March Moms 2006 - Year One

[bunny nose]

Tuni- so sorry you are having such a hard time. I know I have it the worst when the baby wakes in the middle of the night. I find my PPD is worse on the days after that. I wish I could give you some advice about the sleeping issue. DS is FF and I allow him to go to sleep while drinking his last bottle. And for his naps and when he wakes in the middle of the night, I put him in the swing until he falls asleep. I just don't have the energy to do anything else. I know I will regret it someday, but for now it works for me. I also wanted to say thay maybe if you offer her a paci at night instead of nursing maybe she will go back to sleep with that.The only reason I think that is because you say that she only nurses for 5 minutes. Maybe she just needs the comfort of the sucking. I am no expert and don't know, but maybe it will work.


Thanks for the advice about the IL issues. I really do try to let it go and not let it bother me, but it is so hard when it is constant badgering. She was here on night and stood over my shoulder while I did my whole bedtime routine and totally critized everything. She hates that I feed him his cereal so late. She wants me to do it at like 4 or so and then just a bottle for bed at 8. But the way I have been doing it works for me, so why is it wrong. She even makes remarks about me giving him a bath at night. What's the difference? Just because she doesit in the morning, so what. I barely have enough energy to take care of myself in the morning, let alone bathe him. I'm a night person, deal with it. It just gets to be too much, KWIM?

What kills me though is that I don't dictate to people what to do with him. I am totally not your typical first time mom. I don't care what she does when she has him. I give her my stuff and let her go with it. The same with my paretns and my SIL. Whatever works for you, do it. So why does she have to try to make me do things the way she wants? Oh- Lordy, I could go on and on. I should've known from what happened at my wedding that this would happen.


Karen ~ Oh boy. Did you ever come to the right place. I hear it ALL the time. We never do anything right. I tend to have more experience with kids and kinda do the same thing to my husband. I feel horrible afterward. My parents on the other hand to not! To make matter's even better, we are living with my parents right now. We never get anything right. Did you feed the baby? Does the baby want cereal? 5 sec later... after attempting to give her cereal although I clearly know its not time... they pipe in with "She doesn't want cereal!" Not to open up this debate here, but we are also NOT going to Vax or at least put it off for a while. My mom has been coming with me to the ped and has asked where are the shots? I told her we are not going too. Oh boy, is that a fun discussion - NOT! I think we argue about it at least once a week. Here's a tip: Don't let anyone know some personal things. We have now changed our story. She'll start getting them after her 1st birthday when she's put on some weight (She's only 50th percentile) and after the winter. By then, we'll be in our place and they won't know the inside scoop.

I feel for you! Its just so hard to handle. I mean its no body eles's businessif you don't want to vaccinate. It's your choice. Just like its my choice to do it now. This is the way I look at it though- if it was so bad not to vaccinate right away, they wouldn't give us the option to. Good luck to you and hopefully you'll be in your new place soon!

Anyway, enough rambling. Thanks so much for listening girls!

Karen

[ellybella]

hang in there tuni! you are doing a great job! this whole mothering thing is ALOT more work than i ever imagined. you are not alone and it will get better and we will sleep again. thank you for sharing and being honest about your experience. lots of hugs to you.

[JennW]

Just wanted to add one more comment for tuni. Visit CC as much as possible! I know we've had issues with pumping and supply and a whole bunch of other things and I swear I never knew so much support could be in one place as it is on CC. It has been my saving grace and a place for answers so many times over the last seven months! There is always someone here to listen and offer great advice. Hugs again.:D

[Elenitsa]

Tuni ~ I also wanted to chime in with hugs and support. I don't have much advice to offer on the sleep issues. Meli seems to be particularly bad around teething time. We have been co-sleeping with her and we use a paci. Some nights I do just hand her a paci or help her find it and she'll sleep a little longer. She may wake up once or twice and I'll give her the paci. If she's not sleeping then, I'll feed her. This is not a kid who gobbles down a 8 oz. Most times its 5oz tops. What time does she get a meal or have you put off solids? Does cereal stretch out her nap times? Maybe it could help with her sleep time too? Could 6pm be a too early sleep time? What is she like if you keep her up till 8pm? Perhaps you have tried all this before, in that case I'll just climb back into my little hole and offer you some simple hugs.

[ShannonGH]

Tuni- I so feel for you. I think Noa's sleep is horrible but I DEFINITELY couldn't deal with it if she was still nursing. At least Dh and I can trade off on wakings. We started to sleep train (more to deal with her mega-early wakening first, and then were going to move to middle-of-the-night wakings) but then she got a cold and the whole thing went out the window. She's slowly getting over her cold so we're starting the whole process again. But now damn daylight savings is thrown into the mix...she was up for good at 4am this morning after 2 night wakings. :mad:

I had no idea that so many of you are not changing wet diapers in the middle of the night! What a novel idea. :p Might have to try that one out.

[tgal]

Hat: I bought the pink knit hat at H&M.

Diaper Changes: No way! We wait until she is awake in the morning because the change wakes her up and it is so hard to get her back to sleep.

Sleeping: Tuni, I feel your pain and no we are not horrible mothers for not being able to structure our babies sleep schedules. All we can do is try and if one thing doesn't work move onto another until something works. I think this is the hardest thing that I have ever done in life, really! Don't forget though if Piper doesn't have all of her teeth in yet, this could be a HUGE part of the reason for her waking up so often and the nursing is what comforts her during this time. Things improved so much once Eva's top two teeth came in, but now we are regressing once again due to the I-teeth coming in. Oh and as Shannon mentioned DLST, urrrggg, I never cursed that before last night! Up at 3 am for the rest of the morning and she has yet to go back down for a nap. I could go on an on with this one, but I don't want to ramble. Maybe we should start a sleeping support thread, or was one already started.

MIL: Ironic that this topic surfaced given the turn of events that took place yesterday. I won't get into the pettiness of my dh's family, but I will just say they can never replace MY family and the love an support that they offer me. I only wish they were just down the street instead of 10 hours away:( .

[mom2amelia]

Happy Halloween!!!

Here's my tired little monkey.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/ckport/IMG_1544.jpg

[ShannonGH]

Adorable cyndi!

Here's my little bee fast asleep. Our baby class (where we attend therapy) all went trick-or-treating in wagons last Friday around the whole building. So cute to see all the babies in costumes!
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l273/shannonhaney/Picture048.jpg

[tray622]

Gosh... these babies are the cutest :) :) :)

[ajb524]

I love all the costume pics. I'll have plenty tomorrow :D. Here is one of him in the pumpkin patch though. Normally he's really cheerful, but we woke him up after he had only been asleep about five minutes so he wasn't very happy, plus he was more interested in the grass and pumpkins than me :D

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/232855/2029450pp1.jpg

It amazes me how fast he is changing! No crawling yet, but he is sitting very well. He's also started to play with his toys.

[mom2amelia]

Shannon - your little sleeping bee is precious. Does she always suck her fingers when she sleeps? For some reason I just think that is so cute.

Andrea - he is getting so big. What a handsome boy. I can't wait to see his costume pictures.

[tunibell]

Love the costumes!!! Keep 'em coming!

Here's my little leopard:

http://static.flickr.com/107/284948113_b9c542016f.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/122/284948116_94ef608986.jpg?v=0

[phart]

Yay for Halloween pictures!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v393/sphart1/CIMG2421.jpg

[losthoosier]

Pictures from this weekend!!!

Pumpkin Patch
http://static.flickr.com/101/282737571_df76881798.jpg?v=0

Mom' I want this one
http://static.flickr.com/80/282737052_203a333e18_m.jpg

This is at Disneyland on Friday

We let her have a sucker. Well a couple licks
http://static.flickr.com/93/282736386_22993cc2ce.jpg?v=0

My favorite Turtle
http://static.flickr.com/110/282736319_2ce18698f3.jpg?v=0

Finally, this is how she fell asleep..
http://static.flickr.com/104/282736618_be7844527c_m.jpg

[losthoosier]

Sorry to post so many we had a busy weekend.

Tonight she will be a chicken.... !!!

I can't believe how much fun she is now. She is growing so fast.

She has started to use the sign language a little. She does the eat. and hi and bye. She also gives the big open mouth kisses. This I love as it shows she understand spanish and english as I always say give me a kiss in spanish.

She is fighting a double ear infection the antibiotic is causing her stomach problems but she is a fighter and happier then ever.

We still have no teeth, but I am not in a hurry, as I have bad enamel and the less she sucks on the bottle the better.

We just started proetin today. She is eating tofu with squash for lunch.... yummy!!!

[bunny nose]

Aww- don't they all look so cute!

Here's Nicky in his costume

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/photoogirl15/PA290092.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/photoogirl15/PA290091.jpg

[ShannonGH]

Shannon - your little sleeping bee is precious. Does she always suck her fingers when she sleeps?

No, she usually doesn't sleep with them in her mouth but somehow managed that day. Although, she *always* has her fingers/thumb in her mouth...usually just chewing on them but just lately she has started sucking on her thumb a little (much to my dismay).

We still have no teeth
No teeth here either but from what I've heard, that's to be expected. Babies with DS get their teeth much later than usual. Their teeth also come in out-of-order, are unusually shaped and they sometimes have missing teeth. Oh joy.:rolleyes:

I am loving all of these pictures!!! It's been a while since our thread has been so alive with pictures!

[ellybella]

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l95/jillmeuse/IMG_2043-1.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l95/jillmeuse/IMG_2049-1.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l95/jillmeuse/IMG_2033-1.jpg

love all of the cuties in their costumes!

mom that monkey suit is the best, and her expression is priceless!

shannon noa looks so peaceful sucking that finger. i wish james would find his fingers again.

[kdotp]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/kdotp/10-31-06-5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/kdotp/10-31-06-6.jpg
In our supercute monkey costume

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/kdotp/10-31-06-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/kdotp/10-31-06-3.jpg
With our orange pumpkin shirt (which matched our hair!)

[ellybella]

kdotp look at all those teeth!!

[heidi0622]

I'll play...we call this one Benasaurus Rex :) We took 40 pictures tonight and my kid smiled every.single.time.we.were.not.clicking.the.picture . :rolleyes: Oh well, we all had fun.

[tray622]

Have to add my pics :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02668.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02667.jpg

and Miss Zoey (she picked out her own glasses, so dont laugh LOL):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02632-1.jpg

[JennW]

They are all so cute!!!:)

Anyone else's baby NOT sitting yet? I am getting worried about Owen. All other factors seem fine and he is happy, healthy and progressing well. I am just worried about him not sitting yet.

[ajb524]

Halloween Pics
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/232855/2031062hal1.jpg
He wore this to daycare yesterday

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/232855/2031063hal2.jpg
Our Chick

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/232855/2031066chick2.jpg
--------------------------------------------------
All the babies are just adorable!!!!

Jenn- Sean just started being able to really sit by himself within the past 2 or 3 weeks. One day he couldn't do it and then all of the sudden he could.

[ShannonGH]

and Miss Zoey (she picked out her own glasses, so dont laugh LOL):
:D :D

Jenn, not that this is any reassurance but Noa isn't sitting yet either. Although I know it's not fair to compare the two. :) I am sure that Owen is developing just fine. I get nervous too but Noa's PT reminded me that every parent wants their child to hurry up and learn how to sit because it's such an obvious developmental milestone but she said not to worry, they'll all learn to sit at their own speed.

[honey_bee]

Here's my little Emily Chicken!

http://www.winkflash.com/photo/imagew2.aspx?i=89802577&c=2678000&z=0&v=3sd8xgildq985ofm4mjlornpi4yqkkpcodg10oxpzma6xlpj qg5sejuliuadjgamwg4ebjzk4lsxaqql

All these little babies are soooo cute! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.

[tunibell]

JennW - Piper can sit, but you're definitiely not alone in worrying about your kid's gross motor skills. Piper still can't/won't do jack on her stomach, and if she is placed there, she can only push up on her arms for a few seconds before collapsing under her own weight.

[klm2klh]

All of the halloween babies are so cute! Just thought I would add a few pictures of my cowboys (they were also not interseted in smiling for the camera).

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/klhoward/october31038.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/klhoward/october31026.jpg

[JennW]

I can't get over these pics! All these babies are SO CUTE!

Thanks for the responses on sitting. I am so worried, but I guess that's normal. I don't know if anyone else finds that real life moms (like here on CC and ones I know IRL) see to have much different experiences than those milestone charts!:) Weird, huh?

[bunny nose]

And the cute pics keep coming! They are all so cute!

Nicky is sitting, but not on his own yet. If I putin that position he does ok, and it gets better everyday, but not putting himself there yet.

Still not crawling yet. He's been getting up on his hands and knees but doesn't really know what to do yet. The other day I caught him in that postion in his crib and he was rocking. Won't do it on the floor yet.

No teeth yet either. I swear, he's been teething and drooling since June, but no teeth.

I wanted to ask- are any of you giving your babies juice yet? We haven't started yet and I'm not sure if I should. PLus I read where they should still be getting a lot of formula for their main source of nutrients. How do you intrduce juice and still make sure he's getting enough formula. He's behind in formula. Maybe 20 oz a day. Alot less if MIL has him. She starves him, but thats a whole other topic. UGH! Just wondering how to do this. I'm so afraid to mess things up. KWIM?

It for now!
Karen

[tray622]

Cute, cute, cute :)

Karen I know it is okay to give babies small amounts of watered down juice. We never gave Zoey any just because she loved water and it was cheaper ;) At 2, she drinks it if we are out and other kids are but she loves her water!!

[ShannonGH]

tuni- I read your thread started in the parenting forum but would rather respond here. I honestly don't know if Piper's abilities (or lack there of) would be worrisome to someone in the medical profession but I wanted to give you a frame of reference since Noa has "diagnosed" low muscle tone. Noa cannot sit and really is not anywhere near being able to sit on her own, regardless if we put her in the sitting position or not. However, she has been able to hold her head up in the prone position for quite some time now (sorry, don't remember exact month)...granted it was very wobbley at first. She has been rolling since 4.5 months and currently prefers to play much of the time in the prone position on her elbows. Her PT wants us to really be encouraging her to be up on her hands in prone since that is one of the basic building blocks for crawling, but she can only maintain this position for maybe 10 sec max and then falls down. When we hold her in the standing position (holding her hands) she can maintain that for maybe 15 sec.
I'm not telling you all of this to scare you into thinking something is wrong with Piper (because there probably isn't anything wrong) but I thought it might help if you had a frame of reference from which to go by. HTH!

ETA: You may have already tried this but the only way Noa would do tummy time in the beginning is if I used me as her mat. I'd lay down on our bed (in the beginning, I'd put some pillows behind my back to make the incline less steep and then as she got stronger, I took the pillows away) and sing songs to her to get her to try to hold her head up to look at me. My boobs kind of acted as another little incline to help her lift her head.

[tunibell]

Shannon - Thanks, that really does help. I know I'm probably worried over nothing, but if she is behind, I'd like to help her in some way, you know? On the other hand, she's got great fine motor skills and she's not a very "physical" child (very content to lay on my lap, babble to me, and stick her fingers anywhere she can :p ), so maybe it's just not her time. Might call the doctor, just to make sure though.

[lovin'it]

Here are my piggies!!!

Nina

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/emmabarrus/DSC06056.jpg

Ella

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/emmabarrus/x1p_sDwShVSBW0pYV44fQfXzPnXn1ZySMeq.jpg

Two Pigs!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/emmabarrus/DSC06014.jpg

[JennW]

I love all these pics! TOO CUTE!:)

Tuni – Call your doctor to make you feel better. I told my doctor about my concerns and they literally did not even flinch at my concerns. They said it’s just *not his time* yet. I’m sure it’s the same for Piper.:D But, go ahead and call. At the very least it will give you relief and take some of the weight off your shoulders.:) We’re just overworried mamas, which is normal, I think! They aren’t very much behind at all. I find when I ask around that babies are doing things at a much slower rate then I see on the milestone charts. And as someone mentioned in the other thread, if a baby is behind in one or two things it is OK. Sometimes I truly think Owen is just lazy. I think it may come from his mommy carrying him around too much. Oops.:rolleyes: Do you give her a lot of floor/alone time? I just started a few weeks ago o really give him a lot of time each day to explore on his own. In the last few weeks he has gotten much more mobile and independent as a result.

[ShannonGH]

tuni- just thought of one more thing that may help with strength building when she is prone and up on her hands...have you tried putting her prone on a big exercise ball (with you holding her on, of course)? We put her in front of a mirror so she could look at herself, which she loves. Or you can get one of those toys with a suction cup and stick it on the mirror for added visual enjoyment. :) It helps if the ball is a touch flat so it's easier for her to lie on. The ball is nice because in the beginning, or when she is getting tired, you can roll the ball slightly back so she is not completely horizonatal and, therefore, she has less weight to hold up. Once her neck gets a little stronger, you can bounce her a little to allow the joints/muscles to get added input. Just thought I'd throw out as many ideas as we've tried!

[ajb524]

I love the piggy costumes!!!

[yby1]

I love the little costumes! We have such gorgeous babes here. :) I'll have to post one of Mattias once I upload the photos.

Matty has really been keeping us on our toes lately. Since he's figured out this cruising thing, all he wants to do is pull up on anything near him and "walk" around, which led to much more baby-proofing. We have a push walker for him and he can balance himself on it, and take a couple of steps, but then he pushes it too far ahead and falls down. Just watching his progress is really amazing to me, not that I'm trying to brag, it's more of a general "watching the baby grow" type of amazement. Now he realizes that if he pulls up on furniture, can can fall if he lets go, so now he grabs on tight and makes sure that he has on hand on *something* before he moves so he can stay balanced and when he wants to go back down on the floor, he'll kneel down and put himself back in a crawling position - so he doesn't fall very often anymore. He's also developed the "speed-crawl" so he can try to keep up with our dog. I need to get a video of it. :D

Oh, for the last few days all he babbles is "blah, blah, blah" literally "blah, blah, blah." He does it all day long, it's hilarious!

[bunny nose]

Karen I know it is okay to give babies small amounts of watered down juice. We never gave Zoey any just because she loved water and it was cheaper At 2, she drinks it if we are out and other kids are but she loves her water!!

Ok thanks! I am trying to hold out on giving him juice to early. But me ever know it all MIL swears he should be on it now. I'd rather wait. Thanks

Well, only 5 more days until my appointment with my OB/GYN. DH made sure he doesn't have any trips that day so he can go with me. He knows I won't say anything about the PPD. I'm scared about what's going to happen, but I guess it will help. I will try whatever he says and see what happens.

Karen

[ellybella]

juice i sometimes give james watered down juice, especially if he hasn't pooped. i'll offer the gerber prune/apple juice to get things moving. he's not drinking much from the sippy these days anyway since i'm not offering the nuby cup anymore. since you have to bite to drink from the nuby he wasn't learning to suck on the others, so it's gone.

tuni hang in there! i'm sure she's fine and just developing at her own pace. she'll probably fly by everyone else at another developmental stage.

[tunibell]

Now that I've got some time (sleeping baby!!!!) to really post, I just wanted to send a sincere thank you to all of you who responded to my sleep rant or rolling over worries (both here and on the 0-18 mo thread). MWAH to you all - I don't know what I'd do without all my CC ladies. :)

sleep - Okay, I'm totally afraid to write this out, because I'm afraid I'm going to jinx myself (no whammies no whammies!) but I am totally a sleep training convert. In two weeks, DD has gone from waking 5, 6, even 7 times a night to 2 times, max. More importantly, she (and I) are now getting 5-7 hour stretches at a clip. Yes, there was crying, and yes, it totally felt like my heart was shattering into a million pieces. But they were angry tears, not sad or scared tears, and they disappeared quickly (and were met, from Day 3 on, with gentle pats and a "go night night" every few minutes until she was asleep). In one moment of very needed comic relief, DH referred to this new cry as Piper's "b!tch, get your fat a$$ back here!" cry :D She is in such a better mood these days, and her naps have gone from 30-45 minute catnaps to 1.5 hour stretchs. Best of all, there is rarely any crying - we go through our routine, I kiss her goodnight (or "good nap"), and she rolls over and goes to sleep. I feel like myself for the first time in ages, and I have so much more energy to play with her and to get out and do other activities with her. It's not for everyone, I know, and I never in a million years thought I'd go down this path, but I was seriously losing it from lack of sleep.

gross motor skills - Shannon, the ball exercise was a huge hit, thank you! Piper spent most of today demanding to be pulled upright, so I'm just gonna try to chill-ax on the whole gm thing. She'll get there when she gets there. Another thing that made me feel better was heading over to the Jan/Feb thread - it was nice to see that plenty of moms were freaking a month ago only to later experience babes who seemed to catch up to their peers in a matter of days. Plus, Pip may not have great physical strength yet, but she's got a pretty rockin' pincer grip and a wicked sense of humor. :)

bunny nose - You'll feel sooo much better after getting help. PPD is so very treatable. I never had PPD, but I've taken Zoloft for generalized depression/anxiety for over ten years, and am absolutely convinced that prolonged depression is a medical issue that requires treatment, just like diabetes, etc.

yby1 - Love the new avatar. (But will confess to missing the old oily bohunk a bit).

Sometimes I truly think Owen is just lazy. I think it may come from his mommy carrying him around too much. JennW - Yeah, I've got the same suspicion about Pip. Why should she exert herself trying to get that certain toy when she knows Mommy will fetch it for her? :rolleyes:

Lovin'it - Your piglets are just precious. :)

A pic of my silly chickadee, sampling my toes (everything must be tasted!):
http://static.flickr.com/109/287373256_24e0954c34.jpg?v=0

[tray622]

tuni {{{hugs}}} I am glad things are better for you guys! I was thinking about you guys and never caught the sleep thread in Parenting. A rested baby and mommy defintely make a happier home :D

[JennW]

juice - Owen rarely has juice. I've given the apple prune to move things along if he hasn't pooped in a few ays. Other than that, he just gets BM and water with his solids (which is pretty much given just to try and teach the cup - which I'm not sure if working!):D

tuni - So GLAD things are better for you! YAY!:)

[ellybella]

tuni that is fabulous progress on the sleep! so glad you and piper are feeling better now that you're getting some rest. we're still up twice a night. what was your routine when she would wake? what are you doing now when she is waking the couple times?

(everything must be tasted!):

now that james is standing he decided that the toilet was the perfect height to pull himself up and the next thing he did was open wide to taste! thankfully i was in there cleaning and had just wiped it down w/ a clorox wipe, but still...YUCK!

[tgal]

yby1, have you seen a pic of the guys wearing the t-shirt? Hilarious!

Adorable pictures ladies!

Tuni: Glad to hear everything is going much better! Love the toe tasting picture. DD does it to everyone's toes!

Juice: We tried it with dd, but she didn't care for it much. Then I did an apple in the juicer and she loved it. Since it is in season, we've been giving her watered down cider from time to time, but she loves water and get that daily.

Bunny nose: Don't be scared, you have a ton of support and that is what matters. Your OB is also there to support you, be strong lady, you are going to get through this.

Sleeping: If it isn't one thing it is another, daylight savings time and now a cold. We are back to co-sleeping because Eva has a horrible cough and everytime she wakes in the middle of night she wants to bf, so I've found it easier this way. I am hoping by next week she will be a bit better and we can get her back in the crib.

Pictures
I don't have a great one, but here are a few from Halloween.
Amazed by the pumpkin!
http://static.flickr.com/108/286348068_dcb59cf4d0_m.jpg
Playing with the tongue goes along with being a frog, I guess!
http://static.flickr.com/110/286348212_1c71376954_m.jpg
Chillin after some hard trick or treating!
http://static.flickr.com/103/286348268_4f26dd90cd_m.jpg

[IUAlum]

You guys, all the Halloween pictures are making me smile so huge! ADORABLE!

Tuni- So glad things are going better. It's amazing what a little sleep can do, huh? And I'm with you and Jenn on the lazy baby thing. Mine will reach for a toy for about a second, and then just get another one (even if that other one is mommy's hair) and nevermind about that first toy.

Question- I know we've talked about what our kids wear to sleep. Seth has been wearing cotton footed PJs plus a sleepsack since like 3 weeks old. But now that he's finally rolling over, he will roll over in the night and then wake up crying because he can't get back because of the sleepsack. Does anyone else have this problem? What do you do? Just ditch the sleepsack? I'm afraid he won't be warm enough.

I'm about done pumping. I'm slowly phasing out the last pumping session. I'm feeling ok about it. It's just a pain when you have to run out at 8pm to get more formula because we're not used to how quickly it goes yet. Luckily, DH went and I got to watch The OC. :D

[tray622]

We had the same sleepsack problem and just ditched it. Jocey normally will just wear socks and a thicker fleece footed jammie. It hasnt gotten very cold here though. We do have a heater in the kids' room and used it last winter. It took them time to get used to having it go off and on during the night but it worked well.

Poor Jocey has an ear infection in both ears :( We started antibiotics yesterday and some tylenol and she felt a million time better. Poor kid just cant get a break from the medications. I have to cover her face with her bear when I feed her because if she sees the medication she wont eat. We tried for the 5th time to wean off the prilosec and it was a no-go. The GI doctor thinks with her severity it will be closer to 18 months.

GTG... my prep period is over! Happy Friday everyone :)

[ShannonGH]

tuni- glad the ball was a hit!
Okay, now you've got to fill me in on exactly how you ST'ed Pip. How often did you go in and check/console, did you continue to feed in the middle of the night? We're still struggling somewhat...some nights are better than others but I'd love to have your results!!

[tunibell]

For Shannon (and anyone else)...crib notes on Judy Mindell's Sleeping Through the Night.

One of the things that DH and I liked best about Mindell's book was her focus on fixing one sleep issue at a time. The order given is:
1) Bedtime
2) Night Wakings
3) Naptime

THE BASIC BEDTIME METHOD
Step one: Set bedtime. Unlike Weissbluth, Mindell advocates a set bedtime, every night. She feels it is important to set baby's clock so that his body gets used to falling asleep at the same time. [We aim for 6pm, give or take 15 minutes - Piper is an early-to-bed kind of gal].
Step two: Bedtime routine. Like most other sleep scientists, Mindell recommends a predictable, consistent bedtime routine. The end of the routine should be done in the baby's room, so the baby sees his or her room as a good place, not just a place where she is sent to sleep.
Step three: Bedroom environment. Basically, you want to make sure that the conditions in your baby's room are exactly the same at bedtime and throughout the night. [This was a really important step for us. I had been putting Piper down with music playing, but in the middle of the night, there was no music.]
Step four: Put down awake. After baby's routine is done, put her/him down, say good night, and leave the room. Baby will most likely object, especially if (as was true for Piper) mom or dad had always stayed until she fell asleep. Then do a simple checking routine. Go back in baby's room, tell her/him that it is okay, and that it is time to go to sleep. Pat or touch him/her briefly if you wish, but don't pick baby up. Be gentle but firm. Remain comforting but neutral and stay for a brief time, no more than a minute. Make the visits brief and boring - the basic idea here is that you don't want to give baby incentive to cry. Leave. Wait again. Check again. Repeatedly wait and check on your child as frequently or as infrequently as you wish. Most babies cry 45 minutes the first night, 60 minutes on the second, and about 20 on the third. If your child gets really upset, you can of course pick her up, take a break, read another story, walk around the house whatever - a calm child is a much better candidate for self-soothing than a hysterical one. The goal here is to get your child to fall asleep on his/her own.

NIGHT WAKINGS
If your child wakes during the night, just do what you normally do. Nurse her, bottle feed her, rock her, whatever. Research demonstrates that once a child is falling asleep easily at bedtime, 80% will sleep through the night in about two weeks. The idea here is that if baby learns to fall asleep at bedtime, s/he will be able to do it in the middle of the night.

Piper now usually wakes up around 12-1 and again between 5-7. I go into her room, nurse her without any fanfare, and leave (unless she wakes up around 7, in which case we just start the day). She now always goes back down after she nurses. In order to get her to this point, all I really had to do was refuse her request to night-nurse at what used to be her first wake up (around 9ish). I knew she wasn't hungry, just used to nursing at that time, so it was hard but not too hard. She objected for about 15 minutes and then went back to sleep. Mindell has steps for weaning babies off night bottles/nursings, but since our new schedule is sooo much better than the way it used to be (and I also confess to liking that midnight call), I haven't pursued that strategy yet (basically it involves nursing for one minute less, or giving one less ounce in the bottle, before cutting it out entirely).

NAPTIME
Once Piper started sleeping better at night, her naps just fell into place. She went from mostly 30-45 minute catnaps to 60+ minutes twice a day. If you still have problems at naptime, though, basically just go through the steps you do at night (have a routine, just a shorter one, and put baby down awake; wait and check as needed). There are a few important differences, though: 1) Definitely check on your child, as CIO at naptime does not appear to work and 2) Scrap the nap and try again if your baby doesn't go down within 30-60 minutes.

It's really a great book - very non-judgmental, very research-backed, and very reassuring. It was one of the few books I read that really took into account the fact that sleep is non-negotiable - we need it to survive, just like we need air and water.

[ShannonGH]

tuni- thank you SO very much for typing all of that out!!!

Question: Is it not a good idea to give a bottle as the last thing to do before bedtime? We pretty much have to give Noa a bottle in her dark nursery with the white noise playing. She'll take the whole bottle with her eyes closed and, therefore gets very drowsy. Putting her in her crib after that usually isn't much of a problem because she's practically asleep. Should I move away from bottle right before bed?

Also, how long do you wait between the breif check/console visits?

[tunibell]

Should I move away from bottle right before bed?

Yes...forgot to mention that very important point! The bottle before bed might be (as it was for Piper) a "negative association" - in other words, if Noa falls asleep with the bottle, she might think she needs the bottle to fall back asleep when she wakes up in the night. We used to end with nursing in her room, in the dark. Now, our order is BFed, have dinner, take a bath, put of pjs, read a story, and go to bed (she is always awake when I leave the room). Works MUCH MUCH better.

In terms of waiting between check and console visits, Mindell says you can wait as long or as little as you want. Some people do 30 seconds, some people 10 minutes, and you don't have to use the same interval. It really depends on your child, her type of cry (ie fussing or really laying in), and your tolerance level. With Piper, I usually just waited a few minutes. I found the check and console method really, really great - it allowed me to make sure she was okay (no foot stuck between crib slats or anything) and to reassure her that I was still here for her (but also emphasizing that it was time to sleep, not time to play, etc).

[ShannonGH]

Awesome Jessika! Thanks again so much! I'm going to pitch this idea to Dh soon and see what he says. I look forward to the days when I have energy to fully enjoy my daughter!

[tunibell]

I look forward to the days when I have energy to fully enjoy my daughter!
And isn't this what it's really about? I feel like SUCH a better mom now that everyone is getting the sleep they need.

[losthoosier]

Tuni- Thank you for typing that out. DH and I have decided it is time to get her to sleep more and better. I just sent him that in an email to read.

I am exhausted. She never sleeps and is a bear to get to bed. So hopefully that will help.

Mackenzie cut her first tooth yesterday. So hopefully that will help us on the sleep end of things as well.

[ShannonGH]

We're starting "tuni's sleep training program" ;) Weds night! I'm so excited to see results...although I know it may take awhile. Tuni, how long until you started to see real results? I'd love to start tonight but starting Weds is better since I only work 1/2 on Thurs and then have Fri/Sat/Sun off....figure that might be best if those first few nights might be a little rough.

[dec27bride]

Hey there girls-
I'm trying to get caught up in this thread, I feel like I have zero free time these days. Arleigh and I took a little trip last weekend, to see my parents in Massachusetts (tuni, we spent Saturday in Ellington :) ). The plane ride up there was so-so, but the one back may have scarred me for life. Arleigh was way over-tired, and screamed from the moment we walked into the terminal until we were up in the air. Luckily she slept for about an hour, and then the screaming was only intermittent, lol. It was awful. When we traveled in August it was just so much easier, she was still in her infant seat, and stayed where I put her. Now she's such a busybody! Needless to say, we won't be trying that again, unless DH comes, for a while.
We are on our 3rd ear infection w/in the last 6 weeks, and the second double!:eek: Poor girl had to get the injectible antibiotics this time (although I'm secretly greatful for this, b/c I'm having a heck of a time just getting the Motrin down. tray-, totally feeling your pain, we're still on Prevacid, just missing one day makes her pukey, now we're having to do Motrin and Benadryl to clear her up too).
Okay, I've got to go, have a great Sunday everyone!

[Tracie]

tunibell Thanks for typing all that out! DS does okay at night, but right now we're putting him to sleep, and then putting him in his crib once he's asleep. I'd like to move to having fall asleep in the crib. Then when he wakes up in the middle of the night, maybe it won't be such an issue. I'll have to talk to DH about it and maybe we'll start this weekend!

[MrsCantDecide]

Hey Girls! It's amazing to read how different all of our kiddos are. Like some of you, I am having a very tough time getting Lucas to eat solids. We try 1 - 2 times per day, but he wants to feed himself so bad, but he just doesn't quite get that food in his mouth that way. He eats tons of biter biscuits and zweiback toasts. I think I'm going to try making my own toasts, so that maybe we can try some different tastes.

He definitely doesn't like peas or green beans, he spits those out.

Lucas actually GAGS if I give him something that's not 100% pureed... is this normal?? Like Fruit Puffs! And the other day I mashed up a real banana and gave that to him... came back up. Is anyone else having problems with that?

As far as sleep, he was sleeping through the night, then all the sudden he was hard to put down and waking up during the night. He's be asleep in his crib and then 3 minutes later, screaming. I started letting him CIO too to put himself to sleep. We use close to the same routine every night -- pajamas, book, boob & singing, then crib. I'm not sure why the change all the sudden, but he's been waking up 2 times in the middle of the night. The first one, I get up and feed him and put him back in bed, but the second one, I don't go in there at all, and he puts himself back to sleep.

I'm pretty sure he's waking up because he's hungry, because he acts ravenous when he wakes up the first time!! So, if we could resolve the solids issue, we might resolve the STTN issue!! :)

And now for my Halloween cutie!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/stef842/1031Halloween4.jpg

[kristine80]

MCD~ Julia gags every time I try to give her the fruit puffs as well! She and Lucas sound very similar in their eating... Jules defintaley does NOT like peas or green beans, she spits them right out! She will eat about 3-4 spoons of food, but thats it cause she wants to feed herself too! She eats mostly zwieback toasts, she will eat some fruit if she can hold it, so far I have only given her real soft pears and some bananas. Oh and she has had some very small pieces of bread, which she loves. But other than that she mostly has her bottles, I kinda feel bad cause I feel like she should be eating the baby foods, but I just cant seem to get her interested...

[ellybella]

mrs and kristine we usually do meals with several spoons. one for james (and a back-up for when he drops it) and one for me. i'll dip it just a little in the food then he'll grap it, once he goes to put it in his mouth i'll sneak my full spoon in his mouth. do you use the safe feeder? we use it a lot. i'll cut up banana, pears, apples, baby mum mum or i'll put a 1/2 of a frozen food cube in there. it's a way to get more flavors and calories in him, plus feels good on his gums to gnaw on it.

bibs??? we make such a mess when we eat! it's such a pain to have to scrub clothes everynight. i have not found an effective bib that we like yet. any suggestions? we have a couple plastic ones from babies r us, while they do cover a lot of area they are much to bulky.

tuni thanks for your sleep advice. we'll be starting something once james is feeling better. what was your routine when you were eliminating a night feeding?

james has some virus. he has congestion, cough, and high fever (103.3). poor thing is so tired, but is so uncomfortable he's not resting well. i hope he's better soon. :(

[ShannonGH]

bibs- we use and like this one from Bjorn (sold at Target), although it's not that big so it may not work for you if you have a "self-feeder." It works super well for us since Noa rarely tries to control the spoon at this point.
http://www.babyage.com/icons/localhost/products/medium/M-046005us.jpg

[kristine80]

I can't believe it... Julia took three steps today! :eek: She has been standing on her own for a few seconds at a time for about a week. But today when we went to the allergist (for my monthly allergy shot) she was crawling around, she grabbed my hands and pulled up. Then I let go, she stood for a second or two, took three steps stood for another few second and sat back down! I just can't believe it, she isn't quite 8 months yet (on the 12th)!! I knew since she was starting to stand on her own and since she has been walking alot holding onto the furniture and her walking hippo toy that it probably wouldn't be long, but I was thinking I had another month or so! Well, at least she will be able to keep up with her sister now! ;)

MCD~ I tried to feed Julia again today (I was taking a few days off cause I was getting frusterated!) and she was holding one of those plastic rings that you can hook together, and because she got to hold that and put it into her mouth she let me feed her! I think it is the first time I have actually been able to feed her the whole jar! It might have been a fluke, but seemed like she was quite content with that arrangement so you might want to try that or what ellybella mentioned.. Thanks for that input, if the plastic ring doens't pan out I will try that. It does make a lot of sense, and I'm sure she would enjoy it.

Ok, bath time for the girls. Have a great night ladies!

[MrsCantDecide]

Kristine ~ congrats on the first steps! I watched my son learn how to really propel himself forward today!

I'll haveto try giving him his own spoon too. The babysitter said she actually had good luck holding his hands down... ate most of his sweet potato. :)

Ellybella ~ I've only used that safe feeder a couple of times, mostly at restaurants. it keeps him occupied! Thanks for the suggestions!

[JennW]

Hi all. Owen is sick too. All these poor babies. He is lethargic and not himself. It makes me so sad.:( I want my Owen back.

bibs - We have a million bibs so we just use a new one every time.:rolleyes:

qotd - How often do your kids get baths?

kristine - Congrats on the steps!:)

tuni - Where was that thread you posted on GM skills? I wanted to post there but couldn't find it!

[ShannonGH]

qotd - How often do your kids get baths?
around 2-3 times/week but I wash her face and hands every morning

[tgal]

Bibs: I gave up on bibs and bought a smock because we are letting her experiment with the spoon on her own. I bought one from petite violette, but am sure there are other sites out there.
http://www.petiteviolette.com/store/index.php?cPath=1

Baths: DD is getting one every night (unless we are out of town) only because we are trying to establish a bedtime routine. Prior to that we were giving her a bath 2-3 times a week.

[tray622]

baths When we were establishing a routine with Zoey we bathed her every night ans she loves the bath. It is just harder by myself some nights with two so Jocey hardly ever gets a bath... maybe twice a week (I am horrible I know). We established her routine much, much shorter than Zoeys and thankfully it works :)

[red_canuck]

baths - I still shower with Logan every other day or so, but we're talking about changing that to DH giving him a nightly baths.

bibs - Food goes all over the place here, DS likes to play with it rather than eat it, ouie. We use these bibs:

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/06/44/08/02/0006440802572_500X500.jpg

kushies bibs with arms. of course, the food is all over the high chair....the floor...me...even the cats if they get within range! lol. But at least Logan's clothes are clean ;)

[losthoosier]

WHERE DID OUR BABIES GO?

OK so Last night Mackenzie decided she was a speed crawler and took off. She did not want held at all she just wanted to crawl everywhere.

Then we were playing on the floor and she stood herself up and stood there not touching anything. I am not ready for this. I want her to stay small, I want my baby back.

Up until sunday night she had been sleeping in the cosleeper until she decided to wake up and stand up. So now she is in our bed.... I am trying to figure out why we bought a crib?

BATHS? She gets one almost everynight, except when she has a runny nose or ear infection. She loves to lay down and kick and play. We let her wear herself out. The nights I don't bathe her she still gets her face, neck and feet washed. It seems to calm her down

Bibs? we just use the regualar bibs but food is everywhere. She doesn't like to be feed so she has a spoon in her hand trying to feed herself, and then I feed her.

I have just started meat, well chicken and she loves it. I went ahead and baked a piece of chicken and put it in the food processor added some cooked apple and made chicken and apples. she ate a lot more then she normally eats and wanted more but I was mean and made her eat a veggie instead of more meat.

[JennW]

lost - That is so cute! You must post pics of her in motion. Awww.:)

baths - I posted a QOTD and forgot to answer my own question. Owen gets 2-3 per week but his hands/faced washed more often. I really want to get in the habit of baths every day, but it's hard to work it in (he goes to bed at 6:00.) I give you all credit that do it!

Not to bog down this thread with my own issues, but does anyone else have growth questions about their babies? DS is on the smaller side and although the doc is not worried, I am. (Which I guess is part of mommy-hood.;)) I started a thread in parenting. Here's the link if anyone wants to give me their input without hogging up this thread.
http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1052531#post1052531

Hope everyone is having a good week!

[tunibell]

Tuni, how long until you started to see real results?
I'd say a week, week-and-a-half. And that week was a rough one - lots of crying and increased night wakings. Then it suddenly, miraculously got much better. Last night she went to bed at 6pm and didn't wake for the first time until 1am. That's nothing short of miraculous in our household!

bibs - Piper kept yanking them off so I have just been changing her often and using a lot of stain remover! Think I might look into a smock, though.

baths - I give her a bath/shampoo as part of the nightly ritual. We have to bathe her every day for her eczema, and the Aquaphor we have to slather on her twice a day for the same reason inevitably ends up in her hair.

JennW - Thread where I stress about Pip's motor skills is here: (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26399) Still kind of stressing, but trying to chill. Don't know if I mentioned it before, but one of the hardest parts is having a niece who is 2 months younger than Piper and appears to be some sort of gross motor skill wunderkind. :rolleyes:

solids - We're doing three meals a day now, mostly for the routine. She never eats that much, and still loves to nurse as often as possible. I'm loosely following Super Baby Foods. I had an epiphany the other day while trying to feed my poor kid a "Super Porridge Meal" consisting of millet, broccoli, and egg yolk (shudder)...if I wouldn't eat it on a dare, I'm not gonna expect her to either. It's been whole grains and pureed fruit every since. My favorite part about feeding her is every once in awhile she'll make a face while she's swallowing and pound her little fist repeatedly on her tray table, as if I've just given her a neat shot of Jägermeister. :D

[yby1]

My favorite part about feeding her is every once in awhile she'll make a face while she's swallowing and pound her little fist repeatedly on her tray table, as if I've just given her a neat shot of Jägermeister. :D

LOL! Mattias does that too. :D I have the Super Baby Foods book, but since I work and commute so much, I don't follow it like I should. Now I just give him whatever we're eating, but I run it through a food processor. It's usually nothing too exotic, usually chicken with squash or some other veggies. I'll give him some finger foods as well, usually cereal or banana.

[JennW]

Thanks tuni!:)

Owen does that pounding the fist on the tray, too. It's so funny and cute.:)

[ShannonGH]

the hardest parts is having a niece who is 2 months younger than Piper and appears to be some sort of gross motor skill wunderkind.

Noa has a cousin like this too. So, so frustrating. And not to feel sorry for myself, but I know her cousin will be surpassing her in everything for the rest of her life. I almost wish she didn't have a cousin so close in age as a constant reminder.:(

[tunibell]

When I was pregnant, I remember reading something about how you have to learn to parent the child you have, rather than the one you thought you'd have. And at the time, I was like, well, duh, that's obviously what you do. But now, as an actual parent...wow, is that easier said than done, you know? I mean, I think about all the expectations I have for her already, and the poor thing isn't even a year old.

Parenting is so very, very humbling. :o

[heidi0622]

I had an epiphany the other day while trying to feed my poor kid a "Super Porridge Meal" consisting of millet, broccoli, and egg yolk (shudder)...if I wouldn't eat it on a dare, I'm not gonna expect her to either. It's been whole grains and pureed fruit every since. My favorite part about feeding her is every once in awhile she'll make a face while she's swallowing and pound her little fist repeatedly on her tray table, as if I've just given her a neat shot of Jägermeister.


Tuni, you crack me up. I have the Super Baby Food book as well and was trying to follow that as well...but the woman gets a little too crazy at times.

Ben does the pounding fist thing as well too...too funny.

[tgal]

Dh and I laugh all the time over some of the stuff in the SBF book! We have opted to loosely follow the authors suggestions as well. Especially after I walked around the grocery store trying to find Brewers Yeast and when I finally asked and the lady asked me why I wanted it. I explained and she said "Oh honey that will make that babies belly so bloated, I farted for a week straight when I took the stuff".

Eva does the pounding thing as well. Anyone's baby stick out their tongue when they don't like something and scrape the food off with their fingers?

[IUAlum]

Anyone's baby stick out their tongue when they don't like something and scrape the food off with their fingers?

That. Is funny. :D Seth just gags or cries when he doesn't like something but when he does like it he makes the cutest Mmmm Mmmm noises. More like "muh muh muh" Love it. He especially loved his Pears and Chicken last night. I have been making my own veggies but have been to chicken (ha) when it comes to meats, so just buying those for now. But he LOVES his meats. He's going to be like his dad.

I think he's getting used to sleeping on his tummy. He only woke up crying once last night and this time put himself back to sleep. I'd been going in to calm him down the past few nights. And then he slept until 6:30!! HOLY COW!:eek:

It baffles me to hear of babies taking their first steps already! Although I dreamt that Seth just got up and started walking one day. But yeah, that's far away. I'm just ready for him to figure out how to go forwards, because he gets so pissed off when he tries to move forward and just ends up scooching backwards!

[losthoosier]

Yeah I am with all of you on the SBF book. I will not do the yeast, kelp, liver? If I wouldn't eat it why give it to her. I make sure I try everything I feed her.

Cracks me up when she doesn't like it she gags and gags, and then DH tells me I am choking her. Told her she needs to eat her veggies just cause he doesn't eat them doesn't give her the right to not eat them

[ajb524]

QOTD- Baths: I try to give him a bath every other day. Sometimes it's every 2 or 3 days. He really enjoy's bath time so I try to do it as much as I can.

Solids- He's still eating 2x a day. I'm really slack on the weekends though so he may only get one (or maybe none). He's still eating his bottles every 3-4 hours and eating a total of 30-36 ounces a day. He hasn't had meat yet (except when the daycare fed it to him by mistake a month ago). He goes for his 9month WBV next week so we may start it after that. I can't believe my baby is going to be 9 months old on Friday!!

He's really started scooting around on the floor. He also has a eye for any type of cord. He goes after the cord for the laptop, the lamp, phone cord, etc.

He also screams when I leave the room. Seriously, I had him in the exersaucer in the living room this morning and walked to the laundry room to get a bib for him and you would have thought that I had done something terrible. He makes an awful face and screams! I felt really bad at first, but he's fine in a few minutes. He even does this when DH is in there with him. If I leave the room he gets really upset.

I can't remember if I posted this already, but he's got two teeth coming through. I noticed them about about two weeks ago. It's the two bottom teeth. He looks so cute!

Last Friday was his last day at daycare. I decided to take him out and let him start saying with a lady who keeps kids in her home. So far, so good. It's much less hectic in the mornings dropping him off. Plus I think he's getting a lot more one on one time and hopefully a lot less exposure to germs. I'm also saving about $70 a week, but the $$ wasn't a deciding factor (but it sure is nice to have the extra money :) ).

[ShannonGH]

Noa is getting her first tooth! Had no idea till I started feeling her gums yesterday and sure enough, one of the bottom ones has started to pop through.

Dumb solids question: Noa gets 3 "meals" a day but her meals consist of one type of food (except for an occasional cereal mixed w/ fruit). Today's menu, for example: B-pears, L-peas, D-sweet potato. Those of you who are offering more than one food at a meal, are you mixing the foods together, or are you feeding one food at a time?

Also, about how much solids/formula (if you are FFing) is your baby taking these days?

[losthoosier]

Shannon, we normally feed one at a time, some days though I mix together the fruit. If she doesn't care for the veggie I mix it with fruit. She seems to like it a lot better like that.

Today for example
Lunch , Pumpkin, oatmeal and kiwi,pears,apples.

The kiwi is to sour alone so we mix. But its great vitamin E for her.

[jen71]

Ian gets 3 meals a day. I give him rice cereal with each one. He gets a few tablespoons cereal witha fruit or veggie each meal. He takes in 26-30 oz of formula per day.I do use an ounce or so of formula to mix his cereal with. He takes about 1 jar & a half of another daily of babyfood.

[bunny nose]

I just go back and forth with the food and give him one at a time. Usually with a couple of sips of formula in between to wash it all down.

I must have the only kid who eats everything I give him. Seriously! The only thing he didn't like was the stage 1 turkey, but ate up stage 2 mixed with rice. Wow.

Karen

[IUAlum]

Baths- We try to always do a bath on daycare days (3x a week) and that's usually it. If he gets really messy on another day, we'll do a bath then.

Solids- He always has breakfast and dinner (oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, usually a meat and veggie for dinner) and sometimes has lunch (fruit or veggie). He's been eating more and more lately. If he really likes the food, he eats 3-4 oz!! I mix up the foods if I give him more than one. Squashy green beans are a big favorite!

Teeth- Still none yet, though his gums have looked swollen lately.

[tgal]

We definitely do 2 meals a day, if her evening schedule goes as planned (sometimes) she gets solids for dinner.

For breakfast, I give her a variey of cut up fruits for finger foods and I mix regular quaker oatmeal with Fage yogurt, homemade apple sauce and cinnamon to follow after she looses interest in the FF.

For lunch, to start off we try cut up fruits and veggies for finger foods, then when that doesn't entertain her we move on to a mixture of one pureed orange veggie with oatmeal and pureed tofu or tahini (and yep I tasted this and like it myself mixed).

Dinner: Usually just finger foods when we fit it in.

[Elenitsa]

tgal - sorry if I missed it. Are you following the recipes in super baby food?

Those making baby food. How do you do the carrots. I bought some organic carrots the other day and just steamed those with a white potato. I whipped it all up in a processor. It seemed a bit bitter and it was not a huge hit. Does anyone add anything to make them a bit sweeter?

[tgal]

Elenista: I just tend to follow her food selections by age. I haven't really looked at any of the combinations she suggests (I think those are in the back of the book???) Anyway, hmmm, did you buy the carrots with the greens still on them? I've stayed away from the packages as I think those carrots tend to be on the dry side. DD doesn't like white potatoes. Not sure why, but that is one that she scrapes off the tongue. Crazy, because she will eat the fage yogurt alone which is extremely bitter. She loves her carrots mixed with oatmeal, tahini or tofu. I don't over power the carrots though, I give maybe a tablespoon with one or two cubes of carrots. Maybe add less potato at first then gradually increase the amount. Did you try to puree the carrots separately and try them yourself. When I did ours I told dh they were sweeter than eating the actual carrot. Hmmm, you know I think I baked mine instead of steamed them and I don't peel them either just wash really good. Not sure if that would matter. I pretty much bake as much as I can so I don't have to stand over the stove when I am doing large batches.

A couple more things.
Dh gave dd cottage cheese mixed with orange veggies yesterday and he said she loved that. We also recently introduced mangos and grapes, she loves those as well as finger foods.

[Elenitsa]

tgal ~ thanks for the fast reply. No I didn't buy the carrots in the bag, but not the ones with the greens attached either. But, I think the baked carrots is definately the way to go. When you baked them, did you add any oil anything to coat the pan? Probably the baking caramelizes (sp?) the natural sugars in the carrots. hmmm... Where did you even get the idea to mix the tahini? I would have never come up with that? I have only used tahini once in a pasta dish and really didn't care for it. Maybe its worth a try for all of us. I have been buying earth's best foods in the jar. But DD wants what we are eating. Not what's on her plate. Do you guys use any salt in your baby foods? Do you make ahead and freeze?

[JennW]

Glad to hear we're on par with baths.:)

Shannon - Yay for a tooth. Poor thing, must be in pain!

Elenitsa - There is a good baby-food-making thread in parenting forum. Here's the link: http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4950

[dec27bride]

Arleigh crawled today! She crawled, and Mommy cried, lol.

I feel like I'm really far behind as far as finger foods go, after reading some of your posts. The only things I've given A, aside from jar food, and her formula, was a quarter of one of those Gerber Puffs (that are supposed to dissolve), and she started choking on it, so I've been too scared to try since! We're doing some Stage 3 foods, and I gave her a biter bisquit today (but then took it away when I realized how messy it was).

shannongh-Yeah for Noa's tooth, hope it doesn't trouble her too much.

[heidi0622]

foods: we have tried a few puffs with Ben, that is it in terms of finger foods. Otherwise, he eats 3 meals of purees a day. I am making the purees a bit chunkier though and he seems to like it. He has a pretty good pincer grasp though, so we may get a little more adventurous with the food.

[JennW]

We have done no finger food yet either. Just purees, albeit some that are slightly chunkier.

[ajb524]

I tried to give Sean a gerber puff, but he choked on it so I haven't tried again. I'm still sticking with the puree's in stage 1 or 2. He also really likes the oatmeal cereal in the jar. For some reason he won't eat the stuff you mix with liquid :rolleyes:

[junkinmytrunk]

Hi Mommies,

Long time no see! Sure hope this post finds everyone doing well!

I was wondering about the finger food thing. My ped suggested we wait until the 9 month appointment. Since PT is not sitting up super sturdily yet, I figure I'm ok with it. He does have his 2 lower front teeth, so I was thinking some very finely chopped turkey on Thanksgiving might be an idea....the rest of his meal repertoire is so Thanksgivingy already (sweets, squash, peas, apples, etc) that I think we should be OK.

Poor PT has his third nasty cold. I wish I could give him something for the congestion other than saline drops and the nasal aspirator (baby torture device, oy!!) but that's it. I put him in a steamy shower and give him as much "baba" as he will eat. Solids are on hold (his choice, minus a little fruit) until he gets better.

Normally we eat:
B - oatmeal mixed with half a #1 fruit
L - veggie in#2 size
D - veggie in #2 size
B4 bed - plain oatmeal
formula thru the day, typically about 20 ounces

The fourth meal is what pushed us into the ranks of "sleeping thru the night" from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. My ped had suggested it and I was a bit hesitant, based on all the books that said "solids don't help with STTN" but lo and behold, it did for us.

I think that's about it. We're in our bigboy carseat and PT is trying to crawl - he's a champion roller - not much of a sitter.

kisses and hugs to all the March moms. Can you believe we're closing in on a year? I peek in on the March 07 moms - I can't imagine where the time has gone.

I might have missed this....do we have any RO's in our group?

[ShannonGH]

Is it normal for her not to have any pain with getting her first tooth? She hasn't missed a beat since I noticed it...no fussiness, fever, etc. Just wondering if that's normal or if heart surgery just toughened her up.;) Her tooth hasn't grown in all the way, just barely popped through the surface.

Junk-No RO's in our household;) ...but I do admit to lurking in some of the FP threads.:o

JennW, we're doing the same "meal plan" as you...no finger foods yet. I just don't think she's ready for them.

She crawled, and Mommy cried, lol.
Awwww. Hang in there mommy. :)

[JennW]

Shannon – Owen never complained too much when his tooth came in either. The second one seemed to cause him more trouble but other than wanting to chew on everything in site, he was OK.

RO – Not yet! I need to lose this fat first.;) I don’t think we could afford another one yet, anyway. I’m thinking I’d like them 2.5-3 years apart.

junk – Hope PT feels better soon. Owen is on the same “I have a cold so no solid foods” strike. Poor babies.

[Kellymb75]

Is it normal for her not to have any pain with getting her first tooth? She hasn't missed a beat since I noticed it...no fussiness, fever, etc. Just wondering if that's normal or if heart surgery just toughened her up.;) Her tooth hasn't grown in all the way, just barely popped through the surface.
Ben got two teeth before he had heart surgery and I wouldn't have known they were coming in if I didn't look. I was surprised becasuet hey came in with no problems at all. Since he's had heart surgery the majority of the teeth have been tougher but I think it's because they are his top teeth and for some reason that bothers him more. He has 2 definite bottom teeth, 3 or 4 more look like they're coming in on the bottom but that's been the case for several months. He has 4 teeth on top and 2 more that are just breaking the surface now.

[Elenitsa]

Shannon, when DD cut her first teeth. Both bottom at the same time, they had both popped through before I noticed something was up with her. She never had a fever, but one night she just wasn't herself and I happened to notice the teeth, but they were already through the gums. Perhaps they bothered her top gums. She cut teeth early, 4 mo.

[IUAlum]

Am I the only one with a totally toothless baby?

[junkinmytrunk]

IUALUM: My sis has a son born Feb 24 and he's toothless -- never fear! Truthfully, the teething pain Pierson suffered -- just awful.

[tgal]

we're doing the same "meal plan" as you...no finger foods yet. I just don't think she's ready for them.

Personally, I think you know when your baby is ready. I didn't want to, but she just showed so many signs that she wanted to try so we did, slowly.

Elenista: Tahini is in the SBF book listed at 7 months or maybe 8 months. I tasted it plain first and urgggg. Then I mixed it with her sweet potatoes and I really liked it, so I gave it to her and she did as well. Good fat and protein I think they say! I don't add salt to anything I make for her. I think it is a big no no, but I'm not entirely certain on that. Baking carrots, I think I used olive oil to prevent sticking.

Is it normal for her not to have any pain with getting her first tooth?
The bottom teeth didn't bother her one bit, but whooooo nelly the top two were like bloody murder. I thought she was going to destroy some of the teething rings the way she would bite down and pulll them out of her mouth. Poor baby!

RO's: We hope to start ttc next August.

[yby1]

Am I the only one with a totally toothless baby?


Nope :) I'm happy about it too because I don't have to worry about brushing teeth yet. ;) :p

[JennW]

IUAlum – Owen hasn’t had his long and neither one is 100 percent in!

yby –Your avatar made me :D

[klm2klh]

toothless babies - Campbell got both his bottom teeth at the same time (about 2 months ago) and Nicholas is still toothless! I guess all babies really are different even twins!

crawling - Nichoas is really close and starting to get really frustrated that he can only go backwards and in circles. Campbell really has no interest at all.

[ajb524]

Question-What is your policy on keeping your kid home if he/she could possibly be sick?

Here's what happened. A month ago Sean had a cold, with fever and a cough. I kept him home until he was better. Two weeks after the cold started we went to a 1st b-day party for a friend's son. As far as I was concerned he was over the cold and had been back to daycare for a week and a half. He did have a little bit of a cough and runny nose (which I now suspect was from the two teeth that popped through 4 days after the party). The birthday boy and another kid got sick right after the party and are blaming me & Sean. Sean did have an ear infection that I did not know about until the Monday after the party, but the doctor said it was okay for him to go to daycare.

She sent me a nasty e-mail this morning that really hurt my feelings. Like I told her before I would have never brought him if I thought there was a remote chance he was contagious. Basically she implied that I was a reckless mom for bringing him and not telling her he had been sick.

I haven't been able to get any work done today because I am so upset :(. I feel like cutting ties with this friend, but we've been friends since 4th grade and might make things uncomfortable for others in our group.

[JennW]

Andrea – So sorry you have to deal with that from your friend. Sounds to me like you tried to keep Sean away from everyone while he was sick. If she and her child did get sick from you guys it was obviously not intentional so why is she being so mean about it? That’s not very nice!:( Hugs.

As for our policy, it hasn’t really been much of an issue yet but so far he has had one cold this fall but it was gone before he had to go to daycare. Last week he brought home a stomach virus, which he didn’t get but passed along to DH & I. Since we didn’t know anything about it we saw just about everyone we know on Saturday and many of them are now/have been sick. I have been apologizing to everyone like crazy but what can you do? It was purely accidental since we didn’t know about the exposure. But, he has a cold now and I have kept him home this week from daycare. No use in spreading the germs around anymore than need be -even if we are still paying for the days.:rolleyes:

FWIW, I think what you did with Sean is precisely what I would have done with Owen. You covered all bases and there was lots of time in between. So boo to your friend. She is just angry that she’s sick and taking it out on you. It’s getting cold; people get sick. That’s life.

[aprilshowers]

Andrea, that's awful! I think your friend is being really unfair. I'm in a babysitting co-op that meets twice a week. We all agreed that we'd keep our kid home if s/he had a fever. But kids get colds. It's totally unreasonable to expect us to keep them locked up over every sniffle. And totally unfair to place the blame on any one kid/parent - who knows that they didn't pick it up from someone else? Good luck dealing with this - I'm sorry you're having to go through it.

tgal - have you tried mixing the potatoes with breastmilk or formula? That is the only way DD will eat them. She likes everything else we've given to her "straight" so I wonder if it is a texture thing. Oh, except millet porridge - she hates millet porridge!

teeth - so far, no teeth though I think she was teething last night. It's the only time she's ever refused to nurse. The only thing that would calm her down was a cold teether.

finger foods - DD doesn't have the pincer grasp down yet. We've given her some chopped up avocado and some little balls of pureed sweet potato but we have to feed them to her. Even when she manages to get some food stuck to her hand, she has no idea what to do with it.

[Kellymb75]

Andrea, if they got sick right after the party you are very unlikely to have been the cause anyway, especially if all they have are colds. I believe it takes a while before symptoms occur once being exposed. I could be off on that but I am almost certain I read it's something like 7-10 days or maybe it's a wivestale or something I made up in my head one time but I don't think so. Even if you and Sean were the cause, kids get sick, they can't live in a bubble, please don't feel bad about it. It would be difficult for me to be civil to this friend for a while.

[ellybella]

baths we have a bath every night as part of our bedtime routine, unless he's so tired he can't handle it.

finger foods we do some organic oat o's (like cheerios), gerber veggie puffs, zwieback, and baby mum mum. moreso to keep him occupied while i'm feeding him.

meals we are doing 3 meals a day. usually fruit in the morning. a veggie or 2 and fruit for lunch and a veggie and fruit for dinner. i usually pour them both in the bowl and will serve just one or put a little of each on the spoon. today i mixed carrots and peas and he liked it fine.

allergies?????? anyone suspect any? james has some excema type patches on the back of his arms and legs and i'm wondering if it's just weather or food related. i've elminated yogurt because that to me would be the most likey culprit and i had a milk allergy when my mom transitioned me from formula to cow's milk. it was also causing him to have some digestive issues (painful bowel movements, gas, etc.) after eating it. he hasn't had yogurt in two weeks, but he still has some spots on his arms and lower legs. tonight i noticed that one leg had more of a pimpley type rash. he's not itchy and it's not red and inflammed. so i'm baffled. guess i should have inspected his body better when i started solids.

andrea i can't believe sean is 9 months!!! craziness. that is lousy of your friend. i heard/read that you are most contagious when your symptoms are at their worst. james had a cold/fever on monday and i took him to music class today. his nose was slightly runny and he had a little cough, but nothing crazy.

yay! james was only up once last night! he hasn't done this in months. i hope he's rounding a corner. mommy likes the sleep.

meats how do you prepare your meats before puree'ing them? i'd like to introduce them soon.

tgal how many food cubes are you serving at a meal? you're using ice cube trays right?

this place is hoppin'

walking not on his own yet...but last night he walked across the kitchen floor pushing the highchair. :eek: yikes! more like push...step step...push...step step step. we did capture it on video.

[ShannonGH]

elly- I do suspect Noa has a food allergy due to rashy skin and colitis (mucousy stool w/ blood) that she got when I was still bfing her...the colitis was actually the reason I had to stop bfing her because after over a month of giving up all dairy, she still had it...and I wasn't a supermom that could give up multiple food groups ( I seriously don't know how those moms do it). So she's been on hypoallergenic formula ever since. We're still not sure what it is she's allergic to so I've been slow with her introduction of solids (1 new food every 5-6 days). And I've been aware of giving her very low-allergenic foods (ie. nothing with wheat, dairy, nuts/seeds, citrus, etc) until she gets a little older. We go see a pediatric allergist on 1/9. So far so good with the solids though...what I have fed her she hasn't seemed to have any allergic reaction at all.

[ellybella]

thanks shannon, james was also very sensitive in his first few months of breastfeeding when i had a lot of dairy. i didn't eliminate it from my diet, i just cut down. now it's not so bad. i would like to know if it is dairy since i'm planning to wean him at the end of the year, and it will definitely effect what formula we choose. i have also stopped giving him rice cereal since that was the only constant in his diet. i'll have to start looking at things for wheat too. he loves the zwieback, but it has wheat and milk protein, so guess i need to cut that out too. ugh.

[Elenitsa]

Elly - as an option, but perhaps can introduce other allergens are these barley teething bisquits. http://www.earthsbest.com/products/product/306.php
At least the wheat can be taken out of the equation. I think they are avail at Walmart and I think Toys-r-us and babies-r-us now carries Earth's best.

[JennW]

They have Earth's Best at our grocery stores, too.

[tgal]

have you tried mixing the potatoes with breastmilk or formula?

You know, I knew to do this, but never tried. Thanks for the reminder, I am gonna try potoes again this way!

Elly: In the morning, I do chopped up fruits (most end up in her chair) this is just to keep her entertained while I am getting everything ready. 1 cube of a fruit mixed with 1tbs each of oatmeal and yogurt. Lunch 1 cube veggie, 1 tbs oatmeal and maybe a tsp or more of tahini since it is powerful. If I do tofu I do 1 tbs. She eats all her breakfast, but lunch varies.

Allergies: Hmmm, are you talking about little bumps that are the same color as the skin. I wasn't sure if those were caused by allergies. DD has had them since she was a newborn. I'll have to ask the ped about them next week. I just thought it might be dry skin patches. I haven't used lotion on her much since I have very sensitive skin.

Teething biscuits: OMG, I don't know if it is just my dd, but she gets them everywhere! I had to stop giving them to her while we were out and about. I was using 1/2 pack of the wipes to clean her up!

[JennW]

tgal – When did you start yogurt and what kind do you give her?

Anyone else doing dairy/meats? When did you start?

[Tracie]

baths DS gets one every 2-3 nights.

teething We can feel our first tooth under the surface of the gum! It's not poking through yet. DS has been acting relatively normal. But then, he tends to be a trooper. When he got a cold at 7 weeks, you'd never know it from his behavior, and when getting shots, he doesn't cry until the 2nd or 3rd one! But yes, technically, he is still toothless. It was ridiculous, because I know babies vary greatly in their teething, but I was actually a little worried that maybe he didn't have any teeth in there.

food I haven't done any finger foods yet. It makes me nervous because he doesn't have ay teeth. I want to introduce some yogurt and meat soon though.

walking DS isn't even crawling yet, although he's trying. He just mastered getting on his hands and knees.

Sleeping We're going to start tuni's sleep training tonight. Wish us luck!

[amychris03]

elly
Oatmeal made Sam break out in excema... We eliminated it for a month and tried again and after four days he broke out again. So you may think about cutting out the oatio's too if the rice doesn't work.

[kdotp]

baths 2 nights a week

teething 6 teeth already and possibly a few more making their way on the bottom. I keep my hands far away from his mouth!

food solids 1-2 times/day: usually a fruit and veg for one meal and then just one for the other. We need to talk to our daycare provider as DS is now getting more formula along with eating 2-3 containers of purees a day than he did when he was just having bottles. It's too much for his little tummy (plus, he's getting a gut)!

We've tried some Gerber puffs but he doesn't quite have the pincer grasp down and we still choke on things. You'd think with teeth, the boy would figure out chewing. :rolleyes:

walking heck no. He has yet to crawl. He's pushing up more on our hands, but hasn't figured out how to get his knees under him.

sleeping fairly well, actually. Bedtime is between 7:00-7:30 and he wakes up once between 3:00-4:00 am for a small bottle, then back to sleep until 7:00-7:30!

[tgal]

Jenn: We started with a greek yogurt called Fage. (Whole foods, Trader Joes definitely sells it, but more recently I've found it in the health food section of our normal grocery store, Martins) I love the stuff myself, it has a different texture than american style yogurts. DD started eating it the month SBF suggested it. I didn't even think twice because I believe I read someplace that yogurt isn't really in the same category as milk even though it is considered dairy. I mean if you have a strong history of dairy allergies, I wouldn't go there, but no one in my family has them so we didn't hesitate.

Meats: I've been meaning to start, I just haven't had the chance to prepare something for dinner that she can eat. I want to do the meatball recipe (modified for a 9month old and using turkey burger) posted in the homemade baby food thread. Maybe I'll get around to doing that this weekend.

[phart]

Maybe I can catch up on some QOTDs while I have a moment. We had Aiden's third birthday party and I'm tired. And it wasn't even very big!

teeth~~Maura has 6 (6th one just popped through)~~2 on top and 4 on bottom.

sleeping~~She's a rock star, for the most part.

walking~~She's been cruising for about a month but no steps on her own. She'll stand by herself for 5-10 seconds.

bathing~~Generally 2 times a week.

food~~Maura loves food. There's nothing so far that she doesn't like. I gave her some of my cooked broccoli a few nights ago and she gobbled it right up. If I give her foods off of my plate I don't puree them at all and she does fine. I do think she has a milk sensitivity like Aiden. I gave her some mac 'n cheese and her poops were green and runny (normally a nice solid patty:p ) so no more milk-based things for her for a while. Aiden can eat any dairy but cannot drink cow milk without digestive issues.

skinThe little white bumps are usually just milia and will eventually go away. I think it's called keratosis pilaris in adults. I got it on the backs of my arms when I got pregnant with Aiden and it stuck around but diminished until I got pregnant again.

[JennW]

phart - I have the same thing on the backs of my arms since I got pregnant. How weird! I am trying everything to get it to go away.

tgal - I got the Fage today at Whole Foods. I'm going to try it out next week.

[phart]

1 cube of a fruit mixed with 1tbs each of oatmeal and yogurt. Lunch 1 cube veggie, 1 tbs oatmeal and maybe a tsp or more of tahini since it is powerful. If I do tofu I do 1 tbs.

tgal~~Is that one ice cube size? If so then Maura is a total piggy! She usually eats 4 with each meal (just lunch and dinner right now) plus whatever finger food she can get her hands on.

[tgal]

Jenn: My favorite (not for dd) is Fage with honey and bananas! Yum.

Phart: Yep, that is ice cube size, but when you add in the oatmeal and yogurt, it is close to 3. I am having the hardest time getting her to eat her lunch though. She is only eating about 1/2.

[ellybella]

for the first time yesterday i was rubbing ds's legs while carrying him and noticed i didn't feel any rough patches! :) it's been two weeks without yogurt, maybe that was it. keeping my eye out from now on.

jennw we tried stoneyfield farms organic plain yogurt and yobaby. he tried it shortly after turning 6 months.

elenista will have to try those barley biscuits. my grocery store carries earth's best and we use mostly this brand when using jarred food.

tgal how many teeth does dd have?

[tgal]

Elly: She has 4 in right now, her top two are HUGE! I have a feeling her I's will be in here shortly. We are back to 24/7 slobber and some minor diarhea.

[losthoosier]

Just wanted to bump us up its been awhile since anyone posted.

Things are going good here. just super busy with work and DD. I swear I never have a moment free time.

What does everyone have planned for Thanksgiving?

[Elenitsa]

Lost ~ Thanksgiving plans are totally up in the air. MIL recently had surgery and SIL is due around that time. So its yet unknown at this point. I have been cooking the last couple of years, but I might not have any guests.

I'd like to actually ask another question. I'm finding it difficult to come up with activities for the little one. Does your DC really play by themselves? What do they play with? What games are you playing with them these days?

[ShannonGH]

It has been quiet around here!

Turkey Day--Heading to in-laws (30 min away) on Thursday. Heading to my parents on Friday and staying till Sunday.

tuni- we started implementing the sleep training plan last Weds night and I don't want to jinx anything yet by typing too much but let's just say that she had a GREAT night last night!

[tray622]

Hi everyone! Our Thanksgiving will be a bit blah. With the divisiveness of my family, there isnt a place to gather. We are having breakfast with the inlaws and then making dinner ourselves.

We took Jocey off the Prilosec this week for the 6th try. So far, it has been perfect. I am so excited to finally not have to use medicine anymore. Cross your fingers that we are done with reflux!! The horrors of her surgery and then the reflux seem to be a million years ago :)

I am so surprised that we dont have any repeat offenders so far. Zoey was 8 months old when I got pg with Jocey and I cant imagine doing it again! Things are going so smoothly with J. She sleeps great, eats great, and is generally very easy going. My issue is with my 2 year old! ;)

Here are her 9 month pictures:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey3.jpg

[ajb524]

Tray622- She is so cute!!

Sean had his 9mo WBV yesterday. I can't believe he's 9 months!
Measurements-
18lbs. 12oz
28 1/4 inches
I can't remember his head measurements, but they are like 75th percentile. Weight is 25th and length is 50th. He stays about the same on the percentile chart everytime.

The past couple of nights have been really rough for us. Saturday night he didn't sleep well at all. We thought it was a fluke, but every night since then he's been doing the same thing. I'm thinking it's teething, because he's been a very good sleeper since he was about 4 months old. The past 3 nights he has gotten up at 1:00am and cried all through the night. I'm one tired Mama. This little episode has taught me that no matter how long he's been sleeping through the night I should never ever take any of those night's for granted. I feel like I did when he was a newborn. Only I wasn't working full time then :rolleyes:

[JennW]

Andrea – I cannot believe Sean is nine months old! Where has the time gone? Our babies are growing too quickly!:)

Thanksgiving – Going to SILs. I’m hosting Christmas though so am already thinking about that.:D

Good question Elenitsa! I have been wondering the same thing! Owen will play by himself for a few minutes maximum. He usually will look at/play with a toy, his taggie blanket or a stuffed animal but not for long. I sit with him on the floor (he doesn’t sit yet) between my legs and play with various things with him (shape sorter, train, etc.). We also read every day with him on my lap but I guess that’s not the same thing. I’m looking for some ideas as well. I need something new to do to occupy this kid!

[ajb524]

I forgot to post about him playing. He will only play with his toys for a few minutes and we have to be in the room with him (i.e.- no leaving to get something from the next room or he screams like we are torturing him). He even does it when DH is the room with him. He'll see me leave and he'll make the most pitiful face and scream and cry. Then a minute later he fine. He's definitely learned how to make mommy feel guilty :(

He's getting bored with the exersaucer & the jumperoo probably because he's found out it's more fun to scoot around on the floor and try to get the cats or the millions of cords we seem to have. He can have a million toys on the floor, but if he see's the lamp cord or the phone cord he immediately goes after that first.

Some toys that he really likes are-
http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2907280reg.gif

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000ETREN8.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_V51627054_.jpg
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_6/601-2070532-8953726?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000ETREN8 (these are a big hit)

[IUAlum]

Playing: I put all of Seth's littler toys into a big basket and I just sit him in front of the basket and he takes all the toys out one at a time. If he's in the mood, he can do this for an hour!! He still loves the exersaucer. He's getting to be like Andrea's Sean, and gets upset if I leave the room.
He just figure out how to use this: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265240
He likes the rollarounds and peek a blocks a lot. Anything he can put in his mouth, of course. He always wants our cellphones. DH used to work at a cell phone store, so got a couple of dummy cellphones (just plastic) and he LOVES those.

[yby1]

Mattias...

- doesn't like being *in* his exersaucer, but likes standing outside of it and cruising around it to play with the toys.

- he has no attention span for his toys, only a Boots (from Dora the Explorer) stuffy and a vintage 1970's Shogun Warrior action figure that's probably worth $200 in so-so condition - but he bangs it around on the floor. He already has expensive taste in toys. ;)

- his favorite "toy" now is a piece of cardboard that he likes slide around on all over the house and a bottle cap (from one of his Dr. Brown's bottles) that he likes to throw around while also crawling all over the house...

...basically he likes anything that he can do while either crawling or cruising around the house.

The boy does not stay still at all. Only when he's sleeping. ;)

[JennW]

Anyone getting a flu shot for their DC?

[ShannonGH]

Anyone getting a flu shot for their DC?

Already got it.;)
Noa actually got 2. They said that since it's her first time she'd need 2 a month apart.:confused:

[ajb524]

Jenn- Sean got his Tuesday when we went for his 9 month WBV. They told me it was optional, but highly recommended it. I even talked to the nurse about it and she has made sure here son has one since he was born and he's 3 now. Since he is exposed to so many germs from other kids (and gets sick all of the time) I opted to get it for him.

eta- Sean will get the 2nd dose in a month.

[aprilshowers]

DD got her first one last week - she'll get the second in December.

[bunny nose]

We did it. DH is a school bus driver and when I get the chance to work I work in schools- so we both bring home lots of germs.

[tgal]

Just stopping by to post Eva's stats. We had a relatively good visit with the ped. today. He expressed that Eva's head size is increasing more than he would like, so we are scheduling a cat scan. Hopefully, this is just a precautionary measure and everything will be fine. Otherwise, she is growing right on track.

Length: 27 1/4 inches 50th
Weight: 19 lbs 5 oz 50th

We had to start supplementing about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and had a sick visit two weeks ago. She gained 1lb since then. Anyone else notice a big weight gain when switching to formula.

Flu shot: Dh and I are getting them, dd is not.

[tray622]

We do not get the flu shots at all. I havent ever really thought of it and my ped just offered it but didnt push it.

[Tracie]

Playing DS will play by himself for a good amount of time, especially if he's in a good mood. He's favorite toy at the moment is one of those little plastic books with the squeaky in the middle. Of course, I'm thrilled that DS's favorite thing to play with is a book! ;)

Sleeping We've been doing the sleeping routine that tuni posted about for a week now and it is going FANTASTIC! Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting that! He will cry when I first leave the room, but only for a minute or two. And then he sleeps through the night!

Flu Shot We probably will get it for DS, assuming that his pedi recommends it. I'm sure he will and he will get it at his 9 mo WCC, which is in the beginning of December.

In other news, we went to see the orthopedic doctor. I don't even know if I posted about it back in July, but DS has torticollis. It basically means that the muscles on one side of his neck are shortened, causing him to tilt his head. He had it very mildly (2/10 according to the orthopedic.) and all we had to do was some stretches after we changed his diaper. Well, now he's perfectly fine! :D We don't even have to go back for any more follow-ups, he looks perfect!

[ShannonGH]

Been way too quiet around here lately!

Fun QOTD: What affectionate nicknames do you have for your bebe?

I ask because I am as shocked as Dh sometimes at what comes out of my mouth...have no idea where I get some of these:
sugar button
sugar muffin
pinky nut
pooter/poot
Peter (I think this stems from Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater:confused:, which is a horrible nursery rhyme IMO )
Charlie (this stems from Charlie Brown:confused: )

I wonder about myself sometimes. :rolleyes:

Dh calls her turd bird.

Any other parents as crazy as us???

[losthoosier]

Playing~ This is a hard one right now as nothing keeps her attention for more then a couple seconds. She hates the exesaucer now that she know how to move around. I can't wait till christmas for her to get some more toys. As I think she has outgrown the ones she therefore the lack of interest. We were in Babies R us yesterday and I let her play with the fisher price piano. She played for almost 20 minutes and started to scream when I took her away.

Sleeping. This is still in issue, but last night she slept from 10-6 so I am not complaining. But she was still in bed with us. She will only sleep an hour in her crib then wake up screaming. Its not fun.

Flu Shot~ I don't think so I am not against it, but she is no in daycare, and its not cold here. Her 9 month visit is in Dec so we will see, by then I think it may be to late.

Nicknames: Not as funny as Shannon but we call her Mack, and Mckenny (her cousin gave her that one).

Thanksgiving, we will be going to my MIL where I am cooking. I did not want it at my house, but I love to cook.

Hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING

[red_canuck]

No flu shot for DS or me, but my DH will be getting one. I'm home with DS, so there is limited exposure for both of us, whereas DH is high risk since he works with a client who's in a long term care facility.

Nicknames! We've got some doozies around here. The most common one is Mr Man, but otherwise...the man, poopsicle, needer, the loganator, logo-cop, log, banana-man, munchkin, kidlet, snort, hey you, babe, stinky man, crazy man, muffin man, pancake man, tum tum, sweetums, cutie pants, sweetheart. I'm sure there are others I just can't think of them!

No thanksgiving here, the canadian one was back in October! We're going to medieval times dinner tournament on saturday though :)

[klm2klh]

Here are a couple of professional shots of the boys from about a month ago.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/klhoward/boys_side.jpg?t=1164046830

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/klhoward/boys_play.jpg?t=1164046854

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/klhoward/boys_forward.jpg?t=1164046876

[ShannonGH]

Oh my gosh klm! They are adorable! They look nothing alike, but adorable nonetheless! ;)

[JennZ]

klm,
I LOVE the profile shot of them looking at towrds each other!
Baby profiles are so sweet!!
Thanks for sharing!

[klm2klh]

They look nothing alike, but adorable nonetheless! ;)

I would never imagined that brothers could look so different. They are completely different. From their hair, to their eyes, to their skin tone, to the shapes of their heads and bodies they are totally different! They also have completely different personalities.

I have so many people say to me "They not twins are they?" I think when people think of twins, they automatically expect them to be identical.

Nicholas (the blonder one) looks totally like my mom and her side of the family. And Campbell looks more like my husband, and I guess a little like me.

[amychris03]

klm
too cute!!! My SIL just had twin boys and they look so different to!

playing
Sam plays for a while by himself but wants me close. And he is crawling and pulling up on everything so I have to pretty much be right there anyways. He has this little Pooh Airplane (it says 18 months, but my brother gave it to us, so we push him around on it and hold him on it) that he loves and would play with all day I think. He loves to push the buttons to make the propeller go and to hold onto it and push it around the house.

sleepingsucks. We went from having viral bronchiolitis, to getting 4 teeth within a week, so we've not had the best sleep around here. I like Tuni's plan, but Sam doesnt have a problem going down initially, its when he wakes at night, he does not like to go back in his crib. He has been waking up 2-3 times lately, but last night it was only once thankfully (and we pushed his bedtime back). Maybe he just needs a later bedtime? Naps are getting better. He generally takes one 2 hour nap, and one 30 minute nap.

flu shot
Sam got the first part. We still haven't gotten ours yet but need to.

Nicknames
Sugar bear, and most often Samalamadingdong

[kdotp]

klm your boys are so adorable! I love the profile pic!. We had a set of fraternal (girl) twins in my HS graduating class that looked absolutely nothing alike, too. Most of the time people would forget that they were even twins!

nicknames Booba, boobachoo, boobaloo, bubs, bubba, buddy, punkin, punkinoodle, sweetie pie, sweets, and booger (that one would be DH's).

[Tracie]

klm Adorable pictures! They do look a lot different, but they are both adorable!

Nicknames I mostly call him "bubs" but I have other nicknames as the situations warrants such as "Mr. Crankypants" or "Mr. Poops"/"Mr. Stinky" I call him "Little Love" a lot, too.

Question Does anyone's child has a problem with texture? We think DS does. He rejects anything that differs in texture from his baby food - homemade applesauce, which is lumpier, egg yolk, bread. He likes every single kind of baby food and cereal we've tried except bananas, so I don't think he's picky about taste. I've been kind of forcing the issue with little bits of bread in his babyfood, which has led to some "lectures" - he yells "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He's such a drama king, he pretends to choke and gag on it. It's kind of amusing, but we need to get him over it, he can't be having baby food for the rest of his life! Does anyone have any suggestions?

[JennW]

Nicholas and Campbell are so cute! How cute