September 2007 Moms: Experiencing the fun of sleep deprivation

[TracyDP]

Big hugs Bucktown! I hope things improve soon. The lack of sleep thing is brutal, and not being able to leave her with anyone without worrying that the's screaming the whole time is even worse.

Monitor: We have the base unit on the windowsill of DD's room so the signal can get out to the handset in DH's office (separate building about 50 feet from the house) and the other handset base is in our bedroom. I keep the handset out in the living room most of the day though. I sleep with earplugs to drown out DH's snoring so he keeps the monitor in the room at night turned on medium volume so he will be sure and wake up if she fusses or wakes up. If it's her usual 5am diaper whine then he takes care of it. I take out the earplugs when he gets up for work so I hear her when she wakes for the day later on. My Mom ears are enough in tune with her sounds that even with the earplugs in I wake up if she is full on fussing, but I can sleep through her talking to herself. If DH isn't there though I don't use them at all.

An offer for someone who wants it: I have a set of 3 Fruit of the Loom undies. washed but never worn that I am willing to drop in the mail to someone who wants them. I don't know anyone my size that wants them and I'd rather send them to one of you than just donate them. They were marked as Low Rise Briefs, but they are actually boy short style which I don't like. I didn't notice until I'd washed them and was putting them away. Size Large/7

PM me if interested. I will be mailing some other stuff on Monday and will send them at the same time.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/2300037765_a98e6d748d_m.jpg

[isign]

Monitor - don't have one yet. DS is still in our room, but I'm planning on picking on up in the next week or two as he managed to flip over and do a 180 in his cradle this morning. He was on his tummy head twards the top, and I found him feet to the top, on his back. I have no idea how he did that. Our house is small with an open floor plan so I can hear him from every room in the house with the door closed.

[TracyDP]

:o Hehe...I re-read my post from earlier and realized just how weird it is to offer up underwear to a bunch of women I have never met! But hey, I figure after being pregnant maybe someone is a different size and could use some new chonies for free.

Thought I'd post this pic I took today. DD sporting her sexy 80's style legwarmers...uh, I mean Babylegs... The blanket was my baby blanket that my Mom sent to me. The fact that she matches the blanket is complete coincidence. The past 2 weeks have been all about the feets!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2300229347_328efd4728.jpg

[Amuse Bouche]

We don't have a monitor. M still sleeps in our room, and even when she's napping in the other room she'll give a yell and we can hear her everywhere in the apartment.

[DisneyGirl]

Tracy HAHAHAHHA, LOL LOL LOL, BWWWWAHHHHHHH! When I saw your post about the undies I almost fell off my chair, because My DH was sitting next to me and hes like what the hell kind of chat room is that( of course after I explained it to him..he was like OHHH Okay?? Oh it was so funny!
I love the picture with the baby leg warmers....Oh gosh those were the days! I can't say that I never wore them in the 80's.

Bucktown I am so sorry to hear that things are ruff right now..sending you HUGS.
My DS is a shitty sleeper and his naps are just none existant as well. Plus i'm so fed up with him waking at 4:45 every-single-day and refusing to go back to bed until ..ohhh say like...3:30pm..AHHHH, its killing me..I'm so freakin tired!!!

[bluejeanbaby]

Hi ladies!
Man it's been forever since I've posted in here. I have tried to keep up, but it seems that every time I go to reply someone in my house starts crying!!!

First I just want to send some big hugs to Bucktown. Brayden has been a really bad sleeper from day one. My mom just keeps telling me... "no kid in high school is still sleeping with their mommy waking up all night wanting to be fed... this too shall pass" AHHHHH!!!!! Thanks A LOT!!! :rolleyes:

Other than the sleeping thing we are going great... but super busy! I am loving being a mom of two. Don't get me wrong it's hard and I'm exhausted... but I love it!!!

My husband is in the Coast Guard and we are supposed to transfer this summer. We finally got orders to Michigan but at the same time we are waiting to see if he gets promoted. He's right on the edge and another cut should be coming out any day now. The kicker is that he has to report by June 20 and the cut may not be out until Aug and if he does make it we'll be getting new orders! So now we're in a state of panic on what to do with the house... where the boys and I should go in the mean time... etc etc etc. Ahh... the life of the military :rolleyes:

Here are a few recent pictures...
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w249/sandij0104/DSC01719.jpg?t=1204381497

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w249/sandij0104/DSC01827.jpg?t=1204381541

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w249/sandij0104/DSC01817.jpg?t=1204381578

[DisneyGirl]

pj's I had K sleeping this those sac things, but hes growing out of them. SO my question is: what are you babies sleeping in?

[Boskie]

It has gotten really warm here, so Olivia is just sleeping in terry cloth, footed sleepers. Up until now, I had her in footed blanket sleepers.

[hmbay]

sleeping--footed sleepers in side a larger sized halo sleepsack.

[TracyDP]

Just a footed sleeper. Her room stays pretty warm. We never used the sleep sacks.

[isign]

Sleeping - bad I know, but he has a lightweight blanket. He's a tummy sleeper and usually by the morning he's wiggles so much that the blanket is in the end of the cradle. He does sleep in footy PJs

[DisneyGirl]

THANKS!

Its still pretty cold here still so I went out and looked for some footed PJ's that were fleece..HA HA thats was not going to happen since all the spring.summer pj's are out.
I'm tempted to use the fleece footed once that my DD used..but there pink.LOL
I ordered a few one peice pj's from Gymbo that should be here anyday now.

[emschwar]

THANKS!

Its still pretty cold here still so I went out and looked for some footed PJ's that were fleece..HA HA thats was not going to happen since all the spring.summer pj's are out.
I'm tempted to use the fleece footed once that my DD used..but there pink.LOL
I ordered a few one peice pj's from Gymbo that should be here anyday now.
What size do you need? We bought a bunch of fleece sleepers that Daniel never used since he's still in the miracle blanket.

[DisneyGirl]

What size do you need? We bought a bunch of fleece sleepers that Daniel never used since he's still in the miracle blanket.

Hes in size 6-12 months now.

[emschwar]

oh well, ours are 3-6.

[hmbay]

Disney--Sabrina is wearing fleece footed pj's with dinosuars and basketballs from DS1 and DS2 because I refused to go buy some 6-9 month ones just for a month or two.

[Jen309]

bluejeanbaby Where are you going in MI? Just curious b/c I'm originally from there (Bay City). Sorry, it's just me being nosy! :)

Disney Since Nolan's learned to roll over, we had to give up the swaddle, and since it's still cold, all I can do is put him in onesie + jammies + the too-small sacks like you. 9mos my behind! I think Halo sells sz LG sleep sacks, but they are $$ and I think we'll just tough it out til spring and hopefully he won't need them anymore. Oh, just put him in the pink ones :p

[DisneyGirl]

Jen Yeah, I went to babies r us before and bought the halp sleep sac for 20 freakin bucks..DAMN! I am so thinking about returning it and just using the pink ones I have for DD. I gave away all my older DS clothes since I was sure I was done having kids. I too agree with the 0-9 months sac..HA, my DS is 16 lbs..not suoer large kid and those damn sac are tooooo small and I feel bad putting him in them.

EMS I wish the pjs you had would hav fit K cause I would have bought them off you. Thanks though!

[Bucktown]

Thanks for the hugs girls.

Things are not really any better. I don't know what her problem is. :confused: I don't know if I mentioned it before but she's kinda refusing to eat now too. Well, except for the middle of the night. She'll eat a few ounces here and there during the day but nothing like she normally eats(usually between 7-8ozs every 3.5 hrs). I'm willing to get up twice a night to feed her but that's it. If she cries before it's been 3-4 hrs since she last ate I let her cry.

Which brings me to a question:

Since her sleep is crap anyway, we've decided to start transitioning her from Similac Alimentum to the regular Similac Advance. I figure slow is good so this afternoon I started with 5ozs Alimentum to 1 oz Advance mixed together. Surprisingly, she gobbled it up. How much should I be increasing the Advance each day? Each day add an oz of Advance by decreasing an oz of Alimentum? Or should it be every couple days? I don't want her system to go in shock. I don't want to call the ped because I really don't care for her and really really don't value her opinion at all. I'll post in the formula feeding thread also but wondering if anyone has any experience?


Disney~ If you were only 2 weeks early I could have sent you all of DS' fleece footed jammies. I had just donated them all to charity since I've decided I like the lightweight, cotton footed jammies paired with the sleep sack. -- Just in case I ever catch up on sleep and we decide to do this all over again! :p

And OMG, I was just thinking about DD's sleep sack and how I hope it gets warmer out soon cause hers is getting too small and it's already the LARGE size! :eek:

[DisneyGirl]

Bucktown Sorry things are not getting any better for you.
I wish I would have posted about the pj's sooner..I would have loved them. I'm always a day late and a dollar short on everything.

Formula costs I can just wondering how much formula costs where you live? and is it ready to feed or powder.

Similac advance RTF is 5.99-6.59
Similac Isomil RTF is 4.74

[Bucktown]

Disney~ Let me look again on the jammies. I think half way through I started feeling uncomfortable about letting go of all my son's fleece jammies---especially the cute one's. I'll have to look tomorrow though cause they are all packed away in bins in DD's walk-in closet. And, of course, she's sleeping. Who knows for how long though.

Formulas~ Similac Advance RTF $5.69 at Target
Similac Alimentum RTF $9.19 at Target but I've paid as much as $9.59 at CVS

* the cost of the RTF Alimentum is just killing me and lately I can never find more than 5 bottles of it at one store so I have to stop at multiple stores to get the 8-9 bottles a week needed to feed DD. Such a drag but it was worth it. I'm hoping her digestive system has matured enough to handle the Advance. So far so good, just lots of gas, but that could be from the prunes she got today. :)

[emschwar]

Bucktown - have you tried the powder? That's a little cheaper...

[TracyDP]

hmbay: Hey, I was wondering today how things are going with Sabrina and DH? Have you found a solution for the screaming/won't eat issues? How is she doing with solids, if you've started them? Inquiring (nosey) minds what to know!

[sabrespa]

I don't remember who made the comment about starting solids and not sleeping well meant not ready for solids. You are a my hero. Zach started solids and for a full week his sleep went completely downhill. I remembered reading about that on here, so I stopped the solids. And his first day without he slept through the night again. It's so odd, I never would have put the two together! I just feel bad because he gets fussy around the time that he would have eaten his breakfast or dinner. He got used to that routine.

Formula: Enfamil Lipil powder $25.49 for the big can, 13.99 for the little one.

[jodylovesscotty]

sabrespa~ That was me. I am so glad my info. helped someone. And for what it is worth, we waited a month and tried it again. We know she was really ready for them because she would open her mouth to eat everytime we put something to our mouths. She has been eating for over a week and not waking up at night anymore. So give it a couple weeks then try it again.

DisneyGirl~ Formula cost vary from store to store around here. As much as I HATE Walmart that is the cheapest place to buy formula. Zoë can only tolerate Similac Sensitive RS (we tried switching to powder Sensitive but it didn't work) which is a ready to feed formula (they don't make the powder of it) and it is 4.39 there. Everywhere else it is at least 5.99 a bottle.

[Bucktown]

em~ We tried the Alimentum powder back in November and she refused to drink any of it. I'm ok with RTF it would just be nice to drop down to the 'regular' stuff. Once I get her switched we'll try the powder again.

Disney~ I guess it's your lucky day. I found 2 Carter's 12 month footed sleepers. They are definitely hand me downs but I would let another one of my kids wear them. I wish I had one of those gizmos that trims the balled up fabric off them then they'd look better. It's up to you. Let me know, I can put them in the mail tomorrow. -OR- I know Children's Place usually has great sales on their fleece sleepers right now. I use to go during this time w/ DS and stock up for next season. Do you have one near you?

Also, the tag says 12M 21-23 lbs. Are these going to be too big?

I suppose DD was exhausted after the last few weeks of driving me crazy cause yesterday I put her down for a quick nap at 5:15 and she slept till 8, ate, then slept till 3:30am, then again till 7! I feel alittle better today. My mind is not numb.

So far the formula switch is going well. Tomorrow I'll add 2ozs. Nice!

[hmbay]

hmbay: Hey, I was wondering today how things are going with Sabrina and DH? Have you found a solution for the screaming/won't eat issues? How is she doing with solids, if you've started them? Inquiring (nosey) minds what to know!

Thanks for asking--not really any better. well she'd down to only screaming an hour or two each day (down from like 5). She'll be happy for about an hour after she gets up then get hungry but for some reason will NOT take a bottle from him (but I can feed her one just fine). So then she gets crabby cuz she's hungry and screams herself to sleep, naps about 3 hours, wakes up about an hour before I get home, starts screaming for another hour until I walk in and feed her. sigh. DH tried rice cereal but she wasn't ready. I'm hoping when we start solids in two weeks that might help. I'm going to make sure DH does most of the solid feeding so maybe she'll associate that with him and maybe he can at least get a bit of solids in her during the day to fill up some of her empty tummy. She's just a stubborn little girl. She will smile and giggle at daddy now (which helps him liking her a bit) but still not eat for him. I told him to try formula this week. I hate to say that because I produce more than enough for her (we have a huge freezer stash and DH dumps the bottles he tries everyday she refuses to eat) but maybe if it wasn't BM she'd take a bottle from him. Who knows.

[Bucktown]

Hmbay~ Sorry to hear things are still rough for you guys right now. I hope the formula works even though I feel I bad that you have to go that route. :(


Gymboree~ We got a mailing last week to save 20% off your entire purchase in stores or online. It expires March 9 though. I don't do Gymboree clothing so if anyone wants the code (it's a one transaction per customer) post here and I'll PM you the code.

Also there is a coupon for a Free class (must be a new family only though). I don't see an expiration date so if you'd like it I have to mail you the coupon so you can bring it in. Again, post me a note!

[Suzlywoozly]

Disney- the Carter's outlet has fleece jammies on clearance for $7.00 right now. Do you know what size your DS wears in Carter's? Andrew outgrew the length in the 6 month size super fast... I can send them to you if you want.

[TracyDP]

Thanks for asking--not really any better. well she'd down to only screaming an hour or two each day (down from like 5). She'll be happy for about an hour after she gets up then get hungry but for some reason will NOT take a bottle from him (but I can feed her one just fine). So then she gets crabby cuz she's hungry and screams herself to sleep, naps about 3 hours, wakes up about an hour before I get home, starts screaming for another hour until I walk in and feed her. sigh. DH tried rice cereal but she wasn't ready. I'm hoping when we start solids in two weeks that might help. I'm going to make sure DH does most of the solid feeding so maybe she'll associate that with him and maybe he can at least get a bit of solids in her during the day to fill up some of her empty tummy. She's just a stubborn little girl. She will smile and giggle at daddy now (which helps him liking her a bit) but still not eat for him. I told him to try formula this week. I hate to say that because I produce more than enough for her (we have a huge freezer stash and DH dumps the bottles he tries everyday she refuses to eat) but maybe if it wasn't BM she'd take a bottle from him. Who knows.

Sorry to hear that :( But glad the screaming has at least subsided a bit. FWIW my DD wanted nothing to do with cereal when I tried it, but took to peas like a champ the next day! I think it was a texture thing. Maybe try some veggies or fruits sooner? It doesn't hurt to offer it and see.

I would also say go ahead and try formula. My DD has been FF since birth and she is one smart, active baby, never even had a cold (knock on wood). Yours and your DH's sanity, not to mention your poor hungry DD is reason enough to try it. Sabrina isn't drinking the BM during the day anyway so she wouldn't be missing it if she ate formula for DH, and not having Sabrina and DH be miserable during the day is worth the extra expense.

Disney- the Carter's outlet has fleece jammies on clearance for $7.00 right now. Do you know what size your DS wears in Carter's? Andrew outgrew the length in the 6 month size super fast... I can send them to you if you want.

Awesome! I might be going to the outlet stores this week! I will defenitely pick some up since DD has gotten to the age where she kicks off her blanket at night. Yes, I use a blanket...and not once has it ended up by her head, she always kicks it downward. She won't settle down and go to sleep without it on her though. I think she will grow out of it when it gets hot here (no air conditioning).

[Kiley]

We use a blanket too (gasp!) :) It's a knitted afgan type so it has holes if it did get caught by his head which it hasn't yet. But it's a moot point anyhow since he refuses to sleep past 10pm in his crib because then he's in bed w/ us. He sleeps in fleece footed pjs and a onesie. We were using sleep sacks but since he goes in bed w/ us at 10pm, it's a pain to take him out of it cuz he'd get way too warm w/ that one next to us.

We tried him w/ "real food" on Friday - sweet potatoes. He liked it but didn't eat much. I forgot how little they eat at that age.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

Has anyone tried a sippy cup yet? I have heard of people trying them when the baby was around 6 months old- I haven't yet, but Sophia is very interested in cups and glasses. She tries to grab them from us and will put them up to her mouth if she gets a hold of one.

[Boskie]

I was wondering the same thing about sippy cups. Which ones have you had good luck with in the past? Also, when is the "norm" for starting water? It is one question I have for our Ped at the next appt on 3/17, but thought I check with all the experts here.

Olivia is doing pretty good with solids. She likes squash and peas so far. She wants NOTHING to do with green beans, which is one of the vegetables I do not like either. Two more days of trying peas and we'll move onto either carrots or sweet potatoes. She will usually eat 1 Stage 1 container per meal.

[Amuse Bouche]

We haven't done a sippy but M LOVES to drink out of water glasses -- that's all she wants to do if we go out to eat. She also loves coffee cups but we only let her chew on those -- no coffee for her!

Sleep -- she's in a halo sleep sack too.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

DD sleeps in a footed blanket sleeper also.

Anyone tried any sort of "finger foods"? Like those puffs that dissolve really quickly once in their mouths?

All this stuff is so confusing sometimes!

[Jen309]

Super Baby Food recommends sips of water after all solid meals, but to limit to a few oz a day so as not to reduce the amt of bm/formula they'll drink. She says it's good b/c water helps the kidneys (reduces strain of solids) and to cleanse the mouth. She suggests using a regular cup too. I'm anti-mess (if I can help it!) and so I used a bottle with water until he could handle a sippy on his own. This is for #1 of course, we're not there yet with #2

For cups, I like the avent ones b/c the small ones have oz markers and it's all interchangeable with the bottles - so I could attatch a sippy lid and handles to a regular bottle. DS liked the Nuby straw cups from Wal-Mart, but the straws don't go all the way to the bottom (plus side of straw sippys - they don't have to lift a heavy cup up in the air). I really like the new Nuby's they have now with a solid (instead of silicone) spout. They're skinny and they have a valve inside for fast or slow - you just flip it over - soooooo much easier to make sure it is clean! I don't like the big insulated cups.

As for puffs, we didn't use them much b/c they're pretty much nutritionally nothing, and a whole lot like baby candy (there is added sugar). I used them as an intro to finger foods though b/c of the dissolveability (sp?) at around 7-8 mos. He got like 10 at a time; I think we only went through 2 cans and then on to Cheerios - and I'm so paranoid that I broke those in half when he first started them. It was so cute though when I'd give them to him whole and he'd take bites of a Cheerio.

-stepping down from my feeding soapbox:o-

[TracyDP]

Super Baby Food recommends sips of water after all solid meals, but to limit to a few oz a day so as not to reduce the amt of bm/formula they'll drink. She says it's good b/c water helps the kidneys (reduces strain of solids) and to cleanse the mouth. She suggests using a regular cup too. I'm anti-mess (if I can help it!) and so I used a bottle with water until he could handle a sippy on his own. This is for #1 of course, we're not there yet with #2

I also give a little bit of water out of a bottle after solid meals. She was getting the hiccups alot after eating solids and that can be a sign of dehydration. I give it cold from the fridge dispenser and she loves it. I have some sippy cups and have thought about trying them. Haven't yet though.

For cups, I like the avent ones b/c the small ones have oz markers and it's all interchangeable with the bottles - so I could attatch a sippy lid and handles to a regular bottle. DS liked the Nuby straw cups from Wal-Mart, but the straws don't go all the way to the bottom (plus side of straw sippys - they don't have to lift a heavy cup up in the air). I really like the new Nuby's they have now with a solid (instead of silicone) spout. They're skinny and they have a valve inside for fast or slow - you just flip it over - soooooo much easier to make sure it is clean! I don't like the big insulated cups.

I was reading somewhere that it is suggested to skip the sippy cup since it's just a glorified bottle and go straight to straws, so if your DS can use a straw I'd stick with that. I was considering getting some of the more "advaced" spill proof cups with straws and see if DD can get the hang of it in a month or two.

As for puffs, we didn't use them much b/c they're pretty much nutritionally nothing, and a whole lot like baby candy (there is added sugar). I used them as an intro to finger foods though b/c of the dissolveability (sp?) at around 7-8 mos. He got like 10 at a time; I think we only went through 2 cans and then on to Cheerios - and I'm so paranoid that I broke those in half when he first started them. It was so cute though when I'd give them to him whole and he'd take bites of a Cheerio.

-stepping down from my feeding soapbox:o-

I have not tried anything that needs chewing yet since DD isn't doing much of the chewing movement yet. I was reading that when they start mimicking chewing with the pureed foods then you can start with chunkier stuff.

Carefull with the carrots, lots of babies have trouble with them at first. Ellie got really fussy and had a lot of gas the night after we tried Carrots, so we will try again in a month or so.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

Thank you Jen for your advice, that is what I need, advice from moms who have done all this before. Being a new mom, its all very confusing to me sometimes, and I am constantly worried that I am not doing something I should be.

Sophia has had bananas, applesauce, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, and pears so far. She has had a little cold this week and has only wanted her bottle, but when she is feeling better I will try a new food (maybe peaches).
Has anyone tried avocado? When can they start Stage 2 foods that are a little chunkier?

And I think she may like water once in a while, I haven't asked that question of my doctor, but it can't hurt any I guess.

[Boskie]

Thanks for all the info, TracyDP and Jen309! It is very helpful.

[Jen309]

I was reading somewhere that it is suggested to skip the sippy cup since it's just a glorified bottle and go straight to straws, so if your DS can use a straw I'd stick with that. I was considering getting some of the more "advaced" spill proof cups with straws and see if DD can get the hang of it in a month or two.


Agreed. I hate to clean sooooo much that #1 (who is 25 mos) still can't really drink out of a cup without a lid. :eek:

Pugs Don't worry too much... you're doing so well with introducing solids! I've only given Nolan cereal (which I didn't do with Matt) and bananas and not even every day. I've done it before, and look at me here, probably screwing up the second one on eating, by not doing something I should be :p

[2 Crazy Pugs]

I just have to keep telling myself that its okay to do things on my/our own timetable. But that is hard to do sometimes, I always compare what I am doing with others. But she is happy and healthy, so I guess I must be doing something right. She can roll from back to tummy, hasn't quite mastered tummy to back yet (she can do it but not every time), she babbles, laughs, reaches for stuff, smiles, will wave if you prompt her, she just hasn't mastered tripod sitting yet. She will sit for a few seconds then falls over, or will get distracted by something (mostly the dog) and will flop over.

[Bucktown]

Agreed. I hate to clean sooooo much that #1 (who is 25 mos) still can't really drink out of a cup without a lid

And I'm the worst mother out there because my 3y 7m old is STILL drinking from a sippy. He can drink from a cup but he's such a busy body and doesn't pay attention to anything that milk/water go everywhere. No thanks. I got enough to do.

[TracyDP]

And I'm the worst mother out there because my 3y 7m old is STILL drinking from a sippy. He can drink from a cup but he's such a busy body and doesn't pay attention to anything that milk/water go everywhere. No thanks. I got enough to do.

You know, after I posted about the sippy cups this morning I realized something. I was driving to town for Ellie's shots (yay :( ) and looked down at the cupholders. What I saw was a sippy cup of coffee and a sippy cup of water (insulated coffee mug and Camelback water bottle with a bite-straw). I guess I don't have much leg to stand on with keeping Ellie from using a sippy cup since I'm 36 and STILL using sippy cups :rolleyes:

Formula: For those that use formula, I have a reminder. MILK YOUR PEDIATRICIANS OFFICE FOR ALL THE FORMULA YOU CAN, and always ask for coupons!! I just came from there to get Ellie's second round of 4m shots (yeah yeah, I've been putting it off) and mentioned to the nurse that I was going to be traveling to visit Grandma. If they had any, I'd love one of the small canisters of Similac Sensative to take in my diaper bag for the airport/plane ride. She opened up the cupboard in the exam room and asked if I'd like 2. I said, uh...sure. Then she asked if that would be enough for the whole trip and would I like more. I told her I'd take all she was willing to part with. She gave me all 6 cans that were in there!!!! And a can of the Organic Similac because I said I wanted to start moving Ellie to regular formula. That's well over $100 worth of formula for free. They had Nutramigen and Alimentium (or whatever it's called), as well as the Similac RS bottles of RTF.
Confession time: Last time I was there I swiped 2 cans from the cupboard and stashed them in my diaper bag. They never missed it, I'm sure. They get it all for free from the companies anyway. Heck, I was planning on swiping 2 more cans and ended up getting 3 times that by being honest and just asking! :rolleyes:

[DisneyGirl]

HOLLY GESH! How do ladies expect me to catch up on this thread now! LOL

Pj's Thanks everyone for the tips on where to buy some fleece Pjs. I went to Chidrens place and I found 2 pair that will work for the next 2 months. Thanks Bucktown for offering your Pj's. You still have hat gymboree code?? I would love it. That store is my weakness!

Sippy I liked using the Nuby cups early on.

Bucktown I had to laugh because my 4 yr old still uses a sippy cup at home, but not in school..gosh, now that I wrote that i kinda feel bad..like hes to big for a sippy cup. But, i know that If i give him a regular cup I will have OJ stains all over my ligh color carpet.AHHHHHH, no thanks. sippy cups it is!~ If my house gets dirty I'll freak.

Jen I love The super baby food book! Thanks to everyone who told me to go and buy it!

sippy I think I will try giving K one sometime this week.

Heather I am sorry to hear that things are not getting better for your Dh and that Sabrina is still crying. I truly give big props to your DH for not lossing his ever living mind with her. He truly is a saint and I hope things get better for you guys so you won;t be stressed anymore.

[DisneyGirl]

Tracy AHH, you make me laugh. I guess I too still drink from a "sippy cup" now that you pointed it out.

Formula at the peds office. Evertime I go I ask and they(idiot nurses) always say its for first time moms..i would look at them like they had 500 heads because i could not figure out what the heck that ment. I was just there on Friday and I should have asked again. I usally open up the drawers in the office room to see what formula they have and take whatever I find..LOL WOOPS then give it away or donate it. Heck, you don;t want to give it to me then I'll take it. My cousin who works for a drs office in another state say most don;t give it out becasue they take it for themselves or for friends.

[emschwar]

And I'm the worst mother out there because my 3y 7m old is STILL drinking from a sippy. He can drink from a cup but he's such a busy body and doesn't pay attention to anything that milk/water go everywhere. No thanks. I got enough to do.
Mine too! He uses a "real" cup in the kitchen, but he usually has a drink with him in the living room, and no way we're doing a real cup there. Though lately I've been giving him the restaurant kids cups with lids and a straw.

I just have to keep telling myself that its okay to do things on my/our own timetable. But that is hard to do sometimes, I always compare what I am doing with others. But she is happy and healthy, so I guess I must be doing something right. She can roll from back to tummy, hasn't quite mastered tummy to back yet (she can do it but not every time), she babbles, laughs, reaches for stuff, smiles, will wave if you prompt her, she just hasn't mastered tripod sitting yet. She will sit for a few seconds then falls over, or will get distracted by something (mostly the dog) and will flop over.
Daniel can't tripod sit yet either. He just flops over onto his face. He can sit with the boppy some.

We're battling serious constipation here. Poor kid is just miserable. I think we'll be heading in to the ped soon for it, which kind of sucks, since he's due for his 6 month check up on the 12th. Nothing like 2 copays in 2 weeks!

[bluejeanbaby]

Whoa! This thread moves fast when it wants to!!!

Jen- We'll be stationed in Port Huron. It's supposedly about an hour north of Detroit. All I know of it is it's skip away from Canada and cold!!! I've also been told that the summers are supposed to be beautiful in MI though.

Sippy-we too started DS#1 out with the nubby and then switched to playtex. He's got some flip up straw cups, and when we're out we always have one or the other. He's 3y7m also. (hey... how bout that! :D)

He can handle a cup fine and we give him one at the table, but around the house it's always a sippy. I don't have time for extra messes!! ;)

Sounds like a lot of you are way ahead of us on food. Brayden is 6 months and we just started. I've only been giving it to him once a day... what are your schedules? It's amazing how much I forget even though I've done this before! :)

DS has been doing much better with sleep, only waking up once a night... until last night. He was up at 11, 1, 2, and then 4 and would not go back to sleep! I'm exhausted... just hoping it was an off night!

[hmbay]

sippie--haven't tried with Sabrina yet. I'm contemplating it since she still refuses to take a bottle from DH. My 4.5 y.o. still gets sippies now and then--mostly while traveling or he takes one with water to bed as he'd probably just spill an uncovered glass. At the table or other times he gets a regular glass. My 2.5 y.o. gets sippies other than at meals. Heck I didn't get him off a BOTTLE until he was 2. He has some serious issues with sucking for comfort so he still has a paci at 2.5 also. But I think that we might get rid of this month. He's slept a few night without it when we couldn't find one before bed so I know he can do it. I think perhaps we need to trade the easter bunny some pacis for an easter basket? ;)

[hmbay]

Heather I am sorry to hear that things are not getting better for your Dh and that Sabrina is still crying. I truly give big props to your DH for not lossing his ever living mind with her. He truly is a saint and I hope things get better for you guys so you won;t be stressed anymore.

Oh it is causing a LOT of stress in our house. Last night she hadn't drank anything by the time I came home so DH held her while I sat next to him and tried to feed her a bottle. She just screamed. I had him continue to hold her then held the bottle. She screamed but eventually calmed down and started drinking (she will often take a bottle for me but almost NEVER for him). Once she was drinking DH took the bottle and finished holding it for the feeding. We'll try this a few more times to see if she can adjust to it being okay for daddy to feed her. I'm so confused why I can give her a bottle but he can't. I truely think she just associates all food with mommy. period.

[jodylovesscotty]

For those of you feeding solids, how much are you giving and when? Right now I am just giving Zoë rice cereal and a veg. at dinner time. But last night she ate 4tbsp. of rice cereal and 2/3 of the squash. And at daycare they said she wants to eat every 3 hours again (6 /12 ounces there). Do you think I should have them give her cereal and a veg. at lunch at daycare or would this be too much? I am so clueless on solid feedings.

[emschwar]

Daniel gets a lot of solids because of his slow weight gain. On a good day, when we're home and we can get it in him around his nap schedule, he gets 3 meals a day. Usually cereal and/or fruit in the morning, a little green veggie (he'll usually only tolerate 1/4 jar of green veggies) and an orange veggie or avocado (his favorite!) at lunch, and some green veggie, some cereal and an orange veggie at dinner. Cereal gets mixed with prunes to help with the constipation. He's averaging 1.5 -2 jars of food at each meal.

[Bucktown]

solids~ OMG I am such a slacker with solids. For some reason I just cannot get it together to make sure DD gets a solid's meal each day. It's more like everyother day to every 3rd day that I remember when I'm looking in my frdge and see a half eaten canister of baby food. And then it's only one time that day. :o

And for the life of me I can't remember how to feed/schedule solids. Geeze, it's only been 3 years! I figure I have another 3 weeks (6 mos) before I start sweating it.

[DisneyGirl]

For those of you feeding solids, how much are you giving and when? Right now I am just giving Zoë rice cereal and a veg. at dinner time. But last night she ate 4tbsp. of rice cereal and 2/3 of the squash. And at daycare they said she wants to eat every 3 hours again (6 /12 ounces there). Do you think I should have them give her cereal and a veg. at lunch at daycare or would this be too much? I am so clueless on solid feedings.

I think it will be OK to give her cereal & a veg at school as well. My ped said when I was there on Friday that they can eat 2or3 meals a day at this age(6 months) as long as the formula intake does not drop below 24 oz a day.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

emschwar- I want to try avocado, I have heard so many people say that babies love it. Do you buy a fresh one and mash it up really good, or mix it with anything?

[TracyDP]

emschwar- I want to try avocado, I have heard so many people say that babies love it. Do you buy a fresh one and mash it up really good, or mix it with anything?

I'm curious about this too. I tried mashing up some with a fork but I don't think it got "creamy" enough. DD just spit it out repeatedly and wouldn't eat it. Either she didn't like the slightly lumpy texture or she's like me and just doesn't like avocado (DH loves it though and ate the one I bought for her!) I was thinking of trying to actually blend it with the food processor and see if that helped.

As for schedule, I try to get in at least one solid meal a day but usually get two. I generally do it after her nap when she has eaten a large bottle before she went down. That way she is not starving, has had a nap and is in a good mood. Her first meal is around lunchtime, then I try to feed her some at the table with us when we have a sit-down dinner (about 2-3 times a week). But, if I don't get her any solids for a day due to being out running errands or whatnot I don't stress it.

[DisneyGirl]

A healthy baby will stop eatting when full.

feeding schedule for a 6 month old:

upon waking: bottle/breast
morning: 1-2 food servings breast bottle
noon : bottle/breast
afternoon: 1-2 food sevings
evening: breast/bottle
bedtime breast/bottle or water

foods at 6 months should be made into a thin, very smooth, liquidy puree.

tracy according to the book i am reading..avacadoes just need to be smashed with a fork

[Jess71903]

Because of this discussion we just now tried peaches- wouldn't even open his mouth. You would think it was battery acid when I got it in. He sputtered, gagged, turned his head and cried. Guess we're not quite ready! He also won't take water no matter how it's offered...actually even breastmilk from anywhere but the tap is a no-no as far as Gage is concerned.

PJs- we've used a blanket forever. He usually wears a cotton footed sleeper with a onesie underneath, and a double thick fleece blanket. We keep it cold at night. He has never even come close to having the blanket cover his face. He inches up in bed so he is usually out from under it in the morning.

[hmbay]

Jess--neither of my boys would eat the peaches. I tried them myself and they tasted more bitter than I would have thought. Perhaps Gage has a sweet tooth like my boys. :) Or he's just not ready for solids.

[Jess71903]

heather- because he refused the peaches, I tried applesauce, too. No go! I think he's just not ready. I gave him the spoon to play with yesterday so maybe he wouldn't associate it with torture!

Yesterday Gage started doing raspberries! I thought he had before, but he was just blowing with his lips closed. Yesterday he stuck out his tongue and did it. SO cute! I also called my mom because as I was doing laundry, I put Gage over my outstretched legs and was just letting him play. Well my dog got her toy and started flinging it around and he started giggling, over and over. He's done it before, but I still think it's too cute. He's also starting to bear weight on his legs. I can hold his arms sometimes and he will stand for a little while. This is probably something your babies have done for a while, but he hasn't so it's kind of a big deal. The other baby we know with SB just started crawling at a year old and hasn't pulled up or anything, so we weren't sure if Gage would for some time.

Night before last he slept for 13 hours straight! Last night, I had to get up at 11:30 just to pat him and turn his music back on, and then at 5:20 to nurse him. Not too bad. I'm hoping we are on our way back in the right direction with sleep!

[2 Crazy Pugs]

So last night, Sophia actually stood up by herself, holding onto the coffee table- I was so surprised, I took a picture of her doing it. She stood for 10 seconds like that, and then dropped down onto her butt. She can stand with all her weight on her legs if you hold her hands, but that is the first time she has done it by herself.

My little baby is growing up!

[emschwar]

emschwar- I want to try avocado, I have heard so many people say that babies love it. Do you buy a fresh one and mash it up really good, or mix it with anything?
When I just did a tiny bit of avocado, I mashed it with a fork and thinned it with breastmilk. Now that I know he likes it, I'll do 3 avocados at once with the stick blender, then freeze them in an ice cube tray. I thaw a couple for him to eat, then thin with breastmilk.

[TracyDP]

tracy according to the book i am reading..avacadoes just need to be smashed with a fork

I think she is just taking after her mommy who can't stand avocado. I must have eaten 50 of them in the year+ I lived in Guatemala (to be polite to the people feeding me I learned to eat them with a smile). The last one was just as gross as the first.

QOTD: It's been a while since we had an official QOTD. Here goes. What do you do when you need a "time out"? I don't mean having someone watch DC while you shop or get away for a while, I mean what do you do when you are on the verge of putting a cranky DC out to live with the wild dogs and need to cool down.

If DH is home, I hand DD to him and go soak in the hot tub for 20min or I go for a walk around the neighborhood if the weather is nice. I have also been known to hand DD to him and go do the dishes. He usually comes in and offers to do the dishes but I tell him "Nope, you watch her". It's pretty sad when I'd rather do dishes than be with DD. If DH is not home I put DD in her crib and let her cry while I either eat some chocolate of some form and take some deep breaths or cry depending on the severity of the stress out.

Have any of you noticed that your DC knows exactly when they need to be cute? It seems like Ellie will be a cranky ass right up until I'm ready to lose it, then I'll put her down and do my "time out" and when I come back she will smile or laugh or just be really cute. It's like she senses "uh oh, better be cute or Mommy's going to lose it".

[Amuse Bouche]

QOTD: Yeah -- in the crib, let her cry, magazine for me. This happens less often since I went back to work though -- the combo of me not being with her all day and her happy to see me makes our interactions generally pretty smooth.

We have teeth! They've broken through. Two on the bottom.

Solids: M loves avocado and rice cereal with BM. OK on oatmeal, bananas are notsomuch. I think I'm going to take some time this weekend to make some fruit and veggie purees for her. I haven't tried anything jarred.

[DisneyGirl]

mommy time out Tracy, Thanks for posting this because there are times when I am about to loss it and It truly does feel nice to know that other moms feel the same way from time to time. When I start feeling overwhelmed, stressed, I start to think shoot am I the only one out there thats wants to run way for a break. I have a few freinds who are so stinkin perfect they never loss their cool or get annoyed with there child and I try so hard to figure out how the hell they do and I have yet to figure it out and here I am still having thoses days when I think: what on earth have I gotten myself into having 3 kids under 4 years..(LOL).
As far as giving myself a "time out" yeah, that could never happen since when one child is being good one is not or one of my 2 older kids will be on a hunt for me if I go missing for more than 28 seconds.

[Kiley]

kids will be on a hunt for me if I go missing for more than 28 seconds.

Isn't that the truth! Heaven forbid I go to the bathroom or something and then it's "Mama? Mama! MAMA!" over and over again until he finds me. :)

As for timeouts, since I work, I don't have those moments too often. If I do, I let DH deal with the kids and I try to slip away to the office or bedroom for a moment or two.

[Bucktown]

Mommy time out~ I try super hard to hold it together till the next (baby) nap time and take a shower. DS #1 can usually keep himself occupied until I'm finished.... as long as I don't shut the door.

ETA: I've also been know to pack the kids in the car and go to McD's for an iced vanilla coffee. :0

[Taurus]

ETA: I've also been know to pack the kids in the car and go to McD's for an iced vanilla coffee. :0

LOL. Drive-thrus are my friends.

Things got *so* much easier when DS2 outgrew the fussies around 4 months old, but there have been a few late afternoons when I have put both kids in the car and (because I'm too lazy or tired to actually go somewhere where I'd have to get them out again), we drive around a little bit around on the hunt for school buses and big trucks. Everyone's happy.

As far as the QOTD though, again, it has gotten so much better and my DH does not work long hours so that helps a lot, AND I have mastered the art of the simultaneous nap for the kids, but sometimes I also take a shower and let the baby cry. I do better if I can't actually hear the crying.

[hmbay]

but sometimes I also take a shower and let the baby cry. I do better if I can't actually hear the crying.


yep I've done this. A few weekends ago she just would NOT let me put her down and it was 2pm and she hadn't napped and I hadn't showered and I'd had enough. I put the boys in front of the tv and her in her swing and turned the shower on and just let her scream until I was done. She survived. ;)

[2 Crazy Pugs]

We all talk about our babies alot on here which is great- but how are all our mommies doing themselves? I am doing so much better now that Sophia can occupy herself and play for at least 30 minutes at a time. I can actually shower and get ready in the morning before work, which is huge. However, I have come to the realization that my house will probably never be as clean or neat as I would like it to be which drives me nuts sometimes. But with her in daycare, the nights we spend playing and spending time with her. The weekends we run errands, visit family, and spend as much time with her as possible (since the daycare providers spend more time with her than we do, but that is a whole other issue I have to deal with)- it helps that DH does all the cooking and laundry-

My mom has offered to come over and clean the house for me (she loves to clean and is very good at it) and I think I might actually cave in and let her do it.

[hmbay]

However, I have come to the realization that my house will probably never be as clean or neat as I would like it to be which drives me nuts sometimes.

As the mom of a 4.5 year old boy, a 2.5 year old boy and a baby girl--um yep. Get used to it. :) I'm still trying to convince DH (who is a neat freak to some extent) that he just has to deal with the mess for a few more years until they are older but he still has a hard time with the mess level even after 4 years (well it gets worse as they get older too which doesn't help). ;)

[Boskie]

The ONLY reason my house gets cleaned is because we have a housekeeper once a week. We're just like 2 Crazy Pugs, evenings we spend with Olivia playing and weekends I'm running errands or spending time with her, plus my DH is a Real Estate Broker, so he has open houses most weekends. I do not know when I would find the time to clean, with all that going on. I can barely stay on top of the laundry!

We have settled into a nice routine, though. DH gets up early in the mornings to help with Olivia. One of us will get her dressed and the other will give her her morning bottle. That way we both get to spend time with her before she goes to daycare. We get home in the evenings about 5 and have about 2 1/2 hours before she is down for the night. I'm hoping with daylight savings time starting this weekend, we can start going on some walks in the evenings, too. I love to walk and Olivia loves to ride in her stroller and since this is my crazy busy time at work, the exercise will greatly help reduce stress.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

I can't wait to start going for walks either. But at this rate, it may not be until June! I live in Maine, and we have about 9 feet of snow still on the ground, with more expected this weekend. We are housebound until the weather is nicer, and that doesn't make the messy house any better, since I am in it most of the time!

[DisneyGirl]

house cleaning My house would be a complete train wreck if I worked full time. I'm home all day loooong and my house it not completly up to par like it should be and I really do try hard to be sure my home is neat. I think what does help me stay somewhat on track is the fact that I am up at 5:00 every morning and I clean while my other two are sleeping and K is watching me.

[TracyDP]

mommy time out I have a few freinds who are so stinkin perfect they never loss their cool or get annoyed with there child and I try so hard to figure out how the hell they do it


I know exactly how they do it. THEY LIE :rolleyes: I can vouch for this since, to the public, I act like DD is the best little angel ever (which compared to some, she is) and I could see how someone might think the same of me that you think of those other moms. Spend a 48 hour period with them and you would see that they struggle just like you do, they just hide it really well.

Edited to add that Ellie really is a great baby when we are out and about, so I have not ever had the need to lose my cool or get annoyed with her. If she were a challenging baby in public you can bet you'd see me lose it on occasion! It's generally when we get home and she's overstimulated and tired and cranky and whiny that I start to get frazzled.

Travel: I'm starting to get really excited about my trip to visit Grandma (my Mom) in St. George, UT. It's going to be close to 80* there and I can't wait for some warm sunshine!! DD has never known anything but cold and rain so I'm interested to see how she handles the heat. But most of all I can't wait to dress her in all these cute summer outfits I have!!

I have calculated the timing of the flight, and it is at a very good time. I figure she will have time to take her morning nap, then pack her up in the car as soon as she wakes up and she will most likely sleep to the airport (45min). Even if she is awake all the way to Las Vegas it will only be about 3 1/2 hours, then a 1.5 hour car ride to Grandmas during which she will sleep (hopefully). I will have her familiar car seat so hopefully that will help. I am starting to pack today and will be leaving the expandable part of the suitcase closed so I will have room to haul back all the crap that Grandma is sure to buy Ellie.

[Bucktown]

Safety First Dusk to Dawn bottle warmer~ Anyone have one of these? I got one from a mom at DS's school but there is no instruction book with it. There is a pre-measured thing so is that all I need to fill with water?

[sabrespa]

Things are pure chaos around here, but with 3 under 5 would you expect any less?

It's like this:
-I'm in the kitchen fixing Zach a bottle
-Zach is in the livingroom crying because he wants the bottle
-Anthony is in the kitchen with me, tapping me. I have to stop what I'm doing because he only communicates with signs (he can't talk yet, he's getting therapy for it.) I get him whatever he wants and he leaves happy.
-The dryer buzzes signaling that the clothes are done.
-Bella starts yelling at me from the other room. I have no idea what she's saying but she's obviously trying to carry on a conversation with me. Why she won't get up and walk into the kitchen and tell me whatever it is, is beyond me.
-Zach is still crying
-I turn back to the bottle and can't remember how many scoops I put in before I got interrupted.

Hmmm, and I wonder why I'm absentminded lately!

I get lots of alone time because DH works evenings so I get time during the day to run errands without the kids and I get my nights alone after the kids go to bed. It's pretty nice.

[Amuse Bouche]

We can barely keep on top of things (though I suspect I have much lower standards of neatness than many of you do) but then DH gets busy with schoolwork like this week and it all goes to hell. I'm just happy if M is dressed for the day.

[emschwar]

I was doing pretty well for a few days keeping the house in order with www.motivatedmoms.com. Then we had some really bad behavior with Noah and I thought it was attention seeking related, so I pretty much stopped cleaning so I could spend more time with him. You just can't win.

[TracyDP]

We can barely keep on top of things (though I suspect I have much lower standards of neatness than many of you do) but then DH gets busy with schoolwork like this week and it all goes to hell. I'm just happy if M is dressed for the day.

I hope your standards of neatness are not lower than mine. That would be scary! :rolleyes: I seriously need to hire a housekeeper to come in and do a major deep cleaning. There is still "bachelor dirt" in corners I don't want to think about from when DH lived here alone before we got married (2 1/2 years ago). I just pretend I don't see it and clean the best I can. I would rather pay someone to get on their hands and knees and scrub the corners for me.

Since I officially quit my job to be a SAHM I have decided I need to get my sh*t together and at least keep this place in some semblance of order. I make a "to do" sticky note and put it on the fridge every night before I go to bed. I pick a room and one or two things I need to get done the next day. Yesterday it was: "Straighten living room, vacuum, call doctors office, make list for Diaper/carry on Bag" (for our plane trip Saturday). Today it was: "Grocery Shopping, finish laundry" Tomorrows is: "Have everything packed and ready to go by 6pm, clean kitchen" (thank goodness MIL is coming over to watch Ellie while I do this). I find having the lists keeps me more focused than just standing there in an overwhelmed stupor while things pile up around me. If it's not on the list I don't worry about it for that day.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

Quick drop off of Sophia's 6 month WBV we had today:

She is 17 pounds, 10 1/2 ozs and is 27 1/2 inches long. Big girl!

[Jen309]

Bluejean That's great. Make sure you go to Caseville this summer with your family. There's a great State park and beach for swimming (Sleeper St. Park or something like that). I lived around the bend of the thumb, so not too far away.

Bucktown I've got one of those, but it's first years. You fill up the little water thing based on how big your bottle is then dump it in the chamber and turn it on. Eventually, it'll steam the bottle to 'just the right temp', provided you've got the right amt. of water. On the FY one, the markings on the fill tube were kind of arbitrary, so you may have to use trial and error. Check the side of the unit; there may be a chart. Oh, and if you use playtex (or any liner) bottle, you can use it, but they heat up *really fast*, so be careful!

DS isn't STTN yet, but for the last week, he's woken up only once (about 1am) for a diaper and a small bottle and then back to sleep til 6:30-7:00! He's only up for 20 or so min! I'd be tempted to let him CIO to see if we could get him to go all night, but his diapers just have not held up to the challenge. He must save it all for when he's sleeping, b/c he leaks almost every night. I think it also might be from laying on his belly; the back of the diaper isn't hardly wet, but the front is soaked!

[TracyDP]

quick question, I am traveling tomorrow and want to use RTF formula instead of powder. Powder is just a PITA to deal with. My question is, should I take the bottle with me unopened in the cooler-bag then pour as I need it, or should I just fill the 3 bottles I'm bringing and keep them in the cooler bag ready to go? I do have a sample can of powdered in the carry-on bag just in case, but I don't anticipate needing more than 3 bottles on the trip. I have the cooler-bag in the freezer right now with an additional 2 cooler paks to put in it. I would put the formula in the fridge tomorrow morning then pack it up just before we go.

Edited to say Hmmmm, moot point about the formula. I'm logging off and won't be back online probably until I get back next Saturday since my Mom's computer is on the fritz. Hope you all have a great week! I'll catch up when we get back. Wish me luck!

[sabrespa]

Oh man, we barely got any sleep last night.

Zach has been rolling for a while. He just didn't know that he could roll in bed. Well he figured it out last night. All night long, he'd roll over to his belly, and start crying because it woke him up. This is definitely a first for me. I'm not sure how to let him know that it's ok for him to sleep on his belly if he wants. Silly boy! I think we're going to have to do a little bit of sleep training to get things worked out.

[emschwar]

Just popping in to brag for a minute :)

I have the most well behaved baby! I had a discovery toys conference today (I'm a consultant) and I brought Daniel with me. We were there from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, plus a 2.5 hour drive each way, and he was AMAZING! The only time he got upset was when he was tired, and then he went to sleep easily. He did manage to distract everyone at our table because he was cracking himself up while the president was talking! I was just amazed at how well behaved he was.

We finally stopped using the miracle blanket. Wednesday or thursday night, all of a sudden, he figured out how to get out of it. So now he's sleeping in a sleep pea pod, and he does pretty well in it! Maybe we won't have to send him to college with a swaddling blanket after all! :)

[Taurus]

Em- Hooray for Daniel!

Yesterday we took both kids over to my sister's so DH could help BIL w/ a project. They had practically been afraid to ask us knowing how we had our hands full lately. Well, DS2 napped for a very long time in my nephew's crib and woke up in a great mood. We only had to leave when DS1 tired out. After the first few months where we could barely get our own crap done and I needed my family's help so much, I couldn't believe we were actually finally able to do a favor for someone ELSE! We're officially back! :)

I think we might be starting solids before 6 months (which is about 2 weeks). Time to get the high chair out of the garage. I am looking forward to more produce becoming in season in the coming months for some yummy purees!

[DisneyGirl]

Heather Thanks for the coupons. I totally forgot to Thank you when I received them a few days ago.

Thanks!

[Boskie]

Did anyone else's baby wake up extra EARLY today? I thought for sure Olivia would sleep later, after the time change, but she was up at 5:15! I hate to think of what will happen when we fall back.

[DisneyGirl]

LOL LOL! My baby wakes early as it is and I was pleading for him not to wake any earlier..I would not be able to handle being up before 4:45. That early enough.

[Kiley]

On the days DS2 wakes up super early and DS1 is still sleeping, I put DS2 in his crib w/ toys and turn on the mobile and try and get another 30 min of sleep. :)

[hmbay]

Disney--no problem. I'm not using them and I hate to see them go to waste.

woo hoo--Sabrina rolled from front to back 3 times yesterday so now I don't have to lie to her ped at her 6 month WVB. ;) But her sleep issues have returned in full force the last two nights. Last night at 1 am DH actually took her from me and rocked her to sleep so I could get to bed. Interestingly enough with how much she screams at him she actually let him rock her to sleep. I was dumbfounded (well I was when I woke up at 4 am and he was in bed and she wasn't screaming and I realized he actually got her to sleep). :)

[Boskie]

Disney - Olivia woke up at 4:45 on Friday. I was NOT amused. I guess I should be happy that she didn't do that this morning!

Kiley - That usually works for Olivia as well. Not today, though!

hmbay - YAY for DH being able to rock her to sleep. Maybe they've turned a corner?

[Bucktown]

Jen~ Thanks for that info. I've given up on the thing. Either it's too old and the pan is shot or I'm an idiot and can't get it to work correctly. That's fine though since it was taking too much room on my (limited) countertops.

em~ That's greatthat Daniel was such a good boy. I remember w/ DS#1 he would always amaze me with his good behavior in places that I thought he would completely give me a headache. It's always a nice treat.

Boskie~I have the opposite. My kids refused to go to sleep last night. DD kept waking every 20 minutes or so till at 11pm I got her up and brought her downstairs to where she kept squealing with delight trying to wake up her brother who was asleep on our couch. Yes, my children have MAJOR sleep issues and it blows. Anyway, I kept her up till 11:30pm when DH told her it was time for bed. She fell right asleep and slept till 5am to eat then down till 9am. Actually, me, DH, DS all slept in till 7:45 causing DH to be super late to work. I didn't care though cause I can't remember when the last time was when I got to sleep till 7:45. :)

hmbay~ Wow! That does sound like a breakthrough. Any word from your DH on how his day is going?


Solids~ After some inspiration from a few ladies here I decided to try to make DD her baby food. I made some sweet potatoes which she loved once I figured out the thinness she liked. The kids and I went to the veggie stand this morning to get some veggies to try a few more. I'm very excited. I get so bored around here that I need more things to do. Crazy, I know, but the cold weather is sucking the life out of me and I need to stay very busy.

[Bucktown]

Sh!T.

DD has been screaming for close to an hour now. It's bedtime and she'll have nothing to do with it. I went and got her after the first 25 minutes which she stopped crying then started laughing and giggling so after 20 minutes of this I put her back in the bed and she's screaming again.

Of course, this is the second night in a row that this has happened and DH is not home again!

Ugh. I remember how much I hated this with DS but what am I suppose to do? She never sleeps anymore! ::confused::(

[DisneyGirl]

I'm very excited. I get so bored around here that I need more things to do. Crazy, I know, but the cold weather is sucking the life out of me and I need to stay very busy.

Gosh, I completly agree! My friends think I'm crazy when I say I'm bored. I guess reality is I probably am not really bored, but I get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. I have no palce to go and its 20 degrees out and if I go to the mall I'll buy crap that I really don't need and I am one of those people you see on TV that is very much an impulse buyer.


Buck I am so sorry to hear that you little one is not sleeping very well. I unfortunatly also have a child that just will-not-sleep and I suspect that tonight will be a nightmare in my home as it looks like my little guy is coming down with some sort of cold...GGRREEEEAAAAT! Which mean that he will sleep even less tonight~Wonderful!:rolleyes:

[Bucktown]

Disney~ Oh man I hear ya on the weather. We are suppose to have some 50 degree weather rolling in by Wednesday. I plan on the 3 of us going for some good walks those days. Or maybe I'll start pulling up all the crap that's growing on our property that the previous owners planted. Yuck.

I did get DD to sleep but wouldn't ya know, she's up screaming already. Still no DH. I just don't understand why my children don't sleep? We'vetried everything with #1 and he still wakes 2-3 times per night at almost 4. Now DD is following suit. It must come from my DH side cause my mom said once we (me and my sibs) were all asleep we were out. *sigh* Sucks.

Oh great, now the other one is up. Sheesh. Gotta go.

[hmbay]

Bucktown--I feel your pain. Really I do. The last two nights screaming has ensued at bed time. If you aren't trying to put her to bed she's fine. And my 2.5 year old still gets up 1 or 2 times a night at least half the week. my 4.5 year old (thank god) wakes up but is capable of putting himself back to sleep. I have no advice--I can just related all too well. :(

[sabrespa]

Zach had his 6 month WBV
Weight: 20lb 2.5 oz
Height: 28 1/4"
Head: 17.5"

Sleep: Zach has had trouble sleeping at night for the last two weeks. The Ped told me that it's common for them to regress a bit between 6-9 months. She said there's no reason for it, it's just a developmental thing and to keep encouraging good sleep habits, let them cry and learn to self soothe and all that jazz.

[jodylovesscotty]

Zoë had been sleeping really crappy as well. We ended up taking her to the peds because she was rubbing her eyes a lot, not sleeping, and pulling at her ears. Low and behold she had an ear infection. She started back sleeping after 3 nights of antibotics. I think her eye rubbing is due to the rice cereal, though all the doctors disagree with me. But both times we fed her rice cereal (the first time we tried solids) and this time she rubbed her eyes. So as soon as they clear up we are going to fogo the cereal and just do fruits and veggies. She gets iron in her formula, good enough for me.

[hmbay]

Sleep: Zach has had trouble sleeping at night for the last two weeks. The Ped told me that it's common for them to regress a bit between 6-9 months. She said there's no reason for it, it's just a developmental thing and to keep encouraging good sleep habits, let them cry and learn to self soothe and all that jazz.

I wish that worked for us--Sabrina will seriously scream for HOURS if she doesn't want to sleep. :(

[sabrespa]

I wish that worked for us--Sabrina will seriously scream for HOURS if she doesn't want to sleep. :(

Yeah, I let Zach cry for nearly 30 minutes last night. It doesn't work for us either. It's really aggravating because he's been doing such a good job at night.

[Bucktown]

We were at 5 hours before she finally went down at 12:30 AM. Screaming for 1.5 hrs then screaming every 20-30 minutes till 12:30am. Totally sucks. She slept till 5:45 though, ate and went back down till 8:30 but 8 hrs is so not enough sleep for her. Naps blow too.

Glad I'm not alone though!

[jjohm]

Hey, add me to the list of babies not sleeping well. We have made progress though. Alex is no longer hungry at night, so no more bottles or nursing. If I end up falling asleep before DH, he will go in and soothe him and give him a pacifier. Then at 4am or whenever he wakes up, I just let him cry for sometimes 30 min. I really believe consistency is the key so we are going cold turkey starting tonight. I hope it works!

To add some humor to our day, here is a picture for you sleep deprived mamas:
http://preview.picaboo.com/EmailImages/373/309/000000000001CE7BFD/000000000001D0328B/large/7.jpg

[Amuse Bouche]

Gah. Madeleine wouldn't go down last night either. Fortunately, she was in a great mood, but mama was tired and at 10:30 pm, she still wanted to laugh and play. Mama doesn't get to sleep in either, stinker.

I've started giving M little bits of food off my plate without pureeing it first (only soft stuff). She was completely enthralled by sushi rice (played with it for half an hour -- I don't think she actually ate any of it). And I gave her a little squashed piece of my banana this morning, which she definitely ate.

[jodylovesscotty]

jjohm~ Great picture!

Amuse Bouche~ Hope you got some sleep last night.

I have a question. For those of you feeding solids to your dc, how are you offering water? In all the books I've read it said when you start solids you need to offer water. Should I give it to her in her bottle? How much? Right now she is only eating once a day at dinner time and we decided to only do fruits and veggies right now (no rice cereal).

[Bucktown]

Jody~ I been giving DD water in a glass. She's totally into cups so I hold it and she drinks from it.

Sleep~ I put DD down last night and hour earlier than the previous 2 nights and she went down with no screaming. She woke up after an hour and a half but more of a whiny crying on & off. At 9:45 I got her up to eat. She went back down around 10:30 and I haven't heard a peep out of her since then! I actually STTN! If only my stinkin son would have slept till at least 7 (he was up at 6:30).

[Bucktown]

Ok, I'm a posting fool today but I'm alittle freaked out right now and the peds office isn't open yet.

DD has a hard lump in her breast. I know I've seen a thread about this before but it scares the crap out of me. Anyone have any experience with this?

[DisneyGirl]

Bucktown I have not idea what the lump could be. Let us know what the ped said.

water I put water in a bottle and just give it to him like that. The problem is hid takes a sip and spits it out.

[Amuse Bouche]

Yeah, DD is OBSESSED with water glasses and cups, so that's how I give her water. Sometimes from my water bottle too.

[Boskie]

Bucktown - I have no idea on what the lump could be. Please keep us posted as to what your Ped says.

jjohm - Funny picture!

Water - I give Olivia a little in a bottle. I'll start doing sippy cups, if I ever get myself to the store to get some.

[Suzlywoozly]

Water- My ped said it was okay to give 2-4 ounces of water/day. I bought DS one of those Nuby cups that has a straw. He LOVES it and got the hang of using the straw right away. The ped told me that it was okay to put formula in the cup, too.

[Bucktown]

Breast Lump~ Looks like it's no big deal, just extra tissue. The ped said it's probably always been there and I never noticed it (I seriously doubt that!). Anyway, she said it's caused by mom's hormones and then she asked me if I was BF. Nothing like a doc that really knows you & your child. :rolleyes: Maybe I'm asking way too much of my peds. If it gets any bigger we'll go back and run tests. Whew.

Formula~ Our formula transition is going better than I anticipated. We're now at 3/4 Similac Advance and 1/4 Alimentum. Today I only had an Alimentum can while we were out and she refused to drink it even though she was hungry. I thought that was interesting. I'm going to continue for 2 more days with the 3/4 to 1/4 mix then go all Advance. Tomorrow I'm returning my 2 ($9.19ea) Alimentum bottles and pick up some more Advance. I hope Target is still having that special 2 pack of RTF for $10. That is niiiiiice!:p In a month or so I'll try the powder again. I was hoping the ped would have a sample can for me instead of me spending $12 on a small can and finding out she still won't drink powdered. Picky little thing I have here.

[2 Crazy Pugs]

Has anyone given their LO yogurt? I have heard different things, some say its okay, others say not until they are 12 months old.

[Kiley]

I just saw my ped yesterday and she said that anything that could be crushes/mashed up can be fed to DS, even eggs so I'm guessing she feels that yogurt is okay too. She seems like a big solids pusher though. Was kind of upset/annoyed that we haven't done more with solilds yet. We haven't done much for solids yet just sweet potatoes, bananas, oatmeal and rice.

DS weighed 19lb 6oz last night and I forget how tall. 90th for weight and 75th for height and 90+ for head size. He has a big noggin. :) He's sitting up by himself now and his gums are swollen so teeth anyday.

[emschwar]

Bucktown - I have some samples of enfamil lipil powder and enfamil gentlease powder if you want those to try. Just let me know.

yogurt - not here! Daniel can't digest milk protein, so we won't be doing yogurt for a long time. Noah outgrew his milk protein intolerance at 21 months, so I don't expect Daniel to do it anytime soon.


We had our 6 month check up on wednesday. My little shrimp now weighs 11 lbs 15 oz. He's totally off the growth curves. But he did gain 10 oz in one month, so that's good. He's 25.5" for height, and I forget what his head was, but he's got a big old noggin. Still fits in his 0-3 month clothes, except the sleeves are getting short.

[Jen309]

Solids/Yogurt: I gave DS a bite of my Dannon the other day, just b/c he looked like he'd die if he didn't get something off that spoon! He liked it, but it was just a taste. Again, according to Super Baby Food (book), babies can start yogurt @ 6 mos (provided no milk allergy) and it should be 'whole milk'. I gave #1 YoBaby (whole milk and organic, though a bit more sugar than I'd like, but that was a trade-off for organic... he didn't like the unflavored tub, even when I'd jazz it up) just about every day until recently (b/c he's on a yogurt strike, unless it's mine). As for other solids, I'd get another opinion Kiley. Eggs especially can be highly allergenic (more the whites than the yolks). Trust your gut and your ped (I'm educated, but no expert!), but I've heard from more than one source to phase in solids the way you've been doing it and avoid the gung-ho approach.

Sitting Yeah! Nolan's sitting up for short periods on his own, and for quite a while if he's supported with a couch pillow or boppy!! My baby's growing up!

We've got a WBV Monday... our regular ped's out of town, so we'll see the NP, whom I've never met. Yea.

Bucktown Glad it's nothing. I know about peds... I've been dragging my kids there every three months or so for the last 2 years... you'd think she'd remember DS's major medical concerns or why BF is a challenge for me since I describe it every single time we're there :rolleyes: I try to chalk it up to the # of patients she sees.

[Kiley]

Jen - yeah, I thought it was a kooky thing to say since of the allergy risk so I asked her about it and she said if there are no known allergies in the immediate family, is should be fine. Personally, we'll do egg yolks when he's a bit older and can feed himself and add egg whites after he's a year. She's new to us. We didn't start seeing her until after Preston was 2. The old ped was horrible - she never even held Preston, was very business like. This one is much better, she even chased Preston down for me when he decided he didn't want a shot last night and tickled him. Both boys like her a lot. I go to her for shots and illnesses, not for food/sleeping advice. To each their own.

ETA: the ped did say that it's a new approach they are taking on solids the whole, "whatever can be mashed up they can eat" and it includes the even the once thought "allergy" foods. I haven't heard this so I don't know where it's coming from.

[Jen309]

Kiley I think peds must be a nutty group, on the whole :p. I've never heard anything like what your ped is saying, but hey, those things change all the time. Personally, I'd rather do away with the whole 4-7 day wait rule, I bought an avacado and it's ripe and I'm waiting to be done with the pears :rolleyes:. Poor planning on my part, I suppose :)

[Taurus]

Jen, I'm a slacker this time with the 4-7 wait rule!! He was totally offended by the cereal (I don't blame him) so I tried bananas on a whim (because I had them). He totally loved it, but I hadn't planned to start with them and this is so different than how I handled it last time! I really wanted to make sweet potatoes, but I couldn't get organic ones yesterday so I guess I'll drag out the bananas. I really need to hit the farmer's market or Whole Foods this weekend and get better prepared.

[isign]

We just had our 6m WBV, even though he'll be 7 months soon. My shrimp is just under 15lbs, and is 26 1/2" long. He gained about a pound and 2" in 2 months. Ped said I should be doing 4 tbs of solids 2x a day. Since we just started I'll bump him up as he eats more. Question - juice. I know it's not supposed to be given out of a bottle, but DS has had a little bit of constipation, and is not at all excited about the sippy cup yet. He's really not a big bottle person either - he only gets 3 a week. How do I work in the juice?

We've done bananas, but they seem to constipate him. He does love them. We just did green beans and he's not a huge fan, but he's getting it.

[emschwar]

We just had our 6m WBV, even though he'll be 7 months soon. My shrimp is just under 15lbs, and is 26 1/2" long. He gained about a pound and 2" in 2 months. Ped said I should be doing 4 tbs of solids 2x a day. Since we just started I'll bump him up as he eats more. Question - juice. I know it's not supposed to be given out of a bottle, but DS has had a little bit of constipation, and is not at all excited about the sippy cup yet. He's really not a big bottle person either - he only gets 3 a week. How do I work in the juice?

We've done bananas, but they seem to constipate him. He does love them. We just did green beans and he's not a huge fan, but he's getting it.

We have to juice for constipation too. We either do it in a bottle, or we put it in a nuby sippy cup. I usually do the bottle so I know how much he's getting.

[DisneyGirl]

those making your own baby food Besides rice cereal what other kinds of cereal can I make?

Seems like my baby is the shirt one of the bunch...its just almost 25 inches.

[TracyDP]

Kiley I think peds must be a nutty group, on the whole :p. I've never heard anything like what your ped is saying, but hey, those things change all the time. Personally, I'd rather do away with the whole 4-7 day wait rule, I bought an avacado and it's ripe and I'm waiting to be done with the pears :rolleyes:. Poor planning on my part, I suppose :)

Hey I'm back! I don't do the 4-7 day rule. I wait 2 days until she poops whatever it is she ate and call it good. Carrots made her gassy and fussy that same night so I figure once the new food has worked it's way through her system I'll know if she is allergic/not agreeable.

Any idea on refried beans or mashed up beans? I know blended black beans were a common first food in Guatemala since they are a mainstay of their diet and always around. I gave Ellie a few finger gobs of the beans from my burrito the other day and she loved them with no apparent ill effects. Beans don't give me gas so she might be like me.

Traveling: Ellie was a fantastic traveler. She slept almost the whole plane ride up and back, as well as the 1hr 45min car ride to/from my Mom's place. She got a little fussy in the airport both ways with all the new stuff going on, but once we got on the plane and I had her in her car seat (luckily there were empty seats both ways) and got her drinking her bottle she crashed out. Drinking her bottle on the ascent/decent kept her ears from bothering her. We had a rough night the first night at grandmas with her in a play-yard and getting used to a new place. The rest of the trip she only woke up a couple of times in the night and was fairly easy to put back down. I used ear-plugs since if I didn't then every little squeak and rustle would have woken me up. I heard her if she actually cried, otherwise I slept pretty good. All in all she did very well and we had a great time. I had to ship a box to myself with all the crap grandma bought her when we went shopping :rolleyes:

Last night after we got home from the airport we had dinner then I gave her a bottle and she fell asleep on my lap at 8:30 (normal bedtime is around 10pm) and was out cold until 6am when I got up and changed her diaper. She went back to sleep until 9:30! 13 hours straight, a new record. She didn't have really great naps at grandmas, and only slept around 9hours a night so I think she was a little sleep deprived. So was Mommy. I slept from 10:30 until 6am, then back to sleep until 8am. We both are in a much better mood today.

Fleece sleepers: Last Wednesday I got 5 fleece winter print zip sleepers in 18-24m size (for next winter) at Childrens Place outlet for $2.99 each :D. I got one in each color- blue, green, purple, pink and red. Since winter here is 9m long I figure that size will fit her somewhere during winter next year. They had a ton of them so if you have a Childrens Place outlet, check it out.

[Taurus]

Tracy-Glad Ellie was a good traveler!

Disney-In Super Baby Food there is a lot of info on grains that I don't have a chance to look up now, but check out this link: http://wholesomebabyfood.com/cereals.htm

[hmbay]

It's 2:15 am. I first put Sabrina down to bed around 8:45. She's been up every hour or less since then. I think I need to call her ped. This started last week--she won't sleep longer than a 1.5 hour stretch anymore. I don't know if her ear infection came back or what. She isn't overly fussy--just won't stay asleep. I called in sick Friday from lack of sleep. I really can't do it again today but right now I have 4 hours until my alarm goes off and no sign of her letting me get more than 10 minutes or so of sleep every hour between now and then. She's wide awake batting at my hair right now. I'm so freaking tired it's not even funny. I got a bit of a nap this weekend but not much. And of course DH is no help and is just bitching at me because she wakes him up everytime she wakes up crying too.

[Bucktown]

em~ Thanks for the Enfamil offer but I'm going to tstick with the Similac brand. I'll just pick up a small can when the time comes.

Jen~ Yeah, I know they see lots of people but it still aggravates the crap outta me. My own docs even know me and I only see them at 6mo & 1yr. intervals. I *had* a great ped that knew my son at the previous office but she went on maternity leave. During that time I saw all different docs within the practice. No continuity of care what-so-ever. When she came back I could never get in to see her. It all went downhill from there. :confused:

Tracy~ Glad you had a nice time in St. George. My parents live in Salt Lake and my dad's boss has a timeshare in St. George. My dad keeps trying to get me to bring the kids there in a couple weeks. DD is NOT a good traveler so we'll be skipping that option. :p

hmbay~ Oh man, I really feel for ya. We went thru this a week and a half ago you may recall. The only thing I tried was to remove a layer of clothing (her longsleeve onsie) from her night time ensemble. It's only about 5-10 degrees warmer than it had been but the constant night waking stopped. May have been a coincidence but I keep doing it. Light cotton footed jammies, fleece sleep sack, cotton blankie on top. Hope you're able to function today!

Disney~ Sorry, no input on the beans.

[hmbay]

Bucktown--I thought about the temp idea but honestly everytime I was in her room I was cold but I might have been cold from lack of sleep too. I'll try lighter pj's tonight. Lord knows it couldn't make it any worse. :)

[Bucktown]

Hmbay~ Ya know, I had those same thoughts too of the room being cold but I was desperate and gave it a try. You're right, it can't hurt. Let me know what happens!


Ok, my mom sent this to me this morning and I think it's so funny but I have no-one to forward it too. I'm going to post it here. It's a real letter to Proctor and Gamble regarding Always maxipads. Hope you like it!

It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best web mail-award-winning letter:

Dear Mr. Thatcher,



I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the Leak Guard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't.

Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so
painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words:

'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you ******* kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S & M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong',

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull****. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always. . .

Best,

Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX


:) :)

[TracyDP]

Hmbay~ Ya know, I had those same thoughts too of the room being cold but I was desperate and gave it a try. You're right, it can't hurt. Let me know what happens!

Ellie gets really crabby and has a hard time sleeping if she's too hot. She woke up one night crying and I went in there and the heat in her room had gotten bumped up and it had to be like 80* in there. I turned the heat down and opened her door and by the time I changed her and put her back down it was cooler. She slept ok after that. She also had a harder time sleeping in the car at my Mom's because it was in the 70's there and she got sweaty.

Ok, my mom sent this to me this morning and I think it's so funny but I have no-one to forward it too. I'm going to post it here. It's a real letter to Proctor and Gamble regarding Always maxipads. Hope you like it!
:) :)

LMAO :p Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.

[Boskie]

hmbay - I hope the lighter pjs work for you tonight!

Bucktown - LOL!

Tracy - Glad your trip went so well!

We have a tooth! It came through sometime on Thursday, two days before she turned 6 months. I had a feeling it did, but anytime I'd try to look or feel to see if it had, Olivia would clamp her mouth shut tight. Friday afternoon, I was finally able to get my finger in there and sure enough, it came though, the lower right side one. The left side one isn't far behind, though!

Yesterday we had her 6 months pictures taken and she did great. Very happy and smiling, we had a tough time choosing which pictures to get. I may have to go back and get some more. Then we took her to have her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I wasn't sure how she'd do with that, but she did great again. She wasn't scared of the EB at all and we got a great picture from that as well.

Today is her 6 month WBV, so I'll post her stats tonight or tomorrow.

[Jen309]

Making Cereals after 6 mos you can make cereal out of basically any grain you want. Oatmeal, Bulgur, Millet, you name it. I think the recommendation is that you wait a month or two before you do rice/oatmeal (or any combo) together. Oh to have a whole foods for that isle of bulk grains....

hmbay Sorry you're having such a rough time... I hope it's just a phase.

Bucktown You're going to love this one. We had WBV today and were to see the NP b/c DS's regular ped's on vacay... So I check in with 5 min to spare (meaning write DS's name on the sheet, etc.) and sit down where we normally do. It's a big practice so they call you back from one side or the other of the reception desk based on which dr. you see. Well, 1/2 hr goes by and we're still sitting there. So, I go up and check and they NEVER CHECKED ME IN. Apparently the sheet is just there for decoration and if you don't actually talk to someone, nothing happens. What's worse, is I thought I over heard the desk staff ask someone who "that person" was - my back was to them, so I don't know if they were talking about me or the kid in the corner running and jumping off the benches. So, turns out I should've been waiting on the other side. I go and wait forever again then we get called back. I asked the nurse what happened and she said she didn't know, she just grabbed the chart. :rolleyes: So, as I was leaving, I asked at the front desk "Just so I know what to do next time...:rolleyes:" They said that if they get busy, they 'forget' to check the check in sheet (there were ~12 names after mine at that point) and even though it's their "responsibility to get everyone taken care of, sometimes people just get forgotten" And then I got a half-ass apology. Whatever. This place is so far from my house and it's the only ped group in our plan and they've sent us to collections for their own billing error they nearly refused to fix (claimed they gave DS vax when they didn't). Not to mention all the other issues, like the ped barely remembering us (aggrivates me too). We so have to find somebody else, even if it's a family doc.

Beans Super baby food (my ultimate reference - I should get commission) recommends beans at 9 mos b/c that's when tummies supposedly can handle it... but I'm such a bean eater, I don't see an issue with having them sooner. But, I'm a big rule minder (:rolleyes: at myself) that I'll probably wait til then... and then I'll add it to oatmeal. Seriously, I could NOT puree meat for #1, so he got beans and tofu instead, and still eats both plain to this day.

[Taurus]

Jen-you might appreciate my Super Baby Food story. Once I went to Whole Foods with DS1 in the stroller, and I had SBF in the basket down below bc I was referencing it for picking some unfamiliar-to-me produce. So as I'm leaving this employee comes up to me and points down to the book and asks where I got it, and I start this whole monologue about how you can find it at any book store and why I like it so much, (my SBF sales pitch basically--I figured, oh, he must have a kid!) and he just stared at me blankly. It was not until I was walking out that I realized they must sell the book in the book section, and that employee must have thought I was completely insane. But I guess my answer was enough to convince him I had not stolen it. Talk about a "Duh!" moment.

[sabrespa]

Is anyone else's LO going through stranger anxiety? Zach is having such a hard time with it. He doesn't want strangers to even look at him.

Also, can i get your opinion on something? I mixed Zach's babyfood with Beechnut Oatmeal last Wednesday and he threw up 2 hours later (I thought it was a reaction from his vax the day before). Yesterday I mixed the oatmeal with his baby food and he threw up again 2 hours later. Does this mean that he's having some sort of allergic reaction to the oatmeal? He's had that flavor babyfood before without any issues so I know it wasn't that.

[Bucktown]

Stranger Anxiety~ HA! We've been dealing with this since DD was 9 weeks old! She HATES everyone other than mommy, daddy and brother. She has gotten a tinsy little bit better with strangers looking at her but that's hit or miss. Sometimes she'll just stare thru them and other times she'll scream.

Oh and how about this for a story. Man, this pisses me off just thinking of it again. :mad:

This past Saturday we went to my BIL/SIL'shouse for our nephews b-day party. SIL's parents were there as usual. Her mom is really sweet and loves her some babies so everytime we've seen them she's dying to hold Anna. Saturday, Anna was in a fairly decent mood, laughing and playing at the party (one of those 'hit' days) and I told her mom if she wanted to try to hold Anna she should try now. Well, as soon as she took Anna the kid started screaming. She tried walking with her but nothing worked so she brought her back to me.

----Here's the bad part----

Her husband says to me 'This is all your fault'. I thought he was joking around with me and I'm like 'Huh?' So he says it again (not kidding). I ask him to explain. The guy has the balls to say to me that she screams because I never let anyone hold her at family parties or when relatives are around. I just lost it. I told him that MY family lives 1700 miles from me and DH's family we NEVER see unless it's someone's b-day which is once every 3 months. Then I blurted out 'Well, shit on me for being a SAHM. Anna, it's time to put you in daycare!'. And then I left. :mad::mad:

WTF is wrong with people???:confused:


Sabre~ Sounds to me like Zach is having a reaction to the oatmeal. Ya know, I was in Target yesterday and I saw a recall sign on infant cereal but I'm not sure which brand or which type for that matter. I think it said choking hazard though. Let me try to find some info on it.....

ETA~ That's strange, I just did a search and found the recall but it's from July 2007. I wonder why this Target still has the signs up?

[hmbay]

Bucktown--oh man we have the same child. Sabrina actually let my mom hold her this last weekend for the first time since she was a baby baby. She still won't let grandpa or anyone else hold her. My friend and her mom tried and they got about 30 seconds before all out screaming ensued. I too was told "well you carry her around too much when she's home". Okay whatever. Just accept some babies are more tolerant of "strangers" and others are not.

sleep issue--sleeper didn't fix it. I think her reflux is back. I'm going to see if I can still get that prevacid filled.

[Bucktown]

hmbay~ oh my gosh, I think we do have 'spiritual twins'! DD's reflux is bad too since going on the regular formula so I started her back on the Zantac. Come to think of it, it was the same time I removed a layer of clothing. Wierd.

[jjohm]

stranger anxiety: alex is usually ok with people unless he is tired, sleepy, or hungry. when he gets fussy and he sees an unfamiliar face, he loses it. i didn't realize this until last weekend when i spent a night at my mom's to get away from my in laws for a few days (they live with us).

this is definitely not something moms teach their children!! i hate when people can't understand the difference in baby temperaments. bucktown, that dude was an a**hole for saying that to you.

my DS1 had no stranger anxiety whatsoever and will still, at 2 years old go to anyone who looks at him. at 7 months old, he used to crawl up to strangers and sit on their lap.

alex is now sleeping through the night! i hope i don't jinx myself by writing this. he has slept from 7pm to 7am the last 2 nights in a row. i may be able to have a social life in the evenings again! (one of the few "perks" of having the in laws living with us).

hmbay, i feel bad about sharing this because a week ago, i was in your shoes with him waking every few hours. i hope it gets better for you soon!

[Bucktown]

jjohm~ a-hole. I love it!:p


car seat issue~ ok, I've been holding out switching DD from her infant seat to her convertible seat due to cold weather but it doesn't seem like it's going to let up soon. And with DD hitting the 20lb mark this past Monday I need to seriously come up with a plan soon.

First, for those of us unfortunate souls living in cold weather climates, how do you get DC to car assuming you are not bundling them in winter coats? I never even bought DD a winter coat cause I seriously thought the cold wouldn't be this bad so late in the game & that DD wouldn't be so darn big. Now, I don't want to spend the $$$ for a winter coat she'll wear for 4 weeks and never again. And where would I even find one???

Second, do they make those warmer type things for convertible seats like they do for the infant seats? You know, the 'shower cap' fleece blanket type that attaches to the seat? At least that I can re-use.

[Kiley]

Bucktown - We have a fleece snow suit (from LL Bean) that DS1 wore that we could use for DS2 if we needed it (we have the SafeSeat so it's good for a while yet). Anyway, I bet you could find something similar on clearance or even at a second hand store.

Stranger/seperation anxiety - not really yet unless he's tired and doesn't want to be put down. But whenever he sees FIL, he cries. I think it's funny though cuz FIL is a "rough" sort of man and generally crabby. He's not gentle/cuddly and when he says hi to DS2, he talks kind of loud and scares him so he cries.

STTN - never ever has he STTN. Always up at least 3 times. DS1 (also a terrible sleeper) had at least STTN a few times by now. I think I need to buy a sleep book because I don't think he's going to figure it out on his own.

Right now it seems like he's getting teeth though so that's probably it. He's kind of a wimp when it comes to pain, like if he gets bumped lightly he cries so I'm guessing teething really bothers him. Does anyone know if teething and lots of pooping go hand in hand? Also, he's refusing solids, which is fine but when we started a few weeks ago, he'd enthusiastically eat a few spoonfuls and now he just spits them out. I know he doesn't need it and he's growing fine (19lb 6oz) but he's also, he's refusing bottles again at daycare. I guess he's eating enough from me in the morning, lunchtime and evening (and all night long!) to do this.

[DisneyGirl]

Jen& taurus AHHH, other moms who love the SBF book like I do. SO, you might be able to answer my question. WHere can I find Barley? I want to make Barley cereal , but have no idea where to get it. I do now have a whole foods anywhere near me.

[Bucktown]

Disney~ I buy barley from my local grocery store. I think I get it in the soup aisle. LOVE barley!

Kiley~ Thanks, I'll check into that. Never even thought of a fleece type thingy for her to wear. Wonderful!

[hmbay]

hmbay~ oh my gosh, I think we do have 'spiritual twins'! DD's reflux is bad too since going on the regular formula so I started her back on the Zantac. Come to think of it, it was the same time I removed a layer of clothing. Wierd.

Well I didn't make any changes that should have flared up her reflux again that I'm aware of but it does seem like she's having the same symptoms keeping her up.

coat etc--we bought DD a coat but have since lost it. :rolleyes: I just toss a heavier blanket over her and carry her out to the car. I usually dress her warmly to start with so it's been enough so far the end of winter around here. The other day when I felt she needed a coat because we were going to the outlet mall and she would be in a stroller I just grabbed one of the coats the boys had outgrown and put a pink hat on her head hoping that was enough to offset the "boy" looking coat since I couldn't find her pink one anywhere (and then lost the pink hat at the outlet mall--do we sense a theme here). :)

[TracyDP]

Car seat: I am going to be moving DD to her Britax Marathon in mid-April. The local fire station has a car seat clinic near us on Saturday April 19th, that way DH can follow us up there and have the Cosco Scenera we bought for his car installed at the same time. Honestly, I'm glad to be moving her to the new seat. The Britax Companion is a great infant seat but it's frakking HEAVY and with her pushing 20lbs I have to be a power lifter to get her in and out of the back of my car. It's still rainy and a little chilly here but Ellie is a very warm baby and has not needed anything heavier than an Osh Kosh hoodie all winter. Anytime I put her in anything heavier she was all sweaty and fussy when I got her out of the car seat.

SHe is also getting to the point where she can sit up on her own in a shopping cart and a restaurant high chair so having the infant seat is not a big deal anymore. The new seat seems so HUGE though! It just swallows her up!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2033/2314437147_0fe6fee54c_m.jpg

(BRB...Ellie is trying to poop and not having much luck in her jumpy seat, got to move her to the flo