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

[scarlotti]

New and shiny thread

DWB Nice... The only thing I know about bananas is that they can be a bit binding so make it difficult for them to poo. Lucy has half a banana with her porridge most days so if anybody has any info to suggest this is too much, it would be appreciated here, too.

Oooh, like the plum idea, MissI. I bake them with ricotta and brown sugar, too. Great, 23.30 and I'm hungry...

I've concluded that pretty much any food can be binding if it isn't accompanied by enough liquid, so I always try to give LO a bit of water any time I give her solids.

Question - I keep hearing that more sleep in the evening (ie an earlier bedtime) can lead to better sleep at night (for the baby, obvs, not me, but maybe I should try it too ), and this does seem to be the case for us when it actually happens. BUT since DH works during the day, the evening is the only time he sees M So I'm not sure how to institute an earlier bedtime (and improve our sleep) without taking away their quality time. Thoughts, anyone?

I have read all the recent posts and would love to respond but i am pretty sure bear cub is getting another tooth. Been up since 3am need more coffee to function. Will respond soon.

ursi clever girl

Bananas are very high in potassium and are difficult to digest. Bryn always gets horrible wind after having one so we avoid them.

I hate the dog. B slept really quite well but the dog was a nightmare. He barked from ten till five almost constantly. There are probably rats in the garden again...

I always give R lots of water at mealtimes and she gulps it down, which is great. Hopefully that means can keep stuffing her with bananas, phew!Guess it's another one of those you know your baby best things isn't it?

Hello. Lurking as usual.

Scarlotti sorry to hear things are tough.

Turtle good to see you

Laugs A thinks his big brother is just the best.

I wish my weight issue could be put down to the bf-ing but afraid not. Just gluttony.

Hi all. I just can't keep up with the thread! Keep popping on and lurking and meaning to post but by then the thread has moved on..but it's lovely to hear how well your little 'uns are doing. So clever! lots of people have changed their names though which is confusing me.

skorpion so sorry to hear about your dad

fruit great news on the school. I know it was a real worry to you.

sirboob best of luck with getting a new flat.

I wondered if any of those doing BLW could give me some advice about what they give for breakfast. Isaac was having weetabix or cereal but has recently started spitting out everything offered on a spoon (regardless of whether I give it to him or he feeds himself). Yesterday he had toast and butter, today he had toast with mashed banana. I don't just want to give him toast everyday though.

Isaac's learned to crawl, say dada (but not mama grr), wave, tell me he's hungry, pull himself up in the last couple of days. It seems to have affected his sleep a bit. I went into his room at about 3am and he was sitting up in his cot in the dark, think he'd scared himself.

I am proper fat. I made up for the fact that I couldn't eat sweet things while pregnant to scoffing biscuits and putting on a stone and a half after I had the baby(and I was already overweight). I've been on a GI diet and lost a stone so far pretty easily but a few more to go. I want to lose a lot of weight before TTC again to minimise the risk of getting diabetes again and having another premmie baby.

ninja congrats on booking the wedding! It's my wedding anniversary on Sunday. I can't believe a whole year has gone by since I was all pregnant and stressed about the wedding! Back to work in 3 weeks though. Booo.

Will try to keep up more regularly.

Longway Could DH do the bedtime? A bath and a story would be a lovely time for both of them. Also, what time does he go to work? Could he do M's breakfast? It is hard to find a happy medium, isn't it?

Lemontop Nice to see you again. Isaac sounds like he's coming along brilliantly. Almost time for 1st birthday, eh? Oh, and happy anniversary!

Time to look into childcare and going back to work here...

HiLemontop nice to see you! I am semi-BLW but do give cereal for breakfast. Someone recommended those mini weetabix to me, softened with a bit of milk but still hard enough for them to pick up themselves. I haven't actually tried it yet.

Scorpion I got a bot lazy with the BLW method so he has a fair bit of spoonfed as well as finger food. Maybe I should offer more. Come to think of it, he does eat dinner with DD at 5-6pm, whereas DD at this age was eating far later with us. Might offer a snack before bed.

Those who are BLW, how are your babies doing with raw fruit and veg? I have been a bit wimpy about this. He's fine with cucumber, pepper, softer fruits like nectarine and banana, avocado... that's about all I've given raw. I'm sure pear would be fine. How about harder stuff- apples, carrots etc - are you giving these?

Ursi That's what I should do with just rocking to sleep in the night, only it seems easier to feed him at the time. I am probably my own worst enemy. It's good to hear it works though!

Longway As you can see above, I may be a glutton for punishment, but if you want DD to stay up later with you, and it works well with DH, then I would stick to that. That time they spend together is important. Once she becomes a toddler and has actual activities/ nursery in the daytime, it's quite likely you will find all hell breaks loose if she stays up late. So make the most of it while you can! Nowadays DH is quite often home only to read DD's bedtime story

Lemontop, nice to hear from you!
Laugs actually last night I tried the opposite and bf more often ... and it did not work at all. I guess, I have been so obsessed of teaching her other methods to fall asleep that breastfeeding doesn't work anymore, except when I put her down for the "night". She does seem to have a higher need in comforting these days though. That's why my arms and my neck are covered in love bites... and by bites I mean bites.

Laugs we are semi-BLW, and B is fine with pear, apple and carrots. Have found the 3 for £1 snack bags of fruit and veg in Asda are great for lunch on the go

Lemon glad to hear he is coming along so well, bless him! When are you thinking of TTC?

Is there a competition for poo frequency somewhere...? Because I'd like to enter Lucy, I think she's in with a good chance to walk it. The joy of solid food...

Laugs Same here - I spoon feed her a bit, too. Doesn't seem to affect her enthusiasm for eating, but I think that she gets her appetite from both of us. You can just keep shovelling it in

I tried to give Lucy some raw apple, but I picked a wrong time to do it, ie when my Mum was here. She's a bit freaky when it comes to risk of choking. It was a treat to see her go green when Lucy retched a bit and produced a slimy bit of the apple back The explanation that it's perfectly fine and actually correct that she does that didn't do much to calm things.

Seriously though, I haven't tried much of raw food yet, apart from the stuff you mentioned. I think I'd wait for more than the one tooth before raw carrot...

BLW breakfast tip: Fruit pancakes (the american kind) you throw loads of blueberries or whatever in, make them the right shape for holding and voila...easy breakfast they can eat while you have a coffee.

(ps you can make loads and freeze them...simples!)

Skorpion God my mother is a nightmare for that too. Now, if I was a petty person, I would make sure he always had something in his hand when she was around...

Mmm that sounds like a good idea Turtle. Think I will give them a try.

Skorpion, SirB I think I will leave apple/ carrot a bit longer actually. James has 5 front teeth, so he'd probably be able to bite off chunks, but surely you need the back teeth (forgive me, I am tired and can't be bothered to think what they are called!) to chew hard food?

waves at everyone

turtle pancakes sound yum. Will look for a recipe. Will have to stop myself from eating them though.

laugs I might try that with the Weetabix.

Re BLW I was very happy to do spoon feeding too but the all new independent Isaac just spits it straight out. Sometimes right at me. How rude! I tried giving him one of those Ellas Organics yesterday and ended up spreading it on a ricecake.
I've avoided raw carrot and apple even though he's a great eater. He's doing well at eating whole pears and nectarines but the mess is just ugh.

I've just returned from a visit to my mam who kept saying 'I don't think I'd dare give him that.' just before he wolfed down a load of chicken / whatever.

sirboob not sure yet. Was thinking maybe when Isaac's 1 but have realised that's only two months away so absolutely not then. When I've shifted some kilos.

Have many of you gone back to work? I'm going back part time 3 days a week from 23rd August. We've arranged for DH to work weekends and look after Isaac on Monday & Tuesday and MIL to look after him on Weds. It means we don't have to pay for childcare but means DH and I will only have days off together when I'm on holiday. Hopefully it'll work out ok.

Laugs if its any consolation, B has no teeth (still!!!) and manages just fine

Lemontop ohh exciting!! Can't believe he's one in two months, how quickly has time flown by

laugs i am with you on the night waking. It is so debilitating now I am seriously contemplating giving up breastfeeding. The other alternative, is that DH does all the night wakings, as he will not settle with me knowing there is milk right there on tap. Combined with teething etc. He had started to develop a better routine of 2-3 times a night, but thats gone to shit. I have been up since 3am and have gone back to dreading to sleep. I know its not forever, but given how shit i slept in pg too, its been over a year of horrendously broken sleep. We are going camping next week and DH said 'you sure you are up for it, a teething baby and camping and no sleep' and I replied that at least its a change of scenary and time with my family as well as no sleep, instead of housework and no sleep!

Teeth - one, very cute, bitten a couple of times, don't think he knows what its for so is testing! Another is on its way i think.

Weaning - mixture of BLW and spoon fed, tend to give him some food to feed himself while shovelling in a ton of food, not puree, mashed/broken up. I am a bit hit and miss with what he has, sometimes I am supermum and they get home made fishpie, followed by fruit puree and yoghurt/custard, with bits of fish and potatoes to hold, lunch of omelette and cheese blah blah, other times, like today, he had ready brek for brekky, pureed organix pots and chinese restuarant prawn crackers, followed by weetabix/yoghurt for his tea God knows what he is going to eat when I am working although DH feeds him a lot.

Weight/bf/periods, putting on weight, no period, not pregnant, absolutely ZERO sex drive, swinging from wanting another one to wondering what the f i am thinking it. I think it won't happen. I can't cope with the tiredness of two very well, let alone 3! The thing is, bear cub is so chilled and relaxed, just WILL NOT SLEEP.

However, he has taken a couple of tentative steps holding on to my fingers, before wobbling his knees and collapsing. He ONLY wants to move now, his sleep is even worse as he wakes wanting to stand, no matter what time of day or night it is.

Oh also wanted to say 'congratulations!!!!' to ninja, hope we are all invited with our babies in tow as well

Sorry, mememememememe,

Hi all

Sleep here isn't too bad, the night waking is now around 5am when he still comes in with me for a feed laying down. We both then go back to sleep (although the suction of the boy means I no longer sleep whilst feeding ) and he tends to wake for the day around 6:30 give or take. Quite happy to lay there then chatting away though so it's not a rude awakening - a nice change from DS1 who always woke up either crying or shouting at the top of his voice!

teeth - one and I suspect one on the way. Unsettled today and dreadful nappies a few days ago.

weaning - mix of both but I don't puree anything at all now. Just mash a bit but he has large lumps and chews away. Faves for snacks are a cracker, plum (chopped into bits and he chews the pieces), rich tea biscuit, any other fruit. Have to say I haven't ventured to apples, but was very impressed at SirB's B eating his the other day! We are on 3 meals and 3 snacks now, and still have a 7oz dream feed!! Where does he put it all! Banana's are a favourite here too.

Weight - too much still although have now joined the gym and started cutting down on the evening snacks of chocolate

No movement here at all!! He is just content to sit and watch the world go by. I was 18 months before I walked though so I'm not concerned

work - I do 3 days a week, sometimes 4, and the balance is great. My Cm is lovely though which makes all the difference.

Pavlov poor you. If it's any consolation, Lucy's sleep was much better when we went camping. The fresh air knocked her right out every time. I hope you get some rest soon.

Scarlotti what's this about dreadful nappies and teething? I heard about them weeing a lot but L's been pooing for England last couple of days. Is there a connection?

Are you not supposed to give them raw apple and pear yet? Hearing all of you say you haven't is making me feel like I've screwed up

B didn't have a proper dinner tonight as his gums are so sore he won't chew lumps. Finger food is fine, but lumpy food is just not happening. So he had a few oz of natural yoghurt, half a nectarine, a Heniz pear and apple custard thing (got them as emergency ones) and a few chunks of melon Nothing wrong with his appetite then! Though I was slightly worried at lunch as I bought him a jar of food - highly disorganised today - and where he normally would have scoffed it down, he only ate 3/4 of it... Teeth?

Pavlov I'm sorry to hear things are rough going right now. And I feel your pain at 3am I hope he settles down soon. Hopefully having your family around next week you will get to put your feet up a bit and enjoy your holiday. at prawn crackers for lunch, by the way!

Skorpion teething = bad nappies and sore bums. No idea why, just does! Was one of the first things my mum joked with me about when I fell pregnant actually... "You'll be wondering what on earth you've let yourself in for when it comes to teething nappies!"

Thanks, skorpion for asking about the nappies/teething connection - I wondered too! Now that you mention it (scarlotti), LO is more irritated than usual when she poos. We just had to leave a party in a hurry because she went from happy social baby to screaming & cranky after filling up a nappy

SirBoob You have emboldened me to try apples - I'll report back.

I've had some luck lately with whole wheat fig bars, although she does tend to suck the cakey part off and leave the sticky fig part behind (by which I mean all over her face, clothes, floor, etc) I think she'd like other fruits but once I cut them up she has trouble holding them, as they're so slippery. Either that or she doesn't want to get her hands dirty?