February New Moms' Thread

[BeckyM]

Hi All!

I was about to post on the January thread and then realized it's already February. So I'm starting the February one!

Thanks everyone for the info on fluoride and whether or not it gets passed to the baby through breastmilk. When I asked Katie's pediatrician about it, he said not to worry about it until she starts getting teeth. He's really the sort of doctor who doesn't believe in doing a lot of intervention without good reason. I asked him about vitamin D supplementation too, because I heard that is sometimes recommended for breastfed babies. He said that used to be the belief, but in studies that have been done, supplementing with Vitamin D isn't really necessary.

About the monthly "friend", I'm also breastfeeding exclusively, Katie is 4 months old, and my "friend" hasn't returned yet. It actually took me quite a while to heal after delivery though, so it was like I had a two-month long "friend" at first. I figure I deserve to have a break from it again!

My pregnancy weight has not come off without a struggle, but that's mostly because I was making really poor choices. I was trying to eat plenty for my milk supply, and I was getting plenty of veggies and things, but I was also getting way more than my fair share of chocolate and other sweets. Finally I decided to do something about it, when I realized I was gaining weight. So since January 1st, I have lost ten pounds. I still have about five to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight, and then about ten more to get to my ideal. I'm doing Weight Watchers on-line, and it's actually going really well. It definitely is easier for me to lose weight while breastfeeding, because I feel like a get a lot more food!

Well, my father-in-law is here with pizza (I need to be careful not to eat too much!), so I've got to go. Have a great start of the week (and month), everyone!

Becky :)

[erinl]

Way to go Becky! 10 pounds is great!

All is well here. Hanne is back to sleeping better now that her tooth is through. She still isn't sleeping all night, but I can handle getting up 1-2 times a night. It also makes it easier to work on getting her to fall asleep on her own.

My parents were here this past weekend. I love having them visit. I didn't change a diaper all weekend!:D They watched Hanne on Saturday night so we could go out with friends. Gotta love that.

[BeckyM]

Erin -- thanks for the congratulations on my weight loss. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I've lost that much, since I'm still above where I was when I got pregnant. But it's nice to be reminded that I have made significant progress. DH made me feel really good when he told me I look skinnier than I have in a long time.

By the way, I'm glad to know I was mentally pronouncing Hanne's name correctly. I have a degree in German, so I tend to pronounce things that look like they could be German in the German way. In German, an "e" on the end of a word is pronounced sorta between the sound of "uh" and "eh", so to me, the name Hanne always looked like it should be pronounced pretty much the same way as Hannah. I really like that spelling, by the way, but I can see where people might mispronounce it.

That's all for now. I'm working on getting our "holiday" letters out. We're really late this year, so they've become Valentine letters. We always do a newsletter-type thing (they have great templates in Publisher) with color photos and everything. This year we have five different pictures of Katie! Well, one of them has the two of us in it too, because one of DH's pet peeves is getting Christmas cards from people with pictures of their kids, but never a picture of the adults. He says it's nice getting pictures of the kids, because they're always cute, but he prefers pictures of the whole family, so he can see his friends too.

"Talk" to you all later.

Becky :)

[RunnerKim]

Congratulations Abigail on rolling over! It really is amazing to me the differences in babies -- and reminds me not to get hung up on what other babies are or are not doing. Lainey rolled over for the 1st time at 7 weeks - not again until 8 weeks and sporadically after that but does it all the time for the last several weeks. We think she's close on the back-to-front but no amount of cheering seems to help :D

Julia - nice thought on the perhaps being too thin -- unfortunately it's very not true - even once I'm back to pre-pg weight I have a a good chunk of weight to lose. It's just poor eating choices and reduced exercise. Happy to say I managed to get up this morning and getting back into a running routine (hah - it was 3 minutes of running out of 30 minutes total but I'll call it a "run." Each week I'll increase my running amount. Hard to believe I used to be able to run for over 60 consequtive minutes. sigh...)
Congratulations Becky on the weight loss - that's great (and great for me to hear).

Julia - did you feed rice cereal over the weekend?

Nori - there must be something with the moon phase or something because Lainey didn't poop all weekend either -we're still waiting. She normally only goes once a day so it's not too unusual yet.

Finally got a humidifier set up in her room. (Thanks Joanne for suggesting it!) Friday night was one of her worst nights ever (even including as a newborn). She woke up at 1:30 which she never does. I've never experienced a "growth spurt" wake up with her. I was pretty sure she wasn't hungry because she fell asleep right away in my arms - but it took me an hour to be able to lay her back down. And then she woke up again in 30 minutes :eek: DH got up with her and got her back down, played around on the comptuer for 45 minutes to make sure she was really going to stay asleep and not 3 minutes after he got in bed she woke up again! Set up the himidifier the next night and she slept for 8 hours -- don't know if its coincidence but we're not going to test it! We've decided she's actually caught a 2nd cold, because we really thought she had recovered when it seemed to get worse again. She's around a lot of older kids so I guess its to be expected. Reading a baby book Friday night pratically had me convinced she was going to die of pneumonia by morning :o :rolleyes: I can be such an alarmist.

Cheryl - Great on the crib! isn't nice how some things end up not being a big deal.

Joanne - did you ever get Caitlyn's 24 hour urine test done. I have a hard time visualizing how that would even work.

Barbara - glad you were able to talk to DH and that Mallory handled it okay too.

Kim

[Julia1Pin]

Becky - Awesome on the 10 lb loss, and on only 5 more to go to pre-pregnancy. I'm really close to pre-pregnancy too (2 lbs.) but would liek to loose another 10-15 after that. I just need to fit exercise in somewhere - when I get home I just want to relax and play with Abigail.

Erin - I love not having to change diapers when parent sare over (for some reason they just lov eto change diapers it seems).

Kim - I'm glad that the humidifier is working. We bought one when Abigail had her cold at 2 months but it's sooo ****!! loud that we could keep it on at night. What we did do though was put a incline type thing in her bassinet which kept her jead elivated. and that seemed to work great. and that's great that LAiney's been reolling ove rfor so long. I have a feeling that Abigail is going to roll from back to front any day now also. She keeps arching her back and craning her neck. Yesterday she did roll from front to back but she was on a pillow on our bed so I don't think it really counts :rolleyes: .

I did feed Abigail rice cereal on Saturday morning. She seemed to like it. I fed her maybe 10 (baby, not full) spoonfuls worth and she had a great time just darting her tongue in and out. I dont think she realized hat what she was doing was considered "eating" but that's ok :D I'll try some more tonight.

Well, better start my week. Have a good week everyone.

[cchhbb]

Wow, Abigail is eating cereal. Yea! I can't wait to start that with Garrett.

I'm so impressed that so many people are nearly at their pre-pregnancy weight. So many people I know are still carrying around their baby weight years later. I'm within 2 pounds now, but would like to drop about 10 more. I really need to make better food choices. The lactation consultant really is pushing me to eat more fat though. Right now, I'll do anything to make breastfeeding work.

Kim, I want to let you know I really admire your attitude about breastfeeding. You have really motivated me to keep at it. You have overcame so many challenges. When I wanted to quit last month when my milk supply took a dip I thought of you and decided to keep with it. Thank you!!!

Garrett fell asleep on his own last night for the first time in a month. I laid him in his crib drowsy and turned on some music and left him for 15 minutes. He was asleep when the music stopped playing. I'm trying it for a nap now. We'll see.

I'm so thankful for a healthy baby. My neighbors had a daughter 3 weeks ago that is going to be a little person. They were given the diagnosis a week before she was born. She ended up having the least severe birth defect that was possible. They were told that she had a 60% chance of dying. They were blessed with a miracle and they have a wonderful attitude. They certainly see the glass half full.

I'm going to tip toe in a check on Garrett. Wish me luck.

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone. Things have been so hectic at work and home lately I haven't had time to post. We've all been sick. Mostly colds, but I've had this horrible cough for three weeks. I finally went to the doctor and he gave me an antibiotic which hopefully will help.

Well, the doctor thinks Caitlyn has RSV. It can be very serious and alot of babies are hospitalized with it. Friday I noticed that she was wheezing and you could feel her chest rattle when you held her. So, I took her to the doctor and they think its RSV. So far she is doing very well. She's happy and eating. You wouldn't even know anything was wrong. The doctor was wonderful. She called me a few times over the weekend to she how Caitlyn was and even met me in the hospital lobby on Sunday to check on her (she was doing rounds in the hospital). We have to do a nebulizer every three hours and take her into the office every day for at least the next week. The doctor said the first week is the most dangerous but the wheezing can last up to a month. As long as she stays the same she won't need to be hospitalized. So, lots of positive thoughts, please!

Becky, congrats on the weight loss! I gained over 50 pounds (yikes!) with this pregancy. I lost about 20 pretty quickly but then started eating horribly and actually gained a couple back. I got serious about losing it right before Christmas and joined Weight Watchers. I've lost about 15 more since then. I've basically cut out sweets (chocolate and ice cream :(). I just got so tired of having tons of clothes but nothing to wear because none of it fit me. I'm starting to fit into a few of my clothes and it feels great! I've got about 30 more to go to be back at my thinnest, but I feel better already.

Kim, I've given up on the urine test for now. I tried numerous times with the bag and each time it would leak. I was planning to go to the lab and ask for their help but then it got so cold I didn't want to bring Caitlyn out and now she is sick. I may call the neurologist and see if there is another test we can do instead.

I'm so glad the humidifier worked for Lainey. Julia is right, though, it is very loud. I think it was kind of like "white noise" for Caitlyn though and helps her sleep. I know that there are ones out there that are quiet, though. We used to have one and I didn't realize the one we bought was loud until I used it.

My monthly "friend" came back at the end of December, about 3 1/2 months after Caitlyn was born. I'm breastfeeding, but not exclusively. Before it came back I had alot of spotting.

Cheryl, hope Garrett is still napping!

Julia, how old is Abigail again? Caitlyn still isn't rolling, but she is trying. She turns her head and arches her back like you described. She gets to her side, but that's it. Hopefully she'll do it soon.

Take care everyone. Have a good week.

[RunnerKim]

Joanne - I'm so sorry about Caitlyn being sick. She sure does sound like a trooper though! Was she wheezing all the time? Did Caitlyn have a fever? Lainey can have a rather raspy cough but it comes and goes -- she'll go for hours without anything (when she's vertical/sitting she doesn't seem to be nearly as congested). It's hard to know what's serious and what's not.

The humidifier we have is rather old - my sister gave it to us. It's loud but, I agree it acts like white noise and perhaps actually helps her sleep better. We can hear it from our room but it's not bad. Dog didn't know what to make of it though! Fortunately she didn't feel the need to scare it off, because I hadn't thought of turning it on before I had Lainey in a sleepy mode.

Cheryl - :) I'm glad I could help you. these boards are such a wonderful support & information source!

Kim

[Jorgan]

I hope you don't mind if I join you all! I used to post on the pregnancy boards and have been out of touch for a while. I have a son, Drew, who was born on November 9th. He is now 12 weeks old, time sure does fly and he's getting so big! He is our first child and we are completely loving parenthood. I will be going back to work part-time in the beginning of March.

Well, he just decided to wake up from his nap, better go!

[Julia1Pin]

Jorgan - Welcome! Drew is a beautiful name.

Joanne - Caitlyn is a champ. She sounds like nothing can get her down, and that she's a happy, well adjusted baby!

Abigail is 4 months and 1 week. And she did her first roll on Saturday. The books say any time between 1 & 4 months.

I am afraid that I'm going to have to start having her sleep in her crib soon though :( I love having her in our room. It's going to be so sad when I can't just stare at her! (The nanny sleeps in the same room as her crib is in, and our BR is way too small to bring the crib in here).

[albus87]

Hello! I've graduated from the pregnancy board to the new mom's board.... Chloe Renee was born last Tuesday (28 Jan) ... it's been a wild ride thus far. DH and I are both first time parents so it's a learning experience for both of us. She's a sweet little thing tho, and I can't believe how cute she is! At birth, she was 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 21 inches long.

I'm trying to breastfeed but haven't had much luck. Since Saturday, I've been pumping and we've been feeding her a combination of breast milk and formula. I hated to do it, but she just wasn't eating and I wasn't sleeping. She was just soooo sleepy.. I couldn't wake her up. I was literally trying for an hour or two to feed her, she'd latch on and within a few minutes, she'd be fast asleep again. Then we'd start the whole cycle over again. I think she was so sleepy because she wasn't getting enough food. Since we've been on the new regimen, she's been going through the "active period" after eating and is so much more interactive. I won't be able to keep up the pumping forever, however (it just takes too long and I'm afraid I won't be able to sustain my milk supply if we keep supplmenting with formula), so I'm going to try to breastfeed her again starting today. At least I have a little stock of breastmilk built up that I can fall back on if necessary. If anyone has any breastfeeding advice, I'd love to hear it!

I'm glad to be on the board and I hope to have enough energy to be able to check it every few days!

arta

[cchhbb]

Joanne, Good healthy thoughts going Caitlyn's way. She seems like quite the trooper. I hope she continues to get better. Sounds like you have an awesome doctor.

Jorgan, welcome to you and Drew. This thread is great.

Julia, I couldn't wait to move Garrett out of our room. He was in there about 10 days before we moved him to the master bathroom. We all moved upstairs about 2 weeks later. I kept waking up with all the baby noises.

No dice on Garrett napping in his bed. He fussed and hung out for almost 1.5 hours. Never really crying, but he was certainly not in the mood to fall asleep on his own. Then it was time to eat. He didn't nurse well because he was so tired. He's now napping in a sling that I bought this morning. The lactation consultant recommended it for him since he is a low weight gainer. He only gains about 3/4 ounce per day instead of the 1 ounce he's supposed to. I guess the contact should help him.

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

Welcome Jorgan and Arta!! Congrats on your babies! Arta, I think it's pretty normal for babies to be really sleepy the first few days. Maybe now that she's more alert she'll be able to breastfeed better. I pump for Caitlyn and supplement with formula. I wasn't able to breastfeed her when she was first born because of her problems and when she finally came home she was so used to the bottle she wouldn't take to breastfeeding. I probably could have tried harder, but with everything going on, I didn't want to add any more stress to our situation. Anyway, just to caution you to really try the breastfeeding instead of pumping because pumping won't keep up your supply like the baby will. My supply has gradually diminished and now I'm lucky to pump 10 ounces in a day. I'm amazed I'm still doing it, but I want her to get the benefits, particularly any immunities. There are a couple moms on here who have overcome lots of problems with breastfeeding, so I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice.

Kim, Caitlyn was continually wheezing. It wasn't like a shortness of breath; it was more like a rattling or gurgling in her chest. You could feel it when you held her and you could hear it pretty loudly. Sometimes it gets really loud and she'll cough and it will clear up a bit. She didn't start out with a cold, she just started sounding like this out of the blue. She still isn't stuffy in her nose, just her chest. She had a 100.7 fever yesterday, I gave her Tylenol. She didn't have any fever last night or this morning. I'm sure Lainey is fine. You can actually put your ear to her back or chest and listen for any noise in there when she breathes. I know what you mean about not knowing when to worry. Because of Caitlyn's heart condition, we need to have anything suspicious checked out.

[RunnerKim]

Thanks Joanne for giving me more details. Makes me feel lots better.

Welcome Arta & Jorgen!!

Arta - I had major breastfeeding problems during the first month. Are you seeing a lactation consultant? I waited to make my first appt. (partly because it seemed so expensive) and really wished I'd gone earlier - and I only waited 1 week! I also found the books The Breastfeeding Mother's Companion and Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter incredibly helpful.

The lactation consultant was really helpful - went in weighed the baby, fed her, and then weighed again so we could figure out how much she was getting. It also helped me to know that some babies can "empty" a breast in 5-7 minutes. I didn't find this out until later and had read something saying around 20 minutes a breast and kept trying to get Lainey to suckle longer and there just wasn't anything there (and thus she'd just fall asleep).

I ended up having to exclusively pump for almost a couple of weeks in that first month because my nipples were traumatized so badly by bad latching etc. Either because of that or because of genetics, I've never produced enough milk. Adding in the formula will make it difficult for your body to continue to produce enough milk. However, I'd also like to say that supplementing with formula or feeding all formula is a just fine thing to do. Feeding issues & weight gain can be really challenging for some women & their babies. I had a really rough first month and felt way to much guilt and dis-appointment about having to use formula.

Kim

[BeckyM]

Welcome Jorgan and Arta! It is good to see you posting here after getting to know you on the pregnancy thread. I am glad to hear you delivered safely and are enjoying your little ones.

Arta, I had a few breastfeeding problems at first, primarily because my milk took a long time to come in. After the first day or so, Katie wasn't getting enough milk when she nursed, so she would unlatch and just cry with frustration. I didn't want to starve her, but I was afraid introducing a bottle with formula would hurt my milk supply even more. So a lactation consultant at the hospital helped us rig up a "supplemental feeding system", which basically consisted of a syringe filled with formula, hooked up to a small tube taped to my breast. So when Katie would latch on to nurse, the tube would go in her mouth too, and she would get formula along with the little bit of breastmilk I had. That way, she was encouraged to nurse, and the sucking stimulated my milk production. It was a little tricky to do -- DH had to hold the syringe and make sure the tube went in Katie's mouth, and I often ended up with formula all over the front of me. But it was well worth it, because my milk finally came in about a week after she was born, and I've been able to exclusively breastfeed since then. I would say keep trying, get help from a lactation consultant, and don't feel bad about supplementing if you have to. I am really glad I persevered and got help, because nursing Katie is actually enjoyable now. Good luck!

About rolling over -- Katie hasn't done it yet, and she is four months old. I think part of the issue is that she hates being on her stomach, so we probably don't force her to have as much "tummy time" as we should. So when she's on her stomach, she doesn't have much upper body strength yet to get her arms to help her roll over. She comes close to rolling over when she's on her back -- she gets clear onto her side, but her shoulder gets in the way and she doesn't go any further. The pediatrician said not to be concerned about it, since all babies develop different skills at different times.

Katie's napping for the moment, so I need to take care of some laundry, unload the dishwasher, etc. A mom's work is never done!

Becky :)

[nori]

Welcome Arta and Jorgan!!!

Arta...about breastfeeding...although I didn't have much trouble with it, I think I had very low milk supply first. so Noah seemed hungry all the time, and some days he'd be on my breasts (seems like) all day! I'm not kidding! I could tell my breasts had no milk sometimes, but I had him latched on anyway. I think it helped to increase my milk supply. Sleep deprivation will be a big issue, but I got used to it. A few weeks ago he didn't nurse from 9pm to 4am and it was the first night I didn't get out from the bed that long, since I got pregnant!!! It was a strange feeling. But now he's back to 2-3 hour schedule....oh well.
Have you tried to change her diaper? That seems to help some babies to wake up.

Oh, I gotta go now. I'll be back later!

[albus87]

Thanks for all the breast feeding advice everyone but DH and I came to a difficult decision tonight... we are switching over to formula exclusively. The pumping/nursing combination was just getting to be too much for me. I'm sooo sleep deprived. Everytime she fell asleep, I would pump to try to get enough milk for the next feeding. People keep telling me I need to sleep when the baby sleeps, but I was finding that impossible. DH is extremely helpful but he had to go back to work this week whereas I'm "off" work for the next 6-7 weeks (off is in quotation marks because I feel like I'm working harder than ever!). The other reason for switching is for some reason, she is extremely fussy and irritable (gassy with lots and lots of loud, screeching crying) after drinking breast milk, whether from the breast or bottle. But when she has formula, she's playful for a while then sleeps very well. I have some guilty feelings about switching to formula, like I'm letting my selfish need for sleep and a little personal time supercede my baby's health but I try to tell myself that I did just fine on formula, as did DH and many other people I know.

As I re-read my post, I realize I definitely have guilty feelings about switching to formula - I'm defending our decision with just about every reason in the book. But, I'm confident it's the right decision in the long run for our family. Now I'll be able to spend more quality time with Chloe and DH instead of needing to pump all the time!

Thanks again for all the words of advice.

arta

[MrsReber]

Welcome Arta and Jorgan! Arta, I completely understand how you can feel guilty about not breastfeeding, but everyone here always says that it's important to have a happy mommy! It doesn't work out for everyone, unfortunately. You are right that there are tons of babies who do great on formula. My parents used formula with us! I do like breastfeeding because it's very convenient. I am supplementing now. I've been back at work since November. I exclusively breastfeed when I'm home with Brenden. We ran out of stored breastmilk last month so Brenden gets a mix of breastmilk and formula or straight formula. I have guilty feelings about that, too. But I have to say when I stopped breastfeeding DD at 7 1/2 months, it was so nice to have my body back to myself. It was nice to be able to have more than one serving of wine and it was nice to be able to wake DH up for night feedings! Yes, DD was getting up to eat until she was at least 8 months old. DS still gets up twice a night to eat. Last night wasn't bad. He was up at 2:30 and then got up at 5:15 so I fed him just before I left for work.

Brenden's stomach is better, but now he's got other problems! DH is home with him today. We noticed he was getting crusty eyes on the way to VA on Friday. Luckily, we brought Casey's old pink eye drops since her daycare sent a memo out about pink eye in the school. We used the drops Friday and Saturday. Then we ran out. I took Brenden to the doctor yesterday. In addition to pink eye, he also has an ear infection! And, jumping on the bandwagon here, he also got his first tooth! It finally poked through his gums. It has a ways to go. Aside from him being very clingy with me, he's not really complaining. I had no clue about his ear so I'm glad I took him in. We started using the eye drops on Casey, too. She had some discharge from her eyes last night. She saw Brenden get the drops and she wanted them, too! She didn't like it, but she sat through it because her little brother did. It was so cute. She just kept saying "eyes! eyes!".

No monthly visitor here! I wonder when I'll get it back. It's been a loooong time- since August of 2000. I wonder if it'll return now that we're supplementing a bit.

My SIL is one of those people who thinks flouride is some evil thing created by the government to make us all sick. Her son, at the age of 7, has plenty of cavaties, too. She thinks DH and I are crazy for using the vitamins with flouride. We have well water so I know we need it. I have to start Brenden on it now since he's got his first tooth.

Our trip to VA was great. The kids were wonderful in the car. It did take us a bit longer since we had to stop to change diapers and eat dinner. We stopped twice on the way down and once on the way back. Both times we left just after their normal naptime, which worked well. They slept a lot in the car. They were nice enough to both poop at the same time so we only had to stop once for that!

Isn't that weird how grandparents like to change diapers? My mom will always change the kids. My one SIL will sometimes change them. My MIL, however, will hand them back to me. Yesterday, my SIL was driving MIL to the mall where she works. They drive right by our house to go there. SIL said "we should stop in to see the babies!" but MIL nixed that idea and suddenly had to be to work earlier. That woman is weird!

Ah, weight loss. I wanted to join WW at work. I paid, they had a meeting, but neglected to tell everyone that the session started. Okay, I missed the first session. Last week Brenden was sick so I missed the second meeting. I still want to start though. I told them that nobody informed me the meetings were starting! They said I could join the next session in 10 weeks. 10 weeks!?!? I want to lose weight now! They said they could catch me up at the third meeting. I have to do something. I gained 40 lbs with Casey. I was 7-10 lbs away from pre-pregnancy weight when I got pregnant again. Then I gained at least another 40 and I'm finding it's much harder to lose the second time around. It's coming off very slowly. Way too slowly. My sister thinks that when you breastfeed, your body holds onto some fat. I have heard both. I know it burns more calories. I need to do something, though. Right now, I have 25 lbs to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight from the first pregnancy! I will not buy more clothes. I will be so depressed if the warm weather gets here and I can't fit into anything. I'll have to thank that little groundhog for seeing his shadow! I need 6 more weeks of winter!





Time to get to work. I have to try to leave a little early so DH can go into work when I get home to try to make up some hours. I was home with Brenden all last week (not that I minded!). He can go back to daycare tomorrow, at least, so DH is home today.

[cchhbb]

Arta, Welcome. I'm so sorry that you had issues breastfeeding. I will tell you it's the hardest thing that I've ever done. Garrett is still being breastfeed at 3 1/2 months, but he does require 4 -6 ounces of formula since we have feeding issues and my supply is a problem. I was so stressed out about giving him formula when he was a month old that I really should have been committed to the funny farm. You need to do what is right for you and your family. As Garrett's doctor told me "Babies will grow just fine on formula, but if you are stressed out about it they can sense it". She really made me feel better about our situation.

Joanne, I hope Caitlyn is doing better today. I've read about RSV and am watching out for the symptoms since Garrett was a bit premature.

Becky, Garrett has been able to roll over since 10 days from his tummy to back and he still hated tummy time until about 2 weeks ago. Now, I put him down that was a lot of the time. I went out yesterday and bought some toys for him as he is beginning to grasp and he loves them. I put them in front of him when he is on his tummy and he grabs them and tries to scoot to get to them.

Susan, I'm glad your trip went great. Sorry about poor DS. What a tough time for him. I heard that you will retain about 10 pounds while you are still breastfeeding. You do require more calories, but most women need those to make milk. I know I'm starving all the time.

Garrett is sleeping in his crib. Wow!!! Yea!!! I put him down when he was drowsy and just patted him until he fell asleep. Let's hope he stays that way.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Arta - I know you feel guilty and I wish there were a way we could not... I'm afraid there will be many more times we feel that mothers guilt! I cried almost every day of Lainey's first month because I was so hung up on the breastfeeding thing (both emotional turmoil and physical pain) -- that was not good - not for me and not for Lainey either! At times I think it had more to do with *me* than with what I thought was best for Lainey. As is typical I think, I had a visions of the type of Mom I'd be - but that just gets thrown out the window when the little one comes along and has input into the situation! I was no longer completely in control (or even partly? :D ) Compromise isn't a bad thing -- I think it's a parent thing. I can still remember the agonizing decision to give formula for the first time - I felt like such a failure. But that was soon followed by such huge relief that I didn't have to worry that I was starving my baby. I did a ton of pumping too and I wish I'd given it up sooner - I was always handing Lainey off to DH after feeding her so I could pump. Hang in there Arta - it gets soooo much better after those first few weeks.

Susan - that's too funny about Casey wanting the eye drops even though she doesn't like them! I'm so sorry you seem to be getting more than your share of illnesses though!

I have a nephew that spent his first couple of years on well water with no flouride supplementation and he has horrible teeth! Pretty much a cavity in every tooth (and he's only 5) :( His younger brother has great teeth. I'm sure it's not just a flouride issue as his situation seems extreme, but I'm definitely doing giving fluoride (again, it's not put in the water here).

Sending peaceful sleeping thoughts to Garrett :D

Kim

[albus87]

Thanks for all the supportive words about switching to formula. There is so much information out there about how "breast is best" and all that. I do believe it is best but perhaps not the best thing for me or our family. After we made the decision to switch to formula last night, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And hearing your supportive words (instead of the condemning ones I was hearing in my head) really helps as well. DH and I have to take Chloe for a quickk weigh-in/checkup at the Mother-Infant Unit tomorrow. Most of the nurses there are HUGE breastfeeding advocates. I can only hope they will be as supportive!

Joanne: I just re-read all the recent posts. I really admire you for sticking with the pumping routine. I could only do it for 2 days before I felt like I couldn't go on with it any more. I can't believe you've stuck with it for so long! I'm very sorry Caitlyn is sick. Now I have to show my new mommy ignorance: what is RSV?

[erinl]

Welcome Arta and Jorgan! Arta, I think I'm the only other mom here who gave up bf early. For a variety of reasons, I supplemented very early on. BF only lasted about 4-5 weeks before I decided it wasn't working for us. You are lucky that DH is supportive of your decision. Paul fought me hard on this. Anyway, DD is now 6.5 months old and is developing beautifully. She's only had one cold so far, and hasn't had any reactions to the solid foods that we've introduced.

It's so funny that our babies are all getting their teeth at the same time. Poor Brenden, it's just one thing after another, and teething on top of it all. I'm impressed he's sleeping so well.

[BeckyM]

Arta, I just wanted to chime in with everyone else to say I can understand what a difficult decision you had to go through, and I think the important thing is that you do what is best for your family and your particular situation. When I was having problems with milk supply, the nurses in the hospital and two different pediatricians (all of whom were breastfeeding advocates) told me not to feel guilty if we had to supplement or completely switch to formula. They told me it is very important that the mother be comfortable with the feeding choice and not feel guilt either way. I'm glad making the decision has lifted the weight off your shoulders. Now you just have to believe everyone who tells you there's no reason to feel guilt. You are doing the best thing to make sure Chloe is well-fed, happy, and healthy, and to make sure she has a mother who isn't too stressed out and sleep-deprived to enjoy her.

Cheryl, glad to hear Garrett is enjoying tummy time more. I've tried putting toys out for Katie while she's on her tummy, but she is so frustrated that she mostly ignores them. She loves grabbing her toys and putting them in her mouth any other time -- just not when she's on her stomach. She did tolerate it longer yesterday than normal, so I guess I've just got to persevere. Hopefully she'll develop some more upper body muscles, then she won't mind being on her stomac as much.

Joanne, sorry to hear about Caitlyn being sick. I don't know much about RSV -- hopefully she'll recover quickly.

BosunsWife, I hope you're hanging in there okay. I also hope and pray that he returns to you safe and sound, and sooner than expected!

Well, gotta go feed Katie!

Becky :)

[candj9]

Arta, I am butting in here from the preg. thread to tell you that when I had my son seven years ago, I tried to breastfeed. Unfortunately, I had him during a very strong hurricane in Florida. The hospital lost power, I had a c-section and then we all had to be moved to the hallways because they were afraid of the windows breaking in the rooms. To say that it was a trying, hectic time, would be an understatement.

Well, I tried to breastfeed while sitting in the hallway with a pillow next to my insision and a blanket draped over my shoulder to give me some privacy. Needless to say, it didn't work too well. My milk never came in. I was pretty distraught about it for a while but you know what? Formula wasn't bad. My son is a very healthy seven year old. He rarely gets sick. As a matter of fact, about a month ago, he actually threw up for the first time since he was born!!!! He has never vomited before, EVER! He had very very few ear infections or colds as a baby, and he seems to be just great.

So, I wouldn't fret. I know that breastfeeding is great and I would like to attempt it again this time, but if it doesn't work, I won't be so hard on myself this time, because I know that I will have at least tried.

Cindy

[nori]

Arta, don't feel so guilty about switching to formula! Although I understand your feeling, you're right saying "BF is the best but not for me or my family" if BF is making you cranky mom or wife. Chloe would be much happier to see happy mom.;)

MrsReber, glad you're back.:) Sorry about Brenden....poor boy. So what's the symptom of ear infection???:confused: Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what to look for...fever, pain?? Congrats on his first teeth!

Cheryl...Is Garrett still napping???

Joanne...hope Caitlyn is feeling better by now. Seems like there's something in the air....a lot of sick kids around here, too.

I don't know if it's teething or not, but Noah has been getting up more than twice a night now.:( It's like, 12, 3, and 5. And every time, he's hungry. He's learned how to comfort himself by sucking his thumb, and last night he fall asleep while sucking his thumb. That was so cute.

Weight issue....I haven't been on the scale for a long time jsut because I'm afraid to find out the truth.:o I feel like I'm eating all the time...is it really because of BFing? I hope it won't be a bad habit for me.

MrsReber and Joanne...Joined WW? Can you participate while you're breastfeeding???

Edited to add one more question...Does eating oatmeal a lot make you (and baby) gassy???:o Just curious....

[albus87]

Cindy: Thanks for your birth/breast feeding story. All of a sudden, the last few days don't seem so stressful! I guess it's all just a matter of perspective. Yes, I might have agonized over the BF question, but at least the weather is beautiful outside and there is no fear of the windows crashing in!

A couple of months ago I posted a question on the pregnancy thread about whether glider rockers were worth the money. Everyone gave lots of recommendations... I can't remember who recommended it specifically, but someone recommended a Shermag rocker at Babies R Us - it just happens to be the most expensive one the store carries :) Well, DH and I tested the glider at the store and we both found it incredibly comfortable. We bit the bullet and purchased it. It is the BEST investment ever! Chloe is only a week old but I think I've clocked more time in that chair in the past week than in my own bed! So, whoever recommended the Shermag glider, thanks!

BTW, a piece of furniture we've found to be NOT worth the money is the expensive maple combo unit we purchased. Granted, it's a beautiful piece of furniture and converts to a dresser and nightstand when it's no longer needed as a changing station, so it's not as if we wasted the money. But we are using it as a dresser only; DH and I have yet to use it for changing Chloe. The orientation is just wrong. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the changing station perpendicular to the body instead of parallel? To me, it's a lot easier to change a diaper if the baby is not facing sideways. As an alternative, we've set up a makeshift changing station on the floor, using a waterproof pad. It's much more practical (and cheaper!)

[valchemist]

Originally posted by albus87

A couple of months ago I posted a question on the pregnancy thread about whether glider rockers were worth the money. Everyone gave lots of recommendations... I can't remember who recommended it specifically, but someone recommended a Shermag rocker at Babies R Us - it just happens to be the most expensive one the store carries :) Well, DH and I tested the glider at the store and we both found it incredibly comfortable. We bit the bullet and purchased it. It is the BEST investment ever! Chloe is only a week old but I think I've clocked more time in that chair in the past week than in my own bed! So, whoever recommended the Shermag glider, thanks!



hey, that was me! you're welcome. Julia is almost a year old now and I still use it all the time. I am up 3 times a night to nurse her and it is nice to have such a comfy place in the wee hours.

regarding the combo unit... We have one too. I just stand at the end so that I am perpendicular to Julia. Works just fine. I have the diaper stacker hanging on the crib within arms reach. And I have to reach for the wipes in the drawer of the combo unit. But it really is no big deal for me to reach like that.

val

p.s. congratulations!!

[BeckyM]

Hmmm... It's interesting what a couple people have said about the dresser/combo units, because we use ours all the time! I find it easiest to have Katie facing sideways to me when I'm changing her diaper. I have her feet toward my right and her head toward my left. I lift her feet with my left hand and then can wipe and work with the diaper with my right hand (I'm right-handed). I never even considered changing her diaper with her bottom toward me and her head facing away. It's amazing how different people find different ways to do things that work best for them.

Now on the subject of the rocker/glider, I am in complete agreement. We have a different model (Dutalier), but I agree it is VERY comfortable, and both DH and I spend lots of time in it. That's where I nurse Katie in the middle of the night and early morning, and we sometimes read books to her there.

The one other thing we have found we couldn't do without is an exercise ball. (Forgive me for those of you who've heard me say this before.) I know it sounds funny, but we use our big exercise ball to sit on and bounce while we're holding Katie. When she's fussy, it calms her down really well, and it's much easier on us than trying to stand and bounce. If I need to work on the computer and Katie is fussy, I often roll the ball in here and hold her with one hand while bouncing, and I type with the other hand. And it's especially handy in the evening during her most fussy times. It was even more useful when she was littler and waking up lots in the middle of the night. Often that was the only thing that would get her back to sleep.

Becky :)

[JoanneOR]

Arta, everyone's already given you great support about the breastfeeding issue. You have to do what makes the best sense for your family. Someone said breastfeeding was the hardest thing they've done. I agree with that, especially with my first. I had no idea everything it would entail (the soreness, engorgement, 24-hour nursing the first few weeks). My longest I breastfed my three boys was I think 10 weeks. My second son I only did for maybe five. He would only latch onto one side and then I would have to pump the other. They are all very healthy, strong, and smart boys and they were mostly forumula fed. I had to start out pumping with Caitlyn because she was in the hospital for two weeks. Then when she came home she didn't take to it too well and they really wanted to make sure she was getting enough calories, so I kept pumping. I only planned to do it for a couple months, but because of her heart condition I'm really paranoid about her getting sick, so I've kept it up. I don't know if it's helping or not, but I hope so. I'll probably stop when she's around six months, and we're out of cold and flu season.

Nori, usually with an ear infection they'll rub their ears (if they're old enough) or just be cranky. Mine usually get them after a cold. Sometimes they'll run a fever. Although my son Ian went in for his kindergarten shots last week and they said he had an ear infection. I think he was the only one in the family who didn't have a cold. He didn't have any symptoms.

Well, Caitlyn is doing much better. We went to the doctor yesterday and she said there is less wheezing. She did have an ear infection, though, so she's on antibiotics. Now we need to go in every other day and keep doing the treatments. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's over the worst of it.

For those who asked, RSV is a respiratory virus. Mostly babies get it. It causes fluid in the lungs and makes the babies wheeze when they breathe. They can also cough alot, although Caitlyn really isn't too much. Older kids and adults get it, but to us it's just a cold. But you could infect a baby and they would get RSV, which is probably what happened with Caitlyn since her brothers (and me) have had colds. It can be pretty serious, because it can affect the oxygen your body gets. Some babies have to be hospitalized. They actually have a vaccine for it which you can get monthly during RSV season. It's really expensive (like $1000 a shot), but they recommend it for premature babies and babies with heart defects. Although they said Caitlyn isn't a good candidate for it because of the defects she has. ALthough, I am going to ask about it again. Anyway, that's probably more than you wanted to know!

Nori, you can definitely participate in WW when you are breastfeeding. In fact, you get 10 extra points! Which basically means you can eat more on the plan. You have to be careful, though, to eat enough, or your supply will be affected.

[RunnerKim]

It is interesting about diaper-changing styles. I much prefer to be perpindicular. We have a 2 story house and have found very useful to have a pack 'n play set up downstairs with the changing part on it. That's where she gets most of her diapers changed. Otherwise it will be on our bed. We were really never in her room for the first few months (since she slept in our room) and it wouldn't have made sense to go there to change her diaper.

I agree completely with the glider - we spent tons of time in it during that first month. I'm not sure what brand we have as my sister gave me hers, but I do wish it had a little better head support or a more reclining back so that I could have dozed in it. I've never gotten in the habit of nursing in it though. In the beginning I absolutely could only even attempt to nurse in one place with all the pillows set up etc. Then I got the My Brest Friend pillow which gave me more versatility but it didn't fit in the glider. I nurse laying down in bed at night and first thing in the morning.

I've gotten out the exercise ball on a couple of occaisons when Lainey is really fussy. The moms group I went to would always have a couple there for us to use and it really is nice! It's also good for tummy time (particularly for those babies that aren't too thrilled about planting their faces in the carpet!).

Joanne - I'm glad Caitlyn is doing better - I just cringed thinking she might have to go to the hospital for that - she's (and you) are already seeing way to much of the hospital as it is.

Cindy -- that is an amazing birth story! Oh my!! I would completely remove my shirt/bra in those first few days (probably week) because I just couldn't coordinate everything - so I couldn't imagine trying to do it in a hallway!

My DH asked me awhile back if I'm faced with the same situation (basically baby not gaining weight) what I'd do next time. I'm not sure - since I made it to the "other side" of breastfeeding and could actually enjoy it, I'd be more inclined to stick with it, knowing it would get better. I know for a fact I will not do all the pumping (after every feeding) again, not worth it. On the otherhand I won't be nearly so hung up on formula and would certainly start supplementing that sooner if I realized that my milk supply was going to be an issue again. I know now that there's so much more to being a mother than feeding, but that's such a large part of your relationship with the baby in the first few weeks that it doesn't seem that way the first time around.

Arta - I hope your weigh-in visit goes well today! (and phooey on those nurses if they aren't supportive!)

Kim

[cchhbb]

Kim, DH and I were discussing the same thing yesterday about Breastfeeding with problems. I still am pumping 6 times per day. I don't really enjoy breastfeeding due to that. I would like to stop pumping, but am scared that my supply would decrease. Next time, I would give it a shot, but would ask for help much earlier. I really felt like a failure for needing help. It's a natural thing -- not to me and Garrett though. I probably will not have such a hang up on having to give formula. Also, I remember having to go buy bottles and crying at the store. I think emotionally I would be more secure.

I also change diapers on the pack n play on the first floor. I've set up a changing pad on top of Garrett's dresser. With the pack n play I'm down by the feet, with the dresser I'm on the side. I do think with little boys it's better to be on the side. He He!

Joanne, good to hear about Caitlyn. Sorry the boys have been sick.

Nori, thanks for asking if Garrett was still sleeping. No dice. He's a great sleeper at night, but during the day I think he's scared he's going to miss something. Right now, I'm wearing him in a sling and he's finally asleep. We tried this morning for 1 1/2 hours to get him to fall asleep for a morning nap. I went in and comforted him when he was crying until it was time for another feeding.

Does anyone have recommendations on a reference for getting a child to nap? I'm not prepared to cry it out so other alternative would be appreciated. Also, what signs does your child give when they are tired? Garrett doesn't seem to give them or I just don't know how to recognize them.

Cheryl

[candj9]

Cheryl, I went to a sight called babycenter.com (I think), anyway, they have a section called life stories and in one of the stories, it was about that exact thing. Putting the baby to bed without the cry it out method. You might want to read that if you have some time. It talked about putting the baby to bed earlier, after you start a very secure schedule. Such as, eat at 6:30, take a calm soothing bath, and then off to bed, no exceptions. Then when the baby is in the bed, you rub his/her back and say things like, that's a sweet baby, you can do it, etc. Do this as long as it takes to get the child to go to bed. If the baby wakes, you go in and simply rub his/her back again and do the same thing. It may take a while, but the child realizes it is something he/she has to do. The story explains it better. Hope that helps.

If I go back and find the name of the story, I will let you know.
Cindy

[JoanneOR]

Cheryl, I had the same problem with Caitlyn napping as you do and I think several us here do. Unfortunately, I don't have a solution! She will usually take one nap a day in her crib now. She sleeps great at night in there. I put her down awake, go check a minute or two later and she's usually asleep. I can tell when she is getting tired. She gets a little cranky and starts squirming around and rubs her eyes. She also turns her head to the side which how she usually sleeps. For naps usually the only time she'll sleep in the crib if is she falls asleep in my arms (usually eating) and then I put her down. Occasionnally I can put her down for a nap when she's showing signs of being tired, but not always. This has only been in the last month or so that I've been able to do this and I think Garrett is younger than Caitlyn, right? She's five months tomorrow. Anyway, I experienced this same thing with all my kids and as they got older, they napped better in the cribs. Maybe Garrett just needs a bit more time.

Wow, you pump six times a day? I do four, but Caitlyn gets more formula than breast milk.

Gotta go. I promised myself I was going to go work out during my lunch today and I keep procrastinating.

[RunnerKim]

Lainey's most obvious tired sign is rubbing her eyes. She'll also get a little droopy (but that's generally when she's on her way to sleep vs. overly-tired/fussy) Sometimes I can tell from her cry that its a tired cry -- and mostly I just know from the time of day. She is not a good napper. My dental hygienist asked me if she was doing 2 naps a day... I don't even know how many naps she takes - she's a power napper - 30 minutes here, maybe an hour there. If she goes longer than that we're checking to make sure she's still breathing :eek: She takes her naps in the car seat or bouncy seat (and now her 1st morning nap is in the jogger stroller and then hopefully a successful transfer to the pack 'n play). Her evening nap is often in my arms :)

Cheryl - I don't blame you - pumping sucks! I had your same concern. But with returnign to work, it just wasn't worth it to me to be spending my time pumping. I did notice a little drop. Don't confuse natural with easy! I've heard great things about "The Happiest Baby on the Block" but have not personally read it, but I think it deals with sleep issues. I remember a couple of moms talking about learning to recognize their baby's tired signals and how valuable it was once they figured it out and were able to respond immediately to them.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Nori, I had no clue that Brenden had an ear infection. There were NO signs whatsoever. He was a bit fussy and he wants his mommy more, but I could've attributed that to the teething. He was basically still happy. Didn't pull at his ears, still slept just fine at night. I felt kind of bad about it. The only reason we went to the doctor was so that we could get his pink eye cleared up. If it weren't for that, I don't know how long he would've had that ear infection. With Casey, she just got out of control. She was 18 months old when she got her first (so far ONLY) ear infection. She just was not herself, throwing fits, crying, and refusing to sleep. I took her to the doctor for her 18 month check up back in November and told the doctor about the recent behavior. That's when we found the ear infection. I knew something was wrong. She had a very sore throat once and was acting the same way. Now we know what the signs are. I think all kids may exhibit different signs.

Breastfeeding "natural"? Maybe, maybe not. Yes, it is what nature intended, but it's not always easy. Casey wasn't bad. Brenden hurt me so much. I have no idea why I continued. DH told me to stop. I was bleeding all the time from feeding him. He was very aggressive and he likes to chew. Now that he's got his first tooth, we're having some more issues. He gets formula mixed with whatever breastmilk I can pump during the day. I'll keep it up until my supply starts to really diminish. I think it'll happen soon. If I'm only pumping 2 oz at work, it won't be worth it. As it is, I can still get 6 oz plus another 2 or 3 before I come to work. Then I exclusively feed him breastmilk at night and on the weekends. I really like the convenience of it most of all. I did bring formula on our trip so that if he got really fussy while we were driving, I could reach in the back and make him a bottle. I did have to do just that twice.

Joanne, I'm going to my first WW meeting today! I am losing weight still. Even after last weekend with the party in VA, my clothes fit better this week. I am able to wear a suit and a shirt that I haven't worn since before I was pregnant with Brenden. Things are shifting around. I just need an additional boost and I think WW will help me get back on track. I do know how to eat healthy, I just think the mix of things that I am eating is completely wrong. If I lose 5-10 pounds during this session I'll be thrilled. I need to do something to feel better about myself. At least I'm not gaining. I continue to very slowly lose.

My sister didn't breastfeed with her first child. Didn't even try it. The girl is now a very beautiful 8 year old who is extremely smart. She's way ahead of her classmates and she also is being watched by people for her piano playing! Apparently they think she is a natural and that she would be able to make something of it one day! I think the formulas are probably much better than the were even when we were babies. There are plenty of times that I wish DH could get up at 1:30 am and feed my hungry boy!

Our changing dresser with changing table is the same way, the babies lie across. I find this much easier as, when they get older, they will kick you! Casey was always kicking me when I was pregnant with Brenden- I mean if she were perpendicular when I was changing her. I lie them sort of on an angle now. She still pushes me away with her feet because she thinks it's funny!

[Jorgan]

I thought I'd chime in on breastfeeding. I am formula feeding Drew. We tried and cried and tried and cried (both of us....) but my milk never came in and he wasn't getting any food. He also had jaundice when he was born and it kept getting worse because he wasn't producing wet diapers. I finally broke down at about 3:00 one morning and gave him formula. I felt so guilty for so long but I now look at him and see a healthy, happy boy. I now know I made the best decision for us!

Drew had been sleeping through the night for about two weeks and then last night decided he was hungry and 4 a.m. I really hope this is the three month growth spurt I've read about and it doesn't continue! Now that I can get some sleep I really enjoy it!!!

[albus87]

Wow. I can't believe how many of you on the board are pumping breast milk. I really admire you for keeping it up. 3 days was all I could handle. Of course, my Medela "pump in style" hadn't yet arrived; I started out using the Avent Isis pump (completely ineffective) then a borrowed Medela mini electric pump. It might had been easier if I had a more efficient pump, tho the mini-electric beat the Avent Isis hands down. Of course, my pump in style arrived in the mail today. I hope the company will take it back. As long as it is unopened, I assume they will.

Chloe had her checkup at the mother-infant unit last night. She's already surpassed her birthweight by one ounce (and she's only 8 days old). For a child that pretty much didn't eat the first 3 days of her life, she's made up for lost time. She generally eats every 3 hours or so and downs an average of 3 (sometimes 2 1/2, sometimes 4) ounces of formula at a sitting. I think that's a lot of food for someone so tiny. Does anyone know how much a newborn is supposed to eat at a single feeding? I've tried stopping her at 2-2 1/2 ounces but generally, she wants more. At least what goes in is coming out... she generally dirties her diaper in the middle of every meal. It's so funny to watch her stop sucking and get this intense look of concentration on her face as she has a BM!

BTW, the very pro-breastfeeding nurse was on duty last night during Chloe's checkup. It was a big relief when she was so supportive of our decision to switch to formula. She echoed what someone else on this board said: "Babies do well on formula but can always tell when a mother is anxious and frustrated with breastfeeding."

The nurse also recommended we start "tummy time" soon. Isnt' she a bit young for that? She's only 8 days old. When do you generally start tummy time? For how long do you do it? I'm assuming because she's so young, it would only be for a few minutes at a time. I'm open to any advice anyone can offer!

arta

[nori]

Arta, I remember my DH started tummy time for Noah pretty early and I thought he was too young for that. But as long as you're watching her, and start from a very short time, I think it's okay to start early. She would not like it, though, naturally, since she would not be able to do her head up so well. We did tummy time with Noah as long as he isn't crying. When he started crying, we picked him up. Around 3 or 4 months, it got so easier for him and he was getting to like tummy time. BTW, I have Avent ISIS too and using VERY occationally. I agree it's not so effective. I'd pump when I'm really full, and I'll get a lot of milk of course, but I can't get all milk out. Even after that pumping, Noah would be able to get more milk from me.;) He is way more efficient than ISIS.

Jorgan...good for you Drew started to sleep through the night! Enjoy good sleep while you can, I'm jealous!! (My boy is still getting up several times a night:o )

MrsReber..wow, so there wasn't any symptoms!? That's kinda scary. What'd happen if you didn't notice and was late to take him to the doctor? In your case, it was a good thing he had a pink eye, huh? Is he doing better now?

Joanne...that's a great idea working out during lunch hour! Good luck!!

Kim..Lainey sounds like Noah, he's a power napper, too. Oh, but he did have almost 2 hour nap and I was worried. Usually, less than an hour here and there. I don't know how much naps he should be taking at this age...but as long as he's not cranky when he wakes up, I figure it's enough for him.

Cheryl...at least Garrett is a good night sleeper. That sounds even better than good napper! Sounds like we should mix Garrett and Noah and divide in half, that'd make a good sleeping baby!:p

[Julia1Pin]

Abigail naps for maybe 1-1.5 hours total during the day. She takes 1/2 hour power naps also. MAybe once every couple of days she'll take a 1.5 hour nap, but that's more like once a week.

I guess we all have really active kids :D

Abgiail has had rice cereal mixed with my milk 2 times and after 1 day she's developed pimples on her face :( I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and see if there's something evem more gentle to feed her.

By the way, Right Start (and Zainy Brainy which is owned by them) has gone bankrupt and some of the stores are closing their doors and everything is 30% off. I'm going to get a convertible car seat from their and some other toys. Is there anything you'd DEFINATELY get if it was 30% off.

[JoanneOR]

Great news! Caitlyn's lungs are clear so she appears to be over the worse of her illness. The doctor still wants us to do the breathing treatments for a while, but besides that she seems fine. She is such a little fighter!

I think I'm about ready to give up the pumping. I think I'll do it through February. It really was a pain at first, but now it's just kind of become part of my routine. I do it first thing when I wake up, around lunchtime, in the evening and then before bed. Before bed is the hardest. I am so tired at that point and I just want to crawl into bed! My supply does seem to be decreasing and sometimes I'm lucky if I pump 2 ounces at a time. I just don't know if its worth it anymore. Arta, I have the pump-in-style. It works great. Glad to hear Chloe's growing well and the nurses were supportive of your decision.

I'm not sure how much formula a newborn should have, but I know there is some sort of formula based on weight. I would let her eat as much as she wants. If it's too much, she'll probably spit up and then you'll know to cut back. When Caitlyn came home at two weeks, they said she should eat 18 ounces a day. At first she was taking about 2 1/2-3 ounces at a feeding every three hours, so she was eating about 22 ounces a day. She's gradually worked up to about 6 ounces at a time now every three hours (except at night). So she probably eats 30 ounces now. Wow, that sounds like alot. I hadn't really calculated that before. She had cereal a few weeks ago, but the doctor said she really didn't need it yet. I'm thinking of starting it again. She really seems to be interested in our food! I should know this since she is my fourth :), but are veggies or fruits best to start out with? I think it's veggies, but which ones? I know you should start with foods that aren't too sweet, so they don't get a "sweet tooth" and only want sweet stuff.

Caitlyn hates tummy-time. We really didn't try it with her until the last couple months. She's happy for a few minutes and then gets really upset until you flip her over. She's still not rolling, but I'm working with her, trying to teach her. Maybe if we started tummy-time earlier, she'd be rolling by now. She goes to her side from her back, but that's it.

Caitlyn used to be an OK napper, usually taking at least one long nap a day. Now she seems to be more of a power-napper, too. I think the longest she slept yesterday was 20 minutes. But she is good at night, which I'll take over napping anyday!

Caitlyn actually had an ear infection, too, with no symptons. I've heard that a certain percentage of ear infections will clear up on their own without treatment. I can't remember how many, but it was over 50%. I think if a baby or child has one that is untreated and it is getting worse, eventually they'll have symptoms.

Mrs. Reber, how did your WW meeting go? Good luck. My main objective, too, is to be able to wear my old clothes. It's such a great feeling to be able to wear something that a few weeks ago wouldn't fit over my hips!

OK, I've written a novel again! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[RunnerKim]

Arta - I'm only pumping now at work (and from what I've heard the pump does make a huge difference). It's really not too bad at work since i have an office that I can pump in so can continue to do things (like visit the BB!). You might try returning the pump to a Babies R Us if you have one near you - they'll give you store credit but if you have other purchases to make there anyway, then you wouldn't have to pay postage (their housebrand diapers are the cheapest we've found and work decently for us - cheaper than CostCo). I think they'd take it anyway. What bugged me more than the actual pumping, was the cleaning of the pump stuff. Glad you had a good check-up! I too would just feed her as much as she'll eat -- I had a problem when first switching in figuring out how much she wanted because she'd just spit up a bunch at the end. Not quite sure what happened but within a few days it no longer happened (well not nearly so much spit up anyway). I think she learned what full meant - having never experienced it before perhaps. Now I can tell easily when she's had enough - she just doesn't take anymore, gums the nipple or just turns away. If she fusses at all when the bottles empty I try to give her some more but generally if its just a little fuss, she's not interested by the time I get the bottle ready again. I have a book that calculates how much a baby should be getting based on their weight. If you tell me her weight I'll calculate it for you (well actually I'll have DH do it -- numbers are his thing).

I started tummy time fairly early - around 3 weeks. It was recommended (mildly) by the facilitator of the hospital-sponsored moms group I went to. At the time i just did it for very short periods (a minute or less) and I laid right down on the floor with her so she could see me. I didn't even do it every day. Lainey tolerates tummy time so its not a big deal for us to do. You can also hold her securely on one of those big fitness balls and roll the ball forward a little, which I've seen work really well for babies that just hate having their face planted in the carpet. I wouldn't worry about tummy time too much though - IMO I don't think its worth putting any pressure on yourself at this point (and i've read articles recently saying its really not as big of an issue as it seems to have become - that babies get plenty of time to strengthen their neck muscles in just every day activities).

Joanne - that is great news about Caitlyn's lungs. I'll be curious too to hear what foods people start with (after the cereal). I was thinking we'd probably do mashed sweet potato or banana...

Julia - I'll be curious what the doctor says about the pimples. I'm not sure there's anything milder than rice cereal though?? The book I'm reading (Child of Mine) suggests starting with either rice or barley but I think the barley is just because its an uncommon grain that if it induces an allergic reaction its not hard to avoid in the future.

Jorgan - did Drew wake up again or was it a one time thing? Sometimes I hear that babies regress before going for longer periods of time (wishful thinking maybe?).

We decided to call in to the doctor's office yesterday about Lainey's cough. It doesn't seem serious at all but it's been haning around for close to 3 weeks now. No fever, sleeping and eating just fine and normal pee and poop. She still produces great big tears when she cries so I'm not worried about dehydration! I was hoping they'd just say - yep its a cold just let its run its course, but of course they want us to bring her in. i'm sure its just so the doctor can look at her and say its a cold and let it runs it course (and pay $10) but better safe than sorry. So we're taking her in over lunch today.

The weather has been so wonderful this week and it's going to stay that way over the weekend. Sunny and around 50 (not exactly typical NW winter weather!). Definetly planning a shortish hike somewhere. Go soak up some Vit. D :D

Kim

[Hoodone]

Hi everyone,

I have been lurking for awhile and thought that I should probably just join in the fun! I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter named Katherine. She's the only one and I doubt I could handle another one! She's a handful.

I'll post more later, just wanted to de-lurk for now!

[Jorgan]

Well, I heard Drew start to fuss about 3:00 this morning so I got up, fixed him a bottle and then went to get him out of his crib and he was asleep! He slept until 6:45, yeah! Unfortunately I was awake until 5:30. Lately once I wake up I have the hardest time falling back asleep, it's very annoying.

I started tummy time when Drew was about six weeks old. He also doesn't like being on his tummy. He's fine for about five minutes and then gets mad, but that's usually when he does the best job of lifting his head!

Regarding the amount of formula, we started with 2 ounces about every 2-3 hours, he's currently at 4-6 ounces every 3-4 hours, He eats a lot, about 32 ounces a day!! He was six pounds when he was born and was 11 1/2 at his two month visit so he's catching up fast! Our ped. also said he'll let you know when he's full by spitting up or turning away, just watch for the signals. I do get nervous about feeding him too much.

RunnerKim - I'm so jealous of your weather, this morning it was 14 below zero (Minneapolis), ick!

[cchhbb]

Welcome Hoodone. We look forward to hearing about your little girl.

Arta, Here's a rough formula. Baby's weight * 2.5 = total ounces per day. Divide by number of feedings (typically 8 for a newborn). I'm glad that the nurse treated you well. You tried very hard you need to remember that.

Jorgan, I also have the worst time falling back to sleep. I think it's because I get too awake in the middle of the night. Last night when the alarm went off at 2:30 I got up and woke Garrett, fed him, pumped, washed pump stuff, washed dinner dishes, changed laundry to dryer. I think I just need to do the minimum and get myself back into bed.

Joanne, good to hear about Caitlyn feeling better. I'm really impressed that you have continued to pump for so long. I guess it's really hard to keep your supply up when you just pump. I'm trying to get down to only pumping 5 times per day. I think I'll keep this up for the rest of the month and then decide if I can stand this any longer. It just takes sooo much time.

Garrett slept from 7 pm to 7 am last night. I did wake him at 9:30 and 2:30 to eat. He's not very interested, but the hospital recommends it since he is a low weight baby. 3 1/2 months and only 11 pounds

[RunnerKim]

Welcome Hoodone! I love the name Katherine. I would have used it myself except I have this silly preference that everyone in the family have unique initials. My family growing up was that way and it was so handy to just be able to use initials to mark things etc.

Cheryl! Yes - just feed, pump, wash just the pump stuff and back in bed! I know its so tempting since you don't have to worry about Garrett needing you, but sleep is more important than laundry. IMHO. Have you thought about buying a 2nd set up pump accessories (you know - the breast suckers) so that you didn't have to wash them in the middle of the night?

Jorgan - that's great that Drew settled himself back to sleep. :) It seems like the cruelest joke in the world to be tired (exhausted even) and not be able to fall asleep! (especially when you know the clock is ticking on when you're going to have to wake up again).

Off to the doctor with Lainey -- as much as I'm sorry that we need to take her in, I'm thrilled to get a mid-day visit (and feeding) in.

Kim

[BeckyM]

I don't have time to write much, but I wanted to welcome Hoodone! My 4-month old daughter's name is also Katherine, but we call her Katie. So, I LOVE your daughter's name. Welcome to our little group!

And thanks Kim for the info on Right Start. There's one here in Cincinnati very close to a place I need to go this weekend anyway. I'm thinking I'll call and see if they have any great deals, and if so, I'll plan to stop by. We are going to need a larger sized baby bathtub soon, and maybe now would be a good time to start picking up some dishes and things for when we introduce solids.

Joanne -- glad to hear Caitlyn's lungs are clearing up and that she's feeling better. I'm sure with her you're even more worried when she has something like that, just because of her other health issues.

Katie is still doing well. She has been out and about lots in the past couple days, and she has been the star of the show everywhere we go. Today I went to lunch with a friend from work, and I stopped in afterwards to show Katie off to everyone. It was good to see people, and I loved hearing how cute they all thought Katie was (though I'm sure that's the most common remark when people meet a baby!). I talked to my boss for a bit, and he wants to meet with me soon to discuss my return to work, which is scheduled for early April. He even brought up that they're planning to accomodate my desire to work three days a week, so that made me feel really good. Now I just need to find childcare! Ugh!

My other big challenge right now is that DH's mother has been in the hospital. She has all sorts of health issues and has been in and out of the hospital three or four times since this past summer. It is really hard on DH, because he is one of two siblings here in town (he has four others who live elsewhere), and he feels a real obligation to help out however he can. I don't begrudge the time he spends helping his parents, because I know their needs are more urgent than mine right now, but it does make it more difficult for me to get things done around here. I keep planning to have him watch Katie while I accomplish some things, then it turns out that he needs to spend time at the hospital or helping his parents at home. The good news is that his mom came home from the hospital today, but the bad news is that she is still very weak, and they need lots of help. Luckily one of DH's sisters came into town to help, and another one arrives Monday. Poor DH still has lots to do for his parents though, and he doesn't get to see Katie as much as he'd like. I just hope MIL gets better quickly. She is a wonderful woman, and I hate to see her weak and in pain. I also hate to see DH so torn between wanting to be with his parents and wanting to spend time with Katie (and me). I also wish there were more I could do to help. DH doesn't want Katie around his mother right now because of risk of infection, so I haven't even been able to visit his mother or help out much. Last night I was able to make dinner for DH, his father, and his sister though, so I feel like I've at least helped a bit.

Well, time to go grab some dinner before it's time to feed Katie again. She's napping peacefully right now -- in her swing, not the crib. We'll work on the crib again next week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Becky

[albus87]

Welcome Hoodone! I guess you and I are the newbies to this board. I love the name Katherine and would have liked to have considered it for our daughter. However, DH's ex had that name, so that wouldn't have been a good thing :)

Kim: You are so lucky to have an office where you can pump (and post on the board!) I'm in the military and work in an aircraft hangar where office space is at a premium - our desks are pretty much shoved together with absolutely no space or privacy between them (not even cubicle walls or anything). I'm one of three women in the entire command, there is no break room or lunch room or anything like that. I had planned to move a chair into the shower stall in the women's bathroom and do my pumping there. At least now I'll be spared that indignity.

Thanks for all the advice on the amount of formula Chloe should be drinking. Bottom line: if she continues at the same pace as yesterday, she's drinking too much! Yesterday, she had 28 ounces!(of course, that doesn't include what dribbled out of her mouth while she was sucking it down). She weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces and according to the formula provided by cchhbb (Cheryl?), she should only be having 21 ounces or so. However, she woke up frequently yesterday and seemed to be starving every time - perhaps she was experiencing a growth spurt or something. Today, she seems to be drinking a more reasonable 2.5 ounces per feeding. I'll just have to be more attuned to her "I'm done eating" cues. I definitely don't want to start pushing food on her as such a young age.

DH found out today that he has to go out of town tonight for work. He'll be back tomorrow evening but still, it would have been nice to have had some more notice. Chloe and I will be all alone (at night) for the very first time. I'm sure we'll manage tho. DH is torn up about it. He's afraid he'll miss some major developmental milestone or something!

Well, I think she's waking up... time for another feeding...

arta

[cchhbb]

Arta, Your daughter just may have the need to suck. When I had to feed Garrett from a bottle when I was trying to let my tramatized nipples heal, we over fed like crazy not knowing how much he should eat. I found that he needed to suck more than a bottle was giving him and he couldn't find his hand at that time. He wouldn't take a pacifier so he sucked on my finger. You might want to try that. Also, the formula is a rough rule of thumb. The lactation consultant that I work with always rounds up on weight.

Kim, I hope Lainey is feeling better. You did get kind of a nice break getting to see her at noon though. I think I want to go back to work, but I also know I would miss Garrett.

Cindy, I found the story. Thanks for searching. I am still rocking him to sleep, but am doing a better job on identifying when he is tired. Now if I could just put him down while he slept.

Becky, sorry to hear about MIL. My thoughts are with her and your DH. I hope she has a rapid recovery.

I need to make a run to Right Start if they are having the sale in Atlanta. I need to get a convertible car seat sometime so if they are 30% off now is the time. I'll call tomorrow.

DS took a long time to get sleep tonight. He missed his morning nap and that seemed to throw everything off. I think Garrett might be more of a schedule kind of kid.

Hope everyone has a happy weekend.

Cheryl

[Hoodone]

Hi Everyone,

It's going to take a little while to learn who everyone is, learn about their babies, special circumstances, etc! But thanks for welcoming me! I'm going to try to post a link to a picture of Katherine and me so you can see us. Hope it works:

http://www.growthspurts.com/drivee/images/814445655817.jpg

If it does, that is us at Christmas. I'm not wearing any make-up or otherwise primped, but that is the life of a new mom as I am finding out each day!

My biggest stuggle with Miss K. is getting her to sleep. I see that it is a common problem here! We are taking more of an attachment parenting approach as that is what feels right to me. So we started co-sleeping at about 4 months after a cold totally wrecked her sleeping schedule. Her sleeping schedule still is not good, but co-sleeping allows us all to get a little better rested. So we'll probably have her in our bed until she goes to college or something! ACK!

That's probably enough for now. I usually am able to get on the computer most days as Katherine naps in her Baby Bjorn. Of course, I can't get any housework done with her in there, but I can get on the computer! I'm such a slacker.

Oh, and I love to cook, as you all must do, too, since this is the CL board!

[albus87]

Hoodone: Great picture!

[valchemist]

My gosh, you are both adorable!!!

I have a one year old baby named Julia. Well, she will be one year old on February 19th. She is a BIG "mommy's girl." Still nurses every 2 to 3 hours, even during the night. So, you could say that we have sleeping problems, too. But she is a joy and we love being parents.

Welcome to the New Mom's thread from another lurker. (I post a lot on the Great Food board, but I don't post too often here.)

Val

p.s. may I ask what your screen name means?

[albus87]

Has anyone on the board used Dr. Brown's bottles? I just saw an ad for them on babycenter.com. I read the reviews and while it appears most people love them, a few seem to think they don't work or are not worth the hassle of cleaning.

Chloe is only 12 days old, but we've already tried 3 types of bottles: Avent, Playtex Ventaire and Playtex Drop-ins. The Avent was a disaster. She was gassy and spit up horribly. The Ventaire was a marked improvement in gassiness but she couldn't get anything out of the stage 1 nipple and the stage 2 nipple's flow was too fast. She wore more formula than she actually took in. We've been using the Playtex drop-ins for two days now; they are working well thus far but she still seems to be a little gassy - or at least she burps a lot during and after her feedings. She's been very fussy today and I don't know if it's gas or if she is just feeling a bit contrary.

Anyway, if anyone has tried the Dr. Brown's, I'd love to hear about your experience with them. I'm a little hestitant because of all the parts they seem to have... that's one thing I didn't like about the Playtex Ventaire.

Val: Thanks for posting the info about your little one. I've been in the same boat as Hoodone - trying to learn about everyone, how old their babies are, etc. Of course, I knew most of you on the pregnancy board, but it's still hard to catch up!

[Hoodone]

Valchemist: My birthday is February 19th! I'll be (gasp) 40!! I'm in denial, can you tell? Katherine will be 6 months on the 19th as her b-day is August 19th. My screen name is not that interesting. My surname is Hood and we used to have an e-mail address of hood1. Somehow that just morphed into Hoodone for the internet. But it is useful because it is never already taken!

Albus87: I don't know anything about bottles as Katherine is exclusively breastfed, but I have heard good things about Dr. Brown's. It's probably worth it to try them!

[nori]

Hoodone...welcome! And you two look great! Katherine is so adorable (so are you!) My son Noah was born Aug. 29th so he is almost same age as Katherine.

Val...Is Julia always hungry at night? I mean she pretty much sounds like Noah, and he's getting up every 2 hours to eat. :eek: Another reason here is maybe teething, but I think he's comfort nursing, too. He slept 7 hours one night but that was it.:rolleyes:

Arta...I;ve heard good things about dr. brown but i'd never used it. sorry can't be any help.

my time is up....gotta go! i haven't even read everyone's posts!

[MrsReber]

Hello! Checking in here. We had snow on Friday so I was working from home. DH called the number at his job where they have a recorded message about delayed openings. It said to report at 10:00am, which was ridiculous as the snow was still falling! He kept calling back and the message didn't change so he went in. When he got there, he found out that the message had been changed about five minutes to 10:00 and only essential personnel were to report. Duh- eveyone showed up! We were expecting snow today, but it still hasn't started.

Welcome Hoodone! Great picture! I have 2 kids - Casey 20 months and Brenden 7 months. Yikes! Right now, Brenden is sleeping. It took me 20 minutes to get him to sleep and then Casey walked in his room and started yelling at him! He woke up and I ushered her out quickly. Then it took him another 15 minutes to calm down and get back to sleep!

Joanne, WW went well. It's pretty interesting how that all works. I am trying to keep track of points. I found that I really wasn't eating so badly except for the "extras", you know, cookies and desserts. I can limit myself to a little ice cream at the end of the day and be happy. It's tough with kids, though. I hate throwing away food that Casey doesn't eat so I'll end up eating part of her lunch. I did make the no points soup and had that for lunch. DH, of course, goes to the store on Friday and comes home with breakfast sausage and Pillbury cinnamon buns. It was a challenge, but I found that I could eat the sausage, one egg and a slice of wheat toast. Then I went back to the no points soup for lunch. It's a bit of a challenge and I hope I'm counting points correctly. It's not as easy as you'd think since I cook a lot.

Nori, yes, I guess it was good that Brenden had pink eye so we could find his ear infection. I suspect his second tooth should be coming along soon. He hasn't been sleeping so well. I gave him a little Motrin last night. On Saturday night, he fussed from 2:00am on. I was so tired yesterday. Good thing I work from home on Mondays! I have to run and get Casey some lunch- and keep her out of Brenden's room!!

[valchemist]

Originally posted by nori


Val...Is Julia always hungry at night? I mean she pretty much sounds like Noah, and he's getting up every 2 hours to eat. :eek: Another reason here is maybe teething, but I think he's comfort nursing, too. He slept 7 hours one night but that was it.:rolleyes:



Well, I don't know if she wakes up and cries for me because she is hungry or for some other reason. But she always wants to nurse when I go to her. And that definitely the only way she will go back to sleep.

[cchhbb]

Hoodone, great photo. You sure don't look like someone who is turning 40.

Arta, sorry, I can't help. Garrett uses the Avent bottles. Early on he wore a lot of food as he couldn't coordinate suck, swallow and breathe.

Val and Nori, wow, you 2 must be really sleep deprived.

I think Garrett does better with a schedule. I decided to introduce one about a week ago and he surely sleeps better with one. I still feed on demand, but I do try to get him to sleep at regular times. He goes to bed between 7 - 8 and gets up about 7:30. I do wake him to eat at 10, 2:30, and 6:30. He's napped twice in his bed so far. Only about 1 hour at a time though.

DH and I have agreed that our Valentine's present to each other is a cleaning service to come in. I called this morning and am waiting for a call back. Our 3rd anniversary is Saturday and we are leaving Garrett for the first time with a sitter. We're going out to eat alone.

Cheryl

[nori]

Val...the reason I'm asking you about those question is, my DH insists that when Noah is 6 months old, we should stop nursing him at night. His theory is that he "should have" big enough stomach to hold food for entire night.:rolleyes: Personally, I don't really mind nursing him at night...Like Julia, I tried to rock him to sleep but not much success. My ped. suggested we could train him to sleep better, which is not totally cry it out, but basically try to eliminate night feedings...I'd ask him if there's anything BAD about nursing at night, besides mom's sleep deprivation. :) I hope his answer is no, as long as mom doesn't mind, nursing at night is fine. (Then I can tell my DH that's what doctor said!) But I don't like to argue this with DH because I'm always the one getting up at night, and he just thinks the baby should follow month-by-month schedule like every other babies.:eek: I don't agree with that.

Cheryl, that's nice you'll have house cleaning service!! What a treat! I just finished cleaning the house while carrying Noah's babycarrier around (so that he can see me and won't cry.). It wasn't easy, I tell you.;) Happy early Anniversary!!!! Enjoy your time together on Saturday.

Becky..sorry to hear about your MIL. Maybe you can send photos of Katie to her...or frame it, so she can put it on the wall. Hope things will get better soon.

MrsReber, it'll be tough to deal with 7 month and 20 months in the same house. You're superMom!!! Brenden is not sleeping well either, huh? I wonder the reason Noah is not sleeping well is because of teething, too...(I'm hoping this will pass soon...can you tell?:p )

[valchemist]

I am used to getting up with Julia at night now. If she wants to nurse in the middle of the night, I am going to let her. She will only be a baby for a little while longer and I don't see any point in making her life miserable so I can get an extra hour of sleep at night.

I think you are right to follow your gut rather than what the books, DH, or doctors say the baby "should" be doing. :)

[RunnerKim]

Wow - this thread has been busy!

Can't help on the bottles -we've had success with Avent. I did notice that a woman at the moms' group with a supper fussy baby used the Dr. Browns. With Chloe still being so young her digestive system is really developing - you might try different bottles again in a bit to see if anything works better than it did before (if you'd prefer a simpler bottle).

Hoodone - great picture! I was prouncing (in my head) your screen name as Hoo-done, so that's helpful. I have the world's worst guesses at pronunciations - I'm always wrong! The baby bjorn was one our best purchases.

Lainey (Eleanor) was born Sept. 23rd, 2002 (almost 4.5 months). She's my first/only. It is hard to keep everyone straight!

Barbara - I was wondering last night if Ellie is still waking up screaming after you put her down? Lainey did that last night (well she wasn't screaming bloody murder) and I thought of you. She instantly went to sleep when I picked her up, if she hadn't gone down right away again I would have probably taken her to bed with me since she was so obviously comforted/secure in my arms. I know I'd regret it though because I sleep horribly with her in bed with me and it freaks DH out (he's afraid of rolling on her). No room with a golden and 2 cats staking out room either :eek:

I don't recall if I posted after my doctor's appt. on Friday? Lainey probably has a mild case of RSV. Doctor said not to do anything about it since she seems to be handling it just fine. Keep a close watch for fever, labored breathing etc. Just seeing the doctor seems to have made things better - no more coughing fit in the early morning and she seems a little less congested. DH on the other hand became majorly congested -- he's a horrible sick person as he only gets sick once a year and just finds it incredibly annoying.

Kim

[Jorgan]

Hoodone - I agree with everyone here, very cute picture. I wished I looked that good with no makeup!

Albus, we use Avent bottles so I can't help with the Dr. Brown bottles. I have heard the same thing that you have, most people really like them. The only negative thing I've heard is that there are a lot of pieces to them, but if that prevents the gas than it is worth it.

I have a question, I had Drew three months ago and I still haven't gotten my period. Is that normal? I know with breastfeeding it takes a while to return but we only did that for two weeks. I was pretty abnormal before I had him, maybe that has something to do with it??? I've taken a pregnancy test but it was negative. I have a perscription for the pill but haven't started them yet since I still haven't had my monthly visitor. Not that I'm complaining!

[BeckyM]

Hi All!

Hoodone -- thanks for the username explanation. I was also pronouncing it mentally as "who done". I was thinking it might have something to do with mysteries, like a "whodunit". And what a great picture! I agree you look much younger than you said you are, and of course Katherine is just precious.

My little Katie (also a Katherine) is four months old. She is our first, and DH and I are really enjoying parenthood. I would post a picture, but we don't have any on the web anywhere, and I don't think we can post pictures here directly from our home computers. Anyway, Katie has dark hair and brown eyes like mine, but we think her face shape comes from DH.

Thanks for the well-wishes for my MIL. She is now home from the hospital and is doing very well, all things considered. She is still in poor health and needs lots of help, but things are looking up. One of DH's sisters was in town over the weekend to help, and another one is coming in today. We took Katie over to see her grandmother yesterday, and that seemed to make her really happy. Katie was a real charmer while we were there -- she even giggled, which I have only heard her do once before.

Happy anniversary Cheryl! DH and I have our fourth anniversary on Thursday. We too are going out for dinner to celebrate, and it will be our first time to leave Katie with anyone other than family. This is almost like family though, because DH asked our next-door neighbors to watch her. We are very close to these neighbors, plus they are experienced parents, and she is a nurse in a newborn ICU, so we feel very comfortable that they'll take good care of Katie.

On the subject of bottles -- we only give Katie bottles occasionally, and she seems to do well with the Avent. We also tried some cross-cut nipples the hospital gave us (supposed to prevent nipple confusion for breastfed babies), but she got really frustrated with them, and we switched back.

nori -- our pediatrician did say there is nothing wrong with feeding the baby in the middle of the night. He said it should be up to the parents to decide if it's working okay for them or if they want something to change. If you can, it might help to get your DH to go to the doctor's appointment with you and Noah, so he can hear the doctor say that for himself.

Well, time to put Katie down in her crib for a nap. Wish me luck!

Becky :)

[valchemist]

Originally posted by RunnerKim
The baby bjorn was one our best purchases.



LOL. This was my worst puchase. I spent $80 on something I never used. It was too hard to get Julia in and out on my own, and once I got her in it, she didn't even like it.

[albus87]

Thanks, everyone, for all the advice on bottles. Yesterday was a rough day... Chloe was extremely fussy and SCREAMED for hours and hours. It was pretty obvious she had gas because she was pulling her legs up toward her belly and burped and passed gas frequently. DH and I started thinking about it and realized her fussiness/gas started pretty much when we changed bottles from the Ventaire to the Playtex drop-ins (we had already determined that Avent bottles give her gas). So, we switched back to the Ventaire and within a single feeding, she was much calmer and slept for 5 hours (she must have been exhausted because she hadn't slept for hours before then). However, as I mentioned in my earlier post, she can't get anything out of the Ventaire Stage 1 nipples and the Stage 2 nipples' flow is too fast. So, at 1 am last night, I ordered the Dr. Brown's system and it's being fedex'd. She's so much better with the Ventaire bottles that DH is afraid to try the Dr. Brown's. However, I'm afraid she is going to choke on the fast flow of the Ventaire bottles. Since I'm the one who feeds her most of the time, we've decided I get 51% of the vote! I'll report back on the Dr. Brown's once we try them.

Thanks for the quick summary on everyone's baby. I took notes! Here's the info on our little family: Chloe Renee is 13 days old and will most likely be our one and only. DH and I are "older" first time parents (I'm 35 and he's 41) and we've decided we only have the stamina to do this once! We also have three kitties at home who have been adjusting well (tho they appear to be scared of the baby). We are both in the military. Poor DH has already had to go back to work, I'll be heading back to work at the end of March, when my 6 weeks maternity leave combined with 2 weeks of vacation is up. I don't have a choice about going back to work but I just know that first day back is going to be truly awful. Luckily, my boss is very pro-family and I don't believe he will begrudge me time off, provided I don't abuse the privilege.

Becky: I'm glad your MIL is doing better. I'm sure seeing her granddaughter lifted her spirits immensely.

Kim: I hope Lainey (and your DH!) recover from their illnesses soon!

arta

[nori]

Val...I'm totally agree with you! My problem is how to convince my DH.:rolleyes: But I doubt he'd be able to wake up to stop me at night! He doesn't even know now how many times I'm getting up.:D

Becky..what your ped said is really assuring, and I'm so glad you shared it with me! I hope my ped would say the same thing. I'm a little worried he might say something like my DH's been saying. Honest, it's not really bothering me...I'd rather have him nursed than let him cry to sleep every night!
Glad to hear your MIL is getting better.

Jorgan..I'm bfing so not much help here (mine isn't back yet!) You may be still too early for that..although I'm not sure. Isn't it nice, though, not to have to worry about that "thing"?

Kim...Poor Lainey.:( And you two. This sick thing must be in full swing in this season. Hope you all feel better soon.

[MrsReber]

Jorgan, beware!!! Take it from one who knows. Not to be too personal, but I really hope you are using some method of birth control for the time being. It is absolutely possible to ovulate before your see your friend again! I'm sure your doctor told you all about that. DH and I were using a form of birth control and when Casey was 5 months old, I was pregnant again. Surprise!!

Brenden was getting very gassy with bottles. I think it was more the switch to formula when he's at daycare. He doesn't seem gassy at all when I'm home feeding him. We use the Avent bottles and haven't had any problems at all. Brenden now has two teeth! I knew he had a reason for being crabby! He usually sleeps pretty good. I'm not fooling around with that anymore. When I hear him getting really fussy, I get the infant Motrin out. Mommy needs her sleep! He went to bed around 8:30 last night. Then he was up at 11:30 and wanted to eat. Okay, I nursed him and was back in bed by 12:00. Then he was up at 2:00. I knew that wasn't hunger. I tried to just sit with him for a bit, but that didn't work. I got out the Motrin and then nursed him. That calmed him down more than anything. I was back in bed at 2:40. Then Casey got up at 3:30. She always comes to my side of the bed when she wakes up at night. I pulled her into the bed and went back to sleep. She did fuss a couple of times. Then the alarm went off at 5:00. Yuck.

Arta, it's so hard coming back to work. I guess it depends on the person and the job situation, but DH and I are trying to figure out how to make things work on just his salary. We both really want me to be at home with the kids. As it is, I am able to work from home on Mondays. With all the snow we've had, I was unable to come into work a few times. I just work from home on those days. It helps to have a family oriented boss. My boss has two daugters and he understands that they come first, no matter what. Also, things have been a bit weird around here lately so I'm not so into my job. I do love most of the people here. They're very supportive.

Well, I better get back to it! It's very quiet here right now. The roads were terribly icy this morning so I'm sure people are coming in a bit late.

[Hoodone]

I took a page out of albus87's manual and took notes on everyone, too! It will just take me a little bit of time to figure it all out as I have what I call "mommy mush brain". Does anyone else have this syndrome? It could probably also be called sleep deprivation as Katherine keeps me up a lot at night!

Thanks to everyone for their kind words regarding our picture. Does anyone else ever post pictures? I'm interested in seeing people, but understand that some folks have issues with putting pics in such a public place as the internt. I'm just so darn proud of my baby I have to show her off in public!

I hope to learn everyone's individual situation soon so I can respond more personally to everyone's post. Meanwhile, Katherine and I send everyone well wishes!

[nori]

Here's my little Noah!! I just figure this photo thing out lately, so hope this works. (Let's hope I remember how to do it.)


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid50/p0b38a09ade40c9a8bd0756c2fa76893c/fca75065.jpg


MrsReber...Yay for Brenden's second teeth! Is it upper-front? I'm sure Noah's is coming up soon, but I can't see it yet. He has enough drooling and bubbling, and chewing and crying already. Is Motrin for gas, am I correct? How can you tell if it's a gas, when he's crying.:confused: Right now, I'm assuming sudden cry Noah has is because of teething, but he was passing some gasses the other day and thought it maybe gas. I just can't tell the difference.

I don't know what's up with him, but he was up every 2 hours last night!!! It reminded me of his newborn days when I slept with him on couch.:rolleyes: I don't know, he'd done 7 hours (okay, only once) before, but it never happened after that.:o Oh well. I'm like Val, I'd feed him on demand. And at night, it's easier for me since after nursing, I can right go back to sleep!!!!

Today we're supposed to have gas inspection come in but don't know what time they'll come.:rolleyes: DH worked on gas line to extend to the kitchen over the weekend so I could have gas oven!! I'm so excited! Hope they'll come soon today, so we can go out after that!

Have a nice day, everyone!!

[erinl]

Hi all,

Here's a quick bio for the new moms on the board. Things have been a little crazy, so I'm slow getting to this. My daughter Hanne will be 7 months old on Thursday. She has one tooth, but I'm expecting #2 any day now. She scoots all over the place and gets up on all fours, but hasn't quite figured out the crawling thing. I'm a SAHM--just turned 28.

I do post photos--if you look at the October mom's thread you'll see my little peanut as a bumblebee. I just haven't updated our website in a long time. Feel free to browse it (http://www.paulanderin.net) though.

I'll write more later, but Hanne has a stinky diaper to be attended to.

edited to add: cute picture of Noah! The second tooth should also be on the bottom. Motrin is just another pain reliever. Mylicon is for gas. If Noah cries and pulls his legs to his chest it's probably gas.

[MrsReber]

Most often the two bottom teeth come in first. They usually show up in pairs or very close together. Casey did't follow that pattern, though. She got her two bottom teeth, then one more on the bottom, then the two on the top. She has 8 more to go and I think they're on their way. I had a feeling that Brenden was getting teeth because of the chewing. Also, he is generally very happy and not fussy. I looked again yesterday for the second tooth and there it was! That's good for him, but bad for me. He bites me when I'm feeding him. We're reaching mommy's threshold!

Nori, Noah is so beautiful! Hoodone, I have posted pictures in the past. Everyone here is so great and it's nice to see everyone's babies! I have one Christmas picture that I posted. I have to do some more. My "little" boy is getting so big. He's in all 12 month clothes now. I suspect he'll grow out of them long before summer, too. He's only 7 months!

As far as "mommy mush brain"- well, I just live with it now. I don't know that it ever goes away. There are so many things that I just can't remember these days. Yet I know the birth weight and length of both my kids and the exact minute of birth. I know when I last changed their diapers and that Casey might need a snack or a drink. I think what happens is that our minds get filled up with these beautiful little beings (who could blame us?) and that leaves little room for much else (like putting out the garbage, feeding the dog, etc). It's my theory, anyway. My SIL's daughter is 10 and she still has mommy brain!

[RunnerKim]

I'll post a picture too...

http://www.wierhere.net/portland/images/elw/LaineyRattle.jpg

I thought DH was pretty much on the mend but he's really out of it today. I'm going to see about getting off early so I can relieve him.

I was so frustrated with the Mush Brain -- what seemed to be the worst was communication with DH. Before it seemed we could almost read each others minds and things were taken care of in a relatively smooth manner. Now it's - bills? I thought you'd paid them?? Have we even gotten the mail this week?? It seems a little better these days - I think we're figuring out how to compensate.

Nori - Great picture of Noah! I say just smile and nod at your DH and just continue getting up at night! If you're okay without, then why not. So what are you planning to bake first in your gas oven??

Arta - have you heard of gripe water? It's suppose to help with gas (like Mylecon) and some people have sworn by it (and others say it does absolutely no good). I think there's only 1 place in Portland that sells it so it might be hard to find, but maybe someone sells it online. I've also heard people say that switching to soy formula really helped their gassy babies. I know it seems like ages away, but many moms with gassy babies say it improves by 3 months. It was quite an eye opener for me at the mom's group I went to to hear a couple of the moms talk about their experiences with their gassy babies. If you can find a group like that (mine was sponsored by the hospital) it seemed to really help them to be able to talk to other women in a similar situation. Do you have family in the area? I'm glad you have a understanding boss - it makes a huge difference. I'm assuming both you and DH are stationed there? Do you have problems/concerns about getting different assignments?

Susan - I get exhausted just reading your night time routine. It seems you've had a really rough past several weeks.

Kim

[RunnerKim]

Joanne - hope you're noticing all the fisted hands in these pictures!

Kim

[erinl]

Kim--you got that outfit at Costco, didn't you?! Hanne has it too!

Lainey is adorable!

[RunnerKim]

Yep - my sister picked it up for her a few weeks ago. I was just noticing the formula stains on it! :o Should have reduced the image size ;)

Kim

[cchhbb]

What cute kids.

Garrett is 3 1/2 months old and is DH and my first. I need to get DH to update our web site and post a picture. If I do say so myself, he's very cute. :) :D

We're trying to put Garrett in bed for naps. It's stressing me out a little bit. He's not sleeping, but at least he's quiet. I know he's tired though. I need some alone time so am trying to get him to nap in his crib.

I went to a seminar today on disciplining your infant and toddler. It was more for toddlers than infants, but I realized that I have really made Garrett the center of our world. I need to work on encouraging play by himself.

Becky, Happy anniversary a little early. I wish I had a neighbor with her experience.

Gotta run, DS is crying.

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

What beautiful babies!! Kim, I saw your post and went back and looked and I did notice the fists. Thanks for pointing that out! Caitlyn's are usually open now. We go back to the neurologist in a month. Hopefully Caitlyn will roll over by then so she won't scare me anymore!

I have some pictures on CD's, would I be able to post those here? I'm terrible at that stuff.

I haven't posted in a few days and I feel like I've missed alot. I only had a chance to skim the posts. The kids and work have been keeping me very busy.

Arta, did you try the mylicon drops? They seemed to work pretty well for Caitlyn when she was younger. You can even put the drops in the formula.

We just use the gerber bottles. They seem fine for Caitlyn. They come in different flows, but we've always used the faster flow (with three holes).

Hoodone, I just turned 40 in August. You probably already mentioned this, but do you have other kids? My bio: it's me, DH, and our four kids (wow, how did that happen?!) Jameson (6), Ian (5), Colin (3) and Caitlyn (5 months).

Happy anniversary (I'm sorry, I forgot who was having them :-) Have a great night out. I wish DH and I could go out more often, but it's just too hard to get a sitter for the four kids. We are going out to dinner on Valentine's Day with our neighbors and all of our kids. It actually should be fun. Not very romantic, though. We went out Friday night to dinner with the kids and they were all really good. We even got compliments on how well-mannered they were. That is really nice to hear. We must be doing something right!

My MIL came over for about a half hour yesterday to watch Caitlyn. The boys were in school and my husband had to go sign up for some park district programs. He comes home and Caitlyn is in her bed screaming. His mother is sitting at the table reading the paper. Now, why couldn't she hold her or entertain her for a half hour?? She has her upstairs screaming. She said she was tired. Because of her heart condition we are not supposed to let her cry. A little bit of fussing is OK, but not screaming. My DH got really upset with MIL and told her never to let that happen again. Well, it won't, because she won't be watching her again. Just my vent for the day.

I think I recognize Lainey's outfit from Costco, too!! They had some really cute baby clothes there around Christmas. I got Caitlyn a couple things, but she's already outgrown them.

I've definitely got the mommy mush-brain. I think it started the day I got pregnant with Jameson. Lately I've started calling my kids the wrong name. They don't appreciate that too much!

[lhall]

Originally posted by JoanneOR
I've definitely got the mommy mush-brain. I think it started the day I got pregnant with Jameson. Lately I've started calling my kids the wrong name. They don't appreciate that too much!

LOL! My mom used to get us confused with the dogs & cats.

OH, and your MIL ranks up there with Susan's. Poor Caitlyn

Leigh

[MrsReber]

Joanne, your MIL is unbelievable! I can't believe she let Caitlyn cry like that! How awful! I don't blame you for not wanting her to watch Caitlyn anymore. But then again, you know how I feel about MIL's!!! My own MIL called to give us grief over the weekend about how poor she is, can't get her car fixed. She was out, her car was making a funny noise. I don't know why she didn't drive it to our house. SIL even told her to drive it over so DH could look at it. DH told her she should bring it over. She drove it to Sears instead. I think so she could cry about having to pay to get it fixed. Hey, why come spend any time at all with your grandchildren on your day off?

Anyway....Joanne, I do so wish I had four children. DH and I went out to eat last Wednesday with the kids. They were great in the restaurant and people stopped on the way out to tell us how beautiful they were and how blessed we are. I love that :D! I enjoy taking the kids out because I just love to spend time with them. DH and I have very little time alone together these days, but we both enjoy playing with the kids after work!

Cheryl, at 3 1/2 months, I wouldn't worry too much about Garrett playing by himself. Brenden is just starting to do this at 7 months. Now that he can sit without support, I put him on the floor with toys all around him. Oh, this only works when his big sister isn't around! She likes to steal his toys. We're working on that. I sure could use a class on toddler discipline!

Kim, I wouldn't have even noticed those formula stains if you didn't point it out. Stains are nothing new in my house! I used to hate white baby clothes until my SIL told me she loved them. I thought she was crazy, but then she told me she just bleached all the white outfits and they came out just fine. I was hesitant to use bleach on baby clothes, but it's really only a few things. It doesn't seem to irritate them at all.

[erinl]

Originally posted by JoanneOR


My bio: it's me, DH, and our four kids (wow, how did that happen?!) Jameson (6), Ian (5), Colin (3) and Caitlyn (5 months).

My guess...you're a good Irish Catholic! I've seen your kids names before, but this is the first time I thought, "Hmm, do you think she's Irish?!"

And I don't blame you on the MIL issue. At least DH took a stand and reprimanded her. Recently, I spent the night at my in-laws because DH was out of town and they wanted to "help." DD doesn't like sleeping there, so she was up crying a lot. They wouldn't let me take her. ("No, no. You get some sleep." Like I can sleep with her screaming in the other room.) MIL left a remnant of a bottle on the counter all night which FIL proceeded to feed Hanne when he was up with her. FIL drove my car without adjusting the seat or mirrors. (He's at least 6' tall. I'm 5'3". Do you think that was safe?) Also, FIL likes to feed Hanne things behind my back. I actually didn't say anything about any of it, because I'm not going to change them, but I told DH that I would NEVER do that again. He agreed.

[valchemist]

Originally posted by JoanneOR
My bio: it's me, DH, and our four kids (wow, how did that happen?!) Jameson (6), Ian (5), Colin (3) and Caitlyn (5 months).



how do you pronounce Jameson -- is it how it looks? 3 syllables? do you call him that or do you have a nickname? just wondering. I really like the name.

[Kayla]

Okay ladies, I'm just really nosy and a lurker sometimes on this thread (I love little kids, and hearing new mommy stories, what can I say :rolleyes: ).

I have to comment though on the absolutely PRECIOUS pictures some of you have posted!!

Hoodone - your darling baby is adorable and you look absolutely radiant and thrilled to be a mommy :)

Nori - TOO cute! I think the days when babies are first able to lift up their heads like that and look out at the world are some of the most darling moments of the first year

RunnerKim - you have a gorgeous little baby, and what beautiful eyes!!

All right, checking out now (or returning to lurking ;)), just wanted to say how lucky all your ladies are!!

Kayla

[JoanneOR]

Leigh, luckily we don't have cats or dogs or I'd probably get them mixed up too!

Erin, I'm Irish (well, only about 1/2) and Catholic, but I don't know about good! My DH is all Irish.

Jameson is three syllables. It's Jay-mah-son. We usually call him Jay, but he doesn't like it. He likes to be called his full name. Yes, he's only 6! And, no, he's not named after the whiskey! We've had that question before. We actually picked it out of a baby name book after he was born since we couldn't decide on a name. My husband suggested the name Guinness for all the boys. Yes, like the beer. I don't think he was totally serious, but he might of done it if I agreed. That was NOT going to happen!

Mrs Reber, I thought you could relate to my MIL story!

[nori]

Kim, Lainey is so cute! She does have bright eyes! And I didn't notice those fists until you mentioned it. I looked back Katherine's, Noah's and Lainey's and all of them making fists.:) Kind of funny. That's assuring for Joanne, I think.

Joanne..you're right being upset about MIL. She knows Caitlyn's condition, right??? I don't understand how she couldn't go and pick her up...only for half an hour???

Kayla...thank you!;) I'm so proud to be Noah's mom. He's been very good at tummy time now. He used to cry when we put him that way.

Well I have FIL story to tell...some of you remember I was talking about trips he's thinking to make with all his kids a few months back...snowmobiling in WY, and scuba diving in Mexico. Well, snowmobiling we said we won't go, and he did cancel for this year, which was very nice of him. Now, he wants to take us to Mexico in June. He'd pay for everything, including our scuba refresher/(or)advanced class here at local school. We'd take Noah along, and use baby sitter there (at the hotel?). This is a great offer, and I'd be so excited and grateful all of this, but Noah will be still 8 months, breastfeeding, and although it'll be just in the morning or short afternoon to leave him with sitter, I just don't think I can enjoy the whole thing knowing leaving Noah behind.:( I know I may be becoming selfish, but can't help wishing only if FIL could come up with something more baby-friendly. Well that won't happen with him. He hasn't seen Noah yet, and he didn't care to come down to see him.:rolleyes: With this trip deal, I also have to take scuba class which would probably include open water, which is maybe one day trip to somewhere. It's just so much hassle when baby is less than a year old...I'd rather stay home with him, to be honest. But since we canceled the snowmobiling trip, this time I feel like we have to go....we still haven't decided yet, though. DH is supportive, but he thinks Noah will be fine. Well maybe I won't be fine.:(

I thought we're through with FIL with this issue, but now here we are again...do you think it'd be rude to say no to this trip, or go there and just stay in hotel with Noah??

[erinl]

Nori, why don't you go and skip the scuba diving? You don't need to be confined to the hotel. You and Noah could go shopping and play in the ocean. Maybe once you got there and saw the babysitting facilities you'd feel more comfortable. Most resorts offer a mini scuba class, so you could still go out once or twice.

[Hoodone]

Slow down everyone! I can't keep up!

Nori: I totally think you should go on the trip. You can decide later whether or not to go diving or just hang with Noah at the hotel, beach, wherever. Just take lots of sunscreen for that baby skin! Speaking of Noah, what a cutie! Thanks for posting his picture. Katherine is not a good sleeper, either. What bugs me the most is that she is usually up for the day way too early. Lately it has been 4 a.m. Fortunately DH has been taking that shift. What a guy! He knows I need my sleep particularly when I've been BF'ing all night!

erinl: You website is nice. I particularly liked seeing the baptism pictures. Hanne looks cute in her dress! And I wouldn't let my baby visit your in-laws either! Why do some people totally ignore your parenting decisions? Like the feeding thing. What was that? I can't sleep with my baby crying in the other room, either, which DH does not understand. :rolleyes:

JoanneOR: speaking of bad MIL's, if she was too tired to watch Caitlyn, she should have declined. I'm sorry your baby had to go through that! I only have the one little tyke. I think any more would probably kill me as I'm mostly dead already (any Princess Bride fans here?)

I love Costco! I have not checked out any of the baby clothes. May need to do that on my next trip!

Runnerkim: cute picture of Lainey! We have that same rattle.

Mrs. Reber: I'd love to see pics of Brenden and Casey. Please post!

Have a great day, everyone!!

[RunnerKim]

Well DH was kind enough to share his cold with me - so I'm feeling some particularly harsh "Mommy Mush" today. I have a few things I have to get done but then I'm heading home. Fortunately DH's cold broke last night so now he can take care of me :D

Joanne! I would have been totally POed at your MIL!! I think there really is a generation gap in letting babies cry it out.

Nori - I think you and Noah could have a blast at the beach. Don't feel pressured into doing anything your not comfortable with, but I bet there are many things the two of you could do while your DH and FIL went scuba diving.

My mom always got our names mixed up - and yes occaisonly the dog and cats would get thrown in there. OH had mad that would make us!

We've found Spray 'n wash to work wonders on (formula) stains. Those were all fresh stains :o I was just commenting to DH last night that she hasn't been spitting up in awhile (knock on wood).

I'm curious how many feedings a day your babies are taking? Lainey's dropped a feeding and is now down to 5 (4.5 months). She's increased how much she's taking at the others - 6-7 ounces approximately (at her bottle only feedings). Of course what's happened is she's wanting to eat just a little bit earlier in the later afternoon/evening and I'm not always home from work yet. We haven't started her on any solids/cereal yet so I was surprised to see this happen. I think she's also dropping her evening power nap :( It was just 30 minutes but it was a nice time to eat dinner and then go into my evening routine with her.

Cheryl - Lainey is definitely not into independent play. When I wrote my "January update" for her scrapbook, one of our comments was the Lainey actually wants to be put down now. We were so surprised when that actually stopped the fussing the first time. I felt like we'd done a good job making her feel secure and now she was ready for some independence (for oh about 5 minutes max) Saturday, I was over the moon when she was content in the swing for 30 minutes!! in the kitchen with me while I made bread. The most use I've gotten out of that swing yet. We've set her up a couple of times to watch a Baby Mozart video but she isn't really in to it (and I have to say I'm not too disappointed about that).

Kim

[MrsReber]

I'm going to try to post the only picture I have access to right now!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/p0b435d2b91f88406c1387799853574b9/fce93de4.jpg

Let's see if that works!

Joanne, I was thinking about poor Caitlyn on the way home yesterday. It made me so angry. I'm not even her mom, so I can't imagine how angry you were! Anyway, if I hear so much as a peep out of one of my babies in the middle of the night, I always go and look in on them. How did your MIL know that Caitlyn wasn't screaming because her foot or her arm was caught somewhere? What if she were in dire need of help? My mom was over a couple of weeks ago and DH's sister was there. She told my mom what a wonderful grandma she is. I almost felt guilty because I just know she was wishing her own daughter had such a wonderful grandma.

Nori, tough call on the trip. I do agree that you should go and see if you can get out of the scuba trip. Then again, as was mentioned, you may see the child care facility and be totally comfortable with it. I do understand how you feel. My in-laws love to plan trips that are not good for babies. I love to be with my kids and would want to do something where I could bring them along. If I can't, I don't go. A trip to Mexico might be nice, though! I know you probably feel bad. My DH is the same way about having someone watch the kids. He's even handed Brenden to a stranger at a party because he was crying and she was a woman.

Kim, sorry you're under the weather. I hope DH does take care of you! I hardly keep track of Brenden's feedings. I know I feed him twice before he goes to bed and then twice before I go to work. He'll eat at 6:00pm, then I give him some cereal and a fruit or veggie and then he'll nurse again before going to sleep. He's usually up twice a night (STILL!) so let's see....he probably still eats at least 6 times a day, but I would say different amounts each time. I send 2 4oz bottles and 2 6oz bottles to daycare with him. He normally takes them all. No wonder he's so big! He's gotten even bigger these past couple of weeks. He'll be in 18 month size clothes by the time spring gets here- or sooner, by the looks of the snow on the ground!

How odd, it says my picture is temporarily unavailable. Well, I'll leave it up there and see if it magically appears later.

[cchhbb]

Garrett just grew into his 3 - 6 month clothes. I'm so excited as I was getting tired of the few 0 - 3 month outfits that we had. I didn't buy any 0-3 months since everyone said that he wouldn't wear them long. I packed up most of the 0-3 month stuff last night. It does make me sad that he is growing up.

Joanne, poor Caitlyn. Boy that had nerve especially since her condition. She totally disregarded what was best for her.

Kim, soo sorry that you are sick. We've been lucky around here and have kept the sickness bug away. Garrett has dropped a feeding and is down to 7. He seems to want to eat more at each feeding though. He takes between 4 -5 ounces each time. He now weighs about 11 1/2 pounds.

Nori, go to the beach and make your decision after you get there. Meet the baby sitter and then determine if you can leave him. If you don't feel comfortable spend the time in the kiddie pool.

DH and I just signed up for private health insurance today. Our COBRA costs were about $700 per month. We've managed to save about $300. DH has a lead on a great job and had a first interview last week. His old boss knows the CFO there and has contacted him about DH. Please send good thoughts and keep your fingers crossed for us.

Cheryl

[nori]

Thanks everyone for advice regarding our trip to Mexico. See if I could only do morning dive and come back to hotel for the afternoon...The thing is, I'm not comfortable telling this to FIL...he would not understand why I want to do that. If I said I'd stay with Noah and not doing ANY diving at all, He might say "well I'm not going to waste money for that, if you're not scuba-diving!" :rolleyes: Yes, I'm nervous about not knowing so much about babysitters overthere (which my DH is pretty comfortable about it, just like MrsReber's DH), plus I really don't think I can enjoy all day diving knowing Noah is with someone else's care. Plus, he'd be nursing still, and my understanding is breastmilk (or formula) should be primary diet for the baby at least until one year old....so taht means do I have to some expressed milk for babysitter? I'm not good at pumping so it's stressful to think of pumping and storing milk in Mexico! Anyway, we'll gather more information, and see if possible just do a little bit diving and spend time with Noah! As everyone said, it'll be fun to go to beach with him! Actually that sounds more fun than diving. (I can't believe myself saying that....I'd be VERY, VERY excited about this opportunity if I didn't have Noah.)

Cheryl..I know what you mean. I felt kind of sad seeing Noah wearing not-too-babish outfit. He's still a baby, but not a newborn. Well we should be glad about it, but it is sad to think (from mom's perspective) babies growing up!!!

MrsReber...hmmm...your photo is still unavailable.:confused: I'd come back to see if it's working later, though, because I'm dying to see your kiddies!!!:)

Kim....I'm feeding him on demand, and it looks like almost every 2 hours he wants to eat.:eek: A few weeks ago, he could go 4 to 5 hours without nursing but not now. I'm suspecting this is maybe becuase of teething, too??? He may be getting some comfort from sucking my breasts.:o I don't know how much exactly he's eating each time. Edited to say..you asked what I'd make with new gas oven. (sorry forgot to answer before) Well if everything goes as we planned, I'll have it on Thursday, that means I can cook Valentine's Dinner! For dessert, I'll make that chocolate pudding from Jan. issue so it'll be the first baking, I think. :)

[MrsReber]

Okay, there it is! I did something wrong when I copied it the first time. I have to download more pics at home off my digital camera. I have some much newer pictures than that one. The one here was taken in mid-December, about a week before Christmas.

Nori, I still think that a "family" vacation should include your whole family! I wish your FIL saw it that way. You can still enjoy being in Mexico withouth diving all day. Well, good luck with your negotiation on that one.

[BeckyM]

Cute pictures, everyone! Does anyone know if there's a way to post pictures here without them already being somewhere on the web? We have lots of digital pictures on our computer, but we don't have a homepage or anything.

Nori, I agree with everyone else -- you should be able to go on the trip and decide once you're there how much time you want to spend diving and how much with Noah. It's too bad your DH isn't more understanding about your childcare concerns down there.

Well, I'm supposed to go back to work (three days a week) at the beginning of April, but I'm having second thoughts. My employer will allow unpaid leave up until the baby is a year old, and I'm thinking maybe I should take more time. (Returning in April would be six months.) After all, Katie will only be this young once! DH is very supportive of that. He shares my concerns about finding good childcare, and he likes the idea of me being home with Katie longer. I need to look at our monthly finances though and see how much it would cut into our savings. I don't want it to put us in a bind or keep us from visiting my parents in Montana this summer. I haven't told my boss or anyone else at work yet, though I think they'd be supportive. I'm supposed to call my boss this week to set up a time to come discuss my new part-time role. I should probably let him know I'm thinking of delaying my return.

Well, I need to give Katie some attention.

Becky :)

[erinl]

The pictures need to be on the web somewhere. Here's the latest of my little peanut.
http://www.paulanderin.net/images/blanket2small.jpg

Good night, all!

[Julia1Pin]

Joanne - That sucks about your MIL being so insensitive to your feelings. My parents and IL's are ok but my mom gave Abigail water the one time I left her to babysit even though I told her that she doesn't need water since she gets everything she needs from my breat milk.

Hoodone - Welcome. I like your name :)

Nori - Your FIL should be concerned about you having fun, not how you're doing it. Maybe you can just go and not tell him that you're not goingto Scuba dive? Sneaky but maybe worth it in the long run.

Here's the latest pictures taken of Abigail.

http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=698928651938_50312124205&collid=72174662205&photoid=86905176703


http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=698928651938_50312124205&collid=37203712205&photoid=37774712205

BTW, I tried the Whole Foods Rice Cereal and so far so good (no break outs).

Are any of you going out for V-Day (Joanne have fun with the group)? We're going to our favorite restaurant just the 2 of us. First date since Abigail was born :)

[MrsReber]

Becky, I went to imagestation. It's free and you can upload your pictures there and then post them here. If I can figure it out, anybody can do it! A co-worker had scanned that Christmas picture so I could make cards out of it. Well, that never happened, but at least I have it in my computer now so I can make copies!

Erin, what a great picture!! I love that little face! We all have such good looking babies!

Oh, yeah, Valentine's Day. Ha! I just realized this morning that Monday is a holiday! It's going to be quiet around here on Friday so I think I'm going to sneak out a little early. DH said he'd go to our favorite dive and pick up some buffalo wings (they are the absolute best there!). He asked where I was taking him and I laughed. All the restaurants around us are normally packed on the weekend. There's no way we're going out tomorrow. We're too impatient for that. We'd rather go out some other night, order off the regular menu and not be rushed.

Becky, that's great that you get up to a year off unpaid! I wish I had that here. I'd still be home with my babies. Anyway, you have to consider the cost of daycare when figuring out whether or not you should stay home for another 6 months (I say go for it! You'll never regret it!). My daycare for three days a week is pretty expensive. I didn't know what route you were going to take (daycare center, in home care, etc.) but it does add up. We spent almost $9,000 on daycare alone last year and Brenden didn't start daycare until November and Casey was only there 2 days a week when I was on leave. It's a big chunk of change. Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm about ready to sell my car, get rid of cable tv and our telephone so I can stay home!

[Hoodone]

Has anyone done the Picture People thing? I'm wondering if it is too late to rush over there and do a last minute Valentine's day picture for DH. I understand they have props which sounds a little corny, but you never know. I post on another board where someone put up pictures of her baby dressed like Cupid and I have to say it was kind of cute.

Kim: sorry to hear about your cold. I keep hoping I don't get sick because then it would be so hard to take care of a baby all day! Good thing your DH is getting better. With Spray 'n Wash, don't you have to wash right away? I was going to get some, but with a stain stick type product, you can leave it on up to a week before washing. Let me know if you can leave Spray 'n Wash on like that with good results. About feedings, I'm not so good at regulating Katherine. She BF's and sometimes I just pop her on the boob when she's fussy even if it's only been 2 hours. I won't go less than that except at night when I'm too out of it to realize how long it's been since she last ate. She can go around four hours between feedings, but usually I'll feed her at closer to 3 hours. She is almost 6 months old. Here's something else bad I do: if I want to go run an errand or something and it's only been 2 hours since Katherine ate, I'll feed her anyway so we can run errands at my convenience. Will that send me to Mommy Hell?

Mrs Reber: Cute picture of the kids!

Cheryl: How old is Garrett? I don't have that on my Cheat Sheet. I hope your husband finds success in his job search very soon!

nori: I hope you end up going on the trip! It sounds like it would be fun. Let us know...

Becky: I can tell you how to post pics to growthspurts.com and already have instructions written out if you want me to post them. You have to set up an account, but it's free for the first 1 MB of space or about 8 pics. I hope you are able to find a way to stay home for the full year. Such a hard decision, though.

Erin: the pic of Hanne is too cute! Is she hiding under a blanket? Her sweater is cute, too. Nice color on a girl.

Julia1Pin: Thanks for the welcome. I actually do have a "real" name and it's Jennifer. But I'm so used to Hoodone now, I'd probably answer to it verbally as well! Abigail is cute. I liked the football ones! Is the Whole Foods cereal whole grain? I'm planning to switch to a whole grain cereal soon. I make most of Katherine's food following the Super Baby Foods book. Does anyone else do that?

Are people making anything special food-wise for V day? I would, but DH and I are trying to reduce. Plus, my birthday is next week. Plus I asked for chocolate for V day. Any ideas for making a treat that only makes a small amount so it would not be lingering around tempting us for days?

[MrsReber]

Hoodone, my picture is from the Picture People. I like going there because I can usually pop in at my convenience, I can see the pictures right away, and they will re-shoot them right away (provided they don't have 100 customers waiting) if I don't like them. I do usually make appointments. If the kids don't cooperate, it's not a big deal to leave and go back the next day. I like being able to take my pictures home with me. I don't want to wait a week. They are a bit expensive so I don't go there too often! It's probably not too late to do a cute Valentine's picture, though. They sent me an ad with a picture of a cupid baby. It is really cute, but I wonder how they got the kid not to scream! Casey was always great with taking pictures, but the two kids at once is a real challenge. She's concerned about where they put her brother. I'm going to try again for Casey's 2 year pictures and then Brenden's 1 year pictures will be coming up. DH has a huge family so I always end up buying tons of pictures. My mom thought I was crazy buying so many pictures in December, but I actually ran out!

I'm trying to reduce, as well. With WW, I feel like it's a challenge to eat all my food in one day! I was telling DH how I had to eat ice cream last night to get to my minimum points for the day. I'm sure the program is working since I feel thinner and my clothes fit different. I've only been on it one week! I have my first weigh in today. I hope it goes well!! I'm nervous! Like I'll get yelled at or something! But I figure if I eat my normal breakfast tomorrow and then have a salad for lunch, I can eat buffalo wings and not really worry about it. I'll probably have a salad with my wings, too. I love salad.

Let's see, a V-Day dessert. How about those CL chocolate souffles? I think maybe it was last year or the year before that they were in the magazine? I don't remember. Maybe someone else remembers. They were made in those little dishes (like you'd use for cremem brulee, but I can't remember the name of the dishes- I even have a set! Duh!!!!). Each one was one serving. I aslo was thinking you could make something decadent like a CL cheesecake. Then you could freeze most of it and have a good V-Day dessert. For me and DH, I was thinking of a fruit dessert, like an apple crisp. CL had some good recipes for crisps, too.

Oh yeah- ramekins!!! That's what they're called!

[nori]

I LOVE to see those baby pictures!!!!!! We're so lucky to have such beautiful babies!:)

Hoodone, I have Super Baby Food Book, too. I haven't started to give any solid to Noah yet, but I'm planning to after his 6 months appointment end of this month. I've been reading that book, but to be honest, I feel like overwhelmed...it's a big book, and so much information in there! Do you freeze a lot, as she suggested? Did you even make the first rice cereal from scratch (not commercial one??)?

For Tomorrow, I'll cook Filet Mingnon (sp?) from CL and chocolate pudding from Jan issue. (So there's no leftover chocolate stuff around the house...it makes only 2 servings.;) ) I'm thinking to make some coupons for DH...like for back rub, rental movie of HIS choice, Pizza night etc. Oh, and I know it sounds silly, but I bought valentine's Day card for Noah. It's for baby's first Valentines Day and I wrote a message in it, knowing he would not be able to read it.:o Oh well, I thought it'll be fun to include in memory book...he might appreciate it later. (???????when he gets to be teenager???? maybe not....)

No discussion about the trip yet at this point...I really hope the schedule will allow me to be with Noah at least half day...am I too attached to the baby at this point??? There's another problem on the horizon....Dec is our anniversary (5th) and I KNOW DH wants to getaway this year. (I convinced him not to travel last year, as you remember) He'll be 15 months, but I still think I don't want to go away that early, if I can be honest.:o I can tell DH would just roll his eyes and sigh. Maybe I can go one night...but more than that, I would not enjoy it so much. (Sleeping without interruption sounds tempting, though...)

MrsReber...I just saw your post. That's what I'd do for V-day dessert...only one serving! But cheesecake sounds good, too. True, you can freeze the rest, huh? I' was reluctant to make them because it makes a LOT and it was so dangerous to have that baby around the house with me.:D

[MrsReber]

Nori, I am not one to talk, since I am so attached to my babies that I hate to leave them for anything. I do have to say, though, that once I leave the house and my babies are in good hands (preferably my mom), it is very enjoyable. Casey has stayed overnight at my mom's house about five times now. I know I shouldn't feel guilty about it, but it felt great to sleep and to not worry about her. Of course I called my mom to check up on her. I would suggest to compromise with your DH and go away for one night. Not that you won't miss Noah, you certainly will. You'll even think about what he'd be doing. You will, however, have a very nice time. It's the initial separation that bothers me. Once I'm past that, I just look forward to seeing my babies again.

Oh, and about those V-Day cards- my mom has been sending cards to my children from the day they were born. She mailed cards to both Casey and Brenden with $5 in each. She yells at me for putting it into their savings accounts. I mean, really, they don't even know what $5 is at this point! She wants me to buy them something with it. I told her when they're older and they understand money, they'll have plenty of it in their accounts to decide what they want to buy. They each have a savings account and they each have a college 529 account (they direct deposit from my paychecks into the 529 accounts). I don't part with money easily and neither does DH. We make a great pair, but we're so cheap sometimes we have to laugh at the ways we cut corners!

[nori]

MrsReber, I'm so much like you (and my DH is pretty much like yours, I figured.:rolleyes: ). I'm so attached to Noah. I'd never thought I'd be like this, so maybe DH is confused. We even talked about getting a sitter every weekend so we could date.:o No way!!! Well maybe when he gets older, it'll be fun but when he's this small, what I want to do most is spending time with him.

I think he's attached to me a lot, too.....he'd cry in DH's arm, and he'd stop crying when I just lean on him with my shoulder.:D It happened last night and it was kinda funny. It's like my shoulder is his security blanket or something. Well DH won't accomodate Noah's needs (like walking around, rocking him the way he likes it etc.), he'd rock him but in his own way so I can't help him with that. He won't listen to my advice to calm him down.:rolleyes: Anyway...I'm afraid if I'm gone long time, he'd cry himself to no end...that'll be sad. :( And I feel bad for the sitter, too. We'd gone out several nights but each time he ended up crying himself to sleep. I wonder what'd happen if it's overnight. But you're right. I'm sure if I got over the initial separation, I'd enjoy ourselves. He'll be a little older by then so it might help, too.

That's nice of your mom to send a card for each! well no mailed v-card for Noah at this point yet...but at least he got one from me.:)

[MrsReber]

Nori, is there someone (close friend, relative, neighbor) that Noah gets to see a lot? Casey doesn't cry at all when we leave her, as long as she's comfortable. That's why I want people to come to our house to watch her. I won't leave her in a strange house with people she doesn't see often. I also won't leave her with anyone that I haven't seen her interact with in a good way. Brenden does the same thing-he cries for me no matter what. My mom says boys are like that! They love their moms! He really is attached to me. When I am trying to get something done at home, like make dinner, I sometimes have to be out of Brenden's sight or he'll just cry at me. It's sad, I know. My mom has a pretty good relationship with both of them because she watches them on Fridays. They trust her. Casey does miss me and she'll look for me. By the end of the day, Brenden is ready for mommy. It's sad, but you have to enjoy life a bit, too. I hated leaving the kids to go to dinner last November, but we were only gone for a little over an hour. They did just fine. Last week, DH had to come pick me up - long story about a stupid cop who had my car towed. DH called our neighbor across the street to watch the kids for 20 minutes while he picked me up. My neighbor said Casey stood in one spot the entire time and stared at her until we got home! Anyway, my point is, if you can, foster a relationship between Noah and someone that you can trust with him. Then try leaving him for an hour to run to the store or something. Since you're like me, you'll rush through the store to get home! Once you get home, you'll see that everything is fine. It's hard. I know it's hard. I even had second thoughts about going to DH's Christmas party last year. But we went, we had a good time and the kids were asleep when we got home. They were just fine.

[nori]

MrsReber, we have several good friends around the town (our families are not living close, unfortunately), and some of them already baby-sat Noah. I wish I had my or DH's family here with us though...that'll make things easier. I assume Noah maybe be okay if it's morning or afternoon...he's much happier at that time than night anyway.

I think you're right. He'll be fine. Problem is maybe ME.:o

[MrsReber]

Originally posted by nori
I think you're right. He'll be fine. Problem is maybe ME.:o

I hear you on that one! I KNOW the problem is me! I have separation anxiety every time I leave them behind. My sister's friend once said, about her own baby, "I never thought it was possible to love another person so much". Truer words were never spoken.

[nori]

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

MrsReber, maybe I should just PM you or something. Where's everyone!!?? Are you at work??? Hope the day will go quicker for you.

Tonight we have a change of plan. A friend of mine invited us over to her church's Valentine's Day Dinner so we decided to go there with them. (she and her BF) They also provide a baby sitter, or if we want, we can keep Noah, too. But I think I'll leave him with them, since by that time he should be pretty sleepy or sleeping. I was spared from cooking tonight! I promised DH I'd make that menu sometime later.

I got a nice card and DVD from DH this morning. I got him a card, M&M (his favorite...crispy kind) and movie "Chicago" soundtrack. I also bought a book for Noah, and DH did the same thing!!!:) So Noah got a card, and two books.

I just realized now I didn't get a chocolate....well the day is not over yet!:D DH knows my favorite I really hope he'll get me one.:p

[MrsReber]

Nori, I was wondering the same thing! Where is everyone? Well, that's okay, we can still chat.

Last night, we got two more cards in the mail from my dad. He never remembers to send cards for anything so I was pretty surprised. Casey got a Barney card. She loved it. Brenden tried to eat it.

Sounds like a nice dinner out for you. I'm going to try to sneak out of here so I can get home tonight at a decent hour. The kids are with my mom today. It always takes so long for me to pry them away from her so I can go home! At least she loves them to pieces. I'm glad for that.

I hope you get to try your new oven out soon. I love gas ovens. I burn everything on electric ones.

Hope you get your chocolate!

[nori]

I'm working on our tax return now...what a pain.:mad:

That's funny Brenden tried to eat the card...actually Noah tried to eat the book we gave him.:o I think they are in the stage of "eating everything they can grab".

Yeah, new oven! We got it yesterday! It is great. I just made scrambled eggs and bacons this morning, and I'm so glad I got this. Our oven that came with this house is sooo small...and one lack was missing. I'm going to bake some cookies this afternoon to see how they'll turn out. This week had been all this gas constraction around the house. Today is the first day of the week no one will be coming in and out.

I'd be more efficient if I had a chocolate with me right now....oh no Noah is crying gottago!

Have a nice day!

[Julia1Pin]

Yesterday was so busy at work I'm surprisd that my fingers weren't smokng from all the typing:rolleyes:

So yesterday I spent all day at work and then had to go to a work function afterwords (the function was fun and I was bummed I had to leave early). It was the first time I had been gone from Abigail fo rso long. It really is amazing how attached you get to a little person! She was all smiles when I got in the door though (even though I was 30 minutes late in feeding her:eek: ).

Hoodone (Jennifer) - I believe that the Whole Foods rice cereal is whole grain.

I am also guilty of feeing Abigail early so I can take a class at the gym that starts when she's suposed to be eating, etc....

[MrsReber]

Yes, I'll feed Brenden early to accommodate my schedule. I always "top him off" as DH says, if we are going somewhere! He hasn't refused the offer yet. That boy is getting very big!

[cchhbb]

I couldn't get on the boards for 2 days. I could get onto other sites, but not CL.

GREAT NEWS!!!!!! DH got a job offer today!!!!!!!! He needs to continue to negotiate with them but will most likely start on Feb 24.

How cute of you to get a card for Noah, Nori. I should have gotten one for Garrett. DH and I decided to get a cleaning service for our anniversary (tomorrow) and Valentine's Day present to each other. They came yesterday and it was worth the money.

I'm on my way upstairs with a bottle of Champagne to surprise DH. We need to celebrate.

Cheryl

[erinl]

Hi everyone! I've been around--just lurking a lot. Nothing new going on here.

I didn't get Hanne anything for Valentine's Day. She did get cards from her Aunt Becky and Uncle John, Grandma and Grandpa, Great-Grandma and Grandpa, and her Bedstemor (Danish for grandma--also a great). They'll all go in her baby book and the $5 that Bedstemor sent her will go in her savings account.

My parents should be here in about a half hour. They'll take me back to Ohio for 2 weeks. DH is travelling two weekends in a row for work. Ah, life in IT.

Have a great weekend, all.

Oh, and yea to Cheryl's DH! That's great news!

[albus87]

Wow. I was away from the board for a couple of days and there are tons and tons of posts! I'll have to go back and read them more in depth later on.

However, I did notice the advice about Mycelon (or Mycilon) drops from Joanne and Kim. Are these something I can buy over the counter or are they prescription? Chloe was awake almost all night last night, screaming much of the time. The only time she'd calm down was when I held her. She'd then fall asleep, I'd put her in her crib and within 5 minutes, she would be awake crying again. I think she had gas, because she kept pulling her legs up to her belly. She was so agitated, I couldn't do any of the gas relieving remedies I've read about (bicycling her legs, rubbing her belly, etc). I'm not sure if it is the bottles, the formula or if I'm simply not burping her enough. It's so hard to watch her in distress and not be able to do anything about it.

One thing I noticed last night, however, is that the consistency of her bowel movements changed. She had 3 big ones last night and instead of the fairly runny consistency we'd previously seen, these were really thick and stinky, with a consistency similar to peanut butter. Is this typical for formula fed babies? She's been fairly calm today (don't ask me why I'm not sleeping since I didn't last night!), maybe she just had to get that stuff out of her system.

Well, I'm going to try to get a little sleep in before my little angel wakes up again... have a great day everyone...

arta

[cchhbb]

Arta,

You can buy the drops over the counter. Walmart type stores have their own ones which are a lot cheaper and the nurse I see said they are the same thing.

I can't help you on the BM. Sorry. I did read that formula babies have less runny BM. I wouldn't worry.

Erin, Have a great time in Ohio. Where do your parents live? I grew up outside Toledo.

Well, I'm going back to celebrating.

Cheryl

[Hoodone]

We ended up going to the Picture People for some suprise Valentine's photos for DH. They turned out well and so we got two of the poses. Plus we had a coupon for a free sheet and signed up for their club and got another free sheet. So we ended up having enough photos to give both grandparents complete sets and also the cousins wallets of 2 poses. Since we can go back whenever we want now, I plan to take Katherine back to get some in her baptism gown if she has not already outgrown it. We had some very expensive professional ones done, but I would like some more and don't want to pay those expensive people more money, even though the shots are very nice.

For Valentine's day dessert I ended up making chocolate covered strawberries. This was the first time I ever made them. The turned out yummy although not very professional-looking. A few looked really good, but most just tasted really good. I got Katherine some clothes from Gymboree for V day. What else was I supposed to do while waiting an hour for the Picture People photos to be ready?

Nori: so far I have done most of Katherine's food, but the only "batch" cooking and freezing I've done is sweet potatos. It is very convenient to pop out a couple of cubes for her. I have also fed her bananas and avocados. Those I just mash and strain as I go. I'm anxious to move beyond the straining age because that is the biggest pain. I did not make the beginner rice cereal due to the iron supplement. I want to ask my pediatrician (next week) if we'll need an iron supplement if I do homemade cereal.

Cheryl: CONGRATULATIONS to DH on the job! And I totally have a maid. It's worth every penny. I used to feel guilty until the woman who found the maid for us pointed out how lucky we are to be able to provide a someone a job. Hum, I never thought about it that way before!

Arta: I can't comment on the Mylicon drops other than to say we have not found them to be helpful ourselves but other people swear by them. About the poop consistency (and SMELL, I might add), it totally changed for us once we started on solids and is now as you describe. I wanted to go back to pure breastfeeding, but DH said no! At least the frequency of pooping is much less now. We also had to do a prune feeding to get things moving.

[valchemist]

here is a picture of Julia. this one is recent, but it is kind of blurry. I don't really have any recent good ones. I am sure I will have a few good ones after her birthday on wednesday.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid51/pfa9e87e63d01d3dbd9817e1dcae7cc0e/fca33778.jpg

[albus87]

Val: Julia is ADORABLE! Actually, all the pictures of the babies are adorable. What is it about babies that makes them so darn cute!
I need to figure out how to access our digital pictures of Chloe and put one on the thread.

Chloe and I had a much better night last night. By much better, I mean she slept for 7 hours straight last night (and so did I!). I was shocked when she started making noise and it was 5 am. I had been expecting her to wake up at about midnight for her feeding. She must have been exhausted after being up all the previous night and much of the previous day. Next time I go to Walmart, I'll try to track down those Mycilon drops (or the walmart equivalent of them). The gas appears to be much better, but it won't hurt to give those drops a try as well.

I hope everyone has a good weekend...

arta

[valchemist]

Originally posted by albus87
Val: Julia is ADORABLE! Actually, all the pictures of the babies are adorable. What is it about babies that makes them so darn cute!


thanks arta. I agree about all the baby pictures. I never really went ga-ga over babies (pardon the pun) until I had Julia. I just never really cared one way or the other about babies. now when I see babies, I have to ooh and ahhh over them.

well, chloe is a far better sleeper than little miss one year old julia. she went to bed at 10:30 last night (her normal bedtime :rolleyes: ) and she was up at 11:15, 12:45, and 3:45 to nurse. Then, at 3:45, she decided she didn't feel like sleeping any more. she was WIDE awake. so I stayed up with her until 5:15. Then, DH took a turn. She fell asleep in his arms around 6:00 am and they both slept on the couch until 8:30.

gosh, one of these days she will learn how to sleep, I hope. maybe by the time she is 2 years old. :rolleyes:

[BeckyM]

Hi Everyone! Happy Presidents' Day! Is that why no one is posting today? Is everyone out at the sales? For me it's a day like every other Monday, because DH has to work despite the holiday. I guess that's just how the health care industry is.

Our weekend was rather blah, because the weather here was awful (freezing rain & snow), so we didn't want to venture out. You might remember I told you all earlier that we are going to have our basement finished soon, so we spent most of the weekend sorting through boxes and cleaning out all the assorted stuff we've had stored down there. Our contractor is probably going to start work next week, so we are feeling pressure to get things ready! There's still quite a bit to do, but we've made huge amounts of progress. The biggest accomplishment for me has been agreeing to get rid of things I haven't used in years -- like my college Thermodynamics book, wedding presents that aren't something we like or will ever use, cassette tapes from high school, etc. Now that those things are in boxes to be donated, I feel rather liberated, but it was difficult to let go of some of them. I still have some mementos though, and I need to get them safely packed away again. We then have to move all that stuff up into the garage (DH is going to have to park his car outside in the snow :( ) while the work is going on.

Katie is doing well -- her latest discovery is her feet. She was on the changing table last night just fascinated by them. She was grabbing onto them, and she even got one into her mouth. I think she'll be doing that lots more for a while. She has been sleeping fairly well. Last night she woke up at 4am, so I went in and nursed her for three minutes, then held her a bit more and put her back to bed. She was still awake, but she went back to sleep pretty quickly. She then woke up again at 5:30, which was odd. DH and I waited to see if she'd fall back asleep on her own, but she didn't, so he said he'd go in and sit with her for a little bit. He told me she fell asleep almost immediately after he picked her up. So he held her a couple minutes, put her back in the crib, and she slept until 8am! I still think we are VERY fortunate to have a 4 1/2 month old who sleeps that well, especially after hearing some of your stories!

That's all here. Katie is napping at the moment, so I need to take advantage of it and do some picking up. Our contractor is coming over this evening to go over the final details, and we still have boxes and things all over the living room. I want our main floor at least to look presentable when he comes.

By the way, I haven't had time to look into posting any pictures on the web. I want to talk to DH about it and see if he thinks it's worth setting up a homepage type thing. Right now we just e-mail pictures to friends & family, so I don't know if he'd think it's a good idea to bother with a homepage. We'll see. If so, you guys will definitely see a picture of Katie. I love seeing all the pictures of your babies, and I want you to be able to see mine too!

Take care, everyone!

Becky :)

[Julia1Pin]

Val - Julia is such a cutie!

Becky - Abigail loves her foot too, especially on the changing table. She also loves my hands. She'll grab one with both hands and just study it for the longest time.

I'm off today but DH is working so I'm just paying bills i've let pile up and cleaning out all my random papers (how do I accumulate all this cr*p?).

Hope everyone is having a good day - and to everyone in the middle of the blizzard, please be careful!

[valchemist]

thanks, Julia. I love that picture of Abigail in the raider outfit. she is adorable.

[nori]

Val....Julia is adorable!!!! What gorgeous eyes!!!

Is she still on frequent nursing schedule?? Just checking, because Noah sure is, and wanted to have some sympathy. :o

Cheryl, congrats on your DH's job! How was your anniversary? It's cool to have one so close to V-day.

Hoodone...chocolate covered strawberries are my favorite!!! (well anything with chocolate...) I always thought Picture People are kinda expensive...do they have a package deal? Do you have to join the club?

Becky..so cute about Katie finding her toes.:)

Not much around here, for Vday we went out with our firends to Vday dinner at their church. They had a baby sitter, but he was barely teenager himself. :eek: I was worried a bit, but told him to come and get me if something goes wrong. Basically they had some kids there but they're all older than Noah. Well obviously he didn'tknow when Noah cried, so I was called in even before dinner starts.:o But I could bring him in to the dinenr and he sat on my lap, smiling everyone around. He is happy as long as I'm in sight.

His nighttime schedule is still the same, or worse...I think it's more like every 1 and half hour.:rolleyes: Oh well...hopefully starting solids would help some.

We bought this star stickers for his room's ceiling. You know, one of those glows when it's dark. It turned out great! Even at the middle of night, I could see them shining. I bet Noah would like it once he knows what they are.

Seems slow around here..hope everyone is doing well.

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone. I haven't been able to post too much. Work has been so busy that I actually have to work and don't have time to post. Which I guess is how it should be if I want to keep my job :). After March 8 it will be more normal. We have a big conference coming up that ends then.

Everyone babies are so beautiful. This may be a stupid question, but did you have to scan those pictures in or did you have them on a disk? I think I am going to take Caitlyn into a studio to get her pictures taken. I feel so bad. I've hardly taken any pictures of her. Well, not nearly as many as my first two. I don't have too many of Colin, either.

Do any of you videotape your babies? I was watching a video last night of the boys from the time Jameson was born until Colin was around 3 months. They were so cute, especially when Jameson was 2 and Ian was 1. The way the played together. It is amazing how they change. I just videotaped Caitlyn for the first time today. I'm going to try to do more.

Caitlyn is doing fine, no traces of her illness left. Although she has been super clingy. Doesn't want to be put down at all and won't nap except when we're driving. She did nap today for two hours laying on me. First time she's done that in a couple months. It was kind of nice, though. I got to snooze a little, too.

I think she is getting a tooth. Hopefully, that's why she's been cranky. Which means it will pass! I can feel a liile lump on her bottom gum and she is always eating her hands and drooling like crazy.
I guess I am very lucky, though. She's been doing great at night. Usually about 10-11 hours straight. I hope you all don't hate me now!!

Nori, Caitlyn doesn't breastfeed, but she seems to eat every two hours lately. Maybe I should try solids again. She does look very interested in our food while we are eating.

Becky, good luck with your basement. It should be nice when it's all finished.

I finally did that goofy urine test with Caitlyn. I was only able to collect a few ounces over 24 hours, but I took it in to the lab today. At least I tried, right?! This is the test the doctor wanted to do to rule out a tumor that was causing her one eye to not open as wide as the other.

Nori, did you decide to go on the trip? It sounds like it would be fun. I would just go with an open mind and if you are comfortable with the babysitting situation, then scuba dive. If not take Noah to the beach and just relax.

Arta, I think someone may have already answered your question about the bowel movements. But what you described is exactly like Caitlyn's. She gets about 20% breastmilk (I pump) and the rest formula. Fun to clean up, aren't they?

Cheryl, congrats to your DH on the job. That's great news.

Hope everyone out east is doing OK with all the snow.

[valchemist]

Joanne, my picture was taken with a digital camera, so I didn't have to scan it.

Nori, yes, Julia is still nursing every 2 - 3 hours. Her cousin (who is 3 1/2 now) stopped nursing on her own at age 1. My sister didn't even try to wean her, she just did it on her own. Julia is 1 now, and she isn't anywhere near wanting to stop nursing. That is ok with me. I just hope she isn't nursing this much a year from now! :eek:

[cchhbb]

Hi all,

Thanks for the congratulations on DH's job. We are so happy as he thinks it is a great opportunity. Tomorrow he is going to negotiate the final package.

Val, Julia is quite the little lady. I can't believe the schedule you all keep. I would go bonkers with that little sleep. Does she sleep well during the day?

Nori, our anniversary dinner was excellent. We went to a local steak place and had prime rib. We were gone about 3 hours and Garrett was good with my cousin. He wasn't asleep when we got home, but I really didn't expect it as I figured that some playing was going on.

Joanne, great news about Caitlyn feeling better. Too bad about the napping. Garrett is like that too. He is a terrible napper and won't go to sleep unless I'm holding him. I can barely lay him down and he wakes up.

We are terrible picture people. We haven't videoed at all and we rarely get pictures developed. DH started a web site for Garrett when he was born, but soon got bored updating it. So, we have digital pictures on the computer. I guess someday I'll get them developed.

Wednesday, I'm going to the doctor to determine if there is a physical reason that I can't make enough milk to feed Garrett. He gets between 4 - 6 ounces of formula a day. I've cut back my pumping to 4 times per day.

Cheryl

[valchemist]

Originally posted by cchhbb

Val, Julia is quite the little lady. I can't believe the schedule you all keep. I would go bonkers with that little sleep. Does she sleep well during the day?



she usually takes two naps. each nap lasts about an hour. if I am lucky.

[Hoodone]

Hi Everyone!

Nothing to report, really. Nori, the Picture People place does have some deals. They have a website where you can get coupons. They have a sitting fee of $9.95, but I bought their package for a year of unlimited sittings. The package was $40 but includes three free sheets that are normally $15 a page. So it pays for itself. The shots are $40 a package for the first and $35 afterwards. Shot packages are one 8 x 10, 2 5 x 7's and 8 wallets. I guess it is kind of expensive, and I probably should have tried Sears or Penny's first. But I like that your pictures are ready in an hour. Plus it was WAY cheaper than the really professional shots I had done for Katherine's baptism pics. My step-nephew works at a photography studio and I thought it would be nice to support him, but WOW it was expensive!

Hope everyone is doing well!

[nori]

Joanne...I don't hate you, I'm just jealous!!! :p I think Noah is teething too, but haven't felt anything coming up yet. But he's drooling like crazy, and as you said about Caitlyn, he's eating his hands ALL DAY.:o
And I think I'll be going to this trip. DH "thinks" I can go diving only for morning session, and come back to be with Noah. I asked him to talk about it with his dad. Also, FIL wants us to take refresher's class for diving, which is a nice offer. Our local diving school offeres the weekend classes, and they also have advanced classes where you take a weekend trip to Mexico. DH talked to them, and found out that they do have a baby sitter there who can watch Noah while we take one afternoon, and one morning session. Then the rest of the time is like family vacation...it sounded good to me, and this baby sitter is the shop's owner's SIL and he really trusts her. (Well we don't know this guy so I'm a little bit nervous about this sitter thing still, but hey, at least we can take Noah along!) So we'll see. Hopefully by May, he's eating some solids so I can leave him with some food, not only with breastmilk.
As for putting the picutre on the BB, if you have a digital camera, you can take a photo, then upload them using one of photo service site (like imagestation.com....they're free). I'm not sure about scanning from regular photo...you might be able to upload it, if you have it in the computer.

Val....Noah takes maybe 2 naps each in the morning and afternoon, but most of the time less than an hour.:eek: It's hard to get something done while he's napping, because you never know when he'd wake up!

Cheryl..glad to hear you had a good time, and Garrett was fine with the sitter! I'm same way with pictures...I had tons in the computer which I never ordered to processed....This weekend I finally ordered some but I could not do all I wanted to develop, since it was so backed up and ordering everythin would cost a lot, so I decided to divide them up.

Hoodone...Hmmm..that doesn't sound so bad. We have one in our mall and I thought they have very fun-looking props. Thanks for the information!!

It looks like very clouded today even in AZ....I'm thinking all of you living in East. Keep warm, and be careful driving if you must go out!

[erinl]

Hi everyone,
I'm at my parents in Ohio (West of Cleveland). Hanne only slept for about 2 of the 5 hours it takes to get here. I couldn't believe it. She was tired, but just wouldn't fall asleep.

I've taken some really cute photos of her here. I tried to get one of her playing in the snow, but she just cried. We've had so little snow in Chicago this year, but my parents must have at least a foot in their back yard.

We bought the Picture People portrait club membership, too. I'm already out of free sheets! My biggest complaint is that I can't just buy a sheet of wallets. I'd like to send some pictures to friends, but I never have any left over.

[Julia1Pin]

Like always, I get out of bed in the morning, leave Abigail in bed with DH next ot her (he's a very light sleeper) and go wash up in the bathroom. Well this morning I come out of hte bathroom and DH is holding Abigail and is pissed as hell at me - a pillow fell on Abigail. He didn't give any more details, and I didn't want to hear anymore actually, but he did say that it's a good thing she's strong. She could have suffocated! I feel horrible and can't get it out of my mind. DH did say to me that at least I didn't "see it". ho wcould I have done that to my baby?? No more leaving her in the bed by the pillows that's for sure!:eek: :eek: :eek:

[nori]

Julia..don't beat yourself up! I have similar story, too. Noah likes to hold onto his burp cloth (or teething blanket) all the time. One day, I put him in the crib for nap since he looked sleepy. He was clatchin on the cloth, so I let him. And I left the room. After about 10 min., I went back to check on him and found his face covered with the cloth! :eek: And he could not get it off by himself. I felt awful, too! I think he could breath through the cloth since it was cotton, but still...I was so scared! Since then, I would not let him go to crib with the cloth unsupervised.

You're not terrible mom. Good thing your DH was on her side.:)

[JoanneOR]

Julia, you're not a bad mom. Try not to beat yourself up about it. Chances are Abigail could have batted the pillow off herself anyway. And you wouldn't have left her in the bed if your DH wasn't there.

OK, I do have "mommy mush brain." Most of you are probably using digital cameras to post your pictures. I don't know why I didn't even think of that. Sometimes I'm still living in the 80's! We are thinking about getting a digital camera. OK, another dumb question: can you get prints from the digital pictures? I've seen some web sites where you can order prints. Are they prints like you would get from film. That's my only hesitation about the digital. I really want to be able to save the pictures years from now and have them easily accessible. There's so many models and accessories to choose from, I don't even know where to start or what it should have. Any good recommendations?

Caitlyn is taking her second good nap of the day. Keeping my fingers crossed this becomes her new routine!

[MrsReber]

Hello. Let it snow! We're snowed in. Well, our driveway is plowed out, but I didn't want to chance driving to the train station and finding out that I had no parking space. Anyway, the daycare was closed and the fort was closed so DH couldn't go to work. I'm glad I didn't go in. My co-worker emailed me saying that the sidewalks of Newark were a mess. The one secretary had to wade through 6 foot snow drifts to get to the building! No thank you. I'm glad I stayed put. Kids are sleeping, but not for much longer!

Joanne, the only reason I have a digital camera is because my dad bought one for us a few years ago. You can buy little disks that store the pictures (at least on the one I have- I don't know much about them either!). I load the pictures on to the computer and print them out. It works okay. I'm not thrilled with the quality of the print outs, but at least I can email them to friends and family.

Speaking of the camera, I think I'm going to download some new pictures. That way I can post a more recent one.

[Julia1Pin]

OK - I'm feeling slightly better now.

Joanne- Ofoto and shutterfly are good sites where they will send you digital pictures in teh form of real pictures. The quality is pretty good too. And some digital camaras are extremely cheap these days.

[nori]

Joanne...I secound Julia about ofoto.com. We use them, and they're pretty good quality. We tried walmart.com before (which is cheaper) but there were several occations we had to return the photos because they were not good quality (we could do that at local walmart). I also have account at imagestation.com where I used to upload some photo to this BB! Haven't tried their prints, though. I've heard you can bring CDROM to the Walgreen and they can print them. I haven't tried it either.

MrsReber...I was thinking of you when I watched the news about snow in east. Glad you could stay in. Wouldn't be fun to go driving in the snow. So you've been working from home??

I have a question....Noah's passport came today so we're thinking of making a trip to Japan to see my parents.(Adventure, I know....13 hour flight from CA!:eek: ) Anyway, when you buy air tickets, when do you tell them that you have a baby? We'd probably buy from yahoo travel or something. Can we tell them later (like directly calling the airline) that we have a baby? ( We won't get any extra seat...so I'm assuming they don't mind so much.) Any insights??

If I could find a good price, we'd maybe traveling next month. I'm excited to see my parents, but nervous about traveling with Noah. What would you do if he started crying, and didn't stop??? Can you change his diaper in the bathroom???? :confused: :confused: Oh well, we'll survive.

[LaraW]

Originally posted by nori
Anyway, when you buy air tickets, when do you tell them that you have a baby? We'd probably buy from yahoo travel or something.

De-lurking for just a minute...I've never seen this with an international flight simply because I've never made one, but for other flight reservations that I have made, they ask you how many adults, children, infants, etc, so its just part of your reservation.

hope that helps,
Lara

[cchhbb]

Nori,

You just have to tell them at the airport. I would call the airline though and try to get the bulkhead. Some airplanes actually have changing tables in the bathrooms, but others don't. I think the ones for international often do.

I'm so impressed you've gotten Noah's passport already. We just got the pictures taken for Garrett's Canadian citizenship papers yesterday. DH is Canadian so Garrett can have dual. We haven't decided which passport he will get.

I did a little shopping today as Garrett has grown out of all his 0 - 3 month clothes. I went to Old Navy and hit the clearance racks. Boy were there some great deals for little boys.

Garrett's in bed for the night. I will wake him before I go to bed to top him off. I slept through the alarm at 2:30 and didn't wake him until 5:30. I sure hope his doctor tells me I can quit waking him as I would love to have a whole nights sleep. Also, I feel really guilty when I oversleep. Since he doesn't wake up on is own, it's hard to get up.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment to determine why I'm not making enough breast milk for Garrett. The lactation consultant thinks I might have some kind of a problem with my thyroid.

I'm heading off to the bathtub. I need a few minutes to myself. Garrett took only 3 naps for 40 minutes each today.

Cheryl

[nori]

Lara, Cheryl thanks!

I think I'll call up the airline to let them know that we're bringing the baby.:D

Cheryl, I didn't know some airlines have changing table in the bathroom...so far I haven't noticed. I hope the one we'll be on has one. I only know the bathroom of the airplane as a tiny, barely enough to fit one person!
Hope your doctor's visit tomorrow will go well. Did you enjoy your bath time? Sounds good to me!

[BeckyM]

A lot has gone on since I posted last -- hopefully I'll remember everythiing I've been wanting to say to you all!

nori -- We flew with Katie at Christmastime, and I called the airline shortly before we went, just to make sure I understood how much stuff we could carry on, how we would check the carseat at the gate, etc. When we bought our tickets (online) there wasn't anywhere to indicate an infant, so I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything special we needed to do. They were very helpful on the phone. On all our flights (two going and two coming back) there were changing tables in the restrooms, but they were VERY small! DH changed Katie on two of the flights, and he said she was hanging off the edge of the changing table! And she was only two and a half months old at the time!

Julia -- I echo what everyone else has said: YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOTHER!!! You obviously wouldn't have left Abigail in a situation you thought was dangerous. And since something scary happened, you will be even more vigilant in the future. I also really appreciate that you shared that experience with us, so we can make sure to be careful around pillows too.

MrsReber -- how's the Weight Watchers coming? I was wondering if the snow has kept you from making it to the latest meeting. I'm still doing the online program, but I found it difficult to stay on track this past week. I keep meaning to follow the WW thread on this bulletin board, but I find I barely have time to follow this one! Anyway, I hope it's going well for you -- and Joanne too!

Bosunswife -- I've been thinking a lot about you as more and more military personnel are being called up and shipped out. I hope you and your girls are doing well and that your DH is able to contact you fairly frequently.

Well, Katie is NOT happy, so I've got to go!

Becky :)

[MrsReber]

Becky, I joined WW at work. The meetings are at lunchtime every Thursday. I lost 4 lbs in the first week! I had a hard time while I was snowed in from Sunday afternoon until this morning. I wanted to eat everything! I don't think I gained anything, but I don't think I lost, either. I do get a reprieve. Our meeting leader won't be here this week so we don't have a meeting. With my membership, though, I can attend another meeting outside work on my own. I doubt I'll do that, though. I have to go to traffic court tomorrow night! I have to be there at 5:00 to fight FOUR stupid tickets. I can't even think about it. I'm so mad at the guy. Three of them will be automatically thrown out, but I have to go to court TWICE in order to show them proof of insurance. This means I have to pay court fees on top of the fee I had to pay to get my car back after the #@$(#$ cop had it towed away!!!! He claimed that I had no insurance because I didn't have my card on me. I offered to have DH bring it to me (he was home and only around the corner- yes a cop in my own town did this to me) and I offered to call my insurance company. I later found out that he also could've followed me to my house and let me produce the card. Instead, he just had my car towed away and said "I don't have to verify your insurance". I emailed the police chief and spoke to three of their officers and the stupid cop's immediate supervisor. I am still going to file a formal complaint against him. He's new to the force, but you do not treat people in your own community like that. He pulled me over and left me sitting in my car for almost 30 minutes before he told me anything. I get so angry just thinking of this. I have to stop.

So, anyway, no time to attend an outside meeting this week.

Nori, you are brave flying that long with a baby! I'm afraid to fly to my dad's in AZ! I'm a wuss about flying to begin with, though.

Julia, you are hardly a bad mother, but I understand your feelings. I'll share my bad mommy story with you. I had Brenden in his high chair in the kitchen one morning. I was working from home so I ran out of the room to check my email real quick. Brenden starting fussing as he normally does when I leave the room. I thought he was just complaining, but then his cries became much more urgent. I still didn't think too much of it until I got back into the kitchen and saw that he was stuck in the high chair! I didn't fasten the belt (duh) and he was sliding out the bottom, only his head was stuck between the chair and the tray! My poor boy. I still feel horrible about that and can't believe I was stupid enough to not fasten the belt. He could've slid right out and fell right on the floor, too. I think we all do things that we regret horribly. I remember Casey falling off the changing table at least twice. Brenden fell off our bed a few times, too. You just never expect it and suddenly it's happening. It happens to all of us. We just have to learn from our mistakes and be grateful that our babies are okay. The good news is that they still love us and they don't judge us.

[Hoodone]

Just a very quick note to say Happy One Year Birthday, Julia! I remember because it's my birthday, too! Hope you see this Valchemist!

[valchemist]

thanks, Jennifer. happy birthday to you, too!

[nori]

Happy Birthday, Julia!!!

And happy birthday to you, Hoodone, too!!!!

Val, you must be very excited to have her one year birthday. Are you going to have a party? Noah will be 6 months at the end of this month...time really flies!!

Hoodone, what's your plan for your special day?:)

MrsReber, I'm very nervous about this long trip, too. But somehow optimistic that he'll be okay. I just have to feel sorry for other passengers if he started crying.:p

Becky...Noah is getting so big I don't think he can fit in that infamous airplaine changing table.:o Well if he doesn't soil the diaper, maybe he can make it 11 hours.....:eek:

[cchhbb]

Happy birthday Julia & Jennifer.

Susan, thanks for sharing about the high chair. We need to buy one still. Do you have one you'd recommend? I saw one by fisher price that the inner tray can go into the dishwasher. Easy clean-up is important to me.

The landscapers are here today preparing to pour a new sidewalk. they are also preparing the lawn so we can plant grass. They are making so much noise Garrett is much more interested in them tan eating or sleeping.

DH finished negotiating for his job and starts Monday. I can't wait til we have a paycheck, but will miss having him around.

[Julia1Pin]

Happy Birthday Julia and Hoodone! Val - are you having a party for Julia?

Thanks everyone for making me feel a little better. Now I will be triply vigilant. And we can all learn from each others mistakes :rolleyes:

Well, I'm working all day today so I'm still home trying to get a 3rd feeding in. I think I might have to supplement with formula soon - what happen, I used to have soo much milk....

[MrsReber]

[i]

Well, I'm working all day today so I'm still home trying to get a 3rd feeding in. I think I might have to supplement with formula soon - what happen, I used to have soo much milk.... [/B]

Uh oh- that's exactly what I said when I found out I was pregnant! :eek: :p

About my highchair,I got a nice wooden one. I really liked it because we don't have room near our dining room table to put a big plastic one. We got ours at JC Penny. It's really like a peice of furniture, too, since it's out all the time. In reality, though, if I had known then what I know now, I might have skipped the high chair entirely and just went with the seat that clamps onto the table. We bought one of them for Casey when she was 5 months old and she's used it ever since. It's great for travel and eating out. I'd almost rather have two of those seats than the high chair and the one seat. Brenden has been able to sit in the seat that attaches to the table since he was about 5 months. If he seemed wobbly, I'd just strap him in tight and put a blanket around him. Just a thought (and much cheaper, too)!

[BeckyM]

MrsReber -- congratulations on your 4lb loss the first week! That's how much I lost my first week too. My theory is that the first week is always easiest (for me, anyway), because I have lots of motivation, and it's still new and somewhat exciting. Also, my body isn't used to less food, so my metabolism hasn't adjusted yet, and I lose faster. I lost three pounds the second week, then two, then I had been losing one a week. This past week I was pretty much out of control, but I didn't gain any back, so that's good. Now I'm back on track! My sister's wedding is March 15th, and I'm her Matron of Honor, so I want to look nice in the dress and for all the pictures. I just realized that's only three and a half weeks away, so I need to stay focused!

nori -- Hopefully Noah will fit okay on the changing table in the airplane. I would think especially planes used for international flights would have some sort of accomodations to change babies. 11 hours is way to long to ask someone to keep a baby in the same diaper! And even if the changing table is real small, it would probably still work, as long as you are organized with your supplies, and you hold onto Noah well.

Cheryl -- I forgot to tell you before, congratulations on DH's job! That must be quite a relief! Also, I was glad to hear your anniversary was fun and that you guys were able to enjoy yourselves.

Well, gotta go again. Katie's due to eat soon, and I have several things I want to accomplish before she wakes up!

Becky :)

[RunnerKim]

Wow I've missed a lot. I'll try to catch up but first, why I've been gone so long.

We were in the hospital over the weekend with Lainey - she has pneumonia. Needless to say it's been a rather stressful past few days. The worst part was that I didn't realize how sick she was. DH had a cold the first part of last week and then I caught it. DH seemed to get better but then got worse - turned out to be a severe sinus infection. I stayed home from work on Friday more because he was doing so poorly than because I felt bad and I was concerned about Lainey. When I put Lainey down Friday night I checked in on her and had a hard time seeing/hearing her breathe in the dark, but she coughed so I knew she wasn't dead (not that I really thought she would be) but it indicates her breathing so quiet and smooth at that point. DH had another miserable night and was in serious pain and I knew we had to get him to a doctor and had to find an urgent care place to take him. I dropped Lainey off at my sister's and took DH in, picked up his medications including a narcotics-laced cough syrup. Got him home, drugged up and in bed. Went back to my sister's and she was just finishing feeding Lainey and said she'd mostly slept while I was gone. Lainey then got fairly fussy, puked up what she'd eaten. I finally got her to sleep with a little pacification nursing and asked my sister if she thought I should call the doctor and if it looked liked Lainey was having "difficulty breathing." The whole time I've had in my head that difficulty breathing would be gasping for air or some such thing. My sister only had an ear thermometer which doesn't work on infants so I couldn't take her temp, but DH had last night and it was normal then. Doctor called me back and even described to me what difficult breathing would look like - that she'd be using her whole body and sucking in around her belly/rib cage etc. But I somehow didn't see that Lainey was doing that -- I *thought* she was okay so was thinking that whatever the doctor was describing would have to be worse than what Lainey was doing -- does that make sense?? She wasn't wheezing, and her attitude was back to being normal. Fortunately, one of the mom's for my sister's in-home daycare is a pediatric nurse and stopped in to drop her son off. She took one look at Lainey and got on the phone with the doctor and said she needs to be seen. :eek: I called DH to see if he wanted me to pick him up on the way to the ER but he was so drugged he could barely answer the phone (and it was on the nightstand!) let alone actually get out of bed. So off I am to find the ER which I've only been to the hospital once before - take 1 wrong turn but eventually get there. I'm still thinking at this point she's just really congested. Lainey has a slight temperature (but we'd given her tylenol a couple of hours before). They can't hear anything listening to her but her oxygen levels are low enough they send us for x-rays. She ended up having a small spot of pneumonia and we needed to be admitted. :eek: The hospital I went to doesn't have pediatrics unit so I have to go to another one. Okay, I think, I'll swing by and pick Chris up on my way. Nope - we have to go by ambulance! Because it's a respirtatory problem - there's the (very small) possibility she would need to be incubated. Okay - so our 1 and only car is at this hospital, although that doesn't really matter because DH is so drugged he can't drive anyway. My sister agrees to pick him up and drive him to the hospital.

Okay this is getting really long - but basically she was okay. The respiratory therapist said she was moving air fine, she just needs a little oxygen to keep her levels up. Let the antibiotics do their thing and let her recover. I never worried about her dying or anything - she was in pretty good shape - never got dehydrated which I think really helped. We shared a room with a 1 month old that also had pneumonia - poor thing! Our room was really crowded - it was a triangle shaped corner room and we were in the front so any time someone went to the other patient, they'd have to go by us. Made for lots of interuptions and diffuculty sleeping between the 2 babies waking up at different times and the oxygen monitors beeping. I was a little nervous about checking out on Monday but knew she was recovering fine and needed to get home so we could get some peace and sleep. I laid Lainey down in the cradle we have in our room to see if she still could fit in it (wanted to keep her in our room at night) and she just started waving her arms and legs around and being goofy. Almost made me cry to see her happy again! and I knew we'd made a good choice to come home. I'm mostly concerned about her eating, which seemed to get really off at the hospital (but the nurses weren't concerned - they weigh all her diapers and she was still peeing). She's only consuming about 2/3 of what she normally does, but it's because she's eating less at each feeding, not eating less often (she's actually eating more often - it's like she's a newborn again) and I think its just because she doesn't feel well. Hopefully that will return to normal soon too.

Sorry not to respond to anyone else at this point - I'll read through it all.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Wow, Kim. How scary. I'm glad everyone is okay now. I hate that they can't tell us what's wrong! Brenden goes back to the doctor for a re-check on his ear infection tomorrow. I didn't even know he had an ear infection until the doctor looked in his ear when I brought him in for pink eye! Now he's got a cough. It sounds horrible at night so I'm glad he's going to get checked tomorrow.

Hope everyone is feeling better!

Susan

[nori]

Kim, how scary!!!:eek: Glad Lainey is okay now though. It must had been such a stressful weekend...plus DH being sick.:( Is he doing better now, too?

Brenden's ear infection, Lainey's pneumonia....seems like some symptoms are not so easy to see.:eek: Really, how do we know? Guess we just have to be extra alert all the time and call the doctor if something is not normal, huh?

Kim, hope you're gettting enough rest, too....I know while taking care of Lainey and DH plus resting seems almost impossible, but get some sleep, and eat well to keep you healthy!

[BeckyM]

Just popping in to say wow Kim, what a scare! I'm sure glad to hear Lainey is recovering and happy to be home. Your story will probably make me check Katie's breathing lots, even though she has been fine, and none of us are sick at the moment. It's just scary to think of all the bad things that can happen to our babies! You certainly have my sympathy and lots of wishes for Lainey to soon be back to her healthy self!

Becky :)

[albus87]

Kim: I'm so glad Lainey is doing better. You must have been terrified when that other mom/nurse said she needed to go to the emergency room. What a weekend. I hope DH and Lainey make a full recovery very soon.

As Nori said, it's scary - Lainey's pneumonia, Brendan's ear infection...when it's not obvious that something is wrong, how is a parent supposed to tell? I've already overreacted once by taking Chloe to the emergency room (we thought she had diarrehea (sp?) when she was 3 days old. It ended up being one very long bowel movement. I've also called the military's "nurse advice line" another time. Again, for nothing. I'm afraid I'll be like Chicken Little - I'll be so convinced that I'm overreacting about some imagined problem that when it's an actual problem, I'll ignore it.

Well, it's time to give Chloe her bath...

arta

[RunnerKim]

Whew - here I go catching up - even though some of this is old I'll respond anyway!

Hoodone - I know you asked awhile ago about Spray 'n Wash. DH does the laundry but I'm pretty sure he just waits until he's putting things in the wash and looks them over for stains and puts it on then. He know to check all of Lainey's clothes carefully. It seems to work just fine. I'll ask him if he does anything differently. (He generally does laundry once a week).

I checked the Super Baby Foods book out of the library awhile back (when I was pg) and will have to do it again. I didn't know there were differences in rice cereal - whole grain vs. not. i'm going to make Lainey's food - I don't see why not - just mostly mashing up things right? I figured that was part of the benefit of starting solids later, that it didn't need to be so finely processed? How do you make your own rice cereal? I wouldn't think the iron would be a problem if it were mixed with formula.

Cheryl - great news about your DH's job. Mine is still searching. I can't believe it's taking so long. What a relief for you.

Arta - have you found some mylecon type drops? did they help? Lainey occaisionsaly gets thicker poops - like tomato paste consistency. I'm not sure there's much you can do to relieve her gas - I friend of mine has a baby that sounds similar to yours and he's just now getting better (about 4.5 months). It must be very difficult to not be able to do more for her. :(

Joanne - we got a digital camera shortly before Lainey was born. My automatic died a very untimely death -- I was freaking about going into labor and not having a camera to take to the hospital :rolleyes: (wow were my hormones crazy then). I wasn't sure I wanted to go digital because I still really wanted to have regular photographs, but like others hear I've had great luck with getting them printed. I just download to my computer, crop them to the size I want and burn them on a cd and take mine to wal-mart and have been very pleased with them (29 cents a print). A camera store downtown also does it but it's more expensive (like the online places). Only 1 of the wal-marts in my area can print them - it's not close either but near where I go for dog agility class once a week. No one can tell a difference between them and regular photographs and I love that I get to crop them how I want. It's actually cheaper because I'm not getting back a bunch of pictures I don't really want - I can see right away if its a good picture and order as many as I need (my MIL wants real photos even though she gets email now, and I get a copy for Lainey's scrapbook etc). Every once in awhile I burn all the photos onto a CD to keep for long term storage.

My camera also allows 60 second videos to be taken and we've done several of those and copied them on to a vcr tape. We did a bunch when Lainey was around 2 months to send to my MIL for her birthday so she could "meet" Lainey and just now are doing another set and figure we'll periodically add some on. I like that its only 60 seconds actually because it requires there to be a specific purpose. Quality isn't bad considering its not a video camera. My sister's boys love to watch their "Alek & Corbin Movie" so I'm making an extra copy of the tape so Lainey can watch her copy as much as she wants when she's older without my having to worry about it getting worn out.

I feel guilty already for my 2nd child because I know I just can't possibly do as much for that child - a large part of it is the noveltly of a baby and their development. Being a 2nd child myself I feel my not-even-conceived next child's jealousy! :rolleyes:

A couple of good web sites to do research on digital cameras - http://www.zdnet.com and http://www.pcmag.com It can be really confusing and took me awhile to sort through it all and I'm relatively techy. IMO the biggest consideration (and expense) is how high a resolution to get. When people are unhappy with the print quality of the pictures it's often because the resolution of the camera is too low for what they want - if you're just doing web or e-mail it doesn't matter (they're all low-res) but if you want to print them like regular photos then it needs to be higher. Personally, I would not purchase anything less than 3M - and would look higher if you planned to make larger prints (8x10s particularly) or to crop the images down a lot.

Joanne - any word back about the urine test? Glad Caitlyn is feeling better. Lainey watches us closely while we eat too. It's very cute because she'll reach for my glass and pull it up to her mouth like she's drinking from it - we'll go back and forth taking turns.

Julia - You're not a bad mother! I'm glad she's okay -- I do that all the time, put Lainey down in our bed while I go about getting dressed/taking a shower etc. I'll make doubly sure the pillows are well away from her. I've worried more about the sheets/blanket because she'll actually pull those up over her head if I don't put her up high enough or on top of them.

Cheryl - I'll be really curious if they find a reason why you didn't make enough breast milk. I'm thinking my case was because I had such a hard time in the beginning and had to exclusively pump for a bit and I think I just didn't recover - I'm hoping not have problems next time. I really hope you can stop waking Garrett up at night. That must be so tough. It was really difficult for me and I just did it for a couple of weeks (and I slept through several times at that!).

Susan - what is up with that cop!!!! To tow your car!! What a PIA - I hope you've gotten it settled. I was always under the impression you could produce your proof of insurance within 24 hours. There's no excuse for him to treat you that way - just because he's the "authority" doesn't mean he shouldn't have some respect.

Happy Birthdy Julia & Jennifer!

I have the fisher price high chair - healthy care or something like that. Obviously haven't used it much yet. I have pulled it into the kitchen a couple of times since it has a reclining back and just put Lainey in it so she could be near us while we work in there. She doesn't seem all the comfortable in it though. I'm reserving judgement until she's older and we're using it more frequently, but I think I might end up with something like Susan was talking about though. It takes up a lot of room (and our dining room is particularly cramped).

Whew - I think I'm caught up now.

Kim

[cchhbb]

(((((Kim, Lainey, and DH))))) OMG!!!! I can't imagine anything like that happening. Thank goodness the nurse stopped by. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be on the lookout.

Kim, the OB/GYN doesn't seem to think there is anything they can do for me besides what they are doing. They did test my thyroid and my glucose levels. They did refer me to a breast specialist, but I'm not sure that I'm going to go.

I've pretty much decided to pump 4 times a day and what happens happens. I think that breastfeeding Garrett for 4 months is quite an achievement considering the struggles that we had. My original goal was to breastfeed until he started solids and that will be soon.

Cheryl

[MrsReber]

Cheryl, my sister breastfed her son for three months. She wanted so badly for it to work, but she couldn't keep up with him. She was also told to wake him at night for feedings. Thus began her nightmare. He got so used to waking up for feedings at night that he continued to do this way past the age of two. He's now five and we can see why my sister couldn't keep up with him. His appetite is out of control. If he sees anyone eating anything, he asks "what are you eating?" then "can I have some?" My sister is still not over the guilt of not being able to produce enough milk for him. She always says "what if there was no formula? Would he have died?" I can't even talk about breastfeeding in front of her and she has asked me not to. She didn't even try to bf her firstborn and had no issues whatsoever. Oh well. In any event, four months is certainly a good amount of time, especially considering the difficulties that you are having. You aren't alone, for sure. I give you lots of credit for sticking with it! Garrett will still be a healthy and happy little boy simply because mommy and daddy love him so much!

Kim, I don't know what's up with this cop, other than he's a rookie, barely out of the academy. Wish me luck tonight. My blood pressure is already sky rocketing in anticipation of the hassle. It's a waste of time for me, the judge and anyone else involved in the court process, not to mention we are already out over $300 with missed time from work and the towing fee. I am NOT happy. I have to leave here at 2:45, get Casey and then go right to the court. I hope she's crabby and screams the whole time we're there. DH is going to come get her if I'm still there when Brenden is done at the doctor. I'm even more annoyed realizing that I normally feed Brenden as soon as I get home (5:45 - 6:00). I'm going to be quite uncomfortable sitting in the courtroom. I told DH he should bring Brenden there and I'll run out to the truck and feed him. He said he'd just give him a bottle, but then I'm going to have to go home and pump anyway. I'm sure I'll be posting my court update tomorrow. I'll either be happy or extremely annoyed. I hope it's the former!

[cchhbb]

Susan, thanks for the kind words. I feel like I've done everything possible for him. I'm going to talk to the Ped. Monday to determine the best way to wean him. I think it will be harder on me than him.

Good luck at court. Daddy's don't really understand the pain thing. I hope court doesn't take too long and you win.

Garrett did his first real laugh yesterday. boy it melts your heart.

Tonight I'm having dinner with a friend and then promoting a charity cooking class that we organized. We found a chef and a grocery to donate their time and materials to benefit the food pantry. Hopefully, we'll get a good response.

Cheryl

[albus87]

Cheryl: I completely understand your feelings about BF. But, as Susan said, you've kept it up for 4 months, and Garrett will be healthy and happy no matter what. You should be commended for keeping it up as long as you did. I only managed it for 6 days and just that little bit of experience made it clear that BF, even under the best of circumstances, takes an extraordinary amount of dedication. You obviously have been doing it under less than ideal circumstances and the fact you've kept it up for so long is pretty amazing.

Kim: No, I haven't tried the Mycelin drops yet. I went to Walmart a couple of days ago and completely forgot about them. I'll pick them up (hopefully) the next time I go. Fortunately, she hasn't needed them lately. DH and I have been very careful about burping her for very long periods of time (for some reason, it puts her to sleep - it's pretty funny) and she hasn't really had any gas at all lately. I think it's just a matter of time, however, so I definitely plan on getting the drops.

It's funny, Walmart is only 5 minutes away, but it's still a major expedition to leave the house. I'm still at the stage where it's a major accomplishment to be showered and dressed by 3pm. Chloe is awake even more during the day, so it's actually even more difficult to get things accomplished when DH is at work. However, I have no complaints because she is sleeping for longer periods during the night. Get this: Chloe slept for EIGHT hours last night! I was shocked when I woke up this morning. And a little worried... I immediately went into her room to make sure she was OK. She was, so I just sat around until she woke up a few minutes later. She was starving, which isn't surprising, considering how long it had been since her last meal.

DH has to go to a meeting tomorrow in a town about 3 hours away. He was gone for 4 days last week and will be in Dallas for 3 days next week, so he's asked Chloe and me to join him for this short trip. It will be our first overnight trip. Actually, it will be our first car trip that is longer than 5 minutes. I plan on bringing the Pack and Play, lots of diapers, a few changes of clothes, blankets and lots of formula. I'm hoping she'll pretty much sleep in the car but who knows. If anyone has any advice or lessons learned from their first trip away from home, I'd love to hear it!


Have a great day everyone!

arta

[RunnerKim]

Arta - I sometimes forget that your baby is so young - I just couldn't manage even getting online when Lainey was that young. It really does get much easier! I imagine Chloe will sleep a lot on the trip - the car just lulls them to sleep. I can certainly understand why your DH wants you to go along. Fabulous on the 8 hours! I bet you feel like a new woman :D

susan - I say have DH bring Brenden into court for you to BF! I know, I know I wouldn't be comfortable doing it either but grrrrrr.

Cheryl - how wonderful to hear his laugh!! And major kudos to you for going through all the hoops you have with breastfeeding. You've gone way beyond IMO. It sounds to me like you're ready to stop putting so much of your emotional and physical energy into addressing the breastfeeding challenge. It's really tough to let it go, but I think you'll feel a great sense of relief if you do. Quit beating yourself up about it! :) (do as I say, not as I do :D)

The cooking class sounds really cool! I'm sure it will go over great!

I'll share a neat moment I had last night. I'd brought the swing into the kitchen to put Lainey in while I was making some muffins for the nurses at the hospital. She hasn't cared for the swing overly much but I've found that it works well in the kitchen when I'm puttering around. I hadn't put the rattle toys on the tray of the chair before so put them on and she just looked at them, so I spun one of them for her and she then reached up and spun it herself. It was amazing! To see her watch me and then imitate my action.

Kim

[nori]

MrsReber, sounds like you're going to have a long day! Sorry that you have to go through this. Hope you can get out of the court house in a short time!!!

Cheryl, knowing that you and Garrett had been having problem with breastfeeding, 4 months is great, I think. You did everything you could, and Garrett is now a happy baby so I think that's the best choice for your family. I believe whatever works best for your family is the way to go. Yay on his first laugh!!! Isn't that cute? Noah does laugh out wheneve I make funny face to him, and I love hearing his laugh.

Arta..how old Chloe is again? We took Noah to long drive to Texas when he is less than 2 months, and he slept most of the time in the car. It won't be so hard, I don't think. Just bring a lot of diapers, and changes, and formula. AND don't forget to pick YOUR OWN bag when you load the car! That's what happend to me...I had 2 Noah's bags, and I totally forgot to load my own travel bag!:eek: And that's great she slept 8 hours!!! I'm jealous. (Not seriously!) Keep your fingers crossed if she'll keep that routine!

Kim...I think baby likes to imitate what grown-ups doing. Noah would try to repeat what I said (well making noises after I said something, anyway...), and want to hold the spoon when we're eating. In that way they're learning. How amazing to see that process!! Sounds like Lainey is doing good.:) And how nice of you making muffins to the nurses! They'd be thrilled!

Not much happening around here. I made some cookies yesterday to bring to my friend today. I'm trying to be good at baking (since I got a new oven!), my goal is bake something new several times a week! DH'd bring them to his office so there won't be too tempting leftovers around. People at his office love that, and I love doing something like that.

[albus87]

Nori: Chloe is 3 1/2 weeks and thanks for the advice on not forgetting my own bag! I can definitely see that happening with my "Mommy mush brain" (even with 8 hours of sleep last night!)

Now I just need time to pack... I never knew babies take so much time. She generally eats every 3-4 hours. Feeding her takes an hour, then I try to play with her a bit, then get her back to sleep. Often, there is only an hour or so (sometimes less) before she wakes up hungry again... and since she slept for so long last night, she seems especially hungry today. She's eating every two hours or so.

I also envy you all on your time (and energy!) to bake ... Our new neighbors moved in just before Christmas. I have yet to go over and introduce myself, mainly because I want to bring over cookies or muffins or something. I wasn't up to baking during the last few weeks of pregnancy and now that the baby is here, there is no time to do it! I know the time will eventually be there, I'd just like to actually meet them before spring!

Of course, I'd probably have more time for baking or packing if I didn't spend so much time online!

[albus87]

Ok, I'm going to try to post Chloe's picture... I have no idea if this will work or not. If it does work, this is one of our favorite pictures of her. She's 10 days old in it and has assumed (as we call it) "the position." In other words, she's asleep. Whenever she is in that position, she is pretty much out!

http://mysite.verizon.net/res1akzw/id3.html

[albus87]

OK, that didn't work - I got a red X. I'll try to figure out later what went wrong... I should probably finish my packing right now!

arta

[nori]

Arta...Chloe's feeding schedule is much like Noah's (He's almost 6month old:o ), except feeding time is only 10 min. or 15 min. As for baking, I just sneak in whenever he's sleeping or when he's happy enough to be on the swing by himself. I've also learned to prep for dinner whenever I have extra time....so it's not unusual to find me in the kitchen making some dinner stuff at 10am!

Hope you can figure out the photo thing...I'd love to see Chloe! did you try imagestation??

Gotta go. Noah is crying.

[Molli526]

Arta,

To post a picture, right click on the picture, then hit properties. Copy the address. Click the IMG box here, and paste, making sure the is .jpg at the end of the address.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res1akzw/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/babychloe.jpg.w180h121.jpg

PS. She is a cutie :)

[albus87]

Molli,

Thanks for posting the picture of Chloe. I appreciate it!
Next time, I'll try to get it right...

arta

[nori]

Arta, she is precious!!!:) :)

[MrsReber]

How cute!!! Chloe is such a doll. I love the name, too. Good luck on your trip. I'm sure it'll be just fine. Then you'll say "what was I so worried about?" After I had Brenden, I had to laugh at myself for thinking that one baby was difficult to deal with! I was trying to remember Casey being that small. It's funny how time just slips by like that.

Court was fun (NOT!). I picked up Casey and got to the courthouse at 5:00. They didn't call my name (just to see if I was there) until almost 6:15. Then they didn't call me (so I could plead not guilty) until 8:45. DH showed up to get Casey at 6:30. She was being so good and then she started talking to me. Loudly. I was trying not to laugh. I did take her out of the court room, though. So now I get a "trial date". I feel like some sort of criminal. I find this whole thing very disturbing as I've never gone to court for anything in my entire life. The judge made sure to tell me that driving an uninsured vehicle was a very serious offense (I think it even carries jail time). I felt like yelling out that I was hardly uninsured, it was the stupid cop who refused to let me prove I had insurance! I just said that I was pleading not guilty. I want to make sure that jerk has to show up in court and I want to talk to the prosecutor. He was too busy last night and his priority was the trial calendar. I would've been there until midnight.

Well, I got home at 9:00 and put Casey to bed. She was crying when I walked in the door. Brenden was already asleep so I didn't see him at all yesterday. He was asleep when I left for work. DH gave him a bottle. I had to pump when I got home and then again this morning. That's one great thing about formula. Since breastmilk passes through a baby's system so quickly, they tend to want to eat more often. Brenden only got up once last night and that was at 4:00am! Unfortunately, Casey was up just befor 3:00. She was coughing so much. She could hardly take a breath without coughing. She climbed into bed with me and finally got back to sleep around 3:30.

DH took Brenden to the doctor yesterday. His ear is all better, but his cough is getting worse. The doctor gave DH some dimetapp to give to Brenden. She also told us to watch him closely for RSV. It was funny when DH told me about the doctor visit. He said "we got some stuff for the cough. The doctor told us to watch out for..." and then he gave me some random letters. I said "RSV?" He said "yeah, that's it." This is why I bring the kids to the doctor myself. I have no idea what sort of information DH would come home with. I have to laugh. He is such a "man"!

Nori, hope you're having fun (and success!) with your new oven! I love to bake, too.

[Hoodone]

Hi Everyone!

Chloe is so cute! I forget that Katherine was ever that small!

Here's a funny story. I'm always going on about my mommy mush brain. Well yesterday, my DH called at 10:45 and said, "I have daddy mush brain. I'm at the pediatrician's office already." Our appointment was for 11:30 and he misread his watch, GOT UP AND LEFT A MEETING AT WORK, and went to the pediatrician's office an hour early!

It was a day of misreadings. The nurse measured Katherine as being 28". I'm thinking, "my child grew 5 inches in 2 months? No way." So after the nurse left, we laid Katherine back down to check her marks. She was way off! So we had the doctor remeasure and she was only 26 1/4" long. She weighs 17 lbs. That is 75% for both. She's been growing along that curve the entire time. She's six months.

About the breastfeeding/formula feeding thing, y'all shouldn't stress about having to stop breastfeeding. Babies thrive on both! Sometimes I wish I wasn't breastfeeding Katherine because it ties me down so much. She won't take a bottle anymore (used to but foolishly stopped and now she won't go back) so I can't leave her for more than about 2-3 hours at a time. Plus, I'm a weanie and won't let her cry so she nurses a lot at night (co-sleeping) and someday it's going to be a struggle to get her to stop night nursing! All I can say is, "moo".

[cchhbb]

Arta, Chloe is such a cutie. Good luck on the trip. I think traveling with little ones is fairly easy if you pack a lot. Make sure you have several changes of clothes for both of you. One thing I would recommend is if you are making formula with water, you may want to bring the water from home. I did that during my trip to Ohio. My DR. suggested this as some babies get an upset tummy from water changes.

We are trying to get Garrett to go to sleep on his own. I'm a complete wimp and hover outside his room the entire time he's trying to fall asleep. DH can't rock him to sleep like I do so last night he just laid him in his crib and let him fuss for 20 minutes. The first nap today was about 10 minutes of whining then sleep. The second one was really difficult for him. It took him nearly an hour to fall asleep. I found that I could soothe him by talking to him. It was pretty stressful on me. I won't let him cry by himself though. I go right in then and talk to him.

Susan, I hope Brendan is doing better. This RSV thing is really frightening. What a pain to go to court. I did once for a traffic violation and ended up hiring a lawyer for $100. I figured that it was worth it. I was ticketed for speeding and the sign was obscured by a tree. I ended up getting off though.

Kim, how is Lainey doing now?

Cheryl

[MrsReber]

My mom has the kids today. She said they're both just hanging out, not playing much, wanting to be held. Don't you think it's odd that RSV is so popular now? I had never heard of it before last year. I have to wonder if it's some new kind of virus or if it's something that's always been around, but didn't have a name.

Arta, great advice from Cheryl on bringing your own water. My friend's little girl got a nasty stomach bug from drinking water in PA. Her daughter got very sick after a trip to see friends in PA. The doctor said that our systems are used to our own water at home. Water in other places may have different organisms in it. In my friend's case, the doctor told her that adults can usually handle the changes while children's systems sometimes have a hard time. I have a whole house filter at home so we always bring water to mix the formula with. If I run out, I'll buy bottled water. This is great when you're driving along and baby needs a bottle, too. I can just prepare one as were going along and reach into the back seat to "serve" it. This worked well with Brenden, but it might not work well with Chloe since she's still so little. Brenden is able to hold his own bottle.

[JoanneOR]

Wow, I really missed alot. Kim, that's so scary. I'm so glad that Lainey is OK. It's really hard sometimes to know when to take them to the doctor. I always used to take my boys in when they had fevers and 99% of the time they would say it's a virus and just needs to run its course. Meanwhile, while you're there, your just exposing them to more germs. But you never know if it's something like an ear infection or strep that needs to be treated. How is your DH doing?

Cheryl, you've done wonderfully with the breastfeeding. Don't feel guilty for weaning. Enjoy your freedom! You've given him a great start and he'll keep thriving on formula. Good luck on getting Garrett to sleep on his own. It really is hard to hear them cry. Caitlyn used to need to be rocked to sleep, but now you can put her down at night and she goes to sleep on her own. Not for naps, though. She usually falls asleep eating and then if we'll lucky, she'll stay asleep when we put her down.

Mrs. Reber, what a pain in the butt! I agree, I would have brought Brenden in to breastfeed! I can't believe they wouldn't let you get your insurance card. You would think they have more important things to do than to harass you! Hope it all works out OK in the end.

Arta, Chloe is so cute. What a sweetie! Caitlyn eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours! Luckily now it only takes about 20 minutes or so. I'm trying to get her to eat more at one time, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Caitlyn is definitely trying to pop out a tooth! I swear I could feel it the other day, but now I'm not so sure. It could just be her bone under the gum. But she is soaking all her clothes with drool. And she's been putting her tongue over the spot where I thought I could feel the tooth. I love how cute they look when they get those first two bottom teeth. I'm planning to get her six month picture taken soon, but might wait until she gets a couple teeth.

My DH has finally called the doctor to schedule his hip replacement surgery. He's been really nervous about it and putting it off. The doctor's on vacation until Tuesday, but the office said it would probably be the week of March 10.

No, we don't have the results of Caitlyn's urine test yet. They said it could take a few weeks.

Hoodone, my DH is always doing stuff like that. He has no sense of time. He has actually tried to drop the boys off at school an entire hour early more than once. He thought it was the right time. He's also picked them up an hour early. At least he doesn't pick them up late (like my MIL!). Actually, I have to call him from work when I'm here to remind him it's time to get them. What would they do without us??

I gotta run. I'm at work and we are still really busy. Just wanted to check in.

[nori]

MrsReber, can't believe they kept you that long in the courthouse!!! Yikes!:eek: Sorry you didn't get to see Brenden all day..:( And I don't understand why that stupid cop didn't let you prove yourself that your car was insured! What a lot of pain. Hope everything will go okay in the end. I'd feel the same way having trial date.:rolleyes: RSV thing must be getting popular nowadays, although I haven't heard from my friends around here. Comment about what your DH said about the visit made me laugh, because my DH wouldn't be able to give me a lot of details I want to know! I guess it's just the way guys are.:rolleyes:

Hoodone...does your DH always make it to Katherine's doctor's visit? My DH only made once, which was 4 months appt at the end of December. He had a day off. I didn't even think of inviting him over, and of course he didn't ask.
:rolleyes: Maybe I should offer it this time. Noah's 6 months is coming up!

Cheryl, I'm like you...I can't let him cry out. DH seems fine with it, he just thinks baby should cry here and there. (Yeah, but not 30 min. non-stop screaming cry!!!!) I tried to let him cry out once for 40 min. but I ended up crying, too. It was awful. Noah is pretty good about sleeping by himself unless something is really bothering him. Usually if he's happy, I can put him in the crib and he'd fall asleep by himself. Sometimes I'd nurse him to sleep if teething is bothering him.

Joanne, hope your DH's surgery would go well. I don't really know about the procedure, but does he have to stay in hospital for a few days? And off from work for a while??
Once I also thought I could feel Noah's teeth but I'm not sure now either.
:confused: May I ask how old Caitlyn is??? I forgot how close she and Noah is.

Tonight DH got tickets to Hokey game so we'll bundle Noah up and going there. I'm not particular fan of Hokey (honestly I don't even know the rules
:o ) But it'll be fun. Noah would have wacky night schedule, but for one night, he should be okay. His schedule is wacky anyway.:D

This weekend Rodeo is in town so we're going to watch some shows there. Last year at this time, I was VERY sick from morning sickness so only DH went there. He said there's an event called "mutton bustin' " where kids ride on muttons. I'm looking forward to see that one, rather than real riding!

Oh, and new oven! It's great! I baked another batch of cookies last night and it was a success! Of course DH took most of them to the office. Before the new oven, I never got the right browness on the bottom of cookies but now I'm getting better. I love gas oven.:)

[JoanneOR]

Nori, Caitlyn will be six months on March 6. I can't believe how time has flown. She's really got quite the little personality now. During my lunch I went and bought her the cutest dress and hat. I was just looking, but couldn't resist. So, I made an appt. to get her picture taken this Sunday at the Picture People. I hope I like it. I haven't gone there before, but I haven't been happy with some of the other places I've gone. I figure she can wear it for the picture and for Easter.

I know that the RSV season around here lasts until the end of April. At least that's what our ped. told us. It really can be scary. I think Caitlyn either really didn't have it or it was a very mild case. She didn't get all that sick, thank God. Many of the babies are hospitalized. Anyway, I wonder if it is as prevalent where you live, Nori. Maybe not because of the climate.

My DH went to every single doctor's appt. with me and Jameson. That's our first son. Since then I go to them all alone! Which is fine. I think its good to have them there so they can hear first hand what the doctor has to say.

Nori, my DH will probably be in the hospital for a few days and will be off work at least six weeks. He will get disability, though, but only 66% of his pay. I want to have a consultation with the doctor beforehand so we know what to expect, hopefully we'll be able to do that.

Have fun at the rodeo. That sounds like alot of fun!

[nori]

So Caitlyn and Noah is about one week apart...he'll be 6 month at the end of this month! Maybe you're right about RSV....climate here is as you can imagine, very dry and warm now. Noah is having a little coughs which I assume coming from too much saliva, or trying to get my attention.:rolleyes: However, since I've read all about RSV here on the board, I started to worry a little bit...he looks happy and fine, except occational coughs and I don't want to call up the doctor for nothing. I'll see how he'll do in next couple of days. Then 6 months checkup is coming up so he'll see his doctor anyway.

Rodeo was fun. It was rather HOT and all the time I was trying to cover Noah's legs up since he had short pants and short sleeves. He had a hat, but he dropped it underneath the bench we're sitting so I had to put cloth on his head to protect from the sun. He was very interested in things surrounding him, and because of the teething, he had found DH's cold beer can very tasty.:p He had another toy with him, but he prefered beer can and it was funny to watch him trying to snatch it from DH.

DH is over his friend's house to watch Mike Tyson fight.:rolleyes: Me and Noah were invited too, but I don't care for boxing, so we decided to stay home.

Joanne, good thing he can get disability. You'll be very busy at that time taking care of 4 boys(;) ) and Caitlyn. Take a good care of yourself, too!

speaking of "taking good care of myself", I had some issue about myself so I'm going to post a new thread in this BB. :o :o

[JoanneOR]

Nori, as long as Noah's coughs are occasional and don't sound deep or wheezy I wouldn't worry too much. If he's drooling alot, it could be saliva. Caitlyn always did cough occasionally, but when she had RSV, it was a different cough and you could actually feel her chest rattling and you could hear her breathing across the room.

Well, I finally got her picture taken at Picture People. They came out pretty good. My only complaint was that they had her on a white blanket with a white background and she is very light skinned. So she looks very washed out. They took some with a purple background and those are much better. They also took one of just her face which is adorable. Next time I'll know to tell them not to use white. But you would think they would know that. If I can somehow get one scanned it I'll post it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

[RunnerKim]

Lainey's doing much better - in fact I'd say she's back to "normal" if there is such a thing. She's no longer congested or coughing at all. And the last thing that was off was her eating and she's back to eating her bigger meals again. In fact, DH just called me to say she consumed 8 oz!!! I asked if her belly button was leaking.

Maybe RSV is a new name??? MIL had never heard of it. I know it was around 4 years ago as my nephew had a really bad case of it when he was a year old. Nurses at the hospital said Feb & March are RSV season and they're always very busy then.

What I will go by in the future in deciding if Lainey needs to be seen is 1. her temperature and 2. her breathing. If there's dimples between her ribs & tummy (not just little indentations) and/or her head is moving when she's breathing then I'll have her seen immediately. She never did develop a wheeze - but if I heard that that would be reason to call the doctor asap too. I will not use her attitude as a basis for how sick she is - she was smiling and happy in the ER! A co-worker made me feel better the other day about not realizing how sick she was -- I would have noticed her temperature spiking within a few hours, even if I had not taken her to the ER. We were checking her temp. all the time, I just didn't have a thermometer at my sister's that I could use. So any of you going on trips - you might want to make sure you take a thermometer with you that works on infants.

Nori - it sounds like you have a lot of fun outings planned. What a combination - Rodeo & Ice hockey :D

Joanne - hope you can get a photo scanned! I'm always learly of white - even on darker subjects because it can be so glaring. I would have thought professionals would know better than that?!

Arta - Choloe is prescious! I'll second Cheryl's advice to make sure you take extra clothing for yourself too - I've needed a change of clothing more than once when out with Lainey when she spits up (or leeks out the other end) and I'm holding her at the time. Just yesterday I was at a dog agility trial and didn't think we'd have any diaper problems since Lainey is still on antibiotics which is making her poop all the time - thus she doesn't have her big daily blow out. So how did she choose this one time to still leak out of her diaper?? Fortunately it didn't get me and we had a change of clothes for her.

Susan - all that time sitting in court and you still have to go back! Great restraint in just pleading not guilty -- I think I would have felt like i had to explain to the judge who was giving me a lecture!

Kim

[nori]

Joanne, I'm looking forward to seeing Caitlyn soon!:)
Noah's cough is because of saliva, since he's been drooling like crazy. I'll try to remember what you and Kim said about signs you're looking for. Those are good things to know!

Kim, glad to hear that Lainey is getting better! What a relief it must be for you. And thanks for those warning signs about coughing and breathing. I was surprised to know that Lainey was happy even in ER. You would think she'll get cranky by that time.

Lately Noah is taking even longer nap. Usually, long nap (an hour and half, average) in the morning, and another one after lunch time, then kind of short one in the evening. Sometimes he'd take shorter nap in early morning. He used to be a power napper...10 or 20 min. here and there. Now it's better because I know I can engage in something that could last 1 hour.:)

I had him wear his very formal looking outfit yesterday for church. My friend gave me for the shower, and it was for 3 to 6 months. I completely forgot about it, and realized he'll outgrown soon.:eek: It's a long sleeve button down shirt with vest, and tie, and pants. He looked so cute and grownup. Mind you, he can't even sit up by himself yet!:D We took a bunch of pictures yesterday morning.

[JoanneOR]

Kim, Caitlyn was the same way when she was sick, smiling and happy as a clam. In fact, she's been more cranky lately than she was then. It's really hard to judge how they are feeling sometimes. Glad to hear Lainey is doing so much better. They really rebound quick.

I don't know if RSV is a new name, but I don't remember hearing about it until recently either. I never remember worrying about it with my other kids.

Nori, that outfit sounds so cute! I'm trying to make sure Caitlyn wears all the clothes she received as gifts, even if it's only one time. I feel bad if someone bought her something and she never wears it. She got alot of really cute dresses and other dressy clothes, but there really aren't many opportunities to wear them. For one thing, it's been so cold she's only worn a dress a couple times. And we really don't go out that much to be dressing her up.

Nori, Congrats on those longer naps! Caitlyn sometimes will take a long nap (an hour or two) but you never know for sure so it's hard to start any projects.

I don't have a scanner at home, so I'm going to try to scan Caitlyn's picture here at work. If I get in here early some day, I'll try to do it. I think we are going to be getting a digital camera soon, so I'll definitely post a picture after that (once I learn how to use it!).

[Julia1Pin]

Wow! I'm gone for a couple of days and there's a ton of activity.

I hope all the kids with RSV and colds are doing better!

Joanne - Hurry up with the scanner :p

Kim - Happy 5 months to Lainey! I'm going to weigh and measure Abigail today. what are Lainey's measurements at 5 months?

To new moms - Abigail hadn't gone poopy in 4 days and I fianlly called the doctor yesterday (we went to SF with Abigail on Friday and just got back yesterday) and she said 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water (as much as she'll take) and that should do the trick. Well, it did the trick! So if anyone else has this issue, that's how to solve it :) And Abigail was ina great mood this whole time:confused:

Have a great week everyone.

[RunnerKim]

Julia- did you take Abigail to the doctor's office to get her weighed? We estimate that Lainey is around 14 lbs. based on what she was weighing at the hospital a week ago.

Nori - I've noticed that Lainey is also starting to have longer naps, must be an age thing. I just wish she'd tell us when it's going to be a long one :) I must admit she is a lot more predictable than just a couple of months ago.

I can hardly believe it but Lainey slept for 11 hours last night :eek: She fell asleep while doing her normal 7ish feeding last night so I figured she'd wake up early to eat. I'm not sure I want her sleeping so long, but I guess I don't really get much say in the matter.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Hello everyone. I got home on Friday night and both kids were asleep. Not a good sign! DH had put Brenden down just after 4:00. He woke up to eat around 2:00 and 6:00 am! Aside from getting up to eat, he slept almost 15 hours! He seems better now. However, you guessed it, I had to bring Casey to the doctor yesterday. She has fluid in her ears. She hadn't been herself for the past few days. The doctor says she might have a sinus infection so he put her on antibiotics. I can't win with these kids!

Nori, that's great that Noah is napping longer. Yesterday after I took the kids to the doctor, I came home and they both fell asleep for about 2 hours. It was nice.

Joanne, can't wait to see the pictures! The Picture People put Casey and Brenden on a white background, too. It worked out nice, though, since I had them both dressed in navy blue and white. Casey is very fair, too. She looks better with color around her. I don't have a scanner, either. I really need to get one. They're so cheap these days, too.

Kim, I was plenty ready to vindicate myself in front of the judge and the court room, but I realized it was not exactly my time to do that. So I have to wait. At least it keeps me from having to pay any fines or court fees for the time being. I am hoping that when I talk to the prosecutor, they throw all the charges out. Either that or maybe the cop won't show up. Even better!

DH found out yesterday that MIL no longer works weekends at all. She hasn't in some time, yet she tells us that she doesn't have time to stop by. I am thinking she has a problem with me. Whatever the deal is, DH is now very angry with her. I don't know if I should be upset with her for not ever coming to see her grandchildren or relieved that she doesn't come around. It's such a fine line for me these days.

Joanne, did you find that when you had a girl, everyone gave you dresses? My mom started to do that. I told her they're really cute, but it's not very practical. Until Casey was walking, she wore very few dresses. She certainly couldn't crawl in a dress and, like you mentioned, it's been cold out. I have tons of clothes that she never wore. DH's neice is having a baby and our neighbor is due in May. They're both having girls. I don't know what to do with all the boy clothes we have. We're running out of storage space!

[JoanneOR]

Kim, 11 hours sleep is great! It's OK for them to sleep that long at this age. Caitlyn usually sleeps 10-12 hours a night now straight through. She goes to bed pretty early, usually around 7. On the days I am home, it's OK because I've been with her all day. But on the days I go to work, it's tough because I only see her for maybe an hour when I get home. And that hour is hectic with trying to get dinner ready and everything.

Mrs. Reber, yes, we did get alot of dresses for Caitlyn. We also got about four Christmas outfits. Plus we have a two year old niece so my SIL gave us all of her clothes. I've already given alot of it away to a unwed mother's shelter here. I had tons of boy clothes that I gave away also.

Gotta go. Caitlyn is not happy!

[nori]

Joanne, I am also trying to have Noah wear everything he received as gifts! This "formal" outfit was from my friend from work so I'm thinking to bring the photo to her.

Julia, Noah went also 4 days without pooping and He seemed fine! On the 5th day, when he did it, I was scared to open the diaper.:o The next day, he did poop 4 times in a few hours!:rolleyes: Now he'd go every 2 or 3 days.

Sorry it's such a lovely story. :p

Kim, really, it would be nice, wouldn't it? Right now he's taking a nap but I can't really tell if it's going to be long or not...usually this is the long one, but when you assume that way, he'd wake up in 10 min. or so.:rolleyes:

MrsReber, It's been a while you mentioned about your MIL. Whatever the reason is, I'd say it's good for you that she's not around much. If kids are not missing grandma, (and obviously you're not), I guess it's her choice not to come to visit. I'm just wondering if my FIL could be worse than your MIL.....I mean, Noah will be 6 month and he hasn't seen him yet! And he's planniing to come to Grand Canyon next month (which is about 7 hours from here) and asking DH if we could come over to meet him there.:confused: Don't you think usually he'd take some extra time to come down to see his grandson and our new home??? I was a little bit upset about this. But we're planning to go up to see him.:rolleyes:

Okay, here's my question...I got baby orajel yesterday and tried to put on him when he was fussy and I thought it was teething. (BTW, I got night formula since that was the only one the store had) I rubbed tiny amount against his gum but he didn't like it! I did it about 8pm last night, hoping if teething is the reason he's waking up, he'd be sleeping throguh the night. Wrong!! He woke up as usual.:rolleyes: Anyway, I put the jel again about an hour ago because he was fussing and chewing his teething toy, so I thought it was his teeth. At that moment, it made him cry harder....I saw commercial of orajel where it said it'll stop baby fussing faster than tyrenol??? Hmmm, am I doing something wrong? Maybe the reason he was fussy wasn't his teeth?? I had pea size amount on my finger and rubbed it against his upper and lower front gum. You had to see his face when I did that to him!!! He looked like he just had the most disgusting thing in the world!:eek: Anyway, if anyone has advice on orajel thing, I'd appreciate it.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Joanne...we just be posting at the same time. :)

[MrsReber]

Nori, Casey now has that same reaction to orajel! It used to work for her. I remember when she got her first molars in. It was horrible. She would cry like crazy. I was so scared, I wanted to take her to the hospital the first time it happened. We finally got her calmed down with Tylenol or Motrin. I think that works better for teething pain than anything, but it takes about 20 minutes for it to start working. Also, have you tried a frozen teething ring? Those are a favorite in the Reber house!

Hmm, could we set my MIL up with your FIL ;)? The kids are too young to miss grandma. She is so jealous whenever someone else comes over, though. She always has a comment for that person like "did you call first?" or "are you allowed to just stop by?" She feels that we don't want her around because we ask for a little advance notice of her visits. She thinks she should just be allowed to come over whenever she wants. I'm a rather private person and I can't operate that way. I have held off dinner either waiting for her to show up or because I didn't have enough dinner for all of us (when she calls at the last minute to stop by). It's just very inconsiderate. She'll come over during the week around 7:00, after she gets off work. Brenden goes to sleep between 7 and 8 and Casey is getting ready for bed at 8:00. Meanwhile, I'm usually rushing around, getting dinner ready, getting bottles, lunches and clothes ready for the next day, and getting everyone bathed. I don't have much time to entertain or to alter our routine or I end up losing out on sleep (I get precious little to begin with!).

Whoops- I have to go. I have to finish something up and then run to get Casey- Oh, Joanne, I like the idea of donating the clothes. I can't decide what to do with them. Sell them, donate them, save some. So confusing with so many clothes!

[JoanneOR]

Nori, we didn't have much luck with Oragel with the boys. I don't even think we tried it after Jameson. It seems to me unless you can feel the tooth under the skin that the Oragel wouldn't be able to penetrate the gum enough to reach where the pain is. Does that make sense? I don't like the idea of their gums being numb. And then if it gets on their tongue that would be numb, too. I guess maybe I'm thinking about it too much!! We've been using Tylenol for Caitlyn. I don't know if it works or not, but at least I feel I'm helping her with the pain, if, in fact, that is what's bothering her.

Caitlyn took an 2 1/2 hour nap this morning and has now been asleep for about an hour. She is a much happier baby when she naps good. My boss is stopping by later this afternoon. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but she has breast cancer and has been out of the office since November. She's a really close friend; it will be good to see her. She's almost done with chemo, then she'll have radiation. I'm praying that everything is clear and stays that way after all the treatments.

That's a tough situation with your MIL, Mrs. Reber. She really sounds like she has some "issues". But that's not news to you, is it?! My in-laws frequently stop by without calling first. I'm used to it now but it took awhile. They always seem to come over when the house is in turmoil, which I admit, is almost always! I can't complain too much because my two SIL's are wonderful. They are always offering to help out with the kids. My MIL is a different story, but you've heard my stories about her!

Nori, that's sad that your FIL hasn't seen Noah. He's the one missing out. Does he have other grandchildren? Seven hours is a long way to expect you to drive, especially with a baby.

My DH wanted me to sell the baby clothes and other baby stuff. It just seemed like too much work to me. It was much easier just to donate them. Although we just found out my niece who is only 18 is pregnant and due in April. So, I could have given everything to her, but I had already given it away.

[cchhbb]

Nori, I can't help on the teething pain. Good luck. Too bad Noah doesn't sleep well during the night. Maybe we could combine my power napper with your great daytime sleeper. Then we'd have the perfect little boy.:)

Kim, Glad to hear Lainey is doing better. Great recommendations on what to call the doctor for. I've heard that you would know when your child was sick by their behavior. I guess that person didn't hear of Lainey.

Joanne, I'm with you. I'd donate all my clothes or give them away. I just can't be troubled with taking the time to sell them. Most of Garrett's clothes were bought at garage sales though. I'm planning on saving Garrett's because someday he might have a sibling. Hopefully not too soon though. Heh. Heh.

Mrs. Reber, sorry about your MIL. It sounds like she's got some issues. I really appreciate that my MIL lives 15 hours away. She si refusing to come to Garrett's baptism after we arranged it around their schedule.

Garrett had his 4 month appointment. I learned a very valuable lesson yesterday. Never schedule a well visit on Monday. We ended up waiting due to them squeezing in all the sick kids. His 6 month appointment is on Tuesday.

He was 11 pounds 10 ounces and 24.75 inches long. That makes him 5% for weight and 50% for height. Everything else went okay. He's a little fussier than normal due to the shots. I really hate it when he looks at me with the expression 'Mom, how could you let them hurt me this way'.

We've been given the direction to start rice cereal now. I'm not in a huge hurry. I did order Child of Mine and Super Baby Food. Thanks for the recommendation Kim. I also ordered a high chair off the net. They should be here in 2 weeks so I'll probably wait until then.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - that makes a lot of sense about Monday appt's. I'm thinking Friday may not be such a great day to schedule a well baby appt. either -- I know as the weekend was approaching I felt more inclined to get Lainey seen on Friday knowing it would be a much bigger deal over the weekend.

We're going to start rice cereal this weekend. I figured it would be closer to 6 months (or after) but Lainey is clearly ready. This morning I was holding her while eating a muffin and she kept reaching for it and doing lots of tongue action. I felt like I was teasing her by eating and holding her at the same time. She'll also raise my water glass to her lips and try to nurse from it (with my help holding it). When do babies start using sippy cups?

Joanne - I hope your boss is doing well. I'm happy Lainey is sleeping so long but sad that it's looking like she'll only be up 2 hours after I get home from work. :(

Susan - your MIL is a piece of work. I'm sure she does have issues - but their her issues. Your requests are very reasonable. Great that your DH supports you/his family with her!

I'm going to pick up a freezable teether next time I'm getting diapers/formula. I don't think Lainey's that close to teething but sounds like something to have in the freezer for when she does!

Today feels like Friday - and its what, Tuesday. sheesh.

Kim

[albus87]

Again, I've been away from the board for a few days and as usual, there is tons going on!

First of all, thanks for all the advice for our first trip with Chloe. Things went extraordinarily well. She was great the entire time and the only time she got fussy was in the last 5 minutes of the 3 hour drive back home, so I definitely have no complaints. Unfortunately, I read the advice about bringing water from home after we returned and it never occurred to me that the water from another city might be a problem. Fortunately, however, she had no problems but that doesn't mean she won't have problems in the future, so I will probably bring my own water on the next road trip. DH is going on a business trip to New Orleans at the end of March and wants me and Chloe to join him. If we go on that trip, however, I might get a few strange looks if I try to check in gallons of water as luggage!

Cheryl: Great advice on not scheduling an appointment on a Monday. I need to schedule Chloe's 2 month check up and I'll definitely keep that advice in mind when making it!

Well, Chloe is asleep and considering it's almost midnight, I should probably head that way too.

arta

[Hoodone]

Hope everyone is doing well. I've been a little absent!

I saw a couple of you are starting solids and using the Super Baby Foods book. Me, too. I asked my pediatrician several questions that book raised for me. The sippy cup question did come up. She said that I could introduce it, but really, they won't start using it for awhile. She said I could use EBM, a little water or a little juice in the cup. I asked about water and she said no more than 4 oz. Really, milk is the thing still for babies under 1 year. I asked about making the cereal since that is the heart and soul of this book. My pediatrician recommended using the commercial brands due to the iron fortification. I tend to agree with her and am using the Earth's Best brand since it is whole grain. Well, I'm also using up the plain rice cereal, too. She said to work up to 3 meals a day! Ack! I just started 2! It's just so much easier to breast feed. She said to feed cereal at each because of the iron thing, and to also do fruits and veggies. I mix in a fruit in the morning and a veg in the evening. She said that was fine. She also said we could start on the teething biscuits. We tried, but Katherine didn't get it. So we'll try again in a month or so. I'm sure I've left some stuff out, but can't remember. What do other people's pediatricians recommend?

Again, hope everyone is well. Sorry not to answer people's posts personally!

[MrsReber]

Hoodone, I have to admit that I generally don't follow my pediatrician's advice to a "t". I have found that your own instincts are much more on target since you are the one living with the baby everyday. Brenden is on foods, but he has decided in the past 2 weeks that he doesn't like baby food anymore. He wants to eat what we're eating. He's still getting breastmilk and formula so I'm not too worried about nutrition at this point. He used to eat three bowls of cereal for dinner, but now he cries when I try to give him cereal. However, he will eat lots of mashed potatoes, crackers, Gerber wagon wheels, and teething biscuits. Figures that I stocked up on baby food, too! Brenden, at 7 months, likes to play with the sippy cup. I don't think he's compelely figured it out yet. We put in some watered down apple juice. Every once in a while he gets a hold of Casey's cup, too. He does get some juice every now and then, but it'll take him a bit to get the hang of it. So, while I use the pediatrician's advice as a guideline, I mostly rely on my own instincts. It's hard to get the hang of that at first! Then you'll realize that you know much more than you think you do.

Most of the teething rings say you can't freeze them. I don't pay any attention to that. You'll find out soon enough that the ones with water in them don't last too long when they're being chewed on constantly!

Arta, glad the trip went well!

Joanne, I hope your boss is well. DH's sister underwent a masectomy last November. She's going through chemo now as well. I don't think she's going to have radiation, though. She's in surprisingly good spirits.

Cheryl, my MIL didn't show up at Casey's first birthday after I specifically asked her if she could make it before I sent out any invitations. she called that morning to say she "had to work". She won't be invited to Brenden's first birthday or Casey's second. My brother's wife is still mad at my MIL for that. She said it's unforgivable. I tend to agree since we go to every stupid party for MIL.

Oh well, guess I have to get back to work now- or at least cruise the boards for a few minutes! Oh, Brenden slept from 9:00 last night until 4:00 this morning without ever stirring! He hardly ever does that! It probably won't last. Of course, this means that I'm up for the day at 4:00am. I did go to the gym here today for the first time! I only did 25 minutes on the eliptical trainer, but it felt good to be back in a gym!

[nori]

MrsReber...Noah has this teething toy which became his favorite. It has one side shaped like flower and has water in it. The other side is like a ball, and somehow he likes to chew on the ball, which is way too big for his mouth. He'd chew on the flower part, too, especially when it's cold. He also has teething blanket and he likes it, too. I'm thinking to get some more teething toys, but seems like at this moment every toy he has is his teething toy.:rolleyes: Wow, 9 to 4 is great! I wish Noah does that again, soon....he's still about every few hours schedule at night. Do you have a gym at work? That'll be nice.

Hoodone, I'm planning to bring my super baby food book to 6 month appt to show his doctor the list of food they have in there. I'd probably start with rice cereal, and wondering if I could start using whole grain since he's already 6 month old...
:confused: But, he was born one month earlier than due date so that means I have to consider him a month short??? I am going to ask him about that, too.

Arta..welcome back! Glad to hear that the trip went well. New Orleans sounds fun. Is it about time for Mardi Gras overthere??

Thanks everyone for advice on Orajel. I figured it really doesn't work for him either.:rolleyes: I'm not sure, but sometimes it might be gas that's bothering him...He is mostly stretching his legs when he cries, and not bringing them up to his tummy as you all described.:confused: But he had a big poop this morning so it might had been gas.

I put him down last night in the crib and he kind of rolled himself to side position. I didn't think so much about it, but around 10pm, he woke up and cried so I went in to see him. He was on his tummy!!!:) He must had flip himself over when he woke up. He was crying because he didn't understand what happened to him. That was the first from back to tummy rollover so I wrote it down in his baby book.:D

[JoanneOR]

Wow, Mrs. Reber, Brenden is sure a good eater. Three bowls of cereal?! My boys were never good eaters as babies. Never cared for the cereal unless fruit was mixed in. My ped. said to wait until six months for solids with Caitlyn. I remember with the boys they had me start at four months. I actually gave her cereal about a month ago and she seemed to enjoy it. Then I tried last week and she basically played with it and pushed it back out. Maybe it was too thick. But she really didn't seem to know what to do with it. I'll try again in a week or so. I tried applesauce, too. It was so funny. She made a funny face like when you eat something sour and shook her whole body. She kind of ate it but most of it came back out.

You're right, hoodone, it is easier when they just drink breastmilk or formula.

With my boys I started the sippy cup when I switched to milk, at a year. I think my ped. said that was the best time to switch from bottles. They said if you wait too long, it's harder to get them to give up the bottle. It took a day or two for them to get the hang of it.

[RunnerKim]

Arta- I'm glad your trip went so well. Maybe just picked up bottled water when you travel by plane? :D

Hoodone - that sure makes solids sound complicated. Lainey's doctor just said at her 4 month that we could start if we wanted to. Only introduce 1 new food a week and to avoid certain things for the first year. That was all she said! Maybe I'll hear more at the 6 month appt. I guess I don't need to worry so much about the iron issue since Lainey is getting formula, but I'll probably pick up commercial anyway. I'm not sure what all is involved in making rice cereal, but sounds complicated. Fruits & veggies seem fairly straight forward to make though - cook and mash. I've requested the Super Baby Food books from the library again but it'll be a week or so until I can get it.

Nori - Way to go Noah on the back-to-front roll over!! :D

Lainey woke up with a slight sniffle this morning. I'm ready to keep her in an isolation bubble. :( I wish Spring would hurry up and get here - heck the daffodils are in full bloom, it can't be far away.

Kim

[Hoodone]

Kim: I didn't mean to make the solids thing sound complicated, but I have had a lot of questions over the entire process myself. Like everything with babies, there are many "right" ways to do things and each parent knows what is best for their child. Feeding solids is way more work than breastfeeding! There is food prep, bibs, bowls, spoons, strainers, high chairs, food flying all over the place, food getting smeared into hair (hers and mine), fights over who gets to hold the spoon, and the list just keeps growing. It is not difficult to make the food, though, and anyone advanced enough to read the Cooking Light forum is advanced enough to make their own baby food!

Otherwise, Katherine had her six month appointment. She is 17 lbs and 26 inches. It is time to move her out of her infant car seat and I am resisting! We have the next car seat ready, I'm just so used to the convenience of the infant seat that I'm not wanting to move her to the big girl seat! She is getting heavy, though, so maybe it won't be such a bad thing.

Hope everyone is doing great and getting lots of sleep!

[cchhbb]

Hoodone, Your DR really gave you much more info than mine. Mine was kinda like Kim's. You can start if you want. Don't introduce food too soon. That kind of thing. I did make some baby food the other night as we were having sweet potatoes. I just put in an extra one to roast when I made ours.

Kim, It has to be so stressful to see that little sniffle after Lainey's last illness. I hope she is feeling better today.

Hoodone, What convertible car seat did you buy? Garrett's DR suggested that we start shopping for one since he will probably grow too tall for his by his next appointment. He certainly won't be big enough weight wise as he is taking the tall, skinny approach to growing. If anyone else has a suggestion, please let me know.

The question for the day. Can a baby as young as 4 months manipulate you. When I put Garrett in his crib, if he cries I go to him and reassure him. Lately, he breaks into a smile as soon as I hit the room. Is this a cause for concern? I know he's happy to see me, but is he playing me?

Cheryl

[nori]

Cheryl...Noah does the same thing here and there. It's all about how you take it, I think, but since crying is the only way to communicate for them, they'd cry if they want to get an attention. I don't think you should be concerned, but I maybe wrong. Garrett might be end up more cringy to you, though....Noah is very attached to me, naturally I'm always the one to go and pick him up, drop everything I'm doing (well most of the time...) and go for him. DH would not do that.:rolleyes: Anyway, hopefully someone else more knowledgable can give us more information. Isn't taht cute, though, when he smiles at you???

I'm planning to start solids after his 6 month appt. which is tomorrow!;) Oh I have to make a list of questions I want to ask the doctor!

How big the baby should be when moved to the new car seat??? I guess I can check with my manual...is it depend on the style of the carseat, or is there any standard??

I think Noah is gettin close to move to the new one...Lately I'd take him out from the seat when go shopping, although he's still too young to sit by himself in the shopping card, hence I end up holding him while shopping.:rolleyes: Yes, that's a lot of workout there!

[MrsReber]

Cheryl, DH and I just bought new car seats for Brenden. No more infant seat/carrier. He's just too heavy! I bought a really nice seat made by Cosco. It's the last seat we'll ever need since you can use it as a booster seat later on. It's good up to 80 lbs. I hesitates at first because of the price ($150 at Babies R Us), however we won't need to buy separate boosters later on. We really like the seats, too. So that's my suggestion.

I must've cursed myself writing about MIL. DH ran into her last night. He stopped at his sister's house to help his nephew with a Cub Scouts project. MIL showed up there, even though she was there all weekend. DH mentioned that she never stops by. She said if she comes by after work, we "better having dinner ready" for her. I knew that was an issue with her. She gave DH a bunch of clothes that she bought for Brenden. All size 12 months. I don't even have enough room for all the 12 month clothes I have. I just wish she'd call to ask what size my children are wearing. At Christmas, when Casey was 19 months, she gave us a 12 month outfit. The sweater fit since it ran big, but the skirt is so short! I'd like to get more than one month out of an outfit. At this point, I could actually not do Brenden's laundry for three weeks and not run out of clothes. I just told DH last weekend that if anyone asks, we need 18 month size clothes for Brenden for the summer. No more winter clothes. We're drowning in boy clothes!

DH gave Brenden's daycare a note yesterday saying the he is allowed to eat mushy foods since he no longer cares for baby food. DH said he handed the note to the teacher just as Brenden was stealing another little boy's french toast! Yes, he did eat plenty of cereal. He's so particular. He likes the cereal to be hot. He doesn't like anything cold or room temperature. He was up twice again last night. At 4:00, he wouldn't go back to sleep. I held him for a while and he finally fell asleep at 4:30.

Nori, yes we have a gym in our building. It took me long enough to join! I went there this morning for my body analysis. I can't believe what good shape I'm in after having 2 kids in less than 2 years. My fat percentage is lower now than it was when I was 10 pounds lighter! Weird how that works. I have my weigh in today for WW at lunch. I'm hungry and I'm trying hard not to eat. I don't think I lost all that much this week, but we'll see!

[albus87]

It's interesting reading about the introduction of solid food. Obviously Chloe is several months away from eating solid food, but I know the time will pass quickly - she's already a month old which is hard to believe. This book, "super baby food" (I think that's what it is called) - is this a "cookbook" for baby food? How many on the board make their own babyfood as opposed to buying it? I guess one advantage of making your own food is that you know exactly what's in it, but how timeconsuming is it to make it? Do you store it in the freezer?

Hoodone: You mentioned "Earth's Best Brand" as being a whole grain rice cereal. Is it available in normal grocery stores or do you have to go to a whole foods store to find it? I like the idea of starting Chloe on a whole grain cereal (I'm very big into whole grain everything) but I have no idea if I'll be able to find a speciality brand in my tiny little town. Only one store in town carries whole grain pasta, so I have my doubts about finding whole grain babyfood! Perhaps I can special order it or something.

Mrs. Reber: Good job on the working out and WW! I really need to get started on getting my weight down as well. My grandmother came over yesterday and commented that my stomach had gone down quite a bit since she saw me last (just a few days after Chloe's birth). I was feeling pretty good and decided to try on my work uniform to see how it fit. This is the same uniform that was a bit on the baggy side before I got pregnant. Well, the pants fit in the hips but the waistband was so tight, I couldn't even come close to fastening it. I only have a month left before I have to go back to work. I either need to whittle my waist down in a month or buy some new uniforms. I've tried to get in the routine of a daily walk with Chloe but I think some more vigorous exercise is in order (that, and forsaking the nightly bowl of chocolate ice cream!). DH has a workout room set up with an exericse bike, elliptical trainer and weight bench, so I really have no excuse not to get in a daily workout.

Actually, writing that above paragraph has motivated me... Chloe is asleep, I guess there is no time like the present to get started with my workout!

arta

[RunnerKim]

Hoodone - I was just lamenting to DH about having to move her out of the infant car seat in a couple of months. I think it's at 20lbs or 30 inches (not sure on the latter)? Lainey's likely to hit the height restriction first. Although the way she's been eating the last couple of days, that could change. Over 40 ounces yesterday :eek: And i was worried she wasn't eating enough when we came home from the hospital. :rolleyes:

Arta - I plan to make Lainey's food. Mostly I don't see a reason to buy the stuff in a jar. I gather part of the advantage to starting solids later is they don't need to be has pureed/smooth as what you get from a jar. Mostly I just plan to cook (microwave or bake) the fruit or vegetable and then put it in my food processor. I'll probably do enough for a couple of days at a time (so will keep it in the fridge) but I know you can do bigger batches and freeze it. I'm hoping Lainey moves along quickly and wants the food that we're making for dinner (but mashed/chunked up).

Cheryl - I don't know that I'd call it manipulation. I think he's just looking for the security you provide. Love those smiles!

Susan - the world is all about your MIL isn't it! Pack a snack to eat on the way from work to your house - or heck offer to make dinner (or bring it) for your family, so you can spend more time with your kids. Wouldn't that be a thoughtful thing for her to do! :D

Arta - good for you on the work out. Seems i'd just gotten into a routine with the colds & pneumonia came along. I have my annual doctor's appt. in a couple of weeks and I'm dreading what he scale will say - that's it I'm back out tomorrow morning!

Kim

Just thought I'd add this link http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel1717
My MIL sent me this info (she's a big Martha fan :cool: ) It's about making baby food.

[Julia1Pin]

Sorry to be brief, I'll write more later but when you feed your baby rice cereal or veggies do you mix them with your mil or can you just mix with water?

[RunnerKim]

Julia - my understanding is that you'd use breastmilk or formula.


Editing my post again to say - I was curious because I couldn't see if you were exclusivevly breastfeeding that many women would necessarily be expressing breastmilk and wouldn't want to use formula either. Gerber's web site says you can use breastmilk, formula, water or juice.


Originally posted by Julia1Pin
do you mix them with your mil

Now if your Susan - you might want to go ahead and cook up your MIL and mix her in :D

[Julia1Pin]

Her MIL probably isn't very good tasting though ;)

I do exclusively nurse and it's hard enough for me to get the 3 feedings in that I'd rather not use my milk for that (that's why I ask). I'll probably mix with water (I've only been feeding her creal 2-3 times a week). It is soo much easier just to nurse :)

[cchhbb]

Garrett has the Graco SnugRide Carseat and it is good for 20 lbs and 26 inches according to the owners manual. My DR recommended that we buy one by his 6 month visit as he will be too tall for it. He'll probably only weigh about 15 pounds though.

I like the idea of mixing up MIL and putting her in the cereal. My DR did say that she would recommend against mixing cereal with water as the baby doesn't get enough nutrients. I did call the DR yesterday about making cereal and she said buy it due to the iron content. She also said don't use adult cereal when he begins oatmeal.

Thanks for your thoughts on the manipulation question. Gotta run.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - I have the same car seat and was going to pull out the booklet this weekend. 26"... that won't be too much longer. drat.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kim

[MrsReber]

You guys crack me up! I'm sure if I used MIL, Brenden would spit it out. She's very sour and disagreeable :D!

I usually mix the cereal with water. I figure at 6 months, the baby is only learning how to eat, not actually sitting down to a full meal. I'd rather save the breastmilk since normally half of the cereal winds up in places other than baby's tummy.

Oh, also, Gerber makes a mixed grain cereal "with the ingredients of formula". Brenden really likes that one. Well, when he's not eating my food. He had french toast and egg yolk for dinner last night. He loved it! He even slept until 3:30. He only got up once to eat. French toast every night!!

[albus87]

Well, yesterday's workout didn't happen. I got dressed in my workout clothes and Chloe woke up, right on cue. So, I fed her and then we went on a vigorous walk. The weather was gorgeous anyway, so it was good to be outside. It's rainy and miserable today - a much better day for an indoor workout. My mom and dad are visiting today, so I'll probably ask them to watch the baby while I try to fit in a workout.

I don't want to get too optimistic here, but Chloe has slept pretty much through the night the last few nights. Last night, she slept for 8 hours and the 2-3 nights before, about 6 to 7 hours. I hope she keeps this up! Her routine has evolved to where she is pretty much awake and eating/snacking all evening. When she finally goes down, I think she is so tired and full from her evenings activities that she just sleeps through the night. I have no idea, however, if this is permanent or not. I'm enjoying the sleep,however, so I hope it is!

I finally picked up the Mycilon drops from Walmart. She hasn't needed them lately but it will be good to have them on hand when she does.

I have a question for you Mom's that aren't breastfeeding. How long was it until your "monthly visitor" returned? It's been a month since Chloe was born and I think mine may have started a couple of days ago. However, I'm unsure if it's just more lochia (the discharge that happens after pregnancy) or if it is actually my period. Any ideas?