April 2006 Moms - Our babies are on the move!

[Sevilla]

uskiku: It is hard when they're first learning to pull up and they let go and fall all the time. DS was like that for about a month before he really got good at 'catching' himself and now he takes a hard fall just a few times a week instead of a few times an hour. As hard as it is, falling helps them learn how to manage their bodies. What I would often do is sit nearby when DS was pulling up so i could help catch him when he let go - but it wasn't always possible, and we have wood floors to boot so he would often fall back onto his head until he learned to fall into sitting (which he does now). Anyway - it's just part of the learning process. Babyproof as best you can, but remember that learning involves falling and its ok - it won't last forever :).

[Txfish]

kopper - OMG, that is the cutest frickin picture EVER. Jacob has the cutest darn smile! Those dimples! I'm dying! // Fantastic news about the sleep too :) Isn't it lovely to have nice long sleep stretches (engorgement issues aside?)

littlestar -- maybe he just doesn't like avocado! My oldest did something similar the first time we tried to feed her asparagus (pureed) -- if it had been farther back on her tongue, I bet she *would* have made herself gag, instead of just sticking her tongue out and waiting for us to scrape it off LOL Hopefully it's nothign to worry about. // As for baby 2 -- take at least one more test, as my first one was negative on baby 3, too! LOL

sal, geez, your kids are just identical. what cuties :)

mel -- oh, I so feel your pain. What kind did you get? We got ours (Odyssey) over Thanksgiving. I keep telling my husband (who loves it) that he's welcome to drive it until May when I *need* it. You can join my support group, "Women Who Drive MiniVans but Refuse to Acknowledge That Fact." We need a better name. LOL Yay on the waving!

jennifer -- hope Marin feels better soon! Poor baby

jane -- same here with the dry red knees! I really should have bought this kid some babylegs... Hope you get his nap schedule on track. I've just been keeping Whitney up when she wakes up too early -- yes, she's crabby by the time morning nap hits, but she stays on a good steady 2 nap schedule. Down around 9 or 9:30, up around 11, and then down again around 1:30 and up at 3 -- then can make it just fine to 7 or 7:30. Good luck!

uskiku -- how is he falling? my kiddo (with zero self-preservation instincts, it would seem) usually falls flat on her bottom... not so bad. I agree, they have to learn to fall. Can you maybe be near and let him do his thing, and be ready to catch him if he starts to hit his head? I realize that doesn't free you up, but it will pretty soon, once he gets a feel for how to fall "safely". Good luck -- I know it's nervewracking. (I see Sevilla has the same advice!)

I'm so amused at how many of you all are contemplating the next one -- it seems so soon! Good luck vibes now, toward whatever your plan may be...

****************
Sorry for the novel! We had our 20 wk u/s for Thing 3 yesterday; all is well, baby is right on and is still a surprise, as planned. Although my poor DH thought I was going to cave and find out, and was really anxious under the pressure of not knowing! LOL He's okay now though. So cute -- Whitney and I were already in the u/s room when he got there, and as soon as he walked in the door, she said (and I mean, clear as a bell) Hi Daddy!!!!

He just about keeled over. :D He's been just charmed by her this last week, especially since she started (sort of) waving again, finally.

New Year's was fun; we had a front yard fajita bbq with our neighbors and then later on did s'mores over the fire pit and did some fireworks. Now, I hate living where fireworks are legal on the street, but the kids love them, so whatever. Whitney was a champ -- we got her all booted up in her little fleece suit and blankets, and she fell asleep in her stroller WHILE the fireworks were going off about 40 feet away LOL The kid is dedicated to her schedule, I tell you. And then I had sparkling apple cider mixed with watermelon mixer in my martini glass and the tiniest cup of champgne right at midnight. The older kids were all watching a movie inside -- nice to have some grownup time.

Last thing, that above-mentioned lack of self-preservation? Yeah, Whit has taken two bad falls in the last week. One, she pulled a chair over on herself and gave herself a black eye. The next day, she was standing at the coffee table, one hand slipped and she swivel-fell and clonked her cheekbone on the wrought iron handle -- the darkest purple deep bruise I've ever seen, in a matter of seconds. But she's done fine, hasn't had any real pressure sensitivity on either injury so we're confident it's just bruises. Poor kid looks so battered though. And then of course, she spent the next 3 days crawling headfirst into anything that crossed her path. It's so constant you'd think she was deliberately aiming at every table leg, wall and cabinet corner in the house. I really may have to buy her one of those cheesy baby helmets. Definitely NOT our coordinated kiddo.

Check in soon!

[Jane&Andy]

if Joey wouldn't insist on such an early morning nap (7:30-9/9:30) it would be easier to get him down to two naps. But there is NO keeping him up in the morning. Of course yesterday he did take 3 naps. We're just taking it day by day. We have playgroup today so he'll be up for awhile this afternoon and then probably sleep in the car and refuse to go back to sleep when we get home. :rolleyes:

Kopper - Joey still wakes up at 4/5am a lot. Sometimes he puts himself back to sleep and sometimes he needs to eat.

my back is killing me today so I've gotta get off the computer now instead of finishing responses. hope everyone has a great weekend!

[uskiku]

Thanks, everyone, for your support and advice! :)

I'll try to be better about "teaching" him how to fall, instead of just catching him - that's a very good point! We also have hardwood floors and, for the life of me, I just cannot stomach seeing him banging his adorable head against the floor... :( He falls backwards - or sidewise - any way, any position... He just lets go of whatever he is holding onto! Ugh, gotta run - OK, got him back to sleep :) - Anyway - just wanted to thank you, ladies, for your advice!

On top of toppling over, we're dealing with separation anxiety, which was aggravated by mommy's absence for 36 hrs at the end of December - I had to go to a conference for job interviews. Eeverything went fine, apart from the bottle strike... He finally conceded to drinking out of his breakfast bowl - whatever works! Alas, it did not work during the night, so that was rough. Poor little guy... DH and I are both looking for jobs, so that we can have a roof above our heads next school year. Stressful times! I'll try to be better about posting here though...

[JenniferEC]

uskiku - Hope things are getting better with the falling and the separation anxiety. Good luck with the jobs!

Jane - Every once in a while Marin takes 3 naps. She is usually back down by 9:30 and then after lunch. If that nap isn't long enough, she gets another before dinner. It can be a long afternoon if she gets up from the second nap at 2 and bedtime isn't until 7. I hope you can get Joey's naps worked out.

Txfish - Glad things are going well with #3.

Marin had her 9 mo visit on Friday. She's still struggling with hives and I have no idea what is causing them. She also had a rash down there so her ped took a swab to check for a yeast infection. Thankfully that was negative so if she's still having outbreaks next week, she has to go back. She did well with her shots and we are going to work on getting her to sleep through the night. The ped said we could start giving her some of our food, but she has no teeth, not even a sign of them coming, so we'll wait.

She was:
17lbs
27" inches

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

[Jane&Andy]

uskiku - I now feel your pain - Joey is now pulling up to standing every chance he gets! Certainly makes it a lot harder to slip out to run to the bathroom or get a drink. Good luck with the job search!

naps - are all over the place. Sometimes he will take 3. He's pulled himself together from the holiday chaos (we had a few stressful, high needs days that made him not napping even harder to deal with) so its not as bad now if he won't take 3. Today he slept in (b/c he woke up at 2 and 5am) so we may get away with 2 naps today (just went down for his morning nap now - normally is waking up from it now)

This weekend we're going to visit some extended family in Philly. Its just for one night but we have to take all the baby gear we need with us. My Mom has spoiled us - Joey is her 5th grandchild so she already has most everything we need when we visit her. We aren't leaving til Saturday morning but I'm already running lists through my head of what we'll need and wondering how the heck we'll fit it in the car! I need a mini-van!

I've been having back trouble again. I thought I was going to have to wean Joey so that I could take pain meds but luckily it is getting better.

birthday parties - anyone else making 1st birthday party plans already? I want to do a zoo theme (theme will only extend into balloons and the party favors - like animal crackers). I'm not sure what we'll get him for his birthday - I was thinking of buying a small table and chair set for him but I don't have a great place to put it. We may buy a radio flyer wagon instead.

[JenniferEC]

birthday parties - I've been thinking about this A LOT. Since my DCs are 3 weeks apart, they are going to share a party. I figure this young they won't remember, and it will be a lot easier on me! We'll probably do a color theme with minimal decorations. They need no toys so I think we're going to get a swingset in the backyard because I want a baby swing for Marin. I'll probaby become obsessed with planning when we get back from our trip.

Jane - We bought Caden a radio flyer wagon for his first bday. He loves it and we use it on walks all the time. A zoo party sounds like fun!

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - I totally forgot - the cake for his party will be a girraffe and I'm doing bear cub cupcakes. The girraffe cake is what got me started on this theme - my sister made the cake for my Mom's bday back in July (my nephew picked it out) and it was the cutest thing. If it weren't for that I'd probably just go with a color theme - like aqua and brown polkadots or something like that. I picked up some monkey stickers to throw in the goody bags today. I want to get Joey a swing set too this Spring - I'm hoping our tax refund will be good and we can get my DH a new computer and Joey a swing set with that money.

[Jane&Andy]

ok, it doesn't show his face but I had to share - the picture of Joey rummaging for toys just makes me chuckle. :p
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid222/p8b7cd8a36b6d48c6a6f336245a8a2380/eb312ade.jpg
and here's one of his face
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid222/pd452579a7c0d9f6b4213c67d43060a4e/eb312bc2.jpg

[Kopper]

Txfish - Thank you! :) Yay for your 20w u/s! Hope you are doing well and Whitney's bruises are gone.

Jane - Joey is so cute! I love the rumaging picture. Jacob does the same thing.

uskiku - Glad your DS is learning to fall better. It gets easier as they get more practice. Good luck on your job hunt.

JenniferEC - I hope you find out what is causing Marin's hives and she starts STTN soon.

birthday parties - I'm so excited about this. I think we are going to do a balloon theme. We will have tons of balloons in primary colors. The rest of the decorations will be pretty simple and in primary colors. I think I will have my neighbor make a balloon cake. She makes cakes on the side.

solids - Has anyone started yogurt or cheese? Our ped gave us the go ahead. So far Jacob loves both.

[jrsygirl]

Jane so cute- Cole and paige do the samething except they tend to dumpster dive..Cole always winds up in the bin.

solids no yogurt or cheese yet but we go to the ped tomorrow and he had said he would probbaly give the go ahead then. They love solids so I'm sure they will enjoy it. My only concern is cole has only had soy so I'm hoping the dairy doesnt cause problems..

[Jane&Andy]

yogurt/cheese - Joey started yogurt at 9 months and LOVES it. I've given him a few bits of cheese and he was ok with it but still isn't excited about finger foods that aren't cracker-like so I haven't pushed it.

Kopper - I thought about doing a balloon theme b/c Joey loves balloons. But I really want to do the girraffe cake so I figure I'll just have lots of animals balloons and colored balloons to go with whatever plates, etc we get.

[shania0474]

jrsygirl G dives into the bin too! We have a tall stainless steel trash can in the kitchen and now that G is tall enough to pull himself up on it AND open it, he is ALWAYS rummaging in that thing!!! And he's fast too. You move him away and give him a toy and turn around to do something and bam! he's back there. Hmph!

yogurt/cheese G has had soy yogurt once or twice. Haven't given him regular yet but will probably start soon

birthday party haven't really thought about it because I'm still recovering from David's November party and Christmas. It will probably be low key with a few close friends and their kids

naps would you believe that G is down to ONE nap??? He takes a 2-3 hour nap at a little after 10am (when his brother leaves for school) and wakes up at 1pm (when his brother comes back!) He is so well rested that he can go till 6pm but by 6pm he's DYING to sleep and by the time I give him a bath, short massage and put him in PJ's and breastfeed, its about 6:45pm and he's fast asleep. Good part of this is it gives me three hours together during the day that I can do stuff (he's asleep, David's in school). Bad part is because he's sleeping so early now (sometimes 6:30pm) he's waking up early too (6am or 6:30am) which sucks because (unlike his brother who'll crawl into bed with us and promptly fall asleep again) G is UP and wants to play!

Jennifer David has some rashes too... he had been sick (high fever) last week so the ped prescribed some antibiotics. Two days after we started the antibiotics, he woke up with this funny looking rash and was scratching himself so I stopped giving him the antibiotics over the weekend and called the ped this morning. She said to give him benadryl and see what happens (I don't really like this ped, she covers for our ped on days that our ped isn't there and can be quite aloof. Our ped would have said to bring David in so she can look at the rashes herself which would have made me feel a lot more comfortable. Am I being too needy?)

uskiku We have hardwood floors too and it was hard to see both D and G fall during those first months of cruising. G thankfully has now mastered a way to fall forward using his hands to break the fall or backwards on his diapered butt :) and speaking of cruising...

cruising/walking G's favorite thing is now to run across the room pushing something... anything goes, the Parents busy zoo, the LF learning table, the high chair, the stroller (if it happens to be sitting there unfolded) and of course the Parents wooden walker/wagon (loves this! It was David's and now passed on to G though D still plays with the blocks in it). Cutest thing ever but he goes so fast I can't get a decent photo!

Okay now that I've written a novel :) I'll sign off and go eat some dinner!

[LittleStar]

Falling - UGH! DH and I were in the bathroom this morning getting ready and H was sitting on the floor playing. All of a sudden, H fell straight back and bonked his head on our stone floor. He cried for a bit, but seemed OK. I told his teacher about it so she could keep an extra eye on him today. Now I'm thinking I should call the dr??

Solids - H ate a biter biscuit a few days ago. Yippee! I was beginning to wonder if he'd be on purees forever! We have our 9 month wbv next week, and I'm going to ask the ped. then about starting yogurt.

AF - Still not here, but feels like it could start anytime. I don't want to take another pg test though because I'm sure it would be negative, and I think that would make me sad.

[jrsygirl]

Little star unless he seems dizzy or unbalanced or his pupils are different sizes (like he has trouble focusing) I wouldnt worry too much. Cole and Paige have taken some nast bangs and teh Dr told us they are very resilient. so unless you see major swelling or a big indentation (liek if he hit a corner) he's probably fine.

Our neighbors 1 year old fell out of her high chair on a tile fl
oor (and while that warranted a emergency room trip ) she was fine. They are so much more resilient than we would think. (( and that ladies is a excellent reason once they stand to use the straps on your highchair because her mom was only standing a foot away))

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

Paige and Cole had their 9month WBV. They had their Hep B shot but we declined the flu shot because they only had the one with preservatives and to me the flu risk is simply not worth the alternatives of them being exposed to that risk.

Anyway -

Paige was 17lbs and 27 inches.
Cole was 21lbs and 27.5 inches. Yes he is my little bruiser!

We're doing better on sleep issues. We've had a few random nights of sleeping through the night and otherwise we usually just do paci retrievals and some pats once or twice. Cole always seems to have to burp in the middle of the night. No matter how much you get him before he goes down he almost always needs a good pat around 11pm.

[Sal03]

I am sooooo behind on SOs.

Shania everytime I think Katie is headed for one nap, she surprises me and passes out. I am really going to push for it at a year. Dylan took two until 15 months and when you have two kids as you know - that is TOO long.

Jennifer I hope you figure out Marin's hives soon!

Birthday party I think we are going to do a gym party. We have so many 2 year olds because of our friends that it will just be too crazy to have it at the house. They'll do circle time, bubbles, parachute and the older kids can all run around. And Katie loves gym class so I think it will be good. Expensive, but easier than having it here. And the party will be her gift! Dylan's 1st bday gift was a custom painted toychest with his name on it

Littlestar sorry about the fall :( I am just waiting for and dreading katie's first real fall. Dylan rolled off the couch onto our wood floors at 3 weeks old (yes ROLLED at 3 weeks) and I cried for days. It is the worst feeling. He was totally fine though.

jrsygirl LOL! SO funny how he is so much bigger!

Jane we did an animal theme for dylan's 1st bday with lots of monkeys. it was cute. I think I googled jungle party and the same theme at a few different sites came up. the cake sounds adorable! love the pic of him digging

kopper cheese, not yogurt. katie loves cheese. she loves everything. I bought yobaby yogurt, but we have not given it to her yet.

Txfish yay for hi daddy. that is so sweet!

Dylan is sick AGAIN (gotta love preschool) so I am really hoping Katie does not get it. She is just getting over her cold. She loves her ocean wonders fishbowl now. it is so cute. She is starting to really get around. Still backwards, no forward movement but I have noticed even in a sitting position she seems to be moving around. She is SUCH a mama's girl. If she sees me and I am not holding her she'll scream for me and be instantly happy when I take her. it's kind of nice since dylan had NO sep anxiety and it would have been nice for him to cry for me once in a while! Katie is pulling up on some things, but we need to get a coffee table. We got rid of the one in our family room because I felt like Dylan kept crawling into it at the time (Txfish sounds like Whitney!) but I think we need one now so Katie can practice cruising. That's all the news here I think!

[JenniferEC]

jrsygirl - I can't imagine having 2 little ones climbing and "dumpster diving."

Jane - Once again, adorable pics. Does Joey ever frown? He always has the biggest smile.

shania - Did you ever figure out if the rash was a reaction to the abx? Marin is still having patches of hives and it's driving me crazy. I don't want her taking Benedryl every day.

Sal - I hope Dylan is better soon. I love the sep anxiety especially when we're with the inlaws. It makes me feel good that she wants me to hold her instead of them. :)

falling - Marin is just starting to pull up and fell back on the hardwood floors the other day. She hit her head and screamed for a bit but she is fine. I always used to worry with Caden and his bruises that people would think he was abused, but now I know better!

[Jane&Andy]

Shania - one long nap sounds luxurious! Joey is so far from that! :p

Sal - I hope Dylan feels better soon! the gym sounds great for a bday party. We took out our coffee table to open up more play space for Joey. right now his FP piano is next to the busy cube and I've seen him move from one to the other.

LittleStar - sorry about the fall. Joey's had a few nasty ones too, although we have carpet so that helps a little.

jrsygirl - what a big boy you have!

Jennifer - yep, he frowns sometimes. :p Normally he's pretty happy but I know I have a few pictures somewhere of him not so happy - usually when he's winding down for a nap or bedtime.

Joey was up at 5am today and wouldn't go back to sleep. :( I left him in the crib for awhile b/c he wasn't crying (just not sleeping) b/c I just couldn't get up yet. I did feed him and try to get him back to sleep.

He's been shoving his whole hand in his mouth a lot lately. Maybe there's some teeth on the way, finally. :confused:

[Kopper]

Jacob stood by himself just now for almost 20 seconds!! He has done it a few times already but never for that long. So this means walking will follow?!?

[jrsygirl]

Kopper Yay Jacob!
Cole stood alone today for the first time too! I have a feeling its just a matter of time before they are both off and running. lord help us both!

[Jane&Andy]

yay for Cole and Jacob! what big boys!

here's Joey less than thrilled and in need of a nap
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid222/p00d8abdd2bc95a79dfb126ce9a648983/eb2c6b4a.jpg

[shania0474]

jennifer Not sure yet. I stopped giving him the abx and have been giving him benadryl and it's clearing up... He's been going through food therapy and eating a lot of new foods lately so that might also be the cause (according to the ped) -- I suspect it's either the abx or the eggs... what does your ped say about Marin's hives? Did you introduce any new foods to her lately?

Sal we had a gym party for David last November and it was a lot of fun! The best part was I didn't get to play the "crazy mother running around to organize fun activities for the kids" role because that was the gym instructor's role! :D Instead I got to mingle with guests and have fun. I hope Dylan feels better soon! David was the picture of perfect health until he started preschool as well... :(

Jane G was up at 5am today as well (urgh!) I did everything to get him back to sleep but he kept waking up (he usually is a perfect sleeper once his thumb is locked into his mouth but he is congested and breathing through the mouth so very frustrated that he couldn't suck his thumb)! Finally I gave him some Triaminic decongestant strip at 6:30 and he fell asleep at 7am. I was so tired that I went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30 when DH left for work.

kopper and jrsygirl yay for the brave boys!

My back has been killing me (especially my left lower back which I suspect is because I carry G, and sometimes D when he insists, on my left side). I went to the physical therapist today and she did this electric massage thing that really helped reduce the pain. I'm dreading finding out G's weight at his WBV this week because the boy is BIG and he can eat a house!

[Txfish]

So I've got another incident of "she loves daddy best" lol -- Whitney has, by the way, not said Mama one single time in the last two weeks. Apparently it was just a phase :P She babbles about "Dada" nonstop. She was playing with the phone yesterday, and kept turning it on. So I'd take it away and turn it off, of course. She figured out that the orange button was speakerphone and gives us that nice loud dial tone -- so she was pushing that, and I'd take it away. Finally she crawled over to me, turned on speakerphone, and said DADA! right to my face. I said, oh do you want to call daddy? And I swear, she said, "Ca dada." So we did. Little stinker.

Yay on our big standers! Wow!

[relly]

Trying to catch up,

Sal – what an adorable pic in their stroller, they look like a joy to go shop with, so sweet

Txfish – I don’t think I’ve said congrats on your pregnancy and wow, ½ way already, that’s fantastic. How cute that Whitney said “hi Daddy”, my hubby will be so delighted when that finally happens at our house. He does get lots of DaDas.

Kopper – what an adorable pic of your little new year baby!

Jane – that pic of Joey searching for toys is so funny, even when he’s grumpy he’s adorable

1ST Birthday – we have a date, March 25th, and a possible theme – circus, or something with animals, perhaps a farm theme. My sister suggested Noah’s Ark, since they’re twins, but I think that sounds a little difficult.

TTC – if I was a SAHM, I’d definitely be trying

Solids – the ped gave the go ahead on everything except for fish, honey and eggs. We haven’t tried anything new yet.

They had their 9 month WBV back on the 20th of Dec

Devon is 19 lbs 9 oz and 28 “
Brycen is 20 lbs 3 oz and 28.5 “

[Jane&Andy]

relly - those bday themes sound great. Someone posted in the 1st bday thread pictures from a circus theme party and it looked awesome. I like Noah's Ark too - that could be a lot of fun.

Joey's bday party will be on the 24th too - my Mom owns a small business and an employee already asked off for Friday the 16th (Joey's bday and the day my Mom would drive up since she's 6hrs away) so I can't have it the weekend of his bday. Oh well. Its not like he'll notice. And my BIL is supposed to be coming back from Iraq in mid-March so I figure if I put it off a week then it increases the chances of him being back in time.

the little stinker was awake from 4:30 to 5:30am today. I put him back in the crib after feeding him at 4:30 and just like yesterday he kept babbling. So at 5:30 I fed him again and he was so tired he went to sleep without making a single peep. I don't know what to do with him. I'm so tired. :(

[Sal03]

I have a quick random question...does anyone know how long germs live on toys? since this house is a revolving door of sickness since thanksgiving, I feel like all I am doing is anti-bacterializing toys now that Katie plays with them too.

[Jane&Andy]

Sal - I don;t know but I'll ask my DH tonight - he's a toxicologist.

now that Joey is on the move the pnp is my new best friend. today I've tossed Joey in there so I could spend a few minutes getting ready and again just now to put away groceries. :) So far he's happy.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - That's a cute pic of Joey in your avatar? Is that a sock monkey sweater? Yea for the pnp. Marin won't have anything to do with hers so we packed it up. It's nice when you can get a few minutes to yourself.

Kopper - That's great Jacob is standing so long. I'm sure it won't be long before you're chasing after him!

shania - At first the ped thought it was hives but then she was thinking it was a form of strep. She also swabbed for a yeast infection but I think it was hives. She's been on stage 2 foods for a while so I have no idea what could have caused it. I'm glad G is finally clearing up. I hope your back feels better soon. Carrying two kids can be a big strain!

Sal - We go through a lot of Clorox wipes. I've even put some of Marin's smaller toys in the dishwasher. I'm so sick of wiping things down but they share just about everything.

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - yes it is - got it at the Gymbo outlet. They have a lot of cute monkey stuff. :)

[Txfish]

I'm such a lazy mom -- I barely ever wipe anything down. Lucky if I get to the highchair tray most of the time after dry snacks. But hey, my kids will have strong immune systems, right? Don't disagree, just let me tell myself that ;)

Thanks relly! Can't believe we're over halfway there already... yikes. See above comment about current level of lazy, then add new baby.

Jane -- sorry about Joey's sleeping. Whit has been doing that some too, just random early morning awakenings. I hate it. I was up for an hour & half last night, and was totally wiped this morning. How did we deal with newborn sleep schedules again?

Oh, the noah's ark theme for a twin party is too cute. I will probably take Jane's unused concept and just do pattern theme -- stripes & polka dots. At least I'll get to have one sophisticated trendy party in my life LOL I'm sure I'm in for another princess theme for Caroline in July.

9 month wbv visit tomorrow. Can't wait to hear what I should be doing that I'm not -- aside from feeding her 3 actual meals a day, and not relying on formula so much. Imbedded QOTD,Who all has the kiddos trying sippy cups out? And who has weaned off pacis already?

[Jane&Andy]

QOTD - sippy cups - I give him one and he likes to play with it and put it in his mouth but he doesn't really drink from it. I've tried a couple different kinds of cups and with/without the stopper.

QOTD - pacis - pacis are long gone, only used those for maybe the first 2 months and then I gradually stopped using them - it wasn't on purpose, he just didn't seem to want/need them anymore.

Sal - I asked my DH last night about germs and he said months to years - the biggest issue being germs that are tracked in on shoes. Generally the germs aren't at high enough levels to cause a problem but its still a risk. I have not put much effort into disinfecting toys but I now have a few in the dishwasher.

TXfish - so glad to hear I'm not the only Mom who doesn't wipe down the tray after dry snacks every time!

little stinker was up at 5:15 today. And that was after he stayed up late last night (had a late nap after a fairly unsuccessful afternoon nap). :rolleyes:

[JenniferEC]

Jane - 5:15 UGH! I can't even imagine. What time does he go back down for a nap?

Txfish - Your kids will be the healthiest in the end! We are just starting 3 meals a day and it hasn't become routine yet.

QOTD - We got rid of Caden's pacis at a year. He was only using them to sleep and I didn't want him to become addicted so we cut the tips off and he never asked for one again. We plan to do the same with Marin but I might wait a bit longer.

We haven't started sippy cups but we have some sippy cup tops that hook onto the Avent bottles we have. We'll probably use those soon to see what she thinks.

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - today I took him up for his nap at 7:15 and he was asleep by a little after 7:30. 7:30 is his standard nap time anyway when he sleeps til 6 (what was once his standard wake up time). He's never lasted long in the mornings before needing a nap. I did put him back in the crib til 6 and he was quiet for awhile but I don't think he slept then. I'm trying not to encourage him to start the day before 6. I'll feed him before then but then its back in the crib. The hard part is that I have trouble falling asleep most nights so that even if I go to bed early I'll toss and turn for hours so I'm awake til late and up early.

I've been trying to feed him as much as I can (solids and BM) to help him sleep but it isn't helping.

Joey was formula free yesterday!! first time in a long, long time. :D I've put him to bed the past two nights without a bottle (but he had one during the day on Tuesday when he was struggling with a nap). I don't think he needs it anymore but its been a crutch. I've been afraid to take away the bedtime bottle and mess up his sleep - well, its already messed up and he usually wasn't taking much formula anyway so I figured I'd give it a shot.

[jrsygirl]

TXFishwe are using sippy cups at every meal with a little formula (trying to get Paige to drink more formula) and they always have one with water in the playroom with them. My daughter likes to drink from it..my son will but mostly likes to chew on the sput. I keep them filles with cold water which they love when they are teething.

Paige never liked the paci much...but we give it to her when she is upset. Cole is a total paci man on the other hand, The dr said we didnt have to wean them from them yet because it also seems to help them relax when teething

[Kopper]

QOTD - sippy cups: I try to them to him but he doens't take them very well. He can drink from them but he won't hold them.

QOTD - pacis: He would never take one so we don't have to worry about it.

--
QOTD - solids: Is anyone having trouble getting their DC to eat solids after doing so for awhile? How about refusing the bottle?

Jacob has started only wanting to self feed. It is getting really hard for me to feed him. He has started putting his hands in front of his mouth. We started solids at 6 months so it's not like they are new to him. I'm also having a hard time getting him to take the one bottle a day I give him. He doesn't try to hold it himself either though. Any ideas?

[jrsygirl]

Kopper what kind of cups have you tried? We tried a few different ones and the Nuby brand seems to work best they are narrow in the middle more like abottle so they can get their hands on them easier..

and yes Cole is not eating a lot we figured out though that he is getting two top teeth and that he didnt seem to want the spoon in his mouth.

[Txfish]

Ok -- so am I giving my kid way too much formula or something?? She is still getting 24 oz a day, in 3 bottles spaced around meal times. Are these kids on milk already or just drinking water and having solids?

We've tried 3 different kinds of sippy cups; sometimes she just plays with them, sometimes she actually tries to drink out of it. I just bought some with the straws, too because I think she'll do really well with those.

We still get pacis for all sleeping, and occasionally otherwise when she's really fussy... but I've seen her just go and pick one up (off my unsterilized toy table LOL) and stick it in her mouth just to have it there. So I'm kind of concerned that it is bordering on massive habit and future drama. Anyway, glad to hear I'm not the only one still using them though!

[shania0474]

Jane Wanted to pass on some advice I got from a ped friend (not G's ped but she's a ped) when I complained about G's waking up at 5am or 5:30am. She said "don't feed him. If you do, he'll wake up at that time everyday for a snack". She said to wait till 6am so he can condition himself to wake up at that time. So far he's been waking up betw 6 and 6:30 so I haven't had to use the advice but I bet it will be hard NOT to feed in the hopes of getting him to just go back to sleep already!!!!!!!!! Not sure if it'll work but thought I'd pass it on anyway

Kopper G does the same thing (wanting to self feed and grabbing the spoon from me) so now I just give him his own spoon and let him make a mess with it while I feed him as fast as I can.

QOTD Sippy G drinks water from David's cups and from my glass and formula from the bottle. He wants nothing to do with sippy cups (unless they're empty and he can bang them on the floor or trash can) so we'll probably go straight to cups when I retire bottles (within the next month or two)

QOTD Pacis Both boys are avid thumb suckers and never accepted pacis

[Jane&Andy]

Shania - thanks for the advice - that's pretty much what I figured I would try next. This 5:15 business is becoming a habit and neither of us need to be up that eary.

TXfish - when I say no bottle I'm just talking about supplementation. Joey's been supplemented with a small amount of formula every day along so I am working on cutting that out. But he still BF's several times a day, I just can't give you a number of ounces that he's taking. So no cow milk yet or water even since he plays with the sippy cup instead of drinking.

sippy cup - Joey enjoys holding it and gnawing on the spout - he just won't drink from it.

self feed - Joey has been trying to grab the spoon more and more. I'm trying to add more finger foods but he'll pretty much only eat carbs like that, and peas. No fruit.

[jrsygirl]

TXFish Nope My kids still have 4-5 Bottles a day. Our ped told us this week he wants them to continue to get 24-32 oz a day until their first birthday at which time he'll switch them to half formula half cows milk for 24 oz a day until 18 mos when they can go to 100% cows milk ..he's pretty conservative but for the most part baby foods is empty calories and they still need the fat and protein in milk so we try and sneak the formula in whereever we can.. for example when I make them waffles or pancakes which they love by the way I mix the batter with formula instead of regular milk.

[Kopper]

Ok -- so am I giving my kid way too much formula or something?? She is still getting 24 oz a day, in 3 bottles spaced around meal times. Are these kids on milk already or just drinking water and having solids?


I only supplement with bottles. DS is BF with the exception of the one, sometimes two bottles I give him a day. He gets around 12-14oz of formula a day and the rest BM. Our ped doesn't want us to start whole milk until after his 12 month WBV. He has had water a few times but most of the time he just spits it out.

jrsygirl - I will have to try the Nuby cups. We have some Gerber ones and Avent. He does better with the Avent and the Gerber ones he just chews.

shania - Glad I'm not the only one having this problem. DS has figured out that we get him to laugh so we can get a bite in so now when he is in the highchair he smiles/laughs with his hands in front of his mouth. :p He can self feed ok but has problems with mushy or sticky foods like bananas.

---
Well we are going to buy a convertible car seat this weekend. We have the Safeseat but it is a pain to take on the plane and I don't feel comfortable using it without the base. Since Jacob is 30" we only have 2" inches to go anyway. Plus with him being almost 23lbs the Safeseat is HEAVY! I don't even take it out of the car anymore.

[LittleStar]

Quick fly by post to say....I'm pregnant! :D :D

Hopefully will be back to catch up soon.

[Kopper]

Quick fly by post to say....I'm pregnant! :D :D

Hopefully will be back to catch up soon.

Congrats!!!!! H&H 9 months to you. I guess txfish was right when she said to test again.

[jrsygirl]

little star wow congrats!

kopperHe can self feed ok but has problems with mushy or sticky foods like bananas.

roll them in crushed cheerios. SO much easier for them to pick up that way!

[Sal03]

Littlestar How wonderful! Congrats and happy and healthy 9 months to you!!

Kopper I can't imagine how you are lifting that. Katie was heavy enough in the graco snugride before we moved her to the britax. wow - you must be one strong mama!

Jane thanks for the germ info. it's what I suspected. it was wishful thinking that if I took the toy away for a week the germs would die! LOL

pacis neither kid ever lliked them

sippy cups katie does well with the two handled avent ones but I am going to try and get her some beginner straw cups. Dylan's speech and occupational therapists say those are better than the regular sippies developmentally.

We are sick AGAIN. Dylan is getting over a cold and DH and I have stomach bugs. This is really getting depressing. One of us has been sick since THANKSGIVING. crazy. I really hope Katie does not get sick again. That one cold was nasty for her. She is starting to really get around but just backwards still. Like some of you, I am trying to teach her how to fall on her butt because otherwise she just falls straight back when she is standing. She is just in the very beginning of cruising. I think she is starting to realize she can get around that way too. We booked her birthday party at a gym for the end of March! I am not really focusing on it yet though, I can't handle thinking about my baby's first birthday. I was sad on Dylan's and I am sure I will be even sadder on hers.

[Jane&Andy]

Congratulations LittleStar!!!!!! :D What's your due date?

this really isn't helping me fight the baby bug. :p I've got 8 more months left til we TTC #2.

Sal - I hope you feel better soon!

I just tried giving him bananas and cheerios today - he hasn't been interested in banana pieces before but today he ate them from my hand. He was having trouble handling them so I put one small piece on a whole cheerio and it seemed to help. He's eating bread too. I need to buy some more veggies and see if he'll eat those too (he's had whole peas and corn).

Dylan's speech and occupational therapists say those are better than the regular sippies developmentally.

good to know - I have a couple of straw sippies I bought for visiting neices/nephews that I'll have to pull out soon. Maybe I can even get him to drink from those instead of playing with them.

[LittleStar]

Thanks guys! Babycenter calculates my due date as Sept. 8th, but that's purely based on my last AF and a "normal" 28 day cycle, which with still BF'ing, I don't think is me. I go to the dr. on the 22nd - I'm going to be a basketcase til then. And forget work - I'm useless today :D

Sippies - We've been offering H a sippy with water every once in a while for the last few months. He mainly just makes a mess and gets very little liquid into his mouth.

Bottles - H has 3 8-oz. bottles of formula at school, and I nurse him first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening.

Paci - Never took one from us. Believe me, I tried.

We had a good night last night, all things considered. First of all, I couldn't fall asleep b/c I was thinking about the pg test I took that evening and wishing it was morning already so I could go out and buy some more (which I did, and took, and they were bfps :D ). Plus, H kept fussing in his sleep. It would only last 2 seconds, but it happened about 5 times throughout the night, and of course once I hear him, I stay awake listening to make sure he's OK. But, the best part was that H didn't get up for the day until 6:40 :p

Sal - I hope you guys get to feeling better. We were the same way in November and December.

Food - I gave H mashed bananas for the first time last night. He liked them only if they were buried in his baby food puree. Otherwise, he'd get them in his mouth and then give me a "gag" face like I was *trying* to hurt him.

[shania0474]

Congratulations Littlestar!!!! :D David was this age (actually a couple of weeks younger) when I got pregnant with G. It's awesome and H will have an automatic playmate.

Jane I came in here to say "advice shmadvice"!!! Totally could not do it! G woke up at 5am and I left him hoping he would just go back to sleep or wait patiently until 6am. HA! He mumbled to himself for about 15 minutes, got bored with his one-man show and started to complain.... and got increasingly louder until he woke David up. So I had to get him so David would be able to go back to sleep. Well, as soon as I picked him up, he buried his face in my chest and started tugging at my shirt. I tried to rock and sing but he was having none of it! FOOD NOW! So I broke down and nursed him back to sleep. Good news though is that when he woke up at 7am I noticed a new tooth (his sixth) popping out! I'm hoping that was why he was waking up so early... and maybe Joey's teeth are coming very soon too??????

Sal Sorry about the illness. Hope you guys feel better soon! David still has his cough but now that the rash has cleared up, I don't want to continue the antibiotics. I was planning to introduce G to straws as well based on the ST's rec. What brand straw cups/sippies do you have/are you getting? When I give G straws now, he just chews on them so don't know how to teach him that he needs to SUCK on them.

SO David and I were dancing to one of his toddler CDs today when G crawled over to the CD player, pulled himself up and started shaking his little hiney while holding on to the entertainment unit with one hand. When the song ended, David and I clapped (as he likes to do at the end of EVERY song before we resume dancing to the next song). Well guess WHO let go of the unit and clapped too?????:D :D :D Yep, I was so excited that he was clapping that it took a moment to realize he was standing and not holding on to anything! After 5 seconds though he landed with a thud on his butt! Very exciting moment for all of us! Made up for waking up at 5am!

[Jane&Andy]

Shania - I've been trying to not feed him til 6, although today we only made it til 5:40. Its going ok. I think he's having trouble going back to sleep b/c he can sit himself up and pull up now. I'm just trying to figure out what he needs me to do for him. I know he needs to sleep later than he is, he's just too tired when he wakes up at 5 but he won't go back to sleep.

[Kopper]

Hi everyone. We ended up getting the Marathon from Target. Now I just need to get DH to install it so I can stop using the Safeseat.

Last night Jacob woke at 3:30am to eat. He didn't even cry when I put him back in his crib. I'm knocking on wood but he is sleeping so much better. Friday and Saturday night he slept 12 hours without waking at all!

His congestion is finally clearing up. We finished his decongestant last night and his antibiotic the day before. He still has some in his lungs and is coughing at night but other than that he seems fine. I am on the other hand getting sick. My allergies picked today to act up and my throat is killing me from all the drainage. Yuck!

How is the weather for everyone? We have a lot of ice but it should clear up this afternoon.

[jeeplover]

Congrats Littlestar! Happy and healthy 9 months to you!

Sorry for not being around lately but it has been nuts since Thanksgiving! I was in a car accident with Kyle in the car so we had to buy a new car, new carseat, all the doctors visits as well as the holidays really has left me with no time at all!

[Txfish]

littlestar -- wow, congratulations!!! great news :)

jeeplover -- oh no! Hope you are all just fine after the accident... how scary.

Thanks for the feedback on the formula -- I'd honestly forgotten how some people's babies will actually still nurse LOL Jrsygrl, that's my opinion too, that the baby food just isn't all the nutrition they need. I'm so much more focused on formula.

We had Whitney's 9 month WBV last week; she is 18 lbs and 28" (and still dead center 50% on all measurements.) But I was very annoyed at the dr; I guess he was having a busy day or somethig but he was really abrupt - I actually had to stop him on his way out the door to ask him a question. He never gave me a moment. He's normally great at going over everything and giving me very detailed answers.

[Jane&Andy]

jeeplover - I am sorry to hear about the car accident. I hope you guys are alright. Maybe when things calm down for you we can get the boys together again?

TXfish - sorry about the rushed Dr's appt. Mine is always running behind but when she gets to use she's not rushed at least.

[LittleStar]

jeeplover - yikes! I hope you guys are ok.

The past 2 nights H has been waking up after 6 am, and I know he feels really good because I hear him "talking" in his crib instead of screaming. Let's hope this streak of good luck continues.

Friday night was aw-ful. H was having trouble breathing, and we had to give him the inhaler a few times. He was in such a good mood though (at midnight and 4 am :rolleyes: - just smiling and laughing). By the time we got to the dr. on Saturday morning, he was fine (oxygen levels good, lungs clear). I don't know what it was.

I've been soo unmotivated today. H's school opened late (b/c of the weather - it was kinda icy here), and I got a late start, didn't eat breakfast, felt nauseous, etc. DH was off b/c of MLK, so I think I'm going to sneak out early (well, 5 pm is considered early here :rolleyes: )

shania0474 - What a cute story about David and G! H has just started dancing to music, and I think it's adorable.

[JenniferEC]

jrsygirl - I never thought of using formula in pancakes, etc. Do you make a big batch of formula each day? I only make a bottle at a time and I'm guessing that won't work. Have you tasted them? Just wondering what they taste like.

Littlestar - Congrats! Good thing you tested again!

Sal - Hope you and Dylan are feeling better. I feel the same way about the bday party. I'm excited to plan it, but I'm not ready so I keep putting it off.

Sunday night Marin went to bed at 6:30 and slept until 9:30 yesterday morning. It's great she's STTN, but I get freaked out that she's sleeping that long. Here it is 8:30 and she's still sleeping. It really messes up her nap schedule.

It is supposed to get really cold today. I hate bundling the kids up to go out. All of those heavy layers and then trying to get them in the car seats. We stayed in yesterday so I'm determined to get them both out today.

[jrsygirl]

Jennifer yes we make a batch every day..I have 64 oz rubbermaid container that with two we go through one a day.
The pancakes didnt really taste any different to me.. i used regular ol bisquick and just made a little ..enough for a few pancakes for them..for us I made it with regular milk

[shania0474]

quick post

G's 9 month WBV stats:
Weight 26 lbs 6 oz
Height 31.5in

jeeplover yikes! I hope everyone is okay.

Off to the physical therapist. BBL

[Kopper]

jeeplover - Sorry to hear about your accident. How scary. Hope you guys are ok.

shania - What a big boy you have! :)

Jane - Jacob has that same t-shirt. The "Mom" one. My sister gave it to him.

---
Well Jacob slept 12 hours again. He woke several times but didn't stay awake more than 1-2 minutes. He even slept though an accident right outside his window. Some stupid drunk driver hit a parked car and then drove off. It woke me up out of a dead sleep. The girl returned 20 mins later stinking of alcohol saying she was scared and it wasn't really a "hit and run" :rolleyes: :mad: She was arrested. So that was our drama last night in our usually quiet neighborhood.

[LittleStar]

Happy Snow Day everyone! DH and I are "working from home" today because H's school is closed. I just put H down for a nap and he fussed for a couple of minutes, but now he's suspiciously quiet - hope that means he's out :D

Kopper - Yay for good sleep! Wow about the accident. I'm glad no one was hurt.

We had our 9 month wbv yesterday. Here are the new stats:
weight: 19 lbs 12 oz
height: 27 3/4 inches

[Sal03]

Jeeplover how scary! hope you guys are okay

shania wow - he is so big!

Kopper that's so scary. people are so irresponsible

For the moment - we are actually all healthy here. We'll see how long it lasts! katie and I had gym class today which was so much fun. I think I am going to add music together on mondays. just trying to figure out if she will make it through the class okay. if she wakes up early that day, it may be iffy. But I think she will be stimulated enough and will just pass out in the car after. I love doing classes with her. I feel like that is our best quality time because when it is the two of them, everything gets so hectic.

Anyone here a photoshop expert? I have a pic of the two of them I like but dylan has a scratch on his face and katie has tons of drool on her shirt so I would love to have someone edit it, but I don't have the software. even if I did I probably would not know how to use it!

[Kopper]

Sal03 - Glad you guys are all healthy. Sorry don't know anything about photoshop.

---
We are sick here... :( Jacob was doing better but he had a lingering cough so I took him to his ped since we are going to SLC this weekend. It turns out he has an ear infection again (same ear as before), more allergies and bronchiolitis (sp?) caused by the drainage. He was wheezing a b/c of it. He acts normal but his cough was not going away. So now we have to give him breathing treatments four times a day for at least a week. He is on two different meds for that. She also has him on an antibiotic (for his ear), decongestant/antihistamine and Singulair. My poor baby. I hate giving him the breathing treatments b/c he fights it and I have to hold him tight. I hate the fact that BFing did not prevent this. Who knows I guess, maybe it would have been worse but I just feel terrible all these meds he has to take. To top it off my allergies were terrible until yesterday. I lost my voice and my throat was so sore. Hopefully the sickies will be gone soon and our trip on Sunday goes allright.

[Jane&Andy]

Kopper - Sorry Jacob is sick. :(

Sal - nope, not that good with photo editing software. Maybe try posting in hobbies and crafts. Seems like back on WC there was a thread for that sort of thing so maybe there is on here.

Now that Joey can pull up to stand he is fighting sleep. I think there's a bit of a separation anxiety issue mixed in. Its terrible. Its so hard to get him to sleep. I lay him down and he stands up. I try to stay in the room until he falls asleep b/c it calms him down but then he smiles at me and pulls up to stand anyway. I think its a bit of a game to him b/c I can feel him helping me lay him down when I go in there. I don't know what to do with him but he's waking up during the night and barely napping and its taking a toll on us all. :( I am physically and emotionally worn out AND I just found out that we have to go to MIL's (90 min away) tomorrow to celebrate her birthday and no one bothered to tell us about it before. With notice I would have been happy to go but DH talked to various family members just a few days ago and nothing was mentioned. Just plain rude to forget us like that. :( :mad:

[Sal03]

Kopper so sorry Jacob is sick :( My friend's daughter just had to do those breathing treatments but she is 3 and could understand. I can't imagine trying to get a 9 month old to do it :( hope he is better soon

Jane I absolutely can't stand when family stuff like that happens. If I recall correctly, the standing thing was a very annoying but short phase with Dylan. Hope it passes quickly!

I got someone to photoshop the pic. I am so happy, finally a cute one of the two of them NOT in the stroller where they have to sit next to each other. I'll have to upload to photobucket and post. Meanwhile I spoke too soon on us being well. I am getting a cold and dylan threw up all.over.his.crib. I mean everywhere. what a mess poor little guy :(
Hope everyone has happy and HEALTHY weekends! :D

[JenniferEC]

shania - What a big guy you've got! What size clothes is he in?

Kopper - I hope you and Jacob are better soon. Those breathing treatments don't sound like fun. Good luck on your trip tomorrow.

Jane - Sorry about the late notice. Is there any way to get out of going? No advice on the standing thing as we are dealing with that right now. Marin stands up in her crib and spits her pacifier on the floor causing her to scream. I'll go put it back in and she does the same thing again. Since she needs her paci to sleep, it's becoming a vicious cycle!

Sal - Sorry the wellness didn't last very long. Poor Dylan. I hope it's just a one time thing and he's not sick. How is he doing in school? Feel better soon!

We are on week 2 of Marin's cold. It's pretty much congestion but she's just miserable. I feel like we're wiping or suctioning out her nose all.the.time. I'm worried because we had just got her sleeping through the night and putting herself to sleep and for the past week I've been rocking her to sleep and feeding her at night. She will be exhausted but stand in her crib and scream until I come in. As soon as I sit down with her she is asleep. I guess she just needs that comfort. Thankfully Caden has been healthy, except getting sent home from school last week for a bloody nose.

[Sal03]

Jennifer so weird when I just read your post I was so startled. I was thinking "Marin...standing?? How can she be standing she is just a baby?" I am in complete denial that our girls are getting so big. Forget that they are going to be one in just a few months. I'm losing it :p

[shania0474]

quick post (tired and heading for an early night)

sorry to hear about all the sick babies! Both boys have a lingering cough too (they're fine during the day but hacking at night). Ped still says nothing to worry about so we should just keep giving them nasal sprays and OTC cough meds.

Kopper, Sal, Jennifer yes G is a big baby. I have tons of nicknames for him (chunky monkey, roli poli, etc) most of which DH objects to :D He's quite tall though (97%) so I think that's where most of the weight comes from (also 97%) because he's not so chubby anymore (his thighs are still very yummy though!) He's wearing 12-18 month clothes (18-24 in some brands that run small) and size 5 diapers (which is crazy because his 2 yo brother is in size 6 diapers and size 5 pull ups!) He's 10 months today!

ETA Sal love the new photo in your avatar. So cute!!!! Wish my boys would be that cooperative :)

[Jane&Andy]

still dealing with sleep issues here and spent a long day at MIL's yesterday. :rolleyes: But I was talking to some friends at church who are dealing with similar issues and using a book called "Good night, sleep tight" (or something along those lines) and they said its working well for them. So when we see them at swim class Tuesday they're going to loan us a copy. So maybe we have an actual solution in sight!

Jennifer - I could have gotten out of going to MIL's but I know she was wanting to see Joey and she's having surgery Tuesday (her actual bday) so with everything going on I didn't want to deny her that. She has a lot of health issues that make the drive too hard on her to do often so we need to be better about visiting her. I just would have liked some notice! And to leave a few hours earlier than we did!

Sal - cute avatar picture! I hoping you post it here for us to see bigger!

they're predicting snow this afternoon - I hope we get it so Joey can see snow finally! Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

[Sal03]

:D


http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/rebeccag202/Sal1.jpg

[Jane&Andy]

so cute Sal!!!! :D

its snowing! :)

[Jane&Andy]

we got some snow today - Joey seemed to like it.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/p7d5c018f0405a53ee2b073718f589a2a/eafdff61.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/pec959f603111db8066e47e203d5fe9e0/eafdfe55.jpg

I got him to bed tonight without too much of a fight but who knows how long he'll sleep for! Oh well. I figure this will end eventually - its not like he'll be 18 and still standing in the crib crying instead of sleeping. :rolleyes:

[Kopper]

Jane - Hope you have a good night tonight. Sleep issues are tough. Cute snow pictures!

Sal - What cuties! :)

JenniferEC - I hope Marin is better soon. Don't you hate how being sick throws their sleep schedule.

---
We made it to SLC. Jacob napped almost the whole flight so that was really nice! The woman who sat next to us told us right away not to worry about him bothering her. She has a 10 month old and a little girl who turned 2 today so she said she understood. Luckily he did great and didn't bother anyone. We went to Smiths once we got in town. That place is HUGE! It makes Walmart look small in comparison. Afterward we went to dinner at an Italian place. Jacob is in the bedroom in the crib sleeping. Hopefully tonight goes well. He has been STTN with the exception of 2-3 nights for the past two weeks. Oh, I noticed on the plane he cut a top tooth. So now he has 3 teeth. I'm sure the fourth will be here soon.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

[amygrrl]

dh & i have both been sick off and on for 3 weeks... first stomach flu, then cold, now regular flu. it sucks. but somehow, malin hasn't gotten any of it... knock on wood that that continues.

things that are going on here...

new developments - she's got the crawling down to an art and pulls up and cruises on everything. walks with her push rocker, though she's kind of slow. gives high 5's, puts the burpee over her face to play peekaboo, gives kisses (most of the time when you ask and sometimes without asking which is super sweet. she also likes to kiss every freaking character in her books. and always kisses mirrors. no self esteem issues here.) and is falling down everywhere with the attempts to stand and cruise.

food - she's been back on purees for a few days b/c she fell and tore the tissue that holds the lip to the gum... lots of blood, but nothing major according to the dr. it looks like she has a wheat allergy so that's no longer allowed and we had to get her the wheat free puffs. and i need to get more creative with the finger foods since she can't have pasta or breads.

sleep - we ended up cio for a couple of nights a few weeks ago and sleep has improved 3000 percent. she was already sleeping through the night, it was mostly to get her to put her self to sleep and now we can put her down awake and she goes right to bed. we moved her bedtime from 6 to 6:30 because she was waking up about an hour after going down for a few days and i thought she was treating that first stretch like a nap. changing her bedtime seems to have fixed it.

classes - malin will start swim lessons in the late spring (we have an outdoor pool at our club), but until then, i'm thinking of putting her in a music class. between that and the library kids reading and a playgroup, i think she'll be plenty busy.

teeth - she's still got the 8 she's had since 8 months. but i think she's working on a couple of others.

Kopper - yeah for an easy flight!
Jane&Andy - those snow pictures are so freakin cute!
Sal03 - too cute!

[KB57]

Hello ladies, I've been following along, just haven't been posting!

Congrats LittleStar and Txfish!!! How exciting! (not sure if I congratulated you girls already or not)

Abby had her 9 month WBV on Saturday:
21 lbs 9oz
31 inches
She's been coughing since Thursday and her nose has been runny, the ped checked her lungs and ears and everything was fine, just a little cold. She was supposed to get another Hep B shot but they held off on it for another 2 weeks because of her cold. She's been Ok during the day, at night she wakes up coughing though. She got three more teeth for a total of 6 and there are 2 more top teeth breaking through so she's been miserable for the last week or so.

Jane -I can relate on the sleep issues and the standing up in the crib. Some nights I think she is literally still asleep-eyes closed and everything-just crying and standing in the crib. She won't stop until I pick her up. Since she's been teething its gotten alot worse, she used to be such a good sleeper. It's frustrating. I'm going to look into some of the sleep technique books too. In any case, those snow pics are adorable!

Sal- What a cute pic....sorry you guys are sick again. Hope you all feel well very soon!

Kopper-glad your flight went well! It makes it so much easier when they sleep through it!

amygrrl-sorry you and DH have been so sick, but good thing malin hasn't caught anything! Feel better!

Have a good day everyone :)

[Jane&Andy]

ack! sleep is so not going well here. Took me an hour to get him down for a nap this morning and then after only 25min the dog barked at kids outside and woke him up! So - free golden retriever available! Any takers? :p :rolleyes: :mad: :(

I'm taking Joey to Picture People tomorrow. I have a Vday coupon so it'll be cheap and I have a cut Vday outfit for him. I'll take him back in March for a 1yr shot so its silly to do now but as long as I stick to the coupon it'll be cheap. And hopefully it'll be fun. Plus it gives me a chance to try out PP before his 1 yr shots.

KB57 - good luck getting Abby to sleep. Joey used to be a dream to put to sleep 95% of the time - regression sucks!

teeth - still none!

[jrsygirl]

jane i can totally relate. Our neighbor rang the door last night at 7:30 and Brody went nuts and woke the kids up. Fortunately he only barks when the bell actually rings.. i really need to put a sign up that says please KNOCK.

Joey looks like he had a ball in the snow!

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

P&C are doing well. We are actually leaving them for the first time ever. I have to go to a conference in teh Carribean and Brian is going to come. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. My MIL, husbands aunt, nanny and my Mom will all be on hand so I'm sure they will be fine. I'm just going to miss the heck out of them. I cannot wait to sleep though!

What is everyones babies eating at this point? Cole and Paige are still eating their stage 2's and have has some stage 3's (they loved lasagna.) They have also had a bunch of real foods now: Yobaby yogurt, peeled grapes, pudding (only because hey attacked me while I was eating it!), bagel, pancakes, waffles, cheese, pulled pork, meatsauce, pasta,graham crackers, cheerios..they love trying new things! So far they dont seem to dislike much and I'm loving exposing them to new things... what are you all doing?

sleep we are still dealing with night wakings 3-4 times a night. generally if we replace a paci and tuck them in they go right back to sleep. I can't seem to get them to not wake though. If we ignore them completely it escalates to hysterics. So frustrating. I'm hoping its just the teething.

Teeth count
Cole: 6 (three upper, three lower)
Paige: 2 bothe lower


first birthdays has anyone started planning yet?

[Sal03]

Kopper glad the trip went well!

Jane I bet he is getting 7 teeth at once or something crazy like that and that is why the sleep has gone to crap. You must have wanted to scream when the dog woke him! That is why we have loud sound machines. It was literally making me insane when one kid would wake the other.

amygrrl I love your new avatar. malin is SO precious! I read about her fall in your other thread. :( that must have been so hard to watch. I remember when Dylan fell from his learning table and had a mouth full of blood - it was so awful!

KB sorry about all the sickness. It just seems neverending right??

eating sounds similar to you jrsygirl. We giver her about a cup of oatmeal for breakfast. But today she had half that and half of my nutrigrain waffle. for lunch a stage 2 fuit and veg and for dinner a stage 2 fruit and veg. then after that we give her tastes of whatever we are eating. meatballs, chicken, anything she'll eat. I feel like she would eat all.day.long if we would let her!

[LittleStar]

Love the pictures Sal and Jane!

So, I have my first OB appt. today and hopefully an u/s. I'm just anxious to make sure everything's OK. I've had horrible cramping (luckily only lasts 10 minutes or so) the last few nights. Fingers crossed.

Food - H is doing much better with food. He'll gnaw on teething biscuits and has tried a couple of puffs. We were out to dinner Saturday night, and I gave him some of my refried beans. His face didn't seem like he liked it, but he kept wanting more, so guess it was OK.

OK - gotta get some work done before I go to the dr. Be back later to catch up :)

[Jane&Andy]

Sal - I did do some screaming. And then I apologized to the dog. He's the friendliest dog in the world but is super protective of our house (although an intruder would only need to give him a cookie to win him over). I play a lullaby CD whenever he sleeps to help block out noise but the barking was too loud and he just kept on barking for awhile. He has been drooling like crazy and chewing on his whole hand for 2-3wks now and everyone says he's teething but I just don't see anything popping up - I am hoping that's what the problem is though.

jrsygirl - that happened last week before his sleep went totally to crap - I saw the UPS man coming and got to the door before he could ring it but Butter still barked. :rolleyes:

first birthday - plans are under way - zoo/jungle animal theme. But we'll be celebrating a week late so that my Mom can come. So I think we might do something special, just the three of us, for his actual birthday.

food - Joey is starting to refuse purees a lot but won't eat a whole lot of finger foods. He's a card addict so he'll eat anything cracker, plus peas and a little bit of banana. And he won't turn down yogurt, ever (so far).

amygrrl - sorry about Malin's fall. :( She's absolutely adorable! You probably get tired of hearing it but - oh my gosh - that hair!! (bald babies run in my family and DH's so I'm used to seeing them fairly hairless for the first few years)

Joey is down for a nap and has been asleep for almost an hour. It only took 20min to get him down. So that's good at least. :) After the lousy night and interrupted morning nap he sure needs some sleep. DH's Mom is having surgery tomorrow so he's leaving very early in the morning and will be gone all day so I'm on my own for awhile. (DH and I tag team the nights usually but tonight he needs to sleep b/c he'll be leaving so early in the morning).

[Jane&Andy]

LittleStar - good luck today!! Somehow it feels like just yesterday we were all going in for our first prenatal appts but it also feels like it was ages ago. I was trying to convince DH last week that we should TTC now - found out my sister is pregnant with her third baby and it would be so fun to have our kids close in age. But somehow Joey totally regressing sleep-wise took the wind right out of those sails. :p

[mel7dog]

I am finally back here! We were on vaction for about 10 days and I'm still getting back into the swing of things.

Pulling up - Ben has been pulling up on everything the last 2 weeks and does so all.the.time now

teeth - 4 on top, 2 on bottom

solids - He's had a lot more solids the last few weeks. 2-3 times a day now. He is not a fan of purees and has been having mostly all finger foods. Cheerios are his favorite snack. He also has turkey/chicken/tofu and fruit and veggies. We usually just give him a little of what we've having.

We have our 9m WBV on Friday so I'll be back with more info then!

[LittleStar]

Had my u/s today, and I'm not measuring as far along as my lmp would indicate. But, I kinda knew that would be the case since my cycles were all crazy due to bf'ing, and the first pg test I took was bfn. Anyway, the dr. thinks I'm about 5 weeks along (and based on uterus measurements, 45 days - which seems like a big diff. to me), but since I'm so early, I'll have another u/s at the next appt (in 4 weeks!) to get a due date. But - the good news is that we saw the heartbeat. I guess for now I just feel "a little bit pregnant" :p

We're going to go ahead and tell immediate family (and of course, cc). How am I going to keep this to myself for 4 whole weeks??

[Jane&Andy]

yay for a heartbeat LittleStar! You are so making me anxious to do this again!

teeth - it actually looks like his top two teeth are going to break through soon. I can see white! No signs of bottom teeth but its not like he lets me look in his mouth often or for long.

good to hear from you Mel. :)

[Sevilla]

LittleStar: Congrats on a good appointment and seeing the heartbeat!

Jane: I hope sleep starts to get easier for you soon. That has to be frustrating. I bet Joey will figure out how to climb down from standing in the next week :).

Sal: Such a sweet photo of your children!

Mel: Welcome back from your cruise! I'm glad you had a great time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had DS's 9 month appointment a few weeks back. He's doing great! I love his pediatrician, and it was reassuring to me to see how well he is growing on just breastmilk :).

Height: 28 3/4"
Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz (he gained a pound per month since his 6 month visit in spite of being mobile that whole time)
Iron Level: 13.3 (i was concerned about his iron since he doesn't eat solids, so this reassured me that his body is doing great without them)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QOTD's

Solids: DS doesn't eat solids. We offered them 1-2x/week from when he was 6 months but he was rarely interested and when he did eat them they reacted badly with his digestive tract (explosive diapers even with rice cereal and banana). He isn't interested in self-feeding either. When we try to hold food up to his mouth he usually pushes our hands away. *Right after i posted this i was cooking in the kitchen with him and he was happy to eat a couple spoonfuls of my applesauce - that's the first solids he's eaten in a month.*

His pediatrician was very reassuring and said that he'll start when he's ready (most likely going straight to table foods) and that he's obviously thriving with nursing so not to worry. I think that since he has allergies his body is telling him to hold off until it is more mature.

I do sit him in his booster seat with rice puffs, dried pasta, or cheerios for him to play with while we eat. He doesn't ever put things in his mouth (makes my life so much easier!) but enjoys touching them, picking them up, and throwing them off the tray :p.

Sleep: He is still a laid-back sleeper (falls asleep easily while nursing, in a baby carrier, or in the car). We continue to cosleep and enjoy it. He takes two naps a day but i can see him phasing out of that in the next few months (b/c if we're out somewhere he will now skip his morning nap). At night he wakes to eat around midnight and again around 5am. I'm honestly thankful that he still wakes up at night to eat since i don't have AF back yet and i'd like to keep it that way as long as possible ;). Plus since we cosleep i don't notice him eating at night too much.

Teeth: Just the bottom 2 that he got at 6 months old.

1st Birthday: We'll have extended family over to celebrate. i'm honestly not sure what i'll do cake-wise for him given his allergies and aversion to solids. He does like touching things so i could make a mini-one for him to play in for photo ops.

Pulling Up: David's been pulling up for a couple months now (i think he makes up for his lateness with solids with his earliness with motor skills, lol!). He's *this close* to walking - he can stand on his own no problem (as long as he doesn't realize he's standing - once he realizing what he's doing he drops down to sit/crawl) and when he holds our fingers to walk around he is so steady. He cruises like there's no tomorrow, even with just one hand.

Baby Signs: Does anyone else do signs with their baby? I started doing just the 'milk' sign with DS at 6 months old and just in the past few weeks he's started making it back to me - it's so cool! He uses it whenever he wants something, sort of like babbling with his hands. I'm going to introduce a few more signs in the next month or so I think.

[Jane&Andy]

Sevilla - I do some signing with Joey but I'm terrible about remembering to do it. Mostly I sign for milk, eat, and more. I've been doing water when I give him a sippy cup lately. But since I don't use the signs enough I don't think he understands any yet.

[charissa]

Wow its been a while since I've been on here. I guess a break from school also meant a break from the computer haha.

Vegas - Well we're just back from a weekend in Vegas, and DS did surprisingly well. He slept a good 12 hours the first night and about 11 the next. We expected a lot of random wake ups, but none at all, it was pretty cool. We took my sister along, who doesn't drink or gamble, so she watched Logan after we put him down and we went out. It was really actually very nice, and I was expecting lotsa dirty looks and such from people b/c of having a baby, but we were extremely surprised to see so many couples there with children. We limited our time in the casino when we had him with us, besides you're not allowed to loiter anyway with a kid or anyone under 21, so we stuck to shopping and dining during the day, fun!

9 month check up - Well DS had an ear infection just after the holidays, so he LOVED the antibiotics he had to take, so weird, but HATED tylenol cold, strange baby. :) But the check up coincided with the 2 week follow up for the ear infection, and all checked out good.

Weight: 18 lbs (50th Percentile)
Length: 23.75 (I think) - 75th percentile

solids - he LOVES cheerios, yogurt, apples, cheese, bananas, any kind of bread. We're giving him tastes off of our plate, like Mel.

teeth - still got the 4, two on bottom, two on top

sleep - still sleeping like a champ, goes down around 7:45 pm, doesn't wake me up till 8:20 am or so.

signing - not really just yet, I plan to. We're still trying to get him to wave hi and bye. haha

[mel7dog]

LittleStar - Huge Congrats!!!

Sevilla - Glad to hear the Dr says David is doing great on BM alone. I worried about that some with us because Ben had very little solids untill the last few weeks. I also do some signs with Ben (milk, more, water, food) but he hasn't done any back yet. How exciting that David is doing them already :)

[Txfish]

omigosh, the teeth!!! After her wbv last week, I discovered that she had 2 teeth fully in that I didn't know about, and was *thisclose* to cutting another. So she now has: four front top, 3 front bottom, and 1 molar on each side, top. Egad.

Still doesn't eat a ton. Usually has cereal for either breakfast or lunch, an hour or so after her bottle. And then a stage 2 veg with a meat, and stage 2 fruit for dinner, plus lots of cheerios/puffs/biter biscuits throughout the day. She's starting to really claw for my food though, and we share anything we can off our plate. She's not always so good at eating it, though! Tonight she made a valiant attempt at a thin slice of green bell pepper. She eats apple slices off the peel -- just gnaws off little bites. Loves stroganoff, strangely. I haven't made fish lately, but I'm anxious to let her try that. I'm pretty much skipping stage 3's; she doesn't seem to do well with the mix of puree with hidden chunks. So on to dices -- carrots, apples, pears, and meat sticks so far.

Littlestar, good news on the hb! Can't wait to get an official due date.

Jane, hoping Joey's sleep issues are all teeth. I'd certainly believe it! Whit was a major crabfest for a couple of weeks there...

Sevilla, great update. So cool that he's signing back now! I've pretty much worked on More and All Done, but I'm not even sure I know any others LOL

Charissa, nice to hear from you :) How fun on your Vegas trip!

[Jane&Andy]

Joey wants to share the love...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid223/pa6fbcfc4b137fd4844b79bfb7623f5af/eaf683af.jpg

I borrowed a sleep training book from a friend and started using their techniques last night. So he's still waking up but I did manage to get him to go back to sleep in the crib. I am very tired though and looking forward to the weekend! I'm feeling less frustrated now that I have a sleep training plan instead of flying by the seat of my pants and resorting to things that won't help him relearn his sleep skills.

it almost looks like there are more than 2 teeth on their way in but he really won't let me get a good luck. It looks like one should break through very soon.

Charissa - I'm glad you had a nice time in Vegas. :)

TXfish - Joey shows a lot of interest in my food too - until I give him a piece. Then he doesn;t want it anymore. :p

[LittleStar]

Joey takes the best pictures Jane!

H has diarreah (ick!) and although I haven't been the lucky one to change any of the yucky dipes, I do have to handwash all the outfits he ruins. *sigh* He's in good spirits and not feeling poorly otherwise and still eating and drinking, so hopefully it'll pass soon.

I've had the worse insomnia these last few nights. I fall asleep very easily b/c I'm so exhausted, but I wake up in the middle of the night and have a very hard time going back to sleep.

Charissa - sounds like you had a great trip!

Sleep - H has been sooo tired and fallen asleep so well the last few nights. It's been nice.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - That's cute. Did you take that or is that PP?

Marin is finally STTN again and getting better at putting herself to sleep for naps. I love rocking her to sleep, but I don't want to get into that habit. I'm sure going to FL for two weeks is going to mess with her sleep, but it's vacation so I'll deal with it.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n24/jeconrard/IMG_2168.jpg?t=1169730023
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n24/jeconrard/IMG_2177.jpg?t=1169730706

Both kids are crying, so SOs later.

[Jane&Andy]

what great pictures Jennifer! Marin is so adorable! Joey's pictures were from PP. I was pretty happy with them and I love the instant gratification - go wander the mall for 30min and then go back for my prints!

LittleStar - I hope Harrison feels better now.

The sleepless nights continue here. It almost looks like he has 3 teeth coming in but its hard to tell. I've been feeling a lot less frustrated about it til this morning when I was in his room from 4:30-5:45am trying to get him to sleep. He'd tuck himself into a ball and start to fall asleep but after a few minutes would roll over and start to play. It was driving me crazy. So DH took a turn and got him to sleep at 6 (but he only slept til 6:45). :rolleyes:

[mel7dog]

Just dropping off Ben's 9m WBV stats!
9 months
Weight: 20 lbs 4oz
Height: 28.5 inches
He's down to 50% for height and weight, but his head is in the 95%, LOL

We also had pictures done yesterday at Portrait Innovations. Here are the 4 we bought. Please put the first one on the front page :)
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/January/0023.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/January/0005.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/January/0045.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k188/BensMom426/January/0014.jpg

[Jane&Andy]

cute cute photos Mel!

Joey is back to napping well and STTN. I don't think his teeth have broken through yet. I have no idea what happened to get him sleeping well again but I'm not gonna complain about it!

[Sevilla]

Mel - such cute pics of Ben!

Jane - i'm glad to hear that Joey is sleeping better at night (for now, lol!).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions - Dropping morning nap?

I think DS is starting to drop his morning nap, and he's 10 months old today. He woke up at 6am today, played in bed for 45 minutes, and then fell back asleep until 8am. It's now almost noon and although we tried to put him for a nap earlier he would have none of it, and he's happily playing and talking to himself in the living room.

Three days a week his morning nap is delayed due to work and a family event - so i wonder if that has helped push him to not need it? His pattern used to be a morning nap (10-11:30ish), later afternoon nap (3:00-4:30ish), and then in bed by 8:30pm. Now his pattern seems to be an early afternoon nap (12ish-2:30ish) and and earlier bedtime (7ish). His wakeup time has stayed between 7-8am. Does that sound like anything your kids are doing?

He's always been on the earlier end for sleep things - the '2 hour rule' in Weissbluth for sleep stopped applying to him pretty early (he would go 2.5-3 hours awake instead and then go down to sleep easily). And i know my siblings and I all dropped our naps early. i'm just wondering how this nap dropping stuff works.

[Sal03]

Jennifer adorable pics of Marin! What a big girl

Jane That picture of Joey just cracked me up. He is such a ham!

Mel Ben is such a doll. What a great smile on the happy little guy

Two naps to one Dylan did not fully drop the morning nap until maybe 13 months. It was an annoying transition. Somedays towards the end he really needed it and some days refused. But I was always home for naps and was very consistent. Katie only gets good morning naps 3 days a week because the other 4 we are running around for dylan's school. it's because of that like you said Sevilla I think she will drop it earlier. Some days she does not take one and just plays in her crib now if we are home. But on some of our busy days I end up driving her around and she passes out in the car. I can't wait for it to just be the one long afternoon nap. It is much easier to plan around that.

[Jane&Andy]

one nap? we're nowhere near being ready for one. But Joey still works on an early to bed, early to rise body clock. So he's up before the sun and ready for his first nap while many are still sleeping! He still takes 2-3 most days. I'm hoping as he gets a little older to push his bedtime back so that we don't start the days so ridiculously early. But as it is right now, when he stays up late he doesn't sleep in. So we avoid that as much as possible.

Joey has pretty much dropped all baby food. He'll let me spoon feed him yogurt and oatmeal (adult instant oatmeal) but that's it. If I just gave him raisins and crackers he'd be happy. :p

[Kopper]

Mel, Jennifer, Jane and Sal - Cute pictures! :)

Naps - Jacob still takes two solid naps. He is an early riser too and sometimes wants to wake up at 5:30am but I try to get him to sleep until at least 6:30am. He takes naps at 9am and 1pm and usually sleeps between 1-2 hours. He goes to bed at 6:30pm ish.

Standing - Jacob is standing now for 30+ seconds at a time. Sometimes he remembers he is standing and sits down but he is able to do it for longer periods of time.

---
We are back from SLC. The trip was ok but I'm not sure I'm going back next month. The pollution there is horrible so I didn't want to take Jacob out since he is finally off breathing treatments. He did great on the flight home even though he didn't sleep. He was happy the entire time and loved the woman sitting next to us. She is a grandma of 25 and has eight kids. She loved talking to him and even wanted to hold him. She was so nice we let her.

[bctoledo]

Jane Joey takes the best pictures!

Mel Ben's smile is precious.

We had our 9 month WBV on Friday.
Height: 29 3/4"
Weight" 22 lbs 5 oz

We also found out he had an ear infection, and I had no clue. I felt like such a bad mother. He had one a couple of months ago and was so unhappy. This one hasn't phased him so I didn't even think about it.

Ben started crawling and pulling himself up several weeks ago. He's all over the place and is so much more fun to play with.

Naps Ben isn't ready to drop his morning nap yet. I would really prefer one long nap since his morning nap is only 45 minutes.

[JenniferEC]

Jane - PP did a good job with Joey. I haven't had luck with them, but I think it depends on the photographer you get. I'm glad the sleeping is getting better. It's no fun when everyone is tired!

Mel - What cute pics! He's looking so grown up and I think he looks like you.

Sevilla - Caden didn't drop his morning nap until about 14 months. All of the sudden he wouldn't go to sleep in the morning but would take a great afternoon nap. Your DS's schedule looks pretty good right now and as long as he's not fussy, then I'd say one good afternoon nap is fine.

Kopper - Yea for a great trip! Hope Jacob is all better now.

Marin's first tooth popped through on Thursday. I'm so sad but at the same time I love watching her grow. She hasn't been too fussy and is sleeping pretty well. We leave for Florida in the morning (I should be packing right now), so I hope she does well on the plane and with her sleep while we're down there. I can't wait to get somewhere warm.

I hope all of the sick babies are better soon!

[Kopper]

I haven't posted any pictures in awhile so here are a few of Jacob.

For the front page
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/Katie-John/DSC04288.jpg

Playing with Bailey
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/Katie-John/DSC04260.jpg

I brought the suitcase out for our SLC trip and Jacob wanted to play in it
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/Katie-John/DSC04340.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n118/Katie-John/DSC04337.jpg

[Jane&Andy]

great pictures Kopper!! He's adorable.

Jennifer - I'd heard from one person that the PP I used was good. I didn't think the photographer was anything special or very good with him but we got 2 good shots so she must have done something right.

bctoledo - I hope Ben feels better soon!

[April'06Moms]

Updated to here.

Please remember to post updates in red, makes them much easier for me to find. thanks!

Charissa - I think your latest posting about Logan's height may have a typo unless he has shrunk 4inches since his 6month WBV. So I updated his weight but not height.

[Txfish]

Cute pics everyone! Someday, just maybe, I'll get around to getting pics here for you to see.

Naps: Whit has always been such a great sleeper and napper, but lately she's been goofy with naps. Most of the time she doesn't do well to push back her morning nap if we're at home (is usually just fine though if we're out and about.) But then she goes down at 9:30-10, up by noon usually, and then fights the afternoon nap... 7 hours is way too long for her to be up at once! Hoping she'll either drop back to a short afternoon nap or allow me to push back her morning one soon. I don't enjoy hearing her cry in her crib at naptime.

[jrsygirl]

I dont think I've posted a pic in a while..Here is their 9 month picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/hbd511/9mos.jpg

[Sal03]

Just a reminder to all of you to NOT be a complete moron like me and do not even for a second leave your babies on a high surface. I received the worst mother of the year award today. POOR POOR KATIE fell off the bed onto our hard wood floors on her HEAD. I can not get the image out of my mind. And I received this award because I should KNOW better after having Dylan roll off the couch. She cried so hard but I nursed her and got her calm. The ped said to not let her nap longer than 2 hours and keep an eye on her. Also watch for abnormal behavior and if she throws up. We are also supposed to wake her before we go to sleep to check on her since she STTN. :(
here is a pic of her poor little bruised and cut face :(
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/rebeccag202/IMG_0033.jpg

[jrsygirl]

aww, poor Katie :( She looks ok though ! I'm sure she'll be ok! and You are not the worst mother! It happens to al of us at some point.

Cole tripped this morning and fell into his leaptable and cut his lip on his tooth.. i think I was more upset than he was

[Sal03]

thanks jrsygirl :) I meant to write adorable pic. I love their matching shirts. twins must be such fun! Do those barrette's stay well in Paige's hair? what kind are they?

[mel7dog]

jrsygrl - They are too cute! The have the chubbiest little cheeks and I just want to kiss them! Where did you get the cute shirts from, they are great?

Sal - That happened to us about a month ago except DS landed on his arms and belly. SO scary. Don't be too hard on yourself, she will be ok!

[Jane&Andy]

ouch! Poor Katie! But don't be so hard on yourself Sal. It happens and she's ok.

love the picture jrsygirl! they are so cute and I love those shirts!

birthday planning sucks. Next year I'm not asking anyone what date/time is good for them. If I only I could afford to take him to Disneyworld instead of a party! :p :rolleyes: Anyway, it'll work out. It now looks like I get to have the party the weekend of his actual bday instead of the one before or after.

Joey's first two teeth are finally in!!!!!! I think a 3rd one is on its way. these are all upper teeth. Apparently he just likes to do things in his own special way. :p

[Sully130]

Hi ladies! Long time, no visit. I lurk often, just rarely find the time to post!

LittleStar _ Congrats on your new pregnancy! That's so exciting, but I can't say I can imagine that quite yet for myself! :)

jrsygrl - They are adorable!

Sal03 -- Poor thing! It happens though, so don't feel too bad about it. Heck, I feel bad because T is always falling little bits all over the place. He constantly has bruises on his face.

Kopper - Jacob is a doll! I love how he played in the suitcase. Too funny.

Mel & Jane - Love the latest pics of your little boys! They are too cute.

~~ Sorry, that's as far as I can go back with SO's! And sounds like T is rousing from his nap. Better not...it's time for Oprah & Ellen. :)

As for me, T is doing well...growing and changing every day it seems. His stats from his 9 month visit a few weeks ago were:

Weight: 21 lbs, 10 oz.
Height: 29.5 inches

He is currently getting over his second cold, though hopefully there won't be an ear infection with this one. I have the cold too so it's fun around here lately. He's been crawling for about two months and pulling up for one. It's tough keeping up with him! Yesterday he crawled all the way up the stairs (with me right behind him)!! He's such a joy...he's a very happy baby! Here he was on his 9-months day:

photo removed

Please don't post it elsewhere in the thread. I will remove it later. Thanks!

[jrsygirl]

sal thanks. The hairclips are giddy giddy. They are kind of pricey yet stay in her hair!! (even back when she was practically bald. I love them.

melthanks! I actually got the tshirts at old navy. They sold them in sets of four (3mos, 6mos, 9mos, and 1year).

[Kopper]

jrsygirl - Cole and Paige are so cute in their 9 month shirts.

Sal - Sorry about Katie's fall. She looks happy though so I'm sure she is fine. One of the moms in my La Leche group did the same thing and her son broke his arm!

Jane - Yay for teeth! Sorry party planning stinks. At least you get to have it on his birthday now.

Sully - What a cutie! I can't believe he climbed the stairs! Wow! :)

---
I think Jacob is cutting his second top tooth. He woke up twice last night which he hasn't done in a long time. Hopefully tonight has a better night. I had a dentist appointment today. Four fillings. Yuck! I guess that will teach me since I missed my cleaning when DS after born and didn't reschedule for 6 months.

[Jane&Andy]

Sully - he's adorable! I hope he feels better soon!

[LittleStar]

Gosh, such cute pics jrsygirl, sully, and sal (even with her boo-boo)!

H just seems to get sweeter and sweeter every day (or maybe it's my pg hormones ;) ). When he puts his head on my shoulder, I just melt. It could be wishful thinking, but I *think* he can say "hi" and "bye" - so cute!

DH is at a work dinner tonight, and I think I'm going to turn in early (I've been so tired lately). Is it only Tuesday??

[bctoledo]

Sal Poor thing! Don't stress about it, it happens to the best of us.

Jrsygirl They look adorable in their matching shirts!

Jennifer Enjoy the warmth of Florida. Make sure you bring some back with you. I think it's supposed to be in the teens here. At least we have some snow, that makes the cold weather more bearable.

We did our tax return this past weekend (I'm a CPA so I love doing this sort of thing). I can't believe how much of a difference Ben made on our taxes.

[Kopper]

Whoa looks like they have rearranged the forums.

DS had an drs appointment today and he is now officially completely well. We are going to keep giving him Singulair once per day for the next week or so and decongestant if he needs it. She said he is doing great though. Thank goodness no more breathing treatments.

Question, does anyones DC still not take sippy cups? We have tried four different kinds (Nubby, Gerber, Target brand, and Avent) and he can use them but really isn't interested at all. He won't hold them either. I was hoping to wean him from his afternoon bottle to a sippy cup by one.

[Jane&Andy]

Joey doesn't do sippy cups either. Avent seem the most promising with him so far but he'd really rather chew on them and throw them then drink from them.

[JenniferEC]

jrsygirl - those shirts are adorable and so are the kids!

Sal - Don't be hard on yourself. Katie looks like she is okay. She is looking so grown up in that pic.

Jane - Good luck with the party planning. You should pick a date that works for you and if people can come, great. If not, it's their loss. Don't stress too much about it.

Kopper - Congrats on a well baby! I hope the teething doesn't keep you up too many nights.

sippy cups - We didn't try these with Caden until a year and he switched over no problem. We used Avent and will do the same with Marin. I'm not in a hurry to get her off the bottle.

bctoledo - I don't miss the cold or snow at all!

Our vacation has been going okay. The weather is nice - today is sunny and 80 - and both kids are sleeping well despite strange environments. Marin was up at 6 today and wouldn't go back to bed so I just got up with her. It is going to be cold at Disney next week but we're going to make the best of it. I can't wait for the kids to see everything there.

[LittleStar]

sippy - H also would just chew on them and throw them. So a few weeks ago, we just started offering him water in a regular plastic cup. He does fine with that - with lots of help of course!

[Jane&Andy]

Jennifer - for the most part I'm not consulting people about the party plans - one of the date changes was b/c of DH. And the rest were from my family that is out of town. We've got it settled now and its worked out but man that was a lot of work just to get the time and date set! Next year I'll try to consult them less - this year it started off with my Mom saying she couldn't come the weekend of his birthday and so the planning chaos began.

I just posted this in my journal...
Party Plans:

appetizers:
pretzels and monster trail mix (from Target - absolutely delicious)
fruit tray
fritos and dip

lunch:
pulled pork sandwiches
potato salad
pasta salad of some sort

dessert:
girraffe cake and bear cub cupcakes

goody bags:
animal crackers and animal stickers
some sort of plush animal for baby neice since she's too young for crackers and stickers

party colors: blue, green and yellow

entertainment: pinata

drinks: sodas and punch (haven't decided on a punch recipe yet)

Am I forgetting anything?

I'm looking at about 15 or so adults and 6 kids (4 and under).

Joey turns 1 next month! :eek: :D :eek: :( :eek: :)

[LittleStar]

Jane - sounds like it'll be a great party! (and makes me hungry for pulled pork sandwiches :rolleyes: )

[Jane&Andy]

LittleStar - I have the BEST pulled pork recipe. I'm not normally a big fan of it but this is delish! And its made in the crock pot so its pretty easy. I'm going to borrow my SIL's crockpot and make 2 recipes.

I think I'm going to pick up some activity/coloring books to keep the kids busy if they get bored. I have the party scheduled from 11-2 but my in-laws were all 2-3hrs late for my neice's first bday party last summer so who knows when they'll show up for Joey's or when the party will actually end! :p :rolleyes:

[jrsygirl]

Jane: Your in laws were 2+ hours late??? I sure hope they had a good reason or i would have been pissed off.
I love pulled pork - dont know what you usually serve with it but I always make slaw with mine and have an awesome mayo free recipe if you want it. it lasts for a while in the fridge and is way more healthy than the mayo version and i think tastes 10x better!!

[Jane&Andy]

jrsygirl - I'd love the recipe. I've never made the pulled pork before (its my sister's recipe) so there's nothing I normally serve with it. I'm not a slaw on BBQ kind of gal and my family won't be expecting it but my in-laws might. I like it as a side dish anyway. :)

My in-laws had various reasons for being late. Some were good, some weren't. They generally run about an hour late to most things. I'm very punctual so it drives me batty. I'm always running around trying to have the house cleaned and ready on time only to end up sitting and twiddling my thumbs for an hour or so waiting on them. I am worried about how the party will go if that happens but I'm going to try not let it get to me - I want to enjoy the party. In the meantime, my family will be coming in from out of town and staying with me - so its those kids (2 1/2 and 4 1/2 yr old neice and nephew) I'm most worried about keeping entertained.

On Monday I'm watching a friend's 9 month old daughter b/c their daycare is closed. Should be interesting. :) We don't know them super well but we go to the same church and the babies have so much fun with each other every week. They're coming over Saturday for a playdate to introduce her to our house. I've been pushing DH to move up our TTC date so he says this is my chance to prove I can handle two!

[bctoledo]

Jane Menu sounds good. I was actually thinking about doing pulled pork for Ben's first birthday.

Jrsygirl I am also interested in your recipe. DH MUST have slaw with his pulled pork.

We've decided on a date for Ben's birthday party. We're going to do a cowboy theme since I found such cute invitations. They start by saying "Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys". We'll be having the party at my inlaws since all our relatives live at least 3 hours away. It will be a busy weekend. I'm throwing a bridal shower on the Saturday and Ben's party on Sunday.

[jrsygirl]

ok here goes..I hope y'all like it Since my MIL made it and gave me the recipe two years ago I have seriously given it to dozens of people after they tried it.

ColeSlaw
veggies: ( I have to admit sometimes I cheat and just buy the preshredded coleslaw bag and add the dressing) but this is the full recipe
shred the following in a food processor:
1 medium cabbage
1 green pepper (i usually skip this)
1 onion
1 carrot

dressing:

Mix the following and bring to a boil in a small saucepan stirring well.

1Tbsp sugar
1/2tsp celery seed
1/2tsp dry mistard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vinegar (i usually use cider)
3/8 cup salad oil

pour warm dressing over veggies and mix well. Cover with saran and chill in fridge.

This will stay good in the fridge at least a week and can sit out without refridgeration.


Enjoy!

[Jane&Andy]

thanks jrsygirl! It sounds delish and anything that can be prepared in advance is a very good thing!

[Kopper]

Good to know Jacob isn't the only one who still won't take sippy cups.

Can you update my age to 28? Yesterday was my birthday. DH will be 30 in two weeks so you can update his as well.

Thanks!