Yummy Mummy Secrets

Drawing all parents attention to this little known condition.

More information on the BBC Website

This can be very hard to do… most Mum’s are inconsolable the first time they leave their baby with someone else.  My recommendation is to ease yourself into it gently…. it has to be done otherwise your child will never want to leave your side, but it can be done in a nice way!

Try leaving your little one with a relative for just half an hour and walk round the block or to the local shop.

Next time, make it an hour and maybe go for a drive.

Gradually extend the length of time… the key it to make sure you are busy while you are apart from your baby so the time passes quickly.

YUMMY MUMMY TOP TIP

Ever confused as to what size teat you are giving your little one?

If you have used several different ones and are nowing finding it hard to tell the difference between them, look closely on the base of the teat as the size is usually marked here.

My baby seems very advanced for his 5 weeks age….. he is very strong, pulls himself up to sitting all the time and has been smiling since 2 days old!  Everyone told me it was wind, but it’s not….. he has a windy smile and a smiley smile if you know what I mean!!

He absolutely hates lying down unless it is to sleep and is so interactive it’s crazy!

He also tries to push down on his feet when I hold him up and then won’t sit back on his bum again, like he’s saying “no mummy, I want to stand”!

I’m so proud of my clever boy, but it has really shown me how every baby develops in their very own way, just in the way we do as adults and I really don’t think there is any set timescale for their growing up.

Broken feeds solution for my 5 week old.

After suffering broken feeds and falling asleep on the bottle, on the advice of some friends I have purchased some vari-flow teats for my baby’s Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles.

This has been a wonderful decision as he now doesn’t have broken feeds anymore and just takes it at his own pace which is great.

These vari-flow teats are an excellent idea as they allow the baby to take more, less and at different rate depending on how hungry he is.  A great buy for anyone struggling with broken feeds.

Daily stimulation with my 5 week old little boy.

My baby loves his bouncy activity chair and will happily play and bounce in this for up to an hour at a time.

I also sit with him on my lap with my knees up so he is facing me and we do lots of hand clapping, little piggy games and general goofing around on my part!

At bedtime, we have a story together and I try to sit so he can see the pictures in the book.  The main reason for this is so when he is older he associates a story with bedtime!

My experience of increasing gaps between feeds, the amount taken and the effect on sleep patterns for a formula fed baby of 5 weeks.

I try to never let my babydrain a bottle - if he does finish one off, the next feed I make an extra ounce… he usually then takes half an ounce or so more than the last feed and stops.  I then continue to make this amount each feed until he drains the bottle again and then I add another ounce.

This is how I have progressed with him eating more.

I was worried last week that he might be eating too much, but as long as his weight gain is at it should be I am letting him guide me from now on.

I generally think the more I can get him to eat during the day, the less he will want at night and it seems to be working - we only have one night feed now!

For example, last night I fed him at 9pm, he then slept til 3am where he took 3 ounces and then through til 7:30am this morning.

As for bedtime, we have a little routine of feed (usually a large one!) cuddle time for 15 mins or so with a story, bathtime in a dim-lit room and then into his moses basket with the t-shirt I have worn that day so he has my smell next to him.

This works most of the time… sometimes we have to have some singing and rocking to send him off, but generally he does it on his own accord.