Crawling, sitting, standing..... any Olympians in the midst? ;)

[beaditAli]

Our spanking new thread ladies!

Quick question? Has anyone stopped sterilising? I'm thinking now she's crawling and licking the floor etc which if I'm honest doesn't get cleaned as often as it should then it's a bit pointless sterlilising her bottles. But all info say's stop sterilising at 12 months.

sassy and banana I think Orlaith might be a baby who doesn't respond to cc, she definitely gets worse each time I go in when I've done it before. It's like she's thinking "you know I'm crying and you've just walked in again and haven't made it better, why are you doing this to me?!" And then she's twice as upset as she was before. I do often leave her especially in the morning just to cry, but that's when it's more of a tired whinge than a cry, and she does usually go back to sleep or just gets bored of crying and starts playing. I really don't want to do that during the night though. I've tried a few times but she's cries so loud and for such a long time that I think it's unfair on everyone, including the little boys next door!

Well anyway, the only thing that was different yesterday was that she actually ate a lot of her dinner and then she only woke 3 times. I'm wondering if the extra food helped her sleep, or if whatever was stopping her from eating was also stopping her from sleeping. We'll see what happens tonight...

newmum I haven't stopped sterilising, but I think the same as you. She licks everything including the dog's bed so whatever's left on the bottles after I've washed them surely isn't going to kill her! The reason I'm still doing it is habit and for somewhere to keep the bottles when they're clean.

Ha ha Sassy I think my attitude is down to working with disabled and brain damaged people. They need strict routine & with a lot of them, the more you give, the more they take. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind! (I'm not being prejudiced just incase any of the loons that jumped on chelle are reading this! )

Saoirse I had to leave olly cos I really couldn't think of what else to do. I'd have been up all night with him if I'd kept going in & I need my sleep as much as he does!!!

Newmum I stopped sterilising about a month ago! Its like being free! And next month bring out the cows milk!!!

Ollys still not 100% I never knew a little person could produce on much snot! As fast as I wipe its pooring down again. When he's crawling its almost touching the floor!!!!

I forgot to say any nice things about Orlaith over the last few days so here goes...

She let go and stood on her own for 10 seconds on friday - nothing since.

And she likes to crawl like this

Newmum not sterilised once this time. When I had dd1 the advice was 12 months but when I had dd2 3 years ago it was 6 months

It's not that I don't think babies suffer it's just that a lot of people blame everything on teething. Grumpy moods, snotty noses, restless nights, nappy rash, all things that can have lots of causes like developmental leaps and just the child feeling a bit tired, run down or poorly. The teeth are supposed to be constantly moving in the gum so I don't understand how you can actually know when they are causing pain.

Luke's spots have almost totally scabbed now, just about 6 left. I think the poxclin really help for those that haven't had it yet, worth the £10 but I suppose he could have just healed quicker.

How are yours and Olly's eyes SeaChelles? was it you asking the other day about drink? Luke has about 1 1/2 200ml beakers a day but not sure what that is in fl oz.

I agree with others saoirse86 if you think it's habit then you need to find a way to break it whether it's leaving her totally or goin back in or sitting with her but not interacting. Luke has been waking at 12 for almost a week now an I assumed it was chicken pox but he had no calpol yesterday so I think he's fine but he was still up at 12. I gave him a drink as he wouldn't sette but then he cried as soon as I put him down. Left him to cry and he went to sleep by woke up again a few mins later and was a nightmare, but sitting next to the cot stroking his head worked well and he was asleep until 7.30 but that was 1.30 and I'm knackered.

Dh and I are having a hard time at the moment, we are fighting over nothing and seem to be misunderstanding each other all the time. I have had a cold and am tired from getting up with Luke and he is annoyed that I keep falling asleep. We seem to not have had any proper time together but that shouldn't really be enough to cause this problem, it's making me very sad :(. We acknowledge it and try to talk but then a few minutes later he's snapping at what I feel is nothing. Seems like a vicious cycle.

Wow, sorry missed loads of posts while I posted mine. That's what happens when you start before school run and finish after!!

Havent sterilised newmum001, just put stuff in the dishwasher. If you make bottles up in the morning and keep in fridge I'd say it was worth it otherwise not.

So if I make them up in the morning and put them in the fridge I shouldn't need to sterilise? It just seems really pointless doing it. We were at my mums yesterday and she was licking all the dogs toys etc, my mum was like a bloody lunatic trying to stop her but she'd just do it again 2 seconds later! I was planning on stopping her 10.30 bottle today and moving the 3.30 one to 2ish making just 3 bottles a day but I'm gonna leave her on 4 for the time being till her sleeps settle back down again!

Cinnamon me and dp have had a rough time recently too, to be honest the last few months have been really hard and I honestly thought we were going to split up. Similar situation to you with me being exhausted and we were both jumping down eachother throats for no reason! We have argued more since grace was born than I ever thought possible which sometimes not speaking to eachother for days for no apparent reason. It's been breaking my heart cause we're so strong usually and he is honestly my best friend. We had a massive talk the other day by txt of all things (he was upstairs I was downstairs) I know that sounds really childish but we were butting heads constantly whenever we spoke and doing it that way meant we could both get everything off our chests without interupting eachother or shouting! And it has really really sorted things out! We're absolutely fine now thank god, still rowing a little bit what with grace's recent sleep issue but that's to be expected and we stop as soon as we realise. So you really have my sympathy! I hope you manage to sort everything out, and in the mean time big hugs for me and a sloppy kiss from grace!!!

I think you could well be right cinnamon as it seems Orlaith's waking up lots between 12.30 and 4.30. Even last night when it was better she only woke up between those times. I'll try soothing her tonight. Do you think I shouldn't pick her up when I do that? She settles quicker in my arms but is that making another rod for my back?

Sorry, to completely miss that part out cinnamon, DP and I have also been arguing a lot recently. Like newmum said it's been since Orlaith was born and I'm sure it's to do with tiredness most of the time. I've also been having loads of problems with my periods and I think my hormones are completely all over the place so I go through periods of being very short tempered, and then a few days later I'm absolutely fine. Now when I have a short tempered spell and Orlaith's sleeping worse - that's just a recipe for disaster! I hope going on holiday will make us relax a bit and we'll both feel loads better for it.

im another one who has stopped sterilising. i stopped sterilising dishes at 6 months but read somewhere that it was best to continue sterilising bottles as the teats can harbour germs, but i stopped that at about 8/9 months. like you all say if they're licking tesco trollies (jacob) or sucking on dogs toys (grace) (funny but yuk!!! ) then it is probably pointless. i still rinse my bottles with water from the kettle though, more habit and to be on safe side.
sorry to hear about all problems with OH's. sounds like me and dp a few months ago. its soooo hard. no wonder so many spilt up. i think there is an element of just toughening it out and telling yourself you can make it better- its not forever. but it certainly feels like it at the time. hope you all sort things out soon. x
i managed to get my self in a right state this morning. woke up to news that there had been an explosion at a base in cyprus. and although the last i heard from lee he was still in afghan, he has to spend time in cyprus before he can come home. its to assess their mental state. he said he might be home in 2 weeks a week ago, so although the chances are slim it isnt an improbability that he could be there. when they said 12 had died i had the most horrible feeling ever. ive never felt it before. it felt like my heart had fell out and dropped to my feet. i even ended up running to the bin in the kitchen and throwing up my breakfast. ive never done that before either . i kept telling myself that he would have emailed me if hed been flown to cyprus but i havent heard from him since fri, so there was an element of what if he couldnt though. anyway, im much better now cos i looked the news articles up on the internet and i think it is a cypriot naval base not an english one. i am very prone to worrying and thinking the worst. dont like it about myself but i cant seem to help it. i know i sound a bit like a drama queen but im not usually!

Blimey! Its all go on here this morning!

Cinammon - Olly's eyes are ok now. Mine are horrendous! So red that it actually looks like my eyes are bleeding! [yeuck!] Whenever I wake up in the night they are stuck together! I've got a doctors appointment this afternoon, we'll see what he recommends. Hopefully Olly and I won't just keep passing it back and forth!

Sorry to hear about your situation at home. DP and I have our moments, but I must say I am very lucky in that we don't argue an awful lot. We bicker continuosly - however I see that as a bit different to full blown arguing in that we are generally just taking the mick out of one another more than anything else. We often comment that anyone who doesn't know us must think we hate eachother! Is there someone who has watch the kids while you have some quality time together perhaps? I'll do it!

I must say, the only thing that is still suffering since Olly's birth is our sex life..... We hardly ever have sex anymore, we are just both so exhausted and just dont seem to find the time anymore....is it just us?

Are Olly-dob and Jack feeling better? I agree with the teeth arguement on both sides if am honest - I hate when people blame every grumpy mood olly has on his teething (when sometimes he really is just being a shit-bag!) but I can also tell that he is in mega-pain sometimes too.

newmum Re sterilising - the only reason I am not stopping is that I make the bottles for the day in advance and store in fridge - so will keep doign until the cows milk switchover.

Re controlled crying - I tend to use both approaches. I kind of get a sense for when he is messing me about and then I just leave him to cry for a while. However if he is genuinely upset I get him out and give him a cuddle til he goes back to sleep.

Right after that monster post am off to eat my bacon buttie!

PS - Sassy am sure DP is fine - but I can understand how hard it must be for you. My DP is a police officer and I panic everytime I hear something bad has happened in the area when he is at work. ( I know not technically the same but....) xx

And I get here and you all bugger off! I'll try not to take it too personally....

ha seachelles its cos you are infectious!
it sounds awful, hope your doc appointment sorts it out.
i can imagine having a dp in the police force is every bit as worrying as having one in the armed forces. i have an uncle and a step brother in the police. dp has looked into it as something for when he leaves the navy but to start at the bottom would be a massive pay drop. (i dont fancy going back to work so he has no chance)
sat here waiting for my dad to come so we can go and pick up some supplies for the builders. its costing a fortune, at this rate food will be a luxury!

No newmum001 if you make them up in the morning you should sterilise as milk is a very good source of nutrition for bacteria as well as babies so they can grow easily. There maybe a few on things they play with but they can multiply quickly in milk and the more there are the more chance of it causing sickness etc.

Our sex life has been better since we had Luke SeaChelles as it was always dh turning me down but now I have a coil he says he doesn't feel pressure so wants to more. It's only been the last week with me getting up in the night ad staying up with Luke. I said we should go out but we can do things together in the evenings at home but we can't be bothered. We used to have at least on evenig where we played cards/board game/puzzle so we weren't glued to TV or computer but it's so easy to veg out and not move!

I picked him up initially to calm him as he was in a state but once he starts falling asleep on me I know he's fine so then I didn't pick him up saoirse86.

That must be awful sassy34264, I can't imagine. Glad to hear it's ok now though. Dh rides his bike to work and I hate it, last Saturday we saw a crash and the bike was a red on like his, although it wasn't the way he'd normally go I was really worried. Dss said it's not the right make but I wasn't sure, as soon as I heard his voice I burst into tears. Poxy motorbikes!!!!!

we had an almighty row about motorbikes about 4/5 years ago cinnamon. obviously my dp wanted to get one and i told him if he got one i would leave. im not prone to ultimatums but he wasnt as mature as he is now and at 24 i figured he would a nutter on it. didnt fancy worrying everytime he went out. his argument was that he didnt want it to be a regret that he never got one, my argument was that he needed to decide which he would regret more- losing me or never having a bike. he was very angry for a while as he is quite alpha male. but he got his male macho car later that year and hes never mentioned it since. too bad the same male macho car has to be sold in a couple of months for a car with a sliding door! poor lad, he's not even 30 yet and hes about to be the proud owner of a people carrier!!!!!

Sorry to keep going on about bottles, but I don't make them up with milk in, just water then when she's due a bottle I warm up the water and add the formula at that stage. Does that make sense?

Sassy - I'd have been going out of my mind. An ex of mine was in the TA and did a tour of Afghanistan while I was with him and it was an awful worry on a daily basis so to hear news like that would have been so frightening. More so cause you can't just call them to make sure they're ok!

I'd say that was fine not to sterlise newmum001 I'm sure hv would disagree! The situation with your step fil can't help your arguing situation I would have thought either.

heard from dp, he is still in afghan.

from what i read on a mumsnet thread in the weaning section a while ago, its actually the formula that needs sterilising. (this is why they have changed the rhetoric to not preparing in advance) apparently it has bacteria in it that needs killing and the optimum temperature for doing that but not killing the nutrients is 70 degrees. so if you have a thermoneter (cant spell!) you can check it that way newmum but the way i read it was that if you boil your kettle and leave it 30mins then that is usually about 70 (i suppose to be very accurate it would depend on the temp in the house) but this doesnt let you prepare in advance.
i could be completely wrong as i havent looked into it, just read a thread!

Yep there was a lot of tummy bugs in babies in France from I think E.coli in the powder but that won't change whether you sterilise or not. Luckily I have never had to worry about these things but I did get a leaflet when Luke was born.

My sister was talking about that same thread I think earlier sassy. I don't think anyone does it "properly". I freshly boil water and use that up to 3 hours later probably. (It's not often longer than that due to the amount of tea drunk in this house!) But if I'm going out I use boiled water and a pot with powder but the water could be used ages after being boiled. If you did it all properly you'd be thinking about it constantly and never leave the house. And if you were using a thermometer you'd have to sterilise that but then it would be hot and you'd have to wait for it to cool down. I feel exhausted thinking about it!
Anyway, my fiends whose LO's are in nursery say they have to take the bottles in made up at the beginning of the day. I was really surprised!

chelle Our sex life is slow too. I think like cinnamon's DH, DP is worried about pregnancy. It's certainly not my decision, I'd happily sacrifice sleep for sex!

Like Sassy says, the theory behind sterilising is to sterilise against the bacteria in the formula that can cause sever gastroenteritis, even in some cases death (post on the feeding thread about making bottles up wrongly & someone will call you a bad mum and tell you what its called & the percentage of it happening )
Therefore unless you make the bottles up as per the box instructions you're pretty much wasting your time sterilising anyway because thats the only way to ensure the bacteria is killed! I still sterilised & made them up wrongly tho. I use a flask!

Another one with a poor sex life too! Tmi question too , when we have done it, the pain I feel down below is like after giving birth! When I stand up the pressure is awful & I feel like I'm turning inside out! Is that normal???
More arguments here too. I think that its just part and parcel of being parents, trying to juggle children, home, work & relationship with the outside pulls of family, friends etc is really hard.

Ollys still not very well. He's soooo bunged up he sounds awful. he's gasping to breath when he's eating & having his milk. I just wish I could suck it all out for him! Not with my mouth obviously, that'd be a bit gross

Chelle Don't you know any breast feeding mums that can donate a bit of milk for your eyes, apparently thats the best cure!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and Sassy glad everythings ok. Must be awful when you just don't know and can't find out!

Just read that back. newmum I wasn't calling you a bad mum. Thatshow i think I sounded!!! Thats just what some people say if you do anything against the recommendations. They're oftens quite extreme too cos the formula companies are terrified of being sued so are over cautious when it comes to what the say.

I'm home alone tonight & very bored. I might get this thread to the next one if I carry on rambling like this!!!

Oh, the other argument is, what suddenly changes at 12 months means that the baby can cope with things not being sterilised. Its like what suddenly happens to mean they can have cows milk, can be weaned 6 months. Every baby is different & these are all guidelines & recommendations. Not law. You have to go by your own feelings and judgements.