PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Pandora II]

Blen - I went to see the sling people today and came home with the Ellaroo Mei Tai. Daisy seems happy in it - I tried a load out in a back hold and she hated any of the more structure ones.

Looking at the pictures it seems almost identical to the BabyHawk.

If this does a good front and back hold, would it be worth my getting a wrap so that I can do a front outward facing hold as well, or do you think I could do a facing out with the Mei Tai and some creative knotting?


On the DH subject, I am biting my tongue at the moment. I asked him to look after D for half an hour while I had some Internet time... so, he put her to bed... when she''d only been up for an hour and a half. Grrrr, why he can''t play with her or read her a story or something, nope he just wants her to go to sleep always...

 

[phoenixgirl]

Writing my post about my DH made me realize how great he has really been (with the minor exceptions of when he decided we had to keep Claire''s umbilical cord stump for posterity''s sake and hid it on the shelf in her nursery when I objected, which I only discovered by hearing him tell my sister about it; and when he told the baby photographer in the hospital that she was cute as a "joke" when I was all hopped up on morphine and looked like Shrek . . . ah, that''s my husband . . .). In all seriousness, he has really been going above and beyond. I''m going to work on being better to him. Tonight I''m going to cook dinner! The few times I''ve planned a recipe to cook, he''s said, oh, we''re having such and such tonight, do you want me to make it? And who would say no to that? But really, things are getting easier for me, and it doesn''t seem right that he should have to do so much with dinner and Claire after a full day''s work. Am I some kind of anti-feminist?

My Dad always told me I was a spoiled "brat wat doo," and I kind of hear him saying that to me now. Not that this hasn''t been a very hard process, and not that there aren''t things that I had to do on my own like carry the baby and have her attached to my boob for hours a day and go through major surgery. And the umbilical cord, cute joke, and delusional schedule of being gone for hours every day definitely weren''t high points, but overall I think I married a wonderful man. How nice that tomorrow is our wedding anniversary!

Before I get carried away with effusions of admiration I should admit that I don''t actually know if he removed the stump from the shelf because it''s above my head and I haven''t really wanted to look . . . I did give him a baggie labelled "Claire''s Umbilical Cord -- Ew" last week, and the baggie disappeared, but that''s all I know . . .

 

[sunkist]

Pheonix that''s pretty funny and gross about your hubby saving the umbilical cord stump. I found Wes''s in the laundry, thank goodness I found it before sticking the clothes in the wash though. That would be gross. But I through it away before hubby came home and he was sad he didn''t get to see it

Have fun making hubby dinner tonight!! I think you''re right that our husbands do A LOT of work while on the job all day and deserve some rest time when they get home.

Although I''m still loving TGal and Neatfreak''s suggestions on creating a competent father! Thanks ladies! I''m definitely going to be trying to boost my hubby''s ego regarding taking care of baby. Really I do think he is a wonderful father so far. He just doesn''t realize it much and he doesn''t have enough time at home to spend with Wes to really get a lot of time with him.



So, I''m starting to realize how fast we go through diapers and wipes!

Does anybody like/use Kirkland brand of diapers or wipes?? I''m just assuming they''d be a better deal price wise than Huggies or Pampers, but do they work as well?

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 12/10/2009 2:45:12 PM
Author: Pandora II
Blen - I went to see the sling people today and came home with the Ellaroo Mei Tai. Daisy seems happy in it - I tried a load out in a back hold and she hated any of the more structure ones.

Looking at the pictures it seems almost identical to the BabyHawk.

If this does a good front and back hold, would it be worth my getting a wrap so that I can do a front outward facing hold as well, or do you think I could do a facing out with the Mei Tai and some creative knotting?


On the DH subject, I am biting my tongue at the moment. I asked him to look after D for half an hour while I had some Internet time... so, he put her to bed... when she''d only been up for an hour and a half. Grrrr, why he can''t play with her or read her a story or something, nope he just wants her to go to sleep always...

VENT:

I KNEW this would happen - I even told him it would. So, I go to make dinner 30 minutes after DH has got her to sleep and after 15 minutes she wakes up. I had told him that if she did then he could sort it. Well, 10 minutes of non-stop screaming later DH brings a sobbing Daisy into the kitchen for me. So, I stick her into the sling and finish cooking dinner.

Then I have to wait for DH to eat his dinner before I can have mine as she is hysterical if I try and put her down. Finally eat my supper while DH ''plays'' with D. Then take D - who is now hungry and tired - off to bed where it takes nearly an hour to put her down.

Result: I have been up and no more than a foot from D since 7am this morning other than the hour that DH was ''playing'' with her and that she was asleep; I have cooked dinner; I have put her to bed and now it is 11.30pm. DH will now decide to go to bed at midnight and no doubt wake her up.

If he had actually played with her for a whole 30 minutes I would have got to make and eat dinner in peace and had a whole evening to myself. I am so incredibly angry right now I don''t know whether to cry or shout at DH. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[taovandel]

Sampling of our photo session today...will do more tomorrow probably.

 

[taovandel]

...

 

[taovandel]

Santa Clausing is hard work.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/10/2009 6:59:44 PM
Author: sunkist
So, I''m starting to realize how fast we go through diapers and wipes!

Does anybody like/use Kirkland brand of diapers or wipes?? I''m just assuming they''d be a better deal price wise than Huggies or Pampers, but do they work as well?

We use both and LOVE them. The wipes are by far the best on the market IMO. They are much thicker. And I love that they come in individual containers that reseal and you don''t have to refill the big bulky plastic things.

I think all of the moms I know use them actually! So they are big favorites over here.

 

[neatfreak]

Tao So cute!!! Love those pics!

 

[Sabine]

Tao, very cute! Love the sleeping one!

Pandora, sorry about the dh mess up. I''ve had issues like that where I''ll ask dh to play with Jacks and he''s due for a bottle at x time, but dh often feeds him early, thus messing up nap schedule and the rest of feeding schedules, etc. and therefore throwing off the whole night, not fun.

Sorry for the rest of dh troubles too...I can commiserate, although I think most of my dh problems come from dh working long hours, and then being so exhausted afterwards that he really can''t do much. Although, I did ask that he still take care of ONE chore around the house, the garbage, and guess what, he does NOT do it 90% of the time, so I end up having to take the baby and the dog and the garbage out to the dumpster...

I''m happy to announce that Jackson officially sleeps through the night now, and goes down for bed without ANY crying at all!

Unfortunately, naps are still a struggle. He goes down pretty easy, but usually wakes up after 30/45 minutes crying, rubbing his eyes, and still tired. He usually won''t go back to sleep either. It makes me sad because he gets progressively more tired throughout the day and is a lot more cranky than he was when I was holding him for naps. I''ve even tried rocking him when he wakes up and he won''t sleep for me like that anymore now. Any suggestions on getting him to nap longer?

I started taking him with me to the gym at our apartment complex the other day. He''s been good for about 15-20 minutes just sitting in the car seat watching me while I work out. I would love to get a little more in, but I guess for now it''s better than nothing.

So we did a fun christmas photo shoot the other morning, and here is my fav. pic that we are using for our Christmas cards!

 

[sunkist]

aww, Sabine andTao the Christmas pics are so cute! Love um!

Hey, Neat, thanks for the review on Kirkland wipes! Sounds great, I''ll try them.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Sabine and Tao, such cute pictures!!! And Sabine, yay on sleeping through the night but sorry about the naps. Maybe going longer at night is "stealing" from his daytime nap time? Maybe he needs fewer or shorter naps now? How often does he nap?

Pandora, ick, so sorry about the domino effect that started with an unthinking husband and ended with a ruined night!


Claire has been fussy, poor thing, after her shots, but she never felt warm enough for me to give her the tylenol. The doctor said that there is some evidence that letting babies develop a low grade fever without blocking it with tylenol may help them build up a better immunity.

Dinner was a success, and then afterwards DH told me to leave the dishes for him to do after he gets back from an errand. But then I thought gee, I''m here, I''m not doing anything, I''m not tired or in a bad mood . . . why don''t I do the dishes and have it be a nice surprise when DH gets back? TGal, I give you credit for the inspiration! I hope this means we''ll get to watch a movie if he gets back soon.

Claire is making some sad little squawks, so I''m going to check on her. I think she''s asleep but just not feeling well.

Oh, I asked about the umbilical cord. DH put it in the baggie and then put it back on the shelf in Claire''s room. Ah yes, what a logical thing to do . . .

 

[Mandarine]

TGal and Neat.............GENIUS. Simply. Genius.

How did I not think about this a little before?. I have done what you guys suggested before (for non-baby related stuff) and it''s always worked with DH!. I have no idea why it didn''t hit me to change my approach. He responds very well to the "you''re the best" approach...much better than the "why didn''t you do X like I would have?" approach. hehe.

So things are going better! What a difference one day makes....and I have you guys to thank for that!. The change in my mindsets made a world of a difference!. DH is happier, I''m happier and babies are happier! (well, not really since they had their shots in there...but I thought I would throw them in the happy mix anyway!).

I take care of dinner, eveyr night. Good thing is that DH doesn''t mind leftovers at all...so I make enough for 2-3 nights when I cook. Usually we clean up together...today, I just got up and said I needed to fold some laundry (mine)...he happily cleaned and did all the dishes. He was also really helpful today when he got home and was so sweet with the babies (the poor fellas had a tough day after the shots!).

I''m breathing easier now...I know it''s going to be ok

Re: shots. Poor guys!. They both started getting a slight fever and I immediately gave them the tylenol (they were also crying hysterically and Lucas wouldn''t eat at all). They calmed down and slept it off a bit until their 6:30pm bottle (in between some crying...with the saddest little faces and biggest tears I''ve ever seen from them!). Anyway, after their bottle, we swaddled them earlier than usual and off to bed. They''ve been sleeping for over 2 hours now. Usually they''ll get an 11:30pm feeding so I''m counting on them to sleep until then..should I give them more tylenol then just in case???

The only shot they didn''t get today was the Hep B shot, because it hadn''t been a full 4 weeks since their last one. Other than that they got all the "recommended" shots...

***

Tao, those pictures are so cute!

Sabine, look at that smile!!!!. I know you''ve had a hard time with Jacks sleeping..so I''m really happy that he''s STTN now!!! Yayy!!!!

Pandora, I am so sorry you are annoyed...I would have been too

...Why oh why does it take so much for Hs to figure certain things out!?. I can so relate to how you feel!

 

[Mandarine]

And here are my Holiday honey bunnies

Lucas on the left and Alex on the right

 

[Mandarine]

My sweet, always alert, intense and attentive Alex

 

[Mandarine]

My sweet, easy going, happy go-lucky yet stubborn Lucas

 

[Mandarine]

That didn''t work!...here it is again..

My sweet, easy going, happy go-lucky yet stubborn Lucas

 

[Mandarine]

and another one of Lucas that I loved

 

[Mandarine]

and another one of Alex!

(sorry, too many pictures..I know!!)

 

[Mandarine]

I swear, last picture...

My first son (not very happy! hehe)

In the Christmas card we had a collage of these photos (including this one!) and the message read:

Our nights may not be silent, but our home is full of joy!
Happy Holidays!

 

[fieryred33143]

Tao- Those pics are fantastic! Evan is such a cutie!

Sabine-love that photo of jacks! And yay to STTN! I''m so glad it has worked out for you guys!

Mandy-The boys are just too much! Que amor x2! Hmmmm I''m thinking they look a little like DH?

Pandora-Im sorry. That sounds frustrating. I vote for shout but probably not the best choice lol

 

[Mandarine]

Date: 12/10/2009 9:59:10 PM
Author: fiery
Tao- Those pics are fantastic! Evan is such a cutie!


Sabine-love that photo of jacks! And yay to STTN! I'm so glad it has worked out for you guys!


Mandy-The boys are just too much! Que amor x2! Hmmmm I'm thinking they look a little like DH?


Pandora-Im sorry. That sounds frustrating. I vote for shout but probably not the best choice lol

Yes! I think so too. I didn't think they looked liek anyone...but I'm starting to see a little DH in both of them!
Thank you!!!

 

[Blenheim]

DHs... The baby has been 100% my responsibility for the last five weeks or so, and now I''m really wondering how it''s going to be when DH and I are living in the same town again (9 days...). When he visited for Thanksgiving, he somehow had forgotten how to change a diaper (remember that he did childcare while I worked until George was something like 3.5 mo old, so it''s not like he hadn''t had practice), and put George on his tummy in a prefold with no cover (read: nothing waterproof on) on MY side of the bed as I was brushing my teeth. And of course I came back to a huge wet spot on my side of the bed and was pissed. I need to remember to stroke his ego a lot.

Tao, Mandarine, Sabine - they are all so cute!! Love the photos.

Sunkist - DH''s cousin uses the Kirkland brand wipes at least, so I guess that''s yet another endorsement for them. I don''t know what diapers they use.

Mandarine - love love love the saying you put on your Christmas cards! Leaving the boys at home with DH was a great move. I don''t think that they really get it otherwise.

PG - my DH tossed the umbilical cord stump in the trash and I was upset I never even saw it. But thinking back on it, I don''t know why I even cared!

Pandora - ugh. I hate how easily things can just spiral downwards. I''m glad you found a carrier that you and Daisy like! I''ve seen a mei tai (can''t remember brand) which has this thing that cinches the bottom of the body of the carrier, near where the waist straps are, so that you can do an outward facing carry with it. I wonder if it''s something that can be jury-rigged. If G wants to look around, the hip carry and high back carry have worked well enough for us that I haven''t needed to do an outward facing carry.

 

[taovandel]

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures!

Sabine: Jackson is so cute! Love that smile!

Mandarine: Glad to see the advice is working for you and your husband...i might have to try it out on occassion also.

Umbilical Cord: Why does he want to save it? lol.


So, last night I remembered we had gotton one of those kiddopotomas sleep sacks as a shower gift. So we tried it. Evan hates to be swaddled, so I was a little worried about trying it out, but figured since it wasn''t as binding as a swaddle he might like it. Now, I don''t know if it was a coincidence or not but he fell asleep literally as soon as I put him in it and only woke up once during the night. And my husband normally takes the first shift--but there was no second shift for me to take last night....I got to sleep through from 10:00 to 5:30!!! I hope this continues!

 

[Pandora II]

I am back and feeling saner! DH knew I was really pissed off about it and so I got fed chocolate and he stayed up an extra hour - so he is forgiven... and I don''t think he will do it again!

Mandy - No such thing as too many pictures! Love the matching duffle coats, and the boys are so cute. I''m glad that the change of tack with your DH is working well. Are we the same species as them I often wonder???

Sabine - Adorable photo of Jacks and hooray for STTN and going to sleep sans tears!

Tao - Love the photos! I''m glad the Kiddopotomus worked for you, Daisy also hated to be swaddled and I couldn''t even get her to stay in one of those. Odd since now she likes to be hugged very tightly to go to sleep...

PG - I am the least squeamish person that I know and even I find keeping the umbilical cord a little on the ewww side! I do admit that I was a bit sad when it finally dropped off (about 3.5 weeks after she was born) - it was like the last piece of something that connected us as one physically and I felt suprisingly emotional about it all.

Talking of emotions I have been amazed at how differently I react to news stories about children now. Whereas anything about animal cruelty could always reduce me to tears, programmes about starving children in Africa or similar never affected me in anything other than a ''isn''t that terrible'' kind of way. Now I can barely watch them.

Blen - I haven''t tried a hip carry yet - I do have a hipseat, but not sure if I''ll need it with the mei tai... it just feels so much more secure than the semi-wrap that I was using before. I''m going to have a go at putting D on my back when she wakes up from her nap. I am giving up putting her down to play on her own as I can''t deal with the screaming for a few days!

Eugghhh on husbands again - how do you ''forget'' how to put on nappies???

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 12/11/2009 7:45:24 AM
Author: Pandora II

Talking of emotions I have been amazed at how differently I react to news stories about children now. Whereas anything about animal cruelty could always reduce me to tears, programmes about starving children in Africa or similar never affected me in anything other than a ''isn''t that terrible'' kind of way. Now I can barely watch them.

Same here. Cheesy movies and commercials still don''t really do anything to me but real news and stories about children are just too much. There was a little boy found wandering around a highway and they couldn''t figure out who his parents were to bring him home. I cried all night over it.

 

[MustangGal]

Sunkist - the Kirkland wipes are great, the best I''ve used. And I used a case of size 1-2 diapers that SIL gave me. Near the end he was starting to leak at night, so I''d use Huggies then, but the Kirkland brand during the day. I don''t have a Costco card, so I haven''t bought any recently though.


All the holiday pictures are sooo cute!


On DH and the baby issues, my poor DH got stuck with a 1 week old baby for 3 days and nights all on his own (I was in ICU at the time...) it did wonders for him feeling like he could handle things!. When he was back at work and I was staying home, I handed over the baby the minute he walked in the door. And we have a food/dishes agreement, I cook, he does the dishes. He''s still managed to let the baby fall off the couch a few weeks ago, and he fell out of the dishwasher last night (what the baby was doing IN the dishwasher I don''t want to know!), but overall he''s a good dad now.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I'm the same way with stories about children now -- even when bad things happen to adults, I think about the pain their parents must be experiencing now.

Pandora, I'm glad you are feeling saner. Chocolate would definitely do the trick for me.

Tao, that's awesome about the sleep sack! I like to be warm and cozy when I sleep; I figure babies must too!

Mandy, great pictures! And I'm glad that changing your own attitude has led to your DH changing his too. I know that's key in marriage, it's just hard sometimes. I guess it's the "fake it until you feel it" principle. You are generous, the other person reciprocates, and then you *want* to be generous in the future. Claire got all the same shots because she also couldn't get the second Hep B yet. She was definitely fussy and needed extra holding and walking but I really didn't think she was warm enough for me to even take her temp.


Of course, my dishes plan didn't quite go as planned last night because DH didn't say anything about the kitchen being clean and we didn't get to watch the movie because he got home too late and it was a bath night for Claire. Finally I asked if he noticed that I did the dishes, and he said he did, but he didn't say anything because he felt too guilty. Oops . . . not the response I was going for! With some men that might be a lie, but I know it wasn't; for better or for worse my DH is more of a naturally giving and thoughtful person than I am, and I think he was worried I would say, "I do everything around here! I'm so exhausted! I even did the dishes!"

Re the stump, DH says that "it was part of Claire." He's very sentimental about things: always keeps movie and concert ticket stubs, score cards from miniature golf, etc. If I were a more creative, crafty kind of person I'd turn his piles of things into scrapbooks. Instead I complain about them, stuff them in boxes, and shuffle them around. It's kind of cute to think about DH looking at his pile of ticket stubs and score cards thinking about how much fun he had at those events. I'm just the completely opposite kind of person, which is probably what keeps us from winding up on a show like Hoarders.

I did interrogate him about his reasoning last night.

Me: So, you're keeping the stump because . . . you like to look at it?
Him: Well, no . . .
M: You're just really . . . attached to it?
H: Ha ha, that was a funny pun.
M: It was a pun, but it's not funny. So you plan to . . . play with it?
H: No . . .
M: Stick it on your belly button? On Claire's belly button?

You get the idea.

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary, and tomorrow is our 11 year dating anniversary.

I know I present my DH as a lovable doofus at times, but it's more that I view our lives together as a comedy of errors where I hope we can laugh at ourselves. He is a great complement to my at times uptight, overly structured, too stoic personality.

But I will confess . . . I was expecting my push present this morning! We have no patience and always exchange presents first thing in the morning. My mom always sends nice presents for anniversaries, birthdays, etc., and DH is always trying to get me to say he can open them ahead of time. So anyway, I definitely woke up sooner than I had to just so I could get my present, but no, DH says we'll exchange tonight. I guess it's still at the jeweler's!


Claire slept 6 hours straight last night and went over 7 hours between feedings. This time she went 9:15 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. I'd still prefer more of an 11 to 6:30 kind of schedule but then again, then it'd be less likely I'd get any sleep before or after those times. The way it is now I can go back to sleep after she feeds. I guess I'll need to have another baby to find out if this is luck or Baby Wise delivering as promised.

 

[mela lu]

Sabine - congrats on STTN! You''ve come a long way! I found that Romeo''s naps are not as long either, but I think it''s a small price to pay for STTN. I tried co-napping to get him to nap longer, and it worked, kind of...but then when I put him down on his own he was back to 30 mins. oh well. Romeo''s naps are like this:
9am - 1.5 hrs
1pm - 30 mins
4pm - 30 mins

Hope that helps!

Pandora - my sympathies on DH. In keeping with the ''fight or flight'' philosophy, when I get really mad I GET OUT (flight). That is my natural inclination and I find that removing myself from the situation helps me calm down and put everything in perspective. Maybe (IF this happens again) try going for a walk to clear your head and let DH watch Daisy while you calm down. Then, when you get back, you will be calmer and can explain to DH in a productive way how he can HELP, not hinder, the dynamics. That''s what works for me. So sorry you had a bone head on your hands. lol

re: DH''s. I too tried being nicer, more appreciative and specific in my praise and it really worked too! I guess we all get so caught up in our own bidness, we forget how easy it is to make things better. A simple sincere thank you DOES go a long way. D''oh! Thanks Tgal and Neat. LOL.

GREAT Christmas Photos everyone!! I feel like I should snap some too. sheesh. We''re putting up our tree this weekend, which will make a great backdrop. THanks for the inspiration!

 

[fieryred33143]

Happy Anniversary PG

I''m kind of sad today because I really wanted to share a link to a huge target deal with you ladies but didn''t know if it was allowed and the admins didn''t get to me in time

. They had a bunch of stuff for 50% off and free shipping! I should have posted it on FB.

I got this for Sophia for Christmas:

Musical Table

I know she won''t be able to use it right away but it was half off so I thought why not!

I also bought this:

Alphabet Pal

She already has the number one and loves it. Can''t wait for her to "play" with it.