December07/January08 Mommies- Our Babies Are Here!

[MaMa2D]

Happy Mother's Day Ladies!!! .. especially to all of our first time Mamas!!!!

well ... my Mother's Day morning started with a massive diarrhea poop that required changing the crib sheets :p. BUT, she was all smiles and talking! haha!!! now, i'm enjoying a rare moment while the two nap and my fabulous husband made me an apple martini ... thank God for a freezer stash! :D

i've decided to dedicate this post to SOs b/c i have been so MIA ...

Taz- i LOL when i read what you wrote about how moms of 2 do it ... i thought the same thing when it was just DS. i swore until he was 13 months that he would be an only child. and i barely started to consider a 2nd child when i found out i was pregnant with mila. :eek: funny how i swore i was done having kids when she was 2 months old and now i'm warming to the idea of a third. even more :eek:
LOVE the exersaucer pic!!! what a cutie!

sdauer- hello!!! really, and i mean be super honest, how is it with 3??? i'm loving the two and since we have a boy and a girl, the itch for a 3rd is not strong. i keep telling myself that if i can't decide, i should enjoy the two that we have.

Liz- YAY for rolling and reaching your EBF milestone!!! i hope she starts to sleep better for you!!! we had a rough patch with mila and since i have oodles of experience with bad sleepers, i've been working on sleep training (HATE that phrase) with her. it's especially hard when you have 2 children.

LG- good to hear that you liked your nurse practitioner. are you able to see her on a regular basis? YAY for rolling!!!

Shannon- LOVE your new avatar. what an adorable picture!!! i had such a similar experience with DS when he cut his first tooth. i kept wondering what was happening with his sleep and it turned out to be his first tooth!!! if it's not one thing, it's another.

pelican- YAY for rolling!!! have to check out the blog!

Loud- sorry to hear DS isn't feeling well. we've been passing around the same cold in our family for over a month. it is what initially messed with mila's great sleep schedule. i'm a huge weissbluth fan and after a month of letting her try to figure it out on her own, i turned to weissbluth again and it WORKED! she's STTN with maybe one get-up a night. prior to that, i was getting up with her 4-7 times a night. she was at the age where it was becoming a habit and liking the attention in the middle of the night. needless to say, we are all SO much happier!

jeneca- what a cutie pie!!!! YAY for a smooth tranisition when you went back to work!

tgal- great to hear from you! i am at the height of pureeing!!! :p

mkvh- i'm contemplating spacing out mila's vaccinations. how does it work? she FREAKED during her first set and i've postponed the 4 month since she's been sick. is it too late to start spacing them out with the 4 month shots?

terps- ditto what i wrote to taz ... the thought of a 2nd baby terrified me.

mila's waking from her nap ... BBL to post some pics in hopes that it will get a few more of you to post your LOs. ;)

[MaMa2D]

you can't really tell from the photos, but her eyes are a very light blue. i am in serious shock b/c i have almost black eyes and DS has blue. we always assumed our miracle blue eyed baby would remain DS. every day i look at them to see when they are going to change to brown and they continue to lighten. i'm sure it will happen before she's a year old! ;)

[Loud_curly]

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day, ladies!! We had a good one - DS and DH got me some picture frames, and a g.c. to a spa. We went shopping (since I still don't fit in my pre-preg clothes) and then had Outback for dinner. Yummy!

mama2D - Glad you confessed the scare of having 2 - I can't even imagine it now! Weissbluth sleep training is going as well as can be with DS in daycare. We get him down for the night without a problem, but naps are always a PITA and usually less than 1 hour. And he still gets up 1 or 2x a night. We'll get there, but ugh until then.

Gelfnrach - OMG, Sammy is just huge! (At least compared to my DS)

Pelican - Your trips are such great sizes for their age. They outweighed my singleton at 4 months - amazing! Isn't laughing great? C's been doing that for months, which really helps you get through the rough times!

Terpsfan - My DH has asked the same thing!!! But we're aiming for our next in the spring of 2010 (or later).

mkvh - Wow, another big one! I'm guessing she'll roll soon. I wonder if C rolled so early b/c he has much less mass to get around? And I think we'll be waiting on the cereal for a few more weeks (at least until he's 5 months).

Shannon - Wow, a tooth?! Daycare keeps saying he's teething, but I think it's just b/c he drools all.the.time. No evidence of teeth here yet.

tgal - Sounds like our LOs are very similar. C loves to watch us eat or drink (water bottles are his favorite). He's always busy with his hands, and can be occupied for a little while without us.

Jeneca - YAAY for a good napper - I'm envious! Hope he gets over his clingyness to you soon!

Hi to anyone I might have missed!

[WebDiva]

Hope everyone had a great mother's day!

A has decided to be up again every 2 hours to eat. :rolleyes: I am sooooo tired I don't know how I am functioning.

Is anyone else dealing with a baby who won't go to anyone else? She and her daddy get along very well in the morning, pretty good in the daytime and in the evening, it's hit or miss. Oh and she likes her daycare provider (my cousin). Anyone else she wants NOTHING to do with. And I do mean NOTHING. She starts hollering as soon as they try to take her. She's been like this almost from birth...as soon as she was old enough to realize that I was the one who was with her most of the time. PLEASE say it's just a stage.

[ShannonGH]

Hi ladies, hope you all had a good mother's day. Max was dedicated at our church on mother's day so that made it extra special.

We've had a very rough last 1.5 wks here. It started with him being extra fussy at night and waking up very frequently (gas? teething? who knows). Then that turned into him not being able to sleep at night b/c he was constantly rubbing his eyes/face. It was so strange...he didn't itch much during the day but at night it was HORRIBLE and I was up with him a lot of the night. I've been cutting out dairy and all gassy foods (eggs, beans, most veggies) for over a week to try to help his tummy troubles but it still doesn't answer the itchy face thing. My "mommy gut" told me it's probably food allergies since we do have a family history so I took him to the ped yesterday and she wasn't 100% sold on the idea of a food allergy since his skin looks great, no problems w/ poop (although he has had mucous in teh past), etc. But we did a blood draw anyway to test for food allergies and are currently waiting on results.

In the meantime, in the case he has to go onto hypoallergenic formula, I've spent the past 24 hrs trying to get this kid on a bottle since he does not take one. It's actually going better than I had anticipated since I had expected the worst. He's now gone 24 hrs with only one nursing. I am barely pumping enough to feed him though. I REALLY hope we get these results soon so I know what direction to go (formula or back to nursing). It's exhausting to try to calm him down enough to give him a bottle and then after all that I have to pump, etc. And he'll only take a bottle from me...which is fine but that just puts more work load on me. I was MAJOR sleep deprived until today since my mom is in town for 24hrs to help out with this transition. I was able to sleep in a little this morning so that helped a lot.

And in the midst of all this, he has totally lost all ability to put himself to sleep for naps or at nighttime. Rocking/jostling him for every nap with a 2 year old around is difficult.

Okay, sorry to vent. I'll let ya know how it goes...

[mkvh]

SO far behind...sorry for random catching up!

Spacing vaxes--After the misery of 4 shots at the 2m WBV, I just decided that was too much. So I talked to our ped (NP), and she agreed that we could get no more than 2 at a time, coming in for the others a month later. This time, we did polio and Dtap and the oral roto. Then, I'll schedule a nurse-only visit for June to get the other 2 (forget what they were). We'll continue that. I'm also delaying MMR till at least 18m and declining chicken pox. We did not delay MMR with DD1, despite serious "mommy gut" that we should, and DD1 got strep twice in 6 weeks following as well as a nasty rashy virus. I think vaxes are a GREAT thing, but I think that the schedule is a bit much for their tiny bodies. The massive fussies we had after our 2m visit solidified it for me.

Shannon and WebDiva--UGH. Sorry things are rough right now :(

[lil_geek]

How's everyone doing?

E is a rolling machine... and last night drove us nuts, she rolled a few times in the evening (in crib) but wasn't all the way asleep, woke herself up, got her arms stuck out of the crib, proceeded to scream! FUN!

Shannon - sorry about the rough patch! I hope you can figure out something! We are still dealing with food allergies with E. We FINALLY have an appointment with a ped (July 2 - we had to get a referral from our family dr.) and I hope we can do some kind of testing. I have continued to BF and just have some REALLY bad days when we find something 'new' (asparagus seemed to REALLY make her gassy! but I don't think 'allergic') AND we have had sleep issues too! Must come with the age?

Web - E has been doing the every 2 hours to eat (at night) too! AND she is in the playing strange stage... since about 7 weeks old... ugh. I am VERY ready for it to be over. Same as your DD.. dad is fine in the AM but in the evening... some days he just looks at her and she screams! She hates MIL (though we see her about every other day).


Oh, and we finally let E while she was awake... Tuesday was our anniversary and we were at my parents. She was happy, loving them, etc. so we went for dinner. Apparently she was great the first 30 minutes.... then she realized I was gone.... started to cry, then scream, and after nearly an hour she started to 'moan' herself to sleep...ugh. We have a wedding next weekend... my poor parents!

[mkvh]

lg--I will be awaiting information from your ped visit anxiously! I have a friend who discovered her son's milk protein intolerance (which became a serious allergy but now is gone at age 4) in the hospital when he was born, and she said there is a blood test that can be run at this age. *shrug* My NP did not mention it but did caution that we read labels on any and all solids including cereal as lots of those have soy. Glad she mentioned it, though I would have used EB anyway, which is one of the "okay" ones.

[lil_geek]

Yeah - a woman at my mothers circle ... her son is allergic to milk and she said they confirmed it with a blood test (and also tested him for soy which was negative). So I am hoping they will do this for E. I know it's not 100% but it would be a start (sometimes she seems to react to soy, sometimes not... so I am confused on that one!)

[ShannonGH]

Since there's been recent talk of allergies (mkvh & lg :) ), I guess I'll update where we are-
We had the blood allergy testing and got the results on Weds: no allergies on anything. Granted, I understand the test is not 100% accurate, plus it does not pick up sensitivities/intolerances. I was honestly so disappointed b/c if he would've tested positive for something, there would be a clear-cut reason for his horrible itchiness. I was bummed. Weds and Thurs night were horrible again...I'm going on 2 wks now of HORRIBLE sleep and it's really wearing on me. My ped didn't have any suggestions for me because Max *looks* fine...so I decided to take matters into my own hands- Something needed to be done b/c he nor I could live like this for much longer. So I decided to pump around the clock for 48 hrs and give him hypoallergenic formula in the meantime to see if that made any difference. He's been on it for 36 hrs thus far (of course he didn't like it at first but he's such a good boy he didn't fight it too terribly bad -and this is a guy that just started taking the bottle again on Monday!). Last night there was far less itching although he has been itching some during the day today. We'll see how tonight goes... Gotta go pump!

[mkvh]

Shannon--Have you eliminated environmental stuff by way of detergents and baby wash and such? What about what you use? I cannot imagine how frustrating this must be for you!

[lil_geek]

I was going to ask the same... since he doesn't seem to have any gastro effects? right? Can babies have allergies to things like animals and pollen?

[mkvh]

Supposedly, lg, babies cannot have seasonal allergies in their first year of life but rather must be exposed for a season for allergies to take effect. I'm not sure I believe it, as G's snottiness correlates to her being outside!

[ShannonGH]

Yeah, we've always used free and clear detergents, cetaphil lotions/soaps, etc since when Noa was a baby. lg- "They say" that babies can't have environmental allergies this early. re: gastro effects- ya know, after Noa, I'm not exactly sure what a "normal" bf babies poop should look like! But his have definitely been mucousy, I do know that for sure. Just not all the time.
Both Noa and I have a history of intolerances. Plus, he has this reoccuring "seborrhea" (not sure if that's really what it is) that keeps reappearing on his scalp which could be a product of a sensitivity. He was also super gassy, which I thought was a sign, but he's been gassy on the formula too so I guess he's just a normally gassy baby.

Last night was fair. He did wake a few times but did not seem near as uncomfortable as he was on bm. He has been itching his eyes this morning though.:confused:
One good sign is that he took 2 GREAT naps yesterday, which he hasn't done since I can't remember when.
I think I've resorted to the fact that we'll probably stay on formula. It does make me sad that I won't bf him but the positive changes I've seen thus far are enough to make me stick with his route. Now, bring on the ice cream.:p

[WebDiva]

Web - E has been doing the every 2 hours to eat (at night) too! AND she is in the playing strange stage... since about 7 weeks old... ugh. I am VERY ready for it to be over. Same as your DD.. dad is fine in the AM but in the evening... some days he just looks at her and she screams! She hates MIL (though we see her about every other day).


*Sigh*...so it's not just me. This weekend I went out of the house for a few hours...I called when I was on my way to where I was going and I could hear A just SCREAMING in the background. I wanted to turn around and go back home, but I didn't. People are calling her spoiled and my mom is starting to get frustrated (yes frustrated by a 5 mo old), so I feel like I really can't leave the house without her much. :(

[lil_geek]

*Sigh*...so it's not just me. This weekend I went out of the house for a few hours...I called when I was on my way to where I was going and I could hear A just SCREAMING in the background. I wanted to turn around and go back home, but I didn't. People are calling her spoiled and my mom is starting to get frustrated (yes frustrated by a 5 mo old), so I feel like I really can't leave the house without her much. :(

Yup! It drives me nuts! First off... kids are SUPPOSED to be attached to their parents (and mom's especially if they are BFing!!) It is how they survive!!!

And others reactions (mostly my MIL) make me not want to leave her with them even more!!! Yesterday we did have a break through and E actually let MIL hold her and play with her while we were at their place. But thankfully DH is on board with there isn't a huge reason for me to leave her with anyone yet.... so if I am okay with her being with me 24-7 then we aren't going to leave her to let her cry.

Somedays I do want a break... but (likie today) I am okay with having a break with DH just being here and helping.

[mkvh]

IDK how you ladies who have uber-attached babies deal. Honestly! Kudos to you for having such a relaxed perspective. It woudl drive me to drink :D G is much less independent than C was, and still she's very independent.

And I'm soooo sorry to those of you who are waking multiple times!

[WebDiva]

Yup! It drives me nuts! First off... kids are SUPPOSED to be attached to their parents (and mom's especially if they are BFing!!) It is how they survive!!!

And others reactions (mostly my MIL) make me not want to leave her with them even more!!! Yesterday we did have a break through and E actually let MIL hold her and play with her while we were at their place. But thankfully DH is on board with there isn't a huge reason for me to leave her with anyone yet.... so if I am okay with her being with me 24-7 then we aren't going to leave her to let her cry.

Somedays I do want a break... but (likie today) I am okay with having a break with DH just being here and helping.

That is true!...and I am BFing...so that's probably part of why she's attached.

As soon as I leave the house, who ever is watching A usually feeds her to get her to stop screaming...:mad: even though I try to feed her right before I leave so I don't have to do as much pumping when I am out of the house.

[WebDiva]

IDK how you ladies who have uber-attached babies deal. Honestly! Kudos to you for having such a relaxed perspective. It woudl drive me to drink :D G is much less independent than C was, and still she's very independent.

And I'm soooo sorry to those of you who are waking multiple times!

This is still us..on both accounts...lol

[gelfnrach]

Hey ladies!
I have been lurking but havent had a moment to post. Heres my 2 cents on the ongoing conversations..

Attachment stuff Ben (DS1) was like this. SOOO attached. He literally would scream if anyone but me held him. It was very very hard. He also was colicky and was very high needs from day 1. BUT theres hope ladies. At 3.5 hes wonderful. We still have meltdowns but thats normal for the age. I would say he turned the corner at about 2.5. Until then it was me and all me. He was super shy at playgroup, family gatherings, etc.. all of a sudden he just changed one day. Funny, now that I think of it. I weaned at 2.5 so whoever said that BFing could be part of it may be on to something.
Now Sam on the other hand is really much easier all around (part experience, part easier temperment) and readily goes to most people. Hes also much more social--smiles more, talks more, etc.. than Ben did. Hes BF'd also.

Allergies We are battling this as well (I sit here choking down organic uncured chicken dogs with a side of applesauce...lol). Hes shown signs of intolerance since 6 weeks. It seems that Soy and wheat are strong reactions--bloody stools, rash, fussing. Dairy and corn are less strong *but I think we may have had blood from corn too. They are mostly green, mucousy poop--like grass green with lots of stringy clear mucus. So for now I am still pretty much restricted diet wise but I am used to it already and its not that bad. I lost all my baby weight already so thats a good side benefit I guess!

sleep Sam seems to be taking like 5 or 6 naps a day, all THIRTY minutes!!! argh! Its sooo annoying. Night time is ok. Pretty much hes in the crib until I am in bed and asleep and have no energy to rock and nurse and repeat all night so I cave and bring him in my bed where he peacefully sleeps. I roll over and nurse him if need be but mostly he sleeps when hes next to me and just needs a hand on him or my breathing to go back if he wakes. Sometimes I can literally just put him on my bed, not even lay with him and hes out...its like he keeps waking till I bring him in there. I would co sleep all the time but its nice for DH and I to have SOME alone time, lol (I say this while hes passed out in my older sons bed with him, lol!).

[lil_geek]

Wow Rachel, seems we are all in the same boat right now!

THANK GOODNESS DD and I aren't doing something wrong!


Weird on all the allergies though :(

[mkvh]

So funny that so many of us are dealing with intolerances/allergies right now. Not funny-haha, of course. We had a grass green stringy poop today. I fear it's wheat...I had cereal for breakfast 2 days in a row and sandwiches both days for lunch. That's an awful lot of wheat... And I am sooo not willing to elim something out. Poor you, Rachel!

[gelfnrach]

lil_geek lastnite he was up from 2-4!wtf?? poops are ok so its not that. I think he was overtired since he didnt nap well yesterday. argh.:mad:

So funny that so many of us are dealing with intolerances/allergies right now. Not funny-haha, of course. We had a grass green stringy poop today. I fear it's wheat...I had cereal for breakfast 2 days in a row and sandwiches both days for lunch. That's an awful lot of wheat... And I am sooo not willing to elim something out. Poor you, Rachel!

Wheat is tough to cut--its in everything!! I use rice pasta, rice breadcrumbs, rice cereals....rice milk...rice, rice, rice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

[Loud_curly]

Wow, it seems there are a bunch of us struggling right now - maybe 6 months will be a turning point? (I hope)...

C is doing well in most respects, except he's getting WORSE at sleeping! He's still only taking a longish nap in the mornings, but won't take long/any naps in the afternoon (DC doesn't like hearing him cry, so they won't let him lay int he crib very long). He sometimes falls asleep in the car ride home (short nap). Getting him to go to bed is easy - he's out between 7 and 8. But this past week, instead of getting up just once around 4, he's added in another waking around 11. And this one is a doozy!!! We've tried letting him CIO for a few minutes (which he does at bedtime), but he doesn't settle and instead gets louder. Last night DH tried calming him down, but he only settled down once I nursed him (after a half hour). I don't think it's teething - we haven't seen any progress there - and we stopped giving him a bit of rice cereal in case that might be triggering something. ARGH!!! I just hope this resolves itself soon!

[Loud_curly]

Ok, I just had to post here - C slept through the night from 7:45 until 6:15 - without a peep!!! Whoopie!!

Hope you all have a great long weekend, my friends!!!

[newmommy]

Hi ladies,

I used to get emails with every update to this thread....not sure why I don't anymore!!

Anyways, Luca is eating SO MUCH FOOD! I tried solids and I've added more to his diet it every day.....he's now drinking 6oz bottles and fruit and cereal for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner he's eating: a meat, veggie and fruit...then about 4oz before bed. He's still not STTN, and drinks a bottle around 1am. Kind of surprising that he's still even hungry for a bottle at that time!

No teeth, but he's biting everything, and drooling alot, so I think something is coming soon.

So he's starting to crawl : ) He pulls himself forward, rolls around like a maniac and is trying to keep up with his big brother!

I'm exhausted because he often wake just when he loses his paci....oh and I had a root canal today, so I'm especially cranky tonight. Well I hope to be better at updating and reading here.

[gelfnrach]

Ok, I just had to post here - C slept through the night from 7:45 until 6:15 - without a peep!!! Whoopie!!

Hope you all have a great long weekend, my friends!!!

OMG! You are one lucky mama!!! I would kill for him to STTN...but DS1 didnt till 3 years old so I guess I have time..lol.


newmommyWow, thats lots of food! Root canals are no fun. Get some rest!

[lil_geek]

We started E on solids on Wednesday (her 5 monthday)... so far it hasn't let up on the nursing every 2 hours thing :( But we had a crazy weekend being away for a wedding and she was babysat by my parents.

THAT went...... interesting. Thursday we had the rehearsal and I put her to sleep before I left... and she woke up around 10. But she was great. Took part of a bottle and just played. But the wedding.... she didn't sleep all day ... so when I left at 5 my parents had her in the car (they dropped me off) and let her fall asleep in the car. As soon as they got home she woke, screamed! WOuld calm for a bit, then scream. I think she spent most of her evening in the car seat because they would swing her to sleep. UGH.

We have another wedding end of June, but I am going up to my parents for a week in June too... so hopefully she comes around more :(

[tgal]

Anyone who knows, how much is your dc drinking? I am wondering if dd is getting enough, but from what little I've read, it seems like we might be in the same boat as the rest of you. DD is still waking every three hours like clock work. Eva wasn't like this at all at 6 months, in fact, when we started solids, she basically ate 4 or 5 times a day max. I am exhausted! ;)

[ShannonGH]

tgal- I'm assuming you want input from exclus bf babies? If so, I can't help ya there.

I was actually going to ask the same thing of exclus formula fed babies-

How much does your baby weigh and how many oz per day do they take in? And are they getting solids too?

[lil_geek]

I have no idea how much DD is getting (BF) but we added solids (rice cereal mixed with BM about 1.5 ounces of BM) and it hasn't done a lick in terms of helping her sleep better yet. She actually has had nights she has been up every 2 hours. Or will sleep for 5 then get up every hour after that. :( I am so tired! She is worse then when she was a newborn!

[gelfnrach]

Ok ladies...well thank goodness its not just us! Sam is up every 3 hours at least (every 2 towards the AM)! ARGH! I think its just a developmental thing...from what I remember Ben did this (sleep worsened) around each milestone. So right now Sam rolls (but not front to back) and almost sits up completely--so I am blaming that...
Oh and solids--never helped Ben but I know some people swear they do. I think kids are just wired one way or another (long or short sleepers) and yeah, you can help them sleep better (by st ing, cosleeping, dream feeding or whatever you like to do) but they are who they are. It took me at least 18 mos to accept that with Ben and I was much happier when I did I think.

In other news, I tried dairy again (my 3rd try in almost 4 mos) and NO reaction!!! It was his mildest intolerance (never any blood or rash, just mucus) so I figured I would try again and YAYAYYAYAY!!!
So we will revisit eggs and corn as well as maybe wheat in the next month or two. I will not do soy for a long time as that was the super strong, scary bloody poops and hives.

[mkvh]

Nightwakings--ITA with whomever said that sleep goes to *#@# when baby is working on a developmental milestone. We were doing well, but then this weekend G started waking at midnight to eat. Not bad, but then she wants to cosleep.

lg--GAH! I can't believe it's solids time!

tgal--DD takes 4 4oz bottles during the day when I'm at work and nurses once beforehand at 5-6a.m. and then infinte times in the evening (at least 3). She's not doing any solids.

rachel--YIPPPPEEEE! I tried eggs this weekend, and I too think we have NO REACTION! Yay. I won't test dairy for another month or so.


So we had a rough day. G started acting like she was unwell and in pain at midnight last night. By the end of her midday nap, her temp (underarm) was up to 101. Off to the ped we went. Ruled out throat, then ears. Then the NP asked if I had notice her urine smelling funny. I had. So a cath, 2 blood draws, and an injection of abx later, we're waiting on an official diaganosis of UTI/kidney infection. We nearly had to be admitted, but since she's well hydrated and alert, we're just watching. After she's well, we'll have to do some tests (imaging) to make sure that she doesn't have any kidney issues.

In FUN news, she was 18lbs, 15oz!! She did have clothes on, but that's a gain of 2lbs in 3 weeks. YIPES.

[lil_geek]

Oh! Poor babe! Glad you caught it! I'm surprised they did the cath and all... my mom said with me (I guess I had a lot of UTI's) they would just prescribe abx when they couldn't figure out what and suspected a UTI (but then again, that is almost 30 years ago!!)

[gelfnrach]

mkvhSorry about the infection. but YAY on the eggs. Thats awesome. Its so nice when theres no reaction! I tried dairy 3 times before there wasnt any. Anyway, they are next for me...unless I get the guts to try wheat. I will do one of them today. Its odd, now that I think back, maybe the initial soy reaction had him so raw down there that it was a coincidence that when I tried the other stuff that gave him blood(wheat, corn), it was the same wound opened by alot of pooping or gas or something... I guess I will never know.
And wow is G big??!! Sams right up there too. I would say 19-20 lbs now. Hes so friggen heavy. Ben was like 17ish at 6 mos so I am having clothing issues now (they were both Dec babies so the seasons were working great!). Hes wearing 12-18 mos now (Ben didnt till 9 or 10 mos).

CDing mamas I am in a real bind here...I have 18 thirsties aios and loved them but now they are leaving massive red marks on the thigh chub! I am so annoyed! I think I will sell half and hope that he thins out at some point after crawling. So far only swaddlebees are not leaving marks.
Anyone have any suggestions on big thighed aios or pockets?

[Loud_curly]

Eating - Well, let's see. C nurses in the am before we leave, then gets a bottle at 10 am, 1 pm and 5 pm. Each bottle is 3-5 oz BM, with another 2-4 oz of formula (so, I'm guessing each bottle is around 8 oz?). At home, he nurses once at 7:30 and then goes to sleep. He gets up once (last post aside) around 4-5 to nurse again, and then goes back to sleep. He's probably 14 pounds, give or take. We've given him some rice cereal, but then he had a few bad nights of sleep, so we stopped. We'll try again in a week or two.

sleep - Well, the STTN was a one-night only thing. He's back to his waking once around 4-5 am. I can handle that.

mkvh and gelfrach - WOW on your big babies! :eek: We're just getting into 6 mos. clothing now. And YAY for easing foods back into your diet.

newmommy - Wow, that's a ton of food! I'm impressed. And crawling already?! :eek: My house is so not ready for that!

Lil geek - I hope E gets better with being away from you. That's rough, on everybody.

Us - We had a great Memorial Day weekend. My parents came down to visit, and took C all day Sunday. DH and I rented a convertible, and went for a drive to Skyline Drive, and had a fabulous dinner to boot. We were celebrating our 8th anniversary, so it was nice to get away for a bit. C was just great for my folks. Monday we had fun around the house and at the mall. Tuesday my folks took C while I had a dentist appt. and DH had jury duty. He didn't nap well in the am, and we paid for it in the afternoon. Hoo boy! My folks just left today - they had a great time with C (and us too, I guess!).

[tgal]

mkvh: Same thing happened to Eva. She woke from her nap Tuesday and had a 103 fever. They thought she had an infection too, but everything came back negative. At 3am Wed. morning she had a seizure from the fever. I was scared to death, we were told after spending all morning in the ER that it was viral and there is nothing we could do, not even tylenol or motrin would work on the fever. I hope this isn't what your dc has, but fyi for those out there there is some sort of virus going around. Starts with a very high fever and after a few hours Eva started vomiting. I hope your dc is better very soon!

Oh and thanks, I was wondering about the 4 oz. Looks like we are on track. Eva took 8oz bottles at this point. I think it is much harder with the second, you just think what when for the first should go for the second.

[ShannonGH]

OMG Tara, a seizure?! Poor Eva! I hope she is feeling well soon.

We're in the exact same boat here with multiple night wakings. I considered last night a "good night" b/c he only woke 3 times.:rolleyes: I think part of his was from when he was so itchy and waking up all.the.time. I think some is habitual from that.

I've recently read "Sleeping Through the Night" by Jodi Mindell and I really like what she has to say. I do believe in the info Weissbluth provides, however I don't feel he offers a plan to attack sleep issues. Mindell gives a step-by-step plan. By no means do I expect him to STTN at this age. But I still was able to glean some tactics we can use now to help with sleep issues (like not associating a feeding with sleeptime, etc). I highly recommend it if anyone is looking for advice.

[tgal]

Thanks Shannon, she is doing much better, but is still congested with a major runny nose. The fever is finally gone. A little girl in Eva's class got the same thing, her fever high was 106. Insane!

I'll have to see if our library has that book. I am horrible about nursing Sophia to sleep.

[lil_geek]

I always find, at 2am even though I have nursed E at midnight... I KNOW it will work and just want a quick way to get her back to sleep! At that hour, my brain isn't working!

[ShannonGH]

I'll have to see if our library has that book. I am horrible about nursing Sophia to sleep.

I actually got the book rec from tuni (fellow March 06 mom of mine & tgal's). I remember she read it to solve her dd's sleep issues when she was about 7 mos old. Tuni really liked it since the author is a phd who runs a Sleep Center and she bf all of her babies. She (the author) does say, however, that bf babies are just harder to sleep train since they just naturally associate bfing with sleeping. It can be done but it may be a little more work.

[tgal]

WE HAVE TWO TEETH! We went to feed Sophia her first taste of sweet potatoes and I noticed two white buds on the bottom. Sure enough! This might have a lot to do with the increased feedings.

[lil_geek]

Wow! Are those the first teeth in the group?

I think DD is teething, but she has been showing 'signs' for nearly 2 months now. I think we are in for a long road!

[mkvh]

Oh! Poor babe! Glad you caught it! I'm surprised they did the cath and all... my mom said with me (I guess I had a lot of UTI's) they would just prescribe abx when they couldn't figure out what and suspected a UTI (but then again, that is almost 30 years ago!!)

BTW...I just read this, and women with a history of childhood UTIs have a signficant increased risk of pre-eclampsia and PIH! I didn't dig into it, but it's listed as a long-term possible complication on a lot of health sites!


No time for SOs...I'm going to BED. But thanks for the well-wishes. G is MUCH better already. Whew.

[lil_geek]

Wow! That is weird/cool/funny since I was diagnosed Pre-E the day I had E! Something to look into!

[ShannonGH]

tgal- Sounds like she grew her teeth just in time for that first bite of tators. ;)

Wow! Are those the first teeth in the group?




Max's first teeth appeared a month ago. His bottom two are fully in now. And they're so cute. :)

[pelican75]

Hi all! I've been out of town for a week (on business, but brought my best friend and the boys, so it was pretty....interesting. Okay, hellish. Ha!)

Just want to say...they all STTN last night! First time! I did have to replace paci's a few time and give Linus some motrin (he's teething and miserable, poor bunny) but there were no night feedings! It was awesome. Let's just hope they continue down this road!

I can't believe they'll be six months old in two days. I just can't believe it. Where are my tiny babies???

They're doing so much more now - finally batting at toys and picking things up. Laughing and babbling all the time. They're getting to be so fun! :)

[Loud_curly]

Wow! Are those the first teeth in the group?

I think DD is teething, but she has been showing 'signs' for nearly 2 months now. I think we are in for a long road!

Yeah, we've been saying the same thing about DS for months now. Still no teeth.

Pelican - Wow, all 3 on the road?!? I can't even imagine. That's a long trip for them - too funny about swatting at the toy bars.

Shannon - I'll also have to look for that book. I'm just like LG - he can't really be hungry, but feeding him is easier than trying anything else.

Sleep - gah! We're still dealing with 2 wakeups every other night (with 1 wakeup the other night). I keep telling myself I'll keep nursing him at each waking until he hits 6 months, and then it's time for STTN. I mean, he's done it every now and then, so let's make it a habit. I read somewhere else to have DH deal with the night wakings, and have him give him smaller bottles of EBM each night, until DS realizes that he's not really hungry so it's not worth waking up. Or at least, that's the general premise.

[mkvh]

Teeth???? Congrats to Max and Sophia on their new chompers! We're really gnawing on things, but I'd be shocked if she got teeth...C didn't cut her first until 8 months.

STTN--I am terribly blessed in that G STTN regularly. She's up at 5 to eat, but she goes down b/t 7:30 and 8:30 and sleeps until then. No, it's not anything I have done. I'm just very, very fortunate.

Sleep training--We CIO with DD1 at 6.5 months, and it worked VERY well. We CIO for bedtime at a few different times. My kids STTN, but man was/is DD1 hard to get to sleep!!

LG--I KNOW! As soon as I read your post about UTIs, I thought of that. Poor George had 2 strikes against her now since I have PE with DD1 and DH has a family history.

************************************************** *******
WE'RE SITTING!!! Yesterday, we went to watch DH's brothers finish a triathalon, and G was sitting on a blanket playing with 2 other babies (one is 7 months older, the other 4, and she's darn near as big as them ;) ). I mean, sitting up, leaning over to grab stuff and righting herself! She still topples, but she can sustain a sit. Unreal.

Also, we do not like applesauce, but fork-mashed banana w/ EBM is yummy. Since she was grabbing our food, we took a shot. I need to buy cereal.

Here's a pic from Saturday:
http://images.photo.walgreens.com/232323232%7Ffp4323%3A%3Enu%3D323%3B%3E287%3E%3A%3C 2%3EWSNRCG%3D323365%3C%3A33%3C83nu0mrj

[ShannonGH]

OMG Georgia is the cutest little chubby baby ever. :) Yay on the sitting. I wish Max was more close to sitting but I think it'll still be awhile.

[lil_geek]

Shannon - I was SOOO excited when E started rolling, then sitting... and I have to say I wish she wasn't moving!!!!

Tonight she fell straight back as I was getting the pillow I normally put behind her.... I think it is the first in a LONG LINE of bumps, bruises and tears :(

[WebDiva]

It has been a while since I have been here to catch up.

I see we have some teeth! How exciting! A doesn't have any yet, but she is starting to sit up. She's really starting to enjoy her cereal and we'll be starting fruits and veggies by the end of the month. Is anyone making their own baby food?

sleep OK, I'll admit it...she's spoiled. Last night. she was up every few min till I brought her to bed w/ us after which she slept very well. I have a sinus infection right now so I'm not feeling very well it was just miserable. On a normal night, she's still up at least 3 times a night. :rolleyes: It seems this is not normal compared to what you all are saying. I think it's time to transition her to her bed because she's definitely getting too big for the co-sleeper.

Here's a pic of her her first time in her high chair:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m224/smr50459/CIMG2189-1-1.jpg

[mkvh]

Thanks, shannon!! I'm with you on sitting, but I can WAIT on the crawling :D

LG--You feel bad the first couple times; then you start telling them to suck it up ;)

Web--I made all my own babyfood for the first several months with DD1. It's pretty easy. I plan to do a lot of grinding of our food with this one. I think making my own when I could and using a lot of what we ate helped to transition DD1 to tablefood pretty quickly--she was totally on tablefood well before a year.

WE HAVE ROLLING!!!!! Unfortuantely, it's back to belly while trying to go to sleep. Lots o' screaming tonight ;)

[gelfnrach]

quick reply...gotta get dressed for preschool drop off

web I did all DS1's food myself. Its so easy. If you need ideas, lmk. I got way into it! lol. I will do it with Sam too.

mkvh
Same issue here. We roll onto belly and the crying begins. We are working on the other way but I think the chub makes it harder.
Sams almost sitting too.

Gotta run. BBL with an update!

[lil_geek]

Another roll onto the belly during the night one here. And funny, she has been rolling back to belly for a month, but never tried to roll back. Now that she is the sitting queen, she doesn't really want to be laying anymore so I don't see it happening.

Another crash last night, onto her face. ouch. (mkvh - I can totally see myself telling her to get over it soon! But right now it is so sad to watch her reaction!)

web we are planning on making a lot of our own veggies. I haven't decided about meats yet... since meat here (except pork) is SOOOOO expensive I think it will really be to expensive for the amount she will need. However, I do want to get her on 'table' food quickly, so likely after the first round of foods to check for allergies I will try to make some a little chunkier.

[Loud_curly]

Rolling - Too funny (sad?) about all of the rolling. C is a rolling star - so much that I can't really get him to practice sitting. All he wants to do is plop on his tummy so he can roll. He can move!! Of course, we notice that he really only rolls in one direction, so he can get halfway across the room in no time, but then doesn't come back. And C's been sleeping on his tummy since 3 mos. - as soon as we put him on his back he flips.

mkvh - So cute!! My little guy has no chub whatsoever!

Webdiva - Cutie! Don't you just love how big they look sitting in a high chair?

Well, I gave C a bit of cereal last night. No idea how much he actually ate - he wanted the spoon, but then got upset if there was nothing in it. Still woke up twice - once at 2:30, once at 5. Someday...

[gelfnrach]

sounds like we all have a bunch of rollers!

Well lastnight was better. We had 2 nights of being up literally like every hour! PLUS my 3 year old was up too....ugh. AND I am sick. It was awful. Lastnight was better. 3 year old sttn and Sam slept the first half in the crib, second half in my bed. He mostly did every 3 hours maybe? I think there may have been a shorter stretch in there but I was so beat I dont remember..

webthat pic is adorable. She looks so grown up!

mkvhI love that chub!! :) Oh and I tried wheat...its a no. He bled within 12 hours. ARGH. I.AM.SICK.OF.RICE.

off to relax while he naps.

[WebDiva]

Web--I made all my own babyfood for the first several months with DD1. It's pretty easy. I plan to do a lot of grinding of our food with this one. I think making my own when I could and using a lot of what we ate helped to transition DD1 to tablefood pretty quickly--she was totally on tablefood well before a year.

web I did all DS1's food myself. Its so easy. If you need ideas, lmk. I got way into it! lol. I will do it with Sam too.

web we are planning on making a lot of our own veggies. I haven't decided about meats yet... since meat here (except pork) is SOOOOO expensive I think it will really be to expensive for the amount she will need. However, I do want to get her on 'table' food quickly, so likely after the first round of foods to check for allergies I will try to make some a little chunkier.

Wow...glad to see I'm not the only one who is going to try making baby food! I would love some ideas. I saw some websites a while back, but I will need to start research on that soon.


[B]Webdiva - Cutie! Don't you just love how big they look sitting in a high chair?
Thanks! :) Seems like she's growing up so quick!

sounds like we all have a bunch of rollers!
webthat pic is adorable. She looks so grown up!

Thanks! :)


oh, and I forgot to mention about rolling. She does it when she feels like it...but as soon as you lay her down to sleep, she immediately rolls onto her side...sometimes she'll roll the rest of the way onto her tummy at night.

[lil_geek]

I forgot to post a pick of E sitting last weekend in the garden at my parents....

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v290/64/63/742100213/n742100213_3068620_3910.jpg

And her first taste of cereal 2 weeksago

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v290/64/63/742100213/n742100213_3068617_3172.jpg

[gelfnrach]

lil geekomg shes so adorable! I looove the yellow dress!

Heres Sammy sitting up sorta..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/rskulnik930/183-8329_IMG.jpg

[aligirl]

OMG, so far behind! Everyone's LOs are sooooo cute. I love this age. So fun to see them hitting milestones :)

Here's a pic of Cate....from maybe 2 weeks ago

http://lh4.ggpht.com/alison.mcculloch/SD9mGTu7c9I/AAAAAAAADNw/Ol4U--vT63g/DSC03702.JPG?imgmax=400

She can roll from belly to back (May 30) and back to belly (April 20) and is getting closer and closer to sitting unassisted. We've yet to introduce solid foods. I'm waiting on that a bit longer. I've fought so hard to get her to nurse for this long.....I want to be EBF for just a bit longer :)

[tgal]

Adorable pictures ladies. I seriously need to do some uploading when I have a chance.

Babyfood: I have one thing to say, MAGIC BULLET! I have this thing on my kitchen counter and I toss in some cooked potatoes, veggies, or whatever I make and there you have it, puree! At this point we are on one feeding a day, so one cooking session will give me what I need for the trial period. My dream would be to have a vitamixer! DH doesn't see the justification in buying one, so poo on Costco for having those random demonstrations! ;)

[mkvh]

Solids--Applesauce is a NO. Bananas are a maybe. ;) I just bought some cereal and some Stage 1 jars to try things out. Maybe in the next few weeks.

LG--OMG...E looks JUST like you!!

Web--Totally missed commenting on your pic--A is darling, and she DOES look so old!

rachel--Oh, yeah...Sammy is a chunkster too!

tgal--MIL has one of those. Wonder if she ever uses it....

[WebDiva]

Aww...look at all these cuties! :) Mine can sit up part-time (uses her hand to hold her up).

Web--Totally missed commenting on your pic--A is darling, and she DOES look so old!

Thanks. :) She thinks she's grown too. :rolleyes: LOL

[ShannonGH]

Busy busy in here lately! And loving all the pictures!

Looks like this is a popular exersaucer :)
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l273/shannonhaney/Picture079-1.jpg?t=1212622129

babyfood: I made all of dd's babyfood too and will probably do a lot with ds. If I have a coupon or whatever I'll probably "splurge" on some store bought but the majority will come from what I make. I'm thinking we'll start solids next week sometime. My ped recommends around 6 mos of age but I think he's really ready.

Still waking several times per night here but the last 3 nights he has put himself to sleep at the beginning of the night with no tears- yay! We're following the plan of the book I read and so far so good! It says once your baby can put him/herself to sleep at the beginning of the night w/o a problem, 80% of them will sttn w/in 2 wks. I am not holding my breath that ds will be in that 80% but I do see definite progress with the training so far.

[mkvh]

Shannon, Max's eyes are GORGEOUS!

[Loud_curly]

Yet another fan of the same exersaucer!

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u236/loud_curly/Exersaucer.jpg

And the FP jumperoo:

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u236/loud_curly/Jumperoo-1.jpg


We had a doozy of a night. Horrible storms hit and we lost power. Had to sleep in the basement b/c it was the coolest area of the house. C was up every 2 hours - he didn't want to sleep in the swing or the PnP. We got power back around 5 am - good thing, too, since I was worrying about losing my freezer stash the whole time!

[MaMa2D]

each time i check in here i keep thinking that i'll have time for SOs, and of course i don't! :( i've been so busy with the two and now that we're attending various classes 3 times a week, i don't even get to check in but once every few weeks!

but .... i LOVE the pictures! shannon- max's eyes look exactly like our DS. from my own experience, you must get a ton of compliments/comments. ;) and i have to admit that i love it even more b/c i have dark brown eyes!

sleep issues- ughh, sorry to hear that so many of us are going through the same thing. i've just decided that i make babies that hate to sleep. i'm not kidding. i've come to accept it and have learned to function with minimal to no sleep. i've read, i think, every book out there and am willing to answer any questions about my experience.

teeth- mila was born with TWO! :eek: they never dissolved/disappeared as i was told by her ped and post-partum nurse. however, i think she's definitely about to cut a few new ones. my floors are soaked from her drool. i'm talking i have to change her bib every half an hour. :p

mila's 4 month WBV was pushed out to almost 5 months due to an ongoing cold. her stats were
17 lbs 1 oz
28"
can't remember the head ... it was up there in percentages, as well LOL!

and she is CRAWLING!!! she started at about 5 months. i forgot how much harder it is to leave them unattended when they are this mobile! it is just too much fun for DS, though. for those of you with two, this is when i am really starting to realize how much fun and TROUBLE the two will get into together!

again, i'm hoping to be better about checking in and SOs. all of our babies are gorgeous! can you believe that the december mommies were all in our first trimester, this time, last year!

ETA - Loud_curly, we have the same FP jumperoo for mila! it's so much more fun than the one FP had when DS was a baby ... but, the hanging frog and bird have a tendency to piss her off b/c she can't totally reach them and pull them off! haha!

[mkvh]

Holy crap, MaMa2D!! She is LOOOOONG. G was 26 3/4" at 4m. 28"???? And CRAWLING? Please, please, please don't tell G!

[Loud_curly]

Yeah, let's not spread around the idea to start crawling, OK? We're so not ready for that here!!!

[pelican75]

Just got back from the boys' six month WBV. The stats:

Linus: 16#5.5oz (25-50th); 26.5" long (50th); HC 43cm (25-50th)
Oliver: 16#9.5oz (25-50th); 27" long (75th); HC 44cm (50th)
Miles: 15#14oz (25th); 25.5" long (25th) (actually, this is incorrect, or he shrunk since last month!); HC 43.5cm (25-50th)

Oliver has some fluid in his ears, which we're going to PRAY doesn't turn into an ear infection, but other than that, they're doing great!

[sdauer21]

I know - I'm never around! :( School is finished on Thursday, so I'm really hoping that frees up some of my time and I can get in here more regularly...I miss keeping up with everyone!

Super fast update on Eden (everyone was up before 6:30 this morning, and all are CRABBY!! Is it lunch/nap time yet?!) - she's 6 months old now and I can not believe it! She has her first tooth poppping through (we found it last night), has just started sampling solids (bananas, avacados, applesauce so far), is rolling like crazy, sitting up, and pushing up off her belly...I'm really not ready for mobility! She's still nursing (YEA us - we made it to 6 months!!), sleeps in our room - our bed, most nights - and still loves to yell at us if we aren't paying attention to her. I figure it's a survival skill around here! :rolleyes: Her 6 month wbv is thursday, so I'll have udpated weight and height then. I hear her chattering so she must be awake already...*sigh*

(more pictures on LJ - let me know if you are over there, I'll be happy to add to my FL)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/sdauer21/Eden/Spring2008008.jpg

Sorry - SO later!

[MaMa2D]

mkvh- haha ... yes, she is ridiculously long. and i have to add that i think she was actually 28.5" and the nurse just measured her too quick. when people see her IRL, they guess that she's 10 months old. :eek:

LC- i'll tell mila to keep crawling on the DL. :p

pelican75- keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't turn into an ear infection!

sdauer- YAY for summer vacation!!! looks like eden loves her feet, too!

[Loud_curly]

QOTD - What are your bedtime routines?

I've been trying to figure out how to get a book into our bedtime routine. Right now, we do the following:
1) Bath (or not)
2) Massage/play/dress for bed on changing table
3) Turn on sound soother/dim lights
4) Nurse
5) Burp (a must!) and soft lullaby
6) Kiss cheek and place in crib
7) Fully turn off lights

This method works for us some nights, but other nights he's still way too wound up to go to bed. And I'd like to start reading some. Any thoughts on how to better wind down DS and incorporate a book into the night?

TIA!

[ShannonGH]

Our bedtime routine:

-Pajamas on
-Bottle out in living room
-Go to nursery and read a book (quick, picture book)
-Turn lights off and white noise on
-Rock him long enough for me to sing him one song
-"Night night," kiss, and place in crib awake

[lil_geek]

Our bedtime routine:

-upstairs to bedroom
- strip her and let her play nekkid on the change table to for a bit
-night dipe and pj's
-DH reads her book then kisses her goodnight
-nurse until she is almost asleep then I put her in the crib


E is generally falling asleep on her own at night. Sometimes takes some 'protesting' but sometimes none.



We are still having major sleep issues though... it has to be teeth or major stomach/gas pains. She is so restless she keeps moving and rolling and when she ends up on her tummy she is awake. I have spent about an hour the last 2 nights just rolling her back over and patting her back, she will be asleep and then end up on her tummy again :(

I am so tired!

[pelican75]

Our bedtime routine...

- Bottle
- Bath (every other night)
- Diaper change
- a story (this is hard with all three - sometimes only one gets it, but the other two can hear from their cribs, I guess.)
- lights off

Not very elaborate. But with three, it can't be! :rolleyes:

[ShannonGH]

LG- I am so feeling the pain of the sleepless nights too. :( His sleep has improved w/ the STing but he wakes so frequently between 1-6am. Last night he was wide awake from 1-2:30...not crying, just awake and rolling around. I think (hope) some of his may be due to developmental stuff b/c he's just become pretty mobile in the last couple days: getting up on his knees and scooting forward...which he now likes to try out in bed.:rolleyes: Like mama, I've just come to the realization I do not breed good sleepers.

So hang in there. You're not alone!

[mkvh]

Sleep--I am a firm believer in the power of developmental stuff to ruin sleep! Rolling has pretty much put the kabosh on G putting herself to sleep, and it's too hard putting her down and letting her fuss when C is trying to go to sleep. So we still use the swing/rocking/snuggling a lot.

[pelican75]

The boys' sleep hasn't been great either. We had a week or so of good sleep (well, decent) but last night was rough. Miles woke up twice to eat, Oliver woke once to eat and once to play (!), plus he kept rolling onto his back and couldn't get back on his tummy. Linus was our angel last night, without waking at all! Ah well, 1 out of 3 isn't too bad...

mkvh - that's an interesting thought. I was thinking it was a growth spurt (esp the eating 2x by Miles) but the developmental thing is something to think about. They're going through just an explosion of new stuff right now, so that's definitely a possibility.

[Loud_curly]

I'm right there with you on erratic sleep. The issue we're having now is that C will wake up an hour or two after going to sleep SCREAMING. I mean, not just crying and fussy, but way more than that. I go and comfort him, and rock him, and wind up nursing him (although he's definitely not hungry at that point). The past few nights I had to finally give him Tylenol - I think it might be teething, but I really have no idea. He doesn't have a fever, and daycare doesn't notice anything out of sorts with him (she's very sensitive to behavioral changes - we've been to the ped. twice b/c she suspected ear infections.) But these wakeups are scary, b/c we just don't know how to make it better!

[newmommy]

Hey ladies!! I've been SO sleep deprived(both the boys!) Meaning that I've been MIA

So Luca's six month WBV: 16lbs, 12oz, 27inches. Time is certainly flying by!! He's doing much better at night, although still waking up. I'm trying to cut out the pacifier--because he wakes up 5+ times looking for it! The nights I don't offer it he actually STTN!!!!!!!!

So I'm going to catch up reading all the posts (hopefully there will not be another issue at DS #1's bedtime)

[lil_geek]

...He's doing much better at night, although still waking up. I'm trying to cut out the pacifier--because he wakes up 5+ times looking for it! The nights I don't offer it he actually STTN!!!!!!!!


You know, the one 'parenting' book I have suggests getting rid of the paci by 4-6 months because if a babe is hooked on it after that, when they hit a light sleep cycle and it's fallen out of their mouth, they want it and it will wake them more fully. Something to think about (after my week with the grandparents at least!!)

[newmommy]

lilgeek: I have to say after the past few weeks I have had with DS#1, I'm seriously considering doing it very differently with my little one. As I type my big boy is screaming "help me" from his room--because he doesn't want to sleep in his big boy bed :( It all started with his paci....j/k;):p

[mkvh]

Oh, HELL no am I getting rid of the paci! ;) Though G is not nearly the addict C was at this point, she does need that sucking to soothe herself to sleep. Soon they will be able to find it themselves, so that problem is solved.

Anyone else dealing with the crazy "pick me up now" screaming?? G wants to be held all. the. time. Drives me nuts.

[TerpsFan]

Joining the no-sleepers club here too! She's just having way too much fun twisting and turning all over the place to sleep. We were WIDE-EYED at 3am. Fun times!

B has also decided that pinching is her new favorite pastime. She's been telling me not so subletly that I need to do more weights to get rid of the flabby upper arms. OUCH! I've got a line of mini bruises lining the inside of my bicep.

[pelican75]

Well, last night the boys STTN again. It's so off-and-on with them. But I'm beginning to think that we were putting them to bed too early. I know all the books say "early to bed, late to rise", but in our case, it just isn't true. It's like they need to be kept up later so they can get more food in their tummies. I dunno. I don't want them staying up until 8:30, but if that's what it takes....

[lil_geek]

Joining the no-sleepers club here too! She's just having way too much fun twisting and turning all over the place to sleep. We were WIDE-EYED at 3am. Fun times!


Yup, and I was so excited when she rolled!


Anyone else dealing with the crazy "pick me up now" screaming?? G wants to be held all. the. time. Drives me nuts.
Yes! In that high pitched shriek and shake and red faced way!!

[Loud_curly]

Well, last night the boys STTN again. It's so off-and-on with them. But I'm beginning to think that we were putting them to bed too early. I know all the books say "early to bed, late to rise", but in our case, it just isn't true. It's like they need to be kept up later so they can get more food in their tummies. I dunno. I don't want them staying up until 8:30, but if that's what it takes....

We're noticing the same thing with Cooper. He seems to have better nights when he goes down between 8 - 8:30 than when he goes down before 8. And he usually sleeps later, which is a big help in the morning when we're all racing to get out the door. Of course, we still aren't STTN except on rare occasions, but still. Strange...

terps - OMG, pinching?!? OUCH!

LG and mkvh - No, we're not at the hold me all the time phase (but I'm sure it'll come soon enough). We never had the problem with the paci, since he never took to one. It was either me, or nothing :rolleyes:.

[mkvh]

Terps--Count me in with the pinching. NUTS. They're like teeny, sharp vices. OW. I end up with scabs because I'm really bad about nail trimming.

LG--You hit the nail on the head! Crazy high pitched and from the time she decides she wants to be picked up until you do it. She'll scream till she's choking!

Sleep--We were up 3 times last night, the worst of which she was up to her neck in poop. Lovely. This kid was STTN at 6 weeks and now? Nope.


Nothing else much to report. Other than C is a huuuuuge fan of the water. We've been to the pool and the lake. Both were big hits. She thinks she's big. :rolleyes: Oh...and we had our follow-up at the ped for the UTI and will have lab results. As long as the infection is gone, we'll have the imaging done next week.

[Loud_curly]

Hi everyone! Hope you all had good Father's Day.

We had a low-key weekend. DH and I were diagnosed with strep throat. C seems to be OK so far, so we're keeping our fingers crossed. Still having big time sleep issues - C was up from 3:30 until 5 screaming Sat. night. Last night, it took him an hour to settle down to sleep. He woke up twice in the middle of the night, but quieted back down before I went up to get him. So I guess he STTN, albeit I didn't.

But we gave him some sweet potatoes last night - big hit! So far, this kid loves food!

[ShannonGH]

LC- strep throat, yikes. Hope you feel better soon...and are able to get some sleep!

mkvh- have you had the imaging done yet?

I'm happy to report the STing is going well. He's doing soooo much better overall. Puts himself to sleep around 8pm and sleeps till 7am with just one quick bottle around 3:30am. So much better than the 3+ wakings he was having! Boy, I hope I don't jinx myself by typing that!

We're having fun with trying solids too. It took him about 3 days to get the hang of it but he loves it now. I just made a huge batch of squash and sweet tators this morning. Mmm. ;)

Mobility wise, he's still getting up on all 4s and rocking. And he'll also scoot himself forward to get to a toy. He seems to be entertaining himself so much more these days...which this momma loves!

We had a party to go to Friday night so it was the first time someone else put him down to sleep for the night besides me. Yikes, that did not go well. He started out just fussing but escalated to crying hysterically..so much so that he vomited. :( He quickly calmed down when I got home so I know it was just anxiety from a change in routine and mama not being around. We're supposed to go to a wedding 3 hrs away next month so now I'm seriously rethinking that. Bummer.

[mkvh]

Shannon--Thanks for asking! Our appointment was today. It was rough--lots of time at Childrens, and she screamed pretty much the entire time the catheter was in. So much so that she nearly pushed the catheter out. But it's done. We should have results tomorrow. On another note, her night wakings of late were fruitful: up to 19-12 and 27".

Solids--We've started as well. Rice cereal, apples, bananas and sweet potatos all were hits. She too picked up on it very quickly and actually will grab the spoon to shove it in her mouth!

[newmommy]

MKVH: awww poor baby! I bet you're glad it's over

Shanoon: What's your trick????!!

Solids: DS is a monster eating! He basically eats solids 3x's a day! Honestly before bed tonight he was STARVING. I decided to give him "dessert" he gobbled it right up! His Dr says it's normal...but seems like alot of food. Some days I think that if I decrease the amount of solids throughout the day-he'd drinkn more--and not wake up so often..but no such luck : (

Seriously he's only STTN a handful of times and I'm beyond exhausted : ( : (: (

I was going to Strain him---but he seems to be starving...maybe it's a growth spurt? His pedi says he doens't need it-but he seems so mhungry. Sorry for the vent, just so tired. Thursday is the last day of work before summer vacation...Ihope to have a restful summer :confused::(

[lil_geek]

Shannon - what are you doing for sleep training? PLEASE HELP ME!! E is SOOO overtired, her eyes are red rimmed all day long. And yet it is getting harder and harder to get her to sleep and to stay asleep! Tonight... we have resorted to rocking and walking, something we haven't had to do since she was 2 months old. :( I feel like she is worse then she was as a newborn.


Development wise: She has mastered sitting, and is really trying to crawl. She can push herself around on our hardwood.
Food: She is for the most part loving solids. Though last night and tonight she wanted nothing to do with the sweet potatoes! She LOVED chewing on a broccoli sprig (though we think it gave her gas that night)

Finally - at least the every 2 hours feedings (including overnight!) the last month don't seem to be for nothing. I stepped on the scale with her, and by our home scale she is up nearly 2 whole pounds since her appointment the first week of May! Compared to the 8 ounces from mid-March to May! Little chunk!!

[ShannonGH]

Well, I knew better than to type what I did a couple days ago. Max has woke 2-3 times the last 2 nights. I won't complain too much though since it was much better than before!

LG & newmommy- I ST'ed based on Jodi Mindell's book Sleeping Through the Night. I got mine from the library. It's a very easy read. When I saw how thick it was I thought "I'm sleep-deprived, I don't have the energy to read this right now!" But it went very quickly (and I'm a slow reader) and a lot of it is special circumstances that you may or may not need to read, depending on the troubles you're having. Also, she was a bfing mother so she is senstive to that.

She outlines a specific plan, starting with the baby being able to put him/herself to sleep at the beginning of the night. You work on that for 2 wks and then move on to working on nighttime wakings. I didn't wait the whole 2 wks though. She highly stresses the sleeping enviroment, as well as a bedtime routine. She also gives helpful suggestions like introducing a lovey (or mom's t-shirt) and not having baby feed to sleep. She uses a "check and console" method, although she leaves the increment of time in between "visits" up to the parent. I chose every 4-5 minutes. Keep the visits very brief and boring, never longer than 1 minute. It took Max 4 nights of crying (the most was the second night at 40 minutes-and yes it was ugly, the shortest was the 4th night at 5 minutes). The 5th night he put himself to sleep w/o a peep. Granted, we have had to do a couple "maintenance nights" since then but never more than 10 min of fussing. The idea behind her method is that once babies/children learn to put themselves to sleep at the beginning of the night, they can then generalize that skill to nighttime wakings. Max is not STTN yet but part of that is partially due to me...I have not broke him of his nighttime bottle yet. His sleep is substantially better than before and I feel better now that I'm getting more sleep so it was a success in my eyes. HTH!!

[mkvh]

Well...we're CLEAR!!!!! :D Both the renal u/s and urinary reflux test were NORMAL! What a relief.

Sleep--It's a crapshoot as to whether she STTN or not. We had several days of 1-3 nightwakings, I think growth-spurt related. Now we've had a couple good nights in a row. The big news in our house is that putting her down drowsy but awake is WORKING!! She actually hasn't gone to sleep in the swing for two nights in a row!

Sitting--Oh, yeah. And she's starting to get to her belly from sitting--suddenly she doesn't hate being on her belly! Please, no crawling soon!

Solids--LOVING them. DH remarked yesterday on how quickly she's "caught on". Day 2 she was pulling the spoon into her mouth!

Nothing much else going on. Pretty soon my 2 are going to be wearing the same size pants! They're only 7 or so lbs apart, and today C had on 12-18m capris (she'll be 2 in less than a month, just skinny) from Gymbo, and G's jeans were a 6-12m from there as well and were too tight!

[ShannonGH]

Great news mkvh! What a relief!
Too funny about your girls so close in size. I think Max is close on Noa's heels too!

[rehoboth]

Hey gals, just wanted to pop my head in to say hello. I miss the camaraderie of a group thread but feel bad when I can keep up. I scrolled through quickly and saw pictures of your beautiful babies. What a good looking group!

Things are going well over here. I started WAH part-time back in February, so that's consumed most of my time. Well, that and mommying three! Luke will be 6 months old tomorrow. Where's the time gone??

Miss you girls. If you want to see pics of my darlings, come see me over at LJ. Or shoot me a PM or email (rehoboth at gmail). :)

[ShannonGH]

Dropping off a summertime pic of my guy (5.5 mos). He had his first haircut a few days ago. He had a major comb-over going on and he just needed an good trim all over to even things up. It looks a little short right now but I think it'll look good for his 6 month pics in a few weeks.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l273/shannonhaney/Picture073.jpg?t=1213975548

[Loud_curly]

Shannon - Those blue eyes are just deadly!! Love the hair!

Rehoboth - Hi there! No worries about keeping up in the thread - it's not the fastest moving one around :)!

mkvh - YAY for the all clear! What a relief!

DS turned 6 mos. on Friday. Our reward - he STTN 3 nights in a row (and counting)! And I'm talking 8-6 or so. Not sure what the trick is - we didn't do much different. And he even napped better!

As for solids, OMG, does this guy love to eat! So far, he's had sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, bananas, pears, and rice and oatmeal cereal. He grabs for the spoon, opens his mouth wide, and even bangs on his tray if the food doesn't come fast enough!

We had our first baby swim class on Sat. DS went in with DH. He didn't like it at first, but then started splashing and laughing. Too cute!

Finally, we found out this weekend that DS is going to have a cousin, due Dec. 29! December's going to be a VERY busy month for my family!

[pelican75]

I will see if I can get this moving a little too. :)

rehoboth - will have to check you out on LJ - i'm pyjammy over there.

happy 6 months loud! well, i mean to your son. ha! that's great that he's STTN! my boys started doing it almost exactly at 6 months too. but they're not perfect at it yet, we still have one that wakes up almost every night to eat. (though it changes which one it is...fun!)

they've gotten good at eating too. they're eating rice cereal (not huge fans of it, so i let daycare give it to them - hey, that's what i'm paying them for, right?), applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, and peas. so far their favorites seem to be sweet potatoes and peas.

my cousin's wife is also expecting in december, she's due just a few days after the boys' birthday. so we're going to have a lot of december birthdays in our family too. :)

ETA: here's a picture of all three from yesterday. that's my brother holding them. it's hard to get pictures of all three together, unless someone is holding them. :)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2603270415_29e1ecf202.jpg?v=0

[Loud_curly]

Pelican - I think the boys look just like your brother!! Too cute!! (And have you tasted rice cereal? Talk about blah!! We mixed in the fruits with it to give it some taste.)

[pelican75]

Loud - that's so funny that you say that! Everyone thinks so. When they were born, they looked JUST like him. All bald and stuff. :p

I haven't tasted rice cereal myself, but DH did. And he liked it. I think he just said that to gross me out. When I feed it to them (on weekends) I do mix it with something to make it a little more palatable.

[TazLuv]

Hi ladies, I've been lurking but haven't really had a chance to post. Adele is napping, so I'll try...

Sleep - Adele is sleeping through the night for the most part, she usually goes down around 9 and gets up at 7. She woke up two nights in a row last week but I figured out it was b/c she was leaking through her diaper. I added another insert last night and she slept right through - yay!

Eating - Adele is finally getting the hang of the solids. We haven't been trying them hard core which could be why it took her a little longer. The first time we tried rice cereal she was wearing more of it then she ate. Last week I switched to the oatmeal with bananas in it and she seems to like that a lot more. She's still not eating much in each sitting and I'm only trying once/day but she seems to be getting it. We're going on vacation next week so I haven't really pushed it b/c taking formula only will be so much easier. She is now on formula exclusively, I finished pumping about a week ago. She doesn't even seem to have noticed.

Development: If you sit her up she will sit up for quite a while and can steady herself if she starts to topple. She's babbling up a storm, its hilarious to just watch her listen to herself. I can't believe she'll be six months on Friday.

Shannon - I LOVE the picture, his eyes are so blue!

Pelican - yours are too cute too, I've checked in on your blog a few times.

Ok, I hear Adele stirring I better go. I'll try to be better about keeping up.

[newmommy]

Taz: what's your trick? DS#1 was STTN by now, not my little Luca!

[WebDiva]

For some reason I haven't been getting email updates from this thread.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Pelican, I think the boys look just like your brother too! They are so cute!

Aurelia has been sitting up for a few weeks now. She puts weight on her legs very well. Her doctor said at her appt yesterday that he expects she'll be crawling soon. :eek: We are soooooo not ready for that.

SSTN: Well, she usually goes down to sleep around 8. She still wakes up several times a night to eat, but even then she's just barely awake and immediately is back to sleep. She wakes up for good around 8.

She had her 6 mo appt yesterday.

Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 8oz
Height: 26"
Head (can't remember)

[TazLuv]

newmommy, I don't know that we have a "trick" Adele is a very good sleeper. We're not bf'ing, she's formula fed. About 8pm we start her bedtime routine, baths some night, then a book, then we change her diaper then she gets her last 6oz bottle for the night. Most nights she falls asleep while eating it (I know you're supposed to put them down awake) and the nights that she doesn't I give her her paci and shut the door. She may cry a few minutes but then is out. Sorry I don't really have any wisdom on how to make it work for someone else.

[gelfnrach]

Hi ladies~!
For some reason I dont get emails saying theres been a post all of a sudden...my computer is nuts so maybe thats it.
I have little time but wanted to pop in and say hello

Sams doing great. I will post more later but his weight 2 wks ago (5.5 mos) was 20 lbs 4 oz!!!

More SOs later but PelicanOMG your boys look JUST like my older son did!! Iwill have to post a pic below! I bugged out when I saw it! Its really crazy!
Heres Ben at about 7 mos
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/rskulnik930/133-3313_IMG.jpg

[Loud_curly]

We had our 6 mo. WBV on Tuesday. Here are DS's stats:

Height: 26.25 in.
Weight: 17 pounds
HC: 17

Still on the smaller side, but it's the biggest percentile he's been in (35% for weight, 50% for height).

As for sleeping, we've been STTN consistently for the past week!!! He's been going down between 8 and 9 (sometimes with a bit of a fight), and then getting up between 6 and 7!!! We follow the pretty much the same routine as Tazluv - he gets his solids meal around 6:30/7, then we play for a half hour. Then it's bathtime, massage time, book time, and nursing. Most nights he's still awake after nursing, so I sing to him and then kiss him on the cheek and put him in the crib. He usually plays for a bit - he knows how to turn on his mobile, and he can put his paci in and out when he wants. I also gave him a lovey, and I think that's helped a lot. He may wake up once or twice in the middle of the night, but calms back down and falls asleep in a few minutes without our interference. I hope this keeps up!!!

[ShannonGH]

Well no STTN here (still have the 1 bottle feeding) but we do have a top tooth! And the one next to it is very close behind. The kid can scoot all over the room to get what he wants and get in/out of a pseudo-sitting position (he's more leaning up on one butt cheek). Not a "classic crawl" yet but I'd say it's not far behind. We don't have our 6mo wbv for another few weeks...I'm so curious to see his stats.

We went to visit my mom for a couple days recently. His naps were fine but he had such a hard time sleeping at night due to not being in his own crib. I even sold my PNP on craigslist beforehand and bought a portable crib so it would be more like what he's used to sleeping in but it didn't seem to make a difference.

[newmommy]

Hello ladies, I don't get that email update anymore either :confused:

Well today I was committed to staying in and figuring out Luca's schedule. He's already napped twice(over 2 hrs each time!). He's in for his third nap now. I told DH we should wake him by 5:30---so we can put him down by 7pm. Well I also noticed that his formula intake is quite low. I believe he has had about 16oz of formula so far today(just about 4oz each feeding). I'm wondering if that's part of the reason why he wakes so frequently at night to eat. I've given him three solid meals so far today---and I plan to top him off with a bit of cereal before his final bottle. I kind of hope that the whole "sleep begets sleep" thing works because he has never slept so much during the day!

I even got DS#1 to take a nap(he was up a few hours last night--2yo molars)---and mommy got one too today:D Be back tomorrow with the update--cross your fingers for us!!!

[gelfnrach]

Sleep question how do you all get them to stay up till 8?? Sam is exhausted and begging for sleep by 6:30....Hes only waking twice between 6:30 and 6 AM but I would love to cut that down to one waking! I just cant keep him up longer. My 3.5 year old also goes to bed this early and STTN till 6 but he doesnt nap at all.

Solids question How many meals are you giving and how much at each? I was only doing one, then moved to two but I swear he needs more...I gave him 3 yesterday and he was more content (and not nursing every 1.5 hours like he usually does). Maybe its his size? Gotta up the calories for that chub! its so strange since my older son was totally not interested in food (just bubbs, lol!).

Its like learning all over again when you have two totally different kids! lol. :)

What else to update??? hmm...oh, we are sitting up really well. I can now finally leave him on the floor sitting and playing without stressing he will topple over. I forgot how much more freedom you have with this. I can actually go get my older son a snack or whatever and he can just sit, rather than me bringing him into the kitchen and doing everything one handed! Hes into everything though. Grabs at anything you put near him. Hes going to be a handful when hes crawling, I can just see it now! I have already put away all the obvious chokeables but we certainly have alot more--like those little cars and stuff.

[Loud_curly]

sleep - We can get DS to stay up until 8 or later sometimes b/c we both WOH. We pick him up from daycare between 5:30 and 6, and then get home between 6 and 6:30. So he needs some mommy and daddy time. That said, some nights it's solids, bath, nurse, bed in rapid succession if really tired. Last night he was asleep around 7:30. Still gets up around 6 am every day, though.

As for night wakings, we did a modify CIO (much like what LG is describing). Once we saw that DS could STTN on his own, we knew he could get through w/o eating. So if he woke before 2 am or so, no food. We'd usually let him cry for a few minutes to see if he'd settle right back down or not. Then DH would go up. After 2, I assumed he was hungry and would nurse. Now he just sleeps through - maybe b/c of all that he's eating? (see below). I can't complain.

Solids - We're already on 3 solid "meals" a day. Our schedule looks something like this (during the week at daycare):
6 am - nurse
8:30 am - cereal with fruit (bananas, pears, etc.) at DC
10:00 am - bottle of BM and formula (7 oz. total)
10:30 am - nap
1:00 pm - bottle of BM and formula
2:30 pm - veggies (sweet potatoes, squash, peas)
3:30 pm (maybe) - nap
4:30 pm - bottle of BM and formula
6:30 pm - veggie and oatmeal
7:30 pm - nurse and bed

Weekends we're a bit more go with the flow, since I nurse and we're frequently out and about, so the meals are a bit more haphazard.

Now, his solid meals aren't that large yet - maybe the size of a Stage 1 jar and then some cereal. But he's an eater, and once he polishes off our Stage 1 jars, we'll move onto stage 2. (And DC gives him fresh pureed food, so the jars are only for my reference at home when feeding him.)

[lil_geek]

Sleep: the last few nights we have been working on minimizing the feedings. Last night E only got 2. She woke up twice between 8 and 2am but we got her settled without nursing! But at 4am she was all over the place... i nursed her and she ate a TON! So I guess she really was hungry. Of course, we are going to mess it all up because we are leaving tonight for a wedding, 3 nights at my parents.

Solids: We do a Farley's biscuit in the morning, she eats it herself while I have breakie. Then we do diner around 6... she isn't eating anywhere NEAR a jar yet! She gets about 2 tablespoons of cereal and maybe 1 of a veggie or meat (she likes the meats best!) and I have been giving her a bit of prunes for 'dessert' to help things along. I have no urge to start 'lunch' as a solids meal because it will make life much more complicated! That said, she does like her puffs and I found Organic Mum mums have no milk so she will likely snack on those while at play group and such.

[TazLuv]

Solids: Adele is barely touching them yet. Of course we haven't really pushed them b/c we're going on vacation next week and they'd just be a hassle. Our ped told us there was no rush until she was 6 months and that's today so we'll try hard core after we get back on the 6th. Right now I mix oatmeal with banana flavoring every other day or so and try to get her to eat it. She eats about six bites or so and then becomes disinterested (i.e spitting it out). Of course I haven't figured out the best time to give it to her, I think is I could find a time where she was more hungry she'd eat more. Right now she's taking a 6 oz bottle every 3-4 hours with 8+oz at bed.

[newmommy]

Reading how much your babies are eating, I really don't get why Luca isn't STTN yet!

Here was our schedule today:

7am:bottle(4-6oz)
8am: jar of fruit and cereal
9am: nap
11am:playtime
11:30:bottle(4oz)
12:00:lunch(veggie)
1:00:nap
3:00:bottle(4oz)
4:00:he went in for a short nap
5:00:veggie/meat combo
6:00:playtime cried for more of his bottle(2oz)
7:00:bath/book/bed(4oz)

I expect he'll be up like last night: 9pm(he'll probably have 4more oz) then I plan to feed him again if he wakes after that(instead of trying to push him off with paci).

I'm EXHAUSTED. DS#1 was up 2x's last night--DH took care of him. I don't know
what is going on around here!! He's my second child, why can't I figure this out???:confused:

[ShannonGH]

Solids- we just do one meal/day. It's in the evening and it's usually around 4 oz (sometimes more, sometimes less).

It's so interesting to read people's schedules. Like, for instance LC, I'm amazed Cooper can stay up for so long in the morning before he nap!

Max's schedule isn't really a schedule since his naps still vary greatly (anywhere from 30 min to 2 hrs). Here's a rough schedule though:

7am wake
8am- bottle (6oz)
9am- nap
10:30- bottle (6-8 oz)
12:00- nap
2:00- bottle (6-8 oz)
3:30- nap
5:00- bottle (4 oz)
6:00- solids
7:15- bottle (6 oz) as part of bedtime routine
7:45ish- bed

[TazLuv]

Adele's schedule is finally starting to get consistent.

7 to 7:30 - Wake Up, Eat 4-6oz formula
8:45 to 9:15 - Eat 2-4oz
9 to 9:30 - Nap (usually this is 90 mins to 2 hours but sometimes its 45)
~11 - Up from nap
~1 - Eat 6oz
~2 - Nap
~3 or 3:30 - Up from nap
~4 - try oatmeal, bottle (depends on how much oatmeal she ate 2-6oz)
Then she tends to eat more often until she goes to bed, between 5 and bed she eats another 12 ounces, usually she's ready for bed between 8-10.
Sometimes we try to put her down when we think she's ready, other times we follow her clues. I'd rather she stayed up until 10 and slept till 7 then went to bed to early and didn't STTN. In total she gets about 30oz/day.

[Loud_curly]

Shannon - Cooper naps much earlier with us on the weekends - he's down by 9:30, if not sooner. Most mornings into daycare he dozes in the car, then gets excited to see all the kids so he wakes up. The 10:30 nap is usually pretty long - 1.5 hours or so. What I'm still not happy about is that he really doesn't get an afternoon nap when he's at daycare. When he's with us on the weekends, he usually takes a shortish afternoon nap.

Sleep - This weekend was baaadd. He wouldn't go down without a fight, and then he was up both nights. I think it's teething, and I hope they break through soon!!! All of us are struggling these days!

[WebDiva]

Solids...we are trying once a day and she's sort of iffy on that.

We still aren't on much of a schedule. The last few weeks she's been iffy on naps for some reason. Somedays she'll go an entire day with only one or 2 catnaps (20 min each).

[sdauer21]

Not much time, so I'll do quickie update while the house is quiet!

We had E's 6 month wbv a few weeks ago. Her stats:
(shoot - I can't find them right now...I suppose I might have actually put them in her baby book already!)
I think she was about 15 1/2lbs, but that's all I remember! :o

She's loving solids - we aren't on too much of a routine with those, but I try to give her some at least once a day. Lately, she's been begging for some just about every time we put her in her high chair (I do that if I'm making food for the big girls). She's had peas, beans, sweet potatoes, applesauce, bananas, pears, and carrots. I've made some of it (just throwing food in the food processor, and adding bm or formula for the right consistency), and bought some. Now that I have some containers, I'll probably make more through the summer.

She was on a great routine when I got done with school, thanks to DH, but I've all but goofed most of it up since I've been off work. :p But, what's left of it looks like this:
Wake - 6:30-7:30
(If she hasn't eaten all night, like she's been doing lately, she'll have a snack when she wakes up.)
Play - until 9 or 9:30, depending on when she woke up
Nap - until 10 or 11, depending on when she went down
Lunch - around 11:30 (nurse, and maybe eat solids, depending on our day)
Nap - 1 - 3-ish
Play
Dinner - 5:30 (solids - she usually nurses right before we eat, if I can squeeze it in before dinner)
Bath/bedtime - 7:15

Up until the last 2 nights, she's been eating all.night.long!! At first I thought it was her 6 month growth spurt, then I thought it was just catching up on "quiet time with mom" after I got done with work, then I think it was habit...whatever it was, I'm TIRED! The last 2 nights, she actually slept until 3:30, ate, then back into her bed until 5:30!! I was so excited, until I ended up with a plugged duct last night, and had to get up to pump at 2:30 in extreme pain!

She's also mobile! She sits great now, and has figured out how to scootch all over the place. She occasionally gets forward motion, but mostly she moves backwards. If she sees something she's interested in, she'll figure out how to get there. Abigail is starting to loose interest in her, as she can now get towards A's toys - suddenly, baby sister isn't quite so much fun! And we officially can no longer leave her unattended on high things, like the bed. She rolled off it this morning - luckily, DH had put a pillow on the floor, just in case, but she's never rolled around on the bed before today. She wasn't hurt, but I know that will be the last time she's left there! We are still nursing, which amazes me on a daily basis! I'm in totally new territory with bf now, and excited to think we'll actually make it to 9 months this time! Of course, she loves to use her 1 front tooth, so I've had the pleasure of getting bitten a few times...that's a first I wouldn't have minded skipping!

well, I hear stirring...guess nap time is about over. Trying to stay caught up, but I just can't figure out where all the time goes!

[Loud_curly]

Just stopping by to wish everyone a Happy 4th! We're heading up to Boston on Friday to celebrate with family - hope we have a quick and easy flight!

We're still doing OK here. DS is an eating machine - we haven't found anything yet he doesn't like. (Of course, we haven't moved onto meats and such yet.) And nights are still rough - no consistency at all in whether he wakes up in the middle of the night, or what early morning hour he's up for the day. And still no teeth.

[ShannonGH]

Happy 4th to you too LC!

No big plans here. Just going to the pool, a BBQ, the in-laws, etc. Dh is golfing on Friday so I told him I get tomorrow off (ie. no parental duties). I'm so psyched. Not doing much else but running a ton of errands and getting a pedicure but I'm happy doing anything child-free since I'm with them 24/7. :)

[lil_geek]

Today we had a PED's appointment for E and her food allergies. Essentially he said we are doing great, keep up the good work and if she has reactions at a year, to head back.

We don't have her 6 month appointment for a few weeks... we are behind! But they weighed and measured her

Head - 43cm
Height - 25"
Weight - 14 pounds 9 ounces (up from 12 pounds 8 ounces on May5!!)

Yes, my little porker! She has put on 2 pounds in 2 months, verses the 8 ounces in the previous 2 months!!!

We had Canada Day yesterday....Elizabeth was all decked out in Red and White.... and sported a new Ponytail for the occasion!

http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v265/64/63/742100213/n742100213_3390247_178.jpg

Happy Fourth to everyone else!

[Angie]

Hi Ladies!

I'm such a horrible poster, but I have to tell you...I'm a wonderful lurker! :D I've been reading along the whole time. Since Abby was born on January 25, I think she's probably one of the youngest ones in here, so its fun to see what's in store for us right around the corner.



We don't have her 6 month appointment for a few weeks... we are behind! But they weighed and measured her

Head - 43cm
Height - 25"
Weight - 14 pounds 9 ounces (up from 12 pounds 8 ounces on May5!!)


I'm so envious of those of you with small babies. I took Abby in to the ped this morning (she has discovered a 'wheezing' sound she can make and has been scaring me into thinking she can't breathe) and at 5 months and 1 week, she's 18 pounds 7 ounces!

It doesn't help that she's a high needs baby that demands to be carried around all the time. She can't go much more than 1.5 hours between naps without getting cranky and when she gets cranky, she wants to be carried. So if we're out somewhere like the grocery store, I can't have her in the infant car seat or stroller, I end up carrying her around in the Bjorn. It gets exhausting! If she's tired, I wish she would just fall asleep in her stroller. Any suggestions?

But my whining aside :o, we're starting to have a lot of fun! She's rolling all over the place. She's smiling, laughing, cooing and this week she's found her bottom lip and has been sucking on it. It's pretty funny because she gets this super serious look on her face when she's doing it. The ped said she's not all that close to teething yet and she's still pretty wobbly if I try to sit her down. If she's sitting and I put her hands on the ground, she can support herself, but she's not doing it consciously yet. She lifts her hands and starts to topple.

At the her 4 month WBV, the ped said we could slowly start introducing solids. She told us not to do rice cereal because Abby has had problems with constipation, so we started with Stage 1 foods instead. She LOVES apples, pears and prunes, is so so on bananas and carrots, questionable on sweet potatoes and HATES sweet peas! I have to say, the sweet peas are pretty yucky. She's a big baby and a big eater. If I let her, she'll eat an entire Stage 1 container of her favorites.

I'm still nursing (at least part-time), but she's getting less and less interested in it. The only time she will really nurse well is first thing in the morning and right before bed. Otherwise, she'll nurse for maybe 4-5 minutes and then want to roll over and look around her room. Because of this, I've been giving her a bottle during the day (of formula...I HATE pumping). She's never been EBF since she was 2 or 3 days old, so it doesn't bother me to give her formula. I would like to continue to BF even part-time for at least a few more months. Hopefully she's getting at least a little bit of the nutrients and antibodies.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July! I'll try to be less of a lurker and more of an active particpant! :D

Oh, before I forget, her 4 month WBV stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 3 oz (98.02%)
Length: 26.5 inches (98.87%)
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (75.58%)

[lil_geek]

Angie - E was/is very clingy too. It drives me nuts (but yes, at least she is small enough to cart around!).... it got better around 5 months and now she is getting MUCH better. Once she could sit on her own she was much happier at home to sit and play. I suspect a bit of reflux that now on solids, doesn't bother her as much either.

According to babycenter
Head - 43cm (25%)
Height - 25" (below 5%)
Weight - 14 pounds 9 ounces (up from 12 pounds 8 ounces on May5!!) (below 5%)

[TerpsFan]

Loud_curly - Hey we drove up last night to RI to visit family for the weekend. Hopefully we all have nice weather for tomorrow. The drive was good..no tickets near Co-op city this time! :D

Have a good flight!

[mkvh]

Eh..Angie...my DD was 19-12 at 5m2w :D And she's not the biggest in the thread!

As I type, we're packing for the beach. Can't wait to get there. Wish much luck for the 11 hour drive!!

I'll have pics when I return.

HAPPY 4TH!

[newmommy]

Hey there everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday! We went down to my SIL's beach house... oh man the night was AWFUL!!

DS#1 slept with us-and woke up screaming....and spent the rest of the night squirming/kicking and talking in his sleep.

Our little Luca: let's just say he was up EVERY hour crying..and took over two hours to settle down at one point. It was terrible..the whole house was up because of it. He just wouldn't sleep...I didn't htink he was old enough to get so out of whack! DS#1 at his age had no problem with over night stays! He STTN no matter where we were :rolleyes: This little bambino...well he won't STTN anywhere!! :(

Other than that it was a nice visit-despite everyone telling me how tired they were....when mommy here slept maybe 2hrs all night!

Okay sorry for the mini vent!! LOL I can't believe Luca is going to be 7 months in just a few days!!! Where does the time go???

[Angie]

lg - I'm hoping you're right about sitting being the turning point...that's what I've been hoping for!

mkvh - ok, I'm not complaining about my little chunker anymore! Holy moly...almost 20 pounds! How did the drive go?

newmommy - I'm sorry to hear you had a rough night! 7 months!?! Wow...that sounds so grown up!

Us - we're having a good 4th of July weekend. We had some friends come over today and think Abby is developing a little bit of stranger anxiety. She's okay with people she sees often holding her, but she gets really scared and cries if someone she doesn't know tries to. Overall, she's been in a pretty good mood. She actually sat up in her swing today. DH didn't have her harnessed in because he was sitting on the floor next to her pushing the swing, and she sat up. Of course the swing is not flat, so she didn't have a long way to go. Also, since the sides are curved, it helped keep her from toppling over...but still...DH and I were excited!

[Loud_curly]

Hope everyone had a good 4th!

We had a fairly successful trip. We got an empty seat on the flight up to Boston, so DS slept in his carseat the entire time! The party was a ton of fun - there were about 120 people there (a family of 9 kids will do that), and tons of steamers and lobsters - yummy!

DS got to go swimming several times in the pool - he's such a water bug! Loves the water! He also proceeds to eat anything he can - watermelon was a huge hit! As was a piece of bagel. We're now on 3 meals, plus lots of nursing/bottles. I think he's eating every hour he's awake now!!

His sleep is still only OK. He did really well the first night, but terribly the second night. STTN is still a rare occurrence. But he's such a joy to be with - he is just so happy all of the time. I can't help but smile whenever I see him.

MIL is watching him for the next 2 weeks while DC is closed (the downside to having an in-home provider). But she's loving it. And, DH and I are heading to Aruba on Friday for a few days - without DS!!! There will be lots of pumping in my future, but I'm so looking forward to getting 8 hours of sleep (plus some naps on the beach!).

[lil_geek]

LC - glad your trip was good!

E is an eating machine too! And she loves 'real' food! Watermelon was good fun on the weekend too.

We are up at my parents this week. I LOVE having help even if I don't get ot sleep through the night ;) Just an extra set or 2 of hands are great!

[ShannonGH]

Aruba?! I'm so jealous!!! :)

[TazLuv]

Hi ladies! I've lost my super-sleeper! :( Adele has started waking up and eating in the middle of the night, maybe its a growth spurt. She wakes up, guzzles a 6oz bottle and is back asleep within 20 minutes so at least its fast but it was so nice to STTN.

Anyway, Adele has her 6 month vaccinations earlier this week, her stats:

Length 26 inches, 36%
Weight 15 lbs 7oz, 31%
Head 43.5cm, 75%

So she still has a big head! :D

[ShannonGH]

Sorry about the sleep issues Taz. Max continues to have them so I feel your pain. Most of the time he'll wake up crying and then just fall back asleep on his own w/in 20 seconds. Last night he did this twice. Then, woke again for his nightly bottle (which I've yet to break him of but would like to soon).

6 month stats:
weight 20lb
length 28"
(90th % for both)

Overall he's doing well (except for the sleeping at night issues). I got his pictures taken yesterday and he looks like such a big boy! So grown up. I brought the pictures home to show dh and he said "Well who is this young man?" ;)

[pelican75]

Oh yeah! We had our 7 month ped visit the other day. The boys' stats:

Linus: 17#8.5oz (25-50th); 27.5" long (50-75th); HC 44cm (25-50th)
Oliver: 17#5.5oz (25-50th); 27.5" long (50-75th); HC 44.25cm (50th)
Miles: 16#13.5oz (10-25th); 27.25" long (50th); HC 44cm (25-50th)

Because they were preemies, we were going to the ped every month. (Or maybe it's because they do a very drawn out vax schedule?) I'm happy that we don't have to go next month, because with three babies, the copays add up fast!

And here's their 7 month pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pyjammy/2636664430/

[pelican75]

gelfnrach - i only just now saw the link to your son. and he is SO cute! ack! i consider it a huge compliment that you think my boys look like him. but i agree, they do a bit! i only wish they had that much hair... :)

[mkvh]

Hey ladies!! We're back. G did pretty well on the drive, though she is a car seat hater. My older DD never has been. Not fun. Sleep was a disaster, though--waking 2-3 times per night and up at 6-ish every day for the day. We coslept a lot, but I still didn't get enough sleep. She did love the sand and the pool, but the ocean freaked her out a bit. She seems to be getting really interested in self-feeding and wants everyone's food. Guess we'll be trying out some things.

I posted in the Food Allergy thread that I was lax with my diet, and she did pretty darn well, so I think I'm just avoiding obvious dairy and nuts for the time being and testing dairy in August. Oh, could I go for some ICE CREAM!! :D

Here's a pic:

http://images.photo.walgreens.com/232323232%7Ffp43239%3Enu%3D323%3B%3E287%3E%3A%3C2% 3EWSNRCG%3D323377%3C%3B%3C3%3C86nu0mrj

[ShannonGH]

Oh, what a great picture! Do your girls resemble each other? And I'