August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest post-natal club on MN!

We spent a year together chatting about all things pregnancy and baby...

...we've tried and tested countless baby products...

...exchanged hundreds of tips...

...talked about all the big things in life, all the little things, the good times and the tough times...

...we had a good laugh together 😁...

...and somehow we now have gorgeous 3 month old babies without looking a day older ourselves 😅 (must be that good laugh!)

Graduates of the August 2021 (and thereabouts) thread:

@Smurf123 & baby Sophia 💖
@wimbler & her baby boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles & baby Ebony💖
@Inmypjsagain & her baby boy 💙
@PurplePansy05 & baby Leo Alexander 💙
@WinterBabyof89 & baby Rosie 💖
@Winecoffeeteamum & baby Emily 💖
@Ready2020 & baby Rowan 💖
@Magik01 & baby Isaac 💙
@Hoares3 & baby Ellis 💙
@Daffodil21 & baby Elliot James 💙
@sarah13xx & baby Freddie 💙
@MrsB2019x & baby Ella💖
@biscuitcat & baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername & baby Arya-Nyah 💖
@notinthestarsigns & baby Erin 💖
@Aaaaa1519 & baby Anum 💖
@Angelesque & baby Isaac 💙
@Millymay13 & baby Ethan 💙
@WolfMother326 & baby Alasdair 💙
@BertieBotts & baby Alex 💙
@RandomCatGenerator & baby Solomon 💙
@lucyrp & baby Evelyn Rose 💖
@HopefulB & baby Chloé 💖
@Mmr224 & baby Alasdair 💙
@Smallbean27 & her baby boy 💙
@Fran919 & her baby girl 💖
@Caz1226 & baby Dougie 💙
@Ava50x & her baby boy 💙
@dirtyfries & baby Frankie 💖
@ame88 & baby Lily 💖

Sorry if I've missed anyone, please join in! xx

@Daffodil21 Great price. I saw similar bibs for £10 per bib or more. Amazon need to update their description though, it says not to tumble dry, I assume the actual label says it's fine? xx

FYI ladies Sainsbury’s TU sale has started today and has loads of nice baby bits online.

@PurplePansy05 you're right - it does say not to tumble dry. Annoying but expected!

I thought that symbol meant you could tumble dry it but it does say not to.

That symbol means tumble dry cool - conflicting. Maybe worth an email to the company?

@BertieBotts for £5 for 3 I'm just going to stick them all on a 40 and one in the tumble drier to see how they do 😂

I feel like all I do is wash and dry bibs just now! He honestly goes through about 10 a day. I just leave them on him at all times now to save constantly changing tops but I hate taking him out in the pram if it’s wet so I’m constantly getting a dry one

Yeah why not! I'd do the same.

Someone asked earlier if the bibs smell when I leave them to dry. If it's just drool no. If he's been sick I have to wash them. I only reuse them about 2-4 times but it cuts down so much on the washing. We must have 30 bibs and it's the only way I can keep up with him. I put them on if he's sitting upright and take them off if he's lying down to help cut down on the use too.

If you use a carrier you can buy "suck pads" to protect the shoulder straps as they tend to chew on those at this age too.

@BertieBotts

You are all so domestic goddessy :o I never clean toys unless they are minging. I chucked a couple of things like the play mat in the wash before I got it out again as it was dusty from being under the bed for 2 years. And I put things like teethers through the dishwasher every so often. We have a Sophie but I don't wash it as I don't want water getting inside, apparently they go mouldy. I will probably throw it away when he's grown out of it for that reason.

Doing a lot of exploring by mouth here.

Re weaning I think you can either pick up a guide (and there are loads, everything from Annabel Karmel to Gina Ford to Joe Wicks and BLW guides, plus all the baby food companies and parenting clubs e.g. Boots/Emma's Diary give them out for free) or you can just wing it, I've always found the wing it method to be great. Once they are at least 4 months/16 weeks old (but IME closer to 5m aka 20/21w+) if they are interested in food and it's safe for them I just put them in a highchair or sit them on a lap and let them touch and explore it. Maybe once every few days when there's a good moment. Then once they really get proficient and enthusiastic with amounts, which could be weeks after starting, no rush - I introduce one meal a day which could be spoon fed or baby led. Breakfast is easy for spoon feeding, because you can do the same thing every day and keep the exploring going for lunch/dinner/whenever (not necessarily every day) working around their naps other feeds and whatever else you have going on. DS2 had weetabix mashed with formula and I tried some of the baby porridges too, though "baby specific food" is not necessary (it's all marketing). The exploring bit is fun because you find yourself buying stuff for them separately or just when you're eating/making stuff thinking I wonder if they will like this? And keeping the "exploring" mindset takes the pressure off to start.

Then when it starts to feel like breakfast is not enough - IME you just know - you'll have a range of foods that they have already tried little bits of, so you'll have a good idea of what kinds of things will/won't work for main meals and that gives you a bit of variety to try. You don't need to be an amazing chef, simple is good, and don't stress about this/that/the other theory that makes them magically love vegetables and not fussy. It makes absolutely no difference. They will still want to live off crisps when they are 13. Some children go through a fussy phase and some don't. Defo good advice not to force them to finish a plate. If you feel anxious about making sure they get enough I def recommend Kids Eat In Color and looking up Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility.

Once you have 2 set meals a day then you'll start to work out how naps fit around them, if you're not in a nap routine already and suddenly your whole day has a structure and that helps a lot with the groundhog day feeling of babies. So it's a great time and before you know it, the rest of the year flies by and it will be their first birthday!

At first food is just in addition to milk, so if you've been increasing their milk then you can stop increasing once you start solids as solids do that job instead. Follow their lead, especially if BF (you can continue to feed on demand) but normally you would start tapering down milk feeds towards the end of the first year, which for many people coincides with returning to work.

Normal growth slows down and plateaus after 4 months so don't worry about this either. It does mean they stop rocketing through clothing sizes at such a fast rate.

Drying clothes in sunlight, even in the rain/through a window will get out the majority of weaning stains with the exception of curry/turmeric. That is a dye so don't feed them curry in your favourite outfits.

Bertie you are such an amazing mine of info: thank you for sharing.

And thanks ladies for cradle cap experiences too. We’ve started using a little brush but I’m reassured we’ll just let it resolve itself. He has such sensitive skin on the rest of his body that I don’t want to risk hurting him.

I’m jealous of sleep patterns here… sadly, we remain at waking every four to five hours, which is an improvement on where we were. Sigh. Bed at 18:00 (he’s so exhausted by that point), wake at 23:00/23:30, wake at between 03:00 and 03:45. Then awake for the day by 7. Not great.

May I have specific toy recommendations ? Noting Lamaze being strongly recommended! Sophie has gone down very well - with thanks to those who recommended her.

We are enjoying Sophie, Lamaze toys, muslins to chew, and linking rings - you can buy just a big pack of links meant for clipping toys to buggies, arches, cot bars etc. But they like to hold and chew the links themselves.

Chunky plastic toys and a Nuk teether (the 8 shaped one) are also favourites.

We also have a bath toy for the 3yo that sticks onto the wall and you pour water through it and it spins, a see saw rocks etc. Don't know the name or brand but he loves that.

Woo the all the sleep wins!!! Long may it continue!!!

Toys: most played with are definitely Lamaze and the toys that dangle from the playmat. The tiny love toy bar is a big hit. Soft toys he has jelly cat ones that he seems to like cuddling. He has this plastic car with balls in its wheels that he enjoys rolling around (it was a gift and can’t seem to find online!). Gave him his stacking cups today (meant to be for Christmas, oh well!) and he just threw them around but seemed to enjoy that too! He’s also quite interested in our food wrappers 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Inmypjsagain was it you who did yours was sitting?

*said

Thanks for the messages. I'm cursing covid just now as the rules mean only 2 named people can go into the hospice to visit, at all. So that's my mum and my sisters husband, who is being a total dick as predicted and making it all about him. I drove my mum to see her yesterday, 1 hour 30 to get there, and she took my DD in to see her but I had to stay in the car. Its totally ridiculous. I understand the need to protect staff and patients from covid but we could do a test before each visit. She's only got months to live for feck sake!

Having a morning of it already here. The night was pretty good and I actually fell asleep after the 2am feed, only to be woken by the cat throwing up in the bedroom at about 4am. DD currently has a habit of waking for a poop at 5am these days! So today sure enough she farted in her sleep then pooped. It's taken ages to get her back down as well. She guzzled milk then threw up in my armpit. I then stood on the cat sick on way to the loo.

She's a total chunky monkey now and i sometimes find it hard to hold her for long in the cradle position at night. I'm such a light weight though with no muscles. She doesn't seem to like being held against my chest.

Had a overwhelming feeling of wanting another baby recently..... I'll just put it down to hormones lol

@Ready2020, I’m so sorry that is the policy! It really shouldn’t be, it really winds me up I understand they want to project staff etc but like you said, just test and show evidence. I know staff have to be jabbed / test but there’s nothing stopping them seeing a 100 people over a weekend and then putting the patients / inpatients at risk, it can take a couple of days for a positive test to show!

I second the overwhelming feeling for another, I definitely want to try in the new year ( might be too soon but no guarantees ) just not sure what work would say / think, would I be eligible for enhanced mat pay etc etc.

Oh Ready that is awful :( You would think a hospice would be different.

No desire for more babies here. DH was just saying the other day about another and I was like nooooo! Lol.

@Daffodil21 yes he is, still quite slumped (ie not straight backed) but I think I’d be happy to have him in the bath sitting next week with no angelcare. I actually think the high chair has really helped? Is Elliott sitting too?

@Ready2020 that completely sucks. 2 people only?! How on Earth would you choose- that doesn’t seem fair to hospice residents (or their families!) at all. Can you face time?

I would love another too! So would my husband but we were thinking about cost. With one we can have a nice lifestyle, we’d need a smaller house, we could send him to private school etc. With 2 it’s double the expense, you’d need a bigger house etc. I’m an only child and happy with it, husband has siblings and happy with it but they’re not particularly close, we’re all making more effort now that there are cousins… so it’s something we’re wondering about really.

Random question- is anyone washing baby stuff with fabric softener? I read you shouldn’t use it on baby clothes but some stuff feels like it could using softening up- we use vinegar and soda crystals which is meant to be just as good but imo it’s not…

@Inmypjsagain no Elliot isn't siting 😂 he has been aided for ages but can't on his own. It's sounds like you have some kind of ninja child who can sit unaided and play with cars! Mine is happy just playing with a muslin 😂

@Ready2020 im so sorry, that's so hard and so bloody unfair! When you think what people can do normally now and then they slap that massive restriction on the people who need it the least. I hope they re-evaluate things soon ❤️

@PurplePansy05 DS has finally started to look towards sounds, has also yet?

He does obviously like more thank just muslins, but I can't imagine ditching the angel care anytime soon! Is anyone else? Not concerned as he'll get there, just curious!

@Daffodil21 I wish! 😂 this car is big and it’s got these big holes at the top so it’s easy for him to hold, if he has it on the high chair table or when his high chair is up to the table he rolls it from side to side but I’m not sure it’s conscious, more the motion of rolling if that’s makes sense? He does love it though. And he sits up with weight on his arms. It’s odd though because the nct babies are his age and I swear they are proper ninja babies, one stands up against a sofa holding his own weight, honestly he looks about 1! But they all even out eventually I guess! But at the moment he is loving throwing the stacking cups 😵 they might go back in his stocking at this rate 😂

Oh yeah the Oball and Oball cars are great!

DS goes in the bath with DH so we don't use any support etc. DS2 is desperate to have him in with him in his bath but he's nowhere near stable enough for that yet. But we have been using the jumperoo which he loves.

Oball! That’s the one! We have the red one. Is it a European brand? My friend sent it from France and I struggled to find when googling, might buy a few more. Sorry if I gave the impression he was playing with hotwheels!

I thought it was American? No idea though really.

They are commonly seen in toy shops here so maybe.

Well my latest one is that "in Denmark you are considered a bad mom if you sit your baby up or use a chair (reclining bouncer). It's not good for the baby. They shouldn't be sitting until they can get themselves up from the floor to sitting by themselves" apparently they should just lie on the floor until then. Dd isn't a huge fan of floor times and needs to be kept upright after feeds so it just means I'm constantly holding her whereas she is wire happy sitting in it at home looking around her.

H seems to think it is acceptable to stay in the house all day and can't understand why ds and I are annoyed. Ds is climbing the walls because he has one very small old car garage from when dh was a kid and a handful of his own hot wheels cars and a box of baby toys but that's all. It's no surprise he's bored after 10 days of the same toys all day. There is a box of duplo too but he's never really been into duplo.

H and his dm have gone for a nap. As they have done every day. The only place within walking distance is shops or a park about 20 mins walk away. And I can't drive here dh can. So ds is watching tv while I feed dd and rant on here. Apologies!

On the positive dd seems to hopefully be coming out the other end of the sleep regression and last night slept from 10-4 then fed and slept again to 630.