September New Moms

[maryellenmd]

Happy September! I didn't see a September thread so I thought I would get the discussion started. :)

Let me know if there are any additions or edits for our list.

Gertdog (Stephanie); DS: Ryan born 10/xx/05
Megan James (Megan); DD: Rebecca born 10/25/05
Lisas3575 (Lisa); DS: Owen born 12/05/05
DanaSD (Dana); DS: Brendan born 12/29/05
Mst (Meredith); DD: Ilyssa born 12/xx/05
Ggs830 (Gouri); DD: Shaelyn born 12/30/05
LaraW (Lara); DS: Colin born 01/17/06
JanetJ (Janet); DD: Maya born 02/16/06
magdon; DS: Dashiell, born 02/27/06
Andrea_2 (Andrea); DD: Emily born 03/09/06
Hrk (Heather); DS: Ari born 03/10/06
Abby (Abby); DS: Fletcher born 03/27/06
KathyF (Kathy); DD: Joanna born 04/xx/06
KathrynY (Kathryn); DS: Henry born 04/10/06
Kelliek (Kellie); DS: Charlie born 04/13/06
Molli526 (Molli); DS: Harrison born 04/26/06
IndianChef; DS: Ronit born 05/06/06
Lbd (Lorien); DS: Ben born 05/24/06
SooCookie (Michelle); DD: Kayla born 05/31/06
Bawstinn (Maria); DD: Madeleine born 06/04/06
Sarah428 (Sarah); DS: Owen born 06/05/06
Jessica (Jessica); DS: Adam born 06/07/06
NewMrsG (Jori); DD: Macy born 06/18/06
Maryellenmd (Mary Ellen); DS: Christian born 06/23/06
Tlee4 (Terri); DS: Joseph born 06/xx/06
Silverrr; DS: Born 06/xx/06
ChristyMarie; DS: Joshua born 07/27/06
fci5767 (Beth); DD
FoodLady (Robin); DS: Ben born 07/28/06
GranolaGirl; DS: Luke born 08/x/06

[maryellenmd]

Hi everyone,

Things are going pretty well here. Christian is 10 weeks as of Friday. Wow!

We have fully changed over his formula to Good Start, and what a huge difference that has made with the gas and constipation! It has really improved things for the little guy. He's now drinking about 5 oz a feeding!

Sleep is going okay too, for the most part - averaging anywhere from 5-7 hours. We like those 7 hour stretches the best of course. :)

I will return to work in a week and a half so we are starting to get ready for the beginning of day care and schedule changes ... and DH goes out of town on a business trip in the next week so I am on my own with Christian for a couple of nights. Pretty scary thought!

Here's a picture of him doing tummy time on his mat this morning:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3280/380/320/DSCN0559.jpg

His neck muscles are getting so strong. Do any of you have a bumbo chair? We tried it out this morning with him, and he was able to sit up in it really well. He looked so comfy, like a little old man in a recliner. So cute.

Hope all of the new moms and babies are doing well.

Mary Ellen

[Bawstinn]

Good morning!

Madeleine is 3 months old today. Can't believe how time flies. I have an appointment tomorrow to get her pictures taken but I'm not sure what to dress her in.

We've had a couple of bad nights. She is getting up a lot more. Sigh. At least it is on the weekend when I don't have to go to work.

I spent the morning washing a bunch of her clothes. She cannot fit into any 3 month outfits anymore ... no matter how hard I try! :p She has a few outfits that are summer-like that are 6 months, so she should be OK. She has a ton of Fall clothes that are 6 months and quite a few that are 9 months. Hoping to make it through Christmas with what we have.

She still isn't fond of tummy time but she really does well holding up her head. She is also trying to roll over - back to tummy - but can't quite get there. She throws her body over to the side and winds up on her side, but can't figure out where to go from there. It is quite entertaining to watch. I think if she could figure out what to do with the arm that she is laying on, she'd be all set.

As for me, I decided to join Weight Watchers on Friday. They sent me a free registration coupon so I figured, why not? I'll admit I've had a hard time the last 2 days making sure I eat everything I am supposed to - more food than I have been eating, that's for sure. They have a program for nursing moms and stressed I wasn't supposed to lose more than a pound a week after the first 3 weeks. Hopefully that'll get me to goal by Christmas - I am hoping to be 10 pounds lower than my pre-pregnancy weight.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the long weekend. Cold and rainy here in Iowa.

Maria

[TLee4]

Just a quick note to say that Joey was born 6/2.

And he can't fit in his 3 month clothes either, or even a lot of the 3-6 month ones!

More later...

Terri

[ChristyMarie]

How did it get to be September?

Josh is down to waking up twice a night to eat. And I started having him sleep in his bouncy chair 2 nights ago - it seems to be helping with his reflux issues. He's not crazy about going from my bed to the bouncy seat but he's still right next to me and he isn't spitting up and acting like his tummy hurts during the night so I think he's staying there for now. Keeping him upright as much as possible makes for a happier baby. We're also trying the Good Start formula to see if that makes a difference.

And, he finally fits in some of his newborn clothes! Maybe soon the premie stuff will be too small. He's gotta be about 8 1/2 pounds now but he's just tiny still. Very skinny and long.

*sigh* I think I've decided to give up trying to breastfeed. Just talked with a lactation consultant again. At this point we're thinking my breast surgeon was right and I just don't have enough breast tissue. We've been trying for 6 weeks now and I'm still only producing 1/2 an ounce per DAY. :(

So....anyone want to buy a breast pump?

We bought an Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump with Backpack. I've used the electronic pump but none of the accessories - all tubing, containers, etc are still in their factory sealed bags as I used the rental one in the hospital and they gave you a whole set of tubes/containers to use. Since I bought the same brand I just used the stuff I already had instead of opening the new package.

If anyone is interested in purchasing please let me know.

Here's a link. (http://www.amedababy.com/product/6-10075-17075-0.html)

[KathrynY]

Kathryn: 39
DS: Henry, 5 months on 9/10

Maryellen, thanks for getting us started. :) Christian is such a cutie! Enjoy your last days as a SAHM - I found them to be bittersweet for sure. Glad to hear Christian is enjoying his bumbo seat - we haven't gotten around to buying one yet but they sure look fun.

Christymarie, our little guy is long and thin too. I'm sure it's nice to see Josh fitting into some clothes - you can actually see the shape of his arms and legs when he's dressed. Hugs on giving up breastfeeding - such hard work, and I know it was a difficult decision. Your little guy will be just fine of course.

Maria and Terri, LOL that your little ones are outgrowing their 3-6 month size things. Henry is just now fitting into them well at nearly 5 months! Although it's been really cool here lately so all he's been wearing are sleepers, since those are the only things we have with long arms and legs.

So today was my first day back at work in nearly 5 months. A few tears this morning strapping DS into his car seat, but I am comfortable with our daycare arrangement and thankfully DH does the morning drop-off so all went well. I was sooooo swamped at work I didn't have much time to think about how much I missed him, and was greeted with big, happy smiles when I picked him up. So sweet. :) Re: breastfeeding, I think we'll soon be down to nursing just mornings and evenings. I just don't get much when I pump (tried extra pumpings, fenugreek, etc.) and it is still taking 3-4 pumping sessions to get enough for one bottle feeding. I am sad to back off, but hope that I can keep at least one morning and one evening feeding for a while longer.

Lots of chatter now, and anything DS can get his hands on goes straight into his mouth. :) So much fun with soft toys these days, especially anything with a leg or handles. What a fun age - if only they could be this way at birth! :p

[Molli526]

Molli: 30
DS: Charles- 26 months, Harrison-4 1/2 months

Things are going well here.

We've had a few sleep issues the past couple of weeks. Harrison had a growth spurt and went from sleeping 11-12 hours to waking up once or twice a night. Hard on both of us.

Harrison has rolled over a couple of times, but he really isn't that interested. He would much rather stand. He does like pushing off hands when he is laying down to try to scoot. He really wants to be up and about like his big brother! Charles was running around like a crazy man laughing and just being silly after dinner and Henry was SO happy watching him :)

We still have some issues with the bottle too. My little man is a breast man! Harrison will only take an ounce sometimes from the bottle and wait to eat from me. We have to make sure he gets at least a bottle a day on the weekends or else Mondays are *really* bad. We've tried different bottles, and he just isn't happy. This too shall pass.

Harrison is a smiley, happy little guy though. He was laughing so hard today. I really love this age :)

[lisas3575]

What a fun age - if only they could be this way at birth! :p

You aren't kidding! :D

[TLee4]

I love hearing about what all of your babies are doing! Our sleep is pretty inconsistent. Lots of nights he'll sleep 5 hours, wake up and eat and go back to sleep for 3 more hours. Other nights he's up 2 or 3 times. I try to just roll with it. If I start thinking "I'm only going to get X hours of sleep.." I get stressed out.

Here are a couple of pictures of the big boy from our trip to Door County, WI this past weekend. My IL's have a house on Lake Michigan.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid214/pf6f448e5f6b6cea5f71e13fda5fc7534/ed1cfc0e.jpg


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid214/pa8814a5fc3470e67bb7ecb89c9e111e9/ed1cfc08.jpg

Terri

[SusanMac]

TLee -- OK, I"m not a new mom, but popped over here when I saw your name b/c I've been wondering how you're doing. Your little boy is adorable! And you look fantastic, too. I'd bet you're back to spinning already. If there is a baby jogger in your future (or even if there isn't) check in over at VRB every once in a while.

[IndianChef]

Thanks MaryEllen for getting us started this month!

Today Ronit is 4 months old!! How time flies....Ronit has been wearing 6-month clothes for a while, only because the 3-month clothes don't fit him lengthwise. He's rolling over A LOT! Seriously, I put him down and he just rolls over :D He lifts up his butt when he's on his back and pushes with his legs and wiggles and moves backwards. It's quite funny to see him do that. He loves to stand (with DH or me holding him) and look around the room and smile. We took him to the zoo yesterday and he just loved the monkeys and the fish.

I think Ronit is teething already. Do they start this early?? He's been drooling a lot and is chewing on everything he can get his hands on. If nothing else, then his hands are in his mouth.

Sleepwise, he's been getting up once every night. I hope that the doctor puts him on rice cereal soon. I've heard they sleep longer once they are on solids. I hope that's true. He gets his 4-month shots this Friday and I'm nervous for him again.

I don't have his latest picture uploaded, but I will post it soon.

MaryEllen, I wasn't able to see Christian's picture.
Terri - Your DS looks SOOOO cute! :)

[TLee4]

TLee -- OK, I"m not a new mom, but popped over here when I saw your name b/c I've been wondering how you're doing. Your little boy is adorable! And you look fantastic, too. I'd bet you're back to spinning already. If there is a baby jogger in your future (or even if there isn't) check in over at VRB every once in a while.

HA! Thanks, Susan, but I'm definitely not spinning. I am supposedly going to re-start teaching in Oct. I need to lose some serious weight between now and then!! :) I just started getting back to the gym last week. I will check in with the VRB's. Nice "talking" to you!

Terri

[Bawstinn]

YAWN. OK, we've had more than a couple of *bad* nights. I guess I really can't call them bad. She is waking up hungry, eats like crazy for 20 minutes then is out cold. I am hoping this is a growth spurt and we drop at least one of these middle of the night feedings.

We went for pictures yesterday. I was a little ticked because I told daycare I was picking her up early and could they please make sure that she ate, if it was going to be close to her next feeding. They forgot and sure enough we had a meltdown in the middle of pictures. Then we had the fight about her taking a bottle from me. It all worked out in the end.

I had to laugh. The photographer really wanted to take a naked baby picture and mentioned she had never had a baby pee while taking a picture. As soon as she said that I knew we were doomed. Sure enough, on the last picture, Madeleine decided she needed to go and there was a nice little fountain of pee shooting up and out. :eek:

IndianChef - Madeleine has been drooling a lot over the last couple of weeks and chews on her arm/fist quite a bit. I am hoping that teeth aren't coming anytime soon.

Here is a recent picture. I'm happy since we were actually able to catch somewhat of a smile. Usually she is smiling, I snap the picture and the flash causes her to open her eyes wide - she looks startled in nearly every picture!

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

I'm actually liking being on Weight Watchers. Where before actually bringing a lunch or cooking supper were hit or miss, I am now making sure that I plan and have been eating 3 meals a day!

That's about it here. I am planning on hitting the outlet mall this weekend to buy a few basic Fall pieces in my new (yet temporary!) size. The weather is definitely cooling down and it is a bit chilly in my summer skirts and sandals. I did try some of my clothes from last year and while I can get skirts up and over my hips, I can't close them. :o More incentive though, to stay on plan!

Edited to add ... I am not sure why the picture is so big!!! Didn't look that big when I uploaded to photobucket. Tried to fix it .... it's almost life-sized :confused:

[hrk]

Good morning all.
How exciting to see some pictures of the babies.

Maryellen- Enjoy your last wek of freedom from work, although I know you said you are looking forward to it. We have a bumbo cahir and Ari loves it, it really helps them work on their back muscles.

Maria- Good luck with weight watchers. I hear you about losing weight by Christmas, we are supposed to go to the Caribbean over Christmas and I would like to have lost a little more weight.

Terri- Very cute baby pictures.

Indianchef- My first son cut his first two teeth when he was four months old, so yes they can certainly start teething at that age.

Molli- Ari is the same way, he will sit and watch his big brother forever and just be so happy. And he too can roll over he just choses not too. I really think one day he is just going to get up and walk he studies his brother so much.

As for the clothes and sizing, this is sort of what we figured out with our first DS. Old Navy clothes tend to run the smallest, followed by Osh Kosh and Childrens PLace and finally the Gap and Gymboree. So usually by the time he was in one size at the Gap and he was n the next size at old navy and the cycle would begin anew.

We had a quiet 3 day weekend. Ari cut his first tooth on Saturday, very exciting. And he is definitely working on the next one, very swollen gums there. He is doing very well with sitting up and mostly prefers this to any other position. And he is doing very well on oatmeal, so we have moved on to bananas in the morning also. He actually seems to prefer his food a little chunky, which makes for real easy banana feeding.

Ari will be six months on Sunday, boy time flies and has his six month appoinment next Friday, which means four shots. OUCH, but at least after that we are done for a while, except for the flu shot this year.

Glad to hear everyone is doing well.
Heather

[Sarah428]

Thanks for getting us starts maryellen!

Maria - I love the picture! I'm taking Owen (and Ella) for pictures next weekend and going by myself...wish me luck!

Terri - Both pictures are great but I love the look on his face in the bouncy seat! :p Owen is the same when it comes to waking up at night to eat, sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. My biggest dilemma is at 4:30am when I'm getting ready to go to the gym, I always wonder if I should wake him up or not. I haven't been lately and then this a.m. I got back at 6:30 to DH saying he's been screaming for an hour! :eek:

Molli - I can't believe Harrison is sleeping for such a stretch, gives me hope!

Kathryn - Welcome back to work! The best part about being back to work is coming home; I love it when Ella comes running to the door when I get home.

DH & I are going away this weekend without the kids. I'm sorta feeling guilty because one of the other couples is bringing their 2.5 month old. But it's their first and DH & I haven't had an entire weekend alone in over 3 years! Ella is very excited to be going to my sisters for the weekend, I just hope Owen is good for her and sleeps good.

Here's Owen at 12 weeks, such a happy little guy when he's not hungry!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6d725b3127cce8cd6dc8db40500000025108EaN2LFo2bM

[Bawstinn]

Ok, I have to ask ... where else am I gonna go?

Is it true or is it an old wive's tale that your milk supply dips when you are going to get your period? Mine took a dip over the last few days (enough that it has concerned me) but I now have reason to believe I am getting my first since Madeleine was born.

I thought I heard this, but I wasn't sure if it was fact or not.

[MinEaston]

Maria;

delurking...

I have heard that your supply can be affected by the return of your period, and that there is sometimes a change in flavor that babies can sense.

I guess I'm lucky (or there's something going on w/my system), AF has not been to visit since I got PG with Anna, who is now 18M. :eek: I am still BFing, in the morning and before bed, and sometimes when we first get home from daycare. I figure I won't worry about the lack of AF until after we stop BFing.

[Bawstinn]

Maria;

delurking...

I have heard that your supply can be affected by the return of your period, and that there is sometimes a change in flavor that babies can sense.

I guess I'm lucky (or there's something going on w/my system), AF has not been to visit since I got PG with Anna, who is now 18M. :eek: I am still BFing, in the morning and before bed, and sometimes when we first get home from daycare. I figure I won't worry about the lack of AF until after we stop BFing.

Thanks. I have 2 friends (and Dave's mom) that never got it as long as they were still breast feeding. My Dr told me it could go either way. I was fooled a few weeks ago - thinking it was coming - but I think this time it's for real. :( I was hoping to be one of the *lucky* ones.

[hrk]

Maria-
At least in my experience, it is not an old wives tale. With both DS#1 and #2, my supply decreased for about 4-5 days before my period showed up. But not too owrry, it went right back up after it started. HTH.
Heather

[TLee4]

Thanks for the compliments. We think he is pretty cute. :D

Owen and Madeleine are cuties too.

Sarah, you are so lucky that Owen sometimes sleeps all night. Joey never does that (well, one time ever). I bet your husband wasn't happy this morning, though! Have fun with your weekend away.

Heather, thanks for the sizing info. It seems like I just sorted clothes, and now I'm about to do it again since he is outgrowing everything.

Indianchief, we've been having the drooling, shove-your-fist-in-your-mouth also, although it seems less so in the past 2 weeks than it was a few weeks back.

Molly, Joey takes the bottle but my mom and MIL both say that it is clear that he is not happy about it..it is not his preferred method!

Kathryn and Christy..sorry about your BF issues. It must be frustrating. :(

Take care all,
Terri

ETA: Maria, are you exclusively BFing? (I think you are). I hope I don't see AF for a long time!!

[maryellenmd]

Terri, Maria, and Sarah - What beautiful babies! I have enjoyed seeing all of the photos.

I don't know why my original photo of Christian didn't appear so I'll try it again:
http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b6d727b3127cce98548a6d04b400000028108CbtGjFwycK

We are getting a lot more smiles here now, and it's so wonderful. He's generally a very serious looking fellow so when he smiles, it just makes my day. DH has discovered a trick that if you tickle Christian's nose, he will smile! :)

Christian is out of the 0-3 month clothing, and now into 3-6 months easily. Luckily, we have a great selection of fall outfits for him as the weather gets cooler. :)

Sarah - Enjoy your weekend with DH. Hope you have a great time and that the kids enjoy their time too!

Maria - I've done WW before and had good success with it. I am thinking of rejoining it again too so that I can get myself on some kind of plan. This past weekend I was actually able to get on the treadmill a couple of times! Your story about the photo shoot was funny! What a memory!

Kathryn - Hope that your return to work is going well!

Heather - wow, six months!! It must be fun to watch Ari try all of the new foods.

[TLee4]

Maryellen,
Christian is such a cute little serious guy! :)

Terri

[LaraW]

Ok, I have to ask ... where else am I gonna go?

Is it true or is it an old wive's tale that your milk supply dips when you are going to get your period? Mine took a dip over the last few days (enough that it has concerned me) but I now have reason to believe I am getting my first since Madeleine was born.

I thought I heard this, but I wasn't sure if it was fact or not.


Maria, when I got AF back after DD was born, I definitely noticed a dip in my supply for a few days. I got it back when DD was about 5 months old. DS is now 7 1/2 months old, and I still have not seen AF :eek: Not sure what's up with that!

[Bawstinn]

There are a lot of cuties!

Terri - yep, I 'm exclusively bfeeding which is why I am a little disappointed!

Thanks, everyone, for the inputs. I thought I was getting it last month, but that turned out not to be the case, and I didn't have a dip in supply. I think this time is for real. I went from pumping 5oz a session (x3, basically replacing what she eats at daycare) to just about 3oz. I had visions of my freezer supply rapidly dwindling.

[fci5767]

Hi everyone. I don't have time to make individual comments but wanted to say that the pictures everyone has posted are terrific. Since I'm a foster parent, I'm not allowed to post M's picture online. She's growing too. She will be five months old on Friday and has just jumped up to the 3-6 month sizes. She no longer wants to sit in her bouncy seat and prefers to be standing or upright. I'm hoping to get a Bumbo seat or Jumperoo so I can get laundry, bottles, and dishes done a little more easily. I can't even imagine having the energy to cook a meal. I need to stock up on salad stuff so that I can have a quick meal.

M has slept through the night the past two nights. I'm hoping it's because she loves her new crib (as opposed to just sleeping because she has a cold.) She took a long nap at child care today, so I'm hoping she will sleep until morning. I'm lucky though. When she does wake up, she quickly drinks a bottle and goes right back to sleep.

[jmccune]

Hi Everyone,
I would like to join in, and I've been reading post for a long time (I guess I would be considered a lurker). :eek:

Well I can relate to all of you moms and my second child is a boy (Quinn) and he was born 3/29/06 and I have a daughter (Glynis) born 2/19/04. I think that I've mellowed out a little from the first one. So far he sleeps most of the night with an occasional feeding like 3-4 o'clock in the morning.
I work full-time and am lucky that the daycare that my kids go to is right in my building and so whenver he needs to nurse I can go down and do it. It worked out for my daughter as well.
I hope to get to know all of you and hear about you and your children.

Jen

[lisas3575]

Thought I'd share this article on cloth vs. disposable diapers for anyone interested. The historical data was fascinating.

http://www.mothering.com/guest_editors/quiet_place/quiet_place.html

[Andrea_2]

Jen - Welcome!

Sarah - Where did you take your kids for pictures? I have been wanting to take mine somewhere, but can't decide where.

Maria - This is probably a stupid question, but do you cook your own food with Weight Watchers? Or is it one of those things where they supply the food? I've never looked into it before, but I feel like I need to do something. I worked out 26/31 days in August, and didn't lose a single ounce. I did previously lose all of my pregnancy weight, but I was trying on clothes yesterday and felt like I still looked pregnant. :rolleyes:

Have any of you started rice cereal with your baby lately? I don't know what is going on with Emily, but she just HATES it! I keep trying it every day, but she just screams and screams and starts choking on it. She only wants her bottle. She has her 6 month appointment on Monday, so I'll ask about it then too, but just wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Here is a picture of her from yesterday...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid214/p8bacb31afd35e493ec3ed6d6b93cb249/ed152312.jpg

[Bawstinn]

Maria - This is probably a stupid question, but do you cook your own food with Weight Watchers? Or is it one of those things where they supply the food? I've never looked into it before, but I feel like I need to do something. I worked out 26/31 days in August, and didn't lose a single ounce. I did previously lose all of my pregnancy weight, but I was trying on clothes yesterday and felt like I still looked pregnant. :rolleyes:


Yep, you cook your own food. I am one that likes to read cookbooks in bed; I could never do a prepackaged meal deal. As long as you have the nutritional information (calories, fat and fiber per serving) for a recipe or an item, you're all set. That's why I like CL - all the nutritional values are included on the recipes. I also have Mastercook, so when I make something that isn't a CL recipe, I plug it in. I feel like I had a good week and was happy when I stepped on the scale this morning. My *offical* weigh-in won't be until lunchtime though, but at least I know the scale moved!

We rolled over this morning!!!!! Back to front. She finally figured out what to do with the arm that she was laying on. I missed it though. I had her on a blanket on the carpet in our bedroom when I was getting ready. I went into our closet to grab my shoes, heard her screaming, came out and she was on her stomach (which is why she was screaming).

[Andrea_2]

Thanks, Maria. Maybe I'll try it. Where did you find the information to get started?

[SooCookie]

Hi everyone, and welcome Jen!

Maria - congratulations on the rolling over! DD hates tummy time as well and I was certain that she would roll from back to tummy first. She is doing exactly what you are describing Madeleine does with the legs. But I put her on her tummy yesterday and over she went!!! The look on her face was priceless. Her eyes got so big, wondering what he heck just happened, and then here I am clapping and praising her. Gotta wonder what was going in her little mind as all of that happened.

I am loving all of the pictures.. I will try to post one at the end. Everyone has such cuties!

I have been kind of MIA lately since starting back at work. I lasted all of two weeks before realizing I wanted to be a SAHM. The list of reasons is long and I am sure none of you are interested in hearing, but basically I couldn't justify going to a job I HATE when I was missing my DD so badly and crying all the time. Who knew ... from someone who started out so sad and depressed, now all I want to do is be around her. You were all right - it does get better :)

Other than the rolling over milestone, she is babbling alot, getting lots of smiles and giggles that just melt my heart, and she is grabbing and holding on to toys now.

Andrea - it looks like Emily is in a Jumperoo in the picture you posted? When did you start using it? I know they say wait until they can hold their head up steady, but DD has been doing that for a while now at 3.5 months. Do you think it is to early to bring it out?

And now for my attempt to post a picture... We had professional pictures taken last week and this is my favorite one.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid214/p73c7c36e38510f09f815b1df71cd625d/ed13d99e.jpg

[hrk]

SooCookie- So does that mean that you quit or are in the process of trying to. Hope it works out for the best and yes, they are so much fun at this stage.

Andrea- if DD is absolutely refusing rice cereal, I would wait a few days and try again. With DS#1 he refused cereal the first time we gave it to him, we waited a few days tried again and this time he took a little. I think it took us two weeks to get him up to a 1/4 of a cup. Are you mixing the cereal with BM or formula- that can help as well. But our ped told us never to force it, if they refused, wait a few days and try again.

Jen- Welcome. My older son is just over 3 and my younger is 6 months born 3/10/06, so close in age. You are very lucky to have your kids so close, that must be nice to go over and BF during the day.


Heather

[Bawstinn]

SooCookie - such a cutie! I can't wait to see how Madeleine's pictures came out and I know they got some smiles.

Andrea - www.weightwatchers.com I decided to go with the mothly pass because I figured I needed to have someone else weigh me so I'd stay accountable, but I wanted to use the online tracker. You can also just do the program online, I believe. I just came back from my first weigh-in. Down 5.8 pounds. It's the first week though, so the losses are typically larger. A nice start though!

[NewMrsG]

Hi all!

So welcome Jen!

The pictures are wonderful - hopefully mine will be below.

Michelle - what a roller coaster you're on! I'm glad you have a sense of what you want - are you thinking about quitting?

Christy - How are you doing with the nursing decision? I struggled with it as well, but am feeling much better about it now that it's been a few weeks.

Sarah - enjoy your weekend away!

I'm with you all on not believing how fast this is all going - Macy will be 3 months old in a little over a week. My mom is coming in for that weekend - she hasn't seen Macy since she was 2 weeks old, so she'll be amazed.

Macy rolled over for the first time - scared the heck out of herself - and she hasn't done it since.

So I'm through my first week back at work. I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I have really loved being at work and feel much happier. I think it has alot to do with the fact that I absolutely love my job, know that she's in GREAT hands at daycare, and am home on Fridays to have the extra day with her.

Kathryn - how is work going for you?

The daycare staff seem to love her - she's the only newborn there now - at least for the next couple of weeks. And we're starting to set a bit of a routine, and I'm very much a routine person, so that feels good too. Macy is a bit fussier in the evening and less interested in things like her gymini - I think she's much more stimulated during the day than she's used to, but I'm hearing that she just loves being there and seeing everyone and everything around her, getting lots of attention, etc. When we go to pick her up she's clearly having a great time.

We had her ped visit this morning - she's right on track and doing great!

Meredith (mst) and I just got off the phone a little while ago and were talking about how awful it is that we all feel so guilty all the time - for not nursing, for going away with our husbands for a weekend, for enjoying going back to work ... seems a shame, you know?

I have to jump on the picture bandwagon as well - here's Macy (a week ago)

Macy Abigail (http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6d609b3127cce8c044cfaceab00000085138AaNHLRi5ctH )

[TLee4]

Jumping in to say hi and I love the new pics!!

And Jori, I feel the same way about being back at work. I love my job, and I have a lot of flexibility here. I know Joey is in good hands with my mom and my MIL. I was sort of at loose ends on maternity leave. I think that if I had the option to be a SAHM (financially) I would adjust by hooking up with playgroups, etc. but it was challenging for me during those 3 months. I am thrilled to see Joey at the end of the day, and we all seem to be thriving. My evenings are his so I don't get anything else done (like cooking, cleaning :rolleyes: ) but I don't care right now. I'm having someone come clean on Saturday. :)

Terri

[SooCookie]

Yes, it has been a roller coaster ride for me. The first two months of her life were definitely a low point, and I certainly couldn't wait to get back to work. I saw it as my escape. But those last few weeks of my maternity leave, things really started getting better. When I was working, the house was a mess and we didn't eat dinner just about every evening. I am sure that if I had no choice but to work, I could have adjusted, but I did have the option to quit, thanks to my DH.

I have a very strong feeling that if I would have stayed at my job, they would have eliminated my position somehow. Working for an automotive supplier, if they can do without you for four months, then they don't need you. And as I said already, I hated my job. They were not very flexible at all. I am sure that if I had really loved my job, things would have been different. When I am ready to go back to work, there are always other jobs out there.

Now that I have rambled on (sorry), the reason I was asking about the jumperoo is that DD seems to be losing interest in her bouncy seat. I really would like to be able to put her in something just for a short time so I can get things done and know she is secure. Would one of those bumbo seats work???

[Andrea_2]

Michelle - So glad to hear that you are doing better! As for the Jumperoo, I would've thought Emily was still too small for it, but they put her in one at the daycare, and she really liked it. We bought one last weekend, and we're really glad we did. She absolutely loves it! She jumps around like crazy in that thing and laughs hysterically. She is really sick of her bouncy seat and gets really upset if we put her in that, so I think she likes being able to move around more and see more with this. If your daughter has good head control, I would give it a try!

[jmccune]

Thanks for all the warm welcome's I hope to get to know all you.
SooCookie-going back to work was hard especially during the end of maternity leave when you get things figured out and things are sort of running on a schedule. I actually like my job and the comfort of having the kids just downstairs to pop in whenever I want made it much easier.

When I came back to work the first time and had to drop of DD I cried the first day but it got easier and then with DS I didn't cry cause I knew that he would be in good hands.

I'm doing WW also, trying to get rid of pregnancy pounds. I guess I'm not one of the fortunate ones who loses weight while BF and was the same way the first time.

Quinn is cutting his first teeth, no wonder he's been drooling like a mad man. He is getting his 2 months earlier than his sister. I keep kidding to him that I'm going to have to cut him off once he gets his teeth since he likes to bite. I tell him that and he smiles at me and it is just so cute.

Well hope all of you ladies have a great weekend and have to say there are some very cute babies here. I'll have to show off my kids ;) .

Jen

[fci5767]

Everyone's babies are adorable. I'm not supposed to post a picture of "M" online but if you want to see her, e-mail me and I'll send you a picture. If not, no problem.

I'm hoping to find someone to pass along their unused jumperoo or bumbo seat. I'm still waiting for my first reimbursement check which better come soon. That $6.50 a day formula is really adding up but she's so worth it. I haven't come across a friend who even has a bumbo seat or jumperoo so I posted a Freecycle request. We'll see what happens. M really prefers to be upright, particularly when we are in the kitchen.

M is pretty good at rolling from back to front but hasn't started rolling the other way. She's pretty good with tummy time so it will happen sometime, I guess. She is five months old today and has been with me for almost three weeks. It seems longer than that. I will really miss her when she leaves. I haven't heard anything new about her leaving but I think they are still doing a home study for one of her relatives.

Have a great weekend.

[Molli526]

Beth-

Do you have Mom to Mom sales there? We have them here and they are great. They are usually Saturdays - 9a-1p and there are 40-60 tables of moms selling their kids stuff. You can get some really nice things for fractions of the cost. My sister lives in Charlotte, and I know she has been involved in MOMs (Mothers of Multiples) sales so I am sure there would be even something like that around you. (You don't have to be a mother of multiples to attend) Ask at churches, or even check online.

[maryellenmd]

What beautiful pictures! Such cute babies.

Welcome, Jen.

Michelle - Good luck with being a SAHM! It sounds like you have made the right decision for you and your family. Christian has a bumbo chair, and it works great to set him down in it while I am cooking dinner or cleaning up. We've also put it on the table so he can "eat dinner" with us!

Beth - I second the suggestion of the consignment sales. Our Mothers of Multiples chapter in this area has a phenomenal sale twice a year, and they have such great stuff!

DH is traveling for work so we are on our own for a few days. Wow!

What kind of diapers do you all use? We've been using Pampers Swaddlers, and I've been happy with them. DH noticed in the store the other night that Target and CVS all have their own diapers, and he's always looking for a bargain. ;) Has anyone tried the generic brands?

Enjoy the weekend!

[Molli526]

We are a Pampers family. I tried Huggies and had a leak every time that I gave them away. Not worth it to me to try another brand. I *do* use Huggies Overnights. They have more absorbancy than any regular diaper. Cost more, but well worth it.

[NewMrsG]

I forgot to mention that we also have the bumbo. I think we love it more than she does - there's just something cute and funny about her being in it! We will also set her on the table with us while eating. Sometimes she's okay with it and sometimes less so.

We've actually been using the generic diapers - so much less expensive and we've had no problems whatsoever. The only exception has been if we have a good coupon and a great sale.

I've never seen or heard of the jumperoo - will have to check it out. Anyone use those jumping things that you use in the entryways between rooms?

[Andrea_2]

What kind of diapers do you all use?

We have almost always used Target or Osco store brands, and have never ever had a problem with them. I hate when I'm at a store where only Pampers or other name brands are available, because it seems like such a waste of money to me when the other ones work so well.

[honeygirl1971]

Hi everyone--

Can I join? Lucas was born on Aug 17, so he will be 4 weeks old on Thursday. We are doing really well, although it seems like pretty much all I'm doing these days is feeding him (we are exclusively BFing) and changing him since he is a huge eater and is growing like crazy!

The pictures you all have posted are great! The babies here are soooo adorable! :)

[KathrynY]

Jen, welcome! I am envious of your daycare situation - how nice that you can see DS thoughout the day.

Honeygirl and Lucas, welcome! Glad that things are going well for you both.

Michelle, I am soooo glad to hear that things are better for you guys! Glad that you were able to leave your job since being a SAHM is what you want to do now.

Beth, you might also check to see if there are any children's consignment shops near you. MIL bought a doorway jumper recently for DS, barely used, for $8.50 at her local Once Upon A Child.

Maryellen, we got a package of Target diapers as a shower gift and they worked very well. We have been making our way through a stockpile of Pampers, which work great, but are expensive so I thought we'd give the Target brand another go.

Terri, I know what you mean about the evenings belonging to DS. I feel the same way. Quick, easy dinners and the cleaning just waits until whenever. I'd rather spend the time playing with my little guy!

Such sweet photos - so many cute babies! :D

We are doing well here. First week back at work was good - we have our mornings down to a routine now. The key is packing everything up the night before! I missed DS, but feel good about digging back into some projects so I know it was the right decision for us. I am really happy with our home day care, and feel good about leaving him there. Makes the weekends extra-special to be able to spend all day with him. :)

[lbd]

I've never seen or heard of the jumperoo - will have to check it out. Anyone use those jumping things that you use in the entryways between rooms?

I thought the thing that hung from doorways WAS the Jumperoo and am now confused. Anyone?

Does anyone use an exersaucer? We just brought one that was our niece's back last week and DS seems to enjoy it. He doesn't really have the torso strength yet (he won't be 4 mos until late Sept) so leans a bunch and sort of throws himself from front to back, but he seems fascinated by all the toys.

What I'm more excited about is that we just got a highchair this weekend. Aren't planning to try foods for some time yet but now he can sit at the table with us and also hang out in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking. Until now, he's been in the swing or bouncer during those times but really can't see what's going on and seemed to be getting quite bored. Especially in the bouncer on the kitchen floor, he's mostly just been getting a good view of my back -- whoopee! We put him in the chair this morning and he seemed quite happy, lots of grins and his silent giggle.

We are also a Pampers/Swaddlers family. Tried Huggies initially but had leaks. The Pampers work great so I haven't wanted to mess with a good thing, which is weird since I'm usually all about the store brands. I think I've always had a coupon thoughand have been getting the big box from BJs which is about 1/3 less than Target prices.

Uh-oh, sounds like someone's awake and hungry. Gotta go.

[hrk]

Lorien,
It is my understanding that the Jumperoo is the same idea as a doorway jumper, but that it is actually a self contained unit with it's own stand.
We have an exersaucer for Ari and he loves it as well. We put extra small toys on the tray so he has lots of stuff to play with.

We are a pampers cruisers family also, just figured they worked for Ari and never really tried others. If you sign up online with pampers.com you seem to get lots of coupons so that seems to help with the expense.

Kathryn- Glad to hear the first week back went well and that a routine is starting to take shape.

Honeygirl- Welcome. I remember telling my friend that I felt like a cow those early weeks of breastfeeding, but she assured me it was worth it in terms of building up supply.

Maryellen- How are you and Christian enjoying a little alone time?

Well Ari had a very exciting weekend. He turned six months yesterday and cut his second tooth. So he now has his too bottom teeth coming in. We started him on peas yesterday, which he seemed to enjoy, so he is now getting some solids three times a day. And we took him to our indoor pool for the first time. He loved floating around with DH and actually was kicking his legs alot. We put him under a few times to start getting him used to it and he actually didn't seem to mind at all. And last night he went down at 7:30 and slept all the way through til 6, so I think it wears him out like it does his big brother.

How was everyone else's weekend?
Heather

[IndianChef]

Welcome Jen and Honeygirl!

Everyone - your babies are too adorable! :) I will post a picture of Ronit soon.

Ronit loves the exersaucer at the daycare. I haven't bought one yet, but his teachers tell me that he loves it so much that sometimes he complains when they take him out of it! :)

So my baby got his 4-month shots on Friday and I have to say that he didn't cry much at all! I was more nervous than anyone else in the room. :eek: I think he was in pain on Friday night, so we gave him Tylenol and he was fine on Saturday. His doctor confirmed that his gums are swollen and he is teething. We gave Ronit Oatmeal cereal on Friday and at first he couldnt figure out why I was putting the spoon in his mouth and kept grabbing it ! :) He finally got the hang of it and actually ate about 2 TBSP of prepared cereal.

We use Pampers too. I've heard that Huggies leak and so I haven't bought them even though they are available at Costco. I usually order a big box of Pampers on Amazon.

Do any of you prepare baby food at home? I mean the mashed up veggies and fruit etc? I want to give it a try, but I wanted to see if anyone else has tried it too.

Hope everyone's week is going well.

[Sarah428]

We've always used store brand diapers w/ no problems, TG!

We also prepared all of our own baby food w/ Ella and plan to do the same w/ Owen. It's really easy once you get the hang of it. I'd take a few hours on a weekend, puree lots of food and freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen I'd put the cubes into marked freezer bags. I bought a few divide tupperware type dishes that had 3 sections. I'd put 1 cube of meat/protein, 1 cube of fruit and 1 cube of veggie in there to take to daycare. I'd make these lunches Sunday night and just grab them in the morning on the way out the door.

Ella loved CL North Woods Bean Soup and Butternut Squash w/ Apples and Pear Soup!

There's lots of info on previous new mom threads if you can get the search function to cooperate!

[lisas3575]

Sarah, did you just fish the big chunks out of the soup for Ella or did you spoon feed it?

[Sarah428]

The Butternut squash soup is pureed anyway so there was never a problem w/ chunks. With the North Wood Bean Soup I just pureed the entire thing (the recipes calls for you to puree 1/2 and then add back to the pan).

I remember both recipes were popular on the New Mom threads. Here are two threads that it was brought up in:
Thread #1 (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=53685&highlight=north+woods+soup)
Thread #2 (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=56473&highlight=north+woods+soup)
The 2nd thread references Super Baby Food and has the soup recipes.

[jmccune]

Welcome Honeygirl!
We have an exosaucer from our previous child and Quinn seems to like being in it but for little bits of time. He likes being held the most, which is not good when we are trying to get dinner on the table. I'm not sure when to put him in the JumperRoo, his legs are quite strong and he likes to kick madly in the tub and when he's laying on the ground so it might not be too long.

We are a huggies family. I like them cause they are at Costco and can get them relatively cheap. Haven't had a problem with leaking but when he lays on his stomach and has a BM is seems to blow up the back. I used the Pampers Swaddlers when he was a couple weeks old and liked those a lot and I also like the 7th Generation diapers too but those are really expensive.

We made our own baby food when DD was a baby since she didn't like the jar baby food and we did that for a little bit and switched to table food and she liked that. I think that is what we will probably do with DS.

Jen

[fci5767]

We picked up our new jumperoo this afternoon and I put it together. She seems to really like being upright and being able to move while keeping her feet on the ground. A jumperoo is like the jumpers that attach to a door frame but it's got it's own frame. The base is a lot like a swing. I didn't put any batteries in it so it didn't light up or play music. I might not add the batteries. What she doesn't know won't hurt her :D.

We have switched formulas again. She's been on so many but we just found out that WIC won't pay for Similac, just Enfamil, unless we get a prescription from the doctor. The doctor suggested trying the Enfamil so we used it over the weekend. She's seemed a little fussier but I'm not sure if it's a reaction to the new formula or not. Apparently she had a lot of trouble with gas and constipation before she came to live with me. She did really well with the Parent's Choice (Walmart brand) and the Similac. I'll have the doctor fax me a prescription if this continues. I do hate the amount of waste we are generating since she uses a little more than one can of liquid formula a day. I wish we weren't contributing so much to our town's recycling program.

I tried Harris Teeter's brand of diapers over the weekend but they leaked horribly. Luckily, they have a wonderful return policy for their store brands. I got my money refunded plus I got a free package of Pampers.

I feel a nap coming on. I'd better take advantage of the quiet. BTW, I will e-mail those of you who wanted baby pics, tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

[granolagirl]

Diapers , we use target brand, since they are so much cheaper.

We had one good day of napping yesterday, but of course he hardly slept last night and is now exhausted today and won't sleep. I'm going crazy. No sleep, on top of him not getting the hang of nursing until my supply was very small makes me just want to cry. I get next to nothing when I pump even with fenugreek, oatmeal, etc. Please tell me it gets better. I feel like such a horrible mom and feel like I'm going to miss out on all of his newborn days because I'm so exhausted and frustrated. :( Sorry to just post here to complain.

[TLee4]

Granola Girl,
It DOES get better!! I promise. Just hang in there and try to take good care of yourself in the meantime. I am only 2 months ahead of you here, and it has already been better for a long time, so it is coming! Soon you will have sleep, and smiles!!!

Terri

[IndianChef]

Thanks Sarah428 for the links.

(( granolagirl)) - No one tells you how hard breastfeeding is till you and your baby get the hang of it. It can be very frustrating. I nursed Ronit only for about 4 weeks till the doctor put him on soy formula (he has acid reflux), but I remember how tough it was. I didn't have a very good supply to begin with, but I would pump every 2-3 hrs just to keep the supply somewhat steady. Can you talk to your doctor about increasing the milk supply? Things will get easier.

Like I mentioned before, Ronit has started teething - biting on everything, myfinger, his toys, his bib and the nipple of his bottle. The doctor suggested putting Orajel on his gums but also warned us that the relief is very temporary. Has anyone tried anything else to relieve the pain?

[Sarah428]

IndianChef - You might want to try Hyland's Teething Tablets (http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php). They were suggested to me by this BB when Ella was teething and I've already stocked them in our medicine cabinet for when Owen will need them.

[maryellenmd]

Thanks for the input on the diapers. I think we will try out the Target brand. We seem to live in that store!

((Granola Girl)) - It will definitely get better! You are not a horrible mom at all. The first few weeks are so hard, and noone tells you how difficult it's going to be until you are living through it. Two months ago, I felt completely frustrated and exhausted all of the time too. I had to give up breastfeeding after only a couple of weeks due to my low supply. Pretty soon, you will have smiles, and that makes it all so worthwhile. :) I hope you can get some rest!

Well, I dropped my DS Christian off at his first day of daycare this morning!! The house feels eeriely (sp?) quiet now with just me and the dog here. Of course, I've called and checked on him already, and the home daycare provider says he was doing very well, and he was actually napping when I called! She said he was very boisterous when telling her that he wanted to eat - that's my boy! ;)

We have survived our time on our own while DH was travelling for work, and he comes home tonight. Now we will be trading off night duty as I return to work tomorrow morning! This should prove to be interesting as he is a deep sleeper and doesn't always hear Christian calling for us at night. Last night Christian slept from 8 pm - 4:30 am. Wow. Now if only I could sleep that much ... tell me I am not the only one who has become a super light sleeper since becoming a mom.

Hope all the mommies and babies are having a good week.

[honeygirl1971]

Hi all--
Granolagirl, I hear you...I have only had one 30 minute nap since Lucas was born, and with him wanting to eat every 2 hours or less around the clock, I am TIRED! I just keep telling myself this is temporary, until he gets a bit bigger. He's pretty fussy/clingy when he's awake, too, which is sort of sweet in a way b/c it makes me feel needed, but it can be pretty exhausting...I cannot imagine how all you ladies with a newborn AND another young child (or more) do it!!!

I wish we had Target here--it sounds like their diapers are great. We are using Pampers, because the store brand I tried was leaky...

I am very impressed by all the moms that made/make their own babyfood...I hadn't really given that much thought yet but it sounds great...I don't even know what sort of babyfood is available here.

For us the BFing is going well, but Lucas is pretty gassy nonetheless and he has a bad diaper rash now too, and I think this is why the poor little guy has been so fussy/clingy. I was putting Butt Paste on the rash without much success, but the child specialist at his weigh-in Monday told me to put this stuff called eosine--an antiseptic made for diaper rash--on it instead. That did not work either, and my MIL told me to alternate the eosine with the paste, but still no improvement. We have our one month checkup with the pediatrician tomorrow, though, so hopefully she will have a better solution. Maybe it's yeast--what does a yeast diaper rash look like?

[NewMrsG]

Hi all -

Congratulations Honeygirl - and welcome to you -

Granola girl - I'll just echo others' comments. You should check back a couple of months on the new moms threads and you'll see just how miserable and frustrated I was! A good friend of mine told me before Macy was born that the first 6-8 weeks were just about survival. Then it starts to get better. That and remembering my best friend's experience when her now six-year-old daughter was born and her saying "what the hell have I gotten myself into??" who is incidentally a tremendous mom who has a great relationship with her daughter) really helped me to get through those weeks. Our pediatrician said that sleep gets dramatically better when babies reach 10 lbs, and we also found that to be the case with Macy, who before that time had been a horrible sleeper (in that she never seemed to sleep much at all).

Not much else to report - I'm still trying to catch my breath at work to get caught up. My mom is flying in this weekend - she hasn't seen Macy since she was 2 weeks old and I'm really excited for her to see Macy now - and for her to see how much better of a mom I am than I was back then ...

The following weekend is the Jewish New Year and I'm really looking forward to our first new year with Macy. Even though she'll never remember any of it it's very meaningful to have her here, look back at the last year and how different our life is, to think about what's ahead, and to thank God for the treasure he's given us.

[hrk]

The following weekend is the Jewish New Year and I'm really looking forward to our first new year with Macy. Even though she'll never remember any of it it's very meaningful to have her here, look back at the last year and how different our life is, to think about what's ahead, and to thank God for the treasure he's given us.

Jori-I feel exactly like you do. I have always celebrated the holidays with my family, but it feels so much more special now that I have my boys to share it with. And it gets better every year we celebrate together.

Honeygirl- sorry to hear about the diaper rash- I know there is a homemade recipe for a triple butt paste that others have used with great success bad diaper rash- maybe post on the preshool or wobblers threads.

Maryellen- How is being back at work/ daycare going? Glad to hear Christian is sleeping better and hope that it continues. As for you, I remember the first nights of both DS's sleeping through the night, while I was up all night just waiting for them to wake up. It passes quickly I promise. :D

Granolagirl- I will just echo what everyone else has said, it will get better and it will all be worth it. And if anyone offers help accept it, even if it is only to take a shower by yourself.

Indianchef-I made all my own baby food for DS#1 and have started with DS#2. It is really simple, especially to start with when you are introducing single foods. Just cook whatever you want to feed them, put in a bowl, blend, and add water to the consistency you want. Freeze in ice cube trays and then save and label with date in ziploc bags.
We made acorn and butternut squash, peas, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, peaches, plums, and tons of other things I can't think of off the top of my head. And things like Banana we just mashed up fresh and gave to him.

Well we are doing well here. Ari has his 6 month appointment tomorrow and that means shots. But I also can't wait to see how much he has grown. He is sitting very well these days and seems to like this new point of view. If we put him on the ground, he is either pushing up on his hands or got his butt in the air, but he also scoots around pretty well so I am sure it won't be long. We have been introducing new foods. He is not a big fan of peas but seems to love everything else so far.
Hope everyone else is well.
Heather

[IndianChef]

Indianchef-I made all my own baby food for DS#1 and have started with DS#2. It is really simple, especially to start with when you are introducing single foods. Just cook whatever you want to feed them, put in a bowl, blend, and add water to the consistency you want. Freeze in ice cube trays and then save and label with date in ziploc bags.
We made acorn and butternut squash, peas, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, peaches, plums, and tons of other things I can't think of off the top of my head. And things like Banana we just mashed up fresh and gave to him.Heather
Heather - How far in advance did you make the baby food? I am supposed to start him on yellow foods at 5 months (Ronit has 3 more weeks to get there). Can I prepare some in the next week or so and freeze it? Once frozen, what's the expiry date on these prepared foods? Does it have to be used up in a week, month?

NewMrsG & Heather - I know exactly what you mean about holidays being extra special. Why just holidays, I make it a point to celebrate his birthday every month. I bake a cake, light some candles and sing "Happy Birthday" and take pictures. I know he won't remember any of it and some of our friends roll their eyes when I tell them this, but he'll have the pictures when he grows up.

We are doing well otherwise. Ronit loves rice cereal and open his mouth extra wide for it! :D I'm starting school next week and am feeling extremely guilty that he won't see Mommy 2 days a week. He is fast asleep when I leave in the morning and on the days I have class, I won't get home until 9:30- 10 PM. I just tear up thinking about that. Please tell me my son won't be less attached to me and love me less because of that. :(

[hrk]

IndianChef-
You can certainly make baby food in advance. Here is a great website where I got alot of my info from. And they are very supportive of making your own baby food:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
Once I had frozen foods, I usually made sure I used them up within 3 months, that seemed to be what most websites recommended and was also advocated by my pediatrician.

My main reason for making my own food was one, I could introduce so many more things than was available in jars. My first son loved avocado and mango especially.
Also it was very easy, all I really needed was a big bowl, a blender or immersion blender and ice cube trays.
If you have more questions please feel free to ask.
Heather

[maryellenmd]

Jori - Enjoy your visit with your mom. I love what you wrote about your baby being a treasure! Aren't they just wonderful? We've all come such a long way from our first weeks home with them. :)

IndianChef - Good luck with returning to school. What are you studying? Ronit will be even happier to see you when you are home now!!

Heather - Hope Ari's shots go well tomorrow. You'll have to fill us in on how much he has grown!

We are surviving our first week - so far so good with daycare, and I think we made the right decision with the provider! I am so thankful that the daycare is so close to my office - only about a 5 minute drive. I am really happy to be back at work; there's a lot of interesting projects going on. I've really missed chatting with my co-workers and adult conversation. Trying to catch up while part time through September. In October, I will be full time. Christian has done very well at daycare so far. One of the daycare providers said taking care of him makes her ready to have Baby #2! He has been very content and happy when I pick him up in the evening. Still not doing well with napping, but thankfully, night sleep is still good! Knock on wood.

[mst]

Indianchef- I also made my own babyfood. Once you have a small stask going, you will be surprised how very, very easy it is. When I made things, I would make like three sweet potatoes at a time, and freeze it. It would last me a long time. If you do a fruit or veggie every few days, Ronit will have lots of variety. Ilyssa also loves eating less common foods. I gave her kiwi today (as a finger food- although I am still feeding it to her), and she loved it. I love the variety available since I make my own. I do have a small stash of jars for when I am going somewhere, or when I want to feed her meat (pureeing my own meat grosses me out). I have a friend who just sticks the frozen food cube into a gerber bowl, put a spoon and the bowl in a ziploc bag, and by the time she feeds it to her child, it has thawed. Do you have the book "Super Baby Food"? It is my bible. The woman is very healthy- much more extreme than I am. She feeds her kids kelp and flaxseed oil, and things like that. I enjoy her book because she has lots of knowledge and great tips, although I don't do it to the extreme that she does.

Granola girl- Hang in there. I also had a very small milk supply. I did all sorts of medicine, teas, fenugreek, etc. The best advice I can give is to pump whenever you can (in addition to feeding your baby). I know this advice will want to make you cry, but it is the best way of increasing your supply. It made me miserable, but later on, I was glad that I did it. Feel free to PM me if you have questions, or want to vent.

[IndianChef]

Thanks mst and Heather for your advice on baby food. I will check out the website and the book. I am all the more determined to make my own baby food. :)

MaryEllen - Thanks for your kind words. I am going to school for my MBA. Ideally, I would have liked to wait for a couple more years just because of Ronit. But I started the process before he was even conceived. At that time, the doctor had pretty much said that you might not be able to your own baby and so this was my way of coping. Wierd, huh?! I got into a top 3 school and so don't want to let go of this opportunity. DH is extremely supportive and so I am very lucky. :)
Ronit also was very bad at napping during the day when he first started daycare. He was still happy at the end of the day, but his teachers would say that he would fight sleep and all he wanted to do was to look around and see what the other kids were doing. He's doing better with naps now - he naps about a total of 3 hrs daily. Christian is still probably getting used to the new environment. If he's happy and content, then it just goes to show he's having a good time there and his teachers are loving. The good thing with no daytime naps is that they sleep well at night. :)

[lbd]

Ben rolled over!! Yay! :D In the last 2 days he's gone from tummy to back 3x and from back to tummy 2x. I actually missed the first time :( -- I left him on his activity mat while I went to fill my water and when I came back he was on his back instead of his tummy. Oh well.

Safety question - one of the back to tummy times was in his crib at night. Is it safe to leave him like that or do we need to be checking all night and make sure he's staying on his back? and at what point is it safe to have blankets in the crib (I ask as the weather turns colder).

I'm so happy to see the info on making your own baby food because I definitely want to try that when we're ready. Is pureeing and freezing fruits and veg instead of or in addition to rice cereal? Isn't that supposed to be the first thing for allergy purposes? And Indianchef mentioned yellow foods - is there a prescribed order you're supposed to follow?

[Sarah428]

Yeah Ben!

Re: Foods. I started with rice cereal and then when it was time to move to jarred foods that's when I started to introduce my own. I also heard about some sort of "color system" to use when introducing foods but we didn't follow it.

[Bawstinn]

Hello!

Been kind of scarce this week - attending a training class for work. Yipee.

Our sleeping has been HORRIBLE the last week or so. Madeleine went from sleeping 6-8 hour stretches to back to getting up every 3 or so to eat. And is she ever eating. I'm one tired momma. I am guessing it is a growth spurt but one of my books said it lasts 4-5 days, this has been a week. The Dr said to hold off on rice cereal until she hits 4 months (October 4) but she just seems so hungry. Daycare said she is now taking 6 oz bottles sometimes.

Good news is that I was down another 2 pounds this week. I've now lost 40 of the 57 I gained. I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Bad news about our Chocolate Lab, Molson. Over the last 2 weeks he had started *marking* some stuff around the house. We thought it may because he was jealous of the baby. David took him to the vet yesterday to rule out a bladder infection. Turns out the poor thing has a cancerous tumor the size of a golf ball on his anal glands and it secrete some hormone that was causing the peeing. They took an X-Ray and saw that the cancer has already spread to his lungs. Sigh :( He is havng the tumor removed at the beginning of next week but we aren't sure about anything else yet. For now he appears to be feeling fine. I feel so bad - he'll be 8 at the end of the month and he is David's buddy. They go everywhere together.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I am taking the afternoon off and am going to take Madeleine someplace else to get her 3 month pictures retaken. The ones I got done last week were horrible. Not so much as in the expressions on her face, but in just about all of them she is just laying there on her side. In the one picture they propped her up in, you can see my hands. Since I had a free sitting fee, I don't feel like I wasted any money, which is how I would have felt if I had ordered any of them.

[TLee4]

Hi all! Congrats to Ben!! I'll have to tell Joey that all of his peers are rolling over! :D He rolled over (front to back) about 5 times when he was 4 weeks old and TICKED OFF to be on his tummy, but nothing since then.

Maria, that is so sad about your dog. :(

And it took us 2 tries to get the 3-month pics also, but they turned out so cute!! How much does Madeleine weigh now? My un-official weighing of Joey (holding him and me on my scale) has him at at least 19 lbs. :eek: (They are supposed to double their birth weight by 6 mos..someone told my little porker that it was THREE months!!) See what I mean?!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid215/p35203c70a8564d8df7c367c9d496868a/ecf71afb.jpg

Terri

[IndianChef]

That's so cool Sarah! Good for Ben! :)

Ronit rolls over in his crib too and I brought this up with his doctor. She said that since he's rolling over, he's less at risk for SIDS. But I still check on his once in a while. We have the baby monitor turned on in our room and whenever I hear a little more activity, I usually check up on him. There have been times that he's been stuck after he rolled over, but at those times he has always started "calling" us to come and help him. :)

Regarding color system for foods, his doctor suggested we start with yellow foods (squash, etc.), then green (vegetables first) and then fruits.

Did anyone else follow any particular order?

[Bawstinn]

Terri - so cute!! Last week I did the unofficial weighing as well and she was about 15.5.

The second set of pictures came out so much better than the first. I'm glad I went ahead and had then retaken.

Dare I say we are going back to our old sleeping habits? She slept 5 hours straight on Friday and slept 6 hours straight last night. I fed her at 7 and put her back down - she is still sleeping. I probably should be napping too, but decided to get some other stuff done. I'll save my nap for the afternoon. :D

[SooCookie]

Terri - OMG!! I cannot believe that your DS and my DD are only a few days apart! He certainly is a big boy. You are doing a great job!

Maria - I am so very sorry to hear about Molson :( It kind of puts things in perspective for me since I have been getting very frustrated with our dog lately and throwing her outside since I don't feel like dealing with her. I guess I should go give her an extra ear scratch and just be thankful we have her.

Granolagirl - I am also one of those mommies who a few months back was having a really rough time dealing with everything and will also tell you that it does get better. I think it was KathrynY that commented to just take things day by day - if you keep telling yourself that things will be better by three months, it will seem like an eternity. So if you have a bad day today, maybe tomorrow will be better (and thanks Kathryn for helping me to realize that!).

We got a bumbo seat for DD and she seems to just love it, or maybe it is just that I love putting her in it because she looks so cute in it! Thanks Mary Ellen (and others) who recommended it.

My "unofficial" weighing of DD has her at 14 pounds, and she seems to be doing really well. Our only issue is sleep, but that has always been an issue here. She actually sleeps a decent stretch, usually 8-4, but just refuses to go back to sleep after she eats. I don't want to bring her out and play with her because wouldn't that just be encouraging her not to sleep? I am hoping some of the scooter moms and wobbler moms are lurking here, but for those of you who did CIO, at what age did you do it? We have to rock her to sleep and that combined with this new pattern of waking us up at 4am really makes me want to try it, but I am not sure if it is too early.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Michelle

[LaraW]

Michelle, we are/were a CIO family. IMO, at 4 months, it is OK to let her cry. I do think if you get her up and play with her, she will think that it is an OK time to play and will continue to wake.

We started CIO at 4 months with both kids (well, it was probably a bit later with DS, but that was more b/c the first opportunity to CIO was after that). I think that with both of them, they never cried for more than maybe 10 or 15 minutes before going to sleep and it was never more than 2 or 3 days.

Good luck! CIO is not for everyone, but it worked for us, with both kids.

[Megan James]

Hi all.
I haven't posted here much, I'm mostly a scooter mom now and heading towards wobblers soon as Rebecca is 10.5 months and definately wobbling. She pulls up on everything and stands without holding on for longer and longer everyday!

CIO....I think it was about 4 months that I started it and it worked well for me. We still have to do it since Rebecca would much rather but up than asleep and still would really like to see her mom (and her mom's milk!) once or twice a night. The thing that worked best for me was setting time limits I could deal with, wearing a watch so I could say "OK I am not going in until 10:28" and taking a shower or brushing my teeting or doing dishes or something so I couldn't here her.

I have one minor vent that I think some new moms can appreciate. Yesterday I developed a plugged duct in my right breast. It is a huge lump and really hurts. I'm doing all the pressure massages and heat compresses and trying to nurse Rebecca a bit more on that side (she's probably wondering why she keeps getting nursed more the past two days....)
Hopefully it will go away soon.

Best of luck to all you new moms! I know everyone says this but they grow so fast!

-Megan

[TLee4]

So are you guys talking about CIO to initially get them to sleep at night? Or are you talking after they eat (at 4am or whatever) and don't want to go back to sleep? Just wondering.

Joey often gets up around 4. But I get up at 4:30 most mornings anyway (ugh) so it's not really an issue.

Terru

[Jessica]

Hello. Clearly, one of my challenges is finding computer time as it is mid-September and I have yet to post.

Adam is three months and we are past the point where we count his age in weeks. A parental milestone!

Breastfeeding is going so much better and I appreciate all the support I've received from this thread. My letdown finally relaxed and Adam no longer screams and cries when he eats, although I still get the nausea during most feedings. He is gaining well and up to 14 pounds already.

Most recent accomplishment: rolling. He rolled onto his side Friday and then yesterday he rolled almost onto his tummy during a nap and then cried because he got stuck and couldn't roll back. Poor kiddo.

Sleep is OK. He still is a terrible napper but we get a 4-5 hour stretch most nights and he is getting better about falling back asleep after he eats.

Weight is frustrating. I still have 10 pounds to go to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and 8-10 more to get back to where I was before the other two pregnancies. I think I eat fairly well and I am walking a lot and taking an exercise class twice a week, but maybe I need to do WW or something structured because the weight stalled a month ago and the scale has barely moved since then.

Granolagirl--The first 8-10 weeks were really, really tough. Hang in there--you will start to get some easier days and then you will get into more of a routine.

[hrk]

Good morning all.
Jessica-
So glad to hear Breastfeeding is going better and congrats to you for sticking with it. And the sleep will follow, the stretches will start to get longer as Adam gets older.

Indianchef- Wow a baby and getting your MBA, that's quite the full plate. Good for you. As for the foods, it really is very easy to make stuff for babies. And like I said before, I do it just because I can introduce so many more foods than is available in jars. However, I do keep some jars in the cupboard, for days when I know we will be out long periods or other reasons.

Maryellen- Glad to hear the first week of daycare went well and you survivied your time alone without DH. It is very empowering to survive that first trip. We will ahve to get the boys (and us of course)

lbd- Yes, most peds recommend introducing rice cereal first, because it is the least allergenic. After that my ped suggested moving onto oatmeal, then introducing fruits and veggies. As for order some people say that introducing grenn veggies followed by yellow and then fruits works best, but my first DS is a fantastic eater and he got bananas first cause they were easy to mash and we mixed them into his cereal. So I ma not how much I believe that what order you introduce influences what they eat. I think it is just important to introduce lots of different tastes and textures.

Mgan- Sorry to hear about your plugged duct. My lactation consultant told me when I had a plugged duct to have my son nurse with his chin facing the plug and massage it while he ate. I kid you not he nursed almost upside down once with DH holding him, but it did work to get the plug out.

Bawstinn- Soo sorry to hear about Molson. And I hope Madeline's sleep has gotten back to normal. Glad to hear the second set of pictures turned out well and congrats on the weight loss.

Well Ari survived his four shots at his six month appointment, but he lost a good amount of his appetite the past few days so of course he was up the last two nights at 4 in the morning to eat. But he seems to be back to normal this morning, so at least I had the weekend to deal with less sleep.
So Ari is 27 1/4 inches (85%) and 17 1/2 pounds (45%), so his growth is slowing down a little. But the doctor says he looks perfect and is still one of the most verbal babies he has ever met.
We took him to the pool again this weekend which he just seems to love. It is an indoor mini "waterpark" and they have little slides, waterfalls etc. I took him down one of the slides on my lap and he had a big smile on his face. Ah another fish like his brother. :)
We are fully into eating solids, so I have gotten all the supplies back out and am starting to freeze up a good supply. And we usually give him a few cheerios to play with after we feed him, well this morning he picked them up for the first time on his own and got a few in his mouth. Of course I was so proud and made him smile with my praise that they fell back out of his mouth. Oh well, can't blame me. :o
Hope everyone has a great week.
Heather

[Kerri]

Hello,

It might be a little early, but I think I am ready to start this thread. James was born Sept 5. He will be 2 weeks tomorrow. So, everyone has been telling me that the first 2 weeks are the hardest and here I am at that milestone, and things are still pretty hard. Now I read here that everyone is telling granolagirl that it takes 6-8-12 weeks. I thought I was doing well, but sometimes it is hard to picture that it will get better.

We are trying to breastfeed, and James is a great eater, but I just feel like I can't keep up with him. Sometimes, especially at the end of the day, I finish nursing him 20 minutes on each side, burb him, change his diaper, and before I can put him down, he is rooting around frantically for more food. We end up giving him some formula at night, and everyone tells me that this is normal, but it is really stressing me out. I have been pumping in order to help boost my supply, but today I am going to try to go pump free to see if that helps.

Sorry, I guess I just needed to whine a bit. James has been a good sleeper, but last night we had some diaper incidents that kept us up.

LaraW - what is CIO?

[Sarah428]

(((Maria)))-Sorry to hear about your dog, when is the appt this week? Hope the sleep streak continues for you!

Terri - Owen is about the same size as Joey! We don't own a scale but I'm sure he's pushing 18-19lbs. Owen isn't doing any rolling over either and really doesn't seem to be in an hurry too.

Michelle - Do you feed DD at 4am when she wakes up? Is she generally happy afterwards? I ask because that's when Owen wakes up and sometimes he doesn't go back to sleep but will "play" in his crib watching the
Ocean Wonders crib toy. We also started doing CIO at 4-5 months with DD.

Megan - Hope things are clearing up! (How did things go last week, sorry again about not being able to make it)

Jessica - Glad to hear the BF has gotten better, there is definatley a "hump" to get over and then it's usually smooth sailing!

Heather - Sounds like you do have another "fish" on your hands!

I took the kids for Ella's 3 year pic and Owens 3 month pic this weekend. When I got there was told they were 20 minutes behind but they ended up being 1 1/2 hours behind. I was furious! I'm usually pretty patient when it comes to salespeople since I've worked retail but at one point she told me "it will only be a few more minutes and Becky (the photographer) will be worth the wait". I came back with "not if my son is screaming because he was ready an hour ago right after he ate and now it's naptime!" :mad: Luckily both kids did great and the pics turned out perfect.

Owen slept from 7pm to 4am straight through last night, in fact I woke him up at 4am to BF him before going to the gym. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we might be weening from that 1am feeding!

Happy Monday Moms!
Sarah

[lbd]

So much going on this thread these days...

All your babies are getting so big! Ben was at the 25th percentile for height and weight at birth & 2 mos and according to our scale he's now slightly under that. He'll be 4 months this weekend and our scale has never put him over 13 lbs, which I got exactly once and a week later it was down to 12.5. I worry off and on because my BM supply also seems to have fallen off but his cheeks and legs are chubby and he's alert and happy so I try to listen to DH when he says everything's fine. Our 4 mos appt isn't for another 2 weeks (our primary ped comes back from maternity leave that day) so we'll see what the official word is then.

Maria - so sorry about Molson. I still remember how heartwrenching it was when my dog got sick and that was 15 years ago.

Kerri - welcome. CIO stands for Cry it out, a technique for getting baby to sleep, also known as Ferberizing. Others can be more helpful but I'm not going to say much more since (knock on wood) we've been lucky lately in getting Ben to sleep at night. We've had a fairly consistent 8:30 pm bedtime for the last 2 weeks (?) and it usually goes pretty well. He still wakes up to eat at night (usually twice but one night this weekend was just once) but goes back to sleep pretty easily once he's done.

Days are a totally different story - we're still pretty disorganized and naps are all over the place. All last week I don't think we had a single nap longer than 45 minutes and some were much shorter. And he's become a very poor waker from naps -- before his eyes are even open he makes the most tragic looking face and starts wailing. Seems like it takes forever to calm him down then he is just as happy as ever. Ah well, at least I have the flexibility to let him follow his own schedule.

Sarah (and others) - where do you go to get the photos done? I haven't done anything professionally yet and feel like I should soon but don't want to pay for bad photos or ones we could take ourselves.

[Sarah428]

Lorien - We use JCPenney and have been happy w/ the pictures but not the wait times. With that said the only reason I'm getting Owen's done there instead of taking our own is because I did it w/ Ella and started to feel guilty (i.e. "we did it for her, we have do it for him too").

[hrk]

Lorien-
Where in No. Virginia are you? I have had great success with taking both my sons to the Picture people in Tysons corner. I call and get their first appointment of the day, which is 10 am so that they aren't running behind and I ask for one of the private studios so that the kids aren't distracted by people walking by. The have cute little props they can put the babies in and the photographers there have done a great job. There is no sitting fee and if you don't like the pictures you don't pay anything.
I have tried other picture people studios in the area and some are hit or miss, but Tysons seems to be pretty consistent.
Other places I know people have gone is Target, Walmart and JC Penny's.
Heather

[IndianChef]

Ladies, I need your help....yes, again.

Ronit hates sitting in the car seat. As soon as we put him in it, he starts screaming. We have tried adjusting the belts etc. and I know that they are not tight. It's a fight even to get buckle him down in the seat sometimes. At this point, DH or I start distracting him with his toys. It works for a while, but then he starts screaming again. We don't even drive much, and the longest he's been in the car is 1 hr. The only thing I can think of is that he doesn't like being confined in the seat. I am looking for ideas from you as to what other reasons there can be for this behavior. :(

[TLee4]

Does he keep crying in the car? Joey often cries when I put him in there too, but he pipes down fairly fast once we start driving. He doesn't like slow driving or red lights :rolleyes: so he often cries during those times. Since there's nothing I can do for him, and talking to him doesn't help, I just turn up the radio. It actually seems to quiet him down most of the time, and it helps my peace of mind! :)

Terri

[granolagirl]

Thank you everyone for your support and kind words. Sometimes I feel like such a whiner!

mst, thank you, I may PM you. I tried Fenugreek, too and am now on a prescripton med. We've met with the lactation consultant and talk to her weekly and have met with a doctor specializing in breastfeeding as well. I can't complain at all about all of the help we've received in regards to breastfeeding. Everyone has told me I'm doing everything right, which is nice to hear.

[IndianChef]

Terri - Thanks for the quick reply. Sometimes he quiets down when the car starts moving. Sometimes music helps, or he looks outside or he falls asleep. Other times nothing works. He seems to get extremely restless and keeps on screaming. And it's been like this pretty much since he was a few weeks old.

[maryellenmd]

Hi all,

Terri - that picture of Joey is just too cute! I have a feeling that Christian is not far behind him in weight. Tonight I will have to hop on the scale with him.

Michelle - glad to hear that Kayla is enjoying the Bumbo. I think we enjoy it more than Christian - my sister demanded photos of him in it after seeing him sit in it! Too funny. We still rock Christian to sleep too - I don't think he would go down otherwise. I know we need to be working toward putting him down drowsy, but we aren't there yet.

Lorien - Christian has rolled over too. The first time I missed it when I was getting clothes out for him, but on Saturday DH and I saw him roll from front to back. BTW, his naps are a mess too!

Welcome, Kerri!

Heather - the waterpark sounds great. I definitely want to check it out and the baby swimming lessons there. Yes, we have to get together again.

IndianChef - good luck with the MBA program. That's awesome. Christian doesn't like the car seat too much either - unless we are moving. Sitting in traffic can be really painful with him, but I give him the pacifier in the car, and that helps to soothe him quite a bit.

Jessica and Maria - Yay on the sleep! It makes a huge difference, doesn't it?

All is well here. We went to an outdoor festival yesterday, and DS seemed to enjoy being outside in the stroller. Next weekend I made an appointment for his 3 month photos so hoping that we get some good shots.

Hope you all have a great week!

[DanaSD]

Ladies, I need your help....yes, again.

Ronit hates sitting in the car seat. As soon as we put him in it, he starts screaming. We have tried adjusting the belts etc. and I know that they are not tight. It's a fight even to get buckle him down in the seat sometimes. At this point, DH or I start distracting him with his toys. It works for a while, but then he starts screaming again. We don't even drive much, and the longest he's been in the car is 1 hr. The only thing I can think of is that he doesn't like being confined in the seat. I am looking for ideas from you as to what other reasons there can be for this behavior. :(

Brendan used to hate his carseat too. In general he was a happy baby so this was really the only time we encountered screaming so I just stopped going places when ever possible. He also hated the stroller (we were using the infant carrier in it) - he liked the stroller much better when we put him in it without the carrier. Around 4 months, Brendan outgrew his carrier and we got a Britax with a denim cover - more space and a cooler fabric (he used to get so hot in his peg - but it also could have been from all his screaming). He was much happier and also around that time he started noticing things outside. Now he's an angel in the car - he'll play with toys, look around and take naps. When Brendan was 3 1/2 months old we moved from San Diego to Phoenix and we drove - it was one of the worst days of my life. Brendan was also Breastfeeding at the time and would eat often. We also had our cat in the car who would meow when Brendan would cry. And I was crying - it was just horrible. And the 6 hour drive took closer to 8 hours. A few weeks ago we drove to Vegas, 5 hour drive, and Brendan never cried once, took his naps on schedule and was laughing and babbling the entire way. He's 8 1/2 months. so it gets better.

[lbd]

Lorien-
Where in No. Virginia are you? I have had great success with taking both my sons to the Picture people in Tysons corner.

I'm in Falls Church so Tysons is super-convenient (aside from the traffic :rolleyes: ). Thanks!

Indianchef - One thing that always seemed to help us was swinging the car seat back and forth (almost a 180 from front to back). I don't know if he liked it or if it confused him but it always quieted Ben down. Now he is generally okay about driving, although he hates red lights with a passion. When he does cry, I try singing to him but don't think he can hear me over his own cries and eventually either we arrive or he passes out from exhaustion.

[IndianChef]

DanaSD - Thanks for your reply. That trip from San Diego to Phoenix sounds like it was a true test of your patience! I think it might be time for us to shop for a new carseat. At this point, I am willing to try anything that will calm him down.

[DanaSD]

I do think the carseat helped but also part has been his age. We went with the Britax Marathon - some of the other versions have headrests that are more confining and I wanted him to feel less confined. Might as well try one since you'll need a larger seat eventually (asusming that you have an infant carrier).

One other thing that sometimes helped was music - classical or songs with female singers (he's also liked it when people sing) and I had to turn it up higher than I thought (volume at 30 for my car stereo).

[kelliek]

Finally checking in now that September is rapidly waning.

Me and DH: both 35 now!
Charlie: 5 months

Accomplishments: he just today got up on his hands and knees and got his belly off the ground too. I found him in the play pen rocking back and forth! Crawling seems to be imminent! Also, we've started rice cereal to no great reception, but we get a bit down each night. He also seems to be doing pretty well at daycare, today I found him sitting at the little table in one of the chairs (one of those big tables where the chairs are in little slots in the table).

Challenges: We thought he had an ear infection because he's been really fussy about eating the last few days. He'll eat pretty vigorously on one side, then arch his back and fight for the other. He doesn't really do any better about feeding from a bottle when he's in this mood either. The doc insists it's teething, although I'll tell you that that tooth looks like it is in the same position it has been in since July! Because he's been fighting eating so much at night, we've started some night wakings, too. And lastly, we've pretty much had illness of the week since he's started daycare full time.

Mom challenges: You ladies without projects at work, come help me out! I'm just swamped! I feel like I go from meeting to meeting to pumping, then repeat all day. I'm also struggling with leaving work at 4:30pm. I find myself at least once a week having to remind my boss that I can't stay for a 4-5pm meeting.

Welcome to the new mommies and I'll second what everyone says about it getting better after 8-12 weeks. It so does.

Bawstinn, sorry about your dog. I may have mentioned this before, but we lost our dog in February and it was really hard. I hope things go well for you. We are trying to decide when we'll be brave enough to get another dog. Since we feel like we've just gotten to managing Charlie, it is hard to imagine bringing another little being into the house.

Heather, thanks for the picture people rec (I know it wasn't directed at me). I feel guilty because we haven't taken Charlie for any professional pics. However, we've still gotten some really nice ones ourselves. Now the dilemma is that they are all digital and we never have time to print them out.

[silverrr]

Me: 30
DH: 35
DS: 14 weeks today

I haven't posted in a while. My DS doesn't allow me much time online!!

DS has reflux and we finally got a med that seems to be helping. He's been on Prevacid for almost a week and seems more comfortable and is hardly spitting up. But a few days into the Prevacid, he started refusing to eat.
But he would eat in the bouncy seat. We figured out he has a psychological association with eating in the crook of the arm and pain. It got worse and worse and he'd scream in 'pain', but now he eats in the bouncy with no screaming at all. It's so weird. We're going to keep him there for a week or two and try in the arms again, but I'm scared to do that again!! We almost went to the emergency room because he was so adamantly refusing to eat!

Sleeping-
Nights are pretty good. He started to skip his middle of the night feeding around 10 weeks (he is formula fed), but now he wakes up a couple times a night for 'comfort.' So we end up shaking the crib, giving him a paci, and shushing him. I just hope this doesn't make him reliant on that to get to sleep. We wait 5 minutes before going in. Any advice on this? How long to wait to see if he resettles? The monitor is so loud and we feel we want to do anything just to get him back to sleep so we can sleep!!

Naps...
DS is very reliant on the swing to get to sleep. I can try to get him to sleep on my own, but as soon as I put him in the crib, he wakes up and cries.
The swing makes it so easy and he sleeps long stretches there, but I fear this habit. It makes it hard to go anywhere.

DS also hates his carseat and cries in it. I figure he'll grow out of it. We have to go places sometimes!!

[Bawstinn]

Hello!

What a couple of days we have had. Madeleine seems to be back to sleeping at least 5 hours a strecth - thankfully! Unfortunately she has a fever. It is going around her daycare room - she was #6 out of 8 to get it. Got to love how there fever seems to go away and then come back. I stayed home with her yesterday, it seemed to be gone, but this morning it was back to 100. Since 100 is the daycare limit, she went with her dad for the ride to Ames, IA to bring Molson for his surgery. He'll be there 3-5 days. I am trying not to call and see how she is doing - she was sound asleep this morning in the car seat when they left.

What I find interesting about this whole fever thing is that she doesn't seem to be any different, other than sleeping a little more. When awake, she has been a pretty happy camper and her appeitie has stayed the same.

Unofficial weigh-in yesterday (had to find out her weight for the Tylenol doseage) was 16.4 pounds.

I have to second (or third) the Picture People. Madeleine's pictures really came out cute on Friday and they seem to be pretty reasonably priced and appear to have lots of specials. The only problem I had was the fact that they gave me the wrong 5x7's - there were 2 close-ups of her face in a blanket. One was really cute, the other she looked drugged cause they caught her mid-blink. They gave me the drugged version .... um, did you really think that was the preferred shot? So, my advice is to check the package (especially if you get different poses) to make sure you got what you wanted. It'll save you a trip back. :p

Need to do some decluttering the next 2 nights. Relatives start descending upon us on Thursday since Madeleine is being christened Sunday. We decided on this weekend since Dave's dad's birthday (23rd) and my birthday (25th) would coincide with the trip. Molson's birthday happens to be the 26th ... :(

Power of suggestion .... I bought a Bumbo seat as well and love it. She looks so cute sitting up in it and really loves looking around. She was getting so frustrated being in her swing or bouncy chair - couldn't really sit up straight and see all she wanted to. Dave took her with him to watch a college football game at a friends on Saturday and brought the chair. It was apparently a big hit with all the other moms that were there. They wanted to know where we got it.

She was rolling around more on Sunday. Why? We had her downstairs with us on her activity mat and she was rolling over so she could have a better view of the football game on tv. :rolleyes: She was perfectly content trying to catch the hanging toys until she caught a glimpse of the tv out of the corner of her eye. She doesn't do that upstairs, so I am guessing it is the big screen that caught her eye.

Maria

[IndianChef]

She was rolling around more on Sunday. Why? We had her downstairs with us on her activity mat and she was rolling over so she could have a better view of the football game on tv. She was perfectly content trying to catch the hanging toys until she caught a glimpse of the tv out of the corner of her eye. She doesn't do that upstairs, so I am guessing it is the big screen that caught her eye.
Ronit noticed the TV too the other day and we don't even have a big screen TV. I think it was the colors and moving images that caught his eye. I moved him so he couldn't see the TV, but he eventually moved himself to a position from where he could watch TV. At that point, I just switched off the TV! :D

So, after reading the posts yesterday about CIO, I decided to give it a try. Ronit usually sleeps on his own, but there are days when he wants to be rocked or he doesn't want to sleep. Unfortunately, I lasted only 10 mins! For the first few minutes, he was fine by himself. Then he realized no one was around and he just started screaming. I checked on him at 5 mins, but I doubt he even heard me with all that screaming. I gave up after 10 mins - couldnt take all the crying. I know I need to be strong, but I have to say it is very hard. :( How many days does it usually take to work and what's the longest you have let your baby cry?

[TLee4]

Maria, have you checked in your M's mouth (re: the fever)? Joey popped two teeth this week! No fever though, as far as I know.

Terri

[DanaSD]

So, after reading the posts yesterday about CIO, I decided to give it a try. Ronit usually sleeps on his own, but there are days when he wants to be rocked or he doesn't want to sleep. Unfortunately, I lasted only 10 mins! For the first few minutes, he was fine by himself. Then he realized no one was around and he just started screaming. I checked on him at 5 mins, but I doubt he even heard me with all that screaming. I gave up after 10 mins - couldnt take all the crying. I know I need to be strong, but I have to say it is very hard. :( How many days does it usually take to work and what's the longest you have let your baby cry?

It depends on the baby - I've read about babies who only cry for 10 minutes and others who cry for 2 hours. For some the CIO takes 2 days and others 2 weeks. And its not for all babies. There are also alternatives if its not for you - there is a method where you check on your baby every x minutes and soothe them (either by rubbing them or taking them out of the crib) and keep increasing the x time. This method takes more time to work then the straight CIO.

With Brendan we tried a different approach that worked (and it surprised me that it worked) - I think its from baby whisperer but I'm not sure - there are just so many books on sleep methods. I put him in the crib and every time he cried I took him out and would sooth him until he stopped. I'd put him back until he cried even if he started right away. It only took about 5 tries 2 nights in a row and from then on he's put himself to sleep at night. I think this worked because he was older (7 months). I was afraid it would also teach spoiling - if I cry, mom will take me out. But since it was nighttime and he wanted to sleep it worked.

A good book to read (lots on this board follow it and everyone agrees its not well organised) is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (HSHHC).

[lbd]

Okay, so a fluffernutter thread over in the food section now has me craving one, but I'm off peanuts while nursing in hopes of avoiding DS developing peanut allergies (DH's brother has them). Does anyone know how long and/or how serious the risk is? I did online research while still PG and my ingestion of peanuts seemed linked to his risk, but one of my OB's partners said there was no connection, that it's genetic and my diet is unrelated. I figured better safe than sorry but periodically get cravings. When can I eat peanuts again?

[lbd]

Maria and Indianchef - we are also dealing with fascination with the tv. Unless we turn him completely around he'll just stare mesmerized at it. I hope it's not an omen for what we can expect later on...

[DanaSD]

Okay, so a fluffernutter thread over in the food section now has me craving one, but I'm off peanuts while nursing in hopes of avoiding DS developing peanut allergies (DH's brother has them). Does anyone know how long and/or how serious the risk is? I did online research while still PG and my ingestion of peanuts seemed linked to his risk, but one of my OB's partners said there was no connection, that it's genetic and my diet is unrelated. I figured better safe than sorry but periodically get cravings. When can I eat peanuts again?

I tried to do a little research on this when I was pregnant and I don't think they know yet - they are starting to find some connections if you eat peanuts while pregant and/or nursing but it sounds like a lot of research still needs to be done. From what I've read, they say if peanut allergies run in your family, its best to avoid them (both a genetic and environmental cause).

[jmccune]

Hi Everyone,
Lots of post since I checked last.
IndianChef I'm with you on the CIO method. I think I've gotten weaker since my last child. I can't stand to hear them cry and we did it for Glynis but don't think I'm ready to do it with Quinn. I think we started around 6 months and it took a couple of days and then it worked fine.

On the tv watching, Quinn likes to look at the flashing pictures and we don't want him to start. We didn't let our DD watch tv until she was 2 and now she's gets sucked in so we limit her watching stints.

On the sleeping front he seems to sleep pretty well but lately he's been waking up a few times a night and I just nurse him and he goes back to sleep but I don't want him to get in the habit of doing that for when I move him to his own bed. Right now he's sleeping with us.

I've started him on whole grain cereal and bought some Earth's Best organic baby food and he's been doing well with that. I had great plans of making butternut squash and sweet potatoes for him and had it all made and was letting it cool off and left it out overnight and was really mad cause I spent all that time making it and then not be able to use it. SO I got some jar food until I get some time this week to make some more.

Well this is a current picture of Quinnquinn happy on exosaucer

Hope things are getting better/easier for all of you.

Jen

[maryellenmd]

Hi all,

Lesson learned this week - dress baby and self after finishing feeding and burping before you go to work! I've already gone through several work outfits before even leaving the house this week! Yikes. This morning I felt as if I had already gone through a full day, and the boy had only been awake for 30 minutes. You know how it is with those diaper changes after you just put a fresh one on! :rolleyes:

Christian has discovered tv too - I noticed a couple of nights ago that he was leaning backwards on his floor mat to see the big screen. Totally captured his attention. Have any of you started watching those Baby Einstein videos? My sister got us a set, but we haven't watched yet.

Jen - I couldn't see the picture of Quinn.

Maria - how was Molson's surgery? Our dog had surgery to have a tumor removed a couple of years ago. It's so hard to see your doggies in pain - they are like your kids too! And how is Madeline? Hope both are doing okay.

[TLee4]

Hi all,

Lesson learned this week - dress baby and self after finishing feeding and burping before you go to work! I've already gone through several work outfits before even leaving the house this week!

Me too! This morning I was all dressed (I take him to grandma's in his pj's) and was feeding him and he did a big diaper leak right on me! Ugh.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Terri

[DanaSD]

We try not to have the TV on when Brendan is in the room. When it is on, it does grab his attention but not for long. We tried a baby einstein video when he was 4 months old - he loved it for about the first 10 minutes and then lost interest. We showed it to him again at 6 months and he lasted a little longer. Then at 8 months, he watched the entire thing - he crawled right up to the TV to get a closer look. We only plan on letting him watch them every once in awhile. Because its football season, the TV is on more and it first he was fascinated but already he doesn't seem as interested.

[Bawstinn]

I'd rather get spit up on before leaving the house, then when walking her into daycare, which was pretty much the norm until I smartened up and changed the way I carried her.

Looks like the fever was gone ... yeah!!! I get to daycare and there is a notice on the door that a sibling of someone in the room has mumps ... boo!

We have the Baby Einstein DVD set and have tried twice to see if she is interested - most say 9 months an up but a few say 0 and up. Anyway, I think that there are just some times when it catches her eye. Both times we tried she was more interested in looking at what was going on outside the sliding glass door (walk out basement). I don't see the harm in letting her see it if something on the screen just catches her eye. It's not like we are plopping her down in front of it.

Terri - I keep checking for teeth but haven't seen anything yet. David got his teeth at 6 months and I was 13 months so I thought she'd be a late bloomer when it came to teeth. She certainly is drooling a ton though. A bib is now part of her everyday wardrobe.

Speaking of which, I am a bit bummed. I bought her a some 6 month outfits for the colder weather and I don't think she'll get much use out of them. They are fitting her perfectly right now. I should return the ones that still have the tags on them for 9 months.

Molson did not have his surgery yesterday, The vet determined that he is in the early stages of kidney failure and removing the tumor would not help him. He talked to David about chemo, but that would require treatments every other week and Molson would be sick for 4-5 days after. Not exactly a great life for a dog. My black lab had cancer 2 years ago, but she had mast cell tumors. As long as enough tissue was removed around the lump, she was OK. She had chemo, but that involved taking a 1/2 a pill for 3 days, every other week. Not a big deal.

So, as sad as it is, David brought him home yesterday. He is on prednisone and the vet told David Molson had 2-4 weeks. He needs to watch for 3 things: when he doesn't want a treat, when he doesn't want to go for a ride and for when he doesn't want to chase a squirrel. Vet said when he doesn't want to do his favorite things, it is time to put him to sleep. I think it is going to be hard the next couple of weeks. I am glad we will have a house full of guests this weekend to keep our minds off of it - maybe.

Off to make a shopping list. Trying to decide what to feed my guests. I am keeping it simple and I know we will be going out to eat 2 nights. I am very glad I decided to just take the family out to dinner on Sunday after the christening, rather than have something at the house. As much as I like to cook, I haven't been doing very much of it lately!

[kelliek]

Hugs to you Maria. I know how hard it is to lose a pet.

[IndianChef]

Maria - Just want to say that I really hope Molson feels better soon.

[jmccune]

Sorry to hear about the your dog.

Can someone help me post my pic. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I guess my picture size is too big. How did you guys shrink it to fit the size?

TIA,
Jen

[Bawstinn]

Thanks for the good thoughts. It is hard seeing him walking around, knowing how sick he is. Ultimately though, it isn't my decision on when he should be put to sleep. He was David's dog before we even met. Sigh.

Jen - I'm not one to help with picture size since Madeleine's picture is practically life-sized a couple of pages back. :o I did use photobucket.com, as someone had recommended and posted the link to there.

David's parents came in an hour ago and we went to daycare to pick Madeleine up. I don't think I'll see my daughter much over the next 4 days. They were already telling her they were taking her shopping once they ditched mom. "She's gotten so big in the last 6 weeks". Um, yeah, told you she was over 16 pounds now. She was just over 12 when they were here last.

David's sister arrives tomorrow morning and she has never seen Madeleine. I am picturing a mother/daughter war between the two of them on who gets to hold her, etc. If nothing else, I'll get to get some things organized and all her fall/winter clothes washed and and summer clothes put away!

[hrk]

Maria-
I hope things go great with Madeline's christening, and I say let Grandma and aunt fight it out, and enjoy a few moments to get things done. Plus it is really great for Madeline to interact with others.

With reagrds to spit up and changing, I guess when you are in it with two you have an entirely different perspective, cause not only will I get spit up on, but I will get hugged by hands full of maple syrup, grape jelly etc. Spit up is at least for the most part clear :D

Kellie- I can relate to being swamped at work and having a time deadline at the end of the day. The only advice I have is to be very upfront with people about when you leave. I always tell people the minute we start talking anytime near when I have to leave, that I will meet with them tomorrow, cause I have to leave at 4. I am in very early in the morning, they are always welcome to come and talk to me.

Well went in this morning to get Ari at 4 am (another story) and he had completely turned himself around in his crib. Now the fun begins. Where will we find him in the morning :)

We are also at an in between stage with Ari and eating. If he takes 3 bottles at daycare he is so full that he doesn't want to really nurse the rest of the night, so yestreday we gave him two and I nursed him right when I got there. So of course this morning he was up at 4 am and I don't know if it was coincidence or he was truly hungry. I went in and nursed him, but he only ate for like five minutes, so I guess we will see over the next few nights.

Happy Thursday everyone,
Heather

[SooCookie]

He doesn't like slow driving or red lights :rolleyes: so he often cries during those times. Since there's nothing I can do for him, and talking to him doesn't help, I just turn up the radio.
Terri

*snort* I do this too!

Thanks for the CIO advice. I am still trying to decide if this is the route I want to take with her - I don't know if I can handle all of the crying :( Although, it hasn't been an issue this week since she has been waking up around 12-1am to eat again. Oh how I miss a good nights sleep. And yes, I do feed her at 4am when she wakes up and she is pretty fussy still afterwards so I just assumed she is still tired. Sigh... I am so clusless. How I wish there was a baby reference manual that would tell me what is right to do in every situation. :rolleyes:

Does anyone here use Similac Advance formula? We have been supplementing DD with it since I do not produce enough and since changing to their "new and improved" formula with less bubbles, she spits up a lot of it and is generally crankier than she was before. Is this a sign that she is not tolerating the new formula well? She handled the "bubbly" Similac just fine.

I am also thinking the fussyness could be teething? She is always chomping on her hands and has been waking up at night frequently this week. I don't see or feel anything in her mouth though.

[IndianChef]

Decided to try CIO again last night and failed miserably again! This time we let Ronit cry for about 18 minutes before I gave up and DH went and brought him in our room. After he calmed down a bit, he smiled at DH, but he wouldn't look at me AT ALL. I kept holding his face, trying to make him look at me, but he just wouldn't! He was mad at me. :( It took him a good 10 mins to forget that he was mad at Mommy. Of course by then I was in tears and DH was trying to make Ronit at least look at me. So, I've decided I'm going to wait a month before I try this again. I don't know if I am teaching him that he will always get his way, but I am willing to risk that for now.

SooCookie - Ronit has been teething for a while now, and I can see the white under his gums. He also gets fussy sometimes when he doesn't get relief from chomping on his hands or biting on his toys.

We were planning to take Ronit to the park this weekend. DH or I hold him and sit on the swing and he loves it! But unfortunately, it's going to be a little chilly and wet here. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[NewMrsG]

Hi everyone -

I don't have nearly as much time to read and post on this thread and I miss you all!

Maria - I'm so sorry about Molson. I lost my cat of 11 years just before I got married and still miss him terribly. We also had to put him to sleep and that was just really awful. So hard not to second-guess ourselves. We noticed this week that one of our cats has a streak on one of her legs where her hair is missing - like it was all bitten off. Not sure what's going on as she's acting completely normal otherwise. We have an appt with the vet on Tuesday and I'm hoping it's nothing serious. Another stressor ...

Re pictures - we also use digital and find the same thing - that we don't always print them off. I use Shutterfly and download them weekly - then I can send the link to friends and family and they can see them and order whatever they want, so it's easy. I also signed up for a package deal with them - I pay for 100 or so pictures at a time, then as I order they just take that out of what I ordered and send them. It makes it much easier. And it's nice not to have to worry about sending them off to anyone other than the Great Grandmothers, who aren't online.

We took Macy to Target for her 3-month "birthday" I was really frustrated by the whole thing. We get there and she's perfectly calm and in a great mood. The photographer's running late. She's trying to wrap up with the people before us - they'd had pictures of their two daughters taken, who were teenagers, and of course took forever to figure out what they wanted. In the middle of this, the people AFTER us kept interrupting the photographer to ask questions about packages. In retrospect I should have asked them to wait their turn, but didn't. So by the time they took Macy in they were 45 minutes behind and she was of course hysterical. The photographer was nice enough but it was clear that she was feeling rushed and so we felt rushed. We only got 5 poses because Macy was so upset. Two were nice, one was okay, and the other two were pretty bad. The good ones are good, but she's not smiling, and she's just so gorgeous when she smiles. Not that she's not otherwise, but you know what I mean. And yet I still managed to spend $43 before we left. So I'm disappointed and probably won't go back to Target. Probably that way everywhere, I know.

Michelle - we use Similac Advance. Macy has been much more of a spitter-upper lately, too. I haven't attributed it to the formula, in part because it's what she's always eaten, and in part because our ped told us that the spit ups get worse as she ages.

So our major milestone of the week is that Macy rolled over by herself! So, so cute. The cutest part is that she's been trying so hard to do it again - she's trying with all her might to pull those little legs over and can't quite do it. What's so funny about it is that she hates it on her tummy anyway. Last night she slept 9 hours straight. I'm sure it's a fluke as she's never done anything like that before. I was a little worried that she was sick, but no fever and ate like a champ when she woke up.

Work has been really busy, busy, busy. Essentially I went back to my full-time job, and because we were recently awarded a federal grant for a research study, which I'm running, that got added on to my other responsibilities (totally by my choice, I need to say). Then on top of that, I'm now home one day a week, so it's been scrunched into 4 days. I love, love, love my job and am someone who loves to be busy, so it's actually alot of fun (I know, I'm a little odd that way), but I'm also someone who likes to do things well and takes pride in what I do, and I have less time to that and, frankly, to worry about it. I think that one of the things I'm going to need to work on is not to feel guilty about what I've left at the office. I really do look forward to coming home and seeing Macy and am excited when we get to daycare, but I need to stop worrying about the rest of it.

So it's Rosh Hashanah. We have 15 guests coming for dinner this evening. I went all out, as usual, and seem to have forgotten that I have a newborn in the house and need to curb things. And of course I've been sick since Thursday. :( But I managed to get some things done last night and got up at 7 this morning. I'm hoping to get a nap in before everyone gets here. DH has been giving me the "I told you so" treatment all week, but I really value the traditions my family had as I was growing up, and a nice Rosh Hashanah meal was part of that. So it's important to me to have that for Macy. Even though I know she'll never remember this. My father died when I was very young and I think that has taught me that you never know what will happen - particularly given that I was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago - if something were to happen to me or her father I'd want her to know how special we tried to make things for her.

I'm really not feeling as morbid as this sounds, I swear!

I should get back into the kitchen. I've written a novel, but haven't written in awhile and wanted to get my thoughts down.

[granolagirl]

Maria, I'm sorry to hear about Molson.

NewMrsG, yeah for Macy rolling over!

Question--I'm on a prescription to increase my supply and I'm pumping. I only feel engorged once every 4 or 5 days. When I pump then, I get about 2 oz (the most I get). Any ideas why it's only every few days? Just because my supply is so low? I have to talk to the doctor this week, but just thought I would throw it out.

[Bawstinn]

I am so happy the weekend is over and I am back at work.

The baptism went well on Sunday. Madeleine behaved herself during the service and her actual baptism. The Rev, had to tempt fate though, and decided to hold her during the sermon. She furrowed her brow while looking intently at his robe. I hear David say 'uh oh' and Madeleine grabbed the microphone off his robe, shrieked in it then tried to stuff it in her mouth. He wrangled the microphone away from her, then she decided the ornate cross he had around his neck would be a great thing to grab, so she latched on with both hands. Sigh.

Having company was OK but my house looks like a bomb went off in it. Everyone arrived with a bunch of clothes and toys for her - I have no idea where we are going to put all this stuff. I sent his mom home with a bunch of 6 month clothes and told her she should return them. Madeleine is growing out of all the 6 month stuff that she has already.

We tried the exersaucer this weekend and she did really well in it. We also bought a highchair and she liked sitting at the table at the same height as everyone else.

On the Dr's advice, in an attempt to get her to sleep more at night, we added a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal to her bottle at night. That bought me an extra 2 hours of sleep - she is sleeping a 5 hour stretch when she first goes down, but is back to 3 after that. I miss the days of 6-8 hours at a time. She really is hungry when she wakes up - she eats and eats, from both sides, I burp her and she falls back to sleep with a satisfied smile on her face with her hands on her belly. She isn't spitting up at all, so it doesn't seem that she is nursing for comfort like she does sometimes. Her 4 month appointment is in 2 weeks, so we'll see what the Dr says then.

Yesterday was my birthday - 37! eek. I certainly don't feel it - but then again, what does 37 feel like?

Molson is starting to fail. He got sick a couple of times between last night and this morning. He is also drinking a ton of water and not always making it outside. David spent some quality time with the rug scrubber this past weekend. He took him duck hunting this past weekend and although he was interested in trying to retrieve, he really got tired quickly. Today is his 8th birthday. It has been so hard on David and I am just hoping that he realizes that he needs to make the decision soon. Easy for me to say though, since Molson is really his. As awful as it sounds, it would be better for all of us if Molson just went to sleep and didn't wake up.

granolagirl - sorry, I can't help. The only time I feel engorged is when I've gone too long without pumping/feeding. I notice that I only get an ounce or so more when I pump than I normally do.

[TLee4]

Ok, so all of the books say that this is a myth (kid will sleep longer if you put cereal in the bottle) but anecdotal evidence seems to say the opposite!

Maria, we are in the same boat..he used to sleep 5-7 hour stretches but now we are back to 2-3 hours. And he also is clearly hungry. Mostly he eats and goes back to sleep. Maybe I should try the cereal. What have others of you done??

Granola girl, I'd say the same as Maria. I pump all the time but I never feel engorged except when it's been too long (like 5 hours or more) between nursing or pumping.

Terri

p.s. Happy Birthday Maria. I turned 35 last weekend.

[hrk]

Jori- Happy New Year. I hear you on the big holidays. Friday night it was just us for dinner, and it was very nice, but Saturday we had our neighbors, their son and her parents over and it was actually so much fun cooking for everyone. Ari was with us for Friday night dinner, but I actually put him down for bed before dinner on Saturday so things were a little smoother.

Terri and Maria- I don't know about putting rice cereal in their bottles as our ped never recommended this, but I do know if they are going through a growth spurt and want more to eat, according to my lactation consultant you are better off nursing them for the three or four days of increased eating cause it will increase your supply as well. Then things should get back to normal. Ari is on solids, but we didn't start them until almost 6 months and he has been sleeping through the night since 5 months. But he still eats six times during the day- 4 times from me and two bottles a day.

Maria- Glad to hear the baptism went well, and how nice that Madeline was showered with gifts. So sorry to hear that Molson is getting worse.

Well Ari is doing quite well. We are over the in between 2 and 3 bottles a day stage and he is now taking only two. Which is nice for me because I can pump only twice at work instead of three times now and he seems to be helping my supply a little since he is eating from me more now.
He is moving around in his crib a lot now and we never know which direction we will find him in. He is also cutting his two upper teeth so I ahve to be a little more aware when he is nursing now, and not let him start to play cause he has tried to bite once or twice. NOT going to happen!!!
I made a whole bunch of baby food this weekend and found a handout my doctor had given me about good foods. It talks about wanting to try and give babies foods with vitamin a and vitamin c in them. So Ari gets things like Mango (an excellent source of both), broccoli, a good source of vitamin c and cauliflower ( a good source of vitamin A). So far he likes all three so that is a bonus.

Heather

[Bawstinn]

Terri and Maria- I don't know about putting rice cereal in their bottles as our ped never recommended this, but I do know if they are going through a growth spurt and want more to eat, according to my lactation consultant you are better off nursing them for the three or four days of increased eating cause it will increase your supply as well. Then things should get back to normal. Ari is on solids, but we didn't start them until almost 6 months and he has been sleeping through the night since 5 months. But he still eats six times during the day- 4 times from me and two bottles a day.


I wish it was only 3-4 days. She adopted these new sleeping/eating habits over Labor Day weekend when she turned 3 months.

Dr had said to start rice cereal at 4 months because she felt that Madeleine was going to need the extra food since she is growing so much, but to add a couple of tablespoons to a bottle, if necessary, before that to see if it helps. I also heard it was a myth, so the two 5 hour stretches this weekend could be a coincidence. She turns 4 months a week from tomorrow.

On the plus side, my supply is up and I am back to pumping 5 oz a session. My freezer supply was seriously depeleted, but I guess that it what it is there for!

[TLee4]

Well, keep us posted. I think we've been on this yucky new sleep schedule for about a week.

I pump 5 oz/session also.

Terri

[TLee4]

Well, Joey must have heard me complaining to you all about his sleeping. :) Last night he slept 6.5 hours straight (7-1:30). Then he was up for over an hour, smiling at me :rolleyes: but then went back down for another 2.5 hours. I was very grateful, since I have an ugly cold right now and need some sleep!

How is everyone else doing?
Terri

[maryellenmd]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well. We are doing fine here. Christian turned 3 months on Saturday. We took him for his pictures over the weekend. I never realized what a big deal getting pictures was going to be. We went to the local JC Penney, what a zoo. We will never go again on a weekend, but the photographer did a great job, getting several different poses and smiles. We never seem to get smiles with our digital camera - I guess the shutter speed isn't fast enough. So many packages and options to pick from. I am glad we did the pictures because originally we weren't going to. I can't wait for them to come back in.

Speaking of pictures, has anyone seen those picture books from Shutterfly or Snapfish? A friend who just had a baby last month showed some that she ordered. She made a pregnancy book for her husband. Really gorgeous, and they bind the books for you.

Seeing my friend's baby on Monday made me realize how big Christian is getting. He is much more interactive these days, and is discovering his hands. He loves staring at them and moving the toys on the car seat. So cute just to watch him. :) We are doing pretty well on the sleep front (knock on wood); the past several weeks, we have been getting up once a night with Christian. We put him down about 7:30 pm, and he's waking up anywhere from 2:30-4:30 am to eat, and then I wake him up at 6:30 am to get ready for the day. He's eating 6 oz now at a feeding!

Maria - So sorry to hear about Molson.

Terri - Hope you feel better and that the good sleep continues.

Michelle - we used to use Similac Advance, but we switched to Nestle Good Start, and he's like a totally different baby ... a lot less fussy, gassy, and constipated. Good Start is working well for him.

Hope everyone's week is going well.
Mary Ellen

[sab1976]

Hi everyone, I'd like to join your group. My baby Jack Logan was born on August 31st. He weighed 6 lbs. 10 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

He'll be 4 weeks tomorrow. He is such a good baby. He's very calm and peaceful most of the time. He only wakes up twice a night to feed (once around 3 and then again around 6am).

He has his 2nd pediatrician's appt. tomorrow morning and I'm eager to find out how much he's grown!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/sab1976/IMG_4696.jpg

[kelliek]

Welcome sab. Congrats on the birth of your little one!

To all those more experienced mommies, I have questions on solid foods. We've been feeding Charlie rice cereal in the evenings for a couple of weeks now. He is starting to really get the hang of that. :) Just this weekend, I mashed up a little banana and put that in with the cereal (we also fed him some by itself, but he seemed to prefer it in the cereal).

My questions are these: I'm starting to think about what to try and feed him next. I know to avoid honey, shellfish, nuts, wheat, and egg whites for a while, but what about fruits and veggies? I've heard to avoid citrus, too. I was looking at my grocery list tonight and thinking about getting some frozen berries and pureeing them. I also was looking in the fridge and thinking about what kind of veggies I could give him. I thought I'd try mashing up some peas next. Other ideas?

Second question: how do you handle sending solid food to daycare? Mix up some rice cereal in a bowl and send it on? Right now, he is just getting solids in the evening, but I'm not sure when I should try to get him up to more meals in a day. And, when I do, what do I send to daycare and how to package it up?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[LaraW]

Kellie, what I usually did was to make up a batch of pureed foods. You can freeze it in ice cube trays but I usually just put a piece of wax paper on a plate and used a tablespoon measure to make a blob on the wax paper. Freeze, and package in a freezer-safe container.

Peas are good, both my kids liked sweet potatoes. I usually just looked in the aisle of baby food and got ideas from there. Applesauce is another one.

Anyhow, I'd just put a frozen blob of the food in a ziplock container and send it to daycare. I measure out the rice cereal and send it along, and let them mix it with EBM/formula/water.

If your DS is going to daycare FT, could you buy a box of rice cereal to leave there, and let them do it? That might be another idea, then you can just replace it when they run out.

I just use those little (about 1 C size) Ziplock containers. We have some that are colored from First Years but a lot of the other kids there use those, and it is easy for our containers to get lost, so I try to use the ziplock ones as much as I can.

[DanaSD]

My questions are these: I'm starting to think about what to try and feed him next. I know to avoid honey, shellfish, nuts, wheat, and egg whites for a while, but what about fruits and veggies? I've heard to avoid citrus, too. I was looking at my grocery list tonight and thinking about getting some frozen berries and pureeing them. I also was looking in the fridge and thinking about what kind of veggies I could give him. I thought I'd try mashing up some peas next. Other ideas?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

I've seen strawberries on the list of things to avoid until they're one (potential for allergies). I think other berries are on the ok list.

[NewMrsG]

Hi everyone -

sab - congratulations! I'm so glad for you that your 4-week-old is already sleeping so well - those first weeks with Macy were very different ... :( He's beautiful!

Happy new year to you too Heather! We had a very lovely holiday together without the usual family craziness. Very refreshing I must say.

Mary Ellen - we took Macy for pictures a week or so ago and went to Target. We had a pretty awful experience. We went on a Sunday (which was probably our first mistake) and Macy was gorgeous and perfectly calm. They were 45 minutes late getting us in and of course by then she was hysterical. She took only 5 pictures total - two were pretty good, one was okay, and the other two were awful. She got no shots of her in full, just ones from the chest/waist up (which was a shame because she had the most adorable little dress on...). And there were no pictures of her smiling - also a shame as she has the most beautiful smile. Then afterwards she went over the packages really quickly - she wasn't being overtly rude, but it was clear that she was in a hurry, the next people were waiting, etc. So I bought more than I should have and walked out with $43 less than I had when I went in. Alot of money for not-so-great pictures! We go to pick them up tomorrow and I'm going to complain. They probably won't do anything about it, but I definitely won't be going back to Target, that's for sure.

[Sarah428]

Jori - I complained when I picked up Ella's 3 months pics a few years back and I was given a $20 certificate for our next portrait visit. You should tell them you weren't satisified!

Sarah - Welcome!!! That picture of Jack is precious.

??? about low milk supply
For the past 5 days my milk supply and just about ended and I'm not doing anything different (dieting, etc.). Some of you have mentioned taking a Rx to help increase your supply, what is it? When I called the dr office this morning the receptionist said she's never heard of anything but she'd check. I've also been drinking Mother's Milk tea with no help and the freezer is officially empty. :(

[Bawstinn]

I got the go ahead yesterday to start feeding Madeleine rice cereal at night and in the morning, if I wish. She turns 4 months October 4, but the Dr said that since she is growing so fast she really needs more than just milk to eat. I think I had it too watery last night and will try to make it a little more thicker tonight. Of course she was wearing most of it, so does it matter??? :p


My questions are these: I'm starting to think about what to try and feed him next. I know to avoid honey, shellfish, nuts, wheat, and egg whites for a while, but what about fruits and veggies? I've heard to avoid citrus, too. I was looking at my grocery list tonight and thinking about getting some frozen berries and pureeing them. I also was looking in the fridge and thinking about what kind of veggies I could give him. I thought I'd try mashing up some peas next. Other ideas?

Second question: how do you handle sending solid food to daycare? Mix up some rice cereal in a bowl and send it on? Right now, he is just getting solids in the evening, but I'm not sure when I should try to get him up to more meals in a day. And, when I do, what do I send to daycare and how to package it up?


Her next appointment is October 9 and the Dr said she wanted to see her first, but would probably tell me to start her on vegetables. I went to the bookstore and was disappointed that they only had 2 books on making your own baby food. I will have to look at Amazon later. I have read that you shouldn't make carrots for your baby from the carrots in the grocery store as they can contain high levels of nitrates. I am thinking a sweet potato would probably be first on the list.

I was going to try rice cereal at home for a week before sending it to daycare, but all they told me I need to do is stick her name on the outside of the box and bring in a bowl and spoon. They'll mix it with breast milk when it is time to eat. I figure they can give it to her with her first bottle of the day there.

Since I was hoping to make my own food for her, I was going to to the freeze in a ice cube tray trick and pull it out in the morning. I was hoping to find some kind of sectioned off plates so I can just drop the cubes in. They have a refrigerator and everything in the room, so it isn't a problem.

What I am disappointed in is the fact that I can't continue to provide her food when she leaves the infant room. There is a sign that states Iowa law prohibits bringing in outside food in to the daycare rooms. They post the menus online, and although the state does approve them, I'm not all that happy to see all the processed foods on the menu.

Hope everyone else is doing well. Sleeping in still a challenge as she still wants to eat every 3-4 hours. I am hoping that once I can get more cereal IN her rather than on her she'll sleep longer stretches.

Maria

[Bawstinn]

??? about low milk supply
For the past 5 days my milk supply and just about ended and I'm not doing anything different (dieting, etc.). Some of you have mentioned taking a Rx to help increase your supply, what is it? When I called the dr office this morning the receptionist said she's never heard of anything but she'd check. I've also been drinking Mother's Milk tea with no help and the freezer is officially empty. :(

I went from having a months supply to only have 8 bags left in the freezer. Could you be getting your period, by any chance? My supply took a nosedive earlier this month when I got mine for the first time but it bounced back after a few days. I have also increased my water intake but I am still taking out 3 bags every morning and only replacing with 2.

[Sarah428]

Could you be getting your period, by any chance?

That was my thinking at first but it's been about 5 days and I haven't started yet so not sure what to think?!?!

[MinEaston]

delurking...

Maria, I really liked the Wholesome Baby Food (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/) website as a reference for making your own baby food. This link (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/veggiefruit.htm#Can%20I%20safely%20make%20carrots% 20or%20other%20vegetables%20that%20have%20nitrates ) specifically discusses making vegetables that may contain nitrates.

Now, I have to insert my own opinion (and it's just my opinion!!!) here. I think that Madeleine is likely going through the classic 3-4 month growth spurt right now, and while your ped thinks she needs more than just milk to eat, I personally think she'll taper off in a few weeks and that you really don't need to be overly concerned about getting solids into her just yet. Again, this is just my opinion, obviously you should do what you feel is right for her, since all babies are different! (Anna didn't really get the hang of solid foods, even pureed, until she was 7 or 8 months old)

back to lurking...

[hrk]

OK first on the homemade baby food and things you can make, this is what I made for my first DS and have made some so far for my second:
Just mash and feed at the time:
Bananas
Avocados
Melon- watermelon, cantelope, honeydew
Need to prepare ahead of time:
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Asparagus
Carrots
Peas
Green Beans
Winter squash (all varieties)
Sweet potato
pears
peaches
plums
mango
papaya
There is a lot of conflicting advice on things, such as nitrates, so either ask your doctor or trust your instincts. My ped. is a specialist in childhood allergies so I tend to feel he is very up on the latest food research. He says carrots are fine if they are homemade and that the only "berry" to avoid is strawberry or raspberry- blueberries and cranberries are fine
We also gave both DS's applesauce, but we just buy a large jar of Motts all natural applesauce and spoon some into a bowl for him.

Kelli- For daycare we have a whole bunch of little colored bowls with lids (I think they are made by gerber) We feed Ari breakfast at home and send lunch with him. He gets one bowl with oatmeal mixed with 2 tbps of pureed mango and he gets 2 tbsps of a veggie (right now broccoli). We just put the "frozen cubes" of veggie in the dish and if they haven't thawed completely by lunch, they microwave them to heat them up. So we send a spoon and two covered bowls with Ari every day, and then label the lids with masking tape as to what is in them.

Sarah- I was thinking your period at first too, and all I can say is this time around with Ari it took about a month for my cycle to even out so five days is cetainly possible. When Ari was about 3 weeks I took fenugreek to increase my supply, but I don't know if it will help when a baby is older.

MaryEllen- Glad to hear you got some good pictures done. For anyone doing professional photos, I highly recommend going to places that take appointments and making the first one of the day. Otherwise they are always running behind.

Well Ari had a very rough night last night and I am a tired mommy. He was congested when he went to bed and he woke up 4 times last night. Most of them were only for a few minutes, but at 3 in the morning we had to go in and console him. The runny nose is clear so and he doesn't have much of an appetitie to he either has his first cold or he is cutting his upper teeth. I don't know which I am hoping more for, but I hope he feels a little better by Saturday when we are flying to California.
Heather

[honeygirl1971]

Hi everyone...soooo little time to post right now since my little baby is very clingy! I've been reading all the posts with great interest, but only have time to respond to a couple of things...

Bawstinn, I'm so sorry about Molson! :(

lbd, I am avoiding peanuts since I am bfing. I'm bummed about it because I LOVE peanut butter, but I avoided them during the pregnancy and am going to keep avoiding them until I stop bfing...

Any BFers have trouble with a forceful letdown? And if so, what did you do? I feel bad complaining about having too much of a good thing, but it's actually a problem because Lucas chokes while nursing, he clamps down OFTEN to slow the milk down which is painful and I'm now having a problem with nipple blanching because of it, and he is very gassy! I have it on both sides but it is worse on the right...

[Bawstinn]

Now, I have to insert my own opinion (and it's just my opinion!!!) here. I think that Madeleine is likely going through the classic 3-4 month growth spurt right now, and while your ped thinks she needs more than just milk to eat, I personally think she'll taper off in a few weeks and that you really don't need to be overly concerned about getting solids into her just yet. Again, this is just my opinion, obviously you should do what you feel is right for her, since all babies are different! (Anna didn't really get the hang of solid foods, even pureed, until she was 7 or 8 months old)

back to lurking...


Thanks for the website.

I thought it was a growth spurt at first, but this is week #4 of being back up and eating every 3-4 hours. I thought growth spurts lasted days.

She definitely is growing. We are down to one pair of 6 month pajamas that fit - all the others have feet, and while they fit around her, you can tell they aren't long enough for her. I put a pair of 6 months jeans on her (that she has worn before) and they look like capris. Good thing she doesn't stand or everyone would know her mom sent her to daycare in floods. :o

[BetsyS]

Any BFers have trouble with a forceful letdown? And if so, what did you do? I feel bad complaining about having too much of a good thing, but it's actually a problem because Lucas chokes while nursing, he clamps down OFTEN to slow the milk down which is painful and I'm now having a problem with nipple blanching because of it, and he is very gassy! I have it on both sides but it is worse on the right...

I have this too, and it's worse ont he right, too. I pump in the mornings, just once about an hour after he wakes up (and nurses), which seems to help some, but it's still there.

[BetsyS]

Oh, and I guess I should introduce myself.

My baby, Will, was born September 1st. He was a c-section, and he weighed 11 lbs, 14 oz. :eek: Yeah, that's what I said, too.

He is 4 weeks old, pretty content. He sleeps well at night, waking up twice to nurse briefly, at around 1 and around 4-5. I'm anxious for that to be only once per night, though!!

I'm taking him to get pictures made for the first time tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have a good experience, not like the PP with the bad Target experience.

[DanaSD]

??? about low milk supply
For the past 5 days my milk supply and just about ended and I'm not doing anything different (dieting, etc.). Some of you have mentioned taking a Rx to help increase your supply, what is it? When I called the dr office this morning the receptionist said she's never heard of anything but she'd check. I've also been drinking Mother's Milk tea with no help and the freezer is officially empty. :(

At 6 months my supply took a dive - for about 2 weeks it was lower (I wasn't leaking and didn't feel as engorged between feedings) and then it got worse (I tried to pump and only got an ounces or so and DS was eating very often to get enough food). I switched him to formula at this point - mostly because he finally took a bottle and this had always been a battle (even with pumped bm). If it hadn't been a struggle earlier, I would have tried to both until my supply increased. It wasn't my period since that never showed up. The only reason I could think of was dehydration - we had move to AZ recently and I was drinking even less than normal. Just had gotten out of the habit and was busy with work and stuff. So make sure you're drinking lots of water. Also my boss who was a lacation consultant said to massage your breasts. If you want to know about prescriptions, pm mst. She had some success with some though I don't think they were covered by insurance.

[maryellenmd]

Welcome, sab! Congratulations on the birth of Jack! It's amazing how quickly they grow.

Welcome too, Betsy! I thought my boy was big at birth (9 lbs, 4 oz) - he was a C-section baby too.

I've got a question - working moms, are you cooking dinner every night? Or do you cook and freeze on the weekends for the work week? I am finding that we do not have much time in the evening to cook, play, bathe, and get ready for the next day. Last week and this week I was able to cook a bit since I was still part time, but now that I will back full time next week, I can't imagine cooking too! There are not enough hours in the day, and I would rather play with the baby than cook and clean.

Christian is refusing to nap at daycare the past two days ... When I picked him up tonight, the daycare provider is telling me about this, and he looks up at us and smiles and raises his one eyebrow as if to say, "I know you are talking about me!" It was hilarious. :o

Hope you all have a great weekend!

[KathrynY]

Hello everyone! I have been just too swamped at work to keep up with this thread, but have been thinking about you all, and wishing I had time to post a little more. At any rate, we are doing well here. Henry is about 5 1/2 months now and such a joy - loving this age! Here's a recent photo:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b247/redbird67/Family%20Photos/205769060403_0_ALB.jpg

Welcome sab and BetsyS! Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful boys! :)

Bawstinn (Maria) - I am so sorry to learn of Molson's illness. We had to let our beloved 17-year-old cat go as she was losing her battle with cancer this summer and it was a truly awful time for us - wishing you strength and peace as you go through it all.

Thanks Heather and Lara for the advice on making your own baby food. Henry still seems plenty satisfied with just breastmilk and formula for now, so I think we'll wait a couple of weeks to start trying cereal, but the advice is greatly appreciated - I'm tucking it away for use in a few weeks!

Maryellen - you are not alone. Not much cooking happening week nights here - our schedule sounds similar to yours. I would rather spend the early evening feeding and playing with Henry before he goes to bed. Once he's in bed for the night, we are tired and starving so our dinners lately are quick and easy - homemade if we can manage it, otherwise a combination of simple and prepared. Tuesday we had a TJ's frozen eggplant parm with bagged salad and bread; last night we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with fresh apple slices, tonight we had take-out sushi. Please do share any great ideas or recipes! :)

One helpful thing we've done meal-wise is to purchase a large tray of lasagna from a local italian restaurant every couple of months, then cut it into pieces, freeze in smaller containers, and defrost/bake as needed. The lasagna is pretty close to homemade, and perfect with a simple salad for dinner - great to pack for lunch at work too.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

[mst]

Sarah- I had SO much trouble with my milk supply. The first thing that all the LC's will tell you is to pump more, drink Mother's Milk tea and Raspberry Tea. I think I did four cups of each a day (which helps with all the water you are supposed to drink). And, fenugreek capsules. I did 12 a day, but I can't remember what the dosage is. If these aren't working, the prescriptions are Reglan and Domperidone. Reglan is the most common one. You do it for a ten day cycle, I think four times a day. (My mom is in the hospital right now, and they came in and gave her Reglan. I asked the nurse if it was the same Reglan that I used to take. Both nurses said they had never heard of that. They asked the charge nurse who confirmed that Reglan is used for breastfeeding.) Domperidone is a much, much better drug. I was told that someone who was much older on the drug died from the drug (they were not breastfeeding, they were like in their 80's) and the drug became much more expensive so if you want it, it needs to be compounded for you. I can dig up the pharmacy that I used (they mail it overnight to you). Insurance did not cover it because it is not one of the approved uses of the drugs, although it is in Canda and Europe. It is pricey. Insurance did cover Reglan.

Let me know if you want more information on any of this. I can probably dig up the websites that my LC sent me to. I had a long-term problem, but a week on one of these drugs might be the answer for you.

I found that my doctor allowed my LC to tell him what my prescription should be. I was frustrated that there wasn't a doctor who could help me. My pediatrician said that I am not his patient. My ob said that breastfeeding doesn't really fall under him. I know an MD who is trying to start a breastfeeding practice because it is so overlooked for women who need help.

Hope this helps. For the majority of women, a ten day cycle of Reglan might be all you need. I have a friend who pumped for her baby in the NICU, and had to do a round of Reglan every once in a while to keep her supply up since she was never stimulated by the baby.

HTH.

[NewMrsG]

Hi everyone -

The end of another week!

We pick up our pictures Sunday and I'm definitely going to complain. Scheduling the 1st appt of the day is a great idea.

We will start cereal/food at the end of the month - so hard to believe! A friend (actually ellery from this BB!) bought us a copy of Super Baby Food - I've just skimmed it but it looks great. I'm also going to ask the ped for his advice. And I think we're also going to meet with a registered dietician. Both DH and I have a very strong history of diabetes in our family and I really want to try to provide a diet for her that will limit her risk.

Mary Ellen - we also struggle with dinnertime. I think me most of all because I miss cooking and having nice meals. I am really trying to avoid the "takeout every night" routine. I'm trying to take advantage of the 1-2 hours I have at the end of the night after Macy has gone to bed. We do a lot of crockpot stuff (which I'll prep the night before) or I'll marinate some chicken and we'll throw that on the grill or the George Foreman. I also put a lot of stuff in the freezer before she was born, which is helping. I'm also doing the "make it once eat it twice" thing - making a double batch of something (like last week I made meatloaf), and having one for that night and one to throw into the freezer for later. Stephanie (gertdog) taught me that one. And a lot of easy stuff - we make linguini and clam sauce in 10 minutes, last night we also had grilled cheese and tomato soup! And one night is takeout. I try to do more cooking on the days I'm/we're home - tonight I'm making a double batch of simmered black beans to use for burritoes. Not hard and won't take up much of my time, but it'll simmer all day while I'm here.

Macy is up from her 20-minute catnap, so I guess that's' it from me ... have a great weekend everyone!

[NewMrsG]

I meant to ask - how long after your babies were born did you continue to experience pelvic/hip/leg soreness? I notice it most when I've been sitting or lying down for a while and stand up to walk somewhere. Usually dissipates a minute or so later, but it seems like that should have gone away by now. Knees and wrists are hurting too - am sure it's just going back to work and doing a lot of stuff on the computer. But of course I've also decided that I have some sort of fatal disease (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis ...). Have an md appt on Monday, but wondered if any of you all had experienced this too -

Jori

[Bawstinn]

Cooking? What's that?? ;)

I had a really good supply of ready-made food in the freezer, but we used it all up except for the chili. I quickly learned chili was not a good thing for me to be eating when I'm nursing - honestly never even thought of that when I was making it when pregnant!

I am trying to be good about making big meals on Saturday and Sunday so we can feast on the leftovers for most of the following week. This is even more important to me know that I am following Weight Watchers - I don't want to be tempted to pick up take-out.

I have plans this weekend to make CL's Hearty Lasagna - but I'll make two, since it is just as easy as doing one. I use no bake noodles, which cuts down the prep time. We'll have it once for supper (maybe twice) and then I'll use my Food Saver to store the rest on the freezer.

I'm also making the Hearty Beef and Tomato Stew from the October issue. What we don't eat will go into the freezer.

I really like the Simply (Simple?) Roasted Pork recipe from a year or two ago. I cook it on the grill, indirect heat. The leftovers usually morph into the spicy cubanos (same issue, not sure if that is the right name) and they also freeze well.

There was a spice rub for pork chops a few issues back. We really liked that one. Made a double batch of the rub and I usually cook 4 or 6 pork chops so we have leftovers for lunches/suppers too.

Then there are the days I cook burgers on the grill and we eat them with Alexia fries. Not exactly gourmet, but a lot better than cruising through the Wendy's drive-thru!

Madeleine did pretty good eating her cereal last night. A lot more went in this time. She was funny when she realized that what I was giving her was filling up her belly. She got so excited when the spoon got near her, she'd put her face down on top of the spoon. Also kept trying to grab the spoon as I was feeding her, so I gave her one of her own and that was a pretty successful distraction.

She ate at 7, had a bath and then shortly nursed. Was asleep before 8 and woke up at 1:30 to eat, then at 5:30. I went to bed at 9, so I got a lot more sleep that I have been lately. Much better than getting up twice to eat (before the 5:30 feeding).

[Bawstinn]

Wanted to add ...

I think cooking ahead will be easier now that Fall is here. I am a big stew/soup person and figure I can build back up my freezer stash by doubling recipes and freezing most.

[granolagirl]

I was going to post a similar version of what mst posted about supply. I tried Fenugreek with no success and it was determined that because Luke never has consistently latched on that I wasn't getting enough stimulation from pumping and/or him nursing. Therefore, my supply was little to nothing. It has gotten better by taking the Rx, but I need to pump more often and just have a hard time finding the time. I'm hoping I can keep it up for a few more weeks till I go back to work and then I know that I can get in at least 3 pumping sessions at work. Anyway, sorry for the babbling. Sarah428, try drinking a lot of water (that has helped a little bit for me), you can try eating oatmeal, the tea, Fenugreek, etc. As for a prescription, my lactation consultant referred me to a family practice doctor that specializes in breastfeeding. You may want to talk to a LC and find out if there is a doctor that oversees the program that you could be referred to. Good Luck!

Has anyone read The Baby Whisperer? A friend gave me her copy to read since she liked it so well. I started reading it and am trying it with Luke. He does not nap. Anyway, I put him down for a nap and he's being quiet, but he isn't going to sleep. How long should I let him lay there?

[DanaSD]

I meant to ask - how long after your babies were born did you continue to experience pelvic/hip/leg soreness? I notice it most when I've been sitting or lying down for a while and stand up to walk somewhere. Usually dissipates a minute or so later, but it seems like that should have gone away by now. Knees and wrists are hurting too - am sure it's just going back to work and doing a lot of stuff on the computer. But of course I've also decided that I have some sort of fatal disease (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis ...). Have an md appt on Monday, but wondered if any of you all had experienced this too -

Jori

I have this! And Brendan is 9 months old today. It seems to have gotten worse the last few months. My hips don't feel like they've gone back into place sometimes - when I first get up it takes a few steps for them to start moving correctly. Also when I've been sitting or laying down when I get up my feet hurt - swollen or circulation issues. Similar to how I felt right after my c-section. I don't know if it has to do with pregnancy or something else - old age, moving to the dessert and not drinking enough water, less activity since I work from hom I don't move around a large office building or walks in from the parking lot (must get to the gym!!!).

[maryellenmd]

Has anyone read The Baby Whisperer? A friend gave me her copy to read since she liked it so well. I started reading it and am trying it with Luke. He does not nap. Anyway, I put him down for a nap and he's being quiet, but he isn't going to sleep. How long should I let him lay there?

I read the Baby Whisperer, and it didn't work that well for us although I did like a lot of what she said. I tried doing the "Shush Pat" for naps since Christian is a horrible napper. Crazy since he does pretty well during the night. I asked my daycare provider about what she does if the kids won't nap. She says that they do quiet time with the kids who refuse to nap - as long as they are quiet, she tells them that they are relaxing their bodies! She said she needs that hour long break too!

[honeygirl1971]

I have this too, and it's worse ont he right, too. I pump in the mornings, just once about an hour after he wakes up (and nurses), which seems to help some, but it's still there.

Betsy, you pump *after* nursing in the morning? I have thought about pumping first, but not after, since I think pumping after would help with engorgement but not with the forceful letdown...but I could be wrong. Can you explain how this helps?

No one else has this problem? Maybe I'll post a separate thread...

[LaraW]

I had some problems with forceful letdown when Colin was first born. Lisanumbers suggested laying down on my back and having Colin on top of me when he nursed, so that gravity would help with the letdown. It seemed to work. Now that he's bigger, its not so much of an issue.

[honeygirl1971]

Lara, thanks, I will try that. As I said, I hate complaining about this when so many people have low supply-related problems, but it really does make things difficult sometimes...

[lisas3575]

Honeygirl, all problems are valid, especially the ones that plague you. Hang in there. That nursing position (laying down on my back with Owen on top of me) really did help. My LC told me it lets them "sip" at it like a water fountain instead of having it shot down their throat. What a visual!

ETA: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :cool:

[honeygirl1971]

Honeygirl, all problems are valid, especially the ones that plague you. Hang in there. That nursing position (laying down on my back with Owen on top of me) really did help. My LC told me it lets them "sip" at it like a water fountain instead of having it shot down their throat. What a visual!

ETA: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :cool:

Thanks, Lisa! :) It does shoot down his throat causing the little guy to cough and choke a lot! And this morning he let go to cough and even though NEITHER of us was touching the breast, the milk was spraying all over! What the heck! :eek: :o I will definitely try laying down, that sounds like a good idea. :)

[valchemist]

even though NEITHER of us was touching the breast, the milk was spraying all over! What the heck! :eek:


this was the norm for both of my kids. happened often. just to let you know you aren't a freak of nature!

[Sarah428]

even though NEITHER of us was touching the breast, the milk was spraying all over!
And I always thought that only happened in movies! :p

Thanks for the advice re: low supply. It actually seems to be a little better today. I called the dr yesterday and they don't give the Rx and told me to drink more water (I currently drink 120oz a day) and to rest :rolleyes:. So hopefully I'll pump more over the weekend and maybe get something back in the fridge.

Re:Cooking Like Maria we've used up our freezer stash. For the past 2 weeks I've been cooking out of a CL supplement magazine titles Super Fast. If I don't de meal planning on the weekends and cook we're in trouble for the rest of the week.

Owen is rolling over from his belly to back, he's at work today and I just found him under my chair! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Sarah

[honeygirl1971]

this was the norm for both of my kids. happened often. just to let you know you aren't a freak of nature!

Thanks, Val...like Sarah I thought that only happened in movies! :p

[NewMrsG]

I have this! And Brendan is 9 months old today. It seems to have gotten worse the last few months. My hips don't feel like they've gone back into place sometimes - when I first get up it takes a few steps for them to start moving correctly. Also when I've been sitting or laying down when I get up my feet hurt - swollen or circulation issues. Similar to how I felt right after my c-section. I don't know if it has to do with pregnancy or something else - old age, moving to the dessert and not drinking enough water, less activity since I work from hom I don't move around a large office building or walks in from the parking lot (must get to the gym!!!).

That's exactly it! The thing with the feet has freaked me out the most - scary to have them feel stiff and knowin I couldn't run out of the room if I needed to - even if it does go away quickly. I have no swellin or discoloration though. This does make me feel better - that it must somehow be pregnancy related. I'm sure we don't BOTH have life-threatening illnesses ;)

[TLee4]

Question for Sarah or Maria or anyone else with "big" babies who pumps and sends milk to daycare..

My MIL normally gives Joey a 5 oz bottle every 3 hours. He drinks 3 bottles and I pump 3 times at work. It seems like he is still hungry (or at least he wants to eat..not sure if he NEEDS to be fed, but I feel like we should feed him if he is hungry!) I think she thinks we shouldn't "overfeed" him. Anyway, I know we discussed this before, but is this about how much BM your babies are drinking in daycare?

Terri

p.s. he definitely doesn't look malnourished. I'll have his official stats when we go to his 4 month appt on Mon.

[Sarah428]

Terri
Owen drinks 2 6oz bottles while at daycare; here's the current schedule:
7am - BF before dropping off
1am - 6oz bottle
2pm - 6oz bottle
6pm - BF
8pm - BF again before bed
(sometimes up at midnight to nurse)
4am - BF

Does Joey take a pacifier (Owen won't)? He might not be hungry but just want to "suck". Could be a growth spurt as well; Owen had 1 a few weeks ago where he could eat every 2-3 hours!

[DanaSD]

I have a big 9 month old - he's always been in the 90-95% for weight and height. When I was breastfeeding I had no idea how much he was eating though he ate often. At 6 months he switched to formula and was drinking 4 8 ounce bottles and 1 feeding that was up to 14 ounces - thats 46 ounces a day which is on the high side. Now he's down to 4 8-ounces bottles (though last night had drank 11 ounces before bed instead of just 8). His milk consuption went down a little when we introduced solids but he doesn't eat that much solids at all.

[lbd]

Not much time today but wanted to chime in on the milk shooting from the boob -- it's not as much of a problem anymore but I used to have multiple streams of milk shooting out my right boob when DS would take a break. Got him in the eye at least once. :eek:

[Bawstinn]

We are still pretty *flexible* with our feeding schedule, but Madeleine does eat every 3 - 4 hours.

She was taking 5oz bottles at daycare but this week some 6oz bottles have crept in there. She has been downing her 5oz bottles and looking for more so they have given her an extra ounce and then she seems satisfied.

Madeleine doesn't overeat with a bottle - but she will nurse for comfort at times, and that is when she ends up spitting up. She is not spitting up with the 6oz bottles, so I am assuming she isn't overeating, she is really just hungry.

She is unofficially up to 17 pounds now and she is a long girl - her 6 month jeans are like capris now. Poor kid, with 2 parents 6' tall, she really doesn't have a choice but to be tall - unless my grandma's 4'10" short gene snuck in there.

[TLee4]

Thanks guys. One thing I found out is that although it looks like I am pumping 5 oz into the bags, MIL says it's more like 4 oz when poured into a bottle. And today they (MIL and FIL) told me that he sucks the bottle down and then gets upset when it's empty (not all the time, but I wish they would have told me!!) Maybe I can add an extra pumping session in at work or something. I'll see what the doctor says on Monday, but now I feel like we've been starving the kid. (Even though he was in the 90th percentile for weight last time we were at the doctor! But still..a baby shouldn't have to be hungry, right?!)

No, he doesn't take a paci either.

Terri