Jan '09 'All we are saying is give peas a chance....and carrots and broccoli and cumcumber and........'

[hongkongzoe]

...here we go ladies, right I'm off to catch up!

oh *stripey) to your dad but PMSL at your cats! The fridge?!

Oooh just come back to me, top tip wipe alcohol on it. Meant to put them off.
S awake but still a record day sleep.

MissJ - Oh my. I don't think your day was a wash out. I think your little soul touched an old lady's heart and showed her that there is a natural flow to life. She will relish that in her soul, even if she can't communicate it. x

So in other words Nye has done a great thing. My last was meant to be comforting but it didn't read that way!

Oh, so many sad, sad posts. My thoughts are with you all, SAS, Elkie, MissJ and Stripey. Stripey Elizabeth really loved the cantaloupe melon she had yesterday. Have just had a watermelon delivered with my Tesco delivery for her to try later. She has just demolished some fresh apricots this lunchtime as well.

At least the cats don't open the fridge door and eat the contents. Our boxer gsd cross used to eat everything in the fridge every time we went out. We bought a fridge lock and he worked it out so then we had to lash the damn thing shut with a huge tow rope and put a big stone pig against the freezer every time we left the house!

MissJ, it sounds like your gm did get something special out of seeing Nye.

Tree and stripey, I'm not happy with our cats either. We've found a sort of solution to the cats pee - wipeclean plastic and old newspapers that can be thrown away over the doormat - and the house smells a lot better than it did, but one of them peed just next to the normal trouble spot this afternoon, grrr. And next door's cat and the others out there don't help matters.

dp's mum has dementia and is in residential care, was previously in a very small council flat, so staying wouldn't have been an option. We might end up having to try and stay with his aunt or find a b&b in Kings Lynn or in the village she's now living in.

They may not remember her but at least she's been able to enjoy boasting about them and meeting them a few times - she's one of four children and dp is an only child but none of his cousins have had kids and it's unlikely now that they will. dp's aunt has stepchildren and what sounds like a very close loving relationship, but dp's mum feels this is something she's done better than her big sister (who did well at schoool and had the career).

Ah, MissJ your post bought tears to my ears, it was very touching. Dementia is such a sad thing, FIL is in the early stages and its a heartbreaking condition for everyone concerned really.

Stripy Sorry about your Dad, my mum never got to meet Jude either, its so sad they are missing out on each other. I see so much of her in the DCs anyway which is comforting.

had a good day out, nat Hist museum was great, we saw the butterfly exhibition and the dinosaurs, DD loved it. Forgot how awesome the building is, beautiful painted ceilings too. Was pretty rammed though, as start of school hols. We walked through Hyde park and had munch in Kensington Gardens and then went to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, which looked great but was, quite predictably, overrun with bigger kids and TBH not much fun for little ones...best to go in term time I reckon. DD thought riding on the tube and all that was most exciting...wonder howl ong that novelty will last?!

Off to see Graham Coxon andEsser tonight at the roun house...having a very social week! Better go and get ready, it takes a while these days!

Stripey - I missed that about your dad in your post. Just wanted to say I can only imagine. x

HKZ glad the museum was fun, I really want to see the butterfly exhibition. reckon my DD would be scared stiff of the tube, she's no good on escalators or lifts (as missJ knows well). Enjoy Graham Coxon.

Sorry about all these bastard cats!!.

very touching posts from stripey, elkie and missJ. I can only imagine as i have never really lost anyone close to me, unfortunately DH has experienced enough of that for both of us . I can only think it helps to see bits of those we have lost living on in our little ones, the DNA preserves all those little quirks.

Had a lovely day today. Went to Pagham beach with mum and nephew, had a good dig on the beach then had fish and chips for lunch in the beach cafe. then took a walk along the beautiful harbour nature reserve to knacker the kids out. Weather really nice so we decided to get the paddling pool out this afternoon and the kids have been running wild in the garden. too cold for zach though so we put him in the washing up bowl . We have also concluded that a Huggies size 4 nappy holds approximately half an average sized washing-up bowl of water .

Must read other page and get back to all I have missed.

books hope weaning going well.

stripey Melon also goes down a treat here, but not tried apricots yet.

EPPM sorry for bad night, if uncharacteristic it does sound like teething, Fingers crossed for a better one

missJ Thread keeper of the noble steeds??? Or is it Thread keeper of the enormous baby!

Elkie - that is a sweet notion that gran can boast about her grandchildren and feel so proud of them and her achievement of creating a family line.

Our kids are so precious to so many aren't they? They mean such a lot in themselves, for themselves, even as tiny babies. They truly are bigger than the sum of their parts. As a mum I feel sometimes like they are 'mine', that my views on parenting and ideas for them are what it's all about. Actually they are so much more than a few years intense parenting.

I am a dribbling hormone sentimental old tart today.

ANd I have had a shock. A horrid shock. My profiteroles weren't full of cream, they were full of runny sweet yak custard. What is that about??????????????????

Sparkle can be Keeper of the thread jewels, Lucky us - we have lots and they are fabulous!

Where is the list?

WHAT?!! Custard in profiteroles? Sacrilege surely?

Mind you, I have eaten not one, but TWO custard doughnuts today and would not have been at all distressed to find they were full of cream.

DH has decided he wants to sell the car and the camper and buy a vw multivan (the next generation after the cute campers, sort of square shaped and nowhere near as cute like this one) so I have been online researching prices and interiors etc. Frankly, I can't face the pallaver of selling the vehicles we already have and dealing with the distraught children who think the camper is an extra sibling. He is right though, its just getting far too expensive to keep it on the road these days, we are looking at about 700 pounds worth of work just to get it ready for our holiday.

Oh Moose! Thats some serious stuff, your camper!!!???

When I was on a thread I started about wanting a VW, a few people said if not a classic VW, then one of these

Surfergirl has a company doing conversions of these, or VW's, or both, I think.......

Now look here. I am worried about weaning.
Background: the trauma of Hatts first 6 months and the issues her body seems to have with food. And big sis Jess, who has chronic constipation and eats harldy anything. Is under paeds and will maybe need to go again this summer as her weight has been static for a year. She has awful skin and is generally a run down looking kid!

I'm worried Hatts is going the same way. Weaning is sooooo slow. I would love to 100% babyled but she is only little and can't even reach her highchair tray! When I give her stuff she gums the food, but drops it then. She has no teeth, so that slows her up too.
AM I being hasty? Should I just wait till she can BLW, or should I plough on with puree. When I hear of all the babies eating fruit and veg I feel . Hatts has had a bit of sweet potato! I don't want to be saying the same thing in a year if you see what I mean?
It's all a bit emotionally loaded for me!
What do you all think?

tree, i would say plough on with it - today is the first day i would say that c has actually really intentionally swallowed anything and the amounts are tiny, that's after a couple of weeks. she is currently sucking a rice cake with hummous on it, and ignoring the veg. slow is okay, she'll eat it as she wants it, i think. (we are also going to do a little spoon feeding, porridge and stewed fruit and maybe some lentils).

thanks to everybody for tolerating my mopeyness earlier. on a more positive note, i can see my dad in c, which is lovely

It wasn't mopeyness! It was remembering. Out loud.

Thanks for encouragement. She just seems so small and immature, she cant sit up etc. DD1 was the same.
DD1 used to scream if she came across a new texture etc. I remember her first tomato, and her first strawberry. When she picked them up it was like I'd given her a boiling hot crink, from her reaction.
I just want to avoid that again. Oh sooooooo much.

also, tree, has anyone ever checked for coeliac tendencies with j? as you are irish and we are prone to it? (please ignore me if this is a stupid question)

c has this outrageously suspicious expression which she deploys for each new food stuff. and then she looks like she's being poisoned but doesn't take whatever it is out of her mouth.

Tree I know of babies who don't actually ingest much with blw until they are 1 year old. They are just as happy and healthy as their weaned counterparts.

For the first couple of months most babies just tend to play with the food, squish it through their fingers, gum it, spit it out, smear it in their hair, chuck it on the floor etc etc all totally normal. This is all good and its exactly this sort of exploration of taste, smell, texture etc that seems to prevent babies from developing food phobias and fears. They have plenty of time to 'experience' the food without any of the pressure to eat it and if they don't like it, they don't eat it, simple as that, with no pressure on either party.

Dd is very unusual in that she started stuffing her face straight away, she is most definitely not the norm for a blw baby. She hasn't eaten very much today, a lot of playing and squishing but not much actual eating going on.

Could you get hold of a copy of Gill Rapley's book here. I'd send you my copy, but I am still using it. I have found it hugely reassuring, as after two puree fed babies I was really nervous about her not eating nice big spoonfuls of food.

Incidentally, in the book they say there is no 'right age' to start weaning. The most clear indicator is being able to sit up, so perhaps little H just isn't quite ready yet.

DH and I were just saying this lunchtime how much more pleasant it is doing blw weaning with Elizabeth than it was doing the puree thing with the boys, as we are more relaxed, if she eats some she eats some, if she doesn't she doesn't, she'll do it in her own time. She is also relaxed and happy and that takes the stress of all of us.

Its up to you and whether or not you are going to fret about her not getting enough solids, but I would give it some time, let her have some fun with food and try not to worry.

By the way, we did look at Mazda Bongos but felt they just don't have enough 'soul' iykwim. At least the multi-vans are still vw and welcome at the shows etc. When we first got into vw's they were considered the poor relation to the vintage vans, but now they are getting really popular, as the scene has grown so much that demand is outstripping supply for good vintage vans and all the spare parts needed to keep them on the road.

tree I absolutely second everything Moose and stripey say about BLw. Just because Zach and Elizabeth seem to be cut from the same cloth doesn't mean all blw babies will be happily scoffing after about a week. It takes time and please wait till she can sit if doing blw, think that is the most important indicator.

As for custard profiteroles........yeuch!

Oh dog, .

Worry not, you are clearly a fabbo mum, any other kind would not be the slightest bit concerned about this. It would just be normality.

I have been very shouty with DD since being at my mums, think its the pressure of being virtually a single parent to 2 kids. You have 3, so how you cope day to day is beyone me!

When you say swore......was it just 'bloody' or something? this is a fairly minor indiscretion I would say.

dog, everybody has crappy days, take it easy on yourself. one off day is not going to ruin your childrens' childhoods. i think my mum did a lot of shouting when i was growing up - there were six of us - and i recall my childhood as very happy. have some wine/tea/cake/self-indulgent tv. tomorrow will be much better

Dog Don't talk rubbish, you are a wonderful, caring, warm hearted mother and your children adore you. Everyone gets pushed over the edge sometimes. In the morning you can tell Beth you are sorry.

MissJ and Stripey - am for both of you and [happy] too - lovely that Nye met your grandmother MissJ and that you can see your Dad in C Stripey. I wish I could see my Dad in either of mine, but I can't. Sadly he died when I was only young myself and I didn't really know him too well. I can see him in my brother though, which is lovely. Especially since my brother is 3 years younger than me and has no memory of his Dad so I think it is nice for him to know he is so similar.

Tree Is dairy ok now then? Custard and all. I'd stick with the BLW in your situation and let H do it in her own time. I would have done the same for DS but he was frustrated with it, he needed to be fed. He's moving more onto BLW now and having less mashed stuff and spoon feeding.

EPPM Hope teeth appear soon and you get some sleep. Much sympathy on that front, we were up every 2 hours last night - I say we, I mean I .

Spink Love the word mewling

SAS Hope op went well. Let us know if you can.