July 2009: Grinning, wolfing, rolling and puking! :)

[alibobble]

Hi thought I'd take the bull by the horns and start a new thread. Hope the weaning was covert enough! Fire away!

Big hugs Jetli xx

Hi all - will try to catch up over next day or so. Been pretty busy worrying about dd. Got her weighed a couple of weeks ago (hadn't had her weighed for a few weeks) and her weight gain had slowed down a lot. HV said she had almost dropped two centiles. They referred me to a Lactation consultant who said dd had thrush and tongue-tie. Got oral gel for thrush but feeding became even more disrupted during day time and she was getting very sick. Researched the treatment online and discovered common side effects are nausea and vomitting so needless to say we stopped it. But in the meantime I'd taken dd back for a weigh-in and she didn't gain anything that week. Was so worried. Got her weighed again on Monday and she'd gained 4 oz in 4 days which is pretty good so panic was over a bit. Yesterday she had a minor surgical procedure to remove tongue-tie. She was fine but I was very upset . Hopefully it will make a difference to her latch and help with solids.
Positives are that she is mostly a happy baby and has settled into a routine quite nicely. Sleeps a couple of hours in the morning, once or twice in the afternoon, then bedtime is about 7pm (after bath). She can then go til midnight or 1am and usually wakes once more in the night.

Jetli sorry to hear about your nan You're not being selfish - just honest. Ikwym - we all have an idea of how we want to spend mat leave. I didn't really want to spend a whole year exclusively bf but looks like that might be how it works out. I should be grateful dd can bf - esp. with tongue-tie. It's just that I don't enjoy bf and only do it as I know it's best for her - and I'd like to go out occasionally without her! I only wanted to bf for 6 months.

Oh lady - I hope DD is doing OK now. MissP had a terrible time with tongue tie.

Thanks Patchy

We might have a minor breakthrough - some blood results have come back and shown Nan to be B12 and folate deficient - the CPN thinks this could be (at least in part) a cause for the dementia. Treatment ought to start Thursday. We're hopeful and it has given Mum an big lift, which in turn cheers the rest of us up a bit. Fingers crossed eh?

Jetli I presume they have checked your nan for a urine infection as well. My dh grandad went downhill rapidly with dementia and it turned out that he had a bad urine infection that in turn caused the dementia. Once that cleared up he was much better in himself. Hope her treatment makes a difference.

Ladylush hope you and your dd are ok. I am not surprised you were so upset yesterday...its not nice to see them having anything like that done.

jetli so sorry to hear about nan, it must ba a horrible time hugs to you and your family.

lady after seeing hv today they now want me to get Bill seen about having his tongue tie snipped. to be honest im a bit narked they didnt recommend him having it done when he was a baby, but then they didnt make an issue of it IYKWIM? hope you dd is ok though.

phoenix bill wont sleep either in his cot, we're still struggling, again hv suggested controlled crying, i explained he's sick if he cries lying down and i was told to just go in wipe him up and leave him think it sound cruel but me an dp are now in separate beds which i would like to stop! was also told to offer him watered down milk or water to try and stop the night feeds.

weaning nicked a good snack recipe off weaning board which bill loves, you put a tortilla in a pan and warm it flip it over and put cheese, veggies/ham whatever you fancy in then fold in half so the cheese seals it together. leave it to cool then cut in to triangle pieces like pizza, Bill loved it! gave it to dd too and called it inside out pizza!

Patchy is right - any infection can cause confusion and elderly are particularly susceptible. Constipation can also cause confusion. My friend's dad recently had an abscess which caused hallucinations and delusions. They couldn't locate the site of infection and he was quite mad for several weeks but is fine now that he's had the right anti-biotics.

Lydia - how old is Bill? Is he the baby you had 6 months ago? Sorry but I joined thread late and don't know names of the babies. Anyway, reason I am asking is because the surgeon who snipped dd's will do them on babies up to 8 months old without a General Anaesthetic. It sounds barbaric but actually she was just fine and I was so glad she didn't have to be anaesthetised as there are risks (albeit small).

lady yeah i had Bill in june, already have a dd who is 3 in march.

ok so i only lasted 10 minutes on the controlled crying tonight! whats wrong with me, and more importantly how do i get him to go to sleep without leaving him to cry? he was in such a sorry state snot dribbling out his nose bright red, it seems so mean!

have ended up posting something in sleep as have had a bit of a melt down at DP about him not sleeping and stopping breastfeeding

Oh Lydia here is some bery un mumsnetty (((hugs)))

I can't do controlled crying till they are more like a year so know what you mean.

lady I can't remember if you are still BFing. If you are make sure you both get treated for thrush or she will just get it again from you. I take it they gave you Dactarin gel? I found this useless and they then gave me Nystatin drops which were much better. Maybe your LO ouldn't react to the drops? Hope things sort themselves out for you.

jetli sorry your having a rough time

Queenfee - yes she was px daktarin gel. We stopped it after 4 days. Not sure if she still has it but I don't have any symptoms on my nipples. I was applying the gel at the same time as giving it to dd but stopped that now because I was worried that too might be making her sick. Will see how it goes. Apparently she was only borderline for treatment so maybe it has cleared up. Yes - am still bf.

Lydia I feel for you. Ds was similar. He is now 5 and sleeps like a dream but up til the age of 3 he was a terrible sleeper and woke anything up to 5 times a night. I was working 12 hour shifts and really struggled. 4wiw I tried cc and pupd and neither worked for us. It seemed to just resolve itself over (A LONG) time.

Feeling itchy here. Ds has threadworms. Yuk Feel so sorry for him. No symptoms myself - it's just the idea of it iyswim. Gave him some Ovex and dh will take some. Can't do much about me or dd at this point though cos can't take the treatment. If we get it I will have to go to the gp. Guess I will have to change his bed linen as well.

Lydia hope your evening gets better. Poor Bill, its horrible isn't it. We went through it with Max and it did work but was hell. I bought one of those light show things, winnie the pooh, that I attached to his cot. He just lies there now staring at it and eventually falls asleep. Maybe worth a try. think they have 2nd hand ones on ebay?

How are the banana cookies QueenFee saw it on facebook.....let us have the recipe if they are any good. Had a real sweet tooth tonight and ate nearly a whole bag of haribo sours. Feel a bit sick now!

thanks for the support! he started crying again and i managed to leave him and keep checking for half hour but the poor thing was hysterically crying i couldnt do it.
patchy we have a donkey from ELC that attatches to sidde of cot with a light chagning tummy that is also supposed to project on to the ceilin, although never managed to get that to work!(had it first for dd) it just seems so loud and startles him more than anythign.

when i went to get him he flung his little arms round my neck and wrapped his fingers in my hair and nuzzled my neck...i cant leave him to cry not when this is his reaction when i pick him up he obviously wants me.

the strange thing is though, as soon as i took him in our room i lay him on one of our pillows, put 2 either side to stop him falling off and he went straight to sleep!

Bless him, little chap. He just needed you didn't he. Follow your heart Lydia, you know what is best for your little boy. If he flings his arms around you, just hold him.

We have such huge expectations of our children and forget how tiny they are. I look at my 2 big ones now and feel quite sad about the time gone by and that they don't need me so much any more. Someone very wise once said to me that every bedtime story denied to them (when you have other things to do etc) is one less that you get to read them, as there comes a point that they won't want you to read to them anymore. Well mine are nearly at that point. Same with bed time and cuddles etc. Make the most of them and don't hurry them into something they aren't ready for
xx

lydia - have you considered co-sleeping? I know it's not for everyone but sometimes it means you get more sleep. I co-slept with dd until about 2 weeks ago. I wish I had with ds instead of insisting he slept in his cot from 12 weeks. I sometimes wonder if this made him insecure iyswim.

thanks patchy, i do think people expect too much too soon with babies. at the baby group i go to there always seems to be a competition of whose baby is sleeping best, and part of me just wants to say if you dont want to have to get up in the night why have ababy? i suppose part of me thinks i was maybe more strict with dd, and that by letting Bill in our bed and cuddling him ive neglected her?? does that make sense, i also hate to say that i feel a stronger bond with Bill, but then dd is such a daddies girl. i dont know, maybe im getting my period back but i feel all tearful tonight

lady we do pretty much co-sleep but part of me feels like a fraud as im not breast feeding anymore

sorry for being so miserable x

lady you can have it without symptoms they can also treat you with tablets instead of gel. there is a good leaflet on the abm site about it. Would do a link but i'm on my mobile whilst feeding Alfie so can't!

cookies were yummy but turned out more like cakes than cookies. Will be posting them on the recipe site we started on facebook if your interested.

lydia don't see why giving up bf should mean you stop co sleeping. I have become more into attachment parenting with each child I have. 3 in a bed good book about co sleeping while since I read it though. You give him all the cuddles you want I don't think you would ever regret that in the long run whereas you might leaving him to cry if it's not feeling right for you. My ds1 didn't sleep through (or go for more than 2 hours until he had cranial osteopathy at 16 months. I feel guilty now for letting him cry as he must have had a horrible headache

Lydia Feel so badly that you are putting yourself through this. Bill obviously needs you and is not ready to be on his own yet. Dont worry about everyone else's expectations. You are his mum and you know what he needs most. I hate the fact that I am up every 2 hours with Marco, but I wont let him cry to the point of him being sick. If its just a sucky cry, I can manage... but not the gut-wrenching cry that Bill must get to make him sick. What mum in good conscience could live with that?? Anyway... follow your heart. He is only a baby for a short time. We are here for you... unload on us all you like

Jetli How is your Nan feeling??? Hope it is something that is easily remedied.

Lady Hopethings get better for you as well. Never had thrush with my DCs, but I cant imagine it being any fun

Sleep Marco back to his old tricks. He went down at 11 and was up at 2 and 5 and 7am. Made a couple of batches of baby food from scratch yesterday. Gave him chicken and sweet potatoes, with banana for dessert before bed. So much for the protein helping him to sleep... oh well was worth a try. I am standing my ground with not BF though. When he wakes, he only gets a bottle. May switch to water at some point. I figure maybe if he doesnt like what is being 'served' he wont bother to wake for it! I can dream!!!

Lydia how was the rest of the night? Hope you feeling less sad today. I am far softer with Max than I was with the other 2. I think I realise it can do them no harm. Your DD has in no way been neglected, they are just different babies with different needs.

Baby sorry the protein didn't work! I think you are right that in the long run if he doesn't want a bottle / water he wont wake for it.

Last night I bought Max's dream feed forward by 1/2 hour to 9.30pm...I was on my knees and needed to go to bed!! It didn't make any difference so I will continue to bring it forward every few days until he gives up! He has woken up full of cold today poor boy, his first ever cold! Shame!

Lydia don't feel bad about co-sleeping just because you aren't bf. It's the closeness to you that he needs more than your breasts
queenfee I will see what the bf counsellor says next Monday. If dd still has it I will go back to gp for tablets and drops for her (assuming they don't cause sickness).

Teething - dd constantly chewing anything she can get her hands on. Her sleepsuit sleeve was sopping wet this morning.

Hey everyone how's it going? Seems like a case of the blues is upon some of us? I can't seem to shake it this week. I think the tiredness and crappy weather has a major factor to play.

Lydia sorry about Bill. Didn't realise you stopped bf as well. I still think you did a FAB job getting so far. I barely managed 3.5m with DD a couple years back. She was never settled after a feed and I just couldn't take it anymore. Co-sleep can be done IMO at any age and whether or not you bf or not. Tristan ends up in our bed most nights, er, and DS1 and DD make an appearance too on some nights. Like Patchy says, they grow up so fast and we will miss these moments. Hope your wool biz is keeping your spirits lifted.

Hi Lady long time no hear. We had the tongue tie snip done here too (twice in fact!). I really do think it has helped though Tristan still doesn't thrust his tongue out much. DS1 had it as did DD (she had it snipped though at 2months). DS1 had never had it snipped and he had terrible speech problems as a toddler. I always wonder if his tongue tie played a part in it. Anyhow, from my experience I think it is best to get it sorted.

Jetli sorry about your nan. I hope things improve.

Baby weaning is going so so here and not changing any sleep patterns. I guess they will sleep through when their bodies decide to.

Patchy I am considering dropping the infamous dream feed too as I reckon it does not make any difference. I am scared to do this too quick mainly due to my recurrent mastitis issues. So you do you just bring it forward every few days until completely dropped?

Activity competitive mommies are everywhere. DS1 is in reception now and I am coming across the "my child can read already", "play football like a pro", and so on. I am just happy that he is nice at school and his speech has improved.

QF so are you still up for no 4? I am so sad my no 3 is my last. If I won the lottery I would join you.

Lydia How was Bill for the rest of the night? Are you feeling a bit more cheery? How is the wool business coming??

colds Marco has come down with another one as well. Started getting stuffy yesterday. He is sick more than he is healthy Patchy how is Max? The first one is the worst!

sleep Considering Marco had a late nap from 7pm-8:30pm (I just couldn't keep him awake), he went to bed at midnight (which is fine since I am ALWAYS up that late). He was then up at 3, drank 5oz of formula, back to sleep without a fuss, then up at 6:30, BF, then awake at 8. At least I felt like I slept, since DH handled the bottle feed, so I got almost 7 hours straight!

movement So Marco seems to be officially on the move! He rolls like a pro across the room, and has now mastered the 'army crawl' dragging himself around by the elbows while his feet flail about! Funny to watch! Little bugger will be crawling soon which will bring with it a whole new mess of issues. DD2 already yells 'mine!' everytime he manages to grab one of her toys! It will be open season now!

Off to make cake now! Cant remember who posted the Bakerella link, but I am going to attempt a few of the recipes. I have guests coming for dinner on saturday, so I am planning on homemade pasta, steak and then a nice dessert. If I make the cake pops today, what are the chances they will survive to the weekend??

hi, just want to say thank you for being so nice during my emotional melt down last night! ive decided to throw two fingers up at the hv, like everyone said he's my baby to raise as i see fit!

so last night i thought instead of keep trying to get him in his cot i kept him in my bed. he slept til one had 5oz then back to sleep til nearly 7.

i did get a private message from top competitive mummy who apologised as she realises she is one of the major boasters/pity-ers of those whose babies dont sleep!

anyway got the call today to say shop is ours! so excited its going to be busy, busy, busy til it opens. would like it to be about 4 weeks!

weaning still plodding along, running out of things to give him for breakfast as he wont let me feed him, it seems to betoast or rusks!!

baby sorry marco is poorly but yay for moving! bill still isnt rolling but he is getting on all fours and doing a type of thrusting!

MissP re the dream feed, I think there are several ways to drop it. You can go cold turkey which one of my rl friends has just done without a problem. Youu can gradually water down the bottle so that eventually it is water and like baby says hopefully they stop waking up for it or you can bring it forward every few nights. I think with my other 2 I gradually reduced the amount in the bottle until it was 2oz and then stopped. I am just so tired at the moment that I want it to be earlier!

Baby Max seems ok bless him, thanks for asking. He didn't eat all day but managed some lentil goo that I made him for tea and a whole banana. He is soooo snotty. I plan to go and buy a snot sucker thing tomorrow to see if it helps.

Lydia you seem much chirpier. Yay to competitive mummy emailing you. About time. Wey hey about the shop thats great news. Will you be working ft or pt and who will have the children for you? Sounds so fab.

Baby how were the cake pops? Do you homestly think there will be any left for the weekend! !