New baby and post birth advice #56

[themuffinwoman]

Thanks for the monitor suggestions- especially like the Hellobaby so will have a think tomorrow!

We got the VTECH VM3263 and it was £70 - they do cheaper ones that I think have slightly smaller screens/less features too. Really happy with it and I leave the sound and picture on all night because I find it comforting if I wake up to just peek at him without pressing anything, plus the screen is so effing bright it's like a little nightlight so I don't need to turn the lamp on when he wakes in the night

I had my first KIT day today and went into the office for a leadership meeting - I left home at 9.15 and got home at 3.30 which is the longest I've been without baby bandit, and the longest my husband's had him on his own. I wrote SO many notes last night haha he basically has an instruction manual now I was looking forward to today and thought I'd be ok leaving him as I was fine going to appointments without him recently but he's been SO upset with teething the last couple of days and really unsettled at night, so a combination of worrying about him missing me, wanting to be there to comfort him, and me being up for 2 hours with him during the night meant I was very tearful and choked up when I said goodbye I stayed a little tearful for about 5 minutes of my walk to work and then was fine for the rest of the day except when someone asked how it had been leaving this morning and I said "harder than I thought!" and my voice went a bit wobbly haha. Everyone was so lovely, the first person I saw as I got out the lift shouted with excitement and gave me a huge hug and being back at work was amazing, a switch went on in my brain and even though I'd warned them that I was shattered and would just listen, I butted in with questions and suggestions every 5 minutes

@themuffinwoman the suggestion about channeling tears into rage is good, and also changing the topic very quickly, even if it's just to make a quick random observation. if I try laughing the tears off I cry harder

Awww but you did it! How did your husband get on? Glad you enjoyed (?) it thought, it’s so hard when the max you’ve only been away from them is a couple of hours, especially if they’re not feeling well. But you did it! Changing the topic I’d also a good shout!

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

Thanks for the monitor suggestions- especially like the Hellobaby so will have a think tomorrow!


Awww but you did it! How did your husband get on? Glad you enjoyed (?) it thought, it’s so hard when the max you’ve only been away from them is a couple of hours, especially if they’re not feeling well. But you did it! Changing the topic I’d also a good shout!

He got on really well, I was so proud of him - he said they had a lovely morning, he got baby bandit to have a 1.5 hour nap and they had fun playing the only issue was he wasn't drinking much because his teeth hurt and then by about 2pm he'd become really grumpy and upset, so when I arrived home my husband was very ready for a break! They both did great without me though, and Mr bandit even logged things exactly how I wanted him to (bottle timings, nappy changes etc) so I was thrilled! He confirmed he's glad we didn't do shared parental leave though leaving baby bandit at nursery is going to be so hard, but knowing he coped fine without me for 6 hours and that I enjoyed being back at work will make it a lot easier when the time comes. I know you're upset about MMs settling in sessions but I think the thought of it is probably worse than the reality, and hopefully knowing that she's being well looked after and that you can have a bit of breathing space will make it easier

 

[justonemorepage]

Why do doctors surgeries book babies in at 9am?! I had a very grizzly baby with a snotty nose last night and she's finally asleep and settled and now I have to wake her to change her and feed her before rushing out of the house to make the appointment which is going to make her grumpy again and throw our whole day off

 

[themuffinwoman]

He got on really well, I was so proud of him - he said they had a lovely morning, he got baby bandit to have a 1.5 hour nap and they had fun playing the only issue was he wasn't drinking much because his teeth hurt and then by about 2pm he'd become really grumpy and upset, so when I arrived home my husband was very ready for a break! They both did great without me though, and Mr bandit even logged things exactly how I wanted him to (bottle timings, nappy changes etc) so I was thrilled! He confirmed he's glad we didn't do shared parental leave though leaving baby bandit at nursery is going to be so hard, but knowing he coped fine without me for 6 hours and that I enjoyed being back at work will make it a lot easier when the time comes. I know you're upset about MMs settling in sessions but I think the thought of it is probably worse than the reality, and hopefully knowing that she's being well looked after and that you can have a bit of breathing space will make it easier

I’m really glad you feel better about leaving him and that Mr Bandit did so well (very jealous of the long nap!!). I think you’re right and it is the thought that’s worse, and not helped by my work being extremely poor/disappointing whilst I’ve been on maternity.

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MM had her first night in her own room last night! She did really well with only one wake up around 11 (which is entirely possible generally, not just because she’s in her room). She’s currently babbling away to herself happily in the cot, which makes a massive difference because she would wake up and stand up and stare at me, whereas now she seems to be a bit more chilled.

 

[fudgebox]

Why do doctors surgeries book babies in at 9am?! I had a very grizzly baby with a snotty nose last night and she's finally asleep and settled and now I have to wake her to change her and feed her before rushing out of the house to make the appointment which is going to make her grumpy again and throw our whole day off

Omg I know!! Baby fudge had his vaccines at 8.30am

 

[WeHadFunRight]

Thank you to the poster who said about putting calpol in a bottle teat. She took it so easily, as 5 said “wow! She really fell for that one!”

 

[kayefeluu20]

This could be old news for some but was anyone else aware Iceland sell formula at cost price? Was just looking to see what's near where we're going today as she needs a new tub and spotted Iceland, had a look on their website and they're selling Aptamil for £11.20. Upon googling, they're not allowed to promote the fact they sell at cost price because of some trade law.

 

[shhh1712]

How many bottles do your 9/10 months old have? My little boy is almost 10 months and he’s on 3 bottles a day and has been since he was 9 months. This is 3 during the day and then sometimes 1 overnight. He rarely eats lunch though, he basically just eats snacks for lunch like breadsticks or the baby wafer things you can get. Sometimes he’ll have 1 or 2 mouthfuls of yogurt or fruit purée but whenever I’ve served toast/ bread/ egg he doesn’t seem to eat much and I’m just wondering if I should be decreasing the bottles to 2 to try and encourage lunch more?!

 

[calmyourritas]

How many bottles do your 9/10 months old have? My little boy is almost 10 months and he’s on 3 bottles a day and has been since he was 9 months. This is 3 during the day and then sometimes 1 overnight. He rarely eats lunch though, he basically just eats snacks for lunch like breadsticks or the baby wafer things you can get. Sometimes he’ll have 1 or 2 mouthfuls of yogurt or fruit purée but whenever I’ve served toast/ bread/ egg he doesn’t seem to eat much and I’m just wondering if I should be decreasing the bottles to 2 to try and encourage lunch more?!

Baby Rita was (and is still not) a big eater at all, she barely ate and she was still having 4/5 bottles in the day and sometimes 1 at night at that age! I managed to get her down to 3 bottles just after she turned 1 and then she dropped the afternoon one down to 2 bottles maybe around 15 months

Edited to add the HV at the one year review was a right cow about it and basically just told me to stop giving her so much milk. But if I tried not to give her a bottle she still wouldn’t eat, so for me I just went with it. Rather give her milk than starve her!

 

[shhh1712]

Baby Rita was (and is still not) a big eater at all, she barely ate and she was still having 4/5 bottles in the day and sometimes 1 at night at that age! I managed to get her down to 3 bottles just after she turned 1 and then she dropped the afternoon one down to 2 bottles maybe around 15 months

Edited to add the HV at the one year review was a right cow about it and basically just told me to stop giving her so much milk. But if I tried not to give her a bottle she still wouldn’t eat, so for me I just went with it. Rather give her milk than starve her!

Yes I actually spoke to a HV last month who told me he should only be having 3 a day, but at the time he was probably having 3/4 plus 1 overnight. The thing is he might have been having 4 bottles but really the total milk wasn’t any different, he rarely finishes the bottle unless we do it in 2 sittings! I think I’ll find the same here if I don’t give him a bottle near lunch time it won’t make a difference and he still won’t eat I don’t think he’s going to be a big eater either tbh, he’s not fussy just takes so long to eat and won’t eat a lot. Wish I could say the same for myself

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

This could be old news for some but was anyone else aware Iceland sell formula at cost price? Was just looking to see what's near where we're going today as she needs a new tub and spotted Iceland, had a look on their website and they're selling Aptamil for £11.20. Upon googling, they're not allowed to promote the fact they sell at cost price because of some trade law.

I didn't realise they sell it so cheap online! In store they were selling it cheaply a few months ago for a few days but were sold out by the time I got there, and now they sell it for a similar/slightly cheaper price than Asda but I don't think as low as online.
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I’m really glad you feel better about leaving him and that Mr Bandit did so well (very jealous of the long nap!!). I think you’re right and it is the thought that’s worse, and not helped by my work being extremely poor/disappointing whilst I’ve been on maternity.

—-

MM had her first night in her own room last night! She did really well with only one wake up around 11 (which is entirely possible generally, not just because she’s in her room). She’s currently babbling away to herself happily in the cot, which makes a massive difference because she would wake up and stand up and stare at me, whereas now she seems to be a bit more chilled.

Well done mini muffin!

 

[CallMeHollywood]

This could be old news for some but was anyone else aware Iceland sell formula at cost price? Was just looking to see what's near where we're going today as she needs a new tub and spotted Iceland, had a look on their website and they're selling Aptamil for £11.20. Upon googling, they're not allowed to promote the fact they sell at cost price because of some trade law.

That’s crazy. Kendamil is £12 in Tesco but £9.25 in Iceland.

 

[penpitstop]

This could be old news for some but was anyone else aware Iceland sell formula at cost price? Was just looking to see what's near where we're going today as she needs a new tub and spotted Iceland, had a look on their website and they're selling Aptamil for £11.20. Upon googling, they're not allowed to promote the fact they sell at cost price because of some trade law.

Yes the CEO has made a stand against law as the cost is impacting so many families. My local pharmacy also sells formula at much lower cost (sma is £13 in Tesco, it’s £11 in the chemist) so also worthwhile checking there too

 

[anything at all]

Has anyone’s babys had their 1 year vaccinations? And how did they go? Were they poorly in the days after? Ours are on Friday and I’m so scared for him he’s so much more of a person now! For sure he’ll cry but I’ll hope they’re quickly forgotten?

 

[NoName789]

Has anyone’s babys had their 1 year vaccinations? And how did they go? Were they poorly in the days after? Ours are on Friday and I’m so scared for him he’s so much more of a person now! For sure he’ll cry but I’ll hope they’re quickly forgotten?

We have ours tomorrow and I feel so bad. So much more aware than when they were teeny tiny. And I think someone said it’s one in each arm and leg Ours is just before lunch so hoping they are on time, we can have lunch and then a good nap to sleep any effects off

 

[WeepingCassandra]

I'm wondering what we do about milk once LO turns 1 at the end of the month. Do we just stop formula and only offer water and maybe cows milk occasionally? Do I need to now move to the next stage formula (we've kept him on the baby one just because I couldn't be bothered with the faff of changing over)? Does he need to stop having milk and go to solids for all meals?

Also whilst we're on food - what do people do for snacks? We're a big fan of the packaged snacks, like the melty wafers and bags of melty sticks that you get but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should make a bit of effort and give him something that isn't UHP...

 

[calmyourritas]

I'm wondering what we do about milk once LO turns 1 at the end of the month. Do we just stop formula and only offer water and maybe cows milk occasionally? Do I need to now move to the next stage formula (we've kept him on the baby one just because I couldn't be bothered with the faff of changing over)? Does he need to stop having milk and go to solids for all meals?

Also whilst we're on food - what do people do for snacks? We're a big fan of the packaged snacks, like the melty wafers and bags of melty sticks that you get but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should make a bit of effort and give him something that isn't UHP...

I just did a pretty much straight swap once we got the end of the formula tub. So just replaced all bottles she was having formula with cows milk. They are still supposed to have a certain amount I think of milk (I think you can give cheese or yoghurt instead if they have enough of it and aren’t drinking milk)

 

[WeHadFunRight]

Has anyone’s babys had their 1 year vaccinations? And how did they go? Were they poorly in the days after? Ours are on Friday and I’m so scared for him he’s so much more of a person now! For sure he’ll cry but I’ll hope they’re quickly forgotten?

I would recommend taking something to distract him with afterwards, I managed to distract a baby in the waiting room a few months ago with some bubbles I had in my changing bag - she was sobbing bless her but once I started blowing some bubbles she stopped crying. So either take something like that or take a toy, bottle etc. he won’t remember them either so keep that in your mind xxx

 

[fairylights2000]

I'm wondering what we do about milk once LO turns 1 at the end of the month. Do we just stop formula and only offer water and maybe cows milk occasionally? Do I need to now move to the next stage formula (we've kept him on the baby one just because I couldn't be bothered with the faff of changing over)? Does he need to stop having milk and go to solids for all meals?

Also whilst we're on food - what do people do for snacks? We're a big fan of the packaged snacks, like the melty wafers and bags of melty sticks that you get but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should make a bit of effort and give him something that isn't UHP...

We switched straight to cows milk, baby L still has a morning and evening bottle, milk with snacks and normally 1 bottle at nursery. We haven't fully dropped the day time bottles at home yet because he's had a cold ever since he started and I worry about getting him hydrated enough. But maybe we just need to go for it

Snack wise baby L loves a melty puff and a bread stick! Nursery give them crackers and rice cakes too which he seems to like. I tried branching out with slices of apple and cherry tomato recently and I normally give him some yoghurt too if I can face the clear up with my last few days of leave I'm going to try and make a stash of pancakes/fritters for a quick post nursery snack.

 

[anything at all]

We have ours tomorrow and I feel so bad. So much more aware than when they were teeny tiny. And I think someone said it’s one in each arm and leg Ours is just before lunch so hoping they are on time, we can have lunch and then a good nap to sleep any effects off

Hope it goes okay yeah I wasn’t aware it was so many until a few days ago and gosh wondering how he’ll take it. He absolutely screamed at the last ones.
Ours isn’t until 5pm but at least it’s Friday and hubby will be around the weekend if we end up with a bad night !

I would recommend taking something to distract him with afterwards, I managed to distract a baby in the waiting room a few months ago with some bubbles I had in my changing bag - she was sobbing bless her but once I started blowing some bubbles she stopped crying. So either take something like that or take a toy, bottle etc. he won’t remember them either so keep that in your mind xxx

Good idea! Thank you
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I'm wondering what we do about milk once LO turns 1 at the end of the month. Do we just stop formula and only offer water and maybe cows milk occasionally? Do I need to now move to the next stage formula (we've kept him on the baby one just because I couldn't be bothered with the faff of changing over)? Does he need to stop having milk and go to solids for all meals?

Also whilst we're on food - what do people do for snacks? We're a big fan of the packaged snacks, like the melty wafers and bags of melty sticks that you get but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should make a bit of effort and give him something that isn't UHP...

We weren’t sure how he ours would take the swap to cows milk since he hated the cold ready made formula so we’ve been doing part milk part formula and increasing cows milk every few days but tbh I’ve never seen him so into his bottles as it’s got colder and more cows milk so he would probably be fine with just cows milk now! Using the rest of our formula then will stop and just be on milk. I think we will be sticking to same times he usually has his 3 bottles until he shows some signs of wanting to drop a bottle? May have to have slightly less cows milk because I know there’s a limit to how much they can have.