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 start grabbing her legs when we are changing her and this morning, she stuffed her feet into her mouth! It was so hysterical! These really are the golden days.

One more thing, Mia has been eating a LOT in the morning. She goes to bed around 7.30pm, wakes up at 230am and eats about 6oz and then wakes up at 8am each morning. For the past 3 days, she eats 10oz in the morning!!! She normally eats about 6oz but the nanny told me she would have another 3-4oz after the first bottle. I'm wondering if I should start solids. Her ped said to wait till she was 5mths but I think I might just go ahead.

[Lizard]

OK, weird question but maybe someone knows. DD is growing out of her 6-9 month footie sleepers already. :eek: I can't seem to find any in 9-12 month size. Do they stop at 6-9 months? That seems like a weird age to stop at. I did find 2-piece jammies... maybe we'll have to move to those, although if it's 2 piece she can probably still fit in 6-9....

[MMK]

Liz: we have the same problem because ds is SO long. He seems to fit better in the pj's that are labeled "9" as opposed to 6-9 but we're definitely ready to go bigger. I know I have a pair or two of 12mths footies that were given to us so I they do exsist. We also have a couple of two piece numbers but in my opinion they are a PIA. Since our babies are still being carried everywhere they are always slipping up!

[Amaye]

Liz I know Carters definitely has 12mth sleepers. My SIL found some at Buy buy baby.

I did a search on Amazon for 9-12mths and this is what I found

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_baby_size-bin_3/103-6251347-9213430?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A1036592%2Cn%3A1040662%2Cn%3A1044500%2Cn%3A1 044512%2Cn%3A1044538%2Cp%5Fbaby%5Fsize-bin%3A00050%7B9%20-%2012%20Months%7B&page=1

[nuhmah]

Liz - Carter's does make them... I think all the way up to 24 months. The 9 month stuff is fitting perfect in length, but is baggy in the body.

I got my JCP pics today!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/jamie9.jpg?t=1166106112

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/jamie2.jpg?t=1166106209

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/jamie8.jpg?t=1166106132

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/jamie4.jpg?t=1166106178

and these I took this morning - these are Carter's 9 month jammies that say "Let it snow" on them

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cc35b3127cce8f9cd58fbec700000015108BYt2rVwyau

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cc35b3127cce8f9cd5843ffc00000015108BYt2rVwyau

[klav]

love the pic's but I can't see the ones you took :(

[Wrighty26]

OK, weird question but maybe someone knows. DD is growing out of her 6-9 month footie sleepers already. :eek: I can't seem to find any in 9-12 month size. Do they stop at 6-9 months? That seems like a weird age to stop at. I did find 2-piece jammies... maybe we'll have to move to those, although if it's 2 piece she can probably still fit in 6-9....

Braeden is also growing fast and furiously out of his sleepers (although not as fast at Dorla :p). Even though they are a little pricey - I highly recommend the Gymboree sleepers. They run big -- in the length AND the feet (which is where we run into big time problems). B is still fitting into his 3-6 month sleepers from Gymbo, but all others he's moved into 6-9 months. The other thing I like about the Gymbo sleepers is that they fit more snug. B is skinny and the other sleepers are ridiculously baggy.

Amaye - Mia is so cute in the morning that I find I get to work late cos I start playing with her This is me every morning as well! DH says home with him in the mornings and it's SOOOOO hard to leave. I love days when he sleeps in because I am actually on time to work!

Nuhmah - Awwww -- he's such a sweetie! I love all of them - how many did you guys end up ordering??

My mom came over tonight and we had so much fun! Braeden loves his Nana :) He rolled over for her (not common), did a little creeping (he's REALLY pulling his legs up), and talked to her (ba, ba,ba,ba...). He also had his first taste of green beans and he kinda liked them. I'm shocked because I tasted them and they are gross :P

[MMK]

nuhmah: those are pics are GREAT! I love that blue sweater...where did you get it?

Quick question: how far apart are your day time feedings? I'm still doing about every 3 hours...

[Amaye]

MMK I'm still doing every 3hrs too. Are we supposed to make it stretch out longer?

[Wrighty26]

MMK - B eats every 2.5-3 hours too. It's sometimes every 2 hours! Since he gets so much sleep at night though, it doesn't bother me!

[Soulmate]

MMK Every three hours too except his 2nd bottle for the day is after 4 hours but that is because he has ~9-10ozs for his 1st bottle :eek: (he is STTN). He averages about 6 ozs with each bottle.

[Can't_Wait]

wet diapers We use wipes after pee diapers as well. I think of it as cleaning off the pee from the skin so the skin can be clean for a little bit, if even a short while. And we use cloth diapers... with disposibles I would want to clean any of the diaper residue that came off onto the skin. We use a wipe solution that has ingrediants that are good for the skin & have healing properties so this also reduces the incidence of diaper rash.
It is also the same as when you have a child wet the bed- you would want them to take a bath/shower b/c they have pee all over them... even if they will wet the bed again.

day feeding DD eats every 2-2.5 hours during the day when she is awake. She will sleep sometimes for 3 hours during the day & eat when she wakes up. I was wondering myself when they would spread out more.

[MMK]

Thanks for the replies...I was curious if I should be stretching him out or if 2-3 hours was still the norm. I feel like Drew could go longer as he general isn't crying to be fed at the 3 hour mark but since he still isn't sleeping throught the night (though we're making serious progress this week!) I'm definitely not inclined to feed him less.

[emmjay]

MMK - we do about every 3 hours as well, except for overnight. He STTN - 10 or 11 hrs - and he doesn't wake up at all. That might change now that I'm trying to set up a different sleep schedule - he is currently taking 4 naps a day (:rolleyes: ). Two are short and two are long, so I want to combine them into 2 long ones. That is my project while I'm on break from school.

Wet diapers - I don't always wipe except for the first morning one. It depends on how long he's been wearing the diaper. We use cloth, except at night we use Tushies (natural disposables).

I got to go skiing on Wednesday while my dad was in town - it was great! Of course, if there was any doubt about how out-of-shape I am, it has been resolved - it was kind of pathetic, but I'm still glad I went. I found a daycare near one of the resorts that I can use for the rest of the season.

[nuhmah]

mmk -we got the sweater at a Gymboree outlet - I love it! I had never seen it in another store.

Wrighty - we got a large 10x13 for our house, some 8x10's for the grandparents, wallets, a bunch of 5x7's for our siblings, and a couple sheets of 3.5x5's. Not too much, but I kind of wish I had gotten more. I ordered the Christmas cards from Shutterfly - we used them for our wedding TY's and was pleased.

[Mystikal]

Hey guys, long time, no see! :o There is no way I'll catch up, so let me update on my babe and I'll try and stay caught up after this...lol.

Julia will be 6 months on the 29th. She is still not rolling over, however, she can sit unassisted, and loves to "stand" while we hold her. She has learned how to shriek and does so all. the. time. "Usually" STTN. Goes down around 7:30 and sleeps till about 6:30. She naps better during the days, and can now put herself to sleep with her womb sounds bear and her lullaby cd. She loves music, and jazz is her favorite. She's eating solids three times a day - cereal w/fruit for breakfast and dinner, and veggies for lunch. So far she has had rice cereal, applesauce, bananas, peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, and she LOVES IT ALL.
Oh, and the big news, she got her first tooth on Monday. We think she's working on her second already because she's still cranky and has been pulling on her ear occasionally.

Okay, she's fussing. It's lunch time so I'm gonna go. I hope to get back later this week...if not, hope you all have great holidays!!

[ShelbyMay]

I am SO jealous of the good sleepers in this thread. So jealous. DD finally got over her ear infections and started sleeping better -- but was still waking 2x a night to nurse. She also was wanting to go to bed at 6pm and wake up for the day at 4am. We had just started to try different strategies to get her to sleep later in the morning, and now SHE IS SICK AGAIN. :( Stuffy, runny nose. Sneezing. Coughing. Fever of nearly 103. So cranky that all she wants to do is be held and watch tv. It has been so difficult the past couple of days to get her to sleep, she is waking frequently, and every time she wakes she cries this miserable cry.

I am so worn out on the whole sick baby thing. At least DH and I are not sick this time around. Yet.

Anyway...

solids: Did I already post that DD tried avocado this week? She seems to like it pretty well, but she is still not really "into" solids. She doesn't seem to care whether we do them or not, so I don't bother offering them every day if we're busy or she's cranky.

sitting up: I know babies reach milestones at their own individual pace and yada yada yada -- but, still -- I had really hoped DD would be sitting up by Christmas. She was one of the earlier-born babies in this group, and she's still not anywhere close to sitting unassisted. Maybe if she could ditch the cold symptoms for a while...

[Soulmate]

Thanks everyone who responded to the wet diaper question. I guess it really depends on ones preference for "cleanliness". DS isn't ever wet during a diaper change (a little moist of course) and the diaper absorbs everything well. Pee is sterile so there is no health issue and he doesn't get diaper rashes. So I am not super motivated to start using wipes plus one less time I have to use a super cold wipe on him is fine w/ me.

mystikal How great that Julia is doing so well! DS is not really rolling over either though he does from front to back very occasionally and is very close to doing back to front. He just isn't very motivated to roll.

shelbymay I'm so sorry to hear that DD is sick again :( That is just no fair for her or you guys. I'm sure your out of your mind exhausted. The sitting up thing can happen so quickly. DS is just really getting it this week when he was toppling over all the time last week. Plus being sick so often really takes its toll. I know I too get a little competitive especially seeing some of the babies born around the same time in the June thread doing all sorts of things DS can't do. It makes me feel bad but then I remind myself that DS has health issues that keeps him from developing as quickly (tummy time is still a rare thing around here and his AR is flaring up right now so floor time is not as long as it can be). But he always catches up but I only feel better once he has the skill and rarely before.

[nuhmah]

Shelby - so sorry that DD is sick again!! I hope it isn't as bad this time around. And I completely understand about the milestones - DS doesn't seem to be hitting any of them with everyone else, either. But I do agree with Soulmate; the sitting up thing seemed to happen overnight. For me, I have been sitting him up on the corner of the couch, and getting in the bathtub with him and helping him sit up. Those two things seem to be motivating him to sit up more often - he can play with his toys easier, too!

- - - -

Went out to dinner last night, and we put JJ in a HIGHCHAIR!!! :eek: I am so not ready for this. I had to put a small blanket and my pouch in there with him to help, but he sat there and played with his toys while waiting for dinner. It was one of those wooden ones, too.

[MMK]

nuhmah: darn, I was hoping you would say that sweater was from some place where I could immediately go out and buy it! I love cute wintery sweaters...especially when they come with matching hats! It's so funny you mention using the wooden highchairs. I was just out to lunch the other day and thought about giving it a shot...now next time I definitely will. I can't believe how big our babies are getting!

solids: we're cruising along in this department. Drew will pretty much eat anything I put in front of him. I mixed banana with applesauce and a little oatmeal yesterday and I thought he was going to eat my hand and the spoon!

So quick question...I seem to have lots of ideas for fruits to introduce but struggle more with veggies (says a lot about my horrible eating habits!). So far we've done sweet potato, green beans, and peas. Any other suggestions??

[smurf]

Soulmate-thanks for the encouragement on DD's bottle refusal. We've tried every day for the last week and she just won't take it. She chews on the nipple for a while, but turns away when the milk comes out. I even tried having different people give it to her to no avail. DH and I went to a Christmas party on Saturday and she didn't eat the whole time we were gone, not even before the sitter put her to bed. I would feel a little better about it if she was eating solids, but she refuses those too.

Shelby-So sorry that your DD is sick again. I hope she feels better soon. I wouldn't worry too much about her not sitting up yet. My niece is 7 months old and is just now starting to sit up on her own. Every baby goes at their own pace.....my DD sits up on her own but still doesn't roll over.

Highchair--We've been sitting K. in the highchairs at restaurants for about a week now. I need to get a cover b/c she seems to want to always chew on the edges of the seat and that really grosses me out.

MMK-you could try squash and avacado.

[Soulmate]

smurf Argh! I'm so sorry it isn't working for you :( I can understand your concern.

MMK I second squash and avacado. I would say carrots but I think we are supposed to hold off on those for a little bit.

solids DS is getting much better about solids and loves the banana and sweet potato I've given him. He still hates the cereals and I think I'm going to try mixing them. The cereals are just so important. It's funny because they say that babies have an affinity for foods we ate while we were pregnant (logically does not make sense since the food was not passing over their taste buds). If that were true then DS will never eat a veggie because I could not stand them when pregnant! They made me gag ;)

[mmisabel]

Hey ladies!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and is enjoying this countdown to the holidays.

solids - N is doing better. We struggled through rice and oatmeal at first, and he gradually did better. I just added bananas and then applesauce. Don't think he was a huge banana fan (I personally hate them), but he liked applesauce. Maybe we'll do sweet potatoes next, not really sure.

sitting up - with support only. He'll be 6 months in 10 days, but I'm not sweating it. It will happen....

feeding - every 3-4 hours. I noticed he holds out longer now that he's mostly on formula. He takes between 6-8 ounces 5x daily.

those who've stopped BFing - I am finishing my ween (and am very happy about this). The pump has become my enemy :) When do you think AF will rear her ugly head. I know everyone's different but I'm guessing average is 6 weeks???

[nuhmah]

sitting up - he sat in a high chair again today! And also sat up in the shopping cart at JoAnn's. :) I am so proud of him - I have material to make a shopping cart cover, and I can't wait to get going on it. For anyone else who sews, I got the pattern from www.sleepingbaby.net

Well, today was my 2 year anniversary, and my little buddy gave me all sorts of presents in the form of smiles and giggles all day. He was in the best mood, and definitely showed it off to me, my mom, and everyone who would smile his way. :D I love my little boy!

I go the cutest picture frame from PBK - if you have one near you, go check it out. It is in a red frame, and has a white grosgrain hanging ribbon. the matte is white and has green trees on it. It says "Baby's First Christmas" at the top of the matte, and then 2006 at the bottom. ADORABLE. It is by far the best picture frame I have found this season!

[klav]

OOOO wll have to see if it's on line!! thanks Nuhmah!!

[a_spark]

Hi Girls! DH is on winter break from his teaching job and I am in heaven! I now have dedicated time to work each day, plus I get to sleep in a little in the morning since he takes Ava and the dog to the park in the mornings. I'm so happy!!!

Let me try to catch up here...

solids We're going to start rice cereal on Christmas Eve. I'm really excited about this. My mom will come over so we're making it a family thing. After we put Ava to bed we'll be Santa and put out presents for her as well. Not that she knows the difference but us adults are really looking forward to it!

sitting She can sit in the tripod position for about 10 seconds before toppling over, but she's getting better and better.

laughing She's still not really laughing...she'll go, "heh" when she thinks something is funny, but no real belly laughs yet. I'm trying not to worry about it. I just can't wait to hear it! I had a dream the other night that she was just cracking up and it was so sweet.

Ok, time for breakfast. :)

[ShelbyMay]

We're going to the doctor (again) today - the fever is better, but the cough just keeps getting worse. It is pitiful because her whole little body shakes when she coughs and her eyes water. She looks at me like, "Mommy, fix it!" :(

She fell asleep on our bed, so I think I am going to go snuggle up for a nap.

[Abby'sMom]

Shelby - I'm sorry your DD is sick. :( DS is sick, too - I think he's on his 4th cold. Super congested. And we have to fly with him and DD on Thursday so I'm praying he makes a miraculous recovery.

AF - I'm still BFing full-time, but AF came back a few weeks ago at about 4 months PP - same thing happened after DD was born. Very annoying. She really can make her reappearance at any time.

Solids - None for us until 1/31, when DS turns 6 months old. Way too many allergy concerns and his GI doc suggested we wait til then. It's fine because we waited til 6 months with DD and have never once regretted doing so. I was a little jealous when I saw other moms feeding their younger babies solids, but I think it was what was best for us.

Sitting - He can tripod for a few minutes at a time. But he loves standing (holding our hands, of course) more. :)

Laughing - He laughs, but they're very quiet chortles. DD was a belly-laugher as a baby (when you could get her to laugh), so it's very different.

Highchair - We put him in the highchair at home so he can sit at the table with us during dinner. He usually lasts 5 to 10 minutes before the whining begins.

Feeding - BF on demand; no supplementing at this time.

I mostly just lurk these days since I don't really feel like I 'belong' entirely in either the July or August thread here. We're still coping as best we can with DS's allergies/sensitivities and I've lost a huge amount of weight as a result. (But I'd rather weigh 10 pounds more and be able to eat chocolate and cheese and nuts and berries.) Still losing, really. I think his AR is pretty well-controlled by Prilosec, thankfully, so that's one less thing to deal with. We're nowhere near STTN - it's a really sore spot for me (and the reason I don't really post. I know no one means to brag about STTN, but it sure feels like it to an exhausted mom of a baby AND a two year old when it's a subject of discussion every.single.day). For the past month he's been getting up every hour to hour and a half, so he's up 6 or 7 times per night. And he's not up happily - he always wakes up crying and screaming. SO not fun.

On the upside, he's very pleasant and happy when he's not uncomfortable or sick, so that's something. :)

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you all in case I don't make it back here again this month. Take lots of pictures of those babies!

[Can't_Wait]

emmjay Just curious why you use disposibles at night?

smurf DD wouldn't take the bottle either... we had waited until she was 4 months old to try. The way we got her to take it was to give her a bottle w/ a nipple that she had sucked on before as a pacifier (she doesn't love to take the pacifier either but will take them in certain situations off & on... she didn't have her 1st pacifier until 10 weeks) and we also laid her down on her back on the sofa. She wouldn't take the bottle at all sitting up or reclining in DH's arms. She had to be laying flat on her back on the sofa. But when I tried giving her the bottle, she only chewed the nipple too. So I understand what you are going through! So maybe try laying her down on her back?

highchair We've been using our highchair at home since DD was about 2 months old... it is slightly reclined so she has been able to sit in it since she could keep her head up. We haven't used one when we're out to eat yet though... but maybe next time we go!

sitting up DD is 4 months & 2 weeks & she can sit up on her own now! She can sit up longest when she is in the tripod position, but she can sit up for a good amount of time on her own. But if she doesn't feel like focusing on it, she topples over. But she has been crunching her stomach muscles trying to sit up since she was about 2 months, so maybe that is why she is so good at it now?!?! Oh, & she has been a stomach sleeper for quite awhile too.

laughing DD has laughed for awhile now but now she has started laughing when you don't even do anything to her. Like before it was when you did something like pretending to bite her fingers for getting her on her neck. But now you can sometimes just look at her & she'll laugh. Very cute!

feeding Still bfing on demand... no supplementing at all. And all is well. We have our 4 month apt. tomorrow & I'm sure the dr. is going to give us the go-ahead on solids but I want to wait until 6 months to decrease any potential allergies. Also, bm is really giving her all the nutrients she needs & she is putting on weight & growing very well. We'll see how much she weighs tomorrow!

[emmjay]

emmjay Just curious why you use disposibles at night?
Can't_Wait - we've had problems with leaking and DS waking up due to being soaking wet, so we use disposables at night. If we don't, he doesn't STTN. I did just order some bumGenius diapers and I'm hoping they will work at night so we can get rid of the disposables altogether.

Solids - we are waiting until January when he's 5+ months.

Sitting up- he can sit up if he is propped, but I think he is close to sitting up on his own. He does crunches whenever he's in his carseat.

[makena32204]

We're nowhere near STTN - it's a really sore spot for me (and the reason I don't really post. I know no one means to brag about STTN, but it sure feels like it to an exhausted mom of a baby AND a two year old when it's a subject of discussion every.single.day). For the past month he's been getting up every hour to hour and a half, so he's up 6 or 7 times per night. And he's not up happily - he always wakes up crying and screaming. SO not fun.

I think there's a few of us who feel this way. You arent alone! My DD has slept thru the night maybe 3 times - and they were all after 3 plus hours of screaming and us giving her Tylenol. We had four weeks of horrific behavior and even worse sleeping during that time which turned out to be teething related. She got 4 teeth w/in 3 days!! But, the teeth came in the beginning of Dec and her behavior is mostly back to normal, but her sleep is still pretty much crap. If we can get her down b/n 8:30 - 9:00, she's usually up around 10, 2:30 and then 4:30ish. If we cant get her down until 10:00, then she's up at midnight and then 4:00ish. It's a constant struggle, especially since I am working. I have a feeling that it will get worse thru the holidays since my DH's entire family will be here. I'm hoping we can get on a better sleep pattern in January. Please!!!

[Soulmate]

laughing DS isn't a huge laugher either. He'll belly laugh very occationally and whatever you did to get him to laugh stops working after 2 or 3 times and will never work again. It forces us to be very creative. But he will giggle just randomly and not really in response to anything. Speaking of laughing...

Laughing babies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx8e5Io63LY)

[mkvh]

Hey ladies! Long time, no post!!

shelby--so sorry to hear that L is sick agian. Ugh! Hope you get some resolution at the ped.

Foods--We've done avacado and sweet potatoes (both big hits) and green beans ( not so much, though she will eat them). I have pears and bananas waiting for next in the freezer. Cereals we don't like. Why are they so important, Soulmate? I was intrigued when you wrote that...

High chairs--We have a Graco one at home that sue uses. I guess we need to try the restaurant ones, though I certainly am getting a cover! Ewwww....

Today C purposefully flipped herself from a sitting position to her belly to reach for a toy and even pulled her knees up underneath her. I am in NO hurry for her to crawl!! It's nice to put her down and keep her there.

Abby's Mom--I am so sorry to hear that Logan still is having issues with his sensitivities and his sleep. I cannot imagine how difficult that must be with a toddler. My heart goes out to you!

[smurf]

[QUOTE=Abby'sMom;1111310 We're nowhere near STTN - it's a really sore spot for me (and the reason I don't really post. I know no one means to brag about STTN, but it sure feels like it to an exhausted mom of a baby AND a two year old when it's a subject of discussion every.single.day). For the past month he's been getting up every hour to hour and a half, so he's up 6 or 7 times per night. And he's not up happily - he always wakes up crying and screaming. SO not fun. QUOTE]

Believe me, you are not alone! I'm sitting here writing this at 4:40 am while my DD cries in her crib. We're on her third waking of the night. I know it really takes a toll on me and I don't have a toddler running around! Just wanted to let you know that there are other moms of crappy sleepers on this thread!

[MMK]

Drew cut his first tooth! I can't believe my baby has a tooth (or at least a sliver of a tooth!). His behavior doesn't seem all that altered but his sleep for the past several nights has been even worse than normal (no braging here!). Do you think the tooth would be the cause of sleep disturbance even if he's still acting normally? Last night he went down at 7 (normal) was up at 12 (normal) but than again at 3:00, 4:30, and up for the day at 6am. It was pretty brutal especially since I usually get to "sleep in" till 7:30 or so.

a_spark: I'm so jealous you have your dh home! Mine has been working (and playing) more than normal so I haven't really even had my normal breaks on the weekends. It's amazing what a difference it makes to have an extra set of hands around...even if it's just for a couple of hours in the evening.

sitting-up: same as several other posters, will tri-pod for several seconds and then topple over. Kind of funny.

toes: anyone else have a dc that is obessed with their toes? Mine makes a living out of pulling off his socks, sucking on those for a while and then moving on to the toes. His socks are regularly soaking wet! He's so silly.

[Soulmate]

Foods--We've done avacado and sweet potatoes (both big hits) and green beans ( not so much, though she will eat them). I have pears and bananas waiting for next in the freezer. Cereals we don't like. Why are they so important, Soulmate? I was intrigued when you wrote that...It was more of my own opinion seeing how rich they were in nutrients compared to a single fruit/veggie serving. But I started "researching" about it since DS hates them all and found that they really aren't too important after all.

[nuhmah]

mmk - yay for a new tooth! And yes, I do think that the tooth is part of the sleep disturbance. DS did the same thing - acted completely fine, sat in pools of drool happy as could be, and slept (is sleeping) horribly.

speaking of bad sleeping - ugh, it seems to get worse and worse. I think he may be getting ready to cut the top two, but I thought these could take a while to come in? I only got 3 hours of sleep last night between the hours of 10pm and 8am, and DS only wanted to be rocked. And even being rocked, he wasn't sleeping all that well. He was doing those intermittent moans and had fluttery eyes. Poor baby... I hope he gets some rest today!

[makena32204]

nuhmah - My DD got FOUR teeth w/in a few days. Top two and bottom two. In fact, the top two are much more prominent than the bottom. You can feel and see the entire side of the tooth, where the bottom ones are more like a sliver.

[Lizard]

I swear I posted here a couple days ago, but I guess not. :)

laughing - DD still isn't laughing. She gets really happy and makes noises, but nothing that sounds like a laugh. I'm not worried about it, but it'd be nice to hear those sounds. :)

sitting up - She is getting better and better at this each day. I usually sit her between my legs and hold onto her, but the past couple days I've just rested my hands on her thighs and she does pretty good. Her biggest obstacle is that when she gets a toy, she throws herself backwards so she can get on her back to play with it easier. She's not gonna like doing that if she's sitting alone.

highchair - We sit DD in it, but I wedge the Bumbo seat inside of it to give her stability (without the tray). It works great!

Feeding - We're still nursing and doing solids once a day. So far so good. We've been having supply issues and have been working with an LC for it. With a combo of Fenugreek and extra pumping we haven't had to use formula in a couple weeks. I'm so afraid that if I stop either one, though, my supply is going to tank. She is such a hungry baby and it's hard to keep up. Her nursing sessions are getting longer - sometimes an hour or more. And, her new teeth HURT. I love nursing her but I'm not sure how long I can keep this up.

A co-worker of my husband gave us 2 barely used convertible seats. Well, I'd asked DH to check and make sure DD could use them right now, and he said she could. DH brings them home, and they're for babies over 20 pounds and forward-facing. :rolleyes: So I guess we're in the market for a convertible. She is definitely ready - she hates the bucket and we end up taking her out of it and carrying her a lot.

I am still dealing with my leg/butt pain - I have another PT appointment today for more ideas.

We're heading out to DH's parents house for Xmas - I'm looking forward to it. We went there for Thanksgiving as well and the trip went very well. Hopefully it goes the same way. Then after the 1st of the year we're flying out to see my parents in Wisconsin for close to a week. I'm NOT looking forward to flying, but it's only an hour flight and it's on Midwest Express which has 2-across seating. So I should be able to nurse in peace. :)

OK, gotta run for now. If I'm not back before this weekend, Merry Christmas!

[Abby'sMom]

Just have a sec, baby crying of course :rolleyes: but thanks for the sleep-commiseration. I wish he were cutting teeth or SOMEthing, but there's no sign of anything in his mouth whatsoever. And he's not sick - he has a cold, but no infections or the like. We just got a truly crappy sleeper this go-round!

[Amaye]

toes: anyone else have a dc that is obessed with their toes? Mine makes a living out of pulling off his socks, sucking on those for a while and then moving on to the toes. His socks are regularly soaking wet! He's so silly.

<Raising Hand> Me!! LOL!! Mia loves to suck on her toes whether barefoot or not. If she has a sleeper on, she just sucks them through the material, if not, she pulls off her socks and off we go. It's hysterical to see when she leans over to suck them while she is in her bumbo seat. I love when we are changing her and she pulls her toes to her mouth - love it! :D

I haven't been posting - just reading along as I don't have much going on here.

Solids We finally started solids this past Sunday. Her ped had given us clearance once she turned 5mths (friday) but she seemed so hungry every monring. She would drink about 9-10oz of milk in the morning. She likes rice cereal and just eats it up. I'm trying to figure out what she'll eat next.

Sleep I don't know what's going on but we are back to 2-3wakings a night (not that we are STTN yet). And she is now awaking for the day at 645am which is killing me because we were used to her waking up at 8am.

High Chairs We haven't pulled that out yet - I don't think we will for a while. Mia is not sitting up well and we just started solids so we have a while to go.

Sitting up She can sit tripod or if I prop her up but not for long. She just slides down. She still has time so I'm not doing it a lot.

It's amazing to me when I read about babies in this thread who are about to turn 6mths. Mia is still to turn 5mths - I guess it's cos we are at the end of July.

We are heading over to my MIL's for christmas. It should be very fun and relaxing. MIL shall take over looking after M while I indulge myself with a marathon viewing of 24. I can't wait! :D :D

[Soulmate]

Sleep We must be going through another phase again because DS' sleep has gone to crap again. He is not waking to eat but I will hear him awake in his crib in the middle of the night and he will just start crying for no reason. I've been up since 4am this morning :( He is just generally cranky and we are trying to figure out if it is teething (no teeth are apparent) or his AR is flaring up again.

question DS has been "grunting" for a little over a week now and more gassy. It sounds like he is trying to pass a BM but nothing happens. He is having BMs at a normal rate and when they come out they are not hard (though they have looked more firm like adult BMs). But the firmness of the BMs are not new and he has passed them before easily. Could it be the solids? He hasn't had solids since Sunday and he is still doing it (and had a huge BM on Monday and was grunting still that night). I don't think this warrants a call to the ped since everything besides his grunting, gassiness, and crankiness are normal.

[mia's mama]

Sleep- I have another poor sleeper and I am so thankful to read that some of you are in the same boat! I just needed to know I am not alone!Jackson is still up 4-6 times/night between 7pm and 7am...it sucks! He is SO into the boobs...that's all he wants- to nurse and will then go back to sleep. I know I need to break the habit, but it's hard to do! He will just scream if I don't give in, and then I risk him waking DD...ack.

Solids- WIll start them pretty soon- he looks longingly at our food and grabs for my spoon/fork if he's in my lap.

Sitting- we're getting there but he often ends up folded in half if I let go of him. And he doesn't like it very much...like Sherry's Logan, J would MUCH prefer to stand with us holding his hands.

Push-ups-are your babies doing this? J is no where near pushing himself up (with extended elbows while on his belly), but 2 of our little friends who are within 2 weeks of J both are...and one is nearly crawling! She gest right up on all fours and rocks back & forth, balances on her legs and one arm while reaching for toys etc. It's crazy! J just rolls onto his back and smiles and blows rasberries at her.:p

[Amaye]

question DS has been "grunting" for a little over a week now and more gassy. It sounds like he is trying to pass a BM but nothing happens. He is having BMs at a normal rate and when they come out they are not hard (though they have looked more firm like adult BMs). But the firmness of the BMs are not new and he has passed them before easily. Could it be the solids? He hasn't had solids since Sunday and he is still doing it (and had a huge BM on Monday and was grunting still that night). I don't think this warrants a call to the ped since everything besides his grunting, gassiness, and crankiness are normal.

DD does this too!! I have no clue and I've been thinking that she is constipated and have tried prune juice but it doesn't seem to make a difference. We just started solids but she had been doing it before solids so I don't think that's it. Sorry to be of no help - we're in the same shoes with no answers.

[emmjay]

grunting - I've noticed this as well. I figured he was just making a new noise because we haven't started solids yet. He is making all kinds of new noises and when he grunts he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, even though he sounds like he's trying to poop. I'm no help either!

[Can't_Wait]

emmjay What diapers have you tried at night? You'll have to tell me how you like the bumgenius dipes... I'm thinking of getting some when we move up to the next size on our fuzzi bunz.

sleeping DD isn't anywhere near sleeping through the night either. She has done it maybe 3-4 times but always after something occured like a day w/ little naps or something like that. She will not go to sleep until around midnight & then she wakes up after 3-4 hours. Then she might wake up again after that. :(

push ups DD only pushes herself up on her arms... not on her hands.

Amaye ANd we're behind you... DD won't be 5 months until January 6th!

We had our 4 month appointment today (at 4 months, 2 weeks) & Isabella weighs 16 lbs. & 9oz & is 27" long! She is in the 95%-97%... my big girl. :) I thought the dr. was going to tell us to start solids but thankfully she didn't (I'm not wanting to start yet). She said that since she is gaining weight so well on being exclusively breast fed to just keep that up & wait until 6 months to start. So I am happy about that response. Everything else went well... she saw/felt her tooth & said it could be another month before it comes up all the way.

[mia's mama]

teeth- meant to say J has one and another is trying to break through...

Grunting- J has always been a "grunty" baby...his new noise is rasberries.

[smurf]

He is SO into the boobs...that's all he wants- to nurse and will then go back to sleep. I know I need to break the habit, but it's hard to do! He will just scream if I don't give in, and then I risk him waking DD...ack.

This is Kate to a tee. She screams until she gets the boob. I keep saying I'm going to do something about it. I've read all the books and even formed a plan, I'm just simply too exhausted at 3 am to spend the time on it.

push ups- Kate has just started doing this the last few days. I'm so not ready for her to crawl!

Makena- Wow, I can't believe she has four teeth already! Kate's got her two bottom ones and I can see the beginnings of a top one. All I can say is teething sucks!

Can't Wait-Good job on growing such a big girl!

We got Kate's Christmas pics taken this morning, they turned out really good. We used Picture People for the first time, and they're definitely my favorite place so far.

[ShelbyMay]

Um, okay -- So I was talking to my husband tonight and told him I thought I was about to start my period (noticed a little pinkish CM on the TP) and that we should probably start being "more careful". He TOTALLY surprised me by saying that we should also take into account the challenges we had conceiving DD, and that we don't want to wait too long in case it takes a long time to conceive baby #2.

WHAT?!?

Here I was thinking that he might not even WANT another baby, especially since I've insisted on him helping out more lately. And if we did have another, I was thinking it wouldn't be until DD was in preschool. Now he is talking about how much closer he's always felt to his brother who is just 2 years younger, as opposed to his brother who is 3 years older.

This is totally out of left field.

I guess we have a lot of thinking and talking to do!

-------

push-ups: DD was just doing this today, so I got out the video camera. She also does the "swimming" motion when she is lying on her tummy. Oh, and today she rolled all over the living room and was trying to get into the presents under the tree! Time for more baby-proofing!

solids:I made applesauce today (had some apples that were getting soft) and DD tried it tonight. She seemed to like it the most of anything she's tried so far, but still got full and/or lost interest very quickly.

sleeping: DD is generally up 2x a night -- goes to sleep around 6/6:30pm and wakes around 11pm and 3am. Then she is up some time around 6am (on a good day), plays for an hour or two, and is ready for a nap. This is actually a pretty tolerable schedule now that DH is pitching in -- I usually take the night wakings, and he gets up with her bright and early in the morning. I'm not sure what the 2 of them do for the next hour or so, but when she gets sleepy he brings her to me in bed where she nurses and the 2 of us get some more sleep while he gets ready for work. I would still love it if she would cut out the 3am feeding, though. Maybe someday.

teething: I know there are teeth in there somewhere because she keeps trying to use my nipples as teethers. :( I can usually catch her before she chomps down, but one time she surprised me and I YELPED. It scared us both. I still don't see any teeth coming through, though.

health: The ped. said DD's ears are looking "cloudy" again, so she's on another antibiotic. The rest of the cold is easing up a bit, though. Maybe she will be better by Christmas. <crossing fingers>

[mmisabel]

Hey all!

sleeping - We've been struggling too. N was up about every 15 minutes last night from 1am - 4am. We finally brought him into our bed and he settled better. I'm hoping it's teething, but nothing is evident with his gums. Luckily, he's not much of a screamer, so he just whines and it continues to build as we ignore it. SO I can't take it after about 5 minutes and pop the binkie in. It starts right up again 15 minutes later.

grunting - when I worked at the Pedi office that was a common question. Some kids become loud poopers. As long as the stool is regular and a normal consistency, no worries.

toes - N is obsessed with his feet. He's only put them in his mouth a few times, but he loves to grab them.

laughing video - that was adorable. Quadruplets?! I think I'd die.

laughing - N's laugh reminded me a lot of those little boys in the video. He does a real cute belly laugh and squeals with some tickling. His feet are super ticklish too (gets that from me!) Gotta get that on video soon, it's really too precious.

[Abby'sMom]

Just a quick note for ShelbyMay... it took us 7 months to conceive DD (#1) and we got DS on the very first actual try (and we were shocked, to put it lightly). So throwing caution to the wind may not be a great idea if you're not totally ready for another one yet. ;)

[Wrighty26]

Wow - a lot going on in here today!!

Teeth - Still a lot of sucking and drooling, but no teeth. I'm not in rush on that one though (especially after what you posted Lizard!)

Sleep - I'm sorry to hear about all of the poor sleepers. I really hope I'm not offending/upseting anyone when I talk about sleep! I know I complain and my guy is a good sleeper for the most part. I know I would feel exactly like you guys if I were in your shoes.

Sitting up - Still just doing the tripod -- but like mia's mama and abby's mom Braeden would prefer to stand. He's basically like "screw the sitting, mom!" I can tell he's going to be really fun once he starts climbing. Once he's standing he likes to "bounce" - I'm not sure if this is because of his jumperoo or what, but it's really funny to watch.

Push-ups - Braeden has been pushing up on his hands for a few weeks now. He will also pull his legs up under him. He doesn't do it at the same time though and when he straightens his legs out his smooshes his face in the carpet/blanket while moving forward. This cracks him up for some reason! I can totally see him crawling in 1-2 months. Ack!

Toes - Braeden LOVES his toes and feet. It's hilarious. He will put his feet in his mouth any chance he can take!

[Abby'sMom]

Man, I'm type-y today...

I really hope I'm not offending/upseting anyone when I talk about sleep! I know I complain and my guy is a good sleeper for the most part. I know I would feel exactly like you guys if I were in your shoes.

Not at all. :) My DD was (is) an awesome sleeper; I just got screwed in the sleep (and allergy and reflux...) department this time. I only get upset with those who CONSTANTLY (like every single day) talk about how awesome their DD/DS sleeps. You know - 'little Jonny STTN again last night so that's 5 nights in a row' kind of stuff.

[Wrighty26]

Not at all.

OK good-- but if it ever gets to that point just tell me to shut it. Seriously, I won't be offended :D Especially since I know you are lacking sleep!

[Abby'sMom]

Stacey, ugh, I'm sorry J is a lousy sleeper, too. I totally understand your pain. I wish L would start getting up only twice or three times a night. I could deal with THAT. But the every hour thing is killing me!

Here's my little man, wishing you all a Happy Holiday -

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/pinkbunny11/IMG_5963.jpg

[nuhmah]

OMG, Abby'sMom, he is adorable!!!

Wrighty - what an adorable smile! I love how he has his head cocked to the side.

[Abby'sMom]

Wrighty, totally forgot before, but that picture of B with his head to the side is so cute. :) And I love how he's studying Santa. DD is two and she's totally terrified of Santa this year, LOL.

[a_spark]

wrighty and abby's mom-- CUTE pictures!! OMG. I love them. I need to post a pic of Ava here when I get a chance!

sleeping A's been kind of all over the place. One night she was up every 2 hours, one night she slept through, and lately she's been up at 2:30 and then tries to get up at 5 for the day, but I bring her back to bed and literally cuddle her and make her go back to sleep. That buys me about an hour and a half or so and then if DH is home he takes her. I'm pretty tired during the day because I don't sleep that well when she's in our bed. I hope it regulates soon!

[emmjay]

UGH, DH is in Minneapolis for work, scheduled to come home tomorrow - we are having a blizzard and the airport is closed until tomorrow night. So, he will probably be there until at least Saturday due to all of the flight cancellations and backlogs - I hope he can get back by Xmas Eve! I told him this is like Planes, Trains & Automobiles - he's going to be sharing a hotel room with some John Candy lookalike. :p The blizzard is pretty cool though.

Abby's Mom and Wrighty26 - your little guys are adorable!

[ShelbyMay]

Just a quick note for ShelbyMay... it took us 7 months to conceive DD (#1) and we got DS on the very first actual try (and we were shocked, to put it lightly). So throwing caution to the wind may not be a great idea if you're not totally ready for another one yet. ;)

That's exactly what I said to him, and he didn't even seemed fazed. Maybe Christmas time is making him nostalgic for his childhood growing up in a big family.

Don't worry, we're not hopping in the sack to make a baby TONIGHT or anything. ;) We just might reevaluate the long-term plan.

Which reminds me of one thing I've been thinking lately: Is it really going to make it easier to spread it out over several years? With our current plan, we'll be starting sleepless nights and being stuck at home with a new baby right around the time things get easier with DD. Surely there's something to be said for knocking it all out now. It would be harder, definitely, but shorter...

Just thinking aloud!

[mia's mama]

Shelby- I'm another one who had a difficult time conceiving DD (13 months and 3 miscarriages) and got PG with J the first time we didn't prevent! :p It's hard, but I wouldn't change it!

eek...Braeden and Logan are SO cute!
Sherry- I think Logan is starting to look more like Abby- just a fairer version.

*IMG deleted*

[emmjay]

Well, DH is stuck in Minneapolis and can't get a flight back until the 26th. So unless he can figure something else out, he will be missing Seamus' first Christmas. What a bummer. :(

[Wrighty26]

emmjay - Oh, that TOTALLY sucks :( I hope he's able to make it home before then. How are you doing with the blizzard? Crazy weather!

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Abby'sMom & Mia's Mama - You're boys are SO cute! I can't believe how big our babes are getting!

Wow ShelbyMay - big decisions!! I'm definitely looking forward to TTC again -- but not for a LONNNNG time. FWIW - I really don't think the difference in age makes much of a difference between siblings. I have 2 younger brothers and I am close with both of them. However, I relate more to the one who is 4 years younger, opposed to 2. Good luck with your decision!

[mkvh]

emmjay--that SUCKS!!

Braedan, Jackson, & Logan are SOOOOOO CUTE! What little men! mias, I LOOOVE the hat!

I, mkvh, do solemnly swear that I will NEVER mention sleep again. I am one who cannot function when sleep deprived, so I feel pain for those of you with poor sleepers!!! And to have salt rubbed in the wound? Ouch. So I will abide by the aforementioned promise! :)

Can't Wait--Our "little" girls are almost exactly the same size at the same age! C was 16lb 4oz at 4m1w!!

Push-Ups--Yup. Yesterday, C actually transitioned from a sit to her belly on purpose to reach a toy. And she gets her legs in frog position with fully extened on her arms. Both DH and I were mobile early (walking at 9m), so I think we're in trouble! But unlike Shelby's DD, we're nowhere close to rolling to get places--we STILL haven't rolled back to belly. She's so not interested!

Laughing--C belly laughed quite frequently for a while, but now not so much. She's into babbling LOUDLY and is using lots of different syllables, so that's fun! When she gets mad, sometimes it sounds like she's saying, "Mom mom mom bad bad bad" which CRACKS me up!!

TTC again--We're officially preventing now as the timing if we conceive any time in the next 4-5 months would suck. We'll start TTC #2 in earnest in July. I can't wait!

[Soulmate]

Wrighty, Abby'sMom, Mia's Mama You guys have some good looking babies there! I think the July06 mamas have the most attractive bunch of little ones ;)

Abby'sMom & Mia's Mama I can't believe your second was so much easier to conceive (although I've heard that is typical). It took me a year and a half and 3 m/c's to get my little guy and always wondered if my 2nd would be easier.

emmjay I hope your DH can figure something out and make it back on time. If not, maybe you can just pretend the 26th or 27th is xmas ;)

push ups I haven't had DS on his tummy for a while because he is just uber cranky and he hates it anyway but I seriously doubt he can do push ups. The furtherest I've seen him go is up on his forearms but he can reach for a toy while on his tummy.

TTC :eek: I cant believe this topic is coming up already! Are our babies growing up *that* fast?! I plan on going back to acupunture starting June or July 07 and actively TTC ~September. I want a chance to get STD benefits this time around which I will sign up for in June. I want to do acupuncture right away to get a nice strong egg (I have a problem with egg quality though nothing diagnosable).

[Amaye]

Abby'sMom, Mia's Mama and Wrighty26 Your boys are SO cute!!! I want a boy now!! :) Ok.....not right now...but seriously, those are some heartbreakers. You guys are going to be in trouble when the girls start calling!:p

mia's mama Love the hat and the pose. He looks like he is just kicking back and relaxing saying look at how cute I am!

Emmjay That seriously sucks! There is no way the airline can get him home?? Hope something works out somehow! Oh, my very good friends are actually moving to Denver next week - I hope there are no snow storms then.

TTC :eek: is all l can say. I can 1000% tell you that I am not ready for another one yet. Love love Mia but the first 3mths were pretty hard (and had a lot of family drama). I would say in another 2years - when M is 2, we will start trying again. Ok, let me change that to say that I am the only one thinking that way. DH is still in denial about us having a second one...:D :D

push-ups M definitely does them. She sleeps on her belly so I think that helps.

[emmjay]

Wrighty26, mkvh , Soulmate and Amaye - thanks for the commiseration! The airline can't do anything - my mom actually works for that airline and she can't even help him. Everything was already sold out due to the holiday (and Denver is always sold out in the winter from people coming for skiing), and the airport is closed until tomorrow at noon so there are thousands of people who have to rebook.

As of now he rented a car for tomorrow and he's going to leave Mpls either tomorrow or Saturday depending on the weather. This storm is heading there so he can't leave until it clears up - I just saw a map on the Weather Channel and the only two cities on it were Denver and the Twin Cities, and there was a giant swath of white in between the two. :rolleyes: Anyway, this IS Planes, Trains and Automobiles!

We are both fine - plenty of formula and diapers and food, and we have power (they don't expect there to be any problems with electricity). So we're just holed up here for the duration! It's still snowing but not as windy as before.

TTC - I've already mentioned that we are TTC now. Of course AF has been regular for the past 3 months and this month I don't know what's going on, but we are still TTC! :)

pushups - he can get himself up on his outstretched arms/elbows but not for too long of a time. He is rolling back to belly nonstop, and a couple of times he's done back to belly to back.

[a_spark]

emmjay I hope DH makes it home in time!! Please keep us updated.

shelby I am SO sorry DD is sick again. :(

sleep Okay, we totally fell off the sleep wagon last night. Ava was up at 9:00, 10:30, 3:30, and then 6:30. I am bumping into walls.

[ShelbyMay]

emmjay: That sucks! So sorry. Maybe you can have "Christmas" the day he gets back instead? My family celebrated on a different day a couple of years ago, and it still felt like Christmas.

TTC: DD woke up 4 times during the night to calm those "baby fever" vibes that were drifting around our house. ;) Still, the idea is on the table for next summer, maybe.

[Soulmate]

Forgot to respond :o ...

grunting - when I worked at the Pedi office that was a common question. Some kids become loud poopers. As long as the stool is regular and a normal consistency, no worries.

laughing video - that was adorable. Quadruplets?! I think I'd die. I agree with the quads...can you imagine! After a friend watched the video he said, "that must be the most exhausted woman on the planet!". But I guess the extra work has big rewards too (being surrounded by 4 of your babies all laughing like that). Regarding the grunting...he doesn't produce a BM most of the time and can go 1+ day w/o a BM but still grunt. That is what had me so confused. I started belly massages and that seems to help.

DS woke up again at 4 am to eat. I don't mind waking up w/him but 4am is the *worst* time to want to eat. I normally wake him at 5:30 for a bottle which allows me to get him to daycare w/o him getting hungry just yet. Eating at 4am means I have to feed him twice (4 & 7am) before leaving for work. Thankfully this morning he made it to daycare w/o getting hungry again. He has been struggling with trying to set his schedule (one his natural rythmns created) back by an hour and I'm not sure what is causing that. Since he goes to bed early and wakes up early...that is not good. Now, change it ahead an hour and we are set!

[klav]

Solids: we tried some peaches today with rice cereal!! I think he liked it.
Pushup's: yes Liam is doing this and sorat squirming around on the floor. he tries to push with his feet on anything he can to move.
teeth: I think they are comng but not sure because Liam has a cough and cold so not sure if he's upset from that or teething?
sleeping: getting better he woke up at 4 nusred and went back to sleep, thn got up at 6. I waited till about 7 to go in because he was just talking and cooing not crying, when I finally went in poped the binky back in and he did not get upset and went back to sleep till about 9:30 !! wow!!

we had Liam's picture taken with santa last week I'll have to post it's so funny he will not smile when he's on the persons lap!!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/klynch/liam/ARUNDEL_20061216_000150.jpg

[Amaye]

Emmjay How long is the drive? Maybe he might make it home for christmas. Please keep us updated!

a_spark Ugh! I so feel for you! 4 times??? I would be the walking dead at work. Do you think she's going through something?

ShelbyMay Love the calming down wakings!:D

[Wrighty26]

klav - LOL. That picture is cracking me up! So cute :)

I just scanned in a few of Braeden's Christmas pictures we took at Target a few weeks ago. I don't know which one to post (I don't want to flood this journal with all of MY pictures -- KWIM??) so here's one of my favorites:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/329322857_3cf2501105.jpg?v=0

They turned out really good - even managed to get a decent one of me!

[nuhmah]

emmjay - oh my goodness, I hope he makes it!!! DH was supposed to fly from Boise to Dallas yesterday (through Denver) and ended up having to take flights from Boise to Pheonix, to Las Vegas, and then into Dallas at 2am. So exhausting... it is never fun being the wife of a guy who travels for work. Anyway - Christmas for a baby is whatever day you make it - I am sure it will be a good one, no matter which day you celebrate!

[emmjay]

Thanks for all of the well wishes! I told him that Seamus won't know the difference, but he wants to get home (we're having 6 of his friends over for dinner on the 24th!). He is going to leave tomorrow in his rental car and spend the night somewhere so he should get home on Saturday. The snow has stopped FINALLY!

Here's a pic of Seamus enjoying the snow - I couldn't even dig a hole all the way to the ground, but you get the idea!

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/mollyj6/Blizzard031.jpg

[Mystikal]

I love all the pictures! These are some seriously cute babies around here! :D
Is it awful of us that we aren't getting DD's pictures taken for Christmas? We figured we wouldn't have them by the holidays anyway, so we are just having them done New Year's weekend for her six months pics.

emmjay I really hope your DH can make it home! I would be so disappointed!

ttc #2 I have a prescription for bcp for the next year so DH and I are planning on seeing where we are at that point. More than likely we'll be waiting till DD is close to 3 before trying again, only because we don't want to be in the house we're in now. There is NO room.

DD rolled over tonight (with a tiny bit of help from me). She's getting really close to roll from back to front, and when she's on her tummy she'd rather just get her knees up underneath her and mash her face on the blanket. lol. Don't know what's wrong with that girl. She has been sitting up quite a bit today, too. So funny, she won't do the whole "tripod" thing. Refuses, if she get tired and starts falling forward she will screech until we help her sit upright and hold her there. :rolleyes:

[maryanne]

great pics everyone! I can't believe how big everyone is getting.

here's our newest! we visited santa while we were in boston visiting my parents. I was so glad that my dad got to go with us to see santa, since he never gets to do the *firsts* with us.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/329730307_6a8d7401ce.jpg?v=0

[mkvh]

Just driving by to drop this off...

Rudy, Clara, and Rock wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

http://images.photo.walgreens.com/3489%3A3644%7Ffp69%3Dot%3E2323%3D737%3D794%3D32327 376%3A3739nu0mrj

[klav]

Loveing all the pitures!!!
Happy Holiday's!!

[rande]

It feels like forever since I have posted. Well, Olivia finally got over the RSV and Flu and we are all healthy. At least for now! Big bro Drew turned two last Sat. so we were really busy with that. Now, I have been focused on getting ready for the holidays and dh's birthday. Love all the pictures of our babies!!!!


Shelby-Before Drew, we had two miscarriages so it took us also several months to conceive. Olivia was a first try baby so you never know with #2! It has been really hard for us having them so close-18 months. Drew did not take well to it. I think that a two year gap may have worked better, at least for us.
Bottle-Anyone else's baby not taking a bottle. We have tried everything to no avail. Little miss Olivia is still exclusively breastfed but I am trying desperately to get her on formula and the bottle. She is still such a little peanut since almost everything that I eat annoys her. Any ideas??????

We are also trying to get her in her bed from the swing. Not easy!!!!!

Happy holidays to all!
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/etimmin/xmas0602.jpg?t=1166817256
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/etimmin/100_2747_0001.jpg?t=1166817484

She is a very happy baby and loves rolling. She also loves playing with toys. No teeth yet which is a shocker since Drew had his first at 4 months. He was also crawling at 5 months and Olivia is still not interested.

[emmjay]

Just a quick update - DH is en route now, driving through South Dakota. He's going to spend the night in Rapid City then wake up and go to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial! :) He's never been there, so he's making a mini-vacation out of it. He said there are blue skies and dry road, and he should be home tomorrow afternoon/evening with no problems. What a relief!

All of the pictures are great - what an adorable bunch of babies we have here! :D

[ShelbyMay]

emmjay: that's great news!

ttc: again, tonight, DH told me he thinks we should have another baby "sooner rather than later". I asked how soon is sooner, and he said he didn't know exactly. He just doesn't want our kids to be far apart. :confused: I am totally thrown for a loop because I wasn't feeling well last night and DH had to do both of the night feedings by himself for the first time EVER -- and he still thinks we should have another one soon??? He even said he talked to his sister about it, and she agrees. Since when are we taking a POLL on this? :rolleyes:

Anyway, I told him I want to be in a larger house before we have 2 kids, since I don't feel like we'd have enough space for baby stuff AND toddler stuff. We'll see.

[hotmama]

hey girls,

it's great to check in and see how everyone is doing. the babies are adorable! i'm sure i've missed a number of pictures b/c everyone takes them down a few days after posting. hopefully i'll see more soon.

a few interesting topics came up so i thought i would chime in. :) i rarely make it over here. sorry about that! life keeps me busy these days. ;)

ttc: hell to the no! not after dealing with my precious baby waking up every 1.5 - 2 hours this last week. who knows what it could mean. i rarely know and it's usually in hindsight that i figure these things out. could be teething but aiden didn't get his 1st until 6 months. it has been awful trying to function on little to no sleep for over a week. i'm def feeling it today! ugh!

graham is 5 months old today ... we are going to start trying to sleep train with the hopes it doesn't keep our 2 year old awake at night. sorry to say, but i am also glad to see i'm not the only one dealing with the sleep issues. i thought for sure i would log on to hear about all these babies STTN. lol!

rolling: graham's been rolling for a few months and during the last 2 weeks has been getting his knees up under himself, as well. we'll see when the real crawling begins. he's not sitting up yet but does enjoy sitting in his bumbo seat.

loves the exersaucer! we will try the jumperoo after christmas (when we have more room in the house and the tree is gone). he loves music and ADORES his big brother. anything aiden does makes him belly laugh. it's sweet!

still BFing 100%. we tried a bit of rice cereal tonight b/c he's had a HUGE interest in watching us eat. after about 5 bites, he wasn't so interested anymore. however, he was pretty tired when we tried. we didn't start aiden until he was 6 months, but thought we'd give it a whirl since he's been eyeing our food...that was our 1st sign aiden was ready. who knows, maybe we'll hold off again. we'll see how he reacts to this first try and then decide.

i do have pics but it's tough posting here right now = limited time to upload pics with these 2 boys in the house. :) will try to get back here after christmas with some eye candy for all of you. he is so darn cute!!! i have to share...

ok, merry christmas everyone!!!

[Soulmate]

emmjay I'm so glad he was able to make it home for xmas!

So at 6:30am DS projectile pooped on me :eek: He had some diarrhea yesterday and this morning I guess it came to an explosive conclusion. I was not happy but he sure felt better!

His 3rd tooth is surfacing and his 4th is not far behind. I am assuming this is why he hasn't eaten more than 20ozs/day for the past few days. He did this last time and I freaked out so now I'm just quietly worried but he is getting plenty of wet diapers and besides a dry looking lip has no signs of dehydration.

We also switched him from Pepcid to Prevacid because I couldn't tell if his symptoms were AR or teething. I think it was a bit of both.

[maybebaby]

We had our first meal today...rice cereal!!

I feel glad others are struggling with sleep too...we're like two steps forward, one back here...A was up every hour last night ...no idea why. Maybe teething or indigestion. Some nights she STTN but not most. Argh.

Happy holidays to those who celebrate!

[nuhmah]

Happy Holidays!!

We tried bananas with JJ the other day and he didn't seem to care for them - he actually yakked up all he had eated along with the water he had drank from his sippy cup. So this morning, I put a piece of banana in the mesh feeder things, and he LOVED it! He finished the whole thing and seemed to want some more. :)

My parents got JJ a Radio Flyer Wagon - it has 2 seats, and is plastic so it can be used outside really easily. I can't wait to use it!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/102_4948.jpg?t=1167077480

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/thaisa47/Jamie%20Christmas%20Pics/102_4953.jpg?t=1167077503

[maybebaby]

Such cute pics.

BTW, I have a LOT of enfamil coupons and checks. Anyone want them? Some are only good at Safeway. I'd love to trade for Similac but I'll also give them away. PM me with an address if you want them.

[Mystikal]

I hope everyone had a good Christmas with their new babies! DD gave DH and I the best Christmas present ever on Saturday when she rolled over not once, not twice, but FOUR times!! She had never rolled over before and she rolled from her back to front, then immediately to her back again, and she rolled two times after that! :D It only took her six months, but she finally did it! :D
She has her six month appt Thursday so we'll see how much she's grown. :)

[ShelbyMay]

Overall, we had a nice Christmas, but stressful. DD got one good nap this morning (while we were still at home) of about 90 minutes. Between 11am and 7:30pm, I think she napped a total of 30 minutes. And that was 2 separate naps. I am actually pretty ticked at my inlaws because they are not willing to quiet down even a little bit so DD can get a nap at their house. They yell across the house while I am trying to get her to sleep, and then they demand to know why she's "so fussy" when she's gone several hours without a decent nap! :mad: We are at their house for a few hours every weekend, and it is always like this. Then she sleeps like crap that night, too. I am getting so fed up with it.

solids: DD had applesauce mixed with banana last night and GOBBLED it down. It was the first time she has actually "asked" for more when I didn't get her bite ready quickly enough!

[Amaye]

Happy Holidays!! Hope everyone had a great time.

We went up to my MIL's place on Friday and came back yesterday. It was pretty relaxing and mellow. We pretty much stayed home the whole time except for going to church. We did a marathon session of watching Season 1 of 24. M got spoiled by Grandma and Aunt and all in all seemed to have a great time.

<Rant coming>

I love my MIL - we get along great but there were times I was ready to start yelling. The biggest issue was sleep. M needs to have her 2 naps a day and go to bed on time however MIL seemed to think that because it was christmas, her schedule doesn't need to apply. Aahh..no! She is a baby and needs enough rest. ARRGGHHHH! :mad: It all started once we got up there around 730pm. We got there, she played with Mia and then I put her to bed as it was way past her bedtime. I got the speech of "oh, she just got here, i haven't seen here, blah blah blah" Lady - we are here for 4 days, you will see her. I kept on getting comments about "forcing" her to nap, etc. I decided to relax a little and just let M stay up a bit. BAD MOVE. By monday night, she was all cranky and had a meltdown night. Yes - a meltdown night where she was up every 1.5hrs yelling and crying. She was exhausted but couldn't sleep. I wanted to yell - See what I mean?? However, it was also my fault - All I know is that it will never happen again.

Let's not get into the whole giving her water thing. She gave Mia water without telling me and when I told her I wasn't giving her water yet, I got a lecture about how she gave her babies water and how she needed it, blah blah blah. Oh and the best part was that she gave her Avian water which has minerals added to the water. I told her that WHEN I start to give her water, I will avoid flouride as the AAP said that floride was not good for babies. Well, here came another talk about how she gave her babies flouride and how l should ignore those things - common sense is better. Nice for you - it was over 20yrs ago, guidelines do change!! UGH!! I just walked out of the room cos I was about to explode.

One last thing - the hogging of the baby. I don't mind giving Mia up but for her first christmas, can I please hold my baby and open her gifts??? After I opened 2 gifts with Mia, she took her and that was it - she had to have 20million pics with her opening all of Mia's gifts. After some time, I went and grabbed the baby.

I usually get along very well with my MIL but this weekend, it just was not working well. I just felt like everything I would say was challanged. I will not parent the way she did - she is her own person and I am mine and FYI, Mia is MY baby not yours.

Ok....all done! LOL!! Sorry but I had been holding back for 5days and there is no one to rant too.

[klav]

Amaye I totally understand although with me it's my own mother.. she say's one thing and I say another.. so I hope mostly she will listen to me? but when Liam is alone with her who know's! but so far my mom has been good. I hope you got some nice shot's of you and Mia opening presents.. How did she react to the whole present thing? mine just started to suck on the paper!!LOL

[Amaye]

I got one or 2 pics with her. Mia did the same thing - she just grabbed the wrapping paper and tried to eat it...it was hysterical. She banged on some of the gifts and then tried to put them in her mouth. So cute!

[Wrighty26]

Amaye - I totally understand your vent. My step-mother in law drives me nutso when it comes to Braeden. She has a 9 year old son and thinks she "just" experienced some of the stuff we are now going through. Little does she know that a lot of what a lot of AAP recommendations have actually changed in the past 9 years! When she tells me about how her son's first solids was ice cream it makes me want to cringe. I can't control what goes on when I'm not with him, but hope she keeps my boy away from anything dairy-related for right now! On top of all that, her son is SO obnoxious and rude. I truly hope that Braeden is more respectful and thoughtful of others when he is that age! I could really go on and on about this :)

Christmas - Braeden's 1st Christmas was a success, though pretty insane! I need a vacation now. He too LOVED sticking wrapping paper in his mouth. Even when it tasted disgusting, he put it back in! People went a little overboard in the gift department - but he got a lot of 6-months and up toys, which he didn't have. I love that our babies are spaced out perfectly so that they pretty much get gifts/ new toys every 6 months!

Anyone doing anything fun for New Years? I'm a little torn. We were invited to a few parties, which sound really fun, but at the same time I kinda want to celebrate the new year at home with my boys. Of course, we would have to find someone to watch Braeden and that may be a little tricky. We are celebrating our anniversary tomorrow (it's today) so we already have my MIL/SIL coming over to watch him then. I would hate for that to be our excuse - although it's a good one :D

[lindybug]

Wrighty ~ Happy Anniversary!

Sorry I have been MIA lately... Been lurking more than posting. Things with DS are great though. This is such a fun age! He is constantly smiling and laughing.

Case in point, here's a video of him last week, getting hysterical over a little Santa toy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDbH4f2cShI

We started him on solids a few weeks ago (per the ped's advice, to help with his weight gain) and he is LOVING it! So far, he's had rice cereal, pumpkin, apples, peas, oatmeal, bananas, pears, peaches, and sweet potato. It's really helping him pack on some extra weight too, which is good. He had dropped completely off the charts there for a bit.

Oh, and he cut his first tooth today! My little boy is growing up.

Sleep is still a work in progress. His schedule has been completely thrown off because of the holidays. We've had a few very bad nights (but this could have been due to the teething as well). The last 2 nights he has only gotten up once though, so that is good. We try to put him down between 6 and 7pm, and he usually is up for the day around 6am.

Christmas was so much fun. Of course he was completely spoiled by his grandparents, friends, family, and US. Some of the loot:

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00005BHK9.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V41396853_.jpg

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000EULXA2.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V64250864_.jpg

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000068P9S.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V59942571_.jpg

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00009XZTK.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V59942586_.jpg

Not to mention tons of clothes!

See all you mamas and babies in the new year...

[Soulmate]

I hope everyone had a great holiday. It seems to be a theme about family members not really understanding that these are babies and need some down time.

Lindybug How cute that your DS found the santa so amusing. DH shined a small flashlight on the wall and DS was totally amused. It was like he was a cat! Has your DS tried that drum toy yet? DS is totally in love with our water cooler and I thought he would like a drum like that one.

teething Logan cut his top two teeth over the holiday so now he has the top two and the bottom two. Guess what he started doing today? Grinding his teeth! :mad: It is the most horrid sound...argh!

nodding Has anyone else's DCs started nodding up and down. DS started to do this the other day and it is so cute. We'll say, "do you love mommy?" and he'll nod. He seems to be very proud of himself too.

[klav]

Lindy Bug We got the same animal train too!! looks like you got alot of loot

anyone do research on a car seat that's for when our little ones get bigger but still need to be rear facing?

[nuhmah]

klav - we never did the bucket/infant seat, but got the Britax Decathlon (5-65 pounds) and we LOVE it. I definitely recommend the Britax seats. My parents bought a seat for their car, and I can really tell the difference between the two - the Britax is so easy to use, the straps don't twist up or get "caught", and the padding and cover are very plush and comfy for DS.

wrighty - Happy Anniversary! Mine was last week... it is a fun time of year to have an anniversary/wedding.

[Soulmate]

klav I second the Britax seats. They are the most expensive but are also the safest and better made seats. We have the Roundabout. The carseat is the one item I don't mind paying a lot of $$ on.

Speaking of carseats...a PSA (have a tissue handy :( ) Importance of a 5-point harness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ)

[ShelbyMay]

carseat: We have the Britax Roundabout for when she moves up. Still in the Snugride (hopefully) until she can sit up on her own. She's only about 15 pounds, and has a good 3 inches of headroom, so I think we have plenty of time.

sleep: We've been in sleep h*ll this week. Last night was probably the worst it has been since she was born -- I stopped counting after the 7th time she woke up crying. I don't know if something is actually wrong or if she's just working the system since we indulged her so much while she was sick. My mom suggested that we turn off the baby monitor since DD's room is right across the hall... Her reasoning was that we could sleep through the mild fussing and middle-of-the-night babbling, but would still wake up if she really needs us. I am considering it, but for some reason feel like a "good" mommy should hear every noise her baby makes in the night. But I need to sleep, too! I don't know... I also worry that we are so sleep-deprived that we might sleep through the actual crying, too. :(

[mia's mama]

Happy Holidays! Our XMAS was SUPER busy, but fun...the kids made out like bandits - including several LARGE toys which should be interesting, considering we are putting our house on the market next month and will need to put alot of these things away for a while. :rolleyes:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/337044109_6596d8e36a_m.jpg

carseats- we have a Britax Marathon in my car for DD and I just ordered another for J...he is so ready to get out of his infant seat. We also have a Britax Roundabout in DH's car- I love both the marathon and roundabout and recommend them highly! Isn't that carseat PSA heartbreaking, soulmate? I watched it a few weeks ago and forwarded it to every monther I know.

We're STILL in sleep hell here and it only seems to be getting worse. This morning at 3:30am I finally put J in his swing in the family room and went back to bed...he slept until 7am which is the longest stretch he's done in weeks. I agree with your mom, shelby. You'll totally hear your DD if she really freaks out and it will be good for both of you if she can get herself back to sleep after some mild whimpers...that's why I put J in the family room last night. I was ready to lose it.

Sitting up- all of a sudden J is sitting up for 2-3 minutes at a time all by himself! He's also pulling his kness up when on his tummy and can support himself on his hands & knees if I help him get into position...he wasn't doing any of those things last week!

Solids- We just introduced them last week and have had mixed reviews...he sort of likes the sweet potatos, but will only take a few bites and is done (which is fine...I'm in no rush). Then we tried bananas and holy cow, he WOLFED them down. The problem is that a few hours later he projectile puked them up all over SIL and the table in the middle of a restaurant...it was accompanied by a TON of breastmilk...poor guy. I think I totally engorged him. :( We're staying away from bababas for a while though...just in case. It's funny how things change once you're a mom though...I was so not embarrassed that there was baby puke all over the table (though I did feel bad for my sweet SIL, who was prety soaked) and just felt terrible for my little guy!

[MMK]

carseats: wow, that story was heartbreaking. I was holding ds while I was watching it and seriously just held onto him and cried the whole time.
At some point this weekend we're going to switch out our peg and put in our Britax. I'm actually not even sure which one it is...the one with the higher weight limit I think. Drew is SO ready to get out of the infant seat as his head is almost level with cushiony part. I'd been holding off because I really like the convenience of plopping the seat in shopping carts but last night I sat him up in one and he did fine.....he's becoming such a big boy I can hardly stand it!!!!

sleep: we've also been struggling with sleep the past several nights (worse than usual). He's cut his two bottom teeth however so I'm hoping that's been the cause.

Lot's of anniversaries around here! Our 3 year was the 27th. We did nothing but are hoping to go out this weekend for a "grown-up" dinner.

christmas: lots of fun and way too much stuff. We spent the day with sil/bil and their two girls who are 2 and 3. Kids definitely make Christmas way more fun. It was so cool to watch the girls come down all sleepy eyed in the morning and just lose their minds because santa really came!

[Wrighty26]

Happy Anniversary Nuhmah and MMK! -- I was actually thinking that you guys also were celebrating this month. Wasn't there one more?? This year has definitely been low-key (not that last year was a real party -- although I did hear my sweet boy's heartbeat for the first time), although I'm looking forward to our "grown-up" dinner (hee) tonight!! Next year is 5 years and we're planning a big trip. I can't wait!

Carseat - We have a Britax Roundabout for our Jeep. I need to buy another smaller one for our Honda though. I'm thinking about getting a Triumph - I've read good things about it. I also read that the Fisher-Price Safe Voyage Deluxe Convertible Car Seat is the same model as the Britax Marathon (I think it's the Marathon), but it's not as plush and cushy. Still not a bad option if you don't want to splurge for the Britax. We haven't switched him yet, but will probably do so in a month. I'm very surprised that the snugride has lasted us this long! I'm glad they up'd their standards last year.

Sleep - There's something in the air because Braeden has been waking up several times during the night. He usually eats and then goes right back to sleep without a hitch, so it makes me think that he's having his 6-month growth spurt. He could also be teething, but I think I'm going to think THAT for a while since there are no teeth to be found! All I know is that I am TIRED. I keep wondering how I survived those first few weeks....although I guess I didn't have to get up and go to work!

Food - It's weird, some days B will be ALL about eating solids and then other days he could care less - and we're talking foods he likes. I don't force it - I know he'll eat when he's ready. He doesn't really like it when I feed him though. He gets very distracted when I try to feed him, but as I give the reigns to someone else he eats with no problem!

Lindybug - Good to see you in here! That video is SOOOOO cute :) Ryan is such a sweet boy. The toys he got look fun - definitely let us know how he likes that drum. While it might drive me nuts, I think it's a great idea.

Mia's Mama - J is so cute! Good luck putting your house on the market. You're moving back to MA, right?

New tricks - Braeden isn't nodding, but he does pop his mouth. It's SOOO cute. He does it when you talk to him (and kinda whispers in babble at the same time) and then he does it back when you pop your mouth. I'll have to get it on video because I can't really describe it - but cracks me and my DH up.

I'll probably be back in here before Sunday - but if not, Happy New Year mommies!!

[Lizard]

Lindy Bug We got the same animal train too!!

So did we! DD loves it, she's already figured out how to press the bottom of the first car so it plays songs. That impressed the heck out of me. :)

DD made out like a bandit... we didn't buy her much but the in-laws sure did. And we haven't even had Christmas with MY side yet... that is next weekend. I definitely need to start looking for toy chests or baskets or something.

Car seats - We were planning on buying a Britax after the holidays, but when we mentioned it at Xmas BIL said we could have their old one! I'm thrilled about that because those seats are $$$!! Plus, they JUST moved their daughter out of it and she's 4 years old, so it'll last for a long time. One thing we have to buy is a new cover for it, they said theirs is trashed. Luckily there are cute ones on eBay. :D

Solids - are going very well. We moved to 2 meals a day over the holiday, and she's eaten all of the "stage 1" foods except for squash (I keep forgetting to pick one up, or pick up a jar). I also need to get an avocado. So far, her two most favorite foods are bananas and prunes. PRUNES! Ugh. We also tried oatmeal for the first time this week, and she seemed OK with it.

My little girl is 6 months old today. This is the day that I had in my head for a long time, because every time I thought of the holidays with her I thought about how she'd be this age. I also wondered how she'd be interacting, what she'd look like, etc. It's so weird for the day to be here already!

Here's a new picture. She still looks like an exact combo of myself and DH, it's so weird.

http://members.cox.net/lcruver/122806-1.jpg

We also caught a pout on camera:

http://members.cox.net/lcruver/122706-6.jpg

[klav]

we have a new hat!!
we did a little after christmas shopping and got a few deals!!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/klynch/liam/DSC04510.jpg
l\

Liams apt. went well this afternoon he's 17 pds and 28 inches long got all his shots which I thought thry would skip due to his cold but they said it was fine to give them we do have an issue with his peepee... I guess he did not get such a good cercumcision(spelling) so we have to see an urologist. unless we can correct it our slves so we will see what happens until the date of the apt. in jan.
other than that things are good!!!
food wise he's been ok we just tried oatmeal tonight but he was not interested in eating tonight? so we'll see he's so far he's had rice cereal, peaches, pears and apple sauce we did try butter nut but no go. so we'll tryagain later down the road!

[mrst2b2003]

Klav-Hope Liam's problem is fixed on it's own and you don't have to do any medical procedures. Keeping my fingers crossed for you:)



Very cute hat:)

We bought the same one


http://www.dropshots.com/photos/157493/20061229/r90_203134.jpg

[maybebaby]

hmm...we're in sleep hell too...is it the age? could it be teething? i've been resorting to letting her sleep in the swing just so we can get a few zzzs. ordered a bunch of sleep books.

back to work in two weeks for me...

[klav]

mrst2b2003 Thank you I do hope it does correct itself. I love that Hat it's too cute!!! your son looks adorable in it as well!!

maybebaby hoping your sleeping goes better Liam keeps getting extreemly painful gas in the middle of the night that wakes him up with screaming. so hopeing he'll get out of that cycle some time soon it's not everynight so I have no idea what it's from food or BM?

[nuhmah]

sleep hell - well, we are all nearing the 6th month growth spurt, so along with teething I am sure that is what is causing many of our problems.

We are starting to make the transition from co-sleeping to not. :( I don't know who this is harder on; me or him. ;) He has been sleeping in his pack-n-play on the other side of the room, which has been weird for me. I am used to having him right next to me to either nurse zombie-like or lying down. When we head back home to Portland next month, we are planning to let him start sleeping in his crib - I guess this means I should actually set it up and begin thinking about bedding, huh?

We went and had more pictures taken at JCPenney's - we all wore white button down shirts and jeans, and had a white background. They look so cute - I can't wait to get them soon! I found some online coupons that gave us a free 8x10, and $3.99 sheets (instead of $5.99). I love a deal.

[Mystikal]

Julia had her six month appt on Thursday. She weighed in at 17.7 pounds and was 26.5 inches long. 75% for both. :) She's sitting up regularly now and she loves it. My dad seems to think she'll start crawling soon because she's constantly leaning on her hands. I think it will be awhile still.

We were supposed to get six month pictures taken yesterday, but she came down with her first bad cold and is so stuffy and miserable that we decided to postpone until next weekend.

DH got a promotion at work and he's no longer working 14 hours a day. Instead he works third shift so I'm home alone with DD overnight and in the mornings. He is sleeping now and Jules is napping so I thought I'd come update since I had a minute.

Hope everyone has a happy new year!

[Wrighty26]

Lizard - Dorla is just too cute for words! I love the pout :)

klav - OMG, I love that hat!! Liam looks like he's saying "Meh - get it off me" LOL. Sorry about the circ issue - I hope it heals on it's own too! I have a feeling we will be seeing a urologist for Braeden too - not for a circ issue, but he still has that hydrocele. Fun stuff :rolleyes:

mrst - Avery looks so cute in that hat too! I love that face he's got going on. Love those cheeks!

Nuhmah - I definitely think you're right about the sleep issues! Yay for more pictures. They sound cute :) I'm hoping that we can do something like that in the summer at the beach. Sorry to hear you're sad about ending cosleeping. B was only 6 weeks when we switched, so I think it made is a little easier, but it was still tough. I STILL wake up sometimes and thing he's in bed with us! It freaks my DH out. Good luck finding bedding. I'm sure you can get some good prices right now!

Braeden woke up 4 times last night - he hasn't done that since he was a newborn! Sure enough, this morning I felt his gums and there is definitely a tooth about to pop through! DH tried to give him his pacifier, but he wanted to eat - so not only is he teething, but he's a hungry guy!

He has been napping like a champ though - and he's on a schedule! He wakes at 7, naps from 9-11 (sometimes longer), stays awake for 2 hours and then naps again. That 3rd (and 4th) nap is gone! It's great because I can actually do some work (during the week) in the afternoon when he is sleeping (and not feel guilty about it) and then when he wakes up we have a lot of time to play/run errands/go on a walk before bedtime.

I have this feeling that a lot of "new" things are going to happen all at once around here. He's really close to sitting up on his own, AND getting up on his knees. Right now though, I think he is focusing on his verbal development (don't boys usually focus on their motor skills first?)--- yesterday he just started babbling non-stop. It's bababamamamdadada all day long -- and when he's not saying anything, he's moving his mouth! It's so amazing how one day something just clicks.

Wow - this post is really random - once again, I hope everyone has a great 2007!

[nuhmah]

It is amazing how one day everything clicks - the babbling has been happening full force. Most days he is "singing" (and has started matching pitch when I am playing with him), but he has started in with gagagaga and looloolooloo all of a sudden. :D And all of a sudden he is lurching for toys (and discovering the dog's toys nearby, too).

[lindybug]

klav and mrst ~ We have the same hat!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y43/lindybug/186702464403_0_ALB.jpg

Happy new year all!

[ShelbyMay]

toy recommendation: We got these for DD and she really likes them -- just the right size for little hands, make interesting noises, and get her moving when they start to roll away:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y55/trillian3/roll.jpg

Roll a Rounds (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265222&cp=&f=Taxonomy%2FTRUS%2F2254197&origkw=peek+a+blocks&kw=peek+a+blocks&parentPage=search)

[Soulmate]

Ugh! Seeing all the pictures of our little guys makes me realize that our babies are growing up! Seeing them all progress from wiggly little newborns to such maturing faces makes it all so real! I am still in awe that I am a mommy...let alone a mommy to a quickly growing little guy!

New Years is a much bigger holiday to me than xmas (which will change now that DS is here). I get a bit depressed if we are just sitting at home alone unless we need the time to relax. It is not about the "party" at all but about appreciating what you have going into the new year, getting rid of what you don't need, and looking forward to new beginnings. I am really superstitious and feel that who you are with at midnight is who you'll be with in the new year. I make sure no one I don't like is with me and that DH *must* be there. So sometimes if it is just the two of us I'll get a little down because it will feel a little lonely. So we had a couple of friends over for a very low key get together. DS woke up naturally to eat around 11:15 and we kept him up until midnight so we could celebrate together. God I appreciate that he is in my life after I worked so hard to bring him here. It just makes me so incredibly happy.

Sleep DS' sleep has been sucking big time except for last night (I think he was just plain tuckered out). Teething, growth spurt and AR is not a fun combo. But when he would wake up I would give him Gentle Naturals teething liquid and he would go right back to sleep. We are seriously getting NO break from the teething. He gets two at a time and as soon as one set comes in he is back to drooling like a st. bernard. Maybe that means that he'll get it over with quickly.

wrighty and nuhmah It is crazy how things will happen all at once. DS takes a break for a while and then in one week have a developmental explosion. During those breaks I get a little worried that he is behind but then he ends up with all the skills he needs and on time.

toy recommendations Can you guys give reviews on the toys your DCs got for xmas? DS got a few but my ILs gave cash so I wanted to get him a couple of new toys but don't want to buy duds. Here is what DS got...

Drop and Roar Dinosaur

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2786393reg.jpg

Review It is ok. DS likes the rolly balls more than anything and likes playing with the head and butterfly on the tail. I'm sure he is just too young but even then it seems a little dull.

Laugh and Learn Learning Puppy

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2789246reg.jpg

Review DS likes this one much better and always smiles when the puppy says something. It is very comprehensive and sings traditional songs, body parts, alphabet, numbers, colors, etc. DS doesn't initiate interacting with it just yet but it is definitely worth the money.

FPs Rainforest Jumperoo

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/02/70/84/42/0002708442740_AV2_500X500.jpg

Review I liked this one because it seemed to have so much more to it than other jumperoos. DS gets bored easily. Pros: DS really likes it and it will calm him down immediately. Cons: The music is SUPER annoying and goes off with just the slightest movement. DS still doesn't have the jumping movement down but he still really really likes it.

I hope everyone had a great and safe New Years!!

[klav]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/klynch/liam/DSC04573.jpg

SHELBY i GOT A BUCNCH OF THOSE roll around balls, Liam Loves them!!
Soulmate I got an awsome deal on that dinasaur the other day It was a display in he BRU near us they had put in on a clearance table I think by mistake with a few other toys and I got it for a whopping 14.98!!! it did not have the 4 rolly balls that came with it but we had them anyway so I figured why not!! I'm saving it for his birthday in June... He's got so much right now...
I saw that jumper in BRU when I was there yesterday They did not have that one when we got ours we have the baby Enstine one and Liam loves it! It's got alot to play with and intertain himself with. Liam Loves it I'm not sure like you said that he gets the jumping part but what I like about this one is you can adjust it for when he gets bigger does the rainforest do that?

[Abby'sMom]

Happy New Year!

As usual, just have a sec, but I have to comment on the Learning Puppy.... sorry, but that thing annoys the crap out of me. Someone gave it to DD for her first birthday, and the darn thing is incredibly annoying. Hopefully they've fixed some of the flaws with it (way too loud and no volume control, too easy to turn on and off, one tune doesn't have to finish completely before another can begin), otherwise I can't recommend it. We've had it for over a year, and although DD loves it and it's cute, it's one of those toys that can really make you want to pull your hair out once your DC figures out how to make it 'go' on its own. Just my 2 cents.

[Wrighty26]

klav and soulmate - Your boys are going to go nuts in their jumperoos once they learn how to jump in them! It's so funny to watch Braeden jump. He absolutely loves being in in. He gets mad when we take him out (I try to make sure he's not in it for too long). He also tries to jump when he's in his exersaucer and it pisses him off that it doesn't! I wish they had the FP Rainforest Jumperoo when we bought our! My only complaint with the one we have now is that there aren't a lot of "toys" on it-- and the song drives me nuts. :)

Toy recommendation -

We also go the Drop and Roar Dinosaur. I haven't tested it out yet. I've really only test out 2 toys (and both from Leap Frog-- I'm really pleased with their quality so far).

LeapFrog Discovery Ball
http://www.leapfrog.com/media/lf_phase_2/product/15discoveryball1_v1_m56577569830495272.jpg

Little ones have a ball as they spin, bat, roll and learn.

Babies press any letter on the ball to hear the letter name, letter sound or one of 26 classic tunes. Then they spin or roll the ball to hear the "ABC" song, or one of three other melodies, while twinkling lights flash to the beat. The music stops when the ball stops, encouraging your little one to spin or roll again and again.

Infants spin the Discovery Ball in its base; toddlers detach the ball for roll-around fun.


What it Teaches
Letter names
Letter sounds
Musical awareness
Motor skills

So far Braeden just stares at it, but I think it's going to be really fun for him once he gets a little older.

We also received a Hug and Learn Baby Tad:
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00005BHK7.01._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V65929725_.jpg

So far so good! I like that it plays lullabys for up to 6 minutes -- so it could potentially be a good bedtime toy.

There were some other toys we received - but I haven't opened them yet. I'll definitely give my review when I do though!

[Lizard]

Someone got DD the Learning Puppy too, and so far she's afraid of it! It's made her cry twice, so right now it's sitting in a box so she can't see it. :)

Let's see, reviews. I can do a couple right now:

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000EULXA2.01-A3T7DP7IJ54S2Q._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_V36686554_.jpg

Fisher Price Amazing Animals Train - a big hit! She loves holding the small animals that come with it, and bats at the spinning leaves on the train. She also has figured out how to make it play songs. It's really cool and will last her for a long time.

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00008ZCGH.01-A23NLORBGXOLEO._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Little Einstein Color Blocks - Another big hit. She loves picking these up and feeling them. She also got a different set of blocks that are similar but another brand, so she has plenty of stacking toys now. :) The yellow block quacks like a duck, which is kinda cute.

Wrighty - I love that LeapFrog ball... I buy it as a gift for kids all the time. :) I believe Grandma bought one for DD, but we haven't had Xmas on my side yet so she hasn't seen it.

[Soulmate]

As usual, just have a sec, but I have to comment on the Learning Puppy.... sorry, but that thing annoys the crap out of me. Someone gave it to DD for her first birthday, and the darn thing is incredibly annoying. Hopefully they've fixed some of the flaws with it (way too loud and no volume control, too easy to turn on and off, one tune doesn't have to finish completely before another can begin), otherwise I can't recommend it. We've had it for over a year, and although DD loves it and it's cute, it's one of those toys that can really make you want to pull your hair out once your DC figures out how to make it 'go' on its own. Just my 2 cents.The volume does not seem too loud and now they have a switch in the back (unvelcro the "jacket" where the battery pack is) with on/off and volume control. But I think the tunes do not finish now either. I guess the point of it is moot if the education songs never finish! ;)

Soulmate I got an awsome deal on that dinasaur the other day It was a display in he BRU near us they had put in on a clearance table I think by mistake with a few other toys and I got it for a whopping 14.98!!! it did not have the 4 rolly balls that came with it but we had them anyway so I figured why not!! I'm saving it for his birthday in June... He's got so much right now...
I saw that jumper in BRU when I was there yesterday They did not have that one when we got ours we have the baby Enstine one and Liam loves it! It's got alot to play with and intertain himself with. Liam Loves it I'm not sure like you said that he gets the jumping part but what I like about this one is you can adjust it for when he gets bigger does the rainforest do that?What a great deal on the dinosaur! Yes, the rainforest has 3 height adjustments. Right now 1 is too low but 2 is just a wee bit too high. He seems to love it regardless :D

[Abby'sMom]

Oh good, I'm so glad they made changes! The version we have is awful. :)

[mrst2b2003]

it's funny to see that we all bought or received the same toys for our little ones. Avery has all the toys mentioned and I agree with all the reviews. I think he will like them a lot better when he can move around better on his own right now he can sit on his own unassisted for a few minutes but once his head starts going in one direction it is all over!!! lol he is definately top heavy.


he's a cute one of him at x-mas in his activity center.....we call it his "office" When ever we put him in it, he looks like he is working so we tell him that he is going to his office to work after breakfast...we get a good laugh out if it!


http://www.dropshots.com/photos/157493/20070101/184742.jpg

[ShelbyMay]

SHE'S SITTING UP!!! :D

It was like everyone told me it would be -- she didnt seem like she was anywhere near ready, but then tonight I was sitting behind her to prop her up while she looked at a toy, and I decided to let go for a second just to see what happened. Well, what happened is that she just kept sitting there!

She can't stay up for more than a few seconds so far, but it is the cutest thing!

toys:

DD has the FP Jumperoo and mostly just stands there like a deer in headlights. Then we put her in the exersaucer and she gets totally active. I don't know what the deal is! :rolleyes:

She also has a triangular plastic rattle that lights up and plays music -- I think it's from Target. She likes this one.

She got the Baby Tad for Christmas, but is not interested so far.

The exersaucer and the gymini are still her favorites, but hopefully she will grow into the other toys as time goes on.

[makena32204]

She also has a triangular plastic rattle that lights up and plays music -- I think it's from Target. She likes this one.

DD has one of these. We got it at Pottery Barn Kids. It's hilarious when she puts the lighted part into her mouth.

DD also has the baby einstein exersaucer/jumperoo thing. She LOVES it....hence, I do too! :D

I was hoping that we'd get some toys for Christmas that she could sit up and play with, but we really didnt. I'm thinking about getting her the dinosaur toy, but I havent decided yet. If I could find the same deal as klav, I'd definitely buy it!

DD got the Leap Frog Discovery Ball from her grandparents. Right now, she just stares at it when we play w/ it, but I think she'll get a lot of use out of it in the future.

We bought DD the Leap Frog music table. She's a little young, but it's not like she was asking for Christmas presents - so we bought stuff she would use in the future. We will hold it w/out the legs and play w/ it w/ her. She likes it, but once again, i think it will be used more in the future - like when she can stand at it.

[Lizard]

Just a quick post, DD had her 6 month WBV this morning.

15lbs 5oz (40%)
27 inches (90%)

Her height has stayed on the 90% curve, but her weight % has steadily dropped from 90% at 2 months and 60% at 4 months. Her ped recommended we give her 2 good solid meals a day now, to help get her back into a curve. She also got her regular shots and a flu shot.

I am SICK and we're supposed to leave Thursday on a flight to Wisconsin to visit my family. :( Luckily DD hasn't gotten it, and I hope she doesn't.

[klav]

WOoo Hooo Lizard!!! good for her!
hope DD does not get sick!

[maybebaby]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1/mrsfromage/CIMG2800.jpg?t=1167778916

Happy New Year to all!

[rande]

Quick post:

Makena: We love the Leapfrog table. That is an excellent toy!!!!! I think that it helped my son stand and walk early. He would pull himself up to play and was walking at 10 months. Plus, he still goes into Olivia's closet to play with it now!!!!!!

I am also a big fan of the exersaucer. It sure comes in handy since I can't put Olivia on the ground as her brother would squash her!!!!! Oh, anyone else's baby constantly rolling around in the crib and then getting frustrated and shrieking when they get caught on the sides????? We can't get her to sleep in there at all. She is still in her swing, unfortunately!!!!

[klav]

maybebaby too cute!

[emmjay]

Thanks, everyone, for the toy reviews - I got the Baby Einstein blocks yesterday and I'm going to try to find a Target with a Jumperoo (I have a Target gift card).

I have spent the past 10 days transitioning DS from being swaddled in the carseat to being unswaddled in the crib for sleeping. He used to sleep in his crib until he caught a cold at 2 months and the ped said to put him in the carseat due to the congestion. Then he wouldn't sleep anywhere else! :rolleyes:

The main problem is that he is constantly rolling all over the place and he doesn't like to sleep on his stomach! He was rolling over while swaddled, while in a Moses basket, even while in his carseat - last night I set up his crib with a wedge to keep him from rolling over along with one of those u-shaped head cushions for a carseat. He slept for 3 hrs straight, then I tried to get him back to sleep for 1.5 hrs, then I gave up and put him in the carseat in our room (so I would be right there if he tried to roll over). He took a nap today in the crib. I'm just going to keep putting him in there and eventually he'll get used to it. Kind of sucks when I'm used to him STTN, but I really want to get him into the crib! Oh, and the swaddle is completely gone. I was more worried about that because when he rolled over while swaddled he couldn't pick up his head as well.

Besides that, he is just a rolling fool! :D He rolls to his left from back to tummy to back again, and today he started rolling to the right. And he is sitting for a few seconds at a time. And lots of babbling, which is hilarious.

ETA - Wrighty - thanks for the comments in the sleep thread! He has taken a couple of longer naps so maybe he is transitioning to 2 naps gradually.

[Can't_Wait]

lindybug love that video!!

We had a good Christmas here... Isabella got some of the same toys mentioned already:

She likes the Jumparoo really well, she likes the learning puppy (although it is very sensitive & switches songs easily before one finishes but she doesn't mind it!), she likes the little toy that lights up & plays songs from Target & she too sucks on the lights.

We also got her this crib toy which she has started playing with some when she wakes up. I like that it is 2 sided & can be used as a table as well:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000HUCQ2I.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_V38759870_.jpg

We got her a bunch of books. She got a couple stuffed animals.

We got her this Leap Frog toy which can be used laying down or sitting up. It is okay. She is entertained by it for a little bit. Haven't tried it sitting up yet. There are different cards for different developmental stages. I bought it b/c I found it for 1/2 price.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007YDEW0.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_.jpg

We got her this stroller bar & she likes it well. Keeps her entertained in the stroller.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00009QMQZ.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_.jpg

She also got the LP caterpillar that plays songs, counts, & does colors. She likes it but can't push the buttons yet.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0001X0DQW.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_.jpg

DD was really fussy on Christmas eve & Christmas & then her 2 bottom teeth pushed all the way through. So I guess that was what was bothering her. It was tough to have to try to make her happy on Christmas! Definately a different type of Christmas for me this year!!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/344472457_bfbd417662.jpg?v=1167857178

She is still sitting up really well & won't fall down unless she gets distracted by something. But she does love to sit & play for long periods of time. She also reaches out far to get her toys & basically lays on her legs. Then she can sit herself back up from this position.

carseat We got the britax decathalon when dd was 10 wks b/c she hated the pp infant seat. She really likes this car seat now.

I am looking to buy a shopping cart cover soon & I cannot wait to start shopping w/ DD sitting up in the cart! It will make shopping trips so much easier!!! I think she'll like it too.

Is there anyone who wanted more than 1 child now reconsidering? I find myself thinking this way on some days... not b/c DD is a difficult child but b/c it would be tough w/ a baby & being pregnant & having a toddler & a baby. Also, I would hate to stop spending as much time w/ DD b/c of the 2nd child & I would hate that the 2nd child doesn't get as much attention as DD did as a baby. I don't know, I'm torn. I would hate to think that I would never get to experience pregnancy again & all the fun baby times. :( I guess I'll wait until DD is older to make the final decision... there isn't a rush to decide!

[nuhmah]

We had a couple of "miracles" happen tonight during bathtime that made me both happy and well up with tears at the same time.

Since we are visiting my parents, DS takes his bath in the big bathtub, but I lay him on a yellow foam pad that I got at Target - it essentially looks like this.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000G61XM2.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_V62603020_.jpg

I put a towel under the head part of it, and he kicks and kicks and LOVES it so much! He is almost bouyant while bathing, so tonight I had an idea. When the water only about 2" deep (while draining we continue to play and splash), I took out the mat and towel and flipped him over. He was a little freaked out at first, but he soon learned that he could almost float. He began kicking like a frog at first, but then started learning how to scoot himself around in the bathtub - all while keeping his head above water. After a minute or so, he was pretty much swimming. He was kicking his legs, moving his arms and doing things he has NEVER shown interest in doing before. :D He was reaching for toys, and he even pulled himself up onto his hands and knees to go after it when it got away from him.

He also put himself up onto his elbows to play with a toy (almost like a yoga position) - and he really, really liked it.

And I am really sad to say that he has been putting himself to sleep quite often. :( He still needs me to help him every now and then - I am quite happy and sad all at the same time. Our babies are growing up, and it is scaring the dickens out of me (at times ;) ).

can't_wait - I feel like this often. :) We are in a position right now where we are enjoying our little guy so much, we are considering being a one kid family. We know it isn't fair to our next DC to treat them any differently than this one, and we want to be the best parents we can be. We were planning to wait until Oct 2007 to TTC for #2, so we have time to reconsider, as well. :)

[mkvh]

Hey ladies! Glad that Christmas went well and that 2007 is treating you all well so far.

Toys:
We got the dinosaur as a gift a while back. Like a PP said, she likes the head and butterfly.

We got the Leapfrog table for Christmas, and she was so excited just by the box! She likes it and bangs on it already, though I doubt that she actually knows she's making it go.


Development:
We've been sitting up well for nearly a month; now she's lunging at things. And she gets up on her hands with her feet in "frog" position. It won't be long. She also can push herself up to a standing position if you hold her in certain positions (it's kinda hard to explain). She also is babbling like CRAZY and seems to be trying to attach sounds to things--she'll make lots of "dadada" sounds when DH or the dogs are in her line of sight. Also, when she's really hungry and mad that I'm not getting the bbs out fast enough, she will babble "bbbbbbb" over and over. BUT we STILL have not rolled from back to belly!

Fun/Firsts:
We took C swimming for the first time. She loves baths, so even though she wasn't feeling great, she really liked it! She wants to lay on her belly and dunk her face in the water. And she'll kick her little legs like a frog. I can't wait to do mom/baby swim lessons! They start this month!

We also were at the ped today, but not for our 6 month visit. C has a HORRIBLE cough and runny nose, and her chest is verrrrrry "rattly". So, they think that she has RSV! :eek: Fortunately, she only has a very low-grade fever, and her oxygen sat is great, so we just have to treat it like a cold. Not so much fun, but good news nonetheless.

[hokiegirlie]

I haven't caught up in here forever. Everyone's babies are getting so big. I can't believe we're hitting the 6-month mark soon. Matthew will be 6 months on friday.

Sitting up He's been sitting up for awhile and really likes playing sitting up. He's still not a big fan of tummytime and hasn't flipped from front to back yet....just from back to front, which then pisses him off b/c he can't get back.

Cold We have our first cold and it's miserable. He is SO stuffy and has a bad cough. I took him to the ped and everything checked out fine. He said he was too little to take anything so we're just waiting it out. This has caused him to be very very needy and his naps are crappy. We've been so lucky to have such a laid back baby and the last few days have been a little trying for me. I've been spoiled, I admit.

Toys We got that puppy, too, but we haven't used it yet. He got so much stuff for christmas, that it's just ridiculous. We got the baby einstein table, which he loves. He likes us tohold him in a standing position so that he can reach everything.

We got this Fisher Price piano, which is similar to the einstein table:
http://www.fisher-price.com/img/product_shots/J9163_b_2.jpg?1167878315888

He loves the little bird on ths, that says "hello Baby."
http://www.fisher-price.com/img/product_shots/H8757_b_1.jpg

The balls popping put him in a daze. The batteries run out really quick, though.
http://www.hasbro.com/common/images/products/061041ba8598_main200.jpg

He also got this playhouse/tent thing that has a door and all kinds of things hanging down inside. He thinks he's big stuff when we put him there. He has quite the little personality these days!

[mrst2b2003]

qotd- When your DC is sitting up on their own, Do you notice that the seem to spit up more? Avery seems to have started to spit up more frequently in the last month or so. Sometimes an hour or two after eating? Any thoughts on why this could be happening?

[klav]

hokiegirlie we got the same ball popper from relatives at Lima christeniing. he loves watching the balls too. they had that piano thing on the clearance table with the dino I bought I bet I could have gotten a deal on that one too but Liam has soo much stuff and a frind of ours gave us something simliar from Leapfrog :leapstages
http://www.leapfrog.com/media/lf_phase_2/product/15leapstages1_v1_m56577569830495676.jpg

Developement Liam has been sitting up on his own for about a week he's bee rolling over and all and proping him self up on all 4's he also started the rocking thing that they do to start to move but has not gotten the movement just yet. when he gets mad he lays on his tummy and scoots like to the side or just pivits around. kinda funny. I have not tried the frog thing in the tub will have to try that. This Am was the first ime in the tub since he's getting so big and I can't be washing him in the bathtub in the sink any more and the fact that he grabs everything!! So since NANa has left the sleeping has one back to his normal rotine so I think she was doing something when he was sleeping not sure if it was the fact there was some one else in the room or what? possibly because he was sick and had a slight ear infection? not sure but it seems to be back to normal.
Liam's appitie is also better he's eating a jar on food and some oatmeal. About how much should they be eating at this stage a jar or more a sitting? Liam eat's twice a day.
Liam also is getting mad when you take things away from him... until you distract him with something else.

Teething my ped also say when he startes to teeth... to use camomile tea or pellets. I found the pellets but I thin the are for older kids since they have to desolve under the tounge but did find teathing gel that has it in it at the natural food store and I got the concentrted camomile to ut on a rag for him to suck on. the ped said it would last longer than the orajel she said that it did not work so well so I figure why not try when it happens?

mrst2b2003 could DC be eating too much?

[Soulmate]

QOTD DS has been spitting up a bit more but it doesn't seem related to sitting up. Our ped said that AR symptoms (spitting up is technically AR and is called "silent AR" because they are not cranky) get worse when they start sitting up, rolling, and crawling just because of the body positioning.

Klav & Can't Wait We had received this

http://www.leapfrog.com/media/lf_phase_2/product/15leapstages1_v1_m56577569830495676.jpg

off of our registry. Honestly, I brought it to the consignment shop pretty much new. DS was extremely disinterested in it and it did not seem very comprehensive for how much room it took up. For example, all of Stage Two was just 3 body parts. I felt that he could learn more from something that wasn't so bulky (like from me & DH!).

Teething We use Gentle Naturals Teething Liquid (http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=153404&catid=26946&trx=PLST-0-SEARCH&trxp1=26946&trxp2=153404&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-SEARCH)

http://a1468.g.akamai.net/f/1468/580/1d/pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/153404/200.jpg

and DS seems to LOVE it. He'll lunge for the dropper and it seems to work pretty well. It has all natural ingredients and is in a liquid so you don't have to worry about the dissolve tabs. I too heard that oragel doesn't really work because the saliva washes it away too quickly.

[mmisabel]

Hi ladies!

I hope everyone had a great New Years!

colds - N has a horrible cough and was sleeping and eating crappy. He had a raging left ear infection so he's on antibiotics. He seems better, I felt so bad for the little guy. Tis the season, I guess. I did learn he is now 15#11oz up from 12# 10oz at his 4 months. Gotta love solids!

6 month WBV - tomorrow, I can't believe it! They are also curious to check the progress of his ear.

sitting up - yep, but he topples in about 5 minutes. I baracade him with boppy so there's no head bangings.

spitting up - I think he's been doing more the past month or so. He's a happy spitter and gaining weight so I'm not too worried. Mrs2b - it is sometimes 1-2 hours after he eats as well.

rolling over - both ways. I have a friend who's son is 9 months and he still won't go back to front, probably never will!!

crawling - don't see that happening soon. But he's surprised me many times before.

Toys - SO much fun!!

N's fave seem to be the Leap Frog Discovery ball, the Baby Einstein Blocks (already pictured). He spins the ball a lot and loves the blocks that have the bells in them.

He also loves these stupid things my mom gave him, something beads. Old school. He cried when I pulled one apart on him. :) Silly boy.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/beads.jpg

He likes this Baby Pooh. You shake the rattle and he moves. He doesn't get the concept, but he likes watching him move. If you like Pooh he's really cute, if you hate Pooh skip it!
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/pooh.jpg

He got the Infant Learning System by Leapfrog that KLAV pictured. He really likes that as well.

He got Baby Tad and Laugh and Learn Puppy. He doesn't respond to either, but Tad seems less annoying and confusing.

I haven't opened the Little People's Noah Ark, but friend's kids love this one.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/noah.jpg

He also got a workbench, activity walker, and soft stacking thing that I haven't opened.

I'm eyeing that train and those roll-o balls for his First B-day!!

[Can't_Wait]

mrst2b2003 I have noticed that DD will spit up more now that she is sitting up all the time. I don't think she really spits up anymore except when she is sitting. I figured it just crunches her stomach & then up it comes.