November 2007 - Sleeping babies, teething and dribble! Our babies are getting big!

[RGPargy]

New thread here ladies.

Hi all, Callum is 9 months now!!! and doing very well. He is crawling and can make a get away into the hallway now.. stairgates will be put back up soon. he is trying to grab onto things to pull himself up but hasn;t mastered it yet. He can say 'mama, dada and nan-a (for banana)'
He isn't Bf as much anymore, about 4 times a day and he is barely having the topup bottle of formula anymore. He is very funny and makes me laugh so much, he is such a giggler..

My period made its first appearance since falling pregnant, I wasn't expecting it and OMG it hurt!!

Off to read whats been happening with everyone else now

I'm amazed at all this food your babies are eating. William is proving really hard work to wean. he likes the idea of food and is always trying to take it from our plates but just won't eat. The only things he's really eaten are pureed courgette and lovely lentils. He hates being fed so I have to fool him into opening his mouth and getting some in, he then swallows that quite happily. Nor will he really feed himself, unless it's bread, but then he just just chokes on it and turn bright red! I'm hoping that at some point he will decide food is actually great and stop relying on breastmilk so much, as the night feeds are really doing me in now. It's so annoying as DD weaned so easily. He's also refusing his bottle again, he had just 2oz while I was at work today.

sparkly - Callum sounds like a real bright spark! Our friends' baby, whose birthday is 21st September too, is also very mobile. She can stand up!! She makes William look a right lazy bones!

iris - all those allergies must be a worry. I remember panicking when DD developed a flare after eating lots of strawberries when we were weaning her. It must be so difficult. What's it like eating out?

Right, off to bed, work again tomorrow, but the holidays are just 4 weeks away now!!

jetgirl - have you thought about BLW? If DS doesn't like being fed, then this might be the answer you are looking for!

Strange thing is that Callum is still small, in aged 3-6 months clothes and looks a lot younger than 9 months, so it looks 'wrong' that he is able to do these things. he can now clamber over Dh when he is laying on the floor, and he loves standing up. He can sit but he likes to crawl about.

I find it amazing how different all our babes are. Adam is now in 9 -12 months clothing! But won't be crawling for a while I think because he hates being on his tummy and just lies there doing the breast stroke and shouting at me.

Jet - Adam hasn't really got the hang of eating yet either - LOL just as I typed that I tried to take a sip of tea, missed my mouth and chucked it down my top so we can see where he gets it from!! I am hoping he is going to have a eureka moment soon. He loves trying different things tho. We did have our first proper gag the other day on a piece of cheese - I felt awful! Night feeds also doing my head in and seem to be getting worse.

Another tooth came through on Sunday night and he had a temperature and was very upset with himself - worst night we have had apart from vaccinations.

Lovely sunny day here, off to my breast-feeding group, speak later x

AGGHH!! Bugger!! MIL now cant look after Ellie while i am at work and i need to find a day care provider! Noooooooo!!!! Any pointers on what to look for would be great, thanx!

Nightmare RG! The only advice I have is to look at a few, I nearly went with the first childminder we came across but she backed out (pregnant!) and when we were looking a second time I trawled round quite a few childminders and nurseries until I was sure. I felt more confident the more providers I saw, you definately get a feel for things as soon as you walk through the door. When we go to sign the contract next week I am going to ask stuff like how will she put Adam down for a nap and how will she manage the BLW etc. I didn't think to ask about stuff like that before. Good luck!

Oh Rg - What a complete pita. If you check your local gov website they will have list of childminders and things to look out for.

CMs should give the numbers of parents of kids they look after so you can call them. I would say go with your instinct. I chose our childminder because when she went to get one of the little ones up from her nap the girl immediately put her arms out to picked up and gave her a huge cuddle; you don't get that kind respose if a baby is uncomfortable with you.
I felt happiest with a childminder because he'll be looked after by the same person. Also I was happy that someone who has three kids of their own will be looking after mine. It's all down to personal pref.

We had a fab holiday although it was bloody wet. Dh and I got to go out for dinner and go for abike ride which was great. We went with DHs folks and it was lovely for them to spend some time with T. They feel happier looking after him know so Dh and I may even have weekend away soon.

Getting ready to go was a bit of a faff though. It took us four hours to pack. We got three miles down the road and T projectile vomitted all over himself, his blanket the carseat - everywhere. So we had to stop and mop up. They really choose their time don;t they.

Jet - Sorry you are having such a tough time with weaning. Those night feeds must be exhausting.

Must go - his lordship calls X

RG - we give him the bowl to play with, rusks, bread etc, and he loves the flavour of food, but just doesn't seem to like the process of putting it in his mouth. I suppose we're doing a mixture of BLW and purees. Today at nursery he refused both his bottles and all food, and basically had nothing for nearly 12 hours! It's beginning to get me down, because I know he'll now need to feed at night, probably twice as he'll be so hungry so I'll have another crap night's sleep before having to go to work tomorrow.
re. daycare, do you have children's information services in your area? They have info on all childcare providers so you can research all the possibilities. Am with LOM when she says visit places and see how the children are with the carers. One of the first things we noticed about our nursery was how well the children reacted with the carers and vice versa. Our keyworkers really know our kids and their little foibles. Good luck!

Greedy - Adam sounds a lot like William (thank goodness Will's not the only one!) - what with the food, night feeds and extreme grumpiness when his tooth comes through!

LOM - glad you had a nice holiday. What timing T has! Packing takes ages with little ones doesn't it?

We went to see the wiggles yesterday - they were awesome!! DD was a little freaked out at first as it was quite noisy, but she soon came around and was singing along. William loved it too, then got hungry so I had to feed him in one of those theatre seats - not very comfy, but I didn't want to miss any of the show! We will definitely go and see them again! It's sports day tomorrow, but i shall be staying in school with the kids who don't want to take part. I volunteered for it - last time the school staff were rewarded with cakes from senior management! And I'll be able to get some planning done for next year too.

Hi everyone

I think i've decided that i would prefer DD to go to a childminder. I went to see a nursery today and, well, i just didn't like it! I just dont see how one carer can be as loving to my child when she has another 4 babies to look after too!! Certain things made the "over-protective mummy" alarm bells ring too so i think that was another thing that put me off.

i'm going to meet a childminder on Monday afternoon who seems quite nice. She's had 17 years experience of minding and also used to foster too, and even went as far as adopting a little girl that she fostered, so she seems to be really caring. Plus she has experience of sign language too, which will be incredibly handy for when i take DD to Baby Sign as she'll be able to carry it on with her. That's if i choose this lady, anyway!

LOM - glad you had a fab holiday. Hope T hasn't projectiled since!!

Sarah - hope AJ is happy with his new minder.

Jet - you seem to have is sorted for William's eating then! We do have the children's information thing in this area and i've checked out a few nurseries on there and got a list of childminders from our council too. It's good because the website for the childminders is very informative as the minders get a chance to write a little bit about themselves and their experiences, which saves alot of legwork i think!

rg - the nursery sounds like it's breaking certain rules - with babies it should be a ratio of 2 babies to 1 carer. What were the other things? (I'm intrigued now!) I certainly wouldn't be happy with that one having the privilege of spending the day with my children!! The cm you've found sounds wonderful . The CIS does take away a lot of hard work, I found it really useful.

Well, as predicted William has just woken up, DH is going to see if he can settle him, but I suspect he'll want some more milk...

Hmmm not sure about their ratios. when i first went into the baby room there were two ladies in the baby section and about four babies so i guess it was about right. However, when i left Ellie in there while we talked shop and had a show round, there was just the one woman to five babies! I think she then asked for help when one or two of them got whingy but it didn't instill me with confidence.

Another thing i wasn't happy about was when i asked "how do you hear the babies if they wake up from their nap?" (they are in a different room) and she said "oh dont worry, we hear them. They're like an alarm clock so if one starts they all start." I wasn't very happy about that because i really dont want Ellie left to the point where she's crying (she tends to just moan, and really isn't a cryer and hardly EVER has real tears!) as i know she'd then be REALLY upset!!

Plus it all seemed very matronly there and i didn't really see alot of love going on, although they were no doubt clean, dry and well fed, if that makes sense??

That makes sense. I'm that the babies sleep in another room. At William's nursery the cots are in the same room, just a separate area. The staff at ours seem to have a lot of affection for the kids, and vice versa. It's got a low staff turnover too, so you know that there is consistency of care, which is what you definitely get at a childminders.

Where is everybody? I guess life is getting busy with our babies now. William is rolling over, but I haven't seen it as I've been at work The downside of being a working mum, and putting in extra hours this week. William ate really well at nursery yesterday and had a good night too.

Hope you're all having a good weekend

Jet - Glad you had a good night

I'm going back to school for the last three days of term. My mum is coming to stay and look after T as I don;t think I'll be able to organise myself to get to work and him to the CM straight away. I'm also putting off leaving him; although I know he'll be fine I sometimes feel like bricking up the windows and keeping him in till he's at least 30! Now I'm a mum it feels like danger lurks round every corner.

RG - I think you are right to go with your instinct. I remeber looking round one nursery- I came out and burst in to tears. It was awful.

Anyone else excited about Dr Who ??

Jet - it's not as bad as it sounds because the room is off the babies room and has about 6 cots in it. I'm still surprised that they dont even have a baby monitor tho. If that were my nursery, i'd have one of the baby minders wear the monitor on rotation, y'know?

LOM - re the bursting into tears thing, i actually did do that while i was looking on the net for some. I just burst into tears and said (to nobody as i was all alone) "i dont want to look for bloody child care!!!". I'm feeling much better about it now that i have decided to go with a minder. Hopefully the lady i'm going to see on monday will be nice, but i'm gonna line up another couple too.

Sorry, Dr Who just doesn't float my boat!!

Jet - glad William eating more at nursery. Adam showed me up at a friends the other day by not eating a thing whilst her baby wolfed down 2 courses but when we got home he ate some roast potatoes, swede and half a pear! So I think sometimes when they are distracted or in a different environment they might not eat. Don't think Adam is any danger of starving tho, the little pud!

RG & LOM - totally know what you mean re childcare and all the emotions it stirs up. I went to see one childminder and practically legged it out of there, she gave me the chills! LOM lol re the brick wall, me and DH have discussed patenting a giant cotton wool suit for darling LOs. Someone asked me if were going to have another baby so Adam could "have some company" and I said "but he has us!". I meant it.

Dr Who?

Hello there everyone,

After 6 months of being away I'm back.

All is well and I am enjoying motherhood more and more each week. It's harder now that Isabells is crawling and trying to cruise on the furniture but also more fun to see her developing.

She's been going to nursery for 4 days a week for the past month and Loves it. She smiles the minute we arrive and is still having a great time when I pick her up in the afternoon. Her happiness really helps with any guilt I have. Though on the first day I cried in my car and wanted to go back in, snatch her and just keep her under my desk all day! It also helps that the nursery is a 5 minute drive from work and I know I can stop in anytime.

Regarding emotions- I've found that since I've had Isabella, I choke up and get tearful over any and everything and was Never like that before. It's slightly embarassing.

You've probably discussed all of this already but.....has anyone found/felt that their DD doesn't really bond with baby the same way that you do? Is that just normal and how it is? My husband adores her, changes the odd nappy, does feeds but has never spent a full hour playing on the floor. If he's looking after her he wants to Do something and go somewhere and not just sit and Be with her. Am I being unfair?

I have posted some pictures and have been looking at yours- what gorgeous children.

It's nice to be back.

Hi Cape!!

Welcome back!! Firstly, what lovely pictures of DD and all that wonderful dark curly hair!! She's adorable!

I think men can get a bit bored of playing with babies because they cant really talk back etc, if you know what i mean. i'm sure when DD is older DH will enjoy playing with her for longer.

Thankfully it looks like my nursery/childcare situation has resolved itself. MIL is now fully on the mend and is more than willing to have Ellie when i go back to work. i'm still going to meet with the childminder tomorrow afternoon so that i can at least have her as back up, should MIL not feel up to it etc. It's a huge relief, i can tell you.

Hope you've all had good weekends!

hi all! been a bit up the wall trying to decorate the new house, hoping to get it done before we move in, in 2weeks time. really hard though with looking after raimee so gonna see if my sister can have her for a few hours so i can get some painting done.

have only managed to read a lil bit - rg- im made up your childcare situation looks like it will be ok! good idea to have a back up as well though. im going to see our local nursery this week, so i hope its lovely. ive also had a recommendation for another one not far away too.

is anyone elses babies not taking to the beaker cup? im trying to offer it to raimee every day but if i try and give her a feed in it she just screams as if im trying to poison her! though she will take a sip or two from it while shes eating, just not at her main milk feed times. i did read that babies are more likely to accept it between 9-12 months, so maybe itll be easier then?

hope your all well! i am really neglecting MN at the mo so will hopefully be back upto form soon!
xx

Hi Sam!

Hope you manage to get some time to yourself. moving is a nightmare isn't it!

I've tried DD on a beaker cup but only at meal times at the moment. I just use it for water tho and at the moment she's still having the bottle for her milk in between food.

Hi I'm having parents evening but as I don't have my own class I have to supervise the ICT room and the children who habg in here while their parents are meeting with teachers.
I have been asked to work 4 days a week from september which I'm going to do but planning on TTC in a few months so hopefully not for too long.
I have been worried about the nursery/ childminders dilemma as well. I have used nursery for 4 weeks now and really am happy with them. A childminder I know has now offered to take Anabel in september but I don't know whether to move her from nursery or not?? I'll meet with the child minder and then decide.
2 more weeks and then its holidays I can't wait!!!!!!

rg - what a relief! I think it's totally natural to be more comfortable with someone you know looking after your children. Having said that, we know some of the nursery staff so well now, we have them lined up as babysitters too!

Hi cape - it really helps with the guilt when they're happy, doesn't it? DD didn't want to leave nursery today when we picked her up! Almost made me feel worse! Men are different with babies - my DH probably plays more with DD who's nearly 3, but that's probably because I bf William, so it's natural for DH to entertain DD. But he clearly adores William and will talk to him for a bit, but is quite content just to sit with him on his lap and do nothing!

febes - I'm looking forward to the break too, even part time I'm still exhausted. I don't know how full-timers do it! I have my timetable for next year and I'm working Mondays and Thursdays which is perfect.

sam - I have some decorating planned for the holidays, though I'll do it on the days the kids are at nursery. DD and emulsion won't be a great combination I think! Good luck at the nursery, hope it's a nice one.

At last William is eating - hooray! I rather overcooked the veg on Sunday, so gave him some cauliflower florets which he ate alongside his annabel karmel courgette gratin! He also let me give him a bottle of ebm which needed using (I can't bear to waste my efforts!), and he never lets me give him a bottle! A breakthrough at last!

Hey everyone!

RG - glad you are sorted with childcare. I am going to see my CM in a mo to get the contract signed and have lots of questions for her and going to take her some info on BLW in case she thinks I am a mad hippy. How is the BLW going? Adam is a bit constipated at the mo, think he has had too many bananas!

Cape - hello! Gorgeous DD. Glad she likes her nursery, it must be awful if they don't settle. Ikwym re the emotions, mostly I feel fiercely protective of Adam and find anything do to with children being hurt or upset v.upsetting. Also kwym re DHs, my DH rarely played with him to begin with but is slowly getting better as he is realising that engaging Adam is the only way to keep him happy! It is frustrating but I am hoping DH will come into his own when Adam is older and wants to go and kick a ball around the garden.

Jet - glad William is eating, Adam is getting better but still loves the boob!

Whoops, must go and get ready. Adam is asleep bless, his daytime naps are all over the place at the mo sometimes just 20 mins other times 2 hours. I am really trying to get him into some kind of routine so he is getting the sleep he needs but he is having none of it!

Hi all!

Missed you! How is everyone?

Lots of food conversations I see. R is a good eater generally but when she wont eat I just give her toast!!!! She always eats toast. I've been experimenting with things other than Philly or butter to spread on top of it. She also likes those lentils Jetgirl. And she is good at drinking water from a cup and even EBM too, though not huge amounts lof EBM (she does drink a lot of water).

Well we moved 2 weeks ago and then I had a one off big work event so we all went away and it was fine but exhausting! The house is clearly still a mess as you can imagine, but it's getting there. Sleep is a disaster. Oddly the first night we moved we stayed at my parents and R slept in her travel cot next to my bed and she slept really well!!! only woke up once between 7.30 and 1. She wasnt so bad when we were away either. Since then though it's been downhill again - back to every 45 mins and it's awful having her across the hall as it requires much more effort to keep jumping out of bed. My annoying SIL keeps on about how we've created this problem and we should shut the door and leave her to cry (she thinks she's an expert as she has 2 toddlers) and that irritates me even more.

I know what you all mean about wrapping the babies up and getting emotional. And yet they're growing so fast! R is now 8 months more or less. Where did time go?

Anyone going away over the summer?

Febes, when is your move?