July 2006 Mommies and Babies!

[July&August2006Mommies]

July 2006 Moms and Babies of Constant Chatter!

http://www.101funpages.com/html/imgs/page_imgs/images/baby_us_flag.jpg

Congratulations and Welcome!!
Whether this is your first child or your fifth, we look forward to sharing this journey together.

1st Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=9139)
2nd Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=14441)
3rd Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=17535)
4th Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=20123)
5th Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21697)
6th Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23328)

Please list your stats or Mommy ID (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22994) in RED in your first post.

CC Name:
DC: Name
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
Married: Date
EDD: Date
ADD: Date
Other children:

*Please posts all updates in RED.

The threadmistresses are mkvh, Sophia & Lizard.

[July&August2006Mommies]

Abby'sMom It's a Boy!!
Me: 28
DH: 28
Married:
TTC:
EDD: 8/9/06
ADD: 7/31/06
Other Children: DD, 11/3/04
Gender Prediction:

Amaye It's a Girl!!
Me: 29
DH: 30
Married: 8/30/03
TTC: Started Sept 05
BFP: 11/8/05
EDD: 7/21/06
ADD: 7/22/06
Gender prediction: No clue!

a_spark It's a Girl!!
Me: 29
DH: 36
Married: 10/17/03
TTC: 9/04
BFP: 11/04/05
EDD: 7/17/06
ADD: 7/15/06
Gender Prediction: Boy

CarlaB It's a Boy!!
Me: 29
DH: 38
Married: 05/06/02
TTC: 8/05 (came off BCP)
BFP: 11/19/05
EDD: 7/29/06
ADD: 7/31/06
Gender Prediction: Boy

Can't_Wait It's a Girl!!
Me: 26
DH:
Married: 5/24/03
TTC: 08/2005
BFP: 11/18/05
EDD: 7/26/06
ADD: 8/6/06
Gender Prediction: Hoping Boy but DH thinks it's a Girl

cece It's a Boy!!
Me: 34
DH: 34
Married: 6/22/02
TTC: weren't really trying
BFP: 11/21/05?
EDD: 7/14/06
ADD: 6/11/06
Other Children: DS, 8/29/04
Gender Prediction: no clue

[July&August2006Mommies]

cpbride8203 It's a Girl!!
Me: 29
DH: 33
Married: 8/2/03
TTC: We weren't...this was a big surprise!
BFP: Mid-November
EDD: 7/12/06
ADD: 7/12/06
Other Children: DD, 8/30/04
Gender Prediction: BOY!!

duke's flygirl It's a Boy!!
Me: 31
DH: 36
Married: 8/16/03
TTC: 8/05 after getting PPAF
BFP: 11/28/05
EDD: 8/10/05, but I am a repeat C-section and DD was 10 days early, so I figure this one will be a July Baby
ADD: 8/3/06
Other Children: DD, 4/11/04
Gender prediction: DH says Boy

emmjay It's a Boy!!
Me: 33
DH: 33
Married: 5/22/04
TTC: went off BCP in Aug 05
BFP: 11/11/05
EDD: 7/23/06
ADD: 7/30/06
Gender Prediction: Girl

hokiegirlie It's a Boy!!
Me:
DH:
TTC:
BFP:
EDD:
ADD: 7/5/06
Gender Prediction:

hotmama It's a Boy!!
Me: 31
DH: 36
Married: 7/26/03
TTC: Weren't really trying but...October 05
BFP: 11/05
EDD: 7/29 - 8/5 (the Dr and i aren't agreeing right now but we'll say July)
ADD: 7/23/06
Other Children: DS, 16 months old
Gender Prediction: Boy

isaacsmommy It's a BOY!
Me: 21
DH: 22
Married: 4/3/04
TTC: well...oops
BFP: 11/25/05
EDD: 8/8/2006
ADD: 7/17/2006
Other Children: DS, 7/7/04
Gender Prediction: I'm feeling a pink vibe, but who knows

[July&August2006Mommies]

jewamese It's a Girl!!
Me: 32
DH: 34
Married: 6/14/03
TTC: 4/2005
BFP: 11/21/05
EDD: 8/1/06
ADD: 7/28/06
Other Children: DD, 3/7/04
Gender Prediction: Boy

klav It's a Boy!!
Me: 34
DH: 32
Married: 10/11/03
TTC: 1/04
MC: 11/15/04
BFP: 10/30/05
EDD: 7/10/06
ADD: 6/28/06
Gender Prediction: Girl

Lil_Mrs_0702 It's a Boy!!
Me: 22
DH: 25
Married: 7/2/05
TTC:
BFP:
EDD:
ADD: 6/18/06
Gender Prediction:

lindybug It's a Boy!!
Me: 30
DH: 37
Married: 6/1/03
TTC: 10/05
BFP: 11/4/05
EDD: 7/18/06
ADD: 7/11/06
Gender Prediction: ?

Linnybubbles It's a Girl!!
Me: 26
DH: 30
Married: 7/23/05
TTC: 8/2005
BFP: 11/16/05
EDD: 7/28/06
ADD: 7/15/06
Gender Prediction: Not yet!

Lizard It's a Girl!!
Me: 31
DH: 33
Married: 9/20/03
TTC: 4/2005
BFP: 10/22/05
EDD: 7/4/06
ADD: 6/29/06
Gender Prediction: Girl

[July&August2006Mommies]

makena32204 It's a Girl!!
Me: 27
DH: 36
Married: 3/22/04
TTC:
BFP: 11/6/05
EDD: 7/11/06
ADD: 7/17/06
Gender Prediction: hoping for a Boy!

maryanne It's a Girl!!
Me: 35
DH: 36
Married: 10/1/05
TTC:
BFP:
EDD:
ADD: 6/30/06
Gender Prediction:

maybebaby It's a Girl!!
Me: 26
DH: 30
Married: 4/05
TTC: 9/05
BFP:
EDD: 7/9/06
ADD: 7/1/06
Gender prediction: Just praying for a healthy baby

mia's mama It's a Boy!!
Me: 32
DH: 34
Married: 09/02
TTC: We weren't trying, wern't avoiding
EDD: 7/24/06
ADD: 7/15/06
Other Children: DD, 11/14/04
Gender Prediction: Boy.

mkvh It's a Girl!!
Me: 29
DH: 32
Married: 3/19/05
TTC: July/August 2005
BFP: 11/4/05
EDD: 7/14/2006
ADD: 7/12/2006
Gender Prediction: Girl

mmisabel It's a Boy!!
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 11/16/06
TTC:
BFP:
EDD:
ADD: 6/29/2006
Gender Prediction:

[July&August2006Mommies]

MMK It's a Boy!!
Me:
DH:
Married: 12/27/03
TTC: 8/2005
BFP: 11/1/05
EDD: 7/10/06
ADD: 7/13/06
Gender Prediction: Boy

mrst2b2003 It's a Boy!!
Me: 31
DH: 37
Married: 9/7/03
TTC:
BFP: 11/17/05
EDD: 7/23/06
ADD: 7/15/06
Gender Prediction: no clue just want our baby to be healthy.

Mystikal It's a Girl!!
Me: 26
DH: 32
Married: 6/22/02
TTC:
BFP:
EDD:
ADD: 6/29/06
Gender prediction:

nuhmah It's a Boy!!
Me: 27
DH: 32
Married: 12/18/04
TTC: 7/05
BFP: 10/27/05
EDD: 7/12/06
ADD: 7/5/06
Gender Prediction: - Healthy!!!

rande It's a Girl!!
Me:
DH:
Married: 6/14/03
TTC: We were soon to start trying
BFP:
EDD: 7/13/06
ADD: 7/1/06
Other Children: DS, 12/16/04
Gender prediction: really not a clue!

ShelbyMay It's a Girl!!
Me: 25
DH: 27
Married: 5/17/03
TTC: 2/19/05
BFP: 10/28/05
EDD: 7/11/06
ADD: 7/2/06
Gender Prediction: No clue. DH thinks it will be a Girl.

[July&August2006Mommies]

Smurf It's a Girl!!
Me: 27
DH: 27
Married: 8/02
TTC:
BFP:
EDD: 6/22/06
ADD: 7/3/06

Sophia It's a Girl!!
Me:
DH:
Married: 8/2/2003
TTC:
BFP:
EDD: 7/11/2006
ADD: 7/7/2006
Other children: DS, 14; DD1, 11
Gender Prediction:

Soulmate It's a Boy!!
Me: 30
DH: 30
Married: 8/11/02
TTC: 4/7/04
BFP: 10/22/05
EDD: 7/4/06
ADD: 6/29/06
Gender Prediction: Boy

Sunchaser26 It's a Boy!!
Me: 30
DH: 38
Married: 6/14/03
TTC: 8/2005
BFP: 11/8/05
EDD: 7/14/06
ADD: 6/25/06
Gender Prediction: Girl

Wrighty26 It's a Boy!!
Me: 28
DH: 28
Married: 12/28/02
TTC: 05/05
BFP: Digital - 10/30
EDD: 7/8/06
ADD: 7/6/06
Gender Prediction: My first instinct is Boy- but I'm good with either!


In Our Thoughts: flygirl, roberta, icedwhite, kischer, PaisleySloan, cmon, almostthere

[July&August2006Mommies]

Estimated Due Dates
June
21 - Lil_Mrs_0702
27 - Mystikal

July
4 - Lizard
4 - maryanne
4 - mmisabel
4 - Soulmate
8 - nuhmah
8 - Wrighty26
9 - maybebaby
10 - klav
10 - MMK
11 - makena32204
11 - ShelbyMay
12 - cpbride8203
12 - Sophia
13 - rande
14 - cece
14 - mkvh
14 - sunchaser26
17 - a_spark
19 - lindybug
22 - Amaye
22 - emmjay
24 - mia's mama
27 - Can't Wait
28 - Linnybubbles
28 - mrst2b2003
29 - CarlaB
29 - hotmama

August
1 - jewamese
8 - isaacsmommy
10 - duke's flygirl


Arrivals!
June
11 - cece welcomed DS, 6lbs 3oz, 19 1/4"
18 - Lil_Mrs_0702 welcomed DS, 8lbs 6oz, 20 3/4"
25 - sunchaser26 welcomed DS, 5lbs 1oz, 18 1/4"
28 - Klav welcomed DS, 7lbs 5 1/2oz, 21"
29 - Lizard welcomed DD, 7lbs 12oz, 21"
29 - mmisabel welcomed DS, 7lbs 1oz, 20 1/2"
29 - Mystikal welcomed DD, 7lbs 7oz, 20"
29 - Soulmate welcomed DS, 7lbs 1oz, 20 1/2"
30 - maryanne welcomed DD, 7lbs 12oz, 20"

July
1 - maybebaby welcomed DD, 7lbs 2oz
1 - rande welcomed DD, 6lbs 7oz
2 - ShelbyMay welcomed DD, 7lbs 11oz, 20"
3 - Smurf welcomed DD, 8lbs, 21"
5 - nuhmah welcomed DS, 8lbs 6oz, 21"
6 - Wrighty26 welcomed DS, 7lbs 13oz, 21"
7 - Sophia welcomed DD, 7lbs 5.5oz, 19"
11 - lindybug welcomed DS, 6lbs 15oz, 19.5"
12 - cpbride8203 welcomed DD, 8lbs, 18 1/2"
12 - mkvh welcomed DD, 7lbs 13.4oz, 20 1/2"
13 - MMK welcomed DS, 8.59lbs, 21 1/2"
15 - a_spark welcomed DD, 7lbs 17oz
15 - Linnybubbles welcomed DD, 7lbs 10oz, 20"
15 - mia's mama welcomed DD, 7lbs 11oz, 21"
15 - mrst2b2003 welcomed DS, 7lbs 8oz, 19.5"
17 - isaacsmommy welcomed DS, 7lbs 7oz, 20"
17 - makena32204 welcomed DD, 6lbs 8oz, 19 1/2"
22 - Amaye welcomed DD, 7lbs 9oz, 21"
23 - hotmama welcomed DS, 7lbs 1oz, 20.5"
28 - jewamese welcomed DD, 7lbs 1oz, 19 1/2"
30 - emmjay welcomed DS, 8lbs 3.8oz, 22"
31 - Abby'sMom welcomed DS, 7lbs, 21"
31 - CarlaB welcomed DS, 5lbs 8oz, 18.5"

August
3 - duke's flygirl welcomed DS, 7 lbs 13 oz, 21"
6 - Can't Wait welcomed DD, 8lb 10oz, 21"

[July&August2006Mommies]

Helpful Links
Please feel free to suggest others.

Tickers:
Baby's First Site (http://www.babysfirstsite.com/)
Baby Gaga (http://www.baby-gaga.com/)
Lilypie (http://www.lilypie.com/i ndex.html)
One In The Oven (http://oneintheoven.net/)
Sure Baby (http://www.surebaby.com/tickers.php)
Ticker Central (http://www.tickercentral.com/)
Ticker Factory (http://www.tickerfactory.com/)

Miscellaneous Informative Sites:
American Baby (http://www.americanbaby.com/)
American Pregnancy Association (http://americanpregnancy.org/)
Baby Names (http://www.babynames.com/)
Baby Net (http://www.babynet.com/)
Baby Talk (http://www.babytalk.com/)
BetaBase (http://www.betabase.info/)
Dr. Sears (http://www.askdrsears.com/)
i Village (http://www.ivillage.com/topics/pregbaby/0,,166277,00.html/)
ePregnancy (http://www.epregnancy.com/)
Daily Cycle Information & Calendar (http://cycledaily.com/)
Fertility Awareness & Natural Family Planning UK (http://www.fertilityuk.org/)
Fertility Friend (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/)
Fit Pregnancy Magazine (http://www.fitpregnancy.com/)
I Dream of Baby (http://www.idreamofbaby.com/)
National Women’s Health Information Center (http://www.4women.gov/)
New York Online Access To Health: Pregnancy & Fertility (http://www.noah-health.org/en/pregnancy/)
Parent Stages (http://www.parentstages.com/)
Plus Size Pregnancy (http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/f...or%20Pregnancy)
http://preconception.com
Safe Fetus (http://www.safefetus.com/) (Tells you which drugs you can take during pregnancy)
Very Best Baby (http://www.verybestbaby.com/)
Yahoo Health: HCG Info (http://health.yahoo.com/ ency/adam/003510/overview)

Baby Shopping Sites:
Baby Age (http://www.babyage.com/)
Baby Ant (http://store.yahoo.com/babyant/index.html)
Baby Bazaar (www.babybazaar.com)
BabyBox (http://www.babybox.com/)
Baby Center's Store (http://www.store.babycenter.com)
Baby Depot (http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/IWStoreBCF.process?IWAction=Load&proc=IWCatSectionView&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=1395)
Baby Dilly (http://www.babydilly.com/)
Baby Dreams (www.babydreams.com)
Babies R Us (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/540744/1 03-3413585-1796649)
Baby Style (www.babystyle.com)
Baby Universe (www.babyuniverse.com)
Carousel Designs (http://www.carouseldesigns.com/)
Dimples & Dandelions (http://www.dimplesanddandelions.com/index.asp)
Disney Baby (http://disney.go.com/disneybaby/)
Dreamtime Baby (www.dreamtimebaby.com)
Elegant Baby (http://www.elegantbabygifts.com/)
Fisher Price (http://www.fisher-price.com/us/default.asp)
Gap (http://www.gap.com)
Graco (http://www.gracobaby.com/default.aspx)
Gymboree (http://www.gymboree.com/shop/asst_department.jsp?FOLDE R<>folder_id=750991& port=2&ref=msnkw&ad=ba byclothes)
In The Treetop (http://www.inthetreetop.com/default.aspx)
JCPenney (http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Department.aspx?DeptID=32 7&CatID=327&CatTyp=DEP &Dep=children%27s&cmRe setCat=true)
Land of Nod (http://www.landofnod.com/)
Little Show Offs (http://www.littleshowoffs.com/)
Net Kids Wear (http://www.netkidswear.com)
Nursery Depot (http://www.nurserydepot.com/)
Old Navy (http://www.oldnavy.com/asp/home.html?wdid=0)
One of a Kind (http://www.oneofakindkid.com/)
One Step Ahead (http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?itemID=27208& itemType=CATEGORY&lGen=category&iMainCat=117&iSu bCat=27208&change=117& cm_ven=Overture&cm_cat=Gea r&cm_pla=Travel&cm_ite =null)
Pokkadots (http://www.pokkadots.com/index.cfm)
Pottery Barn Kids (www.potterybarnkids.com)
Signature Baby (http://www.signaturebaby.com/)
Target Baby (http://www.target.com/gp /browse.html/601-4545283-50937 65?%5Fencoding=UTF8&node=1 038590)
The Baby Marketplace (http://www.thebabymarketplace.com/)
The Children's Place (http://www.childrensplace.com/)
Tutti Bella (http://www.tuttibella.com/)
Wendy Bellissimo (http://www.wendybellissimo.com/home/index.php)

[July&August2006Mommies]

Helpful Links cont.

Breastfeeding:
Ameda (www.ameda.com)
Breastfeeding (www.breastfeeding.com)
Boppy (www.boppy.com)
KellyMom (www.Kellymom.com)
La Leche League (www.lalecheleague.org)
Maternal Concepts (www.maternalconcepts.com)
Medela (www.medela.com)
Mothering (www.mothering.com)
ProMom (www.Promom.org)
Whisper Wear (www.whisperwear.com)

Formula Feeding:
Bright Beginnings (www.brightbeginnings.com)
Enfamil (www.enfamil.com)
Similac (www.similac.com)
Very Best Baby (www.verybestbaby.com) (Nestle Good Start)

Diapering Info Some have coupons & contests
Cloth Diapering (http://www.borntolove.com/404page.html)
Huggies (www.huggies.com)
Luvs (http://www.luvs.com)
Pampers (http://www.pampers.com)

Slings
The Hip Hugger (http://www.thehiphugger.com)
About Babies Inc. (http://www.aboutbabiesinc.com)
Maya Wrap (http://www.mayawrap.com)
New Native Baby (http://www.newnativebaby.com)
Prenatal Cradle (http://www.prenatalcradle.com)
Baby Bjorn (http://www.babybjorn.com)
Baby Wearer (http://www.babywearer.com)

Cord Blood/stem cell Info.
Secureacell (http://www.securacell.com)
Viacord (http://www.viacord.com)
Cord Blood (http://www.cordblood.com)
Cryobank (http://www.cryobank.com)
www.lifebankusa.com
www.corcell.com
www.cryo-cell.com

Invitations/Announcements:
2Peas1Pod.com (http://www.2peas1pod.com/index.htm)
5StarBaby.com (http://www.5starbaby.com/)
Baby Seeds (www.babyseeds.com)
BabyGrams (www.babygrams.com)
Baby J Cards (http://www.babyjcards.com/)
Bella Baby (http://www.bellababy.com/)
Celebration Cottage (www.celebrationcottage.com)
Classic Card Company (www.classiccard.com)
EitakDesign (www.eitak.com)
In A Baby Carriage (www.inababycarriage.com)
Invitation Box (http://www.invitationbox.com/)
Inviting Smiles (www.invitingsmiles.com)
MetroBaby Cards (http://www.metrobabycards.com/)
Mommy's Miracles (www.mommysmiracles.com)
My Gatsby (http://www.mygatsby.com/)
Naptime Cards (www.naptimecards.com)
Photo Stamps (http://photo.stamps.com/PhotoStamps/?source=si10985886)
Purple Stork (http://www.purplestork.com/)
Custom Craft (http://www.shopbirthannouncements.com/)
Simply To Impress (http://www.simplytoimpress.com/)
Stork Avenue (www.storkavenue.com)
Tiny Prints (http://www.tinyprints.com/)

Monitors:
BabyBeat (http://www.babybeat.com/)
Belly Beats (http://www.bellybeats.com/)
Stork Radio (http://www.storkradio.com/)

FUN STUFF
Jewel Kids (http://www.jewelkids.com/)
Lifetime Mothers (http://www.lifetimemothers.com/)
Baby Pool (http://www.expectnet.com/) (Have friends compete in a baby due date contest)
Chinese Gender Prediction Chart (http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/ttcsigns/0,,j736,00.html?arrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=2)

[July&August2006Mommies]

Books:

American Academy of Pediatrics Caring For Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to age 5
Steven P. Shelov (Editor), Richard Trubo, Robert E. Hannemann (Editor)
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7460000/7468227.gif
^^This book is available FREE through State Farm (http://www.statefarm.com/lifevents/baby.htm): User Name: Good, Password: Neighbor

What to Expect the First Year
Heidi E. Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7260000/7264225.gif

Your Baby's First Year, Week by Week
Glade B. Curtis M.D. M.P.H., Judith Schuler, Judith Schuler M.S.
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8770000/8774707.gif

Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer
Harvey Karp
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/11350000/11357816.gif

The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
Elizabeth Pantley
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7190000/7195395.gif

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Marc Weissbluth
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/6730000/6734998.gif

Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! May 2005 Edition
By Alan and Denise Fields

[July&August2006Mommies]

FYI: Please honor the privacy of your fellow July Mommies. All identifying information has been removed from the roster. Therefore, please refer to one another by screenname only and only use others' DCs' names if Momma does. We recommend the removal of all pictures after 24 hours.

POST AWAY!

http://www.101funpages.com/html/imgs/page_imgs/images/baby_us_flag.jpg

[Wrighty26]

Woo! A new thread :) I can't believe our babies are almost 5 months (well, some already are)!

[Lizard]

New thread since the old one was so big. This one should last us a while. :)

Have any of you gone back and looked at the posts you made right before you had your baby? I just did and it's so funny to see the signs! I started losing my plug about a week prior, was having major BH's, and 2 days before I went into labor I was talking about doing a major cleaning on our yard and shed (nesting!). The signs were definitely there but I didn't know it at the time, that's so neat.

Edit: LOL, I just read that I had an Oreo Blizzard and the baby freaked out, and just a few hours later my contrax started. I totally forgot that happened.

[Soulmate]

Thanks for the new thread!

Have any of you gone back and looked at the posts you made right before you had your baby? I just did and it's so funny to see the signs! I started losing my plug about a week prior, was having major BH's, and 2 days before I went into labor I was talking about doing a major cleaning on our yard and shed (nesting!). The signs were definitely there but I didn't know it at the time, that's so neat.

Edit: LOL, I just read that I had an Oreo Blizzard and the baby freaked out, and just a few hours later my contrax started. I totally forgot that happened.So interesting! I apparently had a really crappy night sleep the two nights before I went into labor after being extremely sleepy the week before. I slept on the couch which I *never* do. Also crampier. Lizard Apparently you had loose stools too ;) (I was looking at those of us who had the same L&D day). I didn't lose my plug or have bloody show until I was in labor. Besides sleeping all the time the week before I didn't have a whole lot of advanced warning. One thing I did notice is that a lot of people were getting really anxious about labor and not knowing when it would start. It seemed that many of us went into labor very shortly after writing that.

[a_spark]

Oh, man, I need to go back and read my posts. That'll be entertaining! :) I was in false labor for like 2 weeks before my water finally broke so I'm sure I was antsy!!

ETA: Anyone losing a TON of hair?? I feel like I'm going bald!

[emmjay]

I just read mine - at 41w exactly I wrote a post complaining about how I was so sure I was going to go into labor the night before because I had so many labor symptoms! I ended up having him at 41w 1d - I seriously think I was expecting to be pregnant forever.

What is funny for me to think about is how I tried so hard to convince myself that I would have some labor experience I had made up in my head: I would go into labor early and have the textbook progression of contractions, etc. Menwhile it ended up being EXACTLY like my mother's with my older sister - more than a week late and crazy fast! If I had thought about it, I should have known it would be just like hers since I take after her in almost every way. I'll know better for the next one (all of my siblings and I were at least a week late).

Speaking of the next one... we are officially TTC again. :eek: We were going to wait until January but we're going to try this month as well. I am crossing my fingers that I am pg again by March, but at the same time the thought of having 2 babies at this time next year is surreal!

a_spark - my hair is falling out in clumps, esp. when I comb it in the shower. The top of the drain looks like a discarded toupee by the time I'm done combing it out.

ETA - Lizard, thank you for the new thread! :)

[Wrighty26]

I'm so jealous of you ladies who actually went into labor on your own! While, I still had an amazing labor/delivery experience I still have regrets on being induced. Looking back I wish I had just waited, but at the time I was just SO ready. If I am able to have #2 vaginally as well, I will wait it out! Ah well, most importantly my baby boy was born healthy (and has without a doubt changed my life).

The one thing I DO remember about those last couple of days is reading a post that you made Lizard about how you went from enjoying pregnancy to being completely done. At the time I was still enjoying my pregnancy and actually thought to myself, "how can you be done?"... Little did I know that about a week later I'd be writing the same thing. It was literally an overnight thing - fine one day and just OVER it the next!

Emmjay - WOW! Good luck!!!

a_spark - My hair fell out last month. It was DISGUSTING. I was actually sitting in my project manager's office when I ran my hands through my hair and pulled out two HUGE clumps of hair. My PM said, "WOW. You need my trash can." LOL. Thankfully he has a daughter, and remembers when his ex-wife went through it. Otherwise I swear he would have thought I was going through chemo. The good news is that I'm not sheddiing (if that's what you want to call it) as much any more.... The bad news is that I have some bad spots near my temples :(

[maybebaby]

Another sleep question:

It really feels like we are going backwards. We were doing so well for awhile, getting from at least midnight to six am or seven and occasionally from 11 pm to 7 or 8 am. Now my munchkin is getting up every four hours or so again and sometimes more...because she loses the pacifier or she wants to eat.

So...any suggestions? I've read the No Cry Sleep Solution and Weissbluth. We try to put her down around 8 or 8:30 pm these days and to give her a big meal around 11 or midnight, but she won't always drink it.

My daughter's also on the smaller side and we've worried about her weight in the past so I don't like to deprive her of food if she's actually hungry...so I want to feed her in the middle of the night if she's hungry (but I could do without retrieving the pacifier every hour or two).

I'm going back to work in a month and I'm just wondering if she's supposed to be sleeping better by now or if this is just life with a baby. Are the other July mommas getting more sleep? Any tips?

Toys Anything you're really loving right now??

[nuhmah]

Thanks for the new thread, Lizard! :)

wrighty - I remember reading people's posts about being DONE and wanting to evict tha little ones... I couldn't fathom that idea until I got to the last week or so, and then I was READY! LOL

Toys - we have two that we reach for. The first is a cow that I bought from Carter's when I was 8 months preggo. I would wind up the cow (it played Brahms' Lullaby) and place it on my stomach at night when we were going to sleep. We use it now when he is fussy - mostly in the car, and we call it the "Magic Cow." It has become his lovey.

And I ADORE the Infantino toys - I love the bright colors! We have this peek-a-book rattle
http://www.infantino.com/Images/Toys0/150-816Frog.jpg
that JJ loves and laughs at every time!

some others we love
And the zoomobile
http://www.infantino.com/Images/Toys0/150-801Wired.jpg
hanging next to his seat in the car.

I also bought him these wrist rattles
http://www.infantino.com/Images/Toys0/150-812Wired.jpg
that we use quite a bit.

- - - - - - -

JJ has a cold. :( A really junky sounding cough, congested, but no fever or pulling at his ears. He really isn't having much trouble sleeping, so I guess I will take the advice of Dr. Sears and let it try to run its course. Someone suggested upping my intake of Vitamin C to help him fight it a little better, and I think we will try and sit in a steaming bathroom later today. Apparently, I am supposed to put eucalyptis and lavender oil in the water while it is steaming so he inhales it.

I wore JJ in my Hotsling the other day, and I got STARED at! I felt like a total freak show! I have yet to see a Baby Bjorn, let alone another type of carrier. Some guy pricing cans even stopped and watched me walk by. One brave dad asked me what I had him in, and was pretty impressed by it. I did manage to find my local NINO group - the leader told me that I better get used to it! This will be a big change from being in Portland; every outing let me meet up with other women using ring slings, MT's, and the like.

[CarlaB]

Lizard thanks for the new thread. Even though I don't post much, I am always reading along.

S had his 4mth WBV on Friday and we were so excited about his weight. He was the shrimpy in the thread at a wee 5lbs 8oz and on Friday he was 13lbs 8oz! It makes us very happy. He had his first round of shots yesterday (except the IPV and HepB) and is in much better spirits today, when compared to Friday and Saturday. He also rolled over for the first time on 11/20 (front to back) and has not done this since. There is much drool and teething action. My mom told me that I teethed very early at 3.5 mths.

He was sleeping really well for us until he and I came back from a trip to TX. Since then it has been a bit tough. But we are hoping it will get better again soon. Last week, we went to apply for his passport. We'll be doing our first international trip in January. The Texas flights to and fro were fine (expect for the last leg) so we are thinking he'll be okay on this trip too.

We are super excited about Christmas and have been doing our Advent Calender and reading from a board book called The Story of Christmas. He loves letting us read to him as long as he can see the photos in the book.

BabywearingWhat I have found lately is that I need to add 15-20 minutes to my errand time. People constantly stop me to see him and ask about my pouch or sling. The supermarket is absolutely the worse/best(?). Little old ladies stop to tell me that they wish they had those when they had kids. People tell me about when their kids were that small, etc., etc., etc. It makes me wish that folks were that nice to each other all the time.

Emmjay Wow, I can't imagine. We are only now starting to get some sleep around here (and that is sparodic at best). Regardless, best of luck dear.

Question May of you refer to your babies having a lovey. How did you establish this? There is nothing that S shows that much interest in for any extended period of time other than bright lights! :)

[Soulmate]

Labor I never felt like I wanted DS out. I was doing very well up until the end. The only time I felt even close was the day before I went into labor I said to someone, "I know it is coming up soon and since I have to go through it, it might as well just happen already."

Another sleep question:

It really feels like we are going backwards. We were doing so well for awhile, getting from at least midnight to six am or seven and occasionally from 11 pm to 7 or 8 am. Now my munchkin is getting up every four hours or so again and sometimes more...because she loses the pacifier or she wants to eat.

So...any suggestions? I've read the No Cry Sleep Solution and Weissbluth. We try to put her down around 8 or 8:30 pm these days and to give her a big meal around 11 or midnight, but she won't always drink it.

My daughter's also on the smaller side and we've worried about her weight in the past so I don't like to deprive her of food if she's actually hungry...so I want to feed her in the middle of the night if she's hungry (but I could do without retrieving the pacifier every hour or two).

I'm going back to work in a month and I'm just wondering if she's supposed to be sleeping better by now or if this is just life with a baby. Are the other July mommas getting more sleep? Any tips?First I don't think any sleep person will ever recommend not feeding them when they are hungry except maybe Babywise. If they do...run. The trick is figuring out if they are really hungry or just waking up out of habit. With DS I gradually reduce the amount I feed him in the middle of the night. If he accepts the less food fairly easily then I know he is ready to be weaned. I personally like Ferber and DS responds best to him but the hardest thing in the world to do is wean yourself from using the pacifier. I modified Ferber because DS was so reliant on the pacifier to sleep. Hard core Ferber says to get rid of the pacifier while sleeping but what I did was after the time interval you need to wait I replaced his pacifier. Sometimes he spit it right back out but then I/he had to wait until the next time interval was up. But he can fall asleep w/o it now and has even used it less and less during the day. But DS STTN w/o a peep and before Ferber when he would STTN I would still have to get up to replace his pacifier a couple times. But before you sleep train at all your babe has to be able to self soothe and you'll be able to tell when they are.

I wore JJ in my Hotsling the other day, and I got STARED at! I felt like a total freak show! I have yet to see a Baby Bjorn, let alone another type of carrier. Some guy pricing cans even stopped and watched me walk by. One brave dad asked me what I had him in, and was pretty impressed by it. I did manage to find my local NINO group - the leader told me that I better get used to it! This will be a big change from being in Portland; every outing let me meet up with other women using ring slings, MT's, and the like.See I think that is awesome you wear your DS despite it not being typical. It kinda tells other people about the other options out there. I get people smiling at me when I wear DS and I see snuglis/bjorns a lot but nothing else. I wear him in a Moby wrap or Kozy. I like it especially at the mall when everyone has their strollers and I can just pop in an out of places easily.

Question May of you refer to your babies having a lovey. How did you establish this? There is nothing that S shows that much interest in for any extended period of time other than bright lights! :)I kept a stuffed animal in his crib and one day ~4.5 months I woke up and he was playing with it. But there was definitely a shift in his development where he started to seek out his toys rather than having me move them. But I chose the lovey for him in a way in that the only stuffed animal that is in his crib is one that I chose. But you can tell he really loves it.

[maybebaby]

Nuhmah wow, in some neighborhoods near me, every other block has five or six moms with Baby Bjorns. Slings are a little less frequent but still common!

[nuhmah]

Well, I guess being different paid off! LOL I wore JJ to church this morning with my mom, and a bunch of people oohed and aahed about the MT that I made. I mentioned that I am making and selling custom carriers for people, I have 2 orders as of right now! Woohoo! There is also a woman who opened a new baby store and is looking to sell these things out of her shop - I wonder if she would be interested in hosting a babywearing class, and possibly selling some for me? I am going to check it out this week!

His cough is doing a little better - still junky, but I have upped my intake of vitamin C, and we sat in the bathroom this afternoon with a hot shower running and a potpourri thing of oils. I also got him down for a nap today without the use of the paci - I probably could have done it a long time ago, but I thought it would help him soothe since I still swaddle him up. So, I guess we can start moving toward no paci, and a looser swaddle at night.

He keeps biting me, too! Ouch! He bit me so hard this morning I almost yelped! (not while nursing, though, he is biting my arm like an attack dog!)

[Wrighty26]

Funny you mention babywearing -- I went to the "high-end" mall today and when B started getting fussy in his stroller I popped him in his Moby Wrap and he was as happy as can be. Everyone kept commenting on it (except this one really rude woman, but that's another story) and all of the mom's said they wished that something like it existed when they had their babies. Meanwhile Braeden was just cooing and laughing and kicking (I had him forward facing). It made me SO happy to have learned about all of these babywearing options!

Nuhmah - I think it's AWESOME that you are going to be selling your MTs - and that you might be teaching a babywearing class -- you're going to be such a great influence to your parents' town!!

Maybebaby - Maybe your DD is going through a growth spurt?? Or maybe she's teething or having a "developmental" spurt?? I do think it's the norm for a baby @ 5 months to not sleep through the night yet - even though you KNOW she can do it. I hope that this is just a phase for you!

Carla - I just bought Braeden his lovie (this (http://www.swaddledesigns.com/lovies_polkadots.html)) and have started giving it to him when he's in his carseat. He still sleeps swaddled, but once we wean him from that (sometime soon, I guess) we hope he will embrace it :) He does like to snuggle up with it in his carseat! BTW - Great job on S's weight gain! That's more than double his birthweight :)

[mkvh]

Quick post before I go to bed...

nuhmah--You're making MTs??? How did I not know that? What's your asking price? Would you be willing to make me one? You know I've been lusting after one for, oh, 5 months ;-) Please let me know!

[hotmama]

hey girls! loooong time! so long that when i logged in it said my last time here was october 28th. oops! life has gotten away with me and my 2 little boys.

to update, graham is doing well. still my happy-go-lucky baby. rarely cries and when he does it's easy to figure out what he wants. typically, it's food or sleep. :)

speaking of sleep, we're not anywhere close to sleeping through the night. i guess my definintion of STTN is different. he does go to bed around 8:30 and will wake me at 3am. there are usually additional wakings after that with a final morning wake-up of 7:30 or 8. i will say he's STTN when he actually sleeps those full 12 hours like his big brother does.

he had his 4 month dr appt last week. he's 14.2 pounds and 26.5 inches. long and lean. we had 4 shots and we both cried. :(

last week he had his 1st cold. poor baby.

other developments: he's rolling everywhere and prefers to be on his tummy. he can move quickly and roll his way around most of our living room carpet. it's the same in his bed. i put him to bed on his back, but when he wakes me in the middle of the night, i find him on his tummy. sometimes when i wake up to look at him, if i've heard a noise or something, he's on his tummy. it makes me nervous but what can i do. he likes it that way. he loves to smile and laugh. he adores his big brother. he can stare at him for hours on end. i love to watch him look at his big brother. especially in the car. since graham rides backwards and aiden rides forward, they have a great view of one another. graham is completely enamoured with aiden. it's so darn cute! and aiden can really make him laugh. pretty much anything aiden does makes him laugh or smile.

we are having some pre-teething. he's chewing on everything and can also grab for things if he wants it. we are very careful about where he is in the house b/c of aiden's toys. now that he can roll around, it won't be long before he's going for small pieces. there are no teeth under the gum that i see. aiden didn't get his 1st tooth until he was 6 months old. i figure it will be the same with graham.

i have a few pictures of graham but my computer is new and am still trying to figure this thing out. any chance any of you have an i-mac? i'm trying to figure out how to copy photos from costco.com to my i-mac or photobucket so that i can post them. it's driving me nuts trying to figure this out. thanks for the helo if anyone has advice.

otherwise, i'll try my best to check in more often. miss catching up with all of you :)

[makena32204]

wrighty - I think you were the one who mentioned hair loss and bald spots at your temples? me too! I'm trying to pull my hair back less to see if that helps, but this is insane. I have never been one to lose a lot of hair, but my DH had to clean out the shower drain this weekend b/c my hair had cloggged it up and even drano wouldnt work!

STTN - DD had STTN a couple of times, but teething caused that to abruptly stop!

So, my DD has been incolsolable for the past three weeks. We would have nightly screaming fits for 3 plus hours and her sleeping went to crap. It has been horrible. Well, yesterday she was much better - more playful, playing by herself, putting herself to sleep again, no screaming fits, just a little fussy, etc.

So, during her bath last night, DH and I looked at her gums and guess what?? We could see TWO teeth!! I dont know exactly when they came in, but she's got two of them! No wonder she was feeling so poorly! They arent quite all the way thru, but we can see them and feel them.

I just hope I get a break before the next set!!!

[mmisabel]

Hope everyone had a good weekend. It goes by way too fast!

teething - Sorry so many of you are having problems with it. Can't say I'm looking forward to Nathan starting. Sometimes I think he is, but I'm not too sure.

Maybebaby - I think wrighty mentioned that developmental milestones can affect sleep. N went through that a little when he started rolling. It affected BFing too.

Question - those with kids in daycare, what are you getting your providers?? What do you think is the right amount to spend? N goes to a center and has 2 wonderful teachers. I want to get them something. Any thoughts?

[Soulmate]

Question - those with kids in daycare, what are you getting your providers?? What do you think is the right amount to spend? N goes to a center and has 2 wonderful teachers. I want to get them something. Any thoughts?DS goes to an in-home daycare with two sitters so I might get them just gift cards to the mall or something. I might just do $25 each. I don't think I can afford much more than that.

[mkvh]

Wow! More teeth?? I don't think we're anywhere close.

So I don't know if I shared that we're having issues with solids. Rice cereal makes her scream like she's being tortured. No, not from gas--when she has it in her mouth. She HATES it. So then we tried bananas. Not so good either. Unsweetened applesauce did make her scream, but she wasn't thrilled at all. Then, we were sitting in a Mexican restaurant Friday night, and they make fresh guacamole there so I fished out a little avacado (with no cilantro or onion or anything, of course) on the end of my finger and offered it to her. You should have seen the little bugger smack her lips and dive at my finger the next time I brought it near her. Guess I'm going to have a "gourmet" baby on my hands!

[Soulmate]

mkvh DS is acting the same way about solids so far (not screaming, but refusing). We have a friend with twins (twins!) who screamed the entire time they were eating baby food until they could eat table food. Can you imagine! Two babies screaming every single time you had to feed them :eek: I pray DS will not be that way.

[mkvh]

Yeah, soulmate...one is bad enough! Especially since she's my easy going baby--she must REALLLLLLY not like it!

[ShelbyMay]

DD does not scream when I feed her, but she really could not be much less interested than she is now! I haven't even tried since last Thursday, when she all but ignored me holding that spoon in the air. :rolleyes: And they were darn tasy sweet potatoes, too! I got some baby single-grain oatmeal at the store today. Maybe she will tolerate that...

Does anyone know when canned pumpkin is okay? I remember hearing that some babies really like that.

We are having sleep drama here again. She wakes at 2am, nurses, and then refuses to go back to sleep. So frustrating! If I hold her, she just wants to play. If I put her back in her crib, she fusses for an unbelievably long time. I don't know what to do. I am crossing my fingers that it won't keep going this way.

Have we discussed yet what DC are getting for Christmas (if you celebrate it)? I don't think we have, but I am a little fuzzy-headed lately. :o So far, we have gotten DD a couple of new attachments for her exersaucer. She is also getting the Jumperoo, and maybe a Gloworm. I guess that will be about it, since it won't make much difference to her this year, anyway. It is just so much fun writing "from Mommy and Daddy" on the gift tags!

[mmisabel]

solids - N did better with the rice last night. It was like he was getting the hang of it (a little) towards the end. I am going to try oatmeal in a few days and then maybe bananas and avacodoes. Do people buy regular or organic baby foods???

Christmas and Chanakuh - we celebrate both so we are getting him the Leapfrog infant learning system, leapfrog alphabet ball, and the Fisher Price Laugh and Hug Puppy. We'll give 1 gift on Chanakuh's first night and the others on Christmas. I've also instructed family to not go overboard. Mostly because we don't have the room for a million toys and I also just don't want it to be "expected" that every year he's showered with gifts. I want him to grow up appreciating presents.

soulmate - Thanks for you suggestion. I was thinking gift cards to the mall or Macy's and I was going to do about $25 each also.

[Soulmate]

solids - N did better with the rice last night. It was like he was getting the hang of it (a little) towards the end. I am going to try oatmeal in a few days and then maybe bananas and avacodoes. Do people buy regular or organic baby foods???I've heard to try to buy organic if you can afford it.

shelbymay I haven't heard anything about pumpkin.

[emmjay]

My baby is a big fat fattie! :D

He had his 4-mo appt today and he is 16 lbs on the nose (75%), 25" long (50%), and his gigantic head is getting bigger - 90th percentile! She didn't give the all clear for solids - she said to wait until 5.5 or 6 months unless he starts waking up in the night or seems like he isn't satisfied. He loves to watch us eat though - he thinks it's funny.

Organic - I buy almost everything organic even for DH and me, so I would definitely try to get organic baby food if possible. We actually use organic formula. Personally I am more concerned about non-organic milk products - something like a banana or an avocado wouldn't be a big deal to me because they have to be peeled so there wouldn't be any issue with pesticides.

Vent: FIL mailed a bunch of baby clothes to us that I had left there over Thanksgiving. UPS somehow got the whole box saturated in some kind of paint thinner or solvent, switched out the box to a new one, then just sent it along. Now I have all of these baby clothes that smell like turpentine or something and UPS is telling me that they are only responsible for the first $100 because FIL didn't get any insurance. My exact words to the woman on the phone were, "So you're telling me that since he didn't pay UPS for insurance, you can douse my baby's clothes in chemicals and not be liable?" - WTF is that? I have to buy insurance from UPS to protect myself from UPS? :rolleyes: Anyway, I think I washed it out of most of the clothes - it seems like only a few items actually came into contact with it and the others just smell from being in the box. It's still $100+ that is ruined though since his fancy wedding and rehearsal dinner clothes were in there. A-holes.

FYI - if you get gasoline or any oil-based stinky substance on your clothes, the smell comes out if you wash it with washing powder and baby oil instead of detergent. Lots and LOTS of baby oil. ;)

[nuhmah]

mkvh - yes, I can make you one! I PM'ed you. ;) Anyone else want one? Send me a PM!

I am excited to teach a BW class! I even have a "date" with my local NINO leader to teach her to make a MT. She and her DD are coming over with her sewing machine and we can make one side by side. She is going to keep hers, but I found some cool material to make a pretty basic one and am planning to donate it to jumpstart their lending library. I have sewing projects coming out the wazoo... my SIL has a 36" inseam, and I made her a couple pair of bedpants about 3 years ago. She wears them almost daily and has asked for a pair or two for Christmas. They are the ONLY pair of pajama pants that fit her! She gets all of her pants and jeans custom made to fit her, so she was always frustrated with her casual pants until I made her a pair. :D I bought material for curtains in my dining room, material for a ring sling, and material for a shopping cart cover. JJ is getting big enough to sit in one on his own (assisted), so I want to be ready when he is!

Oh yeah, I also want to try my hand at making some cloth dipes before I go whole-hog and jump into it. I got some flannel and am looking for the best patterns and directions. I am biding my time, because if I am going to get DH on board with this, it needs to be perfect and flawless from the start. :rolleyes:

And he is sooooo close to cutting that 2nd tooth - it pains me to see him in this agony! I bought a couple of those mesh feeders, and I plan on putting ice chips in there for him to chew on. Poor baby.

[emmjay]

Oh, speaking of MTs - I wore Seamus today using the hip carry and it was great! He was getting frustrated with facing in to me, and I could never get comfortable (him or me) with him facing out. So I tried him on my hip and it was great - I love those things!

My sister, after 2.5 yrs of secondary infertility and 2 miscarriages, is having another baby in June and I can't wait to get her a MT because she loved mine so much. Actually, nuhmah, I will contact you too once she is out of the first trimester (she had a m/c at 11 weeks before so I don't want to get her anything too soon).

[nuhmah]

emmjay - I would be honored to make her one. :)

[ShelbyMay]

Not much to add today, but oatmeal was MUCH more of a success than rice cereal!

[makena32204]

Not too much to add here either, except for DD getting her top two teeth! I cant believe she has four teeth already - now they arent the whole way thru, but I can see them and feel them. The top ones appear to be coming thru faster.

The irony is that we took DD to the doctor last Tuesday b/c she has been screaming in agony (or so it sounded) for weeks. The doctor said, "I dont think it's teething b/c I dont see any teeth" and a week later, we have four!

[Lizard]

teeth - The babies have so many teeth already! DD has had the drooling and teething "signs" for like 2 months now, but no teeth. Neither my mom or DH's mom can remember when we got our first teeth, so we don't even have a general idea of when it'll happen.

Xmas presents - We aren't getting a whole lot for her. DH bought a Baby's First Pooh doll that he's been wanting forever. I'll pick up a few small toys for her stocking. Oh, and I need to BUY a stocking. :) 2 un-interesting things I want to get are a Baby's First Christmas ornament, and a 2006 mint coin set. Not sure what other toys we'll get though. Eventually I'd like to find her a Cabbage Patch Kid that has her birthdate... I've seen a couple on eBay but I didn't like their hairstyles, LOL.

I believe the in-laws bought her one of those Animal Friends trains. My parents want to buy her the V.Smile Baby system... I'm not real keen on that at first glance, but I need to check into it more.

Solids - Going great! She loves to eat. We finished sweet potatoes so we're going to start something new today. I also bought her a Gerber sippy cup. When I give her a bath she tries to grab at the rinse cup and drink from it, and loves to hold her bottles, so I think she'll do well with it.

We had Xmas photos taken last night. They were our first professional photos, and it was a pretty cruddy experience that took nearly 4 hours. :eek: I don't feel like getting into it - what's done is done - but I think I'm gonna try to set up posed photos at home from now on.

Gotta run for now... hope everyone is doing well!

[a_spark]

Wow, look at all these teething babies! :) No teeth here yet, and no real strong signs of them. I'm not sure when DH got his first teeth, and my mom has my baby book in storage, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see when she sprouts them!

We're still waiting on solids. Ava seems to be getting close to ready, but we're not in any hurry, plus we're going to Mexico for a week at the end of the month and I don't want to deal with solids there, so we'll hold off until we get back. I think it'll be fun though! I did get her a sippy cup, and she loves to hold on to it. She's always grabbing for things that I'm drinking so hopefully she'll get the hang of that pretty quickly.

ETA: I got a scrip for the mini-pill today...anyone else on it? If so, are there any side effects that you've noticed? I hated being on the regular pill because it made me really moody and made my skin break out, but my doc says that shouldn't happen with this one (I was on the pill 10 years ago so I'm sure things have changed!).

[smurf]

solids--We've only given her oatmeal. She gagged the first few times, but now she can't get enough. I'm going to buy some squash at the store this week and cook some up for her and see how she likes it.

Sippy Cup--We have one, but she still doesn't quite know what to do with it. Mostly she just chews on the spout.

Mini pill--I started mine last month and had a bunch of period-like symptoms (minor cramping, headaches, and even a touch of spotting) for a few days after starting it. I didn't like it, so I think we're going to have to find a different form of bc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I'm starting a new job next week working from home 20 hours a week. Do we have any WAHM here who have any advice on how to get work done and keep baby happy?

[a_spark]

smurf I WAH and it's not easy! But I love being home with DD and so far it's working. I basically work when she is napping and at night after she goes to bed. I also get some work done when she's awake as long as she's happy- I put her in her little floor gym and she'll hang out in there for about 20-30 minutes. I think once she's more mobile things will get more challenging and I'll need help. On not-so-busy days, I love our situation and can do this forever, but when I have a super busy day it can be really stressful trying to get the work done, so we've been looking for someone to nanny part-time for us. Haven't had any luck yet though! We were supposed to try one out last weekend and she never showed, if you can believe it.

[Wrighty26]

smurf - I work in the office 30 hours a week and at home 10 hours. The 10 hours I work at home are 5 times harder than the hours I work in the office. Braeden is SUPER easy to deal with - when he's awake he's usually entertaining himself either on his gym mat or in his bouncer - but I am so torn! I'd really rather be playing with him! We've decided to get a part-time nanny in the spring (actually I've started looking now) so that I can work in the office full time and so we can spend more time together as a family.

a_spark - Any pointers for finding a part-time nanny? I have NO idea where to even start! I admire you for working at home. (To me) it is unbelievably harder than I thought it would be! I don't even want to think of it when he's mobile.

[a_spark]

wrighty I've been looking on the message boards of a local parent's network. Do you have one in your area? Also, my DH is friends with a lot of moms at the dog park so he's been networking with them (that's actually how we found the nanny we were going to use- we were going to do a share). IT's so hard to find someone, though. On the message boards, there is literally a nanny feeding frenzy. Every time a nanny posts that she's available, about 10 people immediately respond. Yikes!

[Amaye]

Lots of teething babies!! Mia just started with the fake cough 2 days ago so I definitely think something is happening. Neither of our moms can remember when we got our first teeth so we just have to play it by ear.

Solids Still waiting till 5months, which is about 2weeks so not too long from now. I hope it goes well and she has no reactions. We just went back to supplementing with Soy - I had started right before thanksgiving but I ate stuffing with butter in it and she broke up in rashes. We were not sure if it was only the butter or the soy too. We will watch and see.

Mini-pill I got a script at my 6week appt but never used it. I was scared it was going to affect my BM and now that my supply has gone down, I'm definitely not going on it. I will just wait till I am done with BF and go back to my regular pill.

Xmas presents We haven't gotten anything yet and I'm not sure what to get. I need to do some research first.

Nanny When we were looking for a nanny, I found a LOT of people from Craig's list. I ended up posting my requirements and got over 100 responses. We nearly went with someone we found there - she ended working for my SIL and she is great. Definitely try there. I also got replies from SAHMs who wanted to worked part time or nannies who wanted to share families. Good luck!

[mia's mama]

Jackson and I are both sick with the flu, but really quick-
we found our WONDERFUL part-time nanny through craigslist too! I posted an add and got a ton of responses!

[mmisabel]

mini-pill - I've been on it since 6 weeks PP (camilla, I think). No problems with my milk supply or emotions what so ever. I was also on regular BCP for many years prior. I remember being emotional and with some break-through bleeding at first, but I tolerated regular BCP really well

nannys - I was going to recommend craigslist too. Sounds like it's worked for people.

Mia's mama - the flu, yuck!! I hope you guys get better soon!

[klav]

I did not get the notice that the thread had continued? o-well I found you all!!
This Am I woke up at 7 to nurse Liam and was a bit tipsy.. thought it was because I woke from a dead sleep and not up totally? BUt then tried to go back to sleep and it felt like I was getting the bed spins..... I sat up and tried to focus on something and it was like nothing in the room would stop moving? I almost thru-up. But it finally stopped. I was able to sleep till 9. then when I got up I as not as bad but I still felt a bit dizzy. about 2ish it has some what subsided. DH called an checked on me and we agreed if it continues I would got to the dr. but I think it's some what gone.. I decided not to run errans today because of this and will do them tomorrow. any one else ever have a dizzy spell? Dh thinks' it's a bit of veritgo?

[Soulmate]

klav Never had that happen. I hope it is an isolated incident.

DS did a lot better with the second attempt with banana. He didn't love it but he ate it willingly w/o gagging. Progress! I'll have to get some oatmeal since people are having better luck with that. I had a second IRL mom tell me their child didn't do baby food. He would only eat that baby yogurt stuff until he could eat table food. Maybe they are trying to give them jarred food. Once we are done experimenting I'm going to try making my own. Much cheaper! Plus we have a magic bullet that will help.

ETA: Do you guys realized we've all been together for over a year now? Crazy.

[klav]

Soulmate Thanks I hope so too.
when did you start giving DS food? just wondering because I have not sarted and my DS is one day older than you little guy?
how weird is that it's been a year!!

[Soulmate]

Probably ~4.5 months but we've only tried about 6 times with three different foods.

[Wrighty26]

I think my boy is an anomaly - he is NOT a fan of oatmeal, but really like rice cereal. I gave him sweet potatoes earlier in the week and he puked a bunch back up a few hours later, so I decided to hold off on the sweet pototatoes for a little bit :p I'm not sure if he overate or if they truly bothered him- I'll probably try them again in a few weeks. He LOVES bananas. He actually loves them SO much, they do not end up all over him - just in/around his mouth. He is just SOOO cute when I give him some and then he's ready for more :D

Thanks for the tips about finding a nanny! I plan on posting an ad on Craigslist today/early next week. I hope that I get some good responses!

klav - It does sound like vertigo - If it happens again I would call the Dr. Although - I do know that there are some exercises you can do to avoid taking any medication (if it due to vertigo/inner ear issues).

xmas - I haven't bought him anything yet. I might buy him a few books and a small toy just to say I bought him something for his 1st Christmas! I could also wrap up the PJs I bought for him last week :p

Sleep - Braeden has been waking up two times a night again to eat. The first time is usually around 10ish and the 2nd is around 2-3. I have been really busy with work lately and haven't been able to see him as much. I wonder if this has anything to do with it? He has also started creeping though (eek) and there is still no teeth so I know it could be a number of things! Luckily, he does go right back to sleep. I don't mind because I have really been missing him, but I hope I'm not helping to form any habits!

Happy Friday everyone!

[a_spark]

craigslist for nannies Thanks for this suggestion, guys! I totally did not even think of that. I think we'll post an add next week as well. DH is on winter break (he's a teacher at a year-round school, so he gets a month off at the holidays) starting the 15th, so he will be around to help interview.

christmas I haven't gotten her anything yet. My grandma leaked to me that the family kind of went nuts getting gifts for her, so I'm not going to get a ton of stuff, though I do want to buy her a few things. Plus I need to fill her little (about 4 inches tall) stocking! I think we'll get her a couple of books and a toy or two. Even though she doesn't know the difference, we'll still do Santa Claus, more for us than anything! :) I'm really excited. Christmas is such a magical time of the year for me (I'm not religious but I love the lights and just the general spirit of the season) and I can't wait to share it with Ava.

[nuhmah]

Ugh... I have tried now for two nights to get JJ to sleep without the swaddle. I am so sleep deprived, and so is my boy. :( He stays awake - not playing, talking, fussing, or crying. Just AWAKE. And moving his hands everywhere. No more! We are going to back to swaddling for a little while. At least for bedtime. During naps, I do a lot better at getting him down without the swaddle (and got him down once without fussing, paci, and swaddle!), but I think it may be a while for the nighttime one to disappear.

[Wrighty26]

nuhmah - I'm still swaddling Braeden as well. I figure that he will grow out of it on his own at some point, so I'm not going to rush him! He does usually escape during the night and I don't wrap him back up. So I know he CAN sleep without it, but why torture myself? :) His legs and waist aren't really swaddled -- just his arms. I considered weaning and I asked myself if this is something I'm really worried about. I mean - it is bad that he likes to sleep wrapped in something?!

[CarlaB]

Numah have you tried swaddling him and leaving his arm out as a transition? He may still want the feel of the blankie and this might be a way to compromise. It worked for us when we transitioned S out of swaddling.

[Can't_Wait]

Wow.... I'm behind again. I was doing so well for awhile. I'll try to catch up!

Babywearing It is not often that I see anyone wearing their baby & I think I have only seen another MT once. So needless to say, I always get tons of looks when we go out & I wear Isabella. Everyone always comments on how cute she is but I know that the carrier is what originally attracts them to her. I have gotten stopped a couple times too.

constipation Isabella has the complete opposite of this! She has poopy diapers like 3-4 times a day! She is still exclusively BF so this may be part of the reason but my sister's baby is still exclusively BF too & he goes every couple days.

Bottle DH tried to give DD the bottle yesterday for the 1st time when I had a dentist apt & she would not take it! I should have tried sooner to get her to take it. I guess there won't be any outings over 2 hours for me for a long time. :( I wonder if there is any hope that she will eventually take it?

Christmas I am probably getting DD too much but I kept finding things that I wanted to get her. We got her a Jumparoo, a Leap Frog learning thing (can't remember what it is called), the FP dog that you press his feet & hands, another brightly colored stuffed animal/toy, some pink & brown robeez, about 15 books, an outfit, pajamas, a toy to strap onto her stroller, a crib toy, & I'm going to get her a pink & brown little giraffe lovey. Oh, & I'm going to get her a few more hair clips from giddygiddy. Love those things!

cold/flu So far neither one of us has gotten sick. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! But DD isn't around any kids so maybe that is why?

sleep DD usually takes 2 long naps during the day (about 2 hours) & 1 short nap (about 45 min) in the evening. She usually wakes up 1x at night to eat. I'm pretty happy with this schedule I just hate it when we need to be somewhere in the afternoon & she doesn't get to nap as long b/c then she is cranky!

DD turned 4 months on Wednesday & I weighed her here at home (drs. apt isn't for another 2 weeks) & she is 16.5 pounds! She is a big girl. :) She is now able to sit up while propping herself on her hands/arms. Here is a pic of her on her 4 mo. b-day:

http://static.flickr.com/137/317317900_decb2b3909.jpg?v=1165610385

[Lizard]

I noticed you all were talking about food... DD's had rice cereal, sweet potatoes and bananas so far. She loves the cereal, was so-so on the potatoes and LOVES the bananas. I mean, to the point where she is reaching out and crying for more when they're gone. I only feed her about a tablespoon of fruit/veggie and another tablespoon of cereal... maybe she's ready for a little more.

We're using Gerber jarred food right now as we got them for gifts, and personally I think their bananas smell and taste like ass. :) Once the jars we have are gone I think I'm gonna start making her food myself.

I mean - it is bad that he likes to sleep wrapped in something?

I like sleeping all wrapped up tight in a blanket too... doesn't sound bad to me! :D

[a_spark]

nuhmah I feel your pain! We weaned Ava a few weeks ago. The one-arm thing really worked for us- we did that for about a week and then just went all out no swaddle. That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with swaddling if that's what he prefers :) Ava was breaking out of it all the time so I figured she was ready.

My mom just took A and I to Gymboree to look at Christmas dresses and we came home with a bag full of clothes! :O Very very happy right now.

ETA: can't wait AAAHHH!! She is adorable! Love her babylegs, too :)

[nuhmah]

wrighty - I guess it really isn't a bad thing. ;) I guess he just sleeps like his mama - it drives DS nuts, but I sleep with the sheets tucked in all around me, and I hardly move. The covers stay in place, and when sleeping alone, I line the pillows up on his side of the bed to keep me all tucked in. :D

Carla - yep, I tried that, and he did pretty good. Maybe I was going too fast!

a_spark - well, he is showing no signs of breaking out, so I guess it is ok to leave him in there, right? When I swaddle him, I tuck his hands under his butt and then wrap. He just lays there and SMILES at me and gets all excited. I really do think he enjoys it!

can't_wait - she is adorable in her baby legs!! Good for her for sitting up like that - I can only keep JJ like that for a few moments before he flops backwards. But he laughs when he flops, so I think he thinks it is a game!!

JJ is feeling MUCH better... the cough is almost gone, the wheezing is gone, and his nose is not as stuffy. It is actually running pretty well - which makes it easier to suction out his nose. Yay for turning the corner!

He is also starting to blow raspberries all the time - he and I sat on the couch and blew raspberries for almost 45 minutes! My lips were tired by the time we were done, and he was good and tuckered out from all the fun.

[mkvh]

Really quick since it is late and I'm supposed to be finishing up some work so I can go to bed...

I started making C's food myself. I mentioned that she's into avacados. So I bought them, scooped them out, and put them in the mini-prep. Voila! Next is sweet potatoes. I have an organic one waiting... Also, "food" for thought--C DOES NOT like the avacado mixed with ANYTHING. She's doing really well with straight puree, no liquid added. Tonight was the first night (just a few days shy of 5 months) that she ate WELL from the spoon and actually "chewed".

OH, can't wait, I'm sooo glad there's another big girl in the thread!! Clara was 16lb 4oz at 4 mos 1 week!

[ShelbyMay]

sitting up: Should I be doing something to help DD learn to do this? She can sit propped up against me or in the corner of an armchair, but is no where near sitting up unassisted and doesn't seem to be trying to master that skill, either. I think she'd be so much more content if she could sit up by herself, though.

swaddling: we only weaned DD from the swaddle because she kept getting all tangled up when she rolled onto her tummy. Otherwise, we would have kept using the swaddle -- If it aint' broke...

foods: oatmeal mixed with mashed banana -- now there's a hit!

BTW, how do you tell if an avocado is ripe? I bought one tonight, but have never had fresh avocado before.

[mkvh]

I've been allowing DD to sit holding my hands for balance. She's sitting pretty well unassisted at this point. She still topples sometimes, but I can put her on the floor and walk away. I also let her lean on my leg for support.

Avacado--it should "give" under slight pressure, and the skin should be more brown than green.

[Wrighty26]

Nuhmah - Hee hee...I sleep like that too! I don't ever move when I sleep either, which is why I'm not too stressed about the swaddling. Yay! I'm so glad to hear that JJ is starting to feel better.

Can't Wait - She is just TOO cute! Wow- look at her sitting up too :) I keep forgetting that she's about a month younger than Braeden-- but honestly she's not acting like it! I wouldn't stress about the bottles -- you could try introducing a sippy cup soon. It's probably better than taking the bottle!

Lizard - Braeden is the same way about bananas. It's hilarious! He finishes the whole container and then gets mad when he's all done. So far he's eaten both Gerber Organic and Beechnut - and I agree about smelling like ass!

mkvh - I'm glad to hear that C is liking the avacado :) I bought one a few days ago and I'm waiting for it to ripen. I'm interested to see what B will do!

ShelbyMay - You can tell an avacado is ripe when it is soft --but not too soft. You can quicken the ripening process by placing it in a brown bag for a night. I've also found that microwaving it a little helps to soften it (although the taste isn't as good). I think sitting up generally happens between 5-7 months - it's different for every baby though. Braeden is not really close to sitting up (although, sometimes he thinks he is) and I'm ok with that. There are other developmental milestones that he is focusing on right now (specifically creeping - which is kinda freaking me out).


Braeden saw Santa today at my work (this guy that retired from my company last year LOOKS like Santa and he dresses up every year). He was intrigued by the beard (which was real) and just kept looking at him with these big eyes. Santa gave him a nice big hug-- it was REALLY cute.

My Friday night is so boring...just sitting here waiting for my DH to get home from work! I so wish he had a normal schedule sometimes!

[Soulmate]

sitting up I was wondering about other babies as well as we are coming up on this milestone. Just this week DS has been able to sit more straight up w/o assistance but still tips over to the right (and only to the right...he needs an alignment!). But before now he would lean forward so much that he was nearly bent in half. Of course he didn't like that!

rolling over Thank god that is not a milestone because DS has rolled over from front to back maybe 5 times and never from back to front. He has no interest in it at all. One time I put toys slightly out of his reach to encourage him and he pulled on the blanket until he could reach them :rolleyes: He arches his back and rolls to his side so he can see behind him. There is just no incentive to roll all the way over. DH keeps telling me about a baby just 2 weeks older than DS who rolls all over the floor. I have to keep reminding him that it is not a milestone and doesn't matter. He can be so competitive!

ShelbyMay I've been having DS sit up on the floor since ~4 months and just held him up with a lot of support. He seemed really interested in it. I don't know if it is really necessary though since he really didn't improve much up until now. I asked an experienced mama if I was supposed to be doing anything to encourage these things and she said no, that they figure it out on their own. Personally, I cannot see how they can figure out sitting up since they cannot get themselves in that position on their own. But I think propping them on pillows and such works well since they can develop those muscles and be able to sit up on their own when they are ready.

development connection I wonder if there is a connection b/w body weight and development. It seems like the bigger babies are developing their milestone skills so much more quickly than others.

[mkvh]

development connection--I really think there's something to that, until it comes to being really mobile/supporting body weight on appendages. Then, the more lithe babes have an advantage! With sitting up, I think the fat rolls help prop them up a bit ;)

sitting up--just within the last week or so, C can lean forward to pick up/play with a toy and then pull herself back into an upright sit. It's cool!

[rande]

Miasmama-I feel your pain. One of the four of us has had an illness from Oct. 6th on. It has been awful. Last week, after Olivia had recouped from the RSV and I from the bronchitis, we got the stomach flu. DH and Drew have it now!!!!! Hope you feel better soon!

Can't wait-Isabella is so cute. Olivia has the same hair clips. I just love them!

[maybebaby]

Can't Wait oh those Babylegs are darling! We just got some too...the Neopolitan ones. And Isabella has SO much hair.

Colds DD caught one from me at the beginning of this week; it wasn't too bad, but it does make you sad to hear those baby sniffles. It affected our sleep quite a bit too, but that's life, I suppose. I got a flu shot so I am hoping to avoid that!

[a_spark]

My little girl is growing up! Ava refused to go to bed in the cosleeper last night and went to sleep in her crib! I went out with a friend for dinner and when DH went to put her in bed and she had a total meltdown- crying and screaming and freaking out. He walked all around with her and she just would not stop fussing. He decided on a whim to take her into her room and the minute they walked in the door, she got quiet. He laid her in her crib and she cuddled up to her lovey and went to sleep! I'm so sad but proud at the same time. She's growing up all on her own before my eyes. It's was SO weird sleeping without her in the room. I was basically half awake until 2:30 when she woke up. Of course, I brought her back into our room for the rest of the night. I guess we have (at her request!) begun the transition to the crib. We'll put her down in there and when she wakes to be fed, we'll just bring her back up to our room for now. The only issue is, for some reason the heat does not reach her room as well, so while it's about 75 in our room (beastly), it's like 65 in her room and her hands are cold. We're going to have a HVAC guy come in and check it out, but in the meantime, I guess we'll just have to keep the heat high and crack a window in our room.

[mia's mama]

Soulmate- J isn't a big roller either..as far as I know he has rolled 3 or 4 times from back to front and only once from front to back. My daughter wasn't a roller either- who knows why. She met all of her milestones within the average range though (IIRC- 5.5 months for sitting, 7.5 months for crawling, 11.5 months for walking/talking).

J is starting to sit unassisted for very short periods of time (30 sec-1 min). I can't sit him up and walk away though- he'd topple over pretty quickly.

[Lizard]

DD isn't really close to sitting up unassisted either... she loves to sit, but she is fairly unsteady from side to side. I've been trying to sit her in the Boppy, but as soon as I do she rolls herself over onto her belly so she's hanging off the Boppy, then gets mad. :rolleyes:

Those Babylegs are cute... I just figured you guys were talking about her baby legs until I did a web search. :D

I haven't talked about this at all, but ever since DD was born I've been having some terrible hip pain. I can mostly feel it when I lay down and especially when I'm on the floor playing with DD.. it's like shocks within my leg and butt. My OB gave me a referral to a physical therapist, and I finally gave in and saw her on Friday. It turns out that something is going on with my sacroiliac joint on my right side. It's most likely from pregnancy and childbirth, probably because DD was positioned so badly. She did some massage and gave me several exercises to do... WOW does it hurt today. :(

[emmjay]

Ugh, a friend of mine who just had a baby 3 weeks ago got dumped by her boyfriend (the father) last night. I won't get into the details but he is a total a-hole in general. Anyway, I'm going to try to help her out this week as much as I can - my dad and grandmother are visiting but I'm going to see if I can get over to her house to help her take care of the baby. Any ideas for anything I can bring? I'm kind of thinking she will just need someone to take care of the baby so she can sleep/eat/cry/whatever but if anyone has any ideas for something I can bring to her, I am all ears.

In news more relevant to this thread, Seamus is a rolling fool! I can't leave him alone for 5 minutes before he flips over onto his tummy and tries to crawl. He can't even come close to sitting up on his own, although I do try to have him practice that every day. It is crazy how quickly things change!

Lizard and mia's mama and rande - I hope you all feel better soon!

[ShelbyMay]

but if anyone has any ideas for something I can bring to her, I am all ears.


At some point, I'd definitely suggest taking your own DS over there. I remember when DD was about 3 weeks old, she had been out of her sleepy newborn state for a few days, and I was in shock at how much work taking care of her had become. Most of the well-wishers and food-bringers had faded into the woodwork, DH had gone back to work, and it was just me and this wailing little bundle. I cried a lot, and I didn't have the added stress of being dumped and abandoned. I think it would have helped to see how great and fun my baby would become in just a few short months! It would have given me something to look forward to in a time when I couldn't imagine how I would make it.

Speaking of which, this has been the first week in which I can honestly say I think DH and I might want to try for another child some day. I hope that doesn't sound too horribly callous. It's just that DD was so fussy and "high needs" for the first few months, and then she was sick for most of her 5th month, so it's just now that we're getting to really enjoy her. She is lying on her tummy a few feet away right now, just smiling and cooing at me each time I look up. It's awesome.

[maybebaby]

emmjayI really appreciated easy to grab food like trail mix...I totally couldn' t handle groceries and cooking the first month...

[Soulmate]

emmjay I think just being there as an extra pair of hands would be the most helpful. I don't know what I would have done w/o DH. Besides that....hmmm. Food. Quick and easy things to eat so she doesn't have to think about it much and can make it while her DC sleeps.

Has anyone given any thought to baby signing? I don't know a whole lot about it but a lot of people here seem to do it. The only parents I know IRL who did it, their sons had significant speech delays so I am a little wary. But they were also twins and from what I understand twins' speech tend to be more delayed than singletons. Does anyone have any more info (and I don't want to wade through the signing thread plus I want a more unbiased opinion).

[Lizard]

Baby Signing - We bought a baby sign book and flash cards a couple months ago and have been doing the signs for "milk", "food", "mother" and "father" very often. My uncle is severely mentally disabled (he's a 1-2 year old mentally) and we've done basic sign language with him for as long as I can remember, so it was easy to incorporate.

As far as language delays, there's studies out there that show that children who learn sign language are actually more advanced in verbal language. I don't have the source handy but there are some threads on CC about it.

Well, guess who popped a tooth today! She was really fussy at her 4:00 feeding and DH took her to calm her down... he checked her mouth and there's a tooth poking out of the bottom on her left side. She has been REALLY bearing down when chewing the last day or two, so it makes sense. I felt kinda sad about it... our little baby is growing up! :p

[Soulmate]

Why oh why does my child insist on sleeping with his rabbit ON his face?! I've moved it so many times and every time I go back up there it is on his face again! And yes, I am well aware of the SIDS and re-breathing risk.

**Pic Removed**

But it is a cute face!

**Pics Removed**

Thanks Lizard! Does DD seem to understand yet? I know it takes them a while especially this young. My issue is that I don't think his sitters will follow through with any signing. Our area is not very progressive.

I found out something interesting the other day. DS has what I thought most people have and that is a crease in his eyelids. DH's cousin (who lives w/ us) pointed this out and said that many asians (DS is 1/2 asian) covet that crease and will go as far as having surgery to get it. Apparently asians find it beautiful. He said his sister will sometimes tape her eyelids to try to get it. And so many non-asians get surgery to get rid of that crease (lid lift)!!

[Lizard]

Thanks Lizard! Does DD seem to understand yet? I know it takes them a while especially this young. My issue is that I don't think his sitters will follow through with any signing. Our area is not very progressive.

No, she doesn't understand yet... I don't think that'll happen for a while, and they don't start signing back until closer to a year. Here (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3905) is the signing thread.

[mmisabel]

Sitting up - Nathan tries but leans big time. He's also into "rejecting" his bumbo seat. He arches his back and tries to get out!!

Signing - N's daycare does this. I bought a book so I have to practice.

soulmate - cracking up at the bunny on face!!!! He's SOO cute!!!

[Amaye]

Lizard Feel better! I hope the therapy really helps.

Emmjay I think food that she can reheat quickly is a good bet. Some type of pasta dish maybe?

Soulmate He is so cute!! and he looks all mischievous! lol! Love the rabbit on the face. Mia mooshes herself into one corner of her crib and I worry about her breathing but she seems fine. As for the crease, I learnt about that watching Dr. 90210. There was a woman who got the surgery to get the crease.

mmisabel Ha! M does the exact thing. She arches her back and tries to get out too. Oh, the new things she does is to lean all the way to one side till the seat almost tilts and then rolls out. It's hilarious to see.

We finally set up the exersaucer and put Mia in it. She loves it! She was so happy about the number of new things to chew that she didn't know what to do. She finally grabbed one and started gnawing on it while holding on to another one :D

So Aunt Flo finally came to visit. I was hoping that since I was BFing it would take a while to come back but nope! For those whose came back, was your first time very heavy? It's kinda crazy - I hope it goes back to normal soon.

[MMK]

soulmate: love the bunny on his face! DS rolls onto his side and wraps his arms and legs around his lion blankie and then burries his face in it. It makes me somewhat nervous but since he's moving around so well I'm willing to let it slide.

lizard: What a cutie...I can't believe you need hair clips. My boy is SUCH a baldy!

amaye: I was just thinking this morning about when my first period will come back. I occasionally get crampy but so far nothing.

baby signing: a good friend of mine is a speech pathologist and she swears by signing. She's always done it with her son (now 2) and his speech appears to me to be normal to advanced.

Has anyone elses little ones taken to making LOUD shreiking noises? It's not a cry and is definitely done for fun but it can be kind of embarassing when in a quite place! Drew will get going and just make crazy noise over and over again for severl minutes. It's kind of cute unless you have a headach!

[Soulmate]

amaye Mine was very heavy but the one after that was much more normal.

[Can't_Wait]

a spark Thanks! We love the babylegs too!

Nuhmah She won’t always sit up so well… sometimes it is like she doesn’t feel like trying & she will just fold to where her head is touching her legs/feet. I can’t wait until she can sit up all the way though!

mkvh I know what you mean… everyone’s babies always seem to be smaller, huh? But I’m proud of my big baby. J Especially since it is all my BM making her so big & strong! We had our Bradley class reunion to meet all the babies & there is a baby girl that is 4 ½ months & she weighs 18 pounds… she is already into 6-12 mo clothes. I was happy to see another big baby & one that was bigger than Isabella!!

Wrighty26 I keep forgetting that she's about a month younger than Braeden-- but honestly she's not acting like it! Yeah, sometimes I wonder if during the 10 days she was late if she just developed normally in utero like she was out. Her cousin who is 3 weeks younger seems to be the same developmentally as Isabella if not slightly behind her (not yet sitting up like she is). It is weird.

development connection That is something to think about! I wonder if there has ever been any studies?

rande I know, I LOVE those hair clips too! I am almost addicted to them, I’m ashamed to say. I think I obsess over Isabella’s hair more than my own. L

Maybebaby I like the Neopolitan ones too. I need to get another pair of them… they are too cute! Yes, she does have a ton of hair… it is very weird to have a baby w/ so much hair. It is crazy how much time I spend fixing it over & over throughout the day when it gets messed up!

sitting up At our Bradley reunion this past weekend, our Bradley instructor brought her 7 month old baby & it was so awesome to see what Isabella will be doing in 3 months. She was sitting up just perfectly by herself & rocking back & forth trying to lunge forward to crawl. And to hear her make the sounds she did like, "ma ma ma ma" was so neat. It is amazing how fast our babies will develop over the next few months.

Has anyone elses little ones taken to making LOUD shreiking noises? My nephew does this! It is so funny so hear.

AF No sign of her yet... wondering when she'll arive. Hopefully not for awhile!

[klav]

Soulmate your little one is too cute!!

[CarlaB]

Has anyone elses little ones taken to making LOUD shreiking noises? S does this all the time and I call it his "Howard Dean". DH is a republican and it drives him nuts that I call it that. :D

[Lizard]

Has anyone elses little ones taken to making LOUD shreiking noises? S does this all the time and I call it his "Howard Dean". DH is a republican and it drives him nuts that I call it that. :D

LOL, Howard Dean is the perfect way to describe it!! DD loves to do little screams, especially when she's happy and we're not paying close enough attention to her. :)

[a_spark]

shrieking LOL! Ava was doing this all last week and the week before. Just laying there, shrieking. So funny! It scared me at first but then I realized it was just her "new thing." Now her new thing is to blow raspberries while making a high pitched noise. :)

A's officially sleeping in her crib now! I miss her but I'm proud of her- she's becoming such a big girl! She's sleeping better than she did in our room, actually. Last night she slept from 6:30 to 5 and then I brought her to bed with me and she slept until 6:30.

This is really my favorite age so far..she's so cute and fun and happy. It really makes me want to TTC again, but we're waiting a year or so to start again. :)

[Wrighty26]

I started a big post last night and then Braeden woke up puking :( I think he overloaded on dinner (I tried out mixing rice cereal and pears last night-- both of which he's taken fine by themselves -- guess I won't be doing that for a while :(). He's fine today - and never had a fever, but what a scary experience!

Sitting up - Just as I wrote that B was not sitting up - he started doing the tripod. He tries to sit up unassisted (especially if there is a toy involved) but usually it ends in toppling over. It's so funny to watch!

Shrieking - Braeden has been doing this for a few months now. He LOVES to hear his voice. He also loves blowing raspberries- especially if he is in his infant seat at the grocery store (I am REALLY going to miss the infant seat, btw). He has recently starting shrieking then going "ba ba ba ba" really loudly. I love it!

Baby Signing - Hoping to start this soon! I just need to get my act together and remember to do the signs while I am talking to him.

Nanny - Just wanted to thank you ladies for the advice on finding a Nanny. While we haven't hired anyone yet, I'm starting to set up interviews. We've had over 20 responses in just 4 days! Way more than I'd thought I would get.

This is really my favorite age so far..she's so cute and fun and happy.

I so agree! While I'm not ready to TTC again, I'm loving every minute of this stage.

Ok- back to work...blah...

[maybebaby]

Seconding that...the laughs and the smiles are making this my favorite age so far too!!

[E&O]

HELP! I am at a complete loss for ways to get my daughter to do tummy time.

A little background... My daughter was born 5 weeks early (due 8/18, born 7/14). She seems to be progressing very well, but we recently had an assesment done to help us make sure there were no developmental delays (this is a free program through our county for any premature babies). She scored very well in all categories except for her tummy skills. She has great head control, rolls onto her side (no full roll over yet) and is starting to sit up on her on.

But this child HATES tummy time, screams her head off. The therapist who did the assesment gave us some new tips and I've noticed that she is lifting her head a little more during tummy time but still isn't progessing like we hoped. We've tried everything- using toys and mirrors for her to look at, tummy time on the boppy, tummy-to-tummy time, tummy time in front of the the TV, getting on the floor with her face to face. But she screams and cries after about 2 minutes.

I really want her to catch up with her tummy skills, but I feel like I've tried everything we can. Any one else have a baby who was behind in their tummy skills?

[Mystikal]

E&O My DD hated tummy time for the longest while, too. Nothing worked, and we tried everything. Recently I discovered that if we start her on her back and then help her roll to her stomach (because she's still not rolling on her own) she can tolerate it a little longer. Maybe try that? Good luck!

shrieking Julia started doing this a while ago sporadically, and just this weekend started doing it all. the. time. lol.

Quick picture of Julia:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/raek622/Julia%20month%205/100_1124.jpg

[CarlaB]

E&O, S was hating on tummy time for a while there too and I was getting worried. But what I did to get him over the hump was one minute of TT at every daytime diaper change. I made sure to end it before he went ballistic on me. After about a week of this, he started to tolerate more time and I saw a big difference in how he held his head up, etc. I figured that shorter, more frequent practice might make it more tolerable. He's up to 15 to 20 minutes on a good day now, though some days he'd rather lay on his back and stare into the light.

ETA: we did the couple minutes right on the changing table.

[mkvh]

5 months old today!!!!!

Shrieking/Sounds--C does this too, even at the dogs so they will pay attention to her! She's started adding consontants lately--m, b, d. When she gets mad, she'll say "BA BA BA", and it just sounds like she's scolding you--"Bad, bad, bad!"

Food--Oatmeal was better than rice. Sweet potatoes are tomorrow! And I'm going to experiment with making green beans tomorrow for later. If you haven't tried making your own, I HIGHLY suggest it. And the $ store had great little "tupperware" containers just the right size for 1 serving!

Signing--We routinely sign "milk" and need to add "eat" and "more" now that we're doing solids. We also need to do "mother" and "father". Strangely, DH totally is on board with this, even though he poo-poohs most of my "crunchy" suggestions.

AF--NO sign of her. In fact,
I'm testing tomorrow morning--I've been feeling off lately. I don't know whether to be excited or nervous...I'm sure it's going to be -.

Can't Wait--My nephew is 22lbs at 6 1/2 mos. He's HUGE. But that's another story. I can't believe that lil' girl is that big! Clara is in 6-12 mo. clothes, though--she's over 26" long. That' the big reason. I'm proud of us too!!!!

[Lizard]

E&O - We were behind on tummy time because DD had bad reflux and I hated to put her on her tummy. Every time I did she would scream, or puke, or both. :( So I wasn't real strict with it. Well, eventually she started rolling and after she knew she could get on her tummy herself, she wanted to be there all the time. Now at 5.5 months she doesn't like being on her back! Hopefully it'll naturally work out for you.

Mystikal - In the June thread you mentioned you're doing 3 solid meals a day. How long ago did you start the 2nd and 3rd meals? We're still only doing 1, but I'm considering adding a second since DD eats so well.

I just noticed DD's second tooth is pushing through! She has been a little trooper. They don't seem to bother her pain-wise - she's just chewing extra hard on things.

[Wrighty26]

mkvh - Happy 5 months to C!

Mystikal - Such a cute picture of Julia!

E&O - Braeden was not a fan of tummy time either. Propping him up on his Boppy helped and like Mystikal said it helped to "practice" rolling over. At first, I would roll him over a few times and then he would stay on his belly for a few minutes without screaming. Gradually he stayed longer and longer. Now he's good for about 20 minutes! Just recently, I have started putting out toys in front of him that are a little bit out of his reach and he really enjoys "creeping" to get to them. He's definitely realized that being on his belly = being able to move places.

[maybebaby]

E and O have you tried putting her tummy to tummy, i.e. putting her on her tummy while you're laying in bed or on the couch? My DD loves this because she can see your face. Obviously, you have to keep a good grip so they don't fall off, but she'll push herself up and look me right in the eye. It might be a good intermediate way to get her used to being on her tummy.

[smurf]

I'm so far behind on this thread. This new work from home gig really eats up a lot of my CC time! Let me try to catch up a little bit...

Shrieking--OMG, K. does this all the time. Actually, hers is more of a yell than a shriek. We were walking through the mall yesterday and she was just yelling at everyone that walked by us. Pretty funny.

Sitting up-K. is sitting up on her own now. She hardly ever falls over any more. Kinda makes me sad that my little girl is growing up. She's even getting close to pulling herself into a sitting position from laying down.

Signing-I don't think we're going to try it. Pretty much, I'm too lazy :p

Food-K. really isn't into eating solids just yet. She takes a couple of bites and then loses interest. I guess we'll just hold off for a couple more weeks. I was hoping she would eat a good meal at night and sleep longer, but no luck just yet.

MKVH-good luck on the testing! I think I would die if I found out I was pregnant again right now. Of course, your DD is a much better sleeper than mine. That's my biggest fear about getting preggo again. It's hard enough getting up with K. 3 times a night when I'm not pregnant, I can't imagine doing it when I am.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So K. has started totally rejecting the bottle. She just outright refuses to take it. Up until now she's done totally fine with it. In fact, she had a bottle on Thursday, and then wouldn't take one on Friday. Every time DH tries to give it to her, she just screams. This is the worst time for her to do this since I'm just starting this job and she'll be with a sitter for a few hours a week now. Any ideas on how to get her to become friends with her bottle again?

[Soulmate]

smurf I know she rejected the bottle for DH but I think that the more people who try to give her a bottle the more comfortable she'll get. She may be teething also and the nipple may hurt her gums (the boob is softer and doesn't really touch the gums so much). If she'll accept it try not to warm the milk up as much so it is cool passing over her gums. Oh, or maybe try some oragel right before you give a bottle.

solids I very infrequently attempt to give DS solids since I have him during his grumpiest periods but he is a little more accepting of solids the more I've tried. We are on the third attempt at rice cereal and sweet potatoes and he did not gag or make an icky face. He didn't really want to eat them but I think extenuating circumstances were mostly to blame. He still accepts banana best and boy does it make him poop!

[klav]

Sitting up-L is starting to do this and then plops over too funny hates being on his tummy. so much that last night he was almost up on all fours!!

Signing-I've been doing this for a while and hopeing DS will pick up on the basics
Food- Chirstmas day we will begin!! rice cereal here we come!! DS does watch us eat though. feel so bad when we eat in front of him. I almost started earlier because he started waking up at 2 and I though it was because he was so hungry but it has passed
Shreeking well w/ Ds it's more of a long aaaauuurrrgggggaaaaaaaa a few shreeks here and there but more like he's trying to have a conversation with you. love that sound!

MKVH- Good luck I have no idea whatI would do if I was PG again Happy yes but a feeling of being overwhelmed might be more approperate for me.

[Amaye]

Hi Ladies,

I just have a quick question. How did you know your DC was having teething issues? DD has become really fussy in the evening - trying to put her bed has become a small battle and yesterday she woke up at 11.30pm when she usually wakes at 2/2.30am. She talked and fussed from 11.30-1am and then she started crying. I went in, changed and fed her and she finally went back to sleep at 2am. She was up at 4am crying and shrieking. Went to her, tried to calm her down. I BFd her for 5-10mins and she fell back asleep.

I'm not sure if it's teeting. I've run my finger across her gums and I didn't feel anything. Any ideas of what could be wrong?

[Soulmate]

amaye I only knew for sure in hindsight. Once his teeth started to show his symptoms made much more sense. He is going through some crankies now and some other issues but I don't feel any more teeth either. I figure it is teething or a growth spurt. DS too woke up at 4am crying (not hunger) one night when he has been STTN for a few weeks now. So I am just as stumped as you are.

solids The 4th time trying sweet potatoes was a charm! He was actually lunging for the spoon. I'm glad I'm persistent ;) I think when he had some on his fingers and stuck them in his mouth is what did it. Maybe he was more wary of the spoon than the food. Once he realized some good stuff was on the spoon he was ok with it.

[MMK]

wrighty: when I wrote my original post about shrieks I was going to note that it seems to always be in his infant seat in the grocery store or when we're driving. I guess that's his time to entertain himself. I HEAR you on missing the infant seat. Since Drew's not yet able to sit up on his own, I have no idea what I'm going to do when he's outgrown his seat (which by the way is any day now).

solids: we've done oatmeal, rice, sweet pots, bananas, and apple sauce. He's really taken to everthing until I tried green beans...wouldn't even let it near his mouth! We also just started (somewhat inconsistently) a second meal of the day in hopes of solving our night waking issues.

sleeping: is my ds the only one still getting up to eat in the middle of the night? He doesn't stay up for long, just a quick feed and right back down but man I'm so ready for a full night's sleep!

[cpbride8203]

Wow, I did not realize there was a new Thread! So behind!

Someone mentioned they were not sure about how to go about starting solids, when to do meals...don't remember who...I used this chart with DD#1 and it worked really well for us and I plan on following it with Kaitlyn. Just thought I would drop it off!

http://www.allaboutmoms.com/allaboutmoms/solids.htm#sample

Also dropping off a link to our Christmas pictures. I will take the link down in a few days.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AatGbNw0as_G

[klav]

CPBRiDE tHANKS FOR THE LINK i HAVE YET TO START DS on solids so that will be a great help when I do!
I was wondering if you could post from snapfish I've tried with out any luck. oops you said sutterfly....
Tooo cute!

[Wrighty26]

cpbride- Your girls are SO cute!! I love the second to last one. I bet your oldest daughter is going to be SOOO much fun this year :) Thanks, btw, for the food link!

MMK - Too funny that Drew also does the shrieking in the carseat! I love that carseat so much I wish I had bought the bigger one that Graco makes. While I know it would be incredibly heavy-- I'll miss how portable it is! I guess it won't be too bad though once B can sit up.

Sleep - Braeden has been waking up around 10/11 every night. I'm not sure why, but he eats and goes right back to sleep and usually doesn't get up until the morning (sometimes before then). I was just reading up on this and Weissbluth says that waking up once a night to eat is common until they are around 9 months -- as long as they are going back to sleep (and not staying up to play). For babies that cosleep and are breastfed it is common that they wake up even MORE often than once a night.

Is it Friday yet?

[nuhmah]

I put JJ down at 7:45 every night. He wakes to nurse at 11pm, 2am, 5am, and then is up for the day at 7am (or so). I have tried just putting him back to sleep when he wakes up, but then he wakes every half hour or so until I nurse him. So, it is just easier to sit there like a zombie while he nurses for about 10 minutes, and then he goes right back down on his own.

ETA: We are still co-sleeping, so it really isn't *that* big of a deal. Its not like I'm out of bed or anything, and the dog sleeps right through it!

[Soulmate]

car seat We transitioned DS out of his infant seat and I like it soo much better which was a big surprise to me. I just sling him when I go places and just went to the grocery store with him in his Kozy :D I really like being able to hold him now and feel him hug on my arm and neck. When we go to restaurants I just use his infant seat which we store in the trunk. And the little extra time it takes isn't really that noticable. The only thing that is awkward is having a place to put him while I put on my shoes to leave (shoes are left by the front door) but that is minor.

strange question Do you guys use wipes when changing a wet only diaper? I would see DS' previous sitter use them and thought it was odd since he will just pee in his diaper again minutes later but I'm willing to accept that I am wrong since I haven't really been exposed to babies prior to DS.

[klav]

soulmate I use them when DS is just wet... never thhought of the fact he will just pee again I just wanted him clean
we have not changed his car seat yet when do you do this?

[Amaye]

Soulmate It's so weird how things change from day to day. She was so good last night - went to bed and woke up only once. We will see what today brings.

MMK Mia is also getting up at night to eat. She is pretty good though - she will eat and go right back to bed, well, after talking to herself for 5-10mins, she will go to sleep.:)

cpbride8203 Your girls are too cute! Thanks for the link. It will definitely be useful.

Wrighty26 Is it friday indeed. Today was compensation day at work - not good news at all. I had to give people bad news - not a fun day at all. I just want to go home and see my baby.

nuhmah Wow!! 3times at night? It's great that you are co-sleeping. I can't imagine having to walk down to her room 3 times. I would be a bear at work the next day. I had better stop complaining about M and her waking once at night.:p

Soulmate We always use a wipe even when it's only a wet diaper. I guess I'm thinking it's to remove to clean up the excess on the skin???

Mia is so cute in the morning that I find I get to work late cos I start playing with her:D :o Her new game is to