I am totally useless on the milk and weaning questions BUT



Jess- Hannah's Cake looks FANTASTIC!! Well done!



In the Toddler book I'm reading (Toddler Tactics - Pinky McKay)- it says not to make an issue of foods. Offer small portions, as they have short attention spans, and lots of variety. Feed them when they're hungry. As they get older, their growth slows a little, and as does their appetite)



Wining foods according to Pinky McKay are cool steamed vegies, cut into fingers, home made pizzas, different cheeses, different breads, and anything they can dip - like Hommus, or Yoghurt.



If you've got a choice, offer fresh fruit and veg. And basically what the family's eating.



of course, that is life according to Pinky. In our house, Connor eats some of his dinner most nights - some of his lunch, which is sandwhiches and fruit. And Alllllll of his breakfast (Porridge, with purreed fruit to sweeten). With about 3 BF's in between throughout the day.



WTF is with Vanilla formula is it real vanilla? or some hideous artificial flavour?

yeah crazy huh Ki.


Man, I wish Taylor ate only 'some' She is an absolute monster when it comes to eating. I worry that she is still hungry but I feel her tummy and it's about to burst

She loves to feed herself, though doesn't know when she has put too much food in her mouth, piglet.
With some foods that I feed her she will go grabbing it out of her mouth to play with. I have found if I let her play with it, it distracts her long enough to get more in Mummy dislikes it when it goes on her freshly washed pants though

Ki, what sorts of fruit does Connor have? I must admit, I am slack in the fruit department. Taylor has had various fruits as per SOS, but we have been slack and stuck on pear for a while. When I go out to buy her something different to eat 'fresh' I can't find anything. Wrong season.
Veges wise, Taylor has zucchini, pumpkin, potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, beans.

I have found it easier now to just cook them up fresh.


Nina, are you only spoon feeding, or letting Eva get at the food herself ? Maybe cook up some veges and pop her in the highchair and let her go crazy


ETA: Taylor was never too fussed on rockmelon and I tried her on watermelon only recently (yes slack me) and she wasn't too keen on that either. I'll have to buy and try again. Maybe puree them to see if she will take them if she doesn't have to chew and then go from there. Oh and she doesn't seem to like banana much.

Keira what do you put on Connors sandwiches? I make Emma vegemite, she also had grilled cheese and LOVES salmon. Aside from that I cant really think of much else to do in the sandwich department at the moment. I tried giving her ham but she prefers to eat that on its own so I give her pieces of ham and cubes of cheese as lunch sometimes.

Amy I found I had to persist with banana, at first she didnt like it but now she loves it. Emma does exactly what Taylor does with her food. She insists on feeding it to herself and if I put it into her mouth on a spoon she spits it out and then feeds it to herself with her fingers, we've had to invest in some pretty big bibs

Leash. Have you seen the smocks at Big W ? They are Silly Billyz brand. They have plastic sleeves and a fleecy front. Brilliant at keeping them and their clothes clean. They are in the baby section near the bibs.

We use cream cheese, cottage cheese, avocado as some of our toast/sandwich fillings. Have you tried Tuna with Emma yet ?

It's so hard to come up with ideas and I should keep a list of everything that Taylor has eaten, meals, fillings everything. Would make it easier on those 'no brain' days.


Do you give freshly cooked salmon or from the tin ? I want to give Taylor Salmon but not keen on the bones in the tin stuff (i know they are edible, but yeah, would prefer to hold off on that one).
Maybe I should make my yummy baked salmon dish so I can give her some freshly cooked.

Leash I do the fillings like Amy suggested. It is hard coming up with new things. Eva loves toasted sandwiches and had a salmon and cheese one today (tinned salmon that doesn't have bones). Another thing (although I probably wouldn't eat it) is Hommus (the natural stuff and not the hommus dip) or even bananna sandwiches?.

I have read vegemite has a bad additive (does anyone know about this?) so I am put off giving this too her too much although Michael has it on his toast and she always seems to get a bit anyway.


She has had finger food from the word go and this is the part of the problem I think lol as she just wants to feed herself and of course throw the food across the room.

Ki, thanks for the info from Pinky!

Con has vegemite, pureed fruit spread, cream cheese, tuna, and sometimes avocado sangers



With regards to fruit, I Basically give him what's fresh and in season. He'd sell his soul for watermelon though. It's quite hillarious!



I have read about the vegemite additive - but haven't researched further It's quite high in salt too. But we use it pretty sparingly.



Apparently the bones in salmon are a really good source of calcium - but I tend to think they're a really good choking hazard also.



Con won't be spoon fed - little toad, so it's finger food and mess round here. I suppose the good thing is, he's learning textures and sensations



I most likely won't get on tomorrow - so

Taylor has had vegemite once, that was yesterday, and the amount was so small it would not have even covered my small fingernail simply because of the salt content. Had noted the Preservative 220. I am not clued up on all of these, but I guess it's more of a concern if you have a bub that is extremely sensitive to food additives............asthma triggered by it, etc.


Yep Ki, the salmon bones are good for you. I eat them, but yes, too paranoid about the choking side of things, so have since found out you can buy boneless in the can.


I try to alternate with spoon feeding and finger food. Lunch finger food, dinner spoon fed, or vice versa. But if I am having a super lazy day it will be spoon all the way

Happy Birthday Elijah!

I had no idea about problems with Vegemite, we are big fans in this house. Guess I'll have to reconsider that one, not that we've been giving it to her too often.

I hadnt even thought of cream cheese, avocado or banana so I'll have to try those too. I was watching Taming Toddlers the other day and they had a nutritionist make Hommus from scratch so Im going to do some this week, I just have to go to the supermarket and buy some tahini. Emma loves it when I make chickpea stew so Im hoping she will like the hommus too.

Amy I give Emma both types of salmon but mainly tinned. I make sure that I take out the backbones and the larger bones that lead off the backbone but the others I leave and make sure Ive crused well with a fork. She hasnt had any problem yet. I'll have to look for one of those bibs, my sister has a couple and they do seem great, oh and Im glad all the bubs are obsessed with feeding themselves!

Emma LOVES watermelon too! I guess its so sweet and tasty you cant really blame them

Still salty but if you want a vegemite that has no preservatives or that additive, I just looked at hubby's gluten free variety. It's found in the health food aisle of the supermarket.

Now that Keely isn't a coeliac, we've been feeding her toast but she won't come at sandwiches. Will keep persisting! She still lives on a lot of fruit and if it's not in season, I'll use tinned fruit. She also loves spaghetti which is interesting to watch.

Not much news this way. More teething happening. She already has 8 teeth and it almost feels like it's a permanent state of being for her at the moment! She gets one through after nearly a week and then gets a few weeks grace and then another one will start!

Happy birthday Elijah!

Happy Birthday Elijah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope you had a nice day Heidi.

Gayle, silly question probably but do u add anything to the spaghetti or just give it to her plain? (or is it tinned you mean?)
Hope the teething sorts itself out for you. I really had no idea that teething was such a big deal pre baby!!.

Eva had her first 1 day sleep today!!. (ERRRR). She conked out at 7pm and my DH keeps telling me thats it now and I need to plan for 1 sleep a day. I am hoping its just today as I like her sleeping 2x a day ( ).

Ooh we are also experiencing tantrums here. If she wants something and doesn't get it she throws a hissy fit. She even layed on the tiles last night crying!!! (OH NO IT'S TOO EARLY). She woke at 4am and was crying too, I gave in and picked her up and took her into our bed. I have done this the past couple of nights for about 5- 10 minutes till she is calm and then put her back (and she justs rolls over and goes back to sleep).

However last night, when i put her back she went MENTAL. Never have heard her like it. She was pointing to our bedroom and throwing herself back pretty much saying, take me to your bed or else!!. We didn't give in (are we mean?) as I realised we were creating a rod for our own back, but I gave her some milk (it's worse than the early days lol) and then she pointed at her cot, which meant she wanted to go back in there! (?). Anyway fingers crossed for tonight.

Oh back to the vegemite thing. Sorry I shouldn't have mentioned it without the info I had...
The best book to explain it all (its a minefield understanding/explaining all the additive/preservative thing) I have found is Additive Alert by Julie Eady. It is very interesting and has encouraged me to throw out things.

This is a quick checklist of the ones we should avoid if we are trying to pick out a few

100 102 104 110 120
122 123 124 127 129
131 132 133 150 151
153 155 160b 173 174
175 249 250 251 252
280 281 282 283 310
311 312 319 320 321
385 407 407a 431 433
435 436 466 530 553
621 627 631 635 900
914 943a 950 951 952
954 967 1201 1520 1521
This list includes the worst additives that most people want to avoid. These are the additives that are suspected carcinogens, banned in other conuntries or are linked to other serious adverse health effects. If you have asthma or other specific health concerns, there may be more additives that you wish to include on your list.

Oh Gayle I feel for you. We just got through Emmas first lot of molars, I think they're called pre-molars and now she is getting her top 2 canines through. Its been pretty horrible here too. Thanks for the info on the gluten free Vegemite type spread, I'll have a look today. Im also thinking about checking the Marmite because I actually prefer it to Vegemite anyway.

Thanks for the info on the additives Nina. We try and make as much food from scratch here as possible including all our own pasta sauces etc. Its hard because so many foods have nasty additives these days. I went to buy Weetbix the other day for a different breakfast for Emma and even it has nasties added so I got the Kids Weetbix which doesnt. Oh and Im not looking forward to tantrums or the one day sleep!

I dont know if Ive mentioned this here before (sorry if I have) but I used to be a Liability Underwriter in the Insurance industry. Anyway I was at a seminar and there was an industry leader saying that in the future they are expecting mass civil law suits to be filed against all sorts of food manufacturers because our generation will be the first to experience health issues from consuming so many of the additives. I think its terrible that the Govt allow these things to go on when other countries are banning them.

Dummy alert! Leash, I didn't know there were nasties in Weetbix. Can you give some more info please. AND I had no idea there was a kids weetbix ? Both hubby and I only eat weetbix when it comes to cereal so that is what we have been giving Taylor for a little while now.

Nina, http://fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ is another good source of information.

If anyone is interested, I went on a posting spree of what I consider to be toddler friendly family recipes. It is pinned at the top of this section. Some we have given Taylor, others we are yet to. I have quite a few more too, but just haven't gotten around to typing them out.

I was looking at the multi-grain Weetbix at the time here is the Ingredient list:

Wholegrain wheat (36%), rice oats (12%), sorghum (10%), rye (10%), puffed wheat), sugar, coconut (2.5%), wheat bran, barley malt extract, coconut oil, salt, honey (0.5%), glucose, vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin), mineral (iron), acidity regulators (260, 262). No artificial flavourings or colourings. May contain traces of milk and soy.

The Kids Weetbix doesnt have the refined sugar or regulators. This is the ingredient list for the Kids Weetbix:

wholegrain wheat (96%), raw sugar, minerals (calcium carbonate, zinc glutonate, iron), barley malt extract, salt, vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin).

I still wasnt keen on the barley malt extract or salt but its so difficult to find things these days so I figured this was better

Thanks for the link I will look soon

Hmmm I wonder which I have, sounds like the second, but ours isn't a kids weetbix.

we have a 1.3kg pack from Coles. It just says Weet-Bix. 97% whole grain.

Ingredients: Whole Grain Wheat (97%), raw sugar, salt, barley malt extract, minerals (zinc, gluconate, iron), vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folate).

This food thing is so bloody hard isn't it!
I bought the kids weetbix this week (although non of it get eaten), but I can't see myself doing that forever when we eat the normal ones ourself.



HAPPPPPPPPPPPY BIIIIIIIIIIIIRTHDAY TO CONNOR!!!![color=#CC0000]

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY CONNOR

What a special little man you are and adorable..

Looks like the normal Weetbix is fine its just the multi-grain one I looked at. You'd think they'd all be the same wouldn't you.

Thats great news Bek, you must be excited! How is Cooper going? Love your sig too

Thank you for all the birthday wishes - Connor had a lovely day, spent with beautiful friends, and his family.



Wow Amelya!! That's incredible!! woot for you little one!

Make sure you do lots more for your mummy to see!



mmm Gayle, you've got me hanging out for cold tinned spaghetti



This food thing is a biatch - Fresh is best, but even some fresh fruits and veg are high in salicytes, which are potentially allergen causing.

LMAO Who'd be a parent.



We're now in the molar cutting ranks too - Michelle, I've started giving conor lots of toast to see if it delays the cutting process... I'll let you know, so you can inform your MIL.



He's a grumpy, drooly, clingy, snotty litttle man, and it breaks my heart when he's in pain.



He seems to like munching on a refridgerated flannel, and massaging his gums with that. We've also got bonjella ( ) on a teether, that's meant to hit hte back of his gums (A happy baby one I think)



When he's good, he's very very good, when he's bad he's a horror

thats fantastic about amelya!

we too missed Hannah's first steps
mum was looking after her so we could build her birthday cake. i was on the phone with her at the time and she started screaming "oh my god - hannah just took two steps!!"
she did it again yesterday - and we missed it again

she just doesn't want me to see yet!

That is fantastic news Bek, you must be so pleased

Sorry to hear you had to have surgery on your leg, you really have had a rough year! Glad everything is getting better for you

Bek, you have had a huge year. I often find it exhausting with 1, so to deal with 3, a marriage and everything else you have certainley amazes me.

Girls I am def pregnant lol. I had my scan today and it was amazing seeing another bubba in there. Kiera are u having a scan?

Have a nice weekend girls

So where are your scan piccies?? As something of 'aunts', we should be able to blubber over your baby!

Bek, ooch! I say you should be taking out shares in that hospital up there. I'm glad to hear that things are looking up now. It's about time.

Oh Kiera, looking at your sig and my revised dates (i knew I was right and the previous obs was wrong lol) it looks like we are due on the same day lol

Ooh thanks Gayle!, I have to say the scan pic looks like Eva and like every other persons 12 week scan lol. I had a psychic tell me that I am having another two children and will def get another girl.

Oh Nina Baby Twinnies!



We're not having the NT scan - so nothing for a few weeks yet.



So where are these pics *taps foot*



Bek ((hugs))

Oooh how exciting that you are both due at the same time! I agree with Gayle we should get to see all scan pics that you girls have

How are Keely and Eva going with their teeth? We are still having no sleep, these canines just wont break through. I went and stayed up at my parents place for a few days and even they couldnt believe what a terrible night I had with her, she is also just cranky most of the day at the moment poor little thing.

Hey Leash, we're hanging in there this end. She is trying so hard to be a happy little Vegemite but when she teeths she always cries and needs an extra bottle at about 10pm. They just won't break through this end either (and to be honest, she's so upset that I am praying they break through and aren't just working their way down because I am so tired. I don't want to go through this again. They are so right when they say molars are the worst)

You poor thing, I know what you mean about feeling so tired. We didnt get to bed until 12.45 this morning because Emma was just screaming for hours. Emma is has her molars but is getting her top two canines at the moment which is making her fall over all the time too. We had given her all the Nurofen or Panadol and Bonjella we could but it still wasnt enough to stop her being in pain. We ended up going driving twice and eventually she went off to sleep. I worked out that we've gone through 5 litres of milk in a week because of how much extra she is wanting to drink!

Hopefully they all get these teeth through quickly

Oh these poor teethers

Con's molars have given him some grief - so I'm not looking forward to Canines.



Poor Emma - she's getting them earlyish too which is just mean on her teeth's front.

Great news Bek!. Sorry to hear about Amelyas fall. I am waiting for Evas big fall cos I am sure they all have them at some time.

Gayle and Leash you both sound like you are having a tough time with the teeth. I am actually getting scared as Eva only has 6 and that hasn't been much fun. My neice just got her first two teeth and they haven't seen any change in her behaviour (this baby has been the model child!).

Eva is clingy at the moment (oh and the whinging ahhhhhh) but I don't think it is teeth. She is pretty much walking all the time now so I put it down to a developmental thing.

How are you hubbys coping with the late nights? and does it affect your relationship (I know sleep deprivation can cause problems for us). Thinking of you!! and hope you both have a better week this week.

Bek I'm so stoked for Master Trooper, that's brilliant news!!



Nina, I hear you on the clingy bub front, and I can't blame it on walking Con's happy to crawl lol!



Poor Amelya, it's heartbreaking when they take a tumble! I'm glad she's ok.

Thats great about Cooper Bek. Emma had a big fall too, she was walking and fell and landed right on the skirting board on a corner. She had a big black line down her forehead for weeks and if you look closely now there is still a little mark and that was over a month ago. I got the Dr to check her and she said it will go away in time. The screaming is just horrible! She also tried to stand in the bath the other night and in a split second fell and bit her tongue and there was blood everywhere. Poor little things think they're a bit more able than they are.

Emma is also really clingy at the moment she wont go to anyone but me and just whinges too. At least we're not going through it alone, sounds like everyone is experiencing it at the moment.

Nina - Simon and I had a pretty big argument last week which we never normally do, we made up and definitely put it down to sleep deprivation. Thankfully Emma only woke twice last night so we are getting a little more sleep.

Keira & Nina - my cousin just launched a designer maternity lingerie site selling pretty things, if you're interested the site is www.mamere.com.au

Poor Emma the little tykes are going to have a few rough and tumbles, but it doesn't make it easier on their mummas.



Keep the talking and communication channels open. We only fight when we're sleep deprived too. It sucks big time.



Leash is your cousin a Work at home mum? if so send her my way www.wahmnetwork.com.au (that's my shameless plug for the day)



I'm off to look at her site, and see if I can't find something to boost my mood. I'm such a grumpy pants these days. I'm either sad, or mad

She sure is, I'll definitely forward on your website. I was going to try and start up a business myself but after doing some work from home for my old work I've been exhausted and have decided to give working a miss for the time being, I dont know how you do it!

In my case, it's more ass than class I can assure you

you make me laugh!

Working from home? I take my hat of to any of you that do it!!

How are the toothipegs girls??

Well, I had the worst day of since having Eva yesterday. She cried alllllllllllllll day. WHinged to be picked up then put down and then picked up (u get the jist). I had no idea what to do with her and it was very exhausting. Luckily dh came home and sorted her out (he took her out for coffee lol and that seemed to cheer her up). I can't see any teeth but it has to be that. I was contemplating taking her to the dr today to get her ears checked but of course she is happy as and lovely today (been asleep for 2 hours so far!!).

Anyway hope you are all doing ok?

Oh you poor thing Nina, its horrible when they whinge all day. Emma was doing that on Wednesday thankfully Mum drove down and took her for a little bit to give me a break too. I realise now why she has been so cranky, her top 2 canines have just broken through but she has hand, foot and mouth I feel so sorry for her, shes so miserable today. I think she must have picked it up from playgroup.

Hope Eva wakes up a happy little camper for you Nina

for any Brisbane/gold Coast Mum's out there
http://community.i-do.com.au/index.php?s=&...t&p=2286439

Argh Leash! Poor Emma

Once the teeth are cut, they're cut, but a rough trot in between is terrible.



Aw Nina, it's never easy when they're whingey and clingy allll day. It makes the day seem so much longer....!!



Sometimes a change of environment perks them up I guess Con whined constantly for me last week. Then Nan had him for an hour, he happily played and laughed.



Of course, Nan says it's all her

Yep I agree Kiera!
Michael gets home from work and she becomes a different person and he doesn't know what I am complaining about lol.
She has been good this weekend. Still whinges but not as bad as last week.

Hope you have all had a nice weekend
x

We had a nice weekend thanks I'm glad Eva was cheerier!



We met up with my Stepdad who's a mortgage broker, to suss out whether we can afford another house. The one we're in seems to shrink, the more mobile Connor gets, we'd just like a smidge more room



Has anyone heard from Bek? I noticed she was a bit down on FB.



If you see this Bek, Big hugs to you hon - hope you're alright!



How's everyone else tracking?

Happy Birthday Amelya and Savannah!!! Sorry for your loss Bek, hope you're OK.

I went to work for the whole day today and HATED leaving Emma. Thankfully Im only working today and tomorrow, Emma has had a great day though entertaining Grandma

Emma seems to be much cheerier now, I think she is feeling better and has those nasty teeth through.

Hope everyone else is well

Glad to hear all is better with you Leash.
Are u back working part time now?

Happy Birthday to the twins!!!.
Sorry to hear about your uncle too Bek. You aren't being given a rest are you!.

Does anyone else have problems shopping with their bubs?. Eva just won't stay in her pram now she is walking ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Nope lucky this end Nina, Keely loves movement so the pram is still fun....well, until you have to stop!

Happy b'day girls! Hope you are having a terrific day with your mum!

I just went in to train up a new employee that they have. It was just for the last 2 days thankfully.

Yes I know what you mean about pram problems, Emma will only stay in hers for about 10 minutes and then throws a hissy fit to get out. When we try and put her back in after we have been at the park she goes stiff as a board so we cant strap her in

Happy Birthday Amelya and Savannah!!!

Bek, that is such lovely, and wonderful news. He truly is a little trooper isn't he!!



I meant to say in my previous post, I'm sorry to hear about your uncle. I hope you're ok



Con's not walking as such yet, so the pram is ok for now. Although, he likes to kick things off shelves at the shops. You have to be really careful to ensure enough clearance either side of his feet.

grrr.



I'm enjoying the first cup of tea I've been able to stomach since falling pregnant. (as well as a massive serving of porcuipine meatballs, 2 cinnamon scrolls, and I'm still hungry)



Pregnant and Breastfeeding gives me license to eat what I like does it not?

you are making me hungry Ki!

I'm gobbling a spaghetti jaffle as we speak. And soon to eat the leftover meatballs

That is great news Bek!

Kiera I think it definitely gives you permission to eat whatever you want! I would hate if I lost the taste for tea, we are tea addicts over here. I dont think you can be married to an Englishman and not like tea