August 2021 - They've been here for half a year

[BertieBotts]

Can you believe it! Our lovely little ones are (roughly) halfway to their first birthdays.

Welcome friends old and new for discussion of sleep, teeth, weaning, milestones, navigating post-baby relationships and the whole existential dread of parenthood... I mean those amazing moments when they make your heart melt. Or produce a poo that makes the wallpaper melt. Oh, all of them. Nothing is off limits because it's just good to know that somebody else has been there.

@RandomCatGenerator I'll send you a message with the screenshots! Though I will say, we're still having one or two feeds a night - it's just by my standards that's practically a miracle 😂

Clothes wise, I usually do jeans and a jumper or top, with a breastfeeding vest top under (I like the H&M ones) so I can lift one and lower the other to feed without flashing too much - then I just have varying levels of niceness of those clothes, from dog walking level up! I have some lovely jumpers from Celtic and Co, but only given as pressies as they're pricey (and a bit of a pain as they're hand wash), and I like Hush and H&M too, plus Nrby if I'm feeling flush.

@Smurf123 it's one of those things with a bunny head and the small blanket attached. His favourite is this one (ours didn't come from Amazon but I'm pretty sure this is the exact same one):

Soft Touch Baby Dimple Comforter Taggy Bunny Blanket with Name Newborn Boy or Girl (Baby Pink) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D7CYSQX/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_TMKV97DK7TMK7GDRWDNZ

But a muslin will do as well for him - as long as he can chew on it! I was a bit skeptical about leaving it in his cot overnight, but he seems ok with it. We have a video monitor and a breathing monitor which helps, although can't rely on those 100%!

We have so many toys in the cot. I know you're not supposed to but I honestly have a hard time seeing how they would suffocate on a teddy. Maybe a tiny newborn that can't move their head yet but at this age they would just move I think.

None of them help him self settle though so I don't know why I bother

@Daffodil21 thanks! We had a dimple car seat blanket that we lined the pram with for ds when he was small it was the only time he ever slept until he was a year and a half 🤣 we actually searched for dimple cot sheets at one point.. never did find any lol
That wee comforter looks lovely I'm tempted to try something!

The name for that dimple fabric is called minky, you could get a larger Minky blanket and wrap it around the mattress like a flat sheet? Though it's kind of slippy so I'm not sure it would stay in place.

@Ready2020 tried with the sitting down while rocking which he’s not having. Honestly I’m getting quite fed up with it, might have to start the sleep training soon I think. There’s only so much rocking to sleep I can do!

@Daffodil21 that’s for that, he does have a cuski that we brought him for Xmas (DS1 has had them from a baby and still sleeps with them!) but he just doesn’t seem that bothered with it unfortunately.

Thank you for all clothing posts - really very very helpful. Moving back to the UK has been like coming out of prison - I don’t know how things work any more even though this is ‘home’! It can be quite overwhelming, especially when you’ve got so used to being somewhere else for years. So all much appreciated, thank you.

@Daffodil21 I may try a little comforter blanket-you then. We’re still doing a lot of holding and shushing…

@RandomCatGenerator @Smurf123 sometimes he falls asleep with it in his mouth like a little puppy 😂

@Ready2020 wow crawling already?! Go Rowan!

He just woke up crying, then found his comforter all by himself and soothed himself back to sleep - he's been down since 7:30pm. this is a massive improvement to a few weeks ago where he would usually still be awake at this time!!!

Has anyone else's nursery increased their fees this month? Mine has gone up by £4 a day and I'm honestly sat here sobbing as in combination with everything else I have absolutely no idea how to afford this now, not to even mention on one salary and obviously it's never going to go down. It's unreal. I'm so defeated 😔😔😔 xx

@PurplePansy05 £4 a day??! That's extortionate! I'm afraid I have no advice, but I feel like it shouldn't all be on you to pick up the nursery bill..?

It isn't now and it won't be going forward, but even if we pay 50/50, this is fucking extortionate alongside all the other increases @Daffodil21 😔😔😔 xx

@PurplePansy05 it is extortionate! Urgh I know, we've hidden our smart meter so we can't see it 🙈 I had a look half an hour ago though and it's ridiculous - I haven't even had the thermostat above 16 most of the day

@purplepansy05 yes ours has gone up by £5 a day, now £55. Can't wait until we don't have to but formula anymore!!
We are also in Gran Caneria and travel was actually ok, although we have had a visit to the doctor and he has an ear and throat infection...on antibiotics now. I think he has had it for a while, I feel bad we didn't take him sooner! But hopefully he will be on the mend soon.

@Smallbean27 oh no, hope he’s feeling better soon. Have a nice time away 😊

Finally getting round to planning a wedding even though I don’t really want the ‘wedding’ part.. just want a nice dress, some photos and the honeymoon 😂 I’ve always said I’d go to the Maldives for my honeymoon. He’ll be 16 months by then. My question is, would you take your baby/toddler on honeymoon? I’ve never even left him over night yet 🙈 I’m going to a lodge with friends soon and I’m happy leaving him then as he’ll be with his dad. It hasn’t even really been an intentional thing that he hasn’t been left, he’s just such a good sleeper that I’ve never ‘needed’ him to stay at my mums in order to get a sleep (Sorry sorry sorry to anyone not in my boat 😂)!

I just don’t see that, even by then, I’ll feel okay or would even enjoy a holiday without him. I presumed it was a semi-regular occurrence to take your baby on honeymoon but I googled it and people seem to feel very very strongly about it saying they would never do it. Am I the only one who would? 🤔 I thought even as a compromise we could fly to the Maldives a few days after the wedding and have a few nights in a hotel in the uk ourselves before coming back to get him to go on holiday, am I weird? 🙈

@sarah13xx if you won't enjoy it without him then take him! Doesn't matter what anyone else is doing x

@sarah13xx I'd bring him if you want to! Ignore what other people say - though actually your idea of a few grown up nights in a UK hotel before a family holiday sounds lovely ☺️

Can I have a bit of a pity party? I'm really struggling with Rowan's eczema at the moment, it just keeps flaring and nothing seems to help, I feel like I'd need to be using the steroid cream all over for days and days to even make a difference which I can't do. I thought I was managing well but I just find it so upsetting that he's uncomfortable and there's nothing I can do about it. I know it's not a reflection of me as a parent but I'm just feeling horrible about myself. With that alongside teeth he just doesn't seem happy quite a lot of the time and I hate it, I want to make everything better. Today has been really rough, he's basically been unhappy since he woke up, and DH is at work and my mum/sisters at a wedding so I don't have anyone to commiserate with or a shoulder to cry on 😔

@Daffodil21 @biscuitcat thanks, yeah I think I’ll have to 😊 will try and book something nice for 2 nights for us before we go maybe! I just think we have our whole lives after our child/children have grown up to be able to go nice holidays on our own!

@biscuitcat aww bless him, that sounds annoying for him 😔 I don’t have that to deal with, just the teething, but he has days like that where I’m just getting him into his pyjamas at night as he’s screaming like I cannot wait to get you into your bed 🙈 but then they wake up the next day all smiley and have a great day 🤷🏼‍♀️ Hopefully his eczema gets better soon

Hi all, just wanted to say a big thanks for all the info you have been sharing. I’ve been following along and have found it so helpful.

@biscuitcat I’ve just read your little one has eczema, mine also gets it. Do you know the cause of the eczema? For us it’s if he eats any potatoes of dairy. It’s also seems to get bad if I eat dairy but I can eat potatoes without him having any problems. Everyday even if his skin is clear I use doublebase which is a moisturiser prescribed but I think you can buy it in a pharmacy and then if there are any flare ups then the steroid cream. But if you can work out why Rowan is getting it then it might be easier than trying to treat it. For us it’s definitely food intolerances. I think it really does make them feel uncomfortable, not nice for them or us. Hope it’s cleared up already x

Hello all, hope everyone is well? I've been absent for a bit as we moved out of our tiny flat in London and into temporary accommodation as our house is not ready for us, and immediately all got covid. Alasdair got it worst and we had to go to A & E for his breathing but now we're all better. It's been a hard few weeks, really hoping for a chilled Easter.

Is anyone else's baby not crawling yet? Mine pivots but doesn't move forward. This wouldn't be an issue except he shouts and cries at the top of his lungs anytime I put him down... been going on for weeks. We got a jumperoo which helps a little but obviously that's only good for short stints and he has to learn to crawl on his own
.. I just think the screaming is going to drive me and DH crazy.

@WolfMother326 sorry you've had such a time of it, I hope things settle down for you now. DS isn't crawling - he's like stranded turtle on his front 😂 he does move around but definitely isn't crawling

@Janevi he's definitely got a dairy allergy, so we're both off dairy - the next plan is to see if cutting out soy makes a difference as I think he's reacting to that too. It's frustrating as we're really struggling to figure out the triggers! We're using the Zeroderm ointment which he doesn't much enjoy, bless him. I think I might need to keep a detailed food diary for both of us as I imagine that'll help us identify what's going on. I hope your little one is ok with it xx

@WolfMother326 gosh what a time of it! Hoping you get your lovely relaxed Easter. No crawling here at all - he hates being on his front so isn't really best placed to learn 😂 he stands well against a surface and is quite steady standing just on his feet with support, so I wonder if he'll skip crawling altogether! Luckily he doesn't seem frustrated by not moving, I imagine that must be really tricky

It would be really early for crawling IME. Alex is getting onto all fours from sitting but can't get anywhere from there. He gets really frustrated as well.

I made us a corn chowder today which went down really well! We finally (touch wood) seem to be free of this constant stream of illness that started at Christmas. We are aiming to potty train Leo over the Easter weekend so wish us luck with that!