Our Family Christmas Tree 2016

This is our Christmas tree this year. We decided to use our white tree from last year and have a gold, silver, and black them.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's only November and we already have the decorations up? Last year we did the decorations on 8th November and this year we decided to do the same. I absolutely love Christmas and the sooner I can do the Christmas decorations, the better. I'm the sort of person that loves Christmas and Bonfire Night but as long as both festive dates are over, I get too impatient about putting the decorations up and buying all the presents. I also have a problem with buying presents and being unable to leave them unwrapped for over 2 days in a row.

We also have a new addition to our little family this year, our little son that will be just over 3 months when Christmas come around this year so having him put his special bauble up on the Christmas tree was something we just couldn't wait to witness and film.

Ways To Help Your Newborn Baby with Tummy Pains

So, as a first time mom I always worried what it would be like when my baby started to have tummy pains. For the first few weeks, my baby had no pains whatsoever... then all of a sudden, one night, there they were.

Here, I have a list of ways I found to best help my newborn baby with his tummy pains.

Infacol
Infacol is a liquid you can give your child orally from birth on wards (always check age on package to ensure you are purchasing the correct one for your child's age). My baby went a few days with tummy pains and being unable to poo, so I spoke to a mommy friend and she suggested to try this product. I popped to Savers (shop available in UK) and purchased a 50ml bottle for under £3. The dosage is 0.5ml (basically the whole syringe thing that comes with it) before each feed. So, you basically have enough for 100 uses. The first time I gave my baby this, he loved the taste because it pretty much tastes and smells of Calpol (orange) so even if your baby is crying, they will stop for a little bit when you give them this, just in time for you to get that cap of the bottle or your breast ready to feed him/her. My little boy hadn't pooped in 2-3 days and pretty much exploded with poop within 5 minutes of taking it. I have been giving it to him ever since and he goes once a day now, which really helps with his tummy because he was going every couple of days before.

Massage your baby's tummy and back with baby oil
My little boy usually starts getting tummy pains when he has gone over 24 hours without pooping, so as soon as he starts getting uncomfortable, I warm up my hands so they aren't cold and I massage his tummy and bottom of his back with baby oil. Doing this really helped, it didn't make the tummy pains go away but it did ease them enough for him to be able to get a few hours sleep here and there before they came back again.

Gently massaging your baby's tummy while holding them with their tummy downwards
Another thing that I noticed helped him loads was gently massaging my baby's tummy while holding him with this tummy downwards with one arm supporting him and the other gently massaging him lower tummy. Once again, this didn't make the pains go away completely but it did ease them off enough for him to sleep and be a little more comfortable.

These are the ways I use to help my little boy with his pains but what ways are your favorite and do you find most effective? Let me know in the comments or write a blog post yourself and send the link to our Twitter ( @asboe_blog) with the hashtag #mommyblog.

My Little Boy's Progress | Week 6

My little boy is 6 weeks old now. He is so much more alert and also smiles and giggles now. He loves looking at the Christmas decorations we have decided to put up early. 

Baby J was meant to have his 6 week check with the doctor this week but our surgery had to cancel so we will have to wait for an appointment when he is 7 weeks. But I will let you know what happens at the 6 week check so you know what to expect if you have to take your little ones to theirs.

Baby J is now having 5 ounces (150ml) of formula milk at a time, at around 3-4 hour intervals unless we take him out to the shops in this pushchair, then he will sleep and literally only wake up for a feed whenever we get home again. 

We came across his first set of tummy pains this week. Baby J couldn't go for a poo for a few days in a row (probably because of formula) so we went out and bought him some Infacol which was just under £3 from Savers but I'm pretty sure Superdrug and Tesco/Asda sells it too. It's meant to help with wind, colic and gripping pain. Pretty sure it has done its job right because he has been a lot more happy and relieved since we started giving it to him.