Babies born~December 1st-15th 2009 #3

[BrusselsSprout]

Hello all!

Just a quick one...

Has anyone used a nasal aspirator on their baby? I've tried 3 times and each time it is an absolute nightmare...he screams his head off and writhes around so much that it keeps getting rammed up his nose (which obviously hurts), so really its not working and I"m not getting anything out. I can't believe they invented something like this which is just impossible to use!!!



Will try adn get back on later for persies...

I use an electric one and Eva does not like it but it sucks everything out in 5 seconds on each side, so it is effective, and my good friend uses one where she sucks into a tube and it suctions the nose and says it is great - We both have tried the little ball shaped ones but agree they SUCK (but not literally ) and don't egt anything out of there. Eva hated it too (remember she got really blocked up before we left for NYC?) so what I did was I would show it to her and talk her through it and she would generally let me get it in there then start complaining during the end of the suction - I am assuming that having an electric pump suctioning in your nostril can't be pleasant especially when the other side is all blocked up. My friend uses that tube one and it is slightly more gentle than the electric, but takes a few extra tries, and her daughter does not complain at all...So maybe try that type first (it is also a LOT cheaper)...I had her daughter sleep over last weekend and I suctioned her nose with the electric one and she was slightly more fussy than when her mother does it, but I am not sure if it was the pump that bothered her or the fact that I am not her mother...

In Europe they also encourage rinsing the nose with physiological serum - I hate doing this - but you put the baby on his side then squirt a tube of this liquid (it is like saline solution) up the nose and everything runs out of the other nostril - Eva sxreams bloody murder when I do this but it liquifies everything and clears out her nose then I suction right after and everything comes out easily. Get rid of that bulb - they suck. Get one where you suck into a tube or get an electric - it was save you a lot of stress and lots of trauma for Michael.

I do use closer to nature, the nipples are particular and you have to make sure they click into place, they are soft and resemble a breast so I started those - I did try avent and beaba bottle a few times and they gave her awful gas so I stopped.

Good luck - I know that sucks.

I really don't have time for anything else - but I am reading!

Eva has gastro! She was crying in her bed last night at midnight and I found her laying in a pool of her own vomit - I freaked out. DH walked in right when I was cleaning her up and he saw the state I was in and changed all her sheets, helped me with her pajamas etc....then we put her back to bed and she started vomiting violently again, so DH held her head while she finished and I almost died Needless to say she was exhausted afterwards so DH changed her sheets again and put her to bed, while I cleaned up the mess...I stayed awake until 1:30 stressed and checking up on her every ten minutes... and she was up at 5 for food, massive diahrrea, had to wak DH who also got in late the night before, we had to bathe her again, change everything, all the sheets, clothes, I had to run a load and air out her room since it smelled so bad, and we put her back down to sleep in our bed...DH slept in with her and was late to work, and I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry, again. I am wiped out. Going to the doctor in an hour so I have to try to get some work done, since my return to work has obviously not been very productive what with me running bet house and office!

Alison, hope you feel better!

Be back on tom with more posts - sorry to the rest of you I did not respond to but I would like to take the time to do so properly tom

xoxo

[Alison1973]

Thanks Willow - I might go look for one tomorrow, probably a good investment really.

Hey Beany - yay with the rusks, Amelia likes the Raffertys Garden ones - it has banana in it hee hee. She wasn't as interested in her pumpkin at lunch yesterday but today she completely woofed it down. Maybe they don't feel like eating as much some days, who knows. Trial and error, but if he is pushing it back with his tongue he's not ready. Amelia was really staring and almost whinging at us when we were eating and trying to grab our forks and cups.....I wasn't going to try until 6 months but I figured 5.5 months is close enough. Good thing is she's been fine with the rusks which have wheat in them so looking good for not having my wheat intolerance so far, woo hoo! Not that I expected her to as it's not an allergy but the fact I obviously didn't eat it while pregnant meant her body hasn't been exposed at all so they nurses weren't sure what would happen. It's a relief though, I hate having it myself let alone a baby being in the same boat. Do you sew as well? You're so clever, I've been trying to think of something I could do from home to justify not going back to work (lol) but I can't sew for crap, I'm too impatient for stuff like that. My mums group friends reckon I should start a business in finding bargains for people as I'm always getting bargains via Ebay or online.......I'm the "go to" girl when they want something ha ha. How sad is that! Thanks for the tip on the Fess stuff, will avoid it then, Amelia sounds snotty too so she either has a bit of what I have or is getting it. I pray she doesn't get what I have as bad though. I've almost lost my voice tonight and my throat while not sore is very dry and feels thick kind of, if that makes sense - it's very raspy and my ears feel a bit blocked. It's all the sinuses though I think, sux huh, hope you feel better soon.

Anyway, best go, hope everyone has a lovely night also and will talk some more tomorrow.

xx

[Rose_Red]

Hi girls!

Sorry I haven't been here for a few days - way behind on the thread, so sorry for not too many personal replies.

Alison - I second the use of a neti pot. I use one every day and find that it helps amazingly with not getting too many colds. It's kind of gross doing it while you're congested, but it feels so good afterwards.

I can't remember who was asking about baby led weaning books. I've only read one, which is considered to be the "bible" - Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley. I haven't actually started BLW properly yet with Liam, but will be doing so soon.

Liam's actually doing really well with solids - he's eager for them and manages to eat quite a bit of his rice cereal. I've been giving him the Rafferty's Garden stuff as well. Have some Farex, but haven't tried that yet, since I really prefer to give him as much organic food as possible. I tried him on avocado this week, but I don't think he liked it much! I'm following the guidelines of only introducing single foods every four days just to make sure that he doesn't have any reactions. I am doing some purees to begin with, and will start him on finger foods soon.

Since we started the solids and increased his reflux meds, he's been doing a lot better. He's still waking 2-3 times at night, but it's only to feed each time and he goes back to sleep well. He's even been napping a bit better - have managed hour-long naps the last two afternoons, which is awesome. I hope it continues. He's definitely been in a growth spurt, too - he gained 500g in a week! He's growing out of a bunch of his nappies and clothes.

[Plinky]

Hello ladies!

BS - they do 'suck' don't they, those stupid bulb things. I won't be using mine again. Thanks for the suggestion re electronic sucker thing...I'll keep my eye out for one, they sound good. You're so good showing Eva what you're doing and everything..I feel bad now, I just grabbed the thing and shoved it up his nose...no wonder he was so upset I love those tommee tippee bottles - bit late for me to change now tho, spent a fortune on my avent collection! Oh my goodness...I'm so sorry to hear Eva has gastro! Poor little darling! Is there anything you can do to help her?

Alison - Oooh, must look out for those rafferty's garden rusks, I don't remember seeing them last time, must look harder! I tried Michael with the Rafferty's garden rice cereal this morning...bingo!! While he didn't eat that much, he did swallow some so I'm hailing it a success! Thanks for the tip there I noticed that was about 99% rice, where as Farex was only 96%...wierd. Thats great Amelia loves her food! Cant wait for Michael to be like that too! Well, I don't 'sew' as such, I've just started. But I want to be able to sew, so I'm just starting on easyh things like blankets. Next up is a bib I think. I hope you feel better soon...these colds really are pesky.

Rose - Sounds like Liam is going great guns! 500g in a week! Phwoar! Are you feeling like you're getting more sleep too?

AFM - just bought a vaporiser, its plugged in now so I'll see what its like. Hopefully that will help my little munchkin to sleep.

[Plinky]

Oh, forgot to ask....

Those of you feeding solids...when do you do it? Like, I know lunchtime is a good time, but do you do it before/after a feed? Or in between feeds?

Thanks!

[willow5]

Hi girls,

Hi Kawazuki I won't hold it against you for saying you have a good sleeper...even if I wanted to I wouldn't have the energy while we're doing 2 hourly feeds at night still
I wish I was clever like you too with the sewing, I'm going to buy a sewing machine and see how I go, I've never sewn before but am determined to learn! Any tips on what brand/model machines are good? Actually any idea too on machines to stay away from? I figure at least I can manage a few blankets at least and then be able to take up my own pants, being 5"2 it's a nightmare getting anything to fit and I hate either having to pay someone or ask a friend to do it for me.

BS Poor Eva gastro is the worst!! I hope it doesn't hang around too long and hope you and DH don't get it!

Beany Doesn't that drive you mad when people say things like that!!! Grrrrr!!! I love how other people think they know your baby better than you!!!
YAY with the blankets I'm going to give in and get myself a machine soon and I'll be having a go too, that will be interesting
I hope Michael's feeling better soon and hope you have more success with the snot sucking
Harry was the same with the raw carrot, seemed to like the taste, but he doesn't have any teeth yet so no chance of him grating any off, I would've taken it off him too.

omg again Harry's BB radar awake again!

[Alison1973]

Hi Beany - I know people who do it differently to each other but I always feed Amelia her bottle first, I was told this is more important then their solids initially because they only have a small amount of solids until they get used to it. I give Amelia her first bottle at 7.00 am and then her rice cereal after that, usually 30 mins later by the time she feeds and I get it ready. Then at 11.00 am she has her next bottle and then I give it half an hour and give her pumpkin at 12.00 pm. Then her next two feeds are just milk. I don't give her 3 meals yet and I don't give her solids at dinner time because I don't want her to go to bed for the night on a full stomach - I've read this is best to avoid until their digestive system is used to it. Anyway, I know people doing it differently so I guess it's up to you but that's how I do it! Hope that helps. xx

[*suz1*]

Hi Girls!

Beany - I had the bulb-type snot sucker (aspirator) but I didn't think it was the Fess one. It did come with saline. I got a cold just before I had Craig, then he caught it off me at birth. We got a lot of practice putting in the saline drops and then sucking out the snot. The trick was to squeeze the sucker first, then insert it up his nose and let the bulb expand again. If the snot was all dried I would use a wet face cloth to try to soften up the crusty bits. I bought a vapouriser from the local chemist and would run it constantly when he was sick. The Vics Baby Balsalm is good too, so is a bath with eucalyptus oil or Vics added. Hope Michael's feeling better soon.

Maybe hold off for a week with the solids if he's pushing most of the food back out with his tongue? It could be a sign that he's not ready. But if you think he's getting some of it down, then maybe keep trying 'cause eventually he'll start to swallow it.

Willow - I have a Brother and it's been pretty reliable. Janome's are pretty good too. The only brands of sewing machine I'd be dubious about would be the real cheap ones at Spotlight, but maybe they'd be a good starter machine if you're not sure that you'll use it and don't want to spend lots of money. Another option worth thinking about if you want to do simple stuff like blankets and nappy covers is an overlocker. Is Harry feeding more than usual? Seems like the first 2 things that indicate a WW are feeding more frequently and change to sleep patterns.

Rose - Wow, 500g! That's good growth. Craig never liked avocado on it's own at first, but later on when you can mix 2 things together I think Baby Love suggested avocado mashed with banana and he loved that! Sounds weird, but he loved it and it was easy because no cooking involved. That's great that he's sleeping better, fingers crossed for you that he drops some of those night feeds soon.

BS - Hope Eva's gastro has cleared up! I'm so glad she survived daycare (and you survived sending her). Unfortunately I know of several bubs that got sick after their 1st week in childcare. Vomiting is so scary isn't it? Freaked me out the first time I saw Craig do a proper projectile hurl.

Alison - Yay Amelia for the rolling! Hope you feel better soon. I didn't get sick during pregnancy either and hated being sick when Craig was born. We had a few days curled up bed together watching TV. Touch wood, haven't been sick yet since Ryan was born.

Hannah - Great to hear from you! Hope the new meds are working for your Mum. Sorry your Mother's Day was a downer. Also sorry your DH was unsupportive and went off to sleep in the spare room. When you last posted he was being really helpful. I know my DH if he was in a bad mood would have done the same. I'm sure Amelia will be through this WW and sleeping again before you start work

Tilda - Hope to see more of you soon when you're settled and have internet access set up. Lovely to hear from you, hope the move went well. Has Matilda been sick too? I can't remember what I've read about who on Facebook these days.

Kawazuki - Good to see you pop in again! Are you finished up work now and a SAHM? Can't read back far enough on the advanced reply to see. Hope you have time now to get the sewing machine cranking.


For anyone that's interested, here's a link to the booklet that ACT Health gave out to the New Parenting classes I attended with Craig: ACT Health - From Milk to More This version is later than the one I had. It has lots of tips about when to start and how. We started Craig at lunchtime, at least an hour after a BF.

Craig never liked the Farex, but happily ate Rafferty's, so I've bought Rafferty's for Ryan. He's busy grabbing at everything when I'm eating. In fact, if I'm eating and I don't offer him some he actually starts to cry! He eats the Rafferty's rusks (with the banana), wholemeal toast with a tiny bit of vegemite, pieces of banana and watermelon. I have thing like a netted bag with a handle on it that you can put the food in and they can suck and chew away without choking on any big bits that might break off. Craig hated it but Ryan loves it.

My 12 Week Challenge is going well so far. One month down and over 5kg lost. I bought new jeans a size smaller and they're already getting big. Tomorrow I'm off to train with my Mother's Group and their personal trainer. I'd better get off to bed so I can get up and out in time!

[Alison1973]

Hi Suz - can I just say you are doing so well in this 12 week challenge, I keep hitting hurdles which are just bad excuses really - I've not done much exercise this week because I'm full of a head cold but that shouldn't give me reason to eat chocolate every night should it! Grrrr. And to top it all off today AF arrived so no wonder I've been craving chocolate........so my weigh in is going to suck big time - no chance of losing any, I always weigh more with AF let alone not exercising much on top of it, have only been for 2 walks this week. I've been so cranky pants today, DH ordered pizza for tea and was meant to get me a gluten free one of course but then he came home and I opened it and it wasn't gluten free. I got so angry at him for not checking it.....cracked the poops and had vegemite on toast for tea. He did offer to take it back but I was too annoyed ha ha - PMT much! I went into the other room and did some scrapbooking instead.....figured it would stop me from biting his head off about something else ridiculous. Funny thing is, now I'm kind of glad because it means I didn't eat something else fattening and naughty! Meant to be perhaps......

Well, off to bed for me, if I can shake this cold I reckon I'd get a decent night's sleep, Amelia has been fussing a bit the past couple of nights, I think she has a bit of my cold as her nose sounds a bit snuffly. I actually bought some of that Baby Balsam and put it on her before bed tonight so hopefully that will help. My Little Noses Fess aspirator is easy to squeeze, although I haven't tried it - maybe you got a dud Beany? I haven't used the Fess on Amelia yet, she doesn't seem too bad so I'll leave it until I think she needs it, truth be known I'm not keen to shove it up her nose, I hate spraying it up mine and she was watching me today use the big persons Fess with a look on her face like, what the hell are you doing mum ha ha. Oh and just to finish off I love how DH gets up to Amelia at night when needed while I have a cold - not. LOL. I'm on fire tonight girls! xx

[kawazuki]

Hi Kawazuki I won't hold it against you for saying you have a good sleeper...even if I wanted to I wouldn't have the energy while we're doing 2 hourly feeds at night still
I wish I was clever like you too with the sewing, I'm going to buy a sewing machine and see how I go, I've never sewn before but am determined to learn! Any tips on what brand/model machines are good? Actually any idea too on machines to stay away from? I figure at least I can manage a few blankets at least and then be able to take up my own pants, being 5"2 it's a nightmare getting anything to fit and I hate either having to pay someone or ask a friend to do it for me.

i love brother sewing machines.. i have a middle of the range one with automatic button hole. only has 16 stitches, but its all i need dont need fancy ones.
it does everything i need it to sews through 3 layers of bamboo easily and dosen't blink at fulffy tuff either..

good luck with it you will be addicted once you start

[willow5]

Hi girls, just quickly we're off to soccer...

Hi Kawa thanks for the info re sewing machines, that was a good tip with the bamboo and fluffy tough too, one other thing I thought I could manage was some pre folds, we like them but the sizes you can buy seem too big or too small...for chubby, chubby legs anyway! Might give some a go might be ok for us to use at home at least, and I'm guessing your machine wouldn't have dramas with denim either then?

Hi Suzi 5kgs! Well done! Thanks also for machine advice, I am considering an overlocker too, they're good for like taking up jeans, yes? Maybe??? As you can tell I really have no idea Are they very expensive? ...overlockers, not jeans LOL
Harry's night feeds have been more frequent a few more nights of hourly. which is taking it's toll! So yep I'm thinking WW

Hi Rose Hope all's well with you, thanks for the info re BL weaning book I'm on the hunt for a copy now. ...And go Liam 500g! What size Ittis has he grown out of? Are they not doing up or leaking? I've been getting leaks and I'm trying to work out if it's a washing issue, a bigger weeing volume issue or if maybe he needs a bigger size. I'm hoping I just need to get some more boosters much as I love buying nappies, the budget is tight and I thought the ones we had would do a fair while yet.

Better go and get organised for soccer, see you all later

[Alison1973]

Hi Girls,

Hope you all had lovely weekends.

Hi Beany - how's Michael's cold? I have the same issue now (see below)!

A very quick one from me, Amelia now has my cold, yukky nose - was up with her at 3.00 am for an hour, she was so upset and sounded like she was struggling to breathe through her nose. Used Fess and baby balsam and it helped. Also took me over an hour to get her to settle for her morning nap, just when I had it down pat!!!!! Now she's rolling from tummy to back as well she rolls all over the cot when I put her down so takes her twice as long to settle. Any suggestions on that? I'm going to buy a humidifier today, hope that helps her sleep better, honestly, gastro and now a cold, she can't take a trick poor petal!

xx

[willow5]

Hi Alison Harry's joining in with the colds now too he was up at 3 as well all snotty and hard to breathe. I got him back to sleep upright on me. We got a new vaporiser this morning too.
Poor Amelia that's really not fair right after the gastro!
The swing was great for his sleep this morning, I could put it on the upright setting so he pretty much slept sitting up but all comfy in the swing so that helped his nose a bit.

Beany Hows Michael going? Any luck with the snot sucking yet? Might have to give it a go myself not looking forward to that.

It's amazing how it all came straight back to me when he woke up at 3am that horrible helpless, freak out feeling you get with a sick baby YUCK!
Here's hoping they all get better really soon!

Hope everyone else is well

[kawazuki]

Hi Kawa thanks for the info re sewing machines, that was a good tip with the bamboo and fluffy tough too, one other thing I thought I could manage was some pre folds, we like them but the sizes you can buy seem too big or too small...for chubby, chubby legs anyway! Might give some a go might be ok for us to use at home at least, and I'm guessing your machine wouldn't have dramas with denim either then?

havent tried denim, but have givven it a good go with some cord it worked fine
as long as you use teh correct needles it wont eb an issue.

sorry i havent been on much, to busy sewing up a storm.
got a market on saturday which is one of teh bigger ones in teh southern highlands.. very excited.

i am finding the way im making my napies tehy are alsting Maree 5-7 hours at a go less nappy changes fdor me
and they are fitting her chubby thighs an issue i am having with a few nappies i have bought.

[willow5]

Hi Kawa Thanks for that.
Sounds like you're making some great nappies there! Good luck at the markets on Saturday

[Rose_Red]

Hi girls

All the poor bubs with their colds! Hope they're all feeling better - it's horrible when you can hear them struggling to breathe through the congestion, isn't it?

willow - Liam grew out of his small ittis a while back, has been in mediums for a good while now. He's just grown out of the size smalls in Baby Beehinds. With both, he outgrew the rise (being long and lean) while everything else still fit him - we discovered this the hard way, since he kept weeing out of the top of his nappy.

AFM - Still going along and just trying to stay sane while being sleep deprived. Liam's sleep has gotten better than it was recently - he's now getting at least one 4-hour block of sleep a night, which is good. Though he's been up at 6am the last three days *yawn*. I'm really hoping that we can go back to only one or two wakings at night again soon. I think we'll try moving him into his own room soon and see how he goes. Hopefully he won't be up all night, since his room is on the other side of the house.

[Plinky]

Hello ladies!

Willow - Oh no, sorry to hear little Harry has a cold too! Gosh, everyone is sick! Michael has been much the same for the past few days, very blocked, not much snot coming out tho. I actually had a mildly successful attempt at snot-sucking before, I managed to distract him by sitting him up in front of this musical toy thing, so I could quickly zip in and spray and suck a little bit. Hopefully it helped.

Alison - Oh poor little Amelia too...but, I guess looking at the positives, she's really building up her immune system! Another tip that might be worth doing, I put a rolled up towel under the head of the mattress, to try and keep him inclined during his sleep. Not sure if its made much of a difference, and he seems to move around a lot more - ended up with his feet at the top of the bed and head at the bottom yesterday! Um...what else do I do? Yeah, baby balsam on his chest and dab a bit on his clothes (soemwhere that he can't get into his mouth). I have the Vicks Warm Steam Vaporiser and put the vicks oil stuff in it so it gives off a eucalyptus-type smell. Thats really helped during the night, he even slept all night without a peep last night! But yeah, its horrible when its night time and they're crying and there really isn't a lot you can do to make them feel better Michael is the same with his naps too...takes up to 45 mins for him to go off. I'm hoping its just the cold. He was really good right before he got sick, doh! I don't have any suggestions tho, nothing I do seems to help with that

Suz - Thanks for those tips, I really dont' know what I'm doing wrong with the aspirator. He just moves so much when I try and do it that it pokes up his nose and hurts him Ooh, so what kind of things do you put in that little net bag thing? wE have one too, but I haven't used it yet. Thanks v much for that link too!

Rose - I'm glad Liam's sleep is slowly improving. Is he waking for feeds during the night, or waking and thinking its play time? Michael often wakes around 3am and thinks its morning and starts messing around, but *touch wood* he usually goes off again after an hour or so. How is he going with his solids?

Hello to everyone else!

AFM - not much to report...Michael still has his cold, its been a week now I wish I could just get all that snot out for him, apart from the blocked nose he seems fine. I've had it and am now over it, it was very mild, just a blocked nose and a bit of an irritated throat. But DH now has it too...and with his mum being sick none of us can see her so she hasn't seen Michael for over a week and prolly wont' till at least the weekend.

Tried rice cereal again, but with no luck...that time he swallowed some must have been a one-off. Not sure if I should be worried since he will be 6 months on Saturday and showing no signs of wanting solids

Thats about it really! I hope all the sick bubbas get well really really quickly

[willow5]

Hi Beany Don't worry too much about solids while he's still feeling crap he's probably not going to be too keen on eating, when he feels better he might want more, or maybe he just doesn't like the cereal? Neither of my boys would eat it when they were babies I put them onto oats/porridge..although I don't know what the protocol is on that these days, but I would've thought oats are a so called super food so might be ok??

Hi Rose We don't have the long lean problem, we have the short chunky problem, Harry's been in medium Ittis since he was about 2months old due to his chubbiness they still fit him but the leaks are round the legs, we have a couple of large which we use too, they last a bit longer before leaking but still seem to leak round the legs, so I'm a bit puzzled. We use BBH at night I stuff them with an Ishfly pre fold and 1 or 2 of the BBH boosters, the long oblongy/oval ones that come with each one, and they were working well until the last 10 days or so too now they're starting to leak, same place at the leg and up the side so maybe he's just weeing more, I might get some more Itti boosters and see how they go.
Hope you get some decent sleep soon, I know that creeping feeling of insanity, but it does get better!