October 2014- thread 8. Growing up fast, 6 months already!!

[MundayCakes85]

Morning all! A shiny new thread for Easter.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, I'm off to eat copious amounts of chocolate whilst hiding in the floor of the nursery with Ewan the sheep

Ahh the middle of the night 'where the hell is the baby?!!' Duvet rummage anxiety! I am a master of this goats. I suffered from it terribly with DS, much less so with DD, which is odd cause she's spent a lot more time in our bed than DS ever did.

I've been lurking lately, lots going on and we were away in Wales last week. DD still rubbish at sleep on the whole although tonight she's done a 5 hour stint already. Whoop! I was asleep for 3 of them! She's now sitting up really well for long periods, has her first tooth proper (ouch!) and weaning is going quite well. Growing up very fast. Oh and DS is says this very tentatively cause I'm about to tempt fate potty trained in the last few days. Both babies are changing so quickly!

Stigz hope your pooch is ok after the surgery

Well, I would say that new plan was broadly a success. Boyfriend gave her a bottle at 11.30, she woke at 2.30 and just wouldn't be soothed without eating. I decided that I wasn't going to feed her again until 7, even if it meant sitting up with her in a strop, so came down to get a bottle of boiled water to con her with. Went to sleep and didn't hear sight nor sign until 6.55. Yaaaay!!

Not getting too excited though, obviously.

Glad to hear operation cot cosy has shown some early signs of progress. Someone told me that baby sleep progress isn't linear . They tend to go two steps forward and one step back. Totally makes sense to me, hoping things keep going in the right direction. Amazing how much mum's scent helps. The cuski we bought was in my bed for a week before giving it to bubba.

Lo has had diarrhoea since Saturday. Every 30 mins. It's given her the worst nappy rash and I'm thinking about trying a new nappy brand. Anyone use non pampers nappies?

Yep, we use supermarket own brand nappies from asda, sainsburys and aldi. And pampers if they're on offer. No problems with any of them. It'll be the constant poo that's causing the nappy rash rather than the nappies. Have you got some metanium cream? It's brilliant for nappy rash and it creates a barrier that lasts between changes (rather than being absorbed by the nappy like sudocreme) so it heals and protects at the same time.

We use waitrose nappies, I've found them better than pampers. I've tried pretty much every brand, and for size 3, waitrose wins.

Sounds like everyone is doing better! Good to hear.

I started with food this week! He's had toast, yoghurt, broccoli and some porridge. Just messing with it mostly but he definitely are quite a bit of broccoli - his nappy was full of it.

Thanks for the nappy tips. Will try some others. This is the 4th day of runs, surely that's not good? The doc wasn't too concerned though.

Glad your lo is doing well with the weaning Splendide. We've been doing puréed stuff but she loves a chomp on a rice cake so I'm wondering if finger foods might be better.

Little miss independent gets annoyed with mummy trying to spoon stuff in. She likes doing things herself when possible.

Poor little love, Sleepy we've moved onto Aldi nappies. They seem much better at containing the giant poos.
Today E chomped clean through a baby carrot. I had to oik a big lump out when she wasn't looking! Can't believe how much she can pack away.
Omelette was fun sooo messy for lunch

Weird night... one of those when you can't really remember what happened! I was in bed asleep by 9.30, next thing I remember was boyfriend coming in at 12.30 to tell me he'd done the bottle - I hadn't even heard her wake up, despite the monitor being in our room, and her being about 10 foot away across the landing. I had a session with a trainer yesterday, so wonder whether that totally whacked me out... can barely move my legs this morning!!

We're carrying on with the BLW stuff here - she eats what we eat, even it's not really ideal for babies. So she's had lentil stews, curries, tagines, spaghetti Bolognese.. the latter of which resulted in spaghetti stuck on the kitchen unit 5 foot away. She seems to be getting quite a lot in, particularly fruit in the mornings, and the LOVED broccoli. Courgette chunks also pretty popular, melon, grapes and roasted peppers or pumpkin.

goats do you just plonk the lentil stew or curry on her tray thing and let her get involved or mush it and spoon feed it to her?
We're doing a combo of both BLW and purée but he defo prefers to feed himself finger food things.

Slight victory here fed N a bottle of 3oz last night before bed, 2oz bm and one oz rank formula! He didn't look too angry about the different taste so will do the same tonight. He then also took a full boobs worth so slept a tiny bit better too. More settled chunks of 2/3 hours rather than restless 1-2, so feeling happier here.

Sazzle - bit of both. I put a dollop on her tray, a dollop on a spoon that I leave on her tray, and usually do a couple of bits on a spoon that I give her to get her to work out the flavours. I don't do anything to make her mouth open though, so if she's not interested, she doesn't get it. I suppose it's a bit of a mixture really. I didn't start off doing the spoon stuff, but she just threw it around and didn't really register it was meant to be in her mouth, so this has helped. She picked up quite quickly the putting her own 'loaded' spoon in her mouth though, so most of the time I can just refill that for her and put it back on her tray.

She's started blowing raspberries or bubbles with food in her mouth the last day or so though, which is fairly revolting (also hilarious, I have to take myself away so I can laugh about boyfriend being covered in bits of tomato and onion or whatever).

Was talking to a school yard Mum about when she weaned her (now 5 year old PFB) daughter. She used to cover the highchair tray with stuff like porridge or mashed aubergine or whatever, rub her daughters hands in it, help her daughter suck her hands, rub food around her mouth.

Seems utterly needless faff to me. I see no point in doing it except perhaps that it might be exciting/funny for the parent to watch. Seems too PFB to me, but each to their own.

If my DD is hungry, I feed her. With a spoon. She loves her food so much that there is rarely a single bit of mess. I often don't bother with a bib because everything goes in her mouth and is eaten.

If she's not hungry never happens then we leave what's left.

Usually she has a full portion of mashed whatever (fed by me), a full portion of mashed fruit or yoghurt (fed by me), then finger food of whatever we're having afterwards (which she is left with while I sort everyone else's dinners).

I'm evidently not fully on board with the BLW methods, but perfectly fine with that

Sazzle great about the bottle and slightly longer sleep chunks!

BLW in full flow here. Though I am keeping her off crackers/bread/pasta as long as possible if only to avoid her getting sucked into the pesto pasta/peanut butter and jam sandwich vortex of my fussy 5 year old (he would eat pasta pesto/pb&j everyday if he could - living proof that BLW can lead to fussy eaters!). Even made some no added sugar carrot muffins from the BLW cookbook yesterday for out and about snacks (and said fussy five year old peeled all the carrots and then ate most of then muffins!).

Though Yellow I have dog envy - BLW is when I really wish we had a dog! Though I know that I don't have the time to walk one (dh and his long hours! Will have to wait till the kids are older).

Munday God, I hate when people don't correct snappy dogs. There's tensions amongst my in laws over this (deadbeat dog owners who claim 'it's just a nip' despite bites breaking skin ). I've said no dogs at the massive thanksgiving/Christmas dinners as my kids are too young (and I am a huge dog lover). I don't care if they think I'm being unreasonable!

Weirdly FATE, breakfast (porridge and fruit or toast and cream cheese type stuff), never seems to create a massive mess - no bib needed. Dinner however is just carnage. Odd.

Sazzle glad N didn't seem to mind rank formula, and yay to getting 3 hours sleep
Goats we also get the raspberries blown through food, usually something bright like squash or stew. Haha. The cat like breakfast time as I give him the leftover porridge if there is any.
Think DH needs to improve his spoon to baby coordination as he gets it everywhere.
Flip could you post the carrot muffin recipe please? They sound like a great idea

Sazzle yey for minging formula drinking!

And yes BLW is not the anti fussy eating panacea some claim - my cousins kids are dreadful - sometimes I wonder if you end up giving more choice when BLW and babies get used to picking and choosing their favourites from a smörgåsbord on their tray, whereas when spoon feeding they have to get used to taking what they're given. I do both as I like them to explore food and feeding themselves but I also want them to get used to eating whats on offee and having quick spoon fed meals when I'm in a rush or out. But Lil can still make an explosive mess even when I spoon feed - she has her hands in the spoon - I'm envious of these bibless meals you're taking about Fate can you drop DD a memo?

Munday the muffins recipe is here (can't do photos on my phone):

About 10 muffins

150g self raising flour (plain or wholemeal of half & half)
60g butter (unsalted preferable)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 medium carrots, grated (I do 3-4 smallish carrots)
3-4 tbsp milk
Zest of 2 oranges, juice of 1 (optional - I add the juice of both oranges)

Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5 and grease a muffin tray or line with paper cases.

Sift flour into a bowl and make well in the centre (I never sift!)

Melt butter over a low heat. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, carrot, zest and juice. Add melted butter and mix well. Add carrot mixture to foot and fold together.

Add enough milk to give a soft consistency (I often skip this - I usually add the juice).

Spoon mixture into muffin tray or cases and bake for 10-15 mins, until golden brown and springy.

I am about due a clean eater, to be fair.

I opened the bin bag of 6-9 month clothes which have been stored in the loft. You can tell this is the age weaning starts. So many of the tops have that slightly dingy staining around the neck and arms from weeks and weeks of relentless food staining. Even the white vests have stains, which are an undergarment so were never bearing the full brunt of food smearing.

The only time DD needs a bib is for fruit, because of the juice. She's too much of a chunk to waste anything else!

My ds1 now 4 is the neatest eater ever and always has been. And neat in general, never splashed int he bath I can leave him with a full tray of paint or whatever and go have a shower and come back and paint will be neatly placed on said paper with not a drop anywhere else. Now no2 son is a bath splasher and seems to be messy in eating even though I'm pretty much doing he same thing... I'm not doing to test my paint theory on him!!
Off to try the bottle again in a bit. Wish me luck!

Good luck sazzle!

Goats, do you use normal porridge oats? What do you cook it with, water or milk? I have porridge every morning so it makes sense to give the same to lo.

The diarrhoea is still relentless. Today I gave up and lay bubba down on a roll of kitchen roll without a nappy on. She pooed and I mopped up and rolled out clean sheets.

Yessss all 3 oz went down again with a 1 part rank to 2 parts bm! So pleased! Will up the ratios next week when I think he's happy enough...

sleepy at the kitchen roll but great system?!! Hope it is better tomorrow. Is she very Ill with it?
Yes to normal porridge, if they can handle the texture otherwise you can grind it finer in a food processor.

I give DD Ready Brek made up with formula milk (and then give her the rest of the formula feed as a drink after breakfast). I add pureed fruit to stir in it and give flavour. This actually started happening by accident because the pureed fruit I have frozen is too runny to feed her with and I wanted to use it up. Otherwise she's have plain Ready Brek.

No one else in the house is eating porridge, wrong time of year, but I don't mind buying it for DD.

Thanks Flip! Will try after the weekend- we've got a houseful for E's baptism so no fun baking for me!
Good luck Sazzle, hope he approves!
Sleepy we use ReadyBrek with normal milk and a splash of water. She loves it and it's a bit smoother than normal oats. Like FATE she gets her arms/ hands/ feet/ neck covered in food

Ready brek with formula milk and fruit puree here. I did the puree to add sweetness (I use honey and dried apricots in mine, both a bit of a no for smalls), so mashed up a pear and an apple. AMAZING! I've had pear and apple puree on my porridge ever since - great new discovery that has reduced my own sugar consumption too.

Hi all, I posted a few times on the antenatal threads, and while I haven't posted recently have been lurking ever since.

I'm delurking to ask if there are any babies not rolling over yet? DS2 is 6.5 months and not rolling at all. I've been googling but it's all very conflicting on whether it's an issue or not!

P.S, someone else who will be trying the muffin recipe!