September 2014 - Babies turn 1!

[lilone1234]

First birthdays are starting to arrive and our babies are becoming toddlers! What will the next year have in store?

Also, I'm going wedding dress shopping tomorrow, which I am looking forward to but I am also feeling eurgh about finding the time to shave my legs, straighten my hair, put make up on, get shopping put away when it comes in the morning and sort DD out all before I have to leave. Oh and drop those 2 dress sizes I was meant to! Wedding planning definitely loses some of it's fun factor when you have a child! I have decided I won't have time to do everything and as I never have time to myself DP will be in charge of DD as soon as she's up. This is making me chuckle. I'm so mean, haha!

Ooh when is the big day Lil I love weddings. Would love to go wedding dress shopping again I am sure your DP will manage, although if your DD is anything like A, it will be your DD in charge hehe.

Ohhhh that's really exciting Lil! A friend of mine "Said Yes to the Dress" a few weeks ago. Very exciting time! Let us know if you pick one

I wrote a message for you lil but can't find it - thats so exciting :) I hope you had a great time and found some really lovely dresses. Did you find the one ??

Ladies, I need your input please ; ds has a bad nappy rash. His skin is not very sensitive, so he has only had nappy rash three times in his life and the other two times was really minor and disappeared in a few hours. One of the past times it happened in nursery.
This time is bad enough to make him scream if wipe touches him ; I have done everything for him and after 30 hours or so it is still not gone. All this just to say I am pretty upset about the nursery, as I know if they change him soon after a poo and apply cream (I supplied cream and asked them to do so) then he should never get a rash.

Question 1. Would you feel as upset as me if this happened to you?
Question 2. How would you deal with this, how would you raise the issue not to upset people but to make the point and prevent this from happening again ?
Cookie your professional view is as always very welcome

Thanks xx

Hi Nazly, I had this issue. Ds hardly ever gets nappy rash but he was consistently getting it at nursery. I checked his book and assuming it was accurate I felt they were changing him frequently enough. I thought he wasn't drinking enough water as he is always very thirsty when I pick him up. So I mentioned his bottom was quite bad one night and did they think he was drinking enough. They agreed it did look more sore than usual but assured me he drinks loads during the day. So we had a talk about it and one of the nurses suggested cutting down on oranges. I realised he was getting the rash when he was having orange at home and then orange at nursery. If he was home I wouldn't give the same fruit twice in a day but because he was in nursery I hadn't noticed. It solved the problem. I would say definitely raise it, but in a way 'have you got any ideas what is causing it?' It opens up a dialogue between you that is problem solving rather than accusatory. That's how it worked for me. I think you need to raise it, if his bottom is sore then something has to be done. Hope that helps :)

nazly I would be so angry if it was definitely negligence on the nursery's part. Are you sure it's because nursery are not changing him soon enough? I only ask as when DS started nursery he kept coming home with nappy rash despite only being there for 2 hours and not having a dirty nappy. I can only assume that they were using different wipes or the nappies themselves which were irritating his skin. Of course this isn't the case if you provide your own nappies and wipes. I can appreciate they might not spot a dirty nappy straight away if babies are happily playing outwith a metre or so range of staff. However if it's because they can't be bothered to apply the cream or change him then that's different. I hate confrontation so I'd probably bring more cream and say he has bad nappy rash so he must have cream on at every change and then ask on collection if he has (preferably a different staff member to double check).

My youngest son used to get horrendous nappy rash as he cut a tooth, that was the only time. I assume that there must be some changes to the acidity of his wee when teething. I'm sure you'd know by now if teething was the cause though.

We took DD to our local fair on Friday - she went on the teacup ride and the choo choo train.

Attempted to get her to wear a hat for more than 3 milliseconds! That's a lost cause. Oldest son got her to keep it on her head for maybe 60 seconds with LOTS of distraction. Gave up in the end.

DH & I were talking. Other families manage to get their children into hats. We have not succeeded in getting any of our 4 children into hats as babies - either summer or winter hats. Despite having loads of options of different kinds of hats. So coats with hoods it will have to be.

How did dress shopping go Lil? Did you find one you liked? I'm also nosy as to when the big day is. Is your DD going to be a bridesmaid?

Thank you for your replies re: Christmas. It helped me realise I was being a bit silly and there's no need to spend so much if we can't afford it, especially given that she's too young to understand how much things cost and is entertained by little things still this morning she was entertained by a teaspoon for nearly an hour .

Nazly I think Lillybugg and Acorn have already given good advice, and I agree that I would speak to the nursery asking them to help, rather than accusing them of anything. FWIW DD gets awful nappy rash sometimes, and always when she's teething, and it can happen really quickly (literally her bottom can be fine in the morning and red and sore come the afternoon) so it may not be the nursery's fault (though equally it may be).

I hope it gets resolved r.e the nappy rash Nazly - agree with other suggestions of opening a dialogue about it. My gut response would have been fairly aggressive and not helpful!

We have hat wars too Fate. Her summer hats had a Velcro strap so she would usually give up taking them off eventually. I'm persisting with winter hats because she gets annoyed too with hoods as they go over her eyes!

Wedding dress shopping was great. I found 'the one'! It's beautiful, but a secret! I did wonder if I should have looked around more but keep looking at pictures of it! Big day is 18th June next year! DD is going to be my bridesmaid along with my 5 younger cousins!

nazly I agree with the others about talking to the nursery, try not to go in all guns blazing an ask if they could think why it may be flaring up. If it has only happened once then it is hard to see a pattern emerging. Have you tried letting it out to the air, or metanium?

lil exciting times ahead, I would love to get married again maybe even to dh

fate E is ok with hats if he is out in the garden distracted but other wise when pulls them off

Oh thanks everyone for wonderful advice. I will do what you suggested. I only brought them a cream a couple of weeks ago when he had his other rash which was a mini rash in nursery.
Lili that's helpful, there may be other reasons for the rash, but my problem is he never has got one so bad , so I can't think of anything apart from a soiled nappy not changed soon enough. I've double checked what he had in the nursery and it was currie chicken and rice for lunch and fish cake for dinner with fruit and yogurt for desert... His nappy gets changed between 3 and four timed during the day when he is there, so every 2-3 hours. I am sure they don't lie about when a nappy gets changed, I trust them .

I will go asking what can cause it...

Lil glad you found something you love :) would love to see your dd as bridesmaid :)

Hi everyone

Lil so glad you found the dress! Fantastic news. You must be so excited. I'd love to get married again, the day flies by so fast.

Nazly DD went from having a normal bottom to having the most extreme, blistering nappy rash in the space of one afternoon this week. Definitely related to cutting teeth here, as she wasn't with the childminder that day so all else was normal. Agree with everyone else about chatting to the nursery but hoping that it's not neglect on their part as that would obviously make things difficult.

Has anyone else's baby gone word crazy? All DD wants to do is talk, she can say so many words nowz it's very cute. Childcare has helped no end and she seems to be settling really well. So happy and relieved!

Lil glad you found the dress! Another one who would love to get married again here. The day goes so fast, so make sure you sit back at take it in.

A gets bad nappy rash when he is cutting teeth too, it looks very sore Hope you manage to find the cause Nazly.

We still aren't getting to many words, but he is babbling a lot, in fact he is rarely quiet now He likes 'reading' to himself at the moment, and I quite often find him babbling and pointing at the pictures in the book Its very cute. Doesn't seem to like being read too though, he brings a book over and we start to read it, but he pulls it away and keeps turning the pages before we can finish lol.

Yay to finding the dress lil!!! How exciting.

Nazly - how's the rash? I always keep some Naty nappies in for when DD gets sore. They're not great for absorbency, but no chemicals so far better for the skin.

Sleep issues! DD was down to one feed a night at about 1, which was ok. Since being ill she's back to two feeds at about 12 and 3.30. My big problem is that I find it almost impossible to get back to sleep if I wake after 3. So most of the time I'm up from 3.30. I'm knackered! How can I get rid of the second feed?!

DD has also has a word explosion and has a surprising number of words! Not all clear, but I know what she means She'll take a stab at saying most things.

Still no teeth!!!!

Planning a winter holiday and need to get her a passport. No idea how to deal with the photo?!

team I think it is amazing she has no teeth, E got three in a week about a month ago and one is a molar. Poor soul!

I wish E would say mama he can talk loads will copy most words I say but if I say mummy he turns deaf :(

Team we got A passport at Max Spielman. They take quite a few photos and then you can pick which one you want to use. When I went in they also advised which ones wouldn't pass the passport test.

Team rash all went away thanks for asking - i talked to the carers and they were very nice and cooperative about it

I got the passport when he was 3-4 m old; went to our local photography and they did quite a few digital photo and we picked one there and then; it was quite easy to be honest

I have no idea about sleep team ; for the first time ds slept from 8pm to 6am last night phewww

Ds doesn't have many words and he resist saying anything close to mama; daddy is very much a practiced word though

So ladies, how long do your babies sleep now and how often ? Ds hasn't dropped his am nap so I am wondering what happens when he goes to toddler rooms soon

Nazly really glad your DS' rash cleared up ans nursery were good about it. When does he move to the toddler room? DD sleeps 7pm to 7/7:30am, and usually has one 2-hour nap per day. Occasionally she'll still have 2 naps in a day if she's very tired, and obviously night-time sleep is occasionally disrupted by teething, colds, etc.

Team we just went to the local photo shop for a passport photo as well, much easier than trying to DIY.

Has anyone bothered trying to ditch bottles yet? DD only has 2 per day and we've switched her cups to the soft silicone straw cups, so I'm hoping to start giving her milk from one of those and get rid of bottles, though it never seems like the right time to mess with her routine!

Team - never mind the second feed. I would go cold turkey stopping all night feeds if it was me, rather than prolonging the agony with drip-feed changes. I think KitKat is doing similar (from her thread on the sleep board).

I think we will ditch bottles as we ditch formula milk to be honest. It's hard work getting DD to have any milk at the moment, I am persevering with a bottle morning and before bed though. Soon I'll ditch all association with milk and sleep and will make milk a with-meals drink and move to cows milk. She may also refuse cows milk

Mega busy half term in our house this week.

Hi everyone! Hoe you and your LOs have been well ??

Well yet again it's been an absolute age since I last posted and I've not even had time to come and have a peek since I've been back at work.
Full time (no choice??) work means DD spends more time at nursery than she does with me over a week which really makes me sad ( but I'm looking for other jobs, can't wait for the day when I can hand my notice in to my lovely employers!)

DD had a lovely birthday, just some friends over, a cool rainbow cake, and lots of attention, hugs and kisses.

She took her first unaided steps about two weeks ago but still prefers cruising with a hand on anything within reach.
12 month jabs today and I wasn't expecting three needles! She squirmed and cried but thankfully is sleeping well.

I hate having to wake her up for nursery every morning though, but thankfully she's settled in quite well apart (apart from two bumps to the head in the first week!)
She is there from 8:20 until 6:15 most days ( quite often she is the last one to be picked up which also makes me feel crap)

She's also had a horrid cough and runny nose since she's started which just doesn't seem to be shifting ( and we've picked that off her too) as well as horrendous nappy rash since she turned one ( to the point where it's bleeding and was starting to get quite deep, but thankfully Metanium has sorted that out) but we have FIVE more teeth! They're all over the place, one middle upper incisor, one lower second incisor, one upper molar (I think) and two lower molars, all cutting through and I only noticed this weekend!

Will try and keep up to date now I'm sort of in a routine with work ( by that I mean exhausted and asleep on sofa at 9:30 most nights)

Hi Zana! Good to hear from you. Poor sore bum must be related to all those teeth?! I hope you find something new that has a better balance for you soon, though good news that she seems to be doing alright at nursery!

I think I mentioned we are in the process of selling our house and buying a new one a while back. We exchanged yesterday and are set to move next Friday. Dreading it and have so much packing to do! Also quite down about having to start again with baby/toddler groups etc. and meeting new people, trying to break in to the cliques again! DP doesn't really spend anytime in our area but obviously I do so he really doesn't seem to understand my concerns. He seems very reluctant to consider my POV on a lot of things about it too and I can't help but feel it would not be this way if I was still working and not SAHM...just needed to vent a bit!

lil are you moving far? Good luck with it all, moving is stressful as it is, let alone if you really rely on local friends like when you're on mat leave or a sahm. We'd really like to move but the thought of 'mum networking' all over again is something that outs me off.

FATE have all your los dropped milk naturally? I think DD would have 2 bottles of cows' milk per day forever if she could, she loves them. I'm hoping making it more like a drink in a cup will help break that sleep association.

Hi Zana and welcome back Like you I'm asleep on the sofa ridiculously early now I'm back at work!

Zana, great to hear from you! I'm usually ready for bed at 9 these days. Living the rock and roll lifestyle here!

Lil, good luck with the move. Hope it all goes smoothly.

Fate, I am very tempted to just go cold turkey on the night feeds. She's not had the 3.30 feed for the past two nights of her own accord, which is amazing. I'm in two minds about the other feed. She does have a really good amount of milk, which makes me hesitant to drop it as she seems to need the big feed, it's not just a small amount of milk for comfort.

More importantly, big news... WE HAVE TEETH!!! Finally

Oh yeyyyy team to teeth :)

Zana welcome back, good to hear from you - what sort of hours work are you looking for? I keep thinking about reducing hours but I am not sure we should financially

Lil that's exciting and difficult both, moving to a new home. But I didn't get your point about being SAHM is any different with a working mum?!

Apple that's such good sleeping times... 12 hours per night ?? That's brilliant and exactly what we need here... We have a Very Early Riser here . and then he is tired enough to have a nap in the morning and then one after lunch too... I don't even know how I can change it or whether it will change automatically

I have difficulties finding ideas for quick but good foods for dinner

Thanks ladies. What I meant Nazly was that I think he values my opinion less now I am a SAHM rather than if I was working. It's probably in my head though. He feels sometimes like he's doing it all - chasing up the lawyers, making all the phonecalls, booking the removal company but actually it is so much easier to make personal calls while you are at work in my opinion! And of course all the packing will just get done by magic, nothing to do with me...

Congrats on the teeth Team! Who knows, she might get them all at once now?!

Bottles - Is also something I put off for not wanting to disrupt routine. Was all set to move on to cow's milk when she wasn't drinking that much formula but then fussy eating started and now she nearly always drains all 3 of her bottles every day so for now I think keeping formula is better but you can't make up the powder in a cup. And, probably most of all, it's one of the few 'baby' things we do now, lie down and be fed a bottle and have a cuddle. Part of me does not want to say goodbye to that yet!

Nazly I struggle very much with dinner ideas too. Have you tried any of the recipes on www.blwideas.com? Even if you're not doing BLW I have found it a very handy blog since she will only eat finger food now.