April 2010 Wobbler, Toddler, +1 Crowd.. [Archive]

fancyn

04-02-2010, 04:02 PM

Me: Nancy, 31
DH: 37
DS: Nick, 5
DD: Natalie, 13 months (2/17/09)
EDD, DD?: 8/10

Happy April Mommies! Goal this month: post more than once or twice!! I read along but can’t seem to squeeze it into my work day. I’d do it in the evening but 99% of the time I can’t muster up the energy! Preggers with 2 little ones kicks my rear most days.

Things are going great here. NJ finally cut her other front tooth (#5) and cut 2 molars (6 & 7) this week. Poor thing, her whole upper mouth looks like nothing but knots and nubs, they are literally all coming in at once. She really hasn’t been bad at all! Her naps have been a bit funky, she’s been pooping like crazy and has had an occasional night waking, maybe a bit more ‘tude but overall still just a happy little baby. They’ve been getting a lot more outside time this week with the temps and sun cooperating and she’s just been exhausted in the evenings. She’s added a few more words to her repertoire but I’m a little frustrated. By this age, Nick had all sorts of words. Natalie understands what we’re saying hands down. Follows all commands (or at least understands ;)), points to whatever asked but just refuses to say it. I will have to say one of her words is a muddled ‘thank-you’ and it’s absolutely adorable.

Michelle – I wanted to quickly weigh in on your feelings last month but never posted. As far as house work goes, I usually do it around the kids’ schedules. Dinner dishes don’t get put away until after bed and then that’s when I do laundry, dusting, vacuuming, etc. (hence why I hardly ever post at night) And if it doesn’t get done during the week (which is my goal) then it’s reserved for nap time on the weekend. And then if that doesn’t happen, it just doesn’t happen. But I think I do a decent job keeping house. :D Also, in regards to being away from the kids I had a REALLY hard time with Nick until he was at least 18 months if not older. I was fortunate enough to bring both to work with me for the first 6 months but after that…it IS hard. It didn’t take me nearly as long to ‘get over it’ with NJ. Our provider’s name is Connie so as soon as Nick learned to talk, he would always get us confused. Connie, more milk? No, I’m mommy! And he still does it to this day. The goal with #3 was to have DH become a SAHD because it would financially make sense – not happening now b/c it still doesn’t. Nick will start Kindergarten and he’ll have afterschool care that’s less expensive. I have finally come to terms with my jealousy and now I just have a different outlook. The time I get to spend with my kids is undivided. They experience 2 different worlds and set of rules this way (with the added bonus of other kids AND a learning curriculum I’m sure I’d fail at providing). I think it helps them stay flexible and shape their personalities, as well as keeping me fresh and patient by our time always being quality time. I’m not sure how equivalent all this is to you but I can relate with being the worker/bread winner. Plus, I feel better for expressing my feeling aloud too, as I still juggle mommy-guilt all the time. :o:rolleyes:

How’s everyone else????

tholbrook

04-02-2010, 07:00 PM

Nancy – Maya was like Natalie: at that age, she just had a small handful of words (‘please’ and ‘thank you’ included :)) but within the next few months, it seems like her vocabulary just exploded. And now, I can’t even keep track of how many new words she picks up every day/week. And she refused to say certain words too (daddy! :o) so maybe Natalie is just holding out on you, and one of these days, she’ll surprise you with a flood of new words. We have issues with the ‘tude as well – and for us, it has only gotten worse with age :rolleyes: … so good luck!

Me: Tami (35)
DH: 38
DD: Maya – 19 months (8/25/08)

So we’re all healthy again, thankfully. Maya is still wailing “I knooooooow!” (she picked it up after hearing it so often while she was sick) whenever she is upset. It is pitiful but kind of funny :o at the same time. Sleep has been slow getting back on track, but she has been going to sleep on her own with minimal fussing. I look forward to getting back to NO fussing when we leave the room. Naps are getting better again too.

Eating is hit or miss. Some days, she eats like a horse, and others, she eats like a bird. Most nights, she is tired by lunch or dinner, and doesn’t want to feed herself (unless it is peas). But when she does use her spoon, she does fine getting it into her mouth – it’s the scooping up the food that isn’t going really well.

Lots of new words all the time :D. A few phrases now (‘Got it!’, ‘There it is’, ‘Hi Mommy!’). Her new one this week is “water” – she is pointing it out everywhere: water bottles at the store, the sink and shower at home, the river and puddles outside, etc.

I thought I'd share this: one of the big hits at our house right now is a bunch of clear plastic containers that I filled with various items: lentils, dried peas, pasta, rice, and beans. She loves to shake them up (each one sounds different) and can tell you what is in each container. I was so amazed that it took her only about 5 minutes to learn – and say – all the different items.

And she is starting to show interest in counting, colors and ABC’s. Unfortunately, everything is BLUE, TWO, and Y at the moment :cool:. She can point out different colors if asked - but when you ask her to tell you the color, it's always "blue". She did add “three” to her counting today – we’ll see if it sticks.

Mobility is crazy. Maya still loves to climb and she really likes to practice walking on different surfaces and elevations. We took her to an Easter event today, and there was a handicapped ramp leading to one of the buildings. She must have run and back down at least a dozen times. When I take her to the park, she gravitates to the trees, where she can walk up and back down the piles of mulch around the base.

Oh, we ARE flying out to California in mid-May. :eek: I’m scared out of my mind. It could go really well – or REALLY bad. Any suggestions on fun (and long-lasting) distractions for the trip? I came across a pretty cool idea of taking along a pad of post-it notes for pulling apart and sticking on everything. I can see that being a big hit!

I’m sure there is more, but those are the highlights. Other than the awful tantrums, Maya is quite delightful to be around, and she can be a laugh-a-minute on a good day. I am SO glad to have better weather now – looking forward to getting out of the house more often. I have serious doubts it will be successful, but I’d like to give the jogging stroller another shot this year. It would be nice to lose a few pounds before going out to CA and spending time out on the lake.

tholbrook

04-02-2010, 08:33 PM

I don't think I posted pictures at all last month, so here are a few:

We told Maya to put her food in her belly (she was eating really slooooowly) and this was her interpretation:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100305MuffinmeetTummy.jpg

Running up and down mulch hills at the park:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100320HappySpring05.jpg

Ashley, does this look familiar? ;)
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100402cEasterBunny03.jpg

Easter dress:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100330EasterDressAudition02.jpg

Beth G.

04-03-2010, 06:30 AM

Quickly...

Me: 40
DH:41
Michael: 15 months on Tuesday

Tami, one thing I would bring for the plane is a snack trap with cereal, freeze dried fruit, etc. in it. We brought one with us to Lowe's the day our dryer died and it kept Michael entertained in the stroller the whole time. Of course, you might have to put peas in it :D. Now I give it to him every morning and get 10 minutes to surf the net in peace. And Michael loves ripping apart post it pads. Love the Easter dress pic!

Came home last night to Michael walking around our driveway and street to meet me as I came off the bus. I guess he is over his shoe issues. Hopefully he will enjoy the playground today.

Dropped the morning nursing today and didn't go well even though half the time that is a bottle from DH anyway. He refused the sippy cup and bottle from me and DH. Oh well. Last night he stopped nursing, pointed at my water bottle, which I gave him. He picked it up and started drinking from it, refusing to nurse any more. So ultimately I think it will be fine. Planning to drop the evening feeding next Friday. That one I'm more worried about since he's been going to sleep so nicely afterwards (awake when I put him down).

Snack trap time is apparently "All Done". Gotta run!

acginkc

04-03-2010, 09:22 AM

Happy Spring everyone. I hope those of you up in the Northeast aren't floating away.

Me: Ashley 31
DH 32
Matthew 13 months (2/20)

We have had some fantastic weather lately and we have been loving all the outside time. Matt loves running around our cul-de-sac. He's getting more coordinated going between the grass and concrete so that is good. We have also been able to play on our screened in porch in the evenings and have dinner out there which is so nice. It's our favorite place in our house.

Matt is scheduled for tubes on Wednesday. He's actually been EI free for over 2 months, but he's still got a lot of fluid so they decided this would be the best course of action. He has been super happy and doesn't seem to be in pain, but if this will prevent EI in the future it will be worth it. Of course I'm nervous about the anesthesia, but I'm a mom I've gotta worry about something.

So we have cut 2 molars in the last week, which has surprisingly not been as bad as we had anticipated. We had 1 night with a wakeup, but he went back down easily.

Sleeping is going great. With my irregular schedule it has been so nice to have a baby who can be flexible in his routine. He goes down awake and we don't hear from him till the next morning. I guess he's making up for the lack of sleep he gave me in his 1st year.

Our biggest struggle right now is dry skin. My poor guy has all these dry spots and red skin and such on his torso and legs. I've taken him to the doctor and he just suggested that we let him play in the bath water every day, only using soap every other day and lots of moisturizing afterwards. But it doesn't seem to be helping. It will clear up for a bit, them come back. I was worried that is was some sort of allergic reaction, but have been assured it is not. It doesn't seem to bother him much (as in not itching or seeming uncomfortable) but I feel horrible.

DH and I are heading to Vegas in a couple of weeks to celebrate our anniversary. I'm excited for our trip, but also very anxious as this will be the first time I'm away from Matt overnight. We will also find out Tuesday if we will be going to Hawaii in May for a week (it is an all expenses paid trip Bob got from work). It will be a lot of time away from my baby, and of course my MIL had opinions about that, but it is hard to pass up a free trip.

Nancy- I think NJ is going to be the quiet ruler of your house (though we will have to see what #3 is like). So cute that she is saying "thank you". Matt babbles nonstop but nothing we can really decipher. I'm pretty sure we've been getting an "I love you" lately, but it could just be jibber jabber.

Tami- Love Maya's Easter dress. Your bunny looked much friendlier than ours, but apparently kids know a giant bunny isn't to be trusted. Good luck on your trip to CA. The last time we traveled with Matt he was so little I could just hold him and he'd sleep so I am of no help in entertaining an almost 2 y/o.

BethG- I'm glad Michael has gotten use to his new shoes. Matt still stumbles a bit in his, but we try to put him in them fairly often so he can stay use to them. I'll have to check out one of those snack traps for Matt, I think he'd love it. Good luck with the weaning. I dropped our morning one last since that was the one he always got from me and I tried to have his favorite sippy with milk ready (and my water bottle that he has taken over).

DH is getting me my first DSLR camera for an anniversary present because I've kind of outgrown my point and shoot. I'm excited to learn it and see if I can get the pictures I want of Matt.

MinEaston

04-03-2010, 11:01 AM

Our biggest struggle right now is dry skin. My poor guy has all these dry spots and red skin and such on his torso and legs. I've taken him to the doctor and he just suggested that we let him play in the bath water every day, only using soap every other day and lots of moisturizing afterwards. But it doesn't seem to be helping. It will clear up for a bit, them come back. I was worried that is was some sort of allergic reaction, but have been assured it is not. It doesn't seem to bother him much (as in not itching or seeming uncomfortable) but I feel horrible

delurking - Nicholas (7 months) gets these terrible dry patches on his cheeks, likely from rubbing them (ah, those teeth!), and the last pediatrician's visit, the NP we saw suggested that in addition to the Aquafor I put on liberally, that I try some over-the-counter hydrocortisone ointment. It cleared up by the next day. I don't have to use it every day, but when I notice the cheeks getting red & dry & chapped, I put some on.

Just thought I'd mention it... I know you said it doesn't seem to be itchy or making him uncomfortable.

Beth G.

04-03-2010, 04:35 PM

I can't speak from baby experience but I will second the hydrocortisone. When I was in the throes of my sinus infection (cold 4 in 8 weeks) the skin under my nose above my lip became extremely chapped from all the tissues. It had barely recovered from the last cold. This has happened umpteen times in my allergic life so I thought it was just annoying. It happened I had my annual with the dermatologist that week and he was suitably horrified and handed me a sample tube of hydrocortisone cream. My weeks of suffering basically disappeared with one application. I was shocked.

I made Michael cereal with 3 oz of milk today but other than that he has had 1 oz in the bottle. I assume he will nurse at bedtime. I am hoping he will not try to make it up at night. Blah.

acginkc

04-04-2010, 06:20 AM

Thanks for the tips on the hydrocortisone. I will pick some up and give it a try. I knew I'd get some help from your helpful mamas.

So DH gave me my camera a few weeks early (YAY!!) Thought I'd share a couple of the cute pics I got yesterday.

Apparently his "horsey ride" on my leg was terrifying.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs376.snc3/24085_10150165036045571_503150570_11806224_3504272 _n.jpg

I think this look is extra funny because he was blowing raspberries on my leg and I couldn't even laugh along because I was scared he was about to bite me. :o
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs436.ash1/24085_10150165035985571_503150570_11806222_5580567 _n.jpg

Pony

04-05-2010, 01:54 PM

nancy, just wanted to thank you for your thoughts! reading all the insights from everyone has really helped.

gotta get back to work, just wanted to make sure i thanked you!!!

will write more later.......

helios7

04-06-2010, 05:24 PM

I have so much I've wanted to say - here's hoping I can remember half of it.

Regarding dry skin - we switched Quinn to every other day baths when we had this problem late in the fall. I was kind of panicked about taking it out of his routine, but he adjusted really well and it has been kind of nice not having to do a bath every day. We also used (per doctor's recommendations) adult strength moisturizing bath products and lotion (Lubriderm). And the problem got much better fast. Now the weather's warming up (or will be warming up) I will probably give him at least a rinse most days since running around a hot playground to me needs some water attention before plunking into bed. But I may not use soap every day if we begin to have the issue again. Or maybe it'll be seasonal, and not an issue in the summer. Only time will tell!

Plane travel - the Brooklyn parents group I (still) belong to often have great travel recommendations. Several of my favorites include a trip to the dollar store (or Target's $1 section) for lots of little NEW toys to be unveiled on the plane. Another great tip (I thought) was to wrap each gift. While a pain for you, it'll make each one special PLUS take extra time in opening the little toys.

Time away from the little one - we've been invited to a wedding in early September. It's a college friend who's been in EVERYONE's wedding or at least BEEN to everyone's wedding, and I think there will be a lot of people we haven't seen in a while. We COULD take Quinn (although we'd have to find a sitter for the wedding which is kid free) but after much thought, i think DH and I are going to take it as a babymoon. The thought of lying next to the lake and NOT worrying about naps, snacks, entertainment sounds great. He'll be almost two, and I know MIL will be ecstatic to have him for the two nights/1.5 days we'd be away. I forget who mentioned that their MIL was disapproving of them going away from little one (Ashley?). We have the opposite problem, MIL can't WAIT to get her hands on Quinn. So I know she'll be excited, and I won't have to worry about the sleep issues because ... they won't be my problem. :) I think I'll be ready by then. Several other college friends are doing the same, so I'll have company. Too bad I won't be able to drink the wine! :rolleyes:

Okay - that's all for now. Hopefully more soon - with DH away and Quinn a bit off his schedule from the long holiday weekend, life has been a little punchy this week. I hope it'll settle down soon!

acginkc

04-08-2010, 09:04 AM

Hey all. Matt made it through his surgery for tubes great yesterday. He was a little tired right after, but a few good naps, he's been going full speed. The worst part has been the ear drops we have to put in his ears 3x per day. You'd think I was jabbing him with a sharp stick.

Heather, did your husband make it back in town ok? I hope you survived you venture into single parenthood. Is Quinn's sleep going any better? My mom loves coming to get exclusive Matt time, and my MIL typically is the same way, it is just her way to make those little comments. And since it is now golf season, she is never available to head our way. :rolleyes:

Beth G.

04-08-2010, 08:03 PM

Ashley, great to hear the surgery went well and Matt is back to his regular self!

Beth G.

04-11-2010, 09:35 AM

Tooth #7 has popped! At least there is an explanation as to why Michael was up at 3:45, 4:20, and 5:55 on Saturday morning.

tholbrook

04-11-2010, 08:21 PM

Hi ladies!

Ashley - glad Matt's surgery went well! I know it was stressful for you, so I'm glad it's behind you now. Hopefully this will be the miracle cure for all the ear infections. How long do you have to give him the ear drops?
Cute pictures - you always get the best expressions out of Matt!

Heather - your trip in September sounds great! Thanks for the travel tips ... I'm still dreading the potential for screaming, tantrums, etc. but I have moments where I think we might be okay. How is Quinn doing with sleep these days?

Beth G - you're right about the snacks while traveling. I can keep Maya calm for semi-long car trips by doling out dried banana slices. And YES! I actually will be taking peas on the plane. She still loves them, and now eats them frozen too. Glad that Michael is doing better with his shoes - sounds like he is doing great with the walking. Hope his sleep gets back to normal: gotta love teething, don't you?

Nancy - any more teething for Natalie this week? I hope she has toned down the attitude a bit!

As for us ...

I know this might prompt some eye-rolling, but I haven't left Maya with anyone except DH and MIL (and my dad when he was visiting) until now. I mentioned awhile back taking her to the gym with me, but nixed the idea because I didn’t get a good vibe from the people working there. But lately, I’ve heard that they hired some better people, and the situation has improved vastly.

So … I finally bit the bullet and took Maya to the gym with me last week, and put her in the "kid's club" while I got some MUCH-needed exercise. It was only for a half hour, and obviously I was nearby, but it sure was a long 30 minutes! :rolleyes: I think I didn’t take my eyes off the clock for more than 10 seconds. Anyway, she did great, considering the circumstances: she ran and climbed, and chatted away to the lady watching her – but didn’t smile much. I took her again on Saturday for another 30 minutes, and this session didn’t go so well, unfortunately (she wanted to be held the whole time, and was crying when I came back 30 minutes later). We’ll try again next week, I suppose.

We also have our first meeting with a new mom’s group on Tuesday. I won’t know anyone there, but I’m looking forward to meeting some other people with kids who are Maya’s age.

We were flying solo over the weekend while DH was out of town. And wouldn’t you know it, Maya ended up busting up her nose on the floor register in the living room. She was actually throwing a tantrum about something, and scraped the side of her nose on the metal grating. A lot of blood :(, but thankfully it turned out to be a relatively minor injury.

It was an exhausting weekend, but we did have some fun --- we had a “Mommy & Maya” afternoon on Friday. We went shopping (spring clothes for both of us), then out to eat and then for ice cream. She didn’t get to bed until 9 pm that night. But she slept for a solid 12 hours without a peep.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Beth G.

04-12-2010, 08:15 PM

Hi everyone. We are officially weaned. I took a bottle up with me last night and Michael lay back in my arms and drank it like that is what he had been doing his whole life. I am relieved but also incredibly sad. Went fine again tonight too. No luck on the cup but am trying not to stress much about that. All the other kids in his class at day care (even the older ones) haven't given up the bottle, and he only takes milk 3x a day, so it's not like he's going to be some toddler toting his bottle everywhere. He'd be more than fine to skip the milk altogether I think.

After all the problems everyone's had with teething, I'm embarrassed to say this but as I inspected Michael's mouth to see what else was brewing I found 2 more teeth in the back - molars I guess? So must not be bothering him that much. He loves to teethe on this horse that came with a farm toy. I guess the horse head really reaches the back teeth.

Tami - glad it went well leaving Maya at the gym. Sleeping 12 hours - wow, I am jealous. Maybe when he goes to 1 nap. Glad her nose injury was not serious. Very scary. Hope the mom's group is fun. And yes, walking in shoes is going better now, except at our stupid playground with the wood chip surface. He really doesn't feel comfortable with how uneven it is, I suspect it would bother him barefoot too. I want to know who the genius is that decided a playground surface of choking hazards was a good idea. As soon as he gets there, he doesn't want to walk, so he plops down and starts picking up chips. Argh!

ETA: Michael had a barely mentionable cold last week. Now I have a full blown one :confused: I thought cold season was over? Or at least that we had enough? Grrr.

The drool in this picture should clue anyone into the teething. Shirt was a gift from my brother, but I had ordered him the exact same one!

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs385.snc3/23520_1384498783239_1555103945_30956230_7972566_n. jpg

Beth H

04-15-2010, 07:42 AM

Wow - already mid-April. Happy Tax Day everyone. :)

We've been busy - don't know if I mentioned it here before, but Will had hand, foot, and mouth disease at the end of March. Yuck - he had a miserable case of it and was a pretty unhappy guy for about 4 or 5 days. He was out of daycare for 3 days. But - he finally got over that and has been a happy guy since. He moved up to the toddler class at school, and he loves it. His eating is ever so slowly improving - he is now very interested in using a spoon. Still not really into trying a lot of new foods but at least he seems excited by his yogurt and by eating, which is a step in the right direction. :)

DH and I are heading to Vegas in a couple of weeks to celebrate our anniversary. I'm excited for our trip, but also very anxious as this will be the first time I'm away from Matt overnight.

DH and I went to Vegas the last week of March - we had a wonderful, relaxing time. It was great to just sit and look through magazines by the pool, and have as many cups of coffee as I wanted in the morning via our room service breakfast :). Plus, Will had a great time with his grandparents. I think it's good for the kids too to have time away from mom and dad so that they trust different caregivers. Hope you have/had a great trip!

15 months certainly is a busy but fun age! Hope everyone else is doing well, too.

helios7

04-15-2010, 07:08 PM

Hi everyone...

Life has seemed so busy lately - I feel like I never have time (or energy) to post! Things are going well here. Quinn is doing so well with his walking, talking and life is just fun! Although we are starting to see the "'tude" so poignantly referenced. He truly does get overcome with emotions and breaks down from time to time. Still, things are going really well.

Bedtime has been a little rocky the past few nights - last night was rough all around and he ended up in our bed. I think it's the molars again, so we're just riding it through. But it is hard when he has some language to not be able to communicate how he feels (pain, sore etc). I keep meaning to try to teach him a sign/word to help. He's been rocking the "more" sign this week - he actually got frustrated with me as I was washing dishes and missed his "more" signing. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted more! :D

We just ordered Quinn a playset with swings, slide and a little house. It arrived, so DH is hoping to build it this weekend. I'm excited to have a playground right here at home, and am hoping he'll like it as I can see there will be plenty of days where it would be so much easier just to open the back door and go play. Currently Quinn's favorite outdoor games are "rock-puddle throwing" and "take toys to the driveway". I think he likes the driveway as its easier to walk on, but I look forward to expanding his repertoire.

BethH -Yuck! I'm sorry to hear that foot and mouth disease came your way, but that's great to hear that Will is finally starting to come around to the concept of eating solid foods! Thanks for your "trip away from Little One" perspective. The control freak in me has a hard time with it, but I do think it will be a good experience (for us both?).

Beth G - we're officially weaned to. I meant to mention it, but never got there. Once I took the nursing out of his sleep routine, he stopped asking for it. But we stayed with 1 nightly feeding for a while. Then about a month ago he started skipping nights, and then I noticed he wasn't really getting much on the nights he was waking. I sent DH in few nights and we were done. I'm surprisingly okay with it - maybe because I know the nursing game will be starting again soon? :rolleyes: And we are sporting the same drool circle on our shirts as well.

Tami - Sleep goes fine, as long as he's home. Travel sleep is still poor. Hence my anxiety about the proposed weekend away but I won't have to deal with it so hopefully ignorance will be bliss. Your mommy/Maya day sounds awesome! :) How was the new Mom's group? And, yes, I'm in the reluctant to leave club as well. :o:o:o

Ashley - so glad Matt's surgery went well. I can only imagine how nervewracking it would be to have to go through the experience, so I'm glad it was as positive as it was.

I don't think I missed anyone - Nancy, how are you doing? Michelle? How's life down in TX?

Sarah45

04-18-2010, 12:09 PM

Hello Mommies, hope everyone is have a beautiful Sunday like we are in Iowa, sunny and 70!

So, as some of you may have seen on FB, Jackson is now walking! He’s been walking with/pushing anything he can get his hands on now for months so I really expected it before now but we were on Jackson’s schedule, not mine. So, Thursday night he just decided to take about 4 steps towards DH and by Friday afternoon he was literally doing laps around our downstairs. It’s been pretty fun watching him.

Despite being quite please with himself for the walking, he’s pretty miserable otherwise. He’s got another cold – his third since the end of February. This one has left him with this lingering chest congestion that doesn’t seem to bother him during the day but just attacks at night and his sleep is TERRIBLE. Of course this leads to an exhausted and seriously cranky baby during the day. I feel like we have exhausted all methods of helping him and nothing seems to be working, I feel so awful for him.

On to personals…

Nancy – Thanks for starting the thread this month, you are quite the trooper. I hope that I can deal with being pregnant with #2 even half as wonderfully as you are with #3. I hope NJs teething has gotten better, I hate that the whole process is so prolonged, why can’t they have just a week or two of unpleasantness while they all come in and then be done with it? I’m no help on the words, Jackson has exactly zero, but I know that my Mom always tells the story that my younger brother didn’t talk for the longest time and then all of a sudden he just started and sounded like he had been talking for months – maybe that’s what NJ will do.

Tami – I LOVE Maya’s “I knooooow”, it cracks me up to think about it. I am so impressed that Maya eats with a spoon and uses a non-sippy cup. I know that she’s six months older than Jax but it’s hard to wrap my head around him doing that – we’re still working on not throwing our plate or bowl on the floor. I love the plastic container shaker idea, I think I am going to make some of those for Jackson. How did your meeting with the Moms group go? I would love to find a group around here but everyone I know that has kids is a working Mom so no play groups for us right now :(

Beth G. – I love those snack traps – and one tip I saw on Amazon is that lids from 16oz. sour cream containers (like Daisy brand) fit over the lid of the Munchkins brand ones. So now I can throw one in the diaper bag and the contents won’t get stale or spill out all over. Congrats on successfully weaning Michael, I know what you mean about the sadness, the process was far harder on me than Jackson. And, cold season is over? No one told Jackson that…

Ashley – How great that you have a screened-in porch, I bet Matt just loves playing out there. Our back porch isn’t screened in but DH just added a gate so we can have Jackson out there safely. I do wish that I was going to be able to keep away some of the wasps and other bugs that are sure to populate the area come summer though. Love the pictures of Matt, he’s such a happy baby. I’m glad that the surgery went well and here’s to fewer sicknesses

Heather – I don’t think I’ve had a chance to say congrats but I am excited for you guys and I hope you’re feeling OK. Sorry that you are having to deal with the attitude over there, we have been afflicted as well. Did DH get the play yard built? That’s going to be great for Quinn.

helios7

04-21-2010, 07:47 PM

Well... before we fall off the Healthy Living page, I thought I'd post a quick update. I guess everyone's busy enjoying the spring weather. Or on vacation ... you know who you are! ;)

I took the Qman to the dr today. His stomach (and accordingly his diapers) are not right. They haven't been right for so long, and I'm ready to find out why. So we're about to begin a battery of tests to figure out what's going on (the simplest of which means stopping his massive iron dose for a week to see what effect that may have). On the one hand it probably is the iron, since this all began when he started the iron. But I'm ready to solve the dairy puzzle once and for all. He's still dairy free since I don't feel comfortable bringing it back while his GI tract is still so off. So, wish us luck as we embark on this journey! And wish me luck as I get to start collecting "samples". :eek::eek:

Sarah- great to hear from you! Yes, DH (and his dad and brother) got the playard built. I wouldn't say Quinn's over the moon for it, but he is enjoying it. We also got him a little tikes basketball hoop. He's liking that too (although rocks in puddles is still his number one favorite activity). Glad to hear Jackson's on the move - I love the walking. It can be tiring, but they can do so much more!

acginkc

04-22-2010, 08:04 AM

Hey everyone.

Well we survived our vacation and it was really nice to have some time to relax and not have to worry about being a parent for a few days. Matt did great back at home with my mom and they seemed to have a great time together (though my mom now understands a bit better why my house is never spotless). It was also a nice practice run for our trip to Hawaii in May. I think the hardest part for me was seeing so many people with their little ones in Vegas. And the fact that Matt can't talk on the phone yet so I didn't get to hear his little voice or laugh. But we had some great food, walked about 400 miles, lost some money in the casino and got to day drink which is a very rare thing now a days. (There is something delicious about a frozen cocktail at noon.)

Matt is really trying to talk so much. We are getting more words, though many of them we still can't decipher. With that he is getting easily frustrated and throws little fits when he's mad. He'll yell and cry and them is over it as soon as it starts. At the park the other day with my mom he was mad that he couldn't climb up the slide and started crying and beating on the slide. I may have some temper tantrums in my future. Now we just cry.

Heather- I hope that the Dr can figure out Quinn's tummy troubles. We stopped giving Matt his iron supplement pretty early on because he would always spit it up and it made him stink. But M wasn't anemic so we got a choice in the matter, I'm not sure if Q was anemic or not. I am impressed with your husband's craftiness. I would eventually love to get one of those for Matt.

Sarah- I'm glad you stopped in and that Jackson is doing so well with the walking. It is fun when they discover that skill. I hope he starts feeling better. I understand the frustration with the wasps. We always have wasp spray on hand because I hate those little buggers.

BethH- Thanks for the reassurance about our trip, you were right, it was a nice break. I'm sorry Will had to deal with HFM, Matt had it right after Christmas and it was pretty miserable for a about a week. DH and I had to take turns sleeping in a chair with him so he'd actually sleep.

BethG- Cute pic of Michael. And congrats on being weaned. I'm glad it went so smoothly for you and Michael. And I'm sure he'll give up the bottle just fine when he's ready.

Tami- I hope that Maya has done better in the gym nursery if you have taken her back. It is hard to leave your baby with someone when they are crying. And Matt has a knack for getting injured on my watch. Last week he fell and hit his eye on the tv stand. Luckily we both survived, but I felt HORRIBLE.

Beth G.

04-23-2010, 08:02 AM

Happy Friday! Quick update and I will try to be back for personals over the weekend. Michael's 15 month visit is tomorrow and I'm curious to see how much weight he has gained.

An interesting thing happened post-weaning. He took a great (for Michael) bottle the first night - 4.5 oz. Went down each night after that to 2.5 oz by night 3. On night 4, no thanks, and slept through. I offered for another week or so, and he only took it once. I still ask, but he always shakes his head no. So no more milk at bedtime. I know that can be a tough one to drop, so I'm happy he has so easily. Since they are outside a lot at day care, he's exhausted by bedtime, so the nurse/bottle-less putdown has been generally okay. In the morning, he will now demolish a 5 oz bottle. We don't have bigger ones, and I'm not about to buy them now, but I'm sure he'd take more if the bottle had it. By the time I pour more in he loses interest. So this morning I tried the cup, figuring he's been so hungry he wouldn't care. Um, not so much. He was furious. Major tantrum, then drank only 2 oz from the bottle just to get the edge off and refused any more. Turned bottle upside down and started pouring. I guess the bottle will be around a while longer.

More words now - more, door, cup, no, hello, bye bye, and others we can't quite be sure of.

OK, back to work. Hope everyone is well, has a great weekend!

ETA: Forgot to mention, we got a date of beginning of July for transition to the toddler room at day care. Can't believe it.

tholbrook

04-23-2010, 10:14 AM

We're here too - it's been a beautiful week, so we've been running around and not home much...

Beth G - glad the bottle at night (and dropping the bottle) has gone well. We're still doing a bottle at night (:eek:!) but only when I'm not home to nurse Maya right before bed. Otherwise it is a sippy cup (or if supervised, a regular cup). Sorry about the struggle with switching to a sippy ... have you tried something other than milk in the cup to entice him?
Cute picture of Michael - he sure has lost that "baby look" and become a handsome little boy (but LOL on the Tshirt drool!) :D

Ashley - so glad you had a fun trip! I'm sure it was hard being away from Matt, but a little easier knowing that he was in good hands. Mmmm, frozen drinks in the middle of the day sound heavenly. How long will you be in Hawaii? Now that sounds like a really fun trip!

Heather - ouch, so sorry you're going through the food issues with Quinn again :(. I hope it will be as simple as dropping the iron supplement - and if not, that you find the answer quickly! At least collecting samples is a little easier pre-potty training ... :p

Sarah - yay for Jackson walking! Definitely one of the most fun milestones. Sorry to hear that he is sick - any better this week? I'm with you on the bugs - only for us, it is a pair of super-aggressive HUGE bumblebees that think they own our garage. I'm not crazy about any stinging insects, but I'm terrified of these things.

Beth H - so sorry Will was sick, but glad he's better now - in time for spring! Wow, the toddler room? Hope the transition has been okay. Can you believe that we're all talking about toddlers these days instead of "babies"? Crazy!!!
Yay for the better eating - hope he continues to make progress!

Hi to all the other moms too - echoing Heather, I hope it is the great spring weather keeping everyone busy this month!

As for us, this is SUCH a fun age. I know Maya is currently the oldest in this group, and I just want to let you know that it just gets better! :)

Here are a few of the cute things Maya is doing these days ...

Counting! I posted a FB video recently where Maya was counting to 4 by herself. A few days later, she was counting to 10. I have to prompt her at "5" (she can't seem to remember it) but then will continue to 10 on her own. She loves going down to the basement with me, and there are 10 stairs, so she yells out each number as we go down the stairs. And I know she is understanding the concept of concrete numbers and quantity because I was nursing her the other day, and she started counting the freckles on my chest :D

ABC's - Maya can do small portions of the alphabet on her own but primarily knows some of the next letters when we're doing the ABC song together. She definitely recognizes letters as being part of the alphabet, but can't identify specific letters by sight yet, except for "y".

Vocabulary - she will attempt to say almost anything with 2 syllables or less, and some with more. The funniest at the moment is alligator: "alllllllllllllllllllllllll-a-ger". She has really grasped onto concepts such as big/little, open/close, up/down - with the favorite being on/off. Anywhere we go, she points out lights and fans, and tells me whether they are "on" or "off". She also knows how to get my phone and computer out of "sleep mode" - which is a favorite activity since both have Maya pictures as screen savers - and yells "On!".

Other fun stuff - I have been pulling up a kitchen chair to the countertop (in the "L" part, so there is countertop in front and on one side, with me on the other side), and letting her "help" me cook. I obviously keep away any sharp or breakable items, but I pile up a bunch of fun stuff in front of her while I work on the real food next to her. She gets a kick out of being up at the same level. I always keep my eye on her, but I can grab something across the kitchen, and she is really good about staying put.

We've discussed some toy stuff in previous months, and I think Nancy mentioned a similar item, but I got Maya a kid-sized chair that she absolutely loves. She sits in it, climbs all over it, stacks up her dolls and stuffed animals in it. I got it at Kohl's when they were running one of their bigger discount sales ... free shipping too! :)

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100405Myownchair03.jpg

tholbrook

04-23-2010, 10:21 AM

A few more pictures:

This is one of her favorite spots in the kitchen ... and those are the containers of food (beans, pasta, rice, etc) that I mentioned in an earlier post.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100419HmmmwhatshallIwhipup.jpg

A great park that we discovered the other day ... she had a blast!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100421Wegerzyn07.jpghttp://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee70/turtlehouse/100421Wegerzyn20.jpg

Sarah45

04-23-2010, 03:17 PM

I got Maya a kid-sized chair that she absolutely loves. She sits in it, climbs all over it, stacks up her dolls and stuffed animals in it. [/IMG]

Jackson got something similar as a b-day gift from my SIL - it's one from PBKids. He LOVES it although I could probably count on one hand the number of time he has actually sat in it. He usually stands in it looking outside and over half the time has to share it with the cat.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SpH-dIFli7o/S9IJn12kW8I/AAAAAAAABtw/COtcDeKAiGM/s640/DSC01785.JPG

Jackson's feeling better, finally sleeping normally again, which is good because I had to go to the doctor yesterday - I have strep :( My doc said that it's rare for babies his age to pick this kind of thing up so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't get it. I think if we get through the weekend we'll be out of the woods.

At home he's walking everywhere but it's really funny because he won't walk at daycare and my friend really wants to see him walk :D

Heather - Good luck figuring out what Quinn's stomach issues are. The playset looks awesome. We were looking at a display one at Lowes the other day and I'm pretty sure that it will be DH's project next spring. This spring he's building me a pantry and putting railing and enclosing the stairs to our concrete floored basement so I think we'll hold off on more projects for now.

Ashley - Glad you had a great little vacation, it sounds wonderful to have a frozen cocktail at noon in a warm climate :D I see the glimmers of temper tantrums with jackson too, I'm hoping that as he is able to do more he doesn't get so frustrated and mad but I guess there will always be things he's just not allowed to do so the threat will always be there.

Beth - Wish I could be help with the transition to sippy, Jackson loved his from the beginning but he did start out with water so maybe that was the difference? He didn't see it as a replacement for his beloved bottle?

Tami - I filled up a container with macaroni the other day and Jackson LOVES it. Of course it's because it's terribly loud and he gravitates toward loud and banging things but it is a really fun thing for him - so thanks for the idea! I love to hear all of the things that Maya is doing, she is such a little cutie :)

Have a great weekend all!

fancyn

04-24-2010, 10:07 AM

Hey ya’ll, my goal for posting more often has failed. Life is crazier than ususal – we’ve been hosting all sorts of seminars and clinics at one of the companies so I’ve been working late quite often. Ugh, miss my babies and I miss my down time.

Natalie Jayne is quite a character - She is such a diva yet such a tom boy! The other morning she INSISTED on daddy putting on her ‘pretty shoes’ (black patent leather) and pranced around in her diaper, strutting her stuff. Yet she’ll go outside and has no issues with getting down in the dirt. I’m pretty sure she has developed a shoe fetish already, though we only fuel by buying more. DH is secretly hoping she stays a girly-girl since the family needs one. ;)

I spoke to soon about her words – we’re getting more decipherable by the day. One of the funny words is shirt – which comes out more like sh!t! We try not to laugh but it is quite hysterical when she’s very serious. And another feat is nodding her head yes. What’s great is she now actually will shake her head to answer a yes/no question correctly. And she’s finally mastered the spoon and fork and insists on them at every meal – so cute!!

NJ is also now daddy’s little girl. Period. I’ve had a brutal week at work with servers and software crashing, and all I wanted was to come home to my loving children to get a smile. One night she wanted nothing to do with me – no hugs, holding, bath, bed, nothing. I was soooo hurt and then Nick started back talking me. I’m not going to lie, I cried my eyes out and it just made me feel more guilty for working so much. :( And alas, I’m working this morning too but I’m hoping to have the remaining weekend with them both to earn back some Mommy love. Sigh, throw being preggo in there and I’m an emotional, hormonal mess! To boot, I leave Wednesday for a meeting in Orlando, returning on Sunday. I can only imagine how it will be when I get home…OK, rant over.

Sara – strep??? Yuck! I’m glad Jax is feeling better and I hope you are on the mend too. Congrats on the walking!! I love the fact he won’t walk in front of your friends or at daycare - leave it to them to be stinkers. ;) Thanks for the compliment about ‘handling pregnancy wonderfully’ – I’m trying my best! Cute pic, he’s getting so big!

Tami – I love that Maya is in the kitchen ‘cooking’ with you!! Nick used to do that all the time at that age. She sounds like such a smarty pants too! I just love the fact that they are sponges and soak up everything we teach them, and are eager to do so. Great pictures! Can you even believe her second birthday is right around the corner?! (btw, no throwing stones about the daycare at the gym – I have yet to leave NJ with anyone I don’t know extremely well or isn’t family)

Beth – I’m glad the weaning went so smoothly! I think that was probably your biggest hurdle. He’ll convert to a sippy from the bottle in no time. Right now, just think of the bottle as a replacement and he’ll gradually lose the attachment to it too. Ugh, we are in the same drool boat. We’re now up to 10 teeth I think? I thought the molars would be trouble too but they came in fairly easy.

Ashley – your vacay sounds heavenly!! I will curl up in your suitcase to Hawaii and no one will know – you may just have trouble lifting or even scooting it. ;) Is your Mom watching him again in May? I’m sure she just hops on the opportunities. I don’t wish the tantrums on anyone, as we are still battling them. I’ve taken to just ignoring and walking away. Then afterwards we talk about showing us what she wants and using our words. For whatever that’s worth.

Heather – the swing set is awesome!! We’ve been promising Nick one for years and will finally be making the purchase this spring. I bet the convenience can’t be beat! Sheesh! Another food/dairy issue? I hope you guys come to a conclusion soon – you’ve had it rough in that department!

Beth H – HFM is no fun, we had it this winter as well. That’s great news that he loves his solids with a spoon! Just another step in the right direction. How’s he eating at daycare?

Hi Michelle and anyone else I missed!!

tholbrook

04-24-2010, 11:06 AM

Sarah - feel better soon! I hate having a sore throat more than just about anything... I'll take a cold any day! Love Jackson's chair - too funny about sharing it with the cat!

Hi Nancy! You made it back for a second post this month: I think you're doing great! :D Sorry you're having to deal with less time with the kids, I know that must be so rough, especially if they're not loving on you when you're home. Hope this weekend is a great one for all of you.

I love to hear that Natalie is talking more - I'm sure her vocabulary will increase exponentially from here on, especially with having a big brother around.

We share the same shoe obsession :cool: ... Maya loves to wear her shoes, especially her red ones (which are still too big but make lots of noise).

So ... my rant for the day/week:

DH expressed interest in going to the gym with me this morning for about the first time in 3 years. So we took Maya with us, took her into the kiddie area, and played with her for about 10 minutes. During that whole time, the 2 ladies in charge (sitting in the front of the room by the door, out of sight of the actual play area) did not break their conversation to check on the other kids (about 6 of them), nor to check with us to see if Maya was okay (I had already mentioned when I walked in that she has a tough time when I leave). So DH was pissed, and I wasn't much happier - we just picked her up and walked out. DH took her to the bookstore to play, and I went to the spinning class. We did mention it to the manager at the front desk, but even if I had said something to the people in the kid's room, I already had a bad vibe from them :( (I'd use the "mad" face here if it was working).

So maybe we'll try again next week. I haven't seen the same person in there twice, and I can't seem to get an answer on who works when: I'm just told that it's a rotating schedule. I took her with me last week in the evening while I taught a class - it was a whole hour, and she did great! So I don't want to give up yet ... I'll just call ahead next time, I suppose, and find out who is working.

acginkc

04-26-2010, 06:19 AM

helios7

04-26-2010, 04:56 PM

Popping in for Ashley -

Quinn had a little rash last week, and I tried Aveeno diaper ointment and it cleared right up. Hope that helps!

Pony

04-27-2010, 12:24 PM

hey everyone, sorry for not participating this month. it has been very busy and to add to it evelyn was bit by charlie yesterday. evelyn is fine. for all of you who don't know, charlie is our dog. it could have been really bad. we are sooooo fortunate. it was so unexpected as they have been so sweet w/ each other. i just put a video up the other day of them together :( she has been giving him treats and it has been really cute. we should have been more careful with her doing this, but it never seemed to be an issue. carl was cooking and before he knew it he heard charlie growling and he bit her face she is ok. we are more upset then she was......i was at work. he broke skin around her eyes, forehead, nose, back of her head, near her ear...it could have been so much worse. we are very lucky. and it breaks my heart to think about what could have happened. and the other part of me is so upset that we will have to get rid of charlie. right now we are just keeping them separate. carl is an emotional wreck. charlie is his buddy and i have no idea how he is going to handle this. i just got a text from him saying his heart hurts. i just can't believe he did this, b/c he has been so good with her. and i don't know how we are going to be able to find him a home. we called the doberman rescue people but they won't accept him b/c of the bite. we called the vet to see if they know of anything. i'm in tears just thinking about this....but we need him to have a home w/o kids and who are very patient and loving. he is such a sweet dog, but just has a bad history. i don't know how we can find him a safe place since people probably don't want a dog that may bite.

i am still in shock and of course amazed by evelyn's resilience. she didn't seem startled or phased by it at all. the triage nurse at the doc's office said we didn't have to bring her in b/c she didn't need stitches. luckily we have her 15 month appt. tomorrow, so the doc can check her out. she just looks so pitiful. and of course we feel like horrible parents, but i know we couldn't have predicted this to have happened.

helios7

04-27-2010, 02:54 PM

Another quick flyby - I'm trying out a new sitter so I have a minute (after cleaning the kitchen and other fun chores) before I get my boy back.

Life continues here - still haven't completed all the testing so I don't have any answers on that front yet. We're struggling with what I think is a monster growth spurt. Quinn wakes up (or has trouble going to sleep) all the time. Tonight I'm going to try 2 dinners - one at 5 and one at 6 (his usual dinner time) because last night he went to bed after dinner but we had to get him up. Bedtime is so smooth except if he's hungry. Then he cries - and endlessly! It's taken us considerable time a few nights to figure it out (since we can't believe he's hungry a half hour after dinner). What a mess. Anyways. So tonight I'm trying two dinners in hopes of a smooth bedtime. There have even been a few 1 am picnics in the kitchen when he wakes and can't get back to sleep. But if we feed him, down he goes without a peep. It's really been bizarre.

I don't have time for personals, but I just had to comment to Michelle. I'm SO SORRY that happened. I can only imagine how painful it must have been (emotionally if not physically), and how painful it will be finding Charlie a new home. I hope you and DH will be able to get a puppy in the future, but ... I'm just so sorry! :( From one pet lover to another, my heart breaks for you guys!

I hear my boy... gotta go!

tholbrook

04-27-2010, 06:57 PM

(((((((((((((Michelle, Carl and Evelyn)))))))))))))
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened - I saw the FB video and Charlie looked like the sweetest-tempered dog I've ever seen - I can't even begin to imagine how upsetting this is. I hope you are able to find a wonderful home for him - maybe it will be somewhere that Carl can visit him. I'll be thinking of you all...

Pony

04-27-2010, 07:04 PM

Heather and Tami, thanks for your replies. Yes, Tami, he has always been so good with her. We rescued him 3 years ago when he was 20 pounds underweight and such a scared dog. He is still unsure of people, but from day one has loved Evelyn. Part of me just wants to keep him and figure something out, but then I think how would I feel if this happened again or to someone else. He is acting like he knows something is going on. We've kept doors shut and baby gates up w/ chairs blocking the baby gates. Carl can't stop crying. He is part of our family. I don't want to prolong this, but we also want to make sure he is well taken care of. We also worry about having to put him down if we can't find anyone. aaaggghhhh, so tough on the heart.

I need to catch up on everyone's lives this month. I miss you all.

Pony

04-27-2010, 08:22 PM

acginkc

04-28-2010, 11:50 AM

Michelle- I'm so sorry for what you all are going through. We have a rescue dog as well and I know I would feel the same as you. It kills you to give them away, but you can't have the risk. And I know you know this already, but you aren't bad parents, accidents happen and you had no way of knowing this would turn out this way. Big hugs to all of you.

Sarah45

04-29-2010, 06:23 AM

Oh Michelle, my heart breaks for you guys. I hope you find a great place for Charlie.

tholbrook

04-30-2010, 10:33 AM

just got to catch up on some of the older posts.....but not fully caught up.

just wanted to chime in on a few things.....i can't believe our babies are growing up so much!!! walking, talking, attitudes, weaning, etc. love the pictures. i second the distraction w/ snack traps. evelyn loves her snack trap filled w/ kashi cereal. she is eating like maya, sometimes like a horse and sometimes like a bird. she is still nursing and has seemed to ask for it a lot more these days. she is still not sleeping through the night and i must admit i'm in awe of the babies that are going down awake!!! at 15+ months, we are still dancing to feist to get her to sleep, ha!!!!!! cracks me up that we are still doing that. she is down to one nap, which helps with the bedtime routine. we have yet to leave evelyn w/ anyone. we don't have family here, but my mom is coming to visit next month. maybe we will go out to dinner ourselves. honestly, i prefer bringing evelyn since i don't see her much and she is sooo well behaved when we are out. i assume this will not be the case soon, so i like to enjoy the 3 of us out while it lasts ;). She has learned how to make her body go limp, so tantrums are in our future! The funniest thing is when she gets upset she has been falling to the ground, getting on her stomach, and pushing herself on the ground. The other day she pushed herself under the bed?????

Heather and Beth, i just read that the babies are officially weaned. Congrats on it going so smoothly.
Tami, is Maya still bfing? I think she is, but I haven't read through all the posts and I do not recall you saying she has weaned herself?

Michelle, I hope Evelyn is healing nicely and that you've been able to make some progress with your search for a nice home for Charlie. How is Carl doing?

I'm the same way when it comes to taking Maya out with us. She is almost always perfectly behaved when we're out, and loves the attention she gets. But I have been realizing lately that DH and I REALLY need to get a nice relaxing evening away from home by ourselves. It was supposed to happen last month for our anniversary - but then Maya and I were both sick. And we haven't been able to schedule anything since then...
You and Carl should definitely take advantage of your mom's visit and go out on a date... there will be plenty of other occasions to tote E along with you! (And hopefully I'll get the same opportunity within the next few weeks since my MIL is back in town) :)

Amazing how the normally sweet-tempered adorable angels can turn into howling screaming little monsters, isn't it? :eek: I hope Evelyn isn't doing as much biting and pinching now, or at least that it hasn't carried over to the tantrums - because that would be extra-brutal. Maya is doing MUCH better not hitting me now - she flails around like she wants to, but rarely makes contact. When she is with DH, that is another story - probably because he hasn't been very consistent with her in this respect. The big trigger right now is coming in from outside when we're at home. Despite telling her ahead of time that we will be going in, she kicks and screams like a wild animal, so I lay her carefully on the rug in the living room, and then go to the kitchen. When she's finished, she finds me and then we play.

Maya is still not weaned - and shows no desire to be weaned. So on we go. I'm not planning on working towards that anyway until she is 2. I am down to nursing her on one side only, since the "snack/dessert" side was running low anyway. And I dropped pumping completely several months ago, thank goodness. I barely have any supply left at this point (it never replaces any meals, or even snacks), but Maya is still firmly attached to nursing. She greets me in the morning with a big smile and "Nummies? Nummies? Mommy? Nummies?" :rolleyes::D So I'm pretty happy with the current situation. Plus she's out like a light for her naps with the nursing and the Elizabeth Mitchell CD (we play one particular song on repeat) - 90% of the time, it takes only about 10 minutes.

Beth G.

04-30-2010, 07:24 PM

Hi everyone. It has been so busy here. We had Michael’s 15 month visit on Saturday. Very low key. They wanted to make sure he was walking, talking, eating table food, and pointing at things. Check, check, check, check. He weighs 22 lbs (<25%), 30.25” tall (25%) and noggin is 50%. So overall he looks very proportional! He was pretty cranky that afternoon, part shots, part our fault for bad scheduling and not getting him a good nap. Sunday it rained and fortunately he took a 2 hour morning nap, because it is very hard to entertain him on a rainy day. He keeps pulling down his sweatshirt, bringing over his shoes, or standing by the door to our porch saying “more”. We also had the meeting with his day care teacher this week and that went well too. She said his language was advanced. He is saying a bunch of words regularly - more, door, cup, no, hello, car, (ba)nana, mama, dada, papa (my FIL). They started the one nap routine on Wednesday and he is doing pretty well with that.

Thursday the daycare called DH and told them he had 103.2 so off DH went to pick him up. He was home today and spiking to 102-103 long before his tylenol wore off. He's sleeping now and we'll check him before we go to bed. They checked him at the doctor today and no other symptoms so could be from the MMR.

Saturday morning we were supposed to go to a baby naming - one of my best friends gave birth on Sunday. Now I'm going alone and will be worrying.

A lot going on with everyone - I keep hoping I will find some personals time on the weekend. We are down a computer as DH took mine to his office and we haven't agreed on a replacement yet. Hopefully soon. Take care everyone.

bekki

05-01-2010, 12:03 PM

Beth G: Andy had a three day long fever (101-103) after the 15 month shots, the doctor assured me (As did Dr. Google :p ) that it's very common after this particular dose.

Pony

05-01-2010, 01:29 PM

Beth G: Andy had a three day long fever (101-103) after the 15 month shots, the doctor assured me (As did Dr. Google :p ) that it's very common after this particular dose.

same for evelyn after the MMR.

Bawstinn

05-01-2010, 05:49 PM

Quick question.

What is your best cure for diaper rash? Matt has a bad one (I blame it on the ridiculous amount of fruit that kid can put away). We've been using Bordeaux's Butt Paste, and up until now it would clear up any redness within a day. I just don't know what else to try. We are quitting the fruit till this is cleared up and trying to feed a bit more yogurt, but any other suggestions would be great.

Madeleine would get nasty rashes from the fruit juice at daycare (took a little bit to figure that out) combined with teething. To the point they would bleed. What worked best for us was Desitin, in the purple tub (or tube). At night we would cover the diaper cream with cornstarch, which helps keep the moisture out.

Also if it really bad, you don't want to use wipes, even the ones for sensitive skin. They make paper towels that are very cloth-like (durable) that the doctor recommended we use to wipe (wet them) when she had a rash.

At one point we ended up w/ a prescription cream, but that was a very, very bad rash.

Beth G.

05-01-2010, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the feedback on the MMR. I'm hoping that means the fever will break tonight. It was 101.6 at 6:30 and that is already 72 hours +.

DH on his way to Target (9:30 PM) because all the fever reducing meds we have are under recall. Hoping they have some store brand ibuprofen so we have something to treat him with tonight. Article below - we had two Tylenols and one Motrin and they are all bad so make sure you check yours.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/business/02drug.html?ref=health

Tami - the baby's middle name from the naming today is Maya!

tholbrook

05-01-2010, 08:07 PM

Beth G - thanks for posting the recall info ... good idea to mention it here. I saw that article earlier today, and actually looked at Target's website to see if their store brand was included in the recall. It wasn't listed, and I finally found this information on the Motrin website, so I think any store-brands (assuming there are no other recalls) are okay to use:

Does McNeil make store brand versions of Infants' MOTRIN®?
McNeil does not manufacture store brand versions of Infants' MOTRIN®.

That made me happy because we stocked up on several bottles of "Up&Up" (Target brand) infant ibuprofen drops during the almost-constant teething over the past few months.

Hope Michael's fever breaks soon. Is he sleeping okay?

And I love the middle name your friend picked out! :D What was the baby's first name?

Beth G.

05-01-2010, 08:20 PM

We are now the owners of several bottles of Up & Up brand ibuprofen and acetominophen. DH said all the Motrin and Tylenol was already off the shelves. I am trying not to worry about all the recalled meds Michael has taken in his many illnesses :eek:. DH was ready to buy even more but I told him that there might be other parents like us out there who really need the non-recalled products.

Tami - the baby's first name is Emma. She was born 5 lbs 15 oz (about 2 lbs less than Michael was) so she looks absolutely tiny to me. Michael is sleeping ok, thank goodness, even with the fever, except that he starts moaning in his sleep at 4 am. So DH and I aren't sleeping so well. Last night it was definitely from worn off Motrin - rising fever as it was over 102 when he finally woke at 6, but if he's just moaning and not crying or actually awake, I am reluctant to wake him to give him meds. DH did wake him one night that he felt really, really warm. But the moaning has been going on for a few weeks and with that and the loose poops DH is worrying about milk issues. His nephew is lactose intolerant/milk allergic. I am choosing to believe the pediatrician's teething explanation and we'll readdress if still an issue at 18 months as he doesn't seem especially bothered if that is in fact what it is. Thanks so much for posting that the Up & Up brand is not made by McNeil!

Beth G.

05-02-2010, 11:55 AM

Finally. Personals! And then on to laundry.

Ashley – sounds like Matt’s sleep has really improved – hooray! I have found A&D ointment effective on the few diaper rashes Michael has had. Enjoy the new camera – looks like it takes great pictures! Hope the Hawaii trip is fabulous – it’s beautiful there so how can it be anything but?

Beth H. – Glad Will is showing some interest in solids and feeding himself. It’s good to hear that the transition to the toddler room went well. We are starting that June 1. I’m sure it will go fine, I just can’t believe it’s happening.

Heather – so jealous of your backyard, playhouse etc. We are hating our house these days but haven’t seen anything on the market we like. On the one hand, the on site pool and playground are great, but we really miss having a backyard. And we would love to not having three steps between our living room and kitchen. Michael thinks he can just walk down them holding the banister (which he can’t even reach). I hope the growth spurt has past – those middle of the night picnics must be exhausting for you! Glad weaning went well for you and Quinn too. Any updates on his stomach issues?

Sarah – hope you are feeling better. Strep really knocked me out the last time I had it. The snack trap lid is key! We take ours everywhere. Sounds like Jax is doing great with walking. Michael’s been drinking water from the sippy for over 6 months now so he started the same as Jax. We were just looking at an older video where he drank some milk out of it and DH was shocked – clearly that hasn’t happened in ages. Michael’s teacher’s son is the same way so she just leaves a milk sippy around and calls it “leche” instead of milk. He is drinking a few sips. When Michael is better I will try that, but right now fluids are key so I don’t want to mess with anything.

Tami – Michael loves his cup with water in it, just not milk, so I can’t figure out any way to entice him. I had some milk in the cup on the high chair once and he was signing and saying cup to me. As in, this is not a cup with this crap in it, I need my real cup drink, water. I love reading about all the things Maya is doing like counting, it’s like a preview. I can’t wait until Michael can “help” us in the kitchen too. Right now it is about trying to prevent him from grabbing eggs or something glass when we open the fridge. Sorry about the inconsistent staffing at the gym kids club. Would be nice if you could work out and not worry about that. Michael is the same way as Maya about coming in from outside.

Nancy – love the “shirt” story! Michael has a lot of weirdly pronounced words too. Nothing that funny though. Hope things have calmed down a bit with work. Great that Natalie has mastered spoon and fork. Michael insists on them at meals too, but mostly to suck on. He still eats mainly with his fingers.

Michelle – so sorry about what is going on with Charlie. I cannot imagine how hard that must be for all of you. A friend of mine went through something similar recently and I remember so well her puffy eyes all the time at work from crying. Heartbreaking. I know what you mean about bringing Evelyn since you don’t get enough time with her. I was so disappointed Michael was sick and couldn’t come to the baby naming yesterday. I missed so much of my weekend time with him. Count yourself lucky that you haven’t hit the tantrum phase yet – hopefully it won’t start for awhile.

I am happy to say that since weaning/dropping bottle at bedtime we have a really nice new bedtime routine. I bring Michael to his room and sing two songs to him in the glider. He sometimes already has his head on my shoulder as I carry him upstairs. He has been soooo good. I think it helps that it’s outside time now and he’s exhausted by bedtime. His eyes are still open when I put him down and he spends some time getting his position just right, but thankfully we haven’t had any jumping up and down screaming protests in a while. He used to freak out if I even sat down in the glider with him. So all in all it made weaning easier on me too.

Fever has still not broken. 101.6 this morning. I think back to the ped tomorrow if no improvement. Glad we have our generic ibuprofen and acetominophen, even the ped asked when I spoke to her this morning.

ETA: 101.8 @ 3:30. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Full four days now. As soon as the meds wear off up it goes.