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

[Rancid13]

I hope everyone and their little ones had a fantastic Christmas holiday and wish you the very best for this upcoming New Year!!

Thanks for the compliments on the pics! I didn't mention it, but a few days before his birthday Tyler fell while my mom was watching him and got himself a black eye. You can see the shiner in the first pic I posted of him above. The first of many, I'm sure!! :)

Sleep~ Due to a couple of late nights thanks to some holiday parties we attended, Tyler's STTN got a little disrupted. For the last week he's STTN 5 out of 7 nights. It's been pretty consistent...

[AmyE]

Happy New Year everyone! Does this mean we are ready to move the thread to the toddler forum? Yikes!

i fear our new walkers and standers and pulling-uppers will mean more bumps and scrapes and such. Sigh. I wish learning to walk was more about trial and less about error. Julia try to stand on her own and ends up on her butt, but I can tell she wants to chase her older brother. Ben is just pulling up and recently learned to get himself back down, which is a handy skill when he's dropped a toy off the edge of the table for the millionth time. He's more interested in opening and emptying drawers than in running around, so he'll be a bit behind her in the walking dept

Now that we are over some colds and no one is teething at the moment, Julia is back to STTN and Ben is back to his one wakeup and an early morning start. I hope he drops both soon, but I fear he just needs less sleep. He's down to one long nap per day, too.

[sunshine0928]

Amy - I hear ya on the bumps and scrapes. We haven't had any major bumps, etc...yet! Grace is not walking on her own with the exception of a few steps but she is definitely improving! I know..can you beleive we have toddlers technically!?

She just had another ear infection though so I am glad she is over that. I think that is her 4th? Hopefully we all stay healthy for awhile. She is still a good sleeper. Normally from about 7 or so til about 6 am.

It is supposed to be in the upper 60s here today! I had taken today off since I was sick on one of my vacation days b/f Christmas and my boss was nice enough to let me use a sick day. Depending on Grace's nap we are going ot a story time sing along at a local cute bookstore and then to the zoo this afternoon. It will be her 1st time to the zoo and we received a membership for Christmas. Should be a fun day.

[pacificbliss]

Just wanted to drop off a link to a few birthday pictures. I can't believe my baby is one!

http://picasaweb.google.com/dawn.stricker/DominicS1stBirthday?authkey=1R2jjXtCRWk

[bijouparvin]

Wow - I feel like a stranger here. I can't even remember the last time I posted but I certainly remember all these sweet babies. Happy belated birthday to all!
Molly is well. She's walking and chatting (kitty, banana, baby, uh-oh, etc.). She's big on hugs and kisses these days, which is awesome. I hope this phase never ends!
I'll try to be better about keeping up now that I've found the thread again.

Some recent pics:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/bijoudiva/Molly/Second%20Year/14th%20Month/DSC03494.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/bijoudiva/Molly/Second%20Year/14th%20Month/HPIM0587.jpg

And a video of Molly gettin' down to an old Xmas classic:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/bijoudiva/Molly/Second%20Year/14th%20Month/th_MOV03507.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/bijoudiva/Molly/Second%20Year/14th%20Month/?action=view&current=MOV03507.flv)

[mobox]

Still not walking but cruising on everything and pulling up on everything and opening up everything that isn't locked.

"Talks" all the time...mama, dada, duck, quack, and other stuff that I wish I knew what he was saying.

Doesn't have a favorite toy but loves to be read to.

Eats EVERYTHING in sight, including dog food!!!

And a little picture for you all. :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2119/2177110000_6beb26be98.jpg?v=0

[rosa727]

mobox: You have a great little talker on your hands! And he is so handsome, as always. He has rugged good looks - is that possible for a baby? :p

talking: Grady has been somewhat slower in this area - he has said Mama and Dada for a long time, and he is very verbal, but I can't make out too much else. It is really hit and miss. Sometimes he sees a ball and very distinctively says "ball", but then other times he won't say anything - it's not like he goes around saying words a lot. He does obviously understand a lot though - he will point at lots of things when I say the word, including many of his body parts. He also says expressions like "Uh Oh!" and "Ooooh!" (like when I give him his favorite snack - it's pretty amusing).

walking: He's a wild man. He can already run quite fast and spends most of his day doing just that :) He has also decided it is fun to stand with his legs apart and band over so he is looking through them upside down. He thinks it is super funny.

music: He's still a big dancer and singer. He just loves music of any sort.

signing: He signs "food", "milk", and "ball". I need to keep introducing signs because he has just started really doing them a lot. He has such a happy look on his face when he does one and then I say the word and show that I understand. Boys tend to be later talkers, and G seems like he won't be really talking a lot soon, so I think the signing will be great for communication.

personality: It is so fun to see his personality more and more. He is totally going to be the life of the party. When we go somewhere to play he goes around to everyone there, smiling and waving and often trying to give hugs :) He especially likes little blonde girls. He is definitely super friendly and very confident. Even if there are 3 kids playing that are a lot older, he will go right over and get involved.

move: We have officially moved to South Carolina! We are still basically camping since the movers have not brought our stuff, but we are happy to be here and G is settling in well - STTN OK and everything.

A recent picture of Grady playing at the children's museum:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady%202/IMG_3186.jpg

[Calla Lilly]

Bumps and Bruises! We know all about that! Jonathan has been walking well for a couple of months, but he still tries to go to fast and ends up crashing down. He is in daycare a couple of days a week and has had multiple incident reports (all pretty minor) in a day from bumping his head.

Jonathan loves "d" words...dada, dog, dis, dat (points for both of those). If I say mama he will say dada. He does say mama when he wants me though. He will say nana if he wants food or to nurse. He has said ball a few times at home, but a lot at daycare. He generally likes to copy sounds...when he eats I say "mmmmmmmm" and he will repeat. He will also do the "sssssssss" and will bark (you have to bark first). He finally started waving a month ago and will sign more and milk.

We have nieces and nephews staying with us and he definately wants to be a big boy. It is really cute, but a little sad too. He is definately growing up! We were supposed to make his first dentist appointment today, but my car window was smashed this morning! He definately gets more and more fun as each day goes by! We love that there is so much more we can do with him.


All of the babies are so cute!!!

Rosa, glad your move went well!

[pacificbliss]

Bump

I just hate seeing us at the bottom of the page.

Still not walking here. He gets so close to trying and then plops down and crawls. Oh well, he just turned one and really, I'm in no hurry. He is saying what I think are words. DH isn't convinced but I think he says hi, dog, mommy and daddy. They just sound like aiiii, duh, mee and dee. :)

[AmyE]

Funny - neither twin is walking either. Julia can stand on her own, but plops down on her butt when she wants to go anywhere. Ben is a champion cruiser, but likes to have something to hold onto when he's standing.

Julia's one and only word is still her big brother's name, which she can say clearly. She'll hear his voice in another room and start calling for him. Both are chatterboxes, but I'm not a very good interpreter yet. Oh, and Ben likes to make car and airplane noises. He drives or flies with a "keeerrrr, keerrrr" sound. Yesterday he was flying a cracker around his high chair tray.

[Rancid13]

No walking here, either! Lots of pulling up, cruising, walking while holding an adults hands or while assisted by something else (push cart, dump truck..honestly, anything that can be somewhat pushed around the room while standing or on the knees will suffice). Lots of babbling, but no real words except for "mama" which is pretty obvious. Has started clapping his hands and waving hi/bye within the last couple of weeks too. :)

[mobox]

Just started waving last week and also will clap occasionally but really isn't so interested in clapping just yet. LOVES to dance and will bop along to anything with a beat.

Yep, still not walking either here. He cruises and stands with one hand. And yesterday he stood alone for the first time ever. It was amazing to see...I was so tickled. BUt today he wouldn't do it.

He also has 5-6 teeth coming in and 4 of those are molars. Good times. Sleep isn't affected but his mood is as is his eating. Hopefully it will pass soon.

QOTD: What size is your child wearing? I'm amazed but it seems Sam is already growing out of his 12-18 month clothes. He's SO long. And he's getting thick around the middle too, I assume from not walking.

[Rancid13]

I have a little shorty, and he's still mostly in 9-month sized clothes. I have put on some of the 12-month clothes that we got for his bday & Christmas, but have had to roll up sleeves & pants b/c they're way too long on him.

[AmyE]

QOTD: Mostly they are in 12 months sizes. They started small but have been pretty "true to size." At least, for most clothes, although the manufacturers of baby clothes don't seem to be very consistent. I think they are getting too long for some of their footed PJs, but the 18month stuff will be huge.

[rosa727]

I was so excited to see Grady walk, but now that he has been walking for 2 months and can RUN already, I am somewhat jealous of those of you who aren't dealing with walking yet!

As far as teeth, Grady just cut his last eye tooth! He already has all his molars, so this should be it until the 2 year molars - WOO HOO!!!!

Other new things he is doing: giving hugs when you hold your arms out and say "hugs!"; hugging all his stuffed animals now (used to not care about them); saying a lot of things now (bye, hi, mama, dada, uh oh, ya, more, and some more things that I am not positive about, like ball, duck, and cat); signing a lot

Sizes: Grady fits pretty well in the 12-18 month clothes. Some pants are too big in the waist, so I roll them. But he needs that size for the length.

[ellidew]

(copy and pasted from his blog)

Miles will be 15 months old in just under 2 weeks. Here are some updates about what he's been doing.

Clothing sizes: Miles is mostly wearing 12 month sized clothes. It depends a lot on the brand. A lot of the carters stuff fit really well early in the 12-month stage whereas the Gap stuff was huge until recently and still has room to grow. He does have a few 18-month things. He's ALL belly and has been since his very first ultrasound picture. He just has a little cherub belly. If one more says he's fat i'm going to ring their neck!

Words: Miles has an insane vocabulary for his age! Mama, dada, doggy, My (for Miles), ball, book, cracker, bravo, this, that, bye-bye, duck, uh-oh, banana, please (peas), thank you (tank you), Elmo, papa (for grandpa), mimi, baba (bottle), door, chicken, kitty cat, cookie, yumyum/yummy, okay, and probably more i can't think of. He surprises us sometimes by just repeating our words. He has been known to make simple sentences too like 'bye bye dada' and this morning he said 'Hi My' to himself in a mirror. He says a lot of words once or twice and then we don't hear them again.

He knows but doesn't speak more words than we can count! Fish, Turtle, cup, pillow, bed, upstairs, blankie, pacifier, car ride, drink and the list goes on. Sometimes we play a game where we just ask him to find and point to things. We're amazed at how many things he knows!

He recently started sticking his tongue out. He’s always pushed food out with it but never just played with it like some babies. Now he sticks it out and pants like a dog... especially when we wrap him in the doggy towel with ears. Last night we used the monkey towel and said 'ooo ooo ahh ahh' and he was making the facial expressions but not the sound. He was trying SOO hard!

Teeth/Brushing: 8 and holding steady. We've been at eight for a while, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. He drools bucket fulls every day and we keep thinking we're going to see more teeth but then nothing ever appears! Miles brushes his teeth with a toothbrush and seems to rather enjoy it. Sometimes he points to the shelf it's on and makes funny sounds until you give it to him. He walks all around the house brushing his teeth! He absolutely loves it!

Waving: He's been doing the wave where he holds his hand up and bends his fingers for quite some time now but in the last week he's started to wave open handed and moving his entire hand at the wrist side to side. He likes when we do it back to him.

Hugs and Kisses: Miles loves hugs and kisses. Sometimes he gives big hugs and wraps his arms around our necks and hangs on for a really long time and sometimes he just leans in, like when he's hugging the dog. He hugs everything! Toys, blankie, even hairbrushes! He absolutely loves getting kisses too. He just leans in and gives you this soft little baby look like 'are you going to kiss my head or what?!' We always comply... that face is irresistible!

Bath tub and potty: He's officially in the big bath tub and all the baby tubs are put away. We bought an Elmo no slip bath mat for him. We have a potty seat now and he sits on it when we go potty sometimes. It's just there for that purpose though so he'll decide to use it someday.

Eating: He feeds himself with a fork and a spoon. If he can't get the food on the fork he gives it to us and we put it on there for him but he brings it to his mouth on his own and as of late he refuses anything we put to his mouth. He's a 90% independent eater.

Walking and running: Not much running yet. He gets going pretty fast but usually loses his balance. He's been walking since right at 12 months but it's still a little awkward. The thing we like most about walking is that we can put him down in stores, restaurants, botanical gardens, etc... and we don't have to worry about him getting dirty or getting yuck all over his hands! He has started to run from us so we'll chase him. He'll come around a corner and see us and then take off in the opposite direction all giddy and laughing. So, we've been working on the word "Stop!" for when we're in public and he gets wound up! He stops about 50% of the time! We're still working on it.

Bottles: We've eliminated all but 1 bottle per day and we’re getting ready to stop that one too and replace it with a story instead. He's been slowly drinking less and less of the nighttime bottle anyway. We put him in the crib awake and he puts himself to sleep and sleeps 12+ hours per night. He only takes 1 nap per day but does occasionally dose off in the car in the late afternoon if he's had a tiring day.

Blankie and Pacifier: Miles has had a cold for about 2 weeks now and he's been clinging to his blankie 24 hours a day. We take it away from him while he eats but otherwise we let him have it. Before he got sick we had a rule about blankie staying at home or in the car but he was so cranky over the weekend blankie went to Kohls, Target, and the grocery store. At home he sometimes finds 2 blankies and carries them around 1 in each hand! If he finds something better to do he discards blankie on the floor. He's been especially clingy to his pacifier while sick too. We generally only give him the pacifier when he's really tired or going to sleep and sometimes in the car.

Play: He's stacking blocks! We’ve been stacking them for as long as we can remember and he's always just knocked them over. Now he builds his own stack and knocks it over! He plays with his little tikes basketball and at the lowest setting he can dunk the ball through the hoop on his own. Daddy and Miles play basketball nearly every night. He also loves playing with the Parents brand drum filled with musical instruments. The drum sticks make any object a drum, including his head! He likes to climb on the toddler play area across the street from our house. We just recently bought him a climber but it's been too cold to go outside. He likes to read books to himself. He turns the pages and babbles and points to different things. Sometimes he points to actual objects and says what they are. He favors regular paper pages to board books now.

Bodyparts: Miles can identify and point to his feet, belly, nose (sometimes he puts his finger in his mouth so we're working on mouth now) and head. He can also point to them on someone else.

Childproofing: Sometimes he opens doors. He can barely reach the knobs enough to turn them and barge in but he’s been successful on a few occasions. Doorknob covers are in our very near future! Yesterday daddy strapped all of our heavy or awkward furniture to the walls just in case he decides to climb on any of it sometime soon.

Formula/Milk Situation: He's off of hypoallergenic formula and on lactose free milk. It's going a lot better than regular whole milk but we’re not convinced it's solved the problem 100%. We’re waiting for him to get over a cold to see if the whining stops. If it doesn't we’re considering pulling milk altogether and sticking with calcium rich foods in place, maybe soy or rice milk. We're still waiting this one out.

Here's a recent picture of Miles:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_k5CUaJJXPbk/R4kIRh_O38I/AAAAAAAAAbs/HwgAdgoUbQ4/s320/2008_01+b+004.jpg

[ellidew]

Rancid- that picture of tylers haircut is too cute and so is the picture with santa! I just love pictures of kids crying on santas lap… I think they’re the cutest! Tylers birthday party was too cute! I love how the cake turned out and the bounce house looked like fun! He’ll be walking soon. Miles did what you described for 2+ months then one day just let go and hasn’t looked back. It’s a blessing and a curse!


Bijouparvin- your little girl is too cute! She was really rockin’ out in that video!

Pacificbliss- REALLY cute birthday party. I love the monkey cake! Where did you get those big letters for the thank you?

Mobox- what a cute picture! I love that sweater!! I have to admit miles has sampled his fair share of dog food. Eh, it’s not going to hurt ‘em! Lol. YAY for standing! It’s so funny when they just start standing because they look like little statues just holding their balance in one place! Holey molars! I hope the moodiness passes really quickly! At least you’re getting all the molars out of the way at one time! Btw, I love the quote in your signature. I feel that way sometimes.

Rosa- I’m totally going to teach miles to say ‘ooooo’ I bet that’s really fun! I like when they get really excited that they just blurt out a burst of sounds! You have your hands full with a runner. I’m quite glad Miles isn’t there yet! He has started to run from us like he comes around a corner and sees us and runs the other way laughing. WTG on the signing! Grady’s teeth amaze me! Miles might go to kindergarten with just the 8 he has! I always think he’s teething because he drools buckets of spit but then nothing ever shows up! I love hugs! Miles hugs everything too… even hairbrushes!

Calla Lilly- I can relate to bumps and bruises. There is a picture in Miles blog of a really bad black and blue eye. He tripped head first into a glass table on New Years Eve. It gushed blood and I was scared to death! We’ve also had our fair share of accident reports!

AmyE- Aww, how cute that she know her bb’s name! I love that Ben flies his food around and makes sounds with it. That just sounds like the cutest thing! I hope you got it on video!!

[mobox]

Wow, Miles is a rock STAR!!!!! Look at all of those words. :) That's one thing that Sam is, vocal. He says everything you say. DH says, "Uh-oh, better stop cussing!" LOL.

[rosa727]

ellidew: Sounds like Miles is doing great, and WOW on that talking! Yeah, the "oooh" thing is cute because his dad taught him to do it when he opens this stuffed "gift" he has. It's funny.

I forgot to mention a few more things...

feet: Got G's feet measured at Stride Rite yesterday since my mom wants to get him shoes there. Well, he is a 6.5 wide! That seems enormous to me for an almost 14-month-old.

sleep: consistently STTN 12-13 hours. Takes 1-2 naps (usually 1), but it is only 1.5 hours. Anyone else have that issue? I thought it would be longer when it was just 1.

train table: G will play with the Thomas train on the tracks now at B&N.

cars and trucks: Loves to drive them around and say "vroom!" (sounds like "ooom", but I think that's what he's doing because I do that when I show him how to do the cars).

sippy: We are done with the bottle except the one at night. But we will do away with that soon, I think.

body parts: How could I forget this? This is G's real strength! He does ear, head, hair (grabs his hair), eye, mouth, nose, belly, leg, foot, hand, and will pick them up as soon as you tell him - it's amazing. He even does it if I say the word quick, like "food stays in your mouth" - he points to his mouth.

ear infection ?: Grady has never had an ear infection, but I am worried he could have one. He has had a cold and is incessantly pulling on his ear (both, actually). He is still teething (getting his last eye tooth), but I am worried about that. What are the other symptoms? He doesn't have a fever.

[ellidew]

Rosa- I'd say fever would be a big symptom of an ear infection (and pneumonia, Miles has had a cold for a week and a half and i've been watching closely for other symptoms too!) Miles sometimes tugs on his ears too but the last few times i've taken him in to have them checked they've been clear. I think the teething could cause his ear to hurt, kind of like when you have a sore throat. Grady rocks the body parts! I'm not surprised by G's foot size... Miles is a 5.5 (He's in a Euro 21 which = a 5.5 US). He's been in the 5.5 for over a month now so it's only a matter of time before he gets bumped up again. I think their feet just grow so stickin' fast we lose track!

mobox- I 100% agree! We've been really watching what we say and do! We've noticed that if we tap on Miles that he taps us back or he sees me give dh a love slap (like a flirty little hit) so he does it. I don't want to teach ds to hit! The simplest action is taken so literal at this age.

sleep- We are down to just one nap and sometimes a cat nap in the car on the way home. He sleeps 12-13 hours per night and then naps 1-2 hours around noon. My niece sleeps way less at night and naps for 3 hours in the afternoon... i prefer Miles schedule!

Food: Thus far Miles hasn't refused any one food. He sometimes doesn't want something that he normally eats but i figure it's just familiar and he doesn't want it (that's fair since i do the same thing!). The child eats fist fulls of peas and green beans! Last night i made fish and i was curious if he'd eat it and he ate every bite i put on his plate! I was so excited that he likes fish since it's so healthy. We have noticed that he doesn't eat much red meat but it could be because we don't make very much of it especially since i'm a vegetarian and don't eat meat or fish! Dh likes a hamburger from time to time but otherwise would rather have chicken, pork, turkey, or fish.

[pacificbliss]

ellidew thanks for the note about the party. The letters are from a foam set we used to use as a floor mat. I love that picture of Miles. So cute.

rosa Dominic had a lot of ear infection, so many we had to get tubes. He never ran a fever. I would get his ears checked. Fussiness and pulling his ears were his only symptoms. It was kind of scary actually. At his 6 month WBV both ears were infected and he wasn't showing any signs.

mobox we've got a little dancer here too :D

sleep we haven't night weaned so D still wakes up once or twice/night. It's ok though, the crib is by our bed and we just pull him into bed with us, I nurse him, and he goes back down. He takes one 2 hour nap/day.

words we watch what we say here too

hugs and kisses It's so sweet to get hugs and kisses. They were all just helpless little newborns and now they point, talk, clap, dance, crawl, cruise and give hugs and kisses. Crazy

[rosa727]

pacificbliss: Thanks for the tip - G isn't fussy today, but he has been in general recently. Of course, that could be teeth, but it's good to know it could also be an ear infection. I will have it checked if he doesn't seem to continue doing better (he really seems a lot better today - mood and cold symptoms).

ellidew: But geez - a 6.5!? That's a size bigger than Miles and G is a month younger! And Miles is probably bigger in every other way - G isn't a very big guy. His feet are just abnormally big! Well, he is tall, and I guess that goes together. I totally agree with you on the sleep issue - G is just like Miles - 12-13 at night (well, 14 last night!) and about 1.5 during the day. I like the longer night sleep for sure!

[ellidew]

rosa- The actual amount of size between shoe sizes is seriously TINY! lol. At least in my opinion the changes in size seem tiny! Here's the old navy chart: http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/sizeChart.do?cid=37407

Actual Foot Length and size:

Size 6 (12-18) = Foot Size 5 5/16
Size 7 (18-24) = Foot Size 5 5/8
Size 8 (2T) = Foot Size 5 15/16
Size 9 (3T) = Foot Size 6 1/4

To me those seem like small changes in size. Miles is bigger than Grady in every way except probably height. He's still hasn't had a huge up spurt. He's always had short stubby feet though.

I'm all for a longer stretch at night and a shorter nap!

Fwiw, i've never had Miles foot measured. I just make sure there's sufficient space for his toes. Once i think his toes are getting too close to the front i move him up a size. For all i know i'm shoving his feet into too small of a shoes too!

[sunshine0928]

ellidew - That picture is too cute!

Grace is still working on walking. She'll DO like 5 steps at a time and then stop. She is still zooming around though with her push walker and makes some weird noise (not sure what that's all about but it is more of an excited noise to me).

injuries, etc - well Grace was crawling on thE carpet last week and did a face plant. She had her paci in her mouth at the time. There was some blood but nothing major. When I checked her mouth out thE next am, one of her top two teeth was black towards the top :eek: I was freakin b/c teeth are super important to me. I took her to the Dr later that morning. She went to DC and when I picked her up for the appt it looked much better but I still had it checked out. Eventually it all went away and looks normal now but that was scary for me. I am now working on weaning her from the paci b/c I feel like that made it worse.

Clothes, growing - Grace is on the verge of growing out of a few 18 month items and it's not from shrinkage..she has a big belly, too :)

[rosa727]

ellidew: I think that sizing chart is tiny (all of ON's stuff runs tiny, so I guess that's why). I have alway heard a 5 is the equivalent of a 12-18 month. All of his 12-18 month Robeez are too small now. I WAS basing it on what I could tell, but not anymore! I thought he just outgrew those Robeez, but it looks like they were way too small.

ETA: Yeah, I just checked out a bunch of baby shoe sizing charts online, and most say a size 6 is for an 18-24 month old, which would mean that a 6.5 IS for a 2 year old, just as I estimated! I know they are just averages, but still!

[rosa727]

carseat question: Has everyone turned their carseats around so their children are facing forward? Grady is still rear-facing. I had hear that it was good to keep them rear-facing as long as possible, since it is safer, but his legs are getting too long now, I think. He seems squished, so I am thinking of turning the seat around this weekend. He is in a Britax Roundabout right now.

[ellidew]

carseat- Nope, still rear facing and i plan to keep him that way for a while. Scrunched feet are fine so long as their head is 1 inch or below the top of the carseat. Check the carseat thread for a good website that shows lots of pictures including 2 and 3 year olds rear facing and explains why i's safer.

[katmg]

DD is still rear-facing (has to be since she isn't 20 lbs yet) and since her Marathon is RF to 33 lbs. and she's only 17 lbs. I think she'll be RF for quite some time! We joke that she's going to have to go on her first date in a booster seat. :p

[pacificbliss]

carseat DS is still RF.

[tinkerbelljenny]

Trever is also still RF. I still have him in the carrier but I got a Britax Marathon that I need to install in the car but I have to wait until the weather gets warmer because there is no way I am going in that garage in this cold weather.
Trever refuses to wear shoes. I put them on him and he won't walk. I have no idea what to do because he needs to wear shoes because we have snow!

Trever wears 18-24 month size cothes. He is 26 pounds. His legs are short though so I have him in 12 months pants.

injuries...he has had many many many. He has fallen out of the bed at least 5 times, he always gets bruises from banging his head on this and that. He is a total boy.

sleep-He still wakes up many times a night and hasn't SSTN yet. I don't think that will happen until I wean him.

Food-Trever is obessed with blueberries, he eats them all the time, he loves them.

[rosa727]

Guess I'll leave Grady RF for now! I thought I was weird. It's just that he is so tall and his legs are especially long, so I am not sure how comfy he is.

[Rancid13]

Car seat- We've been front facing for 2 weeks now. I had a highway patrol officer check out our car seat 2 weeks ago, and since Tyler is well over 20lbs and over 1 year of age, he said the manufacturer (Britax) recommends FF at that age & size. I told him I wanted to keep Tyler RF for as long as possible but he was pretty adamant about Britax's specs & regulations per the sticker on the seat and the manual. I'm still in the air about it but have left him FF for now b/c the CHP officer knows his stuff, and I like seeing Tyler's cute face in the rearview instead of the top of his head. :)

[AmyE]

Umm, the January moms just moved their thread into the toddler forums. Should we do the same? How do we do that?:)

[ellidew]

AmyE- I'm the tm for this thread so i'll work on it at work next week. Have to remember the password ;) And apply for edit powers!

[mobox]

Sam is front facing for a couple weeks now. He's REALLY long and his feet and head were definitely too long for RF. He's much less crabby in the car now because he can see us.

Face plants - Oh yeah, at least one a day!!!

Ear infections - We have had 3, one on on ear and two on the other. Rosa, Sam didn't run a fever with his first or third EI...only one. The other two he seemed fine but tugged on his ear. I say better safe than sorry because you REALLY don't want to have it fester. If he's got a runny nose, it's possible there is fluid in his ear.

QOTD - Is your DC still using a pacifier??? When do you plan to wean?

Sam still has his paci for naps and night sleep. If he finds one while crawling around he'll stick in in his mouth. But I always take it away. I don't want him to have it during the day. I think that could be part of why he is SO vocal...he is always sans paci. However, he seems to really want/need it to sleep. What are some tricks on slowly getting away from that?

[ellidew]

Ear Infection: Miles has his first. I don't know if he's had a fever or not. He did last saturday but he also threw up on saturday. He's been on a pretty constant dose of tylenol because of the bad cold he's had.

Pacifier: Yes. I don't know. We'll either let him self wean or well wait until between 2 and 3 when he can maybe understand what's going on. I'd like to give him something in place of it rather than just take it away, unless he self weans. He self weaned from the swaddle and then he gave up the bottle really easily. He's pretty attached to blankie and pacifier though. It's not something i'm worried about pushing right now.

Sam still has his paci for naps and night sleep. If he finds one while crawling around he'll stick in in his mouth. But I always take it away. I don't want him to have it during the day. I think that could be part of why he is SO vocal...he is always sans paci. However, he seems to really want/need it to sleep.

This is Miles to a T. Sorry no advice, i hadn't even begun to think about it.

[katmg]

pacis - same thing with C. I find she 'needs' it less and less. I asked about it at my dr. appt. and I was told not to worry about it until she is using a cup. (I guess no longer sucking on bottles/breast?) I am in the process of weaning so after that I will work on the pacis. I guess I will just start laying her down without it and see how she does?

[rosa727]

paci: It REALLY soothes G while teething, and since he is almost done (last one is just about through!), I will start hiding it except during sleep time. I am not in a real hurry to have him stop using it at night. It's not like I have to go give it back to him or anything, and he seems very soothed by it. I think around 2 years old I will start to try getting him off it at night.

grocery shopping: Does your DC also try to wriggle out of the cart and/or stand up after about 20 minutes of shopping? I can get a bit done, but then he gets really fidgety. Any tricks for making them last longer in the grocery store? He does better in other stores when I can put him in his stroller. And I do have a comfy cart cover with toys attached, but that doesn't seem to help - he ignores his toys and tries to climb out. I let him hold different items, but he usually starts trying to eat them pretty quickly. Maybe this will get better once he is done teething.

[sunshine0928]

car seat - G has been FF since about 11 months.

grocery shopping - Yes, G does get fidgety after awhile. When it gets too bad I give her a graham cracker to eat and that keeps her happy for awhile. I try not to take her unless I have to.

[fms]

It's been a LONG time since I posted here. Brendon is a handful (and that's putting it mildly.) He's been walking since Thanksgiving and is into everything. His latest trick is running with his blanket over his face to tackle us and then give us a hug. He is a sweet but very active little boy.

paci: He does not have one. Never did. After the 100th time he spit it out, I gave up.

car seat:We turned him at 11.5 months. He is a tall kid and was miserable facing the rear (after he got a taste of facing the front while on vacation. He does not forgot a thing!)

grocery shopping:I have been known to open a box of treats and give him one prior to officially purchasing it to keep him happy.

face plants/bruises:He gets the klutz gene from me.

food: We are working on weaning and his nurses briefly upon wake-up and at night. He is still eating a lot of baby food due to some gas/tummy issues with adult food.

sleep: We had a spell when he woke up 3-4 times a night. Recently, he's been STTN. *crossing my fingers that I did not jinx myself*

clothes:depends on the brand but some 12, some 18 month

I forgot the password to my photobucket account so, you can check out a few photos of birthday, etc. on my blog:
http://blog.fmlphotodesign.com/

[sunshine0928]

fms - cute pics on yoru blog!! Your pictures are beautiful! I received an SLR camera for Christmas that I had been wanting. I am still trying to figure it all out. May I ask how you learned photography and if you have any tips/pointers for a beginner? I have a few books that I read about on a few websites. I know I just need to practice but would love any tips if you have any to share. I really like the style of your pictures.

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Hi all! Check out our new toddlerhood thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1644069&posted=1#post1644069post1644069)!

This thread will be locked in the next few days!

[pacificbliss]

Bye-bye baby thread, hello toddlers.