The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #3

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 3 mamas

@cardboard33 We actually just bought the jumperoo and he loves it (as we expected). We do limit his time in it, as he gets tired quickly still, but I think you might be right, he is starting to sit a bit better now.

Also, I'm a bit opposite to you with the Christmas gifts. I normally hate Christmas as I never know what to get people (I live in a different country, so don't really keep track of what everyone has/needs, or how their size changed in that year!), but now I can just give everyone baby themed gifts and they'll be happy. Or at least they are unlikely to complain as much as usual . I definitely don't plan on giving gifts just from the baby, why would you do that?

Sorry not even sure what's happened in the thread . Not been on for quite a few days! Rose is finally over her cold and I am feeling better . Suffering really bad with constipation tho . Still even after supposetries and daily lactulose . Past couple of days I have just been giving fruit and veg avoiding any type of potato and carrots as I am not sure if these are causing it . Feel so helpless . I have been giving such a vast range of food and making meals from scratch every meal time and she is just suffering . She does have water with her meals but doesn't drink a lot and still breast fed so I honestly didn't think I would have this problem. She is having pear apples prunes strawberries oats every day and it just doesn't seem to help. Don't know what to do . Do the baby massage after a bath every night. Any further questions would be massively appreciated. Also meal times are now a struggle . She uses to eat so well but now she just messes around . Anyone else's little one do this ?

Not even thought about Xmas yet . Sorry I haven't responded to Any one

@Jenlou1992 we are having the same problem. He strains and strains and when I check him there would be a tiny little hard ball. Poor wee man. Today I gave him pure orange juice in his cup so we'll see if tomorrow brings change, because lactulose is USELESS. I give water, pears, prunes etc. All the usual recommendations but nope. He doesn't seem in TOO much discomfort but it can't be nice for him. I started my counselling last week and on Tuesday when I left him into the creche for the hour he didn't do well. In fact, when I picked him up he was dripping with sweat from crying so hard. I was a bit annoyed that they hadn't called me but they said that he was crying on and off, not solidly, just when people came in and went out etc as it seemed to unsettle him. 😭😭😭

@Brobot please let me know how u get on with the orange juice . It's so awful on them . I feel so bad ..

That must of been really upsetting for you . It's a skill that they need to learn when your not around so don't get too worked up over it. Wether it was today or next month it may well off been the same experience and he now knows you are coming back so I think next time will be easier .

@Jenlou1992 J got two bottom teeth at 6.5 months; he's nearly 8 months and there haven't been any more. Babies are all so different!

@Sheeni I find that if I don't make the time to do creative things, I feel a lot worse! I remembered after writing all that that I also made a hoodie! However, I cut the bottom cuff in the wrong orientation on the fabric so it's not very stretchy at the bottom - the trials of sewing with sleep deprivation!

@WhatALearningCurve how is the crawling going?! J can get from one side of a room to the other now, but it's not reaaaaally crawling... He goes a little way, then sits up, then goes a little tiny bit more, then sits up... He doesn't appear to be moving far, but before you know it he's metres away from you! Regarding the eating, mine is the opposite and prefers milk to solids. I am actually quite stressed about it but didn't realise how stressed until I went to a weigh & stay session locally and ended up crying when the health adviser asked me how things were going! My eldest was classed as 'overweight' at his 2.5 year check and ever since then I have badly doubted myself in terms of my ability to feed a child properly! (Although eldest eats ONLY healthy food, and is rarely given treats, so I'm not quite sure what else I am supposed to do with him.) I've been really stressed because J is still having 5 x 210ml bottles of formula per day, and drains every single one. Occasionally I get away with giving him just 4 bottles, but mostly it's 5. The health adviser was very reassuring and said that as long as I have cut it down to about 3 by the time he's roughly 9 months, it will all be normal and fine. We shall see.

@melissa112 you're bang on; J far prefers finger food to purees. I've been trying to increase what I give him in terms of BLW as he is much happier feeding himself than having anything on a spoon. Hopefully he will pick up more and more on solids now he's started to get going. How did your GP appointment go?

In terms of sleeping, J is now v good at sleeping at night again - goes down at 7pm and might need a couple of dummy-replacements in the night, but doesn't properly wake up till 4am. Then tends to sleep again from 5am to as long as 8am. However, he barely ever naps during the day. Some days he just does ten minutes ALL DAY LONG! It is insane. I am assuming he will nap more when he starts moving more. Please god or I will never get anything done!!!!

@cardboard33 I have also been asked what my boys are into in terms of Christmas... I am afraid that the only thing that J is 'into' is electric cables!

@Jenlou1992 @Brobot We used to have the constipation issue previously, but since we weaned him off his reflux medication (Ranitidine), he's been pooping like a champ. But we continue with the daily fruits and I restrict the constipating foods - banana and rice mostly. Also, I think probiotics helped a bit? We use BioGaia Protectis. To be honest, I feel like he's pooping a bit too much now, 4-5 poops a day we had that in a month before 😂
I think a second tooth is a bit through now. He's so miserable, poor mite. Food is not a friend at the moment.

@BadBadBeans oh he's rapid. It's hilarious to watch, he has absolutely no fear which I think will end badly one day but as long as you keep an eye on him it's very entertaining. The 3 bottles by 9 months is positive for me as 21oz is basically all I can get in him on a good day. He's an excellent sleeper but still wakes for feeds at night once or twice. It's irritating but I'll accept it if it means he's getting some milk in. Luckily he feeds and goes straight back to sleep.

I'm just trying to focus on the fact he's always consistently been in the 2-9th percentile and since weaning he's now moved into the 25th so I'm assuming that's a good thing?!

@Sheeni yes we cant go more than 2 hours awake without a nap too. It's fine, we've been like this for months. I just didnt know if it was common but seems like it is. He is also very mobile inbetween too so must be wearing himself out! Aw how lovely that he has a tooth, hope hes not struggling too much with the next one coming through.

@Cardboard33 ha I write it on the notes bit on my phone. I used to type it on the website but once wrote a massive reply then accidentally refreshed the page. I've been using the 90min-2hrs as a guide for when he needs a nap after waking and it seems to be spot on. Your little one seems to be great on his feet. Mine stands well but isnt confident enough to attempt a step yet. I didn't think about giving a present from the baby too for Christmas! He can just sign my present ha.

@BadBadBeans wow, I cant believe J naps so little! He must be a bundle of energy! Oh no I didn't know they were supposed to be on 3 bottles by 9 months. George still has 5x8oz and is showing no sign of dropping any. Occasionally he doesn't finish one but still has the majority. He's suddenly started eating less food too so I'm quite worried about how we are going to reduce the milk.

The appointment went well. I cancelled the GP one as I don't want to start tablets yet before trying therapy. But I did go to the Think Well one and they are going to start one to one therapy as soon as possible. I'm going to have weekly sessions so I'm feeling hopeful.

Oh and George's favourite thing is also the wires. We gave him a bit more freedom to commando crawl around and he makes a beeline every time. Either that or the pipe on the radiator... hoping he will get bored but as soon as we plonk him down somewhere else he goes straight back to it.

So sorry for you guys whose babies are experiencing constipation issues. It must be so horrid.

@WhatALearningCurve No fear here either - J has just worked out how to wriggle backwards off a surface (e.g. a bed) and slide off so that he lands on his feet. Although I suspect he would just collapse if I wasn't on hand to steady him every single time! Regarding the percentiles, I think it's generally considered fine for them to move up or down one like your baby has done (e.g. 25th to 50th), but if they jump more than that the health visitor would probably want to have a closer look at things to make sure everything was okay.

@melissa112 I don't know how he stays awake so long. I can only assume it's because he sleeps so well at night. Today he did a 90 minute nap though. It was absolutely amazing as my husband was on hand to look after our eldest for once, so I blasted through three (almost four!) pairs of baby leggings on the sewing machine - whoop whoop! Yep, J drains most of his bottles too. I think I'm going to try and worry less about the solid food - today I lovingly prepared loads of BLW stuff from a variety of food groups and all he wanted (and cried until he got) was the slice of buttered toast that I was eating. What can you do?!

Weekly one to one sessions sounds fantastic. Really hope it is of use x

I honestly was so excited to start weaning and now it's just hard work haha. Spend so much time and effort preparing nutritionally balanced food feel like that's all I do . I have been freezing meals too as I always make too much so I am getting a nice stash in my freezer for days where I am busy etc. Rose is eating lumpy purees now altho she is still trying to get used to the lumps etc . But she will happily munch on water melon and pineapple toast etc. Just if she is being spoon fed she prefers it smooth.

The past few nights I have only been feeding her twice in the night still . Usually around midnight and 3/4am . Then she is awake for 6.30/7 . This is a revelation to what it used to be like . She still wakes inbetween but will settle with dummy . I am hoping to drop one feed by mid December so that when j to back to work in January on nights she is only having one feed as I could go and feed her on my break (not ideal I know) but having problems expressing .

From a calorie point of view I don't think she needs it so she may well adjust when I go to work and not feed at all knowing I'm not there.

Seriously hats off to anyone who's gone back to work yet. Has anyone got any special plans for Christmas or New year?

Hi all, sorry I've been so distant again recently. We've got a lot going on which is taking up most of my emotional energy, but I am reading... I know everyone has stuff going on though so having a busy life is definitely not an excuse.

@jenlou1992 so amazing about Rose's sleep!! Long may it continue!! At least now if/when she does regress (which she will) you will know that she can go with only two feeds a night. We are at that stage too, sometimes it's one but often it's two atm and really want to get it down to one all of the time by Christmas. You might have said, but what sector do you work in? Must be handy being so close to home although it won't be ideal if you go home to feed her in your break as then you won't get one, and also, if she's in a bit of a mood etc then you'll feel bad about leaving her (most likely) if she's screaming her head off when you're going out again. I also thought solids would be fun. They are fun, it's more than anything we buy now is apparently for the baby and my husband won't let me eat anything. It's getting quite annoying!

@melissa112 could George be eating less food because he is too full on milk? We've been experimenting with the ounces as we've added in an extra formula feed as I've dropped a breast feed now, and find that during the day he can't do more than 5oz (he has 3 "full" meals) but then still has 7oz for his feed just before bed. Also echoing @BadBadBeans in terms of you getting the support - talking is a much better starting point than straight on the meds.

@cardboard33 sorry to hear you have a lot going on . I am a nurse , family have already told me that going home to feed her is just a bad idea . I do understand that it probably is . I'm struggling to find a nursery . Have left it late . Only need it for a Wednesday but need it to start at 7 . My mum did say she would have her but my mum's not got the greatest health and I do want her to have that interaction that I can't give her at nursery so I want her to go . A lot of nurseries only take you on if you go minimum of two days . But I don't want to put her in childcare whilst I'm at home . Especially when I don't have other kids. So I am just still looking for the 1 day .

@Jenlou1992 do you actually get a break at a reliable time each day though? All of my medic friends are rushed off their feet, so it'd be (sadly) unlikely that you'd be able to guarantee that you'd be home at X time each night either.

Have you had a look at childminders? They tend to be more flexible with minimum days (at least in my area) or does your work have a staff nursery? Mine has one that's a lot cheaper than the market rates, so even if you had to put her in for 2 days you'd likely be saving money in comparison to the normal fees. Also, you might want that extra day or half day to yourself if you're working shifts etc... And Rose might settle better if she's there two days rather than one day a week? What time do the nurseries start around you then, mine are all 7-7ish.

I will reply properly to people tomorrow but just wanted to quickly ask if anyone's LOs keep turning to sleep face down? George has been turning to sleep on his front for a while now which I thought was ok as he can roll both ways. However since he has been crawling properly now (this week) he has been sleeping on his front but face down. I keep going in when I see him on the monitor and turning him onto his back but I've woken up in the night and seen him like this. I'm so worried that hes going to be breathing in carbon dioxide that hes already breathed out. Does anyone else's baby sleep face down? It's not all the time but enough that I'm awake now worrying about it. Would he know to move his head if he was losing air? Arghh. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. Every time I turn him back he goes back onto his front and then starts trying to put his face in the mattress... DP is away next week for two nights and I'm really worried about something happening to him.

By face down I literally mean face in the mattress on his belly and not face to the side.

@melissa112 mine does the exact same, but that's pretty much how I sleep too at times. We aren't bothered by it as he manages to get up to a lot of gymnastics displays in bed, so figure he's able to move out of that position too, which he definitely does as we've watched him do it. I assume George is the same?

Oh and mine isn't yet full on crawling, so if anything he's less mobile than George with his frustrated beached whale impression!

@BadBadBeans Go J wriggling off the bed! Isnt it funny how just a few weeks ago even they seemed so much less robust! Ha I smiled in solidarity with the preparing loads of food and J just wanting your toast. I felt so bad the other day about how little he was eating or that I wasn't offering 3 meals a day yet so I pulled my finger out and made him a healthy tea and he just kept putting stuff to his mouth and then deciding against it at the last minute. Not a drop touched his lips! I'm going to make sure I'm offering breakfast and lunch reliably and then work on building up to tea too. It's all the mess I find hard. I'm not bothered so much only it takes so much time to clear up that I feel like once I'm done I've run out of quality time with him to play etc.

@Cardboard33 thanks for the reassurance, glad to hear mine isnt the only one face planting the bed. It really bothers me but I guess and hope he would move if he needed to... as for the food stuff, I did wonder if he was too full on milk but theres sometimes a couple of hours between milk and food so I'm not sure. Do you do a mix of purees and solids? We're doing BLW so he's just starting to swallow more at breakfast but not at many other times.

I've also realised he has an annoying habit of having a poo every single time we go in the car. Which would be fine if they didnt explode and result in an outfit change each time. I've tried another brand of nappy, tried doubling up with one bigger size on top of the regular one and nothing works. Hes even started doing it as soon as the car is switched on but by the time I've got him in the house it's gone everywhere. He did 3 yesterday. One on the driveway, he got changed. One as we set off again but ten mins into the journey which went everywhere and another an hour later which again went everywhere. Every trip out we have a full on nappy explosion and outfit change. Then sometimes another one not long after. It's hard to plan to go out because he isnt awake long between naps (2 hours), doesn't sleep in the pram when we're out so gets cranky and then wastes loads of his awake time on poo explosion and outfit changes! Not sure what the solution is or just to put up with it and hope for more solid poos as he eats more food. Am I the only one?!

@melissa112 I'm struggling a bit with the foods and poop as well, although not as badly as you, I think. I'm also not great at doing 3 meals regularly. I'm starting to get better at it now, but it's so exhausting. I'm basically just feeding him and cleaning the mess 85% of his waking time. He's quite cranky now that he's teething, so he's not eating well either and that sucks. I find that I'm cheating with the puree pouches but too often, as he loves them and sucks one out in under 3 minutes. Sadly he's not a fan of pouches with more textured foods yet, so he's still on a lot of purees even though he's almost 8 months. However, I always offer some finger foods as well (whatever we're eating) and he's okay with that. He just gets fed up with it pretty quickly.
He poops so much. I don't think he even eats as much as he poops. Can't believe just a month or so ago I was still giving him laxatives just so he poops couple of times a week. Our average now is 4 poops a day. They are quite solid though, so not an awful mess, but he too often has the poop in the middle of his nap, which then obviously wakes him and makes his naps too short. Still, I should be grateful it doesn't go everywhere - I feel so sorry for you as these babies are sure getting very difficult to change!

A has been very snotty for about 2 weeks now. Proper yellow snots, too. Should I go to the GP with him? Could it be the teething? Am I underdressing him? What do your little ones wear at home and out and about? I can't ask my mom as she wanted him to wear socks and long trousers when it was 25°C and sunny, so she might advise a snowsuit for indoor play.

Sorry, will catch up with everyone properly later but had to just share this! Been up for an hour with baby. Due to shopping failure I've run out of pre made milk and hadn't thawed breast milk soon enough so had to go and do lengthy milk thawing. Gave baby to DH (who is still in spare room) as I felt it was unreasonable to leave him lying in the cot crying for so long. Then had to do it again as J was still hungry. Nearly an hour later am still trying to settle him but have to leave him for 2 mins to go for a wee. Nip to loo and husband says, 'God, Beans, you must be exhausted!' as if this were a really unusual occurrence. Had to explain to him that I am up for at least this long EVERY NIGHT!!!!!

I do feel a bit bad now for the incredulity of my response as he was only being sympathetic, bless him. Maybe he was commenting on the fact I do it every night and I misinterpreted?! 😂

Not sure how to word this without sounding like a weird advert ha but basically the other week I decided I needed to actually do something with Sonny's old clothes because the boxes of the stuff he'd outgrown was starting to get a bit ridiculous. I found this woman on Instagram called Bella and Bear UK who makes blankets and various animals out of old baby clothes. I've got a blanket and a bear for Sonny for Christmas and she's just finished the bear and it made me cry I'm so happy with it!

Now that I've done something sentimental with some of his clothes I feel like it's loads easier to donate the rest of things without feeling an irrational level of mum guilt ha.

Just thought I'd share the find in case anyone else was hoarding on to old clothes!

@melissa112 we do a mix of mashed food (wouldn't call it purées) and BLW depending on what it is... As others have said I find it a bit odd making him eat something with his hands that I'd always eat with cutlery. Our poos are proper adult poos and have been pretty much since we started solids but the milk intake has also reduced - I recall you mentioning that G was still drinking a similar amount to pre solids which could account for his runnier poos? Have you tried gradually dropping the oz per feed?

@badbadbeans sorry you're having to do it "alone"... I'd have been pissed if my husband said that to me too as I genuinely don't think they get how hard it is to be up for hours at night then still be full of beans (no pun intended!) for a whole day of fun with baby... As obviously they are full of life during the day despite also having had no sleep.

@WhatALearningCurve doesn't sound like an advert, I know what you mean as I've got friends who have done the same. They're really cute! We are holding on to everything atm incase we do end up having a second (unlikely) as we are too tight to buy things again.

@sheeni mine wears trousers, a long sleeved top and a vest in the house (sometimes with a cardigan on top) then when we are out he has a thick woollen cardigan on top plus the footmuff etc then I put blankets on as required. And a hat. If we are using the travel pushchair without a footmuff then he wears a pram suit without the cardigan on. No idea if I'm doing it right as I'm always too cold.

Does anyone else's baby have eczema and/or allergies? We are in the process of getting allergy testing done as mine has suspected cows milk intolerance/allergy and tbh it's a major headache that I don't need in my life right now as he's waking up really itchy every hour or so.

@Sheeni yeh I feel the same, like I'm always either making food, eating with him or clearing up mess. I'm struggling to fit in getting out of the house properly between weaning and naps and everything else. Making it easy on myself today and taking him to a play centre and getting him some tea from there. Save my washing up and he can have a crawl about. Its amazing how many poos they have now isnt it, and yes changing his nappy is becoming it's own special challenge. He just rolls over, sits up, grabs nappies or wipes to chew. Whinges if I dont let him grab said nappy or wipe.

Is LO ok in himself or does he have other symptoms as well as the snotty nose? He might be fighting off a cold but I'd give it a few more days then maybe take him if he's still snotty. We dress G in a long or short sleeved vest, trousers and long sleeved top in the house. Or long sleeved vest and babygrow. Our house isnt the warmest. If we go for a walk I put him in the same but with a coat and hat on. Sometimes mits if its frosty like it has been the past few days. He has a footmuff on the pram and we put a blanket on his legs. Seems like a lot but I wear a coat out and I'm not warm and I think I read to put them in one more layer than you when you go out. Not sure if that's true.

We have a pram suit that we will use soon as we're going to the Dunham massey Christmas lights thing in mid December early evening so I imagine it will be freezing then! If we go out indoors, so like shopping centre or garden centre I will put him in the same as going out for a walk but without the coat and hat. So blanket and footmuff.

@BadBadBeans oh no that sounds like a tough night with all the thawing milk! Hopefully your DH meant his comment as in you do it every night and he feels for you..but maybe not haha. Hope he at least sees how tiring it must be for you to be up so often each night.

@WhatALearningCurve love the teddy!! I've had a look on her Instagram page and think I may get one! They are a lovely keepsake and I'm glad it's made it a bit easier to let go of Sonny's other clothes for you. We've still got George's as we're in two minds on whether we'll have another but I'm running out of room for them all so will have to donate some I think.

@Cardboard33 yes I know what you mean about them eating mushy stuff with their hands. I give George pre loaded spoons for things like yogurt or mash. He takes it off me and puts it in his mouth. Finally getting some coordination but a lot ends up in his hair... I'm going to get a soft spork I think for preloading pasta and things. He had diarrhoea last weekend and dropped loads of milk but still ate food which worried me as I thought he needed the fluids. Anyway, diarrhoea has gone and hes started to eat more food but also gone back to taking all 8oz at each bottle. So 40oz a day... do you think I should try and reduce each bottle by an ounce or am I supposed to wait for him to drop them? Hes jumped from under the 25th to the 50th percentile when we started solids with the same 40oz hes had for months so I know hes getting food in him. Might take him to get weighed actually to make sure he hasnt jumped again. I've been making more effort to do more meals so I might give it a week and see if he starts to drop the milk and if not speak to the HV about dropping a bit.

I'm glad you asked about the eczema as I think G has it. His arms and bottom of his legs are quite rough and red. He also has a few small red patches on his back at top of his nappy but not sure if that is eczema or a fungal rash maybe due to the diarrhoea. He doesnt seem itchy though but I may take him to the GP. Do you think the itching is from your LOs potential allergies or the eczema? Im not sure whether the pharmacist could give something to relieve the itching or whether they need to see a GP with being so young? Hope you get to the bottom of it though.

Well this baby is keeping me on my toes. I cant leave him for two seconds. This all happened yesterday:

Came in from making a bottle to see him stood up at the tv cabinet trying to touch the ninky nonk on In the Night Garden. I let him have it on while I make bottles etc rightly or wrongly as he is very clingy at the min and it's the only thing to stop him crying when I need to leave him.

Came in from making another bottle and couldn't see him at all. Then saw his changing bag moving from round the back of the sofa. He was kneeling against the bottom stair (we have a stair gate thankfully) and trying to get into his changing bag.

Went to wash my hands and came in and he was stood up against a ikea box with seemingly no idea how he had got himself up there.

Heard a cry from the living room and he was lying on the floor with his vtech table upside down on him?!

Washed my hands and heard some tapping on the kitchen floor. Turned round and he was crawling under the kitchen table towards the dustpan and brush which had lint and other grim bits on it because I've been too lazy to remember to move it. Wondered how he had got in the kitchen because I put a basket in the way and found the basket upside down somewhere else.

Crawled over the toy basket barrier I had made so he couldnt get near the tv and pulled all DPs xbox controllers, games etc off the tv cabinet and was chewing my polling card that I'd popped far back on the tv unit.

Any ideas what I can do to keep him safe? I only leave him when necessary to make bottles, bath or wash my hands after a nappy change. I've got a stair gate on the stairs. I could get one for the kitchen door but my concern is actually that there is a plug socket by the door which he would have access to if I moved the basket barrier. Which he can move anyway...

I've put those corner safety things on the tv unit but have no way of stopping him getting up there other than to make barriers which he can get over.
Worried he might pull the tv over..

Help! I do have a travel cot but its huge and our living room isnt the largest. Should be fun when the Christmas tree goes up...