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

[poppy34]

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

There is this thread here about weaning early. May have a alternative for you. HTH

Hi All!

Enjoying all the weaning talk, I am really hoping that Mia doesn't need solids for a while all that prep and steralizing is a PITA, but like Ernest I am a lazy cow. I Started weaning Hamish at about 16/17 weeks as he was a big baby and seemed to need it and I think everyone is right when they say you should be guided by your baby. My mum weaned all of us at 6 weeks and while this was way too early I have 3 sisters and none of us have suffered any long term problems (as far as I know!)

whinegums I went and bought myself some bubble bath and a magazine in preparation for my bath tonight, hoping dh will make tea cos I haven't bothered my arse!

Laura I am going to give baby cinema a miss tom, don't really fancy the duchess but hopefully I'll see you there next week if something good is on!

Just wanted to say a quick thankyou for everyone who gave me support with the change from bf to ff. I am still bf once a day and we are quite happy with that, so thanks again it really makes a difference being able to chat on here, people in rl don't really understand and I dh didn't understand why I was upset at all.

ll don't worry - am not taking your view as an afront, but the advice on weaning changes all the time and i'd rather trust my instincts than go on what seem fairly arbitrary guidelines.
babies have been weaned earlier than six months for tens of thousands of years and storm is the size of an average five month old and can sit up with a tiny bit of support. i know her system is still developing and it's not a decision i've taken lightly, but the six month guidelines (which come from the WHO) are also aimed at preventing people in the developing world from weaning young babies on food which may have been prepared without access to clean water etc.
storm does suck her fist to show hunger or for comfort, but the gesture i'm talking about is quite different and not simply her finding her hands - it's quite distinctive.
i have read lots of advice about weaning and what makes most sense to me is the suggestion that once babies reach 14lbs plus they may be ready for weaning. storm has gone from settling easily during the day to wanting to feed again before sleeping - and i mean a full feed, not just comfort sucking, which suggests to me that she needs something more. she's actually become a much more efficient feeder in the last couple of weeks, so the decision was not to do with ending her marathon sessions - she pretty much stopped them by herself, and now feeds in less than an hour, which might still seem like a long time, but is a miracle by comparison.
she also started sleeping through properly before we introduced the baby rice so i'm not doing it to try to get her to sleep - i don't need to.
each baby is different and has individual needs. when i went to baby massage last week it was clear she was far larger than the other babies her age and also far more alert. i've noticed no adverse effects on her at all - if i did i'd stop immediately. but the warnings against weaning early do not specify why and as we receive so much conflicting advice i'd rather trust myself.

just read my post back and obviously I am not bf once a day - that would be taking extreme bf to extremes

Extreme bf-ing!? Is that like extreme ironing where you do it up mountains and on volcanos? I've done it on a train in front of scary hoodies, does that count?

Amber - absent dream feed went tits up!!! she woke at 1am managed to strech it til 2.30am then she woke at 6.00am and then at 9.00am.
If i give her a dream feed she stirs at 3,30am can strech it out til 5am and then she wakes at 9am. So dream feed will be back 2night.

poppy - was trying to keep cot for bed only but fleur is too big for pram and moses and doesnt really like chair at mo. So putting her in cot to sleep during day.

Question re chairs, Fleur has a simple one that has nothing and does nothing, she doesnt like it at mo keps arching back and can actually wiggle out. Weve been given a voucher for here can anyone recommend any of these chairs and how long would they last for. other wise dont know what we could get with the voucher.

Glad all DS/DD first days went well

Thanks 5gomad and others think its good to do it while life is calm and i can give it full attention 5 go mad was thinking of just making a bottle top full ie (the avent tops)Think weaning by weight, baby etc much better than generalised weaning guidelines, obviously at mo its only an idea she might not be ready in Oct we shall see.

Allnew- soz bout car, and hehe re cleaning good that he supports you in no cleaning regime!!!

PP- hehe re extreme BF ive done it in front of a load of Mcdonalds managers who were inspecting my local MCDonalds for health etc i even flashed my boob at them!!!!
Glad you like my routine approach iwas looking up something today and she was interested in the book so i gave it to her, didnt work though dont think she can read yet!!!

Lol Katyjo at the thought of you being bfed once a day, glad that you've been able to continue with our support!

PP - Extreme ironing - you've ironed in front of hoodies on a train???

TGF - Pleased that you're not offended by LL, as you say it is your decision and you know Storm best.Personally I will put it off as long as Ethan will let me, life is so much easier before they start weaning!!

The thing I really like about this group is that I feel I can say anything(within reason) and don't have to worry about being shouted at like in some other scary forums.If I really felt strongly about what someone is doing then I'd just bite my tongue - what business is it of mine?

Ernest - I think from your description of your dh you may have to pay people to take him!!

Sophie - glad you're back!!

Allnew - sorry to hear about the car

Whinegums - crap news about your job, sorry

Poppy - why are you stressing about the cot death stats? What are you doing at the moment? With ds1 we had him in our room until he outgrew his moses basket - about 3-4 months I think(can't actually remember )
With ds2 he was a very bad sleeper and so as not to disturb ds1 he stayed in with us for 6 months.
Now with ds3 I think he'll be with us until after Christmas as at that time we have lots of family staying all over the place, then he will go in with ds2.

Hedgehog - pleased swimming went well

Everyone else - really sorry can't post more as Greys anatomy has started on TV and it's in English - yey!!

Have posted a photo of ds2 on his 1st day of school today, with his best friend

TGF no offence taken, as you say all babies are different.

poppy - luke gets that rash and his face feels like sandpaper instead of all baby soft like it's meant to. Luke has no nap routine per se but I try and get him to have 2 hours in the am and 2 in the pm (even if it's in buggy when I'm out it still counts). I try and put him in the cot. He doesn't nap on us any more unless he's been screaming and we're holding him when he stops with exhaustion!

whinegums - I HAVE to got Luke to sleep in the day as he would never just get tired and go glazed. He would scream the house down. So I try and look for signs before he gets really cranky and then rock him to sleep upstairs in a a dark room with the white noise on. Seems to work (sometimes!)

Weaning - the extrusion reflex needs to have diappeared (tongue thrust). They can't eat anything until it's gone and it naturally goes with time. SO whatever age or weight they are it matters not as until the extrusion reflex is gone they won't be able to swallow anything and it'll just come straight back out again!

TGF/Poppy/PAro - the dream feed is pretty much the only thing DP does most days and I am loathe to drop it because then he'll never have any sleep deprivation and i'll have it all - cannot believe I wrote that down but it's true!!! Might ask him what he would do instead - any ideas? Maybe he could wake up at 6am instead? I think we will try it and see as like Aberdeen I am fed up of reading about everyone else's babies sleeping through as Luke absolutely does not and also wakes at the crack of dawn so I am running on adrenaline only . I don't want him to be one of these babies who still needs feedinf in the night at 6 months!

PP - I PMSL for ages and so did DP at the extreme breastfeeding comment!!!!!!

Night nanny back on Sunday . We have got rid of the moses basket now as he's too long for it so he is going to have to sleep in his baby gym as I refuse to pay for a travel cot which we will never use after she's gone. It has sides and is so padded I'd sleep in it if I could!!

Anyway - off to bed now so we'll see what time Luke wakes up. He had his jabs today so gawd knows!

Debs, you must be so proud of your boys. Ethan looks fab in his swimming trunks. Are they from Adams? If so I have a pair of those from DS1.
Can't believe our boys have had their first day at school. Where does the time go?

amber sounds like you're nap routine similar to mine and glad you also have the attractive sandpaper rash...

I'd find something else for dh to do if you do drop the night feed - the 6am feed sounds good compromise.

Hope jabs go well - still got couple of weeks to go til our next lot..

are you counting the days til night nanny gets back ?

deb am stressing as edie in next door room to us (ok its about 6 meters from dh head) as outgrew her moses basket... know that dsc went into own room at that age as had verious other friends but suddenly nervous.. having lost one baby am particularly paranoid but not sure what else we could do...

and want more extreme b/f stories now katyjo pp and paro have raised the bar

TGF, I was interested in your comments on Storm's size - you say she's 15 lbs which is the size of an average 5mth old. Alex is 14lbs at 12 weeks but doesn't seem any bigger than his peers who are all about the same size - do they breed 'em bigger in Berkshire!!

I'm with the ones who want to leave weaning as late as possible - bottles are so easy! I also love the idea of first meal on Christmas Day but Alex will be over 6 mths by then and I think I may struggle to stretch it out for that long. He has a huge appetite and loves his milk!

poppy - imagine not having to do a dream feed, night feed or early morning feed at all for two nights a week so you can go to bed at 10pm and not wake up again until 7.30am. To me the night nanny is a goddess who is worth her weight in gold!

poppy, am totally with you about stressing on the sleeping in their own room thing. A's room is across the corridor and I'm really struggling with the idea of putting him in there although he is now really squashed in his Moses basket .

I know I need to make the leap but just can't face it right now and keep on finding new excuses to put it off . . .

sophie - very happy that you're back

Aberdeen - if you're reading this, I'm very sorry if I contributed to your feeling of malaise. I've been thinking a lot about Fraser and, if I understand you right, I think the dummy thing is very interesting. Babies can use dummies / sucking to close off their stomach valve and stop food coming up their oesophagus. The top part of Dorothy's cot is raised off the ground with two phone directories (because of the reflux) - I wonder if it could be worth considering?

Penguin, well done re weight loss! Really hope to see you on Wednesday and thanks for organising the meet-ups.

I popped into work (Waterloo) today. Left the house at 8.30, got there at 9.30 and left at 11.30 in time to pick up DS from nursery. I sat in on a team meeting and caught up with loads of people. I didn't want to post anything on here or tell too many people there in case I got stressed about it - those of you around in April may remember I got signed off sick with stress-induced high blood pressure - but it was all fine, and I feel really good that I've been.

udc I'm glad

sponge that is exactly same position as edies room...what I really hate is fact taht cant find any of studies re why they say sleeping alone.. I just hate it when you are going against grain and don't understnad why - it seems to be lumped in with a load of other advice (eg not smoking near baby etc etc)..I may have to invest in monitor - also know dh thinks I'm being overly paranoid...

aberdeen sorry you're feeling low...and if you do go for rasiing cot thing can I suggest baby manuals as being particularly useful for that ?

better go as dh now trying to settle madam who has been alternately crying /thinking its playtime for last 2 hours.. knew it was too good to be true when straight down at 7

sorry udc that sentence got lot -meant to say i'm glad you got through your work meeting ok - must have really been weighing on your mind

soz meant to add a link earlier
chairs
cant post much more now will catch up 2morrow night night!

Thanks Poppy.

Hi all, I'm back from my weekend in Dorset. Had a fab time, may I heartily recommend Sophie's burngate farm, in particular the poached eggs. yum! thanks for having us 5gomad was lovely to meet you and your DC!

Whinegums that stinks about your job, so sorry to hear it messes up your mat pay as well I bet B looks v cute in his big boy trousers - C's new dress was rather big, but super cute at the wedding (thanks for good wishes katyjo) BDQ was lovely to meet you too, hope your wedding was as much fun as ours - I was brave and left C with the creche service that the bride and groom had organised - was lovely to eat the whole meal at the same time as DH!

paro wedding venue looks lovely, enjoy your planning!

Aberdeen so sorry you're having such a tough time with sleep, really hope your wee man settles soon and you rejoin the gang!

can't remember what else I was going to respond to but hello everyone else, hope no-one has drowned in this weather. very soggy here indeed...

UDC glad work went OK, and it's all over now!

UDC glad work went OK, and it's all over now!

poppy, I understood it was something to do with your breathing encouraging them to breathe - but that doesn't make much sense to me. One of my NCT friends moved her LO into his own room at 4 weeks and had a big argument with her HV about it. Her HV said 1/3 of cot deaths occured when the baby was on its own but as my friend's dh pointed out that meant 2/3 occured when the baby was sleeping with an adult so that meant the whole "copying your breathing" thing is a load of rubbish .

I asked my HV and she said not to worry - that the not smoking and not overheating your baby, and sleeping on their back was far more important. It's really hard to know what to do.

UDC, pleased work went well.

poppy, I understood it was something to do with your breathing encouraging them to breathe - but that doesn't make much sense to me. One of my NCT friends moved her LO into his own room at 4 weeks and had a big argument with her HV about it. Her HV said 1/3 of cot deaths occured when the baby was on its own but as my friend's dh pointed out that meant 2/3 occured when the baby was sleeping with an adult so that meant the whole "copying your breathing" thing is a load of rubbish .

I asked my HV and she said not to worry - that the not smoking and not overheating your baby, and sleeping on their back was far more important. It's really hard to know what to do.

UDC, pleased work went well.