November 05 Babies

[Rodeo]

A new thread for us and our little 2, 3 and very nearly 4 month olds, where is the time going??!!

Mamman - from what I've heard I wouldn't start the top-up with formula unless you really have to because a lot of people say that it can lead to the end of bfing. But a top-up of breastmilk right before you go to bed is a good idea - I always woke mine up for it. Where's a good place to get black-out linings?

Diege - does your black-out make a difference do you think to the waking at lunchtime? ds has been sick twice in a row for the first feed - projectile - not quite sure why...

Londoner lol at the wondering what to wear - it reminded me of in the USA - I was asked to speak at an annual woman's tea. So I thought oh, just a small church thing just dress in my nicer clothes. But then Caleb sicked up, spat up, and I leaked on every nice jacket I had, and it was too cold to go in just a top, so I ended up wearing a hoody and jeans and thinking I'll just apologise. Got there and apparently a woman's tea is a BIG deal - they were all in their BEST clothes, all made up - better than on Sunday for church, and there was me - the speaker, in a hoody and jeans !!!!!!! BTW you must be optimistic to be talking about spring coming! It was snowing today!

Karma, sorry about your PND. Maybe you need some more chocolate . Can I ask what they give you to treat it - you can tell me to mind my own business if you like . I bet you hate having to tell the HV, I always think mine's trying to make me admit I have PND even when I don't. I;m not surprised anyone gets it to be honest - having a baby seems to be the biggest world upheaval in existence, and it keeps going!

Hi girls, this is quite cheeky of me but can i direct you to this thread?

My DH is running the Liverpool Half Marathon again this year and is looking for some sponsors. If any of you could spare a little its for Children With Leukaemia, It would be v much appreiciated. You donate directly on th website so theres no fear of us running off with your donation

Obviously if you can't donate then thanks for looking

PS: gave Seth soem baby rice yesterday, promptly spat it all out, was more impressed with pear today!!!xxx

Tex sorry sweetheart there were hardly any messages when i logged on earlier so hadn't checked since. Ben's fever lasted about 48 hrs really bad plus another 12 to really get rid of it - would take Toby to the drs or emdoc to get some antibiotics if you can. I'm happy to sit with Rosie if you need me too if there's not one else nearby.

Karma, I'm sorry to hear you are feeling so rough, if you want to chat e-mail me on [email protected] and we can swap numbers then I can give you a call tomorrow afternoon or Monday while Ben's at school. It really does help to chat about it with someone who has been there - as you can see I was pretty candid about what happened to me so nothing you say will shock or upset me and it might help you to see things more clearly talking about it to someone who isn't as close to you as your normal friends and family.

Someone did it for me when I wanted to leave Ben at the HV's clinic and it really did make a hell of a difference and we're still very good friends today.

I'd cat you my number but have just realised I have no money in my account to pay the fee - nuts!!!

Don't worry you will come out the other side of this and you won't need the happy pills all you need is the support of frieds and you can count me as one of those for sure! BEKs

Meant to add Karma sorry that you are feeling awful. Make sure you get the right help and make sure you get it soon. xx

Hi ya L&Smum, baby rice that's wall paper paste in disguise isn't it? Glad to see Seth is going for it properly like Thomas who is wolfing down fruit puree like it's going out of fashion.

Have just bumped your other thread and promise to donate soon. Beks

Cheers BEKS xxx

Tex meant to say give Toby Nurofen for under 6 year olds then in between give him calpol. Nurofen will bring down the fever and the calpol will fight any aches and pains.

I was told to give Ben the Nurofen then an hour or so later give him the calpol, you should only do this for a day or two but it really works. Hope you are all feeling better soon. BEKs

Morning everyone! Bit bleary-eyed this morning, as Libby didn't really settle after her last feed, and has been sqaulling on and off all night ; not hungry, not poorly, just 'awake' and letting us know about it! Lots of talking in between cries (u buuu, u buuu), so wasn't too worried, but remember now what the early weerks felt like! She's in a zombie-like state this morning, not asleep, but has her eyes closed at any opportunity ; in her cot now, fast asleep!
RODEO: LOL at sick lumps! I thought I was the only one who had that dilemma ; last time I tried the rinsing in the bath method (too difficult to get it downstairs after to washing machine!); this time I have put it straight into washer, despite bad past experiences with escapee lumps when hanging up (always thought, well at least they are clean sick lumps!). Used rinse cycle first, but too scared to look in washing basket just yet .
BEARTIME: lols at hoodie episode (you would have been lucky to be let in at all round here, with hoodie-hostility at a height!). BTW, probably missed this ages ago, but are you from the states originally? Blackout blinds do not stop waking at midday for me I'm afraid ; got mine from IKEA.
KARMA: really feel for you, and hope drs/HV can help. You seem so clued up, and am 100% sure things will improve.
LONDONER: have a great night! Don't worry about what to wear, you'll have a brill' time anyway!
Well loads to do today (literally!), as had bad migraine yesterday that knocked me for 6.
Speak later!
Diege .
PS: L&Smum, will use link and def. contribute to such a good cause

Karma - Big Hugs

Beartime - I thought that would be the case for us but so far, so good. Z is doing fine with both b/f and the top ups, there is no confusion and I make sure he is b/f as much as possible topping up when he needs it most (usually morning, mid-afternoon and a 4oz for the evening). Hopefully in just a couple of months (or maybe less by the look of things) we'll be weaning so b/f will not be so on demand anyway.
It works for us

I'd like to know more about when to wean and what to do. Can anyone suggest a book or even just give their own experience of it? That would be great.

Londoner, hope you have a fab time out and BAM - sorry that relatives forgot LO's b'day

Have a good weekend, we're away for a few days x

Morning! All doing better here today. Must tell you about yesterday. I realised I was out of Rosie's Gaviscon (for reflux) and absolutely had to get some or we would've been sleeping on beach towels last night as all the vomiting/spitting up would surely have dirtied all the bedding. I had the new double stroller so bundled up both children, put them in the stroller and headed off to the village. It was going well and I felt overly optimistic so decided to stop in Cafe Rouge for lunch. The food had barely been set on the table before Tobes started retching into the plastic bag from the chemist. I had to quickly pay the bill and leave our meals behind. Don't know why I thought we'd make it through lunch. Tobes was doing much better but obviously not as well as I thought.

BEKs, thanks for the advice. I've been switching out between the Nurofen and Calpol and it's made a big difference. We got a decent run of sleep last night so I'm feeling a lot better today. We got Ben's invite and that has definitely perked Toby up! Thanks so much.

Rodeo, totally there with the sick lumps. I usually pass this job to DH and I just don't ask questions. For the first time Tobes has been able to get most of the sick into a bucket which has made it much easier.

Karma, so sorry to hear about the PND but very glad to hear that you're getting some help. Keep talking to us. That's what we're here for.

Londoner, have a great night out. Which restaurant are you going to? Wow, posh restaurant on a Friday night. Very impressed.

Mamman, I have a friend who swears by one bottle of formula for the last feed of the night. Hers was usually around 10.00, and both her babies slept through til 7.00. I think it's different for every woman. Top ups did lead to the end of breastfeeding for me. My supply dwindled and because I wasn't feeding every time I started getting mastitis, etc, etc. But I know it can work for some. Good luck.

I've got baby rice and pureed apple in the cupboard!! Very exciting. I think I might try Rosie with some baby rice tomorrow. She's sleeping well but seems less satisfied with her milk now. She often acts like she wants more even though her little tummy will be a round ball. She's also taking more of an interest when we're eating. Can't wait. I love watching their little faces when they taste something new. Is anyone planning to do their own purees? I thought I would with Tobes but only managed a couple. I'd love to be able to do it but it's one of those time management issues.

HI to everyone! I know I've missed loads but going to try to make popcorn s'more balls before Rosie wakes from her nap. Tobes is getting his appetite back but will only eat chocolate. Hmmmm.

Tex glad Toby is feeling a bit better, shame about your lunch though.

Londoner hope you have a fab time tonight, hope Elizabeth sleeps all the way through the meal for you so that you and your dh can have a good old fashioned romantic dinner!!!

Busy what a nightmare that your rellies forgot Alex's b'day, hope he makes them feel really guilty abot it when he sees them next. Did he have lots of fun though.

Right best get on with somehting before Thomas wants another bottle, speak to you all a bit later BEKS

Yuck you lot about the sick lumps - can't handle sick personally, so I either get dh to deal with it or throw it away - very wasteful but better than me hurling too!!!

hi all
Sorry i have not been on for a while
I have had a nice week in the n/east and have brought my brother in law back home with me to help dh finish garage conversion.Joshua is doing well he weighs in at 12.04 oz!!!! diege, rodeo, enthusia are we meeting up soon ????????
Diege how are the driving lessons going????
well all it has done is snow here all day.... kids are hoping for a bit more so they can go sledging.
well i should go as the washing is waiting to be done
twinkle & Joshua

Hi all
It was poo day today (DD only goes once a week)so with a tremendous shriek we had a weeks worth and in the bath for a good hose down.

Karma - Sorry to hear about your PND. Hope you are feeling more like yourself soon - as if early motherhood wasnt hard enough without PND - it must be so hard.

Re black out linings - I have the type which just clip on and they work fine as long as the curtains are quite full and cover enough at the edge of the window to stop light getting in. They are black on one side and white on the other.

I havent tried bottles at all yet - too lazy really - so might try with BF milk first for a top up and see if that helps. - thanks for a ll the tips.

Morning all

I was at work last night again, starting to enjoy it now and don't feel so shattered in the morning!

Hope all the sicky ones are a lot better now, poor you at the cafe though Tex!!

I agree with Tex with the top-ups, whenever I tried I always ended up with mastitis too, I found it was far too much trouble than it was worth. I'd also worry it would affect the supply as the feeding at night spaces out more as they get a bit older so it can mean a quite a few hours that the baby is off the breast for. Does that make any sense at all???!

Tex I'm going to make some purees this weekend, might make a few savouries, carrot, potato as well as pear and apple. I find pear really runny when you puree it so add a bit of baby rice to thicken it a bit. Just remember you have to cook the pear and apple before you puree it! I had a really good book on it by, oh who's that woman?? Anyway it's gone missing, but it had a chart of all the foods you could introduce at each month and I think the only foods for 4-5 months were, apple, pear (cooked) banana (uncooked!), carrot, potato, sweet potato, and swede (all cooked!) Also remember potato can't go through the blender as the starches in it turn it into a gloopy gluey mess!! Also I'd leave out any dairy or protein til 6 months.....hmmmm think that is the conclusion to my weaning knowledge, feel free to add to it anyone!!

B & J are staying at my mums tonight, so dp is planning allsorts! Keep having to reminds him she's not having the baby! She went to the Mayor's Ball last night, she was really excited, my sis went round to help her get ready so I'll get off and give her a ring to see how it went.

Bye all, have lovely weekends x x x

Do them in bulk too Tex, buy a load of cheap ice cube trays and if you put a fruit or veg in separate trays you can mix and match them when it comes to defrost them for dinnertime - which you can do on the defrost setting of the microwave (eg a cube of potato, and cube of carrot, or 2 cubes of sweet potatoe etc)

I apologise if I'm stating the obvious

Can I ask you all a question? When do you do your cooking? And when do you do your cleaning? And what do you do with the baby while you do it, if he's awake? Not having had any experience with this I'm struggling a bit! Seems like everytime I need to make lunch or dinner he's crying so I either break my heart while he's sitting there screaming in my ear, or I cook dinner one-handed and then get indigestion trying to eat it before I have to feed him because it took so long! And cleaning is difficult too - esp. vacuuming - it makes so much noise that I don't know if I should do it when he's asleep but its hard to find time to do it when he's awake!

By the way Diege, I got so fed up with this 45min wake up thing at lunchtime (he hardly ever goes back to sleep!) that I thought it can't be designed to be this way - there must be another way! So today I let him go to sleep when he was tired, as per baby whisperer, which was 8.30 rather than 9am and left him to sleep until an hour and a half (at which point I woke him cos I thought I'd better not let him sleep too long!). Then fed him as usual at 11am, then waited till he seemed tired to put him to bed, which wasn't till 1.15, and he's slept right through till 2.30! No wake up either time! So I'm going to try it some more and see what happens. I guess anyone else who's reading this is probably laughing at me

Anyone else e.g. Nova, whose baby sleeps 7pm-7am can you tell me what time their naps are in the day? I'm fed up of spending all day trying to get him to sleep or trying to get him back to sleep!

Hi all

Restaurant was amazing and a great evening out. It was a birthday gift to my husband from my sister and was at Nobu in Mayfair! Elizabeth was on top behaviour and smiled and gurgled appropriately from her Rock-a-Tot seat during our conversations and we ate a 9 course meal, lol! The food was out of this world and my tastebuds are still zinging with ginger/lime etc. Customers and staff adored baby and we had a window seat overlooking Park Lane! Wow! Thanks for your support everyone, dug a LBD out the wardrobe in the end... a nice s-t-r-e-e-tchy one I might add which was fine and a pashmina-type thingy for concealed bf which worked out well.
Beartime, love your story about the annual tea, you're hilarious! Agree with you on the difficulties of baby-care/housework combo. Have arrived on best solutions for me which are to have the baby with me wherever. When I'm cooking/washing/cleaning I make sure baby is full/clean/dry and put her in her bouncy chair and chat to her while I'm doing it and carry her in it from spot to spot, task to task so she is quite content to watch me or look at her hands all the while and sometimes falls asleep in which case I will leave her there until she wakes up or I want to wake her. For things like hoovering or if they don't want the bouncy chair, I'll stick them in a sling on my front or back. hth .... you can spend all day trying to put them to sleep otherwise I know what you mean!
Rodeo, good weaning tips thanks!
Tex, om goodness tobes cafe/vom session sounds terrible you poor things! Really hope you're all up and running again v. soon.
Diege - hope you had a better night last night... poor you with your migraine ... is it worse if you're tired or is it unrelated?
Mamman - lol at 'poo day'!
twinkle - did you go sledging?
ChaCha - glad to hear the feeding is going so well...
BEKs, hope you're okay, you seem to have been using your posts solely to support everyone else this last week, how are you doing?
Hope you're okay Karma, it's good to see you back again...
Hi brownie, candi, Layla,where's Jen? ....and everyone else too..... have a great weekend all.........

just a quickie - saw my name so thought i should answer...

natalies sleep diary:

7.30 wake up/get up

9.00 - 10.30(ish) nap

1.30 - 3.00(ish) nap

4.15 - 4.45/5 (deal or no deal time!) nap

7.00 bed

she's still doing well at night, but i don't want to jinx it!!!!! some of the naps are broken into two lots of 45 mins if we need to do stuff in the afternoon.

am i the only one with no interest in weaning yet? come on someone has to hold out with me...

Beartime - cooking done when the babies are in bed - ie. after 6:30pm. I say cooking, often it is just something out of the freezer into the oven.

Cleaning - never, we have a cleaner that comes in twice a week.

Naps - the boys nap at least three times during the day. Anything from 45mins to 2 hours.

Londoner - Nobu sounds fab. Is that where they have the famous broom cupboard? Tennis player + model = baby!

Hi everyone! (weak, pathetic voice..). Just starting to recover from horrible, 24 hour flu-type thing, achy, shivery, vomiting, headache ect. ect!! . I'm not a good 'ill' person at all, but am starting to feel better now . Have had a quick look through posts, everyone seems in good spirits today! LONDONER: WOW, Nobu!! - one of those places I've only read about in Winner's dinners. Sounds even better than I'd imagined it! Thanks for thoughts about migraine. Think it was brought on by smear, then driving lesson tension,but in retrospect was probably the start of bug. Usually get them on first day of period (had forgotten!) so hormone linked for me! NOVA: I'm also in no rush to wean, so will hold out with you! I remember being very keen to start with dd1 though - something 'new' to do with her I suppose, but then wish I'd waited. Libby is still on only 6ozs per bottle though, so not a really hungry baby .
BEARTIME: I too am struggling with naps on Gina. I can deal with lunchtime waking, as she does go back after 5 mins cry, but my problem has become late afternoon one (4.45). She usually falls asleep before this time, and then is too tired to take much milk at 6.15 feed. Have tried extending her lunch-time nap till 2.45 today, and put her up for nap at 5, but she has screamed throughout it, so not sure what to do. Still have 10.30 top up, but am thinking along the same times as you, and have started to 'push' Gina a little .
HI TWINKLE!! Glad your week up in the N.East was good; can just imagine all the snow outside your house! I'm up for another meet-up soon, wonder when Enthusia is next up? Has anyone else heard from her recently? (ChaCha?). Ready for a bit more shopping???.
Well, starting to feel weak again, may manage a small spoon of soup ...
Diege

Hi
Im a rugby widow this pm.

I agree with Rodeo on weaning - her summary is pretty much it - I did the ice cube tray thing too - really convenient. We are nowhere near this time though and will prob wait till 6mo.

Beartime - I cook early pm (casserole etc) or after 7 (all in bed), also batch cook and put meals in freezer to defrost quickly. Cleaning - not much - have cleaner once a week for essentials - hoover when baby asleep - mine doesnt wake. Do other jobs in evening when all in bed. Do small jobs (laundry etc) when baby on gym or boucy chair. Also have done some things with her in sling. Only prob is cant iron with toddler about.
cheers

Rodeo, thanks for the tips on the purees. I think I'll try it again. I feel a bit more confident about it second time around. I think I know the children's cookbook you mean - Annabelle something?? I'm sure I have it around here somewhere. I'll have to dig it out and refresh my memory. I did try Rosie with some baby rice today and she ate it well but wasn't terribly interested. I think I'll wait a few more days and try again.

Looks like we're all on the mend here. I made it out to pilates today and Tobes has started eating a bit more. He's still having a fever every once in a while but Calpol and Nurofen are making all the difference.

Londoner, Nobu sounds fantastic! It sounds like you had the taster menu. I've only read about it but heard it was really extraordinary.

Diege, poor you! It sounds like you've had it much worse than I did. Glad you're feeling better. It's so hard being ill when you still need to be taking care of someone else. No just laying in bed watching the soaps. Hope you managed some soup.

Beartime, it is difficult trying to get things done with a small baby. The best advice I was given was to lower my standards! At least for a little while. We have a cleaner once a week and I try to just get us out of the house while she's here. I usually do a whirlwind tidy after the children got to bed and I have a rule that I never leave a room empty handed. There's always something that needs to be taken to the kitchen, put in the bin, etc, etc.

As for cooking, I usually buy some kind of ready meal type meat that I can just pop in the oven (like chicken in sauce or something) and bags of veg that I can just zap in the microwave. It does work out to be more expensive but it's only for a few months.

The thing that I find most difficult is taking care of myself. Getting in a shower every day, putting on make-up, wearing something other than jeans and a jumper. It's very rare that I get myself together.

Timer going off in kitchen! Must run... Hope you guys have a good evening.

Forgot to mention Rosie's naps. She usually has a long one (hour or more) in the morning around 9am and in the afternoon around 2pm. She also catnaps through the day and is usually down for the night by 8.00 and sleeps til about 7.00. I think she sleeps so well because even when she's napping in our room Tobes is usually crashing around the rest of the flat so she doesn't get a really peaceful sleep until he goes to bed!

Hi girls just a quickie for me as going out for a curry tonight with dh and some friends as my mum & dad are over at the moment so I've roped them into babysitting!

Glad to hear all the sicky ones are feeling a
bit better. Diege only a mouthful of soup, just think how good weigh in going to be this week !!!

Londoner, sounds like you had a fabulous night out, wow how great to have a window seat over looking London, you must have felt like a "celeb"
Thanks for asking by the way, I'm fine, had a really bad week pnd wise last week but feel back in control this week with mum around. It's funny how we all look at posts differently because I was conscious that a lot of my posts have been self centered lately!!!

Thomas and I have been out all day with a friend of mine sorting out her wedding jewellery, it was quite amusing really as she has had the pieces custom made but the necklace was revolting - needless to say it's all gone back with adjustments but I think we got there in the end.

Right off to put some slap on if I can remember how, hope you are all having a good weekend. Beks