PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[MustangGal]

Romy is soo cute! I love the leg warmers! He''s going to be a real charmer if he already has the girls visiting at 11 days old!

 

[lili]

Can Romy get any cuter?
Wow, smiling already at 5 PP? He is a happy boy.
I love those baby legs on him!
They are so big, but cute.
Hehe, those should be your monthly picture -- so you can see how much he fills out those baby legs over the months.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 5:50:08 PM
Author: mela lu

Date: 6/11/2009 5:46:53 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Hopefully it lasts, but I''ve been saying for awhile, almost all babies are pretty good for 2 weeks, and then all of the sudden they wake up and smell the coffee.

EXACTLY!

That''s what I''m afraid of...

He is just too cute. Those smiles are the best aren''t they?

Mela, I just wanted to clarify, I don''t want to be a party pooper. It may not happen to your angel. But I have known women who didn''t know how things can change after the first two weeks and were completely caught unaware and it really affected them. I knew it going in and it was STILL tough when it happened, and it wasn''t even too bad (just hours and hours of the baby not sleeping, as Pandora is going through now with Daisy). I guess that''s why I mention it, although to be honest, I am not really sure it helps with the misery factor anyway.

I always wondered why it was that colic kicks in the later weeks, and now I understand why!

Even easy babies can make you cry, so don''t feel bad if you need to go have a good one. I always recommend the shower for a good place ot cry...feels less pathetic when there is water running down your face too.

 

[mela lu]

Great idea on the Baby legs. I was wondering what we were going to do for our "thing"...and by *GEORGE you've GOT IT!
Baby legs it is.

*Not to be confused with Blen's George, of course.


Um, and D-to-the-oy! D'oi! I forgot to tell...I finally get to wear my baby gift!

This is Romeo's Ring. The story behind it is: Back in August 2008 DH and I were in NYC. It was there we conceived Romy. I knew I was preggers 2 days I after I conceived, and I knew I wanted to buy myself something sparkly to commemorate my 30th bday that had passed (in May).

I decided to combo my 30th bday gift with my "future" baby gift, and we spent a ton of time scouring the Diamond District for "that" stone.

Here is my/Romy's 1.13 N SI1 Old Mine Cut set in a wg setting by Marlene Harris. It's not it's "forever" setting, but I couldn't decide, and this was a cheap and cheerful mount so that I can start wearing it.

The idea is that IF Romy meets his "Juliet", then he can use the center stone to propose with

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 6:14:27 PM
Author: mela lu
Great idea on the Baby legs. I was wondering what we were going to do for our ''thing''...and by *GEORGE you''ve GOT IT!
Baby legs it is.

*Not to be confused with Blen''s George, of course.


Um, and D-to-the-oy! D''oi! I forgot to tell...I finally get to wear my baby gift!

This is Romeo''s Ring. The story behind it is: Back in August 2008 DH and I were in NYC. It was there we conceived Romy. I knew I was preggers 2 days I after I conceived, and I knew I wanted to buy myself something sparkly to commemorate my 30th bday that had passed (in May).

I decided to combo my 30th bday gift with my ''future'' baby gift, and we spent a ton of time scouring the Diamond District for ''that'' stone.

Here is my/Romy''s 1.13 N SI1 Old Mine Cut set in a wg setting by Marlene Harris. It''s not it''s ''forever'' setting, but I couldn''t decide, and this was a cheap and cheerful mount so that I can start wearing it.

The idea is that IF Romy meets his ''Juliet'', then he can use the center stone to propose with

She''s had to pry it off my cold fingers! It''s gorgeous!

 

[lili]

Date: 6/11/2009 6:16:54 PM
Author: TravelingGal
She''s had to pry it off my cold fingers! It''s gorgeous!

LOL!!
It''s beautiful. I love it. That "cheapo" setting is so pretty....don''t change it..suits the diamond.

Wow, I can''t believe you knew you were preggo that early.

 

[nycbkgirl]

oooo mela he is sooo cute!!! ..those leg warmers o fuggehdaboudit! and mela lu there is just the most adorable baby ever!

anyone have any bouncers they recommend??

 

[lili]

Love that hand shot by the way.
So precious -- look at those tiny fingernails

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/11/2009 5:48:47 PM
Author: mela lu
aww thanks lili

. Okay, by special request...here is one of him smiling. He smiles all the time. And he laughs while nursing. WEIRD! Middie didn''t believe me at first, and told me it was just gas, but then she tickled his chin and he smiled at her (dimple and all). She died! That was 5 days PP!!! Seriously insane. He''s a really happy boy. I don''t know what else to say?!
I feel really blessed and nervous to say these things out loud for fear of jinxing it.

Mela, Romy sounds a lot like Hunter and he is still a smiley little laughing baby. Very easy and pleasant and mello.

But as TGal said, be aware that even angel babies go through hard times! With Hunter is was around 3-5 weeks old. He was awake more and when that starts happening you have to learn how to help him sleep (this seems to be happening to Daisy too!). Hunter screamed for hours! Anyways, just wanted to tell you that if he starts screaming a lot, most likely he is over tired and you will just have to struggle through. Your angel baby will return after a few weeks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Pandora It sounds like Daisy has reached that age where the big developmental issue is learning how to transition her brain from awake to asleep. It is the big chore for babies and really hard for them to learn! Others gave good advice, but I wanted to add that one thing you can do is start being a real detective and try to learn what she lookd like and does when she is *first* tired. You can''t really see this when she is overtired like she is now, but when she finally does sleep, once she is awake watch her behavior closely. After she has been awake for 30 minutes to maybe 45, you will start to see her unique tired signs. She may stare into space, or if she was moving around a lot, she will stop moving, or if she was calm she may start wiggling. Some change will happen and THAT is when you have to wrap her up and put her down somewhere quiet. If you can catch it juuuuust right, she will fall asleep. If you miss those first signs, then she won''t be able to transition her brain and she will go into meltdown mode. It may be a few weeks of boucy chair etc before you have enough time and focus etc to try this type of observation, but it is worth it because if you can read her signs then you wil have a happier baby. It is counterintuitive that an overtired abby stays awake for 8 hours, but that''s what happens! Baby''s are wierd.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 10:28:46 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Pandora It sounds like Daisy has reached that age where the big developmental issue is learning how to transition her brain from awake to asleep. It is the big chore for babies and really hard for them to learn! Others gave good advice, but I wanted to add that one thing you can do is start being a real detective and try to learn what she lookd like and does when she is *first* tired. You can''t really see this when she is overtired like she is now, but when she finally does sleep, once she is awake watch her behavior closely. After she has been awake for 30 minutes to maybe 45, you will start to see her unique tired signs. She may stare into space, or if she was moving around a lot, she will stop moving, or if she was calm she may start wiggling. Some change will happen and THAT is when you have to wrap her up and put her down somewhere quiet. If you can catch it juuuuust right, she will fall asleep. If you miss those first signs, then she won''t be able to transition her brain and she will go into meltdown mode. It may be a few weeks of boucy chair etc before you have enough time and focus etc to try this type of observation, but it is worth it because if you can read her signs then you wil have a happier baby. It is counterintuitive that an overtired abby stays awake for 8 hours, but that''s what happens! Baby''s are wierd.

LOL, or just plain yawning!

Amelia was like Hunter, weeks 3-6. I''ve mentioned before that I lay her on a pillow on my lap and just talked to her a lot. After she yawned 3 times (which came one after another) it was immediately swaddle and into the bassinet. She''d conk out. The window was consistent: 1 hour 20 minutes. If I missed it by 15 minutes or so, it was too late - she was overtired and would not go down. This is what happened when she was up 9 hours, I kept missing windows...nothing I could do would help her sleep, and she was pretty desperate to do so, I think.

I did this very early on, and fortunately never had to CIO (with the exception of 2 nights when she was much older, and that wasn''t for long). I give everyone the same advice if they want it re: sleep. WATCH your baby. If s/he starts getting fussy, you''re past the window.

 

[TravelingGal]

One more thing, people don''t realize babies need sleep often and keep the tots up for 2-3 hour stretches. That''s too long for little ones (Baby Whisperer and HSHHC both say this). It should be no more than 2 hours from the start of wakefulness (which include feeds). And from what I remember from the ladies here (and my own kid) that is a stretch. 90 minutes is probably closer to the mark. It''s weird to think they can sleep that much and often, but they more they sleep, the more they sleep! So if the baby is up for more than 2 hours, that''s half the battle. Start the wind down routine earlier.

 

[Mrs]

Hi mammas. Hope you all had a nice day

Mela, glad you''re doing well! R is so cute!

Pandora, Sorry to hear Daisy isn''t sleeping great!

Question re: sleep and sleep attire: Do you all always put your LO down with his/her head facing the same direction each time? Just curious. Also, what to you have them wear to bed? S has been in those sleep nightgowns with the elastic around the opening at her feet and the closed hands and sometimes I''ll put a sleep sack on her over that as well if it seems cold. She''s growing out of the 0-3 mos nightgowns and I''m not sure if I should get her new ones or is there''s different sleeping attire I should consider. Thoughts?

I''ve got a terrible cold and have been one big ball of mucus for 36 hours so I''ve nothing to report other than Achoo! I''ve been washing my hands like crazy hoping S doesn''t get it - fingers crossed!

gnight!
Mrs

 

[puffy]

mela Romy is the cutest little thing in the world and check out that smile!!! what a cutie pie!!!
and beautiful ring!!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 6/11/2009 11:36:00 PM
Author: Mrs
Hi mammas. Hope you all had a nice day

Mela, glad you''re doing well! R is so cute!

Pandora, Sorry to hear Daisy isn''t sleeping great!

Question re: sleep and sleep attire: Do you all always put your LO down with his/her head facing the same direction each time? Just curious. Also, what to you have them wear to bed? S has been in those sleep nightgowns with the elastic around the opening at her feet and the closed hands and sometimes I''ll put a sleep sack on her over that as well if it seems cold. She''s growing out of the 0-3 mos nightgowns and I''m not sure if I should get her new ones or is there''s different sleeping attire I should consider. Thoughts?

I''ve got a terrible cold and have been one big ball of mucus for 36 hours so I''ve nothing to report other than Achoo! I''ve been washing my hands like crazy hoping S doesn''t get it - fingers crossed!

gnight!
Mrs

mrs- i put onesies..i have all the ones that have closed hands but i usually leave them open now bc hands were getting a little sweaty and need to breathe....i have some with zippers which i usually like for nightime...bc when ur sleepy fussing with those buttons is a real task! i didnt like the elastic bottom sacks ..my sis did but i had a hard time with it and the diapers kept pulling down when i put the nightie back down..weird but true for me.

regarding positions: my MIL says its best to change positions every time they go down...she even changes head to feet positions as well as side to side.,,,i have to admit that i put jon on his tummy a lot bc he sleeps better that way,,but i watch on the monitor all the time and he moves his head easily from side to side.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/11/2009 11:01:49 PM
Author: TravelingGal
LOL, or just plain yawning!

Oh yeah! That too...

!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Mrs. Hunter sleeps in a sleeper and a sleep sac. In the summer we will have him sleep in just a onesie (short sleeved no legs). We don''t have AC, so it will be hot!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/10/2009 9:32:41 PM
Author: Blenheim
We''re using condoms. Hormonal BC does a number on my system, and I can''t read my body''s signs at the moment. Is anyone using FAM? I keep having creamy CM but a low closed cervix, and I''ve had EWCM a couple of times with a low closed cervix. Not used to that. So we''re playing it safe. Maybe I should get out my copy of TCOYF and actually read the post-partum sections.

I will use FAM later, but right now I don''t think it would be accurate... I have noticed all different types of CF, no rhyme or reason!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

So I was thinking about all you new mamas last night. I am sure many of you weren''t around when my a newborn she cried...a lot. I discovered the wonders of white noise. For her it was the sound of the vacuum. We ran that thing all night sometimes. Then I did a search and bought a MP3 of the sound from here. It was wonderful! Totally mellowed her and she would fall asleep. Remember it was pretty loud in the womb so that is what babies are used to. We really blasted it. Hope this helps someone.

 

[mela lu]

We''ve been using a white noise ''lamb'' doll from Pottery Barn Kids. It hangs on his bassinet and I do think it helps

Good thinking Tacori!

 

[Pandora II]

You are all so right - it's amazing how fast they change in the early stages.

Daisy was a dream last night - still woke twice during the night, but I got two 3 hour breaks in between so feel more human. Also both times she just woke up, fed for 20 - 30 minutes and conked out again... won't last, but hooray while it does. She's also asleep right now.

I'm going to try and look for those cues - I'm sure that I'm missing them and then she's just too tired to sleep. I've got a copy of the Baby Whisperer somewhere (I really liked it when I read it) and have been trying to find it all this week!

This morning she noticed one of her toys for the first time - the Lamaze dolly, and actually reached out to grab one of the rings on it. Up till now she just didn't notice anything shaken in front of her. Also starting to do a lot of smiling - more muscle practice than happy thoughts I think.

DH has suggested going to look at bouncy chairs with her tomorrow. John Lewis has a room where you can try them all out so we'll start there.

I got a lovely gift this morning - the guys we play poker with had a whip round the night she was born and have given us nearly $200 of vouchers for a really nice baby shop in the West-end. They had been watching the bump week by week and looking very nervous by the Wednesday before she was born in case I got over-excited and gave birth there on the table ...

So sweet of them all - now I just need to find a 'My Little Poker Set' for her

Mela - Romy is just adorable, really enjoy him being this little - it's amazing how fast time goes, Daisy will be a month old on Sunday yet it seems like yesterday that I was still pregnant. I'm trying to appreciate even the bad bits especially since I don't plan anymore - I will so miss that lovely baby smell when she grows up...

I hope he stays an angel baby for you - three weeks seems to be a BAD week though...


Are any of you keeping a baby diary or similar? I've been meaning to do one - DH's mother did and it was really fun to read through when she found it at Christmas. DH has set Daisy up an email account and he and his family all send her emails for her to read when she's older (so hard not to go and see what he's written - and I'm not a peeker at all normally!)

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 6/12/2009 9:52:28 AM
Author: mela lu
We''ve been using a white noise ''lamb'' doll from Pottery Barn Kids. It hangs on his bassinet and I do think it helps

Good thinking Tacori!

She had a bear with a noise thing but it wasn''t loud enough for my little screamer. Haha. I went out and bought a boom box with a remote and we would turn it on in the middle of the night if she started screaming (and it wasn''t time to nurse). Worked like a charm. Now I moved the boom box into her play room so we can have dance parties with her kid''s music. They really do grow up fast!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Interesting about the white noise...I will look into that! I have the fan on now and its pretty noisy and I figured since I like to sleep with it on and block out other noise..they would too.

Pandora- yes enjoy the sleep while it lasts! I remember when they just came home and slept so well..and now....

...
great idea about the emails!
I was starting to keep a preggo journal and really wanted to continue but alas...no time or desire to do anything. Even tho I usually get 4-6 hrs of sleep...im walking like a zombie..I feel the life sucked out of me lol

Jon was up from 830-1245 last nite....this gas is killing me! Im giving mylicon regularly now but duno if its helping

Mela- loove the bling

 

[MustangGal]

Re: sleeping attire, Kyle was in a swaddle until a few weeks ago, we just put him in it in only a diaper. I tried just a onesie when we stopped swaddeling him, but his little toes were freezing when he woke up, so I''ve switched to feety pajamas. The ones I use snap up and have long sleeves. We then turn the ceiling fan on in his room, and have the A/C set at 80 degrees. This seems to be working, and he''s not too hot or cold when I pick him up in the morning. We do put his head at the same end each night, and he sleeps with his face straight up, but we put him at the other end of the crib when he naps. He has more hair on one side of his head than the other, so he must be rubbing it off the one side, but it''s not too bad.

 

[Blenheim]

DD - I got out TCOYF and it said that your basic infertile pattern no longer applies until you have recognizable cycles, so assume any CM is fertile basically. So yeah.. condoms it is.

Mela - he just looks so sweet.

And the ring is just so lovely. I love the idea of keeping it for his Juliet.

Pandora - glad to hear that things went better last night. Baby poker set hahaha.

Sleeping attire - we swaddled him at first, but lately we''ve mostly been putting him in a onesie (short or long sleeved, depending on temperature) and knee socks. He sleeps curled up next to me, so extra heat, and we have a light blanket that''s tucked in so that it comes up just to our waists, so that also provides a little extra warmth for his legs. It''s still getting a bit chilly most nights. I don''t think about it, but I guess we alternate sleeping position as the two of us sleep facing each other and I switch up sides from night to night because it''s more comfortable for me.

Diary - no, but we have a family blog that we regularly update- the extended family loves it because they can keep caught up with him and all developmental milestones, pictures, stories, etc. It serves enough like a diary that I don''t see a need to do anything additional.

 

[MustangGal]

Well, Kyle survived his 4 month check up! Here''s his measurements:

Weight 14 pounds 7 ounces, 40th percentile
Length 24.5", 37th percentile
Head 16.25", 25th percentile

So he''s basically pretty average! DH has a small head, so it looks like Kyle might have that from him. The doc was surprised that he can roll over both ways (he wouldn''t stay on his back during the exam, he kept flipping to his tummy!), and said he looks very active and healthy. His head is a little out of shape, so we''re going to move the mobile to the other side of the crib and have him sleep on that side and see if the dent pops out. He only has 1 clogged tear duct, one eye cleared up on its own a few weeks ago, so he showed me how to massage it to help. Kyle got 1 oral vaccine plus 2 shots. He cried for just a minute, then took a paci and he was fine. He fell asleep in the car, and took a 2 hour nap, then was back to normal. I only gave him 1 dose of tylenol right before they gave him the shot. He didn''t seem to be in any pain after he woke up, so I didn''t give him any more.

And completely not related, but we got a new dining room set! It''s my "happy promotion" present to myself

. We''ve had the same small table we bought for our first apartment 8 years ago, and with all the family that''s been visiting, 4 chairs just wasn''t cutting it. I found a beautiful table with 6 chairs and room for 8 on craigslist. The store still makes the set, so we''re going to order an additional 2 chairs. It goes perfectly with the new tile and our living room stuff.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Well I don''t want to jinx it, but I think Hunter is getting back to his pre-vacation & cold sleeping habits

The last two nights he has slept from 7pm to 7am with only one wake up! Last night we didn''t even wake for the feeding until 4:30, which was awesome!

If anyone is wondering for their own babies, I did a couple things this week that I think may have helped. 1) We stopped giving him the paci when he went to sleep -- I was thinking he was becoming too reliant on it to sleep and that may have been contributing to the wake ups at night. 2) I also resumed feeding him from one breast only each time -- I think that feeding from both was giving him too much foremilk and upsetting his tummy. 3) I stopped feeding him at his second wake up at 5/6am. Two nights ago this meant doing the whole binky/tummy rub/walk away when dozy routine for an hour

, two night ago it meant just ignoring him making little halfhearted whiney noises for 15 minutes, and last night he didn''t even wake at all! 4) I tried to make sure he had good naps during the day. Don''t know if these things mattered, but I think they helped a little.

Mustang congrats on the promotion! And it is interesting to hear about Kyle''s 4 mo visit. Hunters is in a couple of weeks so I know what to expect now!

Blen I thought that''s what TCOYF said. I don''t mind condoms so its all good!

 

[jas]

I''m a little late here, but Romy is beautiful...and so are you, Pandora, laser eyes and all.

Hi mommies!

Hey -- guess what I learned yesterday? Papaya is like turbo-charged prunes for my babies. Little Jackson managed to explode out of his diaper early Friday morning and proceeded to do a cave painting in his crib and all over his little body.

It''s funny because DH cleaned it up. Otherwise, it''d be not funny.

Rough couple of days, but it seems to have run its course.

Having two crawlers is the best way to learn if you are a good housekeeper.

I am not.

This is like some really bad poetry. Have a good one!

 

[Pandora II]

Oh poor you Jas - I believe we had a similar mess this morning, but since DH had taken her for a few hours to let me have some sleep I managed to miss it!

We took Daisy shopping today - seems like she takes after her parents, a shopaholic in waiting... she wanted to be facing outwards in the baby carrier (she''s really still too young for that according to the instructions) and was wide-eyed at everything and not a squeak most of the afternoon.

We tried around ten different bouncy chairs out - they had some beautiful ones that would have actually looked nice in our house, but no, she liked the nastiest most plasticy one with vibrations, music and flashing lights... at least it was in blue and not lurid pink. Sadly it doesn''t appear to make her sleep, but it does keep her entertained for a good 20 minutes or so which is something!

I am obviously losing it - I managed to leave a bag of new sleepbags (the ones with elastic at the bottom) in the cafe in the department store and then, having retrieved them from lost property discovered that I''d managed to lose her bottle somewhere... then got home and DH managed to pre-heat the oven not realising that the bottle steriliser was in it (we have a weird microwave/normal oven combo thing). We now have a very oddly shaped steriliser

 

[mela lu]

oh pandora! haha. what a mess!

To those who ''sleep train''. Romeo is only 2 weeks old, but I''m starting to get worried because he can only fall asleep in our arms or in the stroller basinet (while its moving). I know that is "normal" for this age, but I don''t want to create a dependency. None of my sleep training books talk about what to do in these early weeks. All of them say that you can''t start sleep training until later...so, what do you think?

Should I just relax and not worry about creating a dependency?

or should I start the training now by putting him down wide awake and doing the pick-up-put-down, tummy rub, soothing thing?