June 2013 (3) - teething & not sleeping!

[rrreow]

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

*oaty porridge! Though arty porridge could be fun.

It's interesting hearing what you're all doing.

Our HV told us not to bother with baby rice (there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not usually necessary), so we're not going to.

Our GP has been nudging us towards baby rice/baby porridge to begin with. We've got formula on prescripton to use instead of cows milk once weaning kicks off. I'm partly looking forward to it and partly dreading it!

Thanks olimoss!

HV nudging us towards baby rice but not keen, think i'll just bash on with veg/fruit in a couple of weeks!

V interesting hearing about all your adventures in weaning.

I'm in a quandary. Lil is 5 months today and still dropping away from the growth curve. I'm getting conflicting advice from different quarters. The HV, GP and Staff Nurse all say I shouldn't wean her until she is 6 months and that I should keep breast feeding her but supplement it with formula at night.

But then a dietician and another GP have said why not wean early since she's still not putting on enough weight.

On top of all that I'm getting fecked off with breast feeding. I have to give her Gaviscon with each feed which requires a bottle anyway.

Do I just go onto formula as it will help her put on weight?. I can pat myself on the back because I've done 5 months on the boob but know that she's getting enough calories? Ah feck I don't know.

Sunny if the GP is that worried, there are high calorie formulas they can prescribe, we used them for DS1 when he came out of NICU, called Nutriprem.

Weaning is fun here, too :o M is really keen to shovel as much as possible into his mouth! He loves banana, avocado, rice cakes, apple (wedges done in microwave so they're soft), plum, broccoli, cauliflower (first taste he had made him cry though!), baby sweetcorn, fromage frais, and chocolate mousse I should point out the little bugger nicked it off my spoon while he was sat on my knee

He will be 6 months old on Saturday , must take him to be weighed next week.

Oh my god!!! I have mould on the underside of Theiah's cot mattress

Have ordered a new cot mattress and protector but what will I do until they get here! I am mortified how has this happened! I wondered why she was getting so many cold symptoms it could have been exposure to mould the whole time!!

Pink- can you give it a thorough scrub (with detol or sim?) to tide you over? Or co-sleep if all else fails and you don't want to use the mattress...

Sunny- when we used Gaviscon, I used to make it up in little weaning pots and syringe it in, easier for us than bottles (though I made it up with expressed milk rather than water and used less liquid than the instructions said...)

Pink does her room get well aired during the daytime? My brothers kid had mould on his wall. They were so concerned about ensuring the room was warm during the day they never cracked a window to let air circulate. At one point my SIL had even taped the airbrick shut.

Hmmm still wavering about bottle vs boob. Last night it took me an hour to settle her when she woke for a feed. DH took about 20mins on his feed. It was just plug a bottle in and bosh. Baby asleep.

Sunny I went to an nct weaning course yesterday. It was very baby led weaning in its focus as you'd probably expect. One useful thing she did was remind us that you would need to eat a kilo of carrot to get the same calories as one average breast or bottle feed. So weaning early is unlikely to contribute to weight gain as it just doesn't result in many extra calories for them.

We haven't started yet. Too lazy. Getting on for 5.5 months so do need to think properly about it now!

Sarah that's an amazing fact - really?

Not going to get too hung up on the weaning in tht case!

Am currently sat in dds room where she has fallen asleep in her cot. I only popped her in it so I could get dressed. She's a star.
The last two nights have been hard going, I think she must be fighting something as she is really unsettled and screams no matter what we do. We have ended up co-sleeping just to allow the settled moments.

Need to sort a proper baby monitor for her room for these times.... Hers at the moment is set up on her crib, one of the angel care ones, but the parent part of it is a bit dodgy so DP said we'll get a new one when she moves into her room.

I have a grumpy snotty baby today
I have saline nose drops, calpol, snuffle babe and have steamed him while I showered. Any other tips ?

Curlyclaz it's an old wives tale but it always worked when I was little apparently (colicky, croupy baby who caught every cold going!) - Vicks, just a wee spot rubbed into the instep of the foot!!

We don't have a monitor now. We just leave the doors open.

Like yours, pink, the bit for our end was rubbish (2nd hand goods!) and buzzed loudly, so it's a nightmare to use.

How strange about the mattress, pink. How long til your new one arrives?

Our early weaning came to a halt a while ago as banana bunged Amy up and she vomited her apple straight back to us! BLW it is then, in a month or so. :-)

How long do I steam veggies for? We eat ours quite hard still, but I'm assuming babies need it cooked a touch more?

We're seeing a paediatrician tomorrow to follow up the lactose intolerance diagnosis, then a dietician on Monday who will advise how to get calcium in Amy while weaning as she can't have milk products.

It's most weird having a couple of hours to myself in the afternoon while Amy naps. Twiddling my thumbs a bit now!

Thanks forget I have no vicks but might pop some snuffle babe on his feet after his bath. We may just have had a two hour snooze in bed and feel better for it !

I know it sounds awful, but feel we need the monitors for when DPs girls stay. The eldest loves dd very much and is always trying to be helpful, and just sometimes it's too much for both of them. I'd have a slight worry if DSD heard dd stirring and knew we couldn't she'd be lifting and carrying her down stairs to us. At least if she knows we can hear she won't panic don't get me started on her issues over things having to be done straight away

That makes me sound awful, and I love dsds, and love how helpful they are with dd but there is a limit.

After the grouchy few nights, I have tonight raised dd crib at the head end to see if this helps, she has been favouring napping in a more up right position, so wondering if her reflux has returned slightly. The mind boggles at all the possibilities and working through them.

Pink, it could be teething.

When they're teething it hurts to lie down because it puts pressure on their already-sore gums.

And I can see that having a monitor definitely makes sense in that situation. Difficult.

Amy's teething means that she's not settling very well and we are having to cuddle her to sleep, and then put her in the cot bed. She can settle over night, but not the initial settling.

I don't mind though, as now she naps in her bed I get fewer snuggles, so at least I'm still getting some!

Oh, has anybody else recommended Karvol on the bedding for babies with colds? My MW friend recommended it.

I went an bought another mattress as I couldn't bear the thought of it so old one out new one in the room and mattress is aired so not sure where it came from and curly we have a very coldy any too with all the things you have ie snuffle babe nasal spray etc will try Vicks on feet but yes appreciate any tips

Shhhhhhhhhh baby is sleeping. She was an utter pest between 5am and 7.30am (up down up down etc) so I pulled her into bed with me and shes still asleep.

Contemplating getting up for a cup of tea but Im so comfy. They give you these good days dont they as a reward for surviving the bad days.

utterly exhausted after another rubbish nights sleep feel icky so have put waybaloo on which he seems to love and will attempt to gather energy for reviving peppermint tea making. not sure what is going on with his cold he has a slightly snotty nose but seems ok otherwise today.

ach I'm sorry to hear that Curlyclaz... we will consign the Vicks to the old wives tale dustbin of doom. I hope he feels better soon :( Try and get out a walk if you both can, fresh air will wake you up and might clear him out a wee bit.

You poor thing, Curly. Fresh air sounds like a splendid plan if you can manage it.

I picked up some vapour rub for babies in Boots today, ds's cold is managable by day but nights are snot-tastic. Hopefully this will help!

Took him to get weighed today, no weight gain in 2wks Our HV drop-ins are now run by random staff-nurses...hvs are too busy. Which means the support is next to useless. MrsBri, if you learn anything useful from paeds and dietician, could you share please?? I asked about dairy-free weaning today but got nowhere...

No problem, Mrs. Nothing from the paeds as she was happy to leave it in the hands of the dietician who we see on Monday.

We're still on the 91st centile for weight at 8kg, but have gone up to about the 96th for height at 67cm. Clearly the new milk has assisted growth!

We've luckily escaped colds so far. It was just the mild virus last week we had to deal with. I doubt that'll last though.

Glad the paed is pleased with how things are going. I bet you're chuffed MrsBri.

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom