Thursday, 9 July 2009
The mysterious case of the travelling poo!
A quick application of Calpol, and he was back in his cot yawning and cuddling his teddy. My baby brain memory is guaranteed to let me forget something just 2 seconds after it has happened, and on this occasion it was on top form. I had forgotten that moments before it looked as though Baby E was having a poo. Sure enough, within half an hour of Baby E being in his cot, and just as I was dropping off to sleep I was summoned again.
Something clicked in my brain ... oh ... I think he has had a poo. My thoughts were correct, and I found Baby E with a dirty nappy. I kept the lights dim to remind Baby E that it was still night time, and quickly changed his nappy. With Baby E's bottom now clean and a new nappy in place, I began folding up the dirty nappy to place it in the bin. Just as it was nearly wrapped up I noticed the lump of poo was on Baby E's chest. It was sitting there, winking at me. Was it a relative of Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo? I felt like it was sitting there on Baby E's left nipple mocking me, saying 'ha ha, bet you don't know how I got here'.
I was completely taken by surprise, how did it get there? The last time I saw the poo it was in his nappy that I was folding up and was holding in my hands. Did the poo leap through the air and land on his chest? Was my nappy folding action too forceful and I had inadvertently flicked the poo into a trajectory that would make it travel a whole foot up the changing stand? Maybe I was mistaken in thinking I had seen the poo in Baby E's nappy? Maybe it had been sat on his chest since I first opened the nappy. How long had it been there?
Was it possible that Baby E grabbed it as soon as I opened his nappy. He had very grabby hands that were reaching for his willy, and on a previous nappy changing occasion he had grabbed at the wet wipe that I was using to wipe his bottom. My mind turned to visions of him picking up the poo and playing with it. Turning it in his hands like it is one of his toys or even worse some food! Help! What had happened to the poo???
Fortunately there was no sign of poo on his hands (or face) so I must live with the belief that my forceful nappy folding set the poo on a trajectory leading to Baby E's left nipple. Baby E seemed perfectly happy with the situation, and not at all traumatised with the poo/nipple incident. It shall forever remain the mysterious case of the travelling poo!
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Baby E - First solid Poo
Despite this, I was apprehensive about the conversion from runny poo to solid poo. I had recently witnessed my friends little boy straining and stressing about his solid poo. The poor baby had to squeeze out mini boulders from his small bottom. My friend 'Man Bag' and his wife spent most of a day with their screaming constipated baby. This was not on my agenda of things to do this spring, and I am pleased to say we have not had to join them yet in the game of how to get giant poo out of a tiny baby's bottom. Ouch!
Baby E had not given me the delights of his morning poo on Saturday, so I was expecting the largest, widest spreading poo in the world ever. A poo that was far reaching from his knees up to his neck, and when he finally made his usual grunting noises after his 4pm feed I prepared myself. Fearing this may be a poo requiring two adults to start the clearing up process (one for the head end to stop the grabby hands from smearing poo all over his body, and surrounding furniture), I ventured upstairs rather despondently on my own to the changing mat. It was a bank holiday weekend so my Fabulous Boyfriend had volunteered to take some things to the tip (what else would he rather do on the hottest day of the year???). I was pleasantly surprised to find a little lump of soft poo in Baby E's nappy, and not the fast moving korma like poo that is normally there. This would be easy I thought. A quick little wipe with some washable wipes and we were finished ... or so I thought.
'Good Boy Baby E' I said smiling, 'you have done a big boys poo ... have you finished?'
As I reached for a new clean nappy he silently squeezed out more poo onto the changing mat.
'Good boy, you had some more poo' and I wiped this up with the washable wipes again.
'Good boy, you had some more poo', and I am sure you can guess what happened next ... more poo!
This little game went on another 4 or 5 times, until I had a neat little pile of washable wipes with lumps of poo on them. Baby E looked so proud, he was able to please Mummy now with both pooing and weeing on request. It then occurred to me and my small baby brain that washable wipes may not have been the wisest choice for solid poo. What am I to do with little towelling wipes matted with poo? I was not sure my 10 year old washing machine would cope with something so well formed.
Ah, I remembered something I had read. The washable nappies and wipes are made so the poo just 'falls off' if you stretch them over the toilet. With Baby E dressed and safely sat in his floor rocker, I began the simple task of stretching shaking the wipes over the toilet. This was easier said than done, and resulted in soft poo splattered all over the toilet bowl, and rather unfortunately my hands. I had not bargained for this. It is one thing to get the sweet smelling runny baby poo on my hands, but a whole other matter when it is solid grown up poo, even more so when it is solidt rown up poo that is not your own!
Sadly my small baby brain did not learn from this, and today we had our second grown up solid poo incident. This time I learnt my lesson and used disposable wipes, however at the time of pooing, Baby E was wearing a washable nappy. 'It will be OK' I thought, I just have to stretch and shake the nappy over the toilet. It will be different than the wipes as the organic velour lining was made especially so the poo would just fall off. Who was I trying to kid? The result of course was more poo on my hands and not so much in the toilet. I tried using some toile paper to pick off the poo but this was no more successful and so I was beaten once again. I need a plan. Clearly I do not want to use disposables all the time, and it is not always possible to predict when Baby E is going to poo. I need to find a way to solve the solid poo in washable nappy situation. I most certainly do not want a repeat event of poo on hands again. I am hoping the answer is flushable nappy liners. So far they have not porved very successful, however maybe with solid poo they will come into their own.
On another poo note, Baby E has a new 'I'm pooing' face. Gone are the grunts and strains of runny poo that we all think are rather unnecessary. The new solid poo needs a silent more controlled pose with pouting lips and a stare fit for practicing the yoga relaxation golden thread breathing. Maybe all those weeks of practicing yoga while pregnant have rubbed off onto Baby E as well. And relax!
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Leaking Nappies
Some days, no matter what type of nappies he is wearing, washable nappies or eco-friendly disposable nappies Baby E seems to have leaking nappies all day. Yesterday was one of those days, where it seemed that every washable nappy he wore leaked. We had four leaking nappies throughout the day, and to go with that four changes of clothes, and four period of unhappy crying Baby E.
Each leaky nappy could not have come at a worse moment.
Leaky Nappy 1. During Baby E's morning nap. This meant waking him up early as he was wet and cold.
Leaky Nappy 2. During a lovely walk around the country lanes. This meant crying baby who would only stop if he was carried all the way home, this is not easy as I still had to push the push-chair. This could have been solved by taking spare nappies out with me!
Leaky Nappy 3. During Baby E's afternoon nap. Oh no! Not again! This time Baby E woke early from his nap and was not impressed with being wet.
Leaky Nappy 4. During play time. This was minimal as Baby E just had to wait a moment to be changed and then he could carry on playing with his lovely toys.
I am hoping it was just one of those days, and am grateful it was only a full wet nappy and not a dirty nappy.
Maybe now Baby E is eating more, and drinking more he will be filling his nappies quicker. Only time will tell.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Early Mornings
Baby E moved into his own room last week, and into a full size cot for the first time. This has meant a less disturbed sleep due to no road noise, and more room for him to move around in his sleep without waking himself up. We have however found for the last 3 nights he has woken early. This morning he awoke at 5.30am. When I walked into his room he was crying, but still had his eyes closed and was wiggling around in his crib in a most unhappy manner. I picked Baby E up, and changed his very wet nappy, gave him lots of cuddles and reminded him that it was not morning and he had to go back to sleep. This seemed to work as he went back to sleep once I put him back in his cot.
Baby E has been eating potato for the last 3 days, so this may have affected his sleep, however we are more inclined to think he is now waking up with the sunrise. We have been lucky at night up to this point that Baby E was born in the winter so we have never had to worry about the bedroom not being dark enough for him to sleep. We have a black out lined blind in our room as we overlook a main road with street lights. Baby E does not have a blind in his room to block out excessive light, and I have been meaning to make one for several months in preparation for him moving to his own room.
I love my sleep, and am finding it hard after only 3 days of early mornings to make it through the day without a nap myself. However today, when Baby E is taking a nap, or playing with his toys, or swinging in his electronic swing, I have to start making his blind for his room. Eve Upshall Interiors is open for business!
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Real Nappy Week
Real Nappy Week seems to have passed me by. Real Nappy Week 2009 ran from 27th April - 3rd May. I had every intention of picking up some bargains in the sales and discount offers that some of the websites were offering.
I already have about 18 washable Nappies, however there is a part of me that thinks I need more. I have some that I love more than others, and I think this is my motivation to purchase more Washable Nappies so that I don't have to use the ones I am not so fond of.
I keep running over in my head the reasons why I should buy more Washable Nappies
1. I have only 12 Washable Nappies that I enjoy using and this is not enough to use Washable Nappies full time.
2. One of these Washable Nappies is a small size, and Baby E will soon be too big for it. The rest are 'Birth to Potty' Washable Nappies so will always fit.
3. I have 3 Nappies that I prefer not to use. They are big and bulky and do not provide the level of absorbency and containment that you would expect. They are always used last when the other Washable Nappies are in the wash.
4. Baby E is going to the Childminder full time from the middle of July. I do not have time to wash my Washable Nappies as much when I am at work all day. I will need more for Baby E to stay in Washable Nappies when he is at the Childminder, so I can wash them less often.
5. I will be buying more Washable Nappies for my next baby, so it will be more cost effective to use them on Baby E as well therefore saving money in the long run.
6. I can claim some of the money back from my local council who have a grant scheme for people who buy Washable Nappies.
Then there are the reasons why I do not need to by more Washable Nappies
1. I have managed for 5 months with the Washable Nappies I have, so there is no reason why I need more.
2. I buy Eco-Friendly Disposable Nappies Nature Babycare Nappies which are 100% biodegradable. We currently use these at night or when we are away on holiday. We could use these at the Childminders if the Washable Nappies are in the wash.
3. My income is now down to SMP, so we have less money to spend on extravagant purchases like more Washable Nappies. We need the money to buy food!
4. I can apply for the local council Nappy grant to help pay for the Nappies I already have.
5. Missing the fabulous discounts available for real Nappy week is a sign that I should not be buying more Washable Nappies. I have saved myself money.
So for now I shall be resisting my urges to buy more Washable Nappies. I will keep reminding myself that I don't need them, and at the moment I don't have enough money to justify buying them. Maybe when I go back to work!
Monday, 9 March 2009
Baby E Typical Day at 16 Weeks
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).