March 2008:A new thread before they start crawling!

[turtle23]

Thought it was about time....

Stocked up on ridiculous amounts of stage 1 jars/pouches today, granny doesn't want the hassle of cooking food for LO yet so will keep her supplied with ready meals instead. Suppose the stage 2 stuff will be easier when his tooth finally breaks through. Toast seems to be a big hit with lots of LOs doesn't it?

Sleepsuits/babygroes, we use them a lot as I'm not really a jeans fan. I'll dress him up if we're going out anywhere, but for knocking around the house i'll just have him wearing the all in ones. At least I don't have to track down missing socks then!

Socks we have loved but are now too small...
www.totsplanet.co.uk/index/trumpette
We got given the 6pk box of Johnnys (!)and they've been great at staying put.

Think we're finally over the virus thingy, had to take LO to A&E on Thurs night as his temp was between 39 & 40, after stripping him and driving to the hospital it had come down to 38, but we had to stay until it was down to normal and his breathing wasn't so fast either. Felt very calm about the whole thing, but had to get DH to do the talking for me again so I didn't burst into tears. Then wanted to kill him for saying it was "just a bit of a temperature". Finally got home at 4.30 am and had to go into work a few hours later - that was such fun!

We went to have a look round a local independent school today - talk about preparing in advance! They have a nursery, but didn't realise it only starts at age 3, thought they took babies from 6mths. Anyway, it was darn nice, and a mere (cough) £490 a month to start with!

glad he's better!

Hi everyone,

Thanks all for the fab weaning advice. Tomorrow I'm going to try apple in grated (thanks HQ) and pre-chomped (thanks Hellyberry) form.

littleducks thanks so much for the heads up about raw apple and choking. I was asking in a "will she be able to digest raw apple?" way - choking hadn't occurred to me.

I have had several looks on Aitch's website but perhaps it's time for another look.

FnF1 - that sounds terrifying. I would have been a wreck. I had a wry smile at your DH (just a temperature ) I just know I'm going to be hearing those words one of these days and thinking of your forbearance.

Has anyone else been accused yet of "indulging" their baby?

excuse my atrocious typing in last email. also wanted to say, at the risk of sounding captain obvious, that homemade baby veggie stock (see karmel recipies) is good for adding to any old veg puree if you want to add flavour but aren't feeling particularly creative.

random question, perhaps for second timers. trying to figure out if i need one of those bath ring thingys on my trip to US when dd will be 10 months. she def needs now but when do they stop using them?

we also have been looking at schools. being canadian, i find it weird to 'interview' with a six month old on my lap but english dh is hyper about the school thing so have to indulge. have been trying to do it on my own but i don't understand the system and worried i might miss something and am about to grudgingly opt for hiring a consultant to drive the process. such a faff!

haven't ever been accused of indulging baby - but i've accused dh of doing so ! :.)

hi girls, just popping in to say that i love trumpette socks too- they look fab and stay on really well. We have the mary janes and i always get comments on them! however, the 0-12m ones will be too small for dd soon, they are a bit on the small side.

don't know what a bath ring is sorry! i just hover as they sit and play and when the wobbles set in i like them down for rest of wash. then they come up a bit play a bit more and we're done.

the school thing. fingers in ears - lalalalal - tho didn't fn41 say she was going that avenue. on the whole i just don't like the independent sector, especially the whole middle/upper class ghetto of them. the prized local primary here is also lihe that, but i've already decided we're for the primary i can seefrom my sitting room. very eclectic, very improving school (it's getting better year on year and the kids come in with low expectations and go out with much better ones). it's weak on advanced english (once my major ) and ICT - our current majors! so maybe we'll be helping out there.

dunno about bigger schools though. some of the journey times taken by kids round here are HUGE> the local to us is full of agency teachers, so I'm no keen on that. may change in time. and hopefully we'll go off and live elsewhere too...

Just popping in to wish the Canadian contingent a happy Thanksgiving.
LO has decided to wake at 4am every day to try to stand up. Fun.
Schools? Oh dear...must start thinking soon....

That's not the right word...what do I mean...too tired to think.

Yes, Happy Thanksgiving!

Too much to do turkey dinner this year- settled for pumpkin pie and ice wine last night

Poor you iwaso- hope it settles a bit before you come back- if it helps, I found coming back much easier to change H's routine over.

Schools? i've only just started giving childcare for my return to work some thought

DS has decided to be a baby that just sits - absolutely no interest in moving or standing. He sat before 5 months so I was worried that he'd do everything early, but clearly he enjoys the view enough from where is and is happy to stay there a bit longer

Heh, we tried the grated apple tonight and it was a resounding thumbs down. LO looked at me as if I was trying to poison him, and had more fun grabbing the bowl than sticking his hands in the gratings

Schools, yes, we're looking at indies at the moment, but only because we're in a really rough catchment area and can't afford to move. May be able to get placed in a decent local primary 3 miles away, but he'll go to our local over my dead body. He'll be dealing drugs before he's 6 if he goes there! And looking at the expensive options now as we'll need to save towards it if we go that route. Hoping catchment areas will either change or provide a decent alternative over the next few years so I can spend the cash on holidays instead

And no, I've no idea what a bath ring is either?

bath ring http://www.shop-com.co.uk/Bath_Swivel_Seat_Baby_Safety_1st-31710774-41360860-p!.shtml?sourceid=309 here

they are fab!

I blush to say, after years of socialist right-onness we recently moved house to get DS into the catchment area of a decent school. Where we used to live 2 of the primary schools were failing and the other was poor. I don't worry too much about secondary schools just yet as everything could have changed by then but DS will start primary next September .
We have one of those foldupable bath chairs for DD to give her a little protection in the bath from DS.
We all have colds here at the moment apart from DH,who, surprisingly, has yet to come down with man-flu

dd is two and still in her bath seat, she can obv sit down in the bath fine but feels more secure and plays happily and it stops (or slows her down so i can stop her) from climbing/jumping other dangerous things in the bath. It isnt essential but def well used.

School? i have no idea atm, not even sure if we will still be living here when kids go to school.

ds is getting into eating now, (sigh of relief) but it does increase the washing load again! and is a bit tricky as ds hates baths but keeps covering his head, hair and behind his hair with food!

We went to chessington theme park yesterday afternoon, and ds shreiked with delight as we went on the bubbleworks rides, it was so funny, he did cry at the bath bit right at the end though

am feeling a bit daunted at the moment by all your expertise at weaning. I am not doing blw but instead purees which ds adores. He eats masses and enjoys sticking his fingers in it and taking control of the spoon. I've also given him the odd cooked carrot stick but that gets a bit rejected. He tried to swallow whole a rice cake which unnerved me somewhat. I thought I was doing fine but all your notes about eating this and that and blw makes me feel strangely inadequate at thinking I was doing ok with lamb casserole and fish pie (but in a puree form)
ummm - not sure how best to handle it!

am also doing a lot of what yu're doing evie..tis all part and parcel. dont worry, it sounds bloody lovely! g is basically getting weaned on the 'what's the rest of us having and what can i be arsed with making/cleaning up' principle. (TM)

i feel so sorry for g on days like today..i had to prod him awake from early nap to do the school run and i have another 6 minutes before i have to do it again to pick ds1 up! poor lamb, and he is tired after a strenuous week teeting, playing and having snuffles.

DD ate steak on Saturday night! We thought she was storing it in her cheeks at first but she was swallowing it and chewing it really really well. Didn't like my baby ripping shreds off a steak though, she looked like a wild animal!!

Saw my week old nephew yesterday, so, so, so cute! Thought I would feel broody but actually thought I would not swap with her for all the tea in China, cluster feeding, his high pitched newborn shriek. No thanks, this stage is FAR more interesting!

Evie, we're still on purees and they're all shop bought for convenience...LO doesn't like any lumps and I can't get organized enough to make him smooth things. He chucked up his lunch today at nursery, they think his potato and leek had a bit of lumpy spud left in, grr.
Apparently he entertained himself today by staring at his reflection in the new shiny stuff they've put on the barriers in the baby area, and giggled a lot at himself. Bless his narcissistic little head.

thank you all for making me feel better about the puree thing. much appreciate being reminded that not total failure!

Iwantasecond - hope cycle proving good for ttc. we've just had another unsucesful month and BFNegative- I shouldn't mind - only 3 months ttc but feels a long time already damn it. Keeping positive as life near perfect with this little angel!

I love pots of baby food!

If DD would allow it I would feed her them all of the time but she insists on feeding herself so I find it easier to give her finger food at home and at nursery she has lumpy purees with finger food and they sneak the puree in whilst she is not looking!

Sorry about the BFN evie, 3 months is no time at all remember!

evie - one of the tenents of BLW is that they learn to engage on their own with food/feeding process and if your lo is sticking fingers in and using the spoon then that's exactly what's he's doing - don't worry!

evie - completely agree with MNFM. At this age food doesn't have to be mush which may make it easier for some people, but if your baby prefers it that way then I think that's fine and you go with him and his preferences. I'd just keep offering carrot sticks/rice cakes etc. and then he can choose to have them when he is ready. I eat lunch at the same time as my DS so I like that to be a meal that we can share, and that he can eat while I eat so that has become finger/adult food. But we always do spoons and mush for breakfast and often for tea, and then my DS does exactly what your DS does - fingers in food, he controls spoon etc. and sometimes if I'm brave I just let him tip the bowl out and do his own thing. Then we finish when he has finished rather than when the bowl is finished IYSWIM. It may not satisfy the purist BLWers but it works for us.

Besides, I think that lamb casserole and fish pie sounds far more accomplished (and yummy) than the stuff my DS gets and am wondering if I can bring him round for lunch

Another thing, Evie - how are you getting on with the pram? We were given a pram by a friend who was upgrading to a double buggy and it isn't rearwards facing. I didn't mind so much when DS was little and asleep most of the time, but now he is more alert I really wish he was facing me so we could chat and sing. He looks glazed and bored a lot of the time, and whenever I stop to chat to him he gets so excited, and I find walks quite boring without being able to chat to him. So I'm wondering if I should buy a rearward-facing pushchair - that is what I would have bought but it seems a bit indulgent given we have a perfectly serviceable pram that cost us nowt.

You all sounds like you're doing great with weaning! I have been following dd's lead- she finally had some oat cereal for breakfast this morning- first breakfast ever! She wasn't interested before this. I haven't even gone near proteins either- still on fruit, veg, yogurt and carbs in cereal or rice cake form. But she's happy with it, and she's learning so that's all that matters, right?

HQ- while I really love my rear-facing pram, most of my friends with them turn them out around a year as the baby definitely prefers it by then. I love talking to dd and making faces with her while we're out, but think of how quickly 6 months has gone- it won't be long until a year is here! I'm sure he likes hearing your voice even if he can't see you.

Weaning stuff all good - thought i'd try broccoli today to see what he does with it...that and some fish casserole which for a change I even like the taste of!

HQ I know exactly what you mean about the pram and I still wonder...however I think E14 has a v valid point. All my friends with rear facing are now turning them the other way because essentially their little darlings would rather look at other stuff. I've walked alongside and it seems that the babies are more often than not looking sideways beyond their mummys so I don't think outward facing is bad....all that said I agree that it would be nice but I think rfor our own use not the babies! I also do chat as I walk - sure it looks mad and no idea if he pays any attention but it makes me feel better - and singing is fun too (if you see wierd woman singing to baby facing other way it's probably me! If you don't go out in your pushchair because of it then I think it's worth changing - if it makes you feel sick - but otherwise I think it'll be ok...
Ewe thnk you - and when i'm being grown up I know that really. just feels a long time when it all has to be so 'planned'! Last time took us a lot longer so shouldn't even be thinking about it really.