Silent Sunday
Category Archives: Weaning
023/365 Food Face!
Food Face!
007/365 Say Cheese!
Say Cheese!
Today whilst cutting cheese for cheese on toast Esther was watching me avidly and so I thought that I would give her a little taste. She really liked it but made such a mess. It was very funny.
Esther is such a lovely little thing. Her smile lights up a room and melts your heart. She smiles with her whole face, her whole body it seems like sometimes. She is so tiny and seems so fragile yet she is strong. Her favourite thing to do is stand though she cannot do this on her own it does not seem to bother her. She will hold your hands and stand on your knees on her tippy toes, looking like she could walk forth and conquer the world. She has a very musical giggle and is starting to babble now too. Her tiny little mouth works hard to form the different sounds that make up her chatter. Her new thing to do is chatter to herself in the mirror which is very funny to watch. One of the best parts of my day is bathing Esther, her smiling face beaming up at me framed with soapy suds, making her look like a friendly lion. She is a treasure. My little star, and I love her with everything I am and ever will be x
Can’t believe I am a Mummy to a son and a daughter, both of whom I love with all my heart, even on the grottiest of days! Even at my most tired I would not swap them and the love they have brought into my life for all the whole wide world!
More cheese?
A Wonderful Week of Cheer!
I have had a lovely week this week and have much to cheer about. So here I am to share it with you and Michelle at Mummy from the Heart who always inspires and encourages so many of us to share our positivity and cheer. Thank you.
Esther and William have finally met all of their cousins!
On Sunday it was David’s Mum’s birthday and to celebrate her special day she really wanted to have all six of her grandchildren together for the first time. This had not happened before as one is only a couple of weeks old and we have been out of circulation through the winter. But on Sunday we were all together for a few hours and it really was rather special. Seeing Esther and William begin to interact with their extended family was quite emotional. Their almost 5 year old cousin kept stroking them which was very sweet. William in particular was avidly watching the boys playing and seemed keen to get involved and have a go. The Henley family are a very close family so Esther and William will grow up with these cousins around them. They are very lucky and I think their first meeting bodes well for adventures in the future.
I have had a great week out and about with my Mum
I was rather apprehensive about having my Mother here for any length of time but it is the end of the second week and things seem to be going well. We are enjoying each other’s company, she is looking after David and I, and the house, so that David can focus on work and I can focus on Esther and William. She is being great. Mum is also getting to know her grandchildren better and watching their enjoyment of her is a wonderful reason to be cheerful. As she lives in Spain she will not see her grandchildren all the time so periods such as this are extra special. Love you Mum x
Weaning is going well and the babies are enjoying lots of different foods
Esther and William are loving exploring new foods and this week have even been negotiating lumps!! They love mango and papaya and all fruits. Esther sucks slivers of mango from my fingers as she cannot quite grip them herself. They have eaten broccoli, cauliflower, lentils, sweet potato, cucumber. They are having lots of first tastes and seem to welcome them all. Feeding them is such fun and they get so messy as they try to help with the spoon or the pots. What a great stage of babyhood this is. Makes me smile.
To see what is making others smile this week, hop on over to Mummy from the Heart and perhaps share your reasons to be cheerful too x
Twin Teethers!
Esther and William are now almost 8 months old!! I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown. They are growing bigger and stronger everyday and developing very distinct personalities. This has become apparent recently as they have started teething.
Parenting premature babies can be very confusing as you are always trying to provide for them to two ages, their actual age and their adjusted age and you are never sure which to apply to what, for example weaning, sleeping, routines and teething.
I am now confident that I know that anything related to feeding and digestion, including teething, is marked against their actual age whereas anything that is developmental such as crawliing, rolling, talking etc is measured against their corrected age.
And so at almost 8 months actual we are well into the zone of teething though have nothing to show in the way of teeth. I am quite distressed to learn of some prem babies who started going through the motions of teething at 6 months, as ours have done, but not been rewarded with teeth until well into their first year!
The reason I find this idea so terrible is that our twins, and William in particular, are really struggling with growing their teeth. They are very unsettled during the day, constantly chomping and chewing anything that they can get their mouth on apart from their food. They often seem to find feeding painful particularly their solid food. William has had an earache linked to his teething and repeatedly tugs at the infected ear. Both babies have struggled to get to sleep and to stay asleep once finally gone. It has been very tiring and emotional for all concerned and is still going on.
One of the problems I have foudn is finding anything that can be used to soothe Esther and William’s tiny mouths. Though they are really now quite old babies they are still very tiny, Esther only weighs 11lbs. Finding teething toys to ease their gums has been impossible. I twitted about this a week or so ago and was very pleased to receive a helpful reply from @Amber_Pumpkin
Amber Pumpkin suggested that I might like to try an amber necklace for the twins to soothe their teething symptoms. I naively asked if they would be able to fit the beads into their mouths as we had been struggling with other products. Amber Pumpkin kindly pointed out that in fact amber necklaces are not chewed but worn so that the healing properties can work their magic.
Babies do NOT chew on the amber – it works by warming against the skin and releasing minute amounts of soothing oils which is absorbed into the bloodstream.
A natural analgesic, amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs.
Amber is a resin, not a stone. It is therefore warm to the touch, as well as very comfortable and light to wear.
Scientific investigation into the therapeutic effects of amber is ongoing.
Currently, there are two different theories that attempt to explain how wearing amber on the skin can have a soothing and calming effect on teething babies and toddlers.
One theory suggests that when amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases minuscule amounts of healing oils from the amber which are then absorbed via the skin into the bloodstream.
Amber’s anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are also recognized by allopathic medicine. In Austria, Switzerland and Germany, you will find amber teething necklaces sold in local pharmacies. Pharmacists and doctors have long known about the healing properties of amber which include calmative, analgesic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and febrifuge (anti-fever) functions.
A second theory is based on scientific findings which have shown that amber is electromagnetically alive and therefore charged with a significant amount of organic energy. Its special attribute is the fact that it is electronegative. Wearing amber produces negative ionisation on the skin’s surface. This, in turn, has a positive influence on the human body. The negative ions assist in the in the prevention of illness. These health-promoting effects apply to babies, children and adults alike.
http://www.amberpumpkin.com/amber-teething-necklaces-do-they-work.html
David and I have tried Calpol and teething powders on Willim and Esther with very little effect and so we were, or I was, keen to try something new. I asked Amber Pumpkin if I might trial one of their products and wrtie about our experiences on my blog. They kindly agreed and sent me two tiny amber anklets for Esther and William to try. They sent anklets rather than a necklace to ensure that the babies could not pull them off of themselves or each other as the anklets will be safely hidden in their baby gros.
We are going to start wearing the anklets tomorrow and I am going to write on my blog each day about how we are getting on.
I have to admit to being a bit sceptical but also really hoping that they do work as I love the idea of them.
If anyone else has exprience of using amber jewellery to help with teething then I would love to hear from you.
If you would like to know more about Amber Pumpkin then you can visit their website at http://www.amberpumpkin.com/
Here’s hoping that an end is in sight for the terrible twin teething troubles!
The Gallery – Simple Pleasures
Hmmmm ... Beer!
WONDER WEANER!
Life is full of simple pleasures
like good food and fine wine (or other such beverage!)
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- Hmmmm … Beer!
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- WONDER WEANER!
“Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.”
Samuel Johnson
Booked It, Packed It …
I am getting so excited about my summer holidays that I have been trying to plan ahead a little. I want our experiences to be memorable for the right reasons and not marred by the stresses of packing or travel.
This year we are going away 4 times
In April we are going to Cornwall for a few days, in June to Northumbria, July to Devon and in September to Spain. Each of these trips involve a long car journey for us from Kent and so I have been thinking about how we will cope with the travel. The packing and the travel!!
Just a couple of weeks ago we drove to the Peak District for my sister’s wedding and for that we seemed to take with us the entire contents of our house! It has taken me almost two weeks to unpack and get everything back into it’s rightful place at home.
So I am trying to compile a list of holiday essentials, the things that we will really need to take with us on each of our planned excursions. The list is LONG!
Something to sleep in – we had been using our bedside co-sleeper for this but the twins have grown out of it now and so we need suitable replacement. Any ideas? We have thought about taking a whole cot with us but I think that a travel cot or two would make our lives easier. Any ideas?
Fisher Price Newborn to Toddler Rockers
These are great. When Esther and William were tiny they used to nap in them in the bathroom whilst I had my morning shower. They vibrate which the babies both seem to love and find soothing. I used to sit E and W in these chairs to read them stories and to let them have some time sat facing each other. In rocking mode I was also able to lull them to sleep with singing and rocking. We still use them in this mode when either baby is unwell or unsettled. They work really well. The chairs in upright non rocking mode make good TV chairs. Esther and William watch 10 minutes of Baby Einstein a day through You Tube and they love it. They watch this whilst I prepare their tea. The chairs are then also used as secondary feeding chairs rather than moving them to their highchairs which are used for all other meals. This means that when we do go away the babies are used to using these seats for play, sleep and food. A great all round rescource that have definitely been worth the money that we spent on them and I am sure that we will continue to find new uses for them as the children grown and the seasons change. I can certainly see them moving outside for the summer as the covers are so easy to clean from any ice cream spillages!
Baby food, plates, bowls, snacks, bibs and eating implements – surely this equipment gets a box or suitcase all of it’s own? At home I make a lot of my own food for the babies but we also use pots and pouches, again to ensure that Esther and William are familiar with them and will not refuse them when we are away. We have practised eating them warm and cold, in case of emergencies. We currently use coverall bibs from Mothercare which we have to wash after a single use as the babies are so messy. I wonder if there are other recommended products that are more effective and time efficent to use, something for tiny babies that is wipe clean?
Toys
As I have mentioned before we love Lamaze toys and have a whole range of them that are easy to pack and transport. As the babies were in NICU all of last summer however what we have no knowledge of are summer toys. The Lamaze toys we have are plush and colourful but would not last long I feel in the garden or on the beach. Perhaps it is not toys we need but ideas for outdoor activities with under ones? Ideas require no packing and are very easy to carry.
Clothes
For my sister’s wedding we were away for two day and two nights. We took enough clothes to last at least a week and to my surprise we used most of it! Esther had to change dresses three times during the wedding alone such was the rate of her dribble!! So I am thinking that for a week away at least two weeks worth of clothing will be required and that is before we think of specialist items such as wetsuits, sunsuits, swimming costumes, all of which I know nothing about!
You begin to see why I need to think about all of this so early on.
Transportation
We have a giant double buggy and people keep suggesting that for trips away we buy two small single buggies? We also have slings and baby carriers in various formats, will we need these aswell? Our giant buggy is convenient as can be used in parent facing car seat mode as well as outward facing buggy. But it does take up our entire boot space in our very large Honda estate.
I think that this covers the essentials apart from needing a tool box with a medical kit and who knows what I need to put in there?! Nappies to begin with, wipes, cotton wool, vaseline, Savlon?, plasters, Calpol? What would you or do you have in such a box for you travels?
These are my wonderings for today. My puzzlement that I am working on now to avoid holiday trauma later. Any help and advice would be warmly appreciated.
And I actually have some advice to share in return about travel.
Below is an article from Dr Lin Day, founder of nationwide baby development classes, Baby Sensory with some top tips for travelling with children.
Top Travel Tips
Keeping small children seated, quiet and entertained on a car or plane trip is a frightening prospect for most parents. But, with a little planning, travelling can be a fun experience for children and a relaxing one for parents. Here are some ideas on how to prepare for the journey and how to keep your child busy and happy on the way.
Planning your trip
Have everything from the entertainment to nappies, wet wipes, medicine, spare clothes and the first aid kit prepared in advance and stored within easy reach. Rubbish bags are essential to keep the car clean and they may be useful if your child suffers from motion sickness. Take enough finger food and bottled water to last the journey, and any unexpected delays, but avoid sugary snacks since these will increase energy levels. High protein foods such as slices of fruit, cucumber and cheese will fill your child up and make them drowsy.
Start your trip an hour or so before your child’s normal nap time. Allow them to run about and let off steam before getting in the car. The chances are that they will amuse themselves for the first part of the journey and then fall asleep for the rest of it. An extra rear-view mirror will allow you to keep an eye on your child without having to turn around.
If you are on the road, frequent stops will make the journey more bearable. Your child will enjoy stretching their legs, getting some fresh air and having a change of scenery.
Being comfortable is all-important on a long trip. Clothes made from natural fibres are more comfortable than synthetic ones. Snuggle your child up in a soft blanket or use it as a pillow. If your child is potty-training, put a training pad or small towel on the car seat so any accidents will be contained. You may be unable to stop for a toilet break on demand.
If you are catching a plane, get to the airport early. There is nothing worse than struggling through check-in when you are late. If your stress levels are high, your child will pick up on your mood, which will only make matters worse.
A pull-along suitcase will keep your child entertained and serve as a resting place when they get tired. If you are travelling with a baby put them in a metal-free sling, so that they can sleep without being disturbed during the security check-in.
Airport regulations permit up to 100ml in the way of milk and drinks, although exceptions may be made for the under-twos. If your baby is bottle-fed, take powdered formula milk and buy bottled water in the secure area. Ask the cabin crew to top it up with boiled water during the flight.
Changes in air pressure can make little ears pop. Sucking and swallowing helps to relieve air pressure in the middle ear, so keep drinks or pacifiers available for takeoffs and landings.
Strap children in on long-haul flights. If you fall asleep, they may wander off. Seat straps will also keep them safe during air turbulence or in the event of an emergency.
Best travel toys
The best travel toys are quiet and compact and don’t break easily. Toys with small, moving parts are bound to end up under the seat. Favourite soft toys and books are essential, but have some new toys to provide interest and excitement. Wrap these up in paper to keep little hands busy. Offer one thing at a time, such as a plastic food container. When the novelty wears off, give your child the lid to maintain interest.
Babies
Containers that fit together are fun to play with. They can be stacked, nested or used as hiding places for toys. A fabric scarf offers endless play and learning opportunities from hand-eye coordination to peek-a-boo, tickling and texture exploration. A rattle is a must, but keep it in reserve for a difficult moment. It could save the day!
Sophie the Giraffe, a phthalate-free rubber toy that can be gripped, squeezed or mouthed is a popular baby toy. A familiar book can be comforting and your baby will enjoy turning the pages to find her favourite characters. Texture books that contain hidden surprises also provide entertainment and amusement. If you are on the road, put on a nursery rhyme CD or sing a song. A Baby Sensory baby will be instantly calmed by ‘Say Hello to the Sun’.
Toddlers
A reusable sticker book will keep little hands busy. Stickers can be stuck on the window or the seat without any harm being done. A toy catalogue is great fun to look at and toddlers can colour in the things they would like to have. Activity books, which include dot-to-dot, mazes and patterns, will provide entertainment and distraction. If crayons are a problem, try an ‘Etch A Sketch’. Simply draw on the wipe off mat with the magic pencil and start again without having to change the paper.
Chunky pipe cleaners that can be transformed into fascinating shapes will provide amusement. Attach them together to make animals, bracelets and necklaces. Small strips of masking tape stuck to your toddlers’ legs and arms will provide endless fun. It can be removed easily (unlike a plaster) and gives a pleasant sensation. An interesting way to entertain your toddler is to provide a straw and a drinking cup filled with ice cubes. The straw can be flicked, bent and twisted in a number of different ways and the melting ice will promote the development of many scientific concepts.
Older children
Older children may sit quietly listening to their favourite music on an MP3 player with headphones. A favourite book will keep them entranced for some time, but avoid books with small print in the car or you could end up with a sick child. Books about the geography, history, customs, animal and plant life of your destination will also keep them busy. A map and compass is great fun for children who want to help navigate the route.
Classic travel games such as connect the dots, hangman, tic-tac-toe and magnetic games such as checkers, chess and snakes and ladders can make the journey zoom by. Scrabble is an ideal game for two players, but children can invent their own crossword puzzles too. Electronic games are very popular, but make sure that they are turned off during take-off and landing or they may interfere with the aircraft’s navigational system.
Try some of these tips on your next trip and you and your family may get to your destination in a more relaxed and happy frame of mind!
I know that I will be trying some of these but first I need to research and shop before we can begin to think about packing and travelling! Where to start?
I plan to review all my purchases on this blog so please do keep coming back to see how we are getting along.
The Gallery Part II – Growing Together
Dear Parents of Twins …
If you are a Mummy or Daddy of twins, please read this post and if you can, please reply.
Esther and William are now nearly 7 months old. They are good babies on the whole though William can be quite easy to upset and hard to settle sometimes. At the moment they are both teething and we are 2 days in to their first ever cold. I am trying so hard to be a good Mum but even with the support of my work from home partner I am still finding it incredibly hard. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for making things easier?
This week is particularly bad because of the illness and teething but I often find myself exhausted with too much to do and wondering what I can do to make this work.
I love my children dearly and I want to do right by them but increasingly I am feeling that I just don’t know how.
We have had a hard start to parenting, David and I. The twins’ arrived early after major abdominal surgery for me, from which I am not sure I have ever really recovered physically or emotionally. 59 days in NICU also took their toll and though it is wonderful having our babies home now it has been lonely through the winter months as we have tried our best to protect them from infection and diseaase. And winter is not over yet!
I know I am sounding desperate and I don’t mean to. I know that after 5 cycles of IVF I really am the luckiest girl in the world to have two beautiful babies, a boy and a girl, our family could be complete. I am grateful and I count my blessings every day but I do not feel that I am appreciating the babies or motherhood as I should. I don’t feel that I ever have the time.
I envy mothers of single babies and think how much easier life must be with one. How you can meet one child’s needs, hug them as soon as they cry and hold them as long as they need. I feel that I am cutting myself in two and always feel that one babies’ needs are not being met. William is so ill at the moment he should be in my arms all the time but Esther needs me too and she does not complain so quiet and good natured is she, but I am aware and I feel torn. Why can I not be a good enough mother for two?
And I am not alone by any means. David is home most days but he is trying to run his business. I feel so guilty taking up his time but we need him every day, he feels guilty if he does not help, but he is also impatient to be focusing on his work.
On a good day I am fine alone and I enjoy being Mummy, on a difficult day I struggle but I still enjoy the challenges that being a Mummy brings, on a bad day it is awful and I often end up in tears.
Today is one of those days. Even David, the calm one, is frustrated today as he is getting nothing done. He wants me to get help. With the babies, with the house, help?
It is 21.45 and we have only just got both babies to sleep. We have had dinner but I cannot easily get in or out of the lounge because of baby stuff, David is still working at his computer and I am about to drink yet another cold cup of tea. My airing cupboard is full of damp washing that needs sorting and the bathroom is full of more washing to do. We are not unpacked from last weekend away and the babies are being fed from packets and jars. I am about to eat my fifth cereal bar of the day. Trying to lose weight is just not going to work!
I thought long and hard about posting this. I am hoping that someone will read it who will know what we should do.
I want to enjoy my children. Have time to play with them. I want to wake up from a whole nights sleep feeling like I could take on the world. I used to feel like that once.
We do have good days. We have good moments in most days but dark dark shadows loom over them. We laugh together, we play, we read and we sing. We cuddle and we chat. I know that I am a good Mum, a potentially excellent one I am just scared that right now I am losing my way.
When I was pregnant I imagined the singing, the stories, wearing a baby round the house, walks to the park, coffee with friends, baby groups and classes, making friends with other new Mums …
As it is I will go to bed in a minute, the house still a mess, the washing undone, I will wake through the night to feed and in the morning this will start all over again and before we know it it will be bath time. I will probably have spoken to no one apart from increasingly short exchanges with David about how we need help!
If you are reading this and you are a parent of twins please please let me know how you make it work because I want to make this family a happy one. Please point us in the right direction.