Mums Running Club

So many posts!

Nappies - when they have their solids their poo is solid so I don't think leakage is really a problem. Mitchie Moo, do you leave your nappies in a dry bin or something like napisan before washing them? I have just put them in with oils but my Mum can not stand this!

Sorry got to rant now....

As for changing facilities at Belfast airport there is one baby changing room in the departures which has a lock on the door. I locked the door as I was feeding James in it (not the nicest aroma around!) However someone tried the handle and I felt obliged to finish his feed there and then so the could change their little girl.

And as for airports, at Stansted I had James' eczema cream and food taken away. I was livid (and cried). I thought security was less stringent - how wrong. His cream would have been fine if it had been in a plastic bag. To get a plastic bag I would have to queue up again (and having been kept 20mins as they went through my bag, phone... I did not have time for this - one of the last onto the plane). James' food in milk free and when I said 'What about his food?' 'Sorry no you can't take that unless you put it into another container' WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? I had a bottle in my hand luggage (it did not fit in the bulging suitcase) so I had to put the baby food into the bottle and they threw the packet away. What madness! Having checked the things you are allowed, prescription creams and baby food are both allowed. There was also no mention of needing to put them into a plastic bag anywhere. Please can someone tell me what difference a plastic bag makes?

Rant over.

Our Mothercare feeding / changing facilities are fantastic - especially for b'feeding which is a separate comfy room. All very clean.

As for b'feeding tops I bought some in H & M. However I have given up with those and just wear normal tops. My friend suggests two tops, one that goes up and one that goes down. This worked for me at the start. (a little vest top / vest under normal clothes)

Better go and write my complaint to stansted - not that they will care!

GM we got the mothercare's wall fix, extendable stair gate. Hubby not yet attached it even though Mr mobile explores everywhere. Will say when it is attached if it seems any good.

Minks - I've not even bothered trying to use the Tube with a buggy, I have just been with the sling so far. Our tube station has loads of steps and there's not always anyone around to - hopefully - help. And I can't imagine it being much fun trying to find space on the train itself for the buggy! At least with the sling, people jump up and offer their seat. When you start pushing a buggy around, you become an expert on the state of pavements and where all the steps are!

Our holiday is to Croatia in a couple of weeks. I'm a bit nervous about flying with the little one, but we are travelling with friends who have a four year old and one year old, so are experts. I'm going to keep Hector out of the sun as much as possible, but does anyone have a recommendation for sun cream that is suitable for such sensitive skin, and not perfumed?

Any other holiday tips welcome!

Suncreams that might be worth a look at are E45 and Simple.

Ah, E45, good thinking!

Yes I dry pan them (nappies). My Mum also finds this revolting, but I think more hygenic than dripping yuk when I try to put in the machine. I use white vinegar, nappy fresh and tea tree oil in the wash, and line dry as often as I can, or tumble dry as no radiators on in summer.

 We went on tube with twins in backpacks to watch the tour de france. Was great and everyone entertained the boys quite surprising for the tube. Wouldn't attempt with buggy though.

 We are planning holiday abroad next year with twins, but avoided this year as they have prescription formula as they were prem, and seemed to much of a nightmare.

 Minks I have two babies who haven't winged much with teething either. J nearly has 6 teeth, harry is cutting his 3rd and 4th.

im due to fly to Bahrain in September - just hope I can get Jacob's eczema cream ok'd!

gmx

Mitchie - I put our nappies in a dry bucket too, with a few drops of tea tree to neutralise the smell (though it's not that bad anyway!). Our line is full of nappies right now...the sun (?!) bleaches them, which is good. Winter should be interesting though because we don't have a tumble drier.

I've found people on the tube (and everywhere else for that matter) to be very friendly towards Hector, he makes so many new friends when we go out! It's funny looking across to the seats opposite and see a row of smiling faces

isn't it just so lovely how many friendly faces our babies make ... tis a shame we're not so sociable as adults. 

would tea tree oil work in an ordinary (disposable) nappy bin?

GMx

GM - I don't see why not (tea tree oil). It's a good antiseptic as well, so handy to have around.

So true that people are much friendlier towards you when you have a baby.  In general I found people on the Tube really helpful even with the buggy!  We didn't have a baby carrier then but borrowed a Baby Bjorn front carrier for our holiday in Devon from one of my antenatal group friends.  It was fantastic and we've since bought one cheap on E-bay.  Didn't seem worth spending much as Kit won't be in it for long - he's not quite sitting yet but should be able to go in a back carrier now as his head is fine.  When we went on holiday he was 4.5 months and not quite ready for a back carrier.  I took him to Sainsbury's in the Baby Bjorn on Sunday but it was a bit of a nightmare - he now tries to grab everything and kept trying to pull my purse into his mouth to chew, not to mention the umbrella and trying to grab things off the shelves as I leaned towards things I wanted to buy!  Also found him rather heavy to carry for any length of time!

 We opted not to go abroad this year either - just seemed too much hassle with all the bottles and other paraphernalia we'd have needed.  Will probably do so next year though.  Plodding along, I was outraged reading your tales of airport nightmares.  Can't believe you weren't allowed to take Jacob's cream on the plane.

 Kit seems to be enjoying his baby rice.  Bought pears and carrots yesterday and hubby fixed the hand blender to the kitchen wall for ease of access - purees here we come!!

Have fun Minks! All I can say is Vanish Oxi-action works very well!!

 Its amazing how quickly they develop. My two are now self feeding small vegs and sandwiches. They munch through dried prunes and apricots, nectarine chunks, kiwi fruit loads of stuff. Also now nearly off the bottle which will be great for going away. no more sterilising!

Boys at childminder today for first time. All very strange, trying to do some work, but failing miserably!

x

Can I just ask people about immunisations? Hector is booked in for his first lot next week, along with a BCG as recommended by the HV. Someone today put a bit of doubt in my mind about the whole thing, but I really don't feel informed enough to make a decision either way. What do others think?

BCG doesn't seem to be routinely offered in my area.  Kit hasn't had the BCG immunisation.  He's had the others though at 8, 12 and 16 weeks.  After the first ones he was very sleepy for the rest of the day - with all the others there was no discernible reaction, although with all three lots he went off his food for a couple of days 2-3 days after the injections.

 Mitchie, can't believe yours are nearly off the bottle - what bliss!  Kit will now take water from a sippy cup on his own (bless him - he knew exactly what to do with it having watched me have my morning cup of tea every day) and I'm going to start using a normal beaker too as I don't want him to only be able to drink from a spout.  My plan is to start giving him water from a cup at the mealtimes he has solids once he's completely off milk at those feeds and go from there.

 He had 1.5 teaspoons of baby rice this evening and wolfed it down.  Seems to be swallowing it really well now - virtually none dribbled out.  Once he's having two teaspoonsful I'll start on the purees.

Minks, having drinks with lids is really useful rather than cups so they can be transported about.  My friend had cups from Jojo Maman than have 'an extra bit' which kind of guides the drink into her daughter's mouth.  I thought they were great and intend to get some.

 Bib wise I had loads and was going through one each meal time as I had expected.  However I have discovered the 'ones with arms'.  For me these have worked wonders and keep James really clean as he rubs his chin on his shoulder.  Although the ones that catch things seem to be good too.  Just thought it might be worth adding this to those going through the whole weaning stage.

Anyone got ideas for healthy snacks.  James has breakfast at 7am and then nothing until lunch between 12 and  1.  How long do prepared veg last in the fridge?  (I do not eat cold food so have no idea about cold veg etc and he is not going to eat vast quantities)

 AP - same as Minks immunisation wise - we didn't have BCG (not that I am aware of).  However I do recommend having the calpol at the ready.  Some babies have no reaction at all to injections others do feel uncomfortable.  Calpol is genius!  Some people give it to their baby before and after injections, I always waited to see if there was any reaction first.

Ditto, Ploddingalong - I took Calpol with me to his immunisation appointments but actually never needed to give it to him.  I didn't want to give it to him before the injections as a) thought it may mask any reaction and b) didn't want to be dosing him up if he didn't need it.

Thanks for thoughts on bibs.  Have seen the 'ones with arms' and have made a mental note for later when he wants to self-feed.  Baby rice isn't too dangerous!

Am now officially the mother that Katie Hopkins from The Apprentice despises - pureeing everything in sight and what's more, enjoying it!  Just made his first batch of pear puree - if he doesn't like it I'll eat it; it's yummy!  Carrots are steaming gently as I type ...!

Have to admit I quite enjoy making their food too minks. They have pretty much what we eat now, except for chilli days and other spicey food makes life much easier!

 Plodding along I give the boys chopped up fruit, like kiwi, pineapple, nectarine, grapes etc, dried fruit (pears, apricots and prunes, the really soft organic ones) and rice cakes or cow&gate savoury biscuits with a drink of water.

I use the anyway cups which work brilliantly for out and about. Harry does prefer sipping from a normal cup with no lid though.

OK ... carrot puree is a nightmare!  Haven't given any to Kit yet but you should see the state of my hand blender!  Anyone got any tips for bleaching the orange stain out of things?  My blender was nice and white earlier this morning - now it's orange!  Think carrot may be an occasional thing until he can eat it unpureed ...

Now have four little freezer cubes of pear puree and four of carrot.  Bought some lidded weaning cubes from Blooming Marvellous - really good as they can hold up to 70ml of puree which will be great later on when he's taking bigger portions.  They stack in their own tray neatly in the freezer - great if you're anal like me!

Gosh, lots to chatch up on! I'm taking in all the weaning tips because I know it will come round soon enough! As Hector will be around that age at Christmas, his first solids might even be Christmas dinner! I did see a mum at baby yoga with a tiny little 'bowl' (more of a thimble!) with a lid, looked like the perfect size for when they are just taking a few spoonfuls, I think she said it was from Mothercare. 

 Thank you for responding re: immunisations. Our HV suggested the BCG (you have to go to the local hospital) because of living in 'inner city London', apparently TB is making a reappearance around these parts. I suppose I'm more concerned about the long-term consequences, with all of the controversy around MMR vaccines, but just have no idea about alternatives. I've read the pamphlet that is given by the HV from cover to cover, and it's so neutral and doesn't really tell you anything...then there's an address at the back for claiming compensation if your child develops any complications as a result - great! Hmmmm, am going to do some research.