Oct 2007; This Little Piggy Rolled & Crawled to Market, This Little Piggy Walked Home

[FloriaTosca]

I hope I manage to do this right...I'll kick everything off with a roll call if it does.

inzi - so sorry its not getting easier. maybe she will settle herself back into her cot when she is ready or over whatever is scaring her. You're doing all you can.

Re BLW.. the reason i ask is that, Muppet just like you i was mixing the two methods, but have found that Eren is refusing lumps in his mashed food so have to resort to pureeing all over again. its like i'm going backwards. I was wondering if maybe he prefers to feed himself, but he just doesn't eat much that way, he just plays with it, eats a bot but not enough to give any nutrition. he just mushes it in his hands and plays...
I wanted some ideas on BLW...
I give him organix rice cakes, but found that he eats half of it well, but the remaining half he manages to stuff entirely into his mouth and then chokes, consequently gagging and bringing up the entire days menu!! I'm fed up of cleaning up puke and smelling like puke.

What do you think is the best thing to do...??
Or what can i give a 'lump sensitive' baby????!!

Feeding time used to be so much fun when he opened his mouth for practically anything!

Just go back to the purees for a week or so and start with the texture again after that. Ds1 Sam wouldn't eat lumpy food till he was one, I was beside myself at the time but in hindsight he eats normal food now so what was the problem!

Choc - glad you're back! Good news about R's sleep patterns - at least they're getting better even if it is slowly. Nice that your hv is more supportive too.

Stefka - hello! We've missed you too. Glad you'll be getting some practical help & support.

Inzi - with you on the bad weather thing and the cot aversion. Oh my word we've had a really bad couple of nights. Anya's been so clingy - can't put her down at all, she cries/screams every time she's in her cot. Either that or she does head stands until she wears herself out and then cries about it. (Head stand btw involve standing with feet flat, head down, forehead on the floor, and arms in the air - you should have seen the look on the physio's face last week when we described that one!) Anyway, Sunday night she had me up every hour until 3am when she decided to try projectile vomiting for the first time ever (most of it over me). She was really hot too - like a radiator - so must have had a temp. Gave her some calpol and co-slept for the rest of the night. Same last night (minus the vomit) - had her in bed with us all night. During the day she's very fretful and if dh is around she insists on being cuddled by him. This afternoon's been better so far. Am wondering if teeth are about to break. Can only suggest waiting it out Inzi, hopefully Jane will be better when the weather breaks or when she's got her teeth. I would do whatever she's happiest with - I'm not forcing the cot on Anya, just trying every so often but taking her out if she cries - I certainly couldn't bear to leave her to cry it out, but I'm soft like that. And Anya loves whole peas and great chunks of anything else - surely digestion isn't dependent on the size of something?? Anya had chunks of lamb, potato and peppers on Sunday and at 3am she hadn't digested everything (sorry, tmi!) but the stuff she can't digest properly like pepper skins just comes out the other end eventually (really tmi!!) - doesn't do any harm at all.

FT - hope your colds get better soon and that you can get some sleep.

Mine - yes sort of doing blw - do use spoon for some things (yoghurt, pasta) but mostly just put stuff on her tray and she eats what she wants. She's still on about 20oz of milk too, though that's dropped a lot the last few days in the heat.

Muppet - well done Ollie. And quite rightly proud mum!

Hi all

The local BBC news reported from the inquest of my friends death last year

here

It was found that she died from severe depression and neglect I am still very upset by her death and not a day goes by when I don't think -why?
Love to all
xx

Muppet - thats so so terrible, i'm not surprised you think about it a lot, I just hope it gets easier with time. What a waste

Hello everyone
Just a quick post to say hello, and to sympathise with everyone over the restless non-sleeping baby thing. DS keeps waking about 2am, and won't go back to sleep in his cot - but if we bring him into bed and he sleeps between me and DH, he sleeps soundly and therefore so do we! so we let him cos at least then we all get a nights sleep. so far he hasn't fallen out - the only people in danger of that are me & dh as we teeter on the edges of the bed - ds is a bedhog!
i think its cos of the hot weather and teething. he's been running a temp today and is super clingy -he slept on me all afternoon and is asleep on me now - which he hasn't done since he was a tiny baby.
re: blw - ds does eat whole peas (doesn't really like them tho) and raisins with no probs - they do come out whole the other end tho. he does sometimes mash all his food in his hands, but thats ok - its about trying textures etc. having said that he loves his food and polished off a homemade salmon fishcake, chips and salad for his tea, plus the remains of my corn on the cob which he was so excited about....

well it looks like i've been a bit of a coward when it comes to weaning.. i've relied on spoon feeding Eren to make sure he eats and have not trusted him as much on feeding himself....

So today i have tried him on squished peas and sweetcorn which he loved and didn;t gag/choke once!

Hi Dal, yes it's awful. She was so desperate and they did literally nothing to help her. I asked her what treatment she was having she said all they?d asked her to do was Art therapy. No counselling, no psychiatry -nothing. This is definitely why I get a bee in my bonnet when anyone is down. I hope they do sue the health care providers and I hope they do get adequate compensation. Nothing can bring Sarah back but they deserve recompense...
She left behind 2 wonderful boys who were 3 and 7 at the time.

Muppet - I hope they get compensation and most inportantly I hope the people responsible learn a very tough lesson and never let something so terrible happen again.

OH Muppet! (((hugs))) what a tragedy for all involved... I'm so sorry for you and all the family and friends....those poor little boys.

Inzi; Glad you seem to have broken her aversion to her cot and hope she gives you a better night tonight.

Mine; Great that he enjoyed his peas and sweetcorn.

We have had a pretty dreadful day, Alex is sneezing and coughing himself awake from every nap which has put his routine out and so he is falling asleep when he should be eating and vica versa..he looks utterly exhausted...his appetite had dropped to almost nothing..and his chest sounds dreadful..and instead of his usual 8pm bed time he has sleep resisted until 10pm...if we have another bad night and his chest sounds as bad tomorrow I'm taking him to the doctors.

Floria - hope Alex feels better soon, poor little mite.
Inzi - glad the cot situation is improving
Mine - don't worry, i've been a coward too although am forcing myself to get better, The diatician said my goal is to get him from puree to proper food by 12 months so I try to keep that in my head and try him with new things/lumpy things/finger foods at least once a day
Hey Strwaberry - wow, what a freat little eater your ds is
WWAJC - lol at anyas 'headstands'
Stefka - great to see you back, stay around this time!
Choc - hope the sleep keeps on improving!
Alice - hope meeting your little nephew was magical
Well, not much going on here today, walked in to town, nice sunny day .
Going to get Dylan weighed tomorrow, hope the new milk has made a difference, he does feel heavier but doesn't look that much bigger to me, i'm not very good as guesing it though so will just have to see. Sil is coming with me for moral support and to get Dylans 20 month old cousin weighed at the same time.
Dh and I have been dicussing the next lo again, I have said I'm not quite ready and want to stick to my lose weight/do house plan. Only problem is, My initial plan was a 2y 3mo - 2y 6 mo ish age gap but I have been reading some threads on age gaps and aren't so sure any more. Would this mean Dylan would be in the middle of 'terrible twos' when the next one is born??? I have been thinking maybe a 2yr gap might be better but not sure I want them to both have their birthday in the same month. I would do 20mo but not sure I could cope?!
I seem to remember alice, you have a reasonably small age gap... what factors made you make that decision? looking back was it a good age gap? Just trying to decide what is best
Have to go to bed now, night ladies x

Dal - there is 2 yrs 4 months between my two and I haven't found it a problem at all, Sam hasn't really suffered from the terrible twos's so it may have been a different story if he had I am glad of the age gap, if I hadn't have miscarried my second there would have only been 22 months between them in hindsight I am secretly glad of having the extra 6 months gap I don't think there is ever an ideal gap, just go for it when you feel ready

muppet - so sorry about your friend, I remember when you first told us about it.

LLL - thats good to know, makes me feel better if we do wait for the 2y 3mo+ gap, I know i'm probably VERY silly to say this but Dylan is an exeptionally good tempered baby (not just my biased oppinion, everyone comments on it) so i'm not expecting him to be too ad with the terrible two's but who knows?! . Was it just the case that he just carried on as he was and bypassed the terrible two stage or do yoy think it was to do with your parenting in some way? just wondering

Dal - I think it was a bit of both tbh. We had a very short spell of him playing up, but three goes on the naughty spot soon cured him of that I haven't used the naughty spot in nearly a year, he is exceptionally good at doing what he is told, very rarely have to tell him twice

Hi all, thanks for the support re Sarah. I am going to pop over to the house and give her hubbie a card and a bunch of her favourite flowers (tulips) that she used to put in the window and buy all of us when we were down.

Today is another day and is sunny but not too hot so that's a positive x

We are up the gym and Ollie is doing his holiday football course and after lunch here we'll go swimming. He was so proud of his swimming certificate I scanned it and pinned it on the wall and he keeps looking at it. [bursting with pride emoticon]

Inzi -glad you had a better day, sounds like you are doing the right thing in hovering around when Jane goes to bed and letting her decide when she wants to lie down. Hoping today will be another good day for you x

Floria - How's Alex today?

Dal -re the age gap we would have had a 3.3 year gap had I not miscarried but we ended up with a 3.8 month gap instead which has turned out fine. We didn't have the terrible twos either but we have had the 'ask-lots-of-questions-till-mummy's-head bleeds' threes and fours. My brother and SIL had a 22 month gap and SIL would phoned saying how manic it was but now she's really enjoying them and they do play very well together. Oliver has never been jealous of Henry and absolutely adores him so you can't really predict how they'll be together . I would say if you would like another lo and you feel the time is right then go for it!

WWAJC - loving the description of the headstands! Sorry to hear of the projectile vomiting, not nice!

Dh and I had a bit of a barny last night (I wasn't in the best of moods as you can imagine) he actually thought he was going to set the alarm for 5.45am and go for a run, then go to work, then come home and go out and play tennis!!!!!! He knows I don;t go back to sleep when I wake as I'm very much amorning person do my day would start at 5.45am. I said absolutely no way and if he did he would have to sleep in another room. We actully went to sleep hurumphing at each other which looking back was hilarious! All's well this morning and he apologised (there was no way I was going to!) It's funny as we don;t argue that much at all so we're not very good at it...

J20 -How's that young man of yours??

Love to all
x

Muppet I am so sorry about your friend. It makes me so angry that this country doesn't do enough to help people with mental health issues. They always wait until it is too late.

Glad you had a better night Inzi - long may it continue!

Hey Dalry my DH has been saying things about another. I am not sure what gap is best either. I don't feel ready yet within myself though so I don't want to do anything just yet.

Hope Alex feels better this morning Floria.

Mine - I am always surprised with what Dareh can cope with food wise. He loves to eat himself and really doesn't like to be spoon fed unless it is something sweet!

What I am struggling with right now is how active he is. He isn't crawling yet but is very fast at getting around and is into everything. Also I can't change his nappy because he won't stay still!

HI All

Inzi; So glad that you had a better night.Whatever it was that scared her, it looks like you have approached her fears in the right way and are well on the way to dispelling them..well done! Don't let anyone make you think you are a bad mother again.. you are brilliant!

WWAJC; I do hope Anya is better now....we had the projectile stuff once, way back near the beginning, and it's not just yuk it is scary...I hope she is quickly back to her normal sunny smiling self and practicing her acrobatics

Muppet; I'd have had a barney with him too! Lol at your description of hurumping at each other...know exactly where you are coming from, Dh and I dont row very well either...good that he appologised, has he ever had a whole day on his own with the boys? My dh found it an eye opener when my back went and he had 2 whole days of working from home, cleaning the house, doing the shopping and cooking, walking the dog and changing, feeding and lifting Alex (he didnt have to do the watching/entertaining/interacting bit because I was able to do that on the floor) and he has been most appreciative of my efforts and understanding of my failings every since

Our news is that Alex slept better last night than he has done in the last 3 months!!!!! Yahoo!!!! Ok I will admit that I was very worried for the first hour, his breathing was atrocious despite medised and snot sucker and the aircon/humidifier running with teatree oil in the water, but he sounded better after an hour and slept until 3.30, bf and for the first time overnight in over 6 months needed a nappy change(teething?)but went straight back down and didnt stir until 6 am, had a brief bf and went back down again, he didnt wake until 8am! I haven't ever had a lie in like that! (without Dh taking him out)since 3 weeks before he was born. His chest is still bad but noticibly looser, less "croupy" and he only had a really bad coughing do after we had a steamy bath (which cleared his sinuses amazingly)...I think he must be over the worst of it now so haven't phoned the doctors....What is amazing is how much better I feel...I hadn't realised how much sleep deprivation had numbed me..this morning I feel capable of coping, I feel wonderfully deeply in love with my little boy and deeply sympathetic of his ailments..yesterday it was all too tiring, frustrating and though I knew I loved him I wasnt anywhere near as positively "there" for him as I am today...I sooooo hope that he starts sleeping like this more regularly...I'm a much better person for it, which must be good for him too.

Floria - So so glad you had a good night, bet it did you the world of good, may it long continue
Off to get Dylan weighed now, wish me luck!

Hello lovely ladies! Having a lovely time with my sis and her little boy! Will do my best to catch up but fear you are all rather chatty... Here goes!

Inzi sorry to hear you've been struggling with Jane. Our boys are both very intolerant of the hot weather too but thankfully Adam's room is pretty cool and Sam is fine as long as he sleeps on top of his duvet! Good to hear that things are showing signs of improving though... And you're certainly not mad to feed her whole peas / carrots etc. They need to be supervised becasue of the choking risk but then it's hardly as if you put a plate of veg in front of her and then go 'see you later honey - please wash up when you're finished' is it?!! She will be fine with this.

Floria glad to hear that Alex is on the mend. It's tough when they're poorly and even more so to try and find the emotional resources needed when shattered. Thinking of you...

Muppet at your thoughtless mil once again! I guess you are probably learning to never expect anything more but it must be frustrating especially for your dh. I'm not surprised you still mourn your friend's death and struggle to come to terms with it especially given the lack of help and support given to her which might well have made all the difference. Nothing that I can say will make it easier but I'm thinking of you. And her poor poor family - how you get over that I hope I never know...

Mine I am doing a bit of blw and a bit of purees. Or rather I was - Adam now virtually eats what we do although cut / mushed into smaller bits. He is great with lumpy things in a way Sam never was - he used to just retch on anything that wasn't smooth or finger food! I wouldn't worry too much if he doesn't like the lumps. Sam got there eventually - I just tried lumpy things every now and again until he got the hang of it. Certainly didn't hold his speech back as he was better than a lot of his mates for quite a while there (slow developer on walking / crawling instead). When he started getting the hang of lumps he was best with lumps he could see like baked beans and bits of pasta I guess so he knew what was coming rather than just mush which I guess he thought was going to be smooth and then he got a shock! Good luck...

Dal good luck with Dylan's weigh in! Yes my boys are 20 months apart. It has been bloody hard at times but already for the last few months we're really seeing the benefit. They play together and interact loads. We have (touch wood!!!) so far been pretty lucky with Sam and he is very kind and affectionate with his little brother and it's an absolute joy to see them both together. For us I think the age gap will be perfect. Dh was 3 years younger than his brother and although they are close now they never had much in common growing up and he too is really glad we've done it this way. I don't think there is a right answer though - I think there are pros and cons to every age gap and probably you need to see if YOU are ready and take it from there. Sam too isn't too bad with the terrible 2's - I think that it's because he has always been really good at communicating so he hasn't had to get frustrated because we don't know what he wants. No idea if that's anything we've done (from when he was really tiny we've always talked lots to him and explained what we're doing) or luck but I'm very happy about it!!!

Hello everyone else - Stefka, WTP, LLL, Choc, WWAJC, J2O, Crochet and anyone else I haven't mentioned personally. Sorry too if I've missed anything else important as only really time to skim read. Off now to sit and chill for a bit while all boys sleeping!

Dal meant to add that another benefit of having them close that I've heard is that there is less jealousy as the older one can't remember a time when they were the only one. We've certainly found this to be the case but don't know if that is because of Sam's personality or because of this... Flip side I guess is that having an older one means they will probably be better at communicating, might be more physically able and less tiring to look after and might be toilet trained... Just need to weigh up what things are more important to you I guess and most of all how YOU feel about the idea of another one! It is I'm sure a massive upheaval having a second whatever the gap so make sure that emotionally you're ready...

Inzi / Mine ? the best site I have found that deals with blw is here ? there?s also this ? basically your mum is talking b0ll0cks! Children don?t start to completely digest their food for years ? even adults don?t completely digest theirs (think to when you?ve been able to see the sweetcorn in your own poo, for instance )

Mairwen helps herself to raisins, peas, grapes (chopped in half), melon (chopped into big chunks), strawberries ?

Don?t forget, our babies are still babies ? the reason that early weaning onto solids came into ?fashion? was to supplement the early formula milks as they weren?t very nutritious. Now the fm is much better in terms of nutrition, so babies don?t need to be weaned early ? and the WHO calls the feeding of solids ?complementary feeding? until babies are 2! Babies will eat more if the food is mushed up, as all the nutritional structure is mushed too ? just think, what do you find more satisfying ? eating a banana, followed by an apple, followed by ½ lb strawberries ? or having the same thing as a smoothie?

Sorry, can?t help on the cot thing ? I had a hell of a time with it with Rhydian, but can only reassure you that it will pass. The one thing I would say is that if you?re upset, then she will pick up on it, and become more upset.
Try dropping your bedtime routine for a couple of days, then go back to it gently.

Oh, and as for co-sleeping, why don?t you invest in one of these ? I?ve used mine for months, well since M was born ? means I can relax knowing she?s not going to fall out of bed!

Mairwen always has her daytime naps in the buggy, but at night, she sleeps fine in her cot ?

Hi Choc ? lovely to see you back!

LLL ? hiya

Stefka & Dal ? the gap between my 2 is 5 years, and it?s great! It would have been 4 years if I hadn?t had the MCs, which wouldn?t have been quite so easy, but this gap has been wonderful ? however, given the style in which I do pg, you can probably understand why I went for bigger gaps!

Muppetgirl ? you go ahead and be proud mummy! I?m so sorry that the system let your friend and you down ? thinking of you!

FT ? hope Alex is better soon! Sounds as though he?s going in the right direction though!

Alice ? hope you?re enjoying your nephew time!

Well, news from me is that my sister is driving me up the wall ? she is playing the victim, and is basically denying that the amount she is drinking had an effect on the situation last Friday. She has told one of her friends what happened, but didn?t tell them that it had been a dream! She is also making me and mum out to be cold-hearted bitches who didn?t believe her, and forced her to go to the MH unit. I don?t think I can take much more of this crap from her ? I know she is disabled, and I know she is struggling with depression, but for her to on the one hand call for my help, then bitch about me when I go running to her side, is completely out of order ?

And breathe ...

Hi again ladies! You are still so chatty, it's been so much fun to catch up.

Having said that it wasn't fun to hear about your friend Muppet. I am so sorry and am thinking of you (and her family).

Crochet, your sister would start to irritate me too, even if she does have issues beyond her control. Bon courage in dealing with her!

Inzi, sorry you're having a tough time. R isn't mad keen on her cot either. She spends much of the night engaged in escape plans and rattling on the bars!!!!

Floria, I so know what you mean about sleep... bring it on...!

Dal, how was Dylan's weight today? Hope it's progressing nicely.

WWandJC, I love the image of Anya doing headstands!!!

Funny how people on DC1 are starting to think about DC2. Me too, actually - not bothered about age gaps as can see that there are advantages and disadvantages to all of them - but think it is about being emotionally (and physically) ready to be pregnant again, as well as having another lo 9 months down the line. So guess we do need to consider carefully - all that to say I'm not TTC quite yet. Not going to wait for R to sleep though as could take a long time.

OK, sleep is crap here, not even going 45 minutes at the moment for the last four nights. Still tooth number 2 is visible now so perhaps that isn't helping. Not to mention the heat...

Alice have fun with your family! Have you moved the trainset and buggies to accommodate everyone?!!!

Hello Choc! Sorry to hear R has reverted but I guess it was only a matter of time And yes - train set now in Sam's room to make space! See you Monday if not before...

Crochet sorry to hear your sister is driving you mad. Must feel like a kick in the teeth after all your worry last week. I would feel like giving her a piece of my mind too but I think if you can let it wash over you (easier said than done...) it might be easier all round.

Well we've been to pizza express. Jack (soph's ds) hasn't slept too well today so was shattered and despite a long sleep for both of mine at lunchtime Adam was nearly asleepo on the table and Sam said 'I've got a bad tummy - can't put my pizza in it' which doesn't bode well - not really like either of them! Here's hoping they are OK tonight...