October 2011 - weaning here we come!

[EdwardorEricCantDecide]

our new thread

Sch - That's terrible - so sad. I was hoping that at 4mo we were over the worrying SIDS stage. Makes me want to go and give my baby a big cuddle (she's only just settled after being awake all morning).

Glad I'm not the only one suffering with sleep regression, although I wish none of us were - here's to a better night tonight for everyone.

Okay, potential stupid question.

Think am going to start M on some baby rice (which am presuming is the same as "rijstbloem" that I can get here). When giving M a bottle of ebm we've been using the calma teat from medela - would that work with baby rice or do you need a different teat? Is baby rice like powder or is it bigger like oatmeal? feeling a bit dense today

eng not meant to add anything to bottle, mix it eth milk and spoon feed.

Think it's because there is a higher risk of aspiration or choking as baby can't control what they are swallowing or use their thrust reflex. Basically the baby doesn't have a choice but to swallow it x

Up every 1.5 - 2 hrs. I can't remember the last time he slept longer than 3 in a row. It's been weeks. I'm at my wits end. After all that 6am is morning? I don't think so!

jnice hugs and in same space. x

thanks for the advice mama. maybe what I'm looking at (in Dutch) is not the same as baby rice then because all the instructions are for adding to milk/formula in a bottle (though there are also instructions for making for a bowl, with more powder and less liquid). Or maybe I should use a spoon to introduce? I cba with this! Breastfeeding is so much simpler (which didn't stop my MIL telling me yesterday for the umpteenth time that it'll be much better for ME to give up breastfeeding . )

big hug jnice

DH is off at his psych. appt and has driven himself so have a rare hour at home just me and M. Watching (and singing along to) The Little Mermaid

Love little mermaid tho my voice isn't like Ariels . My fav is tangled "motheerrrr knows best".

(whispers, I know I'm trying to do blw at 6 months but J shoved banana in mouth and not the first time either. I know she ate some before cos had black wriggly bits in poo ). I'm not actively weaning tho.

enj it's funny though, when I was googling for weaning info, I came across an American site and reading through that, it seems to be standard practice that the next stage for them is adding baby rice to bottles. Apparently doctors etc encourage it as the first step of moving onto food.

I spoke with HV today about weaning and when to move on from purées. She said that I can basically give her anything now that I feel she could eat so yes to pasta, bread, dairy etc. she simply said the guidelines say 6mnths + but they are just that, guidelines. It's not law so go with what you think yourself. I feel more confident now about moving on. She has been enjoying her toast fingers again this morning. Can now add something to it to make it more soft. She has the chewing action to a tee

Right, back to my lukewarm tea

Oh Jnice hugs. Can you try giving him a bottle? He can't possibly be hungry that often.

Can someone take him so you can get some sleep?

scheh jessica is doing very similar and they are same age as jnice. It's often mistaken that mother isn't producing enough milk and then to supplement but in fact it is the baby stimulating breasts to produce more, and is the 4 month growth spurt and all sorts of developments going on. I personally would stick at it jnice ad look at kellymom.com as gives lots of useful info.

I handed him to DH and got another hour. This weekend I think I will ask him to settle him when he wakes and only feed every
Other time he wakes.

Gosh, maybe weaning is the answer? Starting to doubt myself now.

Sorry scheh wasn't meaning to contradict, just my own experience.x

Jnice dont doubt yourself. Your are doing brilliant. This really is a phase and will pass. Jessica started mouthing banana's but not weaning yet as such, tho I'm equally ok to let her start early of she is ready. Ds2 was just over 5 1/2 months iirc.

I didn't mean that, completely the opposite- that's why I mentioned he couldn't be hungry every 90 mins through the night. By offering a bottle just one night you could see if it is hunger, or habit, or comfort. Howabout getting DH to do one night a week? Even if its just one feed, its worth it because its having such a detrimental effect on you. I really don't think that after ebf for 5 months one feed will dry up your milk. I leave C with DP for 4-5 hours on the weekend when I go to stables and am still bf!

When I was in the MBU they took C for one night feed and it helped so, so much. If it made me full I just did an extra bit of expressing in the morning.

I know you're suffering with PND, and the awfulness of that is worth giving yourself a break from. Even if its just for a couple of hours once a week.

I'm having the same problem, DP is going to feed C tomorrow night to let me drink wine give me a break!

Sorry, didnt say milk would dry up, but the increased nursing is often baby telling your body that it needs to make x amount. But that as I said is my experience. I know PND is the pits and also wen they start waking after previously sleeping. I have literally sobbed like a child feeling so exhausted. I remember this phase and know there's an end and know its common. Also I remember feeling under pressure to supplement or wean, from
My mum and mil. Luckily with ds2 I was a bit more confident, dh a rock and if course mumsnet and kellymom

fuzzy i think the only definite no-nos before 6mo are soft boiler eggs and cows milk(in cooking obv) but everything else is just your own judgement

Thanks ed. I'm not a huge fan of eggs so there isn't usually any in the house. Will stay well clear of cows milk for another few months anyway. Stopped in at asda after speaking will HV and got some baby pasta (think it was heinz) and made a tomato based sauce. She really enjoyed it! Her face was funny at first moving all the pasta round her mouth but soon got the hang of it. She isn't interested at all in self feeding though. Will happily put toys into her mouth but not food. She just looks at me with her mouth hanging open waiting for it to be put in!!

Right bottle and bedtime. Tired girly as she's only napped for an hr today!!!

hello.
sorry to all those struggling with insatiable babies, unhelpful dp's and sleepless states.

ive just put the twins to bed, eva is asleep on the couch, chloe is in the bath and dp is at wrestling- so i have a spare min.

i decided to try and work eva into a routine today, based loosely on what she has been doing herself over the last few weeks and guess what? she has done everything different today......argh. im supposed to be going to the gym in a bit and she usually has her milk at 7pm and goes to bed at 8. but she hasnt had her milk and is asleep NOW!

dp is very wary of watching her after that 1st time unless she is feed and winded and asleep.

had a nice couple of weeks- lots of soft play centres and meals out and also sil's ds christening last sunday. even managed to tackle the mammoth task of tidying all the rooms upstairs. only babies bedroom to finish. its still in that worse than ever state even though you have spent 2 hours putting things in order- groan.

i think eva is 20 weeks today and a couple of days ago if you would have asked me if she was ready for weaning, i would have said no. but she is showing some signs of the not being satisfied with her milk amounts. will wait and see over next few days. i dont feel like there is any rush. plus i think im more inclined to wait as long as possible cos i know shes my last baby and she is growing too fast and im trying to cling on to her babiness as long as possible.

fuzzy eva has started to stand in the last 2 days. is s doing it yet?

I seem to be the same boat of thought as mama so ditto regarding weaning/sleeping.

DS every so often has something on his tray to play with.

I wonder why about the cow's milk as that's what formula is derived from? Remember there is honey as well

i was told to wait till 12months for eggs with dd1, but i think the guidelines are 6 months now. i waited till 9 months with the twins because a little bsby on their sept 10 thread had an allergic reaction at 6 months and she posted his pic on fb. it was horrendous. he was blistered practically from head to toe. definately put me off, but for all we know, he might have had the same reaction at 18months.

Good to hear from you sassy how are things with DH?

tonight I had a lovely special meal planned, tried to time it so it'd be ready after C's bath/boob/bed, and I've completely mistimed everything, forgot to make the mashed potato too. :( cue meltdown! DP suggested chips, CHIPS! With my salmon fillets coated in leek & mascarpone with filo pastry. With a mushroom cream sauce with POSH fish stock. And all steamed veg. Chips! I ask you

sassy we were at the HV today to ask about it but tbh, she made me feel like a silly girl who knew nothing about baby's. Giving it the whole 'well, look how outta proportion her head/body is from her legs. You can't honestly expect her to hold her own weight and if you can find a baby at her age that can then please bring them to me!' . She has in the past few days tho started to hold her weight for a few seconds so I'm just trying to encourage it more. Glad to hear about Eva though. What have they suggested as your next steps?

pa yeah I'll start using cows milk a bit after 6 months. Formula is based on it, but I still wouldn't risk it on any younger than 6 mnths.