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.

@Ready2020 , @sarah13xx its a bit late now but I wanted to chip in about weaning as I think Ivy has finally got going and is eating a good amount now.

We are doing BLW and her ability to swallow food has really shocked me. I was scared of her biting off chunks too at first but I've now seen that she can handle far more than i had thought and that she spits out anything she can't cope with.

As well as soft steamed veg she has really enjoyed omelette, pasta twirls, bean patties etc.

Try to experiment and hopefully they'll start really enjoying themselves soon ^^

Ladies... I'm just waiting to get the train to go to Southampton for the night/maybe two nights depending on trains tomorrow and I'm so pleased to say - it was HARD leaving DS!!!! This is going to sound strange but honestly I'm so relieved!!!!! I knew it wasn't natural how easy I found it before 🙈

Aah I'm glad that you're relieved. I think when they are tiny it's almost easier to detach from them a bit compared with when they are starting to develop more of a personality and interact a lot more.

YY kagerou, it's amazing to watch them isn't it? I find it so fascinating.

I forgot to add eggy bread to the list as he loved that the other day. I'm trying to think what else I can offer, was thinking of doing tomato and garlic chicken pasta but it's really tricky to get the timing right as I am out of the house 3-5pm picking up DS2. Maybe I can make the sauce and get DH to add the pasta later or heat the whole thing up later.

Hi all 👋

Nice to see the thread still going & familiar names. Hope you are all doing ok - congratulations on reaching the 6month mark!

Love that the little personalities are starting to come through now, and I’m actually quite enjoying weaning - although I got told off by HV for giving porridge/baby rice. Anyways she loves ReadyBrek so that’s staying!

Has anyone done/thinking of doing sing & sign? Knowing that Chloé has a tongue tie, I’m keen to be proactive with language development, so was thinking of enrolling, but maybe 6months is too soon?!

My ignorance will come out but apart from the obvious benefit of actually learning the basics of a sign language, how does this help babies with language development? I'm quite into linguistics so would like to understand the mechanism a bit more. I must admit, my NCT group has a craze over this but they all do it online and I personally didn't find this appealing at all and with such young babies, will it make a difference in how they communicate with us? I mean, I can work out myself whether Leo is hungry/doesn't like the food/whatever it is he's trying to tell me most of the time without him using a sign language, that's what I'm getting at. But if it's helpful then I'm all ears! xx

I've done baby signs with the other two and have started to bring them in although they aren't being repeated yet. I'm just using milk, more and all done.

I believe, although I'm not totally sure, that it helps because they can make hand signals earlier than they can normally make recognisable word sounds but since they are legitimately making words (like "real" signing) they are developing those pathways in their brains where they say/sign a word and somebody (mum/dad) responds to that communication. You can also choose to prioritise signs that are particularly helpful whereas the words they produce don't start for months yet and when they do they tend to be quite random and sporadic. So last time we used the signs all done, milk, help, (he would not take on "more"!) and these were much more useful than the words we had which were things like tractor and bird. Very nice to be able to point out tractors and birds but not of much practical use!

We haven't done bilingual from young enough to see but friends who have a German speaking parent and an English speaking one say that the signs form a kind of bridge between languages too.

@BertieBotts oooh we will have to try eggy bread I'm certain Ivy will love that as its a combo of two of her favourite things haha.

We did a super simple garlic cream (literally just cream cheese blitzed with a little garlic and black pepper) sauce on tagliatelle today (didn't mean to be so pretentious but we were out of spirals) - it went down very well and she didn't struggle with the longer pasta as i thought she would. I also mixed green beans into it and I think this was the first time she ate more than she dropped / squished.

Also we have been doing sing and sign at an in person group. Ivy enjoys it but I keep forgetting to use the signs at home so not sure she's really learning :/

My wee DD has been oddly tired the last few days. Not upset with it, just lots of yawning and eye rubbing despite good naps and ok nights. It makes me worry that she's getting enough food. I've no idea of how much she should be offered during the day but I offer boob as often as I can in case she's not getting enough actual food. She has still got a bit of a cold so maybe she's just recovering from that.

I tried her on soft cooked broccoli today and she was great at picking it up but just didn't like it. Think I'll try carrots tomorrow.

@HopefulB why did you get told off for baby rice..? Cereals with fruit are definitely the favourites over here

@Daffodil21 they were worried about her filling up on simple carbs and then reducing intake of (nutrient dense) milk. Her milk intake doesn’t feel like it’s droppped so I’m not worried!

Thanks for the thoughts on signing. I’m generally pro anything that makes the world a more inclusive place, so that along with greater ability for us to communicate with each other and (hopefully) avoid frustration is probably enough to give it a go

I don't know that it helps communicate with anybody using BSL because the signs are normally made up or based on Makaton, but it's definitely fun and useful.

I did a sing and sign course with DS1 but not with the others. DS1 probably did use more signs than DS2 but I don't think you need the course, you can just do it by yourself.

If you're struggling to remember to do it try prioritising one or two, milk is a great one to start with as you say it so many times a day. You'll probably only remember once or twice a day or every couple of days at first but soon you get into the habit of making the milk sign when you say the word and it comes back to you. Then that's exciting and boosts you to try the next one.

Oh, wait, so is this not teaching BSL?

@Ready2020 I've overfed Leo 2 days ago, he was sick twice and then awake for ages. He's had 2.5 solid meals (Weetabix+frut+milk; chicken + veg and then some pureed mango) and still wanted his usual milk, that was a mistake. Sometimes it takes them longer to recognise they're full with solids IMO so he had too much milk. I agree it's a tricky balance especially now I dropped to 1-2 BFs per day, I always seem to have to have a bottle ready just in case.

How much are you giving her now roughly?

Agree re cereal, DS is occasionally having baby cereal and likes it, I mostly give hm Weetabix or bran flakes (a bit tricky, need soaking up in milk for a while) with formula and fruit, and will be introducing normal porridge next week, will puree a bit if needed. But that's definitely his second breakfast and here to stay

Tried wholemeal buttered toast fingers yesterday, big hit to chew on! He loves unsalted butter just as much as his mum The state of him and the bread after 😂

I'm going to introduce Greek yoghurt with fruit puree next week just to mix it up.

Tried scrambled eggs, went ok but no fireworks. What's everyone doing about peanut butter? I'm thinking to add a bit in with cereal to check for any reactions first? Or would you just let them lick a spoon? xx

@purlpepansy05 I just spread a thin layer onto toast when it was warm, so it melteda bit too. Didn't want it to be too claggy.

No, baby sign is not BSL, the purpose is different. Babies in houses where BSL is used do tend to pick it up earlier than speaking but it's a whole language with grammar, nuance etc so it would be a lot for parents to learn it just for the baby's sake.

Baby signs are generally adapted so that babies can do them even though they don't have the fine motor control in their fingers yet, and most signs are one handed because it's rare that you will have both hands free with a baby of this age!

Once their speech starts to take over at about 2.5 years old they generally drop all the signs completely and never use them again, it's just a temporary thing so cross compatability with BSL, ASL etc isn't really a priority.

You could use purely BSL signs if you prefer but you might run into issues with the complexity of some signs or the double handedness of others.

Hi all- belated thank you for the new thread, I love the intro!

You know I thought life was quite busy with a newborn but it’s SO busy now, I feel like I haven’t sat down for 2 weeks! We’re on red alert in London today, local parks closed and plans cancelled so we’re having a full day indoors, can’t remember the last time that happened!

Sounds like weaning is going well for lots of you. We’re getting through an awful lot of banana, he gagged on puréed spinach yesterday and I don’t blame him. I’m still finding it hard to judge if he’s eating enough and he woke up really hungry the other day, as he hadn’t had as much milk, but he’d eaten a-lot but I suppose it didn’t fill him!

Some of our classes do baby signs as an easy form of bsl I think, I’m not sure how to teach, it sounds like a good idea to know it!

@Inmypjsagain same here. Wembley Is already really windy ish.

@PurplePansy05 I read that shouldn't give nut butters on their own as the stickiness can be a chocking hazard. So either apply a thin layer to baby rice cakes or put it in Greek yogurt. I'm gonna do the later when I introduce it.

My DD had mashed chickpeas yesterday with spinach purée. Went down quite well. Think the only thing she's not been a fan off is kidney beans so far.

I haven't introduced anything sweet yet so am looking forward to her reaction when I introduce sweet potato 🍠 😀

Red alert here too, our usual classes are cancelled and parks closed too, I wouldn't take him anyway as we get it quite bad here and I don't want to be surrounded by trees today.

Thanks re peanut butter, I haven't thought about the stickiness of it! I'm a bit apprehensive about it, in a sense really hoping he doesn't have this allergy, fingers crossed xx

@purplepansy05 so she gets baby porridge or weetabix with fruit in the morning. OH feeds her while I'm still in bed but the bowl is always empty when I come down so she eats it all.

(I worry about my OH feeding her as he has a terrible relationship with food. On going mild bulimia with some regular binge eating. He was very much a child of the 'you must finish all the food on your plate before you can leave the table'.)

I do lunch with her and I do a mix of puree and something else for her to pick up and chew. I do both as its fun for her and its good learning but she never usually swallow anything from the baby led weaning. How much she eats depends on the taste we're doing on the day. Yesterday was a sweetcorn pouch and she loves it so had most of a small pouch plus the broccoli florets that were very (too) soft and she had issue lifting them as they would fall apart. She did put some in her mouth but 90 % went on the floor.

Sometimes in the late afternoon I'll give her some cucumber or a strip of Hummus on toast to keep her occupied if I'm doing stuff in the kitchen.

She was quite unsettled last night in the first 4 hours after going down but then did 5 huge farts and slept better! I think I'll try some tummy massage before bed to help her digest.

We've escaped most of the bad weather here thankfully. Hope they come back to finish my garden today.

@Ready2020 This sounds great?? I really don't think you've anything to worry about in terms of her not eating enough. You're offering her a great variety and yes with BLW (I mean when they 'feed' themselves) they do end up eating less and creating more waste, same here. Buy that's ok, if she was hungry she'd cry for more milk. How much Weetabix does your OH offer? I make one piece with milk and a third of mashed up banana or few raspberries. This seems to work as his second breakfast and most days he'd eat it all and seemingly then cry for more, but I'm now learning to recognise that if I give him something else to explore/ chew on, few minutes later he'll realise he's full and he'll be perfectly happy. His eyes are bigger than his stomach atm for sure 😂 I am from a similar home to your OH and find it difficult to have the right portion size and not having this 'you need to finish everything' voice in my head so I'm really trying not to do that with Leo.

Are anyone else's babies showing signs of separation anxiety? He cries every time I leave the room now. HV just brushed it off and said it's all normal, but I feel like I'm just destined to be a mama kangaroo, first carrying him with me everywhere/holding him cause he wouldn't sleep in the day otherwise and now being pinned to the same room as him even though I don't always play with him/tend to him. Is this what it's going to be like till he's a toddler? xx

Yes defo separation anxiety here.

If I have to do something I do sometimes leave him crying but I would try and get him involved with something like toys or whatever, or bring him into the same room but in the jumperoo etc, but no basically he is in the room with one or the other of us at all times, except that I managed to put him down for a nap in his own room yesterday! Amazing! I have sorted out all my clothes and taken out the maternity/too-small stuff which is soooo helpful.

We've suddenly gone from tiny tastes of food to full on devouring things and asking for more although his portions are still small compared to toddler/adult of course. He would get through approx 1/3 of the "meal" type jars at a time or one slice of bread cut into toast strips or a single banana or about 2/3 of a pear. Today for breakfast he had some baby porridge with apple puree, probably about 3 tablespoons in total (hard to guess) and then he had most of a pear as well of which I would say he ate maybe half the pear in total. DS2 used to have weetabix and I started off with half a biscuit plus whatever crumbs were in the packet.

@PurplePansy05 definitely separation anxiety here too it's hard work!
Dd is teething hard and has the cold so we have yet again stopped solids 😫 not that she was really eating much anyway. She is so congested it's making her cough and then she's sick because of all the mucus and phlegm 😫 teething not one but about 6teeth by the look of it can see the outline of 4 on the top almost through and 2 more at the bottom just about to break through!

I need to go through my clothes too, I've managed to pack up maternity/nursing bras which I hated so that's my first step! Never thought I'd miss my normal bras but it's so nice to have more support again and defy gravity ! Clothes wise I'm thrown. I've not been to the office for over 2 years and I'm also more flabby. Suddenly we're 'smart casual' not 'smart', too, and I'll be doing hybrid working. I have absolutely zero idea what to wear, what to get rid of, what to buy, where as so many places closed down, and I do not identify with current trends (what are they even?). I'd love to get out of stretchy jeans, leggins and white trainers though. 🤦🏼‍♀️ xx

Oh and there better not also be a competition at nursery gates on the poshest 'mother smart casual', my brain might just explode then! I'll cover myself with a trench coat and that's me done! 🤦🏼‍♀️ xx