How not to entertain your toddler

Master R loves cooking. He's actually really good at helping me in the kitchen. He gets up on his step at the bench and mixes, measures and pours. He gets so excited about it! I made a big error yesterday though. Forgetting that toddlers need instant gratification and don't understand the word "wait" I thought he'd enjoy some jelly*.

He had so much fun stirring and stirring. I was very anxious about the hot water. But the problem started when he just didn't get the bit where it needs to set in the fridge. We had massive tantrums and tears. It took ages for him to forget about it and stop opening the fridge.

You should have seen his face that evening when I gave him some jelly! He was really excited to see how it had set and wobbled.

Today we baked a scrumptious orange cake together. A much better idea - he can lick the bowl and spoon then in 45 minutes eat a slice of cake. Later he got to make the icing and lick the bowl again! (Must post the recipe for the cake we baked. It's an orange cake made with 2 full oranges - skin, pips and all! Yummy!)

*Sorry I don't know the American word for jelly but I think you call jam jelly? I'm sure you'll understand what I mean from the picture.

Love/hate the dummy

We have a dummy (paci) free house! Hurrah. Well, kind of. The catalyst for this change was Master R's constant whining "Dummy gone!". Mr M and I were completely fed up and while we were away I threw out every last one.

It wasn't as hard as we expected for Master R to quit. After his operation I'd been a little lax and had given into the whines allowing him to play with it in until he got sick of it and gave it to me. A bad habit. We don't mention that D-U-M-M-Y word now simply referring to it as "D". He has occasionally cried out for it and it takes longer for him to fall asleep. With the D he'd fall asleep almost immediately now it takes a little while often with tears.

Master T on the other hand would not take one. I tried on numerous occasions to hold one into his mouth only for him to gag and spit it out in disgust. I tried other brands but he wasn't interested preferring only the real thing. Interestingly he'll take a bottle from our child minder but not the dummy.

There is upside to Master T's behaviour but there's also downside - he sleeps much less than his big brother. Not only that but he seems to wake more frequently. Currently he sleeps less during the day than Master R. But at least there's no attachment to an innate and often dirty object. And no weaning off it - that part I'll take.

Knitting injuries

Yes, yes have a little giggle. I have a couple of knitting injuries. First I have a rash on my finger from the wool I'm currently working with. I don't think it's an allergy, just from excessive wool rub! Second, I was experiencing pain in my forearm and shoulder. Mama LS if I was in NYC you could treat your first knitting injury. When this happens I know it's time to switch to crocheting and give my body a rest from the strenuous activity that is knitting. It was during one of these breaks that I crocheted this blanket for the MIL. I don't really think she likes it but I don't think she likes much that I do. She did ask for one though and I delivered. I also knitted her a pair of leg warmers in the same colour. I hope she gets some use out of them. I won't be knitting her the huge ski sweater she's requested though. It's just too much work when I'm not sure she'll ever wear it!

I'm currently working on one of the most exciting knitting projects I've undertaken. The front and back is finished as is 1.5 sleeves. I should be finished in a couple of weeks and can share the result with you. My only concern is that its too small. I've prewarned Mama J that she might receive a partially knitted sweater if its the case.

Gardening leave

Enjoying a jagertee in Salzburg where it was bitterly cold.

It seems that Mama J and I live parallel lives. We both managed our own businesses then gave birth to boys both just weeks apart and managed to do it again 18 months later. Our husbands both quit their jobs at the same time and we put our work on hold to go travelling for a couple of months - at the same time.

I'll leave Mama J to tell you about her exciting adventure in South America, one that I'm really envious of. We've just been visiting family. Not nearly as exciting.

The reason for our travels is that Mr M accepted a job at a new company. As is customary in Europe he has to take 3 month "gardening leave" betweeen jobs so that he doesn't pass on any company secrets. He wanted to go straight to Europe to snowboard and be with his family but I managed to convince him to spend 2 weeks in Australia visiting my family.

Australia was wonderful and we both wished we'd spent more time there depsite the 23 hour flights. The weather was amazing although a little hot for me now at +30C. It was hectic seeing all my family from Sydney to Brisbane and everywhere in between. For me the highlights were spending time with my mother and father and Master R getting to know them better. Also staying at my grandparents farm and seeing Master R's face when he saw the hundreds of chickens! It was wonderful to take him to the beach most days and splash about in the ocean. Little Master T loved being naked most of the time.

Now we're in Austria where it's freezing cold at-10C. We're having a great time here too teaching Master R how to ski, well walk in the skis anyway. If I'm honest I've had a bit much of snowboarding. A couple hours a day 3 times a week is enough for me not all day everyday that Mr M expects. We've also decided to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms so alas, it's really not a holiday at all.

After a holiday it's always nice to get home to a bit of routine. I haven't really felt at home in London since leaving NYC earlier last year. I was secretly hoping that Mr M would get a job in Switzerland. It didn't work out so I'm determined to give London another chance this year. We're going to find a house to buy and I'll get to make it home. Perhaps that's just what I need to call it home sweet home.

It was the best of times it was the worst of times

Master R taking his bear for a ride.

Dear Mamas, I do have a good reason for being MIA. Not only did I give birth to Master T in late August, but we've had some health issues with Master R which have really overshadowed everything and caused me to make some decisions about work/life balance.

From the time Master R was 4 months old I just knew something wasn't right. I was the envy of many of you Mamas with his infrequent bowel movements. He would generally go 1-2 weeks and then have a major "evacuation", the medical term. Tribeca Peds continually brushed me off saying it was normal for a breastfed baby. One of the worst events happened while we were on holiday in Barcelona. He hadn't gone for 16 days and was in considerable discomfort kicking his little legs and moaning. His stomach was quite swollen. We decided to take matters quite literally into our own hands and lets just say that new towels were ordered from reception.

Every checkup I continued to press the doctor for answers. I asked every medical person who listened but everyone said it was normal and would work itself out when he went onto solids. However it didn't. And when Master R was able to stand he started doing this little dance when he needed to poo. He would rock from side to side holding onto a table or chair and just strain. The interesting thing, without wanting to be too graphic, is that the bowel movements were normal, not hard. Well meaning friends would tell me to give him more prune juice or lentils but it isn't consipation.

It got really bad just before Master T was born. Master R would be screaming in pain with each movement which was now 1-2 times a week. Finally in August when my mum was here she decided it really wasn't normal and we'd have to see a specialist. Dragging along poor little 1 week old Master T we went to a paediatric gastroenterologist. To cut the story short he gave us a series of constipation medications which didn't work except for Picolax which is the very strong laxitive you take before a colonoscopy. If we took the quantities Master R did we'd be on the toilet all night but they just give him a normal 1-2 day movement.

When tests for Crohn's and Caeliac disease came back negative we had to use invasive methods to rule out an obstruction of, my worst fear, Hirschsprung's. On 8 December Master R went to hopsital and under a general anesthetic underwent an upper endoscopy where they put a camera down his throat into the bowel. The actual procedure only lasted for a very long 20 minutes. Straight after the GI specialist told me there was no obstruction, cancer, but we'd have to wait a week for the results of the biopsy.

Master R actually being in the operating room was bad enough but the worst thing, and something they didn't prepare me for, was him coming out from the anesthetic. He was like a wild animals clawing at me and howling in pain with this horrible hoarse scream. I could barely contain him and the nurses were completely calm almost ignoring me struggling with this fighting toddler. This lasted for about an hour and unfortunately I had to do it alone because the nurses had told Mr M that the op would take an hour or more and he'd gone out for a snack!

The results took longer than a week to get back to us with Christmas and doctors away. Finally my daily calls begging for the results paid off and on 24 December I had my best ever Christmas present when the secretary told me it wasn't Hirschsprungs. The bad news is that we still don't know what is wrong. With the Picolax Master R is quite regular at 1-3 days and not is as much paid. Clearly we don't want to have to rely on drugs forever but we'll have to wait now until we return to London to decide the next stage of testing.

Perhaps even more concerning is that the tests revealed that Master R has a thyroid problem and his thyroid will eventually give out. This could be in 6 months or 16 years. He'll need regular 6mth blood tests to monitor the situation. Then he will need to rely on drugs for the rest of his life to keep his thyroid levels normal.

That was last year. 2009 was beautiful for us with the arrival of Master T and Master R's continued development. But it seemed to be a tough one for many of us and I'm glad to close the door on it and open a new chapter with 2010. Happy New Year Mamas and I'm missing every one of you xx

The octomom

The documentary has just aired on UK TV tonight. Its like watching a horrific car accident. I just can't bring myself to turn it off and yet I'm cringing and feeling so angry at her.

Initially I thought I'd watch it with an open mind. I would not prejudge her and give her the benefit of being a loving woman who took motherhood into her own hands and on her own terms. But after seeing those poor children I just feel ill.

The programme starts with feeding time for the 9mth old octuplets. They are all just screaming and kicking fighting for food and spitting it out at the same time. Nayda and her two helpers just can't give the love and attention that these poor babies need.

What was even more sickening is the poor older children. The oldest girl is old beyond her years. When Nadya pokes the camera into her face and asks her Do you enjoy all the babies? The poor girl responds that she wishes she was an only child. So often she is shown caring for the babies. Sure I did that too as the oldest of 4 and resented the care I had to give but was also proud at the same time. But to have to help care for 13 siblings when is is still a young girl herself?

The autistic boy is given a shower of kisses and then pushed off to a minder while Nadya turns her back on him and attends to the other children.

Then the stupid woman shoved the camera in the face of a boy of about 6-7 years. He screams to get the camera out of his face. Nadya laughs and says he hates being on camera and she respects that. But she continues to hound the boy until he completely breaks down screaming at her and calling her an arsehole. Lovely. Its no wonder the boy cracks and throws a screwdriver at his mother cutting her nose. He screams out "F*%K You!" then tells her he doesn't like her talking about him. This is a cry for help, surely? These are healthy and well adjusted children.

The only saving grace is that the courts have been given some power to protect the children. I hope they step in soon and realise that this constant publicity is so destroying for these poor children.

Hello navel! I've missed you

Six weeks post baby and half the weight gone. I've become reacquainted with my belly button and some of my regular clothes. However that was the easy weight and the next half isn't going to be quite so easy.

Having been given the all clear by my doctor last week we went for our first family run on the weekend. It was a moment I have been waiting for for 10.5 months. My double jogging stroller was my first purchase when I found out about pregnancy number 2. I'd enjoyed my morning runs with Master R along the Hudson River and couldn't wait to start again. My single jogger was left in the caring hands of Mama A (I hope you're using it!).

When we moved back to London the main criteria for a house was proximity to a large park so I could jog. We're right near Victoria Park, one of London's best kept secrets. At one stage deer roamed free but now it's just a huge park with great running paths and gardens.

Mr M and I were a little concerned about Master T's head wobbling around too much but we secured it with blankets and did a few test runs and he seemed very content nestled into the side of the seat.

The last time I went for a run was December '08 so I wasn't expecting much. However I surprised myself, and Mr M, by running the full planned distance of approximately 6kms/4 miles. I did feel it the next day though.

Both boys loved it. Master R loves looking at the ducks and "eich", abbreviated German for squirrels, which we have to acknowledge every time he sees one. Master T just slept. Let's hope it continues because I still have quite a few lbs to lose!