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

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Welcome November and December 2006 Mommies!
First Edition: They're Here, Now What? The First Months

Moderators: ellidew (Moderators Needed! Please PM if you are interested!!)

November 2006 Threads
Open for posting! We're Pregnant! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16429)
The 2nd Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19312)
The 3rd Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22864)
The Babies are Arriving!!! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25730)

December 2006 Threads
We're in our second trimester!!! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18128)
Past the halfway point! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23660)
Here Come the babies! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26882)

**Please post all updates in RED!! Thank you![/COLOR]

LIST OF BABIES BY BIRTHDATE:

October
10 Wesley Frederick, roberta
13 Hilary, katnbug
30 Carolina Chloe Layne, Kyrsten
30 Miranda Kimie, mimieliza

NOVEMBER:
1 Maya, mayham
2 Ian Alexander, Rubbersoul
2 Noah Benjamin, mandersald
3 Miles Charles, ellidew
5 Layla Kathryn, euphorea
8 Daria, Ilovemygeek
9 Sydney Elyce, Franni
10 Devin, catgirl1007
12 Victor Javier, civats
12 Hiro, polydctylcat
14 Katherine (Katie), Lizzie Beth
15 Kathleen Christina, Lilla
20 Mitchell, Delaney21
20 Matthew, acrane
20 Lauren, neenbean
21 Gavin, lilo
22 Molly, bijouparvin
27 Grady, rosa727
29 Benjamin Aaron, ausi2b

DECEMBER:
2 Tyler Kekoa, Rancid13
4 Elizabeth "Elise" Zoe & Corinne Victoria (twins), sophiapb
5 Finnian (Finn) Maddox, Teresita
5 Samuel Lee, mobox
6 Julia Grace and Benjamin Luke (twins), AmyE
7 Jonah, Carissa
12 Lucas Shannon ("Luke"), msnicolea
12 Brendon Sean, fms
14 Tyler, Sandy
14 Ameer, janu98
20 Trever, tinkerbelljenny
21 Joshua Adam, NJMom
21 MJ, bluebunny
22 Justin Antoine. Kimmer
22 Grace Elizabeth, Sunshine0928
30 Dominic, Pacificbliss

January
4 Charlotte, katmg

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Members:

CC Name: acrane
DS Name: Matthew
Me: 34
DH: 31
Married: August 18, 2002
EDD: November 26, 2006
ADD: November 20, 2006
Time of Birth: 2:19 pm
Weight: 7 lbs 7 ozs
Length: 19.5 inches
Other Children: Andrew, who turns 3 next month!

CC name: AmyE
DC names: Julia Grace and Benjamin Luke (twins)
Me: Amy, 34
DH: DH, 34
Married: 2003
EDD: 12/28/06 (40 week)
ADD: 12/06 (37 weeks - full term for twins!)
Time of birth: 3:24 and 3:25 pm
weight: 6lbs and 5 lbs 13 oz
length: 19" and 19.5"
Other DC: DS, 4/05

CC Name: ausi2b
DS Name: Benjamin Aaron
Me: 28
DH: 29
Married: August 11, 2002
EDD: November 24, 2006
ADD: November 29, 2006
Time of Birth: 3:57 pm
Weight: 7lbs 13oz
Length:21 inches
Other Children: N/A

CC Name: bijouparvin
DD Name: Molly
Me: 29
DH: 28
Married: 8/6/04
EDD: 11/17/06
ADD: 11/22/06
Time of Birth: 8:48 AM
Weight: 8lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 20"

CC Name: bluebunny
DD Name: MJ
Me: 32
DH: 33
Married: Sept. 2001
EDD: December 23
ADD: December 21
Time of Birth: 2:38 a.m.
Weight: 7 lb. 11 oz.
Length: 21 inches
Other Children: DS 2 years old

CC Name: Carissa
DS Name: Jonah
Me: Carissa, 27
DH: Eric, 26
Married: 8/17/2002
EDD: 12/26/2006
ADD: 12/7/2006
Time of Birth: 10:04 am
Weight: 6lbs 14 oz
Length: 20"
Other Children: DD Grace ,19 months

CC Name: catgirl1007
DS Name: Devin
Me: 37
DH: 36
Married: 10/25/03
EDD: 11/9/06
ADD: 11/10/06
Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 21"
Other Children: DD, 10/8/04

CC Name: Civats
DS Name: Victor Javier
Me: 34
DH: 45
Married:11/29/04
EDD: Nov 14, 2006
ADD: Nov 12, 2006
Time of Birth: 1:41 pm
Weight: 7lbs 13 oz
Length:20 inches
Other Children: none

CC Name: Delaney21
DS Name: Mitchell
Me: Jessica, 27
DH: Kyle, 28
Married: 6-14-03
EDD: 12-10-06
ADD: 11-20-06
Time of Birth: 2:41
Weight: 6lbs, 6ozs
Length: 19in

CC Name: ellidew
DS Name: Miles Charles
Me: 26
DH: 28
Married: June 1, 2002
EDD: November 7, 2006
ADD: November 3, 2006
Time of Birth: 12:03 AM
Weight: 7lbs 11oz
Length:20.75
Other Children: Furbaby, Bogart

CC Name: euphorhea
DC Name: Layla Kathryn
Me: Rhea, 29
DH: Gene, 27
Married: 06.21.03
EDD: 11.07.06
ADD: 11.05.06
Time of Birth: 4:46 pm
Weight: 6 lbs. 8 oz.
Length: 20 in.
Other Children: None

CC Name: fms
DC Name: Brendon Sean
Me: Felicia, 29
DH: Derek, 31
Married: 06/22/02
EDD: 12/16/06
ADD: 12/12/06
Time of Birth: 3:19 pm
Weight: 8 lbs. 6 oz.
Length: 21.5 in.
Other Children: Kitties: Loki and Freya

CC Name: Franni
DC Name: Sydney Elyce
Me: Franni, 37
DH: George, 31
Married: 09/21/02
EDD: 11/19/06
ADD: 11/09/06
Time of Birth: 12:24 pm
Weight: 6 lbs. 1 oz.
Length: 20 in.

CC Name: Ilovemygeek
DS Name: Daria
Me: Rachel, 24
DH: Trevor, 24
Married: June 8, 2002
EDD: November 10, 2006
ADD: November 8, 2006
Time of Birth: 6:40pm
Weight: 7lb 7oz
Length: 21in

CC Name: katmg
DD Name: Charlotte
Me: 27
DH: 31
Married: 11/08/2003
EDD: 12/31/2006
ADD: 1/04/2007
Weight: 7 lb.
Length: 19
Other Children: she's our first

CC Name: katnbug
DD Name: DD Hilary
Me: K, 37
DH: C, 32
Married: 4/26/03
EDD: 11/3/06
ADD: 10/13/06
Time of Birth: 8:49am
Weight: 7lbs
Length: 19 1/2
Other Children: DS Grayson 2yrs

CC Name: Kimmer
DS Name: Justin Antoine
Me: 31
DH: 31
Married: November 5, 2005
EDD: December 17, 2006
ADD: Devember 22, 2006
Time of Birth: 8:54 P.M.
Weight: 8lbs 5oz
Length:20

CC Name: Kyrsten
DD Name: Carolina Chloe Layne
Me: Kyrsten, 31
DH: John, 32
Married: September 22, 2001
EDD: 11/2/06
ADD: 10/30/06
Time of Birth: 1:33 p.m.
Weight: 9 pounds, 5 ounces
Length: 21 inches

CC Name: Lilla
DD Name: Kathleen Christina
Me: 31
DH: 34
Married: October 12, 2002
EDD: November 4, 2006
ADD: November 15, 2006
Time of Birth: 5:30 pm
Weight: 8 lbs 10 ozs
Length: 20.75 inches
Other Children: Two furbabies - Zeke & Nellie

CC Name: lilo
DS Name: Gavin
Me: 30
DH: 32
Married: 2002
EDD: November 24, 2006
ADD: November 21, 2006
Time of Birth: 4pm
Weight: 7lbs 4 oz
Length:20 inches
Other Children: He's our first

CC Name: Lizzie Beth
DC Name: Katherine (Katie)
Me: Beth, 32 (my birthday was yesterday)
DH: Alex, 33
Married: June 15, 02
EDD: November 21, 06
ADD: November 14, 06
Time of Birth: 10:33 pm
Weight: 7lbs, 10 ozs.
Length: I forget..
Other Children: Susannah, born December 26, 2004

CC Name: Mandersald
DS Name: Noah Benjamin
Me: Manders, 26
DH: Noah's dad, 26
Married: 8/27/04
EDD: 12/12/06
ADD: 11/2/06
Time of Birth: 1:50 am
Weight: 5lbs 14 ounces
Length: 18.5 inches
Other Children: furbabies Miles and Otto

CC Name: mayham
DC Name: Maya
Me: 29
DH: 30
Married: 2002
EDD: 11/25/06
ADD: 11/1/06
Weight: 6 lb. 6 oz.
Length: 19.5
Other Children: She's our first

CC Name: mimieliza
DD Name: Miranda Kimie
Me: Michelle, 28
DH: Reid, 30
Married: August 9, 2003
EDD: November 10, 2006
ADD: October 30, 2006
Time of Birth: 3:56 PM
Weight: 7 lbs 1 oz
Length: 19"
Other Children: Furbabies Miles (dog) and Neenah (cat)

CC Name: mobox
DS Name: Samuel Lee
Me: Mo, 36
DH: Dave, 36
Married: 6/19/04
EDD: 12/16/06
ADD: 12/5/06
Time of Birth: 5:57pm
Weight: 6-10
Length: 19.5

CC Name: Mona
DS Name: Ameer
Me: 28
DH: 31
Married:9/3/03
EDD: Dec 26, 2006
ADD: Dec 14, 2006
Time of Birth: 4:49 am
Weight: 7lbs 13 oz
Length:20.5 inches
Other Children: Our first

CC Name: msnicolea
DS Name: Lucas Shannon ("Luke")
Me: 35
DH: 34
Married: October 11, 2003
EDD: December 15, 2006
ADD: December 12, 2006
Time of Birth: 1:07pm
Weight: 8lbs 2oz
Length:20 1/2 inches
Other Children: He's our first

CC Name: neenbean
DD Name: Lauren
Me: 31
DH: 31
Married: November 15, 2003
EDD: November 30, 2006
ADD: November 20, 2006
Time of Birth: 11:53 AM
Weight: 7lbs 14oz
Length: 21.25
Other Children: DD Catherine, 3-19-05

CC Name: NJMom
DS Name: Joshua Adam
Me: Jen, 36
DH: Gary, 47
Married: 9/14/02
EDD: 12/29/06
ADD: 12/21/06
Time of Birth: 8:41 am
Weight: 8lbs 12 ounces
Length: 19 3/4 inches
Other Children: twin boys Jacob and Brayden born 2/15/05

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Members II:

CC Name: Pacificbliss
DC Name: Dominic
Me: 32
DH: 32
Married: 3/12/2004
EDD: 12/21/2006
ADD: 12/30/2006
Weight: 8 lb. 12 oz.
Length: 21
Other Children: he's our first

CC Name: polydctylcat
DS Name: Hiro
Me: Megumi, 27
DH: Joe, 29
Married: 6/8/01
EDD: 12/23/06
ADD: 12/12/06
Time of Birth: 3:55 p.m.
Weight: 6 lb. 10 oz.
Length: 19.5 oz.
Other Children: Aiko, age 4

CC Name: Rancid13
DS Name: Tyler Kekoa
Me: Jennifer, 28
DH: Sonny, 31
Married: Dec 13, 2003
EDD: Nov 30 or Dec 3, 2006
ADD: Dec 2, 2006
Time of Birth: 8:29pm
Weight: 7lbs8oz
Length: 20"
Other Children: None

CC Name: roberta
DD Name: Wesley Frederick
Me: Roberta, 28
DH: Zak, 30
Married: November 15, 2003
EDD: November 20, 2006
ADD: October 10, 2006
Time of Birth: 2:37 PM
Weight: 5 lbs 1 oz
Length: 17"
Other Children: Furbabies Barley (pug) and Sydney (Aust. shepherd)

CC Name: rosa727
DS Name: Grady
Me: Rose-Anne, 28
DH: Eric, 28
Married: July 27, 2002
EDD: December 3, 2006
ADD: November 27, 2006
Time of Birth: 12:39AM
Weight: 7 pounds, 2 ounces
Length: 21 inches

CC Name: RubberSoul
DS Name: Ian Alexander
Me: Ann, 30
DH: Jack, 30
Married: 10/22/05
EDD: 11/13/06
ADD: 11/2/06
Time of Birth: 9:28pm
Weight: 6lbs 50zs
Length: 19 inches
Other Children: Stepson Zach, and furbaby Hunter

CC Name: Sandy
DS Name: Tyler
Me: 28
DH: 31
Married: 6/29/02
EDD: 12/30/06
ADD: 12/14/06
Time of Birth: 1249pm
Weight: 6lb 9oz
Length: 20.5"
Other Children: None

CC Name: sophiapb
DC Name: Elizabeth "Elise" Zoe and Corinne Victoria
Me: Sophia, 39
DH: John, 33
Married: May 26, 02
EDD: December 24, 06
ADD: December 4, 06
Time of Birth: 10:49 am (Elise) & 10:51 am (Corinne)
Weight: 5 lbs 15 ounces (Elise) & 6 lbs 6 ounces (Corinne)
Length: 18 1/2 inches (Elise) & 19 inches (Corinne)
Other Children: Alexa and Alexander born May 26, 05
Alexander was stillborn but I still like to include him. Hope that's okay.

CC Name: Sunshine0928
DC Name: Grace Elizabeth
Me: Lisa, 31
DH: Keith, 34
Married: 09/28/02
EDD: 12/20/06
ADD: 12/22/06
Time of Birth: 11:38 pm
Weight: 7 lbs. 14 oz.
Length: 21 in.
Other Children: None

CC Name: Teresita
DS Name: Finnian (Finn) Maddox
Me: Terry, 34
DH: Gavin, 32
Married: 6/1/02
EDD: 12/18/06
ADD: 12/5/06
Time of Birth: 6:14 am
Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other Children: Mia Elise, born 7/24/04 (and two beloved dogs!)

CC Name: tinkerbelljenny
DS Name: Trever
Me: Jenny, 33
DH: Gary, 42
Married: 10/20/2002
EDD: 12/22/06
ADD: 12/20/06
Time of Birth: 6:38 AM (emergency c-section)
Weight: 9 pounds 3 oz
Length: 21 inches
Other Children: DS Tyler 7/15/03

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Photos I

Miles Charles, 7 weeks, ellidew
http://images.photos.walmart.com/348%3A9%3A788%7Ffp9%3Enu%3D3236%3E36%3A%3E6%3A7%3E WSNRCG%3D323247347%3A49%3Anu0mrj

Grady, rosa727
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Christmas%202006/IMG_0404.jpg?t=1167772237

Hilary, katnbug
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/katdossett1124/Hilary2-1.jpg

Mitchell, Delaney21
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q65/Delaney21/Mitchell/Smith022.jpg

Ian Alexander, Rubbersoul
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/343192781_331416d2e1.jpg?v=0

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Photos II

Noah Benjamin, 6 weeks, mandersald
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i7/mandersald/IMG_1907.jpg

Tyler Kekoa, Rancid13
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JenniferPictures143.jpg

Finnian (Finn) Maddox, Teresita
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/343472586_ea9caf3cf9.jpg?v=0

Justin Antoine, Kimmer
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g222/Kimmer30/BabyJustin1stpic071.jpg?t=1167323951

Lucas "Luke" Shannon, msnicolea
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/msnicolea/th_IMG_0102.jpg

Matthew, acrane
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/acrane/Picture305.jpg

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Photos III:

Layla Kathryn, euphorea
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/326567458_8dddf4e74c.jpg?v=0

Brendon Sean, fms
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/meashcc/103r.jpg?t=1167869071

Miranda Kimie, mimieliza
http://mimieliza.smugmug.com/photos/119339343-S.jpg

Samuel Lee, 3 weeks, mobox
http://images.costcophotocenter.com/348%3B34483%7Ffp66%3Dot%3E2356%3D676%3D365%3DXROQD F%3E23236%3C4367669ot1lsi

Carolina Chloe, Kyrsten
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/350721967_371a67cf12.jpg?v=0

Daria, Ilovemygeek
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/355448293_0037a8b09a.jpg?v=0

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Photos IV:

Molly, bijouparvin
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b371/bijoudiva/Molly/Ninth%20Week/DSC00408.jpg

[Nov-Dec2006Mommies]

Photos V

[ellidew]

If anyone wants to add or update photos of their dc's, let me know!

I'd totally forgotten how tiny our babies were 6+ months ago! They've all grown and learned so many things and now they're eating food and getting around on their own! It's amazing what they learn in only 6 months. I can't believe in a few short months we'll be talkin' 1st birthday parties. It kind of makes me sad :) It seems like yesterday we were all pg and having ultrasounds and finding out gender. I just can't get over how incredible it is to bring a child into the world and then watch them grow. I always thought being a mommy would be amazing but it's so much more amazing than i was ever able to imagine!

[rosa727]

ellidew: I know what you mean about it going so fast - it really is so bittersweet to see them get bigger. I am just not even thinking about his first birthday yet, or I might cry :(

Anyway, could you update his picture to this one? Thanks!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady/IMG_1691.jpg

[katmg]

Aww! Look at those little babies - they're changing so fast!

Can you update my info: I am now 28 and DH is now 32. Thanks!

[pacificbliss]

A new thread! Yay! Now I'm not behind :)

The babies are so cute. Let me try to post one. Here goes...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50774942@N00/536117840/

[pacificbliss]

That didn't work.

[Ilovemygeek]

Thanks for the new thread!

Here is a picture of Daria for the front page:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/491672891_391c388de2_o.jpg

[lilo]

thanks for starting the new thread. It really is hard to believe that our babies are already 6+ months. But I love this age because every day I see DS learning more and more things and it's just so awesome to see him grow and develop his little personality. :)

[Rancid13]

Thanks for starting the new thread, ellidew!

I haven't been posting much but I have been lurking here and there when I find the time at work.

Here's a newer photo of Tyler for the photos page:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/IMG_0158.jpg

[bluebunny]

Yea for a new thread! :) Just wanted to say that I'm sorry I don't post much; I try to read occasionally but I find that I read and then run out of time to respond (interrupted by my toddler or crying baby). Also, I don't know if any of the other ROs feel this way but I think everything with #2 is going by even faster than with #1! :eek:

Anyone thinking of having another? ;)

[Rancid13]

Anyone thinking of having another? ;)

LOL...nope! We decided a long while ago that we would be a 3-person family. :D Not that we could afford another kid anyhow, we'd have to buy a bigger home in order to accommodate that and in CA with home prices the way they are...well that would be nearly impossible, especially with DH still out of work and me still only working 18 hours a week (hardly bringing in 1/3 of what I was pre-maternity leave).

Oh, yeah and I don't want to ever be pregnant again. It really took a toll on me, from which I'm still suffering lingering effects. :(

[rosa727]

Anyone thinking of having another? ;)

I definitely want another, but we will probably be waiting 3-4 years. I actually didn't mind being PG or giving birth, but I would like to order the next baby without reflux - is that possible? :p

[rosa727]

Teeth: OK, it's getting ridiculous. Grady got his first two (bottom middle ones) on his 5 month birthday. About 2 weeks ago one of the ones on top (to the side of the middle ones) popped through. So that makes three. The other three on top are all RIGHT THERE - white and bulging under the gums. Well I figured that was it. Nope. Tonight I was feeding him and noticed that the teeth to either side of his bottom middle ones have come through. I totally missed that they were even coming because I was focused on top. So he is going to get 6 new teeth within about a 2 week time span - crazy. I guess at least we are going to get all this teething over with all at once!

[pacificbliss]

Go little Grady!

another baby? We want another but not for a couple years. Actually, since there's been no period yet and I'm struggling with taking this mini pill the way you're supposed to I keep freaking out that I'm pg again. I've taken 3 pg tests since DS was born :o

rancid and ilovemygeek those pics are adorable. What cute kids!

I have to try the picture thing again...but not now. I think I need a photobucket or shutterfly account.

[AmyE]

Rosa - thank your lucky stars! It sucks, but it is SO much easier to have them come in close together. DS1 started at 8 months, but it was one by one spread out over the next 12 months or so. He finally got the last 6 in a three week period just before the twins were born. MUCH easier.

Speaking of the December babies, Benjamin - my darling dearest - has decided that nope, sleep is not for him. He just doesn't need it, doesn't see the point. Would much rather be having long and LOUD conversations with someone. That baby is going to bed at 7 or 6:30 like before, but then up every 15 mins from 10-12 midnight, up again around 1 or 1:30 am, and has been trying to wake up *for the day* by 4:30 am. This morning he was wide awake and rarin' to go at 4:18. A.M!! Gaaahhhh! He fell back asleep again at about 6 am, for a 45 min nap.

According to his nanny and what we experienced this weekend, his naps are now usually 10-20 mins, except for one "long" one in the middle of the afternoon, which might last an hour, but only if he's in the swing.

Crap. My toddler didn't STTN until 9 months, and now he's getting up to climb into bed with us between 12-2am. He still naps for 3 hours in the afternoon though. Julia loves to sleep, and sleeps for about 11 hours at night plus 3 good day naps. Ben wasn't STTN, but he was just eating and going back to sleep, and was usually up only once.

With the oldest, we had the 5 minute rule by the time he was 9 months - we let him whine in his crib for 5 mins before going to get him. Benjamin starts wailing after about two minutes of whining, and if we let it go too long he does wake up Julia. Who is then NOT HAPPY about someone interrupting her sleep. (She's so sensible, that Julia.:p)

I fear Ben is one of those people who just doesn't need much sleep. I blame my husband's genes.
(Although my youngest sister gave up napping completely before she was 18months old. The thought of it strikes fear into my heart....)

[ellidew]

Anyone thinking of having another?

Absolutely! Not a question in my mind. I also didn't mind being pregnant or giving birth. Of course people around me must think i have a really SHORT memory span because my pregnancy was riddled with problems (not major) but water retention (I gained 90 pounds! Lost 40 within 2 weeks of giving birth and was within 30 lbs of pre pg weight by 8 weeks. So, 60 lbs in 8 weeks lost). Sciatica, acid reflux, etc... Then i had 2 failed epidurals, an emergency c-section and i was in the hospital for 6.5 days. My mil was convinced i'd never have another one but the day after giving birth when she asked me about it i told her i'd do it a billion times over! We want anywhere from 1-3 more. We'll have to see how it goes after 2. We haven't set a specific date to ttc again. Our last conversation was the beginning of next year but we'll have to see how things go. I don't feel the urgency to get pg like i did while trying for the first. It's almost a relief.

I would like to order the next baby without reflux - is that possible?

If you figure out how, let me know! ;) i'd like my model to come without ar AND a milk intolerance too please. :) I think we're both better equipt to handle it the second time around. Blessing or curse?

[AmyE]

We planned for two and got a bonus baby. Our quota is filled. :D

[Ilovemygeek]

Another Baby Absolutely! We are planning to TTC again the beginning of next year. It took us 8 months to get pregnant with DD, so I expect it to take a while again (I have long and often anovulatory cycles), but you never know. Ideally, DD will be 2-3 years old when the next one is born.

[katmg]

Another Baby? - Eventually yes. DH starts business school this fall and we'll wait until he is done with that before we TTC again. It'll be at least 2-2 1/2 years.

[mobox]

I need advice!!!!!

I don't know how to start the sippy cup. My pede said to do it without the valve but whenever I do that, he just gets drenched. When I put the valve in, he'll put it in his mouth and get super frustrated. CAn't figure out if he's mad because it's just water or if he can't get any. He probably can't get any out. I've tried the Playtex and the Gerber cups. How did you all do it???

[AmyE]

LOL! Mobox, I can't actually remember how I did it with DS! Although I think we started at around 8months. The twins are 7 months and I haven't offered a sippy to them. I think we'll try the straw cup soon though.

[pacificbliss]

mobox I just started giving DS the sippy. He mostly plays with it. He's on the younger side of this thread with a 12/30 birthday. I figure when I really want him to get it I'll put breastmilk in it. I can't magine giving it to him without the valve though unless he needed a shower.

lovey do any of your babies sleep with a lovey? DS has a small bear but it makes me nervous

[katmg]

Sippy - I took the valve out of the Avent cup and DD got soaked. I was hoping she would figure out the sucking aspect of the sippy cup but she just seems to chew on the spout when the valve is in. I think it feels good on her gums. I've also tried letting her take sips from a regular cup with me holding it. She seems to like that the best - of course!

Lovey - no lovey here yet. I just haven't seen the need at this point - she doesn't seem to want one yet. I think eventually she'll want a blanket of some sort - she loves her Taggie.

[mobox]

I think we'll try the straw cup soon though.

Is the straw cup easier for them? I'm thinking I'm just going to keep giving it to him with the valve...eventually he'll figure it out, right? Maybe I'll go get a straw cup today. He has taken sips out of a water bottle too.

Lovey - He loves anything soft but isn't attached to any one thing yet.

[ellidew]

Sippy- We've been giving Miles a sippy cup once a day for several weeks and only a couple of times has he attempted to drink out of it. Usually it's part of a drum set ;)

However, over the weekend he ate a couple of puffs. He picked them up on his own and put them in his mouth and didn't gag when swallowing. Apparently he didn't want someone else to put them in his mouth because every time we did he gagged. Now when you try to put something in his mouth with your hands he crunches his head back to refuse it. He'll eat anything off of a spoon though.

[roberta]

sippy cups After trying several types of cups, I bought the Take N Toss small size (5 ounce) sippy cups at Target. (another momma on CC recommended them) They do not have a valve or any parts but he doesn't get soaked. DS loves to drink out of these. He usually prefers water, but will sometimes take formula. I have to hold the cup for him.

lovey No lovey or preferred blanket. He just dropped the swaddle on his own 2 weeks ago (!) and now likes to have a lfannel receiving blanket by his face/ in his mouth to fall asleep.

TTC again We plan on having more than one child and the goal is to start TTC in June 2008. I have to wait one year from my last surgery in February and I don't want to be due or have a newborn at my sister's wedding in October.

[lilo]

catching up...

TTC again: not sure at this point. I'm perfectly content with a family of three but who knows. It won't be for at least another 2 1/2 years and I've learned to 'never say never'. ;)

sippy cup: like roberta, we're using the Take 'n Toss sippy cup and it's working out really well. I have to bring the cup to DS's mouth but once it's there, he can hold the cup himself and get water from it. He's actually pretty good at it. I haven't tried giving him water from a regular cup because I'm afraid he'll get drenched.

ellidew: that's great that Miles is able to eat the Puffs on his own! DS is still trying to figure out how to get them from his finger to his mouth. Usually, a puff will stick to finger and then he'll attempt to stick them in his mouth by sucking his thumb but to no avail. It is the cutest thing ever and I figure the more we practice, the better he'll get it. If I put a Puff in his mouth, he'll start gagging too since he doesn't realize that he needs to chomp on them a little bit.

Has anyone tried Whole Foods teething biscuits? I love these! I put them in the freezer and let DS go to town on them. They don't make too huge of a mess and are pretty safe in terms of choking hazard although I watch DS like a hawk the entire time he has one. They don't have a lot of sugar either, which is great.

lovey: nope. Sometimes we let DS snuggle with a burp cloth if he naps in the stroller but he doesn't *need* it, thankfully. I think it's just a comforting thing for him once in a while. Although I would say his all-time 'lovey' right now is his beloved thumb. ;)

solids: I tried plums with DS the other day and he loved them! I was afraid they'd be a little too tart but he gobbled them up. Next we'll try zucchini. :)

[Rancid13]

Sippy cup~ We noticed that around 5.5-6 months, DS became very interested whenever we were drinking out of a water bottle, cup or soda can. If he was near enough, he would try to grab at it and bring it to his own mouth (we let him sip water from our bottles/cups). We went ahead and got a sippy cup and put a couple ounces of water in it and let him play with it. He seems more interested in biting the spout than drinking what's in the cup, but he does get some out.

Whole Foods teething biscuits I've never heard of those! I'll have to check them out. Are they only available at Whole Foods markets? I don't know where there is one near me, I'll have to look it up.

Lovey~ None yet, but he does like sleeping with a plush Squirt (from Nemo) sometimes.

Solids~ So far he's liked everything he's tried except for green beans. I love green beans myself but these ones smelled and tasted like crap IMO (Gerber Organic). I got some prunes yesterday b/c he hasn't been pooping very regularly and I'm not sure if he needed a little help (and who knows, he might like it!)...

[AmyE]

mobox - I'm not sure straw cups are easier for babies, but I find them easier for parents, and with my crew I'm mostly trying to simplify MY life now!:D With a straw cup there isn't an issue of ever forgetting to put a sippy in the diaper bag, or of having to take (for us) three everywhere we go. Pretty much everywhere we go we can find something with a straw. And since they learn not to turn the cups upside down, there is less mess.

[mobox]

Hey Jen, you should make the green beans yourself. I bet he would like them! Just boil them to mushiness and put them in the blender w/ a little BM or Formula and puree the crap out of them.

Are you all waiting the requisite 3 days between introducing a new food? DH nor myself are allergic to any food and I've been following the 3 day rule with Sam (apple, prune, peas, sweet potato, and squash) but now I want to speed that up a bit. Next up: Banana then beans then avocado. I would love to do that sooner rather than later because the produce is so good now.

[Rancid13]

Mobox~ I haven't been in much of a cooking mood lately so I've been buying the Gerber organic food from Target when I'm there. It's cheap and quick...maybe someday I'll make something though. ;)

[pacificbliss]

DS had his 6 month WBV today, he's 18 lbs with an 18 inch head and is 28.5 inches long. So, he's doing well except he has a double ear infection.:eek: We had no idea! He showed no signs. If he didn't have this appointment today I would have taken him on a cross country flight next week not knowing his ears were infected. He has been traveling with me alot with more flights in the future. Maybe I should take him to the pediatrician before every flight? She'll love that :rolleyes:

[AmyE]

Had our WBV here too! (OK, they are 7 months, but the doc was on vacation...)

Julia is 15 lbs 11 oz, 26 3/4 inches. Ben is 15 lbs 5 oz, 27.5 inches. Both handled their shots beautifully, but I'm so glad we're done with those for 6 more months!

Pacific - whoa! Double ear infection on a plane would not be so much fun. How great that you caught it - DS must be stoic not to be showing any signs! Hope it clears up soon. .

[rosa727]

Well I just got back from Grady's first vacation, so I am trying to catch up here. The trip was a big success. We went to Isle of Palms, SC and rented a beach house, which was really nice and convenient. Both sets of grandparents were there, so there was tons of help. Grady LOVED the beach and the ocean. He tried to dive under the water several times. We also played in the pool a lot, which was fun. He likes to float on his belly and kick and move his arms like he is swimming. He even puts his face in the water again and again. He definitely got our love of the water!

He also had his first watermelon on the 4th of July (my avatar shows it), which he loved. Although I had to eat most of it and then give him the rind to chew on because he didn't like the actual chunks - just the juice.

He got two more teeth while we were away, but did well with that. I think it was good that he had lots of things and people to keep him preoccupied.

We were able to go out to dinner a bunch because he was really good. We would go out really early (5:30 ish) and feed him his evening solids while we waited for our food. The we would just put him to bed a bit late. But he pretty much STTN in a strange house in a PNP, so I can't complain. He even decided to start sleeping until 6:30-7ish, rather than the 5:45 he had been doing, so that was nice!

Here is a picture, and I will be back with replies later.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Isle%20of%20Palms/IMG_1797.jpg

[pacificbliss]

Rosa I'm glad the vacation was such a success...looks like everyone had a good time.

sippy cups DS is doing ok with the wash or toss sippy cups. His favorite so far is having us drop water into his mouth from a straw.

solids we have a bit of a picky eater. He likes oatmeal, sweet potatoes, peas, prunes and plums but does not like rice cereal, applesauce, peaches, banana or green beans. So far I've made everything but the prunes.

sleep we've had some back sliding here. Friday before last (the 29th?) we moved him from our bed to his crib and he did surprisingly well with that arrangement. We were to the sleep from 8:30-6:00 or 7:00 AM stage until last night. Last night he went down but started screaming at 11 PM. With the ear infections we didn't want to leave him so I nursed him and he went back down at 12:00. By 12:30, screaming again. So, then we were torn, what's more important when he's sick and supposed to fly on Tuesday a good night's sleep or sleeping in the crib? We opted for sleep and I took him into the guest room :confused:

[Teresita]

Yay for a new thread…the title has me a bit freaked out…are we really heading towards 1st birthdays already? Where has the time gone?! All is going well here, though super busy. Finn attended his first wedding on Saturday and we spent most of it in the cry room. Yesterday, we had free passes to Disneyland (we went for DD, not DS, as Finn could have cared less about Mickey and crew), and Finn did great. He mostly hung out in his stroller and slept. Wednesday we leave at dawn for a work trip. Thankfully DH will be coming with to watch the kids, so I don’t have to fly solo with them just yet.

Finn’s sleep, which has been pretty hellish, has actually improved a bit this past week. He is down to two nighttime nursing sessions, which in comparison to what he had been doing (waking and screaming until I nursed him every hour or two, sometimes more) has been absolutely glorious. One night this week he only had one wake up. I haven’t felt so rested in ages! Please let this continue!

He is such a strong little guy, loves standing holding on to things, can sit up from lying down, and loves to sit and lean forward to grab toys. Still no where close to crawling, which is fine by me since we are not 100% baby-proofed. He is such a high-maintenance little guy lately. Major separation anxiety. If I am not holding him and he senses that I am anywhere nearby, he freaks out—often even when DH is holding him. He also loses it if I leave the room. It’s nice to feel so loved, but it can be hard when I need to do something for DD, need to work, etc.


Sippy Finn likes the idea of the sippy cup, but hasn’t yet mastered holding it in his mouth beyond a few quick seconds. He gets totally ticked when it falls and screeches at us to hold it for him. Poor guy!

Solids Going fine. I added a second serving of solids mid-day in addition to his early evening “dinner.” Latest food we tried is peas, which he loathes. He actually spits them back at me with such force that I end up wearing most of them.

Teething Biscuits Haven’t tried these with DS yet. DD loved the Earth’s Best ones, so I might get a box of those for Finn soon.

Lovey Finn LOVES my DD’s old Baby Tad(http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Hug-Learn-Baby-Tad/dp/B00005BHK7). He sleeps clutching Baby Tad’s hand or foot and goes to sleep listening to it playing music (you can set it to play for up to 6 minutes).

TTC Again Nope. We are most likely done. In many ways, I am sad about this and am sentimental every time Finn passes a milestone since I will likely never again be at each of these points again with a child of my own. But, I try to remind myself how fun it will be to watch them grow and also to regain some more “me time.”


Here’s a sort of recent photo of Finn. I really need to upload some better ones—I can’t believe how grungy his onesie looks in this one!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1320/750032318_ca9c80a2cb.jpg?v=0

[mimieliza]

Miranda is now 8 months old (as of June 30). Can you believe it?

She had a ped appt for her eczema, and weighed in at 16 lbs 2 oz.

Sippy - We are also big fans of the Take N Toss cups. The valve thing on regular sippies confuses me - how are you supposed to clean it? Miranda has been using the Take N Toss cups since about 5.5 months old, and can hold it on her own now. We usually just put water or the tiniest bit of white grape juice, so the little bit that leaks out when she shakes it upside down isn't a big deal.

Solids - We had a scare this weekend - M choked on a piece of watermelon. It was so soft it was disintegrating in her hand, so I didn't think it would be a problem. She coughed once and then was gagging silently and I grabbed her out of her highchair to start pounding on her back, and then she coughed and started breathing again. I just about died from fright. Anyway, we're scaling back on actual solids - she's eating all varieties of Earth's Best purees, yogurt, mashed banana, mashed avocado, cereals and tofu, but the only solid solids she's having now are Cheerios and teething biscuits.

Teething Biscuits - We're using the Earth's Best kind. She loves them, they are super hard so she can't bite big chunks off, but I'm still watching her like a hawk with them after her watermelon incident.

Lovey - The only item she's attached to is her Miracle Blanket - we still swaddle her arms in it for every nap and nighttime. That thing is so, so ratty, and usually not very clean :rolleyes: (it's hard to sneak in time to wash it quickly between naps). When I get her ready for bed I hand it to her and she hugs it and rubs her face on it. I imagine even when she's done with the swaddling (when will that be?) she'll still take the raggedy old thing to bed with her.

Sleep - We're doing okay, for once. Down at 8:00 or so, up at 6:00 to nurse. She sometimes goes back to sleep after that (usually until 8:00). Today she didn't wake up until 7:15! I hope this is a new trend. She sleeps with her arms swaddled in the crib at night.

Nap times are a different story. She still takes solid AM and PM naps (1-1.5 hours AM and 2-3 hours PM) but she must be swaddled and in her swing. She is going to outgrow the thing eventually, but if I put her in her crib for
naptime, she wakes up after 20 minutes and decides she's done napping.

TTC Again - Not any time soon! I'm so scared. I want two children, but I don't know when I'm going to have the energy to go through all that again. We'll probably start TTC when she's 2 (which is only a year from this fall, which sounds awfully soon to me).

Does anyone else find that their abject terror of getting pregnant again interferes with their ability to enjoy relations with their DH?


Anyway, here's a picture from this weekend of my little sweetie (who was totally worth it, of course):
http://mimieliza.smugmug.com/photos/171296688-M-1.jpg

[lilo]

soft soled shoes?: Is anyone's DC wearing soft soled shoes yet on a daily basis? DS loves to 'walk' while holding on to our fingers. At home, he's always barefoot but recently he likes to 'walk' or stand when we're out and about. We have a few pairs of Robeez but I'd like to get ideas of other types of soft soled shoes. Does anyone have experience with Jack & Lily shoes or Preschoolians? Is it worth the money or should I just stick with Robeez? How about knock-off Robeez on Ebay? Are they just as good?

[mimieliza]

soft soled shoes - DD has been wearing Robeez since she started fitting into them at about two months old - they kept her socks on and her feet warm. For summer, I got her a pair of Pedipeds, which you can sort of see in the picture I posted above. They have holes and don't fit as snugly as the Robeez, so her feet stay cooler.

She's also pretty much outgrown the 0-6 month Robeez, but the 6-12 month Robeez are huge on her. The 0-6 Pedipeds are a good in-between size.

[ellidew]

soft soled shoes- Ds hasn't worn any shoes yet but i'm considering a pair of the stage 2 stride rite. He likes to walk while we hold hands too... i really don't want to put him down when we're out at random places!

[lilo]

mimieliza: those pedipeds are adorable on your DD! Where did you buy the pedipeds? Is the quality pretty good?

[rosa727]

soft soled shoes: Grady had some Robeez but outgrew them (0-6 month size). He has giant feet. I actually have him wearing some hard soled shoes right now, which I know is not great, but he just wears them for a little while when we go out to dinner and stuff. The ones he wears most are Stride Rite, and I know those are supposed to be good, so I guess it's OK. I should get some more Robeez though now that he wants to "walk" when we are out in public places.

napping: So napping still is not great here (40-60 minutes 3 times per day unless I sleep with him). I am thinking of doing STing for napping since it worked great for night sleep. But I am scared to do it. I guess I just don't want to hear him cry a lot. It is so upsetting to me. Anyway, I was wondering whether most of you were now able to put your baby down awake for naps. I am still rocking him (just for naps) and know it needs to stop. For any of you who did STing for naps, what did you do and how long did it take? I may use the Sleep Lady book again, but I was just wondering what sort of success people had with different methods.

[ellidew]

rosa- Is there something wrong with 40-60 mins 3 times per day? Miles has been doing that for as long as i can remember! We haven't done any sleep training and i still rock him. At night i feed him a bottle in the rocker and he usually falls asleep then i put him in his crib. We haven't had any problems, yet. I only put him down for naps on the weekends and it's usually after a bottle then too, or he'll sleep in the car.

[mayham]

soft soled shoes - DD has been wearing pedipeds for a while now, but mostly just to keep her socks on. We have 2 pairs of Robeez we got as gifts, but they're 6-12 and still too huge. I found this site through cc: http://www.endless.com/ with overnight shipping which is -$5. That was the best price I'd found for pedipeds, and they got here the next day! They also have robeez and stride rite too.

rosa - I was thinking the same thing as ellidew. That sounds pretty good to me! Most days we can only get 2 naps from her, 60 min max.

mimieliza, teresita & rosa - adorable pictures!

[rosa727]

ellidew and mayham: Oh, maybe I am just being way too nap-obsessed. I guess I keep think about all of the books that say that they should ideally be getting 2 1.5-2 hour naps per day. I keep waiting for him to fall into that pattern, but maybe it just isn't going to happen. I will say that he used to cry for a while when I rocked him for naps. Now he falls asleep almost immediately, so that's good. He does put himself to sleep at night (after about 5-10 minutes of crying), so I guess I was thinking we should start moving towards that for naps too, but maybe I just shouldn't worry about it. I tend to be a perfectionist and worry way too much about everything!

[ellidew]

rosa- Personally, i wouldn't worry about it. Believe me, i've found myself obsessing over things and i've had to take a step back several times and tell myself that there isn't a right way and if the way were doing it works for us then no harm no foul.

Also, i think i read something similar to what you read as being the 'norm' but what i read also said that every child is different. Heck, Miles was eating 10-20 ounces more than all of the feeding charts but he just kept eating and he's still in the 50th% so his little body just needed that much more. Now, if you were saying that he's a screaming mess between naps and that when he wakes up he's unhappy then i'd say to go for it on the sleep training. It sounds like naps are going pretty well though.

Fwiw, i've stopped reading all of the books about what Miles should and shouldn't be doing. lol. I was actually going to post a question about what our children should be working on at this age.

Does anyone know what our children should be working on around 8 months or what games we can play to help strengthen skills? Miles crawls like a champ and at this point he's had a month and a half of practice. He also doesn't have any problem pulling himself up and recently (in the last 3 days) has started to let go and stand unassisted for a few seconds. His motor skills are amazing and he has no problem getting around so i'm obviously not worried about that. At the same time i'm worried he's only learning motor skills and that perhaps we should be working on how to stack blocks or something. Does anyone have a guideline?

[AmyE]

naps -um, Julia (my "good" sleeper) slept for exactly 20 mins yesterday, and Ben slept for one hour. OTOH, my two year old will still take a 2-3hour nap in the afternoon. Go figure.

ellidew - Miles is pretty advanced for his age, so I wouldn't worry about "skills" training. Babies that age are working on a bunch of stuff, but not always at the same time. In addition to the gross motor skills that he's already doing (sitting, crawling, pulling up), he's probably also working on some fine motor skills (pincer grasp, picking up small objects like cheerios, passing things from hand to hand, hand to mouth). If you want to play a game, you can teach him to roll a ball to you. Both sit on the floor and roll the ball back and forth like "catch." That teaches more motor skills, in this case eye-hand coordination. He might be a bit young to learn to stack blocks, but it can't hurt to try! He's also likely learning more sounds - babbling consonants, vowels, combinations of each. Reading and music will help develp hearing and vocalization. (having said all that, I really don't think you should worry about "training," just like you shouldn't worry too much about variances in sleep patterns or how much kids eat. sounds like Miles is ahead of the game!)

[ellidew]

Thanks Amy. I needed to be grounded about that. I even reread my post and 'worried' isn't the right word. The ball game is a good idea. He LOVES balls and he often throws them himself then crawls after them. We joke that he retrieves better than the dog! He's working on a lot of the fine motor skills you pointed out too. He's passing back and forth between hands and has NO problem putting things in his mouth, lol. He's working on the pinchers. He REALLY wants to get the puffs in his mouth but instead he ends up with 3-4 stuck to the inside of his hands. Every now and then he gets one in so he's on his way. It's so cute to watch him try to use the pinchers because he does the motion and even watches his hand do it but just can't get the object to stay in between the fingers. Much like when i try to use chop sticks!

I thought it was kind of early to be stacking blocks too. On his monthly learning report from school they played a game of stacking the blocks then knocking them over and it stated that he didn't stack them but had no problem knocking them over and i thought since they were playing that game that it was a skill level they expected him to be at. He likes to bang one block on top of the other at home but doesn't stack them.

[sandy]

Oh my, I'm so far behind I didn't realize we'd moved to a new thread!!!

I'll have to catch up soon. We made our big move to Austin and I'm borrowing internet from my sister as our rental house is without right now. It's driving me crazy! I have a bunch of new Tyler pictures to drop off and to update but it'll have to wait until I get back on line... hopefully this weekend. I've missed y'all and your kids are all SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!

Tyler's going to be 7 months on Saturday. So scary how time has just flown by!!

[Calla Lilly]

Is it too late to join? I was part of the November thread and have been following along when I get a chance. The babies are getting so big!

CC Name: Calla Lilly
DS Name: Jonathan
Me: 32
DH: 38
Married: August 30, 2005
EDD: November 23, 2006
ADD: November 27, 2006
Time of Birth: 12:15 am
Weight: 9 lbs 6.6 oz
Length: 20 inches
Other Children: None

I can't believe Jonathan is starting to turn into a little boy. I am so amazed to see changes in him, and his little personality grow.

Naps: I work part-time and he naps more at daycare (which make sense since he wakes up earlier). He usually gets about 2 1 hour naps there (which he used to only sleep 25 minutes a day there).

Teeth: We are finally getting teeth. People have told us for months that he was teething, and finally we have 2 bottom ones! I think he might be getting the ones on the sides too, but he won't let me in long enough to check!

Motor Skills: He can crawl, pull up to sitting, pulls up to stand, a little crusing. He is working on the pincher grasp, will sometimes use it to pick up an O...but isn't the best about actually getting it into his mouth. He loves to bang things, knock them down, loves to destroy paper.

Verbal Sills: He talks a lot, but doesn't normally do the dadada, mamama thing. Around Father's Day he was on a big dadadada kick (isn't saying it as a word), which was cute...but hasn't said it for awhile now. For awhile his whine was mamama (again not as a word), and I am glad he is over that!

Favorite Toys: Pretty much anything he isn't supposed to play with. Loves cords, taking the book covers off books, taking dirt out of plants, remotes, shoes left out, etc. Of actual toys his first love are balls, he also likes a sesame street remote. What toys does everyones babies like?

Soft shoes:- I like to keep something on his feet, so we have been doing soft shoes for awhile. He was in between the Robeez 0-6 and 6-12 month shoes for awhile, so we got a pair of Stride Rite size 2 shoes for crawlers. The 6-12 Robeez have started to fit with the thicker Gap socks. We have a pair of Pedipeds (I think they are 6-9 months or 6-12 months...however their sizes run), but they don't fit yet. I have also found that Endless.com seems to have the best prices on Robeez, Stride Rite and Pedipeds. I also like that you get the shoes the next day!

Well, that is enough on Jonathan for now. I love seeing all the pics. All of the babies are so cute. When I figure out how to post a pic, I'll post one of Jonathan.

[mimieliza]

Where did you buy the pedipeds? Is the quality pretty good?

I got them at a boutique in Bend (Oregon) for $27, which seemed like a good price. The quality seems great, but DD isn't that hard on shoes yet. :) It's nice that they velcro on rather than slip on like the Robeez - DH was having trouble getting the Robeez on her feet, but he loves the Pedipeds.


So many milestones! I feel like we're a snowball tumbling downhill and picking up speed. In the past few weeks, DD has:
-learned how to pick up and eat finger foods, like Cheerios
-gotten top two teeth (making the tooth total FOUR) - having those top ones has changed her smile to a little girl grin
-learned to get from her tummy to sitting up by herself
-started crawling on Monday, and just in the past two days has gotten faster and more efficient
-waves bye-bye (so freaking CUTE!)
-may be saying "dog" - says "dah, dah, dah" whenever she sees our dog

Too fast, too fast! I can't believe how quickly she's growing, it just takes my breath away.

[lilo]

Thanks for all of the soft shoe recommendations! I ordered these Pedipeds in navy and brown from zappos.com and they are fantastic!:

http://www.zappos.com/images/730/7309319/5089-399481-d.jpg

The 0-6 month size fit perfectly on DS. I also bought a few more pairs of Robeez in size 6-12 since they are on sale at Saks.com and Nordstrom.com, in case anyone is interested.

Welcome back Calla Lilly!

naps: I work part time and DS takes much longer naps at daycare than at home. I think it's due to the extra stimulation he gets with all the kids and people milling around. At home, he'll take 3 30-45 minute naps whereas at daycare he take an hour nap in the morning and a 2 1/2hour nap in the afternoon. I never really did any sleep training for naps and since he STTN, I'm fine with his shorter naps at home since he is well rested when he wakes up. I think some kids just don't need long naps.

milestones: DS is just about to start crawling. :eek: Yikes! We haven't done any baby proofing yet. He gets into the position and attempts to do it but isn't quite there yet. He can pull up to stand with some assistance and is pretty good at standing with assistance too. He's working on his pincher grasp and can get a few puffs into his mouth now. Of course, a lot more end up on his highchair but it's so cute, I don't mind. :) He does a half bye-bye which is absolutely adorable.

[rosa727]

lilo: Cute shoes!

naps: Well I think I am just going to accept naps the way they are for now. Grady does STTN and wakes up very happy. He has been sleeping until about 7AM too lately, which is great. So he gets 12 hours of sleep at night. 2.5 hours of naps is probably just fine. The only time he seems tired is about the last hour before bedtime. Sometimes he gets cranky and really rubs his eyes a lot.

milestones: Grady crawls backwards, but not forward yet. I am not sure when he will crawl because he has been in the position and looking like it will happen any day for about 2 months. He pulls up to sitting and stands well when we hold his hands. He also gets around by rolling and rolling to the place he wants to go.

He is picking up Cheerios and other small objects in a pincer grasp, but he does not get the Cheerios to his mouth yet.

As far as "talking", he says "hi" sometimes when people say it to him. He sometimes does "mamamama" when he is whiney. He makes tons of different consonant sounds, but those are the only ones I can attribute to anything.

teeth: 7 teeth have fully popped through and he is starting to chew on things in the back of his mouth! If he is starting to get molars already, I don't know what I will do! This is crazy! It is definitely hereditary though. I had 10 teeth by 10 months. And I lost my first baby tooth at 3 years old. Early teeth run in our family!

[mimieliza]

Rosa - Holy cow, SEVEN teeth! After the four front teeth, which ones came in next?

Lilo - I love those Pedipeds!

I have these for M in 0-6:
http://www.pediped.com/images/db/36-121-Everything_CatalogImage.jpg

and these in 6-12:
http://www.pediped.com/images/db/36-111-Everything_CatalogImage.jpg

[rosa727]

mimieliza: It was weird because after he got his first two (the bottom middle ones), he actually got the top side one and bottom side one (the ones right next to the middle ones). Then the top middle ones broke through, then the other top side one broke through. We are still waiting on the bottom side one though.

Oh, and cute shoes!

[mobox]

Pedipeds are definitely great shoes! Also try See Kai Run which has excellent soft sole shoes. I personally wouldn't do the hard soles because I read that they stunt foot growth. Is that true?

Sam finally had his first tooth pop through yesterday. I swear that thing was just WANTING to bust out. The one next to it is on the verge as well.

Naps - Sam takes two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I don't rock him but I do hold him sometimes if he is fussy or overtired. Otherwise I just lay him in his crib with his white noise lamb and he knocks out. I can always tell when he's ready for a nap...it's just so obvious with the fussiness and rubbing eyes or yawning. He is also still going down awake at 7:15 and nodding off and sleeping about 11-12 hours.

[pacificbliss]

Busy, busy in here. We are back from the business trip in NC. DS has completed his 6th trip across the country :eek: He does really well but his schedule gets way off.

mobox OK, I'm jealous of your little sleeper. That's great!

naps are all over the place and we're trying the STing thing because I don't think he's getting enough sleep and it's a nightmare. I hate to hear him cry.

shoes none yet but he's not on the move yet either. In fact I'm a little worried he's not rolling over. He only goes as far as his side.

teeth none yet lots of drool though :) Rosa wow, seven teeth!

Welcome Calla Lily!

[rosa727]

I just had to report my excitement over the fact that Grady fed himself his first puff today! I think he was proud of himself because when I got all excited, he started giggling like crazy :)

[sunshine0928]

Rosa - that is just wild that G has all those teeth and so exciting about feeding himself!!

Shoes - I had purchased some SKRs but they are still way too big. At this point any shoes she wears are more for looks than function. She pretty much has bare feet or just socks right now. Maybe in a few weeks I'll get something more. I did see some cute ones at Target but not sure of the quality. I need to do some more research on this topic.

Milestones - Grace can sit by herself and is leaning forward like she is on teh verge of craling but not just yet. She does thsi funny thing where we sit her on our bed and she kind of bounces herself up and down and makes this sound where it sounds kind of like "hey", so whenever she does it we say hey back and hey guys and she cracks up! She is making the dadada sound. She does well picking things up, moving them back and forth in her hands (i.e. her paci and these little balls I got her). She loves balls!

Daycare - she started 2 weeks ago anfter finaling getting in! My mom is still coming one or two days/week until school starts again but we still pay full price but I'd rather do that so they can spend tiem together and my mom loves it. In addition, G has her first cold which I am sttributing to DC since it started at the same time. As a result, she has not slept well (waking lots at night due to being stuffed up) and we also have not slept well. I am so ready for this to be over as it has almost been 2 weeks. I called the Dr and tehy didn't need ot see her as her other sysmptoms have been off and on (i.e. fever, irritability). Nothing they can do anyway if it's a cold, I just hate wondering or not knowing if it could be or turn into something worse..know what I mean.

We had her 6 month pics done 2 weekends agao so here are 2 of my favorites. They all are great and I am having a hard time deciding what to purchase!


http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/Item_0008.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k207/sunshine0928/Item_0018.jpg

[mobox]

In fact I'm a little worried he's not rolling over.

OH don't worry!!! Rolling is a weird thing. Sam only does it occasionally and usually only over to his back because he would much rather look up than at the carpet. LAZY I tell you!!! :) :)

Not much else going on here. He tried avocado for the first time and he had the weirdest look on his face. I swear it was priceless and I wish I had taken a picture! A good WC friend offered to take pics of Sam at the park and she has an amazing eye. She got some really wonderful shots. Look at how serious he looks in this shot...
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1223/804084678_94ed633c52.jpg?v=0

[AmyE]

Amazing, amazing pics of both Grace and Sam. How cute!!

Rolling - nope, don't worry. Some kids apparently just don't, and are busy picking up other skills. Unless the baby is behind in most motor milestones, it shouldn't be a problem. Rolling is weird, as mobox noted. Ben rolled over from his tummy to his back the first few times he rolled, and now is the speediest roller ever going from his back to his tummy...but he appears to have completely forgotten how to roll himself onto his back. So, he ends up on his stomach and is seriously PO'd until he gets rescued. Even though he could definitely roll onto his back by himself just a few weeks ago. :mad:

Oh, and we are in teething hell with Ben. He's so fussy, and wakes up after being put to bed just about every 15 mins. You can tell the poor baby is exhausted, but just can't stay asleep.

Julia is sleeping ok still, except for naps, but is biting down FIERCELY on any hard object - the harder the better. Poor guys.

[ellidew]

AmyE- I hope teething hell passes for you soon. That’s no fun at all. I found a really good teething thing made by first years that is a rubbery star that vibrates when they bite down on it. Miles LOVES it and at first he just kept biting at it but now he bites down and lets the rattle do the work. I’ll try to find a picture of it online.

Mobox- What an adorable picture!! It’s nice that you have a good friend that can do that.

Sunshine- She’ll be crawling soon enough… enjoy the peace of having her sit in one place! Trust me ;) lol. It sounds like she’s really catching on to things like passing the objects back and forth. It’s so funny to watch them learn… they’re like little monkeys. I hope Grace gets over her cold soon and gets back to sleeping. Her 6 month pictures are wonderful! I like the one of her standing up. I love those little fat rolls baby have on their thighs at this age. Miles has ‘em too.

Rosa- That’s great! I can’t believe Grady has 7 teeth already! I guess it will be nice to get that out of the way all at once rather than drag it out for a long time.

Mobox- I’ll have to look at the see kai run and the pedipeds for Miles. He’s definitely getting ready for them now that he’s starting to cruise. I have no idea about the hard shoes stunting food growth but on kids this age I think they look uncomfortable and just make walking harder! YAY for the first tooth!

Mimieliza- I agree that it’s all too fast! It seems like they start picking things up all at once and then just keep going! It’s funny that she says “dah dah dah” whenever she sees the dog. My ds just screams “AAAHHH!” It’s comical. I can’t wait for Miles to pick up on waving. He does it every now and then but it’s not frequent enough to think he’s doing it on purpose (if that makes sense).

Calla Lilly- Welcome! I’ll get ya added to the front page asap.

Sandy- Glad your move went well. Looking forward to hearing about Tyler.

Update- Not much to update with us. Miles is starting to cruise more. He doesn't go anywhere fast unless he's crawling but he's pulling up on EVERYTHING then stepping a few in each direction to explore his new vantage point. Last night we gave him diced carrots and apples and he ate them without a problem. He's still slow to actually get things in his mouth so we have to help him a little. Dh told me that he got a puff stuck to the palm of his hand so he used the pinchers on his other hand to get it off and put it in his mouth. He's getting it but it's going to take a little more practice.

We had some family pictures taken just a few days after Miles 8 month birthday that included my mom, sisters, and nieces (I have 4 nieces (from 2 sisters) - ds is the only boy so far) so once we get those back i'll share 'em with you. We're going to do his one year pictures some time when the leaves start changing as well as the smash cake pictures. You're all going to think i'm crazy but i'm already gathering ideas for his 1st birthday party. I can't believe it's even time to think about it!

[Teresita]

We're back from our trip and Finn has been having a hell of a time adjusting to the time change today--he's so tired and his naps are all off schedule. Hope he can fall back into the old routine quickly.

Teeth I can't believe all the teeth around here! My little guy has none! Not even a speck of white on his gums. He has been teething (drolling, gumming, chomping anything he can get his hands on) for months. Lately his favorite move when BFing is to unlatch slowly, slide down to the end of my nipple and give it a big chomp. Such fun.

Shoes The only time Finn has ever worn shoes is on Easter and that was only for a couple of hours. Once he is up and cruising more, I will probably get him some Robeez. I used those with DD and was happy.

Milestones Sitting, rolling, pulls up using our hands, but doesn't just pull up using furniture, etc. Has the pincer grasp pretty good--we haven't given him anything to self-feed yet, though. He is actually pretty good at bring the spoon to his mouth by himself, though he does make a mess. Can fall forward when sitting and hold his weight on his hands, but he shows no interest in crawling at all. He just pushes back onto his bum once he has reached whatever toy it was he was reaching for.

Question for those with wood floors What do you moms with wood floors do for your baby's floor/tummy time? Sometimes I find myself wishing we had carpet so I could just plunk him down wherever, whenever. We have a bunch of mats/blankets that we throw down in the living room for him, but it's a hassle. I would leave them out, but my dogs seem to think I am laying them down for their sleeping/lounging pleasure, and so they get full of dirt and dog hair and drool if I leave them out. So, I am constantly having to lay them all out and pick them back up. What do you all do?

[rosa727]

wood floors: We have the wood floor problem too. Our whole house is wood floor except the bedrooms. So we end up spending a lot of time in his bedroom. I know once he is more active this is not really going to be possible, so I am trying to figure out what to do. We have a finished basement with carpet, but it seems a bit dingy to me, so I think we will recarpet that and use that as his play area once he is really walking/crawling.

Teresita: Where did you travel to?

crawling: We are ALMOST there! Grady is on his hands and knees rocking and attempting to go forward but falling. He is crawling backwards quite well and still rolls over and over across the room quite quickly. He can change direction on his tummy too, so he can get pretty much anywhere that way.

feeding: Grady is doing great feeding himself now! One day he could barely get one puff and now he is eating them up like crazy. Too cute.

[ellidew]

Wood Floors- We don't do anything. When he wasn't moving/trying to move we would throw the comforter of his bed down but once he started rolling it was pointless. He had no problem learning how to get going won the wood floors. It helped that it's summer time so unless he's in a sleeper he doesn't slip around. Even then he doesn't seem to have a problem.

I just bought this pair of shoes for Miles for this fall. Other than the low top/laceless converse (wont be good until he's a really good walker!) this is the only pair of shoes we own. I'm trying to find a decent price on the stride rite argo stage 1.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/ellidew/bibi.jpg?t=1184602302

Zappos has FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING!

[Ilovemygeek]

Ellidew endless.com has Stride Rite Argo for $19.89 with negative $5 overnight shipping. I love endless.com. I have bought more shoes for Daria there than I care to admit (I have a small pediped obsession :o). They have great sales so I have been able to get them for around $15 a pair!

[mobox]

WE have wood floors too but my LR has a huge area rug and we do tummy time there.

Elli--what kind of shoes are those? They are sooo freaking cute!!!

[mimieliza]

Wood floors - We bought a rug for our living room. Our entire house has wood floors, even the bedrooms. It's gotten better now that she's up and crawling because she doesn't face plant as often.

[ellidew]

mobox- They are Bibi (pronounced Bee-Bee). They are also sold in navy. I considered buying both pairs but i'm waiting to get these first before i decide. I can sense a shoe obsession coming on. I bought Miles another pair of shoes last night. I posted about them in the first shoe thread. $50 shoes for $15!

Ilovemygeek- Thanks! I found endless last night. I don't think they had the argo in his size though :(

[lilo]

Ellidew: Those shoes are adorable! Let us know how they fit when you get them. :) I've been gathering ideas for DS's first birthday too. :o I can't believe it's in a few short months!

wood floors: We have a large rug in the living room that provides some cushion for tummy time and crawling but I usually put down a huge blanket to add some additional cushion. I saw a cool play mat from Skip Hop that you can pre-order from Amazon.com that I may buy too. Here it is:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41m8WENrYTL._SS500_.jpg

It's a little more stylish than the other playmats I've seen so I won't mind if we keep this out on the floor in the main living area.

[pacificbliss]

wood floors Worse, our entire downstairs is tile. We got one of those ABC/123 playmats and put a baby fence around it. This way there is one safe area.

AmyE how is the teething coming?

teresita my little guy doesn't have any teeth either. Still a big toothless grin :D

shoes the shoes are so cute. DS isn't wearing any yet but I think I better get him some Robeez or something to get used to the idea.

update Dominic has a new sleep issue. He wakes up at 5 or 6 AM screaming, nurses for 10 minutes and then goes back down until 7. When he wakes up at 7 he's all smiles. I wish I could get him to just sleep through until 7. We tried just letting him cry to see if he would go back down but it went on and on and I couldn't take it. I didn't want to leave him crying until 7 :(

[ellidew]

Cross Post with the First Shoe Thread:

Update on the shoes: I LOVE LOVE LOVE both the Bibi's and the Geox shoes i bought. As a matter of fact when i received the Geox yesterday i logged on and bought them in the other color so now he has 2 pairs in 2 sizes!

The bibi's are very flexible and when i put them on him he didn't pay much attention to them and continued to crawl around and pull up on things. I think they will make a great transition from socks to shoes.

I put the Geox on him last night and while they are VERY flexible as well they don't have quite the same motion as the Bibi. They are going to be fantastic once he starts really walking... the reason i bought another pair! When i first put them on him he played with them a little and then he went back to exploring. Since they don't have the traction that comes up and around the toes he had to work a little harder to stand from crawling. He ignored them after a few minutes though.

Anyway, i hadn't heard of either brand before my first shoe hunt so i hope that helps someone else! Happy shoes shopping :)

[AmyE]

Still in sleep hell at my house. (Thanks for checking in pacificbliss!) We dont' see any teeth, but have no idea what could be making Ben wake up so often at night. It's been about a week now, and he's still up every 1.5 to 2 hours.

Alas, Julia is now waking up once or twice at night too, and she hasn't done that for months.

I still think it's teething, but my other hypothesis is that maybe they are getting cold at night. I'm turning the A/C temp up so that it's a tad warmer in there and we'll see what happens. DH and I are back to taking "newborn" shifts on the pull-out couch in the den. He sleeps there until 2am with the baby monitor and handles wake-ups, then I move out there for the early am shift and handle babies.

I do remember that with DS he had months of good sleep and months of bad sleep. The few weeks before he popped the first tooth were really bad, and we tried CIO. I then felt incredibly guilty when we saw the tooth, 'cause obviously the poor baby had been hurting. Makes me reluctant to go that route now, despite the bad habits we're probably encouraging.

Gotta say, it *is* easier than with the first baby. But not *that" much easier!! Parenting is rough no matter how you slice it. :mad:

[mobox]

Elli, are you buying them all at Endless? I need to go check them out.

[ellidew]

mobox- I bought the Geox from Endless and the Bibi (http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/24867407/c/101545.html) from Zappos. (No 4's currently in stock in orange) They have the blue pair (http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/24867388/c/55701.html) in 4 though. (Don't know what size you need!) The Geox (http://www.endless.com/dp/B000HPZDLY/ref=sr_1-6?ie=UTF8&qid=1184920813&cAsin=B000HPV3XG&asinTitle=Geox%20Infant%2FToddlers%27%20Turtle%207 %20Shoe&asins=B000FPKW9O%2CB000K7NWEY%2CB000I812DS%2CB000I 80PL8%2CB000HQ1DIK%2CB000HPV3XG%2CB000HPV75A%2CB00 0HPZ8KU%2CB000I7ZHN0%2CB000I82JFI%2CB000FPKWAI%2CB 000I80ZVS%2CB000I84QJA%2CB000FPM17K%2CB000P6GPSU%2 CB000P6FLK8%2CB000I82VK6%2CB000I7ZISO%2CB000P6FMI4 %2CB000I80YT6&sr=1-6&contextTitle=Search%20Results&fromPage=search&node=241760011&keywords=geox) are still on sale for $20 with $5 off and overnight shipping. i bought ds the 4.5 for the fall.

[lilo]

AmyE: Yikes, sorry to hear about the sleeping troubles. I hope both babies are sleeping a little more now.

ellidew: that's great about the shoes! they are very very cool.

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

I am so excited to say that Gavin is officially crawling now!!!! He hase been *this close* for the past week so we knew it would be any day now but yesterday he crawled from one end of the room to the other. It was so awesome to see and I'm so glad he did it when both DH and I were home. :)

Of course he still loves to walk around holding onto our fingers but that'a a whole other story. ;)

finger foods: What is everyone doing in terms of finger foods? DS can eat Gerber Puffs by himself really well so I'd like to move onto other things like tiny diced avocado and soft, cooked fruits. Has anyone done this yet? I'm wondering how DS will take to it but with everything, I guess practice makes perfect.

[Calla Lilly]

lilo- I have been giving Jonathan Oatios, Puffs (he doesn't like them), steamed veggies, avocado, bananas and tofu. He seems to get more in his chair then in his mouth, but has been doing really well with them.

[lilo]

calla lilly: what kind of steamed veggies have you done so far? I bought some butternut squash the other day that I was thinking about giving to him since I can make that pretty mushy. DS doesn't have any teeth yet so I'm afraid of giving him anything that could pose a choking hazard.

[Calla Lilly]

lilo, does he chew at all? jonathan was mashing things with his gums prior to getting his teeth (he only recently got his 2 bottom teeth). i give him pretty small pieces and they are very well steamed. so far i have tried carrots, potatoes, and zucchini. are you open to making food for him? you could do sweet potatoes or something and try making it a little chunkier then what he would usually have. or just mash a banana really well on his tray and see how he does?

[Teresita]

Teresita: Where did you travel to?

No where too exotic. We were just in Madison and Milwaukee (work trip for me, though I got plenty of downtime with DH and the kids).

Thanks to all who weighed in on the wood floor issue. We have an area rug in the living room, but the coffee table is right in the middle of it, so not much crawl space for DS. Of course the whole idea of it being a crawl space is completely theoretical at this point anyway since DS shows absolutely no inclination to crawl. I put toys in front of him to try to entice him and he will either dive toward them and do a face plant and then scream until I help him. Or, he will skip the whole dive/face plant move and just scream.

Our big news here is that DS finally has a tooth, or actually teeth. His front bottom two teeth have broken through. He is super cranky as a result.

Fingerfoods None here yet. Maybe soon. I have been making his purees chunkier, so he is use to the texture. I have put mashed banana on his tray, but he usually just plays with it.

[AmyE]

Hi guys. Just checking in to report that Ben is back to sleeping in his "normal" pattern -which despite my earlier complaints, now seems pretty much like heaven! Yesterday he fell asleep at 7:30, was up at 1:30 to eat, and up for the day at 5am. whew! (I know, 5 sounds early, but so much better than 4am! And not wakign every 2 hours!)

I still think it was teething,though, and expect to see one anytime now.

fingerfoods I've given them the Gerber biter biscuits, which they LOVED and it kept them quiet for a good 10 mins. No other finger foods though. They do eat pretty chunky baby food though, so maybe I'll try it.

[fms]

It's been a long time since I checked in here...it seems like everyone is busy keeping up with their little people these days! B has 6 teeth (4 bottom and 2 top) and is crawling. I miss the days of him being immobile. We've considered lead shoes and duct tape to keep him in one place :p B is trying to convince us that he needs for us to help him walk all.the.time with the aid of two fingers. What happened to my baby?

travel we did an airplane and a car trip this week. B was an octopus on the plane. I think he sat for 10 minutes total on the 1 hour and 10 minute flight. Luckily, we flew southwest and the middle seat was empty. The car trip was not so much fun. It was a short trip (3.5 hours) but the last hour was a killer. I was so desperate to keep B happy that he was gumming a twizzler while I sang songs and played peek-a-boo...yes, I'm mom of the year ;)

fingerfoodsLast weekend we introduced cheerios and it was love at first bite. He's got a 50% success rate with getting them in his mouth. We've also done the gerber puffs.

Here's my goober:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/meashcc/071907.jpg

[katnbug]

Wow! Everyone's DC are growing up so quickly!! Finger foods and crawling and walking shoes? Where has the time gone?

It's been forever since I've checked in here. Hilary seems like a little girl and not a baby any more! She's 9 1/2 months and has been crawling well for the past month. No walking yet, but I think it's coming soon. DS walked at 10 months, and it looks like Hilary is almost ready. And she is now saying what sounds like "Mum" a lot, so I'm claiming that as "Mom", making it her official First Word! ;)

Hilary has been eating lots of "finger foods" lately. Mostly cheese, fruit and cheerios. She loves to feed herself. I'm supposed to be trying out citrus fruits this week (our ped. gives us food groups to try for a few weeks and check for allergies).

I really need to get my act together and download pics from my camera... Hopefully soon!

*Must go check out Endless.com now!! I'm on a strict no-shopping order (self-imposed) for DD, but it doesn't hurt to look!! ;)

[mimieliza]

crawling space/rugs/hw floors - We got rid of our coffee table in a hurry once DD started crawling and pulling up. She was just hitting her head on it constantly. Our living room is basically a giant playground for her now. :o

finger foods - We had a scary choking incident with a piece of watermelon, so I've been cautious about finger foods. Right now she eats Cheerios, Gerber puffs and cheese crumbles. She also like the Earths Best teething biscuits, but those make me nervous now.

Question: has anyone's baby mastered the pincher grasp? I was trying to encourage DD to use a pincher grasp to pick up her Cheerios, but she consistently uses her whole hand and just grabs a bunch to shove into her mouth. I'm starting to get worried that she hasn't used the thumb and forefinger grasp yet. She's nine months old.

words - Bye Bye was her official first word (with hand motion - so cute!). Now she says da da (Daddy), da (dog), tuh (cat) and MAAAAA! (Mama, always yelled). Notice how Mama ranks behind Daddy, the dog, and the cat. :rolleyes:

[rosa727]

words: I am happy to say that Grady is finally REALLY saying "Mama" a lot now :D DH and I went away this past weekend and left him with my mom (for an out-of-town adult-only wedding). Anyway, when I got back he was SO happy to see me. He was saying "Mama" all day! He really does not say any other words.

pincer grasp: Grady is really good at this. He does eat puffs by picking them up in a pincer grasp, and he gets the majority in his mouth.

waving: Grady is really waving hello to people now. In fact when we looked in the mirror today he immediately waved "hi" to us :)

crawling: He is not crawling proficiently yet. He gets on his knees and rocks. He also "leaps" forward from that position and crawls backwards. Just today he moved his knees forward and made a little forward progress!

travel: I am still afraid of taking him on a plane. But we have been on a 9 hour drive when he was 4 months and he did great. We took a 6 hour drive to go to the beach a few weeks ago and he did well both ways then too. So I am hoping he does well again for the 9 hour drive for Labor Day! We finally got him into his new carseat (a Britax Roundabout) which he loves, so I hope that helps.

finger foods: So far we have just done Cheerios and Puffs. But I want to try biter biscuits, especially since he is ALWAYS dealing with teeth!

teeth: speaking of which, his 8th tooth FINALLY came through today!!! He has been fussy because of it, but I hope he gets a break now!

8 month WBV: He turned 8 months over the weekend, so today he had his doctor visit. He did very well with the shots (the last ones until 15 months, thank goodness!). He also weighed 19 pounds (40th percentile) and was 29 inches (90th percentile). He's still built like a basketball player :p

A recent picture:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/rosa727/Grady/IMG_1963.jpg

[mobox]

Question: has anyone's baby mastered the pincher grasp? I was trying to encourage DD to use a pincher grasp to pick up her Cheerios, but she consistently uses her whole hand and just grabs a bunch to shove into her mouth. I'm starting to get worried that she hasn't used the thumb and forefinger grasp yet. She's nine months old.

Sam is almost 8 months and he isn't using the pincher grasp either. He tries to "scoop" up the puffs I put down but he hasn't been successful. It's actually pretty hilarious--if I put on in my palm and put it close to him to grab, he literally bends down and tries to eat it out of my palm. What a little funny man!

[mimieliza]

Another question...

Is anyone else's child a little piggy when it comes to eating solids?

DD acts ravenous and throws a fit if I don't shovel it in quickly enough. She regularly eats two jars of food plus finger food in a sitting. She'll also eat anything. If she doesn't like it she'll whine between bites, but keeps opening up her mouth for more.

I hope she keeps this up as she moves into the infamously picky toddler years. :)

[rosa727]

mimieliza: My DS also eats ANYTHING and will whine if I don't shovel food in fast enough. He got the hang of finger food very quickly too, probably out of sheer will :p He just LOOOVES to eat! I guess you are right - that could be a great thing once they move into that picky phase!

[lilo]

has anyone's baby mastered the pincher grasp?: Gavin is really good at this too. I started giving him Puffs though around the 7 month mark and it definitely took him a few weeks to master it. I also tend to only give him one Puff at a time so that he can concentrate at picking them up one at a time. Mimieliza, I wouldn't worry about it at this point. Just keep practicing with DD and I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. :)

Is anyone else's child a little piggy when it comes to eating solids?: Yes! :D Last night, in fact, we had a little food fest and DS couldn't get enough. Not only did he have his normal pureed food mixed with oatmeal but I also gave him a bunch of chopped bits of steamed broccoli, avocado and butternut squash. I hope that means that we don't have a picky eater on our hands but you never know. I'm enjoying it right now because DS doesn't turn any new food down!

finger foods question: Has anyone started dairy yet? What about meats? I think I'm going to start meats at the 9 month mark but I'm a little hesitant to start dairy anytime soon because of DS's milk sensitivities. But I've heard that the milk proteins in hard cheeses and yogurt are broken down pretty well so I may give them a try at the 9-month mark too. I'm just curious to hear what others are doing.

Rosa: I can't believe your DS has 8 teeth already! That's incredible. But on the other hand, it's great that they're coming in so quickly and you're getting the teething woes over with. He looks like such a little boy in that picture. cute!

[ellidew]

Has anyone started dairy yet? What about meats? Nope! Definitely not dairy since ds also has a dairy intolerance/sens. I asked about meat last week at ds' doctors visit and she said that there isn't any need to give them meat since there is so much protein in formula. We probably wont give him any until it's table food. I thought i'd give it to him around 9 months too until i talked to the doctor.

Is anyone else's child a little piggy when it comes to eating solids?: Ds did/does the same thing. He's actually become WAY more relaxed about it now that we've been doing solids for a couple of months. At first i don't think he understood what we were doing and just wanted to taste taste taste but now i think he gets that it fills his belly up like a bottle does. I could just be making that up.

has anyone's baby mastered the pincher grasp?: I wouldn't call it 'mastered' persay. Sometimes he uses it and sometimes he just rakes food up with all of his fingers. He's getting pretty good about getting the food off of his palm into his mouth. lol. He'll get it eventually!

[pacificbliss]

Dairy and Meats We started giving DS whole milk yogurt but no cheese yet. I was thinking about cottage cheese but I might wait until he has some teeth. I know he can gum it but there's really no hurry. No meat yet. Not sure when I'll start that.

Little piggy? He's real clear on his likes and dislikes and if it's something he likes he wants it shoveled in quickly. One night I thought he was fussy and not hungry but it turned out he just wanted DH to feed him because Daddy shovels the food in faster :p

Pincher grasp We've tried puffs, sometimes he pinches them ok and sometimes they just end up mushed into his palm.

other updates he sits up well but still no rolling and he can't get up on his knees. He's really long and I'm thinking that might make it harder. I feel like he's delayed but maybe not...:confused:

[ellidew]

I feel like he's delayed but maybe not...

Nah, not delayed. He'll get it.

[Rancid13]

Everyone’s babies are so cute!! I might be biased, but I think the Nov-Dec 06 babies are the cutest bunch out there. They’re growing up so fast! Sorry I’ve been MIA lately, but things have been busy and by the time I have a chance to catch up, there’s so much to catch up on that it becomes overwhelming!

Words~ Just mostly a bunch of baby babble, although when he yells out once he’s awoken from a nap, it really sounds like he’s calling “Mama”, but I don’t know.

Pincer grasp~ Still working on it, he’s using his whole hand at the moment.

Waving~ None yet, although we really haven’t practiced with him on that yet. I’ll put it on my to-do list and see if we can’t get him to start waving goodbye in the near future.

Crawling~ No crawling yet, but he does scoot a little bit, backwards. He’s gotten very mobile through rolling (with reckless abandon, I might add). It’s entertaining.

Travel~ We leave tomorrow for our first official family trip. A 14-hour drive from Southern California to the Portland area of Oregon for a wedding and family reunion. We’re going to try for 8 hours the first day and 6 on the second. Tyler hasn’t been in the car for more than 2 hours at a time so hopefully he’ll do alright. We’re caravanning with my mom, SIL and 3yo niece and are definitely planning on stopping every 3 hours or so at various rest stops so everyone can stretch, including Tyler (on a blanket in a grassy area). Then next month we have a 5-6 hour drive to Mammoth/Yosemite for another weeklong family trip (we did the same trip last year when I was at 6 months pregnant~wow how time flies!).

Finger foods~ Tyler has Cheerios, Puffs and apple flavored Wagon Wheels daily. The wheels are the only ones he can pick up and feed himself efficiently, as they’re so big. He’s also had biter biscuits but they were so messy that I’ll only do them on rare occasion. I keep a close watch on him whenever he’s eating since he just gobbles everything up when we give it to him. We’ve also (finally) moved to stage 2 foods. I’d bought a bunch of stage 1’s on sale and didn’t want to waste it by throwing any of it out. LOL!

Teeth~ So far just the bottom front 2 teeth have come in. None to be seen anywhere else yet.

Piggy~ Yes, Tyler is a total little piggy with food. Almost as soon as I’ve given him a spoonful of food, his mouth is open like a little birdie, waiting for yet another spoonful. I don’t know how he swallows it so fast without choking! We (DH, my mom and myself) have tried to get him to slow down a little, but he won’t have any of that. Thankfully he’s not a messy eater (with the exception of the biter biscuits) so there’s little to no mess to clean up after he’s done.

Sippy~ Tyler's gotten pretty adept at drinking from the sippy (love the Take & Toss ones from Target!) and is also pretty good at drinking water (assisted of course) from a glass or cup.

Here are a couple recent pictures of Tyler:

At the Orange County Fair
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/jenscamera0222.jpg

Nevermind the tired look on my face
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/jenscamera182.jpg

Demolishing a magazine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/jenscamera137.jpg

Little angel
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/jenscamera109.jpg

[mimieliza]

pacificbliss-
he sits up well but still no rolling and he can't get up on his knees. He's really long and I'm thinking that might make it harder. I feel like he's delayed but maybe not
I don't think that's delayed at all for seven months. M had rolled at that age, but certainly didn't do it regularly. If she was on her belly she would whine and complain rather than try to roll over. She also couldn't get her knees under her. But then it all just clicked and she was crawling by just over eight months, and now at nine months she's crawling, rolling, pulling up, etc.

We have a wide age range of babies here. M's one of the older babies in this thread (born Oct. 30). I know when I read the October 2006 babies thread I have to remind myself that M's not behind everyone else, she's just one of the youngest. A month or two makes such a big difference at this age! :)


Rosa - I love that picture of Grady! He's a long and lean little guy, isn't he? :D

Rancid - The sleeping picture is adorable. I really want some sleeping pics of M, but I'm so afraid I'll wake her up.

[Teresita]

finger foods Well, since we seemed to be lagging behind compared to most on this thread, my lazy self got motivated and finally gave DS some O's. He can pick them up just fine but isn't always able to get them in his mouth--a lot of times they get stuck on his chin. He also isn't quite sure what to make of them. He eats them, but with a very quizzical expression on his face.

pincer grasp DS has this mastered and is very ambidextrous. He really seems to use right and left hands equally, which I find interesting. I think DD mostly used her right hand. However, as I mentioned above, bringing the O's to his mouth poses him more of a challenge than picking them up.

little piggy Yes, Yes, Yes! My little man can eat! He still nurses at least 7 times a day. I always do solids immediately after nursing, so it's not like his belly is empty. Well, my boy screams at the top of his lungs as soon as he sees I am starting to fix his lunch or dinner. It's like I can't move fast enough. And when we are feeding him he screams if we even pause momentarily to wipe him off, or if there is just a slight millisecond interval between spoons of food. And, he chows! He can eat an entire banana and half an avocado plus some cereal in one sitting. It is crazy. My DD was so different. She was never all that interested in solids.

dairy and meats Not yet. Will probably wait until at least 9 months.

Words None really yet. When I greet him it often sounds like he says "Hi" back, but I am not sure and don't think I can count it as a true word.

Travel We have done one long car ride (7 hours or so) and two round-trip flights plus one island hopper from Maui to Oahu (easy-peasy to have such a short flight!). IMO, the stress-level of flying really depends on your little one's personality and whether or not your DH or someone else is with you to help. That and of course, whether the flight is longer than say an hour and a half. I flew a ton solo with my DD on fairly long (5+ hours) flights. She was fine until she got mobile. Then it was utter hell to fly alone with her until she hit 2, and now it is fine once again. DS is so much more high-maintenance. The flights with him have been more tiring, but at least I had my DH along to help. I need to fly solo with both my kids in the fall for a work trip (my mom is flying out to meet us and watch the kids since DH will be away on business) and I am totally dreading it! I also get stressed out about nursing on the plane. I have no problem with NIP in general really, but on a plane, it just feels so much less private/more crowded. I find it hard to position a baby/toddler so they aren't going into the space of the person next to you. Not an issue if I am with DH, but pretty awkward if it is some random person.

Pacificbliss I don't think your little one is delayed at all. My DS cannot get up on his knees yet and is nowhere close to crawling. Babies all do things on different schedules. Some babies hardly crawl at all before walking (or don't crawl period). My DD didn't crawl until 10 months and then she started walking when she was 11 months.

Rancid Tyler is adorable! I love the one of him demolishing the magazines. My DS also loves to tear and eat paper. The other day I was looking something up in the yellow pages with him on my lap and he was in heaven!

Rosa Grady is such a cutie! He always looks so happy. You would never catch my DS looking so content on his tummy!

[katmg]

Haven't been by in awhile...did want to say Rancid, that I love that picture of Tyler snoozing with the pacifier rolled out of his mouth. DD does that in the car a lot and I love that little sleepy faced look!

Since DD is actually a January babe, we are a bit behind most of y'all. She is eating solids now and just started really liking them this past week. We're mostly doing just one meal a day but I'll try to start doing two soon. I just seem to run out of time to do it all.

She's definitely rolling now and can roll just about wherever she wants to go. I think that crawling is not far off since she is trying to get those little knees up under her to motor off. My mom also held her up letting her "cruise" on the sofa, which she loved. I MUST start baby-proofing!

[rosa727]

rancid: What great pictures - love the sleeping ones! I could never get a picture like that of Grady. The boy is such a light sleeper during the day.

mimieliza: Thanks! Yes, he has always been tall and thin. That's how I am built and DH is thin, although just average height. But both our families have some major height (like 6'4!), so he definitely could stay tall.

Teresita: Well now that he is starting to crawl he really likes his tummy. But he is a very happy baby in general, although not an "easy" baby by any means (but are any babies easy?).

I cannot believe all the travel you have done with DD and DS - you are brave :p I hope your trip in the fall goes well.

meat and dairy: We will wait until at least 9 months because of his reflux. We will probably do meats first, actually. But his reflux is basically gone, so I hope that he has no issues with any of it. And luckily I have not seen any allergies.

finger food: We tried avocado pieces today and it was so funny watching him try to pick them up as they slid around :)

protesting when something is taken away? Are others dealing with this? I saw that it is considered a "milestone" of sorts, but I sort of wish it was one we could skip. Lately if I have to take anything away from him (usually because he is chewing on something and destroying it) he FREAKS OUT, even crying sometimes for a second. Are your DC doing this too or is Grady just dramatic? :p

[pacificbliss]

Thanks everyone for the comments on crawling. It made me feel better. You know how it is when everyone around you starts asking, "Isn't he crawling yet?" You start to doubt your instincts.

Rancid what cute pictures. I love the sleeping one too. Funny how all moms thinking sleeping babies are the cutest :D

Rosa DS is definitely complaining when I take something away from him he wants. DH and I were just talking about it the other day. It's like all the sudden he gets the concept of possession. Grady is so cute!

katmg I know how you feel DS was born 12/30/06 so he's pretty young for the thread too.

travel We've been all over the place...mostly by plane. Let's see, we went cross country three times and have done one flight within CA. We're flying in CA again this weekend and on the 11th flying to Montana. We booked the MT flight with miles and had to get first class :D So DS and DH will take their first first class flights.

[mobox]

If she doesn't like it she'll whine between bites, but keeps opening up her mouth for more.


I think that's pretty normal. Sam does the same thing. We did start giving him cottage cheese. He loves it. I'll start yogurt next week.

If you want some help with foods...I highly recommend the book "First Meals." It has awesome recipes for making and freezing and just things you can make on the go as well. It recommends meat at about 7-9 months but only white fish and chicken. I'm going to make the white fish/cauliflower/cheese recipe this weekend and freeze a bunch. Should be interesting. I'm really not into buying "potted meat" so I'll be making all my meat stuff fresh. There is a good chicken/potato/carrot recipe. Basically you just puree them togehter in the food processor.

[sandy]

Again, I am so far behind!! Hopefully I can jump into the conversation...

Food I have only been giving him baby food veggies and I tried these rice cracker things that melt in his mouth. No other finger foods, though I'm tempted. He's also a little piggy if I don't get the spoon to his mouth fast enough. He's even resorted to licking food that's fallen onto his bib!

Travel/B] We've only done a 3-hour road trip a couple of times while moving between cities. It was a nightmare. He's decided sitting in his car seat for longer than 30 minutes is torture.

[B]Words He's mastered dadadadada but not really calling DH dada. He babbles a lot and it's rather amusing to listen to.

teeth Only two bottom ones (He's 7 months) and no others in sight. He's bitten down while BFing once and it hurt like the dickens! I said OW! Really sternly and he hasn't done it since. Hopefully it'll stay that way or I'll be weaning him REAL fast. Still no formula!!!

Adjusting to life Since our move Tyler has been really off schedule and his sleep is crap. But he's taken the change of scenery really well. We were in a rental house for a month and now we're in our house so he's woken up in several places and adjusted like a champ.

Our kids are growing up so fast!!

[ausi2b]

I'm way behind too ...

Food - DS is really not into baby food that much. We're trying to feed him 3 times a day but he probably only gets about 1-stage one container in him a day, plus a little oatmeal. He'll try to eat some cheerios, but mostly he likes to just play with them. I also buy little cans of (real) peas and carrots. They are mushy and he likes to play/eat them too. I get frustrated about the food thing, but I realize that he won't be like this forever (right?)

Travel - DS has been on 6 flights in 8 months with a few more to go this year. Isn't that insane? We went to visit my parents 2 weeks ago and that was the first flight where he really wanted to be mobile. He does great on the flights, but this time he wanted to be in his carseat, in my lap, in DH's lap, back in the carseat - it was exhausting! But we're lucky - he handles the flights well. We also go on a million car trips since my ILs live about 3 hours away. We haven't done that trip in a while, but the next time I'm dreading b/c DS seems to FREAK OUT everytime we're in the car now, whether one of us is in the backseat or not.

Words - DS says Dada all the time, and MOM. Not Mama, but Mom. It cracks me up. He is also starting to wave - but usually only to dogs - isn't that funny?

Teeth - none here (DS is 8 months old) and I'm perfectly ok with that :)

Is anyone going through separation anxiety issues? I wrote a thread on it in the parenting forum but haven't gotten much advice, only commiseration ;)

[katmg]

If you want some help with foods...I highly recommend the book "First Meals." It has awesome recipes for making and freezing and just things you can make on the go as well. It recommends meat at about 7-9 months but only white fish and chicken. I'm going to make the white fish/cauliflower/cheese recipe this weekend and freeze a bunch. Should be interesting. I'm really not into buying "potted meat" so I'll be making all my meat stuff fresh. There is a good chicken/potato/carrot recipe. Basically you just puree them togehter in the food processor.

I have that book too! It's really great. I haven't gotten a chance to make much from it yet since we're still on the introductory phase (I'm using Super Baby Food more for that). I love that it goes all they way through toddler foods and beyond. She really seems to understand the idea of kids having fun with food.

[tinkerbelljenny]

Pacificbliss-What part of Montana are you going to? We are on the NW part. Most of the west part of the state is on fire and there is tons of smoke everywhere, just wanted to warn you in case you are going to that side. We are hoping it clears soon because it is terrible.

[AmyE]

Oh my! Lots of catching up to do:

words nope. Both yell when they need something, but no actual words yet. Julia has an all-purpose yell, but Ben is better about making different sounds.

Foods Both eat just fine, but I've only done two meals a day at this point. (8 months on Monday). Ben, I just discovered, really likes purees without lumps. Julia just eats - she doesn't care. Both like biter biscuits, which I will give them supervised. Ben gagged on the cheerio we tried to give them, so we're holding off on other things. I also meant to do soft soft carrots or something today, but never got around to it...

Teeth Julia's first one popped. Ben's teething up a storm, but hasn't produced anything yet.

crawling, etc Julia is sitting up really well, Ben does OK then topples over. Both babies seem to have "forgotten" how to roll from front to back, so when they are bored on their tummies they just yell until someone comes to flip 'em. Ben kinda "swims", and gets his butt up, but no crawling yet. Julia just likes to sit, although she'll lunge after something and end up in a faceplant. She'll either scream or laugh hysterically, depending on her mood.

Julia does everything with enthusiasm, actually. :D

meat and dairy Haven't started either, although the plain yogurt where we are is really, really good, so I'm dying to try that. Cheese is super expensive here, so I"m not really focussing on that. Mostly the babies exist on a (solids) diet of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, and bananas. And lots of oatmeal.

travel we have a 26-hour, 3-plane trip coming up in Sept for my brother's wedding. Two 9-month olds and a toddler. The time difference is 12 hours. So yes, now that I've finally got them all sleeping ok...we're going to get their nights and days totally screwed up. And as soon as they adjust....we'll bring them back. I told my bro he'd better have an awesome wedding!!!

[mimieliza]

AmyE-
we have a 26-hour, 3-plane trip coming up in Sept for my brother's wedding. Two 9-month olds and a toddler. The time difference is 12 hours. So yes, now that I've finally got them all sleeping ok...we're going to g