Come Watch the October 2006 Babies Grow!!!

[Jenzen01]

MichelleRenee - We had problems with Ada's skin, too, and hydrocortisone was the only thing that helped. She had a massive outbreak of eczema around her 1-month birthday that lasted for about 2 weeks. It was so awful. She did all the face rubbing on my shoulder, too.

Going back to work - It was harder with DS than with Ada. The hardest part is just getting everything done in a day. I'm exhausted by night's end. Oh, and this time around, it really helps that I have Thursday and Friday at home. I'm keeping Ada with me on those days, so I get some one-on-one time with her and then the work week doesn't feel like forever. And yeah, I cried on my first day back at work. Dropping Gabe off was worse than dropping off Ada because he was crying, which made me cry. Sigh .... It's never easy, but it does get better.

[MidwesternGal]

Hello everyone!

Not a lot of time to do shout-outs, but wanted to give you a quick update.

DH's job wanted him to start today, but a huge snowstorm hit us, so he drove over there today. He will start in the morning tomorrow. It's about a 2-2.5 hour drive from our current place. He's staying in a hotel all week and then coming home either Friday or Saturday night.

I have almost the whole place packed, minus our hanging clothes, computer, televisions, and some foodstuffs for me to eat.

We are ending up giving our dog to my parents. It's super hard to find a rental that will let you have a dog. It's either waaaay expensive or it's crappy. And now that we have DS (and might have another in a year), I would like to find something we can afford that's nicer. At least she's going to a good home and I can see her whenever I want to do the drive! She does love "grandpa" so that's good, too!

I have a few minor paint repairs to do tonight and I have 4 articles to write for my online job yet. We're heading to my parents tomorrow to spend the night and drop the doggie off. (DS is going to be "show and tell" in my mom's first grade class tomorrow afternoon--hehehe!)

I'm really hoping we can find a rental within this week, get papers signed and start moving this weekend and coming week. Wish us luck!!

I'll be following along with everyone, even if I don't have time to write.

[MichelleRenee]

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail with this "new mom survey" for fun and I thought I would share. Stuff like this helps me to deal with my PPD.

The funnest part about being a mom:

Every single time he smiles it is like I am seeing it for the first time and it just makes me feel so happy and lucky!

The part that makes you cry happy tears:

Every night at bedtime I rock him in our glider. When he finishes eating I put him on my shoulder to burp him. He rests his head on my shoulder and just sits there so quiet and peacefully. Most of the time I swear he is sleeping, but he is wide awake and it just makes me feel so needed and loved.

The part that makes you cry sad tears:

I am terrified of things like SIDS so I try not to think about it, but then the subject comes up in a book or on TV and the thought of losing Tristan just terrifies me. One time he was napping on the couch and was so still I thought he wasn’t breathing. I shook his leg and he didn’t move. For a second I thought I had lost him. Then I shook his leg again and he woke up. That night I cried for hours and could not put him down.

The hardest part about being a mom:

The transition from one lifestyle to another is very difficult. I guess I always thought a baby would “fit into” our old lifestyle, but since he was born I realized our old lifestyle would have to fit into life with a baby, which isn’t always possible.

The biggest surprise about being a mom:

How easy it is to sacrifice for him. The lack of sleep and the non-stop work involved with having a new baby are challenging, but my love for Tristan makes even the hardest tasks a piece of cake. (like waking up at 3 am to feed him, or washing bottles and doing laundry when I would rather be chatting online)

One moment you will never, ever forget:

I keep reliving this in my mind, my journal and to people IRL. When Tristan was first placed on my belly after being born I touched his head and I remember very clearly exactly how it felt… kind of wet and warm. I will never forget how it felt and how that was the happiest moment of my life!

[Pamela]

Well, this bottle thing isn't going so well after all. If she'll take it at all, it takes forever just to get an ounce in her. We're still plugging away at it though.

Kimber, thats a cool site with the growth chart! I've got growth charts at home I've been plotting dd's progress on, but I like how on that site it does it for me :)

MidwesternGal, Congrats to your husband! Good luck with the move!

SlvSpring, I go back to work in a week and a half, I know I'm going to cry. I'll probably be a wreck the whole night :(

[MichelleRenee]

Pamela, which bottles have you tried? I have a nephew who refuses every nipple except for this one:

http://www.babiestravellite.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/PlaytexNaturalActionNippleLarge.jpg

SIL was losing her mind trying to feed him until she tried this one.

[Pamela]

Pamela, which bottles have you tried?

We've tried pretty much every kind we have found so far, including the one you posted (thanks, btw). She'll drink with a stage 2 fast flow nipple (I forget if its gerber or something else), but still often refuses it and just gets mad.

[MichelleRenee]

Well I hope you find something that works for her soon!

[Rippy1010]

Hey all ...

I was just perusing a few excerpts of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" to figure out our naptime woes (since I don't have my own copy yet). The book was saying that I (we / people / babies) need to have a consistent naptime routine that is similar but not the same as the bedtime routine. And so ... I was just wondering ...

those of you that don't have any nap problems at home, what is your naptime routine?

I'm trying to think what in the world I could do for a naptime routine, that my daytime caregiver (my mom) would also be able to recreate, that would be different-but-similar to our bedtime routine. GEEZ, BEING A MOM IS HARD! :p :o

[Jenzen01]

rippy - For both Gabe and Ada, I play music on the CD player. They also have their naps in the same place that they sleep at night. The music is always my big cue that it's time to sleep. It works really well.

[Lily]

Midwestern Gal - Congrats on your DH's new job. I hope the move is a smooth one for you.

Kate's Mom - I went through the same sleep issues last week with my daughter who is be 3.5 months old. At one point she was up every 2 hours during the night. Altheia from the September 2006 thread posted this really good link about infant sleep "regression." It definitely helped me understand what was going on and also stopped me from being frustrated with the sleep changes. BTW she's back to her old nap/night time sleeping routine. The link is: http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/02/qa_what_are_sle.html

Rippy - DD naps a lot during the day. Pretty much every 1.5 - 2 hours for about 1-3 hours. However, she isn't STTN just yet. She'll only sleep for 4-5 hours, eat, and go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. If a feeding and a nap occur at the same time that's all it takes for her to fall asleep. But for the other times I normally just rock and sing her to sleep. The only differences from our night time routine is that there is no bath, book reading, or swaddling.

*************
On a fun note, we woke up to a snow day today. It's the first time it's snowed this much for over 2 years! It's only 3-5 inches, but we're going to bundle DD up in her snow suit and take pictures. It should be fun.

[maplekitty]

The funnest part about being a mom:

Every once in a while I'll stop and think..."woah, I'm a MOM!!" and I look at her and I still can't beleive that she came out of me. That DH and I created her and it's just amazing and awesome to have this tiny baby that's all mine.


The part that makes you cry happy tears:

Looking at the pictures from her birth. It was such a long and exhaustng ride, but every time I look at the picture of her being taken out of me I get a little teary because it was the most amazing moment of my life.

The part that makes you cry sad tears:

When I think about the emotions I was feeling that first day in the hospital. It was fear, and excitment and just not knowing anything and everything was so new...I know I'll never feel that again. Each child will obviously be special in their own way, but I'll never again feel that moment of awe and amazement.


The hardest part about being a mom:

Always wanting to do the right thing, but not always knowing what the right thing is.


The biggest surprise about being a mom:

Only having 5 hours of sleep is completely doable.


One moment you will never, ever forget:

The first time I said her name, and she turned her head and looked at me.

[Michelle]

MichelleRenee - You're welcome for the coupons. Since Madison is on Enfamil, Similac coupons don't do me any good. I'll let you know if I ever get more in the mail!

MidwesternGal - Good luck on the move. Congrats on your DH's job!

Sleeping - We are still STTN. Madison has been a little more fussy lately so she's been going to bed later but we can usually get a solid 9-10 hours. Although we don't have a nap schedule. She'll take cat naps here and there but they usually don't last long.

I've realized that my peaceful nights have revolved around a glo-worm. I'm not joking! Madison loves her glo-worm and when I play it at night, it makes her sleepy. So that's our nighttime routine. Eat, burp, and snuggle with glo-worm! :)

Teething - Oh Madison has started. She'll take her binky and rub it around her gums. I'm sure she is a long way from cutting any teeth but I know something is making her uncomfortable. It's just hard to watch her uncomfortable and I know when it hurts because she's been pretty fussy lately.

I hope that everybody is having a good week! Can you believe how fast our kids are growing up???? It has me in awe whenever I think about it! :D

[SlvSpring]

Naps- We really don't have any kind of naptime routine. Naptimes are hard here.... I am trying to work on it! The only consistent thing we do is try to stick to the no more than 2 hours awake rule. He does have the ocean wonders aquarium in his crib and I will put it on the music only setting and sometimes it does help him relax and go to sleep. The CD thing is a good idea, maybe I should try that though!

Pamela- I think we are going back to work around the same time. It is going to be very tough! Good luck with the bottle situation!! I went to a class called Breastfeeding and the Working Mother last week and one of their suggestions for babies that refuse bottles is using cup feeding (different from sippy cup, just a regular flexible cup) Also they said make sure the baby is in a completely different position from breastfeeding, so the baby views being fed with a bottle as a completely different experience. One example was holding the baby, sitting up, facing away from whoever is feeding her. Maybe you can try that?? Again, good luck!!

Jack has been eating his hands like a madman this past 2 weeks, anyone elses child doing this? He makes the loudest smacking/eating sounds when he does it too!! He is too funny.

[Michelle]

Jack has been eating his hands like a madman this past 2 weeks, anyone elses child doing this? He makes the loudest smacking/eating sounds when he does it too!! He is too funny.

I can commisserate. Madison is eating more than ever too. It seems like she wants to eat all the time so I try to rotate between big bottles and small bottles. I've read that they do eat a lot during their 3 month growth spurt and eventually taper off. I'm still waiting for it to taper off! :)

[Rippy1010]

Naptime ... again. We already play a CD to signal bedtime. Do you think if I still played a CD, but it was different music, that would be enough of a difference? I don't know. I'm having a hard time with this. I partially just think to myself that it will work itself out, and I should just thank my lucky starts that he's STTN. But, then I waiver and think "No, I need to be proactive about this napping situation." Ugh. I beat myself up over everything these days.

I've been having issues (with myself) over working out of the home lately. I still miss DS every day and it doesn't get easier for me. I never thought I would be like this because I've always been very driven, and very independent, and always wanted to work and make my own money. But, now I just want to be home with DS every day. I don't like missing new little things that he does, and I don't like that my parents are always the first ones to see anything new that he does. Plus, if there is anything I need to "work on" with him, I only get a two-day span of the weekend and I can't solve any issues in that short of an amount of time ... for instance, with this napping situation. I need a few days to keep a routine going, in order for it to work right? I can't figure it out in 4-6 naps that a weekend would entail. I'm so depressed about working out of the home right now. Plus ... my parents (mostly my dad) are so in love with my DS, that even when I come to pick him up at night my dad wants to keep playing with him. Last night was the worst it has been, I didn't pry my DS away from my dad until about 6:15-6:25. By the time we got home, I had to put him right in his PJs and start the bedtime routine. I'm happy that my parents love him, and have fun with him, and get a kick out of him. And I don't want to hurt my dad's feelings at all ... but I was crying last night after I put DS to bed because I didn't get to spend a minute with him other than putting him to bed.

Sorry for the long post, girls. I'm just having an awful time about working away from DS, and don't know what to do. Economically, I just can't stay home. We are in way too much debt to cut out my income. I've been so depressed about this for a couple weeks now.

[SlvSpring]

I'm so sorry Rippy. That really sucks, I don't have any words of advice for you because I expect to be going through the same feelings in about 2 weeks when I go back to work. I really, really wish we could afford for me to stay at home too.
Have you thought about working a shorter day? I am going to work 7.5 hours a day vs. 8 (8-4 w/ 1/2 hour lunch) so hopefully I can spend some time with Jack once I pick him up. 30 minutes each day was a doable paycut for us, but I guess it also depends on if your work will work with you on that issue also.

[kate's mom]

Hi ladies! It looks like quite a few of us are getting ready to go back to work. I have to return next Friday. Luckily I am only part time and work 4 hours a day. When I had my first DD I had to return full time and it broke my heart. So we made some changes in our lifestyle and luckily I was able to work part time. The one good thing that came out of me going back to work full time is that is forced us to get on a schedule.

Night time sleep has gotten so much better for us! We took the swaddle away and it really seemed to help. It was a rough first nap and nighttime with out it, but I think that Meg wanted her arms out. The only downfall is her naps are now only 30-45 minutes. Hopefully those will get a little longer as she gets older. I think my older DD's naps became longer around 4.5 months. Thank you to everyone for their help, advice and support during my crazy lack of sleep!!

Hope everyone has a great evening.

[Mrs-Mac]

Rippy - so sorry about how you are feeling. I'm not going back to work for another couple months, but am already dreading it. The thought of only spending a couple hours with DD breaks my heart. I think you should talk to your parents about when you pick him up. Don't make them feel like they are doing anything wrong, but that you need/want to spend time with him too. They should understand that, right? Do they know what time he goes to bed, maybe your dad doesn't realize when you start the bedtime routine. I don't think the situation will get better unless you talk to them. And again, if you make it non-confrontational, and place zero blame on them, I would hope things would go well (saying more "I", instead of "you" statements-if you know what I mean) . My in-laws will be watching DD when I go back to work, so it could be a similar situation. I hope you are able to talk to your parents soon and things start get get better. (Hug)

[TaterBaby]

By the time DH or I pick up DD and we get home, I have only 3 hours with her before she goes to bed. I hate not having more time, but she is absolutely delightful the whole evening. It's kind of like the babysitter gets the cranky times during the day and DH and I get fun, easy time at night! The schedule that working has forced upon us is a great one so I try to keep those things in mind when I get upset about having to WOTH.

New question - does your DC have the bald spot on the back of his or her head? DD's spot is huge. I wish she'd grow some hair there again already!

[MidwesternGal]

Naptime Routine--Usually I just kind of let DS play until he drops off asleep. But, if he's fussy or cranky, I pick him up, lightly swaddle and use a pacifier, and rock him a bit. Then into the crib. So I guess it's pretty similar to our beditme routine of swaddling and rocking and paci.

Rippy--Oh my. I'm sorry about your situation. I agree, your dad probably doesn't realize what time DS has to go to sleep. You're a teacher, right? Perhaps you could find PT work at Sylvan or tutor at home. You wouldn't make as much money, but it would help pay the bills. (Unless you need health insurance through your work). We too have a lot of bills, we cut it EXTREMELY close each month (think by like, less than 100 dollars!). But I have a small work at home job that helps cover those bills. And we knew DH was going to get a pay raise/promotion soon, so that helped knowing we could use the credit card until he got the raise.

Bald Spots--Definitely! DS has a ring around the middle of the back of his head where he rubs it in his crib. It's been really noticable in the last few days.
______________________
We have a place to live! Yay!! We are moving minimal stuff over on Saturday, then movers will hopefully be able to come next week and get everything else. It's a 3 bedroom for the price of the 1.5 bedroom we currently have!! So that's good.

Our current place's furnace went out. We have space heaters set up all over, and the poor guy is trying to fix it now. They may need to get a new furnace, so I'm glad we'll not be living here (though our stuff will still be) starting Saturday.

Topping it off is that I have a massive ear infection with huge swollen lymph nodes. Bah!! So it's been pretty stressful around here.

Oh, and I decided to trash the stupid mini-pill. We'll just use condoms until my next doc's appointment, and then I'll start weaning in a month or two, so I can get back on the combined pills. I HATED the mini pill!! Augh.

[MichelleRenee]

Tristan's head has been very patchy in the back since birth:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/AngelyWangely/Tristan%20Michael/DSC00905.jpg?t=1169140241

But he is starting to get a bald spot right in the middle as well. And his hair is really starting to lighten.

Hand chewing: yes!! All the time! His hands are both dry and red from him sucking on them. Sometimes he shoves his whole fist in his mouth and he is so loud when he does it. I think it's cute! But I wonder, is there any lotion that is safe to put on those dry spots knowing he will be putting his hands back into his mouth? I tried putting some on and putting the mittens on him but we are still unable to find mittens that fit.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Bald Spots - Easton has some thin spots. Both sides of his head and the back. Not super clear in these pics as the hair on top covers up the thinning, but the idea is still there I think
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02441.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02440.jpghttp://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02439.jpg

[Ericka_Jarett]

Some new pics of Easton enjoying his new Jumperoo

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02425.jpg - 1/17
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02434.jpg - 1/18

Watching Baby Einstein's, Baby Noah
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02422.jpg

Eating Cereal in his Highchair
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02401.jpg - First taste of cereal
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02404.jpg- After that first taste

[maplekitty]

awww Robyn has an awesome bald spot, I'll try and take a pic today!


Robyn is sick with a cold....again. God, I hate Curt's work for this, he works at a college, so colds and stuff float around all teh time. He gets it, brings it home, and then passes it off to baby and myself. I feel so bad for my little girl, her nose is all stuffy and she can't breath very easily. Makes for long nights because she keeps waking herself up with the sniffles. :(

[Rippy1010]

OMG, Ericka ... love the cereal pics. His face on "first taste" is kind of like: WTH is this?! LOL!!!

[TaterBaby]

Here's my little baldy! It really looks like someone took scissors straight across the top part.
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/chiogirl_01/bald.jpg

[Michelle]

I'm glad the bald topic came up. I was actually thinking about that the other day wondering about it. Madison has the bald spot too!

[maplekitty]

Oh I forgot to add that I weighed Robyn at playgroup yesterday and she's now 13 lbs 5 oz!!! That's up 12 oz in 2 weeks!!! woah, holy growth spurt nelly!

[SlvSpring]

Bald spot- Yup, Jack has one too, but he also has small ones on the side too, because he likes to put his head to the side when sleeping and sometimes rubs his head back and forth before falling asleep at night. But, I was amazed what little hair Jack has compared to all the babies here, he is a little baldy!!! I will have to take a pic later and post it when he wakes up.

Maplekitty- Sorry about Robyn being sick...that sucks! I totally hear you ont he weight gain thing, I weighed Jack yesterday and he is up to 14lbs 6oz!! :eek: Another 10 oz and he will outgrow his bassinet... I am NOT ready for him to out of our room yet!

Ericka- What cute pics of Easton!! He has gorwn so much. How is he doing with the cereal? How often do you feed it to him? Jack has just started to get interested in food, he watches us very intently as we eat any meal now.

Midwesterngal-Good luck with the move!! That sucks about the heater...at least you won't be there for too much of it.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Slv - Thanks. He is slowly getting use to the idea of eating cereal. I usually feed him 1 time a day. I have fed him mid afternoon and also at night.
Easton's bassinet said by the time he is 3 months or a certain weight, whichever comes first to move him to a crib. I have his crib in our room still, once I get my mom's glider and we pick up a dresser and get things more organized in his room, will be moving him, probably be closer to 6 months old. With him getting up like he does I can't be sitting on the floor in his room to feed him. Plus we need to get a more permanent curtain on his window and the blinds hung.

My little guy has been getting up to eat 3oz and than back down for 2-3 hours and wanting more. Last night I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, I was up at least 4-5 times. Think tonight will have him sit in his jumperoo before bed and hopefully he gets tired enough to sleep for longer tonight. He usually sleeps 4-5 hours and than starts the up and down time.

Midwestern- good luck on moving, a friend of mine said it was easier moving with a baby, than a toddler and being pregnant at the same time.

[bunnybeth]

Today is my first day back at work, and it's just breaking my heart. I've been sitting in my cubicle trying not to cry. And, longest day ever, seriously. Especially since I've taken up over an hour with pumping so far (and 1 more session to go) I thought the day would have gone by quicker. I hope it does get better!

Simon continues to be poor taking bottles. I had him in daycare for a half day yesterday and he took 1 1/2 bottles and refused 1. (About 2 oz total.) This morning, he took about 1/2 oz, and I'm going to call again before my next pumping session to see how his afternoon is going.

Pamela Sounds like we're both continuing the bottle struggle! It hasn't made a *huge* difference, but the only thing that's made really any difference for Simon is heating the nipple a little before giving him the bottle. We just run it under warm tap water for up to a minute. (We're still trying different bottles and other methods as well.)

hand chewing Simon loves chewing/sucking on his hand. Since it keeps him STTN, I'm not going to try to stop it at this point. Plus, he will hardly ever take a pacifier, so it's all we've got. For some reason, I didn't connect this with the raw spot on his hand and had been wondering what that was from... mystery solved!

[kate's mom]

Another bald spot baby!

bennybeth- Hope you survived your first day back. I go back on Friday and am nervous about the bottle. Meg will only have to take 1, but she has never had one. I will have to remember the tip about putting the nipple under hot water.

maplekitty-Congrats on the growth spurt!! That is great!

Ericka_Jarrett- Great picture.

We put Meg in the exersaucer for the first time this morning. We put a blanket around her and she really seemed to like it. I think she was happy to be doing something else besides laying on her back. My other DD was not happy though, she wanted to get in it. It's pretty hard to reason with a 2 year old that the toy is for baby.

My husband is going out of town for a week in a few days and I am starting to panic! I am sure I will be fine, but it makes it a little easier to have another set of hands around. Hopefully it will be a nice smooth week.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

[AmyS]

I've been lurking for a while and have wanted to post, but I wanted to get caught up reading before I did. I hope you don't mind me joining in a bit late.

AmyS - Amy, 30
DH: Jerry, 33
Married: April 2, 2005
NAME: Andrew Jerome S. aka AJ
BIRTHDAY: October 10, 2006 @ 11:53pm
Birth Stats: 9lbs, 4oz & 22"
3 month stats: 17lb 14oz 26.5"

We've been a little crazy around here lately. DS has RSV and was hospitalized last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. He's much better, but still coughing and stuffy. :( I actually want it to get cold and snowy so the germs die off.

Here's 2 pics of him
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a123/amy_stanis/DSC02079.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a123/amy_stanis/DSC02051-1.jpg
Can you guess where we live? Grandma is watching DS tomorrow while DH and I go to the game!! We're so excited.

DS has a huge bald spot on the back of his head. It seems like a little peach fuz might be starting to grow back. Overall he doesn't have much hair anyways.

He has been chewing his hands like mad and they are chapped and raw as well. I try to give him toys to chew on, but, he prefers his hands.

We still swaddle him and quite honestly, I'm afraid to stop. He did well sleeping in the hospital without the swaddle because they had to check him so often, but I think that was because he was just so darn tired and warn out. He doesn't get swaddled for naps, but he sleeps in his swing or in my arms. I was jsut starting to wean him from swing sleeping when he got sick. The pedi says he needs to sleep sitting up for a while, so the swing was back in for naps. He's in his SnugRide for sleeping at night.

I've found a lot of helpful information here and I hope to find and contribute lots more in the future!!

[maplekitty]

welcome amy!!! its never too late to join! glad to have you with us!!

[SlvSpring]

welcome Amy! Sorry to hear about the RSV with AJ, that must be so scary!!

I am also afriad to stop swaddling my son...even for naps! He sleeps so well with it, and always hits himself in the face wen he is unswaddled, I am just not ready to do it yet.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Hi ladies,

I have posted a poll About coloring my hair (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29156), feel free to check it out and vote.

-------------------------------------------------------
Easton is loving his jumperoo, best thing we bought for him at this point. He looks forward to using it everyday.

[kate's mom]

Welcome Amy! Congrats on the big win at the game. I bet you both had a great time. The photos of your son are adorable.
I want it to get cold too, my oldest DD has been fighting the same cold, cough for over a month.

Ericka-Jarrett- I will go and post next if I get a chance, but I really like the red. My thoughts are if you hate it you can always go back.

Meg had a rough day yesterday- very fussy and lots of crying. Poor thing.
I think it is because she hasn't pooped in a week. Isn't it amazing how baby poop takes over your life.
We tried this weekend to give her a bottle- she took the bottle ok but didn't like what was in it. She is EBF but I am planning on her having one bottle of formula while I am gone for 4-5 hours a day. Hopefully she will start to like it better.

Have a great day.

[Rippy1010]

Ericka ~ Our BRU did have all of the Rain Forest line in stock. I ALMOST bought the jumperoo. But, I'm not sure how quickly DS will close the gap to the 25 lbs. He seems to be gaining so rapidly! Are you still giving Easton 1 TBSP of cereal with 4-5 Tbsp of formula? Or has he increased his intake? I bought cereal yesterday, but we aren't trying it until this coming weekend. Also ... once he had his first taste, did you start doing it every day THEN or did you not try again until a few days later? I know you said that you give Easton juice ... what amount of juice do you give?

WELCOME, AmyS!



This weekend was interesting. Saturday was soooo good. I even got Logan to take a 1-hour morning nap in his crib! And half of his second nap was in his crib as well. Sunday started off well ... he slept an extra hour in the morning. Thank goodness, because for the rest of the entire day he only had 1 hour of intermittent sleep. He was fussy, and crying, and tired but wanted no parts of napping. {Sigh} Yesterday was stressful to say the least. So ... it was quite a roller coaster of a weekend. LOL!

ETA: Oh! And my parents said that Logan rolled over (tummy to back) on Friday. I haven't seen it yet, though.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Welcome Amy

Thanks Kate's Mom for your thoughts on the hair color

Rippy - Easton is still taking a small amount of cereal, I haven't increased it yet, since he is still trying to adjust to it. He has gotten better with it though. He usually gets it at least 1 time a day, missed a few days since we started since he really fussy and just not himself. I usually give him a little bottle first, then a spoon or 2 of cereal, then more bottle and we follow that pattern until the cereal is done, and then he will finish off his bottle. Some people say to give them the bottle totally and then try the cereal, while others do the cereal and then bottle. I found this works best for us so we stick with it for now,until he is a little more use to it.

As for the juice I give him 1/2oz mixed with 1 1/2oz of water usually. I give him apple prune juice to help with keeping him regular. I first tried apple juice, but he didn't go for that, so went to the other juice and he loves it.

Regarding the jumperoo, not sure if you have space to spare and what your feelings are regarding another child in time, but if you can spare some space, you may want the jumperoo for him, even if it's only for a month or so. Easton really loves it and goes in it several times a day. Actually, I have to go and get him out of it now, he just fell asleep.

[Rippy1010]

Thanks, Ericka for the great response! I've been thinking about the jumperoo some more ... it IS quite massive, isn't it? LOL! I was wondering where the heck I would put it in our apt. :confused: But, I did like it more than the exersaucers once I saw them in person. The one exersaucer I was looking at ... sheesh ... I barely touched it in the store and it came apart!!! :eek: Yikes! And, we do plan on having another child, so that is something else. Also ... maybe he can still use it after he reaches/passes the weight restriction. Do the legs seem pretty sturdy? I'm thinking I might get it. We haven't tried any juice yet, but I bought a little variety pack since we weren't sure which flavor he would like best. I also was thinking of doing first bottle, then cereal, then rest of bottle.

Thanks again for all of the info!

[MichelleRenee]

I have a 7mo nephew who LOVES his jumperoo. I am really hoping we can get one for Tristan and that he loves it too. Seeing that little guy jumping in there is the cutest thing ever, and it looks like his legs are getting a good workout when he does it.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Rippy - nice thing with the Rainforest Jumperoo is that you can fold it up to put it away, it's not too big actually, looks like it in the store, depends on the size of your apartment to really know if it's too big. We knew this jumperoo was something we needed because that first time I put him in it at the store, he just smiled and that sealed it for us. We just had to wait a few days until the store got them in. The legs are pretty sturdy, right now Easton doesn't even use a number yet for the seat, since he is just about on tip toes to jump right now, which is what he is suppose to be on.

We just reorganized our living room Saturday. We were trying to get most of Easton's stuff into one corner of the room, so that we would have more floor space for him to play in once he gets a little bigger. We have his swing, P-N-P and the jumperoo all in one corner of the room.

The one below is of him this morning after he fell asleep in there.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/DSC02452.jpg

Video
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/th_MOV02444.jpg (http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n96/erickakulm/?action=view&current=MOV02444.flv)

[Rippy1010]

THAT VIDEO IS TOTALLY ADORABLE!!! And, thanks for the info about it folding up! I was unaware of that.

[maplekitty]

Meg had a rough day yesterday- very fussy and lots of crying. Poor thing.
I think it is because she hasn't pooped in a week. Isn't it amazing how baby poop takes over your life.
.


when dd was constipated, doc told me to give her a bottle of 2 oz boiled water and 2 tsp sugar (let cool before yuou give it to her, obviously). worked like a charm :)

[bunnybeth]

I made it through the first day of work and now we're onto the second day back. At least we had a good weekend, but it went by quickly. Friday night, DH went to get a safety check of the car seat since we finally installed the second base in his car. Turns out our seat does not fit into DH's car! So, Saturday I went with a friend (DH had to work) to BRU to get a convertible car seat, since we'd need one eventually anyways, instead of buying another infant seat. While we were there, Simon needed to eat, and towards the end of the feed... huge diaper explosion! Seriously, it was the biggest one to date- poop up his entire back and up the front of the diaper and it got on every single piece of clothing he was wearing. After stripping him down and putting a dent in the pack of wipes BRU had out, he also spit up a lot which coated the entire back of his head and went into his ear. After finally getting him cleaned up and in a new outfit, back to feeding. And, another diaper change before we finally got to leave the mother's room. What a day!

On a different note, I think we may have finally found the bottle Simon will take. About the only thing we hadn't tried yet was a latex nipple (so many are silicone these days) so I picked one up when we were out on Saturday. He took a full 2 oz with it last night in just over 10 minutes, no fussing. If he takes it again today much better in daycare, I will call it a winner and buy more of that kind of bottle!

kate's mom I hope your first day back will go as well as possible, but it is tough! Good luck with the bottle, different things work for different babies. The best thing to keep in mind is not to force it on her until she's screaming (a little fussing is ok) and don't wait until she's starving. She won't want to pick up new skills when she just wants to eat. If you have any problems I can give you a whole list of things to try, we've been through a lot in the past few weeks!

AmyS You got to go to the game, wow, those tickets were hard to come by! I used our Bears fleece blanket when we went to church yesterday, and I ended up bringing my DS over to watch the game at my parents' house, my dad is a huge fan. Superbowl in 2 weeks! I hope your DS is doing much better now, that must have been scary with him needing to be in the hospital.

[SlvSpring]

Ericka-That video is so cute! Makes me want a jumperoo... but we just don't have the room or the storage space. :(

Bunnybeth- Good luck with your second day back at work!! I go back a week from today. I actually was wondering what the difference is between latex and silicone nipples, is one or the other supposed to be better for babies? I hope Simon keeps taking those bottles!

[SlvSpring]

I thought I would offer this to you ladies first. I received 2 formula coupons in mail last week for Good Start formula, one is $8 off, one is for $1 off. We are not using formula so I have no need for them. Please let me know if you would like them... thanks!!

[Ericka_Jarett]

bunnybeth- glad Simon is finally taking a bottle for you. Easton still prefers latex to the silicone. At least at BRU you can still find latex nipples for bottles.

Slv -if you have door frames, you can di the much smaller verion of the jumperoo, that just clamps onto the frame. Ours were too skinny and with the way Easton has been jumping and sort of swinging in his jumpero, he would have been hit the frame constantly.

[Ericka_Jarett]

My Aunt sent me this:

http://members.shaw.ca/anabw/grease.htm

[Jenzen01]

Quick note: Ada slept unswaddled last night for the first time, and it went well. No more wakeups than usual. Actually, she slept a bit better. She fought the swaddle so much before bed, that I thought, "Forget this," and just left her with a blanket over her bottom half. She did have really cold hands all night, but that's life.

And, P.S. .... I hate growth spurts. She was back to nursing every 2.5 hours or so this weekend. It's so taxing on me.

[Rippy1010]

I

HATE

SLEEP

REGRESSIONS.

Seriously.

Ugh. Logan was up at 4:30 this morning, when he was typically STTN to about 6:30-6:50. Boo ... mommy is not a happy camper this morning. I put him to bed 30 minutes earlier last night because he seemed to be wanting to sleep later (like to 7 or 7:30) for the previous two mornings, and I didn't like that I had to disturb him to get him in the car seat to leave for the day. So, I moved up his bedtime by 30 minutes and WHAM! He woke up at freakin' 4:30 and WOULD NOT go back to sleep. Aaargh!

[maplekitty]

I hear ya Rippy!! :(

Robyn has been waking up any time between 3am and 5am every night now for a week....I.dont.do. 3am anymore :p :p

[TaterBaby]

Count me in. Last night Lainey was asleep at 8:00, up at 11:30, up at 3:30 and then I had to wake her at 7:15 so we could leave on time. She used to sleep 10+ hours without waking. Ugh.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Easton has been getting up at least 2 times during the night as well now. He has been doing it for about 2 weeks or so now. Usually up about 6 hours after he goes down for the night and will eat 3 oz and than 3 hours later another 2 -3 oz.

[Michelle]

Ooh, ooh, can I join the tired mom club? Madison usually sleeps through the night but woke up 3 hours early this morning. That makes for a tired mom and dad! I'm thinking it's because she has a cold and is really sniffley though. It's no fun to watch your baby sick!

Okay, I have a silly question. I tried to call the dr. the other day to change Madisons 4 month WBV because we have family coming into town in February and I didn't want her to get her shots while people were in town and her schedule is a little off. Anyway, the woman on the phone did not want to change the appointment because according to her Madison would not be 4 months old yet. According to me, I say she would (and the time between the shots would not matter because no matter when the appointment is, it would be more than 2 months since her last shots). So my question is, how do you count the age of your child? In weeks or in calendar months? If your child is 12 weeks old, are they 3 months old or a week away from 3 months because of the calendar date? It's not a big deal because the doctor was not in that week so we could not change the appointment but it's just bugging me!

I hope that everybody is having a good week! :)

[Rippy1010]

Michelle ~ I count a week age and a month age. Because of the same reason ... differences with the dr. So, right now my DS is 17 weeks old, but I don't consider him to be 4mo until tomorrow. :rolleyes: And, even though my DS is 4mo tomorrow, my dr said that he couldn't come in for his 4-month WBV until 2/1. These doctors are so strange. :confused: Anyway, sorry that Madison isn't feeling well. :(



Sorry that everyone else is dealing with the sleep abnormalities/regressions, too. It's not fun at all. I've been dragging all day. Why is it that we were able to deal with it when they were newborns, but all of a sudden it's hard on us? LOL!

[TaterBaby]

Michelle, Our dr. goes by calendar date. Lainey was born on 10/7 and due for her 4 month WBV on 2/7, according to them. In fact, I tried to get in the day before and they said no!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Michelle - 12 weeks is not 3 months actually. That is because some weeks are 5 weeks while others are 4 weeks. Easton is presently 20 weeks today, which is 4 months and 2 weeks and 4 days. Easton has had a doctor's appt a week after his 2 month WBV should have been.

[Michelle]

Thanks for the responses on the age calculation Allison, Emily, and Ericka! I have no idea why that was driving me nuts, but it was. :)

[maplekitty]

its a sad day ladies..... :(
I think its time for Robyn to move to her crib, and out of our room. I am so sad and torn about this. However, she cannot be in her craddle anymore, she's way too big. Whenever she rolls to one side, the whole craddle lists to one side. She also tosses and turns in her sleep and she's smacking her poor little hands on the wooden bars. But I dont want her to leave!!!!! :( I like having her in our room, I like being able to just sit up and see her, and hearing her sleep (snore) all night. This means my baby is growing up, and I just dont know if I'm ready for that yet!!! :p

[SlvSpring]

I feel your pain, maplekitty!! Jack is just a couple ounces away from being 15lbs and that is the weight max for his bassinet. I am just not ready for him to be in his own room yet.... I will miss him so much. :(

[KimberDK]

Yeah, I'm yet another one with a baby that suddenly doesn't want to STTN. She sometimes still does STTN, but after doing it consistently for over a month, she is suddenly waking up again some nights. For some reason it's not bothering me at all, though. Not sure why, but I'm not any more tired when she wakes up in the night than I am if she sleeps through.


Maple - I feel you about transitioning Robyn to her room. We did that a little while ago and it was hard. What helped me was getting a video monitor - I keep the parent unit on my night table so anytime I roll over I can look over and see her. I was dreading it, but ended up finding it much easier than I expected after the first couple of nights. (For me - she had no problem at all) Good luck!

Michelle - I also count months by calendar months, not by 4-week increments. If you counted in weeks, then you'd be saying your baby was 12 months old after 48 weeks, which would be a full 4 weeks before her first birthday. Just curious: which way do you prefer to count it?

[kate's mom]

Just when we got DD sleeping really well she is also back up quite a bit.
Hopefully it is just a short time for all of us and we will all have long sleep nights again soon.

Yesterday was my nanny's first official day with both girls and she did great!! I of course cried the entire time I was gone. Meg not only took a 2 hour nap (she only will take 45 minutes for me) she also took the bottle from her!!
I think we are going to have to give her a raise.
I start work on Friday so we are using these few days as a trial run in case Meg wouldn't take the bottle, or if it was too crazy.
This is the same nanny that I had for my older DD but we used to go to her house, now she is coming to mine which makes my life much easier.

Good luck to everyone on the transition to the crib. We moved Meg into hers a while ago, she didn't like the bassinet in our room and was sleeping in the bouncy next to my bed. As soon as that wasn't working we put her in the crib. I probably went into her room every hour the first few nights to check on her.

Meg is up. Gotta go.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Jarett wants to do another photo shoot (we use Easton's room for that presently) and than move Easton's crib to his room. He sleeps in our room in his crib once he got out of his bassinet. I dread it because with him getting up 2 times a night, I will have to get out of our room to go to his to feed him. I told him all the babies on the board are waking up after they use to STTN. So at least Easton is not the odd baby out. Once he can sleep on his tummy at night, I think he will STTN for sure. He takes long naps that way where on his back he wakes up sometimes after only 20 or 30 mins. His tummy he could sleep for 1-2 hours easy.

Easton has been pretty stuffy the last few nights, so we have been running the vaporizer with just water though. So that wakes him up as well I think.

[Jenzen01]

Hey, at least you guys got to experience STTN! I had one night of it. Oh, and the fun part is that the nursery is upstairs and we're downstairs, so I literally stumble up there to feed her in the middle of the night.

Last night was pretty good. She was up at 2:45 and then somewhere around 5:30. At 5:30, I just stuck her nuk in her mouth, and she went back to sleep until after 6.

Just curious ... Is there any correlation with forumla feeding and STTN? Any breastfeeding moms have babies who are STTN?

[TaterBaby]

We moved Lainey to the crib in her room several weeks ago and while I miss her, I sleep SO much better. Our compromise is that if Lainey wakes to eat and DH is out of the bed getting ready for work, she gets to sleep with me for a couple of hours each morning. I love that time!

[TaterBaby]

Jenzen01, I BF my DD. She has had no formula and we've had weeks, maybe even a full month, of STTN. Until this recent sleep regression, that is. I read that STTN is a developmental milestone, not related to how much formula, cereal, etc. they eat before bedtime. I fully believe that.

[Pamela]

We just had our 4 month WBV, dd is now 12lbs 3oz (23rd percentile) and 23.5 inches (29th percentile).

KimberDK, thanks for the link to that growth chart. I've got some paper ones I've been tracking her growth on, but I like how the website does it for me!

Welcome AmyS!

[jbemommy]

Count us in on the sleep regression. DS has been up at least once a night for the past week, 2 nights he's been up twice. DH and I are both sick, so that makes it even worse.

We gave Steven some cereal last night for the first time (he's just over 4 months now). He let most of it run back out of his mouth of course, but he did open his mouth for the spoon. I feel sorry for him having to drink that nasty Alimentum, so am hoping at least he'll get something good-tasting now and then, not that baby food is really all that great. DH wants to try switching him to soy, but I'm really afraid of his screaming and miserableness starting again. I like my happy smiling baby! Although if he tolerates the soy, I can give him the EBM I still have frozen--I can't bring myself to throw it out.

[MidwesternGal]

Hello everyone! We're done with the move! Yippeee! Things went um. . . interestingly. The movers (hired by DH's company) got the truck STUCK in the driveway of the old house and had to hire a wrecker to get them out. Then they dropped some stuff (but it was all okay). Oy.

Our new house is okay--another rental, of course. It's broken up into several small rooms on the first floor. The two bedrooms upstairs are weird. The ceilings slant and the staircase is really narrow. We couldn't get the box springs for our full size bed upstairs, so we're sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

The highlight of the house is that we have a super cool dining room/catch-all room. The guy who used to live here paints murals for a living and he painted the dining room. He did a maroonish base with silver/grey and white stripes in a square pattern over top of it. Then on one wall is a huge wine glass and grapes. (Think something like TLC's Trading Spaces.) The landlords said we could paint over it, and I said "no way!"

DS took to the move pretty well. His digestive system is a little screwy because I've been eating like crap for the last week (ate out 5 days straight, every meal!).

After I'm done posting here, I have to get my butt in gear and find a new doctor because his 4 month checkup is due soon. There is a clinic and hospital in our new town. . . but um. . . they look like someplace you'd go to be "put down!!" I don't ever want to step foot in them! The two larger towns near us (about 25 minute drives) both have much, MUCH nicer hospitals, so hopefully we can get into the clinics there.

Question: Now that DS is rolling over consistently from his back to tummy, he always, ALWAYS does it for the first hour to hour and a half after eating. Which then causes him to massively spit up, rubbing his face and hands in it, getting it up his nose, in his eyes, etc. I know I'm not supposed to restrict his movement, but would it be okay to pop him in his swing/bouncer/exersaucer for that first hour or so to be sure that he digests what he eats?

Sleep regressions: Not too much here yet, but DS has never been a "good" sleeper anyway. He usually goes down between 7:30-8 and up again around oh. . . 3-5 am? Last night he went down at 10:30 p.m. and slept through until 7:30 a.m. But I prefer him to go down earlier and then up earlier, so I can get things done in the evenings.

Crib Transition: DS was in the crib by 7 weeks, I think? He has such long arms and legs, he was smacking the sides of the bassinet by that point all ready. The first night or two I kind of freaked out, checking on him all the time, but it went smoothly after that. I am a light sleeper, so it really helped me a lot.

[Ericka_Jarett]

midwestern - glad the move went well. most definately put him in a place he can sit up. We put Easton in his swing, his jumperoo or just hold him.

Regarding your boxspring, if you have an Ikea or something like that near you or you can order on-line, you can get what they call a Sultan. (Your hubby may even be able to just get some thick wood for the same idea.) It's basically 2 strips of fabric with wood slats going across the fabric, so you can use your bed frame and have your mattress off the floor. We had the same issue with our queen in our apartment. Sultan (http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15558&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=33882&langId=-1&categoryId=16714&chosenPartNumber=25844409)

[AmyS]

I know I did this to myself, but who wouldn't cuddle and hold their sick baby? For the few weeks AJ was really sick, all he wanted was to be held constantly. I did it because I felt bad. Now, he won't nap anywhere but in my arms. Help! I put him in his crib or the swing and all he does is scream. Any suggestions how to get him back on track?

[bunnybeth]

Well, not so sure the latex nipple is the end of our bottle struggles. After Sunday, Simon has been taking them the same as the others. Oh well. In good news, he has been taking bottles a little better in general. Yesterday, he drank 3 bottles (2 oz each) almost all the way! Not that he latched on or anything, but in his chewing and playing with the bottles, it all went down. So, I guess for us, just giving him multiple bottles a day is getting him used to them, as he hasn't totally refused a bottle since Monday. Hoping it continues to get better...

SlvSpring Latex nipples are softer and less plastic-y feeling. But, they aren't as easy to clean (no dishwashers or steam sterilizers) and you can't find them everywhere. I think some babies are allergic to them as well.

Ericka By me, we have a huge Target that also carries some latex, so at least BRU isn't my only choice. They sure aren't everywhere though.

Michelle I count by weeks or months. Like right now, I'll say he's "12 weeks" or "almost 3 months" old. We're not going in for the 4 month WBV until 3/13 though, which is closer to 4 1/2 months old.

maplekitty I was a bit sad to move Simon to his crib last month, but so happy when I found he slept a lot better when he was in a quieter/darker room. The monitor we have picks up all his little noises, so I still can hear him sleeping at night, which is cute. And, I'm glad to hear he's not the only snoring baby!

Jenzen I've always breastfed and Simon's been STTN since about 6 weeks consistantly. (He did it occationally from 4-6 weeks.) So, it's not all just in how they eat. I hope it happens for you soon! Oh, I did notice that the thing that made STTN happen for us is Simon learned how to self-soothe and fall back asleep on his own. That's about when he discovered sucking on his fist (now thumb).

AmyS Have you tried using white noise? Car ride? Or maybe at least a sling so you can have your hands free?

[Mrs-Mac]

Glad to see I'm not the only one with sleep regression also. Grace is now waking up about around 11 (she goes down at 7) and then around 5. Its not too bad, because she'll eat and go right back to sleep, but I'm missing the extra sleep. It must be the age, since so many of us are going through it.

We are still dealing with swaddling. I'd like to wean her of it, but I don't want to mess with her sleeping. I did swaddle her with one arm out this morning and she slept for about 45 minutes (which isn't any worse for her morning nap). I'll keep trying that. I'll also be asking the Ped about it at her 4-month checkup.

Baldspot - Yup, a HUGE one. Since she has a lot of dark hair, I think its super noticeable. Oh well. I'll have to find cute hats for the spring. :rolleyes:

Bunnybeth - I think I'll have to get some latex nipples to try. DD still isn't taking a bottle, but to be honest, we haven't tried much lately. Its just so much work to pump and I haven't wanted to.

MidwesternGal - Glad the move went pretty well. Have fun unpacking. :p

AmyS - Maybe you could try putting him down when he is completely out? We had to do that for awhile. Is it just naps or at night too? If he is sleeping at night not in your arms, it should happen for naps too, right?

Pamela - you work 3rd shift? Will you be watching dd during the day or will you have help?

Jenzen - Another bf baby and she was STTN (and still sleeps really well) for about a month. The sleep book I've read (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby) it inists that food has nothing to do with sleep, but like Taterbaby said, its a development milestone...and a learned skill. Its a good book, try finding it at a local library. It does have some great tips and isn't just about CIO.

[Pamela]

Pamela - you work 3rd shift? Will you be watching dd during the day or will you have help?


I work night shift -- 7pm-7:30am. I'll just be working one night per week though and dh will be home with her. When I get home in the morning I'll just sleep for a few hours then get up.

eta, I'll only be working nights when dh is off the next day.

[Bubeleh]

We had our 4 month visit today. He's in perfect health and growing like crazy. I think I did a terrible job a measuring him in between visits so the 3 month height was way off. Shots went well just a little bit of crying then a bottle and off to sleep. Due to his food allergies we have postponed introdcuing food until 6 months.

Height 26.5 weight 16lbs 13 oz and Head Circ 16.5

He's sleeping well, most nights 10 - 12 hours. Occasionally he'll wake up at 3ish cry for a few minutes and go back to sleep. I think STTN is developmental and temperment. Some babies just don't want to do it. I know babies much older than DS who still aren't STTN.

Bald Spot Not bald but thinning a little bit. He has so much hair it would take a lot for it to all fall out..

MidwesternGal The mural sounds really cool!

Crib Transition We started in the crib so no transition for us.

AmyS I would wean him into taking naps other places. Start a week of walking/rocking him to sleep where he is good and out. Then placing him in your spot of choice. The next week do almost asleep and so on, until he is just drowsy when you put him down for a nap.


Sounds like DS is waking, hope everyone has a great day!

[marathongirl]

Our computer has been down so I'm WAY far behind!!!

Bald spot - yup. DD had it too.

STTN - not even close.

DS is going to meet his great-grandfather on Saturday. I hope he's good b/c we'll be in the car for 7 hours.

[bunnybeth]

And bottle repetition has won the day! He's taking all bottles and nipples the same, but starting Wednesday and continuing yesterday, he latched on his bottles and just drank them all down. He had all 4 of his bottles Wednesday (2 oz each) and 3 of his bottles (3 oz each) yesterday. Hoping the trend continues today...

Mrs-Mac I hear you on that, we were a bit lazy with pumping and offering bottles for the first few weeks. Pumping is so much work, I can't wait to ditch it. :p

marathongirl Good luck with the trip! Does DS like to sleep in the car on short trips? Ours does and our longer car trips this past month went really well, as he slept most of the time.

[Roxygirl]

Guess what, there is an October 07 mommy in the September 07 mommies thread. I can't believe it's been a year. Totally blows my mind.

As for an update, everything is good here. Still not STTN, which I hate but atleast she's only up once about 3 then about 6 and then up for the day around 9. Still it's not un-interupted sleep for me which I miss so much. Hard to believe I haven't slept a whole night through in almost 4 months. How does our bodies adjust to this??? Does anyone else feel good some days then just wake up one day and feel like they were hit by a mac truck??

Her 4 month appt is Feb 9th. I'm looking forward to seeing her stats.

Questions?How many babies are rolling over and which way does your DD/DS roll???

Can you see if your child will be right or left handed at this early of stage???

[Rippy1010]

How many babies are rolling over and which way does your DD/DS roll???
No rolling over here. My parents said that he rolled over once from tummy to back. I haven't seen a single roll. But, he does kind of act like he's trying to figure it out


Can you see if your child will be right or left handed at this early of stage???
I have no idea. We can't tell at our house yet ... one day he's dominately using one hand, then the next day he'll dominately be using the other.

[Jenzen01]

DS is 2, and we're still trying to figure out if he's right- or left-handed. We're pretty sure he's right, but he still does a lot of stuff with his left.

No rolling here. I thought she might go from tummy to back last night because she started tipping over, but no luck.

I got my BFP on Feb. 2 last year, so it's almost been a whole year. I can't believe it!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Was waiting for that first Oct baby. It will be a year since my BFP on the 30th, Easton was conceived the 18th though, so already a year there.

I have had the weirdest dreams lately. It's Easton's 1st b-day party, I wake up like no way, not ready for that already

[Rippy1010]

I know! I got my BFP on the 27th, so it'll be a year tomorrow! Craziness!

[MidwesternGal]

I got my BFP on the 26th, so it's today!!

Rolling Over--Yup, all kinds of it here. DS rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy, both sides. He even rolls in his crib once he gets his arms out of the swaddle. He'll work himself off the blanket, go rolling all over the house--I've left the room and come back to find him about 3 feet from where he started! I'm thinking I need to get baby proofing stuff all ready. I'm definitely not ready for a mobile baby!!!!!!!!!

Hands--MIL thinks DS is right handed. I don't really see a preference. He might roll to the left just a touch more. . .but he sucks his right hand more.

I taught DS how to blow raspberries. He does it all the time now. Sometimes he gets a big old spot of drool in it though! And my man loves to talk. He talks and talks and talks!!

We had a mini-photo session here this morning with some cutesy clothes in my college colors. I'll post a couple later tonight or tomorrow.

I'm thinking I might call Portrait Innovations for his 5/6 month photo shoot and Easter photos. Anyone used them? We got him a onsie that has a picture of a baby chick and it says "Chicks Dig Me" on it.

ETA: What is the month range that babies are supposed to start sitting up on their own? Just curious.

[maplekitty]

Robyn is starting to sit up on her own now! Albeit, its a very far forward leaning sit up, but still it's pretty exciting!! :)

She's rolled over from tummy to back a few times, but she really doesnt like being on her tummy much, so this isnt an every day ocurance :p

[Ericka_Jarett]

Midwesterngal - try not to encourage the raspberries, especially since your DS will be eating foods soon or you will forever be wearing cereal,veggies and fruits at ever feeding. Easton blows them as well, but thankfully he doesn't do it at cereal time.

[Tika]

Hello ladies!

STTN: Not that lucky! DS still wakes up at night. I think it has more to do with him being a snacker (still only take 2 oz when bottle fed) thus too hungry to STTN. He goes down around 10 - 11PM, get up to eat around 3-4 and then again around 6 – 6:30AM. After eating he goes right back to sleep, so I am hoping that we will get there soon.

Crib Transition: We moved him to his room this week and he has done very well. I want to say that he even sleeps longer, but we’ll see how it goes.

Bald Spot: He has less hair in the back but no bald spot!

Rolling Over: None here! I need to put him on his tummy more often. Although, he does like to move around in his crib.

Right vs. left handed: I read somewhere that babies switch from one hand to the other a lot in the first years. Apparently you can’t really tell which way it will go until the age of 2 or 3.

Marathongirl: Good luck with the car ride.

Midwesterngal: WTG with the move!

AmyS: I haven’t had a chance to welcome you--- Welcome!:) The ladies already gave you some good advices on how to help DS with naps. Hope it gets better.

Sitting up: I believe they typically sit straight on their own around 6 months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had our 4-month WBV yesterday and DS is 15lbs and 24 ¼ inches long. We think that he definitely has a dairy sensitivity. So, I really have to start reading labels when I get stuff. Such a huge adjustment! But anything for my baby since I don’t want to stop BFing! The other day I thought I was being good by getting Sunchips to find out it has whey and buttermilk! He had a rash all over his face the next day!:(

They started him on vitamins (Tri-vi-sol) and we discussed solid. Basically due to his dairy issues, we will wait until 6 months to start. The shots went relatively well; although, this time around he got a slight fever.

[AmyS]

Thanks for all of the nap advice. Starting Monday I'm going to do what Bubeleh suggested. We're taking a road trip tomorrow to visit my sister at Illinois State and I didn't want to mess with the naps before a 2 hour road trip. I wanted a semi-happy well rested child for traveling.

AJ is seems to be trying to sit up on his own. Whenever I lay him down he is lifting up his head and shoulders. We're going to have to retire the swing very soon because he keeps trying to sit forward and I'm afraid he's going to tip forward and not get back up. The bouncey is also out of the picture. All he does is scream when I put him in there. He wants nothing but to stand now! Not standing in the exersaucer, oh no. He just wants to stand on your lap with your hands in his armpits. Any other way is just not acceptable and screaming promptly ensues. :rolleyes: So much for getting the dishes done, right?

Our Marathon is supposed to be delivered today. He is just days away from outgrowing his SungRide. His torso is just so long. And again, he screams in the SnugRide. He wants to lift up and sit forward and gets upset when he can't. I don't think the Marathon will do him any better for that, but oh well. He better get used to it.

Have a great weekend!

ETA: How many times a day does your DC nurse/take a bottle? AJ is still EBF and eats 7-8 times/24 hours. Does this sound right?

[kate's mom]

HI Ladies! I hope everyone is having a good weekend.
My DD is finally taking a nap. She had a really rough night last night. She was very gassy and only wanted to be held. She finally fell into a deep sleep around 1:00a.m. Luckily she finally pooped this morning! She has still been pretty gassy today. I did try the sugar water the other day, it didn't really help. Hopefully tonight is better.

no rolling over yet but really close. She does scoot all around in her crib.
No trying to sit up either.

She is BF for 5 or 6 feedings and gets 1 bottle. She just started a bottle this week so she was EBF. So I would say 7/8 is good.

AmyS- Good luck with the long trip. Hope the car ride goes well.

TIka- Sorry about the dairy sensitivity. It is amazing how many things have dairy in them. I hope the vitamins help.

More replies later.

[Rippy1010]

Feedings per day~ Logan has 5 bottles a day, religiously. We are FFing, though. And I have heard that FF babies will cut down the number of their bottles quicker than BF babies.


Ericka (and anyone else) ~ WOW! We bought the jumperoo today. He is IN. LOVE. with it. I see myself being able to actually get things done in the house now! LOL! At least I can put him there and go do something, come back and interact, leave again for something else, etc. We are all happy in this house today. LOL! Quick question ... does your dragonfly toy stand straight up, or lay down?

[Ericka_Jarett]

Hi,

Glad Logan loves the jumperoo, good investment huh?. Easton goes in it several times a day, he was jumping and swing so much in it last night that he fell asleep in it after some time. The dragonfly just lays down, I think it was the box or ad that shows it standing up. Usually if I am in the kitchen doing laundry, I will peek over at him and talk to him. See if he sleeps any better for you with the exercise he gets with it.

Did you start cereal yet? Easton is regularly getting it everyday now and about 1 1/2 TBS. He is doing much better with it, probably mid-February will try veggies, he'll be 5 months by then.

[Ericka_Jarett]

2 new pics taken yesterday

http://www.uglyduck.com/proof/easton/4months/Easton_4months_blue_DSCF515.jpg
http://www.uglyduck.com/proof/easton/4months/Easton_4months_blue_DSCF512.jpg

[maplekitty]

wow Ericka, Easton has so much hair!! so cute, he looks like such a little boy! :)

[Rippy1010]

Did you start cereal yet? Easton is regularly getting it everyday now and about 1 1/2 TBS. He is doing much better with it, probably mid-February will try veggies, he'll be 5 months by then.

We just did on Saturday for the first time. I followed the "first-time feeding" instructions on the box (1 TBSP of cereal with 4-5 TBSP of formula) and he didn't really like that so much. When we did it on Sunday, I made it a little thicker and he enjoyed that a little more and was kinda realizing what it was all about. I would say that he is probably actually swallowing about 1/2 - 3/4 of a TBSP (post-prepared). We will probably try some of the "Gerber 1st Foods" around 5 months or so as well. :D

Unfortunately, Logan will fight to the nth degree to avoid falling asleep. So, when he gets tired in the jumperoo he won't just fall asleep ... he starts crying. :rolleyes: Still no luck there. LOL!

Love the pics of Easton! That IS a headful of hair! My DS's hair growth has slowed down some. I can't believe how fast all of our little ones are growing up!!!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Rippy - Easton wasn't thrilled with the soupy cereal either, I usually make it a bit thicker, usually doesn't make quite the same mess either when it comes out of his mouth.

That's funny Logan doesn't go to sleep better for you. I will put Easton in his jumperoo sometimes before bed and let him jump for a little bit, gets him a bit worn out and then I will cuddle with him on the couch and then up to bed. He just learned that he can spin all the way around in his jumperoo, he was doing it by accident and once he got turned away from us, would start to fuss a bit, right now he is sitting in there turning himself around.

Thanks for the compliments ladies. Most of his hair at this point is on the top of his head, his sides more towards the back are thinning a lot. Have to push his hair to the side because it's getting longer in the front now. We don't plan on getting him a haircut anytime soon though. (although several people have said, he needs a haircut soon - we are like what to cut a couple little strands from the front, crazy) Once that 1st haircut is done, they start looking so much like little kids instead of babies.

We had no luck getting the pics we took yesterday retrieved, they are lost. Jarett's camera and neither one of our computers can read the card, don't know how it happened, but we will do retakes this week most likely.

We had a dusting of snow last night, to make it like 4 dustings so far this year, glad it wasn't more since Jarett woke up an hour later than normal for work. Good thing Easton was fussy or I wouldn't have woken up to see the time either.

[Rippy1010]

That's funny Logan doesn't go to sleep better for you. I will put Easton in his jumperoo sometimes before bed and let him jump for a little bit, gets him a bit worn out and then I will cuddle with him on the couch and then up to bed.

Oh! The nightime sleeping is fine. He will go to bed pretty quickly, and STTN. It's just the pesky daytime naps that are the killers! He will fight those with every last breath. LOL!

That SUCKS about the pictures from the photo session! I would not be a very happy person right now. Yeah ... aren't these dustings pretty annoying? I want it to either snow or not snow (preferably) so that it's not so iffy about whether the roads will or won't be bad in the morning. :rolleyes:

[MidwesternGal]

AmyS--DS still eats about 6-8 times a day. I think maybe in a month or so they cut down and then eat more at a time. DS still eats only about 3-5 oz at a time when we've had to formula feed him.

Ericka--Wow, what great photos! I always try to stage photos at home, but they never turn out nearly as good as yours! (See below! LOL) And definitely, what a head of hair--such a boy! I agree, that first haircut definitely makes them look like kids and not babies--I'd hold off too.

Rippy--My DS has the same problem as yours! You'd think now that he's more mobile (rolling and scooting a bit on the floor), he'd wear himself out and take better naps. . . but I was lucky to get 3-20min naps in for the last week! I just don't get it--you'd think babies would just conk off if they're tired, esp. with all that activity!!
______________________________
Well, we have a new favorite "toy" in our house. The ceiling fans! We didn't have them at our other houses. DS will stare at them, kick his feet up, and talk/yell at them for an hour or so at a time!! And--they don't even have to be moving!!

Here is one of the photos from our mini-session the other day. Not too bad, considering I was trying to keep him from tipping over and he hates the camera in front of mommy's face. We definitely need a higher mega-pixel camera though!!

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q168/midwesterngal03/Random%20Pictures%20of%20Ben%202007/HawksWarmUpSuit04.jpg

[Ericka_Jarett]

Thanks Midwestern. Cute pic. Hubby has all the photography gear, we have lights and stands and the works. The paper we just bought the other day, wasn't quite the shade Jarett wanted but still worked. All the backdrops are pro photo ones. DH's site is here (www.ducklingphoto.com)

Ceiling Fans - we had ours on last year in our bedroom and everytime it was on, Easton would just stare at it. He was just a month old so didn't coo yet at it.

[Rippy1010]

Midwestern Gal ~ Seriously! It is so frustrating. I don't get why they won't just CLOSE THEIR EYES if they're so darned tired. It stresses me out to no end on some days. I was with you ... I've really really been trying to only do naps in the crib lately (where before I would hold him so that he would at least sleep and we could restore sanity to the house). Sunday he had two 30-45 min naps (and a 20 min nap with daddy holding him). Saturday I did get 1 hour nap, and then one 45 min nap, and then one 20 min nap. You'd think by now they'd figure out that they're not really going to miss anything.

CUTE picture! Oh ... and the ceiling fans! We have one in our apt, but we haven't had it on lately. But, my parents have theirs on to circulate the heat through the house, DS loves it! Some days it's the only way my parents can get him to take a nap. :rolleyes:

[bunnybeth]

Rolling Not really a full roll, but he'll roll over on his side all the time in his crib.

Hands He does prefer to suck on his right hand, but DH tries to encourage him to use the left. I told him not to force our son to be left-handed if he isn't naturally! (DH is a lefty; my mom should have been, but was forced to use her right)

MidwesternGal I have a CC friend who has used Portrait Innovations and loved them. They did take really cute pics of her DS. I was thinking about using them for 6 month portraits, though they aren't all that close to me.

AmyS DS nurses 3-4 times and takes 3-4 bottles at daycare in 24 hours. So, that sounds about right to me.

Ericka Cute new pics, love that look on his face! :)

New question: Any Valentine's Day plans? DH and I usually go out for a nice dinner for the holiday. I was originally thinking about doing the same with Simon at a family-friendly place, but with it being a weeknight, I'm not so sure since we'd probably get going on bedtime late. Maybe just a nice dinner in. Last year, I got my BFP on Valentine's Day, so Simon is a nice celebration of that anniversary as well!

[maplekitty]

O......M......G......
Robyn has been waking up every 2 hours at night for teh past three days! I'm so exhausted!!!!!! :( :(
And, on top of that...she'll eat like 6 oz of bottle during *each* feeding at night....does this mean she's ready for some solids?? She just doesnt seem satisfied EVER!!!!! :eek:

[Michelle]

I'm still in shock that there is an October 2007 Mommies thread started. Can you guys believe that when this thread started that time would go so quickly??? Wow!

[MichelleRenee]

maplekitty, isn't she about to start solids anyways? (I thought this happened around 4 months?) Maybe she is just going through a growth spurt.

ETA: No V-Day plans yet. We also got our BFP on V-Day last year and I can't stop thinking how we can't possibly top that this year. I am hoping Mike will at least buy me the Opal ring I have been wanting. (October birthstone)

[Ericka_Jarett]

maple - just a reminder, the first few weeks of solids usually end up on baby instead of in baby. Her main source of food is still BM or formula for 6 months. Easton eating solids hasn't made him sleep any better, so don't fall for that myth. You can certainly think about starting solids with her when she is 4 months next week. It will only be about 1 TBS of cereal so it won't be enough to fill her up at all. Probably another growth spurt though.

[MidwesternGal]

Maple--Do you feed her right before you go to bed? Have you switched to formula? Maybe you could try to cluster-feed her (a little bit every 1/2 hour to hour) for a couple hours right before she goes down for the night. If you have switched to formula, then I think most information says that formula-fed babies can be starting solids around the 4-month mark. (Everything I've read says 6-month mark for BF babies).

MichelleRenee--I want an opal ring too! Although I'm not a huge fan of the stone (I like the alternative stone, pink tourmaline, better), I do want a ring. However, I can't find any that I really like. Where did you find the one you want?

Rippy--DS staying awake all day seems to make me much, much tireder. Do you find that as well? It's kind of stressful trying to get all the housework and my WAH job done with him staring at me the whole time!

V-Day Plans--Nope, none. Probably won't do much of anything.

[Rippy1010]

maplekitty ~ Ugh! Sorry to hear that. Maybe it's a sleep regression (I think someone posted a link about sleep regressions previously) ... where their body is working on a new milestone and it messes up their sleep? Either that, or I'd definitely say growth spurt. I too would try the cluster-feed thing a few hours before bed. I hope it gets better!!!

MichelleRenee ~ I love your new avatar. (Hopefully it's new, and I'm not just now noticing it ... LOL!) It is adorable!

MWGal ~ Actually, I had to go back to work so my parents have him during the work day, and I know my mom gets pretty tired out from trying to entertain him all day, and continually trying to get him to nap. :rolleyes: But yes, I do notice on the weekends that I am much more worn out because not only will he not sleep for a nap, but then he cries the whole time because he's miserably tired ... so I'm left trying to entertain, console, and rock him. :( Plus - - housework, what's that? When he gets like that there is no mommytime or housework time ... just baby time. I completely feel your pain! I was asleep on the sofa at 8:00 last night!

[SlvSpring]

Wel, I was supposed to start back at work today, but Jack and I are at home because he has a very stuffy nose. Every 2 hours we have to use the saline spray and bulb syringe and he screams because he hates it so much, it is just awful. He is finally starting to get better today... it is just so tough to see my little guy sick! :(

Maplekitty- Jack has been doing the 2 hour thing for about 2 weeks now too after sleeping in 7 hour stretches. He sleeps for about 5 hours and then wakes up to eat and then is up every 2 hours after that. If this is a grwoth spurt.... when will it end? aghh... I am sooooo tired. I don't know how I will work getting up so much during the night.

rolling-Jack is not rolling or flipping yet. He really just doesn't seem to interested in doing that yet.

V-day-We were just thinking about getting some curbside take-a-way from Outback since it is a weeknight and Jack is not very good in restaurants yet since he likes to be held most of the time.

cute photos, ericka and midwesterngal!!

[kate's mom]

maple- My DD has been waking up every 2 hours for the last few night too. It stinks! I was so tired at work today (my first official day back).
Hopefully it changes soon.

We are also dealing with the same short naps. My other DD lengthened her short naps around 4.5 months. I hope Meg does too.

No plans for Valentines Day yet. My husband is leaving on Thursday for a week, so we have just been trying to get ready for that.

[Ericka_Jarett]

No V-day plans. Hubby feels it's more of a Hallmark holiday so we don't do anything special. Probably just dinner at home. Easton does well in restaurants, will just depend on how much $$ we have after the bills are paid at that point. :)

Thanks for the compliments about the pics.

[kate's mom]

MidwesternGal and Erika jarret- GREAT PHOTOS!

[AmyS]

Midwestern Gal ~ Seriously! It is so frustrating. I don't get why they won't just CLOSE THEIR EYES if they're so darned tired. It stresses me out to no end on some days.

This is me. Today. I am so frustrated right now. I decided today was going to be the day DS napped in his crib. I held him until he fell asleep soundly and then put him in bed. After doing this mutilple times in a row for 1.5 hours I gave up. I gave in and held him in my arms on the recliner for his morning nap. I knew if he didn't nap well he would be a terror for the rest of the day. We must have been tired because we both slept for 3 hours. DH is at the firehouse today so I am alone until 8am tomorrow. I needed him to sleep. Now he has been screaming in his crib for 15 minutes. I'm a bad mom I'm sure, but I need a break. If DH isn't at the firehouse, he's working at the hospital as an ER nurse so I am home alone with him pretty much 7 days a week. It's all so that we can afford for me to be a SAHM, but having DS attached to me for 12 hours straight is just starting to wear on me; nothing gets done around the house. No laundry, no dishes, nothing. I'm a bad mom for saying this because I know there are people in the world who would give anything to stay home with their child. I'm sorry. I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I guess I'm going to give in and go pick up my screaming son. :(

[Tika]

Hello!

Ericka and MWGal--- Nice photos of the boys!

Maple--- 6oz every 2 hrs???? Wow! I hope it gets better soon. Didn’t think that there was a regular growth spurt around that age, but she must be going thru one now.

Sleep--- I am with you ladies who are sleep deprived. I start work next week and really don’t see how I will function after barely sleeping!

AmyS--- {{Hug}} I totally understand. We all need some “Me” time here and there!

ETA

V-day: We typically go out to dinner, but have not talked about it for this year yet! We may just order something and stay home.

[maplekitty]

thanks for the support and suggestions everyone!

She eats a lot and quite regularly all day long. I'd say probably every hour! She's been nursing less and less and taking more formula these days. I dont know whats going on, whether this is a nursing strike or she's starting to self-wean, but she's really touch and go with nursing during the day. Sometimes she will no problem, sometimes she just freaks out. However she nurses really well before bed and in the morning. I do feed her quite a lot right before bed. Sometimes our bedtime routine can take up to 2 hours of off and on, feeding, falling asleep in my arms, waking up as soon as I put her in the crib....and then we start all over again. She'll only fall asleep at night at the bottle or while nursing....no rocking, or swinging or anything. SO that's why I just don't understand how she can possibly eat so much during the night! I literally stuff her until she falls asleep and doesnt want anymore. It probably is a growth spurt - however I feel like we've been going through a growth spurt all month!!!!

[Ericka_Jarett]

More new pics taken tonight

http://www.ducklingphoto.com/proof/easton/4months/dscf5221_std.jpg
http://www.ducklingphoto.com/proof/easton/4months/dscf5262_std.jpg

Much cuter than the bumbo baby! :)
http://www.ducklingphoto.com/proof/easton/4months/dscf5233_std.jpg
The other photos (http://www.ducklingphoto.com/proof/easton/4months/index.htm?1) (All but first 2 are unedited proofs)

[KimberDK]

Hi everyone! I have read every single post, but I haven't replied to most. I'm sorry about that!!

Ericka - I love those pics of Easton, and I love his hair!! Sucks that you guys lost all those pics. Your new avatar is so cute cause it looks like an album cover. You know when they have like "Greatest Hits 1980-1985", that's what the "4.5 months" looks like to me!

Maple - Sorry about Robyn's issues. My yoga teacher was just talking today about how babiess sleep gets all messed up right before they reach milestones and then it goes back to normal. So, try not to be too frustrated (easier said than done when you're exhausted!!) because it should be temporary. can't beleive that might already be starting to self-wean so early!! How would you feel about that? Are you still EBF? If so, why is she drinking bottles at night?

Midwestern - Wow your guy is so cute and BIG. :)

AmyS - Sorry you're feeling overwhelmed. PLEASE try not to add to that by chastising yourself! You are NOT a bad mom for needing to catch your breath. Taking care of an infant is more than a full-time job all by itself, even without housework, laundry, or anything else. There is no way anyone can expect to get everythig done, especially when the baby is having a fussy period or nap issues. Give yourself a pat on the back and a break.

Rolling - Nope, not yet. Her head control is not phenomenal either, although it is improving significantly.

Valentines - DH and I met on March 6th. When we got married, our wedding anniversary seemed to take precedence over our dating anniversary, and we probably would have stopped celebrating it. But then we realized it was so close to Valentines, so we decided we'd prefer to celebrate the more personally relevant day instead. It is annoying to us that going out to dinner on V-Day is such an ordeal (hard to get a reservation, higher prices, worse service) and if we go for the same meal 2 weeks later (on Match 6th), it is so much more enjoyable. So we do that instead. That being said, I did get cards from me, Mia, and the dogs to give him on Valentines Day. But that's it.

[kate's mom]

Erika_Jarret More great photos! I can not believe what a little boy he looks like, not a baby anymore.

SlvrSpring I think we cross posted. Sorry that you are in the every 2 hour club. I am jealous of your 5 hour block of sleep though. I can't remember the last time I got 5 hours in a row.

AmyS I am so sorry for what you are going through. I went through the exact same thing with my first DD. I could never put her down and she wouldn't let anyone else hold her without screaming. We ended up sleep training at 4 months. It was a hard week, but she ended up and still is a great sleeper. If Meg doesn't get better soon, we may be sleep training soon.
Hang in there and remember that your hormones are still out of whack, crying is OK. I cry all the time!

KimberDK I agree with you about Valentines Day being such an ordeal. That is cute that you got your husband cards from the dog. I will have to do that

Another sleepless night. She only ate 1x so I am not sure why she is getting up..

What time does your child wake up in the morning?

[Rippy1010]

Amy S ~ I totally know where you are coming from. I am sending you a big hug. But, don't think of yourself as a bad mom ... you're a good mom for putting him in the crib when it is starting to get to you because you can regain your composure and then get back to him once you've gained a little sanity. I've had to put my DS in the crib and lock myself in the bathroom with the fan on so that I couldn't hear him for 10 minutes so that I could go back to him with a new attitude. KWIM? Do you have anyone that could take DS for maybe an hour one day this week so that you can get out and do something ... or even sit in your house and drink a cup of coffee and read a book ... LOL! I know some days I would give anything to do THAT again. :D


What time does your child wake up in the morning?
He wakes up anywhere between 6:15 and 6:50 during the week ... the 6:50 wake-up is usually only because he hadn't yet gotten up and I needed to wake him to get out the door. On an occasional weekend morning, he will sleep until 7-7:15 am ... very rare. LOL!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Thanks

Easton wakes up between 9-10am usually.

[MidwesternGal]

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Kimber--Yeah, he's a big boy--in mostly 6 month clothes. Everyone always asks me what I feed him, and when I say "breastmilk," they always give me funny looks!! DH was a very big baby (9 lbs 7 oz at birth, and so chubby he could barely crawl!) but now he's very average, so I'm not too worried.

Wake-Up Time--Anywhere between 5 am and 8 am. It really depends on what time we get him down for the night. Most days, he's up somwhere in the 6:30-7:30 range.

[TaterBaby]

Rolling over: Lainey rolls from tummy to back all the time. I'll admit, I now let her sleep on her tummy so I'm sure that has alot to do with it.

Wake up time: Our weekday schedule is bedtime at 7:30, wake for feeding between 5-5:30a.m. and then back to sleep until I wake her to get us out the door at 7:30. On weekends, she sleeps quite a bit longer, until about 9a.m. or so.

I know we have discussed early teething signs before, but I am positive Lainey is teething now. She's been eating her hands and drooling for weeks and then two nights ago, she was up with a slight fever and yesterday her babysitter called to tell me that she had a HUGE diaper explosion. I didn't think anything of the diaper blowout until my mom said that is also a sign of teething. However, everyone with older kids thinks I'm crazy when I say my 4 month old is teething!

[Pamela]

Love all of the baby pics!

[Mrs-Mac]

Things are pretty good here. Grace seems to have settled back into a better sleeping schedule again (She regressed for a week or two). But who knows when she'll change things up again.

We went on our first weekend road-trip to my parents this weekend. It was a 3 hour drive - which didn't go well. DD was upset for about 2 hours of it. And she didn't sleep well AT ALL while we were there. Luckily, she was still a happy baby. Plus we (DH and I) didn't get much sleep because we shared a room with DD (since other family members were there too so they could meet DD also), so we woke up every time she made a sound or turned her head.

Went to Babies R Us today and got the Rainforest Jumperoo!! Can't wait for Gracie to try it tonight. And yet another bottle for her to try, since she still isn't taking one.

Ok, I know this is going to sound like a strange question...but does anyone's DC ears bend the wrong way? DD sleeps on her back and since her cute little ears stick out a little, when she turns her head back and forth, they end up bending forward. My mom almost freaked out about it this weekend. I asked the Ped about it at the 2month WBC and he said it wasn't a big deal. My mom was going on and on about how mean kids can be when she gets older and if her ears stick out. And said that I should be taping her ears back (with hair dresser tape so it wouldn't pull out her hair or hurt). I got quite upset last night about it because my mom called to talk about it. I just kept telling her that she is too critical of Grace (this isn't the first "imperfection" she's pointed out). As her mom, I want to protect Grace from everything, including mean kids. I plan to ask the Ped again at the 4month WBC, but I'm just not sure what to do. I tried having her sleep with a hat on, that didn't work...it just covered her eyes within minutes. I've also tried to gentlely lift her head when she's sleeping to make sure her ear is laying flat, but that backfired last night and I woke her up. And when it comes down to it, I know sleep is more important. I know I'm rambling a bit, but I just wanted to know if anyone else is dealing with this and what, if anything, they are doing.

Rolling over - not yet, but she isn't on her belly all that much. Trying to make a point of doing it more.

V-day - 4 month WBC that day, so we will be staying in since DD will be "recovering" from her vaccine shots. I did buy a book (Snuggle Puppy) for DD to give to DH, but that's it.

Wake-up Time - Lately about 9 (and she does go down around 7). I'm not looking forward to when I go back to work. Not sure how I will adjust to such an earlier wake time.

Ericka - Great pics. LOVE the blue background. I would love to get some seamless background paper too (I'm not a pro-photographer, but just a obsessed amauter).

Pamela - Hope it gets easier for you as you continue to work. And for your DD and DH too.

SlvSpring - Hope your DS feels better soon.

TaterBaby - I hadn't heard about blow out diapers and teething. DD has had several very messy diapers explosions lately and she's been chewing on her head nonstop too lately. Have to ask Ped about that too.

Maplekitty - Hope Robyn gets back to her good sleep schedule soon.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Mixed some sweet potatoes in with his cereal this afternoon, he is not sure of the taste of them yet though, gave him a few baby spoons of them yesterday and I think his bib got more on it than we got in him.

Easton is still gnawing on his hand and fingers like crazy. His gums have changed a bit.

[maplekitty]

Maple -.... can't beleive that might already be starting to self-wean so early!! How would you feel about that? Are you still EBF? If so, why is she drinking bottles at night?


No, we aren't EBF'ing...we've been giving her formula since birth, since I have to use nipple sheilds due to small and flat nipples, she wasnt getting enough BM from me. How do I feel about her possibly weaning? - horrible, guilty, depressed, so sad :( I love BF'ing, and I can't imagine loosing that, it makes me cry! Every time she refuses my breast I try to hold back tears...but everything I've read says to "pretend" like it doesnt bother you, get her out of the feeding position and try to divert her attention away from feeding, then try again...its been a rough month of doing this!! How do you pretend like it doesnt bother you? I've had many late night melt-downs over this :(

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



On another note, we gave RObyn a little bit of cereal last night!! She LOVED it!!! LOL She lapped it up like a little kitten, it was so cute!! She didnt spit any out and boy did she look so cute and tiny in her highchair! :)
I don't know if it helped her feel a little more full, since it was only 1 tbsp. She woke up twice, which was much better than every 2 hours!!
She's been a little more gassy today, but in good spirits. I can't beleive my little punim is growing up!!!!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/pece11126dfc67736676536f8c4099823/eadc57e5.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/pe362868a5bd8c357123ad13d82610d92/eadc579a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/pe88bd7d652e6a64c89085b6fb8bdf260/eadc577a.jpg

[Rippy1010]

Maplekitty ~ That's so great! She must've been really ready for it if she took it all without spitting out! I'm so excited for her! Isn't that funny ... LOL?

[Michelle]

Maplekitty - Yay Robyn for eating her cereal! :)

Mrs-Mac - I would not worry too much about her ears. Things have a way of working themselves out, ya know?

Pamela - I'm glad your first day back at work went okay. I hope that things get easier!

Taterbaby - Diaper explosions.... I can so relate! We've had several of them this week. In fact, we got the pleasure of having one this morning. Not fun!

Wake-up Time - Usually about 8ish

Rolling - Madison will roll when she wants to but if I want her to roll so I can show that she can, she won't! She's stubborn just like her mommy and daddy!

Valentines Day - My husband works from 4-midnight so Madison, Connor (the dog), and I are going to hang out and veg. I think DH and I might go out that Thursday if we can get somebody to watch Madison because his family will be visiting (and staying with us) for a week that next day so it might be nice to get some alone time before they come.

STTN is no longer happening. After Madison was born, she would only STTN in her carseat/carrier so we put that in her crib for her to sleep in. The peditrician did not have a problem with it and she was sleeping so it was all good. We've been trying for the last couple of weeks to get her to sleep in her crib without the carseat and it's getting better but she is only averaging about 4 hours before she wakes up. I can usually get her back to sleep though. Hopefully she'll be back to STTN soon once she is used to the crib!

[SlvSpring]

Jack seems to be feeling a lot better today..only a little stuffy and he has a little bit a dried boogers coming out now, so hopefully that means that all the mucus is drying up!

Today was my 1st day back to work...it went okay, much better then I thought it would (which I thought would be horrible). I only worked 8-12, which was nice. I pumped more then I need to send, which is relief, I thought I wouldn't be able to pump enough. Tomorrow, I work 8-1, day after 8-2, to slowly ease myself back into it. Jack did good they said, but would only sleep in a swing at daycare too :rolleyes: I guess I just have to get a grip and realize my boy only wants to take naps in his swing. I guess I should be thankful that he sleeps laying down in his bed at night!

Pamela-I hear you about working seeming long. I only worked 4 hours but was counting down each one until I could leave to pick him up. I hope your daughter decides to take a bottle soon.

kate'smom- Has sleep got any better? Jack JUST started last night doing every 3 hour wake-ups (I hope I don't jinx myself!) I felt so energized!!

wake up time- Used to be between 7am-8am. But now with me going back to work I have to wake him up at 6:30, I feel so bad!! But I hope he will get used to the routine waking up at that time eventually and start to do it himself.

[MichelleRenee]

Ok, I know this is going to sound like a strange question...but does anyone's DC ears bend the wrong way?

Yes! Really, it is just his right ear. It is always bent backwards while If eed him no matter how many time I fix it. Mike's ears stick out a little bit (but not too much) and I can tell Tristan's are going to too. I don't think that the folding is contributing to it though.

[Mrs-Mac]

Michelle and MichelleRenee -Thanks for the comments about baby ears. I know its such a silly thing to worry about and consider my self lucky to only have that to worry about (when there are so many more serious and real things that could be wrong).

[MidwesternGal]

Mrs-Mac--I wouldn't worry about the ears. I had large ears that stuck out, even as a baby, and never got teased about them! Although now I sometimes crab about them!

SlvSpringand Pamela--Glad work is going okay!!

Taterbaby--Um, yeah, we've been having explosions for about a month or more now, and still no tooth. Not sure how long that is supposed to last! It sure is icky and makes for a lot of clothes washing though!

Maplekitty--I must be super-duper hormonal today because for some reason your last post made me tear up! I never thought I'd like BFing (but surprisingly, I do), and your little girl looks so tiny in her highchair. They are all growing up sooo fast, aren't they??

[Jenzen01]

Quick post:

Ada and Gabe have croup. I'm sick now, too, after traveling for work.

I left Ada overnight for the first time since she's been born, and I was still able to pump and bring the milk back with me.

By the way, did you know you can't carry on breastmilk unless you have a baby with you? So, for you pumping mothers, if you have to travel and pump, you have to put your milk in your checked bags. You can carry empty bottles but not full ones.This is totally unfair, and I've already emailed the TSA about it.

I'm sorry, but some of these new regulations defy common sense. As I checked into the Cincinnati airport, I had to laugh. I was standing in my stocking feet with my coat off and my bags disassembled explaining to the TSA agent that I had a breastpump with me. He stopped the guy in front of me because his shampoo containers were in a gallon-sized plastic bag instead of a quart-sized bag. The girl in front of me had bought some Cincinnati chili, and they had to take it because she couldn't carry on the tin cans. Oh, and they have this silly machine you have to walk through that puffs air on you which is analyzed for explosives. Really. Where do we draw the line between safety and personal rights?

And, I'm really tired of the lack of privacy rooms in airports. This is the second trip I've taken while pumping, and you wouldn't believe how fun it is to pump in an airport. Most don't have family rooms. I've pumped in the public restroom in front of everyone. Last night, I lucked out and found a small bathroom in the kids' area, although I had to get special permission from the airline staff to use it. I'm going to do some research and see who I need to write to about this issue, as there really should be a place in an airport where moms can either nurse or pump in privacy.

That's all for now,
Jen

[TaterBaby]

Jenzen, I am traveling next week for the first time since Lainey was born. It's great to hear about your experience, although I hate that it wasn't the best. I did know that I'd need to put what I pump in my checked bag and I figured I'd also be pumping in the restroom. I've never used the battery pack for my pump though...wonder if I'll get the same output? Plus my flight is 4 hours, which is usually the max I go between pumping or BFing. Guess I'm back to wearing breast pads next week. :(

[kate's mom]

JenzenSorry about your craziness at the airport. My sister works for Northwest and they do not let them bring bottle water to work, just in case. She was also telling me that they did not let a pilot bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into work because of the jelly. Crazy!!
Hope you are all feeling better soon.

Maple Those pictures are so cute!! Your story made me sad about the BF. I EBF my first daughter for a year and now my DD has to have 1 bottle of formula and I feel so sad about it. She sometimes pulls away on my breast and I am nervous that she is going to wean early.

SlvSpringThanks for asking about sleep. Finally last night was a little better. Hopefully it stays that way!! Glad to hear yours is too