Babies Born June 1st - 15th 2008

[leesha]

Hey I have tried to give Taj Farax with breast milk and I tried pumpkin too but he just gags on it when it he goes to swallow it........Does this mean he is not ready for soilds yet or did you all have that problem when you first started? Do I keep trying everyday or just stop and wait a bit? I don't know what to do???
Also his surgery is scheduled for december 11th so not long to go and I will have a different looking little man!!!

[MummyPig]

Hi Leesha

Most babies do make faces as if what they're eating is the most disgusting thing in the world (it usually is!) and at first might have a bit of a tongue co-ordination problem, but if they are ready for the food they usually have a pretty good go at trying it and will readily open their mouth again for more.

If Taj is gagging on it, perhaps your suspicion is right and he isn't ready? I've read that if you push a baby into trying to take solids before they're ready, then you might end up with them refusing to take it once they are. So, I wouldn't push him and would just leave it a week and try again see how he feels about it then.

I would have thought that plain Farax made up with breast milk would be the thing he'd most likely take, especially if it's on the thinner side initially, as it would be close to what he is used to tasting. When you try him again after a break, try putting a bit on your little finger at first and letting him suck it to see if he takes it and once he gets used to the taste, try again with a soft, shallow baby spoon.

I know that you were told he'd do better in recovery if he was heavier, but remember he will be heavier than when they said that anyway from all that lovely expressed booby milk you give him!

[Mirandabelle]

Leesha, if he's actually gagging, it may be that the food is too thick? In the beginning most babies like their food quite runny, a bit like soup and you make it thicker as the time goes on. The other thing is the cleft palate making it hard for him to swallow? I don't know a lot about it, but if this is the case maybe it would be better for Taj to wait till after surgery.

If neither of these things seem to be a cause, I would think that he's not ready for it and leave it for a week or two (depending on Taj's cues) before trying again. Good luck! Not long till his surgery now... I hope it all goes fantastically for him!

Kerry - fingers crossed someone buys or rents your house soon! It's amazing how quick they change isn't it? Perhaps if you swaddle Freyja just till she drifts off then unwrap her you won't have to go rescue her as often, and unwrapping her will let her find her fingers to self soothe (if she does that) It was really hot last night, and Zeke slept really well, even though he got out of his swaddle, so I will unwrap him once he's asleep again tonight, and see if he can self soothe with his hands... maybe I will get more sleep!

That's really rude of people to smoke around Freyja... my dad goes outside, even when he is in his own house where he smokes indoors. Fortunately all my friends are great about this, they will smoke well away from Zeke and wash their hands after too - without me ever asking them!

Oh and the best way to handle unwanted advice is to smile sweetly and go "I'll keep that in mind" then forget it entirely!

Anyway, DP starts early again tomorrow so I gotta do dinner ASAP.

[MummyPig]

Good point on the cleft Miranda - I'd never even considered that, but it must make it difficult for Taj to eat, poor thing

Freyja hasn't been getting swaddled for ages. She was a sleeping sack (grobag), but it's been too warm the past couple of nights for her to use it. Wednesday night she was nappy only with no covers and her window open, last night I closed her window and gave her only a light sheet to cover her. I have bought a couple of light summer swaddling sheets, so will give that a go tomorrow.

Last night was the worst ever. She woke at 11.30 for food, but only just went down again at 1.30. She wasn't unsettled, just kept turning on her tummy and then I had to sit with her for an hour and let her hold my hand until she drifted off. The storm hit us at 12.30 and I wonder if that maybe disturbed her a little. There was another at the back of 3, which is when she woke for her next feed and it took me over half an hour to settle her again, when normally she goes down within minutes.

I didn't even manage to get my family to wash their hands before holding her, they would have taken it totally the wrong way I suspect. I just don't think they realise how dangerous it is.

[leesha]

Thanks for the advice girls!!!
Taj doesn't have a cleft palate only a cleft lip so that isn't the problem thank goodness!! Think he is just not ready for solids even tho he watches soooooo intently when we eat and has his hands or anything in his hands in his mouth!!
I will try him again one day next week! His surgery is in 4 weeks so maybe will even wait until that is out of the way and start then...(he will be 6 months old then)
I'm not really worried about it but I was curious to see if they all start off reacting that way or if he is just not ready!!!
xoxoxoxo

[Mirandabelle]

Leesha, does a cleft lip mean that it will be easier for the surgeons to fix and for Taj's recovery than if he had a cleft palate? Zeke never gagged when he ate, just that he spat a lot out at first. He still makes a bit of a mess even now!

Kerry, Zeke was pretty good about the storm, although he woke when it started up initially and was in bed with me after that, so I think that helped. The reason I suggested swaddling her is because Zeke can't roll when he's swaddled (yet!) so it may help Freyja stay put while she drifts off. The wind and storm may have upset her too, Zeke is usually more restless when it's windy, the wind whistles really loudly down the side of the house past our bedroom window, and it upsets him (and me!)

Hopefully she'll let you have a bit more sleep tonight, Zeke has just gone down. I gave him a top-up bottle when the storm disturbed him instead of waiting for his usual feed, and really encouraged him to drink a lot last night and he did 6 hours, which was absolute bliss! I'm going to try it again tonight and see if I get the same result. It's easier for him to drink more from the bottle b/c it flows more quickly than when he BFs, which meant he barely had to wake up at all!

Got a baby shower for my sort-of neice tomorrow, yay! The only shower I've been to before is mine, so I'm excited to see how this will turn out. Oh, and she's sort of my neice b/c she is DP's stepsister's baby... confusing!

[leesha]

Ohh yes....a cleft lip is alot easier to fix than a cleft palate and less painfull!!!
The poor bubs with cleft palates have numerous surgeries and they don't always work...
The lip repair surgery is still painful(obviously) but nothing like having the roof of your mouth pulled together!! We were blessed as we were told that his palate will be involved but at birth it was all intact!!!
This is because they can only see the cleft lip at ultrasound and not in the mouth so they just prepare you for the worst I guess!!!
It's only a 2 hour operation and an overnight stay in hospital for us so it's not too bad!!
I have been up at the Royal Childrens Hospital every friday for the past 2 months and there is soo much to be thankful for after seeing what I have seen up there!!! But at the same time they are all in the best place for the best possible care!!!!
Anyhoo enough of my ranting and off to have dinner...I will try Taj again tomorrow on some farax and make it more liquidy and see how we go!!!!!

[Mirandabelle]

Good luck with the Farex Leesha, I hope Taj likes it a bit better this time around, and remember not to stress if he doesn't, every baby develops at a different rate!

That's fantastic news on the lip too, it must have been a weight off your mind when he was born. Of course it is still surgery, so I will be keeping my fingers tightly crossed for him.

The Childrens' Hossy is great, we are going to the one in Melb for Zeke's heard surgery, and I'm really relieved to be in such good hands.

Anyway, I had a big day and I'm pooped!