Baby Questions

[lookingforsunshine]

Hi,

Can anyone help me with the following please?

1-Easiest ways of dealing with soiled baby clothes (apart from throwing them away). I've been soaking them in cold water then washing in machine. They all come out badly stained. Do I need to add something to soaking bucket before clothes go in machine?

2-Our baby (8 weeks) cries a bit more than usual between 4:30-6:30pm (approx). He isn't particularly distressed. Just needs more cuddles than usual, doesn't like to be put down. Isn't that upset. Should I be concerned?

3-How much time do babies actually need outside? We haven't managed to get out much recently because of the weather (and various other factors). Does baby need say..15 minutes fresh air each day or does it not really matter that much?

Thanks in Advance.

I didn't use anything but soap nuts on my newborns clothes and cloth nappies. The best thing to get out poo stains is sunlight, hard at this time of year though.

Those times are hard for most parents, even my 2 year olds are grumpy in the late afternoon. A nice long cuddle on the sofa for both of you :)

They don't have to have fresh air everyday. Apart from doctors/hospital appointments I didn't take my tiny prem twins out much in the first 10 weeks (also winter babies).

Oh that's reassuring. Thanks. How would I know if baby had colic?

Soap nuts??

You would know! The baby would scream relentlessly for hours around the same time each evening. One of our twins had colic and dh and I nearly lost our minds!

[http://www.soapnuts.co.uk]]

I soak poo stains in vanish gold before washing them but you need to do it fast.

We don't go out every day (15 week old dd and 2.6yo ds) and I tend to have 2 cranky dc in the evenings.

Congratulations.

4-6 was the worst time when DD was little. I used to pound the streets on a long walk, that seemed to calm her. Not that you do need to go out if you don't want to - I just preferred it and it seemed to calm her a little.

The general consensus is that "you'd know" if your baby had colic. It's really intense crying that can go on for hours with the baby seeming distressed but for no identifiable reason. A couple of my friends' babies have had colic and it's awful. What you're describing sounds like witching hour, i think they just get tired and grumpy at that time of day. My ds is one and we still spend a lot of time cuddling on the sofa late afternoons.

We leave badly stained clothes in Asda Little Angels Oxy action powder stuff over night, then rinse, then wash as normal. I've also tried running them through with biological washing powder to get rid of stains then washing with non bio as normal.

I don't think that there's a prescribed time for babies to be outside as such, more that it's probably good for you to get out everyday. DS was born last winter and it rained for 2 months solid so even when he was outside he was almost always under a rain cover anyway. I think he was 9 weeks old before he saw the sky! I don't think it matters that much.

Gosh, thanks for all the supportive and ideas. Really appreciated.

I suspected it wasn't colic but just wanted to check. Quite happy having few hours cuddle time, baby is relatively easy (touchwood) at other times.

At what point should runny poos worry me? Normally his poos are...well normal for a baby...but occasionally he has very runny ones (hence soiled clothes). Today had 3 in a day. Problem?

I wouldn't worry unless he's having liquid poo consistently which might signal a tummy bug. The occasional runny poo here and there is normal, as it the leakage. Vanish works wonders on getting stains out.

1. Napisan
2. Nothing to worry about
3. No set amount but I prefer as much as possible!

Poos are ok whilst they're loose and runny but ones that are like water are sometimes a sign of a bug. The aftermath of even normal poo can be a bit horrific though!! Ds used to be able to get them right up to his hair!

I soak clothes in napisan in warm water and 95% of the time it gets the stain out. Works best if you get it soaking before the poo dries though!

I put the shitty clothes straight on a cold rinse and wash later. Used to soak. This works way better

Daylight helps sort out the baby's sleep cycle so they are more likely to sleep at night if they get daylight, best have a walk in the afternoon

Daylight also helps with poo stains - even hanging on the curtain pole in the window can help.

Re runny poo - DD was ebf and had runny poo every day until weaning at 6 months. At 2-4 months she'd regularly soil a couple of outfits a day. She could poo out of any brand of nappy.

Can't advise on the poo stains, we never succeeded I achieving really clean.

Between 4 and 6 your baby is probably in that grumpy too-tired-to-do-anything, not-quite-tired-enough-to-sleep stage. Do you use a sling? A walk outside in a sling might help.

Getting plenty of sunlight is very helpful for establishing diurnal sleep patterns so a routine spending some time outside every day is good. It's also good for your own well-being. Cold is fine, with enough layers, but if the weather is too grotty for outside to be pleasant, don't worry, no harm done. No need to have a set target of minutes per day.

Thanks everyone! I'm going to buy some of products you've recommended today.

Baby sleeps well at night (we are extremely lucky, realise that could change). He definitely knows difference between night and day.

Did try a sling but it gave me back pain. Think I'll try a different one.
Any recommendations? I'm slim and small (if that makes any difference).

Will try to start taking him for walks a bit more.

:-)

1. Soak in hot water and napisan and wash with non-biological washing powder.

1. Yes my baby is nine weeks old and she is especially fussy around these times -she struggles to feed, thrashes about, arches her back. it does seem to be easing off a bit now as I have been encouraging her to have more naps during the daytime although this is not easy

Oh and we have had lots of poo explosions and dirty clothes! As soon as I hear a squishy squelchy fart we head to change straight away!

Often we hear what sounds like a 'squishy squelchy fart', we go to change him straight away, to find there is literally nothing there! Often the worse ones are silent. We smell them rather than hear them. :-).

1. Vanish
2. Sounds normal, unless he's screaming his head off in which case colic
3. As much as you can, I was a big believer in fresh air and would take DD out every day unless it was absolutely bucketing it down. Still do, tbh (she's 5)! I never got on with slings so just took her out in the buggy.

lookingforsunshine have a google to see where your nearest sling library is - they will have lots of different types for you to try, and you can hire out the one/ones that suit you best for something like £10 for 2 weeks, usually? Before deciding to spend more money on another sling.
Different slings suit different people, there is a lot on offer. And sometimes it can be that you are not quite adjusting it properly - I got a stretchy wrap with DS, and couldn't figure out why he was so cross in it to start with; after a bit of guidance from the lady at the sling library, I realised I hadn't spread the panels out far enough between his legs/knees! He was mega happy in it after that.