June 2013 (3) - teething & not sleeping!

[rrreow]

I broke the old thread! Step this way, step this way.

Re taking high chairs away, I've been known to take the legs off the ikea one and just take the seat bit & tray with us...

Tho we also have a foldaway foam thingy that straps on to normal chairs - they have to be a bit older for that though.

I have a cloth thing that fits in my backpack and ties onto a normal chair, which also helps with high chairs in cafés that are too big and slippery for my tiny dot! At home I have a stokke tripp trapp that my dad got me from eBay. It's quite well used, but if it ever bothers me I will re-varnish it andvit will be like new. I love it- it's at the table so doesn't really take space in the kitchen and baby c feels like part of things which is important.

I spent a lot of today in the laundrette, but I think it was worth it because I probably have enough baby clothes and nappies to last until the washing machine man comes on Wednesday.

I thought that starting solids would help with baby c's slow feeding but he's feeding more than ever!

I can totally recommend the Baby Bjorn high chair. No fiddly straps, good till they're 3, foldable, eady to clean, top of tray removes to clean (can be put in dishwasher), is nice and small. Am total fan.

Highchairs. We went for a wooden Ikea one in the end. It doesn't fold but since the portability issue has been laid to rest it became a good solution without costing the earth.

DS has his first cough & cold. Poor thing. Feeding is challenged by his very snotty nose and coughing means that he's throwing up even more than usual. Hopefully he can shake it off quickly. I've not Calpol-ed him yet as he doesn't seem particularly bothered by any if it so far...

• of it. Sigh. Night night all!

we're back from our first holiday with 2 kids!! A week in an idyllic cottage in Herefordshire. No phone signal, no internet, no TV. BLISS!! DS1 is a real city boy though, every time he got mud on himself (which was pretty impossible to avoid) he'd start wailing and want to be carried!

DS2 is getting his first tooth. I can feel a little sharp bit on his lower gum and he's pretty upset a lot of the time. What does everyone think about giving Calpol? I'm pretty easy with the teething gel (although when a tooth is breaking through it seems pretty useless), but always feel bad for giving Calpol. But then again when it takes the pain away and he's finally sleeping I kind of feel like, how could I not? When DS1 was teething with his molars he would have Calpol at night every night pretty much. Argh I don't know what's the right thing! Don't want my babies to be in pain, but also don't want to give them stuff that's not good for them?? Is it not good or am I just worrying too much?

Rrreow, we had the same dilemma as we didn't want to be dosing Amy up with drugs. However, when the gel / powders have failed to work it seems cruel to let her suffer when we don't have to.

We try to only use half the recommended daily doses though.

Just wanted to mark a spot and say hello, I was on the antenatal thread with you all! DS doing well now, after a shaky start he's a very easy baby - and I'm trying to be a relaxed mum and usually failing! Glad the little ones are thriving :)

Welcome back forget

I use calpol - sometimes just because he's obviously feeling 'off', because I feel that the amount they are growing there must be some discomfort that he can't tell me about so it's unfair to make him suffer when a spoonful can make it better and does no harm. If he needed it more often than allowed I have some baby ibuprofen. Children who are verbal are a different matter.

Lo Forget

Yup we started drugging the baby last week. Ive only really used it at night when shes struggling to go back to sleep and jamming her fingers in her mouth. The HV also recommended giving her frozen banana. Not sure if it works but the faces are highly entertaining.

So did my first day away from LO on sat at my friends wedding. Dont think the little traitor missed me at all! I think my sister really enjoyed looking after her though judging by the photos on Facebook!

I use calpol too, only if dd seems really unsettled and nothing else helps settle her. Especially at the moment with these teeth coming through. Her cry tells me she's in pain.

Currently dd is sleeping quite good at night, last night we went 3 whole hours between feeds....touching lots of wood this continues.

Rreow - I always forget paracetamol is an option, I think it's a hangover from when J was in NICU really as I'm kind of loathe to medicate him at all BUT I figured that was my issue and not his, so if his teeth hurt and there's something I can do to help him, I should....! He mostly gets a dose, if at all, in the early hours of the morning when and if he seems in pain. For J it's more unsettledness than actual clear crying so maybe that's why it's been les obvious to me that he might want some pain relief. I have tried Nelson's powders which he did enjoy but I think more for the fun of the application than providing real relief!

Second tooth is through, he can now scrape some serious chunks out of a banana. Sharp fangs.

Two proper little meals a day here, backed up with milk - big bowl of porridge and fruit in the mornings and veg at night. He is loving it....are you formula people moving straight onto follow on milk once you've started weaning? I haven't yet but wonder if I should....

Hi Forget! How's your acrobat?

Oli, you don't need to use follow on milk at all, just stick to stage 1.

Basically, the formula companies aren't allowed to advertise stage 1 milk (and they aren't allowed to discount it / you can't earn points on it or buy it with points) so they developed follow on milk in order that they could do some advertising and promote their brands.

Nutritionally, the stage 1 milk is all they need until cows' milk at a year old.

I wish Amy's teeth would hurry through as they're giving her real grief. I think she may cut them on the cross though.

She's doing better on the sleep front now she's on her own bed. 5 hours' sleep in a chunk last night, then another 3. She's just woken now and is chatting to herself / her mouse. :-)

Excellent that's what I thought, thanks MrsBri!

Oli, are you using special baby porridge? I'd like to give porridge for breakfast when we start weaning in a few weeks but I'm not sure what to give her.

Hedge - yes starred Aptimil plain rice porridge which he thought was the most boring stuff ever. Did about 3 weeks on the banana one & I added fruit purée as well. He's now 5.5 months but happily having the Ella's kitchen stuff for 7+ months. He has that and some fruit and water then a small 120ml bottle ...

Thank you. I have had no previous experience with babies so this is all totally new to me. The weaning session only mentioned fruit and veg but I don't really want to give her carrot for breakfast!

Hi all! :)

Acrobat doing very well MrsBri - he is rolling and trying to crawl, kicking and wriggling... Much as he was before he was born to be honest. His crazy activity though means he sleeps like a dream so I shouldn't complain! Just been to a weaning group and trying to pick up tips... Starting in a couple of weeks and a bit daunted!

Welcome back forget. Urgh not looking forward to weaning. It's just another thing to have to deal with!!

Right well we're surrounded by boxes right now. Moving tomorrow and Thursday. Excited to move to our new house but staying with my parents for 3 months has had it's advantages, and frankly, I hate moving. Urgh.

I'm trying to avoid too much fruit to start with - he's had some banana and I put some liquidised prunes in some baby rice (he was considerably underwhelmed). He had banana in some avocado because the avocado was too hard to liquidise on it's own, which was very popular. Heaactually slept for a whole hour after lunch today which is a daytime record!

Weaning is going well here too we haven't dropped any feeds and are planning in sticking with our soya milk not a follow on variety. Theiah has porridge in the morning about 9am then fruit at 4pm which will become breakfast and dinner in time and we will introduce lunch nearer Christmas probably when she is 6 months. We aren't giving baby rice based on an article I read obviously people make their own choices but having read it I choose not so were doing the cow and gate porridges (fruity, apple and blueberry etc) the article is

www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2011/12/nine-good-reasons-not-to-use-baby-rice.html?m=1

if your interested.

Thanks aloha :)

Not back two minutes and already looking for advice...
A is (I think) teething - but today he has had double the dirty nappies he normally has, as well as some really erratic feeding. There's sometimes a weird clicking noise too (I know this sounds mad!) Teething or desperate to wean? He is nearly 23 weeks!

Ah yes I've seen that article, Pink. As with seemingly ALL research and advice to do with babies there is an equal amount of info to demonstrate it's fine. So you're right, it's all down to personal choice.

J really needed to start on something thicker than straight purée due to his surgery site, to reduce the risk of stricture, so baby rice is a good starter. During the course of a day he prob has a 1:10 ratio of rice to other foods, mostly vegetable to avoid that sweet tooth thing, so I'm not too worried. his milk intake has only gone down by 100ml or so at most so it's not really a big deal in that respect. I am interested to try to arty porridge too so may give some of that a go.

He had a go at some puréed veg lasagne today - not smooth but not big lumps, and loved it. I suppose technically we are doing a combo of traditional and baby led weaning, taking his throat into account at all times (throat is 100% brilliant, as is sucking and swallowing, but weaning is crucial time so need to take it carefully).

He now takes scrapes out of a big piece of banana with his two tiny teeth and copes with those, but we've had the usual coughing and so on that's common with weaning. It's been a good thing to not panic and just let him cough and sneeze and work it out himself. So far so good.

Forget: I think it's just teething based on my brief experience!