can you help me?

Hi my name is Narelle and I have a 6 month old daughter named Jessica. I need some advice on a couple of things.

1. Solids. Jessica refuses to eat vegies and I dont know what to do. Ive tryed mixing it in with custard but she knows its there. All she wants to eat is custard and she will not let me introduce anyhting else!

2. Sleep. Jessica will not go to sleep by herself. My husband and I have to rock and sing to her. I am getting sick of doing this every night. Has anyone got any ideas?

3. Teething. Jessica has been teething since she was three months old and there is still no sign off any teeth coming through. She is a very grizzly baby and I have tryed Panadol, bonjella, stuff from the health food shop, a teething ring that you put in the fridge but none of these things seem to help. I wish that tooth would just come out? What is the approx age for this to happen?

4. Clingy baby. Does anyone have trouble with a clingy baby that will just cry if you leave its side for just one minute no matter what you give it to distract it?

Thanks for your time. If anyone would like to be email pals please email me at jessemon2003@yahoo.com.au

Narelle.

Hi Narelle. I read your letter and responded to it and sent you an email hope that helps you.

Jessica could have colic she sounds like my daughter at that age.I got some colic mixture that my chemist made him self and she was a changed girl over night

Hi jessemon. My name is sue. How are you going with Jessica? Is she eating solids yet?
Is she sleeping by herself yet.?
Is she still clingy.

E-mail me if you want to it's susiesmile@optusnet.com.au anytime. we can talk about problems or just general stuff. I don't care anything. You can call me if you would rather. my number is 02 4733 0243 if you want to talk to me. I am a good listener. I want to help.



Sue. 3 kids under 5 years old Matthew 4, Sarah 3 next month September 2003 & Jessica 10 months old. I live in jamisontown nsw If you live near by we could get together if you want.

Hi Narelle. Jessica sounds alot like my daughter, Madison at that age.

It took a while for Madison to start eating her vegetables too. By the time she was about 8 months, she still wasnt eating them, so I ended up giving her a small amount of pureed pumpkin in the morning before her bottle. I kept doing that for about 2 weeks, then she was more than happy to eat her vegies for dinner.

Madison was rocked to sleep every night until she was about 11 months, then she just got too heavy. I ended up laying her on her side in the cot and gently patting her on the bottom until she fell asleep. She was very happy with that, and she fell asleep alot quicker then when she was being rocked.

Madison was 4 months when she started dribbling and rubbing her gums. We tried Bonjela, but she loved the taste of it and always wanted more, so we didnt use it again. The only thing that kept her happy were teething rusks, and sometimes we would rub ice on her gums. She finally got her first tooth at 9 months.

Madison wouldnt really cry when we were away from her, but when she noticed we werent watching her, she would start coughing, and then smile as soon as we looked at her.

Hi Narelle
My daughter (b: 3.1.03) was exactly the same and basically i just had to ride it out so if u want to chat email me olikat03@yahoo.com.au
Take care
Linda

I think we've all been there and done most of what you've been going through, so here's my spiel......

My son is very clingy whereas my daughter couldn't care if I left her. You could start by moving away from her but still talking to her in a reassuring voice and gradually go further away and still talk to her so she knows you're there (if you can do that where you live). I find if I'm in the kitch and they're in the lounge room I can just chit chat to them even though they can't see me and they're happy. You could also enlist the help of a friend and anyone else who is around to hold her for you so that she'll be happy to go to other people. I also try and distract them but if I give them something I show them how it works and 'pretend' to be deeply interested in it myself before offering it to them and then leaving. This works with anything, not just toys and stuff (like their hairbrush, the wipes container, keys, etc).

Contact a homeopath regarding the teething (not a naturpath or health food shop), they should be able to give you some effective drops - I used chamomilla 100mg and swear by it. There are also toys like this plastic hammer Tommee Tippee thing you can buy in the supermarket for $3 that aren't actually teething rings or anything, but that the material is very soft and chewy and good for gums.

My two did the same with banana that your daughter does with vegies. I think it was because it was forced on them early on by a well-meaning grandparent. They liked it eventually after alot of cajolling on my part...... one day my husband was eating one and suddenly they wanted it too.

There's a good book called Baby Love by Robin Barker that is excellent about most of these topics - it's big and thick, but easy to follow and very useful for me.

Hope some of this is helpful, although a bit late.

I have a 5 month old pritty much the same. She has been teething since 2 months, i have found that a teething ring that has been in the fridge for a hour helps. teething gel works for 5 seconds and then she starts screaming again.