FEBRUARY HEARTS Due in February 2015 , open group all welcome!

[SurpriseBub]

Family dinners together are great! I grew up with them and want my kids to get used to them, too. No TV dinners and eating separately like my DH's family did...

I always wanted them growing up, but my mum refused for some reason. :S

We said "when we get married and are living together we will do proper dinners"... that hasn't quite happened, but with baby I am serious this time!!

Very wise words about not planning too far ahead, readynwilling. I am so curious about this baby's personality... congrats on your little boy! What a lovely little family you have!

 

[readynwilling]

thanks surprisebub. I was such a planner with my DD while preggo - all these great ideas i had LOL. NONE OF THEM PANNED OUT hahaha, but i have a very happy little girl as i followed her cues. She might be a touch spoiled now, but she really is a very good, very happy kid. I feel like im always being pulled in 100 directions with one kid who wants lunch and one who wants to eat later and go to the park now LOL but at the end of the day everyone is fed and alive and ive done my job

 

[savvysaver]

So thankful for all the great knowledge shared here today! Thanks ladies, I feel like I am always learning something new here!

 

[MellyH]

Yes, great to read all the different experiences and points of view!

 

[ttc126]

Have any of you ladies checked out Lucies List? Just wanted to share it as she had great info during pregnancy and then tons of research and reviews on baby products etc! She also talks about nursing, taking care of yourself after delivery, and did baby led weaning with one of her daughters It's a great resource!

https://www.lucieslist.com/

 

[MellyH]

Hahah yes, I've been running most of my purchases past Lucie's List to see how they stack up!

 

[MiniBump]

I was curious about what the NHS in the UK advises on weaning, and found this page: https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/solid-foods-weaning.aspx

That pretty much mirrors my Swiss nanny family's approach. Also interested to see the NHS specifically say to wait on wheat/gluten... my SIL (in the US) was advised by her pediatrician to start with grains (rather than veg) at 4 months :s ....so that is both too early and the wrong thing to start with according to the NHS... I wonder if that is just her pediatrician's advice or whether they really advise that in general over here??

When I say 'you' here SurpriseBub, I mean anyone, not you specifically!

Advice does vary according to where you are in the world (adding solids at 4 months is oooold advice!) but it's generally accepted now that before 6 months it can be risky to add anything (including baby rice or cereal) to the diet but breastmilk and/formula as baby's gut probably hasn't closed properly and you risk introducing infection (or triggering allergies). For some babies it's fine and some will help themselves to food anyway so, again, watch your baby's cues first and foremost rather than trying to meet magical 'targets' that are really only broad guidelines.

I, personally, didn't do purees (or those jars of slop you can buy - has anyone tasted one of those?!) as I didn't see the point. Moving what is essentially liquid around their mouths doesn't aid baby's chewing or tongue and jaw development so, if you want to offer pureed fruit or veg (although boiling it in finger sized pieces until soft is easier, less messy and baby can feed his/her self whilst you eat and they watch and learn) it's good to make sure it still has a few soft lumps.

Also I'm hoping we're all clear on the word 'weaning' because, apparently, in the US it means stopping breastfeeding whereas in the UK we just mean introducing solid foods! x

 

[christina1612]

Hi ladies just checking in, how many more are waiting for their gender scans? Mine is in 2 weeks and i keep getting a bad feeling that the baby will have its legs crossed and we cant find out :/ on the plus side I can really feel baby moving now, several times a day which is amazing.

 

[MrsTM1]

Hi ladies just checking in, how many more are waiting for their gender scans? Mine is in 2 weeks and i keep getting a bad feeling that the baby will have its legs crossed and we cant find out :/ on the plus side I can really feel baby moving now, several times a day which is amazing.

Still waiting here, 1 week and 6 days to go!

 

[savvysaver]

Have any of you ladies checked out Lucies List? Just wanted to share it as she had great info during pregnancy and then tons of research and reviews on baby products etc! She also talks about nursing, taking care of yourself after delivery, and did baby led weaning with one of her daughters It's a great resource!

https://www.lucieslist.com/

Thanks! I never heard of Lucies List! Gives me something to do today!

 

[ttc126]

Hahaha! Mini bump i thought weaning meant intro to foods as well! I'm in the US and i guess when someone has ended bf, my friends have said "totally weaned" "off milk" or "done with bf".... Funny what means different things in different cultures

I also fed my son "jars of slop" (lol!!!!) and my purpose was to get him to accept new tastes. I've read a lot about how you don't have long to introduce new tastes as by 18 months they have strong opinions on what they will/won't eat. I will say I tasted everything i gave him and it wasn't too bad to me.

I was advised by the pediatrician to start a small amount of pureed fruit/veggies once a day at 6 months. At 8 months we were to increase texture and go to twice a day. 10 months we started in with 3 times a day and way more texture. We didn't follow baby led weaning as it just didn't feel like a good fit for our family. However i may look into doing it for this little one.
I had to stop breastfeeding when he was 9 months due to having a high risk pregnancy, severe sickness, and bleeding in first tri. So he had bottles up until he turned one. I took them away cold turkey and he actually did fine! Now he's eating 3 meals and 2 snacks of basically what we eat! I know what we did won't work for everyone, but i thought I'd share so maybe if anyone can use some of it, feel free

And i have to say i caught flack in real life (and i already know some on here disagree too) with using jars of food, but we stuck with an organic brand and it was easy and i was impressed! Especially when in the throes of terrible ms, i was more than fine using the pre-made foods.

 

[River54]

I am still waiting...1.5weeks to go...

 

[Captain]

Toooomorrow, Toooomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a daaaaay aaaaaaawaaaaaay!!

 

[SurpriseBub]

Hahaha! Mini bump i thought weaning meant intro to foods as well! I'm in the US and i guess when someone has ended bf, my friends have said "totally weaned" "off milk" or "done with bf".... Funny what means different things in different cultures

I also fed my son "jars of slop" (lol!!!!) and my purpose was to get him to accept new tastes. I've read a lot about how you don't have long to introduce new tastes as by 18 months they have strong opinions on what they will/won't eat. I will say I tasted everything i gave him and it wasn't too bad to me.

I was advised by the pediatrician to start a small amount of pureed fruit/veggies once a day at 6 months. At 8 months we were to increase texture and go to twice a day. 10 months we started in with 3 times a day and way more texture. We didn't follow baby led weaning as it just didn't feel like a good fit for our family. However i may look into doing it for this little one.
I had to stop breastfeeding when he was 9 months due to having a high risk pregnancy, severe sickness, and bleeding in first tri. So he had bottles up until he turned one. I took them away cold turkey and he actually did fine! Now he's eating 3 meals and 2 snacks of basically what we eat! I know what we did won't work for everyone, but i thought I'd share so maybe if anyone can use some of it, feel free

And i have to say i caught flack in real life (and i already know some on here disagree too) with using jars of food, but we stuck with an organic brand and it was easy and i was impressed! Especially when in the throes of terrible ms, i was more than fine using the pre-made foods.

That sounds a lot like what my nanny family did, and I will try to emulate them as it worked so well.

You can make your own vegetable purée very easily- chop and boil whatever veg in just enough water to cover it + about a teaspoon of oil per serving (alternate sunflower, rapeseed, olive). Once it is cooked, purée with a mixer and voila! Doing your own fruit is a different matter... Much more work/pretty sure I have been sucked in by the adds for Beech-Nut jarred fruits!

I know that plans will likely change and adapt with the reality of baby- but I love thinking about these kinds of things! 12 months from now our Feb babies will likely more or less all be sampling food

 

[MiniBump]

I don't have a problem with pre-prepared foods, I used them myself on occasion from about 10 months but they had proper lumps of meat/pasta/veg, etc. It's just the jars of liquidised food that don't do it for me because I don't understand how a child is supposed to separate and understand the different flavours when they've all been mushed together, if you see what I mean? Yes, the label says sweet potato, broccoli and cheese (I don't know if that's a real combination, I just made it up!) but surely it doesn't really taste like any of those things anymore? Three separate mushes has to be preferable for developing the palate, surely?

Like you say, everyone will find their own approach to introducing solids and there's no right or wrong way, just different! (Although I still stand by no solids before 6 months unless medically advised!)

 

[SurpriseBub]

Ps. I was looking at his amazing feeding site yesterday: https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm#.VCQvkmK9KK0

 

[Feronia]

I think in the realm of parenting decisions, using pureed foods vs. baby-led weaning isn't a big deal. I was particularly drawn to baby-led weaning since I was such a picky eater as a child and I read some studies that suggested that BLW babies are not as picky. So far it's been true for us, but I know it isn't universal.

Sometimes I call it baby-led solids since people where I am do think it means weaning from breastmilk entirely. When I posted on my FB that we were starting baby-led weaning at 6 months with DD, I had an old teacher of mine say "good luck -- it's not so easy getting them to stop breastfeeding. Mine wouldn't stop until 2 years, yikes!" Besides telling her not to be ashamed that her kid nursed until 2, I had to explain BLW, hehe.

ttc, I'm curious why you were told to stop breastfeeding. I had one really stupid doctor tell me to stop breastfeeding my daughter when I got pregnant this time since I had a subchorionic hematoma, and was bleeding and cramping, but he was just full of shit and I didn't listen to him. (He also called me "sweety," "darling," and said that my daughter had more than enough breastmilk and was being greedy!!!) Breastfeeding caused me no problems in terms of bleeding and cramping, and I'm still going -- though I have no milk anymore. Some doctors are just really quick to suggest stopping for no real reason. You might have had totally different reasons and symptoms, I just thought I'd mention what happened to me since we both had early problems.

 

[jmandrews]

So much to do before my DD and I leave for North Caroline to visit my sister and niece. I am so tired and don't feel like doing much.

 

[MellyH]

Hi ladies just checking in, how many more are waiting for their gender scans? Mine is in 2 weeks and i keep getting a bad feeling that the baby will have its legs crossed and we cant find out :/ on the plus side I can really feel baby moving now, several times a day which is amazing.

Still waiting here, 1 week and 6 days to go!

Me too! FOUR DAYS! I'M GOING TO POP FROM EXCITEMENT. AND BABIES. BUT MOSTLY EXCITEMENT.

 

[SurpriseBub]

Hi ladies just checking in, how many more are waiting for their gender scans? Mine is in 2 weeks and i keep getting a bad feeling that the baby will have its legs crossed and we cant find out :/ on the plus side I can really feel baby moving now, several times a day which is amazing.

Still waiting here, 1 week and 6 days to go!

Me too! FOUR DAYS! I'M GOING TO POP FROM EXCITEMENT. AND BABIES. BUT MOSTLY EXCITEMENT.

haha, melly!