Moms of newborns - 5 month olds, meet here!

[BTB]

Edited to clarify: the reason I thought this belonged more as a parenting 'discussion' thread than a 'group' thread is that who posts here will constantly be in flux, since, of course, babes grow up; groups like "Jan 06 moms" are more of a 'club' in the sense that it's a discreet group defined at one point in time. I hope that eventually, this thread will be a source of information on the first six months of life, just as the cloth diapering, breastfeeding, babywearing, etc threads are resource threads, instead of "groups" - i.e. "Breastfeeding Support" instead of "Calling all Breastfeeders". :D

[deliciousjones]

I think threads like these would go in the groups forum.

[BTB]

I never really thought of them as group threads. There's a fine line I think, at some point every thread could be a 'group' thread - the "Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes" thread is a "group" of people discussing TomKat. No problemo if a mod/admin wants to move them, but I think they'll get off the ground better if they're in parenting.

BTW, hi Christine, very good to "see" you over here! :D

[T&M'sMommy]

Megan is 2 months old.

[BTB]

Our babies were born just a few days apart. :)

Evie's in her sling now, we're both wide awake. She slept really well last night, but I didn't, and I didn't get up until noon. Ah, I love weekends, when DH is home. :D Tomorrow could be a different story. Our days are just pretty unpredictable still. The only sure thing is, whether we've had a great night or a rough one, she'll be sound asleep at dawn, and is an angel in the mornings. Sunset is her fussy time. I might have given birth to a vampire.

[Chylynn]

My DD is 11 weeks old and is just like BTBs' baby- good during the day and fussy at sunset, but, at leaste she is sleeping through the night!

[Jessie]

My DD is 7 weeks old. We also have one who's fussy in the evening (usually from 6pm-8pm). I can't complain though, she sleeps from about 9pm to 2am, eats, then goes back to sleep to 7:30-8.

[SaphirimalMei]

My DD Jillian was born 2/1/2005.

question: This thread is through 5 months, right? :)

[diedra1027]

DD is 7 weeks old and we'll join the evening fussy club as well. It is slowly getting better, so I'm excited about that.

She sleeps really well at night (from 11pm - 5am), but the rest of the day is still unpredictable. I'm re-reading my sleep books today, but I think it's time to start working on an earlier bedtime for Avery.

Anybody have a baby that hates the car seat and/or stroller? I'm joining a new moms workout group two weeks from today. At this time, my kiddo gets very upset after only a few minutes in the seat. Being in motion works for a short while, but this is an hour long class! Anybody find any tips that worked for their baby??

[happy1nuv]

DS is just under 6 weeks... and he HATES his carseat too. A friend of mine suggested getting toys to hang off the carry bar - give him something to look at... We bought some, but haven't gone anywhere since, so I don't know if it will work or not.

Great idea for a thread BTB!!

oH... And us to the evenng fussy group too...

:)

[Tenny]

Mom of a 9 week old here! DS only likes the carseat if it is moving and then only for a limited time. I think he gets hot in there, I usually wear him in one of the many carriers I have when we are in a store.

[jlc1012]

Aiden is 14 weeks. He is such a good baby. He has been sleeping through the night since 4 weeks (11pm-7am). Now he goes to bed at 8:30 pm and wakes up around 7:30 am. :)

[twinnyme]

Hi everyone! This is my first post on Constant Chatter!

I have a 5.5 month old, Becca.

Becca USED to sleep well. Slept through the night at around 8 weeks for about a month, then started getting up once a night. Last night she slept from 8 to 5 so we are thrilled this morning! (Started applesauce in addition to rice cereal last night; don't know if that helped, but whatever worked, I'm grateful.) Not too fussy during the day - I've noticed recently that she's playing better on her own now.

Becca LOVES her carseat. Always has. Slept very well in it at the beginning, and then began to slowly wake up in it - but is still good and quiet most of the time, unless we're en route and she's hungry (though we try not to time it that way). May be because I've taken her on two long trips to NYC by myself when I was on maternity leave.

I've been back at work after leave for 2 months but I just took a new part-time job that I start on July 6th. I will work 18 hours a week and the commute is 20 minutes from home vs. an hour and 20 minutes, thank goodness.

Let's see, what else? I probably will go over to the 6-11 months thread soon, but I wanted to stop in here and say hi. I checked there first and most of the babies are closer to 11 months, so I figured I'd fit better here for a while....

[T&M'sMommy]

I had a gift certificate to use up for TRU. So I bought the leapfrog counting pal for Megan's car seat and stroller. Its cute. She doesn't have much interest right now, but maybe in the future.

[December27JJB]

Thank you BTB for starting this thread! Joining!

Parker is 2 weeks old.

She falls asleep as soon as we put her in her carseat.

She sleeps mostly through the night, wakes up around 2 or 3 then 5 or 6. She is not a fussy baby but prefers to be held. If we put her down, sometimes she starts fussing but stops as soon as someone picks her up.

I'm on maternity leave until September (12 weeks) but I think I am going to ask them if I can work from home. If not, I'll quit my job and stay home full time.

[BTB]

Jess! Congratulations! :D

So glad to see some familiar faces, and new ones too.

DD's asleep in her swing right now. Ahhhhh... Tuesdays one of the theatres nearby as a "Reel Moms" show where they leave the lights on a bit, and the theatre is all moms and babes one year old or less. Since my DD's clock is a bit off, and her "night" is dawn to noon, we haven't made it yet - the show's at 11 AM. She's 10 weeks old now, and I've meant to go every week since she was 6 weeks old and, well, we haven't made it yet.

Today we were thisclose to actually getting there, when I put her in her swing so I could restock her diaper bag. When I got back, she was sound asleep. We had such a fussy day yesterday, that I want her to get back into a better nap/wake pattern, so I let her be, and here I am on CC instead - not a bad tradeoff. :)

We just bought a bouncy seat over the weekend. Why are these things all so ugly? Baby Bargains recommends Fisher-Price, but they were kind of "loud" colored. We got the Safety 1st Sweet Dreams bouncer instead, picked purely on looks. It has a cow jumped over the moon theme, and is soft blue and yellow. Much cuter than the red/purple/green/blue creations. Put DD in it last night, and she loved it! It's got a nice 'slinging' effect to the seat.

Diedra: another car seat hater over here. So far we've just tried to avoid putting her in it. Could you bring a blanket for her, and a boppy or other floor-pillow type thing, and put her on that during the class when she gets fussy? Kudos to you for joining a workout class. :)

Tenny: I loved the supply/demand shirts you and your cutie were wearing in the pictures thread, where'd you find them?

[SaphirimalMei]

T&M'sMommy - I've always thought those leapfrog things sounded neat, but they are usually $$$. Hooray for gift cert's, right? :p

Melissa - nice to see you here :)

ETA... BTB, I am sooooo jealous of the fact that you have a theater that does "Reel Moms". Wish they did that here :(

[SaphirimalMei]

ACK... one more thing to add...

Jilly was always not so keen on being in her carseat...unless we were moving. It was such a prounounced difference between happy-baby-in-motion and motion-stopped-mad-baby that I made up the rhyme:

If we're not flyin' she's cryin'

Guess my baby had a need for speed :p

She stopped feeling this way once we got her into her "big girl" seat. She really likes it a lot for whatever reason.

[twinnyme]

Btw, I'm Melissa. :) I introduced my daughter, but not myself! Par for the course these days....

Good to see you here, too, Marisa! You make a good point about the need for speed - same here. I always tried to keep in motion - even to the point of timing the lights - maybe that's what helped Becca like the car/carseat.

BTB- I hope you get to a Reel Moms soon! We went to a couple when I was on leave, and it was wonderful.... but we didn't make it for weeks and weeks, either, for the same reason as you. If you do go, don't rush out after (if you can help it- I had to because I wanted to get Becca home to feed but we didn't make it - I ended up feeding her in the car! :rolleyes: But if I'd stayed inside and not rushed it, I probably could have found some new friends and chatted a bit! Just an idea, I hope you get to it soon. I didn't even care what movie was showing, I was just glad to be OUT!

[marchfamily]

Fancy seeing you guys here (Marisa, Melissa)! Hope your little ones are doing well. Did you see that Jen's guy is crawling? Yikes!

Update - E is STILL not STTN...argh.

[T&M'sMommy]

I only paid 24.99 for the caterpillar and its cute. I wanted the duckies that wrapped around the bar(by Fisher Price) but they were all sold out so I bought that.

[twinnyme]

Welcome, MarchFamily aka NNB! Glad to see you here, too. Sorry to hear that E is still not sleeping through the night. Hope it happens soon. We can empathize these days and now of course I'm convinced that since I gave her applesauce as her first real baby food (after rice cereal) and it helped her sleep that she's going to be addicted to sweet things like I am! I swear, peas is going to be the next food!

Yikes is right about crawling - we still have a LOT of childproofing to do. And as Jen said, life is forever gone as she knows it now!

[Tenny]

BTB Thanks! I actually found the shirt at Motherhood. I saw it and thought it was too cute to pass up! The onsie it comes with it pretty big. DS is already 13 lb 3 oz and it was a little big on him.

[SaphirimalMei]

Hello fellow jan mommies!

I started our group thread here (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=579)

[twinnyme]

Just back to subscribe....

[alisong]

Hey, I recognize a few faces! (Is it strange that I can recognize babies these days? Not too difficult with Becca's head of hair!)

Anyway, I'm here. I have a five-and-a-bit month old son, Felix Marshall. Here's a recent photo, taken on Father's Day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nostriliza/fathersday1small.jpg

[Carissa]

Hi everyone! I have a newborn Grace, she is 6 weeks and counting I'd love to join in.

[moderngal]

My DS is 6 weeks old. He's sleeping well- has been sleeping 4 and 5 hour stretches at night since week 2. Last week he gave us the best anniversary present- a 7 hour stretch!! He's been giving us little smiles and cooing every day- it's the best feeling in the world. :)
I'm back to work already and it's been miserable. I do love what I do, but it's tough.

[Brady]

Hi everyone, I'd like to join along. I have a 16 week old, he'll be 4 months next Monday. He finally started sleeping long stretches a couple of weeks ago, he'll go from about 8-9pm to about 4-6am. Thank heavens! There was a time I really thought I'd be up at 2am popping a pacifier in everyday for the rest of my life... ;)

[Pookie]

Hi everyone. My DS is 3 months old. He's been STTN since about 10 weeks, although we usually have to pop in the binky about once a night still. We're going on our first car trip tomorrow. (5 or 6 hours, so it should be interesting)

[BTB]

Pookie, hi! Long time, no see! :)

[twinnyme]

We're going on our first car trip tomorrow. (5 or 6 hours, so it should be interesting)

Pookie-have a great trip! As I mentioned it earlier, I've done a 4-hour trip with DD twice now, by myself. (DH is a CPA so during tax season, when she was first born, I went to my parents' in NY twice.) Anyway, I hope all goes well. We're also going to NY again this weekend, the first time with DH - I am so glad he'll be there, though the trips before went pretty well, except when we hit traffic on a bridge. It sure takes longer, though, and more patience! I'm hoping holiday traffic won't be too bad this weekend. We're going to go after her first feeding at 5 a.m. on Saturday!

[katzmeow671]

Hey Mamas! I have a DD who will be 4 months old on Sunday (the 3rd). I can't believe its been four months already!! Her name is Gracie and for her next trick that will simply amaze you... she rolled over from her back to her tummy yesterday for the first time! :D And I think she just discovered her hands yesterday too. She's known they were there for munching on for a while now but yesterday was the first time I've seen her actually staring at them. This is such a fun age of discovery and the best part is, since I've done this once before with my 7 1/2 year old DD, I know the best is yet to come! Looking forward to sharing the joys and trials of motherhood with you all!
Betsey

[scout]

All of your babies are so adorable! I just want to kiss them all! I have a four month old baby named Maxwell. (Pictures are in the link in my signature.)

He's the worst sleeper in the world. He still gets up every two hours or so. I'm exhausted! He's such a joy during the day, though, so that makes up for it.

[Dally]

Hi, everyone! I still need to read this whole thread, but I wanted to post a quick question while DD will let me type: DD is entertained for just a few minutes in her gymini, but can stare (and coo) at art (particularly one painting above her P&P changing stantion) for 20 minutes or so, with no interaction from me. Is this normal? It really surprises me! I feel guilty letting her do it with no interaction, but I like the "down time."

DD is just about 7 weeks old right now. TIA!

[BTB]

Dally - I think it's okay. Babies need 'down time' too, it could be that she's learned her PNP is more a place to chill, while the gymini is stimulating. I learned this morning that DD wakes up and just kind of hangs on her own a bit before starting to fuss. (didn't know that before because I don't usually wake up until the fussing comes over the monitor). :) It's normal to want to provide an enriched learning environment for your baby, but everything's new to them and they can learn just staring at a painting. She's working on eye muscle control, processing visual input, distinguishing shapes and colors, and if she's wiggling, even gaining muscle strength. :)

[Brady]

Dally- My son's favorite place used to be the changing table at that age, so I think it's completely normal! Back in the day before he started trying to roll himself right off the changing pad, he would just lay on there and coo and have a swell time on his own for a good 15 minutes or so. Our computer is right next to the changing table, so I would be typing emails (and of course keeping an eye on him!) while he was just talking away to the quilt on the wall in his diaper. :p Geez, I feel like a neglectful mother typing that, lol!

Enjoy it now because soon your DD will not be able to sit/lay still anywhere for more than a couple seconds!! :D

[Katie]

Hello! I have a 16 week old son, Evan. It's hard to believe that he will be 4 months next week. He's learning to roll over and is really grasping his toys on his play gym - it's so fun to watch him grow and discover the world around him.

[BooeyJ2]

Hi there :)

I have a 15 week old daughter named *Paige*. I can't believe that in a few weeks she'll be 4 months old already!! She is one of the happiest babies i've ever seen and just gets to be more fun by the day. Her giggles and smiles melt my heart and gazing into her eyes when i'm feeding her is wonderful. She rarely ever cries, she sleeps through the night and all in all is just a very good baby (we are very lucky!).



I've kept track of her stats and milestones so far.....

Born on 3/16/05 @ 12:50pm - weighing 7 lbs 12 oz - 20.5 " long

1 MONTH - 10 lbs 2 oz - 21 3/4" long
2 MONTHS - 13 lbs even - 23 3/4" long
3 MONTHS - 15 lbs even - 25" long



4/11/05 - First "coo"-ing
4/18/05 - First "real" smile.
4/30/05 - Started sleeping "through the night" (6 1/2 hours)
5/7/05 - First real laugh!
5/19/05 - Started sleeping in her crib at night.
5/22/05 - Really starting kicking feet (especially when excited).
5/31/05 - Starting sucking on hands and fingers like crazy.
6/5/05 - First real grab at toys.
6/9/05 - Starting bringing hands together.
6/18/05 - First bad cold (congested, runny nose and cough)
6/20/05 - Rolled over! (and I missed it because it was my first day back at work. Uggh!)

[maggieb]

I just realized that I'll be joining this group soon as DD#2 is due 7/19, but will probably come sooner! Nice to meet all of you. :)

[scout]

Dally That's a sign that your baby is becoming independent! Totally normal, and good! I find that when I let my ds on his own, that's when he learns new things. As others have said, babies need down time. I used to think that I had to interact with my baby all the time and he would get overstimulated.

[diedra1027]

Dally, my DD is the same age and does the same thing. I'll leave her on the changing table as long as she's happy. I sing and talk to her while she's up there and I put my hand up for her to press her feet against. She'll really get to kicking up a storm - it's so cute! I keep trying to figure out how I can recreate that enviornment in the stroller, so that she'll be that happy while I get some exercise.

[Dally]

Thanks, everyone! I feel better. I guess I was feeling like I needed to interact with her all the time, but I'm happy if she's happy. And I wouldn't mind the time with both hands free. :)

And, since I needed another excuse to post a pic :D, here's Annalie on her changing table, staring at the art on the wall (she couldn't care less about the bunny I put on her).
http://images.snapfish.com/3443336323232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2327%3D9%3B6%3D538%3DX ROQDF%3E232393%3A4%3A9582ot1lsi

[twinnyme]

I guess I was feeling like I needed to interact with her all the time, but I'm happy if she's happy. And I wouldn't mind the time with both hands free. :)

I used to feel this way, too, until I went back to work, and she was stimulated a lot during the day at daycare. Though I of course wanted to spend 100% of my time with her afterwards, I realized that she was stimulated during the day and that she needed some downtime when we got home. It may also help Annalie (pretty name!) learn to play on her own - a goal of mine for Becca....

ETA: I came back to post a photo and a question! I realized I haven't posted a full photo of Becca yet in this thread. Here she is:

ETA#2: edited to remove photos

Also, my question: We introduced solids a couple of weeks ago - rice cereal at first, and now mixed with applesauce the last few days. Becca used to be very regular in terms of her poops - once a day (though at varying times). Now I think she hasn't had a poop in a couple of days. Is this normal with introducing solids? She still is drinking her usual amount of formula in a day - about 24-30 oz. per day - and still has plenty of wet diapers. Any thoughts?

[kimthebride]

Hi Ladies!

When do we start tummy time?
How long are the 'sessions'?

Thanks!

[BooeyJ2]

Hi Ladies!

When do we start tummy time?
How long are the 'sessions'?

Thanks!


There's lots of info here....
http://www.parents.com/articles/age/5610.jsp


Hope that helps :)

[kimthebride]

Booey - Thanks for the link! I didn't realize we were to wait until 3-4 months...glad I checked!

[BooeyJ2]

Booey - Thanks for the link! I didn't realize we were to wait until 3-4 months...glad I checked!


Well 3-4 months is when I think they actually really start liking it (being able to hold us their heads up and everything). At the bottom of that page is also said this:

"Start early. Place your newborn belly-down on your chest or across your lap for a few minutes so he gets accustomed to the position. Just don't do it right after a feeding; pressure on his full abdomen may cause him to spit up."



We started doing "tummy time" even when she was just a few weeks old. Now she enjoys it though. Before she would just lay there since she couldn't really lift her head or anything ;)

Just make sure you give enough practice being on the belly, otherwise your baby might grow to HATE being on their belly (like my nephew...who SCREAMED bloody murder every time haha).

[alienhost]

Hello All! Ah this is much easier to use than the new WC!

My DD (Katherine) just turned 2 months on Monday. She was born one month early. I cannot believe two months have passed!

SSTN - she sleeps from 11 to 5AM most nights. This has been going on since she was about 6 weeks old.

Carseat She only likes the carseat when we are moving, either in the car, on the stroller/snap n go or being carried by us.

Tummytime I was told in the hospital to try it for 5 minutes at time, even right after she was born. DD hated it so I didn't do it much. Now that she has better control of her head, she doesn't mind it so much. The ped recommended at her recent visit to make sure we do it everyday.

[Carissa]

Sleeping Grace varies in her sleeping some nights she will only wake up once others she will wake up more especially when she is going through a growth spurt.

Dally Grace will stare at her swing for long periods of time. She'll be content in there for awhile and it allows me some of my own down time.

We are off for our first long trip in the first of August. We are headed to Texas to visit my family. Everyone has such adorable kids!

Here is Grace at 6 1/2 weeks.
http://images.snapfish.com/34433%3A4723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2323%3D%3A2%3C%3D9%3 A7%3D3232%3A2%3C8%3B679%3Anu0mrj

[HGMorgann]

Hi.
I am mom to 4 mo. old Morgann. (who hates the carseat still most of the time, especially if its dark she will scream her head off!) She is a great little girl. She just started sitting up on her own. Growing up tooooo fast!

[seattleguamgirl]

Hi,

My son Roman James will turn five months in a couple of days--I hope I can still hang out here for a while. :)

Question for mommies with four or five month-olds: When did your baby start lunging for toys? Right now Roman will grasp toys in his hands but when he is on his activity gym or in his exersaucer, he just looks at them or ignores them. Anyone else seeing this?

[BTB]

Sigh... DD is sleeping so well tonight, and now I have insomnia. LOL... never thought I'd be unable to sleep again, I came so close to sleeping standing up a few times... she went to sleep at 8:30, got up at 2 and ate a little, and has been fast asleep since. If only I could be taking advantage of it!

[kimthebride]

BTB
Can you kinda 'force' yourself to sleep? I make myself get in bed with eyeshades on and do deep breathing at least. Sometimes that helps me fall asleep when I don't feel like it. Like my body just shuts down eventually because I need it so badly even if my mind doesn't want to. :)

[docoNY]

bumping this thread up.. I will be joining you ladies next week.. going to the hospital to be induced so hopefully some point tomorrow or Sat I should have a newborn! :)

[December27JJB]

Hey there Mamas I have a question for you all, what brand of newborn diapers do/did you use? DD is so tiny and still uses her newborn diapers. They fit her but when other people change her they leak. How do I know when she outgrows newborn diapers. Because one of my friends told me she only used Swaddlers for 1 week and her baby outgrew it...her baby was born 7 lbs and according to the package the diapers come in, it says its good up until 10 lbs (I think) so theres no way her baby gained all that weight in 1 week. I tried other diapers but I dont like how they fit her and they leak even more. Thank you in advance!

[Brady]

December- I used the Pampers newborn swaddlers. Had some diaper blowouts, but not too many leaks. My son was 7lbs when he left the hospital and I'd say he stayed in them for about 4-5 weeks. I just knew they were getting too small when I was putting them on and found I really had to pull the elastic over. I had also taken him in to be weighed and he was 9 something, so I knew my time with them was short. I think the next size up is 8lbs-12? I'm blanking at the moment, so there is sort of an "in between" one too...

Good Luck Doco!!

[Koala_Gurl]

Hey there Mamas I have a question for you all, what brand of newborn diapers do/did you use? DD is so tiny and still uses her newborn diapers. They fit her but when other people change her they leak. How do I know when she outgrows newborn diapers. Because one of my friends told me she only used Swaddlers for 1 week and her baby outgrew it...her baby was born 7 lbs and according to the package the diapers come in, it says its good up until 10 lbs (I think) so theres no way her baby gained all that weight in 1 week. I tried other diapers but I dont like how they fit her and they leak even more. Thank you in advance!

DD was 8 lbs 9 oz, and in the hospital they put her into 1s right away. I tried to use the few packages of NB, but eventually had to go to 1s myself. I would ignore the "upper" limit on the diapers, DD is in size 2, almost 3, and she has never gotten close to the upper limit before needing the next size. (You'll notice there is quite a big overlap between the upper range of the smaller size and the lower limit of the bigger size.)

[Chylynn]

My DD used Huggies Newborn and Pampers Swaddlers Newborn until 2 months (she was only 5lbs, 13 oz when she was born), but we are now using Pampers Swaddlers size 1-2. We switched when she started leaking (I think she was around 9 lbs) and the leaking stopped when we went up one size.

[December27JJB]

Thank you all for responding! I think I am going back and use the Pampers Swaddlers because they didnt leak for us.

Again thank you thank you!!

[Candy]

Hey everyone!

Maya will be 5 months old on the 15th. She also HATES the carseat. I'm hoping when we get the new one she likes it better. She is doing better atleast and will last up to 10 minutes now without screaming.

We have used both Huggies and Pampers Swaddlers. Love the Pampers!

[jess&dan]

HI everyone! Nathan turned 5 months last Thursday...they grow up too fast!

I now use Huggies because he's out of the swaddler range. The Huggies have been okay so far...no leaking (knock on wood).

And Nathan hates the carseat too...mostly because he's a mover and can't stand being strapped down. But he's getting better with it.

[curlywig]

Does anyone know if there is another Pamper diaper like the Swaddlers for size 3 and up? We LOVE the swaddlers and I'm hoping there will be something similar when DS needs the next size.

I can't believe DS is 12 weeks old! Today was his first day with a sitter (the nanny we'll be using when I go back to work in October). Hard to leave him with anyone...

[BooeyJ2]

Does anyone know if there is another Pamper diaper like the Swaddlers for size 3 and up? We LOVE the swaddlers and I'm hoping there will be something similar when DS needs the next size.

I can't believe DS is 12 weeks old! Today was his first day with a sitter (the nanny we'll be using when I go back to work in October). Hard to leave him with anyone...



I've heard that "Pampers Cruisers" are equivalent to size 3 Swaddlers (there aren't actualy Size 3+ Swaddlers).

[moderngal]

We're using Huggies size 1-2 now (they go up to 15lbs). I think they are starting to get a little snug now though, so I guess we'll be moving up a size soon.

DS seems to be fine with his car seat, but I am sick of it. I can't stand how heavy and awkward it is to carry. I can't wait to just use the convertible.

[kimthebride]

Out of curiosity..what's the difference between Pampers Swaddlers vs Baby Dry? I happily use Swaddlers.

[seattleguamgirl]

I think Pampers Baby Dry is their mid-line product (Swaddlers/Cruisers are on the higher end side and Luvs (also made by Pampers) is on the low end).

We use Huggies and like it okay. I think I'm going to go back to Pampers now that Roman is in size 3s. We loved the swaddlers!

I also can't wait for Roman to grow out of the snugride car seat. It fits terribly in our car (we have a VW Jetta). I think a convertible seat will fit much better! I'm glad he doesn't mind being in it though.

[NYKidLib]

Hi everyone,
I have a newborn son name Kevin who was born by C-Section on July 1st. The first week home has been a bit overwhelming even with all the warnings that it would be tough.

He is eating well, although spitting up A LOT! Anyone else have a young one that spits up a formula a lot?

While the baby is going great, mom is a bit battle weary. I had complications from right after delivery to the day after I came home from the hospital. I developed toxemia right after the baby was born and got very sick the first 24 hours. A course of Magnesium Sulfate fixed me but the treatment was almost as bad as the illness. After I got home the incision failed to start healing so it had to be reopened and now I have a nurse who comes 2x a day to pack it with gauze and apply dressings. I'm told it will eventually close on its on but it hurts like heck and try to feed a fussy newborn propped on your tummy is tough.

Other than that things are going well. Its nice to find a thread to talk with moms who also have newborns and up.

[maggieb]

I don't have a whole lot of time to post, but I want to go through and read this thread soon and get to know you guys. My DD#2, Marisa Carmen, was born July 8 (Friday) at 2:55PM and was 8lbs. 3oz and 20.5 in long. We just got home from the hospital today and she is wanting to nurse around the clock. Will update more later...she's rooting around right now.

[Chylynn]

Welcome all new Mommies!!!

QOTD: -Has anyone started letting their DC watch Baby Einstein videos? DH and I started letting Rebecca (3mths, 1wk) watch them this week, and she really enjoys them, but I am wondering if you guys think it might be a bit "early"? Any thoughts...

[LilMarty]

Hi everyone! DS Nolan is 4 months now. We had his 4mth check up today and he weighed 15lbs 2 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long.

QOTD-We started letting our DS watch the Baby Mozart video around 3 months and he absolutely loves it! The first few times he watched he would only watch around 15 mins and then wrould start fussing... now he watches the whole thing. It is so cute to watch him!

[curlywig]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on videos all together. At my mom's group, the nurse leading the group said that TV and videos are not good for babes to watch. She said if you need 10 minutes without the baby fussing, that's fine, but not to think we're doing something good for them. She said studies have shown that babies really only see flashing lights (like what you and I see if a computer screen is shown on TV...just lines moving up the computer screen).

For that reason, I've kept DS (3 months) from watching TV at all unless it's only for a second. But, that's all the info I have on the subject, so I'll readily admit I'm not the most informed person. Certainly not judging, just letting you all know what I was told, be it right or wrong.

Do you guys have any more info?

[katzmeow671]

I've heard about all of the studies too but my 7 1/2 year old has been watching TV (educational only for her first 7 years.. only recently letting her branch out a bit) since she was a babe and she's smart as a whip. Point being, I didn't see any harm in letting her baby sister watch Baby Einstein. She absolutely loves it and reacts to different parts of the video with squeals and giggles which makes me think she can see more than flashing lights. She also loves the Pooh Heffalump movie. We certainly don't make a habit of plopping her in front of the TV but I was shocked by how intently she watched Baby Einstein at just 3 months of age. Now if I need to go fold laundry or do dishes, she's perfectly entertained.

That being said, my older DD is never just watching TV. She's always busy multi-tasking.. coloring, reading, drawing with the TV in the background. If she had more couch potato tendancies we'd definitely be doing something about it.

[beansmom]

Hi everyone,

I'm mom to 3 month old Skylar. She's been growing so quickly, we can't believe it. She started out at 6 lbs, 13 oz. 20" and is now 13 lbs, 8 oz and 23". She's been the greatest - even when every bone and muscle in my body protests in fatigue as I rock her.

We have yet to purchase the Baby Einstein videos, but likely will pick some up by the end of this week. DH & I believe that moderation is key with televisions. Content does matter, of course.

My 2 cents:
As for babies focusing on the "flashing of lights", etc. I believe that even if that were all they were seeing, it is still helping their brains make new neural connections. After all, if they respond to the lights, then they are practicing their visual focusing skills, etc. Same with the music recognition, et al. It all starts with making new neural connections.

[Rmeposey]

Hi Everyone,

Joining in, some of you know me from WC.
My DS Nathan will be 5 month next monday. We use Pampers Swaddlers 2, we've had good luck with them since birth, tried Huggies but had to many leaks.

QOTD - Nathan watches TV, Baby Einstein videos, Barney, Clifford the Red Dog... He loves it, and it gives me some time to get things done.

[kimthebride]

So at Thomas's 2am feeding he sounds a little stuffy, at the end of his feeding I change him and he gets so frustrated, crying, putting his hands by his nose...I couldn't see any boogers but even Tom could hear his trouble breathing from across the room. He refused to lay down alone, only relaxed in my arms so I slept in the chair with him on my shoulder.

Finally around 7am I had to lay him down, and after a little while he finally had a few sneezes and started crying: the BIGGEST booger I have ever seen came out of his teeny nostril! But he sounds so much better now.

I know they only breathe out of their noses (unless crying), so this was a little scary for me. Funny how a little snot can cause such drama.

[cgmom313]

Hello Everyone - Just joining... My DD was 4 months old yesterday. I have lurked alot on WC but thought I would bite the bullet and start joining threads. It may help me as a new mother and make new friends with folks going through some of the same issues.

My daughter is big she was 19lbs and 25 inches long at her appt yesterday. She is a formula feed baby. Tried to BF but my milk never really came in. I was disappointed but got over it to do what was best for my DD.

Look forward to going through this journey with everyone.

[Sasha]

Hi everyone :)

Joining in...DD, Sarah Elise, will be 2 months old on Saturday, she was born on May 16 via c/s. We have had a rough start - she was diagnosed with severe reflux, she had a hospital stay because of salmonella poisoning, we've had tons of BF'ing issues - but things seem to be getting much better now.

[alienhost]

diapers we are still using Pampers Swaddlers (DD is 11 weeks). We are in size 1 or 1-2. I moved out of newborns b/c we ran out around when she was 7 lbs and I had a big case of 1-2s from Costco so I started using those. The 1-2s are a little "bunchy" around the butt, although I haven't had many leaks. Eventhough the Newborn size says to 10 lbs, she was having "plumber's butt" syndrome when she was just 7lbs so I think the bigger ones were better.

I tried Baby Dry size 1-2 and they really didn't work well for us. I like how the swaddlers are stretchy and the Baby Dry really aren't. Maybe when she is a bit closer to the end of the size range the Baby Dry will work OK.

Baby Einstein I received one DVD (Baby Nursery I think) as a gift and played it for her once. She really wasn't that interested at 9 weeks or so. I did buy two more DVDs to try (Baby Mozart and Baby Bach). I think it is OK to use once in a while.

[twinnyme]

Baby Einstein DVD's - We have used them. For a while (a period of about two weeks), she was watching one every morning, to help with the transition time between when I left for work and when DH brought her to daycare. But I was getting nervous about it because she seemed to start to expect it as part of her routine, and when it didn't happen she fussed. She also sometimes stared at the blank TV screen and cried. I ALWAYS planned to show them to her, and still will, but I could see the affect on her was a little odd and that worried me. So it will be more occasional now. Now we try to put her in the swing or bouncy seat instead, with toys, so she can stimulate herself.

I've moved over to the 6 month thread now, as Becca was 6 months yesterday! See you all over there when you move on, too.

[MrsT]

Hi ya'll. I've got a 4.5 month old - Elliott who also hated the carseat until we switched to a Marathon convertible and now he likes it (he likes to sit up and look around).

Diapers - We're swaddler lovers over here. I think he was in NB swaddlers for at least a month and a half and we'll be sad when he grows out of the 2s.

TV - We don't do TV. For one, the AAP recommends no TV for kids under 2 (various research suggests this would be best). For the other, I don't want my kid addicted to tv - as he grows I would like him to prefer the outdoors and creative play to video games and Disney. (No offense meant here, people's opinions vary greatly on this subject). This means that DH and I are also cutting our tv time drastically and I've found it is much nicer to chat in the evenings than stare at the tube (though the Andy Milonakis show on MTV IS pretty funny).

Tummy time - DS hated tummy time with a passion until he started rolling over. Now every time I put him on his back he rolls to his tummy and is content to stay like that. Weird.

As for when he started grabbing at toys? Around 4 mos he got really interested in putting everything into his mouth - this means he tries to grab everything and pull. He's gotten re-interested in his bouncy and travel swing b/c of this.

Any babies crawling yet? Elliott rolls every which way, turns in circles, and tries to scoot on his tummy, but has yet to get on all 4s. Just curious as to when it starts.

[cgmom313]

Diapers - We use Pampers Baby Dry and have tried Huggies because I always seem to have a coupon, however the Baby Dry seems to have more room in them for my chunky baby girl.

TV- My DD likes to watch Baby Einstein videos but only for about 15 minutes or so and then she is not intrested at all. She also stops and listens to the TV when Shania Twain videos are on. My DH loves Shania and I think my DD loves it because we went to her concert when I was preggers and my hubby listens to the CD all the time when I was preggers. It is so funny, she can be fussy and Shania comes on she is all content. Other than that we usually have play time in her room, outside, or in the kitchen in the swing.

Tummy Time - My DD loves Tummy Time from Day 1. She loves to sleep on her tummy. (I know I know they are not suppose to because of Sids) That is the only way she will sleep, if she rolls to her back she screams. I talked to my DR and she said since she is a big baby and holds her head up fine there is no reason not to let her sleep on her stomach. She only likes to play on her back not sleep.

[Koala_Gurl]

TV - DD pretty much only watches what is on (meaning I don't put her in front of the TV with Baby Einstein or similar). I tried once, and she wasn't very interested. She will glance at the TV once in a while, but doesn't really pay much attention to it.

crawling - DD is getting awfully close (though I don't know how long it will actually take to put all the motions together!) She is just barely up on her hands and knees, and is starting to rock a bit (think of a sprinter at a starting line rocking back & forth). She is much better on soft surfaces (like the couch) than on the floor.

tummy time - We have been doing little bits of this since pretty early on. Now that DD has figured out how to roll from her back to her belly, she isn't on her back much anymore. I take her to Gymboree, and when we are trying to do the games with the children on their backs, I can't get her to stay there. She just flips onto her tummy and watches the rest of the class.

Diapers - We are finishing up the Swaddlers in size 2, and I bought a package of size 3 Cruisers. They are soft like the Swaddlers (but, have any of you noticed that there are two different types of Swaddlers? I don't understand, but one package I bought was SUPER soft, the others were soft, but not this soft. I think one was a yellow package, one was purple, but both were Swaddlers size 2. Hmmmm...) So anyway the Cruisers are like the not soft verson of the Swaddlers (if that makes any sense!) ;) Since there is so much overlap in diaper sizes, I am going to finish up the size 2s and move right to the 3s since they actually fit (but are a bit big.)

[curlywig]

I don't know if what I've been doing lately is the norm or not, but if not, I'd love to know what other mommies are doing.

Lately, I've been feeling very home-bound...not b/c we have no place to go or nothing to do, but b/c I feel like I want DS to get in his naps. For instance, rather than taking his usual (okay, it's a pattern this week) 3 hour nap from 2-5, DS napped for maybe 45 min. He was very very fussy. DH and I had a party we were supposed to go to for some friends, and I told DH I didn't want to go and take DS...I wanted to start his bedtime routine to make sure he got to sleep when he needed to. Had we gone to the party, he wouldn't have gotten to bed until at least 2 hours later than normal. (Factor in that we're having DS's pic taken tomorrow morning at 10am).

I tend to do this during the day too....trying to plan things around his naps rather than having DS conform to my schedule.

Input?

[Chylynn]

I do the same thing! I love that I have a bedtime schedule for Rebecca now and I don't want to ruin it. Two Fridays ago, we went out to eat with our family and I felt so bad because she could not fall asleep at the resturant. I told my DH I am not doing that again- it just isn't fair to her. He talked me into going out again this past Friday and she did okay, but I don't like doing that to her.

I definately coform my schedule during the day around her naps. She is such a happy baby once she gets her sleep that she needs. :D

Does anyones husband poke fun at you about feeding/nap schedules? My husband laughs at me, but I stick to her schedules (within reason, of course) as close as possible. I need it for my sanity!!

[Brady]

Schedules: It def. is a little tricky trying to plan around sleeping schedules, but like others.. my son is much happier when he gets his naps! A couple of weeks ago we were on vacation, and we def. planned things around when he would wake up, etc. so as not to interuppt his schedule. One afternoon my husband woke him to go to a ballgame, and although he was fine at first, he soon was very cranky and we ultimately had to leave early so he could get back to nap... so I think that's how my husband learned it IS important that we keep him on somewhat of a schedule. I will say that as tough as it's been for me personally to have him in daycare, it really has helped to get him started on more "scheduled" naps, eating times, etc. I think as he's got older, it's def. easier also to read his cues.

As for TV , we haven't tried Einstein videos or the like yet. Basically my son watches a lot of baseball and golf, lol. That tends to always be what is on at night or the weekend if we have the tv on. He'll be well versed in sports talk, if anything. ;)

As for tummytime - once he learned to roll back to belly, now he'll only sleep on his belly.. after the first anxiety ridden nights of my checking on him 647846 times, I realize he is very happy sleeping like that and I can finally sleep again myself (our Ped. also gave us peace of mind on it). But, yeah.. he loves being on his belly and trying to scoot himself across the room (usually using his face as leverage... :rolleyes: ).

[BTB]

Another chiming in on schedules that I think it's definitely the way to go to plan the adult's (or adults') day around the baby's naps. It's not spoiling, it's meeting a biological need, just like feeding the babe when s/he's hungry. Besides, dragging a cranky baby around is no fun! It is more limiting than when they were tiny little newborns, and you could take them anywhere and they'd sleep the whole time. But DD's so much fun when she's well-rested, and it's a small, and temporary, sacrifice.

I guess I'm another 'mean mom' of the bunch ;) - I'm following the AAP guidelines of absolutely no television before age 2. It does provide stimulation, that's for sure, but studies have shown it's not the "good kind" of stimulation, and that kids come to expect that kind of entertainment (song-and-dance numbers, flashing lights and colors, intense stimulation and frequent shifting that encourages a little brain not to pay attention to any one thing for very long) and can have delays in their ability to engage in other less exciting pursuits, like reading. And I'm putting my money where my mouth is - DH and I only watch tv when DD's asleep, and for me that meant giving up my main source of amusement during prolonged nighttime feedings (we're in the midst of a growth spurt and she's eating like a newborn).

I don't have a favorite diaper. We've used Swaddlers, and I love how soft they feel, but we have an equal number of leaks using those as using Huggies Supreme. I can tell a difference between Swaddlers/Supremes and the lower lines, but not between those two, so we buy what's on sale or what we have a coupon for.

Tummy time: now that DD's got the head control thing down pat, she's working on figuring out what her arms are for and if they can bear weight. I like to tummy her on her Boppy, she still gets some practice and strengtening but with less gruesome-looking nosedives when she tires. :eek:

[HGMorgann]

diaper whatever is on sale! We used CVS brand and Walmart brand with no leaks. I do like Huggies now that she is older - we had lots of leaks when she was younger. She is size three, btw.

tv we do let her watch some. She sometimes is interested and sometimes not. its more so b/c I am lazy honestly. I feel like I should be more diligent in this issue and not let her....sigh.

tummytime we were very diligent with this before DD started rolling. Now that she rolls, she initiates it herself for the most part. BUT, she is sitting up now, so she really spends little time lying flat during the day. Should we make her do it more to help her learn to crawl, I wonder? She does move from sitting to hands/knees now....

[MrsT]

On scheduling I WISH I could plan my day around schedules. My kid doesn't have one! That makes me feel even more house bound! I never want to wake him, so he tends to tell me when I can and can't do things. :p DH and I also try to stay home most evenings b/c like the other babies mentioned, DS is much happier when well-rested and has lately been unable to sleep anywhere but home at night (Darn, I miss the days when I could hold him in the Bjorn for a few hours at a party or dinner out while he slept!).


About sitting and tummy time I really wouldn't think that less tummy time is an issue. I remember when my niece began to sit she did so ALL the time and never really liked tummy time. We used to try to entice her to crawl with toys just out of reach and eventually she did start crawling (with no extra tummy time). By the way, I'm jealous that Morgann is sitting by herself already! Elliott wants to sit up all the time but can only do the tripod thing for a few minutes before he face plants. :D

[happy1nuv]

Nic is 2 mos old today... where does the time go?

TV question... I always have the tv on for baxkground noise ... right now, nic still sleeps thru anything and i want to cont to encourage that... we usually hang out in the same room as te tv...is that the same as letting them watch tv? if it is, ill switch to music in the background...

schedules ~ nic's anothe one without a schedule...but, since he'll only sleep in someones ams anyway, as long as i'm flexible with leave times, we go wherever i need to. He actually sleeps better/is happier if we go out fo a few hrs after lunch (altho he usually sceams bloody murder n the car)

tummy time ~ nic hates it unless he's on your chest. I did rent a video from netflix called wee exercises and it showed some other things u can do with them to strengthen their neck muscles, so if he only lasts for a min or two, im not worried...

[cgmom313]

Schedule - I have to agree with a schedule. We had a b-day party to go to on Sat. and it started at 4pm. I told DH I am not going to wake up DD and we can be late for the party. She woke up and we were only about 1/2 late for the party and she was happy. I think people realize especially if they have kids that you may not be on time for things anymore. We have woken her up from naps before to accomadate us going somewhere and she is so cranky. So I have said we will never do that again. I also agree about nightime schedule. I have her on a pretty good schedule and if we don't follow it messes her up. I think it is ok once in a while but not all the time.

Sooo Speaking of schedules.. This coming weekend we are visiting some friends and spending the weekend. (about a 2 hour drive) This will be our first weekend away together as a family. I am a little nervous on how my DD is going to do at someone elses house. I am excited about getting away and hanging out at my friends for the weekend, but worried about how she is going to react. Any tips from those who have traveled with their babies?

[twinnyme]

Though I'm officially in the 6+ month thread now :) I still lurk here a little (I forgot to turn off my subscription) and I just want to chime in on the schedule thing. We definitely stick by a schedule (though the napping schedule often changes) - our main priority is the nighttime schedule. DD always goes to bed between 6 and 8 and we don't veer off that for ANYTHING. We learned our lesson her baptism weekend when she stayed up until about 9-10 every night. Her system just seems to work better when she goes to bed earlier, and it took us about 3 weeks to get back to her regular schedule after her baptism. She ALWAYS wakes up between 5 and 6 no matter what time she goes to bed (except this past Saturday when she went to bed around 7 and slept until 7:15), so in order for her to get her sleep we try to put her to bed between 6 and 8. She doesn't get supercranky but we want her to get her sleep. It's very tough when visiting friends and family, especially when traveling. My family doesn't see her often and we visited them over the 4th of July weekend. We stuck to her guns, and she has been STTN from July 1st on.... and we want it to stay that way, so we go by her schedule. Yes, it's tough because it stays light until late in the summer and the weather's so nice, and it'd be great to go outside, or even to take her to an ice cream shoppe (for mommy, really) but in the end we have learned that we need to stick to her schedule. Now that we DO have her on a schedule, we may allow her to stay up a little later sometimes when visiting special people, like her grandparents. (I actually read in What to Expect in the First Year - or whatever that book is called - that that's okay every once in a while, "especially when visiting grandparents who live far away" or something like that. I have the page bookmarked ready to show DH the next time we visit them!) For the most part, though, DH is even more desirous of keeping DD on schedule - I was the culprit her baptism weekend; again, because it was MY family visiting and I didn't want to deprive them of time with her.

Re: traveling. We've traveled about 4 hours away by car now with her, twice just me and her (while on leave) and once with daddy, too. We've slept in hotels (one room) and my parents' and it's always gone well. She sleeps well in her pac n play, and is good with other people. Since it's your first time away, cgmom313, I guess my biggest tip would be to see how SHE does and go by her schedule.

[HGMorgann]

travel we have traveled a lot with Morgann - about 6 - 3 hour trips, 2 - 9 hour trips, 2 - 7 hour trips and the big one - 2 day 17 hour trip moving, plus a handful of 2 hour ones, and 2 flights (4 planes though). So, we have a little experience.

Car travel - best thing for us because she hates the carseat - either travel early in the morning when she would be sleeping, and she will sleep then. Or for me to sit in the back with her. M. is BF, so stopping every 2 hours is essential. Feed her early rather than late! Also, she doesnt really like bottles, but we always have a bottle handy so we can use it some to make it somewhere. (for example, on the interstate, you sometimes have 30 miles or so to the next exit and the baby starts fussing.) Also, she likes the paci MUCH more in the carseat. So we use that alot. It also helps get her to sleep. However, b/c we travel so much, now she HAS to have it to go to sleep. (not too bad IMO) My favorite thing also is a mirror so you can see the baby. We got a Fisher Price one that lights up and sings. I think it was $20 but well worth it. When I did a 9 hour road trip by myself it was priceless! Also, for a couple of our trips, toys were very important. She loves rattle-like toys and blankets to rub on her face while in the seat. BUt that is just her....

Ok, yes our travel is a bit extreme! We sound quite nuts as I type out all of our car trips, I think! Morgann was born during a VERY busy time. Poor girl. But she has been a champ and awesome with all the travel....and for the record...we arent going ANYWHERE for a month. Horray!!!

[jess&dan]

To chime in on schedules, Nathan has been on one since he was 2 months old. He pretty much put himself on one. He's a very routine child and gets pretty angry when you break it. Mainly teh bedtime routine has to be the same or he's terrible to deal with.

Travel: I was worried also about how travel would affect his schedule. Typically we plan to leave right around his nap time so it won't upset him right off the bat. We keep to his bedtime ritual even when away and it has worked out pretty well. He doesn't react too badly. He's not a fussy baby but will get a tad fussy when traveling. We're coming up on another trip this weekend, in fact. He sleeps in the pack-n-play, but not as soundly, but he sleeps. If you try to stick as close to the schedule as you can, then it shouldn't be too bad.

[Carissa]

Tummy time I am really bad about giving Grace tummy time she hates it so but she is doing really well holding her head up.

We don't have a schedule either. I try to give her one though but she seems to be making her own or not having one. She won't sleep during the day no matter what I do anyway.

[moderngal]

no schedule here. we take DS wherever we need to go whenever we need to get there. he seems to adjust well, so I don't plan to change it.

DS loves tummy time. we do a little everyday on his little boppy with toys. he's holding his head up well and really starting to push up on his elbows. I have a ton of pictures of him in his developmental positions. :)

No TV for us. I would like to try to make it 2 years without it, but I don't know that I will. Guess we'll see.

[BooeyJ2]

Hi gals :)


Paige just turned 4 months old 3 days ago (time sure flies!). Just some quick info since i'm about to leave work......



SCHEDULING - No REAL scheduling yet, but things are starting to get more routine (time she wakes up, eats, goes to bed, etc).



TUMMY TIME - She loves tummy time (sorry, terrible morning hair in all of these pics haha).....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/Booey143598/7-12-05-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/Booey143598/7-12-05-6.jpg


SITTING UP - Not yet....but trying!....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v716/Booey143598/b5c5bbad.jpg


SLEEPING - We have been BLESSED in this category. Paige has been sleeping through the night for months. She ususally sleeps from 8:00pm - 7:30am. The other night she slept from 7:00pm - 7:30am!! :)

[cgmom313]

Thanks everyone for the tips on traveling. I will see how it goes and let you all know after this weekend!

Schedule - Well once I think we have a schedule and we are doing good the next day we dont. Cant say we don't give it a try. She used to sleep from about 9p to 730a and now the last few days have been a crazy she barely goes down till about 9:30pm and she has been getting up at 5 or 6a, which makes it hard to take a shower and get ready for work. But I am dealing with it.

BooeyJ2- Your DD is so cute. My dd just celebrated her 4 month b-day on the 13th and I agree time sure does fly. That sitting up picture is an image of my DD. She sits in the bobby pillow and then just falls over. My hubby calls her Little Miss Bobblehead.

[kimthebride]

When did baby's belly button look like a normal, fully-healed one (like yours does)?

The little stub part is still a slight pinky/peach 'new skin look', and sometimes still leaves a little damp spot on his onesie at 6 1/2 weeks old. No signs of infection...but I thought it would be normal skin by now. :confused:

[jess&dan]

Tummy Time: Nathan loves tummy time! And now he's trying to scoot!

Sleeping: Someone up there loves me because Nathan has slept through the night since he was 7 weeks old! He goes to be at 8:00 and when we don't have to wake him up to take him into daycare, he'll sleep until 7:00.

Belly Button: I honsetly cannot remember how long it took to look normal. Just give your doctor's office a quick call to see if you should be concerned. I know most offices have an advice line for those type of questions...has been wonderful for me!

[HGMorgann]

how long ago did he lose his cord?

We quit putting alchohol on her belly after she lost her cord...then it got a little oozy...so we started again...then it was fine.

[Chylynn]

My DD cord fell off when she was 1 1/2 weeks old and it had a tiny bit of dried blood in it, but our pediatrician said to leave it alone. In 2 days, it looked normal and we haven't ever touched it. I would call your pediatrician and see what they say...

[Aunt Liv]

I just found this group (and plan on subscribing). ;)

I have a 2 month old. Should I be putting her to bed for good between 6 and 8 PM? I'm just a bit confused by how early she should go to bed. DD has STTN twice (what a little tease), and hasn't done it since. Now I'm wondering if the reason she's not STTN anymore is because I've been waking her up to feed her one last time before I go to bed. Am I back-firing the whole thing?

Ack! I'm so confused (and tired).

Thanks for the help!!

ETA: Maia was born on 5/14/05...time goes by so fast

[Dally]

I second Aunt Liv's question!

Also, another question: Do you still swaddle? If not, when did you stop? And what do you do now? Our DD is ten weeks, and she's started to hate her swaddles. She breaks out of them all the time. I'm wondering what to do next because her startle reflex wakes her when there's no swaddle.

[seattleguamgirl]

Bedtime - Yes, I think a bedtime b/w 5PM and 8PM is good. I personally put DS to bed at 5PM and he STTN until 7AM (he is 5.5 months now). I used to put him down at 8:30PM until reading Weissbluth and then moved his bedtime up to 5PM. He has been STTN ever since.

I personally would not wake my DS to feed him before going to bed myself. The more uninterrupted sleep he gets, the better sleep he gets overall and the longer he stays sleeping (in my experience).

Swaddle- We stopped swaddling as soon as DS broke out of it--I think he was 3 or 3.5 months at the time? He couldn't sleep well after that (a really hellacious two or three weeks) until he learned to roll from back to tummy. Now he chooses to sleep on his tummy and sleeps so much better!

[Brady]

Hi all..

At 2 months, I was letting my DS let me know when he wanted to go to bed, I think at that age it was usually between 8-9pm, he was still waking up a couple times a night. I work full-time now, so I can't even imagine putting him to bed for the night at 5pm, that's just me though! 2 months is still very early for them to be STTN. I would still just follow her cues at that point, personally. When DS was about 3.5 months he started STTN, he now sleeps from about 8pm-6:30am (this slowly got longer, started 8-4am, then 8-5am, you get the picture). I haven't read any of the sleep books, but I agree with the pp on not waking to feed him. I will say a couple of my friends did do this and claimed success with their sleeping later, etc. but I am more of the "never wake a sleeping baby" camp.

He also never took to swaddling, always broke out of it. So, we only lasted about a week with that! :p

ETA- I actually just went and looked at the sleep log I had for my son when he was two months old... and geez, how quickly you forget. He actually wasn't going to bed until about 9-10pm! His "bedtime routine", which was became more like 8pm didn't kick it until right before I went back to work at 3 months (thank goodness!) ;)

[Chylynn]

Swaddling -I stopped swaddling my DD at 3 weeks because she would stay awake trying to break out of it! We never had an issue with her arms or legs moving around after we stopped swaddling.

Bedtime -We feed my DD at 7pm, give her a bath, and then she sits in the highchair until DH and I are done with dinner. Afterwards, we do our bedtime lullibyes and prayers and she is fast asleep between 8 and 8:15.

Feeding during the night -We actually have to feed my DD in the middle of the night due to her metobolic disorder (MCAD) as she cannot go more than 4 hours without eating. I feed her at 10pm, 2am and 6 am. She stays asleep during these feedings and she wakes up for her day to start around 7:30-8:30, depending on how busy of a day we had the previous day. If she did not have this condition, I would definately let her STTN without feeding her.

[Brady]

Chylynn- If you don't mind my asking, how will your DD's condition affect her as she gets older? Will she always have to get up every 4 hours?

[Chylynn]

Brady -Hi, I don't mind answering questions about the MCAD. We are still learning every day about her condition, but as of right now she recieves Carnitore Liquid 1.6 ml (our bodies naturally makes this for us) 3 times a day in her bottles. When she is older, she will start taking a pill (this medicine breaks down and gets rid of waste our bodies do for us, but her body is missing this) once a day.

We have a nutritionist and a genetics counseler for her and I believe once she is about 2 years old, she will be able to sleep through the night (8 hours max- she will slip into a coma if she goes 10 hours or more). We will learn more at our next appointment with them next month. During our first visit we were in such a state of shock, that we were not prepared with questions that we now have.

We have read that some parents who have children with MCAD put corn starch in their childrens bottle because I believe it has a slow release of sugar and it keeps their body going (she is missing the enzyme to break down stored fat into energy), but our nutritionist will recommend what we will need to do. Of course, that has drawbacks when you think of tooth decay once her teeth come in.

This is definately a learning process for us!!

[cgmom313]

Swaddling - My dd hated to be swaddled so we basically stopped at a week old. However what helped was those nightime gowns that bundle at the bottom. Since it was still cool out and she did startle herself we tried one of those and that seemed to work. It gave her arms the freedom but seemed to help with the legs.

Bedtime - We bath DD, I massage her down with her cortizone cream (she has baby excema), give her a bottle. We start the process about 7pm or so. She is usually in her crib around 845p -9p and asleep by 9:15 or so. She wakes up anywhere between 6a-7a. I am with Brady never read any of the sleep books, but it does seems that they have good tips. Since I am back to work I would have a hard time putting her to bed any sooner since I want to spend some time with her. She doesnt seem to cranky or fussy and has been STTN. (She is 4 1/2 months old)

Chylynn - Very interesting regarding the disorder your daughter has, I never really heard of that, but it sounds like you have a good handle on it and learning everyday. How are you doing with still having to get up every 4 hours? I know I wasn't a very pretty person until she started STTN. It sounds as you are holding up fine. As I told my DH the other day when she did happen to wake up at 1am for some reason and I had to put her back to sleep I would do whatever I needed to do for my DD and if that was getting up every 2,4 or 6 hours I would do it. So I know you feel the same why. Good Luck with getting the information.

[Chylynn]

cgmom313 - We had never heard of it either, but we chose to do Supplemental Newborn Screening for our daughter since the state we live in only does the bare minimum tests. We were lucky enough to read about it in the Wall Street Journal when I was about 10 weeks pregnant and the test only cost $25.00. Very simple process, and in the end, it saved my little girl!

I don't mind getting up at the 2am or the 6am feeding- it is part of our routine now and I am able to keep my sanity knowing exactly when she needs to eat.

You are soo right about doing whatever it takes to keep your daughter healthy and happy!

[Aunt Liv]

*BUMP*

I wanted to thank all of you for your advice on STTN. I stopped waking DD up to feed her at 11PM and she has been STTN since!! YIPPEE!! She gets her last feeding between 8 and 9 and is down until sometime between 5 and 6:30.

Thanks again from a happy and rested mom. :P

[pontmarie]

We stopped swaddling at 3 months - DS was a major Houdini, he was always getting out of his swaddles so we got him one of those velcro swaddlers and that worked well.

For those of you who Bjorn your babies - what are you using when the baby gets too big for the Bjorn? I've heard about a Hip Hammock but my back is so messed up that I'm afraid of using something that places the baby on one side. I've also seen those frame backpacks like for hiking with a baby, but I'm 5'1" and those are almost as big as me :D

[myshel]

Subscribing... DS is 6 days old! How crazy is that? I have a question for moms of older babes. It seems over the last two days that DS has started getting a bit more "regular," meaning we can predict when he will sleep and for how long along with when he eats. Granted, it's still on newborn time so it's 3 hours sleeping, 1 hour awake and eating, and back to sleep again.

When should we really start seeing a pattern? DS seems to be eating more at a sitting. The first two days home, he slept for only an hour and then took about a half ounce to an ounce at feeding. For the last two days, he has been taking 2-4 oz at a feeding. Does this contribute to the longer sleep times?

[girlygirl]

Pontmarie - We currently use the baby bjorn, but DS is getting so big so fast (and he's killing my back!) that we're looking for something else as well. I've heard good things about the Sutemi Pack, but I'd love to hear what others are doing also.

[kimthebride]

Carriers

I've been having my own drama with this!

Bought the Snugli: kills my back & Thomas wont stay in it for more than 15-20 minutes tops

Nojo Sling: Thomas hates this, I dont feel comfortable in it

Today at BuyBuy Baby I tried on (with Thomas in them)...

Maclaren Carrier: Felt ok, Thomas seemed fine but again no lower back support didnt thrill me

Ultimate Baby Wrap: Felt way better than I thought, and Thomas seemed quite comfy! I bought this - let's hope he likes it, since I want to use it on the plane for our trip next week.

As someone with a bad back, I have to say that a strap/pad/support across the lumbar is SO IMPORTANT! Why even bother making ones without? I wanted to pick up a Bjorn, but didn't feel like spending $120 on the one with lumbar support.

[BooeyJ2]

Hubby just called and said that everything went GREAT! She had to get 4 shots (2 in each thigh) and didn't cry AT ALL this time!?!?! I guess they nurse said "OMG she's so strong and brave!". I can't believe she didn't make a peep!? Every other time she has. Maybe it's because I had daddy give her some Tylenol before they left? I'm curious to see how she is later on. Last time she was in such pain and cried a lot every time she moved her legs. Apparently PJ was her usual "hammy" self and smiled and smiled at everyone and they loved her to pieces and kept saying how happy and good she was. Her and daddy are on their way home now :)



Here are her 4 MONTH stats:

WEIGHT: 15 lbs 12 oz (71st percentile)

HEIGHT: 26 3/4" (97th percentile!) - Doc said she's really tall for her age.

HEAD CIRCUMFRENCE: - 16.5 inches/42 cm (66th percentile)

[cgmom313]

I want to thank everyone for there advice on traveling. We went away this past weekend and my DD did quite well. I took advice from all of you about ensuring you leave when they are fed, etc. She STTN in her pack n play and did really well for being out of her house. One thing I have to say, we have a Chryler Pacifica (not an SUV not a car) and we had that thing stuffed. You sure tend to travel with alot with a baby. I told my friend when she saw our car not to be scared that we are only staying for the weekend! :)

Carriers - I never really used one when she was smaller, but my DD was never really small. She is quite a big girl. I did buy the Hip Hammock. The new one not the one that was recalled, and I took it back. It was really awkward, and when I put her in it she just seemed awkward. It says only for children who can hold there head up. She is 4.5 months and can hold her head up. I liked the concept, but just didn't seem like it would work for us and not worth the money. I have heard the frame backpacks are good, but never really tried one.

Myshel - You will see a pattern most likely after a week or so for just a while and then they will go through a growth spurt and the pattern will change. My DD is 4.5 months and it seems to change every week. Once you think you have a pattern something changes for the baby. Growth Spurt, teething, etc. Good Luck!!

Booey - Way to go on not crying for the shots that is great. My DD wailed at 4 month visit. My daughter is quite long as well also 261/2 inches. She has to take after my dh who is 6'5''.

ok long post, I think I got everthing. Have a Great Day Ladies!

[usafwife]

My DD just turned 4 weeks yesterday. Shaking my head in disbelief. I can't believe that it's been 4 weeks already.

Question for everyone ~ Since yesterday DD hasn't really wanted to eat that much. The past week she had been waking up between 4 and 5 wanting to eat. Today she didn't even wake up then. She didn't even wake up when DH left for work a little before 6. She nursed about 10 and then I tried to give her some formula but she kept acting like she was choking on the nipple. Then she would spit out a fair amount of the formula. She did the same thing last night when we fed her. And then she wouldn't hardly go to sleep. We are keeping an eye on her and if things don't improve we are going to take her the doctor. Any ideas on what the problem could or might be?

[BTB]

Any ideas on what the problem could or might be?

Babies that young have such limited means of expressing discomfort, it could be absolutely anything, or nothing at all. How much would you estimate she has eaten in the past 24 hours? How is her output? Is she as awake, as often, as she used to be? I'd call her ped now with that info so they have a head's up and in case there's no improvement in a reasonable timeframe they're expecting an update from you instead of starting from scratch a couple days in.

[usafwife]

Since yesterday afternoon she has taken about 9 ozs. from the bottle but that includes the amount she spit up/back out. She nursed for about 30 minutes this morning. I'm going to try feeding her again as she is crying right now.

BBL

[BTB]

I don't know what her usual intake, or current output is, but I don't have to in order to know she needs evaluation at this point. A guideline for minimum daily intake is, in ounces, twice the baby's weight in pounds. If your DD is 8lbs, for example, she should eat 16 oz per day - more is fine. A four-week old is unlikely to get 7 oz from one nursing, so even with 9 oz from a bottle and one nursing she is falling short. I think you should call her doctor, no one can tell you if she's okay or not unless they examine her. It might be fine, but you want to make sure nothing serious is going on; with her limited ability to express pain and sickness it could literally be anything and you need the dangerous possibilities to be ruled out. Especially with the combination of not eating and sleeping more than usual, I am concerned. Don't feel bad having the doctor paged in the evening. They'd rather hear about a potential problem now before it has a chance to get worse. I'm sorry, but I can't help more than that. She needs her own doctor to evaluate her.

ETA: Sorry, wrote the above in a hurry while my own DD was throwing a world-class fit for her daddy but both she and daddy are happy again, for now anyway. ;) So, just wanted to explain further: there's mom-think, and there's doctor-think; I like to think I can do both. :) In momthink, of course you don't rush off to the doctor with every little thing, neither half of my brain blames you for that, I do the same. You ride out most illnesses at home, as you should, and only when it's clearly serious or lasting do you make an appt. Totally normal, fine, and okay. Doctor-think goes like this: With certain presenting concerns, including those here, I'm going to assume it's something heinous and work from there - worst-case scenarios for this situation are what I'll worry about first, and when I'm satisfied none of those is going on (which can be as simple and quick as getting a set of vital signs and assessing activity level, with the set of concerns you have) then I'll think about more mundane possibilities. You never know when time is of the essence with certain complaints, so you assume it is and work down from there.

If the scenario were different from the outset, that pessimistic-sounding approach wouldn't be necessary - as it's not when the concern is something that couldn't be that harmful. But the set of concerns you have - decreased food intake AND increased lethargy are worrisome when hand-in-hand, especially in a 4-week-old - could be something bad, I'm not saying it IS, just that it COULD BE, so you make sure baby's doing all right first, and then worry about the less frightening possibilities later. Not to scare you - just to let you know that the particular combination of things you're talking about, while still usually just fine, is one of those things where "just fine" is proven first, instead of assumed first, hence my advice to call. HTH. :D

[usafwife]

BTB ~ Thanks. I posted this in the May/June thread but I'll post it here too.

We called the doctor this afternoon and spoke with the nurse. She said better to be safe and to come on in. We go on Friday afternoon. She thought it best with the weekend coming up that we bring her in. She ate better tonight. At least she didn't act like she was gagging or choking when we were feeding her. And she didn't try to force the bottle back out of her mouth. She took all of the 6 oz at supper.

We are going to be getting some Mylcon drops tonight too. Maybe it had to do with switching formulas. The hospital started her out on Enfamil LIPIL with iron. She had been eating that for the first two/three weeks. Then we decided to use a $5 coupon from Similac. This past week is when we started noticing changes. And they came on gradually. We have now switched back to Enfamil as of the last feeding last night.

Thanks so much for your response. I don't like to run to the doctor for petty things but she has never really acted like this before. I don't want to miss something when there is something wrong. But I don't want to be classified as an overprotective parent either. Or one that runs to the doctor for the smallest thing. I have a medical background due to my job and schooling and my mom has a medical background as well. She thought it best we call the doctor too.

DD weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz. at birth. Went down to 8 lbs the day we left the hospital. She was 8 lbs, 1 oz. when we went the doctor a week after she was born. When we weighed her last week she was close to 9 lbs. I never know how much breast milk she gets (my supply isn't the best). When I pump I usually get no more than 3 oz. so I usually say (or think) that she got about 2 to 3 oz. at each feeding.

ETA that I miss typed her weight at the doctor's visit. It was 8 lbs, 1oz. not 9 lbs, 1 oz. That's what I get for typing with DD in my lap. :D

[BTB]

Good, I'm glad she'll be seen soon. :)

She took all of the 6 oz at supper.

Does she always take this much at a feeding? How close together are her feedings? That's quite a bit at one sitting for a 9lb baby. She might fare better with half that much, twice as often. Since she's lost some weight from one week old to three weeks old, though, all "averages" are pointless and she needs to follow her custom feeding plan from her own doc.

Formulas do taste different - give 'em a whirl, you'll notice - so it could be, especially since she was ok with her bottle tonight, that she just didn't find Similac to her liking. :)

Let me know how things go Friday?

[usafwife]

She usually only takes about 4 oz. at a usual feeding. Sometimes she will want the rest of the 2 oz. in an hour or two. She usually feeds in the morning about the time DH is getting up and ready for work. Anytime between 4 and 6. The last couple of weeks she was awake around 4/4:30 as he was having to get up by then. This week it's been closer to 5/5:30 when she wakes up and wants to eat. Then she usually doesn't eat again until mid-morning. Usually around 10 or 11. Sometimes she sleeps through that feeding and won't wake up to eat until after 12. Then she doesn't eat again until around 5/6. And then she usually wants to eat again before she goes to sleep...usually between 11 and midnight but only eats an ounce or two at most.

I totally missed type her weight when she was seen at the doctor's a week after her birthday. She was 8 lbs, 1 oz. not 9 lbs, 1 oz. Sorry about that. That's what I get for typing with a baby in my arms. :D

I'll be sure to post an update after we get back on Friday. Thanks again for your help.

[usafwife]

We went to the doctor today for DD. He said it was most likely the result of switching formula. We will be sticking with what we used from the beginning. We didn't like the results. He said it was most likely a formula intolerance.

She has gained a pound since she was born. He said her weight and length are just fine. He also said that she has a clogged/block tear duct. He told me to put warm compresses on them and hopefully it will clear up soon.

I also asked her not burping very often after feedings. I told him what type of bottles we were using. He said that those were really good bottles for limiting the amount of air that got in. Therefore she wouldn't be burping. We did buy some Mylicon drops the other night. But she isn't really fussy after eating. He said as long as she isn't, then her not burping isn't a problem. Our families all have a fit that she isn't/doesn't burp after feeding. Now I can tell that her doctor said it was perfectly fine.

[hub1176]

When did your baby smile at you? DD will be 2 months old August 1 and I *think* she may have smiled in response to my smile 1 time. I'm nervous that she may not be on target - although she has been cooing for some time. We have our 2 month visit on Tuesday and I'm not looking forward to it!

[kimthebride]

hub
Thomas will be 2 months on Aug 3rd and just this week started smiling deliberately. It began all of a sudden, and now he's Mister Happy! It'll likely come on all of a sudden within the next few weeks for you - don't worry!
I am so not looking forward to him getting all poked & prodded at his 2-month appointment on the 8th. Who will cry more - baby or me?? :rolleyes:

[char473]

Subscribing :)

DD is 3 weeks old, and I think is going through a growth spurt. She was sleeping quite well at night, just waking up 1 time around 3, then sleeping till 7 or 8 am. Last night she woke up every 2 hours, and seems constantly hungry. She sucks down a bottle (I BF as well, but have a small supply), but will still spit up. So, my question is, should I let her eat as much as she wants? or limit her ounces, to help with the spit up issues? She also seems to only want to sleep in our arms during the day! I know you can't "spoil" a newborn, so any suggestions on getting naps in places other than our arms?

I look forward to lots of info from you ladies:) Thanks!

[happy1nuv]

char473 ~ DS was one that would only sleep/nap in our arms... at 10 weeks, he will sti ll only sleep in our arms ... and when i try to put him anywere else, he wakes within 10-20 minutes. I don't have any advice for you ... ya do the best you can at the time... and the rest will wait. :) I started reading the no cry sleep solution ... i havent gotten very far yet, but it seems like it might help...

[Chylynn]

char473 -I went through this with my DD too. It lasted up until a month ago (she is almost 4 months) and now she will sleep in her crib, bassinet, swing, papason chair- everywhere!

It is hard now, but I promise you, it will get easier.

I know you can't "spoil" a newborn, so any suggestions on getting naps in places other than our arms?

We would put DD in her swing or papason chair and she would fall asleep in it, but for the most part, we let her sleep on us and then we would put her in her crib once she fell asleep.

She sucks down a bottle (I BF as well, but have a small supply), but will still spit up. So, my question is, should I let her eat as much as she wants

How much are you feeding her in the bottle? If she is getting around 2-3oz and still wanting more, have you introduced a pacifier to her? A lot of babies like to suck and if they don't have a pacifier, then they will suck on their bottles, regardless if they are hungry or not.

Keep us posted on your progress...

[char473]

Thanks ladies:)

I usually give her the breast first, then she will take an additional 3 ounces from the bottle. She will take her binky (pacifier) on occaison, and I have tried several to see if there is one she likes best, but she isn't really big on it yet.

I have an 11year old daughter, and I have to remind myself that I went through these things before, but it just feels so new!

Thanks again, I will keep updates on her sleeping too:) Hopefully she will go back to her "old" routine ;) We will just let her sleep wherever she falls!

[hub1176]

char473 No advice but I sympathize - we were/are in the same boat. I don't want to starve DD but I also don't want her wearing 1/2 the formula!
We finally gave in on the pacificer and it seems to help.

DD slept the last 2 nights only waking once at 3:00. We thought that was wonderful!

[moderngal]

char473--
maybe someone in the breastfeeding thread knows more, but I'm pretty sure you can't over feed a breastfed baby. spit-up is also pretty normal for breastfed babies, and doesn't necessarily mean they are over eating.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html

[LeslieR]

Just wanted to join in. Luke will be one week old on Monday. :)

[Chylynn]

Welcome, Leslie! Congratulations on the birth of your Son!

[cgmom313]

Welcome Leslie - Congrats on your son.

I can not believe I will be moving to the 6mth thread next month. My little (ok not so little) DD is 5mths old. Where does the time fly?

[first-time mom]

Hello my DD will be 1 month old and I am trying to find another parent that may have a similar situation or knows a lot about what my DD was diagnosed with. She is diagnosed with a heart condition. She has two holes in her heart one is called a ventricular septal defect, and a patent foramen ovale, because of these holes she has congestive heart failure. She is on meds to control this until either the holes close on their own or she may require surgery. I have heard her condition is very common but I am looking for a parent who knows more about this or has a child with this. If you know of a chat please let me know.

Thanks

[Kanga]

*bump*