Nov-Dec 2006 Mommies On Our Way to 1st Birthdays

[rosa727]

Halloween: We got Grady a giraffe costume from BRU. We let him pick from the monkey, lion, or giraffe. He kept grabbing the giraffe one, so that's what he got. He has a big giraffe painted on the wall of his nursery, so maybe that's why :) We are taking him trick-or-treating to the houses on our street. Our development also has a kids' Halloween parade the weekend before. I think we will also do the trick-or-treating at the mall, so he should get to dress up a couple times.

[sunshine0928]

Mobox - I'll PM you.

mimieliza - that picture is precious..definitely a keeper!

[Teresita]

I am woefully far behind...I have been reading here and there but haven’t gotten a chance to post. Anyway, I saw this I am guessing no one else's child stands up dangerously in the tub. I hate when he does it.
and had to respond...you are not alone! My boy Finn is all about standing in the tub and he also likes to stand and then let go (Look Ma, no Hands style! :eek:). It makes for a very stressful bath time. My poor DD is probably a bit on the dirty side since I can barely give her a quick wipe before Finn is up and standing. Drives. Me. Nuts. BTW, your son has incredible eyes...future Paul Newman-type heartbreaker eyes!:)

Halloween We had planned on him being a dog since we are a dog family and we have the costume already from DD. But now DD is into the idea of being a sea turtle, so DH thinks we ought to dress as a family and all be sea creatures. We shall see. mimieliza That picture is too cute!

Developments Finn is obsessed with standing. He stands all the time and is standing for longer and longer with out holding on to anything. I am just waiting for him to start taking steps. Still no real crawling. He is good at dragging himself around the room, though! Loves to “talk”…lots of dadadada and mamamama and other sounds and he gets really excited about the dogs and says “DADADADA” real loud. But no true words yet.

Bad Mommy Award Winner Me. I put Finn on the bed for a nap and he fell off. I swear he never rolls around at nap time. Well, this time he did. I heard the thunk (wood floor) and then the screaming. It was awful. I called his pediatrician and brought him in right away. He was perfectly fine, just upset about it all—who can blame him. And then the next day he developed a nice shiner under his eye. No more naps on the bed for him.

Life has been very busy here. DH is on the road for work for much of the next couple of months. My nanny had a change of her class schedule and now can’t work nearly as much as we had planned. I need to find someone else to give me more hours but can’t find the time to do interviews. So, I end up running around like crazy with the kids and then am up all hours trying to get work done at night…and then Finn is still up about 3 times a night to nurse. I am so sleep-deprived!!! What I wouldn’t give to be able to STTN!

[mobox]

We bought Sam the hot dog from Old Navy. But we aren't taking him trick or treating...too much and too late for him, but I want to take him to my ILs and pass out candy.
http://www.oldnavy.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/507/507456/main/on507456-00p01v01.jpg

[lilo]

mobox: that's adorable!

Halloween: I'm going to buy Gavin a little Elvis costume since DH is a HUGE Elvis fan and the costume doesn't require anything to be on his head (he dosen't tolerate anything on his head). Unfortunately we will be traveling back from CA that day so we won't be able to take DS trick-or-treating but they have a local Halloween parade the weekend before so we'll take him to that. I also bought him two adorable Halloween long-sleeved onesies from Etsy. One has a blue monster on it and says "Little Monster" on the front. The other one has a old-school type of ghost on it. So he'll definitely wear one of those onesies on the plane. :D

Rancid: I didn't realize you lived in Orange County. Gavin and I are tagging along on one of DH's business trips next month to Anaheim. I'm taking DS to Disneyland one day but I'll email you and maybe we can meet up for lunch on one of the other days. :) I'm thinking about taking DS to Laguna Beach and Newport one of the days too so let me know if you have recommendations on where to go.

mimieliza: What a cute picture.

[rosa727]

mobox: That costume is adorable! How funny. We will have to take G trick-or-treating at about 5:30PM, so I hope people are ready at that time! I think we will just do 5-10 houses.

[katnbug]

Rancid and katnbug - thank you. I am guessing no one else's child stands up dangerously in the tub. I hate when he does it.


Actually, Hilary tries to do it all of the time. She slipped while trying to stand during one bath and got a mouth-full of bubbles. That hasn't stopped her from standing though. After I sit her back down for the 4th or 5th time, I just take her out of the bath for good. :(

Cute costumes everyone! Poor little duckie, mimieliza!

DH's birthday is on Halloween, so it's always a big day for us. The neighborhood my sister used to live in has a big party outside (which is mostly fun for the adults! ;)) DS is almost 3yo, so he likes the trick or treating already. I'll probably just stroll DD along for the ride.

[rosa727]

I just got this for Grady, personalized with his name. If anyone is interested they are only about $10 on Lillian Vernon's website. I know he won't really carry it this year and any candy he gets will be eaten by me and DH, but I thought it would be fun for him to get it this year and have it over the years.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/pumpkinpail.jpg

[Rancid13]

Tyler said "mama" for the first time with meaning on Weds. Prior to that he had just been babbling in general, but several times that day when he wanted to be picked up/held by me and only me, he yelled out "mamama!". Usually he'll babble "bababa" or "bwa bwa bwa" but he was a total mommy's boy that day and has been saying "mamama" whenever he wants me or my attention ever since.

Halloween~ I'm leaning towards this baby leopard costume for Tyler (Amazon.com):
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31YFxVxXB1L._AA160_.jpg

Rancid: I didn't realize you lived in Orange County. Gavin and I are tagging along on one of DH's business trips next month to Anaheim. I'm taking DS to Disneyland one day but I'll email you and maybe we can meet up for lunch on one of the other days. :) I'm thinking about taking DS to Laguna Beach and Newport one of the days too so let me know if you have recommendations on where to go.

That'd be great to meet up with you! There's all kinds of fun stuff to do around here, as the weather is pretty agreeable year-round for outside stuff. You can PM me when you know the dates you'll be available to get together, and we'll figure out what to do. :) I live ~8 miles up the street from D-land so I'm fairly close by (~15 min. drive depending on traffic).

Mobox~ That hot dog costume is great!! LOL! I didn't know ON had that one, I checked out costumes on their website but wasn't impressed by what I saw. The last time I was in an ON store, they didn't have any costumes in yet.

Teresita~ Sorry to hear about Finn's spill from the bed! Glad to hear he's ok. I guess it's something we'll all have to get used to with our little ones getting more mobile. Lots of bumps and bruises in the years ahead!

Rosa~ Cute pumpkin bag! I like that idea of using it over the years.

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Enfamil check: I just got one in the mail for $10...it says "Check valid only on Next Step Lipil toddler formulas". Exp 11/30/07. It's yours to anyone who wants it. PM me...first come first serve. :)
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[fms]

Drive-By Post...

B's 9mo stats:
30" long (90th)
20lbs 3oz (50th)
18" melon (50th)

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/meashcc/046.jpg

Halloween Babystyle Octopus
Movements Crawling check. Pulling-up check. Walking hold one of my hands check.
Sippy Cup He got the hang of it last week.

I love seeing photos of all of the babies and hearing about their progress!!!! Our kids are so.darn.cute.

[katnbug]

fms- Brendon is ADORABLE!

[rosa727]

Rancid: How fun that Tyler is saying "Mama" for real now!

fms: SO CUTE! You take great pictures, but then, it must be easy with such an adorable subject :)

sick baby: Poor Grady is STILL sick with a cold :( As far as I can tell it is just a congested nose, but it is really not fun. I can tell he is uncomfortable because he has been pretty crabby, which is unlike him. He is also not sleeping great. Some nights have been just fine, but last night he woke up about 8 times - no fun! I could tell he just couldn't breathe. He wanted to sleep so he would go right back to sleep after I patted him, but it was a rough night. He isn't napping well either. Have other people found that their babies slept very poorly when they were congested? Anyway, I went to the doctor today and they ruled out anything else (strep, bronchitis, ear infection) so that's good!

[mobox]

Rosa - Hope Grady is feeling better!

Words: Aha! Sam is finally saying some stuff. He said Mama on Friday. Sometimes he says it when he wants attention or I walk in the room. Mamama! Probably because I say it to him ALL.THE.TIME. Then he said UP today. I don't know if it qualifies as his "first word." We say up to him all the time. "Wanna get up?" "Lift your hands up." I put him in his seat and he says UP-pup. But we also say Puppy all the time too, because our dog.

Crawling: He also basically started dragging himself around this weekend. I wouldn't say it's crawling, not yet. But if you put something out of his reach...he drags himself to it.

[rosa727]

mobox: Sounds like Sam is really moving along! Once the dragging starts, the crawling is usually close behind (at least it was for us!). And how fun that he is "talking". I am so trying to get Grady to learn "up" so he can tell me when he wants to get up. That's a good first word!

Poor Grady is still sick, but at least his mood is a lot better and he slept better last night. Naps still stink :(

[ausi2b]

Are anyone else's kids throwing tantrums yet? I guess that is what I should call it. When DS doesn't get his way, he arches his back, becomes completely rigid and screams. He's fully mobile, but when he gets upset, he flings himself backwards so that he bumps his head. On one hand it is kind of funny, but I don't want him to hurt himself. Part of me wants to cuddle him and tell him its ok (which he usually pushes me away - sniff!) but the other part of me just wants to say "toughen up kid - you're ok!!" Or is my kid just overly-emotional (don't know WHERE he gets it from ;))

[Calla Lilly]

ausi2b- ooh, sorry you are already dealing with that!

Well we are back from London! I think Jonathan handled the flight back (around 11 hours) better then we did! He is still adjusting to the time change back here, but he really did great the trip...there is no way we thought he would be THAT easy. We go to Hawaii next month and hope that things will go just as smoothly then.

Costumes- Has anyone seen any of the Gap ones in person? I am thinking about doing the bee costume from there, since he loved his little bee when he was a newborn. I live in AZ so I don't want something too heavy either.

[sandy]

All of these adorable babies!! I love all of the Halloween costume ideas.

We're going to be Nemo this year. He borrowed the costume from his cousin since I'll be out of town for business during his first Halloween. :( Dad is going to hand out candy with Nemo that night. I'm sad to miss it.

Still waiting for those darn top two teeth to come in. I just want to carve them out with a butter knife! It's so frustrating!!!!

[sunshine0928]

fms -cute picture!

mobox- Thanks for the Huntington rec, we went there Sunday and had a great time! We got some great pics in the Children's Garden and Rose Garden.

Travel - G did very well on the trip here to CA. She could not have done any better. She totally hates the crip here so that's been the only bad thing. We have been trying to put her in it but she has slept more with us than in it. She has kind of slipped in it a few times trying to pull herself up so I'd rather her not hurt herself either.

Rosa -cute candy pail!

Costumes- I have not decided yet but I always make last minute decisions so we'll see. I did see the Babystyle costumes in person and they were cute.

[pacificbliss]

ausi2b DS does the same thing, hi kicks his legs out, goes completely rigid and screams. Depending what the issue is I usually try to ignore him.

sunshine and calla lilyglad you both had a good trips. This is a traveling bunch in this thread.

rosa I hope Grady feels better soon.

mobox Yay for words and crawling! I'm getting excited for Dominic to crawl.

fms Brendon is soo cute.

costumes I don't know what I'm getting yet. I'm leaning toward the bat at Target.


Dominic has his 9 month WBV Friday. He has not been sleeping well. He wakes up at 3:30/4:00 AM and then it's a struggle for hours before I just get him up or bring him to bed.

The next part will be long...

DH totally lost it last night. I put DS down in his crib and he started to cry, DH had to go downstairs. He said he could not stand to sit in the next room from a crying baby. Now, I should preface this by saying DH wanted to try Ferber. We heard good things about it and it worked at first but we have gotten out of the habit, we've been putting DS down asleep, etc. After 20 minutes I went in there, put in the paci and was rubbing his head. He quieted down and when he wasn't quite asleep I left. Well, he started screaming again. I heard this loud bang from downstairs and ran to see what it was. DS snapped when he heard DS cry and punched the wall :( Don't worry, he would never hit me or DS, he just sort of lost it. I asked him what was going on and he said, "I'm tired, I'm tired of not sleeping, I'm tired of being screamed at, I'm tired of...being a father to a baby." I had no words and I can't get his words out of my head. I went upstairs in tears and rubbed DS head until he fell asleep. DH paced around a bit while I cried in DS room and then DH fell asleep. I'm sure it's nothing. We've all been there right? I wish he had talked to me before it got that far because now I can't get his words out of my head. Our 10 year anniversary (of dating) is tomorrow and I'm so not in the mood. I want 2 kids but DH is struggling with this one. Sorry, this got really long. I should probably clean it up and post it in emotional support or something. Thanks for listening.

[rosa727]

pacificbliss: Sending **HUGS** your way. I am sorry to hear you are struggling with DS's sleep and even more sorry to hear that DH is not dealing with it very well. I am sure that he just feels overwhelmed. I know I certainly do, as Grady has been struggling with sleep lately too. I'm just sorry that he said those things. People tend to say things they don't mean when they are stressed and upset. I am very guilty of that myself :( I hope things get better for you.

aussi2b: This just started with us too. Today, for example, I told him he could not chew on the swing at the playground and he let out this scream and made a sort of mad face at me. I think this is the beginning of temper tantrums. My theory is that the sooner I can get him to communicate (through signing or words or whatever), the less of an issue this will be. It's a theory at least, right? :p

I have some potentially exciting news. DH just found out today that he has an interview in South Carolina a week from today for a job with his company that would be a big step up! We are going to head down with him for several days so we can scope out the area and see if we like it. I know I love South Carolina and Greenville (where it is) is supposed to be great, so I hope it works out! The bigger paycheck would be a huge plus too, considering I stay at home :) We have never stayed in a hotel room with Grady, so I hope he does OK. I think we will get a suite somewhere. I also hope he is 100% better by then. This darn cold is just lingering!

[pacificbliss]

Congrats Rosa and thanks for the kind words. I'm sure DHs comments and my reaction are just the sleep deprivation.

[Ilovemygeek]

pacificbliss I just wanted to offer support. I think we have all had times when we feel we just cannot take a crying baby anymore. For my DH and me the hardest part of being parents is the sleep deprivation. DD is not a bad sleeper, but she certianly does not seem to enjoy as much sleep as DH or I do. DH really seems to stress over it all more than I do, and although he is a wonderful, loving father, I know he gets very frustrated by all the crying. I just keep reminding him that this is a temporary stage in DD's life and that in a year of two, this will be forgotten and DH will be ready to have another child (I hope).

[Delaney21]

pacificbliss: I just wanted to offer some support too. We've all been there and the lack of sleep can definitely become overwhelming! Just to share my story so you know you aren't alone in this, this weekend DS woke up screaming, which isn't an uncommon thing for him. He usually wakes up at least 4 times a night, so you would think we'd be used to it. Well DH sat up out of bed and started yelling, "Why are you screaming?! You have nothing to scream about, quit over reacting you are fine!" It totally pissed me off because he was yelling at a 9 month old baby and it was totally unnecessary! That being said, my DH never yells so it was very uncharacteristic for him. I think it was just the lack of sleep and frustration of dealing with it for so long. Please try to forget what your DH said! I'm sure he didn't mean any of it and it was just the first thing that came out since he was so frustrated.

[fms]

Just wanted to pop in and give some "us too" support. These little people come into our lives and rock our worlds in way we could never expect...if you talk to other Moms, frustration (for both parents) is very common. I wish I had words of wisdom but alas, I don't. Know that you aren't alone. We're all just trying to figure out who we are in our newly defined family relationships and frankly, it's not always easy. ((huggs)) to all of us!

[pacificbliss]

Thanks everyone. It feels good to know me (and my DH) aren't the only ones who lose it once in a while. Yes, hugs to all of us.

[katnbug]

pacificbliss-- You are definitely not alone. My DH and I have both been known to yell not so nice things after being waken up by one of our children. :( Lack of sleep does strange things to all of us. My DH pretty much sleeps in the family room 50% of the time so he can be well rested for work.

And not to be a bummer, but it doesn't get any easier with the second child. So make sure you BOTH are really ready to go through it again.

Just tell yourself that someday this will end. There is a light (somewhere) at the end of the tunnel. :)

[Ilovemygeek]

Costumes Daria is going to be the goldfish from Babystyle. It is so cute and is very good quality.
http://www.babystyle.com/images/product/20181_MID_l.jpg

Well, it's official. Daria is starting to walk. She started taking steps about 3 weeks ago, just one or two at a time, but yesterday she walked from one side of our office to the other. 25 steps! :D She still crawls more than she walks, but it is close to being equal. Ugh, I don't really want an early walker. I can't let my guard down for even a few seconds.

[rosa727]

Rachel: Cute costume! It so bright and pretty.

How exciting yet scary that Daria is walking! I can't imagine Grady walking in 3 or 4 weeks! She sure is an early bloomer with the physical stuff!

[mimieliza]

pacificbliss - my DH and I constantly snipe at each other at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 AM when we're awake because of DD. It's like we have to blame each other because what's the point of blaming her?

I've also had to go in the room and take DD out of DH's arms because he was stomping his feet in anger or slamming things around when she wouldn't settle down.

Sleep deprivation does terrible things to a person's coping skills and personality. Just remember that it's the lack of sleep acting out, that's not your real DH.

Oh, and the lack of sleep is the #1 reason why DH and I are waiting a looooong time before having baby #2. I just don't think anyone can imagine having another one when they are still so sleep deprived.

[lilo]

pacificbliss: just wanted to add my support too. Like everyone else said, I'm sure your DH just felt really overwhelmed and the words came out. I can still remember the days of massive sleep deprivation and how stressful it was. Being a parent is so tough, I think at any stage, but especially at the infant stage.

Ilovemygeek: I love that goldfish costume! So cute. Especially the orange tights. And congrats on Daria walking! How exciting although I agree with you about having an early walker. I'm perfectly okay with Gavin crawling for another 2 months. ;)

calla lilly and sunshine: I'm so happy to hear that both of your babies travelled so well on long trips! That gives me hope for us since we are taking DS to CA next month. Please pass along any additional tips you may have!

sunshine: did you do anything special with regard to the time change? Did you have your DD stay up later when you got to CA?

mobox: That's great about your DS saying the word "up"!

ausi2b: Gavin hasn't had any full-on temper tantrums although he is perfecting his 'fake cry' as I like to call it. If he can't stand against something dangerous (for example, the high chair propped up against the wall or better yet, the oven), he will just sit there and let out a loud cry and scrunch his eyes up as if to say, "you meanie! I never get to have any fun around here". :D I am all about distracting him with something else or just ignoring it if necessary.

Rosa: I totally commiserate with you with regard to having a sick baby. Gavin has had a cold since last Thursday. :( I think he's finally getting better but I took him to the doctor yesterday to rule out anything else and luckily it's just a cold too. She prescribed a decongestant for him since his nose just won't stop running and he's got a little cough. Luckily his naps have been fine although at night he's been waking up once a night or either he wakes up super early like this morning at 5am! Not fun. Not to be the bearer of bad news but the doctor told me yesterday that these types of colds can take a while to get over.
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Not much new here. Gavin will be 10 months tomorrow! I can't believe it. Time is definitely flying by but this is such a fun age that I wouldn't trade it for the world. Gavin is doing so much and is so entertaining to be around. Work has been really busy for me and as I mentioned to Rosa, Gavin has been sick with a cold for the last few days. Poor little guy. I think he's finally getting better though. And I'm happy to report that I think Gavin's afternoon nap has lengthened to 2 hours! Definitely a good thing, even if it's only temporary.

I've started to plan Gavin's 1st birthday party too. We've decided to have two parties, although both will be relatively small. One for our friends and their babies and then one with our family and relatives. Since DS's birthay is so close to Thanksgiving, we're going to host a big Thanksgiving dinner as the 2nd party and I'll make a special birthday cake for Gavin. I'm looking forward to both parties although I can't it's right around the corner.

[pacificbliss]

Thanks everyone! Last night was another rough one but DH was up to the challenge. I think we were both frustrated and on edge. DS had been a pretty good night time sleeper. It's like he just forgot how to put himself to sleep...or back to sleep.

lilo I can't believe Gavin is going to be 10 months. I forget what a difference there is in age between some of our babies. Still, time is flying by.

ilovemygeek Cute costume! Walking? Wow, that's exciting.

[Rancid13]

Fms~ Adorable picture of Brendon! Such pinchable cheeks!

Rosa~ Sorry to hear Grady is sick! Tyler had a very stuffy nose last month-it was pretty tough for him to breathe at night. It was hard to suck out hard, clumpy boogers with the aspirator so I sprayed some Little Noses saline spray to make them more watery and suckable. I also put a humidifier in his room and turned it on at night and during naps. His stuffy nose cleared up after a few days. And how exciting about the potential new job news for your DH!

Mobox~ That is great Sam's crawling! And yay he's saying mama!

Sunshine~ Glad to hear your trip went great!

Pacificbliss~ I wanted to add my support and hugs as well. I cannot tell you how many times I have told DH that I wished we'd never had a baby and that I wanted to go back in time and undo having DS. I had just had it with the sleepless nights, the constant demands for feeding, attention, no time for myself, etc. Even with DH helping with some of the feedings so I could get rest, I was still at the end of my rope and was so over it. Thankfully things got better sleep-wise and I was able to get some much needed rest and a better perspective. Things can get so overwhelming and unmanageable when you're sleep deprived and people say things that they don't mean. We've already decided that Tyler is going to be an only child so we know we will not have to go through this again.

Ilovemygeek~ What a cute goldfish costume! I love it!! I can't believe Daria's walking!!

Lilo~ Yay for a longer nap! I can't believe we're getting so close to celebrating our little ones' first birthdays already. Wow!

Tantrums~ Tyler has been known to throw a tantrum when something is taken away from him that he can't have. He does the whole back arch thing coupled with a very angry face and screaming. It makes DH and I LOL and I usually tell Tyler to get over it and/or try to distract him with something safer to play with.

Costumes~ I think we have changed our minds about what costume to get. We went to BRU over the weekend and they had the cutest pirate costume there. They don't have it on the website so no picture of it, but DH and I loooove pirates and all the other pirate baby costumes I had seen didn't look all that great.


Nothing new going on here. Tyler has his 9 month WBV this afternoon, DH is taking him (though he is now 9.5 months)...speaking of DH, he is still unemployed. Applying and being interviewed like crazy, but nothing has come of any of it yet. And to top it off, he was so slow and lazy with regards to filling out his unemployment paperwork, that he won't get his first unemployment check for another week or so. Yes, 5 months AFTER losing his job. Aye yay yay!

Here are some newer pics of my little guy...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/IMG_5449.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JensCamera9-16-07091.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JensCamera9-16-07062.jpg

And some videos...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/th_JensCamera9-16-07072.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/?action=view&current=JensCamera9-16-07072.flv)

About a minute into this video, he gets totally crazy- bouncing and yelling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/th_JensCamera9-16-07018.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/?action=view&current=JensCamera9-16-07018.flv)

[pacificbliss]

rancid Tyler is so cute. I love that video of him in the jumper.

Thanks again everyone for the support. We were out last night and I actually overheard DH tell some friends we'll probably have another baby. Not now, but eventually :D

[rosa727]

Rancid: Luckily, Grady seems to be over the cold finally. It was only a stuffy nose, but it sure was stubborn! He definitely wanted nothing to do with the aspirator, but I did use the nose drops just to losen things up.

Such cute video! Grady LOVED that Jumperoo, although now that he can get around on his own, he doesn't tolerate it for very long. He used to hang in it forever and just jump and jump. It's also cute how much Tyler is babbling! What a little talker you have!

lilo: Sorry to hear that you are dealing with a sick baby too. Grady luckily seems to be pretty much over it. He is STTN again the past several nights, and his naps seem to be improving again. He took an hour and a half nap this morning, which is great for him.

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So like I mentioned above, Grady finally seems to be feeling better - sleeping much better and back to his old happy self. He is also just developing his physical skills in leaps and bounds, it seems. He is crawling very fast now, will walk up the stairs if we hold him, pulls up on everything, lets go and stands on his own for a few seconds, and uses the walker by himself.

I can't believe he will be 10 months old in a few days! Like lilo, we are doing two birthday parties - a big one for our family and friends back at home and a small one for our friends where we live now and Grady's baby friends from playgroup and stuff. We are doing a farm theme for both, and party planning is in full effect ;)

Here he is chasing me across the floor, laughing:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2305.jpg

And petting a dog at playgroup:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/Ganddog.jpg

[rosa727]

Rancid: Luckily, Grady seems to be over the cold finally. It was only a stuffy nose, but it sure was stubborn! He definitely wanted nothing to do with the aspirator, but I did use the nose drops just to losen things up.

Such cute video! Grady LOVED that Jumperoo, although now that he can get around on his own, he doesn't tolerate it for very long. He used to hang in it forever and just jump and jump. It's also cute how much Tyler is babbling! What a little talker you have!

lilo: Sorry to hear that you are dealing with a sick baby too. Grady luckily seems to be pretty much over it. He is STTN again the past several nights, and his naps seem to be improving again. He took an hour and a half nap this morning, which is great for him.

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So like I mentioned above, Grady finally seems to be feeling better - sleeping much better and back to his old happy self. He is also just developing his physical skills in leaps and bounds, it seems. He is crawling very fast now, will walk up the stairs if we hold him, pulls up on everything, lets go and stands on his own for a few seconds, and uses the walker by himself.

I can't believe he will be 10 months old in a few days! Like lilo, we are doing two birthday parties - a big one for our family and friends back at home and a small one for our friends where we live now and Grady's baby friends from playgroup and stuff. We are doing a farm theme for both, and party planning is in full effect ;)

Here he is chasing me across the floor, laughing:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2305.jpg

And petting a dog at playgroup - he was laughing like crazy at the dog:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/Ganddog.jpg

[pacificbliss]

Sorry for the fly-by post. We're just back from Dominic's 9 month WBV. He's 20 lbs and 30 inches long. I forget his head circumference but he still has a big head :)

I get the worst Mom ever award. I've been talking about how bad his sleep has been. Well, his ears are still infected. He just finished the Augmentin so I figured they were fine but I guess it never went away or it's back already. This time he got the antibiotic shots and he goes back on Tuesday.

[Calla Lilly]

pacificbliss-I am sorry to hear you are dealing with another ear infection. When we got back from London Jonathan had another one too...I think this is his 4th? 3 of them were in a 6-8 week period, so I think they never went away too. He has a runny nose even after being on the medication for a few days now, so we are going to call the doctor in the morning to see if we can get him on something else.

[Rancid13]

DH finally got me Tyler's stats from his 9 month WBV which was this past Wednesday.

(He's 9.5 months...)

Weighs 20lbs 4oz (49%tile)
Length 27.5 (25%tile)
Head 47cm (95%tile)

Doc jokes that Tyler is short, fat and has a big melon. :) He also says he's a very healthy baby.

[mobox]

Sam had his 9 month WBV as well a couple weeks ago. Kid grew so fast, the doctor was SHOCKED. He's 29.5 inches long and 21.2 pounds. All 75%. He's going to be a big kid after all, after being so small for so long. MUst be all the solid food he shovels in!

Still not totally mobile but getting there. Sam can turn in 360 on his stomach in 1 second flat. It's quite comical to watch!

Somthing's up with my camera and I can't download my newest pics but I will soon.

[fms]

Life has been so darn hectic that I haven't really had a chance to download here.

Today B stood unassisted for 3 seconds. I let go of his little chubknuckles and he balance all by himself. Where does the time go????

We're drinking water out of a sippy but are still BFing. In the next few weeks I need to become acquainted with my pump again to start the transition to all sippy cup.

B will be the octopus from Babystyle for Halloween...suits him to a T!

Rancid...Tyler is just an adorable happy boy!
Pacific...We have the same tall kid!
Rosa ...Grady is so smiley and cute!

Photos ladies, we need to see more smiles :)

[sunshine0928]

Well we got home from CA on Saturday night in one piece (very tired though!). Grace did very well on the flights so that was awesome! She did get out of her nice sleep routine so the first two nights home were painful. She was screaming bloody murder when we tried to put her to bed back at home. Part of that was our fault b/c she hated the crib at the hotel and slept w/us some as a result. We did some fun things in California so I'll share some pics below. DH was there for work so we were at his schedule's mercy for getting out and about. It was cooler than I expected so we only got to the pool one day (sorry mobox we couldn't hook up..we didn't go to the pool Wed and I went shopping alone Thursday night while DH hung out with his bro). We were spoiled at our hotel so I really can't complain much!

G started her new class in DC on Monday. Wouldn't you know it that I got a call on Monday and she had fallen down. She was fine but they called b/c there was some blood although I never even saw evidence of that so who knows! We did take her back again to the Dr Mon b/c we thought she had an ear infection b/c she kept rubbing her ear. All was clear though so maybe she is loving her longer hair and was just trying to pull it??

Question for everyone...what is everyone's DC eating these days and how much? I keep trying puffs but she just likes playing and even gags when I try to put them in her mouth. She doesn't lie the texture or someting. She also has totally hated every home made food I have made and has gagged with each one...it is almost funny but DH thinks I am torturing her when I keep trying to feed her these new things. So..she is having (4-5) 6 oz bottles, breakfast of fruit and cereal/oatmeal, veggies with her bottle around mid-day and veggies and fruit/oatmeal at dinner. All of the food is the stage 2 comtainers. She is definitely not hurting in teh weight area as she weighed 22.5 lbs at the Dr last week. She goes for her 9 month WBV next week.

At the Hunting Library Children's Garden
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/So-CaliforniaTrip2007114.jpg

At the hotel
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/So-CaliforniaTrip2007089.jpg

At her first wine tasting!
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/So-CaliforniaTrip2007179.jpg

[pacificbliss]

sunshine Grace is so cute.

As for food DS eats yogurt with fruit and cereal in the morning a little while after nursing. At school he gets 4 6 oz bottle of EBM plus 2 bowls of veggies or meat plus veggies mixed with cereal. After school he gets some finger food (usually puffs), another bowl of food and nurses before bed.

Gotta run, DS and I are catching a flight to SF in a few hours

[mimieliza]

Sunshine - Those pictures of Grace are adorable! I love the wine "tasting." :)


Food - Miranda eats everything. She loves to eat, and I'm stunned at how much she'll eat at a sitting. And she's tiny, so I don't know where it all goes. I'm aiming to have her mostly off of baby food by one year (mainly because it's expensive). It's just so convenient, though! But I've been making an effort to offer other things.

Dinner last night was:
veggie dog (cut into teeny bits)
peas (whole)
cottage cheese
applesauce

Other favorites:
Cheerios
wheat or rice Chex
cheese crumbles
yogurt (YoBaby)
cut up fruit
whole wheat tortilla (cut into thin strips)
tofu (silken - she doesn't like the texture of the regular stuff)
bagel slices with cream cheese
avocado
refried beans
pasta
Annie's Mac and Cheese

[sandy]

Went to Tyler's 9 month well baby check and he survived 3 shots and a finger prick. Fun times!

Stats:
20 lbs 13.5 oz (55%)
29" long (90%)
head was 10% (still!)

I've been told that I baby him too much at night and that's why he sleeps all crappy. So I decided to be mean mom and let him cry himself to sleep starting with his morning nap. It's heartbreaking!! I've been ok with letting him cry it out at night but mid-day naps I'm never quite sure. Sometimes I feel like I'm putting him down to sleep too early and he's just not tired enough yet. I don't know what I'm doing.

And I need to be feeding him more solids than I am. Hmph. Can't I be in denial that I need to make more of an effort for just a little bit longer??

Oh and the ped gave him one of those tongue depressor popsicle stick things and Tyler will not let it go! It's his new best friend. He's taken it with him into the crib for naps and held it all through his lunch. Got VERY mad at me when I took it away to wash off all of the peaches he'd gotten on it. Who'd have known I don't need to spend money on toys just buy him popsicle sticks!

[Calla Lilly]

Food- Jonathan, like Miranda, will pretty much eat anything. He will be 10 months tomorrow and weighs about 19.5 lbs. On days he has daycare (2-3 days a week) he gets 15 ozs of EBM and nurses about 4-5 additional times. At daycare he gets 2 jars of baby food, and usually some steamed veggies to self feed. He also gets finger foods for dinner. At home he usally nurses 8xs and gets 2 meals of mainly finger foods.

He usually makes a huge mess when he eats (drives my dh crazy) but here is an idea of what he gets.

Dinner tonight: pasta (cute watching him slurp noodles), grean beens, veggie meatballs.

Usual breakfast at home: 4 mini Earth Best waffles, cut up fruit (i.e. kiwi, banana, mango, papaya, etc) and a few spoonfulls of full fat plain organic yogurt...sometimes I will let him self feed cottage cheese instead (HUGE MESS!)

I give him lots of cut of fruit and steamed veggies (sometimes from the freezer or canned), rice, tofu, beans, oatios, cut up string cheese, little star pasta, gnochi, ravioli, shredded chicken...

Within reason we'll give him at least bites of anything we eat. I don't let him have anything spicey, but he does eat things with flavor (i.e. garlic). I think his daycare sometimes feels sorry for him, with some of the stuff I send. I have made a mixture (from a soup recipe) of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and collard greens (that was a puree). I should also add whenever I let him self feed our beagle ends up with a pretty good meal.

[rosa727]

I just wanted to post a quick update on Grady, since it is his "birthday" today :p We just got back from South Carolina for DH's job interview, and everything went pretty well. Grady slept well at night and napped OK, but decided that he no longer wants to take nice long naps in the car like he used to. Oh well.

We also took him to the Children's Museum here where we live on Sunday. He loved it! Who knew a 10 month old could get so much out of something like that?

I just cannot believe that it is only 2 months until his birthday :( Where does the time go? I don't even know how I am going to get through making the photo slide show for his party. I am going to cry the whole time, looking at his newborn photos. Makes me want another one already. But we are definitely planning on waiting a while longer. And I really want to be able to focus on Grady anyway.

As far as solids, Grady still loves everything. The other night we were eating out and DH chopped up a bunch of greenbeans and gave them to Grady. He ate them like they were candy! Too funny. As far as finger foods, he eats:

mango
avocado
cheerios and puffs (like crazy)
peaches
watermelon
bagel
canteloupe
banana
bluberries
tomato
little pieces of grilled chicken

I need to start doing more though, as he seems to always want to eat more finger foods.

sunshine: So glad to hear your trip was a success! Those pictures of Grace are adorable. She sure is big - I wouldn't worry about her getting enough calories! Hopefully she will come around on more foods. I think some kids are just naturally pickier, just like some kids are naturally better sleepers, you know?

[mobox]

Samuel eats everything with gusto. I make most of it, pureed, but I'm starting to finish up my stash of pureed food (chicken casserole, beef casserole and lentil stew) and move him on to chunkier stuff. He eats any finger food you give him: Cheese, puffs, rice cakes, toast, cut up fruit or veggies, anything. My goal is to be completely done with baby food in two more months and only have him eating table food for lunch and dinner and cereal/fruit for breakfast. He also loves yogurt and cottage cheese.

And since I'm here, here's a pic. He was in a serious mood, in the swings. I think he was staring up at the trees.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1322/1450936057_dc5869f4e1.jpg?v=0

[sandy]

My kid is a picky eater. How many times did it take to get your kids to like the new foods? Maybe I give up too easily.

[Calla Lilly]

Sandy, the only thing my son has really ever hated were avocados when we first gave them to him (one of his first foods). He was pretty commical with how much he hated them. I think it took 10+ tries for him to actually start eating them. When he was younger we would feed him something he really liked with something he didn't like so much. At this point he has his favorites, but will pretty much eat anything you feed him.

[rosa727]

Sandy: Grady will eat pretty much anything now, but at first he didn't really like carrots or squash. I tried them a couple times and then gave up for a couple weeks. When I tried again, he liked them both. I think I have heard it can take up to 12 tried of a food for a baby to acquire a taste for something. I also find that they will eat just about anything if they can pick it up and feed themselves. At least Grady is that way.

growth spurt: Is it normal for there to be a big one around 10 months? Grady is suddenly eating a ridiculous amount and also seems to need more sleep. Yesterday he had 15 hours of sleep and still was really tired by bedtime.

eggs: Have any of your pediatricians said to avoid eggs until 18 months? Grady goes to a gastrointestinal specialist because he had reflux. They have an infant dietician on staff, and she told me that they suggest avoiding eggs until 18 months. Everything else was pretty much fine from 9 months.

[Calla Lilly]

Rosa-mine said to avoid egg whites (I assumed it was until 12 mos, but maybe 18 mos), but egg yolks were okay. I think she also said citrus, strawberries, etc were supposed to be closer to a year.

Has anyone given little pieces of fresh apple?

[mayham]

I've been trying to read along, but haven't posted in ages, sorry!! I love reading what all your little ones are up to.

rosa - our ped said no egg whites until 1, but that egg yolks are fine now. DD actually loves egg yolks and will lick them off her hands! Like Calla Lilly he also said no citrus or strawberries until a year. Then there were the ones past a year like honey and peanuts...

Calla Lilly - we tried little bits of fresh apple yesterday, and DD wasn't a fan. I think it was too tough for her to chew, and they just kept popping out of her month. We have more success with fresh apple in the mesh feeder, and since she's working on her two top teeth now, frozen apple in the mesh feeder is a big hit.

DD is 11 months old today!
BIL gave her her birthday present yesterday (yes, an entire month early) because he didn't want anyone else to get this for her (so sweet!). It's the Little Tykes shop & grow walker (http://www.littletikes.com/toys/toys-detail.aspx?Product_ID=6332&GOTO=C16744x008&gtkw=600067). I'd been meaning to get a walker since a bunch of you had posted ones earlier, but I hadn't gotten around to it. Also, DD has only just recently even realized that her legs can propel her when she's standing. Well, the second she got in front of this thing, she started walking with it!! We were so impressed, and she must have walked for over half an hour with this thing. She kept pausing to check out what was in the little shopping basket part, and would throw out any books, if anyone put a book in there :) She was also able to change the music that it plays by pushing the buttons. I highly recommend this one!

http://zoomcc.richfx.com.edgesuite.net/zoomcc_littletikes/Image/Media/JPD600067A_200.jpg

[rosa727]

mayham: How fun that DD is doing so well with her walker! That must have been so cute to watch.

I am not sure why the dietician suggest waiting until 18 months with eggs. But she was definitely adamant about it. She of course told me to avoid the big things like honey and nuts too. And citrus was not really stressed, but I am going to wait since citrus can bother reflux.

foods: Grady is definitely going through a growth spurt. He is eating non-stop! This has pushed us to let him try lots of new finger foods, just for variety. He just tried tofu cubes and seemed to like them. He also had a pickle the other day and really liked it! How crazy is that!? I just had to post him eating his pickle:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2378.jpg

And another cute one, just because ;)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2337.jpg

[lilo]

Food: Gavin eats anything—as long as it’s a puree. For whatever reason (I think it’s a texture thing), he will no longer eat any finger food except carbs—puffs (he loves these!), whole wheat bread, bits of bagel, waffles (another favorite), etc. He used to love eating bananas, avocado, mango, etc. but no more. As soon as he finds out that it has a ‘slimy’ texture, he spits it out. I’m sure it’s just a phase though and the only thing I can do is to keep offering different foods.

Growth spurt: I think DS is going through some sort of growth spurt too. This past weekend he napped 3 times (that never happens) and is definitely more hungry these days. I swear, my little one already looks like a toddler than a little baby boy! *sniff* ;)

Eggs: I’ve heard the same thing about egg whites being a no-no. I’ve given DS scrambled egg yolks a few times and he loved them. I seasoned them with a bit of garlic and basil and he loved it.

First Birthdays: I just looked on the first page of our thread and I can’t believe some of our little ones are turning one this month! How exciting! I finally completed ordering invitations to both parties and have bought most of the decorating supplies. DH and I ordered cupcakes and a small birthday cake this past weekend so I feel prepared. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do in terms of food for the kids but I’ve got some time.

mayham: That’s great that your DD loves her walker so much and got the hang of it so quick!

rosa: what adorable pictures of Grady! I can’t believe he is eating a pickle! That’s great!

---------------------------------------
We took DS to his 1st pumpkin patch recently and he loved all the pumpkins. We bought a few large ones to decorate and a few little ones to use around the house. DS couldn’t get enough of them--it was so cute. Funny enough, while we were taking pictures of DS in one of their old wagons, there was a mini excavator and DS was so enthralled by it. If it left his view, he would lean over the wagon to look at it. :D

[rosa727]

lilo: How fun that you went to a pumpkin patch! That's something I hope to do this fall too. You really sound like you are on top of your birthday party planning. I need to take your lead - I feel so behind! I think I am just in denial ;) Such cute pictures - and he is starting to look like a little boy.

[ausi2b]

Lilo - I'm glad to hear I am not the only one whose child is only into purees. Granted, we've only had about a month of him actually eating baby food, but he does like yogurt and puffs. I think this weekend I'm going to try to find some freeze dried fruits to try. I tried a can of peas and carrots yesterday and they were a no go. I want to get more veggies into him too. Love the pictures from the pumpkin patch! Were those from Butler's Orchard? We still need to get together one day ...

I've been so MIA, but I've been reading along. We're in teething hell right now which means NO sleep for the past 2 weeks. I actually lost my temper at DS yesterday b/c I am just so tired and he cried for 3 hours straight once I got home from work. There was nothing I could do to console him. I finally told DH that he was in charge last night for the overnight wakeups because if I didn't get sleep, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I woke up a few times, but I didn't get out of bed, which was SOOO nice. I told him that we're instituting a new policy in our house that we're taking turns on getting up with DS. Tonight is my night! Here's hoping those two top teeth come through and that we can ALL sleep tonight :)

[ellidew]

Foods: Rosa, you're braver than I with that whole pickle! Now that Miles is eating table foods (just started swallowing them a couple of weeks ago) I think i'm probably holding him back out of fear that he'll choke. Funny enough I was never too paranoid about anything up until table foods. I hate to hold him back! Anyone else have a dc that loves to shove ALL The food on the tray in their mouth then choke or spit half of it back out? Anyone have a good solution to this problem? Over the weekend we bought some of those Gerber Graduate meals and Miles LOVES them! Especially the chicken and carrot ravioli! I haven't found a good solution to dinner making yet so he can just have what we have. I don't get home with ds until 6pm and he takes his bath at 7:30 but dh and I both want to spend time with him. Plus, i don't want to work all day, pick Miles up from school, then walk in the house and cook! I've been working ALL DAY already! I need down time too. Dh and I have been eating dinner at 9pm for months now and that's fine with us but I need to figure out how to get dinner done earlier so we can all eat together. It seems like each new stage presents different problems I'd never considered before.

[rosa727]

ellidew: I know, it seems like the pickle could be dangerous, but sometimes it seems safer if you actually give them something large to chew on, rather than little chunks. Plus, there were 4 of us sitting right there, staring at him :p Also, Grady has never choked, even a little, on anything. He seems to have a very good natural understanding of what he can and can't try to swallow.

Grady does sometimes get a little over-excited about the food on his tray and tries to shove it all in (sometimes actually putting his mouth up to the edge and pushing it in :D). I just usually dole out the food a few pieces at a time so he can only get so much.

As far as scheduling meals, I stay at home, so I don't have the exact same issue, but I know what you mean about it being tough to figure out having dinner together. Grady goes to bed at 7, which means his tub is around 6:30. So that doesn't really give me time to cook once DH gets home and takes over with Grady. I guess once they go to bed a bit later maybe it will get easier?

[mimieliza]

DD loves pickles - it's hard for her to bite a big chunk off, so it seems safe. We do a lot of food in large piece for her to hold onto and chew - bagels, teething biscuits, etc. I just watch when she gets it down to a small piece because she's liable to pop the whole thing in her mouth.

Now that Miles is eating table foods (just started swallowing them a couple of weeks ago) I think i'm probably holding him back out of fear that he'll choke. Funny enough I was never too paranoid about anything up until table foods. I hate to hold him back! Anyone else have a dc that loves to shove ALL The food on the tray in their mouth then choke or spit half of it back out? Anyone have a good solution to this problem?

I had that fear, too, and really held back. For some reason other people were always wanting to offer her things I was worried about her eating - like blueberries. I still chop things up into tiny pieces (blueberries cut in half, for instance) but she's gotten better and better at chewing things. She will still cram her mouth full sometimes - this tends to happen when she's not really hungry, or doesn't like it. She did this with tofu the other day - put about 20 pieces in her mouth and then started to choke and gag. I had to scoop it all out of her mouth with my finger. It was kind of gross. I guess I would just offer one or two pieces at a time. I also tell her to "chew it up!" and make a chewing motion myself and she'll copy it.

[Delaney21]

rosa: The pickle picture is too cute!!

lilo: Very cute pictures with the pumpkins! I can't wait to take Mitchell out to find our pumpkin this year!

mobox: Gosh, Sam has the prettiest eyes ever!!

Foods: I hate this topic! Mitchell mainly eats fruit and rice cereal due to his allergies, but we've been giving him some allergen-free pancakes lately and he loves those! He gave up purees, so I'm now giving him chucks of fruit and pieces of pancakes. A friend told me that I should start cutting the fruits in spears because she read it is better for them to get the hang of taking a bite and not shoving the whole thing in that way. I started giving him the spears and he does really well with them.

Allergies: My poor baby is very sensitive! We went back to the allergist and found out that we have to carry an Epi Pen everywhere we go and DS has to wear a MedicAlert bracelet at all times which lists his allergies. I am praying that he will outgrow these!

Sleep: Mitchell is still a terrible sleeper and will wake up at least 4 times a night. It is a ton better than it was before and I attribute it to his allergies, so I can't really do much about it until we get all of those figured out.

Birthday: I can't believe it is almost birthday time! We are going to have toddlers soon! I haven't really even begun planning any of it yet, but I'm not planning on going all out like I was originally going to. Something nice and simple I think.

Words: Mitchell says mama, ball, up, poop and sometimes he'll say hi. Thanks DH for the poop one! Its so cute because today he was playing all contently with his toys and then all of the sudden he came up to me and said poop...sure enough, he had just pooped. This was the first time he's associated the word with the action. Maybe that's a sign that he'll potty learn faster? I know, its just wishful thinking!

Walking: I don't think we are very close to walking yet, but he is now walking with only 1 hand assistance. I walked at 9 months and DH was 13 months so DS will probably be somewhere in the middle.

[katmg]

Food - I'm glad I'm not the only spaz out there about this. I'm so paranoid about her choking on something. She doesn't seem to like my little tiny diced up fruits/veggies though. I gave her part of a cantaloupe spear and she loved being able to chew on that. It makes me nervous when she can get a whole big piece of something in her mouth. I never thought I would be such a nervous momma. I'm so relaxed about other things. :rolleyes:

I love all the pictures - too cute!

[mobox]

I am paranoid about choking too...but I just cut everything up into tiny pieces but big enough for him to grab. The "spears" thing hasn't worked for us so far because he still shoves the whole thing in his mouth. Has anyone tried those dippers? Or given DC a spoon with a little food in a bowl? I'm sorta afraid to do it but maybe I"ll try this weekend.

[ausi2b]

Rosa - too funny about the pickle picture. We have the same one! :) I took DS to Brooklyn for a family trip and we stopped at a Kosher Deli. I hadn't eaten breakfast and was STARVING and DS was going nuts and knocking over people's drinks at the table, grabbing knives, etc. and I had to keep him occupied for 2 minutes while I scarfed something down. So I grabbed a pickle and gave it to him. This child, so did not eat babyfood at the time, totally LOVED the pickle! How funny is that?

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g258/Caryl_Auslander/pickle.jpg

[rosa727]

ausi2b: That is so funny! Who knew babies would like pickles? Are you from Brooklyn? My ILs are from Staten Island.

[mayham]

Food/choking: We had a minor scare when I gave DD a 1/4 of a mini bagel. Now that she has 1 top tooth, she's able to get bigger chunks of food off. She thankfully threw it up (along with some carrots) but it was so scary to see her in trouble. For a while we could give her a stalk of celery or bagel and she'd gum it for a while. No more!

Food/shoving it all in their mouth: Ellidew/rosa, I'm glad my DD is not the only one! If we put 10 cheerios in front of her, she'll put one after the other into her mouth until we stop her. Whereas at daycare, they can put 25 in front of her, and she eats them one by one. :confused: We pretty much have to dole out her food a few pieces at a time.

It's funny to see her make decisions when she has two types of food on her tray. She'll ignore green beans if there's cheese, and then go back to eat the green beans when the cheese is all gone.

We'll have to try a pickle next. I need to see stuff like that so I can remember that other than the banned foods for her age, she really can eat almost anything!

Sleep/teething - We've been in 2 weeks of teething hell, and DD has been non stop waking through the night. We've had too many nights where we'd just so tired we'll just bring her into our bed. Things are getting a little better this week, thankfully!

She is still loving her walker, so I figured I'd include a picture:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y202/lamki/CIMG8074.jpg

[ausi2b]

Rosa - nope, not from Brooklyn, but my grandmother was born/raised there. We went on a "roots" tour to see where she was born, grew up, went to school, etc. :)

[rosa727]

teething question: I am not sure whether any of the other babies are working on molars yet, but Grady is getting his (one is almost through, I noticed today), and I see something odd. Right where the tooth is coming through the gum is basically black and blue. I have seen it with two of them. Does this seem normal? I never saw anything like it with his other teeth, but since the molars are so much bigger and seem to be more painful, maybe it is just normal? I am thinking that the gum is just bleeding under the skin?

[Rancid13]

Sunshine~ Cute pictures of Grace! Glad to hear your trip to CA went well!

Sandy~ Hopefully Tyler’s naps are getting better. That’s too funny about him becoming enthralled by the tongue depressor. Kids find the darndest things entertaining. Good luck with the food…I have a kid who will eat anything.

Rosa~ Sounds like Grady is doing fantastically! We have a few childrens museums around here, we should check them out b/c I think Tyler might really get a kick out of them. He is such a cutie, I love his facial expressions! I love the pickle picture!

Mobox~ Sam looks so serious and contemplative in that picture! Too cute! His eyes are gorgeous!

Mayham~ I like that walker! I’m going to have to check some of those out now that Tyler is showing more and more interest in standing (or attempting to do so). I love the picture of Maya with her walker!

Lilo~ Cute picture from the pumpkin patch! We still have yet to visit one of our local pumpkin patches. Gavin is such a cutie! I can’t believe he’ll be one in a month! You’ve done a great job getting everything ready…I’ve done nothing (but I still have 2 months to go).

Ausi~ Hopefully the teething nightmare will die down soon. Tyler’s been teething too, my mom thinks there are 2 coming in on top. Thankfully he’s just been extra fussy and it hasn’t messed with his (or our) sleep. I’m hoping that restfulness makes it your way and soon! Cute pickle picture too!

Delaney~ Sorry to hear about all the allergies. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to plan and shop for meals for little Mitchell. I hope he outgrows it also. That’s too funny about him saying “poop”. DH would be so proud if Tyler said that. LOL!

What is everyone's DC eating these days and how much? Tyler is still nursing/taking a bottle every 3 hours during the day, but in addition we give him 1 Gerber container of fruit at lunch and another of veggies at dinner. I mix in a tablespoon or so of oatmeal or rice cereal. We give him assorted finger foods like puffs, Cheerios, Wagon Wheels and small pieces of whatever we’re eating (bread, pasta, fruit, chicken, etc). He loves trying new foods and is always eyeing whatever we’re eating and tries to grab at it.

Anyone else have a dc that loves to shove ALL The food on the tray in their mouth then choke or spit half of it back out? No, but we did have a scary experience a couple weeks ago where Tyler was eating Wagon Wheels. He usually gnaws and sucks on them till they’re eaten or dissolved, but all of a sudden he shoved a whole one into his mouth (and they’re big!) and started choking. We managed to get it out quickly, but he can no longer receive whole Wagon Wheels-we break them into pieces before putting them in front of him.

Growth spurt~ We just came upon the 10 month mark so we’ll see if the 10 month growth spurt a lot of you have been experiencing with your little ones rings true for us.

Eggs~ Haven’t heard anything about avoiding them. I also haven’t been present at Tyler’s last 2 WBVs, DH has taken him but hadn’t mentioned anything either. I’m not too worried as we don’t often eat eggs anyways.

[wine_o_girlie]

Hi, I am barging in from the January thread to ask a question, I hope that is okay! :o My son, Griffin, has decided as of this week he will no longer eat baby food and he will only self-feed. I was hoping you all with older babies might have some ideas on what to feed him. I asked in my thread too but was looking for a big range of ideas. This is very difficult considering he has no teeth. His pincher grasp is great but still, it's a hard balance between something being soft enough for him to chew but not too soft for him to pick up.

QOTD: What are you babies self-feeding these days?

Here's what we have tried so far this week:

Bananas - too slimy/mushy for him to effectively pick up
Peas - no salt added from a can - worked very well, he loved them
Cheese - slice of American (:o) cause I was afraid other cheese would be too hard to chew
Cheerios and Puffs - he's a pro and has been for 2+ months but they don't really seem to have much nutritional value, you know?
Egg noodles - worked very well, he loved them
Broccoli - I just steamed it very well, worked pretty well but a little soft to pick up
Pancake - whole wheat mix, worked very well, he loved it

One idea that I tried last night but haven't fed him yet is broccoli pancakes. :eek: My husband was aghast. But, I think it makes sense. The broccoli was leftover from an earlier attempt and it was a little tough for him to self fed it because it was so soft. He was really good at picking up the pancakes so I figured, why not combine the two? I chopped up the steamed broccoli really small and added it to the pancake batter. My FIL is keeping him today so we'll see how that goes. I hope it works - I can envision getting a lot of veggies into him that way (spinach, aspargus tips, pureed sweet potatoes and butternut squash, etc.) plus they can be individually frozen for convenience.

I also bought a can of no salt added green beans and carrots but haven't tried them yet. I saw that Gerber has some jars of cut up veggies in their Toddler line but the ingredients were "green beans, water, and SALT". WTF? Why are they putting salt in baby food? :mad: The Green Giant no salt added cans had less sodium than the Gerber ones and they were cheaper and had more in them. I did buy a jar of the Gerber apple chunks because I didn't see anything like that in "adult" cans that didn't have added sugar but haven't tried them yet.

I hope it's okay I posted in here, please let me know if it isn't and I will delete. Thanks!

[katmg]

wine-o - I've read that you can coat slimy foods in wheat germ or crushed up Cheerios. I haven't introduced wheat yet so I haven't tried it but I definitely think it would help.

[ausi2b]

I also have read on another board that you can always put cheerios in things like yogurt, other purees, etc. so they are getting a little something else into them ...

[rosa727]

wine o: You could try tofu. That's really healthy and easy to grab. And are you doing meats yet? Because you can do turkey or beef crumbles. Or you can just do little chunks of chicken or turkey.

Also, we give DS regular wheat crackers. They are a softer, puffier, type, so he does fine with them. We just break them in half.

There are lots of fruits you can give as finger foods too. I get frozen fruits and thaw them and let him pick those up. Peaches work well. The frozen ones, once thawed, are really soft. Mango is good too. From what I have read, frozen can actually be more healthy than fresh because most fruits and vegetables are frozen immediately after they are picked, when they are really fresh. This locks in the nutrients. Plus, it is cheaper than always doing fresh.

[mobox]

Wineo - I agree. But I also use a lot of fresh veggies. Bag of baby carrots, cut up into little tiny pieces, steam them to completely softness in the micro...perfect! They're still firm enough to pick up. I also so that with frozen green beans and peas. The green beans I just cut into tiny pieces. Fruit, I use the frozen mango and fresh plums/peaches. I also use those apple pieces that Gerber makes. Not the veggies, because of the salt that you mentioned.

Take wheat bread and toast lightly and cut into thin strips which he can feed himself. What about putting a little cream cheese on the toast. Also, for dairy I buy the string cheese and cut it into little pieces. DS loves that!

Good luck!

Well, Sam is officially mobile. HE doesn't like to be on all fours and prefers the army method of getting from one place to another. Still not pulling up but I forsee it coming very soon.

Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful weekend. The weather here is perfect so we'll be going up to a street fair with some friends a bit later.

[sandy]

Hi y'all! I'm sorry I don't post much, but I promise I'm following along and enjoying all of your pictures. I especially love the pickle eaters pics! So cute!!

will post more later. Now that I have a mobile child, it's impossible to sit still for a few minutes to type out a proper post.

[ellidew]

I don't have a lot of time to write since i'm at work but i'm looking for some advice on scheduling ds' day!

What schedule do you have your dc on if they are now eating table food 'meals' and taking less bottles? Feeding and nap time. It doesn't need to be exact but i'm looking for approximations.

Miles is down to about 4 bottles per day and he's now eating table foods at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm totally lost as to how to go about structuring his day. Some days i feel like i'm constantly trying to put him to sleep and other days i feel like he's just eating the day away. HELP ME!!

How reasonable is something like this:

7am wake up and bottle
9am breakfast (table foods)
10:30 nap
12:30 lunch (table foods) and bottle
2:30 snack (juice and fruit or puffs)
4:30 bottle
7:00 dinner (table foods)
8:00 bottle at bed time

I don't even know if this would work with Miles but i'm wondering about the amount of food he's eating and whether it's normal or not. tia.

[lilo]

wine-o - I've read that you can coat slimy foods in wheat germ or crushed up Cheerios. I haven't introduced wheat yet so I haven't tried it but I definitely think it would help.


wine-o: Katmg's made a great recommendation. My DS also has no teeth yet and can't stand to touch slimy foods. I've crushed up Cheerios and coated bananas (time consuming but it works) and he likes it much better. You can also coat slimy veggies with grated parmesan cheese to see if he'll eat it that way. For example, you could cut up avocado in tiny cubes and roll them in parmesan cheese. He might like that! One word of caution about canned vegetables, from what I understand, even though canned vegetables are very soft, there is little nutritional value (if that matters to you at this point) since they are canned vegetables. I'd suggest pureeing fresh vegetables instead or steaming frozen veggies to retain some of the nutritional value. And I think sneaking in veggies in pancakes is great! I do the same thing with waffles since my DS won't eat many finger foods these days.

ellidew: I think your schedule looks good. Ours is very similar although Gavin doesn't always have breakfast after his morning bottle and I don't set aside a specific time for a snack. Here's a typical day for us:

6-6:30am wake up
7:00am bottle
7:30am breakfast (this is hit or miss for us right now)
9:30 bottle
10:00 nap
12:00 bottle
12:30 lunch (table foods)
1:30 nap
3:30/4:00 bottle
5:30-6:00 dinner (table foods)
7-7:30 bottle at bed time

Even though Gavin still gets 5 6oz. bottles a day, it's rare for him to finish an entire bottle these days. Some days, he'll only takes 2 bottles at daycare versus 3 and he usually only drinks half of his bedtime bottle.

HTH!

[rosa727]

ellidew: Is Miles just taking a morning nap? Well besides that (Grady still takes 2), our schedule is pretty similar. It looks like this:

6:15-6:45 - wake up and have bottle (8 oz)
7:30 - breakfast (stage 2 pureed fruit and some table foods)
9:30 - nap
12 - lunch (stage 2 vegetable and table foods like meat crumbles or bread)
1:30 - nap
3 - 8 ounce bottle
6 - dinner (stage three size food - usually homemade - and stage 2 fruit)
6:45 - 8 ounce bottle right before bed
7 - asleep

He also gets up to 6 ounces of juice in a sippy cup (mixed 50/50 with water) and puffs and/or Cheerios a couple times throughout the day as snacks.

I just had to drop off a few pictures from the weekend - we took tons because we had family visiting:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/DSC_0240.jpg

And in his Halloween costume:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/DSC_0230.jpg

[mobox]

What a cutie in his little giraffe suit! I love it!!!

Ok, schedule...well, I know what he does with me and daycare is very similar although they give him a snack and I don't schedule that in.

630-7am - Wake up and bottle (6 ounces)
8:30 - Breakfast (1/4 cup cereal and pureed fruit, sometimes some cut up banana as well and puffs or cut up cheese)
10-1030am - Nap, usually 45-75 minutes
11:30 - Bottle (6 ounces)
12:30 - Lunch (most of his food I make; at lunch he gets two servings veggies with pasta and some finger food: puffs, cheese, cut up veggies, toast, or rice cakes; yogurt or cottage cheese)
1:30-2:30 - Nap which lasts around 1.5 hours
3:30-4 - Bottle (6 ounces)
5:45 - Dinner which is finger foods like above as well as a serving of something with protein and veggies, starch, and cottage cheese)
6:45 - Bath
7:15 - Bottle (6 ounces)
7:30 -Bed

Hey girls, how did you get from 4 bottles to 3? Right now, the 4 bottles work for us because it's not a lot of liquid (6 oz) and we can usually get him to drink it without much work...any more than that and he's bored, playing with the bottle, looking at stuff, and generally not drinking.

[sunshine0928]

G's schedule is much like what has already been posted. I am trying to keep her to 4-6 oz bottles but D/C sometime sneeks in the extra one we send for "just in case". I spent a long 3 day weekend with her and we definitely kept to this:

6:30ish wake up and 6 oz bottle
8:30 cereal and stage 2 fruit
11:00 6 oz bottle and lunch (table foods like waffle, cheerioes, yogurt, etc)
3-4:00 6 oz bottle (and a snack in here somewhere as her nap allows
6:00 dinner (veggies and fruit..homemade when I can or purees, )
7:00 6 oz bottle
7:30 bed

She took 2 naps with me but some days D/C can only get her to take one long nap. I am trying to have them work on that. She is still getting the hang of table foods so before I feed her purees, etc I try to always give her a little something to practice with. She gets them in her mouth but is still not swallowing all of it. When I was at the Dr for her for her checkup last time thy said to try to keep her to 4 bottles and work on keeping the beakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks which we do most days.

[ellidew]

Thanks for the schedule ideas ladies! It's good to know were operating fairly close to everyone else. Naps: Miles is still taking 2 naps, i guess i just forgot to include it in the schedule i posted.

So, i have another question for ya... What's the best way to handle temper tantrums? (DS is 11 months old-since i know we have a wide age range it might make a difference in how someone answers.) Miles has started arching his back and tipping his head backwards and crying. (it's mostly funny but i try not to laugh to encourage the behavior). I want to make sure i'm doing what i should be so he grows out of the stage and not into it. Most of the time it's when we have to stop playing or leave the toy department at the store. Any ideas? I don't want 'that kid' if you know what i mean.

rosa- Grady looks adorable in his costume. I dare say it looks like he's cubbin' up in the picture where he's sitting down. I think you were worried about him gaining weight for a while, weren't you?

[lilo]

temper tantrums: We haven't had any *yet* although DS likes to 'fake cry' (as I like to call it) when we don't let him climb on something dangerous or take away something he shouldn't have in his mouth. In those cases, I usually ignore it or better yet, distract him with something else. But I'd love to hear what others are doing too! Honestly though, I'm fully prepared for DS to have temper tantrums as he gets older and asserts his independence. I think it's just part of them growing up but I hope we can diffuse them as much as possible so they few and far between. :)

[ausi2b]

Ellidew and Lilo - I posted about temper tantrums a few weeks ago. Basically I just try to ignore him as much as I can. And if he has something in his hands that I don't want him to have (my keys, a dog biscuit, etc.) I try to trade him for something else which helps with the tears and drama :)

[ellidew]

I've been mostly trying to ignore him but it doesn't seem to lessen them very much. I'm guessing that's normal. Redirecting really helps but sometimes it's really hard to find something more interesting then what he's already doing especially at the store!

[rosa727]

ellidew: Doesn't he look chubby in that picture? He definitely is getting chunkier - people actually tell me what a big baby I have now! I never thought that would happen because, yes, I was worried about his weight when he was very little. He spit up so much that he had trouble gaining. But I think he is about 50th percentile now.

Grady has little "tantrums" - more like whininess than back arching and stuff - nothing that I would consider full-blown *yet*, but I usually just redirect his attention or look right at him and make eye contact and breathe. I had heard this was good for older kids, and I thought he might be too young, but it helped the one time he got really upset. I also just try to talk in a really calm manner and act like it's no big deal. Like if it were when we were leaving the park, I would just get talking about something else, like "OK, so what do you want to have for lunch when we get home?" Not that he can answer, but I just try to act like nothing is happening.

[mobox]

We had our first "mini-tantrum" when at picture taking last week. He was chewing on a block and I didn't want the block in the picture so I took it away from him and he totally screamed and started crying. I'm probably a bad mom for saying this but I laughed because it's the first time he's done anything like that. :P

[katmg]

We had our first "mini-tantrum" when at picture taking last week. He was chewing on a block and I didn't want the block in the picture so I took it away from him and he totally screamed and started crying. I'm probably a bad mom for saying this but I laughed because it's the first time he's done anything like that. :P

I totally laugh at Charlotte when she does her fake cry/whine. I cry with her, "Life is so ha-a-a-rd!" Usually that's enough to make her smile a bit. :o

[pacificbliss]

My little man got his ear tubes today...he's doing great.

tantrums he'll do the screaming thing while arching his back...he's a stubborn little guy.

Well, he's been pulling up for a while and just this week started crawling a bit.

Sorry for the fly-by :)

[AmyE]

Gaaahhh!

I knew it had to happen eventually,but Julia is officially a crawler today. None of this getting up and rocking for weeks, or army crawling around. Nope,she's been sitting on her little butt, with perfect 'I'm going to play the piano" posture, watching her brother Ben lug himself across a carpet by his arms, sorta in an army crawl. Julia just saw something she wanted while sitting with DH, plopped herself on hands and knees, and went and got it. :eek: then she was crawling to me,then across a bed....like she's been doing it for months!!

Ben is doing the tantrum thing when he doesn't get to play with what he wants (you know,eating cardboard, chewing on his big brother's crayons..)


Can't believe we'll be moving to the toddler forum so soon!

pacificbliss - hope the ear tubes are not causing any trouble.

[mimieliza]

A little late on the responses here, sorry!

wine-o - I buy frozen veggies (Safeway has organic for not too much $$$). No salt added, and I can steam them as soft as I need in the microwave.

I found that anything past the Stage 2 jars in the babyfood section was kind of ridiculous - added salt, sugar and preservatives. We still buy the Gerber puffs and little freeze dried fruit, but only offer them on special occaisions (like when we're traveling or eating out).

Other good finger foods:
-Tofu
-Veggie dogs (cut into teeny pieces)
-Cheese crumbles
-Pasta
-Organic mac n cheese (Annies)


Schedule -
8:00 Wake up (I know, I'm lucky, it makes up for the fact that she didn't sleep at all for the first five months)
8:00-8:15 Nurse for a loooooong time
9:00 - Drop off at daycare, nurse
9:30 Breakfast (yogurt, oatmeal, fruit)
11:00 - Snack (formula) and then nap
12:30 - Wake up, lunch
2:30 - Snack (formula)
3:00 - Pick up from daycare
3:30 - Nurse and then nap
5:00 - Wake up
5:30 - Dinner
8:00 - Bedtime


Tantrums -
We had our first public tantrum in Wal-Mart yesterday (good choice, if I do say so myself). A woman gave me a sample of Sun Chips in a little cup. DD put her hand out to try and take it. I popped the chips in my mouth and gave DD the cup (thinking she wouldn't know the difference). She flipped out like the world was ending and screamed for three whole aisles until I gave her something to hold (a box of pasta) that distracted her.

She does lots of fits around the house when we take things away or when she doesn't want to get dressed or have her diaper changed. This is usually accompanied by saying "NONONONONONONO!"

[rosa727]

OK this is a random question and not baby-related, but I was wondering whether any of you had skin discoloration on your face during your pregnancy? If so, do any of you still have it? I got it on my forehead and upper lip (nice - kinda looks like a moustache :p) and it STILL has not disappeared. I can cover it with makeup pretty easily, and I should not complain as that is the only sign I have that I was ever PG (no stretch marks or anything), but I would really like it to go away! Does anyone know how to get rid of it? Are there creams that help or would I need professional help?

AmyE: THREE little ones that are mobile? How do you not die of exhaustion? It's funny that Julia did it like it was nothing. Babies are all so different - even twins!

[Ilovemygeek]

rosa727 I have the same type of discolorations on my upper lip and on my cheekbones around my eyes. They bug me, but DH claims they are barely noticeable. I figure after I am done having kids, I will go to a dermatologist to have them taken care of with either creams or laser treatments. None of my friends or family have experienced this side effect of pregnancy and I was starting to think I was alone.

[mobox]

Isn't that called "pregnancy mask?" I didn't have it but one of my co-workers does.

Yep, Sam started army crawling a couple weeks ago and now he's full fledged crawling. But it's kind of weird the way he does it...he gets up on his knees but stays on his elbows instead of his hands. Anyone else's little one do that?

[ellidew]

I have freckles so it's hard to tell what's new and what's old and what's caused by the sun etc... but i did get a new grayish spot (bigger than a freckle) on my left cheeck bone and it hasn't gone away... neither has my acid reflux!

[rosa727]

Ilovemygeek: It probably would be a good idea to wait until I am done having kids, especially if it requires some expensive professional treatment.

mobox: Yeah, it is called "the pregnancy mask", but I'm not pg anymore, so I want it to go away now please!

ellidew: I have heard that it is more common with olive skin tones actually. That stinks about the reflux - I got that bad when I was PG but figured it was just the fact that the baby was taking up so much room. I am surprised it hasn't gone away for you. That stinks.

naps: Another nap question - is anyone's DC starting to drop the first nap? I am not sure if Grady is or not. It has gotten shorter, but he still definitely takes one. I just hope he doesn't change things before his birthday party, as the timing was based on his current nap schedule!

[mobox]

Sam's morning nap has gotten progressively shorter. At daycare he now only sleeps 30-40 minutes in the morning, if at all. At home, he sleep about 40-60 minutes. But I think he sleeps longer at home because he's in his crib and all.

[rosa727]

mobox: Thanks for your input. Who knows what is going on because today Grady slept for 1.5 hours in the morning. Oh well. I'll take it!

[ellidew]

naps: Miles sometimes takes the morning nap and sometimes he doesn't. If he doesn't take it at school then by the time i pick him up he ends up napping in the car and then he's crabby while he plays at home. I told them this morning he needs a morning and afternoon nap so hopefully they put him down for one of each. I was going to leave work early and i just called and he's asleep so now i'm hangin' out at the office waiting for him to wake up!

[Rancid13]

Well, Tyler's started crawling this week! Aaaaah! Now we really have got to babyproof, LOL!!

Naps~ We're still at 2 a day. Dropped the 3rd nap pretty recently, like a couple of weeks ago. He's sleeping for 1-2.5 hours each nap.

Tantrums~ He does get pissy if you take something away from him that he shouldn't have, but I try to distract him with something else while telling him he's fine.

DH Job Update~ After nearly 6 months of being unemployed (and us being on the brink financially), he started a job on Monday. We got jerked around a couple weeks ago when his old job was offered to him and we got our insurance reinstated and everything was going to be fine. Then the next day they emailed him saying they'd changed their minds. That was a heartbreaker right here. Ugh. Anyways, at the new job he's been there for 2 days and will already be promoted to manager as early as next week. Yay!


Last week we went to a pumpkin patch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07027.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07023.jpg

Carving Tyler's first pumpkin. DH let me draw the face.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07048.jpg

Oooh, neat! What's in here?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07057.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07058.jpg

Duh. I'm a baby. It's my job to make messes. (We had to put the paci in to keep him from trying to eat the pumpkin innards).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/Jennifer10-17-07073.jpg

[rosa727]

Rancid: Those pictures of Tyler are TOO CUTE! He is still such a chubby little guy! Of course, now that he is crawling, he will probably thin out a bit. I cannot believe how much they move once they know how! That's so fun that you let him play with the pumpkin goo - I think I'll have to do that with Grady. I am sure he will try to eat it too!

CONGRATS on DH's new job! That must be such a relief!

Grady only dropped his third nap several weeks ago too, which is why I sort of doubt he could be ready to give up the second one already.

doctor's visit: Just wanted to post some good news after our visit to the gastrointestinal specialist. It looks like Grady's reflux is gone. The doctor said we can keep him on the Axid until he is walking, since that tends to help it even more. That shouldn't be long now, as he is trying to take steps already! But he never spits up anymore and everything else checked out great. We should be able to start him on regular milk at a year! He is doing fine with other dairy. Oh, and he weighed in at 20 pound, 11 ounces! He must have had quite a growth spurt - that's a pound in a month, which I think is a lot at this age!

hugs: Grady has recently started what has to be his best skill yet - hugging :) He comes over to me repeatedly while playing and puts his arms around my neck and nuzzles his cheek up to mine. It is the sweetest thing. Now I need to teach him to give kisses :D

[Calla Lilly]

Rosa, that is great about Grady. Jonathan was born the same day as Grady, but was 9 lbs 6ozs. Jonathan and Grady are now about the same size!

[Calla Lilly]

Rancid, great news about your dh's job! And already being promoted?!! Very cute pictures from the pumpkin patch. We were at one this past weekend too.

Naps: we had some serious sleep issues with Jonathan, so I don't think he has ever taken 3 offical naps. I have noticed though at daycare he tends to take 1 long nap instead of multiple ones. Yesterday he slept for almost 3 hours straight. He normally sleeps 12 hours straight at night.

[Teresita]

I feel like I am so far behind. I try to stay caught up reading here and there. I can't believe our babies are going to hit the one-year mark so soon. It has flown by! Finn is finally crawling. Although he often seems to forget that he knows how to crawl and goes back to dragging himself around. He is definitely the loudest baby on the block. Whether he is happy, sad, frustrated, content, he always "talks" so, so loud. It is ridiculous. My mom confirmed that she has never, ever met a baby as loud as him. I am used to it, but when we are out and about, we get lots of looks! It's strange because DH and I are not particularly loud people.

I also think he has some "words" now--his pronunciation is still off, but he is definitely using specific sounds with a specific intended meaning. He says "more" ("ma!"), "mama," and "dog" ("da"). He says "dadada" a ton, but I haven't noticed him using it to refer to DH. He still eats like crazy. The boy loves to eat and will eat pretty much everything. He is eating mostly table food with some purees here and there. He still only has his two bottom teeth--it's amazing how well he can gum stuff! His favorite thing besides eating is walking (with me holding a hand(s)). Every time he walks he has this huge drool-filled grin. I just love it...makes the aching back from all this "walking" worthwhile.:)

Naps Finn still naps like a champ. 1.5-2 hours in the am and 1.5-2 hours in the pm. However, he probably naps so well because his nighttime sleep is total crap.:rolleyes: He sleeps from 6:30pm to 11:30 pm, but often wakes crying several times during that period. I usually can calm him with the paci and the mobile, though. After 11:30, he wakes up every hour or two at night. At that point, I don't have the patience to play around, so I just nurse him. I have constant fantasies about sleep...I cannot wait until I can sleep for more than a couple of hours in a row! IIRC, my DD dropped her am nap around 13 or 14 months.

Shoes??? I am sure this has been discussed, so forgive me. Up to now, Finn has mostly been barefoot, with Robeez for playing at the park or in the yard. But, now that winter is coming and we are getting closer to walking, I am on the hunt for some “first-walker” type shoes for Finn. He is busting out of his Robeez. I prefer truly soft-soled ones (i.e., not Stride Rite), but would like something with a little more of a sole than Robeez for outdoor winter use. I am eyeing a pair of See Kai Runs and have also been thinking about Preschoolians or Pedipeds. What are your favorite shoes for outdoor use? Any feedback on See Kai Run shoes? I’ve heard they run very wide? I am in a warm climate, so it is not like he will be tramping through the snow, but it can rain, be a little chilly, etc.

Rancid That's great news about your DH's job! The pumpkin patch photos are great. We're going with my DD's playgroup on Monday.

Rosa So happy to hear Grady is over his reflux! Finn's GI doctor said he was over his about a month or two ago. I am so happy to have him not be uncomfortable and off meds!

[rosa727]

Teresita: I know you said not Stride Rite for the shoes, but we have some Stride Rite ones that are great. They are still just all leather, but then they have little treads on the bottom to make them a bit more stable. To me, they seem like the next thing up from Robeez, but maybe there is something in-between. We use a mix of soft-soled, in-between, and hard soled (not too often, but we have a few cute pairs that we got as gifts).

That's great that Finn is over his reflux too. Grady hasn't been spitting up in several months, so he has probably been over it since about 8 or 9 months, but we had not been back to see the GI doc.

[lilo]

Teresita:: We have several pairs of Pedipeds and I love them. They're really well made and DS can't take them off. I've also heard good things about Preschoolians.

[pacificbliss]

shoes We're just starting to consider the issue of shoes. Dominic really hates to have anything on his feet. He even screams about socks. We put them on and then try to distract him :)

naps our nap situation has never been good or predictable :p

rosa baby hugs are the best! You might want to reconsider kisses though. D gives us "kisses" which basically involve opening his mouth and rubbing all over our cheeks. Cute, but gross.

Sounds like the babies with reflux are all getting better. That's good news.

rancid I'm glad your DH found a job and it's going so well! Cute pictures of Tyler. Look at those legs...too cute.

D has his top front teeth coming in now...no fun :(

[sunshine0928]

Shoes - G is currently wearing some Stride Rite sandal type shoes. I thing from their crawling line but they do have more of a sole and she can't get them off. I woudl imagine they have more of a winter type shoe in thsisame sole-type. When I was on an internet spree I did buy some SKRs and they do seem wide. However, G's feet on are the small side so we are still a ways off from them! I did but (from a great Amazon sale I found on CC!) the next size up in Stride Rite so we should be covered on shoes for a few months.

Crawling, etc- G is crawing like crazy, pulls herself up and gets down so I knwo she'll be walking by her 1st b-day! She is the youngest (I think) in her DC room so the other kids (I think they go up to 18 months in this room) are quite an influence on her. Yesterday morning though she was crawling around an bit it on the hardwood floor, face first! We had some blood and screaming so that was not fun. I think she must have bitten the inside of her lip or something. Then, today we were playing and I was asking for a kiss and we bonked heads a little and the same thing happened...poor girl!

We, too, hit a pumpkin patch last weekend and then did another neighborhood event so here are some pictures. She loves pumpkins! And, yes, she needs a bow now :) to hold her hair our of her face. I am not cutting bangs and growing her hair out.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/PumpkinPatch-10-13-07030.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/PumpkinPatch-10-13-07037.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/PumpkinPatch-10-13-07051.jpg

[mobox]

AW! I love all the pumpkin patch pictures. So cute. We are going to go on Sunday and take the same ones. I don't know why I love them so much! :)

Has anyone started planning the first birthday party? We are so not going overboard. We are inviting quite a few friends but there will be NO theme. Just the #1. We are going to have a taco caterer come. Cupcakes. Pin the Tail on the Donkey and a pinata for the kids. I was thinking of setting up craft tables so the kids could play with playdoh and also make picture frames to take home...

[rosa727]

1st birthday: Well we ARE totally going overboard ;) We are having a party for about 80 where I am from (mostly family, actually) and then another party for about 30 here in VA (mostly baby friends - Grady is a social little guy and has lots of baby "girlfriends"). We are doing a farm theme for both. I'll post a few pictures after we have them.

pumpkin patch: We went last weekend and had a blast. I am a picture fanatic, so I have to post a couple.

on the hay ride:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2444.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2472-edited.jpg

he picked out his own:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2457.jpg

he's such a crazy little guy - trying to rip down the scarecrow!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_2474-crop.jpg

sunshine: Did you go twice or did Grace just have a wardrobe change? :) Anyway, she looks great and look at that hair - what a blessing, especially with a girl! Grady has a lot of hair and we are trying to figure out where to have it cut.

[Calla Lilly]

I wanted to add pictures too, but am having some problems (haven't done this before) and changed my first attempt. Please let me know if this works. Thanks!

Pumpkin Patch:
http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3D0-qpDP-Wt0fRt7Pf7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6x qpxQQPPxGePxeoaxv8uOc5xQQQJeQnPG0olnqpfVtB%3F*KUp7 BHSHqqy7XH6gX0QQPo%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,590,393

ETA: Any idea what I am doing wrong?

[Calla Lilly]

Okay, what about this?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2300/1645666520_204d45bbb3.jpg?v=0

[sunshine0928]

I love all the pumpkin patch pictures!

Rosa - our pumpkin patch was "staged" but still cute and fun. It looks like yours was real..how cool! No, we did not do a wardrobe change..then you would think I was totally crazy..ha! The halloween shirt was on Sunday (next day) at a Fall Festival in our neighborhood. I live in a real "pleasantville" type of area and am now part of a preschool parents group that does all types of planned events and the first one we went to this year was a Fall Festival. I just sat her down in the pumpkins b/c she loved them so much on Saturday and again it brought smiles to her face.

[rosa727]

Calla Lilly: The second one worked! How cute, and look at him standing so well! So our DS's have the same birthday? Yeah, Grady was born at 7 pounds, 2 ounces, so not too big, and then he didn't gain well at first either.

sunshine:Oh well, it's good to know you aren't TOTALLY crazy ;) Both outfits are very cute though - I saw a baby wearing that Halloween shirt when we went to the pumpkin patch, actually.

The fall festival sounds fun. I am doing a Halloween party with one of my playgroups next weekend.

[lilo]

what adorable pumpkin patch pictures!

rancid: That's great news about your DH finding a job!

1st birthday: Umm, I'm with rosa, we're totally going overboard with Gavin's 1st birthday as well. :p :D What can I say, I love party planning and have gotten so many great ideas on the birthday thread. We're having two parties as well although they will both be relatively small in the number of people. For the kids' party, there will be about 6-7 kids. For the 2nd party, I'm combining it with Thanksgiving dinner so it's only our family and relatives in the area. In terms of decor, cake, balloons, etc. though, I will readily admit that I'm going over.the.top but I'm having so much fun planning everything, that I can't help myself! ;)

rosa, how fun that you're hosting a Halloween party for your playgroup. I have seen soooo many adorable things to decorate with for a Halloween party. FYI: Martha Stewart's website has some adorable Halloween cupcake and dessert ideas. Be sure to post pictures of your party!

naps: Gavin is still taking 2 naps a day although sometimes at daycare, he'll refuse the afternoon one and only take one. I hate those days because he is so cranky when we get home but I know his caregivers do everything possible to get him to sleep. He definitely still needs 2 naps a day or else he gets pretty cranky.

---------------------------------------

Speaking of 1st birthday parties, I am in full planning mode. Because of our schedules in November, we're having Gavin's party in early November so I've bought all of the plates, napkins, balloons, and other decor. We also ordered the food, cake, cupcakes. I'm getting super excited. However, the party room where we're having his celebration has much to be desired. It's pretty plain so I'm basically transforming the entire room. I hope it looks amazing once I'm done with all the decorations. I can't wait! :) Yes, I'm a little nutso when it comes to party planning but hey, I gotta amuse myself somehow. ;)

[rosa727]

lilo: Oh, I am SO with you on having fun going overboard. I can't wait to see pictures from your parties!

I will definitely post pictures from the Halloween party next weekend. And I'll check out Martha's website for sure - thanks!

steps: Just wanted to share that Grady took his first couple steps this morning! He was standing (which he is still relatively unsteady at), and he just took steps towards me! He's certainly not walking yet, but it was pretty exciting!

[AmyE]

Yeah Grady!

Really cute pumpkin patch pics!


Count me as one of the 'not doing much' for the bdays, just like with DS1.
For the twins DH and I have decided that I'll do two round 1-layer cakes. I think each baby 'deserves' to have his/her own cake, but at the same time,it will only be about 10 people, so I can't see doing two full layer cakes. I am going to have some fun decorating the cakes, but that will be about it.

we also have a Halloween party coming up- DS1 is going as Batman, Ben will be Robin, and Julia is going to be a ladybug. I'm going to be a fairy princess, wearing a bridesmaid dress that I kept for just that use. Some foil wings and a tin foil crown and I'm good to go! Can't wait to take pics of the babies in their costumes!

[lilo]

Unfortunately we'll be traveling on Halloween this year but I couldn't resist buying a costume and taking a few photos to send to the grandparents and other family members. My DH is a huge Elvis fan so here is our little Elvis :D:

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/np1282/Elvis.jpg?t=1193063565

[lilo]

Wow, it's so quiet in here. Did I scare everyone off by posting Gavin's Halloween costume? ;)

step: Gavin took his first steps a few weeks ago and is now walking more and more. He's not walking full-time yet but he's getting there. I'm super excited about this big milestone but of course a little sad at the same time that he's growing up so fast!

---------------------------------------

Speaking of growing up so fast, has anyone sold or gotten rid of any of their baby gear yet? I recently sold our exersaucer and jumperoo since they take so much room up in our place and we're not planning on having a 2nd baby for at least 3 years, if at all. I'm sooo happy to have the extra space (just in time for new toys of course! ;) ) but at the same time I'm a tiny bit sad to see it go. It's so weird. I think I'm going to be crying for sure at Gavin's
1st birthday. Anyone else feel like this??

[rosa727]

lilo: We have not sold anything yet, and I don't think we will. Although we will probably wait 2-3 years for another baby, I don't want to have to buy everything all over again. And as for the Jumperoo, Grady actually still has fun in it from time to time. He was actually loving it just this morning! I figured he would hate it once he was mobile, but it's not the case.

As far as getting sad about them turning one, I am SO SO SO feeling like this! I am so sentimental anyway, so this is going to kill me. I am keeping myself busy by party-planning, but I think it is partially just to keep my mind off what is really happening. I know it is fun and exciting, but it is also really hard to see them get big.

moving: I just wanted to let everyone know that we are moving to South Carolina! I know I posted a while back that my DH applied for a job there that would be a big promotion within his company. Well he got it! Luckily, we don't need to go until the new year, so it won't affect Grady's birthday or the holidays. But it is going to be crazy moving with a one-year-old! Luckily, when we find a new house, we know what to look for as far as being good for a baby (like a big play space, flat backyard, etc.).

sleep issues: OK, has anyone else been having trouble suddenly getting their DC to go to sleep at night? For about 2-3 months we would put Grady down awake and he would go RIGHT to sleep, without a peep. Suddenly, the last 3 nights, he has cried for 20-30 minutes! I don't know what to do. We just go in every so often because I don't want to start bad habits. Do you think it is just because of new separation anxiety? He is about to walk, so I guess that could be it too. I have always heard that can really mess up sleep. He is sleeping pretty well during the night (maybe one quick wake-up where he needs a pat) but the beginning is terrible again!

[sandy]

Oh my goodness! I love all of the pumpkin patch pictures! I took Tyler to the pumpkin patch and he was TERRIFIED of pumpkins. I don't have any pictures of him not crying. It's so sad.

I have several pages of reading to catch up on in here. Sorry I've been such a slacker!!

[bluebunny]

Just thought I'd pop in to say hi. I rarely post in this thread any more but I was lurking and saw all the cute pics. :) lilo, I love the Elvis costume--too cute!!

Speaking of growing up so fast, has anyone sold or gotten rid of any of their baby gear yet?

I'm on the fence about this. DD