Weaning

Health vistors now advise for you to wait 6 months to wean and to follow 'baby led weaning' but as all babies are not the same and because for some, the idea of handing your baby solid food is quite daunting, I thought I would share our weaning experience so far.



As Layla has reflux my OH thought weaning could solve all of our problems so was keen to begin the weaning using puree at 4 months. I wasn't. After lots of reading and talking to health visitors and other mums I really wanted to exclusively do baby led weaning especially after the option to breast feed was taken out of my hands. I didn't want to not give my child the 'best' option again. We went back and forth on this and I asked for opinion after opinion but nobody could give me an answer as to whether or not the weaning was going to help her reflux so at 5 1/2 months I threw in the towel and made up my first batch of homemade puree.




She wasn't a lover of food at first and it took her a while to actually swallow any food but we got there. She was having a puree 'meal' a day and I went down the full traditional weaning route and did 3 days of each new food getting her used to the flavours.



6 months came and I was so excited to try her with her first lot of finger food. Layla however was not impressed and proceeded to throw it all on the floor much preferring the puree food that I could spoon feed her.



I persevered though and now at 8 months she eats a great combination of puree and finger foods so much so she has completely gone off her milk feeds in the day!




Now that she is eating the new question is what should we feed her everyday?
Breakfast is usually porridge with fruit and the occasional crumpet or slice of toast, lunch a sandwich or wrap but tea time for me is always the trickiest. It's not just what to feed her for tea but also when as we still want her to be hungry for her bedtime bottle. I have taken to doing a combination of pouches or giving her our last nights tea depending on the time/night in question.




It's still a working progress and I think it will take us a long while to get it fully working for us but I can honestly say I look forward to meal times with Layla however messy it may be.


Reflux update

Since I last posted about reflux (back in April) time has whizzed by but the hope we had of Layla's reflux being a thing of the past hasn't happened so I thought I would write a little update on how our now 9 month old (where has the time gone?!) is getting on. 

In terms of medication Layla is on pretty much everything she can be on for reflux. Prescription milk, gavison, ranitidine, domperidone and omeprazol. Each to be taken at different times of the day at different quantities. The medication has definitely helped her comfort levels as when she is sick it doesn't seem to hurt her as much and she is a lot more settled. We can now tell when the meds need adjusting because of her weight as she begins to be really unsettled again arching her back a lot and not sleeping very well. 

We have also had a couple of reflux related hospital stays.The first was for an operation on a suspected Laryngomalacia which is basically a floppy tissue above the vocal cords that. falls into the airway when a child breathes in. If you read up on this it is something that can either cause reflux or the reflux can cause this to happen. We didn't get the operation because of her reflux even though they suspected it was all linked. We got it due to a weird noise Layla used to make while breathing. The operation fixed the  Laryngomalacia but alas the reflux showed no improvement. 

The second hospital stay was a PH study which meant a microchip on a tube was positioned in Layla's stomach for 24 hours recording how acidic her stomach was and how often she was sick. Alongside this I had to keep an activity sheet and write down everything from whether she sneezed to what activities we were doing to see if there was an causes for her reflux or whether certain parts of the day aggravated her reflux. The results we received a few days later didn't give us much good news just more confirmation that she had significant reflux and that we would need to up her medication once again. 

Around the same time of the PH study Layla began refusing her milk during the day and therefore drinking as little as 12 ozs (360ml) in 24 hours. The Dr is worried (as am I) that Layla has now begun to associate any liquid with vomiting and is therefore refusing to drink it. As a result of this we are off to the dietitian soon to see what we can do about it.  

We are currently waiting to see what this next lot of upping the medication does for Layla. We are hoping it does the trick and that she stops being sick and settles. If she still isn't right after this lastest medication increase we will be back in again for more tests. 

It's not all bad news though, Layla is steadily gaining weight and is back up to the 9th percentile, where she was at birth, and seems to be meeting her milestones as normal. 

Any other reflux babies out there? Any other mummies been there and done that? Would love to hear some stories of babies who have grown out of their reflux and any tips other mums might have on reflux babies.  


Diary of an imperfect mum


Alice Lily dribble bibs review


When Alice. Lily had an opportunity for product testers for their dribble bibs I jumped at the chance! Having a reflux baby means that I go through several dribble bibs a day trying to keep clothes fresh and sick free. The products arrived promptly in beautiful packaging with clear instructions on how to care for them. 





When I opened them I was not only taken aback by the appearance, design and quality of stitching but also just how large they were. When I compared them to other dribble bibs I had bought in high street stores they offered way more coverage than others I had previously purchased. 

Another feature of the dribble bib I was pleased with was the use of poppers at the back to fasten. Some bibs I had previously bought used Velcro to fasten and this had irritated the back of Layla's neck. The poppers also provided two fittings which will allow the bib to grow with Layla. 

We received two bibs one with a toweling back and one with a fleece back. Upon wearing both of these bibs were extremely absorbent. Layla was able to wear just one of these bibs for the whole day without it making her top damp or irritating her neck and chin. She was even sick at one point and the dribble bib caught this with ease. 



If I had to pick between the toweling and fleece I would pick the fleece as after washing the toweling was quite rough while the fleece back maintained its smooth back and I feel it was softer on her skin. 

Overall I would definitely recommend these dribble bibs and buy them again as I was more than satisfied with the product as well as the speedy delivery. 

If you would like to check out more of Alice Lily's products you can find them here:

 http://www.alicelily.net/

Or on her social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliceLilyTutus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alicelilytutus/?fref=ts 
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/alice.lily.xx/





Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this blog post however I did receive a discount on the product. All views are my own. 



fashion look book - my favourite outfits 0-3 months





I love a good outfit of the day pic and our little ones are in their clothes for such a short amount of time, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite outfits Layla wore in 0-3 months. 



 

Keeping her warm in those winter months. Hat £3 George @ asda, Coat was a gift but it was from next, dribble bibs £3 pack of 3 George @ Asda, Jeans from baby gap outlet and booties from penguin which was also a newborn gift.









This outfit was too cute but the jumpsuit was a pain as it had no leg poppers just buttons down the back so she didn't end up wearing it much. Dribble bibs pack of 3 and booties from Tu at Sainsburys, cardigan hand knitted and jumpsuit from MandCo.







I got this dress and headband set from the next outlet store, tights asda and the cutest shoes from Matalan. Layla got ALOT of wear out of this.










This number was a gift from a family member when Layla was first born and even came with a hat and cuddly bunny it's from next and made a great gift. I even went on and purchased it for a friend! 






She looks so small here! As you can see I'm a great fan on the t-shit and jeans combo. Shoes, cardigan, jeans and dribble bib as before. Headband from ted baker and the t-shirt from M&Co.










It's that knitted cardigan making an appearance again (I think we had 3). The top was a gift from a friend when I was pregnant, the bottoms are from mothercare and the little booties from penguin. Lots of her stuff for 0-3 was neutral as we didn't find out if we were having a boy or a girl. 







Due to Layla's reflux a romper is always a winner to keep in the nappy bag for emergencies and this white one is simply stunning. It's from Ralph Lauren and the headband from an instragram shop (sorry I can't remember which one). I tend to pop a headband on her on every occasion so people know she's a girl! 








This top is actually a built in vest from baby gap. It looks adorable and is practical too. The bottoms are from tesco again as a newborn gift. As were the booties and dribble bib. 




The Diary of an 'Ordinary' Mum






What should I do with you?


The first few weeks went by in a blur and I was lucky enough to have my OH home with me for the first month but once he went back to work the days dragged and some days became unbearable. On more than one occasion I had to ring my other half to come home as I couldn't cope!

I soon discovered that the days I spent in the house were the worst and the the days. I felt I couldn't cope so I soon made a pact with myself that I would need to go out everyday even if it was just to the shop. Over the next few months however, I was able to find some good groups and activities to keep us both happy. Here is what a typical week looked like for me:

Monday - At the local sure start centre Mondays were the baby clinic day where you could go and get your baby weighed. As well as getting your baby weighed your child can play in the playroom and you can chat to the other mums.

Tuesday - We didn't really have much planned on a Tuesday so I used to either take Layla out to wander the shops or to get some odd jobs done. 

Wednesday - We headed to our local library. This was our favourite day of the week. At our local library they do a book start bear club where there is a song and story time. 

Thursday - This used to be baby massage day and then we moved on to swimming lessons for only a £1 a session at our local pool. 

Friday - As Tuesday we used to plan walks out or meet up with friends. 

I couldn't recommend finding your local sure start centre enough. There is always plenty going on and so much to do throughout the week. It is also a great place to meet other Mums. 

What does your week with your baby look like?


Diary of an imperfect mum


Guest blogs/features

The butterfly mother guest post- Why breast isn't always best

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