MSE Parents Club Part 16

rach

hello all, sorry I've been awol. was on hols for 2 weeks and have been manically busy since i got back last weekend!

I've had 3 job interviews (one of which was a 2nd interview) and got myself a job! I start on 1st sept and it's a 2.5 day a week community outreach post to people in the city of london (as in the square mile). There are lots of positives about it although the money's not great and after childcare and commuting I'll only net just under £400 a month roughly. But that's still better than nothing I guess (so dh says!) It's a little frustrating as I can earn that in a couple of days consultancy work but of course it's not guaranteed and with moving etc... the good thing about this job is i can build the freelance stuff up on the side.

Re childcare, we are now starting to look at nurseries and chilminders, looking near our new house as it makes sense because even if there's a slight overlap and i have to drive him over there first it will be better in the long run! DH has been sweet and says the main thing is that they let him feed himself! Has anyone tried a montessori nursery? there's a nice looking one not far from the new house and i do like the way they focus more on play. we are hoping to manage with 2 days childcare and get the other half day covered by friends and family if possible as we worked out not having that half day nursery saves £1500 a year! :eek:

L has cut out a lot of his breastfeeds and only seems to want it first thing in the morning, he bites me or crawls away at other times and makes it clear he's not interested. I've been trying formula in a cup but he's hit and miss with that and will only ever take 2oz max, he takes the most if he's sat in his highchair but a lot of the time pushes it away. anything i can do? i'm just making sure he gets cheese everyday, a couple of fromage frais and some fortified cereal.

we had our first disturbed night in 2 months last night. I think i woke him checking on him about 11pm and he spent a lot of the rest of the night moaning and chatting. I gave him cuddles and calpol about 2 and he finally settled a while after that. he wasn't upset at all just chatting to homer (his 'friend'!) in the cot i think.

MV i'd try dropping that feed now, as sir m says you can only try. otherwise i'd drop it oz by oz. i'm a bit out of the loop have you stopped bf now?

Becles

wendz86 wrote: »

Where are you off on holiday Becles?

We are going to the lake district monday - friday and our washing machine has broke arghh!

Going to Santandria in Menorca on the 8th and I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope you get the washing machine fixed before you go. That sounds like a nightmare.

Lovely picture MV xx

Congrats on the job Rach - that's great news xx

Off to work this morning, then taking Charlotte to a party this afternoon. Have a good day all xx

sir_monster

Enjoy the party Becles.

Just looking back glad I'm not the only one with a squeak who steals food, if I'm eating on the sofa on a tray he will come over to the sofa pull himself up on my tray and try to grab my food. Also will grab cake from my hand.

Sounds good mi3 re the blw think at first they are just playing with it, prob take a week or so till you find evidence of them eating (in poo!)

Metranil_Vavin

Morning ladies. Well we didn't do the DF last night, and Josh slept from 7pm to 5am!:j

Very happy with that, just hope it wasn't a fluke!.

Sir M, I'm the same, I get really annoyed when they grow out of their lovely things! I had a massive clearout last week, and bagged up all his tiny baby things..so small!

He is such a chunk now, I don't think he'd get one leg into most of his old stuff! :rotfl:

wendz86

Morning all,

MV - that is such a cute picture!

Becles- Menorca sounds lovely, enjoy the party.

Rach - congrats on the new job! I went to a montessori nursery but can't remember what it was like haha.

Poppy kept waking up last night arghh, she only goes about 3 hours before waking now and used to be able to do 5/6 grr.

Metranil_Vavin

Hi Rach - I stopped breastfeeding totally yesterday! Did my last morning feed (the last one to go), and that was that!

J just isn't that interested anymore, and he is too big really for me now. It was starting to feel more like a wrestling match!

Good luck with the childcare..it's eye wateringly expensive isn't it!

rach

Thanks becles, i think i'm pleased about it overall! saves having to keep looking which is one good thing and gets dh off my back!

L always wants my food too, he does steal things too...once grabbed dh's expensive crap sandwich in a pub on holiday!

well done starting blw mi3 just relax and go with it, she will eat in her own good time. I really believe it has been great for L's development, he has fantastic dexterity now and can pick up peas and beans between thumb and forefinger in a pincer grip.

here's a little pic of L (on the left) and sir monster's t having their lunch when i was looking after them both for a while the other day, it was lovely the 3 if us having lunch together! I'll delete it later x

rach

glad it has worked well stopping MV, you did really well to get so far. It does become a wrestling match though i think it goes in waves and gets easier again.

I know childcare is so pricey, the new job is £7k a year less money (for full time equivalent salary) than I was on too, but if I cna do a little bit of freelance work in the evenings etc it will make up the difference and I prefer knowing i've got something part time as there's so little about. I can see why so many people don't work, I am not badly paid really and it's a toss up. The hard thing for us is that although dh is relatively well paid London is so expensive and things like tax credits/child benefit aren't london weighted so on paper it sounds like we should be fine on one salary but cost of living is so much higher, e.g. my sister lives in one of the most expensive northern places and bought a 3 bedroom house for £150k, ours is costing £250k and that's going far out, and is cheaper as it's on the edge of a flood zone...other things for the same money are 2 bed terraces with a tiny yard and downstairs bathroom!

One of my friends suggested we help each other out with childcare, so I have her LO on a thurs and she has L on a wed....her dad currently does thurs but he's unreliable and she's trying to think outside the box. It won't work for us as my working days will be wed aft, thurs and fri but i think i like the idea, at least for one of my non working days. Has anyone tried something similar?

Metranil_Vavin

Lovely pic Rach..your little one's are both so gorgeous

I'm still in two minds about going back to work. Some of the privately run nursery's around me are £76 per day! :eek: Utterly ridiculous, and you still have to provide your own nappies!

My work have helpfully turned down my request for p/time hours saying my job is a full time one, but have instead offered me a day working from home, and less hours during the week, in which they still expect me to do the same amount of work/look after the same amount of accounts/do the same amount of foreign travel, but pay me less for the pleasure! hmmmmm....

Also because I work in Windsor, but live in SE London, the commute is ridiculous (1.5 hours each way), so even if I leave at 3.30, I wont get back till 5...and because I'll be working full time, J will have to go into the nursery 5 days a week, and at £1300+ per month, I'm thinking it may not be worth it!

In fact, it's all so rubbish, even thinking about work makes me depressed, so I am sticking my head in the sand about it all for now, and will make decisions nearer the time

rach

that's why i've plumped for the part time rubbish money thing mv, at least it brings something in and i still get more time at home with L than at work. I think some of the nurseries here are similar prices, i guess there's high demand! I'm really not looking forward to commuting again though, I hate it. i think i will be able to just do one train and then walk the rest of the way.

L is asleep and dh has gone to get his hair cut so i better have a shower I guess.

I've got yet another period, 3 now since they came back and this one is only 24 days after the last one