PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Blenheim]

Hey So Cal! Welcome back!

Pandora, I was wondering what was going on with her length! There were some definite inaccuracies in my labor story as I felt pretty high for a while afterwards too.

It must have been so hard going back and reading your L&D story - I was half traumatized just from reading it.

Fiery - Our daycare could not introduce food to children b/c of licensing issues; parents had to do it first. So she wouldn''t be the only baby in the world to go through foods more slowly, if you chose that option. We didn''t want to go through everything that slowly and that''s part of what led us to BLW. It''s definitely fun seeing how they react to different things, but it''s also fine for MIL to be the first one to see how she reacts to some foods and for you to be the first one to see how she interacts with other foods, without taking away any specialness, if you choose to do it that way. BUT - given your MIL - I think what I''d personally lean towards is for you to be the one to introduce food and give her a list of OK things that she didn''t have a reaction to. I think that our parents generation in general is not as up on potential allergens and things like that to begin with, and if she''s working from a list then she can''t as easily decide to introduce peanut butter or anything else that you wouldn''t be comfortable with. She has interesting ways of interpreting some of your instructions, and I think that doing this would leave less room for interpretation. However, you know her best.

Gotta go, but hopefully I''ll be back later.

 

[AmberWaves]

Hi Mommies!

After my initial post in here regarding her sleeping (or lack thereof) in her bassinet or crib, I haven''t been back since I had my hands full with baby and dog! Now I''m back at work, and despite what everyone here said, I have her with me. So far I''ve changed four diapers- two poopy and two pee, and nursed her three times in the little room they set up for us. They moved around a ton of stuff so she has her very own changing table and nursing chair. We set up her pack n play (Little Hoot from Graco, SUPER cute with a mobile) and her travel swing and she''s good to go. So far her naps have been irregular but they were like that at home.

She''s been attempting to sleep in her bassinet at night, glad we''re working on that! At her 1 month appointment she had grown a pound and 1 ounce and 2.75 inches since birth! Still exclusively breastfeeding, which is great. I have more than enough milk, her latch is good (bloody cracked nipples the first week, though) and she feeds like a champ. We''re so lucky.

She still has the pink marks on her face (angel''s kisses?) but they''re fading. I''ve lost all my preggo weight and more (don''t ask how, I lost weight during the pregnancy, somehow) which brings me down to "just overweight".

 

[AmberWaves]

A pic:

 

[AmberWaves]

One more from x-mas!

 

[mela lu]

Awwwwwe. Piper is just so cute!!! Congrats on the weight loss - I wish. I''m still up 15 lbs pre-preggs.

Great that your work has accomodated you two so well. Its is nice to see, since usually it''s the opposite!

Welcome back to the thread, Amber and So Cal!

Dreamer - I''d probably drive to the daycare too. Congrats on going back to work!

Romeo is teething again so I''m going to bet another tooth is coming.

Pan - I just measured Romeo. He''s 27" long and around 19lbs.

He''s always been tall; born 22" long and only 7 lbs. I miss my baby. Today I had to "check" myself because I was holding him like a baby and he was NOT having it. Sigh. My baby''s all grown up.

 

[sunkist]

Hi Amber!

You look great, girl And Piper is just a beautiful little girl. So adorable! Im glad u have such a nice se up at work. I hope she continues to b a good girl for you.

OMG, all the babes are just cutie patooties! Ellie, Sophie, Daisy, (who else did I miss?) all too cute to handle!

My little Wes had his 6week check up today (even though he''s already 7 weeks old). He''s 11lb4oz, 24" long. I think she sais he is 91%ile for height, 50 %ile for weight, and around 30 %ile on his head. She prescribed him some Zantac cause she thought it sounded like he had a lttle reflux. So we''ll see if that helps him. He got his first round of vaccines today and he''s not feeling well now

He just wants to b held, poor guy.

But we went and picked up a new stroller for him today! I found it on craigslist, new in box and saved $100

 

[Sabine]

Piper is so cute Amber!

DD, how did it go today?

China, sounds like O is thriving! Sorry about the sleep though...hang in there! Don't scare me about MILs...we're going to visit the IL's in a month and I'm already nervous enough...Thanks about the haircut! It's so much easier to maintain like this!

Fiery, I had Jacks at the pedi today, and although he's a month younger, he weighs the same as Sophia, 16 lbs 3 oz! We didn't get a length on him though.

Pandora, Daisy DEF. looks longer than 25 inches...

Welcome back SoCal!

So my question of the day...have any of your dh's traveled alone with your LO? Am I CRAZY to think Jacks will be okay flying with Dh without me?

Dh has a week of leave coming up, and we're going to visit family in Pittsburgh. We can't all drive because there's no way we would fit in the car with all the stuff we need to bring. But we have a pup that has some major issues, and I really don't feel comfortable putting her in a kennel and have no one to watch her, so one of us has to drive. Dh actually thinks it'll be easier to fly with Jacks than drive with the dog, so I offered to be the one to drive (I've done the drive before if you all remember...driving with just the dog will be a cakewalk compared to driving with Jacks). But as great as dh is with Jacks, Jacks is used to having me pretty much 24/7 and sometimes goes days without even seeing dh. I have no idea how he'll be on the flight (I kinda think he'll be fine, he LOVES seeing people and going places, so he'll probably just be in awe looking around teh whole time, unless he gets overtired if there's a delay or anything)...should I just say, oh well, dh will deal with it and not worry, or do you think I should reconsider our plan?

ETA: Mela, Jacks is in teething hell as well! And hi Sunkist!

Oh, and so Jacks has been fussy and was pulling his ear Sat. and today so I took him to the pedi. He is totally healthy, just teething (and has eczema that is bothering him). So glad I took him in though, I can finally relax about him getting sick from me.

 

[anchor31]

Hello ladies! Looks like I''m ready to join you now... My little Jacob Emmanuel was born on December 29th 2009 at 19:34PM at 7lbs and 19in! I posted my birth story here... I''m looking forward to participating to this thread and getting the support I need! I need to get ready for a feeding now...

 

[neatfreak]

Sabine My DH spent a whole weekend alone with the boys and was fine. But he''s a very attentive father and around a LOT. I also flew with the boys (and spent a weekend alone with them prior) by myself when they were around 6 months. If I can do 2 by myself I am sure your DH can handle Jacks.

If your DH is confident and he''s spent enough time with Jacks to know the basics I am sure he''ll be fine. Worst comes to worst he has a hard day and then knows what it''s like for YOU all the time!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Sabine I would let Hunter fly with my husband without question, if he were bottle fed of course

Anchor Welcome!

*****

So my first day at work! haha... I only did 4 hours but it was really cool to be on my own, FINALLY a professor after all these years. My whole day was spent doing admin stuff. Got my ID card, got my computer hooked up, got payroll lined up (Can''t WAIT for a real paycheck after 12 months earning like $1k per month), figured out where things were, got a parking pass. Bliss!

Hunter did great at daycare. He played and was in good spirits and ate well. But he didn''t nap at all. I thought this would be our hurdle since he naps all the time at home (I try to be home for them all). He slept for about 10 minutes in the caregivers arms. so I let him nap for about 20 mins in the car home. We''ll see hoe tomorrow goes!

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Date: 1/3/2010 10:54:24 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Advice from my mom friends

I am going back to work tomorrow and I am at a loss about what to do for milk for Hunter. I have little luck with pumping (1/2oz per side) and at that rate it would take a million years to get enough to feed Hunter while he is there. I plan to work 6 hour days this first semester, so Hunter will only need one feeding per day. The daycare is about 10 minutes from my work. Does it sound crazy to drive there at lunch to nurse him?

I did this for Will for 8 months and it was soooo worth it for me. His daycare is 15 minutes from the office, so I''d leave, drive to daycare, nurse him for 25 minutes or so, the drive back to work, picking up something for lunch on the way.

I was a new employee at my company, so it was just the precedent I set at the beginning. Yes, I gave up a lot of lunches out with co-workers, but it was a really wonderful part of my day. I could have a hectic morning and afternoon, but that 25 minutes spent with my baby did wonders for my spirits. Plus, I never felt that working mommy guilt because I wasn''t gone from him for 8+ hours at a stretch.

The other benefit, in my eyes at least, was that I really got to know the ladies that worked in the infant room so that went a long way in my having faith in them to care for my son. I also got to know his little classmates and 2+ years later, they run up and hug me when I go to pick up Will!

I also pumped 2 times during the day and since I had some supply issues later on, I''m convinced that keeping the lunch time nursing helped considerably.

There were times when I could not go to daycare for some reason or another (meeting, client lunch, etc.) so I always sent a backup bottle that daycare could use for lunch or if I got held up coming to pick Will up in the evening. I did use this option sparingly because I hated having to pump at night to make up that 3rd bottle.

Hope that helps some!

 

[sbde]

hi mommies!!

i''ve been a terrible PSer lately, and I apologize but i''ve been lurking now and then and loving all the pics and updates. just wanted to pop in to congratulate all the new mommies!! enjoy these first few weeks with your little ones and remember, it gets easier, i promise!!

little j is doing well and turns 1 yr old in about a week - seems so unbelievable to me! he''s great, i still can''t get over how much i love him and how much happiness he brings each and every day. he''s so funny and loves to dance and is at the age now where it seems like he does something silly and new every hour haha. it''s been such a blast to be home with him but i will be heading back to work in a few weeks and am already feeling down about it.

lots of love and hugs to all the kiddos and happy new year to you all

 

[Dreamer_D]

RPC How old was will when you started and stopped doing that? Hunter is already 10.5 months so I don''t see doing it for too much longer.

 

[cdt1101]

Congrats Anchor!!!

Amber - you look great and Piper is a doll!!

Dreamer - After a month at daycare, Lex still struggles w/ napping there. His nap schedule in general now is all over the place and just a mess (even on the weekends). He's had days where he only naps for like 30 mintues the WHOLE day!! It's the one thing that I have not been happy w/ since being back at work, I feel like I worked really hard to establish routine and it all went out the window

But I don't blame them, if anything I feel like having such a strict routine (only napping at home) has made him less adaptable. Yesterday was the 1st day he actually took a nap longer than 40 min at daycare, so hopefully he's finally getting used to it. I hope Hunter adjusts sooner than Lex did! Glad your first day was bliss

Sabine - I would be fine w/ my DH traveling alone w/ Lex, as long as your DH feels confident in doing it he should be just fine

I'm happy to report that after 3 horrible nights, Lex slept from 6:00pm - 6:30am today straight threw

We even had to wake him up! I'm hoping whatever he was going thru is behind us

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Date: 1/5/2010 1:58:15 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
RPC How old was will when you started and stopped doing that? Hunter is already 10.5 months so I don''t see doing it for too much longer.

Will was 4 months when I started that job and I stopped when he turned a year. Right before he turned a year, I transitioned him to cow''s milk during the day so I could quit pumping. Will kept nursing at night and on the weekends until he was 18 months old.

I didn''t realize that Hunter was so old (lol, makes him sound ancient). Yeah, this won''t be for a long time for you! Did I see that you''re working 6 hours at a time? The benefit is that he may decide that he only needs that lunchtime nursing and then is content to wait for you to return, which means you won''t have to worry about pumping.

While I fully believe in pumping and will do it again for another year, it does suck (haha!). I think anytime you can get out of a pumping session to feed straight from the tap, it''s great.

 

[mela lu]

Congrats ANCHOR!!! And welcome to the clan, Jacob

Hi SBDE

so nice to "see" you again!

 

[Blenheim]

I just have a minute...

Anchor - congrats on baby Jacob! Look forward to seeing more of you over here.

DD - glad it went pretty well yesterday. Hopefully he''ll get into a good nap routine there fairly quickly.

Sabine - I don''t see any problems with having DH fly with Jacks. The main thing would be if you think he can adequately comfort him if he gets upset - especially given the close quarters of a plane. Sucking can help with ear pressure with changing altitude, so make sure that he has a bottle or a paci or something.

 

[MustangGal]

Sorry I won''t be able to catch up on everything, Kyle and I both got sick over the holiday weekend

. The few things I picked up on...

Switching the car seat - we started using the convertable seat at 5 months wihtout a problem.
Umbrella stroller - Got one at 3 months, Kyle liked sitting upright in it better than the laid-back position the infant seat kept him in.

We ended up taking Kyle to the children''s ER early Saturday morning, he had an ear infection. I thought this was the case, but was hoping to make ti to morening when his pedi''s office opened up. The ER was great though, and probably quicker than the pedi would have been. Then I got a fever on Sunday and a horrible sore throat. Had DH come home early yesterday since I felt horrible and couldn''t take care of Kyle, he drove me to the doc and turns out I have strep throat. At least the antibiotics Kyle''s on for his ear will stop him from getting the strep. I feel much better today, but was told to stay off work and not to get too near Kyle, so he''s at daycare and I''m home. I think this is the laziest day I''ve had since he was born!

 

[Pandora II]

Get better soon MGal!

Could I put in a plea for dust please? My husband is currently being head-hunted by the UK division of a big multinational firm. He worked for the UK CEO when they were both at another company 6 years ago and this guy offered him a position as Managing Director last year which DH turned down for various good reasons.

Anyway, they are now wanting him as their UK Strategy Director and he had a meeting with them this morning which went very well. The job is perfect for him and he likes the CEO a lot, but it all depends on the package they offer. His current job isn''t fulfilling him intellectually and doesn''t have a great career path and this new opportunity would do both, however the current one has some great benefits - like a final salary pension scheme - which we would lose.

So... they are set to meet again on Friday and discuss remuneration. I''m really hoping that it will be enough that I can possibly think about being a SAHM with perhaps a part-time ''fun'' job rather than having to have a ''pay the mortgage'' type job.

So, very selfish reason for me to need tons of dust...

 

[E B]

Super quick one from me!

Loving the girl baby photos, everyone! Such beautiful LOs.

Anchor, congratulations on your baby boy!

I LOVE his name. Funny story: The other night (before your announcement) I dreamt I met you and you had a baby boy you'd named Ryan Colin. So I got the sex right, but not the name. It'd have been too weird if I'd gotten the name right too.

Pandora, dust to your husband!

To anyone shopping for a convertible carseat: I just bought a Britax Marathon, brand new, for $197, and not in a hideous pattern, either! Here's a link to the site. 10OFF in the coupon code 'box' (during checkout) gets you 10% off and any purchase over $100 gets you free ground shipping. Several different color choices, too! I bought 'Brownstone.' That's over $80 off- nothing to sneeze at.

If you don't mind a pink, purple or flowery seat, you'll save even more! Hope this helps someone.

 

[Blenheim]

Pandora - lots of dust!!!!

MGal - Sorry you''re both under the weather. I did the same thing once - left George at daycare while I took a sick day so that I could focus on recovering - and it is so weird to have time to yourself and to be able to just relax. Hope you feel better soon.


George never took to his pacifier, but unearthed one today and had quite a bit of fun with it.
Almost... got... it...

 

[Blenheim]

All in!

 

[Blenheim]

Okay mama, your turn.

 

[ChinaCat]

Amber and SoCal, welcome back!
Anchor- Congrats again and welcome to the other side!

Dreamer- So how does it feel to be back at work? I know it wasn''t very long, but was it nice to converse with grown-ups again?

Glad the lunch time feeding seems like it will work for you.

Sunkist- Ok, can we just talk about the fact that O was barely bigger than Wes at his 4 month appt????

And Wes is 7 weeks? Oy. I have a skinny little man on my hands.

Sabine- I would let DH take O on a plane in a heartbeat. And I would drive slowly and enjoy every quiet moment of that car drive!!!!

Pandora- Buckets and oodles and mountains of dust headed abroad for your DH!

Blen- CUTE pics! What kind of camera are you using to get such clear pics? I still have a hard time getting any sort of decent pics of O. He always looks so startled in every picture! O was doing this with his pacifier last night- though he doesn''t have anywhere near the sense of humor that George obviously does. O was intent on figuring out the exact right way to insert the paci and had no time for such silliness.

I am happy to report that O is almost back to his sleeping self.

Had a rough time going down last night (tummy ache) but once he was asleep by 10 pm, didn''t wake till 6 am. Sweet relief.

I''m afraid he''s teething though- major drool, shoving anything he can into his mouth, pulling on his ear.

I really hoped to put this part off for awhile. Oh well! No sign of any teeth though.

 

[fieryred33143]

Amber-You look great and Piper is so beautiful!

Socal-Welcome back and I hope you get all the sleep issues squared away!

Anchor-Congratulations!!!!!

Blen-George is so adorable! I love his version of using a paci lol

****

I''m taking Sophia to the pedi tonight. She had a fever that sort of popped out of nowhere last night and got as high as 100.9. The pedi told me to monitor her for 48 to 72 hours before bringing her in but MIL said she hasn''t been acting like herself all day today, is crying a lot (which is not like Sophia), doesn''t want to eat, and feels "hot." I feel so bad I want to cry. It sucks being at work knowing your baby is sick and there''s nothing you can do about it

 

[so cal girl]

Aww fiery - poor Sophia! I hope she feels better soon. It must suck to be at work and know your little one needs you. I am having hard enough time being back at work, even though I know little E is perfectly fine at home!

 

[Blenheim]

Fiery - aw, poor Sophia. I hope she feels better soon and that the ped has some suggestions for making her feel more comfy.

Amber - forgot to mention earlier, you both look great! That''s fabulous that you''re getting the work situation to work out so far.

China - Thanks! I''m borrowing my mom''s camera right now. I forget what type it is but it''s just a basic point and shoot type digital - nothing fancy. The main things that I''ve found are using natural light (no flash) and appropriate settings. If I''m up close to him, I put it on macro. I also get better photos for the most part if I''m on his level instead of shooting downwards at him - I was actually laying on the floor for those; you can see my legs in the last one. It also takes a lot of photos to get a couple good ones, and takes even more now that he''s crawling all over the place like a mad man.

 

[ChinaCat]

Blen- Thanks. I think the flash is the reason I get the startled look! I will play with it this weekend.

Fiery- Poor Sophia!

Last night was the first night that O was crying b/c he was in pain, and oh, how it hurt my heart. My poor sweet boy. Of course DH was trying everything to calm him down as he was "on call" at that time, but I couldn''t stand it so I went and took O and rocked him. He was asleep in 5 minutes! Sometimes they just want their moms I guess. She''ll be ok, but glad you are taking her to the doctor. Keep us posted.

 

[Mandarine]

Awww...LOVE all the pics!!! Piper, George, Daisy and Ellie!!!

I have been terrible about posting! I just can't post from my phone and we have had a crazy few weeks!.

We decided to take a road trip (700 miles EACH WAY!!!) with the boys!. I know, we are sort of crazy. Just me, DH, the boys and a very packed SUV!. We stayed at like 5 different hotels and drove a LOT...but the boys were so good!. I was so proud (and surprised!)

. We went to Asheville and just loved it!. I'm sure those of you that are friends with me on FB knew all these already!

Any who...we are back!. My mom is visiting and leaving tomorrow...so I will return to "normal" and will have more time to post!.

The boys are getting so BIG!. Now they are all smiles, which just melts my heart! They love it when I sing (go figure...with this voice of mine! haha).,..they are just getting to be so much fun!. We are also starting to find our "groove" in terms of our day to day lives. It does get easier, as everyone has said!.

It's funny because the number one comment I get from people on the street is "you've got your hands full!". I'm like..yes, you genius and very original person, I do...but you know, I really don't know any better so for me it just feels normal now to always have my hands full (literally).

Don't even tell DH but I started thinking having a third wouldn't be a bad idea! (he would freak out if he read this! lol)


ETA: COngrats Anchor!!!! I just saw the pics of the preggo thread. He's so precious!!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 1/5/2010 5:47:39 PM
Author: Blenheim
Fiery - aw, poor Sophia. I hope she feels better soon and that the ped has some suggestions for making her feel more comfy.

Amber - forgot to mention earlier, you both look great! That''s fabulous that you''re getting the work situation to work out so far.

China - Thanks! I''m borrowing my mom''s camera right now. I forget what type it is but it''s just a basic point and shoot type digital - nothing fancy. The main things that I''ve found are using natural light (no flash) and appropriate settings. If I''m up close to him, I put it on macro. I also get better photos for the most part if I''m on his level instead of shooting downwards at him - I was actually laying on the floor for those; you can see my legs in the last one. It also takes a lot of photos to get a couple good ones, and takes even more now that he''s crawling all over the place like a mad man.

Ditto all this for sure!

Amber I''m glad it is working so well! How old is Piper now?? I think when Hunter was under 3mo I could have easily worked with him around, but post 4mo is became more challenging because he wanted all my attention. But it sounds like it is a great environment so hopefully it will stay doable!

fiery and Mgal sorry about illness! bleck!

Pandora DUST!

China It feels great to be back at work. I don''t actually miss Hunter much, is that odd? LOL

*****

So Hunter had fun at daycare today. He didn''t nap this afternoon again

but he napped in the morning

So thinks are improving.