Yummy, mummy

This is a duplicate from my other blog. For readers of both, I apologise. I need to share!!

I have discovered the most wonderful product for parents of babies. It is a necklace from a company called
Gumigem.

The necklace is beautiful, just the sort of necklace I would wear anyway.


Mine is identical to the above picture, it is the Lightning necklace in Fury. It looks like it is made from a pretty stone.

But it is amazing. It is made of silicon which is entirely baby friendly and free of parabens and BPA. Baby can chew away without any worry as to whether they may ingest anything harmful.

As it hangs round your neck, it is always there for baby to play with whenever you pick her up or lean over her.

I am blown away by the simplicity yet genius of this idea. Babies are instinctively drawn to necklaces and this one is safe for baby so mummy doesn't have to fret about keeping necklaces off while baby is small. Best of all it is an excellent teether and seems to provide genuine soothing for aching baby gums.

Gumigem also offer different styles of necklace as well as bangles - a safe toy for baby that's just there on your wrist looking pretty. I intend to buy more, for these products are not at all expensive unlike other teething necklaces available.

One very happy customer that wants to share this with every mother out there.

Differences

There is nearly 6 years between the twins and E so my memory may not be true, but the differences between them is are endless. Even taking into consideration that they are boys and twins and she is neither, it still astonishes me how little she does as they did.

Toy wise, E is joyfully embracing toys that are virtually pristine due to the boys showing no interest in them whatsoever.
The boys had linky loops which look like this



These were purchased with the idea that toys could be attached by these to things to stop them being dropped. Turned out they were the best toy ever in themselves and they boys adored holding them and experimentally chewing them.

So we bought new ones for E. She hasn't shown any interest in them at all other than the generic procedure of everything being tasted at least once.

Not so for the logical next step in loop discovery, again from ELC and called Lots of Loops.

This was purchased for the boys and totally ignored by them. I deduced it was too heavy for them to lift comfortably.

Not true. Little E was given this to investigate when she had just mastered gripping things, and within seconds she was lying on her back holding it over her and joyously chewing on it. It remains one of her favourites.

The boys both had dummies as teething relief, O had a dummy pretty much from birth until he was 3, R had one just for teething. E does not like dummies one bit and won't take one, even though she is desperate for something to clamp her aching gums onto. So she seeks things to bite on a lot more than they did and is often found chewing on a removed sock or similar. Soft toys are a favourite as she can bite them without hurting herself.

Today I unearthed a rattle the boys had rejected and she pounced on it joyfully; a soft padded "dog" with clattery shapes around the loop of the "face".

I would have said that the twins were as different as can be, but they mostly liked the same toys as babies. Not so true as they got older and O discovered cars, which have never inspired R. Admittedly as twins they may have rejected a toy, then seen it being played with by their twin and reconsidered it.

Nothing is as fun as something your twin wants. Or maybe that's just my twins? E is experiencing the frustration of the youngest: constantly wanting what the older siblings have. I relate to this as the youngest, although I only have the one older brother and feel quite sorry for future E and her inevitable teasing.

With chalk and cheese twins, I had hopes for E being like one or other of them, but so far it isn't looking likely.

6 months

E is now 6 months old, which is both an eternity since she was born, and no time at all.

To her delight, she can now eat something resembling food. Her coordination is a bit lacking but she can steer most things roughly towards her mouth. Finger foods are a bit off yet, but she's enjoyed the handful of lumpier and slightly protein based goo that she's been offered. (rice, tomato and chicken so far her favourite). She is also allowed gluten now so has weetabix for breakfast instead of baby cereal. She approves greatly, but is still anxious to eat what we are. A chip went down a treat, although how much literally went down is another matter altogether.

Reaching and putting everything in her mouth is the aim of every second she is awake. Nothing is safe, other than the blessed fact that she is still not able to travel. Turning and reaching are trouble enough and her ability to pick things up is improving daily, terrifying in the light of the immediate transfer to mouth.

Movement at the moment consists of rolling and reaching. Much frustration is caused by an inability to stand or crawl. Sitting isn't quite there, she managed just a few unsupported seconds before she topples over.

She mostly sleeps like an angel all night, but is reluctant to nap by day and often gets tearfully grumpy and needs coaxed to sleep, only to awaken twenty minutes later.

Speech consists of much blethering, wow ow and igloo are common utterances. I'm not sure when or if she'll move onto the more conventional ba ba, ga ga.

She is beautiful and giggly and a delight to be around, I am so enjoying her babyhood. Bring on the next stage, which is due in about an hour...

Confusing aspects of parenthood

Babies are confusing creatures. Many a time do I wonder the same thing, to the tune of:

1) why do babies cry inconsolably when they need to sleep? Why not just sleep?

2) how do babies sense when you are about to snooze/have lunch/do anything non-baby and immediately require attention?

3) how can three babies from the same parents be so completely and utterly different?

4) why is throwing things on the floor so exciting to a baby? And how can six year olds perpetually pick them up without tiring?

5) what do people do if they don't have children? What did I do before I had them?

6) why is the world so buggy unfriendly? Shouldn't everything be accessible for wheelchairs and therefore also suitable for buggies? How can they not be?

7) do lazy buggers, who have no children with them but who take the last parent and child space, not think about it? Do they think parents don't really need the space and they have as much right to a generous space? Or do they fully understand why we need the spaces but just figure we can wait until they're gone because for whatever reason, their need is greater?

Baby dictated weaning!

And weaning progresses...

I was pleased to note this article from the Guardian which pretty much confirms my understanding of it all. The most important thing for mothers to know, which seems to be missing from most literature, is that babies are individual and they make it very obvious when they need more than milk.

I personally believe baby led weaning, where at six months you offer finger food, is harmful both from the point of view of waiting until the baby can pick things up accurately and from a potential choking hazard.

I haven't tried it however and many others have successfully. Some babies need solids later than others, maybe if they don't demand it until after six months they can cope with chunks of finger foods, I don't know.

Miss E is not yet six months and seems to want to eat real food. She had some homemade veg soup which I had made with no nasties in and puréed a spot for her. Loved it, unlike any of the ready made jars I've offered.
Sigh. I guess it's down to my cooking and Plum Baby as back up (she liked their parsnip and pea) again.

But she seems to have a favourite. Lunchtime arrived and E was making it very clear she was hungry. Milk: no. Bean purée: absolutely no. Apple and pear: look mummy, I'm hungry, not peckish. Ok. Rusk in milk: oh yeah! That's the stuff! And I'll take my milk now too thanks.

Uh oh. She's not really meant to have rusks, and that makes 3/3 of them weaned on rusks. Oh dear. Bad mummy.

Weaning

I touched on weaning in my last post, now I shall expand.

Incidentally probably literally expanding as we speak, as I am making up for weight not gained during my pregnancy and gaining pounds almost daily. Can't stop eating, won't stop eating. Weight gained in pregnancy: 4lb. Weight gained since: another 17lb. Not good, but I just can't stop the hunger.

But that is me and I am fully weaned.

E has had a passionate interest in food since she was first able to focus her eyes. So she was delighted at the age of about 20 weeks to be offered some form of food. We started with baby banana porridge which bears no similarity to real porridge as it is made from baby rice not oats. But it tastes kinda like Angel Delight and unsurprisingly E was impressed. So we tried some fruit purée. E was unsure, but willing to eat. Spurred on by the memory of the virtuous home made purées that the twins had, I made some sweet potato purée, which was spat back at me. Plum Baby's parsnip, apple and pea purée went down a little better, but not much.

Now E turned her nose up at the baby cereal having tasted real food. I tried a couple of baby breakfast sachets and she was somewhat meh. So we tried yoghurt, which goes against the "no dairy products till 6 months" doctrine, but I'm believing Danone in a ludicrously idiotic manner because it suits me and the advice doesn't really make sense. So we go with "suitable from 4 months". Likewise with rusks which are heavily frowned upon but which certain twins had as first foods and which young E devours with enthusiasm. Mixed with formula into a paste I may add, not given as a finger food.

So I'm bad.

I did purchase some broccoli to make my speciality of green speckled potato however. Whether E takes it is to be seen, but that's tomorrow's tea. I also have some pear purée for the potential of pear and everything, which I had to resort to with baby R.

It's going fine. Could do better but I am acutely aware that she is advised not to start at all until six months, so she's fine until then if not getting a full and varied diet. I shall probably not try baby led weaning but we'll see. I have been known to change my mind on major parenting issues when confronted with actual facts.

Almost six months

I haven't been exactly keeping up with this.

There is a reason for this and that is the need to remove one's thoughts from baby world. In pregnancy it is hard to think of anything else; post pregnancy it is essential to be distracted.

And so we are now at over 5 months. E is a giggling, almost sitting/crawling/eating chubby bundle of joy. She smiles and laughs a lot and is in a fair representation of a routine.

She can now turn over onto her front (but not back) which she then finds immensely frustrating as she can't immediately crawl. This doesn't look like it's far away, so I am busy just now with making sure the house is baby friendly. It isn't, yet.

Eating: we are doing "tastes". So far we like yoghurt and rusks very much, both of which I am sure are no-no until 6 months, but then again all food is sort of no-no until then. Manufacturers of both say "suitable from weaning" so I'm going with it.

She also likes fruit and isn't wild about any veg she's tried. I have cooked one portion of sweet potato (which was rejected) and so far anything else veggie was bought ready puréed, because Plum Baby and the likes do baby food that looks like food.

I was so smug with the twins, they were weaned on all home cooked meals. But as they still want meals, I simply don't have the chance to make it for E. I guess I need to create at lunchtime. We'll see.

And that's about it. She's gorgeous and perfect and getting big!