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

[Tee2072]

Here it is, Juners! New thread!!

evening girls,
Hope everyone is doing ok? I think this might be the year I succomb to seasonal affective disorder- I am really struggling with the dark days and it is only November! Making sure I get out everyday, despite the weather, but missing the Australian summer.This is the problem of having a year at home!

naat glad DH home safely and with presents in tow. The one from your MIL deserves a . Good on little miss m and her rolling! grin]
So so sorry your expressed milk was off. I think I would have been in tears for days- have spent hours attached to the pump but do not get alot of milk for all my hard work. You poor thing! How is the new sofa? nice and comfy?

daisy those toys are soooo cute. Thanks for the link. I think we may put one on A's christmas list. Good on F and his sitting- 7 mins-what a champ

bigcar good to see you!Fairly settled now, luckily lots of playgroups nearby, so a great opportunity to make friends. How is E's chest infection? Thinking of you and hope the funeral went as well as could be expected.

june . Current reading for weaning is Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and I also flicked through a friend's Annabelle Karmel book which had lovley puree recipes- only problem was BLW suits my lazy slattern tendencies!A is quite good at hand to mouth which really helps. One of the MN regulars AitchtwoOh has a BLW blog which has some good ideas, otherwise the weaning board is a fabulous source of info. Have been giving A v ripe pear as it is lovely and soft.
As to your friend's comment re dummies- well, in time, I am sure with the arrival of a small bundle who hasn't stopped crying for hours, she may just change her mind!! Also has been great for A's reflux.

mrsmac how was the sunshine today? thinking of you and hoping tonight a little better.

polly hello! Have you offered your little one food to play with? It may be that she is not ready yet. I was planning to wait until 26 weeks however A was taking food out of my hands, sitting up well and had great hand to mouth so i started at 23 weeks.

skillbo are you on holiday at the moment?hope you got some quality reading time in while J was sleeping. Pineapple is great- we both love it and honeydew melon lovely too. Makes me feel vaguely summery despite the temperature. If only I could get my hands on a ripe mango!

Hi to lindsay, llynnn, strawberry and everyone else I have forgotten. Apologies for the mammoth post!

wow you girls have been chatty! lovely to hear from you all

have to get the girls ready to out now, but will be back later (hopefully!) to catch up properly!

Happy December!!!

afternoon all

skill, will you be able to transport granny back to yours for feeding time I don't think babies have to double birth weight by 6 months, it was just something I'd heard from another mum at school.

polly/help, lovely to see you back Have a look here I think the bit on starting solids and what to do makes a lot of sense. Just in case you hadn't noticed, some rusks are incredibly high in sugar so best check the label! Lovely photos, she looked lovely for her christening and sitting wonderfully too

june, for pear puree, I usually steam it a bit first to really soften it but for blw I'd just peel it for E and let him loose! No I haven't seen any sleeping bags with sleeves and E always has cold arms too. I got him some long sleeve vests which help a little and I also leave his socks on in his babygro as he gets cold feet too! I don't suppose your friend made the sil comment in front of your dh by any chance? Hope you're getting on well with the arrangements for Cs christening.

MrsMcJnr, I used to love that film, the whole thing of bunking off and posh car for the day sounded great! Es feeding varies depending on where we have to be, sometimes he goes 2 hours between a feed, sometimes 4, he has his solids at lunch time and again about 5ish followed by a bf. He'll then probably have another 2 (occasionally 3) feeds after that before going down between about 8 and 9, so he's not cluster feeding as he was but feeds more often after his last lot of solids. He'll then sleep through to around 7/8 in the morning. He often has a sleep in the afternoon while dd3 is at nursery but really once they are all home from school I don't like him sleeping as he'll then go down a lot later. Hope the sun held out for you

daisy, good sitting there it's not something E has mastered yet, he's a bit like a weeble that hasn't heard he shouldn't fall over

naat, my niece was voting for Jedward [oh the shame!] and they live in Ireland Rickys dance wasn't that great, not up to his usual standard, could just have been that, will be interesting to see what happens this weekend!

snow, can't be nice leaving the summer to come over here, does that mean you've done 2 winters in a row?

llynn, hope all's well with you

thanks for all your kind thoughts, the funeral went well, as well as these things do. She had a good send off and the family managed to do it without the usual bickering so was good Es not doing to bad, getting the antibiotics into him is proving fun, he just spits it out, doesn't get upset or scream, just dribbles it out of the corner of his mouth! I swear that stuff is luminous.

I thought of a third thing! It will have to be Es thumb, he manages to comfort himself with that and his muslin

dd3 got an offer after her uni interview, she has to get 3 Cs (predicted ABC) so she's well chuffed, especially as in the prospectus they said they wanted BBC so she must have done something right

E has one of these and loves it!

waves to all

Hey!

Little pic of c feeding in her high chair, and another onehere.

naat I love getting pressies from France when relatives come and visit. Though dad asked me what to get us and then said he's already got us a... apple corer .
C. rolls back from her belly to her back but not from her back to her belly.

bigcar glad your dd got an offer :D well done!

snow the weather is awful isn't it. Do you mean that you're here for a year or that you were in australia for a year? And are you going back or are you here for the foreseable future?

I can hear C waking up, better go!

Hi everyone...!

Sorry I have been neglecting you all, just wanted to say a couple of things quickly and will pop back later!!

June- we put Caelan in a pyjama top with his pod, so his legs are free!! Love that present you are going to get, everyone needs a good apple corer bless!

Bigcar- huuuuge congratulations to your DD, what uni is that?? She must be so relieved! And you must be too!!

Just wanted to say those things before I forgot them, as I do with everything these days, and will pop back in later because DP wants me to help him with his CV, so will squeeze some sneaky MN time in there too!!

xx

Oh and June, that pic of C is gorgeous, great hair! And isnt she a clever girl holding her spoon like that! I must say, she looks a lot bigger in her chair than Caelan does in his!! Bless him, he could rest his chin on the table! He's my little pocket man, all diddy just like his dad!

Hi all!

ohhhh I don't have enough time to post as I've just put M in bed and have to work! But will catch up quickly

Worried, hi! Pop back whenever you can and tell us how you and C are doing

June, gooooorgeous pictures!! Love the hair! I'll try and upload some soon at your dad's pressie I also make M wear a long sleeved vest under her grobag but yesterday it was so so so cold up here (minus 5) and her hands and arms were so cold (and she kept waking up because of that) that I ended up covering her with two blankets! (and her hands were still cold by the way

Bigcar, yay! Congratulations to your DD! She must be on cloud nine! LOL at E letting the ABs leak through the corner of his mouth Clever boy

Snow, we're loving the sofa, yes It's big and comfy I know what you mean about the early darkness It really gets me down as well so I try my best to go out and keep positive but it's hard!

Right, I need some advice. I don't know what got into DH but he told me M should be sleeping better by now (sleeping through, that is) and on her own as well He wants to try controlled crying (in Arg they call it "duermete niño" method) and I'm not too impressed. I'll find out tonight whether he was advised brainwashed in Buenos Aires by someone the family witches because it all sounds fishy. M wakes only once or maybe twice a night these days and it takes her 15 mins to go back to sleep, and that includes the feeding! I don't know if I'm being precious and over-protective or if I should just let her take her time? I need advice, lovely Juners, what do you think??

Back to work! Graduation tomorrow so I'll be out most of the day and should do as much as I can now

Waves!

naat - if you are happy with how things are then I would never feel pressured to do something because 'someone else said so'. Stick to what feels right and natural for you. Personally, I couldn't cope with the getting up anymore and he was drinking less during the day and more at night, so I had more of a problem on my hands. But when I did start changing things (giving him much more milk during the day) I never let him cry in the night, I just cuddled him back to sleep.

If she is still having a healthy feed at breakfast time then she possibly needs that bit to get through the night.

imo breastfeed babies that I know tend to wake in the night for a bit longer than bottle feed babies, but once she's eating and drinking so much more she won't need to.

morning all

june, gorgeous pics again Lol at the apple corer, at least it's practical!

worried, it's Roehampton in London, it's got a good reputation for teacher training and that's what she wants to do. Dd1 has 2 more interviews in Jan so we'll wait and see how they go too. Hope the cv writing went ok

naat, I'm with daisy on that one, do what suits you and M, it's you 2 that are getting up in the night, not family in BA! If you check out the sleep threads you'll find M is by no means the only baby waking at night. I would have thought that if M is genuinely hungry then controlled crying is not going to work anyway if you think about the logic of it. I can't remember who posted a link a while back, think it might have been strawberry, about why some bf babies still wake at night. Hope the graduation goes well, enjoy, you've worked hard for this

waves to all

naat, strawberrys link here

I've added some more pics to my profile, E has certainly grown!

naat I was catching up on thread in bed from my phone (insomnia) and your post actually made me get up to reply .

Quite on your behalf. I know what it feels like when someone who seems to be fine with the way things are all of a sudden turns around and starts coming out with stuff that has clearly been implanted in there by nosy relatives someone else who hasn't thought things through.

Don't let anyone pressure you into doing anything like that. I find people with advice for me at the moment (re: the baby) often have not had babies in a while and basically do not know what they're talking about really.

First of all isn't controlled crying about getting the baby to sleep as opposed to sleeping through? If it only takes you 15 minutes then wouldn't the baby just cry for 15 minutes anyway and wake you up just the same with the added stress of listening to crying?

Does dh wake up & get up when M wakes up at night? If not then what it is to him?

My dh sleeps through, he does not hear the baby when she wakes up. Therefore he doesn't mind wether the baby wakes up or sleeps through as long as he doesn't have to get up (and fair enough as he has to get up to go to work), he would support me either way wether I want to carry on waking up or I decide to try controlled crying.

I think it is really hard to do (mentally for the mum) and if you are pushed into when you don't think that the lack of sleep is too bad I think you might just end up resenting your dh for forcing you if you can't carry it through.
A friend of one of the mums had to listen to her dd crying for 45 minutes. It has worked by the way, just after one night she now sleeps well, I don't know how bad it was before. Some people have to do it for longer than one night.
Is dh offering to do the controlled crying method for you?

The new mums I met in real life have also talked about controlled crying because their babies still wake up in the night, sometimes once but more often several times and for anything from half an hour to an hour and a half at a time.
One of them especially has very disturbed nights, does not sleep very well during the day, and has gone back to feeding every two hours. This couple considered controlled crying but came to the conclusion that it is done for convenience to the parent, not the child.
They're (the women) going to carry on waking up at nighttime as long as they can cope with the lack of sleep.(they are all first time mums so have no other children to look after and are not back to work).
They're not against it, they've all said that they're going to see how it works out for now and maybe try it if things don't improve within a month or so.

I don't think its right to say that M should be sleeping better by now, Who says? and what is their qualification?
Each child is different.

There are lots of opinions about either ways; ie if you're there for your child every time they wake up then they know they can rely on you forever and will grow to be confident happy persons VS for the sake of a few nights' controlled crying you're setting up good sleeping habits forever (and keeping sane).

People choose what is right for them, I think if you can cope with the night waking then it's unnecessary stress to put yourself through.
I'm sorry dh's made you feel unsure of yourself, I'm adamant that we know the babies best, we've pretty much spent 24 hours a day with them since they were born, no one knows them as well as we do.

right, look at me giving you advice...feel free to ignore ;)
I can go back to bed now

Morning all!

Thanks for your advice, lovely Juners!

June, you are sweet DH used to wake up with me when M was tiny and she needed a whole service nappy change + feed + putting her to sleep...Since about two months ago or more M just wakes, feeds ravenously for 5-10min, burps like a tiny sailor and zonks out... So no, he doesn't wake up, which is exactly what I told him... I really didn't sound like something he would tell me so I knew someone else had to do with it. He spoke with his cousin's DH (the ones whom we visit in London from time to time) and he told him they had tried controlled crying with their second baby when she was 9 months old as she was waking twice a night but as they have a 3yo as well they were quite tired... SHe cried for 2hs the first night but has slept through ever since... maybe that's what caught DH's attention Thanks for sharing the experience of the other mums as well... How are the family visits invasions so far this week?

Bigcar, I've had to work these days but as soon as I have two seconds I'll read that thread, thanks for that. How's E feeling? Lovely pics, he looks big!

Daisy, thanks for the advice When M wakes in the morning, between 6.30 and 7.30 she feeds madly so I'm practically sure it's hunger what wakes her I'm a bit confused to be honest

I don't mind waking that time or maybe those two times a night, they are literally 15 mins and she's back asleep. I'm pretty sure it's hunger as she feeds like mad! What his cousin's DH said is that apparently babies wake just because... not because they're hungry And yes, the comment of "she should be sleeping through by now" was from his family (mum, aunt and grandma, that is ) but I couldn't care less about what they think, to be honest.

Anyway, I talked to DH and I've told him I really don't mind waking up because of the reasons above so he's accepted that and told me it's fine, we can put her in her own bedroom when I think it's right. We are trying to get a night routine (ish) and for the last two nights she has gone to bed between 7 and 8 so that's quite good.

Graduation was nice, M behaved sooo well I couldn't believe it, DH handled it all on his own and survived

Right, back to work!!

Waves!!!

gosh 5am is the only time i get to myself at the moment, and judging by the amount of posting I take it everybody is rushed off their feet too!

lovely pics bigcar :D Does E. bite off big chunks of pear then? I've given cucumber to C. and she's had the soft bit in the middle and left the rest after chewing on it for a while.
I'm not sure how big a bit she can swallow.
Ive been giving large pieces of banana to C to chew down (I hold the banana with my fingers, not sure wether that counts at blw) the problem is that most of these things are slippery so she gets a little frustrated.

The arrangments for the christening are going well, we've got fil to cook something and my friend's mum as well so we don't have to worry about the main course, we'll do a couple of big salads on boxing day to go with it and pretty much got everything else sorted as well, bought some cheap plates and cutlery, got the acohol in, ordered the cake, rented some glasses and got our brothers to serve the drinks and some friends to help with tidying up.

My friend did not make the sil comment in front of dh but he did have a word and sil's only been here twice this week so far, mil once (got another missed call from her and then she just turned up) but that's an improvement anyway.
sil was calling so much yesterday that he switched his phone off (we were all having a nap by 7pm we were so exhausted.) so he does get my point which is a relief.

worried I don't know what it is, C is on the 25th percentile (has been since birth) so she's not that big but she definitely looks bigger/taller than the babies we meet up with (breastfed or not). I think her hair makes her look older too.

Hey daisy how's things? I would like to get C. one of them little wooden xylophones for christmas. Sounds a bit lame maybe but she's going to get so much some by rellies and she won't know any different. Maybe we'll just top up her bank account.
We wanted to get her a little bracelet with her name on it (name followed by a flower), and made in such a way that the name detaches and she can use it when she is older either as a bracelet or a necklace.. nice idea but the quote we got was a lot higher than what we wanted to spend, I reckon we'll wait until she is older...

polly hey welcome back :D what a cutie in her christening gown :D
We're christening C. at the end of december and the godmother is getting the gown so I don't get to see it before then afaik.
she also gets the outfit for after the christening (and was complaining that when she did this for her sister the baby got changed pretty quick after that and no one got to see her outfit so she sounded a little bit offended) and then yesterday fil said yesterday he'd bought something really nice for after the christening. we had to explain it might not be worn so as to not offend the godmother. (I think I'm going to get her a christening sleepsuit... the most comfortable of all I bet ;)
polly dd just might not be ready yet, keep offering without forcing.
The advice I got from nursery nurse in a "weaning pack" (basically some photocopies) is to keep the "meal" to 30 minutes (15 if they're just playing with it). As the others have said, it's done squat change to c.s sleeping.
I bought the anabelle karmel book but not had a look yet.
I bought this from Asda, not sure that counts as blw though.

skillbo when are you back? We get the same every time we go to France or Cyprus, end up visiting a lot of friends and family and staying for dinner (yummy!).
hopw it didn;t rain too much!

mrsmc how are you? Have you managed to fit in some sleep?

doris we got our money back from sil this week, with less nagging then last time so maybe she is getting better. I think your rule of not giving anymore until the last bit is reimbursed is a brilliant one, applying this straight away!
It's lovely that you're feeling better and more like your old self. I'm definitely more with it, I feel like I am getting stronger everyday.
DH is back into his post pregnancy jeans .
I put some jeans on yesterday instead of leggings. They're not my post pregnancy size unfortunately) and they were tight but it's a step forward I guess.
I can't beleive how much weight I put on during pregnancy and how it didn't just go after birth, and 6 months on....and I have so much work to do to get rid of all the flab. I need to go on a proper diet, I thought I was doing all right but realised that I still eat a lot more rubbish than pre pg. (I was a health freak, very little carbs, 2l of water & an hour of exercise a day, lots of fruits and veg and protein...should really get back to that. (but finding time to exercise?)

I think I need someone to hire some help next year, maybe someone's au pair in the area can do a couple of afternoons a week to come over to ours or something along those lines.
I just need more time to do more work. I have not looked into nurseries, bit scared...I'm sure if I actually visited one my mind would be put at rest.
It's heartbreaking just thinking of leaving her with someone else, I feel no one knows what she wants or why she is crying better than I do. (pfb syndrom, I know, I can't help it).
dh says he'll look after one pm a week but realistically he has to work too, answer his phone etc and putting her in various contraptions (swing, bouncer, high chair, bumbo or gym) is not what i consider looking after her properly (where's the singing, reading, playing etc).
(he also without fail calls me for pooey nappies and when he can't get her to sleep or just turns up in the office saying "C wanted to see her mummy" which is lovely but not helpful
Some of you are probably going back to work next year, what are you thinking about for childcare?

C's sound asleep but it won't be long before she needs a bottle so have a good weekend guys!

oh and naat how is the bedtime routine going? We still haven't started that.
I'm finding difficult to fit the last feed before 9 or 10 pm.
Do you start the bedtime routine at the same time regardless of the feeding that day (it varies for C everyday but she still has 5 feeds whatever happens.) she roughly eats at the same time but if we go on a car trip then she sleeps more and is hungry later on which disturbs the whole end of the day feeding. Even if it's only for one or two hours then her last bottle ends up closer to midnight ifswim.

Hello all!

June, ohhh I'm so glad you and DH are on the same page now re. visitors invaders I can see MIL will take a bit more effort but don't despair, and above all, don't stop doing what you're doing.

We decided to get M some clothes for Christmas, as she won't be getting any pressies from relatives other than my parents (unless anyone thinks of posting them, which I doubt) as she's grown out of maaaaany things and then she has lots of clothes that are too big We're also opening a bank account for her AND we're getting a Christmas tree, we've never had one (DH and I) and now we have M in our lives we think it's time

Ohhh LOL at your DH saying "C wants to see mummy" and dropping her That's soooo typically male DH does the same. He wants to help and tries really hard but most times he ends up hitting the panic button and asking for help Although he managed soooo well during the graduation that he scored major points there

We also thought about the au pair route but for the moment it's not an option as we have two bedrooms, not three and I read it's essential that they have their own bedroom, so... I'm also quite nervous about the daycare/nursery/ options. I guess we're just being precious there we'll learn!

Don't know if this will help but I tried M on thin-ish slices of banana (I peel a bit, hold it on my hand and with the spoon get a slice, it's an easy way and I don't have to clean any dishes or bowls ) and I was a bit nervous in case she didn't cope but she chews them and manages just fine.

Right, M's up from her nap. Hope you all have a nice wkend. I see you're all busy Juner bees these days!

Waves!!!

Ouch, I forgot your last question

The routine is going well, I guess. She doesn't eat at the exact same time either and we don't want to give her a vvvvvv strict routine as we know that otherwise if one day she doesn't have it the same way chaos will ensue. I feed her some solids at about 6, then she plays a bit, then bath at about 7, then milk and bed and she's asleep between 7.30 and 8.30 but yesterday for example we got delayed and she fell asleep at 9. She doesn't seem to mind the hour variation and she's been sleeping really well (touch allll the wood in the world) from 7-8 till 12-1 then till 3-4 and then until when we get up. That, for her, is quite good, so I'm happy. We'll see if with time she drops the 12-1 waking

naat we're not getting an au pair, we're thinking of borrowing someone else's for the afternoon when the children she is looking after are at school iyswim.

I was an au pair for just over a year about 12 years ago, I replaced one who had an affair with the dh of the house!!! She was sacked and he was kicked out.
At the time we used to get a room (I had a small makeshift room in the loft, sharing a tiny bathroom with a student who was renting the adjacent "proper" room that would have been mine otherwise), all the meals for free, and then £35 a week.
I used to be completely exploited and work everyday long hours. Take the kids to school, clean the house from top to bottom, pick the kids up, take them to extra curricular activities (sports, piano etc), wait outside that they finished as it was usually far away. Then cook dinner and put everything away. How I wish someone did this for me for £35 a week!!

June oh dear did they squeeze all the juice they could! I read on au pair websites they now get at least 60 pounds a week + food and accomodation. Some of them specify they do other things besides looking after DC but others don't Your idea sounds good. Do you know one who will be able to help you then? In my case it'd be hard because I don't work every single day, and I never know when work will come so... anyway, for the moment I'll be doing both Your advice of working early in the morning when LO is still asleep works well (I also add some work when she goes down at night) so thanks for that

You're welcome naat still works for me too.
I don't know anyone with an au-pair, no. I'll ahve to look.
Someone suggested I asked the children centre as well as they may know someone who can do day childcare round ours.

We've run out of magic powder Aston and Parsons teething powder so off shopping (on a saturday eek).
C.'s had three very watery poos this morning, no temperature or being sick, and eating well still. I hope it goes away soon, not sure what could have brought this on, though we did give her a bit of (pasteurised) orange juice cut with lots of water yesterday..?

Hey girls sorry for my absence, I spent two nights up at my Mum?s with Aaliyah trying to crack the sleep thing. The first night was pretty good, I put her down at 10 (not ideal) and she then woke at 12, was awake for 20 mins and I tried patting her and letting her cry a bit and then she slept until 4.50 but the second night didn?t work well at all and she woke up every 45 mins all night and I was too exhausted to do anything other than cuddle and feed her so the vicious circle carries on the next night she went down at 8.30, then up at 9.30 and 10.30 ? think she may have been cold so have wrapped her in her shawl but she continued to wake every hour or so. I have come to 2 conclusions 1) she is not drinking enough milk during the day, she is far too interested in what is happening around her to have proper feeds 2) she does not know how to get back to sleep again on her own when she comes into light sleep. Last night she ate loads of baby rice for dinner and had a really big feed before bed and though she woke at 12.30 and 4.30 neither time did I feed her and she went back to sleep. For once she was quite hungry at 7.30am when she woke. Must keep trying I guess. How are all of you?

Daisy ? I think my brain has dissolved, I?ve read that book so many times and still cannot get to grips with the routine, partly because the times just don?t suit me and also because Aaliyah just isn?t as advanced with food as a baby of nearly 6 months in that book. Which routine did you use? I have been expressing in the morning so DH can give it to her in the evening (not going that well, she doesn?t like a bottle). I have been a bit concerned about how little I can get. There is no way Aaliyah is getting 20oz during the day! Have you introduced water yet? Sounds like Fraser is more advanced than Aaliyah on the food front, we are still on veg & fruit purees and baby rice twice a day. No protein yet even though she is 6 months old next week. I have bought Aaliyah an activity table for Christmas, it?s a bit beyond her at the moment but it won?t be long. Congrats on Fraser sitting up, she?d love to but we are not there yet!

Naat ? agree with you about never say never, I always said my kids would never have dummies and yet I practically begged DS to take one (and sadly he is still very attached to it at 22 months!) the pressies for M sound cute, shame about the earrings though ? how odd How I understand it, controlled crying needs conviction to work and you need to be sure that it is down to a bad habit rather than needing something. I think there is a lot to be said for holding back and just listening for a few minutes to gauge what could be causing the crying. I now do leave her to cry if I think it is just that she has come into light sleep and will drop off again in a few minutes if left alone. By that I mean 3 or 4 minutes. That said I genuinely think Aaliyah is hungry at night because she doesn?t eat enough during the day so I do feed her. I think you have to trust your gut feeling. Hope you enjoyed your graduation! It sounds like your schedule with Mila is very similar to ours when things are working well.

Snowwombat ? I used to feel like I was suffering from SAD when I lived in Scotland, sometimes it didn?t appear to get light all day! Lunchtime walks saved me.

Hello llynnnn & WorriedAmy

Bigcar ? how is E now? Glad the funeral went as well as it could they are always sad. Good idea about the long sleeved vest and the socks. My DS woke up a few times the other night and I suspected it was because his feet were cold and he slept better after I put some socks on him. I?ve heard cold feet are linked to stuffy noses in kids (something to do with circulation) and I know cold feet disturb adults sleep too. Thought Ricky?s 2nd dance (cha cha cha) was amazing tonight. That is excellent news for your DD3

June ? sounds like the Christening planning is going well, when is it? 27th? That bracelet idea sounds lovely. My PIL bought Aaliyah a lovely Christening present. It was two identical bracelets, one baby size and one adult size. They are meant to be for mother and daughter but MIL thought she could wear them as she grows up. I need to do exercise too. I was doing well on the weight loss front but Aaliyah?s bad sleeping has halted that, I need the carbs to get through the day! We call Ashton & Parsons ?baby cocaine? wonderful stuff!

Had better go and prepare the 3 course lunch for friends coming tomorrow ? groan! Seemed like a good idea at the time!

Can I ask everyone a personal question ? who has and hasn?t had a period yet and out of those who have, who is breast feeding?

mrsmc I was going to ask that question actually, I'm not having any periods yet, not breastfeeding and have been on the pill for a few months now.

Mrsmc, quick answer, will come back and reply properly later No period yet, and BF almost full time still + some solids (fruit and veg, no protein yet). No idea when it's supposed to come back, not missing it, though

hi all

mrsmc - dont know how you get through the days on so little sleep.

i have had 2 periods now but havent breastfed since Isobel was 3months old

Isobel is still not taking much food either. she refuses to let me spoonfeed her, wants to do it herself but cant quite manage it yet, bless her! i have been giving her fingers of pear and banana for one of her meals and she seems much happier just doing it herself, although I watch her like a hawk as i am sooooo scared of her choking!!

all those worried about childcare, we put dd1 into nursery when she was 5 months old, just 2 days a week when i went back to work. it was very hard at first i wont lie, but she loves it now and has for a long time! they do soooo much there with them and her speech came on really well, which i credit nursery with. My advice would be to go visit a few and if you get a bad vibe about anything, chose another. we visited a few before this one and never felt totally comfortable with them, but this one has always been faultless! Isobel will be going there in feb when i go back (not looking forward to it!!)

we sort of have a bedtime routine. we do bath at 7pm with dd1, then we bring her back down while dd1 has stories and her bedtime while we sit and chat etc to Isobel, she has her bottle at 8pm (downstairs with us) then is usually in bed by 8.30 I think we need to start being stricter though and having her last bottle in her room where its quieter as we are struggling settling her to sleep. she hasnt quite mastered the art of sending herself off yet but i dont really want to do cc yet (and it would probably wake dd1 up too if we did!)trying to gradually withdraw but we need to be more consistent and patient i think!! i usually end up giving in and cuddling her again

hope you are all having good weekends