Come Watch the October 2006 Babies Grow!!!

[Mommy2ml]

Another thing you can do is get a baby wipe in there during tummy time... easier to get at the creases when they are naturally unfolded LOL I remember feeling the same way, the ped reassured me that it happens pretty often! :)

I also try to get him to look up during bathtime... like have DH hold a toy overhead that catches his attention for a few seconds... but usuallythe baths are during the day when it's just him and me.

------------

Seems we might not be able to get a mortgage, but my iLs might be willing to take one out on their place (they do not have a mortgage or any debt really) and put the cash to buy the place, then we would pay them the mortgage payment instead of a bank...

Did I mention the place we're trying to buy is right below them? Teir downstairs neighbor passed away a few weeks ago and her sons are selling the place. We'd be right below them, across the street from my Nana and up the block andacross the street from my parents and brother.

Too much good and bad to mention LOL :D

OMG! He just fell asleep in his swing!!! HE NEVER does that! He always kvetches until I take him up to his bed! :O

I am watching the show "Toddler Trouble" on Discovery HEalth...

Startign to branch out and meet people and arrange playdates for DD more... have one tonight, and one tomorrow night. Plus, I met a nice couple with 3 kids (they only had 1 with them that night) at the diner last week - we hit it off pretty well and we might very well have an adult/baby playdate sometime this week :)

Rob's Company's holiday party is Wednesday... that should prove fun... hopefully he gets his bonus and we can go pay some bills and do a little shopping ASAP!

Wll.. the swing did not last long, he woke soon after I typed that...I just put him in his bed upstairs and he's out like a light!

[MichelleRenee]

Tristan slept from 11 last night until 6 this morning... a new record!

[TaterBaby]

Hi Ladies,

I'm jumping in here and will go back and catch up on things in a minute. I am back at work today after 9 weeks off. Getting out of the house and to work this morning went much more smoothly than I had anticipated. I cried last week about leaving her with a babysitter and I think I got it out of my system then because there were no tears today! Just this weekend, Lainey began to sleep thru the night and it couldn't have come at a better time. We were getting about a 6 hour stretch before she'd wake to eat then she'd always go back to sleep immediately. So she's been a great sleeper, but things just got much better. Her bedtime is between 9 and 9:30 and she slept until 6:30a.m. this weekend before feeding and today I had to get her up at 5:30 a.m. so I could make it to work on time. I am SO happy about that!

Friday was her 2 month check- up and she is 10 lbs 9 oz and 22.5 inches long. She's developing and growing right on track and here's a recent pic:

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/chiogirl_01/Lainey2.jpg

[Mrs-Mac]

Things are going well here. I feel like I'm slowly learning Grace's moods and what she needs. It makes getting her to sleep much easier and it seems like she is crying less. :) She is sleeping well at night. Usually between 5-7 hours, then one quick feeding, then right back to bed for another 2-3 hours. I'm starting to feel like human being again!!

Working hard to get holiday stuff taken care of...cards, homemade ornaments, etc.

Maplekitty- DD also have a stinky neck...and I try so hard to get it clean during bathtime...she just refuses to cooperate!!

Pamela - DD doesn't take a pacifer and she's still refusing a bottle. If you plan to use bottles at all, you might want to start trying sooner than later. I've heard horry stories of babies never taking bottles. I'm hoping she will learn to take one soon!

Ericka_Jarett - Easton has grown so much!!

KimberDK - What a day you had...colgene for a baby?!?!?! And great pics of Mia!

Lily - So glad you are liking the Baby Bjorn. DD still loves it and it honestly is the only way I get out. She screams in her carseat, but falls right asleep in the carrier. We walk all around the mall, target, etc that way!

[Michelle]

Just wanted to let everyone know, we leave tomorrow for Vegas and the Grand Canyon and won't be back until the 20th. Michelle may be in to update the thread, but if not, will do so when I return.

Ericka & Easton :)


Of course I'll be here to update. Have fun on your trip!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Thanks Michelle :)

P.S. - will be gone again come the 22nd to the 26th as well.

[maplekitty]

Tater and Mrs.Mac - your girls are just so precious! We've got a good looking bunch on our hands! ;)

Ericka - have a great trip! sounds like fun!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Thanks maplekitty. It's a combo trip: our 5th anniversary (the 14th) and Jarett's 29th b-day (17th) We arrive in Vegas and stay the night than on to GC by car for 2 nights, we got a rim cabin so we will be really close, be cool to wake up with the Grand Canyon just outside your window.

Than the 22-26 we will be in Williamsburg, VA visiting Jarett's mom, grandma and some extended family for Christmas. Be the first time we saw his mom since we moved from there place in January 2002.

I get one day to get laundry washed up and Easton's tush a rest from his car seat :) and then off again. It's fun though

[marathongirl]

Wow ladies - there are some beautiful babies out there!!!

I must say, I'm jealous of those of you who are getting some sleep. Apparently DS is following in DD's footsteps. :( He usually doesn't go more than 2.5 hours. I am SO desperate for him to start sleeping 12am - 5am!!! The other night, between the 2 kids, I was up 12 times :( .

In good news, James had his 2 month WBV. He's now 12 lbs 4 ozs and 23.5 inches long. He got 3 shots but handled them well.

Hope everyone's doing well!

[Rippy1010]

Hey girls! I have some pics to share, too. :D

Smirky Pants:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p17a4d64f36711fe82deddfb0d2563154/eba76561.jpg
TM - - Can you post this as Logan's second pic on the front page? He's 10 weeks here.


Santa Logan:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/pdf0e74a122b4617b470fd714f6b05cfe/eba76560.jpg


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/pc7cf8ecd332f32581afe3fa6e16b487f/eba76526.jpg

[MichelleRenee]

Tristan is 6 weeks and 4 days old. He had his 6 week WBV today. He is up to 11lbs 2oz, 22.5 inches and is doing "perfectly" according to the doctor.

Threadmistress... please remove my other pics from the front page and just put this one up. Thanks!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/AngelyWangely/Tristan%20Michael/collage.jpg

[MidwesternGal]

GREAT pictures everyone!!!
________________________
Well, we got our high speed internet. . . it's a little over twice as fast. I'm so happy!! It makes working from home so much better!!

So I have a question for all of you (but maybe geared more towards those of us who are at home). . . it's inspired by the TV thread in parenting. . . obviously, our kids are too little to be watching tv right now. But do you have the tv on while you're at home and DC is in the room? I don't necessarily "watch" it during the day, but I like to have some background noise for company. Also, I get bored b/fing (he's going for longer time spans now) and he's kinda big, so it's hard to read books or mags while he's doing it. Do you think there's any harm in having it on? Every once in a while, I notice he sees the colors switching and he'll look at it, but then I'll redirect his attention.

Also, how much time do you spend interacting with DC? I will play with him for a while, but I tend to get bored fairly quickly playing his Elmo song over and over, so I move him to his playmat and let him go at the hanging stuff. Every 10 minutes or so, I'll walk over and talk to him, touch him, etc. I don't just "leave" him there (didn't want to give that impression!). Or I'll put him in his swing and chat with him. But it makes me feel like a horrible mom that I'm not full-on interacting with him all the time. Yet if I did that, I think I might go crazy!

Okay, now you all are probably think I sound like an awful mom because I leave the tv on during the day and let DC play by himself for a little bit. If you think so, go ahead and tell me. But please offer suggestions on what to do instead!! We live out in the country and in a small town, so not much to do, esp. with winter coming.

[MichelleRenee]

MidwesternGal, when I am home with Tristan I have the TV on pretty much all day. I hate the silence of being home "alone." Sometimes when I am feeding him and the TV is on I feel guilty for paying attention to the TV and not him, but he usually closes his eyes and dozes off while eating, and while I love watching him sleep I can't stare at him 24/7!

I interect with him throughout the day. This is a weird subject for me. He had been home for about a week when I realized I was treating him too much like a "routine" and not like a baby. That sounds so much worse than it is... here's what happened. DH was changing Tristan's diaper and putting his jammies on one night. I wondered what was taking so long so I went to his room to check on things. DH was in the middle of changing Tristan's diaper and had stopped to talk to him and sort of "play" with him. I realized that whenever I changed his diaper I just put him on the table, undid the snaps, old diaper off, new diaper on and a few soothing words if he was crying or fussing. I didn't play during diaper changes.

I don't know if it was just the exhaustion of being a new mom, the baby blues or the fact that I was home all day and DH was at work 8 hours a day, but I realized that I didn't intereact with Tristan much at all compared to how much Mike did.

Once I realized that I felt incredibly guilty and like a horrible mom. I guess I was so concerned with making sure I did everything just right that I forgot to take the time to just enjoy and bond with my baby.

So now I try to interact pretty steadily when I am with him. Whenever he is awake I will talk to him, even if I am washing dishes and he is in his papasan chair. I will just tell him what I am doing ("mommy is washing bottles so you can eat later") or sometimes sing a song (usually Christmas songs... I don't know what I will sing after the holidays are over:p ) or I tell him stories. I like to tell him the story of when I found out I was pregnant, or recall things I did when I was pregnant. (like: "remember al the times you came to work with me?") Kind of cheesy, but it helps me to feel like I am interacting with him even when I am trying to do other things.

On top of that I try to get in 20 minutes here and there of face-to-face mommy/baby time. I will lightly squeeze his cheeks and call him "squishy-face", tickle his toes, rock him, massage lotion onto his legs and belly or just sit him up on my lap and talk to him.

When I am out in public I am sure people think I am crazy, because I talk to him as if he is an adult instead of an infant. I will ask him what kind of cereal we should buy or if he likes a certain shirt for me or what we should buy people for Christmas.

Sorry to ramble, but this is a bit of a sore spot for me. When I realized he was a week old and that I had barely interacted with him at all I felt so guilty and like a horrible mom. Pretty much ever since then I have felt the need to make that time up to him. So I guess my point is that I try to interact as much as I can, but that doesn't always mean talking baby-talk and singing silly songs. Sometimes I just talk to him the same way I would talk anyone. I like to think that all he needs is to hear my voice and that it doesn't matter if I am talking about the weather, how much I hate mushrooms or how cute his "widdle belly button is."

:D

(and to answer your question... I don't think it is any harm to have the TV on while home with your baby... as long as his needs are being met and the TV doesn't become a "babysitter.")

[KimberDK]

Mia STTN last night! She came close the previous night (10:45 pm to 5:30 am), and then last night she went from 10:45 pm to 7:15 am. She still wasn't up for the day at 7:15 - she nursed quickly and went back to sleep until about 10:00 am.

_____________________________________________

Had another positive NIP experience tonight - at the same Borders store as the other time where I met that guy with his little boy. I was eating a bagel in the cafe and Mia started rooting, so I just nursed her right there. I was wearing a very flowy top that kind of fell back down towards her face and covered almost my whole boob, but it was still pretty obvious what I was doing. A middle-aged woman walked up to me and said "That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in this bookstore...and I am here a lot!".

___________________________________________

So incredibly sad: my DH is a radiologst, and he just told me that today he read a brain MRI of a 4-month-old with serious brain injury that would be consistent with the baby being simultaneously shaken and choked. The baby is currently unresponsive (comatose). DH had to speak personally with the baby's doctor to alert him to the suspicion if abuse.

_________________________________________________

I got a new front carrier the other day and just started using it. I have been using a bjorn mostly, and I kind of like it but kind of don't. The new one is a Beco, and I think I'm really happy with it. It is really pretty, and while I was in Target wearing it, I got 3 random compliments on it. It is also even more discreet and comfortable to nurse hand-free than with the bjorn. I had pretty much mastered walking/shopping while nursing in the bjorn, but I usually tossed a blanket over DD's head while doing that. With the beco, I don't even need that. DD is in a very different position in this carrier, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. In this one, her legs are spread wide, like she is straddling my tummy. She isn't complaining, and it is supposedly perfectly fine for her to be like that, but it is so different from what I'm used to with the bjorn. We also used a ring-sling yesterday for the first time and that went really well. I got one as a gift while I was pg, but I never felt comfortable using it. Yesterday I went to the monthly babywearing meeting and the girls there helped me find a really comfy way to wear it. Mia seemed to love that, and also nursed super-comfortably hands free in that too.

[marathongirl]

kimber - You sound like a champ at NIP'ing!!! I do it, but DS pops on and off so much. I have never nursed either DC in the Bjorn or sling. I'll have to try. So sad for your DH! - I had to turn the news off last night due to the stories of child abuse they were reporting.

TV - I rarely have it on b/c I don't want DD watching. Once in a while I have it on when it's just me & DS home, but I'm not a big TV watcher so I just don't think to turn it on. FWIW and not to start a debate, DD is 27 months old and she averages about an hour of TV a day. Some days it never goes on, some days she may see 2 hours.

Interacting - I think I spent much more time hard-core 'playing' with DD when she was an infant. I 'play' with DS more in spurts, but he also has DD to 'play' with him now.

We finally broke down and hired a cleaning service to come. They are here now. I feel kinda weird about it, but between 2 kids and no sleep, our house was falling into shambles. They are only going to come 1X/month and I'm going to try and do the basic maintenance in between.

[TaterBaby]

I promise I am not bragging to those of you having sleep issues, but I'm just so excited that I had to share! :D Lainey has been STTN since Saturday! She goes to bed somewhere between 8-9p.m., although last night was 7:15, and then sleeps until I need to get her up at 5:30a.m. to nurse her and make it to work on time. I just started back to work on Monday and this could not have come at a better time!

[Rippy1010]

That's so funny because my DS STTN last night, too. However, he goes in spurts of this and then regresses back to getting up in the middle of the night. So, we'll see. :rolleyes: Last night he even fell asleep at 7:50 pm and stayed sleeping. I accidentally woke him at 11:00 so then he wanted to eat. But, he ate and went right back to sleep until 5:50 am. :) Luckily my DH was home this morning, so he was able to feed him and get him ready to go to my parents so that I could get ready for work.

Kimber ~ Your story about the 4mo had me crying at my desk at work! It really breaks my heart.

Re: TV ~ I have my television on pretty much the whole time I'm home, no matter what I'm doing. Sometimes I see DS getting interested in it because of the flashing light and changes colors, but I'm not all that concerned about it. I don't plop him in front of it, he usually catches sight of it when he's getting fed.

OH!!! DS started playing with toys yesterday!!! My parents have this little cow that plays Old McDonald when you pull it's tail (and it hangs from a toy bar that goes on a bouncy seat). He was batting at the rattles and pulling the cows tail yesterday. My dad said DS pulled the cow's tail about 8 times, and would laugh and smile when it played the song! I was so excited for him! :D ... mainly because he was not showing ANY interest in ANY toys previous to this.

[jbemommy]

TV Before I had kids, I thought I would let them watch TV only rarely. Well, with DD I started letting her watch while I brought in groceries or made dinner, and our nanny lets her watch some too. She really likes TV now a lot more than I'd like, and we're working on cutting down on her amounts (she probably watches 2 hrs/day :rolleyes: ). Anyway, we have certainly noticed that DS watches the TV if he's laying where he can see it. He's very alert and observant anyway, and part of me doesn't mind too much at this age b/c I know it's just lights and colors to him now, but part of me is worried about having another little addict.

Interaction I try to spend a fair amount of time holding/talking to him since I WOH part-time and have to be away from him. I do let him lay and look at his mobile or on his play mat b/c I also want to encourage him to entertain himself. DD is very bad at just playing by herself and constantly wants us to play with her--not that that's bad or we don't want to, but sometimes she *needs* to play by herself while I cook or take care of DS.

[KimberDK]

MarathonGirl- Yes, NIP is pretty much second nature already. I think I had a big epiphany when Mia was about 3 weeks when I suddenly didn't care what people thought. Nursing started out pretty challenging and I was struggling a lot with discomfort, supply, committment to it...everything. It ocurred to me that nursing moms are making a really big committment and sacrifice in order to do something beneficial for our children, and it's hard enough without also feeling like we have to find places to hide and be camped out in bathrooms and dark corners. I just suddenly decided that if someone didn't want to see me nurse, they could look away. The moment I became comfortable with that, my life became a lot easier because I stopped having to arrange my outings around nursing. Definitely, if you can learn to do it in a carrier or sling, your quality of life goes way up!

Tater & Rippy - You girls rock in with your sleeping babies! Congratulations on your good sleepers.

TV - I don't happen to be much of a tv watcher, so it's hardly ever on. I actually hate background noise, so I never put it on unless I'm actively watching something...and there are very few things I actively watch. I watch Lost (when it's on) and The Office. That's about it. That being said, I actually did put DD in front of Sesame Street for 15 minutes because I needed my hands free and she needed something to occupy her. I don't have any issue with that. DH and I are more concerned with the commercials that run during kids programming than with tv-watching itself.

[maplekitty]

Kimber...I'm still not geting how you nurse her while she's in the bjorn. When I have Robyn in the bjorn, my boobs are on the "outside" of the straps, and her head and body are kind of in between my boobs...how in the world are you doing this??!?! LOL I'm so amazed and confused at the same time!! :p

[TaterBaby]

Kimber...I'm still not geting how you nurse her while she's in the bjorn. When I have Robyn in the bjorn, my boobs are on the "outside" of the straps, and her head and body are kind of in between my boobs...how in the world are you doing this??!?! LOL I'm so amazed and confused at the same time!! :p

Ditto. Maybe we could get a picture? JUST KIDDING! Do you kind of move the whole contraption to one side?

Lainey isn't too fond of the bjorn, but maybe if I put her on the bb while in there...hmm, must try that tonight.

[KimberDK]

Tater & Maple: Does this help or just make it more confusing??
http://www.kdkdesign.com/images/mia/bjorn.jpg

[PinkMartini]

Oooooh I'm so jealous of you ladies with babies who are STTN! I would be greatful if Jacob just slept for more than 2 hours straight :(

Well Jacob had his 2 month WBV today and he's up to 12lbs 6oz and is 24 inches long :eek: His ped said he's in the 95%tile... Also, we've been having issues with 'colic' and he was prescribed prevacid today, because we think he might have GER. I pray to God that this helps him, because the last 2 months have been extremely difficult :(

Here's a picture we took this week of him, threadmistress, you can add it to the front page :)

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q258/JMO919/Dec5th2006016.jpg

[MichelleRenee]

KimberDK, congrats on Mia STTN! I am jealous of your ability to NIP.

marathongirl, I am glad you started the cleaning service. I hope it helps free up some of your time!

TaterBaby, congrats on the STTN. It is so nice to get so much uninterrupted sleep.

Rippy1010, they are so cute when they first start playing with toys! Keep us updated on which ones he likes the best!

jbemommy, I agree that children should be able to entertain themselves once in awhile.

PinkMartini, I hoep the prevacid helps Jacob! Poor little guy...

Well, I think I have learned that when it comes to Tristan's schedule... there is no such thing!:p He is a very good baby and is pretty routine about things, but he seems to have "phases" moreso than a "schedule." Some nights he sleeps from 11-6am with no problem. Others he wakes up at 4 to eat. It is either one or the other. He never wakes up at 2 or 5 or anything like that.

I have also discovered the best way to maximize my time for that 4 am feeding. I sit on the couch with Tristan laying next to me. (with his head by my knees and his feet by my butt) I hold his bottle for him while he eats and use my other hand to hold my breast pump. This way I am finished within 1/2 hour. It is so much better than feeding him for 1/2 hour then pumping for 1/2 hour. As I switch from one side to the other I also burp him and then he either falls asleep or finishes his bottle.

[MidwesternGal]

Kimber--wow, you have had some great NIP experiences. I wish I was coordinated enough (and had a small enough baby/boob!) to manage that!

Good for you, marathongirl, for getting cleaning help. It sounds like you have your hands full!

Pink--Glad to hear your doctor finally listened to you. My doc told us today she thinks DS has touch of colic, too.

jbemommy--I agree, babies do need to learn to entertain themselves. I have kind of started that a little bit so I get things done. Glad to hear I'm not alone!

MichelleRenee--I'm not really into "routines" so much, so it's good your boy can be flexible. I think that makes for a happier baby sometimes, esp. if your schedule changes a lot.
_______________________
Well, we just got back from our two month check up. I think I've got the biggest baby so far. . . he's OFF THE CHARTS on his weight!!

2 months:
Weight--15.8 lbs :eek:
Length--23.75 inches
Head--40.1 cm

Doc also said he might have a touch of colic, too. Other than that, we have a VERY healthy baby. And he was a champ for his shots!!

I'll be back later to post our family Christmas picutre.

Oh, and did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? She had this gal on who talked about the Dunstan Baby Language. I will see if I can find a link to it. I found it very helpful!!

[maplekitty]

kimber - lol...maybe a little more confused!?? Do you carry her really low? When I carry R, her head is higher up, right at my colar bone. Do you loosen the straps and push it to one side, so that one breast is "inside" the straps?? hhhmmm...i'm going to go play around with my carrier and experiment!!

eta: okay i tried it out, adjusted the straps....and it works!! i dont think i can go totally hands free, because i need to hold my bb up a bit...but now i get how you're doing this. it would definitely work better with a nursing shirt ;)

[Rippy1010]

Oh, and did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? She had this gal on who talked about the Dunstan Baby Language. I will see if I can find a link to it. I found it very helpful!!

My mom was telling me about that! But she couldn't remember all five meanings of the five "words" a baby uses. She was trying to take notes since she watches my DS. It was funny ... she had a little memo pad of notes. LOL! Like she was taking a little refresher course in babies. Ha!

[TaterBaby]

I have been nervous to NIP mainly because I think I will get rude comments from others. I retreat to my car or a dressing room when we're out, but I may start getting more brave soon. Get this - over Thanksgiving weekend, a woman at the Nashville airport was nursing her DC on the plane before take-off and another passenger complained and she was forced to get off the plane! Can you believe??? The next day, there was a large protest of BFing mothers with their babies! Delta also issued a statement apologizing and stating that they support BFing mothers.

My mom was also telling me about seeing the episode of Oprah on baby language. I think yesterday must have been a re-run? While on maternity leave, I saw the same lady on one of the morning talk shows and found it very helpful. I can now more easily distinguish between L's cries.

[Michelle]

I was trying to remember the meanings of the words too! When Madison cried that night it was an "eh" sound and I could not remember what that meant! :)

- - - - - - - -

Things are going well here. I don't want to jinx it, but Madison is almost STTN. Well for the most part, she usually falls asleep about midnight and wakes up hungry about 7:30 or 8:00am. This morning she was still sleeping when I left and my DH said she slept until 9:30. The only way I can get her to sleep that long is in her carseat/carrier placed in her crib. I know that's not that the ideal situation, but she's comfortable and does not wake up. It's the only thing I can do get her to sleep for long periods.

I'm so excited! I bought Madison a glo-worm yesterday for Christmas. I had one when I was younger so it was pretty exciting to buy one for her! It plays lullabies and lights up so I figured that would be fun for her. I also bought her a little leap-frog piano. She loved the songs it played and yesterday at the store she was trying to push the buttons to play the music. It's so much fun to holiday shop for your own child, I love it! :) Although I know that she won't appreciate the outfits I bought her, but I will!

I hope that everybody is having a good week! I'm loving the pictures of the babies! We have a great looking group of kids! :)

[maplekitty]

i wrote them down :

"neh" - hunger
"heh" - discomfort/diaper
"owh" - tired
"eh" - upper gas/burp
"eair" - lower gas

i definitely hear the hunger sound, and the burp sound with R and it has helped tremendously :)

[MichelleRenee]

Hmmm.... Tristan totally does a huh, huh, huh sound when he is hungry. I will start paying better attention when he cries though. That is so interesting!

[KimberDK]

MapleKitty - Great job!! Yes, exactly, I loosen the strap on the side where she is nursing, and then kind of scoot her lower and to that side. Oh...and there is one hidden secret of the hands-free nursing that you still need. The reason you aren't hands-free yet is because you need this (http://www.utterlyyours.com/)!! I know, it seems totally ridiculous, but toss one of those in your diaper bag, and then you will be walking and nursing with both hands free! And yes...a nursing top makes a big difference!
She is on my right boob in this pic:
http://www.kdkdesign.com/images/mia/beco.jpg


Tater - I know some people never feel comfortable just nursing and not caring what anyone thinks, but if you can make up your mind to think that way, it is very freeing! The woman on the plane - this is not the same one that was kicked off the Delta plane in Vermont? If it is, I did know about that one because I pretty much got spammed with hundreds of emails about the "nurse-in" protest at my local airport. I'm not sure how anyone knew to email me. I have attended LLL meetings, maybe from there. I am fully in support of women NIP, but a formal group protest is not my style. I show my beliefs by just doing what I beleive in. FWIW, I have not gotten a single rude comment, or even a look. I have gotten increasingly bolder with my NIP and I have yet to have anyone bat an eyelash. Today she was nursing in the front carrier at the mall and she had really cute shoes on, so people kept walking up to look at her little feet, and then asking if they could peek inside the carrier to see her face. I said "Well, she's eating right now, but you can look if you want"...and they either nicely said "Oh, I won't bother her", or they said "Oh, I don't care, I just want to see her!". But none of them seemed surprised or put off in the least. Granted, I do not live in a conservative part of town at ALL...but I'm sure you'd be surprised at how little flak you would get.

[Mrs-Mac]

Grace had her 2 month appt yesterday.
She's 10lbs, 5oz
23 inches

I might need to try nursing DD in the Bjorn today. I do NIP on occasion, but handsfree would be nice.

[Michelle]

Thanks Maplekitty for the list of baby language!

[TaterBaby]

Tater The woman on the plane - this is not the same one that was kicked off the Delta plane in Vermont?

Hmm, I'm sure it is. I just saw that they were protesting in Nashville and made the assumption it happened there. Every time I saw the news clip, I was busy with the baby so it's no surprise that I got the info wrong.

[KimberDK]

Mrs-Mac: Oh let us know how it goes with nursing in the bjorn! I really think figuring out how to nurse in a sling or carrier is one of those turning points that will really affect your lifestyle. Dr. Sears is always referring to it in his books, how his wife nursed in the grocery checkout line and whatnot. I hope you are able to get it to work comfortably!!

Tater: The protest was nation-wide - there were groups at Delta counters all over the country, at the same day and time. I am so, so in favor of raising awareness in order to make it as easy as possible to NIP, but I just don't think this was the way to do it. I think this sort of thing makes a lot of people roll their eyes rather than convincing anyone that NIP is fine, if they didn't already think so. But who knows, maybe they achieved something, I don't want to judge.

[KimberDK]

My EBM freezer stash just hit 100 oz!

[Mrs-Mac]

Quick questions...
For those who already went through the 2 month set of vaccines, how many days was your DC "off"? Grace has been so cranky and not sleeping AT ALL since her shots on Thursday. Just wondering when she might start feeling better and get back to normal?
Thanks!

[SlvSpring]

It has been so long since I have actually updated in here even though I do stop by and read, it just seems like I never get enough time to actually post too.

Jack will be 2 months old on Tuesday. WOW! I can't believe it. We go for our check-up on Wednesday and I am so nervous about him getting shots... I can't bear to see him sad like that.
I am so jealous of all of your babies that are STTN!! Jack JUST started sleeping in 6 hour stretches last week, before that it was 4 hours at the most. But he still wakes up every 1 to 2 hours after that, so it really isn't that restful yet and I am still feeling exhausted.
My DH also goes back to work tomorrow after 8 weeks of family leave. It was SO wonderful being together as a family of 3 for so long, we will really miss him. On Saturday, we leave for an airplane trip to the in-laws for 5 days for Christmas. I am nervous about flying and about being at the in-laws for awhile with our swing! It is a lifesaver. They are also not the most pro-BFing people, even though they are respectful so that makes me nervous too.

Jack is up so I have to go even though I intended to write more.....

Here is a recent photo:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/JoshandOona/100_2020.jpg

[KimberDK]

Today I fell down the stairs while carrying Mia. I managed to twist around as I fell so she didn't fall out of my arms, but when I landed, she did slide out of my arms and she hit her head. We went right to the ER and she had to have a CT scan. A bump formed pretty quickly on her head, although they said that it is far better to have a bump rather than an indentation. She definitely seemd to be in pain, but she managed ok at the ER. Her CT scan was totally clean. Unfortunately my husband was the neuroradiologist on duty so he had to read the scan (I say unfortunately because doctors never want to read their own family's tests because it is hard to be objective), but he was very thorough (obviously) and felt 100% confident that everything looks fine. She is still a bit fussy, which is to be expected considering that she has a lump onher little head. :(

[SlvSpring]

I'm sorry Kimber, that must have been so scary!!! I'm glad everything looked good on the scan and I hope Mia feels better soon. :)

[Rippy1010]

That must have been scary, Kimber! That is one of my worst fears when carrying/holding Logan! :(


In other news ... we've had a pretty good weekend!!! First, Logan STTN FOR REAL two nights in a row. On Friday night, he slept 10 hours straight through. On Saturday night, he slept 8 hours, up to eat, and then 2 more hours. UNBELIEVABLE!!! I hope he can keep it up. Then, today, I had my very first non-crying shopping experience. LOL! Now, if we can only get this napping situation figured out, we will be as good as gold! :)

Not looking forward to the chaos of Christmas Day right now ... afraid Logan will get really really cranky from everyone wanting to pass him around. Plus, the ILs house gets EXTREMELY noisy at Christmas ... even I get overstimulated and cranky from all of the noise of the nieces and nephews. :rolleyes:

ETA: Oh yeah! And for about a week now, Logan no longer needs to be swaddled at night! Ok ... done bragging now. LOL!

[Tika]

Mrs-Mac--- DS slept the whole day after his shots (waking up just to eat), but then was back to normal the next day. Hope Grace shakes it off soon.

SlvSpring---- GL with the flight. I'm sure it will be fine. I hear that it is easier to travel with an infant than a toddler.

Kinber--- Like Rippy, falling while holding DS is one of my biggest fears! Glad to hear that the scan was fine.

Rippy--- Hope you can get Logan away from the Xmas commotion. GL!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things are moving along fine for us. Still waiting for DS to STTN!:p

Just in case I don't get to post during the week, have a nice holiday everyone!

[Mommy2ml]

shots-Logan was irritable for the rest of the day after he got his 2mo shots, wedosed him with baby tylenol once or twice, but that was it. He was a tad clingy and such as well. Next day hewoke his happy smilie self again though :)

Kimber-That is very scary! I am glad she's ok! I am very scared I will fall with Logan. Last year I fell down the stairs while carrying MAckie! I managed to hang onto her, but only by keeping myself upright by jamming my legs in such a way that I got stuck at the turn in the stairs :P Rob was there, took MAckie and then had to extract me... grade 2 sprain to my right ankle :P I constantly fear falling again while holding Logan, or even on my own while L and I are home alone! :( It's nerve wracking!

----------

Logan is still battling his cold! :( HE wakes coughing in thew morning, sometimes even coughs in his sleep too. this morning he puked on me 3 times :P I think it's just the mucous from the cold. I called and spoke with the nurse at the peds office and they agreed, but told me to call if he is still like that or anything gets worse in the next couple of days.

Poor little guy has totally had his routine turned upside down the past few days and that has him way thrown off during the day. Thank goodness he's still STTN though :)

More later! Have a great day everyone!

[Pamela]

Taterbaby, glad to see you back! Lainey is so cute!

MrsMac, my dd doesn't care for pacifiers still, and I keep putting off introducing bottles. I've still got another month, but I guess I'd better just bite the bullet and do it.

Michelle, I had a glo-worm when I was little! It is so much fun shopping for your own kid, I could really go crazy with it!

[Mrs-Mac]

Kimber - so glad you and Mia are okay. Like everyone else, falling down the stairs with Grace is a HUGE fear of mine. So scary. Again, so glad she's okay.

Pamela - DD still isn't taking a bottle. I'm almost ready to scrap the whole idea. I'm not going back to work until at least 6 months, so she might be able to drink from a sippy cup by then. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for all the responses about the babies after the vaccines. She's finally sleeping better. For a couple of days she wouldn't sleep. On Saturday, she slept maybe 5 hours, all day. She's sleeping better, but now she's only sleeping 3 or 4 hours at night. What I wouldn't give for 6 hours of sleep!!

[maplekitty]

OMG Kimber!! How scary!! :( I'm glad she's okay! I also have a fear of faling down our stairs...thank god for handrails!

shots - Robyn was fussy for the rest of the day, and slept really crappy that night, but was back to her usual self the next day.

STTN - *knock on wood* I really don't want to jinx myself, but I think we're finally sleeping all night for real now. It's been about 2 weeks now of 9 hour nights!!! I usually put her down about 10pm, and she sleeps until 6 or 7am. Usually I have to wake her in the morning because my BBs are about to explode and my pj shirt is *drenched*!!! But then she goes right back to sleep for another 3 hours! AMAZING!! I really hope her 3 week growth spurt doesnt screw this all up! :eek:

*********

We took Robyn to see Santa. She had a little melt down just as we were going up, but they let us go out into the hall, calm her down and come back. I think it turned out pretty cute. Atleast it wasn't a hysterical crying baby picture :p
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid220/p7230337185ddad3dc53cc7d42d3a8475/eba12d62.jpg

[Ericka_Jarett]

Hi ladies,

Writing from the hotel room in Vegas. Will post a trip report on Wednesday when we get home as well as pics. Having a good time, Easton has been great throughout it all.

We finally found the black velvet suspender pants that go with his black pageboy cap, also got a white dress shirt to go with them. All were on sale for less than $5 so it was a nice find at the Children's Place at the mall here.

Well write again on Wednesday.

[MichelleRenee]

Things are still going fairly well. I think I gave Tristan a tummy-ache last night, though. I had Taco Bell for lunch and pumped an hour later. After he ate that bottle he was really gassy and was crying a lot, which he never does.

After a good poop and a bottle of thawed EBM from last week he was much better. I feel horrible though. It sucks knowing that he was in pain and that it was my fault! I didn't even eat anything too spicy... just a chicken quesadilla.

This is my third full week back to work and I am wondering when it will get easier to leave him all day. I was late this morning because I just couldn't stop staring at him while he slept. Then I was so happy when he started crying right before I walked out the door. I jumped on the chance to change him and cuddle with him while Mike got his bottle ready.

I am still pretty amazed every day by our routine and how naturally everything seems to be coming to me. It definitely amazes me that we have an almost 2 month old baby. Time sure is flying!

[TaterBaby]

It's been about 2 weeks now of 9 hour nights!!! I usually put her down about 10pm, and she sleeps until 6 or 7am. Usually I have to wake her in the morning because my BBs are about to explode and my pj shirt is *drenched*!!!

Question for maplekitty and everyone else who is BFing...Do you ever pump during the middle of the night? L is sleeping 10 hours now at nights and I just can't make it that long for the reasons maplekitty described above. So, I always pump once a night whenver my bbs wake me up, usually after about 5-6 hours of sleep. I keep thinking that it's so great that L is STTN, but when am I going to be able to??? I don't know if I should try to cut that pumping session out or not!

[Quartercentury]

Remember me? :o

DS is seven weeks old today, and we have had a very crazy time of it. Visitors all of November and then when they finally all left, I had to spend a week in the hospital with an infection and low platelet and iron levels. Poor baby was born at home, but probably has spent more time in the hospital than most kids who are born there! Then we had a week of relative normalcy at home, finally just the three of us (though the washing machine did break, which is exactly what you need when your kid spits up all over everything all the time and is in cloth diapers), and then a 10 hour flight to spend the holidays with my family. We are exhausted.

I am sorry for being out of touch ... but I will try to keep caught up! I do hope everyone is doing well.

[MidwesternGal]

Maplekitty--Cute picture!!

MichelleRenee--I had spicy Chinese the other day and boy oh boy, DS did NOT like that at all. He fussed at my breast the whole rest of the night, and then had massive spit-ups. I can eat Chinese, I've done it before, but apparently not as spicy as I had that day.

Tater--I can usually go about 6 hours without b/fing. Last night, DS slept from 9 p.m. until 8:30 this morning!!!! And I slept the whole time. My bbs honestly didn't feel *that* bad when I woke up. I think I managed to sleep because I was just that tired. Sometimes I get really "heavy" feeling after only a few hours, so I've had to wake him up from naps before to nurse him. You could get up and pump, although then you're telling your body that you *need* to be relieved in the middle of the night, which could make the problem worse. I think that if you suffer through it a few nights, your body will readjust to making more milk during the day and not at night. . . but I could be wrong. Ask in the BF thread in 0-18 months, a gal there named Marisa is fab and will probably know what to do!! Or call your lactation consultant.

Ericka--Glad you're having fun and Easton is adjusting to the traveling well!

QC--Good to hear from you, I hope everyone stays feeling well at your place!
__________________________________
DS slept from 9 p.m. until 8:30 a.m. last night!!! :eek: I was thrilled. Of course, since he's never slept longer than 6 hours at a stretch, I immediately got up to see if he was still breathing!! LOL. I'm not counting on this happening every night, however!! We'll see what all the holiday travel will do to him.

Question for everyone: What are your hormones like these days? It seems mine are on a rollercoaster. I started the mini-pill 3 weeks ago, and get a period (despite almost exclusively BFing). Now, my hair is massively falling out and I'm broken out like a 14 year old!! Just in time for Christmas, go figure. I had to go buy zit cream!! Not to mention, I've also been crying more, too. I knew my hair would fall out somewhat, but the rest of this is unexpected. Grrrr. Any helpful hints?

[MichelleRenee]

TaterBaby, yes and no. I try to wake up every night and pump but some nights I just can't. If Tristan wake up around 3 or 4 to eat (which he does 50% of the time) I pump while I feed him. If he doesn't wake up to eat I sometimes sleep right through to 6 am and then pump, but my boobs are ready to explode by then. It is really hard to get up to pump if he doesn't get up, but I try my best to. If anything I do it mostly because I want to be sure I have enough milk pumped for the following day. If I had a bigger supply I'd probably just skip that pumping session altogether.

MidwesternGal, I use Proactiv so my face isn't broken out and I am on meds to prevent depression, so I'm not crying a lot. To be honest, I know that if it weren't for those preventative measures I would be breaking out like crazy and crying all the time. I am also on the mini-pill and I just started my second pack. I haven't had a period but I did have a couple days where I felt like I was about to have one. Hang in there... what you are experiencing sounds very similar to the experiences of many new moms I know.

[SlvSpring]

Midwesterngal- I feel like I could have written your post! I am on the mini-pill also and after starting it I have had TWO periods in 3 weeks (despite exclusiving BFing also) and I was SUPER CRABBY at first, but it is slowly starting to get better. It totally sucks to feel like this, but I am not okay with getting pregnant. I called the OB's office and they said it was "normal" (what a surprise!) Don't have any suggestions for you... but just know I feel the same way!

[maplekitty]

Tater - I would think that pumping would not be the right thing to do. When you pump, you're telling your BBs that they need to produce more milk. When you wake up in the middle of the night and pump, then your body will just think it needs to produce more milk during the night. I think for now, all we can do is tough it out, and wait for our bodies to regulate to this new schedule. Last night I woke up in a big, cold, milk wet spot on my bed...so I think I'm going to start wearing a sports bra to bed with double breast pads.

Midwesterngal - I'e yet to start my mini-pill (not feeling any desire to DTD, so I see no reason to waste a package, heh). But now that I've heard that both you and slvspring have gotten periods and broken out, and are major moody now I'm afraid too!!! :eek:
I think right now I'm up and down. I don't think I get depressed, but I certainly can go from happy to bitchy in zero seconds flat!

[TaterBaby]

Midwesterngal, I've been on the mini-pill too for the past month and nothing. Nada. In fact, we were trying to bring on my cycle so I can get the Mirena IUD inserted. I have always been like clockwork so I can't believe I haven't gotten AF. I just knew I'd have one despite BFing so it has been a pleasant surprise.

To those of you on the mini-pill...do you trust it? The vibe I got from my dr. worried me a little. Thus the reason I'm getting Mirena. I would die if I got pg again right now! Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it can't be trusted, just asking if anyone else is a little skeptical like me.

[Rippy1010]

Re: Mirena

I've been debating getting this. Why did you guys like/dislike about Mirena? Is your insurance covering it, or did you have to pay OOP. Do you guys get your AF on the Mirena?

[KimberDK]

SlvSpring, Rippy, Tika, Mommy2ml, Pamela, Mrs-Mac, MapleKitty - Thanks for your concern and well wishes. Mia is perfect - the bump was gone by morning and she was her usual happy self the next day.

Mommy2ml - Wow, you actually got stuck in the stairs? That sucks about your ankle...although wouldn't you rather it be you than the baby? Sorry about Logan's cold; I hope it passes soon.

Pamela - I didn't start the stash all that early, it just built up quick. I think I froze the first bottle about 5 weeks ago. We've used some of it, a couple of times when my mom was with her for a few hours or if DH gets up with her in the morning on a weekend. I'm getting kind of miser-ish about it though, I just love seeing it pile up. Kind of a scary thought - I never imagined myself hoarding breastmilk.

Maplekitty - Oh, Robyn looks so adorable with Santa!! I'm glad you got a chance to calm her down, although those hysterical crying santa pics are fun in retrospect also. Of course, they are not fun when you're taking them. Yay for STTN!

MichelleRenee - I love hearing about how much you are loving motherhood. So terrific to hear. That's odd that the quesadilla upset his tummy, and it wasn't even spicy. Maybe it was a coincidence. Mia had never yet gotten upset by anything I've eaten, or at least not that I've noticed. I can imagine it's hard for you to leave him when you go to work - I'm sorry you have to feel that way (but it would be worse if you didn't, kwim?)

Ericka - glad you're having a good time (& good shopping)!

Tater - I would think that if you stopped pumping at night, the milk would stop building up at that time of day. I sometimes pump at night, but not because I need to. If I have insomnia, I sometimed take advantage of it by getting some milk to stash. I'm typically very full by morning, but not painfully so.

QC - I was wondering about you recently. Please come back and tell us all about your home birth. I'm glad Jude is doing better.

__________________________________________________ ____

I became an American citizen today. :)
http://www.kdkdesign.com/images/citizen/72_121906__citizenship06.jpg

[TaterBaby]

Re: Mirena

I've been debating getting this. Why did you guys like/dislike about Mirena? Is your insurance covering it, or did you have to pay OOP. Do you guys get your AF on the Mirena?

I'll admit I'm a little nervous about getting it, but for up to 5 years of birth control, I'm going for it. I'm just nervous about the cramping at first. Everyone that I know that has Mirena LOVES it. My OB even has one. Yes, my insurance is paying for it. It's been preapproved and I'll owe a total of $55. Can't beat that! My OB said with the combination of Mirena and BFing, I probably won't see AF at all. :D I'm getting it next week and will be glad to update what I think if you're interested.

[marathongirl]

kimber - congrats on your citizenship! Sorry to hear about the fall! That's so scary! I fell when down the steps when I was PG w/ DS. Yeah for your stash! I know what you mean about being miser-ish. I hate defrosting a bottle when it might not all get used.

Tater - pumping at night will signal your body to keep producing at night. You may be a bit uncomfortable for a few nights, but your body will regulate. I'm jealous that your DD is STTN. Somehow I only manage to birth babies that sleep for 45 minutes at a clip :rolleyes: .

Hello to everyone else! I've been a terrible poster, but it's hard to find time between the 2 kids. On the rare occasion that they are both asleep during the same 30 minutes, I usually close my eyes too.

[maplekitty]

Congrats on the citizenship Kimber! Where are you from originally?
Every time I see a pic of you with Mia in the bjorn, I can't help but wonder if you're nursing her! haha ;)

[Pamela]

Maplekitty, cute pic of Robyn with Santa! We had so much fun taking dd to see him!

Quartercentury, glad to see you're back, hope you're feeling better!

Kimber, will your dd have dual citizenship?

[KimberDK]

Marathongirl - wow that must have been scary to fall down the stairs pg. I think that must be even worse than with a baby, because you can't see with your own eyes that he/she is more or less alright. Clearly, your DS was fine. I'm so glad I'm not the only milk miser. :)

Maplekitty - I am from Canada (Montreal) - I think we've talked about that once before. Great...I've given you such a terrific visual every time you see me with my bjorn. :rolleyes: I was not nursing when that pic was taken, but she did actually nurse for part of the ceremony. I was seated next to a very elderly, senile woman who kept reaching out and trying to touch my breast while Mia was eating. Then she started whispering stuff in Mia's ear.

Pamela - I have no idea about dual citizenship because I find the whole thing very confusing. Apparently, I renounced my Canadian citizenship today and American immigration no longer acknowledges me as Canadian, but Canadian rules apparently are that you are Canadian for life, so it can not be renounced. So...I think the US says I am not Canadian, but Canada says I am. It's even more complicated because, until today, my DH was a dual citizen of Peru and Chile, but today he became American as well. So...I know Mia is an American citizen because she was born here, but I have no idea what her status is with Canada, Peru, and Chile. Sounds like you know more about this than I do...any insight to share?

[maplekitty]

Ack! Denouncing Canada....say it isn't so!! :p

*************

Okay, so what is everyone getting DC for Christmas? We've decided to be frugal this year, since she won't remember it (and probably not next year either!). I got her a few books, an "baby's first Christmas" ornament, a "baby's first Christmas" sleeper (that she'll "open" on x-mas eve and wear to bed), and her "big" item is an engraved pewter piggy bank.

[Rippy1010]

CONGRATULATIONS, KIMBER! And to your DH, too! That's great!


Taterbaby ~ I would love an update on the Mirena. You are so lucky that your insurance is covering it. We have the best insurance for our area, thanks to DH's new job ... but it still doesn't cover it (according to the website). Hmmmm, maybe I should call and check anyway. If you had to pay OOP, do you think you would still do it?

Christmas gifts ~ I got a bumbo, a couple little teethers to put in his stocking, one of those "stackers" (it lights up and plays music), and a "laugh and learn puppy". I didn't spend a lot this year either because, like has been mentioned, Logan has no clue what is going on anyway. That's it. If I had known he would have been ready for freakin' 6-9 months clothes in the next few weeks, I would have just bought clothes as his Xmas gifts. :rolleyes: Last night, DH and I decided that we wouldn't wrap his gifts this year ... it seemed a little wasteful for me to use all of that paper to wrap the gifts just to have me unwrap them again on Monday. LOL! I'll put some bows and curly ribbon on the puppy, bumbo, and stacker. The teethers are just going in the stocking anyway.


ETA ... hmmm. I was thinking about it. I wrap the kitties' christmas gifts every year, so what's the difference? Maybe I will wrap a couple of his gifts. :)

[MidwesternGal]

Tater/Rippy/Re: Mirena vs. Mini-Pill--I honestly don't trust the mini-pill. We back-up with a condom. We're extremely fertile and so his DH's family (um, twins after a vasectomy and his siblings are oopsies!). So I'm not taking any chanes! As for the Mirena (which my OB LOVES), we totally would have gone with that, except insurance does not cover it. We would have paid out of pocket for it if insurance would have at least covered the doc's visit and insertion. That would make just the device around $350ish. But including doc's visit and all, it would have been $650. In the long run, even 650, if you use it the whole 5 years, works out to about $12 or so a month for birth control. Pretty good--better than most pills! But we didn't have that up front, and we're all ready on payment plans to cover the last of the hospital bills for birth, and we didn't want to add another plan to that.

DC Christmas Gifts--Um, we're "bad" parents and didn't buy him a single thing. He won't remember and can't unwrap them himself. Plus, I all ready know he has a boatload at both grandparents. Money (and lack of space for what he all ready has!) were the deciding factors for us on not getting him anything.

[marathongirl]

DC christmas gifts - a toy piano (that DD will play with more :rolleyes: ) some teethers, and some spoons for when he's ready for solids. DD's big gift is tickets to a show - not that she'll appreciate them on Christmas morning.

[Rippy1010]

Midwesterngal ~ That's the problem we are having with Mirena. I knew that it worked out to be a pretty inexpensive option when you divide it out the whole 5 years. But, our OB said it would most likely run me about $500. I was thinking we might try to swing it, but my thing holding me back is that we want to TTC again in about 2 years. :confused: That still averages (for me) about $20-21 a month, but should I do it if I'm not taking full advantage of the 5 years. I don't know ... I'm just stuck.

Here's another question about Mirena ... is it hormone based? If it is, does the hormone effect your libido? The reason I went off the pill (which is the reason I'm now in this thread ... oops! LOL!), is because the hormones eventually made me have NOOO libido AT ALL! Even the low hormone pills made me have no sex drive. So, I'm afraid I would spend the money just to find that the Mirena does the same exact thing. :rolleyes:

[TaterBaby]

Christmas gifts: We are "bad" parents too and aren't getting DD anything. My parents and grandparents are giving her money and I will take some of that to buy her a few toys. Does that count? ;) My dad has said that he'd like the money they give DD to go in a college fund so I will open one for her, which DH and I will contribute to monthly. So I guess you could say DD is getting a college fund for Christmas!

Rippy, My OB wanted to make sure that I would get several years of usage out of Mirena. I think her reasoning was mostly based upon cost. I'm not sure she'd do it if I wanted to TTC in 2 years. The OOP price I was quoted was $750 total, which is what it would cost me if I go Jan. 1 or after because my deductible starts over. My appointment is Dec. 29!
Yes, it is a hormone releasing device. You can check out www.mirenafreedom.com for more info. Hope that helps!

[Pamela]

Christmas presents, we're trying not to go too overboard this year.

[emermel]

Haven't posted in a LONG time, but I've been keeping up with you ladies...everyone's kiddos look so great!

Madeline was 2 months on Saturday and we go in for her checkup tomorrow...I'm betting that she's hit the 10lb mark. Poor baby though, she has a cold right now :(

Mirena: I got it at my 6 week appointment (Nov 27th) and I've pretty much been on my period since then. I've had a couple of days with no bleeding, but that's it. I called my doctor and the nurse said that it's normal to spot and have irregular periods for the first year. I go back on the 29th for a positioning check and I'm going to ask again...this is ridiculous. I suppose the birth control is that we aren't DTD b/c of my constant period!

Here's my little one!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/emermel/100_3025-1.jpghttp://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y88/emermel/100_2890-1.jpg

[Mommy2ml]

QC- Great to hear from you! Sorry things were a bot rough for a while, but glad all is well now :)

Midwesterngal-I am breaking out like crazy too. I have the Mirena and bled and spotted for over a month! I think I am finally done now, but who knows? I am also on meds for depression, so have been doing pretty well in the emotions dept, but until I found the right dose I was a wreck. I still get hot flashes tough :P LOL

More later - Someone just woke hungry/cranky... e's got a tummy bug now in addition to the cold :P

[KimberDK]

Mirena - I have also been considering it. My insurance would not cover it, so it would be $550 OOP to get it. We haven't figured out what we want to do yet - we've been using condoms so far.

Channukah Gifts - I also figured she would have no idea what's going on, so I decided to buy the gift for kids in need instead. I usually get a few toys for that each year, but this year I got bigger stuff like bikes, because I was considering it as Mia's holiday celebration. However, she did get gifts (toys, clothes, & books) from my parents and my brother/SIL.

[MidwesternGal]

Wow, we're active today!

Kimber, I forgot to add, CONGRATS to you and your hubby on your citizenship!

Here are our Christmas pictures that we sent out in our cards. DS is 7 weeks old in it. . . yeah, but he looks about 6 months! LOL. I will most likely remove these in a couple days, so TM, please DO NOT put these on the front page. Thanks!

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q168/midwesterngal03/ChristmasProPictures-1.jpg

[Rippy1010]

MidwesternGal ~ Cute pics! I hear ya on the 6mo! I feel the same ... Logan is big enough to be a 6mo. We sent our pics to our friends that have twin 6mo girls, and he said "OMG, your son is bigger than our girls!" LOL! I'm afraid he is going to outgrow our carseat! :D

[maplekitty]

awww cute pics midwesterngal!!

[Mommy2ml]

What a cutie pie! :)

I had Logan at the doc this morning, as he still has this cold (As do I) and has started not eating as much, puking and coughing both awake and while sleeping. Thank G-d te doc says his breathing is still fine and it looks like it just needs to run its course! This is aroud the age when Mackie got her frst bout of bronchiolitisand the first of many neb treatments to follow :P

Anway, he seems more comfy now, sleeping soundly as usual :) They weighed him.. and he is nowat 11.5wks he is 11 pounds 5.75oz!! :O

Despite being sick he is all smiles during the day and sleeping through the night for the most part. (I wind up getting up to him coughing, check on him right necxt to me in the co-sleeper, then go back to sleep several times a night... but HE sleeps through LOL)

For those FFing... How many oz do your little ones eat per day? How many bottles (on avg) per day and how many oz at a time? How often? etc...

Right now, Logan normally takes around 6oz every 4 hours or so, 4 bottles per day. While he's been sick he has actually been taking around 3-5oz per feeding and ocassionally has been demanding an extra couple of oz of an extra bottle here and there... especially a couple of hours after puking :P I think he's getting better though... tonight's last bttle he took aorund 5.5- almost 6oz and did not puke! :)

I do hope he gets better soon... I hate smelling lik rotten formula/baby puke all day and hate even more th fact that with him sick he has been waking early from naps, then going back to sleep, waking and sleeping... so I do not always get a chance to shower and get the dishes done and such :(

Anyway, have a good night ladies!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Easton is taking about 4.5-5oz every 3-4 hours, at night he will go about 6 hours. Sometimes he wants more than that, so we fix up another 2oz and he drinks what he wants of it. When I give him his diluted juice he gets about 2oz total.

Can't believe that he starts solids in January most likely, that is crazy.

[Quartercentury]

Kimber, congratulations on your citizenship!! That's very exciting. And I bet you can still pass on at least the Canadian citizenship to Mia. I think dual citizenship is such a wonderful gift to be able to give a child, and I know Canada allows it, even if the US sort of discourages it. I even met someone once who had triple citizenship (Canadian, US, and Israeli). We're hoping that things will work out for us so that J can be a US/UK dual citizen eventually (he's not now because we haven't lived there long enough).

emermel and midwestergal, your babies are so so so cute! Squeee!!!

I was thinking about getting the Mirena, but am wary of it because I have "met" two people here on CC who have had ectopic pregnancies while using it, and met one person IRL whose baby daughter was conceived despite the Mirena.

So far we are relying on breastfeeding as contraception, which I am happy to trust since we're definitely meeting the "baby nursing at least every six hours overnight" rules. I think breastfeeding must only work as contraception because everyone is too tired to get it on anyway! :rolleyes:

I am also glad to hear that we're not the only ones not doing much in the way of Christmas presents for our baby. A few books and a special high chair (that he won't be able to use for several more months anyway...). The grandparents have totally gone overboard, though, if the pile of things under my parent's tree is any indication.

Here is a new pic of my DS for the front page. He was just about six weeks.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/quartercentury/Pumpkin%20Baby/rattle2.jpg

[Rippy1010]

For those FFing... How many oz do your little ones eat per day? How many bottles (on avg) per day and how many oz at a time? How often? etc...


I've been having a hard time with this myself. Logan actually takes 6 oz at every feeding, and he has either 5 or 6 bottles a day. I think it's so much, but if you follow the "2-2.5 oz per lb" rule, then it's fine. So, I don't know. I've been wanting to call the dr to ask, actually.

[MichelleRenee]

Feeding: I give both EBM and formula and Tristan has a pretty big appetite. He takes about 5 ounces at a feeding, but is sometimes still hungry so I give him another ounce. He has about 7-8 bottles per day. He eats every 3 hours from 5 am until 6 pm. Then he cluster feeds from 6-11 pm and sleeps from 11 until 5 the next morning.

I asked the doctor about it several times. He seemed to have such a big appetite and I was worried about overfeeding him. One thing I learned is that our peds (and most others, according to them) will not give a set number of ounces that a baby should eat because then moms aim for that amount instead of following hunger cues. He did say that Tristan's appetite was bigger than most babies, but that we were doing everything right by following his hunger cues. It is hard because I am always saying there is NO WAY he is hungry again, but after rocking, giving a pacifier, singing, shushing, swaddling and walking he is still crying, rooting and sticking his tongue out and all he wants is another bottle.

Christmas: We bought a few things that Tristan needed, like some bigger clothes and a couple more bath towels. Those are wrapped under the tree for Christmas. We also wanted to buy him a floor gym/play mat thing and some toys for when he is about 6 months old. So we bought all that and wrapped it too. Basically it was all stuff we were going to buy anyways. And yes, I marked the toys as "From Santa."

[Rippy1010]

MichelleRenee ~ Well, you and your ped's comments make me feel better then. :D I was also afraid that I was overfeeding my DS ... one time my ped said that I was giving my DS too many oz at a feeding (about a month ago), but I wasn't going to starve him, he would have just cried until the next feeding! Thanks for chiming in on that convo! You put me at ease. :)

[MichelleRenee]

Rippy1010, I'm glad I made you feel better. Trust me... I worried about this non-stop for weeks. I was calling the peds office like crazy every time he jumped up another ounce at a feeding. EVERYONE told me I was overfeeding him, that my BM must not be "right" if he is eating so much and all kinds of other crazy stuff.

Finally what the ped was telling me sunk in. I know my baby and his hunger cues. It would be crazy for me to just sit there and let him cry because he reached XX ounces already. Yes, he eats a lot during the day, but he also sleeps really well at night and is gaining weight "perfectly" according to the doctor. So other than having to deal with my BM supply issues I don't let his appetite frustrate me anymore. I just consider myself lucky that he is actually crying for a reason and that I can do something about it. He has refused a bottle before... I know he won't eat if he is not hungry so I know I am not forcing him to eat just to shut him up. I have to laugh at myself for complicating such a simple problem. He was hungry but instead of feeding him I desperately searched for a different way to get him to stop crying. Now I realize when he is hungry, the solution is to feed him. Sounds so simple but it took awhile for me to catch on...

[Ericka_Jarett]

I don't have an exact count of Easton's bottles, since I just follow his cues as well. My ped said feeding on demand is perfectly fine. Some days Easton just wants 3oz a bottle, others it's 5-6oz a bottle. Just go with your gut Rippy, things will be fine and DS will grow strong and healthy.

[MidwesternGal]

Rippy--I don't formula feed, but as the mom of the almost 16 pounder (and I think the biggest baby here!), I wouldn't worry about "overfeeding" your baby. I have absolutely no way to measure how much DS gets at a time and I simply follow his hunger cues. I don't see why you can't follow hunger cues for formula. If I'm not overfeeding my chunky monkey by following hunger cues, you aren't either!!

[Mrs-Mac]

Its been a rough couple of days. DH has been sick, so I've been taking baby duty at night too. Grace still wasn't sleeping well (hasn't been since her shots last week). So I've been going on very little sleep and dealing with a crying fussy baby by myself (I have NO idea how sinlge mom do it!). I was losing it. Crying in the middle of the night when she just wouldn't go to sleep. Luckily, DH sucked it up last night and helped out, even though he is still a little sick, so I slept from like 7-12. And then I FINALLY got Grace to fall asleep in her swing (which I don't like to do, but I was desperate, she had only slept about on and off for 4 hours from almost noon to midnight). She feel right alseep and about an hour later, I transferred her to her crib and she slept another 7 hours. DH and I (and DD for that matter) so needed that sleep. Hopefully, last night was a step in the right direction of her sleeping better. She's napping in her crib now, hoping she sleeps for a couple of hours.

For those whose babies are STTN, what tips, tricks, or routine are you following? I know all babies are different and not one single thing will ever work, but just looking for ideas. Like what time does DC go to sleep at night? What is your bedtime routine? etc. Thanks.

Kimber - Congrats to you and DH. And I was wondering the same thing as Maplekitty about the picture. Too funny. Haven't tried nursing her in the Bjorn yet, she's been so cranky lately, didn't want to try, but plan to soon.

Midwestern, pics are so cute!!

Formula - we are bf, but my SIL, whose baby is only 3 days older than DD is. And at his 2 month check-up, the ped said she could go up to 8 oz at a feeding, if the baby would eat that much. She has and I think the baby is happier in between feedings now (since he's not hungry).

Christmas gifts - pretty much what everyone else has said...not buying much. But to make it more fun, DH and I both bought some seperate gifts for DD and are wraping them. That way we are suprised by what each of us bought her.

On another note, I can't believe I turn 30 tomorrow. I feel so old. :)

[KimberDK]

Midwestern - Wow, you are growing a linebacker there! An adorable linebacker...

Mommy2ml - So sorry you're still dealing with a sick baby. :( Get well soon to you and Logan.

QC - I agree that I love the fact that Mia can have options to live/work in more than country should she choose. I would looove to have UK citizenship. Before I met my DH I wanted to live in London for a while bit it would have been too complicated. A close friend of mine figured out that her great-grandmother was born in England and was able to qualify for an "ancestry visa". I never knew such a thing existed, but she lived in London for 3 years on it. Your son is absolutely beautiful.

MichelleRenee - I am so glad you decided to just feed Tristan whenever he seemed hungry. We figured that out when Mia was 3 days old - that she might want to eat even if she had just eaten 20 minutes before and she has been a very happy baby ever since. She actually never does eat huge quantites (still not more than 2 - 3 oz at a time. I'm guessing), but she eats often and she's growing like a weed so I guess she knows what she needs.

Mrs-Mac - holy cow, I could not imagine DD eating 8oz at once! Although if she would, I wouldn't hesitate to give it to her. Our sleep routine grew out of her own cues. She often seemd to be getting tired around 11-ish, so I decided to make an established routine out of it. At about 10:15, we go in her room and do a last diaper change and put on sleepers, turn on just a dim light and classical music. I nurse her in the rocker until she is very sleepy and then put her in her crib. Some nights, I nurse her and then switch places with DH so he can rock her down. She is asleep by 10:45, sometimes 10:30. Within a few days, she was closing her eyes at 10:30 even if we hadn't done her bedtime routine yet. And after about a week, she gave up her middle of the night feeding and started sleeping through. Her normal night now is from 10:30pm to about 8:00am, when she feeds and goes back to sleep until about 10:00am.

[Rippy1010]

MidwesternGal ~ Wow!! I was obsessing about my DS's weight, too, because I weighed him this past weekend and he was 17 lbs. But, if your ped is ok with your DS weight, that I'm going to stop sweating this stuff. :) It is what it is ... and my DH is 6'3" and 275 lbs, so what do I expect really. LOL! I was freaking out that he is moving in to 6-9 mo clothes and he's only 3mo (almost). :o


Mrs-Mac ~ I'm working on only a full week of STTN, but this is what happens at our house: we have the same routine every night ... I change his dipe and put him in his pjs. I make his bottle, I take him to his room, we sit/rock in the glider with all of his lights OFF, and his favorite CD plays (Carrie Underwood) while he eats his meal. If he dozes off too soon, I burp him to wake him so that he finishes his whole bottle. Then, he is usually either very drowsy, or totally asleep near the end of the bottle, so I place him in his crib and let the music keep playing (but I turn it down a little bit so that it is background noise). If he fusses when I put him in his crib, I'll take him back and rock/sway with him until he falls asleep. One tip/secret that I've found in my house is that if I give him 7-8 oz right before bed, then he will sleep through. But, if I only give him 3-6 oz before bed, then he will get up somewhere between 2-4 am. I know it's hard to gauge if your BFing, so would you be able to use a EBM bottle for the bedtime feeding so that you can better gauge how much he's getting? You probably don't want to waste your stash on something like that, but just a thought.

... oh, ETA ... he started getting cranky religiously at about 8:30-9:30. So, to head it off at the pass, we start the bedtime routine at about 8:15 pm, and he is always in bed by 9-9:15. He will sleep for at least 7 hours, but most of the time he will sleep for 8-9 hours, with an occasional 10 hour night. :)

[Ericka_Jarett]

I am off again until the 26th, wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas.

http://www.uglyduck.com/proof/easton/xmas2006/Christmas-Card_3up.jpg

[Rippy1010]

In case I can't get back here ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[jbemommy]

feeding DS has recently increased how much he wants at a feeding to about 5-6 ounces. Sometimes less, sometimes more. He eats about every 2 hours other than at night when he sleeps anywhere from 6-10 hours at a time.

Sleep routine DS has taught us that no routine is really a routine, as his needs change every few days it seems. We had a while where he was ready for bed about 7-8 pm, but for the past week, he's been taking a "nap" around 6 and then getting up again until 9-10. He is still a difficult baby in the evenings, so we are unwilling to try to force a bedtime on him yet, as it just makes him insanely upset to try to get him to sleep before he's really ready. We just have to be really in tune to his sleepy signals and start feeding him before he has a total melt-down. He does still have times when you know he's hungry and tired but refuses to take the bottle. If we can get him absorbed in looking at lights and put on static, then he will eventually calm down and take the bottle and pass out.

Christmas presents We got him a couple of brightly colored soft toys with things to chew and "crinkly" parts, and a Fisher Price musical tool bench, just things we knew he'd start enjoying in the next couple of months.

[Bubeleh]

I'm such a bad poster for lack of time, but I do follow along. I have a few free minutes so I thought I would pop in.

Ds is doing great! Once we resolved his food allergy he has been a dream child. Always happy and only cries when hungry, which leads me to QOTD's

Food This had been a constant worry for me that I was feeding him too much. He eats about every 2 to 4 hours depending on the size of the previous bottle. His bottles range from 4 to 8 oz per feeding. The Ped keeps telling me that he can't overeat, but it just seems crazy the way he sucks it down. G-D help you if you try to pull the bottle out midway for a burp :eek: On the plus side he has never spit up and is growing very well. I estimate him about 13 1/2lbs by now and he's 12 weeks.

Presents Since we do Hanukkah and Christmas we picked up several small things. He has received either a small outfit or book each nght of Hanukkah and we bought him a spider contraption for the car. Nothing too major since he doesn't realize anything this year anyway. And relatives are buying him bigger things. A 3 month old only needs so much so why waste the money now.

Sleep routine We are on our 4th week of sleeping from 7:30pm to 6am! I attend a 1x a week mommy and me type class and in it they stress that by the time the DC are 4 months they should be going to bed by 8pm at the latest. So I took the advice and tried to start transitioning DS early and he took to it so well we have had blissful nights since. The key is to make sure he ate enough during the day, and to have the same routine each night. I usually start at 6:45pm and do the following: a few minutes of naked time (he goes crazy for this!), bath, start the bedtime cd (classical), baby massage, read a specific book (same one each night) while cuddling in his towel, diaper, pj's and sleep sack, turn the lights off, and have a 6 oz bottle. He is usually very drowsy at the end of the bottle, after a few pats on the back he is in the crib with the heartbeat teddy on and continues to put him self to sleep. That has actually been really helpful too. We started at the beginning putting him in really sleepy, then really drowsy, etc until he has learned to put himself to sleep in the crib. I'm sure this doesnt' work for everyone, but it was perfect for us and it allows us to have evenings to ourselves.

I'm off, hope everyone has a merry christmas with your little ones!

[Michelle]

Wow, I'm impressed with all of the routines for the babies! I'm one of the moms who put her baby to bed for the night later only because we wake up later in the morning it's easier for us right now. On average, we get 6-8 hours of STTN so I can't complain too much. Once she wakes up, we'll feed and change her. Then we put her with us if we are not ready to get up adn she will go back to sleep. She also gets in some naps in there during the day.

I still can't feed Madison more than 4oz at a time. Even then, she can still spit up after eating 4oz. I had a hard time transitioning her from RTU formula to powder so I went back to the pre-made formula. I think after the holidays I'm going to start trying to give her a portion of the RTU formula and a portion of powder in one bottle and keep increasing the ratio until she is on all powder.

We had her 2 month WBV visit and she did okay with her shots. She was a little fussy after but seemed to calm down. All she wanted was to be held and cuddled after. She is now 10lbs, 6oz and 23 inches.

I hope that everybody has a great holiday!

[maplekitty]

Well Robyn is on breastmilk and formula. So she usually is fine with a full nurse, but sometimes she'll take 4-6 oz of formula. I always give her 2-3 oz first, and then if she's still hungry then make another bottle. She's never had more than 6oz formula at a time. Thing is I don't know how much breatmilk she's getting...so she *could* be drinking as much as 8oz at a time!?!? I just feed her whatever she wants until she doesnt cry for more, or pushes the bottle away. I'm also of the camp that thinks that you can't overfeed a baby...she'll let you know when she's had enough! We're at a stage right now where they are growing leap and bounds every day, so they may really be that hungry, and it seems like *so much* to us, because we're used to our little newborns who only ate 2 oz at a time! Well as much as I don't want to admit it, they aren't really newborns anymore and our hungry little bunnies want lots of food to sustain their rapidly growing little bodies ;)

[KimberDK]

Question about bedtimes:
I am still confused about baby sleep and I really don't want to get into any bad habits that we will suffer for down the line. I am a night person, and now that Mia is STTN, she is in a routine that is great for me. She typically sleeps from 10:30pm to about 8:00am, eats and goes right back to sleep. She is up for the day between 10am and 11am, although she does also have a couple of naps as well. I keep hearing stuff about the importance putting babies to bed by a certain time (the one I hear most often is 7:30pm). I asked my ped about it and she thought the whole thing was pretty silly, saying basically that my baby doesn't know what time it is. She said it matters that she gets enough sleep and that I am happy with her routine, but not the actual time of day that she sleeps. I love that answer, but I also think that I don't always need to blindly accept the opinions of my dr without also doing my own research. I mean, if I mess up my kid's sleep habits, I have to deal with that, not my ped. So...what I'm wondering is, does anyone know the "logic" behind putting the baby to sleep at a particular, arbitrary time? Like, logically, it seems to make perfect sense to me that it should matter *how much* baby sleeps but not *when*. But so many people do seem to think that it does matter when, so I find myself wanting to understand the logic behind that too, so I can make more educated choices. Anyone have any insight?

[MidwesternGal]

Kimber--No real advice here. I tend to agree with you, that as long as he's getting enough sleep, does it really matter when? Like jbemommy's DC, my guy switches his schedule/needs every couple of days. We're sleeping 6-10 hours at a time now, it changes. So then his nap times change, depending on how long he slept through the night without waking. For the last week, he'd been going down around 9-10:30. . . but then last night was awake until 1 a.m.!! I've noticed he tends to nap horribly if he sleeps more than 8 hours at a time, too. I don't sleep a lot, and can function on 4-6 hours of sleep (as long as it's uninterrupted) on a regular basis. Seems my guy takes after me.

And FWIW, my doctor didn't even ask about a bedTIME, just if he was STTN for 8 hours or more.

No idea why babies need to go down at 7:30 versus 10:30. . . seems they'd just sleep later or get up earlier, depending on their down time. I can see the need for consistency though. Sticking to 7:30 or 9 or whatever.

Now for my question: How do you bathe your baby by yourself? I know that sounds stupid, but DS is a big guy, but can't sit up by himself. . . he is a massive wiggler, too. So DH and I always tag-team it to give him a bath. I'd like to start doing it every night as part of a bedtime routine of sorts. . . but I cannot figure out how to hold him and not let him fall in and still get him clean, etc. We have the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders bath, if that makes a difference. Help!
________________________-
DS got his very own Christmas card today. It's from former customers of mine. A sweet little couple in their 80's. What they wrote was hilarious, so I thought I'd share:

This is your very first Christmas and while YOU won't remember it, your parents will never forget it. Of course, they'll have pictures foryou to look at, and you'll think, "Gee, I was a handosme little guy."

I thought that was hilarious! Esp. coming from such a cute old couple!

Anyway, everyone have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

[SlvSpring]

Kimber- I think the idea behind the earlier bedtime might be for parents who work?? Probably because they have to get up early and want to make sure their child has had enough sleep before they go to school/daycare. I know once I go back to work and I am going to probably have start setting a more regular bedtime. It sounds like you have a laid-back parenting style...and I say if you are okay with her going to bed late and getting up late, I don't see any problem. Now that I think about it, it could also be parents that want to get stuff "done" while their baby is sleeping?? And then like to put them down earlier.

Bedtime routine- Even though we don't have a set bedtime, what we do is give Jack a bath..give him a massage with lotion, put him in his PJ's and then I nurse him until he is done. Then we swaddle him and put him in his bassinett. Usually he wakes up a little after we put him down, but he usually just looks around and talks himself to sleep. If he stays awake, it is usually because he is still hungry and then I nurse him again. He is definitely not STTN though! I am so jealous of you ladies whose babies are. Last night he slept from 10:30-2:30 and then was up at 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 to eat and then we had to get up for the day at 6:30 because I had to go to my work this morning to drop off some stuff.

Feeding- Jack is exclusively breastfed, but when he does get a bottle of EBM it is around 3-4oz and sometimes he doesn't always finish all of it.

Christmas gifts-We bought him several books a few toys and on those kick-n-play pianos that somehow transforms into a rocking horse for when he is able to stand.

Well, we are off on our plane trip tomorrow! Wish us luck and happy holidays to all!

[SlvSpring]

Oh, I also wanted to post Jack's stats from his 2 Mo. WBV. He is now 12lbs 4oz and 23 inches long.

The shots actually went a lot better than I thought they would. He cried (more mad, than sad cry) for about 2 min...then he slept about 2 hours. He was kind off that night, I could tell he was in some pain, but we kept up with the tylenol. He was fine after that, except he woke up every hour or two to feed that whole night. He was great, but I was exhausted!! He is fine now, like nothing happened. I am soooo relieved! I thought it was going to much, much worse.

[Jenzen01]

Hi all,

I'm just popping in, so I don't have time to read everything or do proper SOs. Just wanted to say that I'm jealous of those of you getting a whole night of sleep. I thought sure that Ada would be STTN by now because we started out so well, but that is not to be. She generally gets a 5 or 6 hour chunk in and then is up every two or three hours after that. The last few nights have been killers. She was up at 2ish and then 4, 5:30 and who knows what else. All I know is that I'm tired.

She had her 2-month WB and she now weighs 13 pounds, 3 ounces and is 24 inches. Big girl. She was behind on her neck muscle development ... just wasn't lifting up her head. But after a good week of working with her she's definitely lifting it 45 degrees if not more.

And boy, do I have a little talker. My first baby wasn't much for cooing, so I'm getting such a kick out of this. She coos and talks to me when I change her and she talks to her toys and the whatever else she's looking at. It's so darn cute!

By the way, one thing I"m learning is that even though this is my second baby, I still don't know everything. :) My two babies have been so different, which is making it exciting. It's all fresh and new again.

Oh, and Ada has eczema. She had a massive breakout around 4 weeks, but we've got it under control now.

Well, I need to go to bed. My head is starting to get heavy. We're at my parents' tonight, and we all get to sleep in the same room. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight.

ttfn,
Jen

[marathongirl]

bedtimes - we've found that putting DD (who is 27 months) to bed around 7:30pm, give or take 15 minutes, works best. This is after 18 straight months of ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO-GOOD, VERY BAD nights of sleep. I'm still trying to figure out how we got PG w/ DS when she was 15 months old. ;) We are trying to establish the same routine w/ DS. So far, it is not working very well :( . I need him to go to sleep early mostly b/c I am not a night person. I generally feel pretty good after 6 hours of uninterrupted (that part is key) sleep, but it has been so long since that occurred, I am going on a terrible sleep debt. DS finally settles down around 9:30-10 and will sleep until 1am. After that we're up every 90 minutes or so. Then I'm up for the day w/ DD at 6:15am. DS usually doesn't get up for the day until around 7:30am. So even though I'm on Baby #2, I'm still a miserable failure in the sleep dept.:(

[maplekitty]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid221/p7583c74350f079e5ab1e0ec94c459d19/eb8f5d69.jpg

have a great weekend everyone!

[KimberDK]

Just stopping by - we just decided last-minute to take Mia to Disney World for the weekend. She was asking to go, so we gave in. ;) DH just went to take the dogs over to my parents' house, and I sent Mia along with him so my parents could see her before we go. I sent along a bottle of EBM in case she got hungry in the car, and my mom also keeps a few abottles in her freezer in case of unexpected situations. DH just called from the car, a little bit panicked, and said "I just realized - I don't think your mom has enough milk in the freezer". I was like, "What are you talking about...Mia already drank the whole bottle I gave you?". There was a long pause, and finally DH said "Oh. Never mind. I had a mental fart. Forget it." Yeah, somehow he had gotten mixed up and thought he was dropping Mia off for the weekend. I mean, he *knew* he wasn't dropping her off and that we were taking her to Disney, but he got some mental wires crossed or something. I can just imagine if he came back home without her. I just took a shower, and realized that is the first time since her birth that I have been in my house without her.

Anyway, everyone have a terrific holiday and I'll "see" you next week. BTW, Maplekitty, that pic is priceless.

[Tika]

Have a great Holiday everyone!!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Hi all,

Posting from Jarett's grandmother's house. Christmas was ok (rough on day 2 here, but got cleared up), we had about 17 people at the house, Easton did well for the most part. Lots of noisy Southerners in the house at one time. Got the Ocean Aquarium crib toy from his Aunt Jennifer, got the alphabet Pal (crib, stroller, carseat toy) 2 packs of 12 month onesies, 4 outfits and 1st book from his grandmother and grandfather Kulm. His cousin Ethan got him a Baby Einstein vinyl book. My mom had gotten us the crib, a huge teddy bear, floor toy and some outfits before we left for Vegas.

I got my 2 charms for my necklace and Jarett got gift cards for some photography equipment he wanted. Plus we got money from my mom and his grandmother.
-------------------------------------
midwesterngal - I have that same tub, there is a little seat that you could use to hold DS on, I use the sling back still in the tub so that Easton has sort of a pillow/padding, than he sits on the little seat and he seems to do well with this. I lay him in there (have since his first bath) with a washcloth for him and one for me to wash him with. This seems to calm him in the tub and he really enjoys bathtime a lot now.

Kimber - Easton usually goes down around 9:30-10:00pm and has been sleeping through the night til about 6-7am as of lately. Up for a bottle and usually back to sleep until about 10am. Of course things may get a little more on schedule (or at least better tracked) once we are home and he is adjusting to life at home after almost a month of traveling.

Easton just started to take 5-6oz in a feeding. On our trip to Vegas I took the 5oz bottles and only filled them to about 4.5 or 5oz, this weekend in VA I brought him 9oz bottles and made several 6oz bottles and he has drank almost the whole thing but 1/2oz and sometimes it's the whole thing he finishes.

[MichelleRenee]

I hope everyone had a good holiday with their new babies!

[MidwesternGal]

Hello all!

Hope your holidays went well! Ours was fast! We went to ILs on Eve, then spent Day with my family. DS was very good at ILs, but fussed, cried, and spit up the whole time at my aunts on Day. He was a little peopled out. I just feel bad because I was hoping he'd be okay for my family for a little while, but he wasn't at all. Sigh.

We now are up to our ears in diapers! DS's great grandma got him a big box, and both grandma's got him the 80-count packs. Since he doesn't really need anything else, we were happy about that. He got a few other small toys and books, and a football piggy bank too.

A few issues on my end with ILs (grandma calling DS "her baby" etc) but for the most part all went well.

Happy Holidays all!!

[Rippy1010]

MidwesternGal ~ I hear ya on the fussing. It makes for a little bit stressful holiday, doesn't it? I also don't like when the grandparents (from either side) call DS "my boy" or "my baby". I don't know why, but it just really really irks me.



As for our holiday, DS got a lot of clothes (thankfully, in the size that he is just about to go in to), and more toys then I expected (unfortunately ... :o ), and a Visa gift card, and a Patriot Bond (savings bond). We go to my parents house on Eve and on Christmas morning, then ILs for Christmas afternoon, and back to my family for Christmas dinner. (They live about 7 minutes apart, so it's not all of the driving that it sounds like.). DS did fairly well on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning, he was stellar (and he LOVED his bumbo too, BTW!). He even took a morning nap as soon as he started getting drowsy. He did pretty well at my parents once we got there, but by the time we got to ILs, he was pretty overstimulated, needed a big nap that he couldn't get, and just plain fussy ... it was the worst crying I have heard since about 5 weeks old! Plus, it was so so loud and chaotic at ILs from the other six cousins, that he was pretty jolted out of his element :( Poor baby. He calmed down after a LOOOOONG time, and got happy for a very short time, then back to the screaming. It made for a stressful afternoon. I finally got him to sleep for about 30 minutes in my arms, until one of the girl cousins shrieked while standing next to me. :rolleyes: :mad: I couldn't get him calm after that, so I told DH that it was time to go. Once back at my parents house, he was okay for a good part of the time. When he started getting fussy towards the end of the night (it was nearing his bedtime anyway), we just called it a night and went home. All in all, I thought he did well considering the chaos and upheaval of normal routine.

My issues this holiday were that I wanted to savor my time with my little man, and didn't really want him being passed all over the place. I felt selfish for feeling upset when other people had him. But, since I work, I kinda just WANTED him since it was a little extra time with him that I wouldn't normally have. :( I also don't like when DH's nieces and nephews want to hold him, and I think they are too young, but their parents think it's okay. :mad:

Oh well ... it's over. On to our normal routine.

[jbemommy]

We had a very quiet Christmas, just DH and I and the kids. We had off for Thanksgiving, so he and I are on call for Christmas/New Year's. My parents and brother are coming Jan. 5th for our Christmas. Anyway, it was very relaxing and restful. DS of course didn't have any clue what was going on. DD was so much fun, though. She was very interested in DS's toys as well as hers. :)

Steven rolled over today! Unfortunately I'm at work and didn't see it, but DH was there. He was in the other room so he didn't actually see it either. DD rolled over at 3 months for the first time, but then didn't do it again for a few weeks.

[MidwesternGal]

jbemommy--Sounds like a calm Christmas. I'm happy for your DS, good for him to roll over! Yay!! I'm waiting for my little guy to, he's really active.

Rippy--I hear ya on wanting to hold your own baby. Even though I'm SAHM, I sometimes got jealous, too. So don't fell bad! I mean, he's MY son (not MIL's!!!) and sometimes, I just wanted to hold him!!
_______________
So I'm back because I can't believe I forgot to write that one of DH's aunts gave DS SODA POP when I wasn't looking. Errgh!! I was mad. And then DH told me today that his parents informed him that they are adopting the philosophy that "what happens at grandpa's, stays at grandpa's" and that if they want to do something *I* don't agree with, they just won't tell me!!! :mad: (I tend to disagree with them on almost 100% of parenting issues). UGH.

Anyway, the other reason I'm back is because I think DH and I may buy him a new truck. It has a lot of miles on it, but it's extended cab so we can put DS and the doggie in the truck too. And we're paying almost excatly what Kelley Blue Book says it's worth. I have to call my insurance man tomorrow and see what insurance will be on it, and get confirmation from the bank. We'll pay my car loan off with our tax refund, so it'll be a little tight until that comes in. But all in all, my husband's 20 year old truck needs to go and this is the right price!!!

I'll probably be back later this week to post a few Christmas pics and (maybe) a new truck picture!!

[Ericka_Jarett]

midwestern - that is horrible, unfortunately I would have to lay down some rules and if they don't like them and follow them, they don't get to see DS.
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We are finally home from all the traveling, now back to reality. Easton did great yesterday, even with all the strange Southern accents floating around the house. Jarett told his grandmother to talk normal to the baby and not go up in pitch when she talked to him, that is why he cries at her. No one other than Jarett or I really held him this weekend. His mom held him for about 5 mins (more like had him laying on her arm) and Jarett's cousin who is due in 6 weeks had a cold she wanted to hold him badly, but didn't want to get him sick, so she passed.

Everyone said he was handsome and such a good baby. He slept quite a bit while people were there, but that was ok with me, he still slept great last night, from about 9pm-7am (only checked on him then, cause Jarett said make sure he is breathing. We just sat silently on the couch, while presents were handed out, we took Easton's and just took pics of him opening them, while everyone else was busy with their own. We had Easton open 2 earlier in the day, one for pics with me and one for pics with Jarett. Then Jarett's grandmother said, opening presents already, it's not Christmas until everyone gets here (I whispered to Easton it was Christmas because of Jesus and was already Christmas Day) We had to wait until almost 7pm before we opened gifts. Was nice to see family but at times we were thinking it would have been better if we were just at home instead.

[maplekitty]

midwesterngal - OMG!!!! I would ahve been so livid, actually I probably would have cried I'd be so upset!! What were they thinking!?!?!? :mad:


*******

Robyn was very good for all our festivities! She was pretty alert and happy being passed around. And she even let my BIL's dad hold and feed her a bottle while I was making xmas eve dinner, so that was nice. Of course she was spoiled to no end my the grandparents....and mommy :o

[Rippy1010]

MidwesternGal ~ OMG!! I think I might have FLIPPED if I found out someone had given DS soda!!!! That is ridiculous! What would possess her to do that? And the ILs sound like your DH really needs to talk to them ... they don't sound like they are being very supportive of the way you and DH want to raise your OWN baby.

[KimberDK]

Rippy - Sounds like Logan got some great gifts! As for young relatives holding him, I really don't think it matters what *their* parents think. All that matters is *your* comfort level. If you think they are too young to hold your baby, then they shouldn't get to hold your baby. I actually have gotten a lot of practice dealing with this by having a tiny, tiny dog. Everybody wants to hold her, and she is so tiny that it could be catastrophic if she were dropped, so we have had to learn to get comfortable telling people that they can't hold her. Or else we make specific rules, like a child can maybe hold her if he is sitting down and an adult also keeps one hand on her at all times. People might think we are overprotective or nuts, but we'd rather deal with that than deal with a tragedy. Interestingly, the baby is *less* delicate than the dog is, so we aren't as fearful with Mia, although don't get me wrong, we are super-careful about her too (when I'm not dropping her down the stairs, that is :o ) . Anyway, I'm rambling, but my point is that you should not be afraid to enforce whatever makes YOU comfortable with your baby. Logan's right to be safe is far more important than the nieces' and nephews' perceived right to hold him. Also, I don't think you should feel guilty about wanting your time to hold him, especially as a WOHM. I sometimes just want Mia back in my own arms, and I am home with her all day, so I bet if I worked I'd probably never want anyone holding her! Last night we were out to dinner with a bunch of family and whenever Mia needed something (diaper changed, burp), my mom and DH would both say "I'll do it!!", and luckily my mom backed off every time because she knows DH was at work all day and hadn't gotten to see her. I think it's important for family to recognize that it's not just a novelty for them to enjoy the baby, but also for you. Yot shouldn't feel bad about this, he's YOUR baby!! :)

Midwestern - OMG, I would be LIVID of somebody gave Mia soda. Actually, at this age, I'd be livid if they gave her anything. And I would be even more livid about their new philosophy. Mia has a onesie that says "What happens at grandma's stays at grandmas", but I think it's cute because I know my mom would never actually do something I didn't agree with. If I actually beleived that things might "happen at grandmas" that needed to "stay at grandmas"...you can bet there would be no unsupervised visits to grandma. Is it necessary that your ILs be with your son when you are not present? I think it sounds like you need to be there whenever they see your baby. People need to earn the right to have alone-time with your kid, I think. And they do that by caring for him in ways that you approve of.

I'm glad for everyone who had such nice holidays! I loved hearing about how you all spent the day!

Mia had fun at Disney
http://www.kdkdesign.com/images/mia/72_122406_disney23.jpg

[Pamela]

We had a nice christmas, dd was totally spoiled :D

Kimber, love the pic of Mia in the mouse ears! That is so cute! And how fun to be so close to Disney World that you can go often!

Maplekitty, love the christmas card pic!

MarathonGirl, hope you start getting more sleep soon :(

[Ericka_Jarett]

Easton's 1st Christmas Pics (http://www.uglyduck.com/proof/easton/firstxmas2006/)

[MidwesternGal]

Pamela/Kimber/Rippy/Maple--Oh yeah, I was definitely upset about the pop. I marched right over and sat down next to DH's aunt and cousins and told them they couldn't feed DS anything. (She has a 4.5 month old and they feed him cake and cookies and pickles and all kinds of stuff. He fussed the whole night, and I'm convinced it was because he had a stomach ache, poor child!) . . . . . And as for Grandpa. . . um yeah, there are no immediate plans for that set of grandparents to be alone with DS for more than an hour or so at a time. I've gotten a lot more aggressive with them since having DS, and I try to bring up examples of other families that have issues and then state my feelings on them, to head off any problems. . . like the tv thing. . . FIL thinks DS should be "allowed" to watch tv and that I'm being mean. UM noooo. . . no point in tv for a 2 month old!!! Plus, if I say "no," then it's no tv!! Oy. Good thing we currently live 2 hours away! I should add they do love DS to death, I have no doubt of that, but just because something is done out of love doesn't mean it's okay with me!! So far, they haven't pushed us/me on anything too much, but they do make comments and I can tell they sometimes think I'm being silly or overprotective or something similiar.

[Bubeleh]

Sounds like everyone had a good holiday. DS was def spoiled. He received lots of toys and books, thankfully no clothes!

We took him in for a unofficial weight/height check. He's a chunker at 15 lbs 2 oz and 26 1/4 " :eek:

Bedtime: I think whatever schedule works better for your child. If they are more proned to a later bedtime go with that. But as PP said stick with a time. I think the reason people suggest earlier bedtimes is because of work/eventually the child will need an early bedtime, and it gives the parents evenings to stay connected.