PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Mara]

kim...also for the nipple shield removal, what they had us do was start feeding him with the shield and then 3 min in, take it off and put him back on and see if he would take the nipple at that point as it might be more elongated and easier for him to latch. if not, put shield back on and keep going, then try again in a few minutes, rinse and repeat. sometimes he would take it and sometimes he wouldn't. then one day he just took one without the shield and the next day without the other, and that was all she wrote, we didn't use them again.

sabine..thanks for the tip on the cloth teething guard. we have a plastic one on the pb kids crib but i'll check out the cloth ones when we get there.

qt... oh good idea for TJ Maxx to check for the bumper. the one on ebay is used and it's like $3 right now so we'll see if i can get it.

J went 11 hours last nite and then woke up with a big yell. I go in and he's scrunched in the corner of the bottom of the crib. SO glad we took the bumper out hahaa...and he was PO'd because he probably tried to do a baby crunch and slammed his legs against the crib slats. Smart, kid!! So I moved him back up into the middle and gave him the paci and he passed out for another 2 hours. we were laughing about how crazy he is and that he is going to be a handful once he is mobile. I am just glad he likes to sleep lol.

our exciting news for the day is that i bought J some footed sleepers for 3 months at carters like 2 weeks ago that were big on him, and umm they are too short for him now. so i guess i should return them. this kid is a growing machine! and i wish they made more sleepers with no feet! i am tempted to just cut them off and have my mom sew a hem.

it's almost 80 out today so we'll be enjoying some sun. mommy needs a tan. happy sunday all!

eta...pandora love the watermelon pic lol.

eta #2. re: hair ... so my stylist says they said not to do the blowout on preggos but said nothing about nursing moms. they essentially infuse your hair with keratin, protein similar to what is in your hair itself. i wonder if there would be any drawbacks to it? i am going to google it but kinda weird.

eta #3...BOO... Dr Google says that nursing moms should wait til done to get the BB since they have not done any real testing with it. dratted i was hoping to have it done before returning to work since i have the time now. oh well, WAH. sorry mrs mitchell, i will have to report back in in a few months hehe.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/25/2010 1:41:47 PM
Author: ChinaCat
Really quickly as I''m at work and it''s gorgeous out and I am going home to take O to the park.

Kimberly- O was LATE and still only in 5th percentile but ate like a champ. Also, I agree about trying the swing. We got one a few weeks in and was it was like sunshine after months of rain. The difference in our lives was monumental. Assuming she likes the swing, of course. It was like baby crack and O did a lot of his sleeping in it. Also, when you say PNP, do you mean the bassinet part? Curious b/c O hated the bassinet part of the PNP, but liked to be contained. We had a Moses basket (similar to a free-standing bassinet) and if he was swaddled and in that, he would sleep. Maybe your bed/her crib/the PNP is too big, as in too much space around her? Just a thought. Also, she still might grow out of where she is now. I remember things got soo much better for me around 8 weeks. And then 3 months they hit some pretty big milestones too. Hang in there!

Ginger- How are you doing? I so wish I could come over and relieve you for an hour or so. I do have a GREAT babysitter that we''ve had since O was 5 weeks. And she would totally come over for an hour or two on a Sunday I would think. I also know a great sitting service in the area that everyone I know raves about. I''ve used them and they were good. Let me know.

Daisy. What can I say? I want to put both her and Sophia in my pocket! One for each. Wouldn''t it be fun to ''switch'' for a day, so I could have a girl for one day, and you guys could try out a little boy???? It would be so fun to me to baby-sit Sophia or Daisy for a day. Speaking of, where are all our other girls???? Natalina, you out there? Phoenix??? I know I''m not one to talk since I haven''t posted any pics in awhile, but would love to see some baby girl pictures!!!!!

I''m going to show that to all the people who have attempted to baby-sit my devil child so far. Trust me, you''d only do it the once, I''d opt for Sophia if i were you! I''m totally up for a swap btw!

 

[anchor31]

drk and kimberly - Thinking of you and I hope your baby weight gain/feeding issues get better soon!

mtj - I''m so relieved for you! I''m glad you got to go home quickly. Are they going to check for reflux?

ginger - What an ordeal... Praying for you!

I have a few questions re: formula feeding... I''ve been looking it up, but keep finding conflicting info. 1. Do I still have to boil water to make the formula after 4 months or can I use (cold) tap/bottled water? 2. Do I still need to sterilize the bottles after that point? 3. I read somewhere that formula should be made with warm (150-ish degrees) water. Is there any truth/reason for this? Any other tips I should know?

 

[Mara]

anchor...i am not sure what you are supposed to do for formula, but we have a water dispenser from arrowhead that does hot and cold water and we just use water from this. i typically make camomile tea and then use that as well for when he is gassy but i don''t boil the water, i just use hot and/or cold water from the dispenser. we still sterilize, not sure when we are supposed to stop?

if you are boiling, i would just microwave water to get it to boiling. is that bad? haha.

 

[steph72276]

Anchor, we have just always used filtered water from the fridge dispenser. And I''ve never used warm water either, and it''s just fine. We are still sterilizing bottles...can''t remember when you can stop?

 

[KimberlyH]

Mara, thanks for the tips re: nipple shield. I can''t wait to get rid of it, one less step.

China, a moses basket may be a good idea. I don''t want to keep throwing money at the problem, but may have to. I am referring to the basinet part of the pack''n''play. She sleeps great on the bed though, so the open space theory doesn''t quite fit. I think she''s eating like a piggy to make up the difference. I''m actually coming to some conclusions about feeding and sleep in the past few days that so far seem to be true (needed to move everything up timewise and get the kid to be earlier, plus feed twice a night. She''d gone down to once, but she seems much more content today having eaten twice last night and 5 times so far today, plus feedings are lasting an hour instead of 1.5-2). Babies are such puzzles. Fun to put the pieces together and make things work. Jane is in good company with O being on the small side!

Qtie, is he sleeping where you want him to now? The bouncy chair is not her favorite. She sits in it for 15-20 minutes, but is always wide awake and then wants out.

Pandora, I think I''ll try the side sleeping for naps; she tolerates swaddling, but would prefer her hands out. Were you afraid she''d roll onto her stomach with the blanket behind her? Cosleeping is just me, in the spare bedroom. We have a queen size bed which is too small for the two of us, let alone three and my husband is totally opposed to the idea. He has no problem with me doing it, but doesn''t want her in bed with him, it''s out of his comfort zone, which I respect and understand. On my part, it''s the one parenting choice I thought I''d never make, but it''s what is working and she and I both need sleep, so for now we''ll keep things as is. I think this experience was to remind me never to say never, as it was truly the one thing I thought "I''ll never..." about when contemplating raising her. Thanks for the tips.

***

She''s on her third nap for the day, which is awesome and totally unusual. I think it''s because I''m messing with her sleep schedule, getting her down earlier than normal. She actually slept from 9:45-8 last night with two wake ups for feeding. That''s awesome for her. I''m so happy that I''m getting somewhere as I felt I was failing her with both feeding and sleeping, that I wasn''t providing her with what she needs. Just hoping it''s not a fluke!

Need to get the house picked up, we have friends coming for dinner with their mobile 9 month old, can''t have stuff on the floor!

 

[phoenixgirl]

drk, sending dust your way. You''ve been doing such a great job; hang in there.

Ginger, goodness, you just have had a sucky time recently. Hope you get good news tomorrow.

Fun weekend -- DH watched Claire and my 7 month old niece while my mom and sister and I went out on Friday night and went shopping Saturday. Friday we walked up the steps and could hear my niece wailing; we walked in the door to see DH sitting cross-legged on the floor, a screaming, red-faced baby on each thigh. Poor guy!

Last night Claire peed all over me when I was getting her ready for a bath. My mom thought the bath water was too hot (a problem of mine), so she was running cooler water into it and I was holding a naked Claire . . . duh, I''m such an idiot!

Claire was 13 lb. 14 oz. at her 6 month check up, and has now had a meal of oatmeal. My big girl!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/25/2010 5:36:32 PM
Author: KimberlyH

Pandora, I think I''ll try the side sleeping for naps; she tolerates swaddling, but would prefer her hands out. Were you afraid she''d roll onto her stomach with the blanket behind her? Cosleeping is just me, in the spare bedroom. We have a queen size bed which is too small for the two of us, let alone three and my husband is totally opposed to the idea. He has no problem with me doing it, but doesn''t want her in bed with him, it''s out of his comfort zone, which I respect and understand. On my part, it''s the one parenting choice I thought I''d never make, but it''s what is working and she and I both need sleep, so for now we''ll keep things as is. I think this experience was to remind me never to say never, as it was truly the one thing I thought ''I''ll never...'' about when contemplating raising her. Thanks for the tips.

She was in the co-sleeper, with the head of the mattress inclined and near enough to one of the sides that if she had tried to roll onto her stomach then she would have been pushed back by the side of the co-sleeper.

I was never ''that'' worried about her getting on her front - she was always pretty strong and could hold her head up well days after birth so she could easily move if she needed to. Also she wasn''t swaddled so there was no restriction of movement if she needed to (most of the co-sleeping deaths in the past were caused by co-sleeping with swaddled babies who couldn''t move if they needed to get more air or out of danger).

We have a small king-size, DH has one half and Daisy and I the other. Putting a bed-rail along my side gave us more space as I can use the whole of my side. We put a pillow down the middle so that D can''t move onto DH''s side. None of us move much when we are asleep so that helps. Have you thought about having a co-sleeper like the Arms Reach attached to your bed? Personally I prefer having her in with me as I''d get her off to sleep and then wake her up putting her back into the co-sleeper. Then she''d be awake and I had no way to get her back to sleep and I''d be up for 3 hours...

whereas I can just feed her and then she''ll roll over when she''s done and go to sleep without really waking me at all.

LOL on the ''I''ll never...", amazing what you do when a) the reality of your own child arrives and b) you are majorly sleep-deprieved. I never thought I''d be as anti-CIO as I am now before D arrived, and I never thought we''d co-sleep, heck I even have a cot for her... we hoped to have her in with us in the co-sleeper till she was 6 months, rather than IN OUR BED at 11 months! Although I actually love it and given that she''s probably our ''only'', I''ll be so sad when she does move out.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/25/2010 6:35:38 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
drk, sending dust your way. You''ve been doing such a great job; hang in there.

Ginger, goodness, you just have had a sucky time recently. Hope you get good news tomorrow.

Fun weekend -- DH watched Claire and my 7 month old niece while my mom and sister and I went out on Friday night and went shopping Saturday. Friday we walked up the steps and could hear my niece wailing; we walked in the door to see DH sitting cross-legged on the floor, a screaming, red-faced baby on each thigh. Poor guy!

Last night Claire peed all over me when I was getting her ready for a bath. My mom thought the bath water was too hot (a problem of mine), so she was running cooler water into it and I was holding a naked Claire . . . duh, I''m such an idiot!

Claire was 13 lb. 14 oz. at her 6 month check up, and has now had a meal of oatmeal. My big girl!

LOL on the getting peed on! I''ve got off pretty lightly given the amount of time D spends nekked!

Oh, and we have baths together most days and the water is MY kind of hot bath. Daisy equally likes hot water, so I wouldn''t worry too much - I''m presuming that you are running the bath a normal adult temperature not scalding.

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 4/25/2010 6:35:38 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
drk, sending dust your way. You''ve been doing such a great job; hang in there.


Ginger, goodness, you just have had a sucky time recently. Hope you get good news tomorrow.


Fun weekend -- DH watched Claire and my 7 month old niece while my mom and sister and I went out on Friday night and went shopping Saturday. Friday we walked up the steps and could hear my niece wailing; we walked in the door to see DH sitting cross-legged on the floor, a screaming, red-faced baby on each thigh. Poor guy!


Last night Claire peed all over me when I was getting her ready for a bath. My mom thought the bath water was too hot (a problem of mine), so she was running cooler water into it and I was holding a naked Claire . . . duh, I''m such an idiot!


Claire was 13 lb. 14 oz. at her 6 month check up, and has now had a meal of oatmeal. My big girl!

If you look at it this way PG, out of the 3 options, getting peed on is the best one!

 

[littlelysser]

Hello ladies.

Big doings in the lysser household. We officially have a crawler. Calvin is all over the place. And so proud of himself. We were playing peek a boo (I was hiding behind a doorway) and he crawled over to where I was hiding and peeked around...huge smile on his face. I almost died. His cuteness is painful. Painful. Makes my heart hurt! And he LOVES his music class. We are doing Music Together and it is so much fun.

Ginger - I'll be thinking about you tomorrow and I'm looking forward to hearing that your run of crap luck is over.

CC - Um, we haven't seen an O pic in about a billion years. I'm just saying...

MTJ - Glad it looks like things are okay. What an awful time you've had! Hope you'll be home enjoying your girl soon!

Mara - Calvin has ALWAYS been a mover when he sleeps. He does 360s in the bed all night long. Has since he was about 6 weeks old...the mesh bumpers worked great for us! As did the Woombie. Can you tell I lurved my woombie?

Kim - Yay for a good night sleep! Hope tonight is good too!

Hello everyone else! Hope things are good.

Oh, and I hope you are doing well MP!

ETA - drk - you are doing a great job. The first two months are SO HARD. It will get easier!

And just for fun, here is a pic of Calvin, rocking a fauxhawk - DH fed him breakfast and some pear got in his hair. Who knew it worked like a hair gel?

 

[drk]

Love the hawk LL!

 

[mtjoya]

Thank you ladies! My little Jacky is doing great! She is resting and getting back to her old self again. She looks very tired!

I am going to take her to her primary doctor tomorrow and see what she says. This experience has taught me many things. I am so grateful for everything that I have now, not that I didn''t before. But I am so thankful that this situation didn''t reach any extremes. Thanks Ps for all your support!

 

[fieryred33143]

Ugh last night it took Sophia an hour to fall asleep. She wasn''t crying but she spent the entire time laughing! It was kind of funny. For a long time she had her legs crossed on the crib pointing up at the projector and laughing/talking. I snuck in and shut the projector off so she turned on her belly and started kicking her legs. This went on for an hour. I finally went in there to help her sleep and she started giggling lol.

Anyway, it was frustrating because I know she doesn''t sleep well at MILs. I like her to get the full 11/12 hours so that if she doesn''t nap at least she''s somewhat well rested. Oh well.

I sent FI there today with a message lol. I had him give her our sound machine and told him to tell her that by 10/11am the latest she should take her nap. Even if she cries in her arms, she should not be awake past 11am. I know it''s mean and unfair to demand that MIL do something but she needs to nap.

 

[Mandarine]

Where are my babies and who are these two impostors that want to be rocked and babied for every nap and bedtime!!!!?? We were over this!

The last two night it has taken between 1-2 hours for Lucas to fall sleep. The only way he''s not crying is if I''m RIGHT there rocking or patting him. I don''t know what to do!.

Naps are not better either. I just set up a pack and play in my room so I can let them cry a little more during naps because it''s gotten to be impossible. They can cry and get each other going crying and never nap!!!.

WHat should I do? I have no idea what this is about. They have been going down awake since two months! HELP!

 

[cdt1101]

Mandarine - sounds like it could be the start of separation anxiety. They're around 6 months right? That's when it started w/ Lex, but it wasn't REALLY bad until around 8/9 months. Honestly though, I still have a very clingy kid (loves being held). And he still has moments when I try to put him in his crib and he does the kaola move and latches on to my neck

Like everything else, it's phase and soon they'll go back to their normal routine.

 

[Sabine]

Fiery, I think Sophia and Jacks are going through some similar developmental stuff. Jacks just learned to pull up in his crib (he''s been doing it on the couch for a week now), and yesterday he realized the video monitor was attached to the crib and pulled it off, so I moved it higher, and last night around 11 I heard crazy thumping and he was reaching for it and falling back in the crib (after he had been sound asleep for hours). Today I''m going out to buy a shelf to mount it on. Naps yesterday were pretty nonexistent due to the pulling up.

Anchor, I''m not much help because I never sterilized the bottles or nipples after the original time, I just washed in hot soapy water after each use. And I never boiled water either. Our pedi. has always said that if the drinking water is safe for us to use, it''s safe for him in his bottles, so we just use tap water. I do use bottled water if we''re out and about. They also sell stuff called Nursery Water that you can buy by the gallon if you''re so inclined or live in an area with unsafe water.

Lysser, great pic! Jacks always seems to get food in his hair when he''s eating as well!

CC, I agree that we need more pics of the other little girls back there!

Kimberly, I remember that feeling of not wanting to spend more money on stuff that may or may not help. I stopped short of buying the ridiculously overpriced ''Nap Nanny'' thing or any sort of wedge (we thought his reflux was adding to the no sleeping problem). Good luck with finding something that actually helps.

PG, Jacks used to pee as soon as we put him in the tub every night. I always figured it was better than peeing while I walked him from the nursery to the bathroom. He still does it every so often. I guess I should confess too, I don''t even take him out of the tub and rinse it out when he does, I just add water and soap and figure it''s sterile anyway

.

mtj, so glad she''s doing better!

Mandy, ugh. Maybe the start of separation anxiety? That''s why Jacks started SCREAMING when I''d put him down after going down without a peep for over a month. We had to do CIO again (going in made it soooooo much worse, we did several nights of letting him cry, giving in, going in to rock him, calming him down only for him to scream as soon as we made ANY move to put him down, rocking him to sleep only for him to wake as SOON as he was down, etc.). Now he''s back to going down easy again, except for the whole standing in the crib thing. This is why I''m actually such a fan of sleep training, because even if your LO starts sleeping well without it, there are soooo many things that disrupt sleep down the line and get them off track. It must be so hard with 2 though...hugs!

So with the standing in the crib, I ended up even taking out the breathable bumper because Jacks was pulling on it and trying to climb on it already. He could get it unvelcroed on the top end as well. But we''ve replaced them with the cloth crib rail guard, so at least it doesn''t look too institutional now.

And this is not baby related, but I have to go try on Davids Bridal bm dresses this week, and I''m scared. I have a feeling the dresses are not going to fit right at all and I''m going to have to buy a much larger size to fit certain parts of me and then have major alterations. boo.

 

[Mandarine]

Thanks guys...

It just took an hour for Lucas to go down for a nap. I finally had to rock him and put him down VERY SLOWLY....he had been crying for an hour already...poor guy

They are like 6.5 months...I think it may definitely be the start of separation anxiety.

I''m all for letting them CIO and I know I''m making it worse by going in...but the thing is that it''s Lucas the one doing most of the crying and now I don''t know if he''s really just crying...or if he rolled and got a limb stuck somewhere!!!!.

I so wish I had a video monitor now. Go figure, I never wanted one when they were peanuts...but I wish I had one now!!!.

I ordered the breathable bumpers and told DH I want to lower their mattress so they can''t get to the crib soother either (or hit his head with it when he''s turning!). Hopefully I get that this week so that I feel better about not going in when he''s crying.

Now they are both finally napping. Poor guys. It does break my heart because there is just nothing I can do to help...well, yeah...they probably want me to hold them both and nap together (which I do once ina while!) but I work now...so I can''t really sit there and rock them all day long...

So speaking of CIO. Again, I''m all for it because sometimes I think it''s just the only thing that works (at least with these two!). Thankfully, DH is supportive of it and if anything he says I''m weak..hehe. Anyway, so last night MIL was here...and of course she doesn''t agree with CIO. So while Lucas was crying last night (I kept going in to check and try to soothe him) she says:

"Poor Lucas, he''s probably thinking he has a HEARTLESS MOTHER"

and I said:

"no, that''s not what HE is thinking....but that may be what YOU are thinking".

nervous laugh (from her "no, no, of course not...I was just kidding".

Whatever

 

[fieryred33143]

Sabine-Try the dress on in a HUGE size and work your way down lol. That''s what I do. Sophia is also doing as Jacks, trying to pull to stand in the crib. She figured out how to sit from her belly so she scoots to the edge, sits, and then tries to pull.

LL-Great pic!

Anchor-I boil Sophia''s bottles at least once a week only because sometimes in our rush in the morning, we''ll forget to rinse out the bottle. As for the water, I was told not to do hot tap water because it can concentrate the lead that is sometimes found in the plumbing. I''ve read that if you use tap, it should be cool water and you should let the water run 10 to 15 seconds before filling the bottle. Ditto that if it''s good for you, it''s ok for J as well. If you have a filter, you can run it through the filter. Cool tap water isn''t very different from the Nursery water (filtered tap water is actually safer in terms of exposure to lead). That said, we use nursery water because FL water is so gross. Sophia drinks room temp water so I leave the gallon out of the fridge and give it to her that way. When I was warming up her bottles, I would put really hot water in a container and put the prepared bottle inside. It would take maybe 30seconds or so for it to warm up.

 

[fieryred33143]

I just booked our trip to Key West for Mother''s Day

I''m going with my mom and in-laws

. And we''re all staying in a condo

I know, I''m brave. But it''s the Keys and if they drive me crazy, I''ll drown my sorrows with key lime pie

.

AND the best part is that we got a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a full kitchen for only $200! FI and I used to stay at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort for $200 and we only had a bed, bathroom, and little balcony facing the parking lot lol! So now I''m looking up things to do because if I plan little events throughout the day, it''ll minimize the parents driving me crazy

 

[vizsla]

man oh man am i behind..

i'm going to use what is left of my brain to try and catch up - forgive if i miss anyone.

re: SLEEPING - i will be a one woman advocate for doing any and everything that works as far as sleeping is concerned. i completely FEEL and UNDERSTAND the anxiousness, frustration and plain 'ol exhaustion when sleeping isn't going the way the book/other people say it should. my LO was a cat napping - never sleeps longer than 2 hours - can't put down - held him 20 hours a day - still working on sleeping - all rolled into one. i've said it before that i felt i was in groundhog day. and i would never be able to do anything other than hold my baby for the rest of my life. BUUUUTTTTTT as small as our steps have been, and as many steps we've taken in the wrong direction due to colds/croup/ear infections.. little by little it gets marginally better. i think the first line of defense is (personal opinion here not to fight where they sleep for those first 3 months or so. if they sleep while you hold them, then do it. if you need to co sleep to get an extra hour or two do it! i thought i would never be able to put C down unless i went with him. granted, he's almost 6 months and he still stinks at sleeping at night, but DH and i do get a a few hours after he goes to bed. we thought this was impossible.
a mental shift can do a world of good.. once i stopped 'fighting' it and just went with the flow, everything was much easier.
and sling sling sling! this was a saving grace! i oftentimes forgot he was even on me b/c he loved being in the sling so much. ((HUGS))

clogged ducts: oh girls.. not to scare anyone but you really don't want your mastitis to turn into an abscess. i had a three day hospital stay and surgery due to one. please get yourself to your OB/GYN sooner rather than later to ensure it's not headed in that direction. warm moist compress before EACH feeding, massage during the feeding and ice afterwards - your friendly BB PSA for today

anchor: ditto what everyone else has said about the bottles. i sterilize (thru a microwave sterilizer) about once a week.. and use the filtered water from the fridge or tap - i've never boiled.

fiery: so jealous! i've been dying to take the key west express when i go to sanibel for ages!!!! have fun.. despite the parental units

mandy: no your MIL did NOT say that??

mtj - phew!!!!

crappy crap.. must run to a meeting.. be back later....

 

[Mandarine]

Date: 4/26/2010 10:57:54 AM
Author: vizsla

mandy: no your MIL did NOT say that??

Oh yeah she did. I seriously wanted to PUNCH her.

Then we have this "friend" (really more like the wife of one of DH's friend). She decided to give us a hard time because we wouldn't go out to dinner Saturday because the babies were already in bed. They go to bed at 7pm...so she started laughing saying we made the rules, not them...that bedtime should be when we say it's bedtime and if we want to go out to dinner they should be able to come and sleep in the stroller if they're tired. WHATEVER! Bedtime is at 7pm period. I don't care what she thinks (and we didn't ask her what she thought!). If I want to go out to dinner I pay a babysitter, I don't drag my two babies to dinner with us. To each their own!.

WHy do people have to give unsolicited advice?.

If that's what she does with her baby (now 3) that's her decision, good for her. She also let her baby CIO at 7 weeks (like turned off the monitor because she thought the baby was ready). Well, that's not for me...but if that's what works for her and her family then great!. I would never tell her anything about any decisions she makes about her daughter.

I REALLY hope MIL doesn't find the need to make a comment like that again. I don't know how I will answer next time because now I'm on defensive mode!


ETA: Oh, MIL also commented that the reason why Lucas wouldn't go down was because I was allowing him to take naps in my bed. Well they have taken occasional naps in my bed FOREVER!. I just have to separate them sometimes because otherwise nobody naps. So she was basically saying it was my fault that he wouldn't go down now and because of that now he was "suffering".

 

[fieryred33143]

Mandy-we should introduce your MIL to my MIL. Maybe they'll talk each other out of backhanded insults

.

FI's mom was/is the same way. When we moved Sophia to her crib at 2 months, she turns to FIL and right in front of me starts crying saying how awful it is that Sophia is in a room all the way on the other side all by herself.

Um, my condo is 900sqft. She's not all the way on the other side alone

. Exageración

.

Now she won't let Sophia cry and thinks I'm horrible for allowing her to cry. We had this conversation on Thursday:

Her: She doesn't sleep anymore during the day. I guess that means she's getting older.
Me: That's odd because at home she takes 2 naps, for 2-2.5hrs each (

)
FIL: Really?! And she still sleeps all night?
Me: Yes.
FIL: What's your secret so we can do the same thing?
Me: Well, when she starts showing you that she's tired put her down in the PNP...
MIL: I am NOT putting her down by herself.
Me: No, you don't have to. You can put her down and then pat her back lightly while saying...
MIL: Oh did you see this coupon I got in the mail?

Totally cut me off

ETA: She just called me to tell me that Sophia went down for a nap at 9:30 and slept for 2 hours lololol!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/25/2010 3:49:16 PM
Author: anchor31
drk and kimberly - Thinking of you and I hope your baby weight gain/feeding issues get better soon!

mtj - I''m so relieved for you! I''m glad you got to go home quickly. Are they going to check for reflux?

ginger - What an ordeal... Praying for you!

I have a few questions re: formula feeding... I''ve been looking it up, but keep finding conflicting info. 1. Do I still have to boil water to make the formula after 4 months or can I use (cold) tap/bottled water? 2. Do I still need to sterilize the bottles after that point? 3. I read somewhere that formula should be made with warm (150-ish degrees) water. Is there any truth/reason for this? Any other tips I should know?

Anchor I think we switched to powdered formula when Amelia was about 2 months or so. I used tap water (doc said it was fine, although I did also sometimes use bottled). It was room temp water and I mixed it, then heated it up a bit in a bottle warmer. I''m lazy and never bothered to sterilize. I just washed and rinsed the bottles right after use.

 

[vizsla]

real quick tip re: bottles at night...

when we switched to formula (and didn't want to buy a bottle warmer) DH started pre-filling bottles and laying them on a (waterproof) heating pad next to the bed. it keeps the water warm and they are ready to go the second you need to add the powder.


ETA: mandy.. just using the word 'suffering' is wrong wrong wrong! do MILs totally forget what it's like to have a baby? would they EVER want someone to say that to them?? i don't get it.

high five fiery! i'm so glad sophia took a long nap for MIL!! hopefully she 'gets' it now!
any more discussion on if you will send her to day-care when she gets older?

ETA AGAIN: mara we have a picture hanging over c's crib. we used a cleat system for the top and anchors (like hotels use) on the sides and bottom to ensure the picture doesn't fall off into the crib. there are products out there if you want to hang something over the crib.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/26/2010 12:19:56 PM
Author: vizsla
real quick tip re: bottles at night...

when we switched to formula (and didn''t want to buy a bottle warmer) DH started pre-filling bottles and laying them on a (waterproof) heating pad next to the bed. it keeps the water warm and they are ready to go the second you need to add the powder.


ETA: mandy.. just using the word ''suffering'' is wrong wrong wrong! do MILs totally forget what it''s like to have a baby? would they EVER want someone to say that to them?? i don''t get it.

high five fiery! i''m so glad sophia took a long nap for MIL!! hopefully she ''gets'' it now!
any more discussion on if you will send her to day-care when she gets older?

ETA AGAIN: mara we have a picture hanging over c''s crib. we used a cleat system for the top and anchors (like hotels use) on the sides and bottom to ensure the picture doesn''t fall off into the crib. there are products out there if you want to hang something over the crib.

That''s an interesting idea!

I''ll have to look at what kind of stuff is available to hang pics over the crib. I have never done it, as I''m also a californian and paranoid about earthquake safety. And too practical, as I figure whatever I hang isn''t worth it if it comes crashing down on my kid. But Amelia''s crib is SO horridly nasty and plain, I''ve always wanted to add some decor.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 4/26/2010 12:19:56 PM
Author: vizsla
real quick tip re: bottles at night...

when we switched to formula (and didn't want to buy a bottle warmer) DH started pre-filling bottles and laying them on a (waterproof) heating pad next to the bed. it keeps the water warm and they are ready to go the second you need to add the powder.


ETA: mandy.. just using the word 'suffering' is wrong wrong wrong! do MILs totally forget what it's like to have a baby? would they EVER want someone to say that to them?? i don't get it.

high five fiery! i'm so glad sophia took a long nap for MIL!! hopefully she 'gets' it now!
any more discussion on if you will send her to day-care when she gets older?

ETA AGAIN: mara we have a picture hanging over c's crib. we used a cleat system for the top and anchors (like hotels use) on the sides and bottom to ensure the picture doesn't fall off into the crib. there are products out there if you want to hang something over the crib.

Yup. We decided to go ahead when she's a year old. MIL keeps mentioning wanting to get a job in the evening (although we have tried time and time again to give her money). But she also lost it when we mentioned putting her in day care when she turns 1 so for right now we're looking into 3 days at day care, 2 days with MIL.


Totally random comment:

I'm always jealous at what's available for boys because I just think boy clothing is the cutest, boys have better options for themed bedding set, it's easier to decorate, etc.

BUT, little girl bathing suits are soooooooooooooo stinkin adorable!.

So there moms of boys

(ETA: that originally said boys of moms lol!! Monday Blues)

 

[vizsla]

yeah TG - my sister bought us a bottle warmer and when i tested it out it took almost 4 mins to heat up the bottle, only held 2 bottles AND cost $99. so back to the store with that. then DH said, why don''t we just put them on the heating pad.... genius!
i was thinking about re-marketing heating pads as cheap-o alternative to bottle warmers... great.. i just outed my thousand $$ idea anyone want to go into business with me?

fiery - that sounds like a great solution! MIL will still get her sophia time and sophia will benefit from all of the interaction. are you thinking about finding a place close to work so the two of you can have lunch together? C is close to home (since DH does the drop off and pick up/works less hours than i do). he stops in a couple of times a week and give C kisses... ahhh wish i had his life ;P

also - here is the cleat system we have - there is NO WAY our picture is going anywhere with this sucker... but we went ahead and put little metal tabs anchors in the bottom JIC.

 

[Mara]

mandarine, you poor thing. lol re: intro'ing fiery's MIL to yours. sometimes the things they say...

what is it with grandmas in general? i have been telling my mom for a week that she has to try to follow what i am going to write out for her. she says 'stop worrying and just go and enjoy yourself'. TOTAL non answer!! she doesn't like the sleep machine. 'does he really sleep with all that noise?'...

yes he sleeps 12 hours a night!!

then when i remind her of things she reminds me she raised 3 kids. BUT she laughs when i say that she was stricter on us than she is on him and she says 'of course, i'm the GRANDMA'...so i told her when i am away she has to be the MOM.

anyway i have to keep repeating to myself to not worry, not worry. hehee. it is what it is.

ll that pic is so cute!! i love C's big eyes. and yay for crawling!
fiery lol re the 2hour nap. i hope it shows MIL that mom knows best!

re: bottle warming, we don't even do it anymore. i hit on a better solution, just making the bottle when it's needed and mixing the cold and hot from the water machine so that it's room temp. i also didn't want him to keep taking a 'warmed' bottle but rather room temp. someone gave us a night/day bottle warmer that keeps bottles cold at night then warms then when you need them but we never even use it! i will prob end up regifting.

viz..totally agree re clogged ducts, mine are not painful at all and they drain for the most part but when bb's get too full they are right back there. so i just try to pay extra attn to them.

re: mastitis, this is a totally random thought but the gals that have been plagued with it (feel free to tell me 'yes of course, mara, duh!!')... but you sterilize your pumping equipment and wash all the parts each time right? i have not had mastisis in the 3 months (knock on a ton of wood please since i dont want to get it!) and part of me wonders if its because of the pump that i use...the hospital one was an ameda and the one i bought is an ameda and they are 'closed system' pumps meaning that no part of the system lets milk through where it shouldn't. and it is authorized for resale or gifting if i wanted to give it or sell it because of the closed pump system, its sanitary. also we hand wash and then microwave sterilize all the pump stuff every time i pump. anyway i think about it sometimes when another mom mentions she has mastitis. for anyone considering a pump, i totally recommend the Purely Yours from ameda, i love it (except for the flange issues with sizing but that's my own weird nipple/bb issue, not the pump

so our trip is this week, i am so excited and nervous and sad at the same time. i have a huge list of stuff to do to get ready for ME and also for baby...to make sure mom and sis have everything they need. we took over the bassinet and my mom has a PnP and we gave her an extra bouncer as well.

yesterday J was pretty much a cute looking pill most of the day. i think he is either growing or teething or maybe both because he was eating up a STORM, he ate 5oz extra and only seemed happy when guzzling milk. and later in the day...right before bed he was squirming, biting and stuffing both his hands in his mouth and would start screaming. nothing would calm him, not a paci, not rocking in my arms, etc. so i just fed him, and gave him a wee bit of tylenol then he conked out in my arms and slept all night. i also let him chew on a cold wet paper towel which he liked, so i bought one of those gel ring things and put it in the fridge.

G is also either fighting a cold or has the world's worst allergies and has been kind of down and out for the last 2 days. J and I aren't sick (yet) so hopefully either we are fighting it or it's just allergies.

today is also our last day of sun before 4 days of rain, so i plan to walk J and enjoy it. happy monday.

eta...thanks for the tip on the cleat system viz, i'll have to have G look into it. i wanted to do a collage so it would be like 4-5 pics so not sure i want to deal with that for all of them...might look into alternaties. PBK had a cute cable anchor system wall thing so basically it's like two stars that anchor into the wall and then a cable hangs from it and it comes with clips. so you can clip paper artwork to the cable. i thought that might be a safer alternative. UNLESS the cable system comes out of the wall and smacks the kid in the head or something but the likelihood of that is prob like .000000000000001%. anyway i might look into something like that because then we could hang prints without frames and it might be kind of cute and different than your typical frame collage.

 

[fieryred33143]

Ugh I''m so upset

. I swear I take one step forward with MIL and she knocks me 5 steps back.

When she called me earlier to say that DD went down for her nap, I mentioned how she spent an hour talking to herself, playing with her feet, and laughing last night before going to bed. It was a "haha guess what Sophia did last night"

She called me 10 minutes ago to ask what I''m feeding Sophia on the weekends. I thought maybe she had a poop explosion or something so I told her everything that we gave her and the times.

Then she says that maybe the reason why Sophia is not sleeping is because she''s starving, she''s already a year old and she should be eating more.

WTF? Sophia is sleeping just fine at my house. Then she asks me what the "books" say about how much she should be eating so I tell her that she should be getting 2-3 meals a day (which she does) and still have her formula as her main source of nutrition.

Then she says "well, I think she needs to eat more because I raised 2 children and have more experience"

I told her that I would never let Sophia go to bed hungry and she says I don''t know that for sure because she can''t speak. Well, she can CRY and she spent that hour last night LAUGHING.

I''m so upset. It''s already worse that I have to be at work all day away from her but to be made to feel like I suck as a parent is even worse