Are you pregnant? ... Let me give you some advise ...

Why is it as soon as you tell people you are pregnant, they start offering you advise? It is normal to wait until you are 12 weeks pregnant before spreading the word, however people seem to forget that you have spent the last 3 months swotting up on all things pregnant and they start offering helpful hints. I was told both the bizarre and the obvious.

Here is the First Are you pregnant? ... Let me give you some advise. This falls under the bizarre advise category. Here it is ...

'The best thing I ever did when I had a baby was buy a second kettle. That way I could always have cooled boiled water to hand when I needed it. I found my husband/boyfriend used to either use the freshly boiled water for his tea, or just when the water was at the right temperature for me to use he would click the kettle on again and ruin the whole exercise. I was then left with no cooled boiled water for the baby. Nightmare!'

The polite response is always to say 'Thanks that is great advise, I will remember that'

What you want to say is 'Whaaat! Why??? It is surely cheaper just to buy a jug, or use the lovely blue Thermos jug I have in my pantry, but never used. I knew it would come in handy'

My lovely blue Thermos jug is perfect. We fill it full of boiled water every night, and there is the perfect amount for the next day. When I was feeding Baby E at night it was perfect for keeping next to the bed for the feeds. If we filled it the correct amount of time before going to bed the water was the right temperature to make up a bottle just when he needed it. There was no waiting for a bottle to warm, or for a kettle to boil.

Thanks to my fabulous friend 'Are you staying for dinner' for the night-time feeding idea. It saved loads of time and stress from Baby E.

Thanks to the person who gave me the double kettle advise ... I would rather save my money and use a jug!

Countdown to Weaning - Part 2

The countdown to weaning in on. With only 2 days to go until Baby E has his first mouthful of food, he has started taking an interest in my food. This has been a long time coming and is perfectly timed. Yesterday Baby E was quite upset that I would not let him put my biscuit in his mouth, and he showed clear intention of wanting to get his hands on my breakfast cereal. He gave me one of those looks that speaks a thousand words ... 'but I want it Mummy, GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!' He put up a food protest and refused most of his mid morning and mid afternoon bottle. Instead he had monster quantities of his breakfast, lunch and nighttime bottle. He seems to be showing signs of moving towards 3 meals a day. The proof is in the pudding, so we will find out today if things return to normal.

I hunted out the bamboo steamer this morning, as I have every intention of keeping as much nutrition in the vegetables as possible. We are planning to start with some carrot for three days. I am expecting carnage! No doubt Baby E will grab lots of food and smear it all over himself and me. The Steamer has 2 tiers so I shall do some sweet potato at the same time, and then freeze it for his next delicious taste of food. I have also ordered some apples and pear so Baby E can enjoy some delicious pureed fruit as well over the next few weeks.



Camera at the ready, stand well back to avoid the flicking of food. My brother is coming to visit with his Wife, 21month old little girl and English Bull Terrier this weekend. We better keep the dog out of the way or we will be licked to death as the food lands on us! Despite my earlier reservations I am getting quite excited about starting weaning. I may wash the steamer today in anticipation!

Countdown to weaning.

Why do I feel so emotional about weaning? There is a part of me that compares it to the emotions I felt about introducing a dummy, or moving from Breast Feeding to Formula Feeding. It feels un-natural to think about giving Baby E food, when milk has been his diet for all these months. It feels like a big milestone in Baby E's life, and seems to have come around much quicker than I thought.

Some Mums feel great about weaning. My friend the Competitive Mum, loves to mention her Baby is on solids (Competitive Mum's Baby is 5 weeks older than Baby E, and so much more advanced). Other friends with Babies of a similar age have started introducing tastes and small amounts of food to their babies, whereas I would love to freeze time now, and keep Baby E the same forever. Why do I want to stop him growing up all the time?

I have felt this way since Baby E was born. I have loved every minute of every day I have spent with Baby E, I don't want to lose the moment, I don't want to move on from the joy that I feel right now everyday. Baby E is so beautiful, I wish I could capture every moment and play them over and over again.

I need to face the facts and understand why I feel so emotional about weaning. Have I turned into one of those mothers who does not want their child to grow up? Will I still be calling him "my baby" even when he is 34! Will I be telling his girlfriends that no-one knows him like his Mum, and he will always be my Baby??? I am starting to feel this is not healthy.

I know that weaning him is one step closer to returning to work. I think this is a major fuel on the fire of my emotions. Hopefully once I have read my Annabel Karmel book, I will be feeling prepared, and excited about giving Baby E something interesting to eat each day.

All I know at the moment is that we are planning to start on the first May Bank Holiday, and I have not read the book, and I have not defrosted the freezer to make room for his meals. I am not feeling prepared, and plan to start in 10 days!

Baby E is 18 Weeks old

Baby E is now 18 weeks old.



His development is progressing in leaps and bounds. I can hardly keep up with how much he is changing every day.



Baby E is now 100% formula fed, and we now have a life free from crying. This formula feeding has resulted in Baby E putting on 6 ounces in one week. We were giving him 6 feeds a day, which has resulted in him eating approximately 36 ounces a day. This seems far too much, so we have decided to drop the 10.30pm "dream" feed. This is working very well, and Baby E is now sleeping through from 7.30pm to 7am. Suddenly it feels like my fabulous boyfriend and I have our evenings back, and we can spend some time together. We are now planning to find some time to organise Baby E's room, so he can move into the nursery. He no longer needs us at night, and so seems ready for a bit of freedom.



Baby E is sleeping more in his own crib for his day naps. This has improved over the last few weeks since his abandonment issue on the day he spent with his Grandmother. I currently have to rock him to sleep in the crib, as he is still fighting sleeping during the day.



Baby E is still chatting to us, and has included some raspberry blowing in his vocabulary.

Baby is loves standing up, and has started to play a game of stand up - sit down - stand up - sit down until he is all worn out. While doing this he likes to look around, or chew on your fingers.



Baby E's crawling is developing slowly. He is able to roll over onto his front and push himself along with his legs, he is still unable to co-ordinate both his arms and legs, and so only travels along a few inches before getting frustrated.



Baby E's favourite toy at the moment is some new teething rings I bought from ELC. They are fantastic as they are so light weight he is able to pick them up and put them in his mouth with ease. He likes it when they are shaken in front of him, and he will grab them, and chew on the soft textured sections, or harder plastic patterned section.



Baby E loves laughing, and is interacting more and more every day. He loves playing games such as Boo! and is especially fond of his nappy free time when he can play roley poley with great ease.

Baby E Typical Day at 16 Weeks

At 16 weeks old Baby E's current typical day is below

6.30am - 7.00am Wakes up and plays in crib.
7.30am Nappy Change (wet and dirty). Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula if required (rarely required)
8.00am Playing
9.00-10.00am Nap
10.00am Nappy Change (wet), Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula if required.
10.30am Nappy Change (Dirty and Wet)
10.45am Playing
11.30 Walk in the pushchair usually taking a nap
1.00pm Nappy change (wet), Breast feeding, supplementing with formula
1.30pm Playing
2.00pm Nap
3.00pm Nappy Change, Playing
4.00pm Breast Feeding, supplementing with formula
4.30pm Playing
6.30pm Bath
7.00pm 7oz Formula Feed and Bed
10.30pm Nappy Change, 7oz Formula Feed and back to Bed



Playing

Play involves kicking, sucking, chewing on hands and toys (both his and anyone Else's), tummy time, sitting up (supported), singing songs (row row row your boat, teddybears picnic, I know and old lady), naked playing (rolling around), reading books (that's not my bear, Ten in the Bed).

Baby E is 16 Weeks old

Baby E is now 16 weeks old, and is developing repidly at the moment. Big changes over the last week are Supplementing Breast Feeding, Nap Time, and the first stages of Crawling.

Feeding
We have changed the feeding routine again. After a few weeks of Baby E crying more often at feeding time, we decided to supplement his breast feeding with some formula. We were aware of the negative aspects of this (breast milk production will reduce) however wanted to take advantage of the positive points that Baby E is happier and more contented after his feeds.

The negative emotional impact of this change was harder than I expected. I had been putting off supplementing his feeds for a few weeks, despite the impact a crying baby was having on me. It is so easy to feel like you are failing as a mother when your baby shows breast feeding refusal, or cries after each breast feed. Baby E was not crying after his formula feeds at night, therefore it was becoming more clear that his crying was caused by hunger.

After a week of supplementing formula at feeding time, Baby E is much happier and more content. When he has finished feeding he sits up, gives a little (or big) burp, and then is happy to play. I feel happier now that my baby is happy, and have no regrets or guilt that I have chosen to use formula in additional to breast feeding. The quantity of formula varies at each feed depending on how much breast milk there is, and how hungry he is. Sometimes he does not need any formula top up, and sometimes he will have 7 ounces!

Baby E is still getting breatmilk every day, and I am happy in the knowledge that I am giving him the best start in life possible.


Nap Time
Baby E is now now too big to rock and cuddle to sleep. My back and knees have gone on strike, and I am finally taking notice of their protest. We have just returned from holiday where my fabulous boyfriend had to rock Baby E to sleep for most of the day naps. Now my fabulous boyfriend has gone back to work I am making a change. Baby E must start sleeping in his crib for his day naps. It is working well, and Baby E settles quickly when in his own bed. We use the same Womb Music, and Lights and Sounds machine to sooth him that we use at night, and he nods off into dream land within a few minutes.


Baby E is getting Active
Baby E has started moving! We have some tummy time every day (during play time). Baby E enjoys this for a few minutes, and has started moving about a little. He can either push with his legs OR pull with his arms, but he is unable to do both together at the moment.

When he pushes with his legs, his bum lifts into the air, while his head stays firmly in the floor, with the result that he ends up turning in a circle on his head in a hip hop body pop stylee.

When he pulls with his arms, he tries to drag himself along the floor. This produces a better result as Baby E moves a few centimeters along the floor.

It wont be long before he is crawling! He already wriggles and roles along if he is sat on the sofa or bed. Soon there will be no stopping him.