November & December 2005 Mommies: Our First Spring!

[JRPAGV]

Oh yeah, I have a question for those of you with a Graco stroller and Snugride...

When you put your baby in the Graco stroller, are you still putting him/her in the Snugride in the stroller, or do you just put him/her in the stroller without the Snugride?

Did I make that sound more confusing than it needed to be?! :D

[krbb]

I feel so behind! Last week we experienced two nights in a row where Oliver would just not sleep. It was worse than when he was a newborn. Thankfully we are back to the one time a night wake up. I am not sure what was his problem, he just didn't seem tired at times.

Oliver finally rolled over from tummy to back today!!!:D I was starting to think it would never happen. DH hadn't left for work yet so he got to see it too!

DH switched his work schedule last week. Not sure if I am liking it. His old schedule he went into the office M, T, and W. Then he worked from home Th and F. Now he works from home 6-9:30 then goes into the office from 10:30-4. I do get to sleep in until 7:30 but he gets home at 5:00 now instead of 4:00. For some reason it feels like my days are longer.

A few SOs. I am so behind!

Janna - We haven't switched car seats yet, though the time is really near. Is their a weight difference between the Triumph and the Britax? If DS can stay in the Britax longer it might make the price difference worth it. Here is a website I found in the car seat thread: www.carseatdata.org . You can find out if a certain seat will fit in your car. It is even broken down by rear and forward facing.

Lindzee82 - The same thing happend to DH and I when we got Oliver's pictures done. They were just too cute to pass up! If DH gives you a problem about what you spent just remind him about your disappointing Mother's Day! It has stopped raining here too. We didn't get flooding like you did, but we had a week of rain and cloudy skies. Now it just needs to warm up!

Katie - The peas maybe related. What time did he get them? We haven't started solids yet, but Super Baby Food, love that book, suggested introducing new foods in the mornings rather than evenings. So if he got them later in the day and was having trouble digesting them that may have caused the grunting?

Sebski - I hope your next few days back get easier!!

[doubleR]

Howdy. Glad to hear everyone enjoyed their mother’s day. Mine was great. But I had also ‘warned’ DH that I’d be really disappointed if it wasn’t so he went all out and it was really really great. It felt nice to be spoiled and have something be about me again since it has all been about the baby ~ not that I’m complaining, it was just a really nice weekend. Plus we spent Sunday with family and it was nice to see everyone. Brady had a great weekend and did really well in the small crowd – my family is huge and with just a few of us getting together there are about 25 of us, so… every gathering has been interesting / different with the baby since his nap or bedtime usually falls in there somewhere. But he did great.

Next week I’ll start working 4 days / week, 6 hour days. I’m looking forward to the change and think it will make my life so much easier at work and at home. We shall see!

question about the convertible carseats, where do you have yours? right now we have ours in the middle, which is obviously safest but makes for some difficult maneuvering getting him in/out. we’re switching out the snug ride with our new britax decathlon and I’m wondering where I want to put it… we’ll have AAA install it like we did the first one and I know they’re going to want to put it in the middle. I’d also like it in the middle for safety reasons, but I’m considering putting it on the passenger side, which would make getting him in/out so much easier. What do you guys think?

Also, once he’s out of that snugride, I’m thinking how different life will be out running errands, going grocery shopping – going anywhere where there is a shopping cart. How are you guys handling this? I’m thinking I’ll just keep the baby bjorn in the car and throw him in that for quick trips? He’s just about sitting up but I don’t think he’ll be ready to sit in one of those shopping carts on his own for a while…

solids we’re still doing just 1 meal a day, in the evenings. I think this weekend I’ll try introducing a 2nd feeding. I tried a few weeks ago and he wasn’t interested. I think he may be ready now. Not sure though. People have told me that he’ll let me know. He has been getting fussy earlier even when he is getting all his ounces in, so… maybe he’s ready now?

teething does anyone else feel like they’re blaming so much on teething these days or is it just me? Here’s what we have going on – runny nose, increased BM’s, almost choking on all the saliva he’s got, drooling like crazy, an insane amount actually, moaning at me, which can get to be almost annoying, as bad as I feel writing that… really clingy the last 2 weeks or so, just wants to be held… and times of just fussiness. He can easily be distracted and start smiling, laughing in those times, but unless you’re giving him full undivided attention constantly, he’s not the happiest little guy anymore. I feel like he’s gotta be close to cutting something, but again, not really sure.

FTM I LOVE the pictures of Kaylin. Makes me definitely want a girl :D what a cutie you have!!

Happy I’m so sorry that you’re stressed :( hopefully things start to get a little less hectic for you and soon. Hugs to you and Anna. And your kitty.

Lindz It’s tough to walk out of any picture place without spending a small fortune ;) especially with those cute smiley shots! We only did pro shots once at 4 months and I’ll probably do them again at 8 months and a year. That is IF DH *lets* me since I did spend so much, lol!!! Hopefully once your hubby sees how cute they are, he’ll understand!

Bliss we’ve been doing cereal for over a month now – with veggies and fruits too, but Brady still makes that funny face for his first few bites everyday. It cracks me up!!

Abby have fun with your mom!!

sebski so glad to hear you’re doing ok. day 2 is definitely easier. and not crying the entire way in is making progress! how did Joey do with your mom all day? I’m sure great :)

ktdelsur we’ve had lots of moaning too – but not at night, at least it’s not waking anyone up if it is going on at night. I’m attributing Brady’s to teething, but… I’m totally guessing!!

JRPAGV we don't have the Graco stroller, but we were able to use the snugride car seat with our Peg Perego stroller. It depends really - Brady seems to enjoy just being in the stroller more. but last week I was out and about, he fell asleep in the carseat and it was easier to just plop that in the stroller rather than wake him up to put him in the stroller. sorry for the long-winded answer (I'm really good at that ;)) I guess we do both!!

krbb that's so great that you guys both got to see his first roll!! very exciting :)

[abbytfox]

Convertible Carseat We switched Elliott about a month ago. At his 4 month appointment, he was already at the height limit for our snugride and I put off switching him as long as I could. Literally, I couldn't lift him and the carrier out of the car...WAY too heavy! As a baby gift, our grandparents bought us the Britax Roundabout. We have been loving it! Elliott fits in it so great and seems much more comfy.

I did put it on the drivers side because he is too big for me to lift in and out of the middle without totally straining my back (gotta work on strengthening those abs!) I chose the drivers side because we have a tandem garage and I couldnt get me and him out if I parked in the middle. I had it checked at the local police station and they mentioned that the safest place is in the middle. However, I told the officers about my back and they understood, but they had to tell me the safest place is in the middle. They also said most impacts occur from the front or back, rarely from the side, so even though the risk of injury is greater if there is a side impact, it happens less frequently. Not sure that made me feel 100% better, but it helped a little.

As far as running errands without the infant seat I was really nervous about it, but it has worked out ok so far. Elliott can sit on his own, but we haven't gotten a cover for a shopping cart yet and I know with all this teething going on that he WILL try to eat the handlebar. That is just too many germs for me to deal with! (of course his toy falls on the ground and I dust it off and hand it back to him, but there is just something about that handlebar!:) ) So, either I put him in the bjorn when I know I'll need a cart (grocery store) or shop with the stroller (like at target where I only get a few items that will fit in the basket below) I thought that it would be hard because he was always falling asleep in the car when he was tiny, but now that he is taking more regular naps (and I am really trying to be home for them) he doesn't sleep as well in the car, if he even falls asleep. On a few occassions I have driven around the parking lot for a few minutes to let him sleep so I don't have to wake him up (I always feel so bad about that) but nowadays once the car stops he is up anyway.

TeethingRight there with you, DoubleRWe are having tons of teething issues. In addition to throwing up, general crankiness, and lots of poopy diapers...the drool is insane! The other day Elliott was playing in his exersaucer and chewing on a toy. When I went to see how things were going up close, there was literally a pool of drool that had gathered in the open space of the tray. Literally a POOL! It was crazy. His second tooth is almost up though, so I know that is why. We go through about 5 bibs a day, I can't keep up with all the laundry and we own so many bibs! Unfortunately, I know that things will continue like this for quite a while. It is not as if they get 1 tooth and stop teething. Also, this He can easily be distracted and start smiling, laughing in those times, but unless you’re giving him full undivided attention constantly, he’s not the happiest little guy anymore. sounds just like us! I could have written that statement. He was hysterically laughing yesterday and then totally deteriorated into full on tears in a matter of seconds. As hard as it is to listen to him and know he isn't comfortable it is kind of cute when he is crying because there is this little tooth sticking up from the bottom. Mean, I know, but very cute!

krbb Congrats on the rolling! That is so great! Did he seem proud or stunned when he was over on his back? Still waiting over here...

JRPAGV We don't have a Graco stroller, but our snugride fit into our Peg Perego. I just put him in the stroller and I think he really likes it. Even before he was really ready I would do it so he could look out. Ours reclines into lots of positions so if I saw him slouching I could just recline him a little to make it more comfortable. I bet Nathan is ready for the stroller all by himself. He was sitting up really nicely in his highchair on your video of feeding him (which was SO cute!)

My mom is on her way over right now. We are headed to Nordstroms when E wakes up from his nap. He wasn't in the best of moods earlier so hopefully his nap will cheer him up. We have our WBV on Friday and I can't wait to see his stats! Also, I am getting my hair cut on Sunday (wierd, I know, to be open on a Sunday, but my hairdresser is a mom too and has soccer on Saturdays) and I can't wait! I am thinking I need something a little shorter to be harder for little hands to grab. A sassy new-mom hair cut! We'll see what I end up with!

[doubleR]

abby thanks for posting about having him out of the infant seat, I was really worried, but it doesn't sound so bad now ;) and yeah, my back is the main reason I'm thinking that I need to have him on one side or the other, not in the middle. he's quite the little load!! and I'm so glad we're not the only ones dealing with some teething fussiness *issues* right now. I feel like I've been saying a lot - well, it's b/c he's teething. I wasn't sure how much of that was actually true, so... your post made me feel a lot better ;) oh, and I've totally laughed at DS while he's crying b/c it can be really cute - I'll pick him up and try to console him while I'm laughing, I'm not THAT mean :p but that little lip that goes out just kills me sometimes!

and good luck with the new 'do. I'm thinking I need a change myself soon. I'm either just pulling it back all the time or I feel like it just looks messy :rolleyes:

[Sebski]

Fly-by post while I download something for work...

Our convertible seat is in the middle of the seat.

Getting around w/out the infant seat I was *dreading* the move to the convertible seat because of this! The best thing in creation is the floppy shopping cart cover. I leave that, and the booster high chigh seat, in the back of my truck. He goes straight from the car to the cart in that. He still tips to the side sometimes so if he's having trouble staying up w/ the motion (of if he's sleeping) I just lay him horizontal in the seat. The cover has a bunch of loops to attach toys too... great invention! If we're going to someone's house, we just bring the stroller in case he falls asleep so that we have someplace to put him down. Oh! And we ALWAYS have a big blanket in our car "toy bag"... whenever we get to whoever's house we're going too we throw the blanket on the floor w/ his toys and he goes to town. :)

ktdelsur I give the cereal w/ the fruits/veggies... I mix a bowl of oatmeal or barley up and take a scoop of the fruit/veggie that he's going to eat and mix it into the cereal... it helps add a bit of flavor to the cereal. Then, I put a bit of cereal on the spoon along w/ some of the fruit/veggie. We usually run out of the jarred food before he finishes the cereal but he doesn't mind since I flavored it w/ the fruit/veggie. ;)

doubleR Joey did wonderfully at grandma's thanks for asking! :D

Teething Teeth are *so close* to coming through but they're being stubborn little buggers. He had a huge blowout dipe at my mom's today which NEVER happens anymore. Plus, he pooped 2x's yesterday... unheard of w/ him since starting solids.

Thanks to everyone for the return-to-work-well-wishes!!! I heart this thread! :) Today was sooooooo much better for me. I also started my thyroid meds so I'm thinking that helped as well.

Off to email something to work and then hit the hay!

[abbytfox]

Just a quick post to say that Elliott slept through the night last night! Yippee! He did it a few times around 4 months and we haven't had it happen again since then. We put him down at 6:45 (after he ate 9oz! Do you think he is ready for solids or what?:) ) and he woke up at 5...ate and went back down until 7:15. Amazing.

Hope everyone has a good day!

[doubleR]

just a quick post to bump us back up to page 1 :)

abby congrats on the great night of sleep, that's always nice :D

will check back later, hope everyone is having a good day!!

[sem426]

bumping us back to page 1 again!

carseat we are still in the snugride. she seems to be comfortable still and isn't at the max height or weight yet. i'm not looking forward to using the convertible seat since we'll have to unstrap her each time we take her out. she usually falls asleep in the car and taking her in and out of the seat will not be good! i also love my snugrider frame for the stoller. we've used our regular stroller a few times (we have the inglesina zippy), but she still slumps over a bit in it. so i'm hoping to hold out w/the snugride seat and frame for at least another month or so. by then she'll be more steady when sitting up.

abby YAY for STTN!

sebski glad work is getting better for you.

question regarding lotion we put alot of lotion (aquaphor or aveeno) on DD bc her skin is dry...but i'm always worried that she will put her feet, arms etc in her mouth after i lotion her up. i mean i guess it's rubbed in, but i'm still worried that she's ingesting some of it. does anyone else worry about this?

solids we usually do 2x/day for cereal (we haven't started veggies or fruits yet). this week we're on barley and she really likes it.

[happygolucky]

Abby - congrats! Sleep is awesome!

Shockingly enough, Anna slept through last night too! She missed ALL of her naps yesterday because she was being manhandled by doctors all day. Then she fell asleep at 7:00 and didn't get up until 5:00! She ate and was back in bed by 5:45 and didn't get up until 7:30! I was shocked. Honestly, I was scared that she'd keeled over in her sleep.

Then came the second shock. The vet called. The cat lives! The cat who I pretty much kissed good-bye two days ago made a "miracle comeback" on IV antibiotics, so much so that the vet is revisiting her diagnosis and thinking that the cat has a bacterial infection and that maybe the missing bone part has always been missing and we just never knew. Crazy!

Anna has been at the doctor for the past three days, and I'm pleased to report that she hasn't had a recurrence of the phantom fever. She still isn't strong enough to have her next round of shots, but on the positive side she now weighs 14 lbs 3 oz and is 25 inches tall! Her shoulder is still healing beautifully, even as we step down her drugs. I'm pleased as punch, if you couldn't tell.

I'm following the carseat discussion with rapt attention. I don't know what kind of seat to get for Anna and I'm not even sure how to go about shopping for one. DH wanted to "stop off at Walmart and pick one up for her" but somehow I didn't think that's how it's done. Not that I didn't give him an "A" for effort and another "A" for consideration.

Here's a picture that I have to share before I sign off. I know - I know - exersaucers are supposed to be bad for them and all that, but it makes her smile and that's all I care about right now. P.S. note the tan and white blob in the corner of the picture. That would be the ever-present dog. lol.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/coberle/IMGP3118.jpg

[JRPAGV]

abbytfox: That's great that Elliott slept through the night! Congrats!

happygolucky: Yay for Anna sleeping through the night! So glad your cat is getting better! That's wonderful news! That's such a cute picture of Anna! Nathan plays in his Exercauser a good bit, too. He loves it. Glad Anna's fever hasn't come back and that her shoulder is getting better. :)

Sebski: Glad today has been better for you! Hope the thyroid meds help too. :)

Ingesting Lotion: I worry about Nathan ingesting lotion, etc. all the time. I just put some Cortaid on his arm because he has a rash or maybe excema, and I'm worried he'll get it on his hands or in his mouth somehow. I also worry about wearing sleeveless shirts because I don't want him to get my deoderant on his hands when I hold him... and then put that in his mouth. And I also worry about my facial lotions (because he "kisses" my face) and hair products. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Stroller w/o Snugride: We tried it last night, and he did better. He still looks a little uncomfortable when he's in his stroller without the Snugride, though. I don't know. I do like how he can look forward, though.

I'm thinking I need a change myself soon. I'm either just pulling it back all the time or I feel like it just looks messy Me too! My hair stays in a messy ponytail now! If I leave it down (or even when it's up), Nathan yanks it constantly. I'm feeling frumpy lately, though. I'm thinking about getting blond highlights again, but I don't know if I want to do it because of the costly upkeep.

He can easily be distracted and start smiling, laughing in those times, but unless you’re giving him full undivided attention constantly, he’s not the happiest little guy anymore. That's Nathan right now too. I don't know what's been going on for the past week or so, but he is GRUMPY. He gets upset easily if he's playing by himself too. I'm thinking it might be teething.

[JRPAGV]

Breathing Question: Nathan has trouble breathing when the wind blows. And we tried blowing in his face while playing with him, and he has trouble breathing then too. It's like he stops breathing or can't catch his breath. Scary. Does anyone else's baby do this?

[Sebski]

Breathing Joey did this when he first started going outside more. I attributed it to his not being used to the outdoors/wind. It literally took his breath away. The more time we spent outside the more accustomed he became to breathing in the wind. He still loses his breath when we blow in his face though... why would we blow in his face you might ask? It totally cracks him up and he laughs like crazy at it. :rolleyes:

This work/family life balance thing is pretty hard. I literally feel like I never have a moment to myself now. Between cleaning up the house, making sure Joey's needs are met and now getting into work 3x's a week I'm beat!

[jengen]

I haven't been in here in forever!! Cute baby pics, everyone! :)

Things are going well here. It is just so crazy at work and then coming home and getting everything ready for the next day with no help from DH, because he's been working longer hours than ever. I am working over 40 hours a week and literally collapse into bed every night. We also had a couple of nights last weekend where he decided he would not go to bed in his crib. I don't think I've caught up on my sleep yet! :) Luckily, that only lasted a couple of nights.

This work/family life balance thing is pretty hard. I literally feel like I never have a moment to myself now. Between cleaning up the house, making sure Joey's needs are met and now getting into work 3x's a week I'm beat!
I hear ya!!! :(
sebski and doubler seb- glad the return to work is going ok!! doubler- glad you got your hours changed! Sounds like things will definitely improve!

teething we are dealing with drool galoore, blowouts/runny BM's, crankiness, and him putting everything in the world in his mouth. I keep expecting to see a little toofer any day now!

breathing question Cole does the same thing (gasping for air) when it is windy or we blow in his face.

stroller we have the PegPerrego P3, but still use the snugride in it.

carseat Cole's about to grow out of his...not looking forward to the transition, though at 18 lbs, that thing is so heavy, it is ridiculous -I can barely carry him in it, anyway!

solids haven't started them at all yet...mostly because of laziness and lack of time on my part, more than concern about allergies, etc. Am I the only one? He seems to do just fine with only bm. He's huge and still STTN for the most part, so I'm not too worried. :)

lotions Cole's constantly got his hands (and feet if he can get at them) in his mouth and has gotten them in there right after I've put lotion on and he's touched it. I worried at first, but nothing happened, so I just try to be careful.

weight anyone still struggling to get the baby weight off? I still have about 7 lbs to go...it seems like it's taking forever to get it all off!

[kamileer]

I have been MIA for months but I wanted to come back to say hello!

Maya and I are doing well and have hit a very nice stride. This age (5 months) has been above and beyond my favorite yet!

Here she is...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/kamileer/47b6db29b3127cce88bc4018c13d0000003.jpg

[krbb]

Breathing - Oliver used to this. He would kind of gasp for air. I don't remember the last time he has done that. I wonder if he has just gotten used to it.

Teething - I too blame everything on this. I have been able to feel the bottom ones for awhile. They are just taking their time coming up.

Travel - Someone asked about travel and sleep a little ways back. We have done two four hour trips so far. Both times his night-time sleep really wasn't affected. It was harder to get him to nap.

jengen - We haven't started solids either. At his 4 month check up the Dr said to wait 6 months. So far he seems fine just with BM. I think he will be ready at 6 months. As much as I am excited about starting them, it also seems like extra work!

happygolucky - That is great about Anna, the sleep and her healing. Oliver loves the excersaucer too and it gives me a few second to clean a room or get dinner started.

Sebski - I forgot last time to mention that I like the hippo hook-on chair and so does Oliver. He will sit and play with a toy while we eat dinner. He hasn't started solids so I dont know how I will like then, but it is nice not having a high chair taking up the little extra space we have.

Kami - Hi there! Maya is gorgeous! I agree, 5 months has also been my favorite.

[happygolucky]

Kami - Hi! I agree also - 5 months is awesome. Anna has so much personality these days, and she is developing this gravelly little laugh that cracks me up. DH and I think she is going to have a raspy, Susan St. James voice. Too funny.

Teething - forgot to answer this before - I feel like I'm blaming EVERYTHING on teething... or on the shoulder... or on missed naps... or on the 'roids. Basically, I just make a ton of excuses for my baby... all the time. Oh dear - I'm turning into one of THOSE mothers.....

Hook on chairs - what's the deal with these? They sound really interesting.

Strollers - Anna moved into her "big girl" stroller two weeks ago. She loves facing forward and she had started to hate being in her infant seat, but I miss the convenience of the snap-n-go. I just loved snappin' and goin'!

Question - what do you all do to let your baby amuse herself / himself? I find it's easiest to put Anna into her exersaucer if I want to get something done, although I can also sit her in her pack-n-play with the Boppy behind her (prevents tumble overs) and a rattle and she'll usually be okay for a short time, but I don't like to be out of arm's reach while she's there. I could leave her in front of the television watching Baby Einstein for hours on end and she probably wouldn't complain, but I don't want to go down that road. Is there anything other than the exersaucer that will entertain her while I try to get things done around the house?

[Bliss]

Hi all! We are getting ready for our first big cartrip this weekend, leaving tomorrow for a 4 hour car ride to my ILs for a wedding. I am amazed at how much stuff my little Dylan needs to take with him, especially now that he is eating cereal. I swear, he has more stuff than me or DH (probably combined) lol. I am all nervous that his schedule will be shot to shit, I am definitely one of THOSE mothers who freaks if her baby is not fed/in bed "on time", since I know my boy and he does not like when things go off schedule *sigh*. DH keeps lovingly telling me that I have to relax and enjoy the trip-we are going to his nephew's wedding. Easy for him to say, when its 10p and Dylan is freaking out, he will probably be at the bar doing shots with his brothers :rolleyes:

Carseat- I am going to buy the Britax Marathon when we get back, we have a 10% off coupon for BRU. I am considering the Evenflo Triumph for DHs car. For those that have the Britax Boulevard or Decathalon, how does your DC fit in there? The woman at my BRU told me the only difference between those and the Marathon was the extra padding in there for infants, Dylan can sit up on his own so I am wondering if I need to spend the extra $$ on the next step up from the Marathon. I will miss my Viaggio infant carseat, even though D is SO heavy in it, I like being able to tote him all around in it. I may keep it in my SUV so I can just snap him in it from the convertible carseat until he can really hold his head up in a shopping cart.

Teething- Ditto to all those symptoms PP listed. I also have the Sybil type laughing then crying, which I cannot help but laugh at. I also have a little draumatic actor on my hands, he loves to throw his head back and cry hysterically, then the minute I pick him up he is laughing.

Breathing- I think that is some kind of instinct, that babies breathe in when you blow air in their faces. When I was in FL some nutso lady told me this was the best time to teach D to swim (hello he was 3 mos old) and I should blow in his face (so he would breathe in) and then dunk him under the water :eek:

Happy- so glad to hear you have some good news, you totally deserve it :) We have the same excersaucer, Dylan loves it as long as he can see mommy :)

kamileer- great pic! She is so cute!

Haircut- Need one desprately. I am thinking of doing bangs since my hair is always in a ponytail, at least that will give me something.

Seperation anxiety- My boy is SO attached to me, he is starting to do this thing where he cries when ever anyone else holds him (sometimes even DH) and I have to come in and settle him down. The minute he is w. me he is OK, which I secretly love, but I am wondering if I will ever be able to have anyone babysit him w/out him having a meltdown. I am wondering if I am facilitating this, all day we are interacting, he does not usually like to play w.out me involved in some way. My DH says I should let him play by himself, but if he doesnt see/hear me he will stop whatever he is doing, look for me, and the cry hysterically (at the drop of a hat no less) until I go to him. He is not a loner thats for sure :) But when DH has him and I am not home, he plays by himself no problem *sigh*.

[Sebski]

Quit replies b4 heading out to work...

Britax Decathalon Bliss, you asked how those who own one like it... I *love* it. We had purchased a Marathon but returned it because I didn't like the print (Onyx). I found the Decathalon was more plush w/ the inserts and DS looked more comfy so I got that. The Blvd wouldn't have worked because DS is nosey and needs to turn his head from side to side in the car. The Blvd's side head impact things would have obstructed his view. Not a good thing. ;) Anyhoo - you can take the plush inserts out of the Decathalon and it looks just like the Marathon... but you still have the 3 position crotch thing and the push-button harnass control feature that the Marathon doesn't have. I really like the push button but some people don't so, I would see if you could find one in person to try out. We love ours!

Amusement We keep the exersaucer in the kitchen to keep DS amused in there... most of his toys are in his little playroom off the living room so we just lug them back/forth between the 2 rooms to amuse him there... and upstairs is where we keep the gymini (which bores him now) and more 'floor toys'. He's most amused when he's on the floor or sitting up nowadays. His exersaucer is always a hit but if he finds that I'm not looking at him the whole time he's in it, look out. :rolleyes:

Weight Well, I had the 6lbs of babyweight that I was still trying to lose and also put on another 4lbs due to the underactive thyroid. Regardless of diet/excersise NOTHING has come off. My doctor told me that the meds I'm on now will help take some of it off once it regulates my thyroid. We'll see.

Lotion We lube DS up w/ Aquaphor pretty religiously. Every night before he goes to bed and also periodically throughout the day as well. I had asked the ped about ingesting it and she said not to worry, that it's not like I'm letting him stick his hands in the container to scoop it out and eat it. :rolleyes:

Kami Maya is beautiful! :)

Have to run - have a wonderful day mommy's!

[Lindzee82]

ktdelsur - I will definitely scan the pics when I pick them up in June. You are right - for what we paid we are coming away with a ton of pictures. So, I guess it isn't too bad. I broke the news to Eric and he just laughed and called me a sucker! At least he wasn't mad. He thought it was cute, actually, that I couldn't say no. I told him that I would use the money he had put away for a massage for me to put towards the pictures, but he said no that we could do both. Yay that Andrew said the "dadada" sound. Matthew started doing that on Wednesday when Eric was home, so it was pretty special. Isn't it so cool to hear them start "talking?" Is Andrew still moaning at night?

JRPAGV - Not sure if I am too late, but wanted to say that I really didn't think that the Britax Roundabout was much smaller than the Marathon. In some ways, I actually thought it was bigger. The Marathon is definitely taller, but the Roundabout is wider and deeper, if that makes sense. Regarding the Graco stroller....because Matthew is not in his infant seat anymore, we will not be using that inside the stroller. We have to be careful with the stroller, though, because the straps do not tighten enough to my liking. So we have to watch him really good (not that we wouldn't anyway, but you know what I mean). He seems to like it better without the infant seat. He puts his feet up on the snack tray and peaks up at us through the window in the canopy. He always has this really proud look on his face. We went walking the past two nights like that.

krbb - Yay for Oliver rolling from tummy to back!!! Sorry you got suckered into getting lots of pictures, too. I guess they gotta make money somehow! Sorry you had all sorts of rain, too. It is raining here AGAIN today! And is supposed to rain tomorrow, too! Yuck!

doubleR - I am so glad to hear that you had a great Mother's Day. Yay that Brady was good while you were out visiting your family. We have a minivan and so our carseat is in the middle seat. Our van has double sliders and I have it on the side that the door is furthest away from. It makes it easier for me to get him in and out because I can climb right in. I have actually put off doing errands so far because I am worried about how much harder it is going to be now, too. We did buy a shopping cart cover, but I think that is going to be hard to use when it is just Matthew and I because it has to tie on and I am worried about getting it placed right while holding Matthew. I am also concerned about going out to dinner. We eat out a lot and now that he wont be in his infant seat, what the heck do we do with him? I think he is too little to go in one of their wooden high chairs that offer absolutely no support or safety restraints. I guess I could bring the Bumbo like we did once before, but he will only tolerate that for a short period of time. Hmmm. My DH was really good about the pictures. He didn't get mad at all. He called me a sucker, though! :)

[helen22]

Hi all, I have been MIA and keep trying to catch up, but it's a losing battle! I am going to make an effort this weekend. Glad everyone is doing well and hope you all had a great first mother's day :D

Bliss - one quick thing for your trip - we just went away on a long car trip last weekend, and one thing I wish I had brought was a really big quilt or blanket so Mel would have room to spread out in our hotel room. I forgot that she moves around so much more now with her rolling/scooting and the small blankets I brought really restricted her. Anyway have a great time and hope Dylan's schedule isn't disrupted too much!

Will be back on other topics later - happy Friday everyone!

[first-time mom]

Sleep Question-Is anyone else's dc going backwards with the sleep thing. Kaylin use to STTN and now she wont. She wakes anywhere between 1-2 and ends up in bed with me:rolleyes: sigh!! Even when she is sleeping with me she is tossing and turning. Its like she cant sleep soundly?? I am getting absolutely no sleep!! She also isnt taking any naps during the day. She has to be tired but I cant figure out why she wont STTN. I know its not a food thing because I dont feed her in the middle of the night. Kaylin will also not sleep unless she is swaddled and on her side. At 1 or 2 she breaks out of it and thats that ugh.... Is everyone elses dc sleeping through the night??

I hope everyone has a good weekend. DH, dd, and I are heading south to participate in a heart walk. I have Kaylin outfited in a t-shirt that says I am a survivor and it has the ribbon on it that represents congenital heart defects. Hopefully it wont rain or we wont be able to participate. Talk to you guys soon..

[happygolucky]

FTM - Anna has totally gone backwards in the sleep department. She STTN until she was 3 months old and since then... nada... except for the night before last. Last night she was back to normal though - up at midnight to eat and up at five to eat again. At least her periods of wakefulness have gotten shorter as her doses of medicine have gone down. She used to be up for two or three hours at a stretch... in the middle of the night. Now she's only up for an hour at a time. I imagine that at some point she'll STTN again... maybe when she's in high school? lol.

[first-time mom]

Happy- Yeah see Kaylin STTN for the first three months as well. The first 8 wks of life she was in heart failure so I am sure that is why she was STTN all she did was sleep before heart surgery. Then we came home from the hospital and she still STTN for a month but now forget it. I feel like I spend most of my night trying to keep her sleeping. She is like half asleep and half awake and trashing around. You are probably right they will sleep through the night when they are adults ha!! Its so hard for me to know what is or was typical for Kaylin b/c she is such a different child now since her heart is fixed. UGH

[abbytfox]

Sleeping We are heading in the right direction over here, but at about 5 months everything got totally messed up. At 4 months, E was STTN and then he started waking once to eat. That was fine with me, but then he started waking 2-3 times...not ok! Finally, he is starting to wake either once or not at all.

As far as restless sleeping, FTM, When I bring him to bed with me I have noticed that Elliott totally moves around and seems to be really sleeping poorly. Last night he wet his bed and pjs (urgh.) and I didn't have the energy to change his sheets at 3:30, so I brought him in with me. He was moving and making sounds the whole time. Needless to say, I didn't really sleep. But I think that he does that in his crib, we just don't know because we're not there. Could Kaylin be doing the same thing on her own? I think it is pretty normal and doesn't mean they aren't getting restful sleep. My only suggestion about trying to get longer stretches of night sleep is to try not to keep her up for more than 2 hours during the day. That has really worked for us over here (but every baby is so different, so I know it might not work for you guys). We did sleep train Elliott using a modified Ferber method and although it was really tough for about 2 weeks, he now goes down for naps and bedtime without any complaints. Good luck. It is SO hard when they won't sleep. Also, that is so great that you are doing a walk this weekend. I hope it stays sunny!

Kami Maya is beautiful! Her eyes are so bright. What a cutie!

Happy I put Elliott into the Exersaucer for about 10-15 minutes in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. He LOVES it! I don't feel bad about it because I also play with him on the floor a lot and give him TT still (the silly boy will not roll even though he hates TT!) Since he can sit on his own I put pillows around him just in case and he plays with his toys (or rather eats his toys :D ) for a few minutes...like if I need to check my CC thread. Otherwise I can put him in the bumbo. I did that the other day when I needed to cut some fruit. I put him on the counter pushed way back and right next to me. He sat for a long time just watching me and playing with his teething ring!

Our WBV is today at 2. I am already getting nervous about the shots. Yesterday, Elliott tipped over backwards when he was sitting on the ground and totally started screaming. I know he was tired, but he was fine and it really couldn't have hurt that badly, he was probably just scared. Well, I know that the shots are going to hurt and he is going to scream like he always does. I hate it! He is always so smiley at the nurse and then he gets this look like "Why are you doing that to me?" and then the red faced screaming begins. And I have to go all by myself. See...now I am getting all worked up! Anyway, I am really excited to see how big he is and finally talk to the doc about solids. Tomorrow is rice cereal day! I can't wait and I know that he is ready. The other night he took 9 oz before bed and last night he nursed at 5 and took 8oz at 6:20! I think he's ready!:D Off to playgroup...

[first-time mom]

abby- I do think her restlessness is due to the fact that she is still in my room. I am going to transition her out on Monday (we will be gone for the weekend). I am really nervous b/c Kaylin will only sleep swaddled on her side and I am so affraid she is going to roll on her face while swaddled and then she wont be able to use her hands. She is also not rolling yet so it makes me nervous not being in the same room. I do use a positioner but some how she can still move in it. I think its going to be a long few weeks until she gets use to it. I am trying to not swaddler her but the second she hits the mattress her eyes pop open. I also am going to stop putting her in bed with me when she wakes so this is going to be a tiring process. WIsh me luck:)

[abbytfox]

WBV Just got back from the doc. Elliott has grown SO much!
Height: 27.5 (between 75% & 90%)
Weight: 17 lbs 3.5 oz (50%)
Head: 44.5 (75%)
He was so smiley and cute for the doc, but then the nurse came in to give the shots. It was terrible as usual. Actually, he only had 3 this time and after the 1st one he cried a little and seemed like he might be ok, but then the 2nd and 3rd made him wail and get all red in the face. I nursed him afterwards and he seemed better, but still was wimpering a little. I am really excited because we got the go ahead for rice cereal tomorrow and then after a couple days we can introduce new foods. I think avocado might be a first food for us. We have some ripe ones right now and it would be so easy just to mash them up. I can't wait!

FTM GOOD LUCK! I hope that the transition is as smooth as can be expected.

[happygolucky]

FTM - good luck with the transition! Just keep telling yourself it's just a phase... it's just a phase...

Exersaucer - I'm trying so hard to wean Anna off the exersaucer. She's a total addict - if I let her, she'll stay in it for more than an hour, alternatively playing with the toys and watching Baby Einstein videos. Great for when I want to make dinner, but not good for the baby! Now, she looks at it and pitches a fit 'cause she wants to play with it. Why is everything she likes bad for her? *sigh*

She's still doing tons of TT, but I don't think it's helping her head shape. It's still lopsided, and I know it's because she loves to sleep with her head turned to one side. She almost never moves while she's sleeping, and if I try to flip her head, she either wakes up and cries or justs flips right back. I have a feeling the only way to fix this is going to be a helmet and if we add a helmet to the rest of her issues, I may lose my sense of humor.

At long last.

Speaking of at long last, she is sleeping (at long last) and I am going to follow suit.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy

[abbytfox]

Just gave Elliott his first taste of rice cereal. The first bite he was pretty neutral and actually smiled at me when I talked to him (I was video-ing the event, DH was feeding him) the second bite he took and then looked at us and burst into tears! Oh. It was sad and funny all at the same time. We tried 3 bites and the last one ended with hysterical crying so we decided to try again later. I just joined the dropshots website and will hopefully have the video up soon.

happy Sorry about Anna's head shape not fixing itself. That is just one more thing you don't need on your plate. Also, in my opinion the exersaucer isn't really bad for them. The recommendation is that they don't spend lots of time in it because their walking may be delayed. I guess it has something to do with the fact that they can't see their feet moving to make the connection between the motion and their intent to make the motion. Or something like that. But I don't think it is bad for Anna. If it makes her happy I say go for it. Just make sure that she is getting lots of other exercise and floor time! You need to do what you feel comfortable with. We put Elliott in it at least 2 times during the day. He loves that thing!

Happy weekend!

[Sebski]

Fly-by post to let all of you know that Shutterfly is having a Father's Day sale... I just made a snapbook for DH w/ pix of just him and DS. :) Also made a big, leather-bound book full of pix of DS and entitled it "The first 6 months". :D

Happy shopping!

[shirsty]

Another MIA mama here! Too busy to post lately but I have been reading along.

Just wanted to post quick to happygolucky that you may recall that my DS has a helmet. His head got asymmetrical from sleeping on the same side of his head all the time. He's been in his helmet for just over 2 months now and it is such not a big deal, we hardly notice it now, and he has never had a problem with it AT ALL, from day 1. And we'll be all done with it in just about a month! I was scared about getting it at first but it was all for naught. I know you and your DD have dealt with a lot, but I promise you a helmet will not be as bad as you think. If you are truly concerned about it I encourage you to get her checked out, the sooner she would start with one the better (and shorter amount of time she would have to wear it). Good luck!

[helen22]

hey everyone, hope you all had nice weekends.

Happy, I hear you on the exersaucer - we got one as a present and I have actually left it in the box because I'm afraid she'll get hooked on it (plus, let's be honest, our apt does not have room for one more baby thing...)

Sebski, thanks for the photo sale post! I will have to go order some photos. Another father's day idea for you guys - we went to a paint-your-own pottery place and put Mel's footprint on some mugs for the grandpas and great-grandpa. I think they will be a hit. We did the same thing for mother's day, only - learn from my mistake!!! - we used a dark pink-ish color for the handprints on the mugs, which turned out to be almost red...and so the mugs look like something out of a murder scene on CSI. Sigh. I did not share this thought with the grandmas, though, and they loooove the mugs :o So I highly recommend them as a present!

sleeping - we are totally going backwards. I am thinking about doing some sleep training. I feel guilty because we're totally inconsistent - DH and I will go into her when she's falling asleep in the early evening and loses her paci, but in the middle of the night we're so exhausted that we do some unplanned CIO. We've got to have a plan and stick with it. That is this week's project - also need to get the nanny to get her to nap better.

do you guys have any tips on increasing milk supply? I am definitely not pumping enough for her and am really disappointed. I am trying oatmeal and mother's milk tea. we'll see how it goes...

abby glad you and elliot braved the shots!! and congrats on starting cereal - we bought "super baby foods" this weekend and are getting excited!

ftm hope the weather cooperated for you guys! kaylin's shirt sounds awesome.

[sem426]

I can't believe DD is 6 mos today! Boy, a 1/2 year has gone by so fast!


sleeping we are still in the 1x/night wake up. i keep hoping that she will go straight through the night soon.

dry skin so I think DD has eczema. we have her 6 mos WBV this friday so we'll talk to the dr about it then. I'm going to buy the aquaphor baby wash and start using that for baths. The ointment seems to help when we put it on her.

"standing up" DD is getting so great at "standing" up (of course w/me holding her!) she has such strong legs and is really sturdy. she can almost stand better than she can sit up by herself at this point.

My brother and sister in law had a baby boy last week!! So it will be great for DD to have a cousin only 6 mos away in age. I grew up w/most of my cousins and we are still close today and are great friends along w/being family. I am so excited for DD to hopefully have the same experience w/her new cousin.:D

[abbytfox]

I am so annoyed...I typed a whole, long post this morning and totally lost it because the CC server wasn't working or something. Was anyone else having issues this morning? Maybe it was just me...

Solids We tried rice cereal this weekend to horrendous results. Literally Elliott would turn his head everytime the spoon came toward his mouth. I was so fed up with the whole thing that I decided we were moving on (I know I am supposed to wait 4 days, but seriously, he wasn't eating ANY and I thought it was such a waste!) I had a ripe avocado and mashed a little up with water and he ate it up! (pun intended :D ) He literally could not get enough and was doing such an awesome job. It was really fun to see! Kind of the reaction I was expecting to see with the rice cereal. Today we tried again with a food cube of pureed avocado I made yesterday and it was great again! So fun! He was leaning forward in the chair and opening his mouth when I gave him the food and smiling when I said "Mmmmm...yummy!" So darling!

Question: He only ate about 1/2 a tablespoon (measured before I added water to thin it out) and it seemed to hold him for longer than just milk (YIPEE!). How do I know when I can add another meal? Even though it has been only a few days, could I give him some more avocado before his bath tonight (like a dinner)? Or should I wait a while? I would still feed him his bottle before bed.

Haircut I got a major chop yesterday and so far I like it. It is really a layered bob that falls right below my chin, but it feels so much more stylish than my longer layered cut that just hung there. Also, I always blow dry my hair and it took much less time! I'll see if I can post some pics of my before and after shots.

sem congrats on your new nephew! So exciting. I wish Elliott was going to have some cousins close in age, but it looks like his closest relative will be his brother or sister (whenever that happens...not for a couple years at least!) Both of our siblings are younger and not anywhere near marriage, let alone kids. It will be great for your DD to have someone to play with! Do they live close to you?

helen I am total Super Baby Food addict! It has become my before bed reading material every night. I am obsessed with it! (but in a good way, I hope!) Have fun with solids! I was really worried about feeling rejected in some way if he liked the foods. But after waiting until he was 6 months, I was ready and so was he. It is so fun to watch him gobble it up. I am just feeling really proud of him (isn't that so healthy of me? :D) We have done some sleep training and even though it is the hardest thing, I know it is the right choice for us. We have the bedtime and nap thing down and next on the list is night wakings. That will be really hard, but thankfully the ped said most babies don't need to eat in the nighttime and should be able to sleep through the night. I need to repeat that like a mantra!

[kinaida]

sleeping -- we're totally going backwards here too. He's up 3-4x per night for the last 2 weeks. I'm thinking that some of it's the 6 month growth spurt, but it's getting really old, really fast. I think we're going to start doing some sleep training, starting with naps. his naps are all over the place. It's driving me crazy.

milk supply -- I took fenugreek when my milk was low (it was low because AF returned). It didn't seem to help much then, but helped quite a bit after AF left the building.

abby -- we're going to add a second feeding after Ben turns 6 months (this week). We've only been doing one per day up until this point.

[first-time mom]

Happy- I do hope it just a phase b/c man am I sooo tired. Its like she is making up for lost time. She slept so much in the beginning so now she doesnt want to sleep. UGH

Abby-I decided to put off the transition for another week or so. I need to see if I can get her napping straight before I put another change on her. She naps all over the place now and is starting to fight me on sleeping at all. There is always something. My sister is also having a baby soon and I want her in my room when I go in the delivery room b/c my hubby doesnt even hear her cry in our room much less her own room. Is my dh the only man that doesnt hear anything at night. ha Too funny that E doesnt like rice Kaylin wasnt a big fan either. I started Kaylin on two meals a day and just recently am doing 3 a day b/c the ped recommended it. Personally i think its too much. You will be able to tell if it is. Kaylin is never hungry. Cant wait to see the pics of your new hair-do. I am the queen of changing my hair, syle color ect. Its a disease:)

Helen-The weather was great and the walk was really nice. There was a nice turn out. Her shirt was a hit as well. Kaylin was presented with a red hat for the survivors and a red carnation. One of the moms who lost there 3 year old to Congenital Heart defect gave a speech and made us all cry. Sad but all in all a great day. Thanks for asking:D

Sem- Congrats on the nephew. My sister is due on the 31st and I am super excited. I am going into the delivery room with her and I am excited about that. I am going to live through her delivery. I had a c-section so I didnt get the experience of a natural delivery.

Kinaida-Hang in there we have the same issue over this way. Kaylin is even fighting me when I put her down for a nap. Pushing me away and fighthing sleep. Then when I lay her down she wakes right up. It seems like she will only sleep in my arms. UGHHHHH I hope this ends soon..

[ktdelsur]

Hola mommies...!

I've been absent myself - I was out of town last weekend.

I went to Charleston, SC with two girlfriends while DH stayed home with the baby. I missed my boys badly, but it was GOOD to get out, and I had my first full night of sleep since Andrew was born on Saturday night. *phew*

sleeping: It's getting better now...even though he's starting to get the snots again and has been getting up coughing, etc. Poor thing is back on his nebulizer...probably until his 6 mo appt on June 13.

Big Boy: I'm totally expecting that Andrew is close to 20 lbs. I swear, he's huge, and we don't feed him any more, really, than we had been.

Solids: Sometimes A gets rice cereal in the morning if there is time, but right now, its usually bottle in the AM and thru the day until "dinner" and he'll get a veggie or whatever fruit we're trying. So far he's had butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pears, peas and carrots. I've made all of them myself except the carrots. So far so good...not sure the pede will be happy with me since at his 4 mo appt he said, "We don't even need to have the solids conversation until his 6 mo appt..." (he started taking 8+ ounces at each feeding so my pede's nurse said it was ok to go ahead and give him some cereal, etc)

He's also tried his sippy cup (Nuby, with the two handles on the side and flexible spout) with cold water but that's not his favorite thing at all.

exersaucer: Its funny, the one they have at daycare is flexible-like, and he can "jump" in it and it goes up and down. I was wondering why he kept trying to jump in the one at home that DOESN'T do that (Its a Baby Einstein)...

crawling: He's SO close to crawling. He gets around pretty well and I THINK he's starting to understand what "No" means...at least after a few repetitions. LOL

shedding: Still shedding...still annoyed about it.

I've been asked more than once when I'm going to get PG again. give me a couple of years, people!!:D

[abbytfox]

Elliott slept through last night...yay! I did feed him at 5:20 and then he slept until 7:15. He went from 6:30-5:20 though, so that is a really long time!

I learned last night that E is totally cluster feeding before bed. I had noticed it a little while ago...he would eat at 3 and then be totally fussy and inconsolable around 5. I would nurse him and then we would do his betime routine...bath, books, bottle, bed...and he would be frantic for his bottle only an hour and a half later. Also, he was taking SO much (8 and 9 oz).

Even so, last night I thought that 5 would be a perfect time for a second "meal" of avocado since he wasn't "supposed" to eat until 6 anyway. Well, he freaked out while I was giving it to him...he would love the bite he was eating but he was hysterical the minute I took the spoon out of his mouth. I thought that he just wanted it to come faster, but our little feeding session quickly deteriorated into full on sobbing with tears and all.:( I finally figured it out and took him over to the couch to feed him. He was licking my shirt, I couldn't get it up fast enough! It was crazy. After he nursed, I tried the last little bit of the avocado and he wasn't that interested, but ate it anyway. Then we did his routine and he took 6 oz at 6:00. This solids thing is a real learning experience! I will try nursing and then solids tonight!

Question I made green bean baby food last night and couldn't seem to get it smooth enough. I steamed the green beans until they were soft, but not mushy (that may be my mistake) then I pureed them in the food processor with a little bit of steaming liquid and then I blended them in the blender. And still they seemed a little gritty at the end of the bite. Anyone have any ideas? We are going to try them in a couple weeks (I think carrots and sweet potatoes are first) but I am a little worried he won't be able to swallow it as easily. Should I be concerned or does it sound ok?

Crying guy!

[helen22]

all the posts on solids are getting me so excited to start! yay!

Quick PG question for you guys (remember those days??) - I have a friend who is 3 or 4 months along who is still just having horrendous morning sickness (or, as we all know, all-day sickness). I had pretty mild morning sickness, and it disappeared quickly. For any of you who had terrible cases - what did you do? Did you find anything that worked, or did you just have to wait it out? She is also a vegetarian and so has a pretty restricted diet. Any thoughts or suggestions very welcome!!

back for more later - have to run to mtg...

[ktdelsur]

abbytfox: Yay for E sleeping through the night. That's always a great feeling.

About the green beans - I haven't made green beans yet, but I've made sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas and pears. The peas I steamed the crap out of, then pureed with lots of the hot liquid (took more than it did w/ the squash/sweet potatoes)....I hear green beans you just basically have to cook the crap out of them too. Mushy.

I don't know if I've gone in the right "order" of solids....
sweet potatoes
squash
pears
peas
we're on day 2 of carrots
bananas are next

I made all of it except the carrots b/c I heard you shouldn't home-make carrots (something about nitrates?! I don't know).

[first-time mom]

My sister went into labor at 3:30am this morning and Colby Stephen arrived at 2:03pm. He weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 21 and 1/4 in long. I was there for the whole labor and delivery and it was an incredible experience and I was happy to be there. Since I had a c-section it was a great experience I was able to share with my sister. Her labor was so fast.....

Hope everyone had a good day!!

[kinaida]

all the posts on solids are getting me so excited to start! yay!

Quick PG question for you guys (remember those days??) - I have a friend who is 3 or 4 months along who is still just having horrendous morning sickness (or, as we all know, all-day sickness). I had pretty mild morning sickness, and it disappeared quickly. For any of you who had terrible cases - what did you do? Did you find anything that worked, or did you just have to wait it out? She is also a vegetarian and so has a pretty restricted diet. Any thoughts or suggestions very welcome!!

back for more later - have to run to mtg...
helen -- the only thing that ended up working for me was Zofran. Mine got better around 15 weeks (although I stopped throwing up every day around 12 weeks).

[tinkerbell]

Hello to all the Mommies and beautiful babies:

I am another who has been MIA and thought that I would post a hello to all of you.

All of your babies are beautiful! I would like to submit a picture of Julia, but I do not know how to post a picture. If someone could offer me advice, I would really appreciate it.

Wow how the months have flown by! Julia is now five months old. What a wonderful time and age. My DH and I are having so much fun with her.

If you don't mind, I need to talk out some of my feelings lately. Four weeks ago, Julia was hosp. for a high fever for a week. During her stay at the hospital, we received news that Julia has two urthurs leading from her kidney. If you are not familiar with the kidneys (I did not know any of this before), we each have one urthur leading from our kidneys. (Basically, it is like a tube on each side that goes from our kidneys to our bladders). Unfortun. Julia has two on her right side. Two weeks ago we saw a specialist at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles. As of last Friday, we were scheduled for surgery. This is the part that is breaking my heart. Julia must have surgery to remove part of her kidney which has been damaged due to fluid on the kidney, and the doctor must also remove the second urthur. Eleven hours before the surgery, Julia spiked a high fever once again and the infection had returned. We are now scheduled for surgery on June 2nd. I am having such a hard time dealing with this. If you looked at Julia (other then when she was in the hospital) you would never be able to tell that she has been so sick. It is hard to talk to others about this. My DH and I have received many prayers and support from family and friends. However, I just needed to write some of my feelings down to get some of my stress and heartache out. I am scared about the surgery and having her be put under. I know that she is in good hands. There will be three doctors performing the surgery. The surgery will be three hours, which scares me. I was prepared last Thursday night to have the surgery, but after being postponed my worries have increased again. It seems like we are at the pedri. office every week. I just wish this was all over with, and Julia was on the road to recovery. The other part that breaks my heart is the I.V. While we were in the hospital last time, the nurses had to change her I.V. three times. It started from being put into her head then moved a few days later to her hand and then to her foot. I would take all of this from her if only I could. The good news is that once the surgery is complete, she should be healthy again. I am looking forward to moving on with her, and having this be a distant memory. Thank you for listening to me. I just needed to write my feelings down.

Sleeping: Since Julia has been sick (she has been having problems since the beginning of April), she has been sleeping with my DH and I in bed. I figure once the surgery is over, I will work on her sleeping in her crib. She still wakes one to two times a night.

Hair: Oh, how I can relate to the moms who's hair is pulled up all the time. Julia has come to love pulling my hair when it is down. I tend to feel frumpy lately when I do not do much with my hair!

I have a question to the mom's who are shedding hair. How long does this last? Mine has been doing it now for a couple of weeks? Is this still the pregnancy hormones?

Julia is rolling from side to side and on her stomach. She has only rolled over once from her stomach to her back. I am trying to work on tummy time each day.

Julia now weighs 18 pounds 6 ounces. She is 26 1/2 inches long. She is so chunky, with lots of baby rolls. Too cute.

Rice cereal: We have been trying to feed her rice cereal, but she spits it out or closes her mouth. I think the medicines she is on right now have made her appet. less.

I hope this message finds you all well. What a joy it is to have our babies. Julia's smiles and laughs make my whole day!

Thank you again for listening to me talk about Julia's health issues. I will keep all of you posted on her surgery on June 2nd.

Take care!

Amy

[happygolucky]

Amy - First Time Mom and I have both dealt with sick kids - hers more gravely ill than mine. When Anna was put under for her MRI, which lasted for almost two hours, I was a nervous wreck. Needless to say, she came out the other side just fine. Crabby from being intubated and hungry from having her food restricted, but otherwise fine. The residual intubation sore throat lasted for a couple of days. I found this board was / is a great place to work through my doubts and fears. I hope you'll find the same. You and your baby are in my thoughts.

Meanwhile... Anna had yet another disasterous appointment at the pediatrician yesterday. Her four month shots which turned into her five month shots are quickly turning into her six month shots because we can't seem to get her healthy enough to actually get the darned shots. She spiked another fever yesterday and, because of the steroids, had to do the whole draw-blood-collect-urine drill again. The urine collection bag gave her such a rash the last time, they decided to catheterize her this time. Poor baby howled like mad. Between that, a thumb-prick blood sample and a full blood draw from her arm, I was beside myself. We were at the pediatrician for three hours, and from there we had to go to the hemangiomia specialist, which took another two hours. Now her night has been an absolute disaster. She didn't go down until 8:00, even though she normally goes down at 7:15, and then she was up for 5 or 10 minutes each at 10:30. 11:00, 11:20 and 11:40. Then she was up from midnight to 1:00, 2:45 to 3:30 and again at 4:45. It's 5:25 and I think she's back down. I hate to admit it, but after nursing her and then giving her a bottle at 8:00, feeding her at 10:30, feeding her at midnight and feeding her at 3:30, this time I just checked her diaper to make sure it wasn't poopy and then I put her back in her crib and let her cry. I checked and consoled once and now I haven't heard her cry in two or three minutes. Could she be sleeping? That would be dreamy. I"m going to go check.

After I clean up the hairball the cat who was at death's door mere days ago just hacked up on my good carpet. Why don't they ever hack things up in the bathroom? Rotten cat.....

[happygolucky]

Father's Day Question - I'm thinking of getting DH a camcorder for Father's Day but I know NOTHING about them. Does anybody have one that they're really happy with? I'd like to be able to put video onto dropshots and stuff like that...

Thanks!

[sem426]

first time mom congrats on your new nephew!

happygolucky so sorry that Anna had to get all that blood drawn. Poor baby. I hope she starts to feel better soon.

abby YAY for E's great sleep! I wish I could say the same. My Bro and SIL do live close..they are in NYC and we live in NJ, so the cousins will grow up close together!

We just had DD's 6 mos WBV. it was supposed to be on Fri, but Ped had to reschedule. Unfortunately, i couldn't make it, so DH took her this time., here are her stats:

Weight: 16lbs 15oz
Height: 26in
Head: 17 inches

All in All everything is good. He doesn't think she has eczema. He told us to put 1% hydrocortizone cream on her 2x/day and then put lotion on a bit afterwards to help w/the dryness. We also have to keep an eye on it, bc it may be allergies. At her 9mos appt they will draw blood and test for allergies, but if we think that may be the cause they'll do the tests sooner.

solidswe are going to start w/veggies this weeekend. he suggested 2x/day feeding, which is what we're doing now w/cereal. he also said only to bathe her 3x/week to help w/the dry skin as well. we've been doing every other day. I'm going to have to just wash her off each night w/a washcloth for her face, neck etc bc she's such a drooler it gets pretty nasty in there! we also need to not let her sit in the soapy water at all. hopefully, all of these things will help w/her dry skin.

In the sleep dept, (or lack there of!) he wants us to try and eliminate the middle of the night feeding (no kidding! so do I!). we are going to start giving her less and less formulal each night and hope that she won't wake up "expecting it" anymore. He said once her teeth start coming in that it could cause a problem if she drinks alot at night bc it will just sit on her teeth. We might try to let her CIO a bit too when she wakes at night (although I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that). It seems like she just yells for us, more than actual crying, so we'll see if that works. since we have a long weekend coming up we might start trying this on friday night. wish us luck. I *hope* we will be STTN soon!!

[helen22]

ftm, congrats on your new nephew! I think that is so great that she'll grow up with cousins close in age, and how nice for you and your sister to go through pregnancy/babies during sort of the same timeframe. my DH is an only child, and my sister is probably a few years (at least) away from kids, so no cousins for mel anytime soon - makes me a little sad for her.

tinkerbell, so sorry for what you and your family are going through. those of you who have had babies dealing with health problems, I have so much admiration for you - I feel like a superhero just getting through my regular day sometimes, can't imagine doing it with that extra stress and worry (and all those appts!). hope julia's surgery goes well next week.

happy, hope anna has had some good sleep since the other night! that appt sounds so hard. about the video camera question - our camera is from like 1998, so I wouldn't recommend it, and we have only started vaguely looking around for a new one - but my dh is obsessed with the reviews on cnet.com for electronics products. also - I think you live in/near NYC? - if so, J&R or B&H would be good places to check out - they have very knowledgeable salespeople. you might want to double-check that B&H does videocameras - I know they are a camera superstore, just not sure how many options they have. oh and they have weird opening hours so check their website before going... happy shopping!

I just have to share that I am soooo sick of not losing the last ten pounds!! or whatever it is that is keeping me in the same 3 pieces of clothing over and over because I can't fit into anything else. I keep waiting for someone at work to pull me aside and ask when my wardrobe is going to diversify...

quick sleep story - we've been doing very modified CIO - no more than five min at a time - and more in the middle of the night than in the evening when she's first falling asleep. so last night I let her fuss a little in the evening, to try and be more consistent with our middle-of-the-night response, then went in to calm/shush/etc. and I felt so terrible, because the reason she was fussing is she had rolled over onto her tummy, and then spit up! poor baby, she had it all over her face. bad mommy award for me :( but, that aside, I think she is continuing to improve - she now STTN (7.30 pm to 5.30 am) about four nights a week. amazing!!!

[Alanna]

Hi everyone... just a flyby to share a neat trick my Pediatrician gave me yesterday...

For Teething:

wet a face cloth (i use the baby ones) tie a knot in it. throw it in the freezer. ta da! happy teething toy!


Molly really likes them... thought it was worth passing along :)

[doubleR]

hi moms :)

I've been MIA all week dealing with our first ear infection. and a double one at that. with some tonsilitis added in. not fun. I'm sure I don't know how to spell tonsilitis, but anyway... we survived. but we had 2 really long nights that I wouldn't wish on anyone :( my poor little guy. and in a way I was so mad at our ped. I mean, I know antibiotics aren't to just be taken, but I feel like we should have started them 2 weeks ago instead of that steroid nose spray and this could have been avoided. oh well, guess that's why I'm not a doctor, huh? It hit him like a ton of bricks monday night - he was fine all weekend and all day Monday at daycare... by 10:00 monday night I knew I wasn't going to work Tuesday and that something was definitely wrong... so... my first week of 4 days at work, shorter hours turned out to be nada. I'll work tomorrow though - I could have worked today but am so totally exhausted and wanted to keep him home for a full day feeling fine rather than rushing him right back to daycare.

which leads me to my next question... does anyone else feel like their DH's just don't understand how much we do? I mean, I love my husband more than anything and he is wonderful. I'm very lucky and I realize that... but there are times, like today, where he just doesn't get it. he was in a nice quiet hotel room (traveling for work) for the 2 nights that I was losing my mind holding a sick and screaming baby. he came home last night, Brady is on the mend, thank god, but he just doesn't understand what I went through, why I'm so freakin' exhausted and why I couldn't work today... we had a huge argument this morning. I know I'm making way more out of it than it is, but it just really hurt my feelings for him to think it's no big deal, I should get up and go to work... yeah, I probably should, but... who's side is he on anyway? I'm just venting. feels good ;)

gotta go, Brady's fussing. he's definitely feeling MUCH better, but still not 100%. I'll try to do SOs soon. but Amy, I'm so sorry to hear your news, please let us know how the surgery goes. I can't imagine what you're going through, but you'll be in my thoughts. and ftm congrats on your nephew!! very exciting. my bro and SIL had a baby boy in August so Brady's got a cousin only 4 months older than he is which is really nice. They're so cute together now, I only imagine it will get better and better as time goes on :) Congrats!

[first-time mom]

Amy-I dont know if you have been following along with the chat room but my daugther Kaylin had open heart surgery on Jan. 4th so I know all too well how you feel. It is scary and I can completely understand your worries. I felt like I was going to lose my mind many times before Kaylin had her surgery and those last couple of weeks leading up to surgery felt like forever. I can tell you that babies are so resilient when it comes to surgery. I know I can sit here and tell you not to worry but I know that you ARE going to worry. Having your baby go through surgery is scary! Not only did I have to worry about Kaylin going under anasthesia but also I had to worry about them stopping and starting her heart. The least of my worries was the anasthesia but none the less I was petrified of everything. And of course they docs have to tell you the worst case scenarios which are not fun to hear. Kaylin's sugery was a success and she came through with flying colors. If you need someone to talk to you can PM me and we can chit chat. Even if you want to switch phone numbers I would love to. I know I had to talk to lots of people before her surgery b/c it really does help. Just let me know if u need a good chat. I will pray for her, and trust me all those prayers do help:)

Helen-Thanks!! I know I am so happy Kaylin has a little cousin to grow up with. I dont know if I will have any more children (b/c of heart conditions) so it will be good that she will have other children her age.

Sem-Thanks!!

DoubleR-I do feel like dh doesnt understand sometimes. I told him for my b-day I just want one night of sleep!! I get in many arguments about not having any time to myself. I feel like he takes me forgranted sometimes. I am a SAHM and he thinks I just sit on my but and watch soaps all day. If he had to do my job he would crash and burn. I just think men dont understand sometimes.

I am takin Kaylin to the doc AGAIN this afternoon. Not only is she waking up 5+ times a night I cant get her to nap and she is cranky all day. I think she needs to switch formulas. Her bowl movements are black and really hard so I think her formula needs to be switched. I feel like we live at the ped's. I am also moving her crib tonight into her room so I am about to have less sleep than before. I am going to eliminate her sleeping in my bed (she ends up in bed with me around 1 or so) so I think its going to be rough. Hopefully we can figure out the formula situation so we can work on the next task.....UGH wish me luck

[happygolucky]

Helen - I'll check out B&H. Thanks for the tip!

Alanna - great idea! I'm definitely going to try that with Anna.

doubleR - OMG - the guys SO don't understand. Nobody who isn't a full time mom understands, and even some full timers don't get it if their kids are older. I've had to tell DH more times than I can count, "oh yeah? Well at least you got to sit down to eat lunch today." Or "Have you gotten to go to the bathroom today? That puts you ahead of me!" Or my new favorite, "The bathroom is awash with water because your daughter wouldn't nap so I had to take a shower with the curtain pulled back so that she could see me while she sat on a playmat in the bathroom with a pile of her toys." Don't worry. We understand.

FTM - Living at the pediatrician's office? Got it. I totally feel for you and I hope you get your formula situation settled down ASAP. I also hope that the sleep scenario gets resolved soon!

[abbytfox]

Tinkerbell So sorry about everything that is going on with your DD. I am thinking good thoughts for you. Can't imagine how hard it must be :( ...As far as shedding hair, mine was literally falling out in clumps from about 3 months to 5 months and now (6 months) it still falls out a lot, but I'm not sure if it is more than before I was pregnant. It is really gross to have it EVERYWHERE! I can't clean it up fast enough. And now with Elliott grabbing for everything he can get his hands on he always ends up with some of my hair in his fist. I am so worried he is going to eat it by mistake and end up choking on it. Yuck! I have heard that it does get better, but I'm still waiting for it over here!

Happy That appointment sounds terrible. I can't believe they had to give Anna a catheter. Oh. My. Gosh. We all know from experience how awful that is, but for a baby? I feel like I could cry for her. Sorry about the sleeping. I can imagine that she must be really wound up from all her experiences at the doc. Also, not getting any naps makes it really hard. Hopefully Anna is doing better in the sleep dept!

FTM Good luck at the doc. I hope that they have some solutions for you as far as sleeping goes. It does sound like K might be constipated and need a new formula. Also, didn't your doc say to give her 3 meals a day? Maybe something she is eating is stopping her up? Poor baby. Good luck with the transition of the crib. I will be thinking good sleeping thoughts for both of you!

sem Good luck with sleeping at your house, too! We are still having night wakings and occassional feedings. Last night he woke and wouldn't be calmed by anything, I ended up feeding him and realized that he had wet himself through his dipe and pjs. I felt terrible. At least he went back down from about 3:45 -7, so that was good. I just wish that he was STTN on a pretty regular basis. So far it is really random and seems to have nothing to do with naps, food, or anything else. It just happens. We are going to NJ and NYC this summer. DH's grandparents live in Monroe Township and his Aunt and Uncle are in the city. I am looking forward to the trip and think we are going to try to see a show when we are in NY...can't wait!

Alanna Thanks for the tip! We'll have to give it a try.

Double R Sorry that your little one has been sick. I feel so lucky and grateful that we haven't had to deal with an illness yet (I know it is coming eventually) I can imagine that it is so hard to watch them suffer like that. Especially ear infections...so painful!

I do hear you on the husbands just not fully getting it. It is hard because I feel like sometimes he just thinks I drink coffee at peets and hang out with friends and shop. I do those things, but only to keep my sanity and get us out of the house. If we just hung around at home all day I don't think either of us would be very happy (me or Elliott that is...DH might be ok with that!) Sometimes he does say things that make me realize he does understanf that it is harder than it looks to stay at home. Then other times I'll mention how exhausted I am from waking up in the middle of the night (he sleeps right through the crying) and he'll say "Well, at least you can take a nap." Well, I COULD take a nap if I didn't want to get anything else done, so I really can't. Know what I mean? Sometimes he just doesn't get it! WHen I get really frustrated, I try and put myself in his position. I don't really know what it is like to be the only one making $ for his family and what kind of pressure that must be for him sometimes. Also, I can't imagine how hard it is to leave before your baby wakes up and not return most nights until he is already asleep. That makes me sad and I don't think I will ever fully understand that feeling, just as he won't understand what I am going through. Sorry...I know this was supposed to be about why they are annoying to us:D ...I do think it was insensitive for your DH to not understand why you needed a break. I hope that when he gets home tonight you get it all cleared up.

Helen I just have to share that I am soooo sick of not losing the last ten pounds!! or whatever it is that is keeping me in the same 3 pieces of clothing over and over because I can't fit into anything else. I am SOOOOOO right there with you. I have 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of khakis and a bunch of t-shirts and that is it. I have 11 pounds to go and can not motivate to get it off! I gained so much that the first 25 just fell off pretty much and now I am stuck. I have a huge box of clothes that I won't even open because it will just make me depressed that nothing fits. I have started working out a little more and hopefully that will help. Just know, I am in the same place...you are not alone!:D Awesome about the STTN. Do you not feel like a totally new person? It is just the best!
**********************************
Today we started carrots as a new food. He made a funny face at first, kind of like "What the heck is this stuff?" and then proceeded to gobble up the rest of what I had in his bowl! So funny!

Also, he is working on a new "trick." He pulls himself up to a standing position (while holding onto my hands) and walks! He loves to do it and it cracks me up to see his uncoordinated feet teetering around the room. He only started doing it 2 days ago and I was shocked. Of course, he still WILL NOT ROLL! I think we are skipping rolling over at our house.

On another note, I just read the Da Vinci Code and thought it was really good. Has anyone gotten to see the movie? We may leave E with my parents on Monday and head out to see it. I am not expecting anything, just a fun time out (my expectations are pretty low nowadays!)

[Sebski]

Hi ladies! I've been reading along but been too busy w/ getting re-adjusted w/ WOH to post. I tip my hat to those of you who do it full time because this part time thing is kicking my butt! Anyway, sorry to read about all the sick babies! Hope everyone's little ones are feeling much better soon! A couple of things to reply to quickly before I go and get myself ready for work tomorrow...

Dry skin Joey has developed dry patches on his legs and arms over the past couple of weeks. I switched to Aquaphor lotion for moisturizing and their body wash for his baths.

Avocado for those of you who introduced this how did you prepare it? I picked a couple up at the store and am dying to try it out. Did you give them the whole thing or 1/2?

Husbands When they're great, they're great... but when they're annoying, man its over the top annoying! Mine has been complaining that he's tired... oh, I'm sorry, I must be catching 12 hours of zzzz's every night. :rolleyes: Tonight for instance... I asked him to give the baby his bath while I made dinner. I had just fed the baby and unloaded the groceries while he laid down with a headache (:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ). 1/2 way through the bath I hear DS start to fuss and sure enough, DH calls out to me "can we switch, I don't want to get him sick in case I have something". I responded w/ "No, I'll take the chance - the odds of him catching your headache are pretty slim". UGH! DS wouldn't have started fussing if daddy hadn't taken his sweet time drawing the bath, undressing him etc. I swear, why does it take them 3x's the amount of time it takes us to do something??? I have a saying that I've started throwing around this house when DH gets too annoying... "If daddy's were good then they wouldn't be daddy's, they'd be mommy's".

Sleep DS goes down to bed between 7:30pm and 8pm. He stays down until 5ish... somedays are better though and he'll actually sleep through until 6am. It took a bit to get to this point though. He CIO a couple of nights when we put him down. I can't really say it was CIO because it only lasted for 25 min one night and less the next. But, it helped TREMENDOUSLY. We also let him fuss if he woke up in the middle of the night. Now, when he wakes up (we can hear him call out once or twice) he'll usually just put himself right back. I don't mind a 6am wakeup, but the 5am's are tough so I'll usually just bring him to bed w/ us at 5am. If I do that, I can usually get a couple more hours outta him. He's a PRO at naps now though. He'll take one about an hour after waking up for the day and that will last anywhere from 45min to an hour. Then again around 10am for a couple hours and then his afternoon one. Yesterday's afternoon nap was from 12:50 until 4pm! :eek: I was smart and laid down w/ him for that one. Anyhoo, he hates napping in his crib so we don't force it. He naps in our bed. :o He sleeps in his crib though at night so, the bed-sleep during the day hasn't seemed to screw him up too bad yet. Ha!

Okay - I have to run. He's down for the night and I want to try and catch a bubble bath before hitting the hay myself.

[abbytfox]

Seb re: Avocado I scooped it out and pureed the whole thing in the blender with some water until it was the right baby food consistency (the water helped it get really smooth, too.) Then I froze it in ice cube trays. He is just starting on solids and so he eats about 1/2 a Tablespoon (or half a cube) per feeding so really it isn't that much at all. If Joey has been eating for a while, he may eat more, but still I don't think he would be able to eat the whole thing or even half of it. I froze it right away and the color stayed pretty green. It is a little brown on the top, but once it is thawed and mixed it is a nice green color! The taste doesn't seem to have been affected by the freezing, either.

Tonight for dinner Elliott ate the rest of the carrots I opened this morning. He LOVES them. His first bite was classic, but now he is leaning forward and eating it all up. I fed him tonight without any clothes on and thank goodness for that because carrots were EVERYWHERE. I really don't understand how to feed him with clothes on and not have them get totally ruined. He wears a huge plastic bib, but he ends up gnawing on that so carrots get all over his torso. He puts his hands in his mouth to help swallow the food and then rubs his eyes so carrots are in his eyes and all over his face and hands. Then he puts his hand on the chair and then his elbow and arm is covered in carrots. I really don't mind the food getting all over him, but don't want him to ruin his clothes. Do I just need to get over it, or does anyone have suggestions for how they do it? I have to admit, he looked pretty cute with orange all over! I am usually so anal about messiness, but am very calm about the food everywhere. Interesting, the things you learn about yourself from them!

[Sebski]

Thanks for the avocado info Abby... but, I thought avocado was sorta like a banana in the sense that no prep was needed? Other than mashing?

Does anyone know if you can just slice an avocado, remove the pit and mash? I'll have to pack my superbabyfood book to read on the train this morning...

[helen22]

hey abby - I haven't started solids, but a friend told me she gives her baby her own spoon to hold when she's feeding her - that way the baby has something to hold onto and be distracted by (and not a toy - something food-oriented), and she doesn't get her hands in everything. of course it's still a mess, but she says it's not as bad... and thanks for the support on weight loss - SIGH, it is so annoying. plus now it is getting warmer! and I want to do swimming lessons with the baby! oh well, I guess if I really cared that much I wouldn't be having sweet potato fries with lunch every day :D

question on fenugreek - how much to take, and when? kinaida, I think you said you had used it - any advice?

[abbytfox]

Seb You can just take it out of its peel and mash it. I did that the first time we fed it to Elliott, but I felt like the consistency was a little too lumpy and not smooth enough, so I pureed it. Also, if Joey has been eating for a while (this was literally Elliott's first food EVER) then he might not need it to be as pureed, a little texture might be ok. Sorry to give you the worng impression! I guess I was just being overly cautious!

[sem426]

Quick post.....

abby what a small world...my mom teaches in monroe twshp! i live about 25 minutes from there! do Dh's grandparents live in a 55+ community? there a bunch of them in monroe twshp! your trips sounds great. You should definitely see a show when you are in NYC! I haven't seen anything lately, but there are alot of good things out there.

Everyone have a great long weekend!!

[abbytfox]

sem So funny! Yep. They live in a gated 55+ community...not sure what the name of it is, but you have to have your name on a list to get in! That is quite a coincidence that your mom actually works there. So funny. I am looking forward to seeing our grandparents because unfortunately it may be the last time for a long time, but I am very stressed about our trip. All the way accross the country is a long time on a plane...we'll see how it goes!

[ktdelsur]

Hey girls!!

Amy: Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear about your baby's kidney/ureter. You are definitely in my prayers - your post just broke my heart. I can't even imagine.

doubler: Husbands totally don't get it!

I went away for the weekend last weekend with some girlfriends while DH kept the baby. It was hard for me to go, but I got a night of sleep, and got to hang out with friends. DH definitely learned how hard it was. I got home at 1 p.m. on Sunday and DH kissed me hello, then went straight to bed for 5 hours. I think the baby had MAYBE woken up twice, briefly, in the middle of the night, but he was sooo tired he had to have a nap. :rolleyes: :D

I definitely would like to try being a SAHM for awhile at some point, but right now since DH is in grad school I have no choice but to be a full-time WOHM. It's hard too - but like you said, "At least you got to sit and eat lunch in peace..." to your husband. I DO get to eat lunch in peace, but I'd totally give up a peaceful lunch if I could be home with DS all day. :)

Both have their perks:
- On the weekends I can hang with the baby and nap when he naps,
- but if he's been up a lot the night before and I have to still be up at 5:30 a.m. to get myself AND the baby ready, and out the door by 7:15/7:30 - and I don't get a nap at work. :( hehehehehe

helen: We're on carrots now too...but I can't help too much on the messiness. DS is pretty neat...we're trying hard to tell him "no - its not playtime, its dinnertime" and he's been okay about keeping his arms down. The first couple days on solids he desperately wanted to grab the spoon and shove it in his mouth faster than I was feeding it. LOL letting them have a spoon to play with doesn't sound like a bad idea.

sleep: For the most part its been great. He's got ANOTHER ear infection (I jinxed us by telling someone how great it was that he'd been WELL for two months straight..)! We tried going back on the nebulizer and seeing if that would work, but he definitely needed the antibiotic. Gives the poor thing runny diapers, so we give him those Lactinex capsules in his food at night. (they're teeny, and now that I don't have to mix them with formula its easier) Anyway, since he's been waking up to sniff and cough - he's woken up at least twice a night. Usually just a quick tummy rub and the popping in of the paci works fine.

Finally! This morning I found him sleeping peacefully on his belly (NOT on his face for once), and when he woke up, he flipped himself over. Finally he remembers he's capable and doesn't have to fuss when he's on his belly in the crib.

I just love his cute little face when he's sleeping (well, ALL the time, but especially when he's peacefully snoozing)!

Our six month WBV isn't until 6/13 (even though he's six months on 6/5), but since we had to go to the doc for the antibiotics, they weighed him. A grand weight of 18 lbs, 13 oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phew!

[Bliss]

I swear, why does it take them 3x's the amount of time it takes us to do something??? I have a saying that I've started throwing around this house when DH gets too annoying... "If daddy's were good then they wouldn't be daddy's, they'd be mommy's".

This made me LOL, isnt that just the truth, could have written it myself :)

We had Dylans 6 month WV today, he is weighing in at 18lbs 8oz (80%) and measuring an amazing 28" - his height is actually off the chart. The doc said he will be pretty tall, not surprising since DH is 6'2', I am 5'9" and his grandpa (my dad) is 6'5". We got the OK to start veggies and fruits, and doc said to feed him cereal and veggie or fruit 2x a day. So tomorrow we start sweet potatoes-do you mix that in w. the cereal or feed both separately?

Moms of boys Today the doc said that the skin on D's penis was sticking (where his circumcision was). So he actually pulled the skin back (which was horrible, Dylan was screaming his head off and I was crying) and there was some white stuff in there. I do pull the skin back and clean, but apparently not good enough. Do you put vaseline or something on the penis at every diaper change to prevent this? He told me to clean it w/ baby oil, which I did but my poor peanut was so hysterical and I felt horrible. I am thinking vaseline is good too since it will lubricate the area. I feel awful, like I did not clean it enough & thats why it adhered again, I want to do everything I can to prevent it from happening again. Am I missing a step or something?? Why have them circumsized if you have to pull the skin back to clean and then they can still get infections etc there?

Amy So sorry to hear about your DDs medical issues. I will be thinking/praying for you that she gets well soon {hugs}

Abby We have only given D cereal so far, but I either give him anothe baby spoon to play with or I turn on the toy bar (we have the aquarium highchair) to keep him distracted.

Convertible carseat The nurse at the ped agreed that D is not officially too big for his baby carseat. I ordered him a Britax Decathalon from Albeebaby.com and got it for $219 w/ no tax or shipping. That is actually less than the Marathon (next level Britax down) is at BRU. Just figured I would share my bargain in case anyone else is looking for one. Now we need one for DHs car, he is only in there one day a week so I am thinking of the Evenflo Triumph.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend! We are having a BBQ at our house, last year that is when we announced I was PG. Amazing how fast a year goes, I got weepy today thinking of putting him in the "big boy" carseat already. I cannot believe how big he is getting, and so quickly!!

[abbytfox]

Just a quick post to share some pics of my little one (who is not so little anymore!) Mods, could you please post the first one to the front page! Thanks! Sorry for the hugeness of the pics...this is just how they came out!

Thanks for the ideas about keeping the food off the kid and in the mouth. We tried a hard, plastic bib and that helped a little bit. We'll try the spoon trick tomorrow...



My smiley guy
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3B935%3A4%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3233%3E692%3E769%3E23 2469285%3A836ot1lsi
I love this expression...
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3B935%3A4%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3267%3E784%3E466%3EWS NRCG%3D323378374873%3Cnu0mrj
Look at what a little boy he looks like here! I can't believe it!
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3B935%3A4%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3267%3E784%3E466%3EWS NRCG%3D3233783738%3C88nu0mrj
And here's one of me and my little one (pre-haircut, still working on a pic of that).This is how I entertain myself sometimes...I take pics of us together. Someone is not amused!
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3B935%3A4%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3267%3E784%3E466%3EWS NRCG%3D3233783738%3A74nu0mrj

[Lindzee82]

Once again, I am pages and pages behind! So sorry for the outdated replies. But I do like to respond to what I can...even if it is a little late!

first-time mom - Matthew has never ever slept through the night. Sorry that Kaylin is having a hard time with sleeping right now. Hope it gets better for you!

Bliss - We are having the same problem with Matthew's penis. No matter how good I clean it the top layer always sticks over the top of the head. My ped said it was normal and didn't give me any tips on how to prevent it. Matthew doesn't like getting it cleaned either. I didn't know that such maintenance went into it! Sorry I dont have any great advice because we are going through the same thing over here.

***

Matthew's 6-month well baby visit was on Tuesday. I must say that I *love* his new pediatrician's office. I am really happy with it. He got 4 shots and actually handled them really well. He only cried for a minute. He weighs 18lbs 2oz and is 28" tall.

Solids seem to be going well. So far he has eaten peas, sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, and peaches. He likes everything but the peaches! He hates them. We have two more days of forcing him to eat them, though, and then we can move on to something new. I think we will do carrots next. But maybe we will do another fruit. I am feeding him three times a day so it is hard to get a nice variety in the beginning when you only introduce one new food at a time. I will see how it goes.

Be back soon, hopefully!

[Sebski]

Penis Now that I've got everyone's attention... ;) At DS's 1st ever ped appt, she told us to pull his peep down from the head toward the base and clean the white gunk that collects in there. She said it would help keep the skin from growing back. We do it at least once a day (no longer every dipe change) and during his bath (that's where I get the white gunk out the best). I put a little Aquaphone on my fingertips before I tug it back.

abbytfox *LOVE* the pix of your little 'man'! We have the same outfit - the jumper w/ the weiner dog from Gymboree. :)

I made the avocado this morning and DS *loved* it! I tried to mash it up in my mini-chopper because I didn't want to have to drag the big gun processor out but I was stupid. I ended up wasting more time, and made a bigger mess, trying to squeeze all the avocado into the miniprocessor. :rolleyes: Anyhoo, once I got my act together I had made an entire ice cube tray full of avocado in 20 min! :eek: He ate 2 cubes this morning for bkfst so I know the tray will last through the week. I want to pickup sweet potatos on Monday and make those since I'm home from work. Might be tricky though because the 2 supermarkets near me only had yams... my mom said they are the same thing but I dunno...are they? I don't eat either so I'm clueless. :o Question though for those of you who are making your own babyfood... do you buy strictly organic produce?

Hope everyone's having a great 1st Memorial Day w/e w/ their little ones! :)

[ktdelsur]

Seb:
I don't buy strictly organic - I live in a small town and most grocery stores around here don't have a huge selection of organic produce. I just scrub/wash them good and I'm happy.

Cross post from Master Solids Thread:

Quickie question about a weird reaction DS recently had to a new food:

DS is almost 6 mos, and has done well with sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peas and pears, but the past two days I have tried twice to feed him bananas.
(Side note: I've made all of his food except for the carrots...I had mushed the heck out of some bananas then froze them like I did the others.)

Every one of the other foods he's had, he's eaten heartily and happily - but BOTH times I've tried feeding him bananas, he'll eat two bites semi-happily, then sneezes 4-6 times and won't eat any more. I figured since they are sweeter, he'd eat them up - but no. I am scared to try again.

He's got an ear infection and is on a nebulizer and antibiotics right now - (gotta love what goes around daycare) - I don't know if that might have anything to do with it, but he hasn't been a big sneezer until these two banana feedings.

Should I drop bananas altogether or try again when he's "well"?

Has anyone here taken their DC to an allergist at this age? Allergies run in my family big time (but not to anything mundane like bananas - mostly dusts/molds/seasonal things).

[Sebski]

ktdelsur Glad to hear that you don't buy strictly organic produce. Joey's only been getting organic veggies and DH made me freak when he asked whether the avocados were organic or not. The 2 major grocery stores near me don't stock organic but there's a store a few towns over that does. I'm going to take a trip there on Monday (about 15 min away) to pickup some produce for him. If it's only weekly/bi-weekly I don't think I'll mind, but its annoying since I have 2 huge supermarkets 5 min from our house. Regarding bananas... Joey doesn't care for them too much either. I think it's the texture... he gets Earths Best and they aren't as watered down as the other fruits. It took him a bunch of times to get into eating them but he still has an "eh whatever" look while he does. Meanwhile, he gobbles down the other fruits/veggies. Even PRUNES! :rolleyes: I was pretty surprised about the bananas and DH was bummed - for some reason he was really excited about starting bananas. :confused: About the sneezing... Joey def sneezes more when he's eating than not it seems. My mom says I just notice it more because he's got a mouthful of food that he shoots at me. Not sure how true she is with that, but he hasn't had any rashes etc. to go along w/ the sneezing so maybe she's right. I would hold off on the bananas until he's feeling better more for your piece of mind than anything. That way you can gauge his reaction and see if it's diff than when he was sick.

Allergist DH has seasonal allergies BIG time. He gets a shot every year along w/ a prescription for Allegra and STILL has issues all throughout April when pollen season starts. A couple of years ago he was so bad that his face became swollen and he broke out in hives. All from pollen. DS has been VERY sniffly all week long. He's fine as long as he's indoors w/ the AC going though. Leading me to believe it's somewhat related to allergies. I'm making an appt w/ his ped on Tues to talk about this...

We're off to another bbq today! Hope everyone's out enjoying the beautiful weather! Here in Jersey it's H O T... Joey is def like mommy in the fact that he's an AC person all the way. We've had ours on since Friday and the minute we head outdoors the little dude just WILTS. Its cute but frustrating because he's not a happy camper whatsoever. :rolleyes:

Edited to add a Sippy review... we tried the Nubys but I didn't like them. They leaked no matter how hard I tried to get them not too. We moved onto the Playtex sipsters and LOVE them! I picked up the little leashes so that I can attach them to his highchair, exersaucer etc. and they don't leak when they hang. Highly recommend that cup!

[abbytfox]

Moved onto bananas yesterday and E LOVES them! Also, he has only been eating for a little over a week, but he has already started taking about 2 cubes at a time. When he started he would only eat half a cube...he has gotten the hang of this eating thing really quickly!

Two Questions:
1) Elliott seems to be insatiable lately. Yesterday, I nursed him and he was so pissed that he was done so I had Adam make him a bottle of 4 oz. Well he gulped that down and then proceeded to eat another 2 oz! It was crazy. He did a similar thing today. I am thinking that this is the 6 month growth spurt. Should I keep giving him solids just two times a day and up the milk/formula intake to compensate? Or should I increase solids? The only problem with the solids is that while he enjoys eating them I don't think he has really figured out that its food yet, so he is pretty fussy if he is really hungry. Plus he isn't really used to the fact that it isn't a constant stream of food (like nursing or a bottle) and that annoys him. What do you ladies think?

2) Ok, so this is a poop question. Due to the fact that poop is not the most apetizing subject, some people may thing this a little TMI...Apologies in advance! Today Elliott had his first poop that was a little more solid due to the fact that the solid foods are now starting to go through his system. He was straining SO hard that his little face was red and he was grunting like crazy. Then he would start crying hysterically. It was so hard to watch and really sad. He had probably 3 episodes of red faced, straining, grunting and then crying. When I changed him the poop wasn't even hard it was just more solid than his breast milk poops. I remember reading in my Baby 411 book that just because a baby is grunting and red faced doesn't mean they are constipated. Constipation is evident by the hardness of the poop, not how hard they are trying to get it out (if that makes sense!) I am very concerned about it and will probably call the doc tomorrow, but wanted to know if any of your kiddos had something similar happen when they started solids. Oh. It was just so sad.

ktdelsur I would probably wait on the bananas for a little while and maybe try again after some other foods. If he has a similar reaction you could talk to your doc about a possible allergy. Or maybe just to feel better, call your doc and tell them what happened. I have noticed Elliott sneezing when he eats too!

Crying baby!

[Lindzee82]

abbytfox - Hey there! Yay that Elliott liked the bananas. That is great. It does sound like maybe Elliott is hitting his 6-month growth spurt. What a little piggie he was! haha! Not sure if this would work for you or not, but Matthew gets solids three times a day - fruit for breakfast, veggie for lunch, and cereal for dinner - but I nurse him (or he gets a bottle if I am away) before he gets the solids. Like Elliott, Matthew is impatient and so if he is really hungry the solid feeding doesn't go too well. So, I let him get his fill of breastmilk and then give him solids as a "dessert." At this point, breastmilk or formula should still be the main source of food, so I would up that first and if he is still seeming to be very hungry I would maybe add in another serving of solids or up the amount of solids you give. But, it may help to have him drink before he eats. Regarding the poops, Matthew is going through the same thing. But, he always got very red-faced before he started solids. Now he gets red-faced but doesn't always "produce" anything. It is very hard to watch. The only thing my ped suggested to help make the pooping easier is to keep giving water, try applejuice (Gerber makes 100% juice with no added sugar and you can dilute it with water), or prunes. Matthew will only drink water if I feed it to him from a straw and I don't always have the time to deal with that, so he doesn't get too much. He just doesn't like the sippy cup right now. I think the water comes out too fast for him when he sucks and he can't swallow that fast. I am planning on starting prunes in the next few days so we will see how that goes. If you do call your ped, please let me know if you get any other suggestions. I wanted to ask you, too, do you have a username on Live Journal? I have been posting over there a lot more lately and I post most of my pictures of Matthew over there now. I wouldn't want you to miss out! Take care!

[Bliss]

Solids Question OK, this solids thing is nuts, I have no IDEA if I am giving Dylan enough to eat lol. Can you please post your feeding schedules for your babies? My ped said to up his solids to 2x a day. I am also trying to begin the weaning process, so I have no clue how to figure out how to give him a bottle that matches what he is getting when he BFds. Our schedule now is loosely like this:

8a BF (one side, I would guess 4oz)
11a: 1 1/2 TBSP cereal. I just started adding in a veggie to this, but not much, we went thru one jar in 3 days. I mix the cereal w. 4TBSP (2oz) of formula.
2p: BF (both sides, maybe 6oz)
5p: BF (both sides, maybe 6oz). This is where I would add in the second solids feeding
9p: 7oz bottle

So when I give solids, am I supposed to be giving both cereal AND a fruit/veggie? Also, how much should be be getting in a bottle after his cereal feeding-I am counting the formula that I mix in his cereal as part of his liquid, so I was thinking of giving him a 3oz bottle of formula and then his cereal with a fruit/veggie. Is that too much?? *sigh* my little cherub is almost 19 lbs as it is, I dont want to make him into a giant baby LOL.

Abby Dylan started doing the redfaced poop thing too once we started solids. He went 3 days w.out poop and was straining/redfaced/crying, I felt so bad. We gave him a little prune juice diluted w. water and it helped move things along :) I think their tummys are just adjusting to new food, I have noticed that by the 3rd day of eating a new food he does it less. And his poops are not solids by any means either, but they are thicker. And they stink, but thats another post :)

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! Today was so nice here, we took Dylan on our new boat for the first time. He loved it, and fell asleep in it which was a nice added bonus.

[Lindzee82]

Bliss - Here is what our schedule looks like:

Wake up
Nurse one side
half container of fruit (which lately he only takes two bites and refuses)

Before morning nap we will nurse again

Depending on what time he goes down for his morning nap he will get up nurse and if it is close to lunch time he then gets a container of veggies. If it is not close to lunch time (like this morning) he will nurse when he wakes up and then an hour later or so I will nurse again and give him the veggies.

When he goes down for his afternoon nap and when he wakes up he gets nursed again.

Before dinnertimes I nurse him and then he gets 1/4 cup cereal mixed with 2oz breastmilk.

We then usually nurse two more times before bed.


Hope that helps. Sorry I can't help with the amount of formula because I don't give bottles when I am home.

Glad Dylan liked the boat!

[abbytfox]

LindzI don't have a username at LJ. Is it free and I just have to sign up? I might do it just so I can peek at M from time to time. I do love seeing how our guys are growing! Thanks for thinking of me!

Bliss We only started solids around the same time as you (I think) so I may not be much help, but here is our "schedule" right now. So far the food repetoir is very small. When I say 1-2 cubes it is either avocado, banana, or carrot...that is as far as we have gotten. Today I am going to reintroduce rice cereal with banana mixed in as his morning meal. He would not stand for the rice cereal alone and we only fed it to him 2 days.

Upon awakening (6 am) BF
Nap around 7:30 or 8 then wake up and BF
an hour or so later - 1 to 2 cubes of food
Nap around 10:30 or 11 wake up and BF and/or supplement with formula
Afternoon BF/supplement
Evening (around 5-5:30) 1-2 cubes
Bedtime (6:30) 8-9 oz bottle

[fwgirl]

Hi everyone! Another MIA mama checking in... I've been reading along (when I can) but life seems to have swall