November 09 babies are growing up quick, and mummy's getting used to getting covered in sick!

[PreggoK8]

Hope this has worked...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh no talk of weaning allowed yet!! It's the one thing I have no idea about. Will need to look into it. Ethan is just under 15lbs at 11.5 weeks so looks like 91st centile in his book... assuming that makes him a big baby and likely to need food before six months. How will I know when?? What do you feed them and how much? What is BLW?! (I don't expect you guys to answer, just trying to demonstrate how little I know!)

claire I've done the weaning before and forgotten all that I had learnt. Things seem to have changed from when DS1 was a baby. I've been told and have read not to wean until baby is 6 months old. I can't imagine this can apply to all babies.

I'll probably hold out until the 6 months with the weaning, although if I thought it would help Anya go longer than 3 hours between feeds I might be tempted to do it earlier How often are your lo feeding during the night these days? Apparently their little digestive systems are not properly developed until 6 months to cope with solids. My mum says that s a load of rubbish because in her day..blah blah blah...

I too have forgotten everything from when ds was this age and that was only 2 years ago!

claired sounds like you do have a big'un there!

Scarlotti I would really like a tattoo. In a discreet place with both my DS's names. Just not sure where on my body I would want it. Where is your tattoo?

I think my health visitor said their kidneys aren't ready to cope with salt etc in food until at least four months. Where has the time gone???

Thanks for all your kind messages re relate. Am hopeful it will work out for us.

Fruit I like the idea of baby led weaning too, but don't think it would fit in with me going back to work. He weighed in at 15lb9 today and he'll be 15 weeks on Sunday.
With DS1 I did the purees and got quite into it. The HV said that if you do it earlier than 26 weeks then it's purees a go-go but if you wait until 6 months then you can go lumpier. From what I've read here, BLW can take up to about 8 months to start and I can't hang out that long. I remember starting back at work with DS1 still waking in the night and it's a killer.

Am excited to start him on food too!!!

a good link on mumsnet for advice on weaning (when the time comes)

Its so funny you mentioned about baby led weaning as I have been thinking about that today and would like to do it with Pearl!I just find puree so yucky lol
Fruit BLW involves offering babies a range of foods and allowing them to explore and select their foods and eventually self feed.Its meant to follow on from breastfeeding where a baby decides how much milk they want/need- baby led weaning should have the same effect. They select the food they want -suck it chew it and hopefully eat it!Well thats the idea anyway having never tried it myself. You carry on breastfeeding and when they do start eating they will themselves cut down on the amount of milk they take!
Im a hackney gal any other Londoners??
I think il continue to breastfeed Pearl untill she doesn't want it anymore but i'm not sure what age I would feel happy feeding too.

claire HV told me to do it earlier as he's big, we're on 75th centile.
BLW - basically you let baby dictate the pace, and you give them just finger food which they hold and gum down. It takes longer though and you will bf as main food for longer as as result. Lots of info on here so search archives.
traditional weaning is the purees, i.e. cook and blens down to smooth puree and fill ice cube trays. This is mainly tastes at first increasing to 3 meals by 6 months of a quantity to actually count in calorie intake.
When DD was weaned the advice was 3 months (15 years ago) DS1 was 16 weeks min (4 years ago) and now it's 17 weeks minimum but the HV said 19 weeks. It's the maturity of the digestive system as opposed to salt.
Have to say, we weaned DS1 and he still woke in the night for quite a while.
The main thing is that they can sit up and hold their head up enough.

TOK we're on two wakings min per night and I suspect it will increase the nearer we get to the 6 month mark hence why I'll start at the end of March I think. Going back to work with one waking is doable - three wakings and a days work is lethal.

Fruit tattoo is at the top of my right arm, high up enough to be covered by a t-shirt if I want. I'll try and take a pic once it's settled down and put it on my profile!!

Sounds good misssese DS1 is a fussy eater and it's given me a lot of stress. He is turning a corner with his food and improving every day. I'm hoping DS2 doesn't follow in the same steps and eats most things on offer.

I'm hoping to get to the point where Ioan has two bf feeds from me, one in the morning and then one at evening/bedtime. Hoping I can carry those on for quite a while as it will be a lovely way to reconnect after a day away from him at work.

Is it just me that is looking forward to the puree ice cubes then?!!

I agree Scarlotti that the more traditional way of weaning would suit your lifestyle better. I guess if DS is with a childminder she will follow your lead, not sure what a nursery would do. I enjoyed making up DS's purees . He loved his mango and the eyes would light up and the excitment in his breathing was adorable!

Scarlotti Would love to see a pic of you tattoo . Off to bed now ladies. Hope you all get some lovely sleep

scarlotti i have just been reading the thread about amby nature nest which your on! As I started to read it, I nearly ran into the bedroom to take pearl out of her's. But read on and was glad to see you had commented on it and positively! We love ours and was quite worried when i read the first part and still am slightly, I'm not sure if her head is slightly lower than her feet? Is yours a bit like this?
Also wow on your little one getting himself of to sleep, we often bounce it to get Pearl off!

Thanks for the link fruit. It's the first time I've heard that bigger baby/sleeping less does not equate to being ready for weaning. Will keep an eye out for the actual signs and I suppose his age at that point would dictate what option to take.

I weaned DD at 5.5 months. I really wanted to get to 6, but she was suddenly starving (back up to 12 feeds a day, from about 5), I was exhausted and I felt like she needed it. The HV told me she was 'failing to thrive' on BM only, which in hindsight was probably rubbish, but it scared me enough into action and I was glad of the excuse to be honest. I got told off by the MN judges! FWIW, most people I've met have weaned just before 6 months for similar reasons. I'm going to try for 6 months again though.

I liked making the purees too. It's pretty easy to whizz up a pear then sit back and feel like an earth mother! Life has never been so simple since...

BLW wasn't even on my radar last time. I'll look into it.

missese Ioan's head does look like it's level or lower than his body at times, his head is very heavy! I've raised the head end a little but he seems fine. The 2 incidents were where the hammock wasn't set up correctly so I really don't think there's any need to worry. Personally I think they look safer than baskets as there's no chance of any rolling over and getting stuck, or tipping it over.

Laugs DS1 was 16 weeks as per the advice then, well done on getting to 5.5 months, it's exhausting! Think we'll do a combo of blw and traditional. I've already bought spoons and little pots!!

Is it just my little cherub that's exploding downstairs?! Another beauty this morning, which also woke him early so am v tired now and it's only 8:30!!

We have the opposite problem on the toilet front. We wait at least 4-5 days for him to have a clear out. I was a bit worried about it but the stools are not hard when he does eventually go, but he does have a bit of a struggle.

4am came around and a wakeful baby on my hands. He did go back to sleep after a feed and a bit of chatting. I just layed still in the dark next to him and hoped he would nod off. He is so congested still and it's got worse as we've all had some weird cold that didn't stick around. Also, teething and dribbles here. He doesn't seem in pain but looking very rosy cheeked and seems a bit grouchy. This could go on for 2 or 3 months before an appearance of a tooth!

We have the Amby as well. Very pleased with it. Especially as DS has been congested on and off since he was born and I think the Amby has really helped his breathing. Sorry forgot who mentioned about a humidifier to help with the snuffles. We have one and we use it every night. Not sure if it's helping DS but I'm trying everything.

Thanks scarlotti thinking about it logically im sure/ know for a fact there will have been far more incidents with cots and baskets!
No explosions here! Pearl used to do 3-4 poo's a day but it's now more like every other day , at first I was a bit worried but apparently it is normal!
I feel a bit like crazy worrying mum - which I really don't want to be!! But I'm still getting used to what is normal and not for Pearl. She has watery eye at the mo and i keep telling myself its nothing maybe an eye cold, cleaning it with breast milk. But then I think- hang on - should I be worrying about this?? lol

misssese we have a mucky eye here. I think this is the 4th bout of conjunctiveitis(sp?) we've had. It's normal for some babies to get mucky eyes up until their 1st birthday. I have been wiping his eye with cooled boiled water which seems to be doing the trick. Doesn't seem so bad this time around. The GP has given us drops in the past but he needs to see us each time it's prescribed. The drops only stay sterile for 28 days so had to chuck the last lot out. I think I was very lucky with DS1 as a baby, we had no colds or sickness with him.

Morning!

I read about BLW on here and it sounds like a great way of introducing food. Be prepared for it to be messy, though, and take longer. Still a long time to go, but I think it's this book that's been recommended on here. I also know there's somebody in the village that's doing it and will talk to her about it.

Well, Lucy is refusing the bottle with the new teat, too... DH tried with no luck, either. She took about 60ml this morning and I had to put her on the boob to fill up. I'm torn between feeling flattered () and worried... I find the bottles quite convenient, especially as I always use them when going out. Never bf'd properly in public yet and the longer I leave it the more daunting it seems.

was talking to my mum on weds who said she weaned me and my sisters at 3 months. didnt realise it was so recent that it had been changed. also where we were preemies (triplets), my sister was a little over 17 pounds when she started walking!! thats tiny.

Morning all

I'm interested in doing BLW too and have the Gill Rapley book skorpion mentioned. It'll be a bit different for me tho as I'm formula feeding. It's quite funny she says prepare to have grandparents etc look at you like you're mental when you suggest it and it's true! My MIL just stared at me when I suggested it. It seems to make a lot of sense to me (especially as I'm a bit lazy to do all the pureeing) but I imagine I'll probably end up doing a bit of both.

I'm not sure when to start weaning. Isaac is 20 weeks now but only cos he was early. We had to use colief for a while cos he had problems digesting his milk so I don't want to rush things. He's a whopper though and has trebled in weight since he was born and is on 91st centile.

I cancelled his 4 month jabs as he's had a cold for almost 3 weeks now and was coughing and sneezing loads this morning. He's also teething and has really bad nappy rash but is sleeping better than ever and only waking once a night between 7pm and 6am so every cloud and all that!

lemontop that's brilliant with the sleeping. Hope he gets over the cold and sore bum, poor thing. Yes, I haven't got a clue when to start weaning but luckily am two months behind you, so not an issue yet. I think I'll probably do a bit of both, too, especially as I'm going to go back to work.

Right, beautiful day here so better take LO out for a little wonder around the village.

skorpion know what you mean about it being daunting bf in public. I'm happier doing it now as we're both more confident in what we're doing (Ioan and I that is!) - could you start off by going to the room in mothercare or equivalent to get your confidence up?
I'm fine as long as I'm wearing my 'uniform' of vest top and jumper, so I can pull the jumper up and the vest down.

lemontop am so of the sleeping. I'm still doing feeds at 10pm, 2am and 5am before another one at 7am. Not sure he actually needs to feed at the 5am one as he doesn't take much, but he wakes for it. He's been like this for a few weeks now, tiring as he'd been just waking at 4am almost since the early weeks and so I was getting adequate sleep. What time do you feed Isaac between 7 and 6?

Anyone got any ideas on how to encourage them to take more milk during the daytime feeds? Am thinking if I tanked him up then he might last longer at night. Maybe I have to reduce the night feeds so he's hungrier in the day?