MSE Parent Club

MadDogWoman_2

Snaggles,

Katie had a couple of feeds of cows milk when I returned to work as I didn't have enough EBM stored and didn't want to start messing about with formula, she was fine with it.

Re the biting the advice I've heard is to squash their face into your chest to make them unlatch - they have to open their mouth to breath! Natasha is probably biting as she's relaxing, I think for a few feeds you need to watch what she's doing as apparently the position of the jaw changes just before a bite - I've not been bitten (yet) as Katie still only has 1.5 teeth on the bottom.

Becles - Glad to hear you had a good weekend, I hate walking into a room full of people - even if it's family!

I had a brilliant weekend, Katie got her first pair of shoes!!!! I had to go to my local Mothercare with a Clarks shoe department as my local shop is tiny and holds almost no stock. Katie has really fat feet 31/2H so there was only one style available for her.

I also took Katie for her underwater photograph session, it was brilliant. Katie had 3 single shots and then we had one together, I can't wait to see the results in a couple of weeks time.

Snaggles

Thanks MDW - yes, there's definitely a change of jaw position just before she bites (and also an amused glint in her eye!), which I'm learning to watch for - but she has a cold and she is doing the same movement at the moment when she stops to breathe through her mouth, so she keeps tricking me...little monkey!

I think I'm going to try a combination of expressed breastmilk and cows milk for her bedtime feed, and see how she goes with that. I can't express enough for a full feed anyway, but it might help ease the transition if I mix the two together.

Becles

izoomzoom wrote: »

I think what makes it worse now too, is that I also have all the hazards from my older children to consider too - small bits of lego / knex.

That's what I'm going through. I've finally got it into the boys heads that they can't leave Lego etc., on the floor anymore. However now Charlotte is pulling herself up, so they are having to be told not to leave stuff on surfaces like the coffee table as she can grab stuff off there now!

On an evening, I let her crawl about upstairs while her bath is running and I'm getting her bed ready and stuff. The boys like it when she crawls in their bedrooms, but she gets into too much mischeif in there! Last night she went into my eldest room, and he has a wooden games chest on the bottom shelf. She pulled the drawer out of that and chucked chess pieces, counters, draughts etc., everywhere - the little monkey!

dougggie wrote: »

And with the other function, sometimes it's so much nicer meeting people you've chatted to online because there are no preconceptions and you also get to know people a bit better than you might do without that internet anonymity to hide behind if you need to.

I did meet some lovely people. One couple were really nice, and I was telling the lady that I didn't get out much. I'm now being forced to a St Georges night party, and she's buying my ticket so I've got no excuses not to go! It's at the venue where my husband DJ's so he'll be there anyway doing the disco. Her husband has also put a thread on the forum and he's trying to get as many other people to attend as he can. Some other nice people have already said they are going too. My parents are happy to babysit, and have told me to get out and enjoy myself.

Wound my boys up this morning. I told them school was cancelled today. I let them dance around for ages, before I reminded them that it was April 1st :rotfl:

Agutka

Help!
Joseph has taken to eating purees like a duck to water, great. But I have no idea how much he's supposed to be eating! All the books are geared towards babies not taking in too much, but he has yet to refuse a spoon. I started slow with an icecube, then two, now he's having the equivalent of a large jar three times a day (first weaned a week ago!) and refusing his milk! Which is where his vitamins and minerals are. Am I going too quick? Or shall I just sit him in front of a steak now?

I will speak to a HV or two, but I don't get to see them till thursday.

Agutka

Becles wrote: »

Wound my boys up this morning. I told them school was cancelled today. I let them dance around for ages, before I reminded them that it was April 1st :rotfl:

:T :T :T

Mean Mummy! :rotfl:

SusanC_2

Agutka wrote: »

Help!
Joseph has taken to eating purees like a duck to water, great. But I have no idea how much he's supposed to be eating! All the books are geared towards babies not taking in too much, but he has yet to refuse a spoon. I started slow with an icecube, then two, now he's having the equivalent of a large jar three times a day (first weaned a week ago!) and refusing his milk! Which is where his vitamins and minerals are. Am I going too quick? Or shall I just sit him in front of a steak now?

I will speak to a HV or two, but I don't get to see them till thursday.

We did BLW so didn't have this issue early on but now that Alice has started eating I do find I have to watch I don't give her too much as she'll sometimes polish off loads and then have hardly any milk. (I usually find it's tea time she'll eat the most as that's the only meal I don't do a milk feed first.) I guess it's just trial and error as obviously you don't want to give too little but as you say they still need their milk so you don't want to give too much.

We gave Alice a piece of cake for the first time on Saturday because it was my birthday: she crumbled it up into tiny crumbs and then hooked a piece of toast out of her turn up bib and chomped on that instead!

izoomzoom

Agutka wrote: »

Help!
Joseph has taken to eating purees like a duck to water, great. But I have no idea how much he's supposed to be eating! All the books are geared towards babies not taking in too much, but he has yet to refuse a spoon. I started slow with an icecube, then two, now he's having the equivalent of a large jar three times a day (first weaned a week ago!) and refusing his milk! Which is where his vitamins and minerals are. Am I going too quick? Or shall I just sit him in front of a steak now?

I will speak to a HV or two, but I don't get to see them till thursday.

Agutka, that sounds like a lot of food.

For the first year milk should be the primary source of food for a baby, so perhaps you could ensure that you give a good milk feed before you give the solid, and then see how much food he actually takes.

There are a lot for nutrients and calories in milk, whereas fruit and veg aren't as good.

One more month for us, I hope :rotfl: .

Agutka

izoomzoom wrote: »

Agutka, that sounds like a lot of food.

For the first year milk should be the primary source of food for a baby, so perhaps you could ensure that you give a good milk feed before you give the solid, and then see how much food he actually takes.

I have come to the same conclusion. So he's just had his milk (had half his morning milk, and didn't finish this one either) and he's looking a bit upset that I'm not taking him to his chair! Little monkey. I need him to start putting on weight, and he feels like he's starting to this week.

Seriously, are we sure you don't need qualifications to do this mothering thing?

Becles

Agutka wrote: »

Help!
Joseph has taken to eating purees like a duck to water, great. But I have no idea how much he's supposed to be eating! All the books are geared towards babies not taking in too much, but he has yet to refuse a spoon. I started slow with an icecube, then two, now he's having the equivalent of a large jar three times a day (first weaned a week ago!) and refusing his milk! Which is where his vitamins and minerals are. Am I going too quick? Or shall I just sit him in front of a steak now?

I will speak to a HV or two, but I don't get to see them till thursday.

I've recommended this before but it is good:
http://www.hipp.co.uk/WeaningChart/index.htm

I always give Charlotte most of her milk first, then food, then the last bit of milk if she wants it. That way I know she is getting the benefits from the milk.

Lu_T

Becles - you are fab, and don't let anyone tell you differently. You have lots of good advice and are always good for a giggle (that school April Fool is a classic I must remember :rotfl: ), I really enjoy your posts. Long may it continue!

Snaggles - ouch!!! Well done you for keeping going. Think I heard that you could break baby off and put them down when they bite, so they associate it with something negative, i.e. feed stopping. Hopefully this might encourage her not to do it when she sees Mummy's reaction, plus isn't getting the skin-to-skin & closeness?

Aguta - Joseph sounds just like Imogen. We weaned her at 17 weeks and she took every mouthful. At one point she was on 45oz of hungry baby milk, PLUS three, two-course meals a day :eek: :eek:

I spoke to HV about it and she said to start reducing milk feeds. Because of Imogen's routine I never gave 1/2 milk, then solids, then 1/2 milk, so instead dropped one feed at a time until she was on one bottle first thing of about 8oz, one bottle last thing of about 8oz and plenty of milk, cheese & yogurt in her diet. HV was happy this was plenty.

Think I dropped the early afternoon bottle first by giving Imogen a big lunch, then afternoon snack. She then had a bottle at tea time and before bed; one early morning (7-8am ish) and then a reduced bottle (less than half) around 10.30am with solid lunch at 12.30-ish. The reduced bottle was then swapped for a snack. Then tea time bottle was dropped, finally breakfast bottle became milk about 30 mins before breakfast. This was all done over about an 8 week period, so although the advice sounds like baby should have lots of bottles - or BFs - until they are 1, our HV advised getting baby on to 3 meals & 2 snacks by 9 months.

Is this making any sense? It's hard to remember, but also hard to put it down in writing! Her routine since about 9 months has been bottle (now cup) of milk on waking (to stave off overnight hunger and give me 30mins to come round. I'm NOT a morning person!) Breakfast between 8 & 9am. Snack 10.30am-11am, lunch 12.30pm. Mid-afternoon snack 2.30-3pm, tea 4.30pm (used to be later, but she needs an extra meal now, so also has supper!) Supper 6pm, including cup of milk.

I followed the NCT book, First Foods and Weaning. It has a weaning chart and lots of yummy recipes too, plus a chart with recommendations of what kinds of foods to start introducing at what stage. BTW you know you can always just ring to speak to a HV? I know it's easier face to face, but if you need answers now, then a phonecall can often help. HTH

It was Imogen's 1st day at nursery today. She happily went in this morning and set about playing with a set of keys while I tried to say goodbye. When I arrived to collect her she reached out her arms to me, but wasn't upset and seemed very settled. In the car home I asked if she'd had a good day and whether she was happy to go back. She used her new fave words, "Yep" and "Okay" :T :T Am so happy she's settled. It's just for one day a week, but I know it will be good for her.

Sorry it's been a long post. I'm back at the office now and my surfing time is much reduced due to a heavy workload! Thanks for listening...