July 2007 part 2- 4 months in, doesn't time fly?

[Princesspowersparkle]

Hello July ladies, we are here now!!!!

Catstar- i am finding it hard to interest Ben in milk at the moment. He loves his food. I make sure he gets extra milk via his weetabix, baby rice and fromage frais, plus i add milk to some of his purees (banana, parsnips etc). He will only take about 4-5oz before bed rather than the 8oz he used to have.

However, unlike your DD, he isn't sleeping well at the moment. There are some signs of teething so might be that, but he is very unsettled in the early evening and then wide awake in the middle of the night. At least he keeps me fit- i have 30 stairs to climb in the evening if he stirs as he's up in the attic. The other night i was up to him 5 times in the evening and 5 times in the night!

Teething here. We got our 2 bottom teeth yesterday.

Nothing more to report in the nappy checking stakes. DS had butterbean and barley soup on toast for lunch yesterday and a 'quennelle' (probably spelled that wrong) of spinach and some lentil and bean 'shepherd's pie' to throw on the floor, smear over his face and possibly put in his mouth for dinner.

hi all, im glad to hear that my lo isnt the only one not interested in milk. add onto that im trying to get him onto a bottle and he is having none of it!

im starting to really stress now because i want him onto a bottle before i go back to work but cannot bring myself to not breast feed him when i know hes hungry. i read the baby whisperer book but she suggests to not breast feed and keep trying the bottle.

lo loves his food though so thats a bonus. but why oh why did i feed him spinach while he was wearing a white top!!!! silly me!

princess - i hear ya on the mortgage increases, we just had to remortgage because we were coming off a fixed rate and its cost a fortune!

Ohh YEAAAHHHH how many 6month old babies have eaten quinoa do you reckon?

Just found out the rate on our mortgage There are LOADS on the market right now that are better value than our current deal. We are due to re-negotiate in August.

We were on a 2 year fixed rate which just came to an end. The rates have risen considerably since then so there is an increase in payments there. Plus, the lowest rate fixed rate mortgage we could find came with a £1000 arrangement fee!!! Tell me, how can it possibly take £1000 to arrange a few pieces of paper?

I've kind of kept quiet about it because DH is letting me take a further 3 months off of work! SHould have gone back 21st Jan and so glad I didn't!

I feel better now...just went to Homebase and bought light bulbs to replace the ones in my kitchen that have gone. Been waiting for DH to do them for weeks! If you want a job done......

Ooooooooooooo Myfairone I am soooooooojealous - I did go back to work on 21st Jan - officialy the most depressing day of the year - ugh! It has all become depressingly normal again but the guilt of leaving minimeep at nursery is becoming easier to bear. She seems fine at nursery though today she only slept for an hour in total - she is snoring peacefully now though!
Mortgages ...... we will have about a month when our old fixed rate runs out and we have to go on whatever the mortgage rate at the time is - I forsee a period of being a tad skint!

Hello, been trying to post over the past few days, but I've been too tired to put a proper post together... still too tired so I'll no doubt ramble.

Been loving looking at all pics. We have got a gorgeous bunch of babies. I've put a couple more of B on, the only ones up there were when she was newborn and wrinkled.

I also read about post-birth pictures of Mums. We have quite a few pictures of me taken about 30 minutes after B was born. I am barely covered by a sheet, and B was just enjoying her first feed. Not ones for the family album.
However, around November time I was messing around with our webspace and I found all these pictures had been uploaded to the internet! and
DP swears it wasn't him, but they were uploaded the day after B was born, 4 months earlier! Playing on the computer was the last thing on my mind then so it must have been him.
Thankfully they weren't linked to anything so shouldn't have come up on search engines... but even so!!!

Glad to hear all the LO's seem to be loving solids. It gives me hope. We've only started weaning this week but B seems totally disinterested. So far carrot, sweet potato, and baby rice have caused looks of disgust and a clamped shut mouth after a few tastes. Apple and Banana caused whole body shudders at the first tastes. When she wouldn't have mushed banana off a spoon today I gave her a whole piece in the hope she'd suck on it and get used to the taste, but for the first time in weeks she held something and didn't put it in her mouth!
She'll happily chew the remote control so I'm considering coating it in different foods so she gets a taste of them.

She has an ear infection at the moment though so I'm hoping she'll show a bit more interest once the antibiotics kick in and she's feeling a bit better.

Justabout - I'll add your blog to my list to read, and 'fess up to my own, no-where near as elequont, or frequently updated as yours though.
www.bilblio.nildram.co.uk

Hi all, feeling a bit calmer today lol!
New freezer has been delivered and is waiting for dh to 'level' it so as we can fill it full of yummy grub. The dishwasher has mysteriously begun working again! Which is good, but d'you ever just wish something would break + that would be the end of it? It's been leaking sporadically for years...

Bilblio - what is it about the lo's that they are programmed to shove everything in their mouths APART from food??? Today I decided to give ds a lump of banana (BLW style) as he sussed out after 3 days of successfully taking sweet potato mash from a spoon, that he could turn his head away + refuse it. So I try to hand him a piece of banana and he just looks at me blankly with his hands by his sides! The next minute he is sucking the life out of a muslin. I ask ya! Hope little b feels better soon, maybe that's what's putting her off.
@ your discovery re post birth pics on net... mine are absolute shockers - hope dh hasn't secretly published them somewhere he shouldn't!

Justabout - you for escaping for the weekend... what's the course in? Actually, I don't mind what it is... If they need anyone to make up the numbers...

Have a good weekend, I am getting v excited about seeing Dan Snow tomorrow!

PPC you've got it all wrong. Sit lo on your lap while you are eating and DON'T give them food. In fact put it just out of their reach and suddenly it will be the most enticingly delicious food they could ever have imagined and look away and it will be in their fists heading for the ears, eyes, nose, hair, floor, your lap, your top oh and sometimes even their mouth.

Just had a quick go at hand expressing and OMG it worked! I've not measured anything yet but touch wood I think I've got the knack. I had a double electric pump which was WAY better than the avent pump I had, but hand expressing is meant to be so much more efficient. If I get the hang of it I'm not going to have to cart my pump to work, sterilise it 3 times a day and worry about the valves ripping.

Bilbio, I looked at your blog and went to the Ormskirk short stories (because I used to live very near there) not realising it wasn't yours. Tell your mate I love his ten twenty word short stories.

PPC that's not very optimistic, wear your best knickers, throw your 2nd best.

Just popping on quickly...DD's physio session overdue- Jennster- you seem like a BLW pro- I would like (perhaps a little late) to try this with DD. She's been eating since 5 months (& hits 7 months at midnight, my how time flies) and loves EVERYTHING. But admittedly her food is all mashed. She tolerates quite a lot of lumps ok but due to her CF we have a lots of pressure to get calories into her and so add all kinds of things I would never have added to DS's food.. like grated cheese, greek yogurt etc. plus she's already on red meat (shock) as well as better things like quinoa (yep she loves that too!), lentils etc...(IMO). Is it too late to try BLW? since she's already weaned?! Advice please!

Justabout- love your blog, you have a very beautiful way of writing... Don't know how you find time though!!

Love to you all xxx

Bilblio- your blog is fab too! And B is just gorgeous!!

Meant to add- Mairi is now sitting! And has decided that everything looks better this way so refuses to lie down!! She's still a bit wobbly but amazes me at times with how long she'll keep upright for (usually it's the dog or DS 'kissing' her that knocks her over!!)

MMN it's never too early to do finger foods If they can pick it up then they are old enough to eat it. Sounds like M will be brilliant at it. Just found out you can get a baby quinoa porrige so guess ds isn't the only baby a week into weaning with quinoa in his poo. Nevermind. DS sort of had spaghetti bolognaise tonight.

Forgot to say PPC your blog is great too

Jennster,

As you know your stuff about BLW I hope you don't mind more questions! I am giving DS purees but also letting him nibble on bits of toast, banana etc. He's started to suck off big lumps and some go in his mouth and the gag reflex brings them back out, and other bits seem to get swallowed. I was watching him all the time, but I find it hard to just let him get on with it, as I worry about choking. How do you know when to intervene? He's 7mo (today).

Jennster - Liking the knicker advice

Mind you - 2nd best are a bit grey

morning all...what a day! lo is fussing at the breast and still won't take a bottle, im soooo stressed!!! he is at present screaming and i want to cry!

i think i can feel a 'new knicker' buying session coming on!!!!

hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

LO has finally gone off to sleep!

Meep, how are you coping emotionally? Have you gone back full time? HOpe your okay. I'm dreading it but trying to put it out of my mind as I have a few weeks yet.

Why do I feel so cruel because I want him to take a bottle? Its a case of having to because I'm returning to work but I honestly think this is one of hte hardest things I've ever done!!

mfo, I'm back 4 days a week. My first week back went like this: day 1, cried when minimeep left with dh for nursery but work was a bit of a novelty and nice to say hello to work chums and not much actual work to do, cried when I collected her from nursery; day 2, had to do some real work, missed minimeep like crazy, but she was with my mum&dad so could phone when I wanted to; day off and had coffee with NCT girls so got my baby and caffeine fix; day 4, not so hard to say goodbye to minimeep in the morning; day 5, work feels strangely normal, the guilt of leaving minimeep is bearable and can see it getting easier and easier. It was tough to start with but it is okay now and I am making myself relish the times at work when I have time for myself!
I was going to try Jennsters banana trick at lunch but DH has a hangover and detests bananas so I couldn't do it to him
PPC, glad your appliances are playing the game again - it is so stressful when stuff like that breaks down!
Who is Dan Snow - link please!!! (I don't think I could fit in any of my "best" knickers any more )
mfo, we haven't had the bottle problem (minimeep ff from week 4 ) but a friend of mine had to just refuse to give the bottle to her dd (she was going to back to work too) and had a tough few days until she would take it. I know how heartbreaking it was when I couldn't bf minimeep so it must be really hard to stop once that bond has been formed.

Dan Snow

Pula have you seen Aitch's blog? She always uses the caveat that she has done an infant resucitation course. I haven't. DD never choked and gagged once. There is a big difference between choking and gagging. ds is gagging a little, but it is perfectly normal. I've seen babies gagging on purees. If they are sitting upright and picking up the food themselves, then they shouldn't get anything in their mouth that developmentally they can't eat, (but of course use your own common sense). For example, by the time the baby has the pincer grip and co-ordination to pick up peas, then they are old enough to eat them. I would always halve grapes and still do for dd.