june09 Weaning the babies and shifting the Mummy Tummy!!!

[Tee2072]

Here it is, Juners! New thread!!

afternoon all

naat, so pleased the move went well and you're now all sorted What happened with the milk, that doesn't sound good?! A belated happy birthday to your dh, don't worry, I won't sing

june, strictly was definitely better without Brucie. I can't believe they got rid of Tuffers, after all the moaning they have done about Ricky Groves over the past few weeks, they have the chance to get rid and they don't Great news on getting the feeding sorted for C, haven't heard from tee for ages, hopefully she'll come say hi soon. Make sure you keep a very close eye on C if she's sleeping on her front, it's really not recommended.

strawberry, wow, I don't know how you're managing on that little amount of sleep! I hope things improve soon

daisy, Es poo is like that without weaning he often needs a change of clothes!

MrsMcJnr, sounds like A has a bit of a sweet tooth then. I'm not the biggest fruit fan but I do really like pears, especially with a bit of rice pudding, yummmmm

llynn, poor I Eye drops are never easy, especially when straight out of the fridge, they can sting. As june said you can drop them in the corner of a closed eye or you can ask for the cream, that can be easier sometimes. As for the wriggling, wrap I up in a big bath towel (swaddling style with arms tucked in)lay her on the floor while you are kneeling with her feet pointing away from you and her head between your knees, get the drops in as quickly as possible. Doesn't sound very nice but gets it over and done with quickly and is soon forgotten when followed with lots of cuddles 30 is positively youthful, don't know what you're talking about 40 is only a couple of years off for me now!

We've started weaning E now, 2 days in and it's going ok so far, he likes banana, so far that's all we've done. MrsMcJnr, E also likes chewing the spoon, I got some of those rubbery ones, he loves rubbing his gums on them!

dhs gran passed away yesterday it was expected but still not easy

waves to all

on the subject of weaning poo... yes, we have graduated from the mustard dressing of the last few months, to a sort of dark green sludge. It's extremely unappealing. So far largely contained within the nappy, but then he tends to poo early in the morning, so I get to it fast...

Wipes off easier than the mustard dressing (I use a lot of Vaseline though) but smells much worse.

What age do they start potty training?? ;)

Morning all,

A very successful appt with the HV, she was more than happy for Mila to start with solids after seeing her She gave me tips and lots of advice, a little booklet with some info and we started yesterday with some banana, melon and broccoli. Loving the first two, a few faces with the broccoli She told me it wasn't necessary to puree things madly (that mashing was probably enough), that I'd be surprised at her ability to swallow small lumps and she was right! She had tiny mini broccoli florets and she swallowed them! I was She also adviced to let her touch food if she showed interest and to grab small pieces, I'm happy she was so supportive

Lindsay, already last night I had a greeny lettuce-looking poo Not looking forward to the smell though

Bigcar, I think the fridge at the old flat was not working properly, because I had put it in the really cold setting and the back of the fridge kept going from having icy drops to water drops Oh well! Sorry to hear about your DH's grandma Send him our condolences.

June, LOL at C liking her milk stone cold I guess as long as she takes it, each to their own, right?

Hello to all!!

Right, we handed back the keys of the old flat, we got an "excellent" on the outgoing inspection so we have our full deposit back now we have to chase the other matter but that's a whole different issue, which I'm sure will take time.

Oh!!! and on a really happy note I got a letter yesterday telling me I had passed my dissertation!!! yay!! I got an MA with merit Unfortunately I didn't get a distinction because of an optional subject I took, which brought my average down My nerdy side is quite sad about that but I'm trying to look at the bright side and not focus on that

Hope you have a nice, albeit wet day.

Waves!!!

hiya all...and my goodness it's been months since I've posted only had time to update facebook status recently. Thought while Sarah takes yet another nap I would contact you all.

There is no chance I will be able to catch up with you all but I will promise to come on here every night to at least read what is going on with you all.

On the subject of weaning, under the direction of my HV I weaned Sarah at 18 weeks and she is thriving and sleeps through the night (most of the time) from around 9.30pm until around 6.30am or even 7am! Her poo is also that green sludge kind and smells terrible, esp after having food with brocolli in it lol.

Sarah's teething is really bad at the moment, she chews anything she can get her hands on and wakes screaming due to her mouth. I had a dream last night that a tooth had cut thro but alas it was only a dream

Have you started Christmas shopping yet, I'm happy to say I have everything in, just a matter of wrapping it up now :D

Will need to go to docs, for the past week everytime I eat something, esp something fatty, I feel terribly sick and over 1 week I have lost 7lbs not complaining about the weight loss just the nature in which I'm losing the weight. Not sure if my thyroid is causing this, as my neck is badly swollen but blood results came back satisfactory.

I hope everyone is well and that feeding/weaning is going well and I really hope to catch up with you all soon.

Lots of love and hugs xx

Hi everyone!!! Sorry I've been away such a while!!

Naat, congratulations on your dissertation, you must be really proud of yourself?? Whats the next step??

Lynnn, Caelan had conjunctivitis, and he got cream eyedrops which weren't too bad. You just have to slightly pull down the bottom lid with your thumb and pop the drop in there. The furious blinking which follows should ensure that all the eye gets covered!!

All this talk of weaning... all family and ffriends have been telling me for weeks that Caelan should be having some solids by now, but I've been thinking he was okay. Well today I sucumbed to peer pressure and gave him some baby rice and banana, and now feel rreally bad I don't know why I did it, I've always said I wanted to wait as long as possible... I suppose I just got carried away. I sometimes forget that all your LOs are older that Caelan too... he's only 19 weeks. Ow, I feel really bad...

Sorry x-posted Laura, was typing left-handed and it look me so long!! Updating facebook statuses is pretty much all I have time for at the mo too!!

amy I wouldn't worry about giving Caelen some solids, as I mentioned I started Sarah at 18 weeks. If you don't feel comfortable doing it I would stop if possible. I started Sarah early only because nothing was satisfying her not even 5 or 6 bottles of hungry baby formula a day was helping. You should start weaning only when you feel comfortable and that Caelen would benefit from it x

I think I'm going to leave it for another couple of weeks. I think I just got all excited that we might be doing something new, and we had got a couple of food pots and bibs at the weekend. It just seems like everyone keeps asking 'so is he having solids yet?' 'don't you think he needs a bit more now' 'have you thought about giving him some rusks ' 'I don't know if I like that breastfeeding idea, you don't know how much he's getting' 'oh I couldn't be doing with all that feeding on demand, don't you find it suffocating?' etc etc. Whether its if I should still be breastfeeding him, weaning him, what he should be wearing, whether he should still he sleeping in his basket in our room etc etc, I'm starting to get really sick of everyone telling me how I should be looking after my baby And now I have gone and given him food before I wanted to, and before I think he needed it

afternoon all

lyndsay, I shall be steering well clear of mustard dressing on my salads from now on

naat, woohoo, congratulations on getting your MA, that's fab news

laura, glad to hear alls well with Sarah, hopefully those troublesome teeth will appear soon I've still got a couple of bits to get for christmas but I think the bulk of its done now, thankfully. Apart from that all that's left is the annual row over the size of turkey we'll get dh always wants the biggest turkey on the planet so we're eating leftovers for months. Personally I'd prefer just enough left for a couple of days, it's only ever us and the kids christmas day and we're at pil boxing day, a turkey that takes 3 months to cook really isn't necessary!

worried, don't feel bad, it's not like you gave him a greggs sausage roll washed down with a fruitshoot you won't have done him any harm and you equally won't do him any harm if he waits a few weeks before you start again As for relatives, you have a few options, lie through your teeth in a oh yes I do/don't do xyz all the time/have been for months kind of way. Smile, nod and walk away. Explain that things have changed for older relatives, not really advisable as the answer will always be, well you turned out ok! Or answer, my baby, my way. The best thing to do is just accept that someone will always be doing this and sometimes they will offer some really good advice in between all the crap. Next it will be, is he sitting/crawling/walking/talking? Closely followed by, is he potty trained/sleeping in a proper bed/name down for preschool? Have confidence that you know your child better than anyone else and are best placed to decide what's best for him

it's been such a miserable day here, blowing a gale and damp. E decided to take weaning a step further today and was having a good old chew on dd3s boot, not sure on the nutritional content on that one but obviously felt good on the gums He's also managed to half wedge himself under the sofa, obviously his mat with all the toys on wasn't interesting enough!

waves to all

does anyone know if rusks are still as full of salt and sugar as they used to be? Must look into that one!

I think it's a no to rusks! I'd be better off giving him a hobnob

just quickly (as I am really meant to be doing some work right now...)bigcar I think I saw some sugar-free rusks somewhere in a supermarket, I did not look closely though (or buy them). I have been told no rusk by someone as well, can't remember who though, HV I think.

hi all!

Laura, nice to hear from you, hope teething passes soon, poor wee one.

Amy, that was some great advice from bigcar , I second that (((hug))) A PhD is now on my plans but will have to wait a bit before hopping on that train

Bigcar, awww look at E being so active! Today I left Mila for 5 seconds "sitting" on the sofa just ti turn around and find her on her back the opposite direction Won't be trying that again What are rusks? LOL at the sausage roll + fruit shoot line

june, just checked the ingredients on farleys reduced sugar rusks and they are still over 20% sugar. Can't find info on other makes, will keep an eye out next time I go shopping, thanks

ha bigcar, I'll mention that to the interfering sod person that mentioned Caelan should have been having rusks in his milk weeks ago...!!

I know there are a lot worse things I could have done than give Caelan than a bit of baby rice and banana, but just a bit pfb and all that, and I feel I have kind of been persuaded into doing something I didn't really want to do just yet

evening all!

amy - i am also sick of people asking why i havent started weaning Isobel yet. yes she is five months old, yes she is a big baby but she is perfectly happy and settled on milk for the moment! I feel as though i have to explain every decision i make sometimes!! very annoying! i usually bow down to pressure, like trying to potty train dd1 before i knew she was ready as everyone kept telling me i should be! it ended up taking forever and causing us all soooooo much more stress than it should have been!! i'm really trying to stay strong on this one and trust my own instincts!! very annoying though!!

I think dd1 had about 2 rusks in the whole time she was a baby (and that was mainly due to same annoying people telling me she should be having them!!) they are sooo sugary. dd1 used to really like rice cakes and breadsticks as a snack

dh's dad brought a giant bag of galaxy minstrels round for 3year old dd1 at the weekend and a milkybar for Isobel!!!! I just smiled and said thank you and me and dh have enjoyed them!!!

anyway, sorry for ranting on!

bigcar - E sounds like a little explorer! you will have your hands full there once he's on the move!

naat - HUGE congratulations on your MA, brilliant news!! I also darent leave Isobel on the sofa/bed anymore! its suprising how mobile they are with absolutely NO sense of danger!!

laura - hope Sarah's teething calm down for you both soon and they start to appear. we've almost finished our christmas shopping, i just keep thinking of odd little bits we still need to get! Haven't even thought about wrapping it all yet though, its the worst bit!!

thanks for all your tips on eye drops. Isobel's eyes are much better now, not half as sticky as they were on Sunday, will keep up the drops for a couple more days to make sure its definitely gone! she is much happier and more settled in herself today though can still feel her chest rattling though but she is on the mend, until the next bug....!

hi to everyone else!

lynn and worried can I join the boat...mil is forever telling me that lo's hands are cold and that she must be cold (she isn't) and she keeps asking me what teethers I have and then tutting that they're not right so got me some more (which c. is still not interested in.) She's also telling me to give C. some rusk which I will not do as they're too high in sugar imo. I just know she will bring some round next, just as she brought teethers when I had showed her the ones we already have and she has seen them but tutted they were not right (!) for the record there is nothing wrong with them, they're standard teethers...
Smile, nod, ignore.
Don't feel bad worried I think (maybe more so for for first time mums?) you can't always help but feel like maybe they're right, maybe they know better and that it won't hurt to try, and as bigcar said, sometime someone might have a really good tip worth trying.
You just have to remind yourself that you have spent pretty much 5 months 24 hours a day with your baby, no-one knows him and what's best for him better than you.

I had a horrible nightmare last night that dh was leaving me and that he'd (temporarily) given the baby away to a waiter in a cafe, the look on the baby's face when I picked her up was horrible, she looked really scared. I woke up and started really sobbing, and carried on crying while explaining to dh what was going on. That's never happened to me before. dh was very sweet reassuring me it was all a bad dream and I managed to get back to sleep.
I know I have a lot on my mind with work, it's been a particularly tough week but I'm hoping for a better night tonight.

Please tell me I am normal, I don't like the fact that sil and mil turn up unannounced several times a week (mil twice, sil at least three times.) is that unreasonable?
they'll call but they'll call from oustide the house.
mil calls every friday when she knows i am at baby rhyme time, then i feel i have to rush home when I could hang around for an extra half hour with the other mums. I don't dare look at my phone, last time there was 5 missed call (the rhyme time is only 30 minutes!!!) I'm just not going to look at my phone tomorrow until I'm back home.
bil also conveniently calls around 7pm to ask what we are up to (ie, are you cooking, can i come round for some grub). he has not done so so much in the last month which is a relief but because the other two are here so much when dh asked if we could ask him over the other I must have pulled a face 10 metres long that said it all. We need some time just the three of us, and dh definitely needs more time holding his baby.
(still simmering though).
That is too much though, isn't it?

right well baby's up now so time is up!!
sorry for the ranting...

naat melon - good idea, I'm putting it on the shopping list as we speak..

bigcar sorry to put you off mustard dressing for life. I've had trouble with wholegrain mustard since the first real nappy after the mec stage, so you know. oops.

whoever said lumps, yes, mine is fine with lumps. Bigger stuff he spits out, lumps he either spits out or gums up. I do sit close though.

The BLW thing (which I'm only half doing, breaking loads of the rules ) is going good - today we were able to go out for lunch with just a banana in my pocket. I spooned bits out of it and he gummed them up. Wow!

Wish the little sod was as good at sleeping as he is at eating. My LONG sleep at night is still only just over three hours. Sigh...

june you are not being at all unreasonable. You really need DH to speak to his family about showing up unnannounced - that's outrageous!! He can say that baby is sleeping badly and you need every nap you can get if politeness is required.

But you are quite right to rant. Once you've calmed down enough to take him up on it have a word. I wouldn't even answer the door if it was me!!

Thank you all for your kind words about my Dad

In laws left today and although we had fun it will be nice to get back to normal.. and get chatting on here again

My nights are still horrendous, I have given up recalling all the times she wakes, just too depressing

Brain is mince but wanted to tell those getting food pressure from family that my MIL thought I was "mean" for not letting my DS have a packet of chocolate buttons for Easter - he was only 3 months old and had only had breast milk!!!

Hello all - think will have to be quick as Jazzy bound to wake as soon as she realises that I am typing on here!

Re weaning... I think we will have to stop again. We started her with some baby rice as the weekend and then began the Annabel Karmel route from Tuesday but she really wasn't happy with it at all. Like Worried, I was kind of bowing to MIL pressure (oh, she is so ready!!) as well as her slight drop in weight. However, I am now feeding her more than ever and she had gained 4 ounces in 4 days so think milk was enough! I think we started too early and she just isn't ready... she hasn't taken any of the food offered for four days and just screams as soon as the spoon appears. Very at how well some of your ones are taking to it which also makes me think she's not ready - surely she'll be up for it if she's hungry?

Hasn't helped shes been properly ill for the first time - only (!) sickness, diarrhea and really congested but got a bit scary and think probably contributed to the hatred of food! Do you think there is any chance she could have the bug from something she ate - I have been pretty scrupulous with cleaning and stuff but she threw up spectacularly yesterday when I tried her with some mashed potato (added some bm and it looked pretty tasty actually )

Naat - well done on your Masters, that is truly impressive stuff. I still have to go back to the bedroom at least 4 times to pick up things I've forgetton so am really in awe of you being able to complete this with a lo!!

June - am at the visits, in particular about the 5 missed calls. Do they really think you have nothing better to do than wait for them to come round. I get a bit cheesed at MIL who pops round at least twice a week but she always lets me know she's coming and is pretty flexible. I would ask DH to have a quiet word - they're his family after all. Made me a little as well re your comment about him needing more cuddles - sounds like you need a couple of weeks, visitor free! Good Luck!

Haven't even started the Xmas shopping yet - am off to my folks on Monday and haven't even got my mums birthday pressy yet (which is a few days after we arrive). Keep seeing things I want to get but we are going to have to be careful with cash. DP finishes work in just over a month to care for Jazzy , but does mean we won't have much money coming in. Oh well - we will muddle along and it'll be worth it. And Xmas is Xmas - one of my favourite times of the year!!

God - not much of a catch up but Jazzy crying now so best head. Have a good Friday all xx

Hello all!
I've been reading everything but haven't found time to post. I received a good job proposal yesterday (freelance still) and I think I'll be going back to work earlier than planned

Skillbo, oh my head is mush, don't get confused but yes, I'm so happy about it. Sorry to hear about Jazzy's reaction to food these days, you might be right and she might still have a few weeks to go. Has the diarrhea stopped now? Make sure she takes lots of milk to hydrate herself Hope she gets better really soon

MRsmc, at your MIL's chocolate comment! Jeez... Hope nights get better soon (((hug)))

June, YAdefintelyNBU! They cannot seriously expect you to be at home waiting for them at any time every day And the calls? No no no, you need to have a word with DH. They're definitely going to do your head in otherwise. You need some family time on your own, of course that is completely reasonable of you to want. And come and rant whenever you need

Lindsay, Mila liked it so I've added it to our list again she didn't like carrot the first time but is now OK with it. We'll try potato and sweetpotato next week. Well done DS eating out without a fuss!

Llynn, glad to hear Isobel's eyes are better, hope her chest is on the men as well.

hi to all Juners!

Right, DH is flying to BS AS today, he left at noon and will get there tomorrow morning (loooong flight, yes) It's the first time I'll be on my own with Mila so I hope I "man" up and manage Working will definitely be a challenge as I'm transcribing audio files and even if Mila is playing all content, she "talks" and I can't hear a thing I guess I'll work when she goes to bed

Hope you all have a nice Friday and a good start of the weekend!!

Waves!!!

naat I've found it's easier for me to get some work done in the morning before C. wakes up (so anytime from 5 to around 8) and then a bit more if she has a nap, but usually her morning nap is 20 minutes!! Sometimes I am "lucky" and she'll nap longer and I get more done. But if you're looking after Mila on your own for a few days you might also like to rest while she is napping sometimes.
Congrats on your MA :D

Thanks for your kind words on ils, sil was here when I got back today, not only that but she asked dh for money as she has run out this month (and she has a full timejob and no rent or bills to pay, wtf, honestly!!!). , it's driving me nuts.

skillbo, we stopped weaning for a few days as well. C's had some baby rice today and wasn't too impressed, I tried banana as well and she only had one spoon half full. She also puked whatever she had straight away.
Dh gave her cucumber this pm though and she loved it, couldn't get enough!
I've not got any xmas pressies yet and cash is not exactly free flowing either. The accountants worked out that I was somehow better off without maternity pay so I've got to work to get my wages so we dont have the spare wages for someone else to cover for me. bleh.

I've ordered the book about weaning that was suggested here so quite looking forward to getting stuck in slowly slowly.

god, and now bil is here, got to go

evening all

amy, just for you, click on farleys 4 months reduced sugar banana rusk and scroll down to the ingredients, if you want to pad out fruit or veg use baby rice because it is just rice flour, not tons of sugar and all sorts of other additives.

naat, rusks are a like a hard biscuit, like biscotti that turns to a smooth mush when mixed with milk, used to be one of the first weaning foods until everyone realised how much sugar they had in them and how bad they are for teeth. It's refined sugar in them rather than the natural sugar that you get in fruit. Good luck with the job!

llynnn, good to hear I is on the mend I LOVE minstrels, but then I suppose it's chocolate isn't it

june, I don't know how you've managed with so much family round, that would drive me loopy! Turn the lights off and pretend you're not in and just in case they are in any doubt shout loudly through the letter box, we've gone out! Seriously though, can you get dh to have a quiet word?

lyndsay, don't worry, I'll survive I like wholegrain mustard, it's the colemans I have a problem with!

MrsMcJnr, I think your mil may be like my fil, he's been trying to feed E chocolate for ages, thankfully my mil tells him off

skillbo, hope J is ok, good wait gain, especially just on milk!

E has decided to have a whinge, I'm hoping he's tired, surely it's bed time now

waves to all

Hello

Thanks everyone for your sweet comments. Jazzy is back to herself today and just a bit snuffly so think we're over the worst. Not fun though and am hoping she stays fully fit for the next 20 years as can't take it.

Meant to post earlier -
StrawbS - we seem to have nailed the whole swaddling dilemma using the technique suggested by Linds... she is in her gro-bag and we then cover her with her shawl as a blanket. I was a bit concerned re the heat but its got colder so hopefully by the time it warms up again she will be well and truly over the whole swaddling thing. It has taken us almost two weeks to get to this point though so perseverance is the key, I guess. Naps are still a battle though but again, have got easier the last couple of days (not helped by her illness, probably)

Hope you're all fabulous and looking forward to a nice weekend. I really need to start packing and am going to have to do a crazy wash followed by laundrette tumble dry for my clothes as don't have enough that fit me yet . Need to work on that mummy tummy like our thread recommends - hmmmm, theres a Boost in the fridge though