Knomester

We do the same as StraferJack at The Victoria. We generally try to get there an hour or so before we all want to eat and let Baby Knomester have a good run around in the playroom (taking it in turns to stay in there with him) then he's usually more than happy to sit in his highchair for a good hour or so whilst we all eat together. I'd never leave him in the playroom - I don't think that's what it's designed for is it? The one at The Florence is probably a bit different because you can see everything going on in there if you're sat outside so you could maybe leave older children to play and watch them from outside.

Here's the link I mentioned: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,570543,580290 Hope you're feeling better soon.

I suffered dreadfully with thrush and it sounds like the pain I experienced. Please don't wait for treatment - get to the GP / Seldoc as soon as you can because it can get worse quite quickly. If it is thrush (which seems to make sense seeing as you've just been taking antibiotics) then you will need a loading dose of flucanozole and then a 10 day course. I'll dig out my old post on treating thrush now if I can find it and will post it here.

Fuschia I'll send you a couple of recipes that I cook for Baby Knomester next week. You can cook chicken in a sauce in the oven like sophiechristophy says. Instead of using a jar of salsa I would probably make a simple tomato sauce (onions, garlic, tinned tomatoes) with maybe some chilli if your children like spices food. I tend to make up big batches of tomato sauce for the freezer because it's so useful for lots of dishes or as a last minute standby sauce for pasta.

Hi Fuschia I don't eat meat either but I do cook meat for Baby (OK toddler...) Knomester. I find casseroles work well because I can include lots of veg and the chicken remains moist and tender. They also freeze really well. Recently I made one with leeks, sweet potato and butter beans. I find boneless thighs best for casseroles. I also make a dish with chicken, rice, tomatoes, peppers and a little mild paprika. I'm sure I make other chicken dishes but can't think right now off the top of my head! Do let me know if you'd like me to PM any recipes.

Sorry to hear this Pickle. So good that you have an appointment so soon. Good luck and hang on in there.

Hello! Exciting times ahead! I loved this stage with Baby Knomester - watching him explore food. We began to wean Baby Knoester when he was around 5 and 1/2 months. He had showed lots of interest in what we were eating for a little while and had begun to reach out and grab things so we felt it was the right time. We began by complementing his breastfeeds by introducing some little tastes of puree - rice with expressed milk (which he LOVED), pear, sweet potato, etc. We did take it faily slowly at first, introducing one new food per day. He loved eating and took to it straight away trying everything we offered. Natural yogurt took a while but once he had tried it with a little fruit puree swirled through he took to it and eats it by the bowlful (without the fruit puree!) now. I kept a sheet on the firdge of all the foods we offered, the date he first tried them and what his reactions were. It's lovely to look back at now... From his first tastes of pureed pear to eating 'normal' but still chopped food was around a month and that was the time when we actively offered finger food too. He had tried banana and other bits and pieces before that but we hadn't deliberately offered finger food at meals or as snacks before then. It was also around that time that he dropped to 3 breastfeeds a day (morning, mid afternoon and bedtime). Since then he has always had a mixture of spoon feeding (normal meals - we cook him mini versions of our meals for the freezer or share our meals minus the salt with him) and finger food. Hope this helps!

We have been through similar with Baby Knomester. We never really understood what it was that upset him, but as Fuschia recommends, we just got in the bath with him and we do the same now if, for example we're away and it's a different bathroom which can sometimes freak him out. We also changed from a bath every evening to every other evening or even every third day unless he is particularly mucky!

swagstar I can't imagine how you are coping with a tiny freezer...! As Saffron said, your daughter is probably seeking some independence which is completely normal. Have you been having a spoon each during mealtimes so that she can practice using cutlery? She'll probably be a long way off using cutlery and (as others have said) it's really not strictly necessary - hands do the job pretty well - but with some practice she may be able to manage more than you think. Baby Knomester could feed himself yogurt fairly reliably (!) from about 10 months - we just pu it in a ver small dish (easier to catch) and gave him a long handled weaning spoon so that he could reach his mouth and there was less on the spoon in case it did go flying everywhere. Maybe one to try. We also found that baby Knomester went through a stage of wanting to feed himself when he wasn't really capable so we let him and continued to feed him too, at the same time. If you've been used to your daughter eating lots from the spoon it is probably a bit daunting to think of her trying to feed herself enough food, especially as it sounds like she is (was) a good eater. Perhaps try a combination of more finger food, her own cutlery and maybe keep trying every so often to feed her too. I think being able to use cutlery properly to feed themselves comes a little later. Baby Knomester is 16 months now and has been spoon feeding himself for about a month now I think (it's all a bit hazy, could be a bit longer!). He still loves to ear with his hands though which is fine by me! There are some great ideas mentioned by mouseysarah above which goes to show that you can still get some variety in your daughter's diet. You mention breadsticks so presumably she has been having finger foods for a while now and use to eating normal lumpy food anyway so there really shouldn't be the risk of choking which there is when they are small. You could also try mini fritters (sweetcorn, topped with mashed avocado or cream cheese maybe), cheese scones, crudites with houmous (if your daughter isn't up to raw carrot, etc yet try lightly steaming them), pancakes rolled up with different savoury fillings (cream cheese, thick lentil daal, houmous or other bean pastes / purees), mini savoury muffins, polpette (you can really put anything into them - Baby Knomester likes aubergine ones or spinach and ricotta), fish goujons (strips of fish dipped in egg, flour, egg, breadcrumbs and fried or baked), chunky soups or daal which she can catch with a spoon or dip toast or pitta into, mini quiches (make them in bun tins and fill with whatever is to hand - tuna and sweetcorn is a good cupboard standby), pasta twirls are great for little hands and can be combined with any sauces. Good luck!

At 16 months have just dropped the bedtime BF and have been offering a little beaker of milk instead to ease the transition. We have just given the milk in a normal sippy cup - the same sort as we give water in - and all is going well. But like oimissus' little one, Baby Knomester has never had a bottle, so I'm not sure whether that makes any difference.

Pommie you have my every sympathy. It was one of the things that drove me potty when I was pregnant with Baby Knomester... Like Goodliz I suffer from restless legs and have done since I was a child. Unfortunately I have never found any reliable remedy (although I'm intrigued by the potassium suggestion so off to research that now...). I find that I have to get to sleep before I am very tired to stop the 'crawling' feeling in my legs from starting. It's worse if I nod off and wake up again before falling into a deep sleep which I imagine is causing you problems if you're having night wakings with being pregnant. It means being quite diligent and getting to bed early before over tiredness sets in. Are you able to sneak a little afternoon nap occasionally? That may help with not being overtired when it comes to bedtime. A cool bed can help as others have mentioned. If my legs are bad I throw the covers off until I am completely cold before trying to sleep again. I hope you can get some rest soon...

When Baby Knomester was a few weeks old he (with some help from us) had a routine of 3 naps a day - morning, after lunch and before tea. The last one of the day was always the trickiest because he's not the sort of baby to just nap anytime anywhere so he always had that one in the sling. When he was about 10 months old he began to resist the morning nap. If he slept in the morning he wouldn't sleep at lunchtime, if he didn't sleep in the morning (more usual) he would be OK (if a little grumpy) until his lunchtime nap. At the same time he began to wake up earlier in the mornings. After a couple of weeks we just gave up on the morning nap and he has never had one since. It took a couple of weeks for him to readjust his routine to suit him, but there was no was he wanted that morning nap. He now sleeps for between 2 and 3 hours after lunch and does the same with his childminder. I guess what I'm saying is that it although we thought 10 months was too soon to drop the morning nap, for Baby Knomester it was totally led by him so it might be right for other babies.

Another vote for the thrupennybits feeding cushions. I tried out a number of feeding cushions at the Peckham Rye BF cafe when Baby Knomester was 5 weeks just after his tongue tie snip. I needed to keep him in one place so he didn't slip (for my own sake...!) and it was the one that worked for me. I came home from the cafe and bought one straight away - express delivery! The lady who makes and sells them is lovely - call or email her for advice and she'll help.

We have a Beco Gemini (bought based on bluesuperted's advice...she is the queen of slings as far as I'm concerned!). I can't carry Baby Knomester around all day in it like some people can, but I don't think that's the fault of the sling, rather the problems I have with my back. We don't use the sling as regularly now but I can still carry Baby Knomester (now 16 months) around for an hour or so. I've not mastered the back carrying. I find myself inadvertently leaning forwards which isn't good for the posture! When Baby Knomester was younger I carried him facing out, but once he started getting a bit chunkier I found inward facing much more comfortable for us both.

Fushcia / ClareC - I am touched that you would like to come for dinner :)

It's so tough trying to think up new dishes when there are lots of limitations isn't it. We tend to eat vegan most week nights - I don't eat meat or eggs and although my husband eats everything we often steer clear of cheese etc for week night suppers. Baby Knomester doesn't eat with us in the evening yet (too young and we eat late after work) but I separate off portions for the freezer so we all end up eating some of the same dishes. These are some of the dishes we all eat / ideas: Veggie chilli with wedges (onions, peppers, courgette, chickpeas, red kidney beans, bulgar wheat, tomatoes, etc) Lentil or aduki bean shepherd's pie with veg (topped with mash, root veg mash or sliced root veg) Falafel pitta pockets (homemade falafel with things like shredded red cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, houmous, etc) Vegetable curry (either a specific recipe or to use up veg lurking at the bottom of the fridge) with rice or chapatti Lentil daal (again we often add things like spinach or cauliflower to make into more of a meal Fajitas style wraps with refried beans, roasted peppers, mushrooms, etc and homemade guacamole instead of the usual soured cream Casseroles / chunky soups with herby dumplings or bread Rose Elliot has some good basic recipes - her bean book is good for vegan from recollection. We make her green lentil, carrot and tomato sauce to go with spaghetti Spicy (lightly spiced if needs be!) chickpeas in a tomato sauce with brown rice Tuna, sweetcorn & pasta bake (old uni favourite...) How about tuna 'meatballs'? Pakoras are great for lunchtimes and you can use almost any veg you have in the fridge Vegetable paella or risottos (leaving out the cheese for your son) Ratatouille (or a winter version with squash at this time of year) with grilled halloumi for your partner and tuna for your son If I can help with any recipes do let me know.

There's something going on in Nunhead - stalls at the Old Nun's Head and along Evelina Road (where Bambuni is). I think there's also a Kirkdale Village fair or market.

Do you know how long the resurfacing is expected to take? Thanks

I would recommend my guitar teacher who also teaches in schools and is therefore used to teaching children. He has a calm and gentle manner and loves teaching. If you would like his details please let me know.

As bluesuperted says, tongue ties have a lot to answer for... I'm so pleased that you have managed to find the help you need Annie456 after what seems to have been an uphill struggle. Clare Kedves is amazing in my view and hopefully she will be able to help get you and baby back on track. If it helps at all, I wrote the post bluesuperted posted a link to early on in this thread and am still breastfeeding my baby twice a day at 13 months. You can do it.

Me and Mr are interested too!

I'll PM you my lamb casserole recipe later or tomorrow when I have chance. We all run out of ideas so it's great to share ideas with other parents! I also find myself spending more time cooking for baby than for me and Mr...about to embark on a mammoth soup cooking session to use up the veg in the fridge!

No problem! Scrambled egg is a good quick tea when you suddenly realise it's nearly 5pm and you've got nothing sorted. Baby Knomester just had scrambled egg with peas and a cheese scone out of the freezer - perfect because it was all ready in about 5 mins. Another lunchtime favourite at the moment is lamb casserole. I cook up a huge batch for the freezer and it takes no doing because it's a one pot dish. Then defrost as and when and serve with potato or couscous and extra veg. Does your little one like finger foods? If so, have you tried making homemade fishfingers and sweet potato wedges - they both freeze well too.

Here's one thread with meal / finger food ideas: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,670171

I've posted some ideas on other threads in the past. Baby Knomester has just woken up from his nap so don't have time to search now but will dig out the threads later for you!