Sept '07... I'm forever blowing raspberries and my cheeks ache from smiling so much....

[PurpleLostPrincess]

Here we go! (or should I say here wii go!?). I'll try doing a link too...

Incidentally, I had a dream last night that Cerys suddenly learnt how to blow proper raspberries! Don't know where it came from but it could be that she has been trying since she was about 4 weeks old and did it entirely by accident yesterday!

PLP xxx

Sorry Kyala, meant to say how awful for you, that must have been such a fright

Hello everyone

Well I am going to start Ben on babyrice tomorrow I think he is ready. He was sleeping through the night and going 12 hours between feeds, the past 4 nights he has been awake at 4am wanting a feed and last night he woke at midnight and 4am ( he had 39 ounces of milk in the 24 hour period), I don't think it is a growth spurt as he has recently had one, I just think he is too big now for the milk to sustain him for so long. I had him weighed on thursday and he was 16 pound 15 ounces at 15 weeks old.

How's Ben's skin MrsF? Any better?

morning all - well i started ryan on baby rice yesterday, he LOVED it, and last night he only woke once! this is comparison to hourly wakings the previous nights. fingers crossed, it continues to go well. Hopey, MrsF - let me know how you get on.

Hopey - also let me know how you get on with the babycook. I was looking at it but decided against it since my food processor has a mini blending bowl and I have a steamer that I plan to steam up batches in advance...am starting to make carrot,pear, apple, sweet potato and courgette purees today. Following she who should not be named book of weaning, seems really well laid out! But if you think it is worth it, let me know.

dal - did you mix the babyrice with EBM or formula or water? Just wondering what to do for Anna when we start weaning, I haven't expressed enough to last long and don't really want to start expressing just for milk to mix with babyrice.

Does anyone have any advice about this: Anna used to be awake almost all evening and feeding on/off from 6-10pm but then sleeping from then all night to 6 or 7am. Now she sleeps all evening from 7pm, which is great, but even though I give her a sleepy feed at 10.30pm she is waking once more in the night. Basically I am now knackered because I can't get to sleep until 11pm and then I am woken once more in the night at 3am or so before 6.30am when I have to get up for school run. So should I just drop the 10.30pm feed, go to bed early and then just feed her whenever she wakes up or is this going to make things difficult in future when I want her to go 7-7??????? Don't know what to do and I am knackered because ds1 and ds2 have been up a lot recently too.

hopey - thanks for the GRRRRR - DH goes back to work next week for 3 half days,not sure how he is going to cope but we shall see. How is your DH? glad Niamh is enjoying her food, good girl

hi canadianmum - mixed it with ebm. but for me it is no extra work as I express an extra ounce in the morning when i am expressing for the dreamfeed and use that. i have no idea having no other experience but figured adding another taste (ie formula) to weaning may not make it go so well.

Re. your sleeping dilemna - I wouldnt drop the 10.30 feed, unless you are feeding her when she wakes at night? If you arent feeding her, then IMO you should carry on with the 10.30 - but it depends on what works for you. Ryan always wakes at some point in the night and inevitably needs me to help settle him back to sleep (takes a few mins) - but I would rather that than start nighttime feeding again. At least that way - DH/ mum can takeover at nights giving me an uniterrupted nights sleep - but then I dont have other DC's!

Ok, I'm going to be brave and put my head above the parapet here. Promise not to hate me or shoot me down?

A few weeks ago Liam slipped into sleeping 12 hour stretches. I put him down any time from 7-10pm, depending how long his last feed takes. He is wanting to feed lots and lots in the evening - last night was 2 hours - and I feed him as much as he wants. It's almost like he knows he's storing up for the night. I don't do a dream feed (never had), I just put him down in his basket and that's it till morning. I think what helps is doing that mammoth feed. Last night it was nearly 10pm when he went to bed, and I was able to take ds1 to school before Liam got up. Dh got him up when I was out, and he was quite happy to wait until I got home at 9.45 for his first feed.

Something else that I think may help is that I can put him in his basket/pram awake at bedtime or for a nap. So he has learnt how to drift off by himself. Therefore if he wakes at night, he just dozes off again without calling out.

One final thing, he started sleeping through during a cold snap. Probably the temp in the house remained unchanged, but I put an extra layer on him, and I wonder if keeping him warmer is helping him sleep better. But do be mindful of overheating though. My bedroom is quite cool, there is always 2 windows open.

About mixing up rice/porridge etc. With my other 2 I remember using ebm for a short while (collected some in shells, rather than expressing). Once they were used to different tastes/textures (?2/3 wks) I started to use a small carton of cow & gate formula each day for mixing/cooking. Far easier ime.

Yeah I know.

kink - well done you! you need to write a book. i'll buy it. promise!

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't posted for ages, but I have been keeping up with everyone's news!

On the sleep thing, Paul recently had a nightmare few days of waking up every hour or so throughout the night (never hungry). After investigating possible causes, I've decided it was cold. He's now hotter than the recommendation - his room's about 20 degrees at night, and he wears a LS vest, sleepsuit and 2.5 tog sleeping bag. But I'm prepared to take the risk, given that he's now back to sleeping from 7pm until about 6.30am, with a dreamfeed at 10pm. My HV was saying that because people are so (understandably) concerned about SIDS these days, there are actually a lot of quite chilly babies around.

Re the dreamfeed, I'm unsure how/when to reduce or drop it. Paul takes anything from 3-6oz at the moment. He has a total of five feeds a day (including the dreamfeed). The thing that makes me consider dropping it is that he's never very enthusiastic about his breakfast - only ever takes 5oz max, and that with a bit of persuasion. But I'm worried that he wouldn't get enough milk in only 4 feeds a day, particularly as he's quite sicky. Anybody got any thoughts?? (NB he's 16 weeks and about 15 pounds, totally FF)

Kyala, do let us know how Lucy's getting on. It must have been SO scary for you .

Sophus, grrr, I would have been so cross with DH!

I had a bit of a pathetic moment today - I cried in front of the TV (I should add that I never do that!!). I've been watching re-runs of ER on DVD while I feed Paul, and today's was all about a woman who died of eclampsia, leaving dad and new baby to go home alone. Six months ago I would have just thought 'great episode', but now I couldn't watch it without shedding a tear! Funny how having a baby changes things...

Dal, Fio, these things have a habit of going arse about tit once you speak out. You'll see, I'll be up ALL night tonight. Yeah, I know, I deserve to be.

MrsB, Liam has a vest, sleepsuit, cardigan, sleeping bag (?tog) and a light weight quilt. The temp of room is quite cool, not sure exactly, I'll measure it tonight. We've got one of those movement sensors under his mattress, I'm not sure I'd be so happy wrapping him up so much if I didn't have that. Tbh, he is a cool little boy though, cold hands and feet etc, and needs wrapping up during the day too.

Hi all, trying to be glad for you all who have very lovely sleeping all night type of babies but am really with Fio on this one! Kinki, I do hate you very much

Canadianmum - Anna sounds very similar to Millie who used to cluster feed like a demon until 10-11pm then sleep through til 5 or 6, she now goes down between 7-8 and it is lovely to have my evenings back, but she now wakes at least once after I feed her about 11.30 before I go to bed - sometimes she wakes at 2, 4 and 6 if she is feeling very naughty! Sorry no advice just sympathetic, know how knackered you are vibes! I'm sure our girls will get there in the end - ironically I think the DTs were sleeping better at this stage but they were fully FF by now and I wasn't (whispering) getting on for 40 (feeling old icon)!

Kyala - how is Lucy now? So sorry you had such a scary horrible time.

Edie - how is your Millie's ear, hope she is better now - is she any better with taking a bottle btw - mine is slowly getting there but will only take so much before spitting out the EBm and demanding boob top-up!

Kelm - love the wideo of Arben in his bouncer and thank you - it reminded me that I have one in the shed and got it out for Millie - she is crackers for it!

kinki, amyclaramum and canmum thank you for sympathy and advice for evening times, glad to know I'm not the only one gagging to get at the wine come 7pm (if honest would prefer to start at 11am maybe). Kinki glad I am not the only one whose own personal hygiene comes low on the list - I put on a top this morning and looked at the shoulder doing a quick assessment of how much baby sick is too much not wear it - the answer is alot

Sophus - an also of your Dh going to Las Vegas on business - will he indulge in a spot of gambling perhaps? I love Las Vegas - have been a couple of times - kinki where did you stay? We stayed in the Tropicana (years ago) and more recently NewYork NewYork - would love to stay in the Bellagio though. I am the world's worst gambler - I sidle up to the roulette wheel thinking I am a flash female James Bond type and then lose all my cash immediately and look like a twat.

Mrs Mar - your holiday in StLucia sounds fab also. Lovely pictures.

Hi Hopey, dal, MrsF, MrsB, laksa, Chatty, Fio and hannahsaunt.

Re weaning, sounds like its going really well for those of you that have started - anyone thinking of holding on til 6 months and doing a mixture of mashed stuff that the rest of the family is having and baby led weaning - am keen to wait if i can because pureeing for the DTs just to have them spit it out broke my spirit!

Have a good one x

Hammer, was laughing at your personal hygiene comment. Only today (and yes I did manage to get a shower this morning) I was in the local shop when I caught the most awful BO smell, and for a very brief moment I thought it was me! In that split second I thought how bad have things got that missing a shower for one day makes me smell so bad. I was so so so so . Then a nanosecond latter I realised it was this poor woman in the shop. But at least, as per your observations, she wasn't covered in baby sick like me.

In Las Vegas we stayed in Circus Circus, mainly because we had ds1 with us (he was 3.10 at the time) and he loved it, all the clowns, the circus performances etc. We were there for a week, but decided not to go on the tables until the last night (for fear of bankruptcy!). Also its a bit tricky with a lo, they're not allowed (obviously) up at the tables. So on the last night we got him asleep in a buggy and finally had a gamble. We stayed up all night. We didn't win that much in the grand scheme of things - but a lot for us. We had to catch a plane first thing next morning, we got so carried away on the table we lost all track of time and very nearly missed our plane. The bellagio is gorgeous isn't it? I can't believe we managed to miss the fountains every night for a whole week. Best bits for me was the zoo (can't remember which hotel) and seeing Aerosmith and Kiss at the Grand (probably not recommended with a 3yo but we did it anyway!). Did you do a Grand Canyon trip?

Hi HHS, yes, I'm thinking of waiting until 6 months and doing baby led weaning. Remains to be seen whether we'll last that long, though - 23 March seems like an awfully long way off, especially as I'm really looking forward to starting the solids. I'm waiting to see whether BLW turns out to be one of those things that sounds great in theory but just doesn't work out in practice. Ever since the catalogue of disasters that was my attempt at breastfeeding, my expectations about these things have become quite a bit lower .

Kinki - we did go to the Grand Canyon - I had been before with a friend and wanted to go with DH - did a helicopter landing on the floor of the canyon with champagne breakfast then rafting down the river via Hoover Dam etc - was amazing - would love to take the DDs in years to come when I win the lottery!! So jealous that you saw Kiss and Aerosmith - what a rock chick Do Kiss still wear that mental, slightly scary make-up on stage and does Gene Simmons do the tongue thing (ooh-err missus)? We saw Cirque de Soleil "O" at the Bellagio which was incredible and spent ages on the fake Eiffel Tower watching the Bellagio fountains - was secretly hoping George Clooney might turn up and whisk me away Ocean's 11 styleeNo such luck

Mrs Bumblebee - know what you mean about baby led weaning - a friend of mine tried it and said her ds just wasn't interested in picking anything up and actually eating it - she did say that he got the hang of eating mush much quicker than her DD though who weaned at 4 months. Am going to try and wait too, but agree march sounds very far away.

Have spent far too long on the PC and Millie is still snoozing which means she will probably want to play all night now - and I have got the second series of Prison Break to watch on DVD - anyone else watch it - its so brilliant!

kinki, lol at you BO story...reminds me of the time I was attempting to seduce my dh and he asked me very nicely to take a shower first as I smelt like a curry house...I didn't realise it but the fenugreek supplements I'd been taking (to improve milk supply) had seeped through my pores

Mrsmar, your little boy is soo cute, I can't wait take Bella swimming but unfortunately we will have to settle for the local pool...just hope it isn't too cold for her, she likes a nice warm bath!

Mrsbumblebee, I am hoping to do babyledweaning mainly because I am very lazy and am hoping to forgo the blender but like you am not sure if it is just a wonderful idea in theory but hell in practice...am imagining food flying all over the place but into bella's mouth!

Hammer, I also have the same problem with Bella only taking about 20/40ml from a bottle and then refusing to take anymore and demanding the boob! I am going to a wedding next weekend and am leaving her with my mum so she is going to have to take the bottle then

oops, must dash, haven't started dinner yet.
Am making vietnamese hot and sour soup with rice noodles, yum yum!!

Hi everyone !

Canadianmum - no advice re Anna's sleeping habits as Eloise is doing the same and I'm feeling soooo tired ! Can your DH give her the 10pm as a bottle of EBM so you can go to sleep earlier ? Sleep deprivation is such a killer isn't it ?

Kinki - you are very lucky ! Enjoy it while it lasts - I was so complacent before Christmas telling everyone about my wonderful 3rd Dd who slept so well !!I am eating my words now !!

Re weaning - I haven't started yet (Eloise is 5 months on wednesday) but am seeing HV this week to check her weight and will ask her view . However I don't think I can wait until 6 months with the lack of sleep !

love to all xx

Hello my lovelies, so sorry to keep you all waiting for news, have had a rather mad weekend (DH working all weekend so not a moment to myself really).

Lucy's fine, she had some Piriten at the Hospital and was all better by Saturday morn (slept in our room for the first time! (I slept in the nursery after she was born))
I did take a picture with my phone, with the intention of putting it on my profile for everyone to laugh at, but it didn't come out properly (the lighting can't have been very good, and by morning she was all cleared up, she must've known my intentions lol).

But the past few days we've been struggling with the feeding, she has a MAHUSSIVE feed in the mornings (obv my breasts store up loads during the night) but by the evenings they're practically empty and so she's really angsty when it comes to bed time as she's obviously not full (The routine was almost exactly the same as Kinki's up until Wednesday/Thursday, hence trying the formula on Friday to boost my milk for the evening feed)
Am in a rather emotional state, knowing that I'm going to have to phone HV tomorrow and set up some allergy testing and having to struggle with evening feeds until we can get results and make an informed choice on how to boost her feeding

So, all's well but pants again!
Still, I've told DH that I'm going to try and book my nails for Friday and, whilst I'm in town, I'd like to get my hair cut too, and he's totally agreed so I've got something to look forward to!
With any luck we should have allergy results by then () and he can have the girls for the whole day without me having to worry about rushing back to feed Lucy (Finger's crossed everyone )

Sorry about the little rant.
Glad everyone else seems to be doing Ok with their LO's, can't believe some of them are rolling already and on solids too that's incredible!
Lucy's very into sitting in my arms watching TV (which I am obv keeping to a minimum of five minutes max per day! But DD1 has realised that Lucy likes it and tries to convince me that we should have "beebies" on just about all day I'm not that easily led!!)
She's not really doing a lot, I get lots of smiles and laughs out of her and she likes me holding her hands and rolling her round IYSWIM whilst she's lying down, and she loves her nest/playmat/gym thingy doofer, she also is totally intrigued by DD1 and will happily play "Boo" with her for ten hours given half a chance!!

Righty ho, as you can tell I'm up far too late (my fault entirely, decided to have a coffee but didn't realise it was after 7pm , and am totally wired) so I'm off to look up safe dieting and possibly spend some money on Ebay
Night all (hope no-one's actually up to read this in real time!)
xxx

Laska can I have the recipe for Vietnamese hot and sour soup please? That sounds lush!!

xxx

Hi everyone!

Mrs B - Re the dreamfeed, I can only share the BW and she who must not be named advice - they both say to start cutting down on dreamfeeds once weaning starts and only to cut it out completely once three solid meals have been established - so around the 8/9 month mark. Interesting also on the cold baby front, DS's nursery is always around the 21-22 mark and he sleeps in a LS vest with a 2.5 tog sleepbag - so am loathe to put more layers on him, but will defo keep an eye on it. Ryan has slept a lot better last 2 nights since i have introduced baby rice - whether it is down to that or down to the fact that jabs had him unsettled for a while - will have to wait and see.

Hello Hammer - well done on wanting to hold out til six months, I hope I dont live to regret early weaning in an effort to get a better nights sleep!

Laksa - LOL at your fenugreek story. If you arent used to certain foods, spices can wreak havoc - I have had many a friend of mine enjoy indian cooking only to be calling me the next day about the unfortunate side effects.

Kyala - what on earth were you doing up so late? Dare I fess up that I was in bed reading the sunday times by 7.30 and lights off by 8.15?? Glad to hear Lucy is better and fingers crossed on all the tests. Have a fab time on Friday!

Ahhh, Las Vegas, thems were the single, responsibility free days of my twenties. Absolutely loved Vegas...was there over Christmas a few days back. Would love to go back some day. Although I recall that my downfall were the machines at the bars, you carried on playing and drinks kept coming for free.

Hope everyone else ok - these boards have gotten very quiet!! I head to a perform class with Ryan for the first time later today - lets see how we get on. Also head back to work for a meeting with my boss this Friday - that'll feel odd I am sure. But am looking forward to it!

Have fab days all!

Heehee! I was wired on caffeine, unfortunately. I managed to get a bit of a lie in this morning though.
I've phoned the HV and she's sorting an appointment with the paediatrician/dietician and she's going to call me back later
Feeling much better now, and Lucy's had 2 really good feeds this morn (the second one was amazing she came off the booby and wasn't crying, very strange! She's usually very angsty even if she's full to the brim!)

Am now chillin' with the girlies watching This Morning, will be going for a nice walk after lunch, get some lovely fresh air and all that, the weather's lovely today!
Hope everyone's all good
xxx

Hi everyone. I'm feeling depressed. I had an appt at the chest clinic today. I'm still having infection after infection, currently on ab's (yet again). I think this all stems from me inhaling something last Jan, but the drs all along have been saying its due to a flare up of asthma. So I go in there and the dr is looking a bit serious. My chest xray still doesn't look brilliant, and she's had the results of a sputum test (sorry - yuk), which showed up 2 lots of bacteria. I bring up the inhaling incident again. I got quizzed about my family history and at the point when I mention that my mum and maternal grandmother both died of lung cancer at an early age, the doctor said she wanted me to stay in and have a bronchoscopy TODAY. I'm sure I've got something in my lung so I'm not worried about the cancer thing, but she threw me a bit wanting to do it so quickly. I figured I could get some friends to look after the boys, but she said I'd need someone to be with me tonight (because of the sedation) but dh went away yesterday for a few days. So she agreed to put it off til next tuesday instead. I won't be able to feed Liam for 24 hours after so at least now I have a chance to build up a supply in the freezer for him.

I'm really nervous about having it, not least of which because this is the test that finally diagnosed my mum. But I suppose I just need to keep reminding myself of my gut feeling that this is all because of a bit of plastic/cellophane in my lungs. I also keep thinking that my mum was dead 2 months and a day after her bronchoscope. I should stop thinking about this. There is NO parallel and I am going to be just fine. So sorry to offload. I don't think I can talk to anyone about this in rl.

On a good note though, the doctor and consultant were discussing my case in the next room, but I could hear them. One said to the other 'how old is she', the other replied, 'don't know exactly, she looks about 32'. Yes, yes, yes!!!!! I'm 39, but quite fance being 32 again. That made my day! Maybe I'm not so decrepid as I thought I was!

About weaning, I'm planning on waiting til at least 6 months, if not longer. Liam was born a month early and developmentally he's reaching his goals as per his due date, not his birthdate. So something inside me is saying I should treat him as if he is a month younger when it comes to weaning. Dh is keen to start - well his mum is, and she's convinced him we should start. But I don't think his ready. And anyway, being my last I want him to stay all newbornish forever.