March 2011 Windy bums and a good nights sleep - Will these wonders ever cease?

[GeekLove]

welcome to the new thread fellow March Mums!

Now they are all rolling suckin and gearing up for weaning!

Poor you Renuagarwal and poor little one. It's horrible when they are poorly.
We had a night in hospital after an episode of bloody poos. It's feels so wrong to see you little one in a hospital bed. You just wish it was you instead!
Well, I hope he is on the mend and feeling a lot better.

Yes entertaining the baby, thats a dilemma. Today I found the tumble tots music on Spotify. I would really recommend having a listen. It also doesn't feel as bad as putting them in front of the telly, and you can get on and do a few things while they listen to it on there own for a bit...but doing it with them is pretty fun, even a bit of a work out for you!

H can get around the whole floor now in shuffles and rolls so I need to start thinking about baby proofing. Whats the verdict on play pens?

Entertainment not sure what to do with Arthur really anymore either. Today I picked him up a tamborine to kick with his feet and some rattling stuff and a light/sound thing that he can hit when he's a bit bigger (bang goes my policy on nothing noisy!). His favourite things at the moment though are the door bouncer which produces much laughter and sophie le giraffe which brings out a big smile EVERY SINGLE time!

Sleep we've been having to do some ignoring here too and find Arthur goes back to sleep after 10mins or so. The result is he is very nearly sleeping through (touch wood - I have been here before!) but he's going down somewhere between 7/8 and not waking for a feed until 5am. A couple of nights ago he woke at 11.30pm and I could tell from his shouting there would be no ignoring him so fed and he slept through-ish until 8am. I say ish as he did briefly wake a couple of times but I didn't have to get out of bed. A likes to wake up and have a chat, or a screach or a winge , unless its an upset cry I'm not getting out of bed anymore!

Don't know what to do about his wriggling in the cot though! After every nap/sleep I go in and find him lying sideways with legs between the bars

Hi everyone,
sorry I havent posted in ages I just don't get a chance,
I too am out of ideas of how to entertain E and he is my 2nd child! plus at the moment I feel like a zombie am so tired I wish he would sleep through though his sister didn't until 8 months! I am back at work end oct/early nov and don't know how I am going to manage to work when I'm not sleeping enough, also OH will be looking after E while I'm at work and I don't know how that is going to work as I'm still bf, plus E still only goes to sleep on the boob so am worried about that too as some shifts I may not be home till 9pm. Naps are still inconsistant Today it took 2 hours to get him to have his morning nap.

anyone's LO been refusing feeds E has had a few days when he hasn't wanted to bf (only had about 2 feeds) though he ate solids fine and was happy in himself.

Hi everyone,

Not had a chance to read through all your posts yet, am playing catch-up from last week still.
Just a quick one to say return to work has gone well.....(so far).. been ultra organised (so not my style!) and had bags/luches etc ready the evening before. My idea of getting up at 6.15am, having a cup of coffee and getting myself ready before waking up the girls to get them organised didn't work because both Beth and Georgie decided to wake at same time as me!! It has gone ok so far thouugh, apart from evenings are a killer - I pick the girls up at 5pm and then don't seem to stop until 9.30pm (cooking, feeding, bathing, preparing bags etc for next day) - so my plan is to try using slow cooker and have meals ready for return from work and see how that goes!!
Bethan is feeding from me mornings, evening and night (waking once now about 3am ish) she still won't take a bottle, but is on 3 meals a day with some water from a sippy cup (not enough yet) and apparently is taking some formula from a trainer cup/bottle for the childminder (won't for me).

Must go as Beth just woken from power nap!!! Catch-up soon. Hope everyone is well. x

Oh forgot to say re BCG it isn't all of London, as E born in tooting too and didn't have it. Nor did dd when she was born even though both areas we lived in we very multicultural and With a particulary a large number of immigrants from countries with a high prevalence of TB.

Morning Marchers.

Well we have started the solids! TBH she's not massively keen so far - quite liked the rice (but doesn't it go runny very quickly!!) but other purees (sweet potato, banana) she hasn't been keen on. Have also given her a (whole floret of) brocolli and cauliflower too and she had a good suck on them, so I think she'll enjoy the finger foods. She still can't quite get the picking it up and eating it though so I held them for her which I know is slightly cheating!!

haloflo yes that Weissbluth book is a bit of a bible isn't it! From memory (I've lent it to someone at the mo) there's a LOT about his 7 year study about child sleep at first. I think I used the index a lot - esp for naps!

me Lara refuses feeds all the time, she's terrible! All she wants to do is stare at DS. She still hasn't rolled over yet because of it - she did it once about a month ago accidentally and hasn't since!

Purple the evenings sound tough - mine are too and I don't even have work to prepare for! But it's so much better to plan in advance isn't it, otherwise you wake up on the back foot already.

petty I tried leaving Lara last night when she woke at 3.30 as she wasn't crying, but she was awake for AGES! At 4, I thought sod this and fed her, she fed for 4 mins and then just started looking around, so I put her back and she went to sleep after 5 mins or so. Maybe she just wanted a drink. Wonder what would have happened if I'd left her longer as she wasn't upset but I wanted to go back to sleep myself!!

Ren how worrying for you - can't imagine how it must be to see your child in hospital. Hope all is ok now.

Right morning nap is over for madam so will get her up now. Have nice days all - I am being subjected to rugby all morning and then Norwich City this arvo!! xxx

PS bluebeach playpens - great if your LO is happy in them. Mine wasn't overjoyed - we had one for DS for about a month and then he started crawling so we opened it up to become a barrier in front of the TV/fireplace etc.

And entertaining - have to say that the older sibling is a WINNER when you're on second/third etc baby - Lara just watches her brother all day x

Hmmm so what you're saying Lozario is that really I need to have another baby (A is DC1).... It won't help entertain A (for at least 9 months ) but A will be very useful for the next one? [skips off to tell DH my new reason for having another DC ]

That's right petty, and the older one has lots of fun wrestling with giving cuddles to the new one too!!!

Agree on entertainment value of older dcs. O is noticeably happier when siblings around and laughs loads at them. He can't feed or sleep with them in the room now though as he is too distracted.

Have had 5 teeth cutting through this last weekend! One top tooth finally through, two bottom teeth next to middle teeth cam through last night, and another middle top tooth and a top canine poised to break. No wonder my sleep has been miserable though last night wasn't too bad as there was one 4 hour block before back to hourly. Dh in USA for work so on my own again!
Started weaning. He's not keen but I think am just finding it so difficult to find a good time for him amongst the chaos with ds2 suddenly v v clingy and mad dashes with him to the potty in the muddle of trying to give o food!
I remember it being so easy with ds1 and ds2 wolfing down food from the off. Rose tinted glasses? O just seems to let it sit in his mouth and cry! At least he will now let me get some in!
Have finally decided it is back to work on nov 1st so really have to get my act together. He hasn't taken a bottle yet!

Wowweeeee Cherub - 5 teeth!!!! At least if O is getting through them quickly then you won't have to suffer bad nights for too long (fingers crossed). I think A is going to be a loooooong slooooooow teether.

A doesn't have any siblings but I am still threatening to clear out under the stairs and feed him in the dark there. The cats, lights, dh, the ceiling, are all massive distractions for any kind of feeding

Finding it very hard to find the time for a coherent post lately, but will try to steal a few minutes now.

Five teeth at once, Cherub? Wow. Very impressed! Sabine's two bottom front ones are coming in now. She's handled it very well, I have to say. I was afraid we might be in for some rough nights, but she's been sleeping pretty well -- only waking once, usually. Sometimes twice.

Still not sleeping well during the day -- maybe half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon if I'm lucky. I so wish I could get her to go down for a long two-hour nap like she used to do. Not only so I'd have some time to catch up things (and have a little me time) but also because she's so tired all the time.

Weaning is going great. The girl eats anything I put in front of her. She even polished off a huge portion of pureed kale the other day. And I've now introduced amaranth in addition to brown rice, so she's got two grains. She hasn't shown huge interest in feeding herself yet, but at lunch today she did grab the spoon a couple of times and stick it in her mouth.

My husband's parents are arriving from the States later this week for ten days. We're heading to the Isle of Wight for a few days. Haven't had a holiday in over a year, so I'm looking forward to it. I think they will be very happy to look after S while I jump in the pool. DH and I may even get to go out alone together. I have vague memories of what that's like!

hi all
well, its been very busy on here with all these teeth coming!!
petty think Cassie will be like Arthur, long and slow!! Each time shes whingy and have ruled out tired/hungry its teeth and in goes the teeting granules!!
Weaning going great guns now! Cassie has 3 meals a day with a pudding at either night or tea depending how tired she is at lunch.
Sleep (fingers crossed and whispering!!) seems to be turning a corner, for the last week we have managed to get a good 2-3 hr stretch after lunch, and the last 3 nights dream feed, although i have only introduced it in last week) at 10.30 ish and slept thru til 7am we'll see if this lasts!!
I have been a bit busy on ebay tonight and bought 3 gro bags for Cassie as she has grown out of her 0-6 months ones takes herself off and quietly sobs as her baby grows up!!
well, must go as LOVE Doc Martin

blue beach Lozario DS is fine now getting better. thanks :)

cherub wow 5 teeth in one go ! awesome !

going back to work must be difficult and needs loads of organising to do I guess.

ede hope u have a good break ! I know it gets so monotonous and boring entertaining a baby all day everyday! also u need to spend time with DH, else u start growing apart.

has anybody tried giving orange to DS/DD, I was eating one today and he looked at me so I gave him a lick and he made faces but liked it. now I am not sure about citrus fruits. Also do u steam strawberry, plum and blueberry ? I was thinking to give him a taste. I mean how do decide which fruit is to be steam and which one can be just mashed and eaten.
Is there any guidance on how much solid should be offered, as my DS at times making gaging face and I am not sure is it for he is full up or doesnt like that food or is just being a baby.
At times things get so confusing you really feel you had someone to guide you.

Renuagarwal you only need to steam fruits that you can't just mash with a fork, so if plums are ripe then they can usually just be mashed but if they are still firm then steam for a few mins to soften them up. The BLW i know are happily munching on oranges, pineapple, mango etc.... in front of the HV at BF group so think citrus fruits are fine. HV said that A should have about 30mls of puree per meal (5.5 months) and that my friends DS who is almost 8months should have about 60ml. Both babies are eating at least double that, sometimes with a fruit pudding too Arthur does have thunder thighs to fill though .

Last week Arthur dropped down to feeding off just one boob per feed (used to be a 2 boob man) and then in the last 3 days he has doubled the amount of solids he takes in. I always bf before giving solids so not sure if I should be worried about his milk intake or not? He is bf-ing just as frequently though - every 2 hours plus solids at breakfast, lunch and dinner. As he starts the day with just one boob I don't know if cutting back on the volume of the solids would make him take in any more milk iyswim?

Only thing to be aware if with Citrus is can give baby a sore bottom due to the acidity!

ren glad to hear LO better

Better night again here so must have been teeth. Bed at 7.30 then fed at 1 and came into bed with me at 4.30 now up from 6.10. A lie in!!! Only thing is I still wake up hourly!

Weaning useless here. I posted on bottle feeding for help re getting on bottle but haven't had more than 1 response. Bought a nuk training cup with a soft spout which o actually seemed keen on but neither he nor I could get any milk out if it! Anyone else tried it - is there a knack??? He drinks v quick so will be frustrated with anything slow....

weaning slow-moving here too cherub. She only wants baby rice (which goes to liquid so quickly!!!) and rusks. She did suck on a pear the other day though which I was really pleased about. She seems keener on the finger food so we're going to do more BLW. And no clue about bottles either as my little madam won't take one. We're about to start potty-training DS1 though - so I'll be in the same boat as you, juggling potties and purees - don't know how you manage a school run in there too!!!!

petty A has taken so well to solids that I wouldn't worry about the milk drop - it's probably a combo of upping solids and getting more efficient at bfeeding too. DS was exactly the same and by the time I stopped bfeeding at 9 months he wasn't very interested in it anyway. (But I cried for a week!!!)

Best thing I did for day time naps was turn the monitor off!!!! Sounds mean but I still hear her if she cries - but if she wakes for a while and chats then goes back to sleep, I'm none the wiser. The noises over the monitor were really putting me on edge so I feel much better now. Having said that we only had an hour nap today so she joined me to watch last night's Britain's Next Top Model!!!

Can I ask the BLW mummies - what do you offer for breakfast?

I often do loaded spoons for breakfast Lozario. I make porridge (with normal oats for both of us) quite a lot. The other day I did a Bircher type muesli, mix oats with apple puree and add apple juice to cover. Leave overnight. Serve in the morning with yogurt. Sometimes I just do a mashed banana with yogurt. I put some on the spoon and then hand it to the baby who stuffs it in her mouth. She's really good at managing the spoon now.

On the finger food side I do toast with nut butter sometimes. Get the nut butter in health food shops and you can choose them with no added salt or sugar. We have cashew at the moment. Eggy bread/french toast is also a big hit (with me too, yum yum). Omlette has been popular. Pancakes are always good, regular ones and I also found a recipe for oat pancakes that is great. Half cup of oats, quarter cup of milk, 1 egg, a large banana and some cinnamon. Blend them all together and you get a thick batter. You can then fry little pancakes. They really were very tasty.

do you just make your porridge with water rather than milk, Muse?

I do it with with half whole cows milk and half water Medee. You could do it with all water though, or all milk. Sometimes I stir some yogurt into the baby's portion. If you didn't want to do dairy yet perhaps make with water and mash in a banana or add some soft fruit to perk it up. I have also added grated apple while cooking (you should peel the apples first I have subsequently discovered) and a bit of cinnamon always goes down well.

She is currently eating homemade hummus on homemade potato wedges. I am feeling very domestic goddessy. Except for the 3 inch burn down my arm where I shoved the baking tray against it. I bet that never happens to Nigella.

thanks petty and cherub gives a good idea. Now I have started giving him breakfast and dinner, he is taking it well.

Hi everyone, sorry so long between posts again, I am finding it harder to get on here now Beth is crawling properly, and DD1 started at infant school last week.
Lovely to hear how everyone is getting on with weaning, it's good fun, and I love getting inventive!

As you know, I started the early introduction of foods with the EAT Study, and that has been going really well, but it means I am a bit out of touch with what foods are/aren't recommended according to guidelines at this stage.
So, I've been wondering where you all stand with peanuts, egg, wheat, dairy, and fish now? Is it all go once you hit 6 months?

One of my easiest, quick-fix meals if I am in a hurry and dont have time to cook for Beth is a weetabix, with a spoonful of fruit puree mixed in to sweeten it. Can be softened with boiled water or milk. I love this one- it is great for morning, noon, or night. I have not been worried about the tiny amounts of salt and sugar as this was one of the recommended foods from St Thomas' Hospital.

Dumb question... I have been giving Beth finger foods every day since 5ish months, but wonder about some thing - when you give courgette batons, is it peeled?! Tried this and she gagged so much I think it is because the skin was too tough. However, I imagine peeled would end up so mushy!

Hello to new friends, and apologies for impersonal post.

Feeling that DH has just told me we may have to cancel our holiday as something has come up with his work.....aaaaarrrrghhhhhh

am stuck in someone elses house babysitting overnight and cassie decides to be REALLY unsettled, its really hard as i don't want her to wake the other kids but neither can i pander to her every whinge. We stayed here last night too so its not completely new to her. Just wanted to rant cos i'm tired and uptight now!! Sorry!

well, 4am is a very lonely time isn't it cassie been up about 3/4 times have ended up bringing travel cot mattress in and putting it next to me on the floor while i'm on a blow up mattress......never again will i help out!!!!!