Jan 29, 2012

Tummy Troubles

Sprogmama crying, sick, temperature Sprogzilla 4 Comments

My little darling is poorly. He’s been a bit cranky today, but late afternoon he seemed to get worse and was having sudden crying fits. We’ve been thinking it’s his tummy because he hasn’t done a poo today and he’s usually regular as clockwork. At dinner time, he refused to stay in his high chair and begrudgingly ate a bit on daddy’s lap in front of the telly. Not ideal, but it was more important to get some food into him.

After downing around a third of his plate, he got upset again and I nursed him. For 45 minutes. He’s rarely stayed on the boob for so long and even fell asleep too! He then unlatched with a start and began crying again. As it was close to bedtime, Sprogdaddy ran his bath hoping the change of scenery would calm him and perhaps the warm water would ease his tummy. Or perhaps not it seems. More crying ensued and Sprogdaddy noticed he didn’t like having his skin touched.

Cue a worried phone call to the out-of-hours doctor, fears of meningitis forming in my mind. These things always have to happen on the weekend of course, when getting to see someone is a major pain in the arse. Sprogzilla came out of the bath, still distressed and we awaited the callback from the doctor. In the meantime, he started writhing on the floor, clearly in discomfort, but we noticed the pain was coming in waves. He would suddenly seem absolutely fine for a few minutes before kicking off again. Temperature was slightly elevated at 38C, but impossible to tell if this was because he was crying so hard.

When a nurse called back, Sprogzilla did what all children do in front of medical professionals – act like everything is fine, implying mother is a paranoid nutter. Well, he cried a little bit, but it wasn’t the loud pain/fear cry he’d been doing all evening and he even ate his porridge! We were advised to keep an eye on him as he seemed calmer, but were also invited down the the surgery if he became worse again.

He did become a little crankier shortly after, but still managed to eat a bit of pear and I think he was over-tired at this point. It was already half an hour past his usual bed time, so we decided to put him to bed. After a short nursing session, he toddled into bed and went straight to sleep.

Hopefully he’ll have a restful night, but I think we may be in for a stormy time until he does that BM. Going by the stinky farts he’s been so kindly sharing with us, there’s definitely something brewing up there. Sprogdaddy and I have already arranged a shift pattern for tonight just in case and I’m covering the first half. *yawn*

Jan 13, 2012

A Quick Update….

Sprogmama height, money, teething, work Daddy, Sprogzilla 2 Comments

Just posting an interim update today as not a lot has been happening lately. Sprogdaddy had his appeal for unfair dismissal this week and is waiting to hear the verdict. It’s been very stressful and most of our free time has been spent putting together his case. Will post more on that when we have news.

We’re still waiting for the first JSA payment. It’s been three weeks since application and Sprogdaddy has signed on twice already, but no sign of any actual money. We’ve been living off the child benefit and tax credit I’ve been paid, but that’s not going to cover the rent due at the end of the month and only half the bills have gone out. Talking of rent, there’s been no word regarding housing and council tax benefit either. Will have to chase that up on Monday as well.

I also need to drop Sprogzilla’s red book into the surgery. He had an appointment with the GP last week and his height was 75cm, so I think the HV measured him incorrectly. However, the GP (who happens to be a pediatric registrar) wants to refer him to the hospital and possibly have him tested for vitamin deficiencies. She isn’t too concerned about him, but just wants to get some basic things checked out. I’m pleased we’ve got such a helpful doctor.

Sprogzilla has been teething quite badly this week and has needed a bit of extra comfort at night. He has also finished a major development spurt – his comprehension has taken another huge leap and I am absolutely loving seeing him grow and learn right before my eyes. He is still happily sleeping in his toddler bed, making no attempt to get out until Sprogdaddy or myself goes into the room. It may seem such a tiny thing, but I love how I can now bend over and kiss him as he nods off to sleep.

So that’s been our week. Hopefully we’ll have some money next time I post and *fingers crossed* Sprogdaddy will be reinstated at work.

Update: January 18th Sprogdaddy lost his appeal. We are now going to employment tribunal. We also got some money finally, but the benefits office cocked up and only paid the single rate JSA. Sprogdaddy has had to fill in more forms because the numpty who put his application through advised him wrong and messed up. It hasn’t been a good week….

Jan 9, 2012

The Big Move: From Cot To Bed

Sprogmama sleep Mummy, Sprogzilla 3 Comments

Yesterday we made a major change to Sprogzilla’s sleeping arrangements. We converted his cot bed to a toddler bed. Eeek!

It’s something we’ve been toying with for a while now, but it always seemed a bit to soon. Then on Saturday, I read of another mum’s 18-month old going from being a regular night-time wailer to sleeping until 6am, right after being switched to a proper bed. Sprogzilla has an annoying habit of waking and crying until one of us goes in to comfort him, so I figured it might be time to try.

Smiles at bed time!

We decided to do a test run with his nap first. If that was a complete disaster, we would revert and try again another day. So yesterday morning, I removed one side of his cot bed and put up a bed guard. Sprogzilla was present in the room whilst I was making the changes and was most pleased he could clamber in and out of his own bed.

At nap time, I proceeded to nurse him as normal. Usually when he is done, I carry him over to the cot bed, pop him down and tuck him under his duvet. This time, he climbed off my lap and went straight into bed himself! I can’t tell you how proud I was seeing my little man putting himself to bed, I actually had tears in my eyes!

Of course, it couldn’t possibly be quite that easy and Sprogzilla decided that this was all too exciting to do such a boring thing as sleep. He rattled the bed guard a few times, clearly marvelling at his new ability to easily see (and reach) over the side. After a few attempts to reposition him, he finally decided he was going to stay under his duvet and I was able to leave the room.

It took a further quarter of an hour for him to actually fall asleep, but once he was down he stayed that way for about an hour and forty minutes. I consider this a good nap, usually it’s around an hour and fifteen minutes. When he woke, he sat up and giggled, then proceeded to play with his glowy seahorse. No attempt was made to leave the bed, it seemed he had forgotten he was able to. So when I went in to get him, I showed him the gap at the end of the bed and he happily clambered out.

Despite the successful nap, I was nervous about bed time. I had visions of him climbing out of bed all night long and wandering around the house while we were sleeping. We live in a bungalow, so he easily has access to every room. We ensured every door except his and ours was shut and a gentle night light left on in the hall so he could find his way around if he did go for a midnight toddle. I’m not a fan of forcing children to stay in their rooms, I’d prefer to toddler-proof the house and allow Sprogzilla his freedom.

Bedtime giggles!

So, we did the bed time routine as usual and when asked if he was ready for bed, Sprogzilla responded with his usual resounding “Yeah!!” Once again, he nursed and climbed into bed all by himself. It was another twenty minutes or so before he fell asleep and he had trouble settling at first. He seems quite fascinated by the bed guard and likes to run his fingers along the fabric/mesh or sits up and shakes it.

We went to bed ourselves around midnight. Much to my surprise, he didn’t wake up and wail around 11pm or 1am as usual. I went in to nurse him shortly after 5am and he happily went back to sleep afterwards. As did I, until I woke with a start and noticed the time was 8:30! Now that’s what I call a decent night’s sleep!

I don’t want to get too excited as it’s only been one day. There are other factors to consider, including the end of a growth/development spurt Sprogzilla has just had. He always has a period of sleeping well at such times. But I remain quietly optimistic, especially as he is currently napping and has been for nearly two hours!

Jan 8, 2012

Review: Little Green Sheep Organic Wool Duvet & Pillow

Sprogmama bedding, sleep Reviews 0 Comment

Little Green Sheep Organic Lambswool Duvet & Pillow

Duvet: £89.95
Pillow: £39.95
Retailer: Little Green Sheep

+ Exceptional quality, cosy yet breathable
- Expensive compared to “regular” duvets/pillows

If you’ve looked at my earlier reviews, you’ll know I’m a bit of a fan of LGS products and the company as a whole. So when I pondered buying some proper grown-up bedding for Sprogzilla, it’s no surprise they were my first port of call.

Jan 4, 2012

An Evening of Job Hunting

Sprogmama work Daddy, Mummy 0 Comment

So I’m trawling the local job sites this evening trying to find something vaguely suitable that Sprogdaddy can apply for. I’m not having much luck.

Earlier today, Sprogdaddy signed on and was given a print-out for a vacancy. It all sounds a bit fishy to me. The salary is £35k plus various benefits and is a management position in a food production company. The job requirements are suspiciously easy to meet for something that pays so well. Plus the company has not disclosed their actual location, simply stating that it’s within “commutable distance” from anywhere in our county and halfway into the next one. My bet is on the chicken factory 15 miles up the road. No one wants to work there, hence the beefy salary.

We both worked there once. It was freezing cold, the radio was up full blast to drown out the noisy refrigerators, no one else spoke a word of English and I got shivers down my spine every time I walked past the slaughterhouse. We lasted about 3hrs before tearing off our white coats and hairnets and making a mad dash for the car.

Talking of food industry jobs, I’ve been seeing rather a lot of them in my search this evening. I wonder if they are all from the same company….

I’ve come across some job descriptions that made me chuckle, a few choice snippets I will share with you now:

The role will be based front of house and candidates should be experineced in jumping in the kitchen and assisting as required.

I can jump in a kitchen if you like. Would probably look a bit silly though. I can also spell experienced correctly, would that be useful? The whole entry is riddled with typos and poor grammar actually, I recommend they hire a proof-reader or at least someone who spell-checks their final copy before submitting it for the world to see.

The restaurant can accommodate up to 120 covers and under the direction of the manager you will storm into a busy 2011 summer.

What the heck are “covers”? Is this some industry speak I’m unaware of or do they mean customers? Looks like they have a time machine too if they’re getting ready for the summer of 2011.

Are you passionate about Savers? Do you want to have a career with us?

I haven’t even got a clue who you are! Not exactly a recognisable or distinctive company name, is it?

If we didn’t laugh about how silly it all is, we would cry….

I should add I’m also really fed up with the lack of information you get looking at vacancies. Most of them are done through agencies these days so you don’t even know what company you’d be applying to. The details waffle on about how dynamic/forward-thinking/world-leading they are without actually telling you anything useful. Oh, and how bloody unhelpful is “Salary: negotiable/excellent”? Is one supposed to go through the whole tedious business of applying only to find out it’s minimum wage?

I’ve got a headache already and this is only the first day of serious job hunting. Better stock up on the paracetamol.

Jan 3, 2012

Our Broken Benefits System

Sprogmama benefits, money, rent Daddy, Mummy 0 Comment

Over the last two months, I’ve been painstakingly trying to work out what our income will be now Sprogdaddy is unemployed and budgeting accordingly. It’s not been easy as his workplace have made a number of cock-ups to his pay and leaving date. Just before Christmas, we were finally provided with a clearer picture and I’m now feeling a little less stressed knowing what’s supposed to be going in and out of our bank accounts.

What I was surprised to discover is that even though Sprogdaddy was earning a pretty good wage, especially for the type of work he was doing, benefits are going to leave us only marginally worse off. I’ve gone over the figures time and time again, looking for what must be a massive mistake on my part. I haven’t found one. Which means that while we’ll probably be OK living like this, going back to work will be a whole different story. The odds of Sprogdaddy finding a job that pays as well as the last one are next to impossible. He’s going to be hard pushed to get something paying only slightly more than the minimum wage. And that’s going to leave us in serious financial trouble.

So my question is this – how the heck does the government expect people to enthusiastically search for work when they know they are going to be considerably worse off if they take a job? Who honestly wants to work 37.5 hours a week and earn LESS than when they were sitting on their arse all day every day watching telly? Shouldn’t full-time employment mean we at least take home the same money the benefits system gives us?

I have never been the benefits scrounging type and I hate the stigma and feeling of failure being on them. But I can understand why people are happy to live their lives without doing a day’s work. There’s no incentive to make a decent living other than the sense of personal pride and dignity.

However, one benefit that I’m not happy with is housing benefit. The local allowance here is just under £110 a week, which rounds up to about £470 per calendar month. I don’t know anyone locally who rents a home in the private sector whose rent is that cheap and looking at Right Move’s website, there are no properties currently available near that price. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a teeny terrace in a questionable area of town for £500 a month.

There’s also the issue that private rental landlords don’t like to take on tenants claiming benefits. Almost every half-decent property I look at has the damning statement “professional applicants only”, or words to that effect, tacked onto the bottom of the description. I understand that some people have no respect for the houses they live in and no landlord wants to deal with the tenant from hell, but please don’t taint all of us with the same brush.

Our rent is £615 a month and the annual inflation increase kicks in next month so it will likely be about £630 from then on. We have no choice but to make up the shortfall from our other benefits, luckily we can manage this but many people aren’t able to. So that means the only option is public sector housing for which there is huge demand and nowhere near enough property. It seems that if we can’t afford to stay here, we won’t get a council house until we are physically homeless. And if Sprogdaddy gets a minimum-wage job, that will be the reality. Now there’s a worry I don’t want having over my head.

At least we don’t have a mortgage any more. We’d get next to no help with that and undoubtedly be facing repossession now….

Jan 2, 2012

Review: Mothercare Cotton Sleepsuits

Sprogmama Reviews 0 Comment

Generally, we avoid buying new clothes as they’re just too expensive considering the limited amount of use they’ll get, but when Sprogzilla was around 6 months old we really wanted some warm, pure cotton sleepwear.

There were plenty of polyester sleepsuits around, but as Sprogzilla had just been diagnosed with eczema, we wanted to stay with the gentlest fabric possible. Organic cotton would have been perfect, but was far too pricey to consider.

Dec 31, 2011

New Years’ Resolutions

Sprogmama Mummy 0 Comment

Like many other people approaching the new year, I have decided to set myself some resolutions. There are many things I want to do differently in 2012, but these are the ones that stand out most at this time.

Update Mummy Notes more often: I have been a terribly irregular poster this year and I haven’t kept up with many of the weekly themes I started doing. It’s time to kick myself up the arse and stay on track.
Stop biting my nails: This has been a weakness since I was a teenager, but I’ve overcome it a few times. Currently my nails look bloody awful and I’m ashamed of anyone seeing them. As of midnight tonight, the bitrex comes out in force!
Be more positive: We’ve had a few runs of bad luck this year and my pessimism probably hasn’t helped matters. I have heard/read on more than one occasion lately that what you expect to happen will come to pass. So it’s time to start thinking happy thoughts and maybe I’ll be a bit less grouchy as a result too.
Explore my spiritual side: I’m agnostic and have a constant yearning to learn more about the universe and find my spiritual path. I know there’s something more to life than we can see, this year I want to have a go at finding it.
Be a more social mummy: I don’t just mean on Twitter, I’m talking about actually going outside the front door and meeting people. Now that hubby is jobless, I don’t have the excuse of not having any transport. Toddler groups, here we come!

I’ve set myself some tough goals here, but I’m going to have a damn good go at hitting them. Wish me luck and I hope you all have a great New Year too!

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