Hello!
Gi1da I so know what you mean about how people manage with older kids around? Seems totally impossible. Though, actually, would be correct to say seemed impossible. Now that Ianto has definitely left that 'newborn' stage behind, whilst it is terribly exciting to see how he develops and grows, I'm already missing 'Ianto-the-newborn' IYSWIM. And I find myself thinking "No I don't need to keep that box that X came in, in order to sell it once Ianto has outgrown it, because we will be able to use it for DC2..." Eeek I must be going mad!
Regarding neighbours and crying babies: It came as a revelation to me when I read in a baby book that most new parents worry about disturbing their neighbours, and that it is this that really makes the crying be so stressful. Whereas most neighbours don't really mind at all! Either they have had babies themselves, or they somehow manage to just sleep through it all. So, please, stop worrying about your neighbours. You have enough real worries and I bet your neighbours are totally understanding!
And yes, everything takes forever. I have now resigned myself to do stuff in the evening when Ianto is asleep. During the day I'm just glad if I manage to get to appointments on time and if the mess doesn't get much worse.
BTW the weaning study is not a huge thing. It's no new research, just a review of the existing research. Basically it concludes that there is little evidence to support the WHO's 6months position, but there is little evidence against that position either.
It's only concerned with exclusive breastfeeding. If you (partially) FF, it's not relevant anyway.
Basically it argues that:
- Some EBF babies might be low on iron before 6 months. (You don't get iron through BF, rather, babies have stores from birth that get used up). Therefore it might be good for some babies to be weaned (or topped up with FF) before 6 months.
- The main downside of early weaning/FF, i.e. the risk of infections through unhygienic utensils/water, is something you can easily circumvent in this country.
=> So there is little contra early weaning, and a little bit pro.
Alba yay on successful BF! Though mind you, expressing and topping up by bottle is hard work. My supply was very low too, due to Ianto not feeding well for a while, so he needed top-ups, which we luckily still had stored in the freezer from when we were in hospital and he was tube-fed. By the time the last reserves had gone, my supply was back up, and we eventually weaned him off the bottles again. But those first 2 weeks of topping him up - always giving him the breast, then the bottle, then expressing (and don't forget all the sterilising etc.) ... well, I don't really have many memories from that time!
So, Ianto has now had dried apricot puree, broccoli, and 'cream of papaya' in addition to the other stuff. He seems to be liking it, and is ... whispers finally sleeping through longer in the night... Recently we had been back to waking every two hours in the night. Though who knows if that is due to the food. It might just have been the infamous 4-months sleep regression.
Ok, Ianto awake from his late morning nap, gotta go do some baby-entertaining :)