PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Blenheim]

For some reason, George used to get people thinking he was a girl all the time - even when he was decked out in blue. I don''t get it. Now that he''s looking more toddler-like and less baby-like, people are a little less confused.

Mandy - congrats! That''s awesome. And your cheerleading section is super cute, even if it''s obvious that Daddy dressed them.

Someone asked earlier about finding the time to work out? A lot of it is about making it a priority and part of the daily routine. I try to do it every day, and it usually takes one of several forms:
1. Work out during naptime.
2. Pawn George off on a family member (usually Daddy) when one is available and then work out.
3. Work out with George in tow! Put him in a stroller and go on a walk or a run. (I think that fresh air''s also good for him, and it can help relieve boredom as he gets to see stuff - so double whammy there.)
4. If he can last for 30 minutes in the exersaucer or something like that (rare), put him in it and then have him watch me work out.
The other thing that helps is just giving into doing things differently than pre-baby. One reason that I really do like the 30 Day Shred is that she gets in cardio and resistance for all major muscle groups, in something like 27 minutes. Pre-baby, I would do daily cardio for 45-60 minutes and also lift weights for 30-60 minutes 2-3 times per week. This just is not feasible anymore, and it helps for me to give into that instead of resisting it and find alternatives that can crunch a bunch into a little bit of time.

Babies wanting to be held - I think that Happiest Baby on the Block goes into the idea of the 4th trimester... basically human babies are born early compared to many other species as we have such huge brains that we have to be born early for our heads to fit through mom''s pelvis, and as a result our babies have a need at first for things that mimic the womb like being held and swaddled, white noise, rocking, etc whereas baby foals come on out and get right up on their feet and start walking around. It started easing up around 12 weeks for George as well... but then at 6 months separation anxiety hit and he wanted to be held all the time again.

 

[anchor31]

re: finding time to workout. Jacob seems to have worked out a schedule, and feed at around 8AM, noon, 4PM, 6PM, 8M, 10PM and 4AM. What I do is work out 30 minutes during his morning nap between the 8AM and noon feedings. I put him in is swing next to the TV and use my Wii Fit. Love it.

Mandy - CONGRATS! You're a braver woman than me.

Re: Separation anxiety. Is 9 weeks too soon for that? This week Jacob seems to have problems with being "alone"... He fusses when I put him to bed and just stares up at me when I soothe him, then starts fussing again as soon as I walk out. He finally falls asleep after 2-3 tries.

 

[Mara]

speaking of boob pain, on my left side i think i had a duct that was kind of blocky...it was hurting me yesterday and had bumps under the skin. i worked most of it out and it still hurts a little but the weird thing now is that my left boob is suddenly producing less than the other side. it has always produced a little bit less (like 1/2oz maybe) but now it''s like producing 1/2 of what the right is. could this be a side effect of the blockage? when i squeeze the nipple, i see the same 3 ducts putting milk out the way they normally do so wouldn''t that mean that there ISNT a blockage? i am pumping a little bit longer on the left and trying to leave him on a little bit longer (but he''s a lazy sucker so he falls asleep usually before the boob is done) but is this normal?

re: being held... we do actually hold him a fair amt, but just not for hours on end. and in the hours between last nap and bedtime he does get held or bounced or put on our shoulder or bellies or knees to help entertain him. i have the bjorn and do want to start wearing him as some moms have said this helped with their babies as well. the funny thing is that even if we are holding him, he isn''t necessarily QUIET or soothed all the time. so we can be holding him or have him near us or in the swing near us but he will still cry...i think if he WAS more quiet by us holding him we''d do it more for sure HA.

in our class we learned about the 4th tri... i thought it was odd that the human babies are the only mammal born with systems so immature for ''real life''...! and even though it''s ''4th tri''...that period lasts way longer than just 3 months.

so we are thinking J might have a touch of ''reflux''...can you mommies who have kids who have it chime in on how you know for sure and when you decided to give them Zantac? it''s not all the time for him but he has been spitting up more and at times its partially digested and at other times it''s just fluid/liquid from the recent feeding. he gives us CRAZY burps but then 30 min later will be leaking fluid out his mouth. it''s maybe 1-2x a day though the other day he was doing it at almost every feeding. since reading that it can make them feel like heartburn i also wondered if sometimes that is why he cries so much. i will def ask our pedi at our visit on thurs but any comments super helpful.

on the flip side his GAS seems to be way better than last week.

last nite he slept 5.5 hours and then 3 hours... which was great, but after i came back from taking greg''s mom and sis to my mom''s house where they are staying he was still up with J because he wouldn''t go down. so i unwrapped him, he was super hot and sweaty, changed his diaper and then gave him the boob for 5 min, kid passed out and i waited 10min to move him and he was out cold for the 5.5 hours. sometims i wish dad had the boob too!!!!!

 

[taovandel]

Fiery: A friend of mine started giving her baby rice cereal in a bottle at 2 weeks and is planning on doing solids at around 3 months. I know the old school thought was 6 weeks for the rice cereal...no clue why she started so early. Her baby is perfectly healthy and great....to each their own I guess.

We started Evan today on a bit of Rice Cereal---he handled the spoon concept really well. But got frustrated with how slow the process is compared to just popping a bottle in.

I think next time I''ll give him an ounce of formula first to tide his hunger for a bit....

pictures to follow later on. Going on a date with my husband!

Ohhhh and I walked 2.5 miles with the friend mentioned above. So nice!!

 

[Blenheim]

Anchor - Separation anxiety doesn't really start until they're mobile or close to it (like around 6 months-ish) - it could be some "fourth tri" stuff going on, or sometimes when G is feeling a little off he wants more cuddles and attention. And good for you for finding time to work out!

A solids question - George was doing great with eating (finger foods and spoon feeding), and then he started losing interest around 9.5 months, and now I feel like he's just not eating. If we give him finger foods, he throws it at the dogs. If we spoon feed him, he'll tongue thrust it out his mouth, use his hand to wipe it off his face, and then try to throw it at the dogs. If we pre-load a spoon and then hand it to him, he just chucks the entire spoon at the dogs. So the dogs are thrilled with the whole situation, but there are some days where he'll eat like 2 cheerios all day. Or one bite-sized piece of chicken. I know he can eat, because he used to polish off a whole bowl of oatmeal or thing of veggies or an egg by himself, but he's just not doing it. Our pediatrician said, back when he started losing interest, to just make sure that we give him vitamins and milk and that he'll eat if he feels like it, but... it's been going on a while now. Does anyone know if this is an issue? Or how to encourage eating, other than offer offer offer?

ETA- Mara - I think it could still be a bit of a blockage. If you think of your milk glands as streams that are feeding rivers that are feeding a bay, then you can still have the rivers moving fine even if a couple of the streams are kind of dammed up... if that analogy makes sense whatsoever.

Whenever I have a hard painful clump under the skin like that, I just try to make sure to massage it a bit and it eventually breaks up. Positioning baby's chin near it when nursing is also supposed to help.

 

[Mandarine]

any idea why some Drs recommend waiting to 6 months while others give the go ahead earlier?. When I asked my Dr he said we'll wait for 6 months....just curious!
(they do have the added rice starch in their formula due to reflux)

ETA: Thank you all for the congrats!

...only bad thing is that I may have gotten a cold! I hope not!!!

ETA2: Anchor, my guys fight sleep....so maybe that's what Jacob is doing. Mine fuss before EVERY nap. They never just "fall sleep". It takes them a good 5-10 minutes...and I go in every so often to pat their butts, etc...

 

[Mara]

oh i meant to say on the solids... greg's mom started giving him rice cereal in his breast milk at like 3-4 weeks old or something. and my mom and grandma totally did that too when we were really young. the idea is to make them sleep longer (old school idea).

in terms of 'why who says what'...honestly i think it depends on your dr. kind of like during pregnancy how some dr's say 'drink wine or beer!' or 'eat sushi!'... and others say to abstain etc.

my pedi was telling me that when she was raising her kids that her pedi suggested for fussy babies to give him a little bit of jim bean whiskey in their bottles!!

oh how times have changed. ignorance SURELY IS bliss!!! while on some things i think that the changes have been great and much needed (aka back sleeping and carseat safety are definite plusses!)...there are some other changes like the dietary ones where i really do wonder 'WHY' as a hard and fast rule...??

i haven't read anything about what to feed or anything like that...and i don't want to worry about it. i just figure i will go with instinct and what feels right to me. my mom has her own ideas at times, and i prob won't even know what she is giving him if she doesn't want me to.

my friend told me her dr said no nuts for her kid til 3 years old. i have heard other dr's say 1 year way more regularly. and in our BF class the LC told us she personally thought that abstaining from things too long (like nuts) just made it more likely that your kid's system would not be able to handle it later. total merit to that thought too IMO.

oh and MANDY...CONGRATS! you are amazing!!!
and RPS...no matter what you say i will always think of you as superwoman.

excited about Cuban food tonite with greg's family, my sis will watch J for a few hours while i go consume some fruity sangria.

oh and apparently the whole 'why is he' thing is not limited to just my mom...greg's mom was holding him last nite during prime fuss evening time before bed and he was fake crying and she asked 'what should i be doing to make him stop?'...i was like 'exactly what you are...don't worry'. so funny!! it definitely is 'mom-nesia' RPS!!!

ETA..Mandy..what is with the fighting sleep? don't these guys realize how FABULOUS sleep is? Oh if only I could get more of it!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Real quick:

What''s with all the name changes, and how did you do it? EB, Dreamer D, FL Steph...?

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 3/6/2010 3:00:56 PM
Author: Blenheim
Anchor - Separation anxiety doesn''t really start until they''re mobile or close to it (like around 6 months-ish) - it could be some ''fourth tri'' stuff going on, or sometimes when G is feeling a little off he wants more cuddles and attention. And good for you for finding time to work out!

A solids question - George was doing great with eating (finger foods and spoon feeding), and then he started losing interest around 9.5 months, and now I feel like he''s just not eating. If we give him finger foods, he throws it at the dogs. If we spoon feed him, he''ll tongue thrust it out his mouth, use his hand to wipe it off his face, and then try to throw it at the dogs. If we pre-load a spoon and then hand it to him, he just chucks the entire spoon at the dogs. So the dogs are thrilled with the whole situation, but there are some days where he''ll eat like 2 cheerios all day. Or one bite-sized piece of chicken. I know he can eat, because he used to polish off a whole bowl of oatmeal or thing of veggies or an egg by himself, but he''s just not doing it. Our pediatrician said, back when he started losing interest, to just make sure that we give him vitamins and milk and that he''ll eat if he feels like it, but... it''s been going on a while now. Does anyone know if this is an issue? Or how to encourage eating, other than offer offer offer?

ETA- Mara - I think it could still be a bit of a blockage. If you think of your milk glands as streams that are feeding rivers that are feeding a bay, then you can still have the rivers moving fine even if a couple of the streams are kind of dammed up... if that analogy makes sense whatsoever.

Whenever I have a hard painful clump under the skin like that, I just try to make sure to massage it a bit and it eventually breaks up. Positioning baby''s chin near it when nursing is also supposed to help.

Blen, Daisy can be totally the same on solids - some days she''ll eat everything I give her, like today where she had loads of ham, tomato, avocado and mozzarella for lunch and then polished off a load of salmon sashimi (with wasabi) and pickled ginger

this evening. Yesterday she just ''felt'' her food and then threw it on the floor.

Yoghurt she either wolfs down or it also goes on the floor - we eat it during bathtime now as it''s cleaner (and I''m sure it must be a good moisturiser

).

I don''t think there is any rhyme or reason to it, they just go through phases. The BLW book said this could happen so I haven''t worried.

Is George still BFing on a large scale?

Holding babies - D was a horror when she was newborn, never slept during the day and went nuts if she was put down. For me, carrying her all the time became a way of making my life easier. It was a lot less exhausting to pop her in a sling or on my knee than listen to her screech.

Mara - you might want to look into some of the research on slings like the Baby Bjorn. They put a lot of stress on the baby''s spine as they hang from the crotch rather than being supported across the whole of the pelvis. I did use one at the beginning with D, but she never seemed comfortable and it killed my back. Once I saw the other stuff on spinal issues, and saw how much better she was in a wrap-type sling (I had the Tricotti, but if I was doing it again I''d get a Moby or a Close) and how much easier it was for me to carry her I never used the BB again. I will add that I am super-aware on spinal issues as I have had so much spinal surgery.

Today we got first words: ''Daa Dee''

She''s been babbling like mad for ages and Dadda and Mama are used pretty indiscriminately, but today she was sitting on my knee in bed while DH was having a shower, as he came back in I asked her ''Who''s that?'' and she looked at him and said ''Daa Dee''. We weren''t sure if it was just a happy coincidence, but a couple of minutes later she crawled down the bed, put her arms up to him to be lifted up and said it again. She''s done it once more this afternoon, but will not be coerced to say anything else!

 

[gingerB]

pandora - how exciting!! first words!!!

mandy - wow! i couldn''t do a marathon pre-preggo, not to mention even think about attempting it with twin baby boys!! luuuurve the pic...so friggin'' cute!

mara - ditto on the plugged duct. i had one yesterday and managed to wwork it out. aaaaah sweet relief. and afterwards there was a bump in mil on that side prob from backflow. if it is a plugged duct, work at it asap to try to prevent mastitis.

sha - glad things went well with your dalila!

rps - small goals are def how i''m planning to attack this. taking it one day at a time for as long as i can.

question: were you the one who posted about buiying a small freezer. i am seriously considering this as our current freezer sucks and holds next to nothing and i''m really really hoping to try to build up a small stash of BM before returning to work. which one did you buy?

 

[steph72276]

Mara, signs of reflux for Andrew were projectile spit up after every meal, screaming and drawing up his legs in pain with nothing soothing him, could not be put down unless on an incline and just general fussiness in all waking hours. It was very stressful, but he had a major case....as soon as we got him on the baby Zantac and started him on rice cereal he was a new baby and never fussed again, and slept 12 hours at night. I am so tempted to try the rice cereal early (not now, but like 4 months instead of 6) but I''ll see what the doc says.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[taovandel]

The Doctor gave us a sheet with feeding information and it said 4-6 months to start feeding. I read also that the baby must be able to support his head and sit up fairly well-- assisted. I would assume Mandy, your doctor might have said to wait because of the reflux...no clue though? Our Dr. told us to try and see what happened...she said some babies just won''t be ready to eat from a spoon until a bit older.

And attached is a picture of E trying to eat.....

 

[taovandel]

and after...

 

[Shoopy]

Mandy- the official recommendation is 6 months for starting solids.

Asking a pedi when to start is the same as asking any of us. It''s a parenting decision and all depends on your preference and reason for starting when you do.

We started at 6 months. Prior to that she showed zero interest in food. Her pedi told us to wait until 6 months to start during her 4 month check up. During her 6 month check up, we saw another pedi who asked why we waited and should have started at 4 months.

It''s the same thing with CIO. All the research says not to CIO until after 4 months due to emotional development. Some pedis will tell you to start a lot younger than that. Others will tell you never to do it. But again that''s a parenting decision and you''re going to get a wide range of answers depending on their parenting style.

 

[taovandel]

My Ped was the one who brought it up at our 2 month visit that she would be talking to us about it at our 4 month visit. She did leave the decision up to us kinda of when to start.

We are just going to do the Rice Cereal until probably 5 months or so....then we will go to other solids after that.

 

[sugarpie honeybun]

We started DS on rice cereal at 4 months, and just introduced organic carrots last week (4.5 months) and peas yesterday. Based on his size and head control, the doc said it was okay to start him on solids at 4 months. Even though he gets his nutrients from his formula, we thought offering additional nutrients couldn't hurt. He hates plain cereal, but really likes the plain veggies. We'll probably start him on bananas sometime in the next few weeks.


ETA: Congrats Mandy! You're a mommy rockstar!

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Ginger, yes, I was the one that posted about buying a small freezer, but we haven''t gotten it yet. The one that I''m pretty sure we''ll get is the Haier 1.3 cubic foot -- it''s pretty small, not very expensive and got decent ratings on Walmart''s website. We''re going to have to put it on top of the fridge because it won''t fit between the counters and cabinets, but since I just want that space to store bm for now, I''m not concerned about not being able to reach it without a step-stool. It''s not like we''re going to be hanging in it, figuring out what there is to eat! I realized there''s no way I will have enough room for the smallest freezer stash that I''m going to need to be able to travel for work unless we quit buying so much frozen food and that''s not going to happen.

About reflux...
My older daughter had horrible reflux. At her 2 month ped appointment, the doc wasn''t happy with her low weight gain, so she told me to start supplementing with formula. We started with regular formula and Hannah would bring up about 1/2 of each bottle she had. We switched to soy at the doc''s recommendation. The vomiting continued. It wasn''t that she was spitting up -- we''re talking several ounces of formula being forcibly expelled, even through her nose at times. This was 16 years ago, so there wasn''t a clear cut treatment like there is now. Eventually she ended up on Reglan, taken before each bottle and it helped a little bit. One thing that made Hannah a little bit different is that she never acted like she was in pain! She was a really happy baby and the vomiting didn''t seem to bother her. It bothered me because I knew it couldn''t be good for her to be vomiting and it made our clothing, my car and my house smell nasty.

I think it''s probable that Kate and Will had silent reflux because of some of their behaviors as babies, but because they were breastfed, the reflux didn''t get bad.

About solids...
I think the reason some peds say to wait til 6 months on solids while others give the ok sooner is that the doc may not be up to date on the latest research on infant feeding and IMHO a lot of peds tend to support what a parent wants to do, instead of making a case for what''s best for the baby. It makes sense that delaying solids to a certain extent can prevent allergies since the infant gut isn''t sealed until about 6 months. Giving solids earlier increases the risk for allergies because the proteins from the food can go through the holes in the gut and into the blood stream where an allergic reaction is created.

I try to delay solids for as long as possible because 1) I''m lazy and don''t like to have to add in preparing and feeding food, 2) most solids are lower in calories than bm, and 3) OMG solids make the baby''s poop smell awful.

Of course, with my first, I was so anxious to start because it was something else to do so he started I think around 4 months.

Blen, I wouldn''t worry about George''s solid intake at all. Before a year, solids are really supplemental and not absolutely necessary because a baby should still be getting the bulk of his calories from bm/formula. I''d continue to offer a variety of choices and let him set the pace. At least the dogs are getting plenty of treats! He''ll probably continue this behavior well into toddlerhood -- toddlers seem to be notoriously fickle with food. Will has days when he doesn''t want to eat any dinner and then days where he eats a HUGE dinner. I''ve never heard of a toddler starving himself, so I just offer dinner and let him choose. I refuse to have food battles because it can lead to weight issues.

Mara, a possible reason for decreased output is that you''re close to 6 weeks which is when your supply typically is well-matched to the baby''s needs and it''s when supply and demand take over. I doubt that your supply is a problem -- I think what you''re seeing is the normal leveling out that happens. If you want to keep your supply up a bit over what J''s demand is, pumping on that side is a good plan in addition to J''s regular nursing. I want my supply to be above Ben''s demand because I need a freezer stash and I worry about possible supply dips like I experienced the last time, but a perfectly matched supply/demand is good for many women.

BTW, we both have the 6 week growth spurt coming up! Then we''re good for another 6 weeks or so.


============

Has anyone noticed that if your baby has a busy day, he/she has a more difficult night? Yesterday, Ben got dragged to riding lessons, then over to MIL''s where she, her best friend and my mom passed him around. Last night, he started his typical fussy period right around 10:30 and did not want to totally go down until 3:30! I did get some sleep because he was nursing on and off while we were in bed, but at 2:30, he started crying hard so I got up with him. We haven''t had a night like that in a while, but it seems like when we are really busy during the day, Ben goes into hybernation and then has to blow off steam at night.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Our pedi said to wait until 6 months to start solids because Claire is EBF.

So, we''ve made it through the two busy weekends. I had to work yesterday, and DH''s brothers were here, but now we have peace and quiet! I did an easy workout this morning to try to get back in the hang of things. I''ve only worked out 1x per week in the last 3 weeks. I would really like to try to do 5x a week, but baby steps, right? If I can''t get a regular regimen going, then I won''t do the 10k at the end of this month. Too much pressure.

Claire has a phlegmy cough; DH will probably take her into the doctor tomorrow. She doesn''t seem horribly congested, but sometimes she appears to be breathing through her mouth. The sweet girl is a trooper even when she''s sick.

I think I may have a touch of OCD when it comes to my job. My brain races, thinking about what I need to do, focusing on stressors, etc. What will my brain focus on when I don''t have a job?

 

[Sha]

Date: 3/7/2010 10:33:23 AM
Author: rockpaperscissors67
Ginger, yes, I was the one that posted about buying a small freezer, but we haven''t gotten it yet. The one that I''m pretty sure we''ll get is the Haier 1.3 cubic foot -- it''s pretty small, not very expensive and got decent ratings on Walmart''s website. We''re going to have to put it on top of the fridge because it won''t fit between the counters and cabinets, but since I just want that space to store bm for now, I''m not concerned about not being able to reach it without a step-stool. It''s not like we''re going to be hanging in it, figuring out what there is to eat! I realized there''s no way I will have enough room for the smallest freezer stash that I''m going to need to be able to travel for work unless we quit buying so much frozen food and that''s not going to happen.

About reflux...
My older daughter had horrible reflux. At her 2 month ped appointment, the doc wasn''t happy with her low weight gain, so she told me to start supplementing with formula. We started with regular formula and Hannah would bring up about 1/2 of each bottle she had. We switched to soy at the doc''s recommendation. The vomiting continued. It wasn''t that she was spitting up -- we''re talking several ounces of formula being forcibly expelled, even through her nose at times. This was 16 years ago, so there wasn''t a clear cut treatment like there is now. Eventually she ended up on Reglan, taken before each bottle and it helped a little bit. One thing that made Hannah a little bit different is that she never acted like she was in pain! She was a really happy baby and the vomiting didn''t seem to bother her. It bothered me because I knew it couldn''t be good for her to be vomiting and it made our clothing, my car and my house smell nasty.

I think it''s probable that Kate and Will had silent reflux because of some of their behaviors as babies, but because they were breastfed, the reflux didn''t get bad.

About solids...
I think the reason some peds say to wait til 6 months on solids while others give the ok sooner is that the doc may not be up to date on the latest research on infant feeding and IMHO a lot of peds tend to support what a parent wants to do, instead of making a case for what''s best for the baby. It makes sense that delaying solids to a certain extent can prevent allergies since the infant gut isn''t sealed until about 6 months. Giving solids earlier increases the risk for allergies because the proteins from the food can go through the holes in the gut and into the blood stream where an allergic reaction is created.

I try to delay solids for as long as possible because 1) I''m lazy and don''t like to have to add in preparing and feeding food, 2) most solids are lower in calories than bm, and 3) OMG solids make the baby''s poop smell awful.

Of course, with my first, I was so anxious to start because it was something else to do so he started I think around 4 months.

Blen, I wouldn''t worry about George''s solid intake at all. Before a year, solids are really supplemental and not absolutely necessary because a baby should still be getting the bulk of his calories from bm/formula. I''d continue to offer a variety of choices and let him set the pace. At least the dogs are getting plenty of treats! He''ll probably continue this behavior well into toddlerhood -- toddlers seem to be notoriously fickle with food. Will has days when he doesn''t want to eat any dinner and then days where he eats a HUGE dinner. I''ve never heard of a toddler starving himself, so I just offer dinner and let him choose. I refuse to have food battles because it can lead to weight issues.

Mara, a possible reason for decreased output is that you''re close to 6 weeks which is when your supply typically is well-matched to the baby''s needs and it''s when supply and demand take over. I doubt that your supply is a problem -- I think what you''re seeing is the normal leveling out that happens. If you want to keep your supply up a bit over what J''s demand is, pumping on that side is a good plan in addition to J''s regular nursing. I want my supply to be above Ben''s demand because I need a freezer stash and I worry about possible supply dips like I experienced the last time, but a perfectly matched supply/demand is good for many women.

BTW, we both have the 6 week growth spurt coming up! Then we''re good for another 6 weeks or so.


============

Has anyone noticed that if your baby has a busy day, he/she has a more difficult night? Yesterday, Ben got dragged to riding lessons, then over to MIL''s where she, her best friend and my mom passed him around. Last night, he started his typical fussy period right around 10:30 and did not want to totally go down until 3:30! I did get some sleep because he was nursing on and off while we were in bed, but at 2:30, he started crying hard so I got up with him. We haven''t had a night like that in a while, but it seems like when we are really busy during the day, Ben goes into hybernation and then has to blow off steam at night.

Yes, my pedi said the current WHO guideline is 6 months, for the same reason. However, he said 4-6 months is typical, and that it would probably be ''okay'' if they were introduced at about 4-5 months too.

But

at those babies getting solids at 2 months! Yikes!

Mandy - you''re a star!!

Running a marathon is admirable enough, but running a marathon post-partum, with twins....?!!! Wow!!!! I love that photo. Your boys cheering on their mama...so cute!

Pandora - how exciting! Your DH must be chuffed, hehe...

I can''t wait till my little one starts to talk. She''s been squawking for a few weeks now. It''s really cute.

 

[Mandarine]

Thanks guys for the info on solids!!! I''m going to hold off (they''ll be 5 months in 5 days)...and I think I rather wait until 6 months anyway. They don''t seem super interested in our food anyway!

ohhh and thank you all for the congrats!!! but I didn''t run a full marathon!!!!! It was just a 10K (which is like 6.2 miles....)....my goal is to run a half marathon at the end of this year (13 miles) and the full NYC marathon in 2011 (26 miles)!!!...for now though, a 10K was enough of a challenge!!!

My guys are still super cranky from the shots...I feel like I''m losing my mind!!!. I hope they got back to their normal less cranky selves soon!!!

Happy Sunday girls

 

[Mara]

morning ladies!

so J slept 6 hours last nite, then 3 hours for the 2nd half. he's been doing that the last few days where he sleeps for 5-6 hours and then only 3 hours for the 2nd half. i wish he'd sleep just one more hour instead of the 3 because usually i feel like i need an extra hour before the day.

well MIL and SIL are visiting and things are going pretty well but it's hard to have 3rd party guests around a lot of the time. it is great they are staying with my mom because then it gives us a break, them a break, and they can bond and hang out with my mom too. plus her house is just beautiful and huge while ours is ... just small. hehehe.

re: very active baby vs fussy baby...jury is still out for me. honestly does it really seem normal that for 90% of his waking time he cries? that is why i wonder if something else is going on aka light reflux (btw RPS what is silent reflux?) ... he does not do the projectile vomiting nor does it come out his nose nor does it come out at every feeding but sometimes he does barf up a LOT of milk or formula and a few times it has happened for a few hours straight til i wonder what he's really 'retaining' in there. but it is very intermittent, maybe only about 1x every day and a half. but yesterday when i was feeding him bottle he was kind of making a fussy face and trying to pull off it then he was SUPER fussy while trying to burp and crying in between burps and bottle. anyway some of this is new behavior so MAYBE its just the 6 week fuss peak...but damn i wish i had a manual for this kid!! and i'm trying not to overanalyze either...i figure that WHATEVER it is is it just a finite period of time so either way it will be diff soon. but i hope that he's not in pain in general...its so hard to tell.

i do admit to wishing that i had one of those babies you could just plop down after feeding and they'd hang out and zone out looking at things for longer than 10 min before crying. esp when guests are over!! but i wouldn't trade his sleeping at night for anything so i guess you take what you get HA!

RPS...we don't even take J out so his 'busy day' would be if guests were over. i feel like we should take him out more but it's hard to figure out where to go..yanno?? plus we don't have other kids so no real obligations. also for the 6 month growth spurt what should we typically expect? most of what i have read also says that 6 weeks is the fuss peak so i am gearing up for this week to be the worst hahaa.

also re: boobs and supply... my boobs just have felt really weird lately...like not the nipple part but the rest of it. like sore and kind of achy, when they are NOT full. and it's more the one on the left, the one that has lower supply now and i think had a block. oh re: the block ... when i was squeezing the nipple i noticed one of the ducts had a really skinny stream and high-pressure feeling...so i thought that might be the duct that was blocked but i kept working at it and it doesn't stream anymore like that.

speaking of fuss and soothing... so we discovered something that soothes J for hours. our finger in his mouth. this kid just really wants to suck on something and it doesn't have to be the boob but he doesn't want it to be a pacifier either. yesterday after feeding him i gave him my finger and he was soothed for 10 min then totally passed out for 3 hours! and last nite i mentioned it to my sister who babysat him and she said he was good for all 2.5 hours we were gone and she just soothed him with her finger from time to time. i don't want to create this BAD HABIT...but for now i feel like well maybe if it works we just go with it. has anyone else done this and had a bad result? hehee.

mandy...hope the boys ease up soon!! hang in there!!

pandora....awww how cute for the words, your hub is probably proudly preening! though i did read that 'dadee' is easier for the babies to say than 'momee' so some say that is why dads the first word...but shhhh don't tell DH that!

i am meeting some girlfriends for brunch today which i am excited about... some girl adult time!! and then we are driving my sister back to SF with our guests to have an early dinner while my mom watches J. hope everyone has a good sunday.

 

[anchor31]

Re: Solids before 6 months. I read that the infant''s digestive tract is not mature enough before 6 months and it can cause major discomfort for some babies. However, I was told a story about a baby who started constantly crying at about 5 months and stopped when the mom finally gave her solids at 6 months, so she was obviously hungry... The mom could have been having a milk supply issue though.

Mandy - Jacob is a great napper, but he''s not easy to put down at night.

Re: Boob pains. Is it normal to have occasional shooting pains in the boobs, even if I''m not engorged?

Tao - Have fun on your date!

 

[Dreamer_D]

There is no need to start solids before 6 months, so why do it? Just adds lost more hassel to life in my experience. I wish Hunter was still EBF

ETA That's just my laze thoughts on it, not judging anyone who chose differently

 

[Sha]

anchor and Mara, I wonder if you;re describing ''letdown''?- that''s usually a prickly, ''pins and needles'' feeling in the breasts.... Or is it another type of pain?

Mandarine - "JUST a 10 K, you say....??" That''s still quite the achievement.

I can''t even run 5 minutes without stopping!

 

[Mara]

nope Sha...I know the letdown...it''s almost painful sometimes! I have been getting letdown more frequently too which is weird... like every 1-2 hours more than every 3-4 hours which I used to. this is kind of like what anchor is talking about, along the ''lines'' of the boob sometimes I feel like it''s shooting pain or ''tendon'' pain or something...don''t know how to describe it.

 

[Blenheim]

Pandora and RPS - thanks for the input! He hadn''t really eaten for like two weeks (gets all the milk he wants, so I''m not really concerned about malnutrition or anything, just that he learns to eat!) and then right after I posted that he decided to turn his act around. Ate half a slice of meatloaf last night plus a bunch of mashed potatoes and peas, and the eating streak has continued for all of today. I''m waiting to hear back about a job that I really want to get, and so part of this is just hoping that he can really start taking in more solids in the next month or so, so that I don''t need to be as concerned about pumping several times a day should I get the job. I hate pumping. I mean, I''ll do it if I need to, but I don''t like it. But I guess I just need to let him set the pace.

Starting solids - we waited until 6 months for all of the reasons previously mentioned, although I wanted to start at more like 5 months- he just seemed interested. But after having gone through this once, I''m definitely waiting until 6 months for future kids. They don''t need solids until then, and OMG. The poop.

I wish that I could avoid this poop indefinitely. And the mess. And all of the extra, resulting laundry. Definitely adds more hassle in my experience as well.

Mara - we did the finger in the mouth thing all the time for a while. No bad results here; he just eventually outgrew it.

 

[phoenixgirl]

MIL question . . . is it normal for mothers of grown sons to scratch their heads and backs, etc.? I''ve noticed MIL doesn''t do it with DH, at least not while I''m around (I remember she did it once about 5 years ago, but she probably noticed my weirded out expression), but she did it with DH''s brothers all weekend. And one BIL (the youngest, the one who''s also dysfunctional) does it back -- just starts rubbing her head or whatever. At one point she grabbed the hand of the son who doesn''t do it and held it for like 30 seconds while she was talking. I''m sure this has to do with your cultural background and family dynamics -- everything is relative! -- but do you think that''s weird?

 

[sunkist]

Amber</b sorry about Piper''s rash!! Wes had a rash on his legs the other day. I called the doc''s office and after asking me a bunch of questions they just told me to give him a bath with baking soda. It will neutralize antything that may be irratating the skin. I also re-washed all his clothes and blankets and everything just in case. Luckily it was gone the next day. I hope Piper is doing better tomorrow!!

Mara Im so glad you got such great pocs of J. Precious! Fussiness - 6weeks was the worst for us. Then it gradually got better. I hope J''s fussiness fades soon, I do!

Anchor I

the sleeping with the arms up!

cdt, stinks about the bonus. Was it an end of year type of bonus, or a closing the store bonus? I think you should get the full amt!

Mandy, Wes says hi to the boys

They look cute in their chairs. Did those cushions come from ikea too?

Fiery, I cant believe S is big enough for a convertable!

Blen, G looks so grown up playing with legos!

Hi Socal, China, Viz, RPS, Ebree, CaliMama, Ginger, Sugar

Oh, so my Friday confession was this, the other day I was eating a chicken sandwich while I was BFing Wes cause I was starving at the same he was. Anyways, I dropped some mayonaise on his cheek...

yucky!

Oh, and also, this is so much a confession just something weird I realize I do. Sometimes my ankle clicks when I walk, so when ever I put Wes down to sleep in his crib I always find myself limping away so my ankle doesn''t click and wake him up!

 

[sunkist]

Date: 3/7/2010 3:37:17 PM
Author: anchor31
Re: Solids before 6 months. I read that the infant''s digestive tract is not mature enough before 6 months and it can cause major discomfort for some babies. However, I was told a story about a baby who started constantly crying at about 5 months and stopped when the mom finally gave her solids at 6 months, so she was obviously hungry... The mom could have been having a milk supply issue though.


Mandy - Jacob is a great napper, but he''s not easy to put down at night.

Re: Boob pains. Is it normal to have occasional shooting pains in the boobs, even if I''m not engorged?


Tao - Have fun on your date!

Anchor - boob pain - I sometimes have a boob pain that''s not let down. It''s like sometime after I feed him and it''s just in one spot, like a shooting or throbbing pain. I feel it a few times and it''s gone. I asked my mom about it before and she had no idea. I was thinking it''s maybe my boobs making more milk to fill up again or whatever???? Not sure, but maybe does that sound like what you''re feeling?

 

[sunkist]

Pandora, wow! Yay for first words!!

Tao, ha! Evan is so cute eating his cereal

The doctor just told us we could start Wes on rice cereal too. He''ll be 4 months in a few weeks, so maybe we''ll start in a month or so. Wes is still waking ever 2-3 hours at night. The doc thought it might help him sleep longer, but that it can work differently for different kids. So we''ll see!