September 14 babies - bring on the weaning!

[KitKat1985]

New thread for the Sept 14 babies. :)

Sorry x-post Honey. Jessica does that too sometimes. Maybe it did help and when she woke up fairly early the first time she just wanted a 'snack' or a 'drink'? I think you might have to try it for 2-3 nights to know if it actually helped or was just a fluke. xxx

Yes think I'll persevere with it for a while. Will also mean dh could try bed time rather than it always bring me as well.

Welcome Lanaandmaria2014! I think everyone of us has our own feeding story.

Kitkat, we have a two bed place with an odd layout (bedrooms on different floors). We have looked at other places nearby with three bedrooms. None are as big even with the extra room and cost nearly £100k more. So apart from the fact I really don't want another, its just not practical as we are already tripping over each other as it is and there isn't a chance of being able to afford something bigger. Its just as well DS is awesome! (We really should have named him Awesome).

Honey, that doesn't sound great but doesn't sound terrible. A 5 hour stretch will do wonders for you though. DS is being rubbish at the moment and when I am sleeping I'm having nightmares which is starting to do my head in as its been all week. As it goes, DS rarely has more than a long nap between 7 and 10pm. I wouldn't even count it as waking through the night at 10pm. His bedtime feed is around 9 - 10pm depending on when he's awake.

Team, watch yourself. DS's 'face touching' has developed into 'trying to rip your face off'. He had a couple of good goes at trying to poke my eyes out yesterday. Its only cute to a point!

Re:playtime
We do a lot of flying to the "Superman" theme tune and DD absolutely loves it. Though it usually ends up with a lot of drool on the floor or us!
Got a door bouncer a few weeks ago and with a cushion under her feet (she's still so small!) she loves this too and could happily spend more than the daily recommended 20 minutes in it. Getting a Jumperoo too soon (just not sure where it'll go as space is getting tighter!) as so many ppl rave about it, so hoping she likes that too.
Wooden maracas, Sophie La Giraffe, a winkel by Manhatten toy Co are all perfect for her little hands although lately she enjoys throwing them around and waiting for me to give them back to her..........most of these do end up covered in baby slobber!
We start swimming on 9th feb
Weaning: think I'll do a mixture of BLW and purées. She's already v interested in our dinner! And started getting v excited when I "offered" her a glass of water so getting her first sippy cup this weekend.

stupid qu how do I dreamfeed??

Holls, it just means lifting (not necessarily waking) baby when you go to bed and giving a feed - so that baby is more settled the rest of the night. May not work for those with multiple wake-ups for feeds, unfortunately. But your baby is sleeping through without a feed, so may help.

Some people dreamfeed by full-on waking baby as much as possible for the feed (as a way of making sure they don't fall back to sleep when feeding) so might switch the light on, change nappy etc.

I don't. We have a quiet, dark, tranquil dreamfeed.

When I come to bed (anytime between 10.30 and 12.30) I take a warmed bottle with me, sit on my bed and gently lift DD from her cot into a cradle hold, fumble around in the dark find her mouth and put the bottle in and then just wait quietly. The sucking is almost reflex as she is sleeping, she takes about 200ml (just less than 7oz).

If you have somewhere to sit in your DSs room, you could lift and do the feed in his room. My eldest kept her dreamfeed until 2.5y (she had dreadful sleep habits) and we used to dreamfeed on a rocking chair in her bedroom.

My DD has been sleeping through from dreamfeed to 8am from 8 weeks old (while still exclusively breastfed). We dropped the dreamfeed about 2 weeks ago and so she was sleeping 8pm to 8am. But she's been poorly this week (and also happens to be exactly 4 months and there is a known sleep regression at 4 months) so I've bought the dreamfeed back, for now.

my first son had been spoonfed from 12 weeks

Gosh, I can't imagine that! How old is your first son?

My eldest is 10y and I started weaning her at 20 weeks but that was against the 26 weeks advise at the time.

team not sure if was answered or not about freezing purees I was looking but couldn't see anything. I freeze them in ice cube trays then transfer to freezer bags which I date and label. I have had no issues with it freezing together.

I bought a hand blender, some little pots and a highchair - bring in the purée! Going to start next weekend when he'll be 22 weeks. Got some baby rice but can't find any baby porridge that doesn't already contain dairy.

Took DS swimming for the first time today, he was somewhat underwhelmed! I expected splashing and giggling like he does in the bath but nope, he just floated calmly watching the other people. Not sure what to do about lessons now, it was a lot of fuss if he doesn't even enjoy it! It was perhaps a bit cold - 31 degrees but felt chilly.

acorn there are definitely some porridges with put dairy I will have a search for them (child at my nursery was dairy intolerant and we used a small selection of porridges)

Cow and gate - blueberry and apple here is its ingredients

Ella's kitchen mango and apple nutrition information here

Cow and gate - strawberry and banana nutrional information here

Organix banana and mango
nutrional information here

I am sure there is a couple more out there too :) hth

Thanks cookie, that's really helpful!

Just dropping briefly by on my slow expensive data allowance Internet as my wifi has broken for a completely unknown reason. Just what I need when Jessica is being very difficult both day and night. I'm finding how she is now harder than a newborn. She was far less needy as a newborn. I feel so guilty for saying this but I'm beyond fed up and would like her to go the f*ck to sleep! Any time will do. She just doesn't nap or sleep for long enough. In fact I have no clue how the feck she's still awake. Sorry for that mother of all moans!

Cookie that's brilliant, thanks! Asda didn't have them, will check tesco tomorrow

Oh top, sounds like you are having a tough day and like you need a break. Does she sleep out in the pram or car? Can anyone else take her out, even if just for an hour or so? Looking after a baby is relentless and it is totally understandable to feel frustrated and the need for a break sometimes.

Top

Is there anyone who could look after her for a bit whilst you have a break and some sleep? xx

Sorry x-post with team. xxx

team acorn you are welcome :)

My hubby works shifts so unfortunately he's not here most of the time or if he is he needs to sleep after a night shift or because he's got to get up early for a day shift. When he's off he is very good though and I can get naps. I could ask his mum to help me but it's been snowy and icy so I didn't want to ask her to drive in those conditions. My mum is busy looking after her ill parents and working so I don't want to bother her. I'll ask MiL tomorrow though if I have another rubbish night. I just tried to give Jessica some formula to try to fill her up a bit more but she won't take it :(. Only boob will do! If I have another baby I think I'll be trying mix feeding from the start.

Maybe you could ask MIL tomorrow even if you have a good night tonight? Sounds like a little you time would be really good for you?

I've been promised a lie in tomorrow!

topmammy - if you keep working on the bottle (with expressed milk or formula) she will get it eventually. It just takes some perseverance. Often when a baby understands what to do with a bottle, they learn how to gain comfort from a dummy too and so you get another (IMO invaluable) settling aid as a bonus.

My DD took some working and perseverance to take a bottle. Some things to try:

• Different temperatures. Some like it hot, cold, room tem, warm, cool and so on.
• Give it her when calm and not too hungry initially.
• Try giving her a bottle while asleep.
• Have bottle ready while breastfeeding and whip nipple out and teat in, keeping baby in same position.
• Bottle feed in a position as though breastfeeding

I am so sorry you are having a really hard time right now. Some time soon you will figure out your DD's 'thing' that works to get her to sleep. When you have figured out her thing, it will all get better.

In the mean time have a and these

Thanks for the bottle tips Fate. I'll have to have another go maybe one morning when Jessica tends to be in a better mood. She's taken a bottle of expressed milk once before (months ago) so she must be able to do it again. Thanks for the

I'm think I could sell my daughter as a torture device. Between the sleep deprivation and the disgusting onslaught from poonamis, she would be very effective.

Had a bad night, just in case anyone hadn't guessed!

Oh No Team . Did you get your promised lie in? My night was just a little bad but it is always somewhere on the scale of badness lol. So I guess it was quite good. Only thanks to a stint of co sleeping though. I wonder if you told your HV when they asked that yep I cosleep and you're not going to stop me.... what would they do?

I did get a lie in, but she woke at 5, so my lie in was until 7, and I'd barely slept from 1.30-5.00. So we are both wrecked today!

What can they really do? Say they don't like it?! They may be disapproving, but if you are happy in your decision then they can't really say or do anything.

I hardly slept but that was my own fault. DH in a grump for a myriad of reasons...had an offer on house but not for as much as we would like so going back to suggest more. Looked round a house that we both really liked but it will stretch us. I worked out worst case scenario what we would be able to afford and got "we won't be able to afford a house on that we might as well not sell this" and then hardly spoke to me. I am fed up of being happy and cheery and always wrong! Rant over. Sorry.