New baby and post birth advice #52 At the stage of my life where a new kitchen bin arriving is like Christmas

[WeHadFunRight]

Here you go everyone….

Jumping over from the pregnancy thread as thought it was better to hear from those who are using them. Baby monitors, what one do you have and would you recommend? The ones I have seen online have mixed reviews.

@Greenfly125 sorry we were at the end of the thread, hopefully people will answer you here.

 

[themuffinwoman]

Here you go everyone….




@Greenfly125 sorry we were at the end of the thread, hopefully people will answer you here.

Just wanted to say thank you for always doing the new threads (and doing some when we were over in pregnancy too). It’s much appreciated

 

[fairylights2000]

Here you go everyone….




@Greenfly125 sorry we were at the end of the thread, hopefully people will answer you here.

Thanks for sorting the new thread!

@Greenfly125 we have the VTech VM5463, very happy with it, the video and sound quality is good but we have found the camera a bit of a pain to position as it has a big base, currently it's attached to a wardrobe handle with several velcro cable ties!! It does come with a thing to attach to the wall but it screws in and we knew we would have to move baby L so didn't want the faff of drilling

Edit: also if anyone has tips for using a snot sucker on a strong and wriggly 9mo please let me know!

 

[Nosysamsie]

@Greenfly125 i have a vtech vm5463 too. I bought a camera holder on amazon that attaches to the cot making it easier to position than standing it up or attaching it to a wall with the bracket (it also means I can take it when we go away easily enough). It has a good camera quality & sound quality. The connection between monitor & camera goes a decent distance too (I can be in my basement doing clothes washing whilst baby is sleeping in her room & it stays connected).
I went into Smyths to have a look at them all and purchased it there.

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

Here you go everyone….


@Greenfly125 sorry we were at the end of the thread, hopefully people will answer you here.

We recently got the vtech VM3263 - I've only been using it for 3 days haha but so far I'm happy with it, and the reviews on Argos and Currys were very good!

It's worth bearing in mind that you don't need to rush into buying one (advice I was given on the pregnancy thread and was very grateful for!) as for the first few months baby will be sleeping in your room, or napping near to you, so don't feel you have to hurry to get one now we didn't have any monitor for the first 3 months, and then my friend gave me her old audio monitor which meant I could move baby bandit upstairs about half an hour before I went to bed so I could get on with noisy things in the kitchen without disturbing him! And now he's six months old we've moved onto a video monitor so he can be away from me more while sleeping (in theory....in reality he's a crap sleeper at the moment haha).

 

[fairylights2000]

@Greenfly125 i have a vtech vm5463 too. I bought a camera holder on amazon that attaches to the cot making it easier to position than standing it up or attaching it to a wall with the bracket (it also means I can take it when we go away easily enough). It has a good camera quality & sound quality. The connection between monitor & camera goes a decent distance too (I can be in my basement doing clothes washing whilst baby is sleeping in her room & it stays connected).
I went into Smyths to have a look at them all and purchased it there.

Do you have a link to the camera holder at all? I tried one I got for my phone but it's designed for a phone so didn't work very well

 

[fudgebox]

Hi all hoping I can join!
Baby fudge arrived on Wednesday 4 weeks early, after a few days in hospital we came home on Saturday evening and he’s such a dream our dog loves her new baby brother!

 

[anything at all]

My 9m old has been difficult with his first bottle for a while now and I’m starting to worry he’s often not getting enough milk he has 3x 9 ounces offered a day, sometimes finishes the bedtime one and afternoon one but barely takes half of the morning one. Sometimes it adds up that he’s had enough, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d switch back to 4 and make smaller bottles but we came away from 4 because there wasn’t enough time between feeds and meals and he was beginning to not be taking enough milk then.

I know you’re meant to offer milk first but wondering if switching to offering breakfast first thing and then doing the bottle just before his first nap could help. Not sure what the right thing to do is 🥲

Does anyone do breakfast first and find their baby take their bottle fine around an hour or so after?

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

Hi all hoping I can join!
Baby fudge arrived on Wednesday 4 weeks early, after a few days in hospital we came home on Saturday evening and he’s such a dream our dog loves her new baby brother!

Congratulations!! I hope you're all doing well after the surprise appearance! This thread is great for advice and support so hopefully you'll enjoy it here

 

[fairylights2000]

My 9m old has been difficult with his first bottle for a while now and I’m starting to worry he’s often not getting enough milk he has 3x 9 ounces offered a day, sometimes finishes the bedtime one and afternoon one but barely takes half of the morning one. Sometimes it adds up that he’s had enough, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d switch back to 4 and make smaller bottles but we came away from 4 because there wasn’t enough time between feeds and meals and he was beginning to not be taking enough milk then.

I know you’re meant to offer milk first but wondering if switching to offering breakfast first thing and then doing the bottle just before his first nap could help. Not sure what the right thing to do is 🥲

Does anyone do breakfast first and find their baby take their bottle fine around an hour or so after?

Baby L is the same age and does exactly the same thing. We do 4 bottles (10scoops) and sometimes he will have loads and sometimes like half of what he normally does. It is tough to trust that he will let us know if he hasn't had enough.

We do first bottle at 7, breakfast at 8, bottle when he wakes up from his nap, lunch 1 hour later, bottle when he wakes up from 2nd nap, tea at 5pm, last bottle at 6.30. He often has a lot of the first one. With the rest it varies hugely.

 

[themuffinwoman]

My 9m old has been difficult with his first bottle for a while now and I’m starting to worry he’s often not getting enough milk he has 3x 9 ounces offered a day, sometimes finishes the bedtime one and afternoon one but barely takes half of the morning one. Sometimes it adds up that he’s had enough, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d switch back to 4 and make smaller bottles but we came away from 4 because there wasn’t enough time between feeds and meals and he was beginning to not be taking enough milk then.

I know you’re meant to offer milk first but wondering if switching to offering breakfast first thing and then doing the bottle just before his first nap could help. Not sure what the right thing to do is 🥲

Does anyone do breakfast first and find their baby take their bottle fine around an hour or so after?

So the HV told me to do food first which I thought was against advice but has been fine. We then give milk pretty much straight after she’s done with food. She tends to not take all of her morning bottle as a result which is fine, but swapping to breakfast first has been fine.

 

[Nosysamsie]

Do you have a link to the camera holder at all? I tried one I got for my phone but it's designed for a phone so didn't work very well

I can't get the link from the app but hope the screenshot helps

 

[geegeex]

My 9m old has been difficult with his first bottle for a while now and I’m starting to worry he’s often not getting enough milk he has 3x 9 ounces offered a day, sometimes finishes the bedtime one and afternoon one but barely takes half of the morning one. Sometimes it adds up that he’s had enough, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d switch back to 4 and make smaller bottles but we came away from 4 because there wasn’t enough time between feeds and meals and he was beginning to not be taking enough milk then.

I know you’re meant to offer milk first but wondering if switching to offering breakfast first thing and then doing the bottle just before his first nap could help. Not sure what the right thing to do is 🥲

Does anyone do breakfast first and find their baby take their bottle fine around an hour or so after?

My 6 month old is the same she never takes her morning bottle and never has done since about 4.5 months I’ve no idea why?

 

[Greenfly125]

We recently got the vtech VM3263 - I've only been using it for 3 days haha but so far I'm happy with it, and the reviews on Argos and Currys were very good!

It's worth bearing in mind that you don't need to rush into buying one (advice I was given on the pregnancy thread and was very grateful for!) as for the first few months baby will be sleeping in your room, or napping near to you, so don't feel you have to hurry to get one now we didn't have any monitor for the first 3 months, and then my friend gave me her old audio monitor which meant I could move baby bandit upstairs about half an hour before I went to bed so I could get on with noisy things in the kitchen without disturbing him! And now he's six months old we've moved onto a video monitor so he can be away from me more while sleeping (in theory....in reality he's a crap sleeper at the moment haha).

Thank you, that’s a really good point! I was hoping to snap up a deal in the Black Friday sales, so maybe it will just be an in advance purchase.

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

Thank you, that’s a really good point! I was hoping to snap up a deal in the Black Friday sales, so maybe it will just be an in advance purchase.

Oh if you know what you want and can take advantage of sales then do it!!
---
My in-laws came over both days this weekend and my MIL looked after baby bandit quite a bit which meant I got chance to go shopping alone/get things done/rest which was amazing! I felt a bit down last night because having so much support was incredible but they live 3ish hours away so it's just an occasional thing, and we don't really have many people nearby who are willing/able to help out in the same way. I've been struggling with fatigue recently because of my MS and when my husband asked how I am today and I said "really tired" he said "if the baby's affecting your health so much why don't you put him into nursery?" he was trying to help and seemed a bit confused when I said "no thanks, I just need more support with him so it's not all me".

Happy Monday!!

 

[WeHadFunRight]

Oh if you know what you want and can take advantage of sales then do it!!
---
My in-laws came over both days this weekend and my MIL looked after baby bandit quite a bit which meant I got chance to go shopping alone/get things done/rest which was amazing! I felt a bit down last night because having so much support was incredible but they live 3ish hours away so it's just an occasional thing, and we don't really have many people nearby who are willing/able to help out in the same way. I've been struggling with fatigue recently because of my MS and when my husband asked how I am today and I said "really tired" he said "if the baby's affecting your health so much why don't you put him into nursery?" he was trying to help and seemed a bit confused when I said "no thanks, I just need more support with him so it's not all me".

Happy Monday!!

This is the ongoing conversation my husband and I have where I have come to the conclusion that you are either fortunate enough to have family close by who are willing and able to provide support and help OR you are wealthy enough to buy in support in the form of a nanny/cleaner etc…. Unfortunately we sit in the category of neither being available to us so we are a bit f*cked.

 

[Ro98]

My 9m old has been difficult with his first bottle for a while now and I’m starting to worry he’s often not getting enough milk he has 3x 9 ounces offered a day, sometimes finishes the bedtime one and afternoon one but barely takes half of the morning one. Sometimes it adds up that he’s had enough, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d switch back to 4 and make smaller bottles but we came away from 4 because there wasn’t enough time between feeds and meals and he was beginning to not be taking enough milk then.

I know you’re meant to offer milk first but wondering if switching to offering breakfast first thing and then doing the bottle just before his first nap could help. Not sure what the right thing to do is 🥲

Does anyone do breakfast first and find their baby take their bottle fine around an hour or so after?

Mine is only 7months but won’t take a bottle first thing so we do breakfast first then bottle before nap & works well!

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Baby Biscuit is one today, but I ain't clicking that 12-18 month button yet

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

Baby Biscuit is one today, but I ain't clicking that 12-18 month button yet

Happy Birthday baby biscuit!!

 

[anything at all]

Thanks for the replies on bottles and breakfasts. I think I might give breakfast first a try tomorrow and see what happens. I’m just so lost at what to do and what’s right.

I always let my husband know about routine changes but he just seems to get mad about it Complains at me that baby isn’t having enough milk right now but what am I meant to do if he doesn’t and won’t drink it. Not like I can force it down him. I’d love to see him take over looking after baby for a full day without my help and understand how difficult it can really be sometimes !!