August 2021 Babies - From Santa to Solids, Hohoho!

[PurplePansy05]

Here we go again!

I'd do another delightful intro, alas I've lost count which thread this is now and we all know our LO's names anyway 😁

So instead I will just say, Merry First Christmas together to you and your LOs! 🎄❤🎁

May the sleep regression pass as soon as they see Santa later this week...

...May they love weaning and may our kitchens survive...

...May 2022 be full of blessings for them and for us ❤❤❤

Oldcomers and newcomers welcome, as always! 🥰

Water that should say.
And she's awake again.

Oh @Smurf123 this sounds tough. I was going to suggest something more substantive weaning-wise, carbs & protein maybe, but if you say that's not working then I'm not sure...have you tried baby cereal at all? Cow & Gate with wholegrains and fruit is Leo's favourite, or just plain creamy porridge? Both are filling and bring a lot of comfort xx

@Ready2020 I think weaning has actually slightly improved sleep here.

@Smurf123 some days it really doesn't seem like Ivy eats much at all but she must actually be getting a fair amount as her poo is becoming more "human" (sounds weird but i can't think of another way to describe it lol).

Are you doing BLW or Puree?

Don't worry Smurf. Did you read the link I put up? Babies are so hugely variable at this age and it is definitely not a disaster if they aren't eating much yet. Just go slow and she will get there in her own time :) You never meet a teenager who is still drinking bottles. (Though mine does seem to sometimes exist solely on the calories in store-brand coke 🤢😅)

@PurplePansy05 I've tried the creamy porridge and the aptamil strawberry and banana one. She just pushes it straight back out with her tongue. I'd tried buying formula and giving more of it but she Elsa up really gassy and refluxy more so than she is after breastfeeding. So the last couple of days id stopped the flurries/ spoon feeds and the formula (after she was sick 4 times on sat night after the formula bottle)

@kagerou I've tried both purées she just spits out/ pushes out with her tongue out gags on. More success with blw she loves pizza, toast, carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, potato things she can hold like wedges, chips etc. but again it's not exactly a big amount she's eating she more just gums them/sucks on it

Thanks @BertieBotts
I've taken a bit of a step back even trying with weaning and the high chair for now. We will try again in a week or 2.

After a night feed how long do you hold baby to make sure they are asleep before putting back in the cot? I think I hold on to her too long and should let her settle herself a bit more.

5 mins max hold here now, used to be half an hour when he had reflux but he grew out of it and I couldn't be happier, my washing has finally reduced a bit!

@Smurf123 Do you remove the froth from formula bottles? Is she still on any anti-reflux meds? No constipation? I'm just trying to work through the list of potential things that might be causing her being sick/in discomfort but maybe she's just taking things in her own time and next week she'll decide to eat everything? They are so random, Leo cried on Sunday, wouldn't touch pasta that he loved last week. Then yesterday he ate 10 pieces of fussili with sauce and loved it. It was exactly the same food 🤷🏼‍♀️ I just keep offering, undeterred! xx

@Ready2020 I really don’t hold him for long, sometimes he finishes his last bottle of the night and his eyes are still open but I just put him in. Sometimes he drifts off and I have to slowly pull it out his mouth and put him in. I think if they’re already asleep then they won’t know whether you’re holding them too long or not though. He sucks his thumb (now almost constantly) but doesn’t have a dummy so he goes down and sucks his thumb to go to sleep. If he didn’t suck his thumb I think he’d really struggle to settle himself

Same here @Smurf123 weaning wise 🙄 he’s not 6 months til tomorrow and I was setting 6 months as my time when I’d really start focusing on it but I’ve been offering him a taste of blended veg every day for the last 2 weeks. Obviously I don’t expect him to love it first time but he really does just screw his face up and spit it out. He’s never even eaten a spoonful of it. It doesn’t help when my mum (probably weaned me about 3 months 😂) is repeatedly saying he should be eating by now, asking if I’m worried he’s not eating, telling me I should be giving him sweet stuff 🤦🏼‍♀️ I planned to make everything myself but due to having no dishwasher and hardly any space to make anything in our tiny temp kitchen while moving house, I looked at the baby food bit in tesco yesterday and realised the sachets are actually mainly all very natural! I thought they must be packed full of sugar etc. I just got the veg ones from 4 months+ but hoping that at least takes some of the stress out of it and if he doesn’t eat it now at least I haven’t gone to the hassle of making it.

@PurplePansy05 no I didn't remove the froth from the formula bottle though I did let it settle a bit.. I didn't realise you were supposed to 🙈
Though most of the time she has been getting the pre made wee bottles of it so there isn't any froth (unless I add the gaviscon)
Been a bit hit and Miss with the gaviscon as reflux symptoms have generally reduced and too much makes her constipated. Don't think she is currently though. So in the end last night I got her asleep about midnight and I held her in my arms and just let her sleep for about 30/40 mins before putting her into cot.. she woke and fussed a bit so I held her hand and she went over long enough for me to leave the room then she gave a couple of cries flipped herself onto her tummy and went to sleep until 5am! Fed her at 5 put her back in and she slept to almost 7 when dh was getting up for work. She seemed awake from looking on the monitor so he went to turn hours shower on to warm up as I tried to prep myself to get out of bed and within seconds of the shower going on she settled and went straight back to sleep until now! It's 845! I swear if that's the magical trick that works the shower will be on at bedtime every night🤣
Thank you all for the kind words! It's nice to have others that understand! It's just so hard to be on the middle of it and the only one trying to settle her all night on no sleep!

@Smurf123 I've never removed the froth x

You don't have to @Smurf123 but it helps if your LO has reflux (from experience) xx

@PurplePansy05 it's funny because I also said how I didn't think it helped much when adding the gaviscon made the pre made bottles go so frothy when they weren't usually. I just didn't think to remove it either! 🙈

I suppose part of me is also hesitant with the formula in case she could have a bit of a dairy intolerance/ allergy as I do so from breastfeeding she definitely isn't getting any dairy as I don't eat bar a bit of chocolate or occasional sounds of pizza but even then I usually remove the cheese first.
Though she has been having the off bottle for a while now so I think I should have seen already but up to a month ago it would only have been maybe 1 200ml bottle every couple of days or so

@ready2020 we hold for about 20 mins until he is in a deep sleep (we use the arm drop test haha) sometimes he wriggles but keep a hand on his chest and he is usually OK. We usually feed to sleep too, don't plan on stopping unless he doesn't want to.
Moved him into his own room with his cot but we slept in his room last night. He much preferred more space to move around. Hoping he is a bit happier in there.
Not sure how long we will sleep in the room with him, I can't be bothered to have to walk across the landing in the night 😴

I can't either. DH is waking DS3 up now with talking in meetings now he is back at work so I am going to start trying naps in his cot in the shared room. Then if that works well I might start putting him down for the night there but I don't want to get up for night feeds. I might just do it on a trial basis for 3 nights at a time and if he is still waking up after the 3 nights put him back in with us until I'm ready to actually night wean.

We do the arm test too

Rowan developed a cold over night and from 2am had to sleep on me as she couldn't breath when lying flat. It was a hard night. I've got the plug in thing but any other suggestions? I can't tilt the big cot. It's the first bad cold she's had.

I'm still going into Edinburgh despite only having 3 hours sleep. May as well do something nice. But they have a big Boots there so can get some baby cold supplies.

@Ready2020 at night, I feed, burp, then put down pretty immediately, and soothe him in his cot if he is awake (which he often is, very, at 3am…). White noise machine + gentle shushing + holding flailing arms down tends to work within 5-10 mins. If not, I sometimes leave him to it and watch him on the monitor next door. He’s started to self settle - it can take half an hour but he is starting to settle rather than wailing. I think at 6 months old everything is just OMG SO INTERESTING that he doesn’t want to sleep.

@Magik01 yep I’m in India for work - have been here for about 3.5 years. It’s going to be a massive change going back.

@Smurf123 sorry I read in a rush and missed the bit about gaviscon. Not used that so wouldn't know!

Arm drop test over here as well 😂

Hello, hope everyone and babies are doing well.

I am looking for a bit of advice. I never bought a changing table/station because we've been in a small flat waiting to move. We've just been using an old dining table but now that my baby is getting more mobile it doesn't feel very safe. I had planned to buy a changing unit when we move and baby finally has his own room but now I wonder if it's just safer to do changes on the floor? We do hope to have another baby so the changing unit could still be useful. We don't currently have a dresser that could double as a changing top either. What does everyone else use?

I always did them on the floor with DS1. If you can get down there comfortably go for it. We do have a changing table now but I used to just use a corner of the sofa and that was fine.

FWIW @WolfMother326 I’m leaving my changing table here with a friend who is due soon and don’t at this stage plan to get a replacement. Plan to use changing mat to provide whatever available surface with waterproof protection!

I have a changing table but it's twice as big as the standard one, the top unfolds. I really like it, however I will say Leo is now as tall as the table length 😱 But then my friends changed their 12mo toddlers on it with no issues so it should serve us for longer. I have changing mat on top of it and nappies/creams/nappy bin to the side, there's space for everything. I also like having drawers underneath, it's really easy to get his clothes out. So I'd say it is practical, I found it helpful both after the CS and with my bad back as he's getting heavy now. xx

No changing table here, never had one. I’ve always changed on a mat on the floor or bed when he was in the same room as me.

Changing mat for downstairs, use it on the floor. A changing table is on our cot, so use that when we are upstairs (it is much easier for your back!).