July & August '06 Mommies ~ Halfway to 1...Let the Babyproofing Begin!

[maybebaby]

food organization I have some plastic bins in my kitchen (stackable) that I used to keep pump parts in and now I keep the solid food jars in there. I also bought some little plastic Tupperware half cup containers for making my own food, but that's probably not going to be a regular project!

I was pretty excited to find brown rice cereal and multigrain oatmeal at our local store the other day! Now part of me thinks it's silly because DD still spits it out and smears it around half the time, but I like to know she's eating the healthiest food possible too.

milk intake DD has solids two to three times a day but no decrease in milk intake. She's on the small side though so she needs to gain weight (at least in my opinion!) so I push the food and the milk :-).

finger foods I'm kind of curious about starting these, but the idea of choking also scares me. I'm paranoid, I'm sure, but I never want to see the inside of another emergency room! :rolleyes:

[Soulmate]

food organization Nothing fancy I just separate the fruits from the veggies/meats and stack them on separate shelves in the cupboard. Works for me :D

milk intake When he was eating 1 meal/day it stayed the same, at 2 meals/day he dropped from regular 6 oz bottles to 5 oz bottles. Now at 3 meals/day he has dropped a whole bottle at breakfast and dinner and only has a 4oz bottle at lunch. Although he does drink 8+ozs for his first and last bottles for the day. Maybe it has stayed the same just shifted. I wouldn't worry about it. DS also went through bouts when he was teething where his milk intake dropped significantly for a few days (from 35oz to 18oz/day :eek: ).

finger foods If you follow the "what is your 6-12 mo old eating" thread you'll see that I am having the "fear of choking" issue too. DS does really really well with Gerber puffs but gags/chokes whenever anything else goes down his throat. Scares the begezus out of me but he is always o.k. There have been a couple of times the process of doing infant Heimlich went through my mind though.

Update I posted a while back about dropping the night (10:30pm) feeding. Yea, that didn't work. He ended up shifting everything up an hour so he was eating at 9:30pm and 4:30am instead of 10:30pm and 5:30pm. Since 4:30am sucks logistically (I would have to feed him again before we left for work) I added back the night feeding. He is an eating machine so I figure he still needs it.

ETA Toys R Us is having a sale on Fisher Price infant toys. Buy one over $19.99 and get one under $19.99 free. We were picking up a learning table anyway and got free toy bongos (DS LOVES them!).

[Wrighty26]

food organization - I have more cabinets in my kitchen than I know what to do with, so I have a whole cabinet dedicated to his food. I just stack them though, separating fruits and veggies.

milk intake - I am still breastfeeding - so it's really hard to gauge if he's eating less, but I do know that he only eats about 4oz "for lunch" (about an 45-hour after he eats solids), when he used to take 7oz (according to my DH). He's also still waking up at night (though he did STTN twice last week) to eat....I'm wondering if he just can't figure out what to do with all of these food options during the day!

finger foods - Braeden loves those Puffs - I think could eat them all day! We've also given him pieces of banana. He's done pretty good with them - but I know what you mean about the gagging Soulmate!

swaddling - When Braeden started rolling over (and waking up a bajillion times) we stopped swaddling at night. He's still swaddled during the day because he sleeps better. We'll drop that at some point I'm sure!

Thanks for the heads up on the TRU sale, Soulmate! I really want to get learning table -- maybe now is the one :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

[lindybug]

food organization ~ Like Wrighty, I just stack up the jars in a cabinet, separating fruits and veggies.

milk intake ~ DS definitely decreased his milk intake when we beefed up the solids, dropping from 3 bottles during daycare, to 2. We now feed him 3x/day, so hopefully he is getting enough calories anyway.

finger foods ~ DS loves the puffs and wagon wheels. If he sees them on the table while he's eating jarred food, he will get upset and distracted... I think he likes the "chewable" food better than the purees / cereal.


DS has been such a joy lately. This is just such a wonderful age! He is always smiling and laughing. Case in point, this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSUSveKo0Eo) was taken last weekend while we were out shopping.

I love him so much, I feel like my heart is going to burst!

[mkvh]

milk intake--we actually ADDED a nursing session when we went to 3 meals...but she also was going thru a growth spurt and gained 2lbs in a month. Now it seems like we're back where we were. When I work, she nurses in the am, takes 3 6oz bottles during the day, and nurses at least 1 more time before bed.

food organization--C also has her "own" kitchen cabient, and I too separate fruits and veggies!

finger foods--Despite the fact that my DD has NO teeth, she does very well with finger foods. We were out later than expected on Saturday afternoon and ate dinner out, and we didn't have any baby food. So C ate a square of a grilled cheese sandwich and broccoli! She does a pretty good job of gumming off "bites" and then chews them up and swallows. Now she's starting to prefer feeding herself. :rolleyes:

Soulmate--I wanted to reassure you that the gagging actually is normal. Babies do that when they get food too far in toward the back of their mouths, and it serves as a signal to move it forward and continue chewing. Thre should be a learning curve where DS gags a lot for a while and then progressively less and he gets better about moving the food around in his mouth. HTH. Regardless, I know it's scary to watch!

Awww...lindy!

[Mystikal]

jesseybell don't worry, the mamama will come, and let's just hope it's not the really deep monster-like mama that my DD does. ;) DH tells me to make sure she can't reach the knives. lol. :D

[Lizard]

food organization - We tend to not keep a lot of food for her in the house. The stuff I make is in Ziplocs in the freezer, and her jarred stuff is in the cabinet next to our cans. I just buy a few jars a week, when I do my regular grocery shopping.

milk intake - We're nursing, but I'm pretty sure her milk intake is going UP. However, that could also be my perception because we're having serious supply issues. We will be going from 2 meals to 3 in the next week or so.

finger foods - Still not happening here - she is just not interested. Even when she does pick things up, she just stares at it and drops it back on her tray.

DD's 3rd tooth came in yesterday! That's almost 3 months since her other 2 came in. I'm guessing #4 is close as her gum on that side is really puffy.

[mmisabel]

food organization - we have a shelf too. It's pretty disorganized, so I don't have any tips for that!

milk intake - It usually decreases once babies are on 3 good meals a day. Usually between 18-24 ounces/day is good at that point. N does around 24 now, and we just started 3 meals.

finger foods - we do the puffs and he's had cheerios. Like Liz, he has no interest in picking them up himself. He'll grab them, but that's about it.

[Chimichanga]

swaddling/pacifier - you know, Reagan sort of weaned herself from these around 4-6 weeks. She wasn't a swaddler; she'd always break out of it. After she did it so many times I figured it was a hazard in the bassinet. The pacifier; she'd take it but once she figured out there was no milk she'd spit it out.

food organizing - we have a whole shelf for baby food/items. Veggies are seperate from fruits and we have the same food grouped together (so all bananas are together, pears are by pears, etc).

Milk intake - I have seen her milk intake go down, but that could also be due to the fact she's in daycare full-time and she's just busier and not thinking about eating all the time. On the weekends she's an eating machine. But, during the week she'll have MAYBE 3 bottles at daycare. But, she also has a whole tub of food.

Finger foods - we haven't tried these yet because she doesn't have teeth. Should we be letting her experiment? DH thought he saw Cheerios on her tray at daycare (not something I said was okay, but not something I am going to freak out about).

My question now is - when should I be starting Stage 2 foods? DD doesn't have teeth (I think those are still pretty mushy, but...) but does that matter? Should I start her on finger foods like Cheerios or (I have no clue what else I could give her). I'm not super paranoid, but I honestly don't know when to start introducing it. We just bumped up to eating food 3x day, so I will probably wait a week or two before introducing anything else new.

We got our photos, and I'll post all of them in my new journal, but here's one for the front page:
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m76/jenmathe/IMG_5984.jpg
DH and I call it the "I'm Sorry" look. We better be careful when she hits her teenage years!! :D

[maryanne]

she is gorgeous, and will get out if alot if trouble with that look ...teeheeheee!

[Soulmate]

Chimichanga What a sweetie! I would try Gerber puffs (in the baby food aisle) before cheerios. They dissolve so much better than cheerios. She does not need to have teeth to try finger foods since they do not use them until they get their molars around 2 anyway. DS has 6 teeth and never uses them. Also the only difference between stage 1 and stage 2 foods is that stage 2 combines foods in one jar like apples and cherries instead of just apples. Many of the stage 2 foods are still really runny especially the apple and pear combos.

[Chimichanga]

Thanks for the help with the food, Soulmate. I'll get some puffs the next time we go shopping. Like I said, we won't try finger foods right away, but I'd like to start exposing her to stuff like it soon. :)

maryanne - I know! I just know DH will cave to looks like that from her.

[nuhmah]

Awww, Chimichanga, she is adorable!

jesseybell - well, I started on a paci-weaning kick not too long ago, and we are in the thick of it now. I guess I wanted to keep consistent... he does suck his thumb sometimes, so maybe he will start soothing that way?

finger foods - it is all we do (besides nurse)! I never did the jarred baby foods and purees (so I don't need to organize them, either), and he feeds himself while we eat. He sits at the table with us and LOVES to eat cheerios, but we feed him little bits of everything off of our plates. We went to Olive Garden the other night, and he had onions, olives, and cabbage from the salad. I used to fear about him choking, but he is getting much better at pacing himself - I guess practice makes perfect!

Lindy - I'm so glad that your DS is a joy... his picture in your avatar makes me smile every time I see it. :)

[mmisabel]

chimi - she's so cute holding the little flower. When I first gave N the Gerber puffs I broke them in half, that seemed to help.

stage II's - they have some plain stage 2's also and the tub is a little larger. Once I got through all the stage 1's we just moved to the 2's. Is anyone on 3's? I like to be really careful with the textures and don't want to move too fast.

[Soulmate]

finger foods/choking So did you guys just push through the choking/gagging and keep feeding? I just don't know if it means he's not ready or it is normal. I might try some pasta, he may do ok with the blander foods.

[klav]

I would say he's not ready I did not push thru I let him go at his own pace

[mkvh]

Chimi--Too cute!

Man, nuhmah, I give you a LOT of credit for paci weaning. I don't have the intestinal fortitude for that...

mmisabel--I haven't tried any Stage 3s yet, but I think I will next time I'm at the grocery. We mix all the "thin" ones with cereal, so I think she'll be fine. Can't hurt to try, and if it doesn't work, then try again later.

Soulmate--I wouldn't stop offering. He's only going to learn by experience. But I wouldn't force him, either--just following his lead will let you go at his pace! Here's some info I got (not the most reliable source,but it was just a quick google)

Overcoming baby feeding problems - Gagging
You may find that your baby will readily take food from a spoon, but will gag as soon as the food is in his mouth.
This is your baby's natural defence against choking - although it looks quite scary and can make you panic if you've only just started with solids!

When a baby is introduced to solid foods, he doesn't really know how to deal with the food in his mouth. Foods such as thinly pureed fruits are generally easy to cope with at first, but moving on to slightly thicker textures can cause gagging - this happens when the food is moved to the back of your baby's tongue and he "coughs" it forward to prevent it from entering his airways.

This type of gagging is common and perfectly normal - it will pass as your baby becomes accustomed to eating solid food.

It is, of course, essential to watch your baby carefully just in case any food DOES get stuck - this guide to dealing with choking from the British Red Cross is well worth a read.

Do remember that gagging can also be an indication that your baby is simply not hungry - after all, he has no other way of letting you know! --from http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-feeding-problems.html

[smurf]

Gagging--K. did this for the first few weeks of finger foods, but now eats them like a champ. She did choke once on a puff, but a smack on the back brought it up. I guess the gagging didn't really worry me too much because she had done the same thing with purees, and I know she wasn't choking on those. I think it just takes a while for them to get used to something other than liquid going down their throat.

[Soulmate]

Do remember that gagging can also be an indication that your baby is simply not hungry - after all, he has no other way of letting you know!Thanks for this! DS has *no* problems telling me he is full or not hungry. He'll actually push my hands away or simply not open his mouth. He also has no problems telling me he doesn't want his mouth wiped, hands wiped, putting his jacket on, etc :rolleyes:

gagging/choking Thanks for the feedback guys! It makes me feel better. The only way DS gets finger foods in his mouth is of his own volition. Tonight I tried peas and he got a real kick out of throwing them on the floor. I'll just keep putting them on his tray and let him follow his own pace.

Finger Foods DS tried wagon wheels tonight and loved it. I guess he likes the fake, processed finger foods :rolleyes: I also bought Barilla rotini that is super fortified with Omega 3s and whole grain. I'm sure that will wind up on the floor too :D

mmisabel We are not on Stage 3s either although I do like that they come in a larger jar. DS eats 6ozs of food on a regular basis. But I figure we'll probably be on table foods by that time...who knows.

[klav]

I have not moved to stage 3 I did not think my DS was ready when do you move to this stage?

[Soulmate]

The jars say 9 months but I think it is a judgment call. Once you go through the foods and are aware of any allergies/reactions then move to proteins you can feed them anyway they will tolerate.

[Mystikal]

Finger foods DD tried bread this weekend and loved it! She didn't feed herself because the pieces I broke off were too small for her to pick up (I'm still paranoid about choking), but every time I would hold a piece of bread out she would lean forward and lunge for it. lol. Too cute.

Messing w/baby's schedule
DH and I are having a bit of a disagreement and I need some opinions. This weekend all of DH's brothers and sisters are getting together to give the IL's their anniversary gift. We chipped in $40 to go toward a new tv for them as their old one is sooo small and they can hardly see it. Anyway, originally the plan was to all get together Sunday afternoon after SIL and her DH were done bowling. Well, other SIL called today and said they changed it to 6:00 Friday night. The reason they changed it is because BIL and his wife are going to be out of town this weekend. I think this is really inconsiderate that they didn't ask us if it would work before just changing the time. If it's really that important for everyone to be there you would think they could change it to next weekend since their anniversary isn't until the middle of next week anyway.
Here is why I have a problem with this situation:
1. We live in NY. Once the sun goes down it gets cold quickly.
2. DD eats dinner at 5:30 and is ready for bed by 7:00 at the latest since she rarely naps in the afternoon.
3. The IL's are a 30 minute drive for us in good weather, which means we would have to leave right around when DD usually eats dinner.
4. There are going to be 15 people, plus a dog in a small living room that is crowded with five people. Don't forget to add in the tv and it's just going to be way too crowded and noisy for DD.
5. Everyone will want to hold her, and when she's tired and wanting to sleep that is not going to go over well with her.

DH has the argument that she "might not be tired". I asked him honestly how many times has she not been ready for bed by 7:00 and he said "one". I just think it's really unfair that we are contributing to this and we won't all get to be there, plus, the IL's will be upset and lay the guilt on if we don't bring DD. If we are lucky we'll leave the house to go up there at 5:30 and we'll get home around 8:00. I guess it would be a different story if things would be quiet and we could get DD to sleep while we were there, but I know there is no way she'll sleep and she'll cry the whole time, then her sleep will be off that night. DH was like "I have the night off so I'll be home." That's not the point. I don't care about my sleep, I care about her not being miserable and overtired. Would you guys push the issue or just give in and take your DC's?

[Soulmate]

If we were in that situation, I would stay home with DS and ignore any guilt trips. We are often in similar situations where we cannot do what we want and even sometimes DH takes the "let's go. he'll push through it" attitude. Once he wanted to bring DS to a 7pm movie at the movie theater :rolleyes: I just put my foot down and one of us stays home with him. Baby comes first. It really boggles my mind how many experienced, albeit older, parents forget a baby's schedule and want to see them in unrealistic circumstances.

[jennylou]

We're back from our vacation and I'm just going to jump right back in. I might find some time to read back through the week later in the week, but for now, I'll just respond where appropriate. :)

[Wrighty26]

Mystikal - I can definintely see the sticky situation you are in! On one hand, it would piss me off to no end that my ILs changed the schedule around without asking, but on the other if it's a "one time" event than I would just suck it up and go. It is family and for a special occassion. Did you tell them that 6:00 is a little too late for you? I'm sure they don't want to change times again, but it seems really unfair to switch it for BIL/SIL and not you guys (I think I'm just stating the obvious there). I'm sorry you have to make this decision!

[mmisabel]

mystikal - I tend to agree with Wrighty. I would let it known that it's not convenient if you do go, but it also might not be the end of the world to suck it up (this time only) and go for DH. At least you have an excuse to leave early! :)

[Chimichanga]

We have done things for DH's family that totally throw DD's schedule out of whack (who starts a christmas party at 9 p.m. honestly?!?!) but we do it to keep the peace.

[Lizard]

Mystikal - That is a tough call... personally we have not pushed the envelope with DD at all. I totally stick to her schedule and we are always home by 6 each night so we can get her to bed by 7. But, every once in a while something comes up where we wonder if we can push it a little. It might be worth a try, just for the sake of trying. Besides, if it doesn't work out then next time you have an airtight reason not to go. :D

jennylou - I want to hear all about your cruise so I can live vicariously through you, LOL. :) I am jonesing for some warm weather....

I captured a video of DD crawling this morning - here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdLpzRophho) is the link. I'll probably take it down in a day or so. Let the fun begin!

[jesseybell]

Mystikal - I think in this case I would just deal with it and go and bear the consequences of being off schedule for a day or so. It is easy to accomodate a child's schedule when it is only a couple people, but not when there are 15. I know it will be hard. Enjoy yourself, and yes, you have an excuse to leave early!

We tried real bananas last night - they were not a hit. She proceeded to throw them up along with the rest of her dinner. But immediately after I gave her a whole container of 1st Food bananas and she gobbled it up.

[mkvh]

Mystikal--We mess with C's schedule pretty frequently because I'm too big a sucker to say no! So I would go. Is it possible that she would sleep in the car and have that as a "hold over" nap? It could make it a bit more bearable...

jennylou--your new avatar is KILLING me! :D

[nuhmah]

Woohoo! I must be doing something right with the paci and swaddling! We have been completely paci-free for about 4 days now, and for the past 2 nights (and all the naps within those 2 days) he has gone down without being swaddled. Well, I take that back, we are swaddling his legs and letting him pull his arms out. He has been staying asleep, and going to sleep really well! I thought it was going to be miserable... and while the first night wasn't easy, it has been getting easier and easier ever since then.

But I think I have created a tummy sleeper now. ;) He has enjoyed flipping himself over and sleeping on his tummy.

[babylove]

Ahhhh...free time...my boys are asleep so I'm free to play:

food organization ~ I have a corner cabinet in the kitchen by the sink where I keep baby spoons (in a mug), a formula can emptied of formula and filled with Jake's baby oatmeal (the can keeps it fresh!), bibs, and a bunch of Take 'n Toss cups with lids containing measured out oatmeal (so it's easy to grab one when needed). Then in another cabinet I stack the Gerber containers according to the type of food. That's all!

milk intake ~ Jake's milk intake (both EBM in bottles and nursing frequency/length of session) have decreased. In fact, I called the ped about it today b/c I was concerned. He usually takes 3 6oz bottles of EBM when I'm at work, lately he barely finishes 3oz, or sometimes less than that. Yet he scarfs down three meals of solids no problem. Ped said it was normal and to just offer him bottles of 4oz of EBM instead of 6 so as not to waste breast milk.

finger foods ~ none yet. He hasn't even had stage 2 foods yet. We're almost there.

swaddling/pacifiers~ Jake hasn't been swaddled since he was less than a month old. He never really liked it. But he is a paci addict and I am already very very scared of the day we take those puppies away! He goes to sleep with one and the crib is filled with extras just in case he loses one--he's finally learned to grab one and stick it in :)

***

Chimichanga ~ That is the cutest pic!!

Mystikal ~ I would stay home with your DD...people don't understand what it's like to have an infant (or if they once understood, they have since forgotten!) and you have to do what's best for her, not them. Stay strong!

Lizard ~ That's so cute! You've got a crawler!

Jessie ~ Yikes on the bananas...I want to try real bananas with Jake but I'm afraid the same thing will happen!

nuhmah ~ Way to go!!!

[Chimichanga]

I am a bit ticked with daycare today. Normally they are so great, but I had a "grrrrr" moment this morning.

I asked the teacher if DD had eaten both containers of food I brought yesterday. I mentioned we're working on getting her up to 3 meals of solids a day and there were no containers of food in her bin. The teacher said she didn't know; Reagan was being sort of fussy when eating but did eat about 3/4 of the one container. I asked about the second and she didn't know where it was. :rolleyes: The day before the extra tub of food was in her bin when I picked her up, so I just took it home and fed her that at night.

I suppose it's partly my fault for not mentioning that we were bumping up the number of meals, but it upsets me that a tub of food vanished; it's not recorded on her sheet that she ate it and it's no where to be found.

Not that it's very expensive (78 cents for two tubs) but still.

Okay, I'm better. :)

[smurf]

Yay for the crawling, Lizard! Watch out, now there will be no stopping her!!

Mystical-Sorry your ILs are frustrating you. I'd probably just suck it up and go b/c I'm a pushover. I figure messing with her schedule every once in a while is okay. I know how hard it is to deal with a sleepy, cranky baby though.

[maryanne]

We would definitely go to the party. we are lucky, melody is very adaptable and flexible when it comes to psuedo schedule. we still do everything on command and she can fall asleep with others around; so it isn't a problem unless ofcourse she is teething!

I hope that it works out and that you have fun at the party.

Lizard-congrats on the crawling

nuhmah--congrats on the sleepy nights!

chimi--strange about the missing food?

love to anyone else that I owe a SO to!

Not much going on here--on the verge of crwaling--still doing the backwards stoogers spin. on the verge of teething (like for four months now).

This is the first week of her wanting to actually eat food. But it seems to make her wake up at 4 am screaming? just like she did when she was 2-4 months old. We had two glorius nights of STTN and now we are actually up for a couple of hours (instead of the previous nurse and sleep)....oh well.

all bets are off for sleeping in the next month. She gets shots on Thurs- and is usually fussy for a week after--and then daylight savings- and the a two hour time zone when we travel. ARRGHH!

[babylove]

I need some help with DS's eating schedule. It's totally out of whack now that he's eating 3 solid food meals...

This is his BF/bottle and meal schedule:
7:30a - nurse
solids immediately following (2 tbsp oatmeal mixed with one container of stage one food)
10:30a - 6 oz bottle (or nurse if I'm with him)
11:30ish - one container of stage one food
1:30p and 4:30p - 6 oz bottle (or nurse if I'm with him)
5:30ish - solids (2 tbsp oatmeal mixed with one container of stage one food)
7:30p - nurse and then bedtime

Here's the problem...whereas before he would drink all of his bottles everyday (this was before he was eating solids 3X/day), he now drinks only a fraction of each bottle. It seems like he drinks 1-3oz of his 10:30 bottle, maybe 4oz of the 1:30 and 5-6 of the 4:30 bottle--all of this is best case scenario. Clearly, he's not hungry at 10:30 when we're offering the bottle. Sooo...long story short...what do I do? Should I drop the 10:30 bottle altogether? If so, how should I space out the other bottles/food? Any suggestions?

[Soulmate]

babylove You can try to drop the bottle and see what happens. Now that DS is on 3 really good meals/day he has dropped both of his breakfast and lunch bottles and is working on dropping others. Here is his schedule:

5:30: 8oz bottle
8:30: 4oz fruit w/oatmeal, 2oz just fruit
11:30: 4oz veggies, 2 oz fruit w/oatmeal
2 or 3: 5 oz bottle (maybe)
4: 4oz veggies or meat meal
6 or 7: 3 oz bottle (maybe)
10:30: 4 oz bottle (maybe)

He is really preferring the solids over the formula (I don't blame him!) and is really trying to drop the formula all together. It is so much more pronounced this week as he just finished up with a growth spurt. The boy still needs to stay hydrated though!

ETA: You can maybe add a bit more food to his 11:30 meal or maybe nurse at 7:30 and give the solid at 8:30

[Can't_Wait]

I haven't posted in awhile... this thread has just moved too fast for me to keep up!

I have read back a few pages to see where everyone is at & it is amazing how everyone's DCs are getting so big & doing so much.

We are still on one meal a day... she's only been on solids since her 6th month b-day which was Feb. 6th. How did everyone decide when to start adding additional meals? I feel like she shouldn't get too much solid food b/c bm should be her primary source of nutrtion until 1 year... but I'm lost at how much is too much solids or too little.

Isabella's 6th month check-up has come & gone & she now weighs 18 lb. 6 oz & is 28 1/2 inches long. She dropped to 90% on weight & is still 95-97% on height. She'll be 7 months on the 6th of March!

How mobile is your DC? DD has been scooting all over the place for a little while & has just started putting her knees up but still keeps her arms flat (like an army crawl). She can go fast this way too! She has pulled up to a kneel but not to a stand yet. Her nephew who is 3 weeks older (7 1/2 months now) is pretty much crawling & he is pulling up to a stand. He can also go from sitting to crawling & from crawling to sitting. So I was just curious to see where everyone is here. :)

[jesseybell]

Additional Meals- We were doing 1x/day until our 6 mo visit and he told us to go to 2x/day and to be doing 3x/day by our 9 mo visit (we could add in the third meal whenever we wanted)

Mobility- E isn't mobile at all. She has absolutely no interest in being on her arms and stomach- she loves to sit and play with her toys and can do that for a long time, but tummy time, still no way. Her legs are incredibly strong, but her arms, not so. Maybe she'll be one of those kids who just never crawls and goes straight to walking!
I am not in any rush for her to be mobile - we are just starting babyproofing and we have so many flights of stairs in our townhouse that we don't mind putting it off for a while.

[Chimichanga]

soulmate - I have to remember your DS is older than my DD. I saw his bottle size (morning) and did an :eek: :D

Babylove - I'd also suggest dropping a bottle. If he's hungry, he'll let you know and maybe you'll combine two feedings or make one bigger like more food at his 11:30 feeding. Reagan has been adjusting things too. She's still taking 4 bottles at daycare (all 4 ounces each) but it might be because she's adjusting still. She took a HUGE dip in formula last week - like she'd only have 2 bottles and one tub of food at daycare. That freaked me out, but she has having the same number of wet and dirty diapers so I didn't worry too much.

Mobility - nope, Reagan's not mobile yet. Well, I shouldn't say that. She'll turn herself around 360 degrees - either on her back or tummy - but no crawling. She sort of army crawls but gets so frustrated so quickly. She's a pretty solid "stand-er" though. She can stand for a few minutes with me holding her hands.

DD is starting to hold her own bottle too. :) Daycare noticed it too and asked if we were okay with her doing that. Not sure why I wouldn't be okay with it. She's getting better with her sippy cup too...she knows which end to drink from but doesn't quite understand that she has to tip the cup and her head back slightly to drink. :D

[babylove]

Soulmate ~ Thanks for your input. I wish I could say that he prefers the solids over the milk but it doesn't really seem to be that either. He doesn't not like the solids but he's not gung ho and screaming for more. Tonight he only ate half a container of peas and then cried when I tried to give him more. And he only drank 2oz of his 4:30 bottle too, so you would have thought he'd be hungry by now. *sigh* I don't know what to do.

Can't_Wait ~ Hi there! Glad Isabella is doing well :) As for adding meals, we just randomly went from one to two then two to three.

Chimichanga ~ That kind of makes me feel better b/c Jake is drinking hardly anything. He drank a total of 10 oz from the bottle today and then another 4 from nursing (total estimate) this morning. That's not nearly enough!! Hopefully it's just a phase.

***

Mobility ~ Jake pulls his whole upper body up off the ground but hasn't gotten his legs into crawling position yet. But he does roll everywhere and gets around pretty well that way!

[klav]

Mobility Liam Is moving like there is no tomorrow he's all over the place. and pulling himself up when ever he can.

Lizard she is too cute!!! yeah for her crawling!!

finger foods Dh loves the fingerfood puffs!! can't get enought of them!!

WOW this thread is moving!! I wish I could remember all I just read and who said what.
Milk intake I'm not sure if this has changed with the introduction of solids? so I can't say

[Soulmate]

How did everyone decide when to start adding additional meals? I feel like she shouldn't get too much solid food b/c bm should be her primary source of nutrtion until 1 year... but I'm lost at how much is too much solids or too little.We went to 2 meals/day at the recommendation of the ped at his 6 mo WBV. We added the 3rd because he started waking up hungry in the middle of the night again.

Mobility- E isn't mobile at all. She has absolutely no interest in being on her arms and stomach- she loves to sit and play with her toys and can do that for a long time, but tummy time, still no way. Her legs are incredibly strong, but her arms, not so. Maybe she'll be one of those kids who just never crawls and goes straight to walking!
I am not in any rush for her to be mobile - we are just starting babyproofing and we have so many flights of stairs in our townhouse that we don't mind putting it off for a while.Your DD sounds exactly like DS and, at 8 mos, still has no interest in moving himself. He LOVES to stand but that is it. He hates standing while holding on to things himself too so I don't know where that will take us. He will only let us hold onto his waist.

soulmate - I have to remember your DS is older than my DD. I saw his bottle size (morning) and did an :eek: :DYou should have seen it when he was going through his 6 mos growth spurt! He was downing 8-10 oz bottles every three hours! It was crazy.DD is starting to hold her own bottle too. :) Daycare noticed it too and asked if we were okay with her doing that. Not sure why I wouldn't be okay with it. She's getting better with her sippy cup too...she knows which end to drink from but doesn't quite understand that she has to tip the cup and her head back slightly to drink. :DI am so jealous that some of the babies are holding their own bottle. DS just likes to play with his if I gave it to him and he too doesn't understand that you have to tip it up to drink from it. He sucks at it like a straw.

Soulmate ~ Thanks for your input. I wish I could say that he prefers the solids over the milk but it doesn't really seem to be that either. He doesn't not like the solids but he's not gung ho and screaming for more. Tonight he only ate half a container of peas and then cried when I tried to give him more. And he only drank 2oz of his 4:30 bottle too, so you would have thought he'd be hungry by now. *sigh* I don't know what to do.It is easier said than done, but just follow his lead. He will eat what/how much/when he needs too. DS went through times around growth spurts where he cut back on eating *significantly*. I even called the on-call dr. because I was so worried. He popped back up though in a few days. Their systems are designed to make sure they are getting what they need and as long as you supply/offer the food they'll regulate themselves.

mobility As I mentioned before, DS (8 mos) does not move himself at all nor does he show any desire to. He hates tummy time and always has and if you put toys away from him he will just sit there or play with his feet. I think he has my lack of ambition ;) He is meeting and exceeding all other non-gross motor skill milestones so I am not worried and even his lack of mobility isn't even a milestone deficit.

[Wrighty26]

Hi Ladies!

Additional Meals - We just added his 3rd meal this week - yogurt with pureed fruit in the morning. He LOVES it. I introduced 2 meals about a month ago (after his 6 month wbv -- that was more like a 7 month wbv!). He has been waking up less (back to STTN or waking up once, opposed to 3 times) since we introduced the 3rd meal. My ped said that as long as he was eating 3 meals a day by 9 months, all would be good. Even then - he said it's really not as important as breastmilk/formula until he hits a year.

Mobility - I have a roller. He hasn't attempted to get on his hands and knees at all - but he can army crawl and roll like it's going out of style. He also LOVES to stand. He's not pulling up onto to things (out than our fingers) yet either. No worries - all in due time. I was a "lazy" baby when it came to mobility. I didn't crawl till I was 10 months and I didn't walk until 16-18 months. My mom said I just liked to hang out and watch everything - which is exactly what Braeden likes to do too. My middle brother however, was walking at 9 months!

I think AF is about to make her return. I swear I've had like 3 false alarms though! However, today my pumping output was the lowest it's been in months (I usually average 7oz a session and it was below 5, even the morning session were I usually get 10-12), and I've been cramping on my right side. Does anyone know if Oing can make you supply drop like AF can? Weird to think I could be "fertile" again after ALL of these months!

[emmjay]

OK, I'm hopelessly behind here! I'll do my best -

Mobility: we have a roller, but he is now getting on his hands and knees, then stretching his arms forward, then scooting his butt up, stretching his arms, etc. - sort of like an inchworm. I think crawling will be soon but I don't mind if he takes a little while!

Meals: I'm trying to do 2 meals per day now. We were both sick for 2 weeks so he didn't want to eat any solids at all and now we're back on track, so I'm working my way up. I want him to eat more veggies so I can buy less formula!

I'm doing Baby Signs and I think he is getting the "light" one. He is obsessed with lights and whenever I do the sign he sort of moves his hand around.

[mkvh]

Meals--I think we musta added the 3rd meal during growth spurt time! Because she kept her nursing/bottles the same AND added an overnight feeding (which she, thank goodness, has since discontinued). She's' LOVING solids right now and is really keen on feeding herself. :rolleyes:

Mobility--We're up on all 4s and rocking. DD even does "downward dog" on her own. She's gotten around quite well dragging herself with her arms, so as soon as she figures out the legs, she's off. She pulled up on her own on her 7mo birthday but doesn't have much opportunity since she can't get anywhere on her own. Yet. (I have to remind myself, too, Soulmate, that they're not even "behind" yet.)

Teeth--The NP today at our ear infection follow-up said we still have no sign of impending teeth. While my nipples are happy to hear that, makes a momma a bit worried--even though she said it's fine to have not teeth till up to a year!

ETA: My supply TANKS around O, Wrighty...and then is okay thru my LP and then bites it again the first couple days of AF. At least that's what I've experienced in the last 2 cycles.

[nuhmah]

solids/meals - we are lucky if we get 2 "meals" in for him a day. I guess lifting my shirt is much easier! :p We really don't give him real meals - mostly just a little bit of our table scraps, or some diced fruit/veggies and a handful of cheerios. We have our 6 month (more like 7.5 month) WBV this Friday, so we will see where my Ped weighs in on this. I think he will be ok with what we have been doing... he was really supportive of waiting for JJ to be a little older to start solids, anyway.

Speaking of solids, JJ's favorite new food is Honey Dew! He LOVES the stuff!

mobility - nope, none here. We just started sitting up yesterday! He prefers to lounge, and doesn't care for sitting up, but all of a sudden yesterday he sat up for like a half hour without falling over. :eek: And then today, we played on the floor for an hour before I had realized how much time had passed by. I really, actually, had fun playing with him. :) He has no interest in crawling, or even moving towards toys that are out of reach. He loves to roll, though.

We finally set up his crib a few days ago, and I have finished his room. It feels so good to actually have a room designated to him and his stuff. His books, toys, clothes, etc. He has been living with us, and our room was starting to feel cramped! He slept most of the night in his crib last night, and every nap for the past 3 days. I miss him in our bed, but I know we will all survive. And we have not given up the swaddle 100% yet - he likes to kick his legs too much, but we have been paci-free for 5 days now.

Question about reading - do you guys do it? We were, and it used to be fun! But now that he is going through this "if mom has it, then I want it NOW" phase, reading has become a chore (and I don't want it to feel like that). He cries and cries and screams for the book that I am holding and no other one will do. So... what are you guys doing?

[jesseybell]

teeth - No signs of any except for drooling, but she's been doing that for months.
Though she did start screaming this evening - it could have been the 'Mixed Veggies' for dinner though. Mylicon did finally do the trick.

reading- I try, but all she wants to do is eat the book. I am getting a little tired of the cloth and board books we have. I have a large collection of children's books - I just need to be patient to read them to her.

We continue to have multiple wakings in the night (after having a long stretch of good sleep) - Really they manifest themselves as waking up early. Just when I planned to start getting up early to work out now that I am no longer pumping. She's not hungry and not crying, but just binky replacements aren't enough. She's awake and wants to start the day.

We haven't had a sign of a 6 month growth spurt at 6 mo 3 weeks.

[mkvh]

Reading--We're employing the meant-to-be-touched books right now (and I don't have enough patience, but DH does) because C is a grabber too. She LOVE to touch and "pet" things is the books. I don't think she would be content just to look.

[Soulmate]

reading Honestly, I've read to DS maybe 8 times in his life. When he was younger he *hated* being read to. When he saw the book he would scream and start wiggling. Now all he wants to do is eat it and I can't even get the thing open. I swear he must have been crushed by a stack of books in a previous life!

nuhmah DS has been and still is in our room for logistical reasons. He will move to his own room in May when a relative living with us moves out. I will be glad but will miss my little guy so much. I love how he peeks at me when I am going to bed and when we wake up. I love hearing the little sounds he makes in the middle of the night. :( It'll feel like he is a million miles away :( Of course we weren't saying this when he wasn't STTN!

[Wrighty26]

Reading - Braeden loves looking at books on his own, but is not a big fan of when I read to him. Sometimes I lay the book on the floor, let him open and close it and read from the pages :) If he's sleepy, he'll kinda kick back and look/listen but that is a rare event. Like all of you -- it usually ends up in his mouth or if the book has babies it in he stares at the other babies in amazement!

mkvh - Thanks! I'm hoping that today's dip was because of Oing. Not only would it would awesome if I started ovulating on my own, but I really want to make it to a year!

[nuhmah]

Interesting responses about the book reading... what's funny is that he LOVES going to a story hour! We have been to a few at Barnes & Noble, and he pays attention and sits there like a model child. LOL

Soulmate - I know how you feel about having DS in your room! He has been in there because we have been remodeling, but it has been really nice having him there. We play, talk, and hang out in the morning - but there have been times when I REALLY wish he had his own room!

[maybebaby]

Nuhmah he probably loves watching the other people at story hour, not following the plot of the story! Ha! DD is always intrigued when we run into storyhour at the public library...With a bunch of toddlers running around, who wouldn't want to stare?

[maybebaby]

reading I read DD a couple of books at night as part of our bedtime routine. She seems to like it or is just too sleepy to wiggle!

meals we're diong three 'small' meals a day because DD is mostly a taster and needs to work on swallowing. we had to do some bloodwork for another reason, and it looks like at 8 months, DD is borderline anemic so my doctor wants us to give her iron supplements and work on giving her more solid food (which apparently makes it easier to absorb iron than formula). You know, we waited to introduce solids until 6 months like we were instructed by the ped, and now it feels a little like we're playing catch up to get DD actually interested in eating them. I know breastmilk/formula is still the main source of nutrition, but apparently if they're eating huge quantities of formula by nine months, it increases the chance of anemia. Anyway, it sounds like the iron supplements should take care of it.

generally DD is a joy. She's such a happy little person. She doesn't want to sit but she sure wants to move these days.

[klav]

reading- I try, but all he wants to do is eat the book same here

[Soulmate]

Formula/BM/solids Our ped said that at 6 mos babies only get 50% of their nutrients from formula/BM. Which is totally different that what I've heard.

Formula intake with solids It seems that since we added oatmeal (DS just started liking this) and protein DS' formula intake has decreased significantly. Yesterday he had a 8oz bottle at 5:30am and didn't drink formula again until 10:30pm (6ozs). :eek: I keep offering but he has no interest in formula and loves solids!

DS has started to "throw" and loves playing catch now. He'll have a roll around in front of him and bat it in a way that it shoots off in front of him. I'll "catch" it and push it back. He'll do this back and forth a number of times. And he knows how to pick up the roll around so I know it is not accidental. This a.m. he had a remote and kept throwing it slightly in front of him and laughing.

[a_spark]

Hi Ladies! I will try my best to catch up :) I've been reading along, just haven't had time to check in!

solids We are doing 2 meals a day right now. Ava loves eating! She's starting to go a little longer between nursing sessions- more like 3 hours on occasion instead of 2, which is nice. It did concern me a little, though, as Super Baby Food (great book, btw!) says that if milk intake drops when giving solids, to cut back on the solids a little because milk (formula or bm) needs to be the primary source of nutrition for the first year. I think she's okay, though, since she definitely gets more milk than solids.

reading I read Goodnight Moon to her every night, though she keeps trying to grab it from me, so sometimes I have to recite from memory since she's wrestling it away from me :)

temper Anyone's little one starting to exhibit a temper? Lately when A doesn't like something, she really gets herself going. I don't know if she's cranky from teething (no teeth yet, but a ton of drool and lots of gnawing) or what. Last night, she was up from 8:30-11:30, happy as can be sitting or laying on her changing table playing, but when I tried to put her to bed (whether in her own or our bed), she'd cry and fuss and just got super worked up. Eventually, I just carried her around our bedroom and she passed out. I have no idea what that was about!

reflux We took A to see a GI and she thinks that she was being overmedicated (Zantac AND Prevacid) and that was causing her stomach pain. So we've taken her off the Zantac and so far so good! It will be 2 weeks on Monday. Next, she wants to attempt decreasing the Prevacid but I am terrified. that stuff saved my life!

Here's a recent pic of my little monkey:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/398872111_9fa48fed35.jpg

[klav]

she's too cute she's got peach fuzz like my DS

[Chimichanga]

Reading - I'm starting to incorporate it into our bedtime routine. DD likes the sound of my voice (plus I do character voices) so about 60-70% of the time she'll listen/play with another toy. The other time she's reaching for the book to eat it.

Temper - YES!! Reagan has such a temper. She does not like to have her face/arms messed with. If I try to put her in her snowsuit she turns the darkest shade of red! Oh, you'd think I'm beating her or something. Even when I lay the snowsuit out and lay her on top of it; she starts screaming. It's a lovely time, let me tell you.

This morning I was told Reagan had a fun day yesterday at daycare; they went to their big play room (open for all kids, but classes "reserve" it so the ages are the same) and she had fun playing with the 6-12 month old class, working on tummy time/crawling and looking in the mirror. She's such a ham! :D I think she gets so tired at daycare that when we get home she's ready for bed, but not really ready for bed because she needs to know what's going on.

[Soulmate]

She does not like to have her face/arms messed with. If I try to put her in her snowsuit she turns the darkest shade of red! Oh, you'd think I'm beating her or something. Even when I lay the snowsuit out and lay her on top of it; she starts screaming. It's a lovely time, let me tell you.OMG I thought DS was the only one! He screams bloody murder whenever I try to wipe his face and hands after a meal. It is a nice luke warm paper towel but something about it just makes him so angry. I mean it is like I was trying to stab him or something! He also hates having his hands and arms touched which makes putting jackets on and cutting his nails nearly impossible. I mean trying to get his nails cut is a huge test in creative parenting.

temper DS is starting to scream when you do not pay attention to him, specifically if two adults are talking to each other and it is not focused on him. The little diva ;)

[jesseybell]

E doesn't like to have her arms/hands messes with either. Poor thing has little cuts on her body and face because I can't get to cut her fingernails. I thought it was hard to cut my cat's nails - nothing compared to her. And just lately she just really likes to be in her diaper. When I try to put on her pjs, especially putting the arms through, she will wail. Definitely sounds like I am beating her.

We finally had to take the batteries out of our VCR Remote - she loves all the remotes so much - they are her favorite toy. Figure we won't be using the VCR much anymore anyway.

[klav]

soulmate have you tryed cutting them while he's sleeping?

[mkvh]

Oh, yeah...the great evils of face wiping! And FORGET IT if her nose is running. I've never seen someone so little trash around like that.

C's temper also flares when she gets "stuck" on the floor. She keeps going backwards instead of forwards, and she gets SO ANGRY. I've been trying to get a picture of it because the faces she makes are HILARIOUS.

[Soulmate]

klav I used to cut his nails when he was dream feeding because he'd fall asleep on our laps and not wake up. Now even asleep as soon as you touch his hands he'll pull them away.

nail cutting I've learned that, for right now, I can only cut his nails in the morning when he is less grumpy and when he is in his exercauser preoccupied. Even then it is a challenge.

[smurf]

Ha! I thought Kate was the only baby who acted like putting her arms through her shirt was the end of the world!

Mobility-K. is all over the place. Once she figured out how to crawl, she started doing laps around the house. She's quick too--I loose her if I take my eyes off her for a minute. It's made our lives easier in a way though b/c now she's much more content to play by herself.

Reading-She loves her books. She likes to eat them too, so we give her one to chew on while we read to her. 2 books at night is part of her bedtime routine.

[mmisabel]

Too funny about the remotes. N is OBSESSED with the phone, remotes, keyboards or anything he shouldn't touch. We actually dusted off our old computer keyboard as his new toy. He loves it!!

a_spark - she is just beautiful.

solids - Honestly, I try not to worry about it too much. N's formula intake has decreased a little, but he's peeing a ton. Some kids are on 3 squares a day by 1 year, others not so much. I think the mostly bm/formula for the 1st year is more of a guideline than a hard fast "rule". Each child is different.

mobility - we are army crawling backwards. Like mkvh, he gets pissed as he gets further away from his toys. He is getting up on all fours rocking, but no movement yet. The boy is ready to crawl any day now it seems.

temper - he gets SO mad when you take away the ads or magazines from him. He loves to shake them and try to eat them. I actually had to do a "finger sweep" after I caught him eating one of my People magazines while I was in the bathroom. He got to it in this little walker/car thing we have for him and started gagging on what he ate. :0

reading - slacking in this department and was feeling a little guilty. He tries to eat the books or turn the pages, so we skip it most nights. When he's older I'll be more focused on doing it nightly.

[Amaye]

So much to catch up on. I've been reading along but haven't had time to post.

Reading We read to DD but she likes to eat the books. She might sit through one book but she usually tries to hit the book or turn the pages herself.

solids We just moved to 3meals a day and at first, her formula intake went down but it seems to have stabilized at about 35oz a day. We usually has 2 4oz jars of EB and about 3oz of another meal. We also give her a little water from her cup after each meal which she LOVES. She loves loves to drink water.

Mobility She is all over the place. She has gotten very quick at crawling and pulls herself up all the time. Her new thing is to try to walk holding onto something but I don't think her legs are ready for all that yet. She can also go from sitting to crawling & from crawling to sitting. All this makes for a lot of following her around as she is into everything!

Teeth She finally got one teeth in!! Woo-hoo!! She had the teeth outline for about 2-3mths but nothing. The past 2 weeks, I noticed that her gum was turning white. It finally popped out over the weekend. She was pretty good through out and was cranky only once or twice.

Temper She definitely has one. If you stop her from doing something she wants to do (e.g. eating newspaper), she gets mad and yells at you! If you move her away from something dangerous, she yells too. She is very persistent and will go back to the same thing 10times after you remove her...fun times!:cool:

Skin So DD's excema is still flaring up. She is allergic to milk and soy and I've been careful about introducing new foods. However, she is still scratching away. We use Mimyx daily and presciption strength hydrocortisine if it gets bad. I need to find out why this is happening so I think I will ask for a referral for a ped dermatologist or allergist. Is anyone dealing with this too?

[a_spark]

AHA! I think I've discovered part of the "temper" problem I posted about. I can't look in her mouth but I think Ava is teething! Today she has been drooling like a faucet and SUPER cranky and gnawing on everything. I gave her some Motrin around noon and finally at 12:45 she went down for a nap. Poor baby! I felt her gums and I think maybe I feel something but I have no idea what I'm looking for. Do the teeth erupt from the front of the gums on the bottom? Or do they erupt on that ridge on the top of the gums? I know swelling, etc.. but I'm not sure I'd know it if I did feel it, KWIM? I guess time will tell.

[smurf]

Anyone elses baby show absolutely no interest in solids? Kate has never been a fan of them, but she used to at least take a few bites. Now she clamps her mouth shut as soon as she sees the spoon coming. She'll eat puffs all day long, but nothing with any nutritive value. I know that breastmilk should be her main source of nutrition right now, but I feel like my supply has really taken a dip and I'd like to know she's at least getting some extra calories from solids.

[mkvh]

smurf--if she likes puffs, maybe she'd like other finger foods. She just may not be a fan of purees. C much prefers feeding herself! There's a good list of finger foods in the "What is your 6-12 Month Old Eating Today?" thread.

[smurf]

MKVH-yeah, I thought the same thing, so I've been trying all sorts of finger foods with her. The only thing she'll tolerate is toast and pita. I think I have a carbaholic on my hands :D

[Chimichanga]

I wish Reagan wasn't interested in food! :) She loves to eat!! She's fine with fruits and veggies and daycare has been giving her cereal (unbeknownst to me until today) so she actually has started finger foods. I'm a tiny bit upset that they were doing this without talking to me, but in the grand scheme of things I'm not mad.

We bought some puffs today; we'll see how she likes them.

[maryanne]

this has been a big day! we were at my MIL's store and the the groan ups were talking and not paying attention to the baby. A customer walked in and walked past mel without seeing her, so melody says...

"hi--helloooooo" and waves! The woman stopped turned and said hello back to her. my jaw dropped! I have been teaching her to wave for the last week bu saying hi-hello and it seemed that she picked up more than I thought she would :)

she has done it again twice--only if josh walks past her w/o lookiing or acknowledging her.

Then just a few minutes ago...she actually crawled foward instead of spinning around in circles!!!

yikes!

here's a pic of her meeting a relative last weeked at the flower show!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/408958531_e78421f77a.jpg?v=0

[Can't_Wait]

Thanks everyone for your responses on # of meals & mobility. It is so nice to have all of you to share your experiences!

[klav]

I got some biscuits and Liam Loves them!! and cheerios so we'll see how he like those I gave him A french Fry he loves those!! and we have given him some soup broth seems to be going fine!

[jennylou]

mobility - Nora moves backwards, but can't crawl forward. She does rock though. When she moves away from her toys she gets mad, mad, mad.

foods - we did some purees, but she seems to enjoy finger foods better that she has to do a bit of chewing. We've also been making some to give to her. Tonight (and last night) it was squash. I mash it but don't puree it - she seems to like it.

talking - I wouldn't say she's saying words, but she does babble. She says dadadadada babbababab dadadadad etc, but doesn't associate anything with these "words" that I can tell.

signs - We've been working with her on the milk sign for a long time and she will recognize it, but I don't know that she can do it yet. Sometimes, it looks like it! I need to start working on more signs. :)

waving - she started doing this last week on the cruise. I think it was the combination of her cousin (just turned a year) and everyone saying hi by waving to her all the time.

[Soulmate]

Logan tried yogurt for the first time today! He is sensitive to cow's milk proteins so cross your fingers. So far so good.

Sippy Cups How are your babies progressing? DS can hold it and accepts the spout but is more interested in chewing on the spout though he will drink a couple sips o.k. I think he just doesn't care for water very much. I don't think we are supposed to start working on transitioning him just yet but I am nervous at the thought. Bottles are just so easy! I think I might try formula in one tomorrow just for spits ;) and giggles.

jennylou I love your avatar as well. It is just so cute when our babies give us those attitude shots. This is Logan's

**Pics Removed**

[maryanne]

great pics soulmate

[jesseybell]

My little one loves to eat too. She has never told us she was full.

We bought puffs yesterday. She doesn't have her pincher grab yet so she can pick them up in her hand but not get them from hand to mouth, so we let her play with them in her hands and feed them to her by hand.

We installed the Marathon in my car today. I think it is just going to be too big for DH's Jetta, so we'll get something smaller.

She's so much more alert when we go out - she doesn't fall asleep in the car so much. She is just facinated with watching people.

[babylove]

Am I the only one with a baby whose not totally in love with solid foods? He's been eating solids for 2 months now but he still doesn't open wide for the spoon and often times I have to pry his mouth open to get the spoon in (once I do that he does eat it without complaints). I even put some food on his tray to see if he would just rather feed himself, but no, he doesn't even put it in his mouth! I don't get it....

We are still very far from finger foods at this point.

[maybebaby]

No, babylove[/B, I have to coax DD into eating solid foods most of the time, and half the time, she'll open her mouth but end up tasting and then spitting it out. I always wonder how much actually gets swallowed.

I think she thinks it's a big game and she gets her real meal from a bottle!

[B]jesseybell we tried finger foods this week too ...gerber puffs and I bought some tofu to cut into tiny pieces, but no pincer grasp here either. DD works very very hard to pick them up in her hand, but she's not quite there yet.

[Linnybubbles]

DD is having issues with being on her belly. It is not that she hates tummy time, she can tolerate it, but she rolls over onto her belly when she is trying to sleep and does not know what to do. She starts to cry and I have to come in and flip her, sometimes at 2am. She used to only be able to roll from her tummy to her back, but now she can only roll from back to front. Weird. Any hints to make it easier or make her happier?

[Wrighty26]

Babylove - Braeden was like that until about a month ago. Then something just clicked. Don't push him -- but do keep offering him food. He'll get there eventually!

Linnybubbles - OMG, isn't that SOOO frustrating? I honestly found there was nothing I could do but wait it out. He now prefers sleeping on his belly (with his little butt in the air), but those couple of weeks where he was flipping himself and not going back to sleep SUCKED :(

We have been CIO for the past 2 nights (during night wakeups). So far he's woken up twice per night (at 10 and 3) and only cried for about 2-3 minutes and gone back to sleep. He was a champion sleeper up until the holidays when a ton of stuff happened (growth spurt, teething, developmental milestones, etc), and we started to go to him everytime he cried out... so these wakes up unfortunately a learned behavior :( If he cries and gets himself MORE worked up, I plan on going in and feeding him - but so far that hasn't been the case. I hate doing this, but at the same time I know it will pay off for him in the long run.

Hope everyone has a great week!

[jesseybell]

E gets the puffs into the palm of her hand, but then sticks her fingers in her mouth thinking it is there and then it just falls in her lap. It's cute to watch. I am going to get out the tray to her high chair (when we got it at Thanksgiving she was too short to be able to play with stuff on it) and start giving her them to play with while I make dinner.

Am I the only one who can't wait for daylight savings? She's been waking up at 6:15 for a couple of weeks- this morning I just listened to her babble until 7:00. So I am hoping on Sunday she sleeps until 7:15 and can keep it up (but hope that her nighttime doesn't get too screwed up). Luckily we have pretty thick shades on her bedroom windows so going to bed when it is still light out shouldn't be a problem.

[Soulmate]

E gets the puffs into the palm of her hand, but then sticks her fingers in her mouth thinking it is there and then it just falls in her lap. It's cute to watch. I am going to get out the tray to her high chair (when we got it at Thanksgiving she was too short to be able to play with stuff on it) and start giving her them to play with while I make dinner.

Am I the only one who can't wait for daylight savings? She's been waking up at 6:15 for a couple of weeks- this morning I just listened to her babble until 7:00. So I am hoping on Sunday she sleeps until 7:15 and can keep it up (but hope that her nighttime doesn't get too screwed up). Luckily we have pretty thick shades on her bedroom windows so going to bed when it is still light out shouldn't be a problem.LOL, DS used to do the same thing with his puffs and it was hilarious to watch. He would get this confused look on his face. Even now I find soggy gross puffs wedged in the palms of his hands.

wrighty We've had to resort to that as well especially coming out of a growth spurt, etc. I find it facinating that we can distingish the "I'm crying because I'm used to it" cries and the "I need mommy" cries.

Daylight Savings Ugh! Me either! DS has been waking up an hour to an hour and a half early lately and it is driving me batty especially on the weekends when I looked forward to waking up 30 mins later (I can't believe my life has resorted to that little life's pleasure ;) ). But I know as the sun continues to rise earlier and earlier even with DST he'll just go back to waking up earlier.

[Chimichanga]

Jessybell - DD is the same way. Actually, she'll have the puffs stick to her hand and then fusses when I try to get them off. :) Or, she'll get them stuck on her face. All in all pretty humorous.

We had a busy weekend but Reagan handled it well. We did try some Stage 2 foods. I was mean; I feed it to her right before I left to meet some friends. DH called me almost begging me to come home and change the diaper. I guess it was... uhhh.. colorful. I knew it would be :D

[emmjay]

Daylight savings - I can't wait either. Seamus has been waking up at 3 and 4 in the morning a few times a week to eat. I am trying to see if he will eat more in the daytime, but he just refuses, and then he's hungry in the middle of the night. :rolleyes: I think I'm going to try watering down his formula in the night to see if he's actually hungry, or just waking up out of habit.

Sleeping on tummy - we went through the same thing at the beginning of January. I ended up having to let him cry, even though I didn't want to. I just couldn't think of any other way to resolve it. He ended up crying the first night for 15 mins and then slept for 12 hours on his stomach. Now he fusses a bit before he goes to sleep but I never had to let him cry again. Sorry if that isn't any help!

Solids - we are still on 1 meal a day but I am trying to move that up to twice a day. He usually eats about 1.5 - 2 oz at a time and that is it. I'm hoping once we start giving him fruit (we're on squash now, then avocado is next) he will like it more. We also had a problem for 2 weeks because he had a bad cold and I think he couldn't taste anything, so he refused to eat.

Sippy cups - I tried about a month ago with water and he made a face and refused to try to drink it. I am going to try again with a different cup.

I decided to start a mom's group. I tried to join a local one but it is so bureaucratic and all of the women I met annoy me, so I am starting my own!

Here's a recent picture - don't mind the carrots all over his face!
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/mollyj6/Jumperoo.jpg

[mkvh]

Flyby...

emmjay: a friend of mine did the same thing--we meet once a month. It's great! Good luck!!

[mmisabel]

emmjay - Seamus is too cute. What a blondie!!

linny - we had the waking up on tummy problem recently. I waited it out like wrighty. He eventually learned to get himself comfortable, but it was a sucky few weeks.

puffs - N does the same with the puffs. They get stuck to his hand and he misses when he tries to get them into his mouth. He does enjoy them, though.

sippy cups - I feel the Nuby with water when I remember. He kind of gets it, a little.

daylight savings - I bet it will screw N up. With my luck he'll wake up even earlier in the morning. I am going to try to put him to bed early this week to see if that helps.

babyproofing - we've really done nothing. I have to get started since N seems like he is going to crawl anyday now. What have others done.

Easter outfits - I'm sure some of you with girls have some great dresses pick out. I was drooling at Janie and Jack at some of them!! We got N this outfit. I am going to pair it with khakis but am looking for some cute shoes. I was thinking something white and blue. Any suggestions???
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/janieandjack3.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/janieandjack2.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/janieandjack1.jpg

[smurf]

Ugg...we're in teething h*ll in this house. Her bottom two didn't really cause much trouble, but these top two are turning her into a little monster!! I even gave her Motrin before bed last night and she was still up every 2 hours!! I really hope they pop through today 'cause momma needs some zzzzzzs.

[klav]

Awwww I hope it gets better I had no idea that the top may be more painful? Hope it gets better

[klav]

mmisabel Love the outfit for easter!!

I got thses from Childrens place:
http://content.childrensplace.com/www/b/TCP/images/styles/598071_m.jpg
and these but pants not the shorts
http://content.childrensplace.com/www/b/TCP/images/styles/617532_m.jpg

[Can't_Wait]

We're having major sleeping problems over here. And I'm getting burned out on nursing her to sleep every time she wakes up! Like you suggested Smurf I think her waking up so many times is because of her top 2 teeth coming in. They both have popped through, but one still has a small part of gum still around a corner of the tooth. I hope we get relief once the teeth come all the way through.

For those of you that stay-at-home, what activities do you do all day to keep your DC entertained? I am looking for more things to do w/ DD b/c it seems like there are only a couple of things we play together & who wants to do those couple things all day long, every day of the week? If you don't stay at home, maybe you have certain things you do w/ DC on weekends...

[Chimichanga]

Leslie - I don't SAH, but I can tell you what daycare does. :)
They usually have a theme for 1-3 months (they'll talk about the theme during this time). Right now it's oceans. They learn about a new animal every day; play with a puppet or watch a kid-friendly video about it. They talk about the colors in the ocean and do projects with those colors. They go to the big play room (for the whole center) and do different activities.

I know Reagan LOVES this ball popper thing. I has a mini-fan in it and pops balls up through a tube, then there's a tube that takes the balls back down and pops them back up again. It's like $25 at Wal-Mart.

Is there a children's museum near you? I know the one semi-close to us changes exhibits every 2-3 weeks. If we were closer and had more time, we'd probably go there every few weeks.

[mkvh]

Sippy--C likes it but hasn't figured it out yet.

Teething--the NP at the ped's office says we have NONE in sight. Not looking forward to it, though.

Activities--Since I'm only home part-time, we run LOTS of errands! I narrate at the grocery store. She tends to think it's hilarious. We honestly just spend lots of time hanging out on the floor, playing with balls and the like. I need to get more creative!

Easter outfit--I got a dress before C was born at a local boutique. It was the only BLUE dressy-dress I've seen. I hope it fits... but I don't know if we'll be going to church on Easter because she's being baptized on "Easter Eve" at our church's Easter Vigil. Of course, she'll be wearing a baptism gown for that!

Tummy rolling--we too did the screaming thing for a couple of weeks, and I would go in and flip her back over. Sometimes now she gets on her tummy and just falls asleep like that, but mostly she is a sprawler and ends up on her back like her momma!


C had the giggles at the grocery today, and it totally was cracking me up. She also was "seat dancing" in the cart. What a riot! Other than that, her latest trick is to blow raspberries ON YOUR FACE when she's giving kisses.

[emmjay]

mmisabel - I'm thinking Seamus is going to be a towhead like his daddy was as a kid. Mine was blonde when I was young too but not so white. I'm just waiting for the curls - DH and I both have curly hair so I will be shocked if Seamus doesn't!

SAH activities - we run lots of errands too! Between errands and naps and feeding and my classes, we don't have a lot of structured activities. I am going to start going to the library for storytime and we do swimming classes. While we are home, some of the stuff I do is sing to him while bouncing him on my knee, try to get him to crawl, read books, etc.

mkvh - we were just at the grocery store too and S was squealing and bouncing up and down in the cart like crazy! It was so funny.

[Wrighty26]

Hee hee - seat dancing. Braeden likes to do that too. When he does it though he gets this REALLY serious look on his face and then he shakes his head like Stevie Wonder. It's so funny. I keep trying to get it on video, but he don't do it while I'm recording. He especially like to dance to the LeapFrog Maracas, Jazz, and his latest is Old School Rap (there's an Old School Rap channel we put for him).

Activites - I WAH - but my activies sound a lot like mkvh's! I feel like we need to start shaking things up. I plan on taking him to the playground soon (there are a few nearby) and test out the swings there. I think he's ready!

Easter - All of those outfits are so cute! We aren't celebrating Easter this year. Maybe I'll actually start going to church again soon though. Ugh. I'm so bad about going.

Sippy - Braeden can drink out of the sippy, but he always takes REALLY big gulps so he ends up spluttering, so we stick with water in it. He sure opens his eyes real wide while doing it too!

Sorry to all of the teethers :( I am NOT looking forward to B's top teeth. I don't see any signs up them yet. I'm sure he'll start teething again, now that we've finally got him STTN the again.

[babylove]

Sippy ~ Jake's not great at the sippy cup but he can drink from a straw out of a water bottle so I might try a sippy w/ a straw.

Solids ~ Still on Stage 1 purees and only mildly interested. I say that but tonight he ate TWO containers of Stage 1 Sweet Potatoes. *shrug* Maybe it's time for Stage 2? But we are no where near table food.

Easter ~ We're Jewish so I've got nothin' ;)

Activities ~ I work PT but when I'm not working we do a lot of errands. We meet friends for lunch or walk around the mall. This Friday we are going to a pottery painting place with the kids and doing their footprints. We do a mommy and me swim class on Saturdays. When we are home and he is awake, I am usually down on the floor playing with him or singing to him or reading books, etc. Nothing too exciting!

Teething ~ Nothing here either! I thought that maybe his dip in his appetite was teething related but I do see a thing!

Jake's latest trick...clapping! He never really mimicked our actions (like sticking out his tongue in response to us doing it) but tonight he was banging the table AND clapping when our friend's son was doing it. It's so cute!

[klav]

Solids OK so tonight I gave DS some cauliflower and some potatoes that we were having for dinner along with the rest of his butternut.. and he had it all over him and the floor in his hair and all. I think he got some in his mouth??? too funny... so I think were going to try things that we are eating .... I talked with DH about yogurts and when I'm at the store I 'll pick some up ... and see how it goes.

[maybebaby]

http://rlv.picturepeople.com/isapi/designall.dll?action=getimage&max_dim=500&bg_pattern=checker&rotation_angle=0&id=329c04ff-15f5-4b89-88d3-e87007b69e67
here's our latest pro pic!

sippy: She did it once. Most of the time it's a losing battle.
solids: DD has tried so many foods since my doctor really encourages variety ...probably all of the Stage 1 and Stage 2 foods plus avocado and tofu and yogurt, but most of the time she's kind of a taster. If she's in the mood, she'll swallow...otherwise she wears her meal. And we rarely get through half a container per meal. I'm giving her food 3 times per day in the hopes of encouraging a little more consumption!

Easter: Well, we're planning a lovely Passover seder in a month or so!

activities: if it's not raining, we almost always take a long walk. We often will sit at a coffeehouse for a half hour or so; I read the paper and DD people-watches! We sometimes meet another mom in the neighborhood and the babies play on the floor together. I am working really hard to teach her a few baby signs. And we grocery shop and run errands. I talk to DD and sing to her a lot, and some days we work on sitting up a little more, but that's about it.

teething: not much hair, no teeth either!

[klav]

maybebaby SOOOO cute!! Love it!!

[nuhmah]

activities - the littlest things amuse DS. Lately, I have started taking him to places like Target and sitting him up in the kid part of the cart. He LOVES it, and then we walk around and window shop. Between all the people we meet/talk to him, the toys we play with, and the stuffed animals we touch (which is ALL of them - LOL), we kill about an hour and a half. Just enough to go out, come back, nurse, and then nap. :D Of course, walks around the block when the weather is good, errands, and recently we attended a story hour. He really liked that - we will be going more often.

Today we sat on the floor and he shredded a magazine for about 40 minutes while I did some knitting. Who knew a magazine was the best toy? :P

Easter - I need to get hopping! I don't have anything yet!

Well, ladies, my move to France is back on! :D We need to be there May 1st! We were supposed to have been there this past October, but they cancelled the trip 2 weeks out. The odds of that happening are much slimmer this time, so we are letting ourselves get excited.

[Linnybubbles]

maybebaby: Anya looks so adorable. Love the dress!

Solids: We have been on Stage 2 since 6 months. Amelia loves brown rice and peas, winter squash and pretty much anything. I feed her mostly Earth's Best. She had a zwieback the other day and it went okay until she gagged herself on it. A pic:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/Linnyloplop/IMG_2097.jpg

Teething: Her 2 bottom teeth are in, and while it was not the most fun, it was not too bad. She was just a little cranky, but no fever or diarrhea. I did give her a fair amount of motrin and tylenol and it really helped.

Activities: I actually set up a play area on her bedroom floor so she can sit and play with her toys, especially when I have something to do. I put pillows around it so if she falls over, it does not hurt. As a bonus, I can lay my head on the pillow when I am tired and play with her.

Easter: We will go to the Easter Sunday Mass, and I got this outfit for Amelia:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/Linnyloplop/B000JCMJUI.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a279/Linnyloplop/B000K6JZ46.jpg

[klav]

I forgot to share the tee shirt my dad bought DS:
Toddlers Property Rules:
1. If I like it, it's mine
2.If it's in my hand, it's mine
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine
4.If I had it for a little while, it's mine
5.If it's mine, It must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm building or doing something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks Just like mine, it's mine
8. If I think it's mine, it's mine
9. If it's left at my house, it's mine
10. If it's yours and I steal it, it's mine

We both laughed when we saw this in the window and of course Grampy had to buy it!!

[mmisabel]

linny - cute dress!

klav - love the outfit!

numhah - France would be great!

[maybebaby]

Linny cute Easter outfit! She'll look like a doll!

[mkvh]

maybebaby--LOVE the dress! A isn't too bad, either ;)

nuhmah--OMG! Yay for France!!! Good luck with planning the move.

klav--so funny!

linny--A is so sweet! Those eyelashes! Love the outfit.

[Chimichanga]

maybebaby - my DD has the same shoes! Of course they are too small for her now, but super cute pic!

numah - Easter - I need to get hopping! I don't have anything yet! Hee hee hee; hopping, Easter...bunny :D I'm a nerd sometimes.

Today was dress up day at daycare; the kids are going to mass with the older students. I seriously had nothing for Reagan! I mean, she has TONS of clothes and some really cute dresses, but they are either a) too short or b) summer dresses. I put her in a dress my aunt got her for Christmas with a onesie underneath. Reagan loves to flash her goods when she's wearing a dress. :rolleyes: :eek: Even though the dress is just too short for her (you can see her bottom when she's standing up). Oh well.

[Lizard]

nuhmah - Yay France!! That is going to be an awesome adventure!

I haven't checked in for a while, busy times around here!

DD is crawling like a madwoman, and also pulling up to standing in her crib. She doesn't want to play with toys at all, because she wants DH and I to hold our hands out so she can pull herself up. :rolleyes: It's cute but annoying, LOL.

She's fully cut her 2 top teeth, and since then her sleeping has taken a complete 180. She's going down for naps and STTN again. I decided over the weekend to transition her to 2 naps, because she was taking 3 short, crappy ones and still turning cranky about 5 PM. The 2 nap schedule is working sooo much better for the whole family. :)

We are still doing only 2 solid meals a day because I'm paranoid she isn't gaining enough weight, and I don't want her to replace any of her nursing with lower-fat food. Plus, she nurses really well in the mornings and doesn't seem hungry at all.

I start my Horticulture class on Thursday... I'm scared to death! I haven't taken a credit class in, like, 10+ years.

[Amaye]

Maybebaby She is too cute!

nuhmah France sounds so exciting! I'm sure you guys can't wait.

Linnybubbles Love the food on the chain pics! I love the easter outfit. I need to get M something to wear.

Easter I haven't bought anything yet. I've seen a couple of outfits but haven't gotten serious about it yet.

Teething She finally has one tooth out and another one is on its way out. She has been pretty good and not really fussy. However she just got a cold and was up multiple times last night coughing and sneezing. Poor boo-boo! I felt so bad for her!

[klav]

QUESTION: for those who BF and may still be BFing I stopped about 2 weeks ago and my B's are sooo dry and itchy have any of you found this too and what have you done for relief? the lansolin I have does not seem to be helping. I was thinking about using DS butt cream from Berts bees? LOL

[jennylou]

maybebaby - where did you get those shoes?

Speaking of shoes, do all your babies wear them? Nora just usually wears socks. She has a few pair of dress shoes, but they don't stay on. Only one currently fits, despite the sizing being the same on different brands. I prefer soft shoes if she's going to wear them, but they aren't very cute most times, so I just leave her in socks. Which usually works great, except last night when we were at Sears (just walked in the door) and I looked down to discover she was missing one. Great, mom of the year here! I just stuck her sitting down in the MT and that kept them nice and toasty. And I did look at shoes, but didnt find any that were cute and soft soles AND in her size.

So, speaking of Sears, I walked around and looked at the clothes in the baby/toddler dept. I was not all that impressed with anything. Clothes aren't that cute this spring it seems. The Easter dresses were nothing special, IMO. Maybe they'd look different on, but who tries on clothes at the store with their baby?

[Linnybubbles]

Jennylou: Amelia only wears shoes if we are going out, and then she wears Robeez or the Target version from Bobux. She really hates shoes and kicks them off all the time (as well as socks) so I have to constantly check her feet when we are out. We lost a shoe at the mall, but eventually it did end up in lost and found. Good luck!

[jesseybell]

Shoes - E wears Robeez to daycare, but only because she can't keep her socks on. She used to kick them off but now that she is obsessed with her feet she pulls them off and puts them in her mouth and I am paranoid about her choking on a sock. I take her socks and shoes off as soon as we get home. Going out it depends where we are going and what she'll be in - until recently she was still in her infant seat with her toes covered up by the Bundleme so socks were okay. Now we'll put shoes on her if we'll be outside for longer.

[maybebaby]

Jennylou the shoes in the picture are pink knit Mary Janes from Target (amy coe), but believe me, they don't stay on for long. They were just for the picture.

DD has Robeez she wears (and also a pair of the Target version of robeez) if we're going out for a long trip and it's cold. I find that the Robeez ensure that the socks stay on. I think because of the elastic on the Robeez, they don't fall off like every other pair of cute booties that she owns.

[Soulmate]

Shoes DS rarely wears shoes and only when it is super cold or we are going somewhere a step up from casual. He is at an in-home daycare and they were surprised DS had shoes on one day when it was really cold. Apparently none of the babies wear shoes there either. DS always keeps his socks on. I buy the triple roll socks (love children's place's socks) and pull them up to his knees. Not very fashionable but they stay on and no one notices because he wears pants. The two pairs he has are ShooShoes and they are so super cute. I like them much better style wise than Robeez as they look like regular shoes.

[Soulmate]

Shoes DS rarely wears shoes and only when it is super cold or we are going somewhere a step up from casual. He is at an in-home daycare and they were surprised DS had shoes on one day when it was really cold. Apparently none of the babies wear shoes there either. DS always keeps his socks on. I buy the triple roll socks (love children's place's socks) and pull them up to his knees. Not very fashionable but they stay on and no one notices because he wears pants. The two pairs he has are ShooShoos and they are so super cute. I like them much better style wise than Robeez as they look like regular shoes.

[Wrighty26]

Shoes - B has two pairs of Robeez that he wears pretty much every day. He doesn't wear them while we are home, but he does once we leave the house. Mainly because his socks are off in 2 seconds flat -- plus they look cute with his outfits :D I am not as "shoe obsessed" as some of my other friends -- but they have girls, so maybe that's part of it??

[maryanne]

moms of baldies!---have you found any websites besides bestdressedkids that have a good selection of hats? I need one to go with this

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/408954026_dc5527ff08.jpg?v=0

[Chimichanga]

Shoes - Okay, I'm stubborn and I insist that DD wear her shoes during the day. I asked that daycare keep them on her and so far she's always had shoes on when I pick her up. I found a cheap pair of soft soled shoes at Old Navy; they look like Keds. They work for 95% of her outfits. We do have a black pair of soft soled shoes (dressy) that she wears on occassion.

[klav]

the robeez I have are about the only shoes that have stayed on L's feet

[emmjay]

Shoes - we just use those Zutano booties. I am thinking the Robeez might work better for crawling since they aren't so soft, but he is doing fine without them so I haven't bothered.

Question about vacation - we unexpectedly are now taking DS to Mexico with us in June. Do you think we should get a 2BR condo? I'm going back and forth - initially we thought we should so he could have his own quiet place for sleeping and we could have our own BR for nighttime, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. He has slept with us in the room on other trips. The naps aren't a big deal, but my concern is more at night and the possibility of him waking up if we make any noise. Any thoughts? The condos aren't very expensive either way - it's maybe another $200 - $300 for the week if we get the second bedroom.

BTW jennylou - your avatar makes me smile every time I see it. She is so adorable!

[mmisabel]

shoes - another Robeez fan. I used to just do socks but now that he is trying to crawl I feel he needs more than just socks. He can't kick the Robeez off, we have 3 pairs but i'm wanting a 4th.

I just bought these Pedipeds, so I will let you know how they work out. They go with his easter outfit.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/meglevey/shoes2.jpg

[maryanne]

emmjay- cool on your trip. i think that it comes down to wether ds usually sleeps on his own and if he can deal with noise or not. Melody still refuses to sleep in her room and can sleep thru anything (when and if she actually decides to sleep ;) ) so we are just using one room with a balcony when we go.

what part are you visiting?

[mkvh]

Shoes--C can't/won't keep socks on, either. So we wear shoes everywhere except to the ILs when I work. I have bought several pairs of the crib shoes (the ones in the bins, not the Robeez knock-offs) at Target. She also has a pair of brown Addidas which stay on really well b/c they're velcro. I'm not big on soft vs. hard soles, though.

Hats--NO, maryanne, I haven't. Guess it's a good thing I stocked up on hats on clearance at the end of last summer. Who knew I'd have such a baldy!

[maryanne]

It's driving me crazy. It is so hard to find clothes, shoes, hats with real colors :) good thing that I am eventually opening my own store..lol! But in the meantime I need some more goodies for the baby :) --- ya know to protect her head and all ;)

[sunchaser26]

Maryanne did you mention that you were going to start your own baby store? That sounds like a great idea, are you getting a SBL we are debating about starting a business too, not sure what we want to do for sure though. Would love to hear about your experiences though if you are going through the process and willing to share.

Jacob won't keep socks/shoes on other than the robees/target knockoffs either. I have only had some luck with the ON cuffed ones and the little knit booties with cuffs and now he is even getting those off today in no time flat.

Anyone else having problems keeping their DD/DS from flipping while they attempt to change their diapers? I have a devil of a time and it is becoming even more difficult... Sometimes I can distract him but not always depends on his mood.

[emmjay]

emmjay- cool on your trip. i think that it comes down to wether ds usually sleeps on his own and if he can deal with noise or not. Melody still refuses to sleep in her room and can sleep thru anything (when and if she actually decides to sleep ;) ) so we are just using one room with a balcony when we go.

what part are you visiting?
He does usually sleep on his own and he will probably wake up if we make noise. Although since he'll be in his own travel crib we can always keep him in the BR for naps and move him somewhere else at night when we go to bed. I don't know... I'll have to talk to DH again tonight.

We're going to Sayulita, which is outside of Puerto Vallarta. Originally we were going to go to Chacala but that is a teeny tiny fishing village way off the beaten track, and since we're bringing DS now we thought it might be better not to be in the middle of nowhere. I don't think Chacala even has a grocery store. Anyway, where are you going? You'll have to let me know how it goes once you get back!

[jesseybell]

We had 3 pairs of the Zutano booties and loved them, but they are now all too small.

I have the hardest time with diaper changes, not because of her flipping, but because of her absolute love for her feet. Immediately the feet go into her mouth so I can't even get the diaper undone. Diaper changes definitely are taking twice as long these days.

[maryanne]

sunchaser-- yep I am opening up an online baby and children's boutique. eventually we might do a brick and mortor store but that is a majuor cash and time investment. I'm still in the very beginning processes, but I've been talking about it some in my journal. the real fun starts next week when I attend a couple of children's wholesale shows. I've been trying to not talk about it too much b/c I am afraid of boring my online buddies, but its getting harder b/c I am getting so excited about it! Swing by my journal --there will be alot of business related stuff happening real soon (or if you have more intimate questions feel free to email me!)

emmjay- we are going to Akumal which is on the east coast , an hour south of Cancun-20 minutes north of Tulum.

(I have to say my usual PSA --although I am pretty sure that you already have one for dc knowing all the travel that you do-- that passports are now required for plane travel into mexico for babies.

[Lizard]

shoes - DD never wears shoes... I put socks on her when we go out but she pulls them off within minutes of being in her car seat. I usually have a spare pair in my pocket in case I can't find one of them. :) I've tried to put shoes on her but she pulls those off too. I bought a new pair at Carters Outlet today that were only 3 bucks, they are more high-top shaped and kind of in-between soft and hard sole, and really light. Maybe she'll keep these on (probably not though). :)

[a_spark]

Jumping in to say:

nuhmah, congrats on France!! That is way cool. Also, Ava LOVES magazines. Just discovered this yesterday. It seriously will keep her entertained for a good 30 minutes.

activities I wah and have a nanny for 3-4 hours a day 4 days a week, so when the nanny isn't here, we play on the floor, go for walks (not recently because it's been freezing), we attend a mommy & me yoga class on tuesday mornings, and we also run errands. She just loves being out and where there are a lot of people, which makes it so fun for me, too. Monday we went to Ikea, and she was in heaven!

[maybebaby]

Maryanne I see cute hats at baby Gap, Janie and Jack, Old Navy, Carters, and sometimes I knit my own. Those are probably places you've already thought of, but just in case.

[babylove]

Jake suddenly figured out how to clap and wave. He claps if we sing patty cake and waves "bye-bye" when prompted--although all this really mean is that he opens and closes his fingers, but doesn't raise his arm. He stares at his fingers as he does this, as if he isn't quite sure how they are moving or why. It's hilarious!

Oh and so much for him refusing to eat...he's been a little piggy for the last 2 days! I don't know why but I feel so much better when I know he is eating well...

[jennylou]

Thanks for all the comments on shoes. I'm going to have to actually look at the shoes at Target I guess. :) I knew they had regular shoes with hard soles (same as their regular toddler shoes) but I'm guessing you're all finding the soft sole shoes in the actual baby dept?

[mkvh]

jenny--the Robeez knock-offs hang in the aisle with the socks.

[babylove]

If anyone is interested in buying hats (I thought I saw a discussion about where to buy hats?), Blueberry Babies (www.blueberrybabies.com) is having a big sale and there are a bunch of adorable knit hats for boys and girls really really cheap!

[Can't_Wait]

For those of you using the robeez... what size is your DC fitting in? We have a pair of 6-12 mo ones & they are huge! They look like clown shoes if I put them on her, so we haven't even used them yet.

maryanne You'll have to share the link when you get your online boutique up & running... I always love shopping for DD. :)

[jesseybell]

We are still in the 0-6 month Robeez and we've got plenty of room. She wasn't able to wear them until a month ago because they were so big. We picked up a pair of 6-12 on sale but who knows when she'll actually be able to wear them. By then it will be spring/summer and I probably won't put her in shoes then anyways, except at daycare.

[klav]

WE have a pair of 0-6 boots that L wears and I have a pair of 12-18 shoes he wears.. the shoes are a bit big but they are OK and stay on.. the boots I think are a bit snug but lucky we are almost out to the cold season!

[Wrighty26]

For those of you using the robeez... what size is your DC fitting in? We have a pair of 6-12 mo ones & they are huge! They look like clown shoes if I put them on her, so we haven't even used them yet.



DS has been wearing his 6-12 month Robeez since about 5.5 -6 months. They were big at first, but now I'm worrying about him growing out of them soon!! He's like mama - he has big feet :rolleyes:

[mkvh]

C has her momma's big feet, too. We had a pair of 0-6, and they've been to small since Christmas!

[mmisabel]

Robeez - The 0-6 Robeez got too tight about 1 month ago. The 6-12 are huge, but he still wears them and keeps them on. :)

[mmisabel]

Tip from the sale thread - You get $5 off and free next day shipping on www.endless.com

I think I am going to get another pair of Robeez.

[mkvh]

You're a bad influence, mm!! I want to buy a pair for my friend's new daughter, and now I think C needs a new pair, too.

[Soulmate]

Thank god! DS' formula strike is due to teething and he has one popped through and the other one shouldn't be far behind. Today DS has only taken 6 ozs all day! Yesterday he only had 10 ozs total! We've been mixing some formula in with his solids but he only gets a fraction of what he needs. I hate that he stops drinking when he is teething (sippy cups don't help). He now has 7 teeth and working on his 8th. I think we get a break according to his baby book until ~11mos.

[smurf]

Wow, Soulmate, he sure does have a mouthful already, doesn't he? Teething sucks. I thought for sure Kate's would've popped through by now, but they're still holding out. I can see them right under the gums, but no dice just yet.

shoes-Kate has a couple of pairs, but she very rarely wears them. She much prefers to chew on them :rolleyes: I think I'm going to splurge and buy her some Pedipeds soon though. Before she was mobile, I didn't see much use in shoes, but now that she gets around, I think she needs them a little more.

Solids-we finally found something that she loves to eat--grilled cheese sandwiches! Crazy kid, she thinks she's a toddler instead of a baby!

[mkvh]

Oh, Soulmate, that stinks! Hope L feels better soon.

Hee, smurf--TOLD you she wanted finger foods. :p C loves anything bread-related.

[Soulmate]

Non-baby related advice...I really don't feel like putting it anywhere else. But honesty, no matter how brutal is greatly appreciated ;)

A good friend is getting married in October (I'm in the wedding) cross-country. Money is pretty tight for us (paycheck to paycheck although DH works extra so we do not get into a bind) and DH *just* finished paying off a crazy high mountain of CC debt. Instead of a bachlorette party they want to have a spa day with it running $300 - $400 *plus* go out to dinner and do drinks. I think the sentiment is really awesome as what bride wouldn't want to get pampered along with all of her close friends. What is killing me is that it will be at least $1K just to get out there and food plus I'll be getting a dress for the wedding. If I had an extra $300 I would be buying myself clothes that actually fit me and not on a massage or facial which will go away in days (I know the support for my friend is what is important). So I emailed them about the price being too high and I'd join them for the dinner part and I got a nice email back but it also seemed like I was being viewed as a horrible friend for being so selfish ("I know she would really like you to be there..."). Am I out of line and should I just suck it up for this day because it is so important and once in a lifetime? I guess I am just a little bitter that they are picking such an expensi