My cousin said to me that the reason every baby needs baby rice at first is because it has a bland taste, similar to milk so it is accepted by the baby.  Foods with spices or strong tastes, she said, would be rejected.  My little boy showed his love for strong tastes 5 days into eating by sucking on a dried prune for breakfast and then licking all ( Read more... )

Although I knew H would struggle with spoons, I decided to introduce them this teatime as we were eating cottage pie and I knew the mashed potato would stick well to it.  He actually managed to get them to his mouth and have a little suck, although we ended up with mashed potato up one noistril and a lot of playing and waving of spoons too.  He had ( Read more... )

Another positive and brilliant day.  Harvey approached each meal with enthusiasm.  Here are some learning points I have made in the five meals we have done so far!:

• Butternut Squash and sweet potato say they take 30-35 minutes in the oven to roast.  In our oven after 30 minutes they were beginning to burn.  I am going to try 20-25 minutes in future ( Read more... )

Harvey was 24 weeks old yesterday!  I intended it to be a life changing day but in reality it was just a normal day!  I managed to do his handprint in some clay and left that to dry but that's all I really did!  I took some pictures of his chubby little belly to show how amazing mummy's milk has been for Harvey's growth and I shopped for fresh ( Read more... )

Just thinking about the things I actually need to make this work and am feeling rather pleased because I can manage without the usual blenders and liquifiers that AK weaned babys must have.  I actually have two highchairs now.  Both more costly than I expected but no doubt I will get the use out of them.  The first is to stay in our dining room.  I ( Read more... )

It's all gone so fast...the nine months carrying him and now the five months and a week since he came.  Far too fast.  In truth I'd love to simply breast feed him forever but that seems a little silly knowing his six month old friends are all tucking into delicious meals.  So, in three weeks time, Harvey will get his first taste of solid food.  ( Read more... )

Nicola Mannion - Birth Plan

Where I would like to give birth:

I would like to give birth in Hope Hospital on M2 as I will need anti-biotics during labour to protect against GBS. I would like my partner Matthew Hough to accompany me. If it is necessary to have an assisted delivery e.g. forceps, vacuum or cesarean, I want Matthew to be able to ( Read more... )

Having found a ten minute window for the first time in the past 11 weeks, I decided to do an FAQ page to let people know how I am getting on!

How are you feeling?
To the vast majority of people I will say how happy I am and how well I am feeling.  Actually that is usually completely true.  After labour, your body takes a while to adjust but once ( Read more... )

( 2008 Meme )

I'm feeling extremely poorly tonight.  I have aNOTHER damn cold.  My back aches, my nose is stuffy, my head throbs, my temperature's up and it feels like someone is pressing down continually on the bridge of my nose.  To top it all off I have a really sore shoulder.  It actually feels like someone had whacked me down with a huge plank of wood then ( Read more... )