Some news...

[bunique]

Fair enough Barry, I can see how you reached that conclusion

[Katster]

It's all good guys, like everything baby related there's pros and cons and conflicting advice. Those pictures speak a thousand words though, you can clearly see the difference in safety for the child!

[bunique]

4.24? Insomnia going well then?!

[feral chile]

It's really strange how guidance changes so much. We were told on no account lie babies on their backs, it was on their stomachs and preferably in the recovery position.

(This is 20 years ago and counting, I'm not advocating this is correct - just saying).

[Katster]

4.24? Insomnia going well then?!

Lol, you noticed. It would seem for some reason I struggle to sleep between the hours of 3am and 7am. It doesn't help when baby is awake and extremely active inside of me (I wish you guys here could see my crazy videos) but its not the only reason. Has anybody done any studies of the sleeping habits of women in pregnancy? Cos they should! Its got to be some sort of defence/preparation thing, its not (just) being uncomfortable because I'm actually doing ok in that sense. I literally just wake up and cannot sleep. Insomnia as you say. Someone like me needs it too, ive always been someone who just sleeps and sleeps well - its got to be linked to preparing for caring for your baby 24/7?

Barry I feel for any parent who has lost a child, I already cannot even imagine

[Katster]

It's really strange how guidance changes so much. We were told on no account lie babies on their backs, it was on their stomachs and preferably in the recovery position.(This is 20 years ago and counting, I'm not advocating this is correct - just saying).

It is strange but 20 years ago (ok maybe 30) it was pretty acceptable to slap women's bottoms in the office. Times change I guess.

[bunique]

Could well be an evolutionary thing to get used to not sleeping! It was well past 1am before I could get to sleep last night, and like you I am usually a head-hits-the-pillow type! This time I seem to have avoided the restless legs I had first time around - they used to keep me away for hours and drive me insane!!

[feral chile]

It is strange but 20 years ago (ok maybe 30) it was pretty acceptable to slap women's bottoms in the office. Times change I guess.

Yes, they certainly do, most I think of as fads, but the health and safety ones are different.

I've not kept up to date with current research, I know they had various theories back then - asphyxiation from vomit (hence not on their backs) second hand mattresses (I think a particular chemical was later implicated) and so on, as nobody knew the causes.

Just like they used to think stress caused ulcers, and now they know it's usually helicobacter pylori.

[Katster]

Yeah I'm not sure what the reasoning is for putting them on their backs these days. In some circumstances though they do say not to, when it is being sick I believe? Although Ive also been told not to leave a baby who has been being sick unsupervised but what that exactly means I don't know because I will need to sleep at some point wont I?!

[bunique]

I hate to break it to ya Kat, but if baby's sick your unlikely to be able to get to sleep anyway! You'll probably end up taking shifts

[Katster]

Yeah, I gathered as much, that's why i didn't really understand the advice but I guess most of my friends think I am a bit clueless with babies so maybe they were making sure lol. We would possibly do it in shifts although like you say when it was his turn i probably wouldn't sleep so may as well just stay up for the duration and let him do his turn when its better and just needs someone to play with lol.

[Katster]

If you are going to breastfeed Kat then you do run the risk of the baby refusing the bottle like both ours did. They only wanted the breast. Which was a nightmare for my wife as it meant she had to get up with the baby almost every time. We tried every type of bottle with no joy

This is fine by me whilst I am on maternity leave. I am hoping that we can get it off me and onto bottle when weaning at six months...if I'm even that successful (I'm going to try but I'm not too fussed if I cant manage it easily enough). I know work have to make allowances if I am still wanting to breastfeed when returning but after 9 months of pregnancy another 6 months of sharing yet another part of my body is enough! Lol.

[midnight]

After I'd returned to work, I just fed mornings and evenings. Once they start on solids there is plenty of stuff they can fill themselves up with inbetween. And they can drink from a cup. Maybe not at 6 months, but at 9 or so. Depends on the child, of course.

I was still told to make sure baby is flat on his back when he sleeps in his cot, that was 6 years ago (supposed to reduce the likelyhood of SIDS). But mine never wanted to sleep on his own anyway. In we end, we took out one side of the cot bed and pushed and tied it against my side of the bed. Made life (well, sleep) a lot easier for me.

[bunique]

We did the same midnight - she was lifted in for feeds and then either went back or (more often) stayed in with me. You can buy cots specifically for that purpose but to be honest it's easy enough to do with any of them.

[bunique]

I pumped for about 6 weeks when I went back to work after 9 months but she rarely drank it all so I stopped at about 11 months. I fed morning and night and naps (and mostly on demand at weekends) til she was 2 and 3 months and we then weaned really easily. Life is so much easier before they start solids, you never have to think about what to feed them!

[Katster]

I'm trying baby led weaning after watching a friend successfully done it with her son, for those who don't know what it is; when weaning you don't mash food up (unless its meant to be) and just put them straight on solids. Obviously you don't introduce them to a stick of celery to begin with but start off with soft fruits and veg like strawberries or well cooked broccoli, moving them on to new things as they successfully handle progressively harder foods. It's supposed to help them not only be less fussy eaters but also developmentally too (hand eye coordination especially). You give them utensils to eat with which at first they just wave around but you don't feed them at all in that traditional choo choo train in the tunnel manner. Anybody here tried it with theirs?

[bunique]

Yep, full BLW with our first - she ate what we ate from the start. Incredibly messy - buy a shower curtain for your floor - but a million times easier than the alternative when it comes to not having to prepare separate food. She was eating chopped up olives in Pizza Express at 7 months. Won't touch them now, of course...

[bunique]

Be prepared for other people to be freaked our. My mum couldn't watch her eat for the first couple of months - made her too nervous!

[bunique]

There's a great video on NHS website of what to do in event of choking at various ages - an infant first aid course is worth a look as well. Instinct is to try and scoop whatever it is out of their mouth but that's one of the things kuru say not to do!

[TheGayTent]

There's a great video on NHS website of what to do in event of choking at various ages - an infant first aid course is worth a look as well. Instinct is to try and scoop whatever it is out of their mouth but that's one of the things kuru say not to do!

I've not long done one of those courses - it was extremely well done, well worth doing IMO if you can.

[Katster]

We are currently doing that Kat as our seven month old didn't like mushy stuff, pretty much refused it, and its working out well. Her fave is cucumber sticks. Watermelon is also a big hit

We have the odd moment of terror when the baby starts gagging but its normal for them to struggle with the odd bit.

Some advice I was given... Choking is silent, Gagging is noisy... It helps you to understand when you have a "situation" on your hands and you need to start taking serious action. As opposed to just needing to take something out of their mouth vs back slapping etc.

Our first loved the mushy stuff!

Yeah, it helps I am fully trained in first aid so already know the choking thing. Trouble with babies is they won't point to their throat or have bulging eyes of terror like an adult would. Just have to keep a close eye on them

[Katster]

My mum has already stated her nervousness at baby led weaning so before leaving her with baba I will need to have instilled some confidence. Or, the other way around it, is to feed it really soft stuff when it's with her lol.

[bunique]

There's some good handouts for caregivers on BLW - I wrote nursery some guidance which they seemed to take in the spirit it was intended!

[salvador wali]

http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/2011/10/26/risk-for-mother-higher-with-cesarean-birth/

This actually quite interesting...

The final comment sums it all up...

Wise words...

In the end, we are dealing with small numbers of .07, 0.2, 0.5 and 2.0 percents. That means 98-99+% of the time, birth happens without complications!!! Do your research, birth how you feel is best for you and find a competent and supportive midwife or OB to reduce risks either way.

Statistics only made possible due to the intervention of doctors/midwives.

[bunique]

And I don't think any of us have claimed otherwise just agreed with the "do your research" bit!

25 weeks today, next midwife appt on Wednesday (a bonus one, I don't think it's supposed to be til 28 weeks) and we're going to tentatively enquire about a home birth. Saw a second round of rumours that local maternity closes the day before I'm due, which is massively unhelpful!

Edited October 4, 2014 by bunique