The CRESH spa and creche: we ALL deserve crap ham

[FannyPriceless]

Enter all ye ESHes. We've been Barren, we've been Pregnant - now at last we are Child-Rearing.

• Come share your questionable tips on raising a real live baybee!
• Compete with Cunty to take control of the bad mummy crown!
• Eat crap ham - after all, you deserve it!

Although I draw the line at fray bentos.

Honey I am doing a press pass with some of your lot next week.

We went out last night to a friends house for some food, they only live a mile or so away so we walked with the boy in the pram. We felt like very bad parents as we walked home with him at 3am

Not bad, just naughty Cossie

Opinions please - BC is now 15 weeks, goes to bed at 7ish and wakes to feed a couple of times in the night. Last night at 1 and 4. He's not hungry when he wakes in the morning and today lasted until 9:30 before I needed to feed him. Am tempted to dream-feed him at 11 and try and get him to sleep through. Anyone else tried this?

That's what we did clucky. And when she started not wanting milk first thing again, we dropped the late dream feed too. This mornign she downed 180ml at 5.30am and went back to sleep till 7. Bliss!

worth a try, never worked for us though, he just slept instead of dream feeding and so woke anyway! If it doesn't work, you could try settling him by rocking or something at the 4am waking and see if he'll drop that?

He sometimes wakes between feeds - 3 and 6 last night - so we just bung on his musical mobile which gets hims back to sleep so thought I'd try that.

How old was Squeaks when you did it Curls?

I think it was around 16 weeks or so we started going for that method - trying at least. He was still waking, but not because he was hungry.

Bear had chips at the zoo - seemed to go down well. :)

I've just had a shopping fail, went out to buy a butterdish (stop sniggering at the back) and what the fuck is this? A national shortage of butterdishii? My PFB needs his butter soft for his afternoon cheese sarnie.

A question to you- how is it my baybee can eat weetabix with just milk, yet his father requires 17 spoonfuls of sugar on his?

I've just ordered a new Ewan sheep - the other has done its time well but of course is unwashable and has been milk-puked on one time too many and I'm hoping a new one (where the sounds don't cut out) will assist a smooth transition in to his own bedroom.

Does anyone else have a baybee who discovers "new tricks" in the 10 minutes preceeding bedtime? e.g., sitting up on their own, crawling, standing etc. ? Last night he figured out how to stand up on his own. 10 minutes before bedtime it was perfected. Cue 30 minutes of "SUSD"! Aarrgh. I fell asleep on the bed waiting for him to fall asleep.

I have my weetabix smothered drizzled golden syrup. Yum. Can't have it any other way. LC prefers hers dry and eats it like a biscuit

Sorry Clucks, I can't really remember. I guess around 10 weeks onwards, because that's when she would frequently sleep through from 10pm to 5am ish. I always had a bottle ready for overnight, and gave it if she sounded hungry, but we knew she could do it, so tried harder to get more in at the dream feed and eventually only offered water in the night, unless it was clear she was having a growth spurt, unwell or otherwise really in need of milk. For a while before we dropped the late feed (well into weaning) she'd wake up first thing and drink 2oz if we were lucky. She's been pretty clear with her cues - for which we are very thankful.

alps does Bear have his Weetabix with cows' milk? Because baby milk is sweet anyway and I'm wondering if Squeaks will still want it with non-sweet milk. Probably will because she is so greedy. And there's always fruit to sweeten it up. SFF puts sugar on all cereal - even fruit and fibre, which has sweet fruit in it

Re the bedtime tricks, sometimes she goes straight down, other times I have to listen to various bangs and thumps as she goes exploring before lying herself down. I just leave her to it, and have a peek via the monitor if the bangs get worrying!

I'm loving the long naps caused by this hot weather But not my sunburn

curly Yes, just normal cow's milk - usually with a bit of sliced banana on top.

Artie has his with a bit of cows milk and then whatever flavour big tub of yoghurt we have open.

I have no aversion to using cow juice, but she usually leaves just enough in her bottle to pour over the Weetabix. Mind you, I am considering an alternative, given how sticky weetabix poo is! This morning a chucked a slice of toast and half a banana at her and waited till it had all gone. Some went under the high chair and into the dog, but I reckon she got the majority. She's slept right through lunchtime - in her cot, only in a nappy with the window wide open. I'm getting hungry now, but I am waiting for her!

Happy weekend everypeeps!

Day started off well with earlybird ride tho prob have to get Mr Expensive Vet out as hoss still coughing!!! GAH!!!

Nipped into town earlier - OMG freak show! And no I wasn't looking at my reflection in the shop windows! What a sight! I'm not perfect but bloody hell!!! The amount of people shopping is horrendous and you can't get parked for love nor money let alone get in a mother and baby spot.

Achievement of the day! MB eating home made lasagne! And me not panicking! He quite liked it!! He has fruit purée on his Weetabix and I am pour sprinkle sugar on mine.

HI has taken the car to work which is fine as don't need to go anywhere else except dawg walk and I'm wondering if it's too early to crack open the Magners and is it ok to drink alone?

Could someone please explain the concept of dreamfeed? Is it sticking a bottle/boob in their mouth without waking them?

Also, cots - do I need a drop side, or is 3 adjustable heights enough?

medee I have a cot with a drop side and several heights. I hardly ever use the drop - even with my bad back - and we have used only the highest and lowest heights. So I would recommend keeping it simple.

For the dreamfeed, it';s pretty much what you wrote. Lift them out of bed, keeping them as sleepy as possible and watching as they automatically feed until satisfied. Squeaks would wake a little at first - and sometimes had to be resettled, but by keeping the routine exactly the same, she got used to it and went straight back down. It's quite nice to be able to do that just as you head to bad, in the hope that you will all get a full night's sleep, or at least 10pm to 4 or 5am.

silv sorry I missed that. Hurray to lasagne eating! And no, it's not too early for a Magners. Just wish I had something similar in

We have just been playing in the paddling pool. I am a bit concerned that Squeaks didn't want to sit in it but did want to put her face in

Thanks CC for both bits of advice. Can't remember how you feed, but do they latch on while sleeping OK?

Sorry, I am a bottle feeder, but I know plenty of BFers do it ok. It actually looks instinctive when they do it. And very cute! Squeaks was such a PITA to feed pre-weaning that it was my favourite feed of the day

Cassie I did cut it up into small pieces but am still chuffed all the same!

Also pleased to report that the daytime napping is finally happening. If a little later than I would like. It's only taken 7 months!

definitely time for a celebratory drink then!

silv doubly well done on the lasagne, I've never been able to make one I'd eat. Bechamel and I are not friends. :( Also jolly well done on it passing the taste test for MB! I love it when Bear gives his seal of approval on my cooking.

Well fanny, if I might have a go on the crown, took the boys to the stables this afternoon, shoved Bear on the front of the saddle & trotted around the yard much to his shrieking, giggling delight! Barely even dropped him.

ooh alps has got a discussion of the day!

Crap husband brought home bloody pear cider I am disproportionately upset.

alps can't take the credit as was HI's cooking!

curl I'll have the pear cider!

God I wish I could get babymoo on the weetabix. He bloody hates the stuff and vommed everywhere when I tried to give it. May try again with fruit puree. how early did you do this? He's a bit precious about texture. Tried the chicken Ella's today and he gagged from it and vommed a bit which the dog was very pleased about it. Cue lots of looks from other parents in the place as dog cleaned his legs and high chair.

cossie what are you doing next week? I'm intrigued! I can't work out what you mean! I also can't remember exactly what you do... Message me in other place!!! Your night sounds GREAT. IF you can get away with it, do it I say!

Cluck As an absolute fan of the dream feed as the key part of our routine (which we started a couple of weeks later than you are now) I would say it's absolutely essential. Quickest way to sleeping through the night. however, I do disagree with the whole needing to keep them asleep. The books and guru say, wake them up at 1030, change nappy so they are a) clean and b) wide awake. The longer that you can keep them up at this time after the feed the more chance you have of them sleeping longer and later and quickly pushing to only 1 or no feeds. Obviously no more than an hour, but by this time he'll go back to sleep no dramas and hopefully not wake you before 4am. If you get another wake up then obviously feed him but then see how hungry at 7am. If he's not interested at all, I'd cut the middle of the night back as much as you can so he resettles and then a normal feed at 7am. the dreamfeed worked a treat and we'd got to one feed a night (which I was fine with) and he wasn't massively hungry in the morning. I honestly still thought he needed it, but after we did the one night of controlled crying when he started waking up more often, he STILL wasn't even that hungry at 7! So long as he'd had a full bottle at 1030 he has never woke to feed again since that day. So as you know from my boring endless going on about it, it has worked a bloody treat for us and I am in no hurry to take it away until he naturally stops wanting it.