Nirvanaliz

I started taking my son to Bizzy Bees when he was 4 months but there were some mums there who had younger babies. I'm really glad that I joined, I met loads of other mums and it's just nice to sit down and have a chat while the babies play. My son is moving up to the toddler group in September, with 2 of his friends and I'm sure he's been missing going there during the holidays.

I breastfed my son and am really glad that I did, it was a great bonding experience and certainly proved a quick fix for those middle of the night feedings. On the downside it was exhausting, when my son was first born I was pretty much feeding him every 2-3 hours, day and night. It was also a complete nightmare whenever he had a cold, as his nose would become blocked and he struggled to feed. I started introducing a beaker when he was 1 and eventually got him down to using the beaker during the day and only having a breastfeed last thing at night - he's 17 months now and completly weaned off the breast. A few times when I was breastfeeding I felt like I wasn't producing enough but I rang one of the helplines and was given some great comforting advice from other mums about how to increase supply. Because when I was breastfeeding, I was providing his sole source of nutrition so I did get stressed about making sure he was getting enough.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. At least I have a few options now. My hubby and I love Italian but our main focus is trying to find somewhere the baby can enjoy himself. Honestly, the amount of places we've been where you get annoyed looks for having a baby which actually dares to make a noise. My mum is vegan but I think she's going to settle for having a vegetarian dish - it's too difficult sometimes to meet everyone's standards. I reckon we'll just be happy to go somewhere we can relax for a change - Frankie & Bennys sounds pretty good, I've been before but never with the baby and the food is lovely. Baby will love all the attention, esp if they sing 'happy birthday' to him.

It's my little boy's 1st birthday soon and seeing as we can't fit all the family in our tiny house we were thinking of booking a table for a meal somewhere. We really want to take him somewhere where we won't feel paranoid that he's making too much noise. We've taken him out before and always seem to end up getting disapproving looks from other diners. Seeing as it's going to be his 1st birthday, we really want him to enjoy himself and 'chat' away like he always does. Any recommendations anyone? Many thanks.

Had one done at Inkmaster (Killamarsh) last night, not sure if it was Ian or Steve but very pleased with the result. Nice hygienic studio too.

That sounds perfect - thanks!

lol guess I never noticed too - am wayyyy too shattered and if baby keeps me up again tonight he may well end up on the BBQ (kidding - don't call child services).

Just wondering if anyone would like to share any recipies which would be suitable for an 8 month old baby who loves meals full of flavour? Baby is really keen on jarred Hipp Organic baby food and not so much on home cooked food. I think I made the mistake of introducing jars because he's really taken to them and seems to prefer them as they are so full of flavour. A lot of the home cooked recipies I've tried are bland mashed veg and he's not too interested. Although his fave seems to be my cheese lentil savoury, I'd love to be able to do him small pasta shapes with tomato sauce but don't know how to make a tomato sauce suitable for a baby. Any advice would be much appreciate!

I'm going back to work part-time on 2nd January - baby will be almost 10 months. Had to go back for the money really but I'd like to have stayed off longer. I've been lucky to have had almost 10 months and as I'll be going back part-time, I'll only be at work 3 days a week. Am really going to miss him though the break will do me good and his development good too...he's going to be looked after by the grandparents so again I'm lucky as he's getting to stay with family.

Yep me and the hubby have both had it too - I was ill last week and hubby came down with it yesterday. Amazing how much sicker hubby seemed ; ) Lucky for us baby seems fine. Really horrid bug though...

I had a pretty good experience. Stayed in 2 nights as I was having trouble getting baby to breastfeed. Lovely midwife came and took the time to explain different ways to hold the baby so it would be easier for both of us and I haven't looked back since.

Thanks that's a relief - was beginning to blame myself for taking him places where he was obviously picking up so many colds. Had terrible night with him last night, hubby and I must have only got 3-4 hours kip because the little one wouldn't stop crying. Hubby took him for a drive at 8am this morning so I could have a break but what makes it all worse is that's it's the baby's christening today - gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Going to try and get some calprofen (sp?) for him today, if he's old enough to take it. Hate seeing him this miserable.

My little lad is 7 months old and getting his second tooth (bottom front), when the first tooth came through around 2 weeks ago he had a bad cold and now the second one is making an appearance he has a cold again. Just wondering if any parents believe there is a link between cold symptoms and teething? He's had the cold twice before when he was much younger (and not teething) and it did seem different in that he was much more ill and miserable. The last two colds which have come at the same time as a tooth seem to give him a cough and runny nose but he seems less sickly....if that makes any sense?!!

Many thanks for the ideas, a humidifier sounds like a good investment if he's going to carry on getting colds this often. One good thing is that this time he's eating solids so even though he can't breastfeed at the mo' he's still eating his grub as well as his vitamin drops - I've noticed a big difference from when he had a cold and he was solely breastfed, he seems to be fighting the cold much better. Must be all those fruit and veg purees I'm stuffing down him... Thanks for the well wishes! He's asleep now with the cot head raised. He managed a little breastfeed which was just enough to knock him out - woo hoo, comfy armchair and telly here I come.

Baby is on his third cold in his 6 months of life...cue sleepless miserable nights where he wakes up every hour crying. Unfortunately he still only falls asleep if breastfeeding and due to his blocked nose, he can't breastfeed at the moment. Nightmare! Managed to rock him to sleep tonight but it was really difficult to put him down into his cot, everytime I put him down he woke and started crying. Anyone got any tips on helping ease a blocked nose, he's got baby vapor rub on his chest and I've even put some olbas oil on a tissue (out of his reach)?

Good news, baby managed a few small pieces of cheese today. Was very surprised cos I thought he hated cheese but he tried a piece then opened his mouth for more....will continue with the slowly slowly approach.

Yep I know what you mean. I hate hearing my little one cry and it would be against my instincts not to pick him up. Controlled crying involves simply giving the baby a comforting pat....which, being honest, I can't see working with my little one as he always wants picking up. Tracy Hogg, the Baby Whisperer, recommends the "pick up, put down" method where you pick the crying baby up give them a hug and put them down again the minute they stop crying. Repeating this until they fall asleep...however you must needs loads of patience as at first you could need to pick them up at least 40 plus times. I'll try and check out the no cry sleep technique book, it's hard as a first time mum who was very inexperienced with babies I always feel like I'm not doing enough or not doing things right and my baby suffers as a result. Guess sometimes you have got to trust your instincts and if you feel something isn't right for your baby then give something else a try.

Many thanks for the advice. Interesting article. I actually spoke to a midwife in Boots at Meadowhall the other day, she was giving advice on breastfeeding, weaning etc and suggested I have a look at 'baby led weaning' which involves missing out the mushy food stage altogether and giving baby a selection of finger food. However I'd already started my little one's weaning over a month ago so I reckon I'll go with the patient approach and try introducing lumps and finger foods slowly. Bread sounds like a good idea as it's nice and soft, I did try some grated cheese but baby hated the smell and looked pretty disgusted.

Hi Can anyone recommend what the best finger foods would be to introduce to a 6 month old? He started weaning at 5 months and is ready to move on to lumpy thicker foods now. I've tried leaving a few (soft) lumps in his usual purees and he gags everytime. Thought it might be a good idea to give him finger food so he can get used to solids that way. I don't even know if I'd be better waiting till he's a little older before I give him finger food. There was a piece of soft cooked carrot in his puree today and he got quite distressed, looking like he might be sick.

Congrats!!! My little boy is 6 months and at the moment won't sleep for longer than 5 hours. Losing sleep is a real killer and I'd love for him to sleep longer. I think he struggles because he can only fall asleep if feeding or being rocked. I'm going to give controlled crying a try when I get back from my holiday.

I think my period was a couple of days overdue when I did a pregnancy test. We had been trying for a baby but we'd only be trying for 3-4 weeks, I did have a feeling I was pregnant especially because I was usually as regular as clockwork.

Thought I would give this post a bump as I'm having trouble getting my 6 month old to sleep without a breastfeed. I'm thinking of giving controlled crying a try. He also used to sleep for around 6 hours but following a recent chest infection where he required a lot of nursing to get to sleep he's now waking every 2 hours. Hopefully if I can start putting him to bed awake and getting him to learn how to fall asleep he'll be able to settle himself in the night - fingers crossed, the waking every 2 hours is driving me mad.

I took my son to Western Park Museum last week and he's only 6 months. He did manage to fall asleep (in a Museum so not a big surprise) but he was gawking at everything - think the giant stuffed polar bear scared him though. Considering it's free, it's a great place to take the kids and if the weather is nice you can have a walk in the park too. I know he'll love it there when he's a bit older but for now, he was happy to stare at everything.

Ooooooh I'm thinking of taking my son to Tiny Talk at Woodhouse, he's almost 6 months old. I was trying to choose between Tiny Talk and Tumbletots at Killamarsh as he already goes to another group called Busy Bees. Think I'll take him to Tiny Talk as I can see loads of advantages in him learning a few signs, I often have trouble figuring out what he wants.

I think paracetamol is okay, might be a good idea to get a heat or cold rub cream and then she can just massage it into the sore area. Best to check with a pharmacist, she could always give Boots a ring.