Well I've felt totally wrecked today. Daisy's got a cold and her sleep is all over the place. She woke at 12 but resettled without a feed, then at 1am she had a feed but wouldn't settle so I put her in our bed and she went straight to sleep. But then she woke just before 4 and would not go back to sleep, she was wide awake - happy enough at first and just shouting/screeching very loudly - but then eventually got tired but couldn't seem to drop off. She eventually went back to sleep at 6.15am - and our alarm goes off at 6.30!
Just don't know what to do about it. I do think it's partly that she has a cold so can't suck her thumb cos she can't breathe properly, but she also seems to now be in the habit of needing to be fed to go back to sleep. She isn't like this in the day - she settles to sleep without any crying or anything now. Am wondering whether to try a bottle for her dreamfeed, and maybe formula instead of EBM as I just don't have time to express during the day at the moment. She's never taken a bottle though so I don't like my chances...
Monday, 31 January 2011
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Farewell to our friends...
...Sarah, Nick and Charlotte. They are moving to Northampton next week, so we went out for lunch with them today to say goodbye.
Sarah and I met via netmums when we were both fairly new mums, and met up quite often until we were both back at work. We stayed in touch and started meeting up again when I was on maternity leave with Daisy and Sarah had decided to leave her job. We ventured to several new playgroups together, taking it in turns to be embarrassed by our toddlers' stroppy behaviour. There was also the "stuck in the lift" incident at the soft play centre, which still haunts me to this day!
We will be sad to see them go, but hopefully we will stay in touch and perhaps meet up from time to time. I think having a baby gives you a bond and in some ways makes it easier to forge friendships, as you have this one massive thing in common.
Here are Jamie and Charlotte hugging goodbye, awww!
Sarah and I met via netmums when we were both fairly new mums, and met up quite often until we were both back at work. We stayed in touch and started meeting up again when I was on maternity leave with Daisy and Sarah had decided to leave her job. We ventured to several new playgroups together, taking it in turns to be embarrassed by our toddlers' stroppy behaviour. There was also the "stuck in the lift" incident at the soft play centre, which still haunts me to this day!
We will be sad to see them go, but hopefully we will stay in touch and perhaps meet up from time to time. I think having a baby gives you a bond and in some ways makes it easier to forge friendships, as you have this one massive thing in common.
Here are Jamie and Charlotte hugging goodbye, awww!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Things I love time again
I thought it was time I shared a few of the things I am loving about my two little people...
- I love how Jamie runs into our bedroom in the morning, shouts "hey-yo Daisy!" and goes straight over to see her
- I love how much she loves him. She absolutely ADORES him. Even though sometimes he is really quite rough with her (the other day, Iwalked into the bedroom to find him standing on her stomach...!), she can't get enough of him
- I love how it feels to kiss her fuzzy head
- I love snuggling up with Jamie to read him his bedtime stories. At the moment it has to be "The Gruffalo", "The Gruffalo's Child" and "Each Peach Pear Plum", and he loves them.
- I love hearing Jamie sing. He's picking up the tunes to all his favourite TV programmes at the moment, and loves to sing along. He tends to make up the bits he can't remember though!
There are lots more, but that'll do for now.
- I love how Jamie runs into our bedroom in the morning, shouts "hey-yo Daisy!" and goes straight over to see her
- I love how much she loves him. She absolutely ADORES him. Even though sometimes he is really quite rough with her (the other day, Iwalked into the bedroom to find him standing on her stomach...!), she can't get enough of him
- I love how it feels to kiss her fuzzy head
- I love snuggling up with Jamie to read him his bedtime stories. At the moment it has to be "The Gruffalo", "The Gruffalo's Child" and "Each Peach Pear Plum", and he loves them.
- I love hearing Jamie sing. He's picking up the tunes to all his favourite TV programmes at the moment, and loves to sing along. He tends to make up the bits he can't remember though!
There are lots more, but that'll do for now.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
The food wars #2
Today we made an interesting discovery. If we put some ketchup and brown sauce on Jamie's plate, he will dip and eat absolutely anything, even things previously point-blank refused! We had toad in the hole with veg for lunch, and he ate veggie sausage, carrots, peas, broad beans, sweetcorn, roast potato AND yorkshire pud, all after being dipped into his sauce. OK, so ketchup might not be particularly healthy, but it feels like a breaththrough and a way of getting him eating new things. And I shouldn't really be suprised, seeing as his Dad puts red and brown sauce on EVERYTHING!
We gave him loads of praise for eating well, and he sat up with us with no fuss whatsoever. I plan on giving him loads of veg with his waffles every day now!
We gave him loads of praise for eating well, and he sat up with us with no fuss whatsoever. I plan on giving him loads of veg with his waffles every day now!
Friday, 14 January 2011
Breastfeeding bashing
Today, breastfeeding really hit the headlines. Four scientists reviewed the research and studies on breastfeeding and weaning, and came to the conclusion that it might be best to start weaning breastfed babies onto solids at around 4 months, instead of 6. One of the reasons being that iron levels may be starting to fall, and therefore exclusively BF babies may be at risk from anaemia (even though other studies have proved that the iron in breastmilk is much more easily absorbed than that in formula). They also said that BFing til 6 months could increase the risk of certain allergies and coeliac disease - though many other studies have pretty conclusively proven that BFing reduces the risk of developing allergies, asthma and ezcema, as well as diabetes and obesity.
The media really jumped on the bandwagon and published the most amazingly inaccurate headlines - for eg. "breast may NOT be best" and "exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months may HARM babies"...with talk of "new research". In actual fact, there had not been any new research, and it turned out that 3 of the 4 scientists who wrote the review were being paid by infant formula and baby food companies. So perhaps they were just a little bit biased. Also, they only reviewed around 30 studies that have been carried out over the past few years, whereas the World Health Organisation, when coming up with the 6 month guidelines, reviewed over 3000. What these scientists wrote was an opinion piece, and for some reason the media jumped on it and twisted it to show breastfeeding in the worst possible light.
The thing that annoyed me most was that one of the scientists said that very few babies would have been harmed by being exclusively BF for 6 months, because so few parents in the UK actually followed the guidelines anyway. Well, as a parent - one of the 1% - who DID follow them, what am I supposed to make of that? I only need to take one look at my healthy, rosy-cheeked, smiley little girl to know that she hasn't been harmed. So I'm not overly worried. It does upset me seeing BFing being attacked though. I had such a hard time BFing Jamie, and really fought to keep going because I believed it was the best thing for him. I'm so glad I persevered with it though. With Daisy it's been easy and straightforward right from the beginning, and I absolutely love BFing her. I hope to continue for as long as she wants.
The media really jumped on the bandwagon and published the most amazingly inaccurate headlines - for eg. "breast may NOT be best" and "exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months may HARM babies"...with talk of "new research". In actual fact, there had not been any new research, and it turned out that 3 of the 4 scientists who wrote the review were being paid by infant formula and baby food companies. So perhaps they were just a little bit biased. Also, they only reviewed around 30 studies that have been carried out over the past few years, whereas the World Health Organisation, when coming up with the 6 month guidelines, reviewed over 3000. What these scientists wrote was an opinion piece, and for some reason the media jumped on it and twisted it to show breastfeeding in the worst possible light.
The thing that annoyed me most was that one of the scientists said that very few babies would have been harmed by being exclusively BF for 6 months, because so few parents in the UK actually followed the guidelines anyway. Well, as a parent - one of the 1% - who DID follow them, what am I supposed to make of that? I only need to take one look at my healthy, rosy-cheeked, smiley little girl to know that she hasn't been harmed. So I'm not overly worried. It does upset me seeing BFing being attacked though. I had such a hard time BFing Jamie, and really fought to keep going because I believed it was the best thing for him. I'm so glad I persevered with it though. With Daisy it's been easy and straightforward right from the beginning, and I absolutely love BFing her. I hope to continue for as long as she wants.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
The food wars
I used to feel pretty happy with Jamie's diet. He would try new things, and overall ate a pretty good variety of food with lots of fruit and veg. He has had a mainly vegetarian diet but I always made sure he had veggie food that contained lots of protein and iron.
Not anymore.
He now wants the same thing every day for lunch: waffle, vegetable fingers and peas. I can also get him to have scrambled egg because he likes to help stir it, and beans...but that's about it these days. We seem to have gone down a slippery slope and now he won't try anything new or even things he used to eat no problem.
I've been trying to gradually ease new things in. The other day, I snuck a quorn chicken nugget onto his plate and he was fooled as it was breaded like the veggie fingers - and ate it. Then I really pushed the boat out and added some sweetcorn in with his peas. Fail. He then wouldn't eat any of the peas!! I'm trying to just go with it, and generally let him have the things he likes, with a few of the things he doesn't on the plate too. I think it's just his age, and I don't want mealtimes to become a huge battle, so I am trying to stay relaxed. But it's hard not to get cross when he won't let even a morsel of the delicious cottage pie I have made a huge batch of for the freezer, pass his lips.
Luckily he'll still eat a lot of fruit, so he won't be getting scurvy anytime soon. In an effort to get him sitting to the table, I've just ordered a booster seat so that I can strap him in place, as Daisy now needs the highchair. Hopefully us all eating together will help him get over his fussiness. In the meantime I am bulk-buying waffles!
Not anymore.
He now wants the same thing every day for lunch: waffle, vegetable fingers and peas. I can also get him to have scrambled egg because he likes to help stir it, and beans...but that's about it these days. We seem to have gone down a slippery slope and now he won't try anything new or even things he used to eat no problem.
I've been trying to gradually ease new things in. The other day, I snuck a quorn chicken nugget onto his plate and he was fooled as it was breaded like the veggie fingers - and ate it. Then I really pushed the boat out and added some sweetcorn in with his peas. Fail. He then wouldn't eat any of the peas!! I'm trying to just go with it, and generally let him have the things he likes, with a few of the things he doesn't on the plate too. I think it's just his age, and I don't want mealtimes to become a huge battle, so I am trying to stay relaxed. But it's hard not to get cross when he won't let even a morsel of the delicious cottage pie I have made a huge batch of for the freezer, pass his lips.
Luckily he'll still eat a lot of fruit, so he won't be getting scurvy anytime soon. In an effort to get him sitting to the table, I've just ordered a booster seat so that I can strap him in place, as Daisy now needs the highchair. Hopefully us all eating together will help him get over his fussiness. In the meantime I am bulk-buying waffles!
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Running update
I can now run for 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been following the run/walk program for the past 7 weeks, and have been really enjoying it. Each week, the intervals I had to run for got longer, and at the start of the week I'd think I wouldn't be able to do it - but I have, and now I can run for a whole half an hour without stopping. I'm covering almost 4 kilometres, so my next goal is to increase my pace so that I can cover 5K, and then I can enter a race.
I can see how running can become addictive - I really love it now. Although I feel apprehensive before each run, I feel so good afterwards when I've completed it, there is such a sense of achievement. I've also loved being out in the fresh air, and a lot of the time I've been running in the snow, which has been fun. It also feels good to be doing something just for me, and it's a great destresser at the end of a busy day with the kids.
I've been following the run/walk program for the past 7 weeks, and have been really enjoying it. Each week, the intervals I had to run for got longer, and at the start of the week I'd think I wouldn't be able to do it - but I have, and now I can run for a whole half an hour without stopping. I'm covering almost 4 kilometres, so my next goal is to increase my pace so that I can cover 5K, and then I can enter a race.
I can see how running can become addictive - I really love it now. Although I feel apprehensive before each run, I feel so good afterwards when I've completed it, there is such a sense of achievement. I've also loved being out in the fresh air, and a lot of the time I've been running in the snow, which has been fun. It also feels good to be doing something just for me, and it's a great destresser at the end of a busy day with the kids.
Monday, 3 January 2011
New Year, same old behaviour
Jamie's behaviour has been a complete nightmare since Christmas! He constantly pushes the boundaries, does things he knows he shouldn't, ignores us when we tell him "no"...he has been a regular visitor to the naughty chair over the past few days. He keeps climbing on chairs in the kitchen to reach and play with the sink, or the microwave..the other day we noticed just in time that he's put a bunch of keys into the microwave and was about to turn it on...could have been nasty! A huge sigh of relief is breathed once he's in bed.
I'm putting some of it down to the lack of routine over Christmas, and being stuck indoors a lot because of the snow. And, we have waved a sad goodbye to the lunchtime nap, once and for all. Whenever I tried to put him to bed, he'd scream and shout and bang his wardrobe doors..not good at a time when Daisy is catching some zeds herself. So I have reluctantly conceeded that he no longer really needs it. But god, it makes the days seem much longer not having that 2 hour break in the middle to catch my breath from the whirlwind that is Jamie at 2 and a half. I realise now just how lucky I've been that he was still having a 2 hour sleep when Daisy was born, and for the first 4 months of her life. But anyway, I'm sure we will adapt to the new routine and find things to fill the day...it will be nice to have some one-to-one time with Jamie in the middle of the day while Daisy sleeps. But for now, Cbeebies is my friend ;)
I'm putting some of it down to the lack of routine over Christmas, and being stuck indoors a lot because of the snow. And, we have waved a sad goodbye to the lunchtime nap, once and for all. Whenever I tried to put him to bed, he'd scream and shout and bang his wardrobe doors..not good at a time when Daisy is catching some zeds herself. So I have reluctantly conceeded that he no longer really needs it. But god, it makes the days seem much longer not having that 2 hour break in the middle to catch my breath from the whirlwind that is Jamie at 2 and a half. I realise now just how lucky I've been that he was still having a 2 hour sleep when Daisy was born, and for the first 4 months of her life. But anyway, I'm sure we will adapt to the new routine and find things to fill the day...it will be nice to have some one-to-one time with Jamie in the middle of the day while Daisy sleeps. But for now, Cbeebies is my friend ;)
Saturday, 1 January 2011
...and hello 2011!
So it's a new year and I'm wondering what it has got in store for us. Last year was special in lots of ways - a birth, a new job and an engagement...I'm not sure how 2011 will top that. But there are lots of exciting times ahead - no.1 being that we hope to put our house on the market very soon and move somewhere bigger and better. We have already found and viewed the perfect house, in Tewkesbury, and we have our fingers crossed that it doesn't sell too soon so that we can put an offer in.
I have lots of smaller, quieter hopes for this year though...I hope to spend as much time as possible with my babies, to watch them grow and develop, to have fun and create happy memories for them. I hope Jamie settles in at preschool when he starts in February. I think he's going to find it hard at first and it breaks my heart to think of leaving him there unhappy...but I know he needs to spread his wings and spend time away from me, learning new things and making new friends.
I hope I can relax a bit more this year, to go with the flow and just live in the moment, not worrying about how dusty the house is or the fact that there are 20 zillion different toys scattered over the living room. That stuff doesn't matter, and I know when I'm old, I'm not going to look back and wish I'd got the hoover out more often. I'll wish for more time with my children, happy, simple times just spent together enjoying each other.
I also hope that I continue with my running. I feel really good about how I've stuck to my programme and how much I've improved in the short time I've been doing it. It's something just for me, and I really love it. I hope to enter a 5K race sometime in the Spring and then perhaps a 10K.
So hello 2011, I can't wait to find out what you've got in store for us!
I have lots of smaller, quieter hopes for this year though...I hope to spend as much time as possible with my babies, to watch them grow and develop, to have fun and create happy memories for them. I hope Jamie settles in at preschool when he starts in February. I think he's going to find it hard at first and it breaks my heart to think of leaving him there unhappy...but I know he needs to spread his wings and spend time away from me, learning new things and making new friends.
I hope I can relax a bit more this year, to go with the flow and just live in the moment, not worrying about how dusty the house is or the fact that there are 20 zillion different toys scattered over the living room. That stuff doesn't matter, and I know when I'm old, I'm not going to look back and wish I'd got the hoover out more often. I'll wish for more time with my children, happy, simple times just spent together enjoying each other.
I also hope that I continue with my running. I feel really good about how I've stuck to my programme and how much I've improved in the short time I've been doing it. It's something just for me, and I really love it. I hope to enter a 5K race sometime in the Spring and then perhaps a 10K.
So hello 2011, I can't wait to find out what you've got in store for us!
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