Hmmm on the orange juice Lelo. Can you eat oranges at all? Maybe you have an allergy to them. They give Miss 15 eczema but nothing else.

My GP appointment went well. He is increasing the anti-allergy medication further because of the itching I still get but is impressed with how well it works. Another yoghurst this morning and pretty much the same. The reflux isn't even to the point that I need to take Mylanta for it but I am on Losec 20mg already. I'll give it one more day before I call it a success. When I did an oat challenge it took three days to see the bad results. Only a GP appointment left to go this week for Miss 15.

Fi, did you click the dairy challenge is me?? Yes, we were letting Gem have dairy in baked goods but it was causing problems. Time to go there again soon with her though I think. It does make life a little easier - more so for others than for us.

Bri - dietician sounds helpful. Quinoa is great - yum. There are some recipes at least linked to on Crying Over Spilt Milk but you will be doing it plain for a while. There is an ?organic baby food available but I think it might be a mix of rice and quinoa. We use quinoa instead of couscous in recipes too - you have to cook it like rice first but otherwise it works well in these sorts of recipes. It is high in nutrients eg calcium too I believe.

Hi gals. Been a long week .... got the marking finished on Sunday finally. I nearly finished it on Saturday night when my brother rang from Finland! So we talked on skype for 3 hours! Claire's been a nightmare trying to get her to sleep the last two days. She's needed me to take her for a drive 1-2 hours after her bedtime! ARGHHHHHHH!!!! Though I'm hoping I got it figured out, we started using a new detergent on the weekend .... can't do anything new for anything ...... Jess has been fantastic though!! She's drinking soooo well these days, it's just awesome! Helps me cope with the stress of not getting a break during the day and dealing with a child who refuses to sleep .... And is such a happy child!! WOOHOOO!!!!!!

Hi to everyone, 's to everyone too ....

Roz-Yep think def allergy to oranges.. but i ok with lemon and apple juice LOL Yah for surviving day 1 of the challenge.. I hope the meds work and u can continue to test the foods Your gp sounds great

Dolphin-Yah for the girls being happier most of the time! Poor you hun you get one ok adn the other starts not sleeping etc. I hope the rest of the week gets better now the marking finished. HUGS Any news on gastro paed and scope?

Bri-Yah for food ideas, I havnt tried those things yet in fact have no idea what they are! I should find out and give them a go. Ive been doing a food diary for our dietician will be interesting to get her pc analysis back. How did she feel about the Duocal? I really hope that you can get Luca to eat something anything! HUGS to you! HUGS

Fi-GOod on you for your post on the other thread! How rude! GRRRRRRRRRRR

Us-Gave leo advance this afternoon and i wish i had of been able to advance to bed time! I dont know whats in or if its something else that upsetting him but constant hiccups gulps and retching... and the cling on grizzles! Our day wasnt to good before that but it really topped it off! Im going to get the dietician to find out the diff in the formulas cause something not right! Hes so cute even when throwing tantrums! But i think I might be bias LOL

About time for news pics :)Here's a recent one :P

Leos friends that he HAS TO take EVERYWHERE!


Leo thought he would take the sand and water inside! Think again buddy!

Awww shucks...Leo is such such a CUTIE PIE!!! How was he last night Lelo?

Dolphin - it is so fab about the girls although shame about Claire's sleeping. Jess really has been great and am so happy to hear good stuff Did the girls sleep good for you last night? Yay that you have finished the marking.

Bri - how is wee Luca? Good luck with more food trials and hope you find something that Luca can have.

Suomi - how are you and the girls? Thinking about having another one huh?

Everyone else - hi and hope you all had a good nights sleep and fingers crossed for a good day!!1

Well, I had a very tiring day yesterday. Although Maia has not been awfully upset, she would not sleep for very long and we have having more issues with feeding her. Grrrrr.... She isn't crying while breastfeeding but it seems she is not sucking either...not sure what is up with her. I think her waking up shortly after going down for a nap is from hunger but not sure why she is not drinking. Has some awful spots on her face and terrible eczema on her arms and legs....I hope it is not something i ate!! I am doing my very best to keep the milk supply going, expressing is becoming very tedious and not really enjoying the breastfeeding tea...LOL. Anyway, I hope she has a better day and my Mum is here today to keep me company. YAY (and she brought me lunch!!!)

Spoke to Paed yesterday - he suggested to split her Losec to 50/50 to be given morning and night and see how Maia is. The full dose at 11am did not seem to make a huge improvement in her afternoons. Am to report back to him later this week. We talked about introducing some formula if milk supply issues continue but he was keen for me to try normal formula to see if she reacts before discussing other options....scary thought but will have to wait and see....ugh....well, am a very tired mama this morning as she was up at 4am to 5.30am with terrible hiccups..poor bubba.

Back later...

Lelo
Neocate: http://www.neocate.co.nz/aaa_neocate/1101-neocate-infant--ingredients.html
Neocate advanced: http://www.neocate.co.nz/aaa_neocate/1065-advance--ingredients.html

Ingredient wise there are differences with the most notable being ?Canola Oil in Neocate Advanced. There are different balances of everything.

Have you tried doing part Neocate and part Neocate Advanced to give his body time to adjust to the different composition? I know of children on cow's milk formula that had difficulty making the transition to cow's milk. It is a whole gut adjustment thing.

sorry to hear the feeding is still not going well jazzie *big hugs* so frustrating when you know they are hungry but they won't eat!!! as someone has mentioned previously, the saying 'they'll eat when they're hungry' seriously does not apply to reflux bubbas hope you can keep your supply up, and if not, that the transition to formula goes smoothly.

gorgeous pics lelo!!! your leo is just adorable the dietician didn't want to try the dualcal, as she doens't want to risk him not tolerating the neocate at this stage. however, she wants to keep an eye on his weight. just flicked back in his plunket book and at 5 months he was 9.2kg and now at almost 8 months, he is 9.9kg. so not much gain really. though he has a little to spare still LOL. once we find some solids, i'm sure he'll take off again. hope leo did another good sleep for you last night!?

great to hear that jessica is doing so well! hopefully claire will take her lead would be lovely to have them both eating and sleeping. do you think it's the antihistimines making the difference?

well, peas are still going ok in this household. i think the spots and paleness were attributed to this virus. he's now got bronchialitis (sp?) so on some meds and an inhaler. poor little man doesn't need anything else wrong at the moment!! still smiling through it all though. what a trooper

great to hear that the appointment went so well. hopefully the increased meds will help with the itching too.

lelo - my girls couldn't cope with Neocate Advance at all. We got 5-10ml into them and within the hour they'd turned horrific. Tummy cramps, diahhroa and nappy rash within the hour .... and then of course all the grumpy and sleeping problems that followed. Claire broke out in hives too ... They can handle normal neocate no problem .... The immunologist said that Advance is harder for children to digest (which is why under 1's aren't allowed it) and a few kids have a lot of problems trying to digest it, as well as possibly reacting to some of the different ingrediants. And I know my girls react to canola oil .... Our dietician and immunologist are ok with us finding a vitamin supplement to add to regular Neocate. As the girls get older we might try it again, but given the severity of their reaction it'll be at least a year before we do. hope leo feels better soon ....

Jazzie - to me, with the excema flare up and the not drinking, it sounds like there's definitely a food issue going on .... and possibly even an increase in losec required. As these kids put on weight it needs constant adjusting till at least 4 months ... or at least that's what I found .... Might be worth going to see an immunologist to check out the excema issues, cause most excema is due to allergies ..... hope you get some relief today ...

Claire went down well at lunchtime!! YAH!!!!! Been asleep for an hour now even! So I'm thinking it was definitely the change of washing detergent .... I washed all their bottles and highchairs with baking soda last night to strip off the residue. So that took me a while, but it looks like the effort was worth it! I'm so much less stressed if they just go to sleep, and let me have some time out.

Hi to everyone else. Hope you're getting some time out today too ...

I'm just loving these antihistamines!!! Jess is just so awesome!!! And I can actually leave the room to go and do washing!!

bri - great to hear that luca might be able to handle peas .... Poor baby though coming down sick ... just when you deal with one thing another thing comes up eh?

Ladies, just popping in quickly to say that I am taking a bit of a break from EBC.

My thoughts are with you all.

Sending big hugs out, and crossing my fingers that all babies are happy and feeding well.

Will be back at some point...

Suomi You will be missed
Your thoughts and comments are always valued. Hurry back we need each others support on here

Thought I would share some photos.
The most bizare concept is the school hall!!!
Here it is it is opensided the kids sit on foam boards(swimming boards)it is called the Daintree. So it is the school hall converts into shaded area for the kids to play in at lunchtime and is for sports activities.. James is having golf lessions in it in this picture. It is sooooo funny. But it is sooo hot here there is no need for a covered is hall for assembly's etc!!!Who needs airconditioning

Here is is at the golf range trying to hit/kill a kangeroo!!

Good morning all :P

Just a quick message after having a read on the neocate site, one of the dietician responded about the neocate advance.. so thought I would post it for others too :P
"Both products are made in a milk protein-free plant.The carbohydrate sources are the same.The amino acids are slightly different but, in theory, are non-allergenic.One would assume that the vitamin and minerals are not an issue.That leaves us with the final consideration of the fat sources - both products contain coconut and safflower oil. However, Junior has canola(rapeseed) oil in place of the soy oil used in infant. Occasionally there have been concerns expressed over trace amounts of protein in refined oils causing symptoms in highly sensitive children but, to the best of my knowledge, canola has never been implicated. It is certainly not a major allergen. My questions for the family would focus on issues such as the following;* Possible contamination of Junior when it was beingreconstituted.* Was the Junior flavoured or unflavoured?* Were other foods introduced at the same time?* Change in medications* Other changes"......

Hk-That hall is so cool! Is it still really warm over there?? Hows things going HOpe you have a great time with Leanne and family while they are over HUGS

Leanne-Not long now babe! Enjoy your time away! You all deserve it! Hope customs lets you through ok LOL Will miss you HUGS

Gutz-How are things there today? Is Charlie happoer! Hope your sore throat is all gone, being sick is such a pita!

Suomi-HUGS to you babe! Hope Emily is doing ok on the AB HUGS

Fi-Hows things going there? Is Ian's eating improving? any teeth? HUGS

Roz-Good luck for you apts.. how is the dairy challange going I hope its going well

Dolphin_Yah for the girls doing great guns thats so good to hear? whats the enxt step? Will you try new foods? well new old foods? HUGS

Bri-Poor Luca babe! How scary! I hope he doenst have any more asthma attacks and the meds work quickly! Yah for finding 1 food he can tolerate! Who would of thought Peas of all things HUGS

Jazzie_I hope that Maia had a better night for you! Hang in there babe your doing amazing... I know ive said it before but it really does get easier! Just think were not all only children :P *wink* Leo might be though LOL! I hope the pead has some answers for you later this week. EKKKK About trying normal formula, it was when all our problems really started... BUt we had the go through the same drill! Are you having any sucess with the gaviscon and infacol etc???? Thinking of you babe! I hope you get lots of help this week HUGS

Us-Overnight was okish which surprised me... Leo woke about 11 choke gagging not swallowing without crying! So i thought hear we go! He also had sore teeth stupid 2 year molars! I resettled him with some pamol and lots of cuddles and he slept till jsut before 6! which amazed me by the state of him from 10-12pm! Today he seems ok but very quiet and not eating! We were meant to be going to playcentre today but my friend who i was going withs daughter has V&D and we so dont need that! Especially when her little ones been sick 3 days! So all plans on hold! I realise i can put leo in a bubble! Just been paying all our bills online! How depressing with the rising costs of EVERYTHING!

Hugs everyone and have a lovely day

Roz-Thats the next plan, dietician suggested to make a bottle of each and give him half of each... Leo can taste the advance too and isnt keen! But will keep trying Thanks