November 2012 - To sterilise or not to sterilise (bottles that is)

[StuntNun]

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/1820625-November-2012-Thinking-about-first-birthdays-Already

We haz a sleb in the quiche. JJ was quoted in the weekly let's sell you things MN email, talking about Ewan.

Evening everyone! Didn't realise the old fred was finished! I shan't reply to owt on the end of that acos i've got 5 pages to catch up on here

Sterilisation - was planning on sterilising bottles for as long as he's drinking them I think, and I don't sterilise bowls, I did sterilise spoons but i'm not sure I need to be doing that now? I've no idea :/ Oh, I sterilise dummies too.

Contraception - I have the implant in, was put in earlier this year, forget when, but it's for 3 years, that'll do me just nicely I think I was bleeding heavily at first but I haven't had a period for about 3 months now. I like that I can just get it removed if we decide we want to try for another but it's there and I don't have to faff with anything. Sounds good to me! With the one I got removed before, I had bled constantly and hated it.

water - filtered tap water/cooled boiled water/bog standard water. I give him whatever and he drinks whatever . I guess it's never a bad thing.

sounds like you've had a lovely day chasing :)

LOL detective I'm sorry, but I giggled and sniggered all the way through your post! I reckon he can't handle how quickly he's developing, like vq said, he doesn't know what to make of it. He sounds fantastic though!

eek brockle food poisoning is not nice at all! and eek at the lego in mouth thing! E keeps picking up EVERYTHING and I am constantly checking his mouth for things. Usually he hasn't had anything. Today, he had wallpaper. Really? All the toys in the world and at 9 months old he is pulling off wallpaper. Great!

I agree with you all re: parenting styles etc, I have found being a mum really stressful because 1) I don't know what i'm doing 2) i'm always doing it wrong in someones eyes 3) i don't have the confidence to do the right thing without reassurance. Some of my friends think some of the things i do is odd, and others for other reasons.

I also know e plays up more for me than for others, little blighter!

Elyza likes the waybuloo? thing and in the night garden. E likes 3rd & bird at the moment

pass I sometimes offer a mid morning snack, if E doesn't eat much at breakfast or seems particularly whingy. I couldn't work out what the whinging was but if I give him some rice cakes or something it stops so he must be hungry sometimes . If he wakes up from his nap after 11 then I won't offer a snack. I just do lunch a bit earlier. He usually goes...

7am - 8oz
8am - breakfast offered, will eat up to 5 scoops porridge or a crumpet or a large slice of toast, or a pot of fruit puree/pouch of fruit puree. He sometimes eats nothing
10-11 - if he's awake, he is offered a snack. Usually eats it, especially if he didnt eat much of breakfast. Usually 2 rice cakes, a dozen puffits, with water
12- lunch
12:30-1 - 8oz offered, 4-8oz drank
4-4:30 - tea, with juice or water
sometimes i'll give him something finger food wise if i'm eating tea later than him and he wont behave
7pm - 8oz bottle

I never know what to do re:snacks and I haven't tried not offering a lunchtime bottle because if I did he'd only be being offered 16oz which doesn't seem enough.

Can't remember what else I wanted to say...

I know the thread has moved on but totally agree with pass and others that parenting labels are divisive and unnecessary.

I felt like I muddled through with DD and we survived. But I did worry about the fact that I was doing x and not y etc. With S, I have so much more confidence in knowing what kind of parenting suits me and the baby. Plus I couldn't give 2 shits what anyone generally thinks about what I choose to do although I often find myself "explaining" to my DM why I permit DD to be surgically attached to her dummies at the age of 2.5. But that's because I don't think I match up well to someone who was such a natural, SAHM. Woah, digression.

I think you parent how it suits you as well as the baby. I have a good friend who is chaotic and messy. Trying to implement or stick to a routine would make her ill. I need a routine. My DC have a routine although it is flexible.

pass don't underestimate the pack mentality when it comes to DC and food (animal analogy PR ad BP). My DC eat almost everything they are offered (in terms of variety, not quantity) at nursery, including things they will not eat for me. Because they sit and eat with other children.

High 5 for chasing.

Here's hoping tonight is better than the last couple for everyone. Deep breath!

4 settles

PR and other haunters, have you found my fred in Classics yet? Twas under a not-very-subtle seasonal name change...

I think I'm starting to have anxiety issues, every time I leave n I get all worried and emotional. After all this time I would have thought I would have been better at this. As for parenting these past weeks I've felt I've not really done any! I've just let him lead in what he wants.

As for feel and milk:
7am milk about 6oz
8 am ready break and EK fruit
10 sometimes a snack or milk.
12 ish, sandwich or other normal food.
15 milk
17 EK stage 3 meal.
19 9oz of milk.

Yes I'm broody too, but we have agreed to wait at least a year. I loved being pregant, but the first 4 and half months. Hell.
I am so, so grateful for the quiche.

Evil

About to pop my pill. Thanks to all of you who got me through the day, especially the morning and were so encouraging and lovely on here and on fb

Night quiche. Consider me switched off for the night.

Night night pr . Xx

It took me four goes befor I felt confident in my parenting! The Sophia theory is love them, love them, love them, and show it, and be patient and always kind and make every moment matter and smile even if you don't feel like it (and it is false and like a CBeebies presenter)

Right I am off to show some love to DD1 who is engrossed in the Dork Diaries and will be reading all night if I let her!

Evening (night pr)

Dh sterilises Hs one bottle a day. Will knock it offf when he?s one (in a month and a bit!!) and just bf/give cows milk.

l agree with those saying you parent to the child. Never co slept with other 2 dcs but witth H have a routine of putting him in with us early morning to get more sleep.

H just started having bits of snacks ~ rice cakes mainly. He is so active (constantly trying to move even tho can?t yet) l figurd he probably needed it.

Loved Mallory Towers and St Clares. Love Jennings and Darbishirre too. Reading dcs Polly and the Wolf books at the moment imho some of the funniest children's books ever.

Very excited tonight as getting a piano (from a local charity shop) tomorrow.

I am a grazer (read, I survive on sugat hits) so it is a huge effort for me to make sure M and I eat properly. Our days usually go like this though:

6am bottle
8am breakfast: weetabix/pancakes/toast/other and fruit
11am bottle or snack: rice cakes/carrot sticks/breadsticks/other
1pm lunch: pittas/veg/fruit/yoghurt/etc or an EK pouch if out --or being lazy
3pm opposite of morning (ie bottle OR snack)
5.30pm tea: whatever we are having
7.30pm bedtime bottle

I don't know if this is right but it works for us.

We coslept, bf, tried and failed with slings, but arent pro any type of parent. I am pro surviving the day, although see m as a team mate, not the opposition.

I have just bought a boat! YW 's BIL's dinghy to be precise I have wanted one forever

My parents didn't have a spare penny when we were growing up, but they showered us with love, boundless, unending, unconditional love. DH on the other hand was bought things, all the time, but is one of the most insecure people I have ever met, and has some seeeeerious ishoos with his parentals.

Love is the way peeps

Night y'all xx

Daisy I'm on the look out for a piano on Gumtree. Just a 'free to collect' or up to £100 squids job nowt pricey. I managed to accidentally buy a Victorian sideboard / DIY project for the dining room ('accidentally' because it was a make me an offer thingy on Ebay and I offered half of what the asking price and they only went and said yes... ) which I need to paint duck egg blue when J finally goes off to nursery and I can do stuff like that... ha as if

Ooooh I would love a piano I always dreamed of having a really battered, old piano in my house one day. One we could lovingly attempt to restore and I could lovingly attempt to teach my children to play. Alas I have too much on my hands just now . Next years project

I agree with parenting children differently. You have to as babies are individuals and need different things. DIdn't really think about things like that till E came along and I have done so many things different with her than I did with DD1. I just assumed that I would parent the same way as that's all I knew, but turned out I knew nothing! If we were to have a third I now know that I may have to come up with yet another parenting style to suit that babies needs. As long as they are all loved and cared for. Sophia I love your parenting theroy.

E gets snacks but only really as DD1 asks for them so I take the oppotunity to give E something then. I don't think I'd remember otherwise! Particular favourites of E's are the organix sweetcorn rings and EK rasberry and vanilla puffits. I also try and give a fruit puree or yogurt as one of her snacks.

Today she's eaten so well and even drank a fair amount of milk but also has been very sicky. Just bloody typical.

We've had a great day with some friends at Godstone Farm. Having a quieter day tomorrow and then on Friday we're off to lollibop. Not sure if many of you will have heard of that what with this quiche being mostly haggis peeps but it's a kiddies festival. We went last year at Regents park but this year it's at the olympic park. Is manic but great fun. Just seen weather forecast and it's due to rain. Bugger off rain. DH just reminded me what a lovely summer we're having so I guess I shouldn't complain but I will anyway.

Wow lots of interesting discussions today. And I'm slightly alarmed to hear I'm in a MN email! PR will you forward it to me if I give you my email? I think I wrote some bollocks about Ewan in the small hrs when slightly delirious.

Parenting wise I had no label but kind intended to err on the hippy side with DS. So far we've had a CS, given up bf and mostly failed on the cloth front. Loved the bedside cot, sometimes use slings and BLW. So a bit of everything really. Det put it best that you parent the child you have. As I read somewhere, 'no one has yet written a book about your baby' - which has helped when reading stuff. Sophia your theory gave me a little tear in my eye - a really simple and moving way to put it that I won't forget.

Like others I have snacks for distraction and sometimes if he still seems peckish - the usual Organix rice cakes, sweetcorn rings etc. He often has a bigger meal at lunch than later on as he is usually getting tired by supper time. Our day goes something like:
7am 6oz bottle
8am toast, fruit, pb, porridge
12mid 6oz bottle
1pm quiche/soup/meat&veg
3pm banana/rice cakes if req
5pm 6oz bottle
6.30 egg on toast/veg
7.30 4oz bottle
It's not set in stone though, dependent on his (erratic) napping and any journeys or activities. He rarely finishes all his bottles now but I offer water with any food or snacks.

This morning he was up at 4.30am which was a killer as I'd had a rare evening out and a small g'n't. So I am hoping for a better night tonight. He is still sleep-crawling & waking himself up.

We have some new favourite games: 'running away' - he crawls towards the hallway & keeps checking I am 'chasing' him while giggling to himself - and 'dropping things for Mummy to pick up' - this is less hilarious. I guess he is learning to use his new independence. Any other quichelings doing similar?

Oh no. I hear lo chatting away in his cot. I went to put his blanket on him and he woke and gave me a smile (melt) then I said good night and Walked out. But I can still hear him awake. Go to sleep!

Det. I'm same as you. I would prob have bought a sling with lo if I knew ppl locally who use them, nearest meet is 30min drive away. I ordered two off daisy baby site (I think that's what it's called) and they were too small.
Going to try again this time. Think ill use it abit more with a NB n toddler to deal with in a few months.

First wake up, so not too bad. Fingers crossed for no more.

Can't remember who said as I'm too tired, but mention slavering on metanium. Don't slaver it on. Metanium should just be used as a thin layer so you can see the skin texture through it rather than heaping loads on. Less is definitely more with metanium.

Fatima I remember a day at nursery when a new worker used almost a full tube of metanium on DD2. I was furious due to expense and also the state of her skin. I agree, much much less is more.

Well, J went to sleep at 9 after drinking a whole ounce of his bedtime bottle so I am expecting him to wake any time. I was kept awake by not so DH shouting at the fucking football, and now the fat sod is snoring and keeping me awake. I need to talk to him about this, or move into another bedroom. Oh, and I have a period that looks like Dexter did it I am looking forward to the menopause.

I've given in after an hour (of him chuntering in his cot, not screaming!) and am on the 2nd feed of the night.

I actually can't focus properly

I could happily throttle FBH at the moment. I got an hour on the sofa as I could not bear his snoring, but have come back to bed as I woke up sore. He is doing his apnoea trick now. I could still hear him snoring from the couch btw.

PP I hope the feed was quick and sleep inducing and your eyes are now firmly shut and in dreamland.

Madam I hope you are asleep and LO is having a more peaceful healing night x

Evil (((hugs)))

Sophia that is beautiful I am copying that and keeping it somewhere I can read every day.

Parenting styles. Hmm, well I'm certainly not the parent I thought I would be. I have faced a bit of criticism and for being pretty pfb with O but I couldn't care less. I did a lot of co-sleeping at the start, letting him sleep on me for naps etc and he now sleeps beautifully in his cot so it seems like it was the right thing for him. My parenting mantra is to take everything at O's pace. I definitely don't see him as an opponent either - we are a team.

Not quite sure why I'm awake as I haven't had a peep from O all night yet. Back to sleep for me.

Thanks VQ.

Beautiful sentiment sophia

S slept well but is now awake and treating me as a climbing frame! Guess we are up then!

S is so vain! Am putting off getting up by showing him pictures of himself and he keeps kissing them!

Madam L snogs the mirror! Vain boys