November 09 - solids and crawling underway but sleepless nights still here to stay!!

[scarlotti]

New and shiny thread

Sorry to hear about the biting . C has pulled his head back whilst latched on and that hurt enough! There is no teething happening here. I'm wondering when the first tooth will appear. DS1's teething was very obvious, he would dribble and have red cheeks galore, changes of bibs through the day (would have dribble bibs and feeding bibs). C hasn't had any of these signs. maman I like Laugs idea. Maybe try the bedtime feed. I think he'll soon realise that biting isn't good. I hope you manage to get around the problem. Remember, you've done a sterling job to bf for this length of time How much holiday are you taking off? Very exciting for you!

Long Good luck with the move. The beer sounds good. I've not had a tipple in nearly 2 years now. I don't miss it, but I like the idea of a cold beer on a hot day. I'm attending a hen weekend in a few weeks time. I'm going to be such a light weight. I will have to pace myself and not go too mad!

Ursi Paula will do fine. If you think of those who do BLW, babies tend to not eat much to begin with. Milk is their main source of food until they get to grips with the idea. Your breast milk provides far more calories and goodness than most meals you can offer. Before you know it, she will be spooning the food herself and eating well.

Butterpie Your dress is beautiful

Jem We've had a good couple of nights here too . C starts bedtime in his cot and then comes to our bed in the early hours. I've started putting C back in his cot after his feed and he slept until 7am. He's enjoying his own space. I hope it lasts..

Hi all,

SB hope the house hunting went well.
Butterpie aww! your dress is lovely! sooo beautiful!
Longway Hope the move goes well for you and you settle in well.
Ursi try not to worry too much about Paula not eating, Im sure she will do, as Laugs mentioned if you get upset she will pick up on it. hopefully she will start eating of her own accord (and with gusto) soon!
Its good to hear of your decent nights sleep Jem and Fruit, long may it continue! But sorry to hear of the biting.

Annabelle is eating really well, she wants to eat everything! Since you all reassured me about pasta she has had it quite a few times, and loves it. Spaghetti is a big hit. Also she is now doing the backward crawling thing and moving about now which is good. Am annoyed as I got a letter saying the dress I have bought ready for her bday is being recalled as some of the sequins are sharp. I dont know whether to take it back or keep it as I have checked it and dont see any sharp bits so maybe it is ok?

A week now since Dh's vasectomy and he has gone back to work today, though am a little worried as we went to Poole yesterday to do some shopping and he started feeling a bit sore after walking around for not very long. am hoping since he is a manager it wont be too bad and that he will be able to give an difficult jobs to others and sit if in pain, but knowing him he'd keep going, even if he was.

Hum, thanks fruit think maybe i was being a bit rash this morning you know what it's like when you've had no sleep, in pain...things get very black or white. I'll try what laugs said although both sides are bad so i'll just have to sacrifice one side while the other mends...plus maybe a bottle first then just the bf for a bit of comfort...A plan!

Fruit I've got 3 weeks off but then 1 have 2 weeks of training (not important stuff) so i get 5 whole weeks away from my desk! BLISS
Plus I've booked a week camping in the south of france and i'm so excited - although a week at PIL before which is more will have to start calming exercise so i survive!

Thanks for all your sympathies, Ladies.
The feeding problem seem to slightly improve (at least it is entertaining). She is still not touching her fingerfood, except the ricecakes. For lunch, she had a spoon in each hand and as I was too lazy to get a third one I fed her with my fingers (really thick puree, nice). For the afternoon snack (mashed fruit with porridge, again to make it really thick), she was bathing both of her hands in it, while I was allowed to spoonfeed her . I am so looking forward to my mums comments when she is coming tomorrow for the weekend

Also for those with breastfeeding issues: Paula had been biting me several times at the beginning and twice really strongly, so I was bleeding. I can totally understand if you want to stop. But maman, as you said, it would be sad to end it like this as you have always enjoyed it, let me tell you that Paula stopped biting me and now it feels just normal again. So maybe you can actually continue and end it in the way you had actually "planned".

Ursi Sounds fun I remember reading in some book about putting a piece of bread in each of the baby's hands so that you could spoonfeed them! Or it may be that she likes feeding herself but the rice cakes are just the easiest things to hold on to at the moment. Some fruit and veg just seems way too slippery for them to start with. I have given up giving things like banana as finger food. Broccoli and cauliflower work quite well as the 'handles' are not slippy. Tortilla (spanish omelette) seems quite easy to eat. Or you could make some mini fish cakes. (Not sure if she's eating fish and egg yet?) Someone was telling me she gives those mini Weetabix soaked in a bit of milk (enough to make soft, not runny) to the baby to eat as finger food. (If you don't want to use weetabix you could try shredded wheat which has no salt or sugar)

maman Ouch I hope LO learns not to bite so that you can heal up and continue breastfeeding until you're both ready to stop.

Laugs We moved out of my parents' house back in April, into this tiny, furnished 1-bedroom, which was fine for the time but now we need some space. My dad pointed out that our new flat will be M's 4th home - eep! If she's a nomad when she grows up, we'll only have ourselves to blame.

Fruit Have fun on the hen do! After 2 years I'd think just a whiff of alcohol would make me tipsy.

As for feeding I've found that being around other people who are eating makes LO more interested in food. When it's just the two of us at home she turns up her nose, but if she's at a party or sitting with a group of us at the table, she's suddenly grabbing everything!

Greetings from Singapore! Yes, we are finally here! I'm a bit jet lagged and slightly homesick already but the bags are almost unpacked and the apartment is starting to look more homely. We are meeting up with another couple on Sunday who have a dd the same age as my ds and a newborn. Hopefully they will become good friends, god knows I need some out here! I wonder if there are any other mnetters out here? Also, Millie has her first tooth, yay! Although on a negative note her sleeping has completely gone to pot, boo!

Sirboob How has the flat hunt gone? anything suitable?

Butterpie lovely dress, you look beautiful!

ursi How cute that Paula can say bye bye, you've got a little genius there!

longway Good luck with the move...

hey ladies, I am back

I shall read a bit, have been around and lurking sort of, but need to catch up.

helips gad you are arrived safely and glad you are settling in, the sleep with sort itself out soon enough, hopefully! Good luck with meeting the new couple. Will help you to have some friends around for you and the children.

Bear Cub started crawling forward properly for the first time yesterday, he will see something he wants, and move forward from sitting onto his hands and knees and crawls like a crab one limb at a time, it is so lovely to watch. He can get himself back into sitting too. He has bypassed rolling never really bothered, and in fact would rather cry than go from back to front. And he can stand up against furniture by himself. He can pull himself up in his cot on his own and get onto his feet, but then gets stuck! When holding on to our fingers he pulls up and holds on to either our fingers or furniture nearby and then stands there 'dancing' with his legs wobbling, grinning and squealing. He has little concentrating noise a sort of huhuhuhuh breathing when he is trying something.

He also loves his bouncy chair. It is like a bucket shape almost and very sturdy, so while we thought we would have to sell it now as no good, he likes to climb into it on his own and sit up or on his knees and rock it back and forwards, it has now become a toy!

He also responds to his name, and likes to tell me he wants milk by pulling my top up/down . He can say 'dada' and 'mama' but not a clue what they mean yet!

No teeth yet, not expecting them anytime soon tbh, maybe another month yet? He is sleeping around 8-midnight/1am then through til about 6am, with the odd wake up around 3am some nights, and some nights every hour. I moved his cot closer to me so he can see/hear me better and it made a difference. Decided he will not go into his own room yet. He seems to want to me nearer me not further away.

Hope all is well and the babies are doing good x

nice to see you back Pav! wow I dont think annabelle is anywhere near standing yet. she has only just mastered shuffling backwards.

juicy oh it won't be long then I reckon! Bear Cub started shuffling backwards about 2 weeks ago? From then he has just gone a bit nuts with the whole developmental thing. I thought it would be a while, but he went from 3 days ago being able to get about somehow, shuffling, doing this sort of reaching out then sliding forward thing, to suddenly he wanted something and he got up onto his hands and knees and put a hand forward, then a leg, then the other hand, then the leg, and got what he wanted, now he does it much more easily, but not automatic yet, you can see him concentrating. It makes my heart melt to see it! Same with the standing. About the same time, he would stand when we held him, quite confidently but needed us to help, he started about two weeks ago to slide himself of the sofa, and I thought he had fallen, picked him up before he landed, he did it again. First couple of times he went onto his bottom, then onto his feet and wobbled and fell, then onto his feet and stayed there with me holding onto the top of his hands, then on his own. Now he just loves doing it over and over. It is like something clicked with his legs.

maman I just saw you mentioning about Bear Cubs fall. Oh it was horrible, i was very worried. It seemed to trigger the crawling and standing though! Maybe he felt he needs more control over his movements . Poor DD blames herself as I left the room and she was with him, then left him to talk to me (literally one min) and said it was her fault she was not looking after him poor thing, to feel responsible for that

That's interesting Pav. Its probably a good thing we've just moved the base of her cot down today then! (Tho Dh hurt his nuts doing it.)

I am slowly reading through, will make some notes!

Can I ask a feeding question please? What are your rough milk/food routines including snacks? I am doing:

6am mik.
7:15am or so breakfast
8-9am milk
10:30am just started to introduce a snack of yoghurt, bit hit and miss, and the time is whenever/whatever really.
12-1pm lunch, pudding, sometimes milk immediately
2-3pm milk, sometimes he does not want it, or he has had it already
3pm snack
5 dinner, pudding
7pm supper - introduced he is hungry a lot
7:30pm milk.
12-1am - milk. Sometimes a bottle, he seems to sleep longer if we now miss out the dream feed bottle. He seemed uncomfortable on it.

aww, poor dd.its a horrible feeling isnt it. my ds keeps trying to unclip his sister from her bouncer as he wants to cuddle her. which is nice but he doesnt realise she may fall out if he does this.

ours is

7:45/8:00 Weetabix
8:45/9:00 Milk
11ish Milk before nap
1/1:30 Lunch
3ish Milk
5ish Dinner
6.30/7.30 Bottle before bed.

Hi Pav

Good to see you back on board! Reuben is a child genius! I don't think Ethan is far off crawling, he can do it if you plant a foot behind his feet to help him push off. Not standing unaided yet.

Our routine is somewhat different as I'm now working 9-5 so have two bottles of formula between 9 and 5 but goes something like:

6am BF then back to sleep
7:30am BF
9am Porridge (spoonfed)
10:30 Bottle of milk
11:30-12:30 lunch (baby led - usually a ham roll or sandwich with lactose free cheese spread with some pieces of fruit)
Nap for an hour after lunch
3:30 Bottle of milk
4ish snack - using organix snacks or fruit tubes/breadsticks etc
6pm - dinner (baby led - trying to have the same of us so one day this week it was cod and mixed veg, tonight will be chicken stir fry but minus the sauce for ethan) usually followed by spoon fed fruit - mashed banana or kiwi etc.
7pm - BF then bed.

I'm struggling for snacks. Ethan is coping with stage 1 formula but yoghurt gives him an upset tummy which wakes him during the night and cheese makes him vomit so he's obviously not ready for all dairy products just yet. Next time I'm at the supermarket I'll look for a lactose free yoghurt because he seemed to enjoy eating the yoghurt. Just not the 12 hours following!

He doesn't eat much when it's babyled, still really just sucking the juices etc out of the food, which is why we are persevering with two spoon fed meals.

Hello Pav! Nice to see you back Wow, Bear Cub is doing brilliantly. We have some early crawlers/walkers/talkers amongst our babies! C is just about steady at sitting. I use a pillow behind him as he likes to throw his head back and lands in a heap.

DS1 had a settling in session at his new school today. DH and I took him and left him to play for a couple of hours. I had to hold back my tears in the classroom. What am I going to be like on his proper 1st day?! He liked it and I'm coming around to the school choice a little more, with the help of a lovely Teacher.

6.30 milk
7.30 breakfast/fruit
9.30 milk/nap
12.00 lunch/pudding
1.30 sometimes milk/nap
3.00 milk/snack
5.00 dinner/pudding
7.00 milk/bedtime

Here's our day:

8am - milk and weetabix with two cubes of apple
11am (after morning nap) - milk
1pmish - lunch and pudding and milk
4pm (after nap) - apple juice diluted and if we're home a snack
5.30pm - tea and pudding and milk
8pm - milk then bed zzz

blimey bear cub seems to eat a LOT! I do sometimes give him milk straight after breakfast/lunch/tea, depends on his mood, then he might not have his midmorning.

DWB for snacks, cub is having yoghurt, but also giving him banana, fruit, breadsticks, toast, porridge (you could make it with water, or use ready brek which is fortified). He is a mixture of chunks/blw and spoon. This evening he had cauliflower and pasta cheese, gave him some cauliflower and pasta to hold and mushed some up too.

How long have you been back at work? I hope it is not too hard for you, a shock though i bet! I am back on Monday, for just the morning using my keeping in touch days, then the following week 2 mornings, then another 2 (or holiday depends on finances!) then 11 Aug I go back. I am doing 32 hours a week in theory, but instead of my old hours, I am doing 8am-1pm then 7 hours annual leave while waiting for my flexi to be approved. I will then be doing 8am-1pm 5 days a week (25 hours) permanently from September hopefully. thanks to inspiration from one of you lovely ladies!

Just back a week. DP doesn't have a job so needs must. It has been fine this week and DP has done a grand job at home but we've had a big blowout this evening. Sigh!

I think we'll cope ok for a month or two. Thereafter I'll really want to be home more and DP will really want to be out of home more.

Oh and I noticed during dinner that Ethan has started biting chunks out of his food, which is progress. Hopefully he will soon learn to chew and swallow!

Helips glad the move is going smoothly and that you already know some people there - that makes a huge difference, doesn't it?

Hi Pav! Here's our "schedule" - LO isn't eating solids regularly yet and I have been so lazy about introducing them. She knows I've got boob so why should she try that other ucky stuff I keep giving her... I offer her whatever I'm eating, usually.

8am feed
10-11:30a nap
11:30am feed
...
after that it all depends on what we're doing - if I stick around the house she has a 3 hour nap/feed/play cycle, but if we leave the house she will stay awake for much longer and feed less.

Our evening schedule is even crazier, because the layout of our current (very small) flat means we're constantly waking her up. Can't wait to move in to our new place as she'll be able to sleep without interruption - in her own room - upstairs while we hangout downstairs! Praying that she'll get into a good routine and we'll sleep through the night again soon...

pavlov hope you don't mind me telling everyone but everyone was wondering where you were and as i seen the thread...spookily just after dan had thrown himself off the sofa _ obviously a phase where babies test wether the floor really is hard

And starting back on Aug 10th will be great as it's a excellent day (it's my birthday!!!!)

Anyway back from ds2 checkupand he is official "big" well for the french anyway. He's 9,5kg so how does he measure upto everyone else??? ANy minute now he'll be as heavy as his broter and he's 4!!! (and as thin as a rake)

maman oh not a problem, let everyone share my woes, i should have come on and linked tbh but got a bit caught up in the moment.

dwb i hope your blowout will end in a large glass of wine and some hugs for you, full time back at work for your first week must be exhausting. It is hard isn't it working, and needing support, when DP is at home 'holding the fort' and also wants to be acknowledged too. DH and I will go through this soon I am sure. He is already being a bit prickly about roles when i go to work. Luckily, he cooks all the food anyway, so that wont change .