PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Pandora II]

Thanks RPS! Hope your daughter's pelvis heals quickly. Scary for you though.

The zolmitriptan is the one I was most interested in as I get whacking great migraines every now and then. Since I first got pregnant I've just taken a bit of codeine, but zomig is the only thing that really works for me - sadly sumatriptan isn't as good. Based on the info you've given I'd probably take it if I really needed it.

Daisy is still b-fing as much as she did as a newborn... every 3 hours at least!

The Tramadol and Lamotrigine I have no option but to take, but I was interested to see what your book said - I'm impressed, it's very accurate (I did a huge amount of research to find the same answers). The fetal/maternal levels for both were much higher (almost 100% for the Tramadol) so I was fairly happy with the idea of breast-feeding. The hospital had to advise me not to because of the lamotrigine, but the specialists all privately said they thought I'd made a good decision based on the available evidence plus I only take 125mg a day which is way less than most people with epilepsy do).

As for the possible sedation.... ha, in my dreams!

The crackberry is a HUGE success - she's been telephoning away all day.

Does anyone have any suggestions of good baby apps for the iPhone? I've found some great ones for pre-schoolers but not sure on ones for the teeny tinys.

Thanks for all the compliments on my baby bear.

She only gets nice clothes because a) I was brought up to appreciate quality and b) I am a bargain queen and way too poor to buy what I like without getting a big discount!

 

[Blenheim]

Cute pictures, everyone!

Pandora - I just love that dress. Adorable! And Daisy is quite lucky to have her own Crackberry already. George had a lot of fun playing with my phone this weekend and managed to call my dad, my dad''s voicemail, DH, and my in-laws. All by himself, with no help. He''s now gettng a baby cell phone for his birthday, and while the keys beep and you can record your voice saying things to them, I''m sure that the real thing is much cooler.

RPS- sorry about your daughter! Yikes. Those baby pictures are so similar... wow!

My big news - I got a job offer! It''s kind of bittersweet. I''ll be starting in two weeks.

I have a situation that I''ve been struggling with. This is going to be very vague as I don''t know who''s reading this. But we have someone in our lives who is close enough that we''d like for them to be in George''s life, but he is not a terribly healthy person to be around. And it''s just very hard to figure out what kind of relationship would be best, and what kind of boundaries are appropriate. We spent a good deal of yesterday at his house, for the first time in close to a year (usually we meet at restaurants), and I''m still exhausted from the visit. The house is a baby death trap and so I was just on my toes the entire time trying to keep G from killing himself. It was raining, so we couldn''t easily relocate outside when he got bored with the tight boundaries I had to set. It was also chaotic enough that he couldn''t settle for an afternoon nap and then got very grumpy. The friend/family member also decided that he wanted us to meet one of his girlfriends and invited her without telling us beforehand, and it was just terribly awkward. I''m not sure that she realized that she''s one of multiple girlfirends, first off, plus she was making comments about how she doesn''t have any babies in her life and how she reads my personal blog all of the time and how G''s almost big enough that he can start spending the night over there with them. I got the impression that she thought that G was going to be her pseudo step-nephew/grandson/Godson/(substitute correct relationship here). I think we need to start meeting at restaurants again rather than at his house and continue to limit visits. Eventually G will be old enough that we can explain to him that we don''t agree with all of this person''s decisions (there are bigger issues than the multiple GFs), but I worry that he''ll grow up seeing this as "normal" behavior. But I also don''t feel comfortable cutting this person out entirely.

 

[Mara]

Happy Sunday all!

Quick Q..what is anyone who has their kid on a bedtime routine around a certain time doing about the time change (in the US) in terms of sleep schedules for their little ones? We normally start J's bedtime routine at 8:30 with him in bed at 9:30 or 10pm (depending on how easily he goes down)...and I was thinking of moving that up 30 min anyway because he has started to exhibit tired signs about 30-45 min earlier...but at this point I was thinking of just keeping it 'as is' and moving it an hour up due to the time change. Are those of you with kids on bedtime routines keeping it 'as is' and pretending the 1 hour shift didn't happen or are you going to put them down at the same time you always do as if the shift didnt happen (aka we'd start routine at 9:30 to put him down at 10:30 or 11). I'd like to get him on the new schedule sooner rather than later so am thinking of starting him at 7:30 to have him down by 9 which kind of moves up his bedtime 30min to an hour ANYWAY due to time change. Is my rambling confusing anyone yet? HAHA.

speaking of sleep, J slept his customary 11 hours last nite but broke it up into 2 chunks of 5 instead of the 8.5 and 3 this time. i don't really care as long as he goes the same long stretches!! he also had a lot of gas and reflux last nite going down so i really expected him to be up before 5 hours had elapsed since he seemed to be having such a hard time.

another Quick Q... the last few days and nights he has spurts of 'fussy' between eating spurts when it's time to burp him (aka when switching boobs or when someone is feeding him bottle and it's burp break)...he fusses, squirms like crazy, and cries.... and just is in general really agitated until he starts eating again. i know it's not 'starvation' since the cries are different AND he does it even if i know he's full, i feel like maybe it's when he's gassy/refluxy and doesn't feel well that this happens? does anyone who have a gassy or refluxy child think this sounds familar? because if it's NOT that then it is prob just another stage he's in and we'll have to just go with it, but if it's gas/reflux i'd like to make note of it so i can tell the Dr that this is happening in relation. also... a few times in the last few days when on the boob he ends up grunting and squirming around with the nipple still in his mouth (OW) and seems agitated..so again i feel like it is gas/reflux related. either that OR he's just feeling like he can do whatever with the nipple now. anyone have thoughts?

for anyone dealing with sleep issues and not interested in Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child or doing CIO... i totally recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley as an option. I have read both books and the Pantley book is a very gentle but still routine based solution... similar to the structure of HSHHC but without crying, and a lot more soothing involved. i can see the merits of both books.

Super cute outfit Pandora, and that coat sounds great!

Blen..sorry to hear about your trying day yesterday, tough situation, gotta love 'family' drama. and congrats on the job offer...i hear you on the bittersweet. money is great, not being with the baby is not as great huh.

RPS ...yikes sorry about your daughter's pelvis, that is crazy. i hope she heals up fast and that things stay calm for you! you guys are lucky ben is so easy going..i love that he babbles to the ceiling. J is still kind of 'frugal' with his oohs and aahs and he doesn't babble yet, mostly just looks around wide eyed. he's also stingy with the smiles!!

Burk..I love seeing you here, thanks for checking in!! K is soo cute. Ugh on the gassy refluxy baby, I feel your pain but it sounds like K is the next stage up...gosh I hope J doesn't advance there but sometimes I do feel a little helpless with what to do when he seems like he's just so unhappy. The difference between J when he is not gassy...and fussy gassy J is just like night and day, and knowing the difference makes it hard as a Mom to just kind of sit there and not know how to make it better when you know how much happier he COULD be. Hope it eases up for all of us dealing with it!! Our pedi suggested chamomile tea which we DO give to J with his formula, not sure if you are EBF but it does seem to help, a few times when he seemed really gassy I gave him a bit of formula with chamo as the 'water' and he calmed right down. And my Mom SWEARS by that helping us girls when we were little. Anyway hang in there!

anyway we had a nice visit today from some friends and their two boys. J was an ANGEL which cracks me up, it's like he puts on his cutie game face when guests are over. and we are grilling steaks and artichokes tonite for dinner, yum. It's about 70 degrees here today so I sat in the sun and ate some lunch while J napped and got a little color. I feel so great mentally when I can get some sun.

oh and i have a small success to report..I have been trying to get J to nap more in his crib but historically when I put him down in it...he wakes up within like 30-45 min. BUT, i can get him to sleep for hours in the boppy OR in his crib in the CAR SEAT, prob due to the inclines making him happier. his bassinet at night is inclined now. anyway, i want to get him to go for longer stretches in the crib so that we can move him to the crib soon permanently for day and night...but it seemed like every time i tried he just wasn't loving it. who knows, maybe it's too big, too cold, who knows. anyway today i setup an incline on it with a quilt and his positioner, and did our 'nap routine' which is swaddle, sleep sheep, and happy baby rocking til drowsy but not asleep...and then put him down. it took 2 tries but he slept for 45 min. while he was sleeping i went to the market. when i came back greg said he saw him squirming on the monitor so he got him up and changed him, and then put him back down but he had just started crying. so i did the routine again and got him down in 5 min and now he has been sleeping for 1.5 hours. so i am really YAY about getting over our 30-45 min crib hump!!! hopefully this week now that our company is gone we can continue with crib nap happiness...we'll see.

 

[phoenixgirl]

RPS, healing vibes to your daughter! Ouch!


Blen, if it helps, I feel the same way about my MIL. It IS easier to go out in public. Trust your instincts. And don''t let the girlfriend of the hour worry you. It kind of reminds me of the movie Must Love Dogs, if you''ve seen that, where the dad keeps this parade of girlfriends around. Usually being vague and acting like you''re more uptight regarding leaving the baby with others does the trick. And being really "busy" all the time too. Sometimes that''s just easier than saying, "Well, actually, I don''t feel comfortable leaving the baby with you . . ." Although if push ever comes to shove, I will do that. But if we can keep the peace and maintain our boundaries at the same time, I''ll go for that.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Pandora, I''m glad what I posted confirmed what you knew. I give Dr. Hale a LOT of credit because here in the US, the potential for litigation seems to weigh heavily on drs'' minds so they often see the lawyer warning on drugs and automatically say you can''t take it when you''re nursing. I''ve found that showing them the Hale''s entry works really well.

That stinks that sumatriptan doesn''t work for you, but I''m glad you have another option that does. I''m sure that Daisy will be fine because she''s not a newborn even if she''s still nursing like one (good girl!). I think it''s great that you did so much research about the other drugs. It''s amazing to me how much of the time it''s much better to breastfeed and take a medication rather than having to choose one or the other.

I hope you didn''t think I was being snotty about the expensive baby clothes. If I could do it, I would in a huge way because I love buying kid clothes. Then again, I''m pretty frugal, so I''d probably try to get a good deal before laying out a lot of money. I love getting bargains, too.

Blen,

for the job offer! I hope you enjoy your new job!

Your situation sounds sort of tough -- I hate having people that you *should* see, but you simply don''t want to. I''d probably insist on going back to meeting in restaurants only because you don''t want your precious boy in a place that could be dangerous. I wouldn''t worry too much about multiple girlfriends because you can use this as a teaching moment when G gets older. But, honestly, the gf''s gushing would creep me out. I think I''d put a password on my blog. As for spending the night, if it ever comes up, you can fall back on the "I''m not ready for him to spend the night away" if those people won''t hear from other people that you have left G overnight or you can simply pretend that nothing was ever said and hope they never invite G for a sleepover. If they do, make other plans REALLY FAST!

Mara, usually we move bedtime in increments over a few days when the time changes. We didn''t really have to do anything tonight, though, because we took the boys to Dave and Buster''s and Will was so tired that he passed out on the way home. Of course, this may mean that he''ll be up at 5:30, but it won''t kill me to get up that early and start working.

As for the squirmy fussy time, Ben seems to do that when he either needs to burp or has gas. I''m horrible about burping him -- I rarely do it. When he starts getting agitated when he''s nursing, though, it seems to be one or the other. If he''s content, he stays on task when he''s nursing. Maybe J is having gas issues, too?

I''m so jealous about your dinner and the sunshine! I don''t tan but I too feel so much better when I can get some sun. I have seasonal affective disorder and have to take an antidepressant or things get ugly for me in Oct/Nov when we start moving into winter. When spring rolls around, I start to feel human again.

That''s great that you had some success with J napping in the crib!



Thanks for all the good wishes for my daughter. I am hopeful that the orthopedist will have good news for us this week and that she won''t require further treatment. Her dad emailed me tonight to tell me that she wants to try to go to school, so that''s a positive. We''re going to transport her rather than expecting her to ride the bus, and I''m prepared for her to call me to come home early since using crutches can be hard on your arms. But still, I think it''s great that she can even think about school.

So...it''s 1:05 a.m. and Ben is lying on his dad''s chest WIDE AWAKE. He just hasn''t wanted to sleep much tonight! It''s almost as if he''s afraid he''s going to miss something. I had him in the sling at Dave and Buster''s and he was loving all of the lights. I do wish he''d zonk out so I can go to bed because I have to be up to work in the morning.

 

[natalina]

I just love all the pics! Nothing from us this week, as we''ve had family in town and things have been a bit of a struggle.

Blen- Congrats on your job offer!!!! I understand it would be difficult to leave George. So he will go to daycare? Maybe he will love the interaction with other kids since he isn''t super young anymore. As for that other situation- eek. That''s tough. And how awkward that the girlfriend said she reads your blog, as it really doesn''t sound like you know her very well. I would be really uncomfortable with that. Definitley sounds like meeting in restaurants would be better. Or maybe a park once the weather is nice.

Pandora- that dress is too sweet! I just love getting Ellie all dressed up and "proper" looking- and when you find great pieces at a bargain, even better!! LOL about the BlackBerry! I just picture Daisy out and about in her pretty little dress with her shiny red BlackBerry talking away- too cute!

RPS- thanks for the advice about pumping. I think I will just let it go. Stinks that I spent the $ on the Purely Yours! I''m not really too concerned about building up a supply. It sounds like a great idea to have it there, especially because I worry about the ''what-if''s'' (like if something happened to me, what would Ellie eat

). But I''m not dying to spend any length of time away from her anyway, so no biggie. Good luck building your stash!!! Sounds like you have a really good thing going! So sorry to hear about Hannah''s hip. Poor thing. I hope she is feeling okay.

Mara- we cut the difference in half. So she usually goes down at 8pm, and tonight we put her down at 8:30 with the new time. And thank your lucky stars for J''s sleep patterns! I really hope it lasts. Ellie used to be a good sleeper, not 10 hour stretches or anything, but 5-6 on a regular basis.

Which brings me to WHY I am on PS at 3:45am:
Ellie is 5 months and 1 week now. We would REALLY like to get her to STTN. So I slowly cut back her night feedings and now she goes from last feed at 730pm until 5am. Then we deswaddled last week. She will now go from 8pm until about midnight or 1am pretty good, but from then on it is a STRUGGLE. So we decided to try CIO. She has been crying since 1am. I cannot sleep through this! I never dreamed she could cry for 2 hours! I know all the books say to just let them go...Have any of you that have done CIO had this much of a challenge? What do I do? Really just leave her? Again, she used to be a good sleeper and has just outgrown that phase, I guess. Really looking for advice from BTDT moms, because I have read the books and jst need to know if this is really worth it or not!

Well, sounds like DH gave in and got her. She''s quiet now. And now I am wondering if he just undid tonight''s efforts....

...

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Natalina, well...you''re not the only one on here at some awful hour.

I have never succeeded with CIO. The times that I tried it with my 2 older kids, I ended up giving in pretty quickly because I just couldn''t take it. I gave it the good college try with my oldest and had a terrible, terrible time -- I think he could outlast the most determined parent.

Is it possible that Ellie is on the verge of doing something new or cutting teeth? Those were the times when my kids experienced more wakefullness. It would last a couple of days and then they''d go back to their regular schedules.

I don''t think your DH undid anything, but that''s my non-professional opinion. I can''t blame the peanut for getting quiet once Dad got her, though! Maybe she just needed some cuddles?

It does stink that you spend the money on the PY, but you should be able to sell it when you want! Since it''s a closed system, someone could buy only the hygienikit for about $50 and they''d have essentially a brand new pump.

Hope you got back to sleep.

 

[cdt1101]

Hey everyone! Super cute pics!

RPS - sorry to hear about your daughter.

Blen - Congrats on the job offer

Natalina - I wanted to chime in on CIO. I know Mela and Dreamer had great success w/ it, but I think it really depends on the personality of your child and whether or not the parents can hold out and not give in. For us, CIO just made Lex WAY more worked up and he never would settle down, it''s only gotten worse as he''s gotten older. And honestly, CIO just isn''t for *me*. We have been REALLY successful w/ the Baby Whisper. I used EASY in the very beginning and used dream feed w/ no problems. By 4 1/2 months we cut that out and he was sleeping 12 hours at night. Eventually his sleeping habits got completely out of control (lots of sickness) to the point he was waking 6 times a night a few weeks ago!! Anyway, I went back and read the book again last week and followed her approach again. It took me almost 2 hours to get Lex to sleep that night w/ the PU/PD (trying to teach him to self sooth), but it was worth it! He is sleeping so so so much better again. We still have the occasional wake up, but I can handle 1 wake up a night (not 6!). And instead of waking at 4:30 like he was, he''s sleeping until 6:30/7:00 again. I know it won''t work for everyone, but everytime I''ve followed her advice it''s worked for us. And I didn''t have to use CIO which makes me happy. Good luck w/ whatever you decide

 

[gingerB]

happy monday everyone

. although days of the week currently have no significance on me

. i have been up all night working on, yep, another plugged duct. actually it;s the same HUGE duct that re-plugged. AAARGH!!!

i hate that 1) it hurts like the dickens and 2) each pump session while plugged the milk production always loses at LEAST a half oz. which is a) a LOT for me and my IBTs and b) over 4-5 pump sessions, that''s like 4-5 oz which is a ton for someone trying to build a freezer stash

. stupid blocky duct. obviously i am a recurrent plugger and it seems once a duct pluggs one, it seems to more easily do it again. it''s alway my left one, which is bigger, slower let down, slower flow and less produced. my milk seems to be really thick and very "creamy" --- does that predispose me? (which brings to mind -- recently a overheard a mom with a leaner bebe good-naturedly ask another mom (a good friend) with a cute-o chubbo if she was lactating haagen-daazs

) i know lecithin should help, but i''m hesitant to take anything that messes with the fat in the milk because isn''t that the "good stuff"?

A has been fussy fussy fussy! HE absolutely refused to nap day before yesterday and was exhausted and fussy and crying all day yesterday. and i think he may be showing some signs of silent reflux -- poor baby. i hear/see him smacking and swallowing between feeds when he''s horizontal, hiccups multiple times a day, he''s still congested. we ended up inclining his bassinet last night and it seems to have made a difference in him sleeping more peacefully -- less fidgeting, moaning,groaning, grunting overall.

A is 1 month old today!

I can''t believe i have a 1 month old

. He''s growing so fast...already his little legs dangle off my side when i hold him

our new deep freezer is coming today! i''m excited to have a reliable (hopefully) place to start my freezer stash. we got a decent deal i think -- $163 for a GE 5 cubic feet deep chest freezer, delivery included. now i can also costco without worrying about lack of freezer space

mara - A does that crazy frantic behaviour with burping also. DH and i have been chalking it up to him still being hungry and worried that we had stopped the flow of grub. but we have a greedy greedy impatient eater so not sure if that applies to your cutie. we jsut kept our bedtime routine at thesame time. but overall we''re more flexible right now and the bedtime starts anywhere from 730 to 830 because he''s still only 4 weeks and we''re still flowing with his nap/lack of nap

schedule which is still fluctating. oh a nd BIG YAY for long naps in the crib!!!

RPS - yeouch -- sorry about your daughter. sounds like she''s being a trooper though. more healing vibes coming from the south

pandora - daisy is GORGEOUS! and i luuuurrrrve her little dress. i also lurve it even more knowing you got such and awesome deal.

natalina - sucks about the pump

but i''m super jealous that you don''t have to worry about it and are able sto stay near ellie. one of my friend''s did the ferberizing at 3-4 months and it took about a week to get him to go down quickly and quietly and i have to say her now 3 y.o has been a CHAMPION sleeper since then. but i agree that it totally depends on the individual baby and the parents and what works for them.

tao - that happy baby pic is a killer! love love LURVE open mouthed baby grins!!!


burk -

sorry for the crazy combo...happy you checked in. will DH be back soon to help relieve you?

i know it''s not friday, but i couldn''t help it. the day he REFUSED to nap, while being a rebel he was in a pretty good mood and would just chill out and coo and chat with us, which was so freaking adorable that i was snapping pics and taking vids ALL day. of course he reverted to McFussenstein the next day to balance out the extreme cuteness, but anyway, here''s a pic/s of my handsome little man while he was being super duper melt your mama''s hear cute.

 

[natalina]

Thanks RPS and CDT!

Well, DH had gotten her and put her in with him at 4am. She conked out in our bed until 930am! Too bad he had to get up at 415am! He is gone now until Thursday night, so I really want to get a plan together to make some sleep training progress by the time he gets back. She may be about to cut a tooth, has been chewing and drooling like crazy- but I can't feel anything in there yet. What I do not understand is she will go down no problem, its just that she wakes up SO many times through the night. We let her cry a few times last week when she did this, and within 20 minutes she was out and would go an hour or so before waking up again. Last night we decided to give the whole "don't go in" a shot and it was a disaster! CDT- I think she had the same issue as Lex and just got herself SO worked up she could not settle back down. I mean, she was alternating crying/yelliing for 2+ hours! I read the Baby Whisperer, BabyWise and HBOTB before she was born, and we did the EASY method for the first 3-4 months or so. Then she just started going longer on her own, but now THIS! I know its just a phase (please,please,please) but it is HARD when she wakes up crying every 1-2 hours! And I feel like it cannot be good for her, to not have good long stretches of deep sleep. So I know its not from hunger, I really think she just does not like being in there alone. Maybe I will go read Baby Whisperer again.

RPS- hope you got some sleep too!

Anyone else that would like to chime in, please do!!!!!!! If this is the way CIO works and I just have to power through it, I can do it. But if most babies give up and go to sleep within an hour or so, I am afraid this will not work for Ellie. Oh my stubborn little sweetheart...

ETA: Ginger- sorry about the blocked duct!!! Do you take antibiotics for it? I had one twice (same duct both times) and doc gave me antibiotics and it cleared up right away. Either way, I hope it clears quickly- they are a pain (literally)! Have fun with your new freezer! And those pics are SOOOOOO cute! What a little honey!

 

[fieryred33143]

Ginger-I just died of cuteness! What an adorable little boy

Natalina-We modified CIO to fit Sophia''s needs. First we leave her in the crib alone with ther projector. She stares at it for a long time while closing her eyes but she will fight sleep and start crying. So we let her cry. Once I can tell that her cries are getting a little louder, I''ll go in and pick her up, rub her back, give her a few kisses and she instantly falls asleep. It''s like she needs to know that we''re still there in order to stop fighting and fall asleep. She STTN. On occassion she''ll wake up randomly and cries a little but she puts herself back to sleep. It''s what works for her. If we left her to just CIO without going in there at least once, all she does is cry louder and does circles around her crib but will not fall asleep. However, we do not go in the room unless she''s gotten to that point where she needs us to. I think now she understands that she isn''t alone so most of the time she''ll just talk herself to sleep.

I think you need to find something that works for E. Maybe try increments where you go in and pick her up or just rub her back a little and see if that works.

Blen-Congrats on the job offer

I don''t have any advice on the situation. It really is a hard decision. I think continuing to meet up at the house is ok but if she brings up having him sleep over again, I would just tell her that you aren''t comfortable with that idea. Hugs.

***********

Time change sucks! Yesterday we went to the park so Sophia took a late nap and then wouldn''t go back to sleep until 10:30

. At 7:30am I had to wake her up and she was crying because she was still tired. Poor girl.

Also, we had our first taste of stranger anxiety. This weekend we went to a birthday party. As we were walking in, I held her facing outward so she can see everything. She took one look at all the unfamiliar faces and started screaming. Like tears down her face crying. I had to turn her around and she put her head on my shoulder and whimpered. Does it make me a bad mom that I thought that was the cutest thing in the whole world? LOL

We also had our first play date at the park. Sophia was so rude which leads me to believing that maybe she should be in daycare at least one day a week so she''s around other kids. She paid no mind to the other baby, Ella. Ella was very outgoing and was squealing the entire time. Sophia just kind of looked at her like what is your problem? and looked away. We brought a bunch of toys and Ella was interested in Sophia''s laptop so I gave it to her. Sophia took it away

. Not only did she take it away, but she closed it and then pushed it away from her. She didn''t even want to play with it. RUDE

 

[natalina]

Thanks Fiery. I think you are right, I need to come up with something! I wish I could help her to not keep waking up throughout the night. We have the bcm too. I leave the rain noise on, but don''t use the projector. Maybe I should leave it on, too. Maybe she''ll wake up and watch a lil movie then go back to sleep

. And I definitely think you are on to something about going in once she gets really worked up. I''m just afraid that it will egg her on when I leave. And you are not bad for thinking that was cute of Sophia! I think it is adorable!!!!

She just fell asleep on my lap. Yeah, sleepy after a long night, huh Ellie? Grrrrr...........

 

[cdt1101]

Date: 3/15/2010 10:32:21 AM
Author: natalina
Thanks RPS and CDT!

Well, DH had gotten her and put her in with him at 4am. She conked out in our bed until 930am! Too bad he had to get up at 415am! He is gone now until Thursday night, so I really want to get a plan together to make some sleep training progress by the time he gets back. She may be about to cut a tooth, has been chewing and drooling like crazy- but I can't feel anything in there yet. What I do not understand is she will go down no problem, its just that she wakes up SO many times through the night. We let her cry a few times last week when she did this, and within 20 minutes she was out and would go an hour or so before waking up again. Last night we decided to give the whole 'don't go in' a shot and it was a disaster! CDT- I think she had the same issue as Lex and just got herself SO worked up she could not settle back down. I mean, she was alternating crying/yelliing for 2+ hours! I read the Baby Whisperer, BabyWise and HBOTB before she was born, and we did the EASY method for the first 3-4 months or so. Then she just started going longer on her own, but now THIS! I know its just a phase (please,please,please) but it is HARD when she wakes up crying every 1-2 hours! And I feel like it cannot be good for her, to not have good long stretches of deep sleep. So I know its not from hunger, I really think she just does not like being in there alone. Maybe I will go read Baby Whisperer again.

RPS- hope you got some sleep too!

Anyone else that would like to chime in, please do!!!!!!! If this is the way CIO works and I just have to power through it, I can do it. But if most babies give up and go to sleep within an hour or so, I am afraid this will not work for Ellie. Oh my stubborn little sweetheart...

ETA: Ginger- sorry about the blocked duct!!! Do you take antibiotics for it? I had one twice (same duct both times) and doc gave me antibiotics and it cleared up right away. Either way, I hope it clears quickly- they are a pain (literally)! Have fun with your new freezer! And those pics are SOOOOOO cute! What a little honey!

Baby Whisper talks a lot about teaching your child to self sooth and eventhough Lex WAS a great self soother when younger, he just forgot how to, so I had to re-teach him. Now, BW will say that our accidental parenting created the mess, and maybe so, but I just can't pinpoint anything we did to make our good sleeper go away

Although, I do wonder if our failed attempts of CIO during naptime (he became a horrible napper after entering daycare) may have *taught* him if I cry hard enough eventually they will come. So maybe it kind of carried over into nightime..don't know. But anyway, like I said earlier, that 1st night was EXAUSTING trying to get Lex to go to bed on his own (no rocking or bottle to sleep). I REALLY wanted to give up 1 hour in and just give him the d*amn bottle and he'd fall asleep, but I didn't. I won't claim that BW fixed all our problems because more often than not he still needs that bottle to go to bed, but it definitely helped when he wakes in the middle of the night. He can now put himself back to sleep w/out needing me to come in a pick him up (to rock). He would literally scream on the top of his lungs and bang on the crib demanding I come in there, now he fusses a little and then goes right back to sleep (in line w/ what he used to do before we go into this mess). After seeing the results of the effort I put in that one night, I think BW is a genius

ETA - Ginger - A is super cute

Love the pic! I miss having such a little baby

Enjoy him!

 

[Burk]

Blen~Congrats on your job!

Pandora~Daisy is so cute!

Tao~Cute pics! He's getting so big!

Mara~We haven't really started K on a bedtime routine yet but when we did with T (around 6 weeks) we moved it 30 min at a time to get it to 7:30 where I wanted it. With T now (2 years old) we just kept it as is with the time change and now that I think of it K usually goes down around 9-9:30 and that stayed consistent with the time change too. When you describe J being fussy between eating I'd think it's because he doesn't feel well (gassy or refluxy) because eating/sucking is the way they soothe. Our LC even said that babies with belly issues sometimes can sometimes overeat because they want to eat to soothe. K does the same thing and he also does the thing where he gets agitated and throws his head around and tries to take my nipple with him...SOOO not fun! K is EBF but I am really interested in the chamomile tea-any suggestions how to give it to him without mixing it with formula? If not, I'm not opposed to giving him a little formula-I could increase my freezer stash of BM that way! I'm glad J was good for your company and you're seeing some relief! K had a great night two nights ago and even went two 5 hour stretches but last night not so much.

RPS~Thanks! I just hope it doesn't get worse before it gets better. Poor T was intolerant to milk and had really horrible reflux until she was 15 months old. Not really looking forward to that again. Sorry about your daughter!

Ginger~Cure pics! DH is back in town now so things have settled down a little bit (why I'm on PS right now

)

natalina~Sorry for your rough night. I'm sorry if I repeat, because I don't have time to read everyone's responses but we didn't have to CIO to initially sleep train T but used it later on when she regressed and have had to let her CIO a few times here and there even lately (although she only cries for 5-10 minutes so nothing like the hours you had to endure). I have some friends who did have to go hours on end for a couple nights so while I wouldn't say it's "normal" I def. don't think it means that she'll never "get it" and self soothe. You could also modify it by going in and picking her up every 15 min or so or something like that. I think the main thing is consistency. Good luck!

 

[Burk]

RPS~What do you know about vasospasms? I have them and because of them some of the cracking in my nipples due to poor early latch are not healing so it''s a vicious circle of them not healing(ouch) and the vasospasms (double ouch) not relieving b/c I still have the cracking. My LC diagnosed them and recommended heat which I''ve been doing but I just read here about a drug that can be prescribed and I''m wondering if I should ask about it. Do you know anything about it? Thoughts?

 

[TravelingGal]

Mara, I''ve never found the time change to be a problem. I just go with it. Either I wake the kid up at the normal time if she''s asleep (which is the case in spring) or don''t come into the room if she''s awake until her normal time. Naps happen at the usual time, although the first day I might go up/down in 30 minute increments.

She just adjusts to it. This normally means that for a day or two, she might take longer to sleep or be more tired from a shorter nap or whatever, but she''s quick to adjust. I''ve dealt with much bigger time changes (Australia) so it doesn''t faze me. Obviously I''m talking about a kid who is a lot older than J (her first time change issue was at 6 months and by then she was on a solid schedule). But since her schedule is based on hours from the last activity (if that makes sense), it''s not hard for us to deal with at all...we just space out the days events as usual.

I ditto Burk''s advice of the 30 minute increments, which we also started doing at the 6 week mark for Amelia.

 

[Blenheim]

Natalina - The crying intervals just got longer and longer with us, until we just decided to quit. But with us part of it may have been inconsistency. As we''re living with the in-laws and the 3 of us (G, DH, me) are all in one room, it''s very hard to take extended crying - we don''t have walls separating us from him, and everyone has to hear it. So no good advice from over here.

Ginger - awww, what a cutie!

Fiery - I don''t think that Sophia was being intentionally rude and is in desperate need of socialization.

It takes a while for children to start playing with other children, and they basically just do a lot of parallel play at first. I take George to weekly play dates (for me as much as for him) and the most that he interacts with other children is trying to gauge their eyes out (he is obsessed with eyes) or looking shocked as they take toys away from him. Sometimes older children will hand him toys, or hug him, or otherwise interact with him, but he basically just does his own thing.


We''re not putting G in daycare yet, but I think it''s time to start looking. DH is still looking for a job and is going to be doing that plus watching him (plus MIL works from home part-time and DH''s aunt watches her granddaughter 3x per week and likes having G over there so that they can "play" together), but I think we should have an idea of what daycares exist plus what kind of waiting lists they have before we really need it.

The person in question knows that his house is far from being baby-friendly, so I think we have a lot of good excuses on that end. He wants for us to come over again on Friday, to help him with some home improvement projects, so I''m going to send DH and use the excuse of construction also not being baby-friendly for us not going over there as well. The GF thing is just weird. They''ve been together long enough (2+ yrs) and he''s shared enough personal/intimate info with her (she mentioned some financial details that she knows about him) that I think that she thinks that they''re serious, and so maybe she does honestly think that she''s going to be a step-person to George, but I know for a fact he''s been seeing a bunch of other women during that time period and doesn''t want to commit to anyone. Awwwwkward. I like the idea of branching out to going to parks and things in addition to restaurants. We''re near enough to DC that we could also go to the zoo or museums. Actually, I really like this idea as they''re not places where it''s exactly acceptable to drink, which is another one of those issues that I was talking about.

 

[Mara]

thanks ladies for the comments re: the sleep routine. last nite we started at 9pm and put him down at 10pm because he ended up throwing in an extra 'mini nap' a little later than usual so he wasn't quite tired at 8:30. tonite we'll try 8:30 and see. so last nite he went down at 10pm and was up at 4am and then down at 5:30 and up again at 9am. the funny thing is that at the 5am feeding he is getting like 6.5oz of milk and it only lasts him 3.5 hours, what a piggy!!!

re: reflux and gas...yeah i am thinking that his fussiness and squirming while eating and/or burping has to do with gas because sometimes he is totally mellow and other times he is just like a squirmbucket, it's so hard to hold onto him, you have to kind of hold his legs in your legs and prop his head with your head to get him to hold still for burping. and it's something he JUST started like 3-4 days ago.

i feel like a lot of times it's my breast milk that makes him spit up more and have gas... i don't eat a lot of dairy but i might have to start a food log to see if there are any patterns. but when we give him the formula + chamomile he seems to take it really easily and not get as much gas. oh and last nite we tried rice cereal in his bottle which he seemed to like and he had hardly any spit up afterwards. so, seems like it helped a bit with not so much liquid in his belly.

natalina...re CIO obviously i don't really have anything to add yet with J but i recommended the no cry sleep solution yesterday which basically says something along the lines of what fiery noted...with soothing in between the attempts to put the baby down. the no cry is more like...do your routine and put them down and if they start to cry, go in and soothe (first by holding, then by voice and touch at crib, then by voice only etc etc). the idea is that it can take a little while but they said within ~10 days the baby should be doing pretty well. also with CIO, i don't think that it's in general supposed to work immediately...though you do hear those stories where it's like 'oh baby cried for 30 min then was perfect forever'... so i don't think your hub ruined anything by going in to get her last nite BUUUUTTTTT i would say that he prob should have gone in and soothed her by picking her up and rocking or whatever then trying to put down again...going in and getting her and letting her sleep with you guys prob was so far over to the OTHER side of not trying to get her to sleep alone but i imagine you guys were exhausted.

anyway...when it comes to sleep most moms who have had successes tell me all the same thing...routine routine routine. you have to keep being consistent and have a routine so that it's easier for the child to catch onto what is 'expected'. and don't do something that you don't want to become a habit. J is really young so we haven't necessarily tried to schedule naps yet (more like i just want him to go down for 2 naps a day however long they are) but our night routine is really consistent and J seems to respond to that even at 4/5/6 weeks. we do all the same things every night at the same time. and even though his sleep times tend to fluctuate at night, he tends to sleep between 10-11 hours every night with one wake up only in between. and he has been doing only one wake up since day one, so i don't think it's all US...part of it is him and that he seems to embrace sleep at night. i def think we'll have some setbacks but because we have had successes then we know it's possible and i think it's easier to forge through the setbacks than despair entirely. since Ellie slept great for you guys for so long, that is what she knows a lot more than what you are going through now, so i would say perservere.

also re: deswaddling, did you guys try to slowly deswaddle aka one arm out and/or looser swaddle first before entirely deswaddling? again we haven't gone through that yet but almost anything i have read re: changing a 'habit' is to start slow then move them towards what you want in the end. i am a little paranoid about the swaddling which puts J right to sleep because i know we'll have to deswaddle at some point!

ginger lol re: the haagen daaz. i totally notice when i eat more or more fatty items that my milk has way more fat in it than when i don't eat enough. i actually get agitated when i see my milk in the fridge and the layer of fat is super skinny. i am like DAMMIT MORE FAT PLEASE because more fat keeps them fuller longer!! hehe.

re: plugged ducts, add me to the club. i keep having the same areas replug and have to keep working them out..my OB told me she could give me leci but i didnt realize it affects the fat in the milk? ugh! boob massage here i come. and also i have heating/cooling boob pads i put on them, ginger if you don't have those i recommend getting some. gerber has some and medela does too i think. last nite i was bummed because my right boob production seemed really low and i think it's a plugged duct or two that i am working on. BOO.

fiery...re: sophia being rude, a lot of moms have told me their kids were not interested in other kids til almost 2 years old. i imagine some kids start earlier but i mentally expect J to be more interested in material items and external things than kids at least til 1 year if not closer to 2. but i don't think socialization is ever a bad thing when it comes to introducing kids.

 

[Mandarine]

hey guys...sorry I haven''t really been on!

My little ones are sick

They have a nasty cough and are pretty miserable

Lucas has had it for two days (wasn''t much interested in eating either) and Alex started couching today. Two sick babies is NOT my idea of fun!!! I hope they feel better soon, makes me so sad to see them uncomfortable....

Blen, congrats on the job!!!!!!

Mara, re:swaddles. I have been fighting for a month...and have gone VERY slow. First with one armed naps, then no arm naps...then one arm nighttime. Now Alex goes down with two arms out and belly wrapped at night (and free during naps). Lucas with one arm at night (two last night because he was inconsolable!) and nothing for naps. It''s been a LONG and painful road, but I don''t think most people have this much of a hard time. Other people do it cold turkey, and let the babies cry it out. That just wasn''t for me, but I''m sure that way it takes a lot shorter time!!!

Sorry, that''s all I can write for now! Will come back later

 

[qtiekiki]

Awww LOVE all the pics. So stinking cute.

RPS
Must had been tough not knowing what''s happened to your daughter when you were away. Hope she recovers quickly.
Ben and Will look so much alike. Cuties.

gingerB
So sorry about your recurring plugged duct. Sounds very painful.

sunkist
Yay for Wesley rolling over.

Pandora
Piper''s dress is adorable. Her daughter can wear the coat, if she has one.
LOL on Piper having her own blackberry. M plays with my iPhone all the time, either chatting on it or dancing to the music. We are going to load some music into my old iPhone for her to play with, so she''ll stop taking mine.

Burk
Great to hear from you. Ditto on liking to read about other babies around the same age. Kade is so adorable. I think he looks like daddy.
Hopefully eliminating dairy and corns works for the reflux.

Mara
Re: deswaddling - I stopped swaddling J at all around 3 weeks. His arms fling around like crazy, and it sometimes wake him up. Usually I can pat him back to sleep or he''ll dose back to sleep. I did the same thing with M, and it worked for us.
I just put M to bed at the usual time after the time changes. We haven''t had any issues. We haven''t really started a bed time routine with J yet. I need to start soon.

natalina
We never let M CIO for that long. We did the Ferber method, and the longest we went was like 15 mins. I think we did it a few days, then gave up, and then revisited the method again. Eventually M learned to put herself to sleep. I agree with whoever said it depends on the baby''s personality whether CIO worked. Have you try other methods?

Here''s a couple pic of J, in his carseat and doing tummy time on boppy. Don''t think I am friends with any of you on FB, but if we are, then you saw the first pic already.

 

[Mara]

QT those pics are so cute. Ginger yours too. I lurve looking at the babies so close in age to J... they all have kind of that similar newborn look to them.

J has been a mega fuss today...only happy when he is eating or sleeping and wanting to eat all the time today too. And his naps today, super short... he's taken 3 short naps instead of his typical one short, one longer. I can tell he's so tired but he keeps waking himself up after like 30 min. I figure it's the 6 week growth spurt or something. Hopefully he will sleep well tonite!

Can I just vent on how irritating breastfeeding is? First off J is a lazy eater, he's a great sucker but he's a lazy EATER. He zones out and forgets to swallow and falls asleep and ugh. So I end up pumping after most sessions because he loses interest. But he takes the bottle like a champ, prob cuz he only sucks once and it gives him a huge mouthful. I am almost tempted to just mostly bottle feed vs bf because he's so much more efficient and I can know what he is getting. We'll see maybe as he gets older he'll be more serious with eating. Oh and I hate the way my boobs feel, they are always 'sore' inside from either feeling emptied or too full. Ugh! Oh and the leaking. And the pins and needles. Bah. I will be lucky to go 4 months..!!

Anyone use a sleep positioner and if so when did you stop or when do you plan on stopping? We have a mesh one to help keep him straight and make him feel kind of cuddled, but I imagine at some point he won't need it anymore. I want to get an inclined one but thought well how long do you use it??

Mand ugh sorry about the sick babies!! Two is so not fun.

 

[taovandel]

Gah! I just died from the cuteness Q and Ginger!!


Evan is still sleeping so terrible----He will have one awesome night and then like 3 really bad nights. We''ve been talking about the CIO method...currently we will let him cry it out from about 6:30-7:00 when we are ready to get up....He''s only 4 1/2 months old though...we are thinking 5 1/2 months we will start for real crying it out if this stops.

CDT: I might have to do what you did and revisit the whole process again. He was a wonderful sleeper for practically 4 months. He did just start rolling over so we aren''t sure if it had to do with learning something new or not.

Swaddling: We are going to have to stop the swaddle very very soon. Now that he is rolling over I''m so scared he''s going to face plant in the crib and he won''t have his hands to help him out. But with his crappy sleeping now---I don''t want to make it worse..ya know? But maybe now would be a good time to do it because he is sleeping so badly....no clue what I should do...advice??

Mandarine: Sorry for the sick babies

Blen: Congrats on the job offer! Also, put me on the side of visiting at restaurants.

Fiery: Evan cried the other day at daycare when he saw his nanny feeding the other baby...haha...probably just a coincidence as he was barely 4 months old at the time...but still funny to us. I think daycare would be a good idea for a day a week...or schedule more playdates so that she gets used to other babies.

 

[natalina]

Mandarine- so sorry to hear the boys are sick

. You should try Pandora's Vicks-on-the-feet trick! Is it messed up that I actually ALMOST want to get sick so I can try it?!? Really though, I hope they feel better soon.

Blen- OMG I cannot imagine trying to sleep train in that situation! I actually think that may be where our problem kinda started- we were either staying with family or had visitors at our house quite a bit for about a month, and I felt bad letting Ellie fuss at all because I didn't want to disturb them. So I would rush in to her as soon as she made a peep. I think I un-trained her ability to soothe herself, and it was right at the 4-month wakeful time. Oops.

Mara- we transition swaddled by using the Woombie, which allows baby much more movement while inhibiting the startle reflex. She was in that for about a month before going cold-turkey last week. The whole one-arm out deal just never worked for us. Plus they look so cute in the Woombie! Like a sweet-faced little peanut!

ETA: Tao- see swaddle comment above. And it sounds like 4 months is a very common time to run in to sleep issues! Boo!

QT- J is SO cute!!!

Well, update on our CIO situation. So to be clear, we have a rock-solid bedtime routine. On bath night (every other) it starts at 7:15pm with her bath. Otherwise it starts at 7:30 with fresh diaper and pj's. We change her on our bed, put on a fresh diaper, lotion massage, and pj's/sleepsack. Then I take her into her room (where her baby crack machine is already playing), lights off (nightlight only) and BF her in her rocking chair. She feeds about 15 mins, then straight to her crib (awake), right at 8pm. Since about 2 months old, she has always just put herself to sleep from there.
We haven't changed the routine at all. The problem has been that she wakes herself up throughout the night and cries until we plug her binky back in. Then the last few days, even when we do that she spits it right out and starts up again.
Now tonight, she started crying as soon as I put her down in her crib. She cried for 1/2 an hour

. Ugh. Tonight is going to be bad, I just know it. And I forgot that I loaned my BW to a friend, so I couldn't review it. But I did go buy No Cry Sleep Solution an am going to start it as soon as I sign off here. I guess for tonight, I will go in and soothe her when she gets really worked up, but NOT bring her in our room. I also may reinstate a night feeding to see if that helps. I would GLADLY go back to one feeding a night if it helps her to sleep!

Sorry to be so me-me-me. I am just desperate here! Off I go. Will update tomorrow. THanks for listening/advice.

 

[gingerB]

Blen - congrats on the job offer!

that''s really exciting

natalina - no antibiotics yet because i''ve not gotten mastitis (yet) and hopefully won''t! what my friend did for her LO is after the bedtime routine, they put him down int he crib and said good night and left. if he started to cry, they would wait for 3 minutes, then go back in and soothe him. then back out. this time they increased the time interval by a few minutes (say five), then went back in to soothe. then repeat (7 min, 10 min, 12 min, 15 min), slowly increasing the time interval to s aset amount (say 12-15 minutes), then kept going in at that max to soothe and repeat until he fell asleep. the idea was to let him know that he wasn''t alone but that he was not going anywhere as it was bedtime. she said it worked rally well and he was a straight to bed no crier by a week or so. i have to say everytime i visit her from the 5 month mark when she was doing thisup to now (he''s 3) i''ve always been impressed with their bedtime routine. he''s happy and the bedtime is not stressful at all. AND mom and dad are not spending HOURS trying to get him to bed.

burk - i don''t know about nipple vasospasms, but that drug is commonly prescribed for vasospasms elsewhere. it does enter teh breastmilk and is listed as not recommended fro bfing moms, but AAP deems it compatible (i have no idea what that means) RPS should be more helpful

mara - well my fatty milk doesn''t seem to keep my little chunky monkey full for long! those heating/cooling pads sound intriguing. must check them out.

re: BFing - hubbs and i talked about it a LOT and pretty much our decision is to do exclsuisve pumping. i do like knowing how much goes in him and i actually really like giving him the bottle. he''s happy, i''m not in pain, he looks at me while feeding and coos as his tummy fills, i think we''re bonding just fine. and we still do skin to skin. and it cut down mealtime duties for me in half (instead od 40 minte bfing, then 30-40 min pumping, then washing, i cut out the 40 min bfing part which was the least effcient as most of the time was spen just trying to get a good latch and to get him to re-latch when he pushed off frustrated and still hungry looking for the bottle) and i''m gong back to work in 6 weeks at which time i''d be mostly pumping anyway with my 60+ hour work week (

) that would sseriously interfere with any significant BFing plans. so i''ve been looking into these EP forums and more women do this than you think. it still takes a lot of time commitment and there are diff sacrifices to be made, but i think this is what is going to work for us for this kiddo. and it save my nipple for the pump so i can pump more milk and last longer to get more hind milk for that extra fatty goodness

i still have hopes of BFing the next one (

if there is one!) from the start so we don''t have this bottle/breast competition going on. it was a hard decison to some to due to the pressure to BF from the tap, but i''ve finally wrapped my mind around the fact that i''m just not going to be able to do that this time around, but i can still give him 100% BM for as long as i can -- just from a bottle.

qtiekki - what a CUTIE! love his rosy cheeks!!

mandy - ugh for 2 sick babies. you really are the definition of grace under fire. no way would i be as calm and sweet as you are in your situation!

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

not going to elaborate because it''s long and complicated and it gets me upset just thinking about it, but can i just say SOMETIMES FAMILY MAKES ME WANT TO GO AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

. you''d think ppl would realize there is enough stress and pressure being a new mom with a newborn and little sleep that they wouldn''t expect you to pander to THEIR needs and wants.

bleah.

 

[Mara]

Real quick since iPhone posts suck but

Ginger re the incremental times for soothing. That''s similar to the suggest in no cry sleep solution. Also my friend EPs and she swears by it. I am kind of thinking we might get there soon too because he''s just such a lazy eater that I almost always have to bottle feed later to fill him up and or pump anyway if he doesn''t drain a boob.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Morning, everyone!

Ginger, ugh, I''m sorry you''ve got another plugged duct. I think I''d start taking lecithin at this point just to see if it gives you any relief because you shouldn''t have to deal with this much pain or frustration. I looked up info from Jack Newman (a doc that runs a breastfeeding clinic in Canada and is REALLY knowledgeable) and this is what he says:

"Lecithin is a food supplement that seems to help some mothers prevent blocked ducts. It may do this by decreasing the viscosity (stickiness) of the milk, by increasing the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the milk. It is safe, inexpensive, and seems to work in some cases. The dose is 1200 mg four times a day. There is more to preventing blocked ducts than taking lecithin."

So, you''d actually be increasing the fat, not decreasing it! Yay! I hope that makes you feel more comfortable about trying it.

About the decrease in pumping...are you seeing this over the same day? If so, I would NOT worry about this because it''s normal to pump less at each session as the day goes on. I know it''s hard to think that you''re actually losing out on pumping some. I get so frustrated sometimes because pumping one side in the morning yields almost 2 oz. from one side, but pumping for the same amount of time any time after noon gives me 1/2 oz. if I''m lucky.

I cannot believe A is already a month old!

He''s soooo cute!

And congrats on getting that freezer! I still haven''t done anything about one for us because our freezer is still ok, but I need to get on the ball. I wish I had room for one like you got! It would definitely come in handy for storing food as well and we''re talking about butchering one of the cows for us, but have no where to store several hundred pounds of meat.

Burk, OUCH! I know vasospasms are not fun! I would definitely ask about Nifedipine if I were you because it''s approved by the AAP for use in breastfeeding moms, and Dr. Hale rates it as an L2, which means it''s safe. According to this, you''d take it for 2 weeks and that should take away the symptoms -- it sounds like a pretty easy fix to make you feel better.

Fiery, please do not worry that Sophia is going to always give other kids the cold shoulder! Her behaviour is totally normal for kids that age. In fact, it looks like she''s already been studying up on the Toddler Rules of Possession.

Will did similar stuff when he was actually AT day care, so I don''t think it''s a lack of socialization. It''s just normal kid stuff.

Mandarine, I''m sorry the boys are sick and hope they get better really fast. Poor peanuts!

QT, OMG he''s adorable. In the car seat pic, he looks like he''s being a tough guy!

Mara, I hear you on how irritating bf is. It''s not always a walk in the park! I think you''ll go to 4 months (and well beyond) because you''ve shown that you''re not the type to give up when you''re challenged. Pumping and bottle feeding is a little bit more difficult than feeding straight from the tap, but a lot of women do it. The drawbacks are that it can be harder to keep up your supply and the antibodies aren''t quite the same because your body loses the input from the baby, but it works for some because they can pump faster than the baby nurses and they can measure how much baby is getting. BF isn''t an all or nothing proposition either, so if you had to use some formula, it wouldn''t be the end of the world. Giving J any breastmilk is wonderful and look how far you''ve come! A lot of babies don''t get that much!


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

I am seriously going to lose my mind. Will has always wanted to be close to me, but these days, I feel like he''s CONSTANTLY hanging on me. Right now, we''re sitting on the love seat and there is an entire cushion empty because he is right up against me. I have asked him to move over at least 5 times and he just keeps moving right back. He also has this thing where he likes to rub my forearm. The problem is that my arms hurt because of the tendonitis so his rubbing is enough to put me over the edge. He also likes to put his feet on my arms -- don''t ask me why -- and that drives me bonkers. I feel like a horrible mom lately because I can''t tolerate some of the behavior that didn''t bother me at all for so long.

But Ben''s doing fine!

 

[vizsla]

drive by posting - but hello everyone!

re: sleeping... yeah, i have nothing to add but commissary. c wakes up every three hours if not before ... and the kicker is that he EATS a full bottle each time.... if he wasn''t such a peanut i would be inclined to try and cut one of these out... but i *think* he''s waking up because he is truly hungry.

nat - i sympathize. i don''t think i could do 1+hour of crying.. so kudos to you charlie also goes down super easy.. it''s just that he''s UP without fail to eat at 9, 12, 3, and 6 with.out.fail.

tao - charlie JUST started rolling from back to front too! i''m so nervous about the swaddling now, but he has such bad morrow reflux that there is like NO WAY he could go to sleep without those arms pinned down.. once he''s asleep he''s OK, it''s just the going to sleep that''s an issue.

ugh... i have the no cry sleep solution and have read every other book... bleh... i just want to know if he is really waking b/c he is hungry or just out of habit. then again c has NEVER been a good sleeper so i don''t know if i should just hold off and see what he does in the next month with the rolling etc. (some say once they sleep on their tummies they sleep longer)

who knows.

anyhoo i know i''ve missed, like, everyone.. but i was muy sick-o all weekend.... the ''bad'' kind of sick.. bleh.. haven''t been sick like that in a long time.... and holy cow is it hard to be a mom and be sick (like that) at the same time

. good news is that i probably lost a few lbs.

back to the grindstone.

 

[steph72276]

Hello! Woohoo, baby E slept really well last night! He went down at 9 and slept until 5:30 this morning with only 1 quick feeding at 3! I feel GREAT with all that sleep! I''ve been doing the EASY method the past few days and I think it is really working. He has been spitting up horribly bad though, so I got some of the formula Mandi mentioned with the rice cereal already added in to give him at night to see if it helps. He seems to be in pain at night only, which is what his brother did too. Anyway, hope everyone''s having a great day!

Tao, your Evan is such a cutie!

Burk, so good to see you here. Kade is so sweet in that picture you posted!

Pandora, Daisy looks adorable in that dress and too cute about the phone and trying to sound like you.

Fiery, I heard that the D sounds are easier for them to say, she will get the hang of Mama soon!

RPS, I don''t think I ever answered you when you asked me how old Andrew is, but he is 5. I really love the age difference, he is such a big help! Sorry to hear about your daughter''s accident, hope she is feeling better.

Blen, Congrats on the new job!!!

Mara, sounds like J is doing great with his sleeping. What is your bedtime routine? Also, how did he do with the rice cereal?

Hi, PG, TGAL and CDT!

Nat, hopefully you will start getting E to STTN soon, the sleep deprivation is just awful. I could never handle the CIO method with Andrew for over 5 or 10 minutes. If it was more than that, I always went in and soothed him...he was one of those children that only got himself worked up even more if we just continue to let him cry. Have to tried soft music? We have the baby Einstein cds that we would put on really quietly for Andrew at night and if he woke up, we would just turn it back on and that seemed to help. We just got them back out for E and have started them with him this week.

Ginger, A is just so adorable and what a cute onesie! Happy 1 month! Oh and don''t feel bad at all about pumping only...you need to do what is going to make you feel less stressed and what is going to make A the happiest. I am still supplementing with formula b/c I just can''t keep up with E''s demands and I felt bad for a while, but then I just realized I can only do so much and it''s not worth it to feel any guilt.

Mandi, thanks for the formula you suggested to Mara...I found some at Target today and I''m going to see if it helps with E''s spit up.

QT, oh my goodness...J is such a doll...love the hat!

Viz, hope you''re feeling better!

 

[Blenheim]

Nat - hope that last night went better for you!

Ginger - sorry about family drama.

RPS - You''re not a bad mom! I''ve talked with other moms who feel "touched out" after taking care of a newborn all day, and so I think it''s natural to kind of feel that way when another child is almost on top of you like that.

Viz - hope you feel better.

We had a sucky night over here. G''s fever is back, and he''s now congested and pooping a ton (at what point is it diarrhea? he''s gone from once every 2-4 days to 5 times in the last 24 hrs), and he''s teething on top of it. I was up from 3:30-6 with him and he was just miserable, even with Tylenol. He finally fell asleep on my chest. He''s napping again now. Or not... later!

 

[Mandarine]

I''m about to start crying...seriously.

Alex is napping in his crib and Lucas is screaming in the swing (I have been trying to soothe him for over 45 minutes, but had it)

It''s been two weeks of hell. First the stupid shots...and now the colds!. I can''t take it anymore, seriously!!!!!!!!!. The cry, scream, don''t wnat to eat...and the bets part...they stagger their naps. Literally, one wakes up and the other one goes down. They both want to be held ALL THE TIME.

I feel bad, they have terrible coughs (specially Lucas) but I''m TOO FREAKING TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband is the one that started with the colds...and he''s still congested, which means he snores like n enormous grizzly bear. So if I''m not sleeping because I''m feeding or soothing babies, I''m not sleeping because he''s bringing down the house snoring. Yesterday he got tired of me waking him up and finally went to the guest room at 5am. babies woke up at 6:30am. That 1.5 hour was my best sleep ALL night!

And the babies,w ell, they are sick...so they are sleeping more than usual during the day (by that I mean their naps are like 45mins-1 hour rather than 20-30 minutes)...well, I would love to take a nap too...but they stagger all the naps. It''s like an evil plan.

I''m tired pysically, mentally and emotionally.

I go back to work Monday...and while I KNOW I''m lucky because I''ll be working form home part time, I just can''t phantom the thought of going back. I can''t concentrate of brushing my teeth how would I manage a project!!!???. And what a great way to go back, after 3 weeks of hell and no sleep.

Deep breaths...deep breaths....maybe later I''ll take them out for a walk or something, see if they fall sleep...doesn''t help me since I can''t fall sleep while walking, but maybe it will make me feel better,,

Lucas just started napping in the swing...and Alex just started crying from his crib. Gotta go.

ps: I guess I''m not as sweet as you all think I am..haha. I keep thinking it''s temporary, they''ll get better...it''s ONLY temporary!