April 2006 Moms - Our babies are here!

[jeeplover]

Sal03-Thanks for the advice. He is usually a great sleeper during the day with taking a morning nap around 2-3 hours and then an afternoon nap that varies in time. Some days he gets three naps and some days it is 2 if he sleeps longer in the afternoon. I think that this all might have stemmed from him swiching to sleeping in his crib but we CAN'T put him in his bassinet anymore as he has outgrown it. Of course this morning he woke up at 6 am and is now sleeping happily in the bed with DH.

Littlestar-Glad to hear that your first couple of days of going to back to work have been going well! I hope that Monday is not too rough on you! Sorry to hear about the dog, like Sal said maybe some dogowners on here can help or you can start a new thread asking for advice.

bctoledo-sorry that going back to work has been so tough for you. It is amazing how priorities change isn't it. I don't think I ever realized to the full extent how much my life and priorities would change- I guess you can never grasp that until it happens to you.

Today we have our mom's group and then we will head out to lunch with some of the other moms and babies. I have come to look forward going to this group and kind of regret not attending it sooner. Thankfully there is another group that meets weekly as well for babies who are 4 months and older and I know some of the women in that group as well!

Also for those of you who might be looking for other moms to hang out with you should look into Mom's Club International. I just spoke with a woman from the Mom's Club in my town and it sounds like a great way to meet other moms and to get out of the house (especially for SAHM). I haven't gone to any events yet but I am hoping to soon to see if this will be a good fit for me.

[Sully130]

Hi all. I can't believe my little boy turned three months old yesterday! Time flies! He's asleep in the swing right now taking his morning short nap. Soon it will be time to feed him so not sure how long I'll have to write this.

Though I don't post often, I do read all the time and I love seeing the pics of all of your growing babies! They are all so cute!

I told my boss this week that I wouldn't be coming back to work. I had only worked there for two months before I went on bedrest back in mid-November. They were kind enough to hold my job for me, but I just wasn't making enough to justify it. I'm not going to make a couple hundred dollars a month to let someone else raise my child, you know? I'm going to keep my eyes open for a new job...but hopefully that's at least a year away. I used to be quite career-oriented, back in the day. :)

Got some semi-bad news this week (hopefully it will have a happy ending though). Got a call from my ob/gyn and she is on hospital bedrest because like me, her water broke way too early. She was 22 weeks. Now she's almost 25 weeks and seems to be stable. I went and visited her in the hospital Wednesday and hope to visit her weekly. Hopefully her baby will be a miracle like mine!

jeeplover - I need to find a mom's group. That's the only thing missing from my life right now -- interaction with other mothers. My friends all have toddlers and it's just very hard to get up with them. And lately, it seems like they are always sick (the kids)!

bctoledo - I hope the going back to work gets easier.

gina- Deborah is adorable!

Must go check on the little one, but thought I'd share a little picture I took yesterday first:

Picture removed

And yes, I know my kid is a little chunk! Yeah for breast milk! :D

ETA: Question for BF mommies: How many times a day are you feeding your little one? I'm down to 5-6 feedings a day. Sometimes I feel like that's not enough, but then I look at my little man and he sure doesn't look like a starving baby! Just curious what other moms are doing at this stage...

[LittleStar]

Sully - What a cute little guy!! I'm going to have to copy that idea for a picture (although I've already missed H's 3 month b-day last Sat. :rolleyes: ). I BF H (and since I've been back at work he gets bottles of EBM during the day), and he eats 5-7 times a day. We don't really feed on a strict schedule, that's just how often he seems to be hungry.

[ginandchris]

Hi everyone,

Just time for a quick post. Deborah will be wanting her mid morning bottle soon. I'll just do the quick SO's:

Jeeplover-- I think she is pretty much on track as far as growth goes. At her last dr visit 3 weeks ago she was 12 lbs. I figure right now she has to be 13-14 lbs. So, I figure she's eating pretty good!:D

Sully--your little guy is too cute what cute pic!

Sevilla--we also have delayed Deborah's vacs but we will start them next dr visit next month, since I will be going back to work in Sept.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Sal03]

Sully what a sweetheart!!! Katie nurses 6-8 times a day depending on how much she may nap and what time she wakes up. She sleeps through the night so that is generally btw 7am and 9pm give or take an hour. She nurses still every 1.5 hours sometimes or every two hours. So if Thomas is on more of a 3 hour schedule that sounds normal to me

[Sevilla]

Bfing: I'm nursing as i type, lol! DS eats every 3 hours pretty much, even at night. Sometimes a bit more. So i'd say we nurse 8-10x per day. But he's not a long nurser--about 5-10 min tops--and he's a long-n-lean body type, so i know he needs those frequent feedings. I'd just go by your baby's cues. He's clearly growing and thriving and he'd let you know if he was hungry. Also, when you start solids (we're waiting until 6-7 months) they shouldn't replace any bf'ing sessions until the baby is close to a year. HTH!

[jeeplover]

Sully-I love that picture and will also have to steal that idea for his 4 month old bday! He is so adorable! Sorry to hear about your OB, that is scary! Oh for the mom's group check out the hospital that you delivered at, the one I attend is at our local hospital (even though I didn't deliver there)!

[Kopper]

BFing - I nurse DH around 10-12 times per day but his sessions are short like Sevilla's (5-8 mins on avg and longer for pre-nap sessions). I have a low supply so he needs to nurse that much. I also give him 3 bottles per day (8-11oz) and am thinking about increasing that a bit as he gets older depending on how much he is gaining.

Mom's groups - My LLL has a play group that meets 2+ times per week and I joined the local MOMs Club. My next door neighbor is also a SAHM and her son was born in December. I haven't been going to the MOMs Club stuff as much b/c I find that I click more with the LLL Moms. I feel sorta uncomfy nursing DS at MOMs for some reason. Nothing has been said but I just get a vibe. The LLL moms are all very pro-BFing, baby wearing, CDing, co-sleep/sleep sharing so I feel like I fit in better.

[jrsygirl]

Littlestar just wanted to see if i can help you out with your doggy problems. I know its so tough ..what kind of dog is it first of all?
One thing we always did with ours is anytime the babies got something he did too..if they have a toy we gave him a toy..if they are getting their bottles he'll get a cookie.(or a piece I don't want a fat dog and my babies eat a lot!). I make sure when he's following me around with the babies no matter how crazed things are i give him a pet it has definitely helped with the jealousy,

As far as the stealing and growling goes you need to put a stop to that fast. He might be trying to dominate the babies toys but by lettig him growl he's also doing it to you. I would move fast when it happens with a sharp "no", take the toy and put it where it goes and tell him sternly to "leave it". Then walk away from it and make him come with you and give him a toy of his own to play with..Then when he has his toy tell him he's good and give him some loving. When he first takes it you may have to growl back at him and let him know that you are the boss.

I would try and change the behavior fast before it gets out of control and you have bigger problems. We are also scrupulous about picking up the twins toys and belongings out of Brody's reach which helps.
Good luck!

[SaphirimalMei]

Howdy all!
Finn had his first WBV today (almost a month late) and is almost 15lbs! (14lbs 15oz). DD, Jilly has always been so light that Finn's quick growth is astonishing to me. I know the whole weight thing doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot at this point, but i just hope this doesn’t mean he'll be prone to weight probs like DH and me. Anyways, he's also rolled over from back to tummy twice and is (I swear!) reacting to the word and sign for "Milk". It's crazy. He's also been blessing us for the last 3 weeks or so (for the most part) with the gift of sleeping through the night 10pm til 7 or 8am. Woo Hoo!

Finley on 7/4
http://images1.snapfish.com/347649586%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3282%3E5%3B9%3E976%3EWS NRCG%3D32339238%3C4%3B66nu0mrj

[LittleStar]

Jrsygirl - Thank you so much for your response. Our dog is a German Shepard. When she was a puppy, she definitely tried to test the boundaries with us, but we quickly put her in her place. She is usually a very loving dog, although, I think that she tends to be a little OCD, like if we let her, she could get fixated on something (i.e., guarding a certain item). The couple of times she has growled, I have sternly told her "no" but did not move in to take the item b/c I didn't want it to escalate. DH came back from his trip and we brought the dog home yesterday. We've been very careful about not leaving anything out that she can steal, and keeping the nursery door closed at all times unless we are in there. Her "guardy" spot had been our closet, so we've been keeping that door closed and DH moved the vacuum cleaner in there (dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner). So far, she hasn't tried to follow us in there. And there haven't been any other incidents. We are watching her very carefully. We've had her for 4 years now, and I feel like we owe it to her to try and correct her behavior before sending her to live somewhere else. I've always known that I must be vigilant with a baby in the house, but now I will be even more so.

[amygrrl]

sully - i can't believe how big our little peanuts are. remember way back when we were both on bedrest?

malin is almost 4 months old and is such a chunk compared to her birth weight of 5 lb 10 oz. she's 'talking' up a storm and is totally obsessed with watching our lips and trying to figure out how we talk and copying us but it all comes out sounding like baby dinasour noises at this point. she's holding her head up well when on her tummy, but not pushing up with her arms quite yet. however, she LOVES standing up and with a bit of help will push up to a standing postion over and over and over and over and over :rolleyes:

feedings - i wish i could say i was someone who kept track of these things, but my guess would be we feed her maybe 7 or so times a day. she's exclusively on EBM and won't really take more than 4 or so ounces at a time. one day she did decide that she needed 8 ounces at once and ended up puking all over herself and me. fun!

[mel7dog]

BFing - DS eats about every 3 hours, so 8-10 times a day. Feedings are less than 10 min though, so it doesn't feel like I am always feeding him. During the night he has been sleeping one 4-5 hour stretch for the past few nights. I'm, enjoying this "long" stretch of sleep!

[Sal03]

Just dropping off a few pics of my happy girl on her 4 month birthday. We put her in the exersaucer for the first time and she loved it. AND I am happy to report she has been having a bottle a few times a week finally so DH and I got to go out on a nice date Saturday night :) YAY for Dr. Browns!
http://images1.snapfish.com/3476963B37%3EWSNRCG%3D323397%3B%3B%3B73%3A%3Bnu0mr jhttp://images1.snapfish.com/347696%3B65%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D323%3B%3E486%3E%

[mel7dog]

Sal - She is one happy girl! Yay for Dr. Brown's, that what we use as well. Hope you had a nice date :)

[Kopper]

What cuties SaphirimalMei & Sal! :)

So since Sal brought up date nights, I'm wondering how many of us have been out on them. I am so scared to leave DS and am dreading my 10 year HS reunion in September. DH was really excited when I suggested we get a room in the hotel it is at (we still live in the same town). Well his excitement faded when I explained that I wanted the hotel room so my mom could watch DS there and I could just go upstairs to nurse him or if he needed me. Guess I kinda ruined that idea...

I'm just not ready to leave him yet. I've been away from him 3 times so far. The first time was only 10 mins so I don't think that counts. The other times were for 1 and 2 hours so DH didn't have to feed him. Oh, DH is the only one that has taken care of him while I was out. Most people around me think I'm being silly and paranoid that I don't want to leave him. I used to tell DH that we would have "date night" when DS was 3 months but now that he is almost 4 months I am telling him 6 months. Does anyone else feel this way or am I the only crazy one?

[Sevilla]

Date Night: DH and I don't leave DS yet and we're fine with that. We don't have a lot of $$ to spend on going out anyway, so a date night for us is cooking a nice dinner together and watching a movie. Usually when we watch a movie DS nurses and falls asleep so we get to cuddle together as a family and as a couple. We make time to be intimate together while DS naps or is occupied in his bouncer and that has worked well for us ;). Since DS won't take a bottle its impractical to leave him for a long length of time. Anyway, our policy right now is that unless its for a short amount of time (under 2 hours), if DS can't go then we don't go - and that has never been a problem so far.

Kopper: i think the hotel idea is a good one and is something DH and I would do for an adults-only event with DS. Why don't you have your mom take the baby on a long walk part of the day so you and DH can enjoy the room too ;)?. And fwiw, i think its dumb that people criticize you for your feelings. Everyone has a different comfort level with leaving their babies. I've left DS with DH for an hour or two here and there, and with a trusted student once when i had a dentist appt (and that was hard to do!). My mom was shocked i felt 'ready' to have a babysitter already b/c she didn't until we were a lot older (like close to a year) - so there's the other end of the spectrum for you, thinking it was too soon for me to be emotionally ok with it, lol.

[Sal03]

Mel thanks :) it was so much fun, we really needed it

Kopper SUCH normal feelings. With Dylan, only my mom was allowed to watch him in his first year and that was really only for things we had to go to like weddings. Otherwise we did not go out too much. One wedding we had to go away to when he was 5 months old we brought her with us and got adjoining rooms! We left him overnight for the first time because we had to for a wedding when he was almost a year old and I did not enjoy that very much. Up until Katie was born, only my mom was allowed to babysit him and put him to sleep. If ILs every babysat we went out for a quick bite after I put him to bed and knew he would STTN. I was worried about leaving Katie on Saturday night but the date was for my bday (which is on thurs) and DH and I REALLY needed it. I think once you have two kids, date nights are honestly a necessity to preserve your marriage, even if it is just running out to the diner for an hour. It is so crazy around here all the time now that we need some time together to regroup and it felt good to get dressed up and actually blowdry my hair. :)

ETA cross posted with Sevilla. ITA with this
And fwiw, i think its dumb that people criticize you for your feelings. Everyone has a different comfort level with leaving their babies.
at that wedding when we left DS for the first time others were there that were in SHOCK that it was the first time we had left him overnight. whatever. I think it was MORE weird the one making comments had left her DD to go on a business trip at 6 weeks. people are annoying

[charissa]

date night well since before DS was born, I finally got to watch a movie!!! It was the first show of the morning, but still, haha, my sister watched DS while DH and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean II (grrrr at the way they ended it, but I expected it but STILL!!!) So it was nice to hold hands with DH and watch a movie like a normal couple, haha. We have yet to go out at night just the two of us, but have individually left for a night or day without the spouse and our son. So I think we're doing pretty good in that department. :)

We actually have a wedding in LA that starts at 6 PM... and we live about 2 hours away, depending on traffic, but there is always traffic so... :)... my sister is gonna watch him from 3:30 pm and on for the night, lucky for us, DS goes down easy and usually doesn't make a peep after 7:45/8:00 pm. So we'll just take over after we get home, this will be the first time we're both gone for a significant amount of time. Like Kopper I'm a little frightened, I'm definitely less now, compared to what I was before when DS was really little. I've just decided to be easy going about it. - which is TOTALLY NOT me... I'm pretty anal retentive and need to be in control at all times, but I'm learning :)

[charissa]

totally agree with Sal and Sevilla

Everyone has their own levels of comfort and ease when it comes to their kids, I totally have no qualms with other moms and what they want to do with their babies. B/C I know I felt the same way too. All kids will be fine either way, it used to bug me SOOO much when my mom would say things like, oh, just get out of the house, blah blah blah, the kid will be fine, etc... but its really not him I was worried about, I wouldn't even have had a good time out anyway, b/c all I'd be thinking about was what was going on with DS... just as Sal pointed out about the wedding she attended.

[mel7dog]

at that wedding when we left DS for the first time others were there that were in SHOCK that it was the first time we had left him overnight. whatever. I think it was MORE weird the one making comments had left her DD to go on a business trip at 6 weeks. people are annoying

Wow, it is amazing how diff't people can feel on this subject!

At this age, I don't like to leave DS at all. To me it is natural to have a baby close to their parents, especially because BFing till at least a year is so important to me and I don't want to risk our great BFing relationship. The first time I left DS was this past weekend when my mom took me to the spa. We were gone for less than 5 hours, and my Dad was caring for DS for the first hour, and then DH as well when he got home from work. All went well, though DS cried for a bit because he wanted the bb and not a bottle of BM. I very rarely feel "tied down" by having a child. Instead I feel very fortunate I am able to be his primary caregiver and SAH with him. DH and I haven't had a date night yet, mostly because we don't feel the need to get away from DS. Just like everything else with parenting, everyone has there own personal opinions on what's right.

[jrsygirl]

We haven't had a date night yet, but I think we will this weekend. Of course my babies are home with their nanny now that I've gone back to work, I think that helps with my comfort level.

I totally agree though that it is a very personal decision and it also depends on your baby and where they are with sleeping/feeding etc. I think its harder to go from never being away from them to all of a sudden going out.

[jrsygirl]

LittleStarI hope that things get better with your dog. My Brody is like my first baby so it would kill me if we had a problem with him. Luckily he is great with them and can lay on the floor next to them with no problems.. oh except he is completely covetous of their hippo
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v231/hbd511/th_hippo.jpg
and drools a puddle when they are playing with it..I guess as soon as they tire of it we'll make his century and just give it to him.

[Jane&Andy]

such cute babies! :)

we just got back from NC, we went for a long weekend for my neice's birthday. It was fun but exhausting. Both of my sisters were there so it was 5 kids under the age of 4. It was a zoo! But lots of fun. My neices and nephews are all so good to Joey and like to pet him and give him kisses.

Joey is laughing more and is apparently ticklish. He's started playing with his feet and loves to smile at the dog. Its all very fun.

date night - not yet. We don't have easy access to family to babysit and we don't need to be spending the money anyway. I've left Joey with my Mom and with DH but not for long. He'll take a bottle so thats not an issue. In early October we're planning to leave him with my MIL so that we can go to a wine festival at Mt Vernon. We've gone before and its wonderful - drinking wine at sunset on George Washington's porch, looking out on the Potomac. I can't wait!

as far as people's comments about what other people do, its all so stupid - you do whats best for you and your baby and other people do what works for them, one way isn't better or worse. I guess we all get our self worth wrapped up so much in our babies, its easy to feel like someone is telling you you're a bad parent just b/c you do things differently from them.

[jeeplover]

Date night-We have done it once leaving Kyle with MIL and FIL in our house. We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and were home right after. We are actually having an issue for a fundraising event that we have to attend next month since MIL is watching SIL's kids already! This time it would be longer that we would need to leave him-now we just need to find someone to watch him.

Jane-I wish we lived closer so that we could take turns with watching one anothers kids since neither of us has family in the area.

[JenniferEC]

Pics - All of them are so cute! I can't believe how big they are getting. Sal - Katie looks so much like Dylan.

date night - We've been out a few times. We dealt poker in a charity tournament and went and saw Superman this weekend. Both times were only for a few hours. Marin is good with a bottle so no worries there. My parents and ILs are the only ones allowed to watch her. DH and I need to get out once in a while, because with 2 I need a break and need to connect with DH.

What other people say - I've learned to ignore other people and their advice. I remember my MIL telling me how important it was to have Caden sleep in his crib from day one. Forget that! He was in our room for 8 weeks and Marin is still in our room at 3 months. And just recently she told me Caden should already be potty trained. You can't force a 2 year old to pee on command. It gets old and I get tired of hearing it, but it goes in one ear and out the other. We know what's best for our kids and we should do what makes us feel good. Screw everybody else!

[charissa]

We know what's best for our kids and we should do what makes us feel good. Screw everybody else!


AMEN!:D

[jeeplover]

I just read this on Babycenter.com and I am kind of shocked.

If your baby isn't eating any solids (as he shouldn't before 4 to 6 months of age), the general rule of thumb is to offer him 2.5 ounces of formula per pound of body weight each day. So if your baby weighs 6 pounds, you'll give him about 15 ounces of formula in a 24-hour period. If he weighs 10 pounds, he should drink 25 ounces in a 24-hour period.

So I did the math and was shocked to find that if I used this to determine how much Kyle should eat it would be 34 ounces in a day meaning he would need to eat 4 ounces every hour and a half:eek: ! I have never heard this before has anyone else?

[KB57]

Date night: We haven't had one either. I went back to work full-time 2 months PP and the thought of leaving Abby more than I already do makes me want to cry. She is with my mom or MIL while I work (both are very close to my job-within walking distance) but DH and I miss her so much during the week, we can't bear the thought of leaving her on a weeknight or the weekend. We usually take her with us if we go out for dinner, we usually time it so she sleeps while we eat, just as long as she is with us we are happy! Everyone's got a comment for everything---as long as you do what is right for you and your family, just try to tune it out!

[charissa]

jeeplover - that's pretty much what I've read too, and we've just really been feeding DS 5 oz at every sitting, and he eats between 5 and 6 times a day. Which is perfect for his weight and he's doing fine and basically STTN.

hair loss anyone??? - OMG, its coming out in clumps, its almost disgusting me as I'm showering, my sister was all, wow, that's frightening... haha. I did a search and someone posted that it can fall out for up to a year. :( Good thing I have thick hair, yikes.

[jeeplover]

Hair loss-OMG that is so funny you just posted that charissa! I just got out of the shower and was combing my hair and so much is coming out. Like you thankfully I have thick hair so I don't really have to worry but it is just gross in the shower!

Charissa-DS is doing fine but it just amazed me how much he is *supposed* to drink.

[Sevilla]

Hair Loss: It's terrible! I have thick hair so i am shedding a TON everywhere. Funny part is that DS is starting to lose his hair too, so i think the last vestiges of pregnancy hormones must be gone from our bodies now. I really want the shedding to stop, it's obnoxious finding my hairs everywhere!

[Sal03]

Hair loss it is everywhere. so disgusting. my brush is full of hair, my clothes are covered in it, my floors too. I always have to have my hair up or katie comes away with a big fistful of it.

Jennifer I think so too. especially when they are sleeping, they just look so much alike. same features. what about Caden and Marin? oh and did you see my post about date nights? LOL we wrote almost the same thing about how with two you MUST.GET.OUT if you are going to have any kind of marriage at all!

Forgot to post about Katie's 4 month checkup yesterday. She did great and smiled a lot at the doctor. He was so pleased at how well she is doing on the prevacid, as are we! She had three shots which were awful. she was so fussy last night so I gave her tylenol. At least she sttn from 8:15 to 8. The ped was amazed at what a good sleeper she is, and was from the beginning.
Her four month stats: weight - 14 lbs 13 oz, length - 24" I think her length is the same as last time but I know they did not measure well at the last one because she was kicking and squirming.

[LittleStar]

Hair loss - Yep, me too.

Doggie - She's doing much better. We have been very careful about not leaving things out that she can steal. Once or twice I've caught her trying to go for a burp towel, but I say "leave it" and she did.

Even though I went back to work last week, this is my first week of taking H to the day care. It's really tough! I take him to a church day school that's got a great reputation, but it's such a bigger difference in my mind than leaving him with my mom (like I did last week). My friends tell me it gets easier. I hope so. Is the grass always greener on the other side? When I was home on maternity leave, I was excited about getting back to work. Now, I miss my time at home with H.

[mel7dog]

Haven't noticed any hair loss over here, but you all had your babies a few weeks before me so mine may be coming. And to make matters worse I just chopped my hair up to my chin :eek: Maybe I should've waited to see if I end up bald. :p

[jrsygirl]

LittleStar When I was home on maternity leave, I was excited about getting back to work. Now, I miss my time at home with H. I'm the same way. Luckily I get to work from home two days a week so I can run downstairs for a baby fix.


Big news..Cole rolled over today! From front to back. We knew he was really close but were suprised it wasn't from back to front because that was what he had been practicing at!

Paige isn't even trying but she is trying to sit up and is getting close. If you sit her up and let go she wobbles a few secs and gets tired and whenevr she is on her back she is "crunching" trying to sit up.

Super Cute!!

[hapahaole]

hair loss
Yep, been losing hair since maybe 3 months PP if not earlier. I lose the most at the temples...totally look like Bruce Willis (before he saved it all off) now. Note to self: get new screen for shower drain.

4 month appt
I took Kaylie a week late for her 4 month appt. She only got 2 shots since our doc likes to only give a couple a time so we just go every month. It's kind of nice that way, but costs a bit more. Well, this girl now weighs 17lbs and is 26 inches long. I affectionately call her my "Little Boss Hog." Hope she doesn't get a complex.

Kaylie used to be a dream to put down for naps, but lately she's been more fussy and will start crying most of the time when I put her down. Lately I've been resorting more to the swing (which she will now tolerate on occasion) and rocking her in her car seat (she actually really likes this). Going down for bed at night is usually not too bad...just feed until she's almost passed out and put into pnp. Then she usually doesn't make a peep until sometime in the morning (usually down between 7:30 and 9:30pm and wakes up for food around 5-7am...I'll feed her 5 min or so and then she usually goes back down for another hour or two until about 7:30am...though she seems to be getting up earlier and earlier...today was up for the day at 6:20am or so).

sal
Love the pics of Dylan and Katie together (from earlier) and the new ones of Katie. They are for sure brother and sister. She's such a cutie and I"m so glad the medication has helped her. That is just awesome! And I can't get over what a great sleeper she is!!!

jrsygirl
Your twins are such dolls! Wow, that's great Cole's already starting to roll over.

If your baby isn't eating any solids (as he shouldn't before 4 to 6 months of age), the general rule of thumb is to offer him 2.5 ounces of formula per pound of body weight each day. So if your baby weighs 6 pounds, you'll give him about 15 ounces of formula in a 24-hour period. If he weighs 10 pounds, he should drink 25 ounces in a 24-hour period


Hmmm...I haven't heard this. I figure as long as she keeps gaining weight and seems healthy that all must be good. I was going to wait until 6 months to start solids, but since DD will NOT take a bottle I've decided to start sooner so I can get a break once in awhile. So this week I bought some baby oatmeal and have tried giving her a tiny bit twice. She spits it out, but somehow the whole serving did end up in her belly (and some on the bib). Since I haven't pumped in awhile I really have no idea how much she is getting from me...but 34oz sure seems like an awful lot...

hapa

[hapahaole]

Oh, for those of you roasting in this heat like I am...here's a yummy recipe my friend made at her bbq this weekend. So good! I might try adding more of the tomatoes and more greens, but it did taste good following the recipe too.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO ORZO SALAD

Serves 6-8

1 cup orzo (about 10oz) (the whole box)
1/3 cup packed, chopped, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4cup kalamata olives
1 cup chopped arugula
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 large garlic cloves, minced

1. Cook the orzo in a pot of boiling salted water until just tender, but still firm to the bite. Drain Well. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and olives and toss to blend. Let stand until cool. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
2. Mix the chopped arugula, pine nuts, chopped basil, Parmesan and garlic into orzo mixture. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

hapa

[charissa]

mel - how funny, I just chopped my hair off about a month ago, it was practically down to my waist, and I decided to donate to locks of love again, before my hair started falling out. I figured someone should get some use out of all that extra hair :). - plus I figured I needed a "mom" cute for a while anyway haha.

[Kopper]

Thanks everyone for posting about date nights. I'm glad to know that my feelings about not being ready to leave DS are normal. Sometimes I really would like to go out with DH w/o him but I'm just not ready for it yet. Our anniversary is in September and we will be going out to dinner then.

Hair loss - Yes and it is gross! I feel like I'm going to end up bald very soon.

Have a good night everyone. :D

[hapahaole]

new haircuts
Mel and Charissa do you have pictures of you with your new 'dos?
I'm thinking of whacking my hair off too and new some inspiration. Last time I got it cut above the shoulders I looked like Ramona Quimby (bad cut). That's awesome you were able to donate your hair Charissa!

hapa

[mel7dog]

I am LOL about all the hair comments over here. Here is a pic of me with the new cut. I tried to find one of before, but I have only done my hair down 2-3 times in the last 3 months :eek: Hence why I needed a cut so it is easier!

http://images1.snapfish.com/3476%3A%3A377%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3278%3E642%3E%3B55%3E WSNRCG%3D3233976789994nu0mrj

It's pretty much a bob with a few layers so I can style it a little.

[jeeplover]

Mel-I love your haircut! Also where did you get your sling?

I need to go on an internet search for new hairstyles for me!

[mel7dog]

Mel-I love your haircut! Also where did you get your sling?

I need to go on an internet search for new hairstyles for me!

My mom and I made it! Pretty much the same design as a Hotsling.

[Jane&Andy]

cut new do Mel. and nice sling. :)

hair - I got a few inches hacked off of mine a few weeks ago. I still don't do anything but put it in a ponytail but at least it dries faster now. :p My hair started falling out about a week ago. Luckily its pretty thick so hopefully it won't get too thin.

jeeplover - we may be too far apart to help each other out with babysitting but it would be fun to get together again. :)

today is the one year anniversary of my BFP! what a wild and crazy year!

I discovered at my nephew's birthday party that Joey likes balloons
http://images1.snapfish.com/3476%3A%3A29%3B%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433% 3EWSNRCG%3D32339863%3A5695nu0mrj
and here he is playing with his feet
http://images1.snapfish.com/3476%3A67%3B2%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3E WSNRCG%3D32339863%3B332%3Anu0mrj

[JenniferEC]

Sal - I did see your post. That's probably what made me think of it! Caden and Marin don't look too much alike. He looks just like his dad and she looks more like me.

hair loss - I lost some a couple of weeks after Marin was born. Since then I've been lucky, but I don't have a lot to lose anyway. I have thin hair that never recovered from all I lost after Caden.

mel - That's a great pic of the two of you!

Jane - I can't believe you started this thread about a year ago. Time flies!

I got out of the shower the other day and Caden had got into my leftover pads from after Marin was born. I'm sure she'll pay him back someday! And my poor baby has NO hair. What little she had fell out.
http://images1.snapfish.com/3476%3A%3B4%3B5%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3262%3E3%3B3%3E6% 3C7%3EWSNRCG%3D323397%3A43583%3Bnu0mrj

[charissa]

Jennifer - that is a GREAT photo, hahaha, at first I just looked at it and didn't notice the pads, but then I read your post, hahahaha! that's hilarious.

Jane - I was just thinking the same thing, mine is on 7/28, which is also my cousin's bday as well as my other cousin's baby's bday, ha! this has been a crazy year, i just saw an April 2007 Mommy thread, how crazy is that??

[Kopper]

April 2007 already! My BFP was one year ago yesterday. Same day as Jane :)

[hapahaole]

JenniferEC
I love the pictures with the maxi pads. That's hilarous! So glad to be done with those for now. :)
We've got a bald baby too...Kaylie's hair all fell out (thankfully that hairy ducktail thing is gone now too) and has some peachfuzz growing back in. At least it's easy to wash their "hair" and it drys quickly too. :)

mel
Super cute hairdo! You always look so cute and put together though so I would expect nothing less from you. Hm....does that length ever bother you, like get in your face? I have my pulled back in a pony tail all the time, especially with this heat and wonder if not being able to do a pony would be hard.

Jane&Andy Joey looks so cute in your pics!

hapa

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - cute pic! I didn't even notice that pads at first, just like Charissa. :p

wow, April 2007 babies on the way already! what a wild and crazy year its been! And only another year left til I start trying for #2! :eek:

I was supposed to take Joey to the ENT to get his tongue clipped (or at least looked at) tomorrow but I had to reschedule it for next Thursday so that DH can go with us. I was looking forward to getting it overwith. Oh well.

[mel7dog]

hapa - I was worried about my hair being in my face since I wore it up so much, but so far it hasn't be so far. I tuck it behind my ears most of the time.

April 2007, that is so scary :eek:

[Sal03]

April 2007, that is so scary
Ditto that!!

Jennifer that picture is SO funny!!!

Today is the one year anniversary of my BFP and also my 31st bday. It was such a nice day to find out, on my 30th. I was looking at all these newborn pictures of Katie last night and got all teary. These four months have gone SO fast! She is so great though. You just have to look at her and she smiles. She is a much easier baby than I gave her credit for now that she is on the prevacid. She is just content to sit in the bumbo and smile at us!

[Jane&Andy]

Happy Birthday Sal!!!

[KB57]

Yes, Happy Birthday Sal!

My BFP was 8/5/05, so its coming up...I can't believe its been a year, and that there is already and April 07 thread :eek:
Time goes so fast, a year ago I couldn't even picture us with a baby, now I cannot even imagine my life without my girl!

[jeeplover]

Happy Birthday, Sal!

[JenniferEC]

Sal - Happy Birthday! Any plans?

[hapahaole]

Happy Birthday Sal!
Hope you have a great one. And so glad to hear Katie is such a good baby now. Can you believe how fast time files when you have 2 kids? It's all a blur!

Okay, I have mom brain...what's BFP?

[Jane&Andy]

BFP=Big Fat Positive=Positive pregnancy test

[LittleStar]

Happy Birthday Sal!!

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but H has been sttn since we started daycare on Monday. Last night, he slept almost 11 hours :p Yippee!! My bb's were like watermelons this morning though.

[bctoledo]

I'm trying to catch up. I've been too busy with work to keep up. My mom and MIL have been watching him the past two weeks, so we haven't had to start daycare yet. I'm so jealous of all you SAHMs. I'm just trying to suck it up right now and with our next DC I'll SAH.

Sal Happy birthday!

Mel I really like your new bob. You always look great in the pictures you post.

[Sully130]

Happy belated birthday Sal! Hope it was happy! That's neat that you had your BFP on your birthday last year. I actually had mine six days before my 30th birthday last year too.

Mel - I love your haircut. You are looking great too, BTW.

Littlestar - I hear ya on the watermelons! That's the one downside to STTN, isn't it? Then I end up with such a forceful letdown if I don't pump I fear I'll shoot my kid's eye out. :)



How is it that it's time for April 2007 Moms already? Wow. Time flies. The anniversary of my BFP is still more than two weeks away.

[Sal03]

thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! we had a nice family day. DH took the day off and we walked around the mall since it is so brutally hot and humid here. then we all went out to lunch which luckily was uneventful. then both kiddies napped at the same time so we got to relax. AND both went to sleep for the night at the same time so we got to have a nice evening.

Mel please say you doll yourself up for the pictures you post on here and don't look like that all.the.time. I mean blow dried AND made up?? where is the poop? where is the spitup?? :p

Hapa LOL you have been around these boards long enough to know BFP!! how is the new house??

I have been thinking about it for a while and especially with a lot of the controversy lately surrounding BFing (see 0-18 month parenting section!!) I think I am going to seriously look into becoming a lactation consultant. I am not going to SAH forever, my previous career is more demanding than I can handle now that I am a mom and I think that would be so rewarding for me. Now, when I will have the time to study is another story...
We are in the middle of a thunderstorm here. Katie has been taking a nice nap. Dylan and I sat for a while and looked out at the rain with him all excited saying rain rain! it was one of those great mommy moments, just sitting with him in the dark for a while and looking out at the rain.
hope everyone has a great weekend!

[Sevilla]

LittleStar: That's awesome about him STTN! Especially with going back to work i'm sure you really really need the rest :).

Sal: I think that would be awesome! I've thought about doing that too, on the Nest boards I always find myself giving bf'ing advice and such. It shocks me how much wrong and erroneous bf'ing information is out there (and given by pediatricians too!). My DS's pediatrician is working towards her IBCLC certification and i think it takes a long time to do, but I bet it's really really rewarding too :).

[Kopper]

Sal - That's great! I've been considering becoming a LLL leader in the future. I love my IBCLC she is amazing. She has her own business teaching birthing and baby care classes, renting scales and pumps etc.

[JenniferEC]

Sal - I think that's great about becoming an LC. After nurses telling me the first day that it wasn't important if Marin wasn't eating because she wasn't hungry yet, I finally asked for an LC. She was so great and worked with me for a long time even though one of my nurses told me BF probably wouldn't work out due to the reduction. And I'm so glad I paid out of pocket to see one after we left the hospital. LCs are so important and I probably wouldn't be BF if it weren't for the two I worked with.

Marin will be 4 months on Saturday and still hasn't had any tears when she cries. Her ped told me not to worry at her 2 mo appt, but it's starting to concern me. I can't remember when Caden started having tears. Am I the only one wondering about this?

[Kopper]

JenniferEC - I think I read that no tears can be a sign of dehydration but if everything else is normal which I'm pretty sure it is then I don't know. DS has had tears since about 8-10 weeks or so.

[LittleStar]

Vacation - We're planning a trip for the fall (Sept/Oct) and I've pretty much decided to take the baby with us (I plan to still be bf'ing). Any ideas for a place to go? I'm thinking about Miami because we have family there who could watch H so we can go out to a nice dinner, go to the spa, etc. I want to stay somewhere "resort-y" that has a nice pool. There are a couple of Ritz Carltons in the area that look nice. Anyone have any recs for a place to stay in Miami?

Please update my age to 32 (my b-day was yesterday). The in-laws are coming up next weekend to babysit so we can go to a nice dinner. And I'm finally going to use the spa certificate I got for mother's day. Can't wait!

Sleep - After a week of sleeping all night, H woke up at 3 a.m. last night. Oh well, hopefully we'll be back on track tonight.

[mel7dog]

Sal - LOL, nope don't worry I look like that about 5% of the time. We were going out to a nice dinner :) Believe me I have plenty of blah pics in my journal! - I would love to know any info you find out about becoming a LC. I have toyed with the idea as well. Like you said what a great way to educate and help other woman.

bctoledo, sully - Thank you, I am enjoying the new do! Much easier!

Not much going on here, Ben is just growing like a weed! He's in the 3m growth spurt right now and ate every 45min to and hour yesterday :eek: Today was better though, so hopefully it's over before too long.

[LittleStar]

Argh! H was up at 3:20 this morning, ate, and then wanted to play. He just kept smiling at me (darn him :p !) After an hour, I finally put him back in the crib, wide awake. And he was fine - he never cried, just fell asleep. Yay for small victories. Hopefully we will be back on track tonight after an exhausting day at school :)

[bctoledo]

I think Ben is going through his 3 month growth spurt...at least that's what I'm hoping it is. After a month of STTN, he has gotten up once a night for the past few nights.

We ordered a bumbo seat over the weekend. Ben loves his bouncy seat, so I'm excited to see how he likes the bumbo.

[jeeplover]

bctoledo-we just bought Kyle the bumbo seat and he loves it! I hope that Ben likes it as much as he does!

[KB57]

Another vote for the bumbo seat. We bought one for Abby last week and she loves it. She really hates laying flat, she needs to be up on my shoulder or sitting up straight on my lap to be content, so the bumbo takes care of this without me having to hold her all the time. This might sound strange, but I actually put it in her crib and she watches her mobile sitting up (she really hates laying down!!!)

[Sal03]

Littestar no recommendations but that is a great time to go on a relaxing vacation - BEFORE they are mobile!

Vacation We are headed to Newport, RI for the last week in August. My dad and stepmom will be there too so they can babysit. :D and there is a kitchen in the timeshare which makes it easier with the kids

Please update my age to 31! HOW is that possible?

Mel I had researched it when I was pg with Katie and then she was born and then no time to read! I had printed out a ton of stuff from the IBCLC website on "how to become a lactation consultant" and now I just have to sit down and read it all. It takes a long time to be certified, it may take me years, but I figure it will be worth it in the end.
I'll try and post the link here
http://www.iblce.org/become.htm

eta Bumbo LOVE ours. It really saved us when Katie would not sit anywhere else. They do get tired in it easily in the beginning since it is such work to hold their heads up, but I think once she was 3.5-4 months she does great in it now for a while

[jeeplover]

I want to make a suggestion on the IBCLC as I was going to do this before we moved to VA, it is best to take the weekend course as this is what I have heard from the women I used to work with who are CLC. Also the seminars that they offer are fantastic, I have been to a couple of them as a guest and it was great!

There is a definite need in many different areas for CLC's not just in hospitals as well.

**********************************************
QUESTION: Does anyone have a website/journal set up for their DC? I have one set up for Kyle but I hate it and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.

[Sully130]

Bumbo. Only have a second as T is seconds from being sick of the swing and ready to eat...but question for you bumbo users: T loves it when we sit him up. He's constantly trying to pull himself up (stomach crunches) when on his back (which I tell him is hard for adults to do, but he doesn't listen!). :) Anyway, he's on the big side. I know a few of my LJ friends with bigger babies weren't able to use the bumbo for long so I never bothered to get one. Though I know he'd love it, I don't want to spend that much on something that he might only be able to use for weeks if at all. He's probably about 16 pounds now. What do you think?

Will be back later but the fish have stopped moving and that means I'm on borrowed time. He's looking up at them trying to convince them to move as I type... :D

[Guinness]

Sully Elliot loves his bumbo and is on the chunky side, but I think he will be in it for a while. I had a friend bring her 14 month old over and we used the bumbo for a high chair since I don't have one yet. He fit fine and has room to grow - I think he is 22 - 24 pounds. His thighs got stuck when pulling him out, but so does DS at 15 pounds, so you just have to get used to that - I figure if DS is used to it, at some point he will help get out.

[Kopper]

Jacob is 16lbs 12.5oz and fits in his Bumbo fine. He should be able to use it for quite awhile. My friend's 3 yr old can even squeeze in it. :)

[jeeplover]

Sully-I don't know if you have a BJ's near you but they are cheaper there than at BabiesRUS and Target. I know price is not a concern but more so size but at least this way if you can't get the full use out of it you didn't pay the full price.

[Jane&Andy]

Bumbo - my 18month old neice and 3yr old nephew both fit in my bumbo seat. Neither are very high on the growth charts but still, they're a heck of a lot older than our babies and still fit. too bad I didn;t get any pictures. :p I bought mine at Target b/c I didn't like the color they had at BJ's. :o

website - sorry, I'm no help.

Joey is doing well. He's slowly becoming more generous with his laughs. He's quite the ticklish boy. He's sleeping well - not through the entire night but usually until 3 or 4 and then I put him in the bed with me. DH is still sleeping in the guest bed. :o Last week he woke up at 10/10:30 twice and that was frustrating. This morning he slept til 10:20am! :eek: I got up at 9 and putzed around and then decided to take a shower since he was still asleep. It was nice to be showered and dressed when he woke up.

[April'06Moms]

Updated to here

[Jane&Andy]

here's a recent tummy time photo of Joey
http://images1.snapfish.com/34776%3B947%7Ffp358%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3EWS NRCG%3D32339%3B7454964nu0mrj
and I took this one this morning when he first woke up
http://images1.snapfish.com/34776%3B947%7Ffp347%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3EWS NRCG%3D32339%3B7472454nu0mrj

[hapahaole]

Jane&Andy
Ahh...thanks for posting the pics. I just love seeing how these little ones keep changing. Kaylie makes a similar face when she wakes up...And her forehead does the same wrinkle when she lifts her eyebrows up. So cute!

bumbo
A friend gave us her bumbo and it's been pretty handy. At first Kaylie slumped over to one side, but now she's sitting in it really well for longer times. Her new thing is trying to escape out of the Bumbo though. She straightens her legs and pushes her stomach up and head back (kind of arching)...if her legs weren't so fat I think she'd pop right out. Does anyone else's kid do this?
My 2 year old sometimes gets into the Bumbo too. He's 33lbs or so and still fits "in Kaywee's seat."
I think the bumbo is most helpful before they can sit up on their own. Around 6-7 months the babies will probably sit on their own okay. But it would still be useful for feeding or just to have a funny little chair to sit in I suppose.

My brother is staying at our new house for a few days with his wife and 6 month old. Jack my 2 year old is recovering from hand, foot and mouth disease (not quite as bad as it sounds) for the 2nd time this summer. I hope everything goes okay...I REALLY don't want to spread this to any of our visitors. Okay...gots to clean this place and figure out some foods to make.

take care,
hapa

[jeeplover]

Jane-Love the new pictures of Joey! He is so cute! We should get together again soon!

Hapa-Sorry to hear that your son has hand, foot and mouth disease! I hope none of your visitors get it!

[Kopper]

bumbo
Her new thing is trying to escape out of the Bumbo though. She straightens her legs and pushes her stomach up and head back (kind of arching)...if her legs weren't so fat I think she'd pop right out. Does anyone else's kid do this?

Jacob doest the same thing. :)

[Jane&Andy]

Joey leans forward in his bumbo seat, towards the toy pile in front of him. But I can never figure out which toy he wants. He really enjoys the chair though. When he's fussy and tired of playing on the floor I can put him in the chair and he smiles.

Last night he woke up at 10 and was up most of the night after that. :( I don't know what to do with him. He was happy but awake, very awake.

jeeplover - got any free time next week? I'm getting cagey from being trapped at home! After next week my schedule gets iffy - my BIL is coming home on leave from Iraq but the dates are still tenative and there's not telling when he'll make himself available for family. I'll have free time then, I just can't say when yet.

[jeeplover]

Jane-I am around Tuesday and Wednesday of next week!

[KB57]

Her new thing is trying to escape out of the Bumbo though. She straightens her legs and pushes her stomach up and head back (kind of arching)...if her legs weren't so fat I think she'd pop right out. Does anyone else's kid do this?

Abby does this too, I really have to keep my eye on her, I get nervous she's going to pop out of it too!!!

Hand foot and mouth disease...that stinks!!! I had it a few times when I was young and my nephew had it last summer. I hope Jack feels better soon!

Jane
Joey is getting so big, love the pics!!!

[Jane&Andy]

Joey leans forward in his bumbo but he doesn't try to lift himself up.

We've been having a lot of trouble with night wakings here. I can't get him to go back to sleep. I've been reading in Weissbluth but haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do. All I know is that I am tired!

jeeplover - either of those days works for me. :) Where should we meet, lets pick a different mall this time - that other mall was too small! There's Montgomery Mall in that same area (not very big either but a change of scenery). I'm not sure where else to suggest. :confused:

[amygrrl]

finally finding time to update here. malin is 4 months old today! wow... i can't believe it. she has her 4 month wbv next week with more shots and a weigh in, but according the the home scale she should be roughly 14 pounds.

sleep - she's still in the swing for most of her sleep. she usually wakes at around 4-5 am and i put her in bed with us then. she's officially out of the swaddle!!!!! yeah. and she's moved on to a sleep sack. no sleep training or moving to the crib, though, for another month or so. it's so freaking hot here and we only have an a/c in our bedroom so she stays in the swing in our room for now. her sleep has been crap for the last few days. she really fighting going down and having trouble staying asleep. way more than ever. which leads me to...

teething - how do you know if your kid is teething? i'm thinking the sleep issues might be from this. she's been drooling heavily for 4 or 5 wks now. her sleep is crap all of the sudden. and when i feel her gums i *think* i feel the front bottom 2 teeth under the gums. but how can you tell?

developmental stuff - she LOVES to stand and would spend all day standing if possible. she *talks* up a storm. we're still working on doing more tummy time. she hates it and mommy sucks at insuring it happens. she's rolled from back to tummy once or twice on the bed, but it's soft. other than that she has NO interest in rolling over. she's starting to grab for toys more regularly... but it's still not a well directed grab. more of a swat at the toy and then clasping when her hand hits it, if that makes sense.

bumbo - we have it and malin likes it. i work from home and have a big desk so i like to put the bumbo up on the desk and sit her in it facing my while i'm getting emails done. but she'll only tolerate it for maybe 10 or 15 minutes.

updated picture...
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e257/amygrrl/DSC_0008.jpg

[shania0474]

I feel so horrible that I haven't been in here in forever!!! I just spent the past hour catching up (its 2:30am here and can't sleep so decided to check in on my CC girls). So MUCH has been going on with me but first some quick SO's:

Jane love all the pics of Joey... he's such a cutie :)

amygrrl G is definitely teething and here's how I know: he's drooling like crazy, his gums are swollen and he loves to scratch his gums on my arms, face, fingers, anything that he can get his little mouth on! :) I can also see the white buds in his lower gums but I know it could still take a month or so before they break the surface. He's such an amazing baby -- the pain wakes him up once or twice at night but he goes right back to sleep within ten minutes of breastfeeding. His older brother woke up crying a lot during this period and we gave him tylenol and rubbed his gums with the Hylands gel every night to get him to go back to sleep but so far, G has been great (knocking on wood!) Malin is so adorable and such beautiful hair!

hapa so sorry to hear about the hand foot and mouth disease :( Hope Jack is feeling better

a very belated happy birthday wish to you sal! I've thought about the idea of becoming an LC as well but don't know if I have the patience for the certification process... anyway, I am considering a few options and that's one of them (I already advise a lot of my new mother friends and I think it would be great to learn more about it and be able to help more women but I'm in serious transition right now -- see update below -- so will need to think about it later). Gosh, I'm constantly amazed at how we have so much in common, we really should try and get together! :)

bumbo seat I've been thinking about getting one of these but G is such a chunky monkey that I don't know if it'll fit and for how long

update: G is doing great! He's still very big (we find out just how big at his 4-month WBV tomorrow) and he loves his food. Breastmilk alone does not satisfy him anymore (he would eat about 7-8 oz at a sitting, get very full but be hungry again in an hour after peeing 2-3 times) so his ped ok'd starting him on solids. Not very comfortable going the whole way yet so I just add a couple of spoons of rice cereal to his bottle. Now he's back to eating every 3-4 hours. My big news is that I resigned from work!!! My boss has been such a real nasty be-atch that I decided it just was not worth it -- plus I was getting a lot of heartache from the fact that my mom who had been with us for the past six months was leaving and I would have to turn G over to the babysitter who's been helping us with D -- so I resigned and I'm at home right now getting over the emotional trauma of the past two weeks (when things got really bad at work) and bonding with my boys!!! I HIGHLY SALUTE all stay at home moms everywhere--especially mothers of multiples! Today was my first day home alone with both boys and boy! was it exhausting!!!!!!!! But the happy faces on my boys faces every time they woke up and saw mommy at home is SO worth it. Now, instead of looking for another corporate job, I'm thinking about various things I could do out of home for a while (hence the LC interest).

Anyway, now that I have written a novel, I really should try to get some sleep! Looking forward to becoming a better community member on this thread! :)

[shania0474]

*******Start of Vent*********

I wasnt going to mention this because I didn't want to hijack the thread but I don't know who else to turn to. I'm so mad at DH and his family right now. His sister (who's actually a good friend of mine and that I love) just had a baby a week and a half ago and DH's mom came to help with the baby (DH's parents live in another country). Before she came, SIL and her husband were going back and forth on whether or not they wanted MIL to come because she can be a real pain. Finally, they worked out an arrangement in which they would share MIL with DH's two other sisters over the course of the 2 months that she's here (she would only stay in each person's house for 2 weeks at a time because that was the most time any of her daughters wanted to spend with her). It took a while for them all to agree on this agreement and I kept hoping no one would call us because I really didn't want her to stay with us either. Anyway, now that she's here and her first two weeks are coming to a close, MIL and the other two sisters have completely changed the schedule (mostly because the other two sisters really don't want her to come to theirs) and MIL has announced she plans to move in with us for three weeks!!!:eek: :eek:

I am flipping out because 1) while my mother was a great big help, she was with us for six months and I am finally happy to have the house back to just Dh, me and the kids; 2) DH's mother is a big pain, a hypochondriac and a shopaholic so she will not be much help and it will just be like having another kid in the house; 3) I have been on such an emotional roller coaster for the past seven weeks since I returned to work up to the minute that I decided to resign that I just need this stress-free time to clear my head and think about next steps and having her here will stress me out further, especially since she was against DH's marrying me in the first place; and finally 4) why do I have to get stuck with her because her daughters don't want to deal with her and DH is too nice to say no???? I mean if no one wants her, shouldn't she just go back home??? My SIL who had the baby wants her to stick around in the US because she will need her in September but why do I have to pay for that by having her with us in August????

I spent part of the day at SIL's house today and the first thing MIL asked me was if I had sent out resumes to other companies before resigning from my job. When I said no, she looked at me like I was crazy and advised me to start looking for another job right away. I tried to change the subject by asking her about her travel plans and she said, "I'm not traveling anywhere for a while. I'm moving into your place next weekend." When I looked surprised and said DH hadn't mentioned it, she said and I quote "Does he need to? Does he need your permission for his mother to move into his house?" Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!

Am I being unreasonable? Whiny? Selfish? Or do I have a right to be mad? I'm so mad, I can't even sleep (its now 3:54 am).

What do you think ladies? How would you handle this?

********Okay, thread hijack and vent over********************

[Sal03]

Jane you always get the best pictures!!

Amygrrl she is such a doll. I love that picture with her in white and the white background. she just looks so sweet! And I never will be able to get over all that hair! :)
and in regards to

teething Katie has been doing the same thing. Lots of drooling and chomping on her fingers. This is how it started for Dylan and then the first two (the two middle on the bottom) came in around 6 months. It started with his gums getting a little red and I would see little white spots and then sure enough two days later a tooth came through.

Hapa hope Jack is feeling better!

Shania ugh - baby just woke. will be back to reply!

ETA Ok back now. I would be SO annoyed. I honestly don't even like anyone staying over one night let alone 3 weeks. And the way she spoke to you like you are so insignificant...I would be SO mad. what does DH say? I wish we could get together too. Too bad we don't live closer!! Maybe once katie is on a more predictable schedule...

[shania0474]

Thanks, Sal. I'm a lot calmer now but DH and I are still mad at each other. I admire his commitment to family but sometimes I just think he needs to stop always being the nice one that his sisters think they can dump their parents on whenever they are in the US.

Anyway, on to other news... I've decided to reveal my son's names since I have left my job and no longer care that my boss lurks on CC. My 21 month old is David and my 4 month old is Gabriel.

We went for Gabriel's 4 month visit today and his new stats are:
Weight: 19lbs 14oz
Height: 28 inches

He got the same four shots and he was so brave! Cried for 2 seconds then stopped, looked at the doctor with a trembling lip then smiled. DH and I exchanged a smile and then realized we were supposed to be fighting :) I was a proud mama. He and his brother are napping now and I am enjoying the quiet (I should probably be sleeping too given my lack of sleep overnight but too much to do, too little time)!

[Jane&Andy]

Joey got his tongue clipped yesterday. It was quick. He cried, I almost cried. Luckily DH was there. He seemed perfectly fine afterwards though.

thanks Sal. :) thank goodness I have a digital camera, I can delete all the bad ones. :p

Shania - sorry about all the stress lately between the evil boss and MIL coming for 3 wks! :eek: She does not sound like a fun lady to around at all! I'm sorry your DH didn't consult you about it, thats just not right.

amygrrl - Malin is gorgeous! I don't think my 2 year old neice has that much hair yet! (hers is longer but not that thick)

[shania0474]

Thanks, Jane. The issue is not that he didn't consult me (he actually told me before his mom did) but that he gave in too easily to his mom and I'm just fed up with her always getting her way. How's Joey doing? Having a tongue clipped sounds painful! I hope he's back to laughing and playing with mama :)

Wow, I think I killed the thread with my woes! I'm so sorry! Here's my attempt at reviving some discussion:

QOTD: When do you plan to start solids and what food do you plan to start with? I started putting 2 teaspoons of rice cereal in Gabriel's EBM when he turned 4 months, but his ped wants me to start feeding him solids from a bowl because she thinks he's more than ready (though I'm not sure I am). I started David on rice cereal in a bowl at seven months and was so afraid to try anything else for weeks afterward. Now it's a major battle to get him to try anything new so I don't want to make the same mistake with G. I bought a copy of Super Baby Food which also recommends starting with avocado and/or sweet potatoes at 4 months so I think I'm going to try avocado first.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - Your pics are always so cute. Is Joey feeling okay today? I know they say the tongue clip isn't bad, but it makes me cringe.

amygrrl - I can't get over the amount of hair Malin has. I hope her sleep gets better soon.

shania0474 - Congrats on being a SAHM! Too bad about your MIL. I give you a lot of credit, because I would have flipped out by now. There is no reason to disregard your feelings and act like you have no say.

bumbo - I've been debating buying one of these. Marin still doesn't have 100% head control so I'm not sure if she'll like it. I just bought this
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000BXAI08.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS384_.jpg
and she likes sitting in it. Also, I won't have to drag out the big high chair that Caden used. We might try the exersaucer in the next month or so.

solids - Marin is 4 months today and I'm sure at her appt on Tuesday her ped will tell me we can start, but I'm going to wait. She is a lot smaller than Caden was at this age, she doesn't have full head control and she seems to be gaining fine on BM. When we do start, we might start with rice cereal just to get her used to solids and then move to veggies.

[Sal03]

QOTD we will start at 6 months and start with the single grain oatmeal over the rice. That is what we did with Dylan. I feel like the oatmeal at least has fiber and more nutritional value than the rice and less binding.
Like Shania said though, I will be better this time around about offering a wider variety of foods earlier - by the time Katie is 8 months or so. Dylan eats almost no vegetables now and I know a lot of that is my fault. I don't like a lot of vegetables so I did not push them on him and now he won't eat them! He still at 2 will only eat vegetable purees! So at least he is getting them but really at this age he should be doing better. At least he loves fruit.

[mel7dog]

Jennifer - We have the same space saver high chair! We started putting him in at the table with us during meals and he seems to feel so-so about ti so far. Hopefully he likes it better once he starts eating in it!

QOTD: Haven't read too much on this, but we plan to wait till 6 months to start. That's all I know so far. Another thing I need to read up on soon. I just added baby sign language to my list. Trying to be super mom is hard :p

[Kopper]

I had my hair cut this afternoon for the first time in months and months. I think the last time I had it cut was in December! :eek:

Most recent before with my hair down:
http://images1.snapfish.com/3477%3A5776%7Ffp348%3Enu%3D3236%3E266%3E474%3EWSNR CG%3D3233%3A2%3A2%3A5845nu0mrj

This afternoon:
http://images1.snapfish.com/3477%3A5776%7Ffp34%3A%3Enu%3D3236%3E266%3E474%3EWS NRCG%3D3233%3A2%3A298574nu0mrj

[jeeplover]

Kopper-Your hair looks great! I too just got my haircut for the first time in months!

QOTD-I think we are going to start cereal soon to see how he likes it but then I plan on waiting on solids until 6 months and I am going to make them myself with the help of the Super Foods book!

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - I have that same highchair! I registered for the Fisher Price Healthy Care high chair but didn't get it, then I saw this one for half the cost and jumped on it.
http://images1.snapfish.com/34778838%3A%7Ffp356%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3EWS NRCG%3D3233%3A2397%3A57%3Cnu0mrj

cute hair cut Kopper! :) Its fun to see how much Jacob has grown in those 2 pictures.

solids - my pediatrician said we'll talk about starting solids at his 6 month WBV in mid-September so I won't be starting him on them til after that.

Joey has had some trouble sleeping lately (waking up way too early and then staying awake all night). Friday he woke up at 9:30pm. So after reading some more in Weissbluth I left him alone to put himself back to sleep. He cried and fussed for about 30min, never getting horribly upset and then went back to sleep and slept til 4! yay! I'm so happy it worked! I was exhausted!

He's been fine since his tongue clipping, it doesn't seem to bother him at all. And he "talks" more now.

[jeeplover]

Jane-Can you do Tuesday? I am up for the Montogomery Mall, I just need to get directions to it.

[Jane&Andy]

jeeplover - yes I can. :) Montgomery Mall is off of exit 36 off of 495 (so two exits from White Flint). If that doesn't work for you we can figure out another meeting spot. How about we meet at the front of the Nordstroms?

ETA: do you want to meet at 11ish (since we both got stuck in traffic last time)?

[briamcd]

Finally caught up. *sigh* Sorry I haven't been posting or visiting the site.

Mackenzie and I are doing great. She just turned 4 mo-old and DH and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary.

Dates: Yes we've been out on a few dates. Mostly my mom babysits. We hav to drive 1.5 hrs to her house, so we usually spend the night after the dates.

Solids: we feed mackenzie a little bit of rice cereal a day with a spoon. She's getting the hang of it, but it's mostly a messy adventure.

4 mo WBV is on Tuesday I'm curious to know how much she weighs now.

Naps: Mackenzie naps in her swing all day. and sleeps at night in her crib.

Rolling over: Yesterday Mac rolled over from her back to her tummy. after she did it she was like "Woah..what happened?" and then she was like "wait...I hate tummy time, Mommy fix it" lol

[Jane&Andy]

Yesterday Mac rolled over from her back to her tummy. after she did it she was like "Woah..what happened?" and then she was like "wait...I hate tummy time, Mommy fix it" lol

thats what Joey does too! :p silly babies.

[mel7dog]

Kopper - Cute hair! Don't you love it because it takes half the time to actually "do" your hair and still feel cute!

[Sal03]

Jane Yay for good sleep! I love Weissbluth. His book has been my bible with Katie and she is the best sleeper.

Kopper LOVE the new haircut. You look great!

Katie finally rolled from tummy to back. She can ALMOST get from back to tummy but can't quite figure out how to get her arm out from under her.

[Jane&Andy]

Sal - I'm SO glad I followed Weissbluth's advice, that was so much better than staying up all night.

Just spreading the latest CC administration news:
We will be deleting all signatures Sunday (8/6), at 7:00 PM Pacific. Please save your signature as a file so that you can post it again once the permissions have been updated.

Sorry for the inconvience, but this is truly the easiest way to update the system upgrade regarding our signature rules. Don't worry, the rules haven't changed, we're just using an tool to moderate them now.

Thanks...
the CC team

[Sevilla]

We just got back from a wedding in another state. David did so well on the plane ride! And he was a big hit with all the relatives, we got a ton of compliments on how cute and easygoing he was. I have a great-grandfather who is 104 and David got to meet him and we got pictures, we were all so excited for him to meet his great-great-grandson :).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Solids: Nope. Won't even consider starting them until 6 months, and we'll probably wait until he grabs food off of our plates to eat. All the latest research says that waiting until 6 months is more beneficial for the babies anyway. Given the allergies we're already dealing with (he's allergic to both dairy and soy proteins so i have to avoid them both in the foods i eat) and our family histories his ped advised us to delay started them until 6 mos minimum, and we'll have to be really careful about what foods he eats so hopefully he'll grow out of the allergies he has and won't develop any additional ones.

[shania0474]

Laughing at this:

Trying to be super mom is hard :p

I can relate! :)

wow, sevilla, your great-grandfather must have been so happy! you live long in your family -- I don't even have any grandparents left!

kopper great haircut!

jenniferec thanks. I'm actually just taking a couple of months at home with the boys while I think next steps -- unfortunately, we can't afford for me to be a sahm and I actually love to work. I just need to figure out what it is I would like to do that will only take me away for a few hours a day. About the MIL situation, DH "negotiated" for her to stay for half the time (10 days) which I'm still not happy with but is a lot better than 3 weeks.

rolling over Gabriel rolls over from his tummy to his back. When he wakes up in the morning or his nap, he'll roll over on to his back and chat with the animals on his mobile, he'll often get so excited that he'll accidentally turn the mobile on (and that's when we run in to get him before the mobile wakes his brother up).

[JenniferEC]

Kopper - Your hair looks great and a lot easier to "do" each day.

shania0474 - Good luck finding something. 10 days is better, but it's still a lot longer than I'd allow my MIL to stay with us. :)

QOTD - Is anyone else looking at/already bought Halloween costumes? I went ahead and bought the pink octopus costume from Babystyle for Marin. I'd post a pic but not sure if we're allowed to hot link. Now I just need to find something for Caden. I've been obsessed with finding their costumes and I have no idea why.

[Sal03]

QOTD not sure yet. dylan was superman last year because I know he would not tolerate anything on his head. no idea for this year. Katie may just wear dylan's first costume which was a pumpkin!

Jane so glad it worked for you. We have not had to have Katie CIO and who knows if she is just naturally a good sleeper. But her sleep cues MUST be recognized right away or she is just not happy. So I really think I have Weissbluth to thank for the good sleep place we are in now. Everything he says about sleep just makes so much sense for setting up good habits.

Sevilla so glad the trip was such a success! and 104 - what a special picture that is!

I had posted this in the Summer babies 04 thread, but I figured I would post here too since there are some other moms of toddlers.
having a little problem that I don't know how to deal with. We get together every wednesday with one of my closest friends and her son who is 7 weeks older than Dylan. Now, I am not saying Dylan is the most well behaved kid ever because he is not. He has his share of fits and and will not sit still for a second - just runs runs runs. BUT he is the sweetest child I know and will sit and smile at any kid even one who takes a toy from him and is on the passive side. Well this boy we play with takes anything ANYTHING dylan plays with. Sometimes he just grabs it and throws it. Sometimes he grabs it and screams NO in Dylan's face. It depends on the day how Dylan reacts. He may cry hard or he may just give up and move on to something else. This boy also just randomly picks up objects constantly and throws them. He will also hit Dylan at least twice every playdate which of course makes me furious. It's not hard, but still it is hitting. I am getting to the point where I don't even want Dylan around this kid because he is such a bad influence. I don't want Dylan to start hitting and throwing things constantly, especially with Katie in the house. But this is one of my best friends so what can I do? Oh she does discipline him but it does not work, he just laughs and she is not really consistent with consequences. And I love this kid, because I love my friend but it is getting harder to deal with. And my friend knows it is a problem but dows not know how to handle it. It upsets her too because in other playgroups the kids now avoid her son because he grabs toys and hits. ugh, guess i just needed to vent.

[JenniferEC]

Sal - Sorry you're having to deal with this. Would it make a difference if you said anything to this boy? I know if I say something to the kids in the playgroup we're in or even on the playground, kids usually listen because it's not coming from their mom or dad. I never say anything harsh, just no hitting or no throwing, something like that and then maybe explain why. I don't know if it would offend your friend or not. Thank goodness Dylan is so easygoing! It's too bad she's not consistent with consequences because we've found that's what works with Caden.

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - nope, you can't hotlink but I have that picture saved to snapfish, here it is:
http://images1.snapfish.com/3477%3B%3B234%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433% 3EWSNRCG%3D3233989396%3A2%3Bnu0mrj

And this is the one I want to buy for Joey
http://images1.snapfish.com/3477%3B%3B234%7Ffp33%3B%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433% 3EWSNRCG%3D3233989396%3A2%3Cnu0mrj

Sal - I'm sorry to hear about the playgroup troubles.

Sevilla - I'm glad you had a nice trip. I'm impressed that David has a great-great grandfather still around! Like Shania I don't even have any grandparents left. And Joey's already lost one grandparent.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - Thanks for posting that. The lion is really cute - especially the paws!

[LittleStar]

Kinda slow in here today. We got H a bumbo seat and he seems to like it (or at least tolerate it).

Thursday night we ditched the swaddle, and ever since then, H has been sleeping like cr@p! He was up 2x last night - I was almost in tears this morning worrying that this is his new "thing" and that I will never get more than 3 hours of sleep at a stretch ever again. :(

I booked our very first vacation with H. We're flying to Miami in Sept. I am so excited and a little nervous about how it'll all go. I need to get him some cute swim trunks!

[JenniferEC]

Littlestar - Now is the time to get swim trunks at a great price!

Marin had her 4 mo check-up this morning. My little peanut isn't a peanut anymore. We didn't see her regular ped since she was booked, but the one we saw was really great about not starting solids yet. I think we're going to wait at least another month before we decide.
weight: 12lb 7oz
length: 23 1/4"
She is still in the lower percentiles, but is catching up.

[bctoledo]

Trying to catch up...

Solids We're trying to hold off for a couple of weeks until he's 4 months. Our ped mentioned them at his 2 month wbv because of how much he eats. Our appt is the 30th, so I'd like to wait until then. I bought the Super Baby Foods book. It mentioned one of the ways to tell they're ready is fussing in the middle of the night after they've started STTN. Ben started this about 2 weeks ago.

QOTD I hadn't really thought about Halloween costumes yet. The ones Jane posted are adorable. I'll have to check them out.

Kopper Like your new haircut

Shania Sorry to hear about your MIL. At least it's only 10 days.

I worked for the past three weeks as a favor as I'm not going back until September. I don't know what my mom and MIL did to my son. He's crankier and doesn't sleep well anymore. It really makes me sad to see the effect of my working has on him. I don't need to work, but feel guilty not working. The plan is for me to go back three days a week until we have our second child. We've talked about trying again in December...that's only 5 months away!!!!

[LittleStar]

Solids - What are the considerations when deciding when to start solids (i.e., other than your child showing signs of being "ready" - or is that the primary consideration?)? Are there benefits to starting earlier rather than later, or vice versa? DS is nearing 4 months, and I have been wanting to delay the decision til he's closer to 6 months...but I'm not sure why :confused:

[JenniferEC]

LittleStar - Our ped told us today there is no nutritional reason at this point to start solids. He said we could try rice cereal or yellow veggies, but BM or formula is all they really need. I think Sevilla mentioned this, but think one of the reasons to wait until later is allergies. I'm not sure what the signs are of being "ready", but I don't think DS has shown them. She seems content with BM so that's what we're going to stick with for now.

[jeeplover]

Halloween costume: I bought K's last year the day after Halloween. I bought him a a bumblebee and a pumpkin costume from Old Navy.

[Jane&Andy]

LittleStar - here's a link to some info about starting solids (http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/solids.html). I hope he starts sleeping better for you soon.

Halloween costume - forgot to mention, that lion costume I posted is from One Step Ahead, they have some really cute costumes.

bctoledo - I'm sorry he's been cranky. :(

Jennifer - Joey's pretty low on the charts too but gaining at a good rate. At his 4 month visit he weighed just a few ounces more than Marin.

Joey is sleeping great these days. :) It makes things so much easier!

[Sal03]

Solids the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until 6 months. I think because of allergies and like Jennifer said there is no nutritional reason to start earlier. I think there are higher cases of obesity and other things later in life with kids who had solids early. We are waiting until 6 months and Katie will be exclusively breastfed until then. That said, I was FF and had rice cereal at 3 weeks and I turned out fine. LOL

Jennifer great news about Marin's appointment! As for my previous post about the toddler hitting dylan, I have said things to him (involuntarily) and he just does not care. I am not one to say something to other people's kids but when someone is hitting your own, stuff tends to fly out of your mouth!

thought I would offer them up in here before the parenting boards...I got a few $5 similac formula checks in the mail. does anyone want them? let me know

[Sevilla]

Sal: I would love the formula checks!!! My aunt is adopting a baby who will be delivered in the next few weeks. She's looking into inducing lactation and i'm going to pump and donate milk to her, but she'll also need to supplement. I can PM you my snail mail address if you want to mail them out to me.

ETA: About the dilemna with your friend i would probably sit right next to your DS the whole time so you can intercept any hitting. But that's an awkward thing to deal with.

[Sal03]

Sevilla oh that is so wonderful about your aunt! As a (hopefully) future LC that is so nice to hear about you donating milk and her trying to induce lactation. PM me and I will send them to you. I think I have two for $5 each so that will be a nice savings for her

[LittleStar]

Thanks for the info on solids. People (FIL) ask me all the time if H is on rice cereal yet. I'm like "nope, still just boobie milk" - well, I don't actually call it that, but I think it! H seems to be doing just fine :p

[Kopper]

Thanks everyone for the compliments on my new haircut. It's so nice to have it shorter and less work.

I've been reading along but haven't had much time to post.

Jacob had his 4 month WBV today and here are his stats:
weight: 17.2lbs
height: 26 1/4 in.

Ok I caught up a bit. Jacob is in his Jitter Buggy but fussing...
Halloween - I picked up a fireman costume last year at Kohl's but it is 6-9 months. Jacob is already in 6 month clothing so I'm not sure it will fit him in October. One Step Ahead has some cute costumes.

Solids - His ped said we will talk about it at his 6 month WBV so we won't be starting anything yet. She said I can give him sips of water here and there but I don't need to if I don't want to.

Vacation - We are going down to Port Aransas for Labor Day. Speaking of which his ped said no sunscreen. I'm wondering how he is going to handle the beach and the drive.

[Jane&Andy]

wow Kopper! Jacob is a big boy! :) He's growing like a weed!

Joey is continuing to sleep well. :) The last two nights he's slept 11 1/2hrs without waking up! Since he goes to bed so early (asleep by 6:30 most nights!) that still puts him up fairly early but most mornings after he eats for awhile he'll go back to sleep for another 60-90min.

He's got rolling from back to tummy nailed now but has unfortunately forgotten how to roll the other way. So he keeps rolling to his tummy and then gets mad b/c he doesn't want to be on his tummy. So today I kept putting him in the bumbo seat to keep him from rolling so he'd stay happy for a little while.

He's decided that he likes the Baby Bjorn now so I've been able to take him and the dog (too hard to push the stroller and control the dog) for walks the past two days. The dog and I really need the exercise!

[jrsygirl]

Jane Joey sleeps for 11 hours??? I would kill for that..Paige and Cole are still eating every three hours and seem to be regressing instead of improving :( I dug out Weisbluth but don't know what else to do except suck it up. Isnt there a ST thread somewhere? I couldn't find it.

[Sal03]

jrsygirl Katie also sleeps 11-12 hours at night, has for a while now. But I think she is just naturally a good sleeper. If it makes you feel any better, Dylan was definitely still nursing every 3-4 hours overnight at 4 months and did not stop until we sleep trained at 6.5 months. I can only imagine how insane it is with two at the same time. :(

[Jane&Andy]

jrsygirl - this good sleep is a VERY recent phenomenon. Here's a link (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133&highlight=sleep) to the sleep thread. I really haven't done anything to sleep train him beyond having a bedtime routine and then letting him cry and put himself back to sleep one time after a few nights of waking up far too early and then staying up all night.

[shania0474]

littlestar I also support waiting until 6 months to introduce solids unless your DC starts showing signs. With David, I didn't start till 7 months but I started Gabriel at 4 months because breastmilk was not satisfying him anymore -- he would guzzle down 7oz at a sitting (from the bottle when I was working or drain an engorged boobie when I was home) and get really full (belly protruding, comatose full) but then after about an hour (and a wet diaper from 2-3 pees) he would be hungry again. I was fine with providing as much breastmilk as he wanted (I have a huge freezer stash) but then he started waking up 2-3 times at night to eat after STTN for about 5 weeks. That's when the ped said to start giving him solids. I'm not fully ready to break out the bowl and spoon yet so I'm just putting a few spoons of rice cereal in the EBM to thicken it a little bit (that way I know he's still getting all his nutrients from BM and sleeping a little longer because of the thickness--and we use Earth's Best rice cereal because it is whole grain brown rice and therefore a lot more healthful for him). HTH

sal tough situation! Since she's a good friend, I think you should discuss the situation with your friend so she doesn't think you're avoiding her/her child like all the other playground mothers/kids and help her try to figure out ways she can help her child -- Brazelton's Touchpoints actually suggests pairing a child that hits/bites with another child that hits/bites and leaving them to play together so that they can learn from each other how hurtful their actions are when they hit/bite each other. You might suggest she buy that book and read it (another discipline book my ped recommended is 1-2-3 Magic but I haven't read that yet). I think you should also limit Dylan's interaction with her son until this terrible twos phase passes (and hopefully it will) :)

Jane wow! 11.5 hours! good for you!!! :D

Halloween haven't thought about it. DH is not a big fan of Halloween so we probably won't celebrate it until the kids are old enough to make us :p

Sevilla That's an awesome thing you're doing, donating milk. I'm sure it'll create a special bond between you and your cousin-to-be :)

Kopper I see you also have a big baby like my Gabriel! The funniest part of his bath is when I have to make sure I get the parts under the folds of chubby flesh. I call him my chunky monkey... he has such a wonderful belly laugh too -- his whole body shakes when he laughs. I just want to eat him up sometimes! :) My crazy MIL actually called him obese (when I told her he was 20 lbs) and I was like "no this is baby fat, he's almost exclusively on breastmilk and his brother was a big baby too and is now as skinny as a twig!"

[briamcd]

Stats from her 4 mo WBV:

Weight: 12.2 lb
Height: 24.5 in.

[April'06Moms]

:) updated to here

[Jane&Andy]

Joey seems to be lasting longer during the day between naps. Of course, today he doesn't want to take his morning nap so I finally turned him over to DH b/c I was going crazy. He only slept til 2am this morning, which is a few hours earlier than usual. I'd gotten used to getting to sleep a little longer.

We went to a playgroup on Thursday. It was fun, it was nice to get out and meet new people. Joey had a good time watching the other kids (mix of toddlers and babies).

Next month will be a big month for us - I'll be driving 6hrs to my Mom's for the weekend ALONE with Joey. :eek: And then at the end of the month we're flying to Chicago to visit my sister. I'm going to fly out alone with Joey and then DH will join us for the weekend, so I'm only flying one way alone with him. This whole no liquids on the plane thing really sucks. I'm all for safety but traveling without hair products is really going to throw me for a loop! :eek: :p

[Sevilla]

Jane: Glad you had fun with playgroup! We flew this past weekend with DS and he did great, i'm sure you'll be fine too :). And if you pack your hair products in your *checked baggage* you can still bring them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We haven't had a QOTD in awhile, so I thought of a fun one.

QOTD: What is your baby's quirkiest habit?

DS loves to talk with something in his mouth (his fist, my shoulder, daddy's hair, a soft block...). He stuffs it in there and babbles away, it's so cute!

[Jane&Andy]

And if you pack your hair products in your carryon you can still bring them

really? I thought it was no liquids at all. :confused:

Luckily its only a 2hr flight with no layover so I don't think it should be too bad.

QOTD: What is your baby's quirkiest habit?

he's obsessed with his feet, loves to hold them

[Sevilla]

Doh! i meant to type "checked baggage" and not carry-on, will fix it now!

[Jane&Andy]

I didn't think you could even take them on in checked baggage, that just didn't seem practical at all - not even toothpaste! I don't mind having to check that stuff, thats not too bad.

[Sevilla]

Yeah, you can put it in checked baggage no problem. I have family who just flew back from the UK yesterday and their things came through checked baggage fine :).

[Sevilla]

Jane: Here's the official TSA standards, i hope it helps :). http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23527

[Kopper]

Jane - Sorry about Joey not sleeping this morning. Jacob has not been having very good naps lately either.

shania0474 - We both have big boys! My friend calls him a piggy and that sorta irritates me sometimes. Other than that no one has said anything really negative. Sorry you have to deal with that. :(

QOTD: What is your baby's quirkiest habit? - He has started chewing on his tongue. He puts it on the right side of his mouth and gnaws on it.

Sleep - The most he has ever slept was 7 hours. Last night he slept from 9:00 - 3:30am. I don't mind too much. He is usually a pretty good night sleeper. Naps are ok but he still sleeps on me more than half the time. I read HSHHC but I'm just not ready to implement his strategies. I'm starting to read No Cry Sleep Solution. It seems more my style so far.

---
Well I think I'm going to have to increase Jacob's formula intake. He only gained .5 oz in the last week. Before this past week he was gaining on average 6 oz per week. He had been getting 9-11oz per day so I think I will try and get him to take 11-14oz per day. I don't know if it is my supply that is decreasing or that he just needs more. His ped said he should now be gaining about 1 lb per month. I really can't up my meds anymore so we will see how the increased supplement goes.

[Jane&Andy]

thanks Kopper. He did finally take a good long nap around lunchtime.

Joey has been taking more formula lately too. I had cut it out for the most part but now he cries and fusses most nights if I don't give him a bottle. This only happens when I'm putting him to bed. Some nights he only takes 2oz, some nights he takes up to 6oz. I don't know whats going on with that. And he still takes pretty much all naps with me unless I get lucky and he sleeps in the swing, but those naps never last very long. I need to work on that soon, still not sure what I'm going to do about it.

thanks Sevilla for that link. I don't know why I thought they had banned liquids entirely.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - I hope the sleeping gets better. Up at 2am doesn't sound like fun! Good luck with your trips. We're driving to Chicago in Sept and then Florida this winter because I'm not going to deal with 2 kids on planes.

Kopper - I've been having to give more formula too. I think she's wanting more than I can give her. My left side has always been weak, and now it seems like she's always hungry and even feeding on both sides isn't enough. I'm just grateful for the BM she is getting! I hope you're okay with it and know you're a great mom. :)

QOTD - Lately, Marin has been trying to shove her whole hand in her mouth. She is a thumb sucker, but when she's hungry the whole hand goes in.

[mel7dog]

I haven't posted lately, but I've been reading along.

Sleep - Ben sleeps about 3-4 hours at a time during the night. I've gotten pretty used to him waking and eating, so it really isn't much trouble. When people ask me if he STTN I just smile and say nope, he likes to eat! From what I've read, most babies start sleeping 4-5 hour stretches between 3-6 month, so I'm not worried.

Halloween - So many cute costumes, how will I even decide!

QOTD: What is your baby's quirkiest habit? Hmmm Ben biggest thing is just talking and making noise every.waking.moment! Our favorite are he sqeals/screeches. I think he's going to be a talker like me!

[Sevilla]

Forgot to answer this one!

Sleep: The longest stretch he goes is 4 hours. Since we're cosleeping it's not really a big deal though b/c I can get him latched on before he fully wakes up.

Jane: DS takes a lot of his naps on me too. I use the sling a lot, and I use his nap time to sit in bed and surf the internet on my laptop.

[Jane&Andy]

Sevilla - I wish I had a laptop! I spend his naps just laying there watching tv. It gets old after awhile, daytime tv just isn't that interesting!

Joey woke up at 12:30 last night, I let him cry and it took less than 5minutes for him to go back to sleep. yay! And then he slept til almost 5. He was up for good before 7 though so I am tired. But I was able to get him to take a nap already this morning so hopefully he won't be so crabby for church.

[Jane&Andy]

2 for one special! Joey and Kyle!
http://static.flickr.com/77/215518368_a569886771.jpg?v=0

we went to a playgroup at jeeplover's house today.

and just Joey (his Daddy picked out the camo hat)
http://images1.snapfish.com/347866492%7Ffp356%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3EWSNR CG%3D3233%3A554%3A%3B64%3Cnu0mrj
http://images1.snapfish.com/347866492%7Ffp353%3Enu%3D3237%3E%3B35%3E433%3EWSNR CG%3D3233%3A554%3A%3B63%3Cnu0mrj

Joey is continuing to sleep fairly well at night, usually 10 or 11 hrs. It sure was nice though when he slept almost 12 a few times last week. And he's getting up a little earlier now, thats been hard for me to adjust to!

He'll be 5 months old in just 2 days! :eek: where did the time go?! I emptied out a drawer in the kitchen for his bibs and utensils, just one more month to go til solids!

[shania0474]

QOTD: Quirky Habit Gabriel loves to play with his toes and keeps trying to bend over so he can put his foot in his mouth

Sleep G goes to bed btw 7 and 7:30pm and wakes up at 7am but wakes up once during the night (sometime between 2am and 4am) to eat (though he falls back asleep after 5 minutes on the breast). He takes 3-4 naps a day (all in his crib unless we're out and he falls asleep in the car). I started trying to get him on a nap schedule today using the HSHHC book as a guide. Which leads me to a QOTD:

QOTD: Is anyone putting their DC on a schedule yet? If so, what is the schedule?

I started implementing the HSHHC sleep schedule today (9am; 1pm; sometime btw 3 and 5p). What usually happens is G wakes up at 7am and throughout the day, he takes a nap within 1.5hrs of waking up but they last 45 mins to an hour. I decided to "consolidate" his sleep (HSHHC jargon) so instead of letting him fall asleep at 8:30, I kept him up till 9am -- he was so tired and pissy by then, he refused to sleep until 9:35 by which time I was regretting my decision but then he slept till 11:47!!! I put him down again at 1pm and this time he slept till 1:38. Then again at 3pm and he slept till 4:27. So, I put him down for the night at 7pm and hoping and praying that his new nap schedule won't affect his night sleep!

[Sevilla]

Ah!!! Those pics are just *so so so* cute! What handsome boys :).

[shania0474]

Jane We just cross-posted. Adorable photos!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Sal03]

Jane what sweet boys. great pics!

Jennifer what did your doctor ever day about Marin's lack of tears?

Quirky habit Katie LOVES chewing on her burp clothes :)

Not much new here. Katie loves the swings so it is fun being in our backyard with her. She is such a happy baby. It is so much fun getting her out of the crib in the morning, I get such a happy greeting. Dylan has fun with his sister now, even wanted to share his teddy grahams with her. What a good boy I have - 4.5 months later and he really never gets jealous or mad at his sister. She continues to sleep 12 hours a night and is taking two good naps a day and sometimes a catnap late in the day. Her new favorite thing is sitting in the high chair just to hang out and watch everyone. Here are a few pics...
http://images1.snapfish.com/347883977Ffp347%3Enu%3D3292%3E432%3E63%3A%3EWSNRCG %3D323A666%3A3426nu0mrj

[Jane&Andy]

Katie is so cute Sal! Poor Joey isn't overly thrilled with hanging out in his high chair yet. I've tried loading it up with toys but he still ended up on my lap last time (we almost always eat dinner aft