October New Moms

[hrk]

Well I thought I would start the new thread since it is after all October 1st.
Mrs.Reber- Glad to hear Stryper is doing well. I hope you are able to recoup your costs from the dog owners, Iknow any emergency procedure for animals can be very costly.
BeckyM-Good luck with your first week of work. I know Katie will do just wonderful with Miss Jill and it will porbably be a great transition to daycare somewhere besides your home
Cheryl- Glad to hear Garrett loved the beach. That is DH's greatest fear is that Logan won't like the water/beach since we are such beach people aourselves, being divers and all
Nori, Glad to hear Noah is sleeping better, Hope this trned continues, I know I felt like a new woman when Logan started sleeping through the night.
Erin- Congrats on the pregnancy. Hope everything is healthy and just as wonderful as the first time around
Susan- Sorry to hear about daycare not going well. And sorry to hear Alex is sick. Hope he is feeling better soon. And he could really give Logan a run for his money in weight- both are big boys
Kim- Laineys cake was adorable. I told DH about it and showed him the picture.
Well we had quite the past four days. Rosh Hashanah was this weekend and we took Logan to services with us on Saturday. He really liked all the singing but wanted to be in my arms the whole time swaying- holding 17 1/2 pounds for two hours was impossible.
Then Saturday afternoon with a whole bunch of people coming for dinner we lost power. Turns out that when we had our cable modem installed they knicked our power lines. So luckily I have very nice neighbors who lent me their ovens, and yesterday Pepco finally got out there and we now have heavy duty jumper cables running from our house to our neighbors since it will probably be a month:eek: before they can get there to retrench new lines.
So on the good side of this DH wasn't able to work from home Monday and Tuesday so I got to stay home with Logan again for two days.
This weekend we also moved Logan into his big boy car seats and his first bottom tooth punched through and we noticed the one next to it is bumped up.
So now he is teething big time and his favorite thing t chew on seems to be the nipples on his bottles- oh well at least it isn't me:D
And today was his first day at daycare. DH and I took him together this morning and he was the first baby there so all these people were holding him. His teacher took him and rocked him and was talking to him in French which seemed to really make him smile. I on the other hand was crying. I hope he has a great day but as everyone else has said it makes me sad that I am not the one with him everyday.
So hopefuly today will go by quickly.
Hope everyone has a great hump day
Heather
PS- Logan is very used to falling asleep in the car, When we had his infant carrier we would just let him sleep in that in the house but we can't do that now. What do other moms do- he was so sound asleep yesterday I was tempted to roll down the windows and let him sleep in the garage, but I picked him up and tried to put him right in his crib but it woke him up- any ideas on how to keep him asleep?

[erinl]

Thanks, everybody! I'm feeling much better today. It'll all work out. I went to Costco yesterday and bought a huge bottle of prenatal vitamins. I left them on the table for DH to discover. Well, he was home for about 20 minutes before I finally said, "Are you even going to ask me about the prenatal vitamins?" His response, "Oh, I didn't see them.":rolleyes: They were sitting on top of something I got for him. Oh well. He's excited.

((Heather)) The first day at daycare has got to be tough. I don't have any suggestions on moving a sleeping baby. I've been really lucky with Hanne. I can almost always get her transferred from car to crib without waking. I can even get shoes and jackets off of her.

Gotta go, I haven't been hearing much noise out of Hanne....

[RunnerKim]

Heather - I too mourned the transition from infant seat to convertable car seat for the same reason. I don't know if I just got better at it or she sleeps more soundly but sometimes I can now transition her (heck a couple of times I've even changed her diaper and put on her PJs without waking her up!) but not in the first month or so of the switch. Maybe try rocking him a little before putting him down in his crib? We find it helpful sometimes to hold our hand against Lainey's head after we put her down to keep herself from startling awake. i think we stilled used the infant car seat in the house for awhile after we switched too and that might help keeping him in the same position.

We've tried to find a way to use our baby monitor in the car (battery run) -- Wednesday nights I have a dog agility class at a barn in an isolated area and she was often asleep from the longish ride there and I felt safe leaving her sleeping in the car. She seemed to always wake up upon arrival though so I haven't worried about it but now that it's getting dark early again she might not wake up. Our car doesn't fit in the garage :rolleyes: but if you can hear when Logan wakes up then I'd leave him there.

How horrible about your power going out! Glad you had neighbors that could help you out. I feel bad that I don't really know my neighbors - not well enough to borrow their ovens anyway.

Erin - that is so typical of DHs to not even notice the clue! Glad the joy is taking hold.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Erin!!! Congratulations!!! Don't worry about timing. There is never a "perfect" time to have a child. I, too, missed a wedding because Brenden was due around the same time. I was huge, in pain and very uncomfortable so we didn't go. It was also really hot out. That is so great, though! I'm really happy for you!

Nori, you're right, I take my kids to a Stride Rite store. I don't, however, go to the mall. The stores employ lots of kids who really don't know how to properly fit shoes on a child. I did it once and the girl had no advice to offer me. The store I go to is a small store that's been there for years and years. I'm very paranoid about shoes fitting correctly.

Thanks for the good wishes for my cat. He's improving, slowly but surely. Now I just have to duke it out with the dog owners. It's going to be messy, but I don't have much of a choice.

No advice on transfering a sleeping child. Brenden will fall asleep in the car and he normally goes right back to sleep when I put him in his crib.

[slknight]

Heather, Logan and Alex sound so similar - very big boys, cutting teeth already, just starting daycare, etc. Alex has his bottom two teeth mostly in. They cut through the gums about a week or so ago, and are almost all the way in. They look so cute!

He is doing much better now that he's had a few doses of amoxicillin for his ear. The major screaming fits have subsided. The hardest part was that he pretty much refused to nurse, but would take a bottle. I think it hurt his ear to suck too hard, plus he's pretty congested. So I had to pump a lot for a few days. He stayed home from daycare yesterday, but I think he will probably go tomorrow (he doesn't go Weds.)

I totally mourned the loss of the infant carseat. It was so easy and convenient! I'm still getting used to the behemoth that is the Britax Marathon. Fortunately, Alex usually stays asleep when I take him out.

Kim, I do actually have 2 different slings (including a really cool silk one from http://www.zolowear.com). I use them to carry him out to the mailbox, into the library or doctors, etc. But at 2 in the morning when he was screaming the other night, I didn't think to put him in it because they were both in the car! Now my back hurts. :rolleyes:

[MrsReber]

Susan, we suffered through colds and viruses from daycare, too. However, to make you feel a bit better, they have done some studies that show children in daycare build up immunity more quickly. I think it evens out somewhere in grade school, but they actually feel that children in daycare are out sick less than kids who did not go. Interpret that as you wish, I find that Brenden was sick quite a few times last year, but seems fine this year. We'll have to see what happens as we enter the colder months. Don't feel like a bad mom for sending him to daycare. I go through that struggle myself so I can relate. It gives you time to focus on what you need to do and it gives Alex time to socialize. Then, when he's home, you can focus all your attention on him. Last year, when Brenden kept getting ear infections, I was so tired of hearing "oh, it's because he's in daycare". Nobody can prove that that was the cause. You get germs from going to the store or having people over your house so I refuse to acknowledge those comments. Besides, we can't keep illness from them forever, even though we wish we could.

[SueK]

Hi everyone -
No, I'm not a new mom (again) yet, but it appears I'll be able to join this thread this month. I'm not growing as much as I should, so after another sonogram and some consultations w/specialists today, they are leaning toward inducing me the week of Oct 13th. So....I may be joining you all soooner than I thought.

Sorry to hijack the thread....I'll be here lurking and reading up on all the new moms!

[nori]

Can't believe it's already October!!!????

Heather, what a bummer about your dinner.:( But sounds like you made it okay with your neighbor's oven. Good job!! I would have freaked out and wouldn't know what to do. Congratulations on Logan's teeth!! How old is he now? Sounds pretty early! Now you better be careful when nursing...when he bites, it HURTS!!!!:eek: I don't have any advice on moving him from carseat to the crib either. Noah would go back to sleep if he's really sleepy. If it's just a catnap, he'd wake up. We just try to do it as slowly as we can, not to over-move him.

Erin, your DH's reaction would be exactly mine, too.:rolleyes: Glad to hear you're feeling better. Take care!!! Can you believe Hanne is going to be a big sister?!!

Kim, wow you changed her diaper without waking her up! How did you do that? Lainey must be a very good sleeper or you're so good at changing quickly!

MrsReber,I've read a bit about your situation on Other Board. What a mess!!!! I'd be a bit scared, too...but, again, you want to do the right thing. If they really don't want their dogs taken away, why don't they take a good care of them??:confused:

Susan, glad to hear Alex is doing better. I agree what MRsReber said.....you can catch germs from everywhere!!! I now try to wash his hands after we came home from outing. I don't know how much difference it'll make, but maybe better than not doing anything.

Hi Sue! When is your due date? I better go to Pregnancy thread to check it out. :o Hope everything goes smoothly. We're looking forward to have you here soon!


I have a question......do you give your baby multivitamin??? My doctor never mentioned it (other than iron supplement he was on for a while) but I just thought about it. He is eating pretty good, but not sure if he's getting all nutrients he needs everyday. Should I check on the doctor about it??? Do they have baby's multivitamin???

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone. My life has just been a circus lately; no time to post. Work is crazy and not in a good way. Home is crazy, too, but mostly in good ways!

I know I missed a bunch on the Sept. thread, but I'm just going to start new with Oct.

Nori, I mentioned to Caitlyn's ped. that she doesn't really eat vegetables and she suggested she take a multivitamin. They are a liquid called poly-vi-sol. That's the brand name, I think. The bad part is it tastes horrible! I actually still need to get some. I used to give them to the boys and they hated it.

Heather, I know it is hard to leave your baby. I used to hate doing it with the boys. My DH works nites, so he is home during the day with the kids. Ian and Colin are in school half days and Jameson all day. It's getting really hard for him, though, since he's barely getting any sleep. We are thinking of asking our old babysitter to watch Caitlyn a couple days a week, so he can get some sleep while the boys are in school. I'm feeling really weird about it. I've never left Caitlyn with anyone before, except a couple times with a babysitter at our house. This woman is wonderful, though. I trust her totally and she just loves kids. I'm probably going to call her tomorrow. I know it's probably for the best, but it'll still be hard at first.

I don't have any advice for transfering a sleeping baby either! Colin was the only one I could really do it with. DH could never do it. I think it just depends on how light of a sleeper they are.

Erin, congratulations! I'm glad you are feeling better about it today! It takes awhile to sink in!

Sue, when was your due date? Is this your second baby? Welcome!

Mrs. Reber, I haven't had a chance to check the other stuff board, but I hope Stryper is still doing well.

Sunday is Jameson's birthday party. Most of the kids in his class are coming, so we should have around 22 kids. Hopefully most of the parents will stay.

Gotta run and get some sleep!

[SueK]

Originally posted by nori
. Hi Sue! When is your due date? Hope everything goes smoothly. We're looking forward to have you here soon!

My due date is November 1st. At my appt yesterday, though, I was still measuring at 33 1/2 weeks, instead of 35 1/2 weeks. They did a sonogram and non-stress test and she is fine, but they are concerned about why she hasn't grown since the last appt. So...they are planning to induce at 37 weeks at this point. Maybe the full moon next weekend will do the trick naturally!

[MrsReber]

My pediatrician has both kids on a multi vitamin. She wrote a prescription at Brenden's 12 month visit, but the pharmacy gave me the ones without iron. I thought that was weird (I believe I posted about it here). The doctor called on Monday to go over the blood test results with me and she noted that Brenden's iron was low. She said it's not at a dangerous level and since we're coming in on Monday for his 15 month visit, she'll just give me a new prescription then. Brenden has no trouble taking his vitamins. They must taste awful, though, becasue they smell really bad. The doctor switched Casey over to a chewable vitamin at her 2 year appointment. She loves to take vitamins now. Guess they taste good!

Hi Sue! Now we'll have three Susans on the new moms board!

Joanne, it sounds like a good idea to get a sitter so DH can get some rest. If she comes to your house, it won't be so bad since your DH will still be there. Good luck with the party. I sure hope the parents stay around. My friend had a Chuck E. Cheese party a while ago and most of the parents did stay. It almost doesn't make sense to leave since by the time you get home, you'd just have to turn around and go pick up your child again. That's how I'd look at it anyway.

The only thing I could think of as far as moving a sleeping child from a car seat is to keep talking to them calmly. When I pick Brenden up, I talk very quietly and in a soothing voice, telling him that we're home now and Mommy is going to put him in his crib so he can be comfortable. If it's night time, I don't turn on any lights and walk right to his room. I can change his diaper while he's sleeping, too! He's a much better sleeper than Casey ever was so I can appreciate sleep issues.

[cchhbb]

I posted yesterday, but I guess the gremlins took it.

I am a bad mother who let's their child sleep in the car if it's not too hot. We have an attached garage and the door opens into the kitchen. I'll roll down the windows and leave the door to the kitchen open. I'll just work on some things in the kitchen when he's sleeping. I also have a thermometer in the garage that I use to make sure that it's not getting too hot. I can transfer Garrett at night time, but he always wakes up when napping. I think the worst thing about Garrett growing up was getting rid of the infant car seat.

Joanne, I think things will be much better if your DH gets a little more sleep. I know I don't function well without enough. That will be great for you to get a sitter for Caitlyn for a few days. It sure will make some things easier on your DH. Good luck on the party.

Garrett hates his multivitamin. I mix it in his cereal as he won't let me get anywhere near his mouth with the stopper. When I was breastfeeding primarily, he had to get the drops with fluroide in them. Now he just gets a regular one.

I am still weaning Garrett. Due to my surgery, I want to have him completely weaned in 3 weeks. He is now down to 3 feedings per day. He would rather nurse than drink from a cup, but he's doing well. I just don't think he drinks as much from a cup as he does from the breast. I just dropped another feeding yesterday and boy can I tell.

I've got to run.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Sue - sending you good birthing vibes!

Slknight - hope Alex is feeling better by now. Love my sling too.

Cheryl - I don't think that classifies you as a "bad" mom at all! I don't see how it could be considered unsafe. You can hear him, you know the temperature is okay etc. I think you're a good mother for making sure Garrett gets the sleep he needs. :) My pediatrician recommened moving to the sippy cup from bottle to help reduce how much milk is consumed - I imagine it's the same thing from breast to cup. I'm sure there's differing opinions on how much milk (particularly breastmilk) a toddler needs but I think its okay that he's not drinking as much. Sounds like you've (and Garrett) have been handling the weaning well. I know you're trying to wean by your surgery - it's later this month right?

Lainey has to get fluoride as it's not in our water. She's almost always happy getting the dropper, so it must not taste bad to her. Doctor left it up to us whether we got it with other vitamins or not. I thought we ate a fairly good diet (and she eats most of what we do) so I went without.

Wow Joanne - I hope some of the parents do stay. I'm sure most will but that's a lot of kids! What are you going to do about gift opening? that could take a long time...

I'm having really bad financial karma. :( Earlier this week our Discover card number was stolen. It appears to be some randomly hitting upon our number & experiation date and making a duplicate card in NJ (you know those Jersians :D ) so *probably* not identity theft. Then last night we manage to lose our checkbook! It's 9:30 at night and we're trying to pay for our dog agility class - which is at a barn in a rural/isolated area. Distinct memories of it being in the car. DH thinks he handed it to me. It's dark, it's late, Lainey is crying... Fortunately our bank is able to stop just the missing check numbers - I was afraid we'd have to freeze/close the whole account.

Supper club is at our house tonight. I have no confidence in my housekeeping skills and always feel insecure when people come to the house because I know things aren't super clean. A group will be in the kitchen and I'll see red sauce splatters on the wall behind the stove :rolleyes: and just wait for everyone to politely decline anything made in our kitchen.

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Kim, hope the financial stuff works out. What a pain! I had an incident last year with American Express. I have no idea how or when my card was stolen, but it was. Someone used it at a Best Buy and charged $1,500. For one thing, I would never charge that much on American Express because I couldn't pay it in a month. I called and said it wasn't my charge; they investigated and said basically they didn't believe me and I had to pay. I didn't realize my card was missing until the charge. I asked for a copy of the receipt so I could see signature. They had spelled my name wrong. That finally convinced AE it wasn't my charge. There was no way I was paying it.

You sound like me with your house, Kim. I worry about the same stuff. My DH thinks I'm nuts and that no one will notice. He's probably right, but I still get stressed out cleaning when we are having something at the house. But if you think about it, do you notice stuff like that at other people's houses? I usually don't.

Cheryl, that doesn't make you a bad mom! Never disturb a sleeping baby unless absolutely necessary! I've left my kids in the car (with all windows open, not on hot days) sleeping and sat out on the front porch next to the driveway until they woke up. Makes for a more happy kid in the long run!

I haven't called the babysitter yet. I can't find her number, but I know my friend has it. We would actually be taking Caitlyn to her house. It's on the way to dropping off Colin at preschool. She's has all the baby equipment, high chairs and all that, plus tons of toys. I know Caitlyn would eventually love it there, but I know it'll be tough the first few times. Just because it will all be strange to her. I think next week I'll drop her off for a half hour or so to see how it goes and get them used to each other.

I'm sure most of the parents will stay at the party. I always stay when I bring my kids to one. I wouldn't feel right leaving them, but I've seen parents who do. If it's at someone's house I know, it's OK, but not some place like ChuckECheese! I asked my mom to come over to watch Caitlyn while we were at the party. I was going to bring her, but I think it'll just be too hectic.

OK, I've rambled enough. Think I'm going to get some lunch.

[MrsReber]

Originally posted by RunnerKim
Sue - sending you good birthing vibes!


I'm having really bad financial karma. :( Earlier this week our Discover card number was stolen. It appears to be some randomly hitting upon our number & experiation date and making a duplicate card in NJ (you know those Jersians :D )


Darn it! I'm just going to have to come up with some other plan so I can stay at home...... just kidding. I'm sorry that happened to you. My sister's "friend" who was even her maid of honor at her wedding stole my sister's identity. She bought a ton of furniture under her name. My sister never knew about it until the store called to see how she was enjoying her thousands of dollars worth of new furniture!!! Needless to say, that friendship is over.

Casey and Brenden had school pictures taken yesterday. I found out that they'd do them together so we asked them for 2 poses since I already paid for 2 packages by check. The teachers said they were so cute together and they think they're going to come out great. This is the third time we had pictures done and the first 2 times, the teachers told us "well, we tried to get Casey to smile..." so I'm hopeful that this time we get great pictures. They're pretty cheap- $28 for the biggest package. Casey sees Brenden every day on the playground now that he's in a different class. They're right across from each other. She loves to play with him outside. Now all the teachers call him "Yaggi", too. I'm waiting for Brenden to speak better so he can make up a name for Casey.

Our financial guy called today. He wants to present his plan to us next week. DH will have to refinance in order to free up some money, but this guy thinks that we'll have our money for a house in VA by the middle of next year if we follow the plan! We have to go for it. I was very excited to hear that! We can build it and not even have to live in it just yet. However, it'll kill me to have a beautiful new house there while we're living in our rotten neighborhood up here. It'd only force the issue. I hate to move the kids away from my mom, but even my mom said she doesn't want our kids to grow up here. It's changed so much. The most densely populated state in the country (and populated by dense people, no less ;) ) Okay, NJ has it's good points, but they've been getting harder and harder for me to find.

We use vitamins with flouride, too, since we have well water. My sister's little girl had problems with her teeth and the dentist asked if they had well water. The dentist thinks that was a contributing factor. I know there are debates as to the benefits of flouride, but I think it's a good thing. I like to give them the vitamins, though, because they're not the best eaters. Brenden eats lots of food, but they both stay away from most veggies. Casey won't eat anything except peas and Brenden seems to change each day. They do eat fruit. I'm still not sure that they're getting the proper vitamins from food. I feel better giving them a daily vitamin. I'm a little less concerned about their eating habits. Don't get me wrong, I do provide healthy, well balanced meals. The trick is getting them to actually eat those meals. It's payback time. I'm dealing with myself as a child. My mom always warned me about that!

[JoanneOR]

Those pictures sounds nice, Mrs. Reber. And $28 is very cheap! The boys all have their pictures taken at school now. They usually turn out pretty good. I'm so bummed. I just went to The Children's Place during lunch and found this adorable dress for Caitlyn. I figured she could wear it to have her one-year picture taken and during the holidays. I tried to call this studio I have used a few times and they closed down! They were more expensive, but I loved the pictures they've taken of the boys. Last time I used Picture People for Caitlyn, but I wasn't happy with it. Now I have to figure out where to take her.

Your story reminded me of my first roommate in college. She stole my credit cards and went on a shopping spree during the summer. Needless to say, we don't keep in touch!

That's great about building in VA. What a nice thing to look forward to! Will you still work when you move there? How about DH?

[MrsReber]

Joanne, I'd love to be home with the kids so I would hope that if (when) we moved, I'd be able to stay home. It would be a challenge for us. I don't know what we'd do for work and we'd have to have some income. However, if the real estate market holds, we can either keep our house and rent it out or sell it and take them money and run! It's worth about twice what DH paid for it so we're in a pretty good situation as far as that goes. We could rent the house out now for twice what our mortgage payment is. This guy wants us to consolidate our car payments into the mortgage and we're both kind of hesitating. What the financial guy says makes a lot of sense, but we are both such cautious people that we're afraid.

Joanne, good luck finding a studio. I haven't done badly with the picture people. They've always been very accommodating. They took the pictures over that day when I didn't like them. Last time, the guy couldn't get the kids to smile so he suggested the other photographer take the pictures. That worked out very well. I have heard horror stories, though. My SIL goes to Walmart. She said they were the only ones to ever take good pictures of my neice. You just never know. It's scary to go in the first place. You never know if the kids will be in a good mood or if they're going to throw a fit.

[nori]

Thanks for your insights about multivitamin. We have an appointment in a week or so so maybe I can ask Dr. about this. I honestly am not sure how much he should be eating right now (at 13 months). He eats typically like this:

Breakfast: One square of graham crackers, 1/2 cup each cantalope (he loves them!!!) and bananas, water

Snack: Graduates Fruit Cereal bar, or cherrios

Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich (more than half), grapes

Snack: Animal crackers, milk (oh maybe one drop, he spits most of them up....and demands water:rolleyes: )

Dinner: Varies, but mostly what we're eating or some leftover he can eat. For example, tonight was curried kidney beans burrito from CL so when I was cooking, I took some portion of it before I added spices and mixed cheese in it. He loved it, ate about 2/3 cup of it. Plus usually some fruits, half-frozen pineapple, mangoes etc.

Cheryl, I'm trying to wean him and have been reducing the number of nursing. Since then, he's been eating more, I think.

Hmmmm, I should give him more veggies, huh??? I gave him the other day cooked mixed vegetable with butter and he liked it. It's a great finger food!

Joanne, sounds like you're going to have a big party on Sunday! I'm sure Jameson will have a ball! I'm impressed that your DH has been working at nights and taking care of kids during day!!! Although it mihgt be hard first, it'll be good to give your DH time to sleep. You mentioned about 1 year photo, and I have a confession to make. I haven't taken Noah to take his photo...at one point I thought we have enough cute pictures of him which we took with our camera, so I thought it's not necessary. But then, again, I feel like 1 year is such a milestone that I want to have professional take his picture. I better do it right now, if I ever want to do 1 year old picture...

Kim, sorry to hear about your credit card.:( So someone just guessed the whole numbers and exp. date to make a duplicate!!!?:eek: That sounds almost impossible to me, but you never know what those people can do. How's the supper club? We'll be hosting on 11th, that was supposed to be last month but we had to cancel due to our health condition.:o As for cleaning, I thought Joanne, had a good point....when you go to someone's house, you don't really notice those spots. Everyone's house looks pretty clean and neat. I've been using a baby excuse for untidy house nowadays. Well not always the baby's fault.... :o

MrsReber, it'll be exciting if you can move to VA!!! After that neighborhood incident, I understand you really don't want to live there. Hope your advisor will have a great plan for you two!

Cheryl, I don't see any problem letting Garrett sleep in the car in that case! You're being careful enough for every detail. Unfortunately I can't do that around here...we only have carpool plus it gets pretty hot even in the shade around here. However, I've left him for a few minutes between the shopping trip to 2 stores when he was sleeping. I'd go in and put all groceries in the fridge, then rush back to the car and go to the other errand. That way, Noah can get some extra sleep there.

We're going out for dinner tomorrow night! It's about time to get out, just us. Luckily our friend was available to babysit Noah so I'm so happy. They have 2 kids who adore Noah so they'll have a good time.

Happy Friday!

[hrk]

Good Friday morning everyone.
Nori- Enjoy your night out with DH tonight. Can't offer any advice on the multivitamin as Logan is nowhere near there yet, but he was just put on Vitamin D drops cause of exclusive breastfeeding.

Susan- That is great news about the house in VA. Where exactly will you be building? Did the Goddard school tkae your kids pictures? I wonder if they do that at Logan's Goddard school as well.

Joanne- Best of luck with Jameson's party this weeknd. I am sure he will have a blast and you and DH will have one exhausted kid when all is said and done. Have you made any decisions about leaving Caitlyn in daycare? We also use the Picture People for Logans pictures and have been mostly pleased with how they come out. It is very dependant on the people taking the photos and I have started getting poeples names that I like and requesting them the next time.

Kim- How did Supper Club go? I am the same way about my house and cleaning when people come over, but recently most of the people we have over have babies likke us and we all commiserate about how we would have to clean 24/7 just to keep up with the clutter and mess. Maybe a treat would be to have a cleaning crew come in every once in a while. My parents treated me to one about a month ago and it was wonderful

Cheryl-
I let Logan sleep in the car in the garage the other day
It was his first day of daycare and he hadn't napped all day. He was asleep within two minutes of ebing in the car, so I opened all the windows and did stuff in the Kitchen where I could here him if he woke. He got a nice hour nap.

Susan- Alex and Logan sound very similar. How is daycare going, is it getting better. And we have the Britax Marathon too and I agree it is huge. But Logan likes it cause he can see out the side windows and the back of the explorer.

Well Logan has cut his second tooth and now is chewing on everything, except me, thankg goodness. He has been doiing well at daycare. We are really happy so far as every afternoon the teacher sits down and talks with me about how things are going and ways we can make things consistent between home and daycare. He is taking his bottles no problem, although I don't think anything will ever stop hime from eating :) The first day he would not nap, but that is because the were trying to rock him to sleep and then put him down. Does not work, as soon as he changes position he is awake. So I told them we put him down in the crib, he fusses for about5/10 minutes and then goes to sleep, so yesterday they tried it and he took a 2 hour nap. So it at least makes it have some confidence in the daycare and gives me more peace of mind during the day.

Hope everyone has a good weekend
Heather

[RunnerKim]

Heather - sounds like your daycare teacher(s) really listen and work with you. That's great!

Supper club went fine but I hate hosting. DH was making most of the main dish and of course it took him longer than expected so he was busy in the kitchen for awhile after people arrived. Lainey was not sure what to make of all the people in the house so was clingy and of course the 60lb dog was thrilled to have all these people here to see *her* :rolleyes: All that said dinner was yummy and the people are a lot of fun to see, it just took awhile for me to be able to relax enough to enjoy their company. I whipped up the cheese crackers right before people came too and those went over well. The dinner came together really well, which doesn't always happen since the only theme is the next month's issue of CL. And nobody ran screaming for our house refusing to eat.

Susan - those pictures sound really cute. That's great that your daycare does them. That would be excellent if you could get your house built in VA. I've heard/read so much saying that property ownership (i.e., rental) is the best way to make money/increase your assets etc.

Joanne, I'm sure the first few days would be tough. You might think about having her go to her house everyday for the first week even if it's only for a few hours. It seems to make a big difference in how quickly kids adjust. A new boy just started at my daycare - about 19 months and never been to daycare before. The poor kid just screamed the first day (or slept from exhaustion). It's been rough for him (and the teachers!) but within the week it's gotten so much better (and it's easier on younger kids). Definitely spending time at her house with her will help too.

Nori - I'm glad you posted what Noah's eating. It's fun to compare and get ideas. Noah's prabably still getting a lot of vitamins etc. from breastmilk too. Lainey has started not wanting her dropper of fluoride :( It's a new prescriptions so I'm thinking it's yucky. Doctor asked if we wanted chewables this time -- isn't she young for that? but if they taste good i'd rather go that route, I don't want to fight with her and have to force this dropper in her mouth every day.

Her's Lainey's regular eating schedule (which of course varies greatly day to day):
Breakfast (around 7:30)
4oz yogurt
Fruit (Today 2 "ice cubes" of processed pear or 1/3 banana)
2" raspberry granola bar thingy that I made (didn't much of it this morning because she ate all yogurt and fruit).
Milk (1oz, not much at all)

Lunch (around 11 - 11:30)
Today, I filled a 1/2 cup container with pasta with red sauce. 1 cherry tomato and a couple of green beans. 2 strips of boring whole wheat bread. She may or may not eat her veggies. She always eats her starches. :D
Milk - just started giving with lunch (vs. a bottle about an hour later) expect her to take about 6-8oz.

Snack (around 3-4pm)
Handful of crackers (goldfish or graham) or if she has leftover bread from lunch etc.
Water (at home I try to keep a sippy cup with water on the floor for her and she drinks from it often)

Dinner (around 6-6:30 pm)
Whatever we're having unless it's a big salad or something that she really can't chew. Tonight is pizza and she'll probably eat a slice (plus maybe an extra pizza "bone") I'd guessitmate she eats about 3/4c of food for dinner total generally.
Milk - 5-6oz

Bedtime (around 8pm)
Finishing of the last can of formula - normally takes 6-8oz. Not sure if that will drop when we switch to milk/sippy cup next week.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Heather, each October our Goddard school has the same photographer come in and do pictures. It's cute to have the class pictures. We can see how all of Casey's classmates have grown. I find the teachers there to be really good about working with the parents. They're always willing to talk to us about how things are going. Before Brenden started there, I was sure to write up what he likes, dislikes, how he sleeps (only on his stomach), how he likes to eat (he has to feed himself or he refuses). We wanted them to know what we've been doing at home since we figured out all that stuff already. That really helps them out so they don't have to re-invent the wheel trying to get him to nap.

If (when) we build in VA, we'd build on our property which is in south central VA. It's about an hour south of Lynchburg, 90 minutes west of Richmond, or 45 minutes north of South Boston (pick your landmark). It's really out there, but we can see it getting built up more in the next few years as the sprawl from Richmond and Lynchburg continues to move outward. The big town nearby is Farmville. There are 2 colleges there and lots of stores. All the people in the neigboring towns go there for everything. It's a much more peaceful and relaxed way of life. NJ has become so stressful. Even going down the road to the mall involves sitting in traffic.

[BeckyM]

Hi Everyone!

Wow -- a lot happens in a week! I haven't gotten to visit the bulletin board at all this week, with going back to work. I feel really out of touch with you all. Though I've read all the posts, I can't remember everything you all said, so I know I'll forget to respond to some things I intended to.

First, welcome SueK! I hope everything goes smoothly for you. We'll love to have you join us as soon as your little one arrives!

For whoever asked -- I also took Katie to Stride Rite for her shoes. There's a nice one sort of across town from here, but it's near Wild Oats, so it's worth the trip. The woman who waited on us was really helpful and explained the differences in the shoes very well. She was also good with Katie. Incidentally, I just ordered two pairs of Robeez shoes today, based on all of your comments. I ordered one pair in her current size (the Fuchsia Daisy) and another pair in the next size up (Butterfly Plum). I figured it would be nice to have a flexible, easy pair of shoes for Katie to wear around the house. I don't often put her regular shoes on inside, because they have less flexible soles, plus they're somewhat challenging to get on, because Katie doesn't hold her feet still while I'm tying them. With the Robeez, the most difficult part was deciding which design to order. There are tons of cute ones!

It's interesting to read the daily menus and how much the other babies eat. Katie seems to eat more than anyone so far! Here's how her typical day goes:

6:30 or 7:00am -- nurse
7:30 or so -- 1 1/2 small whole wheat pancakes
about 1/3 a yobaby container
about 1/3 small can mandarin oranges

lunch (noonish) -- 4-6 ounces whole milk
1 piece of high-fiber bread of some sort
1/3 - 1/2 a banana
canned peas (a couple Tbsp worth)
some sort of "main dish", like a veggie burger,
lentil soup, chili, a scrambled egg yolk,
chicken pieces, etc.

dinner (6-7pm) -- 4-6 ounces whole milk
1 piece of high-fiber bread of some sort
a few Tbsp canned peaches or pears
1/2 jar pureed squash or sweet potatoes
some sort of "main dish" like described for lunch

9:00 pm -- nurse before bed

Katie usually eats really well at least two of the meals, then often she'll eat a bit less at the other meal. She is REALLY active during the day, so I guess she needs all those calories! Plus, she is definitely growing. Our pediatrician has 13-month well-baby visits instead of a one-year visit, so I don't know yet exactly how much Katie weighs these days. I think she's right around 19-20 lbs.

My return to work has been easier than I thought, though I miss Katie terribly while I'm gone. She has done very well with Miss Jill here at the house -- napping normally, eating normally, and generally being happy. The daycare is going to be delayed opening at least a couple more weeks, so Jill said she's available to watch Katie until it opens, as long as her kids don't get sick. So we're hoping for her kids to stay REALLY healthy.

Work itself is fine so far. Lots of things have changed in a year, but most things are pretty similar. Sometimes it feels like I wasn't ever gone. They're having me move into a new cubicle area, so I spent most of my three days this first week getting my new desk organized and getting my computer passwords re-set. The biggest frustration is that there has been some sort of problem with my e-mail password, and it still isn't fixed! I was able to get e-mail the first day, but it has been down ever since. Our department does almost all its communication by e-mail, so I'm sure I'm missing out on important things.

About transferring sleeping babies from carseats -- Katie ALWAYS wakes up! She used to keep sleeping when we had the infant carrier, but now that she's in her big-girl seat (also a Britax Marathon), she wakes up every time I try to take her out. I think she's just a light sleeper. If it's naptime or bedtime, she'll usually go back to sleep fairly easily in her crib. I've noticed she has been sleeping a lot less in her carseat lately though. Even when it's naptime, she'll stay awake in the carseat just looking around and playing with her toys for quite a while.

Kim & Joanne -- sorry to hear about your credit cards, and Kim about your checkbook. What rotten luck! And Joanne -- it's awful that the credit card company didn't believe you about the charges you told them you didn't make! Our credit card companies have called us before to ASK about charges we've made, because they didn't fit our normal purchase pattern. When I had Lasik eye surgery several years ago, we put it on the credit card, and since that was a much larger charge than we ever do, the company called to make sure it wasn't fraudulent. I also had my corporate American Express card # stolen once, and AmEx sent me a letter listing the charges they suspected were not valid -- large dollar amounts to Spiegel catalog and a couple other clothing places. They realized my # was stolen before I noticed anything!

About pictures -- we're thinking about getting a professional portrait done of Katie too. I guess we're atypical parents, because we haven't ever had a professional picture done of her. We've always gotten really cute ones on our digital camera, so we haven't bothered with anything else. We were actually thinking we might get pictures of her AND a family portrait, then give them to our families for Christmas. We need to do that soon, but my return to work has put all those sorts of things on hold for the moment.

I know there was more I meant to say, but I'm getting tired, and I've forgotten. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Oh -- congratulations Erin!

Becky :)

[nori]

Becky, glad your first week at work went well. I think it's great your company allowed you to take a full year off after you had Katie! I'm mostly happy to stay home with Noah, but sometimes I miss those work-days schedule. (Yeah, I know those working moms may not believe it.:D ) My company was a great place to work, and I still visit them with Noah. Everytime I go, people ask me "So when are you coming back?" Half joking, but I know if I really want to, they can find a spot for me and hire me. But then, again, I'd miss Noah so much plus I wouldn't be making enough to justify the daycare cost.:o We'll miss you around here, though. Can you log on from your work??:D

MrsReber, sounds like your property in VA is great! I really hope you can make it. Now forgive my ignorance, but is Vermont clse to VA??? or NJ? The reason I'm asking is my DH is *casually* looking into another job and one of them he's trying to apply is in Vermont. Although we have a lots of friends here in Tucson, this place is kind of too dry to our taste and honestly we miss four seasons. DH's job has been slow and he's not happy the way he hasn't promoted for a while. He's thinking if he has a job offer, he can ask his boss about promotion or pay raise more strongly. Anyway, when he mentioned about Vermont, I just thought about you...I don't know why.:) Oh, another place he applied for was in NJ, that's why.

Kim, glad to hear the supper club was success! I was impressed to read taht your DH was in charge of main dish cooking! Wow! We have our supper club monthly, but I am the cook always. He never offered to help me cook.:rolleyes:

Heather, Logan is such a good boy not hurting mommy.;) Noah did bite me maybe twice and it hurt a lot!!!! I told him "NO" each time, and let him go off the breast. Since then, he hasn't done it to me, thank goodness. Sounds like he's doing well at the daycare, too. Good for you!

Thanks for those posting baby's eating schedule! It's interesting to see how others are doing, although I know every baby is different. We had crepes this morning (DH's repartorie.....on weekends) and Noah wanted to have some. I was a bit worried about egg whites, (he had rash before when he had scrambled egg) but thought give him tiny pieces. He LOVED it, and ended up eating the whole crape by himself! And good news is he didn't develop any rash this time! I was so glad.

Last night we went out for date and it was nice. It was a new restaurant in town and I had their daily special....Ahi Tuna steak with Wasabi crust or something like that. It was soooo good! Noah did very good at our friend's house and when we got there around 8:30pm to pick him up, he was still awake. My friend told us that he played with their 2 kids a lot, and when we got there he was winding down on teh bed with her and her DD, but he wasn't sleeping. We stayed a bit to talk to our friends and Noah was still happy to play with kids. Of course he was out on the way home.

Joanne, hope you had a nice party for Jameson! You must be exhausted by now!

[slknight]

Becky, I haven't had a professional pic done of Alex yet either. I think I might when he's 6 months, but we've also got so many good ones with the digital camera, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. Glad to know I'm not the only one!

Nori, no Vermont and Virginia are not too close to each other. Depends on which part in each state, but they are at least 8, maybe 10 hours away from each other. From southern Virginia to northern Vermont, probably about 20 hours! But, Vermont is very close to me in Maine. My BIL has a ski-house there. It's only about 2 hours. Where in Vermont is he looking?

Alex is doing much better now that his ear infection is clearing up. He's also doing a bit better at daycare. He's eating well there now. But he's still not sleeping too great there. I think he just loves to look around so much that he's too distracted/busy to sleep. He'll get used to it.

He is really growing like a weed. He keeps growing out of everything I buy him. I am buying 18 month stuff already.

Susan

[nori]

Susan, I'm not sure which part of Vermont DH is talking about.:o It's not that realistic yet, but wow, it'll be close to you, huh? That's something I can look forward to.:D

Alex already wearing 18 months!! That's amazing!!!! Did you get to have him wear all cute infant outfits while he was smaller?:D
Glad to hear he's getting used to daycare now.

Noah went to bed around 7pm and he's still sleeping. It's 10pm now. I should go to bed I guess. Good night!

[MrsReber]

Hi Nori! Well, I'd vote for NJ, but only so that I could meet you and Noah! Other than that, I'd have to tell you to be very careful about what part of NJ the job would be in and where you'd live. It's extremely congested here and getting worse all the time. VT is about 4-6 hours from here or 8 depending on what town. My dad used to live in NH, right near the MA border and it'd take me 4 1/2 hours to get to his house. It really wasn't too bad. I could leave at 5:00am and be there in time to eat breakfast. (before children, of course :D )

DH is so proud of himself. He got a 12 point buck on Saturday while he was out hunting! Biggest deer he ever got. He called MIL to tell her. She wouldn't listen to him and then told him that she needs him to fix her old car so she can sell it and to change the oil on her new car. I felt so bad for him. He came in from the garage and told me that she's not interested in anything in his life and he told her he'd change her oil becuase it's the only way he'll get to see her. I was so sad to hear that from him. She's still planning on moving to FL and she thinks she's going to drive the whole way by herself. I told DH that she really shouldn't do that. I mean, she's 66 years old! Which reminds me, where's Anna Sue? I don't remember her posting since her MIL visit. I hope things are okay!

Becky, glad the transition back to work went well. I know what you mean about how it can feel like you never left. I keep thinking that last year at this time, I was home on leave with my babies. It almost feels like it never happened. It goes by so fast. Nori, I do understand that you can miss work at times. It's a big part of who you are. You give up that part of your identity when you decide to stay at home. Not that it's a bad thing, I'd LOVE to be at home, as you know. It is nice sometimes to be able to socialize with people at work and feel like part of the group, though.

Today, we're going to meet my mom and go apple picking. Then my mom wants to have lunch and then Brenden has a 2:00 appointment for his 15 month check up. I was going to see if I could switch it to earlier, but if he's getting shots, we'll be better off going after we have some fun. My mom told me of these plans on Friday so I'm trying to get all my work done this morning. Poor Casey is busy watching Elmo. Brenden is still asleep. I'm afraid he's not well. He has a cough and sometimes his nose runs.

Casey is helping me take care of my kitty. She's so cute, wanting to help give him medicine. She insists on petting his head for a while and feeling him purr. Then she tells me that he's going night night and that we need to leave him alone. She was blowing him kisses last night after we fed him. She's so much like me with her love of animals. Brenden is definitely turning into his dad. DH complains about how crazy he gets and how he gets into everything. I told him "it's you! I am a calm person!"

Joanne, hope the party went well yesterday and that the parents stayed around! That's a lot of kids!

[RunnerKim]

Becky - I'm "atypical" too - never had a professional picture taken of Lainey. We do have a lot of good ones so I just don't feel the need (and I know I'll get suckered into buying more than I want/need because I can't resist.) A friend of mine had a photographer take some photos outside (at a college campus) that were great - more natural. I loved a family photo that was taken of them laying in the grass. I'm more interested in doing something like that but probably want to wait for spring at this point. Katie is a good eater. Lainey'll do the same thing, normally not eating as well at lunch. Now that she's pretty much switched over to milk in a sippy cup (i.e., drinking less of her calories) she is starting to eat more. We still haven't introduced juice either as she STILL has runny poops (not all the time but it's not gone either).

Susan R. - that's so cute about Casey helping out with Stryper. Glad he's improving. Congratulations to your DH on his hunt. What do you do with all that meat (and innards). My dog would love some of that stuff - feel free to send it :D I need to get to know some hunters.

Susan (is your last name Knight?) K.?? 18 months?? seriously. Wow, he is a big boy. Bet you didn't get to use a lot of clothes for him. Nice thing about entering 18 months size is they should last longer. Glad Alex is adjusting to daycare. Just wasn't fair to have to deal with the ear infection on top of everything else.

Nori - did you have another good night with Noah? I can certainly understand wanting to have seasons again. I lived in Texas for a couple of years before going off to college in St. Louis and I was thrilled to experience Fall again. Your comment about Noah just biting you a couple times while nursing makes me wonder if breastfed babies are less likely to become biters? I had my monthly playgroup this weekend (where the other 3 babies are all within a couple of weeks of each other) and one of the babies was unhappy with her mother for taking something away and leaned over and bit her on the leg (or bit her pants anyway). I'm dreading dealing with the whole biting thing and hope I just don't have to.

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Mrs. Reber, sounds like you have a great day planned! Have fun!

Becky, glad to hear work went well. It's a bit easier (alot easier!) if you are comfortable with the daycare situation.

The party went really well. Only a few parents stayed, but the kids were really well behaved. Jameson had a blast. One of our neighbors and my SIL stayed and helped out alot with the kids. It appears a few of the girls in Jameson's class have a crush on him. They were really funny, dancing with him and giggling alot. One girl has told her mom and her teacher that she wants to marry him. It can't start this early!

Hope AnnaSue survived the MIL visit. She must be gone by now.

Mrs. Reber, that's sad for your DH about his mother. What a selfish person. Does she have a date for moving yet?

Well, Thursday is my first den meeting. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but I hope it goes well. We are going to make a scrapbook, it's one of the achievements the scouts are supposed to do. I need to plan some field trips, too. Those should be fun.

Wow, Alex is a big boy! Caitlyn is just now wearing some 18 months, but some are still pretty big.

Nori, I think I would miss the seasons, too. Although ask me in a few months and I'm sure I'd be happy to give up winter! Vermont sure would be a big change!

I have to go on a trip next week from Wednesday till Saturday for work to St. Louis. At first I was excited about it, but now that's its closer, I don't want to go! I know I'll miss the kids. It's really not that far of a drive, maybe DH will drive up on his day off with the kids. That would be fun.

I should go do some work....

[RunnerKim]

I know what you mean about travel (without family) sounding great when it's far away. There's lots of fun stuff your DH and kids could do in St. Louis. The zoo is fabulous (and free!).

What grade is Jameson in??? Sheesh I thought it would be 5th grade before anything like that started (that's when I recall all the boys snapping bra straps).

Kim

[MrsReber]

Brenden and Casey had a blast picking apples. Casey wanted to pick them all off the tree and Brenden was picking up any apples he could find on the ground. Me and my mom had to check the bag to make sure we didn't have any rotted ones in there! They were both eating apples the whole time, too. It was pretty cute. We went to lunch afterwards and then straight to the doctor. Brenden got three shots, but they say he's done until kindergarten! I thought they got more shots than that. I'm glad there's no more. They change it every year, it seems. He's a tall boy, but very thin. He's 23lbs (30th percentile) and 33 1/4 inches (75th percentile). He'll be tall and thin, too. He's doing the exact same thing that Casey did, but she tapered off more in height. He's consitently 75th.

About the breastfed babies not biting- nope. That theory certainly apply for Brenden. I'm surprised I ever got to 9 months of breastfeeding with him. He was brutal, biting me all the time. It was very stressful. Yesterday, I noticed a nasty cut on Casey's arm. I asked her if she got cut. She said yes. I asked her what happened and she said "Yaggi bite". I found it sort of hard to believe that he'd bite her that badly, but later in the day, he bit her again! She tries to take things away from her and he doesn't know what else to do to defend himself. DH was so mad at Brenden! He said he doesn't even feel bad about his shots today because he's a bad baby! I yelled at him and told him that Brenden doesn't really understand what he's doing, he only knows that it works. He's sleeping now. He stayed up the whole time we were out!

Joanne, glad the party worked out well! Your son is a little cutie! Better watch out! MIL was supposed to have moved in the middle of September. I knew that wouldn't happen. I feel bad for DH's sister who has to live with her now. She is very selfish. I hope to never be like that with my kids. My mom is always there for me and very involved with my kids. Casey had a fit today when my mom got back in her car to leave. We were so sad for her. Last time MIL showed up, Casey and Brenden just stared at her. Of course, she wouldn't come in the house because she was too busy to stay. Just dropping her car off for DH to look at. :rolleyes: .

Kim, DH guts the deer in the woods before he checks them in. It was really big. He spent Sunday butchering the deer himself. He gets some roasts out of it, but he mostly makes chopmeat. We had 80lbs of chop meat one year! Took us forever to eat it all. He gives some away, too! He used to give some to our lab, before he died last year. My dog has a bad reaction every time she eats venison. It makes her go all over the place. Yuck! Stryper seems a bit perkier today. Hard to tell. He is 17 years old, how perky can he be? But he's happy to be at home.

I better get going. Bear is over. Casey was having a fit so I left her to watch Bear in the Big Blue House. I was hoping she'd fall asleep, but I think she's still up. She hasn't taken a nap since Friday! Just refused, but she did go to bed earlier and she's been staying in bed all night, so that's something.

[cchhbb]

Susan, Glad to hear that your kitty is doing better? When are you going to court? I wish you well. Sorry to hear that Casey is refusing to nap. It must be tough for you to get your work done if she doesn't sleep during the day.

Kim, Garrett is a biter too. He rarely bites me when nursing, but will bite me in the arm or leg when he wants some attention.

My surgery is October 20. Garrett will be one on October 22. It's so hard to believe that a year has already passed.

Sorry to hear about your financial grief. What a pain. It is really easy to steal credit card numbers these day. I worked as a consultant several years ago in the credit card processing industry so am familiar with how it's done. Essentially, all you need is a computer to commit credit card fraud.

Joanne, have a great trip to St. Louis. I'm sure you will miss the kids a lot. Personally, I miss traveling for work sometimes. I really enjoyed the time to myself.

I think Garrett eats more than anybody so far. Here's his schedule.

6:30 - 7 or so Nurse and breakfast of a pancake (4 inch) and 1/2 cup of fruit

10:00 4 -5 ounces of formula and a handful of cheerios or crackers

12:30 4 -5 ounces of formula and 4 ounces of yougurt or cereal, 1/2 cup of fruit, 1/3 cup of veggies

3:00 4 ounces of formula and a handful of cheerios or yougurt if didn't have at lunch

6:30 nurse and dinner. Ususally he eats what we eat. Last night he had a small sweet potato and a 1/2 cup of baked ziti.

Garrett's not a huge fan of meat, but he will eat fish.

Poor Garrett is sick today. He actually had a fever of 103.8. I took him to the DR and the think it is viral. The poor little guy.

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

Mrs. Reber, sounds like the kids had a great time! Did you take any pictures?

Cheryl, hope Garrett is feeling better soon. I am so not looking forward to this cold and flu season. All the kids are getting flu shots, even Caitlyn, hopefully that will help. We're waiting for the doctor's office to get the RSV shots in, then we're bringing them all in for the flu shots and Caitlyn's RSV. That will not be a fun visit.

Garrett's diet sounds alot like Caitlyn's. I was going to try to write out hers, but it changes alot. Let's see, I'll try:

7:00am - Pancake or waffle (eats about half, rest on floor), cup of diced fruit, a couple cheerios, 4-6 ounces of milk

Sometime between 8-10, finishes off bottle.

Around 11, crackers or some other snacky thing.

Nap around 11:30, but lately she's been boycotting her morning nap and only taking an afternoon one.

12:30 - Lunch, more fruit, toast with butter, maybe some lunch meat, cheese, milk

Nap around 1:30 if she missed her morning nap.

3:30 - Some type of snack (cereal, cracker), milk

Dinner - Usually some of what we have. She likes chicken alot. We had chinese the other night and she ate a whole pot sticker!

7:30 - Milk

Lots of carbs!

Caitlyn has bitten me on the shoulder a couple times, but so far hasn't done it to anyone else. If she hasn't bitten one of her brothers so far, hopefully she won't!

Cheryl, I'm kind of torn between looking forward to a little time to myself and missing the family. Probably the first night when all I have to do is put myself to bed will be nice, but then I'll get up and miss having breakfast with everyone. It's only a couple days, though. I may check out the zoo, Kim. Actually, it is one of the optional tours we can go on.

Kim, Jameson is only in 1st grade. Right now it's all very innocent, but I can't imagine what it will be like when girls are calling and dating my boys! It'll be weird.

Time to get ready to go home!

[RunnerKim]

Okay - so much for my theory about biting :cool: I figured they'd have learned to not bite.

Lainey loves her carbs too - well starches in general. Does alright with meat and fruit and veggies are hit and miss. She'll surprise me sometimes and eat them at the very end. I think she does a little better with them if she's getting what we're having (which means a little fat and salt added) vs. if I just do it for her I forget to put a little butter on it.

Wow Lainey eats fewer times than many kids her age. I guess she's always been that way though. We're also thinking she's a community eater. Wasn't interested in lunch today, even when DH arrived she wasn't that interested UNTIL he started eating his lunch. Then she ate (and wanted his - which was the same thing).

Joanne - what are some of your other options while in St. Louis? The Zoo really is excellent (world class).

Kim

[nori]

MrsReber, I'd love to see you and your kids!!! That would be fun! In fact, it'll be so much fun if we could get together or something as Moms on CLBB.....I know it's so hard everyone scattering around the country, though. Apple picking sounds like fun. I just imagined Brenden picking apples from ground and it made me laugh! So cute.

Kim, thanks for asking about our night.:D It's been pretty good, always going to bed around 7pm and most of the night he'd wake up 3 or 4am once, but that's about it. But he's ready for the day around 5:30 or 6am. At that point, even I nursed him hoping he'd go back to sleep, he'll be so alert.:rolleyes: Oh well. Noah doesn't bite much, but he was biting my shirt on shoulder one day. It was fine, until he reached to my skin!:eek: It hurt. I saw him biting his stuffed animal or even his own sleeves. I think it's from teething. He doesn't bite from frustration, so far.

Cheryl, good luck on your surgery. And how's Garrett? Hope he's feeling better.:(

Joanne, glad to hear that the party went well. That's so cute about Jameson's classmate! I agree, he's such a cutie you better watch out!!! I know what you mean about your trip, but as someone said, it'll be fun to get away and have your own time. I'd love to do that now. But I know you'll miss your kids, too.

It's fun to compare what all babies are eating. I found one interesting thing....I reported here before that Noah ate crepes on weekend and didn't have any rash. Well he had pancakes on Sunday morning, and had a tiny bit of rash...:confused: Then, this morning he had leftover crepes from freezer and the rash didn't show up....I wonder why? Is it anything to do with cooking time? Since crepes are so thin, it cooked very well, but pancakes are a bit thicker and didn't cook through??? Crepes had 2 eggs, pancakes 1 egg. I'm confused now....

I have another question....about sleeping. Most of the time when he wakes up, he's not happy. He'd cry, and it takes some time to comfort him. Does this mean he needs more sleep??? I can't remember last time when he woke up from nap happy, just sitting in teh crib. He used to do that. But not recently. :o Nighttime sleeping is improving, though, thank goodness.

AnnaSue, how are you doing? I hope you survived MIL's visit alright.....

[JoanneOR]

Kim, have you lived in St. Louis before? Wednesday night we are going on a river cruise. Hopefully it'll be warm! Thursday afternoon we are free after noon. We can either do the zoo, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the brewery, or the Art Museum. I'm waiting to see what the weather is like before I decide. I may just go off on my own and do some shopping and exploring. That's really my only free time. We're staying at the Millenium Hotel. Are you familiar with it or where it's located?

Nori, sounds like Noah is doing so much better with his sleep. That's great! As for crying when they wake up, all of my kids have done that except Jameson. He would always wake up happy. He would sit in his crib until you went and got him just singing and laughing. I thought that was how all babies were! Ian proved that theory wrong! He woke up screaming all the time. Colin was probably in between the two. Caitlyn cries when she wakes up until you go get her. I think it's just their way of saying "I'm awake, come and get me". Usually when they wake up they are hungry, so maybe that's part of it too.

I don't know about the rash, Nori. I wouldn't think the cooking time would matter, as long as both were cooked through. Maybe ask your doctor. Could there be something else in the pancake giving him a reaction? I don't remember what he first got the rash from, was it eggs alone or eggs in something else? Maybe he just has more discriminating tastes, prefers crepes over pancakes. :)

[MrsReber]

Nori, I agree with Joanne. Sounds like it may be another ingredient in the pancakes. Brenden used to get eczema bad and the doctor said that wheat allergies are very common. He seems to have grown out of it, but I noticed his skin is getting very dry again. It's most likely just the change in weather.

It's been chilly here! I love it, though. I baked a crumble topped apple pie last night with our apples. Yes, I took some pictures of them picking apples. I forgot my video camera, though. I brought it last year and they both cried the whole time. Of course, they have fun this year and I forget the camera!

The animal control officer is supposed to call me today about court. He was going to touch base with me and give me more details if he has any. Kitty was a bit more alert yesterday. I think he's getting stronger, too. I see him moving around a bit more. Poor kitty. He's really not himself.

I wish all the moms could get together, too. That'd be so much fun. It's hard with all of our schedules and living all over the place. I think after Casey was born, some of the moms got together for a cruise. That wasn't exactly in my budget and I don't have all that much vacation time so we didn't go. Someday, though! At least we can still all "meet" here and share stories. Over the weekend, we found out that one of DH's friends and his wife had a baby 2 weeks ago! Guess we haven't really kept in touch. DH called right away and spoke to the new mom. He said she sounded really bummed and he assured her that it does get better! I told him to have her call me. Apparently she had a very difficult pregnancy. They didn't even think her baby would live. She said they're not having another one after all that. I want to send them something. I was thinking a gift card or maybe tons of diapers and wipes. I saw some really cute gift baskets on line, but then I thought that most of the items weren't really practical. Also, if she's feeling down, I thought it'd be nice to send her something for herself.

Back to work- I may have to leave early for court tomorrow. Oh, and DH's grandmother is not doing well. MIL called last night and told DH "Grammy is passing away right now! Get over here quick!" He tried to get her to explain what she was talking about, but she said "I have to go" and hung up. DH didn't go. He's not very good at that stuff and he didn't want to remember her that way. Also, he really didn't know what to expect since MIL didn't tell him much. He went over his friend's house for a bit. While he was gone, his cousin called and gave me more details. He really wanted DH to go over there. He said that their grandmother was very with it, but there wasn't much hope that she'd live through the night. This sounds terrible, but DH isn't too upset by it. He wasn't all that close to her. She had 10 kids, 35 grandchildren, and tons of great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. She couldn't be involved in everyone's life. We haven't heard anything yet today. This week will probably be quite hectic. His grandmother is the matriarch of the family. Okay, back to work.

[LaraW]

I was wondering if I could de-lurk for a minute and ask the Mom's on this thread a question about cribs. I also posted this on teh pregnancy thread, so sorry if you have to read it twice.

I was wondering if any of you know about a brand of crib called Jardine. It is sold at Babies R Us, and apparently is a sub-company of Cosco.

Cosco has not gotten great reviews of their metal cribs in the late 90's but the Jardine cribs are made of wood. They have the knee release on the side rail.

I looked at both Consumer Reports and epinions, but have not really been able to find anything. I have a copy of Baby Bargains, where they give Jardine a B, however, they said that it is a relatively new brand and didn't really have enough information. My copy of baby bargains is one release back, so I was thinking of stopping at Barnes and Noble and seeing if I could just look up that part, but I was also wondering if anyone here knew anything about this brand.

Any comments either way would be very helpful! :)

[hrk]

Hello everyone
Becky- Glad to hear the return to work is going well. I was only out for four months and getting back into the swing of things was hard so I can only imagine after a year. And glad to hear things are working out with Miss Jill. It should be a great transition to daycare.
Nori- Glad to hear that Noah is sleeping better. I know that I am a wreck when I don't get enough sleep, although prior to DS enough sleep was 9 hours, Now seven is a great night :D
Joanne- Glad to hear that party was a success. Have a great time in St Louis. My neighbor had a cocktail and took a warm bath the first time she was away alone from her kids, but then said she missed them horribly the rest of the time.
SusanK- Glad to hear Alex is doing so well. We are only in 6-12 month clothes right now, but I could easily see Logan outgrowing those soon.
SusanR- Apple picking sounds like a blast. We went a few weeknds ago all prepapred with camera and all and all Logan did was sleep. I think we will go back in a few weekends when grandma and grandpa come to visit.
Cheryl- Sorry to hear Garrett is not feeling well, but glad to hear weaning is going well. Good luck with your surgery.
LaraW- Sorry have no info on the cribs for you.
It is very interesting to see what kids are eating and how much. Our doctor really strives for exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months because it supposedly greatly reduces allergies, but we will see. Right now pumping 3 times a day is OK, but getting harder.
We have a website for Logan and updated it with recent pictures. www.geocities.com/mhkalish
This weekend was busy with Yom Kippur and getting some shoes for SIL wedding next weekend. I sooooooo can't wait for the wedding to be over and hopefully MIL to be out of our life even more. Logan is not going to the wedding, which MIL is pissed about, not that she will miss Logan she just wants to show him off to her friends who are already grandmothers, but he will be at the after wedding brunch the next day to meet the family.
Our latest saga in this whole affair was SIL called late Saturday night and asked DH if he would be an usher this coming Saturday. DH asked what would be involved and she said he would have t get there an hour early. DH said I am sorry but our babysitter is already arranged (ourneighbor who has a daughter of her own) and at this last moment we can't change everyones schedule. SIL says well fine if you don't want to be part of my wedding. Hello, it is a week away, and this is the first you ever mentioned it. Oh four more days and it will all be over. :(
Happy TUesday everyone
Heather

[slknight]

Nori, glad to hear the sleep is getting better.

SusanR, wouldn't it be fun to all take a cruise together someplace? I've never really been interested in a cruise, but for some reason that sounds really nice to me right now.

LaraW, I've only got the older edition of Baby Bargains as well. However, they have some great message boards at:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=1

I would search in the nursery necessities forum over there.

Heather, Logan and Alex really do sound so similar. Alex has got two teeth in as well. I'm aiming for 6 months with nothing but breastmilk too. I've only got a week and half to go (til the 18th). We've got the highchair (Prima Poppa) and the cereal. Just haven't tried it yet. People can't believe how big he is and that he hasn't had any "real" food yet still sleeps all night. Just goes to show you how good breastmilk is.:) Last night though, he did wake up once (at 1:30) which is pretty unusual for him. If it happens too many more times, that might be a sign it's time to start the cereal.

Cheryl, is Garrett feeling better?

[RunnerKim]

Heather - your ILs sound like a riot. I tried looking at your web site but it says it's down for the next hour - I'll check back.

Lara- I don't have any advice on the cribs. My sister gave me hers. A knee release?? so that puts the side of the crib down for you hands-free? I'm good about always leaving it down after I get Lainey but DH will just reach over and pick her up, so if he's gotten her up that morning I sometimes have to put it down while holding Lainey (who's sleeping by the time I realize it's up) but I've mostly trained DH to put it down now :D I wouldn't pay much for that feature I suppose...

Nori - what's in the pancakes. I agree it sounds like somthing else. I'd think the crepes would definitely bring out an egg allergy if he had one. Do you put syrup on the pancakes or butter??

Sometimes Lainey wakes up really fussy and clingy and hasn't slept her normal amount - then we know she needs more sleep. It's hit or miss on whether we can get her back to sleep. But most of the time she does wake up crying -- as in "come get me!" and stops crying shortly after we pick her up and is happy being put down.

Susan - that's wonderful of you to do something for your old friend. 2 weeks seems about the point when the bottom drops out (run out of reserves etc.)

Joanne - I lived in St. Louis for a long time (both as a kid and went to college/grad school there). DH is from right across the river in Illinois (Edwardsville). I never actually went on a Brewery tour so can't tell you much about that but the Botantical Gardens and the Art Museum are great. If your kids are there the Zoo or the Science Center (which is close to the Zoo) would be great. Or Grant's Farm (which is owned by the Busch's and where the Clydsdales and other animals are kept). I haven't heard of that Hotel, must have come along after I left. I used to drive horse-drawn carriages downtown so I'm familiar with most of those hotels.

Susan K. - could he be teething again? That's when Lainey wakes up at night. That's great making it to the 6 month point with exclusive breastfeeding. That pumping is a lot of dedication!
Kim

[LaraW]

Originally posted by RunnerKim
A knee release?? so that puts the side of the crib down for you hands-free? I'm good about always leaving it down after I get Lainey but DH will just reach over and pick her up, so if he's gotten her up that morning I sometimes have to put it down while holding Lainey (who's sleeping by the time I realize it's up) but I've mostly trained DH to put it down now :D I wouldn't pay much for that feature I suppose...


The way it worked was you had to lift up the rail with one hand (it only goes up maybe 1/2 inch) and then push in the bottom in with your knee and that releases the side rail. I don't know that it was an extra feature that cost more $ - it seemed to be standard with all of teh Jardine cribs they had set up in their floor models.

Susan, thanks for that link. I will check it out.

[RunnerKim]

Heather - what a great web site! Logan is such a cutey! I love the Yankee photos - I have some of DH and Lainey in Blues outfits during the last hockey season. In fact DH just informed me that I had to dress her in her new Blues outfit on Friday since that's opening game. Guess I'll hope the 18 month Cardinals outfit still fits when spring training rolls around :sigh:

Lara - sounds complicated to me, but probably isn't in real person. I have to reach to both ends of the crib to unlatch the side to lower it down. I can do one side at a time if I need to (i.e., DH left it up again).

Kim

[MrsReber]

Lara, the crib that I bought goes down rather easily. I push against it with my knee, but I do need one hand to lift it up with first. I have to lift while pushing in. I have to be honest, though, after all is said and done, I'm glad I went with the crib that I thought looked nicest. They're all required by law to have certain safety features on them. The rest would just be icing. Our crib converts into a toddler bed. It's no big deal, really. The side that slides up and down comes off. You still have the three high sides on the rest of the bed.

Heather, your in-laws are frustrating! Kudos to your DH for staying firm with your plans. Your MIL sounds just like mine. She's not interesting in getting to know our kids, but she loves to show them off. She doesn't even hold them much at family gatherings. She'll pick one up, walk off and then hand my child to someone else and come back empty handed! She acts the same way with her own daughter's child so I don't feel too badly. Actually, I care less about it all the time.

Susan, a cruise to Alaska would be nice. I'd love to go there! My mom went on a cruise up your way. I believe they went to Prince Edward Island. She said it was beautiful. I've been to Maine once and DH loves Acadia (I've never been). We keep talking about going camping up there. I was jealous that I couln't partake in any of the New England klatches! Maybe someday. If DH leaves goes away hunting this season, I'll be on my own. He always talks about it, but never goes.

[hrk]

Kim- Thanks for the compliments on the website. DH and I love the fact that our family and friends can watch Logan grow. We had two great photos up that showed Logan in the bath at 2 weeks and 11 weeks and that really made it hit home how much he has grown.
SusanK- Alex and Logan sound like they could be twins. We were looking at the Primma Papa high chair since Logan normally sits in his bouncy seat while we eat but lately we have noticed him trying to sit up in it. How do you like the high chair
Susan- Yeap my MIL is a piece of work and my SIL is her clone. All I can say is DH had a pretty poor relationship with them before but this whole wedding thing has really put him over the edge. I just know that they have annoyed him so much that when the wedding is done and over with and MIL all of a sudden doesn't have SIL around all the time, DH has said he isn't about to be a replacement. :(
I saw this article on MSN about babies and books http://family.msn.com/tool/article.aspx?dept=learn&sdept=lea&name=sc_100703_babybooks and thought I would post a link. We read to Logan each night before bed and notice recently him trying to turn the pages or eat the book :D

[MrsReber]

Heather, Logan is huge! Casey was 18.4lbs at her 18 month doctor visit! I had to check out the picture of the Goddard school. That place is really big compared to ours. I love how it's a separate building so the rooms are bright inside. I just called this morning to see if Brenden's teacher will babysit for us for the wedding on the 26th. I'd love to have someone who is familiar with the kids. We really have never left them with a sitter. We had an offer from DH's friend's daughter (I think she's 16). I think she'd be okay, but I'm a little afraid because it's the 2 of them. Sometimes it gets very hectic for me when I'm alone with them! I the daycare teacher that if she can't do it, I'd like to know if she thinks anyone else there would like to watch them. It's from 3:00 - 9:00 on a Sunday so it's kind of a weird time for us to ask family. They'll be busy getting their own kids ready for school the next day and getting ready for work themselves. I'd rather just pay someone and not get into any family animosity (MIL wants to know why we let SIL watch the kids but we didn't ask her).

Okay, almost time to go home!!!!!

[nori]

MrsReber, so some moms from this board got together for cruise!!! Wow, sounds really fun! I too would probably had had a financial obstacle to join that fun, though.:o But really, it'll be great to meet all of you in person someday.:) Oh, I forgot to mention about your DH's hunting before....My DH would be jealous of him being able to hunt such a big buck in the neighborhood. We have to go up to Wyoming for hunting with his family, and this year, we won't be able to make it because DH doesn't have any more PTOs. I hope you can get the school's teacher to come and babysit while you're going to the wedding. I know you'll miss them, but it'll be hard to keep 2 toddlers nicely behaved at the wedding, I think. It's very nice of you to think of sending some presents for your DH's friend's. I'm sure she'd love to have some fun stuff for herself.....diapers and stuff are always welcome, but if she's depressed, it'll be a great way to show her a support. Like aromatherapy oil??? Massage gift certificate???? Mmmmmm cold weather and apple pie.....sounds pretty good.

Heather, I checked your website out. Logan is so cute! My DH also made a website for families to go into to see our photos. We upload all of our photos in there. Isn't it great way to share how baby's growing???

Kim, I tend to forget about lowering the crib rail after I picked Noah up from there.:o I can pick him up without lowering it, so I can see how it's easy to forget to lower it for your DH.

Lara, No advice on that particular crib, but mine is also have a foot release, which I need to pull the rail with the hand while pushing on teh release. I saw the one MrsReber has (the one which converts to the couch or something) and I thought it's very neat. Mine is hands-me-down from my friend so I can't complain.:)

Susan, sounds like Alex is such a good sleeper, even with exclusive breastfed. I always thought exclusive breastfed babies tend to wake up more at night, but I guess that's notteh case always. That was my "explanation" to not-so-good sleeper, Noah...It just shows that every baby is really different.

Again thanks for your advice on egg-allergy thing. Joanne, the last time he had major rash around his mouth was when he ate whole scrambled egg. At the same time, he ate banana bread, too, but it seemed to me the cause was scrambled egg. The other morning, crepe had yogurt rolled inside, and pancake was CL's buttermilk pancake. he might got a tiny bit of maple syrup but again, he got some with crepes, too. I don't know.....I will ask my doctor when we go in next time. As for sleeping, he woke up happy from his nap today. He slept close to 2 hours so he must had enough sleep at that time. I wish he'd wake up that way all the time....but from what you all said, again all babies are different and that's just one of the way to let me know that he's awake, I guess.

Good night, everyone!

[cchhbb]

Garrett seems to be doing better now. We had a really tough night on Monday night, but yesterday during the day he was a bundle of energy. My Dr thought he might be getting croup, but he never developed a cough so I guess he didn't have that. DH woke me up an hour ago coughing on me and I haven't been able to go back to sleep. He's been sick for about 3 weeks, but won't go to the Dr. I'm getting frustrated with him.

Heather and Susan, your babies are so BIG. Garrett was only 17 pounds 8 ounces at his visit on Monday and he will be 12 months in about 2 weeks. I think he will be riding backwards in the car for quite a long time.

Nori, a friend's child ended up being allergic to vanilla. They thought it was eggs for the longest time. A little boy down the street is highly allergic to eggs. I feel sorry for him as he can't have a lot of treats or eat at anyone's house. We have a joint playgroup that he goes to every 3 months and I'm going to make some vegan muffins for snack so he can participate.

Susan R, I like to get Garrett's teacher from church to come babysit too. He knows her and she is familiar with him. I just feel better with an adult in the house and someone who is trained and certified. Have a great time at the wedding.

I couldn't send Garrett to preschool yesterday since he had a fever the previous day. I had planned on making cakes for my church's 100 birthday celebration. Something that I could have had done in 2 1/2 hours took me all day. I was totally exhausted after that. Garrett helped me in the kitchen taking all the plastic containers out of the drawer and then climbing into the drawer himself! He also emptied out the bibs and towel drawer. I gave him some pots and pans and he played the drums and the cymbals. What fun. I just hated to pick up all that stuff at the end of the day.

I make a cheesecake, poundcake, and carrot cake. My cheesecake ended up getting too brown on top so I hope to cut the top off and cover it with some fruit. They are having 650 people at church tonight for dinner. I hope to take Garrett, but we'll have to see. I don't think I can put him in the nursery, but maybe he will be in a good mood to attend the dinner with me. It's a family friendly thing, but I like to put him in the nursery so I can actually eat my meal and visit without interruption.

Have a great day ladies.
Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - I know exactly how you feel about all the mess these kids can make! It seems Lainey will just go from one drawer to a cabinet in the kitchen and in a matter of minutes have everything out on the floor. Keeps her entertained and happy but....

That's a good thought about the vanilla... I really doubt it's the eggs because it sounds like Noah has a strong reaction (the rash) and I'd think it would happen every time he had eggs. Have you given him banana bread or the buttermilk pancakes without the reaction happening??

Susan - can Brenden's teacher babysit? Kids are often so much better behaved for other people that I'd think the 16 year old could handle it fine. Maybe she could come over for a couple of hours before hand too.

Heather - good article. Lainey loves her books now but that's a fairly recent development. There was a long time when I'd sit on our bed reading and she'd be off doing something else. At the time I didn't realize how fortunate I was because I was able to read a story start to finish :rolleyes: Now Lainey wants to flip pages, go backwards etc. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is definitely a favorite - so simple and I can just quickly name the animal as she flips through. DH and I are both avid readers so I'm not worried about her developing a love of books.

Kim

[AnnaSue]

Hi everyone! I finally have access to our computer again. I didn't feel comfortable using it while my MIL was here, since the computer was in the room where she was staying, and then we moved into our new house, so it took us awhile to get the computer hooked up again. It is good to be getting back to normal again. The MIL visit was definitely interesting. I think DH is starting to realize that something isn't right with her. When we got back to our apartment after picking her up from the airport, she got out of the car with only one shoe on, and didn't know what happened to the other. How do you not notice you are missing a shoe?:confused: Surprisingly, she was pretty nice to me this time.. for the most part anyway. I guess she finally realizes that being mean to me isn't going to make DH and I split up and have him go running back to his childhood bedroom in her house. I was worried about her accidentally doing something to Brendan, but it never occurred to me that she would hurt him on purpose.:( The day after she arrived, she was upset that Brendan wouldn't smile for her, so she pinched him really hard, and he cried for about 15 minutes.:( It was at that point that DH realized he needed to go to daycare! She still managed to cause more problems though. She had no respect for our wishes on how to care for him, and kept demanding that he be fed solids. We kept telling her that we were going to start him on cereal in a week or two, but she kept insisting on feeding him. DH kept telling me it was "just her sense of humor", but then while DH and I were packing up some boxes, she fed him some of her Italian beef sandwich!:mad: I suspect that she may have fed him something else too, because he had some bright yellow poop, which he never gets. On Carnation Good Start, it is always very dark green. I also caught her telling him that his mommy didn't care about him, but that she did and would always take care of him better. Needless to say, she has lost any chance to ever be left alone with him!

Anyway, sorry I've missed so much around here, but I should be able to keep up better now that MIL is gone, and we've moved out of our apartment.

Heather - I feel for you with this upcoming wedding. I just went through that a couple weeks ago! I like your website, Logan is really cute. How is the carseat situation working out? I'm dreading the carseat switch, but then again, this infant one is so heavy to carry around!

Erin - Congratulations! How exciting that Hanne will be a big sister!

MrsReber - Has your MIL moved yet? Could she really drive to Florida by herself? Sorry to hear about your cat. I didn't see your other thread yet, but it sounds like your cat was attacked by your neighbors dog?

Susan K - Brendan had an ear infection recently too. We just switched him to a different daycare, and he promptly got sick again.:rolleyes: Oh well, I guess that is to be expected though. We at least like this daycare MUCH better than the last one!

Kim - Sorry to hear about you stolen credit card number. I had my wallet (with my address in it), and my keys stolen in Chicago once. I remember being so afraid of finding someone in my apartment!

Becky - Glad to hear daycare is going well. How long until the center is done?

Cheryl - Did Garrett have a cold? Glad to hear he is doing better.

Joanne - Sounds like your party for Jameson turned out well. How old is he now? Did Caitlyn start yet with the new babysitter?

Nori - Did you find out any more about moving yet? My mom lives in Arizona, and I love to visit, but I don't think I could live there too easily. I love the cold weather!

Lara - Sorry I don't know anything about Jardine cribs. Did you find any more information. When are you due? Sorry I can't remember.

SueK - Good luck with everything. I hope everything turns out fine.

Alright, this is really long! I better run, but it is good to be back!

[MrsReber]

AnnaSue! I'm so glad you survived that visit from your MIL!!! That is awful that she would pinch Brendan like that! I'd be furious! My MIL lost babysitting privileges (not that she ever had them :D ) when Casey was 2 months old. We were at SIL's house. MIL walks in and expected Casey to smile and coo at her. Casey has always been a shy girl and would complain when others held her. She cried and MIL said to her "don't you cry at me or I'll give you a spanking!" I don't know how you kept your cool with your MIL pinching your son and saying that you don't care about him! I think I would've seriously lost it at that point! Congratulations on your move, by the way!

Yes, my cat was attacked by our neighbor's dogs. He has 2 nasty dogs that frequently roam around the neighborhood. Oh, I found out last weekend that they actually killed someone else's dog. They have also attacked countless other animals and have jumped the fence to try to bite people. I was supposed to go to court tonight, but the animal control officer told me to just fax all my stuff to him. He said he will present it to the prosecutor who is handling the case against the dog owner. They're trying to get the dogs either taken out of the neighborhood or destroyed. I'll settle for either. There's still the matter of my vet bills, though. I have a feeling we'll be battling that for a while, but I'm not giving up.

I realized that Brenden usually wakes up happy. The thing is, if I don't know he's awake, he'll start to cry. He'll normally wake up and hang out in his crib for a while, not making any noise. He'll just lie there with his eyes open. When DH has to wake him up for daycare, he gets up and starts talking right away. He's a very good natured baby.

My kids tear my kitchen apart. We started keeping all the pots and pans on the stove because they'd take them out as soon as I put them away. Casey now asks to play "drum". After a while, DH and I tell her that it's time for drum to go night night. An amazing thing happened last night. I put Brenden to bed and then Casey asked to be put to bed! She never wants to be put to bed. She must've been exhaused. DH and I actually had time alone! We, of course, fell asleep watching tv shortly after Casey went to bed. Oh well.

[RunnerKim]

AnnaSue - so good to hear from you again! All I can say is OMG! I would probably be speechless if someone did those things that your MIL did. I'm glad you all survived the visit and your DH understood where you were coming from. I guess I wouldn't worry about what she fed Brendan - from what I hear younger siblings are often fed stuff way too early by their bigger siblings and grow up without allergies etc. (right Susan R?) - in fact your MIL's behavior seems very typical of a child :eek: Glad you're finding a good daycare situation.

Lainey has dug out pots and pans I'd forgotten we even had stashed in the cabinets. Now when I need a certain skillet I have to look all around, it's probably been taken under the dining room table. :rolleyes:

That's fabulous, wonderful, hopeful that Casey asked to go to bed!

Something pretty cool during lunch yesterday. Lainey was the only one awake while I was there so it was quiet and we just played together a little. Then one of the teachers finished her in room so came in and sat down to play with Lainey too and bounced around these little plastic finger puppets in a basket. Bounced one out and told Lainey to pick it up and put it back in. And she did! And then the teacher bounced it out again and it rolled further away and the teacher told Lainey to do the same thing. Lainey turned to go get it, saw another puppet on the floor and picked it up (I thought sure she'd be distracted) but continued to get the original one and then put them both back in the basket. :) And clapped for herself too :D Wow. Comprehension. following directions - not just 1 but 2! staying on task. Wow. wow. wow. No excuse for not helping with clean up time now. I really need to start making it part of the evening ritual (it's just so much faster to do it myself after she's gone to bed :o ).

She's also consistently saying fish (or ish) at the tank they have there. I'm going to see if I can find someplace to take her with a big tank. I know the zoo here has a big walk up underwater sea lion thing but admission it's so expensive. Oh wait- I think they have a free day once a month. Great Aquirium a couple hours away on the coast that has a tunnel.

Kim

[nori]

Kim, that's so cute Lainey saying "ish" for fish. Noah says "vroom, vroom" everytime when he sees something on the wheels.:) For animals, he points out and scream in delight, and for other stuff, he just points out and says "Da-, Da!" That's cool she might be able to help you out with cleaning (picking up). Noah can put some things in the basket, but then, he'd take them out soon after that. I hear you about pots and pans....It's all over the place. As for banana bread, I was too scared to give him one after that camping trip..He had crepes with pumpkin butter this morning and had no rash. Must be something else...It's interesting about vanilla, but I didn't use it either in pancakes or crepes.


Cheryl..glad to hear Garrett is doing better.

AnnaSue! Glad you're back to normal life! I'm speechless about your MIL!!! Poor Brendan.:( And congratulations on moving to new house! How do you like it?? Must be hard to pack and move while your MIL was here and Brendan to take care of.

MrsReber, that's great Casey asking to be put to bed! Hope Noah would do that sometime in the future ( at least I can dream...right?;) )

2 nights ago he slept until 5am!!! so that's 10 hours! I was hopeful last night, too, but he woke up twice.:( Oh well. It's definetely getting better, so I should be glad.

I just realized Halloween is getting closer! What do you all do? Is 14 months (that's what he'll be...) too young for trick or treating?? DH think it is, because he won't be eating those candies. I have to think of what he'd dress up....we went to the Walmart the other day and they had this Pooh costume. I took it off from the shelf and Noah didn't let it go! I almost got it, but had a second thought that maybe I should make something....but I don't have any idea so far. We'll have kids coming over for trick or treating so even we didn't go out, it'll be fun to dress him up with something!

[MrsReber]

Nori, have you seen the AZ klatch on the Other Stuff board? I don't know if you go there often or at all so I wanted to let you know they're planning a Phoenix area get together.

Kim, yes! Let Lainey help clean up! Isn't that amazing when you realize that you're really communicating with your child through speech? Last year, right after Brenden was born, I bought Casey a little truck at the mall. She loved it. I guess she was about 14 months. Later that night, I told her to go get the truck that we bought and show daddy. DH thought I was crazy, but she got it and showed it to him! We make Casey and Brenden clean up their Legos. They love to toss the whole bucket on the living room floor at least twice a day.

One of Casey's first words was fish. She called them "dish" for a while. We bought her pajamas with fish on them so each night she says she wants to wear her "fish jamas". The aquarium is a great idea. We took Casey to a small aquarium right around the time she turned 1. She was fascinated. They had large tanks with glass from the floor to the ceiling so we let her stand up right against the glass. She didn't want to leave.

Kim, you are so right about older siblings feeding the younger ones. Brenden had tried all kinds of food before he was 1! Casey loves to feed him and he'll follow her around until he gives her whatever she's eating! I tried to be a bit careful with the obvious things like chocolate and eggs. But now- don't mess with his food! DH said he gave Brenden a waffle at daycare on Tuesday. One of the teachers decided the pieces were too big so she started to cut it up into tiny pieces! Brenden got so mad! DH told her to leave Brenden's food alone. People tend to freak out at the way he shoves food in his mouth. He'll stuff his mouth until his cheeks are popping out. The thing is, he never chokes. If it's too much for him, he does take it out. And we do watch him while he eats. He's always wanted to feed himself. If we attempt to feed him, he cries and won't eat at all.

Nori, DH and I think we'll take Casey to a couple of houses. She's 2 1/2 now and I don't know how she'll react. My neigbor took her son around when he was 14 months. Everyone is different. Casey had more fun last year just handing the candy out to the kids who came to our door. She doesn't really understand what it's all about to go trick-or-treating so I figured we'll just try a couple of houses with people that we know. We'll have to bring the video camera if we decide to go. I can only imagine the look on her face when someone puts something into her goodie bag!

[RunnerKim]

Nori - it really does sound like Noah's sleeping has gotten better. Have you been keeping a routine or doing other things?? How is your DH about it - is less stressed about it too?

Halloween started sneaking up on me too. I posted a thread on the Other Stuff board about where to find a costume and RobynC is fabulous and sending me a clown costume her daughter wore last year. Since Lainey rides the bus with us and all the kids dress up at daycare I realized I couldn't be lame about it :o The daycare takes the kids on parade around the building they're in which is the Justice center (downtown police station, courts etc.) and its apparently a big deal. She'll have gotten enough "trick or treating" in so I won't take her out at night with my sister and her boys, but if you want to go to a few houses - why not?! I'm sure your neighbors would really enjoy getting to see Noah all dressed up.

Okay Susan - you convinced me to research aquariums/big tanks in the area :D The zoo's free day is 2nd Tuesday so maybe we'll go over after work (since it's close to downtown) with a picnic dinner. Maybe if I get her some fish for the tub she'll enjoy her baths more (she mostly just stands in the tub these days).

Kim

[hrk]

Hi all-
First a quick plug
Go to the other stuff board and check out the post "Calling all new moms and not-so-new moms"

Ok back to this thread.
AnnaSue I am glad to hear that you survived the visit from MIL. Maybe we should put your MIL, SusanR's MIL and mine in a room and let them compare notes on ways to drive us insane.:rolleyes: Congrats on the new house and the new daycare. Glad to hear all is working out.
Kim- that is great about Lainey, it must be wonderful to see her developing such a great personality. I am sure the aquarium will be a big hit. We have a 60 gallon salt water tank in our house (DH's pet project) and the only way we could keep Logan happy in his swing was to put him in front of the tank- of course it scared the ___ out of the fish.
Nori- Glad to hear Noah is having some better sleep nights. When Noah wakes up at night like last night does he cry? We have noticed lately that Logan still wakes up about once a night (we hear him kick his mobile and talking for a few minutes) but he doesn't ever cry and goes back to sleep. We think he is turning from his back to his stomach since I find him on his stomach in the morning.
Mrs Reber- that is great about Casey asking to be put to bed. Logan now goes to bed happy which is a major step from how much he used to cry even when we put him in his sleeper. And I read your post about the dog owners. I am so sorry to hear that more wasn't done. I guess the dogs will have to do something really drastic like out in San Fransisco beofer anyone will take action.

As for us we are doing well. Logan seems to be really loving daycare, but I still get big smiles when I come to pick him up. He is taking two naps a day there (about 1-2 hours) each and has no trouble sleeping in the crib. Boy why won't he do that at home:confused: We are probably going to dress Logan up for Halloween and take him around our immediate block. The neighbors all tend to do this with their new baby as a way to introduce themselves to neighbors/introduce the new baby. My parents are coming out next weekend and they really want to buy Logana cute costume/ take him to get a pumpkin so we will see what happens.
Have a great Thursday
Heather

[cchhbb]

Heather, if you are hosting a MIL event, please reserve a spot for mine. She lives in Canada so I don't have to be bothered by her often, but when they visit I'm subjected to her abusive comments. For example, when Garrett was 3 weeks old she told me that a good mother would know why her child was crying. Heck, I still can't tell. I think I'm a better guesser now though.

Kim, Garrett does the same thing if he is in the right frame of mind. He says about 19 words now. The preschool teacher told me today he said Go Out when they were getting ready to go outside in the Bye Bye Buggy. I was amazed. My favorite word is Buckeye (besides Mommy). It took about 30 minutes of practice for him to get Buckeye down. He realizes that Mommy really likes it when he says it.

Anna Sue, Thank goodness your MIL went home. I don't think I would have been very nice to her after putting up with her stuff. She sounds very childish.


Nori, Congratulations on the sleeping. I hope he keeps it up. Sometimes I feel a little guilty when I'm whining to myself that Garrett wants to get up at 5:45 and I don't want to get out of bed yet.

Last nights dinner at church was really nice. I got a ton of compliments about my cakes. Both the cheesecake and carrot cake were huge hits.

Cheryl

[MrsReber]

Heather, unfortunately, I can't go hire a lawyer to fight this. I'm so mad about the dogs!!! I'm going to write to everyone I can write to. I already sent messages to the mayor with a cc to the court. Grrr!!!

Kim, that's funny that Lainey likes fish so much. We got Casey doing the "duh duh....duh duh duh duh...." like Jaws. She has been doing this for the past year when she plays with her fish in the tub. We got her the dolphins that sit in the rings. When you bop them on the head in the water, they whistle. You can play whole songs with them. The rings all attach to each other, too. She also has a fishing net toy with three fish. You can catch the fish in the net. I think the newer version of that set also comes with a fishing pole. Casey always stood up in the bathtub. Just recently, she realized that sitting is much better.

Okay, I'm in! Tell me where to send my MIL! I'd be afraid if they all got together. They could teach each other mean things! I actually feel bad for my MIL. DH's grandmother passed away last night and I'm sure it'll be hard on her. The only problem (this sounds really awful) is that she'll still try to make herself the center of attention. DH is doing fine. He wasn't all that close to his grandmother and they knew that she would pass away this week. I'm sure there will be horrible fights between his mom and her siblings. It's not going to be a fun few days.

[BeckyM]

Hi Everyone!

I think it took me about an hour to read through all the posts! With being back at work, I just don't have time to get on the bulletin boards. Nori -- you asked if I could access it from work. Well, I could, but since I'm only there three days a week, I really need to be productive during the time I'm there, so they won't change their mind about it. If my boss came in and saw me on the internet, I don't think it would make a very good impression. Anyway, I've promised myself I won't come to the bulletin board while I'm at work. And when I'm at home, I'm busy trying to get things done!

AnnaSue -- your MIL sounds just as bad as MrsReber's, if not worse! I'm sure glad your DH agreed that daycare was the better option. Glad to hear you survived the visit and are in your new home.

Katie's daycare is still not open, and I don't know when it will. I'm sure it won't be next week, but who knows beyond that. Their delay is the playground equipment. The state won't inspect & approve them until it is in, and they can't open until after that. As of Tuesday after work, there was still no sign at all of any playground construction -- just dirt. I guess the actual playground eqipment is backordered or something. Anyway, as long as Miss Jill's kids don't get sick or anything, she is available to watch Katie, so we're fairly relaxed about it.

I'm glad you reminded me about Halloween. We saw a really cute flower costume at Babies R Us a while ago. It had a green "stem" part that was the body, then a hood with flower petals around the face. It was my favorite of anything I've seen. I thought about buying it when we first saw it, but I wasn't sure if Katie would still be in 12 month clothes or 18 months by then. Now I just need to get back to the store and buy one. We'll probably just take her to a few neighbors, but we won't ask for any candy for her. We're certainly not going to let her eat any yet, and DH and I definitely don't need it! (I'm sure we'll have plenty of our own Halloween candy to get into!)

We made an appointment to have our family portrait done next Friday. We're going to have it outside at a park where we like to hike. There are pretty trees and a little lake, and the fall color should be at its peak. The biggest challenge was figuring out what we all are going to wear. The photographer said we ought to coordinate, and we should all wear similar tones -- not some of us in really dark shirts & some in really light. She also said long sleeves are best, and solid colors are better than patterns. At 11pm the other night, DH and I had a ton of clothes strewn all over our bed while we tried to figure it out. We ended up deciding on a basic color scheme that would look good on all of us and that wouldn't clash with the fall leaves, then we had to buy new shirts for us all! We found Katie's at Old Navy -- she'll wear a medium purple shirt with her denim overalls -- then we ordered shirts for DH and me from L.L. Bean. I'll be wearing a deeper colored purple shirt with light colored jeans, and DH's shirt will be more a purple-gray color. I just hope we think they look good together when they arrive!

I feel like I need to apologize every time I come here, because I no longer am able to remember what everyone said and make many individual responses. I feel like a bad friend or something. I miss being able to come here every day!

By the way, I got Katie some Robeez shoes, and they arrived today! The pair that are her current size look so cute on her (Fucshia Daisy), and they work really well. The only problem is that I noticed a small cut in the leather in the sole of the shoe. I called Robeez, and they were very helpful. They're sending a replacement pair, and I'll send back the defective ones. They'll even refund me the cost of mailing the shoes back. I thought that was nice. Anyway, Kim -- thanks for the recommendation.

MrsReber -- glad to hear Stryper is starting to feel better. Apple picking sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe we'll do that with Katie next year. Since she isn't quite walking yet, she'd just crawl around and wouldn't really appreciate that we're in an apple orchard.

Cheryl -- that's so cute that Garrett will say "Buckeye". We'll need to start working on that with Katie! She does like watching football though, so DH is thrilled!

Well, I'd better get Katie up from her nap, or she'll be awake too late tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to check in this weekend. I've got to work tomorrow (I work Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday), so I'm not looking forward to being away from Katie again. We had fun playing together today.

Becky :)

[AnnaSue]

MrsReber - Sorry to hear about your cat being attacked. Sounds scary that such dangerous dogs are in the neighborhood, especially with children around! Hopefully they'll take them away somewhere.

Kim - That is cute about Lainey saying "ish" for fish. My niece did the same thing. Going to the aquarium sounds like so much fun. My DH is obsessed with fishing, and can't wait to teach Brendan about fish and take him fishing. Are you still doing the signing with Lainey? We were thinking about doing it, but got busy and... slacked off.

Nori - Congratulations on Noah sleeping longer. Did you change anything? Or did it just happen? As for Halloween, I was thinking about buying a costume for Brendan to wear to daycare, but then I realized that Halloween is on a Friday, and he only goes to daycare for one hour on Fridays, so I'm not sure it is worth it. I really hope I don't have to work that night. I'm curious to see if we'll get any trick-or-treaters in our first Halloween as home owners.

Heather - Does Logan nap in his crib at daycare, but not at home? Brendan does that all the time. I can't think of even one time that he napped in his crib at home. He sleeps real well in it at night though, so I'd rather have it that way than the reverse!

Cheryl - Welcome to the MIL club! It is nice when they live far away, but then when they visit... they are around for a long time!

Becky - I was thinking about getting one of those family portraits, but the outfit coordination you mentioned is what has scared me away so far! Maybe I'll reconsider around Christmas time.

Brendan has been waking up earlier than usual (about 5:00 am lately), and I think his formula isn't holding him over as well anymore. We gave him a little rice cereal yesterday, but in the course of our move, I lost the directions from his pediatrician on how to start solids.:rolleyes: Does 1 tbsp a couple times a day sound right to start? He is also just starting to get his two lower teeth, and I'm not sure what to do to clean them. Do I just wipe them with a washcloth? I don't want him to get tooth decay or anything.

Well, I better get him in his crib. He fell asleep in his swing a couple hours ago.

[nori]

I think the things we've been trying to keep up with Noah about sleeping issue is night time routine. After dinner, we give him a bath, brush teeth, then story time. After that, I nurse him very short time and put him in the crib. He used to be awake in the crib for more than 30 min. or so, but recently I've noticed he falls asleep pretty quickly when I put him down. Other things....I try not to nurse him so often. At night, when he wakes up I easily give in since I'm so sleepy and tired. But if I'm aware, I'd rock him to calm down and put him back to the crib. I usually nurse him for bedtime, when he wakes up for the day, and sometimes for nap time when he's having trouble falling asleep. Maybe it's all because of those our efforts, or it was just about the time? He's very active now so he might be so tired by the end of the day.

AnnaSue, I think wiping with washcloth would be fine. Gerber has this infant toothpaste that comes with rubber cap you put on your finger to clean gum and teeth. It works fine, until he starts biting your finger!:eek: I just bought stage 1 baby toothbrush for him because I couldn't take his biting anymore. My doctor recommended using washcloth at the beginning. As for rice cereal, I think I started him with once a day for a few days, then gave him twice a day. I still remember the funny face he made when he first tasted the cereal!

Becky, don't apologize each time! We understand, and you really don't have to worry about.:) I know what you mean, though. When I get behind, there are so many posts and i just lost track of them, and feels bad not to responding all of them. Just check in whenever you have time, so that we'll know you and Katie are doing fine.;) Your family portrait sounds like a great idea! Hope it turns out well.

MrsReber, sorry to hear about your neighbor's dog issue.:mad: But glad to know that Stryper is recovering well. I jsut feel your pain dealing with those stupid people! Thanks for the headsup about Phoenix klatch. I have to go there to check it out. I usually try to come here (on New moms thread) once a day at least, then if I have any extra time to play around the computer, I'd check on the other boards. I use Food board to post my questions often, though...this is really a great place to hang out! Of course my favorite place is right here!:cool: I don't know how I'd have gone through all of stuff if I didn't know this place! It was funny to read about how Brenden eats. Noah is the same way...doesn't like to be fed, want to feed himself. He's trying to use spoons or forks now, but of course it's rare he can get food from them. But if I try to help, he'd get mad. Today he wanted to have a container of yogurt by himself. I hold it in front of him so he can dig his spoon in. After he did, he waved that spoon in the air and yogurt flew everywhere!!!:eek: It was a huge mess. Does Brende use utensils??

Cheryl, Some mornings, I'd let Noah play on the floor and I'd lay down on the floor with pillow and just watch (half-asleep) Noah play. I get sleep that way about half an hour, then he starts to jump on me to get more attention and it's my wake-up time, finally.
:D

Heather, unfortunately Noah cries in this crib when he wakes up. Sometimes, I can tell he'd go back to sleep by himself so I'd wait and not going in. He'd calm down by himself and back to sleep. But when he's really upset, I have to go in to calm him since crying kind of made him more awake. I checked the other thread and the link, but Phoenix (which is the closest to me) was coming soon. No Tucson, but that link will be great when you're visiting one of those towns.

Kim, me and DH haven't had any fight since then (which is right before Noah got sick). One thing is Noah is sleeping better so I'm getting more sleep, thus I'm less-stressed out so DH is less-stressed, I guess. It's a chain-reaction. I have to check out the thread you started....tonight is too late, maybe tomorrow, though. Clown would be so cute on Lainey! How nice of RobinC! I have to get more ideas together. I'm not so crafty so I don't know if it's good idea to make my own.

I think we'll take Noah to our neighbors this year, since they know him and actually the guy next door (retired guy) came to our home for trick-or-treating. :D It was funny. Maybe we can take Noah this year.

Happy Friday, everyone!!

[MrsReber]

Nori, Brenden loves to use utensils! He sees Casey using a fork or spoon so he cries until he gets one, too. He's quite demanding. I don't remember Casey being like that so much. I'll give him a fork and he will actually get food on it, but it doesn't often make it into his mouth. DH and I sometimes help to guide the fork so he can actually eat some of it. Yes, he loves to fling the fork and spoon around, too! Food everywhere! Casey teaches him neat tricks. She showed him how, if you bang the sippy cup on the table, some juice will leak out. Then you can bang your hands in it and have juice splash all over the place! What I wouldn't give for an eat in kitchen. The splat mat only covers so much of our carpet. I may just give them water with dinner from now on.

Apple picking is fun, but I agree, it's not for crawlers! There are mushy apples all over the ground! I knelt down to take a picture and put my knee right in one mushy apple. Yuck!

Well, animal control called and left a message, assuring me that there is another court date for the dog owners. I hope he calls me back today to let me know the details of that one. I'm so annoyed that this guy still has these dogs! My fight is far from over.

DH told me last night that his "friend" from PA is coming this weekend. He just stayed with us the weekend before last! Then I find out that he's going to jail because he beat up his girlfriend - again! She stays with him and they're trying to get pregnant! Yikes! This guy is SIL's ex (the father of her child). He's trying to spend time with his son before they put him away. I am annoyed that I even have to deal with this man, now DH is going to hang out with him all weekend AND DH's grandmother's burial is probably on Saturday! SIL didn't want her son to go so she's happy that her son's father is taking him fishing all weekend. I'm just annoyed. DH was hunting all of last Saturday and then butchering his deer all day on Sunday. We haven't done anything for weeks. And hunting season only just started.

Good news, though. Our financial advisor showed us his plan. DH and I are a bit scared, but we think it's a very good plan and that we can meet all of our short term and long term goals if we follow it. It's really just a different way of looking at things. If it all works out, we'll be in great shape for the kids' college education and retirement and we can build our house in VA next year! I like it! Just need to get DH moving on the mortgage refinance. That man needs a HUGE fire under his you know what!

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone! Becky, I feel just like you. I feel bad when I haven't checked in in a few days and there are so many posts. I worry about not responding to everyone. So sometimes I'll just read and not respond. So, I hope you don't mind if I miss someone!

Becky, that picture sounds great. I still need to make an appt. for Caitlyn's one year picture. I'm thinking of doing a professional one with all the kids, but don't know if I have the patience! The boys are a bit older, maybe it would turn out OK. It's just so hard to try to get them all smile and sit still at the same time.

Cheryl, how is Garrett doing? Does he still have the fever?

I know what everyone means about the messes. Caitlyn loves to empty out everything! She has a big basket of books in her room. She loves to empty those. If I leave a dresser draw open even an inch or two, she'll try to pull all the clothes out.

AnnaSue, glad you survived your MIL and the move! Hopefully your life is a bit more calm now!

Nori, crepes with pumpkin butter sounds yummy! Can we come over for breakfast sometime?? :)

When Jameson was a baby, we didn't take him trick or treating, but we did dress him up and would go visit grandparents and others in our families. And, sometimes a couple friends.

I've got costumes for the boys. Jameson is a Ninja Turtle (wouldn't be my first choice, but he's been asking to be that for a couple years), Ian is a cowboy, and Colin is the Hulk. DH bought some dye for their hair. I'm not sure what color we'll do Jameson's, but Ian loves red, so I said he could be a red-headed cowboy. Colin's will be green, of course. I'm not sure about Caitlyn. I have a few costumes up in the attic I have to look through. I have a really cute bee costume, but it may be too big.

The boys always try to feed Caitlyn. They gave her a chocolate chip one time. You'd be amazed how much mess one chip can make. She loves yogurt now, so Colin decided he would dump his cup of yogurt on her tray. Luckily I saw that one happen before she dug her hands in it.

Caitlyn started wheezing yesterday and is coughing a bit. I'm not too surprized because Jameson has been sick. We've started nebulizing her, because I'm sure that's what the doctor would have us do. No fever or anything else. I just hope this doesn't interfere with her RSV shot or flu shot.

Mrs. Reber, great news on the financial plan!

I had our first Tiger Scout meeting last night. It went pretty well. I had the boys make scrapbooks and then we decorated sugar cookies like pumpkins. I'm a little nervous because when I agreed to be the den leader, everyone said they would organize and host one of the meetings. Well, I had a sign up sheet last night and reminded everyone of their promise and only two mothers signed up to do a meeting. We have a pack meeting next week and I'm bringing the sign up sheet again! I really enjoyed the kids but we just have so much stuff going on it's hard for me to take this on myself. But, we'll see what happens.

Everyone have a great weekend!

[nori]

Joanne, glad to hear your Tiger meeting was success!! So Tiger scout is the youngest of the troop?? How many kids did you have? That's too bad only 2 families signed up for hosting.:( I'd host.:) Oh, and please come join us for weekend breakfast! DH is the chef:D and he does very good job on crepes. Sorry to hear Caitlyn's wheezing. Hopefully it won't get too bad. You must be busy coordinating Halloween costumes for boys and little one! That reminds me of checking the thread Kim started out on Other board.....

MrsReber, sorry to hear about your DH's grandmother passed away.:( But I know what you mean DH is not sad about it so much. I wasn't so close to my father's side of grandmother so when she passed away, it didn't really bother me much. I know it sounds horrible, of course I was sad but wasn't sad as much as I was with mother's side grandparents' death. I really hope they'll take your neighbor's dogs away! Or do something to stop them having dogs as their pets anymore. They don't deserve to have pets. And your DH's friend and his girlfriend trying to get pregnant!? And he's going to jail for beating her up???? What's wrong with people!!???

This morning Noah went down for nap around 9am and I got some "free" time.;) I'm baking Hearty Banana Muffin as I type, and it'll be my breakfast treat.:)

I made Noah French toast from egg yolk, milk and brown sugar and he got tiny spots of rash.:confused: :( I'm thinking maybe egg wasn't cooked enough??? I thought I did, but when I think about it, crepes are so thin, and pancakes and french toast are kind of thick....It's nothing serious, but I'm having hard time figuring out what not to give him...

[JoanneOR]

Nori, yes, Tiger Scouts are the youngest. They are like Brownies in Girl Scouts. We have eight boys in the den. They seem like really nice kids. Jameson was so excited they were all coming over he could barely contain himself! I had it down in the basement where all the toys are. At first the boys came down and everyone was playing and it was reeeealllly loud! Luckily, once I sat them all down and starting doing our project they were cooperative and listened.

That's weird about the rash. Could it be dairy?? Is it just around his mouth? Do you use syrup? Maybe it irritates his skin? I have no idea, just throwing out ideas!

Mrs. Reber, hope you survive the weekend with DH's guest! Maybe they'll spend alot of time away. I know you'd rather your DH be home, but not with him! His girlfriend sounds like she has some problems. I get really annoyed when I hear about crazy (for lack of a better word!) people trying to have a baby. They do it for the wrong reasons and don't take the responsibility seriously and the baby is the one who suffers from their stupidity!

[MrsReber]

DH called. He's at the bank refinancing the mortgage! Finally!!!! Step one in our new plan! We also paid off the VA property. We took an equity loan out for that and it was almost all paid up. It's really, really ours now! Free and clear!

The wake is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow. Should be pretty interesting at home. DH told me that I don't need to go to anything, but I'm afraid of being the horrible DIL if I don't show up, not that I really want to be there with that crowd. There's too much tension between them all and there's bound to be a fight. As for our weekend guest, I'm so mad at him. His girlfriend is a really nice girl. I think she's great. She was the one who was pregnant last year with twins and then lost them at 5 or 6 months. It was so horrible. She had to deliver them. One had already died, but the other was alive. They just couldn't save him. Now the doctors say she'll have trouble conceiving and carrying a child as a result of that trauma. I don't know why she stays and I don't know why this man thinks he has the right to hit her! I told DH when we first met that if he ever lays a hand on me, he'll see me walk out the door forever. It only takes once. I don't understand why any woman wouldn't leave. I guess it's really a self esteem issue. This guy isn't that crazy that he'd go after her if she left, either. From what I understand, she isn't even the one who told the police. Someone else did!

Joanne, that's so great that you son (I get the names mixed up!) was so excited and it's great that you hosted. I look forward to doing things like that with my kids. My parents never did that stuff. My mom would always say how she was too busy because she had to work and nobody else's mother worked. But look at you! You work and you stay involved. I know it can be done. You're an inspiration. I think my mom just didn't want to do it.

Nori, what are all the ingredients for the crepes vs. the pancakes and french toast? That's so odd about the rash. There must be something different. Could it be the milk? Noah has had milk before, though, right? I would think the syrup, but you said he's had syrup on crepes with no problem. How frustrating!

[nori]

Okay, when I made that banana muffin, I gave one to Noah and he didn't have any problem....that muffin contains flour, baking powder, salt, a whole egg, milk, banana, wheat germ, sugar.:confused: Then, this morning DH made crepes again. I gave him with peach yobaby yogurt and he got some rash. It could be peach in yogurt, but I'm not sure. The crepes this morning had light color so cooking time was shorter????:confused: It's confusing. At least, it's not so serious at this point.

MrsReber, I hope you're doing okay with your weekend guest. It must be very stressful to host someone you don't really like or welcome. Did you end up going to funeral, too?

Joanne, rash his just around his mouth. 2 months ago when I gave him whole egg scrambled eggs, his rash was on his cheeks too but that was the worst one.Usually just around his mouth. It's nice to have a basement when you have boys over. Do you come up with the craft idea by yourself, or do they give you an assignment??

We hosted our supper club tonight. Another couple brought their 10 month old boy and it was fun watching 2 babies in the house. Noah stayed up until 8pm and he didn't have afternoon nap today, so he was pretty tired when I put him in the crib. I'm hoping for another nice night!!!

[Luv to Cook]

Just wanted to jump in and say Hi this month! I have been reading all the threads and learning so much, but I have no time to post. As most of you know, my babe is not the best sleeper and boy, it makes life rough. Things got really good for awhile and then they kinda tanked again. Some good nites, and some bad. I am not sure what to do anymore...right now we are just living with it.

Anyhow, its great to read about everyone. We will be starting solids in the next month or two, so I love hearing about all the fun food experiences. And of course, learning about allergies and such!

I hope to post more often and learn from all the BTDT mommies.

Thanks!
Anita

[nori]

Hi Anita, I know how you feel. Noah is not a good sleeper either, and although I'm used to getting up at night, it gets rough when it continues like a week. We had some good night, when he started sleeping longer.....one night he slept 10 hours! I think it helped to make night time routine and follow that. We also made his bedtime a bit earlier than before. Now around 7pm, he'd promptly start rubbing his eyes and seems getting sleepy. I liked the no-cry sleep solution book. Good luck! BTW, what BTDT moms mean??? :o

Noah is getting into computer now, I gotta go. Will come back later, if I can.:)

[RunnerKim]

Occaisonal posters (and lurkers) don't feel bad about not being able to keep up! Post when you can. Don't feel any obligation to have read and commented on everything :D It's just good to hear from you.

On starting solids.. We started with just one feeding a day. In the evening because that was when I was always home (DH was home with Lainey at that point). I made it soupy to begin with and gradually thickened it up. Lainey insisted on holding the spoon for the first couple of months - so I probably thickened faster so some would still be on the spoon by the time it reached her mouth (I still guided the spoon as best I could). Over a 4-6 weeks we added in another feeding etc. Some days she'd eat great and others she wouldn't want anything to do with it.

Nori - Lainey got a short-term rash around her mouth this weekend. From marinated cucumbers (marinated in vinegar among other things). I hadn't shaken them off well and the acidic vinegar caused red marks around her mouth - in a dripping pattern even. Worst part was she rubbed her eye with vinegar on her hand and ended up with it around her eye (but it didn't irritate her eye, thankfully). It disappeared within 30 minutes or so. Maybe you're getting more of a skin reaction than an actual allergy??? I don't think eggs are very acidic though...

suan - great on the refinancing!! I'd be very annoyed about that schedule/family time too.

Joanne - sounds like a great group of Tiger scouts. Do you meet weekly or once a month? I'm sorry about Caitlyn's wheezing. :( I need to look up when the flu shot clinic opens. Lainey's had a cold with serious runny nose for a couple of days and miracles it did not turn in to wheezing! (knock on wood, we haven't kicked it completely yet). :cool:

Are there special toddler forks? Even our salad forks seems like they'd be too big and pokey for Lainey to use.

I've seen a lot of people do family portraits wearing denim/blue shirts (maybe with black jeans/pants) and it's always striking.

Becky - that sounds like a great location to have your family portrait done. I'm going to have to get in gear on this, but I think it will be spring. Portland just blooms everywhere in the spring.

AnnaSue - we still sign with Lainey but can't say we've done a great/consistent job about it. She does sign more and all done. I think she might have even signed mother the other day (pointer finger to the upper lip vs. thumb to the chin but I've heard mother is often done as pointer finger to chin). She understands several signs - but I know is developing her verbal comprehension too and is saying a couple of words now so she seems to be putting more energy into that area.

My DH's brother visited with us over the weekend. It was really nice length - he didn't arrive until dinner on Saturday and is leaving mid-day today (but is entertaining himself as DH doesn't have vacation time). I was shocked at how quickly Lainey took to him - she played shy for about 10 minutes and then just thought he was great. He could even hold her for extended periods of time. It was really neat to see. He did visit when she was about 2 months, but I wouldn't think she'd remember him. I'm not overly fond of this BIL - we're politically very different and some of his comments really had me biting my tongue - particularly the one about "parents should raise their children" (as in you aren't raising your child if they're in daycare) although he did graciously allow us to decide what works for our family :rolleyes:

Kim

Nori - I'd guess that BTDT stands for Been There Done That???

[KristaMB]

Originally posted by RunnerKim
Are there special toddler forks? Even our salad forks seems like they'd be too big and pokey for Lainey to use.

Kim, we have a few but they were all gifts. Some are silver that are are handed down heirlooms, and others have a rubber handle and have characters like Scooby Doo or Spongebob :rolleyes: on them. Have you tried somewhere like Target?

[JoanneOR]

Well, not too many posts this time! I think I can keep up. I leave for St. Louis Wednesday. It's going to be so weird to be away from home. I'll be glad to be back home this weekend, I'm sure. I've gone away for work before, but it's been a few years. The kids were really too little to understand. My DH has to work one of the nights, so he was trying to get someone to stay over. His mother is busy, so he was going to ask his father. Last time he watched the kids, Colin was in diapers. You might remember the story; we came home after about 8 hours and he was changing him on the kitchen table. Colin's pants were soaking wet. He said that Colin never told him he needed his diaper changed. OK....he was only two! Did you ever think to check?? So, I told DH I don't feel comfortable with him there. Never mind that he smokes. So, DH is trying to get the night off work. If not, our neighbor said one of them can come over after their kids go to bed and sleep at our house.

Mrs. Reber how did the weekend with your visitors go?

Hi Anita! Welcome to the thread! I read your other post about sleeping (or not!). That's so hard. It just makes everything so much more difficult when you are sleep deprived. Hope the good nights start to outweigh the bad! It does get better over time.

Kim, they do have special toddler forks. Look in the baby section at the grocery store. I'm sure they'd have them there. They're just smaller and made of plastic with a bigger handle so it's easier to grip.

The Tiger Scouts are supposed to have one meeting a month for just the den. But the pack (which is all the scouts) meets once or twice a month and we go to those, too. We also do little field trips once a month. We are skipping this month because we did one with the whole troop, we went to an arboretum this weekend. It was alot of fun.

I took the kids to the zoo yesterday while DH was sleeping. I was hesitant about going alone with the four of them, but I'm glad we did. They were really well behaved and we had a great time. The weather was perfect and it's probably one of the last nice weekends here for awhile. Although we stayed for about 4 hours and towards the end I was so tired. I couldn't wait to get to the car to sit down.

Caitlyn doesn't seem to be wheezing anymore. Although she's coughing a bit. Not very often, but when she does it a really deep cough. No fever or anything, though. She goes in Wed. for her flu shot, so I'll have DH ask them about the cough. We're still waiting to here when they're going to start the RSV shots.

Caitlyn's physical therapist has been really concerned about her hip. She has always seemed to stand a bit tilted to one side. We went to the orthopedist a couple months ago and she said not to worry about it, that it would correct itself when she starts walking. The therapist has noticed that she favors one leg over the other. She convinced me to make another appt. with the orthopedist and she wants to go with me. So, I made one for early November. I'm trying not to worry about this, but it's hard. I'm thinking maybe she's not walking because of whatever is going on with the hip. If we don't get some answers at our appt., the therapist knows of another doctor she wants us to see.

OK, enough of me! Hope everyone has a good week!

[nori]

Kim, I gave Noah again crepes with pumpkin butter and he had no rash. It must be a peach in yogurt the other morning....His rash is like red mark around his mouth. I'm pretty positive peach is no-no for him at this point, and I'm trying to avoid eggy thing (like whole scrambled egg, egg casserole....) since it seems like he has some reaction to it if it's too eggy. Maybe peach is irritating to his skin??? I have eczema, so I'm (plesantly) surprised he hasn't developed any eczema yet. That's a nasty stuff and I've been suffering it since I was born.:o Anyway, I'm glad he can still eat egg products because there are just so many of them and it'll be so hard to follow that diet!

Ah, I think you're right. "Been There, Done That". That makes sense. Thanks, Kim!

About your BIL's comment...how to raise a child is such a personal topic and I don't think no one should say "this has to be done this way" to anyone. (Unless parents are so ignorant and possibly harming their children) I'm staying home with Noah, but sometimes I feel like it'll do him good to have him in daycare, just so socialize with other babies and then I can have some free time.:D YOU are raising Lainey, not daycare staff. I think it is rude to make such a comment to you when he knows your situation.:mad:

Edited to add...forgot to mention infant forks. We have those too but like Krista, it was a gift from our friends. It's silver, and short and tiny. One Step Ahead has self-feeding spoon that stick the food even with upside down position. I thought it's really cool.:cool:

[MrsReber]

Grr, I hate remarks about others "raising" your children if they are in daycare. That is not right and nobody should comment on the things we must do in life!

The weekend turned out better than expected. DH went to the funeral on Saturday and told me not to worry about it. Brenden was a bit under the weather and he passed his stomach illness on to me. My stomach is now better, but I have a slight fever and a sore throat! On Saturday, our house guest was supposed to come by. I cleaned all morning and around 2:00, I finally sat down and fell asleep with Casey. The guy drops DH's nephew off and SIL's house and says to DH that he came by TWICE and I wasn't there! I said to DH he obviously did not come to the door. Oh well. I didn't mind! On Sunday, DH had to go over and start MIL's old car. For some reason, no one else could figure out how to jump it or drive it :rolleyes:. He spent a couple of hours doing that because he needed to drive it to his other sister's house. Today, MIL calls and says she's "bored" so she wants to come over so DH can detail her new car! He just did this last month. She said she figured she'd "kill 2 birds with one stone" because she could see the kids, too! DH was out hunting and had planned on going back out this afternoon so I doubt we'll see her.

Yesterday, I took the kids to my friend's Pampered Chef party. They were great. I love getting compliments on how good they are. They did me proud! My friend's mother lives in a retirement community so the people there were quite a bit older. I figured they'd love seeing the kids, and they did. I was a bit scared when my friend's mom brought out the tray of cheese and crackers and veggies with dip. Casey kept getting cheese and Brenden had about three pieces of it in his mouth. His cheeks were all puffed out! They got upset when I wouldn't let them dip the same chip over and over (gross!). I got them their own plate of dip to play with. Casey tried to turn on the stereo. I told her to stop playing with it. She said 'Wiggles in there!" I told her no, Holly's mom probably didn't have the Wiggles in her cd player. She said "No Wiggles? Wiggles at home?" I told her yes, they were at home. That was it. She grabbed the diaper bag and my purse and told me we were going home. The party was pretty much over by then anyway. It was pretty funny.

Joanne, I hope your husband finds someone to help out with the kids besides your FIL! At least the boys are older now, but I know you'd worry about Caitlyn. The zoo sounds like fun. I love great days like that. That's what it's all about!

Well, I'm going to lie down for a bit while the kids are sleeping. I have an offsite meeting all day. It's a seminar on organizational skills. I hope I feel better in the morning! I may be home earlier since it's actually closer to home. I have to drive there. On Wednesday, Animal Control wants me to go to court at 12:30. Looks like another fun week! Very hectic. I just need some rest!

I agree- new moms who can't post all the time are always welcome here! No need to apologize! Many of us regular posters post from work, where there are no children to interrupt us :D !

[Luv to Cook]

Thanks for the welcome!

Kim is right...BTDT = Been there, done that!

Nori, I remember reading about Noah and his sleep habits. I am so glad to hear that things are getting better for you. He is about 1 year right? I hope we get some sleep by the time Asha is one. She got up 8 times last nite (I write it down :p ). My parents were here this weekend and I think that may have thrown her off. I think Asha needs the same routine to sleep well. Of course, that makes my mom crazy...she thinks if I don't drag Asha all around town now that she will never get used to going places :rolleyes: ...whatever, she is 4 months old! If adjusting my life to her schedule helps her sleep, then so be it. I am more than willing to forgo entertainment for awhile to have a happy kid.

Wow, Kim! I can't believe the comment BIL made. I have learned two things since being a mommy. 1) Don't worry about what other people do in their families, since we are not in their shoes. and 2) Never talk about other peoples kids, since you never know what yours will do :p !. Anyhow, I believe most parents have their childrens best interests at heart, whether they are at home all day or in daycare. I went to daycare and I turned out OK!

Joanne, I feel for you...good thing you have nice neighbors. The zoo sounds like a great time. Though these times with Asha are great...I cannot wait to do stuff like that and watch her excitement over the animals.

Anita

[RunnerKim]

Joanne - glad to hear the wheezing is going away, I'm sure it helped getting on the nebulizer right away. If your FIL does end up watching the kids, it'll be at night right? So at least he won't have too much actual responsibility/interaction. Hope a neighbor can fill in though.

Anita - you are so right. DH and I will talk about parenting practices we witness, but I try really hard to make sure we're discussing it in a way that's exploratory for us (how would we want to handle this) vs. being judgemental. This is private conversation not to the other people! BIL is just clueless - I don't think he had any idea how offensive his statement was. I almost asked him if he was planning to home school, but knew it was pointless to even go down that road. But it has lead me to really think about how I'm going to handle Lainey hearing comments that I don't agree with. BIL also made some passing racist comments. These are not okay with me and I feel horrible guilt over letting them pass without my even saying that I don't appreciate it in my house/presence - let alone now that I have a child that will soon be comprehending these statements. What have others done in this situation?? Do you talk with your kids about it later, say something right then, ask family members to not talk that way in front of your kids? The BIL lives in New Orleans and we'll maybe see him once a year so I'm not really concerned about regular interactions with him. But I feel like DH and i need to discuss how we want to handle situations like this...

Okay - I'll look for toddler forks next time I'm in the baby section. Took Lainey to target on Saturday to find her a lunch box/bag. Shopping carts were all wet, "greeter" was incredibly unhelpful when I asked if he had a towel, so I just carried her. Way to heavy so put her down and she's off running all over the store. I'm trying to compare boxes, figure out if a sippy cup will fit in it, etc. etc. and I'm sure she's off getting run over by a shopping cart or kidnapped. She thinks when ever I go after here we're playing a fun game of chase. :rolleyes: DH asked me what took me so long when I got home. :rolleyes: Next time she stays home and helps DH plant the bulbs a co-worker gave me.

Susan -- that is very cute about the Wiggles!!! WooHoo a seminar on organizational skills. You couldn't get out of it by telling them you have 2 babies and manage to get to work every day?! :D

Kim

[RunnerKim]

Nori - I tried to send you a PM but your box is full. I thought this web site had some good info about allergies, rashes etc.
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~kupstas/FAQ1.html

Kim

[cchhbb]

Kim, I really wonder what we are going to do when Garrett starts to understand some of the really insensitive things MIL says. Like your situation, we don't see her very often so it probably won't matter much. Although, I don't look forward to being asked why does Grandma (my mom) spend so much more time with me than Oma (MIL). I'm not sure how to tell a child that someone who doesn't spend anytime with him really loves him as much as someone who really gets involved.

Too funny about your story with Lainey. I'm not looking forward to Garrett running around stores. Right now, he doesn't like to be carried, ride in the cart, or in the stroller. He'd rather be on the move.

Welcome Anita. I hope Asha's sleep keeps improving. I'm with you, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Garrett is really happy. I know if I don't put him to bed by 6:30, I will live to regret it. He will get up several times at night and be cranky the whole next day. Additionally, he will sleep less the next day. I think some kids really need a routine to comfort them. They like to know what to expect next.

Nori, didn't Noah have a problem with peaches a few months ago? I think I would do an elimination diet and see if I could narrow down what was making the reaction. I was told that often times an allergy will show up mild initially and then get worse over time to the point where it is a serious situation.

Susan, too cute about Casey. I agree about the double dipping.

Joanne, I wouldn't let my father or FIL stay with Garrett. He'd likely never get changed or get put to bed. It sounds like you have some great neighbors. Good luck on your trip.

Tomorrow I have my pre-op appointment with the surgeon. My parents are due in on Saturday. I think we are going to have Garrett's birthday party on Sunday. I can't believe he will be one next Wednesday.

We are nearly done with our weaning. He's just nursing one time per day when we first get up. I don't think he's getting a lot of milk since he really wants breakfast an hour later. He's drinking about 21 ounces of formula a day. Is that enough at this point? I think I read something about 16 ounces, but other places I've read 32 ounces.

I'm ready to go to bed tonight. Last night I went to bed at 8:00 after a horrible night on Saturday. We put Garrett to bed late (8:00) and he got up at 4:30 and wouldn't be consoled unless he was being rocked. I didn't go to bed until 12:30 so I really didn't get my 8 hours of sleep that I need.

Have a great week everyone.
Cheryl

[nori]

Joanne, I edited my last post and I didn't see your posting! Glad Caitlyn's wheezing is almost gone. It must be hard not to worry about her hip, when the therapist shows concern like that....(((((Joanne))))) I'm no expert and I can't say anything, but at this age babies are very wobbly. Does it make them look like tilted?? It's a good thing that you have a therapist who's very careful watching Caitlyn, though. Hope you can figure out the baby sitting deal. And you have a safe, nice trip. I envy you a bit being able to get away.:D I wish I coud, for a day or two.

MrsReber, glad you survived the weekend. I'm so amazed by your MIL's "kill 2 birds with one stone" statement, though. :rolleyes: Can't she just come over to see grandkids??? She sure sounds like my FIL. I'm sure they'll get along each other.:D That's funny about double dipping. Noah wants to dip his chips over and over again. But there's no way he can eat the whole chip in one bite so I scoop some dip on his little plate for individual dip, as you did. But of course he wants to dip in our bowl! Oh, I have a question....What's "Wiggles"????? I've read before about wiggles and Casey, but wasn't sure what it was. Is it TV show??
Good luck on getting "organizational skills" tomorrow. Sounds like a good class. I think I need to take one of those.:D



whatever, she is 4 months old! If adjusting my life to her schedule helps her sleep, then so be it. I am more than willing to forgo entertainment for awhile to have a happy kid

Anita, this is what I was thinking, too! It was hard when my DH told me we should let him cry it out.:( We tried several times and it just broke my heart and it didn't work so well, and I was more stressed than ever! It'll get better, just take a day at a time. Going to the zoo is so much fun! We took Noah a few weeks ago and he had a blast! He loved to watch moving big animals. I"m sure Asha will enjoy it!

Kim, thanks for the link! I checked my PM box and I only had a few messages from the past....:confused: I cleaned anyway, but have no idea why it was full before. That link looked like it has pretty good information! I'll bookmark that link.
About other's comment that against your opinion.....I have no idea yet what to say to Noah when it happens. I wish people are more sensitive what to say in front of kids but I guess not everyone is that way.

Cheryl, yes Noah had rash when he had peaches before. I hadn't given him any since then. I didn't realized it was peach flavor yobaby when I gave it to him the other day.:o I think aggie94 gave me a comment about reaction could get more severe later. But it seems like it's not egg. I might have to write down every ingredients of muffins, pancake, and crepes to compare what's in there. I have no idea how much Garrett should be drinking milk at this point....I've been trying to wean Noah, too, and it's almost down to 1 or 2 nursings a day. Nursing is in bedtime routine, and when he wakes up, I'd nurse him. When he's very fussy to take a nap, I"d nurse him but it's not everyday. Hope I'm doing alright. Good luck on your appointment! Isn't it a relief to know your parents will be there to take care of Garrett while you're in the hospital??? How long you're going to be in there??

I took Noah out to our front yard and let him wander around this afternoon. He loved it! He'd just go and not turn around if I don't stop him somewhere. There are bunch of kids on the way home and Noah was waving at them. It was so cute. He also was fascinated by cars going by(not so many since our street is dead end). We spend about 40 min. there then got in. He had a nice, big cup of water after that. It was pretty warm so he must be thirsty.

I'm posting from home despite constant interruption by Noah.:D It was way easier to post when I was working. I still like to come here for some break so try to check this thread at least once or twice, mostly when he went down for nap. (Housework comes next.:o ) But I agree with what others said!!!! It IS very hard to find time to actually post, so don't feel bad about not posting so often!!!! It is really nice to hear from everyone once in a while.;)

[JoanneOR]

Nori, I guess it's just more than being tilted. It's almost like one leg might be a bit longer than the other. That's one thing the therapist said could be wrong also. She will usually stand with one knee bent and one locked. If she does have both locked, her back curves a bit to one side. Also, one side of her butt is a bit bigger than the other. The therapist said since she is favoring one leg, the muscle works more, that could be why it is bigger. I just hope we can get some answers and that the treatment doesn't involve any type of surgery. I'm so glad (and appreciative!) that the therapist will be going with me to the orthopedist, so she can describe all this. She's really going out of her way to help us out. Which in a way scares me, because it makes me think she's worried its something serious.

I leave tomorrow for St. Louis. I think my DH is taking the night off. Which is good. I don't have to worry about who will be there and getting the house somewhat clean before I leave!

Caitlyn was up 5-6 times last night. Maybe she's teething again. I'm so tired today. I'm actually looking forward to getting a few uninterrupted nights of sleep while I'm away.

Cheryl, good luck with your appt. and the surgery. That's great that your parents will be there.

Wiggles is a TV show for kids. There's alot of singing and dancing. My kids have watched it, but I've never really seen it.

Kim, we have the same problem with my FIL who says some very insensitive things. I just burn up inside when he says them in front of my kids. I've asked my DH to say something to him, and he does, but it doesn't help. He just has no clue. My SIL will also say things to him. It's a very tough situation.

Anita, I love Asha's name! So cute.

[LosingIt]

Hi everyone! I read frequently but hardly ever get a chance to post. However I have a twofold problem and I need some help. The first part of the problem is that Michael (9 months) is in daycare and is so nosey - sorry, curious - that he hardly naps at all. Since he is not napping, he falls asleep almost as soon as we get home and then kind of sleeps through the night - waking at 8:30, 10:30, 3:30 and 5:15. This leads to the second part - I feel like he is behind on eating solids. He eats graham crackers, cheese puffs and cherrios but hardly any other solids. So is there are any ideas on how to keep him awake long enough to feed him and what kinds of solids should I be giving him now? Thanks for your help!

[LosingIt]

Ooops - I guess I should add that Michael is eating cereal and baby food vegetables and fruits. I want to get him moving on to table foods. Thanks.

[JoanneOR]

LosingIt, I had to laugh about you saying Michael is nosey. We always say that about Caitlyn. She's always looking to see what's going on and trying to get involved. Which is great! Shows they are inquisitive. We sometimes call her Gladys (Gladys Cravits, the nosey neighbor on Bewitched).

Anyway, is he eating at daycare? What kinds of foods does he eat there? Actually at his age, most of his nutrition still comes from formula or breastmilk, so he's probably fine with what he's eating. It's mostly about introducing them to foods and them learning how to eat at that age. I've always found my kids eat the least at dinner. They eat a great breakfast, an OK lunch, and dinner is a struggle.

Oh, I just saw your second post about him eating fruits and veggies. That's good. Actually it sounds like the graham crackers and cheerios are good foods to start out with as table foods. Easy to pick up and dissolve quickly. Gerber also makes these snacks called Wagon Wheels which are a good first finger food. Kind of like cheese puffs. I don't know about keeping him awake, though. What time does he go to bed? You could maybe let him sleep for an hour or so when you get home, wake him up and then try to feed him. Maybe he'd sleep better duing the night if you did that.

We buy fruit cups for Caitlyn. She loves the diced peaches. Also, cooked carrots, small pieces of chicken. Also, toast with butter. And, she loves cinnamon raisin bagels. Yogurt is also good. Now we pretty much give her what we are eating, just cut it in little pieces.

Hope this helps!

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - how quickly I forget - I'm trying to remember formula ounces. I think 32 is for when they're not eating much solids. At a year, my doctor felt strongly that Lainey should only be getting 24 oz of milk (approx). Which was about what she was doing in formula at that point. 1-2 oz in the morning (but also 4oz of yogurt), 6-8oz at lunch, 6-8oz at dinner and 6-8oz before bed. (lesser amount now with milk in the sippy cup). I think when they're eating other foods (parituclarly other dairy products) they don't need to be drinking so much milk.

Joanne - have fun in St. Louis! and enjoy your sleep. :D Keep us posted on Caitlyn's orthopedic appointment (when is it again?). Great for you therapist to be so on top of it and willing to talk to the doctor with you.

Nori - you probably have old messages that don't show up in your box. Make sure set the show dates for the past year or some really long time and check both your inbox and your sent messages.

Anita - I'm sure Asha's sleeping will get better. Some babies definitely need more routine than others (and I think some parents naturally fall in to routines more than others). Sheesh I don't think it was even until about 4 months I was braving going out and that normally was with the help of DH. And Lainey is my entertainment now. :D

Very fascinating last night. We'd been given this toy that looks like Apollo spacecraft that you drop a ball down and it hits a button on the bottom and makes music. Lainey figured this out after we showed her and then went and dropped the ball in the Little People school bus - she brings the bus to us all the time wanting us to make the music play (which happens randomly when pressing on the bus driver - she hasn't figured that out yet). I thought it was great to see her use what worked for one toy and try it on another. So much happening in the little head!

DH and I are discussing how we want to handle "ism" comments (you know racism, sexism, homophobic etc). I'm not ready for the big bad world to enter my daughter's life :(

Okay - this took forever for me to write so of someone else has posted I'll edit and add.

Kim

[RunnerKim]

LosingIt - Lainey started eating cheerios at 9 months. Spent a couple of months eating those, graham crackers, ritz crackers etc. I think I added in peas, black beans in there. I don't think it was until around 11 months that we really expanded on that much - able to take chunks of banana (previously she'd just mash it), pasta, bread strips, green beans, cooked carrot etc. I think it also depends on when they're teeth come in. She had her 2 bottom teeth (at 9 months)plus 2 top teeth (10.5 months) and 2 other top teeth coming in. At a year she's pretty much eating whatever we have for dinner.

How long has Michael been going to daycare? Just wondering if he's still adjusting to all the activity and might start napping better?? That's tough. I guess I'd try to wake him when dinner is ready and see if he'll eat, but he doesn't sound "behind" on his solids to me. As you get closer to a year then evaluate how much formula/milk he gets and if its at the upper end then see if you can offer food first to encourage eating more of that. Is he getting any juice? I've also heard juice consumption can cause poor eating habits (easy/empty calories).

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Kim, Caitlyn's appt. isn't until Nov. 4. That's the earliest we could get in. Last time the therapist was over I was at work and my DH said she was a bit concerned we couldn't get in sooner. So, of course, that made me more worried! It's only three weeks from today, though.

Cheryl, I can't remember how many ounces they are supposed to have either. I think it's between 16-24 ounces. If it's on the low end they should eat more dairy, like yogurt and cheese.

Kim, it is fun to watch their minds work and develop! I love watching Caitlyn play with toys and try to figure out how stuff works.

[cchhbb]

Kim, It's amazing what goes on in their little minds. I think they understand much more than we all give them credit for. That's one of the reasons that I think daycare/preschool is a good thing. The teachers tend to have more experience with children so they help to educate me on what Garrett is capable of. For example, I didn't know that little ones really liked to do art. Garrett loves it and I would have never tried it with him if preschool didn't do it.

Joanne, It sounds like Caitlyn has a great PT. I hope things work out at the occupational therapist. Perhaps there are some exercises that can help straighten her out. I wonder if something like chiropractic could help her. I know I was taken to one when I was really small since my one hip would slip out of the socket.

Losing It, Garrett didn't eat much more than cheerios at nine months that was a finger food. He really didn't have the pincher grasp down until closer to 10 months. Then he started to eat only table food. You might want to start thickening up what you serve your son. For example, mash a sweet potato with a fork instead of using the food processor. This might help him get used to some thicker textures.

I had a terrible pre-op visit today. I dropped Garrett off at preschool and raced to the doctor's office. I actually got there 3 mintues late. I then waited for over an hour before I was taken back into the room to do the consult. The physicans assistant then screwed up the information. I had to actually tell her that I was going to a different surgery center than she was telling me. She then told me that I have to go tomorrow to the surgery center to get some more tests done. Well, I didn't have a babysitter lined up for tomorrow so I started to stress. Garrett wouldn't do well when I was getting an EKG and other test ran. I was able to call around and find someone today. What a pain. I ended up talking to another PA who made me feel much better about things. The first PA was just totally clueless. I'm glad she won't be doing my surgery.

Cheryl

[nori]

Joanne, I understand how something healthcare professional said impacts your life. You just can't help to think the worst.:( Hope your doctor can figure out something.

LosingIt, I agree with someone who said if you can let him sleep for an hour after you get home and woke him up and feed him dinner, if possible. At 9 months, Noah was still mostly breastfeeding so maybe you don't have to worry so much. There was a time I thought Noah was behind on solids but at some point (just before his birthday) he started eating more and more. Is he eating at breakfast and lunch?? You can ask daycare to give him more substantial snack before you pick him up?? Noah liked the bagel, too. It's a good teething toy, too.:)

Kim, that's so cute! Isn't it fun to watch her and see how fast she's learning? Noah just figured out the spinning toy (the one you push the top hard and it spins. He couldn't push strong enough to make it spin before) and he's been very happy playing with that toy.

Cheryl, that's frustrating!:( Good thing you could find someone to watch Garrett tomorrow, though. It makes me nervous when medical people mix up the information. That's not good. Really, be glad she is not the one doing the surgery!!:D

Oh, Joanne, have a safe trip, and sleep tight.:D

Noah was up a lot last night. He might be teething.....just when I thought he started to sleep longer. Oh well.

He did very cute thing. This morning after I dressed him, I was doing something in the kitchen and he brought his pair of shoes to me. (the correct pair....not mismatching) Then he sat down and try to put them on by himself! We usually keep him barefood in the house, but he thought he can go out if he's wearing shoes! It was cute. I put them on him and he was happy.

Happy Wednesday!

[MrsReber]

Nori, that is so cute about the shoes! Brenden brings me shoes all the time and he tries to put his shoes on my feet and on DH's huge feet! For some odd reason, my kids are fascinated with shoes. We just have to make sure Brenden doesn't throw his out again!

I am so relieved! My best friend says she'll watch the kids when we go to the wedding on the 26th. I was stressed out about finding someone. She says she'd love to do it and we'll save money since she already said she doesn't want any. I'll have to do something nice for her. I was afraid we wouldn't have anyone and DH would mention it to MIL and she'd want to watch them. But she may be on her way to Florida then. She called DH yesterday at work and told him to call her when we got home so she could stop by and see the kids. Yep, 6:30pm after work on a Tuesday is a GREAT time for her to visit :rolleyes: . I got home late because I was stuck in traffic after that seminar. DH had to pick up the kids and I didn't even start making dinner until almost 7:00pm. I'm sure if she came by, she'd want DH to detail her car, too. That's really what she's looking for. So, Cheryl, if you can find a way to explain to your child that your MIL really does love him even though she isn't involved in his life, please let me know what it is. I'm at a loss. Brenden doesn't even know who his other grandma is.

Joanne, you're away from home now, but I'm sending good thoughts your way for Caitlyn! I'm also hoping you get some much deserved rest during your trip!

I'm confused with the recommended amounts of milk, too. At Brenden's 1 year visit, the doctor told me he needed around 24-26 oz. I go back at 15 months, all proud that he's now very close to drinking 24 oz in a day and she tells me he should have no more than 20 oz! So I guess we're on track. It's confusing.

Kim, don't you love going to the store? When I go, Casey refuses to ride in the cart. Of course when I have both kids, only one can fit in the cart. My supermarket has these carts that have a big plastic car in front. The kids can ride in the car. I tried to put Casey in and she got very upset. She told me it was a baby toy and got out. Oh well. She does okay walking through the supermarket, but walking in the mall is out of the question after our last trip!

[tbb113]

Originally posted by MrsReber
. So, Cheryl, if you can find a way to explain to your child that your MIL really does love him even though she isn't involved in his life, please let me know what it is. I'm at a loss. Brenden doesn't even know who his other grandma is.



Delurking for a moment. My ex-laws live in NY and have never had much connection with my sons (even when we were married). I explained to my sons, that some people just don't remember to call, write, whatever and that it is THEIR loss for not realizing what great kids they are (or even wanting to find out). Fortunately my parents live near by and are stellar grandparents. My father lives in Chicago, comes out once or twice a year, but calls monthly and always remembers to send cards and checks. So...three out of five grandparents aren't bad. Also, many children don't have living grandparents. I think its more important to stress the positive (other people who care, friends, neighbors, aunts/uncles/cousins) than to dwell on the people who don't show their caring in a tangible way.

Tyra

[MrsReber]

Tyra, those are my feelings exactly. I don't know if MIL even does care or what her story is, but my mom is there. She's always been there and my kids adore her. Casey asks about her and I can see that Brenden understands when we talk about her. Casey asks about my mom all the time. MIL says she wants to see the kids and then she forgets or says she's too busy to come by. It's definitely her loss. She shows favoritism with certain grandchildren, too, which I really don't want my kids to experience. I guess she knew from day one that I was not going to let her have control over my children (like she does with her favorite grandchild). That seems to have put her off, but that's her choice, not mine. I didn't tell her to stay away, I only suggested that she call before she visit (same as my mom).

Well, I'm home. I left early to go to court (the dog saga). Turns out I wasn't really needed so I came home to do some work. Now I'm going to go get the kids! I'm annoyed about the court thing, but grateful for the extra hours with the kids. They're going to subpeona me for the next court date. That should be fun!

[RunnerKim]

I wrote this thing about grandmothers too but I think I forgot to submit it before going off to do real work :rolleyes: There are grandmother issues in my family too but a little different. It's my Mom that's the problem. Not in a mean way, but she's never really had her act together in carrying her load of a relationship. Getting a birthday card is a special treat, particularly if it's on time! IF she calls, I'm immediately worried about what's wrong - she never ever calls. To be fair, my Dad doesn't either. Nothing new directed at the grandkids -- I remember the disparity in how often my college roommates talked with their parents compared to me. MIL on the other hand made it very clear when we moved away that she'd talk to DH every Sunday. I get emails from her twice a week (and getting photos/news of her only grandchild is the only reason she's bothered to figure out how to turn on a computer). She is very attentative - everything you'd want in a grandmother. My sister agonized a great deal over our Mom's behavior (or lack of it). Her kids on the other hand don't even realize there's not a "normal" relationship. Most of the time my sister and I can accept that we know our Mom loves us, thinks of us, but for whatever reasons just doesn't pick up the phone or manage to get a card in the mail (or presents sent). If we don't make a big deal of it to our kids then hopefully they won't feel cheated. I know questions will come up as the kids age (mine and my older sister's) as my parents are raising my younger sister's 3 kids. Hopefully we can deal with them as Tyra has indicated - focusing on the positive.

Susan - sorry you wasted your time/energy getting to court. That stuff can be so time consuming.

Nori -- what is it with shoes?!! Lainey loves shoes too. She woke up obscenely early this morning but too close to when we needed to get up to bother trying to put her back down in her crib so I brought her to bed and and of course she snoozes well after DH and I get up. I'm taking my shower and I sense that she's come into the bathroom and I peak out and she's taking off with my running shoes. Better than playing in the litter boxes though.

Okay another cute cognitive development story. At daycare during lunch (but before I arrived) DH asked Lainey to take a toy over to one of the baby's in an ultrasaucer that had tossed it. DH provided a little guidance and afterwards picked her up so she could easily see the fish tank (a very favorite thing). DH put her down and a minute later she picked up another toy, took it to the baby and then turned and pointed at the fish tank. I thought it was great! but DH didn't pick her up for the fish tank again because he hadn't asked her to get the toy that time :rolleyes: I think he was afraid of Lainey covering the baby in toys and him having to repeatedly hold her up to the fish tank.

Kim

[erinl]

Hi all,

Just a quick note to bring you up to date. I started spotting on Monday and my doc appt today confirmed that I miscarried. I'm bummed, but really not too bad.

[tbb113]

Erin:

I'm sorry for you....hope you and your hubby are okay.

[slknight]

(((Erin))), I'm very sorry for your loss. I have been there. If you need anything or want to "talk," please PM me.

Susan

[Meg O'C]

Erin,
I am a lurker but wanted to chime in to say how sorry I am for your loss. Miscarriages stink - no two ways about it! I have been there too but if there is one thing I learned from my miscarriage it is that everyone experiences it differently (or feels differently about it). Take care of yourself and allow yourself to feel whatever you need to feel in order to heal.
Meg

[AnnaSue]

(((Erin))) - I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Please take care of yourself and let us know if you need anything.

[nori]

Erin, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.:( I've been there, too, and it's not easy. I'm not sure if you have to go through the procedure, but in any case, please do take care of yourself.

MrsReber, glad to hear that you found someone to take care of kids while you go to the wedding. Now you can really enjoy your time.

Kim,sounds like Lainey is really learning a lot!

Quick update...we went in for follow-up regarding Noah's head size. It turned out he's in normal range (95%). His head is just big.:D We're saying that he has bigger brain.:p Anyway, I'm relieved. Oh, and while we were at the doctor's office, he recommended to give Noah flu shot and I agreed. He can have his second dose at 15 months visit so it'll work out nicely. He was running low grade fever a bit in the afternoon and looked tired, but otherwise no severe reaction. Hopefully this will help him through the flu season without getting sick.

[cchhbb]

Tyra,

What a great way of putting a positive spin on a difficult situaion. Thanks so much for helping me put a different focus on my thoughts.

Cheryl

[cchhbb]

(((((Erin))))) I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts will be with you and your family.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

(((Erin)))

Nori - good that you can stop worrying about your brainy son. :D I can take Lainey in for her first flu shot on Monday. Glad to hear it didn't affect Noah too much. Did you get one too? I've never gotten one before and don't normally get sick much. DH refuses to get one but he really is never sick - once a year at the very most.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Erin, I'm so very sorry for your loss. I'm always surprised, though, at how common it is to have a miscarriage. I won't say anything that you've already heard, just that I'm sorry and I hope you're doing well.

Nori, Brenden has a big head, too! I say the same thing- he needs a big head for that huge brain of his! Our financial advisor wants me to stop putting money in the kids' 529 college accounts. He said "it has to be used for college. What if they don't want to go?" I told him that they're not going to have much of a choice in 17 years. It's hard enough to get a job, try getting one without a college education! But I also told him that my kids will be so smart,they'll get full scholarships to Princeton. Brenden's head is just preparing him for that! I refuse to stop funding the 529 accounts. It doesn't have to be "college". It can be used for other types of higher education as well, such as trade schools.

I'm thinking MIL said something about me to DH recently. Out of nowhere last night, he said that I don't let his mother buy any clothes for the kids. He said a couple of other things, too, so I let him have it about MIL not coming by to see our children unless she gets something out of it (oil change, car wash, etc). I never told her not to come over on Monday. I told her we'd be at home all day. She decided to go for a walk instead. Maybe the kids will think that's normal. I don't make a big deal out of their grandma because she's unreliable. If she says she's going to visit, I don't tell the kids. It just makes me sad for DH. I know he wishes she wasn't so wacky. Most of the time he sees what I'm talking about and agrees with me. I know that there are other family members who are interested in our children and I'm happy with that. If nothing else, they have a mom who absolutely adores them and tries her best to make them feel important.

I'm very happy that my friend wants to watch the kids. She said her husband will probably come along, too. DH told me last night that his friend's daughter called and wanted to know if we'd need her or not. I told DH that six hours was too long a time for me to leave the kids with her all alone. I know that it's sometimes stressful for me when I'm alone and I'm their mother. I wouldn't mind letting this girl watch them for a couple of hours, but 3-9 is a very long time for a trial run. I do kind of feel bad.

Well, off to warm up my lunch. I got a new computer today! It's a laptop so working from home will be much easier. It's really nice. Some of my co-workers are jealous. I really deserve a new one, though. Mine was ancient and frequently froze up and shut down on me. Now I can work faster (just what I wanted ;) )

[nori]

Kim, my DH said he'll get a shot. (He's been getting one every year! Plus he's been taking elderberry tablet to boost his immune system.:rolleyes: He's ready for flu season.) I'm not sure if I would, but maybe I should....I think flu clinic is around the town right now. I should check it out.

MrsReber, I'd be a bit worried to leave Noah with friend's daughter (how old is she??? I"m assuming pretty young?). I'd start with "trial" like 2 hours or so, then get comfortable with her. Especially with 2 kids, I'd think it'll be hard on her, too. That's great they can come to watch them, not you bringing them to their house. Casey and Brenden will be more comfortable that way.

Well tongiht we were supposed to meet DH and his friends at the sports bar to watch the baseball (and play trivia) but when we got there, Noah was sleeping and didn't wake up even after I picked him up. I went inside to see if someone's there, but I was the first to get there. So I waited at the entrance, with Noah sleeping against my shoulder, for DH. He came about 5 min. later. I told him I'd go home since Noah is still sleeping. He didn't have a nap in the afternoon so he must be very tired. DH was feeling bad, but it's okay. He said he'd take me out for breakfast tomorrow or Saturday.:)

For all working moms! TGIF!

[hrk]

Boy did this thread move fast this week. I will try and respond to everyone but if I miss someone I am sorry.
Joanne- Hope you are having a great trip and sneding prayers for everything to turn out OK at orthopedists office.

Erin- I am sos orry to hear about your loss. Hope you take time for yourdelf and your family to heal and sneding prayers for your sister and her new baby.

Cheryl- Sorry to hear your perop went so poorly. If there is one thing I can't stand it is incompetence in the medical profession. I can't tell you how many times I have changed doctors because of the way they acted/treated a situation

LosingIt- Sorry to hear about the sleeping, that must be hard to get up each night like that. Can't help with the the solids since Logan is only five months and still on breastmilk.

Nori- Sorry the baseball didn't work out, but hopefully Noah slept well alst night if he was that tired. I know DH can't wiat until Logan is able to stay up and watch games with him

Mrs Reber- sorry to hear about everything that is going on with the court case. Hope it all works out in the end. And glad you found someone to watch your kids during the weddiing, it makes it all that much more enjoyable when you know you kids are well taken care of.

Kim- It sounds like Lainey is really developing to be quite an independent thinker.

Tyra- Interesting spin on the whole MIL thing. That is the approach that DH and I have taken with Logan. Focus on my parents and whatever in laws choose to contribute they contribute. BUt on the other hand it is hard, when like this past Sunday MIL is whispering in Logan's ear "Tell your mom and dad that you want to come and stay at Gamma's house." Yum tell me why if you want to spend time with your grandson DH and I should have to drive him an hour to your house, which isn't baby proofed, and do our stuff and then come him pick him up and drive an hour back to our house, not to mention dragging all his stuff with us. Why can't yoou come to us?:rolleyes:
Although it will really become a moot point soon, since Logan is starting to crawl and MIL refuses to even consider putting a fence around the pond she has in her back yard. She says she can watch hime just fiine. Yeah I don't think so

Anyways the SIL's wedding was over and the only good part about the whole weekend was that Logan got to meet his great grandparents, and various great aunts uncles and cousins. And now this weekend my parents are here. We are off to the pumpkin patch on Sunday and to buy Logan a costume. He will be five months on Saturday, and he is growing so fast. One of his top teeth is coming in and he has started inchin/crawling along the floor. Time to baby proof.:D Get out the gates etc. He has also started to interact with our bassett much more. In the past Bailey had free reign to lick Logan and all Logan did was squirm. Now when Bailey starts to lick Logan, Logan grabs his ears, jowels anything he can and Bailye stops licking. It is very funny to watch.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and hopefully work will calm down so I can post more.

Heather

[RunnerKim]

Nori - too bad watching the game didn't work out - but it would have been a looongg evening for you.

Heather - glad the wedding is over with so hopefully you'll have a respite from your ILs. Isn't it amazing how much some dogs will put up with. Darn that work getting in the way of your BB time! :D

Susan - I'm with you on the 529s. I'm really surprised a financial advisor would recommend not investing in them. Everything I've read and heard about them says they're a good deal tax-wise and flexible. Hey with the laptop you could work during you commute and be able to count that as part of your work time! Wishful thinking I suppose.

I gave Lainey peanut butter the other night. (Peanutty Noodles actually). I half expected her to have anaphalatic shock :rolleyes: I'm sure she's actually had tiny amounts of pb before because we've eaten it around her and we smear some in a Kong dog toy that we leave for the dog when we go out -- Lainey immediately finds this toy when we get home and sucks on it (the ole I'm not allowed to have this so it's highly desirable thing) Of course it's doubtful there's a speck of food left in the kong after the dog is done with it. But still so much is made about peanut allergies that I felt strange giving it to her. Of course she was just fine with it and now I'm planning to make her some peanut-butter breakfast bars.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Kim, you can bet I will use the laptop on my commute and count it as time at the office! Hey, why not?! Now I just have to figure out how to use the darn thing when it's not hooked up to the docking station on my desk.

DH told me a sad story the other day about a child around 2 years old who drown (one of my biggest fears). The child wandered onto the pool cover of an in the ground pool and drowned in the water that had accumulated on top. DH noted that the pool cover was the same exact kind that his sister has on her pool. That pool is my primary reason for not wanting SIL to watch my children. As HRK's MIL with her pond, my SIL isn't about to put up a fence around her pool. It's not even up for discussion as far as I'm concerned and DH knows better than to suggest the kids go over there without me. I hate to hear those stories, but it really drives the point home. You cannot be too careful.

Kim, peanut butter is such a great kid food. I'm glad Lainey isn't allergic. I thought that was weird that our advisor would tell us not to contribute to a 529, too. I realized later that he honestly does not know much about them. I will hear him out, but I will make my own decisions. He's also upset that we pay so much for daycare. He said to me "isn't there somewhere else cheaper? Can't you do something about that?" I told him "don't even go there". Spoken like a young guy with no kids. He has no idea. I tried to explain that it wasn't a cost issue, it's a quality of care issue. He seemed to think that all daycares are equal and it was no big deal to move the kids to another one. :rolleyes:

[tbb113]

Originally posted by MrsReber
I thought that was weird that our advisor would tell us not to contribute to a 529, too. I realized later that he honestly does not know much about them. I will hear him out, but I will make my own decisions.

Boy I just can't stop delurking lately :D

Another reason he may have said that about the 529 is that he wants you to fully fund your own retirement account first. From what I've been reading lately, its more important for you to put money away for retirement than to worry about college expenses. You can always borrow from your 401(k) if need be to pay the college, but you can't do it the other way around :D . Also, there are student loans, grants, scholarships available, I haven't heard of those for retirement...but if they exist, POINT ME TOWARDS THEM! I'm seriously short in my own retirement planning :o

Tyra

[RunnerKim]

Heather -- I totally agree about the pond issue. We learned a lesson about being able to watch Lainey, while we were camping. She'd just started walking but was already fairly proficient at it and managed to burn herself on the metal rim around the firepit at the campsite. DH was right there and able to grab her so it wasn't serious thankfully. Huge eye opener. When they start walking they are sooo thrilled to be able to move you just can't keep on top of them (and when you go after them they think its a fun game of chase).

I've heard of many a dog who've drowned because of those pool covers too.

Kim

adding... Tyra - that's a good point. But I'll also say that I'm putting money in my daughter's 529 and not doing as much as I should for *my* retirement. Haven't gotten it set back up yet for automatic payments now that both DH and I are working again. Something about that parental responsibility waying more heavily on my conscious I guess. And not like there's going to be anything not spent from the 529 -- the rise in tuition costs is just shocking. Okay emailed DH right now to nag him about our 401(k)'s. :D

[nori]

Heather, that must be fun to watch Logan and the dog interact. Noah likes dogs, everytime he sees it, he'd point out and shout in joy.:rolleyes: We don't have a dog, though. We thought it might be cute to have puppy now and see them grow up together, but too much work for me to have brand new puppy right now. Glad to hear your SIL's wedding is now over and Logan had fun meeting everyone.

MrsReber, that's horrible!:( I've heard infants and toddlers can drown with even a inch of water in bucket. You can't be careful enough when you're in those water area with your baby. Thanks for the reminder!

Kim, I have the same fear about peanut butter! I haven't given him yet, just being cautious. I'm not allergic to peanut, so probably it's not a big deal, but hearing all the stories makes me nervous to give him, But as MrsReber said, I think PB is great!!! I hope Noah is not allergic to it. I'd wait a bit more, though.

I found that one bottom tooth is coming up today. I knew he is teething, since he's more clingy and chewing on everything now. And waking up more often. :o Does teething happen until all teeth coming out?! How long it'll take to have full set of teeth????

Kind of busy weekend here. Tomorrow we're invited to our friend's going away party. Then, Sunday night, we're going to our another friend's house for dinner, probably. I'll work on Noah's Halloween costume, too.

Have a nice weekend!

[BeckyM]

Hi Everyone!

I've made it through another week of working. Whew! I'm only working three days, and it seems like more than enough! It's really hard to still get my stuff done around the house. I also sometimes feel guilty at work, because I have lots to get done, and I'm not there two days a week. I'm working on a project as a partner with another guy who works full-time. He's very understanding and doesn't expect me to do more than I'm doing, but sometimes I feel badly that I'm leaving him to do stuff because I won't be there to finish it. Hmmm. I guess it's just stuff I'll have to get used to.

Erin -- I'm sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I am thankful I haven't experienced that particular loss, but I have several friends who have lost pregnancies lately. I hope you are doing well and are able to deal with it in a way that's best for you.

I haven't tried peanut butter with Katie yet either, and I haven't given her egg whites by themselves yet. I've done them cooked in pancakes & bread, but when I give her a scrambled egg, it's just egg yolk & milk. I'm not particularly worried about allergies with Katie, except that my mother just found out she has an allergy to peanuts, after almost 60 years of eating them just fine! At Katie's 13-month appointment (her doctor does 13-month appointments instead of 1-year) I'm going to ask the pediatrician if that makes Katie more at risk for a peanut allergy.

Katie took her first independent steps this week! She still isn't walking by herself, but she took a couple steps between the gate at the bottom of the stairs and me, and yesterday she walked from her exersaucer (she was standing beside it playing with the toys) and the couch to get to her grandpa. It is so exciting to see her develop!

Katie is also doing new cognitive things too. (Kim, I love reading your little stories about Lainey's development.) Her exersaucer has a little "house" on it with different shaped windows and a little door that opens and closes. There are also different shaped people that can fit in and out the windows, like a shape-sorter. Katie was trying to put some balls in the round window, but they were a little too big. Then I showed her that the round-shaped person will fit through that window, and she was just thrilled! She kept putting him in there, then opening the door to take him out. When I gave her the triangle and square people, she tried putting them in the round window too though. She doesn't quite have that figured out yet.

We got Katie's Halloween costume the other day. I originally found a cute flower one at Babies R Us, but I didn't buy it because it was several months ago and I thought it was too early. When I went back to find it, they only had one left, and it was size 36 months! So we went to Kohls the other night and found a cute ladybug one. It has black velour pants and a red velour hooded jacket with wings on the back, polka dots, and little antennae on top of the hood. We also bought her a red turtleneck to wear under the jacket. It should be really cute on her!

We also had our family portrait on Friday. I came home from work early to get ready, because our appointment was at 5pm. "Miss Jill" had just put Katie down for a nap, so I was counting on her sleeping for at least an hour. Wouldn't you know it -- about fifteen minutes after I got home, Katie woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. I even tried rocking her for a while. She would calm down, but the minute I tried putting her back in the crib she would scream. So I let her get up and play while I got ready. I gave her some Cheerios in the car on the way there, just to keep her from getting to hungry. Then when we tried taking pictures, Katie got really fussy. She is normally a very smiley, happy baby, but she would hardly smile at all. We tried taking a few pictures of her by herself, but she just cried when we left her. By the end, we were playing chase with her and rolling the ball to her (I'm so glad we thought to bring that!), so she was happier. The photographer is pretty sure she got some good pictures of us as a family AND some good ones of Katie, so we'll just have to see. She did tell us our coordinating outfits looked nice.

Well, I need to go get ready for Katie's swim lesson. Last week we were late, so I need to make sure that doesn't happen this week!

Thanks to you all for understanding that I have difficulty responding to everyone. I think about you all lots though, and I love hearing how you're all doing. I'll keep in touch as I can.

Becky :)

[MrsReber]

Nori, teething doesn't seem to go away until after age 2! I hate to tell you that. Casey got her 2 year molars in just before Brenden was born and she's been fine ever since. Brenden is still getting his 1 year molars in. They're taking so long! He was chewing on his tooth brush yesterday and making his gums bleed.

DH took the kids to the doctor on Friday. Casey has tonsilitis and an ear infection and Brenden has strep! How did that happen? We kept them home all day Saturday because I still wanted to go pumpkin picking on Sunday. It was the only day that everyone could go. Next weekend is out because of the wedding. MIL is up to her old tricks again. She called an hour before I was leaving for pumpkin picking and told DH that we should have her over for dinner since she had DH's nephew for the evening. SIL was at a costume party. He told her it wasn't a good day and she freaked out and hung up on him. I had these plans for a week or more and I was not going to change them or rush. I told him to call her back and tell her to come for dinner Monday instead. I'd even cook since I know she's moving soon and would like to see the kids. I don't think he called. He didn't want to deal with her anymore.

Pumpkin picking was very fun. We went in the corn maze and took the "wimps way out". My neice and SIL took the other trail, but quickly gave up. The pumpkins weren't all that great. The rain really ruined them this year. Afterwards, we went back to my mom's house for some home made stew. It was a really nice day. Brenden fell asleep when we got to my mom's. I had to wake him up at 8:00 so we could go home! I'm letting them just rest today. I seem to have a bit of their sickness now, as usual.

Good point on the retirement funding. That's probably very true. I don't want to completely stop contributing to the 529, though. I think it's important to have something. We're meeting again on Thursday night when I'm sure he'll have us sign up for universal life insurance. I'm willing to give it a try, but I'm still a bit skeptical because we'll have to pay more each month. It scares us, but it's really just a new way of managing our finances. It's the same amount of money we're paying out, but it's going to different places. I hope it all works out the way the plan says it could!

I better get back to work here. I'm playing with my new laptop! Got it to work from home, but I am sitting on the floor now since the cords won't allow me to sit at the table! Ouch, my aching back! I'll have to figure something out! Joanne, I hope you had a nice trip and got to relax a bit!!

[RunnerKim]

Susan - what's universal life insurance? If the weather cooperates we're planning to go to a pumpkin patch this coming weekend with my sister and her 2 boys. The one we're going to has a maze that has trivia questions - know the correct answer and you go the right direction. There's different themes apparently (questions for adults, kids etc.) I'm horrible at trivia but DH is very good and I'm sure my sister's boys know all the kids stuff.

Tonsilitis? Is that just an infection of the tonsils? or does she have to get them removed? I had to have my adenoids removed when I was a kid (I understand they're a part of the tonsils or something). It was surgery so I'm guessing that is not in order for Casey.

Becky - Way to go Katie!!! The first steps are great. If I recall correctly it took Lainey about a month or so from her first steps to really being a walker. The ladybug costume sounds very cute. Part of my hesitation with doing the family portrait thing is I just know Lainey will have a rare cranky time or something. Sounds like you had a good photographer who worked around that minor little problem :D

That's weird about all of a sudden developing a peanut allergy after 60 years!! My sister now has a seafood allergy - came on during her honeymoon :eek:

I was a little nervous about first giving the peanut butter but now that I know it's safe it opens up so many more feeding options. We actually make PB & Js for ourselves for hikes, car trips etc so it's handy to be able to share them with her.

Nori - what's Noah going to be for Halloween? Are you making it? This teething thing goes on forever, doesn't it. DH said he felt bums for her 1st year molars - more prominent on the right side. Might also be getting another top tooth in (she has 4 on top but only 2 on the bottom).

Lainey completely understands and uses the sign "more" now. She'd used it before but this weekend it really snapped for her and she's signing it correctly. She'll walk over to where the graham crackers are on the counter and sign more. Or when I had a bag of goldfish crackers she'd sign more- I'd giver her one, she'd walk over and feed it to the dog, come back sign more and repeat. :rolleyes: It's hard enough convincing the dog she can't just eat whatever's in Lainey's hand, without Lainey purposefully feeding the dog. (Of course Lainey sees me do it - i.e., I treat her for sitting - she's just mimicing).

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone! I made it back.

Erin, I'm so sorry about your loss. I have been there, too, and it is difficult.

The trip went fine. Had some free time, so I went up the arch and did some walking around. I did miss the kids (and DH), but I have to admit it was nice to come back to the room and climb into bed without having to worry about baths, or dinner, or dishes, or homework, etc., etc.! A nice little break, but it was great to come home and see everyone. Caitlyn was pretty funny. I thought she'd be excited to see me. I walk in the living room and she's sitting on the floor playing. I had to call her two or three times before she actually looked up. She barely smiled and went back to what she was doing. Have to admit, it hurt a bit! But at least I know she did fine without me! The boys were happy to see me.

Heather, it sounds like Logan is really progressing fast! Almost crawling already! That's great.

Becky, congrats on Katie's first steps! I'd certainly consider that walking! I'm still waiting for Caitlyn's. I'm beginning to think her hip might be delaying her walking. I just hope we can get some answers at the orthopedist.

Mrs. Reber, that pool story is so scary. We had an above ground pool in our backyard up until this last summer. We just took it down. DH wanted to keep it, but it was just too expensive and time consuming to keep it up. Plus, I was always nervous about the kids. We joined our neighborhood pool instead. I had a really terrifying experience with one of our dogs and the pool quite a few years ago. I let the dogs out in the backyard. I called them back in a few minutes later and only one came. I couldn't find the other dog. Then I hear a splashing and I look at the pool and there's a hole in the cover (this was in the winter). The dog had walked across the pool cover and fell through. There was about a foot of water in the pool. She was running around the bottom of the pool. I pulled the cover back so fast and jumped in there and pulled her out. What a scary experience. She was fine, but cold. It could have been so much worse because she wasn't touching the bottom, she was swimming around in the water.

We have 529's for all the kids with automatic deposits from my paycheck. It's the only way we'll be able to save anything for college. At the rate we are saving now, though, we won't even have enough to make a dent in what college will cost. It's something that makes me nervous, how in the world will we ever send them all to college? But, I'm sure we'll find a way when the time comes.

Mrs. Reber, hope the kids (and you) are feeling better. DH took the kids for their flu shots while I was away. Ian has had a cough since, but I don't think it's related to the shot. Caitlyn has to go back for a second shot, but DH can't remember if he made the appt. or not, so I have to call. I'm getting kind of annoyed, because now they are saying they don't know when she'll get her RSV shot, they are having problems with the insurance. Before they told me everything was approved. I have to call about that, too.

Nori, you are making Noah's costume? What's he going to be? My SIL just brought over a pumpkin costume that will fit Caitlyn, so that's what she's going to be. We should all try to post pictures of them in their Halloween costumes.

OK, gotta run. Have lots of work to catch up on here.

[erinl]

Hi ladies, thanks for all of the support. It helps.

My mom made Hanne a puppy dog costume for halloween. It's really cute. I'll try to post pictures. Paul just updated our website (http://www.paulanderin.net) so we finally have some current pictures up there. He also added a page for our new nephew.

I'll try to keep up a little better. I hope everyone is having a good week.

[cchhbb]

Hi everyone,

I had my surgery this morning. Everything went fine, but the Physician's Assistant who did my horrible Pre-Op screwed up on the surgery notes. On the form I signed she indicated it was my right leg (the correct one), on the surgery center notes she wrote left. It could have been a big problem, but we were able to get it corrected. I'm just hanging out on the couch with my leg up. I have a plaster splint on my leg and have to keep it elevated for the rest of the week.

Garrett's having a great time with his grandparents. They are spoiling him rotten. We did his birthday party yesterday and he loved his cake and ice cream. My mom made him his own teddy bear cake. It was so cute. It was about 4 inches high. He had a ball. She's going to make another cake on Wednesday for his actual birthday.

Garrett took his first steps about a month ago, but hasn't progressed any further. He would rather crawl since he can go much faster.

Sorry I didn't respond to anyone, but I'm going to take some more medicine and go to bed for awhile. I'm on some pretty strong pain killers right now.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - glad the surgery went okay and on the correct leg! :rolleyes: That woman sounds like she needs to find a new job! ASAP. How long will you be immobile?

Erin - great photos! I love the one with goat. and with her trying to pick up a pumpkin. Lainey tries to pick up big/heavy objects all the time.

Joanne - glad you were able to enjoy your time away. Kids can be so funny about their reactions.

Kim

[nori]

Cheryl, I can't believe that PA almost screwed up your surgery!!!! I'm so glad they figured it out, though. Is there any way you can stay away from that PA from now on???:mad: I'd be very nervous going to that doctor's office if I knew she might do something wrong again. Please take care of yourself.

Erin, saw some of your photos.....Hanne is so cute! And so are you.:)

Joanne, welcome back! Sounds like you had a nice trip. It must feel strange not having any of your kids around for a few days. That's funny Caitlyn didn't realize you were there when you got home. I bet she missed you too, though. But I think she was too busy to play at that moment. It happens to Noah sometimes, too.:D

Kim....how can your DH feel Lainey's teeth??? I mean, I can't even put my finger a bit in his mouth anymore since he'd bite on me pretty hard. Plus, he doesn't like to be messed around his mouth. Molars will be so hard to feel.....He's still working on his 5th tooth. I realized his teeth are coming in pretty slow pace.

MrsReber, Does Casey have all teeth now then? Noah has been pretty fussy because of teething. Do you give them Motrin everytime they're fussy with teething? I don't want him to get TOO MUCH used to medicine (like addicted;) ) so I'm just wondering if giving it everyday would be a good thing or not. I give him ice, and he likes it. Anything else to help him through this phase??? Sorry to hear they're both sick.:( Glad to hear you could go to pumpkin patch, though. I wish I could go. It's still VERY hot around here I'm getting sick of it. I bought 2 pumpkins at the store but I just don't feel like fall at all. It's crazy. It's been still upper 90s most of the time. I miss cool weather. I want to make some nice soup or something.

Becky, Yay on Katie taking first steps!! It won't be too long until she starts to walk everywhere. Ladybug costume sounds so cute. Hope your family photo would turn out nice!

I'm making a Dalmetian (sp?) costume for Noah this year. I saw the thread Kim started on Other board, and got the idea from Alysha.:) I PM'd her several times with some questions since I'm so-not crafty.:o She's been great helping me out. I got everything covered, except shoes. I need white, furry type of shoes (or slippers). I've been a lookout for those for a while, but I jsut can't find the one for toddlers. I may have to think of some alternatives. Noah found the costume I was drying after I stamped black spots all over, and he pointed it out and said "Da- Da-!" then tried to grab them. I bet he has no idea he has to wear this on Halloween day, though. :D

It's interesting to hear about those funds for kids. I thought about 529 but my DH disagreed with the same reason as MrsReber's financial advisor. I know he's still a baby but it kind of scares me to think of sending him to college someday. Hopefully he can get some type of scholarship. Having a big head (I mean, brain:p ), I am pretty sure he can get full-scholarship so we don't ahve to worry about a thing.:D (Yeah, right.)

[JoanneOR]

Erin, your family is beautiful! Hanne is a doll!

Cheryl, glad the surgery went well. How scary about mixing up the legs. Hopefully the PA will be reprimanded so it doesn't happen to someone else. Get lots of rest so you can recover quickly.

Nori, Noah's costume sounds so cute. I wish I had the creativity to do something like that. I'm just not very good at that stuff.

I'm hoping my kids can get some scholarships. I don't think they have a chance for any athletic ones with my genes :), but maybe there's a chance for some academic ones.

DH has to take the Ian to the doctor today. He was saying that his ear hurt last night. He has a cough, too. I'm thinking he probably picked it up when he was there for the flu shot.

Jameson has three birthday parties to go to this weekend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. He's got a much more active social life than I do! I'm having Ian's birthday party at a place like Chuck E. Cheese. Since I invited Jameson's class to his party, I'm inviting Ian's class to his. Except Jameson only has 16 kids and Ian has 26! Guess I wasn't really thinking ahead there! I'm still thinking about it though. Maybe I'll just invite the boys.

Have a good day everyone!

[RunnerKim]

I can't believe how warm it's been here either. Not nearly as bad as you Nori, but unseasonably warm, that is for sure. I have this nagging feeling we're going to pay for it later in the winter.

Nori - that costume sounds great. What about just using a big white socks and putting them over his shoes. Okay that sounds pretty dorky.

I have no idea how DH does it - I don't even try putting my fingers in her mouth any more. She loves to be upside down so I can often get a good look in her mouth, but no way I'm sticking my fingers in there.

Giving over-the-counter medication (Motrin) is such a personal choice. Like you I try not to give it very often. My first inclination is to give it at night to help Lainey sleep better if she seems to be having troubles staying asleep because of teething pain. It's a balance -- don't want them to be drugged all the time but I also don't want Lainey to be in pain if she doesn't have to be. If he's really fussy, I'd probably give the motrin and see if it helps him.

Nori - do you have a 401(K) opened for Noah. I'm rather ignorant of this whole thing and not even sure if you can, but figure if you have a ssn then should be able to???? I'm just thinking I like having Lainey's 529 because it gives me a place to put cash gifts she receives, but could easily do the same if she had her own 401(K) (vs. mine or DHs). So much to think about. We'll stick with what we're doing now.

Joanne - that's a ton of birthday parties. Wow! (and a ton of gifts to buy). Hope Ian is feeling better soon. You don't think it's the flu shot? My Dad hated getting the flu shot because he always got sick right afterwards for a day. Not as bad as getting the full fledge flu but no fun (he was required for work). I think I'm taking Lainey tomorrow, I just need to check the times the shot clinic is open.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Hi! Welcome back Joanne. Glad that you did enjoy some quiet time. I ran into a woman at the vet's office last week who had 6 kids ranging in age from 9 to 1 year! I thought of you and your four kids and how hectic that must be. Wow, six is way too many for me. She looked rather composed, too. She had an adorable little girl who wanted to see Stryper so I let her pet him. Everything was "why" after that. She asked my name and then wanted to know why that was my name! Ack! I do not look forward to that stage!

Nori, I usually try to hold off on all medications until bedtime. With Casey, she really needed something for teething or she'd wake up. Brenden was quite different. He'd complain just before bedtime, but we'd put him to sleep and most nights he was just fine. If he did wake up, which was rare, we'd give him some Tylenol. I don't really like to drug them, either. The cough medicine we got from the doctor puts Casey right out. We only give it to them at bedtime so the coughing doesn't wake them up. Even with the cough syrup, poor Brenden was coughing last night. I sat with him for a while, holding him up to clear out his head a bit. He just slept in my arms, but the coughing did stop. After I put him back down, he seemed to be fine. Casey is pretty much back to her old self. Brenden is just very tired. He slept until almost 11:00 yesterday and then went back to sleep from 1:30 until 3:00! He was in bed before 9:00 last night, too. He was so tired.

I like my 529 plan for a few reasons. I have my credit cards hooked up to my account so when I earn money from Upromise or BabyMint, it goes directly into those accounts. Also, when relatives give us money for the kids' education, it doesn't seem right to put it into my retirement fund and then use it later for college. It's probably not going to be a ton of money in there, but it'll be a help and you can change the beneficiary on the account at any time. I'm sure they'll go to college, though. There's not going to be any other way in 17 years.

[slknight]

Hi all. Sorry I haven't been posting too much. Alex is sick, and I'm stressed.:( We ended up in the ER on Sunday night because he had a horrible case of croup. We didn't get home til 3 am. The croup is better now, but he's got an awful cold.

He had his 6-month checkup yesterday, but they skipped the shots since he's sick. We'll have to go back next week and do those. He weighed in at 19lbs 11 oz and 26 1/2 inches. Definitely a chunky monkey!

More later.

Susan

[RunnerKim]

(((Susan))) Trips to the ER are very stressful. And it always seems to be necessary on the weekend. Glad Alex is doing better now. A big boy :)


So other Susan :D why is that your name anyway? :p I know you've posted about Upromise before - is that a specific credit card? I didn't pay enough attention when you talked before :o Just wondering if it's something I want/should be doing. What's babymint??

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Susan, glad Alex is feeling better. My DH so far has handle our few trips to the ER, so I've lucked out there. It's no fun, though.

Susan #2 :), hope Brenden is back to his old self soon. DH took Ian to the doctor today and he does have an ear infection. It's nice when they are old enough to tell you what's bothering them. They also said our insurance approved the RSV shots and they should be in tomorrow.

Kim, you're right, that is alot of parties to buy gifts for. I actually think I have one or two things in the attic (unopened) that I might give. They are toys I bought for the boys last year for Christmas, but didn't give them because I wound up buying too much.

UPromise is a program where for every dollar you spend on your credit card they put a certain amount in your 529. Or something like that. Susan can explain it better, I'm sure. You can even have family link their cards to your 529 and it doesn't cost them anything. I was dissapointed, though, because I opened the 529's and then found out that they weren't linked up with UPromise. So, check first to see if the account you are opening is linked with them.

Time to get ready to go home!

[RunnerKim]

Is it a specific credit card though? Or can I just sign up my current card/account? I'll have to go see if Oregon's 529 takes it anyway.

Editing...
I went to Upromise's web site and it looks like there's nothing to lose. It does use existing credit cards and it appears Lainey's 529 would work as it's managed by one of the companies listed. Now my question is do I just have to make regular purchases and it automatically triggers that I bought stuff from sponsoring companies. i.e., if I get gas at Exxon does it automatically transfer the 1 cent/gallon to the 529? or do I have to do something to make that happen? I'm not sure how much we shop/eat at these places but heck if it's free, every little bit counts.

[nori]

Joanne, 3 birthday parties to go on one weekend sounds like a lot!!! Good thing you have some extra toy to use for present. Jameson must be excited, though. Poor Ian, hope he's feeling better by now.
I'm not creative or crafty either.:o This Dalmetian costume is very easy...now I have to make ears for it, which is probably the most difficult part (for me).

Kim, it was another hot day here! I hate it!! The weather report said it should cool down to normal average of 80s:rolleyes: by this weekend. I hope so.
Actually, the white socks over the shoes sounds pretty good. In the worst case, I'd do that. Do you think that'll look dorky?

Isn't 401K something the company would offer if you're working there??:confused: No we don't have 401K account, but recently we opened mutual fund account with his name. We had his money in our bank CD but the interst wasn't worth it right now, so we decided to move it. Upromise sounds good, though, if you have 529 account. More excuse to shop!:D Thanks for the advice on Motrin.

MrsReber, Poor Brenden.:( Noah started to have some runny nose today. I'm hoping it won't get worse, but who knows. He's been teething pretty bad so he's cranky anyway. I'm glad I asked how you do medicate your kids, because I had an impression that you give them almost everyday.:o (or whenever they're fussy) I guess he just needs to go through that. I'd probably buy Motrin just in case, though. I came to the conclusion Orajel does not work as it says on the advertisement.:mad: Is Stryper getting better????

Susan, sorry to hear about ER visit.:( No fun. Hope Alex is feeling better by now.

I have a question for those whose kids go to daycare.....what kind of activities do they provide for 1 year old???? Noah's getting more and more active nowadays. I've been playing "tag" (chasing him around) sing a song, read a book, take him to the park but I'm just wondering what's the ohter good activities 14 months old toddler can do, to keep him busy and stimulate his development???? I thought about making homemade playdough, draw some pictures etc. What do they do at the daycare?????

[MrsReber]

Nori, I'd have to say that the daycare people are much more brave than I am! Yesterday, they let Brenden have some stamps with ink and he did an "E" collage. They do lots of gluing. They'll cut out shapes and let the kids glue them on paper or make little crafts (the old turkey made out of a tracing of their hands). They glue yarn on things. Casey made an octopus using a paper plate and tissue paper "tentacles". They'll cut out a bus shape and let the kids glue on wheels. Every week they have a theme and concentrate on a letter, a number, a color. One week they did farm animals, one week they did jobs (Casey made a fireman's hat). They do some group projects, too. Each class decorated a pumpkin and then everyone got to vote on the pumpkins. They had about 7 categories so every class could have a chance to win. Casey's class won in 2 categories. They made a turkey out of their pumpkin. It was really cute. I do let Brenden color, but I have to watch him carefully since he loves to eat the crayons. Another biggie is painting. They have washable paints (I let Casey use them at home last year and she painted herself). There are also activity books you can buy at the store where you just put a brush in water and paint the page. The colors appear on the page. Casey has always loved those. Does Noah have any puzzles? We have quite a few of those wooden puzzles where you simply fit the shape in the right spot and the kids just love them. Oh, and don't forget stickers! The kid really love stickers. We have a few sticker books at home or I'll just buy some stickers at the store and we put them on construction paper. I write letters and numbers to show them, too. I know they're young, but their minds soak up everything.

Kim, you don't have to do anything special once your cards are registered. You can check to see the status of your account on line. It does take a while for purchases to hit. So far, we've had a $28 deposit into our 529 account. You can also register any food store cards that you have and when you purchase certain products, like Huggies, you get money put into your account. We registered our Stop and Shop and A&P cards. BabyMint is a credit card offered by MBNA. You automatically get a certain percentage of all your purchases and you can also get additional contributions from certain stores. I also registered my BabyMint card on the Upromise website (sort of like double dipping, eh?). I tried to get my mom to sign up. I think she fears that she's being unfair if she only contributes to my children. Every little bit helps! I try charge all our large purchases on the BabyMint card (airline tickets, DH's gun safe) We have the money to pay the bill, but we just charge it to reap the benefits. I don't know if my BabyMint account is hooked up to my 529 plan, though. I have to find out how to get that money transfered.

Brenden is feeling better, though still a bit on the tired side. MIL stopped by last night at 8:30. Of course, I didn't even make dinner. I only made pancakes for the kids (Casey asked for them). My train was late and I had to stop at the store on the way home. Brenden was asleep by 9:00 and I kept hinting that Casey had to go to bed, too. It was almost 10:00 when MIL left and Casey was still up. MIL was okay, but really, I hate visitors at 8:30 on a Tuesday! I didn't get to bed until almost 11:00. She did read some books with Casey. I had to prod Casey to give her a hug and a kiss. Brenden didn't go anywhere near her. She said she's going to bring all her empty picture frames over so that I can put pictures of the kids in them for her! Like I even have time to do my own?

Well, I have a meeting to run to in 15 minutes. Oh, how did I get to be Susan #2?? Wasn't I here first? ;) Just kidding. I don't mind, just don't call me Sue! ;)

[JoanneOR]

SusanR, I think I called you Susan #2. Sorry! You're right, you were here first. You were one of the original Susans! I remember reading yours and another Susan's original pregnancy thread. Is she still on these boards?

Anyway, now Jameson is sick, too. I do wonder if it's from the flu shot. The doctor said it's a dead virus they give, so it can't cause them to get sick, but I just hear of so many people getting sick after the shot. It is probably more likely that they caught something while they were at the doctor's office, though. They have a really small office and don't separate the sick kids from the other kids. I've heard of some offices that do, but I really like these doctors. When I went home last night he was coughing and wheezing really bad. I gave him an albuterol treatment and he was a little better. At 3 in the morning he came up to our room and was wheezing and breathing really fast. So, I gave him another treatment and he was much better. So, he's home from school today.

Nori, my kids weren't in a daycare at one, so I'm not sure of the activities. Susan, it sounds like yours sure keeps them busy! I couldn't see Caitlyn doing alot of that stuff. She'd just be putting it all in her mouth! Colin does do alot of that in preschool, though. They have the same thing, where there is a letter and theme every week and they do activities around it. I think at Noah's age, what you are doing is great.

Yes, 401K plans are usually offered through your employer. I have one at work. It's good because it's a forced savings, it comes right out of my paycheck. When we get some other stuff paid off, I want to increase the amount we put in the 529s.

[RunnerKim]

Duh - yes the 401(K) is through employer. I was actually thinking IRA (or Roth IRA). Too much terminology.

Joanne - ugh it's no fun when everyone is getting sick. Maybe the flu shot challenges the immune system enough that all the cold viruses floating around have a chance to take hold. Whatever it is, there's some connection between flu shot and getting sick because too many people do. I have to be at work tomorrow for a meeting so I'll take Lainey after that to get our flu shots, just in case either one of us gets sick from it.

SusanR - Lainey wouldn't even be up at 8:30 and i certainly wouldn't get her up. Had and aunt and uncle stop by a few months ago while they were in town for other reasons. they kept pushing back when they were going to come and of course Lainey fell asleep before they arrived. I wasn't about to wake her up for them but I got the feeling they sort of expected me too. :rolleyes:

Your daycare does a lot of cool things! As much as I like mine I think we'll have to find a new place for Lainey when she's pre-school age (3). Since they're so small they just don't have as many activites etc. Lainey's in the infant room until 18 months and there's not structured schedule until then - i.e., craft projects. Nori - the things that happen sound similar to what you do. Chase, story time, musical instruments, rolling/bouncing balls, "free play with the toys in the room" etc.

I noticed a gymnastics place right by my busstop is having an Indoor Play Park for kids 6 and under for about an hour a day. Just 45 minutes on Saturday but I thought we'd go try it out this weekend. Lainey is such a climber, I'm hoping it's a place that she can do that. It's a $5/family fee so I'm going to take my 2 nephews as well.

Kim

Kim

[nori]

Noah's very tired, I think. He woke up around 6am this morning, had a nice breakfast but was so cranky and clingy. I nursed him and he fell asleep and it's 9am.:rolleyes: Usually we go to grocery shopping in the morning but I guess we'd do it later. Plus, he's having more runny nose.:( No fever, but I just saw in the paper that they found the first case of flu in Arizona and they're encouraging people to get vaccinated. I guess I'm going in this week, or next week.

BTW, what do you do with runny nose??? Is there anything I can do? I guess I've been using humidifier each time Noah got sick. Maybe I should pull it out again.

Kim...that gym place sounds great! DH was looking for someplace like that around the town, but so far every place is like a class...you have to enroll, and go there every week when your class is on. We just wanted to go together and play around....with lots of big, soft bouncy toys! My friend told me of one place it sounds a lot like that, but it's only Tuesday and Thursday. I can take him there, but I'm sure DH wants to go there with him. I'll keep looking....hopefully there's a place like yours. Is it national chain, by any chance???:D

Joanne, sorry to hear Jameson's sick now. I hope he'll get better soon so he can go to the parties this weekend. He's too busy to be sick now!

SusanR (after a long time calling you MrsReber, I've decided to call you SusanR.:) Sounds much friendlier.) your daycare activities sound like fun! Maybe I can be a bit brave to let him use pen or glue....as long as he won't eat them, I'm okay with it. He likes to crumple papers so he might like those craft thing. I don't know. I guess what I've been doing is okay, too, but I'm looking for something new...it gets old very fast! Why your MIL asking you to make HER photoframe????? Tell her she should make her own! If I had a schedule like yours, and my MIL (or whoever is not living with us) visited just like that, I'd be very stressed out. When is she going to move??? Should we start count down??:D

Sounds like a lot of babies (and kids) here are sick.:( Take care, everyone!!

[MrsReber]

Goddard is really wonderful with the kids. All the class teachers have had formal educations. One of the owners was a teacher herself. They have actual lesson plans for every week. At first, I thought it was a bit much, but then I saw how the kids really loved it. They do have free time to play and they get them outside everyday, as long as it's sunny out. I was surprised by the things that the kids were capable of doing. The teachers, of course, help them with every step of a project. They attempt things that I would never dream of doing at home.

Joanne, I keep in touch with the SusanD (the other Pregnancy Thread pioneer). We email weekly and we've talked on the phone a few times. She's doing well. She moved last year and is now able to be at home full time with her girl. They're now working on baby number 2. Her daughter was born 2 weeks before Casey. I don't know if she comes around here much, but I did actually see a short post from her a few weeks back.

I hate it when people expect you to disrupt your child's schedule. Brenden was tired when MIL showed up. I would've put him to bed before she got there, but then I would have been accused of planning it that way. However, MIL didn't even acknowledge me when I said that Brenden was going to bed. She didn't give him a kiss or say good night to him or even look in my general direction as I carried him off. DH was mostly trying to calm her down after their visit to the car dealership. He called me on his cell phone to say he was on his way home, MIL was following him and that she was out of control.

We have a busy weekend ahead. DH's friend is having his annual Halloween party on Saturday. He has a huge yard so he does hay rides for the kids and a pinata. He has a pumpkin carving contest, too. I don't think we'll join in. It'll be hard enough to keep track of both kids without entering sharp objects into the equation. It's usually a good time, though. Then we have the wedding on Sunday. My friend is so excited about watching the kids. I hope they treat her well.

I don't think I ever answered the question about Universal Life insurance. I'm certainly no expert on how it works, but I'll try. You have your basic life insurance coverage included, but you also put in additional money that is invested. The life insurance company will manage the funds for us. I never liked the idea because it seems so expensive, but you supposedly have access to your money at all times. Also, as you get older, the investments will fund part of your retirement. Our financial advisor, Eric, thinks this is a better way to save for college. The money is always yours, you won't be taxed on your portion of it (only the interest) and you can make withdrawals whenever you want. I asked what happens if, say, one of us loses our job. Do we lose our basic life insurance policy as well? He said that as the balance grows, they can take the premium out of the balance as long as there's money to cover it. That way, the policy is not cancelled unless there is no additional money to cover the cost. I think the idea is that as the balance grows, you don't need to contribute as much. At least, that's the way I've seen it presented in the past. I have a few more questions on it and hopefull Eric will make me feel comfortable signing up to this. It's still "iffy" for me since I need more information before we start. The mortgage is done so step one is out of the way. No more car payments since we rolled them into the new mortgage. I'm just hoping that the plan goes just the way Eric says it will. My mom was not very supportive. She said I should just invest my money myself in some mutual funds. I don't have the knowledge or the time to monitor something like that. DH and I feel it's best to leave it to the experts since we don't have a clue.

[MrsReber]

Nori, I don't know when to start the countdown! She says she's going, but then she just lingers! Now she says she's staying around for the holidays so I bet she doesn't go anywhere until next year.

And you're more than welcome to call me SusanR. Maybe that will help differentiate the Susans? I'll be SusanR and the "other" Susan can be SusanK. But don't we have a SueK who is pregnant? Hmmmm. This could get tricky with all the Susans on the BB. :D

[tbb113]

Originally posted by MrsReber


I don't think I ever answered the question about Universal Life insurance. I'm certainly no expert on how it works, but I'll try. You have your basic life insurance coverage included, but you also put in additional money that is invested. The life insurance company will manage the funds for us. I never liked the idea because it seems so expensive, but you supposedly have access to your money at all times. Also, as you get older, the investments will fund part of your retirement. Our financial advisor, Eric, thinks this is a better way to save for college. The money is always yours, you won't be taxed on your portion of it (only the interest) and you can make withdrawals whenever you want. I asked what happens if, say, one of us loses our job. Do we lose our basic life insurance policy as well? He said that as the balance grows, they can take the premium out of the balance as long as there's money to cover it. That way, the policy is not cancelled unless there is no additional money to cover the cost. I think the idea is that as the balance grows, you don't need to contribute as much. At least, that's the way I've seen it presented in the past. I have a few more questions on it and hopefull Eric will make me feel comfortable signing up to this. It's still "iffy" for me since I need more information before we start. The mortgage is done so step one is out of the way. No more car payments since we rolled them into the new mortgage. I'm just hoping that the plan goes just the way Eric says it will. My mom was not very supportive. She said I should just invest my money myself in some mutual funds. I don't have the knowledge or the time to monitor something like that. DH and I feel it's best to leave it to the experts since we don't have a clue.

Years ago I worked for an insurance company (early 80's) when Universal Life was just starting out. If I remember the basics correctly it is a whole life policy, you have the option of making premiums or not once you have a balance built up. If you don't make the premium, the money will be taken from your balance until it doesn't have enough money, then you need to pay the premium again. I am NOT a financial advisor (and looking at my balance sheet you would know that :D ) but most financial advice that I have seen does NOT recommend a whole life policy. You can buy term insurance for much less money and for a bigger dollar amount. You should then invest your additional money in tax-deferred ways if possible (401K, 529, IRA, SEP plans, etc).

Through work I have Fidelity for my 401(k). they have plans based on how many years until retirement where they make the investment decisions (stock/bond mixes). You might want to see if your financial advisor can steer you into something like this vs Universal Life (or at least find out why he likes Universal Life so much). Another thing, is he fee-based or does he receive a commission from what he sells you? If its the second, he may be directing you to the higher-commission deals for himself.

[JoanneOR]

This financial stuff is so confusing!! I wouldn't mind getting a financial advisor, but DH doesn't want to. I really think we could use some help, though.

SusanR (I think that's your new name here :)), that Halloween party sounds fun. I had to laugh about what you said about the sharp objects! The kids all have Halloween parties at their schools. I'll be at Jameson's and Ian's helping out with the games. I'm a room mom for both of them, so we plan the parties. I volunteered to do a "pin-the-tail" on the black cat game. I'm supposed to make it. I think I'll be searching for one on the Internet that I can buy! Or something similar. I better get on that! We also have a Cub Scout party which is the whole troop. That's the day before. And, another birthday party the day after Halloween.

I think MIL was just teasing you with the possibility of moving. At least you don't have to worry about her coming back for the holidays and asking to stay with you. Glad to hear SusanD is doing well.

Nori, I don't think there's too much you can do about a runny nose. If it's bothering him, he might be old enough for cold medicine. Like PediaCare.

Kim, that place does sound like fun. The boys used to take a toddler gymnastics class and they loved it. Ian still asks to take another class. I'm going to see what our park district offers this winter.

DH said Jameson is feeling pretty icky today and Caitlyn is sleeping alot. I so hope she isn't catching it. I don't want to have to delay getting her RSV shot, which is supposed to be ready today or tomorrow.

Back to work....

[RunnerKim]

Nori - sorry Noah's sick again. Hopefully it'll just be a runny nose this time around. From what I know there's not much you can do it for it. This place is called Westside Gymanstics and is indeed on the westside of town so I don't think it's a chain :D It's a regular gymanstics and dance gym/studio. They have an electronic sign and diplays the winners for various divisions of competitions they go to. They also have an after school camp type thing they do along with their classes. So I'd check under gymanastics in the phone book maybe. My community center also offers something similar but it's only during the day on weekdays (so not good for me but maybe you have a community center and it would work for you).

Joanne - use double-sided tape on the Pin the Tail on the Cat game. Much safer than "pins"!

SusanR - getting the mortgage refinanced is a big step. That should help free up a little money.

thanks for the explanations about universal life insurance. I think DH has a seperate term life insurance policy (we wanted him to have life insurance when Lainey was born even though he was unemployed at the time). It is very confusing.


Kim

[nori]

Kim, we already checked the phone book under "gymnastics" and so far all the places seem to have enrolled students. I will get this information from my friend and see how it is.

Joanne, hope Caitlyn won't get sick so she can have that RSV shot! Sounds like you're busy over Halloween!! So many parties!!!!

SusanR, I've got "Baby Animal" magazine today for Noah and it had an idea to make a placemat using the handprint turkey. I thought it was cute. Noah does have puzzles (those wooden ones) but before he was just chewing on those pieces, or putting the pieces to toy box individually.:rolleyes: I can start teaching him how to match them to see if he'll get it.

Well I took Noah's temperature and it was a bit higher side than normal for him. I gave him Tyrenol at bedtime, and humidifier is on in his room. He had almost 2-hour naps in the morning and afternoon! I got to sneak in 1-hour nap for myself.:D He looked very tired. Plus he's teething badly. Poor little guy.:(

[hrk]

Well once again it has been a crazy week and this is my first chance to post. And I apologize in advance for what will probably be crazy typing- I slice my right index finger open yesterday and have four stiches and a monster gauze wrap on it so it is quuite hard to type. BUt then again it is even harder to do much chemitry wrok so I am stuck at my computer right now.
So sorry to hear about all the sick babies. Logan's nose was running for a few days but it seems to have cleared up.

SusanK- boy Alex and Logan really could be twins- Logan had his five month appoinment on Tueday and he is 18#11oz and 28 inches. At the rate we are going we will have a three foot tall one year old. I uess it is a good thing DH and I are tall or he would be dragging on the ground

Cheryl- Glad to hear all turned out well with the surgery. Hope your recovery is fast and easy.

Becky- Sounds like you had a great photographer that really worked with you. We took Logan to the Picture People on Sunday and got a great photographer that really knew what he was doiing. Of course it also helped that Logan was in a good mood.

SusanR- I also am extremely impressed with the Goddard school that Logan is in. They have done so much to stimulate Logan and enhance his development. They do things I don't think DH and I would have attempted like art (put paint on his feet and help him walk around on paper) And there communication with us is fantastic and they are so willing to work with us to keep everything with Logan consistent. Apparently Logans latest at daycare is feeding himself. His teacher put the bottle down one day cause she had to attend to a crying child and the next thing she knew Logan had the b ottle in his mouth feeding himslef. Now he does it regularly- they consider it slef help skills

Joanne- Glad you had a good trip. God luck with the Halloween parties. That is quite impressive that you work and are the room mothers for your kids.

As for the discussions about life insurance/saving for college/ etc. Dh and I got the same advice about life insurance. Stick with basic life insurance coverage since you can purchase a whole lot more coverage for a lot less and invest your money elsewhere. As for retirement vs college savings, I have read also that you should max out your retirement first since you can then borrow against that for college, but then agaiin I also just saw a report that said most americans will never have enough money to retire, so I figure plan for my kids first.
DH and I have looked into Upromise and there was a whole article about it on MSN money. The guy said he was reluctant to admit it but he couldn't find any down side to this unless you do things like justify spending money you don't have on eating out by saying well at least 3% of the bill will go tino juniors college fund. As far as DH and I can tell you just sign up and then register all your credit cards. Then if you want the money iinvested you just have to link your account with an investment account. We are going to sign up tis weekend- we figure every little bit helps.
Hope everyone has a great day.
Heather

[MrsReber]

Well, I'm tempted to cancel our appointment tonight with Eric simply because I want more information on the whole life policy. He does make commission so I am thinking maybe it's correct to assume that he's steering us toward things that will earn more commission for him. Not good. The guy we talked to before him had told us that universal or whole life wasn't necessary for us. It is very confusing and you just don't know who to trust. His plan looks pretty on paper, but they give you the best case scenario. I wanted to laugh at him when he said that he was our advisor and we should consult him before making any large purchases, like if we want a new vehicle. Sorry, but no. If I want a car, I think I can figure that one out on my own. In reality, I'm just not in the mood to have him over this evening. DH feels the same. Things have been so hectic with the kids being sick (Brenden is still out of sorts) and I have a cold, too.

Nori, runny nose and slight fever can be from teething. There's different thoughts on that, but I've found it to be true with my kids. In any event, the Tylenol is pretty harmless and I'm sure it probably helped Noah. I am surprised at the things they do at daycare. I tell them they're brave giving such small children paints! They have fun.

Joanne, I hope your kids stay well! I know how hard it is to have 2 sick at the same time. I feel bad that Casey will miss the Halloween party at Goddard since it's on a Friday. My mom is going to watch the kids at my house. I'm going to sneak out a little bit early so I can get them dressed and out of the before it gets dark. I don't know how Casey will feel about walking outside in the dark. She's a little bit afraid when it's dark outside.

[RunnerKim]

SusanR - Casey might feel differently because there will be so many kids out and about. But then all the spooky stuff for Halloween can be pretty scary too. They moved the Halloween party/parade at my daycare to Thursday because so many kids are out on Fridays.

You know - I was kind of wondering about your financial person. Maybe a 2nd opinion :D is in order. I'm with you - I don't think so on consulting on the large purchases. We had (technically still have) a financial person at Merrill Lynch - obviously worked for that company and has their own set of pressures but I always felt I received high quality advice, even if we were a rinky dink little client for them. We had to pretty much close the account when DH was laid off (except for our IRAs) and now DH is thinking of managing it more himself (through USAA). Of course he actually hasn't started it yet.

Heather - Ouch!! That does sound like a great daycare. Thanks for sharing the info. you read about Upromise. DH and i were saying there's probably not too many places on the list that we frequent but every little bit counts. There are a couple of restaurants we go to that give as much as 10% (we eat out about 4 times a year :o) . Wow how do they do that?!

You Goddard people had me looking up if there's one in Portland. There is but it's not anywhere convenient. Overall I'm happy with mine- being able to spend so much time with Lainey there is worth a little trade off in the types of activities they do (they interact with her lots but just not doing cool arts and crafts stuff). I'm also not too pleased about the new infant teacher they hired - the director's mother. She's only part-time in the afternoons Tu-Th. She's a smoker! :eek: I'm trying to figure out how to say something about it - with Lainey's history of respiratory problems it concerns me. If she has problems again this winter I'll have to consider moving her. :( The other issue is that in the afternoon it's 2 older women now and they're grandmotherly loving dovey types which is great for the babies that want to be held a lot but Lainey is so active now she really needs/wants more interaction. Advantages and disadvantages to the center being so small, I guess.

Nori I think kid magazines would be a great way to give you idea. Is Baby Animal the same as Wild Animal Baby by the Nat. Wildlife Fed?

Kim

[MrsReber]

Kim, there are good things and bad things in each daycare. For as much as I love Goddard, there are things that really bug me about the place. I would love to be able to see my kids each day. You're lucky that you can do that.

I cancelled our appointment with Eric for tonight. I told him the kids haven't been well. My kitty also has a swollen face. Well, half his face. I'm waiting for the vet to call me back. He's not in distress and he's still the same as he was. He just doesn't look right. I don't think it's anything life threatening, but I need to help him out. Between the kids and the pets, I'm getting really stressed! Anyway, I asked about the universal/whole life policies on the Other Stuff board. I haven't seen any positive feedback. I'm going to look into it a bit further. I want to invest properly, but I don't need to make our financial advisor rich in the process. He already has a huge house and he just bought himself a porsche! Married, but no kids.

On Saturday, DH took out an old wolfman mask that he had. He walked into the living room to see how the kids would react (after he scared me, that is!). Brenden looked up and started crying. Casey just shrinked back in her chair. On Monday, Casey saw the mask lying there. She said to me "Daddy scared me!". So I would have to say that she won't be into any scary costumes on Halloween night. I don't think we'll go too far. We'll have to see how she reacts. She's so shy. DH used to think it was best to simply force her into situations. I think, and our pediatrician agrees, that we need to encourage her rather than just pushing her. We'll see how things go at the first couple of houses and then proceed from there. I think Mr. Personality will have a great time. Brenden just loves attention.

Kim, I think I get most of my rebates from using my credit card at the supermarket. My supermarket savings card is registered so each time I shop, we get a few dollars in our account. We don't go out to eat much, either. I also charged gas once at Exxon and got a rebate from them. I don't intentionally buy the Upromise products or shop at those stores and I tend to really forget about the account. DH does go to Pep Boys for stuff and they contribute so I tell him to charge everything there. It was nice to get my 529 statement and see a deposit of $25 or so. Even if it's $50 a year, it's something and it will earn interest.

[slknight]

Hi all, SusanK is fine with me for a name. ;) I was actually on the original pregnant Susan's thread with SusanR but had a miscarriage then. :(

Alex is still sick. His croup is much better but he's got a horrible cold. I feel like I am covered in boogers. He hates that stupid suction bulb thing to clear out his nose, but he's having a really hard time nursing when he's so congested. He finally seems to be a bit better today, but it has been a very long week.

All this talk of financial planning makes me ill, because we are so far behind! We have very little retirement savings and no college fund. I'm not too worried about the college fund because we'll make it work somehow, but the retirement thing scares the heck out of me. I've told DH that we really need to sit down and get our finances straightened out, and to also do a will. Ick. It's hard work being an adult, isn't it?



Originally posted by hrk

Logan had his five month appoinment on Tueday and he is 18#11oz and 28 inches. At the rate we are going we will have a three foot tall one year old. I uess it is a good thing DH and I are tall or he would be dragging on the ground



Ah yes, but Alex is 19#11oz and only 26 1/2 inches. In other words, he's roly poly. :) Heather, I think awhile back you asked about the Prima Pappa highchair? Meant to tell you that we've only been using it for a short while, but love it.

Susan

[nori]

SusanK...Noah used to hate that suction bulb, too. Now I try to wipe his nose and he doesn't like that at all either.:( Right now he's not congested it's just runny nose. It must be very hard for Alex to nurse when he's so congested. I'm like you...covered with his boogers.:eek: He doesn't like to be wiped but he'd wipe by himself using my shirt.:o Hope Alex will get better!

SusanR....I thought about teething, too....He had those symptoms plus bad diaper rash when he was getting upper front teeth. I've also heard those are not really medically proved, but in Noah's case, low grade fever, runny nose and diaper rash were caused by teething. I think that's something only moms can tell.:D I saw your other borad thread....are you going to change your financial advisor?? He doesn't sound so good, does he? All those finance talk, I feel like we should have financial advisor,too..we talked about it, but it never got finalized. Did you make a will? I remember you're talking about it (or was it someone else???). We haven't gotten that stuff done either.

Kim....Yes that's Wild Animal Baby. I forgot the "wild" part. :o They're pretty cool.

Heather...ouch!!!! I was amazed how long you typed!!! It must be inconvenient with everything! Hope it'll heal fast.

Well now I have runny nose, too.:( Could be allergy, but I've been sneezing ALL DAY!!! I'm planning to go get a flu shot tomorrow...I hope I won't be rejected.

Noah got to play with Kleenex today. He was playing in the living room, I left him alone and doing something in the kitchen. I realized he was "strangely" quiet. So I peeked in, here he was happily sitting in the middle of tons of tissue papers and still pulling one after anotehr from the box!:eek: It took me a while to get all folded again. It's amazing what can capture his interest.

[JoanneOR]

Nori, that's funny about the tissues. It is amazing what they can do to amuse themselves. I warned DH about this, but he didn't seem to take me seriously. A couple weeks ago I was in the kitchen with Caitlyn. I was distracted for a second and heard splashing. I ran upstairs to the bathroom and she was playing in the toilet. EWWWWW!!! Needless to say we had a bath. Well, Wednesday I came home and Caitlyn was already in her pajamas. I asked DH why and he said he had to give her a bath because she was playing in the toilet. I told him we have to keep the bathroom doors closed. I guess he knows now. Anyway, that night I'm going to bed and I go in the bathroom and there is wet toilet paper all over the place. She was playing with it in the toilet. DH said he gave her a bath in other bathroom and then forgot to go back and clean up. So, guess who got that pleasure??!

SusanR, I haven't read your other thread, but it sounds like it would be a good idea to get another opinion. It's really hard to know if an advisor has a hidden agenda.

SusanK, don't feel bad about your finances. We only set up the college funds for our kids less than a year ago and my oldest is 7! I do have a 401K from work for retirement and DH has a pension plan, but I really don't know if they are sufficient for retirement or not. I have no clue about this stuff!

Nori, hope Noah is feeling better. My kids always got a diaper rash when teething. Sometimes a fever, too. I think there is some truth to it. Hopefully that's all it is.

Heather, hope your finger heals up quick!

We got invited to another party this weekend. Ian came home with an invitation in his backpack for a halloween party. I'm not sure if it's just for him or for all of us. It just says it the annual smith family halloween party. We're not going, just too much going on this weekend.

Caitlyn has a runny nose now. She goes in at 12:15 today for her first RSV shot. I hope they are able to give it to her.

Alex and Logan are big boys. Caitlyn is just barely 21 pounds and I think close to 30 inches (I can't remember).

Gotta go for now.

[RunnerKim]

Nori - Isn't it amazing at how long they can entertain themselves with an innappropriate item but a real toy meant for them will get just a few seconds of interest before they move on! I like Wild Animal Baby a lot too.

Lainey's just recovering from a bad diaper rash and her 1st year molars are pushing through. She's also running snot but it's clear so I think it could be teething. Poor thing. Very noticeable bump, particularly on her rigth side (I was brave enough to feel in her mouth). How funny because she only has her front 2 bottom teeth. Oh - she also wipes her nose all over my shirt and thinks getting her face wiped is the most torterous thing ever.

SusanK - we've just been getting financial stuff in order ourselves. Wills were done shortly after Lainey was born and I just got her 529 set up (used the $400 federal refund check to do it). We had IRAs set up before because my previous position I was a contract employee and thus received no benefits. We stopped contributing though when DH was laid off and haven't started up again. It's very complicated I think - and knowing where to focus attention (debt reduction or savings/investing) etc. All this talk SusanR is generating about life insurance reminded me that DH also as a whole life insurance policy that his parents started on each of the kids that we assumed responsibility for. We need to do some of our own research but I'm thinking we're going to cash that out and use it to open new retirment accounts (and transfer over our existing IRAs I guess). DH also has a small retirement account with his previous employer and I guess we need to figure out how to transfer that to either his new one or a personal one. There must be a good web site out there that someone can point to that gives basics?? Or a book??

Kim

[MrsReber]

Kim, it's all very confusing! I got another opinion on universal/whole life from my mom's fiance. He said don't do it. He has a policy and he doesn't like it at all. He's very close to retirement age, but I don't think he's too worried about money. He seems to have enough. As far as transfering a retirement account from a previous employer, you just need to have the right paperwork. You could call the plan directly and ask for the correct forms. I transferred my previous 401k to my plan at my current job. I got the paperwork from my current job and had the funds transferred over. It was very easy to do.

We have our open enrollment for benefits for 2004. I signed up for the group legal plan. It'll cost me $250 for the entire year and that covers me and DH. As soon as that coverage starts, I'm going to find a local lawyer and we'll get wills written. I figure if I hate the plan or find that we don't use it for anything else, at the very least, we'll have gotten our wills done for $250. That's one of the things that is covered under the plan. You can also call them with unlimited questions and they give you access to many online legal resources. I figure we can't go wrong as long as we at least get the wills done. I can drop it next year if we don't want it anymore.

Okay, onto the kiddies! Nori, tissues are amazing toys! We cannot leave the box within reach or all the tissues will be taken out. Now I have to watch out for Casey because she loves to wipe Brenden's nose! She is such a little mommy with him. Joanne, I can totally relate to the toilet paper. We keep the door closed and we even have this supposedly childproof thing that goes over the handle. They still get in there. I don't understand what is so fascinating about the toilet.

I hope Alex is feeling better! I also hope Caitlyn can get her RSV shot. My kids are almost back to normal. No more runny noses!

[JoanneOR]

I just got a scare from the school. They called around 12:15 and said no one picked up Ian. DH was supposed to pick him up at 12 and then go to the doctor. So, for about 15 minutes I was panicking because there was no answer at home. I just called the school and DH had picked him up about five minutes after they called me. Now I'm just mad! I talked to DH around 11:15 and reminded him of the times to pick everyone up and then go to the doctor. He was on the computer playing solitaire so I'm sure he just lost track of time and forgot. He has no sense of time! Drives me crazy. And, I hate to think of poor Ian at school thinking he's forgotten. And, I'm sitting here at work thinking he got into an accident after picking up Colin. OK, now I can breathe again. He did say that Caitlyn seemed fine to him this morning, so she should be getting her shot now.

SusanR, the legal plan sounds like a good idea. We don't have anything like that here. You reminded me about the will, though. Need to look into that.

I don't know about any books, Kim, but I am sure there are some out there. I think I recall seeing one of those "Dummie" books on financial planning. Maybe do a search on Amazon?

Wouldn't it be nice to just win the lotto and not have to worry about all this stuff??

[nori]

Joanne, glad everyone was okay. I know what you mean about DH. Sometimes they nod or answer you but were not really listening.:mad: And they (at least mine) don't think it's not a big deal. I'd be very upset if I was you. Funny about Caitlyn playin the toilet, but I can't laugh! It could happen to me, too. He's so much into bathroom but not toilet bowl yet. Thank goodness. We try to close bathroom door but DH always fails to do that. Plus, he doesn't lower the cover!!!! I've been battling this with him for years, now he has a good reason to do it, but still he doesn't do it! Drives me nuts! Is Jameson feeling better enough to go to parties??

SusanR, usually our tissue box is way out of reach but yesterday for some reason it was where Noah could reach easily. It's kind of fun watching him play, though. Cleanup after that is different story.

Kim, now Lainey is having runny nose too?! Poor girl. You don't think I (I mean, Noah;) ) spread it through this BB, do you.:D

Okay here's not-baby realted question. I should maybe post a new thread, but I'm wonderng about my flu shot today. I'm having a bout of cold, I think, no fever but just runny nose and feeling icky. Should I hold the shot for now??? Does it make you sick, if you're already have cold or something?? I really want get it done, DH already got his yesterday at work. Flu shot is recommended (or encouraged...I forgot) by the state this year so I'm hoping I can get it done before someone get it. Flu clinic is very close to our place today so this is the perfect time for me, except I'm sneezing. Do you think they'd reject me???

[MrsReber]

Nori, I think it's okay if you have a slight cold. I think they would reject you if you had, say, a respiratory infection or a fever. I remember that I didn't feel too great when I had my shot 2 years ago, but SIL said it was fine. She is a phlebotomist so she gave the whole family shots. Of course, it turned that I wasn't feeling well because I was pregnant with Brenden! I'm pretty sure they would reject you for an illness, not a cold. They'd probably be able to give you more information there.

[cchhbb]

Garrett loves the tissue box too. On our last plane ride, he emptied the entire box in the bathroom. I figured he was quiet and entertained so there were no problems. He also loves to flush the toliet repeatly in the bathroom. The entire time I'm in the shower he's flushing the toliet. We do keep the seats down all the time. I do worry that he could drown in the toliet bowl though. We tend to keep the door shut to the bathroom most of the time.

My dad left today. I think he really enjoyed spending time with Garrett. My mom is still here another two weeks. My aunt is coming on Monday.

Heather and Susan K. You both have such big boys.

Garrett just went to his one year appointment. He was 30 inches tall and 18 pounds 10 ounces. Our Dr is a little concerned since he won't eat any meat. She recommended a vitamin with iron. She said that he should only drink 16 ounces of milk a day and no juice. She said that we are doing the right thing when we are feeding him, by following the Child of Mine approach. I lent out my book to a friend so I need to get it back to see about switching to milk. I'm so glad we won't have to buy formula anymore. Since he just was weaned, we didn't buy very much formula, but boy it was expensive.

Garrett's started walking a little more. He took his first steps about a month ago, but really didn't walk more than a couple of steps a day. He's now walking two to three steps at a time to get from one toy to another. He would rather crawl though.

I seem to be doing pretty well after my surgery. Today was the first time I left the house and that was to go to Garrett's Dr appointment. I just lay around with my foot above my heart. Last night was the first night that I was able to sleep. My poor mom is working so hard. She's taking care of everything. Garrett just loves her. I have my post op appointment on Thursday and then will get a walking cast. I have quite a bit of swelling in my foot and it really starts hurting if I keep my foot down too long.

Cheryl

[nori]

SusanR...thanks! I'm off to get shot!!:)

[JoanneOR]

OK, I need to vent. MEN!!!! They drive me crazy. DH calls me because he knows the lady from the school office called me. Otherwise, I'm sure he wouldn't have even told me he was late. He says he was running out of gas and had to stop. The school is two minutes away. We wind up arguing because he thinks I'm making a big deal out of nothing. He says he's doing the best he can. I don't think it's a big deal to pick up the kids on time. He's acting like I'm the one wrong here for being upset about picking up the kids late. UGGHHH!!

Cheryl, sounds like you're slowly healing. Hope you're back up on your feet soon. You're lucky to have your parents there to help out.

Nori, I think you can get the shot with a cold. Jameson was supposed to get his a couple weeks ago, but couldn't. He had a cold and a cough. At first they said OK as long as he didn't have a fever. But then she listened to his chest and was afraid he might have a respiratory infection and decided to wait. So, he had it last week instead. Then he wound up getting sick again a few days after it. He seems to be fine now, still coughing a little, but he's acting normal and not wheezing anymore.

Caitlyn did get the shot. DH said they have to give it in two injections, one in each leg. I guess it is alot of fluid. It's based on their weight and they said next time she may even get a bit more. But she did OK with it. I feel better now that she is getting it. One less thing to worry about.

[MrsReber]

I'm surprised my doctor didn't mention a flu shot at Brenden's 15 month appoinment. I'm getting a free shot at work, but I'd like them to have one, too.

Joanne, I have learned from my own dear husband that men just don't worry about the same things as us. DH is never concerned with someone abducting one of our children, but it's a daily thought for me. I worry about it constantly when I'm out somewhere alone with the kids or if my mom takes them somewhere on a Friday when she's watching them. When Brenden was going to the other daycare, DH would leave him in the truck when he brought Casey inside Goddard! I told him he was crazy. He said it was early, no one was around to see. Uh, that's the point. No one was there to watch him and anything could happen! He could've choked on a toy in that time! Your DH probably doesn't think it's a big deal to leave your son waiting and wondering. He just doesn't get it. Same as mine. I can totally relate.

I have to run. Have a great weekend, ladies!

[RunnerKim]

I think personal safety is just not something men think about for the simple reason they don't have to. Most women I know worry about their personal safety at least once a day (walking to your car alone etc.) so it's natural for it to carry over to our children. Joanne - I can imagine how you feel. I would be in a horrible panic over a call like that. I remember way back before Lainey (before DH even) a co-worker got a call from the school about her child and it was the same thing, her DH was suppose to pick the kid up (meet the bus I think). He'd gotten trapped in a fast food drive thru. She freaked out, he didn't understand why she was so upset about it. I didn't even have kids yet I understood why she was freaked.

Nori - it sounds like you've gone to get your shot already, but I agree with SusanR. It's probably the same as for our babies - unless you're running a fever, it's okay to do.

Cheryl - it's a good thing you don't have one of those setups that causes the cold water to disapear from your shower with each flus :eek: Lainey certainly doesn't eat much meat at this point. Mostly some deli type ham or chicken. I'll have to think through everythign she eats to see if I should be worried about her iron. Glad you're getting out and about and recovering. Hmm, I didn't even think to look at Child of Mine about the milk transfer- I'll be curious what she says. I just offered it to her in a sippy cup (which she already used with water) and she liked it just fine so we gradually switched her over to milk at her meals as we finished off the can of formula. Last to switch was her bed time bottle - about a week longer there.

Sheesh Joanne I think if we won the lotto we'd have to worry about the financial stuff even more because there's actually be money to manage :D

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget the time change.

Kim

[SueK]

Hi everyone,

I am officially joining the New Moms thread now! My DH took our older daughter to his nephew's football game, so Samantha and I are here, but she is napping. She's been getting up around 10 or so and eating, then going back to sleep.

I have an odd question/comment to those of you who have more than one child. Do your children have very different personalities? Our DD#1 is very intense and active, and she was even in the womb! Sam is SO mellow....I almost asked the dr if there was something wrong with her because she cries, but nothing like Sara did. I know she may not stay this way, but already this is a marked difference in them just as babies. So, I am curious - for those of you whose children DO have very different personalities : was it like that from birth?

I'm looking forward to joining in on these threads! :)

[tbb113]

Sue:

I have two sons with very different temperments. While they were both good babies, my first was MUCH easier. I always joked that was because if Alex was first, I might not have wanted to duplicate him :D He is much more self determined, more sensitive to his surroundings than his brother. Even now at 11 and 14 they have different likes (eating, reading, watching tv, etc). They have proven to me at least that much of your personality is NATURE not NUTURE since as far as I know, I raised them the same way.

[JoanneOR]

SueK, yes, definitely I notice differences in my kids personalities. Looking back, I can see they were definitely there from birth. Jameson was a very laid back baby, so easy going, always smiling. Never a problem with sleeping at all. As a newborn, he barely cried, it was more of a squeak. Then came Ian. He came out screaming. He cried much more than Jameson and was very tempermental. Colin and Caitlyn seem to be a mix between the two. Jameson still is much more laid back. He can sit for hours and hours just reading his books and magazines and doing puzzles. Ian doesn't sit still for more than five minutes. But it makes life interesting, that's for sure!

Well, we survived our three parties today. I took Jameson to one and DH took him to the other. Ian really wanted to go to the Halloween party he was invited to, so I took him there. That poor mother. Most of the parents dropped off the kids. She had about 10-15 kids running around screaming. Actually, she should have had some activities planned to keep them busy. Maybe she did, but they weren't cooperating. Anyway, Ian had a blast, but we left after about an hour. The house was decorated really cool, inside and out. She had a fog machine going in the living room.

Cheryl and Kim, we do have a setup where if you are in the shower and turn on water anywhere in the house the water turns ice cold or steamy hot. Needless to say with all the people in our house, it's rare to get a shower uninterrupted by an extreme temperature change!

Tomorrow Jameson has one more party and then I guess we just get ready for the new week.

Well, I better get some sleep. Even though we change the clocks back today and supposedly get an extra hour of sleep, I don't think the kids will sleep an extra hour!

[AnnaSue]

Well.. I guess I'm still having a hard time keeping up. If only my boss would be kind enough to give us Internet access at work!:D

SueK - Welcome! As for kids with different personalities, that was definitely the case for my niece and nephew. My niece was always this very fussy baby that would never socialize with anyone right from the beginning. She is almost four now, and she is still the same way. My nephew, however, was very sweet and outgoing and remains that way now at almost 2 years old. It seems like they were raised the same, so I guess they are just different.

It is interesting to read about all the daycare activities. I'm looking forward to some of the stuff Brendan will do when he gets a little bigger. Right now they always write stuff on his report sheet that they did during the day, but it doesn't seem very age appropriate, so it leaves me wondering what he really does all day. I'm thinking about asking for a more personalized report, but I have to say we've been very happy with this place, so I'm glad that that is my only complaint.

I took Brendan in for his 6 month check-up, and the doctor said he had another huge ear infection. I felt bad because I didn't know, but it never seems to bother him. His teething doesn't seem to have phased him either. I guess maybe he has a high pain tolerance... unlike me! He weighed in at 18 pounds, and he is 26 inches. He has been 26 inches for quite awhile now. Last night DH and I went out to dinner and dropped him off at my dads where my brother watched him and my niece and two nephews. When we got back.. he was crawling! Looks like the fun is about to begin!

Joanne.. I'd be worried about getting that phone call too. I worry about stuff like that all the time, but I don't think DH worries about anything. I also seem to have this irrational fear of child abductors, and I get worried in stores because I feel like DH doesn't watch Brendan in the cart as closely as I do. Yesterday we went to Home Depot, and we were walking down each aisle systematically looking for stuff we need for the house. I turned around for about 3 seconds.. and DH and Brendan were gone. I just figured that they would be in the next aisle.. but they weren't. I ended up searching the entire store, and still couldn't find them. So of course I go into this panic mode and think that Brendan was kidnapped.:o I was so mad when I finally found DH twenty minutes later!

Alright, Brendan wants to eat.. better run!

[nori]

OH NO!!!! I just did something very wrong and erased my entire message! I was almost done typing and poof! it's all gone.:(

I ended up not getting flu shot. There was a long, long line and with Noah, there was no way we could wait that long in the fun-filled supermarket aisle.:rolleyes: So we left. I might go in the different clinic, or just go to my PCP to get flu shot.

Noah started to do something very cute yesterday. Whenever we say "Noah, go and get your shoes." He'd stop whatever he was doing and head straight to his closet to get his shoe.:) He'd bring it back to me, sit down, and wait until I put it on him, then go back to get another one. He has 3 different shoes and he always get the right pair. Even when he's whining and crying, when he heard the word "shoes", he'd go straight to the closet. And that's even when he already has his shoes on! DH tried once and it worked, also! It was so cute. He loves his Robeez shoes!
Another thing he started to recognize is his morning chore....go out to get the paper with daddy. THis morning (Sunday morning, mind you), around 6am, he was at the front door and ready. He and DH would go out, he walks straight to the paper and pick it up (he needed extra help this morning since it was so heavy), and funny thing is he won't come back...he heads to the street to cross. DH always has to carry him back home. But I think he knows that's what he has to do in the morning.

AnnaSue, sorry to hear Brendan having ear infection.:( I also wondered how can you tell when there's no symptoms!? Good thing the doctor caught it.

Joanne, sounds like you managed the party weekend! I hear ya about DH....they just think different, I guess. It's so frustrating!!!

Welcome SueK and Samantha! LOVE that name! Hope you're settling in the new routine. How old is your older one? She must be excited to ahve a little sister.

Kim, your reminder of time change was the only one I saw! Here in AZ there's no time change so no paper or news mention about it. When we lived other states, reminder was everywhere! I kind of liked it, especially when you can get extra hour of sleep...(yes we used to be able to get extra hour sleep in the morning...not anymore.)

SusanR, that's kind of cool your SIL could give family members flu shots!!! Can she give your kids, too? Or you'd rather go to the ped. office for that??

Cheryl, my doctor (ped.) didn't mention about vitamin at all. He just asked if he's eating veggies and mostly balanced diet, and I said we're trying, and he thought it was good. Noah doesn't drink a lot of milk either, although he's trying and getting better at it. Sounds like you're recovering nicely, too. It must be nice to have your mom around. Get a lot of rest, and take care of yourself!!

[RunnerKim]

Welcome SueK!

Lainey certainly hasn't understood about the time change -so no extra sleep for us. I even made sure she stayed up until 8 (normal time) last night in hopes she'd sleep to her normal time. Hopefully she'll adjust over the next couple of days -- the week day routine might help more.

Nori - that's very impressive about the shoes. That you keep them in a closet that is :D :D That's really cool that he brings a matching pair.

We bought Lainey a pair of stride rites this weekend at the outlet mall. $21 (compared to $41 - or at least that's what they list as full price). Whew - talk about pricey! But they are so flexible in the soles, not like many of the others I've seen. WE have a really hard time getting her heel all the way down in them though.

AnnaSue - sorry to hear about Brendan's ear infections. I had them chronically as a kid and ended up getting tubes put in my ears. Hope you get it cleared up once and for all. How scary about the store. I would not be happy at all after 20 minutes of searching!!

Joanne - glad you survived the parties. Makes for a hectic weekend with lots of running around.

We shopped shopped shopped on Saturday. It worked out pretty well as we arrived at the outlet mall fairly early so Lainey could run around more without me worrying about people being everywhere. Fabulous deals on shoes - DH has a specific pair of rockports he wanted that normally cost $140 and the outlet had them for $90 plus a buy one get one 1/2 half deal. The kid clothing stores (Carter and Osh Kosh) had some decent stuff but I just don't find the deals there - often get the same price during sales at regular stores. I also bought a child harness/leash this weekend. There are a few times that I think it'll be really helpful (waiting for the bus along a busy road when she absoulately can't stand to be held anymore for example). I'm not looking forward to the comments I've heard I'll received in using it though. Maybe I'll be surprised and people will just mind their own business :rolleyes:

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Nori, that's cute about the shoes and the newspaper. That's funny what Kim said about the closet. I can relate! We've got two shelving things that hold about 20 pairs each that we have by the front door. They are all filled and some are still on the floor. Caitlyn loves to crawl over there and pull them all out. The bad part (besides putting them all back) is that she tries to put them in her mouth. Yuck. When does this oral fixation stage stop? I don't remember the boys being like this.

She's been eating like crazy lately. Yesterday I gave her scrambled eggs for the first time and she loved them. She's probably having a growth spurt. No reaction from her RSV shot, so that's good.

I kept everyone up till their normal bedtimes last night (which was an hour later) and they seemed to get up at the regular time this morning. No one fussed about going to bed, they were all really tired. So, hopefully we're back on schedule.

Kim, I wouldn't worry about what people will say about the harness. If it gives you peace of mind, who cares? I'm sure someone will say something, probably someone who's never had to keep an eye on a one year old.

Well, our weekend of partying is over. Jameson's, I should say. I found out that not all of the kids in the class were invited to these parties. The mothers I met at the first party were telling me it's OK not to invite the whole class. I would just feel bad if someone found out they weren't invited and got hurt. I'm inviting Ian's class to his in a couple weeks, but after that party I might rethink what I'm going to do for their birthdays. I don't remember having any parties like this, or going to many either, when I was a kid.

The kids are very excited about Halloween. I took the day off work so I can go to their school parties. We've kind of started a tradition in our neighborhood where the husbands take the kids trick or treating. The number of dads and kids going seems to grow every year. This year the moms are going to gather at one house and maybe have a bonfire or something. They only take the kids around a couple blocks. Then we need to go visit the grandparents. Should be fun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

[clairea]

Originally posted by RunnerKim
I also bought a child harness/leash this weekend. There are a few times that I think it'll be really helpful (waiting for the bus along a busy road when she absoulately can't stand to be held anymore for example). I'm not looking forward to the comments I've heard I'll received in using it though. Maybe I'll be surprised and people will just mind their own business :rolleyes:

Kim

Delurking for a minute:o Kim, I used a leash with both of my kids when they were toddlers. I think they actually preferred it to being in a stroller or having to hold my hand (which really can't be to comfortable for the kid holding their arm up in the air to reach the adults hand) as it gave them some freedom to move around, and both kids would ask to use it instead of the stroller when we went places. I was prepared for negative comments too, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the only comments I ever got were people asking me where I had purchased my harness/leash.

Claire

[MrsReber]

Hi! Sounds like everyone had fun weekends! We went to the Halloween party on Saturday from about 3:00 until 7:00. The kids were getting very tired and I was tired from chasing them around! Casey was so afraid of the hayride. It was a little trailer with hay behind an old tractor. I think it was 1939 or something like that. Brenden was scared at first, but then he loved it. They went out for a second trip and when they came back for the third, Brenden tried to climb back in the trailer! So we went again. DH, of course, didn't go.

Sunday was a stressful day. I took the cat back to the vet and decided to put him down. He started to go downhill so quickly, the vet wasn't even sure if they could help him. She was crying because she had been there through his surgery and all. He simply stopped fighting and really didn't want to live anymore. Right after that, we had to go to the wedding. My friend watched the kids. She said Brenden screamed for half an hour after I left! Poor little guy. He's not right. I think it's his eyeteeth. He has been getting up at 4:30 each morning for the past 3 days and refuses to lie back down in his crib. I have been quite tired! He's sleeping now. I took them out to run some errands this morning and Brenden was just about out when we got home. I put him right into his crib. I know he can't be sick since he just finished his antibiotics from his strep. It has to be the teeth. I picked up some Motrin today. The Tylenol didn't seem to help at all. He would just scream when he got up!

We got home from the wedding at 9:30. Both kids were in bed asleep and our living room was clean! I asked DH what we're doing wrong since things seem to go so smoothly when we're not there!

SueK, welcome! Yes, my kids had different personalities from day one. Casey is very shy. She seems very mellow, but she internalizes things (just like her mom!). Brenden has always been a big mouth. If something is not right in his little world, he will let you know in no uncertain terms. He does bring Casey out of her shell at times so that's a good thing.

Nori, my SIL doesn't work for the doctor anymore so she doesn't give us flu shots these days. She quit last year. She didn't want to give Casey a shot because it really should be broken down into two shots and given in accordance with the pediatrician's instructions. I'm getting my free shot at work this year.

[RunnerKim]

(((Susan))) I'm so sorry about Stryper. It's certainly been a roller coaster for you. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Teething just really sucks. For everyone involved. So nice to come home to a picked up house! Your babysitter didn't have the zillion other things to do at your house that you normally do.

Claire - thank you for sharing your experience. Many places we go we just don't have a stroller along and Lainey never seems to want to spend much time in it when we do. I'd rather her walk and explore as much as possible anyway.

Joanne - I was wondering about inviting the entire class -- that can be a ton of kids these days. My sister didn't for her son who's in K this year. she just asked the teacher who his friends seemed to be (of course this was only about 3 weeks into school).

Kim

[JoanneOR]

SusanR, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. How terrible. I didn't realize that he had started to go downhill. How is Casey handling it?

Glad you had a nice time at the wedding. It's nice to come home to a quiet clean house. Not that I would know!

I did talk to the woman who used to babysit for the boys about watching Caitlyn. She said she was busy on Mondays and Wednesdays, but she would see if she could switch her schedule around and get back to me. She was really sweet about it, but I haven't heard from her and it's been about two weeks. I'm not going to call her, because I figure if she really wanted to do it, she would have called. I don't want to put any pressure on her by calling. So, it looks like Caitlyn will not be going anywhere. I have to admit, I'm a little relieved. I know it would be for the best because DH could get a little sleep, but I was a bit apprehensive about how she would adjust. We are probably going to put her in the daycare where the boys have gone to preschool (and Colin is now) next fall when the kids go back to school. She'll be almost two and they have a nursery school program.

[BeckyM]

Hi Everyone!

I finally got through reading about a week's worth of threads! It sure is hard to keep up now that I'm working! I know you've all said I could just post and not read everything, but I really want to know what's going on with all of you. I would hate not reading what you all have written. Of course it's still impossible for me to remember everything by the time I'm typing my response, but at least I have a general feel for what's going on.

MrsReber/SusanR -- so sorry to hear about Stryper. I was hoping he had recovered completely from his attack by the dogs. I hope you all are coping okay with the loss of a beloved pet. I'm glad to hear the night with the babysitter went okay, other than Brenden crying when you left. DH and I STILL haven't left Katie with a babysitter in the evening. We tried to find one for a wedding a month or so ago, but no one was available. We keep saying we need to do that (and my mom keeps telling me we need to take time for ourselves), but we just haven't made the effort to plan something and find a babysitter.

On the financial advisor subject, I'm like most of you, in that I really don't understand it all as well as I should, AND I don't feel like we have things set up as well as we should. We DO have a financial advisor we really like. He has been DH's parents' financial advisor for years, and I started using him when I moved to Cincinnati, based on DH's advice. He is very patient with our ignorance and always explains things very well. He works for Smith Barney, but he doesn't push their products on us. He tells us that if we have comparable options through our company retirement plans, we should contribute there first, since the money is pre-tax. We've also talked to him about a 529 for Katie, but we haven't set one up yet. DH thinks he has an option to set one up through work, but he hasn't looked into it yet. (He has the info, but he put it somewhere and hasn't read it yet.) It might just be a fund to use for educational expenses within that year, but we need to figure it out. I was also thinking we should make sure we do a fund that will allow us to use Upromise too. We've gotten several sizeable $ gifts for Katie, and right now they're just sitting in our savings account.

Great news about our family photos. The photographer e-mailed me on Friday saying she had gotten the proofs back, and she thought we'd be very pleased with them. She also told me she would like to use two of the shots on her website and was wondering if that was okay with us. I'm excited to hear she thinks two of the shots turned out well enough to display on her website! The other pictures we saw there were all very good -- in fact we chose her BECAUSE of her website! So assuming the pictures get on her website soon, I can post the link here so you all can finally see what Katie looks like! We're not sure yet if the pictures are ones of just Katie (DH says he's assuming they're just of Katie, but I think it's probably one shot of just her and one of us as a family), so maybe you'll get to see DH and me too.

I was glad to see you all posting about the connection between teething and diaper rash, because I thought I had heard it somewhere before but wasn't sure if I had it right. Katie had a bad bout of diaper rash recently, and she never really had before. She has also been teething lately, so I was thinking it might be related. She has just gotten her 8th tooth (making 4 top and 4 bottom), and it feels like two more top ones are trying to come through. Like many of you, I don't get the opportunity to feel in her mouth very often. She usually clamps her mouth shut when I come near her with my fingers, OR she opens and then chews on me. She also isn't cooperating much with the teeth brushing. I'm using an actual baby toothbrush now, with the Gerber infant toothpaste, and I think she just likes the taste of it. She'll let me put the toothbrush in her mouth, but then she grabs onto the handle and won't let me actually brush her teeth. She just sucks on the brush and chews on it. I manage to get it on her teeth a bit, but I'm sure I'm not getting all the stuff off her teeth. At least I'm trying!

Kim -- I think the harness/leash is a great idea. Katie isn't quite walking enough to need one, but today I went to Wild Birds Unlimited (a store that sells bird feeders, seed, birdbaths, and all sorts of accessories related to birdwatching) with Katie, and it was really busy, so it took a while to be waited on. Katie kept squirming to get down (I hadn't put the stroller in the car), so I ended up squatting down on the floor while she crawled around. I'm thinking she's going to be into EVERYTHING once she starts walking, and a harness would be a reassuring thing to have. I REALLY think my parents should have had one of those for my younger sister, because she wandered off in a big Kmart-type store when we were kids, and we couldn't find her for a long time. Luckily she was just hiding in the middle of a circular clothing rack, and Mom found her by seeing her shoe sticking out underneath. Anyway, I think a product that keeps a child safe is a good thing, regardless of how it looks. I'd rather have that than a lost/abducted child!

I just got done baking a bunch of Halloween goodies to take to DH's work on Thursday. Since that's my day off, I promised him I'd bring Katie to his work that day in her costume, and we'd pass out Halloween goodies to his staff. It was actually DH's idea -- he knew I'd love the excuse to bake! I made some frosted pumpkin cookies, but those are fairly time-intensive, so I then looked for easier things to make. I found the idea for "ghost" cookies in the internet -- dipping Nutter Butters in melted white almond bark to make ghosts. The recipe said to use black jellybeans cut in half for the eyes, but I used mini chocolate chips instead. I also just got the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, so I made a Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake from there too. Hopefully that will taste okay -- since it's a cake, it's hard to sample ahead of time!

On Thursday I also have the playgroup that Katie and I normally go to. Coincidentally, we're having the kids wear their costumes to that (as an opportunity to get more use out of the costumes, and so we can all see how cute they are), so Katie will already be dressed in costume to go see DH.

Well, I'd better get busy on some things around the house. I'm planning to make tuna casserole for dinner, so we'll have leftovers to eat during the week. Katie is sleeping for the moment, but I'm not sure how long that will last. I don't want her to nap too late, or it will interfere with bedtime!

Hope you're all having a good week.

Becky :)

[tbb113]

One comment on the harness/leash. Another option that existed 13 years ago was a 'hand holder'. It was a wide ribbon braclet like thing that was velcroed onto your child's wrist(went under a loop as well so they couldn't disengage it. The parent wore a matching band and the two were connected with a telephone like wire (the coily stretchy kind). I really liked mine since I felt it didn't look like I was "walking my child" which is what the harness makes me think of. My oldest son was fine with it and I went through many an airport, England, and stores with him. The youngest son HATED it (didn't like it around his wrist) and REFUSED to move if it was on his arm. So, you might want to see if you can do a trial run before you purchase it.

Tyra

[cchhbb]

Kim, where did you buy your harness? I really want to get one for Garrett. He's not walking well enough to need one now, but he will be soon. He's into everything so I know I will need one. He has little tolerance for the stroller so I know he will be so much happier in a harness. I will look into the wrist to wrist thing too.

Becky, great news on the pictures. I need to take Garrett in for his 12 month pictures. I think my mom and I will take him next week. I do want to get one of him in his costume.

Susan, sorry to hear about your kitty. I was really hoping that he would recover from his injuries.

Joanne, I can understand why you would be happy to keep Caitlyn at home this winter. Garrett seems to be getting colds all the time since he started going to preschool. I think if I had a little one with health problem that I wouldn't let them go anywhere. I'd worry too much about them getting sick.

Garrett can't seem to adjust to the time change. He's getting up at 5:00 even if I keep him up later in the evening. He was really tough to get to sleep tonight. Poor thing was really tired.

My aunt arrived today for the week. I think my mom will enjoy having her around. My mom is so great to have here. She's doing everything. I am really lucky. I'm starting to mend, but my splint seems to be too tight. I'm supposed to get it off on Thursday and get a real cast on, but I think I'm going to call the doctor and see if we can take it off tomorrow.

My battery is going dead.

Cheryl

[tbb113]

Here is a link to something similiar to the hand-holder I was talking about http://shop.store.yahoo.com/kidsstuff/g120-loopleash.html

I liked it also because it kept my hands free.

[nori]

tbb133...that handler thing looks pretty simple! The one I saw was on the One Step Ahead and it looked like the harness for the dog! Hmmmm all this talk about the harness I feel like I might need one for Noah. He's pretty independent and wants to go everywhere.

Cheryl, Garrett must be having fun with grandma and grand-aunt (is that the word to say it?) around. Good for you all! Are you taking off from work?

Becky, Noah had terrible diaper rash when he was getting upper front teeth. He never had one before so I was wondering what was wrong. Thanks to this thread, I was assured that was from teething. Brushing teeth is tough....he HATES it, although he's so curious of me brushing my teeth.:rolleyes: Like you, I'm trying, at least! That's exciting about your family photos! I'm looking forward to seeing it. So Katie is going to wear the costume Thursday and Friday? Are you going to take her to trick or treating?

Joanne, Noah chews on the shoes, too! What's up with that?? Your neighborhood sounds like nice and fun. What a great idea to get together in one house!!! I'd love to do that, but I'm not really familiar with them yet....last year we got about 20 kids total coming in for trick or treating, but didn't really know where they were from.

Kim, I try to keep his shoes in his closet, but he likes to pull them out. You'll find them all around the house. One time I found them in our closet, where Noah thought his shoes should belong, too.:D That was cute. What sort of shoes are stride rite??? I thought that was the name of the store......is it like tennis shoes??

SusanR, I'm so sorry to hear about Stryper.:( I was just assuming he's getting better. Hugs to all of you.

Noah woke up 4 times (that's what I remember) and one time I was just so tired and kind of upset that he was crying that hard. Finally DH came in (so that explains how bad it was....that DH woke up and actually GOT up), and took it over from there. I was standing outside of his room almost crying. I heard DH saying "Night-night." "It's okay, go back to sleep." so many times. After about 20 min., he finally calmed down and fall asleep. It was about 2am and after that he woke up around 4:30am. It was like he had a nightmare or something....we're pretty tired today. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Oh, another funny thing...I think Noah recognize the word "snack", too. (That's my boy!:D ) I casually told him "Do you want to have some snack?" and he went straight to in front of the refrigerator and looking up. I thought it was so funny.

[MrsReber]

Thanks everyone for the condolences for Stryper. He looked great after his visit to the vet when they removed the feeding tube. He ate so much when we got home and even went back to eating his regular dry food. Then he just stopped eating. He'd eat little bits here and there and on Friday, he just stopped completely. The vet and I cried about it together. She said she'd put him down herself since she wanted to make sure he was taken care of. They could've put him back on fluids and tried to warm him up (his temp and heart rate were dangerously low), but she didn't have the feeling that he'd ever be the same again or if he was even able to come out of it for a second time. Even if he came home again, there was no guarantee that we wouldn't be in the same situation in another month. His body couldn't handle any more. She told me they could put him on fluids and let me think about it. I told her I'd come to the same conclusion no matter how long I thought about it. He was very unhappy and he obviously wanted to die. DH was not supprotive at all and was lecturing me on getting the vet bills paid and how he didn't want me to spend any more money on my cat. Since Stryper was in the basement, me and Casey would go down and feed him a few times each day. She asked last night where kitty's food was. I was on the phone so I didn't answer her right away and she forgot about it. DH, being such a "guy" said to Casey on Sunday "did Mommy tell you that kitty is dead?" I got so mad at him. I didn't bring it up with her because I wanted to think about what to say. I know at 2, they don't understand death at all and the word "dead" means nothing to her. She hasn't been in the basement since Sunday morning so she doesn't realize that he's not there anymore. I'm okay. I miss Stryper since I had him so long, but I know that he didn't want to live like that. I had a feeling on Saturday that we were nearing the end so I tried my best to prepare myself for it. I almost brought him in on Friday because he had some swelling in his head. It had gone away by the time I got home. I was hoping he'd feel better and start eating again, but he didn't. In a way, I'm relieved that I don't have to live with the feeling of dread anymore and wondering if he'll ever recover. But I sure do miss his little kitty face and his loud purring. I'm such a wimp- I couldn't even say good-bye to him. The vet told me that was okay and that she'd give him a nice scratch on the head for me. I cried on the way home.

Brenden woke up again at 3:30 for the fourth day in a row! He won't go back to sleep. He just wants me to sit there with him. If I put him down, he gets (stands up!) and cries. DH has no patience for him at all. I'm actually getting very worried. It's not like Brenden to wake up at night. He normally will sleep until 8:30 or 9:00 on weekends. Something is definitely wrong. I gave him some Motrin this morning and it didn't seem to help him at all. I'm at a loss. I really thought it was just teething pain. He was fine before bedtime last night, running all over the place and playing. I've been up since 3:30 today. DH got up and closed Brenden's door, then he went in our room and closed that door so he wouldn't be disturbed! I was so angry! He doesn't even try to help me. He got yelled at before I left for work. They changed the train schedule so I have to leave 10 minutes earlier now!

Cheryl, isn't it nice to have your own mom around when you need help? My mom is great for that. I know I can count on her and it's so comforting. Hope you're feeling good!

I have to run and get some work done!

[JoanneOR]

Oh, SusanR, your story about Stryper made me cry, too. I'm so sorry. But, you are right, he is comfortable and safe now. I'm just so mad for you that it had to happen this way. I can imagine all the emotions you are feeling. That's too bad that your DH wasn't as supportive as he could be. Men sometimes have strange ways of dealing with things. I don't follow the other threads too closely, are those dogs still in the neighborhood, or have they been taken away?

Could Brenden maybe have an ear infection? I know he was just on antibiotics, but you never know. Caitlyn was up every two hours last night, too. I'm pretty tired today. She does the same thing. She stands up in her crib and cries. If you lay her down, she gets even more upset.

Becky, that's great about the pictures. They must have turned out really good if the photographer wants to put them on the web site. I hope she does so we can see. You gave me a good idea about the cookies. We are supposed to bring cookies to the Cub Scout Halloween party Thursday, I think I'll try those cookies. I've made that pumpkin crumble cake you mentioned. I actually thought it was just OK, I didn't care for the consistency of the pumpkin filling. But, the people at work absolutely loved it. I got so many requests for the recipe.

Nori, I've noticed Caitlyn recognizing some words, too. It's so fun to watch them learn new stuff. She was standing by the cabinet where we have some granola bars and hitting it. I opened it and she got one and handed it to me to open. It was cute. She still really isn't saying any words, though. She says uh-oh and I think she says hi. She'll say ma-ma, but it doesn't seem to mean me to her.

Cheryl, you're right, I do worry about Caitlyn more. Now that I've been thinking about it, it might be better to look for a different daycare situation. I like the preschool, but there's so many kids. We'll see. We have some time to think about it.

Will you be more mobile once you get the cast on? That's great to have so much help. And, I'm sure your mom and aunt love being with Garrett.

Time to get to work...

[erinl]

I got a harness for Hanne at Babies R Us. She gets used to it pretty quickly, and surprisingly, we've never gotten any comments.

Susan, sorry to hear about Stryper. Hugs to you all.

I think that the babies are upset by some strange planetary alignments or the recent solar flares. It seems like all of the kids that I know have had a rough patch the past couple of days. Sunday morning and Monday morning Hanne was up at 3am and didn't want to go back to sleep. Thankfully, she slept until 6:30 this morning.

[RunnerKim]

I agree with Erin - there just must be something up. Maybe the time change (although that doesn't explain Noah :D ). Lainey actaully slept well last night for the first time in several days (or maybe I just slept through it :rolleyes: ). She got her flu shot yesterday afternoon so that could be part of it. But she's been waking and crying. I have attritubted it to teething as I know her molars are pushing through but neither DH or I have gotten a status check on them in several days. We're wimps :D

I have the same harness that Erin does - Safety 1st from Babies R Us for about $8 if I recall correctly. I'd read in several places that toddlers can figure out how to take the wrist one off (Babies R Us also had a wrist version although not as pretty as the one Tyra posted). I guess I don't have the hang up about it looking like a dog leash - I put a leash on my dog because I want to keep her safe too.

SusanR - I cried for Stryper too - for you. I hope your household finds some peace soon - sounds like a lot of stressful things are going on. I'm so impressed with how much you're able to do on your own with 2 young kids.

Becky -- I hope we get to see the pictures. They sound like they came out great! Definitely have to get pictures done in the spring. I was just thinking a couple of days ago - did your daycare open yet? I know there's the concern that your teacher's own children might get sick and leave you in a bind so I'm hoping everything's gotten settled. An oh yeah - your days of enjoying shopping in a store filled with stuff are limited. A local grocery store here (well it's more like super wal-marts in that they have clothes, jewerly, etc. etc.) has a little on-site child care place. A brilliant plan but the kids have to be 2 before you can leave them there (not that I could see leaving Lainey there at this age). It's mostly videos and a few toys.

Cheryl that is so great you have all this family to help you out (and it's "good" family :D ). Were able to finish weaning without incident?

Kim

[tbb113]

SusanR: I'm so sorry about Stryper. We had a dog that died very unexpectedly when my son was 2. I had to repeat for about a week "Jock is gone, Jock is dead, Jock doesn't live here anymore" in response to "Jock, where Jock, Mommy?". I don't think a 2 year old can understand more than that. It made it very hard on me since I had to keep stating that Jock was dead. (Even though I knew it, saying it out loud was hard)

[MrsReber]

Yes, I feel like I'm going to have to say that kitty doesn't live with us anymore or that he's found a better home. She used to feed him and give him water each day. I know they forget easily in their little world, but she will ask me again, I'm sure. She's so much like me in the way that she cares for our pets. That's why I worry about it so much. I was a chronic worrier when I was little. I worried about stuff that a 5 year old had no business worrying about. I don't want that to happen to my daughter.

Please tell me that it is a planetary alignment thing! I can't take another day of getting up at 3:30! DH asked me yesterday if I got to nap! Oh, yeah, honey, I just hang out and rest when I'm home with the kids :rolleyes: . We went to the bank, one store, the supermarket, and the gas station. Then I had to do some work (before and after the stores) and by the time they were up from their naps, it was time to start dinner! I thought about it being an ear infection. He doesn't really complain unless he's lying down. I'm thinking if it keeps up, a trip to the doctor will be in order. There are viral infections that antibiotics won't help so maybe that's it? He doesn't have a fever at all. He's a tough one. He never shows signs of illness until he's REALLY sick.

I have to say that I, too, am amazed at how much I get done with 2 children to care for! The only problem is that I never get enough sleep. I think that's probably normal for a mom, though.

Joanne, I'm mad about the circumstances surrounding Stryper's death, you're so right about that. He'd be happy and healthy if it weren't for that stupid guy. He's going to court tomorrow. If he pleads not guilty, I'll be called for a trial. If he pleads guilty, he'll have to pay $250 a year for a license for each dog, he'll have to keep them confined in a pen with a fence surrounding the pen, if they leave the pen, they will have to be muzzled with a muzzle given to them by animal control and if they get out- well, then they're gone. It really makes me angry that this should've happened over a year ago,when his dogs first killed someone else's dogs! I'm furious at the court system for making such a mistake and not taking care of the problem then. They could have saved me a ton of heartache.

[cchhbb]

Kim, My weaning went really well until Sunday night. My breasts were really hurting and I kept ice on them. Finally I ended up pumping for one minute per side so I could get some sleep. I hadn't nursed Garrett for about 10 days so I was really surprised to be so uncomfortable. Also, it took me about 8 weeks to wean him so I would have thought that weaning was no big deal. I ended up calling the lactation help line who told me that it is common to have a rebound after about a week of weaning. She said to expect it again in about a week.

Susan, I think you are telling Casey the right thing about the kitty not living with you. I think that she wouldn't have an understanding of death right now and if you said he went to sleep and didn't wake up I could see that scaring her too. Have you decided to sue the dog owner and the county? I hope you are able to recoup the costs. I remember what it was like when my 19 year old cat died. I knew he went to a better place, but I was so sad since I had for so long. He was my little buddy.

Erin, I hope you're right about this being a temporary thing. I really want Garrett to sleep in to 6 again. At least he's been sleeping through the night from about 6 to 5. He's been a bear about going to bed, but I thought it was because I haven't been able to spend very much time with him since my surgery.

I'm going to put a harness on my list for the next time I go to Babies R Us. We're going to fly to Ohio for Thanksgiving and I know I want one for the airport. I'm taking the stroller, but I don't think I will be able to keep him in it. I hope we get lucky and get an extra seat on the plane, but I have a feeling I'll be wrestling with him on my lap for the entire flight. I also think we will have to take the train to the airport as airport parking will probably be full.

My mom and aunt are awesome. They are so good to Garrett. They are working on some projects at my house while he is napping. They are down in the basement stripping an old table for me. They are also working to take up the tiles in the foyer so we can replace them.

Garrett is now napping in his bed for 1 to 2 hours two times a day. I hope I can keep it up after my mom leaves. Sometimes I could get him to nap in his bed and other times I couldn't.

My leg is really bothering me today. I can barely sleep at night since I have to sleep on my back with my leg up on 3 pillows. Right now I'm laying on the couch with an ice pack on. I get this splint removed on Thursday and then get a regular cast put on then.

Cheryl

[tbb113]

Originally posted by cchhbb


I'm going to put a harness on my list for the next time I go to Babies R Us. We're going to fly to Ohio for Thanksgiving and I know I want one for the airport. I'm taking the stroller, but I don't think I will be able to keep him in it. I hope we get lucky and get an extra seat on the plane, but I have a feeling I'll be wrestling with him on my lap for the entire flight. I also think we will have to take the train to the airport as airport parking will probably be full.

Cheryl

I've posted this before on other threads about traveling with a baby, but just in case you haven't seen it ... ask for an aisle and a window for you and your husband. Ask them to BLOCK the center seat. If they can't block it and it does end up being used, then you can give up the window or aisle and still have two seats next to each other. Also, place the blanket down on the seats. That way in case of spills you can remove the blanket and still have a relatively clean/dry seat :D I flew 4 times to England BY MYSELF when Michael was between 14 - 18 months on business trips with him as a lap baby. In general everyone was co-operative and helpful and just IGNORE those who aren't ;)

Tyra

[slknight]

SusanR, more (((hugs))). I'm so sorry about Stryper.

Things are still a bit stressful here. After the croup a week ago, Alex got a terrible cold. I thought he was finally over his cold, but he still has a terrible cough and is wheezing. I took him back to the doctor this morning. She says he has the start of an ear infection and is wheezing pretty badly. She has prescribed a one-dose anti-biotic and a nebulizer of albuterol. I have to go to a medical supply place to pick up the nebulizer. She said that just because he's like this now, doesn't mean he's going to have asthma. But we've got a strong family history of asthma, so it's not looking good.:(

We started rice cereal about two weeks ago and he's pretty happy with it. We tried bananas the other day and he wasn't too sure what to think about that!:p He had the funniest look on his face.

He's getting very close to crawling. The other day he was going backwards. We need to start doing some baby-proofing, and I need to vacuum more often.

I have finally made an appointment for him to get some professional photos done. We're going to Sears tomorrow.

Susan

[MrsReber]

Susan, thanks for the hugs. I really appreciate it.

I had to comment on vacuuming. I used to vacuum once, maybe twice a week. Now it's once or twice a day. I am not exaggerating. Our rather new carpet has been trashed by the kids. It's a high traffic area since you walk into the living room through the front door. Our house isn't all that big to begin with. I feel like I'm always cleaning, yet it's never clean!

Cheryl, can you send your mom and aunt to my house when you're done with them? :D :D

[RunnerKim]

SusanK - We had tons of problems with respirtory issues last winter (including being hospitalized for pneumonia). My regular pediatrician said not to even worry about asthma until the child is 2 (another doctor we'd seen when we made a same day appt. had said something about it). with a family history I'm sure it's hard not to be anxious about it, try not to. Absolutely no family history of asthma for us and Lainey still had more than her share of problems. So far this winter no wheezing for us - and I felt like last year Lainey was always wheezing. You might call your medical supply place before going to rent a machine - the one DH drove to (the 2nd place actually) didn't have the breathing mask for infants. We just worked with the tube but it would have been easier with the mask (unless Lainey really fought wearing it, don't know).

Cheryl - when your Mom and aunt are done at SusanR's can I have them?? I hope you're feeling better soon. That's very intersting about the weaning and how resilient your milk supply is. My plumbing must have been very defunct - I never had engorgement, feelings of let-down, very little leakage, missed a pumping.. hardly noticeable. I'll be really curious if it works any better for me the next time around.

Vacuuming? What's that? :D To much hair on the kid, time to pull out the vacuum. We go for twice a week, once on Friday night or Saturday morning for the weekend when we're home. No excuse as it's a small house and doesn't take much time at all. :o

Tyra - I am so IMPRESSED. Trans-atlantic flights with a toddler. Great tip about the blanket.

Kim

[BeckyM]

Hi everyone!

I thought I'd post again while I had a quick chance. It's so much easier to keep up with everything when I check in and post daily than when I go a whole week!

Kim -- I meant to mention the daycare situation when I posted last, but I forgot. They're still not open, and Miss Jill is still coming to our house. The state inspection of the daycare is supposed to be tomorrow though, and based on that they'll either pass and be able to open very soon, or they may have some things to change and then be re-inspected. I'm assuming they'll pass, so they could open as early as next week. I imagine they'll take at least another week to get all the parents & employees notified and to get last-minute things in place though. Luckily Miss Jill has been great, and her kids have been healthy too.

We received our proofs from the photo shoot in the mail today, and there are some really good pictures! After the photos were taken, DH and I were thinking MAYBE she got a couple good ones, but with as crabby as Katie was at first, we weren't very hopeful. But when we saw the pictures today we were amazed at how many good ones she had. We had six different ones of Katie that we really like, and there are even more family ones that we think are pretty good. There are two pictures the photographer is planning to use on her website. One is of Katie standing holding onto DH's leg, with my legs on the other side of her. It only shows our legs, and Katie has her face sort of pressed up against DH's leg with a sort of thoughtful look on her face. I think that picture is absolutely precious. The other one is of all three of us. DH was lifting Katie up in the air to cheer her up, so the photographer suggested I stand behind DH and look up at Katie while he was doing it. She got several good shots of it, but one in particular really captured Katie's look of glee. I don't think I look my greatest in it (you can see my rear end, and it looks larger than in some of the other pictures), but overall I think that picture is really neat. It also has beautiful fall colors in the background. The photographer said they could be up on her website by the end of the week. She said she would call to let us know when they're there.

Today for work I was at a Women Managers' Conference. I work in the manufacturing field, so women are typically a minority. Fortunately my company recognizes that women in the field may need extra support & networking, so they encourage us to do things like this conference. Anyway, it was nice after being gone from work for a year to go to this conference and reconnect with some women I hadn't seen since before I was out. The only problem was that I forgot to bring my "Mom's Brag Book" with pictures. I only had one little picture in my wallet, so it had to suffice. One good thing that happened -- I was talking to a woman I had worked with previously on a project and congratulating her on her recent promotion. (She is now two levels above me.) When I had worked with her in the past, we had actually been on opposing sides of working through some issues, and I thought she might not think very highly of me because of it. But when we were talking, she very seriously told me if I was ever looking for a new role in the company, to let her know. She was indicating that she would welcome me into her part of the organization and would like me to come work for her. I was really happy to know I had made a favorable impression on her, even though I wouldn't want to do the type of work her group does (more technical than what I prefer).

Nori -- you asked about Halloween. Yes, Katie will wear her costume most of the day Thursday, and we'll put her in it again Friday evening for trick-or-treat. I don't think we'll actually take her around trick-or-treating though. We'll just take her to see a few of the neighbors, then she'll just stay with us to hand out candy. Most years the weather here has been nice on Halloween, so pretty much everyone in our neighborhood sits outside at the end of their driveways to hand out candy. I thought it was a little weird the first year (I was thinking the kids ought to at least have to go up to the door and ring the doorbell to get candy rather than just walking by), but I've gotten used to it now. We usually go sit with our neighbors in their driveway, so if the weather is nice, we'll do that again. DH's dad is coming over to spend the evening with us too, and I'm going to invite a friend of mine to join us as well. Our neighborhood gets a HUGE amount of trick-or-treaters, so I bought a bunch of candy. It should be a fun evening.

Cheryl -- glad to hear your Mom & Aunt are such great help. I hope your leg starts to feel more comfortable.

Tyra -- I agree with you on the advice to get the window & aisle seats on the plane. I didn't know the they could actually try to "block" the middle seat for you though. I just always thought the lone middle seats are the last to book up, so you're more likely to have an extra seat if you book the window & aisle than if you leave either the window or aisle seats open. We're travelling to Montana over the holidays, and we chose aisle & window seats for DH & me, with the middle one open. Hopefully we'll have that one available for Katie. That's great advice about putting a blanket down over the seat to catch spills!

Well, I'd better get my lunch packed for work tomorrow, get Katie's food together for Miss Jill to feed her, pick up Katie's toys in the living room (I should vacuum too, to MrsReber's point, but I'm too tired), and get myself up to bed. So much to do in a day! I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you about it though. :rolleyes:

Hope everyone has a great week and a fun Halloween!

Becky :)

[AnnaSue]

Interesting to read how everyones babies seem to be waking up during the night the last few days. Brendan has been doing that too, and we had a hard time getting him back to sleep at 3:30 this morning. He usually always sleeps through the night.

Nori - Sounds like Noah is at a cute age with the shoes, newspaper and word recognition. Did he sleep better last night? Good to hear that your DH helped out with him the other night.

Kim - I wouldn't worry about what others say about the harness either. I've learned to ignore a lot of comments that people make since Brendan was born. If it keeps the baby safe.. who cares what some stranger thinks! So, I guess I'm not the only one that never had any engorgement, let-down, leakage etc. I've wondered if it would be the same with another baby too.

Joanne - Your neighborhood sounds like lots of fun. I hope we'll have good neighbors, but we don't really have many yet since this area is so new. We'll probably get about 3 trick-or-treaters.

SusanR - Sorry to hear about Stryper, and that your DH wasn't more supportive. Did Casey ask about him again yet? How is Brenden doing at night? Could he be getting to the stage of being afraid of the dark or something? I had a flashback to an old job of mine when you mentioned your train schedule changing. That happened to me once when I commuted to Chicago, and I had to wait around for an extra half hour to catch the train home. I hated that! At least I didn't have a baby then though.

Becky - Sounds like your pictures turned out great! I hope we'll get to see them. Brushing teeth sure is difficult. I have such a hard time with Brendan only having the beginnings of two teeth - I can't imagine how much he'll bite later!

SusanK - How is Alex doing? Is he doing better on the medications?

I have a week of vacation coming up next week, and I can't wait! I could really use some time to get stuff done. It also turns out that my mom is coming to visit from Arizona during that time. My SIL just had a baby boy (a new cousin for Brendan!), so she wants to see him. My poor SIL had a terrible labor and delivery and then ended up back in the hospital with a serious infection. Fortunately, she is doing better now. I'm a bit worried about my mom during the visit though. My other brother has to break the news to her that he just found he is being sent to Iraq for the military.:( :( I've been so worried about this, and I know my mom is really going to freak out! Well, one day at a time I guess. Maybe plans will change.

Alright, I better go do some house stuff. Hope everyone is having a good week.

[nori]

Wow, that's so amazing so many babies haven't slept well at night. Erin, that planetary alignment theory is interesting. I hope that's the reason, too. Noah did almost exactly the same thing last night, too...2am and 3am. DH was great last night, too..(I wonder what got into him???:p ) Actually he got up before I even got up! At 3am we gave him tyrenol (okay, store brand....) and he slept until 6pm. One thing I just realize was, both nights he had chocolate (cocoa ) cookie after dinner. Sunday night was his first chocolate experience, although the size of cookie was small. We gave him one last night, too...I wonder if that caffeine in the cocoa woke him up???? Or planetary thing, or teething. I'd never know.:rolleyes:

AnnaSue, what a bummer your brother may be sent to Iraq now.:( Hope your mom will handle it okay, or better, the plan get changed and he doesn't have to go. But thanks to guys like your brother, we can live in this free country.:)

That reminded me of Bonuswife.....anyone know how she's doing????

Becky, those photos sound so cute!! I was wondering about your daycare the other day, too....it sounds like it's getting to close to open, but still pretty big difference from their initial plan, isn't it? Good thing you have Ms. Jill to come over.

Kim, DH does vaccuming and it's once a week.:o I know, we should be doing it more often. Yuck!!

SusanR, sorry to hear about Brenden.:( And I understand how upset you were about DH's reaction....you know, that sounds pretty much like my DH would do, although past 2 nights he's been very nice. We just need some encouragement and acknowledgement sometimes, but they ususally don't get it. I suppose your DH needs a lots of sleep to function normally?? Mine does, so I was basically hesitated to disturb his sleep because that means I have to deal with 2 babies!:p Hope Brenden sleeps well tonight. Your story about Stryper made me so sad and mad at the same time. I can't believe they got to keep the dogs, after all this incident!

SusanK, Poor Alex. Hope the treatment will work and make him feel better. Good luck at the photo studio!!

Tyra, we crossed the Pacific Ocean when Noah was about 7 months old (11 hours!) but it wasn't so bad as I thought it could be, I guess that's because Noah wasn't mobile at all. We also flew to Denver when he was 11 months old and it was very hard! And that was just about 2 hours!!!! I think right now it would be even harder. So I'm also impressed about your travel experience!

Cheryl, your mom and aunt sound so great! Do you think they'd enjoy the nice winer in Arizona?:D (Yes the weather is finally getting very nice last weekend, thank goodness!)

Joanne, that's cute about Caitlyn and granola bars! DH told me that his sister's first word was "uh-oh".:) She'd say whenever someone dropped some stuff or did something wrong. I thought it's so funny.


Okay, I better go to bed now.....Good night!

[RunnerKim]

AnnaSue - sorry to hear about your brother being sent to Iraq. I know how stressful that can be for family -- I'm assuming he'll likely be gone during the holidays? Enjoy your vacation!

Becky - that is so awesome about the job "offer!" That must have made you feel 10 feet tall - just what you need to hear when adjusting back to the work force. I'm glad you were able to make arrangements for Miss Jill to come to your house, you never could have taken this much more time off work! I can't wait to see those photos! - I'll admit part of my hesitency is being so critical of my body.

Okay Joanne -- I missed it somehow. Was granola bar Caitlyn's first word?? I tried looking back but didn't see it. I wanna know the cute story :D How's being den mother going? getting any more people hosting?

So -- planets are aligned to mess up our babies but are helping out the DH's! That's great Nori that your DH has been more supportive.

Seems a number of parents aren't happy with how the infant room at daycare has evolved. Another mom was there this morning talking with the toddler teacher when I arrived. She's a detective so works with several other parents and they'd been talking. The afternoons are two older women who are more nurturing than active - one of the women being the director's mother (new hire) and the other a good friend of the director. They don't do any structured activities now (used to do more) and Lainey is certainly of the age to need/want more. I am such a huge huge wimp and get incredibly anxious over having to discuss my concerns with the director. DH says he doesn't have a problem doing it at all so he's going to do it. We want to support what the other parents are saying and make sure any changes include Lainey (she's the youngest of the 12-18 month olds so I could see her getting left out if a new class was made or something). DH and I are going to talk at length about it tonight so he's completely informed about my concerns/talking points etc. I feel guilty that I'm not going to do it because I find it too hard. :(

Kim

[MrsReber]

Wow, we should've all gotten in touch last night! Brenden woke up at 2:00 and I was able to put him back down around 3:00. DH was the first one to pick him up, but I knew he was only doing that because I was angry with him. I just took Brenden from him and sent him out of the room. The alarm went off and I was getting ready for work when he woke up again! I took him into the kitchen with me and put Orajel everywhere! I was able to put him back in his crib and then talk to him from the doorway to get him back to sleep.

Casey did ask about kitty last night. She said "mommy, where kitty?" I told her that kitty wouldn't be returning home. She said "kitty doctor?". I told her kitty was very sick and quite old and the doctor wasn't able to help him. I said that he had gone to live in a nicer place, but he knows that she loved him very much. She was fine with that and just continued to play. I'm sure she'll ask again. On a side note, the dog owner should be in court right about now to address the charges of owning vicious dogs.

AnnaSue, I'm so sorry to hear that your brother is being sent to Iraq. We'll all be praying for his safe return. As Nori pointed out, he deserves all the thanks in the world for the sacrifices he makes for his country.

Becky, that's great that the daycare may open soon! I hope they pass inspection!

Kim, don't feel so bad about not being able to tell the daycare people how you feel. I'm sort of the same way. DH will tell them anything that's on his mind (the man is what I call "brutally honest"). I'm much better talking to them about things on the phone. Believe me, if they are interested in your child's well being and in keeping their business going, they will be very interested in what you have to say. I know that our daycare wants feedback and they try to keep parents actively involved. They will always talk to us about any issue, good or bad- and I do try to tell them when I see them doing something that I think is really great.

[nori]

Kim, Joanne mentioned about the glanora bar on her last posting responding to me.:) It's on page 6.

Noah woke up once around 1am last night. Then he was up for the day at 6am. It was still dark out, but he was ready to get shoes and get newspaper.:rolleyes:

Kim, I think you have a reason to be wanting to have more activities at the daycare, since she's there quite a long time. It is kind of hard to find craft stuff you can do with them at that age, but they can do music, dancing, chasing etc. (That's what I've been doing with Noah anyway. He loves chasing. Hey, I'm getting some exercise there!) Eldery women in the afternoon probably will not be able to keep up with them....hope you can get some good feedback from them to improve their system.

We went to shopping this morning and on the way home he was out. He's been on one nap schedule for past few days, usually in the afternoon so it'll be interesting to see how he'll hold up today.

[nori]

SusanR, we must be posting at the same time!!

As someone mentioned before, it must be hard for you to tell Casey about Stryper over and over again.:( I really hope the dog owner gets what he deserves!!!

I so admire you taking care of Brenden at night plus working full-time! You must be so tired from getting up at night like that. So you think he's teething??? Does Orajel help??? To me, Orajel does nothing. I stopped using them. I had high hope at first, seeing their ad in the magazine but didn't work for Noah. Oh well.

[MrsReber]

Nori, I've tried Tylenol and Motrin. Orajel was a last resort. I never thought it helped all that much, but DH said Brenden didn't get up again after I left. DH thinks it's still his molars. They're not all the way through yet. I still think it's the teeth in front even though we can't see them yet. He's been biting Casey again and he chewed up the top of a brand new sippy cup last night at dinner!

Yes, it's very hard to have to explain "where's kitty". It's such a rotten situation all around. I'm going to call the court or animal control tomorrow to see what happened today. The animal control officer said he'd give me a call. I wouldn't mind having to testify at trial, though.

It's not easy getting up in the middle of the night! I try to keep the frame of mind that it's really an opportunity for me to get to snuggle with my little boy since I don't see him all day! He's normally a great sleeper so I know he's upset when he wakes up.

[BeckyM]

Hi all!

Just logging in from work :eek: real quick to let you know our pictures are already on our photographer's website. I can't believe she got them on there so fast. DH was really curious, so he checked from work, and there they were! I'm going to try to post a link -- hopefully it will work. We're on the "gallery" page with a bunch of other photos. Ours are the last two -- one with DH holding Katie up in the air and me standing behind him, and the last one with Katie standing between our legs.
http://www.tammybryan.com/gallery2.html

Kim -- don't worry too much about your body for the pictures. From personal experience, I know everyone else will look much more at Lainey than they will at you in the pictures. And I know I always look much worse to myself than I do to other people. Luckily some of the other pictures show me from the front, and my rear end isn't so prominent, so I think I actually look pretty good in some of them.

Katie has been waking up in the night lately too. Not sure if it's teething. Last night DH though it was gas, because she was screaming like she was in pain, and she kept passing gas. Luckily she went back to sleep fairly early and slept through the rest of the night. And yes, my DH does an equal share (if not more) of the night wakings!

Joanne -- I forgot to mention before, thanks for the review on the Pumpkin Pie cake. I hope I like it better than you did!

Okay, got to get back to work!

Becky :)

[MrsReber]

Becky, you have got to be kidding! You don't look big at all! You look great! Katie is very cute. I love the pictures.

[RunnerKim]

Becky - Fabulous pictures!!!! They are really great and to think you have more of them too. I just love the non-studio look to them. The fall colors look so rich in the one photos. Your outfits work so well. And you say Katie was cranky. It doesn't show at all. (And phewy on looking big!)

It's great to hear about DH's that do their share - I have one and I like to hope he's not the only one out there.

Sheesh SusanR - how long goes it take these molars to come through. We felt in her mouth last night and it's still just a big bump back there. Poor thing.

Kim

[nori]

Becky...Great pictures!!!!! Katie is such a cutie! I love both of them, but the one with your DH's legs are priceless.;) You two look great, too! Boy she is a very good photographer...I kind of looked through the other photos ( didn't enlarge them, though:D ) and they're all great. I wish I could find one like her around here...maybe I should do some search? Was she expensive??? Last Christmas we took portrait at the Olan Mills and the package was about $200.00:eek:

SusanR, that's how I felt, too...having some snuggle time with him at night. Actually I liked to hold him and nurse him at night. What I didn't like was when we tried to put him back to sleep without holding etc. so I had to hear him crying and screaming. Oh, and when I was EXTREMELY tired and sleepy. It was impossible to enjoy the moment.

Kim, are you planning to take family photos sometime? I"m thinking of Christmas portrait, as we did last year, but not sure if we want to go with Olan Mills. They're great, but you know, it's studio. After seeing Becky's photos, I wish I could find a photographer like hers. I also love the way they look in the pictures....looks so natural.

I finally given up finding a pair of white fluffy slippers or shoes for Halloween. What I'd probably do is, as Kim suggested, put socks on the shoes.:o I'm thinking to stamp black dots on the socks, too....hopefully it doesn't look dorky.:rolleyes: If it does, I'd just let him wear shoes.

[BeckyM]

Nori -- the photographer we used wasn't as expensive as some we considered. She charged $95 for the sitting fee, which was I think $20 or $30 higher than she charges to do it in her studio. We get to keep all the proofs, then we can order different sized photos based on what we like. That will be the expensive part! It's not that the photos themselves are that expensive -- it's more that we'll want lots of copies of everything. We found the photographer just by looking at websites for photographers in our area. We really liked the pictures she had done and her philosophy about trying to capture the real person in her photos. We were taking a bit of a risk, since we didn't know anyone else who had used her, but we're really glad we did!

Thanks for the compliments, everyone!

Becky :)

[hrk]

Happy Thursday everyone
Becky- The pictures are wonderful. I really like the one of DH trowing Katie in the air. We do that with Logan and he just loves it. Hope the daycare passes inspection and opens soon.
Anna Sue- So sorry to hear about your brother being sent to Iraq. I hope you family is able to spend some time with hi before he leaves. But enjoy your vacation next weeke that should be wonderful.
SusanK- Sorry to hear about Alex having so many problems with wheezing. Hopefully it will improve soon.
SusanR So sorry to hear about Stryper. I hope that those dog owners get everything that is coming to them. As a dog owner it just frustrates me when dog owners take no responsibility for their pets.
Sorry to hear so many babies are not sleeping well. I guess this is what DH and I have to look forward to. One of my girlfriends used to joke that just when you get them sleeping through the night teething starts and it all goes out the window.
Well I was off work yesterday cause the mom and baby group I went to all summer was having a halloween party so I took the day off from work and took Logan to the party. It was a blast, really nice to see some of the moms and babies I haven't seen in a while and the babies all looked so cute in their costumes. Other than that not much new here. I get my stitches out tomorrow which will be a big help, and DH and I are finally looking forward to a quiet weekend.
Heather

[cchhbb]

Becky, awesome pictures. I really like the one of DH throwing Katie in the air. You must work for a really great company. I've always worked in manufacturing or consulting so I'm used to being one of the only women around, but I've never worked someplace where they thought it was important for women to network.

Susan, I hope the trial went well. Will you be able to get damages from this court case or will you have to sue him separately.

Yesterday, I left the house for the second time since my surgery. We went to our neighborhood playgroup for a Halloween party. Garrett was a little tiger. He was so cute. I drew a black nose on him and some whiskers. The house that we went to is not as childproofed as ours so it was a struggle for me. Everyone kept having to chase down Garrett. The other moms kept commenting on how active he is. He was constantly climbing on things. He climbed up on the couch and on top of the activity table. He also climbed on the fireplace hearth about 50 times. I was exhausted after being there for a little more than an hour.

Garrett is still getting up at 5:00. I'm not sure about what I can do to get him to sleep longer. I don't think morning should begin to at least 6. Yesterday, all the moms were talking about how their kids were getting up too early and not getting enough sleep. The preschool teachers also said that this is a really tough couple of weeks. I just wish we didn't do the time change.

I'm going to get my stitches out today and get another cast put on. I think I will be able to put some weight on my foot then. I can't even pick Garrett up now. He comes over to me and tries to pull himself up using my crutches similar to climbing.

Cheryl

[JoanneOR]

Hi everyone. Wow, I miss one day and there must be 20 posts!

AnnaSue, I'm sorry that your brother has to go to Iraq. Hope he has a safe and short stay.

I've thought about Bosunswife, too. Hope she's doing well.

I'm embarrassed to say I probably need to vacuum at least every other day, but probably only do it once a week. But, we do have hardwood floors that I sweep probably twice a week. And, the kitchen floor I sweep at least three times a day. We could feed a family of four on the amount of crumbs I sweep up every day. Even still, every time Caitlyn is on the kitchen floor, she finds a crumb and puts it in her mouth.

SusanK, how is Alex doing? That wheezing can be scary. Caitlyn had quite a few episodes when she was younger. It would last for a couple weeks. Thankfully, she's been pretty healthy since. She did wheeze for a few days with her last cold, but nothing like she used to do.

Becky, the pictures are adorable!! Katie is such a doll. What a precious little face!

I'm sure that job offer made you feel good, even though you wouldn't want it. It's nice to feel appreciated and wanted!

Kim, I wish Caitlyn could say granola bar! No, she was just trying to get in the cabinet where they were. The only word she really says is uh-oh and she has many opportunities to say it in our house!

She is having her six month developmental evaluation next week. It'll be just like the one she originally had, this is to see how she's progressed. They'll evaluate her for speech and fine and gross motor skills. She'll probably still be a bit delayed for gross motor, because she's not walking. Her fine motor seem fine to me. I'm interested to see what they say about speech. She might be a little behind. We've also got her orthopedic appt. next week.

Kim, I can relate to how you feel about bringing up your concerns to the daycare. I would be the same way. Like SusanR's DH, mine has no problem whatsoever about saying what he feels. So, we balance each other. I call him the "bitter consumer." He says I'm too nice.

SusanR, my kids had a similar reaction as Casey when our dog died. They didn't get too emotional, but they still do ask about her. Have you heard how things went in court yet?

Tonight we have the cub scout Halloween party, so all the kids get to dress up. I made ghost and skeleton cookies yesterday with the kids and let them decorate them. I was going to take them to the party, but let's just say my kids get their artistic talents from me! They did taste really good, though! There were only about five left this morning so I couldn't have taken them anyway. I made chocolate chip cookies to bring instead. That reminds me, I have to call DH to make sure he doesn't eat them all before I get home.

Can everyone try to post pictures of the kids in their costumes? It would be so fun to see them all! I'm going to try to take a picture either tonight or tomorrow and I'll post if I can get a good one.

Nori, I sure Noah won't look dorky! How could he? Do you have black shoes he could wear if the socks don't work?

Well, I tried to make this short, but I had too much to write! Have a good day everyone!

[MrsReber]

Well, I just called animal control. The officer who is handling this case was not in, but the woman I spoke to is pretty sure the guy pleaded not guilty! Stupid! But I am very glad. This means that I will get to be a witness for animal control. I guess being a paralegal, I think people would actually look up the statutes when they are given a summons for something. The statute for declaring a dog vicious states that the offending dog must have killed a domesticated animal (i.e. someone else's pet). Well, now it's happened twice. If the court system lets me down this time, I will send letters of complaint to every official in the township in addition to the officials of the county and state.

I have to find my digital camera so I can get pictures of the kids on line. I have no idea where DH (a.k.a. Mr. Clean) puts things. He will swear he doesn't move things on me, but I know that I don't routinely re-organize my things. He's not exactly on my good side this week for various reasons. Anyway, Joanne, I think it's a great idea for all of us to post pictures of the Halloween costumes! I am going to dress up, too so maybe I'll get one of the three of us.

Our financial advisor is coming by tonight. I'm annoyed with him. I told him I didn't think Universal life was right for us. He got nasty and told me that if something happens to DH, I can always live off government assistance programs! He said "what happens when your kids want to go to college and you have no money for them" I told him that they'd get jobs and work through college, just like I did!And this is the man who doesn't want me to fund my 529 accounts? He did later apologize for being a huge, uh, let's say jerk. I explained that we don't have all the extra money that he thinks we have. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt since he's bringing his own financial statments along to show me how these products work. I hope I don't have to throw him out. I will if he starts stressing me out. I have enough on my plate these days!

Kim, the molars do seem to take forever. You'll see the two sides start to come through, but the middle part seems to take much longer. Brenden was up again at 2:30 this morning. I gave him more Orajel and put him back down. I can't believe that stuff works on him. It never did anything much for Casey.

[RunnerKim]

SusanR - your financial advisor :eek: :eek: I don't think I'd even have him over again after being rude like that! Holy cow.

Joanne - excellent idea about posting pictures. Lainey looks very cute today in the clown costume. Particularly when she leaves the hat one! I'm about to take off to help out with the parade (they're doing it today as a lot of kids don't attend on Fridays).

I'm pretty embarrassed about what we sweep up off our floor too and that's after the dog and cats eat anything remotely edible! Pet hair really does take you to another level in needing to vacuum.

Nori - I agree with the others. Kids can't look dorky because they're too cute. I'm sure the socks will work just fine. I'm thinking we'll do family photos in the spring - Portland blooms everywhere! Rhododendrom garden is amazing that time of year, so maybe there. Some photographers will sell you the negatives too - that's what we did for our wedding. Went with a more "journalastic" style vs. portrait. Worked for us and I might look for something similar for family pictures.

Cheryl - great on getting out of the house, but sorry it was so taxing for you. Lainey's much more active than the other kids in her playgroup too so I know what you mean.

well I forgot to submit this before going off for Lainey's parade so there might be more posts...
Kim

[JoanneOR]

SusanR, your advisor sounds so rude! I'm not sure I would have kept my appt. with him after that comment. Let us know how the meeting goes.

Ugh...I have to decide where to take Caitlyn for her one-year pictures. This thread keeps reminding me! She's going to outgrow the outfit I bought for her to wear. I may try the picture people again. I wasn't happy with the back ground they used last time, but this time I'll know to tell them to use a dark one. They are probably going to be getting busy with the holidays soon. Then, maybe in the spring I'll try to get one done with all four. OK...I'm going to call now and make an appt. Well, when I'm done typing :)

Tomorrow I'm going to Ian's class party in the morning and Jameson's in the afternoon. Thankfully, the pin the nose on the pumpkin game I ordered came in the mail yesterday, otherwise I would be trying to make one tonight. Then trick-or-treating. It's supposed to be in the 70s tomorrow, so that's nice.

[hrk]

Happy Halloween everyone.
I am in early this morning so that I can leave early this afternoon. I am going to post a link to pictures of Logan in his costume I hope it works. ( I seem to be photo posting challenged:rolleyes: ) Logan is the pumpkin on the left hand side of the group picture and is playing with a plastic cup in the other.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/heather_kalish/lst?.dir=/Logan
Tonight DH will take Logan around to a few of our friends houses in the neighborhood and I will pass out candy.
It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend here so we are hoping to get out and do some hiking with Logan to enjoy the fall foliage.
So SusanR how did the meeting go with the financial advisor? Any progress?
Kim- I can totally understand your concerns about Laineys daycare. We ended up not using the daycare here at work because evertime I observed them they were providing very little stimulation for the children. Logan needs excitement in his life:D
Joanne- Have a blast at your sons parties. They asked that we bring LOgan to daycare in something halloween themed but I don't know what they have planned.
Cheryl- Glad to hear your recovry is going well. Hope the new cast helps with mobility. Glad that your family is taking such good care of you.
Happy Friday and have a great weekend everyone.
Heather

[MrsReber]

Well, the meeting last night went better than expected. I was very cold to the guy when he got there. DH thought it was no big deal that he was so rude to me! (He has sunk further into doo-doo each day since Sunday). Anyway, we did sign up for an investment plan and we are MUCH more comfortable with the payments now. They're about 1/3 of what he originally wanted and he says we won't necessarily meet our college savings goals, but that's not my objective right now. I just want to have some savings and have some money for the kids college education. I don't want to strap ourselves now. Also, DH's company was bought out (he's a contractor for the government) so he doesn't know what's going to happen with his job. He could lose it or they could hire him under the new contractor in which case he could make more or less money. Also, the head machinist is leaving and he could be offered that spot, which would be more money. We're hoping things work out well.

Heather, Logan is so cute in his costume! I can't wait to see how Brenden looks as Superman.

Joanne, have fun at the parties today!

Okay, so did everyone's babies sleep last night? We kept Brenden up late. Actually both kids were up late since the financial advisor didn't leave until around 9:20. Brenden was just hanging out playing. I took him in his room at 10:00 and he was out in about 2 minutes. I have glow in the dark star stickers on the ceilings in his room and Casey's room. He sits in the glider with me and whispers "tar...tar.." as he looks at them. Then he stops talking and drifts off. I love it.

I think I may have overdone it at the gym this morning. The guy next to me on the treadmill said "wow, you're running at a good clip!" I said "yeah, I'm even surprised!" and I was. But now I feel not so good. DH just called and said there was a train derailment. I hope nobody was hurt and I hope that I'm still able to get home early! I can't believe it. This is the second derailment this year. Not good.

[RunnerKim]

Happy Halloween!

Logan - what a cutey. I remember when Lainey was that bald - well she's not much better. I'll post my photo on Monday. (anyone who doesn't want to mess with figuring out the free image web sites can email me a photo and i'll put it up for you) Heather - have a great hike. Many trees still haven't really started turning around here yet. There's some lovely maples outside my office window that are still green.

It's very cold here today - clear skies though. So although it's sunny the wind is blowing and by the time the trick-or-treaters go out tonight it'll be freezing.

SusanR - glad the meeting went well last night and you have a workable plan set up. What a huge accomplishment. Ugh - the uncertainty around your DH's job is the pits, I know. Is that mabye why he's being jerky this past week? Any word on when the trial will be the irresponsible people? grrrr.

Joanne - did you get Caitlyn's photo appt. made? She has her ortho appt. coming up next week right?

DH is talking to the daycare director this morning. A couple of other things have happened this week that concern me more and interestingly enough I'm dissatisfied enough that I no longer feel so anxious about talking with the director. I'll let DH initiate as he agreed to do it but I'm sure there be some follow-up. I know at least one other parent by-passed the director and called the owner. There's many great things about this daycare/staff so hopefully this feedback will get them back on course in the infant area.

Kim

[MrsReber]

Kim, good luck with the daycare! You'll get more assertive with that. I've been dealing with daycare for over 2 years now and it's gotten easier to raise my concerns with them. They're also very good at trying to find solutions to things.

Good point, maybe DH is secretly worrying about his job? He doesn't express those things very well or at all, but that could be it. Maybe I should be a bit nicer to him?? Hmmm, maybe. I'll think about that :p ! I'm just about ready to leave. Seems like everyone else is off enjoying Halloween! I thought Casey didn't understand what I was talking about, but my mom said she told her this morning that she's going to wear Mickey (It's really Minnie, she just calls them both Mickey) and go trick-or-treating. My mom is going to go with us so that should be fun.

Seems the trains are back on time so I should be home before 4:00. It's very quiet around here today. No boss! Guess when I come back to the BB, we'll be on November! Have fun, everyone and stay safe!!

[RunnerKim]

I hope Casey enjoys tonight - sounds like she's looking forward to it, but I know how initimidating all these costumes can be.

It sounds like daycare might be establishing a 12-18 month class which is definitely the direction I feel they should go. As long as the main teacher is one who can really interact and keep up with them.

From what you've said about your DH, I think it's likely. Just wish men could verbalize their feelings better. I don't think they even are aware they have these type of feelings though. I know my DH was very practical/matter-of-fact through his entire lay offer period but there were signs here and there about how much it got to him -- and your DH was laid off before too, right? I'd think it's a likely culprit or at least contributor. Hang in there.

TGIF and off to see my baby :)
Kim

[erinl]

Here's Hanne's picture

http://www.paulanderin.net/images/puppy1small.jpg

Have a great weekend, all!

[Molli526]

Erin,

Hanne is a doll! :)