*** November 2014 Mum's ***

[Staceylou27]

So Ruby has a viral infection she seems ok within herself but came out in a rash last night so rang 111. They got us a drs app this morning and dr said she's fine and the rash should clear in 4-5 days. She struggled a little sleeping last night but we kept disturbing her to check on her and when 111 rang back. Hopefully it will pass soon

 

[nicejuicypear]

Poor Ruby! How is she now?

Frankie is definitely curious about food. I was eating chocolate the other night and she was sitting on my knee. Every time I brought a piece of chocolate towards my mouth, she leaned over with her mouth open, expectantly! She'll get a shock, she's not getting chocolate for a good while!

Mellie, how are you getting on with the cloth nappies?

We had a nice time away, we went to Hebden Bridge and Haworth and a bit of a drive around the area, so pretty. Only just missed a crash on the M62 which had the motorway closed for about 8 hours and then all the traffic rerouted past our accommodation so we couldn't go out the first evening.

Getting a bit irritated with clothes sizes. I know Frankie is long and the cloth nappies make her bigger, but I bought some sleepsuits in Asda 12-18 months thinking they would be baggy but at least they'd last a while. They only just fit with a day nappy on and are tight with a night nappy. I know Asda is a less generous fit than some places but Frankie's not the length of an 18 month old! Ridiculous! She's grown out of her M&S 3-6 month ones, I'm using them without fastening up the crotch now, but I'm loathe to spend money on M&S ones especially as I'm not fussed on the current patterns they have.

 

[Staceylou27]

Ruby's not doing to bad thanks she seems to be eating better but her rash seems to come out in the evening and she's been difficult to put down for naps and to bed. I've been trying for an hour to put her to bed but she just keeps crying, oh has taken over to try settle her.
She's been a little sniffly today too and I think her teeth are bothering her so that's not helping.

Hebden bridge is close to us it's lovely there. Did u enjoy it? Which hotel did you stay at?
The crash on the m62 was a bad one a guy needed the air ambulance.

I can't believe that about the 12-18 months it just shows you the size differences!
Ruby has some 3-6 that are still way too big but some that fit her nice, there from diff shops though

There funny watching you eat Ruby has a thing about cups of tea, she always tries I grab your cup and tries to chomp on the rim if given half the chance!

We tried Ruby on some chicken tonight as we had a roast chicken for tea. She put it straight in her mouth she seemed to enjoy it but she didn't eat a great deal but wolfed down fruit purée for afters! We tried tuna yday too and she wasn't impressed with that but I didn't put anyting on it so think it might have been dry but was unsure what to put on it....?

 

[mellie_88]

Cloth nappies are going well, just using them in the daytime though. Disposables used to leak pretty much whenever he pooed but cloth haven't once yet!!

Finally gave in and gave him food last night. Just some steamed carrot sticks. He was definitely ready he are loads and didn't gag once.


Was his christening on Sunday. Had a lovely day
and he was absolutely spoilt rotten, got lots of vouchers to spend on his behalf.

NJP, apparently H&M clothed are good for cloth bums. They allow more space. So maybe try there as at least the nappy should be catered for it'll just be her length to fit into it.

 

[mellie_88]

Here's Jake looking all smart for his christening ☺

 

[Staceylou27]

Aww jake looks so cute! I'm glad you had a great day

 

[Applecrumble]

Love jakes outfit Mellie, and must say you looked beautiful! Hope it was a lovely day.

Having a great nap day! So far she has had 2x 1hrs naps..and still sleeping.

Sorry to hear ruby has a rash,,I would of been so scared to see a rash!you did well to stay calm!

Njp! i love m&s baby grows...guess everyone has different taste..check out the baby grow with pink elephants on them as a set of three they are all really nice..in the set is a pink spotted one which looks lovely on!

 

[nicejuicypear]

Yeah, we saw the air ambulance, bad. A lorry cab went into the back of another, apparently. We stayed in Ripponden, there were some apartments for £45 a night so we got a kitchen so we didn't have to pay to eat out. Hebden Bridge was nice, there was a cafe called Frankies so we did a photo with the baby in front of it! We made the mistake of going to Halifax though, that was a waste of time!

Mellie, Jake looks lovely! Glad the christening went well. I've got some leggings from H&M that are a nice fit, they also have lots of footless stuff which is great for the boots, so will probably have to go there. I don't think I'll shop at Asda any more, I just put on a vest from Tesco which is 12-18 months and there's plenty of room. I don't like much of the Asda stuff either, never bright enough for me.

Tuna might have just been a strong flavour for her, Stacey? I think I read that it takes 7 tries for them to realise if they like something or not, so perhaps just offer it again at a later date. I don't know what you'd put on it, unless you want to do tuna pasta spoonfed?

 

[nicejuicypear]

Apple, I love the elephant one, the pinky-yellow circus one? But I didn't like the others in the pack. I liked the animal boys one, it's got all sorts of safari animals on but it's a bit too blue and boyish to get away with looking unisex. I don't know why I care so much, it's only sleepwear, but I do! M&S are really nice quality though, we had some with dark pink owls on and they've lasted ages and still look new. Can't sell them on though, as I chopped the feet off and hemmed them. Perhaps give them away to other talipes parents though.

She's currently wearing this:

http://www.clothingattesco.com/f+f-...op,catgkids,babywear-0-2-years,baby-bodysuits

The vest at the front of the picture and bright yellow footless tights with dogbones all over.

 

[Staceylou27]

We rang 111 about the rash so we were reassured and she didn't appear ill so I wasn't too worried. She seems loads better today.

Yey to the naps! Ruby's had 2 half hour naps so far today which is her usual pattern.

Oh njp there's nothing happening in halifax, eureka is good tho but better for older children not much for frankie. We often go to Halifax on Thursdays for a browse and lunch with my mum, Nanna and Aunite.

Frankies outfit sounds cute!

Rubys got Her 6 month home photography session later this month I'm struggling for ideas, there's too many to choose from and I don't know what look to go for :s

 

[nicejuicypear]

Halifax looks fine for a local town to shop in but not much of a touristy thing! I did like the look of Eureka but like you say, she wouldn't get much out of it yet.

Frankie is being annoying re naps, she'll fall asleep during a feed but when I try to put her down she often just wakes up. And today I left her awake on her playmat and popped upstairs. Came back down because she was screaming and found her half rolled over so her top half was facing the opposite way to her bottom half and she was stuck! Apparently this is common with the boots and bars, they get stuck in positions and places and can't get out.

What kind of things are you thinking for the home photography? I'd go for comical things like dressing her up as Wonder Woman or something, but I bet you're not thinking of that!

 

[Staceylou27]

Aw bless her at least she's trying to roll, it will be frustrating for her! Are the boots fitting her a little better now?

Ruby's the same she will be settled on me and then I'll put her down and she will wake straight up.
Last night was hard at bed time it took almost 2 hours to bath, bottle and then settle her. She was crying really emotionally I've not heard her cry like that really before he did it after he night feeds too :/ wonder if she's still not fully better. Other than her night feeds tho she didn't wake for resettling which is an inprovement!

I'm not sure what id like I've seen so many fab ideas. I did like the idea of dressing her up. She loves looking at herself in the mirror and her grandma bought her a fisher price mirror with lights around it like a mini dressing table which I havnt opened yet I thought I might take some with that and maybe dress her up a bit like with a pearly necklace and maybe a headband/flower thingy (although I'm not really a fan of them they do look nice in pictures) and maybe her dressing gown as if she was getting ready in the morning...?
I did think about getting some big letters and spelling her name or just an R and have her holding that but I'm not sure how much I like that idea

 

[Staceylou27]

http://m.toysrus.co.uk/Babies-R-Us/...herPrice-Laugh-N-Learn-Musical-Mirror/0113694

This is the mirror

 

[mellie_88]

Jake keeps moving about all over the place. Last night I'd put him to sleep so his feet were at the bottom of the cot and everytime he woke me up he'd managed to move 90 degrees so his feet were facing me. Yesterday morming when I woke up he'd managed to do that and roll over. No idea how he managed that while in a sleeping bag!

Naps here are still terrible, keep trying to get him used to sleeping in the travel cot at my mom's but it's not working well. So God knows how he's going to cope when I go back to work.

Was looking at jobs yesterday, the infant school by where our new house is are after a teaching assistant which I'm tempted to apply for. I doubt I'll get it, don't think I'm qualified enough, plus I only have minimum experience with children that age. Plus it's full time so they might not want someone to job share. But if I get chance I'll fill the application form out as I figure there's no harm in applying.

I like the dressing up idea, I think that'll look really cute. I'm sure the photographer will have some ideas too.

 

[nicejuicypear]

TA jobs are great for school holidays, but remember when you look at the pay that they're pro rata so you'll only get paid for 3/4 of the salary, as the other 1/4 is holidays and therefore unpaid. I am not really looking at jobs tbh. I think most of the teaching jobs for Sept will have gone now so it would be TA ones for me too, but I really really don't want to go back to work! Kind of sticking my head in the sand about it all for now.

Have a look on the TES forums, there's a TA section that might help you with applications.

Frankie does the turning 90 degrees thing! She then wakes up and thumps her bar on me and wakes me up. She's taken to thumping the bar a lot in the night, it's really annoying because it wakes us up and I know it must be disrupting for my wife when she's got to get up for work. Frankie always seems to manage it about an hour before my wife's alarm and being woken up an hour early is the worst - too early to get up but too late to get back to sleep properly.

The boots aren't doing too bad, Stacey, I still have to readjust them a lot but they're not blistering or twisting her good foot out any more (because I ignored the hospital and adjusted the length myself).

Ruby probably is like that because she's still feeling off, poor thing. When Frankie had bronchiolitis she was inconsolable, even when we got out of hospital she wasn't right for a while. She wasn't exactly ill any more, just a bit off. I suppose it's like when you have a bad cold or flu, it wipes you out for a while after.

How about something matching mum & baby?

http://www.jewelryandbabyblingbydar...1470103886465_600901_5084529_n_1_-360x281.jpg

Doesn't have to be that type of pose or clothes but get you in it too?


I like this one with ducks (2nd one down)!

http://www.dandelionwishesphotograp...d-baby-j-baby-photographer-northern-virginia/

If you're on Pinterest, there seems to be lots of ideas on there.

 

[Staceylou27]

Mellie you should make time and apply for it! You've got nothing to loose, if they don't want someone to job share the at least you won't regret not applying.

What do you work as njp?
I'm not looking forward to going back it sounds like it's got really bad!
My oh said he would support me to work from home but I really don't know what I would do. He said I should look Into becoming a childminder like his parents. I really don't know if I could have lots of children in my house all day tho I'm quite house proud.

You read my mind about the photos. I've been looking on Pinterest and thought about a shot with my Ruby wearing my shoes hehe. The duck picture is cute too I love the duck on the babies bum lol. The photographer will have ideas I'm sure I just like to be prepared and know I have the things at home I'll need for the pics

Aw I'm glad there not bothering her anymore and making her feet sore.

Mellie have you tried putting something he is familiar with in the travel cot with him? Something that smells of home? A blanket or comfort toy. Or could it be too big for him? What does he sleep in now? Ruby's the same at nap times moving around I've caught her with her feet through the bars loads now!

 

[mellie_88]

I know about the pro rata thing, my mom used to work in schools so she explained it all to me. It's more the fact that the actual hours will probably end up being more than what you're actually contracted for that's putting me off a little. Might still apply though then I can decide more if I even manage to get an interview.

Yea he sleeps with a little monkey comforter and a muslin I take them everywhere with us so when he goes to mom's he has them too. He's just not very good at napping. He tends to only ever have half hour max and that's very unpredictable sometimes it's much less.

Childminding would be good, but personally I'd only do it if I could have a room dedicated to "kids stuff" in my house. Otherwise your whole house will just be taken over surely. It is scary how fast time is going and how soon I'm due back at work. :'(

 

[nicejuicypear]

Yeah, that bugged me too, and it's seen as shirking if you don't stay for the extra time. Well it was in my last school.

Stacey, I was a teacher initially but my most recent job was an intervention tutor in a secondary school, for SEN kids. When are you due to go back? I thought of childminding too but not only would my wife hate having other kids in but I don't think I could meet the H&S regulations! Just things like having the dog, not sure how that works.

Ooh, I've just remembered, there's a lottery ticket in my coat pocket, I won't need onto work

Frankie naps like that, mellie, 30 mins here and there. I thought babies had long naps. They've told me that when Frankie goes part time into boots they need to be worn for night and naps but I don't always know she's going to nap! She'll just nod off after some feeds. Perhaps when weaning I'll be able to be more structured? I think that's wishful thinking!

 

[Staceylou27]

I thought you might have already been doing that mellie. We've gone backwards with naps I got her to a point where she would just fall asleep after a bit on her own when I put her in her cot but now she's rolling all over, kicking and hitting the bars and faffing then cries for her dummy putting back in.

That sounds good njp I've been fancying something within sen in a school. I'm due to go back in November. I work with children with disabilities and challenging behaviour in a behaviour assessment unit, we do behaviour management and sleep routines etc.
It really is quite challenging my oh thinks I'm mad lol.

My in laws have an extension on their house for childminding. I think you can have dogs as a childminder not sure how it works but my in laws sometimes have our dog and she just asked all the parents if they were ok with it before he went. The kids love him and he loves all the attention!

Weaning hasn't helped us with a napping pattern. Ruby napped during tea last night so had hers after us which I don't like her doing. If she went to sleep when she was tired and didn't mess around and fight it we might have a better pattern! Lol. Generally every 1 1/2 to 2 hours she gets tired and should nap but she doesn't always.

 

[nicejuicypear]

I worked in an SEN school for kids with behavioural problems, didn't like it, I don't envy you your job, Stacey. I didn't have a lot of empathy with those kids, I'm better with ones with learning needs and autism. It was good experience though, I learned what I'm not cut out for!

I looked up the childminding thing and you're supposed to have things like food hygiene certificates and I just can't imagine forcing my teens to keep on top of the kitchen to the point where we'd pass food hygiene regularly! There's a lot about my house that isn't childproofed. But tbh, the biggest sticking point is that my wife just wouldn't want kids around on her day off, and they vary all the time so I couldn't work the days she does or anything like that. I thought about tutoring privately but it would be evening work and I'd need someone to look after Frankie.

I sort of identified a vague pattern of mid-morning and early afternoon for a nap but it varies and the evening one is difficult, she does it too close to bedtime for my liking. But earlier would be dinner time for us and that's awkward, plus I'd like her to join in with meal times, like you, once I get her high chair.