March 2013 - 6 months down, 210 to go!

[StormyBrid]

Old thread.

Keep on rambling, ladies, we have a whole new thread to fill!

SoYo you've filled my head with encouragement and silly ideas!

Wing and Worse I also loooooove six months. He's so much fun now, and much easier now he can eat proper food and sit up unaided for more than .2 seconds.

Stormy my work days will be insane but ill be at home for four days a week. I promise to jibber jabber away at those times. I love this thread, I certainly won't abandon it.

Hmm parenting. I'm not doing what I'd envisaged either. I'd imagined breast feeding, baby wearing, blw and cloth nappies. I'd go to baby groups and do postnatal yoga. There wouldn't be a puree in sight. I reality I love cooking for the baby and getting a hearty meal into him (sausage casserole last night), cloth nappies were too much hard work, I have two pushchairs and haven't yet managed to hold a yoga pose without falling over.

Ladies, I have discovered the key to being productive. My house was disgusting this morning, kitchen bin bursting, work top flowing over with recycling, dirty dishes, unhoovered lounge... I was sat in my pjs sorting out swapping our Internet provider and opening a savings account for ds, he was covered in jam. Then I got a text from my mother to say she was near Birmingham and would pop in on her way home. In 45 minutes. I've never moved so fast. All jobs done and baby napping by 9.45 thankyouverymuch!

In terms of parenting I'm pretty much the opposite of what I imagined. I thought as did everyone around me that I'd be into a full routine, bottle feeding fairly quickly, none of this earth mother shit. Instead I find myself completely bottle free, no routine, co sleeping, sling wearing and soft as butter. Who knew?

plonky i have visions disturbances of my mum calling to say shes coming over but my place is a mess. Whilst ds is sleeping i should be doing chores but im having coffee and mnetting.

stormy im here with you full time until feb anyway. Really dreading going back full time. i wouldnt drop a feed just yet. My approach is just going by what the baby needsbt that is my approach. Maybe its her teething thats putting her off eating solids for now. See how she is in a few days.

Im a bit we have finally put our crib away. Even though ds has been in his cot for 2months i kept the crib up just in case. My room seems so empty and echoey its horrible. We put the bouncer and rocker away too. On a positive not am loving this stage. Its soo funny to see him do new things. Ds is now imitating us putting his tongue out. Apart from ds fighting sleep and wanting to be at home in the evenings he is a happy baby.

Argh! The day was all going so well, until she decided to refuse her milk and then pee all over me! I now have that song about not liking Mondays in my head. 99 hours until I get my weekly break...

KF it was my worst nightmare come to life. On the other hand, doing all that cleaning and de-jamming the baby did make me feel a bit supermum.

Oh dear Stormy too early for wine?

Oh excellent, new thread and new news.... much to catch up on.

I'll be back later.... it is chaos here. Two men are outside knocking down part of my house with sledge hammers... in a hail storm.... and I am paying for this privilege. Two words. Utter. Madness.

I've just had a fail for the whole family. We set out for our usual dog walk, madam usually nods off at the end and then has a nice nap back at the house.

Set out, just arrived at the park when the heavens opened. Pooch was ridiculously excited at her usual prospect of playing ball but I'd forgotten the rain cover and was inappropriately dressed. Managed 2 mins before I was soaked, the girl was starting to get a wet face and so had to drag a very unhappy dog home. Now I have 2 unhappy girls. Bad mummy.

96 hours until wine time!

Day got better. We had lunch. I put the booster chair on the kitchen table, sat next to her, and gave her bits of my food. She was actually interested! And also high enough up that she wasn't distracted by passing cats. Then we went to the shops, came home, played, put her down for a nap, screaming tantrum began. I suspect it may be tooth related, as some teething gel seems to have helped. Although I shouldn't have written that until after the nap because I've probably jinxed it.

Also been looking at turf for our front garden. To have delivered from reputable looking websites, it's about eighty quid, for eight square metres. Alternatively we can get it for twelve pounds fifty and collect ourselves from a place a mile away, which just happens to have an appallingly badly spelled website.

Plonky you've just reminded me, I need to get this place sparkling for the landlord inspection next week. I would complain at having them twice a year but it's the kick up the arse I need to actually keep the place clean. Note to self: get some beers in; make list of stuff to clean; wait for unemployed friend to turn up.

I think stormy and worse need to meet up for a drink

SoYo that sucks, did you attempt it again or leave for tomorrow? I got stuck in the mud at the park. The buggy started sinking with every uphill step, I felt like that horse in Neverending Story.

I have a weaning question. Ds eats incredibly well. He's onto rather lumpy purées and will eat anything you put on his highchair. Due to his appetite for solids his day now looks like this:

7.30 am 7oz bottle
8.30-9 am yoghurt with fruit/ toast with jam/ banana
9.30-11 ish nap
12ish lunch (usually leftovers from dinner)
1.30-2 pm 7oz bottle
5 dinner, tonight this was cheese and tomato pasta
6.45pm 7oz bottle.

I'm worried is is not enough milk. What do you all think? He would gum his way through a brick wall if I let him, but I'm wondering whether its worth offering 4x6 flozzes around his meals? We both seem to thrive on routine... What's everyone else doing to balance solids/milk? I know some will shout blw but I don't think I could cope with doing that more than bits here and there.

Plonky, mainly place-marking for later, but also wanted to say that's now exactly what we're doing and if he's eating well (which he is!) I'm assured 21oz is plenty. Only problem I'm encountering is getting enough water into her, but have countered that (and the resulting constipation) with fruit purees.

Plonky I'm still BF so I'm sure it's different because I've no clue how much madam gets but we roughly do.

8.30 feed
9.30 breakfast
10.30 feed
11-12 nap (in this range rather than fr this long)
12.30 lunch
2 feed
4 feed
5.30 dinner
6.30 feed
8.30 bed

Either the 2 or 4 feed is dropped if there's an afternoon nap or she doesn't whinge for it when we're out and about and all these timings change on a daily basis but the spacing is roughly the same. As you can see our days mostly revolve around food!

Definitely easier if you're breastfeeding, SoYo - she could be having masses of milk or hardly any, but she'll be having as much as she needs, and because you can't see it you don't have to fret about it.

Plonky it only took six months, but my baby is finally outdrinking yours! Excuse me while I go and do a happy dance. It's a hollow victory though. Sounds like he's doing grand as he is. After all, the idea is more food goes in and less milk is needed. He's obviously read the weaning book! Given your timings I'm not sure where you'd fit an extra bottle in. It looks like he's only going a few hours between food/milk, so it's not like you're starving him. If he's happy and growing well (and not waking up demanding milk at four in the morning) I'd say stick with things as they are now. I've just noticed you only mention one nap though. Does he only have the one in the morning?

I'd list how our days go, but they're not so regular yet. Usually get up between seven and eight (nine if she's woken up hungry before seven and been fed and told to go back to sleep). Milk on waking, then at 11, 3, and bedtime, or thereabouts, but slightly fluctuating times based on when she gets up. We don't have regular food mealtimes yet though. It's more a case of "Is she awake? Is it sufficiently long until the next bottle? Can I be bothered to make such a mess?"

However, I've decided Eating At The Table is now a thing that we will do. The man is not impressed. He likes to eat his tea sitting in front of the telly. He can keep doing so for now, but as soon as he gets paid I'm going to buy another chair and then he can eat at the table too. So for lunch today, DD tried bread with tuna mayo, a bit of cheese, and a bit of apple. She definitely likes bread. For tea she tried a bit of potato, a bit of pork, and some broccoli. Whoever said babies like broccoli was not kidding.

Phew! He's been grumbling at four the last few nights, but dummy return and a tummy rub usually sends him off again. If he was hungry he'd cry properly so I'm satisfied on that front. Wrt gaining weight, well I'm sure he is but he's not been weighed for two months. Feels bloody heavy though, I'm guesstimating around 22lbs.

You can keep happy dancing Stormy, his bottles have been dwindling for about a month now. He seems thoroughly bored of milk, and deigns to imbibe but six flozzes as a source of comfort alone. Today I half expected him to tell me that milk is for 'pussays' before going back to Smashing Shit Up. We eat every meal at the table though, really seems to make a difference.

KF meant to say, I don't blame you for being wary of returning to work. My old workmates partner is a sw and she frequently threw up through anxiety and nerves. I hope it's not so bad for you, you guys do an amazing job despite so many obstacles.

On a lighter note I may have accidentally watched What to Expect when you're expecting. The shame.

I'm so broody.

Broody! You're crazy Plonk!

It sounds like DS is doing brilliantly though, he's obviously getting enough of something & one little comfort wake overnight is fab although I'm sure you'd rather it wasn't there

Stormy we used to eat all meals in front of the TV too and it's a tough habit to break! I now eat breakfast and lunch at the table with DD and at the weekend we all have dinner together too. During the week DH is late so we have dinner at 8ish in front of the TV once madam is down. We've just finished a yummy chicken in red wine casserole with mash & a large glass of red. Good times! I'll purée some for madam tomorrow and see if she approves too!

Hello! . Here's the thing... I read your messages at least five times a day when I feed but during her express 7 minute feeds there's never time to respond. I missed replying for a couple of days last week because I worked three days which nearly killed me. So, after those couple days awol, it felt like a massive homework assignment to name check and respond to forty messages and That feeling has worsened day by day! But I miss you guys and thought I'd just get back in the saddle and start afresh!
I'm at my dad's presently. Off to Wales and then bristol and then back to Norfolk Wed. Bit epic but ecobaby and I are visiting the most recent newborn. Good practice because in two weeks we embark on our USA trip which is truly epic.
Ecobaby is, perhaps, coming out of A five (five! Imagine that worse!) Week wonder week. Hell. But there's been lots of factors in play. She had the weird low body temp illness and then 14 days of poo every hour to two hours with resulting nappy rash. Then there is the recently emerged tooth too so who knows which was responsible for the unsettled period.
We stopped food on doc suggestion but are starting again Thursday, so no weaning wisdom from us.
Mum's best friend came to visit us this afternoon and she made me my favourite chocolate cake so I'm off for a wafer thin slice to distract me from terrible tv. Dad and I sit and watch an hour of tv together companionably when I stay, trouble is it's always his choice which has in the past included benidorm, Jeremy Kyle and last of the summer wine. Today our treat is called baggage battles. A new low. I need that cake.
Sending big hellos to you all.
It's nice to be back.
I'd send you a kiss but I have a snot fest of A cold.

Ah Plonky... the amazing power of the impromptu visitor. I know it well... although I am far more scared of the alarm man than my mother. He goes upstairs, in all rooms and opens cupboards, My mother, if watched carefully, can be confined

Stormy you're stuck with me for the foreseeable. Or at least until I become tied up in the float of my multi million pound kitchen table enterprise. That'll be the foreseeable then.

As for the turf, £10/sqm for grass??!!! They're having a laugh. Tell them it's turf not astroturf you're after, or better still go down the road to them guys wot can't spell. I'm always suspicious of posh garden centres myself. They remind me of Oxfam shops post Mary Portas. The stuff is the same, it's just better displayed, nicely labelled and 15 times the price.

As for weaning, what with me being an expert and all (having read the back of the packet) - moving from 5 to 3 feeds is the aim for 7-12 months, which suggests early eaters are probably ok to do so earlier. Being fortified, formula is a major source of vitamins and iron, so supplement drops are recommended for ebf from 6 months, and for ff babies taking less than a certain amount of milk. There ends the scope of my reading.

No meals in front of the TV here, as well we don't really watch it. I'd like to claim this is because we are great intellectuals, but more honestly it's simply because there is nothing on I want to watch . I'm sure this will change when the worselet catches on to the joys of cbeebies.

Plonk be careful what you wish for... as apparently some of us lucky people retain certain hormones after the birth which make us constantly broody for up to a year! Or so I read in a magazine, so it must be true. You and me... reckon we got a double dose, but given Ms Consultant has stuck me on the pill to calm down my recalcitrant ovaries it does pretty much look like the effort is going to have to come from your corner.

Would you believe it has taken me the entire evening to write this! Every single time I have sat down someone small and cute has objected.

Worse thanks for supplement knowledge. I had no idea. I'll grab some drops.
And, stormy, you Have me day and night through til end Feb all being well. As soon as this silly burst of work is over I'm telling them to sling their hook. FOr me, work with no child care in place is a recipe for unhappiness. And, I meant to say earlier, thanks for new thead. Like the name!

Right. A spare 5 minutes when I probably should be sleeping so I'll try to catch up.

What kind of mum did I hope to be? Well some of it has gone as I hoped. We're 80-90% cloth nappies, which is better than my own low expectations of myself. We are in a routine (I LURRRVE routines), and although it has taken 6 months and changes periodically, it means I feel in control, which I always knew would be important to me. I have 'got out there' quite impressively and have lots of nice little groups of babies that we hang out with. My lovely little girl is calm and easy. That's how I imagined motherhood to be. However, I really thought if be bfing still by now (and still, 3 months in, can't dwell on the fact that I'm not without wanting to have a little cry). I thought I would be desperate to be a SAHM, but I'm not (you'll lose me Mon, wed and thur from November 18th). I never believed in dummies and am now a slave to ours. I waxed lyrical about blw, but now do 50% purees because dd has, after 6 months, found her appetite and gets VERY cross at lunch time if the food doesn't enter her stomach at FULL SPEED. I honestly thought if be thin by now (I expected a combination of bfing and walking for miles every day to get my baby to sleep to work wonders. Turns out I had a breast refusing good sleeper so I'm still fat!)

To elaborate on what I said to plonky earlier. We now do:
7am - 7oz
8am - breakfast (porridge, banana, etc)
12ish lunch - she's starving and eats huge amounts of purees, homemade or jars depending on what I've got
2.30 - offer 7oz but often not all taken
5 - tea. She feeds herself, pasta, sandwiches, fishcakes, leftovers etc
7- 7oz bottle (usually has the lot)

I'm a little worried about poo consistency, but we're getting there.

Mumpreneurs- I have my business all set up in my head. Even have start up costs, projections, a possible franchise (all in my head of course!) :) just no money. So no doubt in 3 years someone else will have realised the gap in our very middle class yuppie yummy mummy market around here, and I'll still be stuck in a classroom with horrible teenagers.

I went to work again today. Then my dad came over, and we ate very hot curry and drank beer and wine and limoncello. So now I really need to go to sleep. Night all!

Oh and yes, still broody. I spent a lot of my drive to work today working out when having the next one doesn't mean going into mortgage arrears. I reckon we have 15 months before we can try for the next!

Truly counting down to work here, as I go back end next week. Final kit day yesterday.

Think the boys ( dh and DS) had a slightly tricky day managing timings - as we know fitting weaning in is hard! - and consequently DS was a bit grumpy I gather . However they will have to find their own rhythm together. I can guide but there's no point being too prescriptive.

Checking out further child care options on thurs.

Thanks for new thread stormy!

I wondered where you'd all gone! I thought I'd killed the last thread!

Plonky I guess 4am is a common baby-grumbling time, because we have the same thing here. Never needs a feed, just needs flipping over and giving her dummy back. Wish she'd just sleep through though!

Your casserole sounds lovely, SoYo. Hmm, wine-based meals for babies... I do an excellent duck in red wine gravy. Might have to wait for a few more teeth though.

eco don't worry about namechecks, we're all rubbish at them to varying degrees. I blame the phones, it's impossible to remember everything even when you do have time to post. TV with your dad sounds about as fun as TV with my mum, who has yet to realise that actually, the rest of us can't bloody stand endless property programmes and quiz shows. Drives my dad demented, but he doesn't feel he can complain too much because the more of her cerebellum she loses, the less empathy she's got, and these days it just doesn't occur to her that she's driving him insane.

worse I think it was the delivery charges that made the turf so insane. Even from the cheap place it would've been an extra twenty quid for delivery. Bugger that! As for our TV, it's mostly endless Top Gear interspersed with Star Trek. Both of which are firmly in the "educational" category, so far as I'm concerned. If she can't tell the difference between a Vulcan and a Romulan by the time she's three I shall be very disappointed.

Fun day ahead today - we're off to the doctor's. DD about the persistent oral thrush, which still keeps reappearing whenever I stop treating it, and me for those pre-coil swabs that had to be put off due to abattoir crotch last week. And I'm intending to weep and beg until the doctor gives me something to help me sleep. Last night it took four hours to get to sleep, and then I woke up two hours later.

Speaking of lack of sleep, someone's having a nap fail. Best dash.

Stormy I should watch TV with your Mum, I love quizzes and property shows. Throw in some masterchef and crap American dramas and comedies and I'm set!

As for wine in baby food, I figure it sounds bad on the surface but all the alcohol is burned off so it can't be all bad!

Eco Stormy's right, there's no way anyone can keep up enough to comment on everything and remember why everyone's doing. Just pop in tell us what you're up to when you can!

We managed our walk today with all appropriate rain protection. Madam's napping while I sneak a quick cuppa and then we're off to a friends for lunch and to meet her 17 week old.

stormy and soyo i love property shows too. Location x3 being my fave. Im also known for watching trashy addictive tv like kardashians. They really annoys me but i still watch them. I love American comedy like friends and will and grace too.

My mum is making an appearance today which is good because i caught up on the housework and fairy cakes are baking as we speak. She caught me on a good day.

Same old news here ds fighting naps blah blah blah... I leave him in his cot he whinges but soon wears himself out.

Nap-fighting going on here too. And possibly also hiccups, from the sound of it. She's knackered, poor child, having only managed a twenty minute nap before we had to head to the doctor's, but will she sleep? Will she heck.

Doctor totally stumped by recurring oral thrush. So we're being referred to a paediatrician. On the plus side, I have a prescription for some sleeping tablets, same ones my brother's on and he reckons they're great, so fingers crossed for tonight!