April Wobblers

[ellery]

I hope it's okay that I'm starting a new group? I thought maybe we needed one for the kiddos who aren't quite so new anymore and have moms who aren't ready to think of them as toddlers yet. Or maybe that's my issue... ;)

Anyway, Danny's officially one year old as of last week and is officially walking (in spurts). He took his first steps on his birthday! Of course daycare says he'd been doing it already, but DH and I figure that if it's the first time we saw him walking, those were his first steps. :D

Accomplishments: walking, even more non-stop babbling with something that sounds like an indignant "mama" when he's hungry or nervous or annoyed (I count it as "mama" even though it's "mamamamama!"), continuing to expand his food choices although he still doesn't eat much table food, and ever more personality each day

Challenges: communication - he still only signs at me when he seems to give up on me magically deducing what he wants and even then all he will sign is "milk", speaking words versus babbling, being short (either that or the other kids in his daycare class are monsters), and weaning from nursing (which we'll be doing gradually over the next few weeks).

We have his one year check up tomorrow and I'm not really worried about any of his milestones, figuring that he'll communicate once he's done figuring out the whole walking thing (don't kids usually focus on one area at a time?). I'm looking forward to the doctor telling me it's okay to start giving him more cow's milk (he only gets about 4 oz a day at this point) so that I can finally stop pumping at work (yay!) and figure out how to drop his breakfast and bedtime nursing sessions (any advice?). I'm really proud that I've nursed this long but am looking forward to no longer having to wear nursing bras (variety? Woo hoo!) and getting my body and my cycle back.

We had Danny's birthday party this past weekend at grandma's house and it went really well. She's in the middle of chemo for breast cancer, but was thrilled to see how much he's grown and changed. She also gave him a little Spiderman 4-wheeler that he absolutely adores. When I get them downloaded I'll post a pic. He perches on it like Fonzie and you can totally tell he thinks he's the coolest cat ever born. ;)

So that's us. How're all the other wobblers?

:)

Leah

[ggs830]

We're here!

This is going to be a quick post, I'll post more later this week. But I didn't want to leave you hanging any longer, Leah!

It's been a crazy few weeks. Jahan has been sick for the last month with a variety of bugs. We had a few days of very high fever (103+), some vomitting, a cough and sinus infection, and now he's teething like crazy. I poked around and found a couple bumps in the very back: molars! Yikes, no wonder he's been so fussy. He's totally lost his appetite, he's extremely clingy, and will cry at the drop of a hat. It's been quite challenging, sleep-wise, to say the least. DD is also getting her 2 year molars, so DH and I have been running on fumes the last 2 weeks. Sigh, can't wait for this to pass.

Today is Jahan's post-poned 1st b-day party. I'm hoping I can entice him into eating some cake. We'll see.

More in my next post!

[LHBryan]

Hi, everyone! I'm pretty sure we belong over here too. Hannah is not yet walking, but definitely wobbling and pulling up at least 100 times a day.

Happy belated birthday, Danny and Jahan!

Leah--So cool about Danny taking his first steps on his 1st birthday! I've been wondering how your MIL is doing. How is the chemo going? Hannah also does the indignant "MAMAMAMA" especially in the middle of the night. It's funny she also frequently does the sign for milk. I now wonder if it's now her catch-all sign for wanting "something."

Gouri--So sorry Jahan has been so sick. The three of us have been sick off and on (but mostly "on") since the end of January. It's miserable. Poor DH has had it the worst, and I'm afraid he's at the end of his rope w/ coughing all night long. I hope Jahan had a great belated birthday celebration yesterday!

As for us, we've survived a lot of "firsts" over the past week... Hannah's first double ear infection, my first multi-day business trip, DH's first two nights alone and "on duty", Hannah's first diaper rash (darn those antibiotics!), the list goes on. We're exhausted, but have fared very well. I'll post more later about our accomplishments and challenges. Work beckons!

-Laura

[ellery]

Thank goodness I'm not alone here anymore! ;)

I just finished reading Jen's husband's blog about her cancer fight (Jphilg) - she's in the wobbler category too but understandably preoccupied. Makes me feel very small for worrying about petty stuff at times. :( It also gives me good perspective on what my MIL is going through - sounds like her treatment is similar to Jen's. Crappy cancer. :mad:

Anyway, good to hear from everyone. I think all that's left to check in is Lori and the other Laura and anyone else who's been hiding in the shadows. Sorry to hear about all the sickness and the tired moms. It's funny - I was celebrating today thinking that it's been at least a week or two since Danny was last sick and jinxed myself. When I picked him up from daycare the daycare mom mentioned that she thought he may have pink eye. One of his eyes is red and he's got whitish discharge. I've googled it but haven't gotten any clear answers other than that he needs to be seen by a doctor. At $55 a pop for doctor visits, I'd love to skip it but for the moment I'm trying not to stress about missing work and wondering how long he'll have to be out of daycare if it is pink eye.

Laura how did your trip go with pumping? And poor Hannah - I remember that horrible diaper rash from antibiotics too.

Gouri, how was Jahan's postponed birthday party? Any favorite toys?

Anyone have any pictures? Here's (a slightly blurry) one of Danny on his new (kiddie) 4-wheeler. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's Fonzie.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8da24b3127cceb77abffca64b00000026100AcNGbNk1ZuW Ng

Okay, off to google pink eye again...

[ggs830]

We had a really nice party yesterday. Jahan missed his afternoon nap for the party, so I was a bit worried about how he was would handle the excitement, but he did wonderfully. We had a bunch of friends over with their little ones, so he had a great time. He was still on a food strike, so the cake eating didn't go very well, but I'm glad he enjoyed himself.

I didn't mention this in my last post, but we have successfully transitioned to cow's milk. However, the ped. suspects that Jahan is lactose intolerant, so he's been doing no dairy and lactose-free milk. It's improved his gassiness and constipation (which were both previously big problems), but I hate having to limit his food choices. He used to love cheese and yogurt, and I'm having a hard time finding lactose-free products. My mom made homemade yogurt from lactose-free milk, so I'm going to try that once he gets his appetite back.

Walking is going really great-- he's just about given up on crawling now. I get such a kick out watching him stumble around with his hands out. So so cute! He's also talking (babbling, really) quite a bit, and carries on long conversations with whoever or whatever happens to be around. The only intelligible words he speaks are "nana" (banana) and mama and dada. No signing yet, which I'm a little surprised about, since the kids usually watch a Signing Time dvd everyday (at Shaelyn's insistence. :rolleyes:).

My main complaint, which isn't really complaint, more a minor irritation, is that Jahan has become so clingy of late. It's hard to get things done around the house because he wants me in the room with him ALL THE TIME. Seriously, if I step out for even 10 seconds, he has a screaming, sobbing fit. He's not like this w/DH or anyone else, just me. This weekend, I was gone Sat. afternoon for a baby shower. DH said Jahan was all smiles while I was gone, and played great by himself or w/DD. As soon as I pulled up in the driveway, and Jahan saw me through the window, he started bawling and wanted to be held. :confused: Anyone else dealing with this?

Leah, Danny looks like such a big boy! I hope he doesn't have pink eye. Also, sorry to hear about your MIL. Crappy cancer is right. :(

Laura, I'm glad everything went well during your business trip!

Here's some pics from yesterday, and the last week.

At the party:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k143/gsashital/jahanb-day.jpg

And Shaelyn and Jahan sharing a moment:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k143/gsashital/sjshare.jpg

[LA98]

I'm here too! I've tried to post a few times but always had to quit before I was done. Which pretty much sums things up for me these days. I wish I could put in some work hours during the day instead of at night after the boys go to sleep. Basically the only time I actually have all to myself is the fifteen minutes a day I spend in a blistering hot shower. Anyway....

Happy 1st birthday to Jahan, Danny, and Zach! (I'm thinking about Jen a lot too.) Wow, I just can't believe it. Jason's birthday is this Wednesday, with a small family party on Saturday. Can't wait! :)

Gouri and Laura, eesh, you guys are having a rough time lately. :( Thinking healthy thoughts for you.

Gouri, oh YES, I have a clingy baby here! It's pretty bad. And he weighs about 24 pounds or so (by my bathroom scale estimate) and my arm, neck, and back are really feeling it (hence those hot showers!). Also major separation issues for naps (although not for night bedtime for some reason) and generally just leaving his eyesight. And I think his molars must be pushing too, although I can't feel anything yet. He's constantly got his fingers jammed way back on both sides and has been uncharacteristically cranky/whiny/crying lately... The kids are so cute in your photos! Jason has the same shirt Jahan's wearing.

Leah, yay for Danny walking! And on his birthday no less! Love the picture too, he looks like he's ready to zoom down the street in that thing!! Hope his eye is okay. (And ouch, $55 is your copay?? :( I've had both boys at the doctor so many times this winter we'd probably be bankrupt.)

As for us... Well, I definitely have a toddler on my hands. And I don't mean because he's walking, I'm talking about TANTRUMS. The throwing-himself-face-down-on-the-floor-and-screaming-into-the-carpet kind. Holy COW. They're mostly for taking him away from something he wants or redirecting him away from something dangerous. I'd forgotten just how much intensity a tiny person can muster up. My ears have been ringing sometimes from the screaming!

Jason's been sleeping a bit better though, although still waking up once or twice (or sometimes more :( ) a night. Darn, I really thought by one year he'd be sleeping all the way through. For some reason, my kids are just not good sleepers! Eating's going well. He generally eats what we do (oh, now if only the 4-year-old would!!). We switched over to milk about a week and a half ago. He's doing fine with it, but he's not crazy about it being so cold. I've been trying to let it sit out for a little while to warm slightly. And this is funny, since Leah and Laura mentioned it already, but Jason's first sign was milk! Which I thought was odd because it's the most recent sign, I never used it before to mean his bottles of formula. We've been doing hungry, eat, banana, water, all done, more, etc for months now, every day, and the first one he uses is the one I just starting doing just over a week ago. Go figure!

As for speaking, a while back we heard an "uh-oh" and a "bird" a couple of times from him, but then nothing since, and not those again either. Not sure if I should start worrying about that. Brian was delayed (first word at 20 months) because of ear issues and is now starting speech therapy again for some articulation issues. So Jason's multiple ear infections this winter sort of have me on alert for speech issues. Guess we'll see how it goes. And Leah, from what I've been told by therapists, there is truth to that working on one area at a time thing.

Here's a photo from the one day we had decent enough weather to play outside.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8da26b3127ccea84386c7872f00000026108QctGbVu1ba

[ellery]

Wow, we have such gorgeous kiddos! :D

Lori - Jason just started signing to you too? or did I misinterpret? We've got no words at all from Danny yet either, and no signing (except when he's really really desperate, and that's rare). His hearing seems fine, and he seems to understand what we're saying to him, he's just in no seeming hurry to communicate back. Sorry to hear about the tantrums. Ugh. I'm not looking forward to that! And very cute pic - he looks like such a big boy.

Gouri, I love those pics of Jahan too. The one of him and Shaelyn is priceless. Do they play well together? And yes, Danny went through a really clingy phase about a month or so ago. It was very hard on DH, but I (shhh... don't tell) kind of enjoyed being needed. Danny's so independent and all about doing things on his own these days that I enjoyed the extra snuggles.

I'm still not sure what's going on with Danny's eye, but I don't think it's pink eye (at this moment in time). I gave him Claritin last night before bed just in case the goop was from allergies and it was better this morning. Still a little discharge, but his eye wasn't red, so I crossed my fingers and sent him to daycare this morning. He's either got allergies or a little cold, so maybe the eye discharge is from sinuses. Who knows. :confused:

[MinEaston]

I'm still not sure what's going on with Danny's eye, but I don't think it's pink eye (at this moment in time). I gave him Claritin last night before bed just in case the goop was from allergies and it was better this morning. Still a little discharge, but his eye wasn't red, so I crossed my fingers and sent him to daycare this morning. He's either got allergies or a little cold, so maybe the eye discharge is from sinuses. Who knows. :confused:

Leah, FWIW, Anna gets goopy eyes EVERY SINGLE TIME she has a cold. It's never been pink eye, at least, not according to our doctor. I took her in once at daycare's insistence...

[ellery]

Hi M! (waving)

Good to hear Danny's not the only goopy kid. He's gotten it before with a cold but the red eye is what threw me this time. I'm so gun-shy about daycare calling me now... ;)

Thank you for delurking. :)

[LHBryan]

Happy Friday, everyone! Jahan, Jason, and Danny are all so grown up!

Leah--how's Danny's eye? It's always something, huh?

Gouri--So glad Jahan's belated birthday party was fun! That's too bad about the lactose issues, and I hope his food strike is finally over. Yes, Hannah has been pretty clingy too. If I'm visible, she usually starts whining and crying until I pick her up. It surprises me since DH is her primary caregiver, but I guess there's just something special about Mama love.;)

Lori--Happy Birthday, Jason!! Glad the sleep is improving a bit. I can't believe Hannah is still waking up at night at 10 1/2 mos. It's typically just once, but still. She appears to be absolutely ravenous at ~3am, so I'm not sure how CIO will go.

I too have been thinking a lot about Jen (jphilg) and what she and her family are going through. I insisted DH go back to the dr. yesterday for his horrendous, VERY productive, lingering cough, remembering Jen's bad lingering cough which led to her chest XRay. Thankfully his XRay was clear, but he does have to consult with a pulmonologist b/c it seems like his lungs are perpetually vulnerable. Good health is something I'm afraid I take for granted.:o

Thankfully Hannah appears to be over her ear infection and diaper rash. Wow. Her poor butt was raw. We tried desitin mixed with Mylanta and gave her Culturelle capsules, and the rash cleared up quickly after that. My business trip last week went fine, but I sure am glad I don't have to travel often for my job. It was very easy to fly w/ pumped milk. No hassles from TSA.

Accomplishments: Pulling up all the time, playing "chase," constant babbling, loving baths, turning the pages of her books, and a few efforts at brushing her hair. But, most of all, trying finger foods without gagging! Hannah is finally eating cheerios, puffs, and pieces of cheese now thanks to patience and peer pressure. I let daycare gave her some crackers and string cheese on Wednesday, and it was a turning point. I guess watching her friends eat finally clicked. She ate all of her snack and never once gagged like she would at home. So, now I just have to work with her on eating one cheerio at a time b/c she likes to put about five in consecutively, then gets an "Oh no! What do I do now?!?" look on her face.:p

Challenges: Table manners and mealtime shenanigans.;) General silliness and carrying on rather than focusing on eating. Not all the time, but very frequently. She's such a ham. She "sputters" and buzzes, shakes her head vigorously back and forth while laughing, twists, turns, and slouches in her chair, bends over to gum her tray, smacks her hands on her tray wildly, says "YAYAYAYA," pulls her bib off to study and mouth the velcro, etc. It's funny, but DH and I are a bit concerned that it could lead to some real behavioral problems down the road. Are your LOs like this, or is it just my spirited child? We just try to keep her focused and tell her that it's time for ____, she needs to sit up straight, etc. Is there anything else we should be doing? I think I've watched a few too many of those nanny shows lately, so I'm afraid of causing permanent damage!:o Also, still no teeth in sight, but I've decided that's a good thing since she's still BFing. For some reason she's been anti-bottle lately and just wants it straight from the tap. Not sure what that's all about. She used to love her bottles.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

-Laura

[ellery]

Hi Laura. :)

Congratulations on Hannah finally moving on to table food! So many accomplishments all in a row - no more swaddling, sleeping better and eating finger foods. Yay Hannah!

I personally wouldn't worry too much about Hannah's mealtime antics. I've found that Danny is more playful when he's not so hungry, so that's when mealtime is over. His favorite trick is dropping food on the floor, dropping his sippy cup on the floor, putting something in his mouth, chewing it and then spitting it out, then throwing that on the floor, etc. I want mealtime to be a pleasant time for him, so I try not to fuss or stress too much (or watch the clock - it takes 30 minutes for meals sometimes). I also try not to laugh or smile at the behaviors that are funny but annoying - I don't want to encourage him, you know?

That's just my $0.02. You've got a feisty one there. ;)

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

[ellery]

We fell off the page, so I just thought I'd bump us back up and see how everyone is doing.

Things are pretty exciting around here. Danny's officially walking now (versus the drunken stumble then crash) and has his two top molars coming in. He's gradually gotten better at walking each day and it's been so exciting to watch, and to see him grin ear to ear when we cheer for him. I'm afraid that he's going to expect applause from now on when he walks anywhere... ;)

How are the other wobblers?

[LHBryan]

Hi Leah.:) So exciting about Danny's walking! I'm looking forward to reaching that milestone, but am also a little scared and will be sad when the full-speed crawling disappears. Hannah loves it when we applaud her accomplishments.

Thanks for your response about mealtime antics. Yes, we have a feisty one! It hasn't been quite as bad this week, but she still likes to clown around. When she's in that mode, it's usually from start to finish. It doesn't necessarily mean she's no longer hungry, b/c as soon as you stand up and say "all done" she opens her mouth like a little bird and smacks her tray.:rolleyes: I think last night she was trying to sign "all done." I'd love for her to be able to communicate that concept!

Otherwise, we're doing ok. I'm slammed at work for the next 3 weeks, and my parents come into town today for several days. I can't wait for them to see Hannah! They haven't seen her since January. DH is finally feeling a little better, but I'm now congested all over again. Poor Hannah came down with yet another double ear infection over the weekend (or it's the same one from week before last), so she's on a different antibiotic. I swear we've all been sick for months. Good news is that she doesn't appear to be getting a nasty diaper rash like last time. Not sure if it's the different antibiotic (expensive white stuff) or if immediately starting her on Culturelle tablets and Desitin have made the difference.

She's pretty whiny these days when you try to put her down in her playpen, exersaucer, etc., which I chalk up to illness and/or separation anxiety. She's also decided that any form of belted constraint is unbearable--high chair, car seat---so she grunts, does pelvic thrusts, turns beet red, and fusses, unless of course there's a good distraction around like a bird outside or sweet potatoes. She's always been feisty, but this is a bit extreme. I assume it's an "I'm a big girl now" protest phase. I finally ordered a convertible car seat and can't wait for it to arrive!

I'm afraid I'm making Hannah sound difficult. She's so adorable, funny, and very, very sweet. This morning I asked her to give one of her stuffed animals a kiss, and she very gingerly put her mouth on his muzzle, then looked back to grin at me. So cute!:)

Hope others will check in too!

[LA98]

Yay, Danny!! Too funny, Jason looks to us sometimes like he's expecting applause too.

Laura, poor Hannah's ears! Hope she's on the mend by now. Glad your DH's xray was clear too. We've got some mealtime antics here too. Tonight I fed Jason first while I was getting our dinner ready. I had my back to him but turned around a few times to see that he was picking up pieces of his dinner. What I didn't notice until later was that he was picking them up just to launch them over the side of his high chair. :rolleyes: A clear statement of his opinion on tonight's meal. I also wish he could have just the teeniest bit of patience and not bang on his tray and scream his brains out because I'm not slicing the blueberries fast enough for him... Geez!

Very cute about her kissing her stuffed animals! Jason gives hugs if you ask him. Well, he walks over and plunks his head down on your shoulder, but it's really cute. :) He also pats me on my back while I'm patting his. Love it.

I don't think I've posted since his party. It was cute, his two cousins that are almost exactly the same age were there so that was fun. He was not as excited about the cake (or the frosting!) as I thought he'd be. He just seemed sort of...puzzled by it.

So normally I'd be afraid to post something good and jinx myself, but I'm prepared for the possibility that it could be just a phase so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts: Jason has been sleeping through the night for the past week! He's been going down just beautifully at night, no protests, and the couple of times he's woke up he was able to get himself back to sleep in less than a minute. Hooray! Daytime naps, however, are getting harder by the day. It's not that he's ready to drop one of them, he still desperately needs them, but he's started to fight them with everything he's got. I guess he's just got too much he wants to do to stop for a nap. I need to figure out a new strategy to adapt, but I don't have the first clue what to do...

He's absolutely loving being outdoors lately. Even when we've been outside for a long time, once we go in he's reaching toward the door and crying. I step outside with him and the crying stops instantly. Too funny. And being outside really tires him out, which I think has been helping his sleeping. It tires me out too, since we have an extremely child-UNfriendly yard. Between that and stopping him from eating rocks and snapping off all my daffodils, it's a workout! :)

We've got about a 4-hour car ride to my friend's house coming up, first time doing the trip with Jason. I'm hoping he sleeps for part of it and that I can keep him happy with a toy or two and snacks for the rest of it.

Lori

[ellery]

Wow. We fell way off the page and I had to go searching for us. :eek:

I'm back at work on a Monday with a sigh of relief (for a change). ;) Danny's got a double ear infection (again) and is on that horrid antibiotic that caused Poopgate last month. Unfortunately, I am still emotionally scarred by the sight that met me yesterday morning when Danny woke up. Seriously, I didn't know poop could travel so far and be found in so many random places. I walked in his room and turned right back around and had to sit with DH for a minute before I could collect myself enough to go back to the war zone. No other big incidents like that one since yesterday, so hopefully the worst of the diarrhea is over. We're doing the Culterelle tablets this time too, Laura - do you think they made a difference with Hannah? (We tend to see a different dr each time we go, so each dr recommends something different - this is the first I've heard of Culturelle).

Okay, so every time I go to the pediatrician I end up obsessing over something. This time I got a lecture about Danny's pacifier, which this dr says "has got to go." She told me to cut the tip off it and he could have it that way, but not in its current un-mutilated condition. I forgot to ask her why, as she then moved on to discussing what foods Danny eats and I started stressing about that because he's still REALLY picky and hasn't expanded to much beyond applesauce, cheese, graham crackers and yogurt. He'll (supposedly) eat things like bananas and the graduates ravioli at daycare, but he won't eat these at home. So my questions...

1. What's the big deal with the pacifier? Does using one mess with their teeth development? If so, I don't see how just cutting the tip off makes a big difference, but I don't know. He only uses it at night (or when he's sick) and I am not emotionally ready for him not to use his pacifier yet - it's such a great soother.

2. I know Danny will be eating more than apple sauce and graham crackers when he's, say, 12... but for now, is there anything I can do besides just continuing to offer different things in hopes that he'll eventually try them? Am I doing something wrong that's making things worse? We don't eat dinner together (DH travels and I'm not hungry at 6 when Danny eats) but I do snack on what he's eating so that he sees I like it too (e.g. grilled cheese, which he doesn't like). Should I not offer him something he likes if he doesn't like what I've given him? I don't want mealtimes to become power struggles. Any ideas?

3. Danny's still using a nipple on his sippy cups (we have the Avent ones that are interchangeable) and I keep offering him ones with the sippy cup top and he is not interested. Is that something that just happens or do you have to force the issue?

So not really big deals, but I hate wondering if I'm doing something that's perpetuating the problem.

Lori - yay for Jason sleeping at night! Danny doesn't like to stop for naps either and insists all the way up to the bitter end that he's not tired. I just take him to his room, turn off his light, turn on the music and the fan (what I do for his nighttime routine) and snuggle him for a few minutes and either hold him till he falls asleep (I know, I know, bad mom!) or toss him in the crib and he's usually out pretty quickly. With a little crying sometimes. :(

Laura, hopefully everyone is well in your house again. How was the visit with your parents?

Okay, I need to stop typing and do some work. I just needed to obsess a little and was hoping someone could offer advice or something. Even if it's just "no, he won't be eating only yogurt and graham crackers when he's 12."

:)

Leah

[MinEaston]

"no, he won't be eating only yogurt and graham crackers when he's 12."

quick post...

No, he won't be eating only yogurt and graham crackers when he's 12...

keep doing what your gut tells you to do ;)

[LA98]

Hi Leah, sorry to hear about Danny's ears. :( I've never tried Culturelle, but I did use a kid-strength acidophilus powder daily when Brian was living on antibiotics around this age. I thought it helped a bit. There was one antibiotic in particular that always gave him the *worst* diarrhea, and after a couple of episodes I mentioned it to the doctor and he made a note in his file and just made sure to always give him a different one.

As for the pacifier, I have read that they interfere with speech and teeth development. I don't exactly buy that, at least not at this age. (My friend let her son use a pacifier only at bedtime until age 3: at his first dental exam, the dentist told her to get rid of it immediately because it was starting to shift his teeth and affect his bite, but again he was 3.) I think the rationale to get rid of it at this age is that they're getting really dependent on it, it will become much tougher to break the habit the longer you wait, they should learn an alternate way to self-soothe, etc... I'm seeing it with Jason now. All of a sudden he *loves* his binky. He goes into his room during the day and steals them out of the crib (the rule is he only gets it for naps and bedtime). I am perfectly fine with him having it up to age 2 or so, and dealing with getting rid of it then. It's way too early now, IMO, and the benefits from it right now are huge (sleep for one! And no way on earth am I messing with that! :D )

As for eating, "No, he won't be eating only yogurt and graham crackers when he's 12." :) I've got one kid who eats and one who doesn't, so I'll give you my thoughts on the subject. First of all, do you think Danny has issues with food texture? Because there's really nothing you can do about that if that's the problem... That was (and maybe still is) Brian's issue with food. I also had a similar situation when Brian was this age in that DH often worked late and I didn't want to make a whole dinner just for myself and him. I think that caused me to offer him less variety and he did not get to see other people eating very often. Of course I have no idea if this was part of the problem or not, I just know it's different from what we do now. Now Brian's almost 5, and he's still a very poor eater. He's picky, but he does not have much of an appetite either. If I didn't make him sit to eat three times a day, he wouldn't even think of food. And food does not excite him or make him happy. (Up side: maybe he'll never have a weight problem! :rolleyes: :) ) At Danny's age (and well beyond ;) ), the only things he ate were mashed potatoes, cheese, yogurt, and the occasional grilled cheese. I made sure to never forget his vitamins, and he grew like a weed despite it all. :)

Jason is a decent eater (at least I think he is, since I don't have any experience! ;) ) Some days he's so hungry I can't seem to fill his belly no matter how much I give him, other days he just picks at his food. I give him whatever we're eating for dinner, sometimes he eats it and sometimes he doesn't. He's big on fruit, so he gets that for "dessert" at every meal. I try to rotate what I give him for breakfasts and lunches so that we don't get in a rut (a bad habit I had with Brian). If he rejects something, I give him something else and try it again the next day. I do remember when Brian was in daycare, they'd tell me he ate something and I would think they had him mixed up with another kid because it was something he'd never touch at home. But I do think they sometimes act differently at home vs school... I think just keep offering Danny a wide variety of foods and he may just find something he likes. Has he tried scrambled eggs or toast with cream cheese?

As for the sippy cups, I've heard similar things about them as with the pacifiers. Brian didn't like a lot of the sippy cup spouts, I think I bought every cup on the market for him to try. This time around with Jason I skipped the sippy and went straight to straw cups (I found smaller straw cups that are no-spill, I don't think they were available 4 years ago.) What I was told (and I forget who it was) but if they're using a pacifier *and* a bottle or sippy, you should give up one or the other because the sucking motion is the same and they're not getting to use the other muscles in the mouth that help with speech development (or something like that). Again, you could probably ask a bunch of moms at random about this theory and disprove it in about a minute. :)

Lori

[ellery]

Thanks M! ;) I love it when other moms delurk. :)

Lori, thanks for such a detailed post - that's really interesting about a possible speech connection between pacis and sippy cups. Where did you find your straw cups? Seems like I've tried every sippy cup with Danny out there - he seems to want real cups and water bottles (like mom drinks) but hasn't mastered drinking from them without wearing the drink. :p As for the food stuff - I feel so much better hearing about Brian's pickiness. I think it may be a texture thing with Danny too - he's not adventurous at all about trying new things and seems to prefer crunchy whenever possible. But only on his terms. And only if the crunchy thing he's being offered is in the form of a graham cracker or goldfish. I guess I just need to keep making things and offering them to him but it's a pain because I end up eating whatever it is. Not that I mind nightly grilled cheese sandwiches. ;)

insert small rant

This morning his daycare mom said to me "he likes sweet." Um, yes, he is his mother's child. And by the way stop giving him pop tarts for breakfast. (They tend to share whatever one kid is having for breakfast, which depends on what that kid's mom send him/her to daycare with. I'm usually fine with that but seriously, who sends your 1 year old to daycare with pop tarts??? Shouldn't you at least try to pretend to want them to eat healthy when they're this little?????)

rant over.

[LA98]

I found two kinds of small, non-spill straw cups at Target, I think both of them are made by Munchkin. One has two handles like a sippy cup, the other doesn't have handles but is kind of hourglass-shaped and Jason can hold it just fine. He had no problem at all mastering the straw. And he loves my Poland Spring sport bottles too! :)

"He likes sweet" -- um, right, who doesn't?? :) :) I remember seeing kids at daycare eating some pretty unbelievable stuff, and couldn't believe their parents packed it for them. And when Jason had that little stomach virus thing a couple of months ago, the nurse at the ped's office told me "no deep-fried foods, no fast food". :eek: !! I asked her if people really feed their 10-month-olds that kind of stuff and she said yes, all the time. Unbelievable!

[ellery]

Wow, deep fried foods to a toddler. Makes pop tarts look relatively harmless in comparison. :rolleyes:

Okay, one more post and then I'll stop playing and do work. ;)

Can you all please send some healthy vibes to my house? DH has the flu. The real, elephant-sat-on-me, wish-I-was-dead flu. Last night I lay in bed listening to DH upstairs in bed moaning, and Danny down the hall in his crib moaning and did some serious praying. Danny and I both had flu shots in the fall, but who knows if that will protect us. My fear is that both DH and I will be sick and out of commission and Danny will have to fend for himself like a feral child. (And there are no pop tarts in the house so he'd starve ;) ). The only person I think he would let care for him would be MIL and she's currently in the hospital with blood clots in her lungs (side effect of the chemotherapy?).

Thinking serious anti-flu thoughts here!!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

[SPITFIRE]

Ellery--I can't help you too much on the crunchy food front as my 12 month old still has yet to get her first tooth! She has some pretty strong gums though! Here's some favorites in our house:

Guacamole. Holy cow, she could eat guc every single meal if we let her! Great source of healthy fat. We love the Trader Joe brand when we don't have time to make our own.
Black Bean/Chicken Quesadillas--she may like this because it serves as another method of getting guc into her mouth. Packed with protein and easy weeknight meal. Baby loves spices so I make them as I would make them for adults--I add cumin, garlic, a little chipotle powder, chopped tomato, chopped onion, frozen corn to the black beans. Heat them in a skillet until combined. Spread on tortillas and top with some chicken and cheese. Microwave till cheese is gooey.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches--I like to use organic PB and low sugar jelly. PB is another great source of protein.
Natural, No Additive Turkey Breast Lunch-meat
Apple Slices
Ravioli--try ravioli with spinach inside-a great way to sneak in some extra veg.
Yogurt--We like the YoBaby Yogurt fortified with DHA
Kiwi and Blueberries are big favorites right now.
Earth's Best makes great vitamin fortified, organic cheese crackers (tastes as good as goldfish and they are shaped like Elmo and Big Bird) and oatmeal cookies.

Sounds like our pediatrician is on the opposite side of the spectrum then yours. He feels that toddlers will eat enough of the right things to stay healthy, all you can do is to keep offering it to them. He also said most toddlers don't like eating big dinners. I noticed this in our little one. She is fussier at night. I try to sneak more veggies in her lunch. I don't force her if she doesn't want to eat a big dinner. She always has a huge breakfast (that's where she gets most of her fruit).

I agree with one of the other posters. Pacifier use doesn't become a problem until much later. I have a suggestion about weaning from the pacifier that we are going to try with our little one. I'll come back and post about that when I have more time.

Good healthy, anti-flu vibes coming your way, Ellery.

[LHBryan]

Hi everyone! Ugh, I'm so slammed at work but want to catch up and respond.

Lori--Glad to hear Jason had a fun birthday! Hope he's still sleeping well. Thanks for responding to Leah's ?s about sippy cups, eating, etc. Very helpful info.

Leah--So, so sorry about Danny's ears and more poopgate--and also about DH's flu and your MIL. We just went through 2 bouts of ear infections ourselves. No fun. I'm still not convinced Hannah's ears are clear. We definitely saw a difference w/ Culturelle. One day we ran out of tablets and the diarrhea came back with a vengeance. It helped Hannah so much that she completely avoided the nasty diaper rash w/ the second ear infection.

As for food, I'm of no help b/c Hannah still has some texture issues and isn't eating lots of table foods. She'll eat almost anything if it's a puree mixed w/ cereal and breastmilk. We have had success lately w/ peas, cheddar cheese, banana, pineapple, biter biscuits, yogurt, Cheerios, and puffs, but need to try more stuff. She's pickier about texture than flavor. Does daycare provide any food for Danny, or do the parents bring everything? That would make me crazy to know that they're giving my child someone else's food, even if it were something healthy. I don't understand how they can legally do that. Of course he prefers sweet.:rolleyes: Yeah, me too. I would just keep trying, doing what you've been doing, and not making a big deal of it. He'll come around. Have you every tried roasting carrots 'til they're sort of caramelized? Very sweet. Maybe Danny would like those.

Our daycare provides breakfast, lunch (corndogs, fried egg rolls, etc.:eek:), and a snack, but she's not yet eating their food 100%. We give her breakfast at home (oatmeal w/ banana and breastmilk), she eats some Cheerios when she gets there, then I send lunch (1 fruit/1 veg mixed w/ cereal). I tell them they can give her some table foods at lunch and snack if it's small bits and they watch her carefully, which they did a couple of times w/ success. She was eating crackers for them before she'd do it at home (you know, the "monkey see, monkey do" thing). However, suddenly they've reverted back to a bottle at snack time claiming they don't know what she's allowed to eat. Yesterday I sent puffs and Cheerios labeled "snack" w/ the date just in case they served something she doesn't like (like Go-Gurt, for some reason) but said they could try whatever everyone else was having. They just gave her another bottle (and thawed milk for it) while all the other kids had finger foods.:confused: It's always something w/ daycare.

Spitfire--thanks for the food suggestions. Did your dr. give you the go-ahead on peanut butter at 12 mos.? My 11-month-old doesn't have any teeth yet either! How funny about the guac. Avocado has been the one thing DD HATED, but that was months ago and I need to try again.

Lori, thanks for the info about the straw cups. Hannah doesn't "get" the regular sippy cups that well either. She can usually get water out of it if I hold it and tilt it back for her, but she can't do it on her own. Leah, I found the Munchkin straw cups at Target this morning. I think they're new. I bought the hourglass, handle-free one b/c the handle just seems to be a grip that allows her to swing and bang it wildly.

Everything else is good, aside from my insane work load. We had a great visit with my parents, and they thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Hannah. She was truly a delight. I, however, was sick again for the umpteenth time and was in the midst of lots of work deadlines. I fear I wasn't the best hostess. It was cute watching Hannah develop special games with them that she doesn't do with us. We took her out to eat w/ us one night, which she's only done a few times since we mostly eat at home. Good thing everyone there was nice b/c Hannah was completely turned around in the highchair looking all around the restaurant, waving and saying "hi" and playing peek-a-boo w/ the kitchen staff. Non-stop for 2 hours. Oh my, we have a curious, gregarious child on our hands.

Hannah is lots of fun and getting so BIG. I keep looking at her in disbelief b/c she seems huge to me now. Still no teeth and not yet walking. My main concern is w/ her enthusiasm and difficulty expressing emotion. When she's really excited, especially when gets up in the morning and while nursing, she often swats at us pretty hard. She's obsessed w/ our faces and loves to grab at them. The other day I made the mistake of letting her touch my teeth, so now teeth are an obsession and she's not satisfied 'til she gets to them. Oh boy, teeth are so funny. She made a sudden swipe at my nipple the other day and scratched it, then "bit" (gummed seems too mild a word) me hard this morning in a devilish, playful, "Nope, not hungry" way. OUCH. Breakfast is over. All I know to do is grab her hands and say "Ouch. No, that hurts Mommy." She cried this morning when DH looked sad after she knocked his glasses off, then she started to cry after the biting incident when I immediately put breakfast away and we got up from the rocking chair without further nursing/talking/playing. Any other suggestions? Are we the only ones with an aggressive child?!? She's such a firecracker!

-Laura