F(l)ab Feb 2009: Primark pants and teething rants

[dinkystinky]

A brand new sparkling thread to mark the four month mark for our bubs

aaron is 21 weeks and i let him hold a banana yesterday and he was unimpressed, he tasted on my finger and cried so at least i'm positive now i'm not starving him by waiting. ds1 was this age when he grabbed food from my plate and ate it so with him there was no doubt he was ready, aaron just isn't. am quite relieved as i really would prefer to hold off as long as possible.

just got dd's paeds appointment... for ds1's birthday, have just rung them to change it now. she's got the same paed as aaron had in scbu... suffice to say we did not see eye to eye so this could be torturous

Havent posted for ages but have read back three pages and see that some of the bubs on here have teeth already!!! No sign of any yet for Milo but i did start on weaning him last week as he just doesnt seem satisfied on his 8 ozs of milk anymore.

Am a bit worried as he seems to HATE savoury things (gags, is sick ect) but will persevere and fingers crossed he should develop a taste for cauliflower cheese eventually Have to agree with cocodrillo though and say that its a right old malarky this weaning business!

Hope everyone is ok and that lo's are sleeping through now (or at least giving you all a good few hours sleep) Milo is rolling around and up on his hands all the time reaching for stuff and playing with things - i cant believe the difference in him in just the short space of a month. We have just bought him one of those fisher price jumperoo thingys (ill pick it up this afternoon) as he is so into stuff now and whilst he used to look at his toys he is actually playing with them now.

Well im actually going to try and get on here a bit more and keep up with everything - its been nearly a half a year since they were born and i just cant believe how fast its all going (or how tiring it is).

Am making this short as I have lost my last few posts - computer is doing weird things on Mumnset only. Think DH is sabotaging it so I can't chat to you all .

Hope weaning is going well for you all. We are waiting as long as possible because of potetial allergies. Also, we need to give the Neocate time to bed in.

Saw the private paediatrician this morning for the results of the reflux tests last week and he has confirmed that Sam does have "refluxes" during the day (where his pH level falls below 4) a few of which last for about 6 mins . Imagine having hearburn lasting 6 minutes! No wonder he's been a misery. Picking up the meds tomorrow morning and feel very positive that things will get better!

If anything I feel a bit bitter that we've had 4 1/2 months of misery because of something not too serious that could have easily been fixed. Am at my GP for being so obstructive really.

Off to see friends in Essex tomorrow and pick up some bits and pieces for DD's 2 birthday nest week.

Happy 3rd birthday to DS, Herbgarden!

STW So pleased you know now what it is and it can be treated properly.
Sorry for Sam though, must be awful for him. At least he won't remember it.
I FUCKING HATE DOCTORS! Especially my gp's. They all think they are God, they are far too busy and important to deal with anything properly and I am fed up at having to diagnose conditions through google. It's how I diagnosed ds1's reflux.

Well I havent been on for ages as I am having a really rough time. DS just will not sleep and feeding is very irratic....

We had anohter sleepless night last night and he has not fed all day today and I am stressing out about my supply on top of everything else.. So I have taken the hardest decision to try formula (he may or may not take it anyway). I feel that I am now at the end of my teather and today has been so bad he just will not feed and I just cant take anymore. I feel I am failing him and nothing anyone will say will make me feel any different.... I just want to sit and cry for hours, I feel that the bond I have with him will now go and that i will not be able sooth him etc etc....

I have bought a DR Brown bottle today as they are ment to be good with reflux and 3 trial cartons of aptimal.... Has anyone tried this??

stw, i was also very angry with the medical profession that dd had to suffer reflux with no meds and spent so long in agony. like lbb i diagnosed via the internet as my gp wasn't interested in dealing with it (probably reflux, she'll grow out of it' when presented with dd who projectile vomited 70/80% of every feed ) but honestly suffering as a baby doesn't seem to have affected her long term... it's only me and dp who remember how hellish it was, she's blissfully unaware

bumps, sorry you're finding it so hard. I would see if you can get advice from someone who knows about bf if that's what you want to continue doing (not a GP or HV or hospital doctor who may or may not know about bf as their training doesn't appear to include some quite basic principles). I've heard of "nursing strikes" and sometimes the baby then returns to feeding normally, but if you're already worrying about weight gain I'm sure that's a bit scary. I'm not quite sure what's going on with C as he's apparently wanting to feed and then fussing around and whinging, but I think it's all teething related.

bumps - I could have written your post about 5 years ago.

I am very impressed that you are still b/fing on such little sleep - well done you.

bumps - I feel for you and hope you come to a situation that works for you and your LO. If you do decide to go down the route of formula feeding, I can tell you that Alex has been on Aptimal from the beginning as it was recommended in the hospital. Apparently it's lighter than SMA and so easier on delicate stomachs. Alex has always tolerated it very well. I started off on Dr Brown bottles but stopped using them after about 3 weeks. I used to find that Alex was gulping and could hear him taking in air with every gulp. It seemed to me that the milk was coming out too quickly and he couldn't handle it. We had a few projectile regurgitations and some bad wind, so I ditched them and went for Tommee Tippee bottles instead, which he has always seemed much happer with. No more gulping, and regurgitation very rare. Hope this helps.

Weaning is going ok here. We did breakfast today, which seemed to go well, but he still wasn't too keen on his tea(carrot, parsnip & apple). But having said that, he pulled lots of faces but did seem to eat it. The food is obviously hitting home because he's gone from waking between 5.30 & 6 to 7.30 for the past couple of mornings. I've jinxed it now, he'll be awake at 5.30 tomorrow now.

We're considering moving house - I can't actually believe we're thinking about it with a 5 month old, but hey. I walked past a new build house round the corner from me today with a To Let sign outside. It's got 3 bedrooms (we only have 2 which means we can't have any visitors as Alex now has the spare room), 2 of which are en-suite, a family bathroom, a utility room, a garage and off street parking. It's more money than we pay at the mo, but it's got everything we want. I'm hoping to have a look at it tomorrow and am pretty sure that if it's still available and we like it that we'll go for it. Crazy people.

Sorry bumps you're having a hard time. I'm not the lady to give advice not being a b/feeder but hope you can sort it out and get some more sleep.

I remember DS being horribly fussy around teething time with his feed. Luckily DD got her first two teeth without too much hassle. I noticed that DS got his four upper teeth by 6/7months (eeks) so wonder if DD might follow suit (she got her first bottom ones at the same time).

Anyway, had quite a nice day. DS did his first session at pre-school and did pretty well at joining in and not being too clingy. We had a birthday pizza out with granny and then came home.

Dampener on my day was the letter I got from work which seems to be now saying that notwithstanding that they asked us to take a pay cut that now in fact they are reviewing the situation as a whole but can't tell us what's happening. Great - I have nursery fees to pay soon for the first month but don't want to have to do this if I'm being made redundant.....I had a few teary episodes with Dh this afternoon...

Anyway, must perk up as it's my sisters wedding on Friday - I've picked up my dress and it looks lovely. Tried it all on tonight and with my surgical pants so I'm not feeling too bad about being on show post baby !!...

hope everyone else is ok.

Bumps feeling bad for you . Again, another non-breastfeeder here so no experience, but could you try expressing to keep your supply up? I've also heard about nursing strikes which this may be, or self-weaning perhaps.... Regarding formula, IIRC you are going dairy-free at the moment? It may be that you could try to get a cows' milk free formula prescribed from by your GP. Otherwise you might be able to buy a tin of Neutramigen or Neocate LCP over the counter? Bottles - we've tried a few but seem to have settled back on the MAM ones as Sam seemed happiest on these. Dinky kindly leant me two Dr Browns - if you get on with the Dr Browns maybe I could send these to you if ok with Dinky?

Herb you must be so excited about your sister's wedding! Hope all goes well and that the weather holds out for you.... Sorry to hear about the uncertainty regarding your job. Makes forward plannign very difficult .

Rubbish day here. Sam being very sick and whingey (we get new meds tomorrow) and O being your standard stroppy 2 yr old. Highlight of the day was going out for a walk just to let her jump in muddy puddles!

Off to bed now hoping for a good night, but preparing for a bad one.

Bumps if you do go the formula route can I recommend Nuk bottles - they have very soft teats, quite wide, and the baby 'latches' on, much as if they were bfing. The teats are much nicer for a bfed baby than the Avent-type one IMO.

I am impressed that you have bfed for so long, I know I would have given up ages ago. I bfed DS for 4 months to the day and gave up for purely selfish reasons, so I really admire you for having persisted for this long. Please don't feel guilty if you stop - but it might be worth seeing if formula makes any difference, perhaps mixed-feeding for a while. Aptamil is great, and they even offered me a bottle of it in hopsital for DS as he cried virtually for 12 hours non-stop before my milk came in. They said it was the closest one to breast milk. (I hadn't thought to ask for formula for him in hospital as I thought the breast-feeding mafia medical personnel would tell me off for even thinking of giving a bottle.)

Well he wouldnt take the bottle. He tried it but after an oz he screamed the place down. After an hour of dp trying to get him to take some more I offered the boob and he did take it and fed from me...

I had not heard of nursing strikes before, what could be causing it. Does teething? DD never suffered with her teeth so I have no experiance to draw on....

I am staying in tomorrow just in case he doesn't feed then I can express but wont be able to do this every day so hope he goes back to normal soon... I have just got him to sleep so i am going to try and get some sleep too.....

Bumps I'm so sorry things are rough at the moment. It does and will get better.
I know this won't make you feel better but will say it just in case You are NOT failing your baby. You are making a decision based on what you feel is best at he moment, you cannot do any more or less than that, and although formula isn't ideal for those that want to breastfeed, it is not poison. You won't lose your bond with him. I know this is completely different, but when I was breastfeeding (or trying to) ds1, although it was only 3 days so not sure it fully counts.......but I found it easier to comfort him when I switched. It was almost like he stopped looking at me for food and was quicker to calm if that makes sense.
I hope things improve soon. x
QK Can you try something different for his tea? Maybe he just doesn't like carrot, parsnip and apple? Carrot and sweetcorn is nice and sweet.
Re the possible move. It does seem like it'd be tough with a young baby, but at least it gives you that chance to go through all your stuff and get rid of bits and pieces, it's the job we all put off and moving is ideal time.
STW That's what I do, prepare for the worst, hope for the best Hope night was ok. Mine wasn't too bad, but could have been better.
Jacob is also being the stroppy 2 year old. Everything is "NO!" He is being such a PITA at the moment.

Luke had fruity porridge for dinner last night. Again, I didn't follow the mixing guides and made it quite thick. I used 2 tablespoons of it in powder form and added some water until it was like a thick paste. He loved it, finished the whole lot!
I'm re-thinking what I want to do about breakfast, maybe I should give milk on waking and solid a few hours later. Timings are difficult arenn't they with fitting in milk through the rest of the day. Or maybe I should do solids on waking along with half a milk feed and give the other half a couple of hours later just before his morning nap?......

Bumps.....I'm a FF as well, but the girls on my other PN thread used this site all the time when they hit problems. Hope it helps.

bumps... do a search on nursing strikes here or on kellymom and you'll find loads of info.

do what feels right for you pet, if you do switch to ff though ask the gp about one of the lactose free formulas in case it is the dairy that's causing some of the probs.

QK.... we moved when dd was 8 months and i just started work... madness but so worth it for the extra space

we've all got coughs and aaron is in foul humour.... hope we're not getting the flu of swines

thanks for all your messages. he isn't feeding agian today..... he fed every hour last night but just wont feed now.... i am getting so stressed. he wont take a bottle either......

people are telling me to not let him feed in the night but he is only 4 months surely i can not starve him.... (well i wont do it anyway)....

I am going to go to gp tomorrow i think for some advise and may ask for prescription for a dairy free formula...... i have just tried to express and got nothing out. is it possiable to only produce milk at night? if that was the case though wouldn't he be hungry and screaming for food rathing than refusing to feed iyswim!!!

bumps... depite being a big lad (had someone in a shop yesterday exclain 'good god that's a well fed baby ) and exclusively bf aaron goes for very long stretches some days with no interest in boob.

i find it best to offer if he cries but if he won't feed to leave it and try later... trying to force him only makes him crotchety about it all.

i think when we're used to them feeding practically 24/7 it can seem like they must be starving when they space out the feeds a bit, espcially when we're not giving solids as back up.

the night feeds are the most important, both for your supply and for him to get his fill, aaron can be latched on for hours at a time during the night lately but like i said, might not feed much during the day.

i've never experianced a nursing strike... (pretty much the opposite with all mine!) but afaik the best way to proceed is just to offer on a regular basis and no force the issue if they refuse, after a few days they just start feeding again.

alot of babies find the vacuum created by sucking agonising when they're teething, you make find a tooth pops up in the next couple of days to explain this and he goes back to normal.

good luck

Bumps - I had a similar issue with DD and gave up bfing at 2 months. Made me sad as I hadn't managed to bf DS either. DD has always been a fussy feeder though and that combined with the reflux (spending 1.5 hours bfing and then the lot comes back up is very demoralising). Hang on in there if you are really keen to continue though as I think it is quite common to have feeding blips like that.

Actually for me, because I struggled so much with bfing I found it a lot less stressful to ff DD and feeding became a pleasure instead of a battle......

DD just been diagnosed with Rotavirus....yuk! I think she is on the mend now though.

i am now praying for a tooth thanks pt it is so good to know that i am doing the right thing and that other people have gone through the same thing and it has all worked out fine in the end.....

morning all, had a panic when I couldn't find you this morning as you'd dropped off my 'threads I'm on'
Have had a manic few days but thank god reinforcements arrived this morning in the form of DH who is home for 18 long wonderful days. Am trying not to think about the even longer 5 weeks I'll have without him afterwards

belated birthday wishes for your DS herby Good day for a birthday, my DS1 was 16 yesterday (how old do I feel!)

bumps huge hugs for you. I hope that you are feeling a bit better this morning. I know how you feel, I've had some days like that the last few weeks and have been reduced to tears on more than once occasion.

If O does take a bottle please don't worry that it means you must stop b/f him. I've given H a bottle from about a week old as he was losing weight and at one point it was 50/50 b/f and f/f but now he is probably 90 b/f and 10 f/f. It doesn't therefore mean that you can't carry on feeding him.
It may well be that he was just stroppy because he wasn't feeling well or is teething.
H has been a rat the last few days which I put down to him having his jabs on Tuesday pm. Poor little lamb had to have 3 jabs as it seemed that one had been missed in Saudi.
DD2 has a terrible cough so what with her and H I've not had much sleep the last few days.

calico sorry you DD has been ill and hope she feels better soon. I hadn't heard of the rotovirus until a couple of months ago when we took DS to have his jabs at the hospital in Saudi and they wanted to give it to him (at an extortionate cost) I decline until I'd researched it but having spoken to our HV here she said not to worry as it was very rare!

H is doing well on his solids and is on two meals a day now, breakfast, usually some pureed fruit or mashed banana and tea, usually a savoury mush or sometimes fruit. DH was shocked by how much heavier he was when he held him this morning.

Had a very long day yesterday as DS1 wanted to go out to Brighton for his birthday. We got the train down there (DD loved that!) and walked for miles which hopefully burnt off a few of the calories I consumed for lunch and dinner. We then went out for dinner in the evening after we got home, to his favourite chinese restaurant. I've got to say I'm more than a little bit pissed off about the constant wants/demands for money which he and DD1 seem to think grows on trees.

Am feeling very resentful about the fact that I'm expected to fund him through his A levels and keep handing out money. My mother insisted that I leave school at 16 and get a job and I started my first job 3 days after leaving school and had to give her half my wages. A few years ago I realised it wasn't that she needed the money as we found out she had thousands of pounds stashed away and could have funded me through uni instead of me having to pay for my own further education. I know realise however that she was very wise and taught me the value of money. Am wishing (I think?) that I hadn't agreed to DS going to the lovely private 6th form he is going to in September as feel he won't learn the value of money but I guess its a bit late now.
Anyway, sorry for my rambling.

Hope everyone has a good day and all those sickly babies get better soon x

MOS glad your DH has arrived to help you out. Hope you get a bit of free time....or is that totally unrealistic with 4DCs?? Didn't know that you could vaccinate against rotavirus.....obviously not on the NHS though. Apparently it's really common and most kids get it before the age of 5!

morning all, where has everyone been the last day or so? All off having fun no doubt
DH was as much use as a chocolate teapot. He was 'tired' so went into the spare room and bastard had about 10 hours sleep leaving me with H again despite him promising to have him last night. Needless to say, he just said he was up most of the night as DD was coughing. Funny as the 2 or 3 times I checked they were fast asleep

calico, apparently the vaccination is a standard one on the aussie schedule and the hospital in Saudi either assumed we were aussies or were just trying to get money out of us. I'd never heard of it so declined the jab but might think about getting it for H and DD2 if it is that common as sounds very nasty. I hope your DD is much better now.

Morning.
I've not been having fun. Luke is miserable with what I'm guessing is teething, so is quite miserable and ds1 is being a royal shit! He is yelling "NO!" everytime you ask him something, he is hitting if you tell him off and he has been throwing his food on the floor, plate and all in a big temper tantrum.
Nevermind, it will pass. I hope.
Today is dp's birthday.
He's not happy again because he says he was up all night with Luke as I slept through it all again. I said it's no use bloody well moaning about it the next day and if he's too tired to see to Luke then to wake me, but his answer this morning was how was he supposed to wake me when ds1 had climbed into bed with me and was snuggled under my arm?
Play group this morning and then I'm meeting a friend in Staines. We'll go to Pizza Hut for the all you can eat buffet. Although now I'm not pregnant, don't think I'll be spending 2 hours there like I used to!

I need a break Got to see if my parents want the rat-bags over night...........

[cough] [cough]

who gets a cold in the middle of summer ffs? although you'd hardly realise it was summer with the weather we're having.

aaron had his jabs finally so was asleep for half of yesterday and then hysterical in the evening. he pooed a heap of pale blood streaked snot this morning, screamed for a while longer and is now fast asleep.... hope he's more cheerful when he wakes!

at least dp is being mildly sympathetic about me being sick for once... wonder if it'll last or is he going to pull his usual trick of 'i think i caught your bug but i seem to have it worse than you'

lbb... of the fact your dp actually hears luke.... nothing wakes dp at night!

dd just woke aaron by screaming and winging in the hall outside our room