Sashybo - Back Again

chanie

Sashy I baby sat DN on Friday while my Dsis did a KIT day. I!!!8217;d forgotten how difficult it is to do anything with a baby. Luckily, DN is only 4 months, so easily entertained. But, you are right about little and often when it comes to doing anything household related.

sashybo

I went out today for a small top up shop as needed milk, cheese and some veg as well as jars of baby food for DS. :cool:

Also went to pick up the new boots I ordered online as the last pair were too narrow. Got them home & these ones are too wide! :cool: So need to return them as well, might have one last try and then give up. Having awkward feet is annoying.

Housework wise all I have managed is the bare minimum - dishes washed, house not disgustingly messy but not tidy either & DS and the annoying cats kept alive. Stuck a washing of DS's stuff on & have put the ingredients for a milk loaf into the bread maker for tomorrow.

Managed 20 mins of yoga tonight after it took nearly an hour & a half to get DS to sleep. Funnily enough he was awake for the same length of time from half 12 until 2am this morning. DH got up with him at 8:30 and got him dressed and fed so I could have a small lie in as he wasn't starting work until 4pm.

I also managed to shave my legs & paint my toenails for the first time in weeks as just haven't had time. Then had a peaceful shower which was nice.

Hoping to make some minestrone soup tomorrow as DH working late shifts this week. Soup will be easy for him to have before work & easy for me to eat at home with DS to entertain.

Used some of the leftover goulash tonight on a baked potato which was lovely. After his teatime bottle DS had half a mini baked potato as it's easy for him to pick up & feed himself (and the cats lurking underneath the high chair ) & a small amount of the goulash, he likes the flavour & the beef is soft enough for him as it was slow cooked. He then had half a jar of chocolate banana pudding which was actually quite nice - of course I had to try a bit.

Last week I actually caught the small very naughty cat sitting on the dining table next to DS's high chair being hand fed by DS. :eek: He loves the cats & seems to have realised that offering or throwing food encourages them to come nearer. :eek: I have to chase them when he hands them food as don't want them to start snatching it out of his hand (the small cat would definitely do this).

My friend is going to come over for a visit tomorrow afternoon with her DS who will be 1 next month. Not seen them for a while so that will be good. The babies tend to look at each other & then ignore each other just now.

sashybo

Hi chanie, just saw your post after writing & posting my essay there.

Yes I think I'll have to get my head round doing the little & often thing with cleaning & tidying. I'm used to just deciding to do it and then getting it done all at once.

DH & I used to do this a lot as we are both shift workers that often worked 7 days in a row so things would get left and/or pile up apart from the bare minimum and then we'd both do a couple of hours cleaning etc on a day off. We can't do that anymore as DS needs naps, feeding, changing, entertaining etc.

So I think I'll try to give myself one "extra" job a day that I can do in short bursts above bare minimum to try and keep things ticking over.

Bare minimum being DS & cats fed & cared for, litter trays cleared, bottles washed & sterilised, dirty dishes either in DW or handwashed after bottles, dinner at least planned if not always started before DH comes home (on days he isn't working lates of course), usually one washing load a day, kitchen worktops wiped down before & after use and toys etc tidied up as we go.

Will have to add watering plants to this once we get seedlings established for our vegetables/flowers in the greenhouse (if the snow & frost ever go away :mad:) & checking the potato bags as well once seed potatoes are planted to cover the shoots etc.

Note to self - Need to remember to look for work socks for DH, he wears steel toe capped safety boots & needs thick hard wearing socks but complains if they're too thick. :cool: He can't find any he likes & the last lot he liked are getting full of holes now. :cool:

sashybo

DS woke up a few times again last night, poor wee soul is sore with teething. We're both exhausted already.

So far today I've got one washing done & in the tumble dryer (towels) & another in the machine. I tidied the medicine cabinet in the main bathroom & got rid of some out of date medicines/tablets. Also re-arranged it so that e.g. all the cold & flu tablets/lemsips/throat sweets are together & all painkillers etc. Been meaning to do it for ages.

Have also cleared, cleaned & tidied the bedside tables & the top of the chest of drawers in our bedroom. We have white bedroom furniture so dust shows up really badly & it's probably been months since it was done. :whistle: Dusted & wiped the bed frame & the windowsills too.

Very naughty small cat took a chunk out of the new loaf after DH took it out of the bread maker & left it to cool. :eek: The wee witch tried to drag the whole loaf away! It's bigger than her! :mad::rotfl: This cat has always been bad for stealing food but she's a million times worse since DS arrived. :cool: All of our cats are kind of being asshats right now.

Used survey money to pay £50 off the newest loan but think I'll concentrate on the zopa loan & try to get the monthly payment under £200.

Going back to work to do my first KIT day a week today. :eek: Need to try my uniform on & see if it fits. :eek:

sashybo

So I didn't make minestrone soup yesterday, instead I used up the last of the cooked turkey that was in the freezer from Christmas & made a turkey & potato curry which was quite nice. Also made some flatbreads to go with it. DS enjoyed the flatbreads as they were easy for him to hold & chew.

My friend came up to visit with her DS who is nearly one & getting into everything, reminded me again of how much we need to baby proof our living room once DS is on the move. Friends DS was lovely, trying to cuddle my DS & the cats. DS kept petting his head as he has lovely curly hair & he obviously liked the feeling of it.

Of course my DS did the weird crying thing when he first saw my friend's DS but settled down after a minute & was fine with him the rest of the time.

My friend is also going back to work soon & both she & her OH are shift workers too so facing the same problems with childcare as DH & I. Good to have someone in the same position that understands the stress of it all, trying to re-arrange shifts etc.

We were also talking about having a second child & when would be the hypothetical "right" time or the "right" age gap. There are always positives & negatives for both a bigger & smaller age gap. I have friends with barely a year between babies & then others with 16 year age gaps!

To be honest age wise we probably shouldn't hang about too long I suppose, especially if wanting more than 2 kids total. At the moment DH is swaying between "no way no more kids" & "ok one more would be nice" and I keep saying what about 3 & his reaction is :eek:. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

sashybo

Today I took DS down to see my sister & she kept him for a couple of hours so I could have a rest.

So of course I went to Mr A & did some random shopping. The excitement. :cool: I met a girl from work so we had a chat for 10 mins or so & then I bought lots of sweet things I probably shouldn't have due to tiredness. All I really needed was nappies for DS. :whistle: I did find the teabags I like on offer, so bought 2 packets.

I also got a pair of cord trousers in a pale dusky pink kind of colour for £3 reduced from £14! When I tried them on at home I was surprised that they actually fit nicely & were really comfy. Wish they'd had more colours at that price! They're a jegging/skinny jean fit, just fine cord. I'm such an old person, I love cord trousers. :rotfl: I found some faux leather gloves for £4 too which was good as need some smart gloves.

When I finally got home I had a peaceful hot bubble bath & put on a face mask. Sadly I didn't get my planned nap as my sister brought DS back. :rotfl: It was nice to just do what I wanted for a few hours but it was weird being at home without DS.

chanie

Good luck with your KIT day. I found them helpful to get bs o into the swing of work so that it wasnt a shock when I did go back. In terms of returning to work, could you ask for set shifts/opposite your OH. I would hope your employer would be supportive of that.

We got pregnant with DD when DD was 18 months, so there is 2 and bit year gap between them. I didnt want a huge gap so that I could get the sleepless nights out of the way at the same time. My dSis on the other hand has 5 year gaps between her youngest 3, but it means they are more independent by the time the baby comes along. Dont put too much pressure on yourself to think about it. In some ways, thinking about having no 2 is more difficult than no1, as you also have to factor in no1 as well. I think it will be what it will be, if that makes sense.

sashybo

Thanks chanie, yes hopefully the KIT days will help me re-acclimatise but everything is still up in the air with the office re-organisation so no one really knows what we'll be doing a few months from now. Hopeless. :cool:

Working opposite shifts to DH would be good but not sure if it's something they would do as our office shifts follow a certain pattern I.e. 7 lates, 2 off, 7 earlies, 5 off then repeat, on job share obviously I'd be halving that with someone.

DH works in a different part of the same company & his shift times are all over the place, although the basic rest day pattern is similar & he has different rest days to me at the moment. His rest days are also changed with every timetable change, depending on the complement of drivers. :eek: It's so confusing. :cool:

I think I'm going to have to see how it works out for the first wee while & then reassess. I'm lucky that my mum is nearby & willing to watch DS for us as long as she's not working/has other plans. I should be able to swap shifts with other job share people as well if necessary (there are already 3 job shares in the office, so 6 people plus whoever I'll be job sharing with).

Re a second child, I think I'm just aware that time (age-wise) isn't on my side & I would be gutted if I didn't get the chance to have another baby. That said you're right in that what will happen will happen, so there may or may not be another child/ren & I know we're so lucky to have our lovely healthy DS in the first place.

WannabeFree

I found the smaller gap much easier than the bigger. Although my bigger gap isn't much bigger :cool: Mine where born March 09, Feb 11 then March 14.

I think I found the school runs and thing harder with a toddler and a newborn. Whereas when number 2 was born eldest was still a bit away from school. Plus youngest health issues etc.

I'd love another, it won't ever be reality but I would

Oh and there is 6 years between me and my sister and we literally hated each other growing up :rotfl: We where just at total different 'stages' Where as my 3 now mostly get along and fit in together nicely.

sashybo

Hi W, good to get others' perspective on the age gaps. There is 20 months between me & my sister & 8 years between me & my brother. I loved having a baby brother when I was 8, my sister was 6 and I don't remember us ever feeling jealous, just excited - so the bigger age gap worked for us that way. On the other hand I feel like I know my sister better as we were always together, whereas I had moved out of the house by the time my brother was 12 so wasn't always around.

Well I'm sure we'll figure it out but I really want to have at least one more baby even though DS is being a sleep depriving demon at the moment. :eek: Poor boy, it's not his fault, he's still teething & waking up fairly regularly during the night. He seems to like to have a party after midnight until about 2am and then sleeps until 7ish, he's so tired all day but refuses to nap properly either.

Didn't get much done today except some surveys and shredded the paperwork/receipts that have been piling up. I need to do at least two washings tomorrow & do the ironing before it turns into a huge pile again. I'm experimenting over which things really need to be ironed to try & cut down on it. :rotfl:

I tried on my work uniform tonight & all fits fine so that's one less thing to worry about. I also did 25 mins of yoga & really enjoyed it as it was a bit slower & I'm feeling worn out.

DH is going to visit his friend in the midlands from tomorrow until Sunday so I'm slightly apprehensive about being totally on my own with DS for 3 days. First time DH has went away since DS arrived so a new situation for us all. I hope DS's sleeping improves as I really hate the disturbed sleep part & it's easier when DH is here (& not working earlies) so we can take turns dealing with him.