. HB is a big eater too.

Bec - I have been meaning to reply for ages to your post about the HIV mamma who died but lived in silence with her illness. Who knows why she didn't share the load? Maybe she's not that type of person and would have thought people would have pitied her and didn't want that? She might have been stubbornly independent. She might have had concerns about the stigma. She might have just accepted, perhaps naively that her reality was what it was and decided to just live while she could. After all she wasn't niaive about the hardships of the disease, as there are many around her living both with support and without. Who knows? I am just sorry that your friend died, and that you felt that you could have done something more. I don't think you could have. She was an adult and she made the decisions she made, for reasons we'll never know. I am just glad that her kids have some support in her absence and that you got to know her and that part of her light now lives on through you.

Hmm, who know's why people don't share loads? I am one of them today, well IRL. I am very teary and have spent most of the past 2 hours in tears. I argued with DH, I think for good reasons, but ultimately something is not right in my world right now. So instead of reaching out for help, I have decided to stay home and just see where this takes me. I suppose in a way I already reached out for help to DH and was rebuffed. I honestly think that sometimes, the only person you can rely on is yourself. Well I do think that today. In a perfect world DH's responses to me would have been different, but they were what they were. But then I am not giving anyone else the chance to help, so it's not fair to say that is it? I don't feel that no one cares, just more that I don't want help with how I am. I need to know whether it's just something that's passing ( it would be great to blame pregnancy hormones) or something more serious. I am not in such a state that I am a danger to either myself or HB. Interestingly though HB is playing quietly and one of the cats is very insistent that I give him some pats..... Anyway, on a lighter note, I guess I found a way to get DH to work earlier than normal? I'll bet he stays at work later too. Best to avoid the crazy lady.

Had a parenting fail moment last night. As HB was getting out of the bath she slipped and hit her head, right in front on me, milimetres from my outstretched hands. I swore out of sheer fright, as I thought she had split her head. She hadn't and was seemingly ok and not concussed and no teeth knocked out. Phew. We had lots of nice snuggles after wards, and she stopped crying fairly quickly. I know accidents happen, but I just felt like I had failed her. And that damn bruise and egg on her head is a very obvious reminder of the incident.

Anyway, I could waffle on for hours. We do some signing but it's not an official one, just one we've made up, but HB tends to want to just point and gesture at the things she wants and say no or push away if it's not the right one. So I supose I do signing and HB does her own thing. LOL. I think that's the way of it around here. Very independent little girl, at times.

I hope everyone is having a nice preparation for Christmas.

Thanks Belfie, all is going ok now back in Aus but feeling the isolation so much more. Even though I was only in Tz a month, I got used to having lots of people around me and help around the house and help with Isaac. Going from that to nothing at all is hard to get used to. I hope your DH gets less dizzy soon, it must be so hard. I remember seeing a pic you had put on facebook of X's allergy testing, and OMG that must be so awful. I never realised what was involved, those scratches looked like they would have hurt a lot :(

Dory - thanks, I guess we will never know why the mama chose not to tell anyone about her HIV status. I'll always believe we could have done something though, the volunteers were there, in particular a health professional who thought she had the complete trust of all the mamas, to provide her with medical support, she would have had access to medicine to live a much longer life.

Sorry you have had a bad day, pregnancy hormones to tend to be pretty crazy. I even get like that sometimes and I'm not pregnant, but usually just before AF is due. Sometimes a good walk outside does wonders. How are you feeling now? How is HB's head after her fall? Poor bub, I hope her bruise has gone away.

We do the same with signing, Isaac hasn't really picked up any, he knows what I mean though but he'd rather point or push something away, or make a certain noise. I'll keep trying though. I think he has signed 'eat' a couple of times, but wanting boob not food. I don't do the 'milk' sign as much as I should so maybe that's why he signed 'eat' instead.



I know I can't really complain as I have chosen to do things the way I do, but it's not easy! Mum only comes around maybe once a week now, so I'm not getting much support. Isaac is such an energiser bunny, sometimes he doesn't have a day time nap so I am constantly on the go with him. So hard when I am sewing.. today for example, I checked my emails this morning and there was an order for something in my madeit shop so I went to get it from the spare room. I turned the room upside down twice, and could not find it. So that meant I had no choice but to make another one.. not something I had planned so we missed out on playgroup, and Isaac wanted to 'help' me by turning the sewing machine off at the wall mid-seam every two minutes. Kitchen was a mess, it was hot, I was feeling anxious about getting this order finished, and I just couldn't get on top of anything all day. So sometimes I think about going against my values and putting Isaac into childcare one day week for a bit of a break, but I just can't do it. It's not all bad though, don't get me wrong.. I absolutely love being able to play with Isaac when he wants to play, laying down with him when he wants a feed or a nap, having silly lunch time 'conversations' and singing and dancing with him, watching him discover new things in the garden every day.. Why does this time go so fast?? I want it to slow down. It is such an amazing incredible time, seeing his little person learn so much. I consider myself so very lucky to be able to be at home with him while he is small (I never could have done this when I was married.. mortgage, investment property, two cars and an expensive lifestyle would have meant I would be back at work by now). To see the world through his eyes right now would be just wonderful. Ahh I never realised I could love someone so much :D

Hi Ladies,

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas with your families!

I’d just like to say goodbye to this group and BB. I don’t think I really need to though, I don’t think anyone is really reading now anyway. I’ll also be leaving the BB facebook group, and I have unsubscribed from all threads here so I won’t be tempted to return by email updates. I feel like something has to go in this new year, and I really don’t have time for reading things that don’t really apply to me, and the mentions of some of the more extreme mainstream parenting practises (mainly on facebook and other threads on here) makes me sad sometimes, so I’m trying to steer clear of such places, online and in real life. Mainly though, I am trying my best to practise mindfullness, and be more present in each moment. The time while Isaac was small went by so fast in a haze of sleep deprivation and lifestyle adjustment so I am trying to make up for that now, which means I want to spend less time on the computer and other distracting things.

Just want to say thank you for being a great group where I could come and vent, it was nice to have a place to come to to get things off my chest. I have found a wonderful attachment parenting community which is helping me a lot now. Plus I have almost everyone on facebook, and I’ll look forward to seeing your babies grow. Dory, I will email you, I hope you and HB are well.

One last thing before I go and give Isaac a bath. If you have any single mum friends, please please take care of them! Please don’t unintentionally insult them by assuming they ‘must be used to being alone’, it is hard hard work having to do everything on your own. I used to be married, and I know sometimes your partner can sometimes get on your nerves, say the wrong things, and not pull their weight around the house, BUT they are there for you. They are there to listen, they can read your child a story before bed, maybe bath them, put them to sleep sometimes, give you five minutes break here and there when you desperately need it, even if they don’t do any of that they are there for you to talk to once bub is in bed. Even simple things like picking up a loaf of bread on their way home, or watching the baby while YOU go to the shop for 15 minutes on your own. If they happen to go away without you, you know theyb are there will listen to you whinge if you call them on the phone who will know exactly where you are coming from. They are also there for you to bounce ideas off, to discuss plans and talk about your babies future. Not having that kind of support is incredibly hard, I never appreciated just how hard until Isaac arrived. Thank the gods above I haven’t been sick since becoming a mum, I don’t know how I’d get through the day if I did. No sane person would ever willingly choose to be a single mum unless there was good reason. So please just remember your single friends if you have any, even just a text message on the weekends, especially during the holiday break (when all partnered people are doing family stuff, and usual activities are having a break) to say hi and see how they are going will be appreciated, I’m sure.

That said, becoming a mum to Isaac is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He makes me so happy, I am in awe of him, all the new things he is learning every day. I never thought I would be a mum. I am so glad I have simplified my life so much that I don’t need to work.. this time just goes way too fast and I don’t want to miss a thing. In my situation, as a single mum I feel it is so much more important for me to give him a stable toddlerhood as I possibly can, and that involved staying at home with him until he goes to school. I hope that doesn’t make me the stereotype non-working single mum! But I can’t even think about other constant adults in his life being child care workers I hardly know who can change jobs, go on holidays and be replaced by strangers, so forgoing a bigger house, nice things, a car and so much more, means I don’t have to work. Plus having decent savings helps to fall back on thanks to my past life of marriage, mortgage, nice car, promising career etc. (Please, I am not judging those of you who need to use childcare, just going off on a probably unnecessary rant reflecting on my personal situation and explaining myself.. I feel the need to do that sometimes even if no one is really judging me) I’m lucky also that I can keep busy with my little business, so if you ever need a nice blanket, eco-friendly toys or other random things you know where to find me 

Sorry for the long rant, I guess its my last one here I might as well make the most of it!

Take care, and all the best for the new year! xox

Gee it has been a while since I was on here and logged on to discover Bec has left our little group.

I know you are probably not reading this Bec but I for one will miss you, particularly because of your gentle approach to parenting. After your inspiration I am looking into getting an Ergo carrier for the times we can't be bothered lugging the pram around (usually in Adelaide etc). I can totally understand needing to make more time to be Isaac's mama - we also live a pretty simple life so that I don't have to work much - our bubas are only bubas for such a short amount of time after all. Feel free to drop in here when you need to (I usually ignore the BB comments on fb myself). I think ypu are doing a great job with Isaac and raising an adventurous little traveller who will probably grow to become a citizen of the world!

Hopefully everone had a lovely Christmas - we just got back from a loooong 2 weeks in Adelaide with DH's HUGE family and all the events that entails - nice to catch up with them all but it's not the same as seeing my own family and enjoying my own traditions (DH's Christmas lunch involves a hot roast with 43 people!)

We all cooled it on the presents this year and focussed on the kids which was great for the bank balance and stress levels - I think with more and more kids in the family each year we will continue to cut back on adult presents. My highlight was a dustbuster! which is a sad state of affairs I know! Great for trying to teach a 16month old to eat on carpet!

We are heading back to Adelaide at the end of the month and then I am travelling to Mel to visit family and on to a wedding in Tassie - when I get back I will only have a couple of months at work before going on mat leave again which seems bizzare! I am pretty lucky to be getting another round of full time leave (hopefully) although I am not back at work full time. Not sure what I will do after this bub though as my contract is due to expire at the end of Dec 2012 so we will wait and see - hopefully my little at home writing business will continue to pick up between now and then.

Pearl continues to grown and do all the right things - she now has about a dozen teeth (after months of having just 7 she got heaps all at once), she still is resitent to any sort of walking but is getting better (slowly) at standing so she is at last on the way. She has started to say more words and has perfected saying sauce and cheese as well as Lois which is our dog's name.

Am enjoying feeling reassuring kicks from the bub most days now and putting up with pregnancy hayfever again but other then that I am very well this time around.

Dory, Belfie, Connie, Wite - HI!

Chuckie - good to hear from you. You sound super busy. I have no idea how you work and parent and be pregnant. This pregnancy is really knocking me around. I am just sooo tired all the time. OMG, I almost fell over when you said 43 people.... that is huge. By comparision our group of 11 sounds small. Pearl sounds like she is doing well. Her words sound advanced too. How's the house coming along? well done on getting some more mat leave. You must have your 20 week scan soon? Mine is 13 Feb. And so many teeth - we're up to 10 here, though more are on the way jugding by the chewing that is going on.

Hannah seems to have a few words that are very clear, and then a whole heap of sounds that she says consistently for things, but not what we can understand. Somewhat bizzarely her favourite word is knee, followed by blue. She understands some fairly complex instructions. She loves the cats and squeals with delight every time she sees them, and they just scarper when she squeals. She adores dogs, and will always point out a real one, a picture or a fake one ( the guide dog money collection statues) by making a woof woof sound and pointing. We don't have a dog, so I wonder where the fascination comes from?

Connie - I somehow missed the post about George swimming - how is he doing now? H went through a patch where she wasn't enjoying the lessons but still loved the water. It's all back to normal again now. Phew.

They do all walk in their own time. Hannah has been walking since early November, after we got back from a trip to Melbourne. It is actually really handy now she walks, it means less heavy lifting for me, and it she can get things for her self, which is handy for those days when I can't summon much energy.

Anyway, I am wondering how the rest of this arvo is going to go. Hannah has had no sleep today. She was yawning and looked tired this morning so I put her down, and she spent half hour quietly in her cot, but no sleep. Same this afternoon. FX that the doesn't just lose it later. Early dinner and bed, we've been a little slack whilst Daddy's been home on holidays, out doing things instead of being at home at dinner/sleep time.

Take care

my gosh I have been gone a while. Glad to see you all posting in here still and staying in touch.

Dory and Chuckie how are you going with your pregnancies? Did you have bad ms? Its a massive secret but I am pregnant again too :) I am about 9 weeks and suffering through the worst sickness ever. I cant keep anything down this time! Completely different to last time. I just hope I feel better at 12 weeks. If not sooner. haha. blah. Please no mention on FB!!

Glad everyone's bubs are doing well. Chloe is a riot. Cracks me up all the time. Her vocabulary never ceases to amaze me either. DH spends a lot of time teaching her words. This morning she said "milk please mumma" and I nearly fell off my chair. She says so much so clearly but she refuses to say her name and she calls all doggies 'diddo'. Strange.

Honestly, if DH wasnt around at the moment (he is a teacher and therefore on holidays) I dont know how I would be coping. I am basically walking around the house with a bucket. I had to work today and ran to my car where I had a makeshift bucket set up for vomiting. Sorry if TMI but I am trying to see the funny side of that. gah

Anyway, hope you are all feeling a little better than me! xx

Hi Mamas,

Dory and Fuzzy - how are your pregnancies going??? Hope you are both feeling alright and your bellies are coming along. Anyone know what they are having? Are you finding out. We have again chosen not to know.

Fuzzy - puking in the car sounds terrible! Hopefully that has now subsided??

dory - I think they just love animals at this stage we just spent 10 days in tassie where Pearl fed ducks etc for the first time and loved it! She also was very excited to see the elephants at the Melbourne zoo. HB sounds like P with dogs - we have a dog but she loves all dogs and is not scared at all. Hannah walking does sound handy - maybe she can give P some hints because we are still waiting for that development - although lately she has started cruising and standing an awful lot and it all seems to be moving pretty fast - she stands straight up without needing to hold onto anything which is funny to see because she then does not know what to do with herself. She did a bit of drunken stumbling last night which was pretty funny.

belfie - what's new? I am enjoying the pics of A and X on fb - how is Jon??
Hi everyone else - you are awfully quiet!!

Went to the midwife appt yest and everything was boring and perfect which is great! BP great, heart rate 142, measuring perfect and bub is a good size so that was great to hear. The house is still coming along well but I wish I knew when we could move in! Have started packing but it is difficult to get enthusiastic about the shift without an end date! Am trying to work out when to stop work and the wind down time before that - it is complicated because of various factors but looks like 4th May will be my last day. Just booked my flights this morn and I will be spending two nights away from home (and DD) in a couple of weeks which will be tough but unavoidable.

Omg congrats fuzzy!! Wow more babies!! Can't wait to hear update.
Glad the others are doing well In theres!!

No news here! :) take care everyone'.!!

Fuzzy - congratulations!!! Well done. Hope you're feeling better soon. My bucket was my constant companion, but I never had to use it, even though I kept it close.

BBL for more. HB is not well and has just woken up.... bummer just when i was about to go to sleep.

Take care.

hiya everyone,

Dory - how are you feeling now? how is the PG going whilst running after HB?

Buzzie - g'day, hope you're going well!

Chuckie - naaww glad you like my pics. I'm addicted to my pics lol. Great to hear everything is boring and perfect, just what you hope for. I can't believe how far along you guys are now. It seems just yesterday you were announcing the PG's and I was thinking no way are they having another, we still have babies haha (even though I was PG with A at the same stage of X's life). As for DH yeah he's still dizzy. We're getting some improvement but nowhere near normal yet. But I think we've kinda got so used to managing it, it's turned into a way of life, it's been since Annika was 2 months old after all. Plus I am finding it easier now that A is a bit older. And we're just forever trying things to see if we can get him right - meds, specialists, alternative stuff... you name it, we do it! Fingers crossed!

Fuzzy - you poor thing that vomiting sounded awful. How are you feeling now? Hope things are going well.

As for us, well yeah I mostly covered it above. The kids love their daycare which is great. Annika finally walked at 16 months and toddles around everywhere so cutely now. She's not talking heaps yet (similar to her brother!) but very communicative so that's fine by me. She's a spunky little thing, so different to X who is very easy-going. I'm sure she'll boss him around for years lol.

Hope everyone else is going well.

Hey ladies,

It has been sooooooo long since I have been back on here.

Congrats to those of you pregnant again, how is it all going? and how far along? have any of you felt the pregnancy to be any different from the last?

How is everyone else? Wow I have so much to catch up on.

On my end, it has been up and down and up and back down lol. Blake was an excellent baby, no dramas there, just constant middle ear and fluid build up which kept going on for several months until I finally spoke up and said something, and the fact that every doctor I saw, just kept putting him back on medicine. In the end, he went in for grommets and adinoids removal which have been a blessing, but still has a very nice cough which the specialist said would go away after the adenoids were removed, but haven't, so may look into getting his tonsils removed after he is 2.

How is everyone's toddlers going?

Hi Girls!!
Long time no chat :)
I see there are a few pregnancies, congrats girls- what exciting news for you all!!!!
Just a quick update while I am trying to settle Harlow, All is well on my end. Jett started his first year of School this year and is loving it, Academically he is doing brilliant and he is making lots of new friends. Harlow is good, being a handful and very demanding and stubborn- she certainly keeps me on my toes! If she doesn't want something, she will make it known, If she wants something..oh boy do we get a tantrum until she gets it!!! She had her 18month immunisations today, She wasn't very happy about it until we left the Drs room, suddenly she was all smiles again! She also started a music class which she really enjoys too!
Anxiety wise I have been great, I have been feeling really good lately- so it has been easier with the kids etc..
Hope to get back into this forum and be more involved xox