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

debs75 despite A playingwithfood BLW for the past 5 weeks, he is still very fickle about whether he wants to eat at mealtimes (today, breakfast yes, lunch no, dinner yes) and has developed a rather worrying habit of squeezing his eyes shut and shuddering whenever he swallows any lumps. Which leads me to believe he still hasn't really got the hang of it.

I suppose all I can do is keep giving him food that requires chewing or he'll never learn.

debithescot ha! was very nearly me I was describing, except I didn't cry (well maybe on the inside) - it was A. Last night he woke around the same time so after 45 mins of much the same sleep/cry/DH settling I got up patted him back to sleep. DH said, he obviously just wanted his mummy. I'm a bad mummy, I should have got up much earlier to soothe him.

In other news I have returned from my trek to the other side of London to see my work's new office. The drive wasn't too bad, better than I thought. They're not sure they can accomodate me doing 3 days a week. They've found working part-time hours 5 days a week works better. But I don't want to be away from DS 5 days a week just yet. Reassuringly they said the area I was responsible for all went to pot after I left because my cover didn't really have the same experience as me. It's nice to know that I wasn't completely indispensible. Anyway, feeling a bit weird about it all. Was good to see them, nice to be wanted, would quite like to do the work again, just wish the commute wasn't so bad and that juggling constantly changing part-time days wasn't such a hassle for everyone (me, my mum, DH, and work).

Sorry for banging on, I should probably be posting in the returning to work section.

Hope everyone gets a better night's sleep tonight. DH reckons A's room will be ready for him in a couple of weeks (counting down the days to more full nights' sleep courtesy of DH doing the night shift).

pacita
1.Not sure about giving water pre-weaning. I'm sure it's fine as long as it's not replacing too much breastmilk. But don't quote me on that.
2.I give A tap water in a doidy cup after a solids meal. He hardly has any, but it's more about teaching him how to drink out of a cup. I've given him sips of mineral water when out and about, but I wouldn't give it to him at home (I think tap water is more rigorously tested than bottled)

1. I'm sure Diego will let you know if you're over-feeding him (by refusing to finish or bringing it back up), I doubt one 200ml bottle will plonk him on a path to obesity . Whenever A's had a bottle of EBM he's never really finished it.

One of the other things about bottled water is that it doesn't contain any flouride at all, so leads to increased future dental problems, I think some sources are very high in certain minerals too...

isnt it cooled boiled water til 6 months then tap water fine? i may have remembered that wrong though...

well my day just kept going downhill, Alfie has been so unsettled and unhappy all day (except when at baby yoga) and has fed like mad, slept very little. He just guzzled 9oz formula and i think he has conked out now. I predict another few wakings tonight though. And I feel rubbish, pretty sure its tonsilitis. Early to bed for me and fingers crossed for no disturbances! Wish I knew what was up with him though

i thought its tap water once they starts crawling

I think you're meant to avoid mineral water because of the high levels of minerals, especially salt. I seem to remember being told that if you have to give bottled water (like if you're on holiday) then evian is best, otherwise just tap water.

You can give unboiled water from 6 months.

Evian or vittel are the recomended bottled waters (something to do with the fact they are lower in sodium I think, but no need to use them unless you are on hols)

Toby having a bad day today bless him Hardly any sleeps, not feeding well and generally unhappy. Think its this cough/teeth. Off to bed in a minute...had enough today.

I've also heard that tap water is fine from 6m, bf babies shouldn't need water until they're weaned, and mineral waters are best avoided.

The books I've read (you know which ones they are!) say that from about 3 months, babies develop more adult sleep patterns, which means that every 45mins they come into a light sleep, so if your baby is waking after 45mins, it might be a light sleep rather than needing to get up. For those not getting enough sleep, you talk about resettling your babies at night, could it be that they are now so used to you coming to them when they come into a light sleep that they don't know how to fall back asleep on their own? I would suggest making sure they go into their cot awake at the start of the night, are in their own room so you don't hear every waking and give them the chance to re-settle, and maybe a bit of CC as some of you have suggested? Making sure they've eaten enough and had no more than 3 hours daytime sleep should help your confidence to know that its ok to leave them for a bit. I would start CC when you put them to bed at 7pm, when you're sure they're tired and full. Hopefully you'll reap the benefits overnight as they're used to being awake in their cot and putting themselves back to sleep.

Now for the confession of two bad mummies.
Once upon a time there were two mummies, we'll call them carrie and pony to protect their real identities. They met for lunch one wednesday in March and had a wonderful time. The babies were bonny, the toddler didn't do any wees in her pants, the food was yummy, the coffee was good, the conversation was great. They went on their merry way smiling in the spring sunshine. And then on the bus on the way home, one of them phoned the other and said 'did you pay? Coz I didn't....' Fortunately ponymum was still in town and went to settle the bill! What naughty mummies

DH just gave Diego 200ml of Aptamil, and 24 weeks and 1 day of exclusive breast feeding are over. I feel strangely relieved though...

He screamed the house down in his newly found piglet-in-distress cry when DH put him down in the cot, but I think he just wanted his mum. I walked in, stroked his belly and said sweet nothings and he was sleep within two minutes.

I hope to god he sleeps better today or I'll personally apply to be accepted at Guantanamo bay, where I think they get more sleep now that Obama is president.

Oh, and thanks to all for the water tips (inept mum emoticon). Tap it is then, in just about two weeks time...

pacita you've done brilliantly

Thats great, pacita. Well done

Boo

I am contemplating giving into the temptation to give T a bottle before bed - the one night he had formula recently before bed (I was desperately trying to get a million things done) he slept a record 6 hours. Don't know whether it was coincident, but I'm basically giving it a couple of days to make sure my supply doesn't suffer from missing 2 feeds, then I think we're going to give him another bottle before bed and see what happens. Really want to try everything else before going down the CC route.
Fingers crossed that T sleeps better tonight - he only had about 2 hrs 45 mins sleep today, rather than usual 3-3.5, so hoping he's a bit more knackered than normal.

I'll see you all at 10:30 probably...

Oh, and meant to ask, those of you using doidy cups, are you having success? T still seems totally unimpressed with the tommee tippee cup, I'm wondering whether he might get the hint faster (albeit messier) with the doidy cup?

Hi all - been incredibly busy lately, with weaning and doing lots of fun stuff as weather gets better (plus DP away), so little time to mn. I've skim read what I can and hope all going well!

I've added a few photos to my profile of Charlotte feeding. We had a bit of a breakthrough as she wasn't eating much at all but then we spoon fed her mashed potato and she loved it and then seemed to click about the handheld stuff as well, as I dipped a carrot in the potato and she picked it up and sucked it off. I then fed her porridge and she grabbed the spoon and, well, fed herself! Yes it was messy but now it means she takes a loaded spoon from me and feeds herself/face/hair/cat. She isn't strong enough to pick up some foods, so we do have to help a bit as she's so small still.

Someone mentioned just giving babies what we have for tea and let them get on with it. For us, there are 2 problems with this. First, DP is rarely home from work until 5.30/6 and C needs to eat 4.30/5 (God knows what we'll do when I'm back to work. Eek!). Second, if we had, say, fish pie, she is just not strong or dexterous enough to put her hand in and eat it - she hasn't worked that one out yet with mushy foods.
I am impressed with those babies having bagels and other such stuff. We've only been weaning for a week or so though. She will drink water from a doidy cup though!!I never thought I'd be a fan of them

Someone else DG i think, mentioned amounts of food in BLW. I'm finding that if i let C do all the feeding herself, like today, she needs a lot of milk as well. On the few days we've given her porridge or a pudding from a spoon, she's taken alot less milk. Obviously BLW gives them less food but I am impressed with the speed C has taken to BLW and we only help with the really sloppy foods like porridge. She's already dropped a milk feed.

Giving her 2 very simple meals a day. Not even meals really, just food to try. Not thinking about 3 meals a day for at least 3/4 weeks. One woman I met in RL had an 8 month old having porridge and toast for breakfast!!
I do love the fact that with a few exceptions, no food is off limits now. She loved philly on bread today and adores watermelon (and I craved it during pregnancy).

Hope everyone else doing well. Sorry for long post, only chance I get to catch up for a while.

Hopefuly C loves doidy cup, though i do have to help her and guide it to her mouth.

Oh, and first timers - how excietd are you about this Sunday??!! I am so excited. never though it'd be me.

Good evening! I just want to get this back on my threads as I haven't been on for a few days. DD is well, we did a bit of BLW today with a rice cake, she was suprisingly good at it!

hopefully fingers crossed T sleeps better tonight. We have a doidy cup but I keep forgetting to use it.

Gaaaaaaahhhhhhh when will my child sleep?!?!?!

Imoscarsmum and all the other first timers. I can't wait for Sunday either and it will be my 13th. It is always nice to have a day where i can have cups of tea made for me, the dh gets the kids up and sorted and i get a lovely lie in.
Oh and a big box of thorntons chocs please.

It was so nice seeing carriebo today. How that we both forgot to pay! Obviously I am so stuck in my non-glamourous mummy hermit lifestyle that it is now entirely foreign to me to go out to a place where you pay someone to give you food and drinks. carriebo, if it's any consolation they really had to struggle to find our bill when I went back. We totally could have got away with it! (But of course we are both far too honest for that! )

We agreed we are both looking forward to this Leeds meet up. Does someone have a date?

Tonight, instead of being reunited with DH after his trip, I am all alone as his flight was delayed and he missed his connection.

imoscarsmum Yes, I'm very excited about Sunday! Although I do have a niggling feeling that it might remind me of my own mother which would spoil it a bit. Poo. Happy thoughts!

hopefully, plusone, Jenbot, DebiThEScott and pacita, thank you thank you thank you. (yes pacita I did copy and paste your post as well)
Girls it must be the spring, that has somehow alter our babies. Same problem here.

My ds while having breakfast with his dad (I was in bed with dd after a sleepless night) asked him " papa, what happens if mama never sleeps, she was with Lorea awake all night?
Debs75 Thanks. It is good to know that is natural and I am not the only one.

Carriebo Last night I felt really guilty. Lorea woke up around 12:00 in her cot by my bed . I ignore her to find out fter picking her up because she was cryining in a different way that she had done a poo. I felt bad for letting her cry.

After i did the CC 2 weeks ago, she has gone to sleep without problems, but she still wakes her making hungry sounds during the night.
Pacita BIEN! Well done! Thinking of you.

Re. Water. I did not know we could give them tap water.
I should go to sleep now.

imoscarsmum DS1 used to have mamouth breakfasts when he was about 8 months- weetabix, toast, apple and then maybe a petit filous or a fruit pot!!! It was his best meal of the day

So...I predicted a bad night and I was right. I went to bed at 8 as I was feeling poorly. ds2 woke at 11 (fed) 2.30 (fed), didnt settle so calpol, another layer of clothing as it had gone colder, a nappy change and fed at 3.30 (i wanted to cover all bases!!) Calpol was cos I think he's teething. Then DS2 woke at 5.15, DH reluctantly went. DS1 woke 6.15, up for the day.

I still dont feel like I can do CC as he is still poorly. I'm contemplating taking him back to the doctors. He got a cold at 2 weeks and has been snuffly ever since, has also had a bout of bronchiolitis and most recently tonsilitis. Poor poor boy

fingers crossed he sleeps better today, I think I'm going to give him 3 bottles formula instead of 2 today. I know bm is meant to have all the antibodies in but its not worked so far has it? And am wondering if the quality of my milk is not so good whilst I am poorly. I've just GOT to get him into a routine and I think ff is the only way

oh, and i can see 2 bottom teeth about to break through, that must be what all the fuss is about!