January 2006 New Moms

[jphilg]

Happy New Year!

Me: Jen, 31
DH: Peter, 31
DD: Saskia, 6 months
BF/FF: BF plus one bottle of formula per day

Accomplishments: Sitting up unassisted, taking to solids like a champ, moving bedtime back to 8pm from 11ish.

Challenges: I am *so* ready to be done with BFing (I never really got to the point where I enjoyed it) and sometimes I just want to quit, but then I feel really weird giving Saskia a bottle myself. On NYEve, Peter let me sleep in (for the first time in 6 months!) and gave her a morning bottle in addition to the one she gets at bedtime. I felt SO guilty about it. Nothing intellecual...the more I read, the less important I think BFing is to older babies, but just on a gut level, I felt selfish. But on the other hand, I am having huge body issues lately (due to my huge body :rolleyes: ) and I know that the big leaky boobs and general bovine imagery aren't helping anything. So I've decided to wean Saskia after our vacation in February. She'll be around 8 months, and I think that's just going to have to be good enough.

***

When I am not fretting about BFing, I am really really enjoying my daughter and being a mom. Christmas was so wonderful with her happy squeals (she was a trooper, maintaining her charm while being passed around at 4 consecutive nights of parties and sleeping in a strange pack-n-play. And she's in a really cuddley phase, giving hugs and laying her head on my shoulder when I carry her.

I just feel so blessed.

How are all of you doing in this new year?

[MinEaston]

Ooops, Jen and I were posting at the same time. I'll get my thread deleted.

Happy New Year everyone!

I know that I'm one of the "older" moms on this thread, but I hope you all don't mind my hanging around. Here's my info:

me: 34, DH: 38
DD: Anna, 10 months old on Christmas Day
Feeding: Some solids/table foods, bmilk
Accomplishments: Standing up by herself for prolonged periods of time, and she's sooooo close to walking. In the last couple of days she's progressed from immediately dropping back onto her knees to move around, to looking very intent on figuring out how to move on two feet. Yipes!
Challenges (near-term): The last two weeks have totally thrown her sleeping patterns off.

I'm home today and while I felt guilty about it, I sent Anna to my parents for the morning (and what's turning out to be a good part of the afternoon, too!) because I really needed some "me" time. Of course, all I've done is clean the house (vacuum, mop floors, laundry, straighten up) but I feel much better. Otherwise I would have gone back to work tomorrow upset at not getting anything accomplished. Of course, my parents aren't minding one bit.

[gertdog]

Me: Stephanie, 34
DH: Jason, 32
DS: Ryan, 10/11/05
BF/FF: All formula now.

Accomplishments: Awesome head control. Grabbing for objects (and mommy's hair). Sleeping through the night, about three out of every four nights. He goes down around 8 and gets up at 6, though every few nights he wakes for a 4 AM bottle.

Challenges: Naps! He's a fantastic sleeper at night, but during the day he has no interest in sleeping for the most part. The past week we've seen two loooong morning naps, and I'm hoping they become more regular. Other days he literally goes hours w/o even dozing though he's clearly tired, and he resists all attempts at soothing him to sleep.

The holidays were wonderful, and Ryan was happily held and spoiled by my parents. If only he'd stay 2 feet tall, he'd have enough clothes to get him through college, I think!

I start work again tomorrow, though we don't have a sitter lined up yet. I work from home and the short-term plan is that I'll work from 6 AM to 8:30 AM when DH has to get ready for work. Then, if we can get a regular nap going, I'll get more time in then, and the rest in the evenings or on weekends. The long-term plan is to find a sitter who can come out to the house maybe 3 afternoons a week so I can get some uninterrupted time in my office downstairs and have a reliable time when my clients can reach me.

[Luv to Cook]

Me: 30
DH: 32
DDs: Asha 2 1/2 and Sahana 6 weeks
BF/FF: BF

Accomplishments: Finally getting some smiles which just melts my heart. Especially those sleepy ones after I have nursed her. She just kina smiles and sighs, like "thanks, mom." She is sleeping pretty well (knock on wood)...I am still rocking her to sleep or patting her. That "drowsy, but awake" mantra that I keep hearing about does not work...who can put down a baby awake and get it too sleep????

Challenges: Mostly with Asha and having to deal with her tantrums. Her sleep has been messed up after Sahana was born and she was getting overtired and the tantrums worsened. Finally, I put my foot down and have not been giving in to her nightime tantrums and rewarding her for staying in bed (I put a present under her pillow every nite). She has been sleeping better and has been much happier.

We are getting bored being at home so much (Sahana does NOT sleep in the carseat...made for a miserable trip to DC!). Anyone have more ideas on things to do with a two year old?

Jen, wow 8 months BFing...definitely not something to beat yourself up over. I have heard that up to 6 months is really great and anything above that is just bonus.

Stephanie, woohoo to Ryan on sleeping thru the nite. Send some of that my way!

Anita

[Chelle D]

Happy New Year!!

Me: Michelle, 30
DH: Jesper, 31
DS: Maxwell, 8 months today

Eating: Breastmilk and proabably more solids than necessary :) I am making all his food and starting to have fun with more combinations and textures for him.
Accomplishments: Sitting up well, napping fairly well, and all around happiness.
Challenges: Eating. He loves solids and is not nursing as much and I thought he would nurse more at this age.

Maxwell is eating 3 meals of solids per day. I thought I would hold off on "lunch" until 9 months and he would be nusing much more. But around 7 months, he really wanted more solids. I started doing lunch, but still nursing before each meal and in between. hen, I started to get lazy and not nurse before breakfast (he usually eats about 2 hours after he gets up and had just nursed when he woke up). Then I let the dinner nursing slide, figuring he would nurse to sleep in a couple hours.... and on from there. Now, I feel he does not get enough breastmilk and am trying to nurse more, but I do think he is weaning himself somewhat. I seriously don't think I am saddened at this point and trying to cling to nursing (as I have been accused of from some family and friends who have no idea), but I do think my laziness has contributed some. This month, I am going to make sure to nurse before each meal and then after nine months, see what Maxwell is doing. He really never refuses the breast, but does get distracted VERY easily and that makes it hard as well.

[Celadon]

Hello all.

Me: 34 (MinEaston, guess I'm one of those older moms too!)
DH: 33
DD: Ada 6 months
BF/FF: BF

Biggest Accomplishment: Breastfeeding, even after returning to work full time in October. I'm pumping at least twice a day at work and have even traveled for work a few times, taking a hand pump with me. (I am now a pro at pumping in an airport bathroom...) Ada gets some formula if my supply runs low on a given day, but most every day she still gets all milk. I worried that my supply would drop off once I returned to work, but so far it hasn't. Hope to keep this up for at least a couple more months and then see how it goes. Jen, totally agree with you on the whole body image thing. While BFing, I can't help but think of myself as merely a dairy and well, that's just not a great body image. Plus, although I've lost most of the prego weight, my body is a totally different shape. I think I finally have to capitulate and buy some new clothes (that actually fit).

Biggest Challenge: Ada has zero interest in solids. She won't even open her mouth for the spoon. I know babies are supposed to start sometime between 5 and 7 months, so I hope she takes an interest soon.

Sue

[Luv to Cook]

Chelle, I went thru some trying times with nursing Asha as well when she was about 8 months old. I was determined to get to one-year. Turned out it was a nursing strike and she was back to normal within a few days. She was also very distractible, which of course made nursing in public nearly impossible. No way would she have a blanket over her head and then she would bob on and off of my breast, exposing me to the world :rolleyes: !

Good luck!
Anita

[EmilyK]

me: 27, DH: 27
DS: 10 months old in a week!
Feeding: Solids/table foods, bmilk

Accomplishments: Pulling up to standing on everything now; clapping his hands; linking his hands together then holding them up over his head (when we say "So Big!"); sticking out his tongue and wiggling it mocking us; putting little items in a cup and leaving them there, then moving them to another location. Seriously, this kid has learned so much in the 1.5 weeks we've been home with him... it's crazy how quick he's picking things up now! He's slept 12-13 hours each night we've been off (and can let him sleep in) and has been napping perfectly! It really makes me sad to have to go back to work tomorrow.

Challenges: A nasty "wet" cough and endless stuffy nose - at what point do we go to the dr.? He's not miserable, but he's missing sleep when he wakes up several times coughing. He's had this cold for about 1.5 weeks. We bought a cold-air humidifier, but the thing won't kick on because our house is already at the MAX humidity (probably a whole other issue for us :rolleyes: ).

I think we're going to send less bmilk with him to the sitters now, because he's really not taking that much of it during the day. The kid won't nurse for me if it's daylight!! Not sure why... I've also decided to move to pumping only once during the day at work, which is going to be SOOOO nice! :D We're sending more solids with him to the sitter, including finger foods. I'm curious as to how that will go.

[gertdog]

Stephanie, woohoo to Ryan on sleeping thru the nite. Send some of that my way!


Anita, you have to come and explain to my DH that this is a good thing! He didn't think it counted as sleeping through the night because Ryan isn't sleeping the whole time *DH* does- i.e. he thinks Ryan should sleep from midnight through 8 AM because that's when DH wants to sleep! :rolleyes:

[BeachBum]

Hi guys.
I missed most of december and just got so far behind I thought I'd join back in this month.
Me: 28
DH:40
DS: 4 months this week
BF/FF: BF


Accomplishments: Well he is standing up so much now. On Christmas day he stood holding onto my fingers (without me holding back). It was awesome! He is getting so much better with his balance. At first he looked like one of those "dancing santas" that sway their hips.
He also started rolling over this week. So much fun to watch him.

Challenges: Still wakes up several times per night to nurse. He does seem to eat a good bit, so I do think he's hungary...but I'm tired.
I'm also going to try to really encourage napping in his crib. He will sleep for almost 2 hours if I let him nap in the swing...but I really want to work on stationary sleeping.


I bought a Mei Tai baby carrier recently. Does anyone else have one? So far, we really love it. I can get housework done, and H seems interested watching me do stuff. It is pretty comfy on my back too. I really want him to like it...I just think the older he gets the more useful it will become.


Me: 34 (MinEaston, guess I'm one of those older moms too!) I think she meant her daughter was one of the older kiddos, not that she was old! ;) But regardless, no age discrimination here. :D

[mst]

Me: 31
DH: 35
DD: Ilyssa- Six weeks
BF/FF: BF exclusively

Accomplishments: No nipple shield. Smiling. Doing pretty well sleeping through the night.

Challenges: Sleeping on her own (not in bed with us). Spacing out the day feedings so that it is longer than one hour and forty five minutes. Increasing my milk supply. Figuring out whether or not I am returning to work.

All of you bfding moms are an inspiration to me. It is so hard, but I appreciate the inspiration, and knowing that others made it through. Although, I wish you were all posting about how much easier it gets. One of my next challenges is to go to the mall alone with Ilyssa, and figure out breastfeeding there. What did all of you do? Also, I bfd this week at a restaurant with a blanket over me. I felt like it made me more noticeable, rather than less. Do you ask people permission before your bfd in front of them for the first time? I went to SIL's this week, and asked her where she would be comfortable having me breastfeed (we were in her three bedroom house with three family-type rooms). She said, "How about the bathroom?" I flatly said, "I am not breastfeeding in the bathroom." I think that is so odd! Also, after visiting her, we went to visit DH's aunt and uncle (who are probably in the 80's). I asked them where I should bfd, and they told me to bfd in front of them. I was a little uncomfortable as I was not sure that they really understood what I was asking. So, I went into the kitchen, and DH's aunt followed me to keep me company. How odd that my 30-ish SIL is so freaked out by bfding, and their 80-ish aunt/uncle are not!

I have to be quick as we are at one hour and forty five minutes, but wanted to post a picture of my little cutie. Thanks Emily for writing up directions for me. And, Jori (NewMrsG) who is constantly bugging me to post pics!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p1f6d57eb035f21bff652e555dc9f72b4/f0c59a45.jpg

[lisas3575]

Me: 34
DH: 28 ;)
DS: Owen, 4 weeks today (12/5)
BF/FF: BF

Accomplishments: Being amazingly cute. Super-duper nurser. Starting yesterday has been going *five* hours between feedings. Is that ok?? :eek: He's right on the edge of starting real tears when he cries. We had our second bath today, so he's squeaky clean and yummy smelling.

Challenges: Um, everything??? :p Nursing: the LC put me on a shield last week to try to get my nips healed up. They've been severely cracked and bleeding pretty much since the beginning. She wanted me to to stop nursing and pump only for 1-2 weeks and I didn't go for that-- I knew I'd just bag it and go to formula. We're taking it one day at a time. Hopefully I'll heal up (I think some of the damage will be permanent) and be able to nurse without the shield. I'm off dairy, too, which is really helping his colic/gas. I had some cheese on my sandwich on Saturday and really paid a heavy price that night.

Sleeping: Owen just started going 5 hours between nursings yesterday. I'd been continuing to wake him to eat every 3-3.5 hours like the books say, and I finally just surrendered to his cycle, figuring he'll let me know if he's hungry. It seems to be the right thing, he's nursing better, sleeping better and I'm getting some time to be a human being. That 5 hours of sleep last night was pure gold. He's still not really sleeping in his crib, though we've gotten him to go in there a couple of times by letting him get deeply asleep on us and then transferring him to the crib. There's no way he'll go if he's even lightly asleep. He wakes up screaming after about 3-5 minutes.

We were at the end of our rope yesterday after a particularly trying night on Saturday, and at the urging of my SIL we fed him, gave him a dry dipe, rocked him to sleep (all is right with the world) and put him in the crib and closed the door to try to get some rest. He cried for 45 mins or so until I couldn't stand it anymore, and got up with him, but it really wore him out and he slept good the rest of the night after that. :( I *know* it's too early to be CIO but we were/are pretty desperate. Today was a much better day, so I'm torn about what to do from here. Is anyone else *not* doing attachment parenting?

I'll be so glad when I start feeling some confidence as a new mom. I hate not having a clue what Owen needs.

[jphilg]

(((Lisa))) It is going to get better. Really. I don't have any specific advice, just reassurance that you are in the hard part, and that soon you'll be at a less-hard part.

Merideth- Here are my general rules about BFing in front of people, which have worked well for me. THey are based far more on my own comfort level than that of other people, but part of my comfort is not making other people feel weird.

In my house, in small groups, I don't think twice about nursing in front of people.
In my house, in bigger groups (we've had several large parties Post Saskia), I generally retreat to the nursery.

In someone else's house, I decide if I am comfortable nursing in front of the people there. If so, I generally ask, as I pull up my shirt, if it is ok if I nurse (assuming that no one will object). If not, I ask the hostess if there is somewhere with a chair I can nurse in. This precludes being sent to the bathroom (MY GOODNESS!) and almost everyone has a second room somewhere with a comfy chair. Often I try to find someplace out of the way, but not private (ie, the unused living room when the party is out back on the deck, as opposed to the guest bedroom) because I feel less banished.

In public places, it really depends on the situation. At least half the people at the mall on a Tuesday afternoon are moms, so I'd just find a reasonably sheltered bench and nurse away. Some department stores have sitting rooms for the purpose, but I've never availed myself of that. I've nursed in one restaurant, but probably won't do that again (I feel more comfortable running out to the car for a few minutes) just because there are lots of people walking by, and I think I totally wigged out the waitress. At mom-friendly places (a matinee movie aimed at moms with babies, the kids section of Barnes and Noble) I just go for it.

Also, I feel much more discreet pulling something like a tee shirt up than unbuttoning a button-down....I can arrange the shirt to cover the most of the unused boob. I've never used a blanket or special garmet.

So that's my 2 cents. Poosh on your SIL. But we already knew that, didn't we?

[Megan James]

Me: 34
DH: 40
DD: Rebecca 10 weeks tomorrow
BF/FF: BF

Accomplishments: Much better at tummy time. Great smiles and giggles. BF is going better (I think). We have the reflux issues pretty much under control

Challenges: Napping (not on/with me), we are working on getting her to nap in her bed. Sometimes I can get her to nap long periods in the swing which I let her do b/c she needs the sleep but then I have to stay in that room. BF is still challenging sometimes but I don't feel like going into that now.

Goals for the month: Getting her sleep schedule a bit earlier. It's 9:30 and she's in her crib (though it took over an hour...) so I am hopeful that we are pushing forward. When I go back to work at the end of the month she is going to have to get up much earlier than the 9am she is accustomed too (and so am I!)

Since we have to BF with me lying back (or it goes MUCH better that way) I try to find someplace fairly private to BF at parties or in public. When we've been at peoples house over the holidays I just ask if there is a spare bedroom that I can sit in. New years eve I just walked upstairs to one of the hostesses daughters room. I closed the door and was sitting on the bed nursing when I hear feet tromping upstairs and suddenly the door opens. Rebecca is startled and unlatches so my boob is totally hanging out and in tromp all the neighborhood boys ages 5-10. I shove Rebecca back on my breast and of course completely miss the latch. The boys were totally unfazed by the whole situation and all the other mom's just laughed when I told them I flashed their sons.

[Luv to Cook]

(((Lisa)))...I can so feel your pain...we went thru the ringer with DD1 and now are having issues with DD2, but they are much more tolerable because I know I will probably not wreck her for life with the things we do or don't do. We are having sleep issues as well...actually it is 10:30 here and I have been trying to put Sahana down since 9:00...she is in her crib now...probably for about 15 minutes before she realizes that I put her down and she will start screaming. I am tired and frustrated and just want her to sleep, but I remind myself that it is only a season and it WILL get better.

About your attachment parenting question...well I think that is a tough issue, because some proponents act as if you don't do everything they say, then you are somehow a DETACHED parent. I can honestly tell you that I am not in any way detached from DD1. We tried the Sears method for the first 4 months of her life and we were both miserable. I nursed her constantly...everytime she cried actually...I am sure it was pretty crappy for her to have a boob stuffed in her mouth everytime she cried...she may have been tired, or bored, or anything, but I fell into the soothing with the breast mantra and it just did not work for us. I tried sleeping with her...actually you can probably do a search and see all my threads about "baby not sleeping." She literally could not sleep without my boob in her mouth and then would spend the second half of the nite throwing up all the milk that she drank during the first half. Finally after 4 months of hell, and an especially horrible weekend, I decided to just bag it and put her in her crib to see what happened. She cried for 37 minutes and then slept for 4 hours...the longest she had ever slept in her whole life. I could not believe it. She awoke the next morning smiling and happy...no bags under her eyes and no more grumpiness.

I guess what I am trying to say is "different strokes for different folks." You have to do what works for you and your family.

So while I think it may be a little early to let Owen really cry it out, a few tears are certainly not going to harm him. If he is screaming and there is nothing you can do to soothe him, sometimes just leaving him alone may be all he needs to just calm down and konk out. It is certainly more important to save your sanity and just walk away for a few minutes.

And I definitely would NOT wake him anymore to eat. The LCs had me waking DD1 every two hours to feed...well that got us into trouble because she thought she needed to eat every two hours from then on out! This time I just feed Sahana when she is hungry. Still demand feeding, but on her demand!

Meredith, I pretty much nurse anywhere since I already have DD1 to worry about and don't have much time to try and find a private place. I have gotten a bunch of nursing tanks that I wear under my sweaters, that make nursing very discreet. They cover your tummy and just have a little flap that you unhook to get access to the nipple. Also, if anyone asked me to nurse in the bathroom, I would ask them if they would like to eat their lunch in the bathroom...that is a little absurd to have an infant eat in such a place. Luckily, Charlottesville is pretty breastfeeding friendly ever since a local restaurant asked a bfing mom to leave. There was an uproar and I doubt any local business would be caught doing that again.

Off to comfort my screaming child :( .

Anita

[lisas3575]

((((((Anita))))))) Misery loves company-- thanks for the moral support and it helps to know that someone else is kind of in the same space right now. :) Hang in there, and we'll compare successes soon.

I forgot to say thanks again in my previous post for all the support and ideas you all have sent my way. The bouncing (on the excercise ball, except I don't have one so I'm getting buff shoulders :p ) and the gripe water seem to be winners (thanks, Greta!). The 5 S's are hit and miss. Seriously, we've tried everything you guys have thrown out as ideas, and I really appreciate it. xoxo

[gertdog]

(((Lisa))) DH and I have not subscribed to any particular school of parenting. The phrase "attachment parenting" gets my back up a bit as it implies that anything that doesn't fit with their self-labeled child-rearing philosophy is anti-attachment. Ridiculous. I firmly believe there is no such thing as a one size fits all approach to parenting, and no one right or wrong way to develop attachments. The important thing is figuring out what approach meets both your needs and Owen's needs. Attachment develops over years, not in days or single instances or based only on how you get your child to sleep!

And yes- I've let Ryan cry a few times. There was one day I was just so tired, DH was at work, the baby hadn't slept at all and was fussing, I hadn't eaten anything or showered, and nothing I did calmed Ryan down. He'd been fed, was dry, had Mylicon drops, been cuddled and bounced and swung and taken for a walk in the stroller. I was in tears. Finally I just decided I needed half an hour- just half an hour! I put him in his papasan chair and got in the shower. I showered, dressed, and had a glass of milk and an apple and a hunk of cheese (literally grabbing for anything I could shove in my mouth). Ryan cried the whole time and I felt terrible, but once I was clean and fed I felt like a whole new person... and when I picked him up I swear he could tell that I was less stressed- and he finally calmed down!

I'm so glad you're letting him go longer between feedings! One of the kindest things our pediatrician did for us, I think, was tell us "let him sleep! are you kidding?" when we hesitantly asked if it was okay that we'd let him sleep for 5-6 hours a few nights in a row (at 2 weeks of age). I think there are probably some truly sleepy babies out there who need help getting enough calories, but if your kiddo is gaining weight then why wake him up? After the ped let us off the hook we truly went to a schedule that was on Ryan's demand for feeding and sleeping and, lucky us, it's evolved into something much better than what we were trying to impose on him.

And- OUCH- permanent damage?? :eek: You poor thing.

And (((Anita))) too- when I read the part where you said Asha cried for 37 minutes... just the fact that you remember so clearly exactly how long she cried says how stressful it was for you!

Meredith, boo to your SIL! She really thought you'd breastfeed while sitting on a toilet? Sheesh. And, Ilyssa is adorable! :)

[NewMrsG]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p1f6d57eb035f21bff652e555dc9f72b4/f0c59a45.jpg

I just had to pop in to say good for Meredith for posting Ilyssa's picture! It's a great picture of her - and I just have to tell you all what a wonderful baby she is - and gorgeous to boot!

[MinEaston]

I think she meant her daughter was one of the older kiddos, not that she was old! ;) But regardless, no age discrimination here. :D

Um, yeah, that's what I meant!

Hugs to everyone struggling. I do have to agree with Stephanie's opinion on parenting styles. There is so much written out there, and IMHO, each implies that if you don't follow everything that's suggested, it won't work (or you won't be a good parent, etc, etc). I found all of the references useful in helping to understand what might be going on, but we've basically gone with our gut.

For example, we are just now (at 10 months) sticking to using the CIO approach at bedtime. Anna nurses to sleep, but sometimes will wake up as I leave (old house, squeaky doors). Last night she howled for about 20 minutes, then conked out. While it was very hard to listen to, I knew she was warm, fed, dry & clean. I don't think that not going back to her is going to affect her well-being, it will just prolong bedtime. I'm hoping that just a few days of this and we'll be ok...

[greta]

well, i'm finally able to join this thread:

me: 35
dh: 37
laith 21 mos
saif 10 weeks

accomplishments: more awake time during the day for my sleepy head. lots more smiles!

challenges: are you ready to hear me whine for a bit? our challenges are reserved for mommy, not really baby. i started back to work today, and i'm heartbroken. i was home with laith for his first 15 mos, so returning to work after only 10 weeks has me reeling! (i know i'll be home with the kids after we move to massachussets, but it's still hard). i had to wean saif because i can't pump at work, and it made me sad. i know he'll be totally fine with formula, but i loved nursing him (it was sooooo much easier this time around).

saif doesn't sleep thru the night yet, but he will eat at around 7pm and go down for the night (sleeping in his swing b/c he is still recovering from a bad case of bronchiolitis). he wakes anywhere from 130-3pm for a bottle--the one problem we're having is getting him to go back to sleep on some nights. with laith, he'd eat and fall right back to sleep--saif has nights when he takes some time to get back to sleep. he's not wide awake, just a bit restless (and it's not gas restlessness). jphilg, i remember you saying once that saskia took a while to go back to sleep--any suggestions (saskia is ADORABLE, by the way--a mix of you and peter it seems)?

megan, i'm curious to know how your little girl sleeps at night since our babies are around the same age...meredith and stephanie are killing me with their sleeping thru the night babies! ;)

((((lisa)))) (((anita))) (anita, have you checked your pm box--i sent the information i was telling you about).

as far as "attachment parenting" goes, i echo stephanie's feelings!!

i don't read the books, i just go with my gutt on most things. i don't hesistate to rock saif to sleep, because i did so with laith and he transitioned fine to putting himself to sleep. some nights i put saif in bed with me after his night feeding--again, we did the same thing with laith and he always went back and forth from our bed to the crib with ease (and still does). i know each baby is different, but i think there are times when we as mothers can drive ourselves crazy by trying to go by one method or another--i know my mom and my mother-in-law didn't have the books we have now, and they have given me very wise advice over the last couple of years!

meredith, i loved seeing ilyssa's photo--what a cutie!

ok, here's a couple of photos from my world:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/pd8670cb3739236f9cdc606943bed43ae/f0c22215.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p57cc6f6d19675da27a71acec014655f0/f0c22286.jpg

[kimszy]

Greta, your boys are both so handsome.

[lisas3575]

((((((Greta)))))) Sending you a hug on your first day back. :( How hard to leave little baby Saif. Owen will be 8 weeks when I go back to work, but my mom will be watching him just a couple miles away, and I'm self employed so it won't be as difficult as your situation. My heart is breaking for you, too!

Owen has trouble going back to sleep after the middle of the night feedings, too. He's very alert at 3am and if I don't do all the baby mojo things just right he melts down. :rolleyes:

I didn't know you were moving to MA-- when?

[greta]

thanks kimszy.

lisa, naseer joined a practice in springfield massachussets and we'll either live in northampton or amherst. if all goes well we'll probably move in late spring. we love the area! we'll only be about 1.5 hours from kathryn--so you'll have to plan a trip!

fortunately my mom is watching saif--but it sure is a long day without him.

if i find any good going back to sleep methods, i'll let you know! (if not, we'll have to get owen and saif together for a middle of the night playdate). :rolleyes:

[Megan James]

[megan, i'm curious to know how your little girl sleeps at night since our babies are around the same age...meredith and stephanie are killing me with their sleeping thru the night babies! ]

uh Greta you probably don't want to know that she has been sleeping through most nights for the past 3 or 4weeks. I was waking her after 5or6 hours for a while and then I asked the pediatrician who said as long as she is gaining weight let her sleep. He was a little shocked last week when I told him that she has slept as long as 10 hours at a stretch. He said to enjoy it and not to tell too many other moms b/c that is not typical.

Rebecca has a cold today, poor little girl was coughing a bit in the night and really is sniffling especially when BF. I feel so sorry for her.

[fancyn]

I'm late to the party but here I am!! :D I'm also one of the Mom's with an older baby, if that's what I should still call him. Last month and I suppose I'm to migrate over to the Wobblers, though I'll miss everyone here.

Me: 26
DH: 33
DS: Nicholas, 11 months, DOB 1/31/05
FF and table food

Accomplishments: Took several unassisted unassisted steps to Dada last night! Walking should happen any time. Has a vocabulary of about 30 words, the lastest being magnet. :confused:

Challenges: Weaning from the bottle and formula. He drinks from the sippy just fine, but refuses anything but water in it. We tried whole milk this past weekend and he was having nothing to do with it! I did put half formula, half milk in his bottle and that seemed to go just okay.

In the evenings, for the past week we've been having dinner as a family. Let me tell you what a struggle that is!! Having dinner on the table at 6 every night is probably my biggest challenge in itself. We're now letting Nicholas have whatever we're eating for dinner, just cut up into bite size pieces. He absolutely LOVES it, minus my over spicy black bean enchiladas. Oh I felt awful, everytime I gave him a bite he'd scream...and it took about 5 bites before I realized why. :o

To Lisa and other mommies, you've been given great advice. The same shoe doesn't fit on every foot. At about 4 wks I let DS CIO at nap time because he completely refused to sleep in the crib (which was no problem until that week). I called the ped. and that is what they told me to do. Boy did I feel guilty - BUT 2 days of that and the problem was solved. I waited until he was about 4 months however to let him full-blown to CIO for bed. Do what feels comfortable and trust me, IMHO they don't scar that easy! ;) I still snuggle w/Nicholas at night until he's about to fall asleep.

[TerriS]

Me: Terri, age 31
DD: Caroline, 6 months old yesterday
BFing, some solids

accomplishments: she loves solids and is such a good little eater, she will sit unassisted for short periods sometimes.

challenges: started daycare full time today, paranoid about my nursing supply, and boy, she is quite the little screecher.

just have to say, lisa, please don't beat yourself up for listening to your child's needs. I would say I am not an "attachment parent" but I am not of any one school of thought on parenting. My child has slept in her crib from day one, but I ALWAYS follow her cues on feeding and sleeping. That's what made sense to me. If your little one doesn't seem hungry at 3 hours, then by heavens let him sleep! I think I also generally followed the rule of "don't wake a sleeping baby" - if they're hungry they will tell you! Caroline had lots of cues - chewing on her first, gnawing on my shoulder - they have changed over time but she always lets me know when she's hungry! have you tried the Happiest Baby on the Block stuff? the 5 S's? Those were a lifesaver in our first month. She would just fuss from 3-9 pm and we would just side, swaddle, shush, repeat over and over again.

re BFing out and about: I have a "hooter hider" www.bebeaulait.com and it has been a lifesaver. I have nursed my child at a major league baseball game in front of 36,000 fans, in countless restaurants, and anywhere else you can think of. It is getting a bit harder now that she is older and more squirmy, but if my kid's gotta eat, my kid's gotta eat. Who I will do it in front of in more personal situations varies. I generally leave the room if it's my father or my FIL. If it's my friends, I do what I need to do. If it's a party, I will ask the hostess if there's a room where I can nurse, usually. If there are a lot of other new moms there I just whip out the Hooter Hider.

here's my girl!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc07b3127cce960f4f43edb900000006108AbN3LJi5cM2

[gertdog]

Terri, what a great picture! And I recognize that high chair, too. Ours is a different pattern, though. I already love it- Ryan sits in it (seat all the way reclined) when we have dinner. All he's interested in at the moment is staring at his own hands while he grips... and releases... and grips... and releases the edge of the tray. :)

(((Greta))) Just wanted to send you a hug- I'm working today though Ryan is home with me, but one of the first things I had to do today was book a bunch of travel for my projects and it is killing me to think of leaving him!

Does anyone else's kiddo shriek when they have a poopy diaper? Ryan poops once a day, sometimes once every other day and it seems to touch off a meltdown every time. But he only seems to cry after the poop happens, not before, and his bottom isn't red or anything... could he just be really sensitive to having a messy diaper?? He doesn't seem constipated and the poop isn't, uh, hard or anything... :confused:

[EmilyK]

Stephanie, DS will nearly hyperventilate and freak out sometimes when he's making "poo". I don't know if he's having IBS-type symptoms or if he's just struggling. His bottom doesn't even need to be irritated at the time. <shrug> I just make sure we comfort him while it's going on and it eventually passes. Not sure if this is the same thing your little guy is dealing with, but mine definitely doesn't like dirty diapers!

Since DS started eating solids, we've been making a point of having dinner together. Most often, DH will get some food into the little guy before I get home and then we try to all eat together. I really enjoy this time... nothing funnier than to have a little guy acting like a clown at the table! :D He's so fun right now!

As far as nursing in public/out and about goes, I have to admit I have only once attempted to nurse in public and it was at the local bowling alley. DS was SO distracted, he kept making me flash everybody... I put it away and gave him the bottle we'd brought along. I've been nervous about nursing in front of the IL's... once I did go up to a bathroom and nurse him, because I was alone with my BIL and his 2 boys. Other times I've gone into another public room or just nursed in front of them. I've asked if anybody minds, and they've been okay. The one time I asked, I was told it's fine but my 12 yo nephew would probably be a tad uncomfortable. I opted to go into another room. Seeing as how I can't cover the boy up (he pulls off ANYTHING I've put over him) and he's always popping off to look around, I'm bound to flash some skin. :)

Here's a picture of my little man getting into trouble (we've since made this magazine rack his to play in):

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/pe2f8d39e4aee908c09dd2e7b8a9c9d2f/f0c0aa9b.jpg

[RebeccaT]

Hi all! happy New Year!

me: Rebecca, 31
DH: Charles, 31
DD: Julia, 6 mos
BF/FF: FF and some solids

Accomplishments: Doing the "tripod" sit unassisted, and almost sitting straight up! Babbling like a crazy person (we are in SO MUCH trouble once she actually gets words!). Eating oatmeal and veggies, next to try are fruits and teething crackers. Drooling and chewing and otherwise making it clear that she's working on some teeth in there!

Challenges: Even though she can (and has done it a few times), she doesn't want to roll over from her tummy to her back. She will play for a while, and then lay her head down and whine until we move her. She has never rolled from back to front. Should I be concerned?

Merry Christmas to me - I BF'd Julia for the last time on Christmas morning! I was so ready - I was only doing the morning feeding anyway, and I said that once it got to the point that I had to follow that feeding with a bottle b/c she wasn't satisfied, I'd wean. That happened a few days before Christmas. I wish it had gone differently for me, and that I had more milk to give her, but it wasn't doing either of us any good at this point to spend 40 minutes per feeding, only to need a bottle afterwards! She's doing well with solids now, too.

(((hugs))) to moms dealing with sleep issues! I can relate to so many of you - Julia didn't sleep through the night until she was 4.5 months. She only woke once in the night (from about 7 weeks on), but since I was nursing it meant I was up for well over an an hour. We were able to start putting her in her crib awake at about 10 weeks, which made her night wakings a bit more tolerable since they didn't involve rocking her for 20-30 minutes.

(((Lisa)))
It's so hard to know what the right thing is for these little ones! With regard to Owen's sleep, have you looked at Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? It really helped us understand what to expect with regard to Julia's sleep patterns, and helped me set the stage for her eventual sleeping through the night and nap consistency. While I didn't adhere to it 100%, it helped me anticipate Julia's sleep needs. I don't know, maybe it would help with Owen?


Meredith, Illyssa is so cute! And Greta, your boys are adorable!

[tbb113]

I'll delurk for a minute

Rebecca - my younger son didn't roll over in either direction until he was 10 months old. He was sitting up and crawling but not rolling over. My peditrician told me not to worry...that he could roll over but he just didn't want to. :rolleyes: He is now 13 1/2 years old and perfectly fine. If you are really worried, check with your doctor but I'm sure Julia is fine.

[aprilbride]

Well, I'm a little late to the party...but....here it goes:
Me: Claudia, 31
DH: Paul, 36
DS: Elliott, 8 months old

Accomplishments: Crawling all over the place, being a great little traveler, eating all sorts of new foods....

Challenges: Getting him back into a sleeping routine after our Germany trip.

So we're back and had a fabulous time! I'm so sad it's over:-( Back to the grind. Our challenge at the moment is Elliott's jetlag/sleep issues due to the time change. My other problem is that before he could sit/stand, we'd be able to pat him back to sleep if he woke, now if he wakes up he either just sits up or stands up in his crib and whails. We started some bad habits during his bad cold and then the trip, and now I'm not sure how much longer I should indulge him and when I should start him back on his normal routine. I know he still needs some time to adjust..but how long should I give him? Anyone have any advice? I'm back at work so the night wakings are taking a toll. DH is going to travel a ton this month and we need to get things back on track before he leaves.

Terri, Greta and Meredith, your babies are adorable!!! So cute....

[RunnerKim]

Whw this thread is moving fast (or I'm just slow!)

Me: Kim, 33
DH: Chris, 33
DD: Lainey, 3yrs
DS: Jamie, closing in on 9 months (4/11/05)

accomplishments: crawling (started a few days before Christmas - fortunately the tree was not a huge draw... his sister's toys on the other hand...)

challenges: officially diagnosed with asthma. We expected it as he'd already had 2 of the required 3 wheezing episodes. He's on Flovent daily like his sister.

Rebecca- Jamie does not roll much at all. He did some back-to-front rolling for a bit but I don't know that I've ever known him to roll off his tummy. Of course now he can push himself back in to a sitting position and/or get up on his hands and knees and crawl around. I wouldn't be concerned at all.

As to the whole attachment parenting... it's a whole 'nuther ball game when you have another child. I simply could not instantly respond to Jamie every time he cried. Sometimes I was in the middle of doing something with Lainey that I couldn't simply drop or I didn't want to give Lainey the impresison that Jamie was a priority over here. I consciously would say to Jamie "I know...I'll be with you in a minute, I'm finishing this story with Lainey first" Now Lainey quite often took it on herself to go comfort him if I was finishing up something first which was pretty cute. Either it's his nature or b/c I wasn't so quick to respond (or both) but he is a million time better at entertaining himself than Lainey is. He actually prefers to put himself to sleep (I hesitate to even say that in fear it'll abruptly change...although the few times he falls asleep in my arms almost make me cry it's so comforting and special).

I'd be curious what you all with older babies are feeding. Cheryl I know you've mentioned feeding quite a variety of table foods and Griffin is about a month younger than Jamie. I've so far been doing single ingredient foods and feeling rather limited. Doing as much finger foods as possible now. I'll share what Jamie eats, I hope some of you will share some things too to give me some ideas. We do family dinners (although sometimes Jamie starts a little earlier) and the more I can feed him the same as we're eating the better but I don't think we're quite there.

Broccoli (I chop it in the food processer and mix it with cereal - "Broccoli Stew" a la Sandra Boyton) he loves it
Beets (boilded and chopped in to larger chunks in the fp)
Carrots (I bought some frozen slized crinkly ones to try but have some finely chopped ones to finish from the freezer)
Yams (mashed)
Butternut (mashed)
Peas (run hot water over frozen ones and put on the tray)
Green Beans (I have some roughly chopped up ones to finish before trying him on "pieces" of whole beans)
Corn (as finger food, works okay)

Banana
Applesauce
jarred Pears (chopped but too hard for him to pick up so spoon fed)
canned Peaches (same as pear)
Cantaloupe (haven't bought one in awhile - mashed it up and mixed with cereal b/c it was very liquidy - loved it)
Avocado (chopped, mostly spoonfed)
Blueberries

Yogurt
Cheerios
Pinto beans (mashed, haven't fed those in awhile, should try as finger food)

He's got several teeth (6 I think, maybe another's popped through, it's not safe to feel around!) and chews decently.

I need to refresh myself from Child of Mine but thought it would be fun to see what others are feeding. I feel in a bit of a rut and haven't tried anything new in awhile. The things to wait on until a year are egg yolks, honey, wheat and peanut butter right? You'd think I could remember but I don't.

Kim

[Chelle D]

Kim - Maxwell is just a little younger than Jamie (May 2) and I am doing more lately with various foods. In the freezer now in "cubes" I have:

Sweet Potato - steamed and mashed with juice from a can of pears to thin a little.
Peas/Zuchini/Ricotta mixture- I made this last night. Peas and frozen squash steamed then pureed and I mixed in a couple spoons of ricotta at the end.
Onion/potato/zucchini/pea mixture - I sauteed onion in a little butter, then added peeled and diced white potatos, zucchini, and low sodium chicken broth and a little water. At the end I added a little peas and then blended it all. Maxwell LOVES this and I don't think it's too bad either. I have the actual "recipe" at home if you would like it. I can type it up tonight or tomorrow when I am home.
Carrots - I peeled and steamed carrots, then mixed them with a little baby rice cereal and fresh breastmilk.
Apricots - I boiled dried apricots in a mixture of apple juice and water, then pureed and added a little rice cereal to thicken. I got this "recipe" from www.wholesomebabyfood.com.
Green Beans - Steamed frozen green beans and pureed.

I also mash a half banana quite a bit for him and I buy a large jar of unsweetened applesauce and he gets that fairly regularly too. I also bought the yo-baby yogurt for him to try and he likes that so he has it, but only once or twice a week. He just started Cherrios so I need to do more finger foods with him in the next month or so. I have done the canned pears and other veggies plain (peas, butternut squash). I also made a minestrone soup and pureed some of it before adding too many seasonings and he loved that so I need to do more with beans.

I have been inspired by Nancy on this thread to just read a little and then go with it, (thanks Nancy!) so that's what I have done. I was a little scared in the beginning to give him anything, then I started and he just loves everything (except avocado, but that was a little overripe and we may try again :D )

I have been wondering about others too so I am glad you asked and hopefully we can help the newer moms too!

[EmilyK]

Kim, my baby is almost 10 months old (3/9) , here are some of the things we're feeding:

Baby Oatmeal, Rice and Barley
Gerber Veggie Puffs (these things smell really sweet, taste good, and have <1 g sugar - who knew?)
Cheerios
Goldfish (the new Baby size ones are perfect)
Small pieces of whole wheat/sourdough/etc. bread (including crusts)
Broken up crackers (oyster/no trans-fat ritz imitators)
Cheese Crumbles or Shreds
Cottage Cheese
Applesauce (motts no sugar added variety, not baby)
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Banana
Prunes (jar kind)
Diluted Apple Juice (regular 100% juice, no sugar, 1:1 with water)
Avocado (he doesn't really like this one now)
Peas pureed and whole
Green Beans (processed)
Broccoli (will be tried for the first time tonight, pureed with butter added)
Carrots (pieces, cooked)
Mashed Red Potatoes (with sour cream and butter - this was from our table)
Sweet Potatoes (baked and then mashed)
Pancakes (IHOP buttermilk and home-made whole wheat)
Winter Squash
Tofu cubes
Chicken (boneless skinless brx cooked in crock w/ carrots, garlic, water and spices -- then pureed)
Sage
Thyme
Oregano (by far THE favorite)

For the chicken, he refuses to eat it plain. We sometimes make a "stew" of it with barley cereal, some b-milk, and oregano. Or, we can combine it with green beans and oregano. He's silly about the chicken. We combine peaches/plums and apples/plums. We've also combined sweet potatoes and chicken. We've definitely been feeding a lot more of the things we're eating.

The only jarred foods we buy are for convenience in a rush: apples, peaches, pears, apricots and prunes. Otherwise, we make everything ourselves.

The things our ped. advised us to stay away from are: peanuts, honey, acidic foods (tomatoes, citrus, kiwi), strawberries, and choking hazard foods. We only added wheat within the last couple of weeks, which has freed us up a LOT with snack foods. She didn't say anything about eggs, but we've been feeding baked goods that include them, but not scrambled eggs, plain yolks, etc.

[kimszy]

Emily, did you know they just came out with whole wheat gold fish (they do not come in baby size though). I bought them for my very picky 4 year old and he did not notice a difference. (It was a whole different story when I tried an enriched white bread in place of his butternut white he always eats--he could tell just by its look that it was different.) I did not look closely at the nutritional info for the goldfish so they might not be all that much better.

[EmilyK]

Kimszy, wow I had no idea!! I was just thrilled that they don't have any trans fats in them anymore, whole wheat would be great! I'll definitely keep an eye out for them! Thanks for letting me know!

[mst]

Greta- I love the matching PJ's on your boys. And seeing them cuddle is so cute! Terri- I love the glasses. I really do. I just want to eat her up! Emily- Gavin is too cute.

I am at home, thinking about how much I love being home. Here's the scoop with my job: professionally, it is not going to get me anywhere (I took the first job offered to me to get infertility coverage). My boss is great- super nice. My hours are great. If I am there at 5:15, my boss asks what is wrong. The job is easy. The benefits are AMAZING. I think our whole IVF cycle cost less than $200. Plenty of time off- I worked there for one year, and got two months of paid maternity leave. The downsides are that the commute is horrible. About 1 1/2 hours each way. I get paid peanuts (they give great benefits, and the trade-off is a lower paycheck). And, of course, being away from my little girl. There is virtually no way that I can get pregnant again without IVF. We would probably start IVF again in a year. For those of you who do not know, IVF is about $10,000 to $15,000 per cycle. I can't decide if I am selfish for wanting to stay home, or if I have the opportunity to spend that time with my child (although there would be sacrifices), I should grab it.

Any thoughts or personal experience would be greatly appreciated. I know there is no right answer, and both sides have pluses, and minuses. In my next life, I am going to marry Prince William so that I will not have to worry about money (that's not the only reason to marry him :D ! I think he is HOT!)

And thanks everyone for your very thoughtful summaries on breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding seems to have turned a little, tiny corner for me, and seems to be a bit easier. And, my best friend has agreed to go to the mall with me tonight, which should make that task much less overwhelming. Especially because she can stay in the car with Ilyssa while I run into some of the stores that are not attached to the mall.

[LaraW]

Meredith, is there any chance of being able to go back somewhat PT? Maybe 2-3 days a week? I work 2 days in teh office, and 1 day at home and it has been a nice compromise for us. It gets some socialization with other kids for Natalie, and gets me out of the house and doing my own thing for a couple of days a week.

Just a thought...

[buffygirl]

My Update:
Me: 39
DH: 37
Little Man: 5 months!

Accomplishments: professional cereal eater, excellent hand chewer, good at almost rolling over :p

Challenges: a nagging cough!

We've bene dealing with a bad cough. Rex caught it from my niece who came to my parents for Christmas Eve. No one even mentioned she was sick til we'd been there 3 hours! :( So Rex has been coughing for 11 days now. We've gone to the dr once and are now on breathing treatments. THe good parts are: no fever, still eating well, just a tiny bit fussy and still sleeping 10-12 hours per night :o Thankfully not much phases this child, but I'm home with him today and his grandma will stay with him tomorrow. Hopefully by the weekend he will be feeling better.

Life is busy for us right now. Work is a bear. And I'm back on my eating plan 100%. And Greg will start traveling next week again, but only for 1 night each of the next 2 weeks....

Kim

[RebeccaT]

I love seeing what all of you are feeding your little ones. You'd think that as someone who likes to cook, I'd be all over interesting concoctions for my little one, but all I have tried so far are jars! :o In my defense, however, I read that jarred food is held to such high standards, and it typically made with the freshest ingredients, to the point that it might even be better for my baby than if I were to make it myself from less-than-fresh grocery ingredients that had been on the shelves a bit too long! I really am looking forward to just mashing stuff up for her from the table, and getting into foods with more flavors.

So far, Julia has tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and bananas. I only gave rice cereal and oatmeal for the first month she was on solids, and began introducing fruits and veggies after Christmas. She doesn't really like the potatoes (although she'll eat them) or the bananas (though I am holding out hope that if I keep offering them, then she'll eat them). We will be trying apples, pears, and butternut squash soon. She got to gnaw on an organic teething biscuit yesterday for the first time, and loved it!

We are still trying to find the right times of day to present solids. Today at lunch she started out ok with her sweet peas (she LOVES these!), but when I moved on to oatmeal and bananas she started grunting and fussing, and didn't stop until I gave her a bottle. The response to bananas didn't really surprise me, but she normally loves oatmeal and gets upset if I don't feed it to her fast enough! She did the same thing yesterday. I don't really know what was going on, although she seemed tired (well before her usual naptime, but if she's tired she's tired). I am still trying to figure out whether to give her a bottle before a meal, after, or not at all. She doesn't seem to be totally full even after she's made it clear that she's "done" with solids, so I usually do the bottle afterwards.

I never really anticipated solids being such a mystery!

[Chelle D]

Any thoughts or personal experience would be greatly appreciated. I know there is no right answer, and both sides have pluses, and minuses.


Okay Meredith, you knew I would chime in here :D All I can say is that I both wish and do not wish I was in your shoes. All in all, my baby cost me $19,000+, and my loss of babies with surgeries was another $4,000 out of pocket and I had a little coverage in insurance for some of my ivf meds. When looking into ivf, I would have killed for insurance coverage. Now, I am paying it off for the next year or so and making a lot of sacrifices to do so and only work 2 days per week. I have a strong desire to have another child and have no idea how and if I will ever be able to. If you stay home, it will be the most rewarding experience of your life. I know staying home is not for everyone, but if you have the desire and can do it, I would do it. In a couple years, you can do it all again if you like. Get the job, get the coverage and hope for success again. I always find myself weighing the cost of everything. If I have another (which I will adopt if I do, but it still costs), what am I taking away from Maxwell? I know that a sibling is priceless, but I don't think I can mentally handle the debt again. I also think maybe I should work nights and save so I can pay this off faster and save up, but I don't want that either. So for now, I am doing what I want - staying home with my family as much as I can possibly afford and hoping that this year will bring some financial changes that will allow us to start planning for another. Your little one is so new and you went through a great deal to get her. Enjoy her a bit longer if you can. :) I hope what I said helps....it's SO not easy! I always say that I knew children were expensive, but did not know mine would cost so much before I was pregnant :p

[buffygirl]

Rebecca, like you, we are beginning to solve the mystery of the solids, who knew? Child of Mine was on my Christmas list, but I didn't get it and I just haven't had time to get to B&N to pick it up...

That said, Rex is only eating Rice cereal so far. I was about to introduce oatmeal, but then he got the cough and I didn't want to potentially complicate any allergy issues by introducing a new food. But, what I've found that works really well for him is to feed him his bottle, maybe an ounce or 2 first. This takes the edge off his hunger. He then eagerly eats his cereal. If he still seems hungry after a good portion of cereal, then I feed him the rest of the bottle. I found that if I went to cereal first, he would get upset because the cereal wasn't satisfying his hunger quick enough.

I'd be interested in what some of the more experienced moms have to say.

Kim

[RunnerKim]

Now Jamie gets his bottle and food at different times. We alternate generally. Bottle when he wakes up, solids around 8:30 (at daycare during the week); bottle after his nap - Noonish. Might take the bottle before nap. His nap is moving later (to once a day) so that's messing with the timing. Solids around 1:30. Bottle around 3:30. Dinner with us around 6 (he doens't often eat much here) and then a bottle at 7:30.

We are working to either eliminate a bottle or just reduce how much he gets for each of the 4 bottles. This often happens on the weekend (he naps for a longer period at home and "misses" a meal).

Jamie will never tolerate a partial feeding of a bottle and taking the time to strap him in a high chair and get food to his mouth. He'd be way too worked up to be patient enough with eating. In the beginning I did give him a bottle after feeding (they never did that at daycare though).

Now I'm thrilled that he can eat finger foods b/c I'll plop him in the chair and give him a handful of cheerios, peas, blueberries whatever and he can munch on those while I get the rest ready and he doesn't get too worked up to eat.

So I think it's really going to vary depending on the child. With Lainey I could do a partial feeding and then solids. for the first couple of months of solids I think it's more about learning/experiencing eating than nutrition. So I think it's better to do it when the baby is in a good place to learn - not overly hungry or tired (but of course they can't have just had a full meal either).

Rebecca - are you feeding jarred banana? I've known of several babies who haven't cared for it but will eat fresh (mashed) banana. Banana is one of the easier things to do since they keep so well and you can mash them easily with a fork - so you might try that if you want more success with banana specifically. She could be teething - Jamie backed off eating quite a bit and that's what we decided was the cause. He was grinding his teeth a lot too (ack!) and drooling... but I don't think anythings actually popped through. But he's back to eating normally.

Kim

[angelamaria]

Checking in...
Me-38 next month, mentally 138
DH 34
Abby 2.5 yo
Miles 8 1/2 months

Eating more solids, still trying to find his balance to sit up and crawl, sleeping well at night , naps still variable and not long enough.

His eating schedule (which is prob too much formula)
6-7:30 wakes up and has an 8 oz bottle.
7:30-9 am somewhere in here he eats a jar of baby breakfast (oatmeal plus fruit or the like) he is eating stage 2 and 3 foods.
i would make them but i haven't had time to cook anything extra. :(
1030-1200 second bottle
1200-130 sometimes has a small jar of vegetables or mac and cheese
230-330 has 3rd bottle
530-6 pm has dinner jar (chicken and veggies or similar now usually larger jar stage 3)
620-7 pm has 4th bottle
7-8 pm to bed sometime

the times are the ranges in which he eats, it only takes him a few minutes to polish off a bottle or food.
he is now eating cheerios, unmashed bananas, teddy grahams etc
i have one of those mesh things i need to slice an apple and try it out i think he would LOVE it!
he is outgrowing his 12 mo size pajamas :eek:
teething is making him grumpy some days - he has the front 4 all in so far; lately he seems less drooly etc.
angela

[rmg_CA]

Checking in... it's been a while for me.

Me 34
DH 37
Nicholas 8 mo as of 12/21

Oh, being a mom is the greatest thing. Sigh. All of you new moms in that hectic first couple of months, rest assured, you do begin to feel like your old self again in a while. I remember reflecting back on life thinking --- where have I gone?? -- but things are starting to feel like "I can do this!" And -- gasp -- I even ponder what it might be like with a second!! I was just talking to they daycare lady today about how demanding they are (in a sweet way) in the first months, but how responsive and fun they are when they're a bit older.

Nicholas is doing so well. He's such a happy baby. He's scooting around very well, but not doing the butt-in-the-air crawl yet. It's more of a pull with his arms thing. He's quite efficient at it though! He's such a character too! Last Sunday, I taught him to say "uh-oh." It's so funny, he'll toss toys off the high chair tray on to the floor and say "uh-oh." It melts my heart! He's also just about pulling himself up and stands well once he's there. He had lots of fun at Christmas too and would rip away at the giftwrap once I gave him a little start.

As for me, I'm sad now because I think our breastfeeding days are coming to an end. I can't believe I made it 8 months as I have had supply issues the whole time and even resorted to some meds to help at about 6 weeks. However, I stopped taking them as I didn't want that to be a long term solution considering their risks, and I can't tolerate any of the recommended supply-boosting herbs without a constant tummy-ache, so my supply's way down again and I think things are coming to an end. It's kind of a sad thing when I think we may have had our last nursing session each time we do (which isn't often, usually just before he goes to bed). Now I'm just pumping and giving him what I get at about 6 hrs and will be winding down slowly so as not to get engorged or mastitis. He's been getting formula since about 2 wks old, so I'm not hung up on that, I will just miss the "gee mom, this is great" looks he gives me. So other moms... when you threw in the breastfeeding towel, did you taper off or did you cold turkey? It's kind of a wierd thing after having supply problems to actually think about trying to turn these things off!

Wow, I'm glad I checked in... I'm really lagging on what I give him in solids! So far he's tried lots of fruits in jars and is a good vegetable eater from jars, but I haven't much ventured to finger foods. He just got his first tooth on 12/21, it is his front bottom one. Then a couple of days later, he got the second bottom one through. They're not really up far yet either, so I've been hesitant to move to "toothier" things, but it encourages me that all of you have already! We did discover an allergy to apricots too. Oh and this is the wierdest thing, but he can eat apples, can eat pears, and can eat bananas just fine, but barfs up just about every time he eats the apples,pears,bananas combo in a jar. He came home early Tuesday as he was throwing up and when I checked what he ate, that's what it was. As I thought back, every time he's been on the verge of sick, I've made a feeble attempt to give him food and have given him that, and he throws it up. I feel like a dork for not figuring it out sooner, but I think it's really wierd.

I am going to make an effort to expand his solids and last Sunday, I actually cooked him a butternut squash, but froze it in cubes. I also bought him a whole sweet potato, but haven't cooked it. Tomorrow I'm off so I'll be giving him a mashed real banana for breakfast, and some squash cubes for lunch.

I was more of a lurker last month, but in the thread towards the end of the month, there was a discussion about that bath seat that goes over the side of the tub. We also have it and I highly recommend it. It's a great transition from the plastic infant tub to the bigger whole tub. Love, love, love it. I've gotta post a picture soon, I've got one of him in the tub that I just love.

Oh yeah, and one more thing... what the heck, I've already written a novel... we have been giving Nicholas a sippy cup for about the last month and a half and he does really well with it. He gets it in the afternoon and takes 1/2 of his pm bottle that way. The ones I really like to start with are the Nuby ones. They have a silicone nipple that's a lot like the Avent bottle nipple he's used to. We've tried the Avent sippys too, but he doesn't much like the spout on those. No big deal though because the nipples fit interchangeably and he does great with the handles.

:D Robin

[rmg_CA]

Ok, let's see if I can remember how to do this... Not the tub photo, but one I like...http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p6a8b8ce91f19f73fd1fa62fb4bdb2996/f0b53bed.jpg

[TerriS]

Great timing to see all this solids stuff! We've done rice, oatmeal, banana, avocado (that I made), sweet potato (both jarred and homemade) and last night tried applesauce! She seems fine with it all. I have sort of mixed feelings about jarred - it does appear to be held to very high standards, but I also like the idea of making some stuff for her. Plus, when I made stuff I can give a much greater variety, like asparagus and mango!

We just had our 6 month appt. Little chunker is 19 pounds and 28.5 inches! My big girl. The ped also said we could start finger foods, like Cheerios broken in half, and self feeding stuff, like teething crackers and the mesh feeder.

I'll post separately about this, but while the glasses are adorable, they are not correcting the vision problem as much as our optometrist would like, so Caroline is most likely going to have to have surgery to correct the strabismus (eye turn) in February. :( I am only freaking out a little, but if others have experiences to share, that would be great. Mostly I feel like I am clueless and don't know what questions to ask. Anyway, I'll start a thread about that.

[Chelle D]

OMG! THat little guy is so cute!!



Terri - For the solids, I think that all you need it to do it once or twice and you will make all her food. From books I read, there is not much against jarred food. They are just more expensive, less fresh and the baby does not get as much flavor and texture differences as she will with homemade. But jarred foods are convenient and do not have anything harmful or anything like that in them. I have not purchased any yet, but can see the convenience aspect.

[EmilyK]

(((Terri))) Sorry to hear the glasses aren't working the way you wanted. One of my ex-coworker's son had surgery on his eyes when he was a little guy and I would never have known it to see him (he's 17 now). I don't have much more information other than it worked. I hope there are others with more experiences to share.

Robin, he's SOOO cute!! Thanks for sharing!

[lisas3575]

What a cutie, Robin! :D

Just wanted to pop in and share an accomplisment. I finally made it down to the kid's resale store yesterday and bought a used Infantino front carrier to try. Owen loves it. And I love it-- I actually got a huge pile of clothes hung up yesterday while toting him around. Dad is wearing him right now and doing some work on the computer. Hooray! It seems to be a good compromise since Owen thinks he wants to be held all the d@mn time.

Still not much progress on the nighttime sleeping. :( He was up (and crying, as usual) a good part of the day yesterday, so I thought he might sleep better last night, but no go. Greta, he's still really awake after his 3am feeding, and last night I even put him down crying. :( Couldn't get him to settle down at all though, and if he's going to cry while I'm rocking him anyway... well, you've all heard this before. Ugh.

Rebecca, I have HSH,HC on order from the library, hopefully it will be in soon. I have No Cry Sleep Solution ready to be picked up today-- anyone read that and have an opinion?

[EmilyK]

Lisa, this may be a stupid question on my part, but are you turning on any lights when you get up with him in the middle of the night? The only way we were able to get our little guy to go back to sleep was to make sure to keep it nice and dark the whole time we were up with him! (diaper changes were tough :)) I read the Happiest Baby on the Block (and loved it) and the Healthy Sleep Habits book (didn't like it as much, but has some good ideas). Try different things and see what works for you. DS was another little guy who wanted to be held all the time, and now he's a VERY independant kiddo. Don't let anybody tell you you're holding him too much!

I'd just like to say that I am enjoying being a mom so much right now; I never knew it would or could be this much fun!! It was a huge struggle for those first 3 months and that in itself makes me cringe at the thought of having #2 (way WAY down the road, not anytime soon). We are having the time of our lives with this little guy! Last night he was standing up, then fell down and bounced on his little butt. DH told him, "Wow, big boom!" He looked up at DH all excited and started clapping his hands... Every little thing he does just melts our hearts.

I know it's really tough in the beginning, but things get so much better... at a very quick pace!

Something I wish we'd started much sooner than we did, was writing in a journal about things we've done during the day or accomplishments, etc. We started in July (DS was born in March), and it's so neat to go back through there and remember the little things he's done. You wouldn't believe how much you actually do forget. DH also writes entries in it, which is very cool.

[Luv to Cook]

Lisa, you are not alone. Sahana is a little older than Owen and we are still having some sleep trouble. Mainly that she doesn't want to from 8PM to 11PM...yesterday she was awake from 1PM until midnite...a long time for a seven-week old. Another issue is that she will not stand to be put down in the evenings...it is so weird because she will sleep in her crib all the other times...even for naps. I just don't get her. I tried a little crying last nite and it just made us all miserable. I know she is too young to CIO, but like you Lisa, sometimes I just feel so desperate. I seriously cannot wait for 12 weeks to try and see if some controlled crying will help.

HSHHC is a great book. It can make you a little crazy though trying to time everything. In his world, perfect timing = no crying. Well, I must be off all the time because we are rarely without tears when going to sleep. But I think it is a great book with regards to the science of sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation.

No-cry was hit and miss for me. She does have some good tips about routines and how important it is for babies to sleep in the day in order to have good night sleep. But for me, her ideas just took too long. The results of modified crying worked much better for us (with Asha). I just did not have the stamina to use her methods for a month or two. But if you really do not want Owen to cry, she may have some ideas that work for you.

Terri, sorry to hear about the glasses not working. It is so hard to do something that you know is the best thing for your child, but not worry about their feelings. I am sure she will be fine and not even realize what happened...except that she can see better! This is totally different, but Asha was withholding urine and we took her to the ER and they had to insert a bladder cath while she was awake and I had to hold her down. It killed me to do it, but I knew she would feel so much better afterwards.

Great pics everyone! One day I will figure out how to post our holiday/Sahana announcement.

Anita

[gertdog]

Yay Lisa! I wish I'd tried Ryan in the front carrier more often. I should try again because I am getting zero done at home. I also have a sling that I never figured out. D'oh.

Okay, I know I have no right to complain because my kid does in fact sleep through the night, but he appears to have an alarm clock hardwired into his brain where naps are concerned. When I can get him to go down, he sleeps for exactly a half an hour. And then his eyes pop open and he's rarin' to go. I get maybe two half-hour naps out of him per day. Half an hour is enough time to shower and dress and maybe shove some food into my mouth, but not much else.

Any tips on getting a nap to last longer? I'm wondering if he needs more stimulation when he's awake- more active playtime, walks in the stroller, that kind of thing.

And... right on schedule, guess whose eyes just popped open? Darn.

[Megan James]

Stephanie Well the only thing that helped us getting longer naps is Rebecca catching a cold! I certainly wouldn't recommend that route but I am hoping some of the effects last past the cold. She got sick Monday night and was the worst Tuesday. She really wasn't that sick but it breaks your heart to hear her coughing and then crying b/c it hurt/scared her. She's been sounding better every day since. She's been sleeping a LOT during the day and taking long naps in her crib which she never did before this week. I also have been managing to get her down to bed earlier this week. On the flip side she is not sleeping through the night. I think part of this is that she hasn't had as much of an appetite during the day. When she was sleeping 10+ hours at night it seemed she ate non-stop all afternoon and evening. Now I am doing the "should I pump some? or should I save it for her?" game.

We had a big milestone this morning. She rolled over! I was reading a story to her and wanted to go get another book, instead of carting me with her I just put her down on her tummy as I went across the room. As I was walking back to her poof she rolled over. I of course ran for the camera and then got the next two times on video clips. After her morning nap we tried again (well I put her on her stomach) she didn't do it and seemed a bit agitated. Needless to say I am a very proud mama

[fancyn]

Lisa, you've been given some really good suggestions here. Similar to Emily, we put a dimmer switch on his light so it wasn't completely pitch black for the diaper change. :) And also, it took several weeks to figure out not to talk to him :rolleyes: just some shushes and mmmmm's. HTH !! I also would just like to say thanks for reminding me of the front carrier. I haven't used my bijorn in months, but i'm about to whip it back out. We've phased out the morning nap and come 6 o'clock, little man is exhausted. He gets very clingy and whiny. Not feasible with me making dinner - So he ended up on my hip for 15 minutes while we stood over the stove. The carrier would be perfect AND he can learn to cook! :p ;)

I just want to second Emily's statement about how much fun motherhood is now! Every day when I drop and pick Nicholas up we have to acess our surroundings outside. He tells me "up" and points up - and then says "twee" and points up at the tree. Yesterday in the car, I asked him if he could clap. He clapped his hands together AND his feet. My heart melted just because he's so smart now....and silly and fun. It's absoluely incredible how much one year changes things, and how quickly the time has passed. It's almost sad really! His first birthday is on the 31st of this month and I'm already nestalgic. :rolleyes:

Hang in there ladies!!!

PS. Congrats on the roll Megan and Rebecca!! :)

[RebeccaT]

Gosh, I have so much to comment on! here goes, I'll try to get it all in...

Kim, thanks for the suggestion about the fresh banana. I actually think the jarred stuff tastes pretty weird (must be the citric acid they put in there to prevent discoloration) so I wasn't that surprised that she didn't go for it. I mainly want her to love bananas out of sheer spite... Charles HATES them, and I want the banana lovers in the household to outnumber him <evil grin> ;) I really need to get the timing of introducing new foods down better... I tried applesauce today, thinking she would love it. Well, I think my mistake is giving her a couple of bites of the new food before her favorites, because after that she'll clamp her mouth shut and just groan this high-pitched, very UN-cute whine and even refuses her favorite oatmeal! She maybe if I try bites of new food after she's eaten her oatmeal... argh, this is hard! I really hoped she would love eating, I am so afraid that I'll end up with a picky eater!

Lisa, I didn't like No-Cry because to me it seemed the least flexible of all of them. HSH, HC seems more pragmatic... here's what you do if you don't want any crying, here's what you do if you want the fastest results, and here's what's in the middle. No judgement. And for infants as young as Owen, it helps you lower the bar on what you expect because it explains what the most likely behavior is at each age.

Stephanie, when Julia was Ryan's age, I hardly ever got long naps out of her. Go check out the thread from September (or maybe October)... I was freaking out thinking that my child would never nap!! That's something that HSH, HC helped me with, it lowered my expectations on her naps for that age, and helped me understand that many short naps are totally expected when they are <4 or 5 months. Now she's like clockwork - morning nap 30-45 minutes, afternoon nap 2-3 hours, and early evening nap 30 minutes.

Robin your little man is adorable!

Terri I am so sorry that the glasses aren't having the desired effect. I am sure you are worried, but imagine how beautiful her world will be once she gets it taken care of!

[LaraW]

I tried applesauce today, thinking she would love it. Well, I think my mistake is giving her a couple of bites of the new food before her favorites, because after that she'll clamp her mouth shut and just groan this high-pitched, very UN-cute whine and even refuses her favorite oatmeal!

Rebecca, one thing I remember doing when Natalie was trying a lot of new foods was to try a small amount (of say, applesauce) on the spoon along with the rice cereal/oatmeal. It gave her something familiar that she liked along with the new taste/texture, and maybe wasn't quite as shocking to her mouth. I don't know if you're already doing that or not, but if not, you might give it a try.

I remember that sometimes it took several times of introducing foods before they were familiar enough for her to like/dislike them. Some she liked right away, but others we just had to try a few times, and others she never came around on.

Our daycare provider also suggested not using the jarred bananas b/c of the citric acid in them. Maybe a banana-bread ready banana would be right up Julia's alley :)

[JenZen]

Hi, mommies.

Just wanted to pop in and say "hello." I can't believe how big all the babies are getting. Seems like yesterday that a lot of you joined this thread.

Gabe is doing well. He is such a little man. He plays games, chases us around the room, likes reading books with me, and is learning to say more and more words.

For those of you struggling, as Emily said, it does get so much better. Not a day goes by that Al and I don't crack up about something Gabe did. Last night, it was ketchup. I gave him some on his plate because he likes it with his French fries. Well, I guess he really liked it because he kept dipping his fingers in it and then licking them off. He ate all the ketchup before he ate the rest of his food, and he smeared a good portion of it across his face :)

And, he's learning to use silverware. He loads up the spoon with his fingers and then puts it in his mouth.

And we hear a constant barage of "What's that?" questions from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed.

So, that's life from here. We're still thinking positively about getting preggers again in the near future.

I'll keep reading up on you guys. Hang in there!

Jen

[lisas3575]

Yay!! Just had to pop in this morning to tell y'all about our awesome night. :D :D :D We tried a few of the suggestions in NCSS (still waiting for HSHHC) and Owen went down at 8:30 pm and slept for six hours with no screaming. :D We're trying the suggestions of putting him down earlier (last night wasn't that much earlier-- it was too late in our schedule to roll back that last nursing, but tonight he should go down about 7:30 or so. We are also trying to establish some kind of bedtime routine-- kind of hard with such a young baby, but we moved the rocker into his nursery for nursing, had just the nightlight on and played his music box as we put him down in his crib, rubbing his stomach as he fell asleep. He woke up a few minutes later, filled his dry diaper :rolleyes: and started fussing, so a quick dipe change and back to the musicbox and tummy rubbing (dad seems to get him to fall asleep better than mom). Zonk. Did I say YAY? :D

We repeated the scenario after the 2am feeding, but it took 4 tries before he went back to sleep. Again, dad got the best results (fine by me-- I got to stay in bed ;) ). Owen woke up a hour earlier than we'd hoped, and DH was able to get him back to sleep for another hour-- unbelievable. Hopefully this is all progress in the right direction and not a fluke. I can't tell you how thrilled I was this morning, and I was sure to tell Owen how proud we were of him.

I love reading about all the babies on the solids adventure-- I'm looking really forward to when Owen is a more interactive guy. I'm eagerly awaiting smiles and giggles.

Emily-- We used just the nightlight last night to nurse. I have to have a little light since I'm still using the shield and have to get it put on correctly. Hopefully we can ditch the shield in another few days. I'm still not 100% healed up. Kind of nervous to go back to nursing without it. :eek:

Terri-- Sending you all good thoughts for the surgery. She'll have such a great result and will be thrilled with all the new things she can see. :)

Stephanie-- good luck on those naps. it's so hard to get anything done even if he is getting naps!

Nancy-- just a reminder that they advise against wearing the baby while cooking for safety reasons. Don't want your little guy to get burned or overheated... Of course, that didn't stop me from wearing Owen this morning while I made waffles. A waffle iron doesn't count, does it? ;)

[buffygirl]

Lisa, CONGRATS! I so remember what that first 6 hour stretch was like. It gave me so much hope! Little Owen is probably on the verge of a sleep break through. Yay! :)

Rex is still coughing, much much worse. Thursday he started breathing treatments every 4 hours. Life here is a bit trying right now. This too shall pass. I just hate that he feels bad and that I can do next to nothing to help him. :(

kim

[Megan James]

uh Greta you probably don't want to know that she has been sleeping through most nights for the past 3 or 4weeks.


YEA RIGHT! Ugh I am super cranky this morning. So Rebecca hasn't slept through the night all week. She's been sick and was taking long naps during the day so I was trying to be OK with it. Well this weekend has been really tough. Last night I started putting her down at 8pm at about 11pm she finally stayed asleep in her crib. Then DH woke me up at midnight b/c he has no clue how to be quiet since he can sleep through everything. I couldn't fall back asleep until after 1am. Rebecca woke up for a change and feeding at 2:30am. Again I don't fall back asleep until 3:45ish. Rebecca wakes back up at 5:30am for more food and another soaked diaper. It's probably 6:30 before I fall back asleep. I get woken up when DH gets up at 8:30.

Rebecca hasn't woken up this much at night since she was 4 weeks old. I am trying to see the positive of it that she is hungry since she wasn't eating as much when she was sick but I am so tired it's hard. Plus yesterday she never napped more than 45 minutes.

I'm trying not to get pissed at DH for waking me up, at least last night he tried to be quiet. He used the bathroom down the hall when he was coming to bed instead of the one attached to our room but when he put the lid up he slammed it. I think he really just doesn't get it. It makes me mad b/c I try hard to be quiet when I get up and he is sleeping. I used to wear earplugs but that is out since I want to hear if Rebecca wakes up.

Sorry for the vent. I should be thankful it's nothing major. I guess I was just spoiled by the good sleeping early on.

[Luv to Cook]

Wow, Lisa, that is awesome! Tell me the secret!

I put Sahana down in the swing last nite and she also slept for 6 hours, but it was swinging almost the entire time. I fed her and put her in her crib and she slept for 3 more hours. It is so weird but during the day and in the middle of the nite she sleeps well in her crib...but come 5:00 PM and after she will scream the second her head hits the mattress. I think she has evening colic, because she cries when I hold her too...I finally got her down at 10:30 last nite in the swing.

I don't want the swing to be a sleep crutch, but at this point we all need some sleep. She is still so darn fussy in the evenings. I though the fussies go away around 6 weeks...we are coming up on 8 weeks. I so thought things would be better by now!

I am constantly snapping at my two year old...speaking of her, does anyone have any suggestions for her constant temper tantrums. It seems as if everything is a battle, no matter how many choices I give her.

Megan, sorry to hear about your nite. With Asha (DD1) I always gave her 3 nites...just so I could figure out what was going on with the wakings. If she was eating well and feeling well, we went back to leaving her alone at nite. Otherwise the wakings quickly became a new habit with her.

Robin, when I weaned Asha, we tapered it off...we got rid of nursing sessions...first the morning, then the mid-day and the last one to go was the evening. It was harder for me than for Asha. The first time I put her to bed without nursing, I cried especially, since she did not seem to miss it at all...she just went straight to bed. It was sad, but I got over it quickly...was so nice to have my body back!

Stephanie, the only thing that helped us with getting longer naps was a little bit of time and leaving Asha in the crib for a full hour...she finally got the point and started sleeping longer. I know HSH, HC, says that some kids are short nappers and you just have to deal.

That's it for now.
Anita

[EmilyK]

I am SOOOO stressed out. I just typed up a huge message and my stupid dial-up connection went dead and I lost the entire post. So, I apologize for no other personals than hugs to all the mommies struggling with babies who won't sleep or are sick!

Today is turning out to be my worst day in a long time... DS is doing alright, but he's going through this new phase where he screaches whenever he thinks he needs something. V-annoying. Then around lunch, since he won't nurse during the day, I was pumping. He went after my pump bag and when I moved it, the one air hose bumped my chair and broke the inlet on the pump. ARGH! :mad: Now I have no pump. I work and am away from home for 12 hours a day, so I pump once or twice per day at work, and on one side in the morning and both in the evening... I went out to Target to get a hand-pump (Avent Isis), but it is much more difficult to use (at the rate I need to pump) and a big hassle to clean. DH is working on rigging up my good pump (Medela PIS Advanced), by plugging up the one hole completely thus rendering it a single pump until I can get a replacement part. The whole situation just stinks... I'm only planning on nursing until a year and he's 10 months old!

[gertdog]

((((Megan)))) We've had a few blips in Ryan's nighttime habits too, but they seem to resolve after a few nights- hope Rebecca is back to sleeping through the night soon.

((((Emily)))) That stinks about the breast pump! Your comment on Gavin screeching made me smile even though I'm sure it's not funny to you- I have a friend with a little girl, and a few months ago I asked how she was doing. She said, very darkly, "Jessie has become a shrieker." The way she said it made me laugh. It does not sound like a fun phase!

So, what you are all telling me about the naps is "Be patient" huh? Drat. :p I need to go back to HSH, HC and read about the upcoming months. If my kiddo does turn out to be a non-napper we will have to look into part-time center-based day care a few months earlier than planned. Not the end of the world, but I'd hoped to get by with a sitter in our home until June or so.

Anita, I remember reading in HSH HC that 6 weeks was the peak of fussiness and it started to decline from there- so maybe you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel soon- hang in there!

Kim, I hope Rex feels better soon! :(

[lisas3575]

((((Anita)))) Hang in there. :( I'm sorry things are so hard for you right now. Big props to you for being such a good mom.

Kim, I'm sorry that Rex still has that cough. Sounds serious. How was he doing today?

Bear with me while I put some thoughts into words...since Owen pretty much only sleeps and eats, I'm alternating obsessing about each of those. :rolleyes: Since sleeping is improving, I'm now focusing on the eating part. The longer I'm nursing, the more of a mystery it's becoming. I have more and more questions every day, most of which I don't think have an answer.

For example, he'll go 6 hours between some nursings, and 2.5 between others. What's up with that? Right now he's nursing 4 times during the day and once at night. Some of the day feedings I have to wake him up for, trying to keep them every 4 hours.

And why does he nurse for a whole hour? Seriously, I think he'd stay attached to me the entire day if I'd let him. He's swallowing and sucking pretty good the entire time, too. I just pop him off after he starts slowing down and not swallowing as much. He's gaining weight, so I think he's getting enough to eat... he never cries to be changed so I can't really count diapers as a guideline. I think the shield combined with his bad latch is making him not an efficient nurser.

Speaking of his bad latch, I tried nursing today without the shield and it's a no go still. Ow. I need to call the LC *again* tomorrow and see if I should just bag it or nurse with the shield for the next 8 months or whatever, or if it's not too late to fix whatever his issue is with not opening wide enough. Ugh.

I also need some guidelines to start pumping-- I can't find any concrete info about how to start. Can anyone help me figure out when to pump, how long to pump, and how many times a day to pump? Do I start out less and build up my sessions? How do I know how many ounces of pumped milk to give him? It's baffling. FWIW, I'd like to have a little back stock in the freezer, and then I'll need to pump enough to cover one or maybe two feedings during the day.

Sorry for the novel. :o

[lisas3575]

(thread didn't bump to the top :confused: )

[cchhbb]

Lisa,

I would definitely talk to the LC about how to get Owen to open his mouth wider. My DS1 didn't open wide either and I was given some exercises to do with him that helped him to stretch those muscles out.

I think that we all have times where we are really hungry and times where we aren't. That may explain why Owen doesn't eat on a really firm schedule of every 3 hours. I would really keep an eye on his weight gain since he's not eating more times per day.

My sons never cried to have their diapers changed, but I would make it a point to keep an eye on them. I actually had a little chart for my DS1 since we were having issues. I found it really helpful to get some evidence. I think disposable diapers make it really hard to determine number of wet diapers sometimes. Since they are so absorbant, it is really hard to tell sometimes.

I pumped a lot when DS1 was an infant since he was having nursing problems and I needed to increase my supply. I do know that people nursing with a shield sometimes need the stimulation. I would ask the LC about this when you call too. To get some milk for the freezer, I would pump after a midmorning feeding and see how much milk you get in about 5 - 10 minutes of double pumping. Or pump for 5 minutes after Owen's ate two hours earlier and you don't expect him to eat again for a little while. If you are trying to increase stimulation due to the nipple shield I would pump after most feedings for 10 minutes.

The nursing moms group I attend have several women who have transitioned from the shield and I remember the LC recommending nursing with the shield on for awhile during the nursing session and then unlatching him and then trying to get him to latch without it. Sometimes when a baby is really hungry it is difficult for them to latch without the shield since they have become used to it.

Hope this helps.
Cheryl

[Megan James]

The longer I'm nursing, the more of a mystery it's becoming. I have more and more questions every day, most of which I don't think have an answer.

LisaI hear you loud and clear. We are still not nursing perfectly! As far as nursing for long periods of time Rebecca used to do that too and now she eats SO much faster. Seriously if she nursed from both sides it would be like 1 1/2 hour session. Now it's always less than 15 minutes per side.

I would definately go back to the LC. We are still seeing the Occupational Therapist (Rebecca will be 11 weeks tomorrow) and it is definately helping some. If the LC can't help you much with the "mechanics" of nursing it is still a great place to find support. I would tell you to take what she says and don't take it as law. My experience has been that after seeking help and reading books sometimes you just need to figure out what works for you. Hang in there!

Rebecca slept a little longer last night so I am hopefully optimistic. However it took 3 hours to finally truly get her down including 2 ten minute CIO sessions which were h*** on me. After the second one she finally decided to nurse again and then fell asleep.

One of the things I still really love is dressing her up in cute outfits and posing her for cute pictures! It's fairly shallow of me but makes me smile so much and the grandparents love it! Yesterday she was a cute little bear cub all day.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/Rebeccasmom/73efcf7b.jpg

[TerriS]

Lisa, I'm sorry this is all stressing you so much!
Babies are pretty good at self-regulating and getting enough to eat. He will let you know when he is hungry. It's okay for him to sometimes go longer and other times shorter. Some babies are like clockwork at eat every 3 hours on the dot, others, not so much.

I am pretty sure they should have a wet diaper sometime after each feeding. Can you feel if he is wet? To learn the feel, pour a couple of tablespoons of water into a diaper and see how it feels. I can usually tell if Caroline is wet by the feel of the diaper. Knowing that she was still peeing and pooping regularly was the only thing that kept me sane in the early days when she would only nurse for 5 minutes at a time and I was convinced there was no way she was getting enough. This kid has now tripled her birth weight, so I don't worry so much.

Can you weigh him? I'm not an advocate of weighing every day, but maybe every week or every two weeks. Most pediatricians will accomodate you if you call in and say you want to weigh your baby. Lactation consultant folks tend to have scales too. I put my little sweet pea on the food scale on a tray early on. :o

Pumping - It depends on your goal. If you are getting ready to go back to work, vs having a stash for if you are away, to have DH give him a bottle a day, etc. If you are pumping to build a stash, try mornings...that's when your supply is highest. If you are pumping to allow someone to give him a bottle, it's best, I found to pump while he is getting a bottle...in general, if he's eating, you should be feeding him or pumping. I got in the habit for a while of pumping in the morning and having DH give her an evening bottle...and it totally screwed up my evening supply. It's annoying but such is life.
Are you getting ready to go back to work? I can't remember. :o One strategy that is good is to pump when he's done with a feeding...even if you only get a little bit. And you can give him just little tiny feedings, like an ounce, to get him used to the bottle without screwing up your supply.

I read somewhere that on average, babies take in 2.5 oz per pound of body weight per day. So a 10 pound baby who is getting 10 feedings a day would get about 2.5 oz at a time. A 10 pound baby getting 5 feedings a day would take 5 oz. That is just ballpark. Early on I tended to pump and feed in 2-4 oz increments. That seemed to work fine.

[aprilbride]

Hugs to all the mommies struggling a little...(((( ))))) Somehow those things all fade into some distant memory it seems as time goes by...

Megan, Rebecca is a cutie!! What a great pic!

We finally seem to be getting back into some sort of a routine after our trip. Not without "complaining"..last night I just let Elliott cry for 30 minutes after he woke up at 9 pm....he finally gave up and went back to sleep. DH is traveling a lot this month so frequent night wakings are not going to work!

A question for mom's of "older" babies...Changing and dressing the little man is starting to become a major struggle!!!! He's so quick and strong, it takes all but a second for him to completely flip over while I change him. Depending on the reason for diaper change, it can be messy and frustrating. I try to distract him, but that only works for a few seconds...Any ideas? Anyone else having the same problem?

[EmilyK]

A question for mom's of "older" babies...Changing and dressing the little man is starting to become a major struggle!!!! He's so quick and strong, it takes all but a second for him to completely flip over while I change him. Depending on the reason for diaper change, it can be messy and frustrating. I try to distract him, but that only works for a few seconds...Any ideas? Anyone else having the same problem?

This is probably not what you're going to want to hear, but lately we've just been holding him down and forcing him to lay on his back for diaper changes. Sometimes, we can get away with giving him a toy to play with, but that doesn't always stop the flipping over. The holding down comes with a LOT of screaming/crying, though so it's hard to do. The more irritating thing lately has been that he's discovered his "extra" appendage!! :rolleyes: Not cool when he's really messy!! As far as rolling around while dressing, we've just learned to become more skilled at dressing upside down, while standing, sitting, etc. It's not worth the fight there... when there's poo involved, it's worth the fight. Anyway, just my 2 cents on what works for us. :) Good luck!

[aprilbride]

Emily...thanks for the feedback. I'm hoping it's just a phase, and a quick one at that. When the diaper changing becomes a two people job, you know you have a problem:-) I try to hold him down when I'm changing him, but I'm always worried he's going to hurt himself when he still tries to twist while I'm "pinning" him with my feet:-(

[fancyn]

This is probably not what you're going to want to hear, but lately we've just been holding him down and forcing him to lay on his back for diaper changes. Sometimes, we can get away with giving him a toy to play with, but that doesn't always stop the flipping over. The holding down comes with a LOT of screaming/crying, though so it's hard to do. The more irritating thing lately has been that he's discovered his "extra" appendage!! :rolleyes: Not cool when he's really messy!! As far as rolling around while dressing, we've just learned to become more skilled at dressing upside down, while standing, sitting, etc. It's not worth the fight there... when there's poo involved, it's worth the fight. Anyway, just my 2 cents on what works for us. :) Good luck!


Uh...Yup! The poo ones are the ones that really irritate me the most. Usually while holding both feet in one hand, I flip him by his underarm with the other. What I discovered this weekend was to get in his face, talk really low and really quiet. I'm talking like 2 inches from his face, so we see eye to eye. He seems to realize I mean business when I do that. Otherwise, it ended up me yelling "Nicholas, sit still" over and over with him not listening to a word. :rolleyes: HTH

[EmilyK]

Claudia, we also sometimes do the tandem diaper changes... it has to be a phase, or at least I'm hoping it is!! We're still changing DS on the changing table, so it's also a matter of safety that he doesn't roll!!

Nancy, I'm going to have to try talking close to his face and see if that works!

[MinEaston]

Okay, I'll try talking close to Anna's face too. Diaper changes are a huge challenge! DH and I try and do the tandem changing for her last change of the evening, because she also doesn't like to get dressed. We give her any number of toys - the string of mardi gras beads seems to be her favorite. Or her socks. More often than not I can be found writhing around on the floor buttoning her onesie or putting socks on, while she stands, playing the drums on the footstool. :rolleyes:

[valchemist]

I wonder if that problem is just with boys. I never remember it being too much of a struggle with julia. (oops, posting at the same time as MinEaston. I guess it isn't just a boy thing!)

well, since I have de-lurked, I might as well give a little update...

kate is 5 1/2 months and has been sitting up really well for a few days now. it is fun to see. she is really into playing with all sorts of toys now. when she is sitting up, she wants to be digging into a bucket of toys or whatever. I thought that the laugh and learning home (pictured in last month's thread) that my mom got her for Christmas wouldn't be used til way down the line, but she loves it already. and so does julia. that toy is HIGHLY recommended!! especially if you have an older child because it can serve double duty entertaining both kiddos. julia is almost 4 and she uses it for pretend play (like a playhouse). Kate just loves to play with all the do-hickies and listen to the music.

here are a couple of pictures of her from the other day with her little home.

oh, and we are trying her on solids (cereal, pears, fresh bananas...) not much interest yet. she is still 100% BF'd and loving that. the sleeping is terrible here, but what is new. it was the same with julia. And I have read both Healthy Sleep Habits and the No Cry books. We'll just keep plugging away. Just loving her so much, though, despite the sleeping issues. She is so fun and Julia is all over her too. :)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p49d538c7deb53a88560394c6a90633e8/f0b7e375.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p2ff6eddfedc0569eb80947fa850eda6a/f0b7e330.jpg

[aprilbride]

I'll have to try the talking method and see if that'll work. I don't think we've used our changing table more than a handful of times, I always change him on the floor since I'm paranoid about it being so high up..Don't know why I had to have it!

[TerriS]

Great toy Val! I have been wondering what the next "big toy" should be for Caroline, especially because she is too big for the swing or bouncy at this point. She JUST started sitting up well like this morning, which is great! Maybe that flat spot on her head will finally get better...as her ped said, "I don't think we need glasses AND a helmet!" Um, no. Hope not.

[DanaSD]

ok I'll join in

me: Dana, 34
DH: 34
DS: Brendan born 12/29/05
BF/FF: BF
accomplishments: born!
challenges: getting used to shorts naps instead of 9 hours of sleep which I need to be a functioning person. Breast feeding. Recovering from c-section.

As a FTM here I feel like I have a million questions

I'm off from work for 12 weeks. Around the end of March early April we're moving to Arizona. Then if my work oks it, I'll go back to work but work from home and we'll be using an au pair for full time child care. The challenge will be coordinating the time of getting child care, the move when the house is ready, end of leave, and selling our current house. I'm also considering not working even if my company approves it.

Lisa, wow I'm amazed at your ability to keep pushing ahead with the breastfeeding. I think I would have switched to formula by now.

Breast feeding is going relatively well but its still very hard to be so attached and depended on plus the soreness. He did really well with his first latch and my milk started to come in on day 3 so that all went well. I did have some blisters develope after a few days but I made a few changes and for now they're gone (I tried different holds which helped get a better latch, using my fingers to flaten before he latches, holding his head better so he's not pulling down on my nipple). However, the initial let down on my right side is so painful. Also when he's done on the right side my nipplle is red and hard and when my bra presses agains it it hurts (doesn't seem to relax) - last night I iced it and that felt better. He eats every 1-3 hours and he's a very slow nurser (at least 45 minutes per session) so I spend a lot of time feeding.

Anyone else dealing with 'let down' pain and does it get better? Also on babycenter a poster mentioned that their lactatiob consultant said if your nipple looks like a tube of new lipstick that the position isn't good - thats exacctly what my right nipple looks like but he's been eating well and blisters went away since I adjusted that latch (although that side if often sore after feeding).

Hormones hit this weekend and I've broken into tears a few times. I'm tired, sore both from my c-section and from nursing, my body is gross and I feel kind of trapped because of his dependancy on me (I'd like to wait to pump until 3 months since from what I've read thats reccomended unless you need to pump earlier). I did stop taking my pain medicine but decided to start taking it again - I could handle the c-section pain if that was the only thing I was dealing with.

Overall he's a great baby and we're both in love with him and convinced that he's the cutest baby ever. He doesn't really cry. Only fusses when he's hungry and sometimes cries when getting his diaper changed. Some fussing when he wants to be held but stops once we hold him. He either sleeps in the pack n play bassinet or crib. For now I'm following his schedule since I think thats the best for my milk production and his weight gain. I'm not sure when I should try switching him to a schedule. He was 8 lbs 13o when he was born, dropped to 7 15 and then back up to 8 1oz when we left the hospital and at the dr appt the following day. We go in on Thursday so hopefully there's been some good weight gain.

Simple question - whats the minimum age or weight for baby bjoern, swings and bouncers? We've put him in the swing already (papason) - I think its ok because its reclined and there's head positioner. He loves it and it allows us to eat dinner as a family each night. I haven't tried our bouncer yet (FP ocean wonders) - looks unstable to me and no head positioner. I've order a hotsling so that I can have some hands free time.

ok I'll stop babbling,
Dana

[MinEaston]

Just a quick post to respond to Dana (welcome, and congratulations!)

RE: let down pain. yep, it gets better. I had a lot of issues on the right side at first (blisters, then scabs that got pulled off :eek: ) but it got better.

RE: pumping. I don't remember when I started pumping exactly, but relatively early on just for relief. I can remember pumping the right side because it was less painful than letting Anna nurse. Or pumping a little when she fell asleep after one side only.

RE: slings, etc. We walked home from the hospital (2 blocks). Yep, all 3 of us. DH carried her all bundled up in a bunting, in the Snugli carrier. And we used the two slings we have (one is a Maya wrap) a lot right away, too. I think we waited on the bouncy seat (but not too long) and certainly waited on the Graco swing because of the head support issue. She was an "early" head control baby, though.

RE: schedules. I wouldn't worry too much about a schedule for a while yet. I personally didn't even try to set one before I had to go back to work, and then she just fell into one (at least where eating and bedtime is concerned. Napping, well, that's another issue. At least she naps. But it's hardly ever at the same time every day!)

HTH!

[EmilyK]

Dana, as I recall I would have described "let down" as a toe-curling experience... but that was only for the first week or two and then it got better. I also had the goofy new lipstick-shaped nipple post-nursing, but he eventually figured it out on his own. He would also sometimes makes this odd "clicking" noise while nursing. The boy turned out to be a champion nurser and is still going at 10 months (today!! :D). Hang in there, the first month is the hardest, I think! I would definitely pump earlier than 3 months if you plan on giving any bottles. I think we waited way too long to try the bottles and struggled to find one he'd take. It also helps to relieve pressure and build up a little bit of a supply so you CAN get out of the house. My time frame may be off a little bit, as far as how long any pain lasts, but those first few months are seriously just a blur! :)

[mst]

Val and Megan- adorable pics! Thanks for sharing.

Lisa- the nipple shield lessens your milk supply. So, what my LC recommended was pumping for 8-10 minutes after every feeding with a hospital grade pump, or 20 minutes with a regular pump (I think that is overkill). I also take Fenugreek three times a day, and *try* to drink Mother's Milk tea and Raspberry leaf tea. I pump in the morning after feeding her (or before she wakes up to relieve engorgement.) I keep it for a day or two (in case I need to supplement her), and then freeze it. Now, reality speaking, I probably pumped 2-3 times a day with the hospital grade pump (I rented one even though I own a brand new Medela), take the Fenugreek twice a day, and am going to get better about the tea :p . While you are on the nipple shield, I would do things to get your milk supply up. Otherwise, you will have a hungry, cranky baby, and you won't understand why he is cranky because you just fed him. Ilyssa used to nurse for a full hour. Once I got her off the shield, she was down to 30 mins. The other thing the LC told me was to tickle Ilyssa's top lip with my nipple, and not to put her on my breast until she was wide enough. Until then, I had read to tickle the bottom lip. And, I used to shove my breast in if she opened at all.

Emily- could you rent a hospital grade pump if you don't get around to fixing yours? I know that I could rent by the day, week, month, three months, etc.

Dana- Welcome! As for the schedules, our pediatrician told us not to worry about any of that until 3-4 months. We have friends who fight and fight each night for hours to get their son to sleep at 8. Literally, they are still fighting with him at 11. We are much more flexible- we put her to bed after the 10-ish feeding. Sometimes it is 10p, sometimes 11. We struggle too, but for much less time. Sometimes, there is no struggle at all. We are huge sleepers, and we have been blessed with a sleeper as well. So, she usually wakes us between 6:30-8:30. Then, we hang out in bed, grinning at each other. :D I love being a mom! Sometimes we cuddle and nap a little too. I know some people are very against sleeping with their babies. Ilyssa sleeps by herself now, and just naps a little in the morning with us. I can't explain it well online, but I put my arm under her, in such a way that I would not be able to roll onto my own arm that way. And, I would not be able to move my arm since she is on it.

I have never felt myself let down. I just know that I did when my shirt is soaking wet.

As for us, Ilyssa is going through a growth spurt, so I am feeding non-stop. Like for three hours with tiny 10 minute breaks. I am assuming she is not getting much milk, but is stimulating my milk supply. Any thoughts on if I should supplement, or continue letting her suck to get my supply up?

[EmilyK]

As an update on my pump saga: I called Medela's customer service number and ordered a replacement part. Altogether wish shipping, it's going to cost me a whopping $13. :rolleyes: It'll be here in 3-5 days. For today, I used my hand-pump (which is terrible, I've been spoiled by my electric "beauty") and DH says I should be able to use my modified pump (single for now) tonight. Whew! I feel better, but geez! Who knew just how much I depend on that thing for my sanity!? :)

Meredith, if it were me, I'd probably just let her suck. Doesn't hurt, so why not? But, I also had the mindset of absolutely no formula... so that would play a part. She might just want that soothing, not necessarily needing to eat.

[Megan James]

We have friends who fight and fight each night for hours to get their son to sleep at 8. Literally, they are still fighting with him at 11. We are much more flexible- we put her to bed after the 10-ish feeding. Sometimes it is 10p, sometimes 11.

I have never felt myself let down. I just know that I did when my shirt is soaking wet.

MSTyou are cracking me up! First of all the 8-11 fight is exactly what I did last night. I won't do that forever but we've got to get some sort of earlier bedtime going on before I go back to work. I also know that I have let down when my shirt is wet. It's a bit better now (11 weeks) but still happened this morning. At least I am not spontaneously leaking as much anymore though I still where pads when going out in public.

MST My thought is don't supplement. I went through several periods like that with Rebecca and it all worked it's self out in a couple of days. Everything I've read says the non-stop nursing is the babies way of telling your body to make more milk. I remember one day where she nursed at least once an hour from 11am to 9pm, both sides each time! Then a few days later we were back to every 3ish hours give or take 2 :)

Welcome Dana! My advice is to go with your gut on the nursing. If it's not hurting you (aside from the letdown) and he is having good weight gain then things are OK. I had the lipstick thing going on for a while and a ton of other problems which are still ongoing. If it hurts or his weight gain isn't good RUN don't walk to a lactation consultant. I was a bit stubborn and we have some pretty ingrained bad habits that we are still trying to break.

[RunnerKim]

Dana - quick not on the bjorn. My daughter (now 3) was 7.5lbs when born and had a horrible time gaining weight (supply issue). I waited and waited to use the bjorn until the minimum 8lbs. requirement. Since we didn't have a stroller/car seat combo thing that meant we were carrying her for our walks. I went to my first moms group when Lainey was about 3 weeks (but still under 8lbs) and all the other moms said "Use the bjorn!" and I did and everything was completely fine.

I used the bouncy seat right away with both kids. Lainey never cared for the swing but Jamie loved it. They use them in the nursery at the hospital for newborns. Just make sure the neck is supported with an extra blanket in necessary. I didn't start using it regularly with Jamie until around 2-3 weeks.

I fed Jamie some bread last night - a basic French bread that I made. Felt like a big step for him as it was the first "recipe" I'd really given him. Devoured it without a problem. I had been thinking wheat wasn't until 12months but re-reading Child of Mine it was 7months. Anyone know what the deal with honey is specifically - if it's in baked goods would it be okay? Doesn't it have to do with botulism? And what about eggs? I think it was my pediatrician who said something about that at the last appointment so I'll have to ask her later this month.

Anyone out there with more than one child (non-twins) - what did you do when your younger one(s) hit the 12 month point and started on cows milk? Did you have both whole milk and low-fat for the older child?

Kim

[mst]

Thanks for the thoughts on feeding hungry Ilyssa. I don't know if it changes anyone's response, but I would be supplementing her with pumped breastmilk.

Lisa- I have had pumped frozen milk since the beginning. It is great for me to know that it is there. If I ever need to leave her with someone, whether for an emergency or for some time at the mall, I can. Also, if she is crying and still hungry, I have extra milk to give her. I have only used one bag of frozen milk (we went out for New Year's), but I like to know that if I am ever need to, I have options.

Dana- I have used the Bjorn since the beginning. Ilyssa was a good sized baby with relatively good head control.

Megan- Well, if my wet shirt made you laugh...last night, I ran across our bedroom with my hands under my breasts like cups, trying to catch all of the milk that was flooding out for no reason...and yet, my husband still wants to fool around. And given my stretch marks and extra weight- blech. I am not feeling so sexy.

BTW- how long until I lose this extra weight? I have about ten pounds to go. But, I have no clothing to wear. I went shopping. Ugly scene. I went with my best friend. She is thirty pounds more than me, but taller. I was trying on clothes three sizes larger than her, and still could not get them to fit around my belly. Grrr. Not such a good feeling.

[lisas3575]

Crap. Crap crap crap!

Long story short, I went *again* to the LC today. Owen has only gained one ounce since his 2 week appointment on 12/22. :eek: I am starving my baby. He only got 2 ounces at our nursing session, and she said he should be getting +/- 4 oz. So, I'm going to nurse him (15 mins on each side), then pump for 10 mins (thanks for the same info, MST) and supplement him at his next feeding with that milk plus any formula to make up the other 2 ounces. And take fenugreek. And no paci. And make sure he nurses at least 7 times in 24 hours (there goes my progress with his sleeping!). Such a bummer since I had a great supply initially.

I'm stuck using the shield forever, according to the LC. She thinks Owen's frenulum is the cause of the painful latch and there's no really fixing it without getting it clipped and even that's not a guarantee. I'm still taking it day to day, wondering when I'm going to get fed up enough to bag it and move to formula. I guess I'll see how much weight he gains in a week/5 days and if I can get my supply back up and go from there. :(

Dana, I don't think I offered my congratulations yet. Loved your photos on the pg thread. Just be careful about that lipstick nipple-- that's what I've had from day one with his bad latch/frenulum and it developed into huge, bleeding fissures in my nipple, some of which are permanent. :eek: Don't let it go on too long without getting help.

[gertdog]

((((Lisa and Owen))))

[buffygirl]

Dana, congrats and welcome!

Val, Kate is beautiful!

Lisa, I'm sure you've already figured this out, but let me state the obvious. That bf'ing followed by pumping schedule is absolutely brutal. I did that for 3-4 weeks. I don't mean to be discouraging, but I had no idea til I was in the middle of it. Know that it will be hard but worth it. Just take it day by day. You'll know when or if you've had enough.

Rex is still coughing, but may have turned a corner today. He went back to the doctor after no improvement at all over the weekend. The doc changed the med in his breathing treatments and DH and I think we see a slight improvement in his condition. I'm past exhausted. I've been getting up constantly checking on him for the better part of 2 weeks. THe doctor does not think he has asthma or pneumonia, just a really bad case of bronchialitis which need to run its course. If he's not better by the end of the week they will put him on a steroidal treatment which I really don't want. :(

Kim

[lisas3575]

Kim, sorry to hear that Rex isn't 100% yet. I can imagine how exhausted you must be. ((((((Kim and Rex))))) And thanks for the reality check on the pumping schedule. Hopefully I can manage ok with DH's help-- he's home by 4pm and off work on Fridays. Wish us luck.

Here's my little cutie. :)
http://www.ideasmithdesign.com/owen/owen-Thumbnails/17.jpg

[food girl]

I’m a little late to the baby food discussion but I only have a few additions: mango and ricotta cheese. I buy those snack size canned peaches and pears in their own juice. These are great to toss in the diaper bag for emergency hugries. Since we started giving Anna finger foods on her tray she is completely put-out by spoon feedings. The other night she fed herself her entire meal (ground chicken, peas, carrots, blueberries). The biggest challenge is that she has 0 teeth. Yes, almost 9 mos. And no sign of teeth!

I am still BF at 4 am, 8 am with breakfast, 1 pm with lunch, 4 pm, and 7 pm at bed time. Is this too much? When I pump I get maybe …let’s see I’m pumping right now…2 oz total! What’s wrong? I can’t pump in a day what she drinks. I am so frustrated. I wonder if she wants to get up and nurse at 4am because I’m probably not giving her much at night. I want to keep nursing but it looks like I need to supplement. Michelle, Angela thanks for posting about your issues, maybe this is just the way things go?

I put my baby in the aquarium bouncer the day I brought her home. They sort of slunch down in it so head control or not, it’s not a big issue. I did wait a few weeks for the swing because I read where neurologically they don’t like to swing forward and back they would rather sway side to side at first. I do remember how much she loved the swing the first time we put her in it and I was kind of kicking myself for not trying it sooner. I do recall that Anna would fall asleep in her bouncy seat and I was hell-bent on the idea that she HAD to nap in her crib. Of course in transferring her to the crib she would wake-up. Finally I learned to just let her nap in the bouncy seat.

((Lisa)) no more 6 hour stretches without nursing... you hear? None of the rest of us got to sleep for 6 hours straight this early on so neither should you :p In all seriousness, hopefully feeding more often will keep you from having to pump. You are doing the very best you can for Owen.

Lisa

[jillm]

Hi all -- I've been lurking on this thread for a little while now I must admit, and decided to finally join in since I can definitely use some collective wisdom these days --

me: Jill (33)
DH: 36
DS: Jake, born 12/1/05
BF/FF: FF, after about four weeks of BF/FF, which was quite a saga

accomplishments - Jake seems to have learned that night is more for sleeping than daytime, although sleep seems to be the big issue for us, starting to take a real interest in toys and his surroundings, he just loves his playmat

challenges -- sleep, sleep and sleep -- yesterday I felt like someone had slipped the baby a double espresso while I wasn't looking. He slept maybe a total of 90 minutes from 8 AM until 9 PM

One of the reasons I wanted to join in was that I've been reading Lisa's posts and wanted to let her know she is not at all alone with her sleep issues. Since day 1 in the hospital Jake has been hard to get down to sleep. Early on, it was almost impossible to get him to sleep, day or night, unless he was being held. The early weeks were very, very rough. We tried to put him in his crib from day 1 and he just would rarely sleep for more than an hour at a time in it, and often a lot less than that and he would wake up screaming, not from hunger, but just not willing to sleep in the crib (or the Pack n'Play). I spent many hours just holding him while he slept. Things are still tough -- especially with daytime sleep, but we're making some progress at night. A few things have helped somewhat -- after really pushing the crib for a few weeks, we caved in and bought something called a Snugglenest that allows DS to sleep in our bed, but in his own little space so we're much less likely to roll on him or throw a blanket on him. DS seems to prefer this to the crib alone (sometimes we put the Snugglenest in the crib). We don't think it has anything to do with being near mommy and daddy, just that it's a little cozier and has a more cushioned surface than the crib itself. Also, just in the last few days, we revisited the swaddle. We didn't think it worked for us, but we gave it another try and we saw a few nights of much better sleep. DS slept for two three hour stretches for a few nights and stretched out his feedings to 4 and 5 hours, which is the best we've seen. Last night wasn't as good, but I'm hoping it was a fluke :rolleyes:

Daytime sleep is much more of a challenge. DS just doesn't seem to want to sleep these days. For a few weeks I was having a lot of luck during the day with the baby Papasan chair. DS would happily nap in it for 1 and 2 hour stretches. Unfortunately, that seems to have stopped working for us, but I mention it in case it works for someone else. The only thing that seems to really work now is a car/stroller ride. I've taken DS to the mall a few times now in desperation. The combo of the car ride and the stroller ride seems to put him right out and he'll sleep in the carseat once I've stopped moving the stroller for a while. Needless to say, however, I don't feel this is really a solution. Yesterday, we didn't go out and despite much effort I could only get him down for a few 20 minute naps. We're trying to follow HSHHC and not keep him up for more than 2 hours. We watch for sleepy cues and then rock, swaddle and calm -- but I can't seem to get him to sleep for any length of time. Any suggestions are appreciated -- his grandma keeps saying maybe he just doesn't need much sleep, but I don't buy it, I think all babies need sleep and I feel badly that we can't seem to help him get the sleep he needs.

[Luv to Cook]

Lisa, so sorry to hear about your bfing troubles! Just want you to know that I am thinking of you and hope it gets better soon. Good luck with the pumping.

Kim, hope Rex is better soon...I hate it when the little ones are sick.

Lisa, your post made me laugh about Anna sleeping in the crib. I was the same way, especially after the hard time I had with Asha. This time Sahana wants to sleep in the swing...if I turn it off she wakes right up. I have decided to just let it go until she is 3-4 months old and then I can worry about transitioning her then. It's hard to not worry about it, but what can you do?

Welcome Dana...I still get weepy sometimes and this is my second baby! I think you miss a part of your old life, feel such great love for this new life and everything in between makes you just sad. So don't hold back and feel free to vent here...I know I do all the time.

Well, I gotta go play with Asha. Hope everyone is well.
Anita

[fancyn]

Quick post for me. RunnerKim, DS will be 1 on the 31st so I think it's time to switch to milk. We started giving him half formula/half whole milk in the bottle and that was fine. But once the milk hit the sippy, NO WAY!! So I tried a little milk in his water in the cup. Well, it still didn't work. When we went to the ped. last week for the impetigo, I asked about weaning the bottle/switching to milk. He said there was no need for whole milk and that 2% is fine, because it's not low-fat. When I got home, I compared the two and the calories/fat content are really not that far off. So we switched to the 2% and WOW!! No mixing with the formula, he'll drink it straight. I guess he didn't prefer the whole. I still haven't completely weaned from the bottle, but it's a start. Maybe you could ask the ped. if 2% is acceptable, and you won't have to be buying 2 different milks. He also told me that he'd prefer if I switched Nicholas to skim at 2, so as an adult that's what he would drink/prefer. And since I went a head and wrote a book, I might as well share some pictures too!!

This is Nicholas at the park on Sunday...http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid199/p13e3e636c3e455821a83f53e92a67f4b/f0a33bff.jpg

And here is a cutie of my "Bucket Head" :p http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid199/p678e5fdec980d57dc8d9bfa31f8c7c81/f0a33e97.jpg

OMG, I forgot the most exciting news of all!! My parents came over for dinner last night and Nicholas stood up in the middle of the room and walked 6 steps BY HIS SELF over to my microwave stand. It was so thrilling to watch, and my parents got to witness it too!!!

Here are more pics!! (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=2114933936)

[Luv to Cook]

Welcome Jill...just wanted to say welcome and a quick note. You mentioned that you try and get Jake down after two hours...I would try one hour...he is still very young. My DD is 8 weeks and she can last about 45 minutes after she wakes for the day, before her first nap. And then about an hour in between first and second naps. The rest of the day is a crapshoot for us and the evenings are still tough, but I always feel as long as the nights are good, the days don't matter so much.

Try it and see if that helps...we are still working on the sleep thing, too. It does get easier, but sleep is one of the hardest things about having a new baby, IMO.

Anita

[EmilyK]

Nancy, congrats on those first steps! It's so cool your parents were there to see it too! He's such a cutie in those pictures!

Welcome Jill!

Lisa, Owen is adorable!! Love those little baby pictures!

For those of you struggling with naps, we found out (a little late, somewhere around 4 months) that DS really could only go 1.5 hours or so between naps... too much longer than that and he was a bear that wouldn't sleep at all! He also never gave sleepy cues. Even to this day, the only way we know he's tired is if he starts to suck his thumb, cranky with his toys, or making his "sleepy noise" (kind of a whine/grunt sound). Good luck!

[mst]

Welcome Jill! I have been tempted to buy the snugglenest. Ilyssa does so well in our bed, and sleeps for so long...but I have guilt about it.

Nancy- Nicholas is adorable. I love the picture with the bucket on his head.

Lisa- Just a thought- have you thought of trying a different LC just for a second opinion? I had seen a million LC's in the hospital, and this odd lady that I saw was able to help immediately. Just like any other profession, another LC might be able to look at Owen's issues in another light. I am concerned about you being on the nipple shield forever. I know that everyone was concerned about my milk supply on it, and your milk supply sounds even less than mine. You might want to try the "Mother's Milk" tea and "Raspberry Leaf" tea too. Two cups of each of them, twice a day. They need to be steeped for 15 minutes. If you are going to pump after every feeding, which is such a pain as Kim mentioned, you might as well go all out and do the tea too. That way, if you do end up deciding to do formula, you will know that you tried everything 1000%, and will look back knowing that it just was not going to work for you and Owen. I am sorry that you are having such a hard time. At least he is adorable, so you know it is all worth it!

Kim- Poor Rex, he has been sick for so long. Poor little guy. I hope he does better soon.

Could someone tell me the names of all of the books that everyone keeps talking about? I feel like a new ttc-er, not knowing all of the initials.

[EmilyK]

re: supply issues... I'm having a supply issue right now, for whatever reason, and am waiting for a shipment of my tea. sweetpea's sister used it when her supply was down and it really helped her a lot:

Prolactation Tea (http://www.breastmilkproduction.com/oasis-prolactation-tea.html )

I got some of the Mother's Milk tea from the grocery but it was really nasty tasting and didn't help me a bit. Maybe I'm weird? Just wanted to throw out a different one you guys can try. I'll post back to let you know if it helps me at all.

re: co-sleeping... I don't want to start a debate or anything, but those of you co-sleeping, please be VERY careful!!! There have been several news reports recently about local parents accidentally smothering their babies because they were in bed with them! I know it's easy to accidentally fall asleep, but it's so scary what can happen. It breaks my heart everytime I see a report about it happening to another one, because it has to be so hard on the parents... just my two cents.

[Megan James]

LisaI'd second the thought of seeing a different LC if that is possible. Also possibly finding a La Leche League leader. I've seen 2 LC's and met with two different LLL leaders. No one could totally help but on LLL leader provided a lot of moral support which helped a lot. Tons of hugs to you!

I am starting to think about going back to work. I finally found out yesterday that February 6th will be my 1st day back. Rebecca and I are headed to meet with the daycare women tomorrow. I was very encouraged that when I called she immediately knew who I was. I think the last time I talked to her was in October. I'm actually a bit looking forward to going back to work. I'll be working PT, mornings only. I love Rebecca and spending time with her but I need a bit of adult time too! Now that I feel she isn't quite so dependant on me I will only feel very guilty sending her to day care instead of very very very guilty.

Welcome Jill. I swear the sleep thing gets better. We had a lot of luck with swaddling, using the kiddopotamus. We still use it for naps and nightime though if she tried hard enough she works her way out of it...

[lisas3575]

Wow. Owen is like a totally different baby since he's getting enough to eat. He was only fussy once last night (gas) for a few minutes and has been so happy. He's slept a ton-- much more than usual, and when he's awake he's not crying, just making cute little gurgles and coos. He was obsessed with his pacifier before and hasn't wanted it or his hand at all-- obviously that sucking was a huge red flag that I missed.

Not sure about my supply-- I know it's really soon, but I didn't get more than a tablespoon at my 7am pumping session. I'll give it a few days and see if the fenugreek and pumping jump start anything.

MST, I've seen 4 LC's and been to LLL, no one has any more ideas for me. I wish I had your lady to see! I'll see if I can find the tea. Seriously, I feel like I've done everything 1000% already, so I'm ok if it doesn't work out. I need to move on and spend this emotional energy loving my baby instead of obsessing about his eating.

Welcome, Jill! Our guys are close in age. Owen isn't too interested in toys or his mat thing yet.

[MinEaston]

A quick post for me too.

Last night, Anna took two small, cautious steps! We were on our way to have a bath, and she'd pulled herself up in the hallway. DH was heading up the stairs, and I was already in the bathroom at the end of the hall, and she smiled and stepped towards me. Then fell back down and power-crawled the rest of the way.

I'll be curious to see what daycare says about her roamings today. And my parents have her tomorrow - my mother can't wait to see if she'll repeat the performance there.

I guess I have to "graduate" to the wobblers now?

[cchhbb]

Lisa, I'm so sorry for you. This sounds like my first son's nursing experience. I did nurse for 12 months so it is possible, but it is super difficult to pump and nurse too.

I would recommend you try to get Owen a referral for an Occupational Therapy evaluation. It was the most wonderful thing for us. Garrett was able to really get the hang of nursing. Unfortunately, my supply was a problem.

I probably tried everything to increase my supply and somethings did help. I did take some Rx medications. You may want to talk to your OB about doing this. I also drank tea and took fenugreek and pumped up a storm.

Cheryl

[angelamaria]

not much time to post but had to tell someone..
Miles started really crawling yesterday! he is booking. of course i was on call sunday and worked monday so i was gone from sunday night after he went to bed to mon evening at 630 pm and of course that is when he figured it out. he has been almost crawling since beginning of dec and yest while i was gone was the day he picked.
now he still can't stay sitting up- he leans over and tumps over- wonder why he can't figure that one out? :rolleyes:

[RebeccaT]

Lisa, Owen is precious! I hadn't seen any pics of him yet!

Jill, have you read Happiest Baby on the Block? If you haven't, save yourself some time and get the DVD, and maybe that will help. We had both HSH, HC and Happiest baby, and Happiest baby was much more useful for Julia's first 8 weeks. We learned a MUCH better swaddling technique from the DVD than the one they taught us in the hospital, and it was critial for Julia's daytime and nighttime sleep until she was over 4 months old. HSH is such a great book, but it became really useful for us after she was at least 4 months old and we were starting to get her naps established. The big thing for Julia was to be swaddled TIGHT, as tight as we could make it. It was the only way she would sleep during the day if one of us wasn't holding her. We also used her crib wedge, which had these foam things on the side, to make her feel extra cozy - she used that until she was 3 months. I think that cribs can feel awfully big to a new baby, and anything you can do to shrink the space they feel around them will help them relax.

Kim, I am so sorry about Rex's cough! I hope these new treatments start to work!

Hooray for Anna's first steps!!! :D

Hooray for Nicholas' first steps!!! :D

Hooray for Miles' first crawl!!! :D

Good luck Megan on the going back to work issue, and finding childcare that works for you and Rebecca.

Dana, regarding the bouncy seat, Julia didn't really like hers until she was about 5-6 weeks old. But all babies are different there. We got this little headrest thing from Pottery Barn Kids and would move it around from bouncy seat to swing to jogger (once she got bigger) and it worked really well to support her head, so I didn't feel bad about putting her down in one of those contraptions. Here's a pic:

http://a293.g.akamai.net/7/293/5910/0010/image1.styleinamerica.com/pkecimgs/images/products/200552/0005/img75m.jpg

[EmilyK]

I agree with Rebecca 100%!!! You have to swaddle SO much tighter than you ever think you should! Our home visit from the nurse was like gold to us. We though DS hated being swaddled, but she had been to a conference done by the author of Happiest Baby on the Block and showed us the RIGHT way to do things! It was such a big difference! He calmed right down and went to sleep when she did all 5S's. I dug around and found a picture of a nice tight swaddle... he's in his swing, but it does show that it's pretty tight:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid199/pd3fc791ddc96383eaa681269ea556081/f0a21cd1.jpg

He's a little over a month old in that picture. I never had any luck swaddling with those flannel receiving blankets, but the waffle weave and some fleece ones worked.

[angelamaria]

just went back and read the last page (3) and saw lisa's posts about owen... the most important thing is to feed your baby and make sure he isgaining. that is what formula was invented for... if your baby isn't gaining despite all your best efforts (and believe me it is obvious you are giving it your all).
there is no rule that says you can't nurse your baby and supplement with formula as needed. for different babies it may take a while to find the right formula that they will tolerate but you can continue to nurse for comfort (for you and baby) for bonding and for extra calories. if you want to continue increasing your supply than when dad is supplementing you pump. also reglan or domperidone (available from canada) are rx meds you can take to increase supply also. also, a "nursing vacation" can help -48 hrs that you basically spend in bed with baby, nursing on demand as long as he wants to, drinking lots of fluids and just hanging out.
fwiw lisa jill and dana (welcome jill and dana!) if you can just hang on until you are out of the "fourth trimester" ie 14-16 wks old it really will get better and somewhat more predictable. also i wouldn' tworry about any predictability until then. sometimes they just need to get a little older.
also dana the feeling that your life will never be the same and that you are always "on call" is real... and it won' t necessarily ever go away - but after a while it goes from four alarm fire bell to just a conscious awareness..read Mothershock - i recommend it highly - you will see you are not alone in that feeling!!

[buffygirl]

Just popping in to say that Rex seems to have made some improvement today. Thanks so much for everyone's well wishes! Hopefully he will continue to improve....

Kim

[angelamaria]

checking back in to say i hope my previous post didn't sound irritating to lisa etc - i reread it this morning and it didn't "sound" the way i wanted it to... i was actually trying to be reassuring and so on but if it comes off the wrong way i am pre- apologizing... :o hope everyone is feeling better today...
Kim i am glad Rex seems to be turning the corner -- was it RSV? that takes forever to clear up - hope he is even better today!

[RunnerKim]

Yeah Anna and Miles on making forward progress! Glad Rex is on the mend too. Emily- that is a tight swaddle! and he looks so comfortable and peaceful. I know a couple of moms in my moms group cut up twin-sized sheets to make sure they had something big enough to swaddle with because most baby blankets were too small.

Lisa - like Cheryl and others I had major supply issues. I tried everything, including the prescription drugs, pumping after every feeding etc. I beat myself up pretty badly about it with Lainey and it was so totally not worth that. I did nurse for around 7 months with her (pumping at work for a couple of months). With Jamie, I knew exactly what to do from the start to make sure things went well. I *still* had supply problems. My body simply cannot produce much milk. I thought the most unfair thing was that I would actually leak because I could make what little I produced "there" with fenugreek etc. but I couldn't actually produce more than an ounce or two at any given time. It would even spray across the room! With Jamie I could not continue to nurse for pleasure. He eats a lot and was not willing to humor me with the piddly amount I could give him and would be rough and abusive b/c it wasn't satisfying (or not interested at all if I tried feeding bottle before nursing). Fortunately I was much more okay with not breastfeeding the 2nd time around. Still very disappointed, but okay with it. I never expected to breastfeed my 2nd child for even a shorter time than I did my first. Everything went so much better - no pain at all (so very unlike the first time).

Straddling the breastfeeding and formula/bottle worlds is incredibly challenging. I swore the 2nd time around I would not go to heroic efforts to make breast feeding work (namely I wouldn't do all the pumping after feeding) because I felt it was actually detrimental to my mother-child relationship. I still did it with Jamie, mostly in the middle of the night when I could get the most. But I knew it wasn't worth the trade-off in sleep and I didn't continue it very long. So sometimes you just simply cannot make breastfeeding work - no matter what you try or how badly you want it. I know exactly the feelings you have about realizing you hadn't been giving Owen enough to eat. I struggled the first few weeks knowing the Lainey wasn't gaining (enough) weight and having such a horrible (painful) time with breastfeeding that I was sobbing all the time. Knowing she was starving but my breasts hurt so bad all the time that the thought of feeding her made me cry and the thought of not feeding her made me cry too. It was a hard decision to give formula the first time but such a huge relief knowing Lainey was finally getting enough to eat.

Whatever decision you make about feeding, it will become less and less important what that decision was. Try not to let it overwhelm you (easier said than done, I know)

Kim

[TerriS]

Lisa, you "sound" so much more relieved and happy! I am glad Owen is happier too.

Another tea recommendation - my coworker uses this and swears by it, and I've tried it and it's pretty tasty (with plenty of honey or sugar that is): http://www.yogitea.com/Organic-Tea/Tea.asp?Tea_ID=WT04
The ingredients are chamomile, fennel seed, nettle leaf, anise seed, fenugreek seed, and lavender.

Things are going well for us! Caroline started daycare last week and seems to be doing well. Y'day morning she gave the daycare lady a big smile when we arrived, and the daycare lady (gosh, there should be a better term for that - :) ) has made a point of telling us what a good easy baby she is and how nice it is to have her there. So that is going well. We are just getting the kinks in the routine worked out.

My supply took a nosedive last week so I had to start supplementing with a big of formula. Amazingly, the world did not end! My supply has recovered a bit this week and we are only giving her maybe 4-6 oz formula a day, just mixed with the breastmilk. Fortunately my little girl is like her mom and will eat anything, so she doesn't seem to mind!

Solids are going pretty well too. I've made some of her food and it is really pretty easy! I'm getting a bunch of use out of my handheld blender, which has a mini food processor attachment that is just perfect for making babyfood!

[DanaSD]

We had a great night last night - Brendan went right to sleep after every feeding so I also got to sleep. Hormones have settled down too so no more crying episodes.

We always swaddle at night and use a hat. I use the miracle blanket because it really keeps his arms tight - the swaddle me allows his arms to move around. I'm not very good with a blanket and most blankets are too small. Last night all his sleeping was in the crib - I think he sleeps better in there than the pack n play in our room (and I sleep better too).

I decided to start tracking feedings again and on average he's eating every 2 1/2 hours and feeds for 30 minutes - I am just a boob! Though yesterday some feeding were every hour and half and one last 1 hour 15 minutes. I'm hoping for some significant weight gain at Thursday's appt - he was 8 13 at birth, dropped to 7 15 and then went back to 8 1 when we left the hospital.

I'm just going to continue with his schedule for the next few months before switching to a schedule - eat and sleep when he wants.

Tried the bouncer yesterday - it put him right to sleep so then I took him out and he took a long nap. I also tried the bjorn - freedom to do stuff around the house!! I have heard that it could cause some development issues if used in the first few months so I want to do a little research on it and limit use. My aunt is a physical therepist who work with children and she sent me some articles about exersaucers where there may be similar issues. But I think in general, it best not to use any one item too much - its best to rotate them and give the baby a chance to be in different positions and develop diferent muscles. She also sent me some articles on hte importance of tummy time (which should always be supervised) to pevent flat head and it also helps to develop muscles to get ready for crawling. The article she sent me said 5-10 minutes 4 times a day. We've been doing that and Brendan seems to like his tummy time. He moves his legs a lot and will move his head from one side to the other.

I'm still sore from my c-section - I wish it would start to get better so that I could start to be more active. The good news is I'm losing weight and am almost down to pre-preg weight (although I still look pregnant and lumpy). Somehow I only gained 30 lbs with this pregnancy - didn't exercise because my fibriod was getting too irritated. I had a few extra pounds to lose pre-preg so I'm hoping breast feeding might work on some of those (I can hope).

[Megan James]

For swaddling we use the kiddopotamus http://www.kiddopotamus.com/
It's only $9.99 at Babies R Us and so worth the money to me! We now have three, 2 small and 1 large.

It has velcro or aplix that helps keep the swaddle tight. Rebecca likes/needs to be swaddled but is a very squirmy baby even in her sleep. Our dilema now is the small kiddopotamus is too short for her so the legs part gets kicked off before I even put her down. We went to the next size up but that is too big in the arms and she squirms out of the top of it in no time flat. I tried using a blanket once and when I went in to check on her it was over her head, I know it was really tight when I put it on. She is just very squirmy!

I thought Rebecca's cold was getting better but she is now very sleepy and lethargic. She slept from 8pm last night to 9:30am this morning (though she woke 3 times for diaper change/feedings during that period). Then I only had her up for 45 minutes before she was totally tired again. She also isn't her constantly moving squirmy self and what's worse is there aren't many smiles :( . I think I am going to call the Dr this afternoon and see what they say.

[jillm]

Thanks for the welcome and the sleep suggestions --

Interesting thought from several of you that DS's awake periods need to be even shorter than 2 hours. I wasn't really trying to keep him up for two hours per se, but he's so hard to get down, it often works out that way. I spent yesterday really trying hard to get him to sleep within a short window, 2 hours at the max. I had some success, but am wondering about a few things --

Rebecca, Megan, Emily & Anita -- thanks for your various ideas on improving Jake's daytime sleep, any thoughts on the following?

- Ideally, I'd like DS to sleep in this crib for naps, in his Snugglenest which is also a sleep positioner (like the crib wedge Rebecca mentioned) so gives him that cozy feeling the crib lacks. I rock, swaddle him (we are using the Kiddopatamus to swaddle so I think it is a pretty tight swaddle), etc...I managed to get him to take a few short naps like that yesterday, but none exceeding 30 minutes. Is that even a meaningful amount of sleep for him? After that he wakes up crying. The only way I can get him a longer nap during the day is by what I think of as "artificial" methods. I've started wearing the Bjorn a little and he will sleep in that for about an hour to two, so I did that and I also let him sleep on top of me while I lay on the couch and watched TV for about 1.5 hours. The car would also work. So, my question is, do I keep pushing the crib each time he is sleepy or do I do whatever it takes to get him sleep at this point, even just letting him sleep on me several times a day for extended periods of time? I'm willing to do that (although it's a bit inconvenient for me), but I'm not sure if this is best in the long-term.

MST -- we do think the Snugglenest was a good purchase if you are thinking about buying one. Not sure if you plan to co-sleep indefinitely, but if you are thinking about transitioning to a crib at some point, it may help you because you can move it to the crib. The one thing is that I think that it helps that we have a king size bed. It takes up some room in the middle and I think it might be tight in a queen size (which I noticed mentioned in some of the reviews on the babies r'us site)

Lisa -- hi, our little guys are about the same age. Hopefully, we will both make it to the other side of these sleep issues soon. Good luck with the breastfeeding. I've been there myself with the supply issues (won't go into the whole story at this point) and the supplementing and pumping and it's tough so pat yourself on the back for the effort you're making. I ended up going all to formula at 4 weeks because we just weren't getting anywhere, but please don't take that as meant to be discouraging. Everyone has slightly different issues that can create different outcomes. That said, don't beat yourself up about it. I was really, really stressed for the first few weeks and felt under incredible pressure to make bf work and had a lot of guilt about it. But, ultimately, when my LC and Jake's ped acknowledged that I just wasn't going to be able to exclusively bf, I started to give myself permission to move on. I had hoped to keep pumping a few times a day for a few months, and my supply really gave out once I stopped putting him on the breast which was a bit frustrating, but he's healthy, thriving and gaining lots of weight which is the most important thing.

[gertdog]

Kim, I really really appreciate all you've posted about your bf'ing experience. I lurked on the mom's threads for a very long time before I had Ryan and it was remembering your experience that made me determined not to beat myself up over switching to formula. I wish everyone's bf'ing experience could be easy, positive and successful, but it really helps so much to know that it just doesn't always happen that way.

Kim (other Kim!) I'm so glad Rex is starting to feel better!

In re: swaddling- we used the Amazing Miracle Blanket and loved it. It has some stretch to it, and also arm flaps to keep baby's arms at his side. The flannel receiving blankets didn't work at all for us.

Ryan is 3 months old today! Where did the time go? He celebrated by sleeping the ENTIRE night in his crib. We've been wimpy parents til now, letting him sleep in his papasan chair til we go to bed, then transferring him to the crib (or not. :o ). Then I was reading somewhere that 3-4 months is the "habit-forming age" and I figured it was time to get him in the crib. So we've started a bedtime routine (last bottle, jammies, a few board books, listen to lullaby cd and rock for a few minutes) and it seems to be catching on. I don't think he slept particularly well last night (I heard him moving about and fretting a bit several times last night) but he didn't cry and he stayed down til 6:30. This morning he's having a long nap- probably more evidence that he didn't sleep as well as usual last night. Wish I could have a nap, but I'm getting lots done for work and that's good too. :)

[RebeccaT]

So, my question is, do I keep pushing the crib each time he is sleepy or do I do whatever it takes to get him sleep at this point, even just letting him sleep on me several times a day for extended periods of time? I'm willing to do that (although it's a bit inconvenient for me), but I'm not sure if this is best in the long-term.



Jill, I found that what worked for Julia and I when she was your son's age was for me just to follow her lead, and not get too anxious about where she slept as long as she slept somewhere for some length of time (30 minutes or more). That meant that we took a lot of trips to the mall to push the stroller around, since that was one of her preferred sleep spots for a while! When they are this young, I really don't think you are setting any irreversible precendent by letting babies sleep outside their crib, and that includes sleeping on you. However, it's good that you're mindful of the ultimate goal of having him sleep in his crib. I think it's a great idea to continue to put him down, maybe once a day, and see if he gets more comfortable there. Maybe even putting him down awake for 10 minutes while you take a quick shower will help his crib feel more familiar and secure to him.

Julia really turned the corner with her crib when, at about 3 months old, we began putting her down partially awake at night and let her soothe herself to sleep. DH just tried it one night, and after fidgeting for about 20 minutes (not crying, we weren't about to do CIO yet!) she went to sleep on her own. After many nights in a row of success with that, I tried it for a nap and it worked! It was still trial and error for another month to really start understanding her naps, and some days she just wouldn't sleep in her crib at all, but I do think that being able to soothe herself to sleep was the turning point. It's as if she needed to know that, if she fell asleep somewhere, when she woke up she'd be in the same place.

I hope that helps a little!

[RebeccaT]

hmm, my post yesterday didn't bump!?!

[gertdog]

Julia really turned the corner with her crib when, at about 3 months old, we began putting her down partially awake at night and let her soothe herself to sleep. DH just tried it one night, and after fidgeting for about 20 minutes (not crying, we weren't about to do CIO yet!) she went to sleep on her own. After many nights in a row of success with that, I tried it for a nap and it worked! It was still trial and error for another month to really start understanding her naps, and some days she just wouldn't sleep in her crib at all, but I do think that being able to soothe herself to sleep was the turning point. It's as if she needed to know that, if she fell asleep somewhere, when she woke up she'd be in the same place.


Jill, what Rebecca describes above appears to be exactly what we're experiencing with Ryan right now at 3 months. Until now he's slept in his papasan chair or on one of us. He's been a good sleeper, just hasn't been in his crib. I think the fact that he is now more comfortable unswaddled is helping with the crib transition- when he sleeps in the crib he puts both arms and legs straight out- he looks like a little starfish in there. :) We've pretty much stopped swaddling at this point- he doesn't seem to want or need it anymore.

[jillm]

Rebecca and Stephanie, thanks for the reassurance that we can kind of do what works for now and it should all work itself out. I've been encouraged by the last few days. I'm working really hard to get him some more daytime sleep and it seems to be working -- yesterday he slept on me for a while and in the bjorn for a while and he actually took a nap in the crib (in the snugglenest) for about an hour yesterday evening. I have a sense I'm more likely to get him to do that around the 5 pm hour when it's already dark out. Today he slept in the bjorn again and then on me and in his stroller when I took him out for a walk since it's really unseasonably warm out today. I really felt like he was overtired before and I like that he's getting sleep.

Oddly enough, the aversion to the crib seems to be lessening at night. We are putting him in the snugglenest in our bed for most of the night, but when he first goes down "for the night" around 10, we put him in the nest in his crib because I usually go to sleep early and DH feeds him when he wakes up which is usually around 12 and then my DH comes to bed with him. He's been sleeping in the crib for that two hour stretch approx. for about a week now. I'd like to try him soon in the crib for the whole night. We've really been keeping him in our bed at this point because it's sort of easier for us. If he fusses a little in the night we can sometimes just pick him up for a few minutes and calm him down without getting out of bed. His nightime sleep also seems to be getting more consistent (I hate to even type this because I don't want to jinx it...). He is stretching the time btw his feedings to about 4.5 hours at night and after DH feeds him around 12 he's been sleeping for about 3.5 hours before he wakes up to eat again. You know your life has changed when you get really excited about getting 3.5 hours of sleep in one stretch!

[DanaSD]

Just got back from our 2 week pediatrician appt. He's gaining weight so I feel so much better - he's been feeding often but you can never be sure how much he's actually getting. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz - he was born 8 13, dropped to 7 15 on day 3 then up to 8 1 on day 5. He's still slightly yellow so we go back for a color check next week and if it hasn't gone down they'll do a blood test but since he's gaining weight and active they're not worried. He checked out great and I really like our pediatrician.

I asked about when to introduce a bottle (pumped) and she said 3-6 weeks after breastfeeding is well established (with no more blisters or cracking which has been gone until this morning - bad latch during the night since I've been trying to feed him with just a night light and couldn't see). Like someone said earlier, she said she's many babies that will refuse a bottle if you weight too long. So I'm going to order the pump and hopefully try that around week 4.

[Megan James]

We too are starting to get a lot more crib sleeping. I've been doing a little CIO and now she is fussing a lot less when I put her down. She took 2 naps in her crib today one was almost 2 hours and the other like 2 1/2. She is down "for the night" now although she didn't eat that much this evening so I am guessing she will be up sometime before midnight.

My two worries right now are that she seems to be sleeping a LOT and I'm having trouble telling when she is hungry! Granted she is getting over a cold but she only goes about 1 1/2 hours before she starts rubbing her eyes and yawning. I suppose I should just be excited that I am able to tell when she is sleepy. She used to do all the commom signs of hunger but I don't get those as much any more and when I go to nurse her she often starts really yelling. Sometimes that means she is really hungry and sometimes it means she doesn't want to eat. Since it still takes a bunch of tries to latch her on the one side I often try like 10 times before finally deciding maybe she isn't hungry. I'm thinking I might take her in for a weight check tomorrow just to make sure she is getting enough to eat. It seems like she is eating less than she used to but maybe she is just getting more at each serving. Then again I'm probably just being a worriwort mom.

[Luv to Cook]

ugghhh...i am so tired of this sleep thing...when does it get better? Sahana is eight weeks old and we spend all evening rocking, jiggling and shushing her. Since 8:00PM and it is now 11:00. She is still fussing and crying and DH is bouncing up and down with her. I am so stinkin tired. Megan, how are you able to Rebecca down so early? I just cannot wait for things to get better.

Anita

[Luv to Cook]

OK...she was up until 2AM...we are repeating the same scenario we had when Asha was a baby. Lots of rocking, shushing, etc. and still no sleep. What are we doing wrong??? I only was able to get her to finally sleep in the swing. I hate that stupid thing!

Please advise!
Anita

[Megan James]

Megan, how are you able to Rebecca down so early?

Anita

AnitaUp until last week I was in a similar position as you. It would take a long time and most times she would end up sleeping next to me in the spare bedroom for close to an hour before I would put her in her crib. Two things helped us turn the corner 1) She got sick and has just plain been a lot more tired and ready to fall asleep 2) I've been doing a little CIO. I don't let her cry too long and lately she's been only doing a few minutes of wimpy cries before she zonks out. I am sure we aren't out of the woods yet but I am a little optimistic.

[Luv to Cook]

How did you do CIO? I know we will have to do it eventually...we did it with Asha and it worked great, but not until she was older. I think Sahana is colicky and it just wouldn't work right now because she would probably cry for hours. I'm so frustrated because Sahana was having six hour stretches a few weeks ago in the crib and I am not sure what I did to wreck it. Now she is in the swing at nite.

This stinks.

[greta]

((((anita)))))
i'm only asking this b/c lisa just went thru the same thing (and i went thru it with laith): are you sure sahana is getting enough to eat? (i hope lisa doesn't mind me speaking for her) our boys had sucking issues, and found out, after some hard evenings, that they weren't getting enough...i just wanted to throw that out there, just in case.

how does sahana do in the car? i know this isn't a permanent solution, but may be your husband can drive her around when she gets like that--it may settle her down, and give you some peace for a bit?? (my ob in new orleans did that after his wife had a long day with the baby--he said it helped).

and, IMHO, if she does well in the swing, put her in the swing without guilt!! she won't sleep in her swing forever...laith slept in his carseat for a while (not that i'm recommending that for everybody), and he transitioned out of it.

one last thing...i'm sure there's nothing YOU did to wreck anything!! you sound like a great mom...babies have minds and wills of their own! :rolleyes:

greta

[RebeccaT]

Anita, you did nothing wrong! Sounds like Sahana just needs a lot of soothing at this point. Greta's ideas are all great.

I forget how old Sahana is. One thing that happened with us when Julia was around 11 weeks old was the sudden lightbulb moment that she needed an earlier bedtime. I had been so preoccupied with her feedings, and making sure she got enough (because she was slow to gain at first), that I think we didn't realize that her 8-11:00 "witching hours" were really her telling us that she was tired and ready to go down. We transitioned from putting her down for the night around 11 (with lots and lots of singing, rocking, bouncing, swaddling, re-swaddling, etc.) to 9:30, then to 8:30, then to 8:00. I was so certain that she would wake up again before midnight, and for a few nights she did, but as it was easier to get her down we stuck with it. She soon started sleeping for 6-7 hour stretches, from 8 pm until around 2 or 3.

I don't know if this helps, but maybe it will! Oh, you are in my thoughts, I know how hard this must be!!! (((Anita)))

[JenZen]

((((((Anita)))))

I had a lightbulb moment with Gabe, too. I realized he didn't like being rocked to sleep, which is sort of sad for a mommy because I wanted him to cuddle with me. He went down much easier when I just put him down after a feeding. Granted, it didn't happen immediately, but after some transition time, I would just put him in his crib when he was wide awake, and he would fall asleep himself. I remember struggling during naptime because he would just fuss as I rocked him. When I hit that lightbulb moment, it was like magic.

I think I went from putting him down fully asleep to putting him down in a dopey stage to putting him down when he was just a little sleepy to putting him down fully awake.

That's the one thing in the sleep department that has gone right for us. I never struggle with bedtimes ... it's the sleeping through the night thing that is taking forever!

[lisas3575]

(((((Anita))))) I feel badly that you're still struggling as we are starting to get the sleep thing down somewhat. I second Greta's thoughts just because that is so fresh in my mind. Other things that work for us is a dose of gripe water after the bedtime feeding, Doing the bedtime feeding in the nursery with just a nightlight, putting him down and rubbing his belly as he drifts off, swaddling, playing bedtime music (music box, lullabye CD) and getting him to bed earlier (though this has slid a bit since we're back on a 3 hr. feeding schedule. Owen is going to bed about 9:45.).

These sleepless nights are the worst, and it never really helps me to know it won't last forever. :( Just keep holding on!

[TerriS]

Anita, Caroline had the fussy time from 8 to 11 for awhile! And she actually kept a late bedtime for quite awhile as well. Are you Five S-ing as per Happiest Baby on the Block? That was the only way we got through "happy hour." We just kept doing different combinations of things over and over again. Side, swaddle, shush, swing/bounce, and suck. Along with cluster feedings. We just accepted in and parked ourselves on the couch for the evening. Eventually we would soothe her for long enough that she'd get tired and tucker out.

If the swing is working for you, go with it! She won't be in it forever.

We also usually wait a few minutes if we hear Caroline cry out. She is a noisy sleeper and makes all kinds of noises. One whimper or fussy sound doesn't always mean she's up and needs attention, so we wait a few minutes - otherwise I found I was barging in the room to attend to her and in fact waking her up for real when it turned out she was just making noise as she slept or in between sleep cycles.

[mst]

Anita- I hope tonight goes better.

What is CIO?

[fancyn]

Quick post, as I have to get a sleepy boy to bed!

CIO = cry it out.

Anita and all, good luck tonight, my fingers are crossed for all of you!! :)

[Luv to Cook]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have a feeling that Sahana has colic. She can go down for naps with no problems, but starting in the evenings, it is very difficult to get her to sleep. I am nervous about using the swing so much, but I am also very tired....so I might just have to let it go until she is older.

Terri, we are using the 5-Ss, but the problem is that she doesn't stay asleep...she keeps waking up the second we put her down.

Lisa, you are right, I KNOW it won't last forever...but it sure feels like it right now. Especially when I am dealing with a demanding toddler in the day.

Do your babies have naps in the evening? Seems like Sahana is up from 6PM until whenever I can get her down for the night. That seems like too long...but I assume it is because of the colic.

Jen, I have tried putting her down drowsy, but she just starts screaming...she will if she is asleep as well. She can go down awake during the day...with maybe a few minute of fussing.

Rebecca, I am holding out until the 12 week mark. It is supposed to get better by then, I hope.

Greta, I think she is getting enough to eat. She nurses well and has lot of wet diapers. She has one big poopy everyday.

Well we are using the swing tonite. I said just screw it. You are right, Terri...and I think she has an intense need to be rocked at nite, so I am just going to use the swing for the next few weeks and just try the crib when we have a little more sleep!

Meredith, CIO = cry it out.

I appreciate all the support...it really helps!
Anita

[sweetpea]

delurking for a moment...anita--emma did the same thing and we had to rock/bounce, etc. and finally she would calm down. always the same time from about 6-8 p.m. and i believe it was colic but who knows! we eventually realized, like others, that i need to move her bedtime way up. she went to bed at 5-5:30 p.m. till she was about 8 or 9 months :) we just realized that it was easier to put her down than keep her up and let her be fussy. sleep really does beget sleep! she would sleep from then till 6-7 a.m. (with feedings 2-3 times)--it was great. but she also only napped for 45 min. twice a day. dont' you wish we could read their minds??

also....i have a copy of Lose Your Mummy Tummy...i would love for us to pass it around as i am done with it and know you all might want to read it. Please PM me and we can get it started around the new mom group!

[Luv to Cook]

that's what I keep hearing, sweetpea. the problem is that she cannot stay asleep at that time. She keeps waking up. That is why I think it is colic and I just need to wait for a few more weeks. She literally cannot fall asleep and stay asleep (even if I hold her) between 6 and 11 (sometimes later!).

I will definitely try an earlier bedtime in the next few weeks though...thanks for the tip. When did you start it? 5:30 is so early...I remember Asha going down early, too...I have a love/hate relationship with early bedtimes!

Anita

[mst]

Anita- Hope tonight is going well. I am obviously a very new mom, but I would suggest letting her sleep in the swing. I was so concerned with having Ilyssa sleep on us, and eventually we were able to get her to sleep in the carseat. I know my family did not approve of her sleeping on us, but we got to sleep, which made us happier people, and better able to handle the daytime.

Sweetpea- what a great idea- to pass around books. I would love to lose my mummy tummy. I will send you a pm.

[Luv to Cook]

Yeah, we have decided to use the swing...but it does not seem to be working as well. It is now 11:00PM and we still cannot get her to settle to sleep. Everytime we put her down, even in the swing, she is up in a matter of minutes and crying. I remember Asha having colic, but I do not remember anything like this. Has anyone heard of this? Not being able to settle your kid for hours on end? We have been soothing her since 8:00PM. She will fall asleep and then wake up within 15 minutes...even when we hold her. She does not appear to be in any pain...just cannot sleep.

I am so frustrated!

[mst]

(((Anita))) My nephew was this way. Screamed 24/7. I honestly believe that was just his temperment. He is still much more likely to cry or be in a bad mood than his siblings are. But, I know that knowing you might have a cry-er does not make you feel better after 4 hours of having someone screaming in your ear. I really feel for you.

As for us, Ilyssa slept in her room last night- in the carseat. I missed having her with us, but really felt as though DH and I need a little bit of time at night to chat without her. It was nice, and I liked not feeling like everything I was doing was going to wake her. I would like her to do the carseat for a while longer, and try to get her to nap in the crib. Then- someday- the crib at night! She is such a good sleeper, I hate to ruin it. Right now she is downstairs cooing. I love that little girl.

Anyone have advice on how to approach work? My thought is that I will call my boss and ask her if there are any "options" about me coming back to work. In an ideal world, I would like to reduce my schedule to 4 days (the minimum to get benefits), and work one day from home. That way, Ilyssa would go to daycare two days a week, be with my mom one day a week, and DH and I would take care of her the day that we are both home. In some ways, I hope there is no flexability. I know that I could not do 5 days a week. If they offer me the schedule that I would like, it would be too good of an offer to pass up. I would love advice if anyone has any. Like, any key phrases to say, or things to focus on. I keep trying to think of a way to spin it that this schedule is an advantage to the department, but it is really just and advantage to me. I bet that my boss would be fine with this schedule, but her boss is going to veto it. The problem will come if they offer me something in between...

[angelamaria]

(((anita))). i think this may peak now and improve (if it is colic) around 16 wks if i remember right from HSHHC. i know that miles would cry from midnight to 4 am and he did it from about 8 wks to 12 wks and then (thank god bc i started taking call again at 12 wks) started sleeping thru.

have you tried putting her on the dryer in her carseat? or driving her around? or putting her in the crib in her carseat? my best friend's second child slept in the crib in her carseat for several weeks.

it's no help when you are in it but i hope 16 wks is the latest this goes on. :(

i just tried to imagine miles at 6 months old but i still felt really tearful and frustrated and angry at dh (since i breastfed at that time and he couldn't do that!) it was still hard.

[TerriS]

mst, one thing to suggest is a reduced schedule on a trial basis of three or six months or whatever timeframe you can agree on. Then you will reassess and go from there. benefits to the department might be saving money, and I am pretty sure there is data out there that shows that family friendly firms save money in the long run by retaining their good employees. HTH.

in our little world, Caroline got her first tooth! Our daycare provider called it, too, two days earlier. And, tonight she rolled again! My funny girl rolled 3 months ago (she was 3.5 months old) but did it only for a week then stopped. Now she's back at it! Crazy child.

[valchemist]

oh, the first tooth! it's always a little sad... the toothless smile will be gone soon. but exciting, too. Julia got her first teeth at 4 months but here is kate, still with none.

kate rolls around a lot, back to tummy and tummy to back. which reminded me of a question I want to ask...

kate rolls around at night, going from sleeping on one side to her back then to another side. I wonder how your babies sleep... older babies, I should say. I know the new babies are all probably still on their backs. is everyone else still sleeping on their backs or do any of your babies roll to side or tummy to sleep? my DH is worried she will roll onto her tummy and somehow stop breathing. (she hasn't ever rolled onto her tummy at night, just her side.) I think she is old enough so that even if she did roll to her tummy, she would still be able to breath and she would move her head if she couldn't.

[jphilg]

Val, my understanding is that the SIDS risk drastically reduces when babies can roll by themselves. And as far as a smothering risk, you can minimize the number of free-floating objects in the crib by using one of those sleeping bags, if it would make your husband feel better. But I am with you....if she's strong enough to be rolling around in her sleep, I am sure she's strong enough to move her head out from a blanket or something. Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about her sleep positioning at this point (she's almost 6 months, right?) but I tend to be pretty laid back about sleep "rules" generally.

Terri, a tooth! How sweet! Did she get the fever or anything? Or just fussy? We've been blaming ever squawk and drool on teething for like 3 months now, but nary a chomper in sight.

Which does not seem to be hindering Saskia's joy of eating in the slightest. My pediatrician gave us the go-ahead on everything but shellfish, eggwhite, and nuts, so last night, after a normal baby meal of pureed peas and some flked cod, she enjoyed some asparagus in a preserved lemon vinaigrette and a falafel ball, just broken into bits. She's still using a raking grasp, so she's not ready for too many finger foods, but she loves getting bites of whatever we eat, and it somehow gets into her. She's not much of a choker/gagger.

6 month appointment stats (although she was 6.5 months at the appointment): 28.5 inches tall and 16.5 pounds. Happy little clam.

[greta]

ummm, jen, my monster saif is 16.9 lbs as of saturday (12 weeks)!!! :eek:
fortunately, his length is also off the charts too!

val, i wouldn't worry about the sleep thing either. by the way, is she sleeping any better?

terri, congratulations on the first tooth!!!

[valchemist]

yeah, I am really not worried. just more curious as to what other babies are doing. I don't recall julia rolling around much in her sleep.

we do have one of those blanket sleeper, but since she is a roller, she finds it to hinder her movement a bit. we still use it, though.

greta, the sleeping is better than what I had described to you in that pm last week or so. she is still up several times a night, but not as m uch as before and she isn't as fussy about it, so I can get her back down more easily. still, it isn't ideal. but I am used to it. and I figure it runs in the family, as julia was the same. the books I have read on baby sleep have helped, but neither have solved any problems completely.

kate's 6 month appointment is on friday even though she turned 6 months over the weekend. based on our home scale, she is 21 pounds now.

[Molli526]

Anyone here with personal VBAC experience? I realize now, that this would be the best route to go, if I am able. Thanks!

[cniles]

(delurking as well) Molli - I had a VBAC 6 years ago with Sam. I had absolutely no problems... water broke, I went in to the hospital, got an epidural and he moved on down over the span of 5 hours... I pushed for an hour and out he came!!! :)

[RebeccaT]

Jen, I am so impressed with Saskia's adventurous palate! I had to back off the feeding thing last week - I had gotten too excited about her taking other solids besides cereal, and I think I overwhelmed her with new things. She started doing this annoying high pitched whine - - "EEEEEEEEE!" whenever I put her in her high chair, and was refusing to eat. So now we are only doing one new food every 4 days or so, and only feeding her one type of vegetable and her favorite oatmeal at every meal. I also went back from three meals of solids a day to two. Otherwise she seems to get overwhelmed, clamps her mouth shut and won't eat any of it, even things she likes. :( I bought Child of Mine and am trying to just trust her, but I am so worried that I will have a picky eater! She only likes peas, sweet potato, and squash so far, and hasn't liked any of the fruit I have presented to her (guess I should be glad she doesn't seem to have a sweet tooth!)

She doesn't really want to try grasping at things I put on her tray, like cheerios broken in half... she just looks at them and at me like I am crazy. So it's clearly not time for finger foods yet.

On the plus side, she is eating a lot at each sitting. 1/4-1/2 cup of oatmeal, and usually one small jar of vegetable (or half of a big one). At least I think that's a lot... :confused:

Someone remind me of this when I try to push my cautious baby girl into ballet lessons, or violin, or soccer, or... :o

6 month appointment stats (although she was also closer to 6.5 months):
27" long and 17 lbs 3 oz. She's really taken off and is growing like a weed, at the 75th percentile now in both height and weight!

[aprilbride]

Happy Tuesday...

Question for all of you.....if your baby has a cold, do you keep her out of daycare? Elliott has yet another cold (coughing/sneezing) but seems fine otherwise, and I'm so torn about taking him or keeping him home........it seems like a lot of kids there have runny noses and are coughing on a regular basis, so I'm assuming that's where he got it in the first place, but what to do? The other thing I'm having a hard time deciding these days is when to take him to the doctor..how long should we wait to see if it resolves itself? It seems like every time we go to the doc they prescribe antibiotics and I question if that's really necessary. Help...I try not to be oversensitive and overreact every time he gets the sniffles/cough but DH seems to be on the other side of the spectrum:-(

[JenZen]

aprilbride - I'm a little more on the liberal end when it comes to colds. I don't take Gabe to the dr. unless the fever is high, he's had it for several days, he is pulling at his ear, or something unusual is going on. I usually go by his disposition ... if he's playing/eating/drinking fine, it's just a cold that he needs to get over. Even if he's cranky, I'll wait for it to resolve. My dr. generally doesn't like to give antibiotics, and is in the "wait it out" camp, anyway. I do, however, call the nurse a lot. Usually, it gives me peace of mind and they tell him if I'm overreacting.

As for daycare, I send him unless it's a big problem (like the pink eye he had last week). He usually gets the cold from someone at daycare, anyway. I keep him home if he's run-down and not himself, throwing up or has something really contagious going on. If it's the general cold, I send him.

[TerriS]

Caroline went to daycare today with a cough and runny nose :o I can't imagine keeping her home for every runny nose, and where do you draw the line?

Jen, we had been doing the same thing, blaming every bad night or period of fussiness on an impending tooth for 2 months! She had a really rough Christmas eve, but that was what, 3 weeks ago? I didn't notice anything too out of whack this past week. But, she may well be working on the second one (apparently they usually come close together) and she is a mess...of course she is also sick. Who knows!

[lisas3575]

Hugs to all the sick babies and mommies. That's gotta be so hard, and I know it's waiting out there for us, too. :(

Things are improving over here now that we're FF only. I'm still sad about the outcome, but realize that I did everything I could and this is just the way it is.

Oops, someone's up! Gotta go...

[Chelle D]

Val - Maxwell is rolling quite a bit from front to back, but not too often from back to front so he is still always on his back at night. he does have a habit of pulling his blanket over his face though! It is crocheted so it's fine, but he likes it over his face :) I have a friend with a very active baby who is always spread out on his tummy, or on his side, etc and is fine. I think after 5 months, the risk of SIDS is minimal.

Jen - Congrats to Saskia on her eating. We are trying Maxwell out on new things lately too. I am mostly doing combos of foods and still pureeing them (chunkier) and he loves a spinach/potato one lately. I am getting a little more into giving him things from the table. He likes Cool Whip :p

Not much here. Maxwell slowing down quite a bit with his eating. He is only eating about 2-3 "cubes" of food 3 times per day (if that...it's an average of about 2). He is also starting to flat out REFUSE nursing. He has never done that. So my supply is way down again. I think he is really teething though and I expect some of those top ones through soon. His upper gum is very tight and I can see the indentations of teeth in there. For the most part though, he is still a really happy, laid back guy.

[Megan James]

Is anyone else having issues with the BB? Right now it shows the Chelle D was the last one to post on this thread and that she posted at 10:59 this morning. However I can't see this post. I tried getting to it several ways and I can't see it. This has happened a couple times this month to me, including a post that I wrote. I think it happens when it goes to the next page so I am guessing Chelle D will be the first post on page6 of this thread.
Anyone else having this problem?

megan

[Sarah428]

Yeah Megan I had the same problem....back to lurking! ;)

[Chelle D]

Megan - I noticed that too. After I posted, I could not see my own post. I even reloaded and it was still missing. It's there now, but it was strange.

[Megan James]

I think it's the first post on a new "page" right after I posted I could see Michelle's post.

[aprilbride]

Well, after my post yesterday asking for feedback about taking Elliott to daycare with a cold, daycare called in the afternoon to tell me he was running a low grade fever and he had thrown up his fruit puff snack (which, interestingly enough, I didn't pack for him so he must have gotten it from there and maybe just didn't like it???). I took him to the doc last night and he has yet another ear infection!!! That's strike 3 for us. I'm so bummed;-(( It never seems to bother him because he doesn't tug on his ears, so we keep missing it. Other than that he just has a cold but we're back to antibiotics. He's in good spirits so we took him back to daycare today. DH is leaving tomorrow to go to England for 10 days so I'm really hoping this cold/ear infection will clear up soon. So far whenever he's gotten a cold it's followed by an ear infection...

[RunnerKim]

fancyn- you posted earlier in the month about using 2% milk and I wanted to follow-up and say our pediatrician said the same thing. Jamie had his 9 month appointment last night and I had DH ask (I took DD to swim class) about the milk (for when he turns a year) - if we could put Lainey on whole or water hers down etc. And the doctor said that it would be fine for Jamie to be on 2% (because he's size/growth isn't an issue for him; for what DH said). I tend to think of whole=100% and 2% is, well, a lot less fat than it really is. Isn't whole actually like 3 or 3.25% or something. Good reminder about the comparison. 2% is a lot cheaper than whole milk too (although my baked goods were yummier when Lainey was one whole milk)

Jamie weiged in at 25lbs 5oz which is the same he weighed about 3 weeks ago. We're not suprised because he seems to be slimming down now that he's crawling all over the place and he's eating more solids and less and less formula. 29"

Kim

[Chelle D]

Kim- Good to know. Maxwell has his 9-month on 02/03 and I am interested to see what they say about his weight. At 6 months, he was almost 24.5 pounds and I don't think he has gained much. We will see.

Maxwell is wanting to eat everything he can feed himself. He grabs out for the spoon after a couple bites and is getting very good at feeding himself cherrios and pieces of butternut squash. I have tried canned peaches and fresh bananas, but the are too slippery for him. What else can I try? He ate a few black beans out of my enchilada last night and enjoyed those so maybe I will give him a few beans to try (minus the spice! :)). Can he have like pieces of toast? I would think he could by now.

[fancyn]

Kim, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who's been instructed that! I'd never heard of such a thing before. BUT, Nicholas loves the 2% and won't drink the whole so it's worked out fine anyways. LOL about the baked goods! :p That was exactly my thought when I first bought ours.

Chelle, Nicholas LOVES cinnamon graham crackers. They're soft enough to dissolve in his mouth if he doesn't get them chewed all the way. He pretty much eats straight off the table now. He even liked the toasted orange couscous the other day. I know Emily gives Gavin goldfish. Unfortunately DS doesn't like them (but neither do I :)) I say if something is soft and can be cut up in little pieces, go for it!!!

[BeachBum]

Just in case anyone else is shopping for a car seat I thought I'd alert you to this great deal on the Britax Marathon, for $219 shipped. The fabric isn't the cutest, but I bought it anyway. http://www.specialtybaby.com/br20macocars8.html

[RunnerKim]

I've started giving Jamie quite a few of the foods we are eating and he's done rather well with them. Tuesday I felt like he hit a milestone because he ate what we were all having for dinner (my nephews were over for dinner and they're rather picky eaters and I try to cater to them so they won't hate coming to my house) So we had grilled cheese sandwiches and steamed broccoli and raw carrots with ranch dressing. Jamie loves broccoli and was the only kid to eat it (without dressing) but I just did pieces and he gobbled that up. I cut up the cheese sandwhich in to little pieces and he did great with that. Sharp cheddar and homemade Parmesan-herb bread; definitely not bland. He's had plain pasta, pancakes and onion soup mix bread this week.

Oh with peaches, I've sprinkled them with rice (or other) cereal to help give them some grip-ability. Helps a little. Blueberries (frozen from the store) are a good; as are pieces, cut up green beans, little pieces of broccoli, strips or small pieces of bread (I'd start with un-toasted/softer bread first), strips of cheese....

He did have a couple of days of soft poop after I started doing more table foods (which I'll admit I went a little fast on) but he's handling it fine now. I think with Lainey I didn't even giver her cheerios until she was 9 months!

I'm big on getting him to eat what we're having on the table so I think moved a little faster than I might have otherwise. Even with Lainey I didn't do bland for very long. she may not eat very many veggies (or the crusts of bread :rolleyes: ) etc. but she eats flavorful food and a decent variety of things and I'm satisfied with that. One of the first meat dinners Lainey ate (and still does well with) is enchiladas with *shredded* chicken. I put the cooked chicken through the grater disc of my food processor and it works great.

Kim

[EmilyK]

I know Emily gives Gavin goldfish.
He had them with breakfast this morning, too! :D We give him toast bits, bread bits, grilled cheese w/ sharp chedder cut into bits, Clifford Cereal (organic cereal w/ fairly little sugar), cheerios, mac n cheese (Annie's Shells), gerber veggie & fruit puffs... whole peas, shelled edamame (he LOVES these), pinto beans... cut up bananas...cheese crumbles. We haven't ventured into berries, though I have a bag of frozen blueberries we're planning to try out this weekend. The bread we give is 100% whole wheat, so no white bread in our house. I don't know if that makes any difference, but DS just loves any kind of whole grain bread. He's never tried white bread.

Speaking of finger foods, I saw in Gerber's booklet thing I got in the mail that whole peas are a choking hazzard and you shouldn't give bread bits with crust still on. We've never cut crusts off and he likes them, does anybody else feed their little one crusts? Also, we give whole peas... if they're a choking hazzard, so would any kind of bean, blueberry, etc. We don't go back to the ped. until 12 months.

[cchhbb]

Emily,

I feed Griffin crusts of bread and whole peas. He loves them. I just make sure that I am nearby when he is eating them. I do cut up grapes, cherries, and other larger round things I feed him.

Griffin eats almost exclusively what we eat and has for about a month now. I do not feed him shellfish or peanut products, but pretty much feed him everything else. I do limit the amount of fish that he eats due to mercury.

Griffin really doesn't like to eat off a spoon so I am pretty creative about what a feed him. I spend a lot of time cutting up things and I do use crackers to spread some things on.

Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

I give peas and crusts. The blueberries we have are smaller than peas - the frozen ones are much smaller than fresh (I live in berry land so get beautiful berries in season). Kids are always sitting when they eat and I think that helps prevent some choking hazzard (we have a big dog that helps enforce this). Jame has gagged a couple of times but nothing he needs assistance with - I just tell him to chew his food better. I don't even cut up his green beans anymore (frozen ones that are about 2" long).

Emily - I agree; I think by never giving the plain/bland food then they can't form preferences for those things. We eat pizza most Friday nights and it tends to be non-traditional pizza (butternut-pesto; Thai chicken etc.) with a partial ww crust and Lainey never had plain cheese pizza for a long time (probably until I was also feeding her cousins). She's learned to pick off things she doesn't like and doesn't have a complete fit if it's not something she likes 100%. We only gave her plain stuff for a short amount of time; so she's never had (and doesn't like) plain pasta. I don't buy mild or medium cheddar. Gruyere has been too strong for her though. Not to say she hasn't learned to like and even prefer some less flavorful/nutritional food but she eats a variety of things.

Kim

[MinEaston]

Anna spits peas out :rolleyes: but loves bread - crusts and all. She will knaw on bagels and pizza crust too. Wasn't keen on plain pasta, but ate some when it was baked with ricotta, spinach, and pesto. I'm hoping she'll keep after the flavorful foods, because she's not going to find bland table foods in this house!

I gave her a few blueberries last week, which she seemed to enjoy, except for the "skin." She managed to spit just that part out.

I make empanadas often, and just made a batch of mini-ones (I get the dough from an Argentine market in Miami, when my parents go down to visit my mother's family). Anna really enjoys them, even when she manages to shred them into little bits before eating them. They're really easy to send into daycare, too!

[Chelle D]

Thank you SO much for all the ideas! I thought I was going to be moving along faster and I haven't. Really though, the last 4 days or so are when he is just not wanting the spoon much. he wants to feed himself, I was just hesitant to start. Question on blueberries - do you give them to him frozen? I have a bunch in the freezer, but they are about pea-size. I think I will try an "all-finger food" dinner for him tonight....well all but maybe one cube. I have so much in the freezer now :rolleyes: We are having spaghetti so maybe I will give him some plain pasta with ricotta or something.

Thanks again!

Oh, Beachbum - that is a great deal. It is $279 at BRU.

[RunnerKim]

I thaw them: I either have them sit out for about 30 minutes (rarely have I planned that far ahead) or I run some hot water over them. for daycare they've been in the fridge overnight and that temp is fine.

Kim

[food girl]

I made butternut soup last week with all of my frozen cubes of baby food! Anna flat out refuses spoon feeding, except for cereal and prunes. I have a new freezer stash of carrots, sweet potatoes, and a variety of squashes that I steamed and cubed up small. I froze them in ~1 cup servings in freezer bags. This is working out great!

I have soaked crackers and cheerios in milk (formula) to make them easier for her to gum. I did make my own pureed/chunky prunes from dried prunes. I had to look a long time to find prunes without preservatives (sunkist premium in a tin). Boy did she like the home-made prunes!

I have given her parts of our dinners, chicken casserole, salmon, beans etc. I am sqeamish about giving her our usual spicy food. Tonight we had chipotle meatloaf (yummy!) and I was afraid it was too spicy.

I cut up her food small but then she crams a whole handful in her mouth! She has never choked or even gagged so I guess she's ok. I think I read where the food should be the size of pencil eraser?

Wish me luck, last night I got the second stretch of 8 hours uninterrupted sleep in perhaps a year if you include the months of getting up to go to the bathroom when pregnant! I can only hope tonight will be the same! Let's hope DH is asleep :p

Lisa

[DanaSD]

I'm in the process of adding Brendan to my insurance - do you get vision and dental for your new babies or just medical???

[tbb113]

Personally, I would just get medical and then add him to your dental when you are ready to take him to the dentist for the first time. Unless you have a reason to think he would need vision coverage...why would you put him there?

[Luv to Cook]

Any advice on giving baby a bottle? Sahana is about 9 weeks old and she has had one occassionally, but I am trying to get her to take one for those times when I am not around. She will not have it. Any tips on helping her to take it?

Thanks.
Anita

[lisas3575]

Anita, I read that some babies will take a bottle if you sit them up on your lap facing outwards--not sure why. Also, have someone else besides you give the bottle so she's not confused about why you're not nursing her. I was thinking about you this morning, how are *you* doing?

Crabby Owen is here today. And last night. :rolleyes: So tired today...

[food girl]

Maybe you should try a different type of bottle? We used vent-airs for a while but Anna obviously took to the Dr. Browns better. (of course she likes the ones with 6 parts to clean)

Lisa

[Chelle D]

Anita - I agree with the others. When I started Maxwell on a bottle at about a month in order for him to get used to it for the couple days a week he needed it, I had to try a few types. I started with Avent and ended up using the Playtex ventaire. Most of the time, I had DH feed him the bottle. This way Maxwell got used to someone else giving him food in a different way. If there were ever an occasion for me to give him a bottle (like in public) I would face him away from me.

Thanks all for the food advice. Maxwell has been eating cheese, bread, pancakes, pinto beans, bits of carrot, and even cod :D the last day or so. He LOVED the fish. He is also starting to let me give him things off the spoon more. Maybe he realized he needed to do that in order to not go hungry. He now eats about 1.5 cubes of food and then bits of things. Cherrios still rule though. Yesterday I put down (in this order) - carrot, pinto bean, cheese, bread, and finally a Cheerio. The Cheerio barely hit the tray and he had it in his mouth. That was followed by bread, bean, cheese and I think the carrot went to the floor. It's funny how he's been eating veggies and fruit his whole life but it's the last choice now on a tray of food :D He loved the fish though and I think the cubes of spinach with potato are his fav.

[sweetpea]

delurking--anita we tried several bottles until we finally used the old playtex nurser--with the drop ins. and i had to let DH feed her without me in the room. if she smelled me, then she wanted me. only had to do that the first few times then she was fine after that.

[EmilyK]

DS would take the platex nurser with the latex nipple okay, but with no real vigor. He refused ANYTHING silicone... the only one we found that he would take really well was the orthodontic nipple by NUK - they fit into a standard bottle:
http://www.gerbercanada.com/en/products/images/nuk_orth_bodyvent.jpg
Also, we would have to sit on the exercise ball and bounce him while feeding him. That's how we always soothed him during our colic times, so it soothed/distracted him enough that he would take it. I was able to give the bottle better than DH, mostly because I knew his "eating habits" better. Good luck!

[aprilbride]

Well, all this talk of different foods really inspired me to try a few new things...we've been in the jar food camp for meals and so far whatever I "serve" usually gets eaten. This weekend we tried (succesfully) Mac & Cheese, whole peas, Organic French Toast, Peaches, Babybell Cheese (he loved this!) and chicken. Tonight I'm going to try Tilapia...For snacks he loves cheerios and biscuits, mango and apple slices. I'm amazed at how precise he is with his fingers picking up small pieces of food:-)

My only problem with him starting to really eat what we eat is the dinner timing. I usually feed him dinner before I even start to cook our own since he goes to bed at 6.30...

[RebeccaT]

Claudia, I had the same question about how to feed Julia what we eat. Julia eats dinner before DH gets home right now, and we eat together after she goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00. Since DH doesn't ever get home before 7:00, I don't know how it would be possible to have dinner with Julia at this stage... and I know that once she drops her third nap of the day her bedtime will get even earlier! I do think it's important, though, for her to see us eat so that she can get interested in it; I just don't know how to accomplish that.

[fancyn]

DH and I used to eat after DS went to bed too. I can't help with your DH getting home ealier ;) , but what I've been doing for the past month or so, is all my prep work the night before. Chopping veggies, portioning out herbs, etc. If it's something I can even assemble ahead, I do. That way dinner the next night is done in 30 minutes max! Granted I'm in the kitchen a little later than I'd like, but the important thing is we're getting to share a meal as a family. And I've actually been able to try new recipes since I'm planning so much better. I think we now have atleast 3 new ones a week! HTH!!

[aprilbride]

It's a dilemma:-) DH usually doesn't get home until 6 or a little after, so he feeds Elliott his bottle before we put him to bed. During that time I usually start our dinner...so the problem is two fold: Dinner is not ready yet so unless I make him something different beforehand, he won't have what we're having. And he won't be eating with us either:-( Soo...I don't know how to change that unless DH starts getting home at 5 which is pretty much never going to happen. Or change Elliott's bedtime, which is pretty much never going to happen (at least not initiated by me:-)) Soooo....as you can see, I'm right there with you, Rebecca..

[EmilyK]

DH brings home DS at around 4:30 or so most nights and gives him dinner at around 5:00. Then, he will work on prepping & cooking dinner. I get home at around 5:45 or 6:00 and we generally can all sit down and eat together. DS will get finger foods as his "2nd" dinner with the family. You find something that works for you. I don't know what we would do if we didn't get home with DS until 5:45! :eek: He's usually so starving by the time he does eat dinner, he's nearly inconsolable! We also do a LOT of cooking on the weekends, so we can have plenty of leftover options for some of the dinners during the week.

[RunnerKim]

For those eating a late dinner: what about saving some of your dinner for the next day. So that they're eating what you ate the night before. This at least gets them eating new/variety of foods. It doesn't help with the family meal idea of course.

Editing to add: we've also done like Emily and put Jamie back in the high chair for a 2nd dinner. Give him some of the new stuff/our dinner if we're eating pretty late for some reason. He's not very hungry and has little tolerance for "hanging out" in his high chair but he'll often at least eat a few bites.

Kim

[Molli526]

Since DH is no longer working out of the house, and dinner is not right at 5-5:15, I have been giving Charles a more substantial snack about 4ish, which helps hold him over until DH gets home at 5:45ish to eat. Almost a mini-meal, usually fruit and yogurt, or something similar. DS is 19 months and eats MUCH better with all 3 of us at the table vs. just the 2 of us, or by himself.

[MinEaston]

We don't all get home until 5:30 or sometimes 5:45. Since Anna goes to bed around 7, we aren't all able to sit down together for our real dinner, but we try to feed her leftovers from our dinner while we eat crackers or some kind of light snack, so she gets the idea that we are eating too. She does much better that way. We had a discussion about this last night and DH and I both agreed that we're okay with this, and that it would be far more stressful to try and move everything up, at least at this point. As she gets older I would imagine that we'll be able to do more family dinners together.

[Megan James]

So convince me that I should spend the $220 on a Britax Marathon. I know that Baby Bargains loves it and both my friend Kerry and my cousin love their's but, $220 is a lot of money. I have a Camry and I read on http://www.carseatdata.org that it fits in both front and rear facing but I'm still worried it will be a close fit.

On a good note Rebecca and I had the best time at Target this morning. On my campaign to get used to being at daycare/work before 8am I had us up and returning coat racks to the rental place at 8:05 this morning. Since we were near Target we went there at 8:15. Of course there were only like 2 other shoppers and all the staff was stocking racks. Rebecca was in a really good mood and kept giggling when I would lean over and kiss her cheek. Then when I was looking at toys and outfits I'd wave them in front of her and if she didn't smile I'd put it back. She smiled at tons of stuff but I only bought 1 outfit, I'm saving for that gold plated car seat.

I also have to share that it always makes me laugh when Rebecca has a big poop. She scrunches up her body and then after it comes out gets such a big grin on her face. You can just see that she is relieved to have that out of her!

[DanaSD]

ok FTM here with a stupid question - when/why do you use a pacifier? DS gets fussy when he's hungry, bored and gassy but other than that he's ok. Is it supposed to sooth them? Do you give it to them when you put them to bed? I think it was part of the new reccomendations to prevent SIDs so I assume that meant to use them when baby is napping.


Slowly getting used to being a mom and able to function a little bit better as I get used to this and am starting to feel better after having a c-section - I've been showering and getting dressed by 10 which is a huge accomplishment. We went back to the doctor last week for a 3 week color check since he's been slightly jaundiced since birth. His color was looking better, pooping after almost every feeding so the final check was weight gain - Dr want to see at least 4 ounces since the previous week. Well he went from 8 lbs, 14 ounces to 9 lbs 10ounces! I guess he's getting plenty to eat - he's feeding all the time (every 1-4 hours) but with BF its had to tell how much they're getting.

I'm having a hard time with BF - its 'going well' but its just hard to be so attached and on call all the time, it takes sooo many hours of the day (DS is a slow eater), my boobs are sore (no blisters and he has a good latch but there's still soreness plus let down on my right side hurts) and the weight of my boobs is ridiculous (I went from a D pre-preg, F preg, so now I must be at a G or something) and I have to wear a bra 24 hours a day. I have a pump ordered to give me a little bit of freedom and it is getting a little easier each day but I don't know how long I'll last - my original goal was a year but I don't know about that.

[lisas3575]

Dana, Owen digs his pacifier. We use it when all else fails-- he's fed, dry, cuddled--to soothe him when he's fussy (usually gas). He hates getting strapped in his car seat, so I'll give it to him then so he'll settle down once we're in the car and going. I try to not give it to him as he falls asleep so he doesn't become dependent on it for sleep. Some babies don't like them, though, so don't be concerned if he's not needing it. HTH.

Sending you a big hug and props on BFing. It's hard. I encourage you to find what works for you and your family; I just know how emotional it can all be, so be kind to yourself.

We're struggling in the sleep department again-- he's back to being up and wanting fed every three hours around the clock for the last week or so (since we went 100% FF). Sometimes he'll take 6 oz., sometimes 2 oz. I'm not sure if it's his growth spurt or gas or the switch to formula. Last night he would only cat nap for 30 minutes and then fuss again. I'm just going with the flow, knowing that it won't last forever. I'm eager for his 8 week appt. on 2/9 to discuss everything with a new pediatrician. I just wasn't connecting with the one we'd been seeing.

I met with another new mom today. She was in my prenatal swim class, and her DS is just 4 days older than Owen. It was so nice to get out and do something normal, like meet for coffee. :D I haven't been able to find a new mom's group, so we're going to meet regularly and try to find another couple people to make our own group. I'm so eager for better weather, too, so we can get out and take walks.

[gertdog]

Lisa, how cool that you're creating your own mom's group!

I went to a free trial Stroller Strides class last week- a mix of exercise and socialization. The workout was decent if you didn't get distracted by too much chatting, and the other moms seemed nice and welcoming. I really feel a need to meet other moms in my area- being at home with Ryan in addition to not having any local colleagues (I telecommute) makes it hard to meet people! I will probably go back again, though I'm looking forward to warmer weather when the classes can be in the park, rather than in a mall where I have to stroll past Gymboree and be tempted to buy stuff!

Dana, we offer Ryan his paci anytime he's fussing and we've already checked the diaper and know he's not hungry. If he takes it, great, if he doesn't, that's fine too. We also give it to him when putting him down for bed and naps per the AAP recommendation- it usually stays in for half an hour or so then he pops it out and keeps sleeping. We don't replace it if he wakes in the night (also per recommendation), and he doesn't seem to mind. Even if the AAP hadn't recommended it, we had planned to use one, and I'm glad we did. It's a simple thing that gives us another alternative for soothing him.

He's gotten coordinated enough that if the paci falls partway out of his mouth, he'll reach up and use his open, flat hand to smack it back in. Yesterday he went to do this, but the paci fell out onto the floor as his hand was moving to his mouth and he ended up smacking himself in the face. He looked quite surprised! :)

Here's my lovely question for the day: What strategies do you all use for diaper pail deodorizing? In general we empty the pail (a Diaper Champ) every other day, but sometimes I smell a faint poopy-diaper odor. I don't like using aerosol sprays; am wondering if anyone can recommend something effective. Thanks!

[DanaSD]

thanks Lisa. I don't know how you lasted as long as you did. I feel like since the BF is going well I need to try to stick with it. My goal for now is 2-3 months and then revisited if I want to keep going to 6 or 12 months. It is getting better slowly and it should get better as he starts eating at less intervals.

A friend of mine moved to Oregon about a year ago. She couldn't find a new moms group either - she went to one but it wasn't for her. So she went to Gymboree classes and met other moms. She made 'business cards' that her name on them and listed as "xxx's mom" and she handed them out to moms and they created their own moms group. I'm going to be in the same situation since I'm moving to AZ in April and don't know any new moms there. San Diego has a wonderful moms group called Parent Connection which runs lots of playgroups based on part of town, kids age, working moms, etc.

[mst]

Lisa- I never had a chance to congratulate you on your breastfeeding, and your decision to stop. I am glad that you did what works for you.

Dana- BFing is hard. I don't think people understand how hard it is, until you are in that situation. Like, I have a friend that I want to invite over, but she is really squeemish about bfing. I don't think I can have her over because I only get an hour and a half between feedings- at best. The odd thing is that she did bf for a bit, but overall finds it gross. Like, I asked her if she pumped and she said, "ugh- gross. No way!" I feel like I could be out and about so much more if I ff. But, on the other hand, I am proud that I am still doing it, and feel very personally responsible for Ilyssa's growth, which is pretty cool.

My news- I am not going back to work. I had called work and asked them if there was any flexability. They told me to come in and chat. I went in, and they told me there was no flexability (wish they had told me that over the phone, instead of making me drive and hour and a half there, an hour and a half home, and using up two bags of breastmilk). I told them today that I was not going to able to come back in the fulltime capacity, but if things changed for them, I would be happy to come back in a pt capacity. Anyway, I said things like, "loved working here, learned so much, etc." They did not say any of that stuff back. I am feeling badly about that. I think they are angry at me. I know I should be glad that this was an easy decision, and I know that I used them for IVF insurance, and I have my baby. But, I do feel badly that it did not end more positively. I did like working there, and would have gone back pt if they were flexable.

Anyone have other suggestions of how to meet moms?

[EmilyK]

Megan, we've been discussing car seats on the January Wobblers thread, so check there for a little information. We did splurge on the Britax seat at Target and LOVE it!! We opened up a credit card with them and saved 10% on it, which did help with the cost a little. Good luck with your decision!

[gertdog]

Megan, we also have the Britax seat but DS isn't in it yet so I can't give any reviews from experience. That said, when I compared models in the store, it did seem more plush and comfy, and easy to adjust than many other models. DS's grandparents bought it for us as a gift.

[jphilg]

Merideth, have you met anyone out walking in your neighborhood? That's been the best source for "support moms" for me. I've met lots of women in the surrounding blocks, and have made some great friends. You sort of need to go outside of your comfort zone to strike up a conversation, but "how old is she?" is a great icebreaker. We all love to talk about our little peanuts!

Dana, lots of babies need to suck more than they need to eat. So if they are still fussy after (as Lisa said) eating, napping, and changing, sometimes the pacifier is a welcome option. We use ours only in the crib (I'm not too concerned about Saskia being dependant on it....) and occasionally in the car seat (since she hates being in it...toys are good for around town trips, and singing, but if we are going more than 45 minutes away, our throats are raw from singing and she's still wailing. Bink time!). But if you don't see a need for, I wouldn't add it to the routine just to fulfill the new anti-SIDS recommendations. You need to balance what "they" say with your own instinct and understanding.

We had quite a night last night....I was laying in bed, complaining for the third night in a row about nausea, and Peter asks if there is any chance I could be pregnant. Pause. Well actually, yes. I'm still BFing, and on the mini-pill, but I am REALLY bad about taking pills, and I understand that the progesterone-only pill requires much more regularity in time taken than the regular BCP does. So we start talking, and it becomes pretty real. I've been super-weepy lately, and the nausea....so I run out to the 24 hour CVS at midnight to get a test. Negative, but it was interesting. Both Peter and I said that we would have been just thrilled. So now we are discussing whether we should scrap the pill altogether and leave it to fate. We'd already discussed having our children close in age, although 16 months was a little tighter than planned. I'm planning to wean Saskia next month, so maybe I'll take a month or two just to have my own body. Haven't had a period, though. Does anyone know if you get a period on the POP? I know some women don't get a period until they wean, but some women do. So....I dunno. It's just been an interesting 12 hours. I know some of you have close-spaced kids. Any regrets?

[EmilyK]

Does anyone know if you get a period on the POP? I know some women don't get a period until they wean, but some women do.
I'm BFing and on the mini-pill and still haven't had AF back... DS is 10.5 months. I'm happy about it!! :D Since it was really easy to get PG in the first place, we're using an alternate method of BC as well... Just in case!! We are looking at 3-4 year age gap if we do decide to have another kiddo. Friends of ours had their girls about 17 months apart and are doing really well. It all depends on what you want, I guess! :) Happy decision making!

[greta]

stephanie, can't help on diaper pail stuff...we just put our diapers in the kitchen garbage b/c we throw that out very regularly...

carseat: we have the britax and we like it a lot...it is however pretty big--we put it in my brother's suv next to my niece's carseat and it was very very snug. i think it takes up more room than some other brands.

jen, it's interesting you asked about kid spacing...i've been tempted to ask if i'm the only one who wants another baby so soon--and would like to get pregnant right now! :eek: (and saif still isn't sleeping thru the night!)

i have absolutely NO regrets as far as laith and saif's spacing goes. laith was 19mos old when saif arrived. i'm a pretty laid back mom, so it works well for me. i giggle when i hear questions about too much time in the swing, pacifier usage, etc. --not b/c i'm laughing AT the poster, but because i just do what i have to do to keep the peace. not too much thinking involved! saif has had a fair share of time sitting in his swing/chair/etc--there's no way i'd be able to hold him or play with him as much as i'd like b/c i have also have laith, and the normal stuff to do around the house. he seems very happy and doesn't seem to mind his independence. ;) i use the pacifier for saif when both kids are fussy, and laith is trying to push the baby off mommy's lap. you get the picture, right?

unfortunately, my husband isn't as gungho on having baby #3 just yet. he does want more kids, but would like to wait until we're a bit more settled. i'm 35 and would like to pop them out one right after the other...we'll have to compromise. :p

[valchemist]

stephanie, can't help on diaper pail stuff...we just put our diapers in the kitchen garbage b/c we throw that out very regularly...


jen, it's interesting you asked about kid spacing...i've been tempted to ask if i'm the only one who wants another baby so soon--and would like to get pregnant right now! :eek: (and saif still isn't sleeping thru the night!)

unfortunately, my husband isn't as gungho on having baby #3 just yet. he does want more kids, but would like to wait until we're a bit more settled. i'm 35 and would like to pop them out one right after the other...we'll have to compromise. :p

we pack 4 or 5 diapers in gallon sized ziplock bags... we don't have one of those diaper contraptions. no smell, no mess with the ziplocks.

jen, I can chime in from the "wish I had 'em closer" front. go for it (since you seem to want it). I wasn't able to get pregnant til I was pretty much done nursing (2 1/2 years) but I really wish I had them closer.

greta, I am dying for another (NOW) even though kate is a rotten sleeper. it isn't going to happen though. my body won't let me get pregnant while nursing and I won't be stopping for quite a while. blah. my DH isn't gung ho either. but my clock is seriously ticking. I will be 36 in a few weeks.

[MinEaston]

((Dana)) Bfing is hard. I understand why women quit. I think that it was between 3 & 4 weeks that it all of a sudden started to get better, and much easier. And I'm still bfing (Anna will be 11 months tomorrow). I have come to loathe pumping during the day but I guess I am just approaching it as another one of those tasks I have to do. (Plus, I get to surf the BB when I'm pumping :) )

Like Emily, I'm on the POP and haven't gotten AF yet either. I'm very regimented about taking the pill (when I brush my teeth at night) and we haven't been using alternate methods. That being said, I forgot once last week (took it the next morning, then resumed regular schedule). There's been some, ahem, "activity" since but I haven't worried too much about it. I keep getting asked when we are going to have another, and to be honest, I'm on the fence. Anna is such a dear and has been so good to us that I'm scared to have another. Then again, I'm going to be 35 in March and it took us about a year-and-a-half of TTC, so time may be working against me.

Anyone have a clever response for people who ask "so when's the next one coming?" :rolleyes:

[EmilyK]

Anyone have a clever response for people who ask "so when's the next one coming?" :rolleyes:
My favorite response to this question (when it was asked when we would have kids in the first place) was, "For now, we're just practicing!" ;) I HATE it when people ask, because it really is a very personal decision. AND, as soon as you answer them, they're bound to tell you you're going about your "spacing plans" completely the wrong way. :rolleyes: I think the biggest reason we're on the fence about having another at all is because of the horrible first 3-4 months... DS had really bad colic! It makes me shudder to think about going through it again. We're basically playing it by ear: if we decide we do want another, then we'll go ahead with it! We don't really have any clocks ticking yet, since we're both 27. :)

re: diaper pails - we use the NEAT brand diaper thing and don't have any problems with odors. Friends of ours have a Genie and it's pretty nasty... I'm happy with our decision.

[aprilbride]

Interesting discussion about when to/if to have # 2....I only breastfed for a few weeks, so have been back on my regular pill/period for a while now. Before even having Elliott I've always been sure I only wanted one. Elliott really has been the most easy going baby pretty much since he's been born, I feel so lucky to have had a relatively easy time. Soo....In my somewhat warped mind I think a possible # 2 could in no way be as easy going and I'm not sure how I would handle that. Whenever people ask and I say I think this might be it I get the "oh no, but how could you want him to be an only child, he should have a little sister to play with"....I can't stand it. Having said all that, it's been a little sad for me to watch him grow so fast and get more independent every day, wondering if I can stick by my original decision which means I won't get to experience any of it again. So some days I'm on the fence...

[Megan James]

Anyone have other suggestions of how to meet moms?

Try your local library. I know both of ours have moms groups and if they don't have an official group you could either show up for story hour or put a message on their bulletin board. The hospital I had Rebecca at also has a mom's group. I haven't gone to any of those but have gone to LaLeche League meetings. The LL meetings are nice in some sense but tough in another. We are still having latch issues (and she'll be 3 months tomorrow!) and I feel like I am such a loser for not having things figured out by now. I've found you just have to take away what you want and tune out the rest.

I have a sort of silly question. Lots of people say they can't wait to stop BF b/c the "just want their body back". Does that only refer to your boobs or is there some other magical thing that is going to happen, like maybe I would lose an inch around my hips :rolleyes:?

I have another funny Rebecca story. She moves around a lot in her crib despite being swaddled and then encased in her sleep sack so she can't break free of her swaddler. She seems to rotate to the right and move down the crib. Last night I put her in with her head at the top of the crib, at 2am I checked in on her and she had rotated 90 degrees, when I got her up at 7am her head was at the bottom of the crib!

[greta]

megan, i can't believe rebecca moves that much!! saif just stays in one place.

val, i had a feeling you'd be as crazy as me!!! :D

[Sarah428]

I have a sort of silly question. Lots of people say they can't wait to stop BF b/c the "just want their body back". Does that only refer to your boobs or is there some other magical thing that is going to happen, like maybe I would lose an inch around my hips ?
Sorry, nothing truly magical happens, except my boobs shrank a ton! I think I ended up being smaller after BF!! For some it's just a matter of having their body back to themselves and not feeling like a milk machine. I nursed Ella until she was 6 months, I wanted to go a year but she weened herself once we introduced "real foods".

mst - With you being a SAHM it will be easier to find mom groups. Every one that I've found meets at 11am, not convenient for us working moms! :mad:
Try MOPS (http://www.mops.org/). Some are tied with area churches so not sure if that is an issue for you. Libraries, hospitals, gyms, playgrounds, local preschools, etc. Good luck!

[angelamaria]

on the spacing issue...i didn't use contraception after abby since i had to use ivf to get pg with her and i had her at 35. i figured if a miracle happened - great! so a i breast fed her for 10 mo got my period back right around then- had one period and got pg and had a miscarriage and d&c got another period and got pg again with miles. they are 22 mo apart and i am very happy with the spacing - it basically didn't change much of what i'm doing -just more diapers.
and i just put my diapers in plastic grocery bags and take them out to our garbage can. i feel sorry for our garbage men- i tipped them big at christmas.

[Luv to Cook]

Hi everyone,

We are still alive :). Taking care of two kids is harder than I thought...lol! As far as having another one, right now I cannot imagine it. We have had two very colicky kids...as DH would say we are "two for two." Not sure if I can handle another one with colic. I always have a kid glued to me! Perhaps in a few more years. I am 30 now and my kids are 2 1/2 years apart...I give myself until 35...so we will see.

So we are having some good days and some really, really horrible ones...I guess to set me back in place! Sahana is still needing to be held most evenings until 11:00. I just hold her while she sleeps...I figure it is better than her not sleeping at all...then she spends a few hours in the swing and then a few in the crib. Oh well...we will get there eventually!

As far as BFing goes...congrats to all the moms who made it so far and to those who quit when it was making them crazy. Some days I am so ready to be done Bfing, but I know it will get easier. When Asha hit 6 months, the number of nursings when down dramatically with the introduction of solids, so I will at least hold out until then and then take it from there. I did end up nursing Asha for the first year and I promised myself I would at least try to do the same for Sahana. So we will see!

For those looking for playgroups, try the MOMs club. It is an international club with lots of local chapters. I met all my friends there and it has been great. I am actually on the board now and it really keeps my busy. My term is almost up and I will be stepping down, but it really got me involved and I have met some wonderful, lifelong friends...even our hubbies became friends with each other!

Well, that's it for now.

Hope everyone is well!
Anita

[RebeccaT]

Jen, that does sound like an interesting night! We have had a similar conversation, although I have not yet taken a HPT. I received a prescription for the mini-pill but I have never taken it b/c (mistakenly, it seems) I thought you weren't supposed to take it until you got your first period. I thought I might not be getting a period since I was BF-ing (although I wondered if I could possibly be making enough milk to inhibit ovulation, since I had such supply issues) but I weaned a month ago and still nothing. I have had weird cramps on and off over the past couple of weeks, and a couple of times I thought AF might be coming but it didn't. I have wondered if I could be pg, I suppose it's possible since I am not on ANY BC. However, I had to take Clomid to get pg with Julia - I wasn't ovulating on my own and never got a period when I went off BCP, wow, 18 months ago! So I don't know if my body even knows how to ovulate. But there's that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, that maybe, perhaps. And it wouldn't be the end of the world, although it's not what I want right now. I would like there to be at least 2 years between my kids, although DH wouldn't mind them being closer.

I should probably call my OB/GYN and figure out what to do.

[kimszy]

So convince me that I should spend the $220 on a Britax Marathon. I know that Baby Bargains loves it and both my friend Kerry and my cousin love their's but, $220 is a lot of money. I have a Camry and I read on http://www.carseatdata.org that it fits in both front and rear facing but I'm still worried it will be a close fit.

I have a camry and the Britax Wizard (precursor to the Boulevard) and the another convertible (they no longer sell it and I can't think of the name but it also has the infinitely adjustable harnesses) both fit fine in my Camry. I am pretty sure that the Wizard is larger than Marathon (I have never used it rear facing, however) and the other one I have looks to be about the same size as the Marathon.

[TerriS]

Re getting baby to take a bottle - Caroline was having none of it for a long time. DH finally got it to work by feeding her somewhere where I DON'T feed her - like the glider or the couch. He had the most luck just laying her on the floor. Try different places, angles etc.

Jen how crazy! Mike makes jokes along those line! I'd like a LITTLE space between them, myself, and am not psyched to be PG again so soon, but not long until I won't mind as much!

Caroline has an ear infection :( she had a rotten cold all last week, then on Friday night she was a wreck, up all night, cried if we laid her down, wouldn't eat, etc so off to the pediatrician we went. Antibiotics seem to really be helping. She's almost better but hates taking her medicine. Poor thing.

[Chelle D]

Regarding Carseats - We too have the Britax Marathon and love it. Maxwell was out of his infant carrier because of his weight at 4 months and we got this one. He will have it until he moves to a booster seat, unlike some of the less expensive models that will need to be replaced at 35 pounds. For me, that made a difference. Also, Britax has one of the highest safety ratings of any carseat on the market and that was important. Their standards are higher than Evenflo, Eddie Bauer, etc. When it came down to it, the $270 that ours cost was a bargain for the assurance it gives me. Plus, he looks pretty comfy in it :) Megan - I know it's a lot, but she will be in it a LONG time - it's good up to 65 pounds.

Regarding moms groups - I go to a MOPS group and really like it. I love the time away and the interaction with other moms, but we are away from our kids the entire time we are there. They are in nursery (which is nice for mine who stays home most of the time). I like talking to the other moms and the activities we do, but I have the baby of our group. I sort of wish they would try to group us based on ages of kids. Everyone in my group has children well over a year old - 3 years old. I do get some good advice though and even some free hand-me-downs :) I plan on doing it next year as well and it's nice to meet people. Once Spring hits, I am really going to make an effort to get to places like parks, the zoo, children's museum, story time at the library, etc in an effort to get us out and meeting others too.

[buffygirl]

Just popping in....I've been terribly ill, first with the flu then with the stomach flu. For the better part of 2 weeks I've been running fever and have been flat on my back! :( For the record it is not fun being sick and having a 5 month old. Fortunately DH has not been travelling as much and has been EXTREMELY helpful. Well more than helpful, he's been doing all of the child care. The bright side has been watching him really bond with Rex, it's really cool.

Rex is doing well and will soon be 6 months old. He is still on the small side and is *almost* rolling and *almost* sitting up, but not quite. He weighs somewhere in the range of 16 pounds. He continues to be a really cheerful, easy baby.

I've missed checking in with you all....

Kim

[angelamaria]

ummm rebecca? so what did you find out? did you check and see if something has occurred?

kim sorry you have been so ill. yuck. rex sounds like he's doing great!

terri hope caroline feels much better soon!

[DanaSD]

We're thinking about traveling to Michigan when DS is 2 months old to visit DH's father. Any advice on traveling with a 2 month old? Are we crazy?

Do we need to get him his own seat?
Is it possible to change diapers in the bathrooms - I know they have changing tables but how is it even possible?
Do rental car componies rent car seats that accomodate infants?
What did you do for sleeping? I don't want to have to take the pack n play. I've asked DH to ask his family if they know anyone who has a crb or pnp we could borrow.
Anyone ever breastfeed on a plane?
If we travel first class (we use miles) will the other first class passengers hate us?

We always said we wouldn't travel on a plane until our kids were a few years old but due to his father's health we want to travel as soon as possible.

[Megan James]

DanaWe traveled from Kalamazoo MI to Syracuse (through Detroit Metro) when Rebecca was 4 weeks old. It actually went really well. I BF her in the Kalamazoo airport (there was basically no one there and DH sat next to me), on the plane from Detroit to Kalamazoo and then on the way back in a "family restroom" in the Detroit airport. It all went really well and I was having a lot of trouble with BF back then (like it would take lots of tries to latch).

I think flying first class would be nicer b/c you and your DH could get seats next to each other and you could sit by the window to be a bit more hidden for BF. Also the extra room would really help! I would not buy a seat for a 2 month old.

As far as the changing tables go the Koala ones actually work pretty well. I have a fold up changing mat that I carry in my diaper bag and I put that on the table so I don't have to worry about other kids germs. I actually prefer to just find a quiet corner put my mat on the floor and change her there.

We brought our infant seat and the stroller and that was a lot of stuff to trek around. On the way back I was flying with just DD and I only had the seat b/c there was no way I could have the stroller and seat and baby. The only reason I even had the seat was we needed it to take her to the airport. If you can find a car rental place which would rent you an infant set I'd do that and then you won't have to carry the seat.

Where in MI are you going? Maybe someone from these boards can loan you a pack and play for the time you are going to be there. If you are near Kalamazoo you are welcome to mine!

[aprilbride]

Dana, we traveled with Elliott from Vegas to Indiana when he was about 2 months old...in my opinion it's the best time to travel;-) No problems at all...we flew Southwest and didn't buy a seat, but brought him on in his carseat and they put us in a row with an empty seat. If there are no empty seats, we would have just held him. Changed him right before we went on so we didn't have a problem with that. He's bottlefed so we tried to feed him as we took off to make sure his ears wouldn't hurt, but it didn't seem to bother him at all and he slept the entire flight there, as well as back. Regarding rental cars..since we had his car seat we just put it in the rental car without the base, which worked fine. My friend was expecting at the time so we used their pack'n'play once we got there....

All in all, it was a breeze...now he's 9 months old and we went to Germany in December, a 12 hour non-stop flight, which was not a big deal either...........

I'd say don't be hesitant to go places...we found that people were super helpful and enjoyed his "company" for the most part:-) Good luck!

[EmilyK]

Dana, I think it will probably depend on your baby. While others have successfully traveled with their babies at that age, we never would have thought to travel with our little man! He was VERY colicky and screamed 80% of the time he was in a carseat!! :rolleyes: I think they might have kicked us off a plane if we'd tried to fly with him! :)

[RunnerKim]

Traveling with a child before they're mobile is almost always easier (Emily citing an exception) in my experience. We took Jamie on an 9+ hour car trip when he was 6 weeks old. As we suspected he was no trouble at all and slept most of the way. My 3 year old on the other hand was much more challenging. The same was true when we have flown. We didn't fly with Lainey quite that young (she was just walking the first time) and hands down I think flying is easier than a car trip because you can interact and do things with the kid (although at 2 months there's mostly feeding and sleeping). I think you'll do fine.

Make sure you take extra clothes for yourself (and perhaps DH should have an extra shirt) on the plane in case of spit up or some other unfortunate accident. Change the diaper right before getting on the plane and most likely you won't need to during the flight.

Yes, rental car companies rent car seats. Call the actual destination to make arrangments though. We did it via the web and the place had no record of it (fortunately they had one). I'm pretty sure rear-facing/infant was an option but it wasn't what we needed so I can't say for sure. I think it was $5/day.

I personally would (and did) not purchase a seat for a 2 month old but it would be safer to do that (and bring your car seat) should something happen.

Do you even need a crib/pack 'n play? Is he rolling, moving? We often had Lainey sleep on the floor when we were traveling and it wasn't convenient to take the pack 'n play. We put down a folded up blanket by a wall (in a corner if possible) by our bed and had her sleep there. You can also get a pack 'n play pretty cheaply ($20 maybe????) and imho would be worthing purchasing there (and leaving behind) instead of lugging it along if you felt the need to have one. My MIL was more than happy to buy one even though we don't make it out there very often. (I assume you're staying with family because many hotels have a pack 'n play available)

I know several people who successfully breastfed on the plane and felt completely fine with it. At 2 months he's (probably) still small enough to stay entirely on your lap. I had a friend who was traveling by herself with her older baby and his legs stuck out on to the person next to her (fortunately her neigbhor was completely fine with it).

Kim

[gertdog]

All of this info on traveling with kids is great (thanks for asking the question, Dana!). We just got tickets for a trip to CA for Ryan to meet his great-grandmothers. He'll be 6 months old when we go. We bought him a separate seat- he's already big for his age and heavy, and I couldn't take the idea of him being on our laps the whole way. My biggest concern is feeding him- he's on formula and might be on cereal by then. We will be staying in hotels, as both of my grandmothers are in assisted living facilities, so I just need to make sure that wherever we stay has a kitchenette or something.

My parents are meeting us in LA, and my mom is going to borrow a pack-and-play and a few other things from her neighbor, who has them for when her grandkids visit.

What do those of you who fly do about things like diapers and formula? Pack enough for the trip? Pack some and then hit a store when you run low on supplies?

[tbb113]

I used to fly a lot with my oldest when he was a baby since my parents and my grandmother lived in LA and if I flew down, everybody could see him.

It's very easy to fly with a non-mobile child. I used to fly with him as a lap baby and I would nurse him on the plane (but I'm not shy and he was a good nurser). If I had to change him, I would either use the floor or I would place him on the seat in the plane (I don't remember changing tables in the bathroom and the toilets there didn't seem very conducive to changing a baby).

I would fly with enough diapers to last the flight plus one or two spares. My parents would have bought the diapers and anything else I need. I don't travel with food for myself, why would I bring baby food/diapers when I can easily purchase them upon landing?

I'll second the change of clothes (at least shirts) for you. Sitting in spit-up upon clothes are NO fun.

Regarding first class - that is a judgement call that you need to make for yourself. A well-behaved child, no problem. A loud, crying baby...I would be extremely irritated as a first class passenger. I flew home from a business trip and sat next to a grandma and her 18 month lap baby...I wasn't happy about it but I dealt with it. Definetly was not what I was expecting when I took the upgrade :rolleyes:

[gertdog]

I would fly with enough diapers to last the flight plus one or two spares. My parents would have bought the diapers and anything else I need. I don't travel with food for myself, why would I bring baby food/diapers when I can easily purchase them upon landing?


Good point! I was just thinking about how the stores here always seem to be out of whatever it is I went in for (Ryan is on the basic Similac Advance formula and the stock of single cans of powder is *always* out- I buy by the case so we can avoid this problem) so I was thinking about it from the perspective of the hassle of driving around trying to find what we need. My mom will be thrilled to pick up whatever we need before we arrive. Really, she will! :D

[jphilg]

We've traveled/flown numerous times with Saskia, starting around 2 months, and have had no trouble. We're going to Mexico in a week, and we bought her a seat for that one because it's a long flight, and she's getting more and more mobile. But I wouldn't buy a seat for a domestic flight with a 2 month old.

I'd REALLY think twice about going first class. Sure, it would be nice for you, but people pay extra for those seats to get away from the screaming babies in coach. And even if you have a great baby, travel is stressful and can result abnormally fussy babies. Its kind of like taking a kid to a lovely restaurant....it's great for you, because you are used to a little fussing, but it can ruin an evening for everyone else who got a babysitter and are trying to get out. We love to fly first class, too, but are flying coach until Saskia's old enough to stay with Grandma. Try to get the bulkhead seats....you can sit there with a baby (unlike the exit row) and you have a little more space. Sorry to be so negative, but I feel pretty strongly about this one.

We travel with about 10 diapers and 1 or 2 bottles (just the powder, measured into the bottle, then add bottled water when you need one) and then run out to the store when we get where we are going. Saskia's mostly breastfed; I had no trouble nursing on the plane when she was 2 months, but now, I probably will just give her a bottle since she's so distractable and fidgety.

Go for it...it really is true that it gets harder the older, and more mobile they get.

In other news....Saskia's first tooth! Seven months...a little late, I guess.

[RebeccaT]

I traveled by myself with Julia when she was 2 months old, and it was no problem. I was BF-ing at the time and I purchased an ugly-but-functional breastfeeding "cape" sort of thing from Target - it made it easier to have somce privacy since I didn't have DH to sit next to me. I had my parents buy formula, diapers, and wipes, so I only brought enough for the trip over. I used the "1 diaper per hour" rule, and brought enough from door to door (in other words, the flight was only 2 hours, but I knew it would be more like 5 hours from the time I left my house to the time I arrived at my mom's, so I brought 5 diapers).

My mom borrowed a pack-n-play, and my dad has bought one to have at his house. I'd try to borrow one if you can, and if not, just check it so that you don't have to deal with it in the airport.

We've never bought a separate seat for Julia, though when she gets a little older we will. We had one flight at Christmas that had extra seats so that we could bring the carseat on the plane, but when the flight is full we have just gate-checked the car seat and the snap-n-go, and then they are waiting for us on the jetway as we get off the plane. It's really really easy!

Jen, if 7 months is late on first tooth, then Julia is late, too! Neither hide nor hair of a tooth over here, even though she's been drooling and chewing incessantly for the past 2 months!

[Chelle D]

I'm debating the extra seat issue right now with DH. We are trying to go to Denmark in May to see family and Maxwell will be 12 months old (leaving 2 days after his b-day). DH says no extra seat because it is a toss-up whether we can go right now due to money issues. I say that he may need it at that age. He is a VERY laid back 8.5 month old. He is not fussy and has never been, he is not crawling yet, but will most likely be doing something by then. Right now he just rolls and scoots every where :D Anyone have thoughts/experiences on flying 10-14 hours with a 1-year old?

Speaking of teeth, my little man had the first top tooth bust through over the weekend. He has had the bottom 2 since he was 6 months. Here's a good recent pic showing off the "toothers!"

http://family.dinesen.us/gallery/albums/8-Months/DSC02046.sized.jpg

And another one :)

http://family.dinesen.us/gallery/albums/8-Months/DSC02050.sized.jpg

[EmilyK]

Chelle, Maxwell is SO cute!! Love the pictures! Since we're sharing pictures ;)... here's one of my little guy's toothers! (if you look past the cottage cheese face! :D)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid200/p40b2000db064bc9516c1bb0804cdb601/f0694bd6.jpg

[tbb113]

Michelle - I flew 4 times to England with Michael when he was between 14 - 18 months on business trips (so I was by myself). I flew him as a lap baby since I didn't think my company would spring for a seat for him (they did cover day care costs though since I had to pay for my spot here while I was gone :cool: ).

This was before flights were as crowded as I understand they can be. I would ask the airline to block the seat next to me and 90% of the time I got the entire row (or I could find an entire row) to myself. I would take an overnight flight to London and Michael and I could sleep for a good portion of the night. (It helps that I'm not quite 5'3" so I can curl up fairly well in a plane). We WALKED home from England though since they were day time flights and there was no way Michael was sitting still (and I don't think it was a function of being in my lap). I would definetly ask for two seats (window/aisle) see if they could block the center seat. That way Maxwell might get lucky and get a seat anyways.

Place a blanket down on your seats so if you spill you can lift the blanket and still have a dry seat. Take a change of clothes for everybody. Put Maxwell into jammies when its bedtime to make it more 'normal' for him. IGNORE everyone that gives you a nasty look and take ALL offers of help :D You can rent car seats when you get to Denmark (at least I could in England). Gate check the stroller so you have it when you get off the plane.

[lisas3575]

Yay! We're finally starting to get some smiles.
http://www.ideasmithdesign.com/owen/Owen2-Thumbnails/14.jpg

A friend loaned me The Baby Whisperer book yesterday and while I'm only 1/4 of the way through, I've started trying some of her suggestions and it seems to be helping me be a less clueless mom. :o Loooooooved the chart of baby "signals" and how to interpret them. I'd already realized that I'm missing all of Owen's sleepy cues, assuming he'd just konk out if he was tired. That's been a lot of what his crying has been about.

Kim, hope you're feeling better today. (((hugs)))

Stephanie (and other FF moms), I see you're using Similac. We've been working our way through all the sample cans we got in the mail, but we bought the double-pack of Costco brand formula when we were there over the weekend since it was significantly cheaper, but I never checked a case price on the name brand. Is anyone else using Costco's or was that a bad idea? Owen doesn't seem to have a preference between Enfamil or Similac.

[aprilbride]

Lisa, we've been using Similac from the very beginning...tried the Sam's Club brand once and that didn't go over so well. Why I'm not sure but we took it back and got Similac.

Coincidentally, I just received 2 cans of Enfamil in the mail yesterday, I haven't even opened the box. I think I also have another sample can kicking around somewhere..if you're interested I'd be more than happy to send them to you...just pm me.

Claudia

[RunnerKim]

Lisa,
We use BRU's house brand because it's so much cheaper. (Both CostCo and BRU within 2 miles of our house so we could go with either; BRU was a smidgen cheaper than Kirkland). When Lainey was born DH had been laid off for awhile and money was really tight. Everyone we talked with (pediatricians, lactation consultants, Ellyn Satter of Child of mine - okay what she wrote, no personal conversation) swore up and down there was no advantage to using a brand name. Lainey did just fine with it and I couldn't justify the extra $10/can! for Jamie just because there's that niggling thing in my head saying I should be using a brand name. Both kids did fine with different brands (i.e., we used the free sample cans too).

Kim

[jillm]

Dana, we're set to travel next month to see my in-laws in FL with DS is 3 months old. I'll be reading to see how your trip goes.

I did insist that we purchase a seat for Jake. While you are permitted to hold the baby on your lap until they are 2, I have done a little reading on the issue and concluded that it's safer if he's in his carseat (the snugride without the base) strapped into his own seat. I can completely understand why most people choose not to spend the money for a seat, but this is just the conclusion I arrived at when looking at this issue. I don't know that it would really be worth it to you to use your miles to upgrade and it actually might be easier for you to sit in coach where the seats are 3 across so both you and your DH are sitting right next to the baby.

[lisas3575]

Claudia, I tried to PM you but your box is full.Time to clean it out, Ms. Popular! :p

That is so sweet of you to offer to send me your Enfamil cans-- the shipping would be killer though! I bet shipping would be more than buying the stuff here. Just a thought-- could you donate them to a food bank or teen mom/women's shelter?

Thanks again. :)

[buffygirl]

Lisa, don't those first smiles come *just* in time? :p Those were the best and made it all worth while. I'm glad the book is working welll for you. Our lives really changed for the positive once I figured out Rex's sleepy cues. :)

We still haven't travelled with Rex. We planned to, but then DH changed jobs and we just haven't thought about it. We have planned a trip with just DH, me and another couple, no babies. :) We have to nail down the exact timing, but pretty soon...

Rex got sent home from school today with the tummy bug. :( I guess he caught it from me. He's had loose stool a couple of times, but no vomitting yet. I'm praying he doesn't vomit, that seems like it would be really scary. It seems like someone (mainly me!) in our house has been sick for ages! It is so frustrating!

Kim

[gertdog]

Aw, Owen is so cute! I can't believe that sweet little baby is the one who's been keeping you up at night... ;)

The hospital gave Ryan Similac in the NICU, so we've just kept him on it. Our pediatrician said the same as Kim's- brand name doesn't matter, that we could switch to something different or cheaper if we preferred. I also remember reading in Baby Bargains that all infant formula is tightly regulated by the FDA and there is very little variation in content between brands. In the end we stuck with the Similac b/c he was doing well on it and we didn't want to risk any unnecessary fussing.

We bought a case from Amazon recently- free shipping and $130 for 154 ounces. Unfortunately two of the six cans were dented, badly, which makes me nervous, and I returned them. So we've been buying cases at BRU for a few dollars more. So- the Kirkland brand at Costco is quite the bargain, I think!

[MinEaston]

While we are on the topic of formula, I have the following in my cabinet (with spring 2006 "expiration" dates), which I am willing to ship via UPS ground to any new mom who is interested:

2 quart bottles of Similar Advance w/iron
2 quart bottles of Similar Isomil Advance (soy)
1 can of Similac Advance powder
1 package of 1-serving packets of powder (there are 6)

Stephanie, the last item might be useful for your plane trip? Each packet makes 4 ounces...

PM me if you're interested. I could probably take these to the local social services department, but am willing to ship to one of you guys instead.

[TerriS]

I'm probably going to repeat a lot of what everyone said about traveling but here goes...we traveled with Caroline at 3, 4, and 5 months. About to do it again at 7 and 9 months.

Do we need to get him his own seat? When traveling with DH, we have not gotten her her own seat. When I traveled just me and C, I got her a seat. But I found I held her most of the time. We have a cross country flight coming up and got her a seat for that. It is also nice to have the extra seat just to be able to put the baby down for a second.
Is it possible to change diapers in the bathrooms - I know they have changing tables but how is it even possible? TOTALLY. There are folding-down changing tables in the bathrooms. It's even possible to do it all by yourself AND possible to use the facilities yourself as long as you are wearing pants with an elastic waistband. ;)
Do rental car componies rent car seats that accomodate infants? Never tried. Always brought our own. The whole infant seat/snap and go system is GREAT for traveling. Hint: check the instructions for your seat, but you probably don't need to bring the base. The infant seats are designed to be used with or without the base. You can just run the seatbelt through the slats on the seat. Again, check your instructions.
What did you do for sleeping? I don't want to have to take the pack n play. I've asked DH to ask his family if they know anyone who has a crb or pnp we could borrow. We've always stayed in hotels where PnPs were provided. When we visit my folks next month my mom is borrowing stuff.
Anyone ever breastfeed on a plane? Yup! I recommend a hooter hider. On one trip, I wore a pashmina which was GREAT, I could just drap it over C accordingly. Tip: nurse as much as you can on the flight, and nurse during takeoff and landing. The sucking/swallowing helps baby clear his/her ears and avoid that whole ear pressure thing. Nobody ever minded. Most people can't even see you. And honestly if anyone ever gave me crap, I would have asked them if they preferred a screaming baby.
If we travel first class (we use miles) will the other first class passengers hate us? Yes. I would actually recommend sitting in the back so you are closer to the bathrooms. If you need to get up and stand with baby, you're closer to that back open area where you can stand for awhile if you need to.


In other news, C is feeling much better! Thank goodness.

[lisas3575]

I haven't whined over here in a while... I feel a little out of place on this thread since I'm so far behind most all of you (time-wise and skill-wise, lol). MST, are you still around? Care to chime in? Maybe we should start a really new new-moms thread. ;)

I get *so* frustrated -- I'm not sure I'll ever get to the point where I can read his cries and other signs. :(

We're finally doing pretty good on the nighttime sleeping (sorry Anita :( )-- Owen goes to bed around 7-ish (not super consistent because he's still not eating on any regular schedule) and is up every 4.5 hours or so at night to eat 4-5 oz. I encourage him to sleep at night for 12 hours or so, and it's been going pretty well, though that last hour or 90 minutes is up and down.

Then on to naps. We're having some success with the E.A.S.Y. routine from The Baby Whisperer, so I'll give him something to eat, dress him for the day, and engage him in activity (as much as possible for a two month old) until he starts yawning, usually after he's been awake for an hour or so. As I get him swaddled up for a nap he gets increasingly yawny and crabby, so off to the crib-- up and down and up and down for 15 minutes or so (pacifier is a must and when it falls out he wakes up :rolleyes: ), and then sleeps for about 30 minutes. Immediately he goes from asleep to crying, still obviously tired-- eyes closed, whiny, lower lip sticking out a mile, sometimes a full-on tantrum. If I rock him he settles down after 10 minutes, and falls asleep, so back to the crib where he wakes up about 5 minutes later to start the whole cycle again. It's driving me nuts! I try to burp him, wondering if it's gas pains, but no dice.

It would be one thing if he was awake and not wanting to nap, but he's so obviously tired but can't seem to stay asleep or self-soothe during naps like he can at night. I wish I knew how to help him sleep better. I guess it will just come in small steps, like the night sleeping did.

If my mental health can take it, I'd like to try weaning him from the pacifier when he naps this week and see if that helps. He doesn't seem to need it as much at night... I'm also trying leaving his arms out of the swaddle and see if that helps. I continually feel like I'm trying random things with no real rhyme nor reason, just stabbing in the dark. I seriously thought I'd be uber-confident by 8 weeks, and I'm starting to think I'll never get there, that it's a fallicy.

Anyway, thanks for letting me whine about it. I was glad DH was here this afternoon-- I had insomnia last night on top of missing sleep for feedings, and just about lost it when Owen kept screaming instead of going back to sleep. Dude, if you're tired, then SLEEP for the love of God!!!

[LaraW]

Lisa, what you are describing sounds a lot like Natalie when she was Owen's age. I can remember so many times just wanting to jump out the window because I could not get her to nap.

If its any consolation, it seems like at around 3-4 months old, her naps just sort of clicked, and it was fairly smooth from that point forward. I think if you continue to do what you're doing: predictable routine, comfortable and safe place to sleep, expectation to sleep that Owen will eventually get the idea.

One other thing that I did that really seemed to help was to sort of chart the time that she spent sleeping, crying, etc. It really helped me to see that she was getting more sleep that it seemed like, and it helped me to see some patterns in what she was doing, and helped me to figure out what her signs were so that I could read them. It also made me feel like I was doing *something* to help/move in the right direction because nothing I was doing with her was seeming to make a difference.

I should more formally introduce myself to this thread...Colin Robert was born January 17. We've been settling in at home, and my first day with both kids by myself is tomorrow. We even have an outing to the library planned. I'm more than a little nervous about it.

Colin has been a pretty sleepy baby, and so while I've been getting a good amount of sleep at night, feeding him has been challenging because I have to wake him up and he often falls asleep while nursing, so I'm constantly trying to keep him awake. I was telling DH today that I'm estimating that I am spending 8+ hours per day feeding this kid, because it just takes so long.

[lisas3575]

Lara, enjoy the library tomorrow! I know you'll do great. Especially if Colin is still sleeping all the time. I always feel better the days I get out with Owen, but it's still nervewracking.

I've been fighting the suggestions (in books) to chart his sleeping/crying/eating/diapers etc. It seems to fly in the face of my goal of lightening up and being less obessive about everything. I also can't figure out when I'd have time to write all that down. :o I should probably just do it for a week and see if it helps.

[kimszy]

LaraW, I have a Colin Robert also. He is four.

[jillm]

oh, Lisa -- whine away...I was going to do a similar post today myself. Jacob is just over 8 weeks and it sounds like we are in about the same place on naps -- you may even be doing better than us :rolleyes: Jacob absolutely will not sleep in the crib during the day (and that's in the snugglenest in the crib, without that, forget it...) for more than 30 minutes. But it's the same thing, he clearly needs way more sleep than that and, basically, the only reasonably sure fire way to get him the sleep is to let him sleep on me, so I spend many hours a day serving as a human mattress. I just try to have the phone and the remote in arms reach...We've been trying the follow the concepts in HSHHC, basically no more than 2 hours of awake time and watching for sleepy cues and it has helped reduce his fussiness. I think that fussiness IS his sleepy cue and at that point I try to get him down, but it is a major effort. Even to get him to sleep on me or while I'm holding him sometimes takes serious work, rocking, using the pacifier (which he often can't keep in and I will literally hold it in his mouth). It's frustrating, because often his naps are artificially cut short because I have to get up to go to the bathroom or something. He could be asleep on me for 1.5 hours and I'll put him down in the crib and he's up in 5 minutes. Some days I realize I've spent 10 out of 12 hours holding him. I use the bjorn a little, but he doesn't love it and it doesn't work for more than an hour and I wasn't happy with our swing (his head wasn't well supported) but I've just bought a new one that we need to assemble and I'm hoping that will work. He also does great if I take him out in the car and then in the stroller -- we go to the mall a lot of afternoons.

At this point, I'm just focusing on getting him sleep, rather than the crib. I am just a little worried because I don't know how we are going to make the transition to him napping in his crib. I hope it will happen naturally.

You should feel pretty good about your nightime sleep. The earliest we have been able to get Jake to go down "for the night" is 8:30, usually closer to 9. We were seeing some sleep stretches of 4-5 hours, but the last few nights he is waking up crying every hour or so and needing to be fed twice through the night. The only way we can get him to stay asleep after about 4:30 a.m. is for my husband to hold him -- he won't stay asleep in the snugglenest.

[Luv to Cook]

I hear ya ladies! ((((Jill and Lisa))) Sahana is 10 weeks old and we are still having sleep issues. If it makes you feel any better, I have a friend who has a 13 week old who is going thru the same thing. My problem is that Sahana will sleep in the crib during the day, but not at nite. Which is probably a good thing, since I have a toddler to tend to during the day. I do spend a good amount of time holding her at nite, though. I still feed her twice at night as well. She has done a 6 hour stretch when she was much younger...go figure...now she is 4-5 hours. I will try and get her down to once a night by 4 months and hopefully end the night feedings by 6 months. I nursed my first DD once a night until 9 months!!!! Anyhow, I think you are both on the right track...focusing on getting them well-rested. That is what we are trying to do. I will worry about where she sleeps when she is a little older. I try and get her used to the crib as much as possible right now. When she is four months old we will see where we stand. Just remember that they are still so little...8 weeks, 10 weeks...we are talking WEEKS here. Things will start working themselves out soon.

She also has a cold...darn mall play area. I have been suctioning her nose and getting all sorts of gunk out...poor kid. I hate doing it.

Jill, I hear ya on the human mattress...I can barely scratch my nose without waking Sahana. Uggghhh, how do they know?!?!?!

Lisa, I promise things will get better...this is my second and I thought that we would be smooth sailing by now. Little did I know that I would be blessed with another very colicky child. Things did not get better with my first DD until I really set up a routine for her and had her start falling asleep on her own at nite, but that wasn't until almost 5 months! So I am giving myself until then. I wouldn't mind a really, really new moms thread either!

Congrats Lara! Welcome Colin!

[RebeccaT]

I totally hear all of you really new moms. Like Lara, what you, Lisa, and you, Jill described is almost exactly what Julia was doing at 8-9 weeks. I remember going to visit my dad at that time, and talking to my aunt lamenting the fact that "Julia should be napping more, she's so tired but won't sleep!" Also like Lara, things just started to click with naps around 3.5-4 months, and have been smooth since then (obviously we have had to make adjustments here and there, but they haven't been hard to implement). You are doing the right thing by trying to introduce consistency and predictability at this point; eventually they will get it!
((((newest mommies))))

(I hope you all stick around. I have finally been doing this long enough that I feel like I have something to offer, or at least that I can comiserate, and I love hearing how you're doing. Soon you'll be there, too!)

[Megan James]

As a really new mom myself I have to say that for us the nap situation got better about 3 or 4 weeks ago, so she was maybe 11 or 12 weeks. I've mentioned before that Rebecca catching a cold helped the nap situation. You all sound like you are doing the right stuff. I was the human mattress for quite awhile and then for 2 weeks had her only sleeping in the swing. Now she naps pretty well in her crib.

Today was our first day at day care. Both DH and I dropped her off (he will normally do it but wanted some backup today) and I picked her up 4 hours later. I don't go back to work until next week but wanted a couple of practice days this week. It didn't go great but it wasn't horrid. She drank a bottle, I was a little worried b/c she much prefers to nurse though we've been doing a bottle a day since about 6 weeks. She didn't sleep hardly at all and was very tired when I picked her up. She saw me started crying, then started smiling at me, then started crying again. When I got her home she nursed for quite a long time, more sucking than eating and then conked out for 3 1/2 hours! That is totally a record long nap. I think it will get better at daycare once she gets familiar with her surrounding. It was funny when I picked her up the daycare women was talking about how she was holding this one towel and was it her security blanket. It's a random burp rag that I maybe have used once. I don't think she's ever held it before today, I guess it smells like home or something.

-Megan

[mao]

I've lurked on this thread for a while, but all the posts today about naps really made me want to chime in. Here's a little information about me:

Me: Maeve, 36
DH: Oliver, 34
DD: Ilona, 15 weeks tomorrow !
Challenges: Naps and gas


We're having the same issues with naps as you ladies describe! Ilona has never napped much--but in the past 2-3 weeks she hasn't taken more than a one hour nap in the AM and not much more in the afternoon, unless we take a walk. Then she zonks out in the stroller. Some days she goes straight through from 7 am-7 pm without closing her eyes for more than 20 minutes! I think I am getting better at recoginzing her sleepy cues but getting her to stay asleep seems to be part of the challenge. I hope it improves soon--maybe when the gas disappears.

On the positive side, she sleeps well at night, eats well and is a happy smiley baby most of the time.

Got to go get ready for her bath now, but I hope to post more now and look forward to getting to know everyone.

[gertdog]

Maeve, nice to "meet" you! My little guy will be 16 weeks tomorrow so he is close to Ilona in age.

Ilona is a beautiful name. Do you pronounce it with a long or short "o"?

We too are having nap issues. I feel like we're making progress but it's slow going. Ryan sleeps beautifully at night, but likes to take short daytime naps.

Right now I'm focusing my efforts on creating a morning nap. He just doesn't seem interested! Today for the first time I tried putting him down after his second bottle instead of before and he did sleep for almost 1 1/2 hours- I'll try it this way again tomorrow and find out if it was an effective strategy or just a fluke. DH says that Ryan "poops himself awake"- he has nice regular bowel movements, but these always happen mid-morning when he should be napping, and he wakes up with a little shriek and won't go back down once I change him.

[Megan James]

Welcome Maeve! Rebecca will be 14 weeks tomorrow so we too are close.

Stephanie your comment about Ryan "pooping himself awake" cracks me up. They are so cute when they poop!

Good luck to all on naps tomorrow!

[lisas3575]

So glad to know I'm not the only one out here struggling. Today was really frustrating-- he didn't sleep great last night and then wouldn't nap this morning again. He alternated between fussy and full-on wailing all morning with a 10 minute nap. I had an appointment this afternoon so I dropped him off with my mom and of course he slept for her (like always) for a freakin' 3 hour stretch. She woke him up to feed him because it had been 5 hours. And now that we're back home, he's wailing again. I wonder if there's something in our house that's bothering him? Allergies or something? Maybe I'll call the pediatrician tomorrow.

On a related note just to give some encouragement to anyone else struggling, I pulled out my PPD checklist and realized that I'm having almost all the symptoms. :eek: I have a call into my OB about getting some medication (I'm not BFing) so I can hopefully start having a little more fun with this screaming infant. Slightly annoyed that she didn't call back today...

[greta]

ok, this is the grass is always greener thread for me! ;) i think i would give up the naps for a sleep thru the night kid. (thank god for a husband who shares night duty).

my kid naps like a champ... put him down awake, he'll fall asleep and sleep for hours (though the length of the nap can change from time to time).

BUT, saif will be 15 weeks on friday and he's not close to sleeping thru the night...there are glimpses of hope from time to time, but just when i get my hopes up that we're starting a new trend, a night like last night happens. 1045p, 245a, 4, 5 & 6. (4am i put the nuk in, 5am nuk and held him, 6am finally got up!). the night before was good for us--didn't wake up until 345 (and last ate at 8pm). eeeegggaaads.

oh, i remember now that i wanted to tell you what happened with us just in case anyone else ever experiences this. i weaned saif off of bfing when i went back to work (10 weeks) we put him on enfamil. he transitioned nicely to the bottle. well, a couple of weeks ago he started fighting us when it was time to eat. this went on until a few days ago, when, after talking to my pediatrician we decided to change to nestle good start (she recommended it). well, sure enough, he didn't like the TASTE of enfamil! this kid already has discriminating tastes.

now that saif is eating better during the day, i'm hoping for progress at night.

my nap deprived friends, i feel for you, i really do! laith wasn't a good napper until about 6 mos old.

(((lisa))) i hope the meds help...keep us posted.

welcome maeve! our babies are only days apart.

[lisas3575]

Greta, that is so strange about the formula. How many weeks was Saif on it before he started not eating well? Why did your ped recommend the Nestle?

We'll have times when Owen is crabby eating, and will come off the bottle to cry-- last night was one of those nights. It doesn't seem to be all the time though, and I'm chalking it up to gas. He's not a great burper. It takes a long time to get him to burp and during the night he'll often fall back asleep while I'm trying to get that bubble out, only to puke right after I lay him down. :rolleyes:

[DanaSD]

thanks for all the travel advice. We are going to go in March. Still not sure about coach or first class. Because DH travels so much we both have status and tons of miles so we always fly first class and even if we book coach he will most likely get upgraded (I'm not flying with baby in the back whiles he's up front). I think we'll be able to borrow a crib. DH had suggested the floor like someone said here but to me that just doesn't seem right even though it should work just fine.

we're having nap issues too!!! some days are fine and other days he won't nap and I really really really wanted a nap today. Finally got him down at 3:30 so I also got a nap (and its 6:30 and he's still down but waking up). He was tired all morning and kept falling asleep in my arms but would wake up 5-10 minutes after I put him down in the crib or basinet. He was basically up from 8 this morning to 3:30 with a few mini naps. And he was eating about once an hour this morning - I don't think I'm misreading him because he'll eat for awhile so its not just passifying but some days he eats so often. It seems like this kid goes through a growth spurt every few days.

When do the post partum hormones go away? They've been really hitting me and I've had enough. I end up crying a lot and feeling down (really wanting a break and feeling guilty about it). DH has been great but for the next 3 days I'm on my own since he's traveling so its hard. I do feel better when we get out of the house or I accomplish things like cooking dinner ('normal' tasks) so I'm going to try to get out of the house every day this week.

[DanaSD]

So glad to know I'm not the only one out here struggling. Today was really frustrating-- he didn't sleep great last night and then wouldn't nap this morning again. He alternated between fussy and full-on wailing all morning with a 10 minute nap. I had an appointment this afternoon so I dropped him off with my mom and of course he slept for her (like always) for a freakin' 3 hour stretch. She woke him up to feed him because it had been 5 hours. And now that we're back home, he's wailing again. I wonder if there's something in our house that's bothering him? Allergies or something? Maybe I'll call the pediatrician tomorrow.

On a related note just to give some encouragement to anyone else struggling, I pulled out my PPD checklist and realized that I'm having almost all the symptoms. :eek: I have a call into my OB about getting some medication (I'm not BFing) so I can hopefully start having a little more fun with this screaming infant. Slightly annoyed that she didn't call back today...

I've heard that babies can sense when you're dealing with PPD and will be fussy because of it (just what you need when you're dealing with PPD).

another PPD sufferer here...

[mst]

Welcome Maeve. I am also interested to hear how you pronounce Ilona, as I have a daughter named Ilyssa. also- how do you pronounce your name?

Lisa- I'm still reading every day, but I have so much to say, that I never have the time to write. Does that make sense?

Ilyssa is waking up again during the night. Too bad, I loved sleeping through the night, but am trying to enjoy the special "mommy-ilyssa" time. A poster a long time ago had said that she enjoyed those late nights because there is such a small window when your child wants you/needs you like that. So, I am trying to enjoy it, although sometimes I am quite tired and not enjoying it so much! :p

So- I am not going back to work. Long story, not worth telling. I am glad, because in my deepest heart, I did not want to go back. I love being at home with Ilyssa, although money issues might make me a little crazy. I am already getting quite stingy.

I tried to take everyone's advice about meeting other moms. The other day I was breastfeeding at BRU with this very nice woman, who had some of the same issues I do - namely, being afraid to leave the house because of the breastfeeding issues. I wanted to ask for her number, but felt like a dork being like, "I breastfed next to you, want to be my friend?" (Now, since you guys don't know me in person, I will explain that my comment was sarcastic-dorky, and I would not really say that to someone. But, truthfully, that is the underlying message...) I found a place that I can go to the movies and bfd- which will be great for getting out of the house, but bad for cheapie me. I e-mailed a mom's group, and a friend just e-mailed me about another mom's group. I know that I need to be more outgoing. We saw friends this weekend that we met through me calling them after meeting them at this dinner, and just biting the bullet and callng them, even though I felt like a loser calling for a first date. I was looking at her engagement annoucement and said, "oh- I did not know you went to college there!" She said, "oh, I think we talked about that when you called to ask us out on a date." I cracked up, because that was what it felt like. I told her the story about BRU, and she encouraged me to try to be more outgoing because she really appreciated when I did it with them, and now we are great friends with them.

DH generally travels a lot, and this is his first time traveling since Ilyssa was born. It is going fine, but I miss him. Nice to be able to play on the computer though- he works at home, so it is often hard for me to get on.

To the PPD women- I always thought I would have PPD. I am sending you guys big hugs because I can't imagine having to go through that, and deal with a newborn. Tough stuff. You are not alone, and it will get better. I know it does not feel like that, though.

As for the napping- in general, Ilyssa does not nap. But, she often sleeps 7 hours at night. I guess it is a trade-off. She wants to sleep during the day, but cries instead.

Megan- that burp cloth story is funny. Good for you with bringing Rebecca to daycare. I bet it will go better and better as they know her better, and she knows them better.

[greta]

lisa,
i'm not sure why my ped recommended nestle, but i do find that it's not as strong smelling as enfamil...perhaps it has a milder taste (i'm not daring enough to do a taste test).

our problem with saif was getting him to take the bottle at the beginning of the feeding session. once we FINALLY got him to stay on the bottle, he would drink it and wasn't at all uncomfortable. we couldn't (and still can't) stop him midway to burp him. we just let him drink away until he's done. he's a funny eating boy.

the way you describe owen coming off the bottle, i'd assume it's gas too. don't you wish they could tell us what's wrong!?!?!

after my post last night, i thought about saif's nighttime sleeping. he went down at 630pm last night and woke at 12am and 4am (both times he ate almost 8oz). and then woke for the morning at 630am. so, i guess for a 15 week old, that's really not that bad--right? i should stop complaining about my little angel :D . he's really such a good natured boy--melts my heart.

(((dana))))