April/May 08 Mommies:Counting down to One!

[May2008Mommies]

Welcome April and May 2008 Mommies!

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k269/lp_becky/baby3da7.jpg

Who we are: A group of women who were due in April and May 2008. Some of us had our babies in March, April, May, and June. But we don't discriminate! :p

What we talk about: Anything and everything, from our growing babies to our personal problems. There really is no such thing as "TMI."

Why: Because we can, and because it's nice to know there are other women out there who might be going through the exact same thing you are.

If you weren't a member of the April or May 2008 Mommies pregnancy group but would like to join here, feel free! If you would like to, post the following information in red:

Username:
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
DS/DD: Name
Birthdate:
Time of birth:
Weight at birth:
Length at birth:
Any other children:

May 2008 Pregnancy and Mommy threads:
May 2008 Mommies: Movin' and Shakin' Through Winter (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44040)
May 2008 Mommies: Watching our Babies Grow (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42836)
May 2008 Mommies: Our Babies Have Bloomed! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41576)
May 2008 Mommies: Babies Under Construction (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35886)
May 2008 Mommies: A Baby Bump for the Holidays (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37562)
May 2008 Mommies: From the Second to the Third Trimester (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39419)
May 2008 Mommies: Babies in Full Bloom (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40616)

[May2008Mommies]

Member list


Alioop12345
Me: Ali, 35DH: Aron, 30
EDD: 4/14/08
Tessa Isabelle
Birthdate: April 3
Time: 2:23 pm
Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children: Jake, 2/3/4

anemone
me: 33
dh: 33
dd: Eloise
birthdate: 5/14/08
time: 8.41am
weight: 8lbs 14oz
length: 20 inches
other children: DS, Henry 2.5 years

Baby Lust
Me: Amanda, 25
DH: Shane, 30
DD1: Hailey Marie
DD1 Birthdate: 4/29/08
DD1 Time of birth: 5:55pm
DD1 Weight at birth: 3lbs 10oz
DD1 Length at birth: 17 1/4"
DD2: Madelyn Claire
DD2 Birthdate: 4/29/08
DD2 Time of birth: 5:58pm
DD2 Weight at birth: 5lbs 1oz
DD2 Length at birth: 18 1/2"
Any other children: DS, Lucas 6/13/06

BridalLace
Me: Heather, 35
DH: Cristian, 34
EDD: April 7, 2007
Ethan
Birthdate: March 28
Weight: 8lbs
Length: 19 inches
Other children: Elodie, born 5/7/05

Chelsea524
Me: Chelsea, 25
DH: Jonathan, 36
EDD: 4/25/08
Avery and Harrison
Birthdate: March 15
Times: 9:47 and 9:49 am
Weights: 4.10 and 5.13
Lengths: 17 inches and 18.5 inches
Other children: DS Trystin 9/29/99, DS Corbin 8/13/04

coquelicot
Me: K, 30
DH: B, 31
EDD: 4/29/2008
C.J.
Birthdate: April 14
Time: 2:15am
Weight: 7lb 5.2oz
Length: 21 inches

Crystal_Orchid
Me, A, 32
DH: L, 35
EDD: March 28, 2008
Avelyn Grace
Birthdate: March 25

CT's Punkin
Me: Name, age - 36
DH: Name, age - 39
DS/DD: Name - Gabriel (aka GTT)
Birthdate: 5/13/08
Time of birth: 10:48pm
Weight at birth: 7lbs 11oz
Length at birth: 20 3/4"

Da1sy
Me: Daisy, 31
DH: Eddie, 32
EDD: April 11, 2008
Nathaniel Ivan
Birthdate: March 20
Time: 3:46
Weight: 5lbs 6.45oz
Length: 19 inches

Dettes
Me: Bernadette - 34
DH: Mike -35
DS/DD: Caroline
Birthdate: 5/21/08
Time of birth:10:35 a.m.
Weight at birth:7lbs 13oz
Length at birth:19 3/4
Any other children:Will - 4, Kate - 3

ducgal
Me: Victoria, 39
DH: Kevin, 40
DS/DD: Ivan
Birthdate: 5/19/08
Time of birth: 10:05P
Weight at birth: 9lbs, 15 ozs
Length at birth: 21 1/4 inches
Any other children: nope

E&O
Me: Kelly, 30
DH: Nathan, 31
DS/DD: Cooper
Birthdate: 4/27/08
Time of birth: 2:43am
Weight at birth: 6lb, 11 oz
Length at birth: 19 1/4 in
Any other children: DD, Kate, 23 months

FoxyBlue
Me: L, 24
DH: N, 28
EDD: 4/28/2008
Dawson
Birthdate: April 23
Time: 10:51 am
Weight: 8lb 10oz
Length: 21.5 inches

IrishEyes
Me: Kellie, 34
DH: Rob, 36
DS/DD: Carson
Birthdate: 5/13/08
Time of birth: 6:57pm
Weight at birth: 8 lb, 11 oz
Length at birth: 21 1/2 in
Any other children: DS, Brody, 3 yrs old

Gabe's Mom
Me: Natasha
DH: Jeff
EDD: April 10. 2008
Lucas
Birthdate: April 11
Weight: 8lbs 10 oz
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Gabe 10/4/05

Ironhair
Me: Sidney, 32
DH: Jason, 33
DD: Alivia Paige
Birthdate: 05-04-08
Time of Birth: 7:25am
Weight at Birth: 8 pounds
Length at Birth: 21 inches
Other Children: DS, Aiden Brock, 05-14-06

jaredsgirl
Me: Megan, 30
DH: Jared, 31
EDD: April 18, 2008
Annika Marie
Birthdate: April 23
Time: 9:17am
Weight: 7lbs 9oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Owen 12/9/05

jenjunum
Me: Jennifer, 27
DH: Scott, 27
EDD: 4/25/08
Lily Renee
Birthdate: May 5
Time: 10:06 PM
Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Length: 21 in

jess&dan
Me: Jess: 26
DH: Dan: 27
EDD: April 6, 2008
Aaron Robert
Birthdate: March 27
Time: 8:11 pm
Weight: 7lb 10oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Nathan 1/31/05

Kelly51703
Me: Kelly, 31
DH: Chris, 31
DS/DD: Andrew Christian
Birthdate: 4/5/08
Time of birth: 1:22 AM
Weight at birth: 7 lbs 1 oz
Length at birth: 19"
Any other children: Lauren, 2 1/2

Kenswife
Me: Emily
DH: Ken
EDD: April 11, 2008
Brayden
Birthdate: April 3
Time: 9:00 am
Weight: 7lbs 12oz
Lenth: 20 inches
Other children: Alyssa 5.25.00, Ilanna 3.8.05 & Tyler 9.26.06

kissmary
Me: Mary, 29
DH: John, 31
EDD: April 12, 2008
Henry Ellis
Birthdate: April 19
Time: 3:18 am
Weight: 7lbs 5oz
Length: 21 inches

Kristen78
Me: Kristen, 29
DH: Andrew, 33
EDD: 4/4/2008
Liam Andrew
Birthdate: April 4
Time: 12:11 am
Weight: 8lbs 3oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children:Caitlin 11/3/2005

lee60657
Me: Lee, 32
DH:33
EDD: April 6
Andrew
Birthdate: April 2
Weight: 8lbs
Length: 22 inches
Other children: DD, Feb. 2005

Lolly
Me: Laura-34
DH: DH
DD name: Megan Ann
Birthdate: May 3, 2008
Time of birth: 7:20 PM
Weight at birth: 6 lbs, 6 oz.
Length at birth: 19.5 inches
DD #1-Mary Elizabeth 4/29/06

makena32204
Me: Darla, 30
DH: Tom, 39
DS/DD: Tristan Maxwell
Birthdate: 5.6.08
Time of birth: 3:38 pm
Weight at birth: 7 lbs, 9 oz
Length at birth: 21 inches
Any other children: DD, Amelia 7.17.06

Marisa
Me: Marisa, 32
DH: Chris, 32
EDD: 4/18/08
Theodore "Teddy"
Birthdate: April 29
Time: 8:30 pm
Weight: 8lbs 10 oz
Other children: Joey, 1/20

Meatpie
Me: Joanna, 34
DH: The Hus, 33
EDD:April 15, 2008
Max Howard
Birthdate: April 14
Time: 12:20 pm
Weight: 7lbs 13oz
Length: 20 inches
Other children: Jack

Mel7dog
Me: Melissa, 25
DH: C, 25
EDD: 4.3.08
William Christopher
Birthdate: April 7
Time: 7:02am
Weight: 7lbs 2oz
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Benjamin 4.26.06

Mickey&B
Me: Michelle 33
DH: Brian, 34
DS/DD: Dylan James
Birthdate: June 4th
Time of birth: 9:48 am
Weight at birth: 8lb 8oz
Length at birth: 21 inches
Any other children: DS, Aidan 8/25/05

mollymac
Me: Melissa, (34 in a few days. . . )
DH: Chris, 42
Max J.D.
Birthdate: April 24
Time of birth: 3:56 a.m.
Weight at birth: 7lbs 15oz
Length at birth: 20 1/2
Any other children: Big Sisters Mia 7/03, Maddie 2/06

MrsBeckyLP
Me: Becky, 25
DH: Matt, 28
DD name: Madelyn (Maddie) Mae
Birthdate: April 17, 2008
Time of birth: 9:35 a.m.
Weight at birth: 7 pounds, 4 ounces
Length at birth: 20 inches

Mrs.Chappy
Me: Robyn, 32
DH: Steve, 32
DS: Jacob Bryce
Birthdate: 4/26/08
Time of birth: 8:27 AM
Weight at birth: 8 lbs 14 oz
Length at birth: 21"
Any other children: Benjamin, 3

MrsSpencer
Me: Mandi-26
DH: Nathan-26
DS: Nicholas Harold
Birthdate: 4/29/08
Time of birth: 8:31 PM
Weight at birth: 7 lbs 3 oz
Length at birth: 18.5"

MtySheera
Me: Marlene, 32
DH: Daryl, 34
EDD: 4/12/08
Zachary Ryan and Tyler James
Birthdate: March 10
Weights: 5lbs 12.8oz and 5lbs 8.4oz
Lengths: 18 inches and 17.5 inches
Other children: Frankie, 3 in October

Parrothead
Me: S, 29
DH: P, 36
EDD: 4/28/08
K.N.
Birthdate: April 26
Time: 1:27 pm
Weight: 7lbs 4oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children: M, 2 years

Pgirl26
Me: Amanda-27
DH-Stephen- 27
DS/DD Name: DD Addesyn Paisley
Birthdate: May 2, 2008
Time of birth: 12:44pm
Weight at birth: 6lb 1 oz.
Length at birth: 19"
Any other children: DH has two daughters... Kelsea 5, Khloe 2

phart
Me: Shannon, 32
DH: Alex, 31
EDD: 4/24
Malcolm Agustus
Bithdate: April 17
Time: 9:05 pm
Weight: 6lbs 8oz
Length: 20.5 inches
Other children:Aiden, 11/03 and Maura 3/06

red_canuck
Me:Amanda, 27
DH: Rob, 29
EDD: April 13, 2008
Ainsley Victoria Marie
Birthdate: April 11~At home
Time: 8:15pm
Weight: 7lbs. 15oz.
Length: 21 inches
Other children: Logan, 3/13/06

rachrich
Me: rachael, 28
DH: corey, 29
DS/DD: Owen
Birthdate: 5/15/08
Time of birth: 8:02am
Weight at birth:8lb, 5.5 oz.
Length at birth: 20.5 inches
Any other children: DD Olivia 12/7/05

SiValleySteph
Me: Stephanie, 30
DH: T, 30
EDD:April 28, 2008
Damon
Birthdate: April 28
Time: 4:05 pm
Weight: 8lbs 6oz
Length: 20.5
Other children: Lucas, 3

smilewithme
Me: Mandi, 30
DH: 30
DS Name: Jameson Brian
Birthdate: April 19, 2008
Time of birth: 1:38 a.m.
Weight at birth: 6lbs, 11oz.
Length at birth: 19.5"
Any other children: Madison, 1/28/06

Sophonisba9
Me: Eva Marie
DH: Matt
DS/DD: Catherine Claire
Birthdate: 5/5/08
Time of birth: 10:30 am
Weight at birth: 8lb, 11 oz
Length at birth: 20.5
Any other children: DS Jack 1-26-06

Standrea
Me: Andrea, 27
DH: Stan, 27
DD name: Eliza (Ellie) Jane
Birthdate: May 1, 2008
Time of birth: 9:25 p.m.
Weight at birth: 7 pounds, 15 ounces
Length at birth: 21 inches
DD #1-Abigail (5/12/06)

sully130
Me: 32
DH: 34
DS: P.
Birthdate: 5/02/08
Time of birth: 4:58 p.m.
Weight at birth:8lb, 8 oz.
Length at birth: 20 1/4 inches
Any other children: DD born still, 4.22.05, lives in my heart; DS born 4.20.06, lives in my home

summerbride2005
Me: C, 31
DH: W, 31
EDD: April 29, 2008
Camryn Marie
Birthdate: April 11
Time: 9:44am
Weight: 6lbs 2oz
Length: 18 inches

[May2008Mommies]

tashaw6
Me: Tash, 29
DH: Neil, 28
DS/DD: Kade
Birthdate: 9 May 2008
Time of birth: 17:29
Weight at birth: 9 lbs, 5 oz
Length at birth: 20 inches
Any other children: None

tgr68
Me: Naamah, 27
DH: Cordell, 28
Caedmon Gregor
Birthdate: April 2
Time of birth: 6:34pm
Weight at birth: 8lbs 7.8oz
Length at birth: 20"
Any other children: Shylah 6/18/05

tinagirl26
Me: Kristina, 36
DH: Grant, 43
DS: Liam Elliott
Birthdate: 5/6/08
Time of birth: 8:59 am
Weight at birth: 7 lbs, 6 oz
Length at birth: 19 3/4 inches
Any other children: DS, Caleb Eric, 2/13/06

Twinnyme
Me: Melissa, 36
DH: Dave, 32
EDD: April 15, 2007
Bridget Julia
Birthdate: April 9
Time: 8:07am
Weight: 7lbs 9oz
Length: 21.25 inches
Other children: (Re)Becca, born 1/14/05



Always in our thoughts:
Sophia, Cr8zyforaf, allison, Eloo, Eric's Wife, jesseybell, taylandra, GlamaGal's daugher

[May2008Mommies]

Our babies by birthday

March

March 10: MtySheera: Zachary Ryan & Tyler James
March 12: Squee: Finley Noah
March 15: Chelsea524: Avery Mae & Harrison James
March 25: Crystal_Orchid: Avelyn Grace
March 27: Jess&Dan: Aaron Robert; Maggie8202: Ella Rose
March 28: BridalLace: Ethan

April

2 - lee60657: Andrew; tgr68: Caedmon Gregor
3 - kenswife: Brayden; Alioop12345: Tessa Isabelle
4 - Kristen78: Liam Andrew
5 - Kelly51703: Andrew Christian
7 - mel7dog: William Christopher
9 - twinnyme: Bridget Julia
11- summerbride2005: Camryn Marie; red_canuck: Ainsley Victoria Marie; Gabe's Mom: Lucas
14- coquelicot: C.J.; meatpie: Max Howard
17- MrsBeckyLP: Madelyn (Maddie) Mae; Phart: Malcolm Agustus
19 -smilewithme: Jameson Brian; kissmary: Henry
23- jaredsgirl: Annika Marie; Foxyblue: Dawson
25- Jessiesmama: Jacklyn Sophia
26- Mrs.Chappy: Jacob Bryce; December27JJB: Ava Rosemary; Parrothead: K.N.
27- E&O: Cooper Nathan
28- SiValleySteph: Damon
29- MrsSpencer: Nicholas Harold; Baby Lust: Hailey Marie and Madelyn Claire; Marisa: Theodore (Teddy)

May

1- Standrea: Eliza (Ellie) Jane
2- Sully130: Parker; PGirl26: Addesyn Paisley
3- Lolly: Megan Ann
4- ironhair: Alivia Paige
5- sophonisba9: Cate; jenjunum: Lily Renee
6- tinagirl26: Liam Elliott; makena32204: Tristan Maxwell
7- L-O-V-E: Aaron Joseph
9- tashaw6: Kade
13- IrishEyes: Carson James
14- CT'sPunkin: Gabriel; anemone: Eloise
15- rachrich: Owen Blake
19-ducgal: Ivan Vincent
21- Dettes: Caroline Eileen; OctoberPrincess: Madison Rose
27- BeachGirl: Hailey

June

4- Mickey&B: Dylan James

[May2008Mommies]

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[May2008Mommies]

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[May2008Mommies]

open for posting

[May2008Mommies]

I saved places in case we want pictures!

[Mickey&B]

Subscribing....

[MrsSpencer]

I forgot to subscribe to the thread I made lol!

[Standrea]

Thanks Becky!
Welcome April Mommies!

[ironhair]

Subscribing...thanks!

[MrsBeckyLP]

Thanks Becky!
Welcome April Mommies!

MrsS did it, so we can thank her. I was actually working today!

I thought I'd just do a little intro. I didn't lurk in the April thread, and I'm not sure how many of you April ladies lurked in the May thread.

I'm Becky (obviously), and my DD Maddie will be 10 months on Feb. 17. I'm going to be 26 in a few weeks. Maddie was breech with her feet up by her ears, and she has hip problems because of it. She wore a soft harness full time for 8 weeks (starting when she was a week old) and at night until about a month ago, when I decided it was detrimental to all of our sleep. Most babies only wear the harness for 12 to 16 weeks, and she had hers on for nine months. We just went to the specialist yesterday, and we still don't know much. It's kind of a wait-and-see game at this point. They don't hurt her, and you can't see the problems with the naked eye. We go back in four months for more x-rays. She's not in any sort of harness, which is good. The doctor said they are getting better, but basically they're not as good as he'd hoped. So it's not great news, but it's not horrible news either. I just hate the waiting game. Surgery hasn't been ruled out.

Anyway, I work as a writer and editor, and I'm not a fan of working in general. I have zero drive to excel professionally. DH and I recently decided that I will SAH when we have baby No. 2, hopefully next spring or early summer. It won't be worth being away from our children for the small amount of money I'll bring in after daycare and commuting expenses. I'm hoping to do a bit of freelance writing and/or editing, so I need to get my butt in gear and figure out how to break into that market.

Oh, and we live near Madison, Wis.

[kissmary]

Hi, ladies. April mom checking in. Thanks for combining threads!

[MrsSpencer]

you're very welcome Becky! Have fun on your trip!

[twinnyme]

Hi May Mommies! Glad to have a combined group. Thanks for setting it up, MrsSpencer.

I've actually lurked in the May thread a bit, and I had noticed that your DD has hip dysplasia, MrsBeckyLP, because they thought my DD1 had it, too. She wore the harness for only a week, though (prescribed by an ADULT orthopedist), because I then got a second opinion at a hospital in Boston and they said she didn't have it. I hope that the wait-and-see game you're in now gives you good news at your next appointment.

Quick introduction. I have a just-turned-4yo daughter, Becca, and Bridget is my April baby. I'm in the midst of planning her first birthday party and find it amazing how quickly this (almost) year has gone. I work part time at a university and also WAH part time as a freelance editor for college textbooks. My DH is an accountant, and since we're in the middle of tax season and also a heavy editing time, I balance quite a lot - but I still find time to be on here and enjoy talking with everyone. Looking forward to getting to know all the May mommies.

[MrsSpencer]

I don't know if I have much of an intro haha!

I'll be 27 this year, and I SAH with my May turned April baby ;) Nicholas (I was a small member of the April thread but didn't post much..just lurked). DH is an architect intern and by Halloween this year should be a licensed architect..which comes along with a hefty raise :). We bought our first house in Feb of 08, and are currently remolding our living room (I post updates every once in a while), and once done will start on the kitchen. I babysit a one-year old little boy name Eli (I talk about him a lot too), and his mom at 26 weeks found out she's pregnant with their fourth child..a girl after three boys ;). So I'm not sure if I'll be watching Eli next school year (she's a teacher at a catholic school) since she may stay home. I have a two year old red doberman named Baron..who's more of a handful than both babies combined ;).

We live in West Virginia and DH is from where the mothman prophecies was based (true story).

Hope to REALLY get to know all the April mommies!

[Standrea]

Sorry! Thanks Mrs.S!

My intro:
I'm Andrea, a SAHM to Abbie (who's 2.5 going on 25-she's VERY sassy!) and Ellie who is 9 months (May 1). Ellie was born average size (7lbs 15oz, 21 inches) but gradually fell off the growth charts. She is now well below at 14lbs even (that was only 10 or so minutes after drinking an 8 oz bottle). She has been seeing a Pediatric GI doctor for GERD and issues with Soy and Dairy intolerance. She is on Neocate formula because of the intolerance and weight loss, with extra scoops per liquid ounce to up the caloric intake. Because of the weight issues, the doctors now want to look into other causes of the non-gain, the latest being Cystic Fibrosis. We have another weigh in next week, and then will go for the CF test. She's a beautiful little girl, and you'd never know that there was a problem unless you picked her up! She's really starting to get chunky though! :)


A picture of my girls! I think this was last month...

[E&O]

Hello April Momma! Here's my quickie intro:

I'm E&O (named after our two dogs, Emmitt & Otis, not sure I ever explained that) and Cooper is my April baby (4/27) although I was originally a May momma and never strayed too much from that group. Although I lurk in April to see how Cooper is moving along compared your kiddos.

Coop's a peanut, hanging on to the 3rd percential (16.5 lbs). But he is an awesomly happy kid who is soooo close to getting on all fours and crawling, and I expect him to be motoring along any day now.

I have a daughter Kate who will be 3 in July. And as Standrea said about her daughter, Kate is one big sassy-molassy! Just last night she was walking around shouting into her cell phone, "Hey Nanna, I need money!" It cracks me up just thinking about it.

[Lolly]

Thanks Mrs. S!

I'm Laura. I've been a May mommy twice now! Megan (5/3/08) is 9 months. Mary was actually born in April (4/29/06) is 2yrs 9m. They're original due dates were one day apart (May 21 and 22), and they both came early. So they're 2yrs 4 days apart. My M&M's!!! They melt my heart :) I work full time in the corporate offices of a large worldwide telecommunications company. Then I have another fun job of running a gymastics program for a local rec. dept. My husband is also very busy. A general contractor by day and a swim coach of 2 swim teams. Coach for a co-ed year round club team. And head coach for a very good, IMO, highschool boys team at his alma mater (http://www.gprep.org/home/home.asp)! I think we'll TTC for baby #3 in 2010. Maybe we'll get a boy then?!

I know we just combined but I wanted to aswer a few things brought up in our last thread.

eyes checked: Megan went to a ped. opthomologist around 6 months to have her right eye checked. She has partial heterochromia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color#Heterochromia), which just means her right eye is not all one color. One half of her right eye is brown. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked at her for a bit, and its the inner half that's brown. If it were the outer half I think it would be more noticeable. Her eyes are now less blue and more hazel. SO I think they will fully change to a hazel/brown like her sisters did. Then I don't think the different color will stand out much. Her eyes were checked though and seemed fine. We'll go back when she turns one for another check.

Oh and we have a tooth! #1 is one of the middle bottom teeth. And she's been pulling up to stand on everything these days!

OK, I'm done pumping in my office so I need to get back to work and unlock my door again!

Looking forward to chatting with the April mommies now too!

[Lolly]

"Hey Nanna, I need money!"

OMG,E&O, that is hilarious!

[CTs_Punkin]

Hi guys -
Mrs. S - thanks for the new thread!

A little intro on me:
I'm CT's Punkin - I'm 36yrs old and have one son "G" who was born 5/13
G is rocking the 10% in weight at 17.9lbs and about 50% height at 28 1/2". He is a really happy little guy who is a champion sleeper. He has been crawling for about a month now and has started pulling up on furniture. My DH & I think G is going to be one of those walks at 10months kind of kid. He's really coordinated (according to our DCP) and of course my very athletic DH is oh so proud.

We went through 3 years of infertility to have him and hope to try again in the coming months.

We live in CO

[ironhair]

Hello April Mama's...If you're 1/2 as chatty as we May Mama's are, we'll need a new thread before we celebrate any 1st birthdays!

I, too, have been a May Mommy twice now. Alivia (5/4/08) is 9 months and Aiden (5/14/06) is 2 years, 9 months. Alivia was actually due on Aiden's bday, but she decided she wanted her own birthday. She entered the world in a matter of minutes, and nearly made her debut in the car on the way to the hospital - we arrived at 7:20am and she arrived at 7:25am (no time for an epi, or even a hospital gown for that matter!). She's been bossy and insistant upon having things her way since! We live in the sticks - 65 miles from any sort of shopping (Target, mall, BRU, Walgreen's, etc), though there is a Wal Mart in the next town, 20 miles away. I work FT in HR for a pet food manufacturing company (located in a town of 200). DH is in Mgmt at the same company. He works TONS of hours, and I'm basically a single mom most of the time.

Alivia is a crawling machine these days, though she hasn't pulled herself up and doesn't appear to much care for standing in general. She has cut back on the number of ounces of BM she consumes during the day (only 8oz at daycare), but she loves her food (purees and table food) and will almost anything (including dog food if we're not careful).

Lolly - I had forgotten about Megan's eye. I think I posted at that time that my eyes are also different colors. Like Megan, my eyes are both brown around in the center (around the pupil) and blue on the outside. I'm so glad you posted that link, I've never known that it had an actual name...though as I look through the definitions and the pictures, maybe mine are more "hazel"?? At any rate, DS's eyes are the same way.

Becky - thank you for posting the link for the InfantSEE program. There are actually two doctors w/in 50 miles of us who participate. I'm going to call and get Alivia an appt - why not, right? Have an amazing weekend and I hope Maddie enjoys the water! (you are leaving tonight, aren't you?)

[kissmary]

Hi May moms! I'm Mary and I'll be 30 next month. My DH and I have been married for 5 years and I'm finally getting my gown cleaned. DS Henry was born April 19 and is currently learning to walk! He took a few steps two days ago and today was taking 5 or 6 at a time. He has been cruising since he was 8 months old and holding our hands to walk just as long. He has been all about standing and learning to walk and just realized about 3 weeks ago that if he could sit up on his own, then he could stand up anywhere there was something to pull on. So now he crawls, cruises and is about to walk! And he's getting two top teeth (already has 2 bottom). I'm a SAHM and we live in the middle of PA.

Henry loves to feed himself, but still lets us feed him. Loves cheese and any kind of puffs and O's cereal.

Love to see what the May mom's and LOs are up to!

[sophonisba9]

I'm Eva Marie, I'm 32 and live in San Diego. DH and I met in law school, but I decided that I'd rather be a SAHM to the kids, Jack age 3 (1-26-06) and Cate age 9 months (5-5-08). Cate is a happy lump of a baby. She shows ZERO signs of crawling anytime soon. She's got some weight gain issues and we're working on fatting her up, though she's very resistant. Cate loves to feed herself, but hates being fed. She's not terribly interested in bottles either and while I'd be happy to breastfeed her, my milk supply hasn't been able to keep up since she was 5 months old.

[MrsSpencer]

I'm going to x-post what I put in the solids thread..so feel free to help ;).


Okay I need some help! lol!

Seriously though...ds has major constipation issues and is on a stool softener/laxative once a day in his night bottle. He's been on that since around Thanksgiving I think. Anyway, he didn't take to yogurt (gassy, rash, cranky etc.) but is on regular formula (granted it's the gentle kind). So I babysit a year old little boy and he stole off his tray some mac and cheese and loved it about three weeks ago. He's always been REALLY hard to feed (four different kinds of formula, three different kinds of bottles etc.). He wasn't ever really good at solids, he liked it but didn't eat a whole lot (which is fine, because he still ate a lot of formula)..until now. The last week I'm lucky to get 10-14 oz. in him a DAY! I wouldn't worry AS much but he refuses to eat ANYTHING but pasta and peaches (I tried to give him chicken he liked but now won't eat it again). I've tried green beans, beans, peas, eggs (the whites)..he won't touch any of it. He just wants his sippy cup with juice (helps with his constipation), he'll drink a little formula from his cup but not like he can a bottle KWIM? I tried taking away the juice..and he just got constipated again (in spite of the laxative). Well now he's pooping once a day EVERYWHERE and it's really dark green and mucusy (sp?)..is that the milk/cheese he gets sometimes? If he can't handle that is there cheese that doesn't have any of that in it? He's 9.5 months and despite co-sleeping (which was my idea and in a week or two we are going to start trying to transition him to his room) he still wakes up 3+ times a night hungry. His first two teeth just broke through and it's not helping with the eating or sleeping. He eats a full bottle at night (with the laxative), and screams for 45 min around 2-3 until he gets juice. The other times he is just uncomfortable, and gassy I guess and wants a small bottle and goes back to sleep. His ped is out of work due to an injury and won't be back till his 1st birthday. The ped he saw in the practice for his 9 month appointment I wouldn't take a dog to..if that makes sense? I just need either some ideas or something..I'm afraid he'll lose weight as I got the "weight" talk (which he didn't need he's 19lbs.)

[Standrea]

Mrs.S-It does sound like a reaction to the mac & cheese. You can try a soy cheese if you can find it, and make the M&C from scratch. You just have to make sure that the package says "Casein Free" on it. I'd eliminate it, and then test it again in a few months.
If that works, then you can try little ravioli's and stuff like that. You could also just give him plain cooked pasta, and maybe mix it with different veggie purree's and see if he'll eat that.

[MrsSpencer]

Thanks Andrea..I was afraid it was the mac and cheese (since it's all he'll eat and he loves it :(). I hope he'll eat it plain and he reacted bad to the soy formula..does that mean he can't handle soy cheese?

This may sound stupid..but I have NO idea how to make mac and cheese from scratch..lol!

Is that amount of formula enough? I just don't want him to be suffering :(.

[MrsSpencer]

Just wanted to wish Andrea a happy birthday tomorrow!

[Standrea]

The weird poop definately could be from teething as well.

But-I think you should call his Ped. tommorrow (The new one, not the whacked one), and tell them everything. I'm really surprised that they haven't sent you guys to a specialist yet.

**Will he drink formula out of his sippy cup?

Thanks for the early birthday wish!

[anemone]

Mrs S - I PM'd you a recipe for cheese sauce. Oh, and when DS teethed, he'd generally go off all food for almost a week.

Andrea - Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day.

Becky - have a great time at the water park, sounds like fun. Sorry about Maddies hips - what a bummer. I'm sure you'll get some good news soon - at least they're not getting worse, right?

Us I am 34, and a SAHM, formerly an Architect. DH is also 34. We live in Australia, so I spend a bit of time confusing everyone (including myself) with the different words we use for stuff. Mostly, I try to write in American English, but sometimes my English English creeps in:). I have an older boy, Henry, who is now 3 and at Preschool. DD is Eloise, and is a very cheerful little girl, no major concerns at the moment to speak of except for very shrill squealing which drives me a little insane at times.

[summerbride2005]

Hello ladies - My name is Courtney and my daughter Camryn was born on April 11. I live in Los Angeles and I am a SAHM. I went back to work briefly where I was a graphics producer for a cable station but I couldn't handle the 11 to 12 hour days away from DD. Now I freelance at the same place ocassionally. Camryn is a crawling machine and can walk with her push cart, but not by herself yet. She has 8 teeth (4 top/4 bottom) that she uses to bite and tear apart everything in our home. She even bites off the rubber guards that I put on sharp edges. I've been reading the April and May threads since the beginning and I'm excited to join in on the conversations here.

[makena32204]

My DH and I have been married for 5 years and I'm finally getting my gown cleaned.

Same here! LOL.

I'm Darla and I've been very absent around here lately. :( Work has been crazy and I've got a lot going on in my personal life too, like starting a direct sales business and my grandfather passing away.

Anyway, DH and I have been married for almost 5 years. We have two kids, Amelia 2.5 yrs (July 06) and Tristan 9 mos (5/6/08). Amelia has a VERY strong personality and is a handful. She was one of those babies who would scream for no reason for 5 hrs a night! I dont know how I convinced DH to have another one. Tristan is my happy little boy. He army crawled from around 6 month and started full time crawling at 7 months. He's been pulling himself up to his knees for about a month but just yesterday, started pulling up to stand! My daughter was a late crawler (10 mos) and walker (15 mos), so it's very exciting for us! I think her inability to move was one of the reasons my DD was so unhappy.

DS has NO interest in finger foods. We cant get him to put anything in his mouth, which is good when it comes to DD's little toys but no so good when it comes to feeding! I welcome any suggestions!

Oh - and we took him to his 9 month appt this week. He's 60% for everything. He's back on the nebulizer b/c he has another cold. The pedi said he may be one of those kids who always gets that wheezing and congetion when they get sick. Great. :( He's been spitting up a lot recently (he did it a lot when he was 0-4 months and then it slowed down) so the pedi gave us a prescription for acid reflux. I dont know if we are going to try it or not. It doesnt upset him at all when he spits up, so I think it may be more related to him being more mobile lately (thanks for the article, Becky!) than true acid reflux. I just hesitate to medicate for no reason or for something that will clear up on its own. Finally, we have our bottom two teeth, which he got in Jan, and we are working on the top two!

Wow...that was a lot. I guess that's what happens when I'm not on here for a month or so! I'll try to be better now.

[MrsSpencer]

Thanks for the recipe anemone! I sent you a message back!

I didn't mention in my original post that DH and I have been together 7 years in June, married 2 years in June. I used to be a beautician before I quit to sah (I also for a while while I was pregnant worked for the company that printed off DH's architect plans).

Anemone- I didn't know you were an architect!

Last time I tried formula in his sippy he wouldn't take it..but I'll try again.

[MrsSpencer]

Are all those who live in NY okay??? The plane crash scared me and I don't know where abouts anyone lives!!!

[Standrea]

We're fine, but we're upstate (Near albany). I think Mrs.C is the only one that lives close the the city.

[MrsSpencer]

She has the worst luck with plane crashes (she was near the one that went in the hudson)

Glad you're okay Andrea!

[Standrea]

Yes, she does! NYC has 2 major airports and a few little ones as well.

[MrsSpencer]

Wow we have one that I know of!

Most people drive to Columbus (2.5 hours) since there's usually not as many lay over then.

[E&O]

Originally posted by kissmary
we live in the middle of PA.
Mary- We live in Lancaster, PA. My DH is a PSU alum so we are in Happy Valley every weekend in the fall. (it feels like anyway).

MsS- My ped told us at our 9month checkup that the lower 20 ounces is the minimum that they want a baby to get at this age. Cooper only drinks maybe 20-24 ounces per day.

Makena- I have no recommendations for finger feeding, but Cooper is not really into it either. Unless its puffs or cheese, it just gets spit out. I think last night he ate the slightest piece of turkey sausage. Oh, and we also were sent home with a nebulizer for the remainder of the cold season. Cooper get such bad coughing fits that he causes himself to throw up. But I find the nebulizer is a tremendous help and he always shows signs of improvement after using it.

eta- My best friend lives in Clarence Center, NY. I called her this morning and they are all fine. The crash was about a mile and a half from her neighborhood. She asaid its obviously been chaos since last night and the whole community is pretty much shut down.

[coquelicot]

I think my little squirt is waking up, so gotta keep this short...

I'm 30, DH is 31. (The member list has us at 29 and 30.) Our little girl will be 10 months old tomorrow. I'm a SAHM to her, still BFing and doing CDing most of the time. She's pulling up on anything she can--whether or not she should. She can cruise just a little bit and walk a few steps with her push-behind walker. She's a master at army-crawling but is starting to figure out hands-and-knees crawling. She has 4 teeth (two front bottom and two on top, but not the front ones) and is picky about eating anything remotely chunky.

[May2008Mommies]

Upated to Here

[MrsSpencer]

GRRRR....They told me (his ped) that it CAN'T be anything related to dairy since he's on regular formula (the lactose free kind though). But if it makes ME feel better I can stop giving him milk products..they don't get though that he's not eating alot! She said to keep feeding him what we eat (which I don't because we eat horribly ;)). Make sure he's getting 20-24 ounces of formula..when I told her I can't get him to eat more than 14! She said to watch him over the weekend and if he's not "better" to bring him in Monday (new flash he'll be better because I think it's a lactose/dairy thing and he isn't getting that anymore). She didn't seem at all concerned that he had almost pure dark green mucous in his stool (they said the color doesn't mean anything related to dairy). Someone tell me I'm not crazy??


ETA: I just looked up the symptoms of lactose hypersensitivity and he has all of them (like I thought, because I have this too, as does most people in my family). Which makes sense as to why he can handle the formula (lactose free) but his system is overwhelmed when he has cheese/milk because I assume it's a lot for his little body. So he'll get what lactose free milk in two months?

[makena32204]

Mary- We live in Lancaster, PA. My DH is a PSU alum so we are in Happy Valley every weekend in the fall. (it feels like anyway).

My DH is also a PSU alum! We lived in Harrisburg and Doylestown (Outside of Philly) before moving to Tampa. I went to Shippensburg University.

As for finger foods, Tristan wont even do puffs. He'll just pick them up and play with them.

Andrea - I cant believe I forgot to reply to your post! I am a carrier for CF but DH never got tested. Were you tested when you were pregnant? I hope you figure out what's going on soon!

MrsS- Tristan had the green mucusy poop when he was a newborn, before we put him on soy formula.

[MrsSpencer]

Nicholas can't handle soy :(...tried the formula and he got a rash/tummy upset.

[Lolly]

ironhair, Megan's eye color isn't half brown just around the pupil. It's half brown through her whole right eye. Sa take her eye and pretty much draw a line down the middle. Half Brown and half blue/grey/hazel (That blue half is still in the midst of changing color).

Oh yea! Happy Birthday Andrea!

Threadmistress, please change my age to 34. My birthday was on Monday, the 9th.

Oh and I live in the Washington, DC suburbs (MD side).

Off to ski this weekend! Hope we can find some snow on the mountain.

[May2008Mommies]

Updated to Here

[ironhair]

Lolly - Gotcha, I guess I was having a hard time visualizing before. That makes sense now, very interesting. Have a good time skiing!

ETA: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA! Enjoy your day!!

[CTs_Punkin]

Happy Birthday Andrea!! Hope you have a lovely day!

[Standrea]

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It has truly been the best birthday ever so far! :D

MrsS-I just wrote to you in the allergies thread, but if it is indeed an intolerance, it may still be present by monday. It usually takes weeks for it to clear their systems 100%.

[kissmary]

E&O and makena - It's fun to see PSU connections everywhere! I am an alum and my DH works at the university. Needless to say, I love this area!

Mrs. S - Hope you can get things sorted out with a ped soon. A friend/neighbor's DS has a wheat allergy so she had to give it up while BF, only to discover that she had problems with wheat in hindsight and is happy to be gluten free. Though her DS will probably "grow out of it."

Happy birthday, Andrea!

[MrsSpencer]

Glad you're having a wonderful birthday Andrea! (since you're such a wonderful person of course;)).

[tashaw6]

Thanks MrsS for the new thread! I am happy that the two threads are combined cause I used to lurk in the April thread too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Andrea!

My name is Natasha but you can call me Tash. I am the big 3-0. I am a cost analyst which is quite a demanding job in our current economy! My husband and I come from South Africa and now have an American son ;) Kade is 9 months old and is the apple of my eye! He has two bottom teeth and a third that is peeking through - also on the bottom. He is pulling up and crawling all over the place. He is eating a lot of table foods and even ate part of a whole soft peeled pear on his own yesterday using his little teeth! Still loves purees though and I think we may have finished our 100th container of puffs this afternoon...should buy shares in the stuff! You can tell from his weight of 21 lbs 5 oz that he loves his food. His smile melts my heart everyday!

http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc358/neiltashandkade/Kade%20-%209%20months/DSCF3613.jpg?t=1234579719

Good to meet the April mommies! :)

[tgr68]

April mommy checking in!! :D

Thanks, MrsSpencer, for the new thread!

My Intro:
I am 28 and SAH with my DD (4 in June) and DS. I didn't lurk in the May thread since I was due in March. ;) DS came a week late on April 2 weighing in at 8.5 pounds and has since fallen off the charts, so we (I) am working hard to get his weight up. My oldest is homeschooled. DH works as an accountant, so this time of year is really just spent in survival mode! ;)

I just looked at the front page and realized that our ages are wrong. DH is now 29, and I am 28.

Happy Birthday, Andrea!! Glad to hear it was a good day!

Love all the pictures, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the May mommies.

[summerbride2005]

Could you also change our ages? DH and I are both 31 Thx!

[May2008Mommies]

Updated to Here

[Mrs.Chappy]

http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/141389/20090213/190553.jpg

My intro: I'm a pediatric cochlear implant audiologist with two boys! I work part time which makes me a better mommy!. DS2 was born two weeks early after my water broke having dinner at a friends house. But perhaps the biggest surprise was the colic that we didn't see coming, not like you can! AFter 5 months of he&& we decided to 'keep him' jk,..he's cute as a button but has given us a run for our money! My oldest is 3.5.

DS2 is going to be an earlier walker than his brother..i'm just getting ready for that now!

[makena32204]

Cute pics everyone!

I just wanted to do a drive by post to say that T was standing in his crib this morning when I went to get him. It just made me realize how big they are getting!! Where has the past 9 months gone?

[rachrich]

oh man......again i'm behind.

quick post, as DH is taking me out to this evening to I don't know where...lol It's a big secret, and everytime I ask a question remotely having to do with tonight he gets on my case and is like, why are you SO nosey? whatever......

thanks for the new thread. looking forward to getting to know the April mommies as well. I will be back for an intro later.

happy b-day Andrea!

[Baby Lust]

Subscribing! Love the new thread! Thanks MrsS! Will do a proper intro later! Just wanted to comment on how many familiar faces I see! :)

[twinnyme]

Amelia has a VERY strong personality and is a handful. She was one of those babies who would scream for no reason for 5 hrs a night! I dont know how I convinced DH to have another one.

Makena - I read this when you first posted it but haven't had a chance to come back and reply. But this was (and still is) our first daughter, too, and it's why it took us 3.5 years to have a second (and final) child. :) Luckily, our second daughter is much more laidback and a better sleeper in general. Otherwise, I seriously may have just gone over the edge!

Happy belated birthday, Lolly, and happy birthday again, Andrea! Hope you both had good ones.

Here is a picture of my girls, Bridget (10 months) and Becca (4yo). And also the "monthly" photo I take of Bridget (with the same stuffed animal each month).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/3279302849_c0a8bd172c.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3471/3266019961_23926131ce_m.jpg

Oh, and one of Bridget's favorite things to do. We have to gate her off from doing it too often; otherwise, I might spend the whole day running up the stairs with her!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/3279302595_a460810592_m.jpg

Hope everyone had/is having a nice Valentine's Day!

[tgr68]

We have crawling now!! It's more of an army crawl, but that's as good as I think we're going to get with as fast as he rolls. ;)

[coquelicot]

I just wanted to do a drive by post to say that T was standing in his crib this morning when I went to get him. It just made me realize how big they are getting!! Where has the past 9 months gone?
Yeah, DD is doing this now, too. We lowered her crib after the first day we saw her doing this. It took her a whole 3 days to figure out how to do it again on the lowest setting. Then again, she *is* pretty tall for her age... At least we don't have to worry about her falling out...yet.

*twinnyme* - Cute monthly pic! Looks like Bridget and my DD are both having trouble sitting back and staying still for the picture these days. :)

[MrsSpencer]

Nicholas doesn't sleep in his crib (yet ;))..but pulls up on everything, I put him in the packnplay with Eli when I'm putting clothes in the washer (my w&d are in my walkin closet in my bedroom which is where Eli sleeps in the packnplay because I'm trying to get Nicholas to sleep in his crib for naps). They both pull up and stand there and "talk" to me as I'm putting clothes in! lol!

Cute babies everyone!

[CTs_Punkin]

Cute pics everyone!
Well, here is a recent pic of G standing. I just looked over & there he was standing up in the kitchen. The other one I found him crawling through the legs of our kitchen chair. Too funny the positions they'll get themselves in!

http://pics.livejournal.com/cts_punkin/pic/000dwxtz/s640x480
http://pics.livejournal.com/cts_punkin/pic/000dxc12/s320x320
Hope everyone had a nice V-day!!

[sophonisba9]

My lump of a baby just figured out that she could pull herself around pushing off of furniture. She can negociate a 3x3 foot square as long as there's stuff around her and she's on the wood instead of carpet.

My BFF is visiting while DH is out of the country. She made me a King cake last night and filled it with sweet cream cheese goop. It is SOOOOOOO good!

[makena32204]

Makena - I read this when you first posted it but haven't had a chance to come back and reply. But this was (and still is) our first daughter, too, and it's why it took us 3.5 years to have a second (and final) child. :) Luckily, our second daughter is much more laidback and a better sleeper in general. Otherwise, I seriously may have just gone over the edge!

Me too! Isnt it amazing how different kids can be? I also had to laugh at the picture of your oldest luring your younger DD up the stairs. My DD likes to lure DS into the closet, LOL.

babyproofing - We were very complacent w/ DD b/c she was immobile for so long. Not this time around! Yesterday, DH looked over and DS was on the 2nd step of our stairs and crawling up to the 3rd. DS also started cruising along the couch yesterday. He needs to be prompted by the remote or something else he wants but once he sees it, watch out! He's a boy on a mission.

CTs - Those pics are adorable! Isnt it amazing all the little places they can crawl into? and then need help out of...

sophonisba - I dont know what King cake is, but you cant go wrong with cream cheese!

[MrsSpencer]

After taking away the majority of his solids (to figure out what's causing the constipation/mucous) I have the mucous figured out ;). He hasn't had cheese/milk since Thursday (but hadn't pooped since Thursday either :(). He finally went this morning (it wasn't pretty), he's constipated again (where as before he went fine but it was just mucous) there wasn't any mucous. Still haven't figured out the constipation yet, he's only had some cherrios (my mom didn't listen to me when she watched him for me on Valentine's Day) and one or two bites of plain pasta, and his formula since Thursday. He's eating his formula better now, and if he didn't go to the bathroom today I was going to take him into the dr (they said there's no need to see him if he doesn't have mucous anymore :(). I'm going to call a GI...without, as it seems now..any support from anyone in my family (including DH)..who all think I'm a nut :(. They all said I'm worrying over nothing and at least he pooped normally (to them of course) with the cheese/milk..and I'm causing the problem taking it away. They just keep telling me to feed him something different! Hello! He won't eat it anyway I've tried.

Would like wheat pasta (something with fiber) be good? I'm not introducing food again for a few days but was wondering of some good high fiber foods?

I'm irritated and feel very alone right now.

[Standrea]

Mrs.S-it all depends. You really have to get dilligent at reading labels on foods. SOme pastas have dairy/soy, and others dont.

[MrsSpencer]

I just wish I wasn't alone in this :(.

[kissmary]

sophonisba - I looove King Cake! DH and I got one from Wegman's and ate most of it ourselves last year. :o

Well, we've got a walker here! Henry has gone from just a few steps here and there to taking 10 or more at a time. It's so cute because he'll usually get all giggly. He won't do it unless DH and I are both home, so it's only in the evenings and a little on the weekend. And he can practically stand up on his own, just needs a wall or something! :eek: But he has to practice everything A LOT, so he won't be walking on his own for awhile.

[Mickey&B]

life has been a bit crazy lately and I haven't had a chance to read through all the new intro's. I'll admit as an early June mama I feel a bit lost since we combined both threads, but I'll try to keep up with you guys....
I'll be back later to catch up

[MrsBeckyLP]

I missed a lot over the weekend, so I'm not even going to attempt SOs. I Have a lot of crap to get done at work this week, so I should make this quick.

All the photos are so cute; I can't believe how "old" our babies are starting to look!

life has been a bit crazy lately and I haven't had a chance to read through all the new intro's. I'll admit as an early June mama I feel a bit lost since we combined both threads, but I'll try to keep up with you guys....


You better! And really, I feel a bit lost. Maddie is kind of lagging behind in some developmental areas (large motor), and I'm really starting to notice it now that I'm reading what most other April babies are doing. I get that all babies develop at different rates, but the owner of Maddie's daycare center just this morning suggested the Birth to 3 (http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/bdds/birthto3/index.htm) program. I don't know how serious she was being or if she just offered it up as an option in case I hadn't heard of it. I think I'm inclined to wait it out a while yet to see how she does in the next month or so. Now that she hasn't been wearing her harness at night for over a month, she's really starting to move around a lot more in her crib, push up and lift up her butt, and I feel like that time in the crib is when a lot of babies do explore and move around. She tries to pull on stuff, but she still can't pull herself up. And she can't get to a sitting position on her own, though she tries really hard. She does manhandle heavy toys, moving them from one side of her to the other, so her muscles are developing. She'll be 10 months old tomorrow.

OK, so now I just read who qualifies for the Birth to 3 program, and this is what it says:

Eligibility is based on a diagnosed disability or significant delay in one or more areas of development.

She doesn't have a diagnosed disability, nor does she have a "significant" delay, IMO. Thoughts?

Oh, we had a fun time at the waterpark Friday! Maddie loved the water and didn't even mind when she got splashed in the face.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k269/lp_becky/DSCN0636.jpg

[makena32204]

She doesn't have a diagnosed disability, nor does she have a "significant" delay, IMO. Thoughts?


Becky, I honestly dont think Maddie has either. Remember, Maddie has the whole harness impeding her movement. Amelia didnt crawl until well into 10 months and she went from being a lump to all over the place in a day. She didnt walk until 14-15 months either. But - if you look at her now, you'd never know. I once heard someone say that you cant compare kids until they are atleast 3 and I agree. (Well, I dont think you should compare at any age, but you know what i mean)

I promise not to be one of those Moms that is all "look what my kid did, my kid is so advanced". It's just hard for me b/c everyday I am in shock with what Tristan is doing since it's so much earlier than Amelia. I know how it both you and Mickey feel. My DD's bday was mid July and when all these Moms were posting about how much their kids were doing, it was hard not to think Amelia was behind. But, she wasnt and neither is Maddie.

[MrsBeckyLP]

Thanks makena, that makes me feel better. And FWIW, I don't feel like ANY of you are bragging when you talk about your child's development. I'd be proud, too!

And I think it's pretty damn cool that my daughter developed her pincer grasp at 7 months and has great fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, though those aren't the kind of "big" things people see or talk about! ;)

[rachrich]

Becky I agree with Makena. Ohio's program is called Help Me Grow (they go up to 3yrs) and they are basically they same thing. Even if Maddie is behind most babies at her age, she can still be in the normal range, and even then if she's behind normal she may catch up eventually. DD was coming up on 16 months, still not walking, and the daycare recommended the HMG program, and I talked to ped, and he wasn't going to be concerned until she was 18 months and still not walking. Have you talked to your ped at all??

ok-I have to do my "formal" intro ;)
I'm Rachael, will be 29 April 19th, and DH will be 30 also in April. We have DD who is a little over 3 yrs. and recently became potty trained (YAY). Owen turned 9 months yesterday, and he's such a sweet, happy little guy despite all he's been through. He was breech at 36 weeks, never turned, so I had a c/s. At his 2 month WBV, he was found to have congenital cataracts in both eyes, had his lenses removed at 2.5 months, and has had glasses since 3 months. At the same time, the geneticist diagnosed him with hypotonia (low muscle tone), so he's very behind in all motor skills, along with his visual delay. Fast forward to a few days before Christmas, he ended up in the hospital, and was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, a form of epilepsy/seizures in babies, and is currently on prednisone. We will be weaning him from that in a couple weeks, and transferring to a long-term anti-seizure medication called topomax. Because of his hypotonia we were just able to start him on cereal 2 weeks ago, and he's doing well with the cereal.

i hear him talking....so he must be up from his nap. Those of you who have the day off, I hope it's relaxing, and possibly productive!

[MrsBeckyLP]

Rach- No, I haven't really talked to the ped about it. She didn't seem concerned at Maddie's 9-month WBV, so I didn't really ask questions. Thanks for your kind words though; they do make me feel better! It just gets a little old when people constantly ask if she's crawling or pulling up/standing and I see a shocked look on their face when I say she's not. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about! I hope you're having a great day off. Lucky! :) I should have been a teacher. Damn.

Have any of you thought about first birthday presents? I know DD will get a ton of toys and clothes from grandparents, so we're just getting her one thing. It looks even cuter in person.

http://trus.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-3407067reg.jpg

I saw this at BRU a few months ago and thought it was adorable. Now I'm just waiting to get my hands on one of those "15 percent off one item" coupons the store has every so often. If anyone has one they won't use, let me know please! I haven't received any in a while.

Oh, and while I'm procrastinating (again), I thought I'd share the dress (http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1&productId=525713) I bought for her birthday party (again, way cuter in person).

And I got this (http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1&productId=526267) bolero to go with it since we do live in Wisconsin and you never know if it will be 40 or 70 that day!

I've decided that I'm doing an easy polka dot/"1" theme. I found some cute, inexpensive invites on etsy. I figure it's only her first birthday once, so I might as well focus on the "1" this year and can have fun with other themes in future years.

I really need to get to work, but I have absolutely no motivation lately. It's pathetic. And I'm off Wednesday for a minor ear surgery, so I only have four days this week to get a lot of stuff done. A smart person would be doing it instead of dinking around here, no? :p

[E&O]

Becky- First of all, I just wanted to say Maddie is not farther behind than Cooper. He gets on all fours and slides backwards on our hardwoods floor. He also "pulls up" a whole 1/2 in from our lap to standing. But he cannot get from laying to sitting, he cannot pull up to his knnes and no way could he pull up to his feet. I feel like our group has so many early achievers in this category that it may throw off the curve.

But I can share with you how we worked with our county's Early Intervention program with Kate. We met with our EI case manager and talked about issues and goals, etc. Then we had an assesment with a physical therapist who graded Kate in all developmental areas using her real age, and her "adjusted age" (5 weeks younger). Anyway she was close to the at-risk line on gross motor skills, so we decided to start a tracking program. Every month we got a survey asking questions about all developmental areas. After 3 months, we were stills eeing delays in gross motor skills and that's when decided to start working with a physical therapy program.

So maybe its worth a call to this organization and just shee if there will do the initial assesment. That alone might put your mind of ease. And even a tracking type program would help you get confirmation a monthly basis on how Maddie is progressing. But again, I don't think she any further behind that the majority of the kiddos her age.

[Mickey&B]

Becky I agree with what all the others have said. Developmentally from what you mentioned Maddie isn't that much behind. There is a very wide spectrum of normal with babies and just because she isn't crawling now doesn't mean she can't pick up and go tomorrow. I think the harness has played a big factor in hindering her movement.

okay so a little about me.

My name is Michelle,I'm 34 and DH is 35. I'm a former teacher/ Child Development Coordinator turned Real Estate/Loan officer WAH/SAHM :p. I have two boys 3.5 and almost 9 months. I don't post pics of my kids on the open internet so if any of the new April mom's want to friend me over on LJ I'm Mickey_and_b over there. I've been on CC for awhile so I recognize a lot of the April mommies but I am looking forward to getting to know you all a bit better.

I hope it didn't sound like I thought you guys were bragging about what your kids can do I know how exciting it is when your child does something new and it's great to be able to share about our kids here.

speaking of which D slept through the night last night!!! WOOHOO the first time since he was 5 months old!!!

[IrishEyes]

I'm late to the new April/May party! I was at a conference on Friday and off yesterday, enjoying a late Valentine's Day with DH (we were both off) while the boys enjoyed a short day at daycare.

My intro: I’m Kellie (35, ugh!) and I have two DSs, both May babies: Brody (3 3/4) and Carson (9 months). Our family (DH included) lives in Maryland. I work for the federal government.

Carson:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3287051283_2b7b2cac35_m.jpg
His fifth tooth popped out on Friday, and we've got another one on its way. He's not crawling yet, but almost (quite frustrated that he can't). He does pull himself up on his knees. He loves 'real people foods', especially crackers that he can hold by himself. He's quite a hugger and a kisser.

[MrsSpencer]

Well I figured out some things to keep him "regular" and he hasn't had mucous since he's had milk..so hopefully he stays happy and healthy (as well as he can needing stool softeners).

Becky- I agree with everyone that Maddie doesn't seem far behind, she's great with her fine motor skills (Nicholas wasn't good with him pinscher grasp till recently within the last 3 weeks or so).

I finally decided on a "theme" for his party..baby einstien! He is in LOVE with those dvd's (he gets to watch one a day after breakfast while I'm eating/cleaning up)..I don't mind since they are only like 20 minutes and just show him toys!

I found a shirt on etsy that has "My first birthday" and I'm going to get his name put on it and it has one of the charcaters from the dvd on it! Going to get a few actual decorations that have baby einstien on them and the plates etc..will just be brightly colored. Any more ideas??

(As you can tell I'm a crappy speller)

Mickey- Congrats on D sttn!

[E&O]

Irish-Ok, when you posted that picture of Carson I thought for a minute he was your 3 year old! How grown-up does he look driving that car!

I feel like such a nervous momma, I still surround Cooper will pillows and blankets when he sits on the wood floors, and really I should be letting him sitting on riding toys and all that fun stuff.

SO I mentioned before that Cooper hasn't been to crazy about self-feeding and finger food, unless it is puffs, cheese or strawberry. I always try to offer him a bit of what we have for dinner (if it is reasonable for a baby to eat). So last night I gave him some pot roast and rosted potatoes- which he loved! Especially the potatoes, probably because they we covered in a french onion soup mix (super healthy for the kid, I know, but hey- he ate something! :))

He was super rocking up on all-fours last night. He's getting so good at that, now he just needs to launch himself for the first time.

He has also started with a nightly coughing fit at 2:00 AM. Sunday night and last night. He coughs like crqazy but does not wake himself up, which is weird. So last night I tired to run the nebulizer and hold it by his face while he slept. It didn't work and he woke up. He wasn't too happy, but he tolerated it and went back to sleep pretty easily.

[MrsSpencer]

aww...poor cooper.

[IrishEyes]

E&O - it's funny, I forget that babies will try almost any food (and like it). I think because my 3 yr old is currently going through a picky eating phase, I forgot what it was like when he would eat anything.

Note: you can't see him, but DH is sitting just to the right of the car, making sure that Carson doesn't fall out. (You can see a hint of his knee there.)

And yes, he does look old, doesn't he? Of course, I think he does because he has all that hair!

MrsS - I hope Nicholas keeps getting better! I would worry about mucus too. But do keep in mind that baby poop can be ... weird. After eating green beans (or any green food), Carson has some weird green poop for a few days. It's gross.

Diaper rash - somehow I lucked out and DS#1 never had diaper rash. Really. Carson has had light red spots for some time on and off, but in the past 5 days, he has gotten darker red spots. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, but it bothers me!

[MrsSpencer]

He's picky..I don't think he's eaten anything green (had peas a month or 3 weeks ago) since. His poop is still green it's just not (it was mostly mucous and he was going more than once a day and it was everywhere)..so I'll see if it comes back keeping him off dairy he's pooped twice today already and I didn't know! (he didn't scream or cry or grunt)

[Kelly51703]

I've been MIA in the May thread. I just had my gallbladder out on Thursday so I'm going to do my best to keep up. I guess gallstones are very common after pregnancy.

My intro: I'm 32 and a SAHM mom to Lauren, 3, and Andrew. He just turned 10 months. He's perfected the army crawl and will actually crawl to something that gets him really excited. He's babbling up a storm and I can't believe that he's going to be one in two months!

We have his first birthday pretty much planned. It's going to be small. We're going with a classic first birthday theme.

[Standrea]

First Birthday-
We are going with a Pinkalicious theme because it's going to be a shared birthday party for the girls, and that's what DD#1 picked. I've got a good chunk of the planning done already.

First birthday gift-
Ellie will be getting Emerald earrings (her birthstone) and a sand and water table.

[ironhair]

Becky - I'll second what all the others have said, Maddie is not "behind" the other babies. She's figuring things out in her own time. Babies are so different, but I know it's really hard not to compare to other babies. And we all know at least one of those moms with a super-advanced baby, just ask her;) And it will continue for next to forever; first with crawling, then walking, and wiening from the bottle, then the paci/thumb, and onto potty-training, counting to 10, and on and on...my kids are always behind someone else's in every one of these. I certainly don't think it sounds like Maddie has any developmental issues, but like E&O said, maybe an evaluation would help put you at ease - and give you ammunition for the next well-meaning person who suggests their might be something wrong with her.

Birthday gifts: My kids do not need any more toys, period! We are getting Aiden a twin bed and new bedding, but are still undecided on what to get Alivia (though that butterfuly Becky posted is adorable!). I've asked family members to buy them consumables (bubbles, side walk chalk, bathtub crayons, etc) or books in lieu of toys.

Oh, Becky, you mentioned Maddie wore a carseat poncho. Can I ask where you found it? I still just throw a blanket over the bucket, but I want to get a poncho/cape when she moves to the Marathon.

E&O - Yay for Cooper figuring out things other than puffs and cheerios are good too!

MrsS - Way to go on deciding on a theme for Nicholas' bday - that is the hardest part for me (and I really need to get on that!). Baby Einstiens is a good, bright-colored baby theme (and easy to compliment with solid color things so you don't go overboard with/broke buying themed items ;))

I have really enjoyed getting to know all of you April mommies!

And from us: This weekend I ran to the grocery store and only had to take 1 kid with me - I don't think that has happened since Alivia was born! DH took Aiden to the shop, so I took Alivia to the store and since it was just the two of us, I left the carseat in the car and she got to sit in the front of the cart. Boy did she think she was big stuff sitting up there! She smiled at and "talked" to everyone we met. She recently learned to waive and was a waiving fool too - though she has yet to do it "on command". She also just figured out clapping, pretty much yesterday. On the 4th the Parent Educator who visited asked if she could clap yet, of course she couldn't (see another one of those things they all "get" at different times).

[MrsBeckyLP]

D slept through the night last night!!! WOOHOO the first time since he was 5 months old!!!

Awesome!!! I know how good that feels. I haven't mentioned it because I didn't want to jinx myself, but Maddie has been STTN again for the past two weeks. Just when I decided I was going to night wean because I wanted to get on a more regular (once-a-day) pumping schedule at work before weaning from that, she started STTN! It was like she heard me and realized she might as well sleep because she wasn't going to get fed anyway! :p

IrishEyes- Carson looks so grown up! What a great picture. :)

E&O- I'm glad Coop ate! Maddie has been eating what we eat too, within reason. She had some baked ziti the other night. She loves it when food comes off my plate and onto her tray. She's sure to eat it then!

MrsS- I sure hope you get Nicholas' situation under control soon.

Kelly- Oh no! I hope you're recovering well.

ironhair- I got the poncho at carseatponcho.com (http://carseatponcho.com/). It's so convenient. Maddie has the reversible hot pink and leopard one. I looked on etsy, but I couldn't find any decent ones.

Thanks for all the thoughts and reassurance about Maddie's development. I'm just so irritated with daycare lately, and that's the main problem. It's always something with them, and now they keep bringing up the fact that she's not crawling. ALL THE TIME. When they discuss her development with me, it's always about her lack of crawling. I have told them several times that our ped has even said she doesn't consider crawling a milestone since a lot of babies don't ever do it, but it's like they're not hearing me. I felt like they were forcing me to feed her more solids when she wasn't ready, and now I feel like they're forcing this issue. Maddie is a very independent, I'll-do-it-on-my-own-time kind of girl. She's eating great now; I'm sure she'll be mobile before I know it. She does things when she's ready.

I spoke with her teacher on the phone last night for about 20 minutes. (That's another issue: Maddie's main teacher isn't there when I drop off and she leaves before I pick up, even though Maddie is only there for nine hours, so I NEVER get to see her to discuss things; the owner said she'd schedule Maddie's teacher to be there until 4:30 at least one day a week, but she hasn't done that). Anyway, her teacher said she'd been debating whether to bring up the Birth to 3 program to me, and she hadn't realized the owner was going to. She said she thinks Maddie should at least be evaluated. I'm torn. I don't want to be one of those ignorant parents who says, "Oh, no, not my child. She's just fine." But I also don't want to jump the gun and act paranoid if there's not really a problem. The thing is she was just last week at the specialist (who also doubles as a regular ped) for her hips, and I gave him a detailed description of what she can and can't do. He did not seem concerned in the least. Part of me wants to wait a month, and part of me wants to just call and have her evaluated to shut them up. :rolleyes:

Sorry for rambling again. Feel free to ignore me. I can't ever seem to write just a little bit.

[MrsSpencer]

I say have her evaluated, if for nothing but to make everyone see she's fine.

[MrsBeckyLP]

Oh, and I was just talking to a co-worker, and I realized that I'm nit-picking. Daycare has done enough little things to piss me off in recent months, and now I'm getting irritated by everything they do. I hate that it's gotten to this point. We're at the most expensive place in town, and I feel like we should be getting better service than what they've given us. Everything -- from our nonexistent monthly statements, to not following our loose feeding/sleeping schedule, to the high turnover rate -- has been an issue. So now I'm just bitter and everything they do pisses me off!

I think I'm just going to call Maddie's doctor to see what she thinks.

[SiValleySteph]

Intro, Guess I'd better say hello!

I'm 31. I have 2 kids. My older son is 4-1/2 (almost... his birthday is in Sep) and my baby boy was born April 28th. I WOH, as does my husband (also 31) and our kids go to a great home daycare. Next year my older son will be in 1/2 day kindergarden, complicating our lives. That's what's worrying me these days.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/brothers.jpg

Damon is very independent mainly because he is the 2nd kid and it seems like he gets a lot of independent time when the older wants something. Hahahaha. He crawls, pulls up, gets into everything. He has never slept through the night, which is fine. He likes to smile a lot. He's cute!

[SiValleySteph]

birthday party, we haven't given this much thought yet. I want to have a party, DH is not sure. He's never sure about parties because he thinks they are too much work. :p It would be outside in our backyard. It's would be a family party not a kids party. We'd probably have lunch, cake, etc. We had a champagne cocktail bar at my oldest's 1st birthday and that was fun, so we might do that again. Maybe we'll do an afternoon party and grill or something ... hmmm. We'll probably do "no gifts" because we are all full up on stuff.

[Mrs.Chappy]

Crap..my post was deleted.

Becky: my nephew never crawled..until way after 10 months. My sis in law was at home with him all day. The ped wasnt concerned either. My mother insisted he was delayed. He walked when he was ready at 18 months! we can't keep up with him now. Let me know what the ped says.!

Took the boys to daddy's office in NYC yesterday. Train, etc..I fed jake all day to 'shut him up'so i blamed myself when he spit up all over me at 4:30. He fought the morning nap and got 1 hr all day!!! Clearly, for the nanny this morning he napped 1 1/2 hr...ahh..happy to be at work!

still plugging at my weight loss..i'm at the 7lb loss mark now and my clothes are fitting so much better! i feel good! and waking up at 5 am to hit the treadmill isn't as terrible as it was in the beginning!

b-day: i've created an invite list..found c ute invites w/ Elmo..so that's as much planning as i've done!

[IrishEyes]

birthday party It's would be a family party not a kids party. We'd probably have lunch, cake, etc. We had a champagne cocktail bar at my oldest's 1st birthday and that was fun, so we might do that again. Maybe we'll do an afternoon party and grill or something ...

We're also going to do a family party (and it'll be joint for both boys since their birthdays are 12 days apart). We usually grill and hang out. No theme, besides whatever is on the birthday cake. I am not ready to host 18 of Brody's classmates at a Chuck-E-Cheese and I know there are a few kids in his class that are "not nice", as he says.

SiValleySteph - the champagne cocktail bar sounds yummy! Do share more details!

I haven't thought about gifts, because neither boy could want for anything more. Clothes for sure!

Becky - How irritating that your daycare is pushing this. Brody didn't crawl until late in the 10th month and I took into account that he seemed to hit many milestones somewhat on the late side and decided to wait it out and see how it went. Considering that Maddie hasn't spent many months without the harness, she needs time to figure out how to move around on her own.

[ironhair]

MrsC - Congratulations on the 7 pound loss!!

I finally worked out last night (just at home, but a similar routine from a time long ago when I had me-time to attend body-conditioning classes). Turns out I am WAY out of shape. Every time I get up from my desk today I feel it, and it takes a few steps to loosen up enough to walk properly :o My 15-year HS reunion is in May, so I'm using that for motivation. And, just in case I decide I could care less what my old classmates think of my flabby a$$, I am planning to run the Firecracker 5K in July. I know that's not far, but it is for a non-runner!

I am working from a satelite office today and I am even more unmotivated when I'm not around my stuff, in my work comfort zone...

[twinnyme]

Trying to catch up here.... This combined thread is much faster than our April thread was. Forgive me if I've missed things!

Crawling - Becky, DD1 *never* crawled (as others have said since I started writing my post!) except for one week of an army crawl at 10 months. She barely sat on her own until 8 months or something, either. And now she's been doing gymnastics for the last three years and she's my little wild child climber/jumper. She had been cruising at 9 months and began walking at 11 months - very little walking, maybe a few steps - took her weeks after that to be full on walking. I too have heard that crawling is NOT a milestone because not all kids do it. As long as they're trying to motor in some fashion, it's okay. And besides, given that Maddie was in the harness for a few months, she may just have found other things to focus on in the meantime and doesn't care to work on crawling much yet!

Birthday Parties - I'm enjoying planning - too much probably. :) We're doing it pretty simply, and splitting the parties between NJ (my family) and DH's family (MA). The NJ one is Saturday, 4/11 (Easter weekend) and will be a book theme. I just ordered the invitations (from Kodak Gallery) yesterday:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3283518198_5aa292b1f8.jpg?v=0

We are requesting that in lieu of a gift, people bring a book to donate to a literacy organization for kids. I just don't want a single other toy in my house! I also ordered yesterday return address labels that have a book theme and the cutest Little Golden Book stickers to put on the back of the envelopes. We'll also have a "pin the title on the book" game (that DD1 and I will make up) and a "make your own bookmark" craft. Other than that, my parents' apartment complex has an indoor pool and children's playroom so we'll go there with the kids.

If you can't tell, I'm having fun with this! My baby shower with DD1 (I didn't have one for DD2) was book themed, also at my parents' house and since DD2 is our last child, I kind of feel like it's coming full circle to have a book themed party for her at my parents'. :)

The MA party will not have an elaborate a theme - we'll just pick something like Care Bears or something (I'm going to let DD1 pick) and get all related paper goods/cake, and order a pizza or something. DH's family is not as much into the themed stuff!

[kissmary]

twinnyme - I have to say again that I love your party idea and how the invites came out, which I didn't say on your LJ!

Becky - Hope you go by what your ped says and not daycare. That would irritate me, too.

For those losing weight, good job! I have the opposite problem--I have to eat every three hours just so I don't lose any more weight, as I am below what I was pre-pregnancy and I'm skinny to begin with. My mom was the same way, though weighed less than me and is taller.

Birthday party - We'll probably have some friends over. Plus DH's parents are visiting from OoT, his mom for a week. No theme, since we probably won't invite any kids, just babies and parents. Champagne sounds like a great idea, though!

Napping - Henry is hit or miss on naps. Today he took a 2+ hour morning nap and is napping again now. On the weekend his naps were more around 30 minutes each. :rolleyes:

[ironhair]

For those losing weight, good job! I have the opposite problem--I have to eat every three hours just so I don't lose any more weight, as I am below what I was pre-pregnancy and I'm skinny to begin with. My mom was the same way, though weighed less than me and is taller.

I'm sure this is a problem for you, but I'd like to be plagued with this problem for just a little while :p

[rachrich]

Becky I'm frustrated for you! the gall.....I know daycare is looking out for Maddie's best interest, but they also need to realize when to back down, ya know? We went through a similar thing with daycare when DD "should have been" walking. they nagged and nagged about her not walking.....I ignored them and went with ped's advice. Maybe you could just tell them something like, "Ped and specialist see no problem, so I think I'll wait another month or so and decide to maybe get her evaluated then, but thanks for your concern" i dunno.......If I were you I'd feel stuck between a rock and a hard place with all the conflicting advice. BTW, I love that dress you linked to!

birthday i've got 3 months....not really thinking about it yet. ;) Honestly, my thoughts right now are to have a small family, close friends party, maybe a BBQ depending on the weather. not sure at all about a theme.

ETA: DH took Owen to his 9-month....I'l report back later with stats. keep your fingers crossed that he's on the chart for weight!

[MrsSpencer]

Rach- Hope Owen's dr's appointment went well!

kissmary-..oh how I wish I had that problem..

I think I mentioned that I decided to switch from the midwives I saw to a ob/gyn and had my first appointment today. My cycles have been 6 weeks apart, but not consistant and wanted to get checked. Well she said that with cycles being 6 weeks apart or more most often your not ovulating (she doesn't know obviously if I am or not I'm supposed to keep track once I want to start to TTC again). I got blood work to check my thyroid and hormone levels. She was sooo great, I am so happy with my choice. She talked with me, answered every question, and had an answer for them that made sense to me. She said internally everything "feels" fine, no cysts etc (no pain so she didn't think that was the case anyway). I have very reoccurrent UTI's, and yeast infections and she is determined to get to the bottom of it and prescribed me some medicine to see if it helps. I can't explain how at ease I felt with her, which is a far cry from during my pregnancy with the midwives. (She agreed if she was my dr she wouldn't have let me push, but wouldn't have went straight for a c-section, she said there's ways to do without pushing, but if Nicholas would've went into distress they would've done a c-section. Which is fine, whatever to get him here safely).

Nicholas is still doing well, he's been a little extra cranky today, but I'm wondering if it's more teeth coming in?

[Mrs.Chappy]

Ladies,
i re-lived the early days last night as my 3 1/2 yr. old was up many many times (i think he has an EI). HOWEVER, DH was the one to actually get out of bed each time! I think i paid my dues in that respect w/ Jake! Nonetheless, i'm still exhausted today and leaving work early to take him to the ped..i love when i call and i can just name my time. I'm a regular there..i seriously think they leave spots open just for us ;)
its so much better when teh kids can actually tell you whats wrong 'mommy, my right ear hurts'!!!! love it.

[rachrich]

ugh....ladies, yesterday's 9-month was awful. DH took him, cause I had a work conflict, but he comes home and was about in tears. We have to go see an endocrinologist (yet another specialist) because of his length/heighth. He's 15lb.13oz. which is still small, but the dr is happy to see his weight gain. He is not growing lengthwise and ped is worried there may be an issue with growth hormones.....???? :( It may not be a big deal, but I just don't know how much more I can take. specialist after specialist. Maybe I just won't take him to check ups anymore, so I won't have to hear bad news. *sigh* Oh, and he's got a double EI, first one thankfully. I'm actually suprised he hasn't gotten one sooner since he's been in daycare since Sept and I stopped Bfing after Thanksgiving, i was sure he was going to get one soon after that.

A good note though, we got the ok to start baby foods, so I went out and got some prunes....for constipation, and some sweet potatoes and squash. We'll try some tonight and see how he does.

[MrsSpencer]

Oh I'm so sorry the visit went bad. I hope it's nothing, poor Owen has been through so much (as have you). That's a good weight though, glad he's gaining. I hope things get better, keep us updated (like you don't ;)). Hugs.

[ironhair]

Oh Rach, I'm so sorry you didn't get good news at the visit. {{HUGS}}

[SiValleySteph]

the champagne cocktail bar sounds yummy! Do share more details!

We had champagne and then we had 3 different mixers and garnishes. Chambord, Midori and blue Curaco. I can't remember the garnishes right now... every drink had a name, too, and we had a little recipe guide. :)


rachrich, Sorry about the upsetting appointment. :( I don't know all the history, but I am sorry you have to go through the doctors appointments and specialists.

[twinnyme]

Rachrich - I'm sorry about the tough appointment. Since I've lurked a bit in this thread before we combined, I have read some of your posts about your son, and I'm sorry you have to see another specialist. You are a really strong mother for your son, though, from all I've read, and I hope the news you get from the specialist is good. I don't know all the history with your son but my DD1 was very small, too - she was born at 8 lb. 12 oz. but had not even doubled her weight at her first year appointment. That's just who she was. I hope the case is the same for your son. Have fun with the baby foods!

[E&O]

Rach-I'm sorry to hear about the disappointing appts. I know like us your goal was for Owen to hit 16lbs. God, I know how frustrating it can be hoping for good news at an appointment and getting bad new instead.

I know Standrea and I both tried adding olive oil to baby purees for the extra calories and good fats. Perahps now that Owen has been given the go-ahead for purees you could try this as well.

As for us, I have just had it with snotty noses. Cooper's nose is insanely snotty. How does one small person produce so much snot???? I asperate every morning and get nothing.... yet 2 minute slater its pouring from his nose. I'm just so tired of turning around every 5 seconds to grab another tissue of fighting him to clean his nose, of always seeing snot smeared across his face, and finding used tissues in every pocket of every piece of clothing I own! And its affecting his eating...I know he's struggling with the bottle (only wanting to drink 3-4 oz at a sitting) because he is too snotty. Enough already.

[MrsSpencer]

I'm frustrated because they brought Eli today (called at 6:30 to say they WERE taking him to the dr, because he's wheezing/has a cold, if he wasn't bad and the dr said it was okay he was going to drop him off in the afternoon.) 10:30 rolled around and there he was with Eli snotty nose/wheezing and all! Said they didn't take him to the dr because they can't really do anything and will say it's viral???? Okay..but it's okay to come and infect MY KID!! Way to show me your job is more important than your child!

sorry..rant over :)

[ironhair]

MrsS - I know you were only ranting/venting and you are concerned for your DS, but bringing Eli today doesn't mean they value their jobs over their son. I am one of those moms who take their DC's to daycare with snotty noses. I simply can't stay home every time he has the sniffles. I'm sure we've given colds as much as we've gotten them at daycare. And, as a daycare provider, you kind of have to expect to have snotty, almost sick kids around.

[MrsSpencer]

I didn't mean anything by it (he's a workaholic and his wife complains so that's where that came from). I just think if they have a fever they shouldn't be around other kids (depending on the fever of course). I didn't mean for it to sound that way (I'm also worried about Eli, as he's taken a turn in the last three hours, his mom should be here soon. His fever is going up and he's breathing fast). A simple cold doesn't bother me, but if he was concerned enough to stay home from work I would just assume get him checked ya know?

[Parrothead]

Hi there-

I didn't realize that the new thread had started! I am Parrothead, SAHM to 2 wonderful little girls. DD#1, Meghan, is 2 years 9 months old. DD#2, Katherine (Katie) is 9 months old. I just turned 31. DH and I have been married for nearly 7 years.

Katie has 7 teeth (has for a long time; it's really funny to me) and is walking all over creation. It is hilarious. She is always so pleased w/ herself when she stands up and takes steps. I recently started a music class w/ her and she loves it. Beyond that, she spends her days getting dragged around according to her sister's schedule (preschool, dance, swimming, playdates, etc.). She is an eating machine and only eats fingerfoods these days b/c she got over purees very fast. Peas, green beans, banana, chicken, and apples are her faves as of now.

Off to get things done while the girls nap....

[Mickey&B]

Rach I am so sorry you guys are having to deal with all of this. I'm praying that the dr's concern isn't anything serious! You are such a strong mom and I know this has to be so hard on you it, it just seems like one thing after another {{{HUGS}}}}

[sophonisba9]

rach- I'm so sorry Owen is off to another specialist. How long is he? Cate hasn't gained much length in a couple of months. She's putting on weight again, thank goodness, but I think she's only gained 3/4 of an inch total in 3 or more months. Our ped has always said that kids grow in spurts. They put on weight for a while then they lengthen then they do developmental stuff, then gain weight, etc.

DH is back from his business trip. I'd like to say it's nice to have him home, but so far he's just slept and then ran off to work as soon as he woke up. I just got back from dropping my BFF off at the airport. I'm so sad that we live so far apart. She's one of the few people I can completely be myself with. We've been friends for so long that we can talk about anything or nothing. I would have been a mess without her this weekend.

I need to call and make reservations for my belated V-day dinner. I've got a babysitter for Saturday night, one of the teachers from Jack's preschool. There's this awesome little French place near us. Foie Gras here I come!

[sophonisba9]

I found a new brand of babyfood. It's called "O" organics. I think it's a store brand for Safeway/Vons/etc. They were having a pretty good sale so I bought a bunch because they had more interesting flavor combinations than most. Tonight Cate had Lentils and Vegetable dinner. She ate it about as well as she ever eats anything. So I'd say she likes it.

She's also scooting backwards so hopefully forward movement will be coming soon.

[Baby Lust]

Rach, I agree with this:
Our ped has always said that kids grow in spurts. They put on weight for a while then they lengthen then they do developmental stuff, then gain weight, etc.
That's what our ped has always said too, so when he didn't see a huge weight gain, he'd look for growth. Hopefully it's nothing! Try not to worry! (hugs)

Guess I should finally introduce myself! :o

I am Amanda, 26 years old. I have been married for 6 1/2 years and we have 3 kids: 1 DS, Lucas, who will be 3 in June and identical twin girls, Hailey and Madelyn, almost 10 months old. The twins were a complete surprise. They were bron 6 weeks early because Hailey didn't gain any weight in a month (Suspected Twin-to-Twin Transfusion). Hailey was born at 3lbs 10 oz, and at 9 months, weighed almost 16 lbs. Madelyn was born at 5lbs 1 oz and currently weighs 18lbs 4oz. Hailey is just learning to crawl and pull up on things, and Madelyn has been crawling, pulling up on things and taking assisted steps for over a month now. It's funny how completely different they are! :p

Anyway, I work full-time as a Trainer for a major health insurance company. I've been there for 6 years (in June) and for the most part love what I do. My husband works overnights and has for 7+ years, so when I get home from work, I feed the kids, make supper, give the kids baths and put them to bed, then eat supper and get ready for bed. Rinse, repeat. It's exhausting, but I wouldn't trade my kids for anything in the world!! :)

Wow, I think that's the most I've posted about myself outside of my journals! ;)

[MrsBeckyLP]

rach- I'm so sorry you got crappy news again. You guys have been through so much, and my heart just breaks for your family and Owen. I really hope you get *some* good news soon.

Us- Today I had a minor ear surgery (a tympanoplasty), under general anesthesia, and I'm really tired right now. The anesthesiologist was a goof and told me I needed to pump to empty the milk in my breasts and then "the stuff that filled up after that would be OK to nurse DD with." Um, no. That's not how pumping and dumping works, dumbass. If the anesthesia has worn off and is out of my system, it's out of the milk, just of like alcohol. The purpose of pumping and dumping is for comfort and to keep up milk supply if done in place of a feeding. I cannot believe he wasn't aware. Just wow. There was a bit of a language barrier, too, so that could have been part of the issue.

[Mrs.Chappy]

Becky: hope your ears feel better!!

Rach: (((hugs)))!

[tashaw6]

Becky: Oh your post about the daycare people thinking they know so much was so something I could have posted! The lady at my daycare is always giving advice. The other day she "suggested" that perhaps we should give Kade formula instead of me coming down and breastfeeding him. Her reason was that perhaps he would get more calories with the formula. First of all he is nearly 22 lbs, and hello, breastmil has the same calories as formula. Oh that made me mad. I just said no, I will still come down. She clearly knew she hacked me off cause she was so apologetic the rest of the day. She has also been one to tell us what we should be feeding him and when. It so irritates me!

Rach: I am SO sorry to hear yet another obstacle. But hoping for good news on his growth. Great to hear that he is a chunky monkey! Over 15 lbs is really GOOD!

Us: Kade has been doing better. I am hoping this EI has gone. We still need to get his 2 9 month shots. The Dr didn't have them when we were there for our wbv so we have to do that this week. Nothing else exciting. We did get a number from one of the girls at daycare and she is going to babysit for us so we can have a date night. We have only had one since Kade was born!

[IrishEyes]

Rach - I'm sorry to hear about your news. I hope that with the new solids (and perhaps doing what E&O said) you can beef him up!

MrsS - perhaps you need to have an 'official' policy on Eli and sickness and stick to it. Most daycares have a policy of: no fever over 100.5, no diarrhea or vomiting, no pink eye. And kids shouldn't come in until they have gone 24 hr with no symptoms (which is a little much, maybe 12 hours is more reasonable). Our school will also take the temperature of a feverish kid and call the parents and ask them to come pick them up in an hour if they're over 100.5. By the way, are you going to take care of Eli's little sister?

Tash - have fun on date night!

Breastfeeding - I've heard a few silly, unfounded comments about breastmilk from daycare providers. One said that she found that babies are less moody when they have formula vs. breastmilk, and another one said she thinks Carson is more full with formula vs. when I was pumping (but yet he eats just as often).

Sophionisba9 - that food sounds yummy! I don't usually shop at Safeway, but I might stop by.

Baby Lust - wow, how often do you see DH? Does he stay home with the kids during the day? Sounds like your girls are doing so well!

Becky - hope you are recovering well!

Teeth - Carson popped through his sixth tooth yesterday (that's all 4 top teeth in 22 days!). I hope we'll have a break before some more join the party.

[MrsSpencer]

I don't know yet about taking care of his little sister (still sounds weird saying that!). She will probably stay home (like she did with the other two) of course until Eli. But I don't know, I haven't really asked her yet. She was diagnosed with GD and has to be admitted to the hospital for monitoring and teaching her to eat, check her blood etc. So she's pretty stressed out (she didn't have it with the other three). Eli was listless, and had a temp of 101.6 yesterday when she picked up. He's here today, doesn't seem to have a fever and a little more active, but I'm keeping an eye on him..he just lounged and vegged on the couch yesterday....if I moved him or put him in the floor to play he'd cry :(. So we just cuddled (which is unusual as I've said he isn't a cuddler) on the couch and Nicholas played in the floor till he wanted to cuddle with us. Which cuddling to Eli is laying his head on you but doesn't want touched otherwise lol!

If DH and Eli's dad weren't so busy I would've told him to come and get him yesterday (DH told me not to as he's been going in at 6:30 every morning and staying till 5 everyday), DH on his own is working on four jobs..and they are both flying to DC next friday for a metting but their work is flying them back the same day.

Oh and DH may be getting another raise! Excited about that!

Forgot to tell Becky- Get well soon!

[Parrothead]

QOTD - How many months PP did AF return. DD will be 10 months old on the 26th. I still am EBFing and she also eats 3 meals of solids/day. I am also on the mini pill. With DD#1 AF returned at 7 months PP (EBFing, minipill, 3 meals/day). Just curious...THANKS!

[MrsSpencer]

QOTD: 4 months..when I stopped bfing.

[kissmary]

QOTD - 9 months, no reason that I could tell as I EBF and he is NOT STTN.

Rachrich - Sorry you are having to deal with all those issues and specialists. Hope you find some answers, though.

Tashaw - Eeek, we haven't had a date night at all! The few times we've planned to have one we've been too tired. But we are happy enough cuddling on the couch with a movie on, even before baby came.

[Mrs.Chappy]

AF returned 3 weeks after bfing ended at 8 months..so almost 9 months pp. It was REALLY heavy. I thought i was hemmoraging. i haveit now and it is sticking around longer than i thought :( i'm on the pill. Thinking of changing to some other bc method though! Unless DH wants the snip snip!! i'll leave that up to him ;) - - ok, that was TMI..i'm loopy from lack of sleep

[ironhair]

QOTD: AF returned at 9 months PP, when I cut back to BF only at night and stopped pumping during the day. Oh, and no mini pill here.

Reading your daycare stories makes me appreciate our provider even more! She is wonderful. She BF'd all 4 of her boys and CD'd, so she's very supportive of BFing and open to CDing (as I am still very much considering it). DS should be further along with the whole PTing thing, but he's not, and she isn't pushy or judgemental about it. She said whenever he's (or I'm) ready, though she would like to see it done before the end of the summer (me too!). I'm sure a huge difference is that we use an in-home provider verses a center. I'm also pretty laid back, and generally assume she knows what she's doing (and probably more than me), as her 4 boys have all turned out very well (I hope I am that lucky!) Although laid back, I'm not sure I would have been able to hold my tongue in some of the conversations Becky and Tash have had with their providers!

[MrsSpencer]

AF returned 3 weeks after bfing ended at 8 months..so almost 9 months pp. It was REALLY heavy. I thought i was hemmoraging. i haveit now and it is sticking around longer than i thought :( i'm on the pill. Thinking of changing to some other bc method though! Unless DH wants the snip snip!! i'll leave that up to him ;) - - ok, that was TMI..i'm loopy from lack of sleep

lol! you crack me up!

Nicholas has been not sleeping well again (cries rolls around every two hours).Woke at 11, didn't go back down till 12:30 and woke twice more and was up for the day at 5! ugh!

[Standrea]

Rach-i'm so so so sorry to hear that you have to bring Owen to another specialist. I hope that the solids are able to help you guys out.

PPAF-she reared her ugly face around 4 months PP. Since I have pcos, I was not expecting to see her often, but for the first time in my life, she's been regular. She just went away yesterday.

Sick-I am SO SICK. I went to the doctor on tuesday for a sore throat, and ended up leaving with strep, a double ear infection, and what she called a mono flare up (I had mono in hs, so it would show positive on any test). It's been next to impossible to care for my kids. Thankfully, they are both still sleeping right now. I'm going to take a shower right now and hopefully feel a little better. I am sitting up for the first time in like 24 hours right now. They gave me Codeine for the pain, and it's not working, nor helping me sleep.

[E&O]

Just wanted to chime in on the AF question.... she came back in Nov or December, so Cooper would have been 7-8 months. And I did stop nursing in November. I forgot how nice it was not to deal with that mess every month.

I'm back on the rgular pill now and I have found that AF lasts longer, it starts on day 2 of the placebo and continues through until I start the first active pill again. Also, does anyone else have such wicked night sweats during AF? This past week I had to wake up twice and change Tshirts in the middle of the night because I was so sweaty. Its horrible. Maybe I need to mention this to my doc and see if there are other alternatives that don't have this side effect.

Cooper is currently on a bottle strike! It's a struggle to get him to drink 20 oz each day which is what my ped told me is the minimum he should have. Even first thing in the morning, after sleeping almost 11 hours, he will drink maybe 3-4 oz and I have to work to get him to take even that much. Then he pulls it out of his mouth, pushes it away, this morning he even threw it on the floor. Plus he's so easily distracted and is trying to sit up and look around the whole time. Is it time to transition to a sippy cup? I've tried a few times but he doesn't know what to do with it.

Many of you were mentioning date nights. DH and I are doing two dates over the next two weeks. Tomorrow night we're having a birthday dinner with some of our neighborhood friends. My sister in town this weekend for Cooper's baptism so she wants to stay with the kids. Then next Saturday the ILs want to keep the kids overnight, so we'll being doing a solo evening out. I'm looking forward to eating slowly and sleeping late.

[rachrich]

Oh that made me mad. I just said no, I will still come down.
Tash ya know, it just makes LOL (sarcastically) when people make comments like you mentioned and like irish said too. You think daycare workers would be more informed about breastmilk and formula..... just to join in the venting, i remember when I was Bfing, my grandma said the stupidest things, such as he would gain more weight on formula. well, he's been on all formula for a couple months now and we still have weight gain issues.... whatever.

AF mine returned between 6 and 7 months pp.

Andrea OMG you poor thing! Get well soon....and make that hubby take care of you ;)

[rachrich]

E&O i x-posted w/ you. you mentioned back about olive oil. I'd really like to do this eventually for the weight gain. Has it helped with Cooper to gain weight?

BC we're using condoms until I get back on the regular pill. I've beenmeaning to call OB to get an Rx for it, but I keep forgetting. besides, with the amount of sex we have (lack of, i should say) condoms are ok, even though they're not the greatest. I was on the mini-pill for 2 months until October and I took myself off because it SERIOUSLY altered my mood, and I was very very irritable and almost depressed a lot.

[ironhair]

E&O - I'd start introducing Cooper to the sippy cup, but also look through this thread, as it seems pretty common (Alivia did the same thing about a month ago, but seems to have gotten over it). Anyone gone through this (feeding issue) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44928)

[Mickey&B]

E&O I have no idea about the bottle strike as my first DS was never picky about where his food came from ;) but I would definetly try to offer him the sippy more often.

AF she reared her ugly head at 4months pp. I was still EBF and no solids go figure :rolleyes:

[Kelly51703]

E & O Andrew has been refusing the bottle for about a month now. I don't think that he gets 20 oz a day. But I can feel some teeth coming in so hopefully that's why he doesn't want it. You're not alone. I know how frustrating this is.

[MrsSpencer]

This may sound stupid, but I nor DH have ever been on a plane. He is flying next friday (his plane leaves at like 6:30 and he'll be getting back the same day at 4:30..or so it says). I am beyond nervous for him to be on a plane (I had a friend that was on the TWA flight 800 and ever since have been terrified of planes). I know logically it's safer than a car..but with all the recent plane crashes I can't help but be nervous.

[MrsBeckyLP]

AF- Mine still hasn't returned, thought I'm down to pumping only once a day at work and Maddie has been STTN for the past two weeks (we feed on demand when I'm with her). However, I have Mirena, and the info says some women don't get periods while on it. Either way, I've thoroughly enjoyed not having my period since July 2007!

[tgr68]

Wow! This thread moves fast! :eek:

All the pics are cute!

Babyproofing~I will be doing more this time around as well, especially with the electronics. DS is fascinated with cords and buttons, and I've lost count how many times I've had to rescue the DVD player from him. LOL!

MrsS~As Standrea said, read every label carefully.

Kissmary~Yay for walking!

Becky~I don't know the whole situation around Maggie, but from what I've read here, it doesn't sound like she's behind. My oldest did everything "late" - crawling at 10 months, pulling up at a year, and walking at 15 months. Now she is advanced when compared to other kids her age (or so people tell me). FWIW, DS can't pull to sitting yet, is just now pulling up to hands and knees, and not even trying to pull up to standing. I do worry some days that he's behind, but the ped has never expressed concern which helps alleviate my worries some. Hope your recovery is going well!

Rachrich~Wow! Your little guy has been through quite a lot. :( As far as the weight issues go, I have a very small boy as well. He was 15lbs 5oz at his 9 month WBV. I've added a couple of nursing sessions, add powdered formula and olive oil to his solid foods, and always give him oatmeal with his fruit and sometimes with yogurt. After 2 weeks of this, he put on 8oz, and we have to go back for another weight check next week.

First Birthday Gifts~If we get something, it'll be very small because I know the grandparents will go crazy. They always do! ;)

Hi, IrishEyes! I can't believe how many M/J 05 mommas I've shared baby #2 groups with! I think you are the fourth. LOL! Carson is adorable!

Kelly~Feel better! I hope your recovery is going well.

First Birthday Plans~We are doing a dog theme! I'm still at a loss for activities to keep the adults/older kids busy (considering a Wii bowling tourney though). Here is what I have so far for an invite. I'm still waiting on the 11 month pic. ;)
http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/32398/20090219/041705.jpg

Hi, BabyLust!

AF~It returned at 3 months PP, even with me exclusively BFing.

BC~We have been using NFP for 5 years now and plan on sticking with it.

Okay, I'm like 1000% sure I missed someone in replies. I promise to keep up better in the future.

[kissmary]

Henry has just become proficient at using his sippy cup after 2 months of "practice." 'Course, he hasn't had a bottle in months anyway.

[IrishEyes]

*waves at tgr68* - Hey there!

I think it's funny how many ladies in this thread have two kids born in the spring!

QOTD - I'm on the minipill. I got a period at the end of November, and nothing since. A month ago, I slowed the pumping (now not pumping) and nursing except for at night, and I still haven't gotten another visit. But I have been crampy since last Friday, so I've been having PMS from hell!

[summerbride2005]

This thread does move really fast! I'll have to read more often.

Becky- I hope you are doing okay after your ear surgery.

Rach- I'm sorry that you guys have to go see another specialist.

QOTD- AF came back 3 months PP for me even though I was exclusively BFing and no solids.

Gotta go grab DD who just woke up.

[twinnyme]

AF - came back a couple of months after I had DD, who is formula fed.

Birth control - took me a long time to get back to my doctor to get a prescription for my birth control pills, so I just got the first pack a few weeks ago - and then promptly stupidly took them the wrong day - started that day, though I wasn't supposed to until the first Sunday after AF, as usual - you'd think after so many years of taking the pill I'd have remembered that but it has been almost two years! I felt really stupid. I re-ordered the pack last night and will start this weekend. :)

Tgr68 - love the invitation! And I'm jealous you can have the party at the library - I assume the one where you used to work? I'd love to have my book party at a library but our library doesn't rent out rooms.

Sippy cup - Bridget doesn't do so well with this, though for the last week or so I've been trying harder to remember to give it to her with meals. It was the same with DD1, who was on sippy cups completely by 13 months, after we went cold turkey. I'll probably just do that again.

Bridget has a fever. I was called by daycare yesterday morning because she had a 101.8 fever. I picked her up and gave her medicine. It was up to 102 last night and at 101.9 this morning. So I'm home with her and DD1 is still at daycare/preschool, in the hopes that she doesn't get it (whatever it is), too!

This combined thread moves a LOT faster than our April one ever did, so I'm sure I've forgotten some SO's - sorry!

[MrsSpencer]

When Eli's mom came to pick him up today (he was lethargic and didn't eat much today) we both noticed as he was crying that something was oozing out of his ear..so he's off to the er cause he's just plain miserable. :(. I hope he's okay.

[sophonisba9]

Cate is just starting to come out of her bottle strike. Before Christmas she was taking 6 ounces at a time and sometimes 8. Then she got a cold that turned into an ear infection and I was lucky if she'd drink 2 ounces. This week she's now taking 6 ounces again. It's frustrating when they'll only drink a little at a time and then are hungry 20 minutes later.

I mashed up last night's chicken pot pie for Cate's lunch today. I then added some pureed squash to thin it out a bit. She was really enthusiastic for the first 10 or so spoon fulls and then wouldn't eat anymore. So Frustrating!!!

I'm trying to clean out the deep freeze and I realized I had a bunch of freezer burned meat. I hate to throw it out, so I'm trying to be creative. I made pot pie with freezer burned chicken, broccoli, peas and spinach. I chopped everything up really finely, sauteed the chicken then threw in the veggies, added cream of chicken soup and thyme. I topped it with crescent rolls. It was really yummy. DS loved it and DH wouldn't touch it because it had too many vegetables. Sigh! The cream of chicken soup covered all the vegetable flavor. DH hates vegetables, but won't even eat them when he can't taste them. Any ideas what to do with freezer burned steaks?

[rachrich]

DS loved it and DH wouldn't touch it because it had too many vegetables. Sigh! The cream of chicken soup covered all the vegetable flavor.
sophonisba that is too funny to me because I can just picture a dinner table where the grown up refuses his veggies while the toddler gobbles them down! generally it's the kid who refuses his veggies. hee hee Very creative way to use up freezer stuff. chekc in the cooking/entertaining thread for some ideas for the steaks....i have no clue.

Owen had a half container of squash this evening and he gobbled them up. He actually started reaching out for the spoon to help shove it in his mouth faster after several bites in. With DD, we didn't follow the "wait 3 days" rule before trying a new food, but we are going to be diligent about that with Owen, just to avoid further potential issues....LOL

I'll try to post some pics of him eating the squash.....DH took them. honestly, i'm so bad about posting pics, my intentions are good, but I rarely follow thru....

twinnyme Oh, us May mommies are super chatty :) Good luck keeping up with us. I have a hard time sometime keeping up.

[sophonisba9]

rach- Ds is easy to fool. Anything in a sauce or soup will be eaten. If he starts getting suspicious about the veggies, I just put a mini saltine on top of the spoon. If he doesn't see the veggie he'll eat anything. DH complains even if everything is pureed. I try to add extra pureed veggies to my tomato sauce and if I add just a touch too much DH won't eat it. He's the biggest baby of them all.

[MrsSpencer]

rach- Ds is easy to fool. Anything in a sauce or soup will be eaten. If he starts getting suspicious about the veggies, I just put a mini saltine on top of the spoon. If he doesn't see the veggie he'll eat anything. DH complains even if everything is pureed. I try to add extra pureed veggies to my tomato sauce and if I add just a touch too much DH won't eat it. He's the biggest baby of them all.

Man did we ever marry the same man!

[twinnyme]

[twinnyme Oh, us May mommies are super chatty :) Good luck keeping up with us. I have a hard time sometime keeping up.

That's good - I like chatty! :) It just may take me a while to get used to who everyone is and keep up. I'll try, though. I enjoy the conversations!

[Standrea]

Yes, we are very chatty!

Sophonisba-no idea about the steak. I actually had to buy one the other day because IL's were coming. I think they just marinated it and cooked it on the grill. Salt, pepper, and tuscan italian dressing was the marinade.


We had a breakthrough! I'm so bored with the stuff to feed ellie (since it's next to nothing), and browned up some ground turkey. I put a little bit of minced onions and garlic powder in it, and she gobbled it up, and kept banging her tray for more!

[December27JJB]

Im so happy the April and May threads merged!! DD2 came in April instead of May, like she was supposed to.

Im terrible about keeping up with the thread but I do check once in awhile.

Im Jessica, mama to Parker 3.5 and Ava (4/26/08)

Rach- Im thinking of you. I hope everything is ok.

Birth Control- DH was going to get snipped after DD2 was born but we are having 2nd thoughts about whether or not we want a 3rd. For now, we use condoms but I get so paranoid because I know they aren't 100%. I am considering getting an IUD very soon.

1st Birthdays- Its crazy how fast time went by! I plan to work on DD's 1st birthday after MIL leaves this weekend. There is too much going on all at once.

[Mickey&B]

Andrea glad to see you back amongst the living :) Hope your feeling better!

I realized I never chimed in on the BC question. I'm on Mirena and after the initial first 6 weeks of spotting I love it!!

I have no idea on the steaks either. The only red meat eater in our house is DH and I rarely buy it for him ;).

[tashaw6]

QOTD: I am with Becky, AF has not come for me since July 2007. I love it! I am still BF so I guess this is why. Not looking forward to the day she comes back...blah! I am not on any birth control pill and use condoms when we do the deed.

Yip, we are some chatty ladies in here! :)

Hey I had a question for you guys...actually two. My first one is has anyone been using those cruisers diapers from pampers? What is the difference between those and the normal flex pampers? I have only noticed that price is the difference. Those cruisers are nearly double the price!

The other thing that I was curious about, are you guys bathing your DC ever night or do you still only bath a few times a week. We bath Kade every night but only use the soap every second night so that we don't dry out his skin. Hair was is every third night.

Us: Funny that you guys have been mentioning this but Kade has also been eating way less than normal. He is still bf-ing so I am sure he is getting his calorie intake fine but he just doesn't want to eat anymore (except those puff...lol). He started eating the food at daycare today. Had diced carrots and some applesauce. Tomorrow is noodles and mixed veggies. Keen to see if he will eat that. Will see I guess.

[Baby Lust]

Irish, We see each other on Thursday nights, Friday nights and Saturdays are our day together as a family. Otherwise, no, I don't really see him. His parents watch the kids M-Th so he can sleep during the day. It's a crazy life. :p

Hi tgr and December! :D

[MrsSpencer]

Just checking in a waving at everyone..not having a great day..or well past few months. As DH told me last night that I'm not who I was before ds was born and he wants that person back. He said it's not just the sex, but he says I'm just not happy. So my plan is to wait and see if my thyroid is messed up, and if it isn't going to see if PPD is rearing it's ugly head.

I tried cruisers Tash..and they didn't do any different than anything else (he leaked more at night actually).

[IrishEyes]

MrsS - I'm sorry to hear that you and your DH are struggling. I have to say that in my experience, the first year after a baby arrives is difficult. In a way, I feel like I'm just getting through and trying to keep my head above water and my relationship with DH is definitely not as romantic. Sometime around a year with DS#1, things got easier and that carried over to the rest of our life and having some time with each other. Adding DS#2 was even a little more difficult. DH and I make sure the boys are doing well and that the house is running, but right now our romantic relationship is somewhat on the back burner. We have about an hour after DS#1 goes to bed before I start to fall asleep, and we try to talk/cuddle and reconnect at that time. We both realize that this time is more difficult than usual and that we'll get through it and support each other and put the heat back in our relationship soon... Your DH needs to support you and help out around the house and I'm not sure what to offer if he won't empathize. He's being very selfish and short-sighted.

QOTDs -
baths - We bathe every 2-3 days. With how dry their skin gets and how little they're outside during the winter, I don't think it's important to bathe everyday. I may start putting Carson in some water every night for the next few days to help clear up a bad diaper rash he has right now. In the summer, it's probably every other day. Baths are such a production (especially with 2), there's no way I could do it every night.

cruisers - I remember loving them with DS#1. I liked the material they used with that diaper more than the baby dry pampers. So far, we're using the huggies they sell at Costco (forget what 'model') and Huggies overnights.

Steaks - they don't last too long in our house (and we got to a semi-annual meat sale and buy several pounds of NY Strips). I would suggest you try to trim off the freezer burned part and marinade and grill. In the past, we've done the following marinade: bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, grilled steak seasoning.

Baby lust - that sounds exhausting, and I don't have twins!

Andrea - sounds like a good food for Ellie. Carson wants to eat whatever we're having. A little bit of burger, pizza, whatever. We're calling him Kung Fu Panda because he lunges at our food.

[twinnyme]

I'll follow IrishEye's lead and respond to the QOTDs for now:

Baths - depends on how crazy our evenings are, but typically every other night in the winter. In the spring/summer when we're out more, every day. I barely use soap on my 10 month old ever. And we only wash hair every few days, as DD1 has been a nightmare to have her hair washed always - she has always had a lot of hair (we finally cut it short a couple of months ago because I couldn't take the hairwashing/brushing battles anymore).

Cruisers - I had been using the regular Pampers then one day DH brought home the "wrong" :p ones - i.e. the Cruisers - and they worked a lot better. So we've stuck with them. Huggies have never worked well for us.

Andrea - glad Ellie liked the ground turkey. DD1 has always been a fan of pork and Bridget has liked a lot of the meats, too, so I'm glad you found a good one for Ellie!

MrsS - I hope you figure out what you have. I had PPD pretty bad with DD1 and it's not fun. There is a PPD thread on here in emotional support....

Bridget still has her fever, so I'm going to call the doctor today - it's been 2.5 days now and though she was eating a little better in the middle of the night, she ate only about 5 oz. between 1pm and bedtime yesterday. My older daughter has a birthday party for good friends of ours - luckily, a very good friend, who said I could just drop her off for the party and pick her up after so she doesn't miss it, though it's not really a drop-off party!

Her party invitations came in the mail yesterday - AND also the return address labels (book-themed) and "Little Golden Book" stickers - too funny that they all came last night, as they were all coming from different places. So I have stuffed and addressed them all and I'll mail them today.

[Standrea]

Irish-Since I make most of our food vegan, alot of the stuff has soy in it. BUT-I realized the other night that our pizza crust that I make has neither, so I'm going to make her a foccaccia out of it. Our freezer is quickly becoming filled up with yummy goodness for Els. We had Seitan patties last week, and while they were not a hit with Stan or abbie, they were with Ellie so i cut them up and froze them. It feels really nice to have a variety for her!

Diapers-We just started CDíng yesterday, and I have to say so far so good! it's been really easy so far! I'm quickly becoming obessed with buying little dodads that go along with it all (wipes, bags, different covers). Thank you to those of you that gave me advice.
With that said, I used cruisers with Abbie for the first few months, and realized that Luvs were the same diapers, so we switched to those, as they were much cheaper!

Baths-The girls bath every other day unless we have gone swimming, because their skin is so dry.

BC-We don't use anything. At all. I needed fert. drugs to get pregnant both times, and while I know it's possible, it'll be meant to be then.

Mickey-I am feeling MUCH MUCH MUCH better!

[December27JJB]

Baths- We also do every 2-3 days. Unless, of course she's really really dirty!

Diapers- We use cloth diapers. Prefitteds, prefolds and preflats with various covers.

Eating- Ava doesnt eat much because she's still breastfeeding. She will taste whatever we give her but for the most part, she doesnt seem to want to eat a lot. Im hoping she'll be less picky about food than her big sister!

[coquelicot]

Have to make this quick, DD is getting into everything here in the office!

MrsSpencer: I'm sure it had to hurt you when your DH said that to you. After everything you've been through with Nicholas...hopefully it's a thyroid issue that can be resolved easily.

Baths: We still give DD one every 2-3 days and wash her hair each time.

AF: Got it back 7 months PP even though I was still BFing. DD was on solids twice a day and only nursing once a night at that point.

Solids: DD still likes purees better than anything else. She gags at just about anything chunkier I try to give her. And she'll only feed herself starchy stuff. Last night I did try to let her give herself the spoon with just a little bit of food on it, and she got it in her mouth pretty well.

[December27JJB]

Standrea Whoo! Congrats on getting started on CDing! What have you bought so far?

[E&O]

Tash- Cooper is not yet cruising, but with his older sister we never used any kind of different diaper once she started moving, and we were fine.

And as far as baths- we are on a Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday night schedule with both kids.

Sophonis-Here's a potential idea for your freezer burned steak... when we make enchilladas we use London Broil meat (this started when DH was in a phase when ground beef made him sick to look at it). Anyway, DH cooks the steak in the crock pot with a Coke (the acid helps to soften the meat) on Low overnight. Then the next morning the meat just shreds right off. Then we cook the meat in a pan with some Taco seasoning for a few minutes, mix the meat with some cheese and salsa. Fill and wrap the shells. Then put in a baking pan, top with more salsa and cheese and cook for 30 min at 350.

MrsS- Sorry to hear that you're emotionally down. I know I have some bummer days and DH is always like "what's wrong, you're never happy". It does take a toll and some days I'm just tired and not up to the challenge. If you feel like its somethingmore serious than just a "downer" day, then i tihink it might be best to speak with your new doctor, especially since you had such a good vibe with her.

[kissmary]

Bath - DS loves his so everyday, but soap on the non-dirty bits every 2-3 days, sometimes a bubble bath.

We CD so no idea about Pampers, only 7th Gen., which work great!

I swear, Henry can't go more than a few days without hurting himself in some way. Today he cut a finger... DH think he stuck it in a kitchen cupboard he plays in. A few days ago he cut another finger on the cat's scratcher. And before that he was cut under his upper lip, same thing that happened last week!

[MrsBeckyLP]

twinnyme- Sorry to hear Bridget's still sick. Hopefully she'll shake it soon.

Andrea- You finally started CDing!! Yay! I'm still seriously considering it for No. 2. I'm glad you're feeling better!

Diapers- We use Cruisers. I tried Luvs, but I don't like how "crunchy" they sound; I think Cruisers are much softer.

Baths- Maddie gets a bath every night, with soap and her hair washed. We put lotion on her afterward. She loves it all, and our nighttime routine works pretty well for us.

Food- Maddie has become a great eater. She loves to feed herself, and she'll even eat off a spoon for us sometimes lately. Yesterday for lunch she had about 10 black beans, half a cup of applesauce and a few crackers. She also loves chicken, bread, pears, noodles and all kinds of other stuff I can't think of right now.

I can't keep my eyes open today. I probably shouldn't have come to work again, but I have so much to do. This little ear surgery has turned out to be much more painful than I thought, and I'm so worn out. My balance/equilibrium is all out of whack, and I just feel weird. DH slept in the guest bedroom last night so I could try to get some decent sleep, and I was like a pinball walking down the hallway this morning to wake him up. I kept bumping into the walls. Driving probably wasn't such a good idea. Hell, I'm even having a hard time typing. TGIF. I may end up leaving early and taking work home to finish up this weekend. This is such an odd sensation.

[MrsSpencer]

Sorry you're feeling so bad Becky..when I was a teenager my dentist injected novacaine into my gum..and he somehow got it in the right spot and it went into my ear (he said it was rare but it happens)..I was so dizzy disoriented. It's an awful feeling...hope you feel better soon!

twinnyme- I hope she feels better soon.

Eli- He had a double EI but is sooo much better just today..glad it wasn't anything more..I was getting worried.

[SiValleySteph]

Baths - Every few days. It's just too hectic to have one every day!

Diapers - We use cloth diapers. BG Organic AIOs and BG sized 3.0 AIOs. We then use Costco Kirkland diapers when we want to use sposies.

[December27JJB]

Wow there are a lot of CD users in this group! Thats awesome!

I hope you feel better Becky :( Take it easy this weekend!

[Mickey&B]

Mrs S I can only echo what others have said. The first year is a rough one, and I remember not feeling "like myself" until AJ was a year. You also went from having one child and having to deal with his digestive issues to adding another "challenging" child. AJ was a lot like Eli in that he was a very demanding child and I just don't know how I would of dealt if I had an infant to care for on top of that. I do hope that you and your DH can figure out some way to reconnect.

Diapers Were a Huggies fam.

Bath The boys get one every night. Dylan gets his hair washed every night and AJ every other night (because he has become such a pain about it I can't deal with the fight every night) and they both get lathered up with lotion afterward. It's part of our night time routine.


Day 3 of STTN!!! I feel like a new woman :D

[MrsSpencer]

Well I'm going to see what the tests say, and DH said he's open to if I want to, to go to a therapist (for myself, and on occassion him too). I'll look into that because there's other issues that need dealt with on top of that. I just thought I could deal with it on my own, and didn't know it was effecting everything, or I did but was in denial. It helps to have so much support here though.

[ironhair]

Diapers - I use Huggies on DD, but she has had diaper rash (or more of just a red bottom) for weeks now. I was contemplating switching to Pampers to see if that helped, but I'm still leaning toward cloth. I need to buy about a days worth of a couple of different options to see what I like or if I like it all. It's all just so overwhelming, with all of the different choices. I'd like to think it's a cost-savings, but with all of the options and accessories, one could easily spend WAY more on CDing than on disposables.

I use Luvs on DS, but already committed to not buying any more once what we have is gone (which will be this weekend:eek:) Another reason I think cloth (one-size) might be the way to go.

Baths - we do every other night here too (well on the same Tues/Thurs/Sun schedule someone else posted) unless otherwise warranted, with soap/shampoo each time. Like Irish said, baths and the nighttime routine become so much more of a production with two. I thought about still giving baths e/o night, but only one DC per night, but the thought of a bath every night did not appeal to me at all!

Food - We had beef and noodles for dinner last night and Alivia LOVED the noodles (frozen egg noodles). She couldn't shovel them in fast enough. She also ate a good helping of green beans. I am certain she ate more than DS.

DH took a vacation day to work on our taxes, so he was home when we got there after work/daycare. I was WONDERFUL. Normally, DH doesn't get home until around 8p, after I've already fixed & fed dinner, given baths, and put DD to bed. It was so nice to eat as a family and to have someone else there to distract the kids while I cleaned up from dinner and did the dishes. Then to have someone to play with the other one while one was in the tub. For the first time in MONTHS the evening went so well, I was actually considering offering it up...I didn't, but at least I did consider it :p

Becky - I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Andrea - glad to hear you are feeling better!

MrsS - I hope you get some answers soon regarding your current mood. Hopefully it is something easily corrected. FWIW, you are not the same person you were b/f Nicholas was born. You are a mother now. Things are different, priorities change. For a lot of DH's (not all, some of you got lucky ;)), their lives didn't really change and they can't wrap their brains around what has changed for you. I know DH and I still struggle with this at times. If it's not something with you (thyroid/PPD), you might want to consider some couples therapy - sometimes it takes an outside sourse to help put things in perspective. DH and I did this when DS was about a year old. DH needed to hear from someone else how my life/priorities had changed and that I wasn't being the way I was on purpose. I also needed to help hearing that DH still had needs (sometimes dads feel replaced by the baby), and we needed help on figuring out how to get to a common ground. It's not for everyone, but it worked for us...then we had another baby...:rolleyes:

twinnyme - hope you get to the bottom of Bridget's fever. Poor girl.

Question - Does anyone have a good tip for cutting DD's fingernails? DS was so easy, he would sit on my lap and let me cut them and never move a muscle. He's still that way. DD? Ha! Not a chance! I try to do it when she's asleep, but she's not a sound sleeper and will usually wake up, so I only get a few done at a time. They are always so long, then they get jagged and she scratches her face (or mine) with them.

[MrsBeckyLP]

ironhair- I'm glad you had a nice night! I can't imagine having to do it all myself every night. You must feel like a single, working mother most of the time. Bless your heart.

Fingernails- I think we're pretty lucky. Maddie usually lets me get at them with no problem. I usually sit her on my lap and turn on "Play with Me Sesame" on Sprout (a channel on DirecTV), and she stares at the TV for a few minutes while I trim!

[MrsSpencer]

No help with the nails..but I do Nicholas's when he's asleep also..if he falls asleep on me (not very often anymore) it's easier to cut his nails..then I put him down.

Thanks for thoughts ironhair...oops more to type later..Eli and Nicholas are fighting (their right beside me in the floor playing).

[sophonisba9]

I'm having a great time making baby food with leftover stuff in the freezer. This is what I did last night. I blended roast squash that I got from Whole foods for Thanksgiving with spinach and chicken broth from Jack's soup. Jack eats the noodles and veggies, but not the broth. I refroze everything in ice cube trays for Cate. I also threw some frozen mango and blueberries together with V8 peach mango juice and plain yogurt. This I refroze and served to Jack as ice cream. Ok I mixed in a bit chocolate ice cream, but most of it was the fruit slushy.

This morning Cate ate nectarines that I had pureed and frozen last summer. She actually opened her mouth so I think she liked them. I'm down to 2 bags of frozen breast milk and I think I'll just use those up this weekend.

I'm having a great time making baby food this time around. With Jack I tried but I never got very creative and he didn't seem to like it much. I don't think I blended enough either. This time I'm really making it smooth and I'm being creative with flavors and additions. Cate seems to like the stuff i make better than the plain gerber purees.

[sophonisba9]

diapers- pampers swaddlers until they grow out of them and then pampers cruisers. Every other diaper I've tried leaked horribly. the pampers baby dry isn't even any good. It's got to be cruisers or swaddlers. I prefer the swaddlers because they are plainer. I hate diapers printed with darker colors, it shows through clothes more. I keep thinking about cloth diapers, but all the options are overwhelming. Plus we live in a dessert area that's always under a water restriction. As much as I hate the idea of so much waste going into the landfill, I can't seen using so much more water either. I was reading a cost comparison that included everything and cloth really isn't much cheaper.

Period- 5 months with DS and 7 months this time with Cate. We've always used condoms. I keep thinking about looking into seasonal when Cate weans. This last period really kicked my ass. It was so much worse than any other cycle in my life. I had nausea, cramps and headaches. Not to mention it was heavy and lasted forever. The periods after DS and before I got pregnant again were so much lighter and easier than before I had been pregnant the first time. Yet the 3 periods I've had since Cate was born have all been really bad. Since we're not planning on having anymore kids it would be really nice to not have a period every month.

mood- I've been feeling really irritable and unmotivated for months. I keep thinking I should talk to my doctor. I feel like I'm too tired and unmotivated to do anything. Nothing sounds like fun. If that's not a great description of mild depression, I don't know what it. Writing it out like that makes it pretty clear I should do something. Ds goes to school two mornings a week and Cate naps for about 2 hours of the 3.5 that he's gone. I get nothing done while Ds is gone. Usually I end up taking a nap myself.

[Dettes]

Wow, I almost couldn't find you girls. Thanks for the new, improved, thread. I haven't gone through the entire thread to meet everyone yet, but I will. As for my intro - I'm Dettes, I have 3 kids - DS is 4, DD1 is 3 and DD2 is 8 months. Sadly, I WOH and despise every minute of it, so I refuse to believe it and try to act like a SAHM. (I took a day off last week for a playdate :o)

Can't do SOs to everyone right now, but will try to answer some of the QOTDs that jumped out at me in scanning the new thread.

Baths - We do every other day, mainly because I am lazy. DH works nights, so when I get home from work, I have to make dinner, feed them, clean up etc. Putting on PJs and brushing teeth is about all I can handle on some nights. I'm sure Caroline would love a bath every night, but, alas, # 3 gets the shaft...

I feel for you Babylust and Ironhair. My DH works 4-12 and while his schedule is ideal for our child care situation, I have to admit, I am a bit lonely at times. Especially after the kids go to bed.

Diapers- I use the Kirkland brand from Costco. I admire those of you who are CDing. I think it is great, I just know I don't have the time for it. Sounds lame, I know, but I feel like every second of my days are filled as it is, it just seems so easy to toss the dirty dipes away. Sorry Mother Nature.

Food - I agree it is so fun to experiment with new foods now. Caroline is an eating machine!

BC- nothing now. Come what may, and then I'm closing up the factory!

Caroline has started waking up at night. I think Becky had issues with Maddie waking up last month. Caroline is just about a month behind Maddie, so that would make sense. In retrospect, I seem to remember my others waking up during the night at about this age. I remember reading something about them discovering new play and wanting to play at all hours. We're there now - wish me luck.

Looking forward to meeting all the April moms and celebrating first birthdays. Can you believe they are here already???

[summerbride2005]

twinnyme- I hope Bridget feels better soon.

Andrea- That's great that you are feeling better.

Becky- I hope you are able to go home early.

Diapers- We use pampers swaddlers.

BC - We use condoms. I was on BC pills for over 10 years and I'm not sure if it contributed to my horrible stomach issues, but I've been okay since getting pregnant so I don't want to go back on them.

Baths- We give DD a bath every night, and wash her hair every other night. It's part of our bedtime routine since the beginning, plus she loves the bath.

Food- DD will eat or at least try any table food that we give her. Her cheeks turned red when I gave her yobaby, and waffles so she may be allergic to something in them. I am lactose and dairy intolerant so I am really hoping that she isn't. She doesn't eat a lot of table food, but enough to make her full since she pushes the food away when she is done.

__________________

[sophonisba9]

I just posted pictures in my livejournal, so I thought I'd drop off a couple here too.

Cate and I at Jack's birthday party in january.
http://emmevans.smugmug.com/photos/477298571_eKYYv-M.jpg

Cate at 9 months
http://emmevans.smugmug.com/photos/477325206_raKXN-M.jpg

[ironhair]

Sophonisba9 - good pics! I love Cate's 9-month pic (and her outfit), I can't believe how "grown-up" she looks. For me, I don't realize how big or old Alivia is getting until I see other babies her age.

[MrsBeckyLP]

Dettes and Babylust - Sorry, didn't mean to leave you out of my post to ironhair. I give you guys all a ton of credit for managing your households the way you do! When DH was working until 7:30 every night last summer, I was so lonely. I can't imagine being that way all the time. I would love to be a fly on the wall at your houses in the evenings! ;)

Dettes, your comment about acting like a SAHM made me LOL! Hopefully Caroline settles back in to her normal pattern of sleep. Maddie actually woke up twice last night and was yelling out in pain (it's actually quite a funny noise she makes); I think it's teeth again.

summerbride- Unfortunately, I decided to stick it out at work today, but I'm not getting much done. I got a new computer, so I was all ready to set that up, but the wrong power cord came with my monitor (and I'm switching from an iMac with a built-in monitor), so I can't. Less than an hour and a half left!

sophonisba- Cate looks just like your husband, judging from the few pics I've seen on LJ. I love how you set up the photos with blocks. I'm surprised you're able to snap a few before they're knocked over!

[twinnyme]

sophonisba9 - great pictures. Cate is adorable. I love how you spell out the month with the blocks - do you do a monthly picture like that? We do monthly pictures with the same bear. Sorry you've been feeling unmotivated and irritable lately - hope that passes soon. Sounds like you're having fun making baby food, though!

Mickey&B - day 3 of STTN - sounds like heaven!

Ironhair, Dettes, and BabyLust - I do most of the evening stuff alone, too. In fact, one of DH's biggest concerns about having a second child was the stress it would put on me because I do most of it. I work two part-time jobs (one at a university and one freelance editing from home) and am with the girls most of the time the rest of the time. He is a CPA, on the partner track, and has a crazy schedule. He actually has done MUCH better with DD2, being home most nights by 6:30-8, and then working afterwards, but it's still mostly on me. And that's very hard sometimes. DD1 was born right at the beginning of tax season and was very colicky, so I had a very rough transition to motherhood. At least this one was born at the END of tax season (April 9) and is more laidback (and, at least at the beginning, was a much better sleeper).

Nails - I've been pretty lucky that it's easy with DD2 and was relatively easy with DD1 - but I was more nervous then and think I used the TV trick sometimes to get her nails done.

Bridget has been waking up some, too, lately - in fact, the last few months have been a rollercoaster of sleep and we've done some CIO.

I took her to the ped. today and it's just a head cold they think. She doesn't have a "raging ear infection" but there was wax in her ears so it was hard to tell and she was upset already so they didn't want to take out the wax. So they gave me an antibiotic prescription but I'm not going to fill it unless the fever persists and/or her nasal discharge is green. I may go back to get her rechecked over the weekend. Of course, her fever while there was nonexistent and the ped. (not our usual one) said she's definitely working on her upper teeth (she only has the two bottom middle ones). She last had medicine at 8am and it was checked around 2, and no fever. Who knows?

[ironhair]

I must say it is a bit reassuring to hear from you other "single" moms. That I'm not he only one - at times it can feel like that, especially when I talk to my co-workers who have farmer-husbands who get the kids ready and take them to daycare in the mornings, every morning. Sometimes I feel like all I do is complain to DH that he needs step up a bit more. Maybe I'm too hard on him. Then again, when he is around, he's not much help - so I stand by his needing to step it up ;)

Becky - I would DIE if you were a fly on our wall on most nights! I think I have as much of a handle on things as I can, but I'm sure to the outside world it looks like chaos.

[Mickey&B]

Holy Cow I just checked in this morning and thought I was caught up ....not a chance with you chatty kathies .... and I thought we used to move fast WOW!

I feel for you Babylust and Ironhair. My DH works 4-12 and while his schedule is ideal for our child care situation, I have to admit, I am a bit lonely at times. Especially after the kids go to bed.


I can absolutely commiserate with you guys. DH also works 4-10's (he might be going to 3-12's) but right now he is working two different departments at work and he leaves aroun 5:30 am and usually isn't back until well after 9 pm most nights. I feel like a single mom A LOT!!! It's one of the reason's that going back to work FT out of the house would be so hard. I would have to do pick up and drop off and all the other things on top of all that. I get exhausted just thinking about it.

Mickey&B - day 3 of STTN - sounds like heaven!

I really hope we have turned a corner! It only took like 3 months of consistant work on sleep.

Nails I do the same as Becky I sit him in my lap and turn on Sprout and cut them while he is mesmerized by the T.V.

[sophonisba9]

Pictures- I only started doing the block pictures after Christmas. I saw the idea a while ago, but it took me sometime to find the blocks. I also do pictures with the same toy every month. I've got pictures from 1 week to 9 months with the same peacock. I did the same with DS. I've got pictures of him with the same giraffe every month for the first year. Cate does look like DH. I take a series of pictures with her destroying the blocks and then chewing on them. It's funny. DH just showed me how to do continuous shooting with our camera, so that should be even better pictures of her destroying the blocks.

[coquelicot]

Nails - I try to catch DD when she's a little tired or after I nurse her (when I'm not trying to get her to go to sleep). She's slightly more cooperative then. She'd wake up if I tried it while she was sleeping!

BC - Just condoms for now; FAM once my cycles quit being so erratic. I'm charting just to get back into the swing of things. Despite 3 or 4 cycles PP, I may have just now ovulated in this past cycle. FF is even stumped as to whether or not I'm ovulating, and if so, when. It changed my ovulation date 3 times this past month! I did Necon before getting pregnant, and I liked it pretty well. Got me pretty regular and cut out some of the cramping and really heavy flow. I've been pretty lucky PP in that my once-awful cramps have not returned.

[Baby Lust]

Nights around here aren't too bad. When I get home, the girls want to eat, so as long as I can get them fed right away, they are ok. Then they play for a bit, we do baths (most nights), then put them to bed. Then I make supper, get Lucas in the tub, let him play for a bit while I eat and make sure DH has everything he needs ready for work, then Lucas goes to bed, then I finish up my own stuff and go to bed. Hailey still wakes up once during the night, and I think that's the hardest thing for me. I wake from a dead sleep to feed her, then sometimes it's hard as heck to get her back to sleep, so sometimes I'm up at 4:30 for the day. Other times she goes back to sleep without a problem. Yes, it's exhausting, but we deal with it. I REALLY look forward to Saturdays so we can spend the day together as a family.

[Parrothead]

Nights - I am a SAHM. DH's schedule varies widely, but he is generally out of here by 7am and rarely home before 7pm.

Generally, I do dinner for both girls around 6pm and then bath right after (I bathe them together every night; it is part of both of their bedtime routines).

DD#2 goes to bed around 7pm. If DH is home, he plays w/ DD#1 while I put DD#2 to bed. If he is not home, I turn on a show for DD#1 while I put DD#2 to bed. DD#2 starts storytime around 7:45pm and I try to be out of her room by 8pm.

DH and I either eat dinner between DD#2 and DD#1's bedtimes or after DD#2 goes to bed. Once DD#1 is in bed, I finish kitchen clean up and then collapse on the couch :D

[rachrich]

Holy Cow I just checked in this morning and thought I was caught up ....not a chance with you chatty kathies .... and I thought we used to move fast WOW!
yes.....that. ;)

Mickey That's SO great to hear about the good sleep D has been having (and giving you!). Crossing my fingers that this pattern continues!

baths DD is on an every-other-day schedule (sometimes may miss a day) just cause she doesn't get that dirty and she gets very very dry skin easily. Owen is on an every 3 day (ex: Monday,Thurs,Sun, Wed, Sat,etc) schedule because of the same reason. I look forward to bathing them together once Owen can sit on his own w/out support. do any of you bathe DC's together?

nailsOwen's pretty cooperative with this. We've never done it when he's asleep, but have done it at times when he's happy or in a decent mood (full belly, not tired/cranky) and it's gone well.

[tashaw6]

I must say I have it pretty good. My DH and I work at the same place and DS goes to daycare at our work. So our routine is we pick DS up together from daycare straight after work at 5pm. We then get home and play with DS together till 6pm. We feed him (and occasionally we eat with him if we have made something quick and easy) and then go and bath him together at 6:30pm. Normally we alternate, one baths him and the other gets the clothes, bed time book, cream etc ready. After bath time we cream him, cloth him, read to him and then I nurse him to sleep. When I am nursing DH goes down and cleans the kitchen if we ate with DS or makes dinner if we haven't eaten yet. After dinner it is each for his / her own.

Nails: DS would never let me do this while he is awake! I wait till he is totally asleep and then I can do the trimming.

Becky: Hope you feel better soon!

MrsS: We have a lady from Help Me Grow come and check on Kade every other month and she was telling me that you CAN suffer from PPD months after baby is born so it is possible. I didn't know this. But I totally agree first check if it your thyroid. If not get you and your DH talking! Communication is key in understanding each other! Hope you two work it out! :)

Andrea: DS had noodles with olive oil on them today at daycare and I thought of you!

I am LOVING getting to know the April Mommies!

[twinnyme]

Tashaw6 - what a great schedule you, DH, and DS have - how nice.

do any of you bathe DC's together?

I do. We have a bath seat for Bridget, and she's been in it since a few months old. She's lately been trying to get out of it, though, so it may have to go away soon - but I'm a bit nervous about bathing them together just in the big tub alone. Now that Bridget goes to bed around 6:30 or 7 and DD1 not until 8, maybe I'll bathe them separately. On Thursday when Bridget was home sick, I gave her a nice long bath all alone in the morning and she LOVED it. They play together okay in the bath but my older one can get a bit wild so I'm just not sure how it will go.

Parrothead - your bedtime schedule for your girls is exactly the one we have except for the part in bold/italics:

DD#2 goes to bed around 7pm. If DH is home, he plays w/ DD#1 while I put DD#2 to bed [or vice versa]. If he is not home, I turn on a show for DD#1 while I put DD#2 to bed. DD#2 starts storytime around 7:45pm and I try to be out of her room by 8pm.

Well, Bridget slept from 7pm to 5am last night - with a brief bout of 2 minutes of crying at some point - so I'm thrilled, especially since today is Saturday and DH works Saturdays during tax season! I'm feeling well rested, though since she did go back to sleep, I probably should, too.

[coquelicot]

Okay, ladies, I'm about to pull my hair out here...I have a couple of questions and then a vent.

1) How long is your baby awake in the mornings before the winding-down routine for a nap?
2) How long does he/she sleep?

DD WILL NOT nap more than 35 minutes on her own in the mornings. It doesn't seem to matter what I do to get her wound down. I brush her teeth, change her diaper, nurse her, and rock her/sing to her until she's very drowsy or asleep. 35 minutes later--boom, right back up. It's like she won't go into the deeper sleep. Sometimes I can rock her back to sleep for a while. I've just tried 3 times on this nap. First two times worked--for 5 minutes while I was holding her, then 5 minutes alone in the crib. Maybe a nap total of 55 minutes? She was sleeping up to 1.5 hours on this nap routine up until a week or two ago. (She's not crying when she wakes up, she pulls up on the crib and waits for me to come get her. If she were crying and lying down, I'd just see if she could fall back asleep.)

By the way, the answers to my own questions are:

1) About 2 hours, 20 minutes.
2) Usually 35 minutes unless I can get her back to sleep.

Am I keeping her up too long? Like I said, I was doing this a few weeks ago and she was taking a great nap. One day, it was 2 hours! Her afternoon naps are usually better than this, and she generally sleeps between an hour 15 and an hour and a half. And I follow the same routine, except that we read a book instead of brush teeth. She's a little young to be done with a morning nap, isn't she? I know she still needs it. She gets pretty cranky without it.

[sophonisba9]

coquelicot- Cate is usually goes down for her morning nap about 2 hours after I get her up. I'm not sure how long she's awake before I get her. She gives one little squawk when she wakes up and plays quietly until you get her. I usually sleep through the squawk. So she probably actually going 2.5 hours from wake up until nap. Then she sleeps for 1-2 hours. Usually it's around 90 minutes. Then it's 3 to 3.5 hours until her second nap. She's in bed around 7 every night. We don't have much of a nap or bedtime routine, change the diaper if it's been a while, little bottle if she hasn't eaten recently, lay her in the crib with her blanket and binky. She always goes down awake.

DS was completely different. He only napped with my boob in his mouth for 10 months. He dropped his second nap before his 1st birthday, but i don't remember whether it was 10 months or 11 months. He really needed the nap, but it took an hour to get him to sleep in the afternoon, he'd sleep for 45 minutes and then scream at me for an hour about how mad he was that I had made him take a nap. It wasn't worth it. I just put up with the whineing and put him to bed earlier. He also completely stopped napping around 2.5. Now at age 3 he takes a nap once or twice a month. I take naps more often than he does.

[Mrs.Chappy]

Baths..yes two kids at the same time. Its the only way.

Naps : J wakes at 6:45. His morning naps is getting later and later and I suspect he will drop to one nap earlier than my first did t sixteen months. Now he ia going dow close to 10 but fights it . Same thing w the afternoon one. He goes down around 2:30.. Total a good napping day is two to three his combined. Lately we've had days where he got 45 to an hour total. In bed by 7 every night. Some days the morning nap is 2 #/2 his so he is unpredictable

[Standrea]

Ellie is a sleeper (please don't hate me, nor throw curses upon me. We do struggle with other issues so it all evens out).

Ellie wakes up around 8 am when i have to wake her up.
Goes down for a nap between 9:30 and 10:15.
She'll sleep until noon if I let her, but I try to get her up between 11:15-11:45 to play.
Has lunch and a bottle, plays a bit, and back down for a nap between 1:15-1:30.
I wake her up at 4:30ish for a bottle, but she falls back to sleep, and sleeps until 5:30.
Has dinner, bath, bottle, story and back in bed at 7:30. We normally don't hear from her again until the morning, unless she hears us come upstairs for the night, and she stirs a bit.

Bath-We give both the girls a bath together. Ellie just sits in the tub with Abbie (without a seat or anything), and plays with toys. We don't wash her until the end because she hates it.

[December27JJB]

Boy! This thread sure moves so fast!

DD2 is a pretty good about taking naps. She will fall asleep when she is tired. Ive been having issues with DD1 being really loud while DD2 is napping. Its so hard, I have to remind DD1 over and over again to be quiet. Lately, Ive let DD1 use the computer to play games on NickJr so DD2 can take longs naps and I can do household chores. Bad mommy, I know but it really does work for us right now.

[Standrea]

Wow J~! Here twice in a week! You'd think your MIL is there or something! ;P

[tgr68]

Twinnyme~Yep, we are having it at the same library I used to work at.

December~Hi! :)

Baths~DS was getting them twice a week, but our ped told us to back them off even further due to his extremely dry skin. Now he gets a bath once a week (before church), and we try to lotion him up several times throughout the week.

Cruisers~We used them with DD because she was so skinny and long. They are super stretchy, so we could buy them a size up to get them high enough and then crank them down small enough for her waist. With DS we can used anything, so we just buy the store brand.

Solids~DS loves to feed himself these days, so he gets lots of cheese, bread, banana, and peaches cut into small pieces. He has really slowed down on his eating at all, which is good with the weight issues we've been dealing with.

Nails~I can usually sit DS on my lap, but there are times when he'll only let me get them one or two at a time. Usually, I end up doing several sessions in a short time (trim a couple, let him play and repeat) to get them all trimmed when he's like that.

sophonis~I really like the picture with the blocks! Cate is a cutie!

"Single" Moms~I just went through a short period of playing the single parent when DH was sent out of town with his job for a week. It seriously sucked, but it gave me a whole new appreciation for people who have to do this all the time!

Parrothead~Our schedule sounds very similar to yours. DH is out of the house at 7:30 and usually home around 9:30pm. It makes for such a long day, especially since the kids don't get to see him unless I keep them up that late. I've ended up adjusting their naptimes to later in the afternoon, so they aren't as cranky when he gets in.

Bath's Together~Nope, but we usually have DS in the tub with one of us.

Naps~DS is usually up for the day around 8:30 and fussing for his nap between 10 and 10:30. He'll sleep for a couple of hours, and then is awake until at least 3 and sometimes 4 before he goes back down for his afternoon nap.

Nothing much going on here. DS did get a mild fever yesterday, but it was gone within 30 minutes with some Tylenol and hasn't come back. I really thinking it's teething related because his lower gums keep getting really red and hard and then go back to normal after a couple of days.

[summerbride2005]

Standrea - Wow! Ellie really is a sleeper. Was your first DD a good sleeper too?

[Standrea]

Summer-Yes, she was, and still is. Most days she's ready for a nap by 1:30, and I have to wake her up at 5:30. She then goes down for the night around 8:00-8:30, and I hae to wake her up in the morning.
A matter of fact, both girls are still sleeping, and it's 9:15 here.

[ironhair]

Summer-Yes, she was, and still is. Most days she's ready for a nap by 1:30, and I have to wake her up at 5:30. She then goes down for the night around 8:00-8:30, and I hae to wake her up in the morning.
A matter of fact, both girls are still sleeping, and it's 9:15 here.

No wonder you get so much done! Neither of my kiddos are sleepers. Both are up for the day (on the weekends) at 6:30. DS takes a nap from 1-3, and if I'm REALLY lucky DD will nap then too - most days though, they nap one at a time, so I can't seem to get anything accomplished :rolleyes:

[twinnyme]

Summer-Yes, she was, and still is. Most days she's ready for a nap by 1:30, and I have to wake her up at 5:30. She then goes down for the night around 8:00-8:30, and I hae to wake her up in the morning.
A matter of fact, both girls are still sleeping, and it's 9:15 here.

Wow, Andrea, I didn't realize that Abbie slept that much - that's fantastic! And Ellie, too. I'm in the Ironhair camp, unfortunately - both kids are up between 6 and 7 most days (used to be 5 and 6 with Becca, for a long time) and though Becca took a 3-hour nap for about a year between 2.5 and 3.5, she's had mostly 1-2 hour naps most of her life - and NO napping pretty much (or sleeping) the first year of her life. Bridget's naps are getting a LITTLE better now, but we mostly have 45 minute to 1 hour naps most days (2 a day).

[MrsBeckyLP]

Naps- Most of the May mommies already know this, but Maddie was a crappy napper until a month or two ago. She would fall asleep nursing, and when I tried to put her down she'd wake up and stay that way, or she'd sleep for about 10 minutes. So I held her for all naps for the first 8.5 months of her life. :o Now I'm able to put her down in her crib awake and she'll play for 10 minutes, then fall asleep. She is ready for her morning nap two hours after she wakes up and usually is ready for her afternoon nap three hours after waking from the morning one. Naps last anywhere from an hour to two hours. I'm loving her nap schedule lately! (Except for yesterday, when she fought her afternoon nap, so she was up from 10:45 a.m. until bedtime -- 7.) Actually, I just put her down, and now I'm going to take a nap myself!

[Baby Lust]

Naps: Both girls are usually pretty good nappers. They get up around 7:30am, go back down around 8:30 or 9:00 for a couple of hours, then get up for lunch, then go back down around 2:00 or so for a couple of hours. Then we start bedtime routine around 7:00. I've been lucky that they both sleep pretty well, and it's gotten so much better now that they are in separate rooms. When they shared the PNP, they woke each other up ALL THE TIME. And both can sleep through some noise because of my DS, so that's a good thing! :)

Well, Hailey is about 1 day away from full-blown crawling. She is an army-crawling machine and can get pretty much anywhere when she wants to. It won't be long now! And Madelyn can cruise across a room so darn fast now!! LOL! It's really cute!

[MrsSpencer]

naps- wakes 5:30-6 am
nap-8:30-10:00 (Eli till 11:30)
lunch 11-12
nap-2:00-3:45
dinner-5
nap (cause he has to)-5:30-6
bedtime-7-8
(He wakes at 12 and 3)

[makena32204]

Man, I need to check in here more often. it goes so fast.

Schedule - to answer the naps/bathing/etc posts
6:30-7 - Wake up
9:30 - 11:00ish - Morning nap
1:30-3:00/3:30 - Afternoon nap
6:00 - both kids together, neither in seats. They love it! My kids are water babies.
7-7:30 - T bedtime
7:30-8 - A bedtime

For the life of me, I CANNOT get T to put anything in his mouth! I realize this is a strange complaint b/c it's good on one hand (i.e. toys) but it's making finger foods much more difficult. He just picks up the food, looks at it and plays with it.

[Alioop12345]

Hi Guys- I am completely behind. I stopped getting journal notifications and had such a fussy girl that I don't get online very often. Tessa was a very easy baby until about 8 weeks. Then, reflux hit full for and so did the ear infections. She got tubes at 4 months and continued with at least one ear infection a month. She goes in tomorrow for a new set of tubes and to get her adeniods out. She is so sweet and happy as long as I am either holding her or am right next to her. If anyone comes near her, she screams and cries. Needless to say, she is pretty delayed developmentally. She just started rolling from her back to her tummy last week (10 1/2 months) and she can sit independently. She is not yet crawling but I think it is going to happen soon. She will go into side sitting but will not get on to her hands and knees. Sleep is pretty crappy now too. She used to sleep from 7:30P-7A and now she goes down around 8 and wakes about every two hours. http://<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Alioop12345/?action=view&current=003-32.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/Alioop12345/003-32.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Anyone know why the picture doesn't work?

[E&O]

Wow, what a busy weekend. Coming back to work is almost like a vacation.

Friday night we had dinner with some friends which so much fun. BYOB is dangerous! (But on the way home we ran over a skunk, actually we were able to "center" it with the car and not kill it, but the smelly damage was done. Our car, our garage, basically our whole block smelled all weekend long). Saturday we did a Gymboree class with DD and then went right to mall to have family portraits done (I LOVE them and will try to post a few later today), so we were gone from 9:30-3:30. Then yesterday we had Cooper's baptism and brunch following, so another long day away from home. But a lot of fun and I was so impressed with how well both kids behaved all weekend long.

originally posted by twinnymom
but I'm a bit nervous about bathing them together just in the big tub alone. ..... They play together okay in the bath but my older one can get a bit wild so I'm just not sure how it will go.

I'd really like to toss them in the tub together as well, and I think our DD would love this. But DH is also very nervous about it. DD can also be a little wild and is all over the tub. And Cooper still gets me a little nervous about how he reaches so far to grab toys, I always think he's going to go down face-first.

Naps- Cooper is still doing well on the weekends. He wakes for the day around 7:00, and is down for his first nap from 9:30-11:00 (give or take some time). Then he goes down in the afternoon at around 1:30 or so. Until maybe 3:00-3:30. It's a nice routine. But at daycare he will at least 2x per week refuse an afternoon nap. They say his attitude is just fine throughout the afternoon, which I'm glad about. But he gets very fussy once we are home so we really speed up the dinner, bath, bed routine on those days. Cooper is down for the night by 7:45 most nights.

[Lolly]

I know I need to catch up in here. Everytime I get caught up though, then I run out of time to respond. So, here's at least one thing today!

do any of you bathe DC's together? Yes. We just started this a few weeks ago and they love it! DD1 never really played in the tub all that much. Baths werer like 3 minutes tops! Now that her sister joins her, they play together in the tub (well, as much as 2.9 year old, and 9m old can "play" toegther). It's cute. Megan (DD2) is always closest to where I'm sitting. She skirms and splashes so much sometimes that she knocks herself backwards in the water. She doesn't seem to mind it though. I'm always there to sit her back up quickly. They both love bathtime now!

[ironhair]

I didn't answer the bath question: When I can talk DS into it, I do both kids together, neither in a seat. They both love the water (DS never wants to take a bath, but once he's finally in, I can't get him out), and play well together. I do DD first, then add more water for DS and let him play in the tub while I get DD dried and dressed.

Alivia was a cranky pants all day yesterday, but it wasn't until late afternoon that I discovered why. She is getting tooth #7 (on the bottom)! Her head was hot all day, but she didn't have a fever (my mom thinks she had a headace). I gave her Tylenol and that seemed to help. This morning she was a crank again, so I gave her Tylenol before taking her to daycare(at 7), and I just got a call that she has a fever of 101.4, and is still very cranky and clingy. D/C provider is going to give her Motrin and call in an hour. Of course, I have a training scheduled for later this morning :rolleyes:

E&O - Glad to hear you survived your busy weekend! Looking forward to seeing your new family photos!

[Lolly]

OK, just a few more, then I've got to go!

Diapers- I hate spending money on diapers, so we use Target and except for when she has blowouts now and then, they are great! I have used other diapers though, and sometimes blowouts just can't be contained anyway!

Period- I'm on Camilla, the same pill I took last time when I was breastfeeding. We're using condoms too this time around so we "double-up" on protection. We certainly can't afford a little surprise just yet. I've only had 1 period since August 1995! Last time I stopped the pill I was still BF Mary (DD1) and my period came a few weeks later. Got pregnant that cycle too!

mood- I am so anxious, frantic, and stressed, lately! Beside the kids DH and I have so many things going on in our lives. My stepfather has had Altzheimers for about 4 years now and at age 61 we are now looking for a nursing home. Stressful for my mom and me! DH and I both have full time jobs and part time jobs (gymnastics for me, swimming for DH). Thankfully his highschool swim season ended this weekend! Now he just has his day job and year round swim club to coach. Oh and he's in the Knights of Columbus and they do a ton of stuff too. But I do certainly feel like a single mom, most of the time. Because when they aren't with me, I'm usually working, then when I'm not, I'm with them. It really gets to me sometimes. Love them all (DH too) to pieces though!

I barely slept last night and am a mess this morning. No, not because one of the girls kept me up. There is a mouse in my house and I saw it:eek:. Upstairs! I was awake most of the night listening. Freaking out that it would crawl into bed or something. Or worse crawl into my kids room. The thought of it makes me nauseous. I told DH that he better set traps today and it better be caught today because I just cannot handle it. I even woke (ok maybe I slept an hour) early today just to get out the house earlier.

[MrsSpencer]

baths-If they get really messy at lunch I bathe Eli and Nicholas together..boy am I tired after that!

[IrishEyes]

Lolly - I'm sorry to hear about your stepfather. And eek! If I knew about a mouse, I also wouldn't be sleeping well.

E&O - looking forward to the pictures. Carson is a ham for the camera right now and Brody is finally back to smiling for me. I think it's the right time to try to get in a visit to a studio soon. We had their school pics in September and then didn't do anything professional over the holidays.

iron - tooth #7! Wow. Carson just got #6, and I'm hoping for a little break.

baths - not together. Brody is all over the place and loves to lay down and float in the tub, so there's no room for Carson.

Sleep/naps - Carson is up 6 - 6:30am, and goes down for a 30-90 min nap between 8:30 and 9:30am. (The later we keep him up, the longer his nap.) How long that one is leads to whether he takes 2 more naps or just 1. The best is when he gets a long AM nap and a long (90 min) PM nap. Sometimes he does three 30 min naps spaced 2-3 hrs apart. He goes to bed at 7pm.

I think I may have one of those kids who skips traditional crawling. Somehow, he gets around. You look at where he's playing, and he's moved 2 feet, but without crawling. He's already pulling up on legs, chairs, tables, etc.

[kissmary]

Naps - Henry is up for the day between 6 and 7. He's up for about 2.5 hours and naps for 1-2 hours, sometimes more or less. After that he's up for 2.5-3 hours and then naps for 30 minutes-1.5 hours. He's asleep most nights by 7, sometimes earlier if he napped poorly, like Saturday when he refused to take an afternoon nap.

He's up and playing (by himself!!) now so I have a few minutes. He is starting to walk across rooms and not just to me or DH. And his Opa (DH's dad) visited this weekend and we were able to go on a "date" once he was asleep on Saturday.

SO's will have to wait for later!

[Standrea]

Just wanted to update here:

We just got back from Ellie's Ped.GI appt.
She weighed 13lbs2oz. (that's down about a pound from her ped. appt 3 weeks ago).
He was still happy with her growth, and even though she's farther off teh chart, she's now following some sort of a curve, so that's great. He's not concerned that there are any other issues besides GI, like the ped. We go back in 2 months for another check. We did up the amount of formula she gets per bottle, and now she'll get 5.5 scoops per 4 oz of liquid. It makes for the formula to go fast! He told me to keep coming in and getting the samples from them because they are STILL fighting with insurance. The Neocate representitive is aware of the insurance situation, and told them that he will keep providing us with the liquid gold.

[MrsSpencer]

Glad you have a plan Andrea, I hope things improve and your insurance stops fighting the formula! That's ridiculous!

I have a dr's appointment March 12th to deal with my problems, as I call them. I couldn't get an appointment this week (the dr wanted me in this week, but I couldn't ask Eli's parents to find a sitter this close ya know?) The dr is on vacation next week, so it's for the 12th. I hope we figure out something, and find a way to make it better.

[MrsBeckyLP]

Andrea- I know I said this on LJ, but I'm glad to hear the GI doesn't think there are any other issues besides the ones you already know about!

kissmary- Henry sure sounds like a mover and shaker! He needs to come to my house and provoke Maddie a bit!

lolly- I guess we get to add you the list of crazy, busy women who belong to this thread! Eek about the mouse. I wouldn't have slept at all either. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

ironhair- I hope Alivia is doing better by now. Is your daycare pretty flexible with teething-related fevers?

E&O- I cannot imagine that skunk smell. Last summer, there was one on a nearby street, and it was there for over a week before the city finally removed it. It was horrible; I don't know how the people who lived by it could stand it. I would have called to complain right away. That smell lasts forever on a car.

Baby Lust- You'll have to keep us updated on the crawling!

makena- It's kind of funny that T won't put anything in his mouth. Maddie puts EVERYTHING in hers. My mom asked me the other day if I've given her crayons yet. Um, no, she'll be eating them!

MrsS- I hope you get some answers at the doctor. I'm glad you're getting help!

Us- That nap I posted about yesterday morning? It lasted for THREE HOURS! That never happens at our house. We actually had to go wake Maddie up since we had plans. And I didn't take a nap like I said I was going to, but I sure wish I had!

I actually planned a menu this week, and I prepared most of tonight's dinner last night. I'm really proud of myself, and I hope this will allow me to spend more time playing with Maddie in the evening. Now I just need to stick with it and plan a menu every week. We'll see how that goes.

[SiValleySteph]

Nap schedule - No idea. I work during the week and the last thing I worry about on the weekend is naps. Kid sleeps where he can. ;) If he's getting fussy, we'll try and get him to take a nap, otherwise, we just go with the flow and he'll take a nap when he needs one. Usually we'll try and get it on the weekend where both kids fall asleep at the same time in the car around 4 or so and then DH & I will get coffees and read the paper wherever we are. :)

We were in Monterey this weekend and my older son didn't take a nap. He feel asleep on the way to dinner (right before we got there - he was talking and chatting and then.. boom! asleep). It was so funny, both kids slept all through our dinner so it was almost like a night out! :) We got him some takeout and he didn't wake up until we got back to the hotel. He had his dinner and then he was in bed. (Meanwhile, DS2 pretty much just got his jammies on at the hotel and in bed.)

Baths together - My boys take baths together when I convince the older one. No seat or anything. Saves time. O/W, the younger one just gets a quick bath a few times a week after his dinner. He eats before the rest of us.

[SiValleySteph]

MrsBeckyLP, menu planning is the best! Last week we didn't do it and it was rough. We didn't this week either since we were out of town, so I'm taking the boys out to eat tonight. :) We've been trying to plan on the weekend and then I'll do all the shopping on Sunday and we'll be set for the week. It really makes things easier.

[ironhair]

Becky - way to go on the menu planning. I sort of started over the weekend, I think it would work out better if my meals were better related, to use the left overs of the night before and so on. But, I did buy all of the groceries I need for the week on Saturday-I have vowed NOT to go to the store for one.thing this week. We had porcupine meatballs last night and I even made a double batch so I could freeze one, and browned the hamburger for tonights enchiladas (sp?). We'll see how long it lasts...

Yes, my daycare is very flexible with teething related fevers. However, the Motrin she got this morning didn't really help and she was super clingy and cranky all day, so DH picked her up at 1 (unfortunately, neither of us could get out any sooner today, bad parents!) and brought back to work, then I took her to the doctor. She has a double ear infection and "a viral something that is going around" - that's seriously what the doctor said. Both are napping now, and instead of doing something around the house, I'm playing on the internet :rolleyes: I think I am scared I might wake one up!

[rachrich]

Lolly OMG about the mouse. I would've not been able to sleep either, knowing that was scurrying around...... shudder

Becky ITA w/ others about menu planning. It makes life easy, but during super hectic weeks, I sometimes don't stick with it, and we end up eating out a lot, or making crap like mac 'n cheese, or tomato soup/grilled cheese. It does help w/ grocery shopping and saves $$ though.

Naps Owen doesn't have a set nap schedule, but will usually wake around 5 on weekdays (we'll get him out of bed around 5:30ish) and 6:00-6:30 on weekends. And he'll nap later in the morning, around 10 for about an hour, then will nap later in the afternoon, 2-3ish for another hour, and then gets tired around 5 for a little bit, and then in bed around 7 or 7:30 for the night. really, he just cat naps here and there when he wants.

E&O I laughed and made a disgusted face at the same time when I read about the skunk incident. that smell is JUST awful.

Andrea though the weight gain is not there, that's great the ped is happy Ellie is on a growth curve. that's what Owen is starting to do with his head and weight, but not length. And holy cow about the formula..... 5 and a half scoops for 4 oz. Do you mean 4 or 8 oz? I would imagine that would be constipating if it's only 4 oz.

us i'm getting P.O.ed with Owen messing with his glasses. Some days I feel like all I do is keep putting them back on his face. he rips them off and chews at the stem drops them on the ground or just plays with them. very very annoying.....

[twinnyme]

Napping - I've noticed lately that Bridget wants to take her morning nap no more than an hour or hour and a half after first waking and it makes for a longer nap. Today, like E&O's DS, she took a nap from 9:20 to 11 today and I was thrilled! I probably should have been putting her back to sleep sooner months ago, but I was going with the "two hour window." I usually let her sleep on demand and don't worry about a schedule, but at 10.5 months like she is now, she does seem to be settling into more of a schedule - which is good, as I sometimes have to work during her and DD1's naps - editing at home.

E&O - my concerns about the bath are what you said, too - my older DD is a bit wild in the tub and Bridget has fallen a couple of times when she's sitting in the tub without the seat, so I'll just use it a bit longer. DD1 was in the seat until about 18 months because she was so tiny - I don't think it'll be THAT long this time, though. Hope Cooper's baptism went well.

Baby Lust - how fun about Hailey being about to crawl - it must be fun to have them moving together. I have a twin sister myself so I always love to hear about twin girls. I won't ask too many questions, though, because I know that's annoying.

Lolly - so cute about the girls liking bathtime together now! I'm sorry to hear about your stepfather; that is tough to deal with - hope you find a great nursing home. Hope you caught the mouse today, too.

Kissmary - yay for a date. Hope you had a nice one!

Standrea - once again, I'm glad you had a good appointment for Ellie today. Sounds like things are going well.

MrsSpencer - hope your appt. on the 12th goes well. Good for you for making it.

MrsBeckyLP - yeah, Bridget is putting everything in her mouth, too. I'm hoping this phase passes more quickly than it did with DD1, who put things in her mouth consistently until about 2 years old! And it's tough keeping crayons away from her, definitely, since DD1 LOVES to color. She puts them in her mouth but we take them right out each time. I try to get DD1 to color on a table or in another room, but she sometimes doesn't want to.

Ironhair - sorry about Alivia's EI and "viral something that is going around" (LOL). I wish our daycare was flexible about teething-related fevers; that is something they're definitely NOT flexible about, unfortunately. She was only in daycare 1.5 days last week and has been out since Wednesday (they don't go on Fridays or Mondays) so I'm hoping tomorrow goes well.

Rachrich - I can imagine that Owen's playing with his glasses could get annoying. I have contacts, and wear my glasses in the morning/at night and Bridget is always trying to pull them off. I guess like hats or other things, he'll get used to wearing them eventually. How long has he worn them now again?

[Mrs.Chappy]

Jake had his 9 month appt. today (three days shy of 10 months due to illness at the last appt)

Weight : 24.3 lb(97%)
Height : 28 in (45%)
Head circ: 46 1/2 (75 %)
Gained 2 1/2 inches and about 7 1 /2 lbs since six mos! he is the same height and almost 3lbs more than where DS1 was at his first b-day!!!

6 teeth; cruising along the couch

my next stop was buy buy baby to get some more babyproofing stuff....
we had a playdate for my son w/ my friends daughter and her sister (turning 2)..she pushed jake and he totally hit her back. it was classic. I laughed.

[tgr68]

Quick stop to say hi!

[E&O]

Standrea- Lucky Ellie! Peanut butter at 10 months, she'll be heaven! Hopefully there will be no reaction.

I just wanted to share a quick story that Cooper's daycare teacher told me this morning. Apparently Cooper and his little buddy Cian (who is 3 weeks older) are both on the very verge of crawling. The teachers said yesterday, everytime Cooper got on all fours, that little Cian would push him down. They said its become a competition between the boys to see who will crawl first. I said soon Cooper is going to be throwing elbows or sticking out his leg to trip Cian. They both want to be the first one to crawl!

Cooper's teacher also made a comment that she noticed yesterday how much healthier Cooper looked than he has in a while. I also have noticed that his nose has finally slowed down and I'm not wiping him every 5 seconds. Gives me hope that maybe we've weathered the winter and all this crap is now behind us!

When Cooper had his 9month check up on 2/2, he weighed 16lb 7oz. I wieghed him on our home scales yesterday (naked except for fresh diaper) and he weighed 18lbs! I was so excited. I hope this is accurate because it would mean 1.5 lb gain in just under a month.

[Mrs.Chappy]

Ladies, just popping in to say that DH has to present in Zurich in March and we've arranged for me to Fly and meet him in London for a whirlwind weekend rendevous. Is it pathetic that i'm most looking forward to the flight over by myself??..no kids, no diapers, no meal prep!! Planning on taking some Tylenol PM as my flight leaves JKF at 10:30 at night!!
I think i'll be there for a total of 56 hrs but the flight was cheap and we are staying in a five star hotel on Starwood points so how could i not??!!

[Dettes]

We had our nine month WBV yesterday. All is well. I've got another long and lean one - Caroline is 29inches and 16.2lbs. Everything else looks good. Oh and I did get a script for a blood test for lead. My ped never used to do this until a year, but I guess they now recommend it at 9 months and 2 years. I think it was MrsS who was questioning this a while back.

Rach- oh, I can see how Owen pulling his glasses off could be annoying. But he is so stinking cute in them!

Naps:
No idea. I work during the week and the last thing I worry about on the weekend is naps. Kid sleeps where he can. If he's getting fussy, we'll try and get him to take a nap, otherwise, we just go with the flow and he'll take a nap when he needs one. - Ditto. With my first, we were much more regimented with set nap times, even with my second, we tried to keep them on a schedule and for a while they napped at the same time, that was wonderful. Poor Caroline really does get neglected, she is always on the go trying to keep up with our hectic schedules -it seems we're always running with the older ones to and from preschool, gymnastics, basketball, swimming etc. She has no choice but to go with the flow. - I think that is why she is such a good baby - she must have figured out early on that if she cries, no one can come rushing to her anyway.

Speaking of putting things in the mouth, last week Caroline woke up and DH propped her up in our bed, while he went into the bathroom (I was already downstairs with the other 2). DH comes out of the bathroom and notices that she is drooling a lot and making a sucking face, then he notices that the drool is colored. He looks in her mouth and finds a Hershey's kiss- (wrapper and all), which she had basically sucked down to half its size. (FYI - my older two kids had brought me Kisses in bed on Valentine's Day morning. One must have fallen out and I made the bed over it). Caroline was PISSED when DH took the Kiss out of her mouth - a chocolate lover already! A little frightening though - oops...

[Mrs.Chappy]

We had teh blood test for lead and hemoglobin at our WBV. Jake screamed and punshed the nurse so the vial fell out of her hand and splattered everywhere..lovely. They send the lead test out but the hemo was fine. i don't remember DS1 having this though. I think the most scary for me was that he sucked off teh bandaid in the car and nearly swallowed it.

[MrsSpencer]

Nicholas was great and didn't shed a tear..he got mad until she moved a little so he could see what was going on! ;)

[ironhair]

Dettes - Your Hersheys Kiss story made me LOL! Especially that she was mad when your DH took it away from her!

[MrsBeckyLP]

Cooper's teacher also made a comment that she noticed yesterday how much healthier Cooper looked than he has in a while. I also have noticed that his nose has finally slowed down and I'm not wiping him every 5 seconds. Gives me hope that maybe we've weathered the winter and all this crap is now behind us!

I've noticed the same thing about Maddie. I'm really hoping her immune system has been built up. Honestly, from September (when she started daycare) to the end of December, she constantly had a boogery nose and had several nasty colds. She's been pretty good so far this year (minus teething-related runny nose), so I'm hoping we've turned a corner.

MrsC- Sounds lovely!

Dettes- Caroline sounds like a smart little cookie!

Regarding naps and going with the flow, we used to be pretty laid back and let Maddie nap when she pleased or fell asleep at the boob. But starting about two months ago, I decided it was time to get her on more of a schedule (and I had noticed her falling into one), and it's been the best decision I could have made. She naps so much better now. Daycare tries to follow the 2, 3, 4-hour rule we follow at home. We are, however, still flexible and don't "have" to be home for naptime. On Sunday, for instance, she fell asleep in the car on the way home from shopping, so DH and I drove around a bit so she got in at least a 30-minute afternoon nap, and that was sufficient.

[twinnyme]

I hope that after this latest cold (two in about a month or so now) that Bridget's immune system perks up and we don't have any more colds for a while. Teething is bad enough! It seems like she must be doing okay being back at daycare today after the latest cold; I haven't heard from them, thankfully.

Lead test - our lead test experience at the 9month WBV (at 9 months 3 weeks) was horrible. They couldn't find a vein. After four tries in both arms, and four people trying, they finally got some blood out of each arm - and they still weren't sure they got enough blood!!!! Poor Bridget didn't even flinch with the shot, she did cry when she got some ear wax out (they had to get it out to check on her ear infection, which was all gone), and then was tortured with the lead test. It was horrible. They were going to call me if they didn't get enough blood and I never heard anything, so I'm hoping we don't have to redo it at the 12 month WBV, which is what they said we might have to do.

MrsChappy - have fun in London! March - so soon, how exciting! Something to look forward to.

Dettes - I'm sure Caroline was pissed about having chocolate taken away! :p I gave Bridget a couple of pieces of chocolate chip cookie last Friday (from a birthday party) and she LOVED it.

E&O - too funny about Cooper and his friend!

[SiValleySteph]

This is an example of our life. This was not this past weekend, but 2 weekends before that. This past weekend we went to Monterey. :D

Home & Garden Show:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/sleeping_hgshow.jpg
Children's Discovery Museum:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/sleeping_cdm.jpg
Tech Musuem:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/SiValleySteph/sleeping_tech.jpg

We get stir crazy if we are at home all day long.

[MrsSpencer]

They looked for veins??? Good grief! They just poked Nicholas's finger and squeezed the blood out (like they do to newborns with their heel). Seems to me that would be a lot easier?

[SiValleySteph]

Oh, question about the lead check... Is that standard? I don't think my older son had one and my younger has not so far.

[MrsSpencer]

All I know is they do it between 9 months and two years? (His ped did it at his 9 month WBV because they get three shots at their 12 month visit).

[kissmary]

We didn't need the lead test since we live in a new house. If your home was built before a certain year they recommend it. Sorry, can't remember the year!

[MrsSpencer]

I think it's in the 70's?

We have one built in the 50's and remodeling so they recc. it sooner rather than later.

[December27JJB]

Dettes- Thats cute!!! My kinda girl! ;) Im waiting till Ava's 1st birthday before she tastes chocolate.

Mrs Chappy- How fun!

SiValleySteph- Too cute!!! I wish I could sleep like that while someone pushes me around! lol

Lead test- It doesnt matter how old your house is, you should do a lead test. It can be in toys, in the water, in the soil your house is built on, etc. One thing I've heard is keys contain high amounts of lead so do not let your baby/babies play with your keys! Yikes! I try to remember to wash my hands after I handle my keys.

[Mrs.Chappy]

[QUOTE=It can be in toys, in the water, in the soil your house is built on, etc. One thing I've heard is keys contain high amounts of lead so do not let your baby/babies play with your keys! [/QUOTE]


wow, didn't know that about keys..not like he plays w/ them but always reaches for them..thanks!

[December27JJB]

wow, didn't know that about keys..not like he plays w/ them but always reaches for them..thanks!

http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/pdfs/factsheets/leadinkeysen011804.pdf

[twinnyme]

I'm pretty sure the lead test is required for all children in MA, though I could be wrong about that. My older DD had it, too, around the same time, but I do vaguely recall it may have just been a fingertip sample then. I don't remember.

Steph - so cute! We - at least the girls and I; DH is a little better at just sitting around! - get stir crazy if we're just sitting around, too, so Bridget often naps on the go as well, but during the weekdays that I'm home with them (and supposed to be doing freelance editing in my spare moments) I try to go out in the morning, be home by lunch, and then have naps (or quiet time for my older DD) after that so I can work. One of DD1's first questions every morning is, "where are we going today?" We rarely (very rarely) stay home all day.

[ironhair]

One of DD1's first questions every morning is, "where are we going today?" We rarely (very rarely) stay home all day.

Ha! This is us too. Every morning DS asks where we are going. After I tell him, he says, "And then where?"

[ducgal]

I haven't posted in the combined thread yet (actually, I haven't even had time to read most of it.) I've been very busy with work. I freelance and have worked some really time consuming jobs lately, but that's come to an end and I don't have anything lined up for a couple months, so I should be able to at least keep up with reading all the posts even if I don't respond very often.

My name is Victoria, 40 and my husband is Kevin, 41, and we live in Los Angeles.

We just got back from Ivan's 9 month appt. He was a big baby when he was born and he's staying at the upper end of the growth charts -

Height - 30 3/4 inches - off the charts (he's the height of an average 15 month old - all of his height seems to be in his torso)
Weight - 23 lbs 12 oz (90% percentile - that's the lowest percentile he's been)
Head - I don't remember, but it was 85%

He's got 6 teeth - 4 upper, 2 lower and is pulling up on everything. He crawls around everywhere, and it's hard to get him to stay still for a diaper changes. I'm still breastfeeding. I really didn't think I'd make it this long, since I've had to do a lot of pumping in a lot of crazy places.

[tgr68]

Lead Test~It's not mandatory here, but I may ask about it for both kids since we live in a 75+ year old home.

[MrsBeckyLP]

The lead test hasn't ever been mentioned by our doctor. I wouldn't have known it existed if I hadn't heard about it here. I guess I'll ask at Maddie's 1-year WBV, but I'm not concerned.

[anemone]

This thread moves so fast - it must be one of the busiest on CC.

lead we don't do tests for it in Australia. Not sure why, as I'm guessing that we'd all have similar lead exposure as in the US. I think they only do it in certain mining towns (where they have scary lead levels, and personally I'd never take children to live).

Dettes your story made me laugh! Caroline won't be wanting her boring old plain babyfood now!

twinnyme we're the same about going out. I'm not at home a lot - in and out all day. We are in a really lovely "village" type area of our city, so I'm always in and out of the cafes and shops doing errands or in the park around the corner from our house. In addition with DS, and now DD's activities we are out all the time.

Well, it's been a bad start to the day - I was in the morning rush getting everyone ready to take DS to preschool when Eloise did a massive vomit all over me and the floor:( She seemed ok after, but it was her entire breakfast of banana and milk. After doing a bit of rudimentary clean up/ change both our clothes (again) I had to just throw her in the stroller to get DS to preschool in time. It's so different with a second! If that had been DS, I would have taken him to the doctor most likely and we would have stayed home all day. If she vomits again after her next feed, then I'll do the clear fluids thing, but she seems fairly cheerful now, so hopefully it was a one off.

[tashaw6]

The lead test hasn't ever been mentioned by our doctor. I wouldn't have known it existed if I hadn't heard about it here. I guess I'll ask at Maddie's 1-year WBV, but I'm not concerned.


Ditto this! I must ask my ped next time we see her!

[twinnyme]

I was curious about the lead testing but it's late and I'm tired, so I can't find anything official but I did find this ped's website (http://www.chmed.com/mod.php?menu=1805&mod=userpage&page_id=108) from a town near us that talks about it. It says: "Each year, parents of children from 1 to 4 years of age who attend daycare or preschool in Massachusetts are asked to show evidence their child has been screened for Lead Poisoning. These regulations, now almost two decades old but still not enacted in many other states...." and "We live in an area (the Northeastern U.S. in general & the Merrimack Valley in particular) that has one of the highest lead poisoning rates in the nation."

Ha! This is us too. Every morning DS asks where we are going. After I tell him, he says, "And then where?"

Yup, "and then where?" is a usual question in our home, too! Too funny.

anemone - your village type area of your city sounds wonderful.... I'm envious. We are out by car mostly, unfortunately, not walking.

[Baby Lust]

twinnyme, I wondered if you were a twin or if you had twins! :) Are you identicals? I definitely don't mind the questions, as long as it's not "Are they twins?" That is by far the most annoying question that I get EVERY time we leave the house. Ugh. So feel free to ask! :)

Lead testing: They don't do it here, or at least it's not standard. DS was never tested, so I'm guessing the girls won't be either.

Mrs C, SO jealous of your upcoming trip!!!!

[Mickey&B]

We didn't have to do lead tests with AJ that I can remember so I guess we'll see what the ped says next week at Dylan's appt. Not looking forward to it if we do.

We were at the park today for a playdate and I sat Dylan down next to the other kids who were sharing homemade granola bars one of the other Mom's had brought and I look over and Dylan is doing the sign for eat!!! First I thought "how funny he is pretending to eat with them" not until like 5 minutes later when I looked over and he was still doing it did I realize he was signing!!!

He has also started waving :p and just this week is starting to really pull himself up onto the couch! He still can't crawl forward he lunges or pushes himself backwards and turns to manuver himself to were he wants to go. It's hilarious really.

[sophonisba9]

It looks like Cate finally has tooth #2. Ds has a pretty crazy schedule, but I try to make sure that Cate gets at least one nap at home everyday. Usually we manage both her naps at home. Sometimes the naps get pushed a round a bit, but Cate is pretty flexible.