June New Moms! [Archive] - CookingLight.com Community

acginkc

06-02-2009, 05:03 PM

Me: Ashley 30
DH 31
Matt 3 months (2/20)

Happy June everyone. Everything is going well in our house this week. Matt is a rolling fool (one way). Almost as soon as I lay him down on a blanket or play mat, its onto his tummy he goes. Once he's there we are at a bit of a loss. He'll get angry and cry till I save him, but its a start. Anyone know how to "show" or help them how to roll from belly to back? I feel like I'm just flopping him over when I help.

This week is daycare week. We were hoping I would not have to go back to my horrible retail schedule, but alas that's not how it worked out. I'm visiting 3 or 4 centers and 2 homes. It hard because some of the centers cost close to what I make in a week. Hopefully we'll find somewhere that doesn't cost so much that I'm basically just working for daycare (not a bad thing if you love your job, but I don't really "love" my job). I have 6 weeks till I go back and every time I think about it I get all anxious.

So I figured out that Matt is a crib sleeper. After his bad days last week I noticed that he'd sleep for 2 hour stretches in naps with no problem. He wouldn't fuss when I laid him down or anything. So I moved him over there at night and got a 4 hour stretch last night. YAY!!! Apparently mom, dad and the dog kept him up at night.

OK enough babbling. Need to work on laundry and getting the house clean before we head to WA to visit the in-laws next week. First plane trip for Matt, so can't wait to hear how Evelyn did.

Beth H: Sorry to hear about the ear infections. I was a kid who always had them and I so dread Matt suffering from them as well. And I understand about the PP body. I had to finally break down and buy a couple of cotton skirts and some capris because I was feeling really low about still wearing maternity clothes and pj pants. I'm hoping I can fit into some of my work clothes when I need to so I don't have to replace all of them as well. And 40 pounds is nothing, I gained 50 (30 of which I had lost by my 2 week check-up. Can we say water retention??).

Bekki: Glad the boys are liking solids so much. And that is so funny about the teeth.

tholbrook

06-02-2009, 11:29 PM

Me: Tami (34)
DH: (37)
DD: Maya (9 months, 8/25/08)

Just a quick update... Maya's second bottom tooth finally popped through over the weekend and it has been awful around here. She has been unbearably cranky, and I'm sure part of it is because she hasn't had a morning nap in 4 days. I have done everything I can think of, and she just WILL NOT sleep. It really sucks since the morning nap used to be the one I could count on. So basically she's down to one 1.5 hour nap per day, and it is definitely not enough.

Night sleep, however, is better. We had a major relapse last week, where she was waking up every few hours. So now that she's done with acute teething, I've been doing dream feeding with a goal of night weaning by the end of this week. Ha! We'll see how that goes. Unfortunately, I'm still not getting much sleep since I'm setting my alarm to get up every 3 hours. I'm following the SleepEasy Solution, and if it works like they say it does, I'll be sleeping through the night myself by this weekend (something tells me it won't be quite this simple! :rolleyes:) So far, so good - the biggest challenge is between 4-5 a.m. Maya always wakes up then, regardless of a dream feed, and it takes about 15 minutes for her to go back to sleep.

What else? Feeding is still going okay, but I need to work on more textured foods. She does not like anything chunky, but it might just be because she's been so fussy lately. She's still doing the half-crawl... she hops her knees towards her hands, flops onto her belly, and then scoots forward. Then pulls back up to hands and knees, and repeat. I'd love to take a video at high speed, because it's so funny to watch. And she's fast! Bekki - I'm with you on the babyproofing! So far, I don't leave Maya alone unless she's strapped into her bouncer or jumper, or sitting in her chair at the table. But even in the same room, she's into everything - and has a strange attraction for the power strip. Our house is a baby nightmare.

Oh, and Maya is saying "mama" now, and it seems to be very distinct and intentional - not part of her usual babbling. I haven't done any reading yet to see if this could indeed be her first real word. But still, I love to hear her say it! :D:D:D

Ashley - I'm not sure about the rolling... Maya rolled from belly to back first, which I believe is more typical. I'm sure he'll get the hang of it soon. And glad to hear the sleep is improving. I think that some babies just reach a stage where they sleep better alone. I hope you find a good daycare place for Matt. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

Bekki - very cool about Will and Andy being identical! :D And quite impressive that you were able to notice exactly when the teeth came through, down to the hour! Maya clamps her mouth shut when I try to check her teeth. Please do post your babyproofing adventures! I'm hoping to get some tips from the experienced moms here too.

Beth H - so easy to lose track of time, isn't it?!? I'm sorry to hear about Will's ear infections. My younger brother and sister both had tubes put in their ears, and it helped tremendously. And I'm in the same PP-body boat with you too. I put a huge amount of effort into staying in shape while pregnant and only gained 25 pounds. BUT ... now my priorities have changed (gee, you think? :p) and I haven't put the time and effort into getting back to pre-pregnancy form. I desperately need new clothes (I have maybe 3 pairs of pants and a few shirts that fit) but I'm hoping to shed a few pounds and get back into my old wardrobe. Although I think I'll still have to buy new tops because of the nursing bras (the top edge of the cups show with many of my summer shirts). I'm trying not to be frustrated with myself... my goal is to get back to my former self by August. My motivation is having family pictures taken for Maya's first birthday. Right now, the extra weight is showing in my face, as well as my belly, and I hate having my picture taken. :(

Okay, so much for that "quick" update. I'm going to go do a dream feed - this one is only 4 minutes, so I'm curious to see what Maya does when I put her back down when she's just starting to get going. I haven't put anything new into Photobucket lately so I will post some pictures here after I get around to updating.

Meanwhile, let's see some pictures of those cute little babies!

Pony

06-03-2009, 09:35 AM

Hi everyone.

Michelle-34
DH-33
Evelyn-almost 5 months!!

It's been busy since I got back. No more MIL helping out :o and busy at work.

Ok, here is the latest rundown....
Evelyn did great on the trip. She did better on the plane ride there then on the way back. It will be much easier when we fly to FL next month, b/c Carl will be with me. In the seat in front of me, I put a few burp clothes, hooter hider, a toy and a snack for me. This was key, b/c I couldn't reach my diaper bag at all. Poor thing pooped all over herself on the way there. I didn't have time to change her b/c we were getting ready to land. On the way back, she was louder and a tad more difficult and I just kept feeding her. I really prefer to not use the hooter hider, b/c it just seems more difficult. I used it anyway. She is so funny, b/c she screams when she is waiting under there for me to get the boob out. ha! She spit up a bit on the way back and I was glad to have the burp clothes nearby. Overall, it was easier then I thought. I am very glad it was a short flight!!! I didn't have to use the restroom on the plane, thankfully. I did have her in a carrier pre/post boarding and was able to use the restroom that way :p

She did great in NC. My nieces were loving on her sooo much. It was sweet, but I was getting germ phobia.

Sleep--she did awesome going down for naps and bedtime. Now that we are home, she is going down at 8pm due to the time change!! Prior to the trip, we were getting her down around 9ish. She is still waking up twice at night, but I'm able to feed her and she goes right to sleep. Unfortunately, she is waking up earlier. At 7:30 instead of 8:30-9am. uuuugggghhh. We really like the later wake up. I was hoping she would at least sleep till 8:30, but I don't think that will happen now.

Ok, gotta run and will need to read the posts!

Beth G.

06-03-2009, 04:24 PM

Me: Beth, 39
DH: 40
DS: Michael, 5 months on Saturday

Happy June everyone! I can’t believe this is my last month on leave. It has been a super hectic week. My coworkers came to visit on Saturday. Michael did great and one of them brought her 13 month old who was kissing Michael’s feet. Sunday my inlaws came and finally, they arrived just when he woke up from a nap rather than when he needed one so he was in a good mood to play with them.

Monday was DH’s first overnight business trip since Michael was born. I invited my parents over since usually their visits are so rushed with the trip being anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on traffic. Normally when Michael gets up in the 5:30-6:30 am timeframe he’s pretty awake so I take him downstairs to play and let DH get some more sleep. Usually after 90-120 minutes he’ll take one of his power naps. Since DH was not there I decided to see what would happen if I put him back in the crib (he got up at 5:30 I think). I put on the mobile and it took about 25 minutes but he then slept until 8:30!!! I did the same today after his 6:30 feed and he slept until 9!! OMG. I hope this is an epiphany on my part and not a blip. And I really, really hope that it’s the music of the mobile and not the flying animals that are putting him back to sleep, since the animals probably have to come down in a few weeks. It was nice having my folks here. He is really enamored of my mom, but only to a point… I had her go get him when he woke up from his nap twice. Complete meltdown. He probably thought first Daddy leaves, and now Mommy too? Wait until you get to day care, Mr. Michael!

We need to childproof too. I ordered an alphabet tile mat so he can roll around and we are going to get a big gate area for our living room, as our furniture is problematic. That will probably hold us until he walks but I imagine he’ll want out of that pretty soon, and then who knows. The problem with a townhouse is there are steps EVERYWHERE. Each room has them, even if it’s just three between our kitchen and living room or the two bedrooms upstairs.

We went on a playdate today and it didn’t go well. I timed it with his morning nap but he woke up when I took him out of the car, so it was a short nap. The other baby cried a lot and he couldn’t go back to sleep, or eat. The last time we were there the other baby slept the entire time so it went much better. Again, wait until you get to day care and there are a bunch of other crying babies, oh boy. He is so much happier since his next nap was 2 hours (car and at home) and there is not another baby crying now.

We got an automated phone call this morning that they’d be testing the sirens at a nearby nuclear power plant between 10:30 and 11:30 for four minutes. Of course I was feeding him when they started right on time at 10:30. Needless to say, Mr. Distractible was not very interested in eating during the siren sounding. Then they came to power wash our deck. Conspiracy??

I am kind of stuck at about 8 pounds to lose. I am concerned about trying and impacting my milk supply, so I haven't :) I hope some of my work clothes are usable. Appetizer boob seems a bit sluggish again. At least when I start pumping more I won’t have to worry as much about his fussiness.

Last but not least, the really big news here is that my brother got engaged and is planning a fall wedding, when Michael will be around 10 months old. I don’t think I’ll be wearing him in the Ergo during the ceremony ;) so I’m hoping he’ll be cooperative enough to sit with my aunt/cousin/sister-in-law for a little while. I had been thinking he’d go back to a hotel with my sister-in-law during the reception but it turns out they are going to invite my in-laws, so she’ll be there with them too. Not sure about Plan B, the reception will be way too loud for him, and I would like to be able to participate in this happy event. Have to figure out who would be a good sitter that is not going to the wedding.

Beth H. – Good to hear he isn’t pushing away the rice cereal. I am not going to start until 6 months. I don’t think Michael is ready. My friend has been trying with her extremely hungry 4 month old and he’s not getting it. How did it go with the pediatrician?

Bekki – sounds like you are having a lot of fun with the foods. We are also going to focus on making the living room baby central. But we’ll have to do his room too when we move the crib – I hadn’t even realized there are issues with the glider and ottoman, pointed out by our visitors who have a 13 month old. The ottoman doesn’t lock and there are places for fingers to get caught.

Ashley – glad Matt is sleeping well in the crib. I’m at four weeks to go and getting anxious too. I hope your trip to WA goes well. Hopefully Matt will do belly to back soon – Michael still hasn’t gone the other way but I am sure once I have the new mat he’ll have more room and will do it.

Tami - I sure hope you are sleeping through the night by this weekend ;) ! I hope the teething crankiness improves soon. I am dreading that, since I’ll be back at work then. It is great that Maya is saying Mama. When did she start enjoying the jumper? Michael isn't "getting" it. He could start jumping if he'd extend his legs. He loves to bounce and I know he'll enjoy the jumper too, if he can figure it out.

Michelle – glad to hear your trip went well. We are supposed to see my cousins this weekend and their five year old came home with a fever yesterday so I’m already talking about canceling. I have germ phobia too (swine flu still all the rage in NY), and I know he’ll be sick enough once he starts day care I’d rather enjoy these last few weeks. I guess I won’t be flying anywhere with Michael since he won’t go under the nursing cover. I have a really pretty one and it just sits in my diaper bag. I used it once in the car when he was freaking out. Sorry about the earlier wakeup. Been there. Not fun.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db04b3127ccec766bfa93d7600000050O00AbsmzZw2cN2 IPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

bekki

06-03-2009, 05:53 PM

Just quickly, my new video camera came today (it's a FlipVideo, and I LOVE it), so of course, I had to bust it out and make a little movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5YGlbrZWPM

I have no idea what Andy is doing with his mouth--we just woke up from his afternoon nap and started, I don't know, chewing cud or whatever he's doing!

tholbrook

06-03-2009, 07:29 PM

Bekki - that is an adorable video!!! And they sure do move around ... I can see why you're concerned about babyproofing. Love those happy little feet clapping together!

Love that little tongue thing that Andy is doing - I'm thinking it must be some weird milestone because we caught Maya on camera doing it too. We call it her "llama lips" (you can look me up on Facebook to view it) and she only did it a few times.

Beth G - Cute picture of Michael - love the little baseball outfit, and he's getting so big! The nap timing gets me too - seems like every time we have something planned, Maya is either napping or really, really needs a nap. Hope the later wake-up time continues for you! We used to get up for the day between 9 and 10, and I really miss that! Sorry the playdate didn't go as well as you would have liked -- maybe the next one will be better!

Michelle - Glad your trip went well and the bathroom wasn't too much of an ordeal. Yay for Evelyn sleeping well away from home, and that she's still on track now that you're back!

Okay, back to making up a sleep chart for Maya - the Sleepeasy people say it's important, so if Maya will do her part, I'm sure as heck do mine! ;) I'm willing to try about anything at this point. She stayed awake from 3:45 this morning until 11:00 a.m with only 2 30-minute naps, and even those naps were a struggle. And of course, she was a real grumpy bear all day long.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090524Toyseverywhere.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090601Maya.jpg

Pony

06-04-2009, 10:18 AM

Ok, so Evelyn slept very oddly yesterday--
She woke up from a nap at 4:30, so I was wondering what to do about her napping again or actually going down for the night. Well, at 6:30 she was READY for a nap. 2 hour wakefullness is still her limit.

6:30pm-napped in crib
7:20pm-woke up
7:30pm-nursed and slept on boppy until 8:30!
got her diaper changed and swaddled her.
9pm-falling asleep to our dancing routine
9:30pm-completely out
1am-up for a snack
5am-up for a snack
6:30am-stirring and i just cuddled her tight
7:30am-up for the AM
So, she was barely awake past 6:30pm. Nice, but also sad for me as I got home around 4:45. At least, she slept on me for a while when she was nursing.

She doesn't have a set naptime and we are just following her cues and the 2 hour wakefullness window. I'm just confused about getting in a late nap versus just putting her to bed. I guess last night she just told us what she wanted by doing her own thing :)

Tami-last month, you mentioned trying to figure out how to get that 3rd nap in now that Maya is going to bed earlier. What did you end up doing? Dropping it? I'm sorry the 2nd tooth is causing problems now!!! Oh no, not even a morning nap!!!!!! ahhhhhh...so sorry. I read in NCSS (I think) or maybe it was (Healthly Sleep Habits) that 4-6 am is the most restless time for sleep. This is for kids and adults! So, maybe that is what is going on w/ Maya at that time. I feel like Evelyn is more restless from 5-6:30am as well. I'm very much looking forward to hearing how the Sleep Easy Solution goes at your house!! Yes, I want a video of the crawling technique. :D how cute that she is saying mama!!!! It cracked me up that you were up typing away right before Maya's 4 min dream feed. :p
oh dear. 3:45am-11am. holy cow. big hugs to you!!! I can't imagine Maya being a grumpy bear after seeing those cute pictures. :p

Beth G-yay for Michael rolling. I'm sure he is proud of himself. :) It is funny when you leave them in one position, go do something and come back to them in a different position. It cracks me up everytime. We haven't changed the flow of Evelyn's bottle nipple. She finishes that bottle so fast already and gets mad when it is over! When we were out of town, I really tried hard to get Evelyn back down if she only napped for 45 min. I turned on the music and she would fall back asleep when I danced around with her. It doesn't always work, but I was surprised how often it did. I'm glad the smaller flanges are working great!
oh no, back to work. I feel for you! That is great that he is sleeping in the AM. We always try to get E down for her first nap w/in the hour. Although, Carl is driving me a little crazy b/c he is pushing it to 2 hours when I'm at work. grrrrrr.....Congrats to your brother! Love the picture.:)

Heather-glad Quinn is being a great traveler! Evelyn got to meet her great grandmother this past weekend :).

Ashley-very cool about him sleeping better in the crib! How is his tummy these days? I don't know how to teach them to roll over the other way. Evelyn can do it, but still gets stuck and mad at times. It is typically when she is trying to go belly to back. I'm sorry about the work schedule. Enjoy these last few weeks!

Anita-thanks for your sleeping tips!! So, he is down at 6pm and is sleeping straight through till 6am? That is great!

Beth H-I'm sorry about the ear infection. :( I think RebeccaT's daughter had to get tubes. You might do a search and read up on her posts.

bekki-I am soo not looking forward to babyproofing. Our house is still in a disaster state and my husband has art stuff all around. ahhhh!!! Very cool about the teeth.

----

I was thinking it would be so great if there was an inflatable boppy pillow that would fit perfectly on the plane!!!

I have a cloth diaper question again. How are you all storing them prior to washing? We need to come up with a better system. We just toss them in this bucket and there is no lid. I was thinking they would get really gross if there was a lid, but we need to do something that doesn't allow for a lingering smell :o.

Also have a morning nap question. So, are you all getting the kiddos down w/in an hour of waking up in the AM?

SooCookie

06-04-2009, 01:49 PM

Me: Michelle 31
DH: 32
DD: Kayla 3yrs on May 31
DS: Benjamin 9 months on June 8

Happy June!

BethH - I am so with you on the post-pregnancy body. I gained the same amount of weight with both kids and it is not like I binged on junk food, but still gained a lot. Those last 5-10 pounds are very persistent!

Bekki - love the video. Too cute! Ben is scooching around on his tummy like that as well, but no real crawling yet.

Tami - glad to hear night sleeping is a bit better. Good luck getting rid of that night feeding. Ben is not a fan of textured food either, unless he can smear it all over his face! Add Ben as another one who is usually up playing around in the 5am time frame. Luckily, he usually falls back to sleep without my intervention.

Michelle - glad to hear Evelyn did so well on the trip. The pictures on FB are just adorable! :)

Beth G - Michael is soooo cute! Ben has that same outfit, although at 22 lbs, Ben has just a few more rolls in the tummy area than Michael does.

Unfortunately, I am no help with the childproofing, since Kayla was one of those "not into much" type of kids. If anything, the only bit of advice I can offer is to do the obvious safety things, such as plugging outlets, but don't go all crazy until you see what they get into. I never had to put corner guards on our tables, and some cupboards I didn't have to put the child lock on since she had no interest in going to them. Also, with the cupboards, designate one or two for things you don't mind if they get into, like the plastic stuff or utensils. Kayla loved playing with this stuff, and even to this day still does.

We are finally off the breathing treatments with Ben, however, he is still wheezing, so I fear they will be a part of our lives again in the not too distant future. I should be taking him into the doctor to get checked out, but I am being a bad mom and not doing it yet. I know what they are going to tell me, and he doesn't seem to be struggling to breathe... I just wish he would get better.

More later. Kayla is waking up from her nap. I posted a picture of my two babes on the toddler thread if anyone is interested. Too lazy to link to it again! :rolleyes:

Michelle

Beth H

06-04-2009, 01:56 PM

Also have a morning nap question. So, are you all getting the kiddos down w/in an hour of waking up in the AM?

Will always is ready for a nap within about 2 - 2 1/2 hour of waking up. He has fallen into a pattern of taking 3 naps each day - of course, none of these is longer than 45 minutes, but I guess it is a pattern. He naps about 8:30-9 am; 12 pm; and 4 pm. Sometimes he will take a brief "nap" before going to bed at night around 7 - 7:30. He normally still wakes up once a night - around 3/4 am, although 2 nights earlier this week he actually slept from 7 pm - 6 am straight, which was fantastic, to say the least.

Thanks for the camaraderie with the post-pregnancy weight/body - it makes me feel better to know others are in the same boat (I know, those celebs who are back to their size 0's within days of giving birth are *not* realistic!)

Beth G - it's good to think about childproofing already. Will is rolling some, although not consistently. I haven't thought ahead to that movement point yet, but I guess I should. Time goes so fast.

Tami - I love those photos!

Bekki - thanks for the list of what you are feeding the twins. It's good to get ideas for the coming months.

Ashley - good luck with your upcoming plane trip!

Michelle (SooCookie) - good that Ben is off breathing treatments for now. I understand not wanting him to go through so much medical stuff.

Beth G.

06-04-2009, 06:51 PM

Hey Michelle (Pony) - we were in Buy Buy Baby today and they had an inflatable My Brest Friend for planes. So someone thought of it!

Pony

06-04-2009, 07:27 PM

Hey Michelle (Pony) - we were in Buy Buy Baby today and they had an inflatable My Brest Friend for planes. So someone thought of it!

shoot...i guess i can't retire. ;):p

gertdog

06-04-2009, 07:42 PM

Well, duh- here I was marveling at how quiet the thread had been b/c I hadn't gotten any email notifications. But it's June, so new thread. Shows you how confuzzled I am lately!

Me: Stephanie, 37
DH: Jason, 36
DS1: Ryan, 3
DS2: Aiden, 4 months tomorrow

Babyproofing- we absolutely did it in stages for DS1. For the creeper/crawler phase, we got down on the floor and did anything at floor level plus anything they could grab and pull down (cords, drawers that could cause furniture to tip if pulled out/if DS tried to pull himself up on it, etc.). And we kept the area small at first too- family room and baby's room only. We used gates and door handle locks to contain DS. We put handle locks on the outside of the bathroom doors and thus avoided having to put toilet locks etc. on. If you need gates, I loved the hands-free gate by First Years. For outlet covers, I really liked the spring-loaded ones where if you have something plugged in, like a lamp, and baby pulls the cord out, the spring mechanism causes the outlet to be automatically covered. I think I have the Kidco ones- the first brand I bought, the spring mechanisms broke in several covers pretty quickly. More expensive than the little plastic plugs, but the plastic plugs are of no use on outlets where something's actually plugged in, plus they're a pain to pry out once they're in. And if you have a power strip somewhere accessible, they sell covers for those too. Install babyproofing items as you need them and keep the rest in the original packaging until you do- I ended up returning a bunch of stuff for a refund.

So. Aiden and I have both had colds. Nothing major, but Aiden has been gagging on the gunk as it drains from his nose, and once he starts he doesn't stop til he's had a major spit-up, poor baby. The worst was a middle of the night spit-up that soaked the co-sleeper. I brought him downstairs and let him sleep in the baby papasan while I slept on the couch. Sleeping reclined instead of flat helped with the congestion anyway. I used saline drops and the nose sucker thingie and boy did he fight me- not fun. We both seemed to be better yesterday, though- yay.

He is just growing and growing. Yesterday I had him in an outfit and realized that we have a photo of DS1 in that same outfit on a trip to CA at age 6 months- and Aiden is only 4 months! And DS1 was no peanut himself. :eek:

We have our sitter coming on Saturday night- DH and I get our first evening out since Aiden was born- whee! The sitter has been with us since Ryan was 1 yr. and she's great- she came over last weekend and met Aiden and stayed with the boys for an hour while I ran some errands (DH was away at a funeral).

Michelle- so glad your trip went well and that Evelyn was a good girl on the plane. Interesting about restless sleep btw 4 and 6 AM- I feel like that's definitely true for Aiden, and for me as well. If he wakes before 4 to eat, I can easily fall back asleep, but if he wakes after 4, it's nearly impossible. And I've noticed he does more moving and muttering in the co-sleeper in the early hours of the morning, too.

Ashley- good luck with the daycare search- it's tough and really personal too, deciding who will care for your little one. Hope your trip goes well, too! Ours was postponed due to a family funeral- now we're going in early July. Hooray for all the rolling Matt's doing! Aiden isn't rolling yet- close, but not quite. I think he's getting far less floor time than DS1 ever did, because I have to worry about DS1 running around while Aiden's on the floor! I know I "helped" DS1 with rolling from tummy to back, but for the life of me I can't remember how.

More personals later- Aiden is awake for what will hopefully be his last feeding of the evening, and then I need to pick up the house- a friend is coming over tomorrow with her 18 month old...

Michelle (Ben's mommy)- so sorry to hear that Ben is still wheezing- must be so frustrating to be not quite able to kick it.

tholbrook

06-04-2009, 08:13 PM

Michelle (SooCookie) - I'm glad Ben is done with breathing treatments. I'm sure you know him better than anyone, so if you're in no rush to get him to the doctor, obviously it's because he's doing better, even with the wheezing. So no "bad mom" designation for you! :) Adorable pictures of both Ben and Kayla on the other thread! And just a quick comment on the closed door that you mentioned over there: the SleepEasy book suggests a strong baby gate as an alternative to closing the door if your toddler keeps popping out of her room. Not sure if that is an option you've looked into...???

Beth H - glad the sleep thing is going well for you! If Will is acting okay during the day, and sleeping well at night, sounds like he's fine with the 45 minute naps. Personally, I sure do like the LONG naps, so I can get stuff done, but at this point, I think I would settle for whatever I can get! :o

Michelle (Pony) - just from what you've detailed, and from what I (barely!) remember from Maya at that age, to me, it sounds like what seems like a mid-evening nap is actually Evelyn going to bed at the earlier hour, and then simply waking up for short periods to eat. I'm counting 4 wakings, which isn't great but not too awful either... at least in my world! :p What about gradually moving the 9 pm bedtime routine forward until that last nap is merged with her bedtime?

Replying to a few questions:

Beth G - it took Maya several times being in her jumper before she realized that she could bounce... now I don't recall if it was a few days or more than that. Oh, and don't worry - if Michael is anything like Maya, he'll be good for everyone else and save all the teething crankiness for you! :rolleyes:

Michelle (Pony) - we do cloth diapers but we use a service, so I'm not sure I'll be any help. Are you doing a wet or dry system? If a wet system, it seems like I've read of something (some kind of detergent) you can add to the pail with the dirty diapers to keep them from smelling. For a dry system, we throw all the dirty diapers in a zippered heavy-duty waterproof bag - it is provided from the service every week, and I'm sure it specifically designed for dirty diapers. Anyway, as long as it is zipped up, we can't smell a thing.

And here's a little more on our daytime sleep routine, since you asked: :D

We're still struggling with the third nap. Sometimes she takes one, and sometimes not. Generally, if she gets 3 hours of sleep between 2 naps, she's okay without the 3rd. But if she only gets around 2 hours of total nap time, she'll need that third nap.

Re: the morning nap. Lately, it depends on bad the previous night was. She actually fell asleep with me in the bed while BF this morning - a mere 20 minutes after waking up :eek:. It was the first time in a LONG time she's done that. But she was up 2 times last night, each for over an hour. So it was nice to get an early nap this morning - for BOTH of us - and I enjoyed the snuggle time (although I had no idea we fell asleep until I checked the clock) after such a rough night. But to answer your question: up until recently, the morning nap followed her shortest stretch of awake time - 1.5 hours to 2 hours max. Now I'm experimenting with extending her awake time, because she just doesn't fall asleep when I put her down after 2 hours. That might play into the elimination of the third nap too.

That "4-6 a.m being the most restless time of the night": that was posted just the other day by Nichole (of www.PickNicksBrain.com) on Facebook! That sounded so familiar, and I was looking at her page tonight and saw it there. Of course, my question is: what on earth am I supposed to do about it??? :eek::confused:

And YES, that little girl of mine can be quite a stinker. She looks so sweet and happy but WOW, can she throw a fit! Throws herself on the floor / my lap / her crib, flinging her legs around hard enough that her body bounces around, and hollering at the top of her lungs. Sheesh! She sounds like one of "those" kids that make other people cringe, only she's always a perfect little angel away from home. :rolleyes: And 2 minutes after her tantrum, she's playing happily, babbling away. I think I've said this before: if she can throw this kind of tantrum now, I can't imagine what another year or two will add to the intensity.

Beth G.

06-05-2009, 06:50 AM

Question for Beth H. (or any lurkers) - how do the babies sleep in your day care? When we visited ours, I was a little concerned to see one baby in what I would consider a loose blanket. I asked the coordinator and she said "most of the parents send blankets". So I figured maybe I'm a little stricter about these things.

Yesterday I spoke to our teacher and asked about sleep sacks, and she said they won't use them, because they can't see the babies moving in them, and that they use receiving blankets. I asked her if they put them tightly at the feet and she said yes. However, this still doesn't really work for me - Michael is an incredibly restless and active sleeper (not just from 4-6 am) and I often find him turned the short way in the crib or a complete 180 from the way I put him down, so I don't want any blanket period. I am planning to send him in a Sleep and Play (long sleeve footie) or other outfit that he'll be warm enough to sleep with the AC this summer, and if they question that for the outside walk in the carriage, well, he needs sun coverage! I guess he may get a little sweaty outside, but I'm not into the blanket thing.

Would be interested to hear how other day cares handle this and whether I should be concerned about ours.

Will be back later with an update on Michael's (lack of) sleep last night. We had three great nights in a
row so I can't complain too much. I blame the late nap in the car - we had to do some shopping. Usually he skips that one.

Oh, and the teacher insists no separation anxiety at 5 1/2 months and we don't need any planned transition and just not to make it a long goodbye. I am sure I'm anxious and picking, but I don't believe that. I left him with my parents for less than an hour (he sees them a lot) and he started flipping out after 45 minutes, and this was in our house, and then he freaked out both times my mom went and got him from the crib. So I'm not buying it. I'm sure it's my separation anxiety kicking in but I am really not so happy with the day care at the moment, and he hasn't even started yet!

MinEaston

06-05-2009, 06:58 AM

delurking for Beth G...

I don't know that I ever took that close notice at our daycare, where Anna has been since she was 3 months. Parents provided a seasonally appropriate blanket, crib toy or lovey as needed, and a crib sheet (plus spares).

Remember that in a daycare setting, the babies are supervised, and therefore watched, all the time. There are regulations as to how many workers must be present per infant (in MD, it's 1 teacher-3 babies). At our daycare, which has 6 infants, there are always 2 people in the room regardless of whether it's naptime or not. I cannot imagine that they'd let a child get wrapped up.

So - if I were in your shoes, this wouldn't concern me at all.

JMHO.

Beth G.

06-05-2009, 07:14 AM

Thanks, MinEaston. The ratio in NY is 1 to 4. I wish it was 1 to 3! I have a friend who works in a day care that is meant to be an employee benefit (not many of those left) and they have three teachers for seven babies in her center! I honestly can't remember if our room is 2 teachers 8 babies or if it's just the one with four, but I thought it seemed pretty hectic. I find the 2 adults (DH and me) to 1 baby ratio pretty overwhelming as it is!

Bekki - your video is great. Michael was sitting on my lap while I watched it and he was completely mesmerized. Maybe we'll watch it again so he can see what he should be doing next.

Beth H

06-05-2009, 07:37 AM

Beth G - my daycare (which also is a 1:4 ratio [SC's state mandated ratio is 1:6, so we're lucky to be at a place which does less]) does use blankets during naps. However, I would describe what they do as a tighter "swaddle" and not loose. I personally do not use blankets at home, and haven't swaddled Will since he was a few weeks old, but they do it with all of the babies at our daycare to some extent. Also, our daycare is laid out in two rooms - one large "play room" (which has different areas) and a crib room. Will prefers to nap in an area of the play room so the adults always are around him. The use of the blankets doesn't really bother me because I feel like he's being watched and also is tightly enough wrapped in it that it couldn't get loose.

To give you a tiny bit of totally unsolicited advice, you might re-think using the footed jams/heavier layers if they do go outside daily. Since we live in a warmer climate, Will's been going outside once or twice a day since he started daycare. He gets a bit sweaty and flushed even in shorts and a t-shirt onsie. I know our teachers are reluctant to take the babies outside if they feel they are over-dressed, and this week we were asked to bring lighter-weight "back-up clothes" (the few things we keep there if he has a blow-out, etc.) for that very reason. I do have a hat there for sun protection, and next month, he can start wearing sunscreen more routinely (plus their baby outside area is well-shaded). OK - advice over. :)

Beth G.

06-05-2009, 08:25 AM

Thanks, Beth. Yeah, those loose blankets I saw were a lousy swaddle. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of swaddling a 5+ month old who hasn't been swaddled in over three months (and we probably should have stopped sooner, it never did anything for him but give him an activity - breaking out). He may be an active sleeper, but he still sleeps. He doesn't need to be swaddled and I certainly don't want to start swaddling now. I will have to see about the heat factor outside. Not as hot here as in SC (I lived in NC for 2 years so I know!) but we do have a state mandated 30 minute outing every day. However, inside, it will be chilly with the AC on so he would need to be more warmly dressed anyway.

Meanwhile, the morning nap didn't happen so I think we are going to the farmers market on a car nap. Of course, he hasn't wanted to eat either.

Beth G.

06-05-2009, 05:24 PM

I'm back. Can you tell the weather is lousy today and we are stuck in the house?

Finally got up the courage to put Michael in the Ergo. He was remarkably tolerant (for about five minutes) and seemed to enjoy it. However, all I could think of was that it made me feel 14 months pregnant.

After three great nights of sleep, last night kind of sucked. We got home from shopping with sleeping baby at 6:15. I fed him (or tried anyway) and then he had his bath at 7:45 and off to feeding. It took him a really long time to settle down in the crib (I put him in awake). No crying or anything, just a lot of moving and thumb sucking so it was probably at least 8:45 when he fell asleep, which is about 30 minutes later than usual. He hadn't eaten well so he got up at 12:30, didn't eat great, and again at 3:30. Normally after that he'd go until 6:30 but at 5:30 he pooped so I grabbed him to change him and he was up. Nursed/mobiled him back down but he was up at 7 and no luck with the mobile again this time. Couldn't get the nap until 10:30. Will try to revert to earlier bedtime tonight. DH is hoping later one will work since I'll be getting home after 6:30 from work and would have more time with Michael, plus he'd like him to sleep later in am as I'll be gone at 6:30 am but we don't seem to do well past 8:15.

On the topic of safety, I’m wondering how soon I need to lower the crib mattress? Michael pushes up pretty high on his arms (see pic) but no legs yet. He also isn’t really rolling from back to belly to get into that position anyway. My back would like to keep it high as long as possible.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d824b3127ccec71e0c0a79c200000040O00AbsmzZw2cN2 IPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Moms of boys (maybe girls too) – Michael is into this pelvic thrusting humping thing. Anyone have this? Phase? It is reasonably annoying when trying to feed him and change the diaper, and certainly accounts for some of the moving around in the crib.

Michelle (SooCookie) - I didn't even realize they made those outfits up to 22 pounds. I think Michael will be able to wear that size next summer! I love how easy it is to take on and off and change him so I'm glad they make bigger ones. Your kids are adorable. I hope Ben stops wheezing soon. He’s still so young to be dealing with this!

Tami – how are you doing with sleep and teething? Michael has been in the jumper plenty of times – he just doesn’t seem to get it yet. His bouncy seat also requires him to kick in order for it to bounce, and he’s never struggled with that (ok, so he started in it at like 2 weeks old). I’m not sure why he hasn’t figured out the jumper. I love the carseat picture of Maya – she really looks like she’s enjoying herself. I think we are pretty much done with playdates since I’ll be back at work soon. I want to relax a little these last two weeks I have with him and focus on him. We have a few visitors coming here but I’m not planning to go to far on the other days.

Stephanie – hope you and Aiden are feeling better! Thanks for the babyproofing advice. We have a lot of work ahead of us.

Beth H. – 7 pm to 6 am, that is awesome. We are usually in the 45 minute pattern too. I can’t get much done.

Michelle (Pony) – how did Evelyn sleep yesterday? Sorry you can’t retire :rolleyes: I wish I could too!

acginkc

06-07-2009, 08:36 AM

Hi all. Hope you are all having a nice weekend. DH had his last day at work on Friday so we are enjoying our time together as a family before he starts his new job in 2 weeks.

We went to a wedding reception last night and Matt went to our cousin's house. I think they had a good time together. While I was desperately missing him by the end of the night, DH and I had a really nice time socializing with other adults and just being out. Though I realized how hard its going to be when I go back to work and have to be away from him for 9-10 hours.

Well we've narrowed it down to 2 different daycare options. One center and one home. DH is going to go look at both and then we'll make a decision. I went to one home where I swear the lady had about 12 kids there. I saw a 4 month, 7 month, 12 month, 2 year, 3 year, 2 6 years and heard another baby. To say the least I decided that wasn't going to be the place for Matt. That's a lot of little ones for just one person to watch. Oh and her best friend's daughter (9 or 10 maybe) was "visiting" for the week. So hard to decide where to send him, but I feel good about the 2 we are down to.

Well the curse of the boards has struck again. Since I posted about the crib sleeping he's started waking almost every hour of the night. Lets hope that changes back soon because I am exhausted.

We leave for WA on Tuesday and I am excited to see the in-laws, but a bit nervous about the plane ride. Hopefully it will go smoothly.

So my giant baby moved up in diaper size again. I can't deny how big he is now because he's up to size 3 and thats the size all the "crawling" diapers start at. Oh well, he's just a weed I guess.

Beth G- Ok, so the thrusting thing. Matt does it when I change his diaper (drives me nuts because he scoots out of it that way) and it's how he moves when on the floor. I think it's just their way of scooting around. Our crib manual said drop the mattress when they can pull up. I guess do it sooner if it makes you feel comfortable. Matt sleeps with a blanket and when he spins around in his crib (he's just like his momma) he kicks the blanket off, has never gotten tangled. How is the daycare space set up? Most of the places I went had the cribs in the same room so the workers would quickly see if the blanket got over his head or he was tangled or anything was going on that way. Do what you are comfortable with though. During my tours several directors told me that babies who are particular about how they are put to sleep or do funny sleep things at home don't do them at daycare, different environment I guess.

Tami- Isn't it funny how they can turn on the charm in public? Matt can let me have it when he's tired or mad, but when we are out it's rare that he has too much of a fuss (just wait till we get in the car though, whew)

Stephanie- Hope you all are feeling better. How was your hot date? It's hard to leave those babies behind, but it's also nice to have that little break and pretend to be a regular married couple again. Thanks for all the baby proofing tips.

Beth H- Oh what I wouldn't give for just one night of 7p-6a, sounds divine :D.

Michelle (soocookie)- Glad Ben is off the breathing treatments for now at least. Hopefully he'll continue to do okay without them.

Michelle (pony)- Matt's first morning nap is usually about 1.5 hours after he wakes up, same wake time as during the day really. Glad the trip went well.

Bekki- The video is so cute.

Love everyone's pictures. Matt had his first "date" a few weeks back with Nancy's (fancyn) daughter Natalie. They seemed to hit it off pretty well and we almost died when we caught this picture (we were all snapping away like crazy).

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v653/177/93/503150570/n503150570_7083134_7177898.jpg

tholbrook

06-07-2009, 11:18 AM

Ashley (and Nancy) - love, love, love that picture of Matt and Natalie! Aw, young love! :D

Beth G - sorry for the rough night... have the past few nights been any better? And Michael is so cute! It looks like he's doing great with his tummy time - he'll be rolling all over the place before long. Re: crib mattress - we lowered it about a month ago when Maya started rocking on her hands and knees. We're going to have to lower it again because I caught her trying to pull up to standing today :eek:.

I also wanted to mention that Maya has been sleeping with a blanket since she started sleeping in her crib. She also moves all over the place - not necessarily in her sleep but in the process of going to sleep - and I have never seen her tangled up in the blanket. She's a bit older than Michael, of course, but IMHO, I think with the constant supervision, it won't be as much of an issue as you think. Are they really going to swaddle him for naps? :confused: I can't imagine that working if you haven't done it in so long. Anyway, I don't blame you for being anxious about sending Michael to daycare for the first time - it will be a big adjustment for you. (((Beth)))

Stephanie - thank you so much for the great babyproofing advice... I was wondering if they had something for power strips. Hope you and Aiden are back to 100% - sorry you were both sick! And how was the big night out? After I read your post, I mentioned to DH that we ought to go out to eat or to a movie, now that Maya is sleeping better... we'll see if it actually happens!

Back to Ashley - sounds like you and your DH had a nice evening out! Between you and Stephanie, I'm feeling motivated to try a "date night" with my DH too. Good luck with picking the daycare - I'm sure you'll be less stressed once the decision is finally made.

Okay, so our goal was sleeping through the night by this weekend ... I'll be back in a little while with an update on our progress! :D (and if I'm posting a big smilie, it must be good news, right?)

helios7

06-07-2009, 01:38 PM

Hi Ladies...

The globetrotting baby has returned. And forgotten how to sleep in his crib. But that's another story.

Seriously, we're back. Exhausted (me) jet-lagged (me and him) but doing well. He was an awesome little guy, and really handled a variety of new people and situations really well. DH and I were both proud of him. He may have nightmares about his car seat now (we had a base so the car seat was used both in the car and as part of his stroller) but he'll be growing out of it any day now so hopefully that'll help. :D We had so much fun showing him off to family, and he was much adored (and praised for being such an easy going baby). And we enjoyed our time in Paris just the three of us. We just walked around, looked at the sights and stopped for coffee/wine/crepes etc whenever the mood struck. DH calculated we walked 17 miles in the first two days - but hasn't had a chance to calculate day 3 yet.

So, I don't have much else to report. I've skimmed the very active thread so far, and hope to dive in soon.

Tami - I'm going to be watching your Sleep Easy Solution progress.... I need to cut back on night feedings. On vacation he was in bed with us, and he woke a lot. And I gave in as we were on vacation, kept him quiet etc. But it wore me down as there were no napping opportunities in the day. So its time for me to get some sleep!

Michelle - glad the trip went well! Evelyn is looking SO cute. :)

Stephanie - a CLBB playdate has already taken place! We'll have to set one up soon... now that Aiden's a bit older and things are settling down. :) Glad you and DH had a great date.

That's all off the top of my head - I'm so tired but so glad to be back. It was truly a great vacation but I'm happy to be home and able to relax. :)

Vacation pictures will be forthcoming...
http://www.cheesenpickles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/p-1600-1200-f1ac418a-91a4-4097-acc8-bc71f84b4d90.jpeg

tholbrook

06-07-2009, 02:55 PM

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090606SleepingALLnight.jpg

Maya has learned to get to sleep on her own, and has pretty much slept through the night for the past 3 nights. So I'm happy to report that we accomplished our goal! :D:D

Our issue wasn't bedtime: she always goes to sleep fine on her own that first time - but she could not go back to sleep on her own when she'd wake up in the night. So we pretty much followed The SleepEasy Solution to the letter, although we lengthened the check-in intervals, because it just made Maya furious to see us when we wouldn't pick her up.

While the first 2 nights were tough (as mentioned in my previous posts on this thread), she did GREAT - in hindsight, of course :p. And really, there wasn't any "sad" or "scared" crying (which I don't think I could have handled). It was all angry protesting (i.e. - no tears) which made it a little easier to get through. Horribly frustrating because no one could get any sleep (well, DH slept through the whole ordeal :mad::rolleyes:), but tolerable because it was obvious she was mad, but otherwise not in distress. And a lot of the time, she would lay in the crib and talk to herself in the middle of the night... better than crying, of course, but it still wasn't sleeping.

But the third night, she GOT IT and slept from the time we put her in her crib at 7 pm to 6 am the next morning... the 4th and 5th nights too. :D Every now and then, she'll wake up somewhat and fuss, but it's mild and less than 5 minutes. We've only had to check in one time in the past 3 nights. And it gets better every night. I'm doing one dream feed (~ 8-10 minutes) and moving it forward by 45 minutes per night... this part isn't in SleepEasy but I think it might be better than shortening the feed times, as this just makes her mad (even half asleep) if I try to put her down while she's actively nursing. Eventually, the dream feed will merge with the bedtime and she'll officially sleep through the entire night. Hopefully.

I risked the flash of the camera while she was sleeping because her self-soothing apparently involves her wiggling into the corner of the crib and snuggling with her stuffed elephant. I thought it was really sweet! :):D

We're done with acute teething for now, thank goodness. The only little hiccup is the naps. She now goes from hands and knees to sitting very easily, so every time I peek in at her, she's sitting at the side of the crib, watching the stairs to see who will come visit :rolleyes:. And today, she started grabbing the sides of the rails and pulling herself about halfway to standing. She is apparently so excited about this, I don't make it 5 feet from her crib when she's practicing this new trick. So she does not want to sleep at all. All 3 naps today took forever for her to go to sleep - we could hear her chattering away, and periodically a thud as she landed back on the mattress.

Now my question: how do I get her to lay down so she can sleep? Or is this a stage, and once it's no longer "new and exciting", she'll go back to napping fine?

HEATHER!!! Welcome back! So glad the trip went well... Quinn the world traveler! Love the picture you posted and look forward to seeing more!

Pony

06-08-2009, 01:21 PM

So, Evelyn is transitioning into an earlier bedtime. It seems to be around 8pm. She is still waking up at 1am, 4:30 or 5:30 am, stirs in the 6am hour and is up around 7:30-8am. I'm very lucky, b/c when she wakes up, she is barely awake. I just feed her and she is out. So, it is very little effort on my part. However, I do miss the 9pm-5am stretch she used to have. Her naps are still inconsistent. She is always waking up around 40 min. in to the nap and if we get in and do the nap routine, she can usually fall back asleep w/in 10 min for another 30-40 min. Yesterday, she didn't fall back asleep w/ the routine, so I nursed her and she slept on the boppy for over an hour! On Sat., we were out w/ friends having coffee and it was time for her first nap. She fell asleep in Carl's arms for over an hour and didn't wake up at the 40min. mark like she does at home sleeping solo. She typically is always in a good mood, but we also are very diligent about getting her down by 2 hours.

Michelle-How is Ben doing w/o the treatments?

Beth H-thanks for chiming in on the naps. Sorry he doesn't take longer naps! 7-6am, wow! Has that become a regular thing now or just a once in a while treat?

Stephanie-thanks for all the baby-proofing tips. I'm so sorry about the colds. I'm the nail clipper and Carl is the nose sucker. That is one thing I just can't do. She gets so upset. I hope you two start feeling better.

Tami-I think Evelyn is transitioning to an 8pm bedtime right now. This is earlier then what we are used to so we are moving in the right direction. Thanks for all the sleep information!! You are right--what are we supposed to do about the 4-6am restless time? For me, I just lay in bed wondering if I will fall back asleep. I try to enjoy Evelyn's little noises and sometimes I can hold her w/o her actually waking up. But, I'm still thinking about how tired I will be! We are doing a dry system. I will look in to using some sort of bag. Too funny about Maya's tantrums. Uh oh!!!! I love the picture of Maya sleeping. I can't believe you used the flash. You are brave!! Congrats on all your success. Such progress made w/ you and w/ Anita! yay!!!

Beth G-sorry about the concerns you are having w/ the daycare. uggghhh...so not fun. Evelyn still is swaddled and loves it..and is still in our bed, ha! Not much help there. I'm sorry you will have to be away from him for so long during the day. It is rough. I will be thinking of you! When Evelyn gets upset in the BabyHawk, I hold her as if she wasn't in it. Not sure if that makes sense. I also do a lot of patting and over exaggerate walking. Love the picture. He must have some strong biceps!

Ashley-enjoy your family time! Oh no, waking up every hour????? I hope it was a fluke? Shoot, maybe I shouldn't have typed that it is easy to get her back to sleep when E wakes up..........I don't want to be cursed. I'm sure the plane ride will be fine and luckily your DH will be w/ you. I love the picture of Matt and Natalie. I met up w/ a friend who has a little boy a few weeks younger then Evelyn. They were playing footsie. Very cute.

Heather-so glad you are back and I hope you and Quinn are beginning to adjust to the time change!! I'm so glad Quinn did well and it sounds like you all had a blast. Love the picture.

Pony

06-08-2009, 01:25 PM

Here are 2 pictures of Evelyn. The first one cracks me up. And finally a smile!!!

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db05b3127ccec7653ef9059e00000060O08AaOGzhy1aNQ e3nwc/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9db05b3127ccec7642926659e00000080O08AaOGzhy1aNQ e3nwc/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Beth H

06-09-2009, 08:12 AM

Hi - love all of the new the photos!

Heather - so glad you had a wonderful trip. I love that photo in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Tami - so exciting about the new sleep pattern! Yay!

Beth G
Moms of boys (maybe girls too) – Michael is into this pelvic thrusting humping thing. Anyone have this? Phase? It is reasonably annoying when trying to feed him and change the diaper, and certainly accounts for some of the moving around in the crib. Will has just started doing this in the last few days (so it's good that you mentioned it as well) - he's become quite wiggly and squirmy when I'm trying to change his clothes, in particular. He can really move a good bit on his back. So - I guess it's just part of learning to be mobile?

Ashley Good luck with your daycare decision!

Michelle - It's good that Evelyn is moving towards an earlier bedtime - it's nice to have that time in the evening to yourselves.

Will is still doing well. As far as wiggling and squirming, he's become really wiggly during bath time all of a sudden - soaking everything around him (we still use a tub in the sink). It's fun to watch but quite wet. :)

Beth G.

06-09-2009, 10:13 AM

It’s a rainy, depressing day here in the northeast. My mom, her best friend and daughter were supposed to come tomorrow to have lunch with us but that is off as her two young granddaughters have swine flu. Her daughter is due in August and was exposed to them over the weekend. Very scary.

Michael has so much in store for him in the next few weeks. Two weeks until day care (and the shift from occasional bottles to lots of bottles). Then in four weeks, let’s see, I’ll go back to work and be gone 12+ hours three days a week, we’ll move his crib into his room (I could wait but DH is ready to evict him from ours), we’ll see if he’s interested in starting solids, and he might start teething. Somehow I suspect it won’t be an easy time. We are going to try to do daily bottles from now on. DH had to work really hard to get Michael to take one yesterday. We went to visit some friends of mine on Saturday and he would scream any time either of them tried to hold him, but he was great with my aunt and uncle Sunday and DH’s aunt and cousin yesterday, so I am hoping he won’t spend the entire time at day care crying.

Sleep hasn’t been great but not terrible. Bedtime has been a dream the last few weeks – put in crib awake and if he missed third nap would pass out immediately after turning on his side or if he took that nap would take maybe 10-15 minutes but no crying and go to sleep. Saturday night I had to nurse him to sleep (which is not that easy anymore) for the first time in a long time, took almost an hour. Last night he went to sleep on the second try. He is also weirdly locked into the 45 minute window. Not only is that his wakeup from naps but he seems to wake up 45 minutes after bedtime every night. Normally he self soothes but last night I had to go in and pick him up for a few minutes.

Ashley and Beth H. – I agree, I see now the thrusting is a way of trying to scoot around. I put Michael down on a blanket on his back and he moved pretty far off of it by thrusting. I guess when he does it while he’s eating he’s trying to get away! He’s not that interested in food except at 3 am.

Ashley - I am glad you are down to two daycare choices you like. I’ll be gone for 12+ hours on the days I commute to work - it is going to be rough! I hope Matt is sleeping better. I can’t believe he’s in size 3. We will probably still be in the 2s until July. At least we’ll make it into the 3s in time for kiddie pool season since the swimmers start at 16 pounds. That picture of Matt and Natalie is awesome! Michael spins 180s in the crib also so I’m glad to hear the blanket hasn’t been an issue with Matt. I spoke with my friend who has worked in a really great day care for 18 years. She works with older kids but occasionally has to cover in an infant room and said that she has never used a blanket, so each place is different, I guess.

Tami – delighted to hear how much progress Maya has made with sleeping! That is such great news. I can’t believe you risked the flash – but what a great picture! We wanted a picture the other night of Michael sleeping with his head thrown so far back it was practically touching his behind, but weren’t willing to take the chance. Once I took a picture of how he looked on our monitor but it doesn’t quite do it justice. Michael also ends up in the corner of the crib. Yes, you are right, it’s a big change putting him in day care and I’m quite anxious. We didn’t have much to choose from – didn’t want to do a home and there aren’t many centers around here with infant programs. If we don’t like it, there are more choices at 18 months but that’s still a year in this one. Like I was saying to Ashley, I have consulted a lot with my friend who is a very experienced day care teacher and there have been many things I’ve seen that she said they would not do in her center (which is not a profit driven enterprise like the one we are using). I will have to see how it goes and if it’s really not good we’ll figure out something else.

Heather – welcome home. Glad the trip went well. Hope the jet lag isn’t too much of an issue with Quinn’s sleeping.

Michelle (Pony) – great pictures of Evelyn. I’m still trying to get the timing right on a smile. We have the same division of labor here – I clip nails and DH does nose aspiration. Michael’s sleeping pattern is really similar to Evelyn’s, including waking up to eat and going right back to sleep. I hope he doesn’t go to 7 PM bedtime when DST ends as I’ll be very sad since I get home after 6:30. I’ll have to figure out some way to try to get him back to sleep after the 40 minute naps. We don’t have a “routine” like yours – I just put him in the crib with the mobile on. Usually after the nap he’s more stimulated by it than soothed. I had a question on your pumping routine, since I know you do one breast per feed. The last time you pump at work, do you double pump? Or go easy on one side to save it to feed Evelyn when you get home?

Pony

06-09-2009, 11:40 AM

Michelle (Pony) – great pictures of Evelyn. I’m still trying to get the timing right on a smile. We have the same division of labor here – I clip nails and DH does nose aspiration. Michael’s sleeping pattern is really similar to Evelyn’s, including waking up to eat and going right back to sleep. I hope he doesn’t go to 7 PM bedtime when DST ends as I’ll be very sad since I get home after 6:30. I’ll have to figure out some way to try to get him back to sleep after the 40 minute naps. We don’t have a “routine” like yours – I just put him in the crib with the mobile on. Usually after the nap he’s more stimulated by it than soothed. I had a question on your pumping routine, since I know you do one breast per feed. The last time you pump at work, do you double pump? Or go easy on one side to save it to feed Evelyn when you get home?

quick reply.....:)
I pump twice at work and I double pump both times unless I'm late pumping. I tend to pump at 10am and 2pm, so by the time I get home (around 4:45) I'm ready on either side. If for some reason it is hitting 3pm and I haven't pumped, then I will pump just one side. Evelyn usually gets a bottle in the 3pm hour, so when I get home she typically isn't hungry. However, she screams at my boobs (literally) as soon as I walk in so she eats anyways. :p

Luv to Cook

06-09-2009, 12:10 PM

Hi Everyone :) ....wow, this thread always moves so fast, that I barely get time to post!

All is well with us. Asha had her last day of school on Friday and we had a big bday bash with two of her other friends with June bdays at school...pizza, cake, the works...we did under the sea at school and I made a fun cake...let me try to post

...then this weekend we had an ice cream party at home with 12 little girls...wow, it was crazy, but oh so fun :). I just cannot believe my little girl is 6...sniff, sniff. Seriously, try and just make snapshots of these moments in your head...it goes WAY too fast :(!

Summer break officially started yesterday and it was Asha's actual bday...we went to the pool and got a sitter for Ayaan and took the girls out for a "Fancy Nancy" dinner (those with girls will get that). Today, more of the same. It is hot, hot, hot and I know we will get tired of the pool and sprinkler parks soon, but so far, so good ;).

Ayaan is ALL over the place...he started crawling this past weekend and it getting into everything. We went to the sprinkler park today and he had fun crawling in all the water. He is eating solids 1 or 2 times a day and still nursing alot...makes me thirsty all the time. We also had to lower the crib mattress...he is making me nervous with all his rocking and rolling!

Sleep is still pretty good at nite...but he is up EARLY in the morning, but I really should not complain, since he goes to bed so early. His naps are still not that great, but I am hopeful with this summer heat he gets more rest, because he can be a bear without some long naps. His morning one is pretty good, but he won't take 3 naps anymore and if his afternoon one is short, I am stuck trying to keep him happy for 3-4 hours until bedtime. If we get out of the house, it is not too bad, but if we are stuck at home for one reason or the other, it can be tough to deal with his crankiness!

Tami, YAY for Maya :). Isn't the sleep easy book the best? It helped us so much. I do agree with you about the nursing times...we had the same problem...I could not just shorten the nursing time, because it would take a few minutes for my let down and then when he really got going to cut him off seemed too mean. I did pump and give him bottles though, so that way I knew he was getting milk to keep him full enough.

Beth G - I hope Michael does well with all the transitions this month...he will hopefully surprise you...babies are so resilient. Ayaan screams when anyone else holds him as well. My MIL was here this wknd for Asha's bday and she swore it was because he was hungry :rolleyes:, even if I jsut fed him. So she would hold him and bang toys in front of his face, which just made him scream more. Anyhow, finally DH got him and I was able to calm him down.

Heather, love the pic! Glad the trip went well :).

Pony, great pics of Evelyn :)!

Stephanie, glad everyone is feeling better.

OK, more personals later...my kids need me.
Anita

tholbrook

06-09-2009, 09:55 PM

However, she screams at my boobs (literally) as soon as I walk in so she eats anyways. :pLOL, Michelle! That happens at our house too...

Hi Anita! Your summer sounds lots of fun so far - I hope that Aayan starts to settle into a nap routine for you. So hard when they miss a nap: it's the "do I try for a late nap and possibly interfere with bedtime? Or do I wait until the normal bedtime, and maybe still mess up bedtime because of overtiredness?" dilemma. Just curious - how early does he wake up in the morning?

OMG, I can't believe he's crawling... didn't he just turn 7 months a week ago or so? Wow! After I read your post, I told Maya she needs to get moving! ;);):D Lately, she's lost interest in trying to crawl: she's been practicing going from hands/knees to sitting - or sometimes kneeling - and then back again (I don't know why, but it's weird to see a baby her size sitting on her feet... maybe it's her yoga background :)). And of course, she still scoots all over the place on her belly.

Oh, and I finally got up the nerve to drop the dream feed outright. And Maya did great... in fact, she did better than any previous night. So I'm trying it again tonight. And yes, I am quite thrilled with the Sleepeasy book ... I was doubtful that anything would work, but it did!!! And quickly, with only minimal fussing.

Okay, before I get too carried away with more personals, I'm going to bed. Maya may be sleeping through the night but I can't seem to get to bed before midnight. :o

ETA: the picture is small, but it looks like a beautiful cake, Anita!

gertdog

06-11-2009, 07:16 AM

OMG- peace! DH and DS1 just left, and Aiden is Taking. A. Nap. Upstairs. I am sipping coffee and typing with two hands, whee!

We're going through some changes in the sleep department- finally seeing a consistent bedtime in the evenings and applying a routine to that time. Right now it's around 8:00 PM but we're going to try to inch that back toward 6:00-ish. That was Ryan's bedtime until he was about 2 1/2; we'll see if it works for Aiden. We're also seeing a more consistent morning nap, and it's definitely within 2 hours of when he wakes in the AM. The downside is that somehow we added an extra night feeding when he was sick last week, and now he's waking up at 1:30 and 3:30 to eat. It's not too bad because he doesn't cry or fuss, and goes back to sleep immediately after- I feed him in our bed (he sleeps in a co-sleeper next to the bed). He's actually very funny when he wakes in the night to eat- he starts thumping his arms and legs against the mattress. Thumpita-thumpita-thumpita, the equivalent of someone banging their fists on the dinner table in anticipation of food. :D

He's finally starting to roll and is working hard at sitting up- will grab onto anything within reach and try to pull up. We just got out the exersaucer, and he seems to really enjoy that. Figured out how to spin the seat around right away. He's a much more smiley baby than Ryan ever was. Ryan was like a little owl- serious, wary, watchful. If Aiden catches you looking at him, he's all smiles and coos, trying to engage you.

I decided to join our local MOMS club- went to my first meeting on Tuesday and enjoyed it. The other moms were quite nice, and my boys seem to fit right in age-wise. Ryan was at preschool, but Aiden just sat on my lap and stared and stared at the other kids tearing around during the meeting, then crashed as soon as we left. :) Kids are welcome at all events except Moms' Night Out, and it's low pressure- you attend what you want.

Tami- glad the Sleepeasy book is helpful! I may have to check it out down the road. Adequate sleep for mom makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it. Like you, even when Aiden goes to bed early, I can't seem to get myself into bed when I should- keep finding one more task I want to get done, or even just kind of want to savor 15 more minutes of "me" time.

Anita- I can't believe Asha is 6 either! Sounds like she had a memorable celebration.

Beth G.- good luck with all the transitions. My older DS didn't start daycare until he was ~8 months, but I don't remember any issues with having him put down to sleep as we wished. Each child's crib had naptime instructions attached to the outside- we specified no blanket for Ryan; other parents used a light blanket or sleepsack. I'm kind of baffled by the reasoning that they can't see the baby "moving" in a sleepsack- I can certainly see Aiden moving/breathing in his when he's sleeping. But, as others have said, there will be a caregiver in the room always when the babies are sleeping, so I wouldn't be concerned safety-wise about the use of a swaddle or blanket.

Michelle- love the smiling pic!

Heather, welcome back! Glad you had a good trip. And yes- playdate soon!

Ashley- hope the trip went well! And, glad you've found two daycare options you feel good about.

All right- time to get a little work done before Mr. Aiden wakes up. He's been down for 45 minutes already! Yay!

helios7

06-11-2009, 07:56 AM

Hi ladies.. I finally have a down day to say hi!

We jumped right back into life with 2 feet, and it sure has been busy. Quinn's 6 month appt was at 9:45 on Monday morning, and the week took off from there. Music class, makeup music class, lunches with friends, trips to the Aquarium on Coney Island... whew!

Today we're having a quiet day because I want Quinn to get some sleep. He's been napping poorly while we've been running around - he's gotten a good morning nap the past few days, and then only catnapped 20-30 minutes once or twice for the rest of the day. :eek::eek::eek::eek: The little man has been going to bed at 5:30 EASILY for the past few days. Bedtime has not been a problem. So, apart from a stroll to the library and farmers market later, I think we'll keep it quiet today. He popped up after 30 minutes in his crib, so I took him to our bed. We both slept for an hour, and he's still going. :cool:

Other big news in our world, we've started solid foods. Rice cereal is a big hit. Banana - not so much. I confess in my eagerness I've been pairing a taste of banana with a meal of rice cereal? Do babies typically prefer one flavor as a meal at the beginning? He seems a bit confused when I've given him banana when he was expecting cereal. Just curious about more experienced moms' experiences.

And that's what we've been up to. We have a busy weekend coming up, and then life may get really exciting for us. OUr landlord is selling our building, so a move is coming up at some point. We were kind of planning to make the move out of the city that we'd figured was coming in the next couple of years, however it is dependent on DH being able to work from home. So far the response has been less then enthusiastic which has bummed us out as most of his company works from home. We feel he's being penalized for the fact he's chosen to work in the office all these years - now he's apparently locked into it! But we'll see what happens, we'll get the final word next week. So... exciting times (maybe) ahead.

Stephanie - love your nightly wakeup calls! Those thumps sound hilarious! We're ready for a playdate when you are... maybe we'll set one up in the weeks ahead?

Tami - I'm so intrigued by this Sleep Easy book. I peeked at Barnes and NOble hoping to see it and flip through, but it wasn't at our local one. Will have to keep looking. I'm still waiting to see what Quinn's nights are like as we both settle down out of vacation. I'm still waking up early so I know I'm not through jet lag entirely.

Anita - your summer is off to a great start already! Love the cake pic, and dread crawling. Quinn seems in no hurry to get moving which is fine by me - I do love putting him down and knowing he won't run away on me! I'll miss it when that is no longer possible.

BethG - Good luck with all those changes and transitions. It is a lot, and I hope Michael adjusts relatively easily. I have another friend going through the same kinds of changes as she prepares to go back to work, and it is a tough thing. Hang in there! Maybe he'll surprise you!

BethH - Glad things are going well. Quinn is quickly out growing his infant bath tub (used in the tub) and I'm not sure what I'll do next. His sitting isn't strong enough for him to sit solo, so I'll have to research a prop. I couldn't imagine bathing him in a sink now though - I'd be bathing both of us!

Michelle - I'm sure the early bedtime is hard since it cuts down on your time with her but at least you'll get some extra time with Carl! The pictures are so cute... she's looking so big! :)

Okay - must do some chores while the boy is down. Hi to anyone I missed!

Pony

06-11-2009, 09:37 AM

Evelyn has had some crazy napping sessions the past two days. Tuesday, her first nap was 1 1/2 hours w/o waking up. Then Carl had a coffee date w/ another SAHD and she fell asleep immediately in the car. So, he left her in the carseat. Typically, she wakes up quickly like this, but she slept for over 2 hours! :eek: Yesterday, she had 2 long naps again w/o waking up!!! well over 1 hour!!! I am beside myself. We are still doing 8-8:15 bedtime. She had trouble last night going down for some reason. Carl usually has no trouble getting her down, but she was upset. I nursed her to sleep and she was out by 9:30. Woke up at 2:30, 4:45, 8:30! Carl is taking her to the museum today. :( I'm jealous.

A few of you have mentioned bathtime....pretty much from the beginning we have just jumped in the bath with her. The tub we had just didn't seem to work well with her. It is really fun to be with her, b/c she loves to kick around, float, etc.

What if Evelyn is not in a size 3 and we want to get in the water w/ her? We are going to visit my in-law's and I'm sure we will head to the beach while there. I guess we can put her in a size 3 even if it doesn't fit that well?? I guess she might be 16#'s by then. She was 14# 9.5 oz last month.

Evelyn has been sucking her toes so much lately. It is so funny, b/c she is so loud about it. She is scooting really hard these days, especially if you put her favorite light-up leap frog toy ahead of her.

Beth G-hope the sun is shining. oh boy....so sorry about the visit being interrupted by swine flu!! I just saw how they are now declaring it a pandemic. :(
Good luck w/ all the new changes. I'm glad you don't have to work those hours 5 days a week!!! I didn't realize that.

Anita-Happy Birthday to Asha. Congrats on the crawling.

Tami-I'm just so impressed with Maya and her new sleep habits. Awesome!!! I need to check out that book.

Stephanie-too funny about the thumping. I'm glad he goes down easy for you after the night wakings. We've been very lucky in that dept as well. We just got the exersaucer down. Evelyn has really been enjoying it. I had her in it so I could shower the other day and Carl used it to cook dinner last night :D Evelyn is a lot like Ryan being an owl. She even loves owls ;). We have these two owl posters in her room and she loves to chat it up with Hoot and Hoot. ;)

Heather-I can't believe you had the energy to do all those fun things right after your big trip! You are a supermom. I'm looking forward to hearing about your solid food adventures. Evelyn is so into watching us eat these days. I hope your husband can talk his boss into letting him work from home. That is just not fair!!!! It is funny, b/c everyone things Evelyn is a lot bigger then she really is. When some of my family met her 2 weeks ago, they were surprised by her "real" size. I guess the pictures make her look a lot bigger. Now, she does have some thick legs :p

Pony

06-11-2009, 10:23 AM

Crap---I jinxed myself. Carl just called and Evelyn had a 45 min. nap for her AM nap and had to be held the entire time. hmmmmmm...I wonder how the museum trip will go.

EmilyD

06-11-2009, 11:02 AM

hi y'all -- busy thread already this month, but then again we're well in to June! Our days just seem to keep screaming by. We finished off May with some unexpected excitement after my husband caught his finger in the truck door. We ended up at urgent care on Memorial Day and then a hand surgeon later in the week to remove a hematoma that was building up near the nail bed. While it was still healing he managed to somehow hit himself in the eye with his gimp hand and scratch his cornea in 2 places. That was also over the weekend and would have been another trip to urgent care but my best friend's DH is a ophthalmologist so he helped us out. whew! my DH has always had a knack for hurting himself so we're hoping our little boy takes more after me than him. Otherwise I foresee a future with many stitches and casts! :p now he is luckily healing well...

meanwhile, our little boy is continuing to spit up a lot. We started him on Zantac but discontinued it after less than a week -- it actually seemed to make him worse. He's a "happy spitter" but while on the med he would wake up from naps with gas pains and cried a lot before spitting up as well. we decided to go with what we saw on kellymom.com -- for a happy spitter it's a laundry and social issue, not a medical issue. Hoping he grows out of it or it subsides when he starts solids in a couple months.

other than that, he is an absolute joy. He started smiling and flirting a few weeks ago and has been babbling more and more as well. My DH even got a giggle out of him earlier this week during their snuggle time. Last Friday he discovered his right hand and now spends quite a lot of time staring at it and then seeing how much of it he can fit in his mouth.

This weekend we're having his baptism and afterward we're having family and friends out to the house. I think we'll have about 50-60 people! Our moms are each helping out with the food and then I'm putting a couple things together too. Instead of trying to catch up on this thread I *should* be getting the house cleaned up and starting some of the food prep ;)

and I'll have to come back and do personals another time. I've enjoyed seeing all the cute photos! And I will give a quick cheer for better naps and night times and a huzzah for the little travelers too. Thinking of taking a trip up to PA to see family next month so reading your stories has given me encouragement that I can handle the trip without another adult.

Here's a pretty recent picture:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1N43sSENtCk/SihEtasbSzI/AAAAAAAAC6w/OvgMmUem-KI/s512/IMG_1841.JPG

SooCookie

06-11-2009, 12:06 PM

quick fly-by post...

Anita, Ayaan is crawling already???!!! :eek: I can only see a small picture of the cake too, but it looks gorgeous!

Tami, yay for Maya not eating in the night anymore! That book sounds wonderful and I wish I had known about it before I had two kids!

Stephanie, I am a MOMS club member too and I really enjoy it. I have made some wonderful friends, and so has DD.

EmilyD, what a cute, happy baby!

EmilyD

06-11-2009, 03:07 PM

tholbrook

06-11-2009, 03:35 PM

What if Evelyn is not in a size 3 and we want to get in the water w/ her? We are going to visit my in-law's and I'm sure we will head to the beach while there. I guess we can put her in a size 3 even if it doesn't fit that well?? I guess she might be 16#'s by then. She was 14# 9.5 oz last month. Michelle, I have no idea what size 3 is in reference too, but I'm guessing you're talking swim diapers here? If so, I'm gonna give a shout-out to iPlay swimwear: their infant line has a great built-in swim diaper. You can get them several places online - I got Maya a couple swimsuits from Bambino Mountain, as well as a couple big floppy sunhats. Maya is 15.5 pounds, and the size Medium (says it fits 18-22 pounds) is a little big on her - but she has a really petite frame. I also have a Play Baby suit (Toys'R'Us and Babies'R'Us both carry this brand) - it's the orange one she was wearing in the pool pic last month. The size Small is 10-18 pounds and fits her perfectly. The swim bottom looks teeny-tiny but remember it's supposed to be snug to be effective.

Emily - yikes and and OUCH!!! :eek::( Hope your DH continues to mend up quickly - and doesn't have any more freak accidents! And I'm glad you posted a picture of J.D - he's a cutie, and I've missed that crazy blond hair of his! Sounds like you have quite a busy weekend - good luck and I hope everything goes smoothly!

Heather - we were pretty ambitious on the solids too, and with no history of allergies on either side of the family, we added new foods and started combining them pretty quickly. We've been doing several flavors per meal for awhile now, and she'll make a face when we switch to something new, but then eagerly keeps on eating. Our issue is chunky food. She doesn't know what to do with it, so she'll either sit there yelling, with her mouth open and tongue sticking out, or she'll eat around the chunks, then spit them out. :rolleyes:

Okay, that's all for me right now. Maya is into everything today, so I need to keep a close eye on her. I caught her yesterday pulling up to standing ... she was trying to reach a pile of magazines on the end table. She was leaning against a slightly tilted couch cushion, but still !!! :eek:

I'll come back later, but we have a busy weekend too, and I've been procrastinating on getting stuff done. Hi to everyone and hope you have a great weekend!

tholbrook

06-11-2009, 03:55 PM

for those who traveled by air with their babies:

would you choose the flight that has a convenient time but a layover or the flight that's non-stop but at an inconvenient time?

this is for the return trip, the price is the same. It will be about 4 hrs in the air (I think, not sure if the times shown account for the time zone change). I have family in Allentown, PA, which is an expensive market so we usually fly in and out of Philly. It's about a 90 min drive, with average traffic, and although I'll be flying by myself, I will be meeting someone there and have help getting back to the airport as well.

J.D. will be about 4 mos old at the time -- currently he's an affable companion and has done well at weddings, wine tasting/happy hours, and on a 3+hr car trip...

what insight do y'all have to share? (TIA!)Emily, personally I'd opt for the convenient time with a layover. It's nice to get up and stretch your legs, plus I'd much rather use an airport changing table than the one on the plane. We flew with Maya when she was 4 months, and it was a perfect age ... slept enough to make the flight easy on everyone, but alert and interactive enough to keep things interesting.

Megan James

06-11-2009, 06:43 PM

Emily I'd opt for the more convenient time with a layover. You have lots of options and things to look at on a layover.

It's been a while since I posted. Little Will is 9+ months but we are no where near the toddle thread. He's not crawling yet but showing some interest in moving to get those out of reach toys. I have to say I'm glad he's my 2nd b/c I'm really not that stressed that he isn't crawling. Up until 2 weeks ago he didn't even seem interested.

He's really getting into solids, finally, that happened right around 8 months. Before then he just was not into them, I didn't really push it much. He really did not like the mushy foods and still prefers to self feed. So we do sweet potatoe sticks, avocado slices, beans, small slices of cheese, etc.

Will also has become a much better sleeper. It happened around the same time as he began eating more solids. Now we have some nights where he actually sleeps through the night! This from the kid who at 7 months was waking 3-4 times a night. I've learned that I should not wear the shirt I plan to wear to work in to feed him in the morning. After 11+ hours of not nursing there is quite a bit of milk!

So things are good here. Hang in there new moms, it does get easier!

Beth G.

06-11-2009, 08:03 PM

Still seriously raining here in the Northeast. Our condo association is supposed to be staining our decks since the beginning of June and my herbs and tomato plant have had to take up permanent residence inside since the deck project keeps getting postponed. So far the girls with swine flu are doing ok and my pregnant friend is not showing any symptoms yet, but three more people in NYC died and it’s now officially a pandemic. Not good. I am going to wash my hands compulsively when I go back to work since I have coworkers with school age kids who live in the city.

So I’m sure most everyone is at least a little familiar with BPA and not wanting it to be in any baby bottles. I have a new dilemma as I return to work (that I probably should have thought about while I was pregnant). Even before nursing, I drank a lot of water. More now. The only drinking water on our floor comes from a cooler. I am 99.99% sure that those big 5 gallon cooler bottles have BPA (they are hard #7 plastic). I’m not willing to drink the bathroom tap water, so what do I do? I hate the idea of buying lots of bottles (not to mention dragging them from the drugstore across the street). Our cafeteria has a fountain, but it’s something low you stick a cup on and then it starts filling up. I don’t know that I could work it with a pitcher but I may have to try. Any other ideas?

Meanwhile, we had a total of one hour and 45 minutes of napping all day – and the third nap only happened because I took him out to do an errand. He did fall asleep in the crib first and woke up screaming about 30 seconds later.

Anita – what an awesome cake! I can’t wait to do that kind of stuff for Michael. Sounds like you’ve had a fun start to summer. So Ayaan is crawling! I am pretty sure Michael will too since he loves tummy time. I know some babies skip it now but crawling is so cute. Enjoy the summer fun!

Tami – glad to hear the night sleep is still going well, even if naps are a challenge. Any improvement there? Or is Maya too interested in pulling up now to be bothered with napping? Girl swimming sounds much more complicated than boy swimming. I figure I can just get away with the swim diaper ;) Since I haven't met the pants that will stay on Michael anyway, not much point to a bathing suit. I am jealous you could do the solids without waiting as much. We have some allergies/intolerances on both sides so we are going to wait each time. Would you believe my cousin couldn't tolerate the rice cereal? She could only handle wheat, which is supposed to be the most allergic.

Stephanie – Michael pounds the mattress too. It’s not always a food demand, but it’s funny. I can also see Michael moving and breathing in the Halo so I think that is weird too but I’ve seen some other sacks on the market that are a lot bulkier so maybe that’s what they are worried about. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll be very annoyed if they insist on the blanket against my wishes. Sounds like the MOMs club was fun. Is Aiden still distracted when he's nursing?

Heather – I so miss Coney Island! I can’t wait to take Michael (I’m not as ambitious as you though, it will probably be awhile). How did your quiet day go? And the 6 month appointment?

Michelle (Pony)– Michael is 15 lbs 4 oz and I’m thinking no problem using the 16 lb/size 3 swimmers (BTW, I have been warned to change them immediately after coming out of the water). We got some sample diapers from BRU and they are size 3. I had opened one up earlier this week to see how big it was and I think it will fit fine. The 2s seem so small on Michael already even though they range 12-18 pounds. I will be working from home 2 days a week when I go back and I hope they will let me do that permanently. On the days I commute, I leave at 6:30, get to work at 8, so I’ll try to pump at 9, lunch, and maybe 3 or 4. I doubt I’ll be feeding Michael right when I get home since he’ll probably have a bottle about 30 minutes before. On the days I’m at home it will be 8-5ish working. DH probably won’t take Michael to day care much before 11 so I might be able to sneak in some feedings. LOL at Evelyn screaming at your boobs. Michael used to scream too, but more like in terror. I think at 5 months BF is finally working for him, but the issue I missed all along is that eating doesn’t. He’s just not a big eater. When are you going to start solids? I’m waiting for 6 months but today I waved my oatmeal spoon in front of his mouth and he opened up for the first time (more than once) so I’ll check that he’s passed that test of developmental readiness.

EmilyD – cute pic of J.D. Isn’t it great when they discover their hands?

Megan – I will definitely take note of your advice on the shirt :) We just got our high chair yesterday and I was thinking, how did I forget a splat mat? I am sure we’ll need one of those.

Beth G.

06-15-2009, 11:12 AM

I haven't decided if it's lack of sleep or my brain turned to mush from all these months not going to work, but I've spent the last few weeks brooding over the crappy info my pediatrician's office gave us on starting solids (chicken leg???) and being annoyed at Amazon for taking forever to ship my Ellyn Satter book.

And then it hits me. I took a class when I was pregnant. Infant Nutrition. Several pages of detailed notes on a whole program from 6 months to one year. Very thorough.

I love how that went completely forgotten. I can only imagine I'll be sharp as a tack when I go back to work :rolleyes:

acginkc

06-15-2009, 11:45 AM

Hey all. Well DH and the in-laws went golfing, Matt is sleeping so I'll try to post really quick. Our trip has gone really well. Matt is loving hanging out with Grammy and Pappy and they of course are loving him. He did great on the plane, literally no fussing. We did have a blowout before even getting through security at our home airport so I was a bit worried, but everything else has gone great. We also took a long scenic drive to Portland and he did great in the car. Very pretty drive. His naps have been pretty bad, but he's stayed pretty happy. We've had a couple great nights (only waking 1 time, or 2 with the second time being at 5 or 6). We have mastered the roll to our belly and the pushup, but we have no sign of figuring out how to get back to our back. Oh well.

Beth G- I joke that my brain cells have started coming back to life since being away from work (retail has made me dumb), but the baby brain has canceled out all my progress. As for the BPA, I bought BPA free bottles for Matt, but beyond that haven't really paid attention to it. Do you have a fridge at work? Could you do a Britta Pitcher. You could fill it where ever at work then have it all day.

Megan- Glad solids are going well. Hopefully Matt's sleep will get better once we start them as well. You've given me hope.

Tami- Sounds like Maya is going to keep you on your toes now that she's getting mobile. And great news about the sleeping. I may have to get that book.

Emily- I agree with the convenient time. I had DH with me, but the layover we had was good for me to be able to put him down. We just gate checked his stroller and put him in it when we got off the plane. I think 4 months is a good age to travel with because he was ok with being cuddled for a couple hours without much movement.

Michelle- I would love to bathe with Matt since he's getting big for the tub but can't sit up, but he's a bath pee-er so he'll be in there alone for a bit till we grow out of that.

Ok, more later. I hear a baby crying.

Pony

06-16-2009, 09:24 AM

Big news in our house....Evelyn has her first tooth!!! :D We could see it all last week, but on Saturday it popped through. I wouldn't say she was fussy or anything, but on Sunday she was whiny. However, the tooth had popped already. She was more drooly on Sunday as well. Just seems backwards to me. I would have thought the whining and the excessive drooling would have started prior to the tooth popping. She is also practicing her B sounds. Sooo adorable!! And she is scooting around. :p

For the mom's who have a Medela pump.....what do you all do w/ your pumping parts? It is really annoying that you spend all this money and get this fancy bag but there is no carrier for the parts or a good space to put them in???? I end up putting them in a gallon size Ziploc bag. What does everyone else do?

Looking forward to hearing from the New Mom's--Couperine and Bawstinn!!!

EmilyD-love the picture! He is adorable. Evelyn also has a diagnosis of "happy spitter"! I must say, the past few days has been a bit better. I never thought I would ever say that. She is 5 months and 1 week, so I'm hoping she is finally growing out of it. She is still spitting up and it really has just been a couple of days that I've noticed the amount has decreased. Usually, there are a few splahes here and there. How was the baptism?

Tami-yes, I was asking about swimming diapers...thanks! I just realized a hand-me down swimsuit we have has a built in diaper, yay!!! Thank you for the swimsuit info!!! We want to take Evelyn to the beach when we visit the in-laws. How is sleeping going? ;)

Megan James-good to see you! Yay for Will becoming a better sleeper.

Beth G-I'm glad your pg friend is ok. I hope that is still the case. hmmm, I don't know what to say about the water issue. Would it be to much if you brought a gallon of water with you every now and then? I know you commute, so it might be a pain. hmmm....ohhh, I like Ashley's recommendation about a britta.
How are the naps coming along? Evelyn is still SO VERY inconsistent w/ hers. Thanks for the diaper info. You are right, the 2's are starting to look small on Evelyn. I don't even want to look at a newborn or size 1 diaper, b/c I will probably break down in tears. :o Evelyn is very much interested in our food, so we will probably start when we get back from our trip next month. She will be right around 6 months.

Ashley-I'm glad the trip is going well. Evelyn can roll both ways, but she seemed to hate going from belly to back. She would fuss instead of doing it. The past 2 days, she is finally doing it herself w/o the fussing.

fancyn

06-16-2009, 08:10 PM

Hi all! It’s the 16th and I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve been able to post but I’ve been reading along with interest.

In Natalie’s world, she’s been rolling both directions for several weeks, which has made diaper changes and bed time interesting. She’s settled down with the bedtime – it was like she had to show off her new tricks and she thought she was so cute. :p Diaper changes, ugh – still a challenge to keep her still.

She also found her ‘screaming’ voice this weekend, almost like a high pitched shriek. So she’s all about trying to tell me like it is when she’s excited or mad. She will be in the Johnny Jump Up spinning and she’ll scream if I’m not watching her tricks. Or if she throws her toys on the ground, or if brother catches her eye, or…. I was asked today when her position in daycare (same daycare as Nick’s) would be open. I said late August, early September….but there is an opening now. I’m just not ready to part yet and neither is my wallet.:rolleyes:

And last but not least is our new found interest in drinks or food. I wasn’t expecting this to happen so soon. Anytime I drink or eat anything, she starts throwing a fit. Or if I’m holding her and try to take a drink, she’s immediately reaching out to grab it and bring it to her mouth. Crazy! I waited until Nick was almost 6 months and had planned to do the same with her. Not sure how that’ll work out. Ashley (acginkc) gave me a WONDERFUL book when I had Nick called Feeding Baby by Joachim Splichal & Christine Splichal. Forewarning, it’s geared towards foodies and is a holistic approach on nutrition IMHO. I love the ‘idea’ it promotes, the recipes are fun for the family and I think it gives baby an adventurous pallet. I plan on making Nat’s food, like I did with Nick. The thought however makes me cringe because I think I have no time now! ;)

And crazy enough, Natalie will be 4 months tomorrow! We have her appt. at 9 – I totally spaced off the fact that we’d be back to work :o. She was AWFUL with the 2 month shots so the Tylenol will be on tap tomorrow. :D Here’s hoping it’s a good day.

It’s late and I’m giving a test run on a recipe for Artichoke Bisque. I’ll hopefully return tomorrow with personals and a report of our appointment!

tholbrook

06-16-2009, 08:32 PM

Hi everyone!

Our babies are all getting so big!!!

Michelle, I just can't imagine Evelyn with a tooth! So glad her spitting-up is tapering off - that must be a relief ;). I agree: the "b" sounds are really cute. Maya just started with "d" so we're hoping to get "dada" soon (DH was really disappointed that "mama" came first). For pump parts, I'm another who uses a big Ziploc.

Ashley, glad your trip has been going well ... great news about both the plane and car travel! My sister lives in Portland - I love that area!

Megan, glad the sleep is going better at your house too! I was doubtful that Maya would ever sleep through the night, but now she's been doing it for almost 2 weeks. Does Will have any teeth? I'm curious how he is doing with "chewing"... Maya doesn't seem to get it. I wanted to give her those little "puffs" so she could practice, but the container says they already have to be able to chew. :confused: So I'm not sure what to do next: I certainly don't want to keep giving her pureed food forever!

Beth G, feel free to share some of those notes from your class! Do you have anything that says how to get your kid to like 'chunky" foods? Maya makes the most awful faces unless the food is perfectly smooth. :rolleyes:
I hope your friend and the two kids are still doing okay - how awful! I didn't realize it had gotten so bad.

Heather, I hope the jet lag is gone by now! How is Quinn sleeping/napping these days?

Stephanie, same question for you: how is the sleep going these days? Aiden sounds like such a personable little guy, with the smiles and the "feed me now, Mom!" antics at night. :D

Sleep is still going really well here. I put Maya down at 7 pm every night, and she gets up at 6 am +/- 15 minutes. She still wakes up just once around 4:30, but generally falls asleep again after less than 5 minutes of mild fussing. The naps are a little better ... she hasn't skipped a nap since last Friday. But if I don't get that first nap EXACTLY right, she pops right up, and it takes her 30-45 minutes of talking to herself before she'll go to sleep.

New stuff: Maya is pulling ALL the way up to standing in her crib. This morning, I had to lay her back down 3 times before she stayed down and went to sleep. She's done a few little crawling moves, but it's not consistent. She mostly just scoots everywhere (quickly!). She's down to 2 naps a day now - and stays awake 3-4 hours between naps. Most of the time, she does really well.

Aside from saying "mama", she is very vocal and talks constantly. Despite not saying "dada", Maya is becoming a total Daddy's girl... she starts crying when he has to go back to work after lunch.

I think that's about it. Aside from the food texture issues, we're going through a pretty easy phase at the moment. :D

Oh, she is getting some major stranger anxiety now, which I think is normal at this age. However, I'm getting ready to join a new gym (my old one closed last month) that has a daycare... I'm really, really hesitant to leave her there because they told me today that they can have up to 10 kids - all ages! - before a 2nd person comes in to help. But I really, REALLY need to start getting some exercise again. It's a brand new gym so everything is really clean, but .... ???? I don't know if I'm having (pre-)separation anxiety or I should be legitimately concerned. The daycare worker seemed nice enough, and obviously I'll be nearby the entire time. They don't feed the kids or change diapers - they page the parents if there's a problem. There are 2 cribs and 2 swings for the little babies. But no toys (which is good: less germs!) and no play mats. It's a great room for a toddler, but I'm not sure what Maya would do for an hour or so. Opinions? Experiences? Suggestions? I need some advice here!!!

tholbrook

06-16-2009, 09:08 PM

Nancy!!!! I was wondering how you've been.
So funny because Natalie sounds so much like Maya with the "shrieking" and throwing toys on the floor... and demanding your attention if you happen to be doing something else. Such a little princess! ;)

One of the funny (or sometimes not!) things Maya always does when I have something cold to drink: she grabs the glass and starts sucking on the bottom of it. Ummm, Maya, you're not going to get much that way! :D She just likes anything cold against her gums, even when she's not actively teething... loves her food straight from the fridge too. But if she's in my lap, she also likes to kick the glass, spoon, fork, whatever I'm holding --- I've had food land in my lap on several occasions, and recently, I wasn't paying enough attention, and I thought she had chipped one of my front teeth (fortunately not). Sounds like Natalie has the right idea when it comes to eating/drinking, however!

Re: diapering - I always have a small toy to hand Maya when I'm changing her diaper (although these days, she needs one for each hand)... she's a wiggle-butt too. Or I'll hand her the strap to her changing pad - since it's not a toy, she's completely fascinated by it.

So you are still taking Nat to work then? How is that going? I can't believe I'm still taking Maya with me. I only go in a couple of days - she won't put up with it any longer than 3 hours at a time, so it makes for a short day. Almost not worth it, but at least it's still something in the bank. She was completely awful the week before last, and I got nothing done. But she was great last week and so far this week. She takes her naps on a pile of blankets in the corner of the conference room (!!!) but that's not going to be possible much longer. I check on her every 10 minutes as it is, because I know she can scoot away pretty quickly. But so far, she always lets me know when she's awake.

-----
That reminds me of one more question for everyone: PLAY YARDS. I need one if I'm going to keep taking Maya into work with me. Plus we might be traveling soon (driving) to a friend's vacation house in Michigan. So no crib ... and I doubt there is any child-proofing either. Does anyone have one they like - or one they didn't like?

BakerJane

06-17-2009, 06:02 AM

This month is flying by! I've been following the thread but haven't had time to post yet. I'm looking for some advice on a childcare issue. DH and I both work full time, DH works from home most of the time and we have a sitter come to the house to watch Eileen. The sitter is a distant relative of DH's BIL and she was not looking for a sitting job but it was convenient - she was out of work, she lives nearby, she has two kids who are in their late teens, she's going back to school in the evening. My problem is that I don't think she has an interest in playing with babies and spends far too much time on her cell phone, with the tv on, or on the internet (there is a laptop in the family room). We have mentioned repeatedly that we don't keep the tv on with Eileen in the room because it really distracts her; she just ends up staring at the tv and has no interest in her toys. I tell her different toys or activities Eileen enjoys with us ("Oh, she really liked sitting in her Bumbo seat last night." "She likes it when the elephant plays music.") but it doesn't seem to make a difference. For example, I made the Bumbo seat comment the other day and her response was something along the lines of "yeah, I didn't know where the Bumbo seat was for a while. I'll try her out in it today." The Bumbo seat has always been in the family room in the corner next to the bin with her toys. I've also noticed that she never takes out new toys for her - when I come home from work the only toys that are out are those that I had out from the night before. And I have showed her different toys and how to play with them and Eileen (even basic stuff like - the toys on the activity gym can be switched out.) She is great with taking her out for walks and getting her down for naps but I don't think this is working out. Am I being unreasonable in looking for more interaction with Eileen? I know babies can't be stimulated every minute they're awake but I'm looking for more than this. And I don't like that she spends so much time on the phone, internet or with the tv on while Eileen is awake. Eileen is usually great with naps and will sleep for about 2.5 hours during the day, so the sitter has a lot of down time.

The next question (and I am getting a little ahead of myself) is how do you fire your sitter? She's a really nice person and I like her but I don't think she's great at babysitting.

Any advice?? Thanks

PONY - I also use a gallon size ziplock for all the pump parts. I have the backpack model and it fits great on top of the cooler but you're right, you would think Medela would have figured out something better.

Megan James

06-17-2009, 02:02 PM

Tholbrook
My ped said that even if they don't have teeth than can gum things. He said to give Will chicken or whatever (obviously in small pieces and non of the restricted food:)). The puffs are small enough that swallowing whole is fine plus they dissolve in her mouth. Will has never liked mushy food so we went straight to "solid" solids. He does have a few teeth. Two on the bottom and one just poking through on the top.

Pony I use a ziplock bag too. I usually wrap the parts in a papertowel and then put in the ziplock.

Pony

06-18-2009, 09:02 AM

Thanks for the input on the pump parts. :)

My parents group held a playgroup from 3:30-5:30 yesterday. It was such a perfect time, b/c I was finally able to make one! Carl went last week w/ Evelyn. The babies are born btwn October and March. It is fun to see the different stages. Evelyn just looks all around and takes it all in. She was rolling all around :)

I mentioned the spitting up getting better and then she spit-up about 3x AFTER her bath yesterday. :rolleyes:

Evelyn loves to turn all around during diaper changes. I do what Tami does, give her a toy and that tends to help.

Besides sleep and feeding books, are you all reading anything else baby/toddler related???

BakerJane-I'm so sorry you are having babysitter issues. I feel if you are hiring someone to come babysit in your house then you should expect a lot of one on one interaction. Now, if it was a daycare situation, then it is to be expected that they can't provide 100% attention to your baby. I also think it is reasonable to let Eileen have some independent time, but it sounds like she might be having to much independent time. I have no idea how to fire a babysitter. (((BakerJane))) I think your concerns are valid and I would be very frustrated!!!

Tami-too funny about Maya sucking on your cold drinks.
We have a playyard/bassinet combo. I can't remember the name and it looks like the BRU registry is not working right now. :rolleyes: We bought it thinking she would be sleeping in it, but it is just hanging out in our room :p Maya is growing up!!! Look at all the progress you all have made in the past month. Amazing!!!!! About the gym daycare, I'm sure I would be having the same concerns, but since you will be so close I would at least try it out. Could your family watch Maya while you go to the gym???

Nancy-Glad to hear all is well!! How was her appt?

tholbrook

06-18-2009, 10:23 AM

Megan, thanks for the info. I gave Maya some of those puffs last night (organic apple-flavored... I tried one: tastes like a Cheerio to me!). She methodically picked up each one, looked at it, turned it around between her fingers, tapped it against her palm - and threw it on the floor! :rolleyes: I see we have some work ahead of us.

Jane, I'm in agreement with Michelle (Pony) - if you are paying this person to come to your home, you have every right to set the expectations. And I would feel the same way you do! No advice on letting her go, but maybe post your question on the toddler thread too ... someone out there has gone through a similar experience, I'm sure.

Pony, I really need to hook up with a local parent's group ... I keep meaning to search for one, but always get sidetracked. How wonderful that Carl is taking Evelyn to the playgroup - it sounds like he is doing a great job with her!

I'm not reading anything at the moment, but would like to hear recommendations too. I am planning to order Feeding Baby that Nancy mentioned, but wouldn't mind adding another book or two. :)

Well, Maya crawled "for real" this morning ... she still moves a few feet, sits up, looks around, and starts going again. So she's not really crawling to get anywhere - if she wants something, she still scoots. But I'm sure she'll get better at it. Babyproofing, here we come!!! :eek:

Here's a picture of Maya showing off her toothy smile :D
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/090616Checkoutmyteeth-1.jpg

tholbrook

06-18-2009, 06:15 PM

First the crawling this morning, and now this.
She started pulling herself up to standing in her crib earlier this week, and she has also stood up leaning against the sofa cushion. This was the first time she pulled up to standing completely upright with just her hands on top of the couch. Boohoo, I'm not ready for her to grow up so fast!

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/Step1-1.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/Step2-1.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/Step3-1.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/Step4-IDIDIT-1.jpg

I went to visit a friend today in the hospital who had a little girl yesterday ... love, love, love those little hands, feet and newborn squeaks. Even though it was such a difficult stage for us, I really miss that age! So tiny and sweet!

gertdog

06-18-2009, 06:22 PM

Holy cow! Just got back from Aiden's 4-month well -baby visit (he's actually 4.5 months tomorrow). He is 18 1/2 lbs and 28 inches long! :eek: Can you say "off the charts" ????? He is huge!

Sleep is suddenly not so great. Last night, for example, he ate at 9:00 and went to sleep. Then he ate at 1:00 AM, 3:00 AM, and 5:30 AM. He went back to sleep after that, but Ryan woke up at 6:00 AM so I didn't get any more sleep And NO NAPS today. None. Despite several hours of shrieking (him) and pacing (me). I finally put him in the car and took him for a drive. I'm hoping this will be a brief anomaly in our sleep journey!

He's an active baby. Very chatty, very strong. Rolling from back to front, and working very hard at sitting up. Reaching and grabbing and pretty good at scooching around on his back.

Tami- we bought a nice Graco pack and play when Ryan was born and have gotten a ton of use out of it. It's a model that has a bassinet, changing table and accessory holder, mobile and vibrations. We got zero use out of the mobile and vibration thing, but the changing pad and organizer has been really useful. It's easy to set up and take down and travels well. We actually have it set up in our family room now- gives me an easy place to change Aiden or put him down somewhere safe from his big brother. :)

And, hooray for Maya crawling!!

Michelle Ziplock bag for my pump parts too! How fun that you and Carl are taking her to playgroups. I'm hoping to start taking Aiden to some- we were going to go to one this past Tuesday, but he fell asleep 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave, so I bailed. It was the right call though- he slept for almost 2 hours.

Hooray for Evelyn's tooth! Can you tell a difference when you are nursing her?

BakerJane Sorry about the sitter difficulties. Based on what you describe, I'd be concerned too. I agree with the others- you are the employer and you set the expectations- I'd try a conversation in which you specifically ask her to do certain things. Easier said than done, I know. No advice on the firing- hope you are able to get things resolved one way or another.

Nancy, I hear you on the screaming! Aiden's scream could peel paint. And it is definitely different than crying- it's him telling me he WANTS something.

Ashley- so glad the trip out went well. Such a relief, right? Enjoy the rest of your visit!

Emily- great picture of J.D.! He's a happy little guy. I'll differ from the others- if I was traveling alone, I'd opt for the nonstop flight if it wasn't TOO inconvenient. I hate hate hate lugging everything through the airport and if I had a long distance from gate to gate between flights... ugh.

Okay- I need to go work on our dryer. A green glitter crayon went through the washer and dryer. Most of the clothes were salvaged (I worship at the altar of OxiClean) but the inside of the dryer is COATED with a sheen of glittery green wax. It is coming off with Comet and a damp sponge but slow going. Not sure it's worth it- the dryer is old and if I don't get every last bit of wax out, more clothes could get ruined. A new dryer is sounding good. Meantime, I am planning to sew all of Ryan's pants pockets shut so this can't happen again... ;)

fancyn

06-18-2009, 08:58 PM

Quick fly by here (written earlier today, btw). Natalie had her 4 month appt yesterday and here are the stats: 11 pounds, 6 ounces (10th percentile), 23 ¾ inches (25th) and a 16 inch head (50th :p). She only takes roughly 24 ounces of formula a day and he said even though that’s way on the low side, her growth is nice and consistent so not to worry or push more. I was also told her stranger anxiety is very peculiar for her age (She pulled her freak out on the nurse and initially with the doctor) – they said it’s normally not exhibited until 6 months but not to stress on that either.

At Nick’s 4 month appt, our pediatrician was VERY adamant about waiting until the 6 month mark – aside from the AAP recommendation, he said studies proved holding off on solids could help prevent allergies. Yesterday I mentioned her obnoxious behavior when I eat and drink and he told me if I was up to it, I could go ahead and start solids! His rationale this time was that the studies proved not entirely true and it was more of a heredity thing. I was very hesitant because while starting solids are ‘fun’, it’s also another mess and something else to squeeze into our short evening (bed time is still 7 or 7:30). But I went for it anyways! :D I bought a bag of organic frozen green beans, steamed them and threw them in the blender. The first 5 bites went over great. Natalie actually opened and swallowed without pushing it out with her tongue. But apparently the novelty of it went out the window fast. She puffed up her cheeks, pulled in her chin and turned away after that. I didn’t push anymore and we’ll try again tonight. And maybe I won’t be so mean next time and try a fruit (mean ol’ mama always pushing the veggies ;))

Back for more tomorrow!

Pony

06-19-2009, 10:00 AM

Evelyn has slept better the past two nights. (crossing fingers) However, her naps have been off. Carl texted me yesterday morning and all it said was, "funny napper". She would not stay down for her first nap. He ended up holding her and she slept for 2 hours. Crazy. Her 2nd nap was short b/c they were running errands. 3rd was short, but that is typical. Then she wasn't going down as easy last night, but finally down at 9, ate around 11:30, ate around 4:45. Not shabby! Hopefully, her naps will fall back in to place soon!!! She in no way is soothing herself to sleep though. We are still doing the dancing routine or nursing to sleep.

Carl took Evelyn to Whole Foods yesterday (brought me home a slice of vegan chocolate cake and it was sooo good!). He was showing her all the fruits and vege's. When he was checking out, he had her standing up on the counter and she was trying to chew on a bag handle. So, the cashier ran and got her a banana and she was sucking on the peel. I thought Carl was going to say they started feeding her a banana and I was thinking "noooooo, I need to be there for that". But, the cashier just gave it to her to play with. Love Whole Foods!!!

Tami---great pictures!!!!! Maya is so cute. Love her smile. I can't believe she is standing and crawling. Must be all that sleep she is getting :p;). I really like the parents group. There are a lot of mid-day playgroups, so I get a bit bummed I can't make those. There are a lot of SAHM's in our neighborhood. :( (that sad face is my little pity party ;) ) Carl likes going to them. He is doing really well and just loves kids. He is such a natural with them. I have some friends who are pg right now and I can't wait to see the newborns!!!!

Stephanie---Evelyn has been doing the same thing Aiden is doing with night sleeping. She started a little after 4 months and it seems she is just starting to get better at nights. She is 5 1/2 months. So sorry about the nap strike and lack of sleep! I hope you get some much need rest this weekend. Aiden and Quinn are some big boys!! :) I can't tell a difference with nursing. I assume I will when she gets her top teeth. So sorry about the crayon ordeal.

Nancy---I'm glad Nat had a good appt. Have fun with the foods!

acginkc

06-19-2009, 04:59 PM

Hi all. Well it's been busy and I'll be back tonight after Matt goes down with personals (I have quite a few to catch up on). We had his 4 month appt today. He's 16# 12.8 oz (93%ile) and 26.5 in (also 93%ile). The doctor said he looked like a 6 month old, but perfectly healthy. He also suggested starting some cereal soon. I may wait a little bit more since he hasn't shown any interest to my food.

For those of you giving bottles of expressed milk how many ounces are you giving? I've only been giving around 4, but the Dr said 6-8 which I'll work up to, but just curious how much others are giving. He does fine on the 4 ounce bottles, doesn't get hungry earlier so I'm not too concerned.

Pony

06-19-2009, 08:31 PM

For those of you giving bottles of expressed milk how many ounces are you giving? I've only been giving around 4, but the Dr said 6-8 which I'll work up to, but just curious how much others are giving. He does fine on the 4 ounce bottles, doesn't get hungry earlier so I'm not too concerned.

6-8 oz at one time seems like a lot to me. Evelyn gets 3 3-4 oz bottles when I'm at work. I've read on kellysmom that babies should have an ounce for every hour mom is gone. She gets frustrated at times when the bottle is empty, but it doesn't seem to be b/c she is hungry. She is usually fine within a few min. She eats as soon as I get home and once or twice before bed. Hope that helps!

acginkc

06-19-2009, 08:32 PM

Michelle- I hope E's funny nap schedule doesn't mess up her nights. Matt has been napping much less since we went to WA, but he's sleeping really well at night and isn't fussy so no complaints from me. Ziplock user for the pump here as well. Kind of annoying they don't provide you with something for as much as those things cost.

Nancy- I'm glad Natalie's appt went well. Hopefully she liked her green beans the 2nd time around. It seems like a lot of the pediatricians are starting to move up the solids to 4 months. I may wait a little before starting Matt, but we'll see, I may get anxious.

Stephanie- Well, Aiden is ahead of Matt by a bit, but we are running big here as well. Its amazing how strong they are with those extra few pounds. Hope the sleep gets better soon.

Tami- So exciting for the crawling and pulling up!! Once they get that itch to move nothing will stop them. We have the Chicco Lullaby play yard, but my in-laws just got an inexpensive one when we went there and he did fine in that. The requirements for any baby products to reach the market are so strict you probably won't go too wrong with any that haven't been recalled. Oh and such great pics of her. She is so adorable.

BakerJane- I'm so sorry about your babysitter issues. I would have a frank conversation with her setting the specific expectations you have, and also find out if this is something she still wants to do (she may offer to leave without you having to "fire" her.) Eileen deserves to be cared for by someone who will respect your wishes. I would be upset if I were you as well.

Ok, did I miss anyone? Tried to look, but Hi to anyone I forgot. Ok, so lots of pics to share this time. DH's best friend sent us the best baby gift and Matt looks so cute in it so I have to share (pardon the dog hair :o).

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs102.snc1/4762_213581500570_503150570_7326199_4209768_n.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs082.snc1/4762_213581475570_503150570_7326198_3581578_n.jpg

And this one made me laugh so had to share it as well.
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs102.snc1/4762_213507145570_503150570_7324313_7981522_n.jpg

kabs

06-20-2009, 04:52 AM

Hi Everyone! I have been popping in here and there to read what you've all been up to when I have a minute or two. Alex woke me up at 5:15 this morning and then promptly fell back to sleep, so I thought I'd write a quick hello...

First, the pictures that you all have been posting are adorable. Everyone's happy babies just make me smile. Love the iPod baby outfit. Cute!

Alex is 3 and a half months old now and our lives are so much calmer than the first 10 weeks or so. It's like a switch flipped or something and we had this happy, sleeping, smiling little boy all of the sudden! He's routinely goes to bed at 7:30 now and will generally sleep until 2-3am. After that, he goes back to sleep until 5am or so and then he doses here and there, but not usually in his crib. DH thinks the birds are waking him up, but I don't know about that...we've tried pushing back his bedtime to see if we can get him to sleep until 6-7 am but he's falling asleep at 7:30, so we stick with that! He is starting to squirm out of his swaddle now which wakes him (and us) up. He wants to chew on his hands all the time, but it keeps him awake. Should I stop swaddling? When did you all stop, if you were swaddling?

No rolling over yet, but he loves to sit up (assisted, of course) and even loves pulling himself up to stand. The smiling is the best though, makes me forget all the craziness of the first weeks for sure! :)

Whoops, he's up. Time to feed him. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Kim

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt96/kharbaugh_2009/022.jpg

Beth G.

06-20-2009, 09:16 AM

Quick hello to all and I'll be back at some point with more and personals. DH has been sick the entire week with Adenovirus including conjunctivitis, so he can't come near Michael or me and has been holed up in the guest room (and he took the laptop with him!!) while I've been wiping down half the house, although does some stuff with gloves on, like cooking for me :) Michael's new napping pattern is three 30 minute naps all day. So you might say I'm tired. He also seems to be much more interested in eating than usual. Fortunately, he slept really well last night after a tough bedtime so I'm refreshed. He finally fell asleep at 8:45, and didn't make a peep until 4:45. After a lazy feeding, he slept until 8:42 am. What a nice rest for me, too. He's currently been napping for 20 minutes, so I'm guessing I have 10 more. I can barely get my shower in during these naps. Very little getting done here besides taking care of Michael.

I'm not sure when he's going to start daycare. The pediatrician told me that he could start Monday or Tuesday if he hasn't shown any symptoms but this morning he started sounding really snorty while eating - nothing to aspirate, but the nose seems not clear. I am still optimistic that we've not caught the virus - we were also exposed to the person who gave it to DH (and she was holding Michael) and neither of us got it from her, but we'll see. My plan to get a few things done before I go back to work seems to be falling apart.

Michelle - I'm not even traveling yet, but my pump parts are in a ziploc too. I'm not sure you can retire on this one though.

Ashely - Michael used to take about a 4 ounce bottle but is down to 3 now, so 6-8 seems like a lot. Of course, Michael is 5 1/2 months and a little less than 15 1/2 pounds so he isn't the best comparison for Matt. But don't waste too much milk giving them the big bottles. I would package more smaller bottles so if he wants more he'll take them but you won't be wasting putting more in a big bottle and tossing it.

I'm going to hit Submit Reply since it's been 25 minutes now but if the naps continues I'll be back!

ETA - 30 minutes on the dot. I could set an oven timer by this kid's naps. I read on Pick Nick's Brain (nowhere else as far as I remember) that the reason his naps are short is I'm not putting him down early enough so he's too tired and can't get to the next stage of sleep. I get him down usually before two hours. He's always going into the crib awake (I haven't been able to nurse him to sleep in probably three months) so sometimes it takes more time than others to fall asleep (if it takes 40 minutes then he's obviously not falling asleep in the 2 hour window), but usually within 10 minutes, on his own with minimal fussing - mobile music and he'll suck his thumb. After one 30 minute nap, we went out to lunch with a friend and were driving for 20 minutes and he did not fall back asleep, so he was not that tired I guess. Not sure what to think. I guess I'll see what happens at day care, and I know around 6 months the window expands a bit too.

Beth G.

06-20-2009, 03:57 PM

The rain continues…

Everything ok on the swine flu front, but I’ve learned now that it’s hit the schools in our town, but it’s not officially swine flu since they haven’t sent the samples to the CDC, but it’s not flu season and it’s the only variant going around. Needless to say, I’m not thrilled with the whole idea of day care. Apparently everyone in my office is also complaining of sore throats. Great.

For the first time ever, Michael fell back asleep after his short nap and it ended up being a 2 hour one. It’s either a growth spurt from yesterday’s eating (not much of that today) or the lack of naps catching up with him. The snorty breathing seems to have subsided so I’m hoping he doesn’t have adenovirus.

Ashley – Glad the trip is going well. I bought a Brita today (good idea, thanks), but I still have to find an acceptable water source. I am hoping the sink in the lactation room will work. I’ve drank the building water on other places before and it was not good. Matt’s pictures are adorable!

Michelle – Congrats on Evelyn’s first tooth! Sounds like Michael and Evelyn continue to parallel in sleeping patterns. My Medela beef is the new bottles. I can’t find any in the shape that came with my pump which I know fits the cooler and the extra ones in the store all seem to have the annoying 2 part cap/nipple. We don’t use those bottles for feeding Michael and a 2 part cap is a pain for transport. Since I’ll be pumping three times a day I’ll have a bunch of bottles and milk to manage and needed extras. I haven’t started it yet, but I just bought “The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children” based on this NYTimes Blog. We are Jewish, but the whole article caught my eye (it’s a summer reading list for parents).

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/books-for-a-parents-nightstand/?scp=2&sq=the%20blessing%20of%20a%20skinned%20kneww&st=cse

Tami – nothing on chunky foods but the interesting thing I noted was about starting proteins at 8-9 months with tilapia since it’s low mercury. I want Michael to learn to like fish. I detest it and don’t eat any of it. DH is on Nutrisystem for the foreseeable future so unless I try some tilapia too we are going to have a hard time justifying it based on Michael’s portion. I really should learn to eat some fish! Glad sleep is going well and Maya is crawling, pulling up etc! We have a Graco Pack and Play and love it. We had to take the bassinet top off now that Michael is 15 pounds, but used it a ton before (including a sleepover at my parents). We never used the changing table, but Michael loved the bears that hung from the canopy. We keep it in the living room as a safe place to stash him and will take as a travel crib when needed, I think the bottom will be fine just like the bassinet top was (same mattress). All that said, you don’t need the bassinet top model for Maya but if you are thinking of a sequel then it may pay to get that type for more use later.

Stephanie – totally feel your sleep pain. Other than today, Michael’s lack of naps and sleep has been just like Aiden’s. I was speaking to my work’s lactation consultant service about pumping when I get back and we were discussing long sleep and possible impact to milk supply. When I told her Michael was not sleeping long stretches and eating at least twice a night she said “That’s GREAT!” – and I thought, yeah, GREAT! I now worship Oxiclean too and have found it’s much cheaper at Target than Babies R Us. We’ve been using a ton!

Nancy – veggies sound fun. I can’t wait! We are starting cereal two weeks from tomorrow.

kabs – Alex is adorable! Glad things are going better. Our Pack and Play is the same pattern as your bassinet (?). We stopped swaddling at 2 months. It started as an experiment. I preferred the Halo swaddles for the arms out option - Michael was already routinely breaking out. They only go to 12 pounds, and he'd already at 11+ outgrown the Kiddopotamus small ones. So we went cold turkey one night and used a sleep sack. Michael slept 5 1/2 hours that night which tied his best ever (he's breastfed, for comparison sake), so we decided we were done with swaddling. A few nights later, I decided to swaddle him because he'd had a bad night and had cried for a long time before bedtime. I went to check on him an hour later and his arms were very neatly out of the swaddle already, so neatly I asked if DH had let him out and reswaddled him, but no. We've never looked back. Michael sucks his thumb to soothe himself to sleep and back to sleep - not possible in all swaddles. I think some babies love it and some babies don't need it.

ETA - The snuffly breathing is back, but it's only during feedings. Hmm.

Sarah45

06-21-2009, 04:07 PM

I can't believe that I haven't posted to this thread at all this month! :o

Things are going well here, it seems as though we have finally conquered the afternoon nap demon and Mommy is very happy about it. :D

About two weeks ago Jax learned how to roll over, on purpose, and hasn't topped since. Now, he gets really upset that he can't move forward but he will wiggle himself around 360 degrees to watch the dog or get a toy that's out of his reach. It's pretty fun to watch.

His 4-month check-up is this week and I am not looking forward to the shots but he was a trooper last time and I'm sure he will do fine again. I'm interested in what the ped will say about starting food. I'm looking forward to it but also hesitant to start too early.

That's all I have time for now, Jax should be up soon - it's been 2.5 hours - and I need to fold laundry.

helios7

06-22-2009, 06:36 AM

Hi everyone - love the baby pics. They're all so cute!

Life has been busy and kind of exciting around here. We're contemplating a move out of the city this fall. We'd always thought it would happen one day, but our living situation is a bit precarious as our landlord is struggling financially and selling our building. So we're taking the plunge - (but still in the works so if we're FB friends, please don't mention it on FB!!) We went to look at houses this weekend, and are going back next weekend. :D

Quinn has sadly become less portable. I've been really worried about his inability to nap well (as we've zoomed from this place to that place etc). They've been short (45 mins or under), and all over the place in terms of timing. I went to a sleep seminar last Weds, and really took home the message that he needs to work on his self soothing skills and I need to work on getting him his naps. So Friday we stayed home, great napping. Yesterday we stayed home. Great napping. So, I'm just going to have to schedule life around his naps for a while. Kind of annoying as yesterday he took 3 which doesn't leave much time for anything else but it is important. Saturday when we were running around looking at houses he barely napped. He was still a great (but tired) little guy, but the in and out of the car seat, in and out of the ERgo kept him from really getting any sleep.

And that's what's up with us. Still continuing with the solids. Bananas are a solid hit, and he'll eat sweet potatoes for me but resisted them from DH. Question - we've just been doing one meal. When should I increase to 2 meals? We're now beginning our third week on solids. :eek:

And the tooth is finally coming!!!! I can see the enamel line on the bottom right front tooth. So the crazy sleep has been teething too (although the less portable factor has been something I've noticed for a while). So soon we'll be in the tooth club.

I think I hear my boy starting to stir... glad to hear everyone's doing so well. Hugs to BethG. Sounds like life's really been rough! :(

SooCookie

06-22-2009, 12:08 PM

Hi Moms!

Things are going well over here. The kids had their well child appointments last week and Ben is 23 pounds :eek: and Kayla is only 28! I'll bet she won't be able to bop him on the head when I am not looking for much longer!

Ben is now crawling and is the proud owner of one shiny new tooth. Sleep is not going so well. He screams and screams every time it is time to go to bed. I thought it was teething related, but have a hunch that it might be more separation anxiety related. I just love the stage where I can't leave the room without it sounding like I am abandoning my kid.

Heather - I know it sucks having to plan around nap schedules, but that is what we do over here too. My kids are soooooo much happier when they get their naps in that I came to the conclusion long ago that it just wasn't worth it on a regular basis to schlep them all around town because I don't want to be at home. Hang in there. Once Quinn drops the morning nap, you will have a lot of free time back. Ben's morning nap is on the way out, and I have really mixed feelings about it. I will miss the one-on-one time with DD, but will also enjoy all the fun stuff we can do now that I don't have to worry about a nap! Oh, and good luck on the house hunting! We started two meals of solids after 2-3 weeks once it was clear that he liked eating, and then three meals shortly after that. My little man likes to eat!

kabs - look at little Alex! So cute!

Ashley - LOVE that iPoop onesie! Adorable. And don't worry about the dog hair. We have it all over the place here too!

Michelle - I can't believe Evelyn still lets you (and wants you to) hold her for sleeping! As much as I didn't like it when I was in the midst of it, I really miss that stage now that my kids are way beyond it!

Tami - WOW! Maya is crawling and pulling up!!! You will have your hands full very soon. Are you coming up to MI??? What city?

Take care everyone!
Michelle

Bawstinn

06-22-2009, 01:46 PM

Time for me to pop on, I think!

Me: Maria
Dad: David
DD: Madeleine, 3
DS: Christopher, 2 weeks

Things are really going well here (knock on wood). Both kids had their wellness visits this morning and Christopher is up to 8 pounds, 12 oz from the 7 pounds, 11 ounces he was at when we left the hospital. Makes me feel better knowing that he is getting enough to eat (I am nursing). They also have him at 21.5 inches, which is up from 20 at birth. I think he was longer at birth than that - can't believe he would have grown that much in 2 weeks!

So far he is a much better sleeper than his sister, altough last night he was up a lot between 12 and 5. Not sure why. He was giving me 3 hours of sleep in between feedings.

He is a gassy little thing though. It is getting better but I am not sure what I may be eating to cause it. I've stayed away from onions, beans, chocolate, tomatoes and broccoli so far. I also discovered I have absolutely not taste buds for coffee anymore, so there is not caffeine involved.

Here are a couple of pictures. I was trying to get one for his birth announcements, that I am slightly behind on. I was happy to get one with his eyes opened.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l223/Bawstinn/DSC02622.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l223/Bawstinn/DSC02628.jpg

Naps: Most kids seem to do better when on a schedule. Naps at daycare are after lunch everyday and even at 3, we do our bet to make sure Madeleine gets her nap on the weekends after lunch. It really is not worth it to skip it and she'll still nap about 2 hours.

Speaking of naps, they are both sleeping so I think this is my opportunity to take one as well!

acginkc

06-22-2009, 01:51 PM

Michelle- Ben is getting big! Hopefully his screaming at bed time is a (short-lived) phase. Matt reads DH the riot act when it's bedtime. Hysterical screaming at times. Never at naps or in the middle of the night (and rarely for me, if ever).

Heather- Good luck on the house hunting. We just moved into our house about a year ago and I can't imagine doing it with a baby in tow. Hope you find something soon.

Sarah- Matt does the 360 rotations as well (especially in his crib :rolleyes:)

Beth G- Sounds like you've had a rough week. Hope DH is feeling better (and you and Michael are still not showing symptoms). Is he acting fussy when his naps aren't good? Matt's naps have been horrible lately, but he hasn't been fussy so I'm trying not to freak out. I think our travel and a lot of family events have thrown him off. Today has been nap day, on our 2nd 2 hour nap so far. :eek:

Kim- Alex is beautiful. I'm glad things are going so well. Sounds like he's sleeping great.

Thanks for all of you who let me know about your bottle sizes. We are going to just go with what he seems to eat. Right now 3.5-4 oz is about all he'll do so I'll follow his cues for when he is ready for more.

So Matt learned to roll from his belly to his back. Now there is no stopping him. This morning he was halfway across the room in no time.

We had a family birthday party yesterday and Matt did great. He was handed around to everyone and carried off to be "shown off". He didn't fuss at all and was a total charmer. He was pretty beat by the end of the night, but so relieved that he did well with strangers.

Couperine

06-22-2009, 03:45 PM

Hi Maria - Christopher looks great! I'll join in again as well!

Me: Nancy
DH: Mark
DS1: Ethan 4 years
DS2: David 14 months
DS3: Kyle 3 weeks

We're doing pretty well here - Kyle is a nicely awake baby, much more like Ethan. We're pretty much done convincing him that night is for sleep and day is for the more awake periods; aside from a couple of blips, he sleeps 4 hour stretches from 8pm to 8am and then does 2-3 hr stretches during the day. I find myself missing bottle feeding somewhat; breastfeeding is going really well - third time around just got sore the day the milk came in - but I miss the convenience of every few days or so having someone else feed the baby at 4am. :) No real problems with him to be honest - he eats very well, burps fairly quickly, and really doesn't spit up, so I'm hoping that I'll be 3 for 3 on easy going babies.

David is giving us the most difficulty, basically because he's teething and a bit jealous of Kyle. He's finally made up his mind to walk, so we have a drunken Frankenstein around the house, and that helps keep everyone happy. Ethan still exclaims "David's walking" every time he sees him go a few steps - nice moments to have mixed in with the times when dinner needs cooked, baby needs breastfed, and both boys are either whining or screaming about wanting their dinner.

Here's a couple of pics of the boys - still haven't gotten a good one of all three together yet.

Kyle at 2 weeks:http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d803b3127ccec73850c0e3ad00000040O00CasWLZqxbMQ e3nws/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Ethan and David brushing teeth:http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d803b3127ccec73801cea31300000040O00CasWLZqxbMQ e3nws/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

Beth G.

06-23-2009, 12:26 PM

Welcome Nancy and Maria and congratulations! Your boys are very cute!

Just a quick update here. We brought Michael to the day care around 11 am. He started crying within a few minutes of coming out of the car seat and was still crying when we left. By the time we were in the parking lot, DH had decided it is not the right place and we should look for a nanny.:eek::eek::eek::eek::D:D More discussion to come tonight.

Well, I've passed two more of the minutes before I leave to pick Michael up. 20 to go!

The extra day home with him was really a gift. The jumperoo finally clicked for him and he was a jumping fool! We skyped with my parents with him in the jumper and they loved it.

Pony

06-23-2009, 01:31 PM

Finally have a moment to type at work...while I pump :D

Evelyn got her 2nd tooth on Saturday! So, it came exactly one week later. I knew they would be close together, but didn't realize it would come so soon. With the first bottom tooth, we saw it for a few days and felt it, but this one seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Her naps are getting better---meaning Carl is able to put her down again. The times are still all over the place. She slept for 3 hours on Sunday for her 3rd nap :eek:. CRAZY! The past 2 nights, she has woken up at 1am again. So, still seems like it is twice during the night.

Welcome Maria and Nancy!!!! :)

Ashley-love the pictures! We have so much dog hair on our floors....grrrr. We just can't keep up with it. It even gets in her crib.

kabs-so glad you checked in and good to hear things are going more smoothly with you and Alex. He is so cute. Evelyn is still swaddled and she is almost 6 months! I was going to chat w/ the ped at her 6 month appt. She loves it and can brake out of it occasionally, but she seems perfectly content all bundled up. I'm afraid to give it up, b/c she wakes up so easily when she is unswaddled. We have a little dancing routine w/ her and that is how she falls asleep. When we try to put her down unswaddled and asleep, she wakes up. We've never tried to let her fall asleep on her own. She tends to get really worked up, red faced, and pissed off, so we do our little routine and it is quite calm :). Sounds like Alex is a good sleeper.

Beth G-Gosh, I'm so sorry your husband has been so sick. Hope he is feeling better. I'm sorry the naps are so short. Nighttime looks good though! We deal with the same thing, not much else getting done around our house. Is he a happy baby even w/ the small naps? If so, I would try to not worry about the short naps. Easier said then done. Sometimes we can get E back to sleep if she has a short nap, but she doesn't really do it on her own. Ok, just read that he did fall back asleep on his own and slept for 2 hours. These babies are so inconsistent and change everyday, huh?!!! ;)
Regarding the 2 part cap/nipple Medela bottles, I bought extra bottles and I'm assuming bought the ones you are refering to and you don't have to use the nipple. They have the yellow tops just like what came w/ the pump. At least, the ones I bought did. Thanks for that link about the reading list. Will check it out. Oh boy, interested in hearing about the daycare/nanny update!

Sarah45-glad things are going well!!

Heather-a sleep seminar!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did I miss this??? We are the same as others regarding naps. We are pretty much at home for her nap time. Now, Carl has been successful in getting her down if we are out and about at times. Not always. If she has a good first nap, then we might try to go off even if it is around her 2nd nap. But, now that she is not sleeping in these days and naps are about 45 min., her second nap might be over by 1pm. So, we might go off after that. Now, I need to pick your brain about the self-soothing. ;) Evelyn is still swaddled, still cosleeping, still getting the boob if she wakes at night, and still danced to sleep. ummmmmm.......I'm probably doing it all wrong when it comes to self soothing, huh?!?! :o How do you get a baby to self soothe w/o CIO if they get so worked up when woken up before they really need to get up? I'm just curious if they touched on this during your class? Did you get any books for sleeping (saw your FB status :)). YAY, a tooth!!!

Ok, will write more later.....

Pony

06-23-2009, 02:14 PM

Michelle-Congrats on the crawling! And the new tooth. Sorry he has been upset lately. I keep wondering if Evelyn will show signs of seperation anxiety when I go to work. Hasn't happened yet. If so, Carl will be so upset.

Maria-Christopher is beautiful. I love the second picture with his expressive eyes. I have a picture of Evelyn like that around that age. You didn't know the sex, right? Did you all think boy? Very exciting to have one of each :) I'm glad he is a good sleeper so far! How is Madeleine with her new brother?

Nancy-Let me just say...I have no idea how you do it!!!! I'm glad breastfeeding and sleep is going well. Too funny about the drunken Frankenstein. :p Great pictures!

tholbrook

06-24-2009, 03:16 PM

Holy cow, Maya is 10 months old (tomorrow)!!! I just can't believe the time has passed so quickly.

Not too much going on here: we went through a rough spell with sleeping at night over the weekend, and I think she might be teething again (she was fussy/clingy too). So I gave her Motrin the past few nights, and she's been sleeping all night again. In fact, last night was the first time I didn't hear a peep out of her from the time I put her down at 6:45 until 6 this morning. It was great, although I miss seeing her for 11 straight hours! :o She has been night-weaned for 2+ weeks now, but I was still pumping at night right before bed... I finally gave that up last night, since my night-time supply has been dropping. Didn't seem worth the time/effort for 2 ounces or so. The discomfort wasn't terrible but I was definitely ready for the morning BF session!

Naps are still crazy - she wants to practice cruising around her crib and singing to herself. Last week, I would stay nearby and lay her back down in the crib when she would get up, without any other "soothing". So now, if I sit there in the rocking chair next to her crib, she'll go to sleep within 10 minutes or less... I don't have to do anything except be close by. Length of naps is still inconsistent, but better - usually 60-90 minutes, rarely 30-45 minutes, and the occasional 2 hour nap thrown in to keep me guessing.

We're still working on the next stage of solids since she has no interest in putting actual food in her mouth - only everything else that isn't edible. :rolleyes:

Oh, and Maya had her first "incident" a few days ago. For some reason, she decided to try standing up in the middle of the floor :confused:. Obviously, that didn't work and she took a tumble and landed on a toy. So she has a big ol' bruise on her right cheek :( ... but she's a tough cookie and only cried for a minute (well, of course it was nummies to the rescue! :p)

Well, I think I'm going to skip the gym daycare for now, until Maya is a little older... I found a gym close by - just the basics, no daycare, no classes - but DH can watch her while I run over there for awhile a few days a week.

Back in a little while with personals - welcome Nancy and Maria ... looking forward to your input both as "new moms" and "experienced moms". Darling little boys, both of you! And good to see you again, Sarah and Kim!

helios7

06-25-2009, 07:33 AM

What a week. I strained my back, and have been quite uncomfortable as a result. I know it is a common new mom thing, but man it stinks! A trip to the dr (at the expense of nap time!) and some xtra strength tylenol/regular back exercise regime is making things better. But ooh, it has been rough.

I also want to remind everyone to take a infant CPR/choking class if they haven't already. I refreshed in February, and we had a scare on Tuesday. Last week I let Quinn gum on cold cantaloupe as he was teething. I did it again on Monday, but I didn't realize that his tooth coming in was high enough to do be functional. He got a piece of cantaloupe off, and all of sudden gasped/turned red and tried to cry. I instantly started to flip him over into the position for choking, but as I did the piece came forward and I saw I could grab it. So I picked him back up and snagged it. So I got lucky. But definitely... please take a class, or even pick the materials again if it has been a while. It was very scary for us both.

Sleep is still .. sleep. While he's teething I'm trying to ride it out, as I'm not sure I'm ready to start a program myself. He wakes 3 times at night, and I'm toying with the idea of trying a dream feed to eliminate the between 11-12 wakeup. Last night he was up between 3:15 and 4:15 (and so was I :() and then we got up at 6. I'm tired. BUT... he woke after 35 mins into what i thought was his AM nap. He sounded happy - 20 mins later he put himself to sleep! No tears... just babble babble babble silence. I am so hopeful that this will be the beginning of more self-soothing success. I've been working on it, but it is hard. I am starting to think that the babbling is his self-soothing, that and chewing on his lovey. So fingers crossed we're on an uphill swing with that.

Tami - happy 10 month bday to Maya! Wow. She's getting so big. I'd love to talk to you again about how you found the SleepEasy Solution book (I've read it now). But I'm happy to do it over email if you like....

Michelle - it has been a long road. And I'm definitely not there yet- I was flipping out about sleep just last night to a friend. But I would definitely consider starting to work on the swaddle. We started too early, and back tracked to arms out. And then two weeks later, we dropped it all together. But they don't recommend swaddling once a baby can roll, as they need their arms to roll back. Is she tolerating an arms out swaddle? Also, my ped said between 6-12 months is the last "best" time to drop bad habits/pick up new ones. She said at 12 months they think they're too cool for school and become fairly rigid in what they like. So it might be a good idea to start experimenting with crib sleep and self soothing in the months to come. One day Quinn was just happy being in the crib, and from then on I've been able to leave him to chill a bit. But if Evelyn isn't spending much (any) time there, you won't know when that happens. Just my 2 cents - please take with a hearty grain of salt!!!

Welcome (back?) Nancy. I'm not sure you're a "new" mom in the classic sense, but I think you'll be a wonderful resource for us newbies. And I can't wait to see how the adventures of 3 boys unfolds...:cool:

Ashley - I'm glad Matt enjoyed the family birthday party. Quinn is becoming more cautious around new people, I think separation anxiety is beginning to show. But nothing too terrible yet!

Maria - welcome. Christopher is a cutie, and thanks for the nap advice. It seems like just when I've cleared my schedule, something pops up. I have to learn to just say no!! :)

Michelle - thanks for the solids AND the nap advice. I'm getting there (see my comment to Maria) but it is definitely a change for me. I've added a second meal. I still feel like Quinn prefers nursing, but we're working on adding these solids.

Okay I hear my napping superstar waking. He's been in his crib for almost two hours, and asleep for an hour and a half of that total. Not too shabby. We've turned the corner again, and naps are longer when we're home. Whew! I was worried I had a serial catnapper on my hands! :)

Beth G.

06-25-2009, 09:04 AM

Drive by update. Michael is a daycare dropout - looks like I'll be spending the remainder of my leave with him :D and looking at some other day cares. DH will bring him to work until we can resolve the situation. The blankets wrapped entirely over the kids heads while they were sleeping was pretty much a non-starter for us. There were kids sleeping in swings and bouncers with their heads totally covered. It was so weird. I thought at first they might be dolls.

Beth H

06-25-2009, 01:24 PM

The blankets wrapped entirely over the kids heads while they were sleeping was pretty much a non-starter for us.

Wow - that would be for me too. Even though our daycare uses blankets, they certainly are not around (or anywhere near) the heads of the babies. Good luck finding a new daycare!

Welcome to our new moms!

Heather Thanks for the advice about infant CPR/choking. I never did do this while pregnant and am thinking I should.

Tami Exciting about Maya's new "mobility." Hope she's sleeping better again.

Michelle Congrats on the second tooth! Will still has his first two, and I keep thinking more are coming, but nothing yet.

Kim and Ashley - I love the photos! I love that I-pod onesie. I wonder where it's from?

Hi to everyone else!

Our big news is that on Sunday, DH and I are going to Vegas for 3 days while my in-laws babysit Will. My sister and her DH (whose children will be watched by my parents) are meeting us there. I'm going to miss Will like crazy but it also will be nice to get a little break, too. I think this is a good age to leave him as he's fairly easy-going and not moving around yet. Hello reading magazines and books by the pool and having multiple un-interrupted cups of coffee in the morning! :)

We took Will to a friend's swimming pool on Father's Day. He absolutely had a ball - spent about an hour splashing and kicking around. I'm thinking about swim classes in the fall at our Y.

acginkc

06-26-2009, 02:59 PM

Hi everyone. It has been seriously hot here (heat indexes around 110), so we have been stuck inside which is driving me crazy. We have managed lunch dates almost every day so that has helped.

We have started adjusting to the schedule he'll be on once I go back to work. Even though my schedule will fluctuate, we are trying to set a consistent wake up time. He's doing okay with it, but falls back to sleep within an hour of waking which is not like him at all. Hopefully we'll be able to better lock down that bed time once we get in a routine. Though I don't love getting up at 7 just because.

For anyone who asked about the iPod onsie, apparently it was bought at Spencer's Gifts.

Beth- Your trip to Vegas sounds like fun. I'm sure your in-laws will love having that time with Will. I'm glad he liked the pool. Matt seems ok with it, but wasn't quite down with the splashing quite yet.

Beth- Wow. I hope you can find a better daycare option. It's great that your DH can take Michael to work for a while.

Heather- Thank you for the reminder. We definitely need a refresher on CPR/choking. I'm so glad Quinn is okay. His sleeping schedule sounds a lot like Matt's. The ped was no help to me as he said he's big so he needs those feedings. I guess I still have a while before I get a long night :rolleyes:

Tami- Happy 10 months Maya!! Glad her nights have stayed good. I'm sure her naps will even out before long as well.

Michelle- Yay for the 2nd tooth. I know you were asking Heather about the self soothing, and we are working on it here too so I'm interested to learn more as well. Matt pretty much needs to be rocked to sleep for naps and bedtime, but I am just gradually "weaning" him from that. I used to rock till he was totally asleep, now till he will keep his eyes closed. Hopefully once he's at daycare he'll get better at going down drowsy and putting himself to sleep.

Nancy- Welcome (back) to the New Moms. Kyle is adorable, as are your other 2 boys. I'm glad he's been easy for you so far. I'm cracking up at the image of a drunken Frankenstein.

Maria- Love your pictures of Christopher. I didn't get Matt's announcements out till he was about 8 weeks, so I think you are ahead of the curve. :o. Hope you can figure out what's causing his gas. Matt goes through that on occasion and I often times can't figure out the culprit. I just say he's taking after his father :D;)

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Luv to Cook

06-26-2009, 04:25 PM

grrr...I had a whole post and then got the boot and its gone...will try again!

Sarah45

06-26-2009, 08:48 PM

Have time for a quick question...

I know that several books on how to start foods have been mentioned in the past couple months but with the threads being so long I am having a tough time finding the info. Does anyone remember what was posted or have any particular books to recommend?

I really need to bookmark particular posts in these threads so I can go back and find info :o

THANKS!

tholbrook

06-26-2009, 10:39 PM

Ashley – Yay for Matt rolling! From your earlier post, I think 6-8 bottles is a LOT unless it’s for a newborn who is waking up every couple hours. Maya takes about 5 ounces at a time, and until recently, she was happy with 3½ ounces. But it sounds like Matt is gaining weight just fine, so I’d just continue doing what you’re comfortable with.

Sarah – Good for Jax on the rolling! Seems like we have a lot of mobility achievements going on this month! How did the 4-month appointment go? I bought “Feeding Baby” (Splichal & Splichal) that Nancy recommended. So far, I like it a lot, although it has some things that strike me as odd – rosemary breadsticks for 6-9 months? The recipes for 6-9 months also include various forms of dairy (heavy cream and whole milk), so I’ll have to look into that a little more. But overall, interesting recipes that, with modifications, can be used for the whole family. I’d love to hear some more recommendations too – but more on how to transition to solids being the primary source of nutrition after a year old. I’m having some anxiety about that.

Beth G – wow, you’ve really had a rough month :(. I hope your DH is better now. And WOW on the daycare! Any luck finding a nanny yet? I can’t believe they can get away with having blankets over the babies’ heads :eek:. I’d be pissed if I found out that was happening to my baby. And glad to hear that Michael caught on to the jumper!

Jane – any update on the babysitter situation? If you haven’t been able to do anything yet, wishing you the best of luck!

Heather – What a scary moment for you and Quinn – so glad everything was okay!!! I’ve taken a brief infant/child CPR training as part of my regular CPR training, but it was such a small part, I think I need a refresher.
The dream feeds worked great for us to kick off the whole “sleep learning” experience … I think I did the dream feeds for a week before cutting back and then eliminating. The hard part was that she kept waking up 10-15 minutes before her scheduled dream feed – even when I was changing the time – so I had to wait for her to go back to sleep first, and then feed her. I think I have your email address, I’ll send you a more detailed account of our Sleepeasy experience.
Oh, and we try to work around Maya’s nap schedule too… not that there’s a lot to do around here anyway! But everything is about an hour round-trip, so it’s pretty tricky planning errands. About once a week, I really need to get some things done, so she ends up either missing her late afternoon nap or sleeping for about 30 minutes in the car.

Nancy (fancyn) – ah, that Natalie! Such a character! Are you still working on solids with her? I bought that baby food book you mentioned – I already made the pink lentil-peach puree. I thought it tasted pretty good, and Maya ate it, albeit not enthusiastically… I think it is still a texture issue with her. Glad Natalie is growing well, even through she’s in the “small baby” club – well, except for her big ol’ head :p:D! I think Maya is in the bottom 5% for weight right now, and bottom 25% for height. They didn’t measure her head at the last visit.

Beth H – have a great time in Vegas! That sounds like so much fun!

Michelle (Pony) – Wow, two teeth already? I’m curious too: how’s BF going with those teeth? Maya gets it into her little head that biting me is lots of fun, and she’ll bite me 5-6 times in one day :eek::(, despite me stopping the feeding every time … and then she won’t do it for several days. I’ll have to echo Heather on the transition away from the swaddle. If Evelyn is rolling now, you definitely want her to have her arms free at the very least. I know it’s hard when you’ve found something that works. We had to reintroduce the swaddle for a short time while Maya was still napping her in swing, but was too distracted by grabbing at the mobile to sleep. As soon as she went to the crib, we dropped the swaddle with no problem… we did have to put her on her belly so she’s sleep and not play with her feet. And she still sleeps on her belly for the most part.
And I agree with Heather too that you just never know what the reaction to the crib will be until you try it. However, Maya was 7 months when we made the switch, and I think 5 months (?) is the earliest recommended age for sleep learning. So I think you’re still within that “window” with Evelyn. Maybe with all the changes you’ve been seeing with her sleep lately, she’s getting ready to move on to the next stage.

Michelle (SooCookie) – OMG, 23 pounds!?!?! Too funny about him being almost Kayla’s size (at least weight-wise)! I think Ben and Maya are close to the same age, and she has a serious case of stranger anxiety lately. I’m not worried about it, since it’s normal around this stage. Still, it makes things a bit more difficult when I can’t hand her off anymore when we’re visiting someone.
We’re still planning to take a trip to MI, although I’m not sure exactly when. The house is in White Cloud – a very small town, from what I understand. It looks like the closest city is Grand Rapids. It’s a long, long drive, but I hope to go through Ann Arbor because I love Zingerman’s! If you're anywhere close to our route, maybe we can hook up for a playdate! :)

Stephanie – yup, Aiden is certainly a big boy! I’m sure with a big brother around, he’ll be mobile in no time at all. LOL on the “paint peeling screams” (although I’m sure you cringe when he does it). How has sleep been going this week?

Anita – looking forward to your latest updates! Sorry that you lost your post. That kept happening to me too – there’s a certain key combination that I always managed to hit. Now I type up everything in Word and save it, so I can post it once I’m done. I’m such a geek! :rolleyes:

Emily – did you decide what to do about the flight/travel plans yet?

Kim – Alex is so cute! What a great smile! I’m so glad things are going better for you now … that rough patch seems like a distant memory now, doesn’t it? :) On the bedtime, most of the books I’ve read say that an earlier bedtime results in a later wake-up time. Totally counterintuitive, I know – but in our experience, it really is true!

Maria – happy to see you here! I love the pictures – Christopher looks totally different in the second picture than the first, not like a newborn at all. Maya was a super-gassy baby too (and I also blamed it on DH! :D) all the way up until 4 months or so. Then it pretty much disappeared.

Nancy (Couperine) – welcome back! Glad to hear that Kyle is a laid-back baby! That must make it a bit easier with having 2 other boys to look after. It sounds like you’re pretty laid-back too, and taking everything in stride.

Hello to Bekki, Megan and Mary Jo too – hope you’re enjoying the summer with your little ones!

Beth G.

06-27-2009, 06:41 AM

Sarah45 - Bekki recommended Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine - Feeding with Love and Good Sense. It also covers breast and bottle feeding. I really like it.

Will be back with more updates and personals, but we've seen four more day cares and have 2-3 to see next week. One was great (long wait list), one was pretty much fine and we'll probably start out there, and two were awful. We are back on the daycare thing for the original reason DH did not want a nanny - we are just not comfortable trusting one person in that role.

Sarah45

06-27-2009, 02:53 PM

Hey, thanks for the reminders on food books, i'll look for them. I am definitely interested in a book on the introduction of foods - how to and why kind of stuff. My DH picked up a book, Hungry Monkey (http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Monkey-Food-Loving-Fathers-Adventurous/dp/0151013241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246133509&sr=8-1), and is now spouting stuff out of it as if it is the new baby food "bible". I know I need to read it since some of the stuff is counter to everything i've read and DH and I really need to be on the same page when we do this. One thing that annoyed me is that this guy says that introducing one food at a time is time consuming and tedious - ummm, how hard is it to steam and puree a bunch of squash, freeze and feed over a few days? Anyway, I like the concept of raising an adventurous eater but I really need to read this and other books for myself ;)

Jax's 4-month appt went well. He's 25.75in (80%) and 14lb 5oz.(50%) Our ped said that he is definitely ready for cereal so we'll be introducing that for awhile and then moving on to "adult" food after his 6-month checkup.

SLEEP!!! :eek: I think we hit the 4-month sleep regression. All of a sudden Jax is rejecting the swaddle but constantly wakes up if he is free to move around. And, since he is still waking up in the middle of the night, getting him back to sleep is a real task - and one I haven't mastered. Of course, this figures since I just got him taking great naps in the afternoon and he was doing more 9pm-5am sleeping. I'm, once again, a very sleepy mommy :(

Beth G. - Good luck on the day care search, I don't envy you at all. I'm already dreading the preschool search and he's only 4 months old!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Beth G.

06-28-2009, 10:19 AM

We’ve seen the sun! They even had enough time to stain our deck this week, so we are allowed to go back on it tomorrow I think. We were lucky to be one of the first. As I walk through the development, I still see deck furniture strewn everywhere in the grass. Fortunately we don’t have any furniture, as DH’s hammock used to take up the whole deck but with Michael here now we’ll get a table and chairs for this summer instead. Our tomato plant and herbs are back outside and hopefully that will reduce our fly and gnat infestation since they’ve been in and out a few times over the month of this ill timed project.

The crazy weather has finally hit me with what I’ve been dreading since they first told us in breastfeeding class was the one class of legal drugs that was really out during breastfeeding because of milk supply concerns – antihistamines and decongestants. My allergies are in overdrive. I won’t risk it, but wow would a Sudafed make me feel great right now. I am exhausted as I count down the last week before I go back to work – this was supposed to be a week to relax while Michael was in day care. I relish the extra time with him, but…

I am feeling much better about the daycare search. Any of our new options require DH to add about an hour of driving to his day (the original reason he liked the blanket place was it was on his way to work) but that is ok and there are some closer options at 18 months if we need to make a change. The first place we saw hit the nail on the head – all the kids on the floor, no exersaucers or swings, just one baby in a bouncer because he was being fed cereal. That place is NAEYC accredited and has a wait list until at least the end of the year, which we’ll get on as a back up plan. Next place we went to see – the main topic of conversation with the assistant director was the three forms we had to fill out so they could med him up when he was teething. There seemed to be one positive – they had a room for babies that were past the newborn stage but not walking yet. That is what Michael needs. However, when we got to the room it was lined wall to wall with saucers and jumpers and one kid was in a bouncy with a bottle propped. I don’t mind putting Michael in the jumper at home for a break each day, but it’s not a constant activity. Next place was chaos. At least 18 babies, a three room suite. Madness. Then we saw the place we’ll probably start with. Nice environment, and they are in the process of renewing their NAEYC accreditation. I don’t think the main selling point should be “we have vibrating bouncers, exersaucers, and swings!” - um, he's going to be 6 months old, are 6 month olds really in bouncers and swings that much? but when we went to the room itself it was set up nicely, no babies were in any of those, and we liked the staff. I told them we like him to do lots of tummy time and they are like, of course, if the parents tell us too, we make the babies do it even if they scream. I really wonder if any of these places know babies need floor time. Several more places to see next week. Should have a decision midweek. That will be a relief. I know transition will still be difficult for him since he’s not happy anywhere but home (he’s ok with new people in the house, but not at other people’s houses), but I hope that will not take more than a few days.

The last three nights Michael has woken up within 1-2 hours after bedtime with one of those paint peeling screams. This is very unusual for him and I’m not sure what is causing it. It’s possible that he’s started to teethe (he’ll be 6 months a week from tomorrow) but I’d expect that to bother him more than once a day.

Tami – I type in word too! In the Infant Nutrition class they did not want dairy introduced until the end of the first year, so 6-9 months sounds early. They suggested fresh mozzarella as a first cheese, any other being too salty, even regular mozzarella, then cottage cheese and yogurt. Whole milk was a one year thing, but I think that was more of a bottle suggestion. I have read that you can use whole milk in cereal earlier instead of formula or breast milk if you don’t have family history concerns. Since DH’s nephew is lactose intolerant I’m going to be extremely conservative. I want to bake cookies with Michael. And I want them to have butter in them! Not worth the risk to me. DH is thankfully 100% better now, which is good since I’m pretty worn out. Michael had his first incident yesterday. He was doing tummy time and his face took a tumble to the floor and he landed on his nose. I picked him up, comforted him quickly, said all better, and put him back down – didn’t want to make too big a deal about it, and he was fine.

Sarah45 – I wonder if the author of Hungry Monkey would think it was tedious and time consuming to make sure all of some allergen was out of your child’s food everywhere you went? Or to go to the hospital and not know which food caused it? I’ll take a picky eater over one with a life threatening allergy any day. Sorry about the sleep regression. Keep us updated how the cereal goes. We are planning to start in about a week when Michael is 6 months but no major signs of readiness from him so he may not eat any.

Michelle (Pony) – That two hour nap is a once a month thing. Normally it is the short nap. But he sleeps great at night and is not cranky with the short naps as long as he’s home and it’s just me and DH, so I’m not going to stress about it. The napping will change at day care anyway. Where did you get your extra bottles? I think I will need more.

Michelle, Heather, Ashley - Michael is pretty good with self soothing, I think he had to learn to be, since nursing has always been more of an athletic event than a relaxing thing for him and I started having to put him in the crib awake pretty young. I also stopped swaddling him for naps really early – like before four weeks, because he was always breaking his arms out and loved sleeping with them above his head. I was rocking him into his morning nap for awhile after nursing, but neither of those happen anymore. That nap has also changed a lot since I got him sleeping until 7:30- 8 something most mornings instead of getting up at 6ish. Besides the music I usually play for him, there are two components to his self soothing. One is turning onto his side (does Matt still do that?) into a semi-fetal position (it’s more of an arm thing, I don’t think he really curls his legs up) and sucking his thumb. It has to be a certain straight in thumb sucking, if he’s got it off to the side, it’s not soothing. While I’m not loving the abrasions on his hand and I’m sure I’ll be lamenting his overbite and the cost of braces on the Mom’s of preteens thread, I’m glad it works for him. I don’t CIO and that is generally not an issue at bedtime – with the lack of naps he usually goes down easily, but the naps get progressively more difficult through the day. I’m willing to tolerate what I think Tami called “angry protesting” and yelling which I definitely differentiate from crying. If he’s crying he’s not falling asleep anyway. If he’s just yelling he usually goes to sleep within 15 minutes. However, when he wakes from the short naps there’s no yelling or crying. Just waiting for Mommy to magically appear. No self soothing at that point either.

Heather – I am so glad Quinn is ok. DH and I both went to the Safety and CPR class at our hospital and I recommend it to everyone. They also went through adult CPR and choking with us, and we even learned how to give the Heimlich to a pregnant woman. Very good stuff. Hope your back is better. I went through a bad stretch too but it was when I was out with the stroller a lot sitting on our uncomfortable park bench for an hour a day while Michael napped. With all the rain, I can’t remember the last time I did that. Michael never used to be very portable since he was such a fussy nurser, but now he’ll happily go 4 hours or more between daytime feedings and with those short naps we managed to get through a lot of day cares easily with him in tow. Of course, now I’m going back to work just when he’s portable!

Ashley – when do you start work? Great that Matt is so good with new people. I am so jealous of your “Nap day” – we haven’t had one of those since Michael was probably 6 weeks old. But he's not cranky after the short ones so it is what it is. He sleeps great at night - I'll take that any day.

Beth H – have a great time in Vegas! I can’t wait to see how Michael loves the kiddie pool next week. It is great you can leave Will with your family. I am hoping after adjusting to day care Michael will last more than 45 minutes without me or DH. My parents are so ready to babysit.

Michelle (SooCookie) – I am NOT looking forward to the separation anxiety getting worse. It is bad enough now and he’s not even supposed to have it yet. Kayla must be smart and know her days of bopping him on the head were limited so get it in while she can!

Anita - sorry about your post! When you have a chance, remind me how you got Ayaan (or one of the others) interested in eating during the day? Michael is such a night feeder. The lactation consultants think it's fabulous so I won't have to pump that much, but it's not so fabulous for my disposition!

One more thing - Linea Nigra. Books all said it would fade in a few months. At six, it's faded, but definitely still there. Extending inches above my belly button. Is this permanent?

Luv to Cook

06-28-2009, 08:13 PM

Hi All...let's try this again!

All is well here...my kidlets are all in bed and I really should be sleeping. DH is out of town as well :(. Let's see...Ayaan is still all over the place. He started standing in his crib and we had to lower it to the lowest position...it is crazy how fast he is growing. It is making me have som sadness, since I am not sure we will to the baby thing again and I am a little bummed at that. But he is lots of fun right now and I am trying to enjoy every moment. Loving having all the kids home this summer.

Beth G - the way we got our kids interested in eating during the day, was to cut out the night feeds :(...I know it sounds awful, but it really was a chicken and egg problem. Now, he eats like a champ during the day. Like Tami, I used the Sleep Easy Solution...great book. I wish I had it years before!

I hope the daycare search is nearing its end and you find a great place for Michael!

Heather, thanks for the reminder about the CPR class...I really need to do that again. Even with the older kids, the tendency to choke is so great, but I guess I didn't think about it much.

Sarah45...hang in there! I hope the sleep clears up soon. Pick Nicks brain has lots of good tips on sleep and those darned regressions.

Tami, I cannot believe you are almost at the one year mark! Our naps are still inconsistent as well. I usually get a good morning nap out of Ayaan, but the second nap stinks, which results in a pretty grumpy afternoon :(. Not sure how to make it any longer.

Couperine...congrats! Not sure how I missed it...but you have a darling family and your hands full!!!! I hope it is going well...sounds like it!

Maria, congrats as well! I am amazed at how different Christoper looks awake and asleep! He is so cute...looks like a little man with the pic with his eyes open :).

aginkc - love that onesie! great pics.

Okay, so who is making their food for their baby? Each time I swear I will do it, but then get sucked into the ease of the little jars. Convince me it is worth it?!?!? Also, for those on solids, when did you go to three meals a day? I swear we did it much later with the girls, but some days (we do two right now...breakfast and dinner), he really seems hungry at lunch...I nurse him alot mid day, so I am not sure if he is truly hungry, or just watching his sisters eat and wants in on the action???

All else is well. My BIL and his fiance, who we have not met, are coming into town this week. We got our pics taken a few weeks ago and are having the same photographer surprise them with an engagement session. Some of our pics are here...
http://www.sweet-pea-photoblog.com/2009/06/dash-of-sweetness-sweet-pea-photography.html

OK...I need to hit the sack...I know I missed a bunch. Will try more tomorrow!
Anita

tholbrook

06-28-2009, 10:14 PM

I should also be heading to bed, but .... ANITA!!! What a gorgeous family you have - all of you! Beautiful pictures - obviously a very talented photographer, and I'm sure your BIL and fiancee will be thrilled with the gift.

(ducking head) ... :o:o:p I also use jars of baby food, despite saying that I would ONLY make all of Maya's food myself. I do give her some freshly prepared stuff too... but the jars are SO much easier - and she likes pretty much everything I've given her. But I'm sure that it's the biggest reason that she's stubbornly refusing anything other than pureed food. Now that I'm trying to work on chunkier foods with her, I've run out of options since just about all the Stage 3 stuff has meat in it (she's being raised vegetarian for now, she can decide for herself on down the road). That's the reason I bought a couple of baby food cookbooks - the one I mentioned before, plus Cooking for Baby (Lisa Barnes). My goal is to make a couple different things 3 times a week for the next 2 weeks as we're phasing out the jarred food... that way, we'll have 12 options in the freezer, and then I'll add just a couple new recipes every week. I made some pasta (pearl couscous) and roasted asparagus tonight, both without salt. I'm going to combine it to make an "asparagus risotto" from one of the books, obviously subbing couscous for the rice... I just hope she doesn't spit it all out on the floor! :rolleyes:

Anita, we're still doing just 2 meals for solids (lunch and dinner) ... Maya is too distracted to nurse much during the day - she wants to get up and GO. She's still such a grazer, I wonder sometimes if she's getting enough breastmilk. I actually don't feel like she's nursing more (except for the morning session) since I dropped the night feedings. So I'm not planning to add a 3rd meal of solids anytime soon, since I want her to be hungry enough to BF.

Okay, seriously ... I'm going to bed now! :D