Sept 06 Babies - trying to sit and roll....

[clairemow]

new thread here!

Jingle, on highchairs, we've got a huge monstrosity and wish I had a smaller one! DS1 sat on a blow up travel booster seat from about 15 months. However, I really really wish I'd bought a Tripp Trapp wooden highchair - very expensive (but it's your mum buying...!!!), but everyone I know that has one still uses it, because they basically convert from being a highchair with a bar to a chair with straps when they are older, and then a chair at the right height for a child when they are even older. My friend's children still use theirs at the table and they are 7 and 5. Whereas DS1 here now sits on a normal chair but with 2 cushions to get to the right height - and they get filthy! See here

Mabel, great news about the car!! But not the nightmares. DS1 had a few about 9 months ago I suppose. Around 2. He ended up with a nightlight in his bedroom to "keep him safe".

cori, sounds like your work aren't being as great as they could be... . Does DH know how sad you feel about it, or is he just trying to be really encouraging?

Well first day of 2 days working this week. I tried leaving F in the creche at the gym yesterday for an hour - disaster! He screamed and screamed and they came to get me. Won't be trying that again for a while! Felt awful. I think it was hot in there and noisy and he just couldn't cope.

Hello all, after my brief introductory post I've been lurking on the sleep and weaning threads as they are my main obsessions at the moment.

Just interested to learn what kind of routines your lo's are in at the mo.? My DD has got herself into the following kind of pattern.

Awake 6.30
nap 9.30 - 10
nap 12-12.30
sleep 2.30-3.30
bed 6.30

She's pretty whingy at the moment which I think is because she's tired. (She will not nap for longer than 30 mins and the long lunch time one is a new thing that she'll only do if I way with her, she doesn't sleep at night either)

Anyway, my question really is, are your lo's extending their awake time? She does a couple of 3 hour stints and is pretty knackered come bedtime. Interesting to see what you guys are doing.

Jingle, my DD is also outright refusing a spoon so we are just doing finger foods. Pumpkin, broccoli, parsnip, carrot, mini corns, mango, avacado, pear. She's quite happy to feed herself but will not let a spoon anywhere near her mouth. She's 26 weeks tomorrow and we've been doing it ery adhoc for the last couple of weeks but will start introducing some other stuff now.

My DS follows pretty much this routine:

Wakes 6.30-7am
Bottle 7.30
Nap: 9 or 9.30 for approx 30 mins
Bottle at 11.30
Sleep at 12ish for anything up to an hour
Bottle 3.30

Possible nap at 4 for 30 mins - but he is dropping this more & more

Bottle & bed at 6.30!

Clairemow, DH wants me to go back as he is convinced I need it. We also need the extra money as we can't really live off his salary. I just feel much more nervous & anxious about it this time & very content to be at home which I wasn't last time around. It'd also make you laugh with disbelief if you knew who I work for...unbelievable the way they have been, not only to myself but other colleagues in the same boat.

I also wish I'd bought a trip trappe chair!! Whist we are content with the M & P one I do like the extended shelf life of the TT & a couple of friends that have them say they are the best thing ever..

Off to take J to his swimming lesson...whilst I can...sob sob...

Thanks Claire for your input. Mum seems to have forgotten she wanted to buy us a highchair, so am rethinking that at the mo, but will consider the Tripp Trapp.
Ginger - thanks for advice re. finger foods. Already tried banana (absolutely no interest, except picking it up and throwing it off the tray, but will try some of your suggestions).
Re. napping, my DS has never been one for napping for long, unless we're in the car going for a couple of hours, in which case he will sleep pretty much whole way. His current routine looks like this:

4-4.45am wakes for food
6-6.30am wakes for day
somewhere between 9-9.30 (depending on when got up), will go for nap of 45-60 mins (although was 90-120 mins last week, but think that was because he wasn't well)
somewhere between 2-3pm (depending on when woke from last nap) nap of 45-60 mins
6.30-7pm bed (depending on how tired he is)
The early morning waking has slowly been pushed back (by him), so I'm hoping it will continue to do so (it would be nice if he would sleep til 6.30am by the time I go back to work!)
I kind of follow the Baby Whisperer book to look for clues as to when he's tired, but he will go down for a nap awake and I find that having his cuddly toys in his cot allows him to select them to help him go down.
No method to this, I'm afraid, I've let him find his own routine and he's gone from 3 to 2 naps of his own accord in the last week, but has never been a particularly nap-needy baby!
That probably isn't of much help, but hopefully it reassures you, you're not alone. When he is awake and I need to get stuff done, I sit him in his bouncer or on his playgym to watch me/amuse himself while I do things and I balance that with playtime with him as well. I find that a good kick/roll on his playgym or mat helps get him ready for a nap.

Just re-read my post and seen that I sound like I know what I'm talking about, when I don't. I really have just gone with him most of the time, but did spend some time at about 8 weeks trying to encourage him to fall asleep on his own (sitting by cot, stroking head, using BW shh pat method, cuddling til nestling into me with thumb in and then putting him down to fall asleep, etc), but I've no idea what has actually helped and what not, so hope I didn't come across as pompous !
Cori - sorry to hear about your work. My flexi-working request (4 days) was turned down as well as my request to work f/t hours over 4.5 days, without a meeting and I work in HR (don't throw things at me!). Made me laugh when I got through my return to work paperwork and all relevant policies this morning to see that it recommends that managers give flexi working requests due consideration! Mind you, they also included a section on recommended reading for expectant/new mothers and they've included SWMNBN's book - I have no particular thoughts either way on it, but was surprised to see they have included it! Mind you I think that my employer recommending reading to me, is going a bit far (very fluffy HR !!).

don't worry about it jingle! I often think I write too much advice on here, although am totally no expert in anything!! Except how to waste time when meant to be working...

I have a totally different routine, or do I have a routine at all?

Wake up approx 6.30 for a feed
Go back to sleep until 9.30 (most mornings)
Wake up for another feed and a play
Nap 1230(ish) for 30 mins(ish)
Out and about most days so I lose track but she may take a snooze between this time and 5ish
Another about 6.30
then bath and bed for about 8

You guys sound so organised!

DD has just played up! She went down, as usual about 8ish but woke up again at 9.30. DH went to deal with her cries but she did not sounds as though she had any intention of stopping so I joined him, to share the load. The minute I took her in my arms she stopped crying and started to giggle at DH!!
Then, I put her straight back into her cot, she grumbled a bit so I stroked her head and sh'd, she nodded off fairly quickly!
What was that about!?
Poor DH

Hi everyone! Have been taking a bit of a break from MN ... went through the MN methadone clinic, so to speak, and was very productive but am back again ...

Welcome to Gingerninja from the Sleep for the Weak thread - good to have you on!! & Ivor, are you in California? I'm in northwest Arkansas, originally from Houston.

Fairysnuff, that's too bad about the dirt ... hopefully that's the end of it.

Wow Mabel, congrats on the car!!

Ginger & Jingle, DS2 refused the spoon until about a week ago; then suddenly he was wanting solids with every meal ... didn't think of finger foods! That would've been a good idea for us too ... he was certainly chubby enough but I'm relieved that he finally has an appetite for something other than formula.

Schedule (nothing's set in stone; approximate): 5:30 wakes & is fed; naps 7:00-8:00; eats at 9:00; naps for an hour; eats at 12:30; naps from 2 to 4:30; eats at 4:30 or 5:00; sleeps 5:30 to 9:00; woken by DH for last feed; put down again at 10:00.

Claire, so glad Fraser liked nursery.

LOL re: potty training; DS1 was nearly 3.5 when he decided he was ready; we thought it'd be a long drawn-out nightmare but he actually did it in 4 days. We had a point system ... he could either have a piece of candy right then or "save up" to buy Thomas trains But it worked, thankfully.

Pieces are up; opening went well. This summer's scholarship has been extended to 2 weeks ...

welcome back Marls!

Well the potty training is temporarily on hold. He just wasn't telling me and I was starting to run out of clothes. Fine when he's not wearing anything, but as it's been so nice this week, we've been out in the garden alot and he gets so busy, he just doesn' want o be bothered with trivialities like wee's and poo's!, and i don't wan o make it into an issue for him, so thought it best to leave i a few weeks.

ineresting to see oher's routines..
ours is
up 6.30 - 7am and fed
nap at 9ish for an hour
up and feed and 11am
anoher nap a 12ish for an hour if playgroups on or someimes a couple of hours if we've nohing on in the afternoon.. If we go to playgroup he always stays awake while we are there, hen zonks out in he pushchair on the way home.
I have inroduced a bit of dairy this week, some grated cheese wih his veg and a couple of spoonfuls of naural yogurt with some frui puree (don't worry ladies i'll soon get him on he petit filous!)

our routine is pretty similar -
wake up usually around 7/7.30 - bottle and then breakfast
nap around 9/9.30 for 1/2 - 3/4 hour
lunch about 11.30 (often later though as I don't get myself organised early enough...)
nap around 12.30 usually a couple of hours
bottle around 2.30/3
tea at 5ish with DS1 (thank god, at last they have one meal at the same time as eachother!!!)
bath around 6/6.15 - both of them
bottle 6.30ish and then bed.

I find it really interesting how many babies kind of evolve to have similar routines as eachother. Guess it's to do with how long they can actually stay awake happily. With F, it really depends what time he wakes in the morning. We used to get DS1 up at 7 whatever (WHY ON EARTH???). Don't bother now. It always works out so they are both in bed about the same time every night.

forgot to add that ds2 does have tea, feed, bath and bed! basically same routine as yours claire.

DH picking up the car tonight - woohoo!

Can I ask when people stopped bf or greatly reduced bf, did your hormones come back before your period actually arrived. I've been getting crampy pains and nausea and feeling really hot at night. DH thinks its my hormones hitting. I think I may be coming down with something as I've had a cold and now feel shivery.

my hormones were all over the place after stopping bf, and for the couple of weeks before I got a period I felt really cranky, stomach cramps, hot and cold. But it could be something else too, I hope you don't have the flu or anything - fingers crossed.

Hi All,
Marls - I'm in Michigan so about 2000 miles east of you
This place is nuts, I got sun burnt on Tuesday temps in the 20's and woke to 2" of snow this morning, completly crazy.

Hello Everyone...like a couple other mums, i've taken a break from MN. I think really though, I've no other options to stop as my time has been totally consumed by DS and packing (moving this weekend).

It sounds like everyone's LO's are thriving and doing great! I've had some catching up to do on the posts (just giving them a brief skimming) . but i have a few concerns, all of which we're always talking about, im sure. My ds is now on baby rice with fruit or veg (purees) and he's loving it. i try to stick with savoury flavours mostly and its been going well.

As far as bf, i still put him on at bedtime and a here and there during the day. but i find that im still doing several nightfeeds!! everynight! and ds (now 24 weeks) and has yet to sleep through...ever! is this normal?? have i gone incredibly wrong somewhere? DS can't seem to sleep except on the boob, as he always gets a feed last thing and i usuallly just move him into his cot, where he stays asleep for (usually) a couple hours. and thats where the vicious cycle begins...always needs the boob every couple hours when he wakes, to fall back to sleep.

the past couple nights, i've let him cry in his cot (checking and resettling every 10 mins)...but it rarely works. im almost always having to put him in my bed at night so that i can get some sleep as well. Tonight, i tried to give him his last feed but he was asleep instantly so i put him down. and about 45 minutes later, he was up, screaming and crying the house down. making crying sounds that i had never heard before! i sat on the bed as he cried and cried...did a crossword for 10 inutes and did my normal thing. but im afraid i failed at my attempts to let him cry to sleep...

after about 30 minutes of it, i picked him up, kinda forced the dummy ontp him, he started sucking and eventuallly calmed down. had to rock him the whole time, but i put him back down and he's been there for about,,,,errr....30 minutes now, sleeping.

I'm terrified to admit that we have a serious sleeping issue on our hands. And even though this is a subject that i have read all of your posts on, sooo many times over in the past, i feel i haven't the slightest clue on where to begin, or what or how.... . should i go to the GP? Ask the HV? Consult a specialist of some sort? Or make you all have to talk about sleep problems again?

oh wow! im so sorry about the length of my post! i just went back over it, and oh lordy! i'll be lucky if any of you get through the whole thing! phew!

oh, and i wanted to add that despite the appallling sleep issues, ds is great with every other milestone...

crawling/shuffling/and carpet "swimming" as we call it. discovering loads of new face expressions and sounds. 2 teeth. (starting popping thru at 4.5 months, i thought it was a bit premature, but then of course, no baby is "text-book".

also, wanted to ask: when do i start food with texture? like little chunky bits... and is he old enough to chew on steamed carrot sticks or other soft veg? ((i feel totally lost doing this without my family near. :::sigh:::) help!

Hi Munkibaby - poor you, you must be so tired. Wow, that is amazing your lo is crawling already!
Could your ds' sleeping be down to teething? Hopefully someone will be along soon to help more bu I've heard Pantley's No cry sleep solution is a good book to read.
Re food it sound like you're doing great - textured lumpy food is around 6-7 months. You can try finger foods at any time - my ds didn't really bother until 9 months I think although that might have been my fault eing lazy as I found it so easy to spoon feed him! dd on the other hand is still not that bothered about solids just yet.

Pantley book here
Also the Annabel Karmel book and the Lorraine Kelly one are very good for weaning.

Sorry to hear about your woes Munki. Great news about crawling / teeth & weaning etc though! Don't know what I can suggest re sleep / crying...have you tried the other threads for support or maybe talk to your HV? Can't be easy..

J is 26 weeks tm & as I'm having a Uni reunion near Leek we've come up to inlaws today who are in Staffs about an hour away. DH has enlisted their help with the children while I have two days & two nights of me time & more importantly SLEEP!!!! Anyhow, back to J, I wanted to do the first taste of food with him so we've just, a day earlier, tried to give him a little steamed carrot but he wasn't impressed at all. So tried a little mashed banana as we did with DD & although he took 3 spoonfuls (little ones obviously) he just didn't seem that fussed at all. I can't quite help but compare to DD, who we weaned at 23 weeks & just loved everthing with much gusto from day one....why do I feel slightly anticlimatic??!!!!!

Any other toddlers waking at 5.30am?! DD has been like this for over a week & we just can't seem to break it...

Just popping in to say hi! Hope you are all well. I gave Lizzie her last BF last night and I've been crying about it all day. Must be hormones cause I'm so ready to give up especially as she has 4 teeth!

Munki, some babies just do take longer and although it's exhausting they all get there in the end. I know cause James didn't sleep through until he was 1year old! We'd been to sleep clinics expecting to be given a magic solution and when they lookedat our routine they couldn't suggest anything else other than CC. Lizzie is 6mths and wakes once around 5am, when he was her age he was still waking 3 or 4 times a night and I've done nothing really different this time. You must be shattered and you have my sympathy.

Re food; Like Compo's lo, DD still isn't that bothered about solids. When DS was her age though he was already eating lumpy food and rice cakes. He's still a fantastic eater.

Cori, enjoy your reunion! Have a great w/e everyone!

hi again! just checking in. I haven't been on this thread for a while as i have been preoccupied with lo's sleep (or rather lack of). Getting better now so am ready to re-join you . Will have a read later when lo is in bed but wanted to post so that I could easily find you. More later, hope you are all doing well

munki- my ds doesn'T sleep through either. 27 weeks (nearly) and wakes twice nightly now. was 5 - 6 times but getting better i hope... mor elater.

oh thank you al so very much for your sympathy and your advice.

Compo, thank you for suggesting the book. at this point, anything will help so after we move house this weekend, i'll seek out my nearest library and see if they have it.

Cruise, good to see you are still poking your head into this thread. Through ds's sleep issues, i have often thought of you and wondered how the sleep issue has been going for you...sad that it hasnt greatly improved for us both, but im glad for you that its getting there.

oh, Cruise, what sleep thread are you on?

'sleep is for the weak' mostly, but anything sleep related! I am a mumsnet slut !
things are getting better slowly i think. How are things for you? What is your 'usual' night? I did a bit of NCSS type stuff which seems to have had an effect. you read it?
homemama - I am tyring to wean ds from boob but he is really not interested. MAkes me sad to think of doing last bf. How did you wean from boob? The morning/night ones are gonna be hardest to break as they are so peaceful and calm. Did you do 6 months? Really intersted to know...