Babies Born June 1st - 15th 2008

[leesha]

Hi everyone! I just found this group and thought I would join in! It's interesting to hear how the babies are developing and what milestones they are reaching at around the same time!!
My little boy Taj was born on June 11th weighing 3.69kg. He is now 6kg exactly (at his 4 month check up) He is breast feed and I thought he would weigh more than that by now but apparently he is average!
He was born with a cleft lip(we found out at our 20 week scan) and will require surgery probably at around 6 months....Do you think I should be starting him on solids soon to chub him up a bit cos I think he will loose some weight once he is operated on!
My DH and I aren't sure as we get conflicting advice..he is too young etc....
How many of you guys have started solids? I'm very confused!!!

[MummyPig]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the site and Australia and my gorgeous little bub was born on 9th June. Her name is Freyja and we're currently going through the process of getting used to her first solids (she loves them!), the mystery of where he dummy could possibly have gone (in my bedside drawer) and attempting to get her to enjoy tummy time (god does she scream!).

Anyone had any luck with the tummy time yet? Freyja loves to sit up and also stand (we only need to let her hold our fingers and she does the rest), but I cannot get her to play on her tummy. I would love to have her crawling, although I might regret that once she does, and I would also love for her not to have a flat baby head with a bald patch.

She had such lovely thick hair and now it's all wearing thin

[HotKim]

Leesha and ! Starting solids can be exciting. I think it's best to be guided by your baby. So if Taj is staring at you intently when you eat, maybe if he seems dissatisfied after a full breastfeed, you could try him on some baby rice or mashed veg. Just try and gauge how much he's interested and go by what you think he wants. Good luck with solids and I hope everything goes well for his op. Has b/f'ing been difficult for you with Taj's cleft lip?

and to littlepig too! So where have you travelled from? I have a sister named Fraya, I love the name.
Nate has slept on his tummy since he was about 5 weeks old. I know it's 'naughty' but all my kids have slept on their tummy although I did start each of them on their backs or sides. So, he's used to tummy time. To make it interesting you could lay different toys on the ground for her to look at and reach for. For a physio exercise I used to lay my other son on a pillow sham (the cylinder type) and roll him back and forth to help strengthen his muscles. You could try that too or just lay on your tummy infront of her and talk to her and show her it's ok. Have you put her on her tummy in the bath? I use my hand to hold Nate by the chin (fingers open so water doesn't pool) and keep another hand under his belly just in case. My eldest and my second eldest loved it.

I think the recommendation for flattening heads is to alternate the sides they sllep on. You can encourage Freyja to sleep on the side of her head by putting interesting toys even a mirror on the sides on the cot (securely) and alternating the sides you put them on. Or just switch her to either end of the mattress if she enjoys looking out of one side.

Nate, like all of his siblings, will also be a baldy baby. Nothing much to do about it as it falls out even on the cots sheets.

Look forward to hearing more from you both!!

[skye+cammi]

miranda-the needles went ok..she is just sleeping and feeding alot and wants lots of cuddles...the heat is horrible when your pg..cammi has just learnt how to suck her thumb properly she has her dummy but is starting to like her thumb more and more...
we have had a few cooler nights thankfully last night we went to bed around 10 and we got up at 5:30 yay...

hotkim-i have cammi on solids she is eating heaps but still b/f alot,i think she just loves the boob to much...ive been really slack on exercizing i walk alot thou i lost alot of weight pretty quick which was lucky....

leesha-hello and welcome,i started cammi on solids at around 3 1/2 months she kept trying to grab at my food and would watch me when i ate and would put fingers in her mouth i asked the doctor and he said it would be fine...hope the op goes well and goodluck..

littlepig-hello and welcome,cammi is ok with tummy time at first i put her on my chest and she loved it when she rolls over to her tummy she will only stay there a short time before she gets cranky..her hair is starting to grow really fast on the back of herhead its justshorter than the rest of her hair.....

[Mirandabelle]

Welcome to our two new members, great to 'see' some new mums here!

leesha - Zeke may need surgery to correct his skull plates when he is around 12-15mo, and they told me the heavier and stronger he is if/when the op goes ahead, the better, so solids may be an option for Taj around now. He's just old enough to start eating, but may not be interested yet... the signs Kim mentioned are great indications.

littlepig - Tummy time can take getting used to... putting Zeke on his tummy on my chest was the only thing that worked for some weeks. Getting down on your babies level and chatting to them really helps!

[leesha]

Hot kim- I can't breatsfeed so I express every 6 hours...lots of milk there!! I have been expressing for 19 weeks now! He can suck great but can't quite get a seal round the nipple properly!
He feeds from a bottle but it's breast milk so thats the best thing I can do for him! This week I started putting farax in his night bottle?(6pm) not to make him sleep longer but to fill him up a bit more but I havn't noticed anything different!
He is 5months old next week so i think I might start him on solids then and see how he goes!!!

[HotKim]

skye - Nate has also started to suck his thumb...or anything else that gets within range! He's been trying for weeks and seems to have worked out his thumb finally! He loves putting both thumbs in and having agood chew! He was really good with his needles, a few tears then eat and sleep. He seems to enjoy solids but I can't be sure if it's the food he likes having in his mouth or the spoon! He breastfeeds before and after eating but sleeps pretty good.

leesha - you're doing a great job expressing for so long. I've tried it once and hated it so I can't imagine doing it for 19 weeks. Well done!

[MummyPig]

Thank you for the welcome everyone

Kim - we've moved here from the UK and love it. Freyja was the only girls name I really liked and we went with the norse spelling just to confuse everyone - it's worked so far!

We always place toys just within her reach to distract her and she usually plays with them for about 5 mins before screaming. We do have a windup merry-go-round toy in her cot with her, which she turns her head to look at, and her music/night light on the bars. She does sleep with her head to the side, but you'[re right about hair on the sheets!

Never tried it in the bath though, so might give it ago as she does love the water.

Skye & Miranda, we've tried laying with her and talking to her to distract her, or placing her on our chests, but she still only gets to 5 mins. Also tried her in front of the picture window and with the tv on (bad I know!), but nothing works.

I got worried the other day when I got a slight telling off by the MCHN for not putting her on her tummy. Especially when she told me she would need to learn to crawl before she could sit up.

But she already can sit almost and loves to stand with just holding our fingers, we don't support her, so maybe she will skip crawling?

Hi Leesha - Freyja has tried solids at 4 1/2 months and loves them. She was watching us eat for ages and today had some of my ice lolly because she couldn't stand to see me having it all myself! I've stopped her solid intake for the mo as I'm trying to get her fully back on the boob again, but will definitely let her have more in a couple of weeks

[Mirandabelle]

littlepig, it sounds to me like Frejya is on her own schedule with tummy-time, and there's not much you can do about it! LOL, give her what time she enjoys, she'll gradually increase it when she's ready, don't stress or force the issue. I'm not sure about the sitting/crawling link, most of the babies I know sat before they crawled, but I'm not a professional, and every baby is individual, so if you're worried, obviously speak to another dr/nurse.

leesha - way to go on the pumping! My boobs refuse to pump when I'm using the hand one, I know it works and everything, but I just will not let down, no matter how many milky thoughts I think. I have to hand-express (I don't have an electric, which works like a charm, but v.expensive to hire/buy given how infrequently I would use it) if I want to leave milk for Zeke.

The heat is killing us already! Zeke struggles to sleep w/out a swaddle, but gets overheated in even the lightest wrap we have an only a nappy underneath... I am v. sleep deprived at present... off to bed now!

[MummyPig]

Yeah, I always thought that babies would sit first and then crawl, but my nephew is 10 months now and still refusing to sit. He crawls and pulls himself up on things though. I think it's because he spent more time playing on his own on the floor than Feyja has, as we've also tended to play with her and dance, have her stand so she can wiggle or sit and bounce on our knees so we could sing to her

Leesha - I hadn't noticed that you've been expressing for so long! :shock: well done!! I can hand express and use a manual pump, but the pump is to much more powerful and painful so I don't use it. Not sure I would have been as dedicated as you! Freyja had formula for a month as I all but lost my milk after having a cold and is just now back fully on the boob again. She had been having solids, but I stopped them for the past week until I got my milk up fully - she'll get back on them next week as she was ready for a long time before I let her try it.

In the UK as well, they say baby doesn't need anything but milk for 6 months however they tell you to look out for the signs that they are ready to have solids as all babies are different. Also, I got a leaflet from the MCHN when I took Freyja for her first appointment and it says if you miss the signs that they are ready to start solids, then you could have probs with them once you do try! You're right, very, very confusing so best to do what you are happy with.

Oh, as for putting feed in their bottles, I'm sure my mum used to do it but when you read the litreature re: b/f and introducing solids etc, they say that you shouldn't put stuff in their milk. If they need more milk, they'll take more, but putting stuff in their bottles is bad for their teeth. That's also why you should get them off bottles by 12 months and onto cups because even water from a bottle can be bad for their teeth apparently.

I'm not a dentist, but it kinda makes sense and I don't want to take the risk. Teething is bad enough, not sure I can cope with toothache in a child!!

So, I'd suggest that you just put a little rice on a spoon for him and try that. Get a soft, shallow baby spoon to protect his little gums and just try tiny little bits at first until he works out how to swallow. Freyja took ages as she wanted to suck everything that went in her mouth or tried to use her tongue to make it go stiff (she doesn't understand it's not my boob!), which meant she pushed more out than she ate. Very messy, but fun.

MCHN told me 2-3 tablespoons of solids per day at 4 months is enough because she should still be feeding on milk mainly, however I think what Miranda said about Zeke is right to a degree - the bigger and healthier babies are the better they cope with recovery from ops. Though as long as your little Taj isn't underweight, he will be fine.

When does he have his op?

[MummyPig]

Just wanted to let you all know that Freyja is now a bit happier on her front. She's had lots of tummy time and can stay there for about 10 mins now without getting too grumpy - possibly because I distract her by going 'Wooo! Yeah!! Well done Freyja!' and clapping every couple of minutes. Seems to be working though.

She's also sleeping better at night and during the day than she did up to Monday, which is great news for me!! Lets hope it continues

Hope you're all doing okay and thanks for the encouragement to keep trying her on her tummy - she def does have her own agenda

[skye+cammi]

hello everyone,
sorry i have been slack at posting cammi has just been cranky after her needles and now she has a rash all over her hoping its just a sweat rash.

leesha-congrats on expressing for so long your very brave..have you tried to give taj solids yet?

littlepig-yay for frayja..i clap and sing when she starts to get cranky it distracts her for a little bit..cammi also stands holding our fingers she gets cranky if we dont do it..

everytime i put cammi on her back she always rolls over and throws up everytime when on her belly has anyone else had this prob?

miranda-is zeke sleeping any better for you?i am dreading when its full on hot day after day..

hotkim-cammi loves solids she gets upset when i take it away..she hasthe hang of it now its not as messy as before...how is nate?