PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[phoenixgirl]

MP, I know, I really wanted to refuse to buy it on principle, like my mom would have (my mom is even more impatient than I am!), but I followed DH''s lead. He pointed out that he was a local business owner, and we like to support the small guy versus the big chain. When I got home I was pleasantly surprised to find out that our price was 10% under what I was seeing online and that the other local fancy stroller store doesn''t carry their brand. So I think I got the best deal possible and couldn''t have gotten it faster (not to mention the door-step delivery). Plus I am an INTJ, which means I am a tough nut to crack for a salesman--I am impressed neither by an "aw shucks" nor a chat-them-into-submission approach. He didn''t bother DH.

Pan, I am holding off deciding about counseling until I''m done working. I just don''t have time/energy to commit to that right now, plus the change in dynamic will change our needs and concerns. They might get better, stay the same, or get worse. So why not wait and see, I guess. I did clear the air and feel better for the time being. As an introvert, it works for me that DH draws us both out into the world. He is exuberant enough for the both of us. It''s just adapting to the parenting thing, but I don''t think it means staying in at least 6 nights a week. As soon as that happened a couple of weeks in a row, I know I''d be itching for DH to liven things up for the both of us. As our children grow, I''m sure more of what we''ll do will be their activities and less ours, but I''m sure it will always include "me time" for both of us (social and exercise). My experience with counseling after my dad''s death was that I was mostly using the sessions to chat about myself and my minor gripes (and now I have PS for that!), and the therapist encouraged me to "graduate." But I really liked my therapist and our sessions, so I wouldn''t mind having an "excuse" to see her again.

 

[meresal]

Hey everyone... just wanted to do a quick run-by... *caution: majorly scarcastic vent ahead*

jcrow- I am pumping a bottle once a day, to be used the following day while we are running errands. Also pumping for times when I know I will be away from C. (ie, I am in a wedding this weekend and DH will be watching C most of Saturday, so I need to pump about 5 bottles worth, for when I won''t be around.) Also, DH and I are talking about taking a trip in the fall, so I am trying to figure out how in the world I can stock pile enough for while we are gone.

Since I brought up DH... I have a question. Did anyone else feel like their overly loving DH who doted all over you while pregnant, has been replaced by nothing more than the likes of a college roomate who expects you to do everything around the house now that you "aren''t working"? Did I miss the part of WTEWYE that said you don''t have to say please or thank you for things that miraculously get done while your gone?

Also, this probably belongs in the "Men!!!" thread... but another pet peeve I am having with the DH... If you haven''t so much as kissed me goodnight in a week or even hugged me in the last 2, please-please-PLEASE don''t ask when the doctor will give the "Ok to DTD"... cause it definitely isn''t going to happen!


China- I have been doing areally well until this past week. All the "little things" have culminated. I am tired of hearing my husband say, "I''m just really tired", when I ask him why he is so quiet on a daily basis. Things are a bit tense in my house for right now. He''s just being very cynical, and I don''t deal with cynical well.

 

[KimberlyH]

glad you found a stroller, pg.

mp, micah is so dang cute! jane is just starting to smile a ton and it makes me crazy it''s so cute. she was really reserved with her smiles at first.

ceiling fans: i don''t find them to be attractive decor in general but ours are particularly ugly. chosen by a woman who hung burgundy and gold curtains with tassels to match the white/pink/burgundy flower couchs she owned along with the white-washed wood tables?! i can''t wait until our other house is sold and i can decorate jane sure loves them all, though. even the peach one in the spare bedroom.

my boss called. lots of changes taking place regarding structuring of programs (we provide multiple services for children with autism and their families). i have no clue what i am walking back in to. mtg him next driday to discuss how i''ll fold back in. my husband has given me the okay to quit if i can''t stomach the changes, but we need the money and i would feel guilty quitting what is an ideal job in so many ways. we''ll see how this plays out. in the meantime i have one more week of freedom from work.

 

[gingerB]

good morning ladies! unsurprisingly, i have just a few minutes but i wanted to pop in and say hello

mara - hope your transition back to work stays smooth!

cc - yech...hate those days. hope things are back to normal. love how mac and cheese can solve so many ills

viz - big hugs! so sorry c is feeling bad again and dh is being the baby

. fingers crossed that the surgery goes well and c gets better quickly and then SLEEPS! oh and another coinky-dink, my mom is turning 60 in a couple of weeks too. we''re supposed to be doing a dinner thing for her (my sibs and i) but i haven''t contributed much manpower to the whole thing (again not surprisingly).

kim - yay for more smiles!

mp - what a cutie!!

pg - loving the mental picture of claire! i agree. genius.

mere - big boo on clueless dhs

steph - two teeth! he''s growing so fast!!

burk - hope k feels better soon!

to anyone i missed!

AFM -- nothing new to report. same old same old. hubbs and i are trying to get into a routine with both of us now back at work. getting small snatches of A time here and there and trying to enjoy them. coming up on a crazy stretch of me working 7 days a week for 3 weeks with less support and the same crazy hours. hope we survive.

 

[taovandel]

Mere: For some reason, husbands have a tendency to think that because you aren''t going to your normal job outside of the home that you are just sitting around the house playing with the baby and eating bon bons and having a fun vacation! Woohoo! Have him take the baby for a full day. Go out visit family, friends, get your hair done...whatever you need to do to get out of the house for 8 hours. He will see quickly that you aren''t on vacation--not even close.

I think I had one meltdown with my husband (he''s been the opposite of most husbands...with a few days where I was like "Who the hell are you!"..hence the meltdown)...he made the passing comment of how he had been at work all day so he shouldn''t have to do the dishes or something when he came home. I wound up in the bathroom crying my eyes out. We wound up talking about it and everything went back to normal of him helping out.

So, I think it''s time to sit the husband down and explain to him how you are feeling. And you should probably mention the sexy time issue also. Sometimes men are so completely clueless you need to spell things out for them.

 

[taovandel]

Okay, just a little update on Evan (and I guess me)

We started doing some table foods--little bits of banana mainly. He really doesn't like it. He makes the funniest faces and acts like we are murdering him.

We've been doing puffs a bit also. He also doesn't like them but will eat them. The gagging is scary at first! Now I know what Fiery is talking about with the anxiety with feeding the baby. DH was 100% opposed to them after the first gag....but I explained to him that it was normal (as my own heart is racing! Evan can't have too scared parents).

We also are now on number 2 foods---I wish I could be like Mandy and the others who make their own food. Mandy--you should post some of your recipes on here so I can copy them!

We are also, as of today, starting a routine of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. He had pears and a few puffs for breakfast (and will get a bottle soonish---probably really soonish as I hear him fussing a bit in the other room with Daddy).


Been having some issues at work and with debt from my husband....A few months ago we had talked about buying a house but decided against it as we wanted to save more money. We wound up saving a bit of money from our tax return and paid off two credit cards...and we found a 100% financing loan with zero down payment with our bank...so we thought "why not now". So we started looking into it....only to find out that my husband had thought he had been paying off his student loans but he wasn't aware that he wasn't paying off one of them...so they are in collections for it. So that means the house dream gets put on the back burner again while we sort this out. We never received one bill from them or notice...so it's just so weird. It's just been so frustrating!

Work issues are something else entirely and I'm at the point where I want to quit but there is nooooo way I can get a job getting paid what I make at this place. And we can't afford for me to be a stay at home mom or to take a job making much less then what I make currently.
Things are improving a bit at work--but the way my job is--it'll be back to being crazy and drama filled in about a month.

Anyways....off to get ready to head to work

ETA: Oh and I weighed myself today and almost cried.....I need to get serious about diet and exercise....It was the most depressing thing ever stepping on that scale!

 

[vizsla]

quick ear infection 2010 update:
c now has a 102.3 temp. he''s totally miserable. back to the pedi today.
come on ears!! drain!!

 

[Sabine]

Mere, I think a lot of us went through issues with the dh''s soon after birth. Communication about what you need is also key. I think a lot of us had the romantic notion that our husbands would just "sense" when we needed a hand and just offer to pitch in or do things without being asked, and that doesn''t happen. And if he''s giving you crap for not doing enough, then he needs to spend a day with your LO with you not around and try to get stuff done himself .

Kim, hopefully things with work will work out better than you expect!

I don''t know what you were referencing with ceiling fans, but regardless of how ugly they are, they are LO entertainers for SURE! Jacks still loves them!

Ginger, hang in there!

Tao, sorry to hear about the debt and having to put off getting a house. That is weird that you never heard about one of the loans...I was always paranoid about that with dh''s loan because he deferred it through medical school, and then we moved several times, but eventually stuff was sent to his parent''s house and we started paying. Hopefully it will get sorted out soon!

Hi

everyone else! I didn''t get a chance to read back since I just realized old PS was back up. I wasn''t able to post on the new one when it was up so I stopped checking it for a while.

I think Jacks has a stomach bug. He''s been not eating at ALL lately, solids or formula, and at first I thought it was just from teething. He''s also thrown up once a day for the past few days, but it happened when eating solids and he seemed to gag on a piece too big, which led to him throwing up (he''s done that a handful of times in the past when he shoves too much in his mouth). But today he threw up while eating cheerios, which he''s NEVER had a problem with, and he only had one in his mouth, so I''m thinking it''s really an upset tummy. He doesn''t have a fever and is acting fine except for that he wakes up STARVING each morning because he doesn''t eat enough the day before =(

 

[fieryred33143]

Viz-I''m mad for you. Seriously they NEED to move the surgery up. Ridiculous. I don''t know if this will make you feel any better but another mom''s DS just had the surgery done two days ago. She said he woke up a little fussy, took a long nap, and was happy for the rest of the day. Hoping for the same thing for C (and for you). Let us know what the doctor says today. Keeping my fingers crossed that they move up the date.

Mara-glad J was ok! And sorry about the napping troubles. 3 months was really bad for us in terms of sleep, both for naps and especially night-time sleep. At first I thought it was a growth spurt but it lasted a whole month so IDK. FWIW, there is a growth spurt at 3 months and then there''s the dreaded 4 month wakeful (which we thankfully didn''t go through because she spent the past month not sleeping lol). Hoping that work is going well for you. The mom guilt happens to a lot of moms but he WILL remember you teehee.

China-don''t feel bad and you are so NOT a bad mom. You are an amazing mom and O is really growing into a strong boy. I''m convinced it''s because he''s so active. I wouldn''t even worry about it.

Burk-Glad to hear K is doing better even after the trip to the ER (

)

PG-haha Claire is a genius!

Kim-hoping that the decision to stay home or continue working comes easy. I know it''s a much harder decision than people think.

Ginger-hugs. I don''t know how you do it. Working 7 days a week

. Are you at least feeling a little better??

Sabine-sorry to hear about Jacks. Have you tried some pedialyte mixed in with his formula? You can do half and half and see if he tolerates it. Is he also having diarrhea or is it just vomitting?

Tao-I''m sorry about the work troubles and bummer on the house. Hoping things get easier and clear up soon!

 

[KimberlyH]

vis, poor c! and you, too! hope they decide it's time to put tubes in nimmediately.

sabine, was just talking about how funny it is that jane and babies in general love ceiling fans. poor jacks with his upset tummy. the work thing will be fine,i'm sure. i just need to get over it, go back and do my job well.

ginger, you and your husband are so amazing. hang in there.

tao, step away from the scale. interesting that e hates so many foods. hope you find something he likes. sorry about work and house buying.
fiery i work so little the decision should be easy. just don't know about the neew structuring and making sure my husband doesn't ignore j's need for naps like your mil.

mer, it can be hard for husbands to understand what you do all day, and i could not bring myself to leave j all day for him to figure it out, if i'm being honest. luckily my hub gets it. but when he does do spomething that upsets me i let him know, very calmly, immediately. hang in there.

 

[fieryred33143]

OH I forgot: Mere-a lot of us go through the same struggles with DH once the baby arrives. I think because they spend only the evening with the kiddos, they think it''s a lot easier than it really is. Hopefully this weekend when you are out of the house for the wedding, he''ll realize what you go through all day. In the meantime, I found that direct communication worked best with FI: Go change her diaper. Prepare her bottle. Get out her PJs. Just short and to the point and eventually I didn''t have to say anything anymore. Now when I finish giving her a bath, her bottle is waiting and her pjs are in the crib. Also, a routine will come out that works best for both of you. He''s the cook, I''m the cleaner. We share some cleaning duties together but for the most part that''s how we split things and it works.

AFM(teehee): Nothing new here. I''m feeling better as each day goes by. I talked to my boss about everything and he was surprisingly very supportive. His wife went through the same thing so he gets it and his attitude has changed which makes things easier.

Sophia is Sophia

. She''s hilarious. She goes through her list of words that she knows when she''s trying to get attention in the morning "mamamama papapapa baby bebebebebe." She''s getting her top two teeth so I''ll be interested in seeing how she looks with them

. She''s also really into dancing now. She turns on the music in some of her toys just to dance to it.

I also think she''s going to have my junk food habit. She will not open her mouth for regular food. She refuses bread, rice, cut up fruits and veggies. But yesterday I was eating cheese puffs and she snatched it out of my hand and shoved it in her mouth

. She had orange crust all in her nose and under her chin. Luckily it was a small piece and I think she smashed it up against her face more than actually eating any of it but still.

 

[steph72276]

Good morning! Went on a long walk/run this am. Evan LOVES being in the stroller and looking around. We live in a big neighborhood with lots of lakes and tress, so there are always lots of birds to look at along the way. I''m getting ready to go pick up A from school, then probably head to the park to enjoy this nice weather. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Viz, so sorry about the fever. Maybe this will force them to do the surgery earlier?

Burk, sorry about all the BF issues. Poor thing.

Tao, sorry hope everything works out with the house and your job.

Pandora, please come back to this thread and visit sometimes!

MP, so cute and love his onesie!

PG, yea for a new stroller!

Mere, I agree that what you guys are going through is very common. It is a huge adjustment for everybody when adding another person to the mix. I agree to have a sit down talk with him and tell him how you feel. Hugs.

Kim, hope everything works out with the job.

Ginger, glad you are doing well and thinking about you with your tough schedule coming up.

Sabine, yuck on the stomach bug. Hope he feels better.

Fiery, glad your boss was understanding. Hugs to you too.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Mere, it''s definitely a tough transition. My DH and I have really open lines of communication, but we still have the same problems over and over. It''s getting better, though. You have to just keep saying what you need and what''s bothering you. When you point out, "Yes, I''m home all day. But if the baby''s napping, then I''m exhausted and need to rest. Or I do get stuff done around the house, only to have the baby cry the second I start. And then if I do take a break for five minutes, I feel guilty, like I''m not balancing things well enough" . . . usually they start to see it from your perspective. It''s not a vacation. You''re hormonal, you''re stuck at home all day, and you''re exhausted. Your DH going through a transition too, so when you guys talk, you try to figure out what''s making him feel tired and why he''s quiet. Does he not know how to help? Does he feel resentful that things have changed so much? Does he feel like you''re blaming him for working?


Check your email for BRU coupons good only for today. I''m going to pick up a Maclaren Volo for our umbrella stroller . . . 20% off!

 

[fieryred33143]

I love that you always go out for walks Steph! That''s awesome.

We''re getting Sophia''s seat inspected tomorrow for our trip to Orlando. Just one more "yes everything looks ok" check since we''re driving 4 hours. Then I''ll have to do a comparison shot

.

 

[Mandarine]

Viz Sorry about C not feeling well!!! Thanks so much for all the info you gave me!! I have been meaning to reply but I''m crazy busy!. I think there is definitely a market for people that want to go fresh/organic/local with their little ones but can''t do it themselves for a number of reasons. It''s so interesting to see what responses I am getting. Not sure what I''ll do with all this info just quiet yet, but I hope to do SOMETHING with it!.

Mere Welcome!!! Not sure I welcomed you before. Your post made me laugh, just by the way you described the situation! DHs really are just THAT clueless and I think we all went through the "WTF, what is it that he does NOT get about this change and how life has changed?". Unfortunately (or fortunately) men are wired differently and it takes some time (and directing) so they adapt to the new changes. What has helped me the most is:

- lowering expectations of HOW he does things. No, he won''t always do things just as I do them with the babies...but when he does them, I praise him and tell him what a great dad he is (even if I have to turn around when he''s not looking and re-diaper the baby because he did it completely wrong).
- being VERY clear with what I expect him to do (be home at X time, make bottles while I bathe one baby, go get THIS at the grocery store, etc). "expecting" that tehy will just do things because they see our hands are full is just a bad idea. They are not mind readers and sometimes they try to guess what we need and just get it wrong.
- Putting him in the situation and walking away. Basically, I have left him with the babies all by himself...and while I know it wasn''t easy for him (or me!), he managed and now feels comfortable handling both babies by himself!. He can do bedtime by himself, bottles, diapers, let me sleep in and do the morning routine, etc. It was hard because I knew he would not do things "right", but never giving him the opportunity to learn was going to hurt us both at the end.

So anyway, I learned this from my own mistakes and from the wise PS mamas!!! Hang in there, it does get better with the DHs!! (can''t speak for when sexy time gets better though as that is an area were we are struggling!!)



Tao There is a baby food thread with some easy ideas! I''ll post more as we explore new flavors and stuff....but I do encourage you to try! It''s really easy and I truly believe that having them eat fresh stuff is the basis for having good eaters later! (not that babies that eat jarred food won''t be good eaters, but generally speaking I think it does set the basis for liking those flavors later!).


***

AFM...........

I have a hernia

Will be going to a specialist (surgeon) hopefully soon to have them check it out...

I also have other issues and just had a full blown exam today. I just don''t feel like myself. I feel tired, can''t get motivated to workout, can''t focus at work. I''m not depressed though and do get motivated to do stuff with the babies (playdates, make their food, play with them, etc). Just not motivated when it comes to do things for myself (work, get back in shape, etc). I don''t know...I just feel "off".

Not sure if it''s the hernia...but I feel like I get very bloated too...and I also need to see a G.I. because I have some TERRIBLE constipation issues and possibly internal hemorrhoids (sorry if TMI!)...so they may need to do an endoscopy (is that the name?)...not sure, but anyway, they need to check in there....NOT looking forward to that at ALL!!!

So I will be seeing lots of Drs in the next few weeks. I take my health a lot more seriously now that I have the babies...like I know I need to last them forever!. I''ve always been pretty healthy so I wnat to make sure I''m feeling good for them ya know?.

It''s crazy because I had more energy to go running, workout, etc when they were 6 weeks old and I got the ok from the Dr. Now that they are 7 months and sleeping throguh the night, I can''t get myself to go workout!. I don''t understand

Ok, so that''s my update! Off to eat some lunch and get back to work now...

 

[Mara]

morning all. and first off i just have to let out a huge big SCREAM because AF is back with a vengeance... 14 months of bliss and BOOM. i hate hate hate it. and ummm TMI but lets just say 'inserting' something into that area for the first time since birth was not pleasant either. UGH. no wonder i've been all hormonal this week... i was wondering what the heck was going on. weird but i have almost no cramps. anyway.

viz... O.M.G. seriously... they really need to take your kid and put some tubes in him immediately. is there any way to escalate at the hospital? i have no idea but if there is, i would totally do it. that is just really ridiculous. poor C!! big hugs for all of you.

mere... ditto the other ladies re: that hubs seem to go through that sometimes. G is actually really great overall, but there were a few times where he'd mutter that the house looked like a bomb hit it or if i left a diaper on the changing table he'd be like 'the trash is RIGHT THERE'...and i bit his head off, so yeah we had no more of that.

plus he has taken care of J for an afternoon or two and he knows it's not 'easy' and laying around all the time for sure.

pg... we got our stroller locally because it was instant gratification and it was support the local biz. but yeah i paid like an extra $50 but in the scheme of things it was worth it.

tao... so sorry for the work and house and debt drama, ugh! why can't life just be easy sometimes? and i agree, step away from the scale and cut yourself some slack. on the flip side, if working out makes you feel better then maybe try to get some exercise once a day, even just a walk.

ginger... glad to hear you guys are hanging in there. wow your schedule is just crazy. did you guys hire help or who is caring for A? so glad you have help though!!

mp... i keep meaning to ask you but is micah FF? i saw your post about the pump and thought... gee i never hear her complain about how horrible bf'ing is, like i do (HAHA)...so was just curious.

sabine... awww poor J with his flu. hope he feels better soon.

fiery... yeah i think J is hitting the 4 month wakeful or he is trying to anyway. i am really not having it.

last nite was the first time since really he was 5 weeks old that he had multiple wakes. he woke at 2:30, 4:30, 6am. for the 2:30 and 4:30 i could see him in the monitor and he was fine so he just turned his head a few times and fussed really low-key for a few minutes then passed out again. at 6am i put the paci in and it fell out 10 min later so i fed him. he went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30 and cried for 5 minutes then fell back asleep. sooo i don't know if this is just the beginning or what but i hope he gets over it quickly. it is funny because people say 'oh well he sleeps so much at night does he really need to nap' or whatever, but he DOES. he really seems to need all his sleep because otherwise he's crabby and also he LOOKS tired if he doesn't get his normal sleep stretch. it's so weird. plus he only really gets like 2-3 hours of naps a day so with his 12-13 hours of sleep at night he's right at the 15-16 mark anyway. i also read at 4 months that they go through a growth spurt as well so that you have to really be careful about letting them just cry because they could really be hungry. for all of our 'let him cry' things, i give him a mental max of 10 min ESP if he is in 'low fuss' mode because then i can tell he's just restless and cranky and not really upset.

AFM...besides AF returning... work yesterday was fine for the most part. i was really busy in the morning but afternoon was not too bad so i could spend some time with J. today my sister comes to start helping me so that will be great because i plan to do some other things like organize our pantry etc with the extra help.

anyway gotta run to finish pumping then eat something before mr idontneedanysleep gets up, i see signs of life in the monitor.

ETA Mandy... good for you for getting checked out. sometimes i still don't feel like myself...i think it's a side effect of hormones or something...esp since i am still bf'ing/pumping. but in general my BODY doesn't feel like myself anymore...i have weird aches and pains in strange places, my right hip hurts after i work out, just older and creakier thanks to the extra 30 lbs and insides all stretched out and ugh. the joys of parenthood. hehee.

 

[ChinaCat]

Mer- Totally normal. I wanted to kill my DH at times, and he actually was super helpful, didn''t expect me to do housework and actually cooked and did dishes for me most of the time. And I STILL had issues with him. Rule number 1: NEVER tell a new mom that you are tired. DH told me this all the time and I was like until YOU are the one getting up every 3 hours or whatever EVERY NIGHT, keep your mouth shut. You have no idea what tired means! And I agree, they just don''t know, but you can''t really expect them to know what it''s like or what you need because even YOU didn''t know until you became the mom. I wanted to cry everytime my DH said "So what did you do today?" And I would say proudly "We took a walk!" OR "We went to the grocery store!" which was a HUGE thing the first time. And he''d say "that''s it?"

I did a lot of cursing under my breath. But once I left him with DH all day and he got it pretty quickly. So that being said, it''s normal but you also just have to tell him what you need. Don''t apologize for not getting the dishes done or whatever, just tell him you''re doing the best you can. And if he doesn''t believe you, send him to this thread. His head will hurt.

Ginger- Nothing but hugs from me. You are in an impossible situation. The only good thing is that it does get easier and A will get easier and you will get through this.

Tao- Have you called the student loan people? You have to be careful because they did something like this to me once. I have two separate loans essentially but they are consolidated so I only have one payment. At some point, somehow they got split up and the payments I was making were only going towards one loan. Even though I was paying "more" on one loan, the other one was late. I called and raised hell and they changed it pretty quickly and waived all of the defaults. Try to call and see if they can help you out. Worth a try at least.

Viz-

Sabine- Sorry Jacks isn''t feeling well.

Fiery- That''s GREAT about your boss. Sometimes that can make a huge difference. Keep us posted. And thanks about O. Though I guess one bright side is that he won''t need a big carseat anytime soon. I mean, seriously, the child only weighs 17 lbs! At 9 months. I know it''s totally superficial, but sad and scared that he will be a mini-boy. I would say midget but don''t want to offend anyone.

I''m good, just having some work issues (again). Have to run to a lunch, but will be back later to post about the update on the situation.

 

[Mara]

oh and CC ditto the others re: you are a geat mom! O is just a crazy mover and shaker...as long as he is happy and sleeping ok and still developing fine then i wouldn''t worry about weight. it is totally hard not to but just go off other signs. ugh re: work issues, hope that you find a solution soon!!

 

[AmberWaves]

Quick b/c Piper is on the floor (Good Mom Award Winner): China, my baby is a midget. Not like, a real one, ohh, little person- but she was 8lb6oz at birth and only 18.25" long. She''s going to be short like me and husky like DH. Poor kid. O is perfect!! Don''t feel bad!

Tao: Yay on starting table food! We''re still at (just) cereal. I have some squash ready, but haven''t started on it.


aaaand Piper just fell over and conked her head. Bye!

 

[KimberlyH]

CC, my husband has a hard time with everyone referring to our daughter as "tiny" and people do, constantly, especially when they hear how old she is. And she is tiny (around 9 pounds at almost 3 months old). He lies and tells people she's younger than she is, which cracks me up. He feels like our society is so geared towards "bigger is better" that her being called small is an insult. All this to say, I can relate. But O and J are both healthy and happy and that is what really matters.

ETA: I finally created a FB account. I sent a few friend requests to people who I could tell who they were. My name is fairly obvious.

 

[fieryred33143]

Today has been a weird day. I''m about to ask my boss for an extension on my project. Really, I have the budget but I know he wanted to see something this week and I''m just not happy with it at all so I''m going to see if he''ll give me until I get back from my business trip. We''ll see.

I won''t be on much tomorrow or much next week being that we''ll be visiting my mom and I''m on a business trip. Here''s my early contribution to BPF. Sophia and her form fitting pjs

(FI says that these pjs remind him that she''s going to have my legs

)

 

[fieryred33143]

And this one, even though it''s really blurry, but you can see how tall she is. I think she''s going to have FI''s height!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Fiery, she is gorgeous, and looks like a little lady in her jeans chillin'' next the the pack ''n play

So cute!!! Hope that things are going better for you with work-life and that the meds are helping!

 

[so cal girl]

IS THIS WEEK OVER YET?!!!

I have been so overloaded with stuff this week it is ridiculous. I will be so happy when it is 5:00PM tomorrow.

Mara - I have a quick question for you. I believe you took your pump with you to Hawaii when you went, correct? If I am totally thinking of someone else, forgive me. I have major mommy brain. I am just wondering how easy it is to travel with a pump? Do you take it as your carry on? I have the Medela PIS, and it is a whole bag.

I am really trying to decide what to do for our big trip this summer. We''ll be gone for 12 days, visiting three different locations, and I can''t really figure out how feeding is going to work. I mean, I could just plan on breastfeeding him the entire time we are gone, but what if DH and I decide to go to dinner without E (we''ll be staying with relatives most of trip, so he''d have a babysitter)? We''re going to a wedding, and what if I feel like drinking a little? Plus, I bought a dress for the wedding that would be very difficult to breastfeed in. So I''d most likely have to take the pump. But what a PITA that will be! I am seriously considering just weaning E off breastmilk before this trip.

For those that did wean your babies off BM, how did you approach it? Did you just substitue in formula for one feeding at a time? How long did it take you to completely stop BFing/pumping?

Speaking of, I''m off to pump yet again. Blah.

In better news, E is starting to crawl. It is so freaking cute!

And Fiery, I

Sophia!

 

[ChinaCat]

Thanks everyone!

And on that note, Fiery, Sophia looks so TALL!!!!! Esp in the video you posted on FB. That picture above is to die for. That face! We'll miss you!!!

So Cal- I took my pump on two trips. I have a bag and I just carried it on. I probably could have checked it, but what if they lost it? I wasn't willing to chance the pain! As for weaning, I did it really slowly. My intention was to to be completely done before a big trip, but it just didn't work out that way. It wasn't really that big of a deal to pump on my trip, but by that time I was down to only nursing/pumping 2x a day.

Weaning- I just dropped one pumping/feeding at a time and replaced with formula. If E has never had formula, I would do some 1/2 and 1/2 bottles first. Some people go cold turkey but it was WAY too painful for me to do that. I kept the two nursing sessions until he pretty much dropped them on his own.

How old will he be on the trip? How old is he now? Because he may not be nursing/eating that much BM or formula depending on his age. Once they start solids, they start eating less formula/BM. Or supposedly they do.

ETA: I dropped two out of five feedings pretty quickly- in 10 days or so? The last pumping to drop took at least a week on its own, maybe more. The last two nursing sessions kept on for another month or so (by my choice) but I could have easily dropped them in another week or less. So I'd say comfortably, a month? But you could do it in a week or two if you can suffer through the pain. And some women it's not that painful. For some reason, I kept producing a ton of milk even though I wasn't pumping/nursing at those times.

 

[Mara]

hi socal yep i went to hawaii with my pump. i read to take it in carry on and to declare you have a bp with you because apparently certain pumps can look suspicious under the scanners, so better to be up front. i just told them and they were like sure whatever, push it through. i also didn''t want to chance it getting lost, omg can you imagine?!

the only thing that was a PITA is i didnt think beforehand about what to do with storing any milk i wanted to. and i wasn''t able to sterilize since we didn''t have a microwave so i just washed with soap and water each time. and thankfully i had a closed system pump. but i was all paranoid. and i didn''t store, i just pumped and dumped. it was kind of sad! hehee.

the other thing i wanted to say is that i felt like even though i tried to keep up with my regular pumping/feeding schedule, the time diff changed things a bit and for whatever reason my supply totally dropped. also i got my period this month, coincidence that my supply dropped after the trip and my period came back a few weeks later? not sure. just throwing it out there... but i have def been working to keep my supply up since coming back.

sopha is SO cute!!!

so my sis is here helping me today and wow what a diff that makes! i could shower without worrying about J waking up from his nap and screaming...i could go to the market without the baby...! i could go for a walk and have someone else to walk the dog alongside the stroller. i could get used to this hehee.

 

[so cal girl]

China - Thanks for your explanation. If I do take the pump, I would definitely carry it on. Just not sure I want to continue pumping. E is currently almost 8 months old. We will be leaving for our trip when he is about 9.5 months. So I have the time to wean him slowly, just not sure if I want to do it or not. He has never had any formula, so it would be something totally different to him. I doubt he'd mind it much. It would probably be harder on me than on him.

He still eats 4-5 times a day, plus cereal/purees for dinner. Even if I start adding breakfast and lunch, I'm guessing he's probably still have 3-4 bottles a day by the time we leave.

Mara - I was a little worried about what airport security would think of the pump. I mean, it is kind of a weird contraption! I didn't want them to be suspicious, but I guess they see them all the time.

For about 2/3 of the trip we'll be staying with family, so storing won't be a huge deal. The last portion, when we are at the wedding, we will be at a hotel, so I don't how that will work. Thanks for bringing that up. During the wedding is probably when I would want to give him one of the bottles, but I don't know that I'll have any place to store one until that time...

Sorry the trip caused a dip in your supply. That most likely has something to do with AF. I still haven't seen her, and E is almost 8 months old!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Mere, every DH has a time when they learn how hard it is. My DH had Micah the whole first week by himself because I was bedridden, so he has never bugged me about housework and just does it himself. Our house is small too so if I make tons of noise it wakes up both DH (who works nights) and the baby, so I hardly ever get anything done. It''s time for you two to have a discussion! And about DTD...I was uncomfortable the first two times we tried, and I had a c-section. It will be even worse for you with a vaginal birth. He needs to know that he has to have patience. Tell him to take matters into his own hands!

ginger, ewww about your work schedule! Keep telling yourself, it''s only 3 weeks...ouch.

tao, I''m sorry to hear about the loan! That has happened to us SO many times. I don''t know how they expect to get paid if they never notify you that you owe money, and sometimes stuff like that just slips our minds! Ugh, I hope it works out.

viz, this may be a blessing in disguise - hopefully they will decide to do the surgery sooner! Poor baby, I feel so awful for him suffering for so long. I really hope they do something for him.

Sabine, poor Jacks, I hope he feels better soon!

fiery, I''m so glad you''re starting to feel better! Yay for things working out for you! And OMG, Sophia is so tall, I had no idea, she looks so petite in most pictures. I love her little jeans, and the MONKEYS!

Mandy, BOO on the hernia!

I''m so sorry. Will you need to have it surgically corrected?

Mara, yes, Micah is FF. I tried BFing but with all my issues it just didn''t work out. I had some really bad experiences with it at first thanks to my epidural problems, so I didn''t feel sad about it at all. I am hoping it goes better with the next baby!

----

AFM, I went to meet some girlfriends for lunch today and walked there with Micah in the stroller. He was SO good for me, but he looked freaked out by all the sunlight, blinking his eyes like crazy. He also has one eye, his left, that might have a slightly clogged tear duct

It waters a bit and he gets a lot more eye goop in it than his right eye. His baby acne has now spread to his shoulders and chest, but it''s slowly clearing up. And his hair seems to be falling out! His hairline has always been funny - the hair is super thick on top and in back, almost two inches long, but he barely has a dusting from his forehead to soft spot - but now his "receding hairline" is getting worse. Nuts!

I just watched him wiggle in his sleep from the pillow he was on until he was laying on the bare couch cushion. (Yes, I know, but I am watching him and there are pillows on the floor in case.) On his tummy. With his butt in the air. GAH, he''s so stinkin'' cute I sometimes can''t stand it and I just want to squish him.

DH also let him taste a grape this morning. The first lick made him make the sour face, but then he tried to reach for it with his hands, his mouth open like a hungry bird. He''s hilarious! I''ve let him taste a few things like this and I think he''s going to love eating, because he always gets really excited and tries to shovel my hand into his mouth. He''s so fun.

 

[Blenheim]

Pandora - a very happy birthday to Daisy! Does this mean that you''re going to join me on the other side?

Viz - Poor Charlie. I am so mad on your behalf. I hope that he gets the surgery soon and that it fixes it all.

Did I ever update over here? The plugged ducts finally went away. They''ve come back a couple of times and I''ve been able to massage them out each time. I don''t know why they took so long to kick before.

 

[mtjoya]

Fiery-What a cutie mama! So beautiful! hehe!

I was bi*ching on another thread how DH had forgotten about me blah blah. But he did get me something! I posted on another thread how DH surprised me with a mother''s day gift. He had bought a desk chair and said that it was his and mine gift! I was annoyed becuz he kept on teasing me. He was putting it together and kept saying how we can share the chair blah blah. When he was done he asked me to sit it in and test it out.

I didn''t want to at first but before I sat on it I noticed a white tissue paper covering something. I uncovered it and it was a small aqua box with a white ribbon on it. I opened it up and it was a initial "J" Tiffany pendant and chain. He said that the delay was because Tiffany had sent him the wrong initial and the gift was late.

He told me that I could get something else if I wanted to, I was tempted at first but decided not too. I felt bad about the thought and even posted about it but changed my mind. The pendant has 3 tiny little diamonds on it and he said that it represented him, bebe and I. It was sooo cute! I felt so bad that I was annoyed that I didn''t receive anything, a card, on Mother''s Day. I know why now! hehe!