October 2011, the three C's crawling cruising and chatting

[LittlePebble]

Thanks Mama for the title. A new thread hopefully everyone will find us again.

duck don't remember if I've mentioned this before but calpol have this plug-in with eucalyptus oil, menthol etc etc which we've found really useful when it comes to cold, blocked nose, teething times.....

Hope you both feel better soon duck how are you feeling about everything today? And yes I would assume in this case the ga is because they want to have a really good look at what's going on and don't want to distress S or you any more than absolutely necessary.

You ok lbm? Rant away we all have different things to deal with

After pretending he can't do it/ giving up halfway through at home, I went to pick W up at nursery today and found him quite happily munching on a yogurt feeding himself with the spoon. As soon as he saw me he dropped the spoon and had me feed him the rest little monkey.

Oh duck I hope you and S are doing ok and you manage to get some much needed sleep. Must have been a huge shock. Try and take comfort from the fact that she's doing well developmentally (standing/weight bearing, etc). Our nephew had a ga for his us. It was purely to enable the sonographer to have a good look without distressing him. Babies can be extremely wriggly when you're trying to image them, as well I know!

sp, N like to pretend too. Took him to see consultant for development review today. I'm happily telling them he can roll, move on his tummy (not proper crawling tho). Would he do it for them? Would he hell!! Sure he just enjoys making a liar out of me

strawberry W is feeding himself with a spoon!!!! wow!!!! would give my right left hand to see R do that. We have a complete spoon feeding strike going on in the house - bats me away as if I was a mosquito or something. He isn't comfortable eating fish fingers, chicken nuggets and the like (not sure if he can't or he won't). Am struggling with thinking up self feeding protein options. Plus have just realized the white of an egg gives him excema so omlette is out too....

lovin if I remember rightly lentils have lots of protein. I make a lentil purée that I use as a sandwich spread- either regular bread or mini pittas, which N loves

What about quorn sausages Lovin, I am sure quorn has lots of protein too. P has meat and quorn sausages cut length-ways in to 4 long thin strips.

Ducky no wonder you were shocked after S's appointment, poor Ducky and Mummy, I hope you are both feeling a bit better today and like others have said she is clearly not bothered by what it may/may not be (apart from the thrusting) and at least it is being looked at now. Made me look at both of P's legs too - you see how are you supposed to know about these things if nobody tells you and the professionals don't notice!?

Has anybody been for their babies 10-12 month check with HV? I just wanted to check what was involved because P will not be going to her's. So far all I have managed to establish if that they check they can stand and clap their hands! Is there anything more to it than that ?

Lovin come back and rant, you will feel better.

Climbing P was going to bed at 6.30pm/7pm because after the holiday she was getting sleepy earlier but last night we tried to push it back to 7.30pm down in cot (what is what it used to be after 30 mins bf). She didn't get up until 7.15am today and wake only at 2.30am (I don't include the times before Midnight). We started last night with trying to get her to sleep through although DH and I never agree on the method to use but he has given in and is trying my way for now - because I shout a lot and have a tantrum therefore I win (for now!). We shall see what happens. I don't want to try leaving her to CIO (which is DH's poss idea) so she needs to get her act together this weekend

Morning all

I laugh at the babies managing to do things themselves in front of others but not for mum! They never perform on demand

I worry about protein with S. I don't eat a lot of meat and little quorn but I do try to make sure she has it as often as possible. If my mum is making a meal for her and my dad with meat (cottage pie etc) I get her to freeze a few portions and I get it from her.

Thanks everyone for messages. I spoke with friend who is GP about her legs, she say it can be a marker but may also be that it's normal for her. I guess we will find out at next app, although not sure if they will do scan that day. Doubt it as app isn't till after 3pm and there was no mention of fasting her for anesthetic so maybe just talk through everything.

cheshire it just shows the difference in health boards with Scotland/England. S doesn't have a check after her initial 6 week one till she is between 2 1/2-3 YEARS! I asked last time I took her down to be weighed if she had an 'assessment' at 1 year and she looked at me as if why would there be? She says from what she can see, she is thriving so doesn't come under 'cause for concern'. It is good I guess, but I feel like you are totally left alone. Like the thing with her legs, god forbid there is a problem but without that hospital app, it would never have been noticed! Obv when I take her to be weighed I can ask any questions but to an extent, I don't know what's right/wrong and any markers I should be looking out for. In our red books there is a general 'by 12 months, I can...' and has clap hands, stand with support, cruise furniture etc. makes me slightly angry that she is totally naked when she's put on scales to be weighed so should the HV have noticed the 1 crease?

Anyway, I'm now loaded with the cold and have throat like glass. Thankfully S slept all night in her cot after initially going down in my bed.

duck out of curiousity, even if there is no check, can't we just fix an appt with a GP saying we'd like a precautionary check-up? they can't refuse to take a look. i wonder how Re'd react if I gave him a piece of cottage pie....

quorn sausages is a good idea but i thought we were supposed to avoid sausages and cold cuts of meat for the salt content....what say all? would love to give him cold cuts. seem so easy to eat.

ips i'm trying the lentil sandwich as well. another thing I've attempted for the last two days is giving sips of chicken soup out of a beaker. love the look on his face when he tastes it

cheshire hope I'm not confusing things but you've started with potty training, right? i've just got us one (the pourty) and am sitting him down on it at every diaper change. it's been three days. i don't see any association or understanding of what's happening yet....though the back arching and wanting to get up happens at every session.

I just had a look at www.actionsalt.org.uk and it says that quorn sausages have less salt than meaty ones, 0.5g of salt per sausage apparently Lovin. In terms of meat sausages we get meat from the farm/butchers so it's hopefully decent/fresh. We have a bread maker too.

The main foods that I am conscious of in terms of salt are bacon and bread (maybe ham too I can't remember), so if P has those one day she doesn't have them the next (but there isn't really anything she doesn't have, except for cake/biscuits/chocolate etc). We always try and pick a decent butter too. Soup is good with the bread dipped in it so they get the soup to suck off and eat the bread too.

What's a lentil sandwich? Or is it exactly as it sounds . How do the lentils stay in the bread??

Duck I am not surprised they have not noticed S's leg, from my experience of the HV last year they have just annoyed me for various reasons and I have now written to complain to their clinic and sent a copy to our GP to go on P's file. It still makes me angry now and I haven't even spoken to a HV since P was born !! (I need to get a grip). Actually I am going to go and ask DH if he knows anything about leg rolls for comparison.

Lovin yes I have been putting P on the potty since about January though when she moved to her own room. I used to have to hold her on then a bit because her back was not as strong but she will sat there now whilst I get wipes out and stuff. If you know when he has a poo/wee then I would initially try and start putting him on at that time - e.g. does he have a poo after breakfast (that kind of thing). It is just trial and error at first until they get in to it, as Duck said once you take the nappy off they often wee then because of the freedom I guess . If he is arching his back he doesn't want to go and don't force him to sit there otherwise he will have a negative association. Leave the potty on the floor too for him to play with and investigate so it's not scary. I make a "pistttttt" sort of noise at P and keep saying it the whole time whilst doing my random-made-up-sign. I sit behind her - which sometimes is bad if she is trumpy!! Just keep trying and let us know how you get one, if he sits you could read a book.

cheshire thanks for the tips!

lentil sandwich...it is what it sounds i put the puree on a slice of bread. not sure what goes in......most is smeared on the high chair....

I've not worried to much about salt, obv I dont add it to her food, but I usually limit to 1 slice of bread a day. Occasionally she will have a bit of sliced chicken with lunch but that's about it. She likes cheese triangles so maybe one of them every few days etc. tbh, I just let her eat what she wants! Soup is def a great one. I made yellow split pea last weekend. I used normal stock cubes as I wanted to eat it to, but I figured for all that she was havin per serving, the salt from stock was probably tiny. Her new favorite thing to eat is spaghetti. She sucks it up like lady and the tramp

We went into Glasgow today to see team GB! Was a lovely day but S was getting tired and grumpy and it was starting to get quite cold so as soon as chris hoy spoke, we left. Glad S has been part of the whole London 2012, sad she won't remember any of it though!

just back from swimming where DS has been blowing bubbles. I taught him to nod his head yesterday and he keeps practicing which makes me absolutely chortle, he looks so funny doing it. DH doesn't quite see why I find it so hilarious.

Still only feeding DS 3-4 hours at night and DH settles him inbetween. Been OK so far, he's still waking at around the 2 hour mark. At some point I think our luck will run out and he will will cry at that time and not be easily settled and then I don't know what we'll do. We do know that feeding him for comfort at night is not something we will be doing (unless ill etc.)

We don't add salt to anything either, but didn't before anyway as neither of us like it. Although we do notice the difference in taste with baby stock cubes. I was rather shocked to discover that one crumpet has 0.7g of salt . Good job most of his ends up on the floor . We don't have much control over food during the week as he eats all, except brekkie, at the childminders. Although she's done courses on baby nutrition so probably knows more than me! Cheshire Dh was discussing baby/toddler food at work the other day and the other parents couldn't understand why we don't give Seb chocolate, ribena and cake! MummyD how do you have time to make soup?

Today Seb decided that he doesn't want to eat anything lumpy. We had pork steaks with mash, veg and gravy, mashed up a bit for him as usual, and he spat out anything that wasn't mash and gravy. Even the tiniest bit of pea that we'd mashed up. . Hopefully it won't last...

Climb fx the nights start getting better.

tally not working right now so more free time than I'm used to! . Nah, it all gets chucked in a pot and left to boil! If I remember to soak the split peas over night then I chop the veg in the morning while S in highchair eating some toast, then it's left to simmer while we get on with the morning so ready by lunch time. It's great as I freeze loads and she usually has a portion every other day. Quick, easy and full of goodness

Hi all

Been a busy week since I had my mini-meltdown. I wanted to say thank you for listening to me rant. I feel like I only ever come on to blow off steam, so am posting today in a non-rant state of mind (and wanted to catch up on everyone?s news).

duck what a shock for you. I?m sure he?s just letting you know the possibilities so you are prepared, but I think they often tell us the worst case scenario. DHs nephew has just had a check-up and they?re concerned about his growth (he?s tall for his age) and they?re now doing blood tests to see if he has a rare syndrome which may give him heart problems. SIL is freaking out (obviously) but the chances are miniscule. It?s much more likely that he?s just going to be really tall (DH is 6?6 and his DBro is even taller than him!). I think they?ve worried BIL/SIL unnecessarily at this stage.

One of my friend?s DD has hip dyspraxia. And has been wearing a kind of hip cast over the summer (she?s about 7 months now). Awful that nothing?s been picked up with S before now. Over here we have had 6 general check-up appointments with hv/paediatricians to monitor development/weight so far (and another next month).

Hope you?re both feeling better duck. M is still producing rivers of snot and coughing at night.

strawberry what a little monkey dropping the spoon when he saw you! M does that. He goes through phases of stopping doing things I know he can do perfectly well!

Cheshire M also seems to wake at about 6am (or earlier) during the week and most of the time he just burbles away chatting to his toys and we leave him to it!

I am very excited about getting M a pair of shoes ? we have a some hand me downs from friends/family that are nearly new but I would LOVE to buy him a pair of mini Converse! DH is telling me not to though as he want M shoe free as long as possible, which I do understand, but I want to buy cute tiny shoes!

ed that coat and hat sounds amazing ? this is why I need a little girl

penguin tutees for what? (sorry if you?ve already said and I?ve missed it ).

Re: DH I think that anxiety about work played a part last week as well. He did go back to work on Friday (thank god or I would have throttled him) and we had a good chat on Friday night about how things are with us, him, work, etc. When all is said and done we do (usually) make a good team and I DO appreciate everything he does (I think part of the reason I flipped out on Tuesday was that I?m so used to him being the chef, especially on days that I work) and on Thursday he even managed to listen and do a load of washing. I almost fainted.

In other rant related news we have discovered (after another black smoke incident) that something is going wrong with our oven ? we think it?s the thermostat, when it?s put on 200 it cranks itself up to 250, incinerating whatever is in it?s path! which means DH can stop blaming me so DH is going to sort out getting it fixed/replacing the part.

I am really excited about next weekend, heading back to the UL on my own for my Dsis?s hen do. But leaving M behind . Will be the first time I?ve been away from him. MIL is looking after him on Fri and then Dh is on his own till I get back on Sunday night. Am planning on doing some SERIOUS shopping on Friday at Bluewater (including starting my Christmas shopping!) and meeting up with old school friends for dinner as well.

Okay, enjoy your Sunday everyone!

cp, N has learned to shake his head and every time I sit and try to teach him to nod he just shakes it all the more, with a cheeky grin
Was enjoying my lie in mnetting when DP came thundering up the stairs and breathlessly informed me that N gas just said water!! DP offered him his cup and said water a couple of times and N picked his cup up and said water.
We've all been ill with heavy colds the last few days, poor N has a nasty cough that I now have. He's been co- sleeping with me the last few nights and comfort feeding so much that I woke up at 3 this morning with one freezing cold boob! I must hav just given up and left it out for N to help himself

engels I'm also planning on some mini converse for N. they're just too cute :) am glad to hear things are getting better. It can be tough dealing with DPs anxiety, but at least he doesn't have the panic attacks he used to. He does get anxious about work over the weekends, I try to distract him as much as poss so he doesn't obsess over it. He's usually better on a Sunday since its his turn to get up with N and do breakfast. I can hear them having a great time now!!

i'm not sure how I would cope it I had a unwell partner as well, much kudos to you ladies. ips are you still seeing someone or has that stopped now?

i am tutoring a couple of GCSE brothers for Maths and Chemistry

went out for drinks last night with some other mums of babies about DS's age. Somehow we ended up on shots . One of the other mums is my badminton partner for later so that could be interesting.

duck how are things?

chesire sounds like moving bedtime has already worked. We once spent about 4-6 weeks gradually moving DD's bedtime back to get her to wake up later. We would move it a little bit (15-30mins), then wait 3-5 days for that to make a difference. We just felt that for quite a while DD had a bodyclock that was shorter than 24 hours so we would accidentally (still do actually) end up with a too early bedtime.

Hello ladies! Sorry haven't been here for a few days, I keep reading, but at times when I can't post in response as something always comes up.

Duck hope S is ok and it must be hard being told something may be wrong but not being told what! Someone in my coffee group has a DD with hip dyspraxia (sp?) as well - her DD is about a month younger than A.

Cheshire how does the potty training work? Am so curious.

engels I am sure it will be OK leaving M for a night, but I would feel weird about it too. I was meant to for work last month, but freaked out at the last minute and backed out. I really need to just do it though as I could do with some good sleep!

we are good - had swimming lessons today, they are going really well. Today A got dunked and didn't cry afterward (he was quite unhappy the other times) so it's progress as he's learning to close his eyes before he goes under. He seems to enjoy being in the pool with the other babies too. I really like the classes, although haven't totally convinced DH they aren't a complete waste of money! My argument is that water confidence can only be a good thing, especially when you grow up in a beach culture.

DH starts work again tomorrow so A's time of having a stay home parent is over! He won't notice though as he has had a really long settling in period for creche, which he seems to like.

I am thinking of his birthday now - having a small party, and was wondeirng if anyone had any simple but effective cake and cupcake decorating ideas? I am a total novice. I did a cake decorating course last month, and while it was fun, we didn't really learn anything uselful for a little boy as it was all making roses and butterflies etc!

I have been a bit broody recently, but a friend came to visit before who is 39 weeks pregnant and it was a good reminder of how uncomfortable that stage was!

Climbing am impressed you had shots on a mums' night out! In my group we always talk it up about drinking and going out, but when it comes down to it, we never do!

Hmmmm sorry about the tome above. Am feeling especially chatty today!

shots climbing I had an almighty hangover the other day because I drank half a bottle of wine (sad but true)

ncie to see you!

I fell off sorry. How is everyone?

Jessica is almost 11 months, standing well and dancing lots. Not yet walking (phew). I think she's into music as sings and dances lots.

Ds2 started infant school last week, short sessions and 3x a week. He is coping which is great. Can't believe he's at school now tho, times flown by again.

Ds1 started year 8, he's fine too and on scout camp with dh this weekend so it's been just me and small ones.

Been dealing with thrush on my breasts for over a month now and finally have medicine for both of us. Still managed to bfeed despite being painful, and will be hearing from consultant next week regarding Jessica's lip tie.

Just read duck update on leg rolls. Jessica's leg rolls are obviously uneven too but no one has said anything. She hasn't had her check up yet tho.

bunt I'd ask about the leg rolls. Prob is nothing (as I'm hoping with S!) but according to GP friend, unsymmetrical leg rolls can be a cause for concern. I'm taking her to be weighed before she is 1 in two weeks so I plan to ask them to see what they say!!!

Evening ladies.

I start a new job tomorrow so trying to get organised today and not panic about trying to dog walk, make myself look presentative, get DH and P to nursery and me and DH get to work, fx !

To those of you asking about the potty training and sleep, neither is going very well at the moment. The last couple of nights rather than having a poo after dinner in the potty she has been pooing in the middle of the night so needing to be changed which she hates, then she is awake and screeching. We are still trying the "after midnight DH shush pats her but no more bf", last night it took him 45 minutes :( but we really need to help her through this, she is not hungry and she can do it and it will be better for her to have a continuous sleep. Once she is back to sleep she doesn't wake until the morning (which is still too early at about 6am but that's a whole other issue).

Investigated P's leg rolls and can confirm they are both equally fat .

I cannot believe how many appointments you have Engels. I haven't seen anyone since the PND questionnaire check last year, it is mad how it's so different, even between England and Scotland and Duck said.

Pene hope everything goes okay tomorrow. Is it really a full year since we were all waiting for these babies?! If your friend is 39 weeks pregnant the baby could be here anytime now though and she will have the yummy squishy newborn :)

Ips aww at the water thing

Have baked 2 sponges today for P's No1 for her Birthday cake. Not sure what the decoration is going to be, so can't help you there Pene. It will involve roll out fondant/sugardough, that's as much as I know (and probably so odd shaped "things/characters" on top. DH already says the No1 looks like a penis so I don't hold out much hope

What's a tutee?

Ducky what did S last weigh? I got P weighed last week for the last time and she is 18lb 3oz. Need to measure her length, I reckon at most she is probably only about 27" now.