Sept 08: We'll soon be weaning, and of a full nights sleep we're dreaming ......

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Hello ladies.

Pull up a chair, grab a biscuit and lets start talking about puree vs blw and sleep deprivation

We are on day 3 of weaning - baby rice not wholly successful but I am perservering. She takes a little in her mouth, spits some of it out and we try again. Also tried a little BLW with a bit of carrot but suffice to say it's not something she loves - trying butternut squash tonight

It's such a lovely day out, we have been swimming and for a nice walk. Now I am just putting off the hoovering

starlight I have bought a packet of Hipp organic baby porridge, which has instructions on the pack - really easy, just mix with cooled boiled water. I am going to try it tomorrow (first day with two meals!).

Normal porridge: Pour water/milk (depending on preference) over porridge oats so they are well covered, then either cook gently on the hob or carefully in the microwave (it has a tendency to boil over in dramatic fashion) for about 10 mins until thick and gloopy. For grown ups you can add salt before cooking (DP doesn't get salt on porridge, I think it tastes like wallpaper paste without)
baby porridge: add water, mix.

Contemplating adding an evening meal as a second meal. Currently he has breakfast, as he seems to be too tired/not hungry enough or something at lunchtime, so gets cross. Is there any reason to stick with breakfast and dinner for a week or so until we're comfortable, and then reintroduce lunch?

Bought some prune juice today - got scared by the senna pods in fig syrup, and couldn't be bothered to make my own.

starlight I use Ready Brek, can either put in hot water or hot milk and stir. Or make it with cold and heat in microwave/on hob. The Ready Brek is my nod to giving him something with added iron but it has no added salt or sugar unlike baby porridge - I make it with whole milk.

We've had a lovely day in the park today. A played on the swings, climbing frame and slide.

Dinner was a success (unlike lunchtime, A does NOT like cheesy root vegetable gratin). I made leek and potato soup and A grabbed the spoon the right way round and put it into his mouth on a few occasions.

pacita as for my 'sleeping through' triggers, I think it was more to do with witholding nightly feeds and refusing to pick him up (as opposed to weaning alone, but I only started this last week when I knew he'd start taking in solids). The couple of times he has cried for longer than 20 minutes, I let DH pick him up and get him back to sleep by any means necessary and if that failed then I fed him. It might be the 'training' or it might be a combination of traiNING and weaning and A just getting older and more able to cope with self settling.

Only if it's the actual baby porridge stuff. You can't do that with ordinary porridge oats. They need to be cooked.

I'm sure you can get something similar in the UK, but I use a dried mix of "porridge" which is just organic rice & quinoa, then I mix it with water, maybe a bit of apple or grape juice & heat, he seems to like it...I'm not sure about overloading them with too much wheat to start off with. Have to say the pre-made baby food over here is generally awful! Most own brand stuff has added salt can you believe, and you can get hipp, but it's obviously adapted for the French market, as it's all recipes like "rice with veal and green beans"
Most of what he has is what we're having in some way, but I like to have a jar or two for an emergency....

Ninja- C's only food so far is cardboard too! I gave her an egg boxtoplay with while I was cooking, and was pleased with myself for finding a toy that kept her so happy so long. Then she coughed a bit,and I found she'd started to eat it -she spent the rest of the day sicking up small bits of green eggbox.

Well done for having 5 or more hours sleeps.I have been very naughty and I might get into trouble bacause of that. For the last 4 nights, when dd wakes up in her cot 4 hours after going to bed more or less) I have been so tired that after feeding her in my bed I have fallen asleep waking up in the morning by her hands touching my face. She loves it and me too, but I hope I will be able to put her back in her cot tonight after the feed. It is lovely though

Any of you are still happily co-sleeping ?
I give her for breakfast a PLUM super podridge from Boots, I like it because it has quinoa like Jempet says.
Today I added whole milk and water to it and she loved it.

She likes sitting on the floor with the V-pillow supporting her, playing with cubes and observing her brother playing. In 5 days I can see how stronger her back has become, she barely falls now.
She has not spent time in her tummy yet, I must do that.

hopefully I've had problems with lunch too due to overtiredness and over hunger, but I've made the 9am nap a bit longer, and brought lunch forward to 11am and heavily load whatever I give him with apple, so that he'll def take it as its quite sweet. Then he's full enough to sleep for 12-2. HTH.
Fiiiinally ds sat in the bumbo for a meal today. Screamed when we try the tray though. He's not happy in his high chair, but i tried him in my friend's tripp trapp today and he'd never looked happier. Grrrr.

Also as a food tip for you puree junkies out there, I find jars minging, but am loving the Ellas House pure fruit and veg purees. As they're in a squeezy tube, you can easily re-seal if they're not finished. They're genius.

We've had some success with toast dipped in the Ella's house purees - T sucks it all off, then gets cross when there's no more. I figure it gives him the instant gratification of purees with the helping himself aspect of BLW.
Might get some spoons to load and see if T will feed himself - I've realised how much mushy food we eat! Shephards pie, thick veggie soup etc.

Brilliant night last night - T went down at 8:30, didn't hear a peep till he wanted feeding at 1:30, then again till 4:30, then got up at 6:40, without a single resettling inbetween!

splishsplosh - that's the funny thing. Once the paper/cardboard has disappeared I've seen no evidence of it at either end

The big date for starting is next weekend as DH will be there too

I must get her weihed today as it'll be the last one before weaning

hopefully good to hear that you had a better night.

We're veggie so eat a lot of sauces as well, not sure if I'll just give M what we have or cook up some extra veg. Probably a mixture

Is anyone finding it even harder to get things done now babies are older? Since starting weaning I'm finding it virtually impossible to fit in the time for a shower or anything - I stop BF, give food, by the time he's clean again it's time for another nap, during which I have a cup of tea, then the whole thing starts again! Luckily BFs still take 20-30 mins, so I still get time to MN...

Hopefully I find it difficult to get anything done at EVERY age! Then they start school and you miss them so much & wish they were still at home

ds2 eats all 3 meals at the same time as the rest of us and is eating pretty much the same as us so its not too hard to fit it all in. Which is a good job really as I struggle to fit everything in anyway.

starlight my ds1 is 3 next month and I have no idea when we'll be potty training as he's not ready for it yet and I'm avoiding the issue for as long as possible as I'm dreading having another thing to think about too. I'm hoping that if I don't think about it it'll just happen one day.

debi and starlight let me encourage you that shameless bribery potty training can work...we had the most extraordinary victory this morning with dd, she was 'playing at driving the car' while I got ds and all our stuff organised after our morning group, and when I went to get her from the drivers seat she was standing on it, trousers and pants down saying 'wee mummy!'. I was anticipating a very soggy drive home on a wet seat...but no, she had in fact got the spare potty out of the rear footwell, positioned that on the drivers seat, and weed in it. There was lots of jumping up and down and clapping and photograph taking by all the grown ups, and a chocolate button for dd! She then sat on the potty for the next 10 mins in the hope of another victory so we were really late home

starlight cucumber is food in my book...well done for starting as you mean to go on, go BS!
hopefully I love the toast idea, when ds gets the hang of finger food I'll def give that a go.

Starlight I have the same thoughts as you. M has stolen and eaten sucked a few bits and pieces, I don't think of that as starting, more experimenting with textures

I don't want to have to worry about when and where I can feed her so plan to start VERYYYYY slowly

star It's the transition that is killing me now. BF was going brilliantly and I felt like a super star expert mum for a while there... but now that I am trying to change DD's world I wonder if I am paying the price. She is refusing to take a bottle, which I have to introduce as she starts nursery in, er, six days. Apparently 6 months is the worst time in baby's head to try weaning from breast to bottle. And I find this out now. The nursery staff are being really helpful with settling-in sessions and advice, but looked a bit shocked when I said I never had needed to use a bottle before. (That's right, I have NO social life!)

(I did use a bottle a bit when DD was very young, but I hated expressing and all the sterilising faff so stopped. DD guzzled from the bottle then but apparently has forgotten all about that now. )

Food is going ok-ish though. Pureed pears and baby rice for lunch nearly all got swallowed!!

I'm feeling much better now but now C has had a terrible cough. She coughs so much once she starts that she makes herself puke, then most often gags on the puke, cue more red eyed spluttering - poor mite. A woman in the supermarket yesterday was horrified, it isn't very pretty. Decided to give baby group a miss this morning as I realised it wouldn't be fair to infect all the other babies.

Re. porridge I've had a bit of a mad moment and bought some weird Swiss baby porridges - I think they were spelt and millet.
I'm sure they all taste the same, i.e. of nothing, but never mind!

ponymum - if your dd won't take a bottle, how about milk from a doiddy cup or tommee tippee cup?

jenpet - if you would like any UK weaning stuff sending over, I'm happy to help

Yes I find weaning takes up A LOT of time. DS isn't interested in breakfast yet (although I don't think it will be long) but making 2 meals a day is a faff. I'm getting organised and batch cooking. I made rice pudding last night and freezed a load of individuals portions, and at the weekend I poached some halibut in milk and froze portions of that too.

We do a mix of blw and spoon feeding (I don't have to puree anything as ds can eat lumps) as ds likes to be spoon fed , however I always make sure ds can feed himself part of the meal. Whoever suggested maltloaf is a genius, he loves it. It makes a lovely squishy mess in his hand and the raisins come out the other end all plump!!