NEW! May/June '05 Parenting Thread - OPEN FOR POSTING!

[BTB]

Loving all the cute baby pictures! It's been a while since I've been around so I imagine the couple questions there were have since been resolved (re: allergy meds, etc) but if not, please let me know and I will be happy to help any way I can. :)

We made the trip to Grandma's for Labor Day weekend and I am THRILLED to report that, despite my fears, DD actually slept BETTER there, despite all the excitement and the different surroundings. Not only did she keep her night schedule but she took day naps 'right on time' per Weissbluth: 9 AM and 1 PM. Color me amazed - maybe she got so much more stimulation and she tired out more easily. I can see how being home with me all day could be boring. ;)

PPD: I haven't said much about it, but I have full-blown PPD. I do my best to be a smiley, happy momma for DD, but my nights are a whole different story. Slowly getting better, and last week I was found to have hypothyroidism and began hormone replacement for that so hopefully will be feeling much better soon. Felt like such a dolt for missing my own diagnosis (physician, heal thyself, no?) but everything had such a neat little explanation: tired? New momma. Hair falling out? Recently gave birth. Muscle aches? Out of shape! Mental fog: PPD. I never put the whole picture together in my head - this is why docs need docs. So glad I went in, so glad it was found, so glad it's on it's way to being fixed. Today is day 4 on synthroid and per the endocrinologist it'll be a just a couple weeks til I notice some improvement.

No PP AF here yet either, DD will be 5 months old a week from today and is STTN for about a month now. I have had some EWCM the past week or two though, so things may be starting to ramp up.

So happy to have found my new standard pregnancy gift: a copy of Baby Bargains! But I'm searching for a standard new baby gift. I was thinking of a pouch sling, but I'm not sure it's 'universal' enough. I did just get a mei tai from Rosie Baby - love it! - but babywearing seems to be something you're either really into, or really not. With all our newfound baby knowledge, any ideas out there for fabulous new baby gifts? There's two preggos in the family, and two friends TTC. So many new playmates for Evie! :D (and so many new mommas to talk to for me, lol)

[tgray99]

Cynder - Thanks! :) We think her pudge rolls are adorable! :D

Sherah - Aidan still just has the white spot where a tooth is waiting to pop through. When she gets fussy I put some Orajel on her bottom gums. It seems to help a bit.

BTB - I'm so sorry to hear about the PPD. I'm glad you're getting help/treatment for it.

Everybody's babies are SOOOOO cute! I love all the happy faces, pudge rolls and cute outfits! :D

[cynder]

Sherah and jrdhbunny Thanks for the room compliments. Still need a valence and a shelf. Weird thing is that neither DH or I have ever surfed. We did find some crazy placemats that say "Sam's Seafood Shack" which I thought would be fun to frame.

PPD Thanks for the words of encouragement. BTB I am glad you got diaganosed properly (OT, but why are doctors the "worst patients"?). We had a long talk about my frustrations (feeling lost at work, missing family and friends, tired all the time) and DH really wants me to take a leave of absence and go home for awhile for some home comforts and to maybe talk to someone professional. It's starting to affect our relationship so I'm mulling it over. I just wish my close friends lived closer. I am counting the days till we move back to the Midwest (though I am going to hate snow again)

standard pregnancy gift For me it's Baby Bargarins, Miracle Blanket, and Happiest Baby on the Block Book. I also loved the unusual Lullaby CDs and childrens books esp since I remember who gave them to us.

[happy1nuv]

hmm ... pre-nic, my standard pregnancy gift was a gc to kiddie kandids and a photo album ... baby gift was clothes. Now ... I'm not so sure. I have a baby shower coming up and i plan on giving her a ring sling with instructions and a babies r us gc (her shower is on the east coast and she lives on the west ... ) I think slings are just not as out there ... without wc, i would not have known they existed. And ... i LOVE mine ... they are totally indispensable.. could have used one sooner, kwim?

[kimthebride]

Single Mom
I would get a bit frustrated and literally feel like my arms and legs were drained when I went a full week with no DH and no other help at all. I wasn't cooking since I didn't have the free arms to do so, wasn't getting enough food/protein and forget about having the Mental Health Breaks I usually get every night. DH will take Thomas for an hour or so while I disappear and read/nap/putter/run to Barnes & Noble...without that I just felt overwhelmed. I really have no idea how real single moms do it.
This past week he has been gone but both my mom & his mom came to visit. Not as tough, obviously, but having back-to-back out of town visitors while on my own had new challenges: making up the guest room, running around to visit other people, etc. No naps for Kim...

PPD
Sorry to hear you ladies are having a hard time. Please vent/share here any time. We'll support you in any way you need.

Teething
Thomas is CONSTANTLY chewing/sucking on his fangers, fists, chew toys, clothes, blankets - anything he can get in there! MIL and Mom think he's already teething at 3 months. Yikes. Can't I get a break? We *just* got over the growth spurt and are taking our naps and only waking 1x a night again.

Mei Tei
I want a good front-facing carrier but DS doesn't like the Bjorn-type things. I like the Ultimate baby wrap but it isn't for long trips. Do you use your Mei Teis front-facing? Where are you getting them from?

QOTD: Moving
I am officially in contact with some realtors about buying a house next summer. Our place (2BR duplex) isn't super baby-friendly and it would be nice to have a yard. Anyone else having this talk with DH? We own our condo, but it seems that buying a 'house-house' is SUCH a different step!

Ceiling Fans
Why are these things sooooooo mesmerizing to babies? Every restaurant we go to if he's not sleeping he's psychotically staring at the fans.

Standard baby Gift
I have a shower coming up in February (post-delivery) and I plan on giving some of my Favorite Things:
Koala Baby Recieving Blankets
Happiest Baby On The Block book
Pampers Swaddlers
Fisher Price Lullaby CD

I used to give people 1 thing off their registry plus a pack of diapers.

FYI: Gymboree Sale
The Gymboree near me has a TON of stuff of clearance, mostly girls clothes, really cheap. You ladies may want to stock up for next summer!

Oh, and Carter's had a huge $3 rack of summer clothes for girls as well.

[Chylynn]

PPD -Sorry to hear that some of you are battling this. I know two people personally that have/are going through this and I cannot even imagine what it is like. We are all here for you!

Teething -DD started chewing on EVERYTHING about 3 months, but as of today, no teeth have come through. She has little white buds on her bottom gums, so I think it is only a matter of weeks before they break through.

Mei Tai -I LOVE my Mei Tai. I purchased it last month and I think this is one of my best baby purchases. I purchased mine from Rosie Baby (http://rosiebaby.com) last month and I have used it everyday since I recieved it. I know she is getting ready to have a baby (October, I believe) and is going to stop selling them soon (next week, I believe) so she can finish up her current products before her son arrives.
kimthebride -Yes, I use my Mei Tai front facing. Here is a picture a couple of weeks ago:

http://images.snapfish.com/3447947923232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3B7%3B%3D7%3B5 %3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A556%3B6665ot1lsi

Ceiling Fans - OMG, I thought my DD was the only one. She talks to all of our ceiling fans and we have them in almost all of our rooms!

Recent Picture of Rebecca

http://images.snapfish.com/344923%3A323232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3B7%3B%3D7%3 B5%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A8%3A95%3A%3B95ot1lsi

Must run...Rebecca is calling me!!

[BTB]

Ceiling Fans - yes, DD adores them! Any light fixture is good for amusement, but the fans are just the bee's knees.

PPD, redeux: Thanks for the kind words. The hypothroidism is really a relief because the symptoms of it and of depression overlap quite a bit and with the thyroid out of control, here I was thinking the PPD treatment wasn't working. Now that both are getting treated I'm looking forward to really improving.

Cynder, I think doctors make the worst patients because we're demanding and don't do what we're told. ;) Then again, I don't think I've ever taken an easier history than one from another physician.

Mei Tai - LOVE my Mei Tai. I got mine from Nancy (www.rosiebaby.com) as well - she's super sweet, is willing to work with you on custom requests if needed, her price can't be beat (especially on her brocades), she ships fast, and does excellent work. I was googoo over my hotsling but now that DD's older it's mei tai all the way. No pics of it yet, but I do wear DD in it front-facing. She loves it, and I love that it feels really secure and lets her look around which makes her so happy. One word of warning though - when you wear this out, don't wear a ponytail or sweats with holes because lots of people will look at you! It's been years since I was such a head-turner, lol. :D Chylynn - I always hold DD's hands like that. :)

ETA: Moving: how could I forget? We're househunting starting next February, with luck we'll be in our first home by Evie's first birthday. We'd have to move fast but it's a goal. :)

[Dreshny]

Mei Tai: I also have a Rosie Baby carrier. Could someone please help me figure out how to use it? I can't seem to get DS in by myself, and every time I've tried it he's fussy. But he's getting too big for the cradle carry in the pouch sling, so I'd love to graduate to the mei tai.

Baby Gift: It used to be clothes, but post-Asher, I gave a friend a Boppy and some kids' books.

BTB: I'm so sorry to hear about the PPD. I wondered why we hadn't seen you around the thread much lately. Hormones are weird: I was pretty depressed while I was pregnant, but I've felt okay since having the baby.

Moving: Yeah, I wish. But when you have a rent-stabilized Manhattan apt, you don't move. Asher's getting too big for his mini co-sleeper, but I cringe when I think about moving a full-size crib into our bedroom.

Rolling Over: I put Asher on his back in the Gymini today so I could run to the bathroom, and when I came back he was facedown on the hardwood floor and none too happy about it. :D

So Reel Moms was sponsored by Nestle today (Constant Gardener was good, btw.) If anyone needs Good Start coupons, email me at roseanne at ny dot com.

[kimthebride]

Mei Tei: Can you do outward-facing but with the legs dangling outside the carrier?

[Mrs.Chappy]

Baby Bjorn: My 11.5 oz baby hates to be with his face in my chest..he struggles and struggles to look out and sometimes (only sometimes) falls asleep. his head control is getting better but when can i face him out?

[ahavnes]

What cute babies!

Sasha- Sarah was looking at Abbey b/c she knows they're twins! :)

BTB- So glad you got a diagnosis. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Baby Gift- Totally the kick and play bouncer, or anything similar. Ours is a lifesaver!

Fans- Hmmm, Abbey hasn't seen one, but she IS totally in love with trees. It is too funny.

I have a quick question about allergy meds. My doctor prescribed Allegra, but I am worried it will dry up my supply (which already isn't that great). Any advice?

[BridalLace]

BTB - i'm sorry to hear you've been suffering from PPD, but i hope your diagnosis helps to get things on the right track. hope you're feeling better soon!

teething - Elodie chews on everything. it really worries me. but no teeth yet. she was gummin' my fingers the other day, though!

i wish i could stop worrying about her safety so much, i am often in terror that something terrible is going to happen, i worry that she is going to swallow a button or something, i imagine all the time. i don't know how to stop myself from thinking these things.

fans - yes, Elodies LOVES these. how strange!

[Mrs.Chappy]

BTB: i'm thinking of you..glad you got the DX.

I've decided to join Weight WAtchers today. I just feel like i need some control over my body. i've lost a lot of my pregnancy weight but i don't fit into any of my clothes..my button to my pants just doesnt go!! clearly my body has changed and it makes me feel bad about the way i look. Hopefully this will get me motivated to do exercise (when there is a free moment) and lose weight.

[cynder]

Mrs. Chappy You can face them out once they have good head control. My DS has good head control but his head does reach over well. His chin is kind of straining over because I guess he's not tall enough unless I am doing something wrong. Luckily he like chest facing and turns his head to the side to look and sucks on the straps.

Chewing DS is starting to show the signs of chewing whatever he can get his hands into. He grabs things like the car seat strap and tries to get it in his mouth with no luck. I find it hilarious.

Worrying I am the queen of this but I am trying real hard not to sweat the small stuff. I was a very intense child compared to my little sister and I really don't want to project that to DS. I want him to be adventurous and explore his world on his terms. It's hard to relax though when they are so small like this.

There was an article in our college paper where I work about crazy parents that call the univeristy about their kids and what their up to("Can you wake my child up for class? I can't seem to get ahold on my child on the phone?") and I swore after reading that I will try not and be that parent.

Gymboree Darnit when will the Kangaroo Hop Line at Gymboree go on sale. We have a thing for roos and I want to get a few pieces in this line. I've resisted falling for their Gymboree Bucks marketing so far.

[happy1nuv]

Worrying ~ Yeah, me too. Add me to the crazy mama worrier list... I have to constantly remind myself that if I don't let him try stuff, we'll be carrying him around til he's 10. Ugh.

Good news... I went to the grocery store yesterday, and usually bjorn Nic while we're there. I tried the cart with the built in baby carrier (ugh, do you use these? I was a lil worried about germs, but they have wipes you can wipe them down with first...) ...He tolerated it the ENTIRE time (it was a short list) but still ... :)

Oh, and... Pampers users. If you sign up at their site, they have codes you enter when you buy a new package of diapers and get points for... then you can get free stuff (some is cheesey, but who couldn't use a free book?) ... pampers.com (if you're buying them anyway...)

[tgray99]

BTB: i'm thinking of you..glad you got the DX.

I've decided to join Weight WAtchers today. I just feel like i need some control over my body. i've lost a lot of my pregnancy weight but i don't fit into any of my clothes..my button to my pants just doesnt go!! clearly my body has changed and it makes me feel bad about the way i look. Hopefully this will get me motivated to do exercise (when there is a free moment) and lose weight.
i'm right there with ya girl. i'm thinking of joining now that they're having a special.

[ahavnes]

Worrying- Queen of worry right here! I'm wondering if she'll ever be able to sleep in her own room. :rolleyes: I worried a lot while I was preggo too and it basically ruined my pregnancy. I have vowed that I am NOT going to let it ruin my time with Abbey as a baby. I think I'm getting a little better though. At least I hope so!

[njnewyearsbride]

i had hazel's 3 month pictures done at babies r us (kiddiekandids) over the weekend

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/njnyb/FUFNI8MDWUGTVC9Y-LIN6L.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/njnyb/FUFNI8MDWUGTVC9Y-95CLQ.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/njnyb/FUFNI8MDWUGTVC9Y-79DER.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/njnyb/FUFNI8MDWUGTVC9Y-22W6D.jpg

[Sasha]

njnewyearsbride - I have that same dress for Sarah, it's one of my favorites. I was thinking of using it for her 6 month pics ;). Hazel is adorable!

BTB - Glad you got everything diagnosed, hope you start feeling better quickly.

Teething - She is chewing on everything and drooling up a storm.

Ceiling Fans - OMG, our ceiling fans are probably her best friends, lol. She loves them. Her room is the one room without one, which is probably a good thing! DH wants to take her to Home Depot and walk her down the ceiling fan aisle :p.

Worrying - I worry a lot too, especially about how she is doing at daycare. But I don't want to be a worry-wart, so I'm working on it ;).

ETA - Sarah has rolled over four times now, twice yesterday! Course, once she gets on her stomach, she looks very confused about how to get back.

[rancherswife]

My goodness...I have a lot of catching up to do.........


BTB: Glad you are getting things worked out, feel free to vent here at any time ;) .

cieling fans: Landon has gazed at the ceiling fans in our house since he was about 3 weeks old. It's so funny, he just LOVES them!

Rolling over: He rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time on Saturday night (the eve of turning 3 mos. old!). It was so cute, he was shocked at himself. He's only done it a couple times since.

3 mo. pics.: We had Landon's taken yesterday and they turned out GREAT, I cannot wait to get them back! He was such a ham for the photographer, just talking, sqweeling, cooing. I'm glad we got a good photographer, we'll get the same one for the rest of the year, with the package we purchased.

Love all the pics. of our babies, they're all precious!!!

Here's one of Landon taken this weekend:
http://images.snapfish.com/3449358%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2347%3D69%3B%3D%3C6% 3A%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3A9434%3A338ot1lsi

Well...I'm off to catch up on this thread, this could take a while! :o

[usafwife]

Everyone ~ Such cute baby pictures!! I'll have to get some of my little one posted soon.

Sasha ~ My little one doesn't have much hair either. Don't feel bad.

cynder ~ I'm sorry that you had a rough few days. I had more than a few days of doing everything by myself when DH was gone just after DD arrived. It was tough. I'm sort of doing it alone when my DH is working long hours and attending classes at night. Sometimes I just feel that I need a break. I have to fed the animals, take care of DD, fix supper, clean the house and do laundry each night. Sometimes I just need a break from it and will go for a walk with DD and my mom. I've also had to deal with (and come to terms with) the fact that our DD won't be able to enjoy her grandfathers. My dad isn't in good health and DH's dad passed away a little over a month before DD was born. It wasn't something that we were expecting in the least. We are still dealing with it and sometimes it gets to me.

BTB ~ I'm glad that you finally got a diagnosis. Hope that things start getting better very soon.

Kimthebride ~ Good luck with the house hunting.

Ceiling Fans ~ DD has been watching them for a while now. They are very entertaining. DD also likes light fixtures as well.

ahavnes ~ I asked my OB while I was pregnant about allergy meds. I have taken Allegra for years (it's pretty much the only thing that won't make me extremely tired). He told me that he didn't want me taking it as there were safer meds. He told me that I could take Zyrtec instead. I never asked if I could take it while nursing (my allergies are usually only a problem in the spring or when mowing grass but I haven't mowed any grass this year). If I can ever locate a box of my medical references that seems to have disappeared when we moved I should be able to locate my medical drug book that lists the drgu classifications. I'm sure that BTB could answer the question before I locate my books (I've been looking for them for a year come late October/early November).

Teething ~ DD likes to have her fists in her mouth pretty often. She's also started drooling more and more. Think it's kind of early for teeth to be coming in since she just turned 9 weeks.

Worrying ~ I do find myself worrying about things. But I think it comes with being a parent. I worried a little during my pregnancy. My BIL and SIL had their first baby stillborn (got the cord wrapped around his neck just days prior to delivery). So I worried about that happening. It didn't really bother me until after we lost DH's dad. Then I found myself worrying more and more about something happening. But then someone mentioned to me that he was watching over her and would protect her. That made me feel better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday DD went for her 2 month visit. She also got her shots. We felt so bad when the nurse gave the shots. The Tylenol I gave her about an hour before kicked in after the shots. She slept for a few hours afterwards. Last night I had to go to the store to get some milk. When we got home DD had milk spit up all over her, the car seat, and the seat of the car. It was a real mess. Not sure if the shots did it or what. I gave her some more Tylenol before she went to bed and she slept very good all night.

We also were able to talk to our friend that lived in Gulfport last night. Part of the house is still standing (by some miracle) but everything inside it is gone. They had went to a shelter and then went to Texas. They don't have much...only the few things that they took with them when they went to the shelter.

Question ~ We are going to be having DD's christening/dedication soon. Can you chose anyone to be a godparent to your child or is that only for certain religions?

[kimthebride]

Question ~ We are going to be having DD's christening/dedication soon. Can you chose anyone to be a godparent to your child or is that only for certain religions?
I just found out today that our Godparents for Thomas need to provide letters from their parish stating they are "practicing Catholics" or else he can't be baptised in the church we were married in.
Oy.

[rancherswife]

I just found out today that our Godparents for Thomas need to provide letters from their parish stating they are "practicing Catholics" or else he can't be baptised in the church we were married in.

I just realized the same thing....thank goodness Landon's godparents are very active in our parish, (ahem.....much more than we are! :o or else we'd be in the same boat! sheesh, all these rules and regulations!

We are planning on baptizing him in Ocotober, haven't set a date yet though!

[September2002]

I have a lot of reading to do - we've been away for two weeks!

I love all the baby pictures. I can't believe how big our little munchinks are. For all of you first time mommies thinking about #2 - go for it. I found the first couple of weeks to be very difficult (no family close to help out & DH works ALL the time). Now that Grace is 3 months old, I'm finding that things are getting easier. Just watching the two girls smile at each other makes me melt.... makes me think that I'm ready for a third (just kidding).

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d725b3127cce93a881494f4600000025108IZt2LRqxaK

BTB: I hope you're feeling better soon.

Teething: DD has her fist in her mouth all the time. DD #1 got her first tooth at 4 months so I'm expecting it to start soon.

Worrying: Not nearly as much this time around.

[Dreshny]

September: Your daughters are beautiful!

Everyone's babies are so cute...

Here is smiley Asher:

http://roseanne.org/photos/asher/asher_loves_ny.jpg

[tgray99]

Question ~ We are going to be having DD's christening/dedication soon. Can you chose anyone to be a godparent to your child or is that only for certain religions?
We're Lutheran (LCMS) and we chose "Baptismal Sponsors" (basically just like Godparents) who had to be Christian, church going and believe in infant baptism. But, they didn't verify anything with us.

HTH!

[Jenyfer9]

Baptism: we need to schedule a time when ds#2 will get baptized. We also have "sponsors" (aka, Godparents) who we decided would be half Catholic, half Methodist (dh is Catholic, I'm Methodist). So handy that my brother and his fiancee are the same mix as dh and I...

We baptized/will baptize our kids in my church (where we were married) because dh isn't a practicing Catholic. Oh... my church didn't bother to ask if the sponsors (or parents) were even practicing. We're pretty flexible. ;)

[allyray231]

THE HANDS THE HANDS!! MAKE IS STOP!!! I am hoping someone else is having this issues-Aiden found his hands about 2 weeks ago which is fine but he wants them all the time! That is also fine-expect he wants them in his mouth when he eats. So usually we get 2-3 oucnes in him and he starts to figet so I assume he needs to burp. I burp him and then the next 2 ounces is a fight. He just sits there and figets-but he isn't pushing the bottle away-he is sucking on it-anyone have any suggestions?? Should I get a faster nipple? Give him something to hold?

Pic for ya
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgCnAtATi5m30hqwEUjEswmOfh8BObRIPLvnLSqw57IJFBfBm o27kmTHWBi4RuwSFw4rmsWOpanZf8SJ6MaocIsuTPAh3yhd1i4 xhvUsjYc/100_0229.JPG?dc=4675538402012171263

[happy1nuv]

If the baptism questions above were Catholic ones... you need one practicing Catholic who gets to be godparent, and you can have one witness. The witness doesnt have to be a Catholic in good standing... my church didnt ask us anything about bil (godfather/witness ...divorced/remarried=not in good standing)

BTB... I hope you feel better soon!!

Nic's latest pic, made esp fo my dad, who is obsessed with pasta (yes, my son will one day need counseling) - one thing i didnt think as we took tis one - he tried to eat the pasta. Now...to figure out what we can do with choc for mom...
https://www.burstable.net/gallery2/3895-2/DSCN1483.JPG

[KGif]

Ceiling Fan -
Jack LOVES it. That and the cat - he could stare at either of those two all day long.

Rollking Over -
Not yet but he is SO close! He looks over his right shoulder and turns his head back and will be all the way on his side - but thats as far as it gets.

BTB -
I'm glad you are starting to feel a bit better. Thank you for sharing with us.

Pictures -
All the baby pictures are SO SO cute!!!!

[cynder]

happy1nluv That is a hilarious photo. I love it! A suggestion to all you photographers - a lot of digital cameras these days have continuous mode where if you hold down your shutter button it will take several successive photos. This is a great feature for when you get your baby in that certain position and you know it won't hold for very long.

allray do you really need to burp him then. Can you hold off until you are done with the feeding. I am burping a lot less now that he is older. DS likes to stroke his head and then bring is hand down to pet my breast like a cat. Doing this pulls it out which is so frustrating so I am wearing a big bead necklace of mine that he pulls at even though he prefers to pet my boob. Our dreamfeed that my husband gives is a constant struggle where he fights with us and we're not sure what is going on.

Baptism We're doing it in Oct in our home state. We have to go to baptism class this Sat for 4 hours! Our parish here require the godparents to send in verification that they are in good standing but our hometime parish only needs to verify that we took the class. Our godfather is agnostic. I was a little concerned about that and not sure how he would feel about being asked to be a godfather. But he said yes and when he came to visit, DS had this weird attraction to him which was cute. I am sure this is setting him up to be aetheist or something.

[Natrat80]

Beautiful babies everyone!
worrying I have trouble with this too. I just have to have faith that God is taking care of my little girl. ;)
teething Not yet!
ceiling fans Addie loves looking at these! What's the fascination??
sick baby?? Starting on Monday night Addie was very fussy, which isn't like her at all. Yesterday she slept for a total of 3 hours from when we woke up in the morning (around 8am) until 10pm. It was a very frustrating day!! I checked her temp all day and she didn't have one until late last night. I gave her some baby tylenol and she seems to be better now. She slept 8 hours last night! :eek: I had major leaking bbs when she finally woke up! LOL!

Here's a pic of my sweet girl. We tried out her bikini the other day! She had fun, but I think she was confused about why she was in the bathtub in the middle of the day outside! :D
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d729b3127cce93bab2cce8af00000016108AbMnLlm4ctH
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d729b3127cce93bab2cb699800000016108AbMnLlm4ctH

[kimthebride]

THE HANDS THE HANDS!! MAKE IS STOP!!!
When he gets his hands all involved when I'm trying to BF, I literally turn him so we're tummy to tummy. This tucks his bottom arm down and around my side where I can block it better. The 'top' arm is still free, so I give him my fingers to hold or a crinkly blanket to fidget with.
PS: We have that same outfit!

[Carissa]

Hi guys just checking in. My surgery went well. I'm at home recovering now. I am not allowed to pick DD up for a week! I am really sore hopefully I'll heal up really quick and be back on my feet by next week.

[allyray231]

KimThanks-yeah I am trying to get him to hold my hand and hold something else so he is occupied!

cynder-yeah we do burp him a lot less now and it seems to help a tiny bit but not always

[rancherswife]

Beautiful babies, everywhere!!!! May/June2005 was a good looking bunch of babes!


worrying: I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one, I find myself finding NEW things to worry about all the time. Dh says I'm not happy unless I have something to worry about! :rolleyes: I just can't help it. I was quite the worrier when I was pg also, I guess the worrying just comes w/ the territory!

hands: Sometimes I feel like Landon and I are in an all out wrestling match w/ eachother when we first start to feed. His hands are flailing everywhere, trying to grab, I do the same thing kim said and it seems to contain him a little more, once we get going I hold his little fingers and he relaxes a lot. I do break out into a sweat though, sometimes!lol

Busy day....we have a wedding on the coast this weekend,we're leaving tomorrow afternon, and we'll be out of town all weekend. This is Landon's first "formal affair", we'll see how it goes, I'm sure he'll be fine, he's a pretty content little man. He's got two really cute little outfits to wear, I can't wait to put them on him. And yes, I'm sure we'll use BOTH, we have LOTS of "up the back poopings!" No matter what size the diaper, this kid explodes out of them, at LEAST once a day!lol

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[KGif]

Carissa -
Welcome back! I'm glad all went well with surgery. Hope you back to 100% soon :)

[Sasha]

Carissa - Glad your surgery was a success - wishing you a speedy recovery!

Happy - That picture is too cute.

Loving all the newest baby pics!

[Jenyfer9]

ARGH!

Anyone else having a TON of problems with napping? I KNOW that ds is tired, but he refuses to go to sleep! He'll fall asleep in the car, but that's about it for a good portion of the day! What gives? He's clean, he's fed (can't get him to eat any more)... he's just tired! I tried putting him in his crib (where he falls asleep just fine on his own at night), and that's a no go. PnP, no go. My last resort is my dopey sling, which he really isn't all THAT thrilled with, and I'd rather not have to wear him to get him to go to sleep. He won't even fall asleep in my arms! :mad: :confused: :(

I feel badly, but I honestly don't know what to do. The kiddo has been awake for... about 4.5 hours now, and I've been trying to get him to go down for at least an hour.

I'm about at the end of my rope. Any suggestions?

[ahavnes]

Carissa- Glad you are done with the surgery, it's been a long road!

Jenyfer- Sometimes I use the Sleep Sheep to get Abbey to go to sleep. I put it on the sound of the ocean and that helps a lot.

Big News! Abbey rolled over today all by herself! She did it last night by pushing off my foot, so we didn't really count that, but this morning she did it all by herself! I was super excited, but she just looked at me like she'd done it a million times. Kids! :)

[Mrs.Chappy]

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/1/92/5/19/88/8/888190592106_0_ALB.jpg

here is my cutie

[happy1nuv]

jenyfer9 ~ No advice, but lots of empathy... Nic won't nap either. And, to add insult to injury, when I finally DO get him to sleep, lay him in his crib (still sleeping) ... sit and watch him sleep for 5 minutes, then slowly back out of the room... The second I get downstairs, I hear him ... and the second I get in the room, he's all bright eyed and awake ... and SMILING at me... (put him on the boob however, and he'll go right to sleep...til you remove him that is..)

Umm... so I guess I have no advice for ya...but if you find something that works... let me know?

:)

[ladybug0525]

Look at all the cute babies!

I haven't been around because I had an emergency appendectomy on Sunday evening and now I am healing. I think the hardest part is I am not suppose to lift anything greater than 10lbs, I have been breaking that rule of course.

If Jack won't nap the LAST resort is the swing and that usually works wonders, good luck.

BTB - Awhile back you posted those soft horns for the medela pumps to get more milk. I thought I saved the website and have searched and searched and can not find anything. Do you still happen to have it?

ETA: Anyone start cereal yet?

Here is Jack, I will leave it up for just a couple of days! Showing his Aggie pride for the first game and showing us how he has found his feet. Still has not rolled over though.

[Dreshny]

Sorry, Jenyfer, no advice, really: my DS either falls asleep in the sling or while nursing. Nursing is the method du jour these days...today I was trying to limit him to nursing only once per hour. Yeah. There has to be some reason he's doing that, right?

[Natrat80]

napping Well, I posted earlier that DD didn't nap much at all yesterday. I'm pretty sure that she was sick. She slept 8 hours last night and took two 4.5 hour naps today and one one-hour nap! Usually she naps well, so I knew something was wrong.
baby dedication We did baby dedication at our church when DD was 3 weeks old. They only do dedications a few times a year and lots of babies are dedicated at the same time. No godparents here...what exactly do godparents do? That's not a custom that I'm really familiar with....
rolling over DD has been rolling from tummy to back for about a week now. She's not a fan of tummy time and now she has a way out of it! :rolleyes:
ladybug Cute Aggie outfit!

[allyray231]

Sweatinganyone elses baby sweat? I have noticed the last few night there is a sweat mark by his head when I pick him up. He ins't over dressed but he is swaddled-but the AC is on

[cynder]

Naps Wish I could help but DS is a terrible napper. At daycare he takes a quick morning nap and then a nap maybe 4 hours later and then when we get home so he's averaging 5 -6 hours b/n naps. They are trying to get him down more but it's a struggle.

So, DS has not rolled over yet but can now turn completely 180 in the crib. I have to figure out how he does this but when we put him down for the night his head is where his feet were and is completely out of the Miracle Blanket. So bye bye Miracle Blanket. You were a great friend.

Sweat Yes and we run the AC. His head sweats when he is in the car seat so much that his hair gets wet and occasional in the crib. He seems fine and the heat is comforting to him so I think it's ok.

[Sasha]

Naps - DD is a terrible napper, so I can't be of much assistance here. She generally takes four 1/2 hour naps. During my maternity leave, it used to drive me crazy because it never gave me a chance to get anything done. But what can I say, she is so alert and likes to see what is going on!

Sweat - We live in South Florida, so she definitely sweats! Sometimes in the car when it takes a few minutes for it to cool off or if we are outside on the patio. She usually just sweats on the back of her head, which is actually kind of cute because her hair (what little she has, lol) starts to curl!

So, DS has not rolled over yet but can now turn completely 180 in the crib. I have to figure out how he does this but when we put him down for the night his head is where his feet were and is completely out of the Miracle Blanket.
Sarah does 180 degree turns too. I have found her facing sideways and the complete opposite direction. I think she does it by pushing her feet against the bumper throughout the night, therefore turning herself around. I bet your DS will be rolling over soon, cause pushing is how DD started rolling over.

Ladybug - Hope you heal quickly! Jack is adorable!

[diedra1027]

Happy Friday!

sweating - Oh Yeah. She sleeps in a full body press against me, so we both get pretty warm in the night. I have a fleece covered Bobby and that seems to give her a sweaty head too.

Napping - No advice here either. DD will nurse down or sleep in the sling/Bjorn and those are the only tricks I have.

[ahavnes]

Sweating- Oh yes, especially during tummy time or when in her car seat.

ladybug- Glad you are recovering. Jack looks really cute in his Aggie outfit. Abbey has some Aggie stuff too, but doesn't fit into it yet.

[njnewyearsbride]

has anyone moved on to size 3 diapers yet??

[BTB]

LadyBug: mybreastpump.com :)

AHavnes: Tom Hale says Allegra is fine - only 0.45% of the maternal dose makes it's way into the breastmilk - though more conservative sources simply say "found in BM" and leave it at that. I'll defer to a PhD in pharmacology any day. ;)

Welcome back Carissa! Hope you're back to 100% soon!

Love all the cute pictures!

[Jenyfer9]

yes, we're *sniff sniff* out of my beloved swaddlers and graduated to size 3 cruisers. I wish that they made swaddlers in 3s. :(

[BTB]

So Cruisers aren't that similar to Swaddlers after all?

We're still solidly in size 2's for now but it can't hurt to plan ahead. :)

[KGif]

Sweating - Heck yeah! Only when he's in his carseat and we're going from the car to the store or something like that .... our house is like living in a refrigerator so he never sweats in there.

Diaper size - Jack is currently in Swaddlers size 2 - but - I just realized he is at the bitter end of the weight range for those! They still seem to be fitting okay but not for much longer I bet. And i JUST NOW found out they don't make a swaddlers size 3 by reading your posts. SAY IT AINT SO! Oh the swaddlers were just perfect on him. Now I'm sad. :(

[usafwife]

Carissa ~ Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

ladybug ~ Best wishes for a speedy recovery as well.

Sweating ~ Usually just in the carseat or if we are outside for too long and it's hot. So we try to limit our time outside during the daytime hours. If we are out we are usually in the shade. We go for walks in the evening once it's a little cooler.

Diapers ~ We are still in size 1s. Right now our favorites are still the Huggies Supremes followed by the Pampers Swadlers. I tried the Luv's and BabyDry Pampers but they were a bit big still so they will have to wait to be used.

Christening/Dedication/Godparents Question ~ I was raised as a and am a member of a methodist church and DH is a member of a christian church. I didn't have godparents and neither did DH. My two cousins who are catholic did. I wasn't sure if it was something that was allowed in other religions or just mainly for catholics. We plan to ask about it when we talk to the minister.

[jmvan74]

Diapers: DS is in size 2, but nearing the end of those. Are cruisers anything like swaddlers? I hate the stay dry pampers and have switched to Huggies, but the swaddlers were a better fit.

sweat: All the time. Especially in the car seat.

Turning over: Collin has been turning from belly to back with some assistance for a few weeks, but not independently yet. He has started to turn in his crib at night, but I'm still using the sleep positioner, so that helps a bit.

Naps: I usually resort to the stoller and the bathroom exhaust fan. He takes 3 half hour naps and an hour nap during the day. We put him down around 8pm, and so far, he is still not sleeping through the night. We had two nights of 7-8 hours and then back to 4. :confused:

[Dreshny]

Diapers: How are the Swaddlers different from the Cruisers? And how do you know when the baby is ready for the next size? Asher is 14 lbs, but the size 1s still fit him fine.

Sweat: Yeah, he gets soaked when he cries.

Gymboree: Oh, it's evil. Keep me away!!! And I just realized that you have to spend double the money to redeem the stupid Gymbucks. So I have $50 worth of Gymbucks, which means I have to spend $50 to redeem one, or $100 to redeem both. Well, I don't HAVE to redeem them...

[Sherah]

Sleeping : Arik is now sleeping 12 hours at night!!!!!! For the past 5 nights, I have put him down at 6:30/7pm after his last feeding and he hasn't been waking up until 6:30/7am! I was wondering if he could make it without me waking him for one more feeding before my bedtime and he can. Anyone who hasn't tried to take away a late night feeding yet should try. Oh, I should remind everyone that he is 4 months old and I'm not sure this would have worked a few weeks ago. I should also cross my fingers after all this bragging!

Bottle and Boob : On another note, this kid of mine is now having problems with bottles. :rolleyes: We have been using Avent since he was 6wks, but not every day. It appears he now has nipple confusion, as he either chews on the bottle nipple or pushes it out with his tongue. So frustrating! Our babysitter (grandpa) is going to try Playtex Nursers Ventaire today and I bought a fast flow nipple since I have a forceful letdown. Now if he likes this new nipple, he'll probably start refusing the boob. ;)

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

P.S. (In response to Gymboree posts) Oh my, Gymbucks is evil! I can see how it would be very easy to get sucked into a Gymboree cycle.

[kimthebride]

Naps
For the most part, I just do my thing and when he's ready for a nap DS will start cranking and his eyes will look sleepy. I never look at a clock and say "time to nap", I just follow his cues.

If I'm home when he's ready for a nap...

Option #1
I wrap him in a recieving blanket: his signal that "you are in a blanket so it is time to sleep" (not swaddled)
I close the blinds/dim lights
Turn on the FP Aquarium in his PnP
I turn him belly-to-belly with me, sway from side ot side and "Shhhh..." him
Before he's 100% out I lay him in the PnP by gently placing him on his side head first, shoulders, back, bum, legs then rolling him onto his back (to avoid the 'falling' reflex)
If he opens his eyes, I place a hand on his chest, keep him from flailing his arms, and run a finger down his forehead and nose saying "Shhh..." until he closes his eyes.
This usually works within 5 minutes.

Option#2: He's fighting it so #1 doesn't work
I swaddle him snugly and give him a binky, then do the rocking/shhhh thing.
After a bit if that doesn't work, I'll bounce on my big blue yoga ball.

Option#3: #1 & 2 don't work, but he's not screaming
I take him for a walk outside, laying him down in his stroller with his blanky that smells like me. No other toys or things dangling from the stroller to distract him. And I walk on the brick part of the path so he feels the vibrations. I don't interact with him if he seems he wants to play, I'll just sit quietly and read on a bench while he relaxes, then I'll walk him back home.
If he isn't already asleep by the time I get in the door, I do #1 again.

And if he just refuses to sleep, I'll let him play and poop himself out. When he's ready, he'll go.

But if I am out & about and it's naptime, I just let him fall asleep in the carseat/stroller on his own accord.

Diapers
I think we have a little more time in Size 2s, but after the drama of not finding size 2s when he grew out of size 1s (and the poo explosions) I just bought a pack of Cruisers Size 3s to be prepared. :( My wee one is growing up!

Sweat
My man sweats like a wrestler when he cries. Soaking wet!

Carissa & ladybug
Oh! Heal quickly!

[happy1nuv]

ok.. i'm reading weissbluth right now, because i need more ideas for getting nic to sleep in his crib ... i'm really not liking him much though ... he spends too much tme blathering on about stuff that doesnt pertain to my end goal (i don't care that nic is in the 5% or whatever ... i need help fixing it) [/vent]

Anyway, 1 of the things that he did say is that if u cosleep/feed thru the night ... you dont really wake up fully, so its almost like straight sleep ... so, if we both "slept" from 8 pm - 7:30 am ... is it realistic to expect nic to take his first nap at 9:30? My rule is if 1 entire cd plays and nic doesn't fall asleep/stay asleep, i put him on the boob to sleep.... (we do not plan on any sort of cio ... ) Any ideas? Should i wait and try later if he sleeps so well? (i never notice any drowsy signs ... he'll yawn, but isnt it too late at that point?) (by weissbluths defn, nic is an extreme fussy/colic baby.. im not sure i agree ... high needs yes... maybe im just in denial...

[Traciann]

we are in size 3.....have been for a month now.

Sherah the same thing happened to us. I was using Avents with no problem, and then she suddenly wouldn't use them. We have been successful with the Platex Nursers but we used the rubber nipple instead of the latex, because I thought the nipple was more flexable like the boobie.

Tgray Super cute pic of Aidan! how much does she weigh? Mary Kate is 16 lbs....90% for her age. we always get the she is such a big girl comment!

[diedra1027]

happy1 - I'm having a hard time making it through Weissbluth as well. All the self-congratulatory 'stories' drive me insane. I don't get a whole lot of the sleepy signs with Avery either (except the overtired ones :rolleyes: ). If I happen to notice sleepy signs in the two hour window, I act. If I don't see any signs, I just go ahead and try to get her down when we're getting close to the two hour mark. Sometimes, she'll go down and sometimes she's not interested so I stop and try again in 30 minutes or so. There are MANY many days when she goes three hours (or more :eek: ) between naps but that's the way the cookie crumbles at our house.

[Jenyfer9]

I'm so frustrated with this kiddo. Naps stink, STTN isn't happening... ugh.

Yeah, yeah, you can tell me that this one is still too little to do that, blah blah blah... but at 4m1w I expect more (probably because ds#1 was such a great sleeper, which isn't #2's fault).

Like I said... he'll nap if he's in the car. But once we get out of the car, forget it. I can't TOUCH his carrier without him waking up, let alone get out of the friggin' car with it. Swing used to work wonders... not any more for some reason. Bouncy chair also used to work (the vibra-mode)... again... not any more. He won't take a pacifier (tried numerous brands numerous times). I'll hold him until he's almost asleep, hold him until he's asleep, just put him down when he's starting to yawn... all methods fail... within 5-10 minutes he's up again. I darken the room, put on his "womb sounds bear", nada. So 9 times out of 10 he'll be awake for 6 hours at a stretch during the day... which makes him oh-so-pleasant by the end of that stretch :rolleyes:

The worst part of this is that I'M SURE his poor nap habits are effecting his ability to sleep well at night. We had a stretch before we went on vacation in the beginning of August where for a week and a half he slept about 10 hours at night. WOW. What I wouldn't give for that now! Now, if I'm lucky I'll get 6 hours out of him.

I'm not really into letting him CIO, but I'm definitely letting him let me know when he really needs attention at night vs. just fussing. He's not a little kiddo (he's in size 3's, although I'm not sure of his exact weight), so it isn't like he's too little to STTN.

Sorry, I guess I'm just venting... not really searching for answers. :confused:

[December27JJB]

We are getting better with the sleeping issues but napping is different. She used to nap all the time but it is becoming less and less. Because of this, she is sleeping well at night. She hates her bouncer now :( I told DH I wasnt ready to put it away just yet, in case we have a bad day, maybe it will help calm her down? She still loves her swing but I am sure she will get tired of it soon. She still falls asleep in her swing at night and I put her in bed after she is asleep. I should stop doing this because one day she's going to be too big for her swing. If she can't sleep, I put her in bed with us then she falls right asleep. One of the things that helps DD fall asleep at night is warm baths. I put her in the tub with me and put a warm washcloth on top of her tummy after I wash her. I know its not recommended to give babies baths everyday but here in FL its hot and humid and her skin breaks out. She almost always falls asleep after bath.

Diapers: We are still in Swaddlers sz 2. I love them. I hope she stays in them for a little longer. Then I guess we will move up to cruisers. The other day we went to my mom's house, my mom has a bag of the BRU brand diapers in sz 2. Well, when we got home DD had a huge explosion and it made a mess, it got all over her legs and onesie. It definitely was too small for her.

[ladybug0525]

I hear everyone's frustrations with napping, STTN, etc. - so I might as well vent myself.

Jack used to only wake up one time per night and I would have given anything to have him sleep through the night. I should of been thankful for what I had when I had it. The last week Jack has been waking up multiple times per night but napping OK. I think he has his first cold so that may be why?? I let him CIO for roughly 15 minutes but he seems to get more worked up when we let him do this then if we just go in and tell him everything is OK.

He goes to bed really easy by just putting him down in the crib while he is awake and he is the happiest baby ever so I can not complain. Things could be worse but would love a little more sleep! :D

We are in Pampers 3 Cruisers and just recently moved to those!

Thanks BTB for that website!

[kimthebride]

Don't know if this will help anyone, since it doesn't actualloy make DS STTN...but it's easier on me!

He was taking a long nap after lunch, then a catnap around 5 or 6. Now there is no rhyme or reason. But I recently discovered that this schedule gets him to sleep at night in the same manner, no matter what his naps are like (or lack thereof!):

15-20 minute walk outside around 6:30pm
Warm bath at 7pm (dimmed lights, warm room, soft lullabyes, lavendar wash, lavendar lotion, jammies, etc).
Big feed from me at 7:30
Quiet play after that, boucing on Aquarium Bouncer seat to the ocean sounds, cuddle with daddy, etc. We close the blinds, dim lights, turn down tv.
Then at 8:30-8:45pm I give him a "snack" from me.
He'll fall asleep on the Boppy on my lap, or cuddled up with Daddy.

With this process and extra snack, he falls asleep by 9-9:30. Then he sleeps 'til 4am for a feeding. I DO NOT talk to him, play with him, or even look him in the eye during that feeding, and he falls asleep as soon as he's done. Then he doesn't get up until about 7am or so. Totally tolerable until he decides to STTN.

I feel so much better rested now! Before then, he'd get up at around 1am and 5am. But with that fresh air walk and extra snack, he only does that one wake-up at 4am no matter what his naps are like during the day.

Hope this helps someone...

[allyray231]

kim that is my DS schedule too

[BridalLace]

hey everyone,

just a quick update - Elodie had her 2nd round of shots on Friday (4 month appt)... Saturday morning she woke up around 4:30am burning up...i was a bit shocked since this was her second round of the same stuff...her temp hit 100.9. man. we gave her some baby Tylenol and an hour later her temp was going down. she nursed and nursed all morning after that.

Elodie is 15.1 lbs now and 25 inches...i didn't get to go to her doctor's appt - DH took her - but those are her stats... working sucks, what can i say. :)

i went to Greek Fest last night with DH, Elodie, and MIL and my Mom. it was kind of noisy so i wandered around looking for a quiet place where Elodie could get some peace...at one point, i was nursing Elodie way off under some trees in a chair near a fence that went around the perimeter of the festival. a lot of people were all around, but they just pretended not to notice as far as i could tell. i wasn't showing any skin at any rate, it was easy to make it look like Elodie was just tucked up against me and sleeping. but finally this pair of ladies walked by and they just STARED at me. it turned out they approved of my breastfeeding, but it sure did feel invasive to me, to be stared at for a moment. i felt really defensive. i think they sensed that i felt a bit...onstage as it were, and they apologized for disturbing me (and Elodie delatched when i started talking to them) but anyway, they said they thought that was really beautiful. i said thank you and that it was ok, but honestly, i'd rather that people just pretend not to notice. i think its better that way. i am not seeking societal approval for NIP. i just want to feed my daughter. and breastfeeding is just not a spectator sport. ah well *shrug* what the heck. maybe other people would feel differently.

hope you're all having a nice weekend. gotta go grade some tests now!

[Dreshny]

Sleep: Odd thing is that Asher DOES STTN. He goes to sleep around 9:30, wakes at 5 or 6, and sleeps until about 7:30. Usually. He defies schedules.

But evenings can be terrible. His latest pattern is that he'll generally get really cranky and fall asleep nursing sometime around 7:00. He'll nap for 30-45 minutes (if we time it right, we can eat dinner sometimes), then wake up screaming. He'll continue to scream and cry through his bath. After that, I nurse him, and I'll watch him struggle to fall asleep without success. He continues to cry while I pass him to DH, who rocks him in the sling to music. He stays pretty grouchy for a while, then suddenly falls asleep.

I can't complain, he STTN, right? :rolleyes:

We took him out in the cheapo umbrella stroller today, and he seemed to really like it, except when he got tired. Then DH had to carry him until he went to sleep, and I had to lug the folded stroller.

[Sasha]

Sleep - I really can't complain too much, Sarah usually goes to sleep around 8:30pm, then wakes anywhere between 3:30am - 5:30am to eat, then usually sleeps again until between 7:00 - 8:00am. On Saturday night, she went to sleep at 8:30, then didn't wake up until 6:30am! Then she went back to sleep at 7:30 and slept until 9:30am...it was very nice!

AF - Returned the end of last week. Oh well, it was a nice year without her...

Diapers - At about 13 lbs, we are still comfortably in size 2.

DH and I went out on a date night on Saturday, and my ILs babysat. It was our first time out without Sarah since June, and the first dinner we've gone out to alone since before she was born! We went out with some friends, and it was nice to have conversations that didn't revolve around spit up, poop or STTN ;).

[alienhost]

It's been a while, I'm sure I'll forget to address something.

BTB I'm glad you are getting treatment for your PPD. I hope you feel great soon!

diapers I'm just trying to use up the last of the size 1/2s and move full time to size 2 swaddlers. Right now I'm using them at night. But I only have a few smaller sizes left and I'm determined to use them up.

Nighttime blowout question I'm still having trouble with nighttime blowouts (poop). I have her in size 2s (she is probably around 13 lbs). She sleeps for a long period - usually 7-5 or 6 and her diaper is always so heavy in the AM so if she poops it leaks out.

Any suggestions? Gotta run...babe is crying!

[ahavnes]

STTN: Abbey's all over the place! She used to go to bed around 9:30, woke up once around 3:30 and then slept until about 8am. Now that I am back at work, she goes to bed @8:30, wakes up at 1:30 and then thrashes about from around 4am to 5am when I finally wake up enough to feed her in bed. Not sure why she picked up this 5am feeding, since we get her up and feed her again at 6:15. :rolleyes:

Diapers- We're in the size 1 Swaddlers, even though Abs is easily over 13 pounds. Mommy just doesn't want to accept that her baby is getting too big for them! :p

AF- Not yet, I know she'll return at the LEAST opportune moment though and leak through my pants or something. :rolleyes:

[Carissa]

STTN Grace will sttn 4-5 times a week she still has her nights but for the most part sleeps about 6 hours straight a night some times more sometimes less. The biggest thing to make her sleep is lots of activity. She loves to be played with and stimulated with toys and people. Another thing that also helps is no napping after 7 if she doesn't have a nap after 7 she is in bed by 9 and sleeps until 5 or 6 in the morning.

We had our 4 month check up today she is up to 14 1/2 pounds and 25 inches! She went through a huge growth spurt. Her shots are next month. She is growing so fast!

[Mrs.Chappy]

Ben will go down between 10 and 11 and sleep until 5 or 6 then i will nurse and supplement a 2 oz bottle and he will go back down until 9 am..i['m wondering if i should push everything back so he goes to sleep earlier...it kills me b/c sometimes after feeding him i cannot go back to sleep myself...for now i am getting 5-7 hrs of sleep in.

Nap in crib...not happening..but i can't complain since he sleeps there during the night. For now, he naps in the swing..i'm waiting for his ped. to yell at me.

[rancherswife]

Back after a great weekend at the coast! Landon was an angel the entire weekend, I beginning to think I have an extremely easy, mild tempered baby on our hands!

diapers: He is still fitting just fine in size 2 swaddlers. It was *very* hard for me to move him from the 1's to the 2's ahavnes, so I totally know where you're coming from ;) . I think we'll be in the 2's for a while. I was NOT aware they don't make size 3 swaddlers! :( Learn somethin' new everyday!

STTN: For the most part, he'll sleep from about 9-5:30 or so. We DO have our nights though, like last night...he was up FOUR times, not sure what that was all about! But, usually, he sticks to the 9-5:30 sched., which I am SOO used to, that when he DOES wake for a feeding in the middle of the night, I can barely open my eyes to pull out the boob and sit up while he nurses!lol

naps: He will nap in his crib, but he still sleeps in his co-sleeper at night, I often wonder if he would sleep in his crib at night, but I'm not AT ALL ready for that. He might be, but Mamma's not! :p

We stopped at the outlets on the way home yesterday and Landon of course scored big time on some MUCH needed fall clothing. THe child has a TON of clothing, HOWEVER, people were not thinking of what size he would be at certain times of the year, he's got lots of summer clothes in 3-6 mos., which is fine for now, but he'll still be wearing that in the fall too...so he should be set for a while now!

[jmvan74]

naps: Collin won't nap in the crib, but he does sleep there at night. We started him in the crib at 9weeks. The first night I cried, but after that it was no problem.

diaper blowouts: I've been pretty lucky with this, but Collin doesn't sstn, so I usually change it in the early morning b/c I know he won't poop until 6 or 7am. That way I can avoid a blowout.

STTN DS goes down at 8:30pm. He wakes up around 12:30-1:00 to nurse and then again between 3 and 4am and then it's pretty much every 2 hours from there. :( It's exhausting. He's 13 weeks, so I was hoping this would have improved some.

[Ferris]

STTNDS was sleeping from 9:00 till between 4:30-6 then nurse and go back to sleep until 8ish. But he's been sleeping much worse this week. :( Thank goodness last night he nursed at 3 and sleep until 7. Hopeful we will get back to the old pattern soon!!

diaper blowouts-DS doesn't poop until after he wakes up for the last time at around 8, so no problems with those yet!

AF Not yet! I wishing for a few more months without her!!

diapers just bought size 3 huggies, DS weights around 15 pounds! :eek: They are a little big, but poop keep going up his back in the size 1-2's!

[happy1nuv]

Has anyone tried the Parents Choice diapers at Walmart? For half the price of the Pampers Swaddlers, they're really not bad... I think we'll be switching after I finish our current bag (I know, Walmarts evil...but when your son hates his carseat, one stop shopping can't be beat!) ... (We're currently in size 2's)

STTN: not even close. We went to a wedding and left Nic with my mom on Saturday (can i just say that you take partying for granted when you are single...enjoy it when married... but after kids... You party with purpose! :) had a blast... AND a good nights sleep! ) Anyway... at mom's he slept from 10:30-6:30 and only woke once to eat. At home with me... he usually goes to sleep between 7-9 while nursing..wakes around midnight, 3, 5, 6 and we'll get up around 7. He's been sleeping in bed with us, so it hasn't been as bad as it sounds... but I'm going out tomorrow to get a cosleeper, cause he's starting to be mobile and he's kicking dh out of bed... (I really should check on the weight/height limits first though... don't wanna get it jsut to find out he can use it for 3 weeks... who knew we'd be needing it? I bought the amby hammock, thinking he'd be happy as anything in that....

AF: not yet, but I've been getting cramps randomly for the past week or so. Not sure if she's slowly making her way, or if I'm just having issues...

:)

[kimthebride]

PEE Blowout??

I BFd Thomas at 5am (don't even ask, bad night) and his diaper was bone dry. But at about 7:30am he woke me up because his entire back and legs were soaked in pee. But the front of his diaper wasn't super puffed-out like it normally would be if the diaper was 'overfilled'. Has this happened to anyone? I literally had to take him out and bathe him, since he was so soaked all the way through his jammies and the recieing blanket he was sleeping on.
Could it be a defective diaper of some sort? It was on nice and snugly, no real gap. He's had huge poops and it doesn't blow out like that....

[cynder]

Two mornings ago, DS's diaper was kind of undone which I found strange because they are fitting him well. His morning diaper is loaded with pee - it's gotta weigh at least a pound. Little boys can sometimes "angle" things a little differently so maybe he found a gap and went wild. One or two times I have found strange pees spots on his back.

Had another great weekend - so smiley and he has a new noise that sounds like Ernie when he laughs. I had a girls night on Fri and DH took care of DS. It so nice to get out and have dinner and drinks and gab. We went to see Coldplay and DS had his second non parental babysitters. He did really well though he totally wanted to play at midnight when we got him home. We are *this* close to roilling over.

We have goopy eye for the first time today. Yuck doesn't look like conjuctivitis but it was the first time I had to call the ped for something. I felt a little silly but better safe than sorry.

[allyray231]

cranky boy Aiden has been super cranky and it is soo unlike him. He was a bear all day yesterday when he was awake and actually slept most of the day. LAst night he ate at 5 and then he had trouble going back to sleep. When he finally did he started whining in his sleep and when I put him on my sholder (he was sleeping in my arms) he started screaming and I could not calm him for a while. I am thinking it was just a nightmare

Today he is OK-feeding him is still a fight and I am beginning to worry that it is his reflux acting up. He is whining and yelling A LOT lately but once I go to him he smiles. So I think it is a game with him

Anyone elses little one doing this? is it a phase?

[Dreshny]

allyray: Could be his 3-month growth spurt. My DS was a cranky mess.

I took DS to my first choral rehearsal of the season last night. I couldn't concentrate at all. Since he was on my lap, he kept wanting to nurse, but he kept getting distracted by the singing and looking around. DH came to relieve me after about half an hour, but rehearsal is from 6:30-8:30, and DS was getting increasingly tired and cranky and kept wanting to cluster-feed. I don't know if I can stay in the chorus since DS isn't taking bottles (though I admit I haven't been good about teaching him, since it never seems like the "right" time.) I felt bad for keeping him out, too. He seemed much happier when we got home. I'm not sure what to do.

[diedra1027]

Kim - We get the massive leaks at our house too. DD like to sleep on her side sometimes and that's what does it for us. If your guy isn't on his side, perhaps he's 'pointed' that way?? I don't have any wise ideas on how to correct it - I just make sure that DD is sleeping on top of a lap pad.

[jrdhbunny]

naps/sleeping- DS has been doing really well with these (oops- I probably just jinxed us!). DH is a champ at getting him to nap during the day and he does sleep in his room in the pack and play (which is what we use for a crib). And he has been STTN for a while now. The only problem we have is getting him to bed before 11 p.m., sometimes he won't go down until midnight! We start the bedtime routine early enough, but DS fights sleep. I'm wondering if it's because I don't get home until around 7 p.m. Of course there are always exceptions- yesterday he only napped for an hour all day and went to sleep at 7 p.m. He woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m., ate, played with me for about 1/2 hour, went back to sleep, and woke up again for good at 10:30 a.m.

diaper blowouts- We have both the poop and the pee variety, but it doesn't happen very often.

DS has been VERY vocal lately- he cracks me up. Yesterday he told DH a story complete with various inflections that lasted for about 10 minutes. He's also moving toward crawling :eek: He's been getting around by pushing himself on his belly, but now he'll go up on his knees and his forearms. He just can't quite figure out how to make it work from there- he ends up sort of falling to the side when he tries to go forward. I guess it's time to start safety-proofing the apartment in earnest!!!

[Sasha]

Ok, I have kind of a dumb question :o. Can you use the bottom portion of the pack and play for sleeping? I know the weight limit for the bassinet portion is 15 lbs, and it's not that Sarah weighs that much now, but since she has to sleep on an angle, we have other things in there to do this that might be pushing us toward the weight limit. I feel dumb asking this question, like I know the answer is probably yes, but I just need to make sure :rolleyes:.

[LIZNKEITH]

Sasha,
Yes. The weight limit for the bottom portion is usually around 25-30 pounds. :)

Swaddlers
My understanding is that Cruisers sre the exact same diaper with a different name. It's the next step up. I guess the powers that be at Pampers figure by the time a baby is 15 pounds, they are probably not being swaddled anymore. The cruisers may be designed slightly different to accomodate babies who are crawling/walking.

[Dreshny]

jrdhbunny: (or anyone else who does coin laundry) How do you manage? I'm on the third floor, laundry is in the basement, but there's no elevator. When it was just DH and me, we did it once a week on Saturdays, but with DS going through up to 4 onesies a day plus burpclothes, blankets, lap pads, etc., the amount of laundry is just getting insane. But hauling the laundry and detergent plus DS up and down the stairs is really difficult. I did manage to do two loads this morning (DH was still home when I put it in the washers, I changed it to the dryers with DS, and I :eek: left DS sleeping upstairs when I got it out of the dryers.) But I wish this was easier. We're not allowed to have a washer or dryer in our apt. :(

[Mrs.Chappy]

I just switched to Pampers from huggies (they leak so much) we were using pampers at the beginning and then a friend recommended huggies..

here's my little guy
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d732b3127cce947a2a8cfd3f00000016108AZNmjNm3YtB

[ladybug0525]

Not sure I should even post this:
Ladies I think Jack has a new record! Jack slept for 11 hours straight for the past two night. The only thing different is that we have had a humidifier in his room because he has a running nose. We are leaving it in there forever as far as I am concerened!

Mrs Chappy - Too freaking Cute!!

[Mrs.Chappy]

ladybug: sold!! may just go out and get one for his room (i need to listen to the humidifier to fall asleep so we have one in our room). Ben sleeps better when we are at my parents b/c their air conditioner is so loud. I think you are on to something there.

[jrdhbunny]

dreshny- Ugh- laundry! :rolleyes: We don't have machines in our apartment building so we have to take it to a laundramat around the corner. I have to admit that we drop it off; they can usually turn it around in a day. We're able to keep DS's laundry separate because our place stores his special detergent for us, so all we have to do is give them our name and they'll use it. Right now we do it about once a week, but we should probably send it out more often- lugging 25+ pounds of laundry up four flights of stairs is no picnic, let me tell ya! And I've found myself buying multiples of certain things so we don't run out.

[Jenyfer9]

There's no way that Cruisers are the same as Swaddlers. I think (I suppose this could just be me, but...) that swaddlers are so much more cushy and cloth like. Then they go put that pic of the crawling baby on the front. There's no way my kiddo is crawling yet, but he sure needs this size! :rolleyes:

[Sasha]

LiznKeith - Thanks...it was one of those things were I knew what the answer was, but just wanted to double check myself.

Ladybug - You have inspired me to finally set up the humidifier in her room! SIL gave me her old one a week ago and it is still sitting by the door. Sarah has been a little stuffy, so I am definitely using it!

MrsChappy - What a cutie!

The administration at the hospital I delivered at is so stupid. I keep getting bills that they say my insurance is denying...well that would be because they have her name listed as "Baby Girl Lastname." I have called three times now to tell them, that no, we did not name our daughter "Baby Girl." :rolleyes:

[ahavnes]

Ladybug- Make that another humidifier buyer. Tonight! She's a little stuffy anyways. ;)

Mrs. Chappy- So cute!

Sasha- We still haven't gotten a hospital bill! Maybe they forgot about us?? LOL!

jrdhbuunny- Abbey has been a chatterbox lately too. She was talking so much the other night that she couldn't fall asleep! Her little eyes were half shut and she was just jabbering away. :)

Can I just say how annoyed I am at this whole hair loss thing? I pick no less than 20 hairs off my body while getting ready in the morning. So annoying!

[Sasha]

Alicia - I don't think I would be seeing these bills if it weren't for the name issue. Otherwise, they just go straight to insurance and your insurance takes care of it. And I am right there with ya on the hair loss! After a day or so, my shower drain looks like a hamster is in there!

[alienhost]

Wow it is so hard to keep up with this thread! I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well.

Well we got DD's helmet last week and it has been a struggle the first few days but I think (knocking on wood) that we have made a break through. The first few days she really was upset when we put it on/took it off and wouldn't sleep with it on more than a few hours. Last night (please don't let this jinx me) she slept all night in it (7:30-6:30) which is longer than she usually STTN. Today she is doing great as well - I just take it off for feedings/baths/too hot outside or a quick break and she has taken a few naps in it as well. We went out to the store and didn't get any strange comments ( a few stares but that is OK) either so I guess we are doing well! It is such a relief after I spent the entire weekend crying wondering if we are doing the right thing. I'll only admit it here but my husband told me that it would be fine and work out and she would get used to it but I hate to admit he is right sometimes. :D

I do have to say I am annoyed with the "helmet place" since I called last Thursday to ask some questions and they did not return my call, I called again yesterday and they took down my ?s and still haven't called. How rude and annoying!

[Dreshny]

ahavnes: I hear you with the hair loss. I wasn't losing it before, but now I am.

jdrhbunny: We tried our local laundromat, but we had so much laundry in just a week that it cost us $24!! Labor Day weekend we just drove it all to my parents' house and did six loads there. Insane, I tell ya.

[kimthebride]

Anyone else want to beat their DH over the head with a 3-pound-poop-filled-Size-2-Swaddler?
:rolleyes:
He hasn't read a single magazine, artical, book, webpage or brochure on parenting, BFing, childcare...nothing. And yet he keeps coming at me with these completely random totally stupid 'decisions'.

Like the other day I mentioned DS's schedule, and how well it makes him sleep. DH gets home last night, and decides that "since Thomas is in such a good mood" we shouldn't take him for a walk or give him a bath. Guess what ladies! He was a screaming, cranky fool all night. Slept from 9-9:30 then was up until about 11:30 screaming or juuuuust about falling asleep then realizing 'oops - no bath. Must cry again.' I got him to sleep by rocking him in the dark living room then laying on the floor next to him.

Sunday he tells me - while I am 100% BFing with no supplementation - that we need to start giving DS bottles of formula. Out of curiosity, I ask why. Because BILL at the office said his son had trouble taking a bottle. And formula has stuff breastmilk doesn't. And in JANUARY I will likely stop BFing. So he wants to prepare. :rolleyes:

Please tell me I am not alone.

He is either SuperDad or The Clueless Advisor. Nothing in between.

[Jenyfer9]

DH: I just find it continually amusing that when ds#2 starts crying in the night (I always take 1st cry duty, dh takes the second time, if there is one, so this would apply to the second time), dh first asks "is that TJ or Will?" What, can you NOT tell the difference? Then... he'll ask... "What do I need to do for him?" Take him for a walk in the dark, honey. What the heck do you think you need to do for him? SAME THING AS THE LAST TIME YOU DID THIS LAST NIGHT. Go heat up the bottle, change him real quick, feed him and put him back to sleep. How hard is that?

This is our second kid too, so I don't know why he's asking me what he needs to do. Generally he's a pretty observant guy... don't know what his deal is now. :rolleyes:

[Cali_Katy]

Hi! Does anyone remember me? It's Katy from the old boards. Just finally am making my way over here:

Me: Katy, 27
DH: 30
Married: 10/13/01
DS: Benjamin Andrew, 5/4/05
Baby's Stats: 7 lbs, 8 oz., 20 in. at birth

(he's a little bigger now! :) )

[ahavnes]

Kim- DH pretty much defers to me (thankfully!) but he 100% CAN NOT get it through his head that we don't talk to Abbey when she wakes up in the middle of the night. If I do say anything, it's in a whisper. DH, meanwhile, will chat on and on in a normal voice. :rolleyes: Ahh, good thing I love him!

[Dreshny]

Hi Katy, welcome back! What are you and Benjamin up to these days?

[Carissa]

question

Has anyone ordered from 1800dipaers (http://www.1800diapers.com/)? I am thinking about ordering some diapers from there since the take coupons and there is no shipping or taxes. Just wondering if anyone has used them before.

[diedra1027]

he 100% CAN NOT get it through his head that we don't talk to Abbey when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Ditto here...my DH doesn't just talk in a normal voice he will 'coo chee, coo chee, coo' her at full volume with tickling and everything :rolleyes: :mad:. And then he wonders why the baby is up for the day at 5am.

[Cali_Katy]

Hi, Dreshny! *waves*

Ben and I are doing great. I decided not to return to work (I was 99% sure I wasn't anyway, but it's official now), so I'm staying home. I'm still exclusively breastfeeding. It was a little rough for the first few weeks, but now we seem to be doing great.

It's been a huge transition from working to staying at home all day. DH has been traveling a lot, so many weeks it's just me and the boy. It was really hard to deal with that in the beginning, but now we're doing fine. I've joined a playgroup to try to meet other moms; unfortunately, the babies in the group I was placed in are all about five or six months older than Ben, so they seem like giants! I am thinking of starting a new one with younger babies. I've also enrolled Ben and me in a Kindermusik class once a week, and we're starting to do some exercise classes together.

Ben's still not sleeping through the night. It's been much better recently -- he'll go down between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m., wake up between 10:30 and 11:30 to eat, then usually sleep until about 3:30 - 4:00 and then eat, and then wake up for the day around 7:00 p.m. However, last night he was pretty much every two hours which sucked. Don't know what was bothering him.

Here's a question -- is anyone else's hair falling out in alarming quantities? I know it's to be expected, and this seems right on schedule, but really, the volume is astonishing and has been for three or four weeks now.

[usafwife]

sasha ~ We've gotten those same bills. Ours says Baby Girl lastname as well. We took the insurance card to the billing office a few weeks ago. They told DH that they didn't realize that it was the same card or company as mine or they would have submitted it already. :confused: Not sure what they were thinking. They had to have my card as well that day. I swear that that place doesn't know their right hand from their left. We are having the same problem with the DD's doctor's office. They keep sending us bills. I give them the card each time we go and they ask about making a payment. I tell them not until the insurance pays first. (I've already made that mistake in the past and I'm not making it again.) If we get another bill next month we plan on talking with the office manager and seeing if they can solve the problem. It's getting very frustrating to say the least.

Babies ~ Such cute pictures everyone.

Rolling over from tummy to back ~ DD did this for the first time on Saturday evening. I couldn't believe it. It's happened everyday since.

Standing up with assistance ~ Has anyone else's DC done this yet? DD loves to stand up. She did her first full laugh the other day while she was standing up and we were talking.

Talking ~ DD loves to talk. Sunday afternoon that's pretty much all she did. It was so cute to hear her talking while I was driving. We think that she is wanting to discover her own voice more and more.

[allyray231]

My kid hates tummy time--how am I gonna get him to roll over?

[jmvan74]

1800 diapers; I ordered from them and they were really fast. I haven't ordered since b/c they didn't have swaddlers size 2, just the 1-2's and they are too small. I will use them again once we get in to cruisers size 3.


Hair loss: me too. Yuck. I just cut 3 inches off to make my hair feel fuller.

Meri: Collin is a stander, too. I'd say since he was 5 weeks, he has loved to stand. I now put him in his exersaucer so he can stand solo. He hates tummy time... I think he will skip the crawling and go right to walking.

[tgray99]

Here's a question -- is anyone else's hair falling out in alarming quantities? I know it's to be expected, and this seems right on schedule, but really, the volume is astonishing and has been for three or four weeks now.
YES!!!!!!!!

It's terrible! Everytime I turn around I find huge clumps of hair on the floor or on me or on Aidan. I have to get Ryan to check me before I go out to make sure I'm not coated in blonde hair!!

QOTD: Has anyone started any sort of solids with their child. Lately, 8 oz. is just not cutting it with Aidan, especially in the evenings. A friend whose child is a couple of months older than Aidan recommended putting 3 spoons full of rice cereal in her bottle for her last bottle of the night. I'm only hesitant because my ped. said it'd make her gain weight too quickly. Any thoughts? My cousin, whose son is a day older than Aidan, started him on solids last week (although I don't agree with her technique of giving him 2 different kinds at once but whatever). This is a confusing issue for me.

[diedra1027]

My kid hates tummy time--how am I gonna get him to roll over?It's very strange..one day my tummy time hater started to tolerate it. DD used to scream like nobody's business as soon as she was on her tummy, then all of a sudden she's fine with it for about 5 minutes or so (this started around 17 weeks). DD still isn't rolling, but she's getting some quality tummy time in now so I hope rolling is just around the corner.

Standing - Not *quite* yet. DD will push up with her legs, but wont hold them straight for very long. It's definitely going to be happening soon.

Hair loss - Oh yes. I'd been warned and I normally lose quite a bit of hair, but this PP hairloss is outrageous!

Solids - My ped is advising us to wait until Avery is six months old to start solids. Although, we might be in a different boat than most of you since she is having some weight gain issues. Ped says that cereal doesn't actually have many calories, so she doesn't want us to add that to the mix yet.
---
I'm jealous of you guys in bigger diapers. DD is so small and growing very slowly - we're still in size 1 swaddlers :eek:!

[kimthebride]

Tummy Time

I just picked this up for $20 at Target and DS is now having more fun during tummy time.
Infantino Tummy Time Surf Board Mat
http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/large_images/343/201931343.jpg
There's 3 soft sea creatures floating in the water in front of him that he can hit & move around, a rattle on the right link chain and a sun that makes bubbly noises on the left. He is enthralled! I usually just use tummy time to strengthen him and try to roll over, but this is probably a good idea since he spends more time 'active' while holding himself up. For only $20 I def recommend it.

[Sherah]

Solids : I was going to wait until Arik was 6 months to start solids; however, I am losing way too much weight from BFing, so we now plan to start soon. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem. I was getting really worried about my weight, but my mom said that the same thing happened to her and it is easy to bulk up again once BFing is done. I think we'll start introducing a little rice cereal by next week.

DHs : My DH is a fabulous daddy, but is clueless when it comes to predicting Arik's needs before he gets worked up. Then, my poor DH thinks his son doesn't like him, when the truth is, DH just didn't pay attention to what Arik needed. This doesn't bother me so much, because I know DH will figure it out eventually. What does make me insane is our different tolerance levels for crying. When Arik starts to fuss, I prefer to take care of his problem right then. DH, on the other hand, doesn't do anything until Arik is screaming. Of course, by then it is too late! My own baby's cries really grate on my maternal nerve, KWIM?

Kim : I meant to get something like that for tummy time, but never did. Thanks for the reminder!

Ladies with Coin Laundry : My simpathy! Laundry gets done every 3 days over here, with an extreme puker and cloth diapers.

alienhost : I'm glad to hear the helmet isn't so bad!

4 Month Shots : Not too bad this time. We gave Arik tylenol prior to his appt and a few times following. He slept a lot for the next 2 days. He is now 15.04lbs and 25.75in. The doc says his head is on the small end of the spectrum, but my family is full of pin heads with big poofy hair, so it'll even out.

Swimming : MIL gave Arik his 1st real swimming lesson yesterday. I've been bringing him in the pool for the past 3 months, but I never put his head under. She put him under 4 times yesterday. He loves the pool, but hates going under! The funny thing is, with me, he'd put his face half-way under on his own and be fine. I guess having his eyes covered is the scary part. Anyway, the goal is to have him swimming before he can walk. :rolleyes:

Baby-proofing : We are going to start this soon too. Arik is enthralled with light switches lately. I can only imagine how this will play out when he is mobile.

[cynder]

diedra1027 Don't feel bad. I get Swaddlers from Sam's club and they say 1-2 on them. I am not sure if there are 1s or 2s. Anyway DS is on the small side so we are in these for a loooong time.

Solids I am curious how next week's checkup is going to be. At times I think DS is huge and other times I am suspect of his weight gain. DS looks really interested when we are eating but DH (and myself) think there is no nutritional need to start solids until 6 months. So we are going to make Thanksgiving his first solid meal. Sweet potatoes. Yum!

alienhost I am glad the helmet is working out. I know it's hard not to worry about your decisions but I am sure she is doing fine.

DH He has his moments. He's pretty good though some mornings when I am running around like a crazed woman, I want to smother him with a pillow while he soundly sleeps. This morning he was great and he really helped out. But last night we made it a point to watch our fav show. I fell asleep 1/2 through (big surprise) and woke hearing DS crying. DH said, don't worry he's fine. I was going to get him but the show will be over in 2 min. Ummm.... the poor little lad was so worked up from hunger that bathtime was a mess.

Tummy time We have something like that but not as nice. DS HATES tummy time so we barely do it. DS is in love with his feet and loves to grab them and roll to side. I am fairly certain that this kid is never going to roll over. Kicking though, man, he loves to kick!

[kimthebride]

My DH is a fabulous daddy, but is clueless when it comes to predicting Arik's needs before he gets worked up. Then, my poor DH thinks his son doesn't like him, when the truth is, DH just didn't pay attention to what Arik needed.
Exactly! DH gets sooo upset because he genuinely thinks DS doesn't like him, but I try to explain that when abc starts he needs to rspond like xyz right away or else all hell breaks loose. Yet when abc starts, DH might be on his Blackberry replying to a work email or watching tv and thinks he can head over 'in a minute'. On one hand it breaks my heart to see DH so upset over this, on the other hand Listen. To. Me. I know what I am doing here! Okay. :) Vent over.

Laundry
I think DH & DS should start paying me $1 a pound. I'd be a millionaire within weeks. :p We have a small stacked washer/drier and I can only fit the equivalent of 5 bath towels in there at a time. So like this week, since Tom handed over all his laundry from traveling, I literally have already done about 7-10 loads...and it's only Wednesday! Ak!

Baby Proofing
I just read on Consumer Reports.com that $70 The First Years Simple & Secure Stair Gate #3620 is the best to get for the top of the stairs. Anyone have this yet? We're going to need it soon, since my good friends have walking baby and a almost-walking baby...plus I hope to have my home more baby-proofed so I can have playgroups meet at my place when it gets too cold out to meet at the park.

BTW if anyone wants to know of the rating on anything from ConsumerReports.com just let me know - I have a membership for the month. :)

Sherah
Yeah, I was so not supposed to be looking in the toy aisle at Target ;) but I saw this and was like "uh, duh! he'd love that". He finds it much more interesting to look at than just looking at me or a rattle I hold for him.

[Sasha]

DH - Most of the time, he's great. My biggest beef is at night - DH is the world's deepest sleeper, so he never hears Sarah on the monitor. When it's his night to do middle of the night feeding, it takes me forever to wake him up. He'll finally say he's getting up but then just lie there. Once I finally get him up, he'll ask me what he needs to do...umm, the same thing you've been doing for the last 4 months - change her diaper and give her a bottle! By this time I am completely awake and may as well have just done the whole thing myself :rolleyes:.

Solids - We are supposed to discuss it with ped. at her 4 month check up next week, but we're not going to start anything until closer to 6 months. During the first 2 months, we had been mixing rice cereal into bottles to help with her reflux (it thickens it and helps keep it down), so I do know at least that she will take it.

Tummy Time - Like Diedra's DD, one day recently, Sarah started to tolerate it. She also hated it before. I would say it was just about a week or so ago (around 16 weeks) that she started to tolerate it. Sarah will roll from her back to stomach, but not from her tummy to back. When she is on her tummy, she lifts her head up and make motions like she wants to crawl, but she doesn't seem to get rolling onto her back.

Standing - DD has been trying to stand for a long time now. Probably since 2 months or so. She has very powerful legs, lol, she pushes up into a standing position all the time.

usafwife - Maybe in an alternate universe, the name Sarah translates into "Baby Girl" ;).

Alien Host - Glad to hear the helmet is working out.

We are taking Sarah on her first road trip this afternoon. DH has a conference tomorrow in Orlando (3 hours away), so she and I are going along to visit friends of ours who live there and had a baby boy the day after Sarah was born. My fingers are crossed for the car rides! We are driving back tomorrow night around her bedtime, in hopes that she will sleep the whole way back. And do you have any clue how much I am packing for her for just an overnight trip?!?!? Sheesh!

[ahavnes]

So Abbey has had this gunky eye for about 2 weeks. I just assumed it was an infected tear duct, which she has had on and off since birth. I just kept applying more and more ointment to it, but it wasn't getting better. I finally took her to the doctor yesterday. Turns out she has pink eye and an ear infection. In both ears! What an awesome mom I am! :rolleyes: In my defense though, her eye isn't pink and she hasn't been fussy. Oh well. So now we are barred from daycare until the goop is gone, so I am home with her today. I must say, there are worse things! ;)

Tummy time- Abbey also used to hate it, but recently she likes it a lot and can get way up on her hands. We have the same mat as kimthebride , it's super cute.

Hair falling out- Yes! Annoying!

[christy1010]

I was a long time lurker on WC, now here on CC. I decided to join as I am a first time mom. DD was born 5/21.

DH- Is a great dad. I just love seeing him interact with Sarah. He is really interested in her. One minor problem is he tends to be late on identifying when she is getting tired or bored. I can pick up by how she talks.

Tummy Time - DD has days where she hates it and will flip right over to her back. Other days she appears to be swimming with her head up looking all around. Somedays she will lie on her tummy and try to go to sleep.

Anyone else have a DC who is sleeping through the night, but finding that they are not. I should be relishing the sleep, but I cannot get into a deep sleep, I am waiting for the sleepless nights of developmental milestones and teething to occur. Any suggestions for helping me to sleep?

[allyray231]

oh kim that is soo cool! I have to get that!

[Mrs.Chappy]

christy..i too have problems sleeping..DS is going 6-8 hrs. This is a new thing from me since having him. I think i have anxiety over parenting and also i suspect its related to my issues with BF-ing....Wish i had advice for you..i can use some too.

[rancherswife]

DH: I love watching the two of them interact w/ eachother, it's the best! He's such a good daddy...HOWEVER.....I have the same problem that others of you mentioned, if he waits too long and read landons ques right away, he gives up and says.......my baby just doesn't like me! It's like, hello, you waited to long dufus! They just don't know how to respond quite like mama does, IMO! ;) But other than that, I can't complain. From the moment he walks in the door in the evenings, he's all over him (until he needs to be fed!) They have their little routine every evening, pretty cute!

tummy time: thinking maybe i'll invest in one of those mats that kim posted, he's gotten a WHOLE lot more tolerant of tummy time, but we still have a long way to go! He's rolling *sometimes* from back to tummy, but I don't see any signs of him going tummy to back, not any time soon, he just hates it too much!lol

hair loss: UMMM...HELLO! If I didn't have a head full of hair to begin with, I'd be seriously concerened I am going bald! SERIOUS! It's outta control and so gross when I get out of the shower in the mornings...it's EVERYWHERE. I have to sweep the tile in our bathroom when I get done getting ready in the mornings, it's HORRID! I knew this would happen, but I didn't excpect it to be so excessive!

Thumb sucking: Anyone else's DC a thumb sucker? Landon seems to have just discovered the thumb and normally does it when he's sleepy. At first, it wasn't a big deal to me, but since he started doing it, he will now wake in the middle of the night SEARCHING for his thumb, then gets pissed when he can't find it (he's too sleepy to really work for it!) but then wakes up, mad! It's turning into a mess in the middle of the night! I don't know what to do!

laundry: There are some days when I feel like the laundry is never ending, Landon has laundry every day, which I expected. I just do a load of his, every time his hamper fills up. But it just seems like so much more now w/ his and OURS. Plus, dh comes in FILTHY and changes to hang out around the house, then...usually changes one more time if we go anywhere or someone comes by! Bottom line....my washer and dryer are usually running NON-STOP and I almost ALWAYS have a stack that needs to be folded and put away!

solids: We won't talk about it until six months. I'm in no hurry, he's doing JUST fine on the BM! He's a chunk! :)

ahavnes: hope abbey's eye gets better, and her ears, poor baby! :(

alienhost: glad the helmet is working out for you guys! :)

[usafwife]

sasha ~ Maybe in an alternate universe, the name Sarah translates into "Baby Girl" . ;) Maybe you are right.

hair loss ~ Yes. I find several hairs on DD each day. I sure wasn't expecting the hair loss. I find blonde hairs all over the house and my SUV.

laundry ~ I feel sorry for all of you ladies that have to use coin machines. We did that for over a year and it horrible. I can't tell you how much we spent at our apartment complex in the washers and dryers. And then they only had hot water. After I messed up one of my shirts I quit washing my clothes there and would take it home with us when we went. But don't get me started on that horrible apartment complex. It was one mess after another. We are both so glad that we don't live there anymore.

[Dreshny]

Thumb Sucking: Yep. But it's more like thumb chewing. He does it a lot now when he's tired. Funny thing is that Asher sucked his thumb minutes after he was born (I have pictures), so he must have been sucking it in the womb, but he only rediscovered it about a week ago.

Standing: Yep to that, too. He's been doing that for over a month now. He just wants to stand up all the time.

I have to say, I met Kim and happy1 today, and I had such a great time. I wish we all could meet. I feel like I "know" you.

[Ferris]

KimThanks for posting the info on the tummy time surf board! I am going to go with DH tonight and pick one up!

Hair Loss No. My hair hasn't been falling out (knock on wood)

Laundry I try and do a load everyday so I don't get behind!

Thumb Sucking DS hasn't found his thumb, but he is an avid fist sucker! :p

Solids Going to wait still 6 months and then introduce them.

[usafwife]

sasha ~ We are taking Sarah on her first road trip this afternoon. DH has a conference tomorrow in Orlando (3 hours away), so she and I are going along to visit friends of ours who live there and had a baby boy the day after Sarah was born. My fingers are crossed for the car rides! We are driving back tomorrow night around her bedtime, in hopes that she will sleep the whole way back. And do you have any clue how much I am packing for her for just an overnight trip?!?!? Sheesh! Yes, we've had a couple of overnight trips so far and it still amazes us how much we have to take for a one or two night stay. This last trip we didn't take the PNP but we usually do. DH didn't think that we need to take it with us (i.e. thought it took up too much room in the SUV). We survived pretty good without it. But the bed in the room was a very large king size bed. I took a couple of blankets for her to sleep on the floor (at the time I didn't know what size of bed we were going to have). She laid on the floor during the day while I worked on her baby book and did some cross stitching but at night she slept in the bed with us. If only the directions to the hotel would have been more clear. I don't know who wrote down the directions but they definitely were WAY off on their streets. It took us over an hour to find the hotel and we stopped at several gas stations to ask. And we knew the intersection they were talking about because we used to live there.

[alienhost]

thanks for the encouraging words ladies! She did great again today, I'm so proud of her!

hair loss it is excessive, clumps in the shower drain, so gross. I have dark hair and it is everywhere, floor, crib, baby. I now worry she will get one in her mouth (it doesn't help that she pulls my hair either). I check the crib everytime I put her in it to pick off any stray hairs.

thumb sucking DD just started actual thumb sucking about 3 weeks ago. She still shoves fingers or her fists in too. However when she sucks her thumb, her hand is opened - covering her face.

laundry I feel bad for those who have to go to a laundrymat or basement of an apartment, I don't know how you do it! My laundry machines are on the same floor as our bedroom and the nursery and I still have a hard time getting it done sometimes!

[BridalLace]

I was a long time lurker on WC, now here on CC. I decided to join as I am a first time mom. DD was born 5/21.



do you have any stats? welcome!

QOTD re: hair loss: not yet, but my hair is a bit sparse due to my severe allergies, so i hope i might miss this since that would make my hair REALLY thin...

QOTD re: thumbs. no...Elodie likes either her mommy :) or her binky still.

QOTD re: solid foods: Doc says ok to rice cereal, so we are trying that more often lately.

QOTD re: laundry...mostly on weekends. i'm sooo glad we have our own machines, b/c we didn't til we moved here last year, and i am sooo glad i don't have to go to coin laundries anymore and tote Elle to all those places!

Heather

[allyray231]

Got the sufboard!! Granted he still just laid there and sucked on his hand but at least he was not screaming and he was lifiting his head so it is progress!! Thanks!

If you have a copy of Parents magazine this month-DH cousins son is on the cover!

[Ferris]

I got the surfboard too. He lasted for about 5 minutes on it last night, and that was right before bedtime when he gets alittle fussy! Can't wait to try it again today during his activity time.

[Chylynn]

Wow, this thread moves fast! :D

PPD Hair Loss -Started about a month and half ago...still shedding, but it is not coming out in clumps, thank goodness!

Diapers -We are still in Swaddlers Size 2, but last night I purchased a Mega Pack of Cruisers Size 3 to be ready when it happens and a second package of Swaddlers Size 2. Even with a $5 off coupon, it was expensive!

Laundry-I do DDs laundry twice a week because we are going through bibs like crazy!

Thumb sucking -Rebecca found her thumbs when she was 4 months old, but will still suck on her pacifier. I would rather she stick with the pacifier so I don't have to wean her off of her thumbs, but in the end, she will suck on either one.

Tummy time -Not a big fan of it, but will tolerate it on our bed. I think the floor is too hard on her belly. She really likes it when I face her on my tummy and we play with her toys together.

Standing -One of her favorite things to do (seems like every baby likes it) and will stand for as long as we let her.

Sitting -DD just started sitting up with her hands down in front of her balancing her body. She is really serious when she is doing this too- no smiling, laughing, nothing- just pure concentration on sitting on her own!

Solids -We started DD on solids after her 4 month check up (she was 5 months) as our pediatrician did not want her eating more than 30oz of formula a day. We had given our DD rice cereal when she was 6 weeks old due to her MCAD, so we were able to start her on fruit/vegis per our nutritionist. So far we have given her:

Bartlett Pears, Bannannas, Prunes (constipated from the squash)
Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes,

Tips -Solids are messy and we are going through her bibs like crazy. I recently purchased bibs that can be wiped clean instead of needing to wash them! It has become my favorite recent purchase!

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A138IK.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

First Vacation -We are heading down to Key West for our 4 year anniversary and Rebecca's first vacation. We are installing her Marathon Car seat this weekend so she has a comfortable place to sit for the 3 hour drive.

4 month stats -Weight 14lbs 2oz, Height 24 3/4", HC 41

[cynder]

I am fairly certain that this kid is never going to roll over.

Yeah, as usual this kid is proving me wrong. He rolled over at daycare yesterday. I missed and tried to get him to do it again at home but no luck.