Dinner, Bath and Bed!
Firstly I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been sharing our journey with us thus far and for taking the time to comment and send your best wishes. I've not had the time to reply to everyone but I wanted you all to know how much it's appreciated.
Today was a later start. Katie had a dancing class this morning so that worked out well for us all. A lie-in would have been even better but Mum's taxi service doesn't get a lie-in very often! Today's plan of action was to have a play and then give our little man his dinner and then voyage into the world of bathing and bedtime.
Katie has had a mixed day but she is managing very well, all things considered. I'm really quite proud of her. She is used to having my undivided attention so it's tough on her. Having the other children at the FC's house has been a total godsend if I'm honest. Katie has had a lovely time playing with them all. We had a chat at bedtime about this whole introduction process thingy and I explained to her that I have to go to Pip school to learn all about how to take care of him and the things he likes and dislikes. Once he is home we will be able to work out together which bits she is able to help me with and which bits are Mummy and Daddy jobs. She went to sleep a bit happier about it all I think.
We arrived at the FC's house at 3.30pm (on the dot). Our little man arrived at the door to greet us
with his customary gummy grin. Bags were quickly put down and the cuddles commenced. He seems really happy to see us and is coping really well with the transition to us providing his care. He was delighted to see Katie and Daddy again and Katie seemed far more relaxed today. Pip's FC said he had a good night's sleep and had napped well today so being there for the latter part of the day (and over the witching period) would be much improved. We had a play in the lounge before heading out into the garden for a swing in the swing (Pip) and a bounce on the trampoline (Mummy and Katie). It was a gloriously sunny day today so it was lovely to get out of the house (no disrespect to the FC) and just have a bit of fun in the garden. Pip seemed really happy out there watching the children play.
At dinner time I headed in with Pip to get him into his high chair and help his FC prepare his meal. He had lasagne followed by rice pudding. My aim, when Pip is home, is to do child-led weaning which involves him picking up individual food groups and eating them himself. They are not mixed together and he will get the chance to taste each food and decide what he likes. Pip loves his food and will pretty much eat anything. He totally adored the lasagne and rice pudding and ate them all up without a single complaint. Whilst it is wonderful to see him eating with such gusto (particularly baring in mind the fussy daughter we have) where does that leave me with the child-led weaning theory? He needed to be spoon fed these foods and he clearly loves them but with child-led weaning he should be feeding himself. It makes it harder to allow him to regulate his food though. Also how does that work for foods like yoghurt which he will need to be fed currently? He also only needs around 200 calories per day to supplement his milk and I would estimate that the food he ate contained a big proportion of that amount in one sitting. I would love to hear from anyone else who has successfully used child-led weaning who can give me some pointers.
After dinner it was bathtime.
Bathtime was brilliant with lots of splashing about but is going to be very tough on my back as Pip needs to be supported in the water as he is not able to sit himself up yet. He's a big fella so he uses up several of my muscle groups to support him whilst he was wiggling and having a grand old time. He does love his bath!! Katie can't wait until she can get in with him so that might solve my back problem.
I make light jokes about his gorgeous roly polyness but there is a serious issue that needs to be noted. Because of his frame he needs some special care and attention around the folds in his skin because he can easily develop sores there. His FC has a ritual of checking around his body and she highlighted for me all the trigger areas that I will need to check on daily (and at every nappy change). He's pretty accommodating but he doesn't like being checked around his neck and ears very much. I have no doubt that I will get quicker and more deft with time and practice and I had my little Katie helper who helped me administer all the Sudocrem to the various parts! Doing all this on the FC's bed absolutely crucified my back. I was twinging all over the place. I'm glad I decided to buy a changing table because it will be just the perfect height for drying and dressing and changing and hopefully spare my back a bit. I'm hoping my little wiggler will accommodate me and not wiggle off the table though!
After Pip was all dried and dressed in his nightime babygrow it was time for his bottle. The highlight of my day!!! Oh how I love feeding him. I just bliss out along with him. Katie wanted to feed him but I had to explain to her (and upset her sadly) that this was our first night putting Pip to bed and we needed to see if he could handle me taking over from his FC. I gave her the job of being on hand with his dummy to pop into his mouth as soon as he had finished guzzling because he is not happy when that bottle is empty!
After a wind and cuddles from the Katie family it was time to get the little man into bed, a bit later than he would normally go. He seemed a little confused that he was with me and not his FC but he eventually snuggled in and I took him upstairs and put his sleeping bag on and laid him in his cot. Lots of kisses followed. We said goodnight and crept out. Two minutes later I was back in the room because he had dropped his dummy and was crying. It took me two more attempts with a reminder that it was bedtime and he snuggled himself down and dropped off with a little gurgle to himself.
Feeling quite pleased with ourselves it was time to leave. Katie was late to bed as well and was feeling a little crotchety. We had our little chat at bedtime and she snuggled down and drifted off without a protest.
Tomorrow we are taking our boy out, on our own, for the first time. We're planning a trip to a local farm that we frequent a lot so we know where everything is. We're taking a picnic and plan to be back to the FC's for his afternoon bottle (although I might actually rethink that and take it out with us).
Daddy and I have commented that introductions this time round have seemed so much more surreal. Whether that is because we have a baby this time or whether it's because we are already parents and we are more tied outside of the process with things related to Katie, I don't know. I really couldn't say. I can't quite believe that this gorgeous little man is going to be living with us in around 3 days. I think there is something in me that is waiting for the other shoe to fall. I'm half expecting someone to say that they've changed their minds and he's not coming home with us. I don't think I will really believe it until he is sleeping in that cot upstairs and all his belongings are here.
I think I'll feel able to breathe then.
Today was a later start. Katie had a dancing class this morning so that worked out well for us all. A lie-in would have been even better but Mum's taxi service doesn't get a lie-in very often! Today's plan of action was to have a play and then give our little man his dinner and then voyage into the world of bathing and bedtime.
Katie has had a mixed day but she is managing very well, all things considered. I'm really quite proud of her. She is used to having my undivided attention so it's tough on her. Having the other children at the FC's house has been a total godsend if I'm honest. Katie has had a lovely time playing with them all. We had a chat at bedtime about this whole introduction process thingy and I explained to her that I have to go to Pip school to learn all about how to take care of him and the things he likes and dislikes. Once he is home we will be able to work out together which bits she is able to help me with and which bits are Mummy and Daddy jobs. She went to sleep a bit happier about it all I think.
We arrived at the FC's house at 3.30pm (on the dot). Our little man arrived at the door to greet us
After dinner it was bathtime.Bathtime was brilliant with lots of splashing about but is going to be very tough on my back as Pip needs to be supported in the water as he is not able to sit himself up yet. He's a big fella so he uses up several of my muscle groups to support him whilst he was wiggling and having a grand old time. He does love his bath!! Katie can't wait until she can get in with him so that might solve my back problem.
I make light jokes about his gorgeous roly polyness but there is a serious issue that needs to be noted. Because of his frame he needs some special care and attention around the folds in his skin because he can easily develop sores there. His FC has a ritual of checking around his body and she highlighted for me all the trigger areas that I will need to check on daily (and at every nappy change). He's pretty accommodating but he doesn't like being checked around his neck and ears very much. I have no doubt that I will get quicker and more deft with time and practice and I had my little Katie helper who helped me administer all the Sudocrem to the various parts! Doing all this on the FC's bed absolutely crucified my back. I was twinging all over the place. I'm glad I decided to buy a changing table because it will be just the perfect height for drying and dressing and changing and hopefully spare my back a bit. I'm hoping my little wiggler will accommodate me and not wiggle off the table though!
After Pip was all dried and dressed in his nightime babygrow it was time for his bottle. The highlight of my day!!! Oh how I love feeding him. I just bliss out along with him. Katie wanted to feed him but I had to explain to her (and upset her sadly) that this was our first night putting Pip to bed and we needed to see if he could handle me taking over from his FC. I gave her the job of being on hand with his dummy to pop into his mouth as soon as he had finished guzzling because he is not happy when that bottle is empty!
After a wind and cuddles from the Katie family it was time to get the little man into bed, a bit later than he would normally go. He seemed a little confused that he was with me and not his FC but he eventually snuggled in and I took him upstairs and put his sleeping bag on and laid him in his cot. Lots of kisses followed. We said goodnight and crept out. Two minutes later I was back in the room because he had dropped his dummy and was crying. It took me two more attempts with a reminder that it was bedtime and he snuggled himself down and dropped off with a little gurgle to himself.Feeling quite pleased with ourselves it was time to leave. Katie was late to bed as well and was feeling a little crotchety. We had our little chat at bedtime and she snuggled down and drifted off without a protest.
Tomorrow we are taking our boy out, on our own, for the first time. We're planning a trip to a local farm that we frequent a lot so we know where everything is. We're taking a picnic and plan to be back to the FC's for his afternoon bottle (although I might actually rethink that and take it out with us).
Daddy and I have commented that introductions this time round have seemed so much more surreal. Whether that is because we have a baby this time or whether it's because we are already parents and we are more tied outside of the process with things related to Katie, I don't know. I really couldn't say. I can't quite believe that this gorgeous little man is going to be living with us in around 3 days. I think there is something in me that is waiting for the other shoe to fall. I'm half expecting someone to say that they've changed their minds and he's not coming home with us. I don't think I will really believe it until he is sleeping in that cot upstairs and all his belongings are here.
I think I'll feel able to breathe then.
Woohoo, only 3 days till home time! have a lovely day at the farm today.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that everything is going so well :) and he'll be home with you very soon!!
ReplyDeleteIf you like, I shall see if I can send you Oscar's old bath seat for Pip along with the clothes (not sure if it's too big to post, will have a look). If I can't post it, I'd definitely suggest investing in one! Oscar loved sitting in his and splashing his arms and legs around and though you have to stay close, it does save your back from holding them all the time they are in there...
As for baby-led weaning, we did a combination of feeding styles. At the beginning Oscar has purees which we fed him. Then when we tried introducing lumpy (mashed) foods he used to gag, whereas with actual chunks of food he was perfectly fine. It was as if he got confused thinking mash was as smooth as puree but knew that he had to chew the lumps. So we started giving him bits of food to help himself. It wasn't full on baby-led weaning, but he did start feeding himself quite happily. We'd give him whatever we were having (pasta, roast dinner with all the trimmings etc) just cut up into bite sized pieces and he would help himself to what he wanted. We always gave him a fork or spoon but even now at 20 months he still prefers to use his hands, so it is rather messy! But it has given him the freedom to explore foods himself and gain independence. We practically gave up on bibs and just used to strip him down to his nappy until he got a bit more controlled with his getting food into his mouth :) Hope that helps a bit? Obviously yoghurts etc were fed to him, but we found that as with most areas of parenting, you don't have to be "all or nothing" but find a balance that works best for you and your little one xx
I've been reading your posts all week but as I've been on my phone and not the laptop I have been finding it hard to comment. I am just so excited for you all and cannot wait to hear you have Pip home with you all :) Thinking of you so much!
Have a wonderful time at the farm today xx
Forgot to say... I LOVE the new blog design xx
ReplyDeleteFor us, baby-led weaning means the baby tries and eats what they like, and tries proper grown-up food. It doesn't mean finger food only (or separate foods)! Ignore the books and do what makes sense to you.
ReplyDeleteThe upside of baby led weaning is that as he will have to work to get the food he may well eat less at each meal time which should help slow down his growth. He may be a little frustrated to begin with but will soon get the gist of it. With yogurts you could use those lovely dipper utensils you bought along with a spoon to help him along. I know some families that use the yogurt as a dip for fruit spears.
ReplyDelete