zweena

I'll second treadlightly's post on baby led weaning. The book is excellent.

What I did was jot down when Addy ate, slept, fed, etc and worked it out from there. We refused to use books and worked out a routine based on him. After a week of noting these things I noticed a pattern of 3 hourly feeds. And on demand at any other time. HVs are often contradictory (one said I was foolish to do baby weaning and the other raved about how good it was!)

Just read this thread and that's great news. Now get scrubbing the floor and move that baby into your belly away from your back!

How long is she sleeping in the day? How many naps? What's your bedtime routine? Adam is now 15 months old (EEKK!) and I'm just about to stop bf'ing. He has NEVER gone to sleep on the breast and settles really well. We started it young by feeding him and then singing a lullaby before he went back in the cot. It works really well - now as he approaches toddlerhood, he might be hyper before bed but the song and delicious cuddle soothes him well. Waking 3/4 times a night sound like she's not self soothing back to sleep or is overtired. Does she wake before midnight? It's important to distinguish between the overtired baby that wakes often or one who just can't self-soothe. It might be a mixture of both and you might need to tweak the routine first and then focus on teaching her to send herself back to sleep. I agree with Cosywolf: whatever you do for sleep training needs to be consistent, and needs to be done EVERY night for at least 3 days.

Hi treadlightly! Nice to 'see' you! I've not been out much lately, you're right. I started back at work Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then was hit by a terrible virus. It had us all a bit panicked - at one point I had to go for chest x-rays and there was a bit of a worry from the GP. Anyway, on the mend now, thank God! Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with some peoples insensitivity. We spend too much time weighing up our children against pre-defined 'developmental milestones', and if your child isn't the round peg that fits in that round hole, then you are often left open to exclamations of wonder..."he DOESN'T crawl???!! WOW! Does he bum-shuffle??" NOOOOOO!! As other people have said, the GP didn't see cause for concern yet, and as she put it, he is incredibly content. And he is. If he can't get something he just focusses on what he can get. Clearly the sit back and relax gene! In fact, I'll never forget the midwife commenting on how relaxed he was 2 days post-birth, and I guess he'll never change. We'll watch and wait. 16 months isn't long away and if nothing is happening by then we will push for help. Thanks so much for your concern.

We had an activity centre but he's too big for it now...chubby boy! I am giving it another month I think, seeing as he is commando crawling, and if there is no imporvement then will take him to the GP and push push push. It's such a worry. I am now even avoiding certain baby/toddler groups because the very idea of the competitiveness fills me with dread!

The HV said to come back and see her when he was 2 (!!!) but the GP observed him and said 18 months, and back to the GP and not the HV. Yes, he does bear weight. One thing Adam is is sturdy - he is short and, well, chubby

Good God I've not been on the Sheff Forum for AGES! Apologies to all, I have just been very busy and very ill since before the New Year. I am posting because I am a) probably overanxious and b) wonder if someone may have had to have referrals for my concern. Adam is 15 months old on the 2nd March. He's a very very contented boy, sleeps through, says a few words, eats VERY well with a fork or spoon. However..he isn't moving at all yet. He sits well and has done since he was 5 months old. He is not: crawling, pulling up to stand, walking, bum shuffling. He is getting better at the pull ups and cruises but he hasn't worked out how to get from sit to lie down or vica versa. I am of course REALLY worried - he is our first and that's inevitable. Both me and OH were late to move (he was a good 19 months before he did anything!). Over the past few days he has started some kind of weird, maggoty commando crawl that is v-e-r-y slow and takes a lot of concentration. The GP said to wait til 18 months before worrying but it's really really bothering me. He is sooo far behind his peers and I just can't see anything changing. I know I'm lucky to not have a raging toddler but I'd rather know if anything was wrong. So, has anyone else got a similar experience? Did you push for a referral? Is this a common problem and is the referral waiting list long?

Well, the St Andrews hall is free Sunday mornings and Saturday afternoons. I am keen to get this up and running but kind of need to find out which time suits people better. It's work in progress! Swimming perhaps?

From what I remember Adam was having a fair few breastfeeds at the start of weaning and these very slowly cut down. They should be getting most of their nutrients from milk for quite a while, so he sounds pretty normal to me. Adam now only has 2 milk feeds a day, but this is very recent (he is 10 months old). One thing I did do was leave an 40 minutes to an hour gap between milk and solids. Of course this is for a breastfed baby; I'm assuming it'll be similar with formula. Your health visitor (if you have a decent one!) should be able to advise.

Raspberry leaf tea, in HIGH doses. I used to brew a cup and have contractions about 20 minutes after I started drinking.

Alternate doses of calpol and calprofen. Banana from the freezer. If it's rear teeth, then give her her toothbrush to chomp on. Ashton and parsons/Nelsons teething granules. She'll eat when she feels she can. Bloody teething. We were up in the wee small hours with it - the tooth fairy should pay US!

I second the talking side of things, discussing how to share the childcare/housework, etc. And I want to add to it: thanks and praise. When our boy was born we made a huge effort to say "oh, you really did xxxxx well". Now, it's not daft things so it sounds silly, but it encourages both of you to contribute. Last night our son had a howler at 3.30am, both of us got up - OH got the calpol, I soothed and got ready to breastfeed, OH got me some water (without me asking!). And when baby was back to sleep we had a cuddle and both said thanks for helping out. I remember when he was younger how PROUD my OH would be if he managed to get him back to sleep without my help and I'd make sure I'd say something. I really think fathers thrive on this: they spend a lot of time feeling sidelined and left out and need to feel that whatever they do is really appreciated. You are a team after all.

It might all change, but if it does then at the very least you KNOW she can do it. Enjoy! (I don't envy your OH's boobs though, ouch!)

I agree with pp's about homebirth - it is entirely your choice. But my post was advice on getting the head to engage (although it might only do this at birth with your 2nd): get a gym ball and sit on it, rotating your hips in a wide circle one way and then another. Works a treat!

Thanks Lisa. I know we shouldn't let the nap govern our lives, but to be honest I don't know of many babies Adam's age who don't nap at some point in the morning. AARRGGGHHH!!

My lovely OH was saying yesterday that he really wishes there was some sort of dad and baby group run at the weekends, and try hard as I can I really can't see any. Well, that's not correct - there is one at Eccellsall church, but it's run 8.30 to 10.30 or something, right on baby nap time! Anyone know of any groups for Dads + babies that meet at weekends, afternoons or over lunch?

Have you tried the excellent nursery at Hallam Uni? They are usually fairly sympathetic to student's needs so even if they can't help, they might point you in the right direction.

My friends HV attributed her baby's lack of feeding to the phases of the moon and starsign. Seriously.

The thing I pick up on here is that he might be overtired. However you get your child off to sleep is up to you - ours is fortunately a self settler, but we do have a wind down routine that involves lots of lovely cuddles and songs! However, if he's in any way overtired then it makes little difference what we do, he just won't sleep. Make sure he is napping enough in the day (at 7 months, our LO was having 3-4 hours in about 2 naps, and sleeping 7-6.30ish). It's sometomes quite surprising how much rest they need, but it's a big wide world to them I guess!

I know this has been done before, but it was over a year ago and much might have changed. Can anyone recommend a good nursery in Woodseats? What is the Little School House like?

Oooh a new search function! Anyway... We have an 8 month old baby and want to go camping in the peaks/dales this weekend for the first time. We're after a quiet site really, like it pretty basic but OK with bambino. Any suggestions?

If you are wanting to increase your supply then you need to do the opposite: let Seb suckle REALLY often. By not letting him at the breast you are telling your milk that it is no longer needed and it will reduce. Expressing WHILE the baby sucks also works wonders, if you can manage it!

I htink there is so much for them to look at in this world, even a simple walk in the pram is enough, and if ever the weather is dry, then time on a rug under the trees. Reading also works if you sit them on your lap - Adam loves Dr Seuss and has done for a long time!

Yeah, puzzling this is! Adam hated Infacol, but then orange falvours on top of milk -no wonder! Some of the supermarket own brand ones can be unflavoured.