The March-ers 2019 - Baby Talk #3

[Angelmiracle]

Thread 3 mamas

@WhatALearningCurve yeh I heard that too about the other filters and touch wood ours has been fine with using the tommee tippee one. We did start off doing it the boiled water way but in the middle of the night every two hours it was just painful!

@cardboard33 what kind of fruit and veg are you giving? I'm so unsure on how to cut them! Like banana, it's so slippy that he cant eat it. I saw a suggestion to push your thumb into the top and it will split into 3 but it's still too slippy. No idea whether to keep the peel on cucumber etc. It sounds like hes eating some if its affecting his poo but obviously not nice with the constipation. Could you grate some apple or pear and pop it in something, was going to suggest yogurt but then saw he was sick. My LO was sick too the first time he ate it so hopefully just a one off. Also read to try and offer water at each meal. But easier said than done to get them to drink it!

@cardboard33 When he was in our room, i think we must have been disturbing him as much as he was disturbing us!
He went straight off to sleep literally as soon as I put him down. He woke up at 12, I just gave him a quick cuddle and put him down again. He then woke up at 6, fell asleep again half way through his bottle and woke up at 9. I didn't sleep very well yesterday though. DH said I kept waking up looking for the baby. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ I did have a dream that someone came to steal him (there's been a couple of break ins on our street) so I think it must have been that! 😂
How was your night?

@melissa112 yes she sleeps alone for her daytime naps and in the evening until we go to bed.

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever so glad things are going well. Fingers crossed George keeps it up!

This struggling with the banana being sloppy - you can just cut it in half and let them eat it with the skin peeled back like an adult would (supervised obvs), my son used to love doing that! And you can leave edible skins on cucumber etc, just cut into quarters lengthways so they're easier to grab.

Sounds like people are having fairly positive experiences in moving LO into their own room . Which is great stuff . My LO is still in my room ..She will be 6 months on the 29th . Nursery furniture has only just arrived this week and partner is building it all tomorrow . I'm still feeding 2hrly in the night So won't be moving her in her own room just yet as it will just be horrible for me . Altho she may have a good experience and sleep longer . But I'm hoping once she starts weaning onto solids she will sleep longer . ..Altho the experts say different .

Can't wait to try her on foods. I am going to wait till she is 6months or maybe just before as she was 2 weeks over .

Does anyone find their LO showing a bit of a personality yet ? Rose is so funny and very cheeky . Sometimes the things she does I'm.sure she knows she's being cheeky . It's crazy how quick she is learning .

I can't sleep tonight. Or most nights. Getting quite bad anxiety and can't take anything for it . It's awful as I need all the rest I can get .

OMFG late afternoon flight is NOT GOOD. Which I expected, but the journey still sucks big time. LO is so overtired, poor baby. He was crying so much, then struggled to even feed when we finally got on the final train home. I'm just glad all the family visits are over!

Soooo. Things are not going well in any department here. Wont go in the cot. Wont take a bottle. Wont take a dummy. Everything I'm trying to move things in the right direction are failing. I'm trying to get him off the boob and he flat out refused the bottle today. However, when looking at the wonder weeks app it says that this week is a thunderbolt week and my god how accurate it is. He is being IMPOSSIBLE this week. So whingey, so clingy, so fussy. Then of course, people say I'm pandering to him which makes me want to punch them in the face.

@Brobot I'm totally in the same boat as you. No cot, no bottle, no dummy. Although he's super interested in playing with the dummy, once he manages to stick it in his mouth the right way around, he spits it out.
As for the sleeping, I'm talking with two sleep consultants tomorrow so I can pick one and get the sleep sorted. I know I can't do it on my own as nothing I've tried is working. We're planning to dedicate the week after next to sleep training, as DH is on annual leave, so we won't have to worry too much about him being tired at work.
If it works I'll let you know and happily share the advice.

Also, the amount of times I heard I'm spoiling him and pandering to him etc. in the last two weeks! I'm so happy to be at home, able to filter what I'm sharing with everyone. They just don't get it, right?

Ooh, by the way, my mom didn't shut up about the effing banana until we left. She kept going on about it in the most annoying way: "Oh LO, you seem so hungry. But they won't let me feed you banana anymore, no matter how much you loved it..."
She's pre-offended (we never really even discussed the topic) that we won't let LO stay with her in the future, but instead of not going against our wishes, so we can trust her and leave him there she does the exact opposite every opportunity she gets. Her loss!

@Sheeni yes pleeeeease share your advice after your sleep consultant experience. I would like to think that with what they charge they are sprinkling magic dust and taking away every sleep issue ever known to mankind 🙄

@Brobot Oh I know, right?! But I'm desperate and I had decent maternity pay until now, so we can afford it. I'll be so miffed if it doesn't do anything!

Things not so great here either .. my LO has a cold . Sleep the past 3 nights has just been horrendous . I couldn't even tell you how many times she woke up . Using the nasal suction thing multiple times in the night . Got snuffle drops and snuffle rub. Anyone else's little one had a cold and how long did it last ? Also seem to feed a lot in the night . Going to try her in the cot when I start weaning next week . Just don't see the point when I'm up so much in the night . I need to persevere but the exhaustion is just too much. How can sleep be getting harder rather than easier ??? Waahhhhhh

@cardboard33 it has worked out amazingly well for you with the feeding! I haven't counted up how much frozen milk I have but it should definitely be enough to get to 9 or 10 months on one a day. I'm down to one breastfeed every 24 hours now. It is rather uncomfortable! I'm sure it will tail off fast though. I've been feeling very stressed generally the last couple of days and I wonder if that is due to my hormone levels changing again as my milk supply drops? I'm struggling not to be sad about it. I actually feel a little bit panicky at the thought of finishing - I think because I know I will never ever be able to do it again, and I don't feel ready to let go.

@Jenlou1992 I'm sorry you can't sleep. Is the anxiety baby related?

Sorry to hear about everyone else's sleep woes. I have to say - touch wood - we aren't tooooo bad at the moment. I have to get up briefly about 3 times between 11pm and 4am to put his dummy back in, then I feed him around 4.30am, then he tends to sleep through till about 7am. Naps are a bit hit and miss but I suppose you can't have everything!

He turned 6 months at the weekend and I've not done a great job of exposing him to solids so far. He's had a go on a few bits of fruit and veg, tiny bit of rice and potato, and then my mate gave him a load of her ice cream when I wasn't looking 😂 You can tell he's a second child as I genuinely found it funny, whereas with my first I'd have had a heart attack! Did give me the idea of letting him suck on those lollies that are just blended fruit - Good By Nature? He loved that so he can have the odd bit of one as a teething treat. I wish I had made breast milk lollies when I was still expressing!

@Jenlou1992 I love it when they start showing personality too. Missy has been doing this thing where she whimpers for me when someone else is holding her then as soon as I have her she looks back at them and laughs. Little bugger. She is also just coming through her first cold. Survived with Calpol, Snuffle Babe Vapour rub, feeding to sleep and lots of cuddles. She sleeps better in her pushchair if that's any help for daytime naps as she's not completely flat.

@Sheeni I hope you've both recovered! Grandparents eh?

@Brobot oh hun, solidarity. Those weeks suck! Hope you're ok.

@BadBadBeans I'm more relaxed with weaning too, though there's nothing like weaning a baby to make you realise how bad your own diet is!

@HidCat That's so funny! My older son was playing little games with us by 5.5 months - he used to roll over to face away from us, then we would say 'Where's DS1 gone?' and he would roll back with a big grin like 'TADA! Here I am!' It was hilarious. I do worry that I haven't interacted as much with J. He spends a lot of time attached to me, either on my lap or on my hip, but I don't think I dedicate nearly as much time to playing with him. I keep trying to think of new things I can do - we've been singing songs recently which is nice for eye contact. He is an extremely happy child though, so just doesn't demand attention to the same extent his older brother did.

Anyone else got a feeding biter? J cut his first tooth a few days ago and keeps testing it on my nipple. Yeowch! Still, only about 5 feeds to go so at least that is a silver lining of going on to bottles...

Hi everyone, not been posting for a bit as Freddie’s sleep regression took it out of me! We’ve now had a week of much better sleep which has put my mind at rest about going back to work in 2 weeks time
He’s 5.5 months now and we’ve started on some food this week as I didn’t want him dealing with too much when I go back to work. Also, the little horror is refusing bottles still so I’m glad he’ll at least be getting some food while I’m at work. So far he’s been having breakfasts of mango purée and rusk mixed with expressed milk. He’s also tried a few bits and bobs as finger food, with varying degrees of success! Next week we’ll add in a second meal, I’ve got some home-made veggies in the freezer for him, he seems to like cucumber and melon to suck on so I’ll give him some of those too.
Really don’t want to go back to work but we can’t survive with me only getting SMP any longer, we’ve added an extra month compared to our original plans so he could be EBF for as long as possible. I guess we need to start working on baby 2/3 soon so I can be back at home with Freddie again!

@cardboard33 I’ve heard the same about stage 2 being a sneaky way to advertise their brand, also baby milks are so tightly regulated they all contain pretty much the same ingredients anyway!
@Brobot I had a week like that last month, ended up in floods of tears over going back to work when he won’t take a bottle, won’t sleep, etc but I’ve been lucky in that he’s more settled this last week or so. Hope I haven’t tempted fate by saying that! Fingers crossed your little one gets through their tricky phase too.
@Sheeni good luck with the sleep consultant, hope they’re able to help you
@BadBadBeans no teeth here but have been getting gummy bites and they’re bad enough...
@Jenlou1992 hope her sleep gets better once she shakes off her cold

I dropped off the thread combination of my eldest starting school it’s like a full time job coordinating all the paperwork and class party rsvps and a grizzly teething baby

Hope everyone is ok I’m off to have a read to see what I have missed.

Hi all 👋🏼

LO was 6 months on Saturday and it just seems he is growing up so fast already 😭😭 so I've not had a moment to catch up properly on here. Hope you're all okay. Xx

So yesterday Elliot was the grumpiest baby in the universe. All. Day. But then last night in the bath we noticed the potential of the start of a tooth (he won't let us look in his mouth properly so it was just a glimpse) which explains the last few days. It made me feel better about giving him cuddles all night in bed knowing that it wasn't just him being greedy 😂. Also, I lay awake for ages popping a dummy into his mouth to try and get him used to it and it seemed to cut down the amount of times he needed to latch. Normally he spits it out immediately but my thinking was that he obviously needs to suck something for comfort while sleeping and if he has something in his mouth he won't wake looking for it. AND in doing that he only took one feed during the night when lately it's been about 3 on average! We'll see if tonight is as successful while staying in my mum's. Fingers crossed. I'll be armed with calpol and nurofen just in case shit hits the fan!

Little man is full of a cold again. Had the worst night I think ever had with him last night. He's refusing bottles and barely eating food. He's with his dad for a few hours today so I'm trying to get some major down time in so that I'm prepared if tonight is just as bad

Apologies for falling off the radar for the last few months. I hope everyone is well.
How are the babies 6 months old already!

I need help, any suggestions welcome!
DS has been able to pull himself up on things for over a month now, but thankfully because he can’t sit up from laying on his back, he’s never figured out to roll over, and get up that way, so he’s been perfectly safe in the along side crib.

In the past week, he has fully mastered crawling, has figured he can stand up in the alongside crib (even in a sleeping bag), and I have also woken to find him on the floor playing with the drawers (from co-sleeping).

Obviously it’s time to move on from the along side crib, but the cot we have doesn’t fit in the bedroom. I have considered putting him into his own room in his cot, and have even trialed it for 5 nights, but I can’t cope. I’m exhausted. I’m breastfeeding and he’s still feeding anything between 4-8 times a night (it got worse since weening), and I’m struggling to find the energy by the end of the night to put him back in the cot in his room.

We’re considering a slim/compact cot, but can anyone else suggest any other potentially options before we fork out for a second cot when we already have a brand new one sitting in his room!

@babycatcher411 oh my god. I don't have much advice but god you're doing well dealing with all that!

Could you put an air bed in babies room and you could sleep on that?

Ladies, we've had a few successful developments in the last 48 hours. First of all, Elliot is sitting up unaided. Secondly, the dummy trick has worked for 2 nights now and also with naps. Not only that but I've just put him to sleep by removing the boob and putting the dummy in while he was still awake and he didn't freak out!! Woooohoooooo! Then last night before bed he took some slightly lumpier stew and then drank water from a sippy cup! Any previous attempt has led to him chewing on it and having no interest in its contents. I'm delighted lol. Next step will be to get him to settle in the cot with the dummy instead of me next to him. He has really surprised me tbh. @Sheeni how is the sleep consultant going?

Hi all

I've not been on in a few days as I havent been too well and just trying to catch up now.

@Brobot that sounds like great progress. So glad you are having some success with the dummy, that will make a big difference soon I'm sure. Sounds like all of a sudden he has grasped a whole load of new skills! Glad weaning is going well and he is enjoying the water now. We have the opposite, he loves the water so much but just wants to do it himself so ends up with him, the floor, his tray etc etc all soaking wet every meal time. He also is just starting to get that he needs to tip the cup back instead of just looking up at the ceiling and expecting it to come out! Did you work out if his tooth has come through?

@WhatALearningCurve hows the little man doing with his cold? Did you get a better night last night?

@babycatcher411 that sounds so tough! I second the idea of an air bed on the floor. Hopefully once weaning is more established the night feeds will reduce again so hopefully just a temporary solution which could save a fair bit of money. And I did smile at you finding him on the floor entertaining himself with the drawers! What an escape artist! But I can see why that must have been scary!

@Footymum81 glad you have had some better sleep leading up to going back to work. The SMP only bit is hard isnt it, is he going to nursery when you go back to work?

@BadBadBeans your older sons roll away peekaboo game sounds adorable! Mine is the same as your little one, happy to play with his toys, sometimes I don't get a look in unless I sing songs or tickle him so I just lie on the floor next to him and then he remembers I'm there, does a lovely bit of eye contact then grabs my face lovingly... and nips me....! Lovely haha. Oo hope the last 5 bf goes ok with your biter!

@HidCat glad your little one has come out the other side of the cold. Thanks for the tips about banana cutting in half btw. He did try to eat the wrong end a few times!

@Jenlou1992 hope your LOs cold has gone and you've managed to get some better sleep the last few nights. Is your anxiety related to the lack of sleep do you think?

@Sheeni hope the meeting with the sleep consultants went well?

@AssumeItWasSomethingClever sounds like hes transition to his own room has gone well!

Sorry if I've missed any updates. Already had written an essay once and accidentally refreshed the page and it all disappeared, argh!

For those whose babies nap/sleep on their own or in their own room, how often do you go in to check on them? We have a video monitor so I can see hes ok as in not covered by his sleeping bag or hasnt rolled over but can't tell if hes breathing. Cant really afford a movement monitor and think I'd just be more anxious to be honest. Hes in his own room for naps and the first part of the evening til we go to bed but in our room overnight. We've been checking on him every 15 mins, mainly just checking he is breathing but the floorboards are so creaky that we keep disturbing him. Not so much in the evening as he sleeps more deeply but during the day I'm waking him by keep going in. Tried after half an hour today and the door opening woke him up. I'd got that nap time in my head to wash up all his stuff from breakfast (weetabix so a right old mess!) and instead I've just woken him up accidentally and am now sat here holding him. When I put him down again he wakes straight away.

Also, he's doing this odd thing with his dummy. He only has it to go to sleep with but the past few days he wont suck it, just chews it. Only if he wakes up will he want to suck it. Instead he is trying to breastfeed. The issue being we stopped breast feeding 5 months ago! I don't have my boobs out, he's just doing the same motion on my top where my boobs are instead of having his dummy. Really recently, only the past few days. No idea what's going on! In the night he still does the thing with putting his legs up but seems now to be so he can suck his sleeping bag. I'm getting really paranoid about it going over his face but I have no alternative as blankets would be worse. So some weird goings on!

This is what I mean about his legs. He will sleep like that all night with his legs pulled up holding his feet. He wakes up when he let's go and they come crashing down onto the mattress! Now hes started to pull his legs up further so he can suck the end of his sleeping bag if his dummy falls out. Just not sure if its going too far and going to go over his face. Fine when I'm awake and can go in and put the dummy in but this is why I dont want to put him in his room overnight incase he does this. Although DP pointed out that hes probably doing this while I'm alseep next to him anyway and is fine. Think he's gonna have abs of this doing this all night!