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Hungry Squirrel posted:I want one day where I don't have to say "no" to my kid. I want to just say yes. Yes, you can have ice cream. Yes, you can sing "let it go" at the top of your lungs. Yes, you can touch that or climb that or bang on that. So do it? Take a mental day off, and let them be silly. It's not going to ruin their moral fibre or whatever to relax the rules for a day. They might even learn something like 'eating only marshmallows and cookies for dinner made my tummy hurt' or 'ow that stove / fireplace really is hot I guess I won't touch that any more'. On the latter point, a former work colleague had a son that would not give up on trying to touch the fireplace so they let it get hot enough to 'ouch' but not burn and then let him touch it with a finger. He yelled for a while but that was the end of him trying to touch the fireplace. Re noise, consider relaxing your rules a bit. Kids literally can't empathize with other people before about 5 years old so asking them to not bother others is a confusing concept. Re: things like not going to the park, if your kid wants to fart around, let them, and then if it is too dark then at that point say 'sorry we can't go since you took too long'. Kids can't really project future consequences but if you let them have the 'bad' things happen a few times they'll figure it out. Other examples, we say if our older son isn't done eating by 730 then no movie. Rather than getting increasingly mad as he farts around, we just let him go at his own pace with regular warnings and if he blows it then no movie. We haven't had any missed movies in a while now, although it could be that he just got older. The real answer is do what feels right. If you feel like you're saying no too much then say it less. You'll probably both be less frustrated and that might make it mean more when you really do need a firm no.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:22
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You don't have to breastfeed. It's great if you can buy if it really stresses her out and is not enjoyable formula is just fine. Recent studies even suggest the gap between formula and breastfeeding has been artificially inflated in the past because past studies didn't account for income. Either way don't feel guilty about it if it doesn't work out.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:33
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BonoMan posted:Is there a breastfeeding thread? My wife is breast feeding and 5 days in and it's just been a miserable experience. We just had our 2 day post leave check in at the hospital and baby is doing perfect. No weight loss even though the past 24 to 48 hours have been less than optimal breastfeeding (only latching for 5 or 10 minutes) and everything checked out perfectly normal. The pregnancy thread is going to be a better place to ask. But yeah, breastfeeding is really hard and takes a lot of work those first few days because neither your wife nor your baby knows what they're doing. Take advantage of consultations or other support your healthcare provider offers, look for LLL groups in your area, and keep working at it.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:41
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greatn posted:You don't have to breastfeed. It's great if you can buy if it really stresses her out and is not enjoyable formula is just fine. But 5 days in she doesn't need to be told that (because formula is simply not as good as breast milk. Nutritionally it is great, but you're loosing out on the immunological benefits), she needs to be told that for most people breastfeeding sucks massive donkey balls for the first couple of weeks, but that most problems can be fixed, and when they are, breastfeeding is super easy, convenient and awesome for baby! Quitting breastfeeding after five days because it's hard is like refusing to get into shape because you hurt all over after your first couple of workouts. It IS hard! Your boobs, your baby and you are all trying to get the hang of something you've never done before, but with help and good advice, or just plain time (we had a perfect latch, but my nipples still hurt like hell for close to 3 weeks simply because they had to adjust to being used for food every couple of hours around the clock. Then they toughened up, and my milk supply adjusted to babys needs, and we were good to go, and have been ever since!), breastfeeding will probably work out fine. If you've tried properly, and it doesn't work for either your boobs, you or baby, then there is definitely no reason to feel guilty about switching to formula. But just 5 days after birth breastfeeding sucked for pretty much every woman in the history of nursing.
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Aug 15, 2014 20:09
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Sockmuppet posted:If you've tried properly, and it doesn't work for either your boobs, you or baby, then there is definitely no reason to feel guilty about switching to formula. But just 5 days after birth breastfeeding sucked for pretty much every woman in the history of nursing. Yeah, I'm not sure anyone has loved breastfeeding at five days. I do think that's on the cusp of it *starting* to get better, though, as the milk volume increases. If you or your wife want to PM me, I'm a lactation counselor and can help troubleshoot.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:19
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BonoMan posted:Is there a breastfeeding thread? My wife is breast feeding and 5 days in and it's just been a miserable experience. We just had our 2 day post leave check in at the hospital and baby is doing perfect. No weight loss even though the past 24 to 48 hours have been less than optimal breastfeeding (only latching for 5 or 10 minutes) and everything checked out perfectly normal. My wife had tons of problems breastfeeding. Kids would fall asleep, latches sucked, nipples hurt, etc. We stuck with it (barely at times), and things did get better. The baby eventually figures things out, and then breastfeeding goes (more-or-less) smoothly. Definitely use lactation consultants; they are a total godsend. Also use the pregnancy megathread as it's good for advice up to 3 months post-birth.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:35
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Thanks again for the advice. She definitely doesn't WANT to stop, she's just at the end of her rope, so I'll see if I can encourage her further. Skeetied, I will probably message you at some point soon... Once she's up from her nap (it's about time to feed again), I'll see what specific questions she might have. Thanks for the offer!
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Aug 15, 2014 21:51
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BonoMan posted:Is there a breastfeeding thread? My wife is breast feeding and 5 days in and it's just been a miserable experience. We just had our 2 day post leave check in at the hospital and baby is doing perfect. No weight loss even though the past 24 to 48 hours have been less than optimal breastfeeding (only latching for 5 or 10 minutes) and everything checked out perfectly normal. My baby almost always was a 10 minute eater. He was just efficient. He also gained almost a pound a week for several weeks from weeks 3-6 or so so I know he was getting enough. The first 2-4 weeks are so hard. They are. Both of them are figuring out something completely new. It gets so much easier when they both figure it out. If this is something she wants to stick with long term maybe set a short term goal. Try to get to two weeks and see how she feels. It is normal for babies to want to nurse often, especially in the first few weeks and during growth spurts. I once nursed my son 20 times in a day. I almost lost my mind. But I had some great support and I'm still nursing my 14 month old. Does she have specific questions or concerns? Take her clothes off while nursing if she's falling asleep!
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Aug 15, 2014 21:58
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My kid was horrible with the falling asleep the minute she latched on-thing. I'd spend ages getting food into her because of it, and I'd tickle her feet, her palms, blow in her face, anything and everything I could think of. But that too was something that passed after a couple of weeks, when she wasn't an itty bitty newborn anymore. It really does help with most newborn issues to think of them as fetuses for the first month or so - humans have narrow pelvises for walking, so we need to birth our babies before they get too big, which is why they come out when they do, but they're not really finished, and adjusting to life outside the womb is hard!
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Aug 15, 2014 22:09
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Reading through this might help & I'm hoping Ldillz will come in with some more targeted advice. http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/ The first few weeks are really tough. I felt like my son wasn't nursing enough either at first, but he was gaining like crazy. He was just a really fast nurser.
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Aug 15, 2014 22:11
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That's a good point. After the 2 day checkup today and the doctor saying she was in great condition, then that could probably be it. Our short term goal is the two week mark since that's what every nurse tried to drill into us "it gets better after two weeks."
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Aug 15, 2014 22:22
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The fourth trimester!  Just remember that depression happens, to both moms and dads, and to get help if you need to.
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Aug 15, 2014 22:24
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Here are some videos that might be helpful with latching: http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=videos And more latching info here: http://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/ Here is what is normal with newborn breastfeeding: http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing/ How to know baby is getting enough milk: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/enough-milk/ Here are some positioning tips: http://www.llli.org/faq/positioning.html Waking a sleepy newborn: https://www.llli.org/docs/0000000000000001WAB/WAB_Tear_sheet_Toolkit/03_waking_a_sleepy_newborn.pdf Find a local La Leche League group: http://www.llli.org/webindex.html Depending on the size of your area, there may be multiple meetings a month and if not, and you want help right away, leaders will work with her via phone and/or email. There are some things that are outside the scope of LLL leaders (who are volunteer mothers that are experienced with breastfeeding, but are not medical professionals) and need more professional help. You can find an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant here: http://www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3432
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Aug 15, 2014 22:42
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When my wife and son were learning to breastfeed I tried to help out in every way that didn't involve the breastfeed part. Changing diaper before or during a feed. Trying to stimulate baby if he was getting to sleepy. That kind of easy stuff. I also learned that giving helpful tips I learned from the Internet while watching her try to feed was not the wonderful help I envisioned it to be. It gets better. Then in 2 months when baby wants to eat at 2 am you don't have to go make a bottle. You just use the milk that's on tap.
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Aug 15, 2014 23:01
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I don't know if your hospital has an on call lactation consultant. Ours luckily did. Book an appointment if you can, lactation consultants are like magic.
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Aug 15, 2014 23:39
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Seconding the It Gets Better on breast feeding. Remember that the baby is learning, just like you. Lanolin and ice packs can help with sore nipples. If the latch hurts, use your finger to break the suction, and re do the latch. Pain means something isn't right with the latch. Make sure not only the nipple, but the areola (dark part around the nipple) is getting in the baby's mouth. Just sucking on the nipple will cause pain and you can do some damage to your nipple. Don't introduce a bottle or pacifier for about a month. You want the baby to get used to using the nipple! The baby might also want to nurse for hours - get a comfy place, with magazines/phone/snack/drink all there and just camp out. Be encouraging and supportive! You can do it! You can do it!
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Aug 16, 2014 14:26
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Hungry Squirrel posted:If she would get dressed when I ask her to, the first time, we'd have time to play before school. If she would stop having potty accidents as we leave school, we could go play instead of coming home to change. If she would put on her shoes/go potty instead of playing around, we could go to the park before it gets dark. I feel like I could say yes more if she would say no less. But she's three, so she can't really understand that. Is there something about playing before school that requires being dressed? Can you play first and then get dressed? The moment you see her at school, the first words out of your mouth should be "if there's no potty accident, we'll go to the park and swing!". Then let nature take its course. Is there some benefit to going to the park as opposed to "playing around"? I became a better parent when I started asking myself "what's the loving difference?" We live in SoCal and have a lot of attractions near us, and like any red-blooded American I want to finish a ride and get in line for another ride. My daughter likes to swing around on line stanchions and examine dead bugs and pick flower petals off the ground. She likes going in the gift shop after the ride better than she likes the ride. It burns my rear end to spend $80 on a ticket to gently caress around doing nothing in the gardens inside one of these places, so now we go to the park and she examines dead bugs and hangs on railings and it's free. She has the same amount of fun, I save $80, and we both have a good day. Fridays is story time at the library. It's at 10. At 9:15 I tell her we have to finish breakfast and put our clothes on to leave for storytime. Some Fridays we make it. Some Fridays we miss it. Some Fridays we arrive 25 minutes late for a 30 minute storytime. This used to eat me up. But you know what? They don't dock my paycheck for skipping it or arriving late. The whole reason I go is to appease my daughter. Who cares? In summary... go to the pool when it's cold. Make truck noises when you pee. Stick your fingers through the kitten cage at the pet store. Eat (some) marshmallows for dinner. It makes the rest of the poo poo easier to say no to.
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Aug 16, 2014 17:44
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Nursing chat... The paci thing. That's definitely a YMMV thing. Liam had a paci right from the get go, and it didn't affect his latch one bit. I would have gone insane if he didn't have it; that kid wanted to suck on something constantly. If you want your baby to ever be able to take a bottle, introduce it (on a SLOW nipple; I think that's really the key thing) for one feed a day after a week or two. (If you wait months and months, then they won't want anything to do with it, and even if you exclusively nurse, there will be times they will need to take a bottle. Like if mom is sick, or when mom isn't around.) Mom can pump during that feed, and pumping gives her nipples a break. I always found the pump didn't hurt them nearly as much as the baby, even when they were very sore during those first couple weeks. Also that "if it hurts, there's something wrong with the latch" advice. I got told that too, but what no one tells you is that for the first couple weeks, it just hurts. Period. Great latch, still hurts. My wonderful Ped told me that in the hospital. Your nipples just have to get used to it, and not be so sensitive. Later, if a latch hurts, then re-do the latch for sure. But those first couple weeks, it just hurts. Sometimes nursing is just difficult, and varies from baby to baby. I had a terrible time with my first; he would never latch, he was always sleepy (yes, we did the naked thing, and the cold wash rag on his feet thing like the consultant said). Slept right through it; would just make a disgusted face in his sleep.  We tried nipple shields (not recommended), he just never figured out what to do. Would just lay there, milk dribbling on his face, staring at me with this confused little look. (At the time, it drove me to hysterical tears, now I'm chuckling remembering it.) I pumped and bottle fed him milk for 4 months, and every bit was as struggle. I didn't make much milk, despite pumping every 3 hours round the clock. It just sucked. So with my second, I was really anticipating the same horrible experience, and lo and behold, not one issue. Liam popped right on, every time. I made enough milk, he grew like a weed, and we had no problems. He took pacis, bottles, boob, some formula, whatever; everything was great until he started drawing blood at about 10 months, and I thought, that's enough of that. So I pumped a bit longer after that, and he went to regular milk. It was such a night and day difference from Tim. I would have never thought I could have such a different experience between babies.It does get better. Night time nursing is the very best thing. Lay that baby down, put a boob in it's mouth, and go right back to sleep. It's awesome. Best of luck, try to hang in there and give it a little bit more time. Treat each nurse as a victory and just make the goal for one more after that, each time. It gets better. 
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Aug 16, 2014 18:00
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Hungry Squirrel, I would encourage you to read this book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & How to Listen So Kids Will Talk by Faber & Mazlish. The chapters on getting cooperation have been very helpful in those morning scramble situations. I found a summary on the internet here: http://www.parentbooksummaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/02-How-to-Talk-so-Kids-Will-Listen.pdf But if you find it helpful you should buy the book. It covers some important (to my mind) aspects of parenting such as how to get children to know what they're feeling and be able to articulate it. Also the effects of praise and how to encourage kids in a way that will foster creativity rather than stifle it.
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Aug 16, 2014 23:03
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AlistairCookie posted:Also that "if it hurts, there's something wrong with the latch" advice. I got told that too, but what no one tells you is that for the first couple weeks, it just hurts. Period. Great latch, still hurts. My wonderful Ped told me that in the hospital. Your nipples just have to get used to it, and not be so sensitive. Later, if a latch hurts, then re-do the latch for sure. But those first couple weeks, it just hurts. This is so true that it needs repeating. I've breastfed before, so I knew that she was having a good latch but it was still so painful. I nearly gave up a billion times because I was in tears all the drat time. She refused to take a dummy and wanted to be at the breast 24/7. The pain combined with sleep depravation and hormones made it one of the hardest experiences of my life. But, like everyone says, it does get easier. So much easier. The best thing you can do is be supportive, reiterate that this is temporary and will get better, and help her as much as you can. She should try to keep going, but one formula feed or expressed feed won't be the end of the world. Sometimes all you need is a little break, so that you can pick yourself up and keep on trying.
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Aug 17, 2014 05:43
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The only way I got through that nipples toughening up (whilst cracked and bleeding) stage was to express using an electric pump for about a fortnight so I could give my body a chance to heal. My baby had a super strong latch and despite the best positioning, it was just too painful to keep putting her to the breast. But I ended up being able to continue to breastfeed that way, when before I was ready to give up.
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Aug 17, 2014 11:19
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You should absolutely not be cracking and bleeding if you have a good latch. I thought it was true with my first and suffered through weeks and weeks of pain and crying every time he latched. I had LC's tell me my latch was "perfect" and not a single one of them examined the structures in my son's mouth and I didn't know any better. I learned later that often lip and tongue ties can cause pain and issues with milk transfer (and low weight gain and decreasing supply as a result.) So when my daughter was born a few months ago, I was having the same issues: pain, cracking, blistering. There's a dentist in town that is well versed in how lip and tongue ties can affect breastfeeding, so I made an appointment with him when she was 5 days old because there was no way I was suffering through that pain again. She had a Class IV lip tie, just as I suspected. He cut it with a laser and within a couple days, my nipples had healed from the previous damage and nursing was pain free. There's a Facebook group with information and resources for connecting with local providers that have experiencing diagnosing ties and how it's related to breastfeeding. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tonguetiebabies/
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Aug 17, 2014 14:13
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I thought I had a good latch in the first 7-10 days but it hurt. A lot. I visited a lactation consultant and she did a couple of small things and adjusted the latch and it went from almost unbearable to no pain at all. If you are having trouble, seek out help.
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Aug 17, 2014 14:17
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Reiterating my "if it hurts, stop." There is a difference between tenderness from nursing non-stop and crying as soon as the kid latches on. I ended up with a hole in my left nipple because I didn't realize that his whole mouth needed to be on the nipple and the areola. Took a month to heal, and drastically affected my left breast's supply because I nursed on the right side for a week. No one in the hospital picked up on me doing that (kid was sucking on part of the nipple) and I could have spared myself some real agony. If it hurts, it's not being done correctly, whether it's mechanical or physical.
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Aug 18, 2014 02:40
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My daugther is 9 months (today!!) and I don't feel the need to give her solids just yet. We nurse at home and I pump bottles for her at daycare. We actually did start her on jarred baby food around 7 months, but I feel like we went too quickly with them. She loved everything we gave her. She got constipated (less frequent movements and increasingly harder stool until it turned into hard pellets) and started refusing her bottled milk. At the advice of our pediatrician's office, we tried giving her white grape juice and pear juice, both of which she refused. We tried feeding her only pears and prunes if she got baby food at all. At this point, the daycare continued to feed her baby food even if she hadnt't finished her bottle. We have given her a suppository twice, which worked in seconds. We finally decided to stop the solids for a few weeks. I know solids are only for practice before a year and she is growing like a weed. Is this an ok route to take for another month or so?
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Aug 19, 2014 15:57
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The Grumpy Snail posted:My daugther is 9 months (today!!) and I don't feel the need to give her solids just yet. We nurse at home and I pump bottles for her at daycare. We actually did start her on jarred baby food around 7 months, but I feel like we went too quickly with them. She loved everything we gave her. She got constipated (less frequent movements and increasingly harder stool until it turned into hard pellets) and started refusing her bottled milk. Less frequent and increasingly harder stools is to be expected. Babies beginning to eat solids frequently have harder stools and consistency isn't really an indicator of constipation. Constipation is going to look more like painful straining, attempting to poop with nothing coming out, no stools for a week. It is perfectly common for babies that age to not poop for days at a time and as long as they don't seem uncomfortable, it's totally fine and doesn't require a suppository. (FWIW, sometimes my kid's poo poo looks like the droppings of a giant rabbit. He seems completely unfazed by this, no straining, no real difference in diet in the days leading up to it.) That said, "under one, just for fun" is the general rule. She should still be getting the great majority of her calories from breastmilk or formula and solids at this point should be for practice and variety. If she's happy just eating formula and breastmilk, there's no reason she can't. If she wants the solids, I'd continue giving them just in limited amounts as long as she's not in pain over pooping. She doesn't have to eat solids at every meal, it's okay for it to just be a couple of tablespoons once or twice a day. Give her body time to figure out how to process and eliminate solid food, it's a learning curve for her GI tract just as much as it is for her. Also, my kid has refused juice since birth as well. I kept my kid regular with prunes, pears, applesauce, and giving him sips of water with his meals once he was over 6 months.
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Aug 19, 2014 16:39
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Thank you. She was in pain, crying and straining with nothing to show for it. I feel bad for taking away something she obviously liked, but she doesn't seem to have noticed.
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Aug 19, 2014 17:00
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My toddler wants to do everything for herself, herself. That's nice! ...Including things that she can't physically do due to strength or coordination or cognition. That's less fun. Changing her diaper? "Baby do it!" Putting milk in the sippy cup with the lid even I have trouble popping when cold? "Baby do it!" Getting her in the car seat? "Baby do it!" Making any kind of meal for her? "Baby do it!" At least with this one, I've learned to move a stool near the counter so that she can watch and do simple things, which is enough. For now. Opening a wrapper for a snack? "Baby do it!" Getting dressed? "Baby do it!" And god help you if you actually do anything for her, that's a meltdown, unless she spends about two minutes and gets frustrated enough to say yes to "daddy do it?" She's basically David Cross's character from Scary Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDNdknVXPwA I know that she's a toddler, and I'm glad that she wants to do things by herself, but it gets super frustrating when it's 6am and she's just spacing out instead of doing what she INSISTS only she can do. Nothing you all don't already know, but I just wanted to vent, and I finally remembered what movie that character was from. Volmarias fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Aug 19, 2014 |
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Aug 19, 2014 17:35
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The Grumpy Snail posted:I know solids are only for practice before a year and she is growing like a weed. Is this an ok route to take for another month or so? I didn't start solids with my first two kids until around 7-months, because I wanted them to be sitting up on their own and have the dexterity to feed themselves. It just made life easier, since we did baby-led weaning and handed them squishy stuff or laid out finger foods in front of them. Neither took well to being fed by a spoon, so we ended up giving them easy-to-eat stuff like fruit, eggs, mushy veggies, etc. I also currently have a 5 1/2 month old and he's still only on formula. Growing like a weed, meeting all the milestones, so if all goes well we will use the same timeline for solids with him.
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Aug 19, 2014 17:45
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photomikey posted:In summary... go to the pool when it's cold. Make truck noises when you pee. Stick your fingers through the kitten cage at the pet store. Eat (some) marshmallows for dinner. It makes the rest of the poo poo easier to say no to. This is poetry. I am working very hard at this; my husband and I find it very easy to fall into the "NO all the time" trap. It's hard, especially if you were raised in a NO environment. It's almost a reflex at this point. What helps me is to take a deep breath and count to five. If I'm still bothered by whatever he's doing I go ahead and say no and redirect. Otherwise I just try to smile and say "heh, you're silly" and he goes "Yeah!" and we both move on. Obviously this does not apply to situations that are potentially dangerous, like if he tries to teabag the dog (this is a more common problem than I would have thought) or jump onto the hot stove. Reserve your nos for them. 
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Aug 19, 2014 17:59
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VorpalBunny posted:I didn't start solids with my first two kids until around 7-months, because I wanted them to be sitting up on their own and have the dexterity to feed themselves. It just made life easier, since we did baby-led weaning and handed them squishy stuff or laid out finger foods in front of them. Neither took well to being fed by a spoon, so we ended up giving them easy-to-eat stuff like fruit, eggs, mushy veggies, etc. I was all for baby led weaning when the time came. I even bought a cookbook for ideas, but I still can't grasp how to put it into action. She won't nurse for an hour or so after we get home from work and I want her to do that before giving her food. But she takes so long to nurse that by the time she's had what seems to be a full meal, its time for her to go to bed. She usually passes out while nursing anyway. Would you suggest waking her up to let her have a few bites of food?
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Aug 20, 2014 01:04
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/\/\ How old is she? More than 6 months? Save the nurse for before bed, and give her table food when you all get home from work. It's natural for them to fall asleep when they're having a feed; capitalize on it, and work with what she's doing. You don't have to nurse before table food; don't worry about her not getting enough milk. When they start eating table food, their milk consumption will decrease a little bit; that's okay. Worry less and roll with it.
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Aug 20, 2014 01:28
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The Grumpy Snail posted:Would you suggest waking her up to let her have a few bites of food? No way! Let sleeping babies lie! Once she starts cutting down the nursing time a bit, maybe then it's time to give her a few minutes with some oatmeal or applesauce before she gets ready for bed. What's 5 minutes to discover a new taste or texture? We nursed until they were satisfied, then let them play with food and put it in their mouth. It is more about learning about the mechanics of eating than it is about nutrition. The main thing we focused on was eating together as a family. Even if the kid just sat in the high chair and rubbed bananas in his hair, we sat together as a family and he was only dismissed when we were all done. Then it was straight to bath and the bedtime routine. Mornings are much more "clean" foods like eggs and chopped up bacon, or toast with butter, and lunches are fingers foods like cut up sandwiches or pieces of string cheese, or diced hot dogs or chicken nuggets. I cannot stress enough the importance of creating eating routines for kids. If you want a kid who will not throw food in a restaurant and actually sit in their high chair for the length of a meal, you have to start them early. We actually prop up our youngest, who is still on formula, in a bumbo next to the dining table and include him in the conversation. Sit with them, eat with them, talk to them, develop rules and stick to them, don't be afraid to discipline them - I have seen so many families that don't eat together, or the kids eat on their own or with a nanny or something, and they are then shocked at the kid's behavior at family gatherings or restaurants.
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Aug 20, 2014 01:31
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The Grumpy Snail posted:I was all for baby led weaning when the time came. I even bought a cookbook for ideas, but I still can't grasp how to put it into action. She won't nurse for an hour or so after we get home from work and I want her to do that before giving her food. But she takes so long to nurse that by the time she's had what seems to be a full meal, its time for her to go to bed. She usually passes out while nursing anyway. What do you typically do for breakfast with her? If you have time to wash her before heading off to daycare, you could slice up some pears or bananas and let her mash them at her face. (Or avocado, but my son disliked the slipperiness of avocado; or carrots, but you'd have to steam them first.) Once she's started squishing things with her gums, you could give her a handful of rice cereal (the crunchy cereal bits made for babies that dissolve extra-quickly, not the oatmeal-textured stuff, though you could make extra-thick cereal and let her mash that at her face too). Edit: If you can try it on a weekend or something, so you know how messy she'll want to get, that'd be better; my son rarely needed more than having his face washed after a meal until I started just giving him our food but cut up tiny, so it worked to have him have fruit or carrots for breakfast, but if you discover that your daughter likes to rub food into her hair that'd be a different story. zonohedron fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Aug 20, 2014 |
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Aug 20, 2014 01:37
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Baby teeth are just the worst. Nothing like having your son come to you two hours after he was supposed to have gone to sleep, blood all down his chin, and going "Look, I got a tooth out!" Boy just cannot let the drat things fall out when they're ready. Wiggles and worries at it until he gets it out. I can't wait for them to be done with.
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Aug 20, 2014 06:07
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poo poo my kids started solids at 5 months.
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Aug 20, 2014 12:17
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We did not super strict baby lead weaning. We just sort of went with the flow and offered him food when we ate. He was pretty uninterested in food until his first set of molars came in at around 9/10 months. Then he started eating everything.
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Aug 20, 2014 14:04
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AngryRobotsInc posted:Baby teeth are just the worst. Nothing like having your son come to you two hours after he was supposed to have gone to sleep, blood all down his chin, and going "Look, I got a tooth out!" Boy just cannot let the drat things fall out when they're ready. Wiggles and worries at it until he gets it out. I can't wait for them to be done with. Tough kid.
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Aug 20, 2014 14:18
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Alistair, she is 9 months old, but we've had some difficulty with her stomach, previously. I feel that she needs to have milk first and foremost, just to make sure she doesn't get stopped up again. I'm worried she will decide she doesn't like pooping because it hurts which will cause even more problems. Vorpal, I don't think we are going to have a problem with her eating. She would eat all the food in the world if I let her. She sits in her highchair while we have dinner and I give her a few cereal puffs to keep her occupied. Timing is just horrible. She gets her last bottle at daycare at 4 or so and we pick her up at 5. She is not interested in nursing until 6 or 7 and if she pretty much puts herself to bed around 7:30 or 8. I guess we could give her a few bites of baby food while we eat dinner, then nurse? zonohedron, I don't give her breakfast at the moment. She got a "breakfast" of cereal and fruit after her first bottle. I wake her up at 6 to nurse then its off to daycare and work. Maybe I'm thinking about this too much? If I didn't have to work things could take a more natural course. I'm just always worried about not having enough milk to get her through the next day. Its all I think about.
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Aug 20, 2014 17:32
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I feel you on the confusion on how to transition. Kiddo will be 8 months on Saturday. We nurse 3-4am, 5-6am(after I wake up), 5-6pm, 8-9pm. He gets around 2 bottles of milk at daycare, and tries the breakfast baby meal and lunch baby meal. My problem is my schedule is different every evening when I get home, which makes it hard to set up a real dinner time. My husband and I have a habit of eating late (7pm and later) because our schedules trend towards us getting home after 6pm. By the time I get home- kiddo is hungry and booby snacks are the easiest. Then we eat and then he snacks and goes to bed. I would like to introduce more food but it just seems like time won't let us. I probably need to try to re-arrange my work schedule so I can get things easier for us. But yeah - feeding kids is hard. I didn't realize that until now.
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Aug 20, 2014 17:49
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