June 2008- Some are sleeping, others weeping and some are just eating

[poppy34]

Thought I'd start the new thread using paro's suggestion

We do have the monitor plugged in, as he does sleep up there for a couple of hours before we go to bed and if we are lucky he will go back to sleep after his first feed in the morning. But no sensor here, never thought to get one and think it is one more thing to make us paranoid (but that is just my thoughts).

No rolling action here. Luke can just about go from front to side but no more than that. He can almost escape from his bath seat though so I daren't even blink!

We have an old school monitor, but don't use it because there is too much interference on our street and it just gives up working after about 5 mins. Instead we use the internal intercom on our land line phones as we have a 3 storey house and if you are in the basement (like now) you really can't hear Peter on the top floor. We don't have a sensor mat and try not to worry about it (I have to fight my paranoid Mummy urges and I think a sensor mat would make me worse).

I really need to ask for some help before I write anything else. GreenFairy, UDC (although you are now on holiday) and anyone else who is BF and has given up diary and other food groups. Can you remind me what prompted you to do this? Were there other symptoms in addition to wind/colic/reflux? For nearly three weeks Peter has become windy for the first time. He arches his back, screams at the breast, and gets red and hot with the effort of screaming. It takes him an age to bring the wind up, and sometimes I have stopped assuming nothing is happening and then he possets as much as an hour later. Some feeds are still fine, but it breaks my heart seeing him so uncomfortable. We eventually manage to calm him down with gripe water and infacol and lots of patting, bouncing and walking him around. He didn't used to be like this. In addition I have previously posted saying that his sleep has regressed. This is still the case. Last night he was awake from 2 - 4 and then only went back to sleep when he came into bed with us. I am wondering whether he is intolerant to something I am eating. What got me thinking isthis book. The authors talk about food intolerances disrupting sleep but says that you are only likely to have a food intolerance problem if it is accompanied by other sypmtoms such as:
wind
red dry cheeks
dodgy nappies
plus others
So any experience of Storm and the others would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

BTW I think the book is excellent and I would recommend it as an antidote to the routine gurus, although it is a bit too pro-BF and pro-co-sleeping for my liking.

Right, I am going to try and convince DH of my theory as he is sceptical and hasn't noticed the symptoms in Peter that I have spotted (apart from the wind, screaming and disrupted sleep of course)

Ali, Luke does that sometimes. I don't think he is intollerent of anything but it's horrid like something is trapped in his throat. He arches his back and screams and his face goes purple. The only way I can control this is by trying to relax him/distract him. Usually I pick him up in a cradle hold and walk around whilst feeding him. I'm not sure if you can do this whilst BF! Does he do the same with a bottle or just the breast?

Have just been reading the most amazing thread on the parenting site. They seem to be reading books on how to speak to your child which basically involves talking to them about their feelings once they've hit and kicked you (instead of getting annoyed and giving them any kind of discipline). Much as I won't shout or smack, surely a child needs to learn that you are the boss and not to do things they know are naughty otherwise they'll run rings around you. Maybe I'm really old fashioned. Went to see a nursery the other day and they said they have banned the word no. What is the world coming to?!

Not quite on holiday yet. Ali, so sorry about Peter. It sounds dreadful. It's so awful when they are miserable - particularly when things were going so well. Is he very sucky as well? (That could be a sign of reflux, even if he's not puking).

Dorothy was unsettled, very windy and puking. She didn't have red cheeks, dodgy nappies or anything else, so I can't help you on that at all, I'm afraid. But whenever I eat tomatoes or dairy (not often!), she gets really unsettled and pukes. I have had butter in cakes and things and that seems to be fine. Also goats cheese and milk. Can you believe we are going to Normandy, home of Camembert and Pont L'eveque, and I can't have any of it?

Other things you can do for reflux (silent or otherwise) are sit them up after feeds, don't jostle them, give them dummies, raise their cots on an angle, feed one boob at a time. (We are doing Gina, but feeding 7,8, 10,11, 2,3 etc.)

Probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but if you give up dairy, remember to take a Calcium supplement.

Um, the other thing it could be is teeth. They may not be about to come through, but could be moving around in his mouth. I think this is what was wrong with Dorothy this week (when she did have glowing cheeks). If you Calpol him at night, does he calm down? If so, it could be pain.

lol amber -I might be soft re crying but am with you about kids need to learn within reason that tehre are rules/boundaries...[mentally debating how to discuss her feelings with edie tomorrow when she decides she doesn't want her nap]

no rolling action here either although she can hold her head up and move it around pretty well and crawl up my front to pull my hair/berate me -that is progress in my book...

like allipalli we're spread over 4 floors need the monitor (and I've got an old school one too) - if i was you pp I wouldn't bother with it either (don't have one in our holiday place which is a flat).

alipalli I read something in one of books re food intolerance....they suggest talking to GP and if you pack in you have to wait at least 2 weeks to see any difference -how old is Peter? is he at 12 week mark - if so I'm sure its a growth thing as it seems to be a known thing and all the bubs who are 12 weeks in nct group are going through a nightmare phase of unsettled ngihts etc

I have been told to mention the fact that I have not been the best today (as dh threatening to log in and tell you himself) as i managed to burn a pot of potatoes -then in my wisdom about getting the smell of burning out hte house put it onto our decking -which now has a neat little black burn mark on it (a nice accompaniment to the smell of burning that has only just left the house) = So I think its fair to say I'm not up for housewife of the year this year ..the reason I mention this before dh posts is it is not my first brush with erm..house wifely disaster.

*poppy8 we are all allowed to make mistakes like that!!!!

Ali - I read a similar book to the one you likned to it was this one . Idid think about borrowing it but knew I would spend the whole day looking for signs of what ds wanted to do. I think it's kind of what I do anyway.

thanks goingfor3 -a friend did suggest i blame the builders

sponge I would find out the name of the MD of TT and write to him, marking the envelope 'private and confidential' - you may find you get a better response... i get so annoyed when people say 'no one else has complained' - i mean - so what?!

allipalli sorry you're having a hard time. okay - storm had real trouble getting rid of her wind before i cut out dairy. she'd struggle to bring up burps and get v distressed and she'd scream from the pain - i could always feel tiny air bubbles wriggling around her tummy and infacol didn't really help her get rid of them. as soon as i stopped dairy she still got wind but found it easy to burp - i experimented bringing it back a couple of times (i miss brie A LOT) but each time the negative effects were pretty immediate.
i also noticed they returned the handful of times we gave her formula (cows milk based).
the theory is that the protein in the cows milk is hard for them to digest, even after you've digested it once for them - i don't really understand it as i thought milk was made from blood cells but it did work for us.
also, since i cut out the cows milk i've noticed that this is the first summer EVER that i haven't had hayfever. as the early introduction of non formula cows milk directly into the diet is linked to hayfever/eczema/asthma now (my mum gave me normal cows milk at 12 weeks) i'm pretty convinced that cows milk causes this in me.
after noticing ill effects in storm have also cut out the following:
bananas
beef
kidney beans
white wine
more than a few tomatoes
cauliflower

going dairy free is very difficult, so i still have butter on my toast and millk chocolate sometimes, and if i have a tiny bit of soft cheese (eg ricotta in stuffed pasta) i don't worry about it. i do now drink goats milk, but try not to have it every day, as even a lot of that will set her off. hope this helps. if you can face it, maybe keeping a food diary for a while would help? i realise it's not easy to add yet another task to the schedule!

also, how often do you burp during a feed? i now do it about every five minutes and find storm brings wind up easier than if i leave it till the end (sorry if that sounds patronising, but it took me a while to work out!)

also - don't worry about convincing your DH - just do it and see what happens! is there anything else you've changed in recent weeks which could be having an effect? can't remember if you are BF?

amber/ poppy glad the cc is continuing to work. i've now done two days of not lying down with storm when she sleeps and it gives me so much more time!
we did have an incident today when she got upset by another crying baby at her massage class and took half an hour of screaming in the pram (on the way home) before she conked out from exhaustion. but am now convinced this is the way forward for us.

re rolling over Storm has only rolled front to back once, and that was weeks ago! Can't get her to repeat the trick for some reason, but she can almost sit up now, and looks so cute doing it!

On a happier note I took Peter to swimming lessons for the first time today. He had been cranky beforehand (see previous post); was very stoic in the pool, and looked most happy when it was over and he was being towel dried. . Not convinced he actually enjoyed the experience, but he looked so tired afterwards - like he had just run a marathon. Poor little mite. I seem to remember that there was discussion earlier on about where to go for lessons and what kind of swim nappies to use. So if it is any help...
We are doing baby swimming
Peter is wearing these trunks

Hey Everybody
May I gatecrash please? Im usually having a nosey around the May thread as my dd was born 30may, but have recently came to thinkin that I should be having a peek on here as well as your babes are prob closer in age

Today my dd rolled from front to back for the first time, she did have a few tries later but gave up. She has also been showing an interest in our food in recent weeks, even tryin to grab the banana out my hand!

For those who were talkin about dicipline(sp) - Im trained in childcare and we were encouraged in both college and in the nurseries to always talk positively. Not always possible I know.
The kind of things they would say would be: did u know that u could hurt yourself and or a friend by swinging on your chair? or why did you hit wee jimmy? how would you feel if he hit you?
Tbh most of the kids would say they were tryin to break the chair in purpose or similar answer iykwim, but it did work for some. It just depends on the individual really.

Anyways I thought I would say Hi
Sho x

Wow - you guys are great. Since posting about Peter's wind I have had my supper and watched a bit of TV and you have all popped along to help out - thank-you.

Amber - it is possible to BF whilst standing up, but not for too long! To be honest he rarely has a bottle (of EBM) so not enough instances to make a call on whether it has the same effect.

UDC he is very sucky, and always has been. I put it down to him being big and hungry, but maybe not. Pleased to hear that you are still having some little bits of diary. I have been wondering this afternoon how I would go about giving up absolutely everything. He is quite dribbly so teeth had crossed my mind too. He is currently asleep so no need for Calpol...yet! By the way have a great time in Normandy. Maybe you can have pate rather than soft cheese?

Poppy Peter is 13 weeks old now. Last week I was thinking it was a combination of the 12 week growth spurt; jabs, and being unsettled from our holiday, but now I am beginning to think those things should be sorting themselves out.

G43 Know what you mean about looking for things that aren't there. It was only when Peter ticked so many of the boxes on the food intolerance symptoms list that I began to think I may be onto something.

TGF you sound so good at working out what Storm needs. Thank-you for such a comprehensive description of what you have been through. Poor you having to cut out so many things from your diet, sounds effective though.

I think for now I will cut out big items of dairy e.g. cereal with lots of milk, and see what happens.

Allipalli - sorry Ethan's birthday buddy Peter is struggling with wind. Ethan does it sometimes but not at every feed,but I get the fighting, pulling off the breast business . Normally he;ll go back on the breast after he's burped but not always.

Good luck with the food intolerance trials - let us know how you get on. ds2 was intolerant to eggs as a baby, they made him very sick - usually at friends houses for some reason! He can eat them now but he doesn't really like them.

Thanks Poppy re the taxis.

Welcome shonnamamon

Amber - banned the word "no"

Ethan's not sleeping as well as he was. He's sleeping less in the day and waking earlier at night, we'd had a couple of weeks when he went through until 6.00 but haven't had such a good night for about a week now. The other night he was awake at 12.30 for goodness sake, I'd only been in bed an hour.
So, on Friday night when we're not getting up early with the boys I'm going to try not to feed him until 6.00 and see what happens.

Getting more worried about the TV programme - they fly here next week to film us and one idea is to film at the spa that we love - mmm, great, how will I hide my baby belly in my swimming costume???? Suppose I could velcro Ethan to me at all times!

Deb - you will be fine, there will be lots of mothers out there oing good on you for filming just after having a baby.

Dribbling - Edie dribbled really badly fro about 3 months to the point that she permanently had a bid around her neck, but in her case her first tooth didn't appear until she was 6 months so dribbling does not necessarily mean teething.

Thanks Sophie, I am sitting here in discomfort trying out my pre pregnancy jeans - they're not too bad until I sit down!

yippee - e slept until 6.00 !!!!

Hi all and good luck with the BF and intolerences - I would go mad without dairy!

Welcome shonno!

Controlled crying getting better now! Luke did wake at 1.50 and 3.30 though last night but hey ho. Let him cry at 1.50 and he settled himself. Got him up at 6.45 in a lovely modd!!

very quiet on here today, where's Paro, Neenz, Rolf, makecakes etc etc...

Nothing much happening here, trying to tidy up and help ds1 with homework - he's very cross because ds2 doesn't get homework on a Friday!

Ethan has finally gone down for a sleep, this morning he had about 45 minutes in total.

Hi everyone

There is no way I will be able to catch up on 3 or 4 weeks of posts but I just wanted to let you know I am back.

I have finally moved to Bristol, unpacked and oh joy as off today I have broadband again (or two weeks I only had a very slow modem and could never go past mumsnet's homepage!)

It is quiet, possibly disturbingly so, both on the thread and in my house. Peter has been asleep for about 4 hours apart from waking up and having three meaningful feeds. Maybe my sleep book is working. Thats more than can be said for it last night as we were up from 1.30 - 2.30; 3.30 - 4.30, and 5.30 till 7.15. I felt pretty ropey this morning, took Peter out for a walk in the sling and he has been sparko since then. Deb know what you mean about the injustice of LOs waking at around midnight, it is so painful getting yourself in a state to feed then.

Amber I'm not too confident about my ability to give up diary. My evening Magnums seem most upsetting, but I keep reminding myself that UDC said she has lost a load of weight since giving up diary. I have bought some calcium pills this morning and I will see how we go.

Needahand welldone on the move. Are you back at work too. There is no way I would be able to sort myself out enough to do either of those things at the moment, let alone both of them.

Five I have read too that dribbling does not automatically equal teething.

Shonno welcome

Where is everyone else?

Ohh, he's awake, better go.

Hello there. Been a bit busy over the past few days - B has been more than a bit demanding, and I've also been sorting out some work stuff - I think I'm going to take on some freelance stuff, which is good.

Alipalli - B has had the symptoms you describe for Peter, progressively getting worse. We were treating him for colic with varying degrees of success - Infacol, Dentinox, probiotics, etc etc etc. The past few days have been pretty bad - I am bf, and he would feed happily for a while and then pull off and scream in pain. Anyway, I took him to the docs and he has been diagnosed with reflux and prescribed infant Gaviscon. There has been some improvement, but I'm not counting any chickens yet. Don't know if this helps you or not, but I hope you can get it sorted.

I'm being yelled at - B wants to be picked up! - so better go. Hope everyone is ok, and Hedgehog, sorry to hear about your grandfather.

I am ranting and raving here today, way back at the end of July/beginning of August I started having problems with my card (Not DH's even though same account) with it being declined in internet transactions but not in shops until finally it didn't work in my local supermarket. Got it sorted now it is starting again, had TEsco's on the line in Thursday (can't take payment for your card) Boden today aswell as Amazon. They are sending me a new card but as soon as it starts again then will be changing banks.

Ali - Alpro is nice - better than the unsweetened ones and Starbucks make a great soya latte.

It is really quiet on the thread isn't it. Maybe there are no new things happening and it'll get busy again when they all start teething!

I wonder if Luke has reflux. He does all the same stuff but as I am not BF, much more difficult on the dairy front.

is infant gaviscon prescription only?

Sorry, just fighting my way past the tumbleweed to post - what's going on? We are so quiet! Personally I've been enjoying what I suspect will be the last bit of sunshine we'll get for a while....

No real news here - hope to meet up with you London ladies soon.