March 2008 babies: Why aren't humans born with teeth and other important topics!

[MarchNowFebMum]

new thread - old one getting too big for some...

recipie for pumpkin scones please!

pumpkin scones (from Aus WW)

250g pumpkin (I use butternut squash) cooked and mashed

375g s/r flour

50g butter

30g parmesan and 30g cheddar grated ( have just used cheddar with no adverse consequences)

125ml milk

extra parmesan/cheddar/whatever is in fridge for topping

rub butter and flour together till look like breadcrumbs.
stir in cheese
add everything else and make into dough.add more flour if too sticky (ie sticks to hands like bad copydex experience).

cut into rounds about 2cm thick (those of you with older children can use it as a playdough activity with novelty cutters)

sprinkle with extra cheese

cook at 220/gas mark 8 for 20 min (keep on eye on them as they do tend to turn into little bullets)

What I try to do is chop whole butternut squash in half and roast (as soooo much easy than trying to skin and chop raw) and then freeze in roughly right quantities until required. i discovered it when looking for healthy snacks for DS and DD seems to love them too.
I never thought I would be asked for a recipe .

have the circle knobbly bit of a butternut squash downstairs may have to try this tomorrow

we made our own pasta and nigella coca cola cake (can you tell the pox quarantine is slowly numbing my mind to death)

morning ladies. been up since4 again, but it was me that woke this time. rotten cough! ds woke at 5. this is no fun, am going to have to do something about it when i have more energy. enough moaning...
i'm getting v bored of ds's food. anybody got a fab idea for breakfasts? Eggy bread ok, but don't think loads of bread suits ds. porridge getting dull.

We're very dull at breakfast time I'm afraid. Porridge with fruit (type of which varies) one day, then weetabix the next. Weetabix is far and away her fave, and she can cheerfully eat two in five minutes flat. (And still in size 3 nappies. I have NO IDEA where all the food goes.)

Have just spent twenty minutes expressing a dribble of milk . I was so excited at the prospect of not having to express after every damn feed when the paediatrician confirmed that she is just little, rather than being starved by my ridiculous insistence on breastfeeding, that I let it all go a bit, reveling in having time to actually leave the sofa. Yesterday it dawned on me that it is December in a few days, and I need to have enough milk for at least five feeds so I can go to River Cottage and to the Will Young concert. Given my performance this morning, it looks like I'm going to have to spend a lot more time hooked to the breast pump.

How are all those stricken by the Starbucks plague? Hope everyone is feeling better.

Ouch for P's teeth!!

I made buckwheat blueberry pancakes [American-style of course] at the weekend and G seems to like them. They have egg and cow's milk in them, though, so you are forewarned. It's his first egg/milk experience and he seemed to do ok, so I'm not too worried. They are a bread product, I suppose, but I figure the buckwheat and berries makes them nice and nutritious! And you can add any fruit, eg bananas, of course. They freeze well.

G won't touch porridge, but I persevere.

G had his 8-month check yesterday. They were very surprised that he eats "lumps". I said "well, he's been feeding himself since the beginning, so yeah I guess you could call it lumps." I've also been told to feed him more meat. We've only just started meat though, so will see how we get on. I suppose he could use a little fattening up (19lbs) as he's dropped off the 50th percentile now, but there's only so much I can get in him.

We have the starbucks lurgy. Off to the doctors at 11. He can't keep any milk down and is not interested in food. Wish us luck.

Turtle for tooth 5!

Luke's on size 3 during the day but 4's at night. I was finding that 3's were not big enough for the overnight wee. 4's though are too big for daytime.

yes p's teeth sound really sore turtle. i hope your health comes back soon too.

buckwheat isn't a wheat as such is it? it's from the rhubarb family...i'm pretty sure its gluten free. i do know it's full of protein, i have to laugh at their meat obsession...kind of like, oh look he eats lumps, quick, throw another steak on the barbie for him . it must be a bit head swirling all te kinds of feeding advice. tbh i think the best way of getting consistent meat proteins into babies if you need to is from stocks. am trying baby burritos today everyone, will let you know how messy it gets (i cunningly save the hideous gloop experiemtns for beofre the cleaners come. i mean i do clean it up 99%, but leave them to their usual hose down of wall splats etc)

oh dear timmy, good luck. gg had a bug a couple of weeks ago which lasted over a week. and within a week he'd whacked back on the weight and now more. not sure how much. he is wearing nature 4+ nappies if that means anything to anyone?

more tellingly, my nonsense rhyme this morning (me spouting doggerel is what happens when i'm tired ++) was:

Come on Georgie off the floor
You need sleep and sleep some more
Up you come on my sholder
Oh my god you are a boulder

and meat, did i say...gently poach chicken strips in apple juice until cooked through. only takes about 8 minutes. gg can suck these, not really bite/chew so much, but he clearly gets something out of them

Yes, MB, I think you're right about buckwheat being gluten free and full of protein. So double gold stars for me! Although I mixed the bw flour with whole wheat and quick oats, so my recipe isn't gluten free. But it was quite tasty.

Will try your poaching recipe - it sounds delish. And cunning idea about stock.

Be prepared to be bored on FB with 100s of photos from my new digital SLR. I'm having such fun playing!

JFly - I made tiny little meatballs, just mince beef or lamb, with some grated parmesan, and wholemeal breadcrumbs, rolled into little balls and poached in a tomato sauce. I give Ff the balls to eat with her hands, while I spoon feed the sauce with either pasta, rice, or mashed potato. Very popular, but very messy!

Lamb stew is a good one too - I still blend this up, but not to a complete puree, I leave lots of lumps.

This week's veg box has just arrived, so I'm off to have a dig around. Lots of leeks by the look of it, so Ff will be having cheesy leeks for tea.

We're back. No food or milk for 24 hours and have been give diorolyte powder to give him instead. No ear or chest infection found, so at least we know it is just a bug.

FF - how do you make the tomato sauce? sounds like a great idea but presumably shop bought ones are riddled with salt??

Nice and easy. I whizzed up an onion and some garlic into a paste (Ff is great with garlic, but maybe just a little bit to test if your LO has never tried it before), and fried it gently in butter and olive oil. Whizzed up a tin of tomatoes and added it to the pan, and that's it. Ff likes mushrooms in this, so I have made the sauce and added some chopped up mushrooms to the pan after the onions have cooked for a little while. A bit of basil and black pepper at the end is nice too, depending on your baby, and I find that this sauce is great for holding a big handful of spinach.

FFFFFFFFFFFudge. Tooth 7 swelling up and turning purple. ARrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrGH.
Timmy-you sure it isn't teething-related?

Sorry to hear about the poorly babies. Hope everyone feels better very soon.

DS has been in 5+ nappies for 2 months now . Such a lardarse!

I felt like a good mum yesterday as I made a gloop of brown rice, lentils, carrot, onion, garlic and cheese. It went down very well. On the other hand, I had a not so good mummy moment when I wasn't quick enough to intervene when DS grabbed a cheese and onion crisp out of my cheese sandwich. We can no longer have the odd meal on our laps on the sofa whilst he's about as it is rather like having a panting labrador at your feet and on your ankles, knees, thighs.

MB, it was great seeing you on sat night. I was home on the dot of twelve, just like Cinderella.

i was back 1215 sexonfire. it was a great night heh? (we went to the mn do in london, brave brave us). feel kind of blue not to have a night of random glorious silliness to go to this weekend!

Ooooh, how was the MN party? What did the glorious silliness consist of? Or was that just you two?

Jeepers turtle P's teething sounds atrocious. I know some babies have it worse than others, but your little mite seems to be really suffering

Thanks for the apple juice poached chicken idea merryberry. We haven't given DD any meat yet, but I'm thinking it's probably time.

JFly - does everyone get an 8 months check? I've sort of heard them mentioned, but not sure if I'm meant to organise one myself of if I'll be summoned.

DD is getting really fast at her commando-type crawling. Basically what she can do now is functionally as good as crawling. A friend was telling me at the weekend that her SIL took her nephew (1 year) to the doctor and was asking about why his crawling was still so rubbish and the doctor said "wooden floors". I was wondering myself whether our choice of flooring that offers no purchase would have an effect on the way DD would learn to move herself around.

wooden floors are hardly a new invention though are they? How on earth did babies cope back in the old days when ma and pa couldn't afford a hal'penny for a rug to keep their knees warm...

werent they in dresses and swaddled and generally not encouraged to move till later

My mum says that when my brother and sister were born the downstairs of their house was all stone flags (2 up 2 down, not stately home ). She said babies spent the whole time sitting in the pram or their cot and never came down to floor level as it was just too damn cold and dangerous. My brother still likes sitting around doing nothing and my sister never seems to sit still so I guess in the long run it all balances out. DD can now push herself back with her feet while lying on her back if she feels she absolutely must but prefers not to bother. Of course it's not the most efficient way of doing things as she can't steer. I think she thinks that her arms will eventually get long enough for her to reach everything without moving.
And she may be right.

Am I the only one who has HV coming to house to do 8 month check (which reminds me, it's on friday, must start tidying...)? Perhaps it is because I haven't seen HV for 4 months as been too lazy busy to get him weighed and have perfectly good scales at home?

i'm sure i posted more last night, perhaps i am now 'dream posting'

havent heard anything about hv checks but ds was late so isnt 8 months till dec 1st, sp prob a bit early and i have a feeling they no longer are strict about timing and it is a 9-12 month check here

turtle with the bugs doing the rounds atm i would be glad that the check is at home even it does mean tidying (though i think at this stage they will give more brownie points for babyproofing plug sockets etc than a mininmilist haven!) when i informed dds tumble tots she had chicken pox they told me another child had mumps (had taken the mmr so not sure if caused by vaccine or caught despite of as they have only had one jab not the booster)

ds had a temp last night and i was convinced he would be spotty today but he isnt so fingers crossed it is just a cold or his teeth

wearehipsandmakers ds isnt moving much, but he wasnt sitting at all until we had a new toy that he had to sit with to play and he then sat for 20 min straight so i reckon he can do things but doesnt bother until he sees the point!

Jfly can you post the pancake recipe pls and the best brand/stockist of buckwheat? and what is good with them? we all love maple syrup (and maple cream ) but usually have to wait for my dad to get a business trip to the US for any as we eat a supermarket bottle to quickly and it is ££££ here.

Some lovely foodie ideas here which i will try when children are better, in fact i was making a 'kofte' curry the other day (curried meatballs) and i took out some mince before adding spices and chillies and squashed it and panfried for ds, he sucked it and pulled a very funny face before dropping it, but i'm not sure if i should tell hv that ds first and only meat experience was in fact albeit homemade a burger

timmy cant imagine one so little going without milk for 24 hours, i thought they had decided milk avoidance was no longer helpful he must be very poorly poor thing for the dr top say that, good luck getting it down him must be a nightmare

Morning all - I'm back

Holiday was fabulous. Hotel expensive but unbelievably worth it: free food for Leo - whatever he wanted (usually prunes ), free nappies, wipes, baby toiletries etc., high chairs delivered to room with food, and staff that were just wonderful with him - wheeling him in buggy while we had uninterrupted meal, entertaining him when he was grumpy and we were just chilling on loungers, constant smiles and chatter and help up and down stairs with buggies etc. Wonderful!

DS' sleep was appalling mind you - after effects of cold, start of top two teeth I think, plus I really noticed how uncertain and clingy he was in an unfamiliar environment. He was such a happy chap last night when we put him in his own cot and has been on top form this morning

I've caught up but too much going on but hugs to all dealing with horrid, scary illnesses and teething.

Evie - Finger Food by Jennie Maizels from Amazon is a good book

8 month check - I spent three weeks phoning every day to get appt for DS as instructed in red book. Kept getting answer phone for "Dorothy the health visitors' administrative typist" (I am amazed that people can still obtain gainful employment solely as a typist!), and no call back from her. Anyway turns out my area has abandoned 8 month checks as they have too many babies so you're lucky if you get your Bookstart pack thrown at you as you depart weigh-in clinic