Sisterhood of Motherhood
The Baby Sense blog

ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

I am so worried.  Daniel (1 year old) doesnt want to eat.  For the last 3 days he has hardly eaten a thing.  I offer him his food, he usually takes about 2 mouthfulls and spits them both out, and then turns his head and refuses the rest.  He seems to be hungry as he fusses loads before his meals as I prepare them, and looks like he cant wait to get his food, then he refuses it and seems to be fine.  He will happily eat some of the fruit I offer him, but most of it usually ends up on the floor.  Is this usual?  Do you think he could be unwell? Teething maybe - I blame every hiccup or winge on teething though - and still only 4 teeth.  Do I need to worry?

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ANTOINETTE:

I would like to wish my precious baby boy a happy 1st birthday today.  Daniel had a rough start to his life.  He had a battle on his hands from the moment he was born, but fought so hard and thankfully is here today to celebrate his first birthday.  We are so lucky, and thankful to have him in our lives.  As I wrapped his presents last night I thought about the past year and wondered what lessons I had learnt about motherhood.  I learnt: Continue reading …

ANTOINETTE: 

Hi Meg 

We have had 2 new additions to our family.  Squirt and Leo our 2 little kittens.  Tom could not contain his excitement and Dan keeps saying “catty”.  It has been so wonderful to see Toms enthusiasm for looking after these 2 little kittens and Dan is learning to be gentle and not grab them.  We are all loving our new pets, but Tom (3) seems to be having an allergic reaction to them.  He keeps getting spots and red patches on his face.  They come and go, but I am pretty convinced it’s the cats.  Should I be concerned about this, or will it stop as he is more exposed to the Cats?  Any advice would be useful.

ANTOINETTE:

Hi Meg

Chatting with friends this weekend we discovered that we have similar issues to deal with with our toddlers (Both 3).  Grant sometimes finds Thomas difficult to manage.  When looking after Tom on his own Tom seems to become a bit of a handful and can really act out.  When I am with him, generally he is well behaved.  We have our moments, but we have reached an understanding with each other.  I set the limits, he tests them, but I am consistent in how I manage him.  Grant either gives in, or digs in, so Tom doesnt really know where he stands. He sometimes gets away with stuff, and sometimes not.  Our friends have a similar situation with their 3 year old girl.  She can be well behaved with 1 parent and a nightmare with the other.  Do you find this happens in your house at all?

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I got this letter today and I connected with it in a big way as I also had a tough time when I gave up breastfeeding.

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ANTOINETTE:

Daniel is almost a year now and he is still waking up during the night.  All through this year, with him having been quite an ill baby I have tolerated this.  Some days I don’t know how I make it through the day, especially after being up at least 3 times in the night.  I have always know that with sick or refluxy babies you sometimes need to throw out the rule books as they need to be treated and handled differently.  Daniel has had a good summer and his constant coughs and chest infections have cleared up.  However the sleep disruption has not and he continues to wake between 2 and 6 times a night.  I want to try to get his sleep sorted out now, while he is well, before winter comes around here (UK), before the colds and flu start again.  Last week I got out my Sleep Sense book and had a look at the sleep training tips you suggest in the book.  I love the fact that the sleep training you recommend is very gentle and flexible, without making me feel guilty about what I am doing.  I cannot leave Daniel to cry, and staying with him is the way to go for me.  In less than a week I have broken the rock him to sleep habit and he is soothing himself to sleep with a dummy and his bedtime buddies.  I am in the room, but I am now almost out of the door.  I am pretty much there to lie him down again if he stands up, to sh sh sh him if he need it, or to put my hands on him if he is unsettled.  This has made a huge difference to his bedtime for us.  It was taking up to 1 1/2 hours to get him down, now it is generally 15-20 minutes.  Also, he is sleeping better at night.  Some nights he has even made it through to 4 or 5 am before waking.  I am so pleased and am hoping that he will make this a more regular occurance.  Thanks Megan and Ann for the easy to use and flexible advice on sleep training.

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MEG: Reflux is such a hassle. I have recently had a flood of questions about reflux and last weekend I was at my sister’s wedding and her sister in law and I got chatting about reflux. What is it about these babies? They seem to be so much more difficult to settle for so much longer. Their sleep is disrupted for longer than other babies and in general they are so much more emotionally labile. Now you know know Emily my third was a reflux baby and really could have been a serious challenge. Of my three kids she was the one who took the longest to sleep through and to this day her moods can swing. She is senstive and can be irritable. So the question in my mind is - what comes first - the chicken or the egg?

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ANTOINETTE:

Meg this is driving me nuts.  Daniel (10 months) is being so difficult to put down for a sleep.  I try to put him down to sleep in his cot as much as possible.  But each time it can take up to an hour and a half.  He likes to stand up in his cot and will not stay lying down to fall asleep.  I soothe him until he is drowsy and then always try to leave them room before he falls asleep.  Within seconds he is up and wide awake again and I have to start the soothing process again.  I get so frustrated with this that I usually end up rocking him until he is just about asleep before putting him back in his cot.  This too has its many attempts as he wakes and stands as soon as I get him in the cot.  Even in the middle of the night, if he stirs or wakes, by the time I get to him, he is standing up and wide awake.  What can I do?  It is driving me crazy.

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Hi,

I just wanted to tell you about our missing “Taglets”

Background

We have three “lappies” (Taglets).  You know, just in case one is dirty or
lost or something equally as horrifying!  Except I have worked out there are
three and I need them all at once.

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My baby is growing up - she has lost her last doodoo blanky. It happened last week when we were away in the Kalagadi dessert. It was a wonderful holiday - camping and really being in the wilderness and we religiously kept an eye on the beloved blanky. But on the last day of packing up, the  pink (brownish with dirt) and very smelly object found legs and disappeared. Em was devastated - she cried and nothing would take the place of her security object, so we wove a little yarn of “The baby Ground Squirrels took it because they needed it”. She bought the story and still mentioned her ‘doodoo’ now and then but on the whole she is okay. My baby is growing up. This is one of those small things that one day is there and the next is gone. You wish away so many small things in the early days - like sleepless nights and worry over milk supply and then before you know it your baby has grown up. Well thats where we are.