June 2007 Mommies ~ Enjoying Mommyhood!

[stevesbabygirl]

No crawling here either! Well, I should modify that. He doesn't crawl on all fours, but he will drag himself across the floor with his arms, pushing off on his big toe.

Words - He says mama and dada appropriately most of the time. Otherwise, he makes tons of sounds and funny noises.

[Smittenk]

Connor turned 9 months old yesterday and we had his 9 month check up which went great! He is now 17.5lbs and 29.5" long!

I need to do up my list of milestones and such...I really need to update his babybook...I'm terrible at that.

Here are a few new pics

In his new ride
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/Springtime010.jpg

At the National Building Museum
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/VeronicaandBradensvisit2041.jpg

Enjoying his sticky rice
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/Riceand9Months007.jpg

Showing his two teeth after his doctors appointment yesterday
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/Riceand9Months035removednametag.jpg

[magrat]

smittenk What a cutie! Long and lean, huh?

We're made huge progress on finger food in the past week too. I haven't tried anything but cheerios, puffs, and freeze dried fruit, but she just plows through those. I suppose it's time to try something she really has to chew.

[steelcitymama]

smitten---connor is adorable! love the pictures. i'm terrible at keeping up with mairin's baby book, too...in fact, i should really work on that this wknd!

magrat--that's exciting that eve is doing so well with finger foods! very cool! i recently gave mairin thawed organic blueberries, which were great because they were so soft. she loved them, but they were SOOOO messy. i don't care about the temporary mess they cause, but those babies stain! thankfully she was wearing a random hand-me-down from her cousin at the time. :) i'm going to wait until it's warmer out before giving them to her so i can just strip her down before she eats them :) other funny sidenote: spotted a whole blueberry in her poop the next day. ew.

we took "the girls" (ie-mairin and our dog) to the park today, which was a lot of fun. after m gets up from her nap we're going to hang out with all of my IL's for our nephew's birthday. speaking of naps, her 30 minute naps lasted about 3 days and then they went back to being 1.5 /2 hrs. she's still been a little funny the 2 days a week she's been at DCP's, so i think it's definitely due to her wanting to be up and socializing rather than sleeping.

oh, forgot to post m's stats from her 9 mo WBV visit last week: 15 lbs, 14 oz and 26 1/2" long. she's continuing along her "peanut" trajectory, as expected! but gaining very nicely and doing really well.

[L&D Nurse]

Cute pics, Smittenk! What kind of carrier is that?

[Smittenk]

Thanks ladies!

Yep definitely long and lean...just like DH who is very lean and 6'4. I bet Connor will be patting me on the head when he is 11, lol!

L&D Nurse It is a Macpac Possum and OMG the research I did before deciding on that thing. I seriously was stressing about it for about 4 days while I poured over reviews and weighed all of the pros and cons of each. We went to REI and tried the Sherpani, two different Keltys and a Deuter Kid Comfort II (which was my absolute favourite...sooo comfy) but they all made it look like we were going for a three day hike, not just going out to the zoo or sightseeing etc. I read a ton of great things about the Macpac and what since I could only get it online I decided to buy it, try it and if we didn't like it then just return it. Thankfully we love it!! I got it at www.childcarriers.com

Finger foods..we have been making great progress as well! I have been giving him TJ O's at every meal just for him to practice (ie play with!) and wow...he now picks them up and puts them in his mouth instead of just brushing them on to the floor for our dog to eat :p

[magrat]

Eve ate a whole Earth's Best barley biter biscuit today. Her first! I wasn't sure she would be able to eat any of it, but she figured it out pretty quickly and loved it. She is also really putting away the solid food now. She went from barely eating any to eating tons at each sitting. Last night I left her at my parents for a couple hours so we could go out to dinner and left them a pot of baby applesauce and some cheerios. She scarfed that down and still seemed hungry so my parents panicked and dad went to the store and bought her a banana. And she ate the whole thing! I don't know how she fit all that inside her! So definitely no longer worried about her non-consumption of solid food.

Sleep sucks. She has been sleeping badly for over a week now and it's really starting to get to me. I feel like we're back to square one and sleep training is so painful I'm dreading doing that again. Hopefully it was just her teeth bothering her and she'll get back to normal on her own, but I'm afraid if you take the long view, what she's doing now *is* normal :(

She has been incredibly happy lately, giggling all the time, even when sitting in her carseat without any toys or anything. Since spring is approaching she has been a lot healthier and hasn't been sick for a while, which I am sure is making a difference. We just bought her this at BRU: http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Playskool-Step-Start-Walk/dp/B00004T2WP/ref=pd_sbs_t_title_1 and she really likes it. She figured out how to walk behind it right away, and even figures out how to get herself unstuck when she pushes it into furniture. The thing I like best about it is that it doesn't take batteries, and the only noises it makes are clicking and rattley noises, just like an old fashioned toy.

[em1126]

We have a big eater here, too. Aubrey wolfs down an entire container of whatever she's eating at mealtimes and usually wants more, so she'll have puffs or Cheerios or some of whatever we're eating. We tried our first Stage 3 last night (lasagna) and she was a little perplexed by the noodle chunks, but she'll figure it out eventually.

Nothing else really new here except in a sort of off-topic announcement, I became an aunt today! Hooray! This is my first niece on my side (my sister's baby), so I am really excited plus Aubrey will have a cousin fairly close to her in age. Too bad they live far away from each other :(, but it will still be fun.

I'll be back to post pics later!

[em1126]

[http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P3180949600x449.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P3190967600x449.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P3230995600x449.jpg
Aubrey's first time swinging at the playground.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P3261022600x449.jpg
Aubrey's first time splashing in the pool. It was too cool to get all the way in, but she loved splashing with her legs. She was soaked by the end!

[GA_GAL]

smittenk: Great pictures. Conner is such a cutie!

steelcitymama: Funny about Mairin wanting to socialize instead of sleep. I think Handley is doing the same thing. It's like she's just too busy playing and wants to be up with me instead of sleeping.

Magrat: It's great that Eve is eating so well. Now the possibilities are endless of stuff you can feed her. Sorry her sleep hasn't been going well. Is it her naps or night sleep that is bad? Handley's nights are good, but naps are questionable.

em1126: Great pictures. Looks like Aubrey was really having fun at the pool and she looks adorable in her swimsuit!

I just got back from the beach with some girlfriends and Handley did really well. I think she knew we were on vacation because she was so happy the entire time and LOVED the pool. I'll post some pics when I get them on the computer.

Her newest thing is that she is throwing her lambie (blankie she sleeps with) out of ther crib when I put her down for naps or at night. Then, she starts crying really hard because she wants it back. I keep going in and giving it to her becuase she's so used to cuddling with it to go to sleep. I hope it's just a phase and that it will get old fast.

She's been sleeping great at night, but her naps are just here or there. Her morning nap is always great but the afternoon one is questionable. Today she fell asleep nursing and I was getting ready to lay her down in the crib and she woke up with a smile and was ready to play again. It's like those 2 minutes she was asleep tricked her to think she had a nap. I left her in the crib for a while, but could tell she wasn't going back to sleep so I went and got her. She was fine the rest of the day though, so I guess her 2 hour nap this morning was enough for her.

[magrat]

em1126 Aubrey is posing so perfect in that first picture! Looks like her lip surgery turned out really well, you can barely tell. I'm cracking up at the picture of her showing off her thigh, those are some impressive dimples!

I found this dress/tunic at H&M and was so thrilled, it's just the sort of thing I like. Only $8! I had her sitting like this to see if she could figure out how to pull up from halfway there. She couldn't :o

http://kitt.smugmug.com/photos/272881247_eg2L7-M.jpg

You can see she's a bit on the skinny side here. I love how this one is kind of steamy.
http://kitt.smugmug.com/photos/269115026_mtvn8-M.jpg

[StacieLady]

I just ordered my Babyhawk! Hurray!
http://www.babyhawk.com/Thumbnail.aspx?img=/images/ProductImages/feelinggroovy.jpg&x=152&y=152
Feeling Groovy on Espresso!

I am so excited. Jacob is so into everything, I am looking forward to being able to "tie him on" :)

[stevesbabygirl]

Stacie, my Connecta carrier has the same pattern :D!

[StacieLady]

Magrat - I love that picture of Eve sitting on the box. She looks like she is contemplating what she wants to do next! TOO CUTE! And that dress is adorable, I am a little sad I don't get to dress a girl sometimes.

[daphne]

stacielady I have that same pattern on my handbag - love it! let us know how you like your babyhawk!

magrat love the pics of Eve - that dress is adorable! is her sleep any better?? have you done any more st'ing?

em ack! Aubrey is such a cutie! love her chubby thighs!! Millie has the same thigh rolls & i want to eat them up!

GAgal Millie has been dropping her doll out of her crib, too. we don't have a video monitor, so i don't even realize that she's dropped it until i go in to get her after her nap :( She actually hasn't done it in awhile - maybe b/c she realized she wasn't getting it back?


I think I forgot to post Millie's 9-month stats: 20lbs, 5oz and 29 3/4 inches. (maybe i did post them -too lazy to look back). All of a sudden she's become a little handful - tries to throw herself out of the side of the shopping cart, throws mini-tantrums when denied something she wants, etc...She's crazy-strong. Yesterday, she squatted, grabbed ahold of her brother's heavy wooden stool, then stood up with it! It was so strange to see my baby girl holding a heavy stool! She's growing up so fast!

I'm still up with her 3-4 times a night. zzzzz.....so tired. Hoping to sttn by the fall. :rolleyes:

[steelcitymama]

hey, ladies!

stacielady---love your choices for the babyhawk! gorgeous. can't wait to hear how you like it. :)

sooo...lots has been going on with us--both with mairin specifically and with our family. since the 1st, mairin has been crawling! it's army-style and it seems like it's still a lot of effort for her---she is slow and pauses for some grunts and huffs & puffs. ;) it is so freaking cute. also, 2 of her 4 teeth (that have been slowly making their way in) on the top have poked through, the other 2 are right behind. we THINK she may be both signing and saying "more", but we're not entirely sure yet. if so, that would be her first (word & sign). on the whole, she's still very independent and plays very well by herself, but she is starting to be more attached to me.

now that's she's mobile, we've got to babyproof! going out tomorrow night to get gates, outlet cover, the whole deal. i'm sure some of you did this ages ago....for those of you more experienced with mobile kids, how do you handle things that you CAN'T baby-proof?? as in, some of furniture in DD's room is not safe for her to pull up on (a small side table next to the glider, the gliding upholstered ottoman, some storage baskets for toys, etc). does that mean i can't leave her for even a second in her room alone? just trying to figure out this whole "mobile-kid" business.. ;)

lastly, we've decide to move! to a different state. to a teeny tiny town in the middle of nowhere. it will be a huge change for us, we live in a (fairly) major city now and have tons of family and friends and things to do around us. but DH got an incredible opportunity to do exactly what he wants to do and we've been looking for a new job for him for ages now. he's a lawyer, but would love to quit practicing and start teaching law instead, so that's what he'll be doing! and not only will he love what he's actually DOING for his job, but he will work so so much less. essentially 2.5 days/wk plus summers entirely off. can't beat it! and the situation for me would be great, too...my boss is currently traveling in the UK and i'll be speaking with her tomorrow to see if she'd consider letting me keep my job and work from home full time. that would really be ideal. if not, we'll still make the move and i'll stay at home, which would also be awesome. in fact, i'd prefer to do that, quite frankly, but turning down my good salary while being able to work at home full time seems crazy. so we'll see! it'll be hard to leave family and friends and a fairly urban lifestyle that we're used to, but because of so much free time, we'll be able to visit often. so now we just have to start getting the house ready to put on the market---UGH. cannot express how much i am dreading selling the house.....

[Smittenk]

This is for L&D Nurse

Here is a pic...not me or my baby (mine wouldn't look as relaxed, lol) but I have the exact same one

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/babyhawk-1.jpg

[GA_GAL]

magrat: Very cute pictures of Eve!

daphne: I was hoping Handley had gotten over throwing it out of the crib, but this afternoon, she did it again! Hope she starts sleeping a little more for you.

steelcitymama: I can't believe you guys are moving, but it sounds like it's a great opportunity and that you all will be really happy with the schedule. I know you'll enjoy having your DH around more. When are you planning on going? Will you wait until your house sells? Best of luck with everything. I know it can be very overwhelming to think of moving with a baby. As far as baby proofing goes, we got a gate for the top of our stairs, did the outlets, cabinet locks, and around our fire place. For some of the book shelves and things that I knew were a little wobbly, I had my DH anchor them to the wall. I have an upholstered gliding ottoman and Handley is fine pulling up on it. Pretty much I just bring Handley around the house with me or leave her for VERY short periods of time in a place I know will be safe. She's so curious these days and getting into anything she can.

We just got back from a trip to FL to visit our friends. It was the first time I'd been back since we moved from there last fall. The friends we stayed with a have a little girl who's turning 1 tomorrow. Handley LOVED getting to have a playmate for 5 days. They enjoyed baths together, kept each other company in the back seat on car rides, and just had a blast playing with one another. It was interesting for me to observe how different their personalities were though. Their baby is shy, happy to sit in one place and play, etc. while Handley is into everything (so curious), thinks everyone is her friend and more hyper! Exciting news...she took 2 steps by herself while we were there, but didn't even realize she did it. I've tried to get her to do it again, but every time she just stands very balanced and then sits down to crawl where she wants to go. I know it will be happening soon though!

nap issues: For almost a week now, she's been not wanting to take her afternoon nap. I'm trying to figure out if she's trying to drop down to one nap a day or if there's something else going on. I know it's kind of early to go to one nap, but a found another thread on here where some people were saying their babies went down to one nap around 9-11 months.

Here's a few pictures...
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/carriebethposener/IMG_3435.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/carriebethposener/IMG_3396.jpg

[steelcitymama]

just have a sec now, but will be back later---random question-- GA GAL: does handley have any troubles crawling in dresses?? i have a TON of comfy cute little dresses and i was wondering if she'd get all tangled up in them while crawling?? :)

[L&D Nurse]

Love it, Smitten! Let me know how he likes the Ergo ;)

[GA_GAL]

steelcitymama: It doesn't seem to bother her at all. When she was learning to crawl she wore mostly pants (just because it was colder) but I'm not sure if it would have made a difference.

[StacieLady]

Stealcitymama - I am so looking forward to getting my BH too! I am sad that I still have to wait for at least 2 weeks! - You are really looking at a big change in your life! Good luck!

[Smittenk]

L&D_Nurse the Babyhawk is yours if you would like it...I've PM'd you!

[StacieLady]

Jacob is now 11 months old. I can't believe I have had a son for almost 1 full year! He is great! It is fun how it seems like it is getting to be more work and easier at the same time.

Jacob does all of the following:


Eats almost everything put before him
Crawls everywhere and goes from crawling to sitting with ease
Plus up on everything - why sit when you can stand!
Cruses like a champ. And pushes his walk-behind toy all the time...although he can't steer and gets mad when he hits something and it stops moving.
Has taken one unassisted step toward his father
Clearly remembers places in the house he likes to go - It isn't unusual to see a little lightbulb go off in his head and them have him speed off toward something in another room
POINTS at everything - I think he is starting to learn that it will help him get what he wants
Claps a lot - He will always do it if you show him but will sometimes do it if you say "clap clap"
Drives his little Tonka Car Around
Has 6 teeth (2 top, 4 bottom) and is working on two more bottom teeth - Ack it must be painful be cause it makes him cranky!
Is starting to make more noise - When he sets of crawling he is almost alway "singing". It is really cute
Is still a really friendly baby with very little stranger anxiety - He likes to quitely watch everyone for a few minutes, but then he is all smiles and will go to anyone
Loves to go for walks - now that the weather is better he is starting to love our walks around the neighborhood


I am sure there is more...but that is what I have for now!

[GA_GAL]

Stacielady: I loved reading your list. i' can't believe he's 11 months already!

I hope everyone is doing well. It's been quite here the past week or so. We've been busy and out of town for 5 weekends straight. I'm glad to be home for a while now.

She can stand without holding on to something for really long periods of time and has started taking a few steps on her own here and there. It's so fun to see her waddle around. She's also getting 3 teeth up top right now and the same time. They haven't been bothering her as bad as the first ones she got, but I know she's uncomfortable so I hope they cut through soon.

I'm starting to plan her b-day party now. Anyone else thinking about that yet? Hard to believe this time last year we were all anxious for them to arrive!

[StacieLady]

Stacielady: I loved reading your list. i' can't believe he's 11 months already!

I know! It is amazing. I have dates for the TWO b-day parties we are throwing, but I haven't planned beyond that. I am not big at themes...but I need to think of SOMETHING! :eek:

[steelcitymama]

wow. 11 mos, stacielady! mairin will be 10 mos this wknd and i can't believe it. it really is unbelievable to think that this time last year we were all pregnant and ready to meet our little ones....the time has FLOWN! you BH should be arriving soon, huh?

GA GAL---you guys must be exhausted with all the wknd travel! how does handley sleep when you're away? m never sleeps well when we travel, which is a PITA. it's not horrible, but she does take shorter naps and is up a few times at night--ugh. we're actually going to VA this wknd to look at houses and that is the one aspect of the trip that i am not looking forward to. thankfully, she always seems to get back on track easily when we get home.

we need to pick a date for mairin's birthday party...so far the only thing we've decided is that we're keeping it small: immediate family + 3-4 couples who DH and i are very close with. even that will be 20-ish people + kids. i might check out the 'first birthday party idea' thread for some ideas...but i seem to be a bit too 'laid back' (ie LAZY!) to pull off anything very elaborate. DH and i plan on hosting it at my parents house since we will be moving 1-2 weeks after her b-day and our house will be in no condition to host a party. it should work out well b/c my parents have a great outdoor area and just generally more room than we do.

m is all over the place these days and our morning routine (on the days i'm in the office) has become more challenging. depending on the day, DH will either put M in a carrier and take her with him while he walks the dog (so i can get ready in peace) or i'll put her in the exersaucer while i shower, then let her crawl around in our room while i get ready. but when i'm running all over the house getting last minute things together, i toss her in my ring sling b/c we're not babyproofed enough to let her roam without keeping a really close eye on her.

her teeth are looking so funny & adorable these days. one of her top front teeth is completely in and it looks so big! the other front center one has just cut through. she has 3 more that are just about to cut through. she's been working on these ones for what seems like a long time now, so i'm eager for them all to pop through. like GAGirl said, overall they don't seem to be bothering her as much as her first ones, but it does seem like she goes through spurts where they really hurt her and then spurts where they're fine.

she is saying "mama" now and seems to connecting it to me. the cutest thing is when she's feeling needy & tired before naps and wants me to pick her up she whines "mamamamama" until i get her. :)

like i mentioned before, DH and i completely thought she was both signing & saying "more", but she seems to have stopped that, oddly. ???

those are all the latest & greatest things with us! i'll have to post some pics soon---we have a bunch on the camera that we need to dump.

[Smittenk]

we're actually going to VA this wknd to look at houses.

I love house hunting!! I am in Alexandria...are you looking in Northern VA by any chance?!

[GA_GAL]

StacieLady: Have you checked out the first b-day thread? There's lots of good ideas that might help you get started.

steelcitymama: When we travel she usually does not sleep as well. Like you mentioned about Mairin, her naps are shorter, but just because it takes her forever to fall asleIep. In places that she's in the room with us in her pnp, she'll wake up really early. She does that at home, but always goes back to sleep. However, when she wakes and sees us in the room, there's no hope for her going back to sleep. Good luck with the house hunting this weekend.

[steelcitymama]

smitten--unfortunately we are nowhere near alexandria / the DC metro area. :( we will be in southwestern VA, very close to KY & TN & NC. i'm excited to go looking this wknd. there is one particular option that looks really promising--3 BR, 2 BA, LR, DR, family room, 2 car garage, deck, large fenced yard. it's on 3.5 acres and very private, which is so different from the house in the city we live in now. it has hard wood floors throughout, which is typical of where we live now, but uncommon for the small town where we'll be, so we're excited about that. we'll be renting, at least for the first year, and it seems like this will be a good fit. fingers crossed! we've also decided to rent out our current house here, rather than selling it...that just seems a lot more manageable to us right now!

GA GAL--thanks for the luck! we're hoping to get it wrapped up this wknd, esp since we'll be renting and it's not as huge of a commitment.

[micd]

Sara had her 9 month WBV (though she is actually 10 months now)

Here are her stats:

weight: 17 lbs 11 oz (10th percentile)
length: 26 in (5th percentile...yikes, this went down)
head: 46 cm (75th percentile...that is daddy's head :D)

I was really hoping she would be closer to 18 lbs, but oh well. She did start crawling so I know she is burning more and does look a bit leaner, though not skinny looking. The head is funny to me...daddy has a big head...but her head really doesn't look big, just normal. The length concerns me a little bit as she didn't grow that much there...BUT, I am only 5'2", so she may just be taking after me! :o I looked up her weight on kellymom, and it showed her being on a higher curve, so my Ped must be using a general growth chart instead of one for breastfed babies.

Anyone else's baby getting a bit picky with eating? Sara is definitely showing her opinions now! She used to LOVE sweet potatoes, but is now not wanting them as a puree and swats my hand away. I think her pickiness is more of her just wanting to feed herself versus being spoon-fed, though she still loves her fruit and yogurt mix. I think the opinions also started after I started giving her cheese, cheerios, and pasta. Heck, I'd rather eat cheese over green beans myself :) So I am trying to decide how to handle it. I really want her to love veggies as she grows up, so I don't want to give in and give her the pasta or the cheese if she is refusing what I am giving her. So I'm not sure if I should just end the feeding session and not give in when that happens or just keep trying other veggies. She gets pretty angry in her high chair sometimes! I actually had to take her out of her chair a few times the other night because she wouldn't eat what I was offering and I didn't want to give in, and she just sat on the floor screaming! Talk about some real temper tantrums :) I know that she is just a baby, so maybe I am reading too much into it. I just want her to develop really healthy habits, so she doesn't end up a sugarholic like myself!

[L&D Nurse]

I am the proud mommy of an 11-month old boy!


says "mama" on occasion, and once or twice it has even been in relation to me!
points to objects, people, etc
loves eating bread crust
stands without holding on for 1-2 seconds, sometimes rests his belly on the coffee table/window sill while playing with toys
likes to put his stuffed animals on the coffee table
pushing objects around the house with one hand while crawling with the other hand
I think he knows the word "no" but he doesn't follow it very well
pulls the wipes out of the box and piles them up
climbs the stairs before I can get over to him from the kitchen
likes to reach into the toilet and splash in the water - ewww - we are trying really hard to remember to put down the seat!
claps in the correct places if "If you're happy and you know it"
loves to read "Pat the Bunny"
takes 1 or 2 naps, depending on our day's schedule
sleeps most nights 7pm-7:30am
dances (bounces) to music and singing
does a funny open -mouthed "ha, ha, ha" - like he's trying to fake laugh
sleeps with his 8 pacifiers, favorite blankie, two soft blankts, Larry the Lion, a couple of stuffed animals, and the crib comforter in his crib
loves to eat finger food: especially peas and pieces of cheese


Smitten - you have a PM!

[GA_GAL]

micd: I've noticed that Handley has become a little more picky with her food now. She will still eat just about everything, but definitely shows her preferences. A little trick I've figured out that might work for you is when I see her not really going after the veggies I mix something I know she likes on her tray with the veggies. As she grabs for whatever the good thing is (goldfish, puffs, cheerios, etc.) she also gets the veggies in her mouth. Might be worth a try.

[magrat]

Eve is getting less picky, but no doubt that will change at some point!

She's still not crawling or rolling or pulling up, but is cruising everywhere. I'm starting to get really concerned about her physical development and wonder if I should go see the pediatrician before her 12 month appointment. I've tried everything to get her moving, but she just won't even try. She seems to have plenty of strength, she just doesn't even experiment. I'm a SAHM, I don't use any containers and haven't since she could sit up on her own at 6 months, I put things just out of reach, she sees other babies crawling at playdates and ECFE...so I don't see what I could be doing differently. I can sit her down anywhere and she'll still be there in the same position when I get back. I worry that I have her sitting or standing for too long, but then I remember other babies figure out how to move out of those positions, it's not like she is tied down. Everyone keeps telling me it is just her personality and she's doing so many other things, but I'm still concerned that she is *so* far behind.

The last few days I feel we've really had a breakthrough in communication. She's finally starting to noticeably copy the noises we make, and I think she may be starting to sign for milk. She's also sleeping really great. She has fallen into an 8 o'clock bedtime, is up about 1:30 and 6:30 to eat, and amazingly enough (she seems wide awake at 6:30) will go back down easily and has been sleeping in until 8:30am!! I'm sure you'd all agree that's pretty awesome, I'm really getting addicted to all this sleep. She's napping well too.

We got a new car, so I now have my own car back. We bought a 2007 Mazda 5. Yay, playdates!

My SIL has a set a wedding date - July 5th. DH will definitely be going, dd and I will go if MIL offers to pay for us. Plane tickets to England at that time of year are over $1000 each, so we just couldn't afford for me to go.

I've been reading the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and I'm starting to shop more at the co-op, and I can't wait for the farmers market to open on April 29th! It's an amazing book, I highly recommend it, especially since while our children our young we can really make a difference in their health by feeding them healthy foods.

[steelcitymama]

micd and L&D--i love the lists! it sounds like the kiddos are doing so well. micd~ it seem's like sara's weight is just fine, i wouldn't worry (though worrying is what we're programmed to do, right? :)). m was 15 lbs, 14 oz at her 9 mo WBV and i think it was the 5th percentile. her ped wasn't concerned and i wasn't either..i think everyone just has their own body type, ya know?

magrat~i understand your concern over eve's mobility re: crawling & rolling over...but that is GREAT that she's cruising! it sounds like she'll just be one of those kids who just skips over crawling. it sounds like you're giving her plenty of opportunities to move around and she just isn't interested in crawling. like you said, it seems like she's plenty strong & also very coordinated if she's able to cruise. that's exciting that she's really starting to communicate. i've been wanting to read the Omnivore's Dilemma...i think i'm going to have to buy it for myself. we normally use the library for books for DH & i, but i did recently "join" B&N b/c we'd been buying things for mairin there. speaking of books along those lines, i highly recommend "animal, vegetable, miracle" to anyone interested in food. great book.

and speaking of food, m has been eating lots of fun foods recently, which (as a total foodie), i'm loving. yesterday alone she had hard boiled egg yolks, kiwi, colby cheese, tabbouleh, cannelini beans, brown rice cooked with coconut milk, cilantro, & lemongrass. :)

one weird thing--yesterday, we noticed hives on her face. it had been hours since she'd eaten any food and they just popped up very suddenly. DH said our dog had just licked her face, which obviously happens all the time, so it wasn't unusual. i wiped her face off with a washcloth and they started to fade after a bit. this morning, i noticed a little hive on her face after our dog licked her again. CRAP! anyone else dealt with this?? i'm not sure why it's happening so suddenly after all these months of no issues??

[em1126]

She's still not crawling or rolling or pulling up, but is cruising everywhere. I'm starting to get really concerned about her physical development and wonder if I should go see the pediatrician before her 12 month appointment. I've tried everything to get her moving, but she just won't even try. She seems to have plenty of strength, she just doesn't even experiment. I'm a SAHM, I don't use any containers and haven't since she could sit up on her own at 6 months, I put things just out of reach, she sees other babies crawling at playdates and ECFE...so I don't see what I could be doing differently. I can sit her down anywhere and she'll still be there in the same position when I get back. I worry that I have her sitting or standing for too long, but then I remember other babies figure out how to move out of those positions, it's not like she is tied down. Everyone keeps telling me it is just her personality and she's doing so many other things, but I'm still concerned that she is *so* far behind.


magrat - This is us, too, except for the cruising part, which Aubrey is not doing. :rolleyes: I so wish she would just crawl, but I try to tell myself 1) crawling is an optional developmental skill, 2) I was a late crawler/walker myself and I still have very little coordination, so part of me is not surprised that Aubrey's this way, and 3) I've read that up to 12 months is within the "normal" range for crawling. So Aubrey better hurry, she'll be 11 months on Saturday! You may have already seen these threads, but we're not the only ones with late crawlers:
http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-966.html
http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31590&page=2

steelcitymama - That's exciting about trying all those new foods. You gave me some good ideas, too! Sorry, no help on the hives although we have a dog, too, and she licks Aubrey a lot. So far, I haven't seen any reactions.

Anyone else's baby getting a bit picky with eating? Aubrey's not really picky about the food she's eating (for the most part), but she's getting picky about how it's delivered. She sometimes throws a fit when we try to feed her with a spoon. She wants to pick it up herself! So, she's eating a lot of Cheerios and cheese chunks. I'm thinking it is going to be time to bite the bullet soon and let her start practicing with feeding herself with a spoon. I'm not looking forward to the mess, but it has to be done, I suppose.

[GA_GAL]

magrat: I would think if she's strong enough to be cruising around, there shouldn't be any concern. She'll do it when she's ready...

steelcitymama: A few days ago I noticed something that looked like hives or a rash on Handley's face. We were outside and I pointed it out to MIL and she said it looked like a heat rash to her. Was Mairin outside when it happened?

em1126: Handley did the same thing about not wanting to be fed with a spoon. I've tried letting her use a spoon some, but she doesn't really "get" it yet and it is very messy. I'm sure you know this, but you know she can eat more than cheerios and cheese chuncks with her fingers. Handley eats all her meals with her fingers and will chow down on everything from watermelon to sweet potatoes to blueberry waffles. wholesomebabyfoods.com has a lot of great ideas for finger foods and I've made several of the recipes on there.

Handley started to throw some temper tantrums this weekend. We were at oru lake house and the stairs are right near the living area. Needless to say, she saw them and made a mad dash every time. She loves to crawl up stairs, but these are not carpeted and I didn't want her to fall. I'd move her away and try to distract her with a toy, etc., but she just rolled onto her back, kicked her legs, and did a fake cry. I had to keep from laughing she looked so cute.

She had 2 teeth up top pop through last week and two more on the way. It's funny to see her smile now because it looks so different with the new teeth.

Also, I think she's starting to communicate with us a little. She says a "d" sound every time she's near our dog and will say "da" for my DH. She also started signing "all done." I hope she starts using some of the other signs soon.

[StacieLady]

It finally came! :D

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/brattonstaciem/IMG_1219.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/brattonstaciem/IMG_1224.jpg

Sorry for the blurry. It was the best I could do in the mirror with no flash and a baby strapped to me!

[Smittenk]

Awesome StacieLady!! It looks great!!

[steelcitymama]

stacielady---LOVE it!! how are you liking it?

smitten--been meaning to ask you--was it in this thread or the baby carrier thread where you posted about your structured carrier? i wanted to go back and re-read..now that we'll be living in the mountains (!), we'll be doing a lot of hiking, i'm sure. i love my babyhawk to death, but for true long hikes, something else might be better. and DH is v. excited about getting one, so who am i to argue? :)

[micd]

Quick post before I head to the grocery store!

For those of you who are still nursing, how many times a day are you nursing now? Sara is only nursing really well first thing in the morning and then right before bed. I nurse her during the day several times, but she just doesn't suck very well. I'm not really worried about her. I know she is busy crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything, and she'll eat when she's hungry, but I'm more worried about my supply. It seems as if I have hardly any milk during the day. I have been taking fenugreek and pumping at night for the past week and a half, but my pumping output has not increased at all. I barely get 1/2 an ounce most of the time. I just want to have a small stash for babysitters.

Anyway, that's all. Just wondering if anyone else is having the same issues?

[magrat]

nursing Many times a day. At least 5, but it's hard to count because sometimes she nurses for a long time (as in over 5 minutes) and sometimes very briefly. She doesn't have a sign or anything for it, so I just try to when she's fussy or if it seems like it has been a while. She's definitely ready for more solids than I'm giving her, but I'm kind of lazy about that and she only really likes Cheerios and Gerber puffs as finger food, not exactly great nutritionally. So I have to shovel in the purees which can be such a production (compared to bfing anyway). I've heard that around 10 months some babies get disinterested in bfing, but shortly after a year they return to it when a vengeance. How many times a day are you offering the breast? Does she ever refuse it? Eve never ever refuses it, though sometimes she'll only suck half-heartedly.

I'm going to England again. ::sigh:: My SIL is getting married July 5th and I wasn't planning on going, but I said if MIL offered to pay for our tickets and we got a direct flight, Eve and I would go. Well, tickets are an astronomical $1400 :eek: and when MIL offered to pay for mine I didn't feel I could ask her to shell out another $1400 for a seat for Eve when I could just be in hell for 16 hours of my life. Again. I really really wasn't going to go, but DH talked me into it and Eve has changed so since they last saw her and...well, lots of excuses, fact is we're going. Yippee... Now how on earth am I going to find something to wear that fits my misshapen body?

[StacieLady]

I'm not really worried about her... but I'm more worried about my supply.

That is us here. Lucky, Jacob will be a year old in a few weeks and I can introduce milk. (Fingers crossed that will go well) I work part time and need 5-6 bottles for him a week and I just can't keep up any more. He is obviously nursing less because he LOVES to eat real food. I was a little worried at first when my supply started dropping, but I guess if it is what he seems to want to do, it makes life easier. This is definitely lead by him! :) He still nurses well at night and in the morning. And I still let him nurse once during the night. Also when I am home, I nurse him some during the day around his nap time, but I KNOW he is getting less and less. I guess we could keep this up a lot longer if I wasn't working, but the way things are will work for us too!

[daphne]

Nursing Millie nurses 1st thing in the AM, right before AM nap, sometime after her nap, right before PM nap, sometime after PM nap, then right before bed. THEN, oh joy, she nurses sometime around 10pm, then usually twice before AM. So, what is that....about 9 times a day?!?!?! Solids are hit or miss. I try to give her 3 meals a day, with snacks here & there, but bf'ing is so much easier.

[magrat]

Sorry if this is a little incoherent, but I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about gross motor development, early intervention and physical therapy and have a lot to tell everyone.

In my searching, I managed to find some blog posts about people who are doing PT with their babies and got some good suggestions. I had been unsure whether I should roll her over myself or if I should just keep trying to get her to roll over on her own. I figured the only way to get her to make the mental leap would be to figure it out on her own so for a while now I've been laying her on her back and tempting her with toys behind her. She would almost roll over, but always give up and go back to her back. Well, today I read that by rolling them yourselves over and over again they will become accustomed to the feeling and will then do it on their own. Amazingly after just playing with her by rolling her over and over again, back to front, front to back, for like 10 minutes, she did it on her own! At least she does back to front now. I am just stunned and...well, I'm too relieved to spend much time blaming myself. I think some babies just need more guidance in these things. I heard so many stories about other babies just doing it on their own without any guidance or encouragement that I figured she would learn it all when she was ready. So I am not going to call the assessment people like I was thinking of doing and will just spend the next month putting her body through the motions until she does things on her own and see what her ped says at 12 months. Already she's pulling up from lower and lower seats - I started out sitting her on a box next to her crib and as she got good at that I'm sitting her on a pile of books I can make shorter and shorter until hopefully she pulls up from the ground. At first she would barely even paw at the crib, but after a few days she started getting the idea. I'm also letting her pull up using my fingers (she's done that well since like 5 months) over and over again. I think I stopped doing it (unconsciously) at some point because I realized she would *only* pull up on my fingers and nothing else, but now I see I should have stuck at it and let her keep building upper body strength. I spent time having her sit and plop on her butt while holding my fingers, up and down, up and down, and after a few times I didn't even move my hands and she was doing it on her own! I think she's way more advanced than I give her credit for and only needed a bit more pushing. It's a bit uncomfortable thinking I have to put my baby through all these exercises like there is something wrong with her, but I try to keep it fun and remember that she is just a laid back little girl and needs more prodding than some. And not only did she start rolling over by herself for the first time yesterday, but she also started doing the baby sign for nursing! I've been doing it before and during nursing for a long time now and she is finally starting to understand!

[em1126]

magrat-Hooray for all your good news! Maybe I need to start doing more of that kind of stuff with Aubrey, too. DH actually does do more hands-on practice with her and we have actually seen some minor results. I guess I need to get on board more, too. Anyway, here's to continued good luck with Eve! :D

[GA_GAL]

StacieLady: Looks like he's really happy in the babyhawk!

magrat: Sounds like you got a lot of great info. Hopefully doing the PT with Eve will continue to help. It's great that she's signing now.

nursing: I nurse Handley 4 times a day (first thing in the morning, after morning nap, before afternoon nap, and before bed). She is doing fine at all feedings, but definitely eats a lot of solid foods now. I plan on weaning when she turns 1.

Handley is walking more and more each day. She's getting pretty brave and will just let go and take off for something across the room. I love watching her waddle with her arms up in the air to help her balance. She also started calling my DH "dada" yesterday. He had been out of town for a few days and when he walked in the door she said an excited "dada!" Then he went back outside to get something out of his car and she was yelling DADA! I think she knew he was outside and couldn't hear her unless she yelled. It was so cute. Another thing I'm loving right now is that she really enjoys looking at books. I've been reading to her from day one, but now she will crawl (or walk!) over to her bookshelf in the playroom and start pulling off books. After she has a pile surrounding her she'll open them up and start flipping pages. I love it!

I saw this video about talking to your baby and thought you all might enjoy watching. The device they talk about seems a bit extreme to me, but after seeing the video this weekend it's made me more conscious of how much I talk to her.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=7518708

[magrat]

GA_GAL I saw that the other day - it definitely makes me more aware of how much I talk to her!

Well, AF is back. 8/2006 - 4/2008. Not a bad run really. I still feel surprisingly sad. DD is growing up.

[Smittenk]

Nursing - Connor is nursing only first thing in the morning. I am not pumping at all so he is getting formula during th day and before bed.


steelcitymama I checked out the info on thebabywearer.com but I found the reviews on www.childcarriers.com/ (http://www.childcarriers.com/) to be the best source of info on framed carriers once I had my top three picked out. I really like the one we ended up going with (MacPac Possum) but I also really loved the Deuter Kid Comfort II!! That thing was awesome! I just liked the extra storage in the MacPac and the more compact size. I also tried the Kelty FC 3.0 and it was great too. I liked the safety cage around the child seat....If I was a serious hiker I would probably get that one. The safety cage protects baby if you were to fall while carrying her. Have fun shopping!!!

[magrat]

Eve had her Early Intervention evaluation yesterday and she qualifies for physical therapy. Everything except gross motor was well within normal range. The physical therapist said she just needs to be shown that it's not as scary as she thinks to go between positions, and she needs to be shown how to do it efficiently. Right now she is starting to try to move but is doing it wrong so it doesn't work, so she is doing a lot more work than she has to. She also said what I've been doing with her this past week is great and to keep it up. We've had more results too, she is not only rolling over back to front, but this morning she pulled up to standing on DH's leg three times!! He didn't help or even do anything to position her, so that is a huge accomplishment. I have a feeling we're going to be a long way towards being caught up by the time PT actually starts!

[em1126]

magrat - That's wonderful news about Eve! She's going to be all over the place before you know it! I'm looking forward to hearing about how the PT goes.

We finally have a crawler here. She actually started just a little bit about a week ago (two days after she turned 11 months), but I wanted to wait and see if she'd keep it up and she has. She's getting more and more confident in her abilities. I know at some point I will be exhausted from chasing her all over the place, but right now I am just so relieved that she's finally doing it. Of course, now a lot of kids her age are starting walking :rolleyes:, but I am just very, very happy about the crawling right now.

[StacieLady]

Jacob is going to be one year old in 9 days! That is blowing my mind!!

Congrats to em1126 and magrat on your milestones!

[GA_GAL]

magrat: It sounds like Eve is making great progress already! I'm sure she'll only continue to do more and more.

em1126: Yea for crawling!

Stacielady: Are you getting sad or excited about Jacob's b-day? Do you have anything special planned to celebrate?

We had a good weekend. We went up to our lake house. Saturday's weather was kind of cool and overcast, but Sunday was perfect! Handley is such a water baby! The lake is still pretty cold, but DH dipped her legs in off the back of the boat and then she was crying because he put her back in the boat. She kept trying to climb out and get back in so we drove over to a beach area and got in with her. It was SO cold, but she did not care at all. She just kept laughing and smiling. I'm so happy to see she likes it so much and can't wait for our pool to open in a few weeks. I plan to take her a lot this summer.

She's been really switching up her naps on me...seems like she'll only take one (either morning or afternoon) but not both. Today I decided to try just putting her down for one long nap in the afternoon and seeing how she does. She went right to sleep after lunch, but I'm wondering how long she'll nap for.

[StacieLady]

I am excited about Jacob's birthday. I have loved watching him grow and I know that this next year will be just as exciting!

We aren't going all out for his birthday. We are having two small family parties. Cupcakes and company is pretty much the theme for the day. I bought Sesame Street invites, plates, etc...but I won't decorate. I will save my energy for a birthday he will remember! :)

[magrat]

The 2007 Social Security Baby Name Popularity list is out!

http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi

[L&D Nurse]

Happy 1st Mother's Day, Ladies!

StacieLady - what is that on Jacob's forehead in your avatar???

[StacieLady]

L&D Nurse - Jacob had just gotten up from a nap. Apparently he had been sleeping on his hand because there was a perfect handprint on his face! His thumb was on his nose. I loved that he had a giant red handprint on his face but still looked so happy! It is one of my very favorite pictures.

[StacieLady]

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!!

[L&D Nurse]

:D:D:DHappy 1st Birthday, Jacob!!!:D:D:D

[steelcitymama]

wow! can't believe he's 1!!

speaking of birthdays...we're trying to decide what to get M for her b-day. i feel like she is ready for more 'bigger kid' toys. does anyone have any recommendations? we're definitely getting her a water table for the yard. and i've been eyeing some gorgeous wooden push and pull toys....i think my parents are going to get her a small table & chairs. we're not super into 'loud' toys / battery operated toys, but i'm not totally opposed to them either--everything in moderation! in fact, there is some leapfrog barnyard toy for the fridge that i thought would be handy for when we're trying to do things in the kitchen. i think my brother said he would be getting her that..

so i guess my QOTD is - what "less baby-ish" toys are you/ your kiddos liking these days??

[micd]

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!:D

Time FLIES!!

Hmm, about toys...I don't know what we're going to get her for her b-day. My mom might get her a red wagon and some books. Table and chairs are a great idea as is a water table! Right now she is *loving* this Fisher Price wagon that a friend gave us. It has a bunch a blocks with it and this wheel that she can stick the blocks in and it makes all sorts of silly noises. She also loves music and goes nuts when my DH pulls out his guitar...she gets her head bobbing...so maybe some kind of musical instrument for kids. A ball pit might be fun too! I can't wait to read other people's ideas!

How about birthday parties? I know there is a first b-day thread, but what are you all planning to do? We are going to have a party with friends, and my mom is going to fly out too. I'm going with pink and chocolate brown for a color scheme, and probably her initial, but I don't plan to go overboard because it won't be a huge party...I still can't wait though!

[Smittenk]

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!!!!!!!

[em1126]

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

QOTD - Boy, does time fly! We are getting Aubrey a Little Tikes activity walker (push toy), a kiddie pool and a foam floor mat. So, those aren't really toys, much less "big-kid" toys :), but that's what we're getting her plus a couple outfits. I don't know exactly what they're getting her, but I anticipate the grandparents spoiling her quite a bit.

For her party, we're flying up to my parents' (all our relatives are up north) and we're just inviting family, plus a few of my friends that still live up there. We're going to have a cookout and do simple decorations (balloons and streamers) in pink and yellow or silver. The part I'm most excited about is that I'm going to make Aubrey a banana cake. I wanted to make something relatively healthy and I think I found a recipe I'm happy with finally.

[magrat]

I'm giving Eve a dolly. I never really played with baby dolls myself, but she's not into stuffed animals yet but is fascinated by things with faces, so maybe she'll like it, or like it eventually. I got her a Corelle Cailin one (I think that's how you spell it). I like the ones with soft faces too, but I figured she rather suck on hard plastic :)

[Smittenk]

QOTD...hmm Connor still likes most of his baby-ish toys. He likes these cars/trucks that his grandparents gave him...things that roll he likes to crawl after, that sort of thing. Pretty much though his favourite toy is anything he isn't supposed to have - keys, phone, camera, anything on top of the ottoman ;)

We are getting this HABA Wagon for his birthday (http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/HA1646/Haba-Walker-Wagon.html)

I have done nothing for his birthday "party"...I am soo behind but really there are only a handful of people coming since we have no family near us.

[GA_GAL]

Happy Birthday Jacob! Hope he had a great day.

Smittenk: Handley has a wooden push toy similar to the one you posted and she loves it! I bet Conner will really put some miles on that one.

magrat: Handley has a doll with a soft body and plastic arms, legs, head and she loves to chews on the legs. I think it feels good as she's teething.

B-day gifts: My IL are getting her a water/sand table and my parents are getting her a wagon as their big gift to her. I'm not 100% sure what we are going to give her, but I'm thinking a baby pool and a sand box. She loves being outside, but doesn't really have many outside toys, so those are the kinds of gifts I'm leaning towards.I thought about doing a little kitchen set because our neighbors have one and she loves playing with all the food, but I'm going to wait until Christmas when she's a little older.

b-day party: We're doing a party on the Saturday before her b-day. It will be family, a few close friends who don't have kids, and Handley's "friends" from the neighborhood and her playgroup. I'm doing a watermelon theme (seemed like an appropriate theme for a summer party and because she loves watermelon). The colors are hot pink and lime green. My mom is smocking her a watermelon dress and I've been making invitations, a birthday banner, as well as some other decorations. I'm also making a cake that looks like a big watermelon slice. I'm really excited for her party!

[StacieLady]

Last night we gave Jacob his big gift from us, the Haul and Ride Dusty Dozer (http://www.adventuretoys.co.uk/products/600418HHDozer.jpg) :) His other gifts are smaller. He is getting several Tonka Wheel Pals (http://www.hasbro.com/tonka/default.cfm?page=browse&subbrand=553&viewall=yes), these Fisher-Price Roll-a-Rounds (http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-2871189dt.jpg), and some clothes.

I have no idea what he will get from family, other than I know my parents are getting him a ceiling fan for his room. He LOVES fans!

As for his parties, we are having two small family parties over the next two weekends. We bought some sesame street plates, cups, and table cloths. That is all the decorating we will do.

[StacieLady]

Our biggest news is that Jacob is a walker! Not full time, but he is definitely taking lots of steps. He is now just as likely to walk to something close by as to crawl there. Watch out world, here he comes.

He has also learned to play peekaboo. In the past he would play, but we would have to cover his face for him. Now he will pull the blanket up himself. He doesn't always actually cover his eyes...but it is still a fun game.

I can tell that his sense of humor is growing too. He laughs so much now. I LOVE baby laughs!

I don't know if I can think of any other major changes in the past month. He has been working so hard on the walking, I think that has been his major focus.

WOW it has been a great year!

[L&D Nurse]

Happy 1st Birthday, Thomas!

At 12 months, Thomas:
-has 2 bottom teeth, and the two top ones are starting to poke through
-likes to walk around while holding onto one or two of mommy or daddy's hands
-can stand on his own
-likes to bang things on the ground
-likes to push things around the house
-likes to sit under the kitchen table and play with a toy
-drinks whole milk - usually 3 bottles/day
-eats all kinds of table food, loves bread crust
-sually takes 2 naps/day, but sometimes just one long one
-STTN most nights, was on a 4-night streak til last night...
-says "mama," dada", "baba", "agua"; shakes his head no, waves, claps, gives "5"

BBL with more + pics

[Smittenk]

Just had to share exciting news since I knew you all would understand ;)

Connor peed on his potty for the first time today!!!!!! We had to do a whole pee-on-the-potty dance afterwards to show him how great it was :D

[StacieLady]

Happy birthday, Thomas!

Way to go Connor! Amazing!

[GA_GAL]

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Smittenk: Have you been working with him on potty training already?!?!? I haven't even started to think about that. I can't believe he used his potty already...that is amazing!

[Smittenk]

Thanks Stacielady!



Smittenk: Have you been working with him on potty training already?!?!? I haven't even started to think about that. I can't believe he used his potty already...that is amazing!

NOt really potty training per se...just getting him used to it now so hopefully it will be less work later on. I was reading in the cloth diaper thread how other moms are putting their babies on potties after changing them. We had already gotten him used to flushing away his poops and waving bye bye (how he learned how to wave, lol!) and he always pees as soon we sit him in the bath so I thought why not! So off I went to get a potty and the first time I put him on it he peed after about 2 minutes! I don't have any lofty goals but I am hoping that he is potty trained before his second birthday...we'll see though.

[L&D Nurse]

Happy Birthday, Miles and Simon!!!

[steelcitymama]

Happy Belated Birthday, Thomas!

And Happy Birthday, Miles & Simon!

[em1126]

Happy Belated Birthday to Thomas and Happy Birthday to Miles and Simon!

I can't believe Aubrey's birthday is a week from today. For a June mommies group, we sure have a lot of May babies! :)

Transition to whole milk - So, it looks like some of you have started the transition to whole milk. Can you tell me how you're doing it? Are your DCs using bottles or sippies? How much milk are they drinking per day and when do you give it to them (with meals?)? Thanks!

[L&D Nurse]

Em - T usually drinks 3 6-10 oz. bottles of whole milk/day... #1 at wake-up, #2 before nap (either 11 am if he hasn't had a morning nap, or 2 pm if its the second nap of the day), and #3 at bedtime. The transition was really easy, he LOVES the taste. We give him sippies of water with meals. We're moving toward giving milk in the sippies with meals, about 4-5 times per day (at least that's my goal, within the next 6 months or so), but right now this is working for us.

[StacieLady]

Happy Birthday, Miles and Simon!!!

[L&D Nurse]

Thought you all might get a laugh out of this... also, make sure your DH looks at the cake before bringing it home!!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2508239835_e2b19455c9.jpg

Also, when do we move over to the "Toddlers" forum???

[StacieLady]

What a difference a few days makes. Jacob is WALKING! He can walk all the way down the hall and into the kitchen now with no trouble. It is amazing how quickly it happens. It is totally like a switch is flipped some where. Watch out world, here he comes!

[em1126]

Hooray, Jacob! That's so exciting!

L&D Nurse - Love the cake;)

[Smittenk]

Wow you go Jacob!!!

Oh my gosh L&D Nurse! Did you call the bakery?
I'm thinking we should move over to the Toddler Forum after all the babies have had their birthdays

[Jenean]

Awww, you guys are so sweet! Thanks for the birthday wishes for my little men. They had a great party and a great day.

I've been skimming along from time to time and, as always, wish I posted more. I hope everyone is doing well!

If everyone is in agreement, I'll get a new thread ready so that we can move over to the toddler forum after our last June 2007 baby turns one. Perhaps then I'll be able to keep up better!!! ;)

[StacieLady]

I forgot to post Jacob's 12 month stats!

Jacob is 24.75 pounds, and that is at the 74th percentile for weight.

Jacob is 31.75 inches, and that is at the 92th percentile for height.

Jacob has a head circumference of 18.25 inches, and that is at the 45th percentile for head circumference.

[GA_GAL]

Hope everyone is having a nice 3 day weekend. We've really been enjoying it. Our neighborhood pool opened this weekend, so we've taken Handley a few times and she loves it!

She started dancing this week. It is so funny and I need to get it on video. She looks like she is marching, but she moves her feet really fast. She's walking everywhere and getting into everything. I know you all can relate. She's really doing well, even outside on uneven surfaces.

She is officially taking 1 nap a day now. She was really refusing her 2nd nap, so I decided to give it a shot last week. It's different to get dressed and head out first thing in the morning (we used to stay in our PJ's until her morning nap), but we're getting used to it. She gets a little fussy/tired around the time she would be taking her morning nap, but as long as I keep her busy, she's fine. I feed her lunch around 11:30 and then put her right down for her nap. She's usually asleep between 12-12:30. She's been sleeping between 1.5-2.5 hours. I guess it will just take a little time for her to really figure out what she's doing.

[steelcitymama]

sounds like everyone is having such fun & getting so old!! ;)

jenean~ so good to hear from you! i'm happy to hear that the boys are doing well.

stacielady~ great stats- he's so big!

GA GAL--i can't believe handley is walking around everywhere and dancing! too funny. M has recently started cruising, which is really exciting.

interesting that you brought up naps, GA..i was curious to know what the other kiddos were doing. M is still taking 2 solid naps a day. generally 1.5 - 2+ hours each...sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. that kid's a sleeper, that's for sure! she generally gets up around 6ish, naps ~8A - ~10A, naps again around ~12P - ~2P and goes to bed ~6P. after we move at the end of june and no longer have to get up around 6AM a few days a week like we do now, we're hoping to gradually shift her to more of a 7 - 7 schedule. but she is definitely still taking both her naps and seems to need them. she goes down easily and sleeps for a long time. i guess i'll just follow her cues re: switching to 1 mid-day nap. i'll be back later to post a few pics. i'd love to see some of the others babies, too!

[steelcitymama]

dropping off some pics...i'm so sorry they're huge. i'm working on our mac and i'm having some issues re-sizing successfully on photobucket!

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/kmmckechnie/P5090129.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/kmmckechnie/P5230024.jpg

food face!
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/kmmckechnie/P5100155.jpg

[StacieLady]

http://staciebratton.livejournal.com/90047.html?#cutid1

Here is a link to some Jacob pictures in my LiveJournal! (Yes I know this is the lazy way...but it works!)

[Jenean]

Stacie, sounds like Jacob is doing great!

GA GAL, that's great that she loves the pool. We've been taking the boys and they both do, too. Simon swims around with his mouth open and his tongue out, trying to drink in the water.

steelcitymama, thanks, I've missed chatting with you all but have just been lazy about coming 'round. I'm glad to be back! As for naps, our boys are like M - still taking two solid naps a day. Once we had a birthday party in the middle of their afternoon nap, so we kept them up in the morning and let them take one giant nap in the middle of the day instead; they did well with that, but since they're still generally napping so well twice a day (from 9-10:30 and 2-3:30), we're going to let them keep going like this till they seem to rebel against it like Handley.


We have a new challenge over here - Miles has become a little piranha. He's biting Simon and us all.the.time. Poor Simon has red welts all over his back and legs courtesy of his brother's teeth. It's really bad. We're trying different tactics and hoping that something will work, and soon!!!

[magrat]

Love seeing the other babies! They're adorable. steelcity It looks like M has hair a lot like Eve. Thin, straight, fair, and flyaway! I'm always amazed when other babies have hair that lays flat to their heads :o

Eve had her first PT appointment today, but she is already really close to being caught up. She crawls all over, is making transitions, and is able to pull up on a lot of things. She's still working on high things like the sofa, but is getting close and keeps trying, so I know she will do it any day. It still amazes me that I can put her down somewhere and she isn't in the same spot and position when I get back! It's definitely more challenging but I am just so relieved and proud that I don't mind. It seems she just needed a little help getting used to her hands and knees and now she is picking up everything else on her own. She is still too cautious to let go and walk independently, and something tells me that is still going to be a while. I think she may not do it until she can stand up in the middle of the floor herself. She goes up to hands and feet often while crawling and then is like "now what??"

I certainly have been thinking about last year at this time a lot lately, I'm going to have to go back and read posts from that time! I'm surprised no one in our group is pregnant yet, a lot of moms I know in real life with babies about Eve's age are.

[GA_GAL]

steelcitymama: Mairin has the prettiest blue eyes!

stacielady: I love the cake pictures!

jenean: A friend of mine is have the same biting issue with her son who is 15 months. He bites everyone all the time. Hopefully you'll be able to find something to help him stop soon.

magrat: Glad to hear Eve is doing well with her motor skills. It's crazy how quick they can go from not moving much to being all over the place.

This weekend I met another mom that lives in our neighborhood. Her DD turns one on Friday and we had them over to play this afternoon. Both the moms and girls got along great so I'm excited to have someone else to get together with.

Like magrat said, I've been thinking a lot about this time last year too. It's amazing to think how much has changed from those first few weeks up to now. I've finally started working on Handley's scrapbook of her 1st year and it has brought back so many great memories.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/carriebethposener/IMG_3678.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/carriebethposener/IMG_3685.jpg


http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o265/carriebethposener/IMG_3696-1.jpg

[StacieLady]

GA_GAL - She looks like such a big girl! :) I love the picture of her in the fridge!

[daphne]

GaGal H is adorable! She's also a little climber!! DD is, too. It drives me batty!

magrat I was just thinking the other day that, in order to have the "typical" age gap, some June mamas would be getting pregnant soon! I'll leave that to you young mamas of 1! I'm almost 35, so I might be done :(

jenean maybe it's because of teething that Miles is biting so much? now he's probably getting a fun reaction, though, which might be reinforcing it. poor simon :(

stacie checked out the walking video, too. J is adorable! so cute watching other babies when they start walking! DD started walking, too, recently.

steelcity M is gorgeous!! such a precious face!

Millie has been taking steps for weeks now, but just finally started to prefer walking over crawling. It's so cute. love this stage!! she's into everything - such a handful. she climbs up onto chairs, then onto tables!! i have to watch her like a hawk.

Her sleep is still not great. Naps are fabulous (still 2), but she's still up 3-5 times/night. need.to.let.her.cio. someday. She still nurses about 10x/day. it's nuts, but i love it & have no plans to wean.

She'll be ONE next Wednesday. I can't believe it. I've made no headway on planning her party, but it's just going to be for family, so I'm not all that concerned. I'll try to post a pic or two of the big day.

[steelcitymama]

thanks for the compliments on mairin! :) i loved seeing the other pictures, too---stacie, jacob is adorable. and GA GAL, handley seems so old in those pics! not big, but older somehow? she is darling..inside the fridge is the best! magrat---eve & mairin's hair sounds identical!

daphne--that is crazy that millie is such a climber! i can't imagine..M is so much less physical than that. she has been cruising for a bit and that's as much activity as i can handle right now! ;) she sometimes thinks she can walk and will let go of things, but then promptly falls. she's getting closer to walking, though.

speaking of birthday parties, i got the greatest invites and some other accessories from gaddieandtood.com -- her stuff is amazing! i'll have to take a few pics of what i got to show you ladies. her invites are on the pricey side, but our party is going to be quite small so it was no big deal.

M is still nursing 5 times/day and shows no signs of being done with it, which is fine with me...ESPECIALLY since i'll be done pumping in about 4 weeks! woo-hoo! once we move, i'll be staying at home (so excited).

re: getting pregnant again...originally DH and i were going to start trying around august. but we've decided to hold off until nov/december now. that being said, we're not exactly preventing....but i still haven't gotten AF. i know it's certainly possible to get pg anyway, but we're not too concerned and certainly would not be disappointed at all.

anyone else's kiddo not exactly loving the sippy cup? m only wants to bang it around and play with it. she can hold it just fine and put it in her mouth but she rarely even does that. if i try to help guide it to her mouth she will often shove it away. she just wants to throw it or bang it. admittedly, i got a little lax about offering it at each meal b/c it seemed futile, so i'm making sure to be consistent again. she seems to prefer regular open cups, so i've been trying those too. but i CANNOT let her handle those herself b/c she immediately bangs them on her tray. :) i'm going to try a straw sippy today..going to BRU to get a few things.

[StacieLady]

SteelCityMama - It took Jacob awhile to get the sippy cup. But once he did then it was fine. I actually helped him to pucker up his mouth around the opening a few times and that helped...and my mom put fudge one it once. That really got him to suck on it! I have found that he drinks more now that he is nursing less. I guess before he really wasn't that thirsty.

[StacieLady]

GA GAL, handley seems so old in those pics! not big, but older somehow? she is darling..inside the fridge is the best! [

That is exactly what I thought too. It is something in her face. She just looks like she is a little girl and not a baby.

[GA_GAL]

Y'all are making me sad (not really) but I can't believe Handley looks so grown up. Lots of our friends have been saying that lately though. I'm kind of having a hard time thinking that she is growing up so much, but on the other hand I love all the new things she is doing and how her little personality is coming out so much more.

daphne: Handley is a climber, but not quite like Millie...she hasn't attempted getting up on tables yet but does like the chairs.

getting pregnant again: I think about it A LOT. I want to get Handley weaned first and then go from there. I haven't gotten AF yet either, so who knows...

sippy cup: Handley really likes her cup and loves to drink water. However, she also likes to bang it around and just hang on to it.

So the past few nights she's been waking up during the night or early in the morning and just crying (which is very uncommon). Yesterday morning she was so clingy and whining non-stop. I looked in her mouth and a tooth had come in (I had no idea she was getting one) and there is another one about to pop through. That puts her up to 8 teeth!

[Jenean]

magrat, so glad to hear she's making such good progress on her own!

GA GAL, we've got a plan in place now and hopefully it will work. It's not as bad as it was just a few days ago; his molar is almost all the way in now (well, all four points have come in), so I think that's making a difference. Handley is so cute! That fridge pic is too cute.

daphne, exactly. We're not reacting to it now, other than to move Miles away and hand him a teething ring. Then we go to Simon and pick him up and give HIM the attention instead. Good luck with CIO. We did a kind of modified fuss-it-out and it seemed to work. I tried to use the Sleep Lady as my main guide.

steelcitymama, the boys took some time to get used to their sippys (the Avent with the hard spout) at meal time. We've been giving water in those for about 6 months now. When we tried to give them their milk in those cups, they refused. So I bought different sippys for milk. I got Munchkin brand with a soft spout, similar to their bottle nipples. That was an easier transition and now they drink their milk out of them 2x a day, with a bottle before bed. They weaned themselves about 3 months ago and I've only been pumping since, so I don't have to deal with breast v. sippy.



I have started the process of weaning myself from the pump. I've been down to only once a day for a couple of weeks now and am going to go 48 hrs b/w pumping for the next couple of days and then just stop altogether. I have conflicting emotions about it. I think if the boys were still nursing it would be harder. But they stopped that on their own a few months ago. Giving up just the pump is easier - I won't miss pumping, but I will miss knowing that I'm giving them my own milk. I've been building a freezer supply for 3 months, though, and will continue to give them my milk every other day until it runs out.

We've been talking about when to TTC #3. We assume we'll need assistance again, which in some ways makes it easier b/c we can hopefully sort of plan for when we want the next baby to be born and then work backwards from there. I would love a mid-to-late summer 2009 baby, so we'll see........ :)

[Smittenk]

TTC #2 nope no feelings of desire to do it again right now. The first 6 months of Connor's life are just too fresh in my memory, lol! I got an IUD since AF came back at 15 weeks postpartem and we aren't planning to start TTC again until Connor turns 2.

I am trying to plan his birthday party....at least the invitations are done..not all out yet though but that's ok.

I agree..Handley is looking so grown up...definitely more little girl than baby! She has changed so much since the pic that is in your avatar GA_GAL

Here are some recent pics from us!

Tired but smiling at Williamsburg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/VirginiaBeachandWilliamsburgApril25.jpg

At the park
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/GrandadandGrammaHelensvisit022.jpg

Up close
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/10Months-MayVarious043.jpg

Chasing the ball
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/10Months-MayVarious073.jpg

At the hospital (he spiked a fever of 103.5)...it was horrible...no one should have to watch their kid go through all of those tests.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a32/Smittenk/10Months-MayVarious033.jpg

[magrat]

I love all the activity in here!

sippy cups She didn't like the Avent ones so I got a Nuby straw one and she *loves* it. Drinks whole milk and water out of it.

smitten I love the picture of him in the park, that's a great outfit! It's so hard to see him with all those tubes, he looks so sad :(

TTC The current plan is TTC this time next year. I want an early spring baby.

Eve is in the process of getting her 8th tooth too, and it's not going well. Yesterday she was so unhappy all day. MIL is here visiting from England and I'm afraid she's going to think Eve is always like that!

I went back and read a lot of the thread from a year ago and it was so interesting. I posted in the first two weeks that Eve seems to be a really laid back baby. Now I see that babies have personalities from birth because she still is really laid back. That's why we've been having issues with her gross motor, she was never motivated enough to get moving. She's been a pretty easy baby since birth.

Here's a fairly recent pic:

http://kitt.smugmug.com/photos/304408930_zeN3d-L.jpg

[steelcitymama]

quick post to say, magrat--i am so envious that you have those pants for eve! when fooey had their latest sale, i tried to buy them and they were out of her size. :( we do have a few dresses and T shirts of theirs that i love.

i love all the activity in here too and i'll be back later for a real post.

[magrat]

steelcitymama I think I found Fooey when you posted about it! The pants are *really* tight around the waist, even on my skinny baby. So she doesn't wear them very often because I feel bad putting some tight clothes on her. But I do sometimes because they are so cute :) I have some other fooey things, like the peacock shirt. That looks really cute with those pants.

[micd]

The pictures are all so great! The babies are growing up so fast! It really is true that they are looking less like babies (I see this with Sara, definitely). Magrat, Sara's hair is very similar to Eve's, just a different color...so cute! :p

Nursing - About 4-5 times a day. I am planning on trying her on whole milk soon. I would like to wean within the next month or two. It kind of bittersweet...I will definitely miss it, it's been a sweet time, but am ready to not be pinched and prodded all throughout the feeding session (she's just so active)! As far as the sippy cup goes, she loves it. I put a bit of water in it and offer it at meals. I've been offering it to her since she was about 6 months old. It took her a couple of months, but she does use it pretty well now.

Baby #2 - Maybe at the end of this year we'll start. Basically, this about sums it up for me...

The first 6 months of Connor's life are just too fresh in my memory, lol!

Yep, I agree! The newborn phase was HARD. Enough said :p

I agree that personality is from birth. Sara is still a spitfire! She's demanding and opinonated, but is also very sweet...she does has a fun personality. No walking yet, but she did stand by herself the other day for a couple of seconds (she was holding on to my leg and just let go), and she is finally walking flat-footed while we hold her hands (she used to just throw out her legs with pointed toes).

[em1126]

Love all the pictures! They're all starting to really be little people.

Nursing - or, in my case, pumping. I'm proud to say I pumped exclusively (with some formula supplementation) for 1 year! I can't believe I did it, but I am glad to be done. We've switched Aubrey to whole milk and she's doing great with it. She still gets most of it from a bottle. She does OK with the sippy; it just takes her a really, really long time.

Baby #2 - We're not sure we're going to have another one, but if we do, it won't be until after we move next summer, so it's still a long way off for us. That's fine with me; I don't feel ready for another one yet and I'm just enjoying Aubrey so much.

We just recently got back from a week-long trip to see our families for Aubrey's 1st birthday. It was crazy-busy, as always, but fun. I'm glad we got to celebrate with our families. Aubrey wasn't really in to the cake, which is not surprising given her personality. She got in to the frosting and got preoccupied with not liking the frosting on her fingers. Once we scraped some of the frosting off, though, she ate a chunk of cake. I can't believe she's 1! I'll try to post some pictures from her birthday party soon.

[steelcitymama]

quick q - magrat, i know you mentioned that eve really loves her straw sippy. which brand are you using??? i just bought the nuby flip it soft straw cups b/c i know they're BPA free. i tried it out before giving it to her and you have to suck SO FREAKING HARD--it took me several times to get the liquid out myself! there is no way she's going to be able to do it!

[MexicoBride'05]

steelcitymama I just bought the same one. You do have to suck really hard. I was trying to find something different for Jayden b/c he still hasn't learned that he needs to tip his sippy.

I haven't been here in a long time. Jayden's 1st b-day party is this weekend! I can't believe how fast it went by. Monday was my first day back at work too (we get a year off for mat leave in Canada). It was hard leaving Jayden but he is with my mom so that made it easier for me.

I'll be back to post some pics from his party!

[Smittenk]

quick q - magrat, i know you mentioned that eve really loves her straw sippy. which brand are you using??? i just bought the nuby flip it soft straw cups b/c i know they're BPA free. i tried it out before giving it to her and you have to suck SO FREAKING HARD--it took me several times to get the liquid out myself! there is no way she's going to be able to do it!

Ooh I'd love to know too! I just gave Connor a straw for the first time yesterday and he loved it. He is great with his sippy cup but I would like to switch him to the sippy cup for milk and then a cup with a straw for water.

ETA Foogo has one: (comes in pretty pink too)
http://www.bpafreekids.com/BPA-Free-Straw-Bottle-by-Foogo-p/f-bsb.htm

and if I got this one it would actually make more sense to put the milk in the straw cup since it keeps drinks cold for up to 12 hours!


This one looks good too and is well rated like the Foogo!
http://www.thesafesippy.com/features.html

Off I go to shop ;)

[steelcitymama]

micd- sounds like sara is doing really well! i also agree that so much personality is from birth. mairin is so similar now to how she was as a newborn!

em- happy birthday to aubrey...and congrats on pumping so long! that is so impressive. we're still BFing and i can right now that if i'd EP'd i don't think we would have ever made it to a year. way to go! that's great that her party was such fun and you had a blast with family.

mexico bride - good to hear from you! i have to say it's somewhat reassuring that jayden still isn't using a sippy well either. ;) i thought M was the only one who will not drink out of hers! she bangs it, chews on it, anything else other than drinking from it. sigh. admittedly, i was very inconsistent with giving it to her and now i'm kicking myself! happy birthday to jayden - have fun!

smitten - i've heard good things about the foogoo, too. i wasn't familiar with the safe sippy though--looks awesome!

[GA_GAL]

Smittenk: Great pics! I guess I should change my avatar picture, but to be honest I've just got too much going on right now...

em1126: I'd love to see those b-day pics. How nice that you got to spend time with your family for her birthday!

MexicoBride'05: Good luck for Jayden's b-day party this weekend. Can't wait to see pictures.

micd: I'm like you with the weaning...kind of bittersweet, but I'm just trying to really enjoy these last two weeks!

Handley got her first b-day present in the mail today (from DH's brother's family) and she had fun opening the paper and seeing a toy inside. So cute! Also, we got her the turtle sandbox and she played in it for the first time today and had fun. She was kind of weirded out by the sand at first, but got used it and enjoyed it after a while.

[magrat]

straw sippy That's the one we got, the Nuby flip one. It is harder than a regular straw, but she is able to use it. I bet Mairin is better at sucking than you think, it's what babies do best :p

It was DH's birthday today, Eve's is tomorrow. At this time a year ago I still had no idea I would have a baby by morning and was feeling *very* sorry for myself :) I wish I could do it all over again, it was so fantastic and exciting.

I would never have described Eve as a drama queen, but this week she has definitely become a one year old (just a week early!) She gets upset and flings herself face down into the carpet and screams, buries her face in my shirt, muffling her screaming gurgles of indignation. She still only cruises, but leans against me at times and has started hugging me, wrapping her arms across my back if I'm sitting on the floor and she is standing behind me. She is making up games with me more than ever and is asserting herself so much more. It's hard at times because she isn't signing or able to communicate her needs and cuddles don't work to comfort her so well anymore.

Very recent pic, the two of us at Grand Old Day on Sunday. The previous year I walked the whole 3.5 miles *very very* slowly, being very uncomfortable and not having slept for days. It worked though, she was born two days later!

http://kitt.smugmug.com/photos/306352381_d6Zgp-L.jpg

[steelcitymama]

GA GAL - fun that H enjoys playing in the sand! i love that turtle sandbox. we got M a water table that i'm eager to set up. we're holding off until after the move, though.

magrat - happy birthday to eve!! love the pic---she is adorable! funny that you mention that about the straw....after i posted the other day i was thinking "well, sucking is what she does best, i bet she'll be fine with it." i bought a 2 pack of the cups and it turns out that one of them is totally easy to suck and the other is crazy hard. go figure. anyway, i'm just trying to be consistent about offering it. she loves it but still isn't sucking on it! she'll bite the straw or even blow on it, but no sucking yet. does anyone have any thoughts on how to encourage her to actually suck!??

we THINK M is saying some words, but we're not sure. a long time ago we swore she was saying both 'mama' and 'more'. we were so excited! but then she stopped. ???? recently though she's started saying 'ball' fairly consistently and 'mama' kind of inconsistenly. she's clearly comprehending things and will find / look at an object or person when you say it's name. i'm not necessarily concerned, but i guess i'm a little surprised b/c she's always been SUCH a vocal baby and has been babbling for ages. is anyone else's DC not saying any/many words?

[StacieLady]

SteelCityMama - Jacob doesn't have any words yet. Not even mama or dada. But I am not worried yet. :) After he started walking his babbling really picked up and he is making a TON more sounds now than he was a few weeks ago. He is definitely beginning to understand things we are saying to him. If he is getting fussy because he wants to eat and I ask "Are you hungry?" He will instantly stop fussing and look into the kitchen. And then if I make a move in that direction, he will run to his highchair. :) Very cute...and helpful!

[micd]

Happy Birthday to EVE!!

Magrat - What a cute picture! I love her dress...where did you get it? I am dying to put some dresses on Sara, but it is still a bit cold here in Washington (of course).

I'm sorry if I have missed other birthdays...so Happy Birthday to any babies I have missed! What an exciting time right now!

I started offering Sara whole milk a few days ago, and she (not surprisingly) wants nothing to do with it...haha...I knew the weaning process would take a while :)

[magrat]

Thank you for the birthday wishes :D We had a really nice party, she got some great gifts and she *loved* the cake. She ate her whole piece :eek: She's napping now so I guess we managed to avoid a sugar rush. Her favorite gift was a pair of sunglasses. She doesn't like to wear them, but she wouldn't let me take them from her and wouldn't even help open the rest of her gifts because she was too busy with them. She got a few things that play horrible little tunes and she loves those too. She sways back and forth to them. Her favorite was a book MIL brought from DH's aunt - it is a pop up, music playing, Christmas book. One page has a recording of "ho ho ho", another has jingle bells, and the rest are carols. Her favorite (I can't believe she is starting to have favorites!) is the tinny recording of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. She laughs and sways and gets all excited. So as you can imagine we are being driven crazy by that particular present. We'll obviously be celebrating Christmas in July...

micd It's actually a shirt in the most recent picture I took. It's from Baby Gap. I try not to buy full priced stuff very often but I just loved the print and since they didn't have my size I had to get it for her (that is so often the case :rolleyes:) She's always worn dresses fairly often but she wasn't crawling until recently. Now they get in the way and I don't want to impede her at all so it's all play clothes at the moment unless we're going out.

sippy cup Dunno...Eve took to hers right away. Make sure she's thirsty and make it so the straw is wet on the outside so she gets the idea. She'll catch on when she's ready, I really wouldn't worry about it.

talking Nothing here. No signs either. She pretty much only says dadada when she babbles, no other syllables. Since she was so behind on gross motor I was really hoping she'd be ahead somewhere else, too bad. She is understanding what we say more, she nods sometimes in response to our questions.

[magrat]

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn118/skitt42/partydressandhat.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn118/skitt42/eatingcake.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn118/skitt42/eatingcake2.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn118/skitt42/eatingcake3.jpg

[Smittenk]

Aww great pics of Eve eating her yummy cake!!!

[daphne]

em i just wanted to congratulate you on pumping for SO long! i pumped for DS for 4 months & it was soooo hard. i was really prone to mastitis, which didn't help. Huge kudos to you!!!

steelcity Millie has a couple of words. Maybe 4-5. DS didn't speak his 1st word til around 13-15 months, though.

magrat ack!! those pics of Eve are *adorable*!!! Looks like she liked her cake!!

Millie's birthday was the 4th, but we're having the family party on Saturday, so i'll post pics then!

[GA_GAL]

magrat: Those pictures of Eve eating cake are SO cute. Sounds like her birthday was a lot of fun for her. Handley has a fascination with sunglasses too. She thinks it is a game to pull them off of my face and then she tries to put them on her head. I have some baby ones for her, but of course she won't keep them on.

daphne: Have fun at Millie's party this weekend.

talking: She says dada, "do" (dog), uh-oh, mama (only if I prompt her) and de-de-de, which I think means dance-dance-dance. She recently started dancing and every time she does it I say/sing "dance-dance-dance." This week when she starts dancing she makes sure I'm watching and says de-de-de. I think she's trying to say a few other words that I'm not quite sure about yet. Maybe it is her really saying the words or maybe it's me just reading into it. Steelcitymama - Handley did the same thing about saying and then stopping for a while with mama.

signing: She signs "all done" for EVERYTHING. For her it means yes, more, drink, all done and everything in between. I think she's maybe starting to try to sign more, but not consistently.

I took her to storytime at the library this week for the first time. It was SO good. I wasn't sure what to expect. I think I had it in my head that I'd have to hold her on my lap and keep her still/quiet while they read a few books. It was totally baby friendly though. We all sat on the floor, and it was OK if babies were crawling and walking around some. We sang songs, did some movement stuff, read a few books and recited some nursery rhymes. I can't wait to take her back next week.

[steelcitymama]

oh my gosh -- the pics of eve are just fabulous! love 'em. :)

daphne -- can't wait to hear about the millie's party!

GA GAL - that is funny about handley signing 'all done' for everything. that's great that you liked storytime. we try to go each week to the one at our library - it's such fun! ours is more of a sing along and i love it. it's on thursdays, when i WFH, so i try to make it when my work scheduled permits. another good option are bookstores -- the big bookstores by us all have storytimes, too. we've been to a few at B&N and it's been really fun. geared a bit more towards older kids, whereas our library's one is specifically for infants & toddlers. still fun, though!

two recent pics:

having fun on the swings-
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/kmmckechnie/m_swings.jpg

staring intently at the boys playing basketball-

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/kmmckechnie/swingcloseup.jpg

[Jenean]

Smittenk, great pics! I love those up-close pics. I have one of Simon posted on my bulletin board above my desk.

magrat, isn't it neat to compare them from birth to later on? Miles has stayed the same since Day 1, but Simon did a complete turnaround from fussy baby to very easy going. We blame his early fussiness on the fact that he went straight into the NICU and missed out on important snuggle time in his first hours. I hope Eve is feeling better! Miles is working on his 10th tooth (4th molar in a month) and is the same way right now. What a great pic of you two and so cute with the cake!

em1126, congrats on pumping for a year! That is dedication. I just stopped last week after 1 year, 1 week, and 3 days. It feels weird to have my body belong only to me again! I'm looking forward to seeing some first bday pics!

mexicobride, wow, how awesome that you had the whole first year at home. I'm so happy for you. Being back is an adjustment, but it can be kind of nice to be out of the house for a bit every day. That's wonderful that your mom is your caregiver!

steelcitymama, the boys don't really have any words yet. They say "dada" and "mama" and sometimes we think they use them correctly, and they say "baba" but I don't think that means anything to them. I'm not concerned about it; I figure it will all come in time. They're incredibly vocal, just with sounds instead of words! And Miles knows how to wave hi or bye upon request, and Simon will clap hands when we ask him to. Those pics are so adorable! For some reason I love pics of babies in swings.


We are in major teething mode in our house. Simon's left eye tooth popped through, but doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. Miles' molars are another story. He got the top two about 3 weeks ago, in the same week, and his bottom right one last week, which we think was the cause of the biting. The biting is now better, but he's just getting his bottom left molar right now (first 2 points poked through yesterday), so we're watching him carefully. This molar is his 10th tooth! The teething has been messing with his tummy and he's had the nastiest blowouts and a couple of minor vomiting incidents. Poor thing. Being a baby is hard work!

Everything else is same 'ole, same 'ole. We have an incredibly busy month ahead of us, so we're kind of just taking it one day or two at a time to get everything done. The boys are taking swim lessons on Saturday and we're setting up their kiddie pool at home tomorrow. And I'm starting a new playgroup now that I'm not attending my BFing support group on Wednesdays anymore. I'm officially done; I pumped my last BM last Thursday. I've got a freezer supply that will take us through the summer. I kind of miss it; not the pumping, but the knowledge that I was giving them something so good for them that only I could provide. I think if they hadn't weaned themselves months ago it would be harder. I do miss nursing, but not that pump!

I don't think I ever posted the boys' first bday pics. Here are a few:

Simon had fun playing with it more than eating it:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/boyswithcake8.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/boyswithcake13.jpg

But, as you can see, Miles loved eating it!

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/boyswithcake9.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/boyswithcake14.jpg

And the cleanup effort:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/cleanup.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l86/jmk103176/cleanup2.jpg

[MexicoBride'05]

Happy 1st Birthday Jayden!

Love all the pics everybody! I'll have some to share soon after the big party this weekend!!

I still can't believe our little babes are all grown up now!

[em1126]

Here are some photos from Aubrey's first birthday. Happy birthday to all I've missed and I'm loving all the pictures!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P5240095-1.jpg
At her big birthday party at my parents' house

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P5240096-1.jpg
Opening presents - she was more interested in the cards!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P5260176-1.jpg
Her second birthday party at my in-laws'

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z91/kubiakee/P5260187-1.jpg
The clean-up effort!

[LoveBeingAMommy]

Happy First Birthday to McKinley and Taylor!

One Year Ago Today
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a287/Casselsshopper/DSCN4747.jpg


One Year Later
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a287/Casselsshopper/ElevenMonths-1.jpg

They'll have their party on Sunday along with their first taste of cake. They are talking and almost walking, and they each have 12 teeth! This year has just flown by.

[em1126]

LoveBeingAMommy - So good to hear from you! They're ADORABLE!

[magrat]

lovebeingamommy So not identical? I seem to remember you weren't sure at first. They look like sisters, but not exactly alike to me. So cute, and so grown up!

[LoveBeingAMommy]

magrat - nope, not identical based on the placenta analysis and, as they get older, just plain old observation

[daphne]

Adorable pictures!!! Thanks for sharing! I have to get myself motivated to post some of Millie...

We had her 1-yr WBV last week. She weighed in at 22lbs, 2 oz (75%) and was 30 1/2 in (90%). I guess I don't have to worry about her food/milk intake, eh? I think she bulks up w/the fatty milk in th middle of the night. yawn.

[GA_GAL]

steelcitymama: Cute pics of Mairin. I'm jealous that she'll keep those clips in her hair. Handley is driving me nuts and keeps pulling hers out.

Jenean: Your boys are adorable. They looked so happy at their party! Congrats to you for pumping as long as you did. That is really wonderful.

MexicoBride'05: Can't wait to see pictures from Jayden's party.

em1126: Love all those pictures of Aubrey. The first one makes me laugh. She looks like she is just relaxing, reclined back and enjoying her cake. Handley has the same socks she has on in the second picture (well she has one on and one in her mouth :-))

LoveBeingAMommy: Your girls are adorable.

[magrat]

Eve had her 12 month WBV today. She was 17lbs 1 oz (10th %) and 29 1/2" long (75th%). She has had diarrhea for 6 days now, some nasty bug or other. I'm hoping she has turned a corner - no poopy dipes since this morning, and she had a good appetite at dinner. She is still sleeping through the night. It's like a miracle. Now if I could just learn to sleep through the night...

[em1126]

Just checking in with Aubrey's WBV stats - 21lbs., 6 oz. and 27 3/4". I didn't get percentiles, but I know she's a shorty!

The doctor also said it might not be a bad idea to contact our Early Intervention program just because she's been at the very late end of normal for all her gross motor skills so far and she's still not pulling up to standing. So, it looks like I'll be giving them a call today. I know it will be good for her.

[stevesbabygirl]

Oh my goodness, I haven't been in here in so long!

Happy birthday to all of the babies! Owen is 13 days away from his; IIRC, we're the second to last one, behind Connor, and then we'll all have toddlers! When did this happen, and how do I make it stop?!

Owen is doing very well. He pulls up to stand and cruises on everything. He can stand by himself for a few seconds, but isn't really interested in walking yet. He has 8 teeth, but still isn't a big fan of table foods, and still nurses 3-4 times a day (when he wakes up, before his naps, and before he goes to bed). He says "mama" and "dada," and when you teach him a new word, he whispers it. He can say "eat," "ball," "duck," and "kitty."

Here are some recent pictures:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2574215426_3ced283abf.jpg?v=0