March 2016 - quick, a new thread!

[Swearwolf]

Sorry for the terrible title, I saw the old thread was up to 996 posts and panicked!

Ooh don't I feel important

Try a fleece sleepsuit, lily? DS1 had a friend like that and she'd wear a fleece suit over normal ones.

I hadn't clocked that the Pearl was forward facing. Bum.

DS2 was just right temp wise overnight, btw. (Although the heating got left on and it didn't get that cold!).

Who was it saying they were sleep logging in conjunction with sleep training? I logged DS2's feeds last night and he went 3hrs, 3hrs, 2hrs, 1.5hrs. (I went to bed after the first 3 hour stretch). I'm sure he used to do a 4/5 hour stretch at the beginning. Still, maybe he'll be sleeping through in another 6 months?!

Dd is still in her 1.5 tog with a blanket on top. She manages to keep it on her bottom half and seems to quite like it. I do have a 2 tog which was half price in M&S last week but am holding off for a while as our house isn't that cold. I need to go to Tk Maxx to pick up some more.

She was awake again at 4.30 this morning but did go back off. She wasn't awake for a feed as she had fed at 12.30 so for dd that was a bit too close together. She was just chatting again and scratching the side of her travel cot to keep me awake

I was the other person who recommended the Pearl. I don't actually own it but after spending months and months researching which was the best one to get that seemed the best for extended rear facing and very good overall. Unfortunately Dh ended up buying the wrong one! But I still recommend the Pearl because I can't bear for all that research to be for nothing!

The car seat we actually got was the Britax Dualfix (the one I think it was Dom was looking at?). Safety-wise in the which tests it scored very highly for older babies and toddlers but less well for younger/smaller babies - which is partly why we'recommend only just about to move ds2 into it now. I really like it. I was very into the idea of keeping ds1 rear facing until he was 22 4 because he was my pfb etc, but we have a 3 door car and the Dualfix is quite big and most trips we do take about 10 mins so we ended up being lazy and ff him in the end . It seems very comfortable and sturdy though. We found it a bit confusing to install so not great if you need to switch between cars. Also I think I remember it only being rear facing up to 13kg? so not so great if you want them to stay rear facing for ages. And yy it's £££.

Sorry I don't know where that random recommend came from in that last post!

I've got ds2 in a vest, sleepsuit and 2.5 tog grobag at night now. The temperature in our room is about 18C when I go to bed and probably drops more during the night. I was worried I was over dressing him so that table is quite reassuring.

Is anyone else a member of the Boots parenting club? When your baby turns 6 months they give you a voucher for a sample of the baby weaning guide/recipe book from the company that make Ella's pouches. I know I shouldn't expect much from a baby food company but its so crap! The majority of the recipes just seem to be cooking and blending a single vegetable. Why do you need a recipe for that? And why do you then need the exact same recipe repeated many times over just with a different vegetable for each one? Also you can only give 6 month olds food that are pureed within an inch of their life. No texture at all. Finger foods don't even get a mention. There was more but I won't bore you .

Trin I'm a member and forgot to pick up my free book last week. After that glowing recommendation I think I'll leave it

I didn't realise I got the book free as a member and went and brought it!! Haven't used it once waste of money lol!

Also my bad, there are two pearl car seats, one is part of the familyfix collection (so the pebble &a pearl forward facing) the other is family fix 2 way collection which is the new I size regulations one. So confusing when there are two different regulations out ATM! Makes it so hard to know what I have is right

There are two Pearls? No wonder this is confusing!

trinpy I've just given that book away as got it with my voucher a couple of months ago, read it and never used it.
We too have a 3 door car and don't think we'll have got a bigger one before he needs the next size up seat :-(

Does anyone know if you can get long sleeved sleep bags? All of ours are short sleeved but even in a sleepsuit his arms seem cold. 15 degrees again in his room last night, looks like it's time to kick start the heating but annoyingly the room with the thermostat in doesn't drop below 18 degrees.

I forgot to sign up to the boots club but doesn't sound like I'm missing out much on the book!

I'm in the highly unusual situation of being awake and DS still being asleep he slept in until past 7 yesterday too! did have two wake ups last night but they were both very quick back to sleep so I don't feel too bad and I'd happily accept a quick wake up if he is going to start sleeping in!

Q I think I've seen slumber sac ones with sleeves. The other option which we have is a wireless thermostat. Our house is a new build and has separate heating for upstairs and downstairs, the downstairs thermostat is in the hall and upstairs one is in our bedroom but DH swapped it out for a wireless Nest one which we have put in DS's room. Whenever I get up to go to him I always think his room his cooler than ours, I think two adult bodies obviously produce a lot more heat than one small baby! We haven't put the heating on yet as it is still only getting down to 18 or 19 at night but when it does get colder, it means the heating will come on based on DS's room and not ours. They're not that expensive and you can control it from your phone too which is handy!

me Dp works with heating systems and installs thermostats so you'd think he'd have bloody well suggested something like a wireless thermostat haha!
We are in a new build too and everywhere seems to hold the heat well but I think because we leave ds bedroom door open and it's at the top of the stairs the heat must escape so feels chilly.

Dom in your situation, the 2 way isize Pearl on the isofix base would be a good bet. If DS2 ends up car sick you can turn the seat around in seconds. The BeSafe izi combi seat also goes both ways - isofix rear facing and seatbelt forward facing. That's what I had for DS, and it's rock solid even with the seatbelt for forward facing. It's handy if it might be needed in a vehicle without isofix points. That's the one downside of the 2 way Pearl - It's isofix only. We have a Britax Evolva plus for DS in the the grandparents' car, which doesn't have the points. It's currently set as a high back booster as he's 4, but it'll get converted back to the five point harness for T when she's old enough, and we'll get a separate high back booster for DS. Until then I'm holding on to T's Pebble Plus, which can go with a seatbelt in the grandparents' car.

Oh yes, DS is in an isofix high back booster on our car. Love that you don't have to buckle it in (in case of an accident, an unsecured booster seat becomes a loose heavy object, v dangerous) when he's not using it!

Ooh mship I've just bought the Britax Evolva for ds1. It came on Saturday but he's still at his grandparents so we haven't tried it out yet. Do you like it? I didn't expect it to be quite so big!

trinpy yes the Evolva is big, but not as big as the BeSafe! I do like it, it wasn't hard to take the five point harness off, and I think I'll be ok to put it back on for T.

Thanks mship. I think we're probably only going to get around 9 months or so out of the harness before ds1 reaches 18kg so good to know it's easy to remove. Your post has also reminded me that I need to get a second car seat for grandparents car too but I might just put that ordeal off for a little bit longer...

Thanks for all the car seat advice I was just starting to wonder what one to look at next.. After a particular bad vomitting session last week I would like to never have to wash and dry the maxi cosi cover until I am selling it! It takes forever to dry!!!

My DM has just left after a few days here.. They picked us up after our holidays so the last time I was in sole charge of R was the 14th September... Yikes I've got a bit used to not having to pee in a hurry!!

hi everyone, been lurking recently due to busy-ness but sneaking on now while DD2 has a nap!

we're also looking at car seats at the moment and am a bit at prices for rear facing - we moved DD1 into front facing at 1 year which obviously is not the recommendation now, and her ff carseat was much cheaper. DD2 has almost outgrown her maxi cosi seat as she's much bigger than DD1 (we've now moved her into 9-12 month clothes!) so we have to buy soon. my friend has the two way Pearl and isn't too keen on it, but mainly for niggly things like the straps being awkward to get baby in and out of. DH has been looking at Which and reading reviews etc and is thinking of the Concord rear facing and another one which I don't remember (possibly the besafe?)... they're both super pricey though.

had a disaster of a weekend visiting family in Bristol. was supposed to be going out on Saturday for my brother's 40th surprise party. however he had a family celebration on the Friday and I think I caught food poisoning from some smoked salmon I was the only one who ate it as everyone else was eating meat (I'm a pescatarian) and I woke up Saturday feeling rough, ended up spending the whole day being sick and we had to drive home a day early!

DD2s sleep has suddenly gotten better - first wake on Saturday night was at 2.30 and last night she only woke once at 4.30 . hoping sleep is on the up again, I feel amazing today as DH let me lie in until DD2 woke up at 6.45!

It's really cold in our house - we live in an old property that's in a conservation area so can't have double glazing. DD1 and DD2's room was 14 degrees last night. We layered up DD2 in a long sleeve vest, sleep suit and 2.5 tog sleeping bag. Her hands were very cold when I went in to feed her so think we will add a t-shirt tonight. We have a portable heater which we usually use in the winter but it's broken so need to either see if it's fixable or get another one.

Hello everyone! All this talk of next stage car seats had me doing some research last night - there are so many to choose from! We have two cars and ideally need to get rid of both and have a newer, better one that we share. My car is only three door too so I'm going to need something that swivels really. Argh! I can't see us sorting out the car situation before DS needs the next seat, what do we do!

Poor DS has got his first cold, bless him. He usually sleeps through but was awake for about an hour and a half in the night, all blocked up and upset. He settled with calpol eventually but he's very clingy and not himself. Fingers crossed it goes away quickly.

I am another one who has been stressing about weaning and milk intake! DS takes 7oz when he wakes up and before bed, but between meals will take 3 or 4 at best, and a couple of times has had just 1oz! This cold and teething aren't helping either. I am so clueless about what his portion sizes should be too.

Haha I gave DS some toast for the first time at lunch today, his face was a picture. He enjoyed squishing it around in his hand, then moved it just into his mouth, pulled the most disgusted face and dropped it! We will keep on trying!

Oh, we've got the evolva for DS1 (he's a bit little for his age so needed something with a harness for a while, he's only just over 18kg now at 5.5).

I like it, it's a nice seat! And yes, harness comes off easily - there are places to stash the straps on the seat, but I got confused so bits are in my seat pocket too!

marmite, we've skipped 6-9 month clothes for some items and gone straight to 9-11. He's just grown out of some 6-9 vests and sleepsuits too. Can't weigh him till half term though.

Oh no, fish poisoning sounds awful. Hope you're feeling better now.

I'm still feeding DS2 3-4 times a night (that's between 11-6, not including one when I go to bed and often one before). But he did a 4+ hour stretch last night! 7-11:30ish Which is an improvement. Sometime soon it'll get better, surely. And at least I'm only half waking up. Hats off to anyone conscious enough to walk/make bottles!

He's in a 1 tog bag again tonight with vest & sleepsuit. Thermometer says about 21C in here just now.

Nothing exciting on here. Still pumping. (There are 2 types of reactions to this, 1: wow, that's amazing (baby group parents, I'm told by CM) and 2: are you sure you can maintain this/it's good for you? (Work)). Hoping to continue till half term at least. We'll re-evaluate from there.

Sorry this has been really brain-dump-y

Oh, and DS2 will eat Beautifully for the childminder but not at all at home. just like DS1

Dotty when dd had her cold she was exactly the same with milk as your ds. She is drinking more now but weaning is still very hit and miss. Dh did work from home today though so we all had an early dinner and she ate with us. I say ate, I really mean sucked and threw stuff. She did try chicken though and wasn't appalled by it.

E is really moving around now, not crawling but turning round with a purpose and commando style moving backwards sometimes. She can roll both ways when the mood takes her too especially if ds has left forbidden toys in sight. I can't remember if I posted that she is saying da da da all the time now. It really seems that in the last week she has come on lots and is a real pleasure.

Dom brain dump away!

Can I confess I leave all car seat stuff to dh and have no idea what he has brought for the second seat only that it was on special with the maxi cozi pebble.

Marmite for the food poisoning, not what you want on a weekend with plans.

Q I want sleeved sleeping bags too and maybe in built gloves. Our house is warm but E's hands are always icy.

Ooh I didn't know that there was a place in the seat where you could store the straps Dom. Maybe I should finally take the instruction manual out of its little pocket in the back of the seat and read it . Actually I think you might have mentioned that you had the Evolva already and that's why I ended up buying it - so thanks for that!

Q you can definitely get sleeping bags with arms on. I don't think the grobag people do them but other companies do. Trying to remember where I saw them...

Purple it feels as if DS has really come on in the last week or so too. He has been saying da da da for about a week and can very almost sit up on his own. Maybe it is just the cold then, he has been funny with his milk for a few days but for all I know he could have been feeling poorly for all that time too. The blocked nose only started last night, and there were a few days last week that he was super grizzly which are noticeable because generally he's a laid back happy little chap!

Speaking of which I just heard him make a noise which doesn't usually happen at night. He has been suitably medicated with calpol, bonjela, a nasal saline spray which he hated and olbas oil on his sheet, I really don't think there's much else I can do. Best bet is get to bed because I've got a feeling it might be another long night!

Jojo maman bebe! That's where I saw them. They are a bit pricey though.