MSE Newborn to 1 year (& beyond!) baby club 3

Saffagal

On dummies, A has never had one, but twins at babygroup did. Their mum decided to go cold turkey three weeks ago (18months old) and had one day of screaming and tantrums - each nap time they screamed for half an hour, but she stayed strong and after the first day they didn't really even ask for them. Today at babygroup, another little one had a dummy and neither of the twins was even phased about it.

A has been tantrumming regularly for a little while now and I just ignore her whilst she does so. Ok, this is harder to do when carrying a wriggling, screaming child down the high street because I wouldn't let her walk out into the road but I have done this on more than one occasion I agree with Nutella that reins are worth their weight in gold (from someone who said she would never use reins...
When grocery shopping, I tend to have a selection of snacks in my bag and have been known to feed her a box of raisins whilst going round the supermarket, or let her munch on a rice cake.

The tantrums are hard work, and some days by the time OH walks in I am ready to walk out and have very little sympathy for the tantrums. If she is in a fractious mood I try to avert them by distracting with either a book, some singing or a snack and this does work about 50% of the time.

Once she is in bed, I find a glass wine helps on the really bad days

Mrshaworth2b

Saffa - I have a glass as we speak

Thanks for the advice on dummies, we are really lucky to have it down to nap and bed time now, lo was tired in town hence the tantrum, if I had had a dummy for him he would have been fine because he was tired. But it made me think he does depend on it to sleep.

We have a lighterlife bag with a rein on it however he loves to walk in the house but outside it's "pick me up, put me down, pick me up" all the time so although we try the reins sometimes we don't have them and that will be the time he wants to walk alone. Typical eh?

*Nutella*

Saffagal wrote: »

I agree with Nutella that reins are worth their weight in gold (from someone who said she would never use reins...

I remember saying to my mum that walking reins are just like keeping your child on a lead, and why can't parents just hold their children's hands and/or get them to behave properly? I'd never use reins! My mum said 'you might change your mind if you have a child' and I replied 'never!'.

Fast forward a few years and here I am talking about what a lifesaver walking reins are. A bit like how I used to look down on parents who put their children in front of the TV so they could go to the loo/make a cup of tea/do some housework - to me, that was just lazy parenting. Fast forward a few years, and Peppa Pig allows me to dry my hair, Gracie Lou nursery rhymes on YouTube enable me to get the washing up done...

Saffagal

I put reins on A if we're out so now if she wants to go out, she will bring them to me! Just like shoes on to go out the front door, reins too!

I wasn't a fan of YouTube until I had LO... Now it is an absolute lifesaver... Not lazy at all... It takes skill to find something that holds LO's interest long enough to complete task x

Sparkles87

I can't use YouTube as LO sits on the laptop, yep on it. No idea why.

As for dummies, she's 11mo and has it only for naps and bedtime, sometimes not even then. She's starting to learn self settling but each time we've gone to take it away there's been the teething snot and then it feels cruel as it helps her to breathe better. I'm not worrying about it though, she's not fussed if she loses it once she's fully asleep.

Crabapple

Another fan of reins here! I always have them in my change bag so if we are going to be somewhere busy like town or near a busy road I can put them on her. Most of the time she is really good at holding my hand, but on days when she is not in the mood I rein her up. It's even more important now as I have baby in the buggy too.

If she was a 'runner' she'd be in them all the time . The only thing I don't like to see is kids being dragged along by their reins - that does look rather like they are a dog.

We've never had dummies, but a lot of mums seem to go with the dummy fairy when it is time to get rid. That said, I don't think at 2ish there's any harm in them having a comfort for nap times and bedtime.

Tantrums only seem to get worse here. I tend to let her get on with it if I can't snap her out quickly, cos there's nothing that will help. If I need to move I carry her kicking and screaming if necessary (did this about 4 weeks in a row leaving nursery!). She is worse if she is tired.

Shoe shopping here today as she was complaining about her toe earlier and I checked her shoes and they are definitely getting tight. I'm sure I only checked last week and they were fine. She seems to hate having her feet measured so that makes it even more fun.

*Nutella*

Crabapple, have you tried asking for a second foot measuring device that your LO can play with whilst her feet are being measured with another one? Works a treat here - LO is fascinated by them

Crabapple

Good idea Nutella, I'll try that! They've always got a load of the things where we go so should be able to spare one for her to play with for a bit.

Bangton

Can I just ask about pressure gates on the top of stairs? I'd read they were a trip hazard because of the bar at the bottom. I never purchased mine the other day because my partner was moaning about drilling the walls. Ideally we don't want to, but I take it those of you with the lindam gates find them ok trip wise?

mrshowarth - really hope things improve for you soon. It must be such hard work!!

For those who's little ones sleep through..When did they start sleeping through? I went out with a group yesterday and they pretty much all sleep through and are younger than my son and were kind of commenting that I should start offering water at night. I must admit right at the moment I'm exhausted with getting up in the night as he often won't settle easily after. I thought it was pretty normal to get up still at 8.5 months but now I'm questioning myself.

OH and I are constantly bickering again and I know it's because he gets up with little one in morning as I've been up in night (he gets up at 5) . The thing is I'm rubbish at pulling myself out of bed in a morning but once I have im pretty sure I cope better than my grouchy partner!

continualdiamond

My LO has a dummy. We always said we wouldn't use them but when she was a tiny baby we just cracked one night and gave it to her more for our sanity I think. I've read numerous times they're meant to be taken away at the age of 1 but I cannot see myself doing that, she won't understand.

I've seen on ebay (at least I think that's where) fairy doors and they fix onto the skirting, I thought that was a great idea and instantly thought of LO placing her dummies at the fairy door and then the fairy leaving her a present.

LO has 4 teeth now, 2 at the bottom completely through (that started at 3mths) and then about the last mth 2 at the top having started coming through. Weirdly enough not the middle though, the teeth either side of the middle ones. She's been really upset with these ones though and not since her injections have I needed to give her calpol.

Re sleeping through, I'd say roughly about 5 mths old she started sleeping through. Roughly from about 7pm - 6am it started off as, now she goes to bed at 8pm as especially on nursery days she has a nap when we get home at 4pm. Not ideal but she's shattered and needs it, has about an hour. Where as the days I'm off with her she sleeps earlier (as I type she is asleep). She tends to wake at 5:30am for a bottle and goes back to sleep for an hour. She's 8 1/2 mths now.

OH and I have been arguing as well. His new job is the issue because we haven't managed to find him a car so I'm taking him to work and picking him up, plus working 3 days myself now and then trying to do everything at home as well. I got mighty cross on Tuesday night as we'd agreed that Mon - Wed he'd walk the dog and as I'm off Thurs - Fri I'd do it. He said he'd walk the dog before he went to work but that hadn't happened and when he said he didn't have the energy to take him Tuesday night that was it for me.

I had to get out of the house so despite having had a bath and had wet hair I got re dressed and took the dog for an hours walk at 8:30pm.