December 07 - I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, no!

[Wizzska]

Hello people, is anyone there?

Welcome back fifi! Hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Louise - my friend's ds is bottle fed, she started introducing water in a cup once he was on solids (at about 4.5mo). He now drinks from a Tommee Tippee stage 2 cup (with the non-spill valve), and has been doing for about 3-4 months (he has just turned a year). He still has milk in a bottle (AFAIK) but only at set times. It is recommended you stop using bottles after a year, but I guess it is easier said than done!

Hi

Thanks BT - DD drinks water from a cup quite happily although it took her a while and several different cups before she mastered it and she is having milk in a bottle at 3 set times a day - breakfast, lunch time and bed time so maybe I'm not doing anything wrong this time!

Louise I think dd was about this age when I started giving her her daytime milk in a cup, she still had a bottle in the morning, before bed and in the night though. She must have been about 14 months when she refused to take a bottle at all and moved onto a cup for all drinks. TBH I wouldn't worry about it, if she is able to get a decent amount from the cup (eg a full milk feed) then try her with it but if not then leave it and try again when she is a bit older. I think it is more important to get the milk into them than to worry about how they get it iyswim.

Suey ds is being crochety too, really whingy and wants boob every 5 seconds. I think it must be his tooth, can see it but it just isn't breaking the surface yet.

Fifi welcome back and

Arcadie I'm not sure that ds is doing things slower than dd did but I think of him as more of a baby. When she was his age I got pregnant with him which I just cannot imagine now! Also think i have less time to concentrate on what he is/isn't doing so whereas with dd it was ooh she is nearly sitting/rolling/crawling etc then watching her waiting for her to do it with ds it creeps up on me and suddenliy he is crawling without me noticing he is close to it.

Macdoodle how jealous I am of your placid dd, I haved to a dd one of those on my requirement list but was well and truly ignored

Clara how are things in pakistan now? Everyone a bit more settled? Hope dd1 is happier now.

Skid how long til you move to Oxford? How is the thesis coming along (or shouldn't I ask?!). I'm always really jealous of my sister because she did undergrad, masters and phd all at the same uni and now works there so has a really good group of friends (and husband!) within the department, I think if she moved to a different uni she'd really miss everyone where she is now.

Beckle I wouldn't be surprised if it was the milk she didn't like-even the smell of formula makes me want to heave! I think i got used to it after a while with dd and she never objected but ds pulls a real face when I offer it to him-he is happy to drink from the cup but doesn't seem to like it much. Oh is it first milk or number 3 you are trying? Just that number 3 seems to smell far worse...

Hi all, I have got a slightly snotty, slightly hot, snuggly DD today , poor little thing doesn't know what to do with herself, doesn't want food, doesn't want to play for long. Not sure if its a mini cold or if she's cutting a back tooth - gum does feel a little squishy at the back but can't get a good look.

Louise, if she is happy to take water from a beaker then I wouldn't worry about her having bottles for milk at the moment. DS1 was just over a year when we moved him off of bottles for his milk, DS2 on the other hand was much much older as he wouldn't take his milk if it was in a cup. I think anything for an easy life the amount of milk they get is far more important than how they take it!

Fifi of your hols, glad you had a fab time though! Make the most of your non-mobile baby too, DD is into so much mischief these days I sometimes miss the days when I could put her down and she would stay there!

Melly, DD can also go long periods without milk, DH has been trying to feed her at night but she won't take any and goes to sleep without (), she will usually sleep through fine although is very hungry when she wakes! Will there be anyone about to help you after your op? You may still be able to continue to BF if she could be put on your lap rather than you lifting her? Perhaps she will be happier with a bottle by then, babies change very fast!

Arcadie, I have tried the bottle in the morning thing as I was thinking she had maybe filled up on solids through the day but she wouldn't even take it when she was really hungry due to not taking any milk before bed. I found my 2nd (and now 3rd) LOs to be much quicker than the first but I think it is because the younger ones want to get whatver the older one (a boy and definitely not interested in the baby) has so they try harder. I have friends whose eldest child is a girl though and their 2nd/3rd are lazier as the big one fetches/carries/speaks for them (as Macdoodle said hers does). How old are your DCs?

Clairey, I think you are right about DD not liking the milk. Last night we tried her cup and she eagerly reached for it but before it even reached her mouth she must have smelt it and the little bugger she pushed it away refusing it! We also tried with 2 open cups, one with DH's orange in and one with formula, she wouldn't touch the formula one but would happily guzzle the orange! I am still using the stage 1 milk, did consider trying the stage 2/3 but might give that a miss now!

Hi everyone - am in and out - back to work - life is hectic

Beckle Sorry the milk issue still an issue. Wish I had better suggestions... and on the "DC2 is behand DC1 front" DS is 2 and 1/2 DD is 9 months. She crawled faster than him (In order to get out of his way faster? )....but he seemed better at co ordinating himself, baby signing etc than her. Probably just rose tinted specs remembering my 1st perfect angel child..... (again !)

Feel sorry for me everyone, I haven't been able to do anything today without ds clinging to my leg and wailing . On the plus side dh left his laptop at home today so I have been able to spend lots of time on here and cuddling the grumpster.

hello,

wow at lo's taking first steps! ds is mobile and cruising but I think a little way off walking, I'm hoping he will be by xmas tho

fifi - ds1 was completely immobile at this age, thats why ds2 is a bit of a shock! I think it can go either way depending how nice dc1 is to them, a friend has slightly bigger age gap between her dc's than me and her dd does everything for ds (same age as our lo's) so he's more than happy to just sit and be looked after (typical bloke!)

louise - bottle feeding over here ds2 is having all day time milk in a beaker and 7oz in bottle at bed time - thats prob bit earlier than most cause when I stopped bf at 7mo he filled up with milk from bottle and dropped all food, he doesn't mind beaker and only has what he needs rather than guzzling it. I have to say I have ds who doesn't mind aptimal. I'd say try a beaker for one of the feeds, I do milk after meals and a food snack mid morning and mid afternoon.

awww clairey, why is her so unhappy? or is he just like my ds and going thro seperation anx with a touch of teething thrown in

Evening everyone,

Ahhhhh at all the clingy not feeling their best LO's, teeth are SO mean!!

So interesting hearing about all the different ways and means that our Lo's drink!! The cup manufacturer's must love us! I think we've tried at least 6 different types now!

Beckle Yes I will have my Mum and MIL around after the op so hopefully that will help, the trouble is she is so wriggly that I usually have to hold her quite firmly and I'm not sure if that will be too much strain. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Ds is teething with a veageance atm, lots of runny poos, nappy rash and sharp bits on his gums! He was very unhappy at bedtime, took a sachet of Nelson's teether, some anbesol and half a dose of calpol to calm him down so he'd go to sleep! He was sooo knackered as he only had one short nap at nursery today!

hello everyone,

Arcadie - interesting you mentioned it because i've been thinking that DS is reaching milestones much later than DD did as well - but like clairey i pay less attention to it this time round

macdoodle - do you think DD2 is so placid because she's your 2nd? DS is also very placid and DD is very demanding of attentionas well - when I think about it I know so many 1st children who are like that and I wonder if it is mostly down to birth order

clairey - thesis is not going TOO bad, thanks. Done 5.5 chapters out of 8 so the end is in sight. DH submitted his yesterday so at least one of us is (nearly) a proper doctor. Am hoping to submit by December which means Oxford by January. DH is applying for a job in Bristol actually - that;s where you are, isn;t it? I will tell himto look out for a mother with two babies strapped to her at the same time!

sympathies to all those with teething unhappy babies, fingers crossed DS is coming to the end of his month long teethingtastic nightmare - has a horrid cold now instead though

have a good weekend everyone

hi everyone, trying to catch up on all the news

we've had a lovely few weeks and a tough few weeks. went to visit family in oxford for a week then went to centre parcs had a really lovely time and ds was an angel, although i knew something was up as his normal routine was off and he kept getting a temp. he's such a happy little thing tho and hardly ever complains. anyway after being v persistant at the docs over the last few weeks, he has been diagnosed with bronchitis, my poor baby. he's got antibiotics now tho so he's on the mend

ds is now crawling comando style, but more interesting in tying to walk, he's been walking with our hands since 4 and hlf months so he's v strong on his feet.

back to work in a week! yikes!

Insy yes I think it must be that, he is certainly teething and has never liked being unattached from my body much anyway!

Skid I was relying on your demanding/placid theory when i was pregnant with ds because dd was always far more demanding than everyone else's babies but he is even more demanding than she was! Now I look back and think wow dd was so easy but she wasn't compared to all the others at baby group. It does seem to be the case with almost everyone else in the world though, I think I was just unlucky!

DS was being a terror today, climbed up onto dd's car ride-on thing, and stood up on top of it (then fell off), wanted to be up and down the stairs all day, fell out of the back door and grazed his head and kept trying to walk but forgetting to move his legs so just falling on his head. Still, at least he wasn't attached to my leg all day!

Macdoodle do you mind if I ask you a gp ish question? Basically when dd started walking I saw my gp because she turned her foot in and they said it would correct itself. It has got better; when she first started walking it was completely sideways now it is barely noticeable but still quite bad when she is tired or when she runs and everytime her feet grow she spends about two weeks tripping over it before she gets used to her bigger shoes. Anyway, now ds is starting to walk his foot is exactly the same. Is it worth me going back to the gp and saying look ds does it too or are they just going to say stop being neurotic we told you it would correct itself? I know you can't diagnose anything for me but just wanted your opinion on whether it was worthwhile me going back to the gp. TIA

Kelbel - awww your poor ds, hope the AB's sort him out!

Hmm so next baby (if there is one!) might be easier than ds?

Held a snuggly newborn today, a colleague brought in her 10 day old dd, she is soooo gorgeous! And so tiny and light I got first hold of her too

Hi - you will see the news about the blast in Islamabad. We are all fine, we do go to the hotel a lot and I am in shock but luckily tonight we all stayed in. Waiting to hear that all our colleagues are safe. Not sure what will happen to us now. Just feel so awful about the security guards etc there who will almost certainly now be dead. It's so dreadful.

Glad you are okay Clara, have not seen full coverage yet but it sounds awful xxx

I heard this on the news and thought of you!
I'm so glad to hear you are ok, but understand you must be pretty shook up
Hope the girls are ok.

Hallo all ? t?is me, the one who only jumps in now and again, so don?t really feel like a fully fledged member But I was on AN from BFP and dedication to type from hospital during induction therefore my membership is solid! Lol.

I don?t really have a news re DD, no teeth, I see no signs though others beg to differ. I need to get some cot bumpers now though cos she moves up the cot, and ends with head against the bars.

She had her 6-9 month check at the health visitor, everything normal. Was made to feel extremely crap about still using the dummy and bottles and milk for breakfast etc. Now I know why I never talk to them when I get her weighed, they are such a pain in the arse spouting their crap and guidelines which are likely to change in 6 months time anyway. Since DD is a healthy, happy baby who eats and sleeps very well, I can?t have done too badly. Sorry, about that but HVs really piss me off, I hate being told what to do at the best of times, and I don?t mind being given advice if I asked for it or if I was endangering DD, but just the general ?you should be doing this?.? just winds me up .

The babies seem to be really coming along now don?t they. I look at DD and think she?s not really a baby anymore.

So here?s for the big ?ol catch up ? maybe a little outdated though cos I?m a month behind .

So what have I missed?
WOHM/SAHM debate ? I?ll gloss over as it?s a sensitive subject no matter where you stand, but I?m both so I have it the hardest Glad it?s all resolved now and Louise and BT have hugged and made up.

Milk wise, DD only has some in the morning and at night now, as HV(and her bleedin rules, grrr) advised they should only be getting 16oz now, which is only about 2 bottles so she has cereal mixed with half a bottle then drinks the rest and a bottle before bed, the rest of the time is juice from a cup/bottle, hopefully I?ll wean her onto water as she wouldn?t touch it at all before.

Amani ? hope your lump is better. Hope that dietician gives you some answers. I wasn?t aware that they should be talking now. God, there?s some pressure on these babies to perform on time isn?t there?

Beckle ? Evie sounds pretty advanced, good on her.

BT ? Lou shakes her head too, it?s very cute, as is covering her ears when we?re talking, it?s usually at the dinner table when me and dh are talking to each other she?ll cover her ears like we?re boring her! Lol. I had never heard of the doidy cup so I googled it, it seems like a great idea, I might try that as she struggles with her sippy cups, esp the non drip ones which she really has to suck, she chews it instead. That tosser doctor who did your medical sounds like a right arse, glad you laughed it off, though I?d be feeling the same as you ().

Buzzy ? Hope Bea?s kidney problems are getting better.

Caz10 ? your routine sounds exhausting, I feel really lucky that I only work until 1.30.

Cazzybabs ? well done on evie for standing from sitting and clapping (though this is a few pages back & probably old news) Relief on the no-pg score. I wouldn?t like to find out my fitness age ? prob about 102.

Clairey ? how?s Douggies sleeping? Is it getting better for you? Lol at the cookiefest, that?s pretty cute of them.

Clara ? bless DD1 at nursery, hopefully she?s more settled now. First steps? That?s great, I?m not surprised you?re proud. How frightening about that blast it sound terrifying, I?m glad you?re all ok.

Dundee ? hallo again, I too miss the days when I could spend hours on MN with no trouble. I hope you had a good time in London, I?ve not been there since 2002, when we had tickets to be in the audience of the weakest link, how random.

Fifi ? your holiday looked gorgeous, I?ve heard mixed reviews of the domincan but it looks just like Maui, beautiful, So jealous! How?s it going with that little girl you look after, it seems a shame that she doesn?t have an easy bedtime routine. My lo is still immobile too, no crawling, she?ll reach forward from sitting as if to crawl then either sit back up or fall on her face, though I must admit I?m quite pleased she?s not moving too much yet, I?ve got years of running around chasing her, I like her static.

Insy ? wow, ttcing already. I?m in awe of you and all women who have lo?s close together.

Kelbel ? good luck on your return to work, I echo others with it wasn?t as bad as I expected, I had fears that I?d forgotten everything but within 2 hours of getting my desk and paperwork back to how I like it, it all just snapped back into place. Bless ds with bronchitis, hope that the antibiotics do the trick. Glad you had a good time at Centre Parcs, we?ve just booked to go for a long weekend for FIL?s 60th and DDs 1st Birthdays, granted it?ll be freezing but it?ll be a nice break before Xmas.

Loucee ? I hope that DDs night terrors are better. I can?t help with the sahm boredom though, I don?t have any mummy friends so found it really hard. I tried to go out for the day once a week at least, a new town or big park etc. Got the map out and looked for places within an hours drive. Also went to visit either of my gparents alternatively each week.

Macdoodle ? hope lilys, hand foot and mouth disease has healed now bless her. Waterbabies has had some great recommendations from mums at the baby group I go to. My budget def wouldn?t stretch that far but sounds great anyway.

Melly ? welcome back! Aww, she?s so cute. DD won?t drink water, but as I?ve stopped her milk throughout the day, she?ll drink some juice from a bottle after a meal.

Skidaddle ? wow, your first married year has flown by, it doesn?t seem a year ago since you got married in Ireland.

Ambi - welcome back and wow impressive post!!

Indeed Ambi you're a bloomin useful woman - I feel like I know your life stories in one post! Thanks to Skidaddle too for putting my mind at rest that it's not just me. Next question from the newby.... anyone else finding that wheat does odd things to dc's ahem solids? Sorry to bring up a less than savoury topic....

Hello Everyone,

Glad you ok Clara, thinking of you.

Ambi - totally agree with you on H/V they just make you feel so crap about everything you're doing, I avoid them as much as possible!!

Kaesha climbing the stairs like a fury and get's very cross when I close the stair gate cause I'm bored of following her up them for the millionth time!! She is such an adventurer, can see us holding our breath often as she tries to tackle trees, climbing frames and who knows what else in the coming months and years!

Are any of your LO's completely obessessed with looking at pictures of babies? Kaesha is so much so that I've got an old photo album and have torn up loads of my old pregnancy magazines/mothercare catalogues etc and filled the album, it is now by far her favourite "book" and goes everywhere with us, and of course is so easy to change and update as she gets into different stuff - would highly recommend, a great cheap way to keep them interested!!

Right sleep is calling - sweet dreams xx

Just reading through and now out of time to post - HELLO to everyone, WOW to Ambi!!
Lovely to read all your news and mellymooks that is a brilliant idea, dd loves my mothercare catalogue but it's a bit flimsy a photo album is such a clever idea!
Night night! x

Ambi - I agree impressive post! and a great way for me to catch up with everyones news as not been dedicated enough to read through all the posts! how do you remember it all?? I sometimes have to read a right notes and I sure I say the wrong things to people sometimes even then!

arcadie - re poo question - with ds2 all is fine, dh has wheat allergy so had to be v careful introducing wheat and dairy. ds1 had slight dairy intollerance, nothing major but days he had cheese = no sleep, just lots of crying and general discomfort, also cows milk at the time gave him really bad nappy rash and gross poo - something to do with not being able to break down the milk protein. HV was hopeless (so completely agree with you Ambi on how crap they are!) but I believe you know your baby best and if you think they have a reaction to something (no matter how mild) then you are prob right. both ds's had to be off wheat for 9 mo and dh can't have any so I have loads of ideas bout wheat free diet (he's a pain in arse to cook for but I'm kind of used to it now!) also lo's grow out of all kind of food intollerances - ds1 can now have beaker of milk no problem (he's 28 mo) Try wheat free for couple of days then give wheat again and see what happens (sound horrible to experiment on them but not any other way of knowing) if its only a mild thing and lo is ok with it just poo issue (what kind of poo btw? just realised I've rambled on but not asked what it does to them!) then could carry on as you are and it'll get better with time I'm sure

melly - both mine love/loved looking at faces, we were given the Amazing Baby book, Baby Boo - I'm word perfect on it and ds2 kisses all the babies in it, its really cute