Roly Poly Triumphs and Colgate at the ready!

[beaditAli]

Hope this works!

Cinnamon Glad it all went well.

As for the problem with your dh, a very similar thing happened to us when I was 6 months pregnant with ds1. Long story short, dh plays football on a mon night from 9-10pm. every other week he finishes at 9.30pm so on those occasions he would work through his lunch & leave early but get someone else to clock him off cos he didn't clear it with his boss.
After years & years of this, he got called into the office & accused of fraud by faulsifying (spelling!) his clock card. His boss had followed him & instead of taking it up with him he went straight to the big bosses. It was awful. I was terrified he'd get the sack & we would also have lost our house.
It went on for about a month and we got through it by keeping positive. Focussing on all the fantastic points that would mean they'd be stupid to get rid of him. The long service, the punctuality, the good work, the reliability & the fact that it was a stupid pathetic mistake that he never thought was wrong. He spoke to his union for advice so your dh could do that.
I know what you mean about supporting him but being so mad! How could he be so stupid when we had a baby on the way? But he was as scared as I was and now, even though they said he could do it he doesn't play football on the weeks he finishes late!

You'll get through it. Just stay positive and keep talking. Its a scary time but doesn't sound like a sackable offence to me. (and sorry for the long post!)

We've had a lovely day today. soft play & lunch then a snooze on the settee, then fun in the garden. Olly loved going down the slide. Ds1 pushed him without me realising & he laughed his head off. They then finished it off with a little tea party in the play house. It was so lovely seeing them playing together. The reason I wanted a small age gap! fun on the slide

time for tea

Olly 28 weeks (I think!)

I haven't caught up on the last few days so will do tomorrow.

Orlaith is now officially being weaned! She's definitely not a fan of anything but she seems like she's doing it to please me, so cute!

I lost track of this thread briefly but am back again - not because I thought I was a pro but just because! Have been at work for s couple pf times this week (KIT days again) and thinking aboit childcare / returning to work, which has been taking up a lot of mental space.

Not sure about all the details of our routine but it's something like this:
Two feeds overnight, probably around 1 and 4 am - probably 15 - 20 mins each?
Wake up around 7 ish; brief feed
Bits of my muesli around 8 (yes, I feed her some of my muesli while still in bed - mad or slatternly, take your pick!)
Another feed around 10, probably followed by a nap - maybe as long as 1+ hour, even 2 on occasion.
Another feed on waking, if it was a long nap, or a bit later if not - perhaps around 1 pm or so
A walk in the sling, and she normally naps for an hour or more then
More feeding on waking
Next nap around 5 or 6; sometimes quite long too
Dinner time in her highchair, food with us.
Bath time around 7:30 or 8, naps permitting! Then a nice long feed and sleep.

It does sound like she naps quite a lot actually. Not that I have a problem with it, the reverse! she's eating a fair amount of food from our plates too. Someone was asking about salt - yes, stock cubes are pretty salty, but to be honest if you're just giving the baby a small amount to taste / gum on then I can't think they're going to get enough to be harmful. If you're planning on blending / mushing up something that was made with stock, then perhaps that's more a risk of them getting more salt than is a good idea, but I think for the BLW tactics of just giving them stuff off your plate I don't think it's a very big issue. I do avoid giving Aphra particularly salty stuff like cheese or bacon but I'm not paranoid about it.

cinnamon, glad your inspection went well! Sympathy about your DH though - how nerve-wracking for you. Fingers crossed for it to come out ok - chin up.

Thank you for all your kind words. Dh will have to go in front of a panel made up of senior academics from his department and assistant staff from another, their findings go to head of department and then he has final say. The 4 possible outcomes are nothing, verbal warning, written warning and dismissal. We will keep our fingers crossed that they are reasonable but will take up to 2 weeks for us to know.

I did realise bread had a lot of salt lumpybananapuree but only give Luke the odd crust.

I tried to have a nice day with the boys today and succeeded!! We went to paint some ceramics for mothers day then off to get a few bits of clothes they both needed, some chips for lunch (if you ever go to bury at Edmunds mapletrees they are amazing!) and then back to go to the park with friends where we saw the frogs spawning in the local pond. Dh is home and feeling very sorry for himself, we are both tired so an early night for us and hopefully things will look better in the morning. Hope everyone is having a good weekend and enjoying this lovely sunshine. Anyone any ideas why it's a super moon tonight or what that even means?

Ok! Favorite recipes your los have liked!

I randomly threw in some tumeric & cumin with the parsnip then whizzed in some sausage! went down a treat. I quite liked it too!

I'm bored. dh has gone to the pub so i'm sat here with my galaxy & crabbies desperately hoping for someone to chat to on fb! What an exciting life i lead!!

Hiya cinnamon, just quickly - the moon tonight is particularly big because it's at perigee (it's the nearest it gets to the earth), and it's a full moon too; apparently this combination only happens every 19 years.

Another quiet weekend...

Hope all the poorly LOs are doing better?

Thanks comixminx!

Luke had his first chicken today, recipe from Annabel Karmel book with sweet potato and apple he ate every bit!

Had a very chilled day with a walk to the pond to show dh the frogs and making lots of dinners for Luke. Hoping my annoying cough and blocked nose disappear soon.

Only just started weaning so no real 'recipes' as such yet. Arlo loved carrot puree and sweet potato puree but hated apple so far! Really enjoying the process, it's so sweet to see him getting excited when he sees the bowl and reaching out for more.

Arlo 24 weeks

Glad he's enjoying it Dixie

Jodey was it you who said about the stew? (too lazy to look back!) What I do is stew in the slow cooker. Throw everything in but instead of cooking it in stock I just cook it in water then take out what I need for Olly & thicken the rest with gravy granules. I also throw in a few herbs etc. Its maybe not quite the same as a full on stew but is very tasty & NO salt!

I'm struggling a bit with Olly. He's got a major sweet tooth. not really fussed by his savory main course, but stick some fruit or a yoghurt in his mouth & there's no stopping him. I'm wondering if its got anything to do with the copious amounts of sweets & chocolate I ate when I was pregnant!!!

umming & arring over whether or not to train ds1! Was gonna leave it till summer but every night since wed he's done a wee on the potty. Last night after his bath he actually stood in his room & said "boby just do wee wee 1st mummy" and ran off to do a wee before I put his nappy on! Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! He's 2yrs 7mths.

Cinnamon well \done on your inspection. Getting a good from Ofsted is brilliant as I know how tough they are to impress. Great news. Sorry to hear about your DH, must be frustrating to have that hanging over your heads. Hope the outcome isn't too serious.

I didn't give Harlyn any stew in the end as just thought the salt content wasn't a good idea. Thank you all for the advice.

As for favourite recipes, Harlyn will eat anything. I'm yet to find anything he won't eat. I'm sure that will change when he starts having more finger foods. I gave him a roast parsnip yesterday to suck on. He ate a bit of eat but then just dropped it on the floor ion favour for Sophie the Giraffe (favourite toy). He has a little sniffle & blocked nose at the mo so I have had to put a pillow under his mattress. And have just found that boots stock a vapour rub for children to help; them breathe. Fab!!

Another question to anyone FF. When you switch to follow on formula at 6 months, do you do it gradually over a few days/weeks or simply just change straight away?

Jodey I don't swap. when you compare the ingredients and nutritional values there's very little difference and they will be getting extra from their solids anyway for example. Although the Iron content is double (the main difference) 0.55mg in 1st and 1mg in follow on, 1 spear of broccoli contains 0.45mg! Its just a marketing gimmicky thing! AND there's a whole 1p difference in price!
Its personal choice really but you don't have to change! (Not that I've researched it or anything )

Oh! and if you do swap, you can do it straight away!

I'd say go for it lumpybananapuree, ds1 was 2 and 5months when he first told me' he needed a see and we had few accidents. I don't really agree with the wait for summer theory because it's warm enough in the house to be just in pants anytime of year really. If he's showing an interest and you don't act on it he might get fed up and not be bothered when you actually want to start. If it's disastrous there is nothing to stop you going back to nappies, I did with ds1 the first time I started and it didn't have a negative effect on our second attempt.

Was going to say the same JodeyBogeyPicker but with no experience. From what I understand follow on milks were created to get around the ban on advertising formula as they are allowed to be advertised. If harlyn is eating well then I don't see that you would need it if he's happy with what he's on already.

Lumpy DD2 is 2.6 and nowhere near potty training yet so I will be watching your progress.
With DD1 we did it when she was ready which it sounds like your DS is.

Lucy doesn't have any favourite foods as yet but she is keen on toast. She still doesn't want anyone to feed her so porridge this morning didn't work too well

Jodey I asked advice about follow on milk from the HV's and they said you're better to stick to stage 1 formula. Apparently the follow on milk has iron in it and extra stodge (I think it was potato protein or something ). They were saying that the only time they'd recommend it is if you hadn't weaned and the baby was draining a lot of milk so they needed something more filling and could benefit from extra iron that they're not getting from food.

cinnamon I really hope it works out ok for your DH, it must be really worrying for you all.

Well I started Orlaith with her first solids last monday. She really doesn't like being spoon fed so we've just been giving her bits of veg to munch on herself.
How long is it before they start to want food and enjoy it? And is BLW a very long process? It seems very slow so far so is that normal? I obviously don't want to force food on her but she just doesn't seem all that interested.

It was my and my sister's birthday yesterday and we had a joint party for us and the babies' half birthday. It was really nice to see some people we haven't seen for ages. I had a lot of few drinks and made DP be in charge of Orlaith's night feeds. She was a lot more unsettled and I'm wondering if it's because it wasn't me feeding her. I hope not because that'll be more ammunition for DP to use when I ask him to look after her.

Hi saoirse - on BW - yes, it's slow I'm afraid! I think you probably have to be more patient / more chilled with it than with purees or other kinds of weaning. A couple of weeks ago Aphra stopped actually eating any of the food and was just bringing it to her mouth but not actually putting any in - before then she was happy to bring my hand (holding the food) to her mouth and eat that way, but clearly for a couple of days she was experimenting with holding it herself. But now she grabs food, brings it to her mouth, eats some, and is generally pretty keen. it's great to see but you do need some patience.

Hi all,

Sorry I've missed far too much to be able to catch up properly! Hope you're all doing ok.

Olly is now much better and we're back on three massive meals a day and full bottles. On the plus side he is now drinking a lot more water because of me having to force it down him when he was poorly! He had some tomatoes for the first time today and loved them! We are going to try some eggs tomorrow! Does anyone know if I can use formula to make scramled eggs - or can I just use cows milk seeing as its in his yoghurts anyway?

He is now sitting un-aided and today has been pulling himself up in to a standing position using my arm, clever boy!

How are all the other poorly babies? Hope they are doing ok.

Cinammon - hope you and your DH are doing ok.

Lumpy / Jodey - I was thinking of switching to follow on milk when I next run out - but having read the above maybe I wont. He's defo getting what he needs in his solids!

Does anyone have any other pudding ideas other than fruit puree and yoghurts? Am getting a bit bored of giving him yoghurts and fruit all the time for pud!

Oliver - 25+1

On the potty training front, I'm gonna go for it next week cos we've got a quiet one. He did a wee when I got him ready for bed tonight & again after his milk & teeth. Think he's ready! Watch this space!

Chelle Cows milk is fine from 6mths but not as a main drink. So I'd say go for it! Gonna watch the replies about puds too although its all ds1 has cos I'm stuck. He does have ice cream & cake too! Rice pud?? & he's not allowed to pull himself up! Ollys not even taking his weight if you hold him!

Oh and Cinnamon It idea of waiting till the summer was so I can let him have the accidents outside in the garden, not on my new carpets

Hi all, Great to see the chat picking up!
lumpy go for it and keep us informed! Im still waiting for ds2 to get with the program (3.4!) we started in july but by xmas had to put him back in pull ups as it was wearing everyone down. Im going to wait til maybe easter and try again. I want to try while he is going to playschool cause he is actually quite concious of going to the toilet when he is there so might help things along. He is a disaster - he really couldnt be bothered!
lumpy/jodey I went and got the stage 2 but after reading might just go back as Phoebe is eating all around her so extra iron might actually constipate her. Will leave her for another day and see what happens!
Cinamon Fingers and toes crossed for you DH. Let us know when it is coming up so we can send loads of positive vibes your way.
Seachelles What a clever clogs you have! He is a real mover and groover! Phoebe only just mastered the rolling on to her tummy and I spent this evening rushing to the rescue as she needed to be rolled back! Hopefully she will figure that one out tomorrow.

Phoebe gave out stink to me tonight because I was not feeding her fast enough!! And then bellowed for another bowl! Where is my quite little sing-y mouse gone!! Replaced by the hunger monster! She is loving all kinds of foods and I have used the Ellas kitchen and Plum organics meat range for variety as the suppers we have for the boys etc doesnt always suit her. At the moment I feel a bit like a short order cook - 6 people is a lot to please on a daily basis!
On puds we have semolina with different fruit coulis, or creamed rice with stewed fruit, grill some banana (caramelise it for older children) and serve with yoghurt, you can make a childrens bread and butter pud with fruit juice instead of sugar, and we love custard here and that goes with almost anything!
We are trying to get bits sorted with the house in an attempt to get ready to sell and I have only realised how little time I have free during the day. ITs bonkers! I cannot get a stitch outside of laundry and all things food done. 3 is just so full on! I will never manage a full time job in the middle as well! Thank God I dont have to think about that for another while yet!

Luke took a while to take to solids Saoirse86 but he was quite a bit younger. He likes to feed himself but is not very good at it yet! He has 1/2 pot puree/mashed food and then a few bits of our dinner too and he's happy with that.

I am using cows milk for Luke's weetabix now SeaChelles and my understanding is that you can use cows milk in cooking but not as their main milk drink as lumpybananapuree says. I made the quick rice pudding from Annabel Karmels book for ds1 50g pudding rice, 600ml milk, 1-2tbsp sugar, 1/2tsp vanilla essence. Put all in saucepan, bring to boil, cover and simmer for 30-35mins. I used to chop dried apricots into little pieces and mix in. There's quite a few pudding ones in her book Strawberry,peach and pear crumble, apricot and banana custard, apple, pear and prunes with oats I can send you a message on fb when I get a sec unless everyone else wants them too!

Have this idea of your ds1 living in the garden for a few months and becoming ferral lumpybananapuree

Dh had a meeting with his union rep today who has said that he will represent him and that he's sure he won't lose his job. Since telling his boss that the rep is involved his boss has been recommending they 'tone it down'. On the plus side it looks like it may all disappear on the negative side I can't believe the stress and heartache we've been through for it to come to nothing. They have no idea what they've put us through I'm sure and don't care, all for nothing.

Off to the zoo tomorrow, dh is going with ds1 with the school and I am meeting them their with Luke and 3 minded children! Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather. Packed lunch made just got to put it all in the car and round up all the kids, one at 8, one at 8.45 and one at 9. Zoo opens at 10 so should be there on time!

27 weeks

Cinnamon Its fine, He's got a house here Not bothered about the pudding recipes but the chicken, sweet potato & apple one sounded good!!
Gland the news is looking good about your dh. and good luck at the zoo. Rather you than me!

HI

cinnamon The last few days must have been such a stress it must be a relieve to not have it hanging over you any more. . hope you all have fun at the zoo.

We also do semolina as a pud, and it´s not at all like what I remebered from school dinners!! And custard on its own with a bit of cinnamon.

lumpy get stuck into it, if he´s showing the interest. I wipped the nappies of DS at 2.2yrs as he started to ask to go to the toliet, had a couple of accidents but sounds like yours that he´d "got it" before even having started.

15g butter, 40g chopped onion, 110g chicken breast, chopped, 300g sweet potato, 1/2 dessert apple, 200ml chicken stock. Put bitter in pan add onion and cook for few mins, add chicken a cook until browned. Add sweet potato, apple and pour over stock, simmer for 15mins. I found I had to tip some of the stock away before I blended or it was too runny.

Sorry crossed posts MammyG, phoebe sounds just like ds1 an eating machine!! Hope all goes well with the house, I'm hoping never to move again until I die or go into an old peoples home!! Or win the lottery so I van build my own house