July 2005 babies learn about autumn

[merryberry]

OK, that cheered me up! Back to mopping brows and bottoms now.

Just wanted to say hello and I'm still here - may have to print this thread to catch up. You can be my bedtime reading!

Mrs D - that is very sad.

Eulalia - I also think you sound like you cope with everything so well. Hope the help helps!

Belo - if you are going to put a liner in the nappy maybe you could try a raw silk liner. I bought some from a nappy web site and they do seem to make a difference. Also I find dd's bum is happiest at night in a cloth nappy with a wool wrap. They don't leak and if they weren't a bit on the bulky side I would put her in them during the day.

Dd is teething - very red cheeks and having been an amazing sleeper for about 3 weeks back in September/October she is now getting up at least twice a night and we fall asleep feeding. Have other babies started doing this? I really thought I was onto a good thing having had a nightmare time with ds.

Night night.

Hi All

Sorry I have been a bit caught up lately. But I thought I could rely on you guys to tell me what the accepted wisdom on Jolly Jumpers is over there in the UK. I got one for DS2 and he loves it. First he started jumping in my lap, which is something that my DS1 never did, so I thought it was particularly well suited to him. I only put him in it for a few minutes under close smiling and laughing supervision, and not every day. I can't find anything specific on Australian websites that says that it has been scientifically proven to damage their wee legs or backs or whatever. The highest risks seem to come from faulty equipment or installation and siblings rather than the jumping itself. What do you guys think? I wasn't worried until my in-laws had a word to my DH about it after I sent them a cute photo of him in it.

I like our bumbo, but I only put him in it briefly when I need to do stuff in the kitchen. I have a Prima Pappa high chair from DS1. They are great for little ones as the chair tips back to give them the support they need when they are not great sitters, but it is a nightmare to keep clean.

Our sleeping is a bit hit and miss. Mind you, he has had 3 colds already! Sometimes he has gone for weeks sleeping through and then weeks not. And then it can be alternate waking and sleeping through. I find that the longer he has napped in the day the more likely he is to sleep through the night when he has been going through a rough patch. He is dribbling a lot and chewing on everything, but so did DS1 and he didn't get any teeth until 7mths.

I planned to start introducing solids at 6mths as we have allergies and eczema in the family, but I've been beginning to wonder if I might hold it off a bit longer if his 6mth checkup is fine. He does show interest in food when I am eating, but then he shows interest in anything he could put near his mouth. What do you think?

Hi all, was walking around a 'mall' this evening (8 o'clock) with the babba, and my cousin's 2 year old. So nice not to be freezing our asses off. It is chilly, but mild IYSWIM, and during the day it was positively warm (we're in San Diego at the moment).

Flight went well, dd behaved well, airport hotel in Los Angeles had no hotwater which was a bummer, so we moved rooms at 1AM so we could all have a bath. Bit of jet lag but we're fine.

latearrival - I think Camille is teething... especially after feeds: super-bright, flushed red cheeks and lots of dribble, and a bit moody at times too. I understand this can be a looooong process.

Hope everyone is well and I'll check in occasionally to say hi and tell you if I get to sit on a beach.

Hello. Can I have some help please? Need a quick bit of advice. I'm thinking of getting dd2 some cloth nappies. Her bum is still so poorly. I've been looking at ebay and there are so many different types. Which ones are good? She is c16lbs now.

Very sad MrsD. Not a nice Christmas card to receive, or to send.

Belo, Tots Bots, MEOS and Bumbles are all good. Tots are 100% cotton, MEOS are 85% and Bumbles are 100% cotton with a polyester fleece lining. I would go for the most natural personally although the fleece lining keeps bottoms really dry. Also flat terries are good too but require folding which is not everyone's cup of tea. I would get some mother ease air flow covers for any of these nappies. If you go for tots then get size 2 as they can be folded down in the rise to fit a smaller baby, oh they need to be the nippa version and not aplix. For liners there are lots, again synthetic are the best for dryness and paper are the best for getting rid of mess. If you have either terries, bumbles or tots then you will need nappy nippas to fasten them too. Mother Ease One Size (MEOS) are popper fastening. If you want to investigate further I would try Kittykins.co.uk who are very prompt with their delivery and have good advice. 95% of my nappies are from them. You could also check out Fuzzibunz on that website too as although they are 100% synthetic they are super quick at getting rid of wetness and as easy as a disposable. They also dry quickly and so you maybe wouldn't need so many - you could pick up these second hand as they are expensive. Hope this all makes sense - have had wine . CAT me if you want any further help! .

Hi Belo, look into silk liners too - supposed to be great for nappy rash. User maisiemog has a cloth nappy blog with a pile of useful reviews. eco-babes.co.uk do trials which might let you find a brand you are comfortable with.

HTH

We were down near the beach area yesterday. Lovely. Friendly people but tbh there is not much to see or do, except chill out in the sun. Which is perhaps what we should do, but instead of staying put in one place for so long (we were going to rent an aprtment for one month), we might try and maybe visit a few of the highlights of California instead, spending a few days to a week at each instead of being tied down to one place and just doing day trips IYSWIM. Might be asking for trouble with dd. Hmm... better go read a guidebook, LOL.

Hub and Bagpuss - thanks for advice. I like the idea of getting 100% cotton ones, but the popper ones also sound good. I think I'm going to try and get some 2nd hand ones from ebay to try 1st. We've been using silk liners hub, but I'm not sure if they've helped. Dd2 has had diaoreah (can never spell that) and the liners just seem to stick to her bum. But, her poos now seem to be getting back to normal so I'm hoping for some improvement. And, I'm going to try and do everything I can to make sure she never gets a rash again. Poor love.

Hub, you're doing the travelling/sightseeing holiday at the best time. When your dd gets older it will be harder.

Belo, if you wanted to try the MEOS straight away and are near a Waitrose, you should be able to buy a couple and an air flow wrap and liners from the baby section. Also (now I am sober ) I forgot to add last night that Fuzzibunz are deveoped by a mother whose child couldn't tolerate urine against the skin so they are very good for children with problem skin. The only thing with them is that you need to add a separate liner when using with nappy cream as that can affect the attached fleece liner and stop the nappy absorbing. Hope you manage to get something sorted out soon and dd2 feels better .

hub - stop talking about beaches and sun will you!!

Actually its looking very festive out there as we have snow started on Friday and snowed a bit more yesterday. Everyone got to our party OK though and all the food I'd made for the freezer turned out good. ds2 wore his santa suit and looked gorgeous It was also one of my sisters & BIL 25th wedding anniversary so my mum did silver table decorations which looked nice with the snowy scene out the window.

Belo - your poor dd, I hope she gets better soon.

Aussie - didn't give dd solids till 6 months and even then she was only taking a tiny bit for the first month. I would think you could hold off for another month. You could always try just fruit/veg, rice etc and gradually add in gluten much later. Also didn't give dd any dairy till she was a year old. She was 17lbs at 6 months so biggish baby and thriving fine on b/milk alone.

hello all, haven't posted on this thread for agggggges. the children & i are fine, dp has a sore throat & a nasty hangover.... dd is currently trying to escape from her bumbo, no luck so far, but it won't be long. our heating is on the blink so we all have about 6 layers on.

not much to report really. still no solids really, though i did give her a chunk of brocolli the other day which disappeared pretty quickly. she can sit by herself for a few seconds now, before sliding gracefully down. she giggled for ages & ages at ds yesterday, it was fantastic. he's recovering from his nursery show where he was a roman doing a caribbean dance!

Belo - you might want to try using a woolen wrap at night. I put dd in a pull on Disana wrap every night - she looks very comical but her bum never gets sore at night.

I also waited until about 7 months to introduce solids to ds. I will probably do the same with dd and may try and wait a little longer even. I also held off on the dairy for a year. I have eczema and was given a lot of dairy as a baby so I have been more cautious. At moment my hands hurt to type and this is due to a flare up I think from lack of sleep. Anyway - ds is a pretty good eater - not keen on fruit but will eat it if tempted by next course! Eats veg and thinks tahini on toast is a treat. I know - just wait until he discovers the sugar fests of birthday parties!

Latearrival, I like the look of those disana wraps but I am put off by the work in the upkeep of the wool so I have been using tots fleece wraps which are easier.

ds1 was at a birthday party yesterday and the amount of sugar and e numbers was out of this world! The parents had really gone to town on the whole thing. ds1 has been throwing up today and so we have had to cancel a visit to my parents . I shall be careful about the invites we accept in the future. There is also a seperate incident regarding a party popper in the party bag that ds1 received but I am still trying to work out whether to start another thread about that or just forget it - what if the mum was another mner .

i hate party poppers bagpuss. ds was given them at a christmas party last week & i was a nervous wreck. he didn't seem too keen either luckily. go on, start the thread, you know you want to!

we've been at the inlaws this afternoon. i think christmas is going to be a bit terrifying for all our babies - dd seemed a bit overwhelmed (we saw friends & swapped presents so it was a bit of a dry run). she was captivated by mil's truly grim laseroptic christmas tree though.

Thanks Eulalia and Latearrival for feedback on delaying solids. I will see what the 6mth check up says about his health/growth, before I make my final decision. Besides my eczema fears I am also worried about the extra workload and my continuing battle to lose weight. I have lost 8kg (16lbs or so) in the last 8 weeks but I still need to lose at least another 5 and with Christmas ...

I guess jolly jumpers are not really known in the UK, maybe they go by a different name.

The cloth nappy thing is not very widely known over here. It seems to be more of a trend in the UK. I have been v luck with DS2's bum so far. My new year project is to toilet train DS1 who is nearly 3, so I don't think I could contemplate 3 years of cloth nappies and all the washing etc that must go with them.

Hoxty, you are very naughty! I am afraid that if I do I will get flamed by 1000 mners who say I am too overprotective! I may do having said that - ds1 is off school today which has delayed the inevitable meeting of the birthday child's parents at the school gate for another day.

AussiSim, wasn't sure what you meant about Jolly Jumpers, are they the same as door bouncers here I wonder. My HV said not to put babies in for more than 15 mins a day just to be sure but other than that they are fine - I still haven't dusted ours off for ds2 yet, the poor deprived child!

Am also waiting in for british gas to come and sort out our boiler which keeps mysteriously going out and then needing to be reset again - typical the week before Christmas.

Am dreading Christmas with a small baby TBH, when dd was this age Christmas day was a complete nightmare, which is why this year we are refusing to go visiting anyone else and just concentrating on our own children that day! I think the key is to try to keep some sort of normal routine through the chaos of it all.

AussiSim - I've put dd in the door bouncer a few times. She seems happy in it and then gets grumpy after about 10 mins. Like Bagpuss said, I would limit the amount of time spent in it. What did your in-laws say was the problem with them - is it too much weight on the baby's pelvis and knees?

Am having to put bibs on dd as she is dribbling so much.

Bought the last small fibre optic Xmas tree at the garden centre today. Ds, dd and I sat in the dark at 5.00 pm mesmerised by it - and that is the sum total of our Xmas decorations so far.

Bagpuss - I also use fleece wraps on ds and think they're really good. When I first bought wool wraps I was advised to air them and only wash them every 4 -6 weeks. I bought a couple and alternate them but will probably only have to wash them (can be done in machine on cold but probably best to do by hand) only twice before she's in the next size. They don't smell (in case you're wondering!)and so far have been a success. I put dd in a baby gown at night as it's the easiest thing to put on her as she makes the biggest fuss at that point about being dressed - although I have found that if I sing 'Somewhere over the rainbow' she stops for a bit and smiles - and I have the most terrible singing voice.

Hello everyone- I haven't been able to post for absolutely ages as dh has killed our computer by opening up a pop up which contained 220 viruses. bad daddy. So I have had to wipe the hard drive and only just managed to save all our baby photos. Now I have to rebuild the entire computer. I had better get a good gift from naughty Santa Claus!
Hope you are all well- I have missed so much news!
I have got a rotten cold and so has dd- we have come up to Granny's house and she is mopping our runny noses until we get better!
I have started work again which wasn't half as bad as I expected- I have even been given a bit of a promotion which will involve lots of schmoozing and a nice bit of boozing, so I am very pleased about that. I am working three days a week until the Spring so that still gives me plenty of time to play with the Beauty.
Anyway, I am now going to catch up with all your news and see how you're all doing! x

Hi DaF - glad to hear work is going well.

Everyone busy with Christmas preps - I've still got loads to do - just wrapping presents really as we aren't going out on the day. Going to parents tomorrow for early meal.

Well yesterday was the first day of the school hols and ds whined about going out so I risked going to a soft play centre with them all which fortunately wasn't busy and we had a nice time. dh finishes at lunchtime today but wants to work on the bathroom (so I can have a bath on Christmas morning) so not sure what to do with the kids today. Wonder if a walk will be OK.

Having great fun with ds2's Christmas outfits - he has a Santa one and a pudding one and I am constantly stopped by a barrage of admirers

Hi everyone, just a quick message as I have just returned from Waitrose where ds1, ds2, dd and I queued for 1.5 hours to buy a rib of beef ready for Christmas day - I am consoling myself with stollen, home made shortbread and lots of tea now we are back!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of you and the babies from the Bagpuss family .

I probably won't post much over the next few days as I haven't even wrapped any presents yet but I will see you all (in a virtual sense!) in 2006 for more post natal chatter!

oh god, present wrapping, we haven't even thought about it. i may have to save some of ds' presents for his birthday in january as we've bought so many.

i may give in & feed dd some solids tomorrow. she's been feeding literally every hour today. it may be too much hassle though.....

happy christmas to all july babies & families .

Thank you all for the nappy rash advice. dd2's bum is at last better.

Time on PC limited at the moment. dd1 is so excited she can't sleep or eat. Definitely doesn't have the patience to let her Mum be on Mumsnet! Hope you all have a good Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have happy time with your families and friends. We are sort of ready - got to put together a Little Tikes cube as I think ds urgently needs climbing equipment and it can double as a playhouse for now. Hoping to get both to sleep at a reasonable time so we can finish wrapping etc. Ds is eating supper wearing half the Xmas decorations which are now actually down from the loft.

Have fun and hello to other July posters on other continents.

ow my tummy hurts. I have eaten way more than my fair share and I still have a huge toblerone to go!
Merry Christmas everyone, hope you are having a lovely time!

hellllooooooooo, hope you all had fabulous christmases. we had a lovely time, family-filled but fairly chilled, though it's nice to just be the 4 of us again. both children were thoroughly spoilt, though naturally dd preferred the paper.

dd is 6 months today, & is sitting alone very confidently now (hasn't gone thunk for several days....). we started solids on xmas eve, with a bit of baby rice, & tonight she had exactly the same as ds - stir-fried rice with chicken & carrots (though no soy sauce for dd!) & some banana. ds donated a small amount of choc cake too. i didn't puree it or anything, & she coped really well, definitely seemed to enjoy it. i should have warned 1st time parents to avert their eyes .