March 09 - there is no snooze button on a baby that needs milk.....!

[meep]

over here ladies

Hi everyone,

Congrats to Lily! Mdavza the hip thing is from giving birth. Aren't I the lucky one I'm resigned to the fact it will be with me for years as I want to have another dc asap (tick tock tick tock) before it's too late...

Well. I have had a shitty weekend.

You probably won't remember, but 10 weeks ago I had to have my almost 14 year old cat Bubble put to sleep.

Her brother Squeak (pic on profile) turned 14 last week, but on Thursday evening he suddenly lost the use of his back legs, and on Friday I had to make the awful decision, and cuddled him while he too was put to sleep. He fought it, and I had to ask the vet to check him twice to see if he'd gone I can't stop crying and miss him terribly. To lose them so close together is not fair.

Hey ho.

Been reading about this BLW. Isn't there a big risk of choking with it? The thought terrifies me... not that I have to worry about it for another 3 months. Mind you, if it goes as quick as the first three...!

Hey everyone - long time no post! Sounds like everyone's babe's are growing up fast. Pen was 15 weeks yesterday, and I can't believe how much she changes every day.

Sorry to hear about your cat grinning - we have a dog and cat and although they drive me nuts sometimes, I'd be devastated if I lost either of them. The cat, Bunk, is nearly 9 so I suppose it might not be too much longer. The crazy Weimaraner is only 4 so we have plenty of dog walkies left with her.

I can't believe so many of you are weaning already... I'm putting it off until I absolutely have to do it.. surely adding real food to the mix just makes your life so much harder than just whipping out a boob every so often? I'll have to start thinking about it a couple of weeks before she goes to nursery in September, as well as moving onto the dreaded bottle (she still hates it).

Loving this weather and Lido trips -- Pen looks so cute in her cossie...

x

Oh Grinning I am so so sorry. I hope both Bubble & Squeak are cavorting around together up in cat heaven.

Sorry about my last post - it made no sense - should have said that I weaned dd1 so that she was on solids before she started nursery

One of my friends did BLW and it worked really well for her and her ds. He is still a pretty good eater whereas my dd1 has to be cajoled, bribed and bullied into eating and although is perfectly capable of feeding herself likes "mummy do it". So ladies - hold off weaning as long as you can for the sake of your own sanity

Grinning really sorry to hear about your cat, it must be a real upset after them both being around for so long.

I'd be tempted with the BLW but it requires your baby to be able to sit up quite well on their own from what I have read, and although Mae doesn't need too much support if you leave her she just topples forward. Plus she is only 4 months old so it would still be too early for this, may be we will try some finger foods in late august before nursery in Sept.

Re: BLW, this only works if your baby isn't like mine and fed CONSTANTLY, We had to start weaning at 4 months for my sanity...

Interesting to see people's thoughts on BLW. Laumiere - I am wondering whether I might have the issue you did, but Spike's feeding is still manageable at nearly 16 weeks. I'll just have to wait and see.

Grinning Very sorry to hear about your poor cat . I've only ever had one pet - a gerbil(!) - and I was devastated when it had to be put to sleep. I'm sure it must be much worse to lose a beloved cat.

If you do BLW properly, i.e. waiting until you get all the weaning cues, making sure that your LO can sit up well, as jollyjoanne said (and that they are not reclined at all when eating) and also resisting the temptation to feed them the food yourself, there is very little risk of choking - less than purees, allegedly (although I guess they are easily cleared with a cough). There is often some gagging, until your LO's gagging point moves further towards the back of the tongue, but gagging isn't choking.

We had an amazing thing happen last night. Spike slept from 12am until 6am! Recently he has been waking for feeds at 2 and 5, so this was a real treat!

Megzy Can I offer you huge thanks. I tried Spike on a MAM bottle of EBM this evening and he took it! I am a MAM devotee now .

I think babies/children either have strong gag reflex or they don't.

dd1 is 5.5yrs and still has a very strong gag flex. For example we can not eat eggs when she is around because she will gag. Where as dd2 22mths has never gag on food and she was BLW.

Just a quick post as am off for a keep-in-touch afternoon at work. sigh...

Lily - many congrats on your engagement

Grinning - very sorry to hear about your cats. it's so hard when you have to make those decisions.

re BLW. FWIW I researched it and did it with DD because she just wouldn't take puree even after 7/8 months. She was weaned on garlic dough balls from pizza express! However she has defied all logic and ended up being a really fussy eater and until recently quite unenthusiastic about food. She is also very lazy with cutlery and still prefers to eat with her hands. This time I will definitely be going down the puree route unless George has major objections. I like the principles of BLW but for me it just didn't really work in practice.

Morning all

What is BLW??

Well miracle happened last night - HB slept from 8.30pm til 8.30 am! I couldn't believe it. He did stir at 5.30 and I started to get a bottle ready but then he went back to sleep and I lay awake for ages waiting for him to wake up! Typical. He's 17 weeks today and I am still not sure about whether I'll start weaning himm, I think I'll wait and see how this week goes. I don't feel in a rush so will just see. My main reason was because I was wanting him to sleep through, but if he carries on like last night I won't have to!

Well, not to put too fine a point on it, I nearly got killed yesterday evening. I was turning right into a road that has a 40 mile limit and it is a tricky junction because of a bend. I was really careful as I know there have been a lot of accidents there. The road was clear and as I moved out on to the road I looked right and saw a car hurtling towards me ready to plough right into me. She must have been doing at least 50 mph. I totally froze and screamed and was just thinking, 'this car door is going to be like tin'. The other car braked and swerved just in the nick of time and sat next to my car 3 inches away. I could NOT believe she missed me. I really thought that was me dead. It was horrific. I got out the car shaking and opened her car door - she just tried to shut it and said she was 'late for an appointment' and drove off shaking.

Ok, thanks, you nearly kill me, but your appointment is more important.

I was in a total mess when I got back. She was obviously going to fast which is why she didn't stop and I was too shocked to get her license. I didn't really sleep last night as all I could see was her car inches from mine at high speed.

Damn these country roads.

Sorry not baby-related but had to purge.

slick

BLW is Baby led weaning ie not doing puree's just bit of food they pick up with their fingers.

If you search for 'Aitch', she has a blog/forum on BLW.

I hope ok today after last night. With a bit of luck she scared the 'shit' out herself and will drive better.

Blimey Slick that sounds awful. I hope you're ok today.

Thank you to everyone who mentioned the cats. I have to hoover his chair today (he was white so every hair shows!) and do something with the cuddly toy he snuggled up with. Think I'm going to get a throw for the sofa to make it look different cos I keep expecting to see him there.

Amy seems to be going through a phase. She cries and cries and won't be settled, just because she won't let herself go to sleep. She's also taken to clawing my boobs to shreds! By the time I got to bed last night I felt like I'd been beaten up. Please tell me this phase will pass! I tried to tell dh how I feel last night, but I don't think he gets it. I haven't had a break since she was born - the longest time I've had to myself is when I've been in the bath. He came home yesterday at 7.30, I cooked tea, and by 10 he was asleep on the sofa. Was I wrong to feel a bit miffed?

Oooooh, sorry for what seems like a rant. Must be time for a dose of chocolate.

Grinning I know exactly what you mean. I think it is a phase - 4 months is a time of massive change developmentally and I think it can put any kind of routine you might have to pot! I too am being clawed, yanked and generally abused in the boob area at the moment - yesterday I caved in and gave a couple of ounces of formula to M to help her get to sleep - after she'd been crying and grizzling for about three hours. It's not fun but IIRC it doesn't last too long.

Would like to write more but grizzling has commenced yet again - hope everyone else is good xx

Miss does that mean I have another month of it ? - she's only just turned 3 months!

Uh oh, squirty noises from the nappy area... better go.

OMG slick you poor thing - hope today is going smoothly.

Great sleeping by Boab though!

Rosie seems to be taking after her big sis and likes her naps. Yesterday she had a 2 hour morning nap then a 4 hour lunchtime nap, then was ready for bed by about 6.30pm! She has bnow been asleep for 2.5hours and her big sis for nearly 2 hours !

But as miss says all the routines could go to pot over the next few weeks so I am just enjoying this stage while I can.

grinning Rosie is doing lots of clawing at the bottle (ouch for your boobs!) at the moment. She sort of curls herself up towards it whilst stuuffing her hands in her mouth then clawing about once the bottle is in her mouth. I remember it with dd1 and it does calm down (dd1 went from this to lying back with her hand behind her head for feed - even when she was nearly 1yo !)

Slowly getting through all the posts from when I was away on my hols. Yarnie - tip for you to include is: store packetys of baby wipes upside down (especially the packet you are using) - it means the ones you pull out aren't dry!

I think this time I am going to do a rough mixture of purees and blw with Rosie - more because it will be easier when feeding two at the same time!

Hmm, slick you sound like you were really restrained, I don't think I would be.

Anyone else out there trying to lose the baby weight? I keep doing really well, then crack (like I did just now) and demolish half a tub of Carte D'Or ice cream or something! Grrrr. I think it's mostly stress, had another meeting with work yesterday, as my team is being deleted.

Thanks to being on maternity leave I don't have to interview for a new job, but I have to meet the minimum requirements for the new job they're proposing and it's really high-level. I don't feel on my game and will have do a paper assessment, but don't feel ready yet!

As well as that have my parents coming down from Spain for a few days and although I love them to bits, it's on the back of another friend staying over and I really need to clean and aaaargh!

Sorry about the whinge!

glad to be of help yarnie. I got so stressed out when I thought Juno would never take a bottle. Still not got out yet but just a relief to know I can - if I ever get the chance!!

grinning - so sorry for your loss. Juno also knows where to get the milk now too!! not had any painful attacks yet but is cute watching her trying to get into them. lol.

slick - hope you are feeling better after your little shakeup. we got rammed from behind two weeks after we got our new car - its really scary. can only hope from your incident that she will be driving slower now!

Hi all - tht sounds scarey Slick - hope you're ok.

I'll be doing old fashioned bog standard weaning here I think. Worked well with dd1 who really enjoyed her food. She had purees from 20 weeks but was also doing finger food from at hte latest 6 months. She took to it really well and loved it and still does love her food. Am so hoping L is the same.

Her sleep has really gone to pot though - she was up lots last night. Arrrgghhh. Could be the dreaded 4 month growth spurty thing as she is 4 months on sunday !

Am going to get her weighed int he morning - she's not been done for 5 weeks so probably ought.

Sorry about your cat Grinning

Lau - I'm sort of trying to lose the baby weight. Well, I sayt hat but I'm not really doing anything about it apart from scoffing chocolate. I am putting real effort on hold until september when dd1 starts school, I will ahve stopped breastfeeding and I will start running again.

Hope you're feeling better slick must have been horrible.

Grinning. We had to put our beloved but neurotic Siamese to sleep- both me and dh cried, it was really traumatic. So sorry for your loss!

Do you think I should get rid of my pre-baby bras? I've grown so big around the bust area and I find it quite depressing that none of my old bras fit anymore. Wondered if I should just chuck them rather than hope for a day they might fit again...lau I'm trying to shift some pounds but finding it hard. The cycling is helping , until the next tub of Haagen Daz ambushes me. I miss running sooooooo much, but dh is already cutting into his workday to watch lo while I teach so don't know when I'll find the time. I love to be active, and I'm sure lb is still going to give me lots of opportunities to run around.

We went swimming again and he's discovered splashing! Aaaauuuw! He grabbed my glasses this morning and it seems as if he's really enjoying my reaction- also when he grabs my hair.

I'm with you, wheely, on the bog standard weaning....oops, sounds like dh has accidentally woken ds during the dream feed, see ya!

Sorry to hear about your near-death experience Slick - some people are just nuts.

Talking about getting back into shape, I'm standing here typing this and wasting time until it's time to go to the gym. Penny can go to the creche there now she is over 3 months, and I went for the first time on Monday. Am still aching from head to toe but have booked her into the creche again for today, which is good as it makes you go or else you pay cancellation fees! I have my induction today as well, when they do all the fitness tests - gawd knows how I'll fair on those - I haven't worked out properly for over a year! I used to run every day, so I'm looking forward to getting back into it, but not sure my pelvic floor is ready for all this exercise. Am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but my stomach is a big water-bed motif and my thighs are pretty ropey as well. Sometimes I wonder why I'm bothering since I know DH and I will try for No.2 within a few months... argh!

Not much else to report. Pen finally took a bottle without screaming the house down last night, which is a break through. DH and I are off for a work dinnner / overnight thing on Friday / Saturday, so it will be our first time away from Penny since she was born. Dreading it to be honest!

x

Slick your experience sounds awful hopefully she'll have learnt from the experience!

Lau i was of the impression the baby weight would just fall off on its own, i'm rather disappointed by natures insistence that i have to eat healthy and exercise. I have lost some weight but about another stone to go to get back to pre-baby and probably another stone after that to be properly healthy sized. Barhumbug.

ok anyone elses baby talking well babbling when they are supposed to be eating? Mae is driving me mad.

Grinning I think you'd be unlucky to have a month of feeding difficulties. IME growth spurts last a couple of days until you start producing more milk, then feeding settles down into a more regular pattern. Your lo might just be starting early

I'm back to my between pregnancy weight - I put on three stone with DD1 and never lost it all before conceiving again. But I'm running around far more with two, so I'm fairly sure it will go eventually. I tried running the other day and wee'd myself!! So I'm sticking to pelvic floor exercises for now

Mdavza don't bin your old bras yet - when I stopped bfing they went down to normal size (although much saggier, alas). Can't wait to start swimming with Melissa, but will wait until DD1 starts preschool in September.

We're still in quarantine from DD1's chicken pox. It's really hard work having to stay in the house - this morning a friend whose lo has already had it took pity on me and invited us round - it was SO nice to be able to talk to someone else!! Melissa is showing no signs of getting it yet - she may still have some of my immunity, although a couple of mums I know have said it took a couple of weeks for it to flare up in the second child.

miss We need to send you quarantine cookies!

hello, our wireless died... back when I have caught up!

Mmmm, cookies

shhhhhhhh about cookies. Healthy eating started on Monday. No more cookies for meep