PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[taovandel]

I love this picture....the penguin and Evan have the same hair!

 

[steph72276]

Oh Tao, E is just the cutest! Love the flower pictures!

 

[qtiekiki]

Tao, E is so cute. Love that pouty lips in the second pic.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Love all the pics!!!

OK, just wanted to report that the mystery guest did not murder us while we slept. He''s pretty likable; he and DH are just bike dorks. He''s doing this tour of the east coast and stopping here for a big bike race today, so maybe I made it sound more weird than it had to be. The problem is that DH didn''t tell me, so hopefully that will improve. I don''t want to be the district attorney any more.

I got in a run this morning, and we''re going out to lunch, so today should be a good day.

Enjoy your Saturdays, ladies!

 

[anchor31]

PG - Just a quick question to you (well, if I could I''d ask your DH!

) since I''m dealing with invasive guests myself these days... Why exactly does this guy stay the night in your house?

 

[taovandel]

When did everyone start table foods? We let Evan lick things to get a taste...but when did they actually start eating puffs/cherrios and other table foods...someone told me to try mashed potatoes with him first.....I''m so clueless---off to google later on today.

Also, when did everyone start using their strollers without the infant carrier in it?

 

[cdt1101]

Date: 5/15/2010 10:45:27 AM
Author: taovandel
When did everyone start table foods? We let Evan lick things to get a taste...but when did they actually start eating puffs/cherrios and other table foods...someone told me to try mashed potatoes with him first.....I''m so clueless---off to google later on today.


Also, when did everyone start using their strollers without the infant carrier in it?

First - Evan''s pics are so cute!! As for the stroller, we started using it w/out the carrier pretty early, like 4 months, but then again my kid was huge and we switched to the Britax carseat at like 5 months because he was outgrowing the infant carrier.

Table food - well puffs he started at like 5/6 months. Cheerios a little later. Actual table food we tried around 7 months, but up until recently he wasn''t that interested. Hope that helps!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Tao, just make sure the mashed potatoes don't have cow's milk in them . . . or am I wrong about that?

We didn't even start oatmeal and baby food until 6 months, so we're behind the boat . . . we haven't started yet either.

ETA: Is "behind the boat" even an expression? Did I just make that up?

 

[ChargerGrrl]

LOVE the baby pics- they put a smile on my face!

Also wanted to pop in and send Fiery un abrazo grande. I''m glad that you''re taking care of yourself.

 

[ChinaCat]

Phx- Glad the guest turned out to NOT be a serial killer.

 

[Mara]

re stroller with no carrier, i use it right now with J when we walk. the seat lays flat but he doesn''t want to be flat so i put it slightly inclined so he can at least see out of the stroller and look around. he will nap while we walk normally. i was actually thinking yesterday i will hate when the day comes that he outgrows the infant seat because it''s just so easy to unsnap it from back and put it in stroller for shopping. to have to take him out, put him in stroller, put him back in carseat will be a PITA but hopefully he won''t outgrow the carseat til closer to a year, though i don''t know, he is already 14lbs and i think the limit is 20 ... have to check.

PG... glad you guys made it through the night but yeah i would not be keen at all on some stranger staying with us esp with a baby in the house. seriously what do men think sometimes?? or do they?!

jcrow, the lanolin on the bb didn''t feel as good as the EVOO for sure!! i am a lover now.

my update is that i ordered the medium and large set of flanges for the breast pump and none of them, not the standarrd, medium, large, extra large fit well. i seriously don''t know what the deal is. AND the box with the med/large came with just one med so i had to write them going WTF. i feel like the smaller standards get me more milk even though they pull my nipple on all sides. maybe my bb''s are used to the abuse hahaa. which leads me to...why hasn''t someone made a pump that is more like a kid''s latch and suck aka pulling not from the nipple and latching more on the boob itself? hello its 2010!!! so anyway, i now could pass for an ameda supply store but nothing feels ''right''. whatever!

we''re meeting some friends for breakkie with the kid, who is still SLEEPING. i heard him squeak once or twice last nite but he fell back asleep. probably gearing up for a no-nap day..!

he was phlegmy and fussy yesterday afternoon, with a ton of crazy spitup. i hope he is a bit happier today.

happy saturday all.

 

[KimberlyH]

Mara, I''m still confused, is the EVOO just a comfort thing or is it supposed to increase supply (which doesn''t make sense in my brain, except that the more comfortable/relaxed you are the more you pump)?

Phoenix, glad you survived the night, hopefully this will be the last stranger your husband invies to stay the night. Glad your day is going well.

Tao, that picture of Evan with the flower on his head is too cute! Our stroller doesn''t fit her carseat. It reclines and we lay her in it for walks. She loves it with her dad, not so much with me.

Have a good Saturday, everyone.

 

[Mara]

Kim I think it''s mostly for comfort but I guess, also as you said if you aren''t all stressed out and in pain I imagine it will increase your flow or the let down. Sometimes I''d have to pump for like 5-10 min to get a let down before, whereas with J on the boob, it''s less than a minute...since I started the EVOO I get it within a few minutes so now I am also not pumping as long THANK GOD.

Belated Mommy Confession: I write in J''s memory book like once every month and a half and guess on some of the ''dates'' when he did stuff...HAHA. I figure the general vicinity of a date is ok.

 

[gingerB]

happy saturday all! even though the weather is pretty icky today...i am loving chillin'' at home with my boys

mara - glad you finally found something to make pumping bearable! until i finally found flanges that fit ok...ugh the pain was ridiculous. i could not understand how women carried on for so long. but now it''s soooo much better and since going back to work and being forced to drop pumps, i feel like i can keep going for longer than i thought i would. A is doing great....much better than mama is

he is growing like a WEED it''s so ridiculous. i feel like i blink and suddenly he''s that much less a little baby

. hope J gets over this phlegmy fussy bit soon! and LURVE ur vid. i do the same thing with my fave vids of A ( i think i have two of them up on fb). bonus is when i watch them while pumping i get a crazy amount out.

kim - i think the evoo is just for comfort. i can''t vouch from personal experience, but i lurk on some EPing forums and tons of moms swear by it. as for me, once i found flanges that fit right and the pain went away, there was a definite increase in my supply.

pg -

on dh. glad you guys survived the night

cdt - the pouty lips are just to die for! and congrats mama x 2 !!

mere -

to you and your handsome little man!!

amber - lol...piper is too cute to not look cute in anything! umm...and YES...take your mom''s offer!

mp - booo on the screw up but

for M. he is such a little love!!

tao - LOVE the penguin hair!!

viz - jeezers...that''s so

that c needs a procedure. but hopefully that''s the catalyst for a turn around in his sleeping!!

fiery - sophia is so cute it''s almost not real ... love that grampa shops for her!

steph - aaargh...everythime i see your little squishnugget i want to just reach in and give him a squeeeeze!

sha - such a pretty little lady!

cc - o sounds like so much fun! can''t wait for all our little ones to meet

burk - what a little trooper!!

AFM (umm...just figured out waht that stood for--

mommy brain): well i was getting pretty fed up with getting the run around so i finally pinned down the surgeon and bombarded him with my questions. they started back pedaling pretty fast and agreed that maybe rushing me off to the OR without a solid reason why was prob not the best idea

. anyway, we all agreed a careful watch and wait plan is prob best, and though unsatisfying to not have a quick fix, i''m just glad that there''s hope that this may all go away with minimal intervention.

A is ...oh...i miss him sooooo much during the week! he is doing something new everyday it seems! he is crazy strong and is already enjoying the "circle of neglect" as those on fb can see. he refuses to recline back now that he can pull himself forward into an upright sitting position but prefers us to hold him up standing

which is cute but our chunky monkey can be a bit wearing on the muskels

. the sleep issue seems to be getting worse instead of bett

but he is so freaking happy, smiley and giggley all day so that at least i have the peace of mind that he must be somehow getting enough sleep, even if hubbs and i aren''t

i was going to post that i had a very nice problem in addition to everything going on...even with a slight drop in my output since starting work, i''ve run out of room in my milk freezer to store more milk. so now i have to start rotating my supply. but then my little chunkadoo just hit a growth spurt or something and is sucking down milk like there''s no tomorrow so this may be a moot point [:

. it''s sometimes a little

how much he eats!

 

[gingerB]

and here's the aforementioned circle of neglect

 

[Sha]

awwww.....what a cutiekins, ginger.

He looks like such a bright-eyed happy baby. Circle of neglect....

haha. Dalila was in a similar circle a few hours ago while I was doing some tidying. 'Circle of convenience', I call it!

On another note - can someone tell me what AFM means??

I'm clueless.

 

[Mandarine]

buahahaha, I''m clueless too on what AFM means!!.

I''m glad I''m not the only one...hehehe

 

[Mara]

I think it''s ''as for me''...

J has been a HM fuss today...prone to breaking out in a red-faced crying spurt from out of nowhere. I wonder if he''s growing. I kind of have a little sore throat from Greg''s cold which I have been trying to make sure we don''t get all week and I just hope that J doesn''t have it...a baby with a sore throat, poor thing, ugh. He was crabby in his crib after nap and usually he loves laying there and talking and now he is on play mat while I pump and he''s crying while still grabbing and playing with the toys.

That reminds me I need to get some generic baby non-aspirin, double ugh!

On a fun note we are going out for our anniversary dinner tonite to one of our fave restaurants, we haven''t been there since before pregnancy since it''s fondue and quite rich and filling and I couldnt stomach the thought or the quantity of it before. Now I say BRING IT ON!! Mom and sis will watch the baby ad I am happy to hand him off to them as he''s quite tiring today!

Ginger I will have to check out the EP forums, interesting!! Wonder if they have other tips.

 

[Sabine]

Date: 5/15/2010 5:54:41 PM
Author: Sha
awwww.....what a cutiekins, ginger.

He looks like such a bright-eyed happy baby. Circle of neglect....

haha. Dalila was in a similar circle a few hours ago while I was doing some tidying. ''Circle of convenience'', I call it!


On another note - can someone tell me what AFM means??

I''m clueless.

AFM stands for As For Me.

Sha, I couldn''t help reply after I saw that you called Ginger''s LO cutiekins (which he totally is!). That is totally a word I use and dh thinks it''s weird. I have a habit of adding ''kins'' to the end of things, so my dog is puppykins and Jacks is often babykins of cutiekins.

Ginger, hope things look up soon but glad you aren''t rushing into things and seeing how it goes!

Tao, we started finger foods slightly around 6.5 months...he would eat puffs or other little tiny bites of things we were eating if he seemed interested. By 7.5 months he was eating a lot more...I''d give him a puree, and if he''d finish it I''d find finger foods. His firsts and favorites are still pear and avocado. At 9 months he''s pretty much done with purees and only eats finger foods. I had to feed it to him until recently, and once he had his 2 bottom teeth he did better with long stick like pieces that he could hold and bite.

Yikes, to whoever asked about stopping the infant seat in the stroller, Kim maybe? We kept it up through the winter because it was easier to bundle him up in the infant seat and use both shades to block wind, but he would have been able to use the stroller reclined at least a little by about 5 months and was sitting straight up in the regular stroller by 6.5 months. I did have to use the shoulder straps for a while though so he didn''t slump forward too much. Now, he leans all the way forward and jumps up and down when he first gets in the stroller...he loves it! He does the same thing in the front of the shopping cart too.

Mara, I always mean to write in the baby book but then Jacks distracts me and I forget till days or weeks later and have to guess a bit too. Oh well!

PG and Anchor...I''ve found the best way to discourage overnight guests is to let them know that Jacks often gets up at 5:45. Chances are they could sleep through it since he doesn''t cry when he wakes up, but they don''t know that

Fiery, his tooth has broken through, but it''s not really down yet so it''s not visible unless he''s opening his mouth really wide. I can totally see that top teeth might change the way LO''s look, so I''ll have to let you knwo once it becomes more visible.

If any of you have a Carters outlet near you and you haven''t checked it out, definitely do that! If you sign up, you get email coupons, and although their "regular" prices are higher than at stores like BRU or Walmart that carry Carters, most of the stuff is usually on "sale" for those prices, and then they have a "clearance" section where you can get GREAT deals. I got a romper and 2 onsies today that were less than $3 each, and then pj sets that were $6.

Oh, and Mandy since i know your little guys are in 12 month pj''s too...I''ve found that the tee shirt and pants pjs are much cuter and comfier than the stupid tight footed sleepers. We''ve been going back and forth between the 2 (I use a fleece sleep sack if it''s not footed and a cotton one for the footed sleepers).

 

[Sha]

AFM = "As For Me", huh? I thought it was something a bit more spicy...

hehe. Thanks for clarifying.

Sabine, lol....I don''t think adding ''kins'' to everything is weird. DH and I do it all the time. He was the one who started it a few years ago by calling me ''Pookiekins'', and then I started calling him ''Hubbykins''.....

And now we both call Dalila ''cutiekins''.

 

[fieryred33143]

Hey ladies!

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday! We had a good day. FI had to work today so it was just Sophia and I. My confession is that I actually like it like that sometimes

. We read some books, danced around, took a nice nap together, went shopping, and then I made her some dinner.

How are you ladies storing baby food? I bought a bunch of veggies today to make her dinner and was thinking it''ll be easier to cook everything, puree it and then freeze it. I''m still trying to get her to eat textured foods but so far no good. I made her dinner a little chunkier than normal and she spit it all out

.

The babies are all adorable. LOL @ The circle of neglect

. So cute.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 5/15/2010 10:48:55 PM
Author: fiery
Hey ladies!

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday! We had a good day. FI had to work today so it was just Sophia and I. My confession is that I actually like it like that sometimes

. We read some books, danced around, took a nice nap together, went shopping, and then I made her some dinner.

How are you ladies storing baby food? I bought a bunch of veggies today to make her dinner and was thinking it''ll be easier to cook everything, puree it and then freeze it. I''m still trying to get her to eat textured foods but so far no good. I made her dinner a little chunkier than normal and she spit it all out

.

The babies are all adorable. LOL @ The circle of neglect

. So cute.

although we''re not at the food stage yet, i registered for these and these

 

[Mara]

question for you formula feeding moms....

has anyone researched the DHA / ARA method of extraction by hexane and the thoughts around it being potentially not as safe?

i was randomly looking into Earth's Best formula for J since i figure at this point he will only be getting MORE formula rather than less... and noticed that they use the hexane method (as do Similac and Enfamil etc). The only formula that does not do this is Baby's Only which is hard to find...though you can get it online. i am going to buy a container at Amazon to try it.

but i totally confess i haven't done research on the thoughts around the hexane method ... just read a few things quickly that said that it could be linked to problems. i also read the FDA doesn't have 'requirements' for how this is processed and labels on containers don't detail how they get the DHA and ARA.

just wondering if other moms have researched this, and if so what the thoughts are? i plan to read up more on it over the next few days whenever i have some time.

here's a link for some additional info, i just browsed quickly: http://healthygreenmoms.com/are-dha-and-ara-in-infant-formulas-safe/

CC... i totally agree that carters has some amazing deals! i have gotten clearance outfits for J for a few bucks too. and this week the had a $5 sale on a TON of stuff, sleepers, play outfits etc. it makes it easy to stock up. and they will take back items for even exchange with tags on even with no receipt, so handy when the baby outgrows too quickly!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Hello!!!

 

[ChinaCat]

Hi!

Anybody out there????

I have been so lonely without my girls here! Of course had a grumpy no-good day yesterday and couldn''t even come on PS and vetch about it. (That''s my new word for vent/b*t*h). Or wait, is that already a word? Maybe I am thinking of kvetch????

Mara- Saw that formula you mentioned at Whole Foods. Didn''t have time to check it out, but wanted to let you know it''s around.

How''s everyone doing???

 

[Pandora II]

I'm way behind now... had to spend Friday and Saturday producing Daisy's birthday cake! Will try and catch up, in the meantime total me-centric post I'm afraid...

Ended up with a 4 layer lemon cake with lemon buttercream icing (which I stuck a whole jar of lemoncurd into just to see if it would work!) topped with marzipan ducks. It was not the most professional looking thing, but tasted nice and D liked it.

We did her presents on Saturday - DH and I gave her the laptop (big hit) and the doll. She adores the doll and calls it Dee Dee which I think is her way of saying 'baby', she spends hours inspecting all the toes, fingers, eyes etc and feeding it with it's bottle, so sweet and we've no idea where this maternal instinct comes from... not me for definite!

On Sunday we took her to the zoo - sadly the weather was awful, but she enjoyed it and I bought a membership so we can go for free for a whole year. Yesterday was her actual birthday and they made her a fake cake with a candle at 'Nutters and Babies' and she was given a foil helium balloon. That and the doll are definitely top presents and I am currently having to sleep with both in our bed! Daisy has a thing about having to hold something while she's feeding and tonight it was the wretched balloon...

Seems so weird that a year has passed already... for all my pre-baby fence sitting, I can definitely say that she is the best thing that ever happened to DH and me, and I reckon she's my best design project yet.

Here's a couple of photos:

 

[Pandora II]

Mrs Mitchell, I ordered the reins that you recommended... mega-bargain on eBay. I went with the chimp, but there were loads of cute ones. Best of all, she loves it and so no issues with wearing them, plus made a big difference when it came to chasing after her.

 

[Pandora II]

Cutting the cake...

 

[Pandora II]

Last one...

One primate looking at another primate whilst wearing a third!

 

[fieryred33143]

Pandora-I''ve been wanting to log on to do a happy birthday post to Daisy! She''s beautiful!! Can''t believe she''s already one. Time goes by so quickly. You and Daisy are so special, so glad you are part of this community. (Love the cake btw)

So to Daisy: