i have created a private album for us to view with all photos - DH tried to catch as many of the kidlets as he could from the angle he was at - so there are a few that you may want individually
am uploading some i played with in the scrapbooking program (can you tell i'm teaching myself how to use it lol)
Grrrrr I just wrote a massive post and now it's gone, so this will just be quick.
Krystie - glad Santa did a good job. Santa was a little worried that he/she might get it wrong. LOL
Bella-thanks for having us!Sorry we left so much stuff behind. haha. You know, you think your brain goes to mush after one baby... wait until number 2 comes along! haha.
Thanks so much for putting up with us yesterday. I know we are a bit weird and slightly coutry hickish, haha, but we had a great time meeting all of you. I must confess I've already been thinking about the next meet up.... haha.
We got home eventually last night, and Allira did 11 hours before waking for a feed, then another 3 hours, so we got up at 10am this morning. Lachie slept 14 hours striaght and I had to wake him at 10. He's not so sleepy today.. I don't know what the deal was yesterday, but I'm glad he wasn't anywhere near as nutty as normal.... he couldn't put the fear of a 2 year old into eveyone. LOL.
Anyway, was awesome meeting you all. Thanks so much for having us, and I can't wait to meet up with some/all of you again.
xxoo
Was sooooo good to meet you gals yesterday! We had a fantastic time. So great to get to see all those beautiful bubbas - I got to have a cuddle of almost all of them! It always amazes me how different their little personalities are and the different 'energy' you get from them if you hold them or engage with them. Feel like I got to know them on a different level and also got to finally have a RL chat to most of you wonderful Mummies. Ivy seemed to have a ball and was so tired afterwards I just put her in the car seat and she looked at me, sighed and went to sleep instantly before I'd even buckled her up! NEVER happens!
Thanks Santa J! Ivy has been cuddling her little doggy all morning and had decided that his tail is very tasty... only slightly classier than sucking on people's toes!
Bailey slept so well last night too, all that play yesterday must have tuckered them out, he didn't wake for a feed at all, first time ever.
Re our brace fitting today - So far so good wth Bailz, he had a little cry when the brace was fitted but we think it was more because he was protesting about being face down on his belly for so long rather than the brace. He is currently fast asleep, its been a big morning
We are ok, I had a little cry as was a bit devastated to see him in the brace (and there is a little harness that goes over his shoulders to keep it in place so the metal bit does ride up his back that I wasn’t expecting), but we’ll get there
Of course he did a massive poo on the way home to test out our new nappy changing skills and even managed to get poo on the brace – perhaps its his way of saying this is sh*t hahahahaha
If he is ok when he wakes we are off to buy some new clothes, hardly any of his pants will fit around the brace - DOH. Also, I'd rather have clothes that cover the brace, just cos I dont want random strangers to stare and wonder. He is ok in the carseat and pram - he just touches the sides now, and as we have to sleep him slightly on his side so he is not flat on his back, (just rolled a cloth nappy up so he lays a little to the side, one leg is stuck up in the air a little which is kinda funny.
Naomi, you and Bailey are such troopers! As devastated as you must be, you sound like you are actually coping rather well! And good on Bailey for pooping on the brace, lol. He's such a good boy, and I think it must be a great sign that he;s able to sleep quite happily in the brace. Enjoy your shopping! You all deserve it. Maybe you should pick out something special for mummy too
Lee - I need to gain inspiration from you, lol. This is the first year I really want to decorate the house fully for Christmas and I know that you are a super christmas decorator. Didn't you have photos somewhere from last christmas? I'd love to see them to get some ideas. I am totally clueless as to how to decorate for christmas. If it was left up to my creativity then ti would end up being just the christmas tree and some tinsel hung around the room. Boooooooring!
Well i think thats the first time i've ever been that busy that i didnt even use the net till now
awesome day yesterday all the bubbas were cute and very well behaved
i think santa did a nice job for everyone
ur welcome kat im lucky coz i got a discount on that one coz i bought it from MIL's shop i thought it was so cute jamie is getting one for christmas xoxo
im only tired coz i went out last night and saw new moon
naomi - good on bailey for being so awesome about the brace hopefully you dont have 2 much trouble with it xox
Naomi - glad Bailey isn't too distressed by the brace, and that, even though you're upset, you're still able to find humour! and yay for the little man sleeping through last night - maybe you need to come visit us more often lol
KL - i'm about to start an album on facebook - i have a lot of our decos up. i would like you to the photos from last year but ummmmmm, i seem to have forgotten the password (i put it on cos when you google E's full name, photos come up and there is no way i want DH's family to find them - freaks that they are!)
E has been really tired today - going off to sleep really easily - but not wanting to be left alone at all - and was refusing floor play - until daddy came home! apparently mum doesn't cut it - nappy free play time and she's tinkled in three seconds flat lol
This arvo has been a little tougher, Bailey has a new cry which is this heartbreaking little frustrating/sad one which is obviously his way of protesting when he cant move the way he wants too. We went and bought a few new pants for him, I tried all his pants on and he only has one pair of warm pants that fit and about 3 pairs of shorts, all the rest have been packed up with his 'grown out of clothes' but sadly he hasn't worn most of them yet, never mind. They need to have a really stretchy waist (eg over 36cms) for me to get them around his brace - so he has gone from 000 pants to 0/1 in a day. Anyway this arvo he was really quiet and wouldn't give us any smiles, instead he was giving us this 'look' which was a bit of a 'what have you done to me' glare, Sean got very upset, so I rallied and we got through it. I dismantled his rainforest jumperoo, sat him up propped up with cushions and put the playstation bit of it over his head so he was able to play with all his dials, spinning bits etc and he seemed pretty happy, but he tired very quickly. The brace does help him sit up unassisted, but the pillows helped when he ran out of energy and started to topple over. Gonna find a beanbag, I think it will come in useful. Anyway he went to sleep very quickly tonight, its been a big day for him and he was completely buggered.
Although we can take the brace off for 30 mins a day, the orthotist said to wait until tomorrow night at least (unless he is clearly not used to it yet and then to wait longer until he settles with it), she showed us how to take it off and on and position it properly, its a bit fiddly but in no time we will be throwing him around - I feel like I am delicately handling a newborn again. She said he was the easiest baby she'd fitted, but its probably because of his poor muscle tone etc, he's a pretty floppy kid, but that will help us put the brace on and off. The annoying thing is this harness thing that goes over his shoulders, it gets in the way with nappy changes and it doesn't appear to make that much difference to the positioning of the brace. I mentioned in my last post that it stops the brace from riding up, but it actually stops it from riding down underneath the bum, but I dont think Bailey could move around to make it get down there anyway, but I'm no expert so will do what they say. I dont remember seeing it on Cerys's brace when I looked at your pictures Vic? Ooh and I will post the train pass back, I forgot to return it to you, sorry about that! All in all the day has gone ok, now we just got to get used to the practical side of it all, changing nappies is certainly challenging, but he's getting heaps of tummy time
Anyway, enough about that. I am loving the photo's of our meet up yesterday and I seriously cant wait to do it all over again. I am happy to make an annual trip to Melbourne hehehhee (next time we should do it when the Crows play over there so I can head to the footy as well!!!! )
Amy - did you make it to the airport in time last night?
Bella - hope you and Jemima got home safe
BG - nice work for E doing a tinkle once she was pants free - hahahaha, Bailey did one while he was nappy free during his brace fitting - LOL, he wasn't about to go down without a fight hahahahhaa
Naomi - CJ didn't have any harness with her brace it was just the leg cuffs and the bar. Didn't know Denis Brown came with harness was never mentioned to us. I know that she went straight into DB brace rather than a Pavlik harness due to her being big enough for the DB brace, but Bailey is bigger than she was when first when in it so not sure about harness thing sounds like a pain.
We never got smiles from CJ for the first day either, and I know what you mean about "the look". Second day we still got the look intermittently too but managed to coax a smile or two on the second day.
A total PITA, never mind. Bailey's brace is almost the same as this picture, but it doesn't have the rounded moulding behind his bum - just the steel bar
So you can see why nappy changes suck !!!
ETA - perhaps the harness is needed as Bailey is older and has more movement? I dunno
Hi girls!
Naomi: Glad today went ok. I am glad you are feeling alright about it - from your posts at least you sound like you're making the very best of things, which is awesome. The shoulder thing does sound like a PITA... but I am sure that even with the brace Bailey will be moving around before you know it, so you'll probably realise the importance of the shoulder things soon enough. So sorry about his little cry That made me so sad. I am looking forward to reading in a few days how he has gotten used to it and is adapting.
We did make it home ok last night... For those of you who I haven't caught up with yet, I had a slight... ok MAJOR mishap with getting home. Missed the last shuttle out to Avalon. Got in a taxi though, after dithering about wondering WTH I was going to do! Just made it and thought I was going to have to ditch my stroller cause I'd missed the check-in cutoff time. But they took it for me. Actually, all the staff were just so lovely to me. Made me want to cry and cry.
Anyhoo, Phoebe and I had a ball with you ladies yesterday. Phoebe loves her books - we read them again today and she was very grabby with them (Kat, you mentioned Ivy doesn't really get the whole 2D thing... Phoebe is the same I think). I am very keen to get together again next year, hopefully with a full contingent! Imagine the chaos it'll be... 12 or so little semi-toddlers crawling/cruising/walking/falling about the place! How exciting
We had a very relaxed day today getting over our huge day yesterday. We both had a long nap this morning after DH and Natty had left, and Phoebe had a good nap this afternoon too.
Phoebe's become very rolley. Today she was going round and round on the floor: back/tummy/swim around a bit/cry/mummy helps to get back onto back/tummy/swim etc. Tonight I put her into bed awake cause she didn't fall asleep on the boob and she fell asleep on her tummy. I probably could've left her like that but I rolled her over again. I don't have one of those sensor mats, so I'd be a bit stressed I think. Plus, I imagine she'd CRACK it bigtime when she woke up!
There's so much more I want to post but I really need to be in bed. Suffice it to say, you ladies are all so very awesome, it was brilliant to hang out with you, I can't wait to meet up again one day and also meet those who couldn't make it. You are all tops. *MWAH*
G'night!
glad Pheobe loves the books Amy - we have so many issues trying to find baby related stuff (that doesnt cost the earth) out here - E has a couple of those ones, and loves them to bits! her and daddy read them every night. most of the time she just kinda looks at him as if to say "oi, hand it over" cos she doesnt want to read just chew, but she will sit through a full read through some days...
e has had 3 sleeps of over 1.5hours today, so obviously still tired from yesterday. couldn't get her to sleep more than one sleep cycle though - been back and forth up the hall to resettle her lol
hope everyone liked the layouts i did last night - needed to stay awake while feeding the poppet, so decided to play (plus i'm teaching myself to use the program as i go lol
BG - DH and I managed to get ourselves a parking ticket too, lol! Oh well, it was worth it! Your photo layouts were lovely. I've been making a digiscrapbook for the grandparents for christmas. I am planning on having them made into a photobook (there's 40 pages), but I just need to get them printed now. I've been trying to do it on the bigw webpage because their big square books are the cheapest I've seen, but I'm having huge problems uploading the pics because they are so big. Takes forever for each picture and I keep getting an error as well. I've now given up and put them all on a usb stick and will take them into a store and hope it works better for me there. The pain with that though is that I can't modify the images if they are not the perfect size! I'll post all the pics on facebook after the parents get the books for christmas
Naomi - You are amazing! Bailey is amazing! Never forget that xoxox
Amy - Gosh you must have stressed with all the upsets on the way home! I would have been close to tears too, lol. Good thing that the staff were so lovely to you.
Sorry I can't do anymore persies. Kyson is sleeping and I have a million things to do. I'm multitasking though and also uploading a little video of Kyson crawling properly to facebook, hehe. Maybe I'll even try to add some photos too!
Things are going really well here, for those who haven't seem them, I have posted some pic's on facebook (also it was a good way to tell the masses, rather than have to rehash the story everytime someone see's Bailey in his brace for the first time, I stole your idea there Vic)
Krystie I have sent you another Spunky Bums order, they are really great for adding a little more padding between the bar and Bailey's Bum/Back - I reckon there is a whole market out there for you for braced kids and babies LOL
I think I worked out why the harness is useful hahahaha, Bailey managed to get his foot in his mouth which is a good thing as he is managing to stay flexible etc, but it meant that the bar kinda slipped under his bum a bit, so the harness stops it from going so far under his bum that he would get stuck folded over with his feet in his face IYKWIM, I'm sure he'd wriggle back into position but for a moment there it looked like he was gonna get a bit stuck
BG: I have been very slack with reading to Phoebe. I used to read to Natty before every sleep as our 'wind-down' time, but with Phoebs the settling time is just not as readily available, so a boob goes in her mouth, then bed. LOL! But was reading the books with her yesterday and she was grabbing at the things on the pages, wondering why she couldn't pick them up probably. Natty loves them too - she is a massive book-lover. I hope she stays that way.
Good work on the sleeping, E! Phoebe had a couple of good naps yesterday, was a little unsettled last night but managed to finally go to sleep properly around 10 then woke just before 5, so that was good. Even Natty was kind to me this morning - she woke at 6:15 (not so kind! I was just back to sleep) but we came downstairs and she watched a couple of Thomas episodes so I could snooze on the lounge. Then she came and demanded breakfast, LOL.
Krystie: TOPS video of Kyson! That's so cool - the crawling and the tipping the cups over! Sorry about your parking ticket.
Naomi: Some great pics of Bailey. I am so pleased he is smiling again today, even though you've had to work hard for it. Great that he's still able to suck his toes... what is with babies and toes?
I have uploaded pics from Sunday on FB, although I must admit I was a bit disappointed with my shots - I don't think there are any gold ones in there.
I am keen to do some photo books for Christmas too, although I doubt I'm going to get my act together in time. Big W have a great special on atm - 2 books for about $20 I think? Until the 15th Dec.
Cara is getting teeth!!! I looked at her gums today and sure enough you can see 2 little white marks under the gums down the bottom of her mouth. The one on the right seems like it will be first. I've been giving her bonjela. I tried these caffeine teething pills with Laura. I might try and get some of those too. She seems to like the bonjela which is good. Though tonight she was crying and wouldn't settle for sleep, pulling at her ears, so I tried a bit of panadol...but she sicked it up. Oh well. She's passed out asleep now!
She is becoming such a little character now! She notices everything and everyone. She is blowing raspberries and trying to do the indian call hehe. She's grabbing at stuff all the time (ouch! not my nose or hair Cara lol) She still does not sleep really well....wakes most often about 3 times a night. On a bad night...4/5 times. And a really good night is when she only wakes up ONCE between midnight and 5/6am!! Those nights I am soooo grateful for a bit of a sleep through hehe. She does not sleep long during the day either....her naps average 30-45 mins. Then she's be tired an hour or so later. I've tried keeping her up longer...for a couple of hours or more...and she still only sleeps 45 min. She may sleep the odd 1-2 hours...but that is such a rare thing. Maybe once a week or fortnight.
Alby (my ex) and I are getting along ok. We've had a few arguments here and there....but I hope things will improve next year.
Naomi: I'm so sorry to hear about Bailey needing the brace. Hang in there...it will be worth it in the end. He's such a champion! He always seems to have a smile on his face.
Krystie: I can't believe how fast Kyson is developing!!! He'll be the one to watch hehe
BG: I read to Laura every night before bed, and (if Cara is in my arms at the time) she will now grab at the book and takes a lot of notice hehe. So cute!! I have had some books in this family since my eldest was born (1997..Yasmin). I love the fact I still have the same SPOT books, Mickey mouse, Dr Seuss, Little Golden books, .etc to pass down. Some are sticky taped up from being ripped, but they were very much loved! Ofcourse Laura has a whole collection of her own new books as well. She sleeps next to a big plastic box full of books and she picks out what she wants to read. Some nights it's one book...some nights 3 hehe. She's doing so fantastic now not wetting the bed at night....goodbye nappies!!! So proud of my big girl. Becoming a big sister has made her grown up I believe.
I am so jealous you ladies all got to meet up!! The photos just look fab!! So cute to see so many babies in one room together. Cara sends big raspberry kisses to all the cute May babies xox
That made me so sad. I am looking forward to reading in a few days how he has gotten used to it and is adapting. 
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