Teething troubles and hot potato

20 weeks / almost 5 months! : Little L is now teething. His first little tooth has popped up on his lower gum and it's so lovely to feel it with my finger. He's not a happy bunny though. The sun and heat are already causing him bother - he hates it!! Coupled with the new tooth though makes him rather fragile.

I've found the following help:

Frozen dummy - dummy in the freezer for a few minutes then he can chew on that
Sophie the Giraffe  - Loves to chew on that.
Frozen cloth - muslin cloth drenched in water, wring it out then place in freezer for half hour or so. Originally for him to chew on - but he doesn't chew it so I use it to keep him cool. Pat him with cloth from time to time to cool down.
Cold flannel - just to wipe all over his face and body, feet etc.
Bottle of cooled down boiled water - as he gets thirsty. used to give him a couple of teaspoons as per my granny's advice, but now i take a bottle out with me. Even though they say breastmilk contains water and is enough - sometimes he's just thirsty so don't want to feed him again. Or I just put a few drops on his lips.
Cool purée - I've started giving him some carrot purée and make a batch then freeze in ice cube trays. I take out 1 or 2 blocks when frozen in a little tupperware in the morning and by afternoon when we're out and about I can give him some of that in between feeds. It also cools him down.

At night he gets so warm he only sleeps with a sheet. I don't want him to get a fever and don't want to resort to Calpol for the discomfort. I read that sometimes he's scared as he doesn't know what is going on with the tooth - rather than it being really painful - and often distraction is the key! So playing a lot with Little L is also a great way to get him through this tough time! How long will it go on for? Poor thing

Laughs and a half

4 mths / 19wks: Leon's been in a great mood and babbling away constantly- he enjoys laughing - though not when my camera or phone is out. But will laugh when I tickle him!


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Location:Church St,Richmond,United Kingdom

So, when is the best time to have a baby? - Times Online

So, when is the best time to have a baby? - Times Online

Interesting article - physically 15-17 years old is best time for our body to have children (I imagine it would snap back to shape rather nicely too) but 27 years is UK women's ideal age for first child.

I don't regret having my first at 25 years old. No, he wasn't planned and I was on the "wait til I'm 30 and rich" boat like most people, but greeted the news of my pregnancy with open arms "We CAN do this!".

Similar to what Sophie Ellis-Bextor says in the article, none of my friends have babies yet. My only childhood friend that does moved to New Zealand a few years ago. Typical.

I try to get my friends and boyfriends broody... but they're mainly on the pill, unfortunately making mistakes tricky!!

Roll Over!

Little Leon graced me with a back to front roll today - hurrah! Though he couldn't roll himself back and wasn't too happy about that.

He's been babbling away and has so much energy only had one nap at 11 this morning - it's now half 7 in the evening - what is going on?!

Overnight, he seems to be a much more developed, active and mature baby and I definitely feel a stronger bond between us :D I love him so much :D

Sleeping through the night

I an proud to say that last night Léoncito slept from 9pm - 5.30am! Didn't dabble in formula since the first and only time - still exclusively Breastfeeding. The only thing we did differently was that when he woke up at several points through the night, I put in his dummy and patted his tummy and he went back to sleep again. I now realise that when he wakes up at night - it doesn't necessarily mean that he's hungry. Duh!

I slept so well, that this morning I even managed to make hubby scrambled eggs on toast before he went to work! That's been a while.

Formula

Little Leon is 4 months old and still waking up once or twice during the night (sleep@9pm, feeds sometimes@12.30am and 3.30am). I'm exclusively breastfeeding, loving it, and don't mind the night-time feeds at all. However, envisioning a good nights sleep, we thought "perhaps let's combine formula milk for the evening feeds and maybe he'll stay asleep longer..."



I picked up two HiPP formula milk cartons from Waitrose to try it out, envisioning the feeding to be done by his father (who's bottle-fed him expressed milk in the past) but no, it was up to me. And it was horrible. Maybe I'm too emotional, but I felt like an awful mother giving him formula when I could breastfeed there and then. It felt wrong and I was sad :(

It made no difference to his sleeping - he didn't settle as well as usual (even had to resort to trusty hairdryer) and awoke at 3.30am for a feed much to my delight as my hard-rock boobs were really uncomfortable and had leaked all over the sheets! Will wait a bit longer me-thinks, though I'm sure it will always be hard to make the transition. Will defo get hubby to feed him though.

Thinking of seeing what's happening at the local W.I but not sure there is one! Hmm has the W.I undergone a new branding..
"Although we do not have a London federation, we have included this page to tell you about WIs in the captial. Traditionally WIs were based in rural areas, however, there is a growing interest in having them in urban areas, with London leading the way."

http://www.thewi.org.uk/viewFederation.aspx?id=2447

Richmond May Fair

Excited to see the prep for Richmond's May fair tomorrow underway! Same helter skelter and carousel from when I was little :)


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Location:A307,Richmond,United Kingdom

Dream Appartment in Paris

We're planning on moving to Paris at the end of this year. Previously - I was after the centrally located, high ceilings, 'F2' appartment with obligatory balcony, bath, separate kitchen etc.

 Not to mention - beautiful.

Now after spending so much time at our current flat (1-bed 100 year old flat above a shop in charming street in Twickenham, near the river) with the baby I've come to appreciate certain things. I realise the most important thing will be light : large windows and lots of light. We currently get beautifully warm light in the morning and afternoon in our bedroom - but the living room is constantly so dark because of the little window and scaffolding above it! I've really appreciated having new carpets and freshly painted walls from the beginning and it's so important to be easy to keep the place clean. Knowing that I need to de-clutter my life it would be helpful to have more storage for all our stuff and the liberty to nail things to the wall/ceiling (for mobiles, pictures, mirrors etc.)

It's these simple things that make me feel better about finding something smaller (ergo cheaper!) but nice to live in :) I don't even care if we rent a studio flat in Paris - as long as it's high up as a 'chambre de bonne' with a couple of small balconies (yes I'll have gates for the baby!), a working lift (running up to 6th floor a few times a day was fine for 6 months when I was 22 and baby-free - but not with the pram, shopping and baby in my arms) and a separate bathroom and kitchen, I will gladly live there. Even just out of Paris in Montreuil would be great. It will be a helluva lot cheaper than the two-bed flat in Montmartre, and would probably be the same size anyway!

Shall start de-cluttering soon and make the most out of my lovely little flat before it's time to go...

The new baby boomers: a menace? - Times Online

The new baby boomers: a menace? - Times Online

Helen Rumbelow's interesting article of current baby boom hits the spot... I was already amazed at the numbers of prams invading the high streets before finding out I was pregnant and now - we're contributing to this boom. Good thing we're planning on leaving the country for a few years to live in Paris, though it will be interesting to see if France has the same trend.

Richmond-Upon-Thames might be one of the places people move to and start families due to the wonderful parks, decent school and quick access to London- but it does now feel like a breeding ground.

Invasion of the buggies