jennyh

Thank you everyone! I was thinking if doing the babyswim course but it's not until sept so don't want to miss these months!

hi Taking my 4 month old swimming tomorrow, what is the deal with dunking them under water as Ive heard many different thoughts on whether you should do it and also at what age it should/can be done. We've only been in the bath so far and she once turned her head quickly to the side and swallowed some of the water but didn't choke, I thought they were supposed to have some sort of magic flap in their throats! Clearly I will read up on it as well but wanted to get some thoughts from anyone who has an opinion! Thanks

Thank you! We've only been away once and it was an absolute disaster but she was only about 11 weeks so much more up in the air, I just have that harrowing memory but this time I wont be on my own with her and she will be older so fingers crossed!

My daughter hates the sun so we always try and stay in the shade too, but when out and about I like to have her covered in cream in case a little foot pokes out from under the muslin! On another note - Biff in Dulwich Village sells fantastic sun hats for newborns, I was looking for something that would fit and stay on for a long time, they are UVA/UVB protective and elasticated so they don't fall off.

I got a suncream from health matters when mine was about the same age, is organic bt can't remember the name of it! They should be able to tell you, there are a couple of different ones I think.

Hi We are taking our daughter to a caravan on the Suffolk coast in August and it will be our first trip away from home with her. She will be 5.5 months. From the well seasoned traveller can I ask... - What is the best travel cot to buy, not too expensive!! I know that Mothercare have a sale on at the moment so hoping to get a bargain. Want something with a decent mattress. - Is it better to buy a suntent/travel cot combined? Or will this be confusing for her to know when is sleep time etc? Also surely it is harder for them to adjust when they have a roof/sides on their cot and are sleeping practically on the floor? - Any tips on making the trip easier!? I am already planning to put some blankets and a sheet in our bed for a few days beforehand so they smell familiar to her and will try and get her in the travel cot to have some naps. Will take all the favourite toys etc. I am sure she will be fine but at the moment she is going through a weird phase where she is being fussy about where she sleeps, one day she is happy to nap in her cot, next day the pushchair is ok, the 3rd day nothing works! I have visions of major sleep regressions and dramas getting her to feed and sleep etc...somehow it is easier dealing with it in familiar surroundings! Just want to make sure I can keep her cool and rested so that we can avoid lots of frustrated crying! Thanks

Hi My friend is one of the physios at Kings, I dropped her a text message and she said that if you give me your name she can look into your referral and see about fasttracking it...no promises sadly. Apparently it is usually 1 week if you are 36+ weeks but 2-3 weeks if you are before. Let me know if this would help. I had SPD so I know how awful it can be! Jenny

True, it's a tricky time!!! And she had BCG this morning, fortunately no drama. Phew. She is so far from weaning mind, haa no awareness of me eating or drinking, to be honest that all seems like very hard work too!

Mine had this too and after weeks off gripe water she grew out if it as soon as her digestive system matured around 12 weeks. In the meantime def try cranial osteopathy and raising the mattress a bit. Bit of baby massage and bycicle movements with his legs. It does go away though, one night my daughter just stopped!

Yeah I did wonder if it was the early stages. She hasnt tugged at her ears at all but occasionally has rosy cheeks and is shoving everything in her mouth and manically chomping. There is no evidence of teeth there but as you say, they could be pushing low down. Poor little mite. here's hoping for a decent night for all of us!

I know - its so frustrating!!! She is shouting all the time because she has obviously discovered this new noise, she wants to stand and sit up all the time even though she can't, she won't feed because she is so distracted by anything and everything around her and just messes about so trying to get the right amount into her is a nightmare! I know it will pass which is the saving grace but it suddenly feels much much harder! She is sucking her thumb and has now just started ferociously sucking her bottom lip, I've already been through 3 dribble bibs today with the amount of slobber! Fingers crossed it doesn't last much longer as Im knackered!

ah great, thank you for that. It makes a lot of sense, she is bang on with all those things, that helps a lot. I didnt think it could be extreme hunger really because I couldnt see why she would feed so sporadically and seemingly have no appetite for most of the day and then play catch up. I guess we'll muddle through as we will do for the rest of her life!

Thanks, to be honest she was never a great sleeper when she was a newborn and she is much better now but as always nothing lasts! Completely agree with the developmental leap, its like a switch has gone on and she is just buzzing for entertainment and spends hours just staring at her hands and feet, also accounts for the wide-eyed smiles she gives me in the middle of the night! I guess everyone always goes on about the growth spurts making them super hungry so i was just expecting that but instead it has just made her a bit odd!

Hi Its really not a big deal but in the absence of anything more serious or interesting I thought I would reach out for some opinion... My daughter is 17 weeks and last week was a bit more fractious than normal, was feeding irregular amounts and at weird times and I put this down to some growth spurt/general baby randomness This said she didn't really feed more, was just in a bad mood and a bit all over the place. My question is what your experience of growth spurts have been? did your babies definitely feed more, did they regress in their sleeping habits or seem generally irritated!? She has now started feeding really small amounts during the morning and day and then feeding loads before bed and waking at around 8pm for a feed but then wont take her dreamfeed so is waking in the night. I'm obviously happy to feed her whenever she needs it but we are now in a situation where she isn't taking in enough milk because she is so stuffed full during the night that she won't take anything from 7am-3pm ish and is tired and groggy. We did have this before and we cut out her night feed, after which she slept through the night and started to take more milk in the morning which was great. Soooo...does this sound like the dreaded 4 month growth spurt/sleep regression?? If so then why is she not hungry for every feed and why take nearly 500ml of milk from 6-8ish but then happily go until 2am and then 4 hourly after that? I dunno, just want to make sure I am not stuffing her like a goose! Or creating a habit whereby she feeds all evening and night but not during the day! Any thoughts welcome!

Hi does anyone know if you have to leave a minimum time period between the BCG and 4 month vaccinations?

snowboarder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Try blankets trick and sleeping bag but back in > the moses basket tonight? More cuddly and one step > at a time? Good idea - keep him comfy and as snug as possible without actually swaddling. I remember she thrashed around a lot with her arms as soon as she went into her cot but again only last a day or 2 before she was comfortable with her limbs! The thing with any recurring behaviour (as I am always finding out) is that it becomes a familiar habit and is always hard to break, but you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. i put her to sleep in her cot for naps and suddenly she wont nap in the pushchair, you give a dummy and they get addicted, you read a book before bed and they won't settle without the same every night!!! I don't know if babies naturally grow out of swaddling(???) or if you are going to have to break the habit for him which will always cause a bit of unsettled behaviour until he becomes used to it!

just thought - when we did this, Bess wasnt moving much in her sleep so she rarely turned her head, obviously dont pull it so tightly that if he were to turn to the side he could still have enough space to breath! We took the blanket away as soon as she was starting to grab everything within reach!

ah poor you, if it makes you feel any better Bess is having her 16 week mental phase so feeling it here as well! We got one large cellular blanket and rolled it up like a giant sausage which we then laid up one side of her, around her head and down the other side and she lay really snugly inside it. It was quite good because the blaket became very familiar to her so in the early days if we went away or she was sleeping on the sofa etc we just took the blanket and it made it more familiar, then we used it for the transition to her cot as well. I think that initially we used blankets to go over her and tucked them over the edges and tightly nder the mattress then we progressed to the sleeping bag very soon after. Have attached a pic so you can see what I mean about where the rolled up blanket, not sure I explained it properly!

Ours was the same and was swaddled for about 9 weeks I think, to be honest we went cold turkey when we removed the swaddle and after a couple of nights in a sleeping bag she could sleep just as well with her arms free. I cant recall why but I think it was because she was escaping her swaddle so much and also she was starting to explore her hands and I was keen on her developing that if she wanted to. I remember it being a bit tough but we put a large rolled up blanket all around her which made her feel secure. The midwife told me that babies who love being swaddled really just like to feel that they are snug in their surroundings so this worked for us, it meant she could still feel the edges around her but gradually became more comfortable to sleep without anything.

My daughter has had a cold and i made my own massage oil for her, I put olive oil with a couple of drops of sweet thyme oil and lavender as a decongestant and rubbed it on her chest, I also dotted some of the oil on her shoulders and sleeping bag. Then I put some sweet thyme oil into a mug of boiled water so the steam circulates the room. It seemed to help with the snuffles a bit. I originally went in looking for eucalyptus oil but she wasnt old enough for that.

Ok scrap that. Sorry but it escaped my pushchair on the way home! Retraced my steps but someone must have picked it up. So sorry!!

Near the ice cream van and tennis courts. A mouse (I think) with beige body, blue legs and green patterned back. Pm me if it's yours.

King's was full to bursting when I had mine but they still gave great care even under huge strains

Erm..my favourite things: Nice feather pillow (albeit with old skanky covers!) Bendy straws Ipod and speakers - lovely to have some music when the birth is over and you are just sitting in the labour room getting all emotional and staring out of the window. Lots of socks, I was roasting but my feet were cold and shuffling around the corridors in socks meant they got dirty and I had to put grubby socks on after having a nice shower. Anything that will give you the best shower you could ever have...the best, nicest smelling products around. Some sort of dirty laundry bag, I was in for 3 days and spent ages trying to divide up our dirty stuff from our clean and as I am a bit OCD I would like to have kept it all separate, also handy for when you get home and just shove stuff straight in the wash.

Ruth_Baldock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > SG88: > > Re: who bashes (ooh err) breastfeeding Mothers. > Choosing my words carefully, I'd say it's anyone > who gives us looks or says anything derogatory to > us in public when we get the ol' boobs out to feed > our babies. It's also they myriad of people, in > our lives sometimes (well meaning relatives, you > know the sort) who assume breastmilk can't > possibly be enough for the baby to thrive on. As > hard as it is for Mothers who bottlefeed to deal > with any sort of, un-needed, rebuttle it's hard > for BF too. When you've got a newborn, and you're > just getting to grips with breastfeeding, it is > NOT helpful to suggest that: > > 1) Breastfeeding is perverse because it, shock > horror, involves getting your boobs out and how > very DARE you do it outside your home. > 2) That the baby is crying because they're > starving because your breastmilk can't possibly be > enough to satisfy them. > > I have had both said to me, on a number of > occasions. The latter statement was said by my > son's great g-ma, three days post-partum. And then > by lots of her friends, about three weeks later. > I've been told I 'can't do that here' when BF my > son (all over the place, it's happened. Shockingly > at Peckham Pulse Jelly Babies of all places). I've > been told his slow weight gain was down to my > shoddy milk ('now Mum, what's wrong with your > milk? it's just not enough, is it?' said the HV to > me. Idiot). I have been given 'looks' and tutted > at loudly when feeding him in public, and my own > Mother (who was an extended breastfeeder > herself...) has asked 'when are you going to stop > THAT?'. No one asks a bottle feeding mother 'When > are you going to stop FF and start giving the baby > cows/goats milk?'. Or do they? > > Anyway, some anecdotal evidence of BF bashing. I > don't have any stats or studies to back my point > up, because I'm a bit cr*p like that. Thanks for this as I am genuinely interested to hear how many breastfeeding mothers feel. As I couldn't, I wrongly presume that everyone who breastfeeds has everything they want and is as happy as larry, when as you say it is a difficult time for everyone and it is interesting to her your experiences of BF bashing. I must admit I wasnt aware that this really went on. Why can't people just think more rather than making comments to make you feel you could be doing better/something different. in answer to your question about whether people ask when we wil stop formula feeding I don't get that but I have been asked many times why I am formula feeding, cue the whole long-winded reasoning and me getting increasingly flustered and apologetic! I think the issue with opinions on formla feeding is that it seemingly comes at you from every direction, the media, relatives, passers by, the formula companies and then endless research papers that question the current and future health of your baby, there is nothing more important so it is devastating to hear. Not sure if it is just me as well but I hardly ever come across bottle feeders in public, so I feel that all eyes are on me (particularly at the gardens cafe!) but I am sure it is just in my head as most are very well meaning. I understand that someone saying you are not feeding your baby enough breastmilk would be upsetting as it questions your abilities to parent and ultimately to do the best for your child, which is all we are trying to do! PS I am not going to keep posting tonight, got an Indian takeaway coming and some rubbish TV on the agenda!