New baby and post birth advice #56

[themuffinwoman]

In the midst of the worst night sleep ever!
Little one went down for her sleep beautifully but an hour later woke up screaming. She's cried for about an hour since. I've given her the daily total of calpol & nurofen because of her ear infection so if its pain I feel stuck. At what point is it classed as not normal, because when she's been crying like this before when she was ill my gp said "well she's a baby they cry" very unhelpfully & ignored me when I said my little one very rarely cries.
We've taken to camping on the sofa, cuddling up together & praying for at least a decent few hours sleep together.

Hubby "tried" to get her to sleep but it consisted of him cuddling her whilst watching tik toks very loudly & her keeping looking startled.

So sorry she’s unwell and upset I read somewhere (can’t remember where but I like this policy) that if they’re crying non stop, inconsolably for two hours, then call 111. Obviously depends how you feel and the type of cry, but if this is out of character for her then go for it. Babies cry but we know our own babies. I was very close to calling 111 a couple of months ago, MM was doing this horrendous cry, I think she had trapped wind, but it was awful, never heard anything like it, and she eventually fell asleep on me and the crying lessened but I was ready to ring them because I hadn’t seen her like that before.
Go with your gut mama- if you’ve done everything you can and you’re worried then ring.

 

[WotsitG1]

@Ro98 baby wotsit is coming up 11 months. We had rough patches around 9-10.5 month mark. He’s slowly got better again.

He’s abit of a late to bed late to rise kinda guy. And also goes against all the advice and normally does a longer ww in morning. So sometimes does a 4/4/3.5…. Im really trying to get it to 3.5/3.5/4 ish but his clubs usually clash and he ends up staying away in morning longer and then is overtired in evening. He does a hour nap then half an hour and around 10.5-11 hours over night. I don’t let him do more than 2 hours total in daytime.
sometimes he will sleep though to 6am ish bottle then back to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes he’s up 2 times around 1 then 3/4.
I thought dropping to 2 naps would bring his bedtime forward… but it’s done the opposite. Then like this morning he stirred at 7, and I thought I’ll get him up but he seems so tired Iv let him sleep again….. now another late night.

I can’t figure it all out. Hoping one day it just all makes sense!

 

[Nosysamsie]

So sorry she’s unwell and upset I read somewhere (can’t remember where but I like this policy) that if they’re crying non stop, inconsolably for two hours, then call 111. Obviously depends how you feel and the type of cry, but if this is out of character for her then go for it. Babies cry but we know our own babies. I was very close to calling 111 a couple of months ago, MM was doing this horrendous cry, I think she had trapped wind, but it was awful, never heard anything like it, and she eventually fell asleep on me and the crying lessened but I was ready to ring them because I hadn’t seen her like that before.
Go with your gut mama- if you’ve done everything you can and you’re worried then ring.

She eventually fell asleep on me around midnight, but i was close to ringing to be honest. She's woke up this morning her happy giggly self, so fingers crossed it was a one off.
I think my confidence in the health service has been knocked when you've been told previously "babies cry get on with it".

 

[WotsitG1]

Can I maybe ask a silly question.

when baby turns one, do you let them naturally reduce their milk intake? Or start cutting them down?
Can you still offer milk in bottles or do you have to switch straight away to offering in a cup?
Baby wotsit wil take water out a cup fairly well, but I can’t imagine enough to drink a cup of milk.

 

[Spencerskates]

I think I remember on here a few months ago that someone had said about a health visitor commenting about their babies weight and to reduce feeds but can’t remember who it was to ask for advice and what you’ve done.

Baby skates is almost 9 months and is 23lbs 13oz, putting him around the 95th percentile. He was measuring big throughout my pregnancy (above 90th throughout) and was born at 8lbs 11oz, again, around 90th percentile. He dropped huge amounts of weight in the first few months of his life as a milk refuser and we narrowly avoided several hospital stays, but his weight stayed between 12th and 25th percentiles until he was 4 months and around the 50th percentile. From then, I stopped taking him to get weighed at the children’s centre - ours has a rule of only four families in at once and if it’s busy you have to wait outside, come rain or shine, so I wasn’t willing to take him through winter and risk getting wet.

took him yesterday and she said as he’s shot up through the percentiles, we need to try and reduce his milk intake and increase solids. She suggested trying offering his breakfast before milk, but when he wakes up he’s gone at least 12 hours without milk so wakes crying for it. I don’t want to leave him to cry, hungry, and not feel like I’m listening to his needs . He doesn’t really recognise food as food yet and just wants milk if he’s starving.

 

[fairylights2000]

I think I remember on here a few months ago that someone had said about a health visitor commenting about their babies weight and to reduce feeds but can’t remember who it was to ask for advice and what you’ve done.

Baby skates is almost 9 months and is 23lbs 13oz, putting him around the 95th percentile. He was measuring big throughout my pregnancy (above 90th throughout) and was born at 8lbs 11oz, again, around 90th percentile. He dropped huge amounts of weight in the first few months of his life as a milk refuser and we narrowly avoided several hospital stays, but his weight stayed between 12th and 25th percentiles until he was 4 months and around the 50th percentile. From then, I stopped taking him to get weighed at the children’s centre - ours has a rule of only four families in at once and if it’s busy you have to wait outside, come rain or shine, so I wasn’t willing to take him through winter and risk getting wet.

took him yesterday and she said as he’s shot up through the percentiles, we need to try and reduce his milk intake and increase solids. She suggested trying offering his breakfast before milk, but when he wakes up he’s gone at least 12 hours without milk so wakes crying for it. I don’t want to leave him to cry, hungry, and not feel like I’m listening to his needs . He doesn’t really recognise food as food yet and just wants milk if he’s starving.

Baby L is 13 months and still starts his day with milk. At the last couple of weigh ins he was also above 98 centile. He started reducing his milk intake when he got more into solids - around 8/9 months - this was through smaller bottles rather than fewer though, he was on 4 bottles a day from 6mo until recently. If baby skates is hungry he's hungry and if he's not filling up on solids yet, he'll need milk From my experience as long as you're still offering solids and getting him used to them as food I would carry on and follow his lead

 

[fudgebox]

I think I remember on here a few months ago that someone had said about a health visitor commenting about their babies weight and to reduce feeds but can’t remember who it was to ask for advice and what you’ve done.

Baby skates is almost 9 months and is 23lbs 13oz, putting him around the 95th percentile. He was measuring big throughout my pregnancy (above 90th throughout) and was born at 8lbs 11oz, again, around 90th percentile. He dropped huge amounts of weight in the first few months of his life as a milk refuser and we narrowly avoided several hospital stays, but his weight stayed between 12th and 25th percentiles until he was 4 months and around the 50th percentile. From then, I stopped taking him to get weighed at the children’s centre - ours has a rule of only four families in at once and if it’s busy you have to wait outside, come rain or shine, so I wasn’t willing to take him through winter and risk getting wet.

took him yesterday and she said as he’s shot up through the percentiles, we need to try and reduce his milk intake and increase solids. She suggested trying offering his breakfast before milk, but when he wakes up he’s gone at least 12 hours without milk so wakes crying for it. I don’t want to leave him to cry, hungry, and not feel like I’m listening to his needs . He doesn’t really recognise food as food yet and just wants milk if he’s starving.

That was me I think! Baby fudge was about 10 weeks at the time she said I was over feeding him because he had put on 1lb in a week! I tried giving him less once and he cried and cried and everyone told me not to listen to her so I just carried on what I was doing, then he was weighed 4 weeks later and she said he weighed fine and I hadn’t changed anything! So think he must’ve just had a growth spurt

 

[Chewycinema]

Can I maybe ask a silly question.

when baby turns one, do you let them naturally reduce their milk intake? Or start cutting them down?
Can you still offer milk in bottles or do you have to switch straight away to offering in a cup?
Baby wotsit wil take water out a cup fairly well, but I can’t imagine enough to drink a cup of milk.

With my daughter I started introducing milk in a sippy cup for her afternoon milk and once she was used to that did the rest and she was off bottles within about a month of being 1! She wasn't keen at first but I just persevered

 

[WotsitG1]

With my daughter I started introducing milk in a sippy cup for her afternoon milk and once she was used to that did the rest and she was off bottles within about a month of being 1! She wasn't keen at first but I just persevered

oh good idea!! Thankyou!! Atm he prefers an open cup for water and half of it ends up chucked…. I need to get him using a straw up really

 

[themuffinwoman]

With my daughter I started introducing milk in a sippy cup for her afternoon milk and once she was used to that did the rest and she was off bottles within about a month of being 1! She wasn't keen at first but I just persevered

Thanks for sharing this- I’m wondering about milk also as she seems to still have a lot… at nursery they give them milk out of sippy cups so I’m wondering whether to see how she gets on with them and maybe make the switch myself after a couple of weeks.

 

[WotsitG1]

Thanks for sharing this- I’m wondering about milk also as she seems to still have a lot… at nursery they give them milk out of sippy cups so I’m wondering whether to see how she gets on with them and maybe make the switch myself after a couple of weeks.

any reccomendations for sippy cups?

 

[themuffinwoman]

any reccomendations for sippy cups?

We use tommee tippee ones and munchkin cups. I’ve tried her with a straw but she doesn’t really get it yet

 

[Pontiac_Bandit]

@Ro98 baby wotsit is coming up 11 months. We had rough patches around 9-10.5 month mark. He’s slowly got better again.

He’s abit of a late to bed late to rise kinda guy. And also goes against all the advice and normally does a longer ww in morning. So sometimes does a 4/4/3.5…. Im really trying to get it to 3.5/3.5/4 ish but his clubs usually clash and he ends up staying away in morning longer and then is overtired in evening. He does a hour nap then half an hour and around 10.5-11 hours over night. I don’t let him do more than 2 hours total in daytime.
sometimes he will sleep though to 6am ish bottle then back to sleep for a few hours. Sometimes he’s up 2 times around 1 then 3/4.
I thought dropping to 2 naps would bring his bedtime forward… but it’s done the opposite. Then like this morning he stirred at 7, and I thought I’ll get him up but he seems so tired Iv let him sleep again….. now another late night.

I can’t figure it all out. Hoping one day it just all makes sense!

I tried to look at the Huckleberry suggested sweet spots when baby bandit was younger as his sleep was so terrible, and I very quickly found that he does what he wants when he wants and doesn't adhere to suggested sleep windows! He has a set bedtime (start getting him ready around 8, bedtime feed about half 8, usually asleep by 9ish) but the rest of the day I'm guided by how tired he looks and help him get to sleep when I can see he needs it. The advice all says to have a long wake window at the end of the day but he's terrible with that - yesterday he woke from his second nap at 4pm and was SO grouchy from 7pm. He does better if he has a 30 minute nap around 5pm/6pm which feels too late but it works for him try not to stress about what he "should" be doing and go with what works for him

 

[loveanatter]

any reccomendations for sippy cups?

We started with these Nuby ones
And then when he cracked the straw we moved on to the Munchkin ones x

 

[WotsitG1]

@Pontiac_Bandit sounds similar to baby wotsit. He has his first around lunch time then 2nd around 5pm for 30 mins Going to sleep around 9:30 atm. Yeah it seems to work alright for us atm so I’ll go with it. I don’t get an evening but I do like having time in the morning to get ready ect.

Thanks for cup reccomendations @loveanatter @themuffinwoman
We use an open cup at home and the 360 one out and about. That Nuby one looks good as a transition to straw…. He doesn’t get the straw atm he just bites and pulls at it.

 

[Chewycinema]

oh good idea!! Thankyou!! Atm he prefers an open cup for water and half of it ends up chucked…. I need to get him using a straw up really

It was a while ago but I think she only took water out a straw cup
I used the munchkin ones though then moved onto 360

Thanks for sharing this- I’m wondering about milk also as she seems to still have a lot… at nursery they give them milk out of sippy cups so I’m wondering whether to see how she gets on with them and maybe make the switch myself after a couple of weeks.

See how she gets on, its worth a try anyway! I think she was about 10 months when I started, I'd make up her formula then decant it in! Then swapped to cows milk once she was one. But I know other people didn't have as much luck doing it that way but I just accepted some milk would get wasted til she was used to it

 

[Nosysamsie]

Anyone else get really triggered by baby spitting food out?
She's decided her new favourite game is blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food & also spitting every mouthful with lumps out as far as she can.
She finds it hilarious and laughs like a lunatic but I'm really struggling with it.

I'm currently covered in lasagne having a moment away from her whilst I calm down because it's really annoyed me. Another outfit probably destroyed by her new habbit

 

[themuffinwoman]

Anyone else get really triggered by baby spitting food out?
She's decided her new favourite game is blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food & also spitting every mouthful with lumps out as far as she can.
She finds it hilarious and laughs like a lunatic but I'm really struggling with it.

I'm currently covered in lasagne having a moment away from her whilst I calm down because it's really annoyed me. Another outfit probably destroyed by her new habbit

Not spitting (she does it but not at me) but she likes to hurl spoons at me and put her hand on my leg when it’s at its messiest. All my leggings are covered in yogurt/hummus handprints, she does it on purpose. I have to sit close to her to stop dogs coming near/attempt to save the spoons but I also get wound up. I go through a pair of leggings a day which aren’t overly nice but I feel you.

 

[WeepingCassandra]

Anyone else get really triggered by baby spitting food out?
She's decided her new favourite game is blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food & also spitting every mouthful with lumps out as far as she can.
She finds it hilarious and laughs like a lunatic but I'm really struggling with it.

I'm currently covered in lasagne having a moment away from her whilst I calm down because it's really annoyed me. Another outfit probably destroyed by her new habbit

I've had to walk away from our LO a few times now because he just cannot keep food in his mouth. I know he's only (just!) 1 but he honestly takes a bit in, rolls it around his mouth for a few seconds then just opens his mouth and pushes it out with his tongue. Frigging constantly. Obviously he's not been well this week but tonight he was actually putting his hands in his mouth to claw the sweet potato mash I gave him out He snatches the spoons off you, sometimes he can then get the right bit into his mouth in the right way but most of the time he can't and then he throws the spoon as far as he can or flings it behind him. If you put food on the tray he picks it up and immediately either moves his hand to the side of the high chair and drops it without even looking at it or he'll pick it up and then shove his hands in his lap (even with a coverall bib on) and mush the food into his lap. I hate meal times so much.

Breakfast is the one meal he generally is better at, because he normally either has weetabix (which I am not letting him loose with) or plain Cheerios and he enjoys picking them up off the tray in small batches.

ETA - My OH this evening went "Oh it's not very nice for him to have you moaning and upset every time he eats is it" thanks love

 

[Nosysamsie]

I've had to walk away from our LO a few times now because he just cannot keep food in his mouth. I know he's only (just!) 1 but he honestly takes a bit in, rolls it around his mouth for a few seconds then just opens his mouth and pushes it out with his tongue. Frigging constantly. Obviously he's not been well this week but tonight he was actually putting his hands in his mouth to claw the sweet potato mash I gave him out He snatches the spoons off you, sometimes he can then get the right bit into his mouth in the right way but most of the time he can't and then he throws the spoon as far as he can or flings it behind him. If you put food on the tray he picks it up and immediately either moves his hand to the side of the high chair and drops it without even looking at it or he'll pick it up and then shove his hands in his lap (even with a coverall bib on) and mush the food into his lap. I hate meal times so much.

Breakfast is the one meal he generally is better at, because he normally either has weetabix (which I am not letting him loose with) or plain Cheerios and he enjoys picking them up off the tray in small batches.

ETA - My OH this evening went "Oh it's not very nice for him to have you moaning and upset every time he eats is it" thanks love

Sounds like my little one is doing exactly the same as yours. I felt awful walking away but both of us were covered in food & it was just making me and her angry with each other tbh.
Breakfast is fine every day, lunch is hit & miss, but evening meals are becoming a nightmare.
Hubby is even more stressed than me when she starts spitting, throwing or blowing raspberries so it's not helpful.