h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there Shell,

So.... what do you think of h2g2 so far, it's good innit

Hope the Aces and Gurus and scouts and all the other silly named people are showing you round properly.

I'm just writing to say hello, and to say if you fancy a chat about kids or anything, then please feel free to reply. But don't feel obliged if you think I'm a weirdo
I recently became a father for the second time, and I'm still glowing with pride and boring the pants off anyone who will listen about how cute my little girl is

Do you know what you are having this time? apart from a baby of course.

Hiya Simon,

I don't know what I'm having as yet, I'll know next Thursday, I'm going to HAVE to ask because I have to start weekly growth scans soon so its a case of I don't think I can seriously do that without knowing!
How many kids have you got?
I've got my own plus my step-kids and I somehow manage to pick up strays as well, normally my hubbys ex partners, the mothe of my step daughter, she has kids and I end up taking them out etc. strange I know!
Anyway, I'd love to chat anytime.
As soon as I know the sex of my baby I'll post on the parents board, I can hardly wait!!
Ok, speak soon,
Shell

Hello again,
Just realised my mistake, you already told me you had 2 kids, whos the silly sausage ?????
Shell

Hi Shell,
Oooh good luck for next Thursday, I hope it turns out to be what you want most. And don't try and tell me you'd be happy with either, everybody always has a secret preference for a boy or a girl baby, we just don't admit it.
I am a double jammy beggar, cos the first time round I really wanted a boy, not cos I wanted him to continue the familys name or follow in my footsteps or any outdated notion like that, I just thought I'd know what to do with a boy growing up cos I was one myself.
Then I found out what an absolute joy children are, how rewarding it is to watch and help them grow, and I started to wonder how cool would it be to have a girl too.
And it only was
We waited till they popped out to find out what sex they were, but I can understand why you want to know early. Now you are having those weekly scans, it will be like you are getting to know your baby anyway, so you may as well know it's sex.


You sound like a bit of a kiddie magnet, you must be good with them to attract so many. What's your secret, how do you keep them all under control? Or do they just run amok with you picking up the pieces and wiping the tears. Either way I'm impressed that you manage it.
My poor wife Clare is finding it a bit tough adjusting to having two kids. She feels guilty for having to divide her time between them, when she got used to giving Charlie 100% of her attention.
I'm sure it's a natural thing for any mum to feel, but I hope she doesn't get too upset about it.

Cool that your step daughter has got into football, anything that uses up some of that endless energy kids seem to have lol.
I also read on the parent group that one of your lads has aspergers.
I don't know much about it myself, but I have two friends with high frequency kids.
I read a great article about aspergers a while back and thought you might like the link....
(me shuffles off to try and make sense of my url history)

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html

There ya go, it's a bit long, so dont bother if you or your hubby are rushed off your feet, but I'd like to hear what you both think about it.

Speak soon

Simon

Hi Simon,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner just so much has happened lately!
In reply to how you deal with so many kids, they don't run amock but otherwise I don't know, I do know that 12 year old girls are HARD work though, lol!
Anyway I hope your wife has adjusted to having 2 kids I know that I personally struggled when we first took Marks daughter in I was almost resenting having to give time to her when Joshua was MY world, it sounds awful and it took me a long time to realise that but now we are quite well adjusted, Im just dreading another one and feeling the same, but I'm sure I will cope!
Thanks for the info on Aspergers as well, Karls now gone to a specialist unit for treatment but they think it will be years before he is able to come home which is quite upsetting although we realise it is best for him.
I can certainly say that in one part of the article a reference is made to the fact that some apparently gifted children are probably verging on autism and I must say I agree wholly.
Anyway thanks again
Shell

Hey there
No worries about not replying sooner, no need to appologise, that's the beauty of h2g2, you can take as long as you like, no one minds.

12 week old girls are hard work, I'm dreading 12 years old! lol not really, Grace, our daughter is being a little diamond, sleeping through the nights and being very good tempered. Yippee!

My wife Clare seems to have completely come to terms with it now, I think it may just have been a little PND kicking in before. She's lost a load of weight and is feeling happy and confident and can't get enough of both kids. I'm sure you'll cope just as well when your next one turns up.

Ahh that's sad about Karl being away, but hopefully he's getting the best treatment there. You must all miss him terribly though.

Glad you enjoyed the article, it was certainly an eye opener for me. I think there are alot of undetected cases of mild autism around.
Good luck mate, and keep us all posted on the baby news!
Simon

I am SO jealous!!!
Joshua did not sleep to my knowledge for the first 12 weeks after he came home and he was already 8 weeks old then! lol!
In fact I looked so dreadful that he had to stay overnight in hospital when he was 10 weeks old because of sickness and the nurses got ME aproper bed and took Josh away, I was so exhausted I slept for around 14 hours!!!
Glad to hear your wife is feeling better PND is so misunderstood and I think more women have it than are ever diagnosed in fact I have yet to meet someone who HASN'T suffered after at least one baby, its because the hormones are settling down.
As for Karl it is sad but he is already starting to become more positive in his outlook although the OCD is not under control it IS improving although the doctors are now suggesting that it is full blown autism rather than aspergers which is a mild form so that is sad, however as I said at least he is getting the best treatment, it was no longer fair to him or everyone else for him to live at home although we only had him some of the time, he did live mostly with his maternal grandparents who are in their 70's and towards the end he was making their lives almost unbearable their only respite being us.
Anyway best wishes to you and your family.
Shell
(Shy)

Hi Shell,
Glad you got time to get online again It's great to hear from you.

I hope your next babs sleeps alot better than Joshua did, it's amazing how much more patience and energy you have after a good nights sleep, we are so lucky. If you aren't sleeping properly everything else seems to go bad too and you end up in a vicious circle.

You are SO right about PND being under diagnosed. Most new mums are going through all the stress that comes with being responsible for a new baby, just after the ordeal of giving birth while their body's hormones are going haywire. It's no surprise things feel too much for most of them, I don't know anyone that could handle that!
Luckily I was able to take a few weeks off work, so I could help Clare as much as possible, but even then, it's still tough adjusting to having another baby. They are demanding little things, and you feel like you aren't giving your other kid enough of your time. Then you worry that you aren't stimulating the baby enough, then you notice that the housework hasnt been done for a week an the bills havent been paid. and this was with two of us doing it! lol.

Great news that Karl is making progress already. don't worry about the autism/aspergers thing, it's only a name and there's a fine line between the two. With the proper treatment he will be alot better real soon anyway.
It is unfair for you and the others, especially the grandparents to try and manage Karl alone. I'm glad you don't think of it as a failure that he has gone away, cos it isn't, it's giving him the best chance he could have, and giving you all more time and energy for the other kids. Everyone is a winner this way.
Thanks for your kind wishes, and hope to hear from you again soon.
Good luck

Simon